When choreographer Gillian Lynne, who staged the original production of The Phantom of the Opera in 1986, was asked why she thought it was such a hit, she answered quite simply, “It’s a bloody good show.”

She was right, of course. Forty years later, it remains one of the most successful megamusicals of all time, helping define the so-called ‘British invasion’ and dominating Broadway for decades as well as spawning replica productions that shattered box-office records worldwide.

Jake Lyle in Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour’s 2026 production of The Phantom of the Opera. Photo © Daniel Boud

These modern-day Gesamtkunstwerks fused creative disciplines from the outset, delivering immersive spectacle grounded in traditional theatrical craft. The original London production – devised by Lynne with director Harold Prince, production designer Maria Björnson, lighting designer Andrew Bridge and sound designer Martin Levan – made use of the Victorian stage machinery at His Majesty’s Theatre and drew on the techniques of 18th-century phantasmagoria: magic lanterns, smoke effects and surround sound.

Its global reach is all the more remarkable given the pre-internet, pre-bootleg era, when the original cast recording served as the primary means of marketing, preserving every...