Lazarus, at Theatre Works

It is a shocking tale of displacement (being wrenched away from family), discrimination, institutionalisation, foster homes and police intimidation.

As a result, there is acting up, trouble making, drinking, smoking and getting in with the wrong crowd. 

Photos by Steven Mitchell Wright

Then there is the opportunity to turn it all around, to create a lasting legacy and, with it, aid the Indigenous cause.

This is the extraordinary true story of Taungurung Elder, activist and storyteller Larry Walsh, whose life, as he had known it, ended by the age of two.

Larry was one of nine children, four of whom were taken from their fruit picker mother.

The reason given at the outset is that she was an itinerant worker.

Four fine actors play a series of more than 20 characters in this deep dive into culture, resilience, community and Country.

Lazarus is also about the unbreakable ties between mother and child, as the three male actors play Larry at different ages.

The script is by John Harding, who weaves a deeply distressing story – drawn from interviews with Larry Walsh – with distinction.

It is about pain and injustice, resistance and spirit. 

Remarkably, Larry came through all that he endured to become a leader … an Elder, a voice for those who were silenced.

I can’t speak more highly of the performances or the execution, nor of the tight direction by Kamarra Bell-Wykes, who keeps the action moving.

Sermsah Bin Saad, Nathan Wright, Riley Warner and Teresa Moore extract maximum impact from their endeavours on stage.

They readily channel variations in tone and come across as totally credible. They imbue heart and character into the roles they play.

In Moore’s case, I speak of a determined mother, a hard-working family woman, a respectable schoolteacher and girlfriend.

The men channel a scared little kid, mates on the tear, police, a PTSD-affected foster parent and, eventually, a determined activist.

There is much, too, in the staging.

Justin Green’s set design, a semi-circle of leaves, twigs and bark, and a large, specially constructed screen onto which historic imagery is projected, is striking.

I commend Cobie Orger for the video design.

Working well in tandem with that are the sound design from composer Todd Bennett and the lighting design by Tim Bonser, which sheet home the different moods.

Lazarus is deeply moving, upsetting and, ultimately, uplifting.

It is a compelling story that needed to be told and it resonates loudly and proudly. 

Eighty minutes without interval, it is playing at Theatre Works until 6^th June, 2026.