REVIEW: Vidya Makan and Sonya Suares' New Australian Musical, THE LUCKY COUNTRY Tells The Australian Stories Not Usually Seen On The Musical Theatre Stage.

Saturday 3rd June 2023, 7:30pm, Hayes Theater Potts Point

Addressing the diversity of modern Australia with a song cycle of vignettes, Vidya Makan and Sonya Suares co-collaboration THE LUCKY COUNTRY is the Australian musical that we’ve been needing.  Presented with honesty, humor and an honor to the traditional owners of the work on which the work is performed, this new work, directed Suares is a wonderful chance to start conversations as it brings a range of topics to the forefront.

With a title making reference to the ‘nickname’ for Australia made famous by Donald Horne’s1964 book, THE LUCKY COUNTRY draws on Horne’s original negative connotations of the phrase to remind the audience that it’s only lucky if you fit into the cis, het, white middle class ‘ideal’ which has historically dominated the stories that have been celebrated on stage.  Through a series of stories told by different representatives of Australia’s diverse population, issues like ‘casual racism’, prejudice, violence against women, accusations of ‘cultural appropriation’, financial hardship, and most significantly the ‘whitewashing’ of Australian history and the stolen generation are covered.  While the majority of the stories are stand alone pieces delivered through song, there is an bookending story arc of a young Thitharr Warra boy (Joseph Althouse) battling against a society and a school system that won’t acknowledge his ancestors and the horrors inflicted on them as early as the colonial settlers to modern prejudices. 

The stage, designed by Emily Collett, is simply set with minimal props and an animation forming the backdrop that enables the scenes to be changed with ease. The scenes are each unique in their styling, allowing each character to have their own distinct style and experience.  Some scenes are more naive, reflecting the character telling the story, like the vegetable patch that an African migrant child (Milo Hartill) sings about Growing A Garden, or the Boy’s introduction of wanting grow up to be a famous basketball player, inspired by Baker Boy, the indigenous Australian rapper idolizes.  Some backdrops are more realistic images like the Chinese restaurant that has been handed down to Jeffrey Liu’s (JËVA) character, though he’d rather be living a ‘freer’ life Makin’ My Way To Byron Bay while the school lesson on Australian history is told through an animation that resembles a shoebox diorama.  Through Justin Harrison’s projection design, a connecting ‘thread’ comes in the form of white birds flying through the scenes, leading the Boy to the final revelation.  Emily Collett’s costume design is simple, adopting a blue and orange theme for the characters, allowing them to be tied together as a collective while retaining enough individual attributes.  Gradually characters may adopt different costumes to reinforce the story, from the dress that the Teacher (Dyagula) dons for the classroom scenes, to the bright print dress Milo Hartill dons as the African girl.  The costuming for I Could Kill Ya is brilliant in it railing against convention of what is usually promoted as how a woman should look. 

THE LUCKY COUNTRY is a wonderfully moving piece of theatre that is both humorous and though provoking. The songs are clever and well crafted, crammed with lots of detail as Makan and Suares seek to use the work to educate while entertain.  With the through line of the Boy connecting with his heritage and viewing the diversity of modern Australia, the work is finished off with a firm reminder that of all the Australian stories that need to be told, the story of the Indigenous Australians’ experience is most significant.  With the assistance of Musician Billy McPherson on Yidaki (understood by the reviewer to be the eastern Arnhem Land name for an instrument similar to digeridoo), Dyagula and Joseph Althouse lead a powerful final scene that encourages the audience to feel even more connected to the work. 

https://boxoffice.hayestheatre.com.au/WEBPAGES/EntaWebShow/ShowDatesCombo.aspx

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