theatrePUNK Co presented Grace Wilson’s contemporary take on the myth of Pallas and Athena, Pallas Sister Rising, at BackDock Arts in Fortitude Valley. Wilson’s poetic script casts the two young goddesses as (presumably mortal) housemates in a toxic friendship.
In a version of the original myth closest to Wilson’s interpretation, Athena (daughter of Zeus) and Pallas (daughter of Triton) were childhood friends, but Athena accidentally killed Pallas during a friendly sparring match. Devastated by the loss of her friend, Athena took on the epithet Pallas as a sign of her grief.
Wilson’s interpretation casts Pallas and Athena as childhood best friends and now housemates, having moved away from their hometown to follow their creative dreams in the city. While Pallas is an aspiring writer who works in publishing, Athena is a poet who also works as both an accountant and a mortician. They fight constantly, and Athena makes adjustments to suit Pallas’ whims and desires until she reaches her limit, with ultimately tragic results.
In the highly moralised world of myth, suicide as an act of narcissism can be understood in that context; but in the land of mere mortals, this framing felt like it was speaking to an old and incorrect stigma around self-harm and mental illness.
Direction by El Waddingham was excellent, creating some dark and impactful imagery in this modern take on a Greek tragedy. Particularly memorable was a movement sequence close to the end, when a bloodied Pallas took Athena’s hand and stained the white sheets covering the walls with the blood, now on both their hands.
The timing of the play leapt from the past to the present, and the narrative voice shifted as well – alone onstage, Athena sometimes spoke directly to the audience and sometimes to an absent Pallas, in addition to the scenes of both characters speaking to each other. This two-hander is a tug-of-war, and the audience’s perspective on the characters and their relationship also shifts throughout the play.
The singular setting added to the claustrophobic nature of this play, further emphasised by the small and intimate theatre space at BackDock Arts. The stage was furnished as the living room of Pallas and Athena’s shared apartment, with the walls covered in white sheets and a range of props that told the audience more about the characters interests, priorities, and past. In the centre of the room, a landline telephone was frequently the central tension of the play’s action – is it ringing, or is Athena imagining it?
Cara Avenia and Madelyne Leite gave passionate performances as Pallas and Athena respectively, displaying versatility of emotion as they navigated the combative arguments as well as the quieter and more subtle expressions of grief and uncertainty.
Grace Wilson’s poetic script was sharply directed and passionately delivered in theatrePUNK Co’s production of Pallas Sister Rising.
Pallas Sister Rising was performed at BackDock Arts, Fortitude Valley, from 24 – 27 August 2023.
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