Fairy Sprinkles has had enough; her mum’s not well again, and with a packed day of parties for Sydney’s well-to-do toddlers, she’s not sure how much more she can take.
There are rules to being a fairy (set by the business owner) that hint at the impossible beauty standards established by society. These form the backbone of the play, as Sprinkles’s world spirals into chaos. Through a series of anecdotes from her life as a children’s party entertainer, Lucy Heffernan’s witty play touches upon themes of feminism, class inequality and taking power back.
Punctuated by witty, original rock songs and peppered with far-from fairy-like behaviour, Party Girl is a quietly powerful glimpse beneath the glitter to reveal a very human story. Lucy’s mother Maryanne has struggled with bipolar disorder for as long as her daughter can remember, which appears to have forged a bedrock of raging pragmatism and impotent resentment.
The sight of a potty-mouthed fairy rocking out while wearing wings and a unicorn horn only serves to emphasize the absurdity of Hefferman’s life as she flits between caring for her mother and undergoing a series of indignities in her professional life. Sometimes, a girl just wants to matter to someone!
The play won a best theatre award at the Adelaide Fringe Festival last year and deserves to do well here—it's well worth checking out.