Dr Julia Lewis has a suburban Melbourne general practice A cranky middle-aged woman Mrs Blore, comes into her surgery unannounced wanting to see a Doctor. She’d prefer not to see Dr Lewis and the two argue back and forth, Dr Lewis keeps on wanting to show Mrs Blore the door but Mrs Blore won’t take the cues. The scene ends with them making a kind of a peace with each other.
Mrs Blore becomes a regular patient of Dr Lewis’s and the two form an unlikely bond. The play then follows in short scenes between 1964 and 1991 the journey of their friendship. A choice soundtrack of music from that lengthy period of time frames the scenes. Music such as the Beatles (Help), Split Enz, Bacharach and David, Jackie DeShannon’s ‘Put a little love in your heat’.
There’s a nice bit of by play between the two ladies when Mrs Blore mentions the Beatles and Dr Lewis replies that she is more a Marianne Faithful fan.
One of Robert Hewett two hander play’s best attributes is that it is very time sensitive. There’s a discussion about feminism- Dr Lewis says she hasn’t had a problem being a female Doctor, a protest march- Dr Lewis again- ‘I have never protested in my life’, does some pot smoking and more.
There’s some playfulness about the technology of the time- Dr Lewis’ intercom system isn’t working, Mrs Blore’s husband Roy forgets to videotape a favourite tv show.
During the play both women face cancer; for Mrs Blore it is breast cancer- she has to have a mastectomy. Dr Lewis receives news she has lung cancer.
As the friendship between the two women grows we get to know more and more about their private lives; Dr Lewis came from a much more privileged background than Mrs Blore, her father was also a Doctor.
Dr Lewis goes out with a few men before she finds ‘Mr Right’, Mrs Blore has a .bit of a fling but always ends up talking about her husband Roy, who is a lazybones at home, and then there’s her difficult kids
We see how the two enjoy nothing better than chatting together on a park bench in the surrounds of a park near Dr Lewis’s surgery. That, and sometimes catching a late afternoon movie as long as Mrs Lore can get her cherished train back home.
The performances were good. Liz Lynch got into playing her character well playing Mrs Blore. To quote the actor from her program note, “Mrs Blore is an amazing character. From the way she speaks her mind to her use of almost every Australian colloquialism under the sun, as well as her straightforward approach to life. Can’t plan your life. But you can give it a bit of order. A rough exterior covers an intelligent, insightful mind and a generous heart. It is a great honour to have been cast as Mrs Blore’.
Claudia Bedford gave a good performance as the good natured, warm hearted, unpretentious Dr Julia Lewis. Bedford did so well considering she only came into the play recently.
Ross Alexander’s set design worked well with its two aspects. The main aspect is the Doctor’s surgery neatly detailed and the second aspect is a park bench with a nature landscape backdrop.
It’s good to see Hunters Hill Theatre Company putting on a new Australian work. This is the second play by Melbourne playwright Robert Hewett that the Company has produced following on from his play ‘Gulls’, which was put on back in 2015, and was very popular with audiences.
Verdict. My response was a little lukewarm. It was an earthy, poignant autumnal play. The pacing was somewhat slow and the action felt too a little stilted and repetitive One had to suspend one’s disbelief a little at times during the play in regards to the Doctor being so forthcoming. There was a bit of a feel of the Alan Bennett play ‘Lady In A Van’ about this play.
Still, a worthy effort. Hunters Hill Theatre’s production of Robert Hewett’s GOODBYE, MRS BLORE, directed by Casey Moon-Watton, is playing the Hunters Hill Town Hall until Sunday 1 September. Remaining performances are Friday 30 August at 7.30pm, Saturday 31 August at 7.30pm and Sunday 1 September at 2pm .
http://www.huntershilltheatre.com.au