Poppy Seed Theatre Festival 2017

Overview

If you're into theatre, Poppy Seed is a festival to keep an eye on. It's one of only a few events that support and fund theatre in Melbourne — indie producers who take part are catapulted into recognition with the three-year-old festival growing in popularity and weight each season. 35 theatremakers are part of this year's month-long event, taking place between November 8 and December 9.

This year's gala kicks the festival off with Alexithymia, a performance by Citizen Theatre and A_tistic. It's made up of three shorter pieces that explore life as a woman with autism and tests the audience's emotional intelligence. Jean Tong's Romeo Is Not the Only Fruit is a tongue-in-cheek, politically satirical musical representation of what it means to be a queer woman of colour in today's world, and features a 'Dead Lesbian chorus' — you'll have to go along to find out what this entails.

Hyperlocal performances are a highlight of this year's festival. BREAD CRUMBS sees Ruby Johnston and Benjamin Nichol bring the traditional fairytale narrative to a Dandenong setting where it explores the impact of domestic violence and gender roles in the form of a sinister black comedy. And set on Flinders Street, Lost: 5 showcases five short monologues exploring the persistent issue of homelessness in the CBD.

Finally, there's Tandem, presented by Gravity Dolls. It's circus-meets-gameshow, as actors respond to the audience's decisions and actions to win each game. An example? Giant acrobatic Jenga, and Twister (but with performers acting as the mat).

Poppy Seed takes place in four locations across Melbourne: Meat Market in North Melbourne, South Yarra's Irene Mitchell Studio, The Butterfly Club in the CBD and Chapel off Chapel in Prahran. Each show is $22–35, with bundles and gala tickets available through the website.