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).

Adore Handel’s Cautionary Tales

Adore Handel. Adelaide Fringe. The Lark @ Gluttony. Rymill Park, Adelaide. March 3-8, 2026

Adore Handel’s Cautionary Tales are more than just stories; they are life lessons told by a time traveller who has been there and done that!

Following his success at the Adelaide Fringe in 2024 with his show Adore Handel’s Little Black Book, Adore (AKA Luke Bell) returns with a new show, bigger and cheekier than ever.

HUSH

Southern Cross Soloists (SXS). Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). 1 March 2026

“An afternoon’s beautiful journey into night” was how SXS’s fresh and new Artistic Director Tim Munro described HUSH, the first of a series of three SXS gigs this year at QPAC. HUSH was an unusual but inspired choice – a carefully curated mix of quiet, contemplative pieces to soothe the soul. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon. You know you are in for a treat when the Grammy-award-winning flautist also has a melodica in his kit bag, and the afternoon’s presentation features guest artist, guitarist Karin Schaupp.

Nell Gwynn

Written by Jessica Swale. Directed by Jacqui Somerville. Presented by Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University Bachelor of Acting. Metro Arts, Brisbane. 28 February – 7 March, 2026

Jessica Swale’s Nell Gwynn plays at Metro Arts, delivering wit, music and bawdy restoration theatre-style mischief, brought to life by the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University’s third year Bachelor of Acting students. This reviewer saw the Cheapside Cast, and what an evening they delivered: spirited, polished and brimming with the kind of ensemble unity that only comes from rigorous training and wholehearted buy-in. Their commitment and enthusiasm were palpable from the first cheeky exchange to the final curtain.

The Music of John Williams

Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO). Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). 27-28 February 2026

Listening to a programme of John Williams film music is not like any other classical gig. The scores are the soundtrack to our lives – starting in the 1960s (Mr Williams won his first Academy Award in 1967), moving through to the Spielberg-Lucas blockbuster era of the 1980s, and then the Harry Potter franchise in the early 2000s. His music helped us believe in a 20-foot killer shark (Jaws), that aliens wanted to communicate with us (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) and that a man could fly (Superman).

Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin

By Marcel Cole. Fringe World/ Multiple Venues. Jan 31 - Feb 15, 2026

Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin may well have broken a Fringe World record for the number of venues performed. This oft awarded show played at no less than seven venues during the month-long Fringe World festival, and I had the pleasure of seeing it at a sold out matinee performance at Victoria Park’s Balmoral Hotel.

Melody Meets Soul

Martin Hayes, fiddle. Kyle Sanna, guitar. Melbourne Recital Centre, 31 Sturt Street, Southbank VIC. 24 February, 2026

 

The Irish musical tradition contains multitudes: flair, familiarity, innovation, gravity and whimsy, all of which were displayed by Martin Hayes and Kyle Sanna to a packed Elisabeth Murdoch Hall on Tuesday.

I Thought You Said

By Bronte Lemaire. A Theatre Works Fresh Works presentation. Theatre Works & Tip Toe Theatre. Explosives Factory. 25 February – 7 March 2026

This provocative and intelligent two-hander makes us laugh – and also squirm at its veracity.  The blurb asks, if the world is ending, ‘…what kind of person do you want to be at the end of the world?’  In essence, I Thought You Said is about the rage and frustration caused by a terrible contemporary paradox.  While it may seem utterly futile to protest about the injustice and corruption and cruelty in the world, one still feels one must (should?) protest to be ‘a good person’. 

A Soldier’s Song

By Ken Lukowiak, adapted for the stage by Guy Masterton. Fringe World. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth, WA. Jan 31 - Feb 5, 2026

A Soldier’s Song was a very simple and beautiful piece of theatre that held its audience in respectful silence throughout the hour long show.

Ken Lukowiak is a Falklands Island Veteran who served with the British Army in Northern Ireland and The Falklands, after growing up in Kalgoorlie Western Australia. A beautiful speaker whose story comes from his own book, the story was adapted for the stage by Guy Masterton.

Maybe He’s Born With It, Maybe It’s ADHD

By Colin Ebsworth. Fringe World. The Gold Digger, The Pleasure Garden, Northbridge, WA. Feb 4-8, 2026

Colin Ebsworth’s show, perhaps predictably, went a little off track on the night I reviewed, perhaps a sign of the titular ADHD. Starting late through no fault of this show, it was derailed by Colin recognising his former teacher in the audience (who is referenced in the show), by a witty retort from an audience member that had Colin rolling on the floor with laughter, and by a drunk audience member, leaving early to catch an Uber, who took us on a lengthy love-fest tangent.

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