











Venue: Qtopia (Darlinghurst NSW), Oct 29 – Nov 8, 2025
Music and Lyrics: Ben James, Aiden Smith, Emily Whiting
Book: Aiden Smith, Emily Whiting
Director: Holly Mazzola
Cast: Elliot Aitken, Tori Bullard, Percy Chiu, Max Fernandez, Ben James, Helen Jordan-Lane, Gabi Lanham, Jack Mitsch, Alex Travers
Images by Patrick Phillips
Theatre review
Mary Read’s longing for the sea compels her to disguise herself as a man and sign aboard a merchant vessel. Fate brings her face to face with the infamous pirate Anne Bonny, and what begins as captivity soon evolves into love. In Bonny & Read, writers Ben James, Aiden Smith, and Emily Whiting revisit this 18th-century romance through a distinctly contemporary lens, crafting a musical that reclaims two legendary women from history’s margins and lets their passion sail freely at last.
The songs are engaging, if somewhat conventional, elevated by Iris Wu’s sumptuous musical direction and the cohesive aural textures shaped by sound designer Sam Cheng. While the story itself is compelling, the book of Bonny & Read can feel unnecessarily convoluted, and Holly Mazzola’s direction does little to untangle its narrative knots. Still, her instinct for spectacle is undeniable, and with Lauren Mitchell’s energetic choreography, the production maintains a lively momentum even when its storytelling falters.
Geita Goarin’s production design is modest but evocative, sketching the period with just enough texture to spark the imagination. It is, however, Luna Ng’s lighting that truly captivates — rich in drama and ambition, it shapes the emotional contours of the piece with clarity and grace, revealing the story’s subtler undercurrents and giving its sentiment a luminous depth.
Vocally, the cast ranges from competent to exceptional, with Gabi Lanham delivering a standout performance as Mary Read, her voice both rich and assured. The acting, however, is uneven across the ensemble. Tori Bullard brings sincerity and emotional intensity to Anne Bonny, offering a grounded presence amid the production’s more variable performances.
The story of Mary Read and Anne Bonny is a vivid reminder of queer forebears whose lives were too often erased or silenced by history. Their courage — at sea, in love, and in defiance of rigid conventions — still echoes across the centuries. Bonny & Read illuminates this hidden legacy, celebrating two women who claimed their freedom on their own terms, and suggesting that queer communities might take a page from the pirate’s book: to chart daring courses, embrace audacity, and live boldly, even when the world seeks to bury them.















































































































