First created in 1995, Honour has gone on to be performed in dozens of countries, including on the West End and Broadway. Written by Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith AM, Honour has connected to audiences again and again, even gaining two Tony nominations.
Red Stitch delivers a wide variety of stories from their brilliant ensemble cast, and I always feel a sense of excitement walking in towards the seating to see how the small intimate space has been transformed for each show.
I went in to see Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre’s Honour with a sense of intrigue. I was personally unfamiliar with the play before seeing it, and the poster did not give much of the story away. This play is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its creation, so there must be something timeless about it. I can now safely say that I was delighted and thoroughly impressed with this production, and understood why its tale can hold this longevity.
For Honour, the stage was set as a simple raised platform, with a few chairs surrounding it as the only props. We open the scene with the “picture perfect” family introduced to us including husband George, wife Honor, and their daughter Sophie.
We soon also meet Claudia, a vibrant young woman conducting a profile piece on George. Her admiration and flattery soon leading to more, as the spark between them contributes to George leaving Honor to pursue his love with Claudia and live out his life “free” of the constraints he feels that he has. Telling Honor he no longer “wants a wife” and does not love her in that way anymore.
Honor is accused by her daughter of putting her life and ambitions aside to sacrifice her own journey and be a martyr for George. There are many riveting dialogues between the characters, exploring the deep but everyday feelings behind love, marriage, commitment and more. One of the most interesting dynamics was between Honor and ‘the other woman’, Claudia. Their age differences, personal experiences, and outlooks on life both clashing and harmonising to create some interesting conversations.
Daughter Sophie is played by Lucinda Smith, and she delivered an excellent performance. Sophie’s youthfulness standing out in contrast to her parents’ lived experiences, and even against the smaller age gap between her and Claudia. You could feel her frustration at both her parents for different reasons, and a real sense of anger and distress.
Ella Ferris as Claudia plays the confidence and coyness needed of her character but is still able to show the cracks of Claudia’s naivety of youthfulness, including the self-doubt hidden beneath a strong exterior, easily coming undone when critiqued in ways that she’s not prepared for. Ferris was able to balance these facets of her performance well.
Peter Houghton as George communicated his second-guessing nature in contrast to something as seemingly sudden and decisive of leaving his wife. George’s care of first impressions, trying to think of the right words to say over and over again, making sure his image comes across just right is evident. Yet, the same care cannot be said for the disregard of his marriage of many years to Honor, appearing for it to be simply thrown away on a whim.
Finally, Caroline Lee gave a strong performance as Honor that came across as a plethora of emotions, showing the character as dignified, broken, strong, self-assured, lost and confused. She felt distinctly human.
The chemistry between the husband-and-wife relationship of George and Honor conveyed the feeling of history, you could feel the meaning between those ‘32 years together’, simply to be thrown away.
Each scene’s setting, although with minimal set and props, was still expressed easily. The body language showcased, making connections about the relationship between the characters outside of the dialogue, with the whole cast expertly delivering on clever directing by Sam Strong, still spoke volumes.
This minimalistic approach truly let the actors and the story shine with no distractions. The play explores many themes of what is love, and the meaning of it. The poetic quality of the script lends itself to many people’s lived experience. At a runtime of 90 minutes with no interval, you were able to get fully immersed in the characters’ lives. In the intimate Red Stitch Actor’s Theatre, I heard some reactions of the attentive audience, with frequent gasps of shock around me, laughter, “tsk”-ing, and even one patron exclaiming, “That bitch!” in a whispered hushed tone. There were also many times I noticed many nod or shake their head in agreement or disagreement with the dialogue as the storyline unravelled. This just showed how involved the audience was in how the tale would pan out.
The story itself, removed from the play, is not unique. In fact, most people have heard something similar in real life: an aging man leaves his wife to pursue a younger lover, talks of buying a yacht and ‘finding himself’. However, what makes Honour special is examining the minutia that comes along with that story. It forces us to reflect on the traditional ideals of monogamous lifelong marriages, the nuclear family, and what loyalty and love mean. That perhaps there is no one universal definition for these terms. That it is up to us to decide if love is a simple feeling, is a commitment made through choices, or something else.
There’s a clear reason why Honour is still being performed 30 years after its creation. It can strike home with many, and prompts thoughts about how we live our life, decisions that can’t be taken back, and how we love. While times may have changed since its inception, I believe it is still an important reflection on women’s stories, both the past and the present, and the role that men can play in women’s lives.
Red Stitch Actor’s Theatre’s highly anticipated run of Honour, which is almost sold out, is currently on in Melbourne until March 23rd.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://www.redstitch.net/honour-2025
Photography by James Reiser.
