If you didn’t get a front row seat to the trial that gripped the nation, then don’t worry, Joseph Green has you covered. As Associate to a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Joseph worked on the trial of Erin Patterson, now infamously known as The Mushroom Lady. After seven murder trials and months of working on the pre-trial for Ms Patterson, Joseph resigns and goes to clown school. The combination of which provided the perfect backdrop to create Mushroom Lady, touring Australia in 2026 and coming to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Joseph Green is a comedian and storyteller, he’s performed stand-up across America, UK, Europe and India. An accomplished actor, Joseph appeared in the Superwog series Son of a Donkey (Netflix) and trained with the Atlantic Theatre Company in New York. Leaning into the handsome and charming, Joseph has also worked as a model in New York and Paris.
“Handsome, charming and possessing the type of voice that audiobook companies have wet dreams about.” TheMusic ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Green’s a gifted storyteller.” ArtsHub ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mushroom Lady will premiere in Sydney on January 25 before touring the country to Fringe World, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival and Brisbane Comedy Festival. This is a show for anyone fascinated by trials, mushies and how not to cook with them.
More information visit josephgreen.com.au.
MUSHROOM LADY 2026 TOUR DATES
SYDNEY
Sunday 25 January
Chippo Hotel
Tickets
PERTH
Thu 5 February
Balmoral Hotel
FREMANTLE
Sunday 8 February
The Sail & Anchor
Tickets
ADELAIDE
Wed 25, Thu 26, Fri 27, Sat 28 February, Sun 1 March
Venue TBC
BRISBANE
Sat 7 March
Good Chat Comedy Club
Tickets
HOBART
Sat 14 March
Brewlab
Tickets
MELBOURNE
Wed 25 – Sun 29, Tue 31 Mar, Wed 1 – Sun 19 Apr
House of Maximon
Tickets
Europa! Europa Film Festival returns for its fifth year, screening again in Melbourne and Sydney and expanding for the first time to cinemas in Brisbane, Hobart and Auckland. For one month, from 19 February to 19 March, the festival will present an exciting line-up of European cinematic treasures, comprising 43 films from 22 countries. The festival has announced its opening night film, Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee, the remarkable true story of the founder of the devotional Christian sect known as the Shakers in the mid-18th century.
The third feature directed by Norwegian Mona Fastvold (co-written with her partner Brady Corbet, their follow-up to the Academy Award-winning The Brutalist), The Testament of Ann Lee is an ambitious and visually stunning musical portrait of an unconventional religious leader, who is played with reverent commitment by Amanda Seyfried, who is nominated for a Golden Globe for the role.
The film will screen on Thursday 19 February at Classic Cinemas and Lido Cinemas in Melbourne, Ritz Cinemas in Sydney, Angelika Cinemas in Brisbane, State Cinema in Hobart and Bridgeway Cinema in Auckland. In Sydney at Ritz Cinemas, the film will screen in 70mm.
“We couldn’t be more excited to open our festival with this impressive feature from Mona Fastvold that is as propulsive and passionate as its subject” said Artistic Director Spiro Economopoulos. “This film encapsulates what Europa is all about: bold filmmaking and epic storytelling that spotlights fascinating subjects and showcases European talent.”
The festival has also announced its first retrospective strand spotlighting one of the most revered and influential directors of the 20th century with Michelangelo Antonioni: Modernist Master, which includes four films from the Italian director’s artistic zenith. Collaborating with icon and muse Monica Vitti on L’Avventura, La Notte, L’Eclisse and Red Desert, Antonioni shaped a century and invented a new film language that dissected the tensions between people and their modern worlds with an elegant, eerie cool. The four films will screen throughout the festival in Melbourne and Sydney.
THE DETAILS: OPENING NIGHT FILM – THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE
MELBOURNE Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick Thursday 19th February 6:45pm – Opening night event 7:30pm – The Testament of Ann Lee
Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn Thursday 19th February 6:45pm – Opening night event 7:30pm – The Testament of Ann Lee Tickets include drinks, DJ and nibbles.
SYDNEY Ritz Cinemas, Randwick Thursday 19th February 6:45pm – Opening night event 7:30pm – The Testament of Ann Lee in 70mm Tickets include drinks, DJ and nibbles.
BRISBANE Angelika Cinemas, Woolloongabba Thursday 19th February 7:15pm – Drink on arrival 7:30pm – The Testament of Ann Lee
HOBART State Cinema, North Hobart Thursday 19th February 7:15pm – Drink on arrival 7:30pm – The Testament of Ann Lee
AUCKLAND Bridgeway Cinema, Auckland Thursday 19th February 7:15pm – Drink on arrival 7:30pm – The Testament of Ann Lee Tickets include a drink on arrival.
FESTIVAL DATES & VENUES MELBOURNE Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick Thu 19 Feb – Thu 19 Mar Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn Thu 19 Feb – Thu 19 Mar Cameo Cinemas, Belgrave* Fri 20 Feb – Mon 2 Mar
SYDNEY Ritz Cinemas, Randwick Thu 19 Feb – Thu 19 Mar
BRISBANE Angelika Cinemas, Woolloongabba* Thu 19 Feb – Sun 1 Mar
HOBART State Cinema, Hobart* Thu 19 Feb – Sun 1 Mar
AUCKLAND Bridgeway Cinemas, Auckland* Thu 19 Feb – Wed 4 Mar
If you want to see some of the best documentaries from around the world, mark your calendar for Antenna Documentary Film Festival 2026. Celebrating its 14th edition, Antenna runs 5–15 February 2026 across Sydney, presenting a program that promises to surprise, to spark the imagination, and to expand worldviews.
Festival Director Dudi Rokach said the 2026 program reflects the breadth and depth of contemporary documentary cinema. “Each film is imaginative, cinematic, and has a unique point of view about the world we live in. Together, they show documentary cinema at its most rigorous, cinematic and alive”.
Opening & Closing Films
The festival opens with the Australian premiere of The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel (USA, 2025), a character-driven portrait of Tony Powell, a former football star who vanished from public life in 1970s Britain before re-emerging decades later as the manager and sole resident of a crumbling Hollywood motel. As eviction looms, Powell is forced to confront years of silence and the relationships he left behind.
Closing the festival is Ghost Elephants (USA, 2025), the latest film from Werner Herzog, which follows conservationist Dr Steve Boyes on an expedition into Angola’s mist-shrouded highlands in search of the “ghost elephants,” a legendary herd long believed to exist only in myth.
Highlights
One of the highlights of the program is the Australian premiere of Sentient (Australia, 2026), the debut feature documentary from respected journalist Tony Jones, following its world premiere at Sundance 2026. The film takes audiences inside animal laboratory research, exposing a hidden world in which it’s not just the animals who are getting hurt. Drawing on firsthand testimony and investigative research, the film questions long-held assumptions about scientific necessity and moral responsibility.
Other program highlights include:
We Are Jeni (Australia, 2026) – Directed by Mariel Thomas and Akhim Dev, the film follows Dr Jeni Haynes, whose extraordinary case — in which she testified through multiple alternate identities in an Australian court — helped secure the conviction of her abuser. After surviving extreme childhood trauma by developing more than 2,500 alternate personalities, the film examines memory, resilience and the fight to be believed.
Elon Musk Unveiled – The Tesla Experiment (Germany, 2025) – A new film that pulls back the curtain on Musk’s empire, as close confidants, whistleblowers, victims, and former high-ranking Tesla employees speak out. Their testimonies expose hidden data and buried defects in the race for self-driving cars.
The Clown of Gaza (Palestine, 2025) – After losing his home in Gaza, performer Alaa Meqdad keeps hope alive by becoming Aloosh the Clown, bringing joy to children in hospitals and streets. The Clown of Gaza is a moving celebration of humanity and love in pitch-dark times.
Synthetic Sincerity (UK, 2025) – BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Marc Isaacs examines whether emotional authenticity can be taught to artificial intelligence
An Eye for an Eye (Iran, 2025) – Convicted of murdering her husband, Tahereh served her sentence and now faces a ticking clock to negotiate with her in-laws who, under Sharia law, have the legal right to either execute her or forgive her- for a price. Unfolding like a real-life courtroom thriller, the film examines justice, mercy and survival within a patriarchal religious system.
Trade Secret (Australia, 2025) – A multi-award-winning exposé by cinematographer-turned-director Abraham Joffe, investigating the global wildlife trade and the fight to protect polar bears from international commercial exploitation.
Special Events & Festival Guests
Antenna will welcome renowned filmmaker Kirsten Johnson to Sydney as a special guest. Before directing the acclaimed documentaries, Cameraperson and Dick Johnson Is Dead, Johnson spent decades behind the camera, shaping some of the most influential nonfiction films through collaborations with filmmakers such as Laura Poitras, Michael Moore and Kirby Dick. During the festival, Johnson will participate in an in-depth In Conversation event and curate a special sidebar, Kirsten Johnson Selects, presenting films that have shaped her creative practice. The festival will also mark the 10th anniversary of Cameraperson with a special screening.
The festival will also present a special retrospective, Gillian Armstrong & The Adelaide Three: 50 Years Later. Often described as the Australian 7 Up, Gillian Armstrong’s landmark longitudinal project traces more than three decades in the lives of three Adelaide “Girls” — Kerry, Josie and Diana — and reflects on the evolution of the women’s lives on screen. This rare screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Gillian Armstrong, joined by Kerry and Josie, alongside additional members of the Adelaide family.
The Antenna Documentary Film Festival opens Thursday 5 February and runs until Sunday 15 February 2026. Full program details and tickets are available at www.antennafestival.org
Award winning producers Drew Anthony Creative are continuing their 2026 east coast season with the announcement of a powerful stage adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, which is set to open at Melbourne’s historic Athenaeum Theatre from March 4, 2026. With previous productions taking out a Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award this production comes directly from its own critically acclaimed sell out season at The Heath Ledger Theatre in Perth, and will debut in Melbourne before moving onto the State Theatre in Sydney.
This brand-new production allows audiences to step into one of the most inspiring true stories of the 20th century, as it masterfully brings to life the remarkable true story of 13-year-old Anne Frank – a young Jewish girl hiding with her family for two years in occupied Amsterdam during World War II. Through Anne’s extraordinary diary, audiences are given an intimate view into the challenges, fears, and small triumphs of their life in hiding. Anne’s teenage diary has made her one of the most powerful voices in literature, as a young girl whose hope, humour, and unwavering belief in the goodness of humanity continue to inspire millions even today.
Written in 1955 by playwrights Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, the stage play is based on the original book, The Diary of Anne Frank, which published by Anne’s father, Otto Frank and details Anne’s experiences and insights while she and her family were in hiding, living in a constant fear of being arrested.
Director Drew Anthony says, “It has been my absolute privilege to stage this production in Perth, and I am thrilled to be bringing this play to Melbourne. The enduring power of Anne’s voice resonates through time, offering a profound call for tolerance, courage, and compassion. As prejudice and division continue to challenge our world, Anne’s diary serves as a vital reminder to learn from the past, value our freedoms, and strive toward a more hopeful future.”
The Diary of Anne Frank will play at the Athenaeum Theatre from Tuesday to Sunday from March 4 until March 14. The show is a deeply moving production that combines brilliant performances and skilled narration to create an experience that will stay with you long after the curtain falls.
“It is a life-changing experience, a call to remembrance, and a doorway into empathy, resilience, and the necessity of continuing the fight for human dignity.” OUTinPerth
“There is no doubt this is a well-acted and moving piece of theatre that highlights the resilience of the human spirit even in the face of unspeakable barbarity.” Perth Theatre Reviews
The Diary of Anne Frank is a testament to the human spirit that continues to resonate and inspire. Don’t miss the chance to witness this story of strength and perseverance.
Tickets are now on sale for THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK via www.ticketmaster.com.au.
This production is recommended for audiences 10 years +
PRODUCTION TEAM Producer Drew Anthony Creative Associate Producer Rachel Burgess Director Drew Anthony Production Design Drew Anthony Costume Design Annette Stivaletta Lighting Design Drew Anthony & Jason Bovaird DAC Social Media Videography Abbey Burton
DURATION 2hr 10 min with a 20-minute interval
WHERE The Athenaeum Theatre, Collins Street, Melbourne
