WORLDS  ALIVE  2026

Scene Theatre Sydney celebrates contemporary global voices.

Eight professional actors performed five acclaimed international plays.

Directed by Elaine Hudson, as dramatic moved readings

With Alan Faulkner, Christopher Brown, Tiang Lim, Seth Eren, Micah Doughty, Madison Chippendale, Paul Williamson, Ruba el-Kaddoumi

Friday March 13 and Saturday March 14 at 7 pm, 2026. Walsh Bay Arts Precinct.

Reviews

**** “Well done Scene Theatre Sydney.” For the second year in succession, Scene Theatre Sydney (STS) has presented its Worlds Alive play festival. Highly experienced director Elaine Hudson brought these fine plays vividly to life. The night went well and the audience was generous in their applause. This applause was well deserved. Well done Scene Theatre Sydney. STS’ mercurial Artistic Director Carol Dance selected the plays. I can’t remember the last time when I saw a play from South Africa, the Philippines, Brazil, Korea or Indonesia. We need more of these plays. David Kary, Sydney Arts Guide, https://sydneyartsguide.com.au/scene-theatre-sydneys-worlds-alive-2026/

“Sharp performances and big ideas.”

Worlds Alive 2026 brings five striking dramatic readings from writers across South Africa, the Philippines, Brazil, Korea and Indonesia to the Sydney stage, with sharp performances and big ideas. While there are cultural differences, many of the issues and concerns addressed by the five readings are relevant to the problems that face our own society but about which we have few or at best temporary answers. In the West, we tend to have less hope in the future’s ability to find solutions, believing our most problematic issues, for instance, increasing social inequity and environmental degradation, will only deteriorate further. To a degree, the selected plays reflected a rosier view – a sense of “we shall overcome one day”. The five plays are linked by the role that storytelling plays in each of them. The dying Jack gives Kunene his Shakespeare mug, Miranda has come to love European opera for the intense emotion it arouses in her, and the Brazilian and Indonesian playwrights use art to critique their governments. Finally, in the brief Night Picture of Rain Sound, a resolute Juliet (el-Kaddoumi) prepares to die, impervious to the pleas of the soulful Adam (Seth Eren), because her tragedy is important for its “symbolic weight” – inherited enmity transcended by personal love. Should the programme run again, it is well worth seeing as it offers a refreshing change from our usual theatrical diet of revivals, or reinterpretations, of Western plays. Catherine Skinner, https://southsydneyherald.com.au/worlds-alive-2026/

“International voices that were deeply moving.”

Congratulations to you and the whole team for another ensemble of moving and thought-provoking performances." Worlds Alive" once again brought together international voices that were deeply moving and used the power of art to traverse the shared joys and sorrows we all see and feel. ‍ ‍Brett Martin, Vice President, United Nations Association of Australia (NSW Division)

“It was bold, poetic and informative.”

WORLDS ALIVE presented plays and excerpts as if listening to a radio. Without costumes, a set or lighting, the spotlight was on the beauty and directness of the word. The audience listened carefully absorbing and resonating with the social messages applauding each piece as a separate entity. It was bold, poetic and informative. https://whatstheshow.com.au/worlds-alive-2026

Scene Theatre Sydney, by arrangement with DALRO (Pty) Limited, presents

KUNENE AND THE KING

by

JOHN KANI

From South Africa

Kunene and the King

by living legend, John Kani, OBE

 Kunene and the King premiered in 2019 at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. A white South African actor is trying to remember the lines to King Lear. Kunene, the King’s black carer, helps him and interprets Lear in a new way. They are an odd pair as their comic spats finally lead to mutual respect.   It is highly entertaining.

From Brazil

Miss Margarida’s Way

by Roberto Athayde

This comic monologue has been produced in more than thirty countries, including on Broadway. We ‘ve selected an entertaining 10-minute section. Set in a classroom, teacher Miss Margarida is determined to ensure her students understand how the world really works. It’s realism-with-humour.

From The Philippines

An Evening at the Opera

by Floy Quintos

The play portrays the disquieting power of the elite.  A tense husband-vs-wife tête à tête ends the play,  but never ends the story of power anytime, anyplace. We have selected a short excerpt.

From Indonesia

The Struggle of the Naga Tribe

by W. Rendra

The play triumphantly opposes the forces of modernisation to maintain cultural identity. The village protects their copper-rich sacred mountain from the ogres (westerners) when a corporation bribes the tribe’s Queen. There is good and bad on both sides. As always! The play brings a universal story to life with villagers, tribal royals and ogres all entertaining us.

From Korea

Night Picture of Rain Sound

by Sue Ja Joo

This short lyrical work captures how the smallest sounds — rain on a roof, silence between words — can stir longing, connection and unexpected insight. Poetic without being precious, the play presents a gentle respite from our complicated world.

Playwrights

John Kani was born in 1942 in South Africa.  He is a playwright, actor, director and producer. He joined The Serpent Players (a group of actors whose first performance was in the former snake pit of the zoo, hence the name) in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that were performed to a resounding reception. In the United States in 1975, after appearing in Athol Fugard's anti-apartheid play Sizwe Banzi Is Dead (which he also co-wrote), Kani returned to South Africa. His many starring roles include T'Chaka in the Marvel blockbusters, Captain America: Civil War  and Black Panther.

Kani is the founder and director of the John Kani Theatre Laboratory and chairman of the National Arts Council of South Africa. John Kani has honorary doctorates from the University of Capetown, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, the University of Witwatersrand and the Da Vinci Institute.  In 2023 he was awarded an Honorary OBE from the British Government for services to drama.

W.  Rendra was an Indonesian poet, activist, actor and director. After studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, he founded the Bengkel Teater in 1967. He brought his Western experience into the traditional Indonesian theatre forms to merge them into something new.  His productions are an enormous influence on the artistic variety of Indonesian art to this day.   During the 1970s, his plays such as Mastodon, The Condors, The Struggle of the Naga Tribe and The Regional Secretary were often banned because they criticised Suharto's development programs.  He was imprisoned for 6 months. Rendra has translated Aristophanes, Sophocles and Brecht into Indonesian, then performed and staged them.

Brazilian Roberto Athayde is a playwright, poet, director and producer for stage and screen.  His  plays have been translated into many languages. At age 21, he wrote his most popular play Miss Margarida’s Way. He says “I have made the physical presence of the actors the central focus, the basic idea behind all my plays.”

Novelist, poet and playwright, Sue Ja Joe was born in Seoul, lived abroad for 23 years in France, Switzerland and the United States, and returned to Korea in 1998. In 2013, she became the first recipient of the Insung Park Mini-Fiction Literary Award, which recognises her achievements in popularising this genre in Korea. She is at the frontier of a new literary genre, 'Smart Fiction' which merges poetry and short fiction.

Florencio Louis “Floy” Antonio de la Cruz Quintos was born in Manilla in 1961.  He wore many hats, writing plays and sometimes acting in them, and was also a screenwriter, a journalist, and an expert in antiques.  With a gift for storytelling, he crafted narratives that delved into the complexities of the human experience, challenging social norms.  Among his most notable creations are Fluid, An Evening at the Opera, Suor Clara, Collection, Ang Nawalang Kapatid, The Kundiman Party, and The Reconciliation Dinner. He died in 2024, age 63.

  • Elaine Hudson, Director

    Elaine is a NIDA Graduate, director and teacher. Acting credits include Sydney Theatre Company, New Theatre, Belvoir, Griffin, Windmill Theatre, Queensize Productions, Cumulus Productions, Tamarama Rock Surfers, Teatro Cortile (Italy), Theatre X (Tokyo), Pop-Up Theatre and Stable Theatre.  Film and Television acting credits are too numerous to list. Directing credits include Endgame (Lookout Theatre), The Lady from Dubuque (Belvoir), Poles Apart (Stables Theatre), The Death of Peter Pan, Relative Comfort, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Gross Indecency, The Importance of Being Earnest and Seven Little Australians (New Theatre), The Man Who Came to Dinner (Genesian Theatre), A Touch of Paradise (Belvoir), Vice and Acts of Faith (King Street Theatre), There Were Trees That Are Dancers (La Mama , Melbourne), Tovarich (Redfern Actors Studio), Pope2Pope (Hunters Hill Theatre) and Wilderness, Votes for Women, The Shepherd and the Hunter  and Mischief on the Air for Players in the Pub.

  • Christopher Brown

    Originally from Melbourne, Christopher discovered his passion for acting while living in Europe. With a background in writing and performance coaching, he brings a strong presence and depth to the stage, particularly in roles of conflicted authority. Christopher made his Australian stage debut in 2023 as the enigmatic Pope Pius XIII in the world premiere of Pope2Pope (directed by Elaine Hudson), a performance that met with critical acclaim. In 2024, he delivered a brooding and layered portrayal of Detective Arthur Gerard in Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train at the Genesian Theatre. Last year Christopher performed the role of Earl of Salisbury in the Sydney Shakespeare Company’s production of Henry VI. Committed to refining his craft, Christopher continues to explore multi-disciplinary and experimental approaches to performance. Kunene and The King marks his debut with Scene Theatre Sydney.

  • Micah Doughty

    Micah is an English Australian performer who draws upon his skills and interests to fuel unique and engaging performances.  Growing up, Micah tapped into his love for performance through music, dancing, singing, theatre, and circus performing.  He trained at Sydney Actors School where he performed in The 39 Steps as the clown and the lead in Separate Tables.  Recently Micah performed in Bittersweet’s productions of Gosforths Fete and The Potboiler, and Seed Hunters (Scene Theatre Sydney).  He is driven and keen to bring life, laughter and hope through the arts and making someone’s day just a little bit brighter.

  • Paul Williamson

    Paul is a playwright, director and producer.  He attended the Bathurst Summer School for Singers. He studied mime, comedia del arte and acrobatics at Ecole Le Coq Theatre (Paris) and Shakespeare at the Original Shakespeare Company (UK). He is graduate of Actors Centre Sydney. Paul has appeared throughout Australia, Britain, Europe and the U.S. in theatre, film and opera as a soloist, including for Opera Australia. Film credits include What Next? (as director and producer), A Nice Guy with Jackie Chan, Golden (Harvest Films), The Call of Cthulhu and A Night on the Town TV2  (Holland).  His many TV roles are too numerous to list.

  • Madison Chippendale

    Madison is a performance maker, actor and director. A graduate of the University of Wollongong (BCA Performance), she was the 2013 recipient of the BBM Award for Theatre, which enabled her to undertake internships in Belgium and the UK. She has directed Precious Little Talent and Much Ado About Nothing (sweet creatures), both presented at Sydney Acting Studio in 2025. Madison co-devised the new comedy musical  Hemlines  (Moon Bureau) which toured to the Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Prague Fringe Festivals, as well as the Etcetera Theatre in London and most recently in Townsville for the North Australian Festival of Arts. Recent credits include Sarah in Seed Hunters (Scene Theatre Sydney),Gladys Smith & Miss Allie in The Shark Arm Case (Deadhouse Productions), Lou in WALLY  (Moon Bureau/KXT), Olivia in Twelfth Night (Whale Chorus) and 30-50 Feral Hogs at the Real Festival in Penrith (Q Theatre). Film credits include indie feature film To The Tooth and the award-winning shorts Lost (Jury Prize Winner at the MMI Screening Awards) and Ground  (Winner of the Best Cinematography award at the Sony Catchlight Festival 2024).

  • Seth Eren

    In 2019, Seth began training at the Sydney Acting Studio and has been steadily building a diverse body of work on stage. In 2025, he played Rohan in Dating App Cr-App (dir. Rena Akhtar), which reached the semi-finals of Short+Sweet with Arcadia Productions, and Clay Tuttle in Mischief in the Air (dir. Elaine Hudson) with Players in the Pub. That same year, he made his RaCreate Productions debut with Another Round, a new play by Roy Wallace-Cant and Samuel Walsh, in which he played Alex—a deeply rewarding experience that challenged and expanded his craft. Through each project, Seth continues to refine his storytelling, drawing on years of training, collaboration, and lived experience to bring honesty and depth to his performances.

  • Tiang Lim

    Tiang was a businesswoman, educator and nurse in Sydney. She then turned to theatre where she succeeds in both comedy and drama. Her theatre roles include Paw Paw in a Chinese Christmas,  BOOM, Radar and Donald’s Inferno. Tiang’s films include Free Money, nominated in St Kilda Film Festival, AACTA and SXSW and screened at COMICORN in San Diego, Suka, Paper Daisies, $2 and University student films.  She appeared in the series Coach Dayum, Grouse House’s Pedo San and Coconutface’s Who Invented Moussaka? and Boxing Day.   She wrote and performed DANDELION - When do you stop being a migrant?, a sell- out show  at the Sydney Fringe Festival.  She was NSW State finalist in Raw Comedy 2025.

  • Ruba el-Kaddoumi

    Ruba was born in Sydney. She moved to Bathurst NSW, to complete a Bachelor of Communications in Theatre/Media before relocating to the USA to complete her training as an actor. Ruba trained at the Art of Acting Studio (Los Angeles) and at The Stella Adler Studio of Acting (New York City). Most recently she was part of the ensemble in The Laramie Project (The New Theatre) and was the female lead in the short film Blank Night (directed by Millie Hall). She appeared in two productions in The Euripides Summer Festival, and as Andromache in A Time To Live (On-wheels Production). A few other theatre credits includeTovarich (Sydney Acting Studio), Home Chat (Genesian Theatre), 000 (Melbourne Creatives). Ruba played Meftune in the Short film Postcards From The Orient, which won best experimental at Melbourne Short Film Festival (2021) and has been selected for an Honorable Mention Award at the Women's Voices Now Festival (LA), alongside being selected into The Beirut International Women Film Festival (2021).

  • Alan Faulkner

    Alan’s theatre career spans the Antipodes and the Old Dart - including roles in John Bell’s Australian Shakespearean productions, the UK Royal Shakespeare Company, Endangered Productions (Sydney) and Scene Theatre Sydney. Alan is a regular performer for Players tin the Pub in Glebe.