Presented by: St Jude’s Players
Reviewed: 1 May, 2026
St Jude’s Players have chosen Melissa Reeves’ adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s thought-provoking play An Enemy of the People as their first production for 2026. This is a challenging work to tackle, especially given the conversational nature of the script, but St Jude’s Players and director Erik Strauts have done an admirable job bringing this production to St Jude’s quaint stage.
The play is centred around Katherine Stockman, who, through her work at the small country town’s spa, discovers a chemical imbalance in the mineral water supply, leaving several of her clients covered in rashes. Upon investigation, she discovers the cause. When she attempts to shine a light on the situation via the local media, the town’s governance and council committees try to silence her. It is the classic story of the corporate world trying to manipulate the underdog.
Director Erik Strauts has assembled a solid cast with whom he has worked extremely well. The script is very conversational in its structure and Erik, alongside assistant director Kathy Strauts, have kept the pace moving. Together they have built the tension brilliantly, especially in the central family dynamics, and allowed several of the more emotional moments to pull at the audience’s heartstrings.
This is an exceptional piece of ensemble theatre. The whole cast works as a tight unit to bring this thought-provoking script to life. The town meeting scene at the start of Act 2 really showcases this cast’s exceptional acting skills.
Cheryl Douglas has tackled the central character of Katherine Stockman with an extremely well paced performance. As an audience, we ebb and flow with Douglas’s emotional portrayal. She has a brilliant grasp of the text and milks every nuance from it. Her performance truly makes us feel like we are ‘flies on the wall’ watching her life fall down around her as she fights for what is right.
Petra, Katherine’s daughter, is played brilliantly by Regan Holmes. Holmes has found the perfect balance between compassion towards her mother and the drive to stand up for what is right and to be heard. The character of Petra has a deep level of respect for her mother, and Holmes portrays this beautifully.
Russell Slater, who plays Katherine’s brother Peter and mayor of the town, brings just the right level of believability to the play’s protagonist. When we first meet Peter, we see a supportive and caring brother, but as the play continues, Slater knows how to shift his mannerisms to show his manipulative side.
Damien White and Mark Healy clearly revel in the roles of Hovstadt and Billing, the town’s media representatives. Their demeanours cleverly shift once the town’s political control infiltrates their own beliefs. They bounce off each other well and demonstrate perfectly how, with a little seed of doubt, anyone can be manipulated to change their personal beliefs.
Annie Gladdis plays the very pivotal role of Rendine with a wonderful sense of realism. She is always there in the background acting as the guiding force Katherine needs. Between Strauts’ clever direction and Gladdis’ acting ability, she is always there, quietly observing things play out. Jack Robins, as Aslaksen (Dennis), is perfectly cast as the chairman of the local business owners’ committee. It is particularly in the opening of Act 2 that we see Robins’ excellent acting skills come into play, especially with his interactions with the real audience.
Lindsay Dunn, who plays Morton, Katherine’s father and owner of the town’s sawmill, commands your attention. Whilst Morton is on in a few pivotal moments of the show, Dunn’s wealth of stage experience is on full display.
The set, whilst practical, creative and aiding location and scene setting well, doesn’t quite live up the award-winning set level that St Jude’s is known for. Some of the purpose-built items (for example, the BBQ in Act 1) feel unfinished and the paint work on the flats surrounding the stage lacked detail and finesse.
Xander Roberts’ lighting design lights the scenes appropriately, but the choice to bring the stage lighting back up after a blackout to mark the end of a scene during scene changes broke the momentum and felt very out of place.
St Jude’s should be commended for bringing this updated, modern script to Adelaide audiences. With so much political unease happening around the world, with governments making promises they can’t keep, productions like this are important to shine a light on the underdogs in our society. It is well worth the visit to St Jude’s Hall to see this excellent cast at work.
Reviewed by Ben Stefanoff
Photo credit: Les Zetlein
Venue: St Jude’s Hall, 444 Brighton Rd, Brighton
Season: Until 9th May, 2026
Duration: 2 hours (including a 20-minute intermission)
Tickets: $15 – $28 (plus booking fee)
Bookings: https://stjudesplayers.asn.au/an-enemy-of-the-people/
Annie Gladdis, Cheryl Douglas, Damien White, Erik Strauts, Jack Robins, Kathy Strauts, Lindsay Dunn, Mark Healy, Regan Holmes, Russell Slater, Sandra Roberts, St Jude’s Players
