Julia’s world premiere in Canberra

Posted on 3 March, 2023

It’s not often (if at all) that Canberra can lay claim to a world premier theatre production.

But no city is more entitled to premiere the dramatic interpretation of Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech than Canberra. For it was in Canberra, ten years ago, that our first female Prime Minister called to account her shocking treatment, drawing a line in the sand for women everywhere.

In a hugely anticipated co-production between Canberra Theatre Centre and the Sydney Theatre Company, Julia hits the stage on 18-25 March.

The gripping work combines three female powerhouses in playwright Joanna Murray-Smith, director Sarah Goodes and actor  Justine Clarke.

Justine Clarke as Julia Gillard.

It is also the proud work of assistant director and Canberra born-and-bred theatre maker Charley Sanders who recalls the day she first heard the speech.

“I remember hearing just a snippet of it and then I immediately searched for it, sat myself down and listened in full,” she said. “I remember my feeling upon hearing it was finally, finally, someone has stood up and called out this nonsense, and then I immediately felt a sense of embarrassment, that none of us had called it out on Julia’s behalf before then.”

The speech ricocheted around the world, sparking intense debate on gender relations, political standards, and sexism. It also became a defining badge of Julia’s leadership.

“After every sexist thing directed at me that I’d bitten my lip on, now I was going to be accused of sexism—the unfairness of that. That anger propelled it,” she said of the moment.

Playwright, Joanna Murray-Smith, said, “Much has been written about Julia Gillard and her Misogyny Speech, but I was fascinated by the untold story—who was the Julia Gillard capable of so much passion and where did the rage come from that led to that globally sensational moment? Less a political judgement and more a forensic psychological investigation, my play hypothesises who this woman really is beneath the public gaze.”

Director of Canberra Theatre Centre, Alex Budd, said, “Murray-Smith’s acerbic wit and dramatic imagination combines seamlessly with Hansard to create a thrilling play that weaves a period of our national capital’s history and art together to create Julia: an intimate, compelling and unmissable insight into the person behind the public mask, and a reflection on the role of women in contemporary politics.”

Charley, who runs theatre company House of Sand and works between Canberra and Sydney, said it was an exciting collaboration which would thrill audiences—but in particular Canberrans.

Assistant director Charley Sanders

“I got a call late last year to be involved and I think it is a beautiful coming together of both Sydney and Canberra theatre companies. The premiere will have an audience here in Canberra that is absolutely different to anywhere else. It’s a positive thing but also quite pressure-building because we are opening cold in a city where this speech is profound and personal to the audience and we are really aware we have to do it justice.”