Tusk Tusk, written by English playwriting prodigy Polly Stenham, gives young actors a chance to portray the sharp realities of children in the system. The play captures a complex web of familial relationships against a backdrop of intense classism, providing an urgent and relevant insight into children trying to be adults. Centering around three siblings, the fifteen year old eldest Eliot (Ben Walter), his fourteen … Continue reading Tusk Tusk: A triumph of youth
Every year Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) produces an education show, which is presented in the intimate Lawler Theatre before going on a regional tour. These productions have often been some of my favourite produced by the company, as they can afford to take more risks in script, actor and staging choices than in main stage productions. The 2019 education performance is The Violent Outburst that … Continue reading The Violent Outburst that Drew Me to You: A boyish triumph
Bitch on Heat is artist Leah Shelton’s most recent project, a highly physicalised display of performance art staged in the intimate venue of Theatre Works. Designed to both demonstrate and rival the patriarchy and its relentless oppression of women, Shelton takes on one of the biggest issues we currently face. Directed by Ursula Martinez, this show explores the timelessness of sexism, and how it has … Continue reading Bitch on Heat: A Modern Day Pandora’s Box
James Macaronas, well known amongst the University of Melbourne community for his highly genred sci fi works, presents his first one-man show at the iconic Butterfly Club. Kirk Dangerous Kills the Prime Minister is a political show, entrenched in the realm of science fiction and caricature. The narrative follows the elusive Kirk Dangerous on a mission of assassination. Directed by Ellie Woods, the performance sits … Continue reading Kirk Dangerous Kills the Prime Minister: A Museum of the Damned
Slaughterhouse Five, the much acclaimed science fiction anti-war novel, has undergone a number of adaptations and reincarnations over the many years since its original publication in 1969. Multiple plays, an opera, a radio drama and a film have all come about since Kurt Vonnegut’s controversial book featuring a time traveling soldier hit shelves. The text is still much discussed amongst schools in America, and has … Continue reading Slaughterhouse Five: A Crusade of Children and an Adult
Ah how I love the non tiered, close together seating and subterranean temperatures of Max Watt’s. This is where Phil Jupitus is performing one of only three gigs at the 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Hailing from the UK, Jupitus is more typically seen on British panel shows than touring live stand up. Tonight he has attracted a crowd from the generations of my parents, … Continue reading Phil Jupitus: Far from home
Going to Rhys Nicholson has become somewhat of a tradition for my Mum and I. As we peruse the thick catalogue of shows for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival each year, he is one of the few acts that has remained on our list. That is, until this year when Mum decided she didn’t want to make the pilgrimage out to the city to see … Continue reading Rhys Nicholson: Nice jokes, Nice delivery, Nice content
I heard rave reviews about this show when it was being performed back in 2017, but never got around to seeing it. Now Ella Kamer and Jake Glanc have reincarnated their sketch show for the 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Twenties is exactly what the name suggests; an abstract exploration of what it’s like to leave university and enter the working world. It is a … Continue reading Twenties: Sketch a Cut Above the Rest
Cal Wilson, a fiery haired kiwi comedian is back for the 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival for her show Gifted Underachiever. She has become a voice for the forty something year olds of the world, particularly since filming her recent Netflix special. The venue, although pokey, is packed with her exact demographic. I am seated in front of a particularly appreciative man who guffaws loudly … Continue reading Cal Wilson: Just doing her Job
Glittering jumpsuits, sequinned jackets and one particularly notable beaded skort are what catch my eye as I walk into the Beckett Theatre of the Malthouse. The costumes give me an insight into the kind of performance that is to come; a playful, energetic and interactive night of feminist cabaret. Of course, my friend and I sit in the front row, for what’s the point of … Continue reading Fringe Wives Club: A Cabaret for Cow People
The Dialog 