Red Phoenix Theatre presents the South Australian premiere of Arthur Wing Pinero's The Thunderbolt at Goodwood Theatre & Studios from 22 to 31 October 2026. When a wealthy brewer dies without a will, his siblings descend into bitter conflict over his inheritance, until a young woman arrives with a claim of her own in this sharp 1908 comedy about greed, snobbery and the gap between respectability and decency.
Where beer flows, grudges brew.
Red Phoenix Theatre Presents the South Australian premiere of Arthur Wing Pinero's THE THUNDERBOLT at Goodwood Theatre & Studios, 22–31 October 2026
A wealthy brewer dies without a will, and his very respectable family behaves very badly.
Red Phoenix Theatre presents the South Australian premiere of Arthur Wing Pinero’s sharp and very funny comedy THE THUNDERBOLT, at Goodwood Theatre and Studios, 22 to 31 October.
Money does strange things to ordinary people. When a wealthy bachelor brewer dies suddenly and leaves no will, his brothers and sister gather to divide up the fortune they are certain belongs to them. They are already counting it. Then a young woman walks in with a claim of her own, and the polite smiles vanish.
THE THUNDERBOLT is a comedy through and through. Expect big laughs, sharp tongues, and a house full of relatives at war over teacups and bank balances. Pinero wrote it in 1908, at the height of his powers, and he takes gleeful aim at greed, snobbery, and the fine art of looking respectable while behaving appallingly. The wit is quick and nobody escapes the spiteful criticisms.
It also arrives at an uncannily good moment. Australia has begun the largest handover of wealth in its history. An estimated $5.4 trillion is tipped to pass from older Australians to their children and grandchildren over the coming decades. The Bank of Mum and Dad is quietly reshaping the property market, and lawyers are bracing for a rise in family disputes over who gets what. A comedy written more than a hundred years ago about siblings scrapping over a dead relative’s money suddenly feels very close to home.
“It is gloriously funny, and just a little bit savage,” says director Libby Drake. “You laugh at these people behaving badly over money, and then you remember the horror stories you’ve recently heard from friends. And right in the middle of the chaos is Helen, a young woman who simply wants a life of her own. Audiences will know every single person in this family.”
For all the laughs, THE THUNDERBOLT has plenty on its mind. It is a play about families and the quiet damage they do to each other, about class and the cruelty of judging people by where they come from, and about the wide gap between looking respectable and being decent. At the centre of it is a young woman who would rather earn her own way than simply be somebody's daughter, wife or mother. That was a bold idea in 1908. It still lands today.
The play has long delighted British critics. The Guardian’s Michael Billington captured it in three words, “greed, snobbery and hypocrisy”, while Philip Fisher of the British Theatre Guide called it “the stage equivalent of a summer holiday page turner”.
THE CAST
THE THUNDERBOLT features an outstanding cast including Joshua Coldwell, Jessica Corrie, Anne Doherty, Michael Eustice, Akira Hockley Miric, Elisha Johnson, Steve Marvanek, Annie Matsouliadis, Katie Packer, Jai Pearce, Leighton Vogt, Malcolm Walton and Tim Williams.
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
Title: THE THUNDERBOLT
Company: Red Phoenix Theatre
Venue: Goodwood Theatre & Studios, Goodwood
Format: Three hours including one interval
Dates & Times: 22, 23, 24, 28, 29 and 30 October at 7.30pm.
Sunday 25 October and Saturday 31 October at 2pm
Tickets: $29 full, $23 concession, $26 group booking (6+)
Tickets at the door subject to availability
Bookings: www.trybooking.com/dculz
About Red Phoenix Theatre
Red Phoenix Theatre is a South Australian company dedicated to staging plays that have not previously been performed in Adelaide, including new works, rediscovered classics and fresh adaptations. The company celebrates the power of theatre to illuminate our common humanity and to connect, energise and transform diverse communities.
