Observer

OBSERVER: The Comics Lounge

Saturday, October 25, 2025

The Comics Lounge is offering audiences free shows on the dates below.Melbourne Comedy Festival favourites are back in town and samples of Comedy Festival shows from this year and last year can be enjoyed from October 29 – 31 and November 1, 5, 6 at The Comics Lounge, 26 Errol St\, North Melbourne.Doors open at…

OBSERVER: A Coo-ee to Marie

Trek Musicals present A Coo-ee to Marie for five performances, all at 2pm, on November 8 at the Warrandyte Mechanics’ Hall, November 9 at the Eltham Montmorency Uniting Church, November 15 at Living Faith, Greensborough, November 22 at the Diamond Creek Uniting Church and November 23 at the Ormond Uniting Church.Written and directed by Darren…

OBSERVER: The Dress

Essence Theatre Productions present The Dress from November 2-7 at the Bluestone Church Arts Space, Footscray.Set in I899, The Dress is a two-hander featuring the characters of Mrs Hannah Bryden, a widow who enjoys nothing save for the occasional company of her dressmaker, the flamboyant Mr Bertin.But when massive advances in the fashion industry jeopardise…

OBSERVER: Big Pants

A two-time RAW comedy finalist (Vic 2024, ACT 2023), Chelsea Heaney blends funny situational comedy with an endearing charm in Big Pants.A musical theatre tragic, she tells of the time she landed her dream part, as Rizzo in an amateur production of Grease, only for it to be cancelled due to Covid.After suffering through Covid…

OBSERVER: $100,000 Fellowship

The Betty Amsden Foundation has announced composer and researcher Dr Ciaran Frame (pictured) as the inaugural recipient of the $100,000 Betty Amsden Fellowship – the largest of its kind backing innovation in arts business and operations.Founded on the vision of the late Betty Amsden AO, the biennial Fellowship supports bold, game-changing ideas in performing arts…

OBSERVER: Trial By Jury

I was both excited and privileged to attend the opening night of GSOV’s 90th Anniversary Celebration and special Trial by Jury presentation at the Athenaeum Theatre.My professional operatic journey began with GSOV in 1981 as a young teenager, just 18 years old, starring as Patience, stepping onto the musical theatre stage for the very first…

OBSERVER: Macbeth

BK Opera presents Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth at the Kensington Town Hall on November 21, 23 and 25.Described as ‘a psychological horror experience that puts the audience within arm’s reach of ambition, madness and murder,’ the production will transform the Kensington Town Hall into a decomposing dinner party – ‘decadent, deranged and deeply unsettling.’Directed by Kate…

OBSERVER: Barber of Seville

The aria Largo Al Factotum (think Figaro Figaro Figaro!) is one of the best known in opera and has been used to grace advertisements and cartoons over the years.It’s one of those tunes you might not know the name of, but you certainly recognise it.Largo Al Factotum, meaning make way for the factotum, or jack…

OBSERVER: Local Theatre Report

Shows Torquay Theatre Troupe Inc: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (by Christopher Durang) Until November 1 at Shoestring Playhouse @ The MAC, 77 Beach Rd., Torquay; Director: Zina Carman. Bookings: Trybookng.com.auPEP Productions: Love, Loss and What I Wore (by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron, based on the book by Illene Beckerman) Until November…

OBSERVER: Crossroads

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Dave’s AwardGuitars for Vets founder Dave Cox has received the Victorian Seniors Award for his work in the veteran community.Since 2017 Dave has worked tirelessly with the G4V project which is now a national program.Along the way they have provided 650 guitars to countless veterans whose testimonials say they’ve found that the introduction of music…