Colour and Light: The Art of Sondheim

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https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2025/colour-and-light

Date Reviewed: 19/09/2025

Walking into Colour and Light: The Art of Sondheim at TheatreWorks, one is immediately transported into a world that feels lush yet intimate, an environment where music, memory, harmony and emotion are poised to unfold. The set establishes this tone with painterly precision: a gleaming grand piano commands centre stage, flanked by glowing table lamps and vases of flowers that soften the atmosphere with a warm, golden glow. Velvet curtains frame the space, their folds catching shades of pink and amber, while a forest-green backdrop hints at a world beyond, both mysterious and theatrical. From the outset, the audience anticipates an evening of elegance and intrigue, an expectation that Australia’s Sondheim repertory company, Watch This, more than fulfils.

Whether one arrives steeped in Stephen Sondheim’s canon or encountering it afresh, the evening offers a curated selection of his finest works, rendered with both sophistication and emotional candour. The performances move fluidly between suspense and hilarity, leaving the audience alternately breathless with anticipation and delighted by moments of comic relief. The five cast members thread their connections loosely throughout the evening; the first half achieves a seamlessness of transition that becomes slightly less assured later on. Yet this minor unevenness does little to diminish the production’s many luminous moments, nor the clarity and elegance of its vocal delivery.

Ultimately, Colour and Light is less about Broadway spectacle than about intimacy and nuance. From the moment of arrival, the design and staging prime the audience for an experience that invites close attention and rewards it generously. What emerges is a celebration of Sondheim that is both refined and deeply felt. This is an evening of artistry, intimacy and resonance. A night not to be missed.

Review by Sandra Lee