Recipient of the 2023 Katie Lees Fellowship, playwright Chloe Lethlean Higson premieres an extraordinary new work inspired by history’s untameable strongwomen.

Sydney, 1921. Rosalie Whitewood is the Charmion – the star spectacle of the Freize Family circus. Fetishised, ostracised and adored for her freakish feats of strength, she performs for sold-out crowds across the country. But when Rosalie is caught between a past love affair and an unforeseen new one, she must grapple for control of her life, identity and desires while vying to stop her stage persona from slipping.

The Strong Charmion is a vibrant exploration of queer and feminine rebellion, and the bodies that defy the labels society imposes on them.