Title: Away Presented By: Brisbane Arts Theatre Genre: Australian Drama Synopsis: Set during the summer holidays of 1968, Away follows three very different Australian families whose lives unexpectedly intersect while travelling along the Queensland coast. Tom, a warm and intelligent school student, is facing circumstances far beyond his years, while his devoted parents, Harry and Vic, try to protect him and make the most of their time together. Meg is beginning to challenge the expectations of her controlling mother, Gwen, while her father, Jim, attempts to keep the peace. Elsewhere, school principal Roy and his wife Coral are each struggling with profound grief following a family tragedy. As their separate journeys gradually converge, moments of humour, conflict and unexpected connection allow the characters to confront loss, rediscover hope and begin healing. Michael Gow’s enduring Australian play explores family, grief, love and the transformative power of compassion. Audition Date: Sunday 2 August 2026 Audition Time: 12:00pm–4:00pm Auditions will be held in one-hour workshop sessions, with up to ten performers in each group. Audition Location and Address: Lavalla Centre, 58 Fernberg Road, Paddington QLD Audition Requirements: No prepared monologue is required. Auditions will be conducted in a relaxed workshop format and will consist of cold readings from the script. The production is seeking: Collaborative storytellers and team players Performers across a broad range of ages and experience levels New community-theatre participants Performers able to commit to the rehearsal and production period Performers of all genders, abilities, backgrounds and ethnicities are encouraged to audition. Audition Registration: Register for an audition session Audition Pack: Download the audition pack Performance Dates: Thursday 24 September 2026 - Friday 2 October 2026 Performance Location: C Block AuditoriumSouth Bank TAFE, 66 Ernest Street, South Brisbane QLD Rehearsal Dates: Rehearsals commence Wednesday 4 August 2026 and continue until Thursday 17 September 2026. Headshots: Sunday 23 August 2026 Production photos: Tuesday 25 August 2026 Bump-in: Saturday 19 September 2026 Technical rehearsals: Monday 21–Wednesday 23 September 2026 Bump-out: Friday 2 October 2026 following the final performance Rehearsal Times: Wednesdays: 6:00pm–9:30pm Thursdays: 6:00pm–9:30pm Sundays: Generally 12:00pm–4:00pm Technical rehearsals: 6:00pm–late Rehearsal Location: Wednesday rehearsals:Chermside Library, 375 Hamilton Road, Chermside QLD Thursday and Sunday rehearsals: Lavalla Centre, Room 858 Fernberg Road, Paddington QLD Technical rehearsals: C Block Auditorium, South Bank TAFE, 66 Ernest Street, South Brisbane QLD Warnings: Themes of grief, terminal illness, family conflict and bereavement. Creative Team: Director: Susan O’Toole Cridland Production Website: Brisbane Arts Theatre – Away Auditions Other information: Performers of all experience levels are welcome, including first-time community-theatre participants. Cast members must be available for all technical rehearsals and performances. Successful performers must become financial members of Brisbane Arts Theatre. Membership costs $40 and is valid for 12 months. Enquiries: away26@artstheatre.com.au or (07) 3369 2344. Available Roles/Character Breakdown: Tom (Male, late teens) Warm, intelligent and compassionate. A school student confronting circumstances far beyond his years and one of the emotional centres of the play. A slight English accent is required. Meg (Female, late teens) Bright, spirited and independent. She is curious about the world and beginning to challenge her mother’s expectations. Harry (Male, 40s–60s) Tom’s father. Hard-working, practical and deeply devoted to his family. A general English accent is required. Vic (Female, 40s–60s) Tom’s mother. Kind-hearted, resilient and protective. A general English accent is required. Gwen (Female, 40s–60s) Meg’s strong-willed and status-conscious mother. Often controlling, though ultimately motivated by fear and love for her family. Jim (Male, 40s–60s) Meg’s easy-going and thoughtful father. He is frequently caught between maintaining peace and standing his ground. Coral (Female, 40s–60s) A woman struggling with grief after a family tragedy. A complex and emotionally demanding role. Roy (Male, 40s–60s) Coral’s husband and a school principal. Reserved, dignified and carrying his own emotional burden. Miss Latrobe (Female, 30s+) A dedicated drama teacher whose school production opens the play. Rick (Male, 20s–30s) A holiday-maker whose chance encounter with Coral becomes significant. Leonie (Female, 30s–50s) A resort guest who provides both humour and insight. Master of Ceremonies (Any gender) A confident, charismatic and theatrical host. Ensemble Roles The ensemble may portray campers, holiday-makers, hotel guests, school-production performers and other featured characters. These roles are suitable for first-time performers, students and community members seeking stage experience without the pressure of a major role.

Works in Chaos 2.0 Presented by: Salad Days Collective Venue: PIP Theatre Date attended: 24 July 2026 Lighting Design: Georgia Lily Chalmers Sound Design: Tommi Civili Projection Design: Cutter Harris Photography: Gracie Hosie “Please keep your limbs, expectations, and unresolved emotional baggage inside the ride at all times.” Three new one-act plays. Three creative teams. One month to whip up something stage-worthy. A mountain of cardboard boxes. And one glowing refrigerator... Welcome to Works in Chaos. Presented by Salad Days Collective at PIP Theatre, Works in Chaos 2.0 invites us into the messy middle of making theatre. These are fresh-off-the-press plays still being tested and adjusted, with no pressure to pretend every answer has already been found. And the sold-out audience got to join the chaos and watch each piece discover what it might become. Each 30-minute play was followed by amusing, unsolicited facts read aloud while the stage was reset amid a growing number of cardboard boxes. Those boxes and a silver refrigerator covered in colourful magnetic letters formed the basic set for the shows. Before long, that fridge is glowing ominously and acting as a portal between the evening’s strange little worlds. Georgia Lily Chalmers’ lighting, Tommi Civili’s sound and Cutter Harris’ projections give each play its own atmosphere while repeatedly transforming the same cluttered space. Our House Written by: Aimee Tacon Directed by: Maxi Mossman Cast: Sonny Green as Ed and Emma Ferguson as Toya “You have everything you need here. Don’t waste time trying to understand it.” Our House begins with a simple enough instruction: Ed has one year to build a house. If he fails, Toya will kill him. No pressure... Toya arrives armed with an alarming number of handguns (also cardboard thankfully), while Ed starts fumbling around with the “building materials” and their relationship becomes increasingly difficult to name. The house is clearly a metaphor for building a life with someone, but Aimee Tacon’s script keeps stretching that idea in different directions. Ed and Toya shift between lovers, caregiver and dependent, captor and captive, and participants trapped in the world’s most alarming home renovation. The script moves with dreamlike logic and the unruly rhythm of a subconscious left unsupervised. Certain symbols make complete sense in the moment but become almost impossible to explain later. Everything seems packed with meaning, even when that meaning is just out of reach. The pants-shitting scene is probably the best example of this... Director Maxi Mossman makes excellent use of the clutter. Boxes and crepe streamers become construction materials, barriers, and toys. Sonny Green and Emma Ferguson are superb together. Both play the surreal material with such naturalism that the relationship remains believable even when the situation does not. Ferguson’s Toya can be affectionate, commanding or capable of scaring Ed shitless within seconds, while Green gives Ed a highly believable mix of confusion, obedience and mounting desperation. They slip between each new phase of the relationship without signalling the change, keeping this strange little two-hander constantly off balance. Dance Forever! Written by: Malika Savory Directed by: Gina Greer Cast: Megan Lilly as Miki, Jasmine Prasser as Rachel, Liam McMahon as Marco and Neve Francis as Lenny Imagine Jumanji, except instead of an ancient board game, a group of online gamers downloads Dance Forever! from the dark web, gets sucked into the software and is forced to dance through increasingly hostile levels. Miki, Marco and Lenny connect through online gaming. Their conversations collide over one another in the recognisable way teenagers speak through headsets, each apparently assuming everyone else can process four thoughts at once. Once pulled into the game, they become their avatars and begin wandering through the software like they've been dropped into the Backrooms (but with choreography). The sound effects and digital projections make the game feel like a real, glitching world with the glowing refrigerator becoming its portal. Their relationships are already messy before anyone gets sucked into a dance game. Miki is isolated at home with a stepmother she cannot stand and an absent father, so she clings tightly to the blunt, aggressive Lenny (although her real identity is another matter entirely). Marco, meanwhile, is a homeschooled teenager with POTS who seems to arrive already halfway through an existential crisis (poor wee lamb). Then there is Rachel, who has been catfishing her stepdaughter online as “Glamgirl.” Jasmine Prasser steps into the role at the last minute for this performance, script in hand, and handles the challenge confidently. The script could easily separate her from the frantic physical world around her, but she stays fully involved in the action and finds plenty of humour in Rachel’s strange place within the group. Malika Savory’s script works best when it digs into how online spaces can be both an escape and a trap. The characters enter the game looking for connection and a break from real life, but it soon starts controlling how they move, act and even see themselves. As everything gets faster and messier, the play captures the sensory overload of an addictive game surprisingly well. Even the forced dancing feels like the pressure to keep performing online. Some details are hard to catch once the dialogue begins piling on top of itself, but that seems intentional. The game doesn't care whether the characters (or the audience) can keep up. It feels like our online world at full volume: too many voices, jokes, arguments, and identities all demanding attention at once. Spaceman Written by: Samuel Herbertson Directed by: Lauren Dillon Cast: Meg Dale as Jayne, Matthew Butler as John, Samuel Herbertson as the Cowboy, Tammy Weller as the Postman and Lachlan Orton as Danny/Fred the Cat “I thought it would be the bombs, or the plague, or the robots.” Spaceman begins with a missing cat and quickly misplaces reality too. John is just enjoying a snack when he suddenly finds himself surrounded by a postie preparing for the apocalypse from inside his bathtub, an ex-girlfriend, a giant spider, his cat Fred possessing his housemate’s body, and a blue cowboy who may or may not be Death. Standard fever dream, really. John may be experiencing a psychotic episode. Maybe nitrous oxide is turning everyone’s brains to goo. Or perhaps we are hallucinating through broken pieces of his memory as grief begins interfering with reality. The play is not especially interested in choosing one answer. Samuel Herbertson’s writing bounces between absurd comedy and heavier themes of guilt, grief, and isolation. The stranger the room becomes, the more philosophical the play gets. My reading is that this apocalypse may be more emotional than literal. John’s world has already ended in some way, and these impossible visitors arrive as pieces of unfinished business. Matthew Butler makes John vulnerable and increasingly frazzled, so it's easy to believe his world is falling apart even when nobody can agree on why. Meg Dale brings some warmth to the stranger parts of the story, while Lachlan Orton’s transformation into Fred the Cat is hilarious and oddly sweet. “The cute British meowing deserves recognition” is not a sentence I expected to write in this review, but here we are. Tammy Weller throws herself into the postie's apocalyptic nonsense with such confidence that I almost start believing her. Samuel Herbertson is effortlessly funny as the blue cowboy, sitting calmly in the middle of the disaster with a magnificent moustache, blue skin, a desperate need for a cigarette lighter and the attitude of someone for whom the end of reality is merely an inconvenience. The Smurf-like look and Texan accent are funny enough already, but his laid-back delivery makes the character even better. The cigarette smoke becomes quite strong in the intimate theatre and adds more discomfort than atmosphere. But perhaps that is the point? The end of the world is not meant to be comfortable, after all. Still, Spaceman finds a surprisingly gentle centre inside all its cosmic nonsense. The play is less interested in solving the apocalypse, choosing instead to ask who you would want beside you when everything falls apart. Across all three plays, Works in Chaos 2.0 shows why new writing should be allowed to be messy in public. Not every idea lands clearly yet, and some moments are difficult to untangle, but the performance gives artists room to test strange ideas without pretending the work is completely finished. The result is baffling, unsettling and frequently funny. All three pieces are alive with truly original ideas. I’d much rather watch a new work take a genuine risk than see something polished until every interesting edge has been sanded away. Besides, any evening featuring a deadly house-building ultimatum, a dance game from internet hell, a dead British cat and a glowing refrigerator was never going to send us home with everything neatly packed away (in those many cardboard boxes).

Drowning Ophelia Written by: Rachel Luann Strayer Presented by: Centenary Theatre Group Date Attended: 19 July 2026 Directed and Set Design by: Rhyll Bucknell Lighting and Sound: Brian Hobby Photography: Julie Collins and William McCreery-Rye “Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be.” Ophelia has been a familiar presence on Brisbane stages this year. Most of us know her story from Shakespeare’s Hamlet: a young woman overwhelmed by grief, driven towards madness and ultimately found drowned in a river. Taylor Swift has even recently added The Fate of Ophelia to the cultural conversation. Still, finding Ophelia sitting in a bathtub at the beginning of Drowning Ophelia raised a few new questions. Why is she there? Can the other characters see her? And is there actually water in that thing? Presented by Centenary Theatre Group and directed by Rhyll Bucknell, Rachel Luann Strayer’s Drowning Ophelia explores memory, repression and the confusing grief of losing someone you once loved, even when they were also responsible for your trauma. The play opens with Jane rummaging through a collection of costumes while Ophelia sings and splashes in the bathtub behind her. It appears that Jane regularly pays Edmund to join her in acting and improvisation exercises, moving through a medieval characters, Regency roleplay and a 1950s housewife fantasy. Why they started doing this is never fully explained... But what is clear is that Jane finds comfort in make-believe worlds she can construct for herself, where every costume, character and conversation can be controlled. Edmund commits to each scenario with amusingly grand seriousness, while both actors perform their roles with deliberate stiffness and awkwardness. Ophelia, however, refuses to follow the script or remain quietly in the bath. Because Edmund cannot see her, he is completely unaware of the battle for Jane’s attention unfolding beside him. As the production moves between the present, memory and imagination, Jane’s history gradually comes into focus. Ophelia appears to be a hallucination and a manifestation of Jane’s younger self, still demanding to be acknowledged. She seems able to speak only through quotations from Hamlet, along with fragments of Jane’s own words that she repeats as though trying to understand them. Whenever something draws Jane closer to thoughts of her older brother Adam, Ophelia sings and grows increasingly disruptive until she can no longer be ignored. It's a clever device, turning the past into something physical: trauma sitting in a bathtub, soaking wet, endlessly quoting Hamlet. Caitlin Swan gives Ophelia a restless, childlike quality at first, quietly singing to herself. But the longer Jane denies her existence, the more desperate she becomes. Swan turns that desperation into something completely raw, singing and shouting over the dialogue while splashing Jane in an attempt to force her attention. Despite spending much of the performance in the bath, Swan still finds plenty of physical and vocal variety within it. Also, the front row should consider itself warned: Ophelia is not shy with the water! Madelaine Harte gives Jane an expressive performance, particularly through her facial reactions. Jane’s tension sits buried beneath a numb appearance and a series of obsessive routines, with flashes of discomfort and panic breaking through while the rest of her remains tightly controlled. I would have expected to see that restraint unravel more as the memories become harder to suppress, but Harte still captures Jane’s emotional conflict convincingly. She also does a brilliant job of continuing her scenes with Edmund while her character (mostly) resists the urge to react to the commotion beside her. Federico Navarro has plenty of fun with Edmund’s theatrical side. He throws himself into each roleplay scenario with a suitably haughty delivery. At the same time, Navarro keeps Edmund’s genuine concern for Jane present throughout. A quieter scene gives him the chance to show the character’s empathy more openly, revealing greater depth beneath all the cosplay. Timothy De Vroome makes Adam unsettling from the outset, with a stiffness that leaves something slightly off about him even in the earlier memories. That discomfort works once the darker truth emerges, though I would have expected more warmth in his relationship with young Jane beforehand. A stronger glimpse of the brother she once adored would have made the betrayal more painful and helped us understand why her grief remains so tangled. Visually, the stripped-back set allows the different realities to overlap easily. The mostly bare stage contains a raised bathtub platform and a small café-style table and chairs. Ophelia’s white lace nightdress gives her a ghostly, innocent quality, while Jane and Edmund’s roleplay costumes are well designed. Brian Hobby’s lighting and sound helps separate memory, reality and imagination. The play is divided into two acts with an interval, and this is where I struggled somewhat. The script relies heavily on repetition, quotations, and introspection rather than building dramatic momentum, and I found my attention drifting. The material is meaningful, but the pacing kept me at an emotional distance when I wanted to feel more connected to Jane’s journey. Jane is not only processing childhood trauma. She is also mourning a brother who was once her playmate, protector and source of affection, while confronting the fact that he was also responsible for her abuse. The play does not offer a neat answer or suggest that forgiveness is the way forward. Instead, it focuses on the difficult process of acknowledging what happened and allowing the silenced part of yourself to speak. I would not describe Drowning Ophelia as a dark comedy. It's a confronting production centred on abuse, trauma and suicide. It's not quite my style of theatre, but I appreciated its unusual theatrical language, strong central metaphor and Caitlin Swan’s raw performance. It will likely connect most with audiences who enjoy quiet psychological drama and work that leaves space for interpretation rather than offering easy closure.

Home, I’m Darling Presented by Swich Up Productions Attended: 18 July 2026 Written by: Laura Wade Directed by: Martie Blanchett Assistant Director: Simone Behrendorff Set Design: Adrian Carr Lighting: Doug Brimblecombe Sound: Brendan Dieckmann, Seven Yuenyang and Martie Blanchett Stage Manager: Pru Valentine Costumes: Simone Behrendorff and team Intimacy Coordinator: Ellen Axford Choreography: Madz O’Hare Photography: Kris Anderson and Isaac Frommelt “You are wasting your life, when you could choose not to!” In Judy’s world, every day is a matinee performance of domestic perfection. Judy (Lauren Ryan) and Johnny (Michael Civitano) are a modern married couple who have agreed to live as though it is the 1950s. Johnny goes to work while Judy cooks, cleans, mends, gardens, and runs the household like a sitcom super-wife. She abandoned her corporate career to pursue what she calls “a deep, quiet kind of happy.” From the outside, it's all twirly skirts, freshly baked treats, and jive dancing. Meanwhile, the bills are piling up and the happy housewife smile is starting to ache. Swich Up Productions sets up the retro world of Home, I’m Darling with jukeboxes, vintage posters and smartly dressed staff. This company has a keen eye for detail and knows how to draw its audience into the experience, making the venue an active part of the production rather than simply somewhere to watch it. The old Cambrian Centre in Booval is a great fit for this nostalgia-soaked play. It becomes a gingham wonderland where Judy’s version of the past comes alive. Adrian Carr's set design is also crafted with great attention to detail. It features pastel shades of yellow, pink, and mint green, complemented by a checkerboard floor, retro appliances, antique furniture, and delicate dishware. Even the fridge hums! The sourcing alone must have involved raiding every op shop, grandma’s kitchen, and vintage marketplace within driving distance. The practical details help sell the illusion, right down to the real tea, actual meals, and household props. Judy’s routines feel properly lived in as she moves through them with practiced ease, always pouring, serving, or fussing over something. Martie Blanchett’s direction folds these actions into the characterisation to keep Judy busy while she works just as hard to keep every conversation determinedly rosy whenever it threatens to become too candid. Lauren Ryan is wonderful as Judy, appearing in every scene and guiding the audience through the gradual disintegration of her carefully orchestrated life. She plays the part with a perky voice and stiff cheerfulness, like she is starring in her own episode of The Donna Reed Show. Her clothes are immaculate, her home is spotless, and every “I’m not upset!” comes through a smile clenched so tightly it practically needs WD-40 to loosen up. Lauren adjusts Judy’s behaviour around each different character: adoring wife with Johnny, proudly hospitable with Fran, defensive with her mother, and increasingly guarded when Alex begins asking the questions everyone else has been wondering. “It’s not like it’s a religious cult!” A well-placed flashback reveals that the arrangement was Judy’s idea, born from her love of a nostalgic 1950s fantasy (with the discrimination and restricted choices carefully edited out). As more details emerge, it becomes clear that she is also using that fantasy to escape modern work, uncomfortable feelings and difficult conversations. Lauren makes Judy’s growing desperation feel completely believable. Maintaining the masquerade becomes more compulsive, and every question starts to feel like an attack on the identity she has chosen. Michael Civitano gives Johnny an affable quality that suits the early sitcom styling. He plays him as a husband trying very hard to keep the peace, please his wife and hold their chosen lifestyle together, even as the pressure around money boils beneath. His blunt line, “How can you be tired? You don’t do anything,” drew an audible reaction from the audience, hitting with the sting of something blurted out in a heated argument that you immediately wish you could take back. His chemistry with Lauren makes their marriage as believable as a sitcom marriage can be, complete with paraded joy and delightful dysfunction. At the performance I attended, director Martie Blanchett stepped into the role of Sylvia (Judy’s hippie mother), covering the role usually played by Linda Shapcott. Sylvia punctures the romantic mythology of the household from the moment she arrives. She has very little patience for her daughter’s cartoon version of the past, while Judy reacts to her prodding with the defensiveness of a teenager being told she does not know everything. Blanchett’s major monologue is one of the production’s most powerful moments. Sylvia reminds Judy that the decade she adores was not a permanent swirl of pastels, patterns and domestic cuteness. Women had fewer choices, little independence and were expected to tolerate far more than Judy’s glossy version of history allows. Blanchett grounds the monologue in Sylvia’s concern for her daughter as she watches Judy willingly surrender choices that previous generations of women fought to gain. “That’s what life was like for women in the ’50s. Fear." Courtney Murrin is the master of saying a lot without uttering a word as Fran. She reacts to Judy’s performance with curiosity, concern and even a little delight at the tea, cake, gossip and marital drama unfolding around her. Fran’s relationship with Marcus offers a more modern marriage for comparison, though not necessarily a healthier one. Jamie Spence plays Marcus with the perfect level of unpleasantness - complete with roving eyes, faux charm and the self-assurance of someone who has never once questioned whether he might be the problem. Liz Ball makes a strong impression as Alex, Johnny’s assertive new boss, despite having only a handful of scenes. She walks into their house, takes in the décor, and starts asking the burning questions we have all been quietly wondering. Liz gives Alex a confident, no-nonsense presence that bounces nicely off Judy’s highly managed hospitality. Her easy rapport with Michael also makes the “work wife” tension very clear, much to Judy’s discomfort. The costume magic by Simone Behrendorff (and her fabulous team) sees Judy strut her stuff in one adorable getup after another, with the watermelon dress stealing the spotlight. Her evening cocktail gown paired with a fox fur wrap is so retro that even Alex quips, “I feel like I'm in Mad Men.” With petticoats, pantyhose, heels, pin curls, and neck scarves, Judy inhabits the woman she believes she needs to be. Madz O’Hare’s choreography lets her groove through her favourite decade with swing and jive moves. That style is no walk in the park, but the cast handles it well! Sound by Brendan Dieckmann, Seven Yuenyang and Martie Blanchett, along with Doug Brimblecombe’s lighting, maintains the inviting domestic world even as life inside it becomes less comfortable. Some bouncy tunes keep the production transitions moving, with tracks like “It’s Got to Be Perfect” and “Working My Way Back to You” offering cheeky insights into the characters' state of mind. Martie Blanchett’s direction enables their somewhat unnatural lifestyle to unfold with unexpected naturalness. The themes emerge through household routines, conversations and compromises that quickly stop seeming cute. Living without modern conveniences becomes less whimsical, frugality starts to look like deprivation, and self-sufficiency leaves Judy increasingly isolated. The play has plenty to say about the value of domestic work, but its strongest point is about choice and what happens when all that care travels in only one direction. It gives new weight to the advice in Judy’s 1949 household manual: “A good wife listens more than she speaks.” The audience at this performance was wonderfully responsive (and there was plenty to react to!). Swich Up Productions has created a funny, clever and carefully detailed production that begins with happily ever after already in place, then explores what happens when the characters can no longer perform it. It certainly sparked plenty of discussion on the drive home. For one evening, I was happy to visit Judy’s retro world. And I was equally happy to return to my own, with my twenty-first-century rights intact.

Title: Treasure Island: Young Pirates of the Caribbean Presented By: Allegory Theatre Qld Inc. Genre: Adventure / Pantomime / Musical Play Synopsis: Set sail for Skeleton Island in this adventurous adaptation of Treasure Island, filled with pirates, buried treasure, mutiny, treasure maps and pieces of eight. The story follows Jim Hawkins, an ordinary young person who is swept into an extraordinary voyage after becoming involved in the search for hidden treasure. Aboard the Hispaniola, Jim encounters a colourful crew and the treacherous Long John Silver, before being drawn into a dangerous race to reach the treasure first. The production includes musical numbers, physical storytelling and roles for both singing and non-singing performers. Audition Date: Sunday 26 July 2026 Audition Time: 11:00am – 3:00pm Auditions will be held in approximately one-hour group sessions, with no more than ten performers in each session. Audition Location and Address: Picabeen Community Centre, 22 Hoben Street, Mitchelton QLD Audition Self-Tape Due (if applicable): Video auditions must be received by the end of Sunday 26 July 2026. Audition Requirements: Provide a performance CV, if available, and a recent headshot or clear photograph. These may be brought to the audition or emailed to allegorytheatre@gmail.com. Performers wishing to be considered for a singing role should prepare up to one minute of a song with a recorded backing track on a device that can connect to a Bluetooth speaker. A short group singalong may also be included, with lyrics provided. Auditionees will learn a simple dance routine. No formal dance training is required. Wear comfortable clothing suitable for movement. Participate in cold readings from the script. Applicants may also list special skills such as juggling, acrobatics, musical instruments, mime, improvisation, comedy or dance. Audition Registration: Complete the audition registration form Performance Dates: Wednesday 30 September – Sunday 4 October 2026 Performance Times: Wednesday 30 September: 11:00am Thursday 1 October: 3:00pm Friday 2 October: 3:00pm Saturday 3 October: 11:00am and 3:00pm Sunday 4 October: 11:00am Performance Location: St Matthew’s Hall, Church Road, Mitchelton QLD Rehearsal Dates: Orientation and first script read-through: Wednesday 29 July 2026 Regular rehearsals will continue on Wednesdays and Sundays. Technical and dress rehearsals: Sunday 27 September: 9:00am–5:00pm + Monday 28 September: 2:00pm–5:00pm Rehearsal Times: Wednesdays: 6:30pm–9:30pm + Sundays: 10:00am–2:00pm Some Monday evening rehearsals or extended Sunday rehearsals may be added later if required. Wednesday hours may be adjusted for younger performers. Rehearsal Location: Picabeen Community Centre, 22 Hoben Street, Mitchelton QLD Other information: Performer Age: Ages 6 to adult Creative Team: Playwright: Kathryn Schultz Miller Production Website: https://www.katzacting.com.au/allegory-theatre All cast members must attend the technical rehearsals and every performance. Successful performers must become financial members of Allegory Theatre Qld Inc. Annual membership fees are $25 for adults, $15 for concession holders or adult students, $10 for performers under 18, or $60 for a family of two adults and two young people. Enquiries: allegorytheatre@gmail.com Available Roles/Character Breakdown: All characters may be played by performers of any gender. Some roles may be doubled. Jim Hawkins - The young central character who joins the voyage to Skeleton Island. Storytellers - Active participants who help narrate and perform the action: Black Dog Sea Legs Sam/Sarah One-Eyed Tom/Tess Hurricane Hal/Hattie Mum - Jim Hawkins’ mother. Billy Bones - A pirate. Blind Pew - A pirate. Doctor Livesey - The doctor aboard the Hispaniola. Squire Trelawney - A nobleperson involved in the treasure expedition. Captain Smollett - Captain of the Hispaniola. Hispaniola Crew / Pirates - The crew members later join the pirate mutiny: Moby Dick Crooked Arrow Tattoo Charlie/Carla Dancin’ Dan/Danielle Honest Abe/Abby - A member of the Hispaniola crew who does not join the pirates. Long John Silver - The treacherous pirate leading the race for the treasure. Ben Gunn - A marooned pirate living on the island. Residents of Skeleton Island Bimini Callaloo Junkanoo Picadillo Mango

Title: A Chorus Line Presented By: Queensland Musical Theatre Genre: Musical Synopsis: Winner of nine Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, A Chorus Line is one of the most celebrated musicals of all time. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theatre during a high-stakes audition, the story follows a group of dancers competing for a coveted place in the chorus of a Broadway musical. As the audition progresses, each performer is challenged to reveal not just their talent, but their personal journey, sharing stories of ambition, sacrifice, heartbreak and triumph. Through humour, vulnerability and unforgettable music, A Chorus Line celebrates the lives of the performers who dedicate everything to the stage. Audition Dates: Saturday 8 August & Sunday 9 August 2026 Dance Audition (Saturday 8 August): Group 1: 9:00am–10:30am (General Dance) Group 2: 10:45am–12:00pm (General Dance) Advanced Dance Call: 12:15pm–1:45pm Singing & Acting Auditions: Saturday 8 August: 3:00pm–5:30pm Sunday 9 August: 10:00am–4:00pm Audition Location and Address: St Peter Chanel School Hall, 41 Chaprowe Road, The Gap QLD Audition Self-Tape Due (if applicable): Video auditions are accepted for the initial audition only if you are unable to attend in person. Applicants invited to callbacks must attend in person. Audition Requirements: Register online before auditioning. Attend the compulsory general dance audition. Those auditioning for Cassie, Mike, Richie, Larry, Val, Judy, Connie, Sheila, Maggie or Bebe must also attend the Advanced Dance Call. Prepare two contrasting musical theatre song excerpts (approximately 32 bars/1 minute each). Only one selection may be from A Chorus Line. Bring backing tracks or sheet music (with marked cuts) if using the accompanist. No a cappella auditions. Participate in a cold reading from the script. Wear comfortable dance clothing and appropriate dance shoes. Audition Registration: https://form.jotform.com/261861647979881 Audition Pack: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b5d65a3e74940a00d46abcf/t/6a59f8a462e07b7798369e67/1784281252928/QMT-A-Chorus-Line-Audition-Package.pdf Performance Dates: 20–29 November 2026 Performance Location: Twelfth Night Theatre, 4 Cintra Road, Bowen Hills QLD Rehearsal Dates: Commencing Sunday 16 August 2026 Additional intensive rehearsals include: Sunday 1 November (Compulsory Sitzprobe) Additional full Sunday rehearsal in October (date TBA) Technical rehearsals, dress rehearsals, bump in and bump out (compulsory) Rehearsal Times: Mondays: 7:00pm–10:00pm Wednesdays: 7:00pm–10:00pm Sundays: 1:00pm–5:00pm (some Sundays may commence from 11:00am) Other Information: Performer Age: 16+ Creative Team: Director: James Rogers Musical Director: Julie Whiting Choreographers: Mike Lapot & Holly Leeson Production Website: https://www.queenslandmusicaltheatre.com/a-chorus-line-auditions Callbacks (if required) will be held on Tuesday 11 August from 7:00pm (by invitation only). Strong dance ability is required for most principal roles. All known rehearsal conflicts must be declared at the time of audition. Successful cast members must become financial members of Queensland Musical Theatre. Successful cast members are required to pay a production fee. Adult cast members must hold (or be willing to apply for) a Blue Card or exemption. Cast members are expected to assist with publicity and promotion of the production. Available Roles/Character Breakdown: Zach (Playing Age: 30–50) A successful Broadway director and choreographer running the audition. Demanding, emotionally guarded and authoritative. Non-singing. Larry (Playing Age: 25–40) Zach's assistant and dance captain. An exceptional dancer with confidence, authority and excellent technique. Non-singing. Cassie Ferguson (Playing Age: 25–40) Vocal Range: A3–D#5 A gifted dancer and former star struggling to regain her place in the chorus. Passionate, vulnerable and emotionally complex. Sheila Bryant (Playing Age: 30–40) Vocal Range: E3–Bb5 The oldest and most experienced woman in the chorus. Glamorous, witty and cynical, masking childhood pain with confidence and humour. Diana Morales (Playing Age: 20–35) Vocal Range: G3–F#5 Warm, intelligent and grounded. A strong singer and storyteller who naturally becomes an emotional leader. Valerie "Val" Clark (Playing Age: 20–35) Vocal Range: G#3–C#5 Confident, funny and ambitious. Boldly practical about the realities of show business. Maggie Winslow (Playing Age: 20–30) Vocal Range: A3–A5 Gentle and vulnerable. Found comfort in dance after an emotionally difficult childhood. Connie Wong (Playing Age: 25–35) Vocal Range: C4–D5 Small in stature but full of confidence and humour. Self-aware and determined. Bebe Benzenheimer (Playing Age: 20–28) Vocal Range: F#3–C#5 Sensitive, insecure and earnest. Wants desperately to prove she belongs. Judy Turner (Playing Age: 20–35) Vocal Range: G#3–E5 Chatty, funny and delightfully awkward. A strong dancer with excellent comic timing. Kristine Urich-DeLuca (Playing Age: 20–30) Vocal Range: Cb4–Eb5 Sweet, anxious and unintentionally hilarious. A capable dancer who simply cannot sing in tune. Mike Costa (Playing Age: 20–30) Vocal Range: F3–G#4 An energetic New Jersey dancer with exceptional tap skills, charm and confidence. Paul San Marco (Playing Age: 24–32) Vocal Range: C#3–F#4 One of the show's most emotionally demanding roles. Quiet, vulnerable and deeply honest. Don Kerr (Playing Age: 25–40) Vocal Range: D3–F#4 A mature, dependable and grounded performer with a family. Calm and practical. Greg Gardner (Playing Age: 20–35) Vocal Range: D3–F4 Sophisticated, stylish and dryly humorous. Bobby Mills III (Playing Age: 20–35) Vocal Range: Eb3–C4 A natural comedian who hides vulnerability behind humour and theatricality. Richie Walters (Playing Age: 20–35) Vocal Range: D3–E5 Athletic, charismatic and full of infectious enthusiasm. Strong singer and dancer. Al DeLuca (Playing Age: 25–35) Vocal Range: E3–G#4 Kristine's devoted husband. Patient, supportive and grounded. Mark Anthony (Playing Age: 18–23) Vocal Range: E3–G#4 Young, eager and optimistic. Innocent and unintentionally funny. Additional Opening Audition Dancers (Playing Age: 18–35) Featured in the opening audition sequence before being cut. May also perform in featured dance moments, the finale, and cover principal roles.

Title: Home, I’m Darling Presented By: Toowoomba Repertory Theatre Society Genre: Comedy / Drama Synopsis: Judy appears to be the perfect 1950s housewife. She spends her days keeping an immaculate home, preparing devilled eggs, mixing Screwdrivers and supporting her husband, Johnny. Together, they have created a carefully styled pastel world built around traditional domestic roles. The problem is that it is not the 1950s—it is the present day. As financial pressure, career changes and differing expectations begin to intrude, Judy and Johnny’s idealised lifestyle starts to unravel. Laura Wade’s Olivier Award-winning play examines nostalgia, marriage, gender roles and the temptation to retreat from the complications of modern life. Audition Date: Saturday 1 August 2026 Audition Time: 2:00pm Audition Location and Address: Toowoomba Repertory Theatre, 94 Margaret Street, Toowoomba QLD Some parking is available behind the theatre, accessed via Austral Lane. Audition Self-Tape Due (if applicable): Alternative arrangements may be possible for performers unable to attend. Contact director Mark Phythian on 0416 359 340 or mphythian1@gmail.com Audition Requirements: Auditionees should: Read and practise the relevant excerpts from the play. Perform the supplied audition scenes at the audition. Demonstrate clear diction, strong vocal projection, reliability and the ability to learn and develop a role. Bring a completed personal-information form if new to Toowoomba Repertory Theatre. Disclose any commitments that may affect the rehearsal schedule. The audition pieces do not need to be memorised. Printed copies will be provided, though performers may bring their own marked-up copies. An additional audition piece may also be presented if desired. English accents will be required in the production, but auditionees are not required to use an accent at the audition. Audition Registration: Attend the audition session or contact Mark Phythian for further information. Audition Pack: Download the audition pack Additional character-specific audition excerpts are available through the Toowoomba Repertory Theatre audition page. Performance Dates: 3–14 November 2026 Performance Location:Toowoomba Repertory Theatre, 94 Margaret Street, Toowoomba QLD Rehearsal Dates: Rehearsals are expected to begin during the second week of August 2026. Rehearsal Times: Likely three rehearsals per week. The final schedule will be arranged around cast availability. Rehearsal Location: Toowoomba Repertory Theatre, 94 Margaret Street, Toowoomba QLD Performer Age: Adult performers, with playing ages ranging from approximately 25–70. Production Website: Toowoomba Repertory Theatre Auditions Other information: Backstage opportunities may also be available, including stage crew, prompting, lighting and sound operation. No previous backstage experience is required. Enquiries: Mark Phythian on 0416 359 340 or mphythian1@gmail.com Available Roles/Character Breakdown: Judy (Playing age: 30–45) The central character and model 1950s housewife. Judy maintains an immaculate home and takes pride in supporting Johnny, but her dedication to their chosen lifestyle increasingly conflicts with the realities of their relationship and finances. Johnny (Playing age: 30–45) Judy’s husband, who works as an estate agent. Optimistic about his career and supportive of Judy, he values their marriage but becomes increasingly aware of the compromises and pressures created by their lifestyle. Fran (Playing age: 30–45) A caring friend of Judy who works as a stylist for films and commercials. She shares Judy’s enthusiasm for 1950s music, clothing and jive dancing. Marcus (Playing age: 35–50) Fran’s husband and a business owner. He can be dominating and irritating, is less invested in nostalgia and considers himself more realistic about the modern world. He also enjoys dancing. Sylvia (Playing age: 60–70) Judy’s feminist mother. Practical and direct, she is confused and frustrated by her daughter’s choices and understands the less romantic realities of the era Judy idealises. Alex (Playing age: 25–35) Johnny’s new female boss at the real-estate agency. A confident, no-nonsense professional with strong interpersonal skills who is keen to make an impact.

Micro Theatre Presented by: Things That Happen Venue: New Tricks, Brisbane Date Attended: 15 July 2026 Founder and Director: Flavia Carrillo Truyenque Photography: Firemark Photo Media The Interview Writer: Ricardo Arévalo Lamont: Liam Kenny Marla: Stella Peterson The Chair Writer: Daniel Giorgi Woman: Emma Kidd Man: Nicholas Chong Presented by Things That Happen, Micro Theatre brought together two new twenty-minute plays by Brisbane writers, performed inside the warehouse bar New Tricks. Rather than trying to disguise the venue as a conventional theatre, the production claimed one corner of the room and worked with what was already there: the open floor, a raised DJ platform, and even a small window cut into the wall above the audience. The atmosphere was casual and unpredictable. Some audience members further back had a tougher time seeing everything, but placing the action among the crowd made the evening feel much more immediate than it might have on a traditional stage. The first play, Ricardo Arévalo’s comedy The Interview, followed Lamont as he prepared for his fiftieth job interview. Dressed in a suit jacket, wildly patterned pants, and a Godfather tie, he chatted to his dog while trying to convince himself that maybe, just maybe, number fifty would finally be the one. Liam Kenny made Lamont an extremely likable walking disaster. He invented job descriptions, attempted to explain the suspicious gaps in his resumé, and bluffed his way through each new hurdle with varying degrees of success. Kenny’s fluffy curls and wonderfully expressive reactions completed the character's chaotic appearance (this was not a man radiating corporate professionalism). His interviewer, Marla, began severe and matter-of-fact, then gradually became far stranger than the applicant sitting opposite her. Stella Peterson used her whole body in the role, with pointed facial expressions, bizarre little sounds, and increasingly unhinged physical choices. Peterson played Marla’s escalating demands with complete conviction, from a truth-or-lie test to making Lamont bark like a dog, exercise, and confess his deepest, darkest secret. The more seriously Marla treated the whole ridiculous process, the funnier it became. Arévalo kept the writing compact, with each new stage of the interview escalating the joke. The sound design joined in too, building grand dramatic anticipation around situations that absolutely did not warrant it. Under all the workplace nonsense sat a rather sweet little point. For all Lamont’s anxiety about being employable, his dog had a far simpler expectation. It didn’t need him to be successful. It already thought he was enough. It just needed its owner to come home. Daniel Giorgi’s The Chair shifted the evening somewhere much more abstract. Set in an airport, complete with surrounding sound effects, it followed a man and woman as they talked, reminisced, rolled around the space, and eventually appeared to electrocute themselves (I think?). Emma Kidd and Nicholas Chong approached the material with commitment, although the play’s philosophical meaning went over my head. The written language was expressive, and there were some striking staging ideas, but I left still trying to work out exactly what had happened or what conclusion I was meant to draw (if there was one). The contrast between these two plays was what made the format interesting. In under an hour, Micro Theatre moved from a sharp workplace comedy to a tragic, experimental drama. Things That Happen offered a low-pressure way to sample new local writing, and the short running times gave both writers space to experiment without stretching their ideas too far. It was affordable, accessible theatre with a scrappy charm, and part of the fun was never quite knowing what you were going to get.

Title: Picnic at Hanging Rock Presented By: Act1 Theatre Genre: Drama / Mystery Synopsis: Based on Joan Lindsay's iconic Australian novel and adapted for the stage by Tom Wright, Picnic at Hanging Rock tells the haunting story of a group of schoolgirls and their teacher who mysteriously disappear during a Valentine's Day picnic at Hanging Rock in 1900. As those left behind search for answers, the mystery deepens, blurring the lines between reality, memory and myth in one of Australia's most enduring theatrical works. Audition Date: Saturday 1 August 2026 Audition Time: 11:00am Audition Location and Address: Act1 Theatre (Old Shire Hall), 238 Gympie Road, Strathpine QLD 4500 Audition Requirements: Prepare and perform a monologue that showcases your characterisation skills. Participate in cold readings from sections of the script. Audition Registration: Contact the production team directly for audition enquiries. Performance Dates: 2 - 18 October, 2026 Performance Location: Act1 Theatre (Old Shire Hall), 238 Gympie Road, Strathpine QLD 4500 Production Website: https://www.act1theatre.com.au/auditions Other information: This is a community theatre, non-paid production created by volunteers passionate about producing theatre of a high standard. The production is seeking performers who can: Play multiple characters with confidence and versatility. Deliver substantial monologues with conviction. Create distinct and believable characters using voice and physicality. Work collaboratively as part of a close ensemble. Commit fully to the rehearsal process. For further information contact: Michelle Whitmore (Director): 0412 395 800 Deb Hossack (Production Manager): 0431 843 887 Available Roles/Character Breakdown: The production is seeking five talented female performers to portray multiple characters throughout the play.

Jagged Little Pill Presented by NAPA Ensemble at the National Academy of Performing Arts Director, Set Design, Lighting Design: Hunter Wall Musical Director: Laila Cheqer de Souza Vocal Director: Jonathan Whitlow Choreographer: Cooper Swain Assistant Choreographer and Costumes: Kim Reynolds Sound Design: John Taylor Photography: David Reynolds Jagged Little Pill contains strong themes and depictions relating to sexual assault, substance addiction, overdose and mental distress. Slight spoilers follow. “I’m sane, but I’m overwhelmed. I’m lost, but I’m hopeful, baby.” There it is. The anthem that speaks for an entire generation of people who are technically functioning and outwardly smiling, but secretly hanging on by a thread. It also speaks for every character in Jagged Little Pill. Inspired by Alanis Morissette’s landmark 1995 album, with a Tony Award-winning book by Diablo Cody, Jagged Little Pill follows the Healy family: Mary Jane, a suburban super-mum hooked on painkillers; her emotionally absent husband, Steve; their golden-child son, Nick, buckling beneath the pressure to be perfect; and their adopted daughter, Frankie, refusing to play the role she's been cast in and fighting to be heard. Behind their annual Christmas letter sits a marriage stripped of intimacy, a fractured family, and a community more concerned with preserving appearances than confronting harm. As the overture layers Alanis’ music and lyrics, the NAPA Ensemble cast emerges in a blaze of distressed denim and defiance, and the chills hit me instantly. Elevated above them, the band plays with the passion of an arena concert. This is alt-rock and theatre colliding at full throttle! You will find that the storyline takes on a lot: queer identity, gender fluidity, systemic racism within interracial adoption, dysfunctional marriage, sexual assault and drug addiction. In less capable hands, it could simply become a checklist of social issues. But here, they have assembled the perfect cast to depict the individuals behind these issues. Caroline Taylor gives a formidable performance as Mary Jane, or MJ (get it?), a troubled mother who elicits both empathy and frustration. At first, she’s almost comically recognisable in her activewear, puffer jacket, and forced smile. Caroline makes the audience privy to the desperation that MJ keeps concealed from her husband, children and friends. It lives in her eyes, in the way she carries herself and in her frantic need to control everyone else because she cannot control herself. “Smiling” is one of the production’s earliest triumphs (and has stayed in my mind ever since). MJ’s day unfolds in reverse, retracing her steps from the supermarket to the dealer, the pharmacist and the yoga class before returning to the moment she realises she’s run out of pills. This “anatomy of my crash” reveals the exhausting momentum behind her mantra: keep on smiling, keep on moving, can’t stand still. It plays like a moody ’90s music video, with the ensemble’s choral backing swelling beautifully around Caroline’s powerful voice. She’s even more devastating in “Forgiven”, as MJ enters a church searching for relief and instead confronts all the skeletons in her closet. Caroline lifts the roof vocally, but it’s the fury beneath the prayer that makes the number so gripping. As MJ’s carefully buried trauma rises to the surface, I found myself getting misty-eyed (and my notes become progressively less legible from here). Samantha Price shines as Frankie, a fiercely principled and impulsive teenager devoted to her causes, yet somewhat careless with Jo’s heart. “All I Really Want” immediately dives into the family conflict, fuelled by years of misalignment. Her Act Two explosion in “Unprodigal Daughter” is astonishing. As her frustration finally boils over, Samantha channels every ounce of Frankie’s angst and determination into the performance while the ensemble surges around her. “Ironic” is reworked as a school writing assignment before giving way to a powerhouse duet between Frankie and Phoenix. Flynn Anderson gives Phoenix an enigmatic charm: he listens, encourages and makes Frankie feel seen in a way she rarely is at home. Yet his own family responsibilities are never too far from view. Shilo Kwocksun gives Jo a dry humour that doubles as a defence mechanism, but their pain still slips through the cracks. Frankie is both Jo’s refuge and their greatest risk. When “You Oughta Know” arrives, all that restraint finally snaps. Shilo takes complete ownership of Morissette’s most famous song. With her killer voice, mounting rage, the band and the full force of the ensemble choreography, the result is absolutely massive. It’s the sound of humiliation and grief growing too large to contain. Every sensible theatre-going instinct told me to remain seated, but in my head, I was in the mosh pit! “Hand in My Pocket”, led by Shilo, opens into some especially satisfying group harmonies, guided by vocal director Jonathan Whitlow. Later, “That I Would Be Good” unites Frankie, Jo and Phoenix in a stunning three-part vocal arrangement, with their voices blending into truly breathtaking harmonies. By that point, I was fully emotionally invested. I had stopped taking notes quite so neatly and started writing things like “WHYYY” in the margins. “If you’re flawless, then you’ll win my love.” Greyson Vaughn brings a quieter tension to Nick, carrying much of the character’s story in his physicality: hunched shoulders, a body folded inward and a face contorted as though the weight of expectation is physically pressing him down. When MJ tells him, “Sometimes I think you’re the only thing I’ve done right,” the apparent compliment lands like another responsibility he cannot afford to fail. Greyson’s solo “Perfect” gives voice to a boy who has learned that love is conditional upon achievement. Later, Greyson and Caroline meet in a series of brilliantly raw confrontations as Nick is forced to face his own complicity. “Tell me when I’m going to feel normal again.” Angelique Giuffre gives Bella an intensity that cuts through the production whenever she appears. Bella is mocked, doubted and reduced to an accusation, but Angelique keeps reclaiming her as a person. Her featured moments are vocally charged, with anger audible in the tremor of her voice. “Predator” is particularly harrowing. The choreography uses bedsheets, lifts and fractured movement to revisit the past without spelling it out too literally. Around Angelique, the lighting and shifting white flats create a nightmarish world, while an eerie operatic soprano line cuts through from above. Angelique and Caroline both give the material the weight and care it demands. Jonathan Whitlow lets Steve’s emotional distance slowly crack open. The split staging of “So Unsexy” keeps their disconnection visually alive, while “Mary Jane” beautifully captures the grief of a husband realising how much the person beside him has concealed. In the marriage counselling scenes, Jonathan and Caroline capture how awkward and realistic it is when two people who have spent years dodging difficult conversations finally try to talk. “Not the Doctor” refuses the fantasy that one session can repair years of avoidance, but it allows them to begin speaking honestly. “Head over Feet” juxtaposes Frankie and Phoenix’s new connection with Steve and MJ’s faltering marriage, creating an epic four-part number that places two relationships at very different stages side by side. Hunter Wall directs with urgency. Nothing remains still for long: scenes bleed into songs, furniture shifts in plain sight and the ensemble circles the principals like persistent thoughts. That motion is central to Cooper Swain’s choreography. The dancers don’t simply appear for the musical numbers and disappear when the dialogue returns; they embody the urges, shame, temptation, memory and panic the characters cannot express aloud. The style is contemporary, muscular and appropriately jagged. Sharp angles give way to suspended tableaux as bodies climb, collapse and catch one another. The choreography demands enormous strength, precision and endurance. Somehow, they can all sing while doing it too! Hunter Wall’s set uses tall moveable flats to shape the space, support fluid transitions and create moments of theatrical magic as they conceal and reveal bodies. The raised stage offers strong sightlines from any seat. Plus, a full swing set becomes a playground, meeting place and structure to dangle from as relationships grow increasingly precarious. Hunter’s lighting guides the eye cleanly through the busy physical world, while an LED outline of a house frames the family at the centre of it all. Under Laila Cheqer de Souza’s musical direction, the band drives the production with the force of a live rock concert. John Taylor’s sound design ensures the microphones remain perfectly clear against that power (By the way, it gets LOUD). Kim Reynolds’ costumes and hair design draw from grunge, punk and rock without trapping the show in one era. The ’90s influence is clear, but this remains a modern world of smartphones, screenshots and viral judgement. The ensemble is essential to this world. At times, they are classmates, parents or protesters; elsewhere, they become a collective conscience, a physical manifestation of emotion or a swarm of voices pressing in on a character. I cannot name every ensemble member individually, but please know I saw you, applauded you and spent several numbers concerned about your necks (you were really throwing those things around!). Elysium Hipwood’s dance solo during “Uninvited” definitely deserves a shoutout, giving physical form to MJ’s collapse as the production grows heavier and louder around them both. “You can’t undo what’s already been done.” True, but the musical still asks what we do next. The rally sequence in “No” is the emotional peak. Its longer refrain asks the question much more directly: “What part of NO do you not understand?” Bella’s private trauma becomes public resistance. The voices build and the anger is no longer isolated inside one person. Everyone moves downstage, right into our faces, removing any comfortable distance between the audience and what is being said. I'm not ashamed to say that it had me in tears, along with what appeared to be nearly every other woman in the audience. As the show moves towards “You Learn”, it offers bittersweet optimism rather than miraculous recovery. Relationships are not restored to their original forms; they are rebuilt with greater honesty, understanding and connection. Repeated hand gestures resembling signed language accompany the finale, giving the song a communal tenderness as though each lesson is being passed from one person to another. Jagged Little Pill is a jukebox musical, yet it’s not a catalogue of Alanis Morissette hits strung between convenient plot points. The album was released on 13 June 1995, the same year I was born (so naturally, I am claiming a personal connection). I did not experience it as the cultural earthquake it was for an earlier generation, but its impact has travelled. The songs belong to these characters because Morissette’s writing already gives voice to everything they are struggling to say. There are many more songs and snippets I have left unmentioned. You don't need to arrive as an Alanis Morissette fan... give this cast a couple of hours and they will take care of that. By the final bows, I felt wrung out, fired up, and deeply grateful to have been in the room. I certainly walked out ready to scream-sing the entire album on the drive home. This is bold, confronting and beautifully controlled work from a cast with extraordinary potential. As my first NAPA production, it exceeded every expectation I had. I would see it again in a heartbeat, and frankly, every performance deserves a full house. For all its anger and noise, Jagged Little Pill lands on an obvious truth: it does not promise that everything can be fixed. It simply asks us to stop pretending nothing is wrong.

Title: Breath of Spring Presented By: Growl Theatre Genre: Comedy Synopsis: Set in London in the late 1950s, Breath of Spring is a delightful British comedy of manners with a mischievous twist. Dame Beatrice Appleby is a generous woman whose dwindling finances have forced her to take in a colourful collection of lodgers. When her maid Lily presents her with a luxurious mink stole as a thank-you gift, Beatrice suspects it has been stolen from a neighbour. Horrified but intrigued, Beatrice and her eccentric household devise a plan to secretly return it. After their first mission proves unexpectedly successful, the group decides to continue their Robin Hood-style exploits, anonymously stealing and returning fur garments while supporting worthy causes. As the schemes become increasingly elaborate, laughter, mistaken identities and unexpected camaraderie abound—until Scotland Yard begins to investigate. Audition Date: Saturday 1 August 2026 Audition Time: 1:30pm Audition Location and Address: Windsor School of Arts Hall, 381 Lutwyche Road, Windsor QLD 4030 Audition Requirements: Complete the audition registration form. Email a headshot and acting CV to production@growltheatre.org.au. Prepare a comic audition piece (maximum two minutes). Participate in cold readings from the script. Callbacks (if required) will be held Sunday 2 August at 6:30pm. Audition Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfLu6AD7SIJzuxVIQzZaubMwNpwGiy5CtPx3AH5xx04TZ9dA/viewform?usp=send_form Audition Pack: https://growltheatre.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Audition-Notice-Breath-of-Spring.pdf Performance Dates: 6–15 November 2026 Performance Times: Friday 6 November – 7:30pm Saturday 7 November – 2:00pm & 7:30pm Sunday 8 November – 2:00pm Friday 13 November – 7:30pm Saturday 14 November – 2:00pm & 7:30pm Sunday 15 November – 2:00pm Performance Location: Windsor School of Arts Hall, 381 Lutwyche Road, Windsor QLD 4030 Rehearsal Dates: Read-through & Costume Fittings: Monday 24 August Thursday 27 August Rehearsals commence Sunday 30 August and continue through 5 November 2026. Critical rehearsals: 25 October – 5 November 2026 Bump Out: Sunday 22 November (10:00am) Rehearsal Times: Mondays & Thursdays: 6:30pm–9:30pm Sundays: 1:30pm–5:00pm Warnings: This production requires cast members to handle and wear real fur garments as they are central to the plot. English accents are required for all characters. Cast members should be available for all performances and critical rehearsals. Successful cast members will need to supply some personal costume items (e.g. socks, stockings, gloves) and basic stage makeup. Performer Age: Adults 18+ Creative Team: Director – Dale Murison Production Website: https://growltheatre.org.au/2026-season-breath-of-spring/ Other information: Cast diversity is encouraged while remaining true to the period and setting. Police roles appear only in the final scene and will likely double as Stage Manager/Assistant Stage Manager. Successful cast members must become financial members of Growl Theatre ($30 annual membership for 2026). If you have rehearsal conflicts, these should be disclosed during registration. Available Roles/Character Breakdown: Dame Beatrice Appleby ("Bea") (Playing Age: 60s–70s) A lively, eccentric and generous woman with a strong sense of social justice. Despite financial struggles, she remains optimistic and becomes the unlikely leader of the group's criminal escapades. Alice, Lady Miller (Playing Age: 60s–70s) Beatrice's elegant and upper-class friend. Stylish, sociable and quietly flirtatious despite her modest financial circumstances. Brigadier Albert Rayne ("Bertie") (Playing Age: 60s–70s) A retired military officer and one of Beatrice's lodgers. Organised, disciplined and determined to approach every scheme with military precision. Miss Nanette Parry ("Nan") (Playing Age: 40s–50s) A practical, cheerful lodger and elocution teacher with a commanding voice and talent for accents. Often the voice of reason amongst the chaos. Lily Thompson (Playing Age: 30s) Beatrice's maid. Streetwise, witty and reformed, with a mischievous streak and a slight Cockney accent. Miss Elizabeth Hatfield ("Hattie") (Playing Age: 40s–50s) A nervous and delicate lodger whose anxious disposition provides plenty of comic contrast. Detective Sergeant Pape (30+) A Scotland Yard detective who appears during the final scene. Police Constable Kemp (Any adult age) A police officer appearing in the final scene. Likely to double as Stage Manager or Assistant Stage Manager.

Title: Nerdy Prudes Must Die Presented By: Hanson Creative Genre: Musical Comedy / Teen Slasher / Horror Synopsis: At Hatchetfield High, a group of social outcasts unwittingly completes an ancient ritual while attempting to frighten the school’s arrogant star quarterback, Max Jägerman. When their prank ends in Max’s death, he returns as a powerful supernatural spirit determined to punish every nerd who ever crossed him. Stephanie Lauter, Grace Chasity, Peter Spankoffski and their fellow geeks must confront the murderous bully while uncovering the dark history beneath their town. From the creators of The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, Nerdy Prudes Must Die combines horror, high-school comedy and contemporary musical theatre in a bloody and irreverent supernatural slasher. Audition Date: Thursday 30 July 2026 Friday 31 July 2026 Callbacks: Sunday 2 August 2026 Audition Time: Individual auditions: 15-minute booked sessions Compulsory group dance call: Thursday 30 July, 5:00pm–6:00pm Audition Location and Address: Backbone, 28 Tallowwood Street, Seven Hills QLD Audition Requirements: Prepare two contrasting songs of up to one minute each. At least one must be a musical theatre song, and one selection should demonstrate comedic ability. Contemporary or modern material is preferred. Auditionees must also: Prepare one scene from the audition pack; it does not need to correspond with the role being sought. Participate in cold reads on the day. Attend the compulsory group dance call. Bring a headshot and CV. Bring backing tracks, as no pianist will be provided. Wear comfortable clothing and appropriate dance shoes for the dance call. Audition Registration: Audition applications close Sunday 26 July 2026 at 11:59pm. Book a 15-minute audition through the registration link contained in the audition pack. Audition Pack: Download the audition brief Performance Dates: Thursday 5 November 2026 Friday 6 November 2026 Saturday 7 November 2026 Rehearsal Dates: Table read: Thursday 6 August 2026 Media call: Friday 7 August 2026 Regular rehearsals: 13 August–29 October 2026 Sitzprobe: Sunday 11 October 2026 Bump-in and dress run: Wednesday 4 November 2026 Rehearsal Times: Thursdays and Fridays: 5:00pm–9:00pm Warnings: Horror themes, murder, bullying, supernatural violence, strong language and staged intimacy. Some roles may require intimacy between performers. Parts of the audition process may be filmed for casting, marketing or promotional purposes. Performer Age: Adult performers 18+ Creative Team: Producer: Emma Hanson Director: Tayla Simpson Musical Director: Patrick Bischoff Choreographer: Savannah Stern Stage Manager: Lucy Wilding Production Website: Hanson Creative Other information: This is a non-union production. All cast members will receive a flat payment of $200. The production welcomes performers of varied backgrounds, identities, body types, abilities and experiences. All known rehearsal and performance conflicts must be disclosed in the audition application. Cast members are expected to be nearly off-book by October. Available Roles/Character Breakdown: Max Jägerman (male-presenting, tenor, C3–C5 belt) The arrogant star quarterback and school bully who rules Hatchetfield High. After dying during a prank, he returns as a powerful supernatural spirit determined to murder the town’s nerds. Requires commanding presence, physicality and dark comedy. May require intimacy with Grace. Grace Chasity / Drama Student (female-presenting, mezzo/alto, G3–F5) A seemingly pious, rule-following student who helps devise the prank against Max. Beneath her innocent exterior is a darker, ruthless and increasingly unpredictable personality. May require intimacy with Max. Stephanie Lauter / Caitlyn (female-presenting, mezzo/soprano, G3–A5) The rebellious, cynical and ambitious daughter of Hatchetfield’s mayor. Popular among her classmates but increasingly drawn into the group of outcasts. May require intimacy with Peter. Peter Spankoffski / Drama Student / Dan Reynolds (male-presenting, tenor, C3–C5) An awkward and anxious high-school outcast who becomes central to the effort to protect his friends. Earnest, intelligent and emotionally vulnerable. May require intimacy with Stephanie. Richie Lipschitz / Boy Jerry / Trevor / Paul Matthews / Wiggly (male-presenting, baritenor, C3–C5 belt) An insecure, anxious and endearing nerd who is terrified of Max but forced to confront the supernatural danger. Requires strong character versatility across several roles. Ruth Fleming / Donna Daggit / Emma Perkins / Blinky / Brooke (female-presenting, mezzo, G3–G5 optional) A quirky, outspoken and unapologetic outsider involved in the prank. The performer also portrays several contrasting supporting characters. Karen Chasity / Miss Mulberry / Reese / Miss Tessburger / Stacy / Nibbly / Girl Jerry (female-presenting, soprano, C4–A5) Grace’s mother and a range of distinctive Hatchetfield characters. Requires excellent comic versatility and the ability to create multiple clear personalities. Mark Chasity / Officer Bailey / Kurt Clauger / Tinky / News Announcer (male-presenting, baritenor, A2–A4) Grace’s father, a local real-estate agent, alongside several adults, authority figures and supernatural characters. Requires strong character transformation. Solomon Lauter / Hatchetfield Cop / Jason Jepson / Pokey (male-presenting, baritone, A2–A4) The stressed mayor of Hatchetfield and Stephanie’s father. He knows more than most about the town’s sinister history. Also portrays several supporting characters. Detective Shapiro / Brenda / PJ / Reporter (female-presenting, soprano, C4–A5) The lead investigator examining Hatchetfield’s increasingly strange events. Also performs several featured characters within the larger musical numbers.