Backstage Blog

In today's Backstage at Fringe, we spoke to Ellis Austin Finnie, writer of Fairytalers, which comes to Explosives Factory this fringe after a sold-out season last year! Once upon a time, there lived four women who invented fairy tales... You're cordially invited to attend the salon of the 'Conteuses Précieuses.' Long before the Brothers Grimm, there was Charlotte, Catherine, Marie and Henriette. And they're pretty annoyed you're not talking about them. They were heroines, poe

Look what Kasey Barratt is whipping up! From the same kitchen that made Nihilistic Optimism on Trampolines, My Anxiety is a B*tch who Bakes is on it's way to Explosives Factory this Melbourne Fringe Festival! Here's what the team's been up to. My Anxiety is a B*tch who Bakes plays 29 September - 3 October as a part of Melbourne Fringe.

Today on Backstage at Fringe, we speak to Kasey Barratt, Lizzy Love and Anita Mei La Terra, director and cast of My Anxiety is a B*tch who Bakes. They say baking is good for the soul. Well... whoever said that is a massive f*cking liar!Luce's kitchen has been taken over by Annie, a drag queen who won't stop making muffins. After yet another disastrous attempt at blueberry muffins, Luce decides it's time to put an end to Annie's incessant baking, before they burn down the kitc

After a sold-out season at Melbourne Fringe in 2025, Fairytalers returns to Melbourne stages at The Explosives Factory as a part of Melbourne Fringe 2026! Take a look at these stunning photos from their previous season, and book your tickets to a feminist night of fantastical fairytale fanaticism. Image: Cameron Grant Fairytalers plays at Explosives Factory September 29 - October 3 as a part of Melbourne Fringe.

Defrost your fringe passes! We're back with Backstage at Fringe for 2026! First up to bat, we spoke to Matthew J. Young about How to Stay Married Without Exploding!, which will play at Explosives Factory September 29 - October 3 as a part of our Fringe Festival Lineup. What if your whole life was built on not moving an inch? Stranded on a WWII landmine, Francis Molloy built a life, family, and reality TV show without ever moving. Now, his 1950s studio set has landed in Perth

A song cycle prepares for it's debut at Explosives Factory. Have a look through some shots inside the rehearsal room as The Eternally Hopeful sing their way to Theatre Works later this month. The Eternally Hopeful plays 22-26 September at Explosives Factory.

Over 10 months, the cast of Lord of the Flies have been training, rehearsing, devising and developing this intense reimagining of Golding's text together. Take a look through these photos, taken during the discovery and development process, and keep an eye on our socials for more to come! Lord of the Flies plays 18 September - 2 October at Theatre Works.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ SAVAGES OPENS AN INSTANT HIT ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Patricia Cornelius' SAVAGES opens to glowing reviews from all angles as it cruises into it's second and final week on the Theatre Works stage. Take a look through the full review and rehearsal gallery, and make sure you don't miss this hit before it takes its final voyage on this Saturday. ★★★★★ “What’s it like with a female-identifying and nonbinary cast? Well, it’s funnier, sadder, and even more disturbing, crafting a paradoxical aut

In this week's Backstage Blog interview, we spoke to Isabelle Davis, the Writer, Director, Producer and Swing of The Eternally Hopeful, a gorgeous song cycle invesigating hope in our modern time, which opens at Explosives Factory later this month. While there's life, there's hope." - Cicero. Isabelle Davis, in partnership with Fresh Works, premieres The Eternally Hopeful, a compelling new song cycle featuring four actors and a piano. The exploration of hope through multiple m

Before Savages opens this week, hear straight from Director Kitan Petkovski. Patricia Cornelius writes with extraordinary precision. Her language is muscular, unsentimental and alive with contradiction, asking us to sit with discomfort rather than rushing towards certainty. Savages is, for me, one of her boldest works. At first glance, these four men are funny, familiar and deeply recognisable. Their camaraderie is warm, their banter effortless. Yet beneath it runs an unmista

In this week's Backstage Blog, we spoke to Fabio Motta, the creator and performer of Holy Fool, who returns to Theatre Works after a green room award wining 2022 run of Spot. A spiritual physical-comedy about a Fool who ended up becoming a Saint. In 2026, chaos reigns! Battles boom, pockets deepen, and Mother Nature feels forgotten. What if we already KNOW the secret to attaining world harmony but somehow have forgotten? Inspired by the story of Saint Francis of Assisi, Ho

From the waves of the pacific to your airwaves, playwright Patricia Cornelius and director Kitan Petkovski took to ABC Radio on Saturday to chat with host Todd McKenny about our upcoming production of SAVAGES! Savages plays at Theatre Works 2-12 September.

The paparazzi of Padua have pinched pics of HOLY FOOL rehearsals in full swing! After a successful development season, Green Room Award winning performer Fabio Motta is set to seige the Explosives Factory stage in three weeks time. Holy Fool plays September 9 - 19 at Explosives Factory

Big Religion plays August 26 - September 5 at Explosives Factory.

CHRISTINE DAVEY - WRITER + DIRECTOR For me this journey began two years ago when I was gifted a copy of the wonderful Bowl the Maidens Over by Louise Zedda-Sampson. What a story! What an amazing group of women! What a shame they have been lost to history in this most sports mad of nations. For the cast, the journey began last year when they auditioned for an unfinished new work about cricket, with songs – talk about a leap of faith. For audiences it continues – a theatrical a

In this weeks Backstage Blog, we spoke to Maddi Formosa, writer and director of Big Religion, the exciting new interrogation of religious institutions coming to Explosives Factory in two weeks time! School is hell and then you die. Alternatively, an Angel crash lands on earth and annunciates you with the second coming of Christ. Either option is fine. Traversing the planes of human and heavenly existence, Big Religion is a quick-witted, impenitent and spirited exploration of

The Deplorables are next up to bat at Theatre Works! take a look at some of these photos from their two years of touring, and a few from inside the rehearsal room as they prepare to bat one final innings on our Theatre Works stage. Images: Mary Steuten (Production) and Sandy Gray (Rehearsal) The Deplorables plays 9-19 August at Theatre Works.

Ahead of their opening week, read about The Ballad of Dan O'Malley: A Football Tragedy straight from their esteemed director, Therésa Borg. Chatting to Paul Mitchell this am, I thanked him for inviting me into the world of footy, the world of this play, a world I had limited access to growing up as a kid from a migrant family of five sisters. I’ve loved the daredevil, the physicality, the grace the play demands in the moments dedicated to putting the game onstage. I’ve loved

Dost thou eyes deceive you? Take a dig through a few shots from The Ghostlight League's William Shakespeare's Reservoir Dogs ahead of their opening night tonight at Theatre Works! Images: Tom Noble William Shakespeare's Reservoir Dogs plays 5 - 15 August at Theatre Works

Three weeks B.C. (before cee-son), the cast and creatives of Big Religion are hard at work in rehearsals, preparing to bring equal parts fun and blasphemy to Explosives Factory! Check out this full gallery of rehearsal pics, and keep an eye out for more backstage content as Big Religion ramps up to its bold, unapologetic debut. Big Religion plays at Explosives Factory 26 August - 5 September.