Kelly Kleiman’s Top Five Must-See Plays This Month
A strong theatre month should offer more than polished entertainment. It should create arguments on the way home, reward close attention and reveal something about the moment in which it is performed. Kelly Kleiman’s shortlist brings that critical appetite to five plays with sharply different rhythms, subjects and theatrical languages.
For Australian theatregoers, the choices are also a useful viewing map. A production may appear in Sydney or Melbourne first, then reach Brisbane, Adelaide or Perth through a touring season. Smaller companies can offer more adventurous work than the commercial main stage, while weekday rush tickets and subscriber offers often make serious theatre more affordable.
The recommendations below are selected for the quality of the writing, the possibilities they give performers and the questions they leave behind. Check the current venue listing before booking, particularly when a season has limited dates or relies on public transport connections after a late performance.
| Play | Why It Belongs on the List | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| The Wolves | Intimate ensemble work with emotional precision | Audiences who value naturalistic acting |
| Prima Facie | A forceful examination of law and belief | Viewers drawn to urgent social drama |
| The Lehman Trilogy | Ambitious storytelling across generations | Fans of history and theatrical invention |
| The Effect | A thoughtful debate about love and neuroscience | Those who enjoy ideas with emotional stakes |
| The Cherry Orchard | A rich test of comedy, loss and change | Admirers of classic drama and adaptation |
The Wolves
Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves places a teenage girls’ football team in a rehearsal room and lets conversation do the dramatic heavy lifting. Warm-ups, tactical discussion and half-heard confidences gradually reveal friendships, rivalries, anxieties and grief. The play’s power comes from its refusal to reduce young women to a single issue.
Kleiman’s critical interest in ensemble performance makes this a natural pick. The production succeeds when the actors create a shared social world rather than waiting for individual speeches to announce importance. Australian audiences familiar with Saturday sport, school teams and the rituals of suburban clubs may recognise the language immediately, even when the emotional stakes become much larger.
Prima Facie
Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie follows a barrister whose confidence in the legal system is shaken when she becomes its subject. The play is built around a demanding central performance, yet its real achievement lies in making courtroom procedure feel personal, physical and morally unstable.
This is a particularly resonant choice for Australian audiences, where conversations about consent, evidence and institutional responsibility remain prominent. A production should be judged by how carefully it handles those subjects, rather than by the intensity of its monologues alone. Check accessibility information and content warnings before attending; the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 supports equal access, but practical provision still varies between venues.
The Lehman Trilogy
Stefano Massini’s The Lehman Trilogy compresses generations of migration, ambition and finance into a sweeping theatrical narrative. Three performers may portray an entire family, a workforce and a changing economic order, making casting and transformation central to the experience.
It is an especially rewarding choice for anyone interested in how theatre turns history into live storytelling. Australian viewers may find echoes in the country’s own debates about migration, property, banking and inherited wealth. In a market where major productions can carry premium ticket prices, look for matinee performances, preview offers or independent venue packages before assuming an epic play is out of reach.
The Effect
Lucy Prebble’s The Effect sets a love story inside a clinical trial and asks whether emotion can remain authentic when chemistry is being measured. The premise gives actors room to balance wit, vulnerability and intellectual argument without making the science feel like decoration.
The play suits the Dueling Critics spirit because it invites disagreement. Are the characters falling in love, responding to medication or searching for meaning inside an impersonal system? A thoughtful production keeps all three possibilities alive. It is also a strong option for audiences who prefer a contemporary drama that can move from a laugh to a serious ethical question within seconds.
The Cherry Orchard
Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard remains a formidable choice because its characters can be funny, selfish, generous and blind to change at the same time. Every production has to decide whether the play is primarily a family comedy, a social elegy or a warning about people who mistake nostalgia for security.
That tension speaks clearly to Australia’s current theatre landscape, where heritage venues, rising rents and redevelopment frequently shape artistic life. Seek out a version that embraces the play’s humour rather than treating it as a museum piece. A late-night performance in Melbourne or Sydney may require planning around the last train, while regional audiences should check touring dates early; popular classics can sell quickly outside capital-city seasons.
Book the production that most challenges your habits as a theatregoer, then bring the argument to Dueling Critics through its reviews and podcast discussions. The best pick this month may be the play that continues unfolding long after the curtain call.