That Pretty Pretty/The Rape Play

Overview

If you mixed Thelma and Louise with Aileen Wuornos, blog culture, strippers and Jane Fonda, you’d probably get something nowhere near as aggressively raunchy as Workhorse Theatre Company's inaugural production. That Pretty Pretty, also titled The Rape Play, doesn’t so much delve into the dark corners of the human psyche as it does push them into the light with the barrel of a gun before blasting them into pieces that smack the audience in the face like wet fish.

Playwright Sheila Callaghan was named one of Variety magazine's 10 Screenwriters to Watch in 2010, and certainly all eyes are on her as she rips the lid off modern issues like how we sensationalise war, treat women in the media and come to terms with society’s ideals.

With two parallel stories, the play follows a pair of ex-strippers on a rampage across the US seducing and killing right-wing pro-lifers before documenting their gruesome exploits on their blog. This blog serves as inspiration for screenwriter Owen, who bangs out a script in a hotel room while his right-hand man Rodney goes around committing various sordid acts. When Owen decides to incorporate the strippers into his play, he causes the boundaries between script and reality to become blurred, and only a visit from Jane Fonda can prevent disaster.