Kate Mulqueen used to be a professional fairy, flitting from one birthday party to another, sparkling wand in hand. Now she’s a fairy godmother to her polyamorous partner’s two children, sprinkling magic dust on them – and herself – to make the best of an unconventional set-up. This is a fairytale like no other. With all-original songs.
Polyamory, non-monogamy: you’ve probably seen the Polyamory episode on ABC’s “You Can’t Ask That” – right? You know all about it, right? Forget what you’ve read, heard, seen. Currently playing at The Butterfly Club, this one-woman show from Melbourne theatre-maker and songwriter Kate Mulqueen is an intimate insight into the changing nature of family and finding love in unexpected places.
Fiercely personal yet full of light-hearted charm, Confessions of a Fairy Godmother tells the tale of how Mulqueen has navigated the less-travelled road from her staunchly monogamist Catholic upbringing, to finding herself happily two-years into a relationship with a married, polyamorous man – and all the pitfalls in between.
And it hasn’t all been easy: finding role models when the pickings are slim, working out the rules when there’s no one to ask, telling her Catholic parents, her work colleagues, friends … and what about travel? What about children, what if you get sick? What about children? Kate Mulqueen has been through it all. And now you can find out.
“Whenever I find myself in a conversation with someone new, and I tell them about my relationship situation, they always have about 100 questions,” says Mulqueen. “I think people are genuinely curious about how it works.”
“I think whether you’re polyamorous yourself, poly-curious or totally monogamist, everyone’s interested in relationships. And nowadays people are more willing to challenge the social structures that our society has fed us. And why not? But this show is not just a rallying cry to turn our society upside down!”
“There are challenges when you decide to step outside the norm: and this show is about that too. In the end, none of us know what we’re doing. But maybe if we talk about it, sing about it, we’ll feel less alone.”
Kate Mulqueen is a Melbourne-based performer, songwriter and theatre-maker. A graduate of the National Theatre Drama School, Mulqueen’s last show Inside the Bell Jar, performed at The Butterfly Club in 2016. Mulqueen has been described as “a sincere and genuine artist” (Stage Whispers, 2016).
Confessions of a Fairy Godmother
The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season continues to 27 October 2018
Information and Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com
Image: Kate Mulqueen stars in Confessions of a Fairy Godmother (supplied)