What would happen if you were mistaken (by a hot guy, no less) for your recently deceased twin sister in the local Woollies, but fail to correct the mistake?
How do you navigate having to take guardianship of your young, orphaned nephew when you had other life plans?
Can we ever, even as adults, fully break free from the (often stifling) parent-child relationships we grew up with as children?
And perhaps most importantly: Should you EVER let a young child win at Uno if you have the power to beat them?
These are just some of the questions raised in Draw Two; a compellingly powerful and comedic one-woman show centred around Riley, a young 20-something year old woman dealing with some very big life challenges.
Riley has returned to her hometown in the aftermath of the death of her twin sister, Mia, to pack up her sisterâs house, and take her now orphaned son, Lucas, back to Melbourne to live with her and her partner.
In this process, Riley has to deal with her stifling and often disapproving mother.
And there is the fateful encounter with a childhood friend of Miaâs (Kieren), who mistakes Riley for MiaâŠ
Georgia McGinness takes the helm in this one-woman show, performing a poignant, often hilarious, and equally gut-wrenching narrative through the eyes of Riley.
Georgia masterfully depicts all of the characters coming in and out of Rileyâs life, giving enchanting and moving performances.
This show really pulls at the heartstrings, exploring some big themes of navigating grief, family dynamics, personal relationships, and finding the small joys in times of darkness.
Georgiaâs performances were honest and mesmerising; seamlessly transitioning between characters, and giving a real sense of relatable, Australian life, family dynamics, and the reality of the difficulties that life can unexpectedly throw at you.
While the set itself is quite simple, throughout the show, beautifully crafted animations were projected at various stages to give more life and depth to the narrative.
A full house and a standing ovation are two hallmarks of a crowd-pleasing show; and Draw Two was extremely well-deserved to receive both of these on the opening night of its run at Theatreworks in Melbourne this September.
Written by Meg McDonald and directed by Lauren Bennett, Draw Two is a perfect example of the sheer talent Australia is currently producing in the theatre space, and the entire team should be congratulated on a spectacular show.
This is not one to miss, with performances until the 27th of September at The Explosives Factory, Theatreworks, Melbourne.
Playwright & Co-Producer: Meg McDonald Director: Lauren Bennett Composer, Sound, & Voice Coach: Clare Hennessy Set & Costume Designer: Ishan Vivekanantham Visual Art Designer: Lauren Goodfellow Lighting Designer & Production/Stage Manager: Sam Gray Co-Producer: Ruby Busuttil Cast: Georgia McGinness
Glitter Martini have brought Absolute Trash down from the Gold Coast for a short run at the Sydney Fringe, following sparkly five-star reviews at the Adelaide Fringe.
We live in a world surrounded by trash. Bin juice, trash pandas, floating garbage islands, and the toxic waste dump that passes for social media. When was the last time you said that your life is a dumpster fire? (Confession: last Wednesday for me.)
Absolute Trash gleefully up-cycles our garbage mountain planet with eye-popping circus, wacky comedy and bawdy cabaret.
Itâs nice the get the word bawdy out of the house. Itâs usually stuck at home doing debauched crochet while the sexier words like saucy and spicy get invited out to play.
If you want to, you can take it easy, sit back and watch, but part of the joy of a Glitter Martini show is their love of playing with their audience. You are invited to share your trashiest stories by text at the start of the show.
Director and performer, Darcie Rae, loves creating a real feeling of connection between the audience and performers. She has fashioned a joyous audience-driven, interactive experience that uses comedy to disarm you as it seductively draws you into the show.
Natrasha Binit, the Duchess of Debauchery, the Queen of Trash, is your incomparable compĂšre for the night. Theyâre taller than Sesame Streetâs Oscar the Grouch but they share his love of trash and trashy things, with a green plastic wig and a Chanel little black bin bag dress.
Trent Charles, as Natrasha, is the beautiful mutant lovechild of Cara Delevingne and a Monster High doll. You know, in a good way.
Tangly contortionist Bendy Elle spends the show upside down, in the air, inside out and tied up in knots. While smiling impishly.
Itâs not every night that nimble and sculpted aerial artists like Miss Amy May and Darcie Rae take to hoops and trapeze, sharing a stage with puppet bin chickens.
I will go to my grave remembering the look of sheer disbelief on an audience memberâs guide dogâs face as it stared up at two puppet bin chickens dancing, with squeaky rubber chickens, to Burt Bacharach, ably puppeteered by Charlie Love in platform PVC boots.
That is a sentence I never thought Iâd write. And the rubber chicken can-can is a weird, wild and wonderful thing that you need to experience in the flesh.
Absolute Trash ticks all your sustainable boxes in a consensual way you werenât expecting.
Glitter Martini’s Absolute Trash is part of the Sydney Fringe, playing at Fool’s Paradise, The Bunker, Entertainment Quarter until 21 September
An extremely long time ago I first performed on stage as a tiny 4 year old in my birthplace of Warrnambool, so when a show came up to review in my home town, I gratefully took the opportunity and my Mum for an overnight stay. We had a wonderful weekend. Warrnambool (3.5hrs drive from Melbourne) is a fantastic place (voted Australiaâs most liveable regional city) and I highlight if you include in your visit their art galleries and a theatre experience, itâs an awesome artsy destination.
MY BRILLIANT CAREER was showing at the Lighthouse Theatre by Warrnambool Theatre Company, and what a company! A cast of 28 were hugely talented and entertaining. I did have a few favourites by the end of the show, their characters so enriched the play with warmth and laughter, but I could say a million positive things about everyone in the cast, truly; all amazing, worked so well together and I hope you had the best time putting on this show, because we had the best time watching it.
Great use of an inventive set design and sound/lighting throughout the show. The âhorse and buggyâ travel adaption, very clever! The walk-on walk-off gum trees rather than still props made change of whereabouts quick and un-interrupting to the story being told. The giant book in the background where topics scribbled across digitally invited us to continue enjoying each chapter and the true sounds of the Australian bush playing as we were transported back in time was so lovely to hear.
Mia Copland playing âSybyllaâ is second to none Iâve seen play this role before. Itâs hard to imagine that she is anything but strong willed and confident in her everyday life too; on stage Mia is full of her character tenfold. Her lead script is unforgiving and she is on stage constantly. I applaud her every word, every mannerism, action, stride and scream. She spoke with articulation of a versed poet. Standing out was her vociferation on living in Possum Gully – being a part of a family down on their luck. Sybylla, as oldest child, will remain responsible to help her family when needed. Will she succumb?
Though Sybyllaâs society grandmother takes her in for a period, and a rich man shows interest in her; they are feelings of which Sybylla may be unsure whether to reciprocate. Amid the advancement of âHarryâ played charmingly by Elliot Cooper, there will be a call of âdutyâ for Sybylla to repay a debt of her fatherâs. I could feel Sybyllaâs pain as Mia brought that to the audience in devastative prospect on returning to a monotonous torturous life Sybylla thought she had managed to leave. A life where there seemed no future to do as she wished, where no one cared of her ambitions; a life where she may survive, but not thrive. A life of no career, excepting carrying babies and hopefully not dying in childbirth.
Lucy played by Angela Verspay, was a mother dealing with all the usual things a mother does and more. The baby âblanketâ appearing took a serious situation into comical laughter (my second time to witness labour in action on stage haha but the first blanket pulled out – who thought of that – different!). Finally, when Lucy played piano at the end, such action said 1000 words and I felt a magic moment of communication between mother and daughter, well done!
I loved Grannie Bossier played by Kate Head, delivery of her character was precise, as was Hannh Bellamy as Aunt Helen. Noteworthy were their interactions with each other. Little extra details in theatre help make every scene believable. It might be just an eyebrow raised, shoulder shrug or a glance away, a certain non-verbal tone used; things we may not consciously always notice, but subtleties that make dialogue come to life.
The character of Uncle Jay-Jay was funny and featured in Sybyllaâs stint at her grandmotherâs, played by Jeremy Lee – quintessential to his better life – bravo, he was my favourite! I laughed long after he delivered his line of âwhat on earth would I do in the kitchen, I donât even know where it isâ – I daresay that would have been true for many a wealthier early-century gentleman.
Gertie played by Amelia Dumesny was a breath of fresh air in her acting, I felt she really did play opposite Sybylla beautifully in giving to her family and showing genuine sisterly love for Sybylla. Brother Horace played by Oberon Rothman also gave a compelling speech to Sybylla, and their father Richard played by Michael Hoffman was exactly rightly cast to be both a positive and negative influence on his family.
The family of Mr McSwat played by the hilarious Lachlan Turner were all excellent! Lachlan’s exaggerated persona worked his role on par as any professional (my Mum loved his antics). Little Arto playing âJimmyâ was a cutie, as were Paddy and Lilibet playing cheeky âTommyâ and âKatieâ. Vivienne and Hannah playing âMaggieâ and âRose-Janeâ were eagerly switched on in being naughty, and Ruby Nelson playing Lizer was exceptional – I noticed her in the clan even before her role took on a feature in the script. Mrs McSwat played by Anja Harley had a fantastic accent of country Aussie bush life and Alex Smith playing Peter (also taking a shine to Sybylla) was fun in his quiet shy way. We loved this rough and tumble family.
Worth mentioning too is that this play is derived from a semi-autobiographical book written more than a 100 years ago by Stella “Miles” Franklin. I wonder what Miles would think of todayâs world where women can be anything they desire in majority of countries, but not all, as somewhere in the world today there are women who still live in cultures and environments struggling to be heard and educated for a better existence, the world for them today is not dissimilar to that of Sybyllaâs.
MY BRILLIANT CAREER is a triumph of writing and taking that written work of yesteryear to the stage today is quite an achievement. Congratulations to Producers Penny McLeod and Matt Baker, Director Lisa Graham, Assistant Director Flo Roney, Stage Manager Warren Easley, Set Designers Claire Norman & Lyle Russell, Lighting Design Tegan Evans and all the creative team – an example of exemplary regional community theatre working at its best!
I thoroughly encourage others make the drive from surrounding areas for the Warrnambool Theatre Companyâs next show â& JULIETâ playing 3-10 January 2026. If you live locally – go see everything this company produces – what a treat to have your theatre easy to get to, easy to park at, restaurants close walk and great bar service at interval. Not things we always get queuing up in Melbourne. Accommodation for anyone living further away too is affordable with plenty of choices.
Ticket and information link: https://www.warrnambooltheatrecompany.com/
The spectacular Bright Star musical presented by Sport For Jove Theatre Company, in association with Hayes Theatre Co, is a spellbinding must-see. Co-Directed by Miranda Middleton and Damien Ryan, Musical Direction by Alec Steedman and produced by Christopher Tomkinson and Isabella Milkovitsch, this creative team – along with their cast – have created an absolute masterpiece.
The magnificent cast left me in awe of their radiating talent. In the theatre world we talk about âtriple-threatâ performers who can sing, dance, and act. Well, this sensational cast raised the bar adding instrumental skills into the mix-quadruple threats!
This highly acclaimed production transports audiences to the 1920s and â40s in the American South. Steve Martin and Edie Brickell were inspired to write Bright Star after discovering an old newspaper article about the âIron Mountain Babyâ – an incredible true story of a baby’s miraculous survival after being thrown from a moving train inside a suitcase. Rescued and adopted by an elderly couple, this miraculous story sparked a reimagining that became this heartwarming, bittersweet tale.
Now to the music: the score is brilliant-one youâll want to add to your playlist. The powerful bluegrass songs resonate with heartfelt emotion, striking the audience with every note. Congratulations to the Musical Director, Alec Steedman on an outstanding job of directing this talented cast to deliver an exhilarating performance. The impeccable harmonies and the all-round musicianship of the singers and instrumentalists were absolutely inspirational.
Hannah McInerney is sensational in the lead role of Alice Murphy. She took my breath away from the opening number with her angelic vocals, rich with Southern warmth. Her playful, engaging acting was both charming and humorous yet deeply moving in the poignant moments. At times, I was wiping away tears; at others, laughing in hysterics. Hannah kept me captivated throughout her intoxicating performance.
Kaya Byrne gave an electric performance as the charismatic Jimmy Ray. Kaya sings, plays guitar and harmonica with utmost professionalism, and conveys his character’s heartbreak and anguish with depth and honesty. Kaya’s emotive performance was deeply impactful, leaving my heart in my throat.
Cameron Bajraktarevic-Hayward is utterly delightful as Billy Cane. Expertly playing the cello during the show, he delivered the role with skill, energy and heart. His agile dance moves and magnetic stage presence enhanced an already brilliant performance.
Deirdre Khoo shines as Lucy, flawlessly showcasing her talents on accordion, vocals, dance and acting. Her show-stopping moves illuminated Shannon Burnsâ masterful choreography. Deidre, alongside Jack Green who played the comedic Daryl, brought plenty of laugh-out-loud moments which kept the audience well entertained. Jack Green also played the sincere Daddy Cane, a contrasting character full of emotional depth and sincerity.
Genevieve Goldman, as the comedic relief character Margo,brought dynamic energy to the story. With fabulous comedic timing, striking vocals and impressive acting, Genevieve provided an engaging performance.
As the villainous Mayor, SeĂĄn van Doornum was remarkable. Portraying a detestable character convincingly can be difficult, but his superb performance captured the proud, unfeeling, and truly evil nature of the role.
Katrina Retallick and Rupert Reid as Mama and Daddy Murphy were a powerhouse duo. Katrinaâs stunning vocals, especially her harmonies with Hannah, were unforgettable. Her raw intensity in the harrowing scenes amplified the emotional impact. Rupertâs portrayal of an uncompromising father, weighed down by regret, was equally strikingâhis natural, convincing delivery perfectly suited the showâs era.
Bright Star will make you laugh, cry and fall in love with its story and musical score. This impactful production, with its incredible stellar cast, is not to be missed. I am certain you will fall in love with it, just as I have.
