{"id":11261,"date":"2026-05-14T09:26:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T09:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/11261\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T09:26:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T09:26:10","slug":"review-shoelace-chaser-by-madelaine-nunn-melbourne-theatre-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/11261\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Shoelace Chaser by Madelaine Nunn \u2013 Melbourne Theatre Company"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

Thea lives
\nin two worlds. She\u2019s still at high school, but she spends a lot of time looking
\nafter her mum, Fiona, who has a chronic illness. And she\u2019s a runner. She got
\ninto Nationals last year but she didn\u2019t show up. She\u2019s fast, almost unbeatable
\nat her age, but she hasn\u2019t got the time to dedicate to it. After school, she
\nhas a part time job and her mum\u2019s support benefits are being reassessed, so
\neverything is a lot.<\/p>\n

Thea runs for
\nfun, she tells Syd, a runner from another school, who is focused on their
\nfuture, probably because Syd doesn\u2019t want to disappoint their parents. Syd is
\nqueer \u2013 rainbow socks and all, and their mum and dad are extra-strength allies,
\nwho lead with their pronouns and turn up to support Syd wearing rainbow
\nscarves.<\/p>\n

The two of
\nthem bond over their love of running; for Thea, she forgets about the whole
\nworld when she\u2019s out on the track. But they are in very different situations.
\nEven if Thea thought she could leave her mother to move to the city for
\nuniversity, she couldn\u2019t afford the fees. Syd\u2019s family is much better off, but
\ntheir enthusiastic parents do sound a little bit too much like the \u201cdance moms\u201d
\nthat Fiona was once afraid of becoming. <\/p>\n

Madelaine Nunn\u2019s
\nShoelace Chaser is Melbourne Theatre Company\u2019s Education Season offering
\nfor 2026. MTC has a great track record of shows aimed at school groups and Nunn\u2019s
\nnew play continues that tradition.<\/p>\n

Most of the
\ncreative team behind this play are making their MTC debuts, including director
\nLiv Satchell, whose work on the indie scene spotlights intimacy and honesty
\nbetween people. Her Grief Trilogy<\/a> at La Mama was an extraordinary achievement.
\nNunn, who has a long track record of writing plays for young people, doesn\u2019t
\nshy away from difficult subject matter. The first play of hers that I saw was Cactus<\/a>,
\nabout a teenage girl dealing with endometriosis. I knew then she was a writer
\nto watch.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Nunn\u2019s
\nstory is simple \u2013 how to balance dreams versus obligation, but she draws all
\nthree characters in satisfyingly rich ways. Leigh Lule gives us a Thea that is
\nfull of energy, but is also thoughtful and compassionate. Syd is worried about
\ntheir parents\u2019 expectations to be the best at everything they do: in school and
\nat running, as well as being queer. Elliot Wood is so charming in the role, delivering
\na lot of laughs with their wicked delivery, both verbal and physical.<\/p>\n

Zoe Boeson’s (MTC\u2019s Abigail\u2019s Party<\/a>) Fiona is a lot of fun;
\nshe\u2019s a florist, who is also into star signs and palm reading. Her illness
\nmight be at the centre of the drama, but the play never feels exploitative. The production approaches her situation thoughtfully, while also
\nbeing clear how difficult it is on Thea to be juggling so much as a teenager.<\/p>\n

Bianca Pardo\u2019s
\nset of a track that runs right through Fiona and Thea\u2019s living
\nroom is a perfect representation of Thea\u2019s bisected life. Tom Backhaus\u2019
\nsound design layers in bells and starters guns not in a way that is literal,
\nbut in a way to ramp up the tension. His music cues get the adrenalin pumping,
\ntoo.<\/p>\n

What I
\nloved most about Shoelace Chaser is how beautifully crafted it is; a small,
\nstraightforward dramatization of a situation a lot of kids find themselves in.
\nFrom those who have to help raise their siblings, to the experience of Nunn,
\nwho has had to look after both of her parents at different times. For a show that has important things to say, the humour is baked in; when the show gets serious, the laughs are never far away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The exquisite pairing
\nof Nunn and Satchell delivers a show full of heart. Take your teens. Or take
\nyourself.<\/p>\n

– Keith Gow, Theatre First<\/p>\n

Shoelace
\nChaser is on at the Lawler Theatre until May 27<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The show will then tour<\/a> to The Capital in Bendigo, The Cube in Wodonga, The Round in Nunawading,
\nthe Portland Arts Centre and the Bellarine Arts Centre, Drysdale.<\/p>\n

Photos: Jacinta Keefe\u00a0<\/p>\n

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