jumpy: theatre review

As part of a joint project between the Sydney Theatre Company and the Melbourne Theatre Company comes Jumpy, a witty British play starring Jane Turner (of Kath & Kim fame) that’s all about midlife crises, motherhood, and upholding feminist ideals decades after feminism became a thing. Written by playwright April De Angelis and directed by Pamela Rabe, Jumpy quite literally jumps towards the audience in bold, hilarious, and thought-provoking strokes of genius. If you’re looking to shell out some hard-earned cash to see one show at the Opera House this year, make it Jumpy.

The first striking thing about Jumpy is the set. We meet Hilary ( played by Turner), her husband Mark (David Tredinnick), and her daughter Tilly (Brenna Harding) as they’ve come home from work after a long day. The set surrounds them in a warm, wooden frame. Scene changes occur with both furniture and walls moving quietly on their own along paths cut into the floor, with subtle lighting changes and quirky, expertly composed music. The flowing architecture serves to make the audience feel like they’re spinning right along with Hilary herself, as harrowing moments begin to unfold on stage.

Jumpy dives into difficult issues by way of hilarious and side-splitting scenes. From Frances’s (Caroline Brazier) burlesque routine, to the awkward yet refreshing discussions about teen pregnancy with Lyndsey (Tariro Mavondo), we are confronted with things that can face a lot of women who have reached the 50 mark, such as dealing with rebellious teenagers, protecting feminist values, working through an emotionally and sexually flat marriage, martial affairs, and struggling with work and money challenges.

What hits the hardest is Hilary’s often totally bypassed passion for feminism. Although she is incredibly interested in upholding the values that she fought for in the 60’s, she is slowly realising that right before her eyes these values are crumbling. Her daughter has no respect for her own body, her daughter’s friends (both female and male) are in the same boat, her friend Frances has a sexual appetite that clouds her judgment, and the men in her life have no idea how to emotionally interact with her. She is constantly trying to press her ideals onto those around her and onto herself, with often little success. It is this difficult balancing act between her political values and her real life that causes things to start slowly unraveling, first with her daughter, then her husband, and then, finally, with herself.

What Jumpy teaches us is that ultimately things will always spin out of control when we are least prepared for them, but what can ground us is who we truly are inside, not what others think of us or want us to be. The show ends with everything coming back to the beginning. A woman and a man, with a rebellious daughter and a tumultuous past, together even though they may not be completely happy, and an uncertain future ahead of them. Just because 50 years of age is half a century old, things don’t suddenly stop having any worth or vitality. Hilary seems to have finally figured this out, at least this is what we hope.

Catch Jumpy until the 30th of April at the Drama Theatre in the Sydney Opera House.

Featured image source: Caroline Brazier, Tariro Mavondo, Jane Turner in Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of Jumpy © Brett Boardman