The Maiden and the Matron, Unhinged
Powerhouse performers Carol and Tayla are taking centre stage – and taking on typecasting – in a riotous new music theatre cabaret debuting at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Tayla, forever cast as the sweet ingénue romantic lead with soaring vocals but paper-thin roles, squares off against Carol, the seasoned scene-stealer with juicy character parts but no romance – and sometimes, no song! Together they unpack the absurdities of casting clichés through powerhouse solos, cheeky duets and laugh-out-loud banter. As they compete for who has it worse, the friendly rivalry escalates until, in a delicious twist, they decide to swap roles entirely. Packed with wit, warmth and show-stopping music theatre bangers, this cabaret flips the script on musical theatre stereotypes and celebrates the joy of stepping outside your type to claim the spotlight.
Carol and Tayla are no strangers to the stage. Carol Whitfield is a highly accomplished performer with a background in classical voice and piano. Nowadays a specialist comedy character performer, Carol has played numerous iconic Matron roles in Melbourne musical theatre, such as Madame Thenardier (Les Misérables), Rosie (Mamma Mia), Frau Blücher (Young Frankenstein) and Princess Puffer (The Mystery of Edwin Drood). Since 2018 she has starred in her self-written and produced one-woman cabaret, Beyond The Beehive: Amy Winehouse’s Musical Mastery debuting to critical acclaim in 2018 and next showing at Kingston Arts Centre in 2026.
Tayla Thomas made her professional debut as Rapunzel & Elsa in Mickey and the Wondrous Book at Hong Kong Disneyland between 2015 and 2018, so it's no surprise she is filling the role of the Maiden in our duo. Since returning to Australia she received a four chair turn and made it to the finals on The Voice, is an established audiobook narrator across various genres for Australian authors, performs regularly as a vocalist at corporate events, writes and records music both as a topline artist and with her husband as part of duo Echo & Bloom and is active on the community and commercial theatre scene, featuring most recently in Three Little Pigs the Musical (AG Theatre), The Sound of Music (Theatrical) and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Lightbox Theatre Company).
Suitable for audiences All Ages
Powerhouse performers Carol and Tayla are taking centre stage – and taking on typecasting – in a riotous new music theatre cabaret debuting at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Tayla, forever cast as the sweet ingénue romantic lead with soaring vocals but paper-thin roles, squares off against Carol, the seasoned scene-stealer with juicy character parts but no romance – and sometimes, no song! Together they unpack the absurdities of casting clichés through powerhouse solos, cheeky duets and laugh-out-loud banter. As they compete for who has it worse, the friendly rivalry escalates until, in a delicious twist, they decide to swap roles entirely. Packed with wit, warmth and show-stopping music theatre bangers, this cabaret flips the script on musical theatre stereotypes and celebrates the joy of stepping outside your type to claim the spotlight.
Carol and Tayla are no strangers to the stage. Carol Whitfield is a highly accomplished performer with a background in classical voice and piano. Nowadays a specialist comedy character performer, Carol has played numerous iconic Matron roles in Melbourne musical theatre, such as Madame Thenardier (Les Misérables), Rosie (Mamma Mia), Frau Blücher (Young Frankenstein) and Princess Puffer (The Mystery of Edwin Drood). Since 2018 she has starred in her self-written and produced one-woman cabaret, Beyond The Beehive: Amy Winehouse’s Musical Mastery debuting to critical acclaim in 2018 and next showing at Kingston Arts Centre in 2026.
Tayla Thomas made her professional debut as Rapunzel & Elsa in Mickey and the Wondrous Book at Hong Kong Disneyland between 2015 and 2018, so it's no surprise she is filling the role of the Maiden in our duo. Since returning to Australia she received a four chair turn and made it to the finals on The Voice, is an established audiobook narrator across various genres for Australian authors, performs regularly as a vocalist at corporate events, writes and records music both as a topline artist and with her husband as part of duo Echo & Bloom and is active on the community and commercial theatre scene, featuring most recently in Three Little Pigs the Musical (AG Theatre), The Sound of Music (Theatrical) and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Lightbox Theatre Company).