top of page

Search


Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf, above Flinders Street Station
Have you ever thought about playing mini golf with a tail? No, I am not off with the pixies. Â Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf, a...
Alex First
Jun 62 min read


POV (re:group performance collective), at The Showroom, Arts Centre Melbourne - 70 minutes
POV (Point of View) is an extraordinary undertaking, unlike anything I have seen.  A 14-year-old – played by alternates on different...
Alex First
Jun 63 min read


BLKDOG, at Arts Centre Melbourne, as part of the RISING festival - 1 hour 6 minutes
Life’s struggle from childhood is captured in captivating form in Botis Seva’s Olivier Award-winning dance theatre production BLKDOG.  ...
Alex First
Jun 52 min read


The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (MUST), at Monash University - 2 hours 20 minutes, including interval
If you think a musical about Greek gods is too much of a literary stretch and hardly relatable to the modern world, think again. Â The...
Alex First
Jun 43 min read


Samson & Delilah (Melbourne Opera), at the Palais Theatre - 2 hours 20 minutes, including interval
A portent of doom hangs over Melbourne Opera’s production of Samson & Delilah.  It is largely dark and foreboding (lighting design is by...
Alex First
Jun 22 min read


Love and Information at Theatre Works - 105 minutes
My approach to reviewing is to enter a theatre, cinema or gallery knowing nothing about what I am about to see and hear. Â That means not...
Alex First
Jun 12 min read


Ripening (Citizen Theatre), at Gasworks - 90 minutes, without interval
Who has the right to tell you how and when to give birth? Â Of course, it is a deeply personal issue, but one that, over generations, has...
Alex First
May 313 min read


The Phoenician Scheme (M) – 101 minutes
From the highly creative mind of Wes Anderson comes the story of a ruthless businessman and his estranged daughter. Â It is 1950. Anatole...
Alex First
May 292 min read


Endgames, at fortyfivedownstairs - 90 minutes, including interval
Max Gillies is a living treasure who brings frustration, despair and humour to three fine pieces involving men at the tail end of their...
Alex First
May 263 min read


Away (MUST), at Monash University - 1 hour 40 minutes, plus interval
It is the summer of 1967. Young Australians are being drafted to serve in the Vietnam War. Back home, life continues. Tom (Patrick Leong)...
Alex First
May 252 min read


Who’s Bad: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience, at The Palms at Crown and touring Australia
A spirited, colourful and joyful celebration of the King of Pop, Taalib York recaptures the music and the moves that made Michael...
Alex First
May 243 min read


Storked (Antipodes Theatre Company), at Theatre Works - 90 minutes
Society has grown up with the expectation that women will get married to men and have children. Â The men will go to work, while the...
Alex First
May 232 min read


The Birds (Malthouse Theatre) - 80 minutes
I know the 2025 Green Room Awards for the best of the best of Melbourne theatre have just been announced, but here is the early contender...
Alex First
May 223 min read


Shadow Boxing (Feet First Collective), at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory – 55 minutes
A pugilist’s confessional, Shadow Boxing is tough, gritty and unrelenting.  Samuel Addison features as the boxer, whose father, Errol...
Alex First
May 202 min read


Nice Work If You Can Get It (CLOC) at The National Theatre - 2 hours 30 minutes (including interval)
With enthusiasm and zest, a richly talented cast brings to life the charm and ditz of a musical set in the Prohibition era. Â With music...
Alex First
May 193 min read


Beetlejuice The Musical, at Regent Theatre - 2 hours 30 minutes, including interval
So much fun. Eddie is just perfect (bad pun for lead Eddie Perfect) as the smelly old demon Beetlejuice, in the riotous musical of the...
Alex First
May 183 min read


Humans 2.0 (Circa), at Arts Centre Melbourne - 60 minutes
Outstanding performing arts company Circa is known for pushing boundaries and it has done so again with Humans 2.0. Â Blending movement...
Alex First
May 182 min read


Betrayal (Thursday’s Child Theatre), at Chapel Off Chapel - 70 minutes
An awkward meeting in a pub between British literary agent Jerry (Gabriel Partington) and his best friend’s wife Emma (Michaela Bedel)...
Alex First
May 173 min read


Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular, at Rod Laver Arena and touring - 2 hours 45 minutes, including interval
The emotional resonance of Les Misérables is massive in the Melbourne leg of The Arena Spectacular world tour.  It is a production full...
Alex First
May 153 min read


The Door in Question, at Metro West Shopping Centre in Footscray and nearby - 90 minutes
What is real and what is imagined? What if you firmly – hand on heart – believe something to be true and you act accordingly?  These are...
Alex First
May 132 min read
bottom of page