FROM time immemorial, horse riding has been equated with sex, but in Eloise Snape’s topical new play “Pony”, the connection is drawn a bit further, into parenthood. 

“Pony” has been a hit at Sydney’s Griffin Theatre whose audiences, especially women, have responded to the 95-minute show starring comedian Briallen Clarke (think TV’s “The Heights” and “Doctor Doctor”) with the laughter of recognition.

Told simply, 37-year-old Hazel, a “reality TV-obsessed fantasist who swears like a sailor”, is pregnant and not quite sure that she wants to be. For her, impending motherhood holds the threat of turning her into a mindless feeding machine for some time to come. 

The glitzy set is dominated by an oversized pink rocking horse and the costuming of Hazel in a “Calamity Jane” Wild West outfit that links to the Ginuwine 1996 bump ‘n’ grind song of the title “Pony”, which Hazel heard at a bachelorette party and whose lyrics, “I’m looking for a partner, Someone who knows how to ride”, carry an obvious meaning.

I catch up with NZ-born director Anthea Williams by phone to her hometown, Christchurch, where she’s directing former Canberran Melanie Tait’s play “The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race” while catching up with her large family.

Williams has called Australia home for a long time and is a graduate of both UNSW and the Victorian College of the Arts, whose productions garnered top awards in 2017 and 2018 at the Sydney Theatre Awards. 

Living with rheumatoid arthritis, she is a noted disability advocate and directed Canberra actor Will Best in the film related to the subject, “Safety Net”, released as part of the 2020 Sydney Film Festival. 

After returning from a stint at London’s Bush Theatre as associate director, Williams was literary manager then an associate director with Belvoir Theatre in Sydney, fine-tuning her skills in the art of play-making so that she is now the go-to director for developing new work such as “Pony”.

While she praises Clarke as “a fantastic actress… pretty amazing in the way she talks to audience members,” in this case, she’s performing a fully scripted play, with no improvisational elements. 

Snape says she started the play when she was 37 weeks pregnant and jotted down notes about how she felt, later developing it into a show through lockdown with Williams, who says that while it was a long gestation period for a play, “we always knew there was going to be a happy ending”.

“Eloise is a talented comic actress. It’s her first play and I think she’s going to be writing a lot more,” Williams says. 

On stage, Hazel’s experiences are familiar as she tells us the backstory of how she met her husband, her relationship with her mum and her grandma and her fears about becoming a mum, while doing the right thing by attending “rhyme time” sessions at the library.

“At first we think she’s a larrikin until we find out that there are deeper feelings and fears that she might become like her own parents,” Williams says, “but the show is very heart-warming, funny and naughty”.

While it does sound like one for women, Williams points out that Hazel’s husband, Patrick, is completely comfortable with prospective fatherhood, it’s Hazel who doesn’t feel ready for such a big life change.

“We’ve found the show has had a really warm response from men,” she adds, explaining that depicting a male in Patrick’s position is rare as he tries to provide comfort to his partner and plans to be at the birth – “a lot of men have become quite tearful,” she says. 

When the show arrives at The Playhouse, there’ll be a couple of firsts. It’s a much bigger stage and auditorium than Griffin Theatre’s tiny home at The Stables in King Cross, and they’re staging a tryout “mother and baby” session with pram parking, change facilities and a quiet room available. For this matinee they plan to keep the lights on and the sound at a low level so not to shock the little ones.

But, the theatre warns, “this show features adult content. It is recommended that only babies under 12 months attend” and Williams, noting the “naughty” content, says: “We are assuming that the babies are being breastfed or cooed at and will not be watching the show.”

“Pony”, The Playhouse, June 22–24. Babes-in-arms performance, 10am (starts 11am), June 22.