At the time of its release seventy years ago The Shiralee shone a light on the sub-world of swagmen and their lives on the never-ending road and imbued it with the themes that are universal to this day.
Love, infidelity, domestic violence, competitiveness, familiar bonds and camaraderie are at the core of D’Arcy Niland’s 1955 novel, which was soon adapted into a feature film, and later a highly successful TV mini-series.
Over the past 24 months Kate Mulvany has been adapting the novel for the stage, which is now realised by this stunning looking Sydney Theatre Company production brought to life by a stellar cast.
Swaggies were itinerants who travelled the countryside, particularly in tomes of depression, seeking part-time work on stations and shearing sheds, living with just a bedroll, a billy and a tucker bag.
Of uncertain origin, a shiralee is slang for a swaggie’s bedroll, or a psychological or physical burden, in this case the young girl Buster (Ziggy Resnick).
The story centres on one of those travellers, the former boxer Macauley (Josh McConville), equal parts a wound up ball of inarticulate rage and someone capable of introspection and empathy.
Macauley is more at home on the road than with his wife Marge (Kate Mulvany) and daughter Buster in their Kings Cross flat.
When he makes an unexpected visit home and finds that his drunken wife has been sedating their daughter with pills and booze, after a brief fight with Marge, he grabs his nine-year-old daughter and heads back out on the road again, the one safe place he knows.
At first Buster is a shiralee, as Macauley tentatively introduces her to the characters who also inhabit the wallaby track.
Playing multiple roles the characters include the lyrical poet Desmond (Paul Capsis), the blind indigenous Tommy (Aaron Pedersen), his lover Lily (Catherine Văn-Davies), and Bella (Lucia Mastrantone) and her husband Beauty (Pedersen) and Minny, Văn-Davies) the shop keeper who loves sugar.
Stephen Anderson as the dastardly Donnie is the villain everyone loves to hate and Capsis strikes again as cabaret performer Ruby Razzle.
Camps swell with swaggies and then disappear as the road grows longer, and towns such as Grafton, Casino, Collarenebri and Coonamble roll past, and the question is will father and daughter prevail and at what odds?
Mulvany has taken an arcane world that was disappearing even as Niland was writing the book, and has concentrated on the themes that we all recognise, while also breathing life into the reprising swaggies on the road. The road, or wallaby track, becomes a character in itself, as Macauley explains to Buster that even out here, it demands respect.
Director Jessica Arthur has done well pulling this vast story into shape and keeping the relationships developing. McConville has all the ingredients to play the complex range of emotions and psychological development of Macauley as his relationship with Buster develops.
Mulvany brings a depth to Marge that even as her character is driven to drink and infidelity, her relationship with Macauley is so well written that we understand why. The success of this production hinges on the believability of an older person playing a nine-year-old, a task which Resnick manages with great dexterity.
All of the other many roles are well played, but those of Bella and Beauty show the most growth and understanding of the world that they inhabit.
The Shiralee is an exceptionally beautiful looking production (Jeremy Allen), cinematic in scale and realisation, with a curved wooden stage that transforms from bush settings with majestic ghost gums and bush camp fires to Kings Cross in a jiffy, complete with a large Penfolds’ sign. The production’s strong visual aesthetic is further enhanced by Allen’s earthy tones costumes.
The atmospheric transitions, especially the train journey are aided by lighting designer Trent Suidgeest’s evocative lighting and Jessica Dunn’s music and sound that is appropriate for each scene, with an over-arching refrain of a popular jingle of the day.
Mulvany has taken care to throw some light into The Shiralee’s often dark story, balancing it with many a good laugh or two and has given us a challenging story with a great heart.
The Shiralee
Drama Theatre – Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney
Performance: Monday 13 October 2025
Season continues to 29 November 2025
Information and Bookings: www.sydneytheatre.com.au
Images: The Shiralee – photos by Prudence Upton
Review: John Moyle