Produced by Townsville Little Theatre
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Performance Dates and Times
Wed 25 Sep - 7:30 PM to 9:20 PM
Thu 26 Sep - 7:30 PM to 9:20 PM
Fri 27 Sep - 7:30 PM to 9:20 PM
Sat 28 Sep - 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
Sat 28 Sep - 7:30 PM to 9:20 PM
Prices
Adult - $30
Concession/Student - $25
Children - $20
Members - $20
Companion - Free
Show Description
In the tidy town of Appleton things are just so.
Men are men, women are women, and vegetables are not cake…. And that’s the way it’s always been. Until the prodigal daughter Penny returns and sets up as the local GP. The folk of Appleton go about their business, working hard and minding their own business. Come along and see the mayhem caused by Penny leading up to the famous annual Appleton Potato Race.
Melanie Tait's sparkling comedy The Appleton Ladies Potato Race pits social justice against community cohesion in a race to be right. With a sackful of appealing characters, Tait's dry humour and warm embrace of humanity will have you laughing all the way to the finish line.
A Comedy Written by Melanie Tait
Directed by Alan Cooke
REVEIW
Don’t be fooled by the title as this isn’t just a tale about women running with spuds. With relatable characters and resonating themes of difference, resilience and positive change, the play explores the relationships between opposing personalities. Under the direction of local theatre legend, Alan Cooke, Melanie Tait’s clever script is brought to life by an all-female cast, capturing a view of small-town Australia where gender equality hasn’t quite caught up with the times.
All five characters deal with their own struggles and Tait’s work delves into these with equal doses of earnestness and humour. Lead character, Penny, played by Kath Hotschilt, is at the centre of a feminist crisis and refuses to reconcile with a blatant gender imbalance, once again alienating herself from the community she has always felt disconnected from. Belinda Perry and Fleur Hislop work particularly well together, hilariously portraying the town’s polar-opposite matriarchs and best friends. Sharp-tongued Bev (Perry) and warm-hearted Barb (Hislop) are like an Australian version of Grace and Frankie who exemplify the instrumental role
that women play in such communities and, consequently, must tolerate the shortcomings of their unreliable male counterparts.
Morgan Eldridge is perfectly cast as Nikki, the crass-talking hairdresser and epitome of the Aussie battler who ironically appears opposed to closing the gender gap but for a very good reason. Christine Mayes plays Rania, a Syrian migrant who forms an unlikely friendship with Nikki, again reinforcing the theme of opposites attract.
With plenty of heart and soul, and an abundance of laughs throughout, Appleton is delightful, but especially so for Gen Xers with its many amusing 1980s references.
- Andrew Snee
General Show Information
M | 110 Minutes (20 Minute Interval) | Fringe | Local
Stiletto heels are not allowed in the auditorium and of course, being a school, smoking is not permitted on school grounds.
Accessibility
Please check our website here for details.