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Hard Cheese: Rat in the City: One Last Bite

28/01/2026 Sarah Schmitt🥉

Hard Cheese: Rat in the City: One Last Bite Rating

★★★★★

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Hard Cheese: Rat in the City: One Last Bite is a delirious descent into the cracked psyche of its rodent anti-hero, and a gleefully unhinged love letter to neo-noir theatre. The rat. The myth. The legend. Harland “Hard Cheese” Cheese is dragged back into the underworld of hard-rind police work for his most maddening case yet, led by an old friend-turned-enemy, experience a cat-and-rat chase that feels less like a mystery and more like a hallucinatory spiral.

Trauma from three years earlier gnaws at our hero as he searches for his missing true love, Alison Brie, the real-life actress. Guided by his most trusted investigative tools - a Magic 8 Ball rattling around in his pocket and a set of bones, Harland “Hard Cheese” fumbles through the city searching for clues. Call it fate, destiny or celebrity obsession; every rat has its trap, and this one snaps hard.

Presented at the Blue Room Theatre as part of Fringe World Perth, this Dream Simulator production is a design-led hour of fun. Cardboard sets lend a scrappy, comic texture to a world that is otherwise shadowy and dark, while exaggerated movement, stark lighting and clever shadow play evoke classic detective cinema with a surreal twist. Puppets, masks and props are used inventively, allowing scenes to flow with cartoon logic.

Absurd, confusing, dark and hilarious, Hard Cheese leaves you scratching your head and wanting more. The talented cast made up of Lachlan Ives, Tash Pearson, Ellien Warden, Natalia Myślińska and James Brooks, delivers committed, fearless performances. With this creativity and talent, it’s clear this crew have exciting futures ahead of them. Hard Cheese: Rat in the City is strange, lurid, and utterly compelling theatre. What great fun it was.

Hard Cheese: Rat in the City: One Last Bite is showing at The Blue Room Theatre until Jan 31st as part of Fringe World Perth.

To book tickets to Hard Cheese: Rat in the City: One Last Bite, please visit https://blueroom.org.au/events/hard-cheese-rat-in-the-city-one-last-bite/.

Photographer: Sean Breadsell

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How To Stay Married Without Exploding!

28/01/2026 Carmen Jenner🌟🎭

How To Stay Married Without Exploding! Rating

★★★★★

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Do you remember that trapped feeling we had while in lockdown during the pandemic? Well, imagine being confined not only to your house, but to less than a square metre in your living room for 10 years. This unlucky predicament is exactly what Francis Molloy found himself in when forced to stand with both feet on top of an unexploded landmine in his living room.

Set in Berlin in 1955, Francis turns this strange turn of events into content by creating the reality TV show “How to Stay Married Without Exploding!” It’s the 400th episode, and it's auspicious because his wife, Annette, plans to make her debut during this episode. Given the circumstances, you would think that marriage would be the least of Francis’ concerns.

This one-man production raises so many questions. Some answers are organically revealed, and others, the audience asks while acting as the TV audience. It’s the kind of show requiring a certain degree of suspended disbelief, and I challenge you to ask a question that Francis doesn’t have an answer to.

Played by the American-born theatre-maker Matthew J. Young, with further development, this has the makings of being transformed into a podcast or YouTube channel.

If you’ve ever felt trapped in any facet of life or relationship, you’ll relate. Performed at three historic venues, including Julio’s Italian Restaurant, the character-filled settings are the perfect backdrop to this nostalgic performance. It’s only fitting to order a martini as you cheer Francis along on his dark journey of self-discovery.

“How to stay married without exploding!” Plays from Friday 23rd January to Friday 13th February at Julio’s Italian, Midland Junction Arts Centre and Mahogany Inn and Distillery.

To book tickets to How To Stay Married Without Exploding!, please visit https://fringeworld.com.au/whats-on/how-to-stay-married-without-exploding-fw2026.

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Play Date: Elementary Brings Bold New Short Works To The Stage

21/01/2026 Breaking News

Knock And Run Theatre is proud to announce Play Date: Elementary, the latest iteration of its short play festival celebrating new writing, emerging artists, and experimental performance.

Returning on February 21st at The Laneway Theatre (also known as Newcastle Theatre Company), Play Date: Elementary will present a curated program of short plays responding to the theme “Elementary” - interpreted by artists in playful, abstract, and unexpected ways. The festival showcases a diverse lineup of writers and directors, each bringing a distinct voice and theatrical approach to the stage.

Following an open call that attracted a high volume of submissions, a script assessor (nationally acclaimed playwright Vanessa Bates) chose 9 short plays to be developed and presented as part of the festival. The final program reflects a wide range of styles and perspectives, united by a spirit of curiosity, invention, and bold storytelling.

“Play Date is about creating space for artists to take risks,” says James Chapman, Play Date festival director. “Elementary gave writers permission to strip things back, flip expectations, and approach theatre with a sense of play. The selected works are surprising, smart, and full of energy.”

Play Date has become a key platform for emerging and independent theatre-makers in the region, offering opportunities for writers, directors, and performers to collaborate on new work within a supportive and creatively ambitious framework. The festival prioritises accessibility, simplicity of production, and strong artistic voice.

This year’s festival includes short plays such as “Fridge” by Joshua Maxwell, “Her Element” by Nat Newman, “Cow Juice: An Origin Story” by Dez Robertson and “The Escape” by Alison Lancey. This year’s Play Date is the third iteration of the festival following Play Date: Time & Space (2021) and Play Date: Four Seasons (2025) and will feature multiple short works presented across a mixed bill, with performances at 2pm and 7:30pm on Saturday 21st Feb. Tickets are on sale now and are available via https://events.humanitix.com/play-date-elementary, with full program and artist announcements to follow.

EVENT DETAILS
What: Play Date: Elementary
Presented by: Knock And Run Theatre
When: 2pm & 7:30pm Saturday 21st, Feb
Where: The Laneway Theatre, Lambton
Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/play-date-elementary

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Danny And The Deep Blue Sea

17/01/2026 Reuben Harris🌱

Danny And The Deep Blue Sea Rating

★★★★★

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Danny And The Deep Blue Sea in one word is a hurricane. It is a force of nature to be reckoned with. Set in the 1980s in the Bronx, it follows the two characters of Danny and Roberta fiercely played by JK Kazzi and Jacqui Purvis. I mean this is a masterclass on acting. You truly believed every word they were saying. Honestly two of the best performances I have seen in recent memory. Their raw unfiltered emotion, and explosive dialogue masterfully written by John Patrick Shanley. This is no holds barred dialogue at its grittiest.

We follow the Characters of Danny and Roberta from a chance meeting at a bar and the encounters that follow are a whirlwind of violence and tenderness. I do issue a warning that this play has mature themes including violence from both parties, and does mention sexual abuse and there is also use of coarse language.

The direction of this play by Nigel Turner-Carroll is very clever, using every inch of the stage as an interactive landscape absolutely delights. There is a very well thought out scene change that doesn’t break the tension of the play which is very hard to do.

At the heart of this play is two very dysfunctional people that come across very unlikable at the beginning but then throughout the course of the play you will begin to think and ponder that absolutely everyone is deserving of love and kindness, no matter their flaws.

The audience gave this play a standing ovation, and rightly so. Everything worked, from the accents, to the acting, the lighting and great use of the stage.

The Old Fitz is an intimate venue perfect for this type of play.

Theatre at it’s absolute best should leave the audience changed in some way. This play left a mark on me and gave me an insight into a world that is foreign to me. I left the theatre actually having more empathy for people that live a different life to myself, and I think that is a true testament to everyone involved in this production.

This play is a thought provoking hurricane that takes you on a roller coaster of emotion, that will ultimately leave you changed after witnessing it.

A very big congratulations to all involved and I don’t think you can ask much more of a theatre experience.

To book tickets to Danny And The Deep Blue Sea, please visit https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/danny-and-the-deep-blue-sea-1.

Photographer: Tony Davison

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