Who will protect the victims of those who hide behind the confessional? What is to be their penance? Are recitations of prayers and rosaries enough to cleanse their would of crimes against humanity?
Penance, by Sara Jarrold, is a play "of exquisite relevance to the problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church today." It has been described as "absorbing, thought provoking", "intense and sensitive" and with a "brilliant twist".
Penance will be presented as a staged reading for the first time in Ballarat at Trades Hall. Directed by local theatre-maker Megan J Riedl and performed by Damien Pree, Sarah Spaven, Tim Harris, Ryan Tracey and Craig Coulson.
Proudly supported by LOUD fence and Ballarat Trades Hall. The play reading will be followed by a Q & A forum. Refreshments provided.
Content Warning: This play contains verbal references to the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy.
All Tickets $10. All proceeds from the performance will be donated to the Ballarat Victims' Memorial Fund.
About the Writer - Sara Jarrold
Sara Jarrold has been an English teacher for most of her working life. Her other work has included historical research, and coordinating Australia’s first migrant women’s refuge, language and pronunciation consultancy and volunteer coordinating for government funded community friendly visiting programs for the elderly across Victoria.
Sara has completed courses in acting for Film and Television and Creative Writing. She received the Heidelberg Theatre Adjudicators’ Award (2011) for her role in 'Enchanted April', and has acted at both fringe and amateur theatres in Melbourne.
In recent years she has been writing short plays and has enjoyed watching almost forty performances of her works so far.
About the Director - Megan J Riedl
My work on the play came from a meeting with Sara after I answered her call out for a director. I've always been interested in stories which shine a light on the untold, shameful or hidden side of our society. I am a firm believer in live performance as a powerful medium for changing minds and addressing social justice issues. The universal themes in the play really spoke to me. I think this text has more to say about humanity and power and is not simply a story about the abuses which occurred within the Catholic Church. At the centre of the text is the powerlessness of individuals against the institution and the risk that whistle-blowers take to themselves in order to have victims stories heard and needs met. These things happen in so many situations across the world - in families, in business and in institutions like the Catholic Church. Sara's passion for this story and its potential to be a vehicle for healing within the Ballarat and wider communities is so genuine and comes from a caring place, and I was honoured that she trusted me to deliver it. I knew I could gather a great cast to do her text proud and love to be able to give opportunities to local theatre-makers to be a part of new and challenging work for the stage.