REVIEW: One Man Poe
Reading Time: 3 minutes‘Nervous!’ declares our narrator upon rising from his pre-show state of mute mental anguish. ’Very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?’
James Christensen
James is a director, deviser, writer, researcher and sound designer from Melbourne – but he's been in Australia for the past 5 years. His critical work has been predominantly in the field of experimental performance, with a focus on Postdigital hybridity, ethics, and representations of trauma in live performance disciplines.
As an artist, his work has spanned fields as diverse as classical adaptation, new writing, opera, musical and gig theatre, devised performance, and installation art. He holds a BA (Hons) in English and Theatre from the University of Melbourne, a Diploma of Music (Performance) from the Melbourne Conservatorium, and an MFA Advanced Theatre Practice from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
REVIEW: Storms, Maybe Snow
Reading Time: 3 minutesMiranda Lapworth’s Storms, Maybe Snow is built on familiar but time-tested foundations.
REVIEW: Ghost from a Perfect Place
Reading Time: 3 minutesCellar Door Theatre are taking us back to the heyday of what critic Alex Sierz once termed ‘in-yer-face’ theatre: a mode of bare-knuckle, confrontational performance that’s resolutely out of vogue on the Fringe circuit at the moment – to its detriment, some might say.
REVIEW: Bloody, Bloody Kansas
Reading Time: 3 minutesDive into the dark heart of American history. 1873 – Kansas.
Based on the true story of the West’s first known serial killing family, the Bloody Benders, this bold new play shatters time and space to reveal the chilling legacy they left behind. At the center is Mary York, a grieving widow turned relentless detective, piecing together a puzzle of violence, justice, and memory.
REVIEW: As You Like It
Reading Time: 3 minutesAs far as accessible and outdoorsy Early Modern comedies go, As You Like It is a pretty intuitive candidate. A split setting between town and woods allows East London Shakespeare Festival to make clever use of not only their parkland surroundings, but also the facade of Clissold House in Stoke Newington – a building whose period brickwork and Victorian austerity all but meld into the show’s own set-pieces.
REVIEW: Open Source Intelligence and Counterinsurgency for the Jobbing Hater
Reading Time: 3 minutesA witty and high-energy blitz of wrath and disenfranchisement that loses focus in a scattershot flurry of conflicting ideas. The first thing budding actress ‘Lili’ Lum Wai Man (Gawa Leung, also the playwright) tells us as she…
REVIEW: Green
Reading Time: 3 minutesReturning to the Old Red Lion after premiering at FreshFest 2025, Green is an electric new play with music about loving the wrong people and trying to hold onto your soul in a world where you can't succeed if you have one at The Old Red Lion Theatre.