There is not much better than seeing original Australian musical theatre and My Brilliant Career is very much at the top of the list. After two stellar seasons at Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sheridan Harbridge penned musical has arrived in Sydney for its debut season at the Roslyn Packer Theatre as part of Sydney Theatre Company’s 2026 season. Based off Miles Franklin’s novel penned 125 years ago, the musical takes a story that is entrenched in the national canon, with many people having studied the novel in school or seen the subsequent film, and puts a fresh take on it to make it feel unabashed, feminist and strikingly modern. With artistic director Mitchell Butel leaning into more accessible works this year, this is another great choice to bring in many different theatre-goers. 

The musical tells the story of Sybylla Melvin who is a young creative who dares to dream to be a writer in early 20th century rural Australia. Adapting a classic piece of literature always has its risks, with something for the audience to compare it to, but in this production the difference maker really was the lead role of Sybylla, which was played by Kala Gare. The cleverly written songs for Sybylla, specifically the power ballad “In the Wrong Key” and the ’11 o’clock’ number “Someone Like Me”, suited Gare’s voice incredibly well and she performed with such gusto, passion and clarity both vocally and dramatically that she took this production to another level.

Gare was so strong that it made me question whether the show could even succeed without Gare in the lead. She really brought the energy to the show and truly won over the audience, nailing every high note as she showed off an incredible poise on the stage. Often when performers sing so well it comes at the expense of character development, but in this case Gare managed both perfectly, really taking the audience into the world and the pain of Sybylla whilst also giving a vocal performance that did not compromise on quality in any way and indeed showed off the breadth of Gare’s voice. It was a stunning and masterful performance and one that will live long in the memories of theatre goers. It really was a quintessential Australian role perfectly executed.

The rest of the cast were also very strong with Raj Labade performing well as Harry, bringing great charisma to the role and Drew Livingston playing a variety of roles very well and displaying strong instrumental skills. Cameron Bajraktarevic-Hayward also did a great job as Frank, while Melanie Bird had a great solo and displayed great presence as Gertie. A shout out must also be given to the crew (led by stage managers Whitney McNamara and Oriana Papa) who featured on stage at many points, which was a nice touch and further added a level of intimacy to the show. One great moment was when the stage manager came out after Sybylla’s big solo and fist bumped Gare, which reflected the vibe of the room after her incredible vocal performance.

The Matthew Frank and Dean Bryant score felt very much Australian while maintaining the conventions of musical theatre as well, which was a nice touch and meant that their music really resonated with the audience, driving the momentum of the production while the performers on stage brought out their characters. The sets were also beautiful in this production with Marg Howell doing a great job of conveying the rural Australian landscape whilst also maintaining continuity with seamless scene changes, all centred around an upright piano for Gare to play throughout the show. It was also nice to see the performers becoming the band and playing their instruments on stage, although the trope of the performers playing their instruments on stage before the show to welcome the audience in is starting to become a little bit tired as it feels like it occurs in almost every show in Sydney at the moment.

If there were to be a criticism of the show it would be that the pacing was a little inconsistent at times, with a lot of the action as Sybylla started to form love interests in the second act really driving the momentum of the musical, with the first act dragging quite a bit as the scene was set. In a novel there is perhaps more room for context and to set the scene, but in a musical it feels a little bit repetitive and takes away from the music and the key storyline. With that said, the energy of the production was consistently high which meant that the production’s length was not felt as keenly, although it did seem at times that this production would be more suited to a substantial one-act musical than a two-act production.

Overall, in a time where coming of age musicals like The Outsiders are making a huge splash on Broadway, this feels like a production that could very much have an appeal all around the world. Combining the eccentricities and beauty of rural Australia with an Aussie-tinged musical theatre score and a classic storyline means that this production has all the tools for success and it absolutely delivers thanks to a superlative performance from Kala Gare. The production was energetic, passionate and full of life and is richly deserving of all the illustrious reviews that it is receiving. While the pacing felt a little slow in the first act and some of the tropes felt a little overused at times, there is no doubt that this is a brilliant piece of theatre which is exquisitely performed on the Roslyn Packer stage. It is so pleasing to see Australian musical theatre on the biggest stages and this is a production that many will love. For those wanting to see the best in Australian theatre, both in writing and in performing, this is a musical not to miss.

Rating: ★★★★

My Brilliant Career plays at the Roslyn Packer Theatre until 3 May 2026. For more information, click here. 

All photo credits: Pia Johnson (@piajohnsonphotography )