Cigarettes After Sex perform at Rod Laver Arena on March 11.

Their music conjures private moments – so how did they pull off an arena show?

Cigarettes After Sex defies the stadium setting,delivering the same intensity and intimacy as if they were playing a hazy club in the middle of nowhere.

  • Nadia Bailey,Andrew Fuhrmann,Karl Quinn,Jessica Nicholas andCameron Woodhead

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Jill Ogai starred in the Australian Ballet’s performance of Carmen.

Australian Ballet’s Carmen misses heights of dark passion

A few spine-tingling moments,yes,but this austere contemporary-dance interpretation of a classic story of desire,jealousy and murder was weirdly hollow.

  • Andrew Fuhrmann,Will Cox,Michael Dwyer,Karl Quinn,Sonia Nair andCameron Woodhead
Billie-Joa Armstrong of Green Day performs at Marvel Stadium,March 1,2025.

Green Day take aim at Musk,Trump and Vance in electric Melbourne gig

Performing two albums back to back,the California trio capture a certain moment while continuing to attract new generations of listeners.

  • Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen,Jessica Nicholas,Andrew Fuhrmann,Tony Way andCher Tan
Khruangbin perform at Margaret Court Arena,Feburary 25,2025.

It wasn’t until the set was almost over that I realised the band hadn’t spoken a word

Khruangbin’s Margaret Court Arena initially seemed at odds with their setting – but their music transported the audience to another time and place entirely.

  • Will Cox,Cameron Woodhead,Andrew Fuhrmann,Cher Tan andJessica Nicholas
Never Have I Ever crackles with spiky repartee.

Set around a drinking game,this play pushes friendship to its limit

In a new play by Deborah Frances-White – host of The Guilty Feminist podcast – four friends find their relationships strained after a confronting evening.

  • Sonia Nair,Cameron Woodhead,Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen,Andrew Fuhrmann,Jessica Nicholas andWill Cox
Harrison Ritchie-Jones (left) with fellow dancers in Tantrum for 6.

This colourful show parodies toddlers throwing a tantrum. But does it work?

Tantrum for 6 begins brightly enough,with a parody of six toddlers crashing about,flopping and tumbling,flailing and wailing and clambering over one another.

  • Andrew Fuhrmann andVyshnavee Wijekumar
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In his work Truth to Power Cafe,Jeremy Goldstein stands in front of an image of Ebensee,a sub-camp of the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria.

Anger,walkouts:This show was an identity politics dumpster fire

Truth to Power Café has been staged 60 times,but on Wednesday night in Melbourne,it spiralled into a traumatic experience for performers and spectators alike.

  • Cameron Woodhead andAndrew Fuhrmann
Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers performs at Sidney Myer Music Bowl,January 24,2025.

Amyl and the Sniffers’ biggest show yet is a riotous celebration

There’s a real sense of community and communion as the crowd thrashes,screams and whoops for 90 minutes of pure chaos.

  • Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen,Vyshnavee Wijekumar,Cameron Woodhead andAndrew Fuhrmann
Bearded the Musical

This new musical set during the marriage equality debate shines light on a grey time

Set in 2017 during Australia’s marriage equality debate,Bearded follows two queer teenagers as they navigate coming out.

  • Cameron Woodhead,Vyshnavee Wijekumar,Will Cox,Andy Hazel andAndrew Fuhrmann
A scene from Dear Evan Hansen at the Playhouse Theatre

Dear Evan Hansen is finally in Melbourne. Was it worth the wait?

The production won six Tony awards in 2016 – and you really must see this one in the flesh to understand what the fuss is about.

  • Cameron Woodhead andAndrew Fuhrmann