The expression Hail Mary refers to a last-ditch attempt at an unlikely outcome. And so it is that Project Hail Mary is about a desperate effort to save planet Earth from a destructive force. The sun is dying and with it half the world’s population is expected to be wiped out within 30 years. The…
A comedic drama romance, Colours of Time is intriguing tale about the past and how it can help inform the future. A developer is expanding a shopping centre and a countryside home in Normandy –abandoned for decades and suspended in time – stands in the way. A meeting is called of 30 ancestors of the…
REBEL is a musical that delves into one man’s journey to discover his true self. It is an exploration of family, community, music and being queer in the USA in the 1940s to 1960s. The story is set in a New York bar in 1969, where cowboy Davey (Maxwell Simon) narrates his life as a…
Bold and bodacious, why wouldn’t I start crowing about Year of the Rooster (the third part of what has become known as The Beast Trilogy by Spinning Plates Co.)? The others were The Crocodile (2023) and Rhinoceros (2024). Year of the Rooster is theatre of the absurd on steroids, with larger-than-life characters that bring attitude….
Anne Frank’s story is a tragic but inspiring one and it is played out in dramatic fashion on stage. As Jews, when her Dutch family was forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust, she was gifted a diary, which she wrote in religiously. It contained her innermost thoughts about those she was with and…
Four hours before he is due for execution, Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) is visited by a priest (Adrian Lukas). In this black comedy, Becket proceeds to calmly relay his sordid story to Father Morris. Becket’s mother, Mary (Nell Williams), was heir to a family fortune worth US$18 billion – $19 billion. But when she fell…
With technology continuing to advance at a rapid rate, Now deals with a new take on reality post COVID-19. A middle-aged mother, X, played by Helene Tardif, is environmentally responsible, aware of her carbon footprint and climate change. Her husband, Y (Marc Opitz), who has spent 25 years in advertising, is frustrated that he can’t…
Stars are falling from the sky, but why? Clearly, it is a portent of things to come. The end of the world is nigh. When? No-one can say, but it is happening. Nevertheless, it is just another nightshift for former schoolmates Sam (Ally Taueki-Gatt) and Frankie (Finn Corr). The pair works casually in a grocery…
Zany and deliberately over-the-top, the burlesque, drag play POKÉLESQUE, featuring improvisation and audience participation, makes for a fun night out. Written and directed by Rosie Roulette, the starting point is a love of Pokémon, originally released on the Game Boy handheld game console in 1996. Thereafter, the Japanese media franchise responsible for it released trading…
Why is Ed Sheeran one of the most beloved (and, unquestionably, highly talented) musical artists on the planet? Having arrived by train from Sydney, he answered that emphatically on the opening night of a three-night stadium concert series in Melbourne, part of his Loop Tour. Marvel Stadium was metaphorically heaving under the collective anticipation of…
