Thursday 16 April 2026

Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday)

Amplified: Chrissy Amphlett (Sheridan Harbridge)

The 80’s were the heyday of pub rock in Australia, and whether you were there in the sweaty, beer soaked saloons or too young and so witnessed the chaos via TV shows like Countdown and Rage, your attention would have been seized by the inimitable force of rock, Chrissy Amphlett. Chrissy burst onto the scene in her school uniform as lead singer and provocateur for the New Wave post punk band, Divinyls. Oz rock was never the same again, especially for women who chose that outlet for their creativity.

Sheridan Harbridge is a similar undeniable force, but her stomping ground of choice is the theatre. Together with director, Sarah Goodes and musical director, Glenn Morehouse, they created an amazing homage to our first home-grown rock chick with Amplified: The Exquisite Rock & Rage of Chrissy Amphlett.

The concept for the show came from a discussion between Amphlett and her friend and collaborator, Horse (of ‘Puppetry of the Penis’ fame), after the final shows of Divinyls. He pitched the idea to her of paring back the rock songs to an unplugged version in order to reveal the power and strength of the lyrics. Amphlett was finally convinced of the idea that would allow her failing body (first multiple sclerosis then breast cancer) to re-inhabit the stage, but unfortunately time ran out.

Sheridan took up that mantle and what we saw and heard was satisfying on so many levels. Yes we got the full power of the Divinyls songs thanks to an amazing unnamed band and her power house vocals. Sheridan’s ability to mimic all Amphlett’s idiosyncratic vocal style and trade mark pout had us convinced her spirit had descended on the stage at the Seymour Centre, and the ‘monster’ that was Chrissy Amphlett’s stage persona, was unleashed amongst us.

When she sang Back to the Wall in a soft ballad style, the words took on a new meaning.

We are living in desperate times

These are desperate times, my dear

There’s no way out of here

There’s no way out, I fear.

Soft, plaintive, vulnerable. Not the guitar driven electric version we remember from a night with the band at Selina’s or similar rock temples.

Throughout the show we were at times seeing Chrissy Amphlett, but after a quick lighting and sound reset, it was Sheridan giving insights into the complex mind of a highly talented, very angry woman clearing a path machete-like for those following through the jungle of the rock scene.

This show has had several seasons in Sydney, Melbourne and Chrissy’s hometown Geelong. Sheridan was quick to evoke the memory of nights at Selinas, the Manzil Room, and Bourbon and Beefsteak for an audience who for the most part looked the right age to have been there banging their heads to hits like Boys in Town and Good Die Young.

A beautifully paced musical homage to a rock legend that hit all the highs and lows like a great musical does. It is hard to label Amplified: The Exquisite Rock & Rage of Chrissy Amphlett with a genre – rock musical, tribute show or just a great piece of theatrical entertainment – in fact it was all these things and much more. And what a finale! We were invited to stand, dance and sing along to Divinyls’ only number one hit, Touch Myself. All the more poignant by the fact that her friends and family allowed it to be used in a campaign for breast cancer awareness, the disease that took her away from us at age 53 in 2013. We miss the legend, but her spirit lives on.

Season runs to 25 April

You can listen to to a recent interview with Sheridan Harbridge below: