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 | This article is an autobiography or has been extensively edited by the subject or by someone connected to the subject. (August 2026) |
Marty MonStar is an Australian playwright, poet, producer and community arts organiser. His theatre work has been presented in Melbourne and regional Victoria, and includes The Wrong Horse, My Father's Story and The Ransom Letter.[1][2] He founded the monthly performance program Ballarat Spoken Word in 2022.[3]
Poetry and performance
[edit]MonStar began performing poetry in Melbourne in the 2010s. A photographic archive documents a featured appearance at Passionate Tongues in 2017 and the 2018 launch of his collection Love, Peace and Harmony.[4] His second poetry collection, Fruit Salad, was published in 2020.[5]
MonStar devised Dramatis Personae, a theatrical poetry event in which performers assumed the identities of deceased poets. The event was staged at Hares & Hyenas in Fitzroy in 2018 and was included in the Melbourne Spoken Word and Poetry Festival. Australian Poetry described the event as one in which poets adopted the personas of famous dead poets.[6] The 2018 presentation was subsequently discussed in the literary magazine Island.[7]
In 2023, MonStar was among the performers at the Seventh Festival of Surrealisms at Temperance Hall in South Melbourne.[8][9]
Theatre career
[edit]MonStar began writing plays in 2019.[10]
His plays include Sir Percy's Conquest, The Hang Up, The Accidental Hero, He Died Alone, The Whitlocks, The Reunion, The Wrong Horse, Madrina, The Ransom Letter, The Sedition Files and Whistles in the Dark.
The Reunion, concerning three former school friends meeting a decade after graduation, was presented at the MC Showroom in Prahran in September 2022.[11]
My Father's Story, a monologue inspired by MonStar's father, was performed by Ian Rooney at La Mama Courthouse in February 2023. The production was covered by The Courier and reviewed by the theatre website What Did She Think?[1][12]
MonStar's comedy The Wrong Horse was developed through readings at Long Play and La Mama Courthouse before its premiere season at the MC Showroom in May 2023.[13] The play follows two unsuccessful small-time criminals whose final job places them in danger. Alex First of The Blurb described the production as drawing on Australian larrikinism and slapstick, while What Did She Think? also reviewed the premiere.[2][14]
In October 2023, a rehearsed reading of Madrina was presented at Kew Court House. The dark comedy-drama is set in a second-hand car dealership in Coburg in 1976. A fundraising campaign for the work was hosted by the Australian Cultural Fund and received coverage from BroadwayWorld.[15][16]
The Ransom Letter is a film-noir-inspired play centred on fictional Melbourne private detective Joan Archer. A theatrical reading was presented at Club Voltaire in North Melbourne in September 2024. Emilia May of What's The Show reviewed the reading, discussing its period music, costumes, staging and combination of film-noir conventions with Australian humour.[17] A further reading was presented at The Crypt in Ballarat in June 2025.[18]
In July 2026, MonStar presented a rehearsed reading of Whistles in the Dark at Kyneton Bluestone Theatre. Set in an air-raid shelter during the Liverpool Blitz of May 1941, the play follows civilians sheltering together during a bombing raid.[19]
Ballarat Spoken Word
[edit]MonStar founded Ballarat Spoken Word in March 2022 and served as its convenor.[3] The recurring open-microphone program included poetry, prose, storytelling and song, combining short public appearances with longer presentations by featured performers.[20]
Coverage in the Ballarat Times documented participants' descriptions of the program as encouraging stylistic diversity and building their confidence as performers.[21] In September 2023, KJ Hayward gave an early public poetry performance at Ballarat Spoken Word before winning the youth category of the Australian Poetry Slam National Final at the Sydney Opera House.[22]
Selected works
[edit]Poetry
[edit]- Love, Peace and Harmony (2018)
- Fruit Salad (2020)
Plays
[edit]- Sir Percy's Conquest
- The Hang Up
- The Accidental Hero
- He Died Alone
- The Whitlocks
- The Reunion
- My Father's Story
- The Wrong Horse
- Madrina
- The Ransom Letter
- The Sedition Files
- Whistles in the Dark
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Redan poet to honour his father in emotional play in Melbourne". The Courier. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- 1 2 First, Alex (13 May 2023). "The Wrong Horse (The MC Showroom) – theatre review". The Blurb. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- 1 2 Bottams, Tim (4 December 2022). "A year's close for spoken prose". Ballarat Times. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ Bonsack, Brendan. "Event photos". Brendan Bonsack. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ MonStar, Marty (2020). Fruit Salad. ISBN 978-1-71613-850-8.
- ↑ "Melbourne Spoken Word and Poetry Festival". Australian Poetry. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ Deane, Josie/Jocelyn. "Various Emilys/Gondals". Island. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ "(The Seventh) Festival of Surrealisms". Beat Magazine. 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ "Celebrating the weird and wonderful". Star Weekly. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ Bottams, Tim (7 May 2023). "Local discount for Melbourne theatre show". Ballarat Times. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ Pacholli, Mick (2 September 2022). "Marty MonStar Productions presents The Reunion". TAGG. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ "My Father's Story: Theatre Review". What Did She Think?. 26 February 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ "The Wrong Horse Comes to The MC Showroom". BroadwayWorld. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ "The Wrong Horse: Theatre Review". What Did She Think?. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ "Madrina ‚Äì Independent Stage Production". Australian Cultural Fund. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ Wright, Joshua (28 November 2023). "Support Australian Regional Theaters on Giving Tuesday". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ May, Emilia (13 September 2024). "The Ransom Letter: A Play Reading Dressed to Impress". What's The Show. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ "The Ransom Letter: Ballarat 2025". Vimeo. Cherry Hands Media. 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ "Whistles in the Dark (Rehearsed Reading)". Eventbrite. 5 July 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ Litwin, Miriam (19 July 2023). "Words to jump off the page". Ballarat Times. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ Bottams, Tim (4 July 2024). "Bringing wonder to spoken word". Ballarat Times. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ Bottams, Tim (21 October 2023). "Poetry prodigy slams national title". Ballarat Times. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
External links
[edit]Category:Australian dramatists and playwrights Category:Australian poets Category:Artists from Melbourne Category:Living people