Madeleine Swain

Originally from England where she trained as an actor, Madeleine Swain has over 30 years’ experience as a writer, editor and film reviewer in print, television, radio and online. She is on the Board of JOY Media and is a Life Member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival.

Madeleine Swain's Latest Articles

Maitreyi Karanth. Photo: Facebook.
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Maitreyi Karanth – Maitriarchy review: boldness and bravura in action

Maitreyi Karanth has been doing stand up for less than a decade but has the stamina and delivery of a…

Anisa Nandaula. Photo: Supplied.
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Anisa Nandaula – No Small Talk review: TikTok star continues her rise at MICF

A Ugandan by way of Queensland, Anisa Nandaula is one to watch.

Francis Carmody, Canine Trap III, 2026. Graphite, acrylic paint, polyurethane, resin, felt, steel, wood. Installation view, TarraWarra International 2026: System Release, TarraWarra Museum of Art. Photo: Craate Creative.
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System Release review: the welcome return of the TarraWarra International exhibition series

The TarraWarra International returns to distract viewers from the grim news cycle and encourage them to look at the planet’s…

Scott Shepherd in the New York encore production of Gatz at The Public Theater. Photo: Joan Marcus.
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Gatz review: it’s The Great Gatsby (Jim) but not as we know it

Gatz, the acclaimed adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, returned to Australia for the Adelaide Festival.

Theatre of Dreams at Adelaide Festival 2026. Photo: Andrew Beveridge.
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Theatre of Dreams review: dance that channels such stuff as dreams are made on

Theatre of Dreams explored what happens when we close our eyes and drift away.

Year of the Rooster. Photo: Cameron Grant.
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Year of the Rooster review: bold costumes and wild buffoonery are not quite enough

The third play in a series dubbed The Beast Trilogy, Year of the Rooster is a visual treat.

From left, Ben Prendergast, Ngaire Dawn Fair, Emily Goddard and John Leary in Kid Stakes, performed by Red Stitch Actors' Theatre as part of The Doll Trilogy. Photo: Chris Parker.
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The Doll Trilogy review: Red Stitch makes a marathon feel like a sprint

My word, she’ll be right… Ray Lawler’s pioneering The Doll Trilogy still makes for a stimulating day (and night) in…

Malthouse Theatre's Black Light. Photo: Pia Johnson.
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Black Light review: Jada Alberts throws the spotlight on the matriarchy

Navigating kinship across generations, this world premiere of Black Light opens the Malthouse’s 2026 season.

The best Australian plays of the 21st century.
Opinions & Analysis

The Melbourne Theatre Company is too woke? Go back to sleep

Nobody benefits from disparaging words and lazy critique – certainly not those of us working in the arts.

Alison Bell and Fayssal Bazzi in Much Ado About Nothing. Photo: Gregory Lorenzutti / MTC.
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Much Ado About Nothing review: belly laughs and barbs from the Bard

Shakespeare’s mid-career comedy is given a gleeful airing in the MTC’s first new staging of the work in 30 years.

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