Latest Reviews
World Problems
By Adam Rafferty Part of Melbourne Theatre Company’s Education and Families program for this year, Emma Mary Hall’s World Problems is both autobiographical reflection on the past and disturbing projection into our collective future. Having been originally written in...
Way
By Karyn Hodgkinson Seldom do I see a play and forget that I am watching a piece of theatre. Such is Sally McKenzie’s ability to pull us into her world. All the creative elements - acting, sound, music, lighting, video projection and direction come together in Way to...
The Woman in Black
By Kellie Warner After a thirty-year run in the West End in London, the acclaimed psychological thriller, The Woman in Black graced the stage at QPAC in Brisbane last Thursday for its opening night. The highly acclaimed ghost story is considered scary by some and...
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....
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
Cast announced for Little Women at the Hayes
Joshua Robson Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co is thrilled to announce the talented cast members who will be joining the much anticipated production of Little Women at Hayes Theatre Co from 12 July. This beloved classic, based on Louisa May...
Illuminate Adelaide – Superluminal
Art and science converge at the world premiere of Superluminal, a family-friendly interactive installation from award-winning Patch Theatre that will spark wonder in the enquiring minds of children aged 4 to 8 at the South Australian Museum for Illuminate Adelaide....
Stupid F##king Bird by Aaron Posner at MUST
So begins Stupid F##king Bird, an exploration of the turbulent intersection of Love, Art, and Identity — with more than a touch of humour and irreverence. Con aspires to create art that means something—something real, something true—a dream that his traditionalist...
THE WOMAN IN BLACK BEGINS A NATIONAL TOUR
The Woman in Black, described by The Guardian as “A Masterpiece” and by the Daily Telegraph (UK) as “The most brilliantly effective spine chiller you will ever encounter”, is the second longest-running play in West End history, after Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap....
Competitions
Win a double pass to The Platypus
Win one of 2 double passes to The Platypus. The passes are for the 7:30pm show on Wednesday June 19. 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: editor.kris@theatrematters.com.au...
Win a double pass to Parade
Win a double pass to Parade Friday 10th May at 7.30pm At the Seymour Centre in Sydney's Chippendale To enter simply email allison.hilbig@theatrematters.com.au with: - Your name - Confirmation you can attend the Seymour Centre on Friday 10th May - Why you'd like to win...
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: ...
... because theatre matters.
About Us
Theatre Matters is a community group that loves, promotes and discusses all things to do with Australian theatre.