THE APPLETON LADIES’ POTATO RACE
- writeonarts
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Writer: Melanie Tait
Director: Dennis Fenwick
Gaslight Theatre, Cambridge
22 August 2026 – 5 September 2026
Dennis Fenwick who many may recall from Playbox and Musikmakers days has retired to Cambridge after 15 years in the Bay of Plenty. He directed the New Zealand premiere of The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race in Tauranga several years ago and is about to open the Cambridge season. Thanks to contacts in the right places, I was able to attend the preview performance at Gaslight Theatre on Thursday night.
It’s 2019, and Dr Penny Anderson has returned to her childhood town to take up residence as the General Practitioner in Appleton. The New South Wales town is big on doing things the way it’s always been done, and the highlight of the annual calendar is a potato race where contestants run around an oval with sacks of potatoes on their backs. Penny discovers that first prize for men is $1,000 whereas the women’s race winner takes home only $200. Penny goes on a crusade to challenge the potato race’s gender disparity. The play tackles feminism, loyalty, community pride, tradition and values.
The genius of the script is that the five female roles lend themselves to being played by actors in their mid-thirties and over. Fenwick’s casting was marvelous. Familiar Gaslight Theatre faces Kim Burn (Bev) and Sara Young (Barb) anchored the cast. Rebecca Donne (Penny), Lauren Old (Nikki), and Jesse Stevens-Hapi (Rania) completed the quintet. These five women understood the subtleties and nuances of their characters and their performances struck the right balance in portraying women familiar to all of us.
Melanie Tait’s script is packed with witty one-liners and classic Aussie humour. The cast’s deadpan delivery added to the overall amusement. This is a play where your own reaction takes you by surprise as it’s impossible not to get caught up in the unexpected dialogue and slang. At one point, my laughter inadvertently ejected as a scream.
An efficient stage crew manoeuvred the set into Penny’s office, a hair salon, a bar, sports field, and a fairground. Set pieces and props were well curated and created. Each clothing piece fitted perfectly, and the programme noted that the cast had a hand in assembling costumes. Once again, Nigel Slaughter knocked the graphic design out of the park.
Mindful that I attended a preview performance, my only issue was the volume of the sound effects in Bluey’s Bar and at the showground. I missed some of the dialogue due to pokie machines and livestock tracks. On a positive note, the showground scene pulls up a couple of surprises for the audience, so keep an eye out.
Fenwick had paced the show perfectly. A lot of the action was played to the audience rather than across the stage which allowed for some clever choreographed movement and entertaining expressions. Fenwick obviously knew the material inside and out, and he made wise staging choices at the Gaslight.
The movie is available on Netflix, and I had watched it several months ago in anticipation of seeing this production. If you haven’t watched the movie, don’t bother because The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race as a play is a side-splitting night’s entertainment (and far better). I always say a short show is a good show, and so it is with this play. Even with the Expressway resurfacing, you will be back in Hamilton by 10pm.
Photos: Tracey Riddell
Who I think will really enjoy it: Judy, Joss, Nancy, and fans of comedy.
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