Griffin Theatre Company opens its stellar 2026 season with a 50th anniversary production of steve j. spears’ classic, The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin, at Belvoir’s Downstairs Theatre from 21 February 2026.
A landmark of Australian theatre, steve j. spears’s tragicomedy scandalised and mesmerised in equal measure when it premiered in 1976 – touring the world and collecting awards everywhere it ventured. Now, 50 years on from its premiere at the Nimrod Theatre, Simon Burke takes on the towering role that Gordon Chater made infamous.
Robert O’Brien is an elocution teacher whose career is going nowhere fast. Stuck in a dreary cycle of diaphragm exercises and She-Sells-Seashells, every evening he escapes into extravagant fantasies of seducing Mick Jagger.
Then, a new student arrives. Benjamin Franklin. A 12-year-old acting prodigy with a stutter, a pack-a-day smoking habit and some unsettling curiosities about his middle-aged voice teacher. With half of Double Bay already suspicious of their flamboyant neighbour, a ticking time bomb is lit.
Directed by Artistic Director Declan Greene (Naturism, The Lewis Trilogy) and starring icon of stage and screen Simon Burke (WICKED, Moulin Rouge! The Musical), this revival is a riotous, razor-edged tragicomedy and harrowing portrait of persecution.
“I’ve been obsessed with steve j. spears’s masterpiece for years, just waiting for the right moment – and, more importantly the right actor. With its 50th anniversary here, and the great Simon Burke bravely stepping into the role, that moment has finally come. A landmark of Australian theatre, still burning with urgency half a century on,” said Greene.
“Declan sent me this extraordinary play to read about five years ago and we’ve been daring each other to do it ever since. The sweet synchronicity of now actually performing it at Belvoir Downstairs where it premiered in 1976 exactly 50 years ago, in this theatre where I began my career as an actor two years before that at the age of 12, makes it even more special and exciting for me. This is a mammoth, mountainous, magnificent role of a lifetime, and one I couldn’t contemplate tackling without Declan by my side,” said Burke.
Riotous, and at times deeply poignant, The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin, half a century on, it’s just as urgent – and unsettling – as ever.
Director: Declan Greene | Starring: Simon Burke | Set & Costume Designer: Isabel Hudson | Lighting Designer: Brockman | Composer & Sound Designer: David Bergman | Community Engagement Strategist: Bayley Turner | Vocal Coach: Linda Nicholls-Gidley | Stage Manager: Isabella Kerdijk
The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin
Downstairs Theatre – Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir Street Surry Hills
Season: 21 February – 29 March 2026
Information and Bookings: www.griffintheatre.com.au
Image: Simon Burke stars in The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin – courtesy of Griffin Theatre Company