Backstage Blog

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

Rehearsals are underway for Persona Collective's BEASTS , a deranged farce where fragile egos descend into a hellish manosphere wrapped in physical theatre and poetic prose. Check out some of the shots as rehearsals get underway: Beasts plays at Explosives Factory 6-16 May.

Rehearsals are underway for MARA , which opens at Theatre Works later this month. Peek into the rehearsal room as things take shape and MARA comes to life. MARA plays at Theatre Works Aprill 22 - May 2.

Take a dose of these Rehearsal Images as the cast of THE EFFECT prepare for their season opening next week! This award-winning play by Lucy Prebble has never been more potent, so make sure you book your tickets to secure your spot! Playing April 8-18 at Theatre Works.

In today's Backstage Blog, we spoke to Cohan, the lead creative bringing the other-worldly theatrical experience The Irreducible to Explosives Factory next week. Step into a vivid, otherworldly environment where surfaces ooze, webs breathe and the human shifts between forms. The Irreducible is a visceral performance exploring ‘trans’formation, symbiosis, and the porous boundary between the body, identity and the world around us. Q: Welcome to Theatre Works! Tell me about

Thank you to everyone who attended the sold-out Opening Night performance of Beyond the Neck last Saturday night at Theatre Works! Check out the full gallery of celebratory photos below!

Scroll through these behind the scenes rehearsal shots of THE IRREDUCIBLE , playing next month at Explosives Factory! Photos by Kat Glass and Angelina Lee

In this week's Backstage Blog, we speak to Jessica Martin, part of the cast of THE EFFECT , coming soon to Theatre Works! Q: Welcome to Theatre Works! How are final preparations going? What excites you most about bringing The Effect to our stage? There are so many elements I am excited about, but it’s our team of creatives and performers working together that makes me most excited. There is so much to explore in this text, and alongside our director Alonso Pineda, we have bee

Tom Holloway's BEYOND THE NECK is open! A profound By Theatre Works production, directed by Suzanne Chaundy, Beyond the Neck is based on real accounts from people affected by the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. Check out the full production gallery below (images by Steven Mitchell Wright) and book your tickets now before this incredible show closes on Saturday 4th April. "Beyond the Neck exhibits the immense skills and emotional depth of writer, director and ‘creatives’. Suz

In this week's Backstage Blog, we spoke to Fini Liu, director and performer in Eighteen Lives , coming next week to Explosives Factory as a part of Comedy Festival. Three performers move between six eras of Chinese history, shifting character, body and rhythm in moments. With no elaborate set and no costume changes, the actors transform time and space using only voice, gesture and the collective imagination of the room. Past lives echo into the present; private longing slips

Check out thest pictures from FEMOID. , Vixen Theatre Company's damning examination of the online misogyny epidemic, which enters its FINAL WEEK of shows tonight! FEMOID. closes this Saturday 21 March. Check out some of their best review quotes here: "The three performers provide wonderful, choreographed performances that entertain and challenge. Warren has penned a clever and entertaining piece of theatre that shines light on the disturbing rise of Incel and female hatred"

Scroll through these behind the scenes rehearsal shots of Eighteen Lives , preparing for their Comedy Fest run at Explosives Factory later this month! Eighteen Lives plays 25 March - 4 April at Explosives Factory, as a part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Take a sneak peak into the final rehearsals of FEMOID. as they get ready to open at Explosives Factory next week. We were laughing, we were joking, we were girls. FEMOID. confronts the dark, growing presence of misogyny in contemporary society. Combining text, voice-over, and projection, the show draws from verbatim incel forum board posts and merges them with in-yer-face theatre to create a visceral and unsettling experience. It offers a rare insight into the complex ideo

In today's Backstage Blog, we spoke to Iris Warren, playwright and performer in FEMOID. , which follows up it's successful 2025 Perth season with a run at Explosives Factory next week before heading to Sydney next month. FEMOID. confronts the dark, growing presence of misogyny in contemporary society. Combining text, voice-over, and projection, the show draws from verbatim incel forum board posts and merges them with in-yer-face theatre to create a visceral and unsettling e

The Port Arthur Massacre serves as a backdrop to this extraordinary chamber piece about rebuilding after tragedy. The four stories told in this delicate, poetic and quintessentially Australian text steer away from sensationalising the Port Arthur massacre and focus on the effects of loss and violence on people and their fragile journey towards healing. The play is set ten years after Martin Bryant shot and killed thirty-five people and wounded twenty more at Port Arthur on

The mass shooting at Port Arthur occurred on 28 April 1996 nearby and at the former penal colony Port Arthur, a tourist attraction and popular picnic location in Lutruwita/Tasmania. The perpetrator, Martin Bryant, killed 35 people and wounded 23 others, in the deadliest massacre in modern Australian history. The attack led to fundamental changes in Australia’s gun laws. The National Firearms Agreement between state and federal governments was announced within two weeks of t