Chip On Her Shoulder Premiers at Theatre Works for Melbourne Fringe 2025
CHIP ON HER SHOULDER
WORLD PREMIERE
Presented in partnership with Theatre Works
Single, Snacking & Struggling, a one-woman Play About Chips, Comfort and Coping
EXPLOSIVES FACTORY
Theatre Works
7-11 October 2025
An Aussie living in New York, chasing a Broadway dream, sounds like a recipe for success, or disaster, or absolute Melbourne Fringe Festival gold. This October, the emotional snack Chip On Her Shoulder, starring Vanessa Buckley (Doctor Doctor, La Brea, Home and Away) will have its world premiere as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival. The brainchild of writer, producer, director Jen McAuliffe Chip on Her Shoulderis a clever one-woman play weaving a funny and painfully relatable story. While everyone else is busy journalling their feelings, attending reformer Pilates, Kate (Buckley) is trying not to completely lose it — one salty snack at a time.
McAuliffe developed the play under the mentorship of Steve Leff (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Two and a Half Men) and commenced writing while working in theatre in New York. Chip On Your Shoulder features a standout solo performance by Vanessa Buckley who plays Kate, an Aussie nurse pulling double shifts in New York City while chasing the dream. In between auditioning, trauma shifts, dating disappointments, and snack-fuelled self-reckonings we discover that Kate isn’t bitter, she’s just a little bit salty.
Whether you’re more Ruffles than Samboy or Pringles than Kettle, Chip On Her Shoulder takes the audience on a journey through heartbreak, ambition and a dangerously co-dependent relationship with snacks. Fearless, funny, and painfully relatable Chip on Her Shoulder is for anyone who has cried in a work bathroom, eaten their feelings one chip at a time or just felt the entire weight of a box of Lays on their shoulders.
Buckley has performed on some of the world’s most iconic stages, including Shakespeare’s Globe and The Royal Theatre, and brings a wealth of stage and screen experience to the role. Best known for creating and co-producing the award-winning show Ready for Take Off, Buckley has worked with McAuliffe to bring this crispy tale to the stage.
“This show is a love letter to the mess — the grief, the late-night cravings, the fantasy lives we build to cope,”said Vanessa Buckley, Producer. “Kate is all of us. Hungry, hurting, and still somehow hopeful.”
Chip on Her Shoulder is the result of a bold new creative partnership between Buckley and McAuliffe, who met whilst colleagues at Fremantle Productions. The pair formed a fast friendship and quickly turned to collaboration. Together they’ve channelled shared heartbreak and humour into a darkly funny survival story.
“I wanted to write something for women who’ve held everything together while falling apart.” Said Jen McAuliffe. “Who cry in the carpark at Woollies, fantasize about revenge bodies, and still believe in love. I wanted to make something funny and truthful and a little bit cathartic.”
This is a play for anyone ready for the laughs and emotional bonding or just because they happen to love chips. Not fries. Chips. Crispy, raw, go soft in your mouth chips. The kind of chips that, after too many, make your mouth sore, but you keep eating them anyway. Which is a bit like life. Chip On Her Shoulder will run from 7–11 October at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory in St Kilda as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival, 2025. Tickets available now.
CHIP ON HER SHOULDER
Performed by: Vanessa Buckley
Written & Directed by: Jen McAuliffe
Stage Manager: Maylnn Bloom
CHIP ON HER SHOULDER
Explosives Factory, Theatre Works
MELBOURNE
VENUE: Explosives Factory, Rear Laneway, 67 Inkerman Street, St Kilda
DATES: 7–11 October 2025
TIME: 6.00pm
RUN TIME: 60 mins no interval
TICKETS: $35
BOOKINGS
SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram: Vanessa Buckley | Jen McAuliffe
About the Author
Adrian Gunning Adrian lives in Melbourne Australia and has a huge passion for gaming, technology and pop culture. He recently finished his a Bachelor of Journalism and is currently focusing on games journalism. When not writing and playing video games, Adrian can be found in Comics 'R' Us debating the pros of the DC Universe and cons of the Marvel Universe.
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