In action: Cast members of 1812 Theatre's latest production Brilliant Lies rehearse their lines.
IT was war that brought Zina Carmen to a life in the theatre. The director of the coming 1812 Theatre
production Brilliant Lies stumbled across a derelict theatre while accompanying her husband, who was working as a civilian contractor, on a trip in war-torn Kuwait.
The former actress couldn't resist.
"It was a beautiful little theatre, and I decided then to start directing some plays," she says.
"I fell into it I suppose."
More than two decades later, war and art still intersect for Carmen - only now it's a battle of the sexes.
Brilliant Lies, which opens tomorrow, centres on a legal battle between Susy and her sleazy
co-worker Gary.
Gary asks Susy to stay back at work late one night, and it's then that Susy accuses him of
sexually harassing her.
It looks an open-and-shut case, except Susy lies to everybody she knows and has a bit of a
reputation as a party girl.
Carman said the ensemble cast delivered a
fantastic performance of the 1993 David
Williamson play - especially Dhania
McKechnie, who plays Susy.
"Susy is such a complex and complicated
character who has had a lot happen to her in life. She does a great job."
Carmen said the play maintained its relevance because fundamentally nothing has changed between men and women.
"There are still bosses who think a 'harmless comment' about a woman's figure is just that - harmless comment.
"And there's some women who are very tough-skinned and it wouldn't bother them, while
others are I guess more sensitive.
"How do you prove what happened when there were only those two in a room? It's her word against his."
She wants audiences to be not merely
entertained by Brilliant Lies, but to think
seriously about male-female dynamics.
"Of course, I want it [the show] to be
entertaining, but art is a social forum, not just entertainment.
"I want people to leave the play thinking about what they've seen." Brilliant Lies runs from tomorrow to September 1 at 1812 Theatre, 3 Rose Street,
Upper Ferntree Gully. Cost $25, including supper and after-show meet and greet.
Bookings: 1812theatre.com.au.