Opera for the Dead | 祭歌 review | Arts House

Eight hours before stepping into Opera for the Dead | 祭歌, I had been at a funeral. It was a death that arrives without warning, even after a life well-lived. By the time I entered the space at Art House, the weight of the day had settled in. Rather than wondering how I might react, I found myself acutely aware of the strange symmetry, moving from a real farewell into an immersive exploration on life and death.

Created by Mindy Meng Wang and Monica Lim, the work fuses music, visuals and technology into a contemporary Chinese cyber-opera that is both ancient and strikingly modern. Before the show begins, the audience is gathered into a “waiting room”. Chanting hums through the space, cyclical and meditative, while an electronic sign suspended above us flashes the word REMEMBER, its glow washing over us like a quiet instruction. The atmosphere is deliberate, balanced between worlds.

Hear My Eyes - Terminator 2: Judgment Day review | Arts Centre Melbourne

It’s been roughly 20 years since I last watched Terminator 2. And it's been a decade since I last stepped into a Hear My Eyes presentation, back when they paired Xavier Dolan’s Heartbeats with an amazing live score by Melbourne’s GL. Both unforgettable. Both somehow left sitting in the “I need to revisit that” pile. Well, consider that rectified. Hear My Eyes have resurrected Terminator 2 and strapped it to a live, pulse-rattling score by Belgian electronic heavyweight Peter Van Hoesen. What this evening offers isn't just a rewatch, it’s a complete sensory overhaul. It's a blockbuster icon colliding with brooding, atmospheric techno. Propelled by electronic sound and framed by a laser show, it gives the film a new intensity and presence.

Terminator 2 is a classic, but this isn’t about revisiting it, it’s about the experience Hear My Eyes have built around it, starting with the music. Van Hoesen brings over four decades of expertise to the performance. Generally a solo artist, for this event he is joined by the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) Synthesiser Ensemble, gathered around a purpose-built liquid metal style table, where they, alongside lighting artist Robin Fox, perform and shape the sound and light in real time.

Harley Dasey is facing demons and songs in Evil Dead the Musical | Melbourne International Comedy Festival |Chapel Off Chapel

Blood, chainsaws, and demonic mayhem have never sounded so infectious. Evil Dead: The Musical turns the cult horror franchise into a high-energy, over-the-top stage spectacle. In this whirlwind of gore, comedy, and camp, we spoke with Harley Dasey as he prepares to step into the legendary shoes of Ash, bringing the chainsaw-wielding hero to life for a new generation of terrified - and thoroughly entertained - audiences.

While initially not fan of the Evil Dead franchise, it didn't take long for Dasey to succumb to the allure of all that is ancient and evil. "I didn’t even know what The Evil Dead was besides the title, but I am absolutely hooked now," he tells me. "I don’t have a particular moment where I had an epiphany that this was the show for me, but I do remember reading the script, listening to the music, watching clips from the movies and other productions on YouTube and thinking 'this is ridiculous… I love it'. The musical is certainly wild, and that is my favourite kind of show. Having now watched the films and immersed myself deeper in the world of the Evil Dead, I couldn't be more excited."

Ryan Smith is letting pandas show us what it means to be human | Club Voltaire

In a world where pandas talk, romance comes with deadlines, and absurdity meets empathy, Ryan Smith’s The Pandas of the Adelaide Zoo takes audiences on a delightfully unique journey. Blending facts with embellishments, the play explores the quirks of animal behaviour while holding up a mirror to human relationships and pressures through the lives of two pandas. In this interview, Smith chats to us on why talking pandas, romance on demand, and a little nonsense can reveal much about human behaviour.

This is an “almost true” story, and while it sticks to the essence of real-life events, some creative liberties were taken, including, but not limited to, giving the pandas the ability to talk. "Well I guess the biggest liberty was that pandas don't talk. Our pandas do, they talk a lot," Smith tells me. "This was one of those plays that began with a one-line gag and then the more I pulled at the thread the more intriguing it became. I was constantly researching the breeding habits of pandas (my search history is bizarre and a little concerning) and the more I learnt the more I said 'well that has to be in the show'."

Robot Song review | Theatre Works

Robot Song is an emotionally driven theatrical work that weaves live music, inventive design, and impressive robotics to explore childhood isolation, creativity, and the search for identity. Eleven-year-old Juniper May receives a letter signed by her entire class declaring her “the most hated person in the school.” It becomes a catalyst for her unravelling as she struggles to understand why this has happened and how she is meant to cope. Based on a true story and created by writer and director Jolyon James, the production presents a lived-in world that draws the audience into the experiences of a young person navigating a challenging moment in their life.

At the heart of the production is a striking performance from Adeline Hunter, who convincingly captures the temperament and attitude of eleven-year-old Juniper without slipping into bratty exaggeration or sugary sweetness. Her portrayal feels grounded and truthful, allowing the emotional stakes to land with quiet force, including an expressive vocal performance that transforms each moment into something personal and affecting. Phillip McInnes shares a tender and believable bond as Juniper's father, where their scenes together are filled with warmth and affection that anchor the story’s emotional core.

Piper's Playhouse review | Crown Melbourne

Going up the escalators to the entrance of Piper’s Playhouse is the beginning of an exhilarating and entertaining night in a Parisian cabaret club. It feels like stepping into a velvet-lined time capsule where glamour, mischief, and a hint of rebellion swirl together in the dim light, kicking-off with small morsels to awaken the senses and stir anticipation ahead of the evening’s grand reveal.

Revellers roam the makeshift halls, pausing for fleeting peep shows in hidden booths, whimsical bubble acts, and the promise of momentary absolution through confession. Champagne is already flowing via surprising means and a roving magician enchants with feats of close-up illusion.

Homophonic! review | Midsumma Festival | Theatre Works

It's been 16 years since Homophonic! had its first performance. 16 years of championing and supporting LGBTIQ+ classical art music. So it feels almost criminal to have only just attended my first ever Homophonic! concert. Staged as part of the Midsumma Festival, with a string quintet and percussion, and voices of The Consort of Melbourne, Homophonic! is a vivid and deeply felt celebration of queer experiences, tracing stories of resistance, memory and community while looking toward what lies ahead.

Artistic Director and musician Miranda Hill also takes the role of MC, providing rich context for each of the pieces we are about to hear. Hill exudes a warmth and openness to her introductions, allowing the audience to grasp not only the compositions themselves but the meaning and purpose behind them. This elevates the six performances beyond music, turning them into an experience that resonates emotionally and intellectually, and leaving a real sense of connection with the stories being told.

Final Queen review | Midsumma Festival | Gasworks Arts Park

Final Queen is a drag circus horror comedy one-woman spectacle, which already sounds like a fever dream, but in the hands of creator/performer Harrison Sweeney and co-creator Rachel Kerry, the chaos is controlled, playful, and often very funny. The story follows drag sensation Grace Lightning as she receives the life-changing call that Kylie - yes, THE Kylie - wants her to audition for her world tour. This requires an urgent road trip from Sydney to Darwin, because of course that is where global superstardom begins.

But a road trip isn't a road trip unless you take your besties with you, so naturally Grace’s (expendable) sidekicks, Jax and Kelly, both brought to life by Sweeney through swift wig changes and defined character work. Jax reads as the seasoned drag queen who has seen everything twice, while Kelly is flirtatious, phone-obsessed, and delightfully chaotic. The driving montage neatly sketches each personality with minimal staging, proving how much Sweeney can do with very little, something he accomplishes repeatedly with this production.

Black, Fat and Fa**y review | Midsumma Festival | Chapel Off Chapel

Milo Hartill is black, fat and faggy. Although these not the exact words she would use. But that’s the privilege of existing across three oppressed minority groups. In the cabaret Black, Fat and Fa**y, Hartill takes us through various elements of these communities and what her experiences have been. With a voice like hers though, there are entertaining musical numbers to go with her observations, anecdotes and jokes.

Hartill is dressed in silver boots, white skirt, and a white cropped t-shirt with "Alpha Male" printed along the front in sparkling letters. She wears a denim jacket with "Big Ol' Dyke" on the back. And that’s the constant contest and juxtapositions and blurred lines that she lives on. She performs with a confidence that is loud, proud and unapologetic, commanding the room before she has sung a note.

Afterglow review | Midsumma Festival | Chapel Off Chapel

I remember being in New York in 2018 and taking my seat to see S. Asher Gelman's Afterglow. I remember being intrigued by a story I'd not seen on stage before. And as the play progressed, I remembered being fascinated by the movement, choreography and the honesty that it explored. Fast forward to 2026 where Afterglow gets its Australian premiere at Midsumma Festival, and that intrigue and fascination remains.

Afterglow follows Josh and Alex, a married gay couple whose open relationship is built on love, routine, and the quiet negotiations that come with time. When a one-night stand with a younger man opens the door to new desires and unspoken insecurities, the couple find themselves confronting questions they thought were settled, and what began as an experiment in openness and trust, slowly forces them all to navigate jealousy, vulnerability, and the fear of being replaced.

S A I N T S and the Moral Panic of Witch Trials with Emily Tomlins | La Mama Theatre

Set in an imagined 1653 England on the brink of upheaval, S A I N T S traces friendship, belief, and survival in a world gripped by witch trials, unrest, and political extremism. The story follows Anna Trapnel and her friends as they flee persecution after being accused of witchcraft by the regime they once helped install, navigating a landscape of spies, moral panic, and competing versions of truth. We spoke with co-director and performer Emily Tomlins, about history’s recurring patterns, the push and pull of belief and power, and what it means to perform this at La Mama’s historic Courthouse stage, in a production by Elbow Room’s Marcel Dorney and Tomlins, with Dorney as co-director and writer.

Robert the Octopus review | Midsumma Festival | Brunswick Mechanics Institute

In Robert the Octopus, Sadie has a crush on a co-worker but thanks to the modern world, their interactions are solely online and via Zoom meetings. In an attempt to gain her co-worker’s attention, Sadie buys a pet octopus named Robert. Eventually, it's enough to lure Georgia over to visit and from there, things begin to get ridiculously complicated as Sadie seeks advice from Robert on what to do next.

Queer emerging writer Alex Duncan has previously shown promise for highlighting the absurdities within the mundane with his work Rakali, but this outing could benefit from further development. What in theory could have been a fascinating narrative, in practice is a script that is light on substance and plot progression. The exchanges between characters are rudimentary and missing a spark, and while there are hints at humour, it rarely builds tension or generates laughs. At one point, it looks like the play is going to go somewhere regarding power and control and who has it, but that concept wraps up shortly after it is introduced.