Roma

Roma (Maggie Millar) welcomes the audience into her flat and talks about her life as a suburban "housewife". As her monologue progresses, her fears, loneliness and crippling agoraphobia begin to emerge.

"Roma" was devised from taped conversations and discussions between eight women - four from the Victorian College of the Arts and four Essendon "housewives" - with the intention of exploring "the potential of theatre professionals working side by side with people who can contribute real content for theatre from their actual life experiences". It was originally presented in 1977 at the Essendon YMCA.

The script was compiled by Jan McDonald based on research and interviews with Evelyn Atkinson, Gwen Hardstaff, Sheila Morgan and Merle Swiney, assisted by VCA students Hazel Barry, Alexandra Black and Linda Waters.