Combining high school girls' netball with Shakespeare's tragedy, *Macbeth*, might not seem like the best choice for a musical. However, *Lady Macbeth: The Netball Musical*, the latest work from Western Australia's Crash Theatre company, has already found success on the fringe festival circuit.
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03-03, 2025Featuring bright pink uniforms and a strong female presence, the show aims to make Shakespeare's work more accessible to a wider audience. Playwright, Courtney McManus, stated, "I was thinking, how can I make Shakespeare understandable to people who have never encountered it before?"
One of Shakespeare's bloodiest works, and one of Australia's most popular sports, provided her with the answer. The central character of McManus's musical is the driven Mac Beth, who plays for the Dunsinnan Dingos girls' netball team. Just as the three witches in *Macbeth* drive the protagonist to madness through chanting prophecies, here, singing, chanting "Dagger Divas" also drive Mac to do whatever it takes to seize the team's captaincy.
The show's music, influenced by Charli xcx rather than Chicago, is a fresh and upbeat take on Shakespeare's story of devastating ambition, full of energetic and catchy pop songs. When it was staged at the Melbourne Fringe Festival, it was sold out, and the audience seemed to have been waiting a long time to see a tribute to this sport.
Audiences have acknowledged the play's faithful reproduction of girls' netball details, such as pre-game nail and jewelry checks, or players shouting, "I'm here if you need me!" After all, girls' netball is very popular, with over 1 million Australians participating in the sport. The musical also has a loyal fan base, and it is still growing.
McManus stated, "Original Australian musicals are on the rise, and (girls' netball) is a great fit because we have a fantastic team of female performers." Anna Ferreira Manhos, the creative producer, who plays star player Mia Porter in the show, said that most of the cast played school girls' netball as children.
"It's a very common Australian experience, so even if it's a long time ago, creating this play has awakened some repressed memories. It's so cool to see girls' netball resonate so strongly with our audience."
Ferreira Manhos said that the creative team was also inspired by the huge support for the Australian women's soccer team at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, and the message conveyed by the film *Barbie* that women can do anything. "These factors are integrated into many of the messages and values of this play. The resurgence of women in sports is a huge driving force."
McManus said that the musical aims to showcase a diverse group of players, not just those who fit the athlete stereotype. "The players have all kinds of shapes, sizes, races, and worldviews. We want to show as enthusiastically as possible on stage that sports are for everyone."
Bec Price, who also performs as PROJECT BEXX, created the music for *Lady Macbeth: The Netball Musical*. She said that participating in the creation of this musical was a pleasure. "Usually, if someone wants me to do sound design for their theater show, I'll say I can do it, but with a BEXX flavor. I didn't even have to say that to these girls. They said, 'What we want is a synth dance musical,' and I said, 'Great!'"
Price has created a pop musical score unlike any other. "I don't use piano, cello, or any traditional musical theater stuff. We want it to feel like you're in a small nightclub," she said. For the song "Choose Your Player," she incorporated environmental noises from netball games, incorporating the sound of sneakers rubbing on the court into the rhythm of the song.
The music gives the play a vibrant and youthful feel, which Ferreira Manhos says fits perfectly with the action of the sport. "It captures that melodramatic feeling," she said.
*Lady Macbeth: The Netball Musical* will be performed at the Kingfisher at Gluttony, Adelaide Fringe Festival from March 4th to 9th; and at the After School Club in Perth as part of the Joondalup Festival from March 22nd to 23rd.
