By Karyn Lee Greig
‘Anna X’ – Red Stitch Actors Theatre – Wed 27/5/26 4 Stars Of the many con artists throughout history, predictably, a few were women. In the 18th century, Jeanne of Valois-Saint-Remy (1756-1791), was leader of the ‘Affair of the Diamond Necklace’ which further marred the French royal family’s already poor reputation, and contributed to the French Revolution. The 19th century saw Amy Brock the Tasmanian born New Zealand con artist impersonate a man in order to marry a wealthy woman. Canadian born Cassie Chadwick defrauded banks of millions by pretending to be the illegitimate daughter and heir of Andrew Carnegie. The 20th century produced Susanna Mildred Hill and Marie Sophie Hingst, a blogger and historian, who claimed to be descended from Holocaust survivors. Belle Gibson (1991) faked a cancer diagnosis, which was managed by ‘diet and natural medicine’, then raised money for cancer charities, which she kept for herself.
More recently Anna Sorokin, also known as Anna Delvey, the protagonist in this play, poses as a wealthy heiress in order to access the upper-class New York social and art scenes from 2013 to 2017. Delvey deceived and defrauded major financial institutions, banks, hotels and individuals. She was arrested with the help of former friend, Rachel DeLoache Williams, who accused Delvey of defrauding her of US$62,000. In 2019, Delvey was convicted of attempted grand larceny, larceny in the 2nd degree and theft of services. She was sentenced to 4 – 12 years in prison. After serving 2 years, she was released on parole. Her life story has featured in multiple television shows, interviews, podcasts and theatre productions.
Anna X is a fascinating experience. Written by UK playwright, Joseph Charlton, it presents us with the excitement of arriving in the Big Apple, where anything can happen – where social media weaves its spell and turns artifice into opportunity. What you look like, sound like, and can show on your phone becomes your ticket to the high life. All you need to do according to the sociopathic Anna is ‘give him the concept, (and) he fills in the rest’. . .
The team of mostly female creatives produce impressive results, consistent with their credentials. Tait de Lorenzo’s direction doesn’t miss a beat. It brings all creative aspects, sound, lighting, costume and set together seamlessly to tell this captivating story, highlighting the hilarity as well as the darkness. Tait’s multidisciplinary approach – beginning with the rhythmic text messaging on the large central screen, is a stand out. In fact the inspired sound design by Grace Ferguson and lighting design by Lisa Mibus work beautifully together, serving the piece without dominating it. At times, however, from where I was sitting half-way up, the volume sometimes made the dialogue difficult to hear – an operational issue.
Louisa Fitzgerald’s precisely engineered set design consisting of simple boxes with their sides creating the various locations, works beautifully. The crispness and simplicity of the lines, evoke both the wealth and chic sophistication of the New York art world, as well as the more ‘ordinary’ experience of a sushi restaurant.
Finally, congratulations must go to Becca Galvin and Tom Stokes. Becca makes her post graduation debut with Red Stitch in this production and she is masterful in the title role of Anna, with her utter lack of empathy – in turns both hilarious and disturbing. Tom Stokes as Ariel is equally strong, bringing a driving energy as the young business aficionado, hoping for love but eventually devastated by Anna. Both have multiple roles, which they play with panache, allowing for improvised fun with the audience.
Red Stitch is known for its excellence, both in choice of repertoire and sheer quality of its productions. Don’t miss this one.
Image: Simon Fazio
