Sat in Rehearsal Room 1’s U-shaped grandstand, complete with a set of PVC goals and live-feed commentary box, I attended a football (aka soccer) game. This wasn’t just any game, it was The Game, and the Mighty Movers were up for the challenge.

It’s not often at 4:30 on a balmy Sunday afternoon you get to see a team of athletes sharing their passion and agility inside a semi-traditional theatre setting, but this Sunday, I was afforded that unique opportunity. Daring to combine football skills with dance, theatre and audio-visual content isn’t an easy task, and it’s an impressive debut from The Robyn Co. in the State Theatre Centre of WA’s FRINGE WORLD season - State of Play.

The Mighty Movers are strong, tenacious and adaptive. They radiate grit and determination as they strategise, sweat and celebrate together. Football’s tough, but it’s clear the Mighty Movers strive to be tougher. Oh, and by the way, if you weren’t already aware - these athletes are women, and the game they’re playing isn’t just football, it’s gender politics. If learning that has you questioning the show, then you’re exactly the type of person who needs to see it. Because in The Game, patriarchal discomfort is a delectable theatre technique.

Each performer in The Game brings their own flavour to the pitch. Commentator Lucy Wong has an audacious wit that covertly cuts through misogynistic noise - she charismatically lures us in before exposing the glaring reality of gender bias in sport. She’s a satirical CEO, with a feminist agenda - and we’re buying it. Our players, Briannah Davis, Keana Mislang, Zakayyah Maclean, Bridgette Davies and Delaney Brooklyn dance and train in synchronicity, whilst adopting their own distinct characters. At times, we see these young performers perhaps doubt themselves in navigating the unfamiliar football footwork, but with support from confident Captain, Briannah Davis, their courage to represent the under-acknowledged stories of women in sport overcomes any subtle trepidations.

Watching these powerful women exemplify the values of integrity, inclusivity, excellence and equality is a privilege, and the Tillies themselves would be proud. You might not be able to catch the show again in this year’s FRINGE WORLD round, but you’ll be sure to see their legacy live on.