By Kat Henry, Lecturer and Researcher, Theatre Department, Victorian College of the Arts, The University of Melbourne
Mark Wilson’s novel version of Tennessee William’s The Glass Menagerie at the Melbourne Theatre Company doesn’t cooperate with historical readings of the play – but is exactly the kind of theatre we should be championing.
Wilson takes a much-loved classic that recollects family anxieties and subverts it, pushing into its dreamlike strangeness and nudging its audience to interrogate how memories are constructed.
This new version of Menagerie might well mark a defining shift for Melbourne theatre aesthetics, inviting real experimentation back into the main stage conversation.
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By Frank Gerits, Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, South Africa and Assistant Professor in the History of International Relations, Utrecht University
The 2026 Africa-France summit in Nairobi on May 11-12 is the first to be held in an African country that is not a former French colony. It is also the first to be held since the dramatic collapse of relations between France and a number of west African…
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By Sarah Cameron, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Griffith University
Ian McAllister, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Australian National University
Juliet Pietsch, Professor of Political Science, Griffith University
Voters have been growing dissatisfied with the major parties for decades. And they are no longer as willing to be told where to send their preferences.
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By Fernando Sousa, Research Fellow in Physiotherapy, Monash University
Joshua Zadro, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney
Peter Malliaras, Professor in Physiotherapy, Monash University
Older women and people with diabetes are much more likely to develop this condition. So do physio or steroid injections make a difference? And what about surgery?
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By Helen Stenger, Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEVAW), Monash University
After four women and nine children associated with Islamic State returned to Australia from Syria last week, the Australian Federal Police indicated some would be referred to community reintegration and countering violent extremism programs.
Australia is not starting from scratch. Thirty-one Australian women and children have previously returned…
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Sunday, May 10, 2026
A Thai woman who spent more than 20 years in prison after being found guilty of drugs trafficking – including eight on death row – has told the UN how learning to sew helped her find meaning in life behind bars, and a job when she was released.
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By Ruth Balint, Professor of History, UNSW Sydney
In Raven Mother, Jane Messer writes of the grandmother she never knew: a woman who defied expectations but was undone by war, displacement, exile and separation.
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By Sharon Kaye Parker, Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Curtin University
Australians’ sense of job insecurity is now as bad as it was in COVID, when unemployment hit 6.4%. Yet there are steps that can help turn fear into action.
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By Joel Scanlan, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Law; Academic Co-Lead, CSAM Deterrence Centre, University of Tasmania
As of May 8 end-to-end encryption is no longer available on direct messages on Instagram.
Meta, in announcing the policy reversal, said it had done so because few people used the feature. But this has raised questions about its impact on user privacy and whether it will improve child safety on the platform.
Instagram has long been a focal point for…
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By Kimberley Reid, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Melbourne
It’s been a very warm and dry autumn for much of southern Australia – and winter looks set to be similar.
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