Mysteries of the Convent
This is a reprise performance of Mysteries of the Convent, for the third time by popular demand and after failing to get a ticket last year, tonight I found out why. This is simply one of the most exhilarating, magical and haunting theatre experiences I’ve had in a long time. It is essentially a walking tour, so leave the heels at home, there are stairs and a dark moonlit garden path, but there are seats here and there during the still parts and sometimes we choose to sit on the floor. Presented by Peepshow Inc who work out of the Abbotsford Convent, this show is a celebration of the gorgeous Melbourne asset that was nearly privatised and raped by property developers and is now an inspiring haven for talented artists.
After a warming drop of mulled wine, the audience of about 30 or so were met by our comical tour guide who was very flustered because she had to replace the regular tour guide at the last minute and it was her first time giving a tour at the Convent that she was clearly unfamiliar with. Her job was to provide us with a history of the convent as she guided us through the site. She was missing chunks of her information, and spent a bit of time hunting through her notes, or more importantly occasionally left us to go looking. We barely noticed her absence however because the time was filled by the main part of the show; a story apparently taken from the history of the Convent revealed to us by beautiful puppets.
It gradually became clear that the puppets were ghosts of the convent’s past and that the tour guide was completely oblivious to them. The convent has two halves, the beautiful home of the nuns and the ugly section with barred windows – home of the fallen women, their bastard children and orphans and the contrast was a bit of a shock. So too the play had it’s two intertwining stories, the history of the the Convent up to the present day and the story of the little rebellious red haired girl. Displayed were also the contrasts of the girl’s inquisitiveness and the playfulness of the laundry girls she longed to play with and the tedious repetitive ritual like labour they performed for the nuns. I loved the way that the puppets would reveal themselves and scenes were set up behind our backs unknown to us until a noise or some music gently attracted our notice. For a little while the life sized puppet of the terrifyingly grim and silent Reverend Mother was our tour guide and the group was overtly frightened to follow her beckoning finger. Later the only male character, a sleazy estate agent guided us for a while, after plying us with red wine and wafers he regaled us with the proposed development plans that may have taken place had the Convent not been saved.
The performance included different kinds of puppets, live and recorded music, and some gorgeous lighting effects, all promised to be analogue. At one point the quiet spooky atmosphere was broken joyously when a motley band of rodents performed Tom Lehrer’s satire of the Catholic Church ‘The Vatican Rag,’ but even that turned creepy at the end. Everything went off without a hitch and the audience was never aware of any the stage hands at work. Peepshow Inc expected and received an intelligent, perceptive and quiet audience. I hope that the show keeps finding and rewarding Melbourne audiences for many years to come.
Visit the Fringe Website for booking details.