DESPERATE WOMEN—Madge (Karen Sonnenschein), right, protects Pitty (Carissa Becker) from Charlotte (Theresa Secor) in Gothic Productions’ “Female Transport” playing at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks. The show ends Jan. 24. For tickets, call (805) 381-1246. Adversity makes for strange bedfellows in Gothic Productions’ “Female Transport,” playing at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts weekends through Jan. 24.

The females being transported in Steve Gooch’s drama are criminals of 19th century London. Aboard a creaky, leaky ship, they’re on their way to the penal colonies of Australia, the new dumping ground for human discards since America broke away from British rule.

The long, dangerous voyage is under the command of officers who call the women “cargo” and treat them as such. The captain’s only incentive for keeping the prisoners alive is the money he’s paid per head for the women arriving safely in Sydney.

Six women are chained three to a bed in the ship’s hold, unwashed and poorly fed. In the cramped and unpleasant quarters, tempers quickly flare. At first it’s every woman for herself as the prisoners fight for an extra bit of food, space or affection. But a tragedy draws the women closer, and the prisoners pull together for survival.

The women are the interesting characters in the play. They’re angry, suspicious, frightened, funny and compassionate. The men guarding them are one-note cads, growing more callous as the voyage progresses.

The sergeant (Wayne Tobin) wants his way with the women; the surgeon (Robert Weibezahl) becomes less caring, and the captain (Mark Goles) finds new ways to generate a profit from his cargo. The naive young Tommy (James Tobin), making his first voyage, is likewise hardened by the experience.

The six actresses turn in fine performances as they snap and snarl against their captors and each other. Maternal Madge (Karen Sonnenschein) looks out for young Pitty (Carissa Becker), a reclusive waif. Winnie (Suzanne McNabb) brown-noses her captors for an early release. She volunteers as the “matron” to watch over the women, earning no respect from her cellmates.

Nance (Yvonne Golomb) is the troublemaker whose rebellion brings her painful punishment. Charlotte (Theresa Secor) takes no guff from the sergeant, and Sarah (Jaclyn Miller) finds some comfort with Tommy.

Mike Jordan directs the cast well within the confines of the shipboard prison, and the women provide high energy, even when they’re chained.

With such dramatic subject matter, one would expect a show that sizzles, but the production only occasionally generates sparks. The scenes played in the captain’s quarters are too static. Some of the props, such as the obviously empty wine bottle and a book embossed with the Great Seal of the United States—which couldn’t have existed in post-Revolutionary War England—are distracting. The women’s costumes are too colorful and clean for convicts. And sound effects would have helped the storm scene, which doesn’t seem scary at all.

The biggest drawback is the script itself, which gives us only isolated vignettes of the women’s misfortunes, not well-developed emotional arcs or even a plotline. We’d like to see more beneath the surface of the characters. The show just stops without a resolution, and we wonder: The women have survived the journey, but to what end?

Still, the play’s an interesting introduction to a topic few Americans know about and a cautionary lesson on man’s inhumanity to man. One could easily draw parallels between what the play depicts and what is currently being debated in America regarding the treatment of terrorist prisoners. Those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it.

The play is recommended for mature audiences.

Running time is 90 minutes without intermission. The theater is at 403 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks. For tickets, call (805) 381-1246 or go to www .HillcrestArts.com.