Observer

OBSERVER: Small Poppy

Thursday, April 9, 2026

Gabbi Bolt opens her set, saying she feels like she’s in a SIM world, designed by a 10-year-old trying to find her way out of a pool with no ladder.Next up, she performs an original song lamenting the vagaries of fate. What if fate phoned in your choices on your day? That would explain a…

OBSERVER: The Adults Only Magic Show

I love magic shows. The Adults Only Magic Show did not disappoint, keeping me amazed in more ways than one.I was trying in earnest to see the ‘tricks’ as they were happening. Showman Productions produced a show that is enjoyable, entertaining, mysterious, original with plenty of ‘tricks’ in the hour timeslot to keep the audience…

OBSERVER: The Divine Comedy

Comedian Anthony Locascio is performing his show, The Divine Comedy, at Storyville for the 2026 Melbourne Comedy Festival.From Sydney, Anthony has performed in festivals and events around Australia and internationally in London, New York, New Zealand and Canada.Anthony is a great storyteller. He has a charisma and easy manner that enthrals the audience and engages…

OBSERVER: Garage Sale

Garage Sale is a cheeky and light hearted step into the past. Easily recognisable cultural icons and past cultural behaviour fondly treated with cringe worthy recognition and many laugh out loud moments.Denise, using objects in the Garage Sale, introduces her husband Greg and an array of characters from their past and present exploring the hidden…

OBSERVER: Mrs Lovett’s Famous Meat Pies

Reflecting on the richness of offerings at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, audiences can be impressed by an emerging star turn, Elliot Wood in Mrs Lovett’s Famous Meat Pies Grand Reopening Extravaganza.A Melbourne-based VCA (Music Theatre) graduate, Wood is a theatre making triple threat (singer, dancer, actor/comedian). Their latest creation showcases their talent in…

OBSERVER: All That’s Left Of You

Directed by and starring Cherien Dabis, All That’s Left of You is a saga that spans some seven decades and details the plight of the Palestinian people.Hanin (Dabis) and Salim (Saleh Bakri) struggle to assist their father, Sharif (Mohammad Bakri) who, now dispossessed, longs for the orchards of his homeland.Adding to the turmoil is the…

OBSERVER: Don Giovanni

Melbourne Opera presents Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Don Giovanni (The Rake Punished) from April 26 – May 3 at the Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne.Directed by Suzanne Chaundy, this staging strikes at the heart of Don Giovanni’s narcissism and brutality, refusing to brush over his assaults as mere elements of the dramma giocoso. Instead, it gives voice and…

OBSERVER: Club Kabarett

Lovers of the Liza Minelli film Cabaret will remember the chaos and debauchery of the cabaret clubs of the Weimar era in Germany, between the two world wars.Cabaret clubs were huge in this era, as people flocked to their particular brand of raunchy humour and music.Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett continues the Weimar tradition in Melbourne,…

OBSERVER: Local Theatre Report

ShowsWindmill Theatre Company: Frozen Jr Until April 19 at the Cranbourne Community Theare, Brunt St., Cranbourne. Bookings: Trybooking.The 1812 Theatre: Summer of the Aliens (by Louis Nowra) Until May 2 at The 1812 Theatre, Rose St., Upper Ferntree Gully. Director: Liam Mitchinson. Bookings: 1812theatre.com.au or 9758 3964.Ballarat National Theatre: The Dog Logs (by C.J. Johnson)…

OBSERVER: Dane Simpson 100% Hits

Dane Simpson is one of those people who are instantly likeable. You know that you’ll become lifelong friends if you were to meet the affable Simpson in real life.In his Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Dane Simpson 100% Hits, right from the get-go, Simpson sets the audience up with “rules”.“If you find something funny, obviously…