Observer

OBSERVER: Destiny

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Melbourne Theatre Company presents Destiny, the intimate family drama of allure and loyalty, until September 13 at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner.Written by and starring award-winning South African-born actor and playwright Kirsty Marillier and directed by Zindzi Okenyo (Is God Is), Destiny is set against the canvas of world-changing events.It serves as a potent reminder that…

OBSERVER: MSO Concert

In a wonderful evening of classical music, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra delighted with three works, one contemporary and two from the 19th century.The works were: the premiere of The Ascent, a Klearhos Murphy composition; Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto; and Brahm’s Second Symphony.The orchestra’s Cyber Young Composer in Residence, Greek-Australian Murphy’s short piece The Ascent consisted of…

OBSERVER: Troy

Rehearsals are underway for Malthouse’s Troy, the epic new production written by Tom Wright and directed by Ian Michael being presented from September 4-25 at Malthouse’s Merlyn Theatre.This bold retelling of the ancient Greek myth features an ensemble of Australian stage talent, each taking on iconic roles from the Trojan legend. The cast includes Ciline…

OBSERVER: State Schools Spectacular

PHOTO: Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Victorian State Schools Spectacular returns in 2025 for two shows on Saturday September 13 at 1pm and 6.30pm at the John Cain Arena.Since the inaugural VSSS in 1995, Victorian students have had the opportunity to take part in the Spectacular where it has seen talent such as Vanessa Amorosi,…

OBSERVER: Local Theatre Report

Monday, August 11, 2025

Shows The 1812 Theatre: Home, I’m Darling (by Laura Wade) Until August 30 at 3 Rose St., Upper Ferntree Gully. Director: Amy Calvert. Bookings: 1812theatre.com.auBeaumaris Theatre: The Witches (based on the book by Roald Dahl. Adapted by David Wood) Until August 23 at Beaumaris Theatre, 82 Wells Rd., Beaumaris. Director: Leah Osburn. Bookings: beaumaristheatre.com.auBrighton Theatre…

OBSERVER: Dial M For Murder

Frederick Knott’s Dial M for Murder is an unusual choice of a play to revive given its 1952 origin as a radio play and subsequent film.Tony Wendice (Tyrie Aspinall) plots to kill his wife, Margot (Bridget Bourke), given her past relationship with the crime writer, Max Halliday (Leon Walshe).Wendice persuades Captain Lesgate (Joshua Bruce) to…

OBSERVER: Songs For A New World

The production was damn good, but the uninitiated would have trouble identifying names of soloists or duet performers as no cast names were listed against the song titles.Given that it is a nonstop song performance there is no spoken dialogue. In fact at times, visually, dance takes over – so should it not have been…

OBSERVER: Breaking Point

As part of its campaign to highlight the poor rundown state of the firefighting truck fleet in Victoria, the United Firefighters Union has commissioned Blue Tree Studios to make a series of short documentary films collectively titled Breaking Point.The films are a powerful indictment of the lack of action in relation to an ageing fleet…

OBSERVER: Kangaroo Island

Friday, August 8, 2025

The undoubted star of the new film Kangaroo Island is the spectacular coastal scenery of the South Australian island itself.It’s a perfect setting for a family drama, which opens in Hollywood where estranged daughter Lou’s (Rebecca Breeds) promising acting career has not achieved the heights predicted for her.She returns to her childhood home on Kangaroo…

OBSERVER: The Orchard

The Pony Cam troupe make no pretence about trying to revive or perform a classic even though The Orchard is based on Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard.Indeed, they endeavour to eschew character, plot and narrative and dive into the themes and tone of Chekov’s original in a form of experimental and improvised theatre that could well…