Exploring the impact of mental illness on family and challenging traditional feminine behaviour, children’s entertainer Fairy Sprinkles is trying to keep it together at a party whilst the rest of her life is spinning out of control. A stand-up comedy gig paired with a live music concert, Party Girl is a rollercoaster of outrageous storytelling vignettes interspersed with original rock songs which tackle themes of class politics, alcoholism and childhood innocence. Singing through the juxtaposition of her glittery day job and the painful reality of her life, where caring for a bipolar mum is beginning to drain her sense of identity, Fairy Sprinkles welcomes everyone to the party with a cracked smile as she gifts audiences their very own pointed party hats. This is the Australian company Purple Tape Productions Edinburgh Fringe debut and follows a hugely successful run at Adelaide Fringe 2023 and 2024, winning an Adelaide Fringe weekly award for Best Theatre in 2023.
Party Girl is an explosive expression of feminine rage as Fairy Sprinkles, the kids party entertainer of every sleezy dad’s dream, takes the audience along with her for a Saturday of back-to-back parties in Sydney. Fairy Sprinkles is a hot mess, with a strap on (unicorn horn) and she is here to entertain. Through her vicious humour and witty anecdotal retellings, she takes aim at class, patriarchy, and ritzy parents, while telling the all too familiar story of a child having to step up and look after their parent.
The writer and performer of Party Girl, Lucy Heffernan said “As a party fairy in Sydney in 2015, the lines between reality and fantasy became blurred. Being a fairy is about having faith, believing in a kind of magic. That belief can be shaken when confronted by the reality of mental illness, particularly as a young person. This work is a love song to my family, a joke around the table to make them laugh, and a promise that I will never stop telling stories to bring people together. Because that’s magic.”
Lucy Heffernan is an award-winning actor, writer, singer songwriter and theatre maker. Alongside Party Girl, Lucy has performed across Australia in productions such as The Midnight Gang (CDP) and Single Asian Female (Belvoir St/La Boite). Lucy incorporates original music into all her work, most recently co-creating a new musical Tender(2023) with Shopfront Art’s Co-op Junior Ensemble. She works as a teaching artist and has delivered drama, music and writing workshops to people of all ages around NSW.
As a woman-led theatre company, Purple Tape Productions aim to uplift female and gender diverse voices in theatre. In 2023, co-founders Lily Hayman and Tyler Fitzpatrick curated and delivered Tape Over, a four-week festival of new work entirely created and led by women and gender diverse artists at KXT. The Australian based production company have been recognised for a strong ability to deliver exciting new work by women/gender diverse artists across multiple independent spaces, winning Adelaide Fringe and Sydney Theatre Awards in 2023.
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