Archives for February 2026

Observer

OBSERVER: Hamlet

Thursday, February 26, 2026

The National Theatre’s film of their stage production of Hamlet bears the marks of performers well versed in the delivery of Shakespeare’s lines.What is interesting is Robert Hastie’s directorial decisions to change the order of some of the scenes and place some of the well known soliloquies in different places.It makes for intriguing questions as…

Observer

OBSERVER: Eighteen Lives

Do Theatre presents Eighteen Lives from March 25-April 4 at The Explosives Factory Theatre, St Kilda.Directed by Fini Liu, this show is described as a ‘darkly funny, poetic comedy about the people we keep meeting again and again, across centuries, across lifetimes.’Three friends fall out, only to discover that their conflict began in a past…

Observer

OBSERVER: Lighting The Dark

Monash Performing Arts Centres (MPAC) present Lighting the Dark, directed by Chris Dyke, on Friday, March 27 at 7.30pm at the Alexander Theatre, Monash University, Clayton.Commissioned by dance company Dancenorth Australia, Lighting the Dark is the first mainstage dance work in Australia – and potentially the world – to be directed by an artist living…

Observer

OBSERVER: Pokelesque

Pokelesque was a bold and bawdy hybrid of a show, strikingly imaginative in the way it brought together the worlds of Pokemon, drag and burlesque. It pulled this off, mostly, with style and aplomb but was not without its glitches.The narrative was quite simple: a young woman wants to become the very best Pokemon trainer…

Observer

OBSERVER: Garage Sale

Alanah Parkin (pictured) presents her 2026 MICF show Alanah Parkin’s Garage Sale from March 30-April 5 at The Motley Bauhaus, Carlton.Directed by award-winning Isaac Haigh, Garage Sale follows the journey of Greg and Denise – a Narre Warren South couple nervously preparing for their big move to the retirement village up the road.Parkin will blend…

Observer

OBSERVER: Mel McGlensey is Normal

Melbourne-based comedian Mel McGlensey (pictured) presents Mel McGlensey is Normal in the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival from March 26-April 19 in the Jade Room at the Chinese Museum.This time, Mel is letting her audience choose what happens in this collaborative clown experience plumbing the depths of normaldom.The show is co-created by game designer and…

Observer

OBSERVER: Kill Will

Can you imagine a world without William Shakespeare?That’s the starting point of Gordon Thompson’s (pictured) novel Kill Will: Nightbird in SunlightWe meet a teenage Will Shakespeare, who wishes on seven mystical stones, and falls through a time portal from 1580 Stratford into present day London.Seven physical manifestations of the women he has yet to create…

Observer

OBSERVER: Local Theatre Report

ShowsEltham Little Theatre: Bondi Legal (by Tony Laumberg) Until March 7 at the Eltham Performing Arts Centre, 1603 Main Rd., Eltham. Director: Susan Rundle. Bookings: elthamlittletheatre.org.auThe Mount Players: The Cemetery Club (by Ivan Menchell) Until March 8 at The Mountview Theatre, 56 Smith St., Macedon. Director: George Benca. Bookings: themountplayers.comMordialloc Theatre Company: The Great Divide…

Observer

OBSERVER: Urinetown

BottledSnail Productions Inc presents the satire Urinetown: The Musical at Gasworks Arts Park, Albert Park, from March 19–28.Urinetown: The Musical is a wickedly funny and sharply insightful musical satire that skewers everything from corporate greed and municipal politics to populism, bureaucracy, social inequality and even musical theatre itself.Set in a Gotham-like dystopia, a crippling 20-year…