Ugly Mugs

Steve Le Marquand and Peta Brady. Image by Pia Johnson. 

An ‘ugly mug’ is not just a displeasing face or a hideous coffee cup. It is the name given to a low-key publication, created by sex workers for fellow sex workers, to warn each other of dangerous or suspicious clients they have encountered. Ugly Mugs is a play inspired not only by this newsletter, but by the harsh realities of street workers and their vulnerabilities, and violence against women throughout the nation.

Peta Brady has written a captivating play that draws from her experiences working with outreach programs in Melbourne, where she has gained a close insight into the dark and sometimes frightening lives of the women who work the city streets. Not only has Brady produced an absorbing and original performance concept, she has also claimed the central role within the play: a dead sex worker with no name and no regrets, which she embodies perfectly.

The performance opens with a bare asphalt-coated stage, plus a carefully placed chair on one side. Flickering fluorescent lights and loud static sounds create an eerily foreboding atmosphere, like a scene out of a horror movie or, more fittingly, a crime scene. A coroner (Steve Le Marquand) examines the murdered corpse of a sex worker and peruses a copy of ‘Ugly Mugs’ that he has discovered on the body, while the aforementioned corpse converses with him. She talks about the lead-up to her death, tells some horrific stories about inappropriate or violent client behaviour, and quizzes him about the public’s reaction to her death. The dark reality of a murdered sex worker is spelled out achingly clear: it is simply not publicised. News reports are scarce, public knowledge is scarcer, and these sad truths are brought to our attention through the fascinating conversation between the two characters.

However, the discussion is not entirely morbid. Brady’s character has a strong sense of humour, and much of her dialogue is laced with a light-heartedness that prevents the story from becoming overly depressing. Her talent for instilling laughter in a subject area that is far from funny is impressive; she manages to lift the overall mood of the audience while promoting a solid message about the unspoken harshness of violence within the prostitution industry.

Intertwined with scenes from this intriguing murder mystery is a seemingly unrelated story about a meeting between two teenagers in a park. We discover early on that the boy (Harry Borland) is in jail and is attempting to piece together the events from the night in the park that led him to this unfortunate situation. His interactions with his feisty new friend (Sara West), while interesting, are a little disjointed and choppy, and less engaging than the other scenes. Brady also plays the mother of Borland’s character, who entertains with hilarious fun facts to distract from the seriousness of her son’s predicament. She is definitely the star of the show, flawless and fierce.

Marion Potts’ direction is simple but effective, maintaining minimal movement and keeping the focus on the spoken text. Some of the scenes between the teenagers have some distracting and unnecessary movements, and their fast-paced dialogue becomes a little repetitive at times, but overall the scenes flow nicely. The lighting (designed by Lucy Birkinshaw) instils a cold and clinical atmosphere, particularly in the morgue scenes, which highlights the brutality of the violence that has occurred. Darrin Verhagen’s sound design is wonderfully intense; incredibly loud noises teamed with unnerving piano tunes and deafening silences send shivers up spines and spread strong feelings of discomfort throughout the theatre.

Ugly Mugs is a confronting and powerful play that provides a unique insight into the dark and disturbing world of street workers. This contemporary piece combines the horrors of the night with intelligent discussion and humorous tones, and while not necessarily an enjoyable play with its morbid subject matter, it forces us to think about the terrible violence that sex workers potentially face daily and the ‘ugly mugs’ that continue to take advantage of them.