Sophia Dickinson

Has the last year or so got you longing for a trip to Paris? Luckily for Melbourne, Paris is coming to us in the form of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, opening at the Regent Theatre on November 12. Based on the 2001 Baz Lurhmann film of the same name, the live musical version takes an even deeper dive into the bohemian lives of the performers and punters at the famous Parisian dance hall. Among those punters is the naïve and romantic Christian, who immediately falls in love with Satine, the beautiful but ultimately tragic lead courtesan. Like the movie, Moulin Rouge! The Musical follows Satine and Christian’s brief but passionate love story, which is influenced by great romantic tragedies including Romeo and Juliet, Orpheus and Eurydice, La Traviata and La Bohème. Just as Satine and Christian’s love is facing ultimate doom, so is the Moulin Rouge. For the debut Australian production, Alinta Chidzey tackles the role of Satine, played by Nicole Kidman in the film. Musical theatre fans might have already seen Chidzey play Velma Kelly alongside Natalie Bassingthwaighte in Chicago, Anita in West Side Story or singing the national anthem at the 2020 Australian Open and the 2019 State of Origin. “I’m honoured to play such an iconic role that’s part of Australian history,” says Chidzey. “Satine has so many layers; she’s witty and strong, but also vulnerable in the sense of falling in love for the first time.” The Aussie musical theatre superstar describes this role as equal parts excitin

Melbourne is usually the nation's rhythmic cultural heart, but our performing arts scene remains in an indefinite cardiac arrest, even as the rest of us start recovering. It’s been a year of cancelled shows, productions on pause and hardly any work in sight. Three members of Melbourne’s performing arts industry share how they’re getting by. For triple threat performer Carmelina Tammaro, the start of 2020 was buzzing. She was part of the T20 Women’s Cricket entertainment, working at a dance studio and preparing for the audition season, which was just about to begin. One day in late March, after spending all day at an audition, she received an email saying the production had to be shut down due to a close-contact with Covid. It was down-hill from there. “Life was hectic and exciting, I was working really hard, then with one email, it was all over,” says Tammaro. “We were all sent home and had no work.”   Photograph: Supplied / Carmelina TammaroCarmelina Tammaro dancing at Circle Studios   For Melanie Smith, executive director of performing arts at Arts Centre Melbourne, the pandemic hit just as suddenly. “It was a Friday night, I was in Castlemaine taking a weekend out of Melbourne,” Smith says. “I had to come back to Melbourne on the Saturday to start planning how we would shut down our venues safely and communicate with our staff. That Monday, March 16 2020, Arts Centre Melbourne shut down. I haven’t been back since,” she says. “We cancelled 495 performances and refunded ne