Critics' choice theatre shows in Melbourne

When the multiple Tony Award-winning Moulin Rouge! The Musical, adapted from the 2001 jukebox extravaganza film by Australian director Baz Luhrmann, first can-can-canned its way into Melbourne, we had barely staggered out of lockdown.  Walking into the already-majestic Regent Theatre ablaze with the red light district glow of thousands of hand-painted bulbs, a dozen glittering chandeliers and spanned by great arched hearts felt like actual Absinthe fairy magic, drunkenly transporting us half the world away and back in time to the infamous Parisian club’s heyday.  Returning to the Regent Theatre for this encore run, directed by Jennifer Sarah Dean locally from a book by John Logan, I wondered if the wow factor would still inspire awe. It sure does. Derek McLane’s dazzling scenic design, realised here by Isabel Hudson and illuminated by Gavin Swift following Justin Townsend’s creation, literally spills off stage and through the fourth wall, past a towering blue elephant and the club’s world-famous windmill commanding royal boxes on either side. Before the lights even go down, limbering dancers weave through the audience. Returning stars Alinta Chidzey and Des Flanagan impress all the more now they’ve lived so long in the roles of rags to riches courtesan Satine, the fake diamond of this financially struggling club, and her penniless, naïve would-be suitor Christian. As depicted by Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in the movie, while the former handled the movie’s big musical num

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 Pulitzer Prize-winning script seemed like a death knell for the American Dream when it premiered in 1949, but 70 years later it’s still ringing on, louder than ever. That it has only become more relevant over time adds to its tragedy. An Australian audience, for instance, will find it sadly unsurprising to hear that our titular salesman, Willy Loman, is unable to retire at 63 when a cost-of-living crisis is currently forcing many of our ageing population below the poverty line. Armfield’s iteration represents the third national revival in less than two years, but every production has unearthed new depths to the contemporary classic. With sterling performances and an inspired set, Armfield’s triumphant show breaks new ground by bringing attention to the collateral damage that follows in our salesman’s wake. There are many things that make Miller’s Willy Loman a tragic figure: his inability to see a life beyond his work, his ego-led self-delusions, his growing seni

When Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake first premiered in 1877 at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre, it was met with unanimous criticism and chastised as “too noisy”, “too ‘Wagnerian’" and “too symphonic” for audiences. Well, fast forward centuries – and countless iterations – later, Swan Lake has pirouetted itself from a noisy duckling into possibly the greatest ballet ever. And now, to celebrate its 60th anniversary, the Australian Ballet is delivering a brand new interpretation of Swan Lake. Directed by David Hallberg, the production will revisit the traditional ballet through a contemporary lens, paying homage to its past while celebrating its future.  Running from September 19-30 at Arts Centre Melbourne, Swan Lake tells the story of Prince Siegfried who falls in love with Princess Odette. But Odette and her companions transform into swans under the spell cast by evil sorcerer Baron von Rothbart and spend their days gliding on a lake only to return to human form at night. The only thing that can break the curse is true love and Rothbart will do anything in his power to stop it.  Unfolding to Tchaikovsky’s immortal score, Swan Lake is a story of doomed love and no doubt this new interpretation from the Australian Ballet will spring new life into the timeless fairytale. Swan Lake will run at the Arts Centre Melbourne from September 19-30, 2023. To view performance times and purchase tickets, visit the Australian Ballet website here. Love the ol' razzle-dazzle? Check out the best theatre, s

Australia’s own internationally recognised, poly-talented provocateur and piano man, Tim Minchin, is playing a handful of intimate, informal solo dates around the country this summer.  Minchin will perform songs drawn from his “serious” 2020 studio album, Apart Together, from his musicals, Matilda and Groundhog Day, from his TV and film writing, and from his early songwriting days around the turn of the century. The set list will be fluid, the chat unplanned, and the vibe informal. We’re told that he plans to wear shoes. This will be Minchin’s first national tour since 2019’s Back, but he did play a show for the Sydney Opera House’s 50th birthday celebrations in November last year. At the time, he spoke to Time Out Sydney’s arts and culture editor Alannah Le Cross, and he had this to say about performing live: “What excites me is dragging the audience sideways further than they expect to be dragged, you know, trusting them to come with me, always… I'll play a ten-minute song about cheese. And then I'll play a polka version of 'Bad Guy' by Billie Eilish… I make people cry at the end, like I always try to do, because I'm a manipulative fucking gaslighter. And then I'll play some old shit.”  Performances of An Unfunny Evening with Tim Minchin and his Piano will kick off in Melbourne in October before visiting Brisbane, Sydney and Hobart in November and Canberra in December. From late January 2024, the show will visit Geelong, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Newcastle before playing the

The following review is from the Sydney run of La Cage aux Folles, written in April 2023.  A fabulously liberated gay couple who run a successful queer nightclub are forced to play it straight to pull one over on the buttoned-up parents of their son’s fiancée – whose father, an ultra-conservative politician, is dead-set on obliterating their very way of life. A hilarious farce (and a beautifully humanising representation of queer family dynamics) ensues.  It’s a plot that broke barriers for gay representation when La Cage aux Folles (tip: the ‘s’ is silent) opened on Broadway in 1983, becoming the first hit Broadway musical centered on a homosexual relationship. This musical still carries an outsized political weight in 2023 – especially on the Sydney stage after the dust (and glitter) of Sydney WorldPride has had more than a month to settle. Capsis is perfectly cast, lending his inimitable cabaret chops and out-of-this-world, gender-defying charisma Based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, this musical went on to inspire the 1978 French film of the same name, and the 1996 American movie The Birdcage (starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane). The show boasts infectious melodies by Jerry Herman (Hello Dolly, Mame) and a hysterical book by Harvey Fierstein (Kinky Boots, Torch Song Trilogy). If the timeliness and Broadway calibre of this show isn’t motivation enough to get your bottom making a bee-line for the velvet chairs of the stately State Theatre, the

Dickens' A Christmas Carol is returning to the Melbourne stage. Set for a pre-Christmas season from November 12 to December 31, the smash hit staging of the timeless holiday story will be playing at the Comedy Theatre.  A Christmas Carol was the most-awarded play of 2021, sweeping the Tonys with five award wins. Two Tony Award winners themselves created the magical rendition: director Matthew Warchus (Matilda the Musical) and playwright Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). The production delivers striking staging, moving storytelling, and 12 traditional Christmas carols, including ‘Joy to the World’ and ‘Silent Night’. The cast so far announced for 2023 includes Game of Thrones' Owen Teale as Scrooge, Aisha Aidara as Little Fan, Grant Piro as Fezziwig, Deirdre Khoo as Jess and Kaya Byrne as Nicholas. The performers will join the previously announced cast members of Debra Lawrence (Ghost of Christmas Past), Bernard Curry (Bob Cratchit), Sarah Morrison (Belle), Samantha Morley (Ghost of Christmas Present), Anthony Harkin (Marley), Andrew Coshan (Fred) and Stephanie Lambourn (Mrs Cratchit). A Christmas Carol will run between November 12 and December 31. Tickets are from $49.50, and you can get them on the website here.   Read our five-star review of the 2022 production here: It’s been nearly two centuries since Charles Dickens wrote his famous ghost story, A Christmas Carol, and in that time the play has become synonymous with the holiday season. We’ve been treated t

Overflow is a hilarious exploration of women's bathrooms that follows Rosie, a young trans woman who distracts herself with memories of bathroom encounters – drunken heart-to-hearts by dirty sinks and friendships forged in front of crowded mirrors.  "Club toilets have taught me more about sisterhood than any book," said critically acclaimed playwright Travis Alabanza. One of the UK's most prominent trans voices, Alabanza's Overflow debuted last year at Darlinghurst Theatre with an all-trans and gender-diverse team – the first of its kind for Australian mainstage theatre. Overflow will take to Art Centre Melbourne's Fairfax Theatre stage between January 31 and Feburary 4, 2024 as part of Midsumma Festival. Read our glowing five-star review of 'Overflow' from when it debuted in Sydney in September 2022. Whether you remember her for drying your tears, complimenting your outfit, borrowing your lipstick, or offering you a tampon (or a bump), no one will ever be a bigger cheerleader to you than the random girl you meet in the women’s toilets at a nightclub.  A place safe from men and free from judgement – though not always free from irksome spills and smells – public restrooms can be unlikely havens and places of communion. But when sensationalist headlines stir up misled fears about transgender women and what they’re doing in ladies’ loos, somewhere that was once a safe place for relief and respite for gender-non-conforming people can become another realm of discomfort, even dange