Review: Worlds Alive at Walsh Bay Arts Precinct

Review by Anja Bless

Sydney’s theatre scene is often (rightly) accused of being woefully bereft of new stories from new and more varied places. So it is always refreshing to see the introduction of work from playwrights outside the Anglosphere or Western Europe. Scene Theatre Sydney’s Worlds Alive is therefore a welcome series, where professional and emerging performers read excerpts from a collection of new and older works from around the world.

In the hands of experienced performers, Jo Bloom and Charles Mayer, audiences of Worlds Alive are taken on a journey through stories from Jamaica to Papua New Guinea, South Africa and Indonesia, Ukraine, Singapore, Iraq, and India. Mayer and Bloom do well to differentiate between the variety of characters, so the costume changes between each reading (some of which might be considered caricaturish) are arguably unnecessary. As are the accents which they occasionally adopt (it is stated at the beginning of the performance that this is done with cultural sensitivity in mind), which range in quality and consistency. Mayer and Bloom are strong enough performers to not need these additions to round out their characterisations, and the words of the plays from which they are reading are more than enough to convey these stories.

Accompanying Mayer and Bloom in are other performers, some from the production team, but most notably Tiang Lim and Leonie Ragi. Lim, an emerging performer who has found her way to Sydney’s stages following her retirement from nursing, brings an excellent stage presence in her performance as part of Agnes Christina’s Mango Citizenship – which explores the notion of identity through a debate between three varieties of mango. Another notable mention should be given to Leonie Ragi, who has recently moved to Australia from Papua New Guinea and had the audience giggling as the sassy maid of a wealthy couple in Nora Brash’s Which Way, Big Man? It would have been welcome to see more of Ragi and Lim in the performance, or for other emerging artists and performers to be given the chance to participate, especially given the dramatic reading format of the show.

Indeed, the format is where Worlds Alive strength lies and also where it has perhaps the greatest opportunity for further development. The concept of readings from a variety of international playwrights, showcasing stories and works likely not seen in Australia, is fantastic. However, it was never made clear to the audience how these plays were selected or why. A central theme or a focus on emerging artists would have helped to tie the performance together. Further acknowledgement that these plays may be being performed by actors who do not share the same ethnicity or background as the characters but that the purpose of this staging being to raise awareness of these works, could have also helped avoid points of discomfort. Not hearing these stories from these artists and playwrights would be a loss, but the lack of diversity in much of Sydney’s theatre community should nonetheless be acknowledged.

A final commendation from Worlds Alive should also be given to Michael De Huy, whose piano accompaniment to the performance was reason enough to attend. The choice of repertoire suited each play remarkably well and gave the performers a chance to reset for the next reading while the audience could delight in De Huy’s musicality.

Worlds Alive will be returning in 2026, an excellent opportunity to enjoy a variety of works that have likely never reached Sydney’s stages before but which will certainly enrich those who attend.