Purpose is one of the most hyped plays in recent Sydney Theatre Company history, having won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and being fast-tracked straight into the Australian theatre scene. In front of a sold-out crowd, the cast took the stage at the Wharf 1 Theatre for a Saturday matinee performance, with many Valentine’s Day couples in the room. With the play clearly based on the life of the late civil rights icon Jesse Jackson, who passed away shortly following this performance, the production only has increased relevance as its season continues.

The play is very much based around the archetypal family dinner set, with Naz, a budding nature photographer, returning home alongside his recently incarcerated brother and parents Solomon and Claudine Jasper who are key figures in the Black community and in the civil rights movement. Complicating matters is the arrival of Naz’s best friend Aziza with whom he has recently conceived a baby in a platonic arrangement, which is somewhat unfamiliar for the very conservative Jasper family. Additionally, Naz’s brother Solomon Jr.’s wife Morgan is staring down her own prison term which leads to a morose demeanour on her part.

The play is lengthy, spanning over three hours, as it breaks down each of the familial dynamics in turn while the family sit down to dinner with their guests to celebrate Claudine’s 80th birthday.

The play is led by the presence of Markus Hamilton as the Reverend Solomon Jasper who does a fantastic job of bringing energy and presence to the production. Tinashe Mangwana as Naz is also sublime, taking up the role of narrator. Although often the narration is unreliable, Mangwana approaches this with a fantastic sense of character, very much embodying the awkwardness and challenges that Naz faces in confronting his world and all the contradictions in it. Deni Gordon as Claudine has power and presence and Maurice Marvel Meredith as Solomon Jr. really brings out the torment in his character, while Grace Bentley-Tsibuah as Morgan brings some much needed comic relief to the production as well as some very serious moments alongside Sisi Stringer who plays Aziza and executes her role wonderfully.

The main issue with this play is that it feels wedged between satire and trying to be truly incisive. This is not to say that satire cannot be truly incisive, but the play struggles to find a balance between its ultimately very serious subject matter and the humour that sometimes pokes through but does not quite breach the surface. In some ways, it also feels like it tries to do a little too much, dealing with religion, politics, power, sexuality and race all in a span of three hours. As such, it feels like it deals with many of these issues quite superficially rather than taking the time to really interrogate them more critically.

Additionally, while having Naz as a narrator provides an interesting and unique narration style, it does at times feel as though it is providing a tool for extended monologues and explanations of plot that are used to address some of the deficiencies in the writing of the rest of the production.

That said, the play does a great job of bringing out the challenging family dynamics at play and especially does well in interrogating the deification of seemingly important figures and the struggles that ensue from that. The twists in the production keep the audience engaged despite the three hour runtime, even if it means that some of the content is dealt with slightly more superficially than would be appreciated.

A word must also go to the designer Jeremy Allen who has put together an absolutely gorgeous stage for the performers to ply their trade. The snow peaked walls and the homely interior are just perfect and really do a good job of elevating the production. Kelsey Lee’s lighting and James Peter Brown’s composition and sound design also add to the ambience, giving a sense that this is a production that feels cohesive and well put together, something that is of course a characteristic of all Sydney Theatre Company plays. The direction of Zindzi Okenyo is also considered and elevates the production as well. 

Overall, this is a very strong production that is exceptionally well-acted and very well put together, dealing with some very interesting subject matter. However, ultimately, perhaps falling victim to the expectations set by the Pulitzer win, it feels a little superficial and uneven in its flow. This is a play that could do wonders as satire or as a more intensive think piece, but at the moment seems to attempt both without quite committing to one or the other. With that said, this is still a very interesting watch, showing some of Australia’s finest performers at their best in a play with an epic runtime and much scope for dramatic flair. So even with all its quirks, this is definitely still a play not to miss.

Rating: ★★★★

Purpose plays at the Wharf 1 Theatre until 22 March 2026. For more information, click here. 

All photo credits: Prudence Upton