Cast
Lizzie - Maria Roitman
Laura - Laura Wilson
Creative Team
Director - Naomi Woodward
Musical Director - Damien Mizzi
Vocal Coach - Damien Mizzi
Choreographer - Leah Osburn
Movement Coordinator - Naomi Woodward
Costume Coordinator - Annie Laurenson
Hair & Makeup Artist - Annie Laurenson
Puppetry Coordinator - Naomi Woodward
Production Management - Helena Goranitis
Stage Manager - Steven Goranitis
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Rehearsal Photographer - Stelios Papoutsidis
Orchestra
By Polly Pen and Peggy Harmon,
Music by Polly Pen
Adapted from the Poem by Christina Rossetti
Goblin Market is presented by permission of ORiGiN™ on behalf of Concord Theatricals
Cellist - Deb McLeod
Violinist - Liesl Parnell
Synth/Percussion - Athrav Joshi
"You should not loiter in the glen
In the haunts of goblin men."
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Goblin Market is a lush, lyrical descent into temptation, sisterhood, and the delicious danger of desire. Inspired by Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti, this reimagining transforms the Victorian poem into a visceral theatrical feast ripe with music, movement and imagination that whispers, beckons, and bites.
Blurring the line between fable and fever dream, Dionysus Theatre conjures a world of juicy fingers and swelling song. Expect poetic language turned pulse-quickening performance; a landscape where sweetness curdles into menace, and love becomes an act of rebellion.
'You should not loiter in the glen, In the haunts of goblin men.' Starring Maria Roitman and Laura Wilson, with stage direction by Naomi Woodward, choreography by Leah Osburn, and musical direction by Damien Mizzi, Dionysus Theatre Inc. brings bold, recontextualised theatre to stages across Melbourne and beyond. ​
By Polly Pen and Peggy Harmon,
Music by Polly Pen
Adapted from the Poem by Christina Rossetti
Goblin Market is presented by permission of ORiGiN™ on behalf of Concord Theatricals
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Director's Note
Naomi Woodward
As a child, I devoured stories that sent me through labyrinths with goblin kings, down tree hollows with gnomes, and deep into the woods with raggedy, grim, cast-out children. Hours would be lost in the beautiful illustrations of Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies and in studying faerie mythology in Brian Froud and Alan Lee’s Faeries. I was forever following robins or climbing into old wardrobes, any path that could lead me to a fairyland surely lurking just around the corner.
It was then that I first met Christina Rossetti’s goblins in The Little World of Elves & Fairies: An Anthology of Verse with Illustrations by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite. Outhwaite depicted them as such quaint, sweet little merchant men, and accompanied by Rossetti’s lyrical verses, I could not help falling in love with them.
Visiting the attic with Laura and Lizzie, blending playfulness and childhood imagination with something more sinister, is a true joy and has brought me one step closer to that mystical place. Now that I am an adult and have a girl of my own, I now relate more to Lizzie’s steadiness of heart, but I know without question, like Laura, I once would have entered the bewitching glen and readily eaten the goblin fruit…
Cast and Creatives
Maria Roitman - Lizzie
Maria is excited to welcome audiences down the haunted glen and bring to life the weird and wonderful story, poetry, and music of Goblin Market.
Maria was most recently seen onstage as Hope Cladwell in Urinetown the Musical (Altona City Theatre), as Tessie Tura in Gypsy and as Gymnasia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (both Babirra Music Theatre). Other highlights include Marcy Park in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Cactus Musicals), Rapunzel in Into the Woods (Western Arts Theatre), Lady Guinevere in Pendragon (Peoples Playhouse) and Sera in Shining Armour (TrailerParkProductions).
Immersing herself in classical singing and poetry again has been incredibly fulfilling. Maria is grateful to director Naomi for her vision and collaboration after a 12-year hiatus, to the entire production team for their guidance and support, and to her real-life best friend (and almost sister) Laura for the joy of performing together again.
Wormwood
Since first playing the role of Tree #2 in Moss Bank Players' production of Five Little Fairies, Wormwood has been a professional puppet with a passion for classic and contemporary theatre performance. His most recent roles include The Baker in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, Harold "Mitch" Mitchell in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, and Richard III in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Richard the Third. Wormwood is thrilled to be returning to his woodland roots, playing, for your pleasure, the pivotal role of the Goblin in Goblin Market.
Damien Mizzi - Musical Director
Damien Mizzi is a teacher, composer and registered music therapist. He has been director and musical director for many school and amateur theatre productions, and is passionate about working with music to support young people to overcome challenges and discover new possibilities. He was recently the music director for People's Playhouse's productions of 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' and 'Daddy Long Legs', and is delighted to be working with Dionysus Theatre to bring the gorgeous musical world of 'Goblin Market' to life.
Deb McLeod - Cellist
Deb is a classically trained cellist, music educator, and arranger with extensive industry experience across diverse musical genres. She holds a Bachelor of Education with a major in Music, alongside Kodály Primary (Level 3) and Suzuki Primary Music qualifications.
Deb pursued her formal cello studies under the guidance of Henri Touzeau. Her performing career includes European and interstate tours and performances with various community, orchestral, and chamber ensembles. Her enduring passion for musical theatre began at age 18 and her extensive credits include professional productions like The Phantom of the Opera, as well as prominent semi-professional and non-professional productions such as & Juliet, Bright Star, Dogfight, and The Little Mermaid. She has been honoured with the Theatre Guilds Musicians Award, acknowledging her contributions to the field.
In recent years, Deb has expanded her versatile portfolio through collaborations with the Celtic rock group Claymore as both a live performer and arranger. Her extensive ensemble background has cultivated her reputation as an exceptional sight-reader who shifts seamlessly between classical, contemporary, and theatrical styles.
Offstage, she enjoys family life with her husband, children, and cats. She is thrilled to perform for this production of Goblin Market.
Laura Wilson - Laura
Laura is thrilled to return to the stage after a long hiatus, and couldn’t be happier to share this experience with Maria, having previously performed as sisters (in law) in WAT’s Into the Woods in 2017.
Having studied classical voice at ACU, Laura has been involved in theatre with many Melbourne companies over the past 20 years. She has been a performer, stage manager, vocal coach, musical director, and backstage crew for over 50 productions.
Laura would like to thank her husband Hugh, for his unwavering support. She dedicates her performance to her son. Freddie, Mama loves you more than anything xx
Naomi Woodward - Director
Naomi is an ongoing narrative writer for the game 'Masterpieced' (BorderLeap/Apple Arcade), working in close partnership with artists and illustrators worldwide. Her picture book 'Moon Sailors' (Ford Street Publishing, 2022/Blue Dot Kids Press, 2026) received the South Side Festival Locally Grown Content 2024 Grant for roving marine-based puppetry designed by A Blanck Canvas (Bluey's Big Play) and is now touring coastal festivals. She is the author of the young reader STEM series 'Wendy, Weather Watcher' (Ford Street Publishing, 2025/2027), and her nature poetry was a most recent exhibit in South Side Festival 2026. When she is not writing fairy tale retellings for Melbourne Fringe, she likes taking super serious photos of mushrooms and hunting for goblins in the wild.
Leah Osburn - Choreographer
Leah is thrilled to be making her Dionysus Theatre Inc. debut! Her choreography credits include Fame, Footloose, Annie, Oliver!, Seussical the Musical, 13 the Musical, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The 25th Annual County Spelling Bee, The Wedding Singer, Children of Eden, Avenue Q, and A Year with Frog and Toad.
When she's not choreographing, Leah serves as Treasurer of the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria, manages her son's basketball team, and works full-time at Australia Post.
Leah thanks Naomi, Damien, and the rest of our production team for including her on this journey and congratulates Laura and Maria on their wonderful performances. Most importantly, she thanks her family for their constant love, support, and encouragement.
Liesl Parnell - Violinist
Liesl Parnell is a violinist and multi-instrumentalist, who performs throughout Melbourne and Regional Victoria.
Liesl has worked as both an arranger and performer with Meg Washington, and performed with artists including Ngaiire, Sammy J, and Vince Jones. In 2024, she played violin for Paul Grabowsky’s premiere performance of “The Rhythms of Autumn Leaves” at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Liesl is also the lead guitarist in Anime Cover-Band Mouikkai.
Highlights in theatre contexts include improvising the score for Jake Stewart’s “Hold Me”, and Shepparton Theatre Arts Group’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof”, where Liesl performed as the onstage Fiddler, whilst playing guitar and mandolin in the orchestra pit.
Liesl is currently studying a Bachelor of Secondary Education (Honours) and Bachelor of Music at Monash University, studying Violin under Erica Kennedy. In 2026, Liesl won Monash University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Concertmaster Scholarship, providing the opportunity to perform as Concertmaster of the Monash Academy Orchestra this year.
Athrav Joshi - Synth/Percussion
Atharv Joshi is a Melbourne-based pianist specialising in jazz. With experience playing in some of Melbourne’s most prestigious jazz venues such as the Paris Cat and JazzLab, he is currently exploring modern jazz tunes and Australian compositions, with his newly formed jazz trio, ‘Ossicles’. He has played piano, cello, and/or percussion in other notable musicals including Shrek and The Wizard of Oz, and is super keen to share Goblin Market with you all!
Dionysus Theatre acknowledges the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation, the Traditional Custodians of the land where we gathered to create our stories, as well as Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people, also of the Kulin Nation, on whose traditional lands this story is shared with you tonight . We acknowledge their sovereignty, their songlines and pay our respects to all First Nations people, their Elders and their children. We embrace and celebrate the oldest culture in the world.