Violet of the violent tongue | Auckland Lifestyle News | Health, Fashion, Food and Wine in Auckland

If dramatists are right happy families are myths. Sharu Delilkan looks in on a tetchy clan.

Jennifer Ludlam had heard murmurs around the traps about the play, August: Osage County, way before she was cast in the role of Violet Weston.

"A friend of mine in Australia, where they were doing the play, called and said you should be in it. I just laughed," she says. "It was not long after that I was cast as Violet."

The Waiheke Islander says she's enjoying the "meaty" role which she says is akin to previous characters she's played, such as the shrewish Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Linda Loman in Death of Salesman.

"It's a great challenge to play such a role in an epic three-act play. And working with such a great cast of 13 actors is equally special - something that doesn't happen often."

Written by American Tracy Letts, writer of Killer Joe, Bug and Man from Nebraska, Osage concerns itself with the personalities of a family locked in a crisis. Dad's gone missing and his adult children converge on their childhood home to help Mum deal with things. Or do they just make things worse? Mum's an expert presser of tender buttons and wastes no time pressing her children's.

From a working class background herself, Ludlam says she relates to her character, Violet, who is described as "the bitter drug-addicted matriach at the centre of the family web", who obviously has a deep-seated axe to grind with sister Mattie Fae, played by Shortland Street's Alison Quigan.

Quigan says of Ludlam who she last played opposite in Roger Hall's Taking Off, "She's pretty inspiring to work with. It's fun being on stage with a consummate actor who's so accomplished and with so much experience at her fingertips."

Meet the rellies

Jennifer Ludlam is one of New Zealand's most accomplished actresses. Appearing with her in August: Osage County are: Stuart Devenie, Alison Quigan, Hera Dunleavy, Gareth Reeves, Peter Daube, Jennifer Ward-Lealand, Andi Crown, Nancy Brunning, Andrew Grainger, Kevin Keys, Alistair Browning, Elizabeth McMenamin

August: Osage County, Maidment Theatre, 8 Alfred St, Sept 4-25. Tickets: Maidment Theatre, ph 308 2383 or see www.maidment.auckland.ac.nz