After a devastating windstorm in her hometown, a teenage girl lands – literally and figuratively, in a completely foreign place. Now living with her two Aunties far from home in Seattle, Gale Winters (played by Anastasia) navigates the uncomfortable feeling of treading the unknown halls of high school alone. Anastasia completely encompasses Gale’s character with finesse, showing a vulnerability and later in the play, a strength that shines through. This is a transformation where the audience cheers her on through certain challenges and it is gratifying to see.
Initially, Gale is immediately targeted by the Queen Bee, an arrogant self-appointed leader of an adoring gang. Birdie, played with confidence and the believability of a high school bully by young performer Caitlin, picks on Gale and encourages her gang to say all sorts of insults to her. Caitlin’s Birdie was spot on – she was every “mean girl” ever portrayed in American high school movies, and Caitlin reminded me in looks of a young Helen Hunt.
It is almost immediate when the links are drawn between Gale and Dorothy, from The Wizard of Oz. Some of the insults include teasing her from being from Kansas, even though Gale repeatedly lets them know that she’s “actually from Iowa”. More parallels are drawn between Gale and Dorothy in a scene where she pulls out a little stuffed black dog and in a heartbreaking scene, talks to the dog and tells him she misses him, and is mercilessly teased by the classmates, who nickname her dog Toto. Her little dog who she names as Stormy is lost back home in Iowa, and her family are looking for him. As an audience member, I find myself crossing my fingers and hoping that little Stormy (the name is cleverly noted in relation to the weather as is Gale’s name) is found, recovered safe and sound.
Other parallels to The Wizard of Oz are cleverly woven into this play by playwright Emily Golden. One of Gale’s Aunts is named Aunty Miranda…”Aunty Em” for short, played by Rosie. Both Aunty Em and Aunt Z, performed by Eva, are safe and trusted adults for Gale. The principal of the school is named Mr Ozborne, whose presence the audience never sees – perhaps the head of the school is similar to The Wizard of Oz who is the head of Oz? The science competition which Gale and Birdie take part in is held in The Emerald City, all nods to the well-loved famous tale. But perhaps the most obvious nod to The Wizard of Oz are Gale’s new friends – Leo, who is Birdie’s twin brother played by Emma, Just Tina, played by Ruby and Scarlet, performed by Rylie. Leo has characteristics of The Cowardly Lion and the development of Leo as he gains more courage to stand up to his sister is an important turning point in the story. Gale’s friend Scarlet is reminiscent of The Tin Man and Just Tina could represent The Scarecrow. A standout performance from Emma, Ruby and Rylie as supporting characters was noted.
During times of high stress, Gale would stand in the middle of the stage and desperately chant. “There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home”. During these scenes, the supporting cast would swirl around her holding everyday items, and in the background, a wild stormy scene would erupt accompanied by the sound of angry rain and thunder. Well done to directors Chantal Harrison and Victoria Lockhart and the cast for creating this very effective and meaningful visual scene, representing the heartache of being displaced due to climate change events and the feeling of helplessness. Gale’s science project highlights attention to this as well.
Gale is a story of what it means to find yourself lost in an unknown place, to have the courage to find your own voice in the face of challenges, to discover true friendship and ultimately, a feeling of belonging.
The Northern Beaches Youth Theatre who presented Gale are people aged 12 -17 years old. It is a wonderful achievement for people this young to act and be responsible for the behind-the-scenes of this production – huge congratulations to everyone involved in Gale! If you have a chance to watch this, go and support a refreshingly bright cast and cheer on Gale as she faces an unknown future!
Season: June 18 – 27th June 2026
Venue: 10 Jubilee Avenue, Warriewood
Tickets: www.events.humanitix.com/nbyt-presents-gale-by-emily-golden
To book tickets to Gale, please visit https://events.humanitix.com/nbyt-presents-gale-by-emily-golden.
