THE MANAGER IS ME to Debut at Melbourne Fringe 2026

Writer-performer Dayna Fallon will premiere The Manager Is Me at The Motley Wherehaus’s Salon as part of Melbourne Fringe 2026. Directed by Green Room Award winner Cathy Hunt, the solo production runs October 8–17.

The 55-minute show stages one escalating morning: Fallon’s husband is having a seizure, her three daughters have emptied a beanbag across the living room, and a work meeting is waiting on her laptop. As she manages each emergency and everyone else’s feelings, her own needs are pushed aside.

Combining comedy, spoken word and theater, The Manager Is Me explores caregiving, invisible labor and the humor used to navigate difficult circumstances. Built from Fallon’s slam poetry, the work draws on her experiences raising children and caring for a husband with complex health needs.

“I wrote this because I’ve made my children laugh to cover the sound of my husband’s seizures,” Fallon said. “I’ve lived the truth of ‘if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry’ and I started wondering how many women are doing that kind of emotional labour in silence.”

The production marks Fallon’s debut solo theater work. She was the 2025 Victorian State Champion of the Australian Poetry Slam and a national finalist at the Sydney Opera House.

Performance Information