In Loco Parentis

As the educational year starts at a prestigious residential university college, St Josephs, the Head of College, Dr Gillian Bryce proudly announces the appointments of the Senior Resident for the girl’s dorm, Katy McIntyre, and the College President, Mitchell Cameron. The contradictions between the two are immediately apparent. Senior Resident, Katy, is a distinguished law student who edits a feminist publication and campaigns strongly against college events such as the ‘tight and white’ party. Mitch has aspirations of eventually participating in politics, but for the moment is content to engage in all the drinking, debauchery and mayhem that characterises college life. Under the matriarchal gaze of the Head of College, the two are entrusted to work together in furthering the profile of the college and taking care of the needs of the students. Ultimately, these two concepts come in conflict with each other.

When a first year student, Sarah, reports to Katy that she has been raped by Mitch, Katy takes it upon herself to ensure that Sarah’s grievances are appropriately handled and that Mitch is dealt the full blow of the law. However, as Katy turns in frustration first to the sympathetic Sexual Harassment Officer, Jana, then to the wary Dr Bryce, Katy discovers that the college bureaucrats are as reluctant to deal with the inconvenience of a sexual assault claim as they are to confront the institutionalised culture of toxicity leading to female degradation. Taking place over the course of a year, as the drama of St Jo’s unfolds, an entrenched university culture of risk averse decision making and entitlement, expected by the affluent students of the college, unfolds.

In Loco Parentis is the culmination of three years of observing public attitudes towards women by writer, Helen Machalias. Herself, a product of the Catholic college system which enabled her to explore the microcosm of tertiary life, Machalias has cleverly devised a play that is a reflection of current prevailing attitudes. By looking at the institutionalised systems that perpetuate such group mentality and a culture of objectifying women, Machalias has created a powerful vehicle for exploring issues of gender imbalance. Through the empathetic characters of Katy, Mitch, Jana and Dr Bryce she has examined how reactions to such polarising events as a rape on campus are as much a result of the personal experience and motivations of those involved, than an objective investigation of the event itself.

With regular frat parties which expose the sycophantic behaviour of women and the need to be liked by their male counterparts, the scene of In Loco Parentis is pervaded over by such terms in the popular lexicon as ‘bitch’, ‘slut’ and other much more obscene references. Under the banner of this type of terminology, using only a few minimalist props as a desk and a few chairs, the events of the play slide quickly from one scene to the next, barely giving the viewer enough time to catch up with the quick-witted dialogue. The drama is quick-paced, condensed and provocative, leaving the audience simultaneously intrigued and reprehensive about the reactions of each individual to the alleged incident that occurred in the dorm. Interspersed throughout the play are the mocking voices of the fresher choruses which go further to demonstrate the dichotomised paradigm of the boy/girl divide in college life.

In Loco Parentis is an ambitious first full-length play for playwright Machalias and the local Canberra production team headed by artist-in-residence at the Street Theatre, Andrew Holmes. Its delicate subject matter and the parallels to recent topical events expose this play to the danger of being interpreted as a purely reactive production. However, beyond the traumatic subject matter of the rape perpetrated by one person in a position of authority against another, the play works on many other levels. Not only is it an exploration of attitudes towards women and ingrained machismo, but Machalias has cleverly integrated issues of institutionalised responses to complaints in the way that the rape is handled and the personal conflicts of those involved in handling the matter.

The way in which the crisis is played out and the manner in which the attitudes of each of the protagonists is eventually revealed make In Loco Parentis is a compelling piece of theatre. By exposing the nuances involved in responding to the initial incident, the play weaves between notions of responsibility and control, exploitation and blame. It is a telling testament to the difficulty that in rape crimes, the position of the victim and perpetrator is not often clear-cut, leading to anomalies as to how the accusation is handled. Through convincing dialogue played out by a believable main cast, the play manages to capture that element of confusion and distrust typified by reports of sexual assault and contrast how each person reacts differently to the various occurrences of indiscretion taking place at the college.

In Loco Parentis is a timely piece of theatre. In the week when the perpetrators of the Skype scandal were given a slap on the wrist with a 12 month good behaviour bond, perhaps it is time for we, as a society, to ask ourselves why this conduct has been allowed to continue for generations without change. Among the plethora of concepts explored by the play, which touches not only on sexual assault but also on the ethical dilemmas of people in positions of responsibility, there is the central theme referenced in the title to the idea of parental control. The college setting is intended to act as a microcosm for prevailing behaviours apparent within greater society. Central to the question of how these things could happen within this sort of community is that of what standards we should be comfortable with, both as individuals and as part of society. In the words of David Morrison, ‘the standard you walk past is the standard you accept’ and its this fundamental truth which has allowed a culture of indecency to perpetuate and is central to how Machalias has explored the themes relevant to In Loco Parentis.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5