The women writing Australian musicals

There have been quite a few new musicals written by Australians in recent years, a significant number of them by women. It’s no mean feat getting a musical staged, and it’s even harder for women to get a show produced thanks to a gender-bias that still considers them a bigger financial risk. 

Despite that, female writers have been responsible for many of the fresh new musicals we’ve seen recently. 

Metropolis, which is just about to debut at The Hayes Theatre, is a new work from Julia Robertson (book and lyrics) and Zara Stanton (music) [see separate article]. Robertson is an actor, director, musician and artistic director of Little Eggs Collective. Stanton is a musical director, composer, musician, and has been involved in varying capacities with several recent musicals including Fan Girls, Bonnie & Clyde, The Deb, Boomkak Panto, to name a few. 

Lucy Matthews is a writer and composer who has written and directed three musicals: The Last Time (2016), Ophelia’s Shadow (2018) and Ugly Love (2021). Matthews is also an actor and burlesque artist. Ugly Love, her most recent work, played at Flight Path Theatre to enthusiastic audience and critical reception. 

Megan Washington and Hannah Reilly joined forces to write The Deb, a tale of teenage angst in an outback, drought-stricken town. Washington, of course, is well known in the pop industry and brings a lot of that sensibility to the songs in this musical. Reilly is crazy and funny and talented. 

One of the biggest new musicals of the past few years, Fan Girls, was written by Yve Blake, based on her book by the same title. Within successive seasons, Fan Girls  went from the intimate stage of the Belvoir to a larger auditorium in the Seymour, to the “we’ve made it” Sydney Opera House. 

Laura Murphy is someone to keep an eye on. Her first musical, The Lovers, whose plot is derived from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, debuted at the Opera House after having the rare distinction of being the first musical taken on by Bell Shakespeare. It enjoyed an incredibly successful season. Murphy is currently working on a new musical, The Dismissal, with the unlikely subject of the infamous ousting of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1975. It will premier in August this year.