Why Australia's greatest stories deserve to be sung

Australia has no shortage of extraordinary stories, yet comparatively few become original musicals.

Developing home-grown theatre allows us to celebrate our own history, humour and identity while creating productions that can travel internationally. We have the talent to stage musicals from all over the world as professionally as anyone, yet the great Australian musical still seems to elude us.

I've been fortunate enough to experience the thrill of creating a musical from the ground up, and there is nothing quite like it. The production team gathers around a battered trestle table, scripts and notebooks piled high. The first rehearsal usually begins around a piano. Then something magical happens. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up as you hear the first pass of a song in harmony—a song that simply didn't exist until that day.

Imported musicals are wonderful.  Creating one from scratch is something else entirely.

Should have been the GAM (Great Australian Musical)…

I've been involved with a couple of Australian musicals that came very close but just missed the mark. One was Manning Clark's History of Australia – The Musical—a long title and, sadly, a short run. Looking back, I think it would have benefited from an out-of-town try-out before opening. Sometimes a production simply needs time to discover what it wants to be.

It also arrived at a time when Australia was falling in love with spectacular international productions such as Cats, Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera. Competing against shows with enormous budgets was always going to be difficult. After some disappointing early reviews and poor attendance, word slowly spread that this quirky, irreverent Australian musical was actually great fun. Audiences began to find it—but sadly, by then, the damage had already been done.

Broad appeal…

The challenge isn't finding Australian stories. We have thousands of them. The real challenge is recognising which ones contain universal themes. Audiences everywhere understand courage, love, family, sacrifice, freedom and hope, regardless of where those stories originate.

Supporting Australian writers, composers, actors, directors and producers isn't simply about creating entertainment. It's about investing in our own culture, establishing our identity, messy tho that sometimes is, and giving Australian voices the platform and confidence to tell Australian stories.

From little things…

I also had the pleasure of choreographing and performing in Ginger Meggs, based on the much-loved Australian comic strip. It began with the New England Theatre Company, earned strong reviews and loyal audiences, before being picked up by the Sydney Festival and later the Arts Centre Melbourne. I watched it grow from a modest production into a fully-fledged musical. I've seen it happen. Australian musicals can grow, evolve and find their audience when they're given the chance.

Australia doesn't have a shortage of great stories. We have a shortage of people willing to turn them into great musicals.

I still believe Australia's greatest musical is waiting to be written.

Maybe it's sitting in someone's notebook.

Or being scribbled right this minute on the back of a serviette in a café.

Perhaps it's quietly taking shape around somebody's kitchen table.

I hope so.

Because Australian stories deserve to be sung.