Kate wishes she was all that — and a bag of chips. Spoiler: she’s not. She’s a mess, and she knows it. But she’s trying, sort of. She might even be a little bit salty — at life, at love, at herself.
An Aussie living in New York, chasing a Broadway dream that’s about as likely as her plants surviving. Until the “big break” shows up, she’s working double shifts as a nurse, surviving dating disasters, navigating endless auditions that never go quite right, and hiding from the crushing loneliness at the bottom of a chip bag. Because if you’re going to fall apart, it might as well be with some crunch.
While everyone else is busy journalling their feelings, attending reformer Pilates, Kate’s just trying not to lose it completely — one salty snack at a time.
This brutally honest, cheeky, and often uncomfortable one-woman show drags you through the weird rituals of coping: crying in hospital toilets, spiraling mid-therapy, surviving a string of disastrous dates that feel like emotional minefields, wrestling with grief, and wondering if you should download that dating app one last time — just in case.
If you’ve ever eaten your trauma like it’s a bag of chips you can’t stop digging into, if you’ve cried into crinkle cuts and found carbs way more comforting than people — welcome home.
Come for the laughs. Stay because you’re not sure whether to cry or just open another bag.
1hr. No interval.
7th October, 2025
11th October, 2025
Explosives Factory is accessed via a flight of stairs and is not wheelchair accessible.
GETTING TO THE VENUE
BY TRAM: Tram: 3/3a and 67
BY BUS: Buses: 600, 246, 922 and 923
Performer, Producer, Creative Development: Vanessa Buckley
Playwright & Director: Jen McAuliffe
Stage Manager: Maylynn Bloom
Lighting Design: Viv Hargreaves
Coordinator: Emily Farrell
Voice Actors: Victoria Nieves and Curry Whitmire
Chip on Her Shoulder runs for 1hr. No interval.
Chip on Her Shoulder is at St Kilda's Explosives Factory | Theatre Works, which is located at 67 Inkerman Street, St Kilda, 3182.
Chip on Her Shoulder tickets start at $25.
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