Sydney Theatre Company and Canberra Theatre Centre’s production of Joanna Murray-Smith’s runaway hit, Julia, returns to Melbourne this week for a strictly limited season in the Playhouse – Arts Centre Melbourne.
Justine Clarke will revive her remarkable performance as Julia Gillard, which has garnered widespread praise for her “electrifying” embodiment of Australia’s first female Prime Minister, “played with astonishing restraint” (The Guardian).
A national tour in 2024 concluded with Clarke having performed the role an incredible 198 times to over 100,000 people around the country since the show’s premiere at the Canberra Theatre Centre in 2023.
Murray-Smith’s powerful monologue takes us through key moments in Prime Minister Gillard’s life and culminates in a stirring verbatim performance of the famed 2012 ‘misogyny speech’ that sent shockwaves around the world.
Helmed by Helpmann Award-winning director Sarah Goodes (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Sunday) this unmissable two-hander examines the indelible impact Gillard’s speech has had on an entire generation.
Julia is both a compelling insight into the person behind the public mask and a searing reflection on the experience of women in contemporary politics.
“Clarke’s performance is purely magnificent” – Time Out
Director: Sarah Goodes | Featuring: Justine Clarke, Lotte Beckett | Designer: Renée Mulder | Lighting Designer: Alexander Berlage | Composer & Sound Designer: Steve Francis | Video Designer: Susie Henderson | Playwright: Joanna Murray-Smith
JULIA
Playhouse – Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Season: 25 June – 19 July 2025
Information and Bookings: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au
Image: Justine Clarke stars in JULIA – photo by Prudence Upton