Possum Gully to the Gong: My Brilliant Career Lands at the IPAC
‘To have it be something that people want to see again and again and again… it makes it worth it.’
Premiering in Melbourne in 2024 with a sold-out season and rave reviews, My Brilliant Career has wowed audiences in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney this year. Now, the award-winning musical is about to make its final tour stop right here in Wollongong, playing at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre from the 8th to 17th of May. On Tuesday, the stellar actor-musician cast treated audiences to a special sneak-peek performance outside the IPAC.
The show, adapted from Miles Franklin’s novel of the same name, follows Sybylla Melvyn: an ambitious young woman, who, feeling suffocated by the options afforded to her in rural 1890s Australia, decides to plot her own path in life and pursue her dream of being a writer. It’s an uplifting, feminist story, told through a joyful soundtrack of power ballads and energetic rock tunes, all performed live onstage by the cast themselves. ‘It’s this absolute lightning-in-a-bottle, magical thing,’ says cast member Cameron Bajraktarevic-Hayward, who plays the role of Frank.
As we arrived for Tuesday’s pop-up performance, crowds were already gathering in the IPAC forecourt as the soundcheck took place, with lead actor Kala Gare belting out the chorus of ‘Wrong Key’. When the actual performance kicked off, with a lively jam session (as every performance of My Brilliant Career does), the interest of passers-by was immediately piqued. With shopping bags in hand or pushing their children in strollers, members of the public paused at the bus stop or wandered across the road to check it out.
What they were treated to was an electric performance of ‘Wrong Key’, showcasing the show’s delicious sweeping instrumentals and Gare’s powerhouse vocals, followed by a cheeky cover of Joan Jett classic ‘Bad Reputation’ that had everyone’s toes tapping. The pop-up concluded with ‘Someone Like Me’, the show’s closing number, an uplifting ode to the power of finding your voice and being seen, met with resounding cheers and applause from the gathered crowd.
On the whole, the audience response to My Brilliant Career has been astounding: countless glowing reviews, a Facebook group for fans, lovers of the show making their own merch and even getting MBC-themed tattoos. ‘It feels like the gift that keeps on giving, in so many ways,’ according to Bajraktarevic-Hayward. ‘It feels really lovely to have something that we care a lot about and put a lot of work into get that kind of response.’
‘The show takes everything from [us], every time,’ Raj Labade, who plays Harry, says. ‘To have it be something that people want to see again and again and again… it makes it worth it.’
It’s particularly special to see such a response to an Australian work, in a musical theatre scene saturated with imported shows and replica productions. ‘It’s so nice to [see that] we, as a country, can support and celebrate original Australian work. And that work is world-class, and it’s just as good as stuff that’s overseas,’ Bajraktarevic-Hayward says.
Who should come see My Brilliant Career? ‘It sounds a little cheesy,’ says musical director Victoria Falconer, ‘but the people that are like me. Out in the country, being like, [...] “this music thing is something that I’m interested in, but what am I really doing? Is this a good idea?”’
‘Coming into seeing something like this and feeling seen by what is on stage, feeling like there is a path that’s out there, that there’s a precursor, a precedent in this country. And not just the story, but actually seeing these people on stage, in real life, the real actors doing their thing. I think that in itself [is] very inspiring.’
Labade adds, ‘Anyone that I have, friends and family that come see the show, they’re blown away, because you just don’t often get to see shows like this. It’s really, really exciting.’
You can get tickets to My Brilliant Career from Merrigong Theatre Co’s website. Performances run from the 8th to 17th of May in the IMB Theatre of the IPAC.
‘If you want to see people at the zenith of incredible talent, [if] you want to laugh and cry and feel things and actually come out of the theatre with a sense of joy and hope in life, which is – let’s be honest – pretty rare and quite needed, then I would come see this show,’ says Falconer.
‘Take a chance, take a gamble. I think it will pay off. If not, come and see me afterwards and I’ll buy you a drink.’
