A smart new hit play about art versus power, Belvoir St Theatre presents Sam Holcroft’s A Mirror in the Upstairs Theatre from 21 February – 22 March 2026.
Adem’s a mechanic who’s written a play and naively submitted it for consideration. He’s called to the arts council by a bureaucrat, Čelik, who suspects Adem has potential – if only he can learn to write in the state-approved, patriotic way, instead of telling uncomfortable truths.
Together with his new assistant Mei and national playwriting treasure Bax, Čelik takes his new protégé through a crash-course in how to write a celebrated play for the national stage…
Theatre, politics, war, egotism, bureaucracy are all neatly skewered in this comedy. But Adem, Čelik, Mei and Bax are not what they seem. And we, the audience, aren’t either. In fact, in this gem of contemporary playwrighting, nothing is quite what you think it might be.
A Mirror from contemporary British playwright Sam Holcroft (National Theatre’s Rules for Living) marks Margaret Thanos’ mainstage directorial debut and sees Yalin Ozucelik (Sami In Paradise, Ensemble’s Uncle Vanya) and Rose Riley (The Glass Menagerie) return to Belvoir St Theatre, alongside Eden Falk (And Then There Were None) and Faisal Hamza (Sydney Theatre Company’s The Talented Mr. Ripley).
“The play is called A Mirror because a mirror is a reflective surface. And as we have seen in recent times, there’s lots of conversations going on about whether art should be for art’s sake, whether it should be reflective of the society that we’re living in, or whether it should simply just be a vehicle for entertainment,” said Thanos.
“We read this contemporary British play one afternoon and straight away knew we had to do it. It’s like Pirandello and Kafka meet Tom Stoppard, it’s carefully put together, it knows what it’s saying, and it’s very entertaining. There’s a sting in the tail, too. It’s wonderful to have Yalin and Rose back, and to introduce director Margaret Thanos to our mainstage,” said Belvoir artistic director Eamon Flack.
Thanos’ adaptation of A Mirror follows the play’s acclaimed 2023 premiere at the Almeida Theatre, London, and its West End transfer to the Trafalgar Theatre in early 2024. Clever, hilarious, serious, it’s a mirror. But just what world are we looking at?
A Mirror
Upstairs Theatre – Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir Street, Surry Hills
Season: 21 February – 22 March 2026
Information and Bookings: www.belvoir.com.au
Image: Rose Riley and Yalin Ozucelik to star in A Mirror (supplied)