It’s curtains up and cameras rolling this November with NIDA alumni-powered movies, TV series and theatre productions galore. Here’s your guide to where you can catch them this month.
The drama we’ve been waiting for, All Her Fault arrives on BINGE and Foxtel On Demand on 6 November. Sarah Snook (Acting, 2008) leads in Peacock’s suspenseful new thriller, joined by Jacqueline McKenzie (Acting, 1990) and Thomas Cocquerel (Acting, 2012). Bringing their creative brilliance to the series are Costume Designer Gypsy Taylor (Design, 2003), Digital Design Assistant Taylah Miller (Design for Performance, 2023) and Dialect Coach Jenny Kent (Voice, 2002). This nail-biting mystery follows Marissa Irvine who turns up to collect her son from a play date only to discover he’s missing.
Return to Sherwood Forest with MGM’s Robin Hood, streaming on Stan from 2 November and starring Jack Patten (Acting, 2023) as the legendary outlaw himself. And speaking of crime shows we love to watch…
NCIS Sydney Season 3 is streaming now on Paramount+ and Network 10 with Tuuli Narkle (Acting, 2018) reprising her role as Evie Cooper. Created and written by Morgan O’Neill (Acting, 1998) with guest appearances from Lewis Fitz-Gerald (Acting, 1978), Doris Younane (Acting, 1986), expect more crime, mystery and personal drama in this beloved international spinoff.
On 7 November, Disney+ will release a two-part documentary titled Fire and Water: Making the Avatar Films ahead of the upcoming Avatar: Fire & Ash film. Follow the cast and crew around the world with added behind-the-scenes footage, concept art and interviews, including alum Sam Worthington (Acting, 1998). With so much of the filming done underwater, we’re holding our breaths until we’re blue right along with them.
Beloved Stan original Bump is back for its final chapter, with Bump: A Christmas Film premiering on 30 November. Catch Anita Hegh (Acting 1984) and Lilian Alejandra Valverde (Acting 2024) in the one-off special where the entire Chalmers-Davis family return for one last holiday adventure, full of the chaos and charm fans have come to know and love.
John Jarret (Acting, 1973) and Alcira Carpio (Stage and Screen Performance, 2019) will prepare the cabin for take-off as co-stars in Zombie Plane in cinemas from 13 November. Behind the scenes and ensuring seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright positions every take is Standby Props Alice De Groot (Properties and Objects, 2016). The plot follows undercover agent Vanilla Ice (Vanilla Ice) and Commander Chuck Norris (Chuck Norris) who must dispatch a plane overrun by zombies before the outbreak is released upon the world.
Everyone’s favourite star-crossed lovers return to Bell Shakespeare in their production of Romeo and Juliet from 19 November – 7 December. Starring Madeline Li (Acting, 2023) as the eponymous tragic heroine and Merridy Eastman (Acting, 1983) as her beloved nurse, this new staging, directed by Peter Evans (Directing, 1995) with Jack Starkey-Gill (Voice, 2021) as Voice and Understudy Director, will deliver fresh passion, poetry and heartbreak.
Saddle up for a night at the races with Phar Lap the Electro-Swing Musical, lighting up Hayes Theatre Co until 22 November. Directed by Sheridan Harbridge (Acting, 2006), this is a rags-to-riches musical that gallops through the life of legendary thoroughbred racehorse Phar Lap with humour, history and heart (6.35kgs of it). This wild ride is delivered to you by Manon Gunderson-Briggs (Musical Theatre, 2016) as the Announcer, Lincoln Elliott (Musical Theatre, 2017) as Nightmarch and striking set design by Hailley Hunt (Design for Performance, 2022). Pop the champagne and book your ticket to the winner’s circle.
Get ready for a wildly funny and painfully relatable production as Crotchless lands at the Flight Path Theatre from 4 – 8 November. Penned by NIDA Dramatic Writing student and Katie Lees Fellowship recipient, Eloise Aiken, this riotous new work explores the unfiltered world of 17-year-old Shona with boy drama, self doubt and a brother in the grip of the manosphere. Co-starring Esha Jessy (Acting, 2024) and Kurt Ramjan (Acting, 2017), it’s pure girlhood at its most cringe.
It’s crowns off and claws out in The True History of the Life and Death of King Lear & His Three Daughters at Belvoir St Theatre from 15 November – 4 January. This new staging of one of Shakespeare’s most tragically dysfunctional families features Ahunim Abebe (Acting, 2022) as Cordelia, Charlotte Friels (Acting, 2019) as Goneril, Brandon McClelland (Acting, 2012) as Kent, Charles Wu (Acting, 2014) as Cornwall. Spotlighting their knockout creative team, NIDA’s Course Leader for Design for Performance, Bob Cousins is the set designer alongside Costume Designer James Stibilj (Design for Performance, 2023) and Lighting Designer Morgan Moroney (Technical Theatre and Stage Management, 2021).
Leave your clothes and your Wi-Fi at the door. Griffin Theatre Company presents Naturism, a hilarious and razor-sharp new comedy about a group of nudist baby boomers and their eco-utopia which is put at risk when a chronically online Gen Z eco-warrior turns up and wants to stay. Featuring standout performances from Nicholas Brown (Acting, 2000) and Glenn Hazeldine (Acting, 1994), and a spectacular creative team that includes Lighting Designer Verity Hampson (Technical Production, 2005), Sound Designer and Composer David Bergman (Production, 2008) and Stage Manager Chloe Langdon (Technical Theatre and Stage Management, 2022).
Court is in session this month as Queensland Theatre presents the explosive drama A Few Good Men from 22 November – 7 December. Commanding the spotlight are Todd MacDonald (Acting, 1994) and Jeremiah Wray (Acting, 2017), whose NIDA training will be put on trial in their roles as Captain Isaac Whitaker and Lt Jonathan James Kendrick, respectively. Behind the front lines are Set and Costume Designer Simone Romaniuk (Design, 2003), Lighting Designer Ben Hughes (Cultural Leadership, 2019) and Dialect Coach Gabrielle Rogers (Voice, 2006), who establish a strikingly dark and uneasy atmosphere. Inspired by actual events at Guantanamo Bay in 1986, a trial uncovers a sinister conspiracy that resulted in the death of one US marine and the truth surrounding the men accused of killing him.
In case you missed it: NIDA celebrates the 50th anniversary of the cult classic phenomenon The Rocky Horror Picture Show by Director Jim Sharman (Production, 1965). Happy half-century Frank-N-Furter! Stream it now on Disney+.
Header image: Sarah Snook in Peacock’s All Her Fault. Photo by Sarah Enticknap.