OBSERVER: The Lucky Country
Musicals, as you’d expect, are all about the music — and in that regard, The Lucky Country delivers in spades.
It’s filled with memorable melodies, a deft balance of heart and humour, strong storytelling, emotional depth, and marvellous voices.
Billed as a story about what it means to be Australian, The Lucky Country explores familiar themes of belonging, identity and marginalisation.
We’ve seen these ideas before, yet there’s something refreshingly different here — a blend of wit, warmth and quirky originality that sets this production apart.
The animated background projections (Justin Harrison) transform the stage into a living, cinematic landscape, adding depth and atmosphere to each scene.
Presented by MTC and running at The Lawler, Southbank Theatre, as part of the Fringe Festival, The Lucky Country was created by composer and lyricist Vidya Makan and directed by Sonya Suares.
A strong ensemble, including Makan herself, performs a series of musical vignettes — each a blended snapshot exploring different moments, characters and perspectives on what it feels to be Australian.
Humour has a strong presence throughout, with standout moments including a hilarious footy number (Jeffrey Liu and Karlis Zaid); I Could Kill Ya, where a devilishly vivacious Miss Australia (Phoenix Jackson Mendoza) gleefully warns of Australia’s many deadly creatures; a Chinese-Australian restaurateur dreaming of a nude life in Byron Bay (Liu); and an Indian-Australian actor (Makan) playing a stereotypical ‘Indian’ role in a Hugh Jackman movie.
Makan is a master storyteller, and director Suares draws the best from her talented cast. Emily Collett’s sunburnt-country costumes and Amy Zhang’s uncluttered choreography ground the production beautifully.
The five-piece band, and Billy McPherson’s Yidaki (a traditional didgeridoo), bring richness and vitality to the score — most powerfully in the spiritually charged finale featuring Naarah and Garret Lyon.
With echoes of Australia’s musical legends (yes, even Kylie), The Lucky Country is fresh, funny and full of heart — a clever and compassionate take on who we are, and a show that deserves to be seen.
Review by Beth Klein
Pictured: Karlis Zaid, Jeffrey Liu, Vidya Makan and Phoenix Jackson Mendoza in The Lucky Country.
Photo: Jodie Hutchinson