Madeleine Swain

Madeleine Swain is ArtsHub’s managing editor. Originally from England where she trained as an actor, she has over 25 years’ experience as a writer, editor and film reviewer in print, television, radio and online. She is also currently Vice Chair of JOY Media.

Madeleine's Latest Articles

A young white smiling white man holds up one arm and in the other holds a Harry Potter book.
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Theatre review: Potted Potter, Athenaeum Theatre

Hogwarts inspired mayhem with hilarity and beach balls...

A young white man dressed as Harry Potter branding a wand, crossing that with a star wand brandished by an other young white man wearing devil's horns.
Features

Hairy Potter – selling a show when the author is persona non grata

While the creator of the Potter-verse may no longer be everyone's favourite multimillionaire, there are still plenty in the sector…

man hangs from a rope against a blue backdrop over a watering hole on a stage. a tiger puppet is behind him and rain pours all around. Luzia Cirque du Soleil
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Circus review: Luzia, Cirque du Soleil, Flemington Racecourse

The latest Cirque du Soleil show to hit Australia is as captivating a spectacle as ever.

A group of comedians stand in front of a melbourne International Comedy Festival poster with ticker tape flying all around.
News

Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2024 winners

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is over for another year with the winners of the big prizes now revealed.

Two young white men in black pants, white shirts and black bowties, stand in front of large liquor barrels, brandishing glasses of red wine and looking off camera to the right. In Pour Taste: A Comedy Wine Tasting Experience. Sweeney Preston and Ethan Cavanagh.
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Comedy Review: Sweeney Preston and Ethan Cavanagh In Pour Taste: A Comedy Wine Tasting Experience, ReWine, MICF 2024

Booze and belly laughs, tipples and titters, goon bags and guffaws...

Sarah Keyworth. My Eyes Are Up Here. Image is a white non-binary person in a white shirt, leaning on an elbow and lying on a padded brown velvet couch.
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Comedy review: Sarah Keyworth, My Eyes Are Up Here, Town Hall, MICF 2024

The British comic may have had top surgery recently, but they still want you to think about where you direct…

Image is a man with a closed mouth smile/grimace at the camera and a slight upturn of the head. He is wearing a black jumper and has a grey mottled backdrop.
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Comedy review: Tom Ballard: Good Point Well Made, Rydges One, MICF 2024

Fierce and funny, Ballard delivers a rock solid hour that even babies seem to love...

Headshot of a middle aged smiling woman with head tilted to the left. She has short sticking up grey hair and is wearing a dark blue collar shirt. Geraldine Hickey.
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Comedy review: Geraldine Hickey, Don't Tease Me About My Gloves, Arts Centre Melbourne, MICF 2024

Don't tease her and don't say 'oh yeah' when Hickey tells you why she's wearing gloves...

Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience. Image is an old Ford Anglia with its lights on crashed in a forest and spotlit from above.
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Experience review: Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience, The Briars, Mornington Peninsula

Fancy a trip to a Potter-themed forest experience? Butter beer included...

Mel Buttle. Image is a head and shoulders shot of a smiling woman with a side parting and long wavy hair wearing red lipstick and a stripey T shirt under a blue and white jacket with a floral pattern on the chest.
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Comedy review: Mel Buttle, Not Here To Put Socks On Centipedes, Town Hall, MICF 2024

Whether it's admitting that parenthood isn't always 100 percent rosy or dealing with a rowdy crowd member, Buttle's timing is…

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