On Monday night I attended a performance of the Australian Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty where the audience gasped in wonder as the curtains parted on the final act: three massive chandeliers were lit then raised above a cream and gold confection of a set which put Versailles to shame. On Thursday night, I was at Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical where the sets and costumes are bright and garish, adding a satiric commentary of their own to the show’s cheerfully vulgar view of contemporary Australia. Gabriela Tylesova designed the sets and costumes for both productions – from Aurora’s wedding to Muriel’s wedding – with equal flair. The talent has gathered around Muriel’s Wedding.

At its centre is Simon Phillips, who must be one of the most gifted directors of musical comedy and comic opera in the world. He can find wit and good-natured humour in the strangest places, and brings out the best in every production he touches (look out for his production of The Turk in Italy in AO’s 2018 season). He has gathered a brilliant team of creators around him, not just Tylesova but P.J. Hogan to adapt his original script, choreographer Andrew Hallsworth, and Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall to write the music and lyrics for new songs. This is no jukebox musical but a wonderfully original creation.