# Libby Drake directs The Thunderbolt as a masterclass in polite warfare **Review** — On Your Markus **Rating:** 5 out of 5 **Event:** The Thunderbolt **Performance date:** Thursday 22 October 2026 **Tickets:** https://www.trybooking.com/au/event/1419911 **Published:** 22 October 2026 **Author:** Markus Hamence **Source:** https://onyourmarkus.au/reviews/the-thunderbolt/ Red Phoenix Theatre's South Australian premiere of Arthur Wing Pinero's The Thunderbolt, directed by Libby Drake, centres on a family's competing claims to a substantial inheritance, exploring the gap between polite respectability and ruthless self-interest through an ensemble 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. The production plays at Goodwood Theatre & Studios, opening 22 October 2026. Rating: 5/5. --- Review by **[Markus Hamence](https://onyourmarkus.au/markus-hamence/)** – **Red Phoenix Theatre's The Thunderbolt**. Performance date: Thursday 22 October 2026. Goodwood Theatre and Studios, Goodwood, South Australia. ![Woman in brown hat and jacket against bright yellow radiating background with "The Thunderbolt" theatre production text.](https://media.onyourmarkus.au/admin/2026/10/dd8b6526-30f1-4bc7-b662-8b6695f93810.png) ![Two women in white period costumes sit on a damask sofa against red velvet theatre curtains.](https://media.onyourmarkus.au/admin/2026/10/1c99687a-6666-4738-b147-e8e36c903088.jpg) **Put a sizeable inheritance on the table and watch the family manners disappear. Suddenly, everyone has a claim, everyone has a grievance, and everyone is absolutely certain they are being perfectly reasonable. Arthur Wing Pinero’s *****The Thunderbolt*****, presented by Red Phoenix Theatre at Adelaide’s Goodwood Theatre & Studios, takes that familiar family ugliness and dresses it in Edwardian respectability. Oh, the possibilities.** Directed by Libby Drake, this South Australian premiere centres on the death of a wealthy brewer whose apparently missing will leaves his siblings eyeing off a considerable fortune. They have plans. Naturally. Then his daughter enters the picture, and those comfortable assumptions begin to unravel. What follows is a battle over money, belonging and who gets to decide what somebody else deserves. > “Libby Drake takes on a delicious powder keg of family politics, where respectability and greed sit dangerously close together.” - Markus Hamence Written in 1908, the play has a wonderfully durable target. We all know how quickly an innocent family conversation can become an unofficial hearing into something that happened twenty years ago. Add property and money, and suddenly everyone remembers every slight with extraordinary clarity. Pinero’s premise taps into that uncomfortable familiarity, where the language of fairness can conceal some thoroughly unfair intentions. Taking on this collection of competing interests is an cream ensemble comprising 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. It is a substantial company for a story built around the messy business of people watching, judging and manoeuvring around one another. > “Red Phoenix’s ensemble takes on a family full of sharp tongues and expensive expectations, where every polite exchange has the potential to draw blood.” - Markus Hamence For the actors, the rich territory lies in the gap between what these characters say and what they mean. A declaration of family loyalty might conceal a financial calculation. An expression of concern might carry a warning. A perfectly civil exchange might be a small act of warfare. The script offers opportunities for the ensemble to explore that delicious double language, where politeness gives people permission to be quite appalling. A clever live set rework during act one was produced flawlessly and thoroughly enjoyable to watch as the actors and the crew shifted and re-dressed the entire stage before our eyes. Unique. There is also a delicate balance in playing people whose behaviour invites laughter while their actions carry real consequences. Push everything towards caricature and the hurt risks disappearing; lean too heavily into the bitterness and the comedy loses its spark. These characters need enough recognisable humanity for us to see something familiar beneath their entitlement. Perhaps an uncle. Perhaps a sibling. Perhaps, on an uncomfortable day, ourselves. Helen’s (Elisha Johnson) wish to shape her own life gives the family dispute a different perspective. While others concern themselves with what they might acquire, her independence raises a more interesting question: what does it mean to have something that is truly your own? That emotional thread gives the actors material beyond the inheritance scramble, opening up the loneliness and vulnerability that can sit beneath a family argument. Red Phoenix’s decision to bring this lesser-seen work to Adelaide makes sense for a company committed to theatrical discovery. A century may have changed the way we dress for a family gathering, but it has done considerably less to improve our behaviour when money enters the conversation. The fortune might belong to one man. The opinions, my darlings, belong to absolutely everybody. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ **Cast (In order of speaking)** Annie Matsouliadis - Rose Ponting Katie Packer - Louisa Mortimore Anne Doherty - Ann Mortimore Michael Eustice - James Mortimore Joshua Coldwell - Colonel Ponting Leighton Vogt - Thaddeus Mortimore Steve Marvanek - Stephen Mortimore Akira Hockley Miric - Heath / Trist Jai Pearce - Vallance Malcolm Walton - Elkin Jessica Corrie - Phyllis Mortimore Elisha Johnson - Helen Tim Williams - Denyer **Production Team** Director - Libby Drake Stage Manager - Jan Farr Assistant Stage Manager - Lance Morgan Backstage AssistantLily Watkins PropsJan Farr Costume DesignSharon Malujlo Costume SupportLisa Lanzi, Moira Moore Set Design - Kate Prescott Lighting Design - Richard Parkhill Lighting Assistant - Mathilde Priouret Lighting Operator - Ruby Faith Sound Design & Operation - Ray Trowbridge Hair - Beck Jarratt, Heather Jones Set Construction - Andrew Gehling, Neil Martin, Malcolm Walton, Kate Prescott Scenic Art - Lil Daenke, Kathy McNamara Publicity - Michael Eustice Front of House Manager - Robby Drake Photography - Richard Parkhill Programme - Libby Drake Poster Design and Artwork - Nicholas Ely **[Follow Red Phoenix Theatre online](https://www.redphoenixtheatre.com/)** ![Five actors in period costume stand and sit around a wooden table in a formal living room set.](https://media.onyourmarkus.au/admin/2026/10/81613b97-b3ac-4094-9504-8fb71db5d40a.jpg) ![Four actors in period suits seated around a wooden table in a tense conversation scene.](https://media.onyourmarkus.au/admin/2026/10/164c595b-870f-4b8c-b2ce-ea1fc763d3cd.jpg) ![Theatre poster featuring a figure in brown jacket and hat against a vibrant yellow background, advertising Arthur Wing Pinero's play.](https://media.onyourmarkus.au/admin/2026/10/231d6305-1c8a-465e-9545-b8a1af2eb139.png)