Overflow at Arts Centre Melbourne

Overflow is British playwright Travis Alabanza’s critically acclaimed one-act play. Hilarious and devastating in equal measure, Overflow is a one-act story of trans safety and the politics of women's bathrooms – set entirely in a nightclub bathroom. As part of Midsumma 2024 and in partnership with Darlinghurst Theatre Company, the play arrives at Arts Centre Melbourne for its Victorian premiere over five nights between Wednesday January 31 and Sunday February 4.

Directed by Dino Dimitriadis, Overflow tells the story of Rosie, a young trans woman who finds herself cornered into a flooding toilet cubicle. Here, she distracts herself with memories of bathroom encounters: drunken conversations around dirty sinks, friendships formed in front of crowded mirrors, and hiding from trouble outside. As panic rises and help doesn’t seem in sight, Rosie attempts to keep her head above water.

Overflow was originally directed by Debbie Hannan, starring Reece Lyons and produced by London’s Bush Theatre and follows the success of Alabanza’s previous show Burgerz. Alabanza is also the author of None of the Above: My Life Beyond the Binary, a semi-autobiographical non-fiction book that won the 2023 Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour.

Performances take place between Wednesday January 31 and Saturday February 4, 2024. There will also be a relaxed performance at 3pm on Saturday February 3, and an Auslan-interpreted and audio-described performance on Thursday February 1.

See more information and book tickets. Discounted tickets are available for trans community, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members, concession holders and group bookings.

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