Pelican Productions. Arts Theatre. 8 Aug 2026
Grease has become one of the modern standards of musical theatre. It’s the contemporary West Side Story, although interestingly they’re both set in the 1950’s and feature teenage lovers who have to overcome one or two obstacles. For Grease, rather than the tragedy of Tony and Maria (or Romeo and Juliet) played out in the tenements of New York, we have the experiences of writers Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey set in a working class Rydell High School in Chicago.
The production has become a bit more sanitised over the years – while there is still a reference to teenage pregnancy and an allusion of gang warfare, all the sharp edges have been blunted, and it’s pretty much family fare.
Everyone knows the plot and the songs by now; the musical has been performed since 1971 and the film just pushed it into the stratosphere – one of the songs We Go Together is even featured in the animated children’s feature The Secret Life of Pets.
There are two casts sharing this performance duties in this production; this review covers Cast 2. The show opens with Grease is the Word and this gives a promising indication of what is to come from Director Vanessa Lee Shirley. The energy is high, the voices are strong and the poodle skirts flash across the stage in a cacophony of bright colours (Costume Designers Kylie Green and Emma Pool). There are a few sound smudges but these are worked out as we go along.
The performers are supported by a fantastic live band, who sit atop the action on a mezzanine floor. They really came to the fore with some great saxophone and trombone particularly in Hand Jive; under the direction of Ben Francis the band kept it pumping all night. Nic Collins choreography is as tight as you would expect for performers schooled in dance, and vocally, there were some real standouts. Of particular note was Connor Foreman as Roger singing Mooning, a beautiful tenor with a great falsetto.
There were more triple threats than you could shake your booty at. Alek Kudra and Ali Burns (Danny and Sandy) anchored this great ensemble, with great performances from Henry Green (Kenickie) and Caitlin Laventure as the defensive but tough talking leader of the Pink Ladies, while Francis Osei-Tuttu does a fine turn on the dance floor. Mark Stefanoff’s Beauty School Dropout is another highlight while the standout is the entire company coming together for the afore mentioned We Go Together.
The twist in Grease that stands it apart from many redemption tales, is that the rough boy Danny is not tamed by the good girl Sandy; instead she conforms to his ideals, losing the skirt and cardigan for leather pants, tight tops and sexy dance moves and a rip roaring version of You’re the One That I Want. It’s perhaps the best-known song in this musical, along with Hopelessly Devoted to You, yet neither of them belong to the original stage version, both being written by Australian John Farrar for the movie. This is one of those instances where the various versions of a production have melded together to create a stronger whole.
Pelican Productions has a long history in youth theatre and they have a great pool of performers to call on from their various classes and workshops. There are performers at differing levels of their development, but the ensemble work is to be lauded.
In terms of the contemporary appeal of Grease, I have to relate a conversation had in the audience. A young man asked about the location when Sandy and Danny are grappling in the front seat of Greased Lightning. When told they were at the drive-in, there was a slight pause, then the question, ‘What’s a drive-in?’. How time goes by.
Arna Eyers-White
When: 8 to 9 Aug
Where: Arts Theatre
When: Closed
Adelaide University Theatre Guild. Little Theatre. 7 Aug 2026
Alistair’s McDowells Pomona is considered one of the new breed of horror, dystopian theatre pieces, albeit it was written in 2014. Ollie (as in Oliver, as in the boy’s name) is searching for her missing sister who she believes to be somewhere in Manchester. Through meetings with various characters, she ends up in Pomona, a seemingly abandoned concrete island in the middle of the city with one road in and out.
The mystery of Pomona is rather like the Tom Waits song What’s He Building? Except in this instance, we get to find out.
It’s a very clever script, turning circular before you realise what’s happening, light bulb moments catching you unawares. It’s a bit like a reverse engineered jigsaw puzzle as characters loop back to show how they got into their current position.
It’s gender fluid in terms of the characters; women play all the male roles bar one – Louis Bianchini plays Moe, a security guard at Pomona who craves human touch. It’s a difficult role, but he carries it off well, and the scene with him and rebellious sex worker (Fay Airlie-Jade Windle) is beautifully realised.
Macey Lawson is Zeppo, who owns half the city and tries to warn Ollie (Mia Livingston-Pierce) off. She’s a little difficult to understand at first but settles into her rhythm. Jessie Chugg’s Charlie works very hard, and with so much centred around this character, it’s a big ask which is mostly successful.
There are moments that are a bit redundant; a chorus scene adds little and much of the exposition of the close could be left behind, but that’s the script.
Lily Watkins character Keaton plays it a little darker but the follow through doesn’t really happen. Perhaps the most successful is Gale (Airlie-Jade Windle), the brothel owner who has gotten in too deep. She knows the horrors of Pomona and is terrified of becoming a victim, while at the same time being an antagonist.
The cast make a fair fist of Pomona, but it doesn’t really deliver the anxiety and angst that the play calls for. Rather than going off between their scenes, Director Thomas Midena has the actors waiting in the darkness in corners of the stage; this does deliver a sense of menace but it isn’t always reflected in the characterisations when they walk on stage. The end result is the tension is released and needs be built up again; unfortunate because the final reveal oft hinted at but still needs to pack a powerful punch.
Arna Eyers-White
When: 7 to 16 Aug
Where: Little Theatre, Adelaide University
Bookings: trybooking.com
Teen edition. Scotch College. Thebarton Theatre. 6 Aug 2026
The Broadway production of Hadestown was named Best Musical in 2019; still playing to sellout audiences in New York and on the West End stage, it also picked up eight Tony Awards. This is the ‘Teen Edition’ which is a little shorter and edited for a younger age group.
This is a musical with a difference. Based on Anais Mitchell’s 2010 concept album, Hadestown eschews the spoken word in favour of song, and while at times it can feel a little relentless, it works.
The Greek gods certainly had a right old time – when they weren’t flying around on golden chariots, they were swallowing spouses, giving birth to winged horses and chaining people to rocks while eagles ate their liver.
This story is a bit simpler and a whole lot nicer, though still with a tragic ending. Narrated by Hermes (William Jarvis), this is the age-old story of Orpheus (Sebastian Cox) and Eurydice (Sienna Turner), Hades (Tom Wetherall) and Persephone (Eleanor Driver), of love lost and won. Eurydice has been taken to the Underworld by Hades and Orpheus must rescue her. Hades wife Persephone is all for the lovers being reunited, and as she can move between the two worlds, becomes a prime mover in getting Hades to let her go.
David Lampard’s set is of two stations, above and below the earth, with the allusion informed by the rollicking and soulful Road to Hell, which sets the tone for this contemporary revisiting of the ancient tale.
Accompanied by the Hadestown Orchestra (conductor Martin Cheney) this production showcases some quite remarkable young singers under the direction of Stephanie Thompson who, along with Carla Laurendi, choreographs superbly what could have been an unwieldy troupe of performers.
The three Fates (Evie Dolling, Ashleigh Sykes, and Charlotte Venning) are almost Andrews Sister-esque in their performance, with their tight harmonies and sassy moves. And sassy personifies Persephone (in dazzling emerald green) as she romps through the drinking song Living It Up on Top, before going on down to the Underworld where she joins her husband Hades, who presides over what appears to be a mining community, a subterranean nightmare with the inhabitants toiling for Hades.
The stage is always slightly dark, as the characters try and push through to the light via miners’ headlamps or handheld lanterns. It’s highly evocative and adds to the mystery of the Underworld.
The chorus/ensemble doesn’t shy away from the big moves - a highlight of their performance is Why We Build the Wall with Hades, a moving and telling comment on contemporary society as much as it is a defence of the Underworld.
The cast were apparently workshopping and rehearsing this show for about six months, and it shows in the very professional stagework and timing of both principals and ensemble cast. With a budget that many companies would crawl over broken glass for, this is a very high-end production and one that many of these students will look back on with wonderment, that this level of theatre was available to them. It’s also a real treat for audiences; this cast is top notch – Sebastian Cox as Orpheus is just stunning – and is of a calibre one more often finds in adult professional theatre.
It should be noted that there are two principal casts; this review is of Cast One, although Sebastian Cox plays through the season.
Arna Eyers-White
Where: Thebarton Theatre
When: 6 to 9 Aug
Bookings: ticketmaster.com.au
Festival Theatre. 5 Aug 2026
What a joy to see Nancye Hayes sublime in an octogenarian prime. Can one pin her up any higher?
Anastasia the Broadway Musical is a big, big show with a tricky load of costume changes, not to mention some demanding songs for the old Dowager Empress. Not only does Nancye deliver it all with the creamy professionalism that has been the hallmark of her epic career, but in her beautiful embodiment of character she brought this hardened old critic to tears in one of the most tender and emotional scenes in musical theatre. Quite a feat.
And in a show that boasts a motherlode of stunning costumes, she parades period glamour with stately grace.
Standing ovation to Nancye Hayes AM.
And to the show itself.
I’ve been narky about a lot of standing ovations in recent years, feeling that a new generation of audiences can be more full of enthusiasm than theatrical discernment. Old school was ever sparing with the stand.
In this case, however, John Frost and his collaborators have delivered a big-deal, big show. The production values are cutting edge. There is aesthetic finesse all over the place.
Anastasia’s sets and vivid video rendering truly are a sight for sore eyes: huge palatial scenes, sets of cold bureaucracy, blossoming beauty, vast cityscapes and, oh my, the train ride to end them all.
The lighting is no mean feat either, with ghostly reiterations of the Romanovs’ lost world of Imperial Russia played out against lively Parisian decadence. And the orchestra is just so, sound-balanced impeccably against the vocals.
Then there’s the cast. Georgina Hopson brings acting skills as well as voice to the starring role of Anya, paired sweetly with the delightful Robert Tripolino as Dmitry, her evolving love interest. Rodney Dobson plays such an artful and endearing Vlad that, at times, he threatens to steal the show. Joshua Robson has one of the best voices on the stage and is the evil comrade to a tee. Then there is Rhonda Burchmore. She’s fearless and loud and funny, and proves yet again why she is so beloved by Australian audiences.
The direction is schmick. The chorus work is excellent.
There is not much to criticise, unless it be the sheer corn of the storyline. Lost princess finds her roots. You may take that two ways.
Samela Harris
When: 5 to 30 Aug
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au
Free Agents Youth Theatre. Goodwood Theatre and Studio. 30 Jul 2026
Set In Regency London, we are first introduced to Octavia, who sits writing while a young man (later identified as Jimmy) urges her to write the story as she knows it, as she believes it happened. Before long, we’re swept into her story, where of course, she plays a primary role. I say ‘primary’ rather than ‘leading’ as this remarkable 15 strong cast almost all take a turn at being the centre of attention, and when they aren’t they’re the best support acts you could hope for.
Written and directed by Sean Riley, founder of Free Agent’s Youth Theatre, Bright is the result of three years of workshopping and collaboration with his theatre group, and their familiarity with the script shows clearly. One can’t really single out individuals so I won’t; there are simply 15 stand out performers.
The cast are comfortable, confident and very, very entertaining.
The area of Poplar, London in 1818 was a fairly seedy place; close to the docks and home to the taverns, brothels and gambling houses that tend to service seafaring communities. This is where the Pittfield family live; father Augie, mother Nancy, three sons and a daughter. Each of them has their story, and all are allowed to play them out. Billy frequents brothels, Ned is a pugilist, Polly a washerwoman. Jimmy claims to be involved in transport but really, along with his brothers, he’s a resurrectionist.
The conversations around this family table are funny, warm, friendly and loving, with a banter that is so well written you want to join in.
Orphan Octavia Nettlefield (she of the writing desk) is twin to Darius, an artist who just adores drawing hands, and it is his poor orientation skills that lead him into Poplar and to the acquaintance of Jimmy.
What follows from here just gets better and better, as we’re introduced to a Jewish refugee, a medium (who also fancies herself a soprano) and her companion, a maid who is more like the mistress, the doctor who receives the bodies from the Pittfields (since resurrectionists are actually grave robbers who steal corpses and sell them to medical teaching facilities), society friends and of course, the villains of the piece.
It’s not quite a farce yet not a melodrama, but it is bloody funny, with a script that really deserves to travel widely.
Kim Liotta’s design is wonderfully effective, with all set pieces working double time, and Stephen Durey’s lighting design quietly propels the scene changes and moods. The genteel but continual piano accompaniment from composer Reuben Fernee is icing on this cake.
Do go and see this production if you can. It’s funny, sad, surprising and joyous, and it’s such a showcase of talent, from cast and crew alike. Director Sean Riley has guided this cast of ‘bright young things’ with a firm but generous hand, and the show is clearly all the more enriched by their creative contribution.
Arna Eyers-White
Where: Goodwood Theatre and Studio
When: 30 Jul to 1 Aug
Tickets: trybooking.com