Tampocalypse is the first major work from Embers Collective, a theatre company co-founded by Ashleigh Hook (Director) and Rebecca Dack. This revised version of their 2018 show is thought-provoking, dynamic and strikes the right note of comedy and pathos. 

We go straight into it as our protagonist Mary, played with earnest likeability by Maeve Kelly, is pitching her new dystopian screenplay to tough film executive Lesley (Briar Collard). As Mary relates the set up to the studio tough gal, her cast leap into the frame, playing out the scenes she describes in vivid detail and progressing the action.

And what an apocalypse! It has all the familiar elements: an abandoned supermarket, a mix of brave and needy characters, power struggles, scarce resources, a threatening outside enemy, alliances and betrayal.  

But what’s this? We’ve never seen this before? In a world of blood-thirsty predators where no one even goes to the toilet, the women have to somehow factor in having their period.

It’s a great concept which springs from questions about the lack of realistic portrayals of women in the apocalypse genre. It shouldn’t be surprising but there seems to be only a handful of films even mentioning them since the famous shower scene in Carrie in 1976!

So what does happen? Does anyone think to scavenge for sanitary supplies? Would it be ‘a bit icky’ to mention a period while you’re busy blowing the heads off zombies? Couldn’t we just have a bloke-joke instead?   

While the promo posters are provocative visual gags, the onstage reality is actually less about the blood and more about the context, the relationships, characters and the frustrations of the screenwriter battling to get her ideas to cut through.

The cast are all uniformly excellent and cohesive and I am impressed with how they navigate both the reality of acting the scenes and the artifice of stopping for instructions as Lesley interferes with the narrative from the side-line.  

We meet Bea first (Rhema Sutherland), a resourceful loner with an overcoat of many pockets, then the interdependent pair of strong, protective Cat (Alex Scholfield) and child-like Tegan (Muna Arbon). Finally stroppy Farris (Georgina Marie) and injured, proud Aoife (Shelley Waddams) arrive. Holed up together their independence and survival modes clash with some excellent physical theatre and the creation of multiple small ‘moments’ from the cast.

While at times the device of the pitch scenes between Mary and Lesley feel intrusive, this is mainly because the ‘film’ actors succeed so well in drawing the audience into the world within their narrative. There are movie ‘in jokes’ in the script (I love the montage) but I‘d have liked more music to enhance the filmic elements.

Overall it’s a clever piece of work which doesn’t shy away from a political punch. It’s a world of scarce resources where tampon is talisman and pad is protector – much like real life can be.  

The audience is invited to take along donations of sanitary supplies for Women’s Refuge. 

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer