Arts

Journey to Victorian London and immerse yourself in the joys of Christmas with this stunning Old Vic revival of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. A truly unique theatre experience, this production encompasses the heart, soul and meaning of what makes the festive season so special. After travelling through London, Broadway and across the…

Written and directed by S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack, The Jungle and the Sea at Belvoir follows a family as they fight to survive during the Sri Lankan Civil War. Spanning fifteen years, we witness the family, Mother Gowrie (Anandavalli), Father Siva (Prakash Belawadi) and their four children, Lakshmi (Emma Harvie), Madhu (Nadie Kammallaweera), Abi…

Oil has had a painfully obvious effect on our world, but we don’t often look back and wonder at how we got here. That’s what Oil, the production by British playwright Ella Hickson – brought to life once more by the Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA –  does in a surreal and ambitious…

Make no mistake, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a bad-ass. The late US Supreme Court Justice didn’t get a name like ‘The Notorious RBG’ for standing in the shadows. This feminist icon is the inspiration for the new Sydney Theatre production RBG: Of Many, One and is a truly inspiring show. Heather Miller is incredible in…

Comedian and cancer survivor, Michael Shafar, is back with a fresh new comedy show. Shafar is a regular on television shows The Project and Studio 10 as well as having a huge following on YouTube. We’ve also captured him at the Adelaide Fringe, where his stand-up comedy shows were well-received. Shafar’s comedy is not for the…

Perth Festival celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2023, and artistic director Iain Grandage looked to the stars when pulling together this program. In his address at the program launch held at the Perth Concert Hall last week, Grandage talked about how the stars are central to, and connect, cultures around the globe; and how for Noongar…

Following their debut show earlier this year, award winning Meanjin performance collective T!TS AKIMBO are back with a brand new beast – SEX FEST 2022. This one day festival is happening across eight hours, in seven different rooms, with fifty femme and non-binary artists and experts giving you the sex talk you wish you had. Presented as…

Prepare to witness one of the world’s most beloved ballets, Swan Lake, as performed by the immensely talented United Ukrainian Ballet, which only formed less than six months ago. From the brilliant mind of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, reimagined by Elena Glurjidze and assisted by Sara Knight, this captivating production tells a classical tale of good…

Bringing together performers from Australia and abroad, L’Hôtel at the Sydney Opera House combines cabaret, circus and a touch of burlesque all within the walls of an opulent French hotel lobby. Directed by Craig Ilott and choreographed by Lucas Newland and Jo Cotterill, the audience is invited to take a seat in Le Salon and…

A group of friends gather in a house, drinks in hand, as one begins to tell a ghost story. The atmosphere is playful, vibrant and full of friendly bickering. Someone turns on the radio and they begin to dance. The throwaway abandon of youth is heavy in the air when suddenly, in the distance, an…

Rent is a musical written by Jonathan Larson about a year in the life of a group of artists struggling to survive in New York during the AIDS epidemic. It Is loosely based on Puccini’s opera La Bohème, contrasting the lavish life with the poverty and homelessness of New York. Some hundred years previously, in…

Based on the 1992 novel by Melina Marchetta and adapted for the stage by Vidya Rajan, Looking for Alibrandi follows the trials and tribulations of 17 year old Josephine Alibrandi, a third generation Italian migrant, as she navigates life over the course of her final year of high school. Directed by Stephen Nicolazzo, the play…

When is an iconic story about a whale, not a story about a whale? When it’s a brilliantly funny Lano and Woodley show of course. The comedy duo, who have had a love-hate relationship over many years, are back with a completely improvised and hilarious take on the Moby Dick story. New stops on the…

Don your trusty fedora and slip into your trench coat as you prepare for the arrival of Agatha Christie’s timeless murder mystery, The Mousetrap. After hitting London’s West End back in 1952, The Mousetrap has gone on to captivate millions of budding detectives around the world, amassing over 28,500 performances in the last 70 years….

By now, I’m sure you have had the chance to hear about, or see for yourself, the “immersive” art exhibitions that have seemingly popped up in every corner of the globe. Popularised, in part, by their ability to be adjusted for social distancing guidelines in recent years – even becoming a drive through experience –…

As we led into 2020, we were excited about a number of museums and attractions opening around the world. Of course, due to the pandemic, many saw delays, and others still haven’t opened to this day. And many that did missed out on much of the fanfare you might have otherwise expected, due to a…

For over 20 years, Milk Crate Theatre have engaged with disadvantaged people, devising works which challenge norms of performance. Developed over the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns, DUST was conceived over a number of zoom sessions before being fleshed-out in the person earlier this year. Drawing on themes of isolation and enforced reflection, the story centres…

Antidote at the Sydney Opera House is marketed as a ‘festival of ideas, art and change’ and the 2022 line-up presented a diverse and intriguing list of topics from climate change to the war in Ukraine. Over the last few years, it feels as if the stability we have so long expected and taken for…

Over three decades Phantom of the Opera has been solidified as a paradigm-shifting theatre production without equal. I know many people who don’t care for the theatre who would relish in every single second of any iteration of this story, no matter the time, setting or season. And those who do have a particular love…

It’s a cold, dark night in Sydney. As the wind whips around St James’ Cathedral, there’s a whisper of something sinister. The shadows appear to be moving and an overwhelming sense of anticipation hangs in the air. This is Deadhouse: Tales of Sydney Morgue and we are about to step into Razor Gang Wars: The…

A Raisin in the Sun was the first play in Broadway to be written by an African American woman, premiering in 1959 and starring Sidney Poitier. Sixty-five years later, it finally makes its Australian mainstage premiere, presented by Sydney Theatre Company. Three generations of Youngers live in a cramped 2-bedroom apartment on Chicago’s gritty south…

There would be few people who are not familiar with Charlotte Brontë’s classic story of Jane Eyre. Even if you have not read the original novel, there are numerous film adaptations and stage productions that have re-imagined this haunting and Gothic tale. I was interested to see what this latest offering from director Michael Futcher…

Three years ago, Come From Away crash-landed on Australian shores to rave reviews praising everything from the performances to the music. Now, the Tony award-winning musical has returned to Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre to spread its infectious joy and poignant narrative to new and returning audiences. This is one of those shows where every individual element…

In the world of endless streaming services and instantaneous hand-held entertainment, theatre can seem a bit inaccessible and highbrow – at least, to a large proportion of the younger generation. And that’s what the team at Beyond the Yard Theatre are trying to remedy with their production Trust Me, It’s the End of Our World…

As the applause dies down and the lights go up, the audience glances at one another, glassy-eyed and slightly dazed. What had we just experienced? It felt as if we had witnessed open heart surgery – while the person was still conscious – and the thought uppermost in my mind was – how the hell…

Delta Goodrem and guests walk the red carpet at The Phantom of the Opera opening night. Experience the phenomenon of one of the most successful musicals of all time, when Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary show makes its Sydney Opera House debut. Nathan captured the excitement and glamour of the red…

Cirque Du Soleil’s first brand new production since the pandemic, Drawn To Life, is also their first official Walt Disney collaboration. This is despite having had a theatre on the Disney Springs grounds in Orlando since 1998. The beautiful space was their first custom built, permanent venue and residency outside of Las Vegas, with the…

After a successful season early in 2022, Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett returns to Sydney Fringe. We caught the show in February, and it was an absolute hoot. I hadn’t laughed so hard in months. I swear a dislodged a filling that night. The show is packed with laughs, it leaves you gasping and is definitely…

This Thursday, the 25th of August, the SOUND WEST conference day will be held at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta. The conference will bring a shining light on the hotbed of talent coming from Parramatta and Greater Western Sydney. Amongst the speakers will be the rapper Masked Wolf, Dylan Alcott AO, Fred Schebesta (founder of Finder),…

On Monday 16 November 2009, the Australian Parliament formally acknowledged and apologised for the harsh treatment and ongoing trauma of Forgotten Australians and former child migrants. There are an estimated 500,000 children who experienced care in institutions in Australia throughout the 20th century – Kaz Therese’s grandmother and mother were two of them. Incorporating video,…