Surprisingly, musicals sometimes lack two important ingredients – a really good story and great music. No such problem exists when it comes to The Sapphires, though.
The story is inspiring and heartwarming and the music is fantastic, being a kind of songbook of 1960s soul and pop.
Queensland Theatre Company (QTC) and Canberra Theatre Centre have teamed up to present a new iteration of this iconic Australian musical by Tony Briggs, in a vibrant new production that benefits from the intimacy of the Bille Brown Theatre in South Brisbane.
First staged in 2004 and later adapted into a hit feature film, The Sapphires has become one of Australia’s most celebrated contemporary stage works, combining a powerful true story with the sounds and spirit of that 1960s soul music. The play returns under the direction of Wesley Enoch, who helmed its original production, with a new generation of First Nations performers stepping into the story’s central roles.
Set in 1969, during a period of profound social change in Australia, The Sapphires follows four young Yorta Yorta women from regional Victoria whose Supremes-inspired girl group is discovered by a city talent scout. Their journey takes them from a small-town dance hall to performing for American troops on the frontlines of the Vietnam War, despite the racism that still existed at the time.
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This show deals with that material powerfully and within the context of the subjective experiences of the singers – and that makes it even more powerful.
Enoch directs with Chenoa Deemal as assistant director, and former Bangarra dancer Yolande Brown is the choreographer. That is a formidable trio right there.
Taeg Twist, Tehya Makani, Aurora Liddle-Christie and Ruby Henaway star as The Sapphires and they are simply amazing. What is essentially a musical play seemed like an exciting concert at times. The show is punctuated by great songs by great singers. These women are all brilliant singers who blew us away with their talent.
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And they are backed by a funkatronic super smoking-hot band live on stage. The music is awesome. I’m a bit reserved but I was tapping my feet and moving in my seat a bit while the folks in front of me were less restrained – and who can blame them?
Jack Bannister is great and very funny as The Sapphires manager Dave Lovelace, Chris Nguyen is wonderful as local Vietnamese lad Joe, Cameron Leonard has a real stage presence as Robby and Garret Lyon is a bit of a comic in his own way as Jimmy.
It’s a story of four young women doing something inspirational against the odds. The historical aspect is interesting and, of course, the Vietnam War is a cautionary tale considering what is going on in the Middle East right now.
The music of this era is so special … songs like Respect, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and a string of other great tunes make it hugely entertaining.
The intimacy of the Bille Brown Theatre works perfectly for this show, and I am sure it will be packed out night after night for this one. What a visionary piece of programming this is for QTC.
Enoch directed the first production for Melbourne Theatre Company in 2004. It was next adapted into the hit feature film The Sapphires, which many of us saw without having seen it on stage.
Queensland Theatre Company’s head of First Nations theatre Isaac Drandić says this production holds a special place in the company’s 2026 season.
“I wanted this season to honour and celebrate Aboriginal women, and The Sapphires is a perfect expression of that,” Drandić says. I couldn’t agree more.
The Sapphires continues at the Bille Brown Theatre, South Brisbane, until May 24.
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