When Night Comes: Sydney’s Secret Society of Gin, Mischief and Theatrical Mayhem.

Some shows politely invite you to sit down, clap in the right places, and head home by 10. When Night Comes - Broad Encounters’ newest descent into theatrical mischief at the Union Bond Store - tosses polite conventions out the window and dares you to follow.Instead, you’re handed a cocktail, whispered a half-truth, and shoved into a labyrinth where velvet, vice, and very persuasive strangers blur the line between theatre and a very expensive fever dream.

Broad Encounters are no amateurs in the art of sensory seduction. With A Midnight Visit and Love Lust Lost, they cemented themselves as Australia’s masters of transforming forgotten buildings into living hallucinations. Here, they’ve doubled down. Every room is a meticulous diorama: dripping with atmosphere, lit with menace or glamour, and even scented to the hilt. Yes - scented. One chamber greets you with a heady musk, another with a sweet, sticky perfume. It’s an olfactory ambush, the kind of detail that turns passive theatre-going into something bodily and undeniable.

The cast deserve medals for their agility. They don’t just deliver lines; they stalk, seduce, and improvise, adjusting their performance to every flicker of audience reaction. Meg Hickey in particular dazzles, pivoting effortlessly between smoky torch song, quick-fire comedy, and conspiratorial intimacy - the sort of presence that makes you forget you’re “watching” at all. You’re in it, like it or not.

And then there are the drinks. They’re not a sideshow; they’re co-stars. Each concoction is calibrated to the scene you’re in - smoky mezcal for moments of danger, fizzing sweetness when things tip towards the absurd. Even the alcohol-free versions arrive like jewels, so nobody is left sipping soda water on the sidelines. These libations don’t just lubricate the evening; they shape its rhythm, its temperature, its bite.

There is a plot - loosely - but it’s more scaffolding than spine. Think less Shakespearean arc, more underground cocktail bar with a dangerous imagination. Some may bristle at the lack of narrative clarity; others (myself included) will revel in the freedom to surrender to mood rather than meaning. It’s about being enveloped, not enlightened.

VIP tickets promise the choicest seats and extra attention, though the hierarchy can occasionally be a little too visible, momentarily breaking the spell. Still, whether you’re thrust into the spotlight or skulking at the edges, the night finds a way of dragging you into its web.

Ultimately, When Night Comes is less about what happens than how it feels: decadent, destabilising, and deliciously unpredictable. It’s theatre as conspiracy, cabaret as ritual, and cocktail hour as performance art. Go prepared to play, to drink, to flirt with the absurd - and to leave wondering whether the secret society you joined will let you back in.

This isn’t a night out. It’s an initiation.

UNION BOND STORE, THE ROCKS, SYDNEY. From 22 August. Midweek tickets discounted - because even secret societies appreciate a Tuesday bargain.

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Words by AW.

Photo courtesy of Broad Encounters.