By Danielle Kutchel
Hailed as the international ‘Queen of 70s Pop’, Helen Reddy was Australia’s very first truly international superstar.
In 1973, her iconic song I Am Woman became the unforgettable anthem of the women’s liberation movement and made her the very first Australian to ever win a Grammy Award.
During her remarkable career she placed three number one hits on the US Billboard charts and six more in the US top 10.
She sold over 25 million albums and played to sell-out concert houses right around the world.
She even hosted her very own prime time series on US television.
Then, all of a sudden, she lost it all.
While some of her story was brought to life in last year’s feature film I Am Woman, the full tale remains a mystery to many – but now Australian singer and actress Nikki Bennett brings Helen Reddy’s life to Australian stages.
Invincible: The Helen Reddy Story will visit Bunjil Place on Sunday 18 July.
Nikki will take the starring role but will speak “about” Helen rather than as her, with Helen’s catalogue of music flowing throughout to help drive the story.
She said she first wrote the show in 2010, after growing up with Helen’s music and career in her periphery.
After reading Helen’s biography, she found herself admiring the “unbelievable story of this struggling single mum in the sixties, a mum who became the second-highest selling female artist and wrote a feminist anthem, a trailblazing icon for women and Australian entertainers”.
Invincible: The Helen Reddy Story covers Helen’s whole life, rather than just the story of how I Am Woman came to be.
Through song and theatre, Nikki explores not just Helen’s incredible overseas success, but the resentment she experienced back in Australia and the tragedies of her personal life.
“There’s this massive story of a powerful, iconic feminist who was crushed by people,” Nikki explained.
“It’s uplifting, but it also shows you don’t get anywhere without going through a lot of hardship, especially in those days,” she said.
The show’s performance comes off the back of one of the hardest times the performing arts industry has ever faced, after it was decimated during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nikki said she used the lockdown to concentrate on getting the show together to bring it to life on stage.
Now ready to go, Nikki promised the audience would be on their feet singing by the end.
“I think people come in thinking they’ll know three or four songs, but then they know all of them. It’s been fantastic to watch people adoring her,” she said.
“I look out at the end of the show and have this whole sea of women fist-pumping the air singing I Am Woman – it’s a powerful feeling.
“She was an iconic Australian and I think that’s a powerful thing for people, when they learn how amazing she was.”
Invincible: The Helen Reddy Story will be performed at Bunjil Place on Sunday 18 July. For bookings, call 9709 9700.
