Paul Capsis and Adam Noviello join forces in haunting new Malthouse cabaret

Two acclaimed Australian performers, Paul Capsis and Adam Noviello, will join forces in House of Rot, a brand-new theatrical song cycle coming to Malthouse Theatre for a strictly limited season.

Created by director Dino Dimitriadis and musical director Victoria Falconer, House of Rot will play at the Merlyn Theatre from June 18 to 20 before travelling to Sydney.

Described as a “cabaret invocation: part unholy communion, part elegy in heels”, the work is loosely inspired by Grey Gardens, the cult documentary that introduced audiences to Big and Little Edie, two eccentric recluses living in a decaying house.

The production brings together original compositions with contemporary and classic works from artists including Lana Del Rey, The Velvet Underground, Dinah Washington and Lady Gaga.

Told through isolated characters, House of Rot explores queer survival, resilience, ageing, loss and anger in a world that feels as though it is collapsing around them. Haunting screen imagery and live music form part of the production’s dark, cinematic atmosphere.

Dimitriadis, who has previously worked with both Capsis and Noviello, said the work had been created specifically around the two performers.

“What makes House of Rot incredibly special is that it’s built specifically around the two of them,” Dimitriadis said.

“They’re both genuinely dangerous performers. House of Rot has really emerged from who they are as artists.”

He said the show “doesn’t exist without their bodies, their voices, their contradictions”.

Falconer said the chemistry between Capsis and Noviello was central to the work.

The creative synergy between Paul and Adam is beautiful to witness and the power of their combined presence on stage is a very exciting prospect, she said.

She said the show’s “big-hitter song repertoire” and “the interplay of the intimate with a sense of the epic and cinematic” made it “a show that demands to be experienced”.

Capsis is one of Australia’s most versatile performers, with a career spanning theatre, cabaret, live concerts, film and television. He has performed with leading theatre companies in Australia and internationally, including in Hong Kong, Vienna, Valletta, New York, London and Edinburgh.

Noviello is an acclaimed nonbinary singer, songwriter and actor known for their electric stage presence and advocacy for inclusivity and unapologetic authenticity. They earned widespread praise for their performance as Yitzhak in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, opposite Seann Miley Moore.

With only four performances across three days, House of Rot promises a bold, unsettling and intimate cabaret experience driven by two formidable performers.

House of Rot runs at Malthouse Theatre’s Merlyn Theatre from June 18 to 20. •