Every good story needs a villain. Mira Ball Productions has decided one simply isn’t enough, so for the fourth year running, A Night With The Villains has rounded up the most wicked names in musical theatre, animation and film and thrown them into a song contest for the ages.
After a Matilda Award nomination in 2024, the show is back, and it’s clear these villains have no plans to give up the spotlight anytime soon.
The premise is simple. Think Six but swap the wronged wives for the people who did the wronging. A host of baddies, some household names and some a little more niche, go head-to-head for the crown, each one convinced they deserve it most. It’s a winning concept, and honestly, it’s a wonder nobody thought of it sooner. Villains always get the best songs anyway.
Act One keeps things close to home, with each character performing the numbers from their own universe that made them famous (or infamous). Glinda and Elphaba take on Popular, Magenta and Riff Raff lead the room through The Time Warp, and you get the idea. It’s a greatest hits reel of everyone you love to hate, and half the fun is guessing who’s going to turn up next.
Act Two is where the show really sharpens its claws. The creative team takes a stack of pop favourites and gives them a villainous rewrite, and this is where the writing shines brightest. Shania Twain’s Man! I Feel Like a Woman!, Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal and Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy all get the treatment, and most of the rewrites land with a cheeky wink.
If Act One is the villains showing you who they are, Act Two is them showing you what they can do.
The crown jewel of the lot is Aimee Duroux’s Fairy Godmother, who turns Stacey’s Mom into “Cindy’s Godmom.” It’s one of the cleverest rewrites of the night, the kind that makes you wonder why it hasn’t always existed. Duroux’s voice is every bit as good as the joke, and that’s saying something.
The cast is huge, and nobody is left on the bench. Every character gets at least two cracks at a solo or duet, then spends the rest of the night pulling double duty as backup singers and dancers in everyone else’s numbers. It’s a big ask, and they rise to it.
Kennedy Foley’s Miss Hannigan is the powerhouse of the evening, with a voice that could fill a theatre twice the size. Hannigan may not be fond of little girls, but audiences are going to adore her.
Croft Phillips and Jett Sansom are also standouts as Cinderella’s and Rapunzel’s Princes, proving that charming and villainous aren’t mutually exclusive.
Then there’s Jaya’s Grinch, who is quick-witted, sharp as a tack and a joy every second they’re on stage. Heart two sizes too small? Maybe. Talent? Several sizes too big.
The rest of the ensemble is just as wicked in the best possible way. Ashleigh Grabasch and Harry Ince make a deliciously unhinged Magenta and Riff Raff. Chelsea Guard and Madeleine Ford bring Elphaba and Glinda’s love-hate chemistry to life with voices to match.
Emily Rohweder’s Ursula is pure tentacled glamour, and Joshua Moore’s Willy Wonka is as charming as he is slightly unsettling, which is exactly how it should be.
Lucy Ross brings plenty of swagger as King Herod, Finn George-Newman’s J.D. is smooth trouble from the second he walks on, and Niamh Cadoo-Dagley’s Evil Queen has all the icy poise you’d hope for.
Rounding out the rogues’ gallery, Billy Sim Wright’s Rasputin and Leo Mylonas’ Jud Fry bring a darker edge to the night. It’s a cast without a weak link, and every one of them looks like they’re having the time of their life being bad.
Credit also goes to the writing between the songs. The banter, the rivalries and the way each character leads into the next act are all handled well, which keeps a show built on a string of numbers feeling like an actual story.
That said, there’s room for a little trimming. The Got Talent structure does the job, and stringing songs together is kind of the whole point. With a cast that sings like this, more is usually better.
But at close to three hours and 15 minutes, the night stretches well past the two hours plus interval as advertised. A tighter cut would keep the energy high from start to finish. Even villains know the value of a quick exit.
The biggest hurdle, though, isn’t on the stage. For a show where singing makes up the vast majority of the runtime, the sound doesn’t do the performers justice. For most songs, the vocals are hard to make out over the music, and outside of a handful of naturally big voices, a lot of the lyrics, including some of those clever rewrites, get lost.
The theatre’s speakers seemed to be working hard just to keep up, and it’s a real shame, because this cast deserves to be heard loud and clear. When the writing is this good, every word counts.
None of that takes away from what’s at the heart of A Night With the Villains. It has great bones, a seriously talented cast and a concept that practically sells itself. It’s easy to see why it’s lasted four seasons. Here’s hoping Season Five finds a new lair worthy of its villains, because this is one evil plan that deserves to succeed.
A Night With The Villains is presented by Mira Ball Productions and runs to 1 November 2026 at Ron Hurley Theatre. Seven Hills Hub, 28 Tallowwood Street Seven Hills Qld 4170.
Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/au/event/1615315
Website: https://www.villainsnight.com/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/miraballproductions/
Photo credits: By B’rit Creative
Leave a Reply