“THE COMEDY AND THE CHAOS”: A chat with playwright Madelaine Nunn

From within the decorated halls of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), Madelaine Nunn emerged ready to share her artistic gift with the world.

Over the last few years, Madelaine has established herself as an Actor, Writer and Theatre Maker triple-threat that has pushed her career to new heights with her latest work Cactus moving its way into the spotlight of Melbourne theatre.

“I would never have thought of myself as a Writer six years ago!” Madelaine exclaims. “You don’t really choose your pathway; you just find the steppingstones that are right for you.”

As a recipient of the Rebel Wilson Theatre Maker Scholarship, Madelaine has found the “confidence and boldness” to create an “unflinching and honest look” into the private lives of Aussie Female teens as they approach their final High School journey.

I’m constantly in awe of the unwavering strength and resilience young women possess. I wanted to authentically capture the comedy and the chaos in the fraught transition from girlhood to whatever is meant to come after that.

With direction from Katie Cawthorne and recent graduate actors Ayesha Harris-Westman and Lucy Roseen, Cactus is “full of insight and humour” into the deep and personal lives of developing young women.

“I couldn’t have done it without such a fantastic team.” Madelaine says. “We’re all heading towards the same goal.”

With only weeks before the opening date, Victoria was unfortunately hit with another wave of COVID-19 that threatened the Cactus team with an uncertain future for their performance.

“Only two weeks ago, I had no idea if it was going to happen”, Madelaine claims. “I was hopeful that it was still moving forward because it would’ve been devastating to postpone again.”

However, with restrictions easing state-wide the cast once again “hit the ground running” and was back to rehearsing for the rapidly approaching performance. The joy in Madelaine’s voice echoed through the phone, her enthusiastic passion burst from the speakers.

“We were rehearsing with masks on!” Madelaine says, the energy in her voice rising, “We’ve come out of Lockdown with a fire in our spirit!”

With opening night only mere days away, Madelaine and the Cactus team are ready to perform for the Melbourne community.

As the interview concludes, Madelaine’s passionate voice resonates in the still air. “I’m so excited for this (Cactus) to reach an audience!”

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Cactus opens on 24th of June and runs until the 4th July. 

Click here to purchase tickets.