REVIEW: THE FRUITS THAT ROT IN OUR BELLIES
Age Suitability: Mature (ages 18+) - content includes discussions of miscarriages, sexual assault, violence, abortion
Genre: Theatre—Drama
Run Time: 60 mins
Venue: Theatre Aquarius Studio
What does the body remember when it begins to create a life? A profoundly haunting question asked by writer/director Kitoko Mai in their surrealist, supernatural tale about sisters, secrets and psychosis.
After a haunting lullaby sets the scene, the audience is introduced to two sisters with a strange amount of animosity toward one another and their respective partners. After a deeply upsetting emergency occurs, Femi (a captivating performance from Queen Cee) agrees to be a surrogate mother for their demanding sister Sophia (exceptionally portrayed by Melissa Murray-Mutch). As the process begins, Femi is slowly drawn into an otherworldly state where dark and disturbing truths are unearthed and fully realized.
The performances from the entire ensemble including Chris Yanes-Alvarenga, Colina Phillips, Abril Madero and Rosie Wu enhance the unsettling narrative with incredible commitment to their characters and much needed emotional vulnerability. The direction by Mai is purposeful, unsettling and showcases heavy subject matter rarely viewed in such a fascinating manner. The highlight of Mai’s writing is in the impactful and infuriating monologue delivered by Femi wherein they realizes the trauma they experienced as a child that they were never warned against or protected from. It is a visceral warning that mature things happen to our most naive and vulnerable and it guts you while trying to comprehend the reality of it all.
There are questions left lingering after this performance that might not have been clearly explained regarding the more supernatural elements. There’s some muddled uncertainties about the parent’s unsettling presence and what that means as Femi dissolves further into their mental collapse. It definitely caused some discussions afterwards in the audience on Saturday’s performance and we all had our own theories which I actually prefer more than obvious answers.
While by no means an easy story to take in, it is a remarkably written and performed piece of theatre and one I urge audiences to go see. Theatre like this is why I love the artform so much. Highly recommended (but do take the content warnings to heart).
