Craig McLachlan plays the gloriously devilish Dr Schadenfreude, presiding over a night devoted to that wonderfully inappropriate little thrill we get when somebody else’s perfectly ordered world goes completely awry.

Preview Week: 28 October–4 November See Schadenfreude before opening night with special preview pricing from $79.

Across original music, twisted takes on familiar songs, circus, magic, burlesque and puppetry, the doctor sets out to explain exactly why other people’s misfortune is so entertaining. His patients have other ideas. By the end, nobody is watching safely from the waiting room.

The question is not whether we enjoy watching things go wrong. It’s how much fun we’re prepared to have when they do.

“Dr Schadenfreude is the sort of man who walks into a room absolutely certain he is the smartest person in it. Naturally, that makes watching him lose control enormously satisfying.”

– Craig McLachaln

With Kristian Lavercombe (2,600 performances of The Rocky Horror Show) and Brendan Irving. Music supervision by Vanessa Scammell.

*Runtime 100mins

*Contains adult themes, strong language, theatrical haze, nudity, ribald humour and marionette hemicorporectomy

*Strictly no refunds

*Preview shows run from Oct 28 to Nov 4. These are early performances used to test and refine the show before its official opening and a cheaper price for that reason

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