2025 has been a glorious season for the Ensemble Theatre going from strength to strength with thrilling productions and Fly Girl is the latest to entertain audiences, premiering at the end of the season, with the support of the Commissioner’s Circle. 

From the outset, this production is an immersive experience with the performers acting as flight attendants to welcome the audience to their seats and hype them up for the show. It is a bright and bubbly start to the show and has the audience engaged from the outset. 

The story focusses on the true story of Deborah Lawrie, who took on Sir Reg Ansett in order to become the first female commercial pilot in Australia. The production follows Lawrie’s journey through the Equal Opportunity Board, Supreme Court, Federal Court and eventually the High Court in a landmark gender discrimination case that would shape the law and structural gender parity for years to come. 

The play is factual but clever, providing all the necessary context for the audience to follow along with the story whilst also dramatising elements to maintain interest over the 2.5 hour runtime. Playwrights Genevieve Hegney and Catherine Moore do a fantastic job of balancing humour with outrage-inducing moments over the treatment of Lawrie, which is incredibly effective in engaging the audience with the story. 

The acting in this production is superb with the five performers, comprised of the two playwrights joined by Alex Kirwan, Cleo Meinck and Emma Palmer, doing a stellar job in over 50 different roles. Meinck plays Lawrie and is a delight in the role, really endearing the audience to Lawrie while a special shoutout must go to Emma Palmer for her hilarious barrister interpretation (even if the trademark wig of the Supreme Court was missing). 

With that said, the set is also superb with set and costume Grace Deacon using an old-school arrival/departure board to overlay key elements of the play, which is a beautiful touch while lighting designer Morgan Moroney also uses the lighting in the production extremely effectively. 

The show is superb, with the only minor wish being that given the lengthy runtime it would have been nice to explore a bit more about Lawrie the person (or Lawrie the character) rather than Lawrie the case, as after multiple appeals, the legal part of the show does drag a little (which, while very much in keeping with how Lawrie is feeling at that time in the play and undoubtedly in real life, could be a little condensed for the stage). But this is a minor point in what is a wonderful debut of this production. 

This is another shimmering star in a truly wonderful Ensemble season, with this play having heart, emotion and substance in its exploration of a seminal moment of modern Australian history. The writing is clever and the acting top-notch and this is certainly a play that should be commended to all. 

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Fly Girl plays at the Ensemble Theatre until 22^nd November. For more information, click here. 

Photo credit: Prudence Upton