Mother Play review | Melbourne Theatre Company

Mother Play by Paula Vogel is a sprawling drama that follows a mother and her two children across four decades. In Melbourne Theatre Company’s season, directed by Lee Lewis, the story is brought to life with compelling performances and smart design choices. With three actors carrying the full weight of the narrative, the production moves confidently through time while exploring the strains, bonds, and psychological complexities of a family shaped by their era.
 
The Herman family’s evolving relationships are anchored by Sigrid Thornton’s powerful portrayal of matriarch Phyllis. Thornton is magnetic and has a presence that doesn't even need dialogue to make an impression. In a delicately constructed wordless montage of time passing, Lewis presents Phyllis alone in her home, where Thornton skilfully communicates the gradual softening of her character’s defences, from the way she carries herself, how she eats and drinks, and even how she observes her surroundings. Every one of her actions are charged with significance.
 
Yael Stone and Ash Flanders play Phyllis’ children, Martha and Carl. Ordinarily, it would be a stretch to accept actors in their 40s playing teenagers, but both Stone and Flanders bring a convincing, wide-eyed energy to their early scenes. They display their characters’ development with restrained voice, stance, and depth. The connection between Martha and Carl is heartfelt with an evident closeness and appreciation that underlines their relationship as it evolves.

Golden Blood review | Melbourne Theatre Company | Arts Centre Melbourne

In Golden Blood, a 14-year-old girl is left under the care of her 21-year-old brother, whom she hasn't seen for seven years, after the death of her mother. Through him, she is introduced to the world of gangs, drugs and violence, and it isn't long until this begins to enter the sanctuary of her home and changes the way she remembers her life before she became an orphan.

Merlynn Tong's performance as Girl is quite impressive given that we first see the character at 14 and watch as she grows into a 21-year-old woman. Her physicality, facial expressions and language is authentic and she perfectly captures the innocence of a child and the gradual erosion of that as she faces the harsh realities of life. Charles Wu as Boy delivers an equally remarkable turn as he presents himself with youthful bravado while allowing flashes of vulnerability to emerge as the trauma of his childhood becomes impossible to hide. The two make an exceptional pair and the brother-sister bond (or lack off) is easily established and deepened during the show.

Things I Know To Be True review

Living in the suburbs of Adelaide, the Price family appear to be leading a pretty charmed life. Home owners, good careers, marriage and children and going on holidays. But beneath all this deemed success lies frustrations and fears that gradually reach the surface and threaten the foundation of everything this family holds tight in Andrew Bovell's Things I Know To Be True.

Written in 2016, Bovell's script remains a powerful punch to the gut in its exploration of how love can heal and hurt us, and the generational changes of what the Australian dream is. Bovell takes the time to establish the relationships between the parents and their four children, which each child given hefty scenes of confession, either through monologues or conversations with their parents. Kitan Petkovski allows these varying degrees of strained relationships to develop through his astute direction and guiding authentic and sincere performances that tackle some challenging topics.

Every Lovely Terrible Thing review | Theatre Works

We all love a bit of family drama and conflict don't we? Well the Coleman household certainly do. In Adam Fawcett's Every Lovely Terrible Thing, we are introduced to six members of the one family across three generations. Over the course of several months, tensions escalate and secrets are revealed that will shatter the fragile domestic unit that they are all living under.

The ensemble confidently find their footing with their characters and deliver some very natural performances. Wil King is fascinating as Cooper, the youngest of the Colemans. Struggling with their own identity while also having to constantly deal with their father's constant beratement, a chance encounter with local tradie Lachie, sets them on a path that they may not be ready to face. Lyall Brooks and Sharon Davis are a formidable pairing that are required to do most of the heavy lifting as bickering twins Charles and Britta where each harbours their own pain, shame and regrets. Its testament to the skills the cast have that they can make us care for these people despite the fact they are not easily likeable figures.

La Nonna's Saucy Sauce Day review (Midsumma Festival)

In 2019, Samuel Dariol presented a tender homage to his nonna with La Nonna, where he shared her life and choices that led her to moving to Australia and raising her family. In 2024, we once again meet nonna (and nonna) but this time it's all about sauce making day with La Nonna's Saucy Sauce Day. I may not be Italian but I am very aware of how significant sauce making day is for Italian families.

Dariol and Anna Cerreto are exceptional as the nonnas. It's testament to Dariol's strong performance from 2019 that the 2024 nonna feels so familiar and welcoming. The mannerisms of the nonnas are scarily accurate and they display effective commitment to these matriarchs. The inclusion of some contemporary dance breaks are highly entertaining and seeing how they attempt to make this day a success is a joy to watch unfold, despite their setbacks.

How Do I Let You Die? review

In February 2020, while dealing with bushfires and the looming pandemic, Michele Lee called her parents every day for 30 minutes. How Do I Let You Die? is a culmination of those conversations resulting in a gentle interrogation of life and death through the perspective of her Hmong parents and Lee's relationship with them.

As we take our seat, actor Alice Qin sits at a desk covered with post-it notes and politely acknowledges us. She introduces herself as writer Michele Lee, and begins to share with us the conversations with her parents, what brought her to that point and where these conversations led her.

Away review

First performed almost 40 years ago, Michael Gow’s Away is an Australian masterpiece about three families holidaying along the coast for Christmas in 1968. It’s been staged countless times across the country (and world) but under the direction of Steven Mitchell Wright, this production at Theatre Works will sit firmly in my mind for breathing new life and perspective to the narrative and the bold, adventurous nature of its storytelling.

The direction, costumes and performances make this exceptionally unique and anyone who has seen any production of this show will be surprised by how scenes unfold and how they are presented. The brilliant ensemble has been offered the freedom to take these characters and make them their own, which is extremely exciting to watch.

This Is Personal review | Arts Centre Melbourne

To many, the name Mary Coustas is an instant reminder of the Australian icon that is Effie Stephanidis, the character Coustas portrayed on the television comedy Acropolis Now that ran between 1989 and 1992. With her new solo show This Is Personal, Coustas lets free the woman under the big wig and make-up, and opens up about the fears she has on not being alive to be there for her daughter when she will need her most.

In 70 engrossing minutes, Coustas takes us through her Greek upbringing and relationship with her parents, and up to the present day of dealing with her IVF difficulties and eventually becoming a mother. She seamlessly moves between time periods with small revelations and surprises along the way that draws us deeper into the performance. Her commanding presence and controlled storytelling - including well timed callbacks such as her mother's obsession with American soapies, and endearing impersonations of family members - allow Coustas to display her knack for comedy and her dramatic flair.

Social Dance review

In Social Dance, audience members have been invited to Suzie Spittle's dinner party in which she intends to present the first instalment of her 10 part lifestyle series "Etiquette in the Modern Age with the Spittles." Alongside her husband, two children and French exchange teacher, Suzie is here to help bring decorum and class back into our lives, but all is not all that it appears with cracks beginning to form in the Spittle’s facade of living the dream life.

Writer and director Laura McKenzie has designed the production so we are all seated around a large table setting with the Spittles. It's a great immersive approach to the show and while all the action happens around the dinner table, McKenzie allows her characters to move in the space and be active as much as possible.

Ratbag review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Fitzroy Comedy Club

Ben Stevenson's mother used to call him a ratbag. When she suddenly died, Stevenson had to find some sense of meaning to her death. In Ratbag, the comedian looks at the slightly unconventional upbringing that he had and memories of the years he had with his mother.

Stevenson does wonderful work in painting a picture of growing up in Coffs Harbour, where gender reveal skid parties were a usual occurrence. He also shares details of his mother's peculiar habits, including her common boycotting of brands, companies and even countries, such as her supermarket protest of all things made in France, and her penchant for growing a very specific green plant.

Baba review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

Between February 2020 to August 2022, Joshua Ladgrove was the full-time carer for his 97 year-old Ukrainian grandmother. While death can be a difficult topic to genuinely discuss, particularly in a comedy, Ladgrove has constructed a very clever show in Baba, that pays respect to his baba and the life that she led with a mix of gentle laughs and some fearless comedic choices.

Baba was the best person Ladgrove knew and through his words he easily conveys the warm and loving relationship these two had. Whether he is speaking to us or chatting with his baba, you can see the strong affection in his blue eyes and how even though time heals all, she is still immensely missed.

Patrick Livesey's "Naomi" and destigmatising conversations on mental health and suicide

Patrick Livesey's mother took her own life in 2015. While mourning her, a number of questions began to gnaw away at Livesey's mind, including how did this happen and who was to blame? To answer these, Livesey spent over 30 hours interviewing people who knew their mother and it was these conversations that guided their new play, Naomi, which will have its Melbourne premiere at the Melbourne Fringe Festival next month.

Sharing such a story with strangers and with Naomi's friends and family was never going to be easy but it was something Livesey felt compelled to do. "Very early on after mum died, there was this feeling that this was something I wanted to share with people. It became clear to me how much storytelling is a means of healing or finding hope in total darkness. When my mum died, the stories I told myself about her and about what happened were what I clung to for survival. They were by far the most important tools for me in figuring out how to deal with the grief so as a storyteller myself *flips hair* it seemed obvious that at some point I would share those stories.” Livesey laughs.

K-Box review

When Lucy (Susanna Qian) turns up unexpectedly at her adopted parent's house after quitting her job and ending her relationship, her parents are immediately concerned. Depressed and confused with what she wants in life, she finds comfort in an old cardboard box that used to be full of her childhood memories. Written by Ra Chapman, K-Box is a humourous and heartfelt look at what family means to an adopted child and how we should still be held accountable for our actions even when we act with the best of intentions.

There are some really tender and touching moments in the show and some that are surprising, challenging and confronting. Chapman fleshes out many thoughts and issues around adoption of children from overseas and the impact this can have on adoptees for the rest of their lives. The relationship between Lucy and each of her parents is presented authentically while still providing plenty of laughter. The change in dynamics between these three over the course of the play is gradual but sudden and is fascinating to watch unfold.

Dorr-e Dari: A Poetic Crash Course in the Language of Love review

Dorr-e Dari: A Poetic Crash Course in the Language of Love brings three artists sharing stories of Persian poetry and the multiple forms of love that exist around us. Presented in English and Persian, it's a moving evening with singing, dancing, storytelling and language in which to remember and reminisce through.

There is great rapport between the three performers, Mahdi Mohammadi, Hasiba Ebrahimi and Jawad Yaqoubi, and through this they are able to collectively project this friendliness and kindness to the audience. They recall anecdotes and stories of their childhood and adulthood with warmth and humour, including the consequences of three schoolboys who write a love letter to their classmate.

Hearth review | La Mama Theatre

The 7th of February 2009 will always be known as The Black Saturday bushfires, where a series of fires burned across Victoria, resulting in over 2000 homes destroyed and 173 people dying. But in Fleur Murphy's new play Hearth, this also happens to be the 18th birthday of Tom Robinson. Before the fires hit though, there is plenty of drama to keep him and his parents busy, particularly with the arrival of his brother Matthew and his partner Abbey. 

Murphy has crafted an intriguing story even with the familiar family arguments and secrets being unearthed. In this instance, flashback scenes and monologues to the audience are delivered so that we are cleverly drip-fed pieces of information surrounding the Robinson family. Murphy presents fleshed out characters who are not simply there to serve the story but rather to tell the story. Through the dialogue and interactions Murphy has them have with each other, these characters feel authentic and so it's almost effortless for the audience to become invested in their lives.

Grass review

We're all guilty of thinking the grass is always greener but we don't often get to find out for certain if this is true. In Yvonne Martin's new play, Grass, over a bottle of wine, two friends who haven't spent time together in over a year, finally put this to the test as they open up about children, family, careers and the freedom to do whatever you want, whenever you want.

This catch-up is interspersed with flashbacks showing the gradual deterioration of their friendship and while this gives performers Stephanie Daniel and Sarah Oldmeadow more to do with their characters, they don't add anything to the narrative as Lil and Aimee already express this in the present. We know why they drifted apart and how they blame the other for the rift in their friendship so seeing it act out provides no extra insights. Martin also allows an opportunity for the women to break out of the scene and share their inner thoughts with the audience. Her direction here is a little awkward as we wait for the other woman to leave the stage and would have been more effective if she had remained in the background as the monologue occurred.

The Window Outside review

"It makes life so much easier when everybody knows its time", says one character in Belinda Lopez's The Window Outside. Presented as part of the Victorian Seniors Festival, the play explores the relationship between a family when tragedy strikes and tough decisions need to be made. Everyone is reaching boiling point after Frank has had a stroke, Evelyn is showing signs of dementia and their two adult daughters are unable to continue caring for their parents.

Carrie Moczynski reprises her role as Evelyn after playing her seven years ago in a season at La Mama. Her portrayal is once again laced with a loving vulnerability and determination and even though she doesn't explicitly state it, there are traces of acknowledgement that her mind is slowly deteriorating. Ian Rooney's performance relies on his body language and facial expressions to tell his story. He does a great job of highlighting the spark of life he once had and how it has now left him. As his oldest daughter Sharon states in one scene, he is but a shell of what he was, which the flashbacks also do well in supporting.

La Nonna - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

There is nothing more important to an Italian than family and food. In his cabaret show La Nonna, Samuel Dariol presents a homage to his grandmother that is full of love, warmth and admiration. Dariol recreates moments of her life that have led her to be where she is now and that have also led him to where he is now. Incorporating song, storytelling and plenty of food, he explores how his queerness connects with his nonna’s migrant experience and how this has formed part of his identity.

Dariol's selection of songs perfectly encapsulate the emotions his nonna is feeling at those moments, such as the abusive relationship she found herself in and how she coped with her new found independence after her husband moved back to Italy. Dariol uses these songs in a way that changes their original meanings, making them sound fresh and exciting. His cover of “Feeling Good” (previously covered by Michael Bublé) is sung from the violent perspective of his grandfather, which is then followed by Tina Arena’s “Chains”, putting the focus on the fallout of the end of this relationship.

Wearing a big black wig and a blood-red dress, Dariol takes on the role of his nonna and he does so with extreme attention to detail in how she moves, walks and talks. This is further made evident when he briefly becomes his grandfather with the intimidating and aggressive physicality he adopts. He has gone to painstaking efforts to replicate the ambience of a traditional Italian kitchen with his nonna spending her time preparing salami, soup and offering us - her guests - a constant stream of food. Mangia mangia she exclaims.

There is an immense respect that Dariol has for his nonna and the stories he chooses to tell keep us interested in this woman colourful life. However, the show falls short on examining exactly how these events tie in with Dariol’s queerness. As entertaining as they are, you can’t help but question how his nonna’s Tombola nights with friends and shopping at Preston Market relate to Dariol’s attempts in defining his queerness. Even though he touches on this towards the end, seeing how this links to her life throughout the work would allow it to develop into something more affecting and profound.

Side A - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

Amanda Santuccione grew up in the era of the cassette. More importantly, she grew up during the obsessions of making a kick-ass mix tape, which included checking your cassette was inserted right side up and patiently waiting for the second the radio presenter stopped talking over the start of the song before pressing record. It's a rite of passage that many of us have gone through, with the music we listen to helping us understand the world we live in and guiding us through life. In her Melbourne Fringe Festival show, Side A, Santuccione uses this idea to take us through some defining moments of her life, from the age of four to 33.

She begins by playing a recording of her younger self hosting a radio show before deep diving into the finer details of cassette maintenance. There's immediate rapport established between the audience and herself, with Santuccione's low-key performance projecting an openness and authenticity. It is because of this that the various anecdotes from her life, including her first kiss at age four, the pressures of teen sex and her crisis of faith, strike such a chord with us.

You Are The Blood review

A serial killer is caught and spends the rest of his life in jail. While the victims' families might feel like justice has been served, what happens to the family of the serial killer? In Ashley Rose Wellman's You Are The Blood, the spotlight turns to the wife and children of David Boden, a man convicted of murdering seven people.

Shelby (Jessica Stanley) works as an office manager at a comedy club whose life is quite a mess, both literally and figuratively. Her mother Linda and brother Ben (Vivienne Powell and James Cerché) seem to be doing somewhat better but things reach a tipping point when it is reported that their murderous family member (Andrew Blackman) has recently become engaged to performance artist Sylvia (Jem Nicholas). Unfortunately, the story does not go much deeper than that and after almost 2.5 hours, you are left scratching your head and wondering how this production ended up much like Shelby's life.