Many thanks to Magda Cassidy for the following words:

Temporary

“Ironing boards are surfboards who gave up on their dreams.
Don’t be an ironing board.”

– From ‘Temporary’ by Katie Lees

“Katie Lees is without a doubt an incredibly talented actress… Her jokes are laugh out loud funny and are only enhanced with a near flawless delivery. The show itself is phenomenal. A truly well-written piece which works in all the right places.”
– (Theatre Travels)

It’s 2016, and in a dingy theatre pub in North London called ‘The Water Rats’, Katie is performing the first draft of her one woman show ‘Temporary’. Inspired by a monologue she began writing back in Sydney, ‘Temporary’ was created on the clock behind the reception desks of various dissatisfying temp jobs. Wrestling with her desire to do good and make a difference, while feeling stifled by the bureaucracy and unethical practices of the corporate world, Katie leaned into her creativity to make something funny, inspiring, and meaningful while simultaneously sticking it to the man.

“Amy’s life as a receptionist is a rut of.. endless unrealistic expectations. She smiles politely, makes the perfect cup of coffee and has a delightful phone manner. She spends her days tackling the big issues – like the optimal temperature of the air conditioning and how to ensure the coffee machine is being appropriately cleaned. Now on a journey to find another gluten-dairy-nut free cake.. Amy stops to wonder: is this her moment to escape to freedom or the beginning of her descent into corporate oblivion?” (Broadway World)

A few years, temp jobs and re-drafts later, Katie returned to Sydney, bringing with her new jokes and ideas, and a UK production team. Katie’s courage to relocate to the other side of the world and pursue a career as a creative inspired many of us to follow in her footsteps – which is how Lara and I ended up relocating to Sydney to tour ‘Temporary’, now a fully developed one-woman show across Australia. Katie worked with Director Nisrine Amine to develop the show, and to incorporate more elements of physical comedy and clowning, inspired by her experiences volunteering with the Flying Seagulls on their Miles of Smiles tour.

After its debut performance in Sydney, Katie headed to the Adelaide Fringe festival in February 2019. Katie drove a car crammed full of props (and two very excited British girls) cross-country for 16 hours. One dodgy motel sleep, and countless techno bangers and true crime podcast episodes later, we arrived at our hostel, dumped our bags, and instantly began plastering the streets of Adelaide with flyers for ‘Temporary’. Some days later we had to re-trace our first steps through Adelaide and locate all of Katie’s posters, in order to brand them with huge gold star stickers following a fantastic four star review from The Advertiser. It was an inconvenient victory, but a victory nonetheless. ’Temporary’ played at Basement Studios and The A Club to rave reviews and was a hit with the Fringe, as was Katie. Every evening after the show we would head out to the Fringe Club or to the Garden of Unearthly Delights, to support other upcoming artists work, eat pizza, dance with new friends, and do our best to persuade the man in the espresso martini van that we deserved a loyalty discount. Katie knew firsthand how much work, funding and energy it took to take a show to the Fringe, and she compassionately supported as many shows and artists she could, while encouraging them all to let their hair down and soak up the festival vibes.

“Hilarious to behold. Her sharp observations of office personalities and politics ring true time after outrageous time”
– (4 stars: The Advertiser)

In the months between Adelaide and Melbourne Fringe, Katie – bolstered in confidence from the success of the show’s Adelaide run – continued to challenge herself creatively, secure in the knowledge that if nothing else, her audience would come away having had a good laugh, feeling less alone, and inspired to use their skills to make the world a better place. Katie’s dedication to supporting others and helping the planet was at the core of all she did. Katie led by example, she inexplicably knew how to motivate others to ‘be better’, and this fire in her belly was palpable in all of her work, but particularly so in ’Temporary’.

“Masterfully switching between her own character, those of the executive assistant, the sleazy guy across the office, and the sexy guy from design, Lees demonstrates her skill… and the audience is thoroughly entertained throughout. The intelligent jokes about modern practices including ethical eating and mindfulness are relatable to almost everyone and give people a serious take home message too.” (4.5 stars: Sam About Town)

The Melbourne Fringe run of ’Temporary’ in September 2019 was another great success. With the support of the fantastic team at The Butterfly Club, the show received packed out audiences and more praise from the press. Katie had a truly joyful time, and was thrilled that so many of her friends and family made the journey down from Sydney to come and support her doing what she loved. Our time there was interspersed with spending time with her loved ones. Whether it was cocktails with Penny and Ian by the river, noodles and a wild night out with Hamish and friends, delicious Italian food with Grace, or helping a pregnant Annika with her bags down flights of stairs, Lara and I were grateful to be by her side through it, and those memories feel all the more precious now.

After its Melbourne Fringe run, ’Temporary’ came home to Sydney Comedy Festival, where Katie not only performed, but took on the role of Producer as well. The show was due to be revived again at Katie’s beloved Flight Path Theatre in Marrickville, where she was to be the first actor back on stage after their closure during the Covid-19 pandemic. Tragically, this performance never took place.

I feel incredibly lucky and grateful that Katie chose to bring Lara and I along with her on this incredible adventure. I owe so many of my experiences over the last six years to her, but my time working with her as her Producer on ’Temporary’ is one of the standouts. It was an honour to watch her grow as an artist, writer, performer and creative, and anyone who has worked with Katie before will know how her infectious energy would force you to grow alongside her. Katie was deeply intuitive and it seems serendipitous that her life, like the title of her brilliant one woman show, was temporary. Looking back, the script of ‘Temporary’ is littered with messages she would want us to remember after her passing. Live in the moment, tell your friends you love them, pursue what feeds the fire in your belly. That is her legacy. And most of all, don’t be an ironing board.

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Some beautiful images, provided by Magda, from performances of Temporary – and antics surrounding the performances.

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