Big Religion

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https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2026/big-religion

Date Reviewed: 27/08/2026

A Catholic Fever Dream

Saint Kilda is an odd suburb. Old beachside glamour and community have been slowly washed away as each new build rises up from the ashes of the old. Society grinds ever forward, and yet the same faces seem to populate very similar bodies. Old pubs collapse and close only to be replaced with slightly more shoddy pubs half a decade later. Regardless of that, I will say:

Saint Kilda and its surrounding pockets/suburbs possess a great theatre scene, and it strikes an interesting middle balance where you can see remarkable, original, and Australian plays. Fruitcake Productions and Maddi Formosa’s Big Religion is poised to be a great Melbourne play. The audience beside me seemed nervous and introspective, unsure if this was a grand anti-religious play or an emotional dramedy.

The playful opening scene worked well to shatter this preconceived worry in the audience. Rather than immediately declaring its intentions, the play establishes an easygoing tone, allowing its more serious ideas to emerge passively over time.

Using schoolgirls in a play like this worked well; it allowed us to explore their naive faith and how narrow their perspective has grown through a private school education. In an increasingly more open and public world, where cultures and societies are mixing, blending, and growing strong through that process, I found a play questioning religion intriguing. There is something compelling about placing these questions in the mouths of young women whose understanding of the world has been shaped by an insular education.

Lighting is used cleverly to drive the narrative forward and provide a subtle pacing. The projected scene titles also do a great job of guiding the audience and emphasising some of the substance in the work. These theatrical devices award the production a confident rhythm without overwhelming individual performances.

The play seems to begin exploring the relationships between human and cosmic religious elements in everyday life. Despite only having four characters onstage, the show felt full. Every role felt well-rounded and used onstage superbly; nothing felt wasted or unnecessary. The production makes remarkably effective use of its cast.

The angels are fascinating characters. Their near-human presence in the lives of ordinary people is both tragic and beautiful. They are unique entities onstage: equal parts bureaucratic, sickly sweet, naive, and vaguely supernatural. They are superbly written theatrical characters.

That said, my only concern with Big Religion was with the writing. The core elements are present in the work, but its indecisiveness occasionally pokes through. Some of the themes slowly fell apart as the plot progressed but the piece was held together by strong acting.

What does the play ultimately want to say about faith? Is the audience expected to sympathise with schoolgirls who believe and yet are also sceptical? Is this an anti-religious play attempting to sway its audience into atheism? Is religion being utilised as a framework through which the play can explore friendship, love, and relationships?

Faith and belief in this play felt like an immovable wall, rather than a challengeable concept. Based on this, I felt the work uses the religious elements within the work to tell a moving story about friendship, love, and relationships. Rather than tackle religion in a combative or substantive way.

Big Religion is bold and dynamic but it lacks the muscles in its writing to make it a truly great religious play. It has the potential to be an Australian response to Graham Greene’s The Potting Shed.

Yet I was surprised by the emotions in this work; the themes of belonging, friendship, and love emerged slowly over time and were performed with sublime skill by the cast. Whatever uncertainty exists in the writing is overcome by the sheer strength of the cast. Fruitcake Productions and Maddi Formosa’s Big Religion is an intriguing piece of theatre that should be performed again, and I command you to see this compelling slice of theatre.

Reviewed by Nic