Reviews

The Doll Trilogy: Kid Stakes, Other Times, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

By Ray Lawler. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, Melbourne. 10 February – 11 April 2026

Cane cutter mates Roo (Ben Prendergast) and Barney (John Leary) come down from Queensland in the off season – or ‘layoff’.  By chance, they run into a couple of girls – Olive (Ngaire Dawn Fair) and Nancy (Emily Goddard) – at the aquarium and end up as boarders and more at the Carlton boarding house run by Olive’s mother Emma (Caroline Lee).

Julius Caesar

By William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. March 7 to April 5, 2026, then Canberra Theatre Centre and Arts Centre Melbourne.

Shakespeare certainly was on a winner. Julius Caesar is a political thriller about the most famous conspiracy and murder in history, with rich insights into tyranny and liberty, lots of blood and battle, but in a clear language more immediate than poetic.  Perfect for schools, where many of us ‘did’ it.

Monster

By Duncan Macmillan. Presented by Tiny Dog Productions in association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre Co. Directed by Kim Hardwick. KXT On Broadway. 6-21 March 2026

There’s something extraordinary at Sydney’s KXT On Broadway. In a 20-year-old four-hander by English playwright Duncan Macmillan, on a ‘nothing set’ (table and 2 chairs), there’s some acting that will stop your heart. Campbell Parsons plays Darryl, a troubled 15-year-old misfit, obviously bright but utterly lost in a dark, dank corner of England. Against all odds, which include the late replacement of the other main actor, Parsons is completely brilliant as the boy/monster, rushing forward with clever ideas, holding back when misguided thoughts confound him.

because there was fire

By Jamie Hornsby. Watermelon Jam as part of Adelaide Fringe. Ayers House. March 11 – 21, 2026.

One of the most exciting things about the Adelaide Fringe is seeing a play you know nothing about, in a small room where it really lands. Jamie Hornsby’s ‘because there was fire’, a gritty two-hander about a pair of teenagers on an outback crime spree, lands hard.

Steve The Queen

Written and Directed by Zachary Lurje and Daniel Gough. Presented by Cosmo Creative. PIP Theatre. 4 - 14 March, 2026

Steve the Queen is a sparkling, big-hearted new work that understands a simple theatrical truth: comedy lands harder when it is tethered to pain. In this production from Cosmo Creative, co-writers and co-directors Zachary Lurje and Daniel Gough bring to the stage a family story wrapped in sequins and anchored in emotional reality. This isn’t just a play about drag, though drag is central to its theatrical language and visual pleasure.

Villains: A Dizney in Drag Parody

Presented by The Hairy Godmothers. Adelaide Fringe at The May Wirth at Gluttony. 10 March – 22 March 2026.

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if your childhood fairy tales were drenched in glitter, thrown into six-inch heels and given a very adult sense of humour, then Villains: A Dizney in Drag Parody at the Adelaide Fringe Festival might just be the wicked night out you didn’t know you needed!

Taking over the May Wirth Tent within Gluttony, this gloriously chaotic hour of drag, music and mischief delivers a campy romp through the darker side of fairy-tale royalty.

Genius

Writer: Sandra Thibodeaux. Director: Nicky Fearn. Costume design and co-producer: Simona Cosentini. Set design: Simone Tesorieri. Sound design: Stevie Jean. Projection design: Russell Milledge. Lighting design: Lara Gabor. Performed by Natalie Taylor, Danielle Aquilina, Thomas Midena, Nicky Fearn, and Stevie Jean. A JUTE Theatre Company, Sandra Thibodeaux and Simona Cosentini Co-Production, presented by Brown’s Mart. Brown’s Mart Theatre, Darwin. 3–14 March 2026.

Equal parts art history lesson, vaudeville, Pandora’s Box, and fascinating biography of 17th century Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi, Sandra Thibodeaux’s ‘Genius’ is powered by red-hot rage against injustice, ultimately landing as lantern, mirror, and rallying cry.

Marjorie Prime

By Jordan Harrison. Directed by Liza Black. Roxy Lane Theatre, Maylands, WA. Mar 6-22, 2026

Roxy Lane Theatre’s latest offering, the Pulitzer short-listed Marjorie Prime, is a nicely presented look at aging, memory and artificial intelligence, that leaves its audience thinking.

Set in the near future, 86 year old Marjorie is beginning to show signs of dementia. Her family introduces a lifelike holographic “Prime” to help her retain her memories, in the form of a younger version of her husband - Walter Prime.

Skank Sinatra: The Name on Everybody’s Lips

Jens Radda and Theatre Travels. Adelaide Fringe. The Lark at Gluttony, Rymill Park, Adelaide. March 9 – 15, 2026

Skank Sinatra is without a doubt the most delicious drag diva at the Fringe! Skank (AKA Jens Radda) tells his life story and pays more than a tribute to musical theatre and cabaret in his latest production, Skank Sinatra: The Name on Everybody’s Lips. I saw his production last year and loved it. This year he has surpassed himself with a deeper look into the man behind the drag!

Jesus Christ Superstar

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Tim Rice. Director Madeleine Johns. Redcliffe Musical Theatre. Redcliffe Entertainment Centre. March 5 – 8, 2026.

The name in the title must be the best known one in the world, so the audience clearly knew of his life and what lay ahead in this sung through rock opera based on the Gospel accounts of the Passion. In many ways Judas is the centre of the play, unhappy and dissatisfied with the course Jesus his disciples are taking. The era of Jesus meant that all but one of the major roles is performed by male leads.  Mind you it was a large cast with many younger performers in the dance ensemble. The ending was as expected, with Jesus on the cross before his body was removed.

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