A new dark-comedy cabaret is taking over Spiegel Haus Melbourne for a nine-week run this spring.
Schadenfreude, a new cabaret production led by Craig McLachlan, will run at Spiegel Haus Melbourne from 28 October to 30 December, with performances scheduled Wednesday to Sunday across the season.
The show centres on the character of Dr Schadenfreude, a self-assured authority figure who sets out to examine why people take pleasure in watching things go wrong for others. Across a night of original music, circus, magic, burlesque, puppetry and audience participation, the production promises to blur the line between performer and audience as the doctor’s carefully controlled session spirals out of hand.
Schadenfreude
- Spiegel Haus Melbourne
- 28 October to 30 December
- Wednesday to Sunday
- Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 7pm
- Saturday and Sunday: 4pm and 8pm
- Approximately 120 minutes including interval
- MA 15+
- Tickets here
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Craig McLachlan takes on the lead role, moving between actor, musician and master of ceremonies throughout the show.
Directing and producing is Olivier Award winner Guy Masterson, whose credits include Morecambe, which transferred to London’s West End and won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment, and The Shark Is Broken, which moved from the West End to Broadway following an Olivier nomination for Best New Comedy.
The cast includes Kristian Lavercombe, who has performed the role of Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show more than 2,600 times, alongside Stellar Perry, a 2020 grand finalist on The Voice Australia whose stage credits include the 50th anniversary Australian tour of The Rocky Horror Show, Bell Shakespeare’s The Lovers and Jesus Christ Superstar. Brendan Irving also joins the company.
Overseeing the music is conductor Vanessa Scammell as music supervisor, whose credits span Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, major Australian symphony orchestras, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and productions including The Phantom of the Opera, My Fair Lady, Chicago, CATS and West Side Story.
The season may be extended into January 2027.
For more information, head here.
