Melbourne’s winter arts festival is now on. The five-year-old city wide event that grew from the ashes of both White Night and the Melbourne International Arts Festival had an inauspicious beginning when launched by co-Artistic Directors Gideon Obarzanek and Hannah Fox in August 2020 – yes, the unfortunate festival was scheduled and then delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic until 2021, only to fall foul of further lockdowns and cancellations of events.
So it says something of the resilience of both organisers and festival that this wasn’t enough to kill it for good. And in 2025 we are welcoming the fourth festival proper. The official launch is tonight (Wednesday 4 June) and, as the festival rolls out over the next 15 days, on this page for ease of reference we’ll add links to all ArtsHub‘s reviews and other coverage. A couple of program highlights have already been kicked off, so you can read what our reviewers thought via the below links.
Plus you will find our social reels, captured by the team, while they’re out and about and sampling what’s on offer in the festival.
As with our MICF coverage previously, we’ll list program inclusions in descending order of star ratings. Click on the titles (which are in alphabetical order) to go through to the full review.
Japanese Breakfast, Port Melbourne Industrial Centre for the Arts (music)
Michelle Zauner was pure magic. This felt like Japanese Breakfast at its fullest, most actualised form.
BLKDOG, Playhouse (dance)
British choreographer Botis Seva‘s story of violence and salvation is an expressive masterpiece.
Kill Me, Sumner Theatre (dance/theatre)
Raw, howling and yearning to be seen, Marina Otero’s new work takes the white gloves off and puts the boxing gloves on.
POV, Showroom Arts Centre Melbourne (theatre)
When you take two unrehearsed actors and a child telling them what to do, where to stand and what to say…
Diagrammatica, Slot 9 (event)
Discover the underbelly of Federation Square where you become part of the composition.
Hamlet, Union Theatre, University of Melbourne (theatre)
It’s ‘Hamlet’, but not ‘that’ one. No, this version has dancing, rap and a beautifully conceived and executed message behind it all.
Legends (of the Golden Arches), The Lawler, Southbank Theatre (theatre)
A wry, witty and self-aware theatrical journey through Chinese Hell, presented by the MTC for RISING.
Swingers, Flinders Street Station (exhibition)
Should you be allowed to play sport in an exhibition? Swingers says “Yes”.
The Chronicles, Playhouse Arts Centre Melbourne (dance)
An epic multimedia dance feat that travels from womb to tomb.
Beth Gibbons, Hamer Hall (music)
The celestial vocal stylings of Portishead’s lead singer shone in a concert drawn from her first solo album.
Heartbreak Hotel, The Showroom Arts Centre Melbourne
‘You’ll be so lonely, baby…’ New Zealand’s EBKM brings a show about heartbreak to this year’s RISING.
Instagram reels
And for ArtsHub‘s other RISING coverage:
RISING launches full festival program for June 2025
Melbourne’s winter festival RISING is “proudly challenging and uncompromisingly inclusive,” according to its co-Artistic Directors.
Swingers have their moment to shine at RISING 2025
The first event for Melbourne’s winter festival RISING has been announced: a playable art exhibition celebrating the game of mini golf.
For more on RISING, visit the festival website.
