Townsville Little Theatre's - The Appleton Ladies Potato Race

The cast and crew of "The Appleton Ladies Potato Race"

Directed by Alan Cooke

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