‘Judy Strikes Back’ is a love letter to the late Judy Garland and an exploration of how we tell our own stories.
Bernadette Meenach, the writer and titular performer, strives to retell Garland’s story in her own words, concentrating on her strengths, rather than the cliché of a drug-addled child star.
In this quasi-one-woman performance, Meenach plays Garland, presumably in the afterlife, as she goes through a trunk of her belongings to tell her life story: the dress she first wore on stage as a child, a photo of Garland’s own three children.
The narrative progresses chronologically, through Garland’s firing from MGM studios and her reaction to the assassination of friend JFK. Die-hard Garland fans might get a lot out of this retelling, however those in the audience, less familiar with the star’s history, may be less engaged. For those whose core Garland trivia revolves around ‘the Wizard of Oz’ and the fact the she is Liza Minelli’s mother (and that Liza has made some odd husband choices) the performance is rather one note.
Although the play is broken up by hammy jokes between Judy' and her pianist, songs and dialogue with other characters, all played by Patrick Dwyer, Judy herself doesn’t show enough vulnerability or emotion or reveal anything new to draw in the audience.
There are some inspired and interesting moments, however. Garland is confronted by a Judy-impersonating drag queen, perhaps in an effort to explore who really owns the gay icon, who was not born with the name Judy Garland, and who no longer controls the way people remember her.
The writer points out Gene Kelly had a clause in his will that others could not play him in biographical pieces after his death. And biography, and narrative is what this play is all about. Staying till the end, some theatre-goers were approached with a research form to fill out if they were interested. It turns out the play is part of Meenach’s PhD dissertation, and judging solely by the questions asked on the survey, she is examining the telling of biographical stories.
Spoiler: this concentration on biography made the twist in the play at the end make more sense. In the finale, 'Judy' is confronted by an out-of-character Patrick and asked why she doesn’t speak like herself. Judy gently steps out of character to reveal Bernadette, now speaking in an Australian accent and closing the show with – you guessed it – ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ sung in her own voice (and she has an amazing voice). This made another part of the show make sense, too – when Judy was listing actresses who had played her she mentions Bernadette and is visibly saddened, but this was confusing to those unfamiliar with the writer/ actor’s name.
Thursday 13 - Saturday 15 August - Judith Wright Centre
