University of Adelaide Theatre Guild. Little Theatre. 3 Aug 2025
For all the Jane Austen films, plays, television series and adaptation/homages around (we’ll include Clueless, Bridget Jones and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies here), you’d think she was one of the more prolific writers in literary history. There are in fact, just the six extant novels, which have been in continuous print since 1833. Along with the bangers like Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice (now possibly as famous for that Colin Firth wet shirt scene as for the text itself!), there are letters (subject of a current television series) and shorter writings, and now there is The Watsons (1804). Along with Sanditon (1817, the plot of which has more than a passing resemblance to Bridgerton), it’s an unfinished work, hence not so well known outside the scholarly and literary worlds.
The Watsons unfolds in accepted Austenian style. Emma Watson (Imogen Deller-Evans), the cash-strapped heroine, returns to the family home after having spent years with a wealthy relative. There she finds her elder sister Elizabeth tending to their ill clergyman father, while sisters Penelope and Margaret tend to themselves. There’s nothing for it but to find a husband, with a good living of course. In this she must compete with sisters Margaret and Penelope, who require husbands of their own.
There are a few possibilities; Lord Osborne (Maxwell Whigham) is the most obvious choice as he has both wealth and title; Mr Howard (Tom Tassone), the local vicar and Tom Musgrave (Thomas Midena), the local cad. They all come together at the local ball and the next day, well, then it goes all rather awry as the original eighty pages come to an end.
Playwright Laura Wade has taken a left turn in writing this ‘completion’ of the original manuscript. The fourth wall breaks, and the playwright is now a character. Played brilliantly by Emma Kemp, the playwright inadvertently reveals herself when a plot line goes wrong; before long all the characters are aware of her presence, and the frustration and mayhems spills over from play to reality, from past to future.
Director Matthew Chapman has worked his large cast and the set with a deft hand. Such are the twists and turns in this production, it could easily have lost its way and descended into confusion (the Napoleon scene did have a bit of a wobble) but the ensemble work was to be lauded here. Occasionally, the Regency characterisations are a little forced and forceful and not really suited to the ‘manners’ of the time, but that is a minor quibble.
Through the playwright’s conversations, Wade acknowledges that she was influenced by Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author and in exploring this device, she also brings the Enlightenment philosophers into the frame—John Locke, Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are all discussed—as the characters search for identity. In this it appears Wade also wants to position Austen and acknowledge some of the thinkers that would have influenced her writings. Added to this is Mary Wollstonecroft (A Vindication of the Rights of Woman) and it is clear that Wade wants to place Austen firmly beyond the ‘bonnet drama’, exploring the intellectual and feminist underpinning of her works.
The transition of the characters from Austen to Wade is embraced by the cast; Deller-Evans infuses her Emma with both righteous anger and despair, Lindy LeCornu’s Lady Osborne is a sapphic delight and Maxwell Whigham manages to keep his Lord Osborne on an even keel with the most delightful expressions.
Frederick Pincombe’s Charles Howard is a bit of a scene stealer; his despair at finding out that he will be forever ten years old is palpable. Rebecca Kemp (disguised as Servant) is a wonderful playwright, swinging between wanting to remain true to Austen, true to herself as writer, or to allow the characters to become what they believe they should be. And there, my friends is the ending that Austen was unable to finish. Which ending? Now, that would be telling…
Arna Eyers-White
When: 1 to 10 Aug
Where: Adelaide University Theatre Guild
Bookings. trybooking.com
Therry Theatre. Arts Theatre. 6 Aug 2025
If ever a resilient, nay, jubilant sense of community springs from a stage, it is from this Therry production directed by David Sinclair.
Of course, it is all about community, more definitively than perhaps any other piece of musical theatre. “Come from away” is a term the Newfoundland Canadians use for visitors and, on September 11, 2001, as the air routes were closed on that dire day of world trauma, some seven thousand outsiders descended most literally on the island town of Gander - that was thirty-eight planes carrying passengers from ninety-two countries.
It was the way in which the small-town locals coped with this invasion of scared and desperate strangers which became the source of legend and of this wonderful musical from the Canadian couple, Irene Sankoff and David Hein.
There was utter chaos with civilians scrambling to rally emergency supplies for crowds streaming into local halls and sports centres, carrying airline pillows and rugs. And, then language issues had to be dealt with, as well as religious differences, family anxieties and, oh yes, even animals from planes. But, as the immediate stresses eased, passengers and locals found common ground, and much magnanimous hospitality was opened to the hapless transients - so much so that they left Gander not only with their thanks amply in international currencies in the community suggestion box but they returned over the years for reunions.
This feel-good show ran for award-laden years on Broadway but this Therry version has only a fortnight at The Arts, so you had better put your skates on. And I mean it.
Sinclair has rallied a mighty and highly classy cast and Peter Johns has gathered a troupe of Celtic musos who just do one's heart good. They are there onstage, not only the accompaniment to song and dance, but they play a veritable pulse of life. It is just lovely. Comforting. Enveloping.
And there are all the people up there, all shapes and sizes. The cast switches seamlessly from local community to passengers, from town cafe to aircraft, just with a jiggle of costume and a movement of chairs.
Chairs, of course, are the principal set and prop for this show, and Sinclair has them as well choreographed as does Linda Williams with the dance numbers. And very appealing and accessible choreography it is, too.
The stage is very busy indeed. The whole space has been opened out from wing to wing with the Newfoundland location suggested by a few economical and oddly unaesthetic tree trunks.
Mark Oakley’s lighting plot plays a big part in creating the shades not only of the passing days but of the moods and, of course, the locations. Some scenes are in the sky. One is in the moonless wilderness. And then there is the great big cookout party; oh, such a party.
So here’s to the players, David Gauci, Dee Farnell, Stephen Tongun, Daniel Hamilton, Kate Anolak, Trevor Anderson, Josh Kerr, Michael Denholm, Brady Lloyd, Michelle Nightingale, Michelle Tan, Katie Packer, Eloise Quinn-Valentine, Lisa Simonetti, Claire McEvoy…too many to mention but one and all powerfully committed, disciplined and conveying a cross-section of the human condition.
Applause. Applause.
Samela Harris
When: 6 to 23 Aug
Where: Arts Theatre
Bookings: trybooking.com
John Frost for Crossroads Live. Her Majesty’s Theatre. 3 Aug 2025
Agatha Christie's 1939 novel has had a challenging titling history. It was first published as Ten Little Niggers after the 1869 minstrel song. And Then There Were None was the title of the first US edition in 1940 - the American response to their bespoke racial situation. It was also published as Ten Little Indians in the US. Oh, boy. UK editions use the original title until 1985, which is both amazing and distasteful. Whatever it’s called, it’s the world's best-selling mystery - over 100 million copies. Agatha Christie also wrote the play in 1943, which was performed in the UK under all three titles.
Theatre doyenne and director Robyn Nevin brought Agatha Christie’s The Mouse Trap to Adelaide in 2023. The Mousetrap is the world’s longest running play, since 1952. The only mystery about The Mousetrap is that it's been running so long. Christie, presumably a woman of her time and unfazed by minority or disability appellations, originally called the play Three Blind Mice. Oh, woke is me.
Although written first, Christie built a better mousetrap with And Then There Were None. There are more murders, it’s eviler, and it's more gruesome. Set in an isolated house on an isolated island off Devon, eight people arrive by boat, thanks to unexpected invitations, and are greeted by the married domestic staff. Turns out nobody knows the hosts. And somewhere on the island, there is a cat amongst these pigeons.
Stylish costumes look bright and gay and 40’s fashionable against the battleship grey of a desirable modernist mansion room designed after American architect Richard Neutra. Set and costume designer Dale Ferguson intelligently utilised this US connection from Christie’s novel. The big expanse of windows invite opportunities for dramatic skies to match the action that were largely missed.
There is plenty of Coward-ly repartee and more accents than a French novel. The action accelerates to the final reveal and witty recriminations rise with the body count. It's fun to guess who is responsible for all the mysterious murderous mayhem. Characterisations are lovingly lavished by the ensemble, yet Christie is ungenerous in giving actors opportunities to break free of stereotypes. Director Robyn Nevin does her best to help, but until the juicy end, persons sitting next to suspected murderers don't seem overly perturbed. Actors with the best roles look the best. What is locked into the script is an expose of prejudices, self-justification and excuses for monstrous behaviour.
Robin Nevin’s production is slick and beautiful to behold. And Then There Were None is not only your classic murder mystery but also a great drama on the human condition, and one begging juxtaposition with the current political upheaval. A must see for the Christie tragics, or if you’re curious where Midsomer Murders comes from.
PS. The game of Cluedo was released in the same year, 1943, that Christie wrote this play. The murder mystery held its fascination even in the midst of World War II.
David Grybowski
When: 3 to 16 Aug
Where: Her Majesty’s Theatre
Bookings: andthentherewerenone.com.au
State Theatre Company South Australia / Queensland Theatre. Odeon Theatre. 30 July 2025
Dear Son is a magnificent example of storytelling craft intersecting with theatre. It’s a witty, richly playful and deeply compelling work adapted from the book Dear Son: Letters and Reflections from First Nations fathers and Sons by Thomas Mayo, co-author of The Voice to Parliament Handbook.
Director Isaac Drandic and co-adaptor John Harvey have fashioned a remarkably sophisticated production managing to successfully offer a work at once hilarious as its underlying intent is extremely serious. Speaking of contemporary issues faced by indigenous men and problems they face as fathers and sons. Encompassing with extraordinary ease and deft flair the impact 200 years of negative colonial attitudes crushing positive cultural forces thousands of years old have had and are having on them.
There is much magic created from simple choices made. Backbone to the production’s structure is a group of indigenous men meeting at an outdoor BBQ club to chat and talk issues. From this foundation, story after story segues with complete ease. That, in partnership with Designer Kevin O’Briens’s lovely basic shed roof, sand floor with wood tables and benches, Lighting Designer David Walter’s faultless feeling for mood and tone, allied with Craig Wilkinson’s video design and William Hughes sound design, you get an experience that’s at once familiar – do we not always consider the stories of sons and fathers – yet distinctly very, very different.
Drandic’s cast are a fantastic ensemble, very into playing it up as they are handling pretty intense stories. Not easy having your wife and kids move out on you. Losing a beloved Uncle when you arrive too late (yet this sad tale is easily one of the funniest stories in the telling,) managing a mixed married.
The real power in this cast’s work is an infallible ability in giving deep expression to the love, admiration and hope of sons to their fathers, of fathers to their sons. In words they could not say face to face. Words wrapped in the wonder, mystery and celebration of culture; animal totems and land in much the same way western culture does, with a different emphasis and form.
Bravo Jimi Bani, Waangenga Blanco, Kirk Page, Aaron Pedersen, and Tibian Wyles. They accomplish something extraordinary with a humble simplicity to be admired.
David O’Brien
When: 26 Jul to 16 Aug
Where: Odeon Theatre
Bookings: statetheatrecompany.com.au
The Adelaide Repertory Theatre. Arts Theatre. 17 Jul 2025
And thus does one brighten a winter’s week, solidly giggling at the folly that is Hollywood comically veiled in a Shakespearean movie caper.
Ken Ludwig is an American playwright with a keen feel for zany comedy and an affectionate eye for old movies. Hence this capricious send up of Hollywood’s great 1935 flop, a daring Warner Brothers production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by the exiled anti-Nazi Austrian director Max Reinhardt. It starred Olivia de Havilland and James Cagney with Mickey Rooney as Puck. It later became a cult movie and much later, under the satirical pen of Ludwig, who had been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, an award-winning take-off on stage.
Now, under the deft directorship of Jude Hines for the Rep, this zany play about a movie about play shines anew.
And what a big night out it is. The cast is huge and so is the set, from Gary Anderson, its centrepiece a giant tree which stands as the magical forest of The Dream’s fairy characters. This is a comedy which depends on pace and lots of clever sound cues and lighting effects - all of which are effectively delivered.
Overlaying the A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s original plot is the Ludwig plot which throws Oberon, King of the Fairies, and Puck his mischievous offsider, into preparations for the Hollywood movie version. By default, they are cast as themselves, hence bringing supernatural powers to play amid a lineup of vain old Hollywood greats.
Merry mayhem ensues and, in true farce tradition, the tricks and cross-purposes escalate into over-the-top hilarity.
There are a number of notable performances. Emily Burns really lights up the stage as a lithe and bold little Puck, standing in for Rooney, while Stephen Bills, in fine Shakespearean voice, towers over her, all power and majesty. Another wonderful scene-stealer is Malcolm Walton as Joe E Brown playing Flute, the Joiner AKA Thisbee. Oh, such a bemused Mechanical in tutu. Leah Lowe is well voiced and simpatico as movie star Olivia and Jasmine Duggan wins hearts and laughs as the gauche aspiring starlet Lydia Lansing. Absolute dependables in the cast are Penni Hamilton-Smith as Louella Parsons and Ben Todd as Jack Warner with Sam Wiseman, very cleverly attired by costume designer Sandy Whitelaw, as the brilliant, exiled director Reinhard who brings with him his ghosts of Hitler’s Germany. Nice work. Adam Schultz thrives with a very funny scene of his own as horrible Will Hayes and everyone is well supported by Keiran Drost, Matthew Thompson, Tom Adams, Nicholas Eldborough and the three be-winged fairies. There are lots of fun costumes, thanks to Whitelaw, some forgettable wigs and a wonderful Bottom’s head. Eleven out of ten for Ian Barge’s lighting and whoever did the magic tinkling.
The night outside did not feel so cold after all that wholesome fun and games
Samela Harris
When: 17 to 26 Jul
Where: Arts Theatre
Bookings: adelaiderep.com