Archives for May 2025

Observer

OBSERVER: Long Story Short

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Director David Dietl’s Long Story Short tracks a group of friends through three years from 2019, through Covid and after. The plot weaves through celebrations: New Year’s Eve, birthdays, parties, a christening, a wedding and a funeral. The turbulence experienced in the wider world is reflected in the complicated relationships between the group.Laura Tonke plays…

Observer

OBSERVER: Hadestown The Musical

A massive musical feast of rhythm, song, dance and soul-enriching music awaits audiences at Hadestown the Musical, now playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre.The wonderful show’s lyrics, music and book were created by contemporary American songwriter/musician Anaïs Mitchell, starting as a community theatre project before developing over time to reach Broadway and London’s West End.Presented by…

Observer

OBSERVER: The Barden Party

Friday, May 16, 2025

After a highly successful international 90-show tour spanning New Zealand and Australia, The Barden Party is bringing two award-winning productions to Chapel Off Chapel from May 26-June 1.Known for their bold musical reimagining of Shakespeare they will present a double-bill of Macbeth – A Sassy, Sexy, Bluegrass Twist with Romeo and Juliet. Both tales are…

Observer

OBSERVER: Normie Rowe – The Story So Far

Who could forget hits like ‘Que Sera Sera’, ‘Shakin’ All Over’, ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’ and ‘It’s Not Easy’?They were truly unforgettable hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s, as is the man who sang them, singer and King of Pop, Normie Rowe.Today Normie is still on the concert circuit, delighting audiences who were young…

Observer

OBSERVER: Body Corp

Body Corp, being presented until May 25 at the Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre, is a choreographic collage that blurs the boundaries of bodies – creating mythic figures, complex with our connection to nature and technology.Patch-worked, multi-form choreographies evoke the unreal, travel in time, transfigure self and reality.Dancers merge with machines to become hybrid creatures…

Observer

OBSERVER: Storked

The Antipodes Theatre Company and Theatre Works present Storked until May 24 at Theatre Works, 14 Acland St., St Kilda. Written by Myf Hocking and directed by Maude Davey, Storked explores the choice to have children and the growing awareness that it might not be such a great idea in our world today. Through a…

Observer

OBSERVER: Ron and Isobel

Following a sold-out season at La Mama in 2019, the comedy Ron and Isobel returns for a season at the Motley Bauhaus, Carlton from June 11-22.Written by award-winning playwright Anna Lall and directed by Elizabeth Walley and produced by Double Garage Productions, Ron and Isobel is set in 1975 on Saturday, November 15, just four…

Observer

OBSERVER: Local Theatre Report

Shows Bairnsdale Production Line Theatre Company: Come From Away (by Irene Sankolff and David Hein) Until May 25 at the Forge Theatre and Arts Hub, Bairnsdale. Director: Peter Martignoles. Bookings: eastgippsland.vic.gov.au/leisure/whats-on-and-buy-ticketsBeaumaris Theatre: Knife’s Edge (by Alison Campbell Rate) Until May 24 at 82 Wells Rd., Beaumaris. Director: Deborah Fabbro. Bookings: TrybookingThe Mount Players: The Girl…

Observer

OBSERVER: Nice Work If You Can Get It

CLOC Musical Theatre presents the razzle dazzle musical comedy Nice Work If You Can Get It until May 31 at the National Theatre, St Kilda. Directed by Mark Taylor, with musical direction by David Clausen-Wisken and choreography by Susan Lewis, the show is set in the roaring 1920s and features the timeless music of George…

Observer

OBSERVER: Humans 2.0 – Review

Humans 2.0 merges contemporary dance with circus, creating a work where risk, excitement, and danger are ever-presentThe performance opens with prone bodies stretched out onstageAs the music begins to soar, the bodies roll and spin from side to side.Before long, they are upright, and their bodies fling from one performer to another.Ori Lichtik’s original score,…