Review by Nieshanka Nanthakrishnakumar
Strong is the New Pretty on what it means to “kick like a girl”
Brisbane Festival, Sydney Theatre Company and Trish Wadley Productions
Canberra Theatre Centre
While many in Canberra retreated to the pubs on Saturday afternoon to watch the AFL grand final, theatregoers flocked to the Canberra Theatre Centre to experience a different kind of football in Strong is the New Pretty – one arguably played with a little more flair.
The play, written by acclaimed playwright Suzie Miller and directed by Sarah Giles, follows three women who pioneer the establishment of a women’s AFL league: a football development manager and lifelong AFL enthusiast, a lawyer turned first-female AFL Commissioner, and a police officer who also coaches local AFL. The original Australian story explores the double standards that women have to tackle both on and off the field to earn their place in the game, reclaiming what it means to “kick like a girl”.
The play, while still offering incisive social commentary, is more light-hearted than some of Miller’s other dramatic works, (Prima Facie, RBG: Of Many, One). Its witty comedy and spontaneous musical numbers bring joy to the provocative. Led by an exceptional all-female cast (Lucy Bell, Amy Hack, Amy Ingram, Edyll, Amber McMahon, Tara Morice, Nyasha Ogden and Contessa Treffone) who dynamically switch characters, the play’s use of cross-casting playfully mocks what largely male-dominated spaces can look and feel like to women seeking to forge their own space.
The chorus is particularly deserving of praise for the precision and synchronicity of its movements and singing. They deliver a spectacular soundscape, designed by Brady Watkins, to seamlessly move between the boardroom to the footy field in this otherwise fast-moving play, while the clever choreography by Kelley Abbey deftly brings to life the physicality of football from the field to the stage.
The docu-drama style lends itself naturally to monologues and narration delivered directly to the audience. At times, however, it could benefit from more sustained dialogue, especially between the three women, whose relationships feel somewhat underdeveloped. A stronger chemistry between the female leads could have deepened the audience’s emotional investment in their characters, particularly for a story about women banding together to fight the good fight.
Yet there is no doubt that Strong is the New Pretty is a play for the “now”, arriving at a time when the AFL faces scrutiny over how seriously it takes women’s safety, following reports of sexual assault involving Sydney Swans players. While the play is a testament to how far Australia has come in women’s sports, its broader context demonstrates that a seat at the table is not enough, and much more needs to be done to ensure women’s safety, both in sports and wider society.
