Local TheatreLocal Theatre Enter tainment

Nosferatu Melbourne Women In Film Festival

■ Malthouse Theatre presents the gothic drama Nosferatu from February 10 to 26 at the Merlyn Theatre, Southbank

Written by Keziah Warner and directed by Bridget Balodis, the cast includes Jacob Collins Levy, Sophie Ross, Keegan Joyce, Max Brown and Shamita Siva.

Set in Tasmania, in a mining town called Bluewater, the locals are desperate to restore the place to its glory days and put their faith in a mysterious investor with a green thumb and appetite for blood.

Vineyards are planted and money flows for the first time in years ... so when people start disappearing, no one dares to ask why.

Based on the 1922 silent film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, this script was commissioned by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation.

Performance Details: February 10-26

Venue: Merlyn Theatre, The Malthouse, 113 Sturt St, Southbank

Bookings: malthousetheatre.com.au

- Cheryl Threadgold

The Man From Earth

■ Cracked Actors Theatre, located at Powerhouse on Albert Park Lake, is an independent production company whose mission is to provide quality, affordable entertainment for local artists.

Also playing at the theatre was The Thespian Theatre Company’s production of The Man from Earth, a stage adaptation of Jerome Bixby’s screenplay directed by Mark Stafford.

Sam Zawadi gave a notable performance as Professor John Oldman, who surrounded by packing boxes and with the removal van on his doorstep, gathers a group of colleagues to join him for a farewell drink in his home.

They are puzzled by his hasty decision to leave, especially as he’s well-liked and has promising career prospects. He shocks them with his revelation that he is a cro-magnon, 14,000 years old and has roamed the earth for 140 centuries.

He moves on every 10 years, fearing, through no signs of ageing, discovery of his mortality

Drawing them into his life of pain, falsehoods and dilemmas, a dialogue ensues with this coterie including a biologist, anthropologist, art history professor and devout Christian and historian.

As they question him, their own academic disciplines, perspectives, belief systems and realities are called into question.

Has he been influenced by his encounters with the Babylonians, van Gogh, Columbus and Buddha, to name a few, or has he been their influencer?

Doubting John’s sanity, the group’s friend, distinguished psychiatrist, Will Gruber, is called in to clarify the matter. This move provides one of many twists to this thought-provoking play.

While the subject matter is deep, this commendable production is very accessible thanks to the writing, direction and to each cast member’s skill in portraying the frailties of the ordinary man.

Cracked Actors Theatre's latest production is In The Ghetto, playing until February 12 at Power House on the Lake, Level 1, 34 Lakeside Dve, Albert Park.

- Review by Sherryn Dannaher