In Conversation with Meg Mcdonald | DRAW TWO
- TW
- Sep 15
- 4 min read
In this week's Backstage Blog, we spoke with Meg McDonald about DRAW TWO, a a sharp, poignant and funny monologue about mistaken identities, Neapolitan ice cream, sunburnt shoulders, sharks in bathtubs and beating little kids at Uno. It’s also about how we come to terms with loss and sudden motherhood, and what it truly takes to care.
Playing 17 - 27 September at Explosives Factory.
Q: What is Draw Two about?
Draw Two is a tender and funny story about mistaken identity, loss, unexpected motherhood and discovering what it truly means to care.
After her identical twin sister, Mia, suddenly dies, Riley reluctantly returns to her rural hometown. Riley’s there to pick up her 5 year old nephew, Lucas, who she is now the legal guardian of. But the problem is Riley never wanted to be a mother, and things with her partner Eleanore back in Melbourne are at a crossroads.
So, when an old school friend, Kieran, mistakes Riley for Mia at the local Woolies, Riley doesn’t correct him. Instead, Riley starts to question the cards she’s been dealt and whether it’s time to play a different hand.
Q: Draw Two explores grief, sudden parenthood, regret and identity — what emotional or personal truths were hardest to articulate in writing this piece?
The hardest truths to articulate were the ones that remind me just how rarely life is black and white. Grief, sudden motherhood, regret, identity; they are huge experiences, yes, but what made them hard to write about at times wasn’t in their scale but in their messiness. These experiences are complex, contradictory and often non-linear.
At the heart of Draw Two is a deeper question about responsibility; not just the responsibility we have towards others, but the responsibility we owe ourselves. What do we owe ourselves when our emotions, actions, choices or wants don’t align with what's expected of us?
For women, these expectations are deeply ingrained. Draw Two challenges this by examining how women are expected to grieve, embrace motherhood, care for others above themselves and reimagines what it means to be the perfect woman.
Q: What’s the journey of this work been like from its earliest stages to now? Have there been any major shifts or discoveries along the way in how the story has taken shape?
Draw Two began as a 15-minute monologue written during a playwriting course at the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP), led by Matthew Whittet. At the same time, Lauren Bennett was part of the Industry Studio for Directors and we were teamed up with an actor to perform a reading of the piece. But then, just two days before the reading, the actor tested positive for COVID and had to pull out. In a bit of a scramble, we reached out to Georgia McGinness. By some miracle she was available and agreed to step in with just 24 hours notice. When we watched her perform the piece, it was like it was made for her. And so with that, Draw Two was born.
Draw Two premiered at the iconic Old Fitz Theatre in Sydney as part of their Light Night Program in November 2024. Despite a 9:30pm timeslot the entire season sold out and the show was extended due to its overwhelming popularity.
Since then, we’ve been fortunate enough to take the show back to ATYP and develop it further as part of their Pier to Peer Residency program, before bringing it to Theatre Works this September.
Q: What do you hope audiences are thinking or feeling as they leave the theatre?
We hope that audiences leave feeling uplifted, with a reminder that it’s okay to be a work in progress and to not have all the answers. Sometimes life feels like a mess, a tangle of choices and decisions we can’t always make sense of. But even in the chaos, things will be okay. Draw Two holds a mirror up to the audience, asking them to reflect on who they are and who they want to become. This play is for anyone ready to challenge old narratives and imagine new ones.
Q: What will surprise audiences about Draw Two?
Two things!
First, Draw Two is unlike any other one-woman show you’ve seen. It’s more than a monologue, it’s a tour-de-force performance by the phenomenal Georgia McGinness, who brings to life 14 distinct characters. As one audience member put it: “It’s not a monologue, it’s a magic trick.” This show doesn’t just tell a story, it creates an entire world, fully inhabited and alive. It’s an ensemble piece in disguise. The illusion is so complete that you genuinely forget it’s just one person. By the end you find yourself expecting a full cast to take a bow, but instead, it’s just Georgia.
Second, while the show explores grief and loss, audiences may be surprised by how funny and refreshingly relatable it is. Yes, it’s emotional, but not always in the ways you’d expect. It explores grief in all its multitudes. It’s raw, honest but also laugh-out-loud funny and joyful. Georgia will keep you completely gripped - you will laugh one moment, cringe at another and cry the next. The play also feels quite nostalgic. It’s very 90s / naughties Australiana, so if you grew up then, this play is for you!
Q: What has been the most memorable moment of your process so far?
For us, the most memorable moments have been witnessing the audience’s reaction and hearing their feedback. It’s incredibly moving to see how deeply Draw Two resonates with people and we hope it offers something meaningful for everyone who experiences it.
While the story centres on a young woman, Draw Two speaks to anyone who has ever loved, felt lost, questioned their choices, carried regret, or grappled with the messiness of grief. Last season, audience members told us that they had never seen their own experiences reflected on stage quite like this; with a recognition that it’s okay for things to be complicated and that feelings aren’t always neat. That meant everything to us.
Playing 17- 27 September at Explosives Factory.
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