This is not the year I saw the most shows I’ve ever seen, but it is the year I wrote the most reviews (total: 86), across the most places: from here at Theatre First to Australian Arts Review, The Saturday Paper and and my debut piece at Time Out.
I wrote
over 62,000 words of theatre criticism, which is book-sized. (And I also wrote a book – out March in Australia and April in the US and UK!)
I love
writing reviews and contributing to the conversation around theatre in Melbourne.
I’m grateful that I have a lot of supportive readers and even the occasional
disagreement. We need to talk about theatre more. We need robust discussions
and better ways of communicating about what we like and what we didn’t click
with.
I want to
keep writing about theatre, but it’s getting harder to sustain – writing this
many reviews takes time and a lot of energy. So I’m asking for your help.
If you like my work, read my blog regularly or even on occasion, I’d really appreciate your support. I have set up a Kofi page where you can give one-off donations or a small recurring payment.
I am still thinking
about what extra things I can post on my Kofi page for supporters, but in the
meantime, any support you can give – including sharing my Kofi page – will be
very much appreciated.
And now for
the reason you really clicked on this link: the list of my favourite
theatre for 2025.
As always,
the lists are in alphabetical order.
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TOP TEN
Boys on the
Verge of Tears – Maybe Pile/Fortyfive Downstairs (my review)
A truly
thrilling ensemble of actors in an array of beautifully observed stories about
men in crisis.
Crisis
Actor – Performing Lines and Arts House/Now or Never (my review)
Cutting
edge “second screen” radical, political live-action versus digital
piece of theatre. Astonishing experience.
Hadestown –
Opera Australia/Her Majesty’s Theatre
On first
hearing the score, I fell in love with this take on the story of Orpheus and
Eurydice. This production won multiple Tony Awards and my heart. Gorgeous.
Much Ado
About Nothing – Melbourne Theatre Company (my review)
One of Shakespeare’s
best-loved comedies in the hands of extraordinary theatremakers. Hilarious and
biting.
The Orchard
– Pony Cam/Malthouse Theatre (my review)
An
excoriating piece of agit-prop theatre on the destruction of the arts in our
current capitalist hellscape.
Pride and
Prejudice – Bloomshed/Darebin Speakeasy (my review)
A joy of a
production that somehow fits the whole book into ninety-minutes while never
sacrificing clarity, political commentary or laughs. Don’t miss it at the
Malthouse in 2026.
The Red Shoes
– Malthouse Theatre (my review)
Meow Meow
makes theatre like no one else – smart, sharp, hilarious and devastating. And
it all looks so good.
The Removalists
– Melbourne Theatre Company (my review)
A forensic
examination of power imbalances – a classic Australian play given a worthy
revival over fifty years later.
The Spare
Room – Belvoir (my review)
A
deceptively simple piece of theatre that is so clear in its depiction of grief for
the dying and those living with them. Breathtaking.
TROY –
Malthouse Theatre (my review)
This
production was remarkable – a towering achievement.
*
THE NEXT FIVE
Lou Wall:
Breaking the Fifth Wall – Comedy Republic (my review)
Lou’s best
show ever, but I may never trust them again.
The Comeuppance
– Red Stitch (my review)
One of the
best post-pandemic plays I’ve seen about the world we’ve emerged into.
Destiny –
Melbourne Theatre Company (my review)
Insightful
and moving piece of history that feels so relevant and resonant to today.
Hedwig and
the Angry Inch – Rising/Athanaeum Theatre (my review)
The righteous
anger is front and centre and the show is all the better for it.
Rebecca –
Melbourne Theatre Company (my review)
A dark, seductive
jewel of a production.
SHOUT
OUTS AND HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Is Anyone
Even Watching? – Arts House/Melbourne Fringe (my review)
Mother Play
– Melbourne Theatre Company (my review)
One Night
Only – Rawcus/Darebin Speakeasy (my review)
Smokescreen
– Fortyfive Downstairs (my review)
What’s
Yours – Red Stitch (my review)
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I am fascinated by which of my reviews is read the most. The big musicals usually do big numbers, but Jesus Christ Superstar is one of the most-read reviews ever on this site. Lou Wall - Breaking the Fifth Wall also went off, because they toured this show throughout the UK and around New York and their "where is bed" video went viral.
Rounding out the top five reviews were Shirley Valentine, Much Ado about Nothing and HAIR.
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PAST
YEARS’ FAVOURITES
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