Theatre & Musicals in Perth

New writing, ranging in content from intimate storytelling, to dynamic physical theatre, this program draws on all elements of their training at one of Australia's most acclaimed performing arts training conservatoires. Expect short, sharp, contemporary reflections of who we are right now and who we could be years from now.

From America’s most produced and popular living playwright, Lauren Gunderson, comes the WA premiere of the award-winning I and You. Caroline (Sophia Forrest) hasn’t been at school for months – sick at home, she’s trapped in her bedroom with only Facebook, Twitter and Insta for company. When classmate Anthony (Darius Williams) arrives unexpectedly, spouting Walt Whitman’s 'Leaves of Grass' and brandishing an unfinished English Lit project he urgently needs her help with, she is less than impressed and rejects this intrusion into her damaged life. As they come together and reveal themselves through Whitman’s electric poetry and over waffle fries, they discover a connection far deeper than either of them could ever have imagined. Directed by Kate Cherry.

Written by Nick Payne and directed by Brendan Ellis at Melville Theatre, Incognito explores the brain, memory and self and asks if our brains play games, tricking us to believe different things at various times. Three mysterious storylines involve the theft of Albert Einstein’s brain, a man who has lived the same day for 60 years and a modern woman who has come to a crossroads in the middle of her life. Incognito plays at 8pm May 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22 with a 2pm matinee May 16. Tickets are $23, $18 concession – book at www.TAZTix.com.au. Melville Theatre is at 393A Canning Highway (corner of Stock Road), Palmyra.

An ode to migrant motherhood. Science experiments meet spoken word poetry, as Dureshawar Khan weaves a rich tapestry of experiences punctuating the journey of brown womanhood and the lessons lovingly passed down from mother to daughter. Told in both English and Pashto, MoR is a love letter to every person we’ve ever called mum.

How will we act, now, when the world seems to be ending? Three of Western Australia’s most cherished and revered actors join forces in a provocative new drama set to make its WA premiere at Burt Hall 8-29 May. Jenny Davis, Vivienne Garret and Andrew Lewis bring this powerful play to life to reflect on the big questions of responsibility and the impact of human activity on the planet. In an idyllic cottage on the British coast, two retired nuclear scientists, Hazel (Jenny Davis) and Robin (Andrew Lewis), are enjoying the quiet life. Apart from the electricity rationing, daily radiation warnings and coastal erosion, everything with them is fine. Around them however, the world is in chaos, with the fallout of a nuclear power plant meltdown threatening their very existence. When old friend and colleague Rose (Vivienne Garrett) arrives unexpectedly, their future and past lives collide as they debate the present and the challenges they face. Directed by Stuart Halusz.

Things aren’t great for Arthur and Penelope. Their dad’s dead, the Cold War’s bumming everyone out, and their mum’s new boyfriend is a drip. A ‘family’ holiday to Dunsbridge is the last thing they want. But when an alien with mysterious powers crashes into their beach house, Penelope sees an opportunity to finally get what she wants – and take revenge on everyone who’s wronged them. A gleefully twisted mash up of E.T. and Mary Poppins, this coming-of-age schlockbuster asks what we really need to feel happy. A team of Perth’s favourite hit-makers brings this unhinged musical to life with puppets and preposterousness. With eighties-tastic songs that will lodge in your brain like a parasite, this big-hearted show promises even bigger laughs. Come for the ride and find out who survives… THE SUMMER OF OUR LIVES! “Razor-sharp and irresistible” (The West Australian – Dr Felicity Rickshaw’s Celebrity Sex Party) “Jaw-achingly funny.” (Perth Theatre Reviews – The Jones/Woods Holiday Special)

The official stage adaptation of The Vicar of Dibley makes its West Australian debut at the Koorliny Arts Centre this May. Adapted by Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter from the original 1990s TV series by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, the script spans the first two seasons with some later references thrown in. The story follows the arrival and adventures of a new female vicar in a small English country town, finishing with the wedding of Hugo and Alice. Kelly Salathiel is directing the show for Laughing Horse Productions. The Vicar of Dibley plays 7.30pm May 14, 15, 21 and 22 with 2pm matinees May 15 and 22. Tickets are $25, $23 concession – book at https://koorliny.com.au/the-vicar-of-dibley/ The Koorliny Arts Centre is at 10 Hutchins Way, Kwinana.

Hitting the road this May, multi-award winning YUCK Circus are championing the female voice and having a bloody great time doing it with Regional Arts WA and Act Belong Commit's latest Lotterywest Shows on the Go tour. YUCK Circus is a 6-strong crew of elite acrobatic gals, ready to flip off double-standards and kick art in the face. They're not lightly throwing around women's issues-they're literally throwing women! Let's get into the grit of it: they're coming for your 'female standards' and rough Aussie norms. Their award-winning Western Australian company of circus chicks are tackling the uncomfortable through dance, circus, and beaut comedic timing. YUCK is fun for the faint hearted, the strong willed and the everyday battler. YUCK's here to show the humour of the trials and tribulations of what it's like to be a young woman growing up in Australia. But don't get them wrong, this isn't a girls-only, no boys allowed show. They made this content relatable through comedy gold and crazy flips, so that even Dazza from down the road will have a good time.

COMA is set in a 40ft sea-container, each wall lined with bunk beds. Audience members lie down in a bed, each becoming separated from their counterparts. Alone in the darkness, the multi-sensory elements engulf each participant, suggestive of the show’s own namesake. Imagine the moment of waking up is actually the moment when your dream begins. In light of this new and strange reality, how can we save you from the unspeakable horrors which lurk in the dark recesses of your mind? The only cure we offer is a placebo and a promise. Please remember when you leave, to take your body with you. The setting is clinical and reminiscent of a hospital ward, and despite being created prior to COVID-19, it becomes more relevant and confronting now that the pandemic is ever-present. As with all Darkfield experiences, a strange world is built from 360 degree binaural sound that perplexes the senses, deepening the immersion by casting doubt on what is real and what is imagined. Loss of vision heightens the remaining senses, making them vulnerable to manipulation.

FLIGHT explores the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and how this conveniently tells us how to avoid the worst case scenarios that we all fear. Ladies and gentlemen, we’d like to direct your attention to the on-board safety demonstration and ask that you give us your full attention. There are many worlds in which this plane lands safely.

Written by John Cariani and directed by Kristen Twynam-Perkins at Roleystone Hall, Almost, Maine is made up of several short plays exploring love and loss. The comedy for romantics is set in the mythical town of Almost in Maine, where different versions of love are all influenced by the magic of the northern lights. Almost, Maine premiered in Portland in 2004 where it broke box office records and gained critical acclaim before being adapted by the author into a book of the same name. Almost, Maine plays 7.30pm May 14, 15, 21 and 22 and 5pm May 16. Tickets are $20, $15 concession – book at www.trybooking.com/BQLOQ Roleystone Hall is at 44 Jarrah Road (corner of Wygonda Road), Roleystone.

Hitting the road this May, multi-award winning YUCK Circus are championing the female voice and having a bloody great time doing it with Regional Arts WA and Act Belong Commit's latest Lotterywest Shows on the Go tour. YUCK Circus is a 6-strong crew of elite acrobatic gals, ready to flip off double-standards and kick art in the face. They're not lightly throwing around women's issues-they're literally throwing women! Let's get into the grit of it: they're coming for your 'female standards' and rough Aussie norms. Their award-winning Western Australian company of circus chicks are tackling the uncomfortable through dance, circus, and beaut comedic timing. YUCK is fun for the faint hearted, the strong willed and the everyday battler. YUCK's here to show the humour of the trials and tribulations of what it's like to be a young woman growing up in Australia. But don't get them wrong, this isn't a girls-only, no boys allowed show. They made this content relatable through comedy gold and crazy flips, so that even Dazza from down the road will have a good time.

Esperance Civic Centre presents Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player. Proudly supported by Lotterywest. DAVID SCHEEL in DON’T SHOOT ME, I’M ONLY THE PIANO PLAYER is a runaway success in London’s West End, at successive Edinburgh Festivals, at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and right across the USA, this is a hilarious send-up of classical music, which has established Australian pianist, David Scheel, as the successor to the legendary Victor Borge. Beautiful music, and musical fun performed in so many accents/voices that David has also been compared to the late Robin Williams, and Peter Ustinov. Hear a familiar tune played in the styles of the old masters + an i-Pod; two famous pieces played simultaneously, one with the right hand, one with the left, plus his “translation” of the lyrics of Waltzing Matilda, already a comedy classic. Visit www.davidscheel.com REVIEWS “As funny as any, wittier than most, and, uniquely, a concert pianist of international stature...He stands alone, in a class of his own.” [BBC Arts Review] “The only show in town that can satisfy lovers of classical music and comedy alike.” [San Francisco Chronicle] Duration 60mins

Hitting the road this May, multi-award winning YUCK Circus are championing the female voice and having a bloody great time doing it with Regional Arts WA and Act Belong Commit's latest Lotterywest Shows on the Go tour. YUCK Circus is a 6-strong crew of elite acrobatic gals, ready to flip off double-standards and kick art in the face. They're not lightly throwing around women's issues-they're literally throwing women! Let's get into the grit of it: they're coming for your 'female standards' and rough Aussie norms. Their award-winning Western Australian company of circus chicks are tackling the uncomfortable through dance, circus, and beaut comedic timing. YUCK is fun for the faint hearted, the strong willed and the everyday battler. YUCK's here to show the humour of the trials and tribulations of what it's like to be a young woman growing up in Australia. But don't get them wrong, this isn't a girls-only, no boys allowed show. They made this content relatable through comedy gold and crazy flips, so that even Dazza from down the road will have a good time.

Directed by Barry Park, the play takes place in a single room on the Coverly Estate in two separate times – the Regency period and 1989. In 1809, the household is in transition, where an Arcadian English garden landscape is being uprooted to make way for picturesque Gothic gardens, complete with a hermitage. Meanwhile, the brilliant 13-year-old Lady Thomasina proposes a startling scientific theory that is only starting to be understood more than 200 years later. In 1989, two competing scholars research the 1809 world of the estate and are intrigued by who lived in the hermitage and a possible bloody duel of passion. Winning the 1993 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play, Arcadia was named by the Royal Institution of Great Britain in 2006 as one of the best science-related works ever written.