.jpg)
The late 1970s Australian aviation industry had a simple rule for women: heels, smiles, and peanuts were their domain. Cockpits were not. Deborah Lawrie's determination to shatter that ceiling becomes the subject of Fly Girl, Genevieve Hegney and Catherine Moore's new comedy receiving its world premiere at Ensemble Theatre this October.
Lawrie's story deserves wider recognition. At just 25, she endured 18 months of relentless pressure to become the first person to win a case under Australia's Sex Discrimination Act, challenging Reg Ansett's refusal to hire female pilots for Ansett Airways. Her victory in 1979 didn't just open cockpit doors, it established legal precedent that affected working conditions for Australian women across industries.
Hegney and Moore, the comedy duo behind Unqualified and Still Unqualified, bring their characteristic blend of humour and social observation to this biographical work. Their previous productions have demonstrated the ability to find comedy in institutional absurdity without diminishing the real struggles their subjects face. This balance will prove crucial for Fly Girl, which must navigate between celebrating Lawrie's achievement and acknowledging the systemic barriers she confronted.
Director Janine Watson's credits include Aria and Colder Than Here, bringing loads of experience with character-driven drama that can handle both emotional depth and lighter moments. Her involvement suggests Fly Girl will aim for substance alongside entertainment.
Cleo Meinck takes on the central role in her Ensemble Theatre debut, following her appearance in Disney+'s The Artful Dodger. Playing Lawrie requires capturing both the determination that sustained an 18-month legal battle and the everyday humanity that makes such persistence comprehensible. The role demands a performer who can carry a production while making audiences understand why someone would endure such sustained opposition.
The supporting cast, Alex Kirwan, Emma Palmer, and playwrights in performance, must create the institutional resistance Lawrie faced without reducing 1970s aviation culture to simple villainy. The challenge lies in representing attitudes that were then commonplace but now seem inexplicable, making audiences understand the context while not excusing the discrimination.
The production arrives as conversations about workplace gender equality continue evolving. While Lawrie's 1979 victory opened legal pathways for challenging discrimination, the fact that such a case was necessary, and that it took 18 months to resolve, illustrates how recently these battles were fought. For younger audiences, Fly Girl provides historical context for rights now taken for granted.
The disclaimer noting that details, characters, and timelines have been changed for dramatic purposes is standard for biographical theatre, though it raises questions about which elements have been dramatised, and to what extent for comedic purposes. The line between historical accuracy and theatrical effectiveness often proves fuzzy in biographical work, moreso for laughs, with playwrights balancing factual responsibility against narrative coherence.
Fly Girl does however offer the opportunity to engage with a significant moment in Australian legal and aviation history through the lens of competent and contemporary comedy writers who understand how to make historical struggles feel immediate and relevant.
Fly Girl runs October 17 to November 22 at Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli. Tickets from $43.
More info and bookings: https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/fly-girl/
Comments
Post a Comment