theatre - Whats The Show

The Woman Behind the Canvas

09/04/2026 Irena Fox

Red Ticket Rating

★★★★★

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Disclaimer: This production has strobe lights and covers topics of mental health issues.

Ask any Western Australian resident about the Fremantle Art Centre and they’ll all ask you the same thing. “Isn’t that the place that’s haunted?”

That’s 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 Lily’s 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, Lily’s art transforms the stage, bringing you into Lily’s world even more. Words and pictures are drawn on the floor and Lily’s 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 we’ve 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 Poppy’s 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.

To book tickets to Red Ticket, please visit https://blueroom.org.au/events/red-ticket/.

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Cast Announced For Pride And Prejudice* (*sort Of)

07/04/2026 Breaking News🥇

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 Who’s 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-Judge’s varied career has seen her in productions of David Bowie’s 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 Thorne’s Tony Award winning A Christmas Carol, as well as TV’s 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,” said writer and original director Isobel McArthur. “This 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, “I am delighted with the stellar cast of Australian talent we have been able to assemble for this production and can’t wait to travel down under to begin rehearsals. I feel sure that the wit, physical comedy and karaoke sound track of Isobel MacArthur’s take on Jane Austen’s timeless classic (sort of), will chime with Aussie audiences.”

Ruby Shannon, Zoe Ioannou, Amy Lehpamer, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Teo Vergara PAPSO (c) James Terry.jpg

Ruby Shannon, Zoe Ioannou, Amy Lehpamer, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Teo Vergara.jpg

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 Austen’s most iconic love story. Men, money and microphones are fought over in this irreverent but affectionate adaptation where the stakes couldn’t be higher when it comes to romance.

This “smart, laugh out loud funny” (Daily Telegraph) show features a string of pop classics including Young Hearts Run Free, Will You Love Me Tomorrow and You’re So Vain. Coming to Australia for the first time, these five fearless women bring Austen’s world of love, class and chaos to life with heart, humour and unstoppable energy in this modern take on one of the world’s most adapted pieces of literature.

★★★★★ “Faithful to the book, it’s also a raucously irreverent romp” – Daily Mail
★★★★★ “Riotously funny… gloriously entertaining… frankly sensational” – Variety
★★★★★ “Layer and layer of brilliance” – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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

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One Man, Two Guvnors

08/04/202607/04/2026 Oscar Bray🥉

One Man, Two Guvnors Rating

★★★★★

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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 London’s 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 “each production [of theirs] is carefully tailored to its surroundings, with the venue itself becoming a character that informs and enhances the narrative”.

For this show, their chosen ‘character’ 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, there’s not a lot of space and plenty of obstacles for the actors to navigate – 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 ‘love triangle’ between Crabb, aspiring actor Alan (Dylan Mazurek) and dimwitted socialite Pauline (Emilie); and Francis falling for the feminist bookkeeper Dolly (Sharon Wills). Trust me – it’s 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 dell’arte 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 cast’s perfect sense of timing augments every joke; they aren’t afraid to let awkward silences sit because they make the moments of chaos even more uproarious.

J&L Presents’ 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 – everything is frenetic and chaotic in the best way possible. The blocking was also impressive because aside from a scant few times when some people’s faces weren’t 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 ‘more is more’ 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 can’t 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.

To book tickets to One Man, Two Guvnors, please visit https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/one-man-two-guvnors/.

Photographer: Darcy K Scales

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Who I’m Doing This For

04/04/2026 Oscar Bray🥉

Who I’m Doing This For Rating

★★★★★

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(Note: This is a review of a play presented as the second half of a double billing. Melbourne Writers’ Theatre is showing Metropolis Monologues across two instalments, and this play is performed after each series of monologues. I will review the monologues separately.)

My experiences with Melbourne Writer’s Theatre’s (MWT) Metropolis Monologue series were very positive. The diversity of style and subject matter, married with some great performances and direction, showed how fresh and fun Melbourne’s independent theatre scene can be. As mentioned, five of the ten monologues are presented on each night, followed by the play that won MWT’s 2026 Amethyst Award. Unfortunately, this second show, Who I’m Doing This For, wasn’t on the same level as the monologues for me.

The play, written by Peter Farrar, follows Simon (Lochi Laffin-Vines), a man suffering under the weight of grief. He has recently lost his father (Tony Adams) – an abusive, drug-addicted ex-veteran – after caring for both him and his sickly mother. Shortly after the play begins, we see the toll his depression takes on him; he loses his job, is increasingly unable to connect to his girlfriend Claudia (Emily Farrell) and slips into a nihilism that will drive him to desperate and horrific actions.

The cast are strong performers, and their chemistry is mostly enjoyable to watch. The couple’s playful moments are endearing, the father-son relationship whiplashes thrillingly between awkwardness and mutual rage, and some of the most chilling moments come when the father is simply standing in the background, watching Simon unravel. The lighting is cleverly changed to enhance the mood of certain scenes, and the writing is at its best in the character interactions, such as the snarky quips between Simon and Claudia and the naked narcissism of the father’s abuse tactics. The play is laudably ambitious and asks provocative questions about whether the roots of trauma are personal, familial or systemic.

However, to me, the story and script did not live up to the themes it was trying to tackle. While the dynamic between Simon and his father was strong, Claudia as a character felt like a vessel for Simon to vent to or at, and she seemed much too accepting of Simon’s unreasonableness throughout. This underdevelopment also applies to the radicalization Simon undergoes; plenty of people struggle with trauma and mental illness and don’t make the decision that Simon does, and it’s unclear what external force pushed him down the specific path he takes. Outside influence is an essential component of political radicalization, and its absence makes his anti-capitalist soliloquies feel out of place. The extensive monologuing also states the play’s themes so blatantly that it robs what should be a crazy, thrilling climax of any tension. Too many moments reminded me of the old writers’ aphorism: show, don’t tell.

Who I’m Doing This For has many interesting questions within it about generational trauma, mental illness and personal responsibility. Steven T. Boltz’s direction clearly brought out the best in the actors and team involved, and I think that the play could be very strong in a future revival. But as is, it didn’t have nearly as much polish as the monologues that preceded it, and I would definitely recommend those over this play in its current form.

To book tickets to Who I’m Doing This For, please visit https://melbournewriterstheatre.org.au/.

Photographer: Mina Shafer

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