Premier Arts & Entertainment Coverage

The Debate

February 24, 2026

Review by Markus Hamence – The Debate – Performance date: Tuesday 24 February 2026. Holden Street Theatres, Hindmarsh, South Australia

And the winner for best actress in a short play is… Martha Lott for The Debate. But I am getting way ahead of the moment.

At The Arch at Holden Street Theatres, The Debate (Directed by the keen eye of Nick Fagan) is the kind of Adelaide Fringe 2026 drama that sneaks up on you and punches you in the guts with it’s twisted humour – darkly funny on the surface, then suddenly right under your skin. You cringe and move uncomfortably, laughing at dialogue that we are not supposed to laugh at any more. And THIS is exactly why it is brilliant theatre, it provokes. This is theatre that understands the real battlefield isn’t the stage, it’s the story people choose to sell… and the truth they’re willing to bend to win.

Written to edge-of-your-seat perfection and starring Martha Lott, the play centres on a mother waiting with a head full of ambition and pride, while her daughter (play by Amelia Lott-Watson, yes, Lott’s real-life daughter) – exceptional, brilliant, and the state’s top debater – edges towards national selection. As the stakes rise, a rivalry ignites that tests the limits of love, loyalty, and what ‘support’ really looks like when success becomes the family religion.

“If Martha’s name is attached to ANY show, you know you are in for a ride, so buckle the f*ck up baby…”
Markus Hamence

Martha Lott is a diamond of theatre in Adelaide. She’s got the chops plus more for holding space on stage. From A Cheery Soul, Coward, Cowardy Custard, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Wolfe, Looped and Night, Mother (Amongst others), Martha has delivered performances that have received well-due standing ovations over and over. This piece is no exception, it is brutal and while a scheming character is portrayed, there any many layers that are represented at the same time. This is only a job a talented actor can take on. If Martha’s name is attached to ANY show, you know you are in for a ride, so buckle the f*ck up baby.

Amelia Lott-Watson Adelaide Fringe debut is both confident and believable in her role, without doing spoilers, the final scene is gut wrenching and Amelia’s character displays the anguish and built up resentment from over the years of competition in an avalanche of emotion that Amelia tackles flawlessly and with a crazy amount of maturity. Lott-Watson is an actor to watch, the future looks bright.

“(Amelia) Lott-Watson is an actor to watch, the future looks bright…”
Markus Hamence

What smacks hardest is how The Debate threads together competitive parenting, personal ambition, and the polished machinery of political-style spin. The mother isn’t just invested – she’s fluent in persuasion, in shaping narratives, in making words do the heavy lifting. Watching that skill set collide with motherhood is fascinating and frightening in equal measure.

Online Bullying, Fake Profiles, Forums, the heavy weight of Social Media, AI, it all get’s a nod. It all much this play extremely current and topical.

Lott’s performance has that rare mix of control and volatility: the charm that pulls you in, then the sharper edge that makes you realise you’ve been recruited into her version of events. Expect a word count from Martha’s character ‘Mara’ that is off the charts. The writing is tightly engineered, with jokes that aren’t there to soften the blow – they’re there to sharpen it and push your buttons. The laughs come, then you feel slightly guilty for having them.

Holden Street’s intimacy is a perfect match. This Adelaide Fringe Hub is a vibe for the 2026 arts festival. In a space like The Arch, you don’t get to hide from the tension. Every pause has weight, every shift in tone reads like a strategy change mid-round. The production plays beautifully with that closeness, creating a sense that the room itself is part of the contest.

Underneath it all, The Debate is a gripping look at control, morality and the seductive power of persuasion – especially in a world of curated truths where winning can matter more than being honest. It’s smart, confronting and heartbreakingly human, leaving you turning over one big question on the walk out: when every story can be spun, what chance does truth really have?

Bravo Martha & Amelia. Markus xxx