LAZARUS

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https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2026/lazarus

Date Reviewed: 21/05/2026

Fireside stories are carried within the bloodlines and bones of a family — stories weathered by land, loss, displacement, perseverance, and sometimes - acceptance.

Stories passed carefully from one generation to the next, hand to hand, voice to voice, ensuring nothing sacred is left behind.

Lazarus is one of those stories.

I was fortunate to sit “fireside” at Theatre Works in St Kilda for this extraordinary production, which transforms the life of Taungurung Elder Larry Walsh into something both profoundly personal and unmistakably political — a work that shines a light on society, systems, and survival.

Written by John Harding, who spent countless hours interviewing Walsh himself, and directed by Kamarra Bell-Wykes, Lazarus unfolds like living memory. The production moves fluidly through decades of
hardship woven through mischievous joy, tracing a life shaped by systemic injustice but never defined by it. 

What emerges is not simply a portrait of suffering, but one of endurance: a man reclaiming language, identity, humour, and dignity in a world that repeatedly tried to strip it all away. 

The ensemble cast delivers exceptional work, with Sermsah Bin Saad, Nathan Wright, and Riley Warner sharing the formidable task of bringing Larry Walsh to life. Each performer brings a distinct emotional texture to the role, creating a portrait that feels expansive and layered. 

Alongside them, Teresa Moore moves seamlessly through the many figures orbiting Walsh’s world, delivering some of the production’s most emotionally resonant moments.  Together, the ensemble gives the work both guts and grace.

A delicate but insistent score threads through vivid projections and shifting imagery, shaping a dreamlike landscape within the theatre — fragments of childhood, grief, Country, and kinship flickering across the stage. Visually, the set is simply beautiful, with credit due to Set Designer Justin Green, Lighting Designer Tim Bonser and Composer Todd Bennett.

Lazarus refuses to flatten First Nations stories into trauma alone.  There is anger here, but there is also warmth, resilience, humour, and humanity. I anticipated the anger and rage would dominate the production, yet its emotional register was gentler and more reflective than expected — and that choice was not lost on me.

This production understands that survival itself can be an act of resistance.

Lazarus feels less like a performance and more like sitting with Elders sharing stories of those who came before them — an education, a moment to listen, to learn, to reflect,  perhaps - to reckon.

This may be Larry Walsh’s story, but sadly, it is not his alone. This is a story about Country, community, inheritance, and the fierce determination to keep raising your voice and rising above the flames.

Reviewed by Vivien Lynch