Theatre

Coco: The Time-Travelling Tart

Coco: The Time-Travelling Tart

Coco: The Time-Travelling Tart Rating

★★★★★

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Fast-paced, a little unhinged, and riotously funny, Coco takes audiences on a journey through the raunchier side of historical events. Already known and loved in the UK, Coco has boldly come to Australia in 2026 to give a sneak-peak into what really happened with many iconic figures such as Napolean, Queen Elizabeth the first, and right back to the original apple-tart herself, Eve.

Typically, there’s the expectation in Fringe season that everyone lets their hair down and just enjoys some entertainment. Intimately seated in the Yurt of the Courtyard of Curiosities at the Migration Museum, audience participation is an absolute must rather than just an option, as your hesitation or failure to respond will often lead you to take a bigger role in the evening’s entertainment that you might have planned. A delightful combination of Clowning, storytelling, and character comedy, Coco feeds off her audience’s laughter, shock, and heckles. Coco, a highly absurdist persona of comedian Max Norman, is a self-proclaimed enthusiast for champagne and shenanigans of the salacious variety throughout her historical ventures. Joyous and irreverent, she channels Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous with her statuesque frame, blonde hair, sunglasses, but with a much cheekier and more devious undertone. Drawing her audiences in with her smooth voice and cheeky grin, she cleverly keeps them engaged through courage and connection as the show progresses. From collaboratively creating pyramids in Ancient Egypt to electing a new Pope, this raucous expedition across time will have you complicit in some of the historical shenanigans that occur.

 

Coco: The Time-Travelling Tart
Coco: The Time-Travelling Tart

 

While the set is largely minimal, Coco certainly more than makes up for it through charisma and movement through the space. The sound and lighting do play large parts in moving the story along, predominantly through the initial setting of each era and the all-important time travelling taxi. From coloured lights and mini torches, simple sound cues, dry ice, and apples suspended on string, these subtle elements only enhance the performer’s efforts in storytelling.

While the later timeslot may deter some people, it certainly ensures that no one under 18 will likely wander this way. With a couple of warnings and a maturity rating for 15+, it assuredly indicates that this is not the show to bring your family to – unless you’re all adults with a quirky sense of humour. If you’re looking for something fresh, chaotic, and queer this Adelaide Fringe, Coco the Time Travelling Tart will have you laughing from shock and hilarity throughout.

To book tickets to Coco: The Time-Travelling Tart, please visit https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/coco-the-time-travelling-tart-af2026.

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Marjorie Prime

Marjorie Prime

Marjorie Prime Rating

★★★★★

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Marjorie Prime speaks to our deeply human longing for connection and prompts us to reflect on how much of our past we would choose to preserve, and what memories we might leave.

It’s the fragile humanity at the centre of this play that gives power to the storytelling. In an imagined future, we can turn our lost loved ones into ‘Primes’. These realistic holographic recreations provide emotional support as we navigate our grief and move forward with our lives. It’s an intriguing concept that leaves us questioning how far we would go when gripped by uncertainty and grief.

The story introduces Marjorie, an elderly woman living with dementia. Her daughter Tess and son-in-law Jon give her a ‘Prime’ of her late husband Walter to provide comfort. This holographic Walter appears eternally youthful and endlessly patient, sitting perfectly upright, attentive and still as he listens to stories about Marjorie’s life. Each day he absorbs new anecdotes, ready to repeat them later, gradually constructing a version of the man he once was through the memories of others.

The effect is both touching and unsettling. Walter’s kindness is constant, and he pays utmost attention to Marjorie. As she interacts with him, her daughter Tess watches with unease. She struggles with complicated feelings, sometimes resentful of the gentleness her mother shows the Prime, the same warmth she herself longed for growing up. At the same time, Tess is determined to shield certain painful memories from the Prime, hoping to spare Marjorie distress. Her husband Jon, however, sees value in honesty, even if the memories are difficult.

 

Marjorie Prime

 

Moments of humour slip gently into the narrative too. At one point Marjorie persuades Walter to embellish the story of their engagement by inserting a movie-theatre outing to Casablanca, improving the memory just a little. It’s a small moment, but one that neatly illustrates how fluid and fragile memory can be.

Between scenes, blackouts punctuate the action, echoing the gaps forming in Marjorie’s mind. As the story unfolds, time begins to stretch and shift. After Marjorie’s death, she herself returns as a Prime. Yet instead of offering comfort to a grieving Tess, she seems to deepen the pain. Years pass in quiet leaps, and while people age and die, the Primes remain with their distorted, incomplete memories of the past.

When the play debuted in 2014, its exploration of artificial intelligence and memory felt speculative. Watching it now in 2026, with AI firmly embedded in everyday life, the questions it raises create discomfort. Is recreating the dead a source of solace, or does it blur the boundaries of grief in ways we may not yet understand?

This production at Roxy Lane Theatre brings the story beautifully to life. Janet Dickinson is compelling as Marjorie, capturing both vulnerability and warmth, while Finn Happ’s youthful Walter embodies the eerie calm of the Prime. Liza Black, who also directs the production, gives Tess a moving emotional depth and is supported by Chris Harris as the steady and kind-hearted Jon.

Short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2015, Marjorie Prime remains as thoughtful and moving as ever. It’s a tender reflection on memory, technology and the enduring complexity of love.

Congratulations to the cast and crew on a heartfelt and thought-provoking performance. Marjorie Prime is currently showing at the Roxy Theatre from Friday to Sunday at 7.30pm, with Sunday matinee performances at 2.30, until 22 March.

To book tickets to Marjorie Prime, please visit https://www.taztix.com.au/event/roxylanetheatre/.

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Exit Laughing

Exit Laughing

Exit Laughing Rating

★★★★★

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There are plays that make you laugh, plays that make you cry, and then there are plays that quietly sneak up on you and remind you that life is happening right now. Watching ‘Exit Laughing’ feels a little like attending the obituary of a woman who refused to leave the table before the last hand was played. Not a solemn obituary, of course—but one written in laughter, cake crumbs, and the shuffle of bridge cards.

For thirty years, Mary’s greatest adventure was her weekly bridge night with “the girls.” In the grand ledger of life, perhaps that sounds small. But for Connie, Leona, Millie, and Mary—four Southern ladies from Birmingham—it was ritual, friendship, and the quiet glue that held the years together. So when Mary dies rather inconveniently before the next scheduled game, the surviving trio does what any respectable, bridge-loving friends might do: they “borrow” her ashes from the funeral home and bring her along for one final night of cards.

From that moment on, the play unfolds like a mischievous wake—one where the guest of honor is present in an urn and the night spirals gloriously out of control. What begins in melancholy quickly turns into an evening of surprises. It is ridiculous in the best theatrical sense: a celebration of life disguised as chaos.

Originally staged at the historic Landers Theatre by the Springfield Little Theatre, the production famously broke the theater’s fifty-year record for tickets sold, playing to standing-room-only audiences and becoming the most popular non-musical in the theatre’s century-long history. It is not difficult to see why. The play carries a universal message wrapped in laughter: it is never too late—or too early—to seize the day.

 

 

The recent production at Hunters Hill Theatre, directed by Annette Van Roden, captures this spirit beautifully. Van Roden’s direction keeps the pacing lively while allowing the emotional moments to breathe. She has clearly chosen her cast with care, creating an ensemble that feels authentic, warm, and delightfully human.

Among the cast, Penny Church’s Millie stands out as a particularly charming presence—eccentric, slightly unhinged, but utterly lovable. Her performance captures the play’s essence: that life, even in its later chapters, can still be wild, surprising, and full of joy.

By the end, the audience leaves with what might best be described as a warm aftertaste—a smile lingering long after the curtain falls. In the end, Exit Laughing is less a comedy about death and more an obituary for a life lived too cautiously. Mary’s final hand reminds us all that the game isn’t over yet—and that the best move might simply be to laugh and play on. ♠️♥️♣️♦️

To book tickets to Exit Laughing, please visit https://www.huntershilltheatre.com.au/.

Photographer: Daniel Ferris

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First Curtain Festival: Seven Short Plays By CGTC

First Curtain Festival

First Curtain Festival Rating

★★★★★

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Camberwell Grammarians’ Theatre presents ‘The First Curtain Festival’. A 2 hour celebration of seven original short plays, written by local playwrights and staged by Melbourne-born talent. Each play is directed by a seasoned or rising director from the community and audiences are in for a wonderful night of variety.

All plays shown at each performance:

THE LAST OF THE GENTLEMEN SLEUTHS by Noah Sargent, directed by William Rotor
Trapped by a blizzard, five of the world’s greatest gentlemen sleuths must solve the murder of Mr. Corpse before they all turn on each other instead. Who did it?!

BYSTANDER by Jennifer Pacey, directed by Ben Klein
The unthinkable has happened. A man has thrown himself in front of an arriving train. Three women tell the story of what they saw, trying to make sense of it all, and of themselves.
Please be advised this play contains suicide.

CHIPS by James Gordon, directed by James Gordon
It is Ghafour’s first day of work at Apopotatosis: a company that takes randomly selected people from the Australian population and turns them into chips to then sell off for profit. What could possibly go wrong?
Contains coarse language.

DROP DEAD by Benjamin Chesler, directed by Lakshmi Ganapathy
In the dead of night, in the middle of winter, a slapdash team chop firewood – but nature has other plans for them…
An Australian Gothic play that’ll make you think twice about venturing out into the bush at night.
Contains loud noises and strobe lighting.

EMILY TAKES A LOVER by Julie Murphy, directed by Julie Murphy
Emily’s husband is having an affair. Will she get her revenge?
Contains themes of adultery, abortion and toxic family dynamics.

SALMON by Peter Farrar, directed by Angus Fitzpatrick
During rush hour a frustrated chef and an apathetic waiter have a heart-to-heart in the alleyway outside of the fine dining kitchen.

THAT STORY ABOUT THE LOUVRE by DS Magid, directed by Jai Barlow
Ever hear the one about the impressionist who broke into the Louvre to finish a painting?

 

First Curtain Festival
First Curtain Festival

This was perhaps the most varied night out at a theatre I’ve experienced. Seven different short plays in one sitting, so something for everyone to sit back and enjoy, assess and chat about afterwards.

I love to immerse myself in the world of the actors in front of me for a couple of hours. This one local to me in my favorite little Clayton Theatrette, easy to get to and park – bonus!

All the scripts were pretty clever, but I liked best ‘CHIPS’ surprisingly which I guessed correctly in advance would be crazy! It was definitely super dooper crazy! ‘CHIPS’ received the biggest laughs of the night so it made the perfect Final piece. Imagine a factory where humans are turned into potato chips – goodness how does a writer come up with such cooky creativity and make it work! Shout out here to Simona Riftin in the cast, her vibrance for roles in community theatre is infectious and I’ve seen her in a number of plays now. Henry Vo had fantastic interaction with Benjamin Chesler who was equally great and his line of being the ‘f….. boss’ spread uncontrollable loud laughter across the entire crowd.

Coming in a close second for me on the program would be my appreciation for ‘BYSTANDER’. Extremely well acted by all the girls; Alexia Brady and Shirin Albert were amazing with their feelings expressed and Crystal Haig (WAAPA grad.) was astoundingly believable in her explanation of how her character felt in watching someone jump in front of a train, and going through the trauma how she was ‘not fine’. I do believe ‘BYSTANDER’ is an award deserving script and took a deep amount of emotional courage from both the writer and actors.

My hubby’s favourite was ‘THE LAST GENTLEMEN SLEUTHS’ as wondering and wandering through a who-dunnit with a cast that also involves the audience with tips along the way is always a lot of fun. The actors’ language accents were excellent and when those same talented people came out in different items throughout the night they really showed off their extraordinary versatility!

Well done everyone!!

Ticket link: https://events.humanitix.com/first-curtain-festival

Seeing original work is a privilege and Camberwell Grammarians’ Theatre Company (CGTC) is a community theatre company formed to encourage alumni, friends and families of Camberwell Grammar School to continue, revive or ignite a drive for the performing arts. It was easy to see their love for the performing arts and what a wonderful way to stay connected and connect to others at the same time. Theatre has so many aspects in which one can be involved, it’s a pity not more schools have these types of groups ongoing after school is finished. I know I would’ve loved to have been involved in one.

To book tickets to First Curtain Festival, please visit https://events.humanitix.com/first-curtain-festival.

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