Smaller review | Gasworks Arts Park

In Smaller, David Williams brings together family history, genetics and the experience of raising a child with a developmental disability to explore how the past shapes who we become. Tracing his heritage across Germany, England and Australia, he connects the stories of earlier generations with scientific discoveries about DNA and the challenges of navigating support for his son through the NDIS.

Williams is particularly effective when weaving family history and migration across generations. However, as the narrative turns towards genetics and chromosomes, the scientific detail begins to weigh it down. The discussion of the Human Genome Project, an international effort to map and sequence human DNA, feels unnecessary, adding another layer of information without sufficiently advancing the personal account.

Crapbox review | Theatre Works

Death and grief take many forms, from the quiet sadness of losing a loved one to the complicated emotions that surface when having to live without them. In Crapbox, playwright Kevin Nemeth explores these experiences through four short stories that examine loss, memory and the relationships that shape our lives. While each one approaches its subject in its own way, they come together to form a poignant reflection on what remains after someone is gone.

Opening with Early Morning, a couple wake up early one morning and become overwhelmed by their anxieties as they lie in bed. This is the most difficult piece to engage with, largely due to the writing style Nemeth has chosen. The husband and wife (Peter Houghton and Ann Browning) narrate their own actions and reactions as though reading stage directions, with lines such as “he pauses for a moment” and “she’s surprised”. While the actors do a great job of conveying the emotions behind their words, the approach feels somewhat unnatural, creating a distance between the audience and the characters.

La Ronde review | Strut & Fret | Melbourne Spiegel House

There’s something exciting about a production that combines cabaret, burlesque and circus, with dazzling physical feats, risqué humour, elaborate costumes and a touch of mischief. Making its first visit to Melbourne at the Melbourne Spiegel Haus, La Ronde features an international cast whose talents span aerials, acrobatics, comedy and music, promising plenty of surprises to keep audiences entertained and titillated.

It’s an absolute joy to watch Swedish comedian David Eriksson work his way through his bag of tricks. Dressed in a punk top, sparkling pink skirt and gumboots, he brings a rock ’n’ rollness to his routine, with a cheeky irreverence that makes him instantly likeable. His oral dexterity has to be seen to be believed, adding a deliciously suggestive edge to his performance.

House of Games review | Tim Ellis | The Laneway Theatre

Tim Ellis has been practising magic for over 40 years, and in that time he’s transformed part of his home into an intimate 32-seat performance space. His current offering, House of Games, has proved so popular that the 2026 season is sold out, with additional Sunday matinees added and an extended run scheduled well into 2027.

Drawing on his love of board games, the show uses well-known favourites as the starting point for a series of close-up tricks that will leave you questioning what you’ve just witnessed. Associated with childhood, family gatherings and friendly competition, these items are steeped in familiarity, but Ellis turns them into something unpredictable, with illusions that are all the more baffling for taking place right in front of us.

Degustation review | One Fell Swoop and Shu Liu | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Ballarat Mining Exchange

Taking my seat at Degustation, I couldn’t help but feel like I was about to experience The Menu - albeit with considerably more acrobatics and, thankfully, considerably less culinary carnage. Around 80 guests are seated along a long white table, with four beautifully presented creations waiting at each place setting. Above the table hangs a suspended board, dressed with a tablecloth and an assortment of plates, glasses and decorative tableware. It’s an intriguing arrangement that immediately signals this is going to be a meal unlike any other.

The six artists from One Fell Swoop - Angelique Ross, Roya the Destroya, Claire Bindoff, Easa Min-Swe, Charice Rust, and Jonathan Morgan, (with the latter two also serving as directors) - wear outfits designed by Emily Barrie that mix bright colours, fabrics and styles to create an eye-catching, playful aesthetic. But it’s also the way the circus unfolds around the diners that makes Degustation especially interesting.