Dance Palace review | Finucane & Smith | Luna Park

I remember going to my first ever Finucane & Smith show back in 2010. I had never heard of Finucane & Smith before, but the title Carnival of Mysteries was too tempting to ignore. I vividly recall watching the various acts unfold, wide-eyed as I discovered this new world. But it was Moira Finucane’s performance as the Ice Queen, inside a tent, that has stayed with me most. There was something captivating about the strength and power in her voice, and I was transfixed by it. Since then, I have eagerly attended many of the performances and events created and curated by Finucane & Smith, including their current show Dance Palace, marking 30 years of their work.

Staged inside Luna Park, Dance Palace invites us into a place of exhilaration and excess, where cabaret, circus, burlesque and live music collide. It is a fitting setting for the occasion, with the faded glamour and eccentricity of the historical theme park providing the perfect backdrop for an evening that revels in the strange, the spectacular and the unexpected.

Celebrating 30 Years of Finucane & Smith at Luna Park

Hip hip hooray! Finucane & Smith are turning 30, and naturally, they’re celebrating in the only way they know how: with a gloriously unrestrained carnival of cabaret, burlesque, music, dance, comedy, glamour, chaos and more than a little bit of diva.

Over the past 30 years, Finucane & Smith have created 36 full-length shows, performed across 19 countries, toured 160 Australian towns, entertained more than a million audience members and collected 21 awards along the way. Not bad for a company that has done it all without a penny of ongoing funding.

To mark three decades of making wildly inventive, genre-defying art, the company is returning to Melbourne's iconic Luna Park for Dance Palace, a month-long party running every weekend from mid-August. Dance Palace will bring together a dazzling cast of performers for an event that promises, in true Finucane & Smith fashion, to be anything but predictable. Expect pub rock queens, Bollywood love gods, torch singers, burlesque artists, First Nations performers, gothic legends, live painting, flying pants and plenty of surprises along the way.

Ahead of the glorious mayhem to come, we spoke to a dozen of the 30 performers taking part in Dance Palace about the show, the company, and what makes Finucane & Smith such a singular force in Australian performance.

Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett review | Meat Market

It's been just over a year since Bernie Deiter captivated Melbourne audiences with Club Kabarett, and while several acts are the same, it is still bursting with energy, dazzling with skill and reaffirming exactly why it struck a chord the first time around. Through circus, cabaret and live music, it becomes a rousing invitation to let go of restraint and jump into joy, resistance and collective release.



The contortionism from Soliana Erse is once again, jaw dropping to watch. It's one thing to (literally) bend over backwards and turn your head around but the speed and the smoothness at which she does this is mesmerising. Similarly, Jacqueline Furey’s fire act is, quite simply, hot, hot, hot. Flames lick her body and then some, and you can feel the heat and know this isn’t smoke and mirrors, it’s edge-of-your-seat realness.



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.

Poems of a Transsexual Nature review | Melbourne Fringe Festival | 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.

CAKE - Late Bite review | Melbourne Fringe Festival | 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.

DECADENCE: 10 Years of YUMMY review | Melbourne Fringe Festival | 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.



Hive City Legacy - Naarm Chapter review | Arts Centre Melbourne

Explaining what Hot Brown Honey does isn’t easy. For over a decade, they have presented feminist productions that span dance, comedy, circus, spoken word, and music, all while confronting racism, colonialism, and gender inequality with clarity and power. Their Hive City Legacy project has BIPOC femmes in the arts join forces to create original work that reflects the unique talents of each city’s cast.

Following earlier seasons in London and Dublin, the third instalment - Hive City Legacy: Naarm Chapter - arrives in Melbourne. Here, seven local BIPOC femme artists share their stories and voices in a performance grounded in genuine collaboration and mutual support.

Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett review | Meat Market

Bernie Dieter has taken over North Melbourne's Meat Market with her spectacularly electric Club Kabarett. It's an evening to forget our burdens and worries, shed inhibitions, and indulge in the joy and defiance being presented on stage. Before the show begins, the artists mingle through the crowd, giving a taste of the cheeky and saucy humour that awaits us. And once it kicks off, it is a non-stop ride of thrills and exhilarating chaos.

As our MC, Dieter seduces us into a night of revelry and debauchery. Her flirtatious, loud personality connects with everyone in the audience, and you can be sure that if she calls upon you, there is no willpower on Earth strong enough where you will be able to decline her invitation. But she takes care of us; she is genuinely happy to have us in the room and to perform for us. Her cover of Martha Wainwright's "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" has us all holding our breath, captivated by her powerful vocals and potent message she conveys regarding the state of women's rights today.

Top 10 Shows of 2024

Another year gone, another year of extraordinary theatre created and performed in Melbourne. I only managed to get to 111 shows (the shame!), due to being out of the country for four months, but as I have been doing for over a decade, I must compile a top ten list.

I say this every year but it's something that deserves repeating every year: sometimes the show that you remember for a long time after, is not the big splashy extravagant piece with recognisable names and a huge budget, but the one that was on for four nights with ten people in the audience. Support your independent theatre makers and venues - some can cost you as little as $20 and can be the most original, inspiring and thought-provoking performances you might see.

There's already plenty to get excited about in 2025, so I urge you to take a risk, seek something new, unknown and different in the new year.

And here are my top ten shows of 2024:

Global Smash Club review | Finucane & Smith | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Trades Hall

My first foray into the world of Finucane & Smith was way back in 2010 with Carnival of Mysteries. I remember the sense of awe and excitement as I wondered from room to room, seeing what magic I would come across. In the 14 years following, Finucane & Smith have consistently put on incredible productions that focus on love, joy, connection and community. Their most recent one, presented alongside the Melbourne Fringe Festival, is Global Smash Club, which is also celebrating twenty years of Finucane & Smith. Twenty years of this dynamic duo giving their all, not only to their audience, but to the countless artists they have provided opportunities to allow their "voices" to be heard.

In Global Smash Club, an array of Finucane & Smith living legends come together through musical numbers, burlesque, dance and live art. It's a combination of old and new but with the structure and style of Global Smash Club, even previously seen acts retain their intensity, innovation and exhilaration.

Burlesque and performance artist Imogen Kelly dazzles in a routine that might involve the most impractical dress ever, but as a prop it is simply divine to watch how it’s used and guides their choreography. Maude Davey’s cover of The Angels' "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" is always going to hold a special place in my performing arts heart and seeing her do it again is a pure delight. The rest of the Finucane & Smith family, including Yumi Umiumare, Mama Alto, Zitao Deng, Xiao Xiao, Iva Rosebud, Piera Dennerstein and Kate Foster, captivate us in their respective acts and roles, and the sheer stage presence they possess as they move around the room and interact with each other and audience members is remarkable.

Seen & Heard review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

It's been almost ten years since Rebecca Church debuted Seen & Heard - a variety show which gives voices to performers who do not have the opportunity to often speak due to their chosen careers. Think circus and burlesque performers, drag queens and sex workers. In this format, these people share personal stories that surprise, entertain and inform us as to who the person behind the persona is. After a six-year gap, the show returns to Melbourne Fringe for a new season, new storytellers and new stories under the direction of Church.

Wes Snelling is our host for the evening and he does a wonderful job of making sure this mixed bag of misfits stay on track. Of course, Snelling's alter ego Tina del Twist is a different story, causing a ruckus in the audience with her fishbowl of wine. Snelling's recount of his Rock Eisteddfod dreams is quite affecting and a reminder that no one puts Wes in the corner and there is no such thing as a small role.



Lazy Susan, recently announced as a cast member in the upcoming season of Drag Race Down Under, is a sheer delight as she discusses the reality of getting old and whether Botox is the way to go. This has Lazy Susan recalling how much she has pushed herself to achieve drag success and how her mother's cancer diagnosis impacted one of the biggest successes of her career. These performers are always so fierce and in control on stage and you can be caught off guard seeing them be genuinely vulnerable and emotional.

House of the Heart review | Finucane & Smith | The Chinese Museum

It’s inside the Dragon Gallery of the Chinese Museum where the heads of three processional Chinese Dragons that have been used during city parades over the last century reside. Symbolic of strength and generosity, and as we celebrate the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese New Year, it is fitting that Finucane & Smith should also have their cabaret House of the Heart staged here.



The evening is full of heartwarming and heart-wrenching storytelling and musical performances from artistes including First Nations jazz blues legend Lois Olney. Accompanied by guitarist Dave Johnson, Olney delivers loving tributes to her deceased family members and recounts anecdotes with Finucane about their lifelong friendship beginning when they were just twelve. Home comes in many ways and can easily change, but as Finucane tells us at the beginning of the show, it's heart and love that keeps us connected.

A heart to heart with Moira Finucane and Sophie Koh

Finucane & Smith are back and painting the town red with a return season of House of the Heart, a cabaret exploring the themes of song, opera, storytelling and dance. With a line up of 13 extraordinary artists from varied cultural backgrounds, ages and life experiences, it's fair to say that co-director, performer and recently declared a Melbourne Fringe Living Legend, Moira Finucane is more than a little excited to be presenting this show in Melbourne again.

One of the many impressive elements of a Finucane & Smith show is the spread of talent they bring to the stage. While there's certainly challenges in getting so many performers together, when you've had a long and varied career as Finucane, having performed around the world and in countries such as Chile, China and Colombia, it certainly becomes easier. "We find our performers through travelling, putting on shows, directing, talking, touring, listening to lesser heard voices, taking risks ... so many risks!" she tells me. "People have told me throughout my art making career (even when I worked for free in nightclubs!) "Oh Moira, that will never work!" but I listen and I am curious, I look and I marvel, I am always marveling at people's diversity, and capacity to make beautiful art."

YUMMY: Joy Machine review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Nine is my favourite number. It's also now the number of full-length productions that the brains (and beauties) behind YUMMY have presented, so it was pretty much a given that I would love this instalment by the team, Joy Machine.
As usual, the founder of YUMMY, Valerie Hex is here to oversee the proceedings and get the crowd pumping for some euphoric drag, burlesque, circus and performance art.

Founding members are still part of the ensemble but YUMMY has also become a playground for emerging and up-and-coming artists to show the audience what they've got. The talent that Val has assembled is the performance artist equivalent of The Avengers.

Each week of Joy Machine has a rotating cast and this one did not disappoint. Under the watchful eye of Val, Hannie Helsden, Jandruze, Karlee Misi and Jarred Dewey deliver awe-inspiring acts with unbridled self-expression and freedom. Each of them displays tremendous panache with their stage personas that further heightens the excitement for the audience and the breadth of variety on offer. Helsden is the super cheerful one that never loses her smile, Jandruze is the ice queen who will easily cut you down to size, Misi is the energetic ball of fun and Dewey is the sensual yet sexual vintage strongman.

GODZ review (Melbourne Fringe)

Who knew the ancient Gods of Olympus excelled in acrobatics and circus performance? But the brains and bodies from Head First Acrobats have done their research and with their Melbourne Fringe Festival show GODZ, they present, with one hundred per cent certainty, what actually went down during their reign.

The loose narrative follows the four misbehaving Gods - Cupid, Dionysus, Hercules and Apollo  (Liam Dummer, Jordan Twartz, Callan Harris and Thomas Gorham) - who are getting a bit too rowdy for Zeus' liking, particularly demigod Hercules. While this might not be what the Gods were expecting, for the audience it turns into an evening of untamed and shameful pleasure that even Dionysus would’ve been proud of, especially when a pair of saintly sisters come to visit.

Future. Joy. Club. review | Finucane & Smith | Sofitel Melbourne on Collins

It's been a hellish last few years for us all, and while we might not be getting off this bumpy ride any time soon, Finucane & Smith are here to ensure that we can still have a good time with their new production Future. Joy. Club. From cabaret to burlesque to dancing to singing and to everything in between, they bring together some beautiful people performing breathtaking acts in a extravaganza full of fun, laughs and love.

Mama Alto begins the show by belting out Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”. It is one of the many highlights of the night and illustrative of the premise for Future. Joy. Club, where we will survive, and we will thrive. Joining Mama is an army of onesie wearing dancers spreading the glee into the audience at the Sofitel ballroom.

ICONIC review

After an enforced break from the stage and a live audience, the glamorous superstars of YUMMY return for a new drag and burlesque show, ICONIC. It’s an evening with lots of colour, sparkle, and skin on display as we are presented with a range of fun and sexy acts that celebrate queerness in all its forms.

The show begins with a bang with the performers lip syncing to Madison Rose’s aptly titled song “Iconic!” They all know how to command the audience’s attention in their unique way and allow their individual personalities to shine through while ensuring that they are still working as an ensemble. Special shout out to drag artist Hollywould Star who despite being a last-minute addition to the cast, more than held their own and I wish the stars had aligned better so that we could see them have a solo.

The Destroyer review | Finucane & Smith | Collingwood Yards

You can feel the anticipation and excitement in the foyer the second that director Moira Finucane comes out to greet us and let us into the venue at Arts Projects Australia Gallery. Presented by the powerhouse duo of Finucane and Smith, The Destroyer has been reworked and reimagined by writer Jackie Smith various times throughout the numerous lockdowns Melbourne experienced over the last two years. And the wait is definitely worth it.

The Destroyer consists of three monologues from three mythic sisters that explore contrasting thoughts around the end of the world. From fury to hope, vice to virtue and isolation to extinction. Maude Davey opens up the show with "The Destroyer" and she sets the bar for three strong and powerful performances. Davey has a knack of simultaneously being in the moment with her character while connecting with the audience as if she is speaking directly to each individual in the room.

Top 10 Shows of 2021

2021 was certainly a difficult year for the performing arts scene in Melbourne. However if you did manage to get to a show between lockdowns, you would have been witness to a great variety of talent and ideas. While I personally find it extremely difficult to engage with a show virtually, there were also some incredible digital works being made. With this in mind, I managed to see 54 pieces of work this year by independent artists and theatre companies in Melbourne. Below are my top ten shows of those 54 works. If I reviewed it, then a link to the original review is provided.

And as I always like to remind people, sometimes the shows that will stick with you months and years after you've seen them, that will leave an imprint on your heart, body and soul, will not always be the big budget, flashy ones but the ones that are only on for four nights with ten people in the audience. In this current arts climate, remember to support your independent theatre makers and venues - some shows can cost you as little as $20 and can be one of the most original, inspiring and though provoking performances you might see.

Take a risk, see something new, unknown and different in 2022.

Here we go: