Critics' choice theatre shows in Melbourne

Bernie Dieter and her band of legendary misfits have returned to Melbourne once again, to deliver a serving of debaucherous fun and frivolity. Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett, starring the legendary queen of Weimar punk described as an "electrifying cross between Lady Gaga, Marlene Dietrich and Frank-N-Futer in sequins", has taken over North Melbourne's historic Meat Market until May 24. Audiences can expect riotous original songs, immense vocal talent and a jaw-dropping line-up of contortionists, sword swallowers, fire breathers and aerialists. For more info and to secure your tickets, head to the website. Read on for our five-star review of Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett from the 2022 Melbourne Fringe Festival. *** It’s easy to see why Dieter’s award-winning show has garnered such esteem since touching down in Australia earlier this year. Less than two minutes in and our M.C., Bernie has thrown off her tartan dress to reveal glittery tights and feather-tipped shoulder pads. Soon after, she’s straddling an audience member and enlisting the help of two others – lovingly named ‘Shaven Haven’ and ‘Silver Fox’ – to carry her back to the stage in the splits. The fourth wall is not so much brought down, as elegantly side-stepped by her sky-high stiletto heel. All the while, Bernie’s quick-wit and dirty mouth find comedic beats in the unlikeliest – or, as it were, the most unwilling – of audience members. "Tonight is about letting loose, letting go, and getting a little bit more...

Perhaps the most telling image in Megan Wilding’s magnificent Game. Set. Match., marking her mainstage debut as writer, is right there waiting as we sit down in the Malthouse’s Beckett Theatre. Crustless halves of a white bread sandwich are smeared over the eyes of an imperious figure, the late Betty Hughes. Blinded on her lofty pedestal, a monochrome photographic portrait perched on an easel, this white woman is no longer able to see. But would she have bothered to care about what we’re about to observe anyway? This tellingly tasty vandalism sits to one side of the austere, cream-and-teal-painted private room, conjured by set designer Isla Shaw, in which the tennis great is venerated, her white dress, rackets and a youthful portrait framed on the wall.  Wilding, who also stars as Ray, is tasked with tidying the clutter left behind in Betty’s literal wake, a celebration of her achievements on court and, latterly, as a power figure in the Australian Open organisation.  Clutching a bin bag, Ray’s startled by Joshua, a pale-blue-suited figure in a daze. Portrayed by Rick Davies, best known for TV shows including Offspring and Apple Cider Vinegar, he immediately insists he’s no threat to her. Odd first words called out by Ray.  Joshua missed the funeral, something of a big deal, we soon find out, and is more messed up, emotionally, than the room. Sounds like an intriguing set-up. But what’s it all about?  Well, I think that symbolism speaks for itself. Or rather, for the smart...

After winning the Critics’ Choice Best Play at the 2025 Time Out Melbourne Arts & Culture Awards, Heartbreak Hotel is returning to Melbourne for a strictly limited time from 14-19 July at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Fairfax Studio. Created by New Zealand theatre company EBKM and directed by Eleanor Bishop, the acclaimed production follows one woman’s journey through heartbreak with humour, honesty – and an awesome soundtrack of break-up hits. Performed by Karin McCracken and Simon Leary, the 75-minute show blends memoir, science and music to explore what really happens to our bodies and minds when relationships fall apart. From synth-backed anthems to sharp observations on love, loss and modern dating, Heartbreak Hotel moves between comedy, realism and surreal moments – including a whirlwind through Berlin’s club scene. Following sold-out performances at Rising festival and international tours through Edinburgh, London, Toronto and New York, this heartfelt and hilarious production returns to Melbourne for one final week. Find out more and book tickets for Heartbreak Hotel here. Read our five-star review of Heartbreak Hotel from June 2025. *** Congratulations to Heartbreak Hotel, which took out the Critics' Choice Best Play at the 2025 Time Out Melbourne Arts & Culture Awards, presented in partnership with the Australian Cultural Fund.   There’s the sound of gentle sobbing in the audience when Karin McCracken gets her tax return during Heartbreak Hotel. Sitting there, also...

If you thought history class was boring, Six the Musical is here to change your mind. Created by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, this high-energy musical returns to Australia and will be at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from July 24. In this foot-tapping show, the six wives of King Henry VIII are reimagined as modern-day pop stars out to reclaim their stories. One by one, Catherine of Aragon (Sarah Murr), Anne Boleyn (Mia Paris Scalise), Jane Seymour (Cara Bessey), Anna of Cleves (Kadesa Honeyhill), Katherine Howard (Angela Brischetto) and Catherine Parr (Lorinda May Merrypor) take the mic, wowing you with their power ballads and rock anthems. Since its breakout debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017, the show has become a global sensation thanks to its infectious songs, sharp wit and empowering message. It’s making a triumphant return to Australia, so get ready to say “Yasss Queen”. For more info and to secure your tickets, head to the website.  Read on for our five-star review of Six the Musical from 2024. *** Divorced, beheaded… live? This unconventional pop rock musical takes a dry historical topic and turns it into a rowdy 80-minute concert to rival the Spice Girls themselves. Everyone knows that King Henry VIII had not four, not five, but six wives – enough to require a mnemonic technique to keep track. History has reduced the legacies of these ladies to little more than singular words in a rhyme detailing their fearsome fates, but what if we carved out space to...

It’s a play considered to be one of the greatest of all time, and after undergoing a show-stopping run in 2023 and 2024, it (and its award-winning star Anthony LaPaglia) are returning to Melbourne once more. Running from August 11 until August 22, 2026, Arthur Miller’s inimitable Death of a Salesman will be staged at Her Majesty’s Theatre for a limited Melbourne run that you don't want to miss.  First performed in 1949, the Pulitzer Prize-winning production explores the promises and pitfalls of the American Dream. The two-act tragedy is told through a montage of memories, confrontations, arguments and dreams of protagonist Willy Loman who tries to navigate what it means to be successful in post-war America. The show runs for about three hours, and generally starts at 7pm on weekdays, with one 2pm performance on Saturdays.  For more info and to secure your tickets, head to the website.   Read on for our five-star review of Death of a Salesman from 2023. *** The curtains of Her Majesty’s Theatre open on Neil Armfield’s magnificent production of Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman to reveal a towering grandstand; rusted and weather-stained, ‘Ebbets Field’ printed across the top of its commentary box. All but one of the 14-strong cast are sitting on the bleachers, waiting. "Willy?", Linda Loman asks as her husband limps on stage holding two suitcases. It’s one of the most recognizable images of 20th-century theatre, and it’s keenly watched by the entire ensemble. Miller’s...