REVIEW BY CHARLOTTE FRASER
EDITED BY EMMA PARFITT
It’s a cliché, really. Being guided down into a basement in the middle of Collingwood for a one-woman Fringe show. ‘The artist has asked you all to fill this out’ – naturally, there’s audience participation. I pick up the coloured pencil, something I’ve not touched for years, and read the question before me. It’s something to the effect of:
‘What would you do on the last day of your life?’
An assembly of strangers and I write down an answer and fold it dutifully, dropping it into a bowl before taking our seats. I have no idea what to expect and nothing prepares me for what is about to unfold.
Debby Debauchery is a 60-minute one-woman show written and performed by Estella Nagas. It is raw, filthy, funny, emotive and – of course – utterly debaucherous. We meet Debby, a young woman who is, allegedly, about to die. According to a letter from a cryptic government agency, a decision has been made, and she is going to be terminated. But first, she must sort through a mysterious box to ‘complete her life’ – the contents of which prompt a series of increasingly unhinged and thought-provoking vignettes. Debby’s abrasive and at times nihilistic personality drives the conflict of these scenes which makes for an enthralling journey full of secrets, confessions and unhinged diatribes.
Each of these scenes, the start of them marked by the reveal of a new placard and relevant props from the box, are incredibly engaging and well-constructed. They start with stories about how Debby became obsessed with her grandfather’s fly zapper and how it led to her seeing a child psychologist three times a week – something that is referenced a few times throughout. and the show closes with the reading of select audience responses to the ‘last day of your life’ question and an moving aside about how beautiful the simple things are in life, and how we shouldn’t wait until the final day to want to experience them. There’s a startling sentimentality to be found amid the smut and depravity. It’s a feeling that creeps up on you, one that lingers after you leave. A reminder not to take life so seriously, to cherish each day as though it were your last. A freedom that nourishes your inner child, one that it has been craving.
Nothing I came across about this show prior to seeing it really captured what the experience was like. And, honestly, it probably wouldn’t have been possible to put it into a concise synopsis without spoiling it. It was advertised as a tragicomedy that indulges in raunchy and gritty themes, but Debby Debauchery was a surprisingly tender show at its core. Between the smutty and boisterous confessions lay moments that captured the rawness of an unbreakable alliance between sisters; a strained, tumultuous connection between mother and daughter; and a young woman desperately trying to find a new lease of life. Debby confessed not only her dirtiest secrets to us but bared her soul to us and exposed her capacity to feel deeply – a contrast to the indifference she attempts to project at the start.
While the ending was so strong, as was the beginning, I do think there could have been a greater throughline between scenes. Or, if it was meant to feel disjointed, making that clearer and leaning into it more could have strengthened the show’s message and impact. I didn’t understand a few of the placards and how they related to the scenes they preceded, but I did appreciate having a concrete marker for when we were moving on into the next scene. A little refinement of a few scenes could have improved the emotional impact of the show. For example, the vignette about her younger sister Mina was incredibly emotive and provoking but was ended with a mention that Debby doesn’t have a sister. It was unclear whether we can then assume that she was speaking about herself, making it up, or if it was a metaphor for something else. Nevertheless, I do love an unreliable narrator and each of these scenes were striking and endlessly entertaining.
I assume that all design elements were created by Nagas with assistance from Jerome Meyer and Mikaela Cummins (the ‘Outside Eyes’), as the only contributors listed on the Fringe website. The use of sound was largely non-diegetic music; we entered to tracks like David Bowies’ ‘Heroes’ – made increasingly popular among Gen Z as the Perks of Being a Wallflower ‘tunnel song’ – and other music that set the tone for the weirdly nostalgic, gritty show to come. Sound effects were used well, most notably the ominous announcements declaring that Debby had ‘[x] minutes remaining’ to live.
The set was made up of the aforementioned mysterious box, a rocking horse and a chair. The rocking horse was my favourite part, since it felt so nostalgic to see one. I worried that it would fall into that trap that cool props and set pieces sometimes can where they’re used one time in one scene and that’s all – á la the elephant in some Phantom of the Opera stagings. However, Nagas used everything to the fullest extent: rocking on the rocking horse, sticking a dial phone to its head and even standing on it. The chair, something so simple, was used to incredible effect during a scene about going to a confessional. Nagas shifted along the stage with the chair, adding a subtle yet necessary layer of kinetics to an otherwise still scene and marking the passage of time.
Similarly, the lighting was unpretentious and remarkably impactful. Some of the lights around the room were covered by gels that gave the appearance of coloured cellophane being taped over them, adding to the nostalgic ambiance of the show. A few stationary lights projected a blend of green, yellow and red light across the stage. I personally loved when Nagas stepped into the green light – almost like a spotlight – to deliver any monologue about another debaucherous secret. It felt like the light was indulging in the story too, heightening the impact of each scene it was used in.
Estella Nagas’ performance was a stellar one. It gave us everything, from the detached retelling of perverse childhood exploration and cannibalistic tendencies to the tears that flowed at the end during an unexpectedly philosophical diatribe about truly living life. Nagas had us all hooked from beginning to end. This performance was a 60-minute showcase of talent; tackling such diverse material is no easy feat. Nagas had us laughing at the ridiculousness of some moments, squirming at the obscenity of others and taking quiet pause when she leaves us with a final message: fuck around and find out.
I am glad that I went into Debby Debauchery with no real knowledge of what was to come, and I think if I had, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. Every moment was compelling, and it is safe to say that Nagas certainly has written sentences I never thought I’d hear spoken. It was dirty, carnal and licentious but had a startling sense of nostalgia to it. I’m sure that we will be seeing much more of Nagas’ work in the future, and I hope it’s equally as depraved and sentimental.
Debby Debauchery played October 7th – 19th at Wheat Wine and Whisky as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.
CHARLOTTE FRASER (she/her) is a writer, performer and student editor based in Melbourne. She holds a BA in English and Theatre Studies and is currently completing her Masters degree at the University of Melbourne.
EMMA PARFITT (she/her) is the Dialog’s head editor and has written Dialog reviews alongside studying towards her science degree for the past two years. She is a production manager, stage manager and producer on the Melbourne indie theatre scene and a veteran of student theatre at Union House Theatre.
The Dialog is supported by Union House Theatre.
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