I WAS A TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL

The Other Palace

★★★

“Almost sung through, and brilliantly so, the musical has still to find its voice”

The rock musical, “I Was a Teenage She-Devil”, opens with a bang; and as though aware that the only way is up, it keeps the energy levels pushing the high end of the rev meter to danger point. Eighty minutes and twenty-two songs later we are a little bit breathless. The show’s protagonist claims she has been to ‘Hell and back’, but it would be a stretch for us to make a similar assertion. It really isn’t deep enough to get anywhere near the underworld.

Sean Matthew Whiteford, the one responsible for the book, music, lyrics and orchestrations, hit upon the idea fifteen years ago. Originally titled “Girlfriend from Hell” it is a mash up of eighties, horror, cult movies and high school musical. ‘Grease’ meets ‘Cruel Intentions’, with a deal with the Devil thrown in among the many other gore-infested influences. On paper it is a chaotic mess. On stage it is similarly anarchic and shambolic, yet it knows precisely its target audience and goes straight for the jugular.

The premise is wafer-thin (as are the characters). Set in an American High School, Nancy (Aoife Haakenson) is the four-eyed, nerdy wallflower ostracised by the popular kids – the jocks and the cheerleaders and the cool ones. Bullied to breaking point she cries out for help. To the rescue comes Satan (Sean Arkless) with an offer she can’t refuse. The price is her soul. Obviously. The outcome is a bit of a bloodbath. Revenge is far from sweet, but redemption is a sugar rush.

Tiffani (Caitlin Anderson) is banned from the cheerleader squad for being cruel to Nancy. Aided by her boyfriend Big Rod (Jordan Fox) she decides to humiliate Nancy. We are not sure why Nancy delves into such pits of despair – she seems to be supported by (very) close friend Debbie (Ashley Goh). But love is blind, remember, and before we can open our eyes we have to experience the darkness. We know exactly where this story is going, every step of the way. Yet it is a funny and farcical romp through the guitar-powered score and the witty dialogue, firmly rooted in the eighties. There are constant references to the movies that inform the text, many of which would go over our heads if it weren’t for video-store worker Doobie (Jacob Birch) on hand to explain the joke. Completing the line up are Todd (Louis Hearsey) and Heather (Charis Stockton).

The script, like the song list, highlights the ensemble nature of the show. The supporting characters have some of the best lines, and everyone has their solo number. All eight cast members have the vocal ability, agility and variety to scale the heights of the rock belt and also to dip into the smooth waters of the ballads (Goh, in particular, achieves this with the dynamic ‘Looking for Love’). They say the Devil has all the best tunes, but here he has to share them with his co-stars. ‘Raise Some Hell’ is exactly what it says on the tin – an ensemble piece heralding Nancy’s transformation into spiky bad girl. Arkless’ Satan is more seventies Glam, while wearing the studded jockstrap pilfered form eighties band Cameo’s lead singer. It (the song – not necessarily the jockstrap) is a highlight, bathed in smoke, red light and gleeful appreciation from the audience. We are in Rocky Horror territory at times (‘Satanic Panic’), but the bulk of the repertoire – along with the hair styles and costume – is power pop through and through.

Director and choreographer Rachel Klein has her work cut out keeping the cast within the confines of the venue’s studio space. With the audience up close, and with the abundance of severed limbs flying around, safety must be an issue. And there’s the crux. The show errs on the safe and the predictable. A superficiality, and a mildness even, that the high-octane performances can’t disguise. Almost sung through, and brilliantly so, the musical has still to find its voice. While the characters are either looking for love or revenge or blood, we are looking for the teeth that can draw that blood. It won’t raise Hell. But it is easy to swallow, and a whole lot of fun with a devilishly fine cast.

I WAS A TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL

The Other Palace

Reviewed on 8th April 2026

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Lidia Crisafulli

I WAS A TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL

★★★

“a jack of all trades, struggling to fully realise the richness of the themes it taps on”

Art reckoning with the covid-19 pandemic is still emerging, rather than established, with many of us only beginning to process its impact from a distance. Fickle Eulogy steps into this uncertain space, attempting to navigate a fresh, complicated loss, and understand who or what is responsible for it.

Ann is pacing the kitchen rehearsing her mother’s eulogy, panic bleeding through her pauses as she straightens her outfit and worries when to take the cheesecake out of the fridge. In an hour, family and friends will arrive ready to celebrate her mother’s birthday, as requested, instead of a funeral. An Alexa device chips in with warnings of “negative language” and a charged tone, sending Ann back and forth in her ruminations as she scrambles for the perfect tribute.

It’s a compelling and emotional set-up, but one with a deliberate stop-start rhythm, thanks to Alexa’s interruptions. These in-scene resets do allow for some moments of sharp character work, exploring themes and anxieties Ann has about her mother’s death. A chirpy meditation practitioner and a gun-loving American are brash and cartoonish, effectively spotlighting the absurdity of pandemic-era discourse and the blurred lines between holistic and pharmaceutical health. Online misinformation becomes an uncanny and cabaret performer, whispering mistruths and hatred to a rapt audience. These moments were bold and ambitious, but too fleeting to sustain momentum, disappearing just as they began to really intrigue.

As the creator and sole performer, Nikol Kollars brings a commanding stage presence, amped up by Javier Galitó-Cava’s direction. Her versatility is proven through her vocal talent, and the adoption of strange and heightened characters, where she’s able to find a balance between embodying the forces to blame for her mothers’ death and mocking them. Lighting and sound design from Koa Salazar, alongside original music from Frederic Wort, helped ground the piece and provide a sense of resolution. The stage was set for a reckoning of the power of technology against human life, but the Alexa sits on it relatively unchallenged. It practically hums with untapped possibility. Similarly, gnarly topics like conspiracy thinking and the responsibility we owe elders are skimmed over without really delving in.

For all its ambition, Fickle Eulogy becomes a jack of all trades, struggling to fully realise the richness of the themes it taps on. It does land on a moving final note, with Hawaiian song bringing a nostalgic emotional clarity to Ann’s pre-party jitters. Ultimately, it’s a production which accurately mirrors the fragmentation of pandemic grief, but perhaps a little too closely, leaving us scattered and searching for a spark.

Tag Archives: Review

I WAS A TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL

★★★

The Other Palace

I WAS A TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL

The Other Palace

★★★

“Almost sung through, and brilliantly so, the musical has still to find its voice”