(L-R) Luke Kennedy, John O’Hara, Jason Arrow, and Irena Lysiuk, photographed by Joel Devereux
The Little Red Company filled the Powerhouse Theatre with electric energy for the return of Your Song, a celebration of Sir Elton John’s iconic music catalogue and its wide-reaching personal and cultural impact.
Created by Adam Brunes and Naomi Price, and directed by Price, Your Song first premiered at Brisbane’s Judith Wright Arts Centre in April 2021. Brunes and Price have woven together a wide range of Elton’s hit songs from across the decades with stories of how that music has appeared in the lives of everyday people.
Your Song starred Jason Arrow, Luke Kennedy, Irena Lysiuk, and John O’Hara with live band Mik Easterman (drums), OJ Newcomb (bass), Damian Sim (keys) and Stephen Ward (guitar). Tales of weddings and funerals, naming a baby, road trip sing-alongs, declarations of love and celebrations of a divorce, all set to Elton John’s music, were sometimes presented as a monologue by the four performers and sometimes in voiceover narration.
All four of the lead performers delivered outstanding vocal and character performances, and played instruments throughout as well. Lysiuk, in particular, leant her bright-eyed comedy to a roller-skating bride and an awkward ukulele serenade, among others, demonstrating her versatile vocal skill in her ability to sing carefully off-key. O’Hara created poignant characters including a father in declining health, and a young man reflecting on his youth and Elton as a flamboyant and, eventually, proudly gay man in the media to look up to. Transitions between the stories were seamless, although the cast introducing themselves in the first minutes of the cabaret-style performance did create some blur between characters and actors.
Lighting design by Jason Glenwright included individual spotlights and colourful lighting synced to the percussion. Sound design by Jamie Taylor transitioned between the live and pre-recorded stories, ensuring that nothing was lost. Costuming designed by Laura Churchill changed throughout the show to include some of Elton’s iconic looks, from colourful sunglasses and feathered shoulders to a Dodger’s jersey.
Set design by Kady Capewell showcased the musicians as well as the singers, especially Sim on the piano, and colourful metallic spheres rose up behind the performers to fill the high space of the Powerhouse Theatre. Simple choreography, from backup singers to synchronised swimmers, was executed well and added to the sense of movement and momentum in the performance.
The four singers shifted around the stage, sometimes gathering at the piano or appearing solo for a story or a song. A choir joined the onstage artists for Candle In The Wind, preceded by overlapping tales of hearing the news of Princess Diana’s death.
Above all, Your Song was a delicious blend of nostalgia, joy, music, comedy, and reflection, delivered with an infectious energy that had the audience up and dancing for the final number.
Your Song is a joyful and uplifting tribute to Elton John’s achievements and influence, as well as to the ways in which music becomes entwined in the major and mundane moments of our lives.
Your Song played at the Powerhouse Theatre, New Farm, from 25 – 29 March 2026
For further information, visit the Little Red website
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