Theatre

4000 Miles at the Q crosses generations

RON CERABONA Amy Herzog's play explores the relationship between a grandson and grandmother, among other issues.

The Winter's Tale: Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench give Shakespeare a cinematic spin

STEPHANIE BUNBURY Kenneth Branagh was 19 when he first saw The Winter's Tale, and soon became obsessed. Forty years later, he made it the opening play – starring Judi Dench no less – in his company's year-long residency at London's Garrick Theatre.

Malthouse brings back collaborative writer-director initiative Co.Lab

John Bailey A Malthouse Theatre initiative which pairs writers and directors for a series of workshops and a three-month development period on a new work will become a regular fixture.

Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story review: Dark musical a suspenseful retelling of murder and lust

Cameron Woodhead The musical succeeds through sharp, spare storytelling that lays bare the killers' deviant psychology.

Elegy review: Disconcertingly powerful work gives audience refugee experience

Anne-Marie Peard MIDSUMMA FESTIVAL ELEGY ★★★★ Lab Kelpie and Gasworks Arts Park Gasworks Studio Theatre Until February 6

Meow Meow's take on The Little Mermaid and the search for love

John Bailey Meow Meow second reimagined fairytale is a far cry from the sanitised Disney version.

'We are a platform for the outsider': Daniel Clarke's final Theatre Works season kicks off

Sonia Harford This city holds tough choices. If you have few free nights, and mounting babysitter and parking costs, a night at the theatre takes planning.

Eclectic line-up for Melbourne Theatre Company's Cybec Electric series

This year's MTC Cybec Electric series of playreadings has been announced, with five writers and four productions to receive public readings performed by professional actors.

Melbourne's theatre community pays tribute to actor and director Malcolm Robertson

John Bailey Melbourne's theatre community has this month been mourning director and actor Malcolm Robertson, who died on New Year's Day after a short illness.

The audience takes over in Dion Teasdale's Gone at the Midsumma Festival

John Bailey Dion Teasdale's black comedy Gone, promoted as one of Midsumma Festival's premier events, has run the gauntlet in order to earn that position of esteem.

Secret Sydney

My secret Sydney: actor Kate Mulvany

NICOLE ELPHICK "Die-hard inner westie" and actor Kate Mulvany shares her best discoveries in the area.

Seniors' sex lives

Sydney Festival: The lusty lives of seniors revealed in All the Sex I've Ever Had

ANDREW TAYLOR Many of the stories told in a bold Sydney Festival show will be revelatory for younger audiences.

Lost tribe of Louis Nowra's Golden Age make timely return

ELISSA BLAKE A 1980s play set before World War II reflects issues still haunting contemporary Australia.

Sydney Festival 2016: Hits and Misses

ANDREW TAYLOR As the 2016 Sydney Festival reaches its halfway point, the Herald's critics nominate their best and worst experiences.

Sydney Festival 2016: Sunny Ray and the Magnificent Moon glows bright to delight

LENNY ANN LOW Sunny Ray and the Magnificent Moon is a radiant children's show with a glowing global story.

Refugees persecuted for sexuality focus of Midsumma play directed by John Kachoyan

John Bailey A powerful new work premiering Midsumma explores LGBTIQ rights for asylum seekers from the Middle East.

Vika Bull is back as Etta James, at last

John Bailey The last decade in Australia has seen the rise and rise of the "narrative concert," that curious chimera patching together the tribute show, the theatrical monologue and the ol' fashioned biography.

Disco inferno Velvet heats up Malthouse

John Bailey Velvet features singer-songwriter Brendan Maclean as a naif who finds himself backstage at the legendary nightclub Studio 54.

Bron Batten puts dads on show at Midsumma

John Bailey The Dad Show is being reprised for this year's Midsumma Festival with a host of artists and their fathers sharing the limelight.