Latest Reviews
The Grinning Man
Review by David Gardette Presented by Salty Theatre and Vass Productions and marking its Australian debut, The Grinning Man offers Melbourne audiences a chance to see this very rarely produced show. With a book by Carl Grose, lyrics by Grose and Tom...
Things I Know To Be True
By Nick Pilgrim In an interview with the North American podcaster, Ernie Manouse, the stage and television actress, Valerie Harper, summed up the hectic and unpredictable nature of her career with the following thought. “Life is what happens on the way to your plans.”...
MICF – Jay Wymarra AmaJayus
By Jessica Taurins AmaJayus is a harrowing retelling of a life unlived for a long, long time. The titular Jay - comedian and drag performer Jay Wymarra - grew up in northern Australia as a queer, Indigenous, deeply depressed person... well, at least the story is...
MICF – Demi & David – Comedy Show
By Jessica Taurins Demi & David - Comedy Show (Grocery Store) is like the Wario Ware of comedy shows. Every minute, nay, every second is tied together as loosely as a Woolies bag worn as a t-shirt, with scenes lasting anywhere from a few minutes to six seconds....
The Exact Dimensions of Hell
By Natalie Ristovski CW: This review contains descriptions and discussion of sexual assault and grooming. It is rare in this country to see theatrical works that sidestep the mainstream. Gone are the days when La Fura Dels Baus or Jan Fabre could sneak their way into...
Almighty Sometimes
By Adam Rafferty Winner of the 2019 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award Prize for Drama, Kendall Feaver’s excellent Almighty Sometimes feels to have taken too long to reach the Melbourne stage, yet the scheduling of its launch here this week has become eerily timely....
MICF – Adrian Bliss Inside Everyone
By Nick Pilgrim Running for three madcap weeks between March and April, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival grew from modest beginnings almost four decades ago to the world-renowned behemoth it has become today. A mixture of new and established talent, the...
MICF -She Slayed: A Drag Murder Mystery
BY David Gardette Drag cabaret legend Dolly Diamond doesn’t miss a beat in her new show for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. She Slayed – A Drag Murder Mystery throws together four Drag Divas in a rough around the edges, very silly but laugh out loud...
MICF – The Beaks Stickybeak
By Nick Pilgrim The Beaks - Stickybeak The Tower, Malthouse Theatre Southbank Reviewed on Thursday April 18, 2024 As the Melbourne International Comedy Festival starts winding down for another year, there is still plenty to see and do. Critiquing the 2024 event has...
Features
Homo Pentecostus asks what is your church?
Co-created by Joel Bray, Emma Valente and Peter Paltos, Homo Pentecostus will make its world premiere at Malthouse Theatre later this month. Billed as an odyssey of self-discovery and liberation, the work is based on Bray's own experiences of growing up in a...
Laurence Boxhall: The art in Switzerland
A gripping psychological thriller, Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith, makes its way to the Ensemble Theatre next month. A crisp two-hander starring Toni Scanlan (Belvoir’s The Weekend) as Patricia Highsmith, alongside Laurence Boxhall (The Mousetrap Australia),...
Patrick Whitbread: ready to rumble (even in the rain)
When Patrick Whitbread took to the stage in the role of Riff in West Side Story on Sydney Harbour it not only marked his Opera Australia debut, but also his professional debut in a leading role. Whitbread's first ever role was playing Louis in The King and I in...
Conor Leach talks the catharsis of Fourteen
The new smash-hit Australian play, Fourteen, begins its national tour at Riverside Theatres on 3rd May. Based on Shannon Molloy’s award-winning memoir of the same name, Fourteen is the inspirational true story of growing up gay in central Queensland, adapted into a...
Elijah Williams Makes A case for the Existence of God
Acclaimed Seymour Centre favourites, Outhouse Theatre Co (Consent, Ulster American) returns with an Australian premiere from one of America’s most celebrated contemporary playwrights. A case for the Existence of God is Samuel Hunter's heart-wrenching, compassionate,...
Gregory J Wilken talks Toy Symphony at Qtopia, Sydney
By Sarah Skubala Qtopia, Sydney’s inaugural performance season kicks off next month with Michael Gow’s Toy Symphony, presented by Ad Astra Theatre Company, the crown jewel of Brisbane’s professional indie theatre scene. Producer and actor Gregory J Wilken will be...
News
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR returns
THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR IS COMING TO AUSTRALIA Following huge acclaim and sold-out seasons in London as well as an extensive tour of North America, the Olivier Award-winning reimagined production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s...
Fortyfivedownstairs – Carpet and Sand & 100 Reasons for War
New theatre collective Calamity Practice presents a provocative double feature of Australian storytelling: Carpet and Sand and 100 Reasons for War. These politically current plays weave together unconventional narratives that explore global conflict, leadership, and...
Musica Viva Australia’s Strike A Chord 2024 Competition Now Open!
Musica Viva Australia announces entries for the 2024 Strike A Chord competition are now open. Strike A Chord invites full time school students up to Grade 12 across Australia to form chamber music ensembles between three and eight players in any vocal or instrumental...
Sydney Gay & Lesbian Choir Delivers ‘A Blast From The Past’ in ‘BACK TO THE 80s’
Sydney Gay & Lesbian Choir (SGLC) is thrilled to present one of its biggest performances to date, Back to the 80s, a jukebox concert of beloved 80s hits at the Seymour Centre this June long weekend, Saturday 8th June. Featuring 100 singers, eighteen classic songs,...
Competitions
Win a double pass to Ghosts.
Win one of 2 double passes to Ghosts. The passes are for the 7:30pm show on Thursday the 30th of May. It’s playing at Theatre Works on Acland Street. To be in the running, please email your response and name to the below question to: ...
Win a double pass to Billy Elliot
Win a double pass to Billy Elliot the Musical by CLOC 8pm Thursday 16th May at the National Theatre, St Kilda To enter, simply email allison.hilbig@theatrematters.com.au with: - Your name - Confirmation you can attend on Thursday 16th May - Why you...
... because theatre matters.
About Us
Theatre Matters is a community group that loves, promotes and discusses all things to do with Australian theatre.