Observer

OBSERVER: New at MTC Board

Sunday, October 5, 2025

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…

OBSERVER: Brothers Bare

Ranting Mime Productions in conjunction with Theatre Works present Brothers Bare at 7.15pm from October 7-11 at the Theatre Works Explosive Factory in St Kilda.Co-written by Jessica Fallico and Iley Jones and directed by Jessica Fallico, Brothers Bare is described as: ‘A dark dissection into the nature of the Grimm’s Brothers work. A discovery of…

OBSERVER: Local Theatre Report

ShowsThe Basin Theatre Group: Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Sarah Ruhl) Until October12 at The Basin Theatre, Doongalla Rd., The Basin. Director: John Putman. Bookings: 0494 065 006.The 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. October 10…

OBSERVER: Melancholipedia

Being melancholy in this day and age is often seen as a negative emotional and mental state and to be avoided at all costs.However, across the ages this wasn’t always so. In his often hilarious yet also somehow disturbing one-man show Melancholipedia, which played at Trainscendence in Collingwood, Robbie O’Brien sought to remind us of…

NILLUMBIK: Short Film Festival

Friday, September 26, 2025

Nillumbik’s young creatives are invited to submit their video work in the Nillumbeats Short Film Festival.Run by the Nillumbeats Committee – a group of young people passionate about all things art, music and culture – the festival showcases films by locals aged 12-18.Nillumbik Mayor Cr John Dumaresq (pictured) said the event provided an opportunity for…

OBSERVER: Colour and Light – David McLean’s Review

Thursday, September 25, 2025

The congruence of creativity, artistry and musicianship were at the fore during the retrospective of Sondheim’s work in Colour and Light.Sondheim’s songs were composed with not only wit and character but with depth and feeling. This allows artists to interpret and create a portrait of believable people that laughed, suffered and were unashamedly real.Vidya Makan,…

OBSERVER: Colour and Light

In what was a wonderful evening’s celebration of the work of renowned American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, Colour and Light: The Art of Sondheim met with a well-deserved rapturous reception on its opening night at Theatre Works.Set in a sumptuous recreation of a cabaret venue circa Berlin of the decadent inter-war years, the revue…

OBSERVER: Loud Jazz Will Fix Me

Melbourne-based performer Dylan McBurney presents his show Loud Jazz Will Fix Me for the Melbourne Fringe Festival from October 3-5 at the Festival Hub, Trades Hall in the Music Room.The show is created and performed by Dylan under the direction of Carly Rose Watson, with music composed by Cassie Hamilton.A self-described workaholic, Dylan McBurney believes…

OBSERVER: Last Night of thde Proms

The Last Night of the Proms are a famous British musical institution, but we have our own Australian version happening in Melbourne soon.Skunkworks Community, along with the City of Boroondara, are presenting Last Night of the Proms – a celebration of community music, on Saturday October 11 at Hawthorn Arts Centre, with around 140 musicans…