Backstage Blog

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

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