Reviews

Any Moment

Book, Music and Lyrics by Bradley McCaw. Pilot Pathways Production produced by Bradley McCaw and Pip Theatre. Pip Theatre, Brisbane. 22-24 January, 2025

Being the first musical to be developed by the Australian Musical Theatre Festival (2019), this profit-share pilot production has been created to showcase local musical theatre talent, most notably graduates from the Griffith Conservatorium Musical Theatre program in Brisbane. Creator Bradley McCaw began writing what was initially conceived as a song cycle in 2018, gradually expanding the work through the addition of new material and a series of try-outs across various venues, including a recording of selected original songs.

The Day After the End of the World

By Maya Djurdjevic. University Dramatic Society and FringeWorld. Auditorium at Midland Junction Arts Centre, WA. Jan 27 - Feb 1, 2026

It is rare to see a full-length play at FringeWorld, and I was pleased to see University Dramatic Society (UDS) mount this World Premiere Apocalypse play at the Midland Junction Arts Centre. Well written, and with a good cast, it’s great to see UDS back at Fringe and sharing their talents off campus.

My Brilliant Career

A new musical based on the novel by Miles Franklin. Book by Sheridan Harbridge & Dean Bryant, music by Mathew Frank and lyrics by Dean Bryant. Presented by Melbourne Theatre Company. Directed by Anne-Louise Sarks. Southbank Theatre, The Sumner, 140 Southbank Blvd, Melbourne. 23 January – 28 February 2026.

This iconic Australian novel seems an unlikely contender for a musical adaptation. However, this production transforms the novel into a vibrant contemporary performance that inevitably sweeps the audience away. This is thanks to a variety of strengths that make this an unmissable and fabulously idiosyncratic Australian experience.

Hänsel and Gretel

Composed by Englebert Humperdinck. Libretto by Adelheid Wette. Opera Australia. Originally Directed by Elijah Moshinsky. Revival Director Claudia Osborne. Set & Costume: Designer Mark Thompson. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. January 27 to February 28, 2026

The ten-year-old girl sitting next to me with her mother was utterly entranced – switching focus between the action on stage, and the TV screen behind us of the conductor Tahu Matherson waving his baton for the cast.

The music with its German folk influences - like the birthday cake house set at the end of the opera – was scrumptious.

Josh Staley: Wacky Wizardry Goes Wrong

By Josh Staley. Fringe World. George Room at MC Hub, Chelsea Social Bar and Restaurant, Murray St, Perth WA. Jan 24 - Feb 1, 2026

Wacky Wizard Goes Wrong is a high energy magic show aimed at kids. Wild, wacky and almost as much comedy as magic, this show had its young audience see sawing between rolling around laughing and being simply stunned.

Yellow Fever

Kelly Lim Harris and FringeWorld. The Cellar, Liberty Theatre, Perth WA. Jan 21-25, 2026

Kelly Lim Harris wants to find love, but it appears that all the men whom she dates have been struck with Yellow Fever, not the acute viral hemorrhagic disease found in parts of Africa and South America, but Asian fetishization and obsession with women of East and Southeast Asian descent.

Black Girl in Five Acts

By Taonga Sendama. FringeWorld. The Kaos Room, The Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre, WA Jan 22-25, 2026

Black Girl in Five Acts has just finished its short run, in the intimate space of the Kaos Room at The Blue Room.

Cosy in this former classroom, with the audience placed on two sides, solo performer Taonga Sendama had her audience captivated throughout her show, which ran short of its advertised 45 minutes. The set of rug and scattered books - mostly black and or feminist writers, sets us up for a cerebral yet gentle experience.

DM Me

By Cast. Directed by Dr Tom Heath. Play On Productions and FringeWorld. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth. Jan 22-25, 2026

This devised production explores what would happen if people communicated IRL (in real life) the way that they do online. It uses real text exchanges and comment sections to create scenes.

An ensemble cast, clad in black tops and jeans, has a lovely blend of uniformity and individuality; they move beautifully in choreographed sequences and have a great sense of teamwork throughout. I was surprised to learn that there were actually two casts, all of whom worked together to develop the piece. 

Acting With Honour: 3 short plays

By J.M. Barrie, Joyce Carol Oates and Steven Berkoff. BitterSweet Productions. Eternity Playhouse, Darlinghurst. January 24, 2026

BitterSweet again serves up three short plays (collectively titled as Acting with Honour) all over and applauded in just 90 minutes.  It’s an entertaining, undemanding form with writers achieving clarity and impact without wasting words or worrying about the furniture.  It also requires actors with similar skills and who don’t resort to mugging or signalling to the audience.

A Lifetime of Deaf and Deafblind 2

Deafinite Collection. Fringe World. Directed by Peter Blockey. The Hat Trick, The Pleasure Garden, Northbridge, WA. Jan 24 - Feb 1, 2025

Presented over two weekends, A Lifetime of Deaf and Deafblind 2 is the story of deaf and deaf blind experience told through story and song. It is produced, directed and compared by Peter Blockey, who was born deaf into a hearing family in regional WA, and he is the writer of the songs that form much of the show.

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