Why would two actors,  who are married in real life, pretend to eviscerate each other night after night in the emotionally brutal play Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? Kat Stewart and David Whitely first performed this Edward Albee classic on the small, indy stage of Melbourne's Red Stitch Theatre and it was a hit. Now it's being remounted by Sydney Theatre Company.

Composer, musician and director Lamine  Sonko is a guewel, a traditional custodian of cultural knowledge in West Africa. Over seven years, Lamine has travelled to remote and sacred places in Senegal to better understand how ancient cosmology and metaphysical knowledge influence guewel traditions. The result is a show called Guewel, at Melbourne's Arts House and made in collaboration with the National Theatre of Senegal.

Smallpox was eradicated from the planet in 1980 -- the only human disease which has been totally wiped out! But for centuries before this, an inoculation against smallpox was already in existence in different parts of the world and it was practised mostly by women. Playwright Melanie Tait has used this medical history for the basis of her latest play The Royal Experiment, performed on stage by third year NIDA students.