Set sixty years ago in the so called Swinging Sixties, not in Swingin’ London but in Redfern, BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY has some of the pop confection of The Four Seasons song it shares its name with.
There’s joy, there’s tears, there’s anger in Dalara Williams rolling yarn, a story of sisterhood and survival, directed by Ian Michael.
BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY stars the play’s writer, Dalara Williams, front and centre, as Cheryl, patiently awaiting the return of her lover, Michael, serving as a soldier in Vietnam. Her besties, Queenie and Lulu, give “sisterly” support.
Cheryl’s brother Ernie, is a committed civil rights activist, a firebrand of the Freedom Rides. Through his activism, Ernie has befriended Milo, son of Italian migrants. When Ernie introduces him to his sister, there is an immediate and mutual attraction.
Meanwhile, Ernie fesses a crush on Queenie, and Lulu longs for a lover.
So BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY sets itself up for a pop song rom com and sure that’s part of its yarn. But we are talking Redfern, in the Sixties, and racism is rife, part of daily life in this neighbourhood. Job security is precarious, police prejudice is prevalent, and white supremacy seeps through the fabric of society.
BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY has many threads to the yarn, threads that become frayed and knotted, yet despite the tangles, the integrity of the fabric prevails.
Dalara Williams is outstanding as Cheryl, a beautiful stoic dignity on show.
Megan Wilding as Queenie steals scenes with precise comic timing, sharp of eye and tongue.
Stephanie Somerville is effervescently endearing as Lulu, Guy Simon shows the importance of being Ernie, and Nic English is handsomely pragmatic as Milo.
More cipher than character, Matthew Cooper as Michael and Bryn Chapman Parish in a caricature of police culture, nevertheless add positive charge to the play.
Whilst not ignoring the past, BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY speaks to and of the now, that window of where and when that opens to a more pleasant view of the future, a view all Australians can share.
BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY plays Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir St till 27April2025
