One young man's border-crossing, autobiographical odyssey, from South Sudan to the theatre's stage.

When war ravages everything you know, imagination becomes a tool of survival. Lose to Win is Mandela Mathia's autobiographical telling of his journey as a refugee from the Sudanese civil war, through Egypt and onto Australia.

Mathia's voyage is one of ingenuity and resilience. Two parents lost and a birth country fled; a new home, family and friends slowly established.

Lose to Win is about how with distance, support and the agency to create your own story, even seemingly insurmountable trauma can be a foundation for strength. It shows how joy can flourish when creativity is given the space, tools and peace to thrive.

What's on:

Events and points of interest around Hobart.

8 Feb 2026 - 1 Apr 2026
Van Diemen’s Land Circumnavigation Cruise
The Van Diemen's Land Circumnavigation Cruise is an internationally well-regarded yachting adventure in which a maximum of forty five yachts.
20 Feb 2026 - 24 May 2026
Maritime Museum Tasmania presents Sue Pedley’s ‘Prevailing Gales’
Maritime Museum Tasmania presents a remarkable new exhibition by Tasmanian-born artist Sue Pedley.
20 Mar 2026 - 2 May 2026
Fighting Spirit: The Art of Boxing
Arising from postwar disaffection, combined with the political and countercultural youth movements of the 1960s, the European avant-garde rejected the cinematic conventions of the past.
11 Dec 2025 - 26 Apr 2026
Hobart Current: Here
Hobart Current: Epoch is a thought-provoking contemporary program and exhibition, featuring new works created by 10 artists in response to the theme of ‘epoch’.
6 Feb 2026 - 31 May 2026
Restoring the Past
Step into the world of art conservation and discover the intricate process of preserving history.
5 Mar 2026 - 28 Mar 2026
Stephanie Tabram | “The River” | Exhibition
This highly anticipated exhibition by Stephanie Tabram traces the River Derwent from its rugged source on Tasmania's Central Plateau.
25 Mar 2026 - 25 Mar 2026
Ravel, Mahler and Beethoven
From its whip-crack opening, Ravel's Piano Concerto in G is famously fun for the audience and notoriously difficult to play.
26 Mar 2026 - 28 Mar 2026
Things I Know To Be True
Tasmanian Theatre Company and Mudlark Theatre's Things I Know To Be True is a tender portrait of the fragility and strength of familial bonds.
6 Jun 2025 - 6 Apr 2026
Arcangelo Sassolino: in the end, the beginning
Italian sculptor Arcangelo Sassolino brings his experiments with force, change and some very hot steel to Mona.
26 Mar 2026 - 26 Mar 2026
WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU FUNNIER – Comedy Show
“What if life’s most awkward, chaotic, and downright terrifying moments weren’t just survivable… but hilarious?
All events