Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the opening night of the newest production at Theatre Works. ‘Mara’ is a triumph of re-imagining, cleverly talking and twisting is audience through the story of Cinderella, from the perspective of the so called evil step-mother.
Upon entry to the theatre, audience members are greeted by low lighting and haunting live music (courtesy of Asia Reynolds) that instantly sets the tone for the show to follow: a tactile exploration of words and visuals that transports you into the inner mind of a woman very much on the edge.
It would be remiss to review this show without applauding the massive efforts of actress Aurora Kurth. Aurora steps on the stage and does not simply act, she becomes. Babe, daughter, mother, lover, maid, footman, friend, martyr, baddie and even daddy. She becomes all of them right in front of your eyes, through accent, tone and physicality, talking and singing her way through rhythmic lines filled with repetition, onomatopoeias, metaphors and double entendres (“You have put a step between us” made me literally gasp out loud, I apologise to the gentleman sitting next to me).
The other standout moments of the show were the visuals and soundscape. On a beautiful designed set with carousel horses and doll houses (thank you Jacques Cooney Adlard), every choice felt incredibly deliberate from the colours of Mara’s dresses to the clinking of her teacups. All choices designed to surround the audience and draw them into the mindset of Mara, a woman desperately trying to bring security into her world, against all odds.
And yet, this show does not shy away from the more brutal elements of Cinderella. After delicately toeing the line between whimsical and gruesome, the show takes a direct turn into the macabre with one of the best representations of foot mutilation I have ever seen onstage (and I’ve seen surprisingly many).
Did I come away from the show on the step mother’s side? Not quite but I don’t think I was supposed to. Instead I came away from Mara with a deep appreciation for the journey she has gone through and an understanding of her character. She is desperate, she is a mother, she is alone, she is unloved, she is lost. She has struggled and climbed, she has made mistakes and paid for some of them. She has loved and lost, she has envied, she has feared. She is so much more than a caricature of ‘The Evil Stepmother.’
To book tickets to Mara, please visit https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2026/mara.
Photographer: Sarah Clarke
