Theatre / Kerosene by Benjamin Nichol. Directed by Lachlan Houen, Off the Ledge Theatre. The Courtyard, Canberra Theatre Centre. Till July 18. Reviewed by ALANNA MACLEAN

Kerosene is a monologue about growing up and the fires within, performed with real power by actor Winsome Ogilvie. 

The sole character on stage is Millie, a young woman whose childhood is spent growing up with her grandfather in a struggling environment in Melbourne.

She is bright but has battles at school. She is an outsider, angry and at times very distressed. Her first period happens publicly among school mates at the baths. There’s no help.

She has inherited an opal mined by a battling female ancestor who dug for opal at Coober Pedy. She yearns for a place in the world. She’s as volatile as kerosene.

But her deepening friendship with Annie is what steadies her through a difficult life. When that relationship is derailed by Annie’s moving in with a man, matters darken considerably.

The play is done on a bare stage with some imaginative and selective lighting and it’s Ogilvie that has to keep the energy of the piece going, which she does with absorbing focus.

How the story tests friendship, deals with revenge and goes down into the darkness of domestic violence is not a light hearted path although it is not without humour.

It’s not a long piece but it is one that will not be easy to forget.

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