David McAllister’s production of The Sleeping Beauty first premiered in 2015. Although it has made slight changes to content since then, it is still a lavish and extravagant production. As the most expensive production in the company’s history, no cent was wasted to create a stunning set design and exorbitant costumes. The aesthetics of the…
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‘Becoming Bette’ is a one-woman show by artist and performer Elizabeth Scales. Hailing from Brisbane, she brings her show to Melbourne for a pre-Fringe festival viewing. Held at the Butterfly Club across the weekend of the 10th and 11th of September, Scales’ viewing was a cozy and intimate one. The show is a semi-autobiographical story…
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If you’re anything like me when it comes to talking 16th Century monarchs, I’m sure we’re all familiar with the glorified images provided to us by Hollywood and the likes. I just assume there’s a lot of velvet and feasting going on, mixed in with a whole bunch of inequality towards all minorities, specifically women….
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Two weeks ago I got my first tattoo. When my dad found out, he asked if I was drunk, very loudly, down the phone. ‘I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to tattoo drunk people, Dad.’ Honestly, we’re British, so naturally, even though I know that my dad doesn’t like tattoos, I assumed that he’d just never…
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Cabaret’s roots date back to the 1880s when bohemian poets, artists and composers would gather in French saloons to share creative ideas. It developed into a style of alcohol-infused risqué musical performance, notoriously characterised by improvisation, audience interactivity and small, intimate venues. In 2016, performers Tara Dowler and Louise Mapleston infuse cabaret, musical comedy and…
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Mother’s Ruin: A Cabaret about Gin is a riotous journey through the history of gin and its associations with the most scandalous of women. Once the scourge of the masses, now drink du jour, gin is an unlikely but surprisingly entertaining topic for a cabaret. Performed by Maeve Marsden and Libby Wood, under the direction…
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#FirstWorldWhiteGirls is a light-hearted cabaret that satirises that special group of people who live for hashtags, Tiffany’s, and fifteen minutes of fame. Brisbanites Judy Hainsworth and Kaitlin Oliver Parker have brought their #totallyOTT characters Tiffany and Kendall to Melbourne as part of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival. The characters (a trust fund princess and Anna Nicole…
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Maeve Marsden and Libby Wood, known to cabaret and comedy fans as one half of the incomparable Lady Sings it Better, are returning to Melbourne with another fabulous show – ‘Mother’s Ruin: A Cabaret about Gin.’ A sprawling, rambunctious history of gin and its close association with undesirable women, ‘Mother’s Ruin’ moves from misery…
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The newly created Tallulah Theatre in Melbourne is putting on its second show, Old Wives’ Tales, from the 18th-21st of May. The show features six pieces, which are directed by six different women who are working towards making a name for themselves in the theatre scene. I caught up with three of the directors, Jean…
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Artist Rani Pramesti is adamant about inspiring conversations, self-reflection and social change through intimate and insightful stories by and with culturally diverse women. She is also keen to create a safe space to discuss seemingly taboo subjects and brings this up frequently in the conversation about her new performance installation titled Sedih // Sunno (‘sadness’…
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Lady Sings It Better is a four women cabaret group performing at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival with their show Here to Save the World. Maeve Marsden, Libby Wood, Annaliese Szota and Fiona Pearson bring with it a fresh and raucously hilarious perspective on the way the current discussion of feminism is framed in…
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If you’re looking for something to do in Melbourne, The Butterfly Club is a great place to go if you’re after hilarious night out with talented and devoted performances. This week from the 24th – 28th you can catch an exciting show that’s all about transporting the audience to those glamorous Hollywood years of old…
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Inspired by the loss of someone close to him, Roy Martins Das Neves, founder of Civilian Chavez, has put together, Project Genesis, a fashion show that will see all proceeds from the evening donated to Ovarian Cancer research. I got in touch with Roy and chatted to him about his career in fashion so far….
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Tonight at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne, ActionAid, a Sydney based international development organisation that empowers women who are living in poverty across the globe, is hosting Frocking Hilarious – an all-women comedy fundraiser. I spoke with ActionAid’s Media and Public Relations Officer Anna Fraser about the event and about the important work that ActionAid does for…
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