Worlds Alive 2026

Elaine Hudson directs eight professional actors in five short contemporary world plays. These award-winning plays have never been seen in Australia. They are presented as dramatic readings, script-in-hand.

Carol Dance, the Artistic Director of Scene Theatre Sydney, selected the plays for global thinkers, theatre lovers and curious Sydneysiders. All the plays are entertaining, progressive and relevant to our times. 

Scene Theatre Sydney, by arrangement with DALRO (Pty) Limited, presents, from South Africa: Kunene and the King by John Kani OBE. This play premiered in 2019 at the Royal Shakespeare Company to great acclaim. In the story, an elderly English actor in South Africa is trying to remember the lines to King Lear. Kunene, his black carer, helps him and interprets Lear in a new way. They are an odd pair, and their comic spats finally lead to mutual respect. It is powerful entertaining theatre. 

From Brazil: Miss Margarida’s Way by Roberto Athayde. This short comic monologue has been produced in more than thirty countries, including on Broadway.

From The Philippines: A Night at the Opera by Floy Quintos. This 2017 play portrays the power of the elite in The Philippines.  A ‘wife vs husband’ tense tête-à-tête ends in humour that saves the relationship.

From Indonesia: The Struggle of the Naga Tribe by W. Rendra. The Naga villagers protect their copper-rich sacred mountain from the ogres (westerners) when a corporation bribes the tribe’s Queen. There are good people and bad people on both sides. 

From Korea: The Sound of Rain Falling, by Sue Ja Joo. This short lyrical work captures how the smallest sounds — rain on a roof, silence between words — can stir longing, connection and unexpected insight. Poetic without being precious, the play presents a gentle respite from our complicated world.