Articles on Australian Theatre

Displaying 1 - 20 of 27 articles

Anthem is a play of ‘a lot of heart, energy, and fire.’ Pia Johnson/MIAF

Anthem review: a portrait of Melbourne’s working class

20 years on from Who's Afraid of the Working Class? In Anthem, the Melbourne public transportation system behaves as a microcosm of larger political tensions and anxieties.
Come what may. Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge was staged on Broadway this year and is headed for Australian stages. Supplied

Hollywood onstage: why are so many musicals adapted from movies?

Stages worldwide seem to have been taken over by musicals made for movie-lovers. While this creative process has a long history, it can limit opportunities for original works.



In Cloudstreet, nostalgia all too easily redeems Australia’s colonial past

Saoirse Ronan as Mary Stuart in Josie Rourke’s 2018 film Mary Queen of Scots. Liam Daniel/Focus Features

Mary, Queen of Scots is newly relevant in the age of #MeToo

Was Mary Stuart a passionate and jealous failed queen, or a brave and complex woman? Opposing representations in a new film and play reflect modern anxieties about women's agency and leadership.

When the cultural cringe abated: Australian drama in the 1970s




What are the great Australian plays? Refining our theatre canon


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