Shake & Stir’s adaption of Mary Shelly’s classic gothic horror novel Frankenstein is thrilling in both pace and spectacle. From its beginning, the company leans into the scale and theatrical potential of the epic story of young scientist Victor Frankenstein’s creation of a sentient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. The colossal storytelling starts aboard…
What an uplifting experience Hour of the Wolf is. It is 65 minutes of intriguing, immersive theatre that sees 12 characters interacting across a dozen rooms, arranged as a labyrinth within the Merlyn Theatre and dock. Patrons can choose to wander from room to room at will, follow one or more performers, or a combination thereof. We…
Identity and family are the key ingredients in the incendiary world premiere comedic drama Flake, written by Dan Lee and co-created by Chi Nguyen. With fine direction from Ella Caldwell, the cast does a mighty job bringing to life the story of two 68-year-old Aussie mates and a young Vietnamese woman. Surly and sickly, Bob (Robert…
A gravely dysfunctional family is dealing with the matriarch suffering from dementia in the drama Broken River. When she is lucid, Linda Cookson (Virginia Morris) remains seething with anger over her husband, who left her for another woman decades earlier. She is also deeply suspicious of her two children and daughter-in-law Lily Johnson (Tracey Hamilton), who she…
The relationship between a mother and son is heartfelt, but it can also be fractious. Think of the original ABC TV comedy series of that name starring Ruth Cracknell and Garry McDonald that ran for a decade until 1994. Recently, it has been reimagined with Denise Scott and Matt Okine playing the leads. Writer, director and producer Tony…
This uplifting Queensland Theatre production of Melanie Tait’s successful play-turned film is a very entertaining and fun trip to the theatre. It manages to evoke lots of laughs while also pressing a few salient buttons regarding Australians’ stubbornness about, and suspicion of change. At one point, one of the older women says, ‘We don’t even…
When depressed, we are urged to remember that things get better for there are many brilliant things about the world… at least a million according to our unnamed narrator’s hopeful list. It his list of these that is the central premise of Every Brilliant Thing … a list of everything worth living for, first compiled…
How unexpectedly and thrillingly different – a bold and unique theatrical offering from the UK, which makes its international debut at the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Think WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) crossed with Norse mythology in a story that melds passion and pain with humour and bravado. Mythos: Ragnarok features professional wrestlers – gigantic men and fearsome…
Sensual and alluring, Matador combines scantily clad performers with pulsating English and Spanish beats, and acrobatic acts in a fast-moving show. It is a fusion of dance, circus and burlesque, a modern celebration of forbidden love, carnal desires, passion and pain in its many coloured hues. At its core is acceptance of diversity. Eleven performers cavort, clamber…
Think outrageous, absurd and hilarious and you have the starting point for Le Freak. It is show that sets out to shock and delight, and that it most certainly does. The talent incorporates trans, queer, disabled and indigenous performers. They execute a series of outlandish sketches, interspersed with video content. The show also features a beloved puppet ferret who…
