Backstage Blog

In today's Backstage at Midsumma, we sat down with Cassidy Cogin, co-writer and director of DISCO IS DEAD! , the campy cannibal comedy coming to Explosives Factory next week as a part of our Midsumma Festival Hub lineup. After attempting a comeback, Freddy and the Four- a once successful disco boyband, reluctantly await reviews for their latest song. But, someone, or something, nefarious lurks outside the safety of their greenroom, threatening to end disco for good. When a ra

In today's Backstage Blog, we spoke to Jack Francis West, creator and performer of Dead Mum , the smash hit cabaret returning to Explosives Factory in the final week of Midsumma after a sellout season in Melbourne Fringe. Jack’s mum is dead. This show is about her… It’s also about you. Death is the most universal experience of the human condition. So why don’t we talk about it? Hey, why don’t we sing about it?! Dead Mum is a cabaret about death and grief, written by Jack Fra

Funkadelic, baby! Check out the glitz and glam going on in the rehearsal room of Disco is Dead! as they prepare to take to the stage next week at Explosives Factory! Full of fun, funk and disco fever, Disco is Dead! plays at Explosives Factory 3-7 February as a part of our Midsumma Festival hub lineup.

Take an early sneek-peek into the final rehearsals of He Partied like it's 1999 , which opens next week at Explosives Factory as a part of our Midsumma Festival lineup! He Partied like it's 1999 plays at Explosives Factory 27-31 January as a part of our Midsumma Festival Lineup.

In today's Backstage Blog, we spoke to Gary Helmore (writer) and Rachel Edmonds (cast) from He Partied Like It's 1999 , which plays at Explosives Factory in week two of the Midsumma Festival. He Partied Like It’s 1999 unfolds as a glitter-soaked time capsule of queer Melbourne at the edge of the millennium. Reg, a former Marxist now facing a midlife unraveling, finds unexpected passion with Hunter, a seductive, chaotic millennial masseur. Rose, his estranged wife, collides wi

Our Serve! Check out the Ace cast and creative team of AUSTRALIAN OPEN, which takes the court on the Theatre Works Mainstage later this week! Serving scandal, smashing egos and dripping sweat, this electric play full of backhanded jabs is sure to entertain at Theatre Works this Midsumma. Opening Night has sold out, and week one tickets are moving fast, so book now to secure your spot at the match of the century. Australian Open plays at Theatre Works 21-31 January as a part

Peter Pan: A Twinkle in Time plays at Explosives Factory 20-24 January.

In today's Backstage at Midsumma, we spoke to Keelan Armstrong, director of P*RN (the show) about what Audiences can expect when they see it next week at Explosives Factory. Turn off the lights, lock the door and get ready to delete your search history because P*RN is about to hit the stage.  P*RN is embedded in our society. It's scandalous, shameful and sinful but is also very gay. This monologue style play takes this taboo topic and views it through a queer lens. From the

Take a trip to Neverland while the Peter Pan: A Twinkle in Time team prepare to take flight at Explosives Factory next week! Peter Pan: A Twinkle in Time plays at Explosives Factory 20-24 January as part of the Midsumma Festival.

Take an exclusive peak into the rehearsal room of I'm Only Dating These Men Because my Uncle Bequeathed me Money and I Need to get Married by the End of the Year as they prepare to open on the Explosives Factory stage next week! I'm Only Dating These Men Because my Uncle Bequeathed me Money and I Need to get Married by the End of the Year  plays 19-23 January as part of Midsumma at Explosives Factory.

In today's Backstage at Midsumma, we speak to Dean Robinson, writer and performer of Peter Pan: A Twinkle in Time  to Explosives Factory in the first week of Midsumma! Melbourne, are you ready to fly back to Neverland? Peter Pan was the original Twink, but will he still be a Twink when the boy who won’t grow up, grows up? Peter Pan has left Neverland and began to finally grow up, but in this world of social media, online dating and beauty standards, how will he fit in?  A one

In today's Backstage at Midsumma, we speak to co-writer-director-performer Trent Cliffe, one of the creative minds bringing the new musical I'm Only Dating These Men Because my Uncle Bequeathed me Money and I Need to Get Married by the End of the Year to Explosives Factory in the first week of Midsumma! A wild, heartfelt new musical comedy about one man’s race to find true love - or at least a legal spouse - before his eccentric criminal uncle ruins his life. In this two man

Get a peek behind the curtain as the AUSTRALIAN OPEN team prepares to take centre court next week at Theatre Works! Starring Eddie Orton, Sebastian Li, Jane Montgomery Griffiths, Alec Gilbert and Melissa Kahraman AUSTRALIAN OPEN serves up sharp comedy in the world of high-pressure tennis, where ambition is everything, egos wear short shorts, and love is the wildcard no one can coach you through. Opening next week as part of our huge Midsumma Festival Hub, read more and book

Take a look at these production shots from BLACKPILL: REDUX , the smash-hit sensation from 2025 which returns to Theatre Works to open the 2026 season. BLACKPILL: REDUX closes this Saturday, 17 January. Here's what critics are already saying about the show: ★★★★ ½ “A moving and intellectually bracing work” - It's On the House “Blackpill: Redux is impassioned, bold and belligerent theatre that needs to be seen" "Distressing theatre with polish and bite... in other words, the c

In our first Backstage Blog of 2026, we spoke to Chris Patrick Hansen, Artistic Director of Paracosm and creator of BLACKPILL: REDUX , a bold and total evolution of the smash hit BLACKPILL. which sold out the Explosives Factory and enjoyed widespread critical success in April 2025. As online misogynistic hate communities continue to grow in reach and vitriol, their members are quietly refining methods to recruit and radicalise young boys with alarming precision. Shielded by

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