Theatre review: FEMME PLAY [ungrateful slut], The Butterfly Club

The Butterfly Club, located down an alley in Melbourne’s CBD and up a staircase or two, is an embodiment of the phrase ‘full of character’. The bar and lounging areas are filled with bookshelves adorned with curios – some vintage, some retro, some both – including statues of the Buddha, Smurf figurines, boomerangs, Russian dolls, Chewbacca and Hello Kitty merchandise; objects from from all over the world sitting comfortably next to each other alongside novels and boardgames. It’s like a vintage shop with old, comfy sofas in it, as well as a bar and spaces that offers live performances. 

The Butterfly Club hosts an intimate upstairs theatre seating 74 people and a more intimate downstairs space seating 48 (and yes, the curios continue into the theatres themselves). The show, FEMME PLAY [ungrateful slut], is – fittingly – curious. 

In lieu of a plot as such, the play, written by Judy Doubas and directed by Susan Rundle, features four female characters – each a recognisable category of woman in contemporary society. The first (in order of appearance), played by Gabby Llewelyn, is an idealist – romantic, fantastical and child-like, searching for her Prince Charming and wondering what’s taking him so long. 

The second, played by a superbly dry June Collins, is what some people would call a ‘realist’ – don’t rock the boat, give men what they want and be happy with what you’ve got. Things are what they are and you can’t change anything.  

The third, portrayed by Ruth Katerelos, is a working, professional woman trapped in a male-dominated, male-controlled corporate universe, constantly denied promotions and professional recognition and tired of spending years trying to smash the glass ceiling but never managing to do so. Echoing Julie Bishop’s political career, Katerelos’ character laments that her entire 20 years in her company came down to what shoes she wore. 

The fourth woman, played by Rosie Rodiadis in a role she clearly relishes, is a character who sees nothing wrong with using sexuality to get what you want and loudly advocates that others should follow suit. 

The play’s structure is, ultimately, a series of dialogues between these four social archetypes – their views on one another and discovering the similarities and differences between them. Having been workshopped at Melbourne’s Cracked Actors Theatre, it’s no surprise that the acting from all four of the cast is extremely strong: expressively confident in body language and subtly nuanced in facial expressions. All four of the cast show hallmarks of excellence. 

However, despite the relevance of much of the dialogue – for instance “men have very fragile egos”, “if you call yourself a feminist, you’re just not f**kable”, and working life being a “misogynistic quagmire” – this reviewer couldn’t help but feel that FEMME PLAY [ungrateful slut] could easily have been written in the 1960s and just updated to include text messages, Tinder and more recent words to the common lexicon such as ‘mansplaining’. The play finishes with all four members singing Eurythmics’ 1985 song ‘Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves’. It could just as easily have finished with Aretha Franklin’s ‘Think’, written nearly 20 years earlier in 1968. 

The problems and struggles these characters are facing – misogyny, battling the patriarchy, women having less opportunities and less control in many occupational scenarios across many industries – haven’t fundamentally changed in the last few decades. But maybe that’s exactly the play’s point: that nothing has changed in the intervening decades, regardless of the sexual revolution and feminist movements of the 1960s and subsequent years? 

Read: Exhibition Review: Tracey Jones: Cultural Baggage, CBD Gallery 

If you’ve had enough huge-budget arena spectaculars such as Les Misérables at Rod Laver Arena, Jesus Christ Superstar at the Princess Theatre and Beetlejuice the Musical at the Regent Theatre and you want to return to a welcoming, unpretentious theatre where the stage is small and the actors hang out at the bar after the show, then FEMME PLAY [ungrateful slut] is a highly recommended antidote. 

FEMME PLAY [ungrateful slut] by Judy Doubas 
The Butterfly Club
Featured as part of the Drama Queen Series 2025
Director: Susan Rundle
Cast: Ruth Katerelos, June Collins, Rosie Rodiadis and Gabby Llewelyn

Tickets: $15 – $45 

FEMME PLAY [ungrateful slut] will be performed until 31 May 2025.