Slippery

written and directed by Esther Dougherty

Slippery was written in 2021 and debuted independently in 2022 at the old VENTspace in Albion, Brisbane. Slippery was performed again for one night at Wynnum Fringe Festival in The Shed, winning the LOCAL LEGENDS 2022 award for Best Local Work. In 2024 Slippery underwent a rewrite and recast, before touring to Midsumma Festival to perform for a week at The Butterfly Club, where ArtsHub called it “Electric... ★★★★”. Slippery then went on to Adelaide Fringe Festival to perform a 2-week season at My Lover Cindi, supported by an Adelaide Fringe Fund grant, through Arts South Australia.

Slippery will return in 2024 to MELT Festival Nov 6 - 10 at VENTspace, South Brisbane. Tickets available now: https://www.melt.org.au/events/slippery/

Synopsis

A polyamorous threesome née foursome descends into madness and accusation when the ghost of their fourth lover returns to haunt them – forever!

Who amongst them has committed this terrible crime?! The mansion is boarded shut; the endlessly raining world outside is innocent; it has certainly come from within… Will Moon Junes, Silly Goose and Puke ever discover the truth of who killed Fredenharry?

Get ready and dead-y for the most clueless, co-dependent, blame-game murder mystery to ever be born in QLD!

Betrayal, ecstasy, plague, flood and war – this is four-way love and death… this is Slippery!

“Electric... ★★★★” - ArtsHub

“Embodies what independent theatre is all about – unapologetic rage, unapologetic joy, and an unapologetic sense of fun.” – Nothing Ever Happens in Brisbane

“Never a dull moment... sensationally absurd, and highly recommended” – Theatre Haus

Photo by Jade Ellis Photography

Original Credits

Slippery

written, directed and produced by Esther Dougherty

Puke played by Gina Tay Limpus

Moon Junes played by Siobhan Gibbs

Silly Goose played by Ben Snaith

Fredenharry played by Grace Keane-Jones

Ghost mask, gloves and feet by Seren Wagstaff

Costumes by Deborah Ralston

Projection by Livvy Watkins

presented by Curtain World

Writer’s Note:

“I was interested in exploring the mystery genre, and developing my skills at writing dialogue, from a two-hander in my previous work, to four. Slippery was inspired by a stay on the psych ward, feeling that someone in my life was to blame for my position, but not knowing who; cycling through friends who had ‘wronged’ me. The ghost represented me - the victim - but through the writing process, I discovered myself in all the characters, and received the catharsis of getting to see the unfolded the farce of these co-dependent relationships. The plot loosely follows the tradition “who-done-it?”. A polyamorous foursome lock themselves away in a mansion, while outside it rains on endlessly. One of the lovers disappears, and the three remaining grieve the loss, thinking they have moved on and left. But the fourth lover reappears - as a ghost - and declares they have been murdered - they just don’t know who did it yet. They will stay haunting the house forever, until they have resolved their unfinished business. The three living lovers cycle through blame, as clues from each others bedrooms are brought out. Eventually it is revealed that the ghost had had an allergic reaction to pistachios, after reading an article online saying allergies aren’t real. When they realise no one is to blame, they wonder what their unfinished business really is, and beg for another way to stay with them, to go back to being together forever. The manipulations have made the group hesitant, but they fall back in love after a four-way kiss. As they try to think of what the unfinished business is to make sure they never finish it, a pigeon flies in the window and carries the ghost away.A polyamorous threesome née foursome descends into madness and accusation when the ghost of their fourth lover returns to haunt them.”

Esther Dougherty

Current Credits