SUDS Presents: Gal Pals

In a dorm room hidden in the rural WA bush, five girls with starkly different personalities become the closest of friends in an unlikely setting: a conversion therapy camp. Over two intense weeks, they navigate smuggled phones, attempted escapes, betrayal, and the small rebellions that keep them alive. In these moments, they find laughter, love, and a fierce, messy solidarity in one another. Gal Pals by Sam Nerida is a queer coming-of-age comedy that is grounded in the reality that conversion therapy remains inconsistently legislated across Australia, while refusing to reduce its characters to the injustices they endure. A love letter to queer solidarity and community, Gal Pals sees the glowing formation of fast friendships and self-acceptance set against a shadowy backdrop of systemic homophobia. These girls will certainly walk away changed, but not in the way the camp flyer advertised. Runtime: 2h 20m (incl. 10 min interval) Content warnings: Coarse language, use of smoke/haze, adult themes including sexual references, alcohol, homophobia and religious trauma/sacrilege Directed by Josie Carroll & Isabell Ni Produced by Annabel Johnson Cast Sloane: Bridget Sinéad Kearney Kat: Sophie Lewis Hez: Genevieve Michie Cassie: Isabella Brambilla Vieira Zara: Sydney Hure Crew Set Designer: Isabella Le Set Dresser: Bronte Critchley Stage Manager: Finn Muir Stage Hand: Nghi Nguyen Costume Designer: Amelie Yamin Assisstant Costume Designer: Grace Niu Photographer: Anirudh Chawla Videographer: Wendy Lew Lighting and Sound Designer/Operator: Jasmine Wastell Wellbeing Officer: Antigone Marchbank Intimacy Coordinator: Ruby Scott-Wishart Graphic Designer: Katie Vo SUDS acknowledges that the University of Sydney and the Cellar Theatre reside on stolen land; the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. As a society that exists to tell stories, it is important to acknowledge that stories were being told on this land for thousands of years before British colonisation. Sovereignty was never ceded – Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land.