PHAR LAP THE ELECTRO-SWING MUSICAL Is The Must See New Australian Musical

Thursday 23rd October 2025, 7:30pm, Hayes Theatre Potts Point Sydney

Steven Kramer’s (Book, Music & Lyrics) new work, PHAR LAP THE ELECTRO-SWING MUSICAL is a piece of pure genius. Directed by Sheridan Harbridge, this work is a pairing of a great Australian story with a fabulous score, book and lyrics presented on stage by a stellar cast of Australian musical theatre heavyweights that deliver song, dance, drama and perfect comedy that makes for a heartwarming and hilarious night of enlightening and educational entertainment.

Most Australians will have heard of the 1930 Melbourne Cup winning chestnut gelding Phar Lap (Joel Granger).  His hide is on display in the Melbourne Museum, his skeleton is in the Museum of New Zealand and his abnormally large heart is in the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.  When trainer Harry Telford (Justin Smith) convinced American businessman David J. Davis (Nat Jobe) to purchase the unproven horse in 1928, he did so based on his pedigree, being the son of Nightraid, but more importantly the great grandson of Carbine, a New Zealand horse that was an inaugural inductee of both the New Zealand and Australian Racing Halls of Fame.  Initally considered a bad investment with poor results on the track, the gangly, warty horse was eventually trained into a winner that held the hopes of a country weighed down by the Great Depression.  Kramer has combined historical fact with a degree of whimsy to tell the story with an insight into what the famous horse may have been thinking through the whole situation. 

Director Sheridan Harbridge has gathered a strong team in her cast and creatives to bring an inventive and perfectly executed vision to stage.  Hailley Hunt’s set anchors the work in the training stables while providing enough room for Ellen Simpson’s choreography.  Mobile elements shift the work to the racetrack gardens and Bookies boards reinforce that this is all about money. Mason Browne’s costuming is inspired.  Resisting the easy option of using horse head masks, Browne transforms humans into horses while connecting the work to the late 1920’s and early 1930’s and infusing more contemporary elements and a touch of queer culture.  While each horse has its own identity, Browne uses common themes to ensure that the shift between humans and horses is clear, particularly for the performers that double roles. 

Set in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s Kramer naturally leans into the jazz and swing styles of the era while keeping the clever songs fresh and contemporary.  There is an incredible degree of detail in the lyrics and the dialogue, liberally peppered with as many horse jokes as possible.  There is a wonderful energy maintained throughout the 105 minutes and the story is a rollercoaster of emotions as the audience is shown the other aspect of Phar Lap’s unusually large heart, not just making him a winner on the track, but also a caring, if not incredibly naive, individual, who really didn’t want to be in the spotlight, but once paired with the right jockey, Jim Pike (Shay Debney) would do anything to please. 

As the ‘Announcer’, Manon Gunderson Briggs captures the essence of the early race callers and radio announcers that would hype up a story with that ‘old world’ sound.  As the investor more intent of making a return than any real ethics, Nat Jobe gives David Davis an oiliness while landing the comedy perfectly.  His reference that Phar Lap is no better than a donkey hits even deeper when it is recalled that Jobe played Donkey in Shrek, twice, and his ‘cameos’ as the jockey Phar Lap didn’t like is reminiscent of Hey Hey It’s Saturday’s “Dickie Knee”. Amy Hack’s mysterious ‘Madame X’, the woman who could spot a winning horse but was still not allowed to place her own bets due to her gender, is deliciously dark and calculating as she draws Davis into her deals.  Hack’s versatility is shown when she presents as one of Phar Lap’s new stable mates and also the horse crazy young girl representing all the ‘horsey girls’ obsessed with horses from a young age.  As Phar Lap’s favoured rider, Jim Pike, Shay Debney delivers a hilarious leather clad dom fetish performance that takes the work into a hilarious somewhat unexpected place, though the horse ‘harnesses’ should have already been a clue.  The comedy of the performance is heightened when Debney’s Jim interacts with humans and his ‘normal’ voice is heard. While stablemates Won-Won and Too-Too are featured (Hack and Gunderson Briggs) the other key horse in the story is Phar Lap’s half brother Nightmarch, presented by Lincoln Elliott.  Elliott ensures Nightmarch is given as much personality as the other horses and has him portrayed as the bullying older half-brother, resentful that Phar Lap’s mother ‘broke up’ his family, ignoring the reality that horses generally don’t have a say in who they are being paired with for the sake of profit.

The stars of the show however are Joel Granger as Phar Lap and Justin Smith as his trainer Harry Telford.  Smith brings his signature Aussie style to the character and ensures that Telford is seen as a man really on his last chance, mortgaging his home to be able to train Phar Lap when he does a deal to ‘lease’ the horse for 3 years, receiving 2/3rds of the horse’s winnings in lieu of not getting paid as a trainer.  His musical capabilities, dramatic styling and comic sensibility works well for the role to ensure that the audience know he’s one of the good guys.  Granger’s portrayal of the famous horse is exceptional.  From the broad New Zealand accent, physical comedy, endearing expressions and brilliant vocals, Granger ensures that it is clear that Phar Lap was a ‘heart on his sleeve’ horse, if horses wore sleeves.  Granger always has a presence that lights up the stage making him perfect for the ‘underdog’ horse that captured the heart of a nation and lives on in history as one of the greats almost a century after his famous win. 

PHAR LAP THE ELECTRO-SWING MUSICAL is a must see.  It is clever, comic and captures the imagination and the heart.  A new work presented with clarity and quality to a standard that outshines the big main stage musicals.  This should be a work that is picked up and toured around the country and beyond, but in the meantime, don’t delay in securing a ticket and backing this sure fire winner.

Phar Lap | Hayes Theatre Co

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