On Stage
The cult appeal of The Virgin Suicides meets the compulsiveness of The Girls: four teenage girls in a band plot their way out of their run-down town, going to extreme lengths to keep the dream alive. Liz Allan is an Australian writer and teacher living and working in the UK. Her fiction has won, been shortlisted and longlisted for numerous literary awards.
An Observer Best Debut Novelist 2026.
It’s the mid-nineties, and in the small, shitty coastal town of Vincent, four girls – each hailing from single-mother, multi-sibling families, form a band: The Bastards. Friends since they were children, they consider themselves ‘forgettable girls’ – distracted, disillusioned, and desperate to escape the fates of their mothers. Winning the Battle of the Bands is their ticket out – they might not have talent, but they can play three chords and scream until their vocal folds burst out of their throats – and nobody wants it more than them.But when lead singer Lily Lucid quits, and accuses their idolized music teacher of sexual assault, the three remaining girls are left with nothing. They’ll do anything to keep their dream alive, even if it means sacrificing school, Lily and their mothers. But how far out of control can they spin before there’s no turning back?