'Famous Family Felonies' Comes to the Stirling Theatre This Month

A trio of short plays is being presented under the banner of "Famous Family Felonies" at Stirling Theatre this February. Pulling Weeds, A Dame Remembers and Fluff are either comedies or have comic elements with families at the heart of their stories.

Written by Yvette Wall and directed by Dale James, Pulling Weeds is a story of a dysfunctional family where deceit and denial are rampant. When Carla returns home unexpectedly from London to visit her dying father Joe, family tensions are quickly revived and old patterns play out.

"The family is much like Joe's neglected garden - a mess and full of weeds," Yvette said. "I'm interested in how some people remain in denial of certain things, some for their entire lives, and it becomes a comfort zone for them."

Dale said Yvette's script reminded her of a family that lived next door to her when she was a child.

"Yvette has a talent for writing plays and Pulling Weeds has both humour and sadness," she said. "It's also giving me the challenge of directing new actors and returning to Stirling Theatre, where I last directed Calendar Girls."

A Dame Remembers is written and directed by Bob Charteris and focuses on ageing actress Dame Cecilia Coleridge, who is trying to revive her career. It was originally staged at Melville Theatre at the start of 2021 but was disrupted by a COVID lockdown and only four shows were performed instead of the planned seven.

"Despite this, the show received excellent reviews and Stirling Theatre was happy to include it in their 2022 program," Bob said. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed we will be COVID-free in February. The Stirling production will have two of the original cast, including Jenny Wren as Dame Cecilia. There have been minor changes to the script and costumes but the main plot remains the same."

Fluff is a comedy by John Scholes and directed by Jane Sherwood, set in the bedroom of a mansion while wealthy party-goers enjoy themselves downstairs. The story follows Joe and his sister Sally who have come along to steal unattended furs from the bedroom - but Sally also has high hopes a wealthy landowner is going to sweep her off her feet.

"The play was originally going to be directed by someone else but they retired and moved away, so I offered to take over," Jane said. "It's a fun, lively play and seemed a light change from some of the more serious productions I usually take on. There is a lot of physical comedy in Fluff and I liked the idea of this challenge."

Famous Family Felonies plays at 8pm February 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19 with a 2pm matinee February 13. Tickets are $22, $20 concession - book at www.trybooking.com/BUQHK.

Stirling Theatre is on Morris Place, Innaloo.

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