Observer

OBSERVER: Smokescreen

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Set some 50 years ago, Smokescreen is actually a contemporary play written by Christopher Samuel Carroll about the dissonance between human capacity for rationalisation and the resulting destructive outcomes.Oil executive, Glen (Carroll) and advertising guru, Bud (Damon Baudin) meet in an airport lounge to discuss ways around the impending crisis facing the oil industry –…

OBSERVER: High Tea and Opera

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

The second annual Winter Soiree by the Country Women’s Association of Victoria’s Umina Branch is again shaping up to be loads of fun.Melbourne’s The Hotel Windsor will host the High Tea and Opera on Monday, August 25. Last year saw a combination of opera and charity go hand in hand to raise funds for the…

OBSERVER: Australian Music Vault

The Australian Music Vault has announced a new display, Kylie Minogue: The Music Videos featuring six iconic costumes including the white jumpsuit worn in the video clip for Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ and, a Jean-Paul Gaultier outfit worn in the video for fan anthem All The Lovers . The Gaultier costume will…

OBSERVER: Cabaret de Paris

In a tribute to the French cabaret scene Cabaret De Paris, created by Michael Boyd Productions, entertained an enthusiastic crowd at The Palms at Crown with the wonderful Rhonda Burchmore providing star power.Promoted as a burlesque extravaganza, the show was a series of songs with Parisian or French themes, all either sung live by Burchmore…

OBSERVER: Bloomshed’s Pride and Prejudice

Bloomshed returns to Darebin with a bold new take on Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice from July 30 to August 10 at the Darebin Arts Centre, Preston.Bringing their signature wit to the depths of the housing crisis, this raucous production flips the table on the Bennet sisters’ quest for love and security through a…

OBSERVER: Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams will be presented by Running With Scissors Theatre and Victory People Productions from July 24 to August 2 at the Meat Market Stables, North Melbourne.Co-directed and produced by Nicholas Reynolds and Nadia Sirninger Rankin, the play is narrated by Tom Wingfield. The story unfolds as he recalls life with…

OBSERVER: Dare To Dream Jr

Williamstown Musical Theatre Company presents Disney’s Dare to Dream Jr from August 1 to 10 at Altona Theatre.Disney’s Dare to Dream Jr follows an eager group of trainees on their first day at a fictional Walt Disney Imagineering Studio.As the group sets out to help each other discover their dreams, they work together to explore…

OBSERVER: Chamber Made

Chamber Made will transform Melbourne Recital Centre into a sonic playground with Listening Acts – a bold takeover of its public and hidden spaces for the Now or Never festival, from August 22 – 24.Listening Acts isn’t a typical concert or exhibition – it’s a portal into the unheard and unexpected, featuring three live performances…

MURRINDINDI: Kipling’s India

Murrindindi Film society will present John Huston’s colourful 1975 production of The Man Who Would be King. Doors open at 6.45pm for a 7pmstart on friday (July 18) at the Yea Butter Factory.Based on a novella by Rudyard Kipling, the film had been a pet projecct of director Huston for many years.The story follows the…

OBSERVER: Sisters In Crime

Sisters in Crime will meet on Friday, July 18 at 8pm at the Rising Sun Hotel, South Melbourne, to present Desperate Times, Desperate Measures.Homelessness, financial crises, bad decisions, and family secrets can make for desperate times requiring desperate measures – even murder.Authors Michelle Prak (Barren Cape), Samantha Byres (Dead Ends) and Anna Snoekstra (The Ones…