Overflow is a hilarious and devastating tour of women’s bathrooms, who is allowed in and who is kept out.

From internationally acclaimed writer and one of the UK’s most prominent trans voices, Travis Alabanza (Burgerz), comes the Victorian premiere of “a future classic” (Evening Standard, ★★★★) directed by Dino Dimitriadis.

Cornered into a flooding toilet cubicle and determined not to be rescued again, Rosie distracts herself with memories of bathroom encounters. Drunken heart-to-hearts by dirty sinks, friendships forged in front of crowded mirrors, and hiding together from trouble.

But with her panic rising and no help on its way, can she keep her head above water?

Overflow is on at Arts Centre Melbourne 31 Jan-4 Feb, followed by Geelong Arts Centre 8-10 Feb.

Here, the two performers playing Rosie, Janet Anderson and Thea Raveneau, chat about all things Overflow.

Image courtesy of Janet and Thea.

Archer Asks: Janet Anderson

Janet Anderson is an actress, writer and model, who recently graduated from NIDA with a BFA in Acting in 2022.

Earlier this year, Janet made her Australian television debut in the guest role of Simone in the Helium series Last King of the Cross on Paramount Plus. Janet made her main stage debut in the 2022 production Overflow, as well as co-creating and starring in Collapsible produced by Redline and Essential Workers at the OldFitz theatre, with the help of her co-creators Morgan Maroney and Zoë Hollyoak.

As a proud transgender actress, she makes sure her queerness is at the forefront of all her work, off stage and on. As well as being a passionate performer, she is also an accomplished social activist, leading the #letthemswim movement in protest of the McIver’s baths, spoke on a Mardi Gras Panel for safe schools in 2019 and had an opinion article published in VOGUE Australia in 2021.

Janet Anderson. Image by: Theresa Sarjeant.

How would you describe Rosie (the protagonist of Overflow)?

Janet Anderson: I would describe Rosie, first and foremost, as one of the girls. She perfectly encapsulates the sisterhood that you find on a night out. She’s down for anything, up for a chat, and will always have incredible makeup advice for you. She has so much heart in her, and I can’t wait for more people to meet her where she is, on her time.

Describe your first time performing as Rosie.

JA: My first time performing as Rosie was back in 2022. I’m sure that I seemed cool, calm and collected, but I was very nervous. The work is so vulnerable, and sometimes as a performer, it takes me by surprise. I realise exactly where I am and how many people are sitting in the audience, and that can throw me.

But Rosie gets to end the show with just so much power and defiance that I remember coming back to the dressing room and just squealing with delight into the mirror. It’s such a privilege.

What were your first impressions of Thea?

JA: My first impression of Thea is that I could not stop laughing. That girl is hilarious. She will light up a room immediately. She just has this energy about her and around her that is so magnetic.

I don’t know a single person who hasn’t come away from an interaction with Thea absolutely raving about how lovely she is. This is not even touching on how damn talented she is.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to see her do the show because anytime she’s on stage, I’m not there. But I’m so jealous of every audience that gets to see her at the helm of this work. And the truth and beauty and talent that she brings to the stage is… I would say unmatched, but she is my understudy after all!

Describe Thea in three words.

JA: Can I give you a couple?

That. Sovereign. Bitch.

It. Girl. Incoming.

Hilarious. Magnetic. Unstoppable.

Um yeah, let’s go with that.

What does it mean to be part of the first mainstage Australian production with an all trans and gender diverse team?

JA: The significance of it is not lost on me for a minute. We constantly remind each other of just how special this moment is. And going on tour gives us such a special relationship because we’re working together in different cities, getting even closer than we are now.

We had a gorgeous time in Magandjin (Brisbane), because Darlinghurst Theatre Company put us all in an Airbnb together. So, it was like little trans summer camp. I came away from that week just in awe of everyone who’s attached to this project, because they all bring a level of understanding that you just can’t find with someone who doesn’t have that lived experience. I think the work is so much richer for it.

Janet Anderson as Rosie in ‘Overflow’. Image by: Robert Catto.

Archer Asks: Thea Raveneau

Thea is a Gunggari, Lardil and Kullilli Transgender woman living on Jagera and Turrbal country in Magandjin/Brisbane. She graduated from Queensland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) in 2023.

Thea made her film debut playing the lead role in A Savage Christmas (2023), and her theatre credits include; Belize and Sister Ella Chapter in Angels in America Part One: Millenium Approaches, Meg and Phoebe in Tight in the Bud, and she performed in La Boite’s 2022 Assembly Program. She was also selected to perform in the Equity Foundation’s Diversity Showcase in 2021.

She places huge value on honesty, passion, love, humour, forgiveness, growth, and compassion. She is a hard worker, a team player, and a very spiritual person, so you can always find her striving to maintain a safe space for everyone. Thea thrives working on projects that connect people on mental, emotional, physical and/or spiritual levels, to remind ourselves that we are only human and can only do our best.

Thea Raveneau. Image by: Stephen Henry.

How would you describe Rosie (the protagonist of Overflow)?

Thea Raveneau: Firstly, Rosie is fierce. She’s so fun: the stories she tells, the way she tells them. She knows how to get an audience encapsulated in anything she’s talking about.

Rosie is also super strong. She’s the one of the first people to stand up for any wrongdoings that are happening. If she saw any bullying happening, she would say something. She would happily put herself on the front line to protect other people.

Like many of us, Rosie uses humour to mask what she’s actually feeling. I think that’s why she’s so good at telling stories. It’s sort of a defence mechanism to avoid talking about what she actually is feeling and experiencing. It’s much easier for her to just talk shit than it is to be like, “Okay, this is what I’m actually feeling, let’s sit down and have a real talk.”

She’s just very real. She’s so human, which is what I love. We see she’s someone that everyone can connect to. Obviously, it’s a trans story and a trans experience, but I think even cis people can understand having a defence mechanism and using distraction to avoid things.

I like everything about her. She’s playful, she’s fun, she’s got her shit that she has to deal with. Like, I just love her. I know she’s someone I would be friends with. I know I’d have so much fucking fun being around her.

Describe your first time performing as Rosie.

So, that was last night, and it was hard. Overflow such an incredible play and Rosie is an incredible character. But it’s so hard to tell these stories, and to play and have fun. It’s been a week and a half since I started rehearsing for this, so I’m in a certain space where I’m still getting comfortable with the dialogue, while also trying to channel that playfulness that Rosie has.

It’s tricky because it’s such a good story and it has such good dialogue that you want to get right, like, you want to do it justice. I’m so passionate about the show. But when you have passion, and you care about something so much, it makes you more anxious of doing something wrong.

I did enjoy it when I got to that last scene, which has a monologue. There was just some cathartic release. Like, here I am. Look at me. This is me. I did all of this that you saw on stage right now, and I’m about to go out there and face whatever it is that’s waiting for me. It’s just so fulfilling. Yeah, it was fulfilling as heck.

What were your first impressions of Janet?

Ah, I love Janet! Firstly, I was like, “Oh, this lady is fucking stunning! So gorgeous. Like, I’m about to propose with no ring.”

I was intimidated because of how much power Janet holds within herself. She stands out for all the great reasons. She’s just so powerful and so fun. I’m sorry, but you can’t be one of the prettiest people on this fucking planet and also be funny as fuck and then also be a great actress and also be really nice! Like, what? You can’t be all of it! That’s unfair. You have to have some disadvantage. You have to have some flaws, babe.

I was intimidated, but Janet was never intimidating. She was warm, welcoming and sweet. And she truly makes you laugh. I just love her so much. I’m blessed to have been connected to her in this lifetime. For the universe to bring those threads together.

When I know she’s around, I get happy. This morning, I came into the theatre, and I noticed her bags were in the changeroom. I was like, “Where is she?”. And then I was like, “Fuck, I’ve got to go rehearse!” And then she came in and I just felt so much love. She wrote a little note on the mirror for me, and it just made my whole day. I’m actually in love with her. It’s so great.

Describe Janet in three words.

Fierce, powerful, TALENTED.

Kind, GORGINA, flawless!

What does it mean to be part of the first mainstage Australian production with an all trans and gender diverse team?

I absolutely love it. Janet and I graduated around the same time. I’ve only had my film debut, which was a trans story, but the whole cast and crew weren’t trans. This isn’t something that I ever thought could be a thing. Like, what do you mean we’re allowed to have something that is just ours?

I relate to this as a First Nations person too, as I can also do projects that just have Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. This is real.

We had opening night and I brought two of my friends from Magandjin (Brisbane). I was frothing the whole night over being in a space that was just fully safe and fully free. Like, what do you mean? I can be Thea? Just Thea? It actually makes me want to cry.

I can’t remember a time where I was just me, without any labels or without any questions. None of that. It’s so freeing to be a part of a project that allows me to do that. It’s so warm and powerful. To have this opportunity, I’m so blessed. I hope things like this happen for other trans people in other projects, and I hope that they get a chance to experience this.

Dino (Overflow’s director) was telling me that Overflow is being performed in a few different countries, and I’ll be the first woman of colour to perform it. I’m an Aboriginal woman here in so-called Australia. It’s beautiful that the first woman of colour playing Rosie is a woman that belongs to these lands. It’s amazing. Both my communities are fulfilled doing this. I’m in awe.

The world is never going to be the same: this production has set the bar. The world can feel like this if we let it happen.

Thea Raveneau as Rosie in ‘Overflow’. Image by: Abraham De Souza.

Overflow is on at Arts Centre Melbourne 31 Jan-4 Feb, followed by Geelong Arts Centre 8-10 Feb.