Ned Kelly makes his stand - Sydney Festival Memories

Ned Kelly makes his stand in Kelly's Republic by Nigel Jamieson (1997)

Inspired by Sydney Nolan’s famous series of Ned Kelly paintings and staged on the Opera House forecourt, visionary director-designer Nigel Jamieson’s production was a giant spectacle of sound, song, music, 140 cast members and multiple sets of Ned Kelly’s iconic mask and armour. It was Sydney Festival's biggest commission to date, and entirely free.

At the opening of the piece, a lone figure of Ned Kelly appeared high up on the Opera House sails. Below in the forecourt, another approached the audience on horseback. Then a chorus of Neds appeared, armed to the teeth. Add to that 35 Irish dancers, 13 percussionists, a fire breathing horse, a judge's verdict handed down on a giant tongue cascading down the forecourt steps, and a police chase led by a chorus of Keystone-style coppers on tricycles. Such is life!