‘Ready or Not’ is a theatrical retelling of the legacy that remains when innocence is taken away.

We follow ‘Darling’: it’s 1999. Destiny’s Child is pumping, fairy bread is the #1 party snack and musical chairs is one step away from being a blood bath. Underneath these games and sunny dispositions lies a voiceless woman yearning for a conversation. When we meet her again, she’s an adult, we travel with her back and forth as she makes sense of her memories, her anger, and what it took to survive it all with her heart on her sleeve and her sense of humour intact.

‘Ready or Not’ is the debut solo work of Gold Coast-based theatre maker Ainslee Palmer. This piece of theatre is a highly physical, funny and deeply personal fever dream of birthday parties, horse races and Stepford wives. This honest and often moving interrogation of what’s left behind once ‘closed doors’ are opened asks audiences to consider the secrets we keep, the stories we survive, and the light that can still shine through into the darkest of places.

Content Warning

Ready or Not is recommended for audiences aged 16+. This work contains suggested violence including sexual violence, sexual references, alcohol references, adult themes and loud noises.

Cast and creatives

Creator & Performer | Ainslee Palmer
Director | Lisa Smith
Performance Mentor & Design Consultant | Leah Shelton
Sound Design | Anna Whitaker
Dramaturgy | Tammy Weller
Psychological Consultant | Miriam Emad