Venue: Sydney Opera House (Sydney NSW), Apr 8 – May 16, 2026
Playwright: Jez Butterworth
Director: Margaret Thanos
Cast: Andrea Demetriades, Ewen Leslie, Miranda Otto
Images by Daniel Boud
Theatre review
Nestled within the secluded confines of an English fishing cabin, a man confronts the ghost of unspeakable trauma—its spectral presence materialized in the image of a woman adorned in scarlet. Jez Butterworth’s The River emerges as a theatrical enigma of remarkable density, its narrative currents flowing through multiple interpretive channels while remaining anchored, perhaps most profoundly, in the murky depths of grief and regret. Though deliberately provocative in its withholding of certainties, the text is exquisitely wrought, offering precisely sufficient ambiguity to ignite the spectator’s imaginative faculties without descending into pedestrian opacity.
Margaret Thanos’ direction rises to meet this sophistication with an aesthetic of curated chicness—self-consciously stylish yet perhaps overly circumspect in its understated approach, occasionally sacrificing visceral immediacy for cerebral detachment. Anna Tregloan’s production design evokes flowing water through cascading ribbons and a minimalist hut-like structure—spare yet evocative, providing all necessary visual cues without distraction.
Damien Cooper’s lighting palette conjures the requisite haunting, vaguely sinister atmospherics essential to the piece’s creeping psychological dread, though one wishes for occasional modulation toward more flattering illumination to deepen our sympathetic attachment to the personalities portrayed. Sam Cheng’s sound design achieves moments of genuinely transcendent beauty—ethereal and devastating in its restraint—yet could benefit from greater dynamic range, allowing orchestral crescendos to match the text’s moments of heightened dramatic intensity rather than maintaining consistent atmospheric delicacy.
Ewen Leslie delivers a formidable performance as the lead, laudably infusing light and shade into a narrative that seems determined to remain stubbornly macabre. Without the crutch of expository dialogue, Leslie’s remarkable nuance conveys immense complexity, inviting us into a story that feels inexhaustibly layered. Andrea Demetriadis delivers exceptional intensity in several exquisitely crafted dramatic set pieces—operatic in their theatricality yet always anchored in coherent dramaturgical logic. Miranda Otto adopts a more reticent approach by comparison, effectively conveying inexorable realism though one desires greater creative adventurousness to fully spark our imaginative inspiration.
Throughout the drama’s unfolding, spectators find ourselves suspended in productive suspicion, perpetually interrogating our own comprehension even as our instincts register the underlying truth with uncomfortable accuracy. We discover ourselves actively denying our intuitive grasp of events—much as the protagonist must navigate his existence without full honesty regarding his past, and consequently, his present. Survival may indeed necessitate temporary aversion from unbearable truths, yet such evasion can only serve as provisional strategy; the ancient dictum remains immutable, and it is ultimately truth above all else, that will set you free.
Suzy Goes See 