Brie Keatley
Maria Williams is an enigma. Her comedy is pure raw thoughts onstage and I wouldn’t have it any other way. In her new show What Dreams Are Made Of we are brought back to 2003 where we learn about queerness, Hillary Duff and what Williams’ dreams are made of.
What Dreams Are Made Of is reminiscent of the tumblr blog I kept as a teenager. A conglomeration of the thoughts and feelings of a baby queer theatre nerd but still wholly digestible by any passing someone. I love it instantly. While a tad under rehearsed, the show is raw and unapologetically so. Williams dances from one subject to another while consistently keeping the audience eating out of the palm of her hand. This is not an easy feat for any performer, let alone a comedian. I credit this to Williams incredible stage presence. It doesn’t feel like we are watching a performer, it feels like we are watching our friend be a silly bugger and rant about her special interests. The whole show is so familiar because of it.
Accompanying Williams' anecdotal comedy are one of her iconic powerpoint presentations. This really helps land some of her references that may have been lost on some of the crowd, with the majority of these being to Lizzie McGuire and her iconic movie outing in 2003. Williams is able to pinpoint her burgeoning queerness in adolescence on her obsession with Hillary Duff, which is just so incredibly relatable as a queer person myself (Marina and the Diamonds awoke something in me at a similar age).
Perhaps the highlight of the show for me is when Williams’ shows what she wished would’ve happened at the end of the Lizzie McGuire movie, this includes an absolutely iconic costume which I will not spoil. The song at the end of the Lizze McGuire movie, What Dreams Are Made Of, is a certified banger so seeing Williams enjoy it as much as I did, and the audience being encouraged to sing along, was such a joyful moment of comedy.
What Dreams Are Made Of touts itself as a coming of age show and it certainly is. At times hectic but all the time genuine, I would recommend this show to anyone who has ever had to reflect on all the obviously gay things they did as a child and wonder why it took them so long to realise.
What Dreams Are Made of is on at BATS Theatre from the 6th to the 10th of May as part of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. Tickets are available here
Brie is an MFA graduate and Production Manager. They are one of the founders of Inconceivable Productions whose most recent production, HAUSDOWN, was nominated for Best in Fringe 2025. Brie is a big fan of children’s theatre, comedy and puppetry.