Backstage Blog

Theatre Works is thrilled to announce the appointment of Krystalla Pearce as Artistic Director and CEO. Krystalla begins in the new Artistic Director role from 9 June and takes over management of the whole organisation from 13 July 2026. Krystalla will bring a rich breadth of local and international experience to one of Australia’s leading independent theatre organisations. Most recently Producer at Red Stitch Actors' Theatre, Pearce produced the acclaimed local season and na

In today's backstage blog, we take to the soccer pitch to chat with Ellie Nunan (Goalie) and Erin Perrey (Team Captain) from THE WOLVES - a portrait of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals. Directed by Belle Hansen, THE WOLVES plays at Theatre Works from 10 - 20 June. Q: Welcome to Theatre Works! Not long now until you move from the TWiSK Rehearsal Room out back to the stage. How is everything shaping up? We are

In this week's backstage blog, we chat with Matthew Crosby (writer, designer, performer, co-producer), Tessa Marie Luminati (director, performer, co-producer) and Kasey Barratt (dramaturg) from team Corporare - Evan Task in Outer Space - a gorgeously low horror sci-fi about a tech-bro and his rocket adrift in Martian dreams. Q: Welcome to Theatre Works. How did you come to this the concept of this show come to you? What's happened to get it where it is now? Matt: What with on

It's your final chance to see LAZARUS before this incredible and profound show closes this Saturday night! Check out these amazing production photos from SMW Image, and book your tickets to LAZARUS before it's too late! “I was fortunate to sit “fireside” at Theatre Works in St Kilda for this extraordinary production, which transforms the life of Taungurung Elder Larry Walsh into something both profoundly personal and unmistakably political — a work that shines a light on soci

For our second week of Ask the Cast, we hear from Riley Warner, who plays Uncle Larry Walsh through the middle years of his story. Lazarus plays until 6 June at Theatre Works.

A fantastical space spectacle approaches landing at Explosives Factory! Voyage into the rehearsal room of Corporare - Evan Task in Outer Space as they prepare their slick tech-bro sci-fi send-up for a season at Explosives Factory in three weeks time. The Thursday Group are hard at work putting the final touches on, and the production promises to be out-of-this-world! Enters orbit 17 - 27 June at Explosives Factory.

It's almost game time, and The Wolves have been training hard! Take a peek into the rehearsal room for THE WOLVES as the ten talented team members prepare for season kickoff on the Theatre Works stage. A finalist for the Pullitzer Prize for drama and directed by Belle Hansen, The Wolves promises to be unmissable event theatre. Taking to the field 10 - 20 June.

In this week's Backstage Blog, things got got all-too-honest with Hugo Gutteridge and Gabrielle Ward, two of the actors in KATZENMUSIK - the anti-landlord punk-rock black comedy Paracosm is bringing to Explosives Factory in two weeks time! It's Dionysus meets the housing crisis! From the company that brought you BLACKPILL. ★★★★★, Paracosm has reimagined Katzenmusik into an explosive new piece of radical punk-rock political theatre bound to put the metaphorical middle finger

Only four more chances to see Beasts before they close this Saturday night! Check out these incredible production photos from Mike Ridley, and book your tickets to Beasts before it's too late! “Erupts as a deranged and exhilarating farce — a fever dream of fragile masculinity collapsing under the weight of its own desperation.” “Written with wicked intelligence by Robert Lewis and directed with chaotic precision by emerging artist Callum Bodman.” “BEASTS is as funny as it is

Lock up your felines! KATZENMUSIK is ringing through the halls of Theatre Works! Scroll through for a glimpse inside the rehearsal room as Katzenmusik comes to life! Seven actors, seventy seven roles, dozens of dead cats and enough landlord lament to last a lifetime, KATZENMUSIK plays at Explosives Factory 3 - 13 June.

We're under siege! Check out what the cast of Sainting Joan have been up to in advance of their Explosives Factory takeover next week! This fresh new musical tells the story of Joan of Arc like you've never seen it before! Sainting Joan plays at Explosives Factory 20 - 30 May.

Ahead of Lazarus opening at Theatre Works later this month, hear about the show from Director and industry legend Kamarra Bell-Wykes. Uncle Larry Walsh and John Harding are both living legends, renowned for their dedication to advocacy, justice and self-determination for the Victorian First Nations community. They are respected and revered role models, grass root heroes and reluctant leaders. They are fathers, uncles, brothers, sons, agitators, story tellers and rebel ad

Check out these shots from inside the rehearsal room as the cast and creatives bring LAZARUS to life! In the TW TWiSK Rehearsal space at the back of our Acland Street home, the Lazarus team have been hard at work exploring the play ahead of it's opening at Theatre Works in just over two weeks time! Featured on the VCE Playlist, Lazarus is a powerful reminder of the troubled history of our nation, and those who pushed against adversity to champion the voices of those who were

In today's backstage blog, we sat down with Abigail Banister-Jones, writer and performer of Sainting Joan, the punk new musical reimagining Joan of Arc at Explosives Factory later this month. Hear the voices and feel the fire in this new musical. You are cordially invited to the canonisation of Joan of Arc. Saint Peter’s Basilica is filled to the brim with spirits as preparation for the sainting begins. Nearly five hundred years after the English burned her at the stake, the

Some stories are told directly. Others arrive sideways – in fragments, hesitations, and the things left unsaid. At its heart, Red Sky Morning is a play about people reaching for connection and missing – sometimes by inches, sometimes by miles. It’s in the emotional pressure sitting just beneath the surface – the things these characters can’t quite articulate – that the story emerges. The audience is asked to listen not just to the words, but to the gaps between them – and the

Image: Sarah Clarke Check out everything critics had to say about this magical production! “Mara is a glorious reimagining of the Cinderella story. Bravo to Hanna Pyliotis for crafting and composing such compelling prose and music with poise and alacrity. In an inspired, bravura showing, performer Aurora Kurth plays all the roles, switching seamlessly from one to another, and singing all the songs. Her vocal range and strength are quite something to behold – melodic, lyrical

In today's backstage blog, we spoke to Actor Izabella Day, who's currently rehearsing for Theatre Works' Red Sky Morning, which opens next week at Theatre Works for a two-week season before touring Victoria. Life in the country can be beautiful and brutally honest. In RED SKY MORNING, we meet a woman, a man, and a girl who live under the same roof but have slowly drifted apart. Over the course of one day, their stories unfold in a series of poetic monologues that reveal love,

While our previous Tom Holloway work takes off on tour, our next is bubbling away in the Theatre Works / TWiSK Rehearsal Space. Take a peek into the room as the poignant and poetic Red Sky Morning takes shape! Red Sky Morning plays at Theatre Works 6-16 May, before heading out on a tour across Victoria.

In today's Backstage Blog, we sat down with Geraldine Cutler, one of the performers deep into rehearsals of Persona Collective's BEASTS , which opens May 6 at Explosives Factory. A deranged farce where fragile egos descend into a hellish manosphere wrapped in physical theatre and poetic prose. A group of dejected young men turn to the dark corners of the internet to restore their self-imposed “virtue”, striking a Faustian deal with the gruesome personification of masculinity

Over at Explosives Factory, the rave reviews are rolling in too! Other-worldly experiment THE IRREDUCIBLE racked up 4.5 stars from What's the Show and 4 Stars from The Age in its opening week performances. “Masterful and highly imaginative comes this trans-formative piece of theatre making. From the get go, I was intrigued and stimulated. Entering the theatre space felt like stepping onto the set of a high budget science fiction movie. It was visually arresting.” - The Blur