Some productions entertain. Others challenge. HOUSE OF ROT does both while simultaneously carving out its own fiercely intoxicating theatrical experience.
Inspired by the mythology surrounding Big and Little Edie of Grey Gardens fame, but never beholden to it, this extraordinary work from director Dino Dimitriadis and musical director Victoria Falconer transforms decay into something strangely beautiful, finding humour, heartbreak and defiant resilience amid the ruins.
Rather than attempting to recreate the famous documentary subjects, HOUSE OF ROT uses their spirit as a springboard to explore ageing, queer identity, loneliness and survival in a world that often seems intent on consuming those who exist outside its margins. The result is a work that feels both intensely personal and universally resonant.
From the moment audiences enter the theatre, they are confronted by an imposing HOUSE OF ROT projected across the stage, serving as both a warning and an invitation to what is to come. The staging itself is deceptively simple: seven black chairs arranged before a scrim that serves as a canvas for haunting projections and fragmented memories. Yet within this stripped-back environment, an entire emotional landscape emerges.
At the centre are two of Australia’s most distinctive performers. Paul Capsis and Adam Noviello prove inspired casting, bringing together two artists from opposite ends of their career trajectories yet united by a fearless commitment to authenticity.
Capsis commands the stage with the gravitas and unpredictability that has defined his celebrated career, effortlessly shifting between dry wit, aching vulnerability and moments of startling emotional exposure.
Noviello, meanwhile, brings a magnetic youthful energy, combining technical precision with an openness that allows every lyric and gesture to land with genuine emotional weight. Together they create a fascinating theatrical dialogue between generations, their contrasting experiences and performance styles enriching every exchange.
Falconer’s musical direction is nothing short of masterful. The score traverses genres, eras and emotional states with astonishing fluidity. Contemporary pop sits comfortably alongside musical theatre classics, jazz standards and art songs, creating a collage that mirrors the fragmented memories and identities at the heart of the work.
Particular highlights include a deeply moving Young & Beautiful, a poignant I Touch Myself, and a delightfully irreverent Tea For Two. I Am What I Am lands not as a showstopping anthem but as a hard-won declaration of existence.
Perhaps most striking is an inspired fusion of Stephen Sondheim’s Send in the Clowns and The Cranberries’ Zombie, two seemingly incompatible songs woven together to create something entirely new and unexpectedly powerful.
Falconer herself becomes an integral presence throughout the show. Her haunting renditions of The Windmills of Your Mind bookend the production with an almost ghostly beauty, while her solo violin performance midway through the show provides one of the show’s most reflective moments.
Visually, HOUSE OF ROT is equally captivating. Costume designers Nicol & Ford create looks that feel both theatrical and lived-in, balancing glamour with deterioration. BROCKMAN’s lighting design proves exceptional, transforming smoke, shadow and light into an ethereal dreamscape.
What ultimately makes HOUSE OF ROT so compelling is its refusal to surrender to despair. Beneath the grief, fury and melancholy, Dimitriadis has crafted a work that celebrates outsiders not as victims but as survivors, finding dignity, and even joy, within life’s inevitable process of decay.
HOUSE OF ROT will stand as one of the most distinctive and emotionally rewarding theatrical experiences currently playing on an Australian stage – a show that comes highly recommended!
HOUSE OF ROT
Merlyn Theatre – Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt Street, Southbank
Performance: Thursday 18 June 2026
Season: 18 – 20 June 2026
Information: www.malthousetheatre.com.au
Hayes Theatre Co, 19 Greenknowe Avenue, Elizabeth Bay
Season: 23 – 28 June 2026
Information and Bookings: www.hayestheatre.com.au
Images: Adam Noviello and Paul Capsis – photo by Gianna Rizzo | Adam Noviello and Paul Capsis – photo by Gianna Rizzo | Paul Capsis and Adam Noviello – photo by Gianna Rizzo