Observer

OBSERVER: Scandivanian Film Festival

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Melbourne’s Scandinavian Film Festival saw the gripping psychological drama Second Victims have its Australian premiere.Set in a Danish hospital which is understaffed and where employees are overworked, an experienced neurologist has her confidence shaken when a simple mistake turns a routine case into a tragedy.The screenplay was written by Zinnini Elkington and feels authentic in…

OBSERVER: The Lark

Australian star of stage and screen, Noni Hazlehurst, returns to Arts Centre Melbourne for the world premiere of The Lark from September 3-20 at the Fairfax Studio.Described as ‘a powerful, moving meditation on life, death and change’, The Lark is written specially for Noni Hazlehurst by internationally recognised Australian playwright Daniel Keene, and directed by…

OBSERVER: First Trimester

Melbourne Fringe is calling for potential sperm donors to sign up to participate in a unique performance at this year’s Fringe Festival in First Trimester by UK-based performer and Netflix creator Krishna Istha, which will be presented from October 16-18 at Arts House, North Melbourne.Having searched London, Dublin, Copenhagen and Auckland as part of a…

OBSERVER: Seussical Jr

CPP Community Theatre presents Seussical Jr from July 11-19 at Boronia K-12 College, Performing Arts Centre, Boronia.Seussical Jr is described as ‘a fantastical musical adventure that brings the beloved stories of Dr Seuss to life in a vibrant, fast-paced show perfect for the whole family.’Horton the Elephant discovers a tiny world on a speck of…

OBSERVER: Local Theatre Report

SHOWS Williamstown Little Theatre: Rabbit Hole (by David Lindsay-Abaire) Until July 12 at 2-4 Albert St., Williamstown. Director: John Bishop. Bookings: wlt.org.au/book-ticketsMLOC Productions: The Pirate Queen (Boublil and Schönberg) Until July 19 at the Frankston Arts Centre, Davey St., Frankston. Director: Chris Ryan; Musical Director: Matthew Pines.Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre Company: The Diary of Anne Frank…

OBSERVER: All Is Good

In a delightful entertaining flight of the imagination, Theatre Works and Inotrope Productions’ show All Is Good … In The Glow Of Moonlight provided a moving evening of song, laughter and tears and a window into what life as an artist must have been like in Stalin’s Russia.In a depiction of the afterlife suggestive of…

OBSERVER: Ordinary Days

Following the award-winning presentation of Elegies: A Song Cycle in 2024, Clovelly Fox returns to Fortyfivedownstairs from August 20- 31 to present the musical Ordinary Days, written by celebrated composer and lyricist Adam Gwon.Ordinary Days is described as ‘a charming and moving musical about making simple connections in a chaotic city, and tells the story…

OBSERVER: Curtains

The Diamond Valley Singers present an eight-performance season of Curtains – ‘The Musical Comedy Whodunit’ from July 11 – 19 at Warrandyte High School.Set in the bright and optimistic world of 1959 Boston, where the premiere of new musical ‘Robbin Hood’ takes a dramatic turn. The show’s diva, Jessica Cranshaw, collapses and is rushed to…

OBSERVER: Lang Lang

The centre piece of Lang Lang’s MSO recital was Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana, which is a deeply expressive, multidimensional work that lives at the intersection of music, literature, and psychology.The emotional volatility of the piece speaks to the duality not just within the work but within Schumann himself.There is impulsiveness and introspection that Lang Lang brought…

OBSERVER: MSO Mornings

In one of its regular Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Mornings concerts, classical music lovers were treated to two works by the composers Maurice Ravel and Modest Mussorgsky both of which had rousing passages to stir the emotions.The first short piece was Alborada del gracioso by Ravel; it is the fourth of five movements that make up…