{"id":169693,"date":"2026-04-13T07:48:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T21:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=169693"},"modified":"2026-04-13T07:49:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T21:49:53","slug":"the-river-sydney-theatre-company-at-drama-theatre-sydney-opera-house-theatre-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/the-river-sydney-theatre-company-at-drama-theatre-sydney-opera-house-theatre-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The River (Sydney Theatre Company), at Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House – theatre review"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

He (The Man, as he is called in this drama cum romance, as played by Ewen Leslie) loves deeply. His first love is trout fishing, which he has been consumed by since he caught his first fish with his uncle at the age of seven. His favourite spot is a remote cabin in the woods. It is where he has brought his girlfriend, The Woman (Miranda Otto), on a moonless night on August 21st. She is enamoured by the sunset, anxiously calling out for him to view it with her.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photos by Daniel Boud<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But he pushes back. Instead, he describes the sunset \u2013 which he has clearly seen many times before \u2013 to her \u2026 and the moment is broken. He is consumed by a once-a-year event that is about to happen in the river, which he speaks about in poetic terms \u2013 and it is all to do with trout. He implores her to join him. She doesn\u2019t want to, but he is nothing if not persistent. She eventually relents. It is clear that he cares for her.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Be that as it may, what becomes obvious is that she is not the first woman he has had at the cabin, nor the first woman with whom he has gone fishing at the river. As hard as he falls for them, each time his self-destruct mechanism gets in the way. That is also obvious from the other woman (a role filled by Andrea Demetriades) he courts in the play \u2013 younger, but no less enthusiastic. The pattern was set a long time ago and his mistakes from the past show no signs of abating. While the women come and go, the trout just keep on biting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

English playwright Jeremy “Jez” Butterworth is adept at embracing human frailties in The River. It is a lyrical commentary about love and loss, and how one can so readily turn to the other. It has been brilliantly realised by STC first time director Margaret Thanos, who gives us food for thought, but no easy answers. Ewen Leslie is passionate, intense and unrelenting as The Man. Miranda Otto and Andrea Demetriades are spirited as The Woman and The Other Woman respectively, smitten for a time, but with questions and reservations. The Man doesn\u2019t react well to the scrutiny.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What struck me the moment I entered the Drama Theatre was the effect of the design by Anna Tregloan. Around the skeleton of a cabin are positioned hundreds of darkly coloured vertical blinds, reminiscent of a forest of trees. In the foreground is a large wooden table, a couple of wooden chairs and a wooden cabinet. Sparse, but most evocative.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What gives The River even greater clout is the dramatic score and the stark lighting (particularly in realising thunder and lightning). The composer and sound designer is Sam Cheng, while the lighting design is the domain of Damien Cooper. Their impact in resounding. Seventy-five minutes without interval, The River causes one to reflect upon the vicissitudes of relationships and the great loves of one\u2019s life. I was left thinking that often we are our own worst enemy. The play is on at the Drama Theatre, at Sydney Opera House, until 16th May, 2026.<\/p>\n

Alex First<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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As far as the staging goes,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rsz_handa-opera-on-sydney-harbour-the-phantom-of-the-opera_55171267265_o.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rsz_handa-opera-on-sydney-harbour-the-phantom-of-the-opera_55171267265_o.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rsz_handa-opera-on-sydney-harbour-the-phantom-of-the-opera_55171267265_o.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rsz_handa-opera-on-sydney-harbour-the-phantom-of-the-opera_55171267265_o.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":169236,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/the-diary-of-anne-frank-at-the-athenaeum-theatre-melbourne-and-state-theatre-sydney-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":169693,"position":2},"title":"The Diary of Anne Frank, at the Athenaeum Theatre (Melbourne) and State Theatre (Sydney) – theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"March 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Anne Frank\u2019s story is a tragic but inspiring one and it is played out in dramatic fashion on stage. As Jews, when her Dutch family was forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust, she was gifted a diary, which she wrote in religiously. It contained her innermost thoughts about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Theatre"","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TDOAF_Hi_res.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TDOAF_Hi_res.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TDOAF_Hi_res.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TDOAF_Hi_res.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":158649,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/sunset-strip-new-theatre-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":169693,"position":3},"title":"Sunset Strip (New Theatre) – theatre review","author":"Paul Kiely","date":"July 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Family secrets, past love, memory loss and addiction are just some of the issues explored in Sunset Strip, an Australian play by Suzie Miller, now on at the New Theatre. On the upside, this drama\/comedy provides hope, inspiration and renewal. The setting is in the home of Ray (Vincent Melton),\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Theatre"","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Sunset-Strip-03.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Sunset-Strip-03.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Sunset-Strip-03.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Sunset-Strip-03.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":157156,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/sunset-boulevard-princess-theatre-musical-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":169693,"position":4},"title":"Sunset Boulevard (Princess Theatre) – musical theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"May 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"To bastardise a popular expression, those flying closest to the sun shine brightest before they burn up.\u00a0That set of words could be the starting point for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical (with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton) Sunset Boulevard. Set in Los Angeles in 1949 and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/rsz_sunset_boulevard_australia_2024_-_sarah_brightman_01_-_pic_credit_daniel_boud.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/rsz_sunset_boulevard_australia_2024_-_sarah_brightman_01_-_pic_credit_daniel_boud.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/rsz_sunset_boulevard_australia_2024_-_sarah_brightman_01_-_pic_credit_daniel_boud.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/rsz_sunset_boulevard_australia_2024_-_sarah_brightman_01_-_pic_credit_daniel_boud.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":166705,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/breaking-the-castle-theatre-works-and-sydney-opera-house-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":169693,"position":5},"title":"Breaking the Castle (Theatre Works and Sydney Opera House) – theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"July 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Drug addiction. If you can\u2019t break the vicious cycle, there is a fair chance you will end up dead. Peter Cook was one of the fortunate ones. He is still alive after the intervention of his best friend. Rehab saw him get off the gear and he has written a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Theatre"","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rsz_20250319-3231.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rsz_20250319-3231.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rsz_20250319-3231.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/rsz_20250319-3231.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}