Adelaide Fringe 2023
Wilde & Darling's Adelaide Fringe debut was Goddess Era, written by Sarah Kwong, and featuring original music by Shannen Beckett. The show is about women who have been maligned, misunderstood, and mistreated.
SYNOPSIS
Artemis lived a solitary and sacrificial life. Andromeda and Cassiopeia were punished for being proud. Medusa was a monster. At least, that’s the way their tales are usually told.
These women of Greek mythology are reimagined into the present day. Anna is a confident career woman who wonders if choosing to remain single and childless will ever be seen as an acceptable choice. Cassie marries a man who takes her for granted, and risks passing on the same experience to her daughter. Melinda is used and abused by a partner who claims to love her, and somehow sees herself as the monster. These stories are intertwined with the music of Ani DiFranco, Missy Higgins and dodie, along with original songs, to share the message about reclaiming your narrative, having your voice heard, and finding strength when you are told you have none.
Goddess Era aims to be a funny, poignant and thought provoking exploration of common female experiences, and what the women from ancient times can say to us now. It was originally performed in February 2023 at Goodwood Theatre and Studios as part of the Adelaide Fringe, and was shortlisted for the Holden Street Theatres award.
COMEBACK Festival (2026)
In 2026, we were thrilled to be invited by Goodwood Theatre and Studios to be a part of their COMEBACK Festival, a curated selection of theatre works that were all original and locally produced.
We performed four shows in August, and reworked the script to reflect the growth of the four years since we first developed it. Shannen wrote two new songs to open and close the show, and we also introduced a new cover by Tessa Violet. This new version felt fresher, more polished yet more powerful, yet the core remained the same: a story about the female experience, and how to reclaim our narratives even when we feel like we are not worthy of doing so.
