'Sybylla Melvyn is the smartest, funniest, most outrageous teenager Australia has ever witnessed. Just ask her.
'She’s growing up in the 90s – the 1890s, that is – where life doesn’t throw a lot of options at a girl. But life didn’t reckon on Sybylla. Forced to choose between romance and her own genius, her family and a future she defines, she’s decided she’s having it all.
'Miles Franklin’s novel My Brilliant Career still pulsates with the wild electric energy that made it such a sensation a century ago, and this new adaptation channels that fire into a high-energy musical. It’s a makeover that transforms one of our most enduring literary figures into a heroine for this very moment, while retaining all the wit and charm that has made this such a timeless work.
'A live soundtrack that’s equal parts contemporary pop, folksy bush band and raucous pub rock will translate the untameable spirit of Sybylla into a live theatre experience to blow the ceiling off.
'Adapted by music theatre’s most dynamic duo Mathew Frank and Dean Bryant alongside Sheridan Harbridge, with a cast led by Kala Gare (SIX), this world premiere is directed by our own Artistic Director Anne-Louise Sarks.' (Production summary)
Presented by Melbourne Theatre Company. World premiere performed at Southbank Theatre : 7 November - 18 December 2024.
Director: Anne-Louise Sarks.
Music: Mathew Frank.
Musical Director: Victoria Falconer.
Set and Costume Designer: Marg Horwell.
Lighting Designer: Matt Scott.
Cast: Cameron Bajraktarevic-Hayward (Frank) and Kala Gare (Sybylla Melvyn).
'It's an all-singing, all-keyboard playing and totally exuberant Sybylla Melvyn.'
Melbourne Theatre Company’s jubilant musical adaptation of Miles Franklin’s My Brilliant Career breathes new life and vibrancy into an Australian classic. By Keith Gow.
'Melbourne Theatre Company’s My Brilliant Career is a musical re-imagining of Miles Franklin’s classic 1901 novel of the same name. It follows a young woman, Sybylla Melvyn, as she chafes against her rural constraints to seek creative freedom.' (Introduction)
'Melbourne Theatre Company’s My Brilliant Career is a musical re-imagining of Miles Franklin’s classic 1901 novel of the same name. It follows a young woman, Sybylla Melvyn, as she chafes against her rural constraints to seek creative freedom.' (Introduction)
Melbourne Theatre Company’s jubilant musical adaptation of Miles Franklin’s My Brilliant Career breathes new life and vibrancy into an Australian classic. By Keith Gow.
'It's an all-singing, all-keyboard playing and totally exuberant Sybylla Melvyn.'