Back to Me: A Musical Journey of Survival is a powerful new Australian musical from Rough as Guts Productions.
CW: This performance explores themes of family and domestic violence and homelessness, and references suicide. No acts of violence are depicted on stage.
What started as a howl of grief and rage in response to the constant reports of Australian women being lost to intimate partner homicide has culminated in a compelling one-woman musical about a woman who survives.
The show traces Tilly’s path from despair to empowerment after fleeing the family home in fear for her life. Her journey unfolds as she finds the courage to seek help, navigate the Courts, retrieve her children and finally secure safe housing and new employment. The show uses a mix of original songs and multimedia to reveal a process often hidden from public view. Back to Me’s mission is to create empathy for and understanding of the barriers women face when trying to escape a violent relationship and rebuild their lives.
In 2024, 81 women were killed due to gender-based violence, a significant increase from previous years and a trend that continues. “The repeated headlines wear us down. Yet women can and do escape violence every day,” said award-winning songwriter and co-writer Penelope Swales. “I wanted to celebrate the grit and courage of these women.”
Jules De Cinque (ex-Women’s Circus, educator, playwright and performer) concurs: “I wanted to do something about this crisis. I wanted everyone to be talking about it. So I contacted Penelope and we wrote songs.”
Swales and De Cinque both have professional experience working with vulnerable women and young people dealing with the impact of family violence. In addition, Swales has both lived experience of gendered violence, and has lost a friend to it. The script and original music was written by Swales and De Cinque, with a song contributed by NZ songstress Victoria Vigenser.
Back to Me is directed by Dr Margie Mackay, who has created interdisciplinary, ritual-art practices in communities both nationally and internationally.
A dedicated low-sensory performance for neurodivergent audiences will be available on Wednesday 30 September.
