By Taylor Mac. New Theatre, Newtown, NSW. July 8 – August 2, 2025
Hir is a wild, confronting play about a decaying middle American family of four, each groping through some transition.
Disgraced soldier Isaac arrives back from Afghanistan to find his once orderly family in complete chaos - clothes strewn everywhere, the kitchen abandoned, walls pitted with holes and his once controlling Dad, Arnold, sleeping in a cardboard box.
Created and performed by Bron Batten. Theatre Works, St Kilda. 8–12 July 2025
A little remote control toy tank, a red ballon on a string attached to its gun turret, weaves through a sea of blue balloons. This tank, moving in random circles, generates a kind of tension. We expect the tank to burst the balloons. It doesn’t. That comes later... And then Bron Batten strolls onto the stage.
By Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman. Yirra Yaakin. Directed by Bobbi Henry. Auditorium, Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. Jun 30-Jul 12, 2025
The first performance of The Seven Stages of Grieving, thirty years ago, was seen as a landmark production for Aboriginal Theatre. This acclaimed play has been added to Drama and English curriculums, as its complex writing and multiple themes allow for excellent discussion and unpacking, This brand new production from Yirra Yaakin marks the first time this play has been performed by an Aboriginal Theatre company, and is a beautiful, heartfelt production.
By Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i, Mark Mancina, Susan Soon He Stanton and Ian Weinberger. Primadonna Productions Youth. Directed by Carole Dhu. Pinjarra Civic Centre, WA. Jul 4-5, 2025
Primadonna Productions Youth produced this bright and colourful musical based on the 2016 Disney film. Perhaps the most Nordic looking group of Polynesians outside Scandinavia, this cast nevertheless embraced the island lifestyle with a gorgeous laid-back production, well directed by Carole Dhu.
Book and Lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila. Music by Brad Alexander. Adapted from the DOG MAN series of books by Dav Pilkey. Presented by QPAC. A CDP with TheaterWorksUSA’s production. QPAC Playhouse Theatre, 9 – 12 July, 2025
Some shows are so funny, so frenetically fun, so joyfully absurd that you leave the theatre with cheeks that ache from all the laughing and grinning. Dog Man: The Musical is one of those shows. Featuring a vibrant cast, zingy songs, and a stage bursting with colour, chaos, and comic book flair, this musical is a riotous delight for kids and a hilarious wink-fest for the grown-ups.
Presented by Ryan Maxwell. Conducted by Long Guohong and guest conductor Luke Spicer Guest Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre, 31 Sturt St Southbank. 9 July 2025.
This performance is a striking fusion of western and Chinese musical traditions. Colorful Guizhou Troupe is a cultural and performing Arts industry group that promotes and cultivates Chinese cultural practices globally. On this occasion the Guizhou Chinese Orchestra has been combined with The Australia Orchestra (an emerging ensemble based in Sydney). This results in a highly dramatic and epic concert performance of traditional and contemporary Chinese music.
By Christopher Samuel Carroll. Bare Witness Theatre Co. fortyfivedownstairs. 8 – 13 July 2025
Christopher Samuel Carrol’s play is set in 1977, but it is just as much – if not more so – about now. As we pay close attention as Carroll’s tight, articulate, verbally dextrous dialogue, we may feel an increasingly chilling dismay. Smokescreen is about survival in business, about clever manipulation, blatant lying and a compliant, blinkered public.
By Nathan Calvert, Eliza Smith, William Gammel and Clea Purkis. Directed by Nathan Calvert. Kaos Room, The Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre, WA. Jul 1-5, 2025
Love Stories was a warm, intimate devised production presented by The Blue Room Theatre and stop drop and roll in the cosy confines of The Blue Room’s Kaos Room.
Love Stories is a series of interconnected vignettes that explore the thousands of parallel sensory worlds that exist beyond our capability of hearing, and examines what we can learn by listening to and entering the various sensory worlds around us.
By Barry Wyner. Hyde Entertainment and Civic Theatre Newcastle. Civic Theatre Playhouse, July 4 – 12, 2025.
One of the greatest love stories of all time is Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac – a complex look at amour versus enchantment, identity, and vanity. It tells the story of Cyrano, a tragically disfigured yet brilliant wordsmith, and his love for Roxanne. Cyrano, feeling unworthy of love, helps another seduce her. Upon being caught, Roxanne and Cyrano share one tender moment together… before everyone dies – because it’s French and we can’t have nice things.
Book by Joe Tracz, music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki, based on the novel by Rick Riordan. Director: Sam Luxford. Musical Director: Marianne Powles. Choreographers: Erin Hobden and Hannah Kelly. Gosford Musical Society (GMS). July 8 – 12, 2025
The Lightning Thief - The Percy Jackson Musical is a rock-infused stage adaptation of Rick Riordan’s bestselling novel The Lightning Thief, the first book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. The musical brings Greek mythology crashing into the modern world with humour, heart, and heroic adventure, tailored for both fans of the books and newcomers (like me).