Eccentric pair in ‘Paper Towers’

Press, 22 October 1986, Page 22

Eccentric pair in ‘Paper Towers’

Rachel McAlpine is the author of the next play to be produced at the Court Theatre. Some of the issues the play examines are displaced young people, religious sects, bureaucracy and money and communication and responsibility to others. “Paper Towers,” will open at Court 2 on October 28 and run until November 15. Liz Moody plays the part of Betty Lacey, an eccentric older woman whose days are spent at home dampening down large stacks of newspapers. Systematically she hunts out and “murders” slugs, snails and any other slimy creature that live in them by dropping them into a bucket of salt. Obsessed by the fear of nor’westers and fire, Betty’s life is a ritual of building up towers of newspapers to protect her home from the dreaded wind and dampening them down so they cannot catch fire. It becomes apparent that Betty’s slightly unusual behaviour is connected with her mother’s death 30 years before. Betty lives with the equally eccentric Elliott, in an old Christchurch house set in an overgrown garden. Elliott, played by

Bill le Marquand, is first seen bent over his “1 Ching” log book, consulting first his “I Ching,” then his stock-broker, Pinzermann, by telephone as he adds to his huge fortune on the stock exchange. This is his only contact with the outside world and he and Betty seldom venture into the garden for fear of being seen. Their comfortable, isolated world is shattered one day by the arrival of Jemima Five, a young girl from a strange religious sect known as the Jobies. At every given opportunity Jemima falls asleep and at the beginning of the play is a mindless automation who speaks only in biblical phrases and who has an excessive craving for chocolate biscuits. Eventually, however, Jemima, who is played by new-comer to The Court, Michele Amas, develops into a spirited young woman who is willing and able to make her own decisions. Mediating between the two worlds of Jemima and the Laceys is Sandra, a dedicated but disillusioned social worker, played by Geraldine Brophy. Once Sandra allows her own honest emotions to enter into her dealings

with the three others, bland phrases give way to real communication and immense changes take place in the lives of all four characters. Recently another McAlpine play “An Exceedingly Popular Play" was performed in Christchurch. It was the first of a trio of the playwright’s works to be staged in the city. The play was written for the University of Canterbury Drama Society and the playwright says that as a result of the production she wants to rewrite the comedy for a smaller group, “but that will have to be next year.” This year she is committed to the Court Theatre with “Paper Towers” and to the students of Cashmere High School with a play called “Peace Offering,” to be staged next month. Rachel McAlpine is the writer-in-residence at the university. Two other plays are regular school texts. First known for her poetry she now writes novels as well as plays. The first novel was published this year and the second will follow next year.