Love and Information: A Joyous Exploration of Tiny Moments

Love and Information

Love and Information Rating

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Love and Information at Theatreworks offers a joyous, fast-paced journey through a series of micro-moments that illuminate the many facets of human connection. Under the vibrant direction and choreography of Belle Hansen, this production presents a kaleidoscope of vignettes, each one a tiny window into love in its countless forms: between parent and child, siblings, romantic partners at the beginning or end of a relationship, and even the more abstract, conceptual experiences of love. The result is an adventurous theatrical experience that feels both immediate and expansive.

From the moment the lights rise on Harry Gill’s cleverly designed set, rotating pieces transform with ease and projections of bright blue skies and puffy clouds by Hannah Jennings sweep the audience into a world that is as visually inventive as it is emotionally resonant. Sidney Younger’s lighting design bathes each scene in a warm palette, underscoring tenderness or tension as required. At the same time, Jack Burmeister’s sound and composition evoke the golden age of Hollywood with music inspired by Gershwin. At times, the soundtrack dances alongside the action, punctuating moments of tenderness or humour and making the transitions between vignettes feel seamless.

The cast is a diverse ensemble—Junghwi Jo, Iopu Auva’a, Jane Edwina Seymour, Jack Francis West, Charlie Morris, Felix Star, Emma Woods and Sean Yuen Halley—who bring these snapshots of life to vivid, often playful reality. There is an energy onstage that feels akin to actors exploring a Meisner exercise: words float above the subtext, and true meaning emerges from silent exchanges, body language and emotional undercurrents. Each performer embraces that challenge, allowing humour, heartbreak and wonder to coexist within a few lines of dialogue.

It is apparent that collaborative work between the director and actors was central to the rehearsal process, and moments of genuine spontaneity lit up the stage.

Movement and choreography are integral to this production. The actors flow across the stage, interacting with set pieces, props and each other in ways that feel organic. Choreographed movement ranges from subtle shifts in posture to more overt group sequences that push the action forward. The rotating set becomes a character in its own right.

Costume design by Harry Gill is a highlight: the soft, inviting palette feels both lush and approachable. Each colour choice seems deliberate, through oranges, blues and earth tones that mirror the emotional tenor of each vignette. The textures of fabric invite the audience into a human, tactile world. The actors’ wardrobes become an extension of emotional colour, visually echoing the subtext beneath their brief but potent scenes.

If there is one area where a gentler touch might allow the emotional truth to breathe even more, it is during the second half of the show. As the pace quickens and the stakes rise, certain confessions or confrontations feel rushed, as though the performance is intent on maintaining momentum rather than lingering in nuance. A few extra beats here or there, just a fraction of pause, could allow subtle shifts in expression or tone to blossom more fully. That being said, the ensemble remains fully committed, and any sense of haste never feels careless or rushed.

Overall, Love and Information is an inspiring theatrical adventure that marries inventive design, spirited performances and moments of genuine emotional resonance. Belle Hansen and her creative team have delivered a production that celebrates the beautiful complexity of human relationships. Theatreworks provides the perfect intimate setting for these fleeting stories to land with impact. If you have ever wondered how a few lines of dialogue can carry an entire universe of feelings, this is the show to catch. I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to experience this vibrant, daring exploration of love at TheatreWorks.

To book tickets to Love and Information, please visit https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2025/love-and-information.

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Storked: The Reality Of My Body Is Monstrous

Storked

Storked Rating

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3

Storked is a vignetted interrogation of all things uterine: what it means to have a uterus, the expectations of having a uterus, and the “choice to choose.” The play looks at periods, pregnancy, monogamy, family, parenting, sex, and what it means to choose to have children in today’s world.

The show is told across four acts, broken down into a mixture of skits, short narratives and thought explorations, each with their own witty title card, wrapping each moment into a neat bow. What’s truly impressive here is that throughout every single segment, it all connects seamlessly to the key idea at the show’s core; what it means to have a uterus, regardless of your gender.

The pacing was fantastic, and each act threw a different tonal angle at you with what it wanted to say. The first act was my favourite, a great mix of absurdist comedy following a brutal body horror opening. As the show progressed, this first act was the perfect reminder of the range of each performer on stage. As the scenes and themes became heavier, I was reminded of how much each actor made me laugh, then so easily in another context made my heart break for them. I always find it impressive how you can dive so deep into a topic and really strike a chord but do so whilst still making the audience laugh, which Storked pulled off effortlessly, through witty writing and exceptional use of physical comedy.

Storked took on an excellent use of staging, incorporating technology in a way that really added another level to the show. The titles of each scene made me giggle every time, even when the performance accompanying it put a pit in my stomach; a perfect encapsulation of how this show twists and turns tone, whilst somehow never tipping the pendulum entirely in favour of one or the other in a really remarkable balancing act.

At the end of the performance, it was an added thrill to scroll through the cast and crew listing and see a sea of nonbinary and femme pronouns taking the majority. As a queer femme myself, this makes my heart sing. To know how authentic and true to life these stories are, how insane the stakes become in sections of these vignettes, but still connect so deeply with the material its tackling, is because it all comes from a collective of people who share this frustration, fatigue and downright rage for the societal systems that force us to think about these things all the time from far too young of an age.

Storked is a true blend of genres, taking elements of body horror, satirical comedy, spoken word poetry and blending it into a hilarious, devastating and ultimately truthful exploration of what it means to have a womb.

To book tickets to Storked, please visit https://antipodestheatre.com/.

Photography:- Angel Leggas 3 Fates Media

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The Beep Test: An Airtight, Raucous Hoot Of Nostalgia.

The Beep Test

The Beep Test Rating

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1

The Beep Test follows Jane, Zach, Cooper and Sandra in their year 7 beep test and Sir, the PE teacher enforcing this hell upon them. The show explores the pressures and high stakes of high school, the importance of finding your own worth and what an absolute nightmare the beep test is, all in a short and sweet 60 minute run time.

At the first toll of the titular ‘beep’ you could practically feel the shiver that went down the spine of every audience member. Sat beside a friend of mine from high school, she gripped my arm, bracing for impact. Such a clever concept to take one of the most hated Australian school activities and draw it out to interrogate the themes that affect teenagers of this age.

Like high school, the stakes feel ridiculously high, the perfect vessel for big laughs, which The Beep Test delivered on at every point. The show crammed as much comedy as it could into its 60 minute run time, milking every second of stage time and every ounce of physicality to ensure our cheeks hurt by the end. With a full audience, not a single joke didn’t land. Through this, what I most admired was how each emotional beat still landed. Neylon and Peele balanced the stakes for these characters while keeping us laughing, but never at the expense of rushing through appropriate character development. It was almost pantomime how quickly the show had the whole audience uproariously laughing, to then cooing with a sea of “aww’s” as the romantic storyline progressed, or as another detail was revealed about a student’s depressing home life.

Each actor really shone as well, hitting the comedic beats and every note. The vocals were particularly impressive from the leads Sara Reed and Axel Duffy who portrayed Jane and Zach respectively. Similarly, I adored the chemistry between Sebastian Li, who played Cooper and Carly Jaz, who played Sandra. I was hook, line and sinker for every moment of their storyline. With the exception of the musical number ‘Zachiarah Nicholson’, the songs between these two characters won my heart over every time.

The staging was great. The back wall of the school gym was riddled with graffiti and secret silly details, and my friend and I spent each moment before the lights went down and as the lights came out pointing out to each other and giggling. It was a really well-executed use of space, immersive and simple, with essentially the only key props being a bench seat and the cones the characters had to run between.

There were a few aspects of Jane’s storyline I wanted slightly more from. For me, she was the character who had the least backstory, and her motivation felt a little one note. Sara Reed performed as Jane fantastically; however, with so much of the dialogue in the show putting her down for being a girl, with that simple term being used as an insult, I wanted more rage from her character. It’s clear she wants to beat Zach to prove to herself that she can, but I almost feel like there was further possibility for comedy in pushing that motivation further and tying it into the playground misogyny that is consistently thrown her way.

The Beep Test is an undeniably charming comedy musical bursting with passion, heart and consistent laughs.

To book tickets to The Beep Test, please visit https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2025/the-beep-test.

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Slay: A Theatre Works Presentation

Slay

Slay Rating

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What happens when you put four lesbians in a room with the iconic cast of Twilight, Glee legend Sue Sylvester, and extremely polarising politician Pauline Hanson? Well, a terrific game of Kiss, Marry, Kill, of course!

And the killing doesn’t even remotely stop there. Slay is a political horror comedy where those same four lesbians are being targeted by a killer after someone they know suddenly disappears. One-by-one the girls start to fall victim to the mysterious killer (who is a slay themselves in their dazzling costume).

As the story progresses, it is also intercut with two further narratives of storytelling – the segmented manifesto of an intense political party (SLAM), run by lesbians who are tired of cis men leading the world, as well as renditions of different social media platforms and their associated rabbit-holes of misinformation.

As the cast portrays an array of bizarre individuals that you would find in a Reddit thread or being asked for their ‘hot takes’ on a subway for TikTok – they are sandwiched tightly between the other polarising narratives taking place. It mirrors this generation’s low-attention span habit of scrolling through phones, playing a game, and watching TV all simultaneously. And though you are bombarded by aspects of the show, there’s a perfect amount of satirical comedy and pop-culture references in the mix for it to be an enjoyable smack in the face.

The four actresses of the production, Raven Rogers-Wright (as Ziggy), Jackie van Lierop (as Jessica), Anita Mei La Terra (as Cora), Louisa Cusumano (as Valentina and Kiki) are an excellent ensemble throughout each of the sub-stories. Rivalling classic casts of campy horror favourites, such as Scream and Scream Queens, they all work together with such an infectious energy that gives the show a lot of life, which is ironic given the death surrounding them.

Particularly during an unforgettable and passionate round of Just Dance, Anita Mei La Terra (Cora) completely smashes her dance moves in style. And the way the game is incorporated into the stage design flawlessly while the scene unfolds, leaves the crowd in hysterics and tears.

Continuing to kill in terms of the production design and lighting, the crew was able to make the small stage feel so much larger and dynamic with just a scarcely sheer sheet behind the stage, which was a joy to watch. It led to depth through projections onto the sheet and scenes occurring through it. The only thing the set lacked was a way to raise any floor-based scenes higher for more audience visibility. Even though the seating was tiered, the view was often obstructed for scenes like the opening slumber party game, which was a bummer when it was so entertaining.

The biggest takeaway though was that the director Steph Lee, and her fellow cast and crew creatives that worked to construct Slay, are ones to watch for the future. If this is the unique, succinct, and enjoyable material you get to consume from this team, it won’t be hard to return.

This political campy slasher was perfectly devised for the stage. It would make you fight to be the ‘Final Girl’, just so you can be the last one standing and watch it all.

To book tickets to Slay, please visit https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2025/slay.

Photographer: ISABELLA ‘IZ’ ZETTL

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