Review: Ollie and the Minotaur

According to astrology, the “Saturn Return” is a significant stage of life, occurring every 28-30 years, in which the planet Saturn returns to the zodiacal degree it was in when you were born. It is a period of transformation, a time of reckoning, a transition from one life-phase to the next. For those in their late 20s, it is a move from the “Phase of Youth” to the “Phase of Maturity”.

[Boomers, take note! The second Saturn Return in one’s life occurs around the ages 57 to 59 — but at least the next stage is the “Phase of Wisdom”…]

Thea, Bec and Carla are childhood friends, now in their late 20s. They have gathered for their annual summer holiday, and, as Bec points out, their “Saturn Return”. Thus Ollie and the Minotaur begins as the girls celebrate their friendship, trawl Memory Lane, laugh, sing, dance and drink copious amounts of alcohol.

But Saturn also rules sorrow, regret and things connected with the past — and as the holiday progresses the women’s common past is unfurled. Secrets and betrayals are exposed. Each discovers devastating truths about themselves and one another, about choices made with the best and most misguided of intentions.

Every choice in life suggests at least one other choice was forsaken — constantly splitting paths into a maze of reasons and regret. Unravelling the past and the choices made can be as dark and complex as traversing a labyrinth — and as in the Greek myth, beasts such as the Minotaur lurk in the darkest recesses. The beast requires regular sacrifice to survive and is maintained by fear.

Central to this exploration of their maze of the past, yet never seen, is Thea’s nine-year-old daughter Ollie. Ollie has been raised with the love of all three women, but her future relationships with them hang tenuously on the revelations of this night — especially the truth about what really happened down at ‘the cave’.

Director Sarah John and playwright Duncan Graham worked in collaboration with the three actors playing Bec (Sarah Brokensha), Carla (Adriana Bonaccurso) and Thea (Wendy Bos) over two years to create Ollie and the Minotaur as it now plays. That collaboration shows in the entirely natural way the characters relate to one another, their entirely believable familiarity and shared history. They are by turns funny, passionate, vulnerable and cruel.

There are many layers to this production, and its power became more significant for me as I considered the story afterwards. Knowing more about astrology and the myth of the Minotaur helps add layers to the women’s tale.

The tension builds well as the laughter and levity takes darker, more confronting turns. Occasionally those turns seemed to happen with surprisingly little preamble, but as anyone who has ever dealt with an inebriated person knows, this is entirely possible especially when emotions are already heightened.

In the Greek myth, the Minotaur is eventually slain by Theseus. He negotiates the labyrinth with the help of Ariadne, who gives him string to unwind so he can find his path back to her. Where these women’s paths go from this night hangs by such a thread.

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