Queen Machine review | Melbourne Fringe | Trades Hall

Queen Machine opens with Anna Lumb on a podium, performing a lively, high-energy hula hoop routine. She’s carefree, confident, and clearly loving the moment. But that was before she suffered a career-threatening injury - snapping her ankle clean off her leg. A full break. The only thing keeping her foot attached to her leg was skin and muscle. Ouch. Surgery followed, involving titanium implants to repair the damage.

In the aftermath, Lumb begins to reimagine her body as part-machine, “a post-human, fembot future”, as the show’s description promises. Unfortunately, that’s not quite what the audience ends up experiencing. Sure, the idea gets mentioned, but most of the show's time is spent elsewhere: on her painkiller dependency, surreal dreams featuring Patrick Swayze, and a newfound hobby of learning guitar. These detours dilute what could have been a sharp, provocative exploration of transformation and identity.

The Understudy review | Melbourne Fringe | Trainscendence

Anyone who enters the acting industry longs for their big break - whether as a star, a supporting player, or a quirky character actor. But the harsh reality is that not everyone gets that moment in the spotlight. Sometimes, all you can do is settle for being the understudy. Written and performed by Eva Seymour, The Understudy is a wonderfully sharp, funny, and heartfelt look at the life of someone always waiting in the wings.

As we take our seats, it’s clear we’re in for an intense performance as our protagonist fervently reads Chekhov’s To the Actor - a manifesto urging actors to dig deep, be honest, and fully inhabit their roles. From there, the show spins into a whirlwind of backstage yearning, comic mishaps, and the obsessive and slightly dangerous drive of someone determined to shine, even if they are not centre stage.

I Promise This Isn’t About You (Even If It Feels Like It Is) review | Melbourne Fringe | Trades Hall

In your 20s, life is all about the drinking, the partying, and the sexing. In I Promise This Isn’t About You (Even If It Feels Like It Is), we are thrown into the deep end of a house party, but we only see what happens in its bathroom. It’s an intriguing concept, using the most private room in a house as the space where secrets and revelations are laid bare turning a place of privacy into one of exposure. At the same time, it allows for intimate and often hilarious glimpses into the chaos and vulnerability that the party hides behind closed (bathroom) doors.

The cast (Mads Lou, Jo Jabalde, Eliza Carlin, Reuby Chip, and Ally Long) have a strong chemistry and their character's shared histories are evident in how they speak and interact with one another. Their energies are complementary, and they move together with an organic ease  culminating in a fully realised friendship group.

Masterpiece review | Melbourne Fringe | Meat Market

Hanging up a piece of art shouldn't be too difficult. But when it involves two silent clowns, a live musician, and teamwork that is fittingly hanging by a thread, it quickly turns into a masterclass in chaos. Created and performed by Rae Colquhoun-Fairweather and Will Bartolo, Masterpiece is a highly entertaining hour of clowning, as these two art installers stretch a simple job into a nonstop parade of hilarious antics and escalating madness.
 
Colquhoun-Fairweather and Bartolo are an exceptional duo, working seamlessly together. At times, it feels like they are surprising each other with their choices and reactions, despite needing to be tightly scripted to ensure the show runs smoothly. They present their opposing roles brilliantly, without tipping into extreme stereotypes, and maintain the affectingly human, emotional beings that makes them so engaging.

Poems of a Transsexual Nature review | Melbourne Fringe | Trades Hall

Cynda Beare is a trans, neurodiverse, Palawa artist and writer and performer of in Poems of a Transsexual Nature. The show tells the story of a young brotherboy who goes to Country for the first time and is forced to reckon with the past, the present, and the future, with plenty of uncertainty, epiphanies, and sex along the way. 

Beare gives a wonderfully committed portrayal of Apollo, capturing all the conflicting thoughts and emotions that are racing through his mind as he grapples with the power of returning to Country. The narrative is told as part confessional, part enacted scenes, and part burlesque, with each one doing well to support the other and enhance the story in ways the other two styles can't. 

That said, the piece could gain from a bit more direction and cohesion. It has a scattered quality that sometimes works to its advantage, but occasionally leaves you wishing for a steadier hand to guide it. I would’ve loved to see more of its poetic sensibility, those instances where language, imagery and emotion come together to illuminate Apollo’s arc. The references to the black cockatoo were especially powerful and grounded the work beautifully in ancestry and Country.

Conversations with a Fried Egg review | Melbourne Fringe | Meat Market

At some point during Conversations with a Fried Egg, I stopped trying to make sense of what was unfolding before me and simply let it happen. Three rats and an egg debate life, hunger, and purpose in a world that feels both fantastical and oddly familiar. It’s strange, funny in bursts, and tinged with melancholy, but at times, it gets wrapped up in its own absurdism that it leaves you watching from a distance rather than being drawn in.

Absurdist theatre isn’t trying to explain the world, it’s showing what happens when logic falls apart. It puts us right in the middle of the mess and repetition that make up everyday life, the constant hunt for meaning in things that often don’t have any. It’s not really saying life is hopeless, just that it’s kind of ridiculous, and we’re all making it up as we go. The discomfort comes from seeing ourselves in that chaos, laughing one moment and wondering what on earth we’re doing the next.

Gus The Frog Spits Bars (One Man's Response To Existential Dread) review | Melbourne Fringe | The Motley Bauhaus

A frog suddenly finds itself hurled over 100 kilometres from its home in the River Torrens to the Clare Valley, where a mysterious curse is wreaking havoc on its residents and their land, and Gus is determined to get to the bottom of it. Gus the Frog Spits Bars (one man's response to existential dread), created and performed by Angus Leighton, is a wild, fast-paced, and absurdly funny ride, blending rap, inventive storytelling, and pure Fringe exhuberance into an adventure like no other. 

Nobody participates in a Festival because they have to. They do it because they want to. But honestly, if there were an award for the Happiest Fringe Performer, it would without a doubt go to Leighton. Watching him on stage is like catching a glimpse of unadulterated joy in motion. There’s a genuine sparkle in his eyes, a buoyancy in his step, and a warmth in his smile that makes the audience instantly at ease and connect with him.

Requiem for a Cuddle review | Melbourne Fringe | Fitzroy Town Hall

Taking my seat for Requiem for a Cuddle, it was hard not to feel intimidated and curious. I mean it's not every day you walk into a room to be surrounded by an 80-strong choir all wearing black suits, standing still and staring at us. All wearing black balaclavas. It’s this strange, surreal sight that Harrison Ritchie-Jones plays with, blending choral singing, dance and movement, and sound into an experience that sparks a profound sense of community and connection. Amid this eerie, mesmerizing tableau, two human bodies emerge, guiding us into the choreography and linking us intimately and communally.



Paired with Michaela Tancheff, the two perform hypnotic sequences that reveal the intricacies of the body and its remarkable capabilities, their muscles coiling and stretching in seamless rhythm. The support and strength they offer one another to succeed mirrors that which we need in our own lives. At one point, they collapse to the floor in a tight wrap, rolling gracefully down the aisle and through the audience, drawing us into their shared dependence and vulnerability.



A Kingdom of Mushrooms, Five Senses, Infinite Wonder and You review | Melbourne Fringe | Artitude Studios

I love mushrooms. If there’s a meal with mushrooms in it, chances are I’m ordering it - and demolishing it. But I’ve never really thought about mushrooms beyond eating them. Until now. Presented by Off The Spectrum, A Kingdom of Mushrooms, Five Senses, Infinite Wonder and You invites audiences to do exactly what it promises - step into this mysterious, magical world of fungi. This isn’t limited to sight and taste, either. It’s a full-blown sensory trip through the life of mushrooms, engaging all five senses… yes, even sound.

Upon arrival, we’re greeted by our host and co-creator, Jasmin Lefers, who kicks things off by offering us a themed mushroom cocktail. It might be 11am, but this is Melbourne Fringe, so naturally I accept. I opt for the umami martini, infused with shiitake and a touch of ginger. It’s divine, earthy, and with the perfect level of unusual.

Fruition review | Melbourne Fringe | Spielhaus

Cherese Sonkkila loves fruit. And not just as part of her daily five portions of fruit and veggies - she really, truly loves fruit. In Fruition, she takes us on a 60-minute journey of sketch, storytelling, and performance, sharing fascinating facts about fruit and revealing exactly what fuels her excitement and passion.

Sonkkila’s winning performance is enhanced by multiple costume changes, each adding a layer of depth and helping bring her characters to life. These outfits aren’t elaborate or outlandish, but carefully chosen to leave a lasting impression. Her jellyfish costume is especially memorable, and there is a certain visual that will be impossible to shake whenever I next squeeze an orange.

Greeking Out review | Melbourne Fringe | Spielhaus

In Greeking Out, Rebecca Perich steps into the role of Professor Ari, guiding the audience through an energetic and playful lesson in Greek Mythology 101. The show revisits classic tales such as the Minotaur, Theseus, and Ariadne, blending storytelling, audience participation, and visual elements to bring these myths to life. With moments that invite us to interact and engage, the performance balances humour and a curiosity-driven unpacking of stories that have captivated people for centuries.
 
From the outset, it’s unclear what role the audience is meant to have. Are we children in a classroom or adults attending a lecture? We’re instructed to keep our phones off, yet also asked to make pantomime-like call-and-response sound effects as Professor Ari recounts the story of the Minotaur, creating a slightly confusing dynamic.
 
Perich has a lot she wants to explore here, and she covers it all, but it results in too many ideas being left underdeveloped, which undermines the potential depth of the performance. This is most evident when introducing the “layered trifle” method. This alone could have been a robust foundation for a more substantial examination of Greek mythology, instead of a simple rehash of the Minotaur, Theseus, and Ariadne - a familiar narrative even to those with only rudimentary awareness of the myths. A deeper, original angle would have strengthened the show significantly.

Motion Sickness review | Melbourne Fringe | Trades Hall

There’s something exhilarating and nauseating about being alive right now - information flying at us from all directions, our brains struggling to keep up. Motion Sickness, the latest work from a2 company, takes these feelings and turns them into theatre: a charged collision of projections, sound, and language that mirrors the sensory barrage of the digital age. Performed with throbbing live music and restless physicality, it propels its audience to the brink of chaos before pulling them back toward something startlingly visceral.
 
On stage are writer and performer Ben Ashby, and composer and performer Toby Leman. And then Ashby begins sharing thoughts that seem random at first - on marine snow, Sudan, Gaza, telephone companies - but there’s method to the mayhem. It's a lot to take in, but that's the point. There is a lot going on in the world.

How To Art review | Melbourne Fringe | Trades Hall

It’s the age-old question: what is art? Who decides what counts as art? And, more importantly, who dares put a price on it? Okay, that’s more than one question, but I’m the curator of this domain, so I make the rules. In How To Art, two bananas wake up duct taped to a wall inside an art gallery. This hilarious clowning show explores the idea of what gets classified as art and who gets to be the gatekeeper of art.

Katie Burson and Georgie Llewellyn are a pair of bananas taped to a wall. They are called "Banana Split" and they are one of a number of artworks by The Artist hanging in this art gallery. Others include a sculpture of two bumbags each attached to a cigarette called "Can I Bumbag a Smoke?" and "Concentrate", a large opened can of Campbell's tomato soup.

With the gallery closed, and the owner not in the room, the two bananas untape themselves and try to make sense of this world around them. Burson and Llewellyn shine with their clowning. Their physicality, movements, and characterisation are constantly surprising. Each moment builds on what came before, keeping the energy fresh and unpredictable. They are confident in their playful interactions with the audience, and the small improvisations and responses to audience reactions never falter.

Checked Out: The Musical review | Melbourne Fringe | Trades Hall

Don’t we all love an enforced work function? Having to spend even more time with the people you already spend most of your life with? For the weary employees of Woles, a “lavish” celebration from head office looms ever closer as they struggle to balance their chaotic personal lives with the daily grind of supermarket employment. Written by Josh Connell (also Musical Director) and Steph Lee (also Director), Checked Out: The Musical shines a spotlight on the harsh realities of five workers contending with rude customers, a profit-obsessed boss, and the angry backlash of price gouging. There’s only one way they are going to get through it - with song. Several of them, in fact.

Sincere Apologies review | Melbourne Fringe | Trades Hall

Sincere Apologies begins unassumingly: an envelope is handed to an audience member and it is passed from hand to hand. No words are exchanged, no introduction is made, no actors are present. It’s just a low-key game of “pass the parcel” that opens the door to a chorus of voices and a world of regret.

Fifty real apologies are sealed inside fifty envelopes that are distributed to the audience. These span from 1990 all the way into the future, each one factual and collected from documented expressions of remorse by public figures, private correspondence, and personal moments by the shows three creators, Dan Koop, Jamie Lewis and David Williams. One by one, in numerical order, audience members step up to a microphone and read them aloud.

Some are weighty and political - a Prime Minister’s apology to the Stolen Generation or BP’s statement following an oil spill. Others tap into pop culture’s hall of infamy - like Kanye West and Taylor Swift. Then, there are the apologies from the creators themselves, adding a deeper intimate layer to the mix.

Imp! (One Man, Many Parts) review | Melbourne Fringe | The Motley Bauhaus

Scott Middleton’s Imp! (One Man, Many Parts) is a bold and imaginative physical theatre piece that adapts Shakespeare’s iconic “All the world’s a stage” monologue into a playful, clown-driven exploration of life’s absurdities, loves, struggles, and surprises. He demonstrates a remarkable ability to inhabit multiple guises, inviting the audience into a whirlwind of humour, heart, and theatrical brilliance.



The monologue captures the seven stages of life - from infancy to old age - with each person cast as a player performing in the theatre of life. It is both a meditation on the cycle of life and a wry commentary on the roles we adopt, the masks we wear, and the fleeting nature of our time on this planet. By opening with this text, Middleton acknowledges the timeless theme of “life as performance”, while signalling he will be toying with identity and the comedy and tragedy of everyday life.



Intolerant review | Melbourne Fringe | Spielhaus

Intolerant invites its new recruits (the audience) to Anaphylaxis Diner for a tongue-in-cheek orientation session, ensuring they’re fully across the menu and its many substitutions for every dietary allergy and intolerance. After all, before you can serve a meal, you need to make sure your customers leave alive. Guided by our no-nonsense boss and chef, Anna Phylaxis (Uma Dobia), we’re taken through a seven-step induction that’s equal parts funny and unsettlingly real.

Trained as a soprano, Dobia brings her extraordinary voice to a show that cleverly blends cabaret-style wit with sharp insights into living with severe allergies. The fusion of opera and pop is thoroughly entertaining - it’s where she shines brightest with some exceptional original songs, including the perfect ballad "Is It Any Wonder". Her presence is enhanced by a striking blue-and-orange dress with matching make-up and accessories, adding a playful and vibrant visual layer to the performance.

The Worm review | Melbourne Fringe | The Motley Bauhaus

Taylah has come out of a rut and is ready to celebrate - by meeting new people and throwing herself back into the dating game. In The Worm, Taylah Whelan takes us on a semi-autobiographical adventure filled with awkward encounters, self-reflection, and plenty of heart. While shows on dating are plentiful at Fringe, Whelan brings a fresh and engaging perspective, packed with witty, self-deprecating observations about life - and love - in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

Her dates include an extremely attractive man who turns out to be utterly awful, and an aspiring screenwriter who can’t seem to tear her eyes away from her phone. Both outings give Whelan opportunities to explore how Taylah responds to these situations, featuring a brilliantly funny off-stage scene involving a rather wicked orgasm.

CAKE - Late Bite review | Melbourne Fringe | Meat Market

Cake - Late Bite serves up an hour of gleeful anarchy and creative indulgence, brimming with pizzazz and flair. It’s loud, unapologetic and unpredictable - a night that values attitude over polish, and joy over order. Led by our host, Memphis Belle, we’re treated to a collection of circus, burlesque and drag that titillate and tease. Full of cheeky disorder, Cake - Late Bite is a proud celebration of identity and self-expression in all its forms.

Serenity brings a spark of personality and wit with a lively and self-assured drag act that earns instant bonus points for opening with a lip sync from my favourite film. Zach Johnson shifts the tone with a short but thrilling balancing act involving a bottle, a balloon and a paddle held in his mouth. It’s the kind of performance that has you holding your breath, because one millimetre off and it would all go south, yet he keeps it perfectly steady.

Birds review | Melbourne Fringe | Meat Market

From the second Birds takes flight, it’s clear this isn’t your typical beach getaway. With sharp wit, absurd scenarios, and a darkly playful edge, the show sets up a world that’s equal parts hilarious and unsettling. It's perfectly primed for Alex Hines and Sarah Stafford to deliver performances brimming with nihilistic humour and outrageous awareness.

The pair may be portraying ladies who’ve traded lunch for a beachside drink, yet they’re still very much in their (questionable) designer kaftans and planning their own brunches. Hines plays Shayna, a wealthy five-time divorcee who has lost her entire family to a blimp accident, but couldn’t care less. Stafford’s Beverley, on the other hand, is a mother of twelve boys who has escaped to the beach in frustration after her husband ruined her birthday. This unlikely friendship sees the ladies supporting one another through some of the toughest periods of their lives, from running out of sunscreen to guessing what the secret sound is on Smyle and Smacki-O’s radio program.

DECADENCE: 10 Years of YUMMY review | Melbourne Fringe | Meat Market

It's hard to believe that Yummy is in its 10th year of delivering wildly entertaining and daring cabaret. Led by the charismatic Valerie Hex, its collection of drag, circus, and burlesque has toured the world to rave reviews from audiences and critics. Their 10-year anniversary show, Decadence, winks at indulgence and excess, but beneath the sparkles and spectacle lies a decade of dedication, heart, and artistry.



Over the years, Yummy has welcomed a huge roster of talent, and it’s been a fantastic launching pad for emerging and guest artists, while also retaining most of its original, well-established crew, including Jandruze, Hannie Helsden, and Bendy Ben. And we get them all here. Bendy Ben continues to impress with beautifully choreographed drag routines, featuring one from the company’s very first production that remains mesmerising and unexpectedly emotionally. Jandruze’s performance to Detroit Grand Pubah’s "Sandwiches" is a Yummy classic, and a thrilling fire act where flames highlighting every movement as they dance dangerously close to their body. Helsden’s hula hoop act injects high-energy, unashamedly fun chaos to the evening.



Jester's Privilege review | Melbourne Fringe | Trades Hall

In Handful of Bugs’ Jester’s Privilege, the fool steps off the stage and into the shadows, revealing not the radiance of wit, but the weight that lingers after the laughter dies away. A jester returns to his room after entertaining the court, appearing despondent, frustrated, and weary. Over the course of the evening, he is visited by various members of the Queen’s court. Gradually, we begin to understand what troubles him: his own mortality and the unsettling dread that he has delivered his final joke.

Alex Donnelly and Lachie Gough are a brilliant artistic duo, but when they share a stage, their chemistry generates an additional spark of mischievous playfulness. Here, Gough assumes the role of the tired jester, and he illustrates the character’s inner turmoil with nuance and patience, allowing the unravelling to unfold naturally. This measured approach draws the audience in, which makes us lean closer to the performance. Donnelly takes on a range of secondary characters, from the Queen’s Guard to a Lord to the Queen’s Groom of the Stable, each clearly defined and adding dynamic contrast to the piece.

The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck review | Melbourne Fringe | Theatre Works

The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck is a play within a play, following three fabulously bitchy thespians as they attempt to mount Oscar Wilde’s classic The Importance of Being Earnest. But what happens when you put a trio of queens with equally towering egos and insecurities together? Absolute bedlam.

Written by Steven Dawson, with only splashes of Oscar Wilde woven through, this isn’t a camp(er) retelling of Earnest - no, no, no, no. It’s very much its own beast.

There are arguments over who gets to wear Lady Bracknell’s dress, and debates about how to reinterpret the scenes. If you want to see Earnest acted in the style of kabuki and Chekhov, you're in the right place. The rehearsal process is as hilarious as it is anarchic. The challenge they face in condensing a two-hour production into 90, then 45 minutes ratchets up the tension, pushing these queens into greater ridiculous antics.

Adam Snakes: No Experience Necessary review | Melbourne Fringe | The Motley Bauhaus

Timothy Knight steps into the role of Adam Snakes, an affable barista serving flat whites at a cafe inside a petrol station while dreaming of life as a comedian. His solution? Stage a stand-up show right there at work. Adam Snakes: No Experience Necessary is a gentle set about doing what you love, and realising happiness doesn’t always come from chasing traditional ideas of greatness.

Knight - or Adam? - has an easy warmth and sharp eye for observation. He’s the kind of person you could chat with until 3am about anything from kebabs to Kant, and he’d be genuinely interested. His commentary on negative space and its permanence proves that the raw material is there, but it needs a little tightening, and a clearer sense of narrative, to really shine. 

Too much of the routine doesn’t flow from one anecdote to the next. A story about having crab soup in Vietnam ends awkwardly but also doesn't line up with what follows. Adam might be green to comedy, but Knight isn’t, and finding a thread between crab soup, awkward coffee orders, and his larger aspirations would give the work a firmer backbone. There are a few continuity errors with Adam's life, where at one point he tells us he still lives with his parents but then later states he lives with his girlfriend.

Knows, No's, Nose review | Melbourne Fringe | The Motley Bauhaus

Knows, No’s, Nose follows two clowns navigating the ups and downs of share-house living. Clown A is a long-time professional, utterly devoted to being the best clown possible. Clown B is the polar opposite of Clown A. They are a newcomer, full of questions, desires, and doubts about what it means to be a clown. How can this pair co-exist when they sit at the furthest ends of the clowning spectrum?

This 60-minute comedy, written and performed by Alice Ridgway, explores an existential crisis through the lens of clowning. Despite the absurdity, the show finds emotional depth in its human undercurrents. It’s a clever balance of physical humour and thoughtful reflection, keeping the audience laughing while also considering bigger questions.

Unbearable Hotness review | Melbourne Fringe | The Motley Bauhaus

There’s something about Marissa in Gabriel Davis’ Unbearable Hotness. At a university house party, a group of friends gather in a bedroom and share stories, desires, and frustrations centred on the elusive Marissa - the “White Whale” everyone, men and women alike, seem obsessed with.
 
For a play that runs only 40 minutes, Unbearable Hotness crams in a lot of story. Even as a comedy, the result is fleeting flashes of authenticity over sustained depth. The supposed history between Jill, Brandon, and Marissa, which drives the loose main plot, never feels fully realised. With so many characters squeezed into such a short timeframe, some are left sitting in the background or reduced to delivering a handful of one-liners. Cutting two characters wouldn’t hurt the narrative at all in this instance.

Nun Slut: Caught Between the Sacred and the Absurd at Melbourne Fringe

Nun and slut, sacred and silly. Claire Robin’s breakout show Nun Slut is an absurd mashup of religion, the body, and politics. Blending physical comedy, sketch, and cabaret, Robin teases out the contradictions of spirituality, sexuality, and everything in between. Hot off acclaimed festival runs, including the recent Sydney Fringe, she’s bringing her holy chaos to Melbourne Fringe. We caught up with her to learn more about this zany show, such as the inspiration behind the nun to slut continuum.

"The nun to slut spectrum is navigated by mixing a sense of the sacred with the profane. I enjoy switching between these two extremes - often through music, facial expressions, and play with the audience," she tells me. "The nun character herself has an internal battle with these two sides of herself, which manifests in surprising ways. The piece grew out of my own journey of unpacking my religious upbringing and deconstructing the way the church speaks about sexuality and the body. I think sexuality and spirituality are inherently linked. There is a lot of irony in the emphasis placed on the control of the body and desire, when spirituality is such an embodied experience. Nun Slut really highlights this irony in an absurd way.

First Trimester: Theatre, Intimacy, and the Search for a Sperm Donor at Melbourne Fringe

First Trimester is not your average theatre show. It is part performance, part experiment, part tender interrogation of what it means to build a family as a transgender person. London-based artist Krishna Istha takes the stage with an unusual mission: to seek out the “perfect” sperm donor. We chat to Istha ahead of their Australian premiere at the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Turning a deeply personal exploration with fertility and trans reproductive healthcare into a performance might sound daunting, but for Istha it came from both curiosity and need. "First and foremost, I’m a problem solver. Most of my shows begin as an attempt to untangle a real problem in my life. My partner and I are both trans and we wanted to find a sperm donor. However, when we looked at sperm banks, the information we got - like eye colour, height, academic achievements - felt meaningless," they tell me. "What we really wanted to know was if they were kind, and if we aligned on bigger things like ethics and morals. I made a passing comment to my partner that it would be great if we could just interview people face-to-face before picking a donor. And that throwaway comment spiralled into this!"

The Birds Descend on Melbourne Fringe with Sun, Sand and Imminent Doom

Sons of Stratford are back this Melbourne Fringe with Birds, a piece where sun, sand, and impending doom collide. Shayna and Beverley lounge in deck chairs, chain-smoking and chatting about the world’s most trivial and ridiculous obsessions, all while the sky literally falls around them. We caught up with performers Alex Hines and Sarah Stafford to discuss the thrill of revisiting sharing the stage, the chaos of their creative process, and why, after years of solo and collaborative work, nothing about Birds is predictable.

While the pair have collaborated on numerous productions over the years (including To Schapelle and Back, Putting On A Show and Girl Culture), this is the first time in a decade they are joining forces on stage. This unique arrangement was sparked by an idea from Stafford that perfectly suited Hines’ skills and presence. "Birds is something I've had in mind for a very long time," she says. "Having two women on the beach talking as the world ends. I pictured it being performed by myself and a drag queen so naturally, Alex got the part."

Piera Dennerstein is Bringing Plenty of Pleasure, Power, and Provocation to Melbourne Fringe

Pursuing Pleasure is a daring cabaret that mixes opera, pop, and cabaret sensibilities to explore what it means to accept joy, sensuality, and self-discovery. Piera Dennerstein, known for her dynamic performances, takes audiences on a journey that balances humour, vulnerability, and bold theatricality. Ahead of her Melbourne Fringe season, we sat down with the soprano to talk about how she transforms personal experiences into performance, the power of pleasure, and pushing boundaries on stage.

And no better way to begin than ask how a show that centres pleasure as a political and personal act has been a work in progress for years, even though Dennerstein didn't quite know it. "For the longest time, I thought I had nothing to say! I enjoyed writing and was a prolific poet, but whenever I was encouraged to write my own show, I felt I had no stories of value. In 2022, by chance, I saw Betty Grumble’s "Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t" at Brisbane Festival," she recalls. "It was unlike anything I had seen before: a composting of her experiences with domestic abuse, culminating in a communal rebirth fuelled by sisterhood and the power of female pleasure. I related so strongly that I spent the entire ovation typing into my Notes app. I had finally found something I needed to say!"

Comedy, Chaos and Crohn’s: Uma Dobia’s Intolerant (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Intolerant is the no-nuts-allowed cabaret where coffee, shellfish, and 400-page ingredient substitution guides come together in the name of fun. Performer Uma Dobia invites us into a meticulously chaotic world where attention to detail and a strict “never mention Brazil nuts” policy are the keys to survival. Ahead of her Melbourne Fringe season, we caught up with Dobia to talk allergies, absurdity, and how she turns life’s restrictions into full-blown comedy.

"I created Intolerant to help people understand what it’s like to live with allergies and Crohn’s disease, and, as a way to say “fuck you!” to these conditions that have ruled my life for so long," she tells me. "Initially I made a list of the funniest or most ridiculous anecdotes I have from allergy and Crohn’s mishaps. They couldn’t all make the final version, so ultimately I chose the ones that best served the purpose of the show. It was a tough decision! Some of my favourites got cut because they didn’t serve the story, but that’s okay. I’ll find a way to share them with the world!"

Are You There? review | Theatre Works

In Are You There?, Irene Korsten invites us into the office foyer at Autumn Dale Village, where three very different women navigate the chaos, humour, and subtle sorrow of everyday life. Over the course of a Friday, the energetic Pia, the feisty Colleen, and the sensitive but fading Lauren reveal the joys, frustrations, and the humanity of their routines, proving that the rhythm of life can still hold profound insight and emotional weight.

Josh McNeill's set is anchored in the main reception, practically designed with a desk, stationery, computers, and phones, but the characters make full use of the area under the guidance of Director Rachel Baring. Beyond the imagined walls, pockets of pebbles and flowers add visual texture, breaking the strict realism of the office and giving the stage a layered, theatrical quality. These understated details suggest that life and (most importantly) memories exist outside the confines of this environment, enhancing the audience’s sense of depth and imagination.

Son of Byblos review | Meat Market

Son of Byblos is an engaging family drama that explores the clash between cultural expectations and personal freedom within a Lebanese-Australian household. Adam (Amir Yacoub) is a 25-year-old gay man whose life is thrown a curveball when his closeted lesbian cousin announces she is marrying a man. This unexpected news forces Adam to confront who he is and what he wants from life. But in a tightly connected family where tradition runs deep, Adam’s journey of self-discovery is far from easy.

Anna Kaleeda Rasheed displays great energy as Claire, and her rapport with Yacoub is very impressive. Together, they convey a believable history, and the way they relate to one another shows an openness and trust they seldom share with to anyone else. Marjan Mesbahi is wonderful as Carol, Adam’s mother, notably in the release and joy she is exposed to from her tango lessons. Amir Rahimzadeh brings depth to John, the father, portraying him with a quiet authority that balances the family dynamics and adds weight to the emotional tension.

The Lark review | Arts Centre Melbourne

In The Lark, Noni Hazlehurst embodies Rose Grey, a woman saying goodbye to the pub that has been the backbone of her life for over fifty years. It’s not just a workplace but a living archive of family, patrons, and fleeting moments that have formed her story. As Rose prepares to close the doors for the last time, memories flood back - bittersweet, funny, and tender.


Hazlehurst is captivating on stage. Few performers can command your attention with sheer presence alone, yet it never feels like it's Hazlehurst we’re watching: it’s Rose. The gruffness, the hardness, the no-nonsense attitude shaped by decades behind a rowdy bar are compelling to watch. Beneath that tough exterior, flashes of vulnerability slip through as Rose lets her guard down. She strikes a delicate balance between these two states, her performance layered and deeply human. Even the way she carries her body shows the toll and texture of the years spent in the pub, and the way she looks out to the audience as she recounts her stories is steeped in memory.

Laugh Lines and Life Lessons with A Handful of Bugs' Jester's Privilege (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Handful of Bugs – Alex Donnelly and Lachie Gough – return to Melbourne Fringe with Jester’s Privilege, a dark comedy focusing on the divide between the public and private self through the eyes of a jester in a Queen’s medieval court. If there’s one thing this company is known for, it’s the collaborative and playful spirit with which they create and perform. So it’s no surprise that when we spoke to them, they responded to questions as a single voice. 

When I first heard they were making a work on someone approaching the sunset of their career, I worried they might be hinting at their own. Thankfully, the duo quickly put that worry to rest. "Even though we formed as a theatre company in 2023, everyone in the Bugs’ team has worked in the performing arts for many, many years," they tell me. "The show is somewhat inspired in particular by Lachie’s experience as someone who started comedy at 13, and discovered success during his teenage years. Now, he’s not at the end of his career, but the fear that he peaked too soon, or that his glory days have come and gone, has been an ongoing feeling since becoming an adult who is attempting to turn this craft into their full-time gig."

Step Inside the Kingdom of Mushrooms: An Immersive Sensory Adventure (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

A Kingdom of Mushrooms, Five Senses, Infinite Wonder and You. That's the name of the show, and in this immersive participatory experience at Melbourne Fringe Festival, audiences are invited to journey through five distinct installations, each transforming a single sense into a mushroom-fuelled world of discovery.

Jasmin Lefers, one third of Off The Spectrum, felt compelled to translate this small, seemingly simple organism into something so immersive after an introduction to a Dutch pioneer in the world of food and design. "It all started with late-night/early-morning educational sessions over Zoom," she explains. "Aaron, one of the trio involved in putting this together, introduced me to one of the pioneers in food design Marije Vogelzang. From there I put myself through a few courses such as Food & Design Dive. Being in the Netherlands the class times were anything from midnight to 4am. It was bloody incredible. Eye-opening, mind-blowing, and tiring."

Turning Retail Routine into Musical Comedy with Checked Out: The Musical (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Fresh from a musical about group assignments, Josh Connell and Steph Lee are turning their attention to the soul-sucking grind of retail work for this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival. Checked Out: The Musical draws on their own experiences in the service industry to explore the challenges, annoyances, and unexpected absurdities of customer-facing jobs, all set to an engaging, lively soundtrack, while also providing a cracking critique of the wider systems that define modern work culture.

"It has definitely been super fun to turn retail experience into this heightened version of reality," Lee tells me. "But also the work has an element of saying ‘stuff you’ to these corporations that you work for. It feels freeing to release pent-up frustrations through humour and song."

a2 Company on going from Fringe Outsiders to Festival Firestarters (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Not many Melburnians would have known a2 Company this time last year, but after taking home the Best in Theatre award at the 2024 Melbourne Fringe Festival for Running into the Sun, they’ve become a theatre company on everyone’s lips. Excitement is building as they prepare to return to the festival with their sophomore production, Motion Sickness.

It was an incredible season for the company, capped off by their win for Best Emerging Company. Toby Leman (composer and performer) and Ben Ashby (writer and performer) describe the experience as something like a fevered dream. "It still feels like a fairytale. I don't remember all the details from that night because it all happened so fast!" Leman says.

Serving up absurdity, friendship, and existential eggs in Conversations with a Fried Egg (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

In a kitchen where existential eggs meet sharp-tongued rats, Ivy Crago and Maxine Palmerson examine friendship, vulnerability, and the absurdities of everyday life. Presented by Big Dog Theatre, the creators of the upcoming Melbourne Fringe Festival show, Conversations with a Fried Egg, turn the mundane into the deeply meaningful as they bring to the stage a relationship between an optimistic egg and three rats looking for connection.

"Giving an egg an existential voice came straight from lived experience," Crago laughs. "I’m an incredibly existential thinker, and agnostic and optimistic. When creating this, we wanted the audience to have a good time, but also to ponder about the world, in a comedic way. I really loved being able to bring in comedy while making people think big!”

Palmerson nods. “I’ve struggled to let go of the whole chicken-or-egg issue. The only logical answer is that eggs - like snails and a great many other things - are more mystically powerful than we give them credit for. And I’ve never been religious, so this isn’t spiritual advice!”

Crisis Actor review | Arts House

The performance space for Crisis Actor would be pitch black if not for dozens of phones lighting up the room. A cardinal sin in theatre etiquette: a glowing smartphone in the dark. Except here, it’s the point. In this interactive work, audience members are not just permitted, but encouraged to participate and engage with their devices, using them to swipe, click and scroll deeper into the unfolding chaos.

The show begins with the audience gathered around a large, ominously illuminated flower sculpture. Events leading up to a disaster impacting the world are recounted by an anonymous narrator and displayed on four screens surrounding the sculpture. Periodically, the narrator pauses mid-sentence, and options appear on our phones for us to select. These selections then pop up on the screens. They don’t change the story about this Flower Attack, but they help build the illusion of a communal experience, where we feel involved even if we’re not steering the narrative.

Love Machine is turning oversharing into coded confessions (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Tom Richards is stepping into new territory with Love Machine: his first installation, first hardware build, and first time coding. The project, presented as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, pairs humans with a slightly clunky computer, inviting participants to share, reflect, and explore the nature of intimacy in a digital world. It’s equal parts experiment, theatre, and cheeky curiosity, with a touch of AI.

Richards has faced plenty of hurdles and even a few tears along the way in bringing this project to life. "There were loads of firsts with Love Machine!" he laughs. "Straight out of the gate, coding and hardware. I was relying heavily on AI and LLMs (Large Language Models) while learning Python in parallel."

"Now I know that AI is a bit of a dirty word in the arts industry, and rightfully so, I don’t trust it either, but it has been an interesting process nonetheless," he tells me. "For clarity’s sake, AI did not create this idea, it is not designed by AI, I designed it and I am using AI to achieve things out of my technical range. It's been the biggest obstacle and boon, because the amount of back and forth with AI has been incredibly time consuming, far more than it would have been with a programmer or creative technologist, someone I didn’t really have access to."

Listening Acts review | Melbourne Recital Centre

Chamber Made have long been shaking up Melbourne’s performing arts scene, constantly challenging and surprising audiences with what live art can entail, particularly in the realms of music, sound, and contemporary performance. Their latest project, Listening Acts, was a series of works - some live, some recorded - that reshape how we respond to aural experiences and technology, and how these elements connect to memory and identity. The three live performances in this program each carve out a distinct realm, yet together, they form a fluid, thought-provoking journey through acoustic textures that pushes the boundaries between audience and performance.

Aviva Endean's Tactile Piece for Human Ears is an exquisite meditation on sound and perception. Three binaural dummy heads, equipped with microphones, “hear” audio created via the custom ‘Hear Muffs’ that twist and transform the way we normally process sounds. These altered waves are then streamed directly to each audience member’s Bluetooth headphones. In the opening moments, Endean covers the dummy head’s ears, and the resulting noise feels like I'm rushing through the sky with the wind blowing in my face. It presents an invitation to enter with a clean slate and simply exist in the present as Endean interacts with the heads, generating a variety of sounds.

Ordinary Days review | fortyfive downstairs

Ordinary Days has long been regarded as one of those small-scale musicals that carries a surprisingly large emotional weight, and Clovelly Fox’s production affirms just how effective Adam Gwon’s work can be in the right hands. With direction by Tyran Parke and an ensemble that leans into the show’s quiet humanity rather than overstatement, this staging offers a measured, thoughtful take on a piece that balances humour with poignancy.
 
The musical follows four young New Yorkers whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways. Warren is an ambitious artist striving to make his mark while caring for his mentor's cat after he is arrested. Deb, a graduate student from the middle of nowhere, navigates the city in search of opportunities her upbringing denied her. Meanwhile, Jason and his girlfriend Claire face the challenges of moving in together with the difficulty of letting go of the past.

Stories that Must be Heard: Truth in the Cage and Limbo review | Melbourne Recital Centre

Presented by Nightingale Performing Arts Australia, Stories That Must Be Heard brings refugee stories to the forefront and gives a voice to those that are too often ignored. The musical double bill of works composed by Chloé Charody shifted seamlessly between emotional intensity and breathtaking physicality, producing performances that are compelling and sobering.

Truth in the Cage is a movingly intimate song cycle tracing Mohammad Ali Maleki’s seven years in detention on Manus Island. Charody uses his poems to create music that is raw, unflinching, and resilient. Through themes of loss, identity, and optimism, the songs provide a searing insight into life under confinement, conveying the anguish and the enduring human spirit of someone who survived years of unjust incarceration.

Dial M for Murder review | Theatre Works

Brought to stage in 1952 and immortalised two years later in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, Dial M for Murder has long been a favourite for lovers of tightly wound thrillers. This latest production by Smoke and Mirrors Productions keeps the bones of the original intact while slipping in a few contemporary surprises to give the story a new edge. The result is a sharp, stylish take on a familiar tale that knows how to keep an audience intrigued.

The first act plays out in a fairly straightforward fashion, leading to the inevitable attack and its immediate aftermath. Then the show changes lanes entirely. The second act throws us into the 1980s, with the set and props transformed: rotary dial phones become corded, a red gown gives way to shoulder pads, and additional small touches signal a leap forward in time. The third act brings us to 2025, including sneakers being worn, iPhones being used, and other modern details that pull the narrative firmly into the present.

In The Heights review | Comedy Theatre

Melbourne has turned the volume up to eleven with In The Heights, a vibrant burst of music, movement, and pure heart that spills from the stage. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s beloved musical ignites to life with warmth and energy, planting the audience into a neighbourhood alive with stories. From the first electrifying note to the final bow, this is a celebration of the delight that comes from being part of a community.



In The Heights follows Usnavi, a bodega owner in lively Washington Heights, as he wrestles with whether to stay and carry on his family’s legacy or chase his dreams elsewhere. The story weaves through the lives of the colourful residents, including Nina, a young woman returning from college, Benny, a dispatcher caught between two worlds, and Vanessa, Usnavi’s love interest dreaming of a better life. Against a backdrop of pulsating music and exhilarating choreography, the musical explores identity, family, ambition, and the bonds that hold this neighbourhood together.



The Collector review

Tucked down a labyrinth of Fitzroy alleyways, The Collector invites visitors into a world where memories live through an assortment of whimsical curiosities. Crafted for two participants at a time, this production by Barking Spider Creative blends playful interaction with a raven-masked host, surprising contraptions, and objects that blur the line between treasure and trinket.

We meet outside a café where our guide gathers us and leads us into a tangle of winding paths. Whether by design or happy accident, the guide’s chatter keeps me distracted enough that I lose track of where exactly we’re going. By the time we stop, we’re in front of a compact corrugated iron shed. Before we’re allowed in, we’re asked three abstract questions that make you pause and reflect, while a scribe dutifully jots down our answers. Then, with a ceremonial ring of a bell, the door opens and we step in.


Miss Julie review | fortyfive downstairs

Written in 1888, August Strindberg's Miss Julie is a tense exploration of class, power, and desire, centred on the fraught relationship between an aristocratic woman and her servant during a single, volatile night. Company 16’s adaptation relocates the story in a contemporary setting on the eve of Greek Easter, set inside a bustling restaurant where Miss Julie is the daughter of a wealthy restaurateur, John is an intense sous-chef, and Kristina is the determined head chef. This modernisation aims to highlight the rigid hierarchies and simmering tensions of the hospitality world through the lens of cultural tradition and family expectations. While the concept offers a fresh and immersive perspective, the production grapples with fully capturing the complexity and affective nuance to make for a compelling story.

Making her acting debut, Annalise Gelagotis captures the eponymous character's surface-level frustration and defiance, but is unable to thoroughly explore Julie’s internal conflict and shifting status. What’s missing is a deeper layer of subtle vulnerability and psychological tension that would allow us to connect with her downfall. As it stands, the performance feels too obvious and leans into melodrama.

Pride and Prejudice review | Darebin Arts Centre

Bloomshed takes a sledgehammer to Jane Austen with their vision of Pride and Prejudice. Reimagining the classic novel with the company's trademark satire, real estate panic and modern love fatigue, the Melbourne-based theatre company tackles the Bennet family’s marriage market negotiations with big ideas and plenty of laughs as they drag Austen’s romantic masterpiece into the cost-of-living crisis. 

The regular Bloomshed gang are still going strong, and their chemistry keeps building momentum. The ensemble clearly loves to play, and play off each other, with their joy radiating in every scene, with Laura Aldous, Elizabeth Brennan, Syd Brisbane, Anna Louey, and Lauren Swain bringing the Bennet sisters to life. Louey’s performance is measured and engaging, weaving well into the group dynamic. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Brennan is an incredible talent to have on stage, and watching her navigate Elizabeth’s wit and bite is a real treat.

Kimberly Akimbo: A Musical review | Melbourne Theatre Company

Kimberly Akimbo: A Musical might seem like your typical coming-of-age musical, but it quickly proves to be something stranger, darker, and slightly more surreal. The story follows a 16-year-old teenager who has a rare genetic condition that causes her to age four times faster than usual. As she negotiates her way through high school, first love, and a wildly dysfunctional family, Kimberly is also racing against time in her quest to experience life before it slips away.

Marina Prior takes on the role of Kimberly and does a fantastic job of conveying the character’s unique challenges. She captures the confusion and vulnerability of a teenage girl trapped in an older body with subtlety and heart, never tipping into over-the-top comedy. Her performance is authentic and sincere, which is no small feat given the material. Darcy Wain is an absolute scene-stealer as the awkwardly endearing Seth. He shares an effortless chemistry with Prior and his presence brings a welcome charge to the show, making Seth its quiet anchor amid the mayhem.