Pride & Prejudice (sort of) REVIEW 23 June 2026 ****

THEATRE

Pride & Prejudice (sort of) written by Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen

At Athenaeum Theatre, until 17 July 2026

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: ****(4)

This review is  published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 4 July 2026. KH

Ruby Shannon, Kaori Maeda-Judge Amy Lehpamer, Zoe Ioannou, Teo Vergara- Credit Matthew Chen

 

Pride & Prejudice (sort of), written by Isobel McArthur, is exactly what it says on the box: it’s sort of Jane Austen‘s novel, Pride and Prejudice, but with a twist!

 

The tale of Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bennet, her family and their various romantic exploits, including Mr Darcy (Remember Colin Firth in the lake? Or did you miss the ‘90s?), is told by maid servants from the various houses, large and small. They act as narrators of both the reliable and unreliable sort.

 

These perky, observant, all-singing and all-dancing maidservants swiftly toss on and off pieces of costume to populate the stage with multiple daffy, broad and comedic characters from Austen’s novel.

 

This show, deftly directed by Simon Harvey with choreography by Simone Sault, is a jolly parody with lots of familiar 20^th and 21^st century pop songs that haul Austen’s story into the present.

 

McArthur’s writing is clever, witty and deeply embedded in Austen’s narrative, characters and themes, but its focus is on how absurd these gentry and nobles appear to their servants and to us.

 

We meet their versions of not only Lizzie, but also Jane, Lydia and Mary Bennet, Mr Darcy, Charles Bingley and his sister Caroline, Mrs Bennet and even the taciturn Mr Bennet who is represented by glimpse of a newspaper in an upstage armchair.

 

This multi-talented ensemble delivers a rollicking performance. Amy Lehpamer is remarkable in multiple roles, playing each distinctly different character with precision, impeccable comic timing and fine vocal technique that she modulates to match each character: servant or noble, man or woman. She is audacious as Tilly the maid, daffy as Mr. Bingley and, as his sister Caroline, is toffy-nosed and absurdly seductive. But it is a joy to behold her depiction of the homely Charlotte Lucas as love-sick for Lizzie.

 

Teo Volgara is bold and vivacious as Lizzie while Ruby Shannon is hilarious as the over-dressed Mary who has a burning desire to sing – badly!  Zoe Ioannon’s Mrs Bennet is brash and foul-mouthed, while her Darcy is suitably stitched up and tongue-tied. Kaori Maeda Judge’s Jane is comically needy, and she portrays Lady Catherine de Burgh as pompous and overbearing.

 

Pride & Prejudice (sort of) is a fat-moving parody that will entertain everyone. However, if you know Austen, it wil delight you even more – unless you’re a toffy-nosed literary snob!

 

By Kate Herbert

 

Cast
Amy Lehpamer – Tilly, Mr. Bingley, Caroline Bingley, Charlotte Lucas

Kaori Maeda Judge – Jane, Lady Catherine

Ruby Shannon – Lydia, Mary, Mr Collins

Teo Volgara – Elizabeth (Lizzy) Bennet

Zoe Ioannon – Mother, Mr Darcy

 

Creative Team

Written By Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen

Writer - Isobel McArthur

Director – Simon Harvey

Ass Direction & Choreography – Simone Sault

Set & Costume Design – Ana Inez Jabares-Pita

Lighting Design – Jason Bovaird

Original Composition /Sound Design – Michel John McCarthy

Musical Direction – Kohan van Sambeeck

Sound Design - Marcello lo Ricco

 

 

Amy Lehpamer  _ Credit Matthew Chen 

 

 

 

 

 

Losing Face REVIEW 26 June 2026 *** (3)

THEATRE

Losing Face Written by Marieke Hardy, by Melbourne Theatre Company

At Southbank Theatre, Sumner, until 25 July 2026

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: *** (3)

This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sa 4 July 2026. KH

Christie Whelan Browne, Genevieve Morris, Michala Banas, Madeleine Sami. Photo by Pia Johnson

 

In Marieke Hardy’s black comedy, Losing Face, directed by Leticia Cáceres, three 50-year-old women who were friends at uni, reunite after 5 years and find each other much changed.

 

This topical play taps into the “zeitgeist”, raising questions about our society’s obsession with youth and the view of ageing as shameful. We are bombarded with ways to stay youthful: Looksmaxxing, body renovation, anti-aging products, lying about one’s age, congratulating those who look younger than their age, and cosmetic treatment versus surgical intervention.

 

 Age is considered unacceptable. Older women become invisible. To deal with this, women  – and now, some men ­– succumb to myriad pressures to beautify and youthify. (Yes, I know it’s not a word!)

 

Jo (Michala Banas), the still-single, free spirit of the trio, plans the reunion to celebrate her 50th birthday. She has led a bohemian gypsy life but, in her current role as a free-lance travel writer, she wangles a free, long weekend for the three friends to a wellness spa called The Royal You.

 

It is run by a smug, self-styled beauty guru, Tomas (Wil King), who It turns out to be far more than a wellness centre or beauty facility.

 

Lauren (Christie Whelan-Browne) is a latter-day hippy living with her husband and two difficult kids in oh-so-cool, rural Castlemaine (aka North Northcote). Lauren is the former wild thing of the three; a recovering booze and drug hound who denies all memory of her youthful, drunken and drugged escapades.

 

Simone (Madeleine Sami) is brusque, brittle and carrying resentment that Lauren missed Simone’s father’s funeral – just because she had two babies! These days, Simone is about to marry a 20-something woman and is trying way too hard to be younger than her 50 years.

 

Desperate to relive their youth and despite the impending early start to their wellness day the following morning, Jo convinces her pals to go to a bar and to do some drugs, like they used to do.

 

The following morning, they all wind up making disastrous “beautifying” and “anti-aging” choices when they’re hungover and still whacked; they get more than they bargained for from Tomas.

 

This arrogant, vain, camp, flamboyant, self-absorbed man who behaves like a minor deity, manages to somehow to remain unregulated by laws relating to the beauty therapy and cosmetic surgery industry.

 

His nurse and acolyte (Genevieve Morris), obeys his bizarre orders unquestioningly, but the ending reveals how she’s been used and abused.

 

Losing Face starts well with the trio’s complex relationships and their shared history being revealed. However, it loses its way when it goes beyond absurd, black comedy into the hysterical and ridiculous.

 

Losing Face is a black comedy that might be better served by a shorter script. It is a short play disguised as a long one.

 

By Kate Herbert

 

CAST

Jo Michala Banas
Tomas Wil King
Nurse/Competitive Guest Genevieve Morris
Simone Madeleine Sami
Lauren Christie Whelan Browne

 

CREATIVE TEAM

Director Leticia Cáceres
Set & Costume Designer Jo Briscoe
Lighting Designer Amelia Lever-Davidson
Composer & Sound Designer Kelly Ryall
AV Designer Justin Gardam
Movement Director Hayden Spencer
Assistant Director Laura McKenzie
Dialect Coach for Wil King as Tomas Geraldine Cook-Dafner
Voice & Text Coach Matt Furlani
Choreographer Wil King

 

 

 

 

RADIO REVIEWS Arts Weekly 3MBS SAT 4 JULY 2026

In this radio review spot on Arts Weekly on Saturday 6 July 2026, I talk with Nick Tolhurst about two shows I’ve seen recently: Pride & Prejudice (sort of) by Isobel McArthur, and Losing Face by Marieke Hardy at MTC. 4mins 30 (It was short!)

 

Just click this link: 

Kate H Arts Weekly 6July2026 

 

 

Corporare - Evan Task in Space COMMENT 17 June 2026

      

THEATRE – COMMENT ONLY

Devised and Performed by Matthew Crosby & Tessa Luminati

At Theatre Works Explosives Factory, Inkerman St , St Kilda, 17- 27 June 2026

Comment: Kate Herbert

Stars: Not reviewed

This review is published only on this blog. I presented a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 20 June 2026. KH

Matt Crosby – Corporare – image Joe Calleri

 

So, what happens when the richest man on Earth decides he’ll be the first to land on — and colonise —Mars?

 

In Matt Crosby’s new show, Corporare - Evan Task in Outer Space. Crosby takes on that big question, mixing wild bits of science fiction, nods to classic sci-fi films, comedy and scathing satire about such things as out-of-control AI (self-driving cars included) and the potential disasters associated with unchecked technology. 

 

Crosby and his long-time creative partner and director, Tessa Luminati, created this work with inventiveness and a minimal budget.

 

It is a physical show, with minimal set and props and the pair craft an abstract representation of not only the character’s spacecraft, but space itself and even the surface of Mars. That’s no small feat for a low- no-budget show.

 

This production is fresh, funny and extremely relevant, especially when the main character, Evan Task,  is inspired by – or is a not-so-subtle stand-in for – a certain trillionaire.

 

So, will Task pull it off? You’ll have to see this clever production and find out before it closes on 27 June..

 

KATE HERBERT

Sea Wolves Howl REVIEW 13 June 2026 ***

THEATRE

Written by Carole Patullo, Jane Bayly, Yoni Prior, based on stories of the Sea Wolves

At various venues across Melbourne & Victoria from June 2026

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: *** (3)

This review is  published only on this blog. I presented a radio review on Arts Weekly, 3MBS, Sat 20 June 2026. KH

Sea Wolves Howl - cast - image supplied

 

Sea Wolves Howl is  a warm and cosy show, despite being about freezing in the chilly waters of bay!

A cast of five (Carole Patullo, Jane Bayly, Carmelina Di Guglielmo, Kelly Nash, Em Jevons), four older women and one younger performer, performs this community show that is based on the real stories of a group of women who started swimming daily at Mount Martha on the Peninsula, come rain, shine, winter or summer.

These intrepid women call themselves the Sea Wolves: they hold hands, howl like wolves and step valiantly into the cold waters of the bay.

The script, based on the real swimmers’ stories, is written by two of the performers, Patullo and Bayly, with director, Yoni Prior.

Community Theatre that is designed for a target community, written from community stories, about community issues, and performed for that specific community, cannot be reviewed in the same way as other theatre. Although this production is performed by professionals, the purpose must be considered: to reflect the stories of the women who have share shared their lives and related how swimming with the Sea Wolves changed to them.

The original, target audience on the Mornington Peninsula. and particularly the Sea Wolves themselves, would have been totally engaged with the familiar stories, locations and content.

The production has no linear narrative or dramatic structure with a beginning middle and end. Rather, it is a series of short monologues by individual characters woven together with group scenes and original songs that are sung by the women and accompanied by a musician.

They chat and sing about the individual experiences that led them to the swimming, their personal lives, how they have been changed by joining the group and by swimming in the cold water daily.

They talk about the sense of belonging, of community, of the health benefits of cold-water swimming, of the support they share, of making new or difficult choices in their lives, and about dealing with aging, illness or loss.

The simple staging has been adapted to work on large stages than its original home on the Peninsula, and they use few props ­– pool noodles make an appearance –and corrugated plastic sheeting evokes the icy waters of the Bay.

This is a feel-good show with a welcoming, community feel and the audience at The Round was delighted to howl like wolves with the performers.  Look for it in your suburb or region.

by KATE HERBERT

Cast: Carole Patullo, Jane Bayly, Carmelina Di Guglielmo, Kelly Nash, Em Jevons

Musician: Audrey Hart

Creative Team

Writers: Carole Patullo, Jane Bayly, Yoni Prior

Director Yoni Prior

 

 

KATE HERBERT-RADIO REVIEWS- Arts Weekly 3MBS SAT16JUNE2026

   

 

In this radio review spot on Arts Weekly on Saturday 20 June 2026, I talk to Phillipa Edwards about Sea Wolves Howl and Community Theatre. 

I then mention Corporare - Evan Task in Space by Matt Crosby & Tessa Luminati.

 

Click the link below to listen. 

 

KATE HERBERT- Arts Weekly-16June2026  

 

KATE HERBERT–RADIO REVIEWS–Arts Weekly 3MBS-Sat 6JUNE-2026

 

 

This was a fun review spot! In this radio review spot on Arts Weekly on Saturday 6 June 2026, I talk with Nick Tolhurst about two shows I’ve seen:  

Stuck at La Mama (end 26 May), and

A Large Attendance in the Antechamber, a remarkable solo show by Brian Lipson. 

We then discuss Retrograde at MTC, which Nick saw but I did not. We mention some upcoming shows: Sea Wolves Howl, Between the Lines, Pride & Prejudice the Musical, and Losing Face at MTC. 

Click this link:  ArtsWeekly-Sat6JUNE2026

 

11 mins  

A Large Attendance in the Antechamber – REVIEW May 29 2026 ****1/2

Written, performed & designed by Brian Lipson (& Francis Galton)
At Trades Hall, Council Chambers, Carlton, until 7 June 2026
RISING Festival 2026
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ****/1/2 (4.5)

This review is published only on this blog. I will also talk about it on Arts Weekly, 3MBS, on Saturday 6 June at about 10.45am.  

Brian Lipson, A Large Attendance in the Antechamber, supplied

 A Large Attendance in the Antechamber, Brian Lipson's solo show about British scientist, Francis Galton, is riveting in this return season 26 years after its premiere in Melbourne in 2000. Lipson’s writing is complex, intelligent and vivid, the style absurd, his performance detailed, intriguing and outrageously hilarious. The production is enhanced by Susie Dee's deft direction. 

Lipson’s imaginative leaps illuminate Galton’s character, and use his eclectic scientific interests and his recognised genius as the starting point for an inventive and thoroughly entertaining piece of theatre.

The title of the performance, A Large Attendance in the Antechamber, refers to Galton’s peculiar image of the conscious mind as a chamber with an adjoining antechamber in which ideas wait to enter the consciousness.

Lipson, dressed initially in full period costume, is seated in a tiny replica of a Victorian study, jammed with a peculiar assortment of scientific devices, projectors, lamps, candles, umbrellas and pictures. For the first minutes, he sits, pale, impassive and immobile, with only flickering movements of his eyes as he observes the audience. Encased in his wooden framed “box”, he is like a revivified corpse.  Is this the antechamber?

This is not merely an impersonation or characterisation of Galton, nor is it a dramatisation of his life and work. Galton is constantly conscious of, and irritated by being played by an actor, Lipson. 

He repeatedly refers to the actor, reminding us that Lipson has the temerity  to pretend to be Galton. He insists that he, Galton, is dead and that this is a theatrical environment which must abide by the conventions of theatre. He even imprints 'Lipson' on his forehead to reinforce the presence of the actor.

The pace shifts swiftly, sometimes meandering, then suddenly galloping at a pace. There is no logical sequence to the dialogue as Lipson/Galton launches from bizarre and often hilarious experiments, to lantern slides demonstrating his alarming theory of Eugenics.

Galton's obsession with the nature of the Jewish physiognomy is at the core of Lipson's interest in him. Galton was the first to study Eugenics. He proposed the perfecting of the human race by selective reproduction. He was the precursor to all that was evil in the Nazis racial purification.

Lipson leaps about inside his tiny, Victorian cubicle and also launches himself into the space to explore Galton’s theories with the startled audience. He manipulates our behaviour as much as his own or Galton’s, and both ridicules and is alarmed by Galton's bizarre behaviour and experimentation. 

A Large Attendance in the Antechamber is the perfect combination of theory and practice, theatre and reality, present and past, truth and fiction. It is a splendid production with a disturbing and compelling performance by an exceptional actor with impeccable comic timing.

By Kate Herbert

Stuck REVIEW 10 May 2026 ***1/2

Written by Megan Twycross

At  La Mama HQ until 24 May 2026

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: ***1/2

This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 6 June 2026. (Apologies that I was not on air for my usual spot on Sat 16 May.) KH

 

STUCK_Caroline Lee, Eva Seymour-image Darren_Gill

Stuck, by Megan Twycross, is a deceptively simple two-hander, set in the deli at a supermarket. It focuses entirely and intensely on the fractious relationship and tedious work of the senior deli worker, Old One (Caroline Lee), and the new-blood novice, Young One (Eva Seymour).

 

The play, directed deftly, intelligently and sensitively by Susie Dee, raises the issues of the working under-class, women and poverty, status and lack of choice in the workplace.

 

When the bright-eyed, young trainee arrives, she declares that she plans to spend six months, save money and then take off on her travels around the world before embarking on a new and successful path. However, fate intervenes.

 

The production is staged in the small La Mama space, with a sparse set design (Linda McCauley) comprising only two stainless steel deli counters, a plastic strip curtain upstage, and black and white check linoleum. The brisk, fast-moving dialogue is as spare as the design.

 

Lee, as always, brings a formidable presence and nuanced performance to the older woman who has been “stuck” for decades in her dead-end job, with no prospects and a fantasy home life. Her only power is over her trainee and Lee relishes the character’s snide insults, demeaning slights and doom-saying.

 

Seymour, as Young One, effectively travels from perky, hopeful and certain, to disillusioned and trapped.

 

Twycross’s dialogue is crisp and taut, straddling the abstract and the hyper-real. It uses repetition and language that is almost a new Aussie dialect to illuminate these two women and their predicaments.

 

Stuck challenges our notion about choice, about being stuck in the workplace, in a relationship, a world-view, or even a dream. It is a tragedy littered with comic moments.

 

By Kate Herbert

 

Caroline Lee, Eva Seymour-image Darren_Gill

 

Cast

Caroline Lee as Old One

Eva Seymour as Young One

 

Creative Team

Megan Twycross – Writer

Susie Dee – Director

 

Linda McCauley - Set & Costume Designer

Ian Moorhead – Sound Designer

Co-Lighting Designers – Amelia Lever-Davidson & Spencer Herd

 

RADIO REVIEWS_KATE HERBERT_Arts Weekly 3MBS_Sat 2 May 2026

 Kate Arts Weekly9May2026 Click link.

In this radio review spot on Arts Weekly on Saturday 9 May 2026, I talk to Phillipa Edwards about The Glass Menagerie at MTC, Julius Caesar by Bell Shakespeare, and ART by Yasmina Reza. 

This is a good selection of shows. It's 9min 47.

Pride & Prejudice -repost of 2025 review

NB: This is a repost of my August 2025 review of Pride and Prejudice by Bloomshed. This production opens on 15 May 2026 at Malthouse. 

THEATRE

Created by Bloomshed, adapted from Jane Austen

At  Darebin Arts Centre until 10 Aug 2025

Reviewer: Kate Herbert 

Stars:  ***1/2 (3.5)

This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 16 Aug 2025. KH

Bloomshed's Pride and Prejudice_Darebin Arts Speakeasy_Syd Brisbane, Laura Aldous, Anna Louey, Elizabeth Brennan and Lauren Swain_photographer Sarah Walker

Even if you’re a die-hard Jane Austen fan—or perhaps especially if you are—Bloomshed’s irreverent, chaotic adaptation of Pride and Prejudice will absolutely tickle your taste buds.

Don’t expect a classical take à la the iconic BBC version starring the unforgettable Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. This production swings wildly from parody to political satire, then back to pantomime—often within a single scene.

 

Staged atop a giant, circular platform decorated like a lavish wedding cake—complete with flourishes, rosettes, and even an oversized dessert fork—this version is anything but subtle.

Yes, the familiar faces are all there: the five Bennet daughters, their frantic mother, and long-suffering father, along with the usual romantic misadventures and obsession with marriage. But that’s where most of the resemblance ends.

 

Emily Carr plays Mrs Bennet as a manic, loud, and hilariously profane schemer desperate to marry off her daughters. Meanwhile, Mr Bennet is quite literally a potted plant—wilted, silent, and barely clinging to life. It’s absurd and oddly perfect.

 

James Jackson’s Darcy is pompous, socially inept, and impeccably buttoned-up, while James Malcher's Bingley bounces around like a clueless golden retriever. Laura Aldous doubles up brilliantly as the supercilious, hee-hawing Caroline Bingley and the outrageously flirtatious Lydia. Elizabeth Brennan shines as Lizzie—the sharp, proud heroine—and Anna Louey is charmingly sweet as Jane. Lauren Swain’s Mary is a goth obsessed with rifles, and poor Kitty (Syd Brisbane) remains mostly unnoticed... but that’s another story.

 

The performances are grotesque, exaggerated, and delightfully comedic. Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Malcher) is an over-the-top panto dame, while her daughter, Anne (Louey), appears as nothing more than a talking skull. No kidding.

 

The play’s modern lens draws sharp attention to enduring themes: romance, marriage, property, and the role of women as chattels needing a dowry to be “worthy.”

Highlights include wildly inventive choreography—an explosive mash-up of period dance and funky, sassy contemporary moves.

 

However, not everything hits the mark. Some moments drag, like the prolonged awkwardness at Lady de Bourgh’s tea party, and the final scene where Darcy and Lizzie break the fourth wall to question whether romantic hope is a lie. It's clever but feels unnecessary as an ending to an otherwise anarchic production.

 

Still, one thing’s for certain: you'll never look at Colin Firth—or Pride and Prejudice—the same way again.

 

By Kate Herbert

---

Cast:

• Elizabeth Bennet: Elizabeth Brennan
• Mr Darcy: James Jackson
• Mrs Bennet / Georgiana Darcy: Emily Carr
• Jane Bennet / Anne de Bourgh: Anna Louey
• Mary Bennet / Mr Wickham: Lauren Swain
• Kitty Bennet / Mr Collins: Syd Brisbane
• Lydia Bennet / Caroline Bingley: Laura Aldous
• Mr Bingley / Lady Catherine de Bourgh: James Malcher
• Mr Bennet: monstera plant

 

The Glass Menagerie REVIEW 1 May 2026 **** (4)

THEATRE

Written by Tennessee Williams
By Melbourne Theatre Company
At Southbank Theatre, The Sumner until 5 June 2026 (Geelong 11–13 June)
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ★★★★ (4)

This review is published only on this blog. A radio version will air on Arts Weekly on 3MBS, Sat 2 May 2026.

Millie Donaldson, Alison Whyte and Tim Draxl. Photo_ Pia Johnson

Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, which premiered on Broadway in 1945, draws deeply on the playwright’s own family history. Set in St Louis during the Depression-era 1930s, it unfolds in a cramped apartment that seems to hover between reality and recollection: a fire escape leads out to a harsher world of factories and cinema palaces, while inside, time stalls among faded photographs, worn furniture and the ghost of a gentleman long gone.

Director Mark Wilson handles this memory play with clarity and intelligence. The first half emphasises the comedy, eliciting generous laughs at the characters’ foibles and delusions. Gradually, though, the tone darkens, and by the second half, humour gives way to pathos, as dreams falter and fracture as easily as Laura’s delicate glass figures.

Tom Wingfield, who serves as both character and narrator, frames the story as both theatre and memory, a blurred reconstruction of a past he cannot quite escape. The outside world — industrial, noisy, urgent, unforgiving — presses in on the Wingfield household, but within, Amanda and Laura remain suspended in a more fragile, illusory realm.

Alison Whyte is electrifying as Amanda Wingfield, one of the great roles in the American theatrical canon. Her performance is masterly: every fluttering recollection, every manipulative aside, every brittle insistence on gentility is rendered with precision and emotional force.

Whyte captures Amanda’s fierce love and equally fierce denial, her longing for a vanished Southern girlhood of balls and beaux, and her simmering resentment towards the husband who abandoned the family 16 years earlier. It is a richly layered portrayal that anchors the production.

Tim Draxl brings a muscular volatility to Tom, the aspiring writer trapped in a warehouse job, his frustration simmering beneath a veneer of duty. Laura, played with less assurance by Millie Donaldson in her stage debut, is physically constrained by a leg brace, and emotionally by crippling shyness and retreats into a world of old gramophone records and her treasured glass animals.

However, in Wilson’s production, the menagerie remains unseen, save for a single unicorn, delicately handled in a key moment.

Harry McGee’s Jim O’Connor, the long-awaited “gentleman caller”, arrives with an easy charm that momentarily steadies the household, even as he unwittingly dismantles Amanda’s carefully constructed hopes for her daughter.

The design (Kat Chan, Matilda Woodroofe, Paul Lim) is understated and evocative, reinforcing the play’s memory-soaked atmosphere without overstatement.

This is not a radical reimagining, but a thoughtful, finely balanced production that is elevated by Whyte’s superb performance, which lingers long after the final, fading light.

Cast

Alison Whyte - Amanda Wingfield,

Tim Draxl  - Tom Wingfield

Millie Donaldson - Laura Wingfield

Jim O’Connor -Harry McGee

 

Creative Team

Mark Wilson (Director)

 Kat Chan (Set Designer),

 Matilda Woodroofe (Costume Designer)

Paul Lim (Lighting Designer),

Marco Cher (Composer & Sound Designer)

Geraldine Cook-Dafner (Voice & Dialect Coach)

Jamila Main (Assistant Director).

 

Julius Caesar–REVIEW–Bell Shakespeare, 24 April 2026 ***

THEATRE

Written by William Shakespeare, by Bell Shakespeare

At  Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne until 10 May 2026

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars:  ***(3)

This review is  published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat. 2 May 2026. KH

 JuliusCaesar_Brigid Zengeni and Leon Ford_Photo Brett Boardman.

Bell Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar lands in Melbourne with a polished surface and an insistent sense of contemporary relevance, but beneath the sleek exterior, this is a production that struggles to locate the play’s moral and emotional centre.

Peter Evans’ direction opts for a fluid, modern setting—suggestive rather than specific—where political unrest simmers in an atmosphere of stylish unease. The design elements are undeniably arresting: sharply tailored costumes, an ominous soundscape, and bursts of violence that punctuate the action. Yet this visual confidence is not matched by interpretive clarity. The conceptual frame feels more like a gesture toward relevance than a fully realised argument, and as a result, the production’s political stakes remain frustratingly diffuse.

Brigid Zengeni’s Brutus, a character that might be considered the production’s anchor, is curiously opaque. While the verse is handled well, the internal conflict that should drive the character — Brutus's tortured justification of betrayal — rarely lands with sufficient weight. Zengeni’s performance feels controlled rather than compelled, leaving Brutus’ moral dilemma too easily resolved. Evans’ casting a woman as Brutus has promise, but the character’s gender change assumes more importance and focus than Brutus’s internal struggle.

Leon Ford as Cassius is a highlight, bringing a watchful intelligence, stillness and power to this character who some Romans consider to be too clever and too intellectual. Cassius slowly and subtly manoeuvres Brutus and several others into the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar, who has become a despot and sees himself as a God.

However, the dynamic between Cassius and Brutus never quite ignites. Their conspiracy lacks the dangerous urgency that should propel the first half of the play.

As Caesar, Septimus Caton emphasises the character’s bombast and arrogance that borders on caricature. While this underscores the character’s hubris, it also diminishes the impact of his assassination; the fall of this Caesar feels less like a seismic political rupture and more like an inevitability.

Mark Leonard Winter’s Mark Antony, too, proves uneven. His transformation from sidelined observer to political operator is sketched rather than developed, and the rhetorical power of the famous funeral oration  — so often the play’s electrifying centrepiece — is diluted by self-conscious delivery.

The ensemble, in general, works cohesively, though they are not always well served by the production’s wavering tone, which veers between high-stakes tragedy and a kind of ironic detachment.

There is, certainly, an attempt to connect Shakespeare’s exploration of power and populism to a contemporary moment. But without a firmer interpretive grip, the production’s relevance remains more asserted than earned.

That tonal inconsistency is the production’s central issue. Evans repeatedly undercuts tension with stylistic choices that undervalues the text. The result is a Julius Caesar that feels conceptually busy but dramatically undernourished.

BY KATE HERBERT

 

Melbourne Cast

Brigid Zengeni – Brutus

Mark Leonard ­Winter – Mark Antony

Septimus Caton – Julius Caesar

Leon Ford – Cassius

Gareth Reeves – Casca

Ray Chong Nee ­­– Metellus

James Lugton – Decius

 Ava Madon – Calpurnia

Jules Billington – ­ Portia

Ruby Maishman – Cinna

 

Creative Team

Director – Peter Evans

Lighting Designer– Amelia Lever-Davidson

Costume Designer – Simon Romaniuk

Composer & Sound Designer – Madeleine Piccard

Fight & Movement Director – Tim Dashwood

Voice Director – Jack Starkey-GIll