Co-written by an early-career team of Sunny Grace, Clare Hennessy and Richie Black, this new play spans the cultural chasm between the Oz Rock revival of the early 1990s and the advent of TikTok as the record company A&R department’s best friend.

In flashback, we encounter Amber (Zoe Carides), big news in her day, a hard-livin’, hard lovin’ riot grrrl, Australia’s own Courtney Love and very much a handful from a management point of view.

Zoe Carides in The Bridge. Photo © Ravyna Jassani

Always clawing against the sexism of the music industry and its demands that she conform, Amber eventually quit the business – a move precipitated by an unexpected pregnancy. From there she melted into suburban obscurity – “the Karen Carpenter of Canley Vale”, she jokes over wine and Cheezels.

And Amber would have carried on quite happily that way were it not for a TikTok created by Alyssa (Clare Hennessy), whose ironic sexy dance to one of Amber’s feminist rock anthems has gone viral. 

The music business cocks an ear. Wouldn’t it be awesome to get them together, for a synergistic, then-and-now collaboration? Well, yes it would … were it not for the fact that Amber and Alyssa regard each other with utter disdain. It’s not too long before the hatchets are brought out in a TikTok war.

Clare Hennessy in The Bridge. Photo © Ravyna Jassani

The worlds of live rock and digital culture are hard to make convincing on a theatre stage – especially on an indie budget. Here, on KXT’s traverse stage, director Lucinda Gleeson’s production does reasonably well, with the help of some creative lighting, a couple of projectors and electric guitars, amps and road cases.

The play keeps you on the hook for the first hour, as copyright holder and digital freebooter limber up for conflict. 

But it becomes frustrating that neither lead character emerges as anything more than a thumbnail sketch, and once it becomes apparent that the aforementioned hatchets will be buried in predictable fashion, engagement slips, despite committed acting work from Carides and Hennessy, supported by Brendan Miles as Amber’s manager; Matt Abotomey as a sleazy rock journalist and cheesy afternoon show host; Andrea Magpulong who plays an inexperienced talent agent; and Saro Lepejian as Amber’s son.

The Bridge plays at KXT on Broadway, Sydney, until 13 September.