Horse Girls

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https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2025/horse-girls

Date Reviewed: 02/10/2025

Horse Girls is an intimate, voyeuristic dive into the minds of teenage girls bound by a shared obsession. Saddle up for a night of chaos, dark laughter, and raw reflection. What begins as an emotional trainwreck of adolescent angst soon careens off the rails toward an explosive finale.

The action unfolds in the bedroom of Ashley Whitford (Tamzen Hayes), the quintessential high school queen bee: attractive, self-assured, ultra-competitive, and from a wealthy family. She’s the girl admired, envied, loved, despised—and never openly mocked.

In cult-like fashion, power-hungry Ashley crowns herself leader of the “Lady Jean Ladies club” and enforcer of its rigid rules. What follows is a sharp examination of teenage hierarchies, manipulative group dynamics, and the coping strategies young women adopt under pressure. Dark yet wickedly funny, the play shines a harsh light on the dangers of unchecked power and the insidious influence of bullies.

Yet the real tension lies in the choices of Ashley’s followers: will they blindly obey, or risk everything to resist her reckless schemes? Their decisions are dangerous, potentially life-altering.

The cast delivers a marvellous ensemble performance, dissecting the symbiotic relationships of teenage friendship with both hilarity and unease. Each character feels lived-in, brilliantly realised:

• Tiffany (Kiloran Hiscock), Ashley’s disheartened best friend and the club’s vice president, delivers a layered performance. Her “good news” destabilises Ashley, exposing cracks in the alpha girl’s narcissistic armour. Hiscock’s trembling lips radiate turmoil.
  
• Margaret (Sara Bolch) is Ashley’s blind devotee, a worshipper who would do anything—maybe even kill—for her leader. Bolch makes this loyalty chillingly believable.
  
• Camille (Candice Leask) is the likeable, open-hearted friend we all wish we had—fun, warm, and prone to oversharing. Leask’s charm makes her a delight.
  
• Brandi (Tea Moma) holds the secret that will shatter their world, delivering a performance that is utterly mesmerising.
  
• Trish (Mish Keating) enters as the outsider, mirroring the audience’s perspective. She stands apart from Ashley’s spell, offering clarity from the edges of the group’s toxic swirl.
  
• Robin (Tegan Crowley) is a joy to watch—her energy lights up the stage, leaving us wanting more.
  

The ending is dramatic, unexpected, and deeply satisfying. It is a pointed reflection on toxic relationships, collective complicity, and the consequences of unchecked power.

Horse Girls is not just theatre; it’s a mirror held up to the human condition, exposing both the absurdity and the danger of what unfolds when power goes unchallenged.

Reviewed by Olympia Koziaris