STUCK | Australian Arts Review

Megan Twycross’ sharp new black comedy STUCK will provide Melbourne audiences with plenty of laughs this May while still cutting awfully close to the bone.

Megan Twycross (Smudged, La Mama Theatre and Brisbane Festival) is a new voice in contemporary Australian playwriting. Her work will be brought to life by a formidable artistic team in acclaimed award-winning director Susie Dee (My Sister Jill, Melbourne Theatre Company), and performers, multi-award-winner Caroline Lee (The Doll Trilogy, Red Stitch) and Eva Seymour (The Understudy, Adelaide Fringe).

“After two years of development, it’s incredibly meaningful to bring STUCK to the stage. Working alongside an incredible team, including mentor Susie Dee, has influenced the work in profound ways,” says Playwright Megan Twycross.

“Set in regional Australia – and shaped by my own journey through motherhood – STUCK explores how strongly women are influenced by the stories and expectations they grow up with.”

STUCK is a battle of wit, will, and survival beneath fluorescent lights and refrigerator hum in a small-town supermarket deli, as two nameless women slice meat while cutting each other down. Old One clings to the old rules; Young One longs for more. And the future is hers… if she can survive the present.

“I connected with STUCK from the first draft. Megan has created a world that is exact and unflinching, where small interactions carry real consequence,” says Director Susie Dee. “The play asks what it means to be stuck and challenges the assumption that people can always just choose differently. That honesty is what drew me to the work.”

STUCK has been selected for the 2026 VCE DRAMA playlist has been supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, Regional Arts Australia and Regional Arts Victoria, the Fletcher Jones Family Foundations, and the Robert Salzer Foundation. STUCK also received a 2025 La Mama Residency.