Rough Trade starts as you would expect, given its title, with sex, the surprising sex life of slugs.
Directed by Anthony Skuse, this one-woman show, a monologue delivered by its writer Katie Pollock, presents a woman trading away her past life after divorce as she downsizes to her new reality.
Within the micro-economy of Facebook group Rough Trade, home to “raging lefties”, our unnamed protagonist trades her problems away.
For example, our protagonist’s garden, full of sexy slugs, provides treats for someone else’s chickens.
Pollack tells the story of the real-life Kyle MacDonald and how he traded up from one red paperclip to a house in one year of bartering.
Like winning the lottery, she dreams of a bigger and better Eldorado of trades as she waits for the “delicious ping” of an alert message.
There are many poignant moments in the narrative.
A minimalist set with empty cardboard boxes demonstrates her transience.
We’re unsure if Pollack has just arrived in the space or is packing all her belongings for an even more uncertain future.
The bartering reveals a desperate edge. She is out of money and days away from her next Centrelink payment.
Objects have memories, and we are aware of loss, and the vulnerability of a life lived on the margins.
We are aware of shame; she does not let her children know how far she has fallen. What has brought her to this new normal?
A combination of marital separation, losing a job, insufficient super, ageism – you name it, the 21st-century economy does not work for women of a certain age.
Rough Trade was presented at The Explosives Factory, Theatre Works.

• Review by Kathryn Keeble