Sydney Theatre Company’s new adaptation of D’arcy Niland’s classic Australian novel The Shiralee brings the vast outback journey to the stage. Directed by Jessica Arthur, the production uses a set of wooden boards that curve into a ridge, ghost gums, and real campfires to evoke the landscape. Swagman Macauley (Josh McConville) travels with his young daughter Buster (Ziggy Resnick), whom he took from his estranged wife in anger. The play explores themes of isolation, trauma, and connection.
Playwright Kate Mulvany, who also plays Marge, expands the story beyond Macauley’s perspective. She gives more depth to characters like Buster, Marge, and Lily (Catherine Văn-Davies), Macauley’s first love. Mulvany examines Macauley’s violent streak and its roots, drawing a line to contemporary legacies of male violence. The supporting cast includes Stephen Anderson, Lucia Mastrantone, Aaron Pedersen, and Paul Capsis as bush poet Desmond.
Mulvany adds breadth by including swaggies who are women and men who love other men, enriching the world of the play. While some resolutions feel heavy-handed, the production is praised for its honesty, humour, and heart. The adaptation runs at the Sydney Opera House.
