On Stage: The Deplorables

In 1874 at the Sandhurst Easter Fair in Bendigo, Victoria, the first competitive women’s cricket match was held.

The two teams, one captained by Barbara Rae and the other by her sister Nellie played in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd.  All those attending judged it a great success and the charity match raised much needed funds for Bendigo hospital and asylum.

However, it didn’t take long for the match to cause great controversy when some in the public and the media became extremely critical of women playing cricket.

The story of this first match, as told in the book Bowl the Maidens Over by Louise Zedda-Sampson, provided the inspiration for playwright Christine Davey’s The Deplorables.

Playing at Theatre Works, the 70-minute play tells of the actions and motivations of Barbara Rae (Marie-Claire Tchernomoroff) to stage the match.

Through a combination of physical theatre, music composed by Tess Parker, audio visual displays and words, we learn Barbara was inspired after attending a cricket match with her father at a young age.  Helped by her sister Nellie (Mary Steuten) she found a further 22 women to join her for that first match.

The women’s backgrounds and ages varied and a great time was had by all.  However the high they felt quickly disintegrated after the match was heavily criticised  by the male dominated media.

Their criticisms comprised one of a number of colourfully produced scenes as the hard-working cast of six brought Davey’s often insightful observations to life.

The play highlights six of the women involved in the match – the two Rae sisters plus their mother Emily Rae, Miss Gerber, Katie Petrie, and Murdoch played respectively by Marita Williams Seaton, Danae Reid, Madeleine Potter and Tess Parker on opening night.

Each was given a chance to shine as they presented a play that featured plenty of humour, colour and movement and, for many in the audience, outrage given how the women were treated.

Fortunately, the backlash the women received didn’t dampen their enthusiasm, for as we discovered, they returned the following year to an even bigger crowd.

Learning this and what happened to the women who featured in those first two matches added to what was already an entertaining and enlightening production.

The Deplorables is playing at Theatre Works until August 29.  For further information and tickets visit the Theatre Works website.

*Photo credit: Mary Steuten.

Jenny Burns attended opening night of The Deplorables as a guest of the production company.