By Daniel Herborn
When breakdancer Rachael Gunn – better known as Raygun – became a viral phenomenon and target of internet bullies after her much-mocked Olympic performance, comedian Steph Broadbridge wasn’t laughing.
Broadbridge knows all about being in the eye of an online storm: in 2023, she took part in a “try not to laugh” video challenge, and the 34-second clip of her remaining stony-faced as a male comedian read jokes ripped from the internet went viral, being watched more than 100 million times.
Steph Broadbridge has become obsessed with the Raygun phenomenon.Credit: Dylan Coker
Trolls targeted her with relentless bile, often with overtones of misogyny, an experience she relayed in her show The Best Dog Joke Ever! last year.
So when she watched Raygun blow up, Broadbridge’s first instinct was empathy.
Comedian Stephanie Broadbridge said she felt empathy for Raygun.Credit: Dylan Coker
“It was very strong for me because I had experienced it so recently,” she says. “I thought ‘oh, this is awful’, but then I noticed a lot of people were sticking up for her, and that felt really positive, like there was some change in how we were behaving.
“I was obsessed with the story and desperate to see what happened in terms of how the different generations and the different genders responded.”
Rachael Gunn was mocked mercilessly for her Olympic performance.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Broadbridge has channelled her fascination into Raygun: The Musical, which debuts in Sydney on Saturday before a full run at comedy festivals in Sydney, Melbourne and Edinburgh next year.
The affectionate parody features a cast of eight, puppets and original songs, including You May Be a B-girl, But You’ll Always Be an A-girl To Me; I’m Breaking Down; and the closer I’m a Celebrity.
While Broadbridge conceived the title as a gag to sell tickets, she quickly realised the idea had legs.
“When she continued to be in the media and piped up with different opinions that would blow the story up again, I thought, ‘this could be a brilliant musical’,” she says. “The story felt very operatic in how extreme everything was.”
Stephanie Broadbridge has experienced online bullying.
Broadbridge says the sheer cultural ubiquity of the Raygun story made for fertile comic ground.
“When you do comedy, there are so few things you can talk about that everyone – young, old, whichever demographic – is across,” she says. “The only three I’ve found since I’ve been doing comedy are COVID, Trump and Raygun.”
Having trained as a jazz singer at the Australian National University, Broadbridge once aspired to a career in musical theatre and often incorporates ukulele and song into her comedy.
She has performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and become a cult favourite on the Sydney circuit. She is known for her tireless work ethic; in one year, she played almost 400 gigs in front of every imaginable crowd.
‘It is a piss-take, but it’s done with love.’
Steph Broadbridge
There is one punter she’s particularly keen to reach.
“I really want [Raygun] to see it,” she says. “I’m terrified, though. What if she doesn’t like it?
“It is a piss-take, but it’s done with love. You like her at the end, and she wins.”
Raygun: The Musical is at Kinsela’s December 7