Type – Novel to play adaptation, character-driven period comedies of manners, Edwardian social satires, and romantic dramas
If you liked – Jane Eyre, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Philanderer
A shimmering exploration of expectations on women in Edwardian England
Grace Chapple‘s adaptation of E M Forster’s 1908 novel A Room With a View has arrived a Belvoir St Theatre. A romance of manners and critique of Edwardian English society, the period rom-com, coming of age story follows a young woman preparing for a married life.
Lucy Honeychurch (Natalie Morris) is a young, middle-class English woman who has set out on an adventure across Italy to see art and statues and be inspired by the different culture. She is (unfortunately) being accompanied by her rigid spinster cousin Charlotte (Hayley McElhinney), and she soon finds herself torn between her own desires and the expectations from her family and of English women at the time.
Director Hannah Goodwin notes “it’s set in 1907 as well as in the here and now in the theatre at the same time.” Chapple’s writing sees the characters alternating between delivering text within the story, narrating in third person, and talking directly to the audience. Together with Goodwin’s direction they facilitate an intimately present and visceral production that is fuelled by a sense of immediacy and imagination.
Nathalie Morris is instantly loveable and relatable as Lucy Honeychurch. The emotional truth she brings to the work makes for a heartfelt and readable portrayal of being torn between staying loyal to her own desires and meeting societal expectations. As the charming love interest, Luke Wiltshire portrays a heartfelt and modest George Emerson and their chemistry tingles with awkward excitement and tentative youthful lust. As George’s free-thinking socialist dad, Patrick Williams brings a gentle grounded characterisation to the quiet, wise man who challenges prohibitive elements of Edwardian society.
Hayley McElhinney’s precise timing and sharp physicality heighten her haughty stubborn characterisation with looks that could kill and ironic irritation. Bringing Cindarella’s ugly step-sister vibes, McElhinney and Kate Atkinson are hysterical and intuitive as the snobby older women. Tom Conroy as Reverend Mr Beebe and Tomáš Kantor as Lucy’s cheeky, wilful brother bring contagiously jaunty physical comedy and kinetic chemistry, while Charle Wu grounds the classist narrative as the conceited future husband, Cecil Vyse. Particularly in the ensemble scenes, the comedic moments are sealed with the ensembles highly polished choreography.
“[Forster] writes in scenes and it’s all about relationships,” Chapple explains. “The action hinges around conversations.” While the pacing is consistent and there are no cumbersome scene changes, it’s a long piece that drags on occasion. The text is rich in subtext, detail and texture, but for the length of the work is relatively light on plot.
The cast are outstanding both individually and as an ensemble, however it’s the creative design that makes this exposition-heavy work uniquely memorable. Zoe Atkinson’s bare set design sees four metal chairs on stage, in front of free-standing, celadon green painted Crittall windows with dreary grey roller blinds. That’s literally it.
Stretching across the stage, the window structure is used to create various backdrops; from art gallery paintings to a field of violets, opening doors to mirrored walls and train seat window. The sparse setting provides a blank canvas that the team create the vibrant, detail rich, multi-dimensional world on.
Grace Ferguson’s compositions create richly detailed and realistic soundscapes including a tennis match, swimming in a watering hole and riding in a bumpy horse and carriage. Hannah Goodwin’s direction sees different characters playing at the keyboard from on and off stage, providing live music backing that builds with the scripts’ landscape. At times, the on-stage piano playing smoothly transitions to recorded music, seamlessly continuing what was started on stage.
Madeleine Picard’s sound design sees the live piano playing perfectly aligned with the rhythmic choreography which fuels the dramatic beats. The swimming scene is a true highlight (and not just because of the nudity!) where Amelia Lever-Davidson’s lighting transforms the bare stage into an underwater scene that the men jump between being in, under and out of the water.
The most magical moments of the production arise in these highly choreographed sequences where sound, movement, text, set and direction work in perfect harmony. The precision required to meld the intricacies of each creative medium while the cast still facilitate a naturalistic and believable world on stage is an innate, multidisciplinary work of art.
Is A Room With a View worth seeing in SYDNEY?
While the work is a romance of manners and class, Chapple’s adaptation inspects and challenges societal expectations through a witty and feminist lens that makes the characters feel as current as they are historic. Be swept up in the thought provoking, whimsical world in this visceral production that takes you on a tender exploration of yearning for a life without the societal social constraints.
Tickets and Practical Info for A Room With A View in Sydney 🎟️
Playing at Belvoir St Theatre until 1 November 2026.
Duration: 2 hours and 50 minutes (including 1 interval).
Content Warnings: A Room WIth A View includes full nudity – and we do mean full! The production also includes the use of herbal cigarettes and strobe lighting.
This production was created in collaboration with Melbourne Theatre Company and Black Swan State Theatre and will be touring to Perth from 5-15 March and Melbourne from 14 November to 19 December 2026.
Original Author E. M. Forster
Adapted by Grace Chapple
Directed by Hannah Goodwin
Set & Costume Designer Zoë Atkinson
Lighting Designer Amelia Lever-Davidson
Composer Grace Ferguson
Sound Designer Madeleine Picard
Associate Set & Costume Designer & Assistant Costume Maker | Housemate Hailley Hunt
Choreographer Elle Evangelista
Voice & Accent Coach Laura Farrell
Fight Director Diego Retamales
Intimacy Coordinator Amy Cater
Assistant Director Mehhma Malhi
Stage Manager Bella Kerdijk
Assistant Stage Manager Maddison Craven
with Kate Atkinson, Tom Conroy, Tomáš Kantor, Hayley McElhinney, Nathalie Morris, Patrick Williams, Luke Wiltshire & Charles Wu
