Review: Strong is the New Pretty at The Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Review by Carly Fisher
One of Suzie Miller’s great skills is making the rules of an institution interesting by showing us who has to live with them. In Strong is the New Pretty, she turns her attention to the women who fought for a national Australian rules football league, tracing the years of organising, negotiation and sheer persistence that led to the inaugural AFLW season in 2017. The writing has the texture of Verbatim theatre at times, so much so I had to double check that it wasn't Verbatim! There’s just such a directness to the way these women speak that makes it feel as though you’re hearing them tell their own stories, though we know it is Miller’s fictionalised account.
The writing is particularly strong when Miller gets into the detail of how change actually happens. She has a knack for making you care about a legal argument because you already care about the person who has to make it. Lucy Bell gives a terrific performance as Alison, the lawyer who becomes the AFL’s first female commissioner. She takes us on the full rollercoaster, from the thrill of realising that this might actually happen to the exhaustion of having to make the case over and over again to a group of men who simply do not understand. Bell brings a sense of warmth to the character that makes this show so relatable irrespective of your relationship with sport - she doesn't necessarily love the game or dream of playing like others on stage, she simply wants women to have all the same opportunities afforded to them as men. As someone going into this show without a deep love of sport, I felt very guided by this character to care deeply and cheer loudly...not only for the women realising their dreams of playing this sport, but for the idea of this being a revolution!
Amber McMahon is one of my favourite actors to watch on Australian stages - something I've made clear in plenty of previous reviews so no surprises there. Whilst I don't think that this role stretches McMahon in the way we have seen in other recent productions (still thinking about Mama Does Derby...gosh that was good!), she is always so enjoyable to watch on stage and this was no different. Her delivery is always tactfully nonchalant offering an air of authenticity to her characters that few actors master in the way she does. For me, Amy Hack is the stand out of the ensemble. In a piece that requires quite a lot of the cast from a physical performance perspective, the fluidity of her movement truly makes her stand out. The precision in her performance is really quite captivating and she deservedly stole my eye in most scenes she was in. Similarly, Contessa Treffone's strong command of characterisation really sets her apart in the ensemble as well.
Sarah Giles brings the eight performers together as a cohesive ensemble, and Kelley Abbey’s movement direction gives the production a distinct physical language. At times, though, I was more aware of how precisely a scene had been arranged than of what was happening between the people in it. The staging is so tightly choreographed that even moments of friction can feel a little too orderly. I wanted more room for the women to sit with their disagreements and disappointments, and for the compromises involved in getting the league off the ground to have the breathing space to register. Without that space, it was challenging for any of the play to feel urgent or unique...it was too rehearsed, too clean. I think this is what made it feel like such a departure from Suzie Miller's monologues like RBG and Prima Facie. The show was missing the journey to an emotional climax that is so masterfully achieved in these other shows...instead this show feels very sweet, though very predictable.
For me, the production felt a little out of place in the Drama Theatre at the Opera House. I could imagine it feeling more at home at the Wharf, which seems to me a better fit for the personality of the piece, or even at the Roslyn Packer Theatre. The Opera House leans further into that 'polished' presentation - this show needed more grit all round and I believe that the excellent cast had it in spades to give.
Is it Suzie Miller's strongest piece? Not by a country mile. Is it an entertaining, heartwarming piece of theatre? Absolutely! Would I recommend? For a nice night out that just makes you simply proud of what women have fought for and achieved, for sure!
Grab your girlfriends and get to the theatre because there is little more important than turning up to support Aussie women telling our own stories!
