New musical Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence to make its UK debut at the Edinburgh Fringe this August
Fresh from their award-winning run at the Adelaide Fringe, Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence is powering onto the courts at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. CRASH Theatre Co shoots and scores with a hilarious original musical that serves hot, sporty, girl power like you’ve never seen before – all set to an infectious soundtrack.
In the cutthroat world of competitive netball, this cautionary tale explores the consequences of unchecked ambition and the fierce determination of teenage girls. Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence is an energetic production that breathes new life into a literary classic, delving into themes of ambition, friendship and the consequences of one's actions.
Mac Beth, a dedicated player, dreams of becoming the Year 12 Netball Captain but faces unexpected
challenges when Coach Duncan appoints Chloe Macduff instead. From the first centre pass until the final whistle, what follows is a gripping rollercoaster of treachery, manipulation and redemption.
The winner of Sydney Fringe’s Best Cabaret and Musical Theatre and Perth Fringe’s Martin
Sims Award (for best WA work that is ready to tour the world), Adelaide Fringe Tour Ready
Award and, most recently, the prestigious House of Oz Purse Prize, Lady Macbeth Played Wing
Defence has been met with resounding acclaim.
With a script by Courtney McManus, lyrics by McManus, Ana Ferreira Manhoso and Bec Price, and an electric pop-synth score by Project BEXX (Bec Price), Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence is presented by an all-female powerhouse team of Australian artists, combining the sharp wit of lyric-driven storytelling with high energy dance anthems.
Courtney McManus comments, I wanted to see what would happen if Lady Macbeth was stuck on a netball court instead of in a Scottish castle, still scheming, still ambitious, but with a bib instead of a crown. The netball court became the perfect setting: it’s a space charged with competition, hierarchy, and unspoken rules, and this allowed me to write power struggles in a way that was not only relevant to the source text but was a realistic confrontation that teenage girls on a netball team would have.
‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’ as this show welcomes back the politics of a PE class. Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence is for anyone who’s ever been told they were too much, too intense and too ambitious.
The show is part of the House of Oz Edinburgh 2025 season which also includes You’re An Instrument from The Sonicrats, The Listies: Make Some Noise from The Listies, FLICK from Mad Nun Productions, Ten Thousand Hours from Gravity & Other Myths, TRIPTYCH Redux by Lewis Major Projects, Orpheus and Eurydice by Circa (at the Edinburgh International Festival) and Skinny by Michelle Pearson.