Sydney’s one hundred- and seven-day lockdown ended for me when the King declared: “Sydney is open!”

“B’what?” you may ask. Read on …

My family fulfilled a five-year dream when we went to see Hamilton at Sydney Lyric Theatre last Tuesday.

As the curtain went up, to rapturous applause, King George pranced upstage and told us all that we were a resilient lot – we had made it through lockdown – and: “Sydney is open!”

The crowd went wild. It was electrifying. It was like nothing I’ve experienced in my life.

I was then swept away for the next three hours by the shining magic that is Hamilton. Sitting Covid-safely masked, I felt the pulse and the energy of the triumphant performance flow through every inch of my body.

Back in 2016, my then sixteen-year-old daughter and I were in NYC, when Hamilton was the must-see musical. By then, Emily knew all the music backwards and forwards, which meant she knew the entire plot. Brilliant Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote Hamilton so that it would be accessible to all, including those who couldn’t afford theatre tickets.

Being a history lover, I was so proud of (and in awe of) my young Aussie-Canuck daughter’s ability to recount the story of the American revolution.

Only scalper tickets were available in 2016, for $600 each, so the closest Emily and I got that year was her holding up a $10 bill (featuring Hamilton) with the Hamilton sign in the background (see image).

So last Tuesday evening was a triple whammy: Lockdown over; an exuberant performance and a dream come true. For me, it was a watershed moment to gloriously (and hopefully) mark the beginning of the end of Covid.

As we all know, Covid isn’t over yet. Unlike the defined ending of WWII, when the image of the Dancing Man in Martin Place hit the Herald in Sydney in 1945 (see: https://www.mylifestorywriter.com/embrace-bing-and-the-dancing-man/), Covid is ebbing in degrees and in some countries, it is still maddeningly out of control.

Life still feels murky and grey due to the uncertainty and unknowns; everyone’s watershed moments will be different and numerous as we continue to fight the battle. For now though, I’m basking in the joy from the glorious music that was finally cranked up.