Appleton is a small country town being forced into the present with a recent influx of wealthy city slickers, treechangers and refugees. Simmering tensions come to a head when new GP Penny Anderson discovers that the famous Appleton Potato Race awards $1000 prize money for the men, and a measly $200 for the women. When Penny decides to take steps to restore gender parity and coax Appleton into the 21st century, little could she have anticipated the spiralling, hilarious culture war that would follow.
Inspired by real life events, The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race is a funny, honest and heart-warming story about upsetting the potato cart and standing up for your principles. Featuring a cast of five fabulous women including Sharon Millerchip (Shirley Valentine), Valerie Bader, Merridy Eastman and Amber McMahon (Tribes), this brand new Australian yarn is brought to life by Priscilla Jackman.
“Like my first play, The Vegemite Tales, The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race arrived in my imagination very clearly and quickly. It’s been waiting forever in my bones. After growing up in Robertson (the real life potato capital!) and spending many years travelling around the country with the ABC, I feel like I speak Country Town. I keep returning to them, when the city gets too much for me. I know there’s sometimes more grim complexity to the ‘close knit communities’ portrayed on television shows like Back Roads. I also know there’s no other feeling quite like when your community lifts you up and feels proud of you.
From New South Wales to Queensland to South Australia to Tasmania to the Northern Territory to the ACT, I’ve known or been women like Bev, Barb, Nikki, Penny and Rania – variously on the out or on the in, each with her own capacity for generosity. It’s been an unparalleled honour to bring them to life on the Ensemble stage with our glorious cast and my extraordinary creative partner, director Priscilla Jackman.” Melanie Tait
Now showing at the Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli, Sydney till 27 April – for tickets visit: www.ensemble.com.au
Cast:
SHARON MILLERCHIP as Penny
AMBER McMAHON as Nikki
MERRIDY EASTMAN as Barb
VALERIE BADER as Bev
SAPIDAH KIAN as Raniav
VALERIE BADER as Bev
SAPIDAH KIAN as Rania
PLAYWRIGHT Melanie Tait
DIRECTOR/DRAMATURG Priscilla Jackman
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Felicity Nicol
DRAMATURG Jane Fitzgerald
SET DESIGNER Michael Scott-Mitchell
COSTUME DESIGNER Genevieve Graham
LIGHTING DESIGNER Karen Norris
COMPOSER AND SOUND DESIGNER Tegan Nicholls
STAGE MANAGER Nicole Robinson
COSTUME SUPERVISOR Hannah Lobelson
PHOTOS Phil Erbacher
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