Category: Melbourne

★★★★½ There is no buzzword more pertinent in today’s society than ‘AI’. While the modern world endlessly debates the topic, Eliza takes us back to where it all began – to raw, human emotion and simple origins that spiralled out of control. Shedding light on a true tale often forgotten…

★★★★★ The Homecoming is a dark comedy by Harold Pinter exploring the complex relationship of a family of men living in North London. This familial relationship is pushed to its limits when one of the sons returns home after years away with his wife, whom the rest of his family have…

★★★★★ LUKE by Angus Cameron is an extraordinary queer Australian story premiering at Red Stitch Theatre in Melbourne. Trust me when I say you want to be part of the crowd that can say they saw it first, because I have a feeling this provocative new work is going to become…

★★★★½ Occupying the sinister space between Disney sunshine and scandalous Sondheim, GRIMM drags us into a dark, desolate forest, where familiar faces lurk in the shadows. The classic, enduring fairytales popularised by the Brothers Grimm are retold, with a terrible twist. It all starts innocently enough: we meet the little…

★★★★☆ Melbourne Shakespeare Company returns to fortyfivedownstairs with Cleopatra & Antony, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s historical tragedy by Sonya Suares. Serving as an abridged retelling of the original, Cleopatra & Antony explores the roles the title characters play in both the text and in history. But viewers might find it doesn’t go far enough…

★★★★☆ We see theatre to be transported to different worlds, to understand neglected stories, to connect with character and taste the gamut of emotion. It’s a big ask, and it’s rare that a single work can deliver on all fronts. But Belvoir St Theatre and Melbourne Theatre Company’s ambitious new…

★★★★☆ Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman may have premiered in 1949, but Neil Armfield’s devastating production makes it abundantly clear that Willy Loman’s struggle is far from a relic of post-war America. More than seven decades later, we are still chasing the promise of success, measuring ourselves by titles, salaries and…

★★★★☆ On Wednesday night, Bloomshed opened a new season of Animal Farm, based on the novella by George Orwell, at Melbourne Arts Centre’s Fairfax Studio. Presenting at first blush as a bombastic, comedic take on the literary classic, Animal Farm manages to deliver a surprisingly potent message on our current times. Bloomshed is…

★★★½ The lyrical genius of Shakespeare collides with the razor‑edged storytelling of Quentin Tarantino in The Ghostlight League’s return to William Shakespeare’s Reservoir Dogs. Written by Sydney Shakespeare Company Artistic Director Steven Hopley and directed by The Ghostlight League Artistic Director Rob Lloyd, the production delivers exactly what its title…

★★★★★ 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…

★★★★☆ 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?…

★★★★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…

★★★★★ 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…

★★★★☆ In times of political crisis and economic downturn, it is common for the arts to turn towards a nostalgia for the ‘glorious’ past. Subverse Theatre’s Silence, however, is anything but a lament for bygone eras. It is a very contemporary look at political turmoil through the lens of a pre-Medieval…

★★★★★ It is unusually easy to write about new Australian work, Losing Face. Melbourne Theatre Company has produced a comedy so expertly tuned and consistently funny that the review feels almost incidental beside the experience itself. The only responsible response is not to over-explain it, but to insist upon it:…

★★★★☆ How do you reinvent one of the most beloved novels ever written? If you’re Isobel McArthur, the answer is simple: hand the microphone to the servants and let chaos reign. Direct from its Olivier Award-winning West End run, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) arrives at Athenaeum Theatre Melbourne with all the…