Ladies In Black

At the tail end of the '50s, young Lisa (Sarah Morrison) gets a Christmas casual job at Ladies Cocktail Frocks in the Goodes department store. She becomes somewhat swept up in the lives of her coworkers, the ladies in black, all the while awaiting her final exam scores and sighing after another life very different from her current one.   

Ladies In Black doesn't take itself too seriously, poking self-aware fun at casual Aussie xenophobia — these are the tales of middle-class white Australia after all — and featuring wonderfully catchy songs by Tim Finn titled He's A Bastard (which garners roars and applause from the audience) and A Nice Australian Girl. There's some terrific, light-hearted misandry in there, too, among the glimpses of womanhood and feminism in the '50s. The script and performers (all excellent actors and strong vocalists) deftly balance comedic timing and snarky quips with nuanced emotion — one minute your throat will begin to swell, the next you're hooting with laughter. The live onstage band doesn't miss a beat, and Gabriela Tylesova's rotating set is an absolute joy to watch in motion - scenes, stage props and actors entering and exiting with a whirl.

Heartwarming, funny, and charmingly Australian, this surefire crowd-pleaser (which received a standing ovation on opening night) is a marvellous way to kick off the new theatre year.