Reviewed by Tracey Paleo, Gia On The Move

“He’s the victim, Nick, and I’m the drunk girl.”

When you stand by – still…when you say nothing and are – still…when you accept what has happened without a fight and are – still…the consequences are inescapable.

In Still, the actions and inactions of three people irrevocably change each of their lives forever. They each go on or in at least a substitute for a life. But really, there is no true absolution.

A young woman is raped while drunk in the bedroom of a stranger’s house. A bedroom her best friend, a young man, has laid her in to let her safely and peacefully sleep. A murder happens and seemingly there is only one perpetrator, the young woman who is raped. And even though she takes all the blame and the consequences, none of them will ever be liberated from this one  irreversible moment.

At thirty minutes, Still is so simply written, so sparsely staged, so guilelessly performed, but the moral implications reverberate. Developed in Cape Town, South Africa, the story deals with sexual assault, justice and trauma based upon the personal experiences of the writer.

Not heavy. But the material lands. It is incredibly powerful. Beautiful lighting and stage elements.

Recommended

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