Are we all machines just drifting through life, everyday is a mechanical act that it then becomes all a blur? This is the theme explored in ‘Machinal.’
Helen Jones is a stenographer in a very busy office, she lives with her mother, commutes to work every day, and in is a relationship with her boss. He wants to marry her – she’s skeptical – and her mother can offer very little advice, from experience. So Helen goes through the motions, gets married to her boss who has fat fingers, doesn’t really want to consummate the marriage. Then a baby girl is born but this doesn’t change Helen’s mundane outlook on life – she’s not any happier then when she entered the marriage. But as we know life takes many twists and turns, some good and some bad, and Helen’s twist and turns are life changing – changing the course of life for her and her family.
Rosie Sheehy as Helen Jones is brilliant. She’s on stage for all of the 110 minutes running time of the show (no interval). Her Helen is real and raw – it’s a bravura performance on a stage that’s just as raw as her, one that will win her many awards. Based on the true crime story of Ruth Snyder in 1928, ‘Machinal’ (written by Sophie Treadwell) is a tale of a woman pushed to the breaking point by the mundane droll of day to day life and an existence that barely registers.
Now playing until June 1, 2024