Things to do in Melbourne in May

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Frida Kahlo and Vincent van Gogh met? You can see that scenario play out in Damiano Michieletto's production of Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims, the centrepiece of Opera Australia's 2019 Melbourne season and the first ever production of the opera to be staged in Australia. The opera itself has a relatively simple plot about a group of VIPs travelling to the coronation of the French King Charles X, but Michieletto's production, which is headed to the Metropolitan Opera in New York after Australia, takes place in a gallery where famous artworks burst out of their frames and interact with one another. Daniel Smith will conduct a predominately Australian cast with singers including Lorina Gore, Julie Lea Goodwin, Warwick Fyfe, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and newcomer Shanul Sharma. See what else is in Opera Australia's 2019 season.

I once saw a theatrical adaptation of the Beatles song ‘I Am the Walrus’ at Melbourne University, and I remember it being very bad. I don’t mention it to shame the wonderfully ambitious students who mounted it, but to underline a point about memory and the infinite mutability of cultural forms: it doesn’t matter if the culture is high or low; it only matters what we do with it, how we imbue it with meaning. Anne Washburn’s play Mr Burns, A Post-Electric Play, turns on this very idea, as a group of survivors of an apocalypse gather around a fire and attempt to recount an episode of The Simpsons. The episode is Cape Feare, which is largely a parody of Martin Scorsese’s remake of the Robert Mitchum film, Cape Fear. This is a good choice, because it’s already a cannibalistic piece of pop culture that draws in – as every episode of The Simpsons did – myriad references to other works, most notably Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S Pinafore. The survivors bond over this communal recollection, or maybe just keep the fear and despair at bay. When an outsider, Gibson (Mark Yeates) arrives, they all draw their weapons, but when it turns out he can help them with some choice lines from the ep, he quickly becomes embraced by the group. Washburn has plenty on her mind in this first act, but then ups the ante in the second, which is set seven years later and sees the survivors transformed into a kind of travelling theatre troupe, taking their Simpsons episode on the road. The play becomes a ba

The first rule of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, is that you don’t talk about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Safeguarding spoilers is an expected responsibility for anyone who attends the Potter-verse’s first on-stage outing. There’s even a hashtag: #KeepTheSecrets. But in truth (as far as theatre critique is concerned, at least), JK Rowling needn’t have worried. This marathon, five-hour spectacle has a plot so dense and sprawling, so wonderfully, unashamedly elaborate, it would take many thousands of words more than any theatre review to even scratch the surface. While we may have been sworn to secrecy about Cursed Child’s plot, we can reveal that the hype – and rarely has a piece of theatre ever generated such fever-pitched buzz – is entirely deserved. And not just because of the quality of the production. The masterminds behind the show – led by Rowling, playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany – have not merely set out to put on a play, but rather craft a rich and detailed immersive experience. To this end, Melbourne’s Princess Theatre has undergone a top to bottom $6.5 million makeover, transforming its interiors to match a Hogwartsian, Potterfied aesthetic. If this sounds like an unnecessary extravagance, it’s probably an indication this play isn’t for you. The success of Cursed Child, which has smashed box office records on Broadway and the West End, is powered by its unapologetic exclusivity. Those without any prior knowledge of Harry and co will be

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Frida Kahlo and Vincent van Gogh met? You can see that scenario play out in Damiano Michieletto's production of Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims, the centrepiece of Opera Australia's 2019 Melbourne season and the first ever production of the opera to be staged in Australia. The opera itself has a relatively simple plot about a group of VIPs travelling to the coronation of the French King Charles X, but Michieletto's production, which is headed to the Metropolitan Opera in New York after Australia, takes place in a gallery where famous artworks burst out of their frames and interact with one another. Daniel Smith will conduct a predominately Australian cast with singers including Lorina Gore, Julie Lea Goodwin, Warwick Fyfe, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and newcomer Shanul Sharma. See what else is in Opera Australia's 2019 season.

Gavin Quinn is one of the directors of Irish company Pan Pan and is coming to Melbourne to work with an ensemble of locals to create a new piece of theatre. The performers are all comedy experts – Aljin Abella, Ash Flanders, Mish Grigor, Nicola Gunn, Marcus McKenzie – so you can expect plenty of laughs as they play members of a cult seeking personal perfection. It’s a work being devised by the whole cast, so there should be plenty of chaos on stage.

Muriel moved from Porpoise Spit to the big lights of Sydney for her world premiere in November 2017 and now she's finally headed to Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre from March 2019, before heading back to Sydney in June. The musical was adapted for the stage by PJ Hogan, who wrote and directed the original 1994 film starring Toni Collette. It features an original, Helpmann Award-winning score by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall, which Time Out Sydney described as "irresistible" (seriously, we challenge you to leave without humming one of the tunes). But ABBA fans needn't worry about the prospect of an original score – the Swedish supergroup's songs and spirit are threaded through the whole show. Casting is still underway for the upcoming tour. Maggie McKenna, who played Muriel in the original Sydney production, has recently scored a role in the US tour of Dear Evan Hansen. She won't be reprising her role, but other actors are expected to return. The original production of Muriel's Wedding The Musical was produced by Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures, who were behind the Strictly Ballroom and King Kong musicals. We fell head over hells in love with the show when it premiered and we're willing to bet Melbourne will too. To put it simply, it's the best Australian musical to premiere in years. It's distinctively homegrown but with plenty of flair and great laughs. And it's directed by Simon Phillips, who did Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and just about every ot

Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet has come out on top in just about every poll of Australia’s favourite books since its release. Some of us probably even love the Pickles and the Lambs – the two families at the centre of this saga, sharing a ramshackle house in Perth for 20 years – more than we love our own families. The book has been turned into a TV series, an opera and even a radio play. But it’s been almost two decades since Nick Enright and Justin Monjo’s acclaimed stage version of the novel has been seen in Melbourne. And there’s one clear reason why – it’s a huge undertaking for any theatre company and runs to about five hours. But Malthouse Theatre’s artistic director Matthew Lutton has been on a crusade in the last few years of bringing Australia’s classic stories to the stage with fresh eyes. And you can’t do that without bringing Cloudstreet back to life. “If we take our own culture seriously then we should take our stories seriously,” Lutton says. “I think that’s what informs us in thinking about Cloudstreet rather than doing a massive cycle of the Greeks or Shakespeare.” We know what you’re thinking: five hours of theatre sounds like a tough slog. But if you can do five hours of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, you can do five hours at Malthouse. On certain nights, the company will be performing the whole thing back-to-back, with a dinner break in the middle. But if you’re going to be a wuss and skip the marathon, you can see the two separate parts on different ni

Louis Nowra’s Così, telling the story of a young director who stages an opera starring the patients of a mental health facility, is one of the best known Australian plays of all time. But it’s somehow never had a production at a state theatre company. Melbourne Theatre Company is bringing it to the mainstage with a little help from co-producer Sydney Theatre Company and a cast featuring Esther Hannaford, Katherine Tonkin and Rahel Romahn. MTC's associate director Sarah Goodes is helming the dark comedy.

This largely traditional production by noted Scottish director David McVicar will make its Melbourne debut in 2019, with a trio of brilliant Australian leading ladies: Jane Ede as Fiordiligi, Anna Dowsley as Dorabella and Taryn Fiebig as Despina. Canadian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson makes her Australian debut with this Opera Australia staging of Mozart's much loved comedy all about two men taking a bet on their wives' fidelity. No, it's not the most progressive of works. See what else is in Opera Australia's 2019 season.

Elijah Moshinsky's La Dolce Vita-inspired production is one of Opera Australia’s most enduring (in fact, it's outlasted another Rigoletto production that's fallen out of the repertoire), thanks to its spectacular revolving set and ultra glam costumes. It’s still a perfect introduction to the world of opera. Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat will sing the title role and rising Australian star Stacey Alleaume will make her role debut as Gilda. Armenian tenor Liparit Avetisyan will play the Duke, singing one of Verdi's most famous tunes, ‘La donna è mobile’ (which you may know from a pasta sauce ad). Verdi specialist Andrea Licata is conducting. See what else is in Opera Australia's 2019 season.

This play about two angry young teens is Melbourne Theatre Company’s families and education show for the year. It’s by the prolific Australian writer Finegan Kruckemeyer, who is one of the country’s strongest advocates for theatre for young people, and will be directed by Prue Clark with Henry Tseng (Jasper Jones) in the cast.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Frida Kahlo and Vincent van Gogh met? You can see that scenario play out in Damiano Michieletto's production of Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims, the centrepiece of Opera Australia's 2019 Melbourne season and the first ever production of the opera to be staged in Australia. The opera itself has a relatively simple plot about a group of VIPs travelling to the coronation of the French King Charles X, but Michieletto's production, which is headed to the Metropolitan Opera in New York after Australia, takes place in a gallery where famous artworks burst out of their frames and interact with one another. Daniel Smith will conduct a predominately Australian cast with singers including Lorina Gore, Julie Lea Goodwin, Warwick Fyfe, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and newcomer Shanul Sharma. See what else is in Opera Australia's 2019 season.

This largely traditional production by noted Scottish director David McVicar will make its Melbourne debut in 2019, with a trio of brilliant Australian leading ladies: Jane Ede as Fiordiligi, Anna Dowsley as Dorabella and Taryn Fiebig as Despina. Canadian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson makes her Australian debut with this Opera Australia staging of Mozart's much loved comedy all about two men taking a bet on their wives' fidelity. No, it's not the most progressive of works. See what else is in Opera Australia's 2019 season.

Elijah Moshinsky's La Dolce Vita-inspired production is one of Opera Australia’s most enduring (in fact, it's outlasted another Rigoletto production that's fallen out of the repertoire), thanks to its spectacular revolving set and ultra glam costumes. It’s still a perfect introduction to the world of opera. Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat will sing the title role and rising Australian star Stacey Alleaume will make her role debut as Gilda. Armenian tenor Liparit Avetisyan will play the Duke, singing one of Verdi's most famous tunes, ‘La donna è mobile’ (which you may know from a pasta sauce ad). Verdi specialist Andrea Licata is conducting. See what else is in Opera Australia's 2019 season.

The Melbourne's longest running and most successful improv comedy night, the Big Hoo Haa, is improvised comedy at its rawest: minimal pretension, audience participation and maximum laughter. Anything could happen! Well, not anything. Scripted comedy, for example. That definitely won't happen.

Imperial Comedy is named as such not because of a policy of expansion via colonisation, but after the hotel in which it is housed. The comedy is more the descriptive here as every Tuesday night a fleet of Melbourne's best comedy talent set foot on the stage and plant their flag of foolery. With previous guests including Celia Pacquola, Rove McManus, Adam Hills, Claire Hooper and Wil Anderson, this comedy night is one of the best in Melbourne. Tickets (online or at the door) are $10.

A Thursday night staple in Melbourne, comedy at the European Bier Cafe is still going strong. They’ve featured all the big names, including Sarah Silverman, Adam Hills, Jimeoin, Dave Hughes, Stephen K Amos, Wil Anderson and heaps more, plus all the best Melbourne and interstate comedians there are. It's a guaranteed high-quality night of laughs for just $12; what more could you want?

If you know Fitzroy's Catfish, you'll know that this little bar does a mean Philly cheesesteak and they sure know a good craft beer when they see one, but they also run comedy nights every Tuesday. Comedians including Nazeem Hussain, Claire Hooper, Joel Creasey, Tom Gleeson and Tommy Little have all graced the Catfish Comedy stage, so order a cheesy steak sanga on Tuesday nights and pull up a chair, laughs from the best comedic talents in town are guaranteed.

It's mostly rising stars who take the stage each Sunday night at Club Voltaire, but big names also check in from time to time, including Dave Thornton, Greg Larsen, Anne Edmonds and Damien Power.

Every Tuesday Lido Cinema's intimate Jazz Room hosts a free night of established and rising stand-up stars. Some big Melbourne names have graced the stage in recent months including Dave Thornton, Danielle Walker (pictured above), Corey White and Laura Davis.