Tony Briggs’ popular musical The Sapphires debuted at Melbourne Theatre Company in 2004 and has since been staged in Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, London and South Korea. In 2021, it was adapted into a film starring Jessica Mauboy and Miranda Tapsell. Based on the true story of Briggs’ mother, Laurel Robinson, The Sapphires is set in 1969 during the Vietnam War and explores what happens when four fierce and fabulous Yorta Yorta women tour to the frontlines, belting out Motown hits for the American soldiers. The show’s original director, Wesley Enoch, returns to stage this sparkling new production.

Limelight Editor’s Choice

1969. The Vietnam War. Bombs are dropping and the world is exploding in protest. Back at the Tiki Club in St Kilda, four sisters from country Victoria – Gail, Kay, Cynthia and Julie – catch the eye of a big-city talent scout with their Supremes cover act. But for the MacCrae girls, the realisation of a lifelong dream to perform overseas isn’t quite what they had in mind …

Based on the incredible true story of writer Tony Briggs’ mother, The Sapphires chronicles how these fierce and fabulous Yorta Yorta women blazed a trail from their small town roots to the frontlines of Vietnam, belting out Motown hits for the American soldiers and breaking through barriers with every beat.

Packed with heart, clad in sequins and boasting a swinging soundtrack that defined a generation, this story about a band of women — daring to go where others refused — is a powerful cultural anthem to the solidarity and soul of First Nations’ sisterhood.