Why Suzie Miller’s AFLW drama Strong is the New Pretty is the story we need right now

Posted on 24 September, 2026

Following recent sexual assault allegations in the AFL and widespread criticism of a hyper-sexualised sports betting ad, a powerful production about the AFL Women’s (AFLW) is coming to Canberra to celebrate the women behind the game.

Written by award-winning Australian playwright Suzie Miller – the creative force behind the sold-out hit RBG: Of Many, One and the international phenomenon Prima Facie – and directed by a multiple award-winning freelance theatre, opera and film director, Sarah Giles, Strong is the New Pretty has been kicking goals since it first premiered in Brisbane in September.

The play tells the lightly fictionalised story of how the AFLW came to be (hot on the heels of sexual assault allegations involving Sydney Swans players), and is a love letter to Australian women.

Sarah describes the production as an “onstage tribute to how they get things done with grit, collaboration, and endless creativity”, saying that the idea for Strong is the New Pretty had been bubbling away in Suzie’s mind since she watched the AFLW Grand Final in 2017.

But at its core, it’s about so much more than an AFLW game.

“The genius of play is it appeals to people who love footy, and it appeals to people who hate footy or don’t even have never really thought about it,” explains Sarah.

“It’s not so much about footy as it is about how people work together to get something done. It’s very inspiring.”

Sarah admits that she was one of those people who “never really thought about footy.”

Approached by Suzie after the original director – Lee Lewis – had to step aside due to family reasons, Sarah only had six weeks before Strong is the New Pretty rehearsals began to dive into the world of the AFLW.

She learnt about the game and its pioneers (including Governor-General Samantha Mostyn), and quickly discovered it was a tale of resilience and progress covered in mud and sweat.

“It’s not really about footy at all – it’s about how people work together inside flawed systems to get something made, to fight for equality, to pay it forward.

“I was never a huge footy fan; I honestly felt the AFL was ‘only for the boys.’ But working on this play, and seeing how these women built the AFLW, gave me a completely new love for the game.”

Strong is the New Pretty looks at some complex and specific issues within the sporting industry. While many of these issues are still relevant today – if not more so – Sarah says that the experience of watching the play is “totally entertaining” and “completely delightful.”

“You get to watch these eight women be elite actors on stage and do this very virtuosic thing where they create the theatre ostensibly out of nothing, until you get to the end and you feel quite moved by what these eight actors have achieved,” she explains.

“That parallels how you feel moved when you realise what the women who fought for the AFLW had achieved.”

“It’s odd to combine political activism with a positive story with feel-good vibes, and I think at this moment in time – when we are looking at Sydney [Sweeney] and when we are looking at what happened with the Sydney Swans – I feel like we need positive, inspiring stories of female empowerment and athleticism and professionalism more than ever.”

That’s exactly what Strong is the New Pretty is.

Set just 10 years ago, it’s a timely reminder that while cultural memory quickly fades, the work is never finished.

Sarah’s own daughter doesn’t remember a time when the AFLW didn’t exist. She says that she hopes that each generation of women will continue pushing the boundary a little further, and Strong is the New Pretty inspires them to make a difference.

“We can go get an abortion… you can get a divorce… you can do things that were unfathomable to women not that long ago… this generation, the next group have to fight for the rights for the next group and the next group and the next group.”

“I hope they’re inspired to think of other areas where we’re told ‘No’, and where if you fight hard enough, it can turn into a ‘Yes’.”

Photography: Morgan Roberts.