Siren's Call

SYDNEY: The Punter’s Siren, part of a triple bill at Slide, puts a queer spin at one of Australia’s key sporting and cultural institutions – the races, writes Bernadette Burke.

The Lesbian Variations is a production of three plays currently showing at Slide. Director Stephen Carnell, actresses Laura Viskovich and Jacqui Livingston shared insights about one of the plays – The Punter’s Siren.

In this stirring production, young Helen is seduced by a stunning woman one day at the races. Director Stephen Carnell perceived a much bigger picture for what was originally a monologue set in the modern day. He was inspired by an event that, in his words, “changed Australian fashion forever”. In 1965, British supermodel Jean Shrimpton made international headlines by wearing a short white dress to the Melbourne Derby. “So [in the play] it’s a year later at Randwick and Linda ‘the siren’ is dressed in that sort of style. Helen ‘the punter’ is a bit of a nerd, a bit repressed and overwhelmed by all this.”

For actor Jacqui Livingston, Carnell’s vision took the play to a whole new level. “He wanted to increase the pressure cooker situation by re-dating the whole play. The idea is that what happens to me has a more pulsating resonance.” That is, the stakes are even higher. It has its perks too, as Livingston says: “What’s fun about putting it in that era is that we get to play dress ups!”

Laura Viskovich also sees value in the play’s setting. “It’s interesting because at the races it’s a conservative environment and someone who’s openly gay wouldn’t necessarily be comfortable. “It’s a wonderful commentary on what Helen’s going through – meeting this amazing beautiful woman, love and lust!”

Despite its heightened tension, there are a lot of laughs to be had. “Gina Schien (the playwright) looks at serious issues in a very comic way says Carnell. “It’s a very funny play.”

Even so, Livingston adds: “It’s not a send up. It’s a comic unravelling, but it’s written from a really beautiful place”.

The Punter’s Siren will hit both a nerve and a funny bone, if Viskovich’s enthusiasm is anything to go by. “There are definitely parts of the story where people are going to cack themselves laughing… [but] the way we’re acting is quite realistic and will hit home for a lot of people.”
 
The Punter’s Siren is part of a triple bill The Lesbian Variations currently showing at the Slide Bar until February 25. Tickets from the venue or Ticketek.