Julia

Back into the routine with Circa Theatre, and Nicola is volunteering as usher. This time it’s the acclaimed Julia, a one-woman tour de force written by Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith, whose works include Switzerland. The Julia in question is Julia Gillard, former prime minister of Australia. 

I hadn’t booked anywhere nice for dinner, so we were forced to go to Chou Chou. I’ve expressed my opinion on the restaurant attached to Circa before, but they have now revised their menu and offer some semblance of a reasonable choice…if only their wait staff would listen to the orders! Having been out for lunch after a French Film Festival offering, we weren’t that hungry, so Nicola ordered Caesar salad without chicken. Yes, you’ve guessed…they served it with chicken. They didn’t charge for it, though. Also, they were out of tiramisu, which you shouldn’t be early in the evening.

The play is 90 minutes long with no interval. Lara MacGregor has been a notable figure, both at Circa and elsewhere, including television (and not just Shortland Street!) and film. The plot follows the life of Julia Gillard, the pivotal moments in her childhood and adulthood that led to her becoming Australia’s 27^th, and first female, Prime Minister. It culminates with the speech given by Gillard in parliament in response to Tony Abbott’s attempts to use a political scandal about Twitter to bring down the then Labour government. The speech struck a nerve amongst Australians, and women around the world, and led to some small changes in how women were perceived and treated not just in politics but also in the wider world.

The play captures the challenges faced by Gillard and other women in politics, where the size of your arse or the cut of your jacket are treated as more important topics of debate than irrelevant things, like policy or philosophy. Hey ho. Go watch it and enjoy.