Pardon a moment’s naval-gazing here, but beyond the sparkly Instagram pics from glittering opening nights, the freelance writing gig can be tough. Despite powering through with optimism and encouraging others to follow their passions, I almost gave it all up this week. Or at least I thought about it.
But I won’t. I can’t.
This life chose me. Writing’s inextricably bound up in my identity. I don’t know what else I could do. Even as the stress of making ends meet drives me to distraction, I know this is the calling I’ll die (perhaps in penury) on the hill for.
All of which brings me to Sybylla Melvyn, listlessly ranging round the parched-yellow grass of her family’s failing dairy farm, Possum Gully. It’s 1899, and she is a headstrong young woman with grand ambitions of becoming a writer at a time when society has no other expectations of her than being married off to a wealthier man.
The hero of Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin’s beloved debut novel, My Brilliant Career, published in 1901, the 15-year-old is a remarkable figure, a frustrated feminist who hasn’t quite figured it all out yet, but is innately unlike most other girls she knows, including her younger sister Gertie and her harried mother. In truth, Sybylla most closely resembles her author, sharing obvious similarities with the woman whose name would one day lend itself to our most prestigious literary prize, the Miles Franklin Award, plus the Stella Prize for best writing by an Australian woman. Together, they dreamed of emancipation by dashing all their whirling thoughts on the page.
Fans of Gillian Armstrong’s glorious big-screen adaptation will recognise the inimitable Judy Davis as this gutsy girl who is not to be distracted by the romantic longings of wealthy neighbour Harry Beecham (Sam Neill). But for a new generation, she is now, without question, Kala Gare. Also depicting the herstory-correcting magnificence of Anne Boleyn in not entirely dissimilar smash hit show Six, powerhouse Gare is the perfect all-singing, all-dancing, piano-playing frontwoman of Melbourne Theatre Company’s barnstorming new musical, My Brilliant Career.
Speaking of brilliant careers, MTC head Anne-Louise Sarks directs this (literal) tub-thumping show from a book by Sheridan Harbridge and Dean Bryant, with the latter also contributing the music alongside Mathew Frank. As we filter into Southbank Theatre’s auditorium, our players, who double as both the ensemble and the orchestra, set toes a-tapping as the band gathers on Marg Horwell’s simple but arresting set that conveys economically just how impoverished the Melvyn clan is, thanks to her alcoholic father’s (Drew Livingston) unfortunate choice to resettle them here in the middle of a drought.
Breaking the fourth wall from the off, Gare’s Sybylla tells us directly that this is not a romantic story, nor the place for sentimentality. But here’s the thing that’s all too commonly misunderstood by most folks who place so much emphasis on being in a relationship: love is a spectrum. Just because independent spirit Sybylla doesn’t want to be married off – especially not to fabulously camp Frank (a scene-stealing Cameron Bajraktarevic-Hayward, who should win some sort of medal for being able to act, sing, dance, cartwheel and play cello) – this doesn’t mean she is unable to fall in love.
One of the glorious aspects of having the whole cast on stage, trebling as musicians, swinging dancers and assuming multiple parts, is that key roles can be hidden in plain sight. Raj Labade, who hangs back in the mix strumming his guitar, is unveiled as Harry not long before the close of Act One. Gare and Labade share a remarkable chemistry, with Harry clearly besotted with Sybylla. She haltingly reciprocates, not quite sure this is the path she wants to follow. Theirs is one of the great literary pairings, shining on the silver screen and now on the stage precisely because it’s effervescently unpredictable and refuses to conform. Even when Sybylla suspects Harry has fallen for her sister Gertie (HaNy Lee), she’s big enough to stand aside and centre her literary dreams.
From Gare’s rabble-rousing opening number on, My Brilliant Career is tacked with fantastic numbers that run the gamut from Six-like power pop to beer-soaked country pub rock and on to torch songs including ‘Someone Like Me’ and ‘In the Wrong Key’. Amy Campbell’s nimble choreography laces the players from one part to another, decked out in Horwell’s lightning-fast costume changes by backstage crew sassily smashing the fourth wall, too.
Christina O’Neill and Ana Mitsikas are both particularly brilliant as Sybylla’s fretful mum and nit-picking granny, but everyone shines in this rousing story of holding onto high hopes. It’s a boisterous and ebullient act that dances lightly through life’s biggest questions, from self-determination to adoration of family, mates and the maybe mores, political and social justice, feminist footings and career ambition. Brimming with abundant heart and soul, it provoked the rowdiest MTC audience I’ve heard in quite some time to hoot and holler and stomp in and out of their seats to an astounding new musical that’s surely destined to travel the world. And if Franklin and Sybylla can sing out loud and proud with the hope that tough breaks won’t hold them down, then this writer can, too.
My career might never be brilliant, but it’s mine and well worth fighting for.