Muriel Matters Musical
“that daring Australian girl”
Muriel Matters Musical, explores the heroic and inspiring story of Adelaide-born suffragist Muriel Matters. Known in London, as ‘that daring Australian woman’, she left her career as an actress and elocutionist in Australia to fight for women’s right to vote in the United Kingdom. The musical blends traditional musical theatre idioms with contemporary production, blurring the lines between genre expectations. This is an historic story told through a contemporary lens, with the intention to challenge the audience on a number of sociological issues. Ultimately, the musical’s poignant narrative, sociological stance and contemporary musical fusion reflects a progressive take on musical theatre seeking to simultaneously entertain, educate, challenge and inspire.
It Matters
As an early career woman composer, songwriter and creative, I have been inspired by the life and story of Muriel Matters. For me, the resonance includes coming from the same home city of Adelaide, and having studied at the same university, a century after Muriel and even both having an older sister name Elsie. The story is ideally suited to re-telling through musical theatre, containing naturally dramatic moments, such as Muriel’s chaining to the grille in parliament and the flight over London, which provides the dramatic climax to the production. At the same time, the narrative provides the vehicle to explore both the historically important and currently relevant themes of gender and equality in a manner that is inspiring, rather than confrontational. Additionally, my goal is to write a musical that highlights strong female characters and stories without requiring any reference to prominent male leads, or romantic relationships. Whilst this does not negate the importance of relationship as part of the human experience, this approach seeks to highlight the socio-political without distraction.
Finally, beyond being a story about women, Muriel’s story is about humanity. Muriel Matters reminds me that everyone has a story. We are at our best when living for a purpose that is beyond ourselves and our own self-interest; when we live for others. Muriel Matters exemplified that kind of life and I hope that this work of musical theatre will continue to grow to be a celebration of her life and humanity, serving as an inspiration for a new generation