As children, many of us had career aspirations that were ultimately abandoned. What if we had gone to medical school and become a doctor, or practised the guitar and become a famous musician, or actually become a billionaire? In One Of These Things First, Hot Lunch make their dream vocations a reality by acting out every single one of them in a fast-paced, 60-minute show that packs as much of a reality-check punch to the gut as it does laughter.
Delta Brooks, Rebekah Carton and Tom Richards are the co-creative directors of Hot Lunch, and this group is an absolute joy to watch. They possess incredible complementary energies, an enthusiastic focus on making each other look good and an uncanny skill in delivering a clear artistic vision even when it seems like they've thrown everything into the bowl. A considerable amount of care has gone into the devising and literal creation of this show, and because of this, they can be fully committed to the wackiness while retaining a strong sense of authenticity.
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:
Writer Holly Childs and choreographer Angela Goh have spent the last five years examining the idea of a cliffhanger, both in its literal sense as well as its storytelling device that keeps people hooked in and wanting more. Cliffhanger is the culmination of that collaboration and while the commitment is there, the result is a mixed bag of impact and exploration.
We are provided with a copy of the script to the production, so we know ahead of time Goh's lines. In some ways, this plays with the concept of the cliffhanger, of knowing what's going to come but not knowing how it's going to be delivered or when exactly.
With much anticipation, Broad Encounters' new immersive experience is coming to Melbourne next month. After the record-breaking and award-winning production of A Midnight Visit and the recent, equally captivating Love Lust Lost, Broad Encounters are back with something different, something wilder, and something more rousing than ever before.
We spoke with the minds behind this upcoming theatrical adventure with co-creators and directors, Kirsten Siddle, Mike Finch and Scott Maidment.
When Night Comes appears to be Broad Encounters' most ambitious and exciting project to date. Promising a unique, multi-sensory and intoxicating performance with theatre and cocktails, When Night Comes invites people into a tempting, intimate soiree with visions, sounds, smells, tastes and feelings to be met via its cast of sublime characters.
When Night Comes was born from an earlier work by Broad Encounters over two years ago, A Journey Most Unusual. "This was also for small groups only where they journeyed within a fantastical world where the senses were indulged and ignited," Siddle tells me. "I’ve often contemplated Hedonist and Dionysian philosophies and wanted to explore this more deeply in something that argued for sensorial pleasure and delight, both physiological and those of a magical and intuitive nature. Like much of our former work, When Night Comes, aims to be an escape from the ordinary, and an evening of marvellous extraordinary."
He commences with a man crawling out of the ocean and onto a beach. He looks frayed and exhausted. He has returned to a small town in El Salvador, a place he swore he's never set foot in again. Written by Rodrigo Calderón, He is a heartbreaking love story of a man growing up in a community run by toxic masculinity and homophobia.
Calderón gives a captivating performance as a man grappling with the trauma he has experienced. While the story veers into some serious melodrama and improbable twists, Calderón is able to keep the work grounded and allow for genuine emotions to be released and expressed. Calderón also brings great physicality to the role and transfers the man's emotional turmoil into a striking physical representation.
Smash It! is the newest show by Circus Oz, a company that has been running since 1978 and considered a leader in the circus arts in Australia. In Smash It!, seven multi-generational performers undertake flips, jumps and tumbles to a live band in a stripped-back production with nowhere to hide.
Ranging in age from early twenties to mid-sixties, each performer (Angelique Ross, Celso March, Debra Batton, Leo Pentland, Mozes Heawood, Sharon Gruenert and Spenser Inwood) is given plenty of opportunities to be the star and to fall into the background and support their fellow artist. The highlight is a rope act that sees Heawood spun around at incredible speeds with a captivating lighting design by Gina Gascoigne.
It's difficult to give a review of the immersive and interactive production of Love Lust Lost without mentioning all the specifically amazing things about it because a lot of the fun comes from the surprise of discovering things for yourself, and not focusing on searching for certain rooms or experiences and enjoying what you have in front you. But review I must, so while I am being intentionally vague, I will say that this is definitely an event that you do not want to miss. It's been over four years since Broad Encounters brought A Midnight Visit to Melbourne so the debut of Love Lust Lost was met with anticipation and it did not disappoint.
In this instance, we board the submarine E.V. Nautilus, piloted by Captain Anderson, and follow the residents of this subterranean world and the loves, tragedies and mysteries they each carry with them. We are led into a decompression chamber and eventually faced with our first of many decisions, will we go left or will we go right? And so begins the adventure and the exploring.
Dr. Brown Beturns is Dr. Brown's return to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 11 years. Having seen his award winning show back then, there was much excitement and anticipation as I took my seat in the theatre to see what wackiness he has concocted after all this time. Performed entirely in silence - with the exception of a few grunts - Dr. Brown portrays an older man who despite living a simple life, has not lost his cheeky spark.
Audience participation is a staple in this show, and sitting in the back is not going to protect you. You can smell the fear emanating from audience members as Dr. Brown sniffs out who his volunteer will be. What was particular joyful about this night was the slight audience revolt, with those on stage (playfully) not taking any of his shit, making even Dr. Brown not know what was going to happen next and improvise where scenes went. It is always fascinating to watch the power dynamics between performer and audience volunteer unfold.
Garry Starr's Greece
Lightning has been doing the rounds for some time and it's a show that has
been on my radar, but I’ve never been able to make its seasons. Last night, I
finally did, and boy oh boy, do I regret having waited so long, because Greece
Lightning is a comedy masterpiece.
This
is Damien Warren-Smith’s third outing as the dim but absolutely delightful Garry
Starr, (Garry Starr Performs Everything and Garry Starr Conquers Troy),
and he is bigger and better than ever before as Garry attempts to perform all
of Greek mythology to save his homeland from economic ruin.