OBSERVER: Inter Alia
The National Theatre Live production of Australian playwright Suzie Miller’s Inter Alia, like her previous play Prima Facie, stars a woman in the lead role.
This time, she is a Crown Court Justice, Jessica Parks, played by Rosamund Pike.
A high-flyer, Jessica balances her job on the bench with taking care of her family, barrister husband Michael (Jamie Glover), and teenage son, Harry (Justine Talbot).
Director Justin Martin has Jessica whirling through life at a frenetic pace, with most dialogue delivered as exposition directly to the audience.
Sid Field’s famous writing advice, set up the essence of a character and then put them to the test, is on display in Miller’s script.
Jessica is a feminist, espousing feminist ideals, yet she seems to act as a domestic drudge whenever she is with her family.
We see her in a wig and a gown delivering judgments.
Without pausing, she morphs into her alter ego as suburban housewife, donning rubber gloves, washing dishes, cooking for a dinner party of 16, and ironing her son’s shirt, almost without taking a breath.
Surely, she is in a position to outsource domestic chores?
As a judge, Jessica presides over sexual assault cases. In monologues, she tells the audience about the unfairness in the system, how victims are treated, and the unlikelihood of perpetrators being convicted in rape cases.
In a devastating twist, Harry is accused of serious sexual assault, throwing Jessica’s finely tuned worldview on its axis.
Pike is excellent and gives a forceful performance as she navigates the emotional whirlwind that has struck her well-ordered, successful life.
Harry’s assault charge upends everything she stands for.
Recrimination and blame follow.
Disturbingly, Jessica blames herself, as if this is the price she must pay for trying to have it all.
Now screening at Palace Cinemas. palacecinemas.com.au
Review by Kathryn Keeble