Review: THE GOOD DAD (A LOVE STORY), The Hope Theatre

"Everything about him was too big, too heavy, too hard" and yet the abominations of his behaviour went unaddressed for the majority of Donna's life. Four kids and a broken childhood later, she's in prison while her father lies in a grave with a head mangled by a cast iron pan that was too bulky for her to lift normally.

The Good Dad (A Love Story) is simply harrowing. Gail Louw's tale of child abuse, grooming, and emotional blackmail is staggering as Sarah Lawrie is a powerhouse in her delivery. The actress is unflinching as she narrates the facts from three different perspectives: mother, daughter, and sister describe their lives.

As her bearing and tone changes seamlessly, the three points of view paint the disturbing picture. While Donna doesn't spare her crowd any details of her violations, her twin Carol battles with jealousy, and their mum quietly hides the truth but rejoices inside at her husband's demise.

Director Anthony Shrubsall contains the action in The Hope's black box, surrounding Lawrie's Donna with the audience on three sides and denying her character any space to hide. The heightened emotions he stages as a result have Lawrie become a ticking bomb, especially as Donna.

The specifics of the horrific affair come out little by little at the start, with mainly side-matters being recollected. Their father is described as a weak man whose health shall be protected at all costs, even when the grooming starts and the narration becomes more and more exhaustive.

From sitting in sex-ed class pretending not to know what the teacher was talking about to her mother asking her husband to choose either her or their offspring (spoiler alert: he chooses Donna and fathers even more babies with her), Louw manages to bypass shock value altogether and settling on brutal honesty.

"It isn't a love story, it's sexual abuse" Larry the psychiatrist tells Donna. With the authority figures in her life turning a blind eye to this man's heinous crimes, excusing him, and protecting him, the incestuous circle continues with his new children-who-are-also-his-grandchildren until Donna takes matters in her own hands after society failed her completely.

Perhaps the most hair-raising element of this play - besides everything else - is the fact that it's based on true events. A brief Google search will tell you that there's been more than one case in the near past where a father impregnated his own daughter (sometimes multiple too). There isn't much commentary to be made here. The Good Dad is a must-see.

The Good Dad (A Love Story) runs at The Hope Theatre until 11 September.

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