She'll Be Right Review by Solomiya Sywak

Indie sleaze and twee are bringing the hottest trends of 2014 back for 2026, in a nostalgia-fuelled, “I’ve never felt so seen” kind of way. Cringing, laughing and crying through the HSC (Hot Slut Certificate, duh!), audiences were transported back to the ultimate picture of girlhood in She’ll Be Right.

With a small cast and minimal set, writer and cast member Natalie Patterson brings to life one of the most formidable eras of adolescence: Year Nine. Through light-hearted depictions of girlhood and friendship, the production reworks the familiar coming-of-age comedy, dredging up the uncomfortable realities of growing up and turning the spotlight on consent, or the lack thereof. In fact, the moral messaging and all-too-familiar school setting felt so real that, for a moment, I thought I was sitting through a school assembly.

Alongside Patterson, Sophie Teo and Lara Kocsis dart between characters and set pieces, almost dancing around the titular Elise (Patterson). If Patterson is the anchor, Teo and Kocsis drive the narrative. The trio share an infectious chemistry, moving effortlessly between best friends, crushes and the awkward intimacies of teenage life. Their performances make the characters feel achingly real, even as they give the boys in the narrative perhaps a little too much credit.

This is where the play takes a darker turn, exposing the power imbalances between its male and female characters and the uncomfortable, all-too-real experiences of sexual assault. The story is at its strongest when it centres the girls’ experiences, as they gradually come to recognise that the boys they trust are assaulting them. It is particularly unsettling to watch Elise’s crush, “Umbrella”, normalise his power over her, with the casualness of his behaviour making the situation all the more disturbing.

The play handles these darker themes and their implicit normalisation with care, though I found myself wishing it had pushed them further. There is an undeniable tension between the gravity of the subject matter and the play’s light-hearted approach to girlhood. But perhaps that balance is precisely the point. She’ll Be Right finds hope in the friendships between its girls, allowing their shared experiences to cut through the discomfort without losing the joy, humour and absurdity of being fifteen.

I also thoroughly loved how lived-in and recognisable Elise, Bec and Sophie felt. From the squealing and clinking of cruisers to the countless Hunger Games references, every detail had me pinching my friend in a moment of collective recognition – a shared history between every girl in the room. By the time the play ended, I was left with one thought: “Fuck my big fat chungus life!”

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Solomiya Sywak attended She’ll Be Right at Erskineville Town Hall on Wednesday 23 September.