Observer

OBSERVER: Local Theatre Report

Friday, February 6, 2026

ShowsLilydale Athenaeum Theatre: The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays (by Ken Ludwig) February 12 – 28 at Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre, 39-41 Castella St., Lilydale. Director: Lucia Morris. Bookings: 9735 1777 lilydaleatc.comPEP Productions: Ride the Cyclone, February 13 – 21 at the Doncaster Playhouse. Director: Daniel Kim; Musical Director: Isaac Stott; Choreographer: Maya Lee….

OBSERVER: My Brilliant Career

Thursday, January 29, 2026

Presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company, the award-winning Australian musical My Brilliant Career has made a stunning return to the Southbank Theatre, The Sumner, playing until February 28.Wow, what a show! This reimagined interpretation of Miles Franklin’s 1901 novel under the direction of Anne-Louise Sarks takes musical theatre to another level.With book by Sheridan Harbridge…

OBSERVER: Backpill – Redux

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

A wonderful piece of ensemble theatre, the revival of last year’s production of Blackpill: Redux was a high octane ambitious show which ultimately disappointed due to poor production values and stage craft.A young man Eli (played by Oliver Tapp) is fired from his job due to inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague he met on…

OBSERVER: Peter Pan – A Twinkle In Time

The most famous pre-teen boy in history, “apart from Macauley Culkin and not including the 30-somethings masquerading as children from Stranger Things”, is suffering from an existential crisis.Fresh off a sold-out season of #Swifttok at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Peter Pan: A Twinkle in Time is a new, equally silly one-man comedy act by…

OBSERVER: Sugar

A Midsumma Festival and Arts Centre presentation, the one-person cabaret-style show Sugar was a wonderful celebration of all things LGBTQIA+ due mainly to the scintillating performance of Tomas Kantor.The play is the story of a sugar baby, a younger person seeking a transactional relationship with a sugar daddy, an older wealthier individual. While starting off…

OBSERVER: Wizard of Oz

PLOS Musical Productions once again delighted audiences of mixed ages with their holiday production The Wizard of Oz at the Frankston Arts Centre.Malcom Huddle’s superb orchestra instantly transported us into the magical world, beautifully rendering the familiar tunes.Director Michael Mitchell remained faithful to the core message of the show in his interpretation, but writes in…

OBSERVER: Legends In Concert

Legends in Concert, presented by The Harbour Agency, has returned to The Palms at Crown Casino in Southbank for its eighth Melbourne season.Legends’ popularity is evident through its 1983 Las Vegas debut to being revered as the longest-running Vegas show. Melbourne annually welcomes Legends back to The Palms which provides the perfect concert/cabaret Las Vegas…

OBSERVER: Australian Open

Playwright Angus Cameron examines gender and societal expectations around relationships in a manner that is humorous, disarming but unerringly accurate.A somewhat narcissistic tennis ace, Lucas (Eddie Orton) is in a relationship with a less secure Felix (Sebastian Li).They are contemplating an open marriage to the chagrin of Felix’s parents, the deferential Peter (Alec Gilbert) and…

OBSERVER: Piper’s Playhouse

The launch of Piper’s Playhouse at Crown Casino brings a new daring, flamboyant venue to Melbourne with all the intimacy of cabaret in its purist form.Hints of illusion beckoned as we were ushered into the rich red velvet nightclub and seated at a ringside table.The mystery continued when a creature’s paw parted curtains serving our…

OBSERVER: Wind In The Willows

There were no willow trees and no wind, but the setting for the Australian Shakespeare Company’s Wind in the Willows was as perfect as you could ever imagine.With more than 100 audience members in attendance at our session, and the sun beating down just a little too fiercely, we were lucky to score a seat…