Rehearsals are well underway as the supremely talented cast of Tootsie, the smash-hit Broadway musical, prepare for the Australian Premiere at Teatro at the Italian Forum later this month. Wigs and sequins have been donned in preparation to bring this nostalgic classic to the stage at Sydney’s newest exciting venue. Tootsie opens on 26 May, with tickets on sale now at www.teatroitalianforum.com.au. Based on the beloved Oscar-winning hit film starring Dustin Hoffman, the Tony Award® winner for Best Book of a Musical promises’ laughs, heart, and a generous dose of nostalgia.
Leading the cast in the dual role of Michael Dorsey and his alter ego Dorothy Michaels, made famous on screen by two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman, is Andrew Bevis (The Lord of the Rings, The Rocky Horror Show). The role of Julie Nichols will be played by Sydney Theatre Award winner Elenoa Rokobaro (Hadestown), while Alana Tranter (Beauty and the Beast) plays Sandy Lester. Brendan Irving (The Rocky Horror Show) plays Max Von Horn, Tyran Stig (Titanique) plays Jeff Slater, Donna Lee (Hairspray) is Rita Marshall, Chris Huntley-Turner (Friends: The Parody Musical) is Stan Fields, and Lachlan O’Brien (The Phantom of the Opera) plays Ron Carlisle.
The ensemble features Sam Austin, Lisa Callingham, Katie Green, Arthur Lees (swing), Maximillian Macdonald, Jessica Parris, Jamie Reisin, Julian Seguna, and Nicole Vella.
Described by The New York Post as “Broadway’s funniest new musical” and praised by Rolling Stone as “musical comedy heaven”, Tootsie is the laugh-out-loud story of a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one bold, show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime.
Tootsie received 11 Tony Award nominations for its Broadway production, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. With music and lyrics by Tony Award and Grammy Award winner David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and a book by Tony Award winner Robert Horn (13 The Musical, Shucked), Tootsie has had audiences rolling in the aisles.
This all-new production of Tootsie is directed and choreographed by award-winning director and choreographer Cameron Mitchell (Putting It Together, Sweet Charity) with co- musical direction by Kevin Wang and Nicholas Till (Putting it Together) and costume design by Angela White.
Fast-paced and outrageously funny, Tootsie explores identity, ambition, and ego, all while keeping the laughs coming.
TOOTSIE Season: From 26 May Venue: Teatro at the Italian Forum, Norton Street, Leichhardt Performance Times: Wed–Thurs 7pm, Fri–Sat 7.30pm, Sat 2pm, Sun 1pm & 6pm Prices: $75 for previews (26–28 May); from $85 for remaining dates (a handling fee of $6.95 per transaction applies) Bookings: www.teatroitalianforum.com.au
Space Jump Theatre Company invites audiences into the searing poetic intensity of Contest by Emilie Collyer. Running from 17–28 March 2026 at Flight Path Theatre, 142 Addison Road, Marrickville, this production delivers a taut, electrifying theatre experience, where power, endurance and the cost of competition collide on the court and beyond.
About the Production: The game slows. It’s a dance. A memory, a dream, the body remembers. Muscles tense and release, bones anticipate the landing after the leap we can do this in our sleep. We Play on.
When a new player, Cass, joins a suburban netball team, the fragile balance of the group shifts. She sees what others cannot or will not, and her truths, quietly spoken, ripple through the team. Secrets, unspoken grievances, and long-held frustrations rise to the surface, turning every pass, pivot, and collision into a reckoning.
Set entirely on the netball court, Contest, written by Emilie Collyer and produced by Space Jump Theatre Company, immerses women of every age, shape, size, and ability in a world governed by rules, expectation, and relentless pressure. Bodies move side by side, sweating, enduring, testing limits. The game becomes a powerful metaphor for resilience, courage, and endurance, both on and off the court, capturing the subtle, fierce, and unrelenting ways women persist.
Blending stylised movement, poetic dialogue, and raw physicality, Contest is a bold, immersive, and unforgettable story of connection, rivalry, and the extraordinary endurance of women. Every moment on the court resonates with intensity, intimacy, and the unflinching reality of human emotion.
But what still aches after the whistle blows?
Synopsis: When new player Cass joins a suburban netball team, long-held tensions surface, and every pass, pivot, and collision becomes a reckoning. Set entirely on the netball court, Contest captures the fierce, subtle, and unrelenting ways women persist.
Event Details: Dates: 17 – 28 March, 2026 Venue: Flight Path Theatre, 142 Addison Road, Marrickville, Sydney Tickets: Available at www.flightpaththeatre.org Run time: approx 75mins
Cast: [alphabetical] GS: Melissa Jones GA: Willa King C: Suz Mawer GD: Emma Monk WA: Lana Morgan
Creatives: Production Company: Space Jump Theatre Company Playwright: Emilie Collyer Producer: Kirsty Semaan Director: Kirsty Semaan Movement Director: Amelia Pawsey Lighting Design: Theo Carroll Composer/Sound Design: Charlotte Leamon Set/Props Design & Construction: Jason Lowe Production & Movement Assistant: Danette Potgieter Tech Operator: Eliza Dodd Promotional Video: Yarno Rohling Marketing Images: SPbyKS
Production Highlights: Idea-Driven Storytelling: A bold, immersive exploration of pressure, rivalry, and endurance, where every pass, pivot, and collision is charged with physical tension, revealing the subtle, relentless ways women persist. Minimalist Design: A simple netball-court set and striking lighting turn movement into memory, dream, and dance, making every leap, stretch, and fall vividly felt. Tension and Insight: The arrival of Cass, named after the Greek prophetess cursed to speak truths no one hears, disrupts the team’s fragile balance, exposing secrets, grievances, and unspoken power dynamics. Kirsty Semaan’s Direction: A physically rigorous, poetically precise interpretation that captures courage, vulnerability, and the quiet ferocity of women on and off the court. Space Jump Theatre Company’s Mission: Committed to presenting bold, thought-provoking theatre for, by, and about women that resonates, challenges, and lingers.
Content Warning: This work contains strong language and references to sexual content, domestic violence, suicide, eating disorders and mental health challenges.
Sensory Warning: The performance includes the use of theatrical haze and loud noise.
About the Director: Kirsty Semaan (she/her) is a director, producer, and theatre-maker based on Gadigal Country (Sydney), with a passion for bold storytelling and visually striking stage productions. As the founder and Artistic Director of Space Jump Theatre Company, she is dedicated to championing Australian playwrights, amplifying female and underrepresented voices, and bringing impactful plays off the shelf and back onto the stage. Her directing credits include Woyzeck (2021), A Mouth Full of Birds (2022), and Driving the Holden (2022). In 2023, she co-produced and directed Long Story Short, a sold-out short-form theatre project. Most recently, she served as Assistant Director for Blood Wedding at Flight Path Theatre (2024). A Theatre and Performance graduate from the University of New England, her creative approach is further enriched by a successful 20-year career running a photography business, which has provided her with a unique perspective on visual storytelling and the expertise to deliver well executed productions from start to finish.
About the Playwright: Emilie Collyer lives in Naarm/Melbourne on Wurundjeri Country and writes across poetry, performance, and prose, exploring the intersection of the personal, the existential, and the socio-political. Her plays include Contest, Dream Home, The Good Girl, and most recently Super (Red Stitch Theatre 2025), with The Good Girl having been produced internationally. Her work has won and been nominated for awards including the Theatre503 International Playwriting Award, Queensland Premier’s Drama Award, Green Room Awards, George Fairfax, Patrick White, and Malcolm Robertson. Emilie’s debut poetry collection, Do you have anything less domestic? (Vagabond Press 2022), won the inaugural Five Islands First Book Prize, and she was runner-up in the Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize 2024. She works as a dramaturg, text consultant, and teacher, and has just completed her PhD at RMIT, where she now serves as an Adjunct Industry Fellow.
About Flight Path Theatre: Located in Marrickville, Sydney, Flight Path Theatre champions bold and innovative works, providing a platform for emerging and established artists.
Contest is supported by the Inner West Council and through the Australian Cultural Fund.
Experience the sweat and intensity of Contest at Flight Path Theatre, 17–28 March 2026: www.flightpaththeatre.org
There are plays which immerse the audience immediately. Fourteen, originally a memoir by Shannon Molloy and adapted by Nelle Lee, Nick Skubij and the author, grabs our attention and takes us back in time to 1999. To the town of Yeppoon on the coast of Rockhampton, where the birds sweetly sing as the morning sun drenches the timber balcony and weatherboard walls. But all is not idyllic in Shannon Molloy’s life as he navigates being fourteen, questioning his sexuality and dealing with life in a small town.
This is a story of a young man in an all-boys Christian school, subject to extreme bullying, both physical and verbal taunts and the victim of cruel practical jokes. Fourteen is told mostly in flashback snapshots by Shannon, flawlessly played by Conor Leach. Conor convincingly portrayed the emotions and vulnerability of Shannon.
The retelling of the unfairness and the constant terrorising of a young teenage boy must not be lost in current society, and Molloy has not held back in recounting these parts of his life which no doubt would have been painful to write about.
There are scenes in Fourteen which tell a cautionary tale of what happens when those who are supposed to protect us, such as the teachers in his school, not only fail in their duty of care but actively become an antagonistic force. There is a build-up of multiple classroom incidents where a teacher (played by Steven Rooke) continuously ignores verbal abuse towards Shannon in his classroom. I found another bullying incident extremely disturbing, where he grabs a sexually explicit letter falsely signed by Shannon and reads it aloud to the class. Today a quarter of a century later, teachers are subject to accountability for their actions so I would like to believe that they would not act the way that teacher did in Fourteen and if so, they would be called out.
The deceptively complex set design by Josh McIntosh uses a clever amalgamation of multi-story levels, several doors hinting to other larger spaces and a central turning stage used to create a spotlight on the characters and the storyline. The lighting by Trent Suidgeest and the sound design by Guy Webster were integral to the play, highlighting dramatic points and creating a realistic atmosphere. One intense scene where Shannon looks into the mirror facing the audience, as he contemplates ending his life was powerfully portrayed using the framing outline and lighting to highlight his distress.
Although harrowing, and some scenes are quite harrowing, director Nick Skubij, creative producer Ross Balbuziente and the cast ensure that there are times which show how the support of Shannon’s family and friends buoy him in his darkest moments. We cheer on Shannon in a leadership role as he creates a fashion show with the supportive youth worker from the local community youth centre. Fourteen shows just how important it is to have a community who loves you for who you are.
Cast members played multiple characters and they were distinguished with the use of costumes designed by Fabian Holford. Karen Crone stood out in multiple roles, notably as Shannon’s salt of the Earth supportive mother – who he calls his rock.
The script strikes a good balance of seriousness with comedy which lightens the play. Scattered throughout, the choice of familiar cheesy late 90’s music accompanied by synchronised dance moves onstage encouraged the audience to burst into song, which is always a good sign that they are having a good time!
The Shake and Stir Theatre company’s Fourteen is a story of pain, healing, and hope. We are left with one teen’s story of survival that can be blanketed across to any teen, regardless of gender, sexuality, or race. For those people who are feeling hopeless, or have experienced bullying, the universal message remains to never give up and that there is life to be lived and love to be had, beyond the school gate.
Fourteen runs for one hour and forty minutes with no interval. The play I saw on Friday, May 3, at The Riverside Theatre was the first performance of a National 20-city tour.
For tickets, go to www.shakeandstir.com.au/mainstage/fourteen
What began as a skit in 2005 to entertain people lining up to buy Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in a London bookstore has become Potted Potter, a smash hit sell-out show all around the world. This modest five-minute skit grew to incorporate the first six books in a one-hour show in 2006. Creators Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner expanded their show in 2007 to include JK Rowling’s seventh book, which is where the magic lies in this current form.
It’s easy to see how Potted Potter has outlasted other parodies over the last 17 years. The formula is simple – make your audience laugh! And laugh we did for almost all of the 70-minute performance. There were audience members of all ages, from kids dressed up in their favourite Hogwarts house uniform as others donned witch’s pointy black hats to parents and the older generation attendees. At times, it was similar to a kid-friendly ‘clean’ stand-up comedy set, complete with a lot of audience participation and laughs. One part I shan’t spoil had the audience involved in a group game.
The script was deceptively clever, delivered in a rapid conversation between the two characters, Brendan and Scott. Despite the fast narration, there were no fumbles or tripping over the quick-witted lines. Paired with comedic physicality and perfect timing, the character’s expressions sometimes gave away their surprise when interacting, hinting at some smart stage improvisation. This appeared to keep the script fresh and was delivered so well that it was hard to tell whether it was improv or really good acting. Either way, it worked. They cleverly wove in lines that were particularly Australian too, at one time referring to the ‘bin chicken’, which made everyone laugh.
The set design by Simon Scullion was purposely basic, which didn’t place them at Hogwarts; rather, it added to the charm of a parody. The same was true for the costumes and props used. It was like Turner and Clarkson raided their dress-up and toy box at home and used what they had, such as a stuffed snake and various wigs. Rather than detract from the performance, they added a comfortable charm and a good spice of fun to the Potted Potter experience.
Composer Phil Innes created an air of Harry Potter expectation as the audience was being seated. The music as each book tale begins is cute in the repetition.
The performance also featured some magic, as expected from a book about this topic, as well as a hilarious musical duet complete with a dance break between the two characters to close the show. One of my favourite lines delivered by a ridiculously dressed character was, ” Look it up in the book of cool.”
This quirky performance of Potted Potter will appeal to people of all ages if you expect a lighthearted and quick tour through the seven books’ plot points.
Do you need to have read all seven books to enjoy this performance? No, not at all. It certainly referred to certain things that people who love the Harry Potter series would quickly understand; however, those who hadn’t read all the books gained an understanding of what was going on easily. The characters were all there, in fine form, represented by the two actors.
Potter Potter An Unauthorised Harry Experience is playing at The Seymour Centre, Sydney, from 12 – 21 April and will tour Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth throughout May.
