Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Keith Gow
REVIEW: Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joseph Stein - Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne
The original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof was the longest-running show on Broadway during its first run in 1964, a record it held until it was beaten by Grease the following decade. It still remains the 19th longest-running show in Broadway history and it has returned to Broadway or the West End every decade since, sometimes multiple times. It hasn’t been much of a stranger on Australia stages, either.
REVIEW: This is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan β Lunatix Theatre/Fortyfive Downstairs
It’s 1982 in New York City and Dennis Ziegler has somehow convinced his parents that, instead of paying for his college tuition, they should pay for a studio apartment on the Upper West Side. He’s a bicycle courier and occasionally buys and sells drugs, but at 19, he doesn’t know what he wants to be and doesn’t care. His friend, Warren, arrives having just been kicked out of home. His father is a lingerie tycoon, who isn’t exactly a criminal, but works with a lot of them.
REVIEW: Before I Forget by Kamarra Bell-Wykes - Melbourne Theatre Company
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.” – Marilyn Monroe * Lou Wall tells a story about the time they tried to sell a bed frame on Facebook Marketplace to a woman who couldn’t seem to follow instructions – kept asking for a discount on a freebie, and wouldn’t arrive when she said she would. Actually, Lou doesn’t just tell the story, they sing it. It’s a mini musical and every time I hear it, it’s laugh-out loud funny.
Malthouse Theatre 2027: A bold array of new Aussie works
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.” – Marilyn Monroe * Lou Wall tells a story about the time they tried to sell a bed frame on Facebook Marketplace to a woman who couldn’t seem to follow instructions – kept asking for a discount on a freebie, and wouldn’t arrive when she said she would. Actually, Lou doesn’t just tell the story, they sing it. It’s a mini musical and every time I hear it, it’s laugh-out loud funny.
REVIEW: LUKE by Angus Cameron β Red Stitch
Critic and academic Guy Webster recently asked five theatre critics to write about recent accusations that reviews can close shows, which centred around the cancellation of several musicals like Back to the Future and Waitress . Our responses were included in the latest post on his Substack, This Is Not a Review . The discussion was lively, all of us taking a different approach to the subject – exploring the role criticism plays in the theatre ecosystem in 2026.
REVIEW: Ballkids (or, scenes from a friendship) by Liv Satchell - VIMH/fortyfivedownstairs
Holly and Sam’s friendship begins at a training camp, where both are trying out to become ballkids for the Australian Open tennis tournament. It’s a shy, awkward meeting; two 13-year-olds, unsure of themselves. Sam’s sister is already well-known at the camp and Holly is there because their mum hopes they might make some friends. Holly makes one friend and it’s a friendship that will endure. Ballkids (or, scenes from a friendship) was first staged at La Mama in 2024 as part of Melbourne Fringe.
Melbourne Theatre Company 2027: Electrifying new Australian works and thrilling Australian premieres
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.” – Marilyn Monroe * Lou Wall tells a story about the time they tried to sell a bed frame on Facebook Marketplace to a woman who couldn’t seem to follow instructions – kept asking for a discount on a freebie, and wouldn’t arrive when she said she would. Actually, Lou doesn’t just tell the story, they sing it. It’s a mini musical and every time I hear it, it’s laugh-out loud funny.
REVIEW: Savages by Patricia Cornelius - Theatre Works
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.” – Marilyn Monroe * Lou Wall tells a story about the time they tried to sell a bed frame on Facebook Marketplace to a woman who couldn’t seem to follow instructions – kept asking for a discount on a freebie, and wouldn’t arrive when she said she would. Actually, Lou doesn’t just tell the story, they sing it. It’s a mini musical and every time I hear it, it’s laugh-out loud funny.
REVIEW: Cleopatra & Antony by William Shakespeare, adapted by Sonya Suares - FortyfiveDownstairs/Melbourne Shakespeare Company
Some of William Shakespeare’s history plays are so iconic, it’s hard to separate some of the details of his plays from history. Henry V must have said “Once more unto the breach, dear friends”, surely. Richard III has to have offered his kingdom for a horse. And Caesar’s last words were “Et tu, Brute”, right? But Shakespeare’s play is mostly based on Plutarch’s Lives, and there is no historical evidence of his final words at all.
REVIEW: The Jungle and the Sea by S. Shakthidharan & Eamon Flack
The impacts of war on soldiers and family are central themes in storytelling throughout the world, stretching back millennia. In a year when one of the top grossing films is Christopher Nolan’s adaptation Homer’s The Odyssey and we continue to witness Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, a play about the Sri Lankan civil war, inspired by real-life events and Sophocle’s Antigone speaks directly to the present moment.
REVIEW: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller - Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne
Critic and academic Guy Webster recently asked five theatre critics to write about recent accusations that reviews can close shows, which centred around the cancellation of several musicals like Back to the Future and Waitress. Our responses were included in the latest post on his Substack, This Is Not a Review. The discussion was lively, all of us taking a different approach to the subject – exploring the role criticism plays in the theatre ecosystem in 2026.
REVIEW: Break of Day by Steve Rodgers - Malthouse Theatre
There’s some received wisdom that Australian theatre doesn’t write about class, but I think the truth is, we do write about class – it’s just that it’s often about the middle-class. The mainstage theatre companies have to keep subscribers happy, so the perception is that they should appeal to their audience’s lived experience. So, for a long time, because subscription passes paid the bills, programming was safe and Australian plays have avoided centring working class people for a long time.
REVIEW: Marginalia by Pummel Squad - Fortyfive Downstairs
Tyler works as a barber, but it’s not who he is. Tyler is an artist and we see him dance to Moby’s Right Here, Right Now. His day job doesn’t define him; it’s his creativity that needs to be nurtured and protected at all costs. Queer art must be allowed to flourish, even as political forces conspire to crush it. After he discovers a severed nose he can’t get rid of, he’s arrested and disappeared. Pummel Squad’s adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s The Nose sets out its premise for adaptation early.
REVIEW: Funeral Flowers by Emma Dennis-Edwards - Red Stitch
Angelique is at college studying flower arranging. She’s 17-years-old and this course is a map for her future and an escape from a rough childhood. Her mother is in prison. Her father has remarried. Her boyfriend is manipulative and controlling. She’s living with a carer, so she has a roof over her head. But the only thing that really excites her is flowers and learning how to brighten people’s lives with them.
Time Out: Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov & Joanna Murray-Smith - Melbourne Theatre Company
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.” – Marilyn Monroe * Lou Wall tells a story about the time they tried to sell a bed frame on Facebook Marketplace to a woman who couldn’t seem to follow instructions – kept asking for a discount on a freebie, and wouldn’t arrive when she said she would. Actually, Lou doesn’t just tell the story, they sing it. It’s a mini musical and every time I hear it, it’s laugh-out loud funny.
Melbourne Theatre Company's Uncle Vanya ✭✭✭✭
In a year when Melbourne Theatre Company has committed to programming mostly new works by local writers, this production of Uncle Vanya by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov bucks that trend a little bit – with a new adaptation by world-renowned Aussie writer, Joanna Murray-Smith.
REVIEW: Vista by Stephanie Lake Company - Malthouse Theatre
Every year I run a workshop at Melbourne Uni for the student theatre called “Everyone’s a Critic” to encourage people to talk more about theatre. Ostensibly, it’s about learning the basics of review writing for the student paper, but it encompasses how all of us are reviewing things all the time. Whether it’s Google reviews or Yelp or rating films on Letterboxd, or sharing immediate thoughts via all sorts of social media, we’re all a kind of critic.
REVIEW: Heartbreak Hotel by Karin McCracken - Arts Centre Melbourne
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.” – Marilyn Monroe * Lou Wall tells a story about the time they tried to sell a bed frame on Facebook Marketplace to a woman who couldn’t seem to follow instructions – kept asking for a discount on a freebie, and wouldn’t arrive when she said she would. Actually, Lou doesn’t just tell the story, they sing it. It’s a mini musical and every time I hear it, it’s laugh-out loud funny.
REVIEW: Gunawarra Re-Creation by Isobel Morphy-Walsh - Ilbijerri Theatre Company
A young woman, Murran (Miela Anich), and her exasperated mother, Roo (Melodie Reynolds-Diarra), are wandering through the bush, looking for a nearby river. There’s some tension between them, but it feels so much like any tired mother lagging behind, while their enthusiastic child wants to run ahead. Soon, though, it’s clear that there’s much to be mended between these two. And between both of them and the Country they are on.
REVIEW: House of Rot by Dino Dimitriadis & Victoria Falconer - Green Door Theatre Company/Malthouse Theatre
The documentary, Grey Gardens, released in 1975, is a fly-on-the-wall portrait of mother and daughter Big Edie and Little Edie, living in squalor in their derelict mansion in East Hampton. Big Edie is the aunt of Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of President Kennedy, and the film – often voted one of the best documentaries of all time – feels like the photo negative version of Kennedy’s mythological Camelot.
REVIEW: Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl - Melbourne Shakespeare Company
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.” – Marilyn Monroe * Lou Wall tells a story about the time they tried to sell a bed frame on Facebook Marketplace to a woman who couldn’t seem to follow instructions – kept asking for a discount on a freebie, and wouldn’t arrive when she said she would. Actually, Lou doesn’t just tell the story, they sing it. It’s a mini musical and every time I hear it, it’s laugh-out loud funny.
REVIEW: Anna X by Joseph Charlton - Red Stitch
Anna Delvey (aka Anna Sorokin) is a convicted felon, who defrauded people of hundreds of thousands of dollars through various schemes – from setting up a foundation in her name to leaving friends and acquaintances to pick up extortionate bills for hotel stays. She was found guilty of grand larceny in 2019 and sentenced to 4-12 years in prison, along with the requirement to pay restitution to various parties.
REVIEW: Retrograde by Ryan Calais Cameron - Melbourne Theatre Company Original
It’s 1957 and in the office of NBC studio lawyer Mr Parks, a screenwriter named Bobby has one simple request: please sign young up-and-coming actor, Sidney Poitier, to his TV movie about the friendship between two dock workers. Parks isn’t convinced that it’s believable that these two characters – one white and one black – would be friends. The lawyer admits he’s heard good things about Poitier in Blackboard Jungle, though he hasn’t bothered to go see it.
REVIEW: Bloomshed’s Pride & Prejudice - Malthouse Theatre
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.” – Marilyn Monroe * Lou Wall tells a story about the time they tried to sell a bed frame on Facebook Marketplace to a woman who couldn’t seem to follow instructions – kept asking for a discount on a freebie, and wouldn’t arrive when she said she would. Actually, Lou doesn’t just tell the story, they sing it. It’s a mini musical and every time I hear it, it’s laugh-out loud funny.
REVIEW: Shoelace Chaser by Madelaine Nunn - Melbourne Theatre Company
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.” – Marilyn Monroe * Lou Wall tells a story about the time they tried to sell a bed frame on Facebook Marketplace to a woman who couldn’t seem to follow instructions – kept asking for a discount on a freebie, and wouldn’t arrive when she said she would. Actually, Lou doesn’t just tell the story, they sing it. It’s a mini musical and every time I hear it, it’s laugh-out loud funny.
REVIEW: Never Closer by Grace Chapple - Patalog Theatre/Fortyfive Downstairs
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.” – Marilyn Monroe * Lou Wall tells a story about the time they tried to sell a bed frame on Facebook Marketplace to a woman who couldn’t seem to follow instructions – kept asking for a discount on a freebie, and wouldn’t arrive when she said she would. Actually, Lou doesn’t just tell the story, they sing it. It’s a mini musical and every time I hear it, it’s laugh-out loud funny.
Outer Urban Projects’ VIGIL celebrates life in all its diversity
The history of Melbourne’s tram network is full of hidden stories about women. In 1883, Isabelle Clapp petitioned the city to build a rail-based system, after running horse-drawn coaches with her husband. As with many women who worked alongside their husbands, her contribution is overlooked. When the trams first ran, the only position a woman could hold was emptying out the clippings made from male conductors’ punch cards as they clocked on and off for the day.
REVIEW: GAME. SET. MATCH. by Megan Wilding - Malthouse Theatre
It begins in the aftermath of a wake. At a tennis club. No, it begins during the Acknowledgement of Country. Wait, it began years ago. Centuries. Millennia. The aftermath of the wake. A celebration of the life of Betty Hughes, a legendary tennis player, whose career is as memorable as the Charitable Foundation set up in her name. A young First Nations woman, Ray, a fan of tennis and Betty, is cleaning up the tennis club when she’s surprised by the arrival of Joshua, the CFO of Betty’s Foundation.
REVIEW: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams - Melbourne Theatre Company
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.” – Marilyn Monroe * Lou Wall tells a story about the time they tried to sell a bed frame on Facebook Marketplace to a woman who couldn’t seem to follow instructions – kept asking for a discount on a freebie, and wouldn’t arrive when she said she would. Actually, Lou doesn’t just tell the story, they sing it. It’s a mini musical and every time I hear it, it’s laugh-out loud funny.
REVIEW: ART by Yasmina Reza (translated by Christopher Hampton) - Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
Serge has bought a new painting. It’s modern art, white on white, and his friend Marc is outraged that Serge would spend so much money – 160,000 euro – on a painting he finds so ridiculous. Their friend, Yvan, is on Serge’s side for the most part: let him have his indulgences, let him enjoy an art-form he loves, let’s not criticise something just because Marc doesn’t understand it. Art (or “Art” as it was published), by French playwright Yasmina Reza, was first produced in 1994.
REVIEW: Hard to Swallow, Reuben Kaye - Melbourne International Comedy Festival
It’s 2026 and most of the shows I’ve seen at this year’s Comedy Festival have embraced the absurdity of the world, rather than try to tackle the political moment. It’s difficult to even know what to make fun of, when discourse has gotten so tense and nuance has flown out the door. Not that the other work I’ve seen this year has been apolitical, not at all, but none quite so bold and unvarnished as Reuben Kaye’s new show which tackles A LOT.
REVIEW: Here There and Everywhere, Circus Oz - Melbourne International Comedy Festival
As Circus Oz approaches its 50th anniversary in 2028, the company has proven to be one of the most successful performing arts organisations in Australia. They’ve been touring the world for most of their history and almost dissolved, post-COVID, in 2021 when the Australia Council put an ultimatum to them – restructure or lose funding. They weathered that storm and they continue to produce innovative contemporary circus every year.
REVIEW: Dinner Hannah Show, Hannah Camilleri - Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s somewhat-controversial musical about Jesus and his fame in the lead-up to the crucifixion, is full of powerful, memorable songs. It is best known in Australia because of the concert production starring John Farnham, Jon Stevens and Kate Cebrano that toured the country in the early 1990s. I’ve listened to that cast recording countless times and I still wish I’d seen that production, because their takes on the songs are full of passion and rock-and-roll.
REVIEW: Where Are All The Tall Grandmas?, Lou Wall - Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s somewhat-controversial musical about Jesus and his fame in the lead-up to the crucifixion, is full of powerful, memorable songs. It is best known in Australia because of the concert production starring John Farnham, Jon Stevens and Kate Cebrano that toured the country in the early 1990s. I’ve listened to that cast recording countless times and I still wish I’d seen that production, because their takes on the songs are full of passion and rock-and-roll.
REVIEW: Jess Maguire, So It’s Come To This - Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s somewhat-controversial musical about Jesus and his fame in the lead-up to the crucifixion, is full of powerful, memorable songs. It is best known in Australia because of the concert production starring John Farnham, Jon Stevens and Kate Cebrano that toured the country in the early 1990s. I’ve listened to that cast recording countless times and I still wish I’d seen that production, because their takes on the songs are full of passion and rock-and-roll.
REVIEW: Beyond the Neck by Tom Holloway - Theatre Works
When artist Rodney Pople debuted his painting “Port Arthur” in 2012 – it won Australia’s most prestigious landscape art prize, the Glover – it was called controversial and confronting. Painted in oil and pigment on linen, the façade of the main prison at Port Arthur sits in the distance – the yellow sandstone the only bright spot under dark clouds, framed by the shadow of a tree.
REVIEW: Amplified - The Exquisite Rock and Rage of Chrissy Amphlett
They say “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” but who they are remains a mystery. The phrase is often attributed to Oscar Wilde with a more Wildean flourish – “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness”. But he never said that, though he did write similarly cutting remarks about satire being an homage by the less talented.
REVIEW: West Gate by Dennis McIntosh - Melbourne Theatre Company
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s somewhat-controversial musical about Jesus and his fame in the lead-up to the crucifixion, is full of powerful, memorable songs. It is best known in Australia because of the concert production starring John Farnham, Jon Stevens and Kate Cebrano that toured the country in the early 1990s. I’ve listened to that cast recording countless times and I still wish I’d seen that production, because their takes on the songs are full of passion and rock-and-roll.
REVIEW: Mature Skin by Gabrielle Fallen - Darebin Arts Speakeasy
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s somewhat-controversial musical about Jesus and his fame in the lead-up to the crucifixion, is full of powerful, memorable songs. It is best known in Australia because of the concert production starring John Farnham, Jon Stevens and Kate Cebrano that toured the country in the early 1990s. I’ve listened to that cast recording countless times and I still wish I’d seen that production, because their takes on the songs are full of passion and rock-and-roll.
REVIEW: Year of the Rooster by Olivia Dufault - Spinning Plates/Fortyfive Downstairs
Gil Pepper works at McDonald’s, lives with his abusive mother and is looked down upon by his co-worker, Phillipa, and one particularly odious local, Dickie Thimble, who stages cock fights. Gil is desperate to be seen in a better light, to rise above his low status inside the fast-food machine and win the respect of one-and-all by entering his trained rooster in one of Dickie’s fights.
Australian Arts Review - The Dolly Trilogy by Ray Lawler, Red Stitch
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s somewhat-controversial musical about Jesus and his fame in the lead-up to the crucifixion, is full of powerful, memorable songs. It is best known in Australia because of the concert production starring John Farnham, Jon Stevens and Kate Cebrano that toured the country in the early 1990s. I’ve listened to that cast recording countless times and I still wish I’d seen that production, because their takes on the songs are full of passion and rock-and-roll.
REVIEW: Do Not Pass Go by Jean Tong β Melbourne Theatre Company
Work monopolises our lives. Even if you do manage to just work the requisite eight hours a day, it’s still most of your waking day and maybe you get the weekend off, but then there’s the Sunday scaries: getting worked up about Monday morning. And if you can’t switch your brain off, is eight plus eight plus eight really the best division of our time? Penny meets Flux at work. Penny has been there a long time and Flux has only just begun.
REVIEW: Black Light by Jada Alberts - Malthouse Theatre
In an isolated home in the north of this sunburnt country, three generations of women gather outside the family home – a fourth generation playing inside. Something has happened down south, so they’ve got to stay together for a while. Bub (Tahlee Fereday) has to run around after her kids while trying to keep in contact with the rest of the world.
The Saturday Paper: Moongazing and SAINTS review
Both shows leave lasting impressions. Moongazing’s focus on technology as a troubling replacement for handed-down wisdom and real human connection is fascinating. Saints illuminates a vital period of history and left me to ponder how we’re still making the same mistakes. Full review of Moongazing and SAINTS at The Saturday Paper Photos: Darren Gill
La Mama Theatre returns with two solid shows
Theatre The first two shows to open at La Mama after a year-long hiatus continue its six-decade tradition of supporting new experimental theatre. By Keith Gow. A scene from Moongazing, at Melbourne’s La Mama theatre. SHARE Copy Link Bluesky Facebook X LinkedIn Over its near 60-year history, La Mama theatre in Carlton has been a vanguard of new Australian theatre: a breeding-ground for theatre makers to push the boundaries and test out new work.
REVIEW: The Placeholder by Ben MacEllen - Fortyfive Downstairs/Midsumma
Queer stories are often interrogated beyond reason with the question “Who is this for?” I saw a reel on Instagram just last night that classified Fire Island as “for gays” and BROS as “for straights” and Brokeback Mountain as “for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association”, who gives out the Golden Globes. Heated Rivalry is for straight women and Roland Emmerich’s ahistorical drama Stonewall is for nobody.
REVIEW: Australian Open by Angus Cameron - Theatre Works
It’s taken nearly six years for Angus Cameron’s play Australian Open to open in Melbourne, after it received a public reading here as part of Melbourne Theatre Company’s Cybec reading series. It was first produced at the Bakehouse Theatre in Sydney in 2020 and director of that production, Riley Spadaro, has returned to the text – since revised by Cameron – to premiere it here in the Australian Open's host city.
REVIEW: Burgerz by Travis Alabanza - Trans Theatre Festival/Midsumma
In 2016, when crossing Waterloo Bridge in London, someone threw a burger at Travis Alabanza and shouted a transphobia slur. Over a hundred people saw it happen and nobody did anything. They didn’t ask if Travis was okay. They didn’t say anything to the attacker. They just kept on moving. In 2018, Alabanza – a performance artist – created Burgerz at the Hackney Showroom. The production has since toured the world the world to great acclaim.
REVIEW: Sugar by Ro Bright - Bullet Heart Club/Arts Centre Melbourne
Theatre company Bullet Heart Club has gained a reputation for thoughtful, insightful work about trans and gender diverse characters, navigating their way through a world that is often treacherous for them. Co-founder and director Kitan Petkovski has time and time again proven he’s an exciting young director in the indie theatre space – grappling with everything from the large canvas of The Inheritance to more intimate work like Thirty-Six.
What I’m Looking Forward to in 2026
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s somewhat-controversial musical about Jesus and his fame in the lead-up to the crucifixion, is full of powerful, memorable songs. It is best known in Australia because of the concert production starring John Farnham, Jon Stevens and Kate Cebrano that toured the country in the early 1990s. I’ve listened to that cast recording countless times and I still wish I’d seen that production, because their takes on the songs are full of passion and rock-and-roll.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Keith
Contact Keith, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack