Sponsored by Lane Cove Council
A man sorting through a year’s worth of tax receipts and a Japanese classical dance performance exploring migration are about as different as two nights at the theatre can get.
But that is rather the point of Fringe.
The Sydney Fringe season at Lane Cove’s Pottery Lane Performance Space opens next week with two very different productions: the Australian premiere of James Graham’s The Man presented by JB Theatre Company and the world premiere of Snow, Moon, and Flowers – 雪月花 from Japanese Dance Sydney.
Both shows are at the start of the festival, so this is one of those occasions where “I’ll get around to booking that” may result in not seeing it at all. So see details below and book ASAP.
First up: The Man
THE MAN
The Man starts with Ben and his taxes.
As a sole trader, he has spent the year keeping every receipt. Now he has to work through them all.
And the audience is going to help him.
Everyone receives a receipt when they arrive. Audience members are then called on at random to produce theirs, prompting performer Mike Howlett to deliver the monologue attached to that particular receipt.
The result is a scripted show where the order changes every night.
Every receipt reveals another piece of Ben’s life and, little by little, the pile of mundane financial paperwork becomes something considerably more personal.
It is the Australian premiere of a work by James Graham, the Olivier Award-winning British playwright behind Dear England, Quiz and Ink.
The production also has a strong North Shore connection.
It is directed by North Sydney local Jo Bradley, with other North Shore talent involved including sound designer Otto Zagala and production designer Bella Wellstead, who works at Ensemble Theatre.
Bradley has built a reputation for bringing acclaimed international playwrights to Australian audiences for the first time.
“I really enjoy finding contemporary international work and bringing it to Australia for the first time,” she told In the Cove. “On one hand, you get the chance to delve into a different country and culture, but on the other hand, so many of my plays deal with universal themes that Sydney audiences find relatable.”
James Graham is now best known for large-scale ensemble dramas, but The Man was one of his earliest plays.
“James Graham is a hugely talented writer who, in 2026, is more known for his big budget large cast ensemble dramas, like Dear England and Ink,” Bradley said. “The Man was one of the first plays he ever wrote, and it’s a great example of a writer who has all the talent and potential, but they don’t yet have a big National Theatre budget at their disposal, so they have to create something intimate and actor-focused.”
Pottery Lane’s scale is central to that intimacy.
“I’m excited by Pottery Lane because it will feel very intimate between audience and performer, as you will never be seated more than a couple of metres away from the action,” Bradley said. “My performer, Mike Howlett, has been in nationally-touring shows at Bell Shakespeare, so he’s performed in theatres of all sizes, but this is a chance to see a really talented actor up-close.”
Bradley is also a local.
“I’m a local, living five minutes from the theatre, and I often come to the Lane Cove library, so it’s a real privilege to make theatre so close to home,” she said.
The Man is Bradley’s second Australian premiere of an acclaimed international playwright in recent years. In 2024 she self-produced an independent production of Mike Bartlett’s family Brexit drama Snowflake at the Old Fitz, which has since been re-programmed by Mark Kilmurry for a professional season at Ensemble Theatre this Christmas.
“I hope North Shore audiences will enjoy my work, and the chance to see brilliant playwriting performed locally, without having to cross the bridge,” Bradley said.
For performer Mike Howlett, the show’s random structure changes more than just the running order.
“Very different,” Howlett said, on how the show shifts night to night. “Each receipt tells a story, and each of those stories interconnect in moments. Because of that, a random order each night is not just a trivial thing, it actually creates a different overall story each night. The audience may start with all the information, or may have very little and have to piece things together as we go. This also changes my performance night to night — which makes it a lot of fun for me.”
With so many lines to hold in his head without knowing what comes before them, Howlett’s approach to learning them is simple.
“Learning lines. The very not fun part of acting, and I have many, many lines here,” he said. “The only advice I could really give is not particularly glamorous. It’s just to do the work. Put yourself in a room, get that script open, and read the play, line by line, over and over, for as many hours as you can muster, till it’s stuck in your head. I find walking around a room and engaging my body in some way often helps get the words in quicker.”
He points to actor Bill Nighy’s approach as a model.
“In an interview, Bill Nighy said he approaches it like a nine-to-five. He sits in a study and learns lines from nine to five, Monday to Friday, with an hour break in the middle of lunch,” Howlett said. “Not everyone has that amount of time available to them, but I think the sentiment is right.”
The Man
Where: Pottery Lane Performance Space
Duration: 75 minutes
Rated: M15+
- Tuesday 1 September, 6 pm (Preview) — $25–$35
- Wednesday 2 September, 6 pm — $35–$44
- Thursday 3 September, 6 pm — $35–$44
- Friday 4 September, 6 pm — $35–$44
- Sunday 6 September, 5.30 pm (New show) — $35–$44
BOOK: The Man
Then, something completely different
SNOW, MOON, AND FLOWERS – 雪月花
On Wednesday and Thursday night, Pottery Lane also becomes home to the world premiere of Snow, Moon, and Flowers – 雪月花.
At only 20 minutes long, it is a small production with a much bigger story behind it.
Created and performed by Junko Hirabayashi of Sydney Japanese Dance, the work combines Japanese classical dance, live music and English narration to explore the stories of three pioneering Japanese immigrants.
The title draws on setsugekka — snow, moon and flowers — a traditional artistic theme representing the beauty of Japan’s changing seasons.
Those seasons also become a connection to home for immigrants living far from Japan.
Junko told In the Cove that the production is an opportunity to share Japanese dance, taiko drum and bamboo flute alongside stories of immigrants.
The timing of the world premiere is particularly significant.
2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Australia and Japan, and Junko developed the work partly as an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between the two countries, migration and the stories that have not always been widely told.
The stories are based on historical events, with fictional elements woven through the production.
For anyone nervous about taking a chance on something unfamiliar at Fringe, this may also be one of the easiest experiments of the month: it is 20 minutes long, rated G and tickets are $20.
Snow, Moon, and Flowers – 雪月花
Where: Pottery Lane Performance Space
Duration: 20 minutes
Rated: G
Tickets: $20
- Wednesday 2 September, 8 pm
- Thursday 3 September, 8 pm
BOOK: Snow, Moon, and Flowers – 雪月花
And if you cannot make either performance, there is another chance to see part of the work.
Junko and the team will also perform at the free Lane Cove Festival Launch Night at The Canopy on Friday 4 September.
So where exactly is Pottery Lane?
If this will be your first visit, Pottery Lane Performance Space is on the lower ground floor at 1 Pottery Lane, directly opposite Lane Cove Aquatic Centre.
There is parking within the building, including three hours free and free parking after 6 pm.
It’s also a short walk from The Canopy. Check out our walking guide here.
The two opening productions are the beginning of a month-long Pottery Lane season, with Lane Cove Theatre Company’s Beatles-inspired All Things Must Pass, corporate AI satire The Algorithm of Us and a Best of Fringe program all still to come.
You can see everything happening across Lane Cove during September in our Lane Cove Festival 2026 Full Program Guide.
Lane Cove Festival is presented by Lane Cove Council in partnership with Sydney Fringe Festival.