What started as two women braving a cold beach during lockdown, Sea Wolves Howl has turned into one of the most unexpected theatrical stories to hit regional Victoria.
Sea Wolves Howl traces the origins of the Mt Martha Sea Wolves, a community of women who first gathered on a beach in September 2020 during Melbourne’s lockdown.
By December of that year, 60 women had joined the group, and what began as a small act of cold-water courage had blossomed into something much bigger.
The show brings their real stories to life through theatre and original songs, with five characters guiding audiences through the daily ritual: waking before dawn, stripping down to their togs, howling at the sky, and plunging into the icy water together.
Sea Wolves Howl
- Where: Arts Centre Warburton
- When: 11 July, 7:30 PM
- Tickets here
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The production draws on actual interviews with the Sea Wolves community, turning their words into dialogue, monologue, song, and movement.
Through that process, the show weaves together stories of grief, illness, family violence, and isolation, and the way cold water, weirdly, starts to feel like a solution to all of it. The cast features older female and gender-fluid performers, and the whole thing is as bold and unselfconscious as you’d hope.
Sea Wolves Howl had sold-out seasons at Flinders Fringe 2024 and was presented at Showcase, so this Warburton show is well worth locking in early. The production speaks to what happens when women, particularly older women, find genuine community and stop apologising for taking up space, in the water or anywhere else.
Arts Centre Warburton is located in the Yarra Valley, making it a solid excuse to get out of the city for the evening.
Better yet, there’s a ticket discount just for Beat readers! Use the code WOLVES20 for a $20 ticket, enjoy.
For more information, head here.
