FORGOTTEN HISTORY: Pia johnson | History Defined

Eliza, a theatrical thriller about the first chatbot, feels emotionally distant. That’s the point

During talk therapy one day, my psychologist said to me, “Look, the human mind is a mystery. We may never fully work things out.” For me, it was at once shocking that a psychologist was so candid about the limitations of their profession, and liberating. It allowed me to relax…

The Conversation · Oct 6

Leaning into Uncle Vanya’s bleakness: a sumptuous play, with a deeply modern feel

Uncle Vanya is Anton Chekhov’s classic tale of the flawed lives of educated, wealthy Russian elites.

The Conversation · Jul 29

The West Gate Bridge disaster looms large over Melbourne. A new play can’t fully capture its grief

Every Melburnian knows the West Gate Bridge, crossing the Yarra River north of its exit to Port Phillip Bay. It looms, it hums, it holds memory, it writhes.

The Conversation · Mar 17

Destiny is a fierce new stage show exploring love, loss and rebellion under the shadow of apartheid South Africa

Award-winning playwright and actor Kristy Marillier’s new work, Destiny, is an ensemble drama set in 1976 South Africa, against a backdrop of rising resistance to the apartheid regime.

The Conversation · Aug 25, 2025

‘What 'are’ we going to do about the orchard?‘ Pony Cam takes on Chekhov classic for Malthouse debut

Pony Cam makes its mainstage debut at Malthouse Theatre with The Orchard, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s classic.

The Conversation · Aug 8, 2025

Vivid, thrilling and ghastly: new theatrical adaptation of The Birds evokes climate disaster, terrorism and lockdown

Malthouse’s new production of The Birds is a thrillingly realised take on the 1952 short story by Daphne Du Maurier. Adapted by Louise Fox and directed by Matthew Lutton, this vivid realisation is a chilling treatise on fear and resilience in the face of an external threat.

The Conversation · May 23, 2025

Grief, strength and resistance: The Black Woman of Gippsland is a powerful reckoning with colonial myths

A woman is tossed ashore, bedraggled and alone. She is believed to be a survivor of a shipwreck, possibly from the Britannia or the Britomart, both lost in the Bass Strait that year.

The Conversation · May 12, 2025

A new play about Julian Assange, Truth is an intelligent, thoughtful and unsettling work

Truth, the new play from writer-director pair Patricia Cornelius and Susie Dee, dives headfirst into the contentious world of Julian Assange. It offers us a nuanced portrait of the WikiLeaks founder who transformed from hacker wunderkind to global lightning rod.

The Conversation · Feb 20, 2025

My Brilliant Career: musical based on Miles Franklin’s novel takes us on a sassy, spirited journey of self-discovery

Melbourne Theatre Company’s My Brilliant Career is a musical re-imagining of Miles Franklin’s classic 1901 novel of the same name. It follows a young woman, Sybylla Melvyn, as she chafes against her rural constraints to seek creative freedom.

The Conversation · Nov 18, 2024

Rent review – earnest Australian production doesn’t save the musical from feeling like parody

Musical theatre can get away with being daggy and manipulative but this show pushes it too far – and this remount doesn’t overcome its faults

The Guardian - AU · Feb 21, 2024