Perve Play Analysis

There is an old saying, “Hear no evil, see no evil” that can be applied in the case of sexually abused people and their own families. On the one hand, victims of sexual abuse are prone to repress their traumatic memories with a view to denying what has happened to them. And on the other hand, the family usually choose to not talk about the incident. This culture of silence and denial around child abuse is clearly shown in the play Perve by Stacy Gregg.

Both Gethin and Nick clearly have some secrets about their childhood that are quite painful for them. There is a topic that is present throughout the novel, which is sexual abuse. Perve begins with Nick and Gethin outside the house of an allegedly pervert, trying to get footage for a film that Gethin wants to make. They have different points of view in regards of this man. While Gethin believes that the allegations may turn out to be false and becomes obssesed with this issue, Nick firmly thinks that this man is guilty and seems completely reluctant to keep on talking about the paedophile. As the play goes on, Gethin’s plan, which was starting the rumour that he is a pervert, backfires and he is brought to

At the beginning of the play, even before the big secret is revealed, there is a conversation between Lloraine and Taylor’s mum. They talk about Gethin and Sarah’s dad and after Lloraine explains that their dad has left, Taylor’s mum asks her about her her ex husband’s brother, Rory. Lloraine deliberately changes the subject. If there is an internal family abuse, it is likely that family members remain silent about it for the sake of keeping up appearences. Not speaking about that may stems from the fact that denying the incident is much easier than facing the truth. At the end of the play, Nick tells his friend that his mother has known about this her whole life and has consciously decided to look