Queensland Theatre salutes its 40th year with Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men, a production that pulls you straight into the courtroom.
The 1992 film famously stars Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore, and while the play came first, any stage production after Hollywood’s take has always had a hard act to follow.
Sorkin, of The West Wing and The Social Network fame, is known for his rapid-fire dialogue and cinematic style like jump cuts and flashbacks in his work.
Set in 1986, a time when social media wasn’t a thing and people could almost get away with murder, the story drops us directly into the US Marine Corps naval base in Guantanamo Bay, where the opening image is a flash of a US Marine covered in blood.
From there, we’re pulled into a stylised, regimented world where we discover one Marine dead, two others accused of killing him, and the whole corps caught in the crossfire between obedience and honour. When loyalty to God and country runs deep, who pays the price when something goes wrong?
The battleground soon shifts to the courtroom, where Kaffee, Galloway and Weinberg (George Pullar, Courtney Cavallaro and Doron Chester) are tasked with defending the accused. Codes of behaviour, morality and personal versions of the truth are all put under a spotlight of the judicial system.
A Few Good Men: operatic in scale
Commanding this theatrical corps is QTC Artistic Director Daniel Evans. Operatic in scale and cinematic in structure, it is a feat for the final show of the year. With 16 cast, this is one of the largest ensembles seen from a major mainstage theatre company in 2025.
Eight actors make their QTC debut, and there are standout performances across the board. While the American accents are consistent, the quick-fire dialogue occasionally catches on the tongue, though never detracts.
George Pullar is charming as Lt. j.g. Daniel A. Kaffee, making his QTC debut and stepping into a role immortalised by Cruise while still making it utterly his own. He first comes across as more Danny Zuko from Grease which adds to the commercial appeal of the work. Once the courtroom drama takes off, he shifts to a sharp and commanding performance.
Courtney Cavallaro’s Lt. Cmdr. Joanne Galloway is no Sandra Dee that’s for sure. Fiery, firm and one of only two women in the cast (and the only female character with lines), she carves her own path, cutting through the noise and staking her place with conviction.
The formidable Hayden Spencer, known for his magnetic comedic presence, is a force as Lt. Col. Nathan Jessep. His delivery of ‘You can’t handle the truth!’ earns its iconic status without slipping into impersonation. Jessup isn’t played as a villain but as a man shaped by Marine values and the ‘business of saving lives’, a perspective that still echoes through military culture today.
A Few Good Men: triumphant set design
Simone Romaniuk’s set design is a triumph. As orderly as military lines, granite-like floors and towering walls create a colosseum-like arena, with bronze pillars flying in and out. A platform on the orchestra pit at audience level thrusts us directly into the courtroom.
Ben Hughes’ lighting design intensifies this structure, with a low-hanging rig that suggests we are under an ever-watchful eye. The lighting fixtures are characters in themselves, with an army of LED moving lights a constant presence throughout the show. They are flown in and out during transitions, blinding us like surveillance lights to shift mood and tone.
Mike Willmett’s sound design and composition threads in the gritty cadence of military life. Sorkin’s scripted Marine chants echo through the play, punctuated by flashes of 80s anthems.
More than three decades on, A Few Good Men still challenges us as to how far we will go to defend our ideals, and what courage it takes to question it.
A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin, presented by Queensland Theatre, in association with QPAC is playing at the Playhouse, Brisbane until 6 December 2025.
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