How do you smash a glass ceiling? It turns out, with sacks of potatoes. The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race is a heartwarming tale about women taking action in the face of adversity and showing the world there’s more than one way to win a race.
Inspired by true events, this play by Melanie Tait is set in the small quintessential Australian town of Appleton. Dr Penny Anderson (played by Rachel Gordon) returns to her childhood home just in time for the Appleton Show and its famous potato race. Penny quickly becomes enraged upon discovering that the winning man’s prize is a handsome $1,000 and the winning woman’s prize is... $200.
Along with her cousin, long-term resident Barb and woke-hating Bev, the doctor tries to unite the women of Appleton in action to right this wrong; smashing through that ceiling, one potato at a time.
Directed by Priscilla Jackman, The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race runs from October 7 until 28 at the Billie Brown Theatre. Get tickets on the Queenslander Theatre website here.
Spend a 'Night with the Artists' on October 16 at 6:30pm to peep behind the curtain at what it takes to take a production from script to stage.