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Hannah Camilleri is one of the improv comedians bringing spontaneous acts to this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Photo: Pat Mooney.
Interviews

Spare a thought for improv comedians at this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival

What does it take to make up a show on the spot? Four improv comics share their secrets.

Alex Hines & Sarah Stafford's Birds at Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2026.
Features

12 shows to see at Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Almost 800 shows are presented at MICF this year. To make selecting what to see easier, here are 12 festival…

Zelda Moon and Lazy Susan in The Witchy Girls. Photo: Nicole Squelch/Iris Arc Pictures.
Interviews

DIY magic and fan funding: The Witchy Girls conjures a new model for making Aussie TV

After funding rejections, RuPaul's Drag Race champ Lazy Susan and her sister Zelda Moon are turning to live audiences to…

Daniela Farinacci on the set of MTC's 2026 production, West Gate. The actor, playing a grieving widow, sits in a reproduction of a 1970's kitchen surrounded by the wreckage of the collapsed West Gate Bridge.
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West Gate review: a flawed but powerful play about the loss of 35 lives

The collapse of Melbourne's West Gate Bridge is dramatised in this new MTC production by playwright Dennis McIntosh and director…

Jonny Pasvolsky. Photo: Supplied. The CAN Principle.
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The CAN Principle review: Jonny Pasvolsky’s hilarious take on hope and can-do hucksters

In his one-man comedy act The CAN Principle, Jonny Pasvolsky shares a quick guide to 'can-lightenment'.

A scene from Florentina Holzinger's 'A year without summer', programmed for RISING 2026. Ten culturally and physically diverse performers wearing hospital whites (including a person lying on a hospital bed and another using a walking frame) sing in front of a larger-than-life nude female torso. Six more white-clad performers are visible at the rear of the stage, performing on a raised, industrial-looking platform.
Features

RISING 2026 is dominated by dance and contemporary music

The inaugural Australian Dance Biennale and an expansive music program make up a considerable part of the 2026 RISING program.

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.

Janice Gobey, Writers Victoria's Chair. Image: David Patston
Features

Dear Colin Brooks: defunded Victorian arts organisations address Creative Industries Minister

Four of the eight organisations abruptly defunded by Creative Victoria share their message for Creative Industries Minister Colin Brooks.

Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2026: Randa Abdel-Fattah, Evelyn Araluen, Zeno Sworder and Margot McGovern. Photos: James Henry.
News

Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards: the 2026 winners

Evelyn Araluen wins top prize and Randa Abdel-Fattah wins People's Choice as the Wheeler Centre celebrates Victorian literature.

Image: Siora Photography on Unsplash.
Opinions & Analysis

Should Melbourne lose its City of Literature status?

UNESCO has never rescinded a City of Literature designation, and doing so would be a nuclear option, but...

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