5

	C soco (venue website) Theatre 4-30 Aug (not 16), 5:30pm (6:25pm) Reviewed by Richard Stamp

Five chairs, five props, five pairs of shoes.  One actress, Ali Kennedy Scott.  And so begins the story of one terrible day – “Black Saturday” – when bush fires swept the state of Victoria, and 173 rural Australians died in the flames.

3.5

	C central (venue website) Theatre 5-21 Aug (not 16), 1:15pm (2:05pm) Reviewed by Richard Stamp

Why do so many of Shakespeare’s plays feature strong, even hard-hearted, mothers?  It’s an interesting question, explored in an equally interesting production from this small but highly professional cast.  Presenting a conveyor-belt of theatrical vignettes, all taken more-or-less unadulterated from the Bard’s original plays, Shakespeare himself provides the commentary for a run through his mothers’ lives and worlds.

2

	Hill Street Theatre (venue website) Musicals 5 - 30 Aug (not 10,17,23,24), 4.35pm (5.25pm) Reviewed by Lee Zhuo Zhao

The Man and Men is an intriguing work of musical theatre. It's certainly not your run-of-the-mill opera, even by modern standards. Setting five original poems to avant-garde music, with a healthy amount of physical theatre thrown in, the composer explains in the programme that the overall theme is an investigation of masculinity, human loss and sexual identity.

4

	Zoo Southside (venue website) Comedy 6 - 29 Aug (not 17, 24), 7:45pm (8:45pm) Reviewed by Craig Thomson

When the inevitable zombie apocalypse occurs, will you be ready?  Will you know how to survive?  Will you know which loved ones to sacrifice?  These are the crucial questions addressed by Dr Dale Seslick and his team of experts in this vital seminar.