Backstage Blog

ABOUT THEATRE WORKS     Founded in 1983, Theatre Works is one of Australia’s leading independent theatre companies, supporting the development, presentation, and touring of new performance works.    Based in St Kilda on Boon Wurrung Country, Theatre Works operates a multi-venue precinct comprising the Main Theatre, Explosives Factory, TWiSK rehearsal space, and the Black Box Café & Outdoor Stage. Each year, the organisation supports hundreds of artists and presents more than

As I write this, my final season foreword for Theatre Works, I am filled with a deep mix of pride, gratitude, and a sense of completion. After eight years as Executive Director, I will be stepping down in July 2026. Announcing this with a long lead time allows for a careful, considered transition (the kind of transition this organisation deserves) and ensures that the complex, multi-faceted work of leading Theatre Works can be handed over with clarity, stability, and care. Wh

Take a peak into the rehearsal room of BLACKPILL: REDUX , which returns to Theatre Works to open our 2026 season after a sold out, critically acclaimed run in 2025. As online-based misogynistic hate communities grow both in size and vitriol, embittered members are designing increasingly effective ways to recruit and radicalise young boys behind the protection of chilling anonymity. Paracosm’s BLACKPILL. unveils the systems by which these communities access and indoctrinate yo

Hundreds crowded into our Acland Street home on Sunday as we unveiled the full 2026 Theatre Works season! After our most successful season in history in 2025, Theatre Works has reloaded with a bigger, bolder and more ambitious 2026 season that promises to have something for everyone. Across 2026, Theatre Works will stage more than 50 productions, including major premieres, large ensemble works, cutting-edge contemporary performance, musical theatre, international festival col

In today's Backstage Blog, we spoke to Artemis Muñoz, the writer and director of the upcoming show Two , which opens at Theatre Works next week. Up until this point Kit has loved being non-binary. But Kit is pregnant now - and people who used to be mostly okay about their gender are ready to start misgendering them to an obscene degree. Even more irritatingly, they beg Kit for details about their unborn child’s genitalia. Keen to force a gender on this tiny unborn being. Kit

Take a look at the talented team of creatives, musicians and performers who tonight bring Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines to life on the Theatre Works stage. This wildly weird reimagining of the origin of Frankenstein - featuring a theatrically gruesome battle on trampolines to a soundtrack of existential dread and an entire swimming pool worth of sweat - plays from tonight until December 6 at Theatre Works. Tickets are currently on FLASH SALE , with 25% off all ticket ty

Check out these images from Golden Soil and Wealth for Toil , the hilarious new buffon performance by the graduating cohort of the National Theatre Drama School, directed by Fabio Motta. 📸 Darren Gill This weird, wacky, wonderful show must close this Saturday, November 29, at Explosives Factory.

The wait is over! Our full 2026 Midsumma Lineup is here! Eight exciting works will grace the Theatre Works + Explosives Factory stages this Midsumma, featuring some of the freshest, funniest, most exciting voices in Melbourne's vibrant theatre scene. There's something for everyone in our Midsumma lineup, which spans from first-time playwrights all the way to main stage staples. AUSTRALIAN OPEN by Angus Cameron | MORE INFO I'M ONLY DATING THESE MEN BECAUSE MY UNCLE BEQUEATHED

After a record-breaking sold-out season at Explosives Factory in 2025, the critical smash-hit BLACKPILL . storms back to open the Theatre Works 2026 season this January. As online-based misogynistic hate communities grow both in size and vitriol, embittered members are designing increasingly effective ways to recruit and radicalise young boys behind the protection of chilling anonymity. Dubbed "A highly accomplished show in all areas", "A phenomenally well developed and execu

It's Alive! Check out these exclusive shots from inside the rehearsal room of the upcoming Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines , which opens at Theatre Works next week. A wildly weird reimagining of the origin of Frankenstein, featuring a theatrically gruesome battle on trampolines to a soundtrack of existential dread and an entire swimming pool worth of sweat, Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines plays from November 26 - December 6 at Theatre Works.

Vibes were high at Theatre Works on Friday, as Titus Andronicus opened to a full house of eager theatregoers. With 5 stars from It's On the House and 4 stars from What's the Show?, Titus Andronicus is not one to miss! Playing at Theatre Works until November 22.

In this week's Backstage Blog, we spoke to Kasey Barratt, writer and director of Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines - a wildly weird reimagining of the origin of Frankenstein opening at Theatre Works on October 26. It’s an unbearably boring afternoon at Trampoline World. Thunder crashes overhead, some kid has thrown up in the bathroom, AND the roof is leaking... again. Boredom quickly descended into cutthroat competition, and existential dread explodes into colourfully grote

Meet the talented cast and creatives of Titus Andronicus , opening on the Theatre Works stage this week! Titus Andronicus plays November 13-22 at Theatre Works.

Take an exclusive look into the rehearsal room of Titus Andronicus , which opens at Theatre Works next week. Titus Andronicus plays at Theatre Works November 13-22.

Ships ahoy! Meet the jolly crew bringing Bladderwack to the Explosives Factory tonight! Bladderwrack is exactly the comedy horror science-fiction pantomime pirate show with bits of opera you’ve been waiting for! Docking at Explosives Factory tonight until November 15.

In today's Backstage Blog, we spoke to Kevin Hopkins and Claire Nicholls, the co-directors of Titus Andronicus , which opens at Theatre Works on November 13. Witness Shakespeare’s ultra-violent tragedy told in absurd nightmare-scape: an ensemble driven piece evoking horror through abstraction, surrealism and the body in space. A cautionary tale for our times pitting revenge and cruelty against resilience and tenderness. Q: It's the show on the tip of everyone's tongue! How ha

In today's backstage blog, we sat down with Adam Browne, co-writer, co-director and performer in Bladderwrack , coming to Explosives Factory November 5-15. Q: It's not often that a show coming to Theatre Works describes itself as a comedy-horror-science-fiction-pantomime-pirate-show-with-bits-of-opera. What does that look like? Almost exactly what it sounds like. Q: How much of yourselves exists in Saucy Jack and Bagfoot? When I asked a friend to recommend actors to play Bagf

Take a sneak peak into the rehearsal room of Bladderwrack , the the comedy horror science-fiction pantomime pirate show with bits of opera opening next week at Explosives Factory. Bladderwrack plays November 5-15 at Explosives Factory.

Burning House has assembled a stunning cast of 20 incredible performers to bring THE BREATH OF KINGS to Theatre Works this week - meet them all here! An ambitious and exhilarating theatre event, The Breath of Kings comprises of William Shakespeare's HENRY VI and RICHARD III - both plays are staged separately during the week, with more adventurous audience members able to watch both plays back-to-back in a massive five hour long event on weekends. Read more and book your se

My ashes, as the phoenix, may bring forth / A birth that will cast revenge upon you all An intoxicating mix of violence, politics and romance, this civil war is as machiavellian as Succession and as brutal as Game of Thrones - Check out this gallery of rehearsal shots from Burning House, who will bring The Breath of Kings to the Theatre Works stage later this month. With a 25 strong cast and staging reminiscent of the famous Globe Theatre, this intimate and intense productio