The Performance
Claire Thomas

The Performance
Claire Thomas
The false cold of the theatre makes it hard to imagine the heavy wind outside in the real world, the ash air pressing onto the city from the nearby hills where bushfires are taking hold.
Review
by Amanda Rayner
In The Performance, three woman are waiting in a Melbourne theatre for a production of Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days to begin. It has been a day of extreme heat, and bushfires around the state continue to burn into the night. Cocooned in air conditioning are: theatre subscriber and academic Margot; Beckett enthusiast and philanthropist Ivy; and lastly Summer, a drama school student working part-time as an usher. Each woman is preoccupied with her own thoughts as they enter the theatre: Margot is being pushed towards retirement by her university and Summer’s girlfriend has parents in the fire zone who are determined to stay to protect their property. Meanwhile Ivy is sitting with her old school friend, bemused by the fact that as a major company donor, she gets everything for free.
A fourth female voice enters the story in the form of Winnie, Happy Days’ central character. The choice of the play Happy Days is a genius move by author Claire Thomas. As the play begins, Winnie is waist-high in a mound of earth, physically restricted yet still able to talk. Her words drift in and out of the book’s main narrative, echoing the thoughts of the three women watching. In the second act, Winnie’s physical situation worsens, sparking even stronger reactions, especially in Margot and Summer. By the end of the performance, Margot, Ivy and Summer each individually decide to try and stop either themselves or others from completely sinking into the earth.
Although theatre lovers including myself are likely to be drawn to The Performance, it should also appeal to anyone who enjoys character and thematically driven fiction. The book is also a treat for lovers of novels set in real time. I only wish I had more space to discuss this novel’s wit, character development and creativity. And just wait until you see what Thomas does with the interval.
Amanda Rayner works as a bookseller at Readings Carlton.
This item is in-stock and will ship in 2-3 business days
Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to a wishlist.

The Other Half of You
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

After Story
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Scary Monsters
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Bodies of Light
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Echolalia
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

The Magpie Wing
$26.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

The Dogs
$27.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

The Airways
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Echo in the Memory
$19.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

A Weekend with Oscar
$19.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Design: Building on Country
$21.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Songlines: The Power and Promise
$21.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Reading the Seasons: Books Holding Life and Friendship Together
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Catch Us the Foxes
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Hold Your Fire
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

The Brilliant Boy: Doc Evatt and the Great Australian Dissent
$27.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Dark as Last Night
$29.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Born Into This
$29.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Wild Abandon
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Bodies of Light
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Devotion
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

One Hundred Days
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

The Performance
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Love and Virtue
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...