Oh Great, It's Jessie Ngaio! (Midsumma Festival)

From a young age, Jessie Ngaio has fantasised about killing herself. Originally performed in early 2023, Oh Yuck, It's Me is her dark yet exceptionally entertaining exploration of sexuality, trauma and climate anxiety and finding the will to survive when everything seems stacked against you.

Ngaio received much acclaim during her original season, leading to two 2023 Green Room Awards for Best Performer and Best Production. In 2024, Oh Yuck, It’s Me returns as part of the Midsumma Festival, where she one again hopes to engage her audience with the wider themes of the show while offering an outlet of mutual laughter, vulnerability and honesty.

small metal objects review | Back to Back Theatre | Federation Square

It's been 13 years since Back to Back Theatre performed their acclaimed show small metal objects in Melbourne, one that straddles the line between voyeurism, suspense and contemplation. Taking place in the public area at Federation Square, audience members take their seat on a row of bleachers and are provided with a pair of headphones where we are privy to the conversations happening between four people.

We begin by hearing two friends, Steve and Gary, talking about things that friends talk about, such as eating roasts and updates on relationships. We scan the crowd to locate where these people are, looking for anyone acting strangely, as if they are being watched. There are so many false alarms in spotting the actors. Eventually we see them crossing the road and walking onto Fed Square.

The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes review | Back to Back Theatre | Monash University

Originally staged in 2019, Back to Back Theatre's The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes returned for a two night season in which we witness a group of people with disabilities setting up for a public meeting in a town hall. While we are not quite sure what the meeting is about, it eventually shines a light on all of us with regards to the society we want to be part of.

With over 15 years of experience with Back to Back and having co-authored the work, Sarah Mainwaring and Scott Price are joined on stage by fellow performer Chris Hansen. The three share a natural and organic energy flowing between them. Their engagement with the audience constantly changes from humorous and light-hearted to authoritative and knowing, making it difficult to prepare ourselves for what's to come and generating an air of uncertainty for everyone present.

So Brave review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Malthouse Theatre

As Madeleine Stewart says, it's not easy being a one-handed person in a two-handed world. Performed as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, So Brave is a witty look at life through the lens of a disabled woman searching for love. No stone is left unturned as Stewart gets political, philosophical and sexual in a show that has plenty of laughs but is also a critical commentary on our society.

Stewart has a wonderful presence on stage and her storytelling immediately warms the audience. While she begins with one liners and zingers about her disability, including a resemblance she has to a certain American actor, she sets the scene well about being a woman trying to find love (and lust) in a society that is determined to keep reminding her she is different.