& Juliet: a Melbourne musical review by Alex First
March 10, 2023 by Alex First
A riotously fun, thoroughly entertaining musical for our new, enlightened times, & Juliet picks up Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet where it ended and kicks it up a gear. Read more
Made in China 2.0: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
March 7, 2023 by Alex First
I am faced with a predicament that I can’t say I have confronted too many times in four decades of reviewing. Read more
Cruel Intentions: The 90’s Musical – a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
February 26, 2023 by Alex First
Cruel Intentions: The 90’s Musical sizzles with powerhouse performances and a rousing score. Read more
The Rocky Horror Show: reviews by Henry Benjamin
February 24, 2023 by Henry Benjamin
With a massive musical intro, it was time again to see the Roxy Cinema candy seller part the curtains and send us off on to the wild ride that is The Rocky Horror Show. Read more
The Mousetrap: a theatre review by Alex First
February 23, 2023 by Alex First
Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap opened in London’s West End on 25th November 1952 and has been running continuously (save for the COVID lockdown) ever since. Read more
Josh Piterman talks to J-Wire
February 22, 2023 by Alex First
Popular musical theatre performer Josh Piterman has just landed one of the roles of his life. Read more
Nosferatu, a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
February 17, 2023 by Alex First
The play starts with a heartfelt warning from one of the characters that only tragedy puts you on the map. Read more
Coming Out: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
February 16, 2023 by Alex First
Showmanship, humour, pathos, anger, overt messaging and song are part of this well-meaning but noticeably stretched offering. Read more
Prima Facie: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
February 13, 2023 by Alex First
Tessa Ensler (Sheridan Harbridge) is a successful barrister. Read more
Wittenoom: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
February 9, 2023 by Alex First
Wittenoom, the former town and declared contaminated site in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, was, in short, a death trap. Read more
Mary Poppins: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
February 5, 2023 by Alex First
In a word, Mary Poppins is Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Read more
Sunday: A Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
January 23, 2023 by Alex First
Sunday Reed is a firecracker. Read more
Motherlod_^e: a theatre review by Alex First
January 10, 2023 by Alex First
Sixty-five minutes of glorious mayhem. Read more
Mozart’s evil hero Don Giovanni brilliantly portrayed writes Victor Grynberg
January 8, 2023 by Victor Grynberg
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) is often described as one of the big three of classical composition, along with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven. Read more
Madagascar The Musical: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
January 6, 2023 by Alex First
A musical for the littlies – I speak of preschoolers and primary school age children – Madagascar The Musical is based on the successful animated motion picture. Read more
Slava’s Snowshow: A theatre review by Alex First
December 30, 2022 by Alex First
Vanya Polunin is to clowning what Sir Donald Bradman was to cricket – a genius. Read more
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat: a theatre review by Alex First
December 29, 2022 by Alex First
A new Pharoah has stepped into Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. Read more
Moulin Rouge! The Musical: A Sydney theatre review by Alex First
December 16, 2022 by Alex First
Polished performances, magnificent mashups, elegant and evocative sets, colourful and creative costumes, and charismatic choreography are the highlights of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. A striking spectacle. Read more
Monsters: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
November 27, 2022 by Alex First
As children, what did we fear the most? That the boogie man will get us. Read more
Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat: A Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
November 20, 2022 by Alex First
Straight from the West End, the new, reimagined production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat is a delightful, fun, engaging and dynamic family musical. Read more
The Phantom of the Opera: Alex First reviews the Melbourne production
November 15, 2022 by Alex First
Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterful work The Phantom of the Opera sizzles. Read more
Sunshine Super Girl: a theatre review by Alex First
November 13, 2022 by Alex First
Respectful, determined and humble. That is the picture that emerges of Australian tennis great Evonne Goolagong Cawley in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s Sunshine Super Girl, a moniker given to her by the British press. Read more
Gundog (Three Fates Theatre) reviewed by Alex First
November 11, 2022 by Alex First
The rough lot of an impoverished farming clan is front and centre in Gundog, a dramatic and confronting play with lashes of humour. Read more
Verdi’s Attila: another masterpiece – reviewed by Victor Grynberg
November 2, 2022 by Victor Grynberg
Giuseppe Verdi, in the judgement of many, was the greatest ever composer of operas. Read more
Urinetown: The Musical – Melbourne review by Alex First
November 1, 2022 by Alex First
A 20-year drought has led to the blatant exploitation of the underprivileged. Read more
Girls & Boys: a Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
October 28, 2022 by Alex First
A sharp and witty British woman unpicks her life before our eyes and what a life it has been. Read more
DanceX Part II: reviewed by Alex First
October 26, 2022 by Alex First
The Australian premiere of Johan Inger’s comic, romantic dance theatre piece I New Then, set to songs by Van Morrison, is superb. Read more
Alex First reviews Romeo and Juliet performed by the Australian Ballet
October 12, 2022 by Alex First
After a 19-year hiatus, the emotion-charged, highly acclaimed production of Romeo and Juliet by choreographer John Cranko takes centre stage at Arts Centre Melbourne. Read more
The Meeting: a theatre review by Alex First
October 7, 2022 by Alex First
A secret imaginary rendezvous between two towering but polar opposite African American leaders plays out in The Meeting. Read more
Ghost Stories: a theatre review by Alex First
October 3, 2022 by Alex First
An engaging professor of parapsychology talks us through the history of ghost stories – how they came to be and how they have evolved over time. Read more
