THE DROVERS WIFE - Opera Australia - Sydney Opera House

 

Nina Korbe (Molly) - Shauntai Abdul-Rahman (Black Mary) - in Opera Australia's "The Drover's Wife"

Composed by George Palmer AM– Libretto by Leah Purcell AM with George Palmer AM.

Conducted by Tahu Matheson- Directed by Leah Purcell AM

Associate Director: Imara Savage - Choreographed by Yolande Brown

Set Design by Isabel Hudson -Costume Design by Tess Schofield

Sound Design by Michael Waters – Video Design by Craig Wilkinson

Produced by Bain Stewart for Oombarra Productions

Joan Sutherland Theatre – Sydney Opera House - Aug 7 to Aug. 15, 2026

Opening night performance reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

The cast of Opera Australia's "The Drover's Wife".

A new Australian opera is a rarity – a new First Nations opera in the Sydney Opera House is a moment of history. As Leah Purcell said prior to the Sydney premiere, “If we get this right, it’s gonna be something special”.

Judging from the enthusiastic standing ovation from the capacity audience at the end of the Sydney premiere performance, they certainly got it right, bigtime.

Composer, George Palmer, recognised the operatic possibilities inherent in Henry Lawson’s classic 1892 short story about a heavily pregnant young mother, Molly Johnson, left alone to care for her three children in a remote Snowy Mountains hut, while her husband was out droving.

Palmer found an enthusiastic collaborator to work with him on the libretto, in Leah Purcell. Besides mining Lawson’s story as the source for her best-selling novel, Purcell had performed Molly Johnson in the play and film adaptations.

Purcell also directed the resultant opera for its premiere season earlier this year in the Queensland Performing Arts Centre brand new Glasshouse Theatre, as she has these triumphant performances in the Sydney Opera House.

An outstanding feature of the opera is how comfortably the Purcell’s libretto responds to Palmer’s operatic treatment, which is epic, and superbly interpreted by the Opera Australia Orchestra sensitively conducted by Tahu Matheson who has been involved in the creation of the opera since its very beginning.

The initial shock of hearing Australian slang and indigenous language interwoven through Palmer’s ravishing score soon evaporates as the power of the storytelling begins to take over.

Nina Korbe (Molly) - Marcus Corowa (Yadaka) and the cast of Opera Australia's
"The Drover's Wife"

Played out in a truly beautiful setting designed by Isabel Hudson, in which a giant fallen snow gum dominates the stage. The tree provides shelter and protection for Molly Johnson and her brood, as well as a meeting place for the first nation people who keep a watchful eye over the family. Magically, the background divides to indicate the passing of time, the changes of seasons, and most particularly, the blazing stars of the Snowy Mountains.

Molly Johnson (Nina Korbe) treats all intruders with suspicion in her efforts to protect her family. However, the audience only meet her eldest child, Danny, who is bordering on manhood, and sensitively interpreted by Nick Smith.

Nina Korbe (Molly) - Marcus Corowa (Yadaka) - in "The Drover's Wife"

When a young aboriginal man, Yadaka (Marcus Corowa), on the run after being wrongly accused of murder, offers to work for Molly in return for food and sustenance, Danny is attracted by characteristics he perceives in Yadaka and is keen to emulate, Danny implores his mother to let him stay. Molly relents and an uneasy friendship begins to form between her and Yadaka.

However, tensions soon begin to surface between Molly and Yadaka when he informs her of her own aboriginality.

Marcus Corowa (Yadaka) - Shane Lowrencev (Douglas Merchant) in "The Drovers Wife"

Meanwhile, having been alerted by a passing peddler (Shane Lawrencev) to Yadaka’s presence on Molly’s property Trooper Leslie (Elias Wilson) and townspersons, Robert Parsen (Simon Meadows) and John McPharlen (Zoy Frangos) arrive, setting off a chain of truly horrifying events.

 Six First Nation dancers, among them Yolanda Lowatta and Waangenga Blanco, both well-known to Canberra audiences, together with Vanessa Coolwell, Leonard Donahue, Jeanette Fabila and Zoy Frangos, provide a mystical connection between past and present as they watch over the young mother.

Yolanda Lowatta in "The Drover's Wife"

Tess Schofield has costumed the dancers in soft earthy floating fabrics of which choreographer, Yolonde Brown, takes full advantage to create ghostly swirling images with which the dancers herald the ghastly events that climax the opera.

Purcell’s direction is secure and direct. She doesn’t shirk confronting images, nor is she afraid of sentimentalism, as in the beautiful first act aria, when Molly lullabies her stillborn baby with “Sleep my little child, Sleep my child”.

In the role which will define her career, Nina Korbe gives a compelling performance as the unfortunate Molly, a tragic heroine unafraid of uninvited intruders who threaten her security and that of her children.

Korby contrasts Molly’s stoicism with an appealing wistfulness and pristine vocals, especially in her lovely second act aria, “Each Night in the Silence of the Moonlight”, sung to the exquisite harp accompaniment of Natalie Wong, in which Molly longs for a gentler existence than the one in which she endures confronting beatings, even rape. 

Nina Korbe as Molly in "The Drover's Wife" 

 Her friendship with Yadaka provides her only hope of escape, but even that is cruelly dashed when he is subjected to a grisly fate.

As Yadaka, Marcus Corowa sings and acts with assurance, exuding gentleness and strength, qualities which inspire the young Danny to become the protector of his mother and siblings.

With this production Opera Australia have found a monumental opera of wide appeal, graced with a stunning score and gripping story to match and truly deserving of a place as a staple in its repertoire. It’s an opera every Australian should have the opportunity to experience. 

Nina Korbe as Molly and Nick Smith as Danny in "The Drover's Wife"

 

                                                            Photos by Carlita Sari

                                     This review also published in Australian Arts Review.

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins and Dreamworks Film. Adapted by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel. Directed by Chris Baldock. Mockingbird Theatre. Belconnen Arts Centre. To August 22.

I have a huge blind spot when it  comes to murder mysteries and who-dunnits. So as usual I could not for the life of me figure out the guilty party in this absorbing modern murder mystery until it was revealed at the end. No matter. The fun is often in the journey and in Chris Baldock’s tightly directed show there’s plenty of the right kind of tension.

At its centre is an uncertain narrator. Rachel Watson (Morgan Heath-Williams) has  the bloodstained mark of a blow on her forehead and seems rather too fond of drinking to be a reliable witness to anything. Her ex husband has gone off with another woman and they now have a baby. She’s lost her job. She watches what happens on trains and has taken to speculation about the lives of some passengers.

Morgan HeathWilliams (Rachel)

Heath-Williams captures Rachel’s wild eyed and unreliable narrative well. She fantasises about a happy couple she keeps seeing on the train. At least she thinks Scott (Timothy Cusack) and Megan (Susie Todd) are happy. Then there is a murder.

Ex-husband Tom (Robert Reardon) is no help and his new wife Anna (Sabrina Fu) is understandably very wary. Therapist Kamal Abdic (Ankush Singh Khanchi) is no use to a traumatised Rachel either. And when the law arrives in the laid back form of D.I. Gaskill (Paul Sweeney) Rachel looks even more isolated.

Paul Sweeney (D.I.Gaskill)

This is all happening on a cunningly designed set by Baldock where the audience is surrounded by the play with a pit at the centre (a grave?) and projections high on the walls of things like trains rushing by.

A good evening for an audience who enjoys a well sustained and co-ordinated murder mystery done with some imagination and style.

 

Alanna Maclean

The Girl On The Train

Mockingbird Theatre Company

Belco Arts

Until 22 August

Reviewed by Samara Purnell 

“It’s all about the bit that’s missing, about what’s not there….”

Rachel wakes from a drunken blackout with blood on her head and no memory of what happened leading up to it. The woman Rachel has been watching through the train window on her commute to London is missing. And soon enough, suspicion will fall on her. 

Morgan Heath-Williams as Rachel

Many viewers of Mockingbird’s The Girl on the Train will have seen the 2016 movie, starring Emily Blunt, or read Paula Hawkin’s book. Conveniently, much like the main character of this play, I could only remember parts of what I’d seen and had mixed in bits from similar movies, so this was still to be a suspenseful night regarding the plot.

Rachel (Morgan Heath-Willians) maintains a strained relationship with ex-husband Tom (Robert Wearden), much to the annoyance of his new partner Anna (Sabrina Fu). Rachel has been reduced to an alcoholic, catching the train each day to London and living vicariously through the lives of others, especially Megan and Scott (Susie Todd and Timothy Cusack). When Megan disappears, Rachel becomes determined to get involved in solving the case, but continually raises the suspicion of Detective Gaskill (Paul Sweeney).

Paul Sweeney and Morgan Heath-Williams

Strange coincidences are occurring and the rumours are swirling. The media gets involved and the pressure mounts. Tension rises between every relationship, as Rachel, the detective, Tom and Anna, even the psychologist (Ankush Singh Khanchi) have her questioning her own memory and reality. Will Rachel remember enough to resolve the mystery with the detective, or will she remain a suspect? 

Director Chris Baldock, who is also credited with most of the creative aspects of the show, has cast an ensemble with actors new to the company (in its 30th production).

This is the first lead role for Heath-Williams, who is new to theatre acting, but a seasoned performer in other fields. She holds her own, maintaining good timing and an urgency in her interactions, giving a committed and sustained performance. Her wardrobe, lack of makeup and long, multi-toned hair, described by Tom as being unwashed did give the appearance of a woman struggling to get her life together, in the fog of amnesic intoxication and repressed grief, but lacked the nuance that perhaps she had not always been in this state.

Megan’s backstory unfolds in glimpses. Whatever her actions may have been, Todd presents her with poise, grace and polish. Her hair, nails and makeup are done, and she is dressed in a silk blouse and black pants. Todd gives a measured and mature performance, creating genuine shock, empathy and sadness in the audience.   

Fu was well cast as the new wife, delivering organic meals and spitting words at Rachel with just the right amount of exasperation and control. Dressed neatly and on trend, she looked like a poster girl for Uniqlo. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the remainder of the cast, whose wardrobe would benefit from some attention to detail.

Sabrina Fu

Singh Khanchi’s voice and presence is gentle and calm as he guides his clients through their therapy sessions. Meanwhile Cusack embodies a bewildered, slightly unhinged husband, wanting answers and Wearden manages to calmly and delicately balance the demands of the women in his life. Experienced actor Sweeney was aptly cast as the detective, his haphazard one-liners land well and he holds the line between authoritative and suggestible, stopping short of farce.     

The small cast has varying degrees of theatre experience, but all perform their roles with aplomb, holding space for their characters and each other’s. The show is presented in the round, of sorts - an interesting layout which segments the audience into wedges between four short walkways, meeting in a small central sunken square. 

It is deliberately set up to make the audience feel like voyeurs, observing other observers, and so close to the actors that we are literally sitting right next to them in the therapy room, on Scott’s couch, and with Rachel as she dances around her living room. We find ourselves fellow commuters on trains and trams, observing the actors and each other.

White sheets cover the whole area behind the seating so that projections and imagery can fly, or float past. Flashes of light and the sound of trains created a realistic feeling of travelling in a train carriage. At other times, Megan’s face looms over the action.

Timothy Cusack

The actors shuffling items and walking across the set at times seems distracting except that they are intended to be just that - a realistic representation of how events unfold, the point being that we miss details, don’t see everything, our recall can change and there will be slight differences to someone else's. 

Motherhood, grief, truth and perception, manipulations and ultimately violence by or against women are woven throughout The Girl on the Train and the acting and certain story threads are quite emotionally impactful.  

Susie Todd and Timothy Cusack with Paul Sweeney in background

With The Girl on the Train, Mockingbird Theatre delivers an immersive, intimate audience experience in this engaging and engrossing evening of theatre: A psychological thriller of infidelity, grief and mystery.

All photos by Chris Baldock

THE GLASS MENAGERIE

Written by Tennessee Williams. Directed by Geoffrey Borny. Canberra Rep. Canberra Rep Theatre. July 23 to August 8.

 

The performance history of this play is an intriguing tussle between surreal and naturalistic theatre traditions and Geoffrey Borny’s perceptive production pays all this some attention. There is a screen with images and captions that comment on the action. There’s clearly been a move to the more surrealistic production elements that Tennessee Williams appears to have wanted.

But whether a playwright can dictate performance conditions is a big question.

However, despite a puzzlingly unlit stage as the audience comes in and an apparent lack of backlight in many scenes, this production captures much about the memories that Tom (Rob de Fries) lays out as he tell the story of the family he fled.

Jamie Johnston (Laura) and Victoria Tyrell Dixon (Amanda)

Mother Amanda (Victoria Tyrrell Dixon) is bent on finding security for her fragile daughter Laura (Jamie Johnston) through getting her married. But Laura lives in a world of her own, focussed on her glass animals and held back by a limp and social shyness. Hopes rise when Tom brings Jim (John Whinfield) home but it turns out that he is promised elsewhere.

Tyrrell Dickson is a fierce and uncompromising Amanda. Son Tom is usually cast as a younger man but an older casting with de Fries is able to emphasise the gulf between the present and the memories of the past.

John Whinfield (Jim) and Jamie Johnston (Laura)

And the production really blossoms when Johnston and Whinfield come together for the crucial scene between Laura and Jim. Amanda has hoped for courtship but what develops here is something else in terms of human understanding. It’s a luminous moment.

Strong performances all round sustain a thoughtful look at an important and moving play.

 

Alanna Maclean 

THE JUNGLE AND THE SEA

 

Written and directed by Shakthidharan and

Eamon Flack

A Belvoir St Theatre Production

Co-Produced with Kurinji and Lingalayam Dance Company

The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre to 9 August

 

Reviewed by Len Power 7 August.

 

We’re so used to seeing images of war nightly on the TV news that we easily become de-sensitized. The Jungle and the Sea brings home the human impact and horror of war in a way that is impossible to ignore.

Focussing on one family’s epic journey to survive Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war, a woman, Gowrie, takes a vow of defiance. She blindfolds herself and refuses to see the world again until her loved ones are reunited. As the war progresses, the family try to retain their dignity and safety amid the devastation around them.

This deeply human work is grand in scale and honours those people who endured unimaginable loss. Love and pride in family shines through despite horrific events that occur.

This epic production plays out over three acts. A starkly simple setting makes effective use of a constantly turning revolve and the onstage musicians Hari Sivanesan and Aswin Selvanathan provide a constant and atmospheric underscore to the action with Carnatic music.

Anandavalli

Bharathanatyam dancer, Anandavalli, leads the ensemble cast of Prakash Belawadi, Emma Harvie, Nadie Kammallaweera, Shiv Palekar, Dushan Philips, Kalieaswari Srinivasan and Rajan Velu. Several play multiple roles and all give heart-felt and moving performances, making these people and their culture come vividly alive.

Cast members of The Jungle and the Sea

The directors and writers, Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack, have produced a highly imaginative and very busy production that is built out of real-life testimonies from the war. It clarifies the issues of this war while keeping the focus on the impact on the family.

Our attention is so cleverly invested in the events this family experiences that this long play seems much shorter than it is. The final scene is intensely moving and memorably demonstrates the power of love and family.

 

Photos by Brett Boardman

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.

 

DIAMOND - The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre

Presented by Q The Locals, Liz Lea Creates and The BOLD Festival

 Directed and performed by Liz Lea

Choreographed by Liz Lea, Jamie Winbank, Natalie Ayton, Tammi Gissell, Leslie Scott, Di Heaton and Kym Degenhart - Stage Managed by Rhiley Winnett

Dramaturgy by Natalie Ayton and Julie-Anne Long - Lighting Design by Karen Norris

Cinematography and editing by James Hiscutt - Technical Direction by Roni Wilkinson

Written by Liz Lea, Julie-Anne Long and Emma Batchelor - Musical Direction by Kay Ansah – Costume Design by Liz Lea, Bruce Scott and Cate Cleland

The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. August 6^th – 8^th 2026.

Opening night performance reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Liz Lea and the High Kix dancers in "Diamond"

This extraordinary one-woman creation was conceived directed and performed by equally extraordinary Liz Lea, supported by a huge cast of professional and community dancers and creatives.

Lea is a nationally and internationally recognised dance artist, choreographer and producer. Over three decades she has toured her work internationally and been commissioned in India, UK, Europe, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, USA and Kuwait.

Since settling in Canberra, among her many achievements, she has been named the 2017 ACT Artist of the Year and received a 2017 Australian Dance Award. She directs two festivals, DANscienCE and BOLD, and is the founder of the GOLD Company, the Chamaeleon Collective and directs the Stellar Company, a not-for-profit arts organisation.

“Diamond” is the second, in what she intends as a trilogy of one-woman dance works drawing attention to women’s health issues from a dancer’s perspective. The first in the trilogy was a stunning creation entitled, “Red” which focussed on her own experience with endometriosis and its effects on the dancer’s body. She toured “Red” internationally.

Liz Lea in "Diamond"

With “Diamond” she likens the many facets of a diamond to the issues surrounding menopause, growing older, missing out on marrying and having children, and the perceived invisibility of woman as they grow older.

But should those topics sound a bit daunting, particularly for any males reading this review, don’t underestimate the skill and creativity of Liz Lea, who in addition to still being a prodigiously skilled dancer, is also a captivating entertainer and storyteller, with the ability to induce paroxysms of laughter with the raise of an eyebrow.

She is also a remarkably creative theatre maker who has blended elements of contemporary dance, song, cabaret, burlesque, and moments of eye-popping spectacle, to create a dazzling, provocative one-woman show that delights and entertains while delivering powerful, provocative and informative insights into womanhood.  

From the moment she takes the stage as a glittering Goddess figure enshrouded in mist in a circle of light and performing delicate arm movements while a heavenly voice intones incantations, Lea has the audience in the palm of her hand. Despite her expressionless face, only her eyes hilariously betray the fact that perhaps the goddess is not altogether in agreement with the heavenly voice, resulting in her discarding a section of her spectacular costume to perform a rebellious burlesque dance.

Then follows 60 eye-popping minutes of storytelling during which Lea shares personal stories from her experiences maintaining an international dancing career while dealing with the challenges of ageing. These she imparts between executing lightning-fast costume changes and performing demanding dance routines to upbeat pop tunes, surrounded by a bevy of glamourous befeathered showgirls from Kym Dagenhart’s High Kix Productions, and a troupe of lavishly costumed seniors both female and male who luxuriate under the title of Silver Stars.

Liz Lean and the Silver Stars in "Diamond"

Karen Norris gilds the lilies with dazzling lighting design and pyrotechnics, while James Hiscutt provides gorgeous cinematography on a huge overhead screen which range through dreamy dawn lake scenes filmed at Mirramu to cheeky satirical comments on fashion.

But despite all the breathtaking glitz, glamour, gaudiness and gaiety, it is the gobsmacking professionalism of the ageless Liz Lea, her polished showgirl stylishness, and the breathtaking frankness with which she tells her story, that remain the abiding memories of this not-to-be missed diamond of a show.

 

                                   Photos by Olivia Wikner - O & J Wikner Photography.  

                           This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. 

                                                 Australian Arts Review Link

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

 

By Paula Hawkins & Dreamwork Film

Adapted by Rachel Wagstaff & Duncan Abel

Directed by Chris Baldock

Mockingbird Theatre Company

Belconnen Arts Theatre to 22 August

 

Reviewed by Len Power 5 August 2026

 

A psychological thriller on stage needs to keep you guessing right up to the end. It should be fun sorting through the information being offered to decide who is telling the truth and who isn’t so that you can, hopefully, guess who the murderer is.

This thriller adds disturbing elements of grief, motherhood, addiction and violence against women, leaving us with an uncomfortable feeling that not every situation is black and white. We find ourselves making quick judgements based on our reactions to the people before us and, when we do learn the whole story, we’re left with that uncomfortable feeling that we’re not good judges of character after all.

A commuter train, stopping at a signal every morning, gives a girl on the train the opportunity to observe a woman in her nearby home. When that woman mysteriously disappears, the girl on the train finds herself linked to a murder and, as a suspect herself, she struggles to either solve the mystery or deflect suspicion from herself.

Morgan HeathWilliams (Rachel - the girl on the train)

The cast of seven all give fine performances. As Rachel, the girl on the train at the centre of the action, Morgan HeathWilliams is outstanding with her intense, charismatic character study of an emotionally disturbed woman struggling to get through her life the best way she can. Her performance is believable throughout the play.

Susie Todd (Megan) and Timothy Cusack (Scott)

Robert Wearden, Timothy Cusack, Susie Todd, Ankjush Singh Khanchi, Paul Sweeney and Sabrina Fu all get their moments to shine with nicely judged performances. Susie Todd as the murdered woman, Megan Hipwell, is particularly fine in a deeply emotional flashback scene with her therapist and Paul Sweeney as the investigating policeman, D.I. Gaskill, gives an especially strong performance that is multi-layered when it could have been a cliché.

Director, Chris Baldock, has ensured that his cast achieve the right levels of emotion throughout the play and his unique, immersive set design, works brilliantly.

 

Photos by Chris Baldock

 

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 6 August 2026.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.