Month: July 2026
Announcing Full Cast For One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Next
•
A major theatrical event is coming to Melbourne, with internationally acclaimed entertainer Jason Donovan returning home to the city where his career first began to star in a bold new production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. One of Australia’s most beloved stage and screen stars, Jason will take on the iconic role of Randle…
Review: Heathers Brings Big Fun To The Gold Coast
•
★★★★★ Anyone who’s seen Heathers: The Musical knows it’s unlike almost any other night at the theatre. Audiences cheer as though they’re at a rock concert, queues for merchandise and the post-show meet-and-greets stretch into the night, and fans, affectionately known as Corn Nuts, arrive in costume to celebrate a…
Review: Ya’Djin Spirit Women, 2026 Clancestry Festival
•
★★★★★ “When you really hold up a mirror and see who we truly are, we come from this beauty, we’re a reflection of this beauty, it walks in us, it’s in us, f***! How can you be ugly when you come from that.” Aunty Chantay Link A traditional smoking ceremony…
Review: Funeral Flowers Is A Beautiful Solo Tour De Force
•
★★★★★ I’ve got a riddle for you: where in Victoria can a single actor command a room so completely that an audience sits spellbound for an entire hour? The answer lies in St Kilda East at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre. The Winter season of Funeral Flowers marks my first encounter…
Review: SIX Serves A Royal Flush Of Pop Perfection
•
★★★★★ It’s simply one of a kind, no category! SIX the Musical has blasted into Melbourne with an outstanding cast of queens rocking the roof off the Comedy Theatre. In a display of entertainment like no other, audiences will feel a surge of power, inspiration, sisterhood and beauty in this…
William Shakespeare’s Reservoir Dogs Returns To Melbourne In Bold Mash Up
•
Bringing together the iconic characters and dialogue from Shakespeare’s plays with the gritty underworld of Quentin Tarantino’s film, Theatre Works and The Ghostlight League present William Shakespeare’s Reservoir Dogs in Melbourne from 5 – 15 August 2026. Telling the tale of six strangers brought together to commit a daring crime…plunder…
Review: Logan St Uncovers The Forgotten Histories Beneath Adelaide’s Streets
•
★★★★★ Before Logan St begins, its audience is asked to speak. Across a floor-to-ceiling screen, Uncle Lewis O’Brien and Aunty Lynette Crocker welcome us to Kaurna Yarta. Matt Byrne’s camera moves through the landscape, capturing burbling streams and smoke curling through Country. Together, the audience declares that we have not…
Film Review: CatVideoFest 2026 Proves Cat Videos Are Even Better On The Big Screen
•
Let’s address the obvious question first. Why would anyone pay to watch cat videos on the big screen when they can spend hours watching them for free online? The answer is surprisingly simple. Because CatVideoFest isn’t really about the videos themselves; it’s about sharing them. Part compilation film, part celebration…
Step Into The Woods As Iconic Musical Returns To Adelaide
•
Audiences are invited to step into the spellbinding world of Into the Woods, the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical by legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim and acclaimed writer-director James Lapine. Directed by visionary Australian director Constantine Costi, Into the Woods arrives at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide from Saturday 22 August…
Christmas To Go Wrong In Sydney & The Gold Coast
•
The Australian premiere of the festive fiasco Christmas Carol Goes Wrong will fill HOTA on the Gold Coast with joy and laughter from 4 – 12 December, followed by the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall from 17 – 29 December 2026. The Cornley Amateur Drama Society return tackle the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, with…
Announcing Stage Adaptation Of Beloved Film ‘The Castle’
•
Michael Cassel Group and Working Dog have today announced Australia’s most beloved film, THE CASTLE, will be reimagined for the stage in a major new theatrical play set to premiere in Melbourne at Her Majesty’s Theatre from March 2027, marking 30 years since the film’s original release. Regarded as one of Australia’s most celebrated and…
Meet Jake Speer: Your New Mrs. Doubtfire
•
This morning it was announced that Jake Speer will play the title role in the Australian premiere tour of Mrs. Doubtfire, the hit musical based on the beloved Robin Williams film. Jake is known for his role as Oscar Macguire in Home and Away, and has appeared in recent plays…
Victorian State Schools Spectacular Returns In 2026 With New Show: This Is Me
•
The Victorian State Schools Spectacular returns to Melbourne’s John Cain Arena on Saturday 29 August 2026 with its inspiring new production, This Is Me, celebrating the creativity, confidence and extraordinary talent of Victorian government school students. Presented across two performances at 1.00pm and 6.30pm, the annual event will bring together…
Announcing Jake Speer As Mrs. Doubtfire In Australian Premiere Musical
•
Rising star Jake Speer has landed the coveted role of the iconic Mrs. Doubtfire in the Australian tour of MRS. DOUBTFIRE, the feelgood comedy musical based on the beloved film starring Robin Williams. Jake Speer will play the dual role of the world’s favourite nanny Mrs. Doubtfire / Daniel Hillard…
Win Tickets To Ice Cream Man In Cinemas 6 August
•
We scream. You scream. We all scream… for ICE CREAM MAN. Written and directed by Eli Roth, ICE CREAM MAN tells the story of an idyllic summer town descending into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results. As the frozen treats unleash an insatiable…
Review: Perth Symphony Honours Fiona Stanley In WA Stories Chapter III
•
★★★★☆ Fiona Stanley is a highly respected and lauded medical epidemiologist, even winning the title of Australian of the Year in 2003. She has cemented herself as an invaluable Western Australian treasure but doesn’t seem a natural choice as the subject of a performance by the Perth Symphony Orchestra. Can…
Review: Uncle Vanya Is Beautifully Performed & Elegantly Staged
•
★★★★☆ Since it was first performed in 1899, the endless adaptations of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya speak to its eternal themes. What does it mean to live a good life? Is there a path out of despair? How can we coexist when those we’re closest to also feel like our captors?…
Review: Steel Magnolias Returns To Melbourne In Full Bloom
•
★★★★½ Picture this: Six women, one small-town beauty parlour, a series of life-changing moments unfolding over coffee and clouds of hairspray. Steel Magnolias returns to Melbourne in full bloom, with an astounding production and tremendous cast delivering a jubilant finale against the stunning backdrop of the Athenaeum Theatre’s old-world charm. Set…
Review: Bell Shakespeare’s Mackenzie Is Something Really Special
•
★★★★★ Bell Shakespeare’s new production has ruthless egos, shifting rivalries, existential dread – but no, we’re not in the wilds of Scotland, on the way to Inverness. This is Hollywood, circa 2006, where the hair may be blonder, but the contest for the throne is as fierce as ever. Mackenzie…
Review: Queensland Symphony Orchestra Levels Up With The Music Of Video Games
•
★★★★☆ With no gaming enthusiasts among The Scoop’s Brisbane reviewing team, I approached The Music of Video Games by Queensland Symphony Orchestra from the perspective of a curious outsider. As a Gen Xer, my regular gaming days are long behind me, but this concert proves you don’t need an encyclopaedic…
Announcing Landmark Partnership: The Second Cities Producing Consortium
•
Creative Australia has announced the next wave of Creative Futures Fund investments, including a grant for The Second Cities Producing Consortium to deliver the first two years of a proposed four-year pilot, with a $280,000 investment in year one. Four Australian ‘second city’ performing arts organisations have formed a landmark partnership…
Review: Jesus Christ Superstar Rises To The Challenge
•
★★★★☆ A guitarist stands in silhouette against a blood-red backdrop. Mark Lanigan-O’Keefe attacks Andrew Lloyd Webber’s opening riff, his shadow thrown across the stage as though Jimmy Page has wandered into Golgotha. The image captures the challenge facing Therry Theatre. Jesus Christ Superstar belongs to musical theatre, but it was…
Win Tickets To CatVideoFest In Cinemas 13 August
•
CatVideoFest returns to Australian cinemas this August, with the funniest, most heartwarming and unforgettable cat videos from around the world for a one-of-a-kind big-screen celebration of our feline friends. CatVideoFest is a joyous, communal cinema experience featuring the latest and greatest cat videos – from hilarious home footage and animations, viral sensations and…
Announcing Into The Woods Cast & Creative Team
•
Opera Queensland and Queensland Theatre Company and have unveiled the full cast and creative team for their highly anticipated production of Into the Woods, opening at the Glasshouse Theatre, QPAC in November 2026. Four decades after its Broadway premiere, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Tony Award-winning masterpiece remains one of…
Announcing 2026 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival First Highlights
•
Returning to cinema screens this September is the largest celebration of Italian culture and film outside Italy, the 2026 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival presented by Palace. Featuring unmissable gems from some of Italy’s finest filmic talents, the festival screens in Sydney, Melbourne, Ballarat, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Byron Bay…
Win Tickets To A Tribute To Sam Neill At Dendy Cinemas
•
Dendy Cinemas announce their August special screenings, A TRIBUTE TO SAM NEILL, in remembrance of one of the most enduring, versatile, and beloved icons of modern cinema. From his captivating early work in landmark Australian and New Zealand films to his unforgettable presence in massive global blockbusters, Sam Neill has…
The Lion King Becomes Highest Selling Musical Presale At QPAC
•
Disney’s THE LION KING has set a new record, becoming the highest selling musical presale in Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) history, surpassing the record set by its own 2014 Brisbane season presale. The outstanding sales landed even before tickets are more widely available to the general public, proving the enduring connection Queensland audiences…
A Night At The Musicals Returns To Brisbane This October
•
A Night At The Musicals returns to Brisbane Powerhouse this October with a brand-new cast, a live band and an exciting mix of new hits and Broadway favourites. Following a successful Side By Side With Sondheim season in March, A Night At The Musicals returns to the Brisbane Powerhouse’s Underground…
Review: At What Cost? A Must See Triumph For Perth
•
★★★★★ When it comes to Aboriginality, who gets to decide your identity? Does it come down to the colour of your skin or the mob who raised you? Or is it just ‘a feeling’? In Australian colonial history, Tasmania came as close as possible to genocide. From an estimated population…
Announcing John Waters For Fiddler On The Roof
•
Producers of the multi award winning critically acclaimed Fiddler on the Roof have today announced legend of Australian screen and stage John Waters will be joining the cast as Lazar Wolf. The show marks a reunion with Sigrid Thornton, with whom he starred in the beloved 1983 historical miniseries All…
