Sail Away - The (Lockdown) Cruise Musical Live Reading and Preview

Sail Away – The (Lockdown) Cruise Musical

Tickets are strictly limited for this intimate, developmental preview.
Join us for a night of storytelling, music, laughter, heart, and a first look at a brand-new Australian musical in the making.

Reserve your tickets now and SAIL AWAY with us!

📅 Date: Monday 15th December 2025
⏰ Doors 7:30pm | Live Reading from 8:00pm
📍 Venue: Piano Bar Geelong — 90–92 Little Malop Street
🎟 Tickets: $10, including a drink on arrival
🍽 Food: The kitchen will not be open for this event — please eat beforehand
🔞 Recommended Age: Contains adult themes and language.

BOOK YOUR SEAT

“I’m beyond thrilled to share the first-ever public reading of Sail Away. This project has been nearly two years of writing, composing, rewriting, obsessing, and reflecting on my experiences living and working on cruise ships — the joy, the absurdity, the exhaustion, the found family, and the deep humanity that exists below deck.

Many of these scenes and stories come from personal memories and moments that have stayed with me for years. The themes of identity, queerness, chosen family, separation from loved ones, changing careers, and finding your place in the world are universal — and I hope they resonate with anyone who sees themselves in these characters.

I am incredibly grateful to the Geelong Arts Centre Creative Engine for the Ignition Grant, which has allowed this musical to take its next big step toward becoming a fully staged reality. And I cannot wait to bring these characters to life for an audience for the very first time.”

The wide-eyed, small-town newcomer discovering the strange, exhilarating world of cruise entertainment. Full of heart, talent, and self-doubt, Danny is about to learn far more than choreography.

A bold, hilarious, outrageously confident dancer from Manchester. Jamie is Danny’s chaotic guide through the seas of self-expression, late-night crew bars, and the universal truth that there’s no such thing as a straight dancer.

A Filipino housekeeper with enormous warmth, wisdom, and humour. Mariposa brings the heart of the crew to life, balancing homesickness, hard work, and deep cultural resilience.

The no-nonsense, seen-it-all cruise director who runs the ship with a fierce smile and iron will. Julie lives for the open ocean — it is her escape, her freedom, and her kingdom.

The ship’s Italian chief navigational officer. Brilliant but tightly wound, Luca struggles under pressure — including the pressure of hiding who he really is.

The charming, jaded piano-bar entertainer with a complicated past, a dry sense of humour, and a heart that’s starting to long for home. Johnny’s story is the ballast that holds the emotional weight of the musical.

A WORD FROM THE WRITER – ANDY POBJOY

Sail Away – The (Lockdown) Cruise Musical explores the glamorous world of cruising, the not-so-glamorous world below deck, and the extraordinary “microcosm of humanity” that exists on a cruise ship. Beneath the sequins, the cocktails, and the non-stop entertainment, six crew members navigate identity, ambition, homesickness, relationships, queerness, work–life balance, burnout, family expectations, and the new reality of a world unfolding around them.

As cruise life is abruptly upended by the pandemic, each character must confront who they are when the lights go out, the future becomes uncertain, and the meaning of “home” is suddenly transformed. This is a story about resilience, chosen family, courage, joy, heartbreak, and hope — set against the backdrop of an industry that felt the impact of COVID-19 more profoundly than almost any other.

CAST & CHARACTERS

Monday 15th December 2025 — Piano Bar Geelong
Doors 7:30pm | Reading at 8:00pm | Tickets $10 (incl. drink on arrival)

Join us at Piano Bar Geelong for the VERY FIRST live reading and preview of Sail Away – The (Lockdown) Cruise Musical — an original Australian musical two years in the making, written by local composer-playwright Andy Pobjoy.

Thanks to the support of the Geelong Arts Centre Creative Engine Ignition Grant, this brand-new work has reached a major milestone. For the first time, the entire script and score will be presented in a live, dramatic table read with a full cast, selected musical numbers, and a behind-the-scenes look at a work born from lived experience, community stories, and the surreal reality of life at sea during a global shutdown.

Come along and be part of the first audience ever to experience Sail Away — before its next stage of development and future premiere seasons.

ABOUT THE SHOW

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Host or Publisher Piano Bar Geelong