Imagine: you walk into the Motley Bauhaus Theatrette (a place well renowned for its indie theatre) to the tune of the Playschool theme song, as well as other childhood classics like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and The Lion Sleeps Tonight. In front of you sits a cosy children’s set complete with plastic kids teapot and painted field back drops. Thatās right, it’s Daddy Daycare time, a place where lost daddies go to get their working with womens check whilst discussing consent, anatomy and having fun all at the same time!
After sitting down, what followed was an hour of the most raucous children’s entertainment I have ever seen! Not only was our host (Steph Crothers) beyond hilarious, energetic and devilishly suggestive, but she also really, ah, took care of us, if you catch my drift.
Now heads up, this is a show that features a lot of audience participation. But if you are happy to moan, yell āYES MUMMYā and sing songs about the more delicate parts of a woman’s physique, then you are in the right place. And as part of the audience, it was hard not to get swept up in the energy of it all. Crothers perfectly breached the line between suggestion and play, bringing forward act after act that had myself and the viewers around me gasping for breath in between laughter. Her skills with clowning and comedic timing left even me (one trained in such skills) a little bit speechless!
The tech of the show also strongly enhanced the whole experience. When things were light and playful, so was the sound. When things got darker, so did the lights. And the prerecorded sounds used in the show perfectly complemented what was happening on stage. It was a master class in not too complex tech and how it can truly bring a show together. Thematically, this show also explores that intersection between child and adult, taking me back to a nostalgic period with an adult twist. And boy, would I visit there again!
In total, this is a show that is great fun, but it has more substance than just this. It does bring up real questions of the consent culture within our society. And it did make me think afterwards, but I also just had a really excellent time with it. And my stomach and mouth hurt from smiling and laughing which is never a bad thing.
But look at that, it’s time on the rocket clock for this review to end! As a general rule, do go see this show, bring your friends (especially those of the sheltered persuasion just to watch their little minds be blown) and get up on stage! This is a show that deserves a whole lot of love.
Disclaimer: This production has strobe lights and covers topics of mental health issues.
Ask any Western Australian resident about the Fremantle Art Centre and theyāll all ask you the same thing. āIsnāt that the place thatās haunted?ā
Thatās where our story takes place. Red Ticket, written and directed by Josie Walsh, is about a woman named Lily, played by Krysia Wiechecki, who is struggling with postpartum depression as she learns about the history of the Fremantle Art Centre. The second you walk into the theatre, you are immersed into Lilyās life. A flickering light hangs above an easel and music plays while you wait for the show to begin. The set is very simple with only a giant canvas as a backdrop as well as the easel as a prop. As the show progresses, Lilyās art transforms the stage, bringing you into Lilyās world even more. Words and pictures are drawn on the floor and Lilyās art is hung up around the theater.
The show opens with a distressing monologue from Lily. Sound effects, red light, and a smoke machine are used as she describes a recurring nightmare. The play begins after the monologue, with Janice, played by Hannah-Mary Anderson, who offers humor as a contrast to the dark monologue that weāve just heard and takes place in the Fremantle Art Centre. Lily becomes obsessed with learning about the lunatic asylum that the Art Centre used to be and learns about a woman named Poppy, played by Kate Naunton Morgan, who was admitted to the asylum in the early 1900s several times while suffering from postpartum depression.
Both of the leading actresses do a remarkable job in capturing your attention during their monologues. I felt truly pulled in by their emotions and my heart strings tugged as Lily fell deeper into her depression and Poppy cried, unable to receive the same help that Lily is able to get at the end of the play. The ending is hopeful, letting others know that not only are they not alone but that help is available.
When Lily takes the stage alone, the theatre is dark, just like her thoughts. When she is joined by Janice, the lights are bright until finally darkness surrounds her at all times.The lighting designer, Topaz Knodel, has outdone herself in creating Poppyās silhouette on the canvas as we learn about her and has a meticulous understanding on how to cleverly use light to tell a story. I also enjoyed the sound design and music, created by Zoe Garciano, who did an excellent job creating the perfect touch to complete the story and fully immerse the audience.
Red Ticket is playing at the Blue Room Theatre until 18 April. I highly recommend this play to anyone, but especially those who have struggled with mental health issues as they will find the story relatable.
The cast for the 2026 Australian tour of the musical comedy Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) was announced today. The five performers who will portray the iconic roles of Elizabeth Bennet, Mr Darcy, Jane Bennet, Charles Bingley, Mr and Mrs Bennet and all other characters, will be Amy Lehpamer, Zoe Ioannou, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Ruby Shannon and Teo Vergara. Amy Lehpamer has led the cast of national tours of & Juliet as Anne Hathaway and The Sound of Music as Maria, as well as lead roles in Dusty, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Whoās Tommy, School of Rock, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Once, Rock of Ages, The Rocky Horror Show and Shane Warne the Musical. A NIDA graduate, Zoe Ioannou most recently appeared in the Australian tour of Grease, understudying the roles of Sandy, Frenchy and Jan. Other performance credits include Hairspray, West Side Story, The Wizard of Oz and at the Hayes Theare Co, Dubbo Championship Wrestling, Bridges of Madison County and Big Fish. Kaori Maeda-Judgeās varied career has seen her in productions of David Bowieās Lazarus, White Pearl for Sydney Theatre Company, The Dismissal for Squabbalogic, The Hello Girls and Meg March in Little Women at the Hayes Theatre Co, and Jack Thorneās Tony Award winning A Christmas Carol, as well as TVās Neighbours. A recent graduate of QUT, Ruby Shannon is making her professional debut in Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of). Since graduating, Ruby has collaborated on several independent theatre, film and development projects. Teo Vergara is an actor, singer, dancer and a graduate of the VCA, who made their screen debut in the ABC series Crazy Fun Park and followed this by starring in the queer and gender diverse series Turn Up The Volume for the ABC. Teo was a member of the original Australian cast of Jagged Little Pill, and starred in the original Australian musical Converted! for ATYP.
“It has been a long-held dream to undertake this tour with our take on Austen’s masterpiece,ā said writer and original director Isobel McArthur. āThis show is a true celebration of love and romance so, now that the match-making is done, I cannot wait to watch Pride & Prejudice* (sort of) and its Australian audiences fall head over heels for each other.”
Co-Director Simon Harvey said, āI am delighted with the stellar cast of Australian talent we have been able to assemble for this production and canāt wait to travel down under to begin rehearsals. I feel sure that the wit, physical comedy and karaoke sound track of Isobel MacArthurās take on Jane Austenās timeless classic (sort of), will chime with Aussie audiences.ā
Direct from its triumph in the West End where it won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) is a unique and audacious retelling of Jane Austenās most iconic love story. Men, money and microphones are fought over in this irreverent but affectionate adaptation where the stakes couldnāt be higher when it comes to romance.
This āsmart, laugh out loud funnyā (Daily Telegraph) show features a string of pop classics including Young Hearts Run Free, Will You Love Me Tomorrow and Youāre So Vain. Coming to Australia for the first time, these five fearless women bring Austenās world of love, class and chaos to life with heart, humour and unstoppable energy in this modern take on one of the worldās most adapted pieces of literature.
ā ā ā ā ā āFaithful to the book, itās also a raucously irreverent rompā – Daily Mail ā ā ā ā ā āRiotously funnyā¦ gloriously entertainingā¦ frankly sensationalā – Variety ā ā ā ā ā āLayer and layer of brillianceā – The Scotsman
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE* (*sort of) By Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen Original production directed by Isobel McArthur Co-Director Simon Harvey Produced by Neil Gooding Productions and Woodward Productions by arrangement with David Pugh Limited
SEASON DETAILS
MELBOURNE Venue: Atheneum Theatre Season: 18 June ā 12 July Performance Times: Tues-Wed 7pm, Thurs-Sat 7:30pm, Wed & Sat 2pm, Sun 3pm Prices: From $65 (Transaction fees apply) Bookings: ticketmaster.com.au or phone (03) 9650 1500 Groups 8+ visit ticketmaster.com.au Groups 20+ email groups@ticketmaster.com.au
SYDNEY (Presented by Sydney Opera House) Venue: Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House Season: 16 July ā 30 August Performance Times: Tues-Sun 7pm, Wed & Sat 2pm, Sun 1 or 2pm (times vary weekly) Prices: From $69 (Transaction fees apply) Bookings: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/theatre/pride-prejudice-sort-of or (02) 9250 7777 Groups 8 + call (02) 9250 7777
WOLLONGONG (Presented by Merrigong Theatre Company) Venue: IMB Theatre, IPAC Season: 2-13 September Performance Times: Tue 6.30pm, Wed-Thurs 6:30 or 7:30pm, Fri-Sat 7:30pm, Thurs 11am, Sat & Sun 1:30pm (times vary weekly) Prices: From $84 (Transaction fees apply) Bookings: merrigong.com.au or (02) 4224 5999 Groups 8+ call (02) 4224 5999
CANBERRA Venue: Canberra Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre Season: 16-27 September Performance Times: Tues 6:30pm, Wed-Sat 7:30pm, Wed, Sat & Sun 1:30pm, Sun 6:30pm (times vary weekly) Prices: From $65.90 (Transaction fees apply) Bookings: canberratheatrecentre.com.au or (02) 6275 2700 Groups 4+ call (02) 6275 2727
BRISBANE Venue: Playhouse Theatre, QPAC Season: 30 September ā 18 October Performance Times: Tues-Thurs 7pm, Fri-Sat 7:30pm, Wed, Thurs & Sat 2pm, Sun 3pm (times vary weekly) Prices: From $65 (Transaction fees apply) Bookings: qpac.com.au or phone 136 246 Groups 8+ call (07) 3840 7466
Melbourne is no stranger to unusual, intimate show venues, but it takes a lot of creativity, planning and passion to make full use of unconventional stages. This is especially true for a play like 1 Man 2 Guvnors by Richard Bean, which opened at Londonās National Theatre and was a major career stepping-stone for James Cordon. As a company, J&L Presents clearly rises to challenges like this, explaining that āeach production [of theirs] is carefully tailored to its surroundings, with the venue itself becoming a character that informs and enhances the narrativeā.
For this show, their chosen ācharacterā is Piano On Swan in Richmond, and an otherwise unassuming bar space is converted into a traverse stage. The small audience takes up half the walkway in front of the bar and a little nook close to the entrance, the tech operator looms above the bar and needs a ladder to get down, and the only exits are out the front door and up a small flight of stairs to the toilets. In short, thereās not a lot of space and plenty of obstacles for the actors to navigate ā and they do so beautifully.
The play itself is set in Brighton in 1963, and follows the unemployed working-class Francis Henshall (played by Daragh Wills). The character quickly becomes a dogsbody to two employers: gangster Roscoe Crabb (Zoe Rose), and white-collar criminal Stanley Stubbers (Johno White). As Francis struggles to meet the demands of two masters, other subplots pile onto the whirlwind hilarity, including a twin sister posing as her dead brother; a ālove triangleā between Crabb, aspiring actor Alan (Dylan Mazurek) and dimwitted socialite Pauline (Emilie); and Francis falling for the feminist bookkeeper Dolly (Sharon Wills). Trust me ā itās much easier to follow when you watch it unfold over two hours, with plenty of slapstick, wordplay and melodrama in between.
The script itself was popular fifteen years ago for a reason. It was inspired by an Italian commedia dellāarte play from 1743 and takes a lot of inspiration from classic British period comedies from the likes of P. G. Wodehouse. However, the writing sprinkles in modernisms that add to the comedy instead of distracting from it. The swearing, gender swap shenanigans, fourth wall breaking and audience participation keep the gags constant, fresh and fun. The ensemble castās perfect sense of timing augments every joke; they arenāt afraid to let awkward silences sit because they make the moments of chaos even more uproarious.
J&L Presentsā love of performance space shows to the fullest, as every inch of the small barroom is used. Actors stand on the bar, fall behind it, rush out onto the street and back in, haul heavy trunks and trolleys every which way ā everything is frenetic and chaotic in the best way possible. The blocking was also impressive because aside from a scant few times when some peopleās faces werenāt visible, nothing was missed and every visual joke was clear to see. Wills is a fantastic lead getting laughs from the minute of walking onstage and had us in the palm of their hand. The other cast members fantastically embody their characters, understanding that āmore is moreā and pushing their mannerisms and their voices to the maximum. The comedy was tight and well-planned, but also had a fluidity which made so many moments feel improvisational and any gaffes like additions to the fun. Everyone was enjoying themselves so much that they could do no wrong.
After this show, I canāt imagine 1 Man, 2 Guvnors being performed on a larger, traditional stage. The closeness cultivated between the audience and the characters feels integral to the show working as well as it does. There was a constant sense of excitement, not knowing which character was going to pop out of where, or how things could possibly get worse for our comic heroes. When I went, the audience ranged from very young kids to older people, and from the conversations I heard in the interval and afterwards, everyone seemed to have a fantastic time. This production is intimate, clever, packed with laugh-out-loud moments, and a perfect theater experience for most if not all audiences.
