12 years ago, Julia Gillard delivered a speech that was voted as the most unforgettable moment of Australian TV history by Guardian readers. The "misogyny speech" was a heart pounding 15-minute parliamentary address by Australia's first and only female Prime Minister. In
Julia, playwright Joanna Murray-Smith entrancingly brings to the stage pockets of the former Prime Minister's life, from when she was an 8-year-old child to her formative years and her ultimate ascension as Prime Minister of Australia while centering on this world famous speech.
Murray-Smith has done an exceptional job in not only showcasing these specific episodes of Gillard's life, but putting them together where the narrative can flow and build organically. While these may be stories that we know - like the barren fruit bowl and the infamous outcome of her professional relationship with Kevin Rudd - hearing them here, together, you begin to comprehend the enormity of abuse and harassment Gillard faced during her term as Prime Minister.
