Girl Asleep - 4.5 out of 5 stars
Pulteney Grammar School
TICKETS: Girl Asleep presented by Pulteney Grammar School Year 12 Drama
Pulteney Grammar School’s Year 12 Drama ensemble have exceeded expectations in their 2026 class production, Girl Asleep. This surreal coming-of-age story, set in 1970s Australia, follows Greta Driscoll, a chronically shy 14-year-old on the cusp of turning 15. Terrified of leaving her childhood behind and facing the pressures of high school, her anxieties explode during a surprise birthday party, propelling her into “Slumberland”: a bizarre, dreamlike parallel universe.
Matthew Whittet’s play balances awkward teenage realism with
heightened theatricality. Greta’s fear of growing up is expressed not only
through dialogue and relationships, but through a strange fantasy world
populated by exaggerated versions of the people and emotions surrounding her.
This gives the production the considerable scope for the imagination, the physical
comedy and the bold visual choices demonstrated, while keeping Greta’s
emotional journey at its centre.
This is Director Jamie Hibbert’s 81st production directing
for a public Pulteney audience, so there should be little surprise that she has
succeeded in creating a convincing 1970s world through colour, texture, fashion
and music. Nor is it surprising to see her name appear multiple times in the
program alongside lighting design, soundtrack and audio mixing, set design,
dressing and props, costume design, costume construction (alongside May Tran) and
publicity.
Zoe Brennen as Greta gives a thoughtful and engaging centre to the production, capturing Greta’s shyness without becoming passive, and communicating the constant activity beneath her quiet exterior. Her reactions are carefully judged, particularly when Greta is overwhelmed by social norms or confronted by the strange events of Slumberland. Brennen’s performance is both believable and emotionally rewarding.
Maddy Wehner as Genevieve brings an appealing mixture impatience and emotional complexity as Greta’s older sister. Genevieve’s apparent resentment gradually reveals a more caring and perceptive side, and Wehner handles that shift well, creating a beat that lands well with the audience. Her performance benefits from clear characterisation and a strong understanding of Genevieve’s role within the family.
Photo Credit: Mason Digital
Billy Rowan as Janet embraces the character’s
larger-than-life qualities with impressive confidence. Rowan’s performance is
marvellous, finding the humour in Janet’s enthusiasm and expectations while
still allowing the audience to recognise the love behind her sometimes-misguided
attempts to help Greta. The character’s presence adds colour and momentum to
the family scenes. Rowan’s depiction of Ice Queen was well timed with the
technical cues, ensuring the audience too felt the cold she was emitting.
Henry Tran as Elliott and Serge Gainsbourg demonstrates excellent versatility. Elliott has an appealing awkwardness and openness, while Serge Gainsbourg presents a more stylised, charismatic and dreamlike kind of presence. Tran makes the contrast between the two roles clear and entertaining, showing variation between voice, movement and character detail.
Quinn Sage-Hoff contributes strong energy and individuality to the production as Jasper, one-half of a set of bullies. Sage-Hoff presents a confident physical presence, becoming memorable whenever he appears. His commitment to the heightened style helps maintain the imaginative atmosphere, particularly during the more unpredictable moments, and as Huldra.
Izzy Tribe as Jasper’s sister, Jade, and Finnish Greta makes a confident impression in two contrasting roles. Jade’s social authority and sharpness are clearly distinguished from Finnish Greta’s more unusual, anxious and friendly qualities. Tribe adapts effectively to the different rhythms of each character, contributing both comic timing and strong ensemble focus.
Honorary class member, Year 7’s Adele Binns as Little Greta,
brings an important sense of innocence and memory to the production. Her
presence helps connect the Greta of the present with the childhood she is
reluctant to leave behind. Binns performs with clarity and sincerity,
strengthening the production’s emotional understanding of Greta’s fears.
Together, these performers demonstrate a commendable
commitment to the imaginative world of Girl Asleep. They understand that
the production depends not only on individual character work, but also on
ensemble discipline, precise reactions and a willingness to fully embrace the
play’s eccentricity, and that they excel at, creating a memorable party entrance
dance sequence… and other moments.
Hibbert’s vision is clearly undertaken with enthusiasm and
care, ensuring the visual world adequately supports the performers. The 1970s details
help establish the period’s attitudes, fashions and family dynamics, ensuring Greta’s
inner world feels recognisable and strange.
Regardless of the many hats Hibbert wears, she credits where
credit is due with very appreciative mentions in the program for faculty,
colleagues, other students and the various parents who have made this
production possible. Collaboration with the parents, other students, and the
cast is evident on stage, with the ensemble working as a united group, embracing
the production’s changes in tone, its comic exaggeration and its more
vulnerable moments.
Pulteney Grammar School’s Year 12 Drama ensemble, along with
Binns, has created a production that is visually distinctive, superbly performed
and genuinely celebratory of the strange, difficult and exciting process of
growing up.
- Andrew Broadbent
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