Author: Naomi Gall

Lady Gaga is not the first singer to embark on the transition from music to film (J. Lo, I’m looking at you), and I doubt she will be the last. However, never before have I seen a musician take this leap with such skill, such talent and such raw emotion reminiscent of a seasoned actor….

Next month, some of Australia’s leading feminist writers and thinkers will be heading to Sydney for the Feminist Writers Festival. Held in conjunction with the UTS Centre for Social Justice and Incusion, it will be the first time the festival has been held in Sydney. Over three days, thirteen sessions, and featuring over forty speakers,…

Using everyday items such as brooms and buckets, the eight performers who make up STOMP create their own soundtrack, a hybrid of noise that form a melody which will see you tapping your feet in no time. Incredibly theatrical, no words are spoken for the duration of the performance yet the cast are able to…

NB: Spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned. Most people are familiar with the story of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Even if they haven’t seen the ballet, they will know some of the iconic music, in particular the dance of the cygnets. Personally – I love Swan Lake – so when an opportunity to see it performed on…

You’re walking around a museum after dark, encountering all kinds of weird and wonderful animals, suddenly you swear the Brachiosaurus just winked at you – is your mind playing tricks on you? Or is it the four cocktails you’ve just polished off taking effect? Either way, this is Jurassic Lounge and in here, anything is…

I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting walking into Hayes Theatre to see Gypsy, a musical based on the memoirs of famous burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee. All I know is this wasn’t it. The performance focuses heavily on the early life of Gypsy Rose Lee, growing up in the shadow of her sister…

In a society where the literary works of men are frequently performed on the Sydney stage, it was refreshing to see a play by an esteemed female writer grace The Depot Theatre. Inspired by the life and work of American poet Emily Dickinson, Susan Glaspell wrote Alison’s House in the 1930s, creating a world full…

Flying candy, endorsement of cheating and a few life lessons – and that’s just in the first 10 minutes – The Miss Behave Gameshow is hands down the most entertaining night out I’ve had in a long time. In fact, stop reading, jump over to the Sydney Opera House website and grab yourself some tickets…

In its sixth year, All About Women celebrates International Women’s Day (March 8) with a line-up of inspiring and empowering discussions around the universal struggle for equality in a world still dominated by the white, privileged patriarchy. While I could have easily gone to every talk on offer, it wold have been physically impossible given…

When I heard that the Australian Museum was hosting a special anti-Valentine’s Day event as part of their Culture Up Late series, I was more than just intrigued – I was excited. I’ve never been someone who buys into the whole commercialisation of Valentine’s Day, having always felt it was an expensive, over the top…

I travelled to Las Vegas to see Cher. You heard me. Cher. I was first introduced to her music as a child in the 1980s and have always wanted to see her perform. Realising the chances of her coming to Australia were slim, when I discovered she was performing in Las Vegas I felt a…

Grace Under Pressure examines workplace and training within the health industry and presents a verbatim theatre project in which four performers recite transcripts from real interviews with healthcare professionals at varying stages of their careers. Created by David Williams and Paul Dwyer, in collaboration with the Sydney Arts and Health Collective, Grace Under Pressure presents…

How much do children perceive of the world around them? How do children cope with sadness? Hannah Cox and Caitlin West tackle these tricky questions in Tammy & Kite, a play about two sisters whose love for each other appears to be stronger than anything the world can throw at them. The performance opens with…

Make Nice launched in 2016 and was born from the desire to push back against the “boys club” which exists within creative industries (most industries, let’s be honest) and show creative women they don’t have to be competitive to get ahead. Women can “make nice” and still be successful. In fact, when creative women join…

Ahead of Make Nice: Un-conference for Creative Women, which kicks off tomorrow in Sydney, we caught up with the event’s Keynote speaker Ann Friedman, an acclaimed freelance journalist who writes about (among other things) gender, media, technology, and culture. How did you start out as a writer? What were some of your first jobs? I am one…

Khon is a genre of dance drama from Thailand that combines several forms – dance, music, painting and crafts. Traditionally performed exclusively at the court and for royal functions, the masked dance is created for the Devine King with scenes from the Ramakien. On this night at the Sydney Opera House, KHON: Exquisite Masked Dance…

Prior to the commencement of the Second World War, Britain took in over 10,000 Jewish refugee children from Europe. This was known as Kindertransport, with the majority of the children never seeing their families again. Diane Samuels play, Kindertransport, follows the story of Eva who is sent from Hamburg to England in 1938 when she…

Hello, Goodbye & Happy Birthday explores the fears and hopes of those looking for direction at the start of their lives and those searching for peace at the end. The cast is made up of three young performers (Aileen Huynh, Izabella Yena and Matthew Connell) and three older performers (Jim Daly, Roger Oakley and Evelyn…

After the death of their Mother, two estranged half-sisters enter into a heated debate over which one of them owns a coveted stamp collection. Jackie (Kitty Hopwood) is the younger of the two and she sees the sale of the stamp collection as her ticket to a better life. Standing in her way is Mary…

Commissioned from local Parramatta author Felicity Castagna based on her multi award winning novel and performed by Australia’s newest theatre company, National Theatre of Parramatta, the coming-of-age drama The Incredible Here and Now looks set to be one of the most talked about shows on the season. In the leadup to the opening of the production…

Choreographed by Stephen Page, Bennelong by the Bangarra Dance Theatre Company, articulates the story of Wollarawarre Bennelong, an Eora man who was kidnaped by Governor Phillip in 1789 and forced to live in the colonies. Taken back to England, Bennelong learnt to speak English and was held up as an example of the relationship between…

Most people would be familiar with the story of Cyrano De Bergerac – doesn’t ring a bell? – perhaps you’re more familiar with the 1987 film adaptation Roxanne, with Steve Martin as the plays protagonist Cyrano. Written in 1897, the themes of Edmond Rostand’s play are as relevant today as when he wrote it. Questions…

The first thing that surprised me about The 7 Stages of Grieving was that I laughed. A lot. With a title such as The 7 Stages of Grieving, laughter was not something I was expecting, but such is the extraordinary talent of writers Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman and the exceptional skill of performer Chenoa…

ASOS Supports Talent is a global initiative which helps young creatives turn their ambitions into real-life projects. One of the talent selected for 2017 is dance activist and choreographer, Amrita Hepi. With a practice that focuses on intersectionality, Hepi choreographed four routines with four dancers who she considers to embody incredibly political practices. The separate pieces…

Having made their debut in 2016, IGNITE: Symphonic Dance Anthems returns for two nights only as part of VIVID Sydney. Internationally renowned DJ Dan Murphy joins forces with a full symphony orchestra to present classic tracks which have graced dance floors the world over, such as Sandstorm, Strings of Life and Finally. During the fifteen…

Set among the beautiful surrounds of Robertson Park in Watsons Bay, Sydney, Shakespeare By The Bay presents The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. In partnership with Bard on the Beach, Watsons Bay Hotel and the Woollahra Council, Romeo and Juliet plays out against an ocean backdrop, with the water lapping gently against the dock as…

Sport for Jove’s Summer Shakespeare Season is in its eighth year and is impressing audiences once again, this time with their double bill – Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. Designed to be viewed back-to-back, with some of the actors reprising their roles in the second play, politics, intrigue and murder abound. Suzanne Pereira is…

Written by Jeffrey Archer, The Accused is an edge-of-your-seat courtroom drama in which the audience are the jury. Directed by Bernard Teuben, we see a man accused of murdering his wife through poison and are presented with several witnesses who argue his guilt. An abrupt judge, two bickering barristers and a colourful cast of witnesses…

The Seymour Centre is known for its innovative and provocative productions, and 2017 looks to be no different. In its seventh year, the Reginald Series present unique performances from some of Australia’s leading small and independent arts companies. With work that touches on transgender and gender issues, violence against women, future technologies and speaking out…

  With glorious views of Sydney Harbour, lights shinning off the water and the hum of chatter surrounding you like the embrace of an old friend, the scene was set for the 2016 Walsh Bay Arts Table. Walsh Bay’s annual Arts Table dinner offered patrons the unique opportunity to dine al fresco on the water’s…