After wowing audiences last year in its MERRIGONGX debut, local theatre-maker and singer-songwriterJoshua Hinton’s A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen (or How to Make the Perfect One-Pot Chicken Curry) makes its highly anticipated main stage premiere at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre from 20 to 23 August 2025. The show will also tour to Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre and Brisbane Festival.
This sweeping family epic will see Josh attempt to make his grandmother’s chicken curry live on stage, while telling stories of his grandparents’ formative experiences.
Sharing childhood memories and family folklore passed down the generations, Joshua will fill the theatre with music, memories, and exotic smells. The audience will be transported from the backstreets of Sri Lanka to a bustling city in India, from a schoolyard in Iran to a South African farm, and finally to Wollongong.
A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen is directed by Leland Kean (Dear Diary, Yandha Djanbay (Go Slowly)). Sound design is by Dominic Hinton (Blender Studio’s Agent 327, Yandha Djanbay (Go Slowly)). Dramaturgy is by Merrigong Theatre Company’s CEO and Artistic Director Simon Hinton.
On this homegrown production, Joshua Hinton said:
“I’m so excited for the chance to perform this show again. Audiences really connected with this search for belonging which is woven throughout the play. I’m very thankful that I get to reach an even wider audience.
I’m also really looking forward to taking it to Brisbane Festival. It feels very special that I’m able to tell these stories in the city that is home to the Sultan’s Kitchen restaurant, which is still run by my family.”
Charming, funny and moving, this is a show for anyone who’s searched for where they belong in this world, who’s lived between different cultures, or who has loved and lost family.
Joshua Hinton’s A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen (or How to Make the Perfect One-Pot Chicken Curry) runs 20 – 23 August at Bruce Gordon Theatre, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre. 32 Burelli St, Wollongong NSW 2500.
It then tours to Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre on 29 August, and Brisbane Festival from 16 – 20 September.
Tickets: https://merrigong.com.au/shows/a-place-in-the-sultans-kitchen-2025/
Website: https://merrigong.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/joshjhinton/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/merrigongtheatreco/
Performance warnings: Ages 12+. Contains descriptions of violence.
Merrigong Theatre Company is a not-for-profit company that operates Wollongong’s premier performing arts venue, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre (IPAC) and the city’s key civic and community venue, Wollongong Town Hall.
The company’s name ‘Merrigong’ reflects the Dharawal word for the Illawarra region’s distinctive escarpment, a landmark of supreme cultural importance. This name serves as a constant reminder that their venues rest on unceded First Nations land. In all that they do, Merrigong Theatre Company seeks to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, seas and skies, and to show respect to all First Nations people who call the region home.
