Twenty five years after the events of 9/11 changed the world, How Not to Make It in America finds playwright Emily Steel drawing on a period of life that feels both extraordinary and remarkably ordinary. Inspired by Steel’s own experience of moving to New York shortly before the attacks, it tells the story of a young Australian arriving in America with big ambitions, little money and no idea how dramatically the city, and life itself, are about to change.
The play follows Matt, a young Australian arriving in New York in 2001 with dreams of making it as an actor. Full of ambition and optimism, the city feels like a place where anything might be possible. Of course, audiences know what is coming, and part of the fascination lies in watching Matt navigate a world teetering on the edge of an event that will change everything.
Rather than taking a straightforward chronological approach, the story unfolds through a fragmented, non linear structure. Memories, encounters and moments from different periods of Matt’s life are woven together in a way that constantly keeps the audience engaged. There is an unpredictability to the storytelling that works beautifully. Just as you think you know where the narrative is heading, it shifts direction again, revealing another piece of the puzzle.
The biggest strength of the production, however, is Jono Darby’s astonishing performance. Playing dozens of different characters across the course of an hour, Darby moves between them with remarkable ease. One moment a hopeful newcomer chasing a dream, the next a weary New Yorker or an eccentric side character who appears briefly but feels entirely realised. The transitions are seamless and often happen in the blink of an eye.
It is a performance that demands constant attention, not because it is showy, but because it is so utterly captivating. Darby has the audience hanging on every word, finding humour in even the darkest situations while never losing sight of the emotional truth at the heart of the story.
There is plenty of comedy here, often emerging from the absurdity of life and the strange characters Matt encounters along the way. Yet the humour only serves to make the more emotional moments land harder. As the consequences of that world changing day begin to ripple through Matt’s life, the play becomes increasingly moving.
How Not to Make It in America is a thoughtful, funny and ultimately heartbreaking piece of theatre. Combining inventive storytelling with an extraordinary central performance, it transforms one person’s experience of a world changing moment into something universally recognisable. By the end, it feels less like a story about 9/11 and more like a story about how unexpectedly life can veer off course, and the strange ways we learn to live with it.
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