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Breaking The Code

10/08/2026 Nicole V🥈🎭

Breaking The Code Rating

★★★★★

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“Rules are only important in cricket, and the scholarly editing of ancient texts.”

St. Jude’s players present “Breaking the Code”, a performance with excitable monologues, an engaging Alan Turing, and mathematical equations and theories. Add in a sprinkling of the still unanswered question of the use of artificial intelligence having human emotions, and you have a performance that spans decades. The focus of the story is not on solving the enigma for the World War II effort, but on Turing’s life before and after, offering glimpses of his home life, his love interests, and his struggles.

Brant Eustice shines as Alan Turing, with an expressive face, presence and passion on stage that brought Turing to life in the most positive, and almost reverent way. Jamie Black and Peter Davies are imposing in their roles of law enforcement, driven by the law and encouraging Turing to do what is right by it. David Lockwood is amusing and engaging as Dillwyn Knox – his humour and delivery both well-timed and enjoyable. Rhonda Grill and Tianna Cooper are both elegant and loving as Mrs Turing and Pat Green, respectively, bringing the women in Turing’s inner circle to life in a considered and respectful manner. Sebastian Hollingsworth and Nicholas Koulioubus bring their own variations of explosive passion to both the stage and Turing’s life – along with fun, impeccable wardrobes. Together, this cast is a perfectly balanced equation.

The stage is simple, but every inch has been meticulously set up, blocked out, and lit up in the most flattering and effective way to tell each chapter of the story … because each scene in “Breaking the Code” is a change of year and location, playing out like chapters. If you are not intimately familiar with the story of Alan Turing, I highly recommend picking up a program so you can follow along with the time jumps with more ease. You will have no problems knowing which location the scene is set at, with the visual aids on the back wall paired with the well-thought-out set layouts. Together with the simple lighting and minimalistic music which work seamlessly to set the tone, St. Jude’s players present a vibrant retelling of Alan Turing’s story.

For anyone worried they wouldn’t be able to follow along with the mathematics, there is nothing to worry about, because Turing does all the equations, and explains anything that is story-related on stage.

“Breaking the Code” is interesting, funny, and thought-provoking, even if you have already found yourself questioning artificial intelligence and human relations. You may even find yourself asking the same question as Turing did: Was God a mathematician?

To book tickets to Breaking The Code, please visit https://stjudesplayers.asn.au/.

Photographer: Tim Stoeckel

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Les Femmes – A Powerful Love Letter To Music

11/08/202610/08/2026 Linda Lokhee🏆💎🦉🎭🎶

Les Femmes Rating

★★★★★

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Les Femmes’ tagline says it all – “Iconic Male Songs – Powerhouse Female Voices”. Indeed, it is their powerful voices and so much more that made their performance at The Grand Electric truly electrifying. The rich soulful voices of the Les Femmes trio are accompanied by the rhythmic twist of hips and sharply succinct dance choreography.

Emma Mylott, Tia Gigliotti and Jacinta Gulisano opened with a strong rendition of Sinatra’s That’s Life, which had the audience immediately cheering. With almost a full house for Sunday’s gig, The Grand Electric was the perfect home for a cabaret style performance. The space inside was not too large, and the stage jutting out with a small runway brought the singers closer to the audience at different times.

Les Femmes continued with iconic songs from the past bearing a Romantic theme. Singing the famous line “You’re just too good to be true”, they sang Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off You with heart and heavenly harmony. They continued with a medley of beautiful songs such as How Deep is Your Love, When a Man Loves a Woman and Feeling Good (“It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me, oooh, and I’m feeling good” – you know you want to sing along!) These songs highlighted their rich and sensual voices singing in harmony. The high notes were delivered powerfully and sustained with apparent effortless skill but which must have taken countless hours of rehearsal.

There was a touching dedication to Les Femmes’ fathers acknowledging the musical influence on them growing up, with Elton John’s Your Song, The Temptations’ My Girl and Cat Stevens’ Wild World being sung. For this part of the show, the women sat on stools and reminisced, and Jacinta’s dedication of Piano Man to her Grandfather was very sweet. One of my favourite songs was featured during this set, Toto’s Africa. Encouraging audience participation, we sang along and even did a ‘Mexican Wave’ from one side of the theatre to the other and back.

The next segment were songs dedicated to ‘The Players/ The Charmers’ and the mood became funkier, featuring a medley of songs such as My Pony, Justin Timberlake’s Señorita, Stevie Wonder’s Part Time Lover, Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) James Brown’s Get Up, I Feel Like a Sex Machine. The room’s energy changed with the theme and I found myself marvelling at these ladies’ talent from switching from swing and R & B’s soulful songs, to the more modern and funkier songs. The audience witnessed the change and were vocally showing their support, clapping and dancing in their seats.

Les Femmes combined their themes with audience participation. The three singers held a “fun quiz”, asking some male audience members questions to see which category of ‘Good Guy or Charmer’ they fit into. Fortunately they were good sports about this. The women were great hosts, and in-between singing they infused humour throughout their show at the right moments.

After a short interval, Les Femmes returned to the stage and performed their next set, dedicating this part to ‘The Good Guys’ and kicking it off with a fantastic version of Black Box’s Fantasy. I was very happy to hear this one, because my first ever CD was Black Box’s Dreamland! Of course, Barry White’s Can’t Get Enough of Your Love Babe, Bee Gee’s Night Fever and Staying Alive were part of the medley for this theme.

By now, it was astounding hearing how versatile Gulisano, Mylott and Gigliotti’s voice ranges were. There was a mix of songs spanning decades, and the spin they put on these well known and loved songs was impressive.

When one performer took the lead for part of one song, the other two performers supported them with angelic harmony. The three singers had their opportunities to shine and one such highlight was during James Brown’s It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World, and listening to their reaction of cheering and whistling, the audience thought so too.

To end their 2 hour show, the choice of Australian well known songs had everyone standing, dancing and singing. The medley included Daddy Cool’s Eagle Rock, INXS’s Never Tear Me Apart, Darryl Braithwaite’s The Horses, John Farnham’s You’re the Voice and one of my absolute favourite songs, Dragon’s April Sun in Cuba.

At this point, I found myself wondering if there was anything these three singers couldn’t do. They had showcased every genre of music, performed countless iconic male songs spanning decades, and danced with incredible energy and passion. Their performances were an everlasting love letter from them, to the beauty of music. Everyone would have left the theatre singing different songs. Les Femmes is not to be missed!

Duration: 120 minutes
Location: The Grand Electric, 199 Cleveland St Sydney
Tickets: www.bit.ly/3UlHCq4

To book tickets to Les Femmes, please visit https://feverup.com/m/648769.

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A Slice Of Community

10/08/2026 Irena Fox🥉

Community Garden Rating

★★★★★

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Community Garden is a play with no intermission about a man named Ralph, a nervous and new volunteer at Uptown City Gardens. Throughout the show he is slowly drawn to the strangers in the community, who all offer different stories and upbringings, but who all come together in one garden. This show is written by Justin Borak and directed by Cade Smith. August 7th was the world wide premiere for the Australian version. Justin Borak and Cade Smith worked hand-in-hand to rework the original story to fit Western Australia.

When I walked into Roxy Lane theatre, the foyer was transformed into a small Italian restaurant, representing Gigi’s Italian Family Restaurant, the Italian restaurant in the play. Pizzas were available to order so the audience could come into the restaurant at the end of the show and enjoy their meal, a truly creative way to immerse the audience into the story, even after the show had ended. The art of the set is intricate and realistic while offering lots to look at and the props (including a full-sized cut out of one of the characters) were true works of art that made the audience laugh. The work that went into the set and props, made by Kirsten Halford-Bailey, Nellie Pease, Sophie Harwood, and Cade Smith, hit the mark and it is clear just how much time and effort went into the art. I appreciated the play’s use of technology as they chose to use a screen off to the side of the stage to show the other end of a Zoom call that a character is making. Not many sound effects were used and there was no music, but the performance itself makes up for it. The lighting, designed by Katherine Robertson, was simple, only switching slightly as the tones changed. The costumes, designed by Kirsten Halford-Bailey and the cast, are modest, not drawing too much attention, but they fit the character’s personalities well. Bella, wonderfully played by Zarah D’Costa, is covered in flour to display her hard work at the pizzeria she works at.

Ralph, played by Harry West, is naturally funny and would remind you of someone you know, a friend. His acting is real and friendly, allowing the audience to feel at ease. Elle Fisher plays both Donna and April, naturally owning the stage. She provides comic relief and fills the role of characters that show reality and acceptance. When watching Rachel Calder play Casey, her conversations and actions felt natural, like the audience could be part of the conversation. This show offers even more to relate to as there is LGBTQ+ representation in multiple characters. Several times throughout the performance, audience members fully laughed at the dialogue. The comedy gives the audience a joyous moment in such an intricate production.

This is a heartfelt play that offers many moments that people of all ages can relate to. Community Garden is playing at Roxy Lane Theatre from August 14th, 15th, 16th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, and I, for one, plan on visiting my local community garden soon to see what might be in store.

To book tickets to Community Garden, please visit https://www.taztix.com.au/event/roxylanetheatre/.

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Pomona

10/08/2026 Nicole V🥈🎭

Pomona Rating

★★★★★

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Content Warnings: Coarse language, adult themes, references to sexual assault, and suicide.

Science fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, and a missing sister. Pomona has it all.

With a well-oiled cast who together bring the desolate Blade Runner-esque world to life, the audience is sucked into the mystery of the missing sister.

“Ollie? Like, Oliver? Like, a boy’s name?”

We follow the stories of multiple characters in Manchester; as they manoeuvre through the story the characters watch one another’s performances from the stairs and behind the audience in the cloisters. Are they judging each other? Observing from afar? Making a point of the interconnections between the characters? You decide.

The jagged, raw emotions from each character as they navigate their lives, their connections, and their mistakes is palpable, and flows naturally from the performers. The stress, fear, and love emanate from the stage – no performer holds back, fully immersing themselves and their audience in their character’s storyline.

The costumes bring a balanced mix of dreary and science fiction, looking natural on the performers while adding to the worldbuilding of this alternate Manchester. Each costume appeared carefully considered and tailored for the character, while managing to encapsulate the atmosphere of the alternate Manchester and the performance. There are few costume changes, and each of them were smooth, blending into the story seamlessly.

The same can be said for the set design and the set changes – well-chosen pieces that showcase the ambience of Manchester, and seamless changes undertaken by the performers. The set changes were efficient, and elegantly doubled as an opportunity for the performers to drape themselves in their next observation location for the scene. The pieces doubled as a backdrop for the city, never straying far from the stage, and some contained multiple uses, changing from a bed to a desk and back again – a very tasteful use of the pieces at hand without overwhelming the performers or audience.

The audience was enraptured from the first lowering of the lights – LED strip lighting lined the stage and emitted a soft glow of anticipation. With torches being used by the performers as well as the lighting team, there was no shortage of creative use. This extends to the use of sound, as they work hand-in-hand with the lighting team to not only set the scene, but fully immerse the audience.

Pomona jumps forward and back in time to tell the story, with the mystery of the missing sister unfolding as the characters’ connections and personal gripes unfold. Be prepared to walk away with questions, and maybe even a desire to play Dungeons and Dragons.

To book tickets to Pomona, please visit https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1476481.

Photographer: Sophie Livingston-Pearce & Alice Smith

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