Author: thedialogtheatreblog

A log of student theatre reviews at the University of Melbourne. A dialogue between theatre makers and audiences.
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SPRUIK! Is An Affirming Queer Rom-Com On Our Very Own Lygon Street 

REVIEW BY GRACE DWYER EDITED BY EMMA PARFITT Happy International Lesbian Day to those who celebrate. I certainly do, by taking snacks and a picnic blanket to Argyle Square. Music’s playing, we’re eating cheese and gluten free crackers, and we’re free to watch the cast and crew of SPRUIK! roam around, getting ready. I can’t think of a better start to my Wednesday evening.  SPRUIK! … Continue reading SPRUIK! Is An Affirming Queer Rom-Com On Our Very Own Lygon Street 

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Three Excellent Confessions And One Excellent Showcase 

REVIEW BY GRYFF CONNAH EDITED BY OLIVIA DI GRAZIA There is always performance in the act of confession. It is an outpouring, a thing to be heard by another. Perhaps it is offered the hopes of receiving forgiveness, or better yet, absolution. It is deeply personal, and yet it has bubbled, boiled, and roiled to the point where it must jump from the confines of … Continue reading Three Excellent Confessions And One Excellent Showcase 

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The Theatrics Of The Machine 

REVIEW BY TARAS SCURRY EDITED BY RACHEL THORNBY It was a consummate and well-executed display, a machine so to speak. It all started in a small and cosy theatre at the Meat Market as part of Melbourne’s Fringe Festival. Hyping up the diverse crowd of performatively dressed males and others, Brat blasted and then the lights dimmed turning a cool, nightclub-esque bluey-purple. And so, it … Continue reading The Theatrics Of The Machine 

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Fantasy, Romance, And Political Drama: Moonflower Plays’ Other Gods Has It All

REVIEW BY GRACE DWYER EDITED BY RACHEL THORNBY I have a tumultuous relationship with the fantasy genre. As of late, I find certain fantasy and romance stories to be stuffed with clichéd narratives and barely indistinguishable aesthetics. But I return to the genre time and time again because there is nothing like being fully immersed in a rich, unique world and at their best, fantasies … Continue reading Fantasy, Romance, And Political Drama: Moonflower Plays’ Other Gods Has It All

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Ivy And Sylvia: Ghosts Of Care And Community

REVIEW BY JESSIE WILLIAMS EDITED BY EMMA PARFITT Staged in the intimate confines of the Louis Joel Arts and Community Centre in Altona — a site rich with history, once housing the very hospital that inspires its narrative — Ivy and Sylvia offers a compelling, quietly radical exploration of women’s roles in early twentieth-century Melbourne healthcare. It’s written by Mia Boonen, directed by Azmy Azurite … Continue reading Ivy And Sylvia: Ghosts Of Care And Community

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F*ck a Duck That’s Funny – The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck 

REVIEW BY ELLA CALLOW-SUSSEX EDITED BY AZMY It is the first night of Fringe. On the way to Theatre Works I read out the blurb for The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck to my guest so we could get a sense of what we were about to watch. The blurb proclaimed that “good taste and political correctness … Continue reading F*ck a Duck That’s Funny – The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck 

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Which Of Us Is The Changeling?

REVIEW BY CHARLOTTE FRASER EDITED BY OLIVIA DI GRAZIA We’ve all heard about changelings, haven’t we? The spooky old tales of fae, trolls or elves replacing human babies with ugly, wicked creatures pervade European tradition.  This is the myth that Charlie Simmons’ play Changeling draws upon and subverts, blending folklore and the fantastical in order to tell a profoundly important story about the dangers of … Continue reading Which Of Us Is The Changeling?

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Mr. Inkleigh: An Urban Portrait Of Surveillance, Paranoia, And Existential Anxiety

REVIEW BY ZENA WANG EDITED BY RACHEL THORNBY In contemporary theatre, exploring how to present the complexity of social structures through everyday narratives is an extremely challenging task. Mr. Inkleigh, written by Ben Jamieson-Hoare and directed by Katherine Bragagnolo, is precisely such a work — it uses an ordinary apartment building as a vehicle to weave a modern parable about loneliness, surveillance, paranoia, and the … Continue reading Mr. Inkleigh: An Urban Portrait Of Surveillance, Paranoia, And Existential Anxiety

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Medley’s Med Revue Is Just What The Doctor Ordered

REVIEW BY ANNA RYLEY EDITED BY CHARLOTTE FRASER This year’s Med Revue, Game of Bones, broke both bones and hearts throughout the endearing chaos of the production – with side effects of uncontrollable laughter and occasional tears! As requested by the company in the first few seconds of the show, I am honoured to deliver a good review of the Med Revue’s prescribed comedy, served … Continue reading Medley’s Med Revue Is Just What The Doctor Ordered

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A Fryer Fuelled Fever Dream of the Highest Order: Little Hall’s Work But This Time Like You Mean It

REVIEW BY ELLA CALLOW-SUSSEX EDITED BY EMMA PARFITT It started immediately. From the moment the audience walked into the Guild Theatre, the performers were already onstage. Droning lobby music filled a fast-food store in all its grease-stained life sucking glory. Performers were flipping burgers, making Tik Toks behind the counter and playing stack cup all while hiding from a roaming manager. It is an environment many … Continue reading A Fryer Fuelled Fever Dream of the Highest Order: Little Hall’s Work But This Time Like You Mean It

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