Sing for your supper: Australia’s Queen of the Dessert immortalised in a musical

A new Australian musical will hit the stage next month at Theatre Works, St Kilda, and it’s set to be a veritable delight. Margaret Fulton: Queen Of The Dessert commences performances on November 16 for a limited season, and after just five minutes in conversation with producer Sean Bryan, I was hungry to know more about this delectable new musical.

With a set that incorporates real kitchen appliances, real food and tea towels collected from a tea-towel drive in support of the production, Fulton (as the musical it affectionately known) sounds as intriguing as it does delicious. Starring the delectable Amy Lehpamer (Rock of Ages) as Australia’s very own culinary queen (everyone has used/eaten recipes from her Woman’s Day cookbook at some point!), the cast of seven will sing, dance, cook and eat their way through the production each night. Yes, that’s right, real cooking. On stage.

Five years in the making by writers Doug MacLeod (head writer and producer of The Comedy Company and Fast Forward) and Yuri Worontschak (composer of everything from Fast Forward to Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell), and based on Fulton’s autobiography I Sang For My Supper, the world premiere of Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert is what producer Sean Bryan calls a ‘true Australian musical’.

“The show revolves around the vibrant young life of Margaret, that many people may not be aware of, and that Amy brings this part of her life alive with an exciting young energy”, Bryan said.

“It’s the surprising life story of Margaret Fulton, but it’s much more about the history of Australia and how our tastes, culture and how our views on issues changed. Not just food – women, and the role of women in society and how Margaret Fulton seems to have been a catalyst for so many of these things.”

In the lead up to the production, the Fulton team are creating a community around the show, which Bryan believes has had a strong impact on the development of the piece.

Tea towels from the tea-towel drive will contribute to the set and a Pozible campaign is currently in place to raise remaining funds for the show.

The target for Fulton’s crowdfunding campaign is $10,000 and they are already halfway along with seven days to go. If you believe in supporting new Australian musical theatre, head on over to the Pozible Page and donate what you can!

More than just our national cooking matriarch, Margaret Fulton is a living legend, and she is also supportive of the project, preparing her trip from Sydney to attend a performance next month. It seems her life story is full of the ingredients needed to make a musical, at least writer Doug MacLeod thinks so:

“Margaret Fulton certainly deserves her own musical, even if it’s just the lasagna recipe set to music”, he said.

Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert

Presented by PresentTense and Theatre Works

Preview Performances:
Friday 16th of November 8pm
Saturday 17th of November 3pm & 8pm
Sunday 18th of November 6pm
Tuesday 20th of November 8pm

Season Performances:
Wednesday 21st of November 8pm
Thursday 22nd of November 8pm
Friday 23rd of November 7pm & 9.30pm
Saturday 24th of November 7pm & 9.30pm
Tuesday 27th of November 8pm
Wednesday 28th of November 8pm
Thursday 29th of November 8pm
Friday 30th of November 7pm & 9.30pm
Saturday 1st of December 7pm & 9.30pm

theatreworks.org.au