There are shows that lift your spirits, and then there are shows that lift off. GO/NO GO, the electrifying new circus-theatre work written by Natalie Frijia and directed with visionary flair by Felicia Lannan and Tess Walsh, soars beyond expectation.
A dazzling fusion of physical artistry, feminist fire, and cosmic ambition, GO/NO GO is a performance that doesn’t just recount history; it reclaims it, reminding us that the race for space was never just about rockets and men in silver suits – it was about the women who dared to dream of the stars.
Frijia’s script is both poetic and propulsive, weaving historical detail with metaphor and motion. The (untold) story of the First Lady Astronaut Trainees – thirteen extraordinary women who passed the same punishing tests as NASA’s Mercury 7 only to be grounded by sexism – becomes, in this production, a launchpad for the imagination. Through the language of circus, GO/NO GO transforms archival injustice into embodied resistance.
The ensemble is simply stellar. Lucy Knight, as astronaut Eileen Collins and the show’s magnetic Ringmaster, commands the stage with confidence. She guides the audience through lift-offs and let-downs alike, her vocal prowess adding another dimension to the ensuing acts-.
Robyn Glowacki’s Jerrie Cobb finds poignancy and power in a whirling constellation of hula hoops, her precision orbiting around frustration and hope, while Rindi Harradine’s Sarah Gorelick Ratley balances – literally and figuratively – on the edge of possibility, her balance pole act setting the tone for the grit to come.
Double acts and duos lend the show its emotional gravity. Cassia Jamieson and Nina Robertson, as Jan and Marion Dietrich, spin in tandem in a terrific Risley routine that speaks of sisterhood, synchronicity, and shared sacrifice.
Amy Nightingale Olsen’s trapeze work as Irene Leverton evokes the perilous grace of those who reached for flight in an era that refused to let them soar. Sophia Bohlsen, gliding through her Cyr wheel as Wally Funk, embodies momentum itself – unstoppable, luminous and utterly fearless.
The ensemble’s versatility shines as roles shift and reconfigure: Jamieson reappears as the powerhouse Geraldine Sloan Truhill in a strongwoman act that redefines what strength looks like; Harradine’s Myrtle Cagle ascends the rope with quiet determination; Law’s Rhea Hurrle and Gene Nora Stumbough electrify the space with straps and whips that crack like sonic booms. Even the juggling and unicycle numbers – where precision meets play – become metaphors for balance, risk, and resilience.
Technically, GO/NO GO is as polished as the nose cone of a rocket. Tyson Wallent’s lighting design floods the stage in astral hues – cool lunar silvers, hot thruster reds – while Jarred Dewey’s costumes blend retro-futurist chic with functional flair. The soundtrack, pulsing with period tunes and reimagined classics, ties everything together in a rhythmic heartbeat that never falters.
But what makes GO/NO GO truly transcendent is its moral altitude. Beneath the flips and flights lies a provocation: Who gets to take risks? Who gets to make history? Who gets to be remembered? This production doesn’t just celebrate these trailblazing Astronauts – it invites us to question every system that still says “no” when women, or anyone marginalised, dares to reach for “go.”
GO/NO GO
Theatre Works, 14 Acland Street, St Kilda
Performance: Thursday 16 October 2025 – 9.00pm
Season continues to 18 October 2025
Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au
For more information, visit: www.theatreworks.org.au for details.
Images: GO/NO GO – photos by Anais Stewart
Review: Rohan Shearn