Bring It On: The Musical review | Theatrical Inc | The National Theatre

Bring It On: The Musical carries the legacy of one of the most beloved teen comedies of the early 2000s. The 2000 film, starring Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku, became a pop culture favourite thanks to its sharp humour, fierce rivalries, and endlessly quotable cheerleading drama. More than a decade later, the story made the leap to the stage with a musical adaptation featuring a score by Tom Kitt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, lyrics by Miranda and Amanda Green, and a book by Jeff Whitty. Rather than simply retelling the film, the musical takes the spirit fingers of Bring It On and spins it into a new story set in the same high-stakes environment of competitive cheer.

The musical follows Campbell, the accomplished captain of the Truman High cheer squad, whose world is upended when a redistricting decision forces her to transfer schools. Struggling to find her place at Jackson High, Campbell becomes involved with a very different cheer team, sparking rivalries, friendships, and a battle for national championship glory.

Gunawarra Re-Creation review | ILBIJERRI Theatre Company & Melbourne Theatre Company

Gunawarra Re-Creation is a work that sits at the intersection of storytelling, culture and family, weaving a contemporary narrative through an ancient Creation story that has been carried across generations. Written by Isobel Morphy-Walsh, the production touchingly explores how memory, Country and kinship exist simultaneously, and how inherited stories continue to shape identity, resilience and healing in the present.

Having not seen the 2024 staging of Gunawarra Re-Creation, this review considers the current iteration on its own terms. With a new cast, director and movement consultant shaping this version, the focus is on what this ensemble brings to the telling of the story.

Sixth Sense review | Melbourne Magic Festival | Arrow on Swanston

There's something delightfully unsettling about watching a stranger seem to read your mind. Sixth Sense, presented as part of the Melbourne Magic Festival, poses that very question in its title. Is it genuine intuition, or simply a masterful reading of human behaviour? Award-winning magician and mentalist Tom Weil doesn't rush to answer this. Instead, he spends the evening blurring the line between psychological illusion and something that feels, uncannily, like truth.

Part of what makes Weil's work so compelling is his relationship with predictability itself. Good mentalism often relies on audiences believing an outcome was left to chance, when in fact it was steered there all along, and Weil plays this tension deliberately, letting the room wonder how much of what unfolds was ever really in doubt.

Losing Face review | Melbourne Theatre Company

If you're not already being sold the promise of a younger, healthier and more optimised version of yourself, you're probably not paying attention. From wellness resorts and cosmetic procedures to the endless pursuit of self-improvement, ageing gracefully, or better yet, not at all, has become an industry in itself. In the comedy Losing Face, Marieke Hardy sets her sights on that fixation, exploring the impossible standards placed on women and the lengths they're encouraged to go for perfection. 

The show gets off to a promising start with three friends, Jo, Simone, and Lauren (Michala Banas, Madeleine Sami and Christie Whelan Browne), attending The Royal You resort to celebrate Jo's 50th birthday. Conversations around dating, marriage, children and body image naturally emerge, while subtle tensions simmer between the women, who have not seen each other for five years. Hardy establishes a grounded dynamic that hints at the different paths their lives have taken and the insecurities that have accumulated along the way.

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) review | Athenaeum Theatre

More than two centuries after its publication, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice remains one of literature's most beloved romances, celebrated for its social observations, sparkling wit and enduring examination of class, marriage and first impressions. Published in 1813, the novel follows Elizabeth Bennet and the enigmatic Mr Darcy as misunderstandings and prejudice gradually give way to love.

In Pride and Prejudice (*sort of), writer Isobel McArthur gives Austen's classic a modern makeover. Told from the perspective of the household servants, with just five performers - Amy Lehpamer, Zoe Ioannou, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Ruby Shannon and Teo Vergara - playing every role, the Olivier Award-winning production combines breakneck costume changes, pop anthems and irreverent humour while retaining the heart of Austen's story. The result is an inventive reimagining of a tale that is fresh and funny.