Thriving then decimated: the year that was - and wasn't - in theatre Thriving then decimated: the year that was - and wasn't - in theatre By Cameron Woodhead Normal text size Advertisement Theatre people will be as glad as anyone to see the curtain close on 2020. Melbourne is rightly proud of its performing arts culture, and until March this year – before the longest theatre closures in modern Australian history – it was in full bloom. Black Ties reimagines the rom-com from a First Nations perspective. Credit:Steven Siewert Last summer feels like a distant era now. Looking back, it exemplified a dynamic, outward-looking, globally interconnected hub of performance Melbourne had come to take for granted.