Giantess
Cassie Workman
Century
14 April 2019
Melbourne Town Hall – Backstage Room
comedyfestival.com.au
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| Cassie Workman |
Cassie Workman tells a story about a little girl who was stolen by a troll in K-Mart when she was looking at a dress and her dad turned away for a moment. With a keyboard to play live music and a screen to project black and white illustrations, her story telling is enchanting.
The girl lives with the troll for years. She survives but always wonders why she's not the Giantess she knows she really is. Fairytales aren't always sweet and easy; there's sadness and failure and they demand a massive act of bravery to reach a, never-guaranteed, happy ending.
And they tend to be allegorical.
Cassie began transitioning in 2017. She's still in the process and thinks she's now earning about 90 cents to the dollar. Her story of a little girl looking at a pink dress and her dad saying that he wished she could be normal is likely true to be for many people. As is the regret of many people at a thoughtless throwaway comments. Words matter, and Cassie's example of how to introduce someone who doesn't use your preferred pronouns is brilliant.
She mixes the fairytale with the telling of her story. The combination of the gently-twee tale, with bonus puns, and her lived story, with bonus Italian-family jokes, creates a sense of safety and warmth – so much that the gut-punches take a moment to catch up before the impact is felt. But they do catch up. Being safe to be yourself is a privilege.
It's a story about being brave – braver than going though a second puberty at 37 – even if you're not ready to be brave.
Giantess leaves you feeling big in all the best ways. It's one to see in the small room before it moves to much bigger spaces and Cassie shares her story with the world.
My guess is that we will be hearing the word "Barry" soon.
UPDATE: How brilliant that we're not hearing that word and the award is now called The Most Outstanding Show.
