The Axe in the Ceiling is a fairy tale locked in a fable wrapped in a play held in a revival (the play appeared in Fringe 2023).
The Axe in the Ceiling is also and adaptation and germination, with writer and director Jaya Berged taking the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Clever Else, and spinning from it, an entertaining and engaging story told through a uniquely female Indian lens.
Chhaya’s mother and father are anxious for their daughter to be married. On the day Chhaya’s suitor, Hunar, has been arranged to visit and court her, Chhaya discovers an axe in the ceiling of her parent’s basement. On witnessing the family’s reaction to this peril, Hunar proposes to Chhaya on the spot and the unexpected keeps unfolding from there.
The large cast each gave committed, strong performances and navigated the space well. Something Jaya does wonderfully with her script and direction is how, despite leaving and never returning to the question of the axe, the axe hangs over the rest of the story like some wood-chopping tool of Damocleses.
From Chhaya’s parent’s worries to Hunar’s embarrassment to Hunar’s friends’ objectifying Indian women to Chhaya’s confusion and panic – Jaya expertly weaves a thread of anxiety throughout her confounding, comedic tapestry.
There’s something about that anxious tone and the myriad of absurd events that evokes Franz Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis. There’s also a gigantic insect on stage who, like Jaya herself in the role as narrator, helps frame and shape the show – a grateful inclusion considering the final minutes.
Reviewer, Guy Webster, wrote of the play last year, “…it is imminently watchable and endlessly charming,” As the piece has evolved since then, that quality certainly hasn’t changed.
The Axe in the Ceiling
The Motley Bauhaus (Theatrette), 118 Elgin Street, Carlton
Performance: Sunday 13 October 2024
Season continues to 20 October 2024
Information and Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au
Image: The Axe in the Ceiling Ensemble – photo by Tom Noble
Review: David Collins