How Not To Make It In America, By Emily Steel theatre review: Quietly captivating
Tracing one actor’s journey from wide-eyed ambition to quiet resilience
Written by award-winning Adelaide-based playwright Emily Steel, How Not To Make It In America begins like a dream and slowly unravels into something far more human. It’s 2001, and a young Australian actor lands in New York with big hopes and even bigger ambition. What follows is a journey that feels almost familiar until life interrupts: 9/11 changes everything, a relationship falls apart and suddenly the dream feels out of reach.
This play brilliantly captures the fragile space between chasing something and watching it slip away, all told with sharp humour and a quiet emotional pull. At the centre is James Smith whose performance is nothing short of captivating. He moves through multiple characters with ease, shifting voices, energy and presence so seamlessly that the stage never feels empty, even in its simplicity. The minimal props are used with purpose, allowing the storytelling to breathe and unfold naturally. It feels like being pulled into someone’s memory: intimate, immediate and completely absorbing. Every moment is intentional, every character distinct, and the performance never loses momentum.
What lingers most are the feelings it leaves behind. Everyone in The Studio has come from somewhere and this show gently reminds us of that shared starting point: arriving with just a bag, juggling part-time jobs, counting every dollar, and finding comfort in the smallest things. It’s a story about resilience, about beginnings that aren’t glamorous, and about holding on when things don’t go as planned. With subtle yet effective use of lighting and sound, the atmosphere deepens without ever distracting from the story and, by the end, it feels like you’ve lived a part of it. A beautifully told, deeply resonant piece that absolutely deserves a much bigger audience.
How Not To Make It In America, By Emily Steel concluded at The Studio at Holden Street Theatres on March 22; picture: Jamois.