Theatre & Dance
Latest Melbourne theatre and dance reviews and previews
Melbourne Festival 2019 highlights
It’s the end of the festival as we know it. Starting next year, Melbourne Festival is moving from its regular October slot to late August and combining with White Night to become a new mammoth winter festival. So director Jonathan Holloway is ensuring this current iteration of Melbourne Festival goes out with a bang, with an epic program of music, theatre, visual arts, dance and cabaret. We know as well as anybody that it can be a daunting task to sort through a program of this scope, so we’ve picked a selection of our faves. These are the shows we reckon you’ll fall in love with, whether you’re challenged, provoked or just awestruck by their beauty. Plus, there’s a dining experience with a mentalist that we know is just going to blow your mind. What’s not to love? Melbourne Festival runs Oct 2-20. For the full program, see www.festival.melbourne – and start planning your night out with our handy guide to Melbourne International Arts Festival Feasts.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
While we may have been sworn to secrecy about the plot, we can reveal that the hype is entirely deserved.
How to get cheap theatre tickets in Melbourne
Venerable American theatre critic Jonathan Kalb once remarked that the only way to really enjoy theatre was in large doses. The playwright Terrence McNally recommends three nights a week at a minimum. Excellent advice! But what about your precious doubloons? That much theatre doesn't come cheap – not unless you strategise. Group bookings Most venues offer discounts group bookings, many for groups as low as eight. That's, like, what? Four couples? Two families? One book club? Easy. This is especially useful for those big musicals at the top end of town. Ticketek have their own group bookings department where you can expect to save between $5 and $20 per ticket depending on the promoter. The advantage of a group discount is you won't get stuck in seat ZZ 99 for the sake of saving a few bucks. Just the opposite: you might end up with a few perks thrown in. Subscription Duh. Of course, taking out a season or part-season subscription will save you money. But don't forget that subscriptions aren't just for the big "arts precinct" companies. You can also purchase season tickets for ambitious independents. At a place like Red Stitch you can save almost 30% per ticket by signing up for a full season. You might also consider purchasing subscriptions to smaller companies that don't have a permanent venue. Concession Again, duh. You don't need us to tell you that most venues offer some kind of concession rate for "eligible card holders". But wait – there's more! Many companies al
Theatre, dance, musicals and opera on now in Melbourne
A guide to Melbourne's theatre scene
Where to sit in Melbourne's theatres
Melbourne is blessed with a wealth of theatres, from the grand old dames to the kooky hidden gems; no city in Australia can lay claim to as many in as good a condition as ours. But inside those venues, not all seats are created equal. Sure, there are some shows so spectacular and unmissable you’d happily sit anywhere, but most experiences in the theatre can be augmented by the best seats in the house. And occasionally ruined by the worst. So, without further ado, we give them to you. RECOMMENDED: How to score cheap theatre tickets in Melbourne.
Latest theatre reviews
Australian Realness review
Class warfare comes to Malthouse's stage in this new comedy from Zoey Dawson
Let Men Tremble review
This provocative new play is inspired by The Scarlet Letter
Golden Shield review
This MTC production is the mainstage debut of a fast rising playwriting star
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory review
Roald Dahl's wickedly funny classic gets the Broadway treatment in this new musical
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Time Out Food Awards
Forks at the ready, Melbourne: the Time Out Food Awards are returning. At the George on Collins on Monday September 2, Time Out readers will join the stars of the local restaurant industry to celebrate the city’s best restaurants, cafés and chefs. Expect delicious canapés, Bisleri Sparkling and Still Water, refreshing ales from Gage Roads, and wine and spirits. MasterChef season ten fan favourite Khanh Ong will be your host, announcing winners in categories such as Best Cheap Eat, Chef of the Year and the coveted Restaurant of the Year award. There will also be a new People’s Choice Award celebrating signature eats worth searching for, in partnership with Google. Make sure you read our guide to unique eats in Melbourne, try them all, and get voting for your fave. Tickets ($55 + BF) go on sale from August 1 and will sell quickly, so mark your diary, save the date, spread the word and snap your eating adventures using the handle #foundongoogle. These awards are made possible thanks to our sponsors Google, Gage Roads Brewing and Bisleri. // var exampleCallback = function() { console.log('Order complete!'); }; window.EBWidgets.createWidget({ // Required widgetType: 'checkout', eventId: '64954843686', iframeContainerId: 'eventbrite-widget-container-64954843686', // Optional iframeContainerHeight: 425, // Widget height in pixels. Defaults to a minimum of 425px if not provided
Vote for unique eats in Time Out’s Food Awards
By Time Out in partnership with Google For the Time Out Food Awards 2019, we are partnering with Google to discover unique dishes in our neighbourhoods. We searched far and wide to find some awesome local heroes doing great things worth searching for. The People’s Choice: Signature Searches award invites Time Out readers to discover and try these amazing eats, with the chance to win tickets to the big Time Out Food Awards event in September and more. Here’s what involved. Step one: Read all about Google Signature Searches here. Step two: Try them! Step three: Vote for your favourite and have your say, tagging #foundongoogle Vote now Further event details can be found here. In association with
Land Rover Secret Rooftop Drive Experience
How about some executive stress relief in the middle of Melbourne city? We’re talking an exhilarating rooftop obstacle course, and a brand new Range Rover Evoque to test your driving skills on. It’s the ultimate city buzz for motoring fans, and it’s free. The Secret Rooftop Drive Experience is on top of the Golden Square Carpark for four days only, from Thursday August 29 through to Sunday September 1. Upon arrival behind the yellow door, grab a coffee from the barista, lounge in the social hangout, admire the skyline views and prepare yourself for one hell of a ride. The 15-minute driving experience will take you around a circuit featuring ramps, obstacles, props, projections and artist-painted murals. You’ll be test driving the new Range Rover Evoque – the compact SUV that has a coupé-like silhouette but all the features of an SUV. It’s a hi-tech four-wheel drive with a clean, pared-back design, on- and off-road handling and intuitive technologies. Those technologies include sensors for emergency automatic braking, lane keep assist if you drift out of your lane, front and rear parking assist with audio and graphics, and rear camera for reversing. Boasting retracting door handles and nine-speed automatic transmission, the vehicle has interactive driver display with two high-definition ten-inch touch screens showing driving information, entertainment and active safety data, plus navigation with live traffic updates. There’s phone, music, radio, podcasts and vehicle-optim
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Australian Realness
Zoey Dawson has been one of the most popular playwrights working in Melbourne’s independent theatre scene for the last few years, but this new play marks her mainstage debut. It's a comedy about class in which the cast shine twice; playing two different characters – one bourgeois, one bogan. The cast features Linda Cropper (aka Geraldine from Offspring) alongside André de Vanny, Emily Goddard, Chanella Macri and Greg Stone. Malthouse's artistic director Matthew Lutton says the play starts out as a very recognisable satire but then questions the tropes of Australian class comedy. “It’s sort of looking at the way that class is weaponised, used politically, and asking if it’s an economic definition, a cultural definition; or if any of the definitions are true anymore – or if they’re all porous and constantly changing.” See what else is in Malthouse's 2019 season.