My Brilliant Career
A Melbourne Theatre Company production reviewed by Alex First
Photo by Pia Johnson
In one of the greatest performances seen on the Australian stage, Kala Gare is a delightful, dynamic, dominant and defiant powerhouse.
In short, she – like her character, Sybylla Melvyn – is a force to be reckoned with.
Sybylla is often argumentative, cheeky and cheery.
Set at a time when women were subjugated and “bred” to be marriage material, a teenage Sybylla didn’t and wouldn’t run with the pack.
She was all about affirmative action before it was fashionable to be an avowed feminist.
Gare, though, is far from alone in impressing an enthusiastic audience.
The 10-strong cast, many of whom are assigned multiple roles, excel throughout, switching gears, acting, singing and playing musical instruments with distinction.
They have an unmistakable chemistry, which is apparent from the get-go.
My Brilliant Career is very much the complete show – an experience to savour and cherish.
It is the late 19th century, and 15-year-old Sybylla lives on a dairy farm in Possum Gully with her parents and younger siblings, Horace and Gertie.
It is a thankless existence.
Drought has seen the place implode.
There is work and sleep and nothing else.
Sybylla is irascible, not at all in sync with her mother and father.
She longs for more – for art, books and music.
While she doesn’t know exactly what she wants out of life, it is certainly not what confronts her daily.
She is not willing to simply settle.
In short, she is trying to find herself and thinks big.
As the musical evolves, she turns 17 and then 19.
A series of colourful adventures awaits.
The task of adapting the lauded Miles Franklin novel fell to Sheridan Harbridge (book) and Dean Bryant (book and lyrics), with music by Matthew Frank.
What emerges is pure gold.
Bryant’s reason for turning the classic prose into a musical was that he felt the story would be enlarged by doing so. Indeed, that is the case.
We have pop, rock, folk and music of the day, an appealing combination.
Much of the original cast returns. MTC’s My Brilliant Career premiered in November 2024 and is currently touring.
Gare is a bundle of pent-up energy as the incomparable, self-serving Sybylla, who refuses to be tamed. Her wild spirit endures.
She bounds about the stage with reckless abandon. Her broad grin has a most alluring authenticity about it.
Her vocals soar. Her stagecraft is exemplary – potent and invigorating – as she transforms into a teenager cum young woman, navigating a circuitous path.
We see her effortlessly channelling a range of emotions, from anger to frustration, playfulness to poignancy.
Raj Labade plays Sybylla’s love-struck suitor Harry, who has never met anyone like Sybylla.
Harry recognises that he will have to have the patience of Job to ride the inevitable highs and lows, but his heart tells him it is a risk worth taking.
Labade shifts from arrogant to intrigued to doting.
There is much to look out for, including a brilliant, scene-stealing turn by Cameron Bajraktarevic-Hayward as the effeminate British jackaroo Frank.
I also loved the transitions of sweet-voiced Christina O’Neill from mother to aunt and more, and the versatile Drew Livingston from dour father to upbeat uncle and more.
So, too, the super-talented and adaptable Melanie Bird, who is another standout.
Lincoln Elliott says little as a recalcitrant youngster who gives his governess grief, but leaves an indelible impression.
The humour inherent in the part is indicative of so much that is great about this production.
Marg Horwell’s set and costume design sparkle. A neat, centred rural setting, replete with performers on their musical instruments, gives way to several enticing surprises.
Choreography, lighting and sound elevate the spectacle.
Director Anne-Louise Sarks’ production of Mr Brilliant Career is triumphant and intoxicating – dramatic, amusing and sentimental, and, above all, entertaining.
Two hours 30 minutes, including interval, it is on at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner until 28th February, 2026.
Thereafter, it moves to Canberra Theatre Centre from 7th to 15th March.
Then it is off to the Roslyn Packer Theatre in Sydney from 21st March to 26th April, and to the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre in Wollongong from 8th to 17th May.
