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

It’s hard to believe that it’s only been five years since Mamma Mia! The Musical last voulez vous-ed its way to Melbourne – but it seems fitting for it to return once again to the magnificent Princess Theatre, where it was the last production to tread the boards before the historic venue underwent an extensive refurbishment to accommodate the juggernaut that was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  A lot has changed since the heady days of 2018. Still, it’s safe to say that post-pandemic audiences are craving a joyous, uplifting theatre experience – even a sense of comfort and familiarity, if you will. And this is precisely what Mamma Mia! The Musical delivers. Here we go again. Director Gary Young has the insanely fun job of bringing Catherine Johnson’s book to life, which tells the now-beloved story of Donna Sheridan (Elise McCann) and her daughter Sophie (Sarah Krndija) as they prepare for Sophie’s upcoming wedding to the sweet and devoted Sky (a charming, if slightly underused Lewis Francis). Throw in a picturesque Greek Island setting, three potential fathers showing up unannounced, and dot, dot, dot – well, you know how the story goes. Woven not-so-subtly through this – dare we say – paper-thin plot are the real stars of the show: the 22 featured ABBA songs, with words and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, of course. The line-up of bangers reads like a roll call of the band’s biggest hits: ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Super Trouper’, ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ and ‘SOS’.

Under the big top at Festival Park’s the Vault, it’s easy to feel nostalgic for childhood trips to the circus where you sat in awe of soaring acrobats and aerialists. However, once the action in Matador kicks off, it becomes clear that although there’s no shortage of performers hanging high, this spectacle is much spicier than your typical circus. Instead, we enter an alternate dimension where love (and sex) reign supreme and wearing red is pretty much compulsory. The performance begins with strict instructions for the audience: the more we cheer, the better the show. As a talented performer soars sky-high, hanging from a platform equal parts cage and bed, the roar that erupts proves us all obedient listeners. What follows is an ambitious mix of dance, circus and burlesque that’s as fiery as it is fast-paced. The cast (including Tayla Lemon in the titular role of the Matador) is at the top of their respective games, moving through raunchy and rueful moments with graceful ease and flair. The dancers are often expected to be able to traverse extremely diverse genres in today’s industry, but this cast takes that to the extreme. It’s not often you see choreography spanning commercial jazz, contemporary ballet, voguing, salsa, burlesque and (some admittedly slightly strained) pointe work. Yet somehow, it all comes together for a cohesive and ultimately seductive experience.   Matador – sabor de amor is the latest version of an acclaimed show written by Melbourne-based theatre mak

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

It’s about time theatre and sport resolve their differences. The long-warring pair have more in common than they realise. If they can’t bury the hatchet, Bloomshed’s uproarious new show, A Dodgeball Named Desire, has a recommendation: they could lob some red balls at one another/ Bloomshed has quickly distinguished itself as one of Melbourne’s premier independent companies with its radical reimaginings of various literary classics – earlier this year, its high-octane production of Animal Farm proved a runaway success. This time, the creative crew have set their sights on Tennessee Williams' 1947 classic A Streetcar Named Desire, moving from their usual home in Northcote Town Hall to convert fortyfivedownstairs into an Olympic-style stadium. It’s soliloquies versus sweat and grand slams versus spotlights in this bombastic battle royale destined to make you laugh and occasionally flinch. Williams (Tom Molyneux) himself is our umpire, emerging from a bedazzled bathtub to describe the rules of the game. It’s a dodgeball tournament like no other. The reward? Bragging rights and an Arts Australia grant. In one corner there’s Southern belle, Blanche DuBois. Her skills include having a tragic backstory, haunted eyes and a white gown pulled from "the bargain bin of Opera Australia" (the costumes by Samantha Hastings, who doubles as the on-site medic, are beautifully rendered). Played by three performers (Elizabeth Brennan, Laura Aldous and Anna Louey) with an exaggerated Southern dra

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