Review: Fly Girl at the Ensemble

Review by Carly Fisher

I have to admit, it has been a while since a show has finished and I fell instantly, head over heels, no notes, in love with a piece. Genevieve Hegney and Catherine Moore’s ‘Fly Girl’ feels destined to be an Aussie classic. Inspired by the true story of Deborah (Deb) Lawrie, Australia’s first female commercial pilot, the show is two and a half hours of fast paced, humorous storytelling that takes you back to the 60s, flies you through the 70s and prepares for landing in the 80s. 

Set against a backdrop of male chauvinism, inequalities and the slow but steady rise in women’s rights, Fly Girl is about one woman’s struggle to overthrow the “boys club” and do the only thing she wants to do – fly commercial planes. 

Following 10 unsuccessful applications to Ansett, Deb remains convinced that these rejection letters are representative of only one fact about her, and it’s got to do with her gender, not her skill. In the late 70s, at the age of only 25, taking on Australia’s largest airline, Deb challenged Ansett in the first case to test the sex discrimination provisions of the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1977. Appeal after appeal, trick after trick, the case was drawn further and further out…but, nevertheless, she persisted. Fly Girl is the story of a woman who may not have set out to make great changes for women, but who, in fighting for her own dreams, showed women all that was possible. 

Everything in this play flows perfectly and the pacing is a great credit to Director Janine Watson whose strong command of comedic timing in her directions is on grand display. Knowing Hegney and Moore’s work as well as Watson so clearly does, has proven these three a formidable trio. Finding the perfect balance of comedy and touching moments, what really came across was the trust that Watson puts into her actors and how this evidently empowers them to make offers and new choices throughout the show. On opening night it was Emma Palmer who was on an improv role that left the audience roaring with laughter! 

Grace Deacon’s props and costumes are not only transportive in their accuracy, but are fun and cheeky in their bright, vivacious colours and patterns. The props range from temporally accurate phones and phone stools to hilariously ‘unsticky’ moustaches. Deacon’s achievement lies not only in the execution of period pieces but also in the thoughtfulness to give each actor something to work with to bring each of the 50 characters that the 5 actors bring to life unique and well considered. 

Daniel Herten’s soundtrack feels quintessentially 70s and adds great rhythm to the piece - even through a scene change there is never a dull moment because of the soundscape. 

Hegney and Moore have not only constructed a great script full of humour and simultaneously emotion, they, together with their three cast mates, make for absolute powerhouses on stage. The cast, comprised of Genevieve Hegney, Alex Kirwan, Cleo Meinck, Catherine Moore and Emma Palmer have an electric chemistry that made watching them on opening night all the more fun - you could see what a great time they must have had in the rehearsal room of this show. 

The end of a show is where even the best writing sometimes somewhat unravels but here, Hegney and Moore have pushed through right to the finish line (no spoilers here - go see the show) with one of the most perfect endings of a play I have seen in a long time. This emotional but inspiring ending left the audience uplifted and cheering…and when we thought that that celebrations couldn’t get any louder, the actors went out in the audience to invite the real Deb on stage. Having the real Deborah Lawrie in the audience on opening night was so incredibly special. I felt guilty for not knowing her story before, but grateful that now I do and I can tell you, I’ll never drive to Sydney domestic airport the same again!

Not since Melanie Tait’s ‘The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race’ has there been such a contagious new Australian female driven work. It is the sort of show that, I hope, allows the Ensemble to reach a new generation of theatre goers as this is clever feminist theatre that tells of an unsung female Aussie hero that deserves more recognition than she has been given. 

I hope to see theatres around the country clambering to get this piece - I cannot imagine a city or town in Australia that will not love this story and this production. 

This is an absolute must see that I cannot recommend highly enough. 

Image Credit: Prudence Upton