The Theatre Centre – Independent Aunties/Breakfast

by Paula Citron.
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Breakfast
Theatre Centre/Independent Aunties
Written by Anna Chatterton and Evalyn Parry
Directed by Brendan Healy
Starring Karin Randoja, Anna Chatterton and Evalyn Parry
At the Theatre Centre until Jun. 1.
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The Independent Aunties is a feminist collective that produces astonishingly original work. Anna Chatterton and Evalyn Parry never fail to entrance and provoke, and their latest work Breakfast is downright harrowing.

Breakfast was clearly inspired by self-help books and wellness gurus. Actress Karin Randoja portrays a plump and dowdy woman garbed in pajamas. She is at her kitchen table where she plays a self help tape.

The problem is this tape takes on a terrifying life of its own. Parry, sitting off to the side, is the seductively cruel voice, while Chatterton functions as a Greek chorus, man-handing props, and even speaking as Randoja’s fantasies.

What begins as routine – exhorting Randoja to transform herself – becomes a horror show, which, for the Independent Aunties, is the role that self help remedies play in real life.

This play speaks volumes about image, loneliness, desperation and self-delusion. It is a must see.

Breakfast continues at the Theatre Centre until June 1.