'Betty' at Melbourne's Theatre Works is a harrowing and heartfelt exploration of dementia, written and created by Jules Allen, who is also performing in the show alongside Sally McKenzie.
'Betty' dives deep into a mother/daughter relationship, and also addresses a mother's resentment of their eldest daughter. As a social scientist, this is a dynamic Jules has been keen to explore on the stage.
Lucy's mother, Rose, has succumbed to dementia, and now – though they were never close – Lucy must step in to try and care for her. Rose's unresolved traumatic childhood is brought to the surface, having an echoing impact on her daughter.
This is the second play by Jules Allen, and hits close to home for her.
“After 40 years of a dysfunctional, chaotic and bitter relationship with my mother, I dropped everything to care for her in her final year of life,” Jules says. “I felt like a helpless bystander, finally being given insight into a woman who had been an enigma to me my whole life. I promised her I would tell her story one day. . . And here we are.”
Here, Jules – who grew up in '70s Melbourne with a Thai-Australian mother – writes an apropos list of five ways to grow up as a multi-cultural kid in '70s Australia, ahead of the show.
One
Understand, at a young age, that having friends over for dinner is always going to be problematic. There weren’t too many houses in Wantirna in the '70s and '80s serving up Char Kwe Teow. Lengthy explanations were often required to alleviate the anxieties of the poor, small, victim who had landed at our dinner table.Two
In reference to the first point made, work hard to get as many invites as you can to friends' houses for dinner in the hope of landing a plate of chops and vegetables. It was like Christmas for me when I was served up a simple Aussie meal. I felt so normal.
Jules Allen
Three
Always be proud of your mixed heritage and master the art of throwing it into the conversation when necessary. This may have come from the fact that absolutely no one ever picked my mixed heritage. They still don’t! I’m sure I did that to give myself some bizarre sense of superiority. Or just to f... with peoples' heads, given that I couldn’t look more quintessentially Australian if I tried.Four
You lead two separate lives so understand that you’re basically a powerhouse because you work damn hard to make sure you fit into both. I had little understanding of the cultural implications on my world as a child, but I knew they demanded a certain something of me. I think I’m still trying to work this out. In response to being Australian, I think I took my commitment a little too far and still can’t quite shake my bogan accent.Five
Finally and most importantly – a lesson I think all multicultural kids learn is to not correct your parents' poor English. Ever. Good god. You’d be better off standing in front of a moving train. My mother never took it particularly well and Asian women can be a little passionate at times. To say the least.'Betty' plays Theatre Works (Melbourne) 16-26 February.
