Secret Girl Stuff - Mikaela Corrigan - Flightpath Theatre

I was confronted with my own ‘girlhood’ and it was a relief.

Secret Girl Stuff, playing at the Flightpath Theatre as part of the Kaleidoscope Festival showcased all aspects of ‘girlhood’, from getting your first period to the first time you had sex, to motherhood, to crying over boybands, to understanding your sexuality. It left nothing out.

It was relieving to know that I, like so many women aren’t alone in these experiences. The writing was taken from the page to the stage with such grace and enthusiasm by the cast.

Each person on stage served as a reminder of what it’s like to be a woman. As an audience member, you go from laughing to crying in a matter of minutes. Writer and director, Mikaela Corrigan explored the invisible string that holds women together with complete empathy, delivering lines that can only be described as poetic, heartbreaking and ridiculously funny.

The cast of six women, Izzy Azzopardi, Sophie Persson, Madi Hough, Lycia Gunawan, Ella Earle, and Angel Samu explored their individual stories without reservation. Pouring their soul into their performances and providing the audience with the authenticity needed for the words leaving their mouths. When performing together, there was a sense of community. If one fell, they were all going to fall. No one was to be left behind.

Nicholas Pavan was a juxtaposition that was perfectly placed throughout the play, providing comedic relief and at times was the ever-looming villain to many women’s experiences.

The play captured the many layers of what’s it like to be a girl, to be a woman. I left feeling that perhaps I’ll always be a girl wondering what it actually means to be a woman. I left feeling like I should call my mother. I left feeling like I should thank her. I left feeling like I should ask her what it was like when she was a girl and if she feels as lost as I do.

This play made me believe that the answer is probably yes… maybe I should go call her.