Moss Meunier
How do you move past irreversible damage when the worst comes to pass and your family can’t face who you are? The Damage is Done is a coming out story set in a large and chaotic Italian family with more than its fair share of shameful secrets.
On her mother’s 50th birthday, a dark secret comes out about Isadora’s brother-in-law that switches up her position in the family from black sheep to golden child as her sister Chris falls into a depressive shame spiral. Concerned for her sister, but finally enjoying the spotlight, Isadora relishes the newfound attention from her parents and finds the courage to do something bold – come out to her parents at her Masters’ graduation. The resulting fallout is heart-breaking.
A story about coming out is such a classic of queer storytelling, and yet I think it is very difficult to get right. Either cloying sweet or heartbreakingly tragic – with the latter sometimes turning the subject into more an object of pity than a subject with their own agency. The Damage is Done balances perfectly on this tightrope. While Isadora sinks into a deep depression and reaches rock bottom, there are cracks of light seeping in – from her supportive boss who recommends an extended medical leave and keeps her job open, leaving pamphlets and help to the other small pieces of support she receives as she begins to enter the world again. There is a profoundly optimistic sentiment buried in this, and a belief in resting and rebuilding from the damage.
The text is rich. In just an hour, Isadora feels deeply real, with a complex relationship to her own femininity – wearing only Adidas tracksuits the majority of the time, with a secret love for frilly pink dresses that her own mother mocks her for wearing. She has a chip on her shoulder from growing up as the family scapegoat, with her academic achievements overlooked while her sister becomes the favourite just for marrying a man and bringing the possibility of grandchildren to the table. Her love for languages is the backbone of the show as every emotional moment is punctuated by a mini etymology lesson. Every character is a universe unto itself, a particularly difficult feat for a one-woman show, but Katherine Sortini knocks it out of the park with each member of the family. Portraying the classic, extroverted “life-of-the-party” mother with an unspoken but clear streak of narcissism and siblings, the golden child and the scapegoat – each as fully formed people in their most and least flattering light.
It’s a profoundly dark, yet optimistic performance. A masterpiece, thrilling from start to finish. Masterpiece, of course, being a loan-calque of the Dutch word meesterstuk: a work that qualifies a craftsman for the status of master.
A shot of cold water.
The Damage Is Done
About the show
★★★★★ The List ★★★★★ A Thousand Words ★★★★★ The Barefoot Review When a devastating secret about her sister shatters the family equilibrium, Isadora seizes the moment to tell her own truth, certain nothing could be…
Shay Mace
