REVIEWED BY ANNA RYLEY
EDITED BY CHARLOTTE FRASER
A Twist of Fate feels as if Black Mirror had a baby with some of Doctor Who’s scarier, hiding-under-the-couch episodes. Scary Goat Theatre’s campy showcase was tightly written and featured some delightfully intriguing stories with a small dose of the unusual.
For those with the unique pleasure of experiencing A Twist of Fate for the first time, the show presents four originals works developed through a workshopping process with the writers and ensemble – a truly multitalented company. The pieces are all unsettling in their own way and demonstrate the bold success of artistic risk taking in a supportive, collaborative environment. The works presented in A Twist of Fate all adhere torules that lend to its specific flavour – each piece must feature some form of the unusual and have an unexpected twist. The company has a firm grasp on its unique tone, and delivers precisely what it promises, making for an entertaining and enthralling night.
The first play, ‘Deaccession’ written by Jess Budin, questions how we deal with stolen art when sovereignty and cultural significance clash with preservation, directed with remarkable clarity by Kate Weston. When a museum curator is mysteriously locked in the archival basement, her night of artefact cataloguing takes a sudden turn when a pottery fragment strikes up an unsettling conversation with her. Through the incorporation of Scary Goat Theatre’s traditional supernatural elements, the framing of the colonial themes provokes audiences to consider their subtle biases surrounding indigeneity and knowledge.
Hayley Michaels was captivating in the lead role in the play, with incredibly strong physicality. In moments where the character was controlled by an external force, Michaels communicated this through just their eyes, which was intensely captivating in such an intimate venue. The additional performers contributed cleverly delivered vocals, featured throughout the performance to supplement effectively a one woman play. A rare critique of the piece would be finding a stronger hook to immediately draw audiences in and showcase the talent of the cast, rather than making audiences work to piece together the slightly fragmented story throughout the piece. However, the play was an effective and impressive start to the night of kooky humour, setting the tone immaculately.
The second play, ‘Consider the Birds’ by Willem Whitfield, was strongly in the absurdist tradition, inviting audiences to a day at the beach where, suddenly, the best food you’ve ever eaten in your life falls from the sky. Richard Mealey, playing the most frustrating and irritating American you’ve ever heard, excellently bounces off Liliana Braumberger. With comedic timing reminiscent of Tilly Oddily Brown, the couple hit their humorous beats with ease. Corey M Glamuzina made a decent attempt at an Irish accent ,and their strong chemistry with the rest of the ensemble was compelling in portraying a man slightly in love with their metal detector. Jess Budin was incredibly captivating as the token Gen Z Australian, bringing humour through physicality into a sometimes stilted script. The writing felt slightly directionless at points, even for an absurd piece, and the dialogue could have strived for more character building. Nevertheless, the cast’s natural delivery of lines was commendable. Chloe Towan’s excellent direction of a tricky piece made for some standout moments. Notably, the freeze frames, working effectively in combination with Patrick Slee’s lighting, and percussive sound effects throughout the piece were an absolute comedic highlight.
The third play, ‘Personal Space’, written by Samina Ellen, describes a friendship marred by a new share house, mental health challenges and a creepy guy who is somehow everywhere. The standout performance was from Jess Budin playing Vicky, the central character struggling with the growing distance between her and her friend, played by the convincingly snarky Kate Weston. Both actors embodied the roles fully, with naturalistic and relatable performances contrasting the sheer terror emanating from Max Nunes-Cesar’s man/alien. The innovative staging works within the confines of the stage incredibly effectively, a credit to Patrick Slee’s direction of the piece. Whilst tightly written across the three main scenes, the alien and/or insect origins of the play’s antagonist seemed unclear – during his presence on the stage, various cockroaches appear, before ultimately a hive mind emerges in an alien-like invasion. Clarity in the specific form of this supernatural invasion would have helped, and could have even been made campier, rather than creepy, or even gone further in making a critique on coercive behaviour in intimate relationships. Despite this, the piece was humorous and unsettling in the gaslighting throughout, and was incredibly enjoyable to watch.
The final play was a personal favourite, and one that has not left my mind since seeing the production. Written and directed by, once again, Chloe Towan, ‘Six Down One Across’ is a darkly funny subversion of our culture’s obsession with serial killers and senseless violence, imagining death herself in conversation with Melbourne’s latest mass murderer, following their latest work by a busy road. The work’s cold open sets the scene perfectly, and the use of lighting in the bus stop scene was incredibly effective in establishing tone, mood and place. The writing could only have been slightly improved with a sense of urgency in the dialogue’s pacing, given the dead body and blood leading to the serial killer’s encounter with death – but this can be forgiven considering the conclusion, with one of the more satisfying twists of the night. Tayla Harry’s performance as death was a standout, with nonchalance personified in their excellently expressive performance. Overall, the entire play forced audiences to ponder who gets to justify violence, and the excessive presence of normalised brutality in our modernised, technologically obsessed culture.
The company itself was very strong and competent, with clean and well-rehearsed scene transitions led by the charismatic and commanding Towan as the MC. The technical sound and lighting ran without a hitch, operated and designed by Patrick Slee, and was notably well-tailored for Motley Bauhaus as such a notoriously tricky venue for traditional forms of storytelling. The incorporation of the untraditional architecture of the Motley throughout the whole production led to a creative use of space, alongside inventive set pieces and props, which elevated the audience experience.
The production was an intriguing night of exciting new works from emerging artists, provoking questions and providing food for thought, alongside a decent serving of wit and charm. One of the best parts of the night was the conversations overheard during intermission and after the show, given the huge range of themes discussed across the night. For those with a love for the strange and unusual, be sure to check out the company’s upcoming seasons, or catch their next writer’s callout!
Scary Goats Theatre’s A Twist of Fate was presented at the Motley Bauhaus 7 – 9 May, 2026
ANNA RYLEY is a Third Year Bachelor of Arts student majoring in English and Theatre Studies. When she’s not producing, directing or stage managing, you can find her taking incriminating photos of her friends, or trying to get closer to her goal of reading 52 books in one year.
CHARLOTTE FRASER (she/her) is a writer, performer and student editor based in Melbourne. She holds a BA in English and Theatre Studies and is currently completing her Masters degree at the University of Melbourne. Charlotte is also the 2026 Dialog Editor.
The Dialog is supported by Union House Theatre
The Dialog 