Cooking up a storm with Charlie Lawrence and Perpetual Stew | Midsumma Festival

Good dinner scenes in film, TV and theatre are filled with plenty of awkwardness and drama, with a group of people confined to one place and forced to get along for the next few hours. For Midsumma Festival, writers Milly Walker, Charlie Lawrence and Victoria Barlow will be bringing their own variations of the dinner scene to life through a number of bite-sized courses full of absurdity, drama and comedy with Perpetual Stew, where every guest brings their own baggage to add to the pot.

It was an idea that had been with the three for quite some time and just needed the right moment until it boiled over into something more concrete. "At the early ideation stages we were playing with different story formats and structures and decided that we wanted to write a show that could fit all three of our distinct voices," Lawrence tells me. "During this process we all became drawn to exploring the dinner scene as it allowed us to explore a range of stories and gave us space to add our voices in a harmonious way. Not only did the dinner scene hold appeal structurally, but it also enticed us with its place in society and art. To us, food has always been a tool in which we share, whether it be deep truths, love, or commiserations."

Choir of a Man review

Choir of a Man has nine men gathering at their local pub for singing, dancing and good times, all as they down a pint or two. Created by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay, the show has been performed around the world since it premiered at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017.

The nine performers display great camaraderie and the direction and choreography by Freddie Huddleston ensures that the confines of the pub are used creatively and refreshingly with each song, while also making evident the familiarity these men have with each other.

Circus 1903 review

As you take your seat and look at the stage of Circus 1903, it really feels like you have been transported back 120 years ago to a big top circus. World-class talent undertake breathtaking acrobatics and routines that show what can be achieved if you put your mind to it. An appearance by an African elephant and her baby calf further heightens the excitement felt over a century ago when circuses would travel into small towns offering locals opportunities to witness extraordinary artists and exotic animals, and for a limited season, it is Melbourne's turn to experience this.

Every act is a highlight and while favourites among the audience varies, there's no denying the absolute skill possessed by the Icarian Games performers Mohammed Ibrahim and Hamza Seid, in a stunning routine of foot juggling a human body. At one point, 23 consecutive rotations are completed one after the other and watching the strength and flexibility in both these performers is simply jaw dropping. Mekdes Kebede's contortionist act is utterly engrossing as she manipulates her body into positions that should not be feasible, and receives plenty of gasps from the crowd.

Kitan Petkovski on bringing the most important American play of this century to Australia | Midsumma Festival interview

Said to be "the most important American play of this century", Matthew López's The Inheritance is making its way to Melbourne for Midsumma Festival. Directed by Kitan Petkovski, this seven hour play (told in two parts) brings together three generations of gay men living in New York City decades after the height of the AIDS epidemic while exploring what it means to honour the past and those who came before us.

Petkovski has been aware of the play and its prominence but it wasn't until he was approached by Cameron Lukey, Artistic Director at fortyfivedownstairs, that this production started to gain traction. "Earlier last year, Cameron asked if I had heard about The Inheritance and if I'd be interested in reading the script. I had known about the play, mostly that it has won the Olivier and Tony awards 2019-2020, and that it was a work inspired by E. M. Forster's Howards End but that was about it," Petkovski tells me. "I read both parts over a weekend and remember feeling a sense of catharsis that I don't usually experience after reading most plays. I guess it's because it's a story connected to my queer community, and it reminded me of the history that has been lost and was never passed down from previous generations, and how upsetting that still is. It is up to our generation of LGBTQI+ communities to ensure that our history and stories in the making are not erased."

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.