Observer

OBSERVER: New stage for West

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Footscray Community Arts announces Lango, a new, architecturally designed outdoor performance space opening in November.The venue, designed by MGS Architects with landscaping by Simone Bliss Landscape Architects, will be a community-led space for live music, community events, creatively ambitious performances, markets, and cultural ceremonies.This design announcement showcases the thoughtfully integrated artwork by Indigenous artist Moorina…

OBSERVER: Death at Booroomba

Authors tend to fall into one of two categories – fiction or non-fiction.But Alison Booth (pictured) defies that categor-isation as she is an award-winning academic at Australian National University and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.Yet when she is not lecturing or writing academic papers, she pens cracking stories with an…

OBSERVER: Local Theatre Report

ShowsThe 1812 Theatre: Speaking in Tongues (by Andrew Bovell) Until October 25 at 3 Rose St., Upper Ferntree Gully. Director: Dexter Bourke. Bookings: 1812theatre.com.auCLOC Musical Theatre: &Juliet. Until October 25 at the National Theatre, St Kilda. Director: Karl McNamara; Musical Director: Dan Heskett; Choreographer: Felicity Bender. Bookings: cloc.org.auBabirra Music Theatre: Grease. Until October 18 at…

OBSERVER: The Revlon Girl

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Encore Theatre Company presents The Revlon Girl from October 10 – 19 at the Clayton Community Centre Theatrette, Cooke St, Clayton.Written by British playwright Neil Anthony Docking and directed by David Krause, this emotion-evoking, uplifting award-winning play tells of the tragic aftermath of the 1966 Aberfan disaster in Wales.The tragic incident caused the death of…

OBSERVER: The Mutineers

Another totally engaging performance by Monash Uni Student Theatre with their sold out season of The Mutineers, written by emerging playwright Tavisshi Dhawan who also shared Co-Director with Tiara Pires. A challenging piece of theatre meticulously handled by all cast and crew alike.The writer explained why the title Mutineers? “It is one who speaks of…

OBSERVER: An Evening on Broadway

In what was a thoroughly entertaining celebration of the Broadway musical, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s An Evening on Broadway at Hamer Hall was a resounding success.Consisting of two halves, the first act had 10 musical theatre pieces followed by a second act consisting of nine pieces. Each half consisted of a mix of instrumental works…

OBSERVER: Grease

Babirra Music Theatre presents Grease from October 10-18 at The Round, Nunawading.Directed by Mark Cluning, with musical direction by Vicki Quinn and choreography by Steph Clare-Cover, Grease is set in 1959 at Rydell High School.Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski’s summer romance is put to the test when they unexpectedly reunite on the first day of…

OBSERVER: British Film Festival

The 2025 Russell Hobbs British Film Festival will be presented by Palace Cinemas in Melbourne from November 5 to December 7, featuring ‘exquisite dramas, fascinating documentaries, much-loved retro-spectives, comedies and more’ at Palace Cinemas, Palace Nova and Luna Palace Cinemas.The festival centrepiece is the highly anticipated drama Anemone starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Bean and Samantha…

OBSERVER: New at MTC Board

The Melbourne Theatre Company has announced international award-winning playwright Suzie Miller as a new board member.Suzie Miller (pictured) is a globally celebrated playwright, screenwriter and novelist whose work has been staged in over 100 productions worldwide.With degrees in law and science, she is drawn to complex human stories and contemporary themes.Her breakthrough play Prima Facie…

OBSERVER: Hawke

An Australian prime minister dies and wakes up in purgatory, wondering why he is there.No, it’s not a new political joke, but the premise of a new musical play called Hawke, about the legendary Robert James Hawke, Australia’s 23rd prime minister.Written by P. Kauffman, and Denny Lawrence, with original music written by David Pereira and…