My Brilliant Career
Apr. 27th, 2026 03:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustI always love a good Australian musical. And it's been pretty exciting over the past few years, to see more of them appear on the scene. This one is based on My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin, a classic book by a literary icon. (I walk past her statue regularly!)
The musical premiered in Melbourne in 2024. On the weekend I saw it performed by the Sydney Theatre Company at the Roslyn Packer Theatre.
Previously
Even though I watched the movie and read the book when I was young, I remember very little of the story. Embarrassingly, for all these years, I've had the impression that the book was an autobiography. Because it's about a young woman growing up in 1890s rural Australia and dreaming of becoming a writer. Which is why I was mildly confused, watching the musical, that the main character's name was Sybylla. ("I thought her name was Stella? Because the Stella Prize is named for her? Or maybe it's a nickname?")
But no. It's a novel! (Which actually did attract controversy when published, because some people thought it had thinly veiled references to real people and incidents from her own life.)
Story
Sybylla is fifteen, hating her life of drudgery on a struggling farm in the middle of nowhere, and chafing against her only future being a wife and mother. Her dream is art, music, and writing. She wants to figure out herself and the world. We follow her through the next few years, exploring life beyond the farm, growing up into a young woman, and trying to carve her own path.
I love that Sybylla is dorky, passionate, rebellious, and outspoken. There are lines of dialogue and narrative that I assume are excerpts from the book, but Sybylla herself gets to drop in modern phrases as well.
It was surprisingly funny, but also emotional. It had a great energy to it, and if some moments felt a bit raw and unpolished, that made it feel more real. This is a musical that supports the need to express yourself, to make your voice be heard, even when it seems like the world isn't interested in what people like you have to say. It hit home about the importance of creativity to humans, because it's communicating what we think and what we feel, to someone else somewhere who might connect with it.
Casting
The performance I saw featured understudies, who were all excellent:
* Sybylla (Melanie Bird)
* Gertie/Blanche/Ensemble (Meg McKibbin)
* Harry/Peter/Ensemble (Jack Green)
Miscellaneous
Cast recording - An original cast recording was made in 2020, after a 2019 workshop, but the track listing differs a bit from the final musical.
Miniseries - Apparently Netflix is making the book into a miniseries! To be released in late 2026 or early 2027.
Video
"In the Wrong Key":
The musical premiered in Melbourne in 2024. On the weekend I saw it performed by the Sydney Theatre Company at the Roslyn Packer Theatre.
Previously
Even though I watched the movie and read the book when I was young, I remember very little of the story. Embarrassingly, for all these years, I've had the impression that the book was an autobiography. Because it's about a young woman growing up in 1890s rural Australia and dreaming of becoming a writer. Which is why I was mildly confused, watching the musical, that the main character's name was Sybylla. ("I thought her name was Stella? Because the Stella Prize is named for her? Or maybe it's a nickname?")
But no. It's a novel! (Which actually did attract controversy when published, because some people thought it had thinly veiled references to real people and incidents from her own life.)
Story
Sybylla is fifteen, hating her life of drudgery on a struggling farm in the middle of nowhere, and chafing against her only future being a wife and mother. Her dream is art, music, and writing. She wants to figure out herself and the world. We follow her through the next few years, exploring life beyond the farm, growing up into a young woman, and trying to carve her own path.
I love that Sybylla is dorky, passionate, rebellious, and outspoken. There are lines of dialogue and narrative that I assume are excerpts from the book, but Sybylla herself gets to drop in modern phrases as well.
It was surprisingly funny, but also emotional. It had a great energy to it, and if some moments felt a bit raw and unpolished, that made it feel more real. This is a musical that supports the need to express yourself, to make your voice be heard, even when it seems like the world isn't interested in what people like you have to say. It hit home about the importance of creativity to humans, because it's communicating what we think and what we feel, to someone else somewhere who might connect with it.
Casting
The performance I saw featured understudies, who were all excellent:
* Sybylla (Melanie Bird)
* Gertie/Blanche/Ensemble (Meg McKibbin)
* Harry/Peter/Ensemble (Jack Green)
Miscellaneous
Cast recording - An original cast recording was made in 2020, after a 2019 workshop, but the track listing differs a bit from the final musical.
Miniseries - Apparently Netflix is making the book into a miniseries! To be released in late 2026 or early 2027.
Video
"In the Wrong Key":
