Heaven, hell, then comes marriage

A play about the reality of marriage has been updated and is returning to the stage. ELEANOR BLACK reports.

If your thing is happily-ever-after marriage scenarios, Flush isn't for you. Kate McDermott's black comedy about white wedding dreams turned to mush is returning to the stage two years after its debut, following a revamp intended to make it truer to life.

McDermott - a scriptwriter for the television programmes Shortland Street, Mercy Peak and Being Eve and of eight plays - drew on her own life experience to give the comedy gravitas.

Jodie Rimmer and Katrina Devine (ex-Shortland Street) star as cousins with different views of marriage. Devine, as Mary, is a traditional wife who couldn't wait to preside over a home in the suburbs. Rimmer, playing Natalie, is only marching down the aisle because she is pregnant and can't think of a good alternative.

The only upside is that her intended is wealthy and her new life will be comfortable, if not blissful. Or as she puts it, "At least the guy who got one past the goal is rich".

It is on Rimmer's hen night at a city nightclub that Devine's marriage starts to unravel, when she spots her husband on the dance floor with another woman.

Devastated, she runs into the Ladies for sanctuary - and unsolicited marriage counselling from strangers.

The play's theme emerged from McDermott's fascination with the personal dramas of her friends and relatives. She filched lines directly from the mouths of girlfriends, and drew on the breakup of her own five-year relationship, to give the play more depth in its second run.

Working with a male director, Hamish Hector-Taylor, lent a new dimension to what would otherwise be a woman's view of betrayal.

"Male direction has made a huge difference. Willa [O'Neill, who first directed Flush] and I are on the same wavelength. She totally got the characters and what I was going for, but Hamish challenged me the whole way."

As for the female leads, they are perfectly suited for their roles, says McDermott. Rimmer's Natalie is a likeable bitch. She is loud and bossy, has no interest in promising to honour and obey anyone, and plans to put her children in daycare until they are old enough to pour mummy's gin.

"Jodie really suits the character - not that she's a slapper. She's so big and loud and a lot of fun, and I always thought she would be a great Natalie."

Contrasting the acerbic with the sweet, Devine's Mary is a woman who believes in fairytales and can't imagine life without a husband.

"Katrina's character is based on my idea of hell and a lot of people's idea of heaven," says McDermott, who is looking forward to watching the young actress stretch herself for the role.

"I've noticed elements of her acting that haven't been exploited on Shortland Street. I love seeing people do what we're not used to seeing them do."

* Flush, Maidment Theatre, February 21-March 9