Melbourne Fringe is a go and there’s so much to choose from, we recommend the hilarious one woman show from Writer and Director Jennifer McAuliffe starring Vanessa Buckley. We were lucky enough to grab five minutes between rehearsals for a quick chat with the two.
Tell us how you’re feeling your premiere of Chip On Her Shoulder at Melbourne Fringe Festival?
Jen: I’m so excited and a little nervous. It’s nice to step into the stage realm after working in TV and film — live theatre is always so thrilling because anything can happen. To be debuting Chip On Her Shoulder at Melbourne Fringe feels like the perfect first step.
Vanessa: Equal parts giddy and terrified. This show has lived in rehearsal rooms and in Jen’s head for so long, so finally letting Kate loose on an audience is deliciously scary. Fringe is the perfect place for her to be birthed. She’s messy, funny, a little inappropriate, and honest in a way we all secretly wish we could be in real life.
The show has been described as single, snacking and struggling! Can you tell us a little bit about the show and these themes?
Jen: The show looks at the chaos of chasing dreams while juggling work, relationships, and that constant inner dialogue we all carry around. Snacks are a big part of it too — they’re comfort, they’re habit, and sometimes they’re the only thing keeping you going at 2am. And underneath all of that, there’s still the longing for love. It’s funny, messy, and honest about what it means to keep pushing forward when life doesn’t always go to plan. And chips, as in potato chips play a big role, can you talk about your relationship with chips and why this food was brought into the story? “\Chips have always been my comfort food. They’re a guilty pleasure, a coping mechanism, and a bit of comic relief. I also love the play on words —I found myself eating a bag of chips one night, complaining about everything, and I laughed at myself the idiom chip on her shoulder felt perfect. It felt natural to bring them into the story because they capture how we cope. And really, you can replace ‘chip’ with whatever your own comfort food or coping mechanism is …we’ve all got one.
Vanessa: At its heart, it’s a one-woman show about survival. An Aussie in New York with Broadway dreams, working double shifts as a nurse to pay the rent. She’s juggling dodgy dates, grief, rejection… and chips. They’re her joy, her comfort, and then her shame…which is very human, isn’t it? She’s far too hard on herself, like most of us are. The fun of it is you find yourself rooting for her… and at the same time quietly forgiving yourself for all the ways you’ve done the exact same thing.
There’s an expat element to the story with an Aussie living in New York. Can you tell us if this is close to home and personal experience?
Jen: Yes, it’s definitely close to home. I’ve visited, lived, and worked in New York — and in the US more broadly — so a lot of the expat experience in the show comes from those personal moments of being both an outsider and a dream-chaser in the city.
Vanessa: When I moved to London for drama school I felt that same contradiction Kate lives through. You can feel so lonely and homesick, and at the same time the most independent and alive you’ve ever been. I’d be freezing, broke, and missing home, and yet I’d be walking across the Thames to rehearsal at the Globe and pinch myself. It’s terrifying and exhilarating all at once, standing in the middle of the thing you always wanted and realising it’s not simple.
Vanessa, how have you brought your own experiences to the role?
No acting required for Kate ha! Perhaps not the literal circumstances but her inner world. That feeling of loneliness even if you’re surrounded by people. My own experiences of heartbreak or more specifically.. feeling a fool when empathy and kindness for others has led to being used, hurt and betrayed. Working incredibly hard and passionately but still doubting myself and getting in my own way. Very Kate. Very Me. Very Human. Using humour as a means of deflection or shield. Calling yourself out before someone else can. Making it funny so you don’t feel pathetic. Self-deprecation. Oversharing. She is messy and self-critical and so beautifully human. Playing her feels like holding up my own flaws to the light, and hopefully giving the audience permission to laugh at theirs and cut themselves some slack.. and if nothing else at least snack guilt free.
Jen, how have you brought your own experiences to the storytelling?
There are definitely elements of me in here. I’ve watched myself struggle with grief, fall into certain behavioural patterns, lean on my personality quirks, and cling to my coping mechanisms. Writing the show became a way to hold up a mirror — sometimes brutally honest, sometimes funny — to how I move through the mess.
Vanessa, you’re known for Doctor, Doctor, La Brea and Home Away, tell us about the experience of bringing this one-woman performance to the stage?
It is the most physically exhausted I have been in a very long time, in the best possible way. In rehearsals, I’d throw myself in with big gestures and after feeling the impulse think …what are you doing BUT it serves the play and brings Kate’s world to life. There are some very graphic moments I will not spoil, so you will have to come and see the show. I am grateful for every opportunity I have had because each one has shaped me as a performer. Doctor Doctor in particular was so special, working with some of Australia’s most talented and generous creatives who are still close friends. To be back in the theatre now feels like a gift. I would not have chosen to return unless it was for a story I truly believed in, and this play has reminded me exactly why I fell in love with storytelling in the first place.
Jen, how did you and Vanessa come to work together? And how has the experience been for both of you?
Jen: Vanessa and I first crossed paths years ago at FremantleMedia, maybe in the kitchen snacking….definitely a mutal admiration for each others creative endeavours. The idea was always there but he timing just never lined up. With this project it finally did, and it’s been such a rewarding creative partnership. Discovering and rediscovering parts of the work and ourselves in the script. She’s been involved right through the process and her insights have helped shape the work in such a meaningful way.
Vanessa: I was adamant I wanted to make her my friend and she definitely played hard to get… actually at the time I was just like, like me, like me! My instinct was right. Like me, Jen is willing to go there – honest, open, vulnerable but she is also fearless and refreshingly direct. Having a writer who is also the director means we can cut straight to the heart of a moment without over-explaining, and that has let us discover so many new layers together. It has been one of the most fulfilling creative experiences I have ever had.
Jen, you developed the play under the mentorship of Steve Leff (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Two and a Half Men) can you tell us a little bit about how this came to be and what thas experience has been like?
It came about really organically. I had the chance to connect with Steve Leff, and from there he became a mentor as I was developing the play. Growing up watching shows like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, I’ve always loved that sharp, character-driven comedy, and Steve really gets that. We share a similar sense of humour — and even the same snacking habits — so he was the perfect sounding board. Having his perspective and guidance throughout the process has been invaluable.
Vanessa, you’re playing the character of Kate, described as an an Aussie nurse pulling double shifts in New York City while chasing the dream. In your early career did you have similar experiences of doing a day job whilst chasing the creative dream?
Early career? Ha. I immediately flash back to busking at Camden Markets in London. Yes, there were many jobs. Selling grates and drains BUT I was working for my brother and what he taught me cannot be bought. The day job is always that constant splitting of your energy trying to survive, work hard, and still chase the thing you love. I often joke that I got the whole “work smarter not harder” thing backwards. But all of it has been a gift. Those jobs exposed me to people from every walk of life, which I think is the best training an actor could ask for. Observing, listening, being curious, caring about people. I genuinely believe everything we do and everyone we meet contributes to where we are meant to end up.
And same question for you Jen, what’s the juggle like of creative life versus chasing the dream life?
Let’s be honest….you work so you can do the creative things, and the dream is that one day the two meet — that you can do what you love and earn enough to sustain yourself. It’s a constant juggle, but when you love it, you can never really let it go. That pull is always there, and that’s what keeps you chasing. You always meet wonderful characters along the way, some guide you some redirect you and some teach you and keep you on that creative path.
Thematically what really stands out for you and what do you hope audiences will take away?
Jen: At its core, the show is about the pervasiveness of grief — how we don’t talk about it enough, and how it becomes something you carry like an extra limb how it morphs into self deprecating human. It’s also about chasing dreams, coping with the chaos, and giving yourself grace when your mental health takes a hit. And honestly, it’s about how much I love chips — a potato has solved more problems for me than I care to admit.
Vanessa: That we all deflect pain with humour, we all snack when life gets rough, and we’ve all felt alone and just want to feel seen. My hope is people laugh, maybe shed a tear, but mostly feel connected.
What can audiences expect at Theatre Works for Chip On Her Shoulder?
Jen: you can expect a confession booth with snacks. It’s raw, funny, awkwardly honest — the kind of show where you’ll laugh, maybe cringe, and definitely recognise a bit of yourself in the chaos. It’s messy, it’s personal, and yes…there will be chips.
Vanessa: Chips, chaos, heartbreak and hope. And maybe a salt-and-vinegar craving on the way home.
You can catch Chip On Her Shoulder til Saturday October 11. Book tix here.
