It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Mary Poppins descending on Melbourne’s own 17 Cherry Tree Lane for an unforgettable night of splendour. Adapted from the beloved writings of P.L. Travers, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh present this new and improved Mary Poppins production highlighting an all-Australian cast. The magical narrative follows Mr and Mrs Banks,…
Geordie-accented, WA-raised, Sydney-based comedian Rory Lowe is all action. Time flies when watching Rory, a non-stop comedian, with ready-made jokes and quick wit to keep the crowd on its toes. Scruffy-haired Rory is currently performing his Highs & Lowes show at The Rechabite‘s downstairs Goodwill Club as part of Perth’s Fringe World. George Zacharopoulos, who is…
WOMADelaide is just around the corner, kicking off in Adelaide on the 10th of March. As well as an incredible lineup of musicians and dancers, a key feature of the festival is the Planet Talks program. Planet Talks is a forum that runs over three days, featuring some of the brightest thinkers exploring the issues…
The Perth Fringe World started last weekend and often as a casual punter it can be hard to know what to go and see, but The Purple Rabbit (showing January 25 to February 5) stands out early as a must for keen audiences. The AU Review was lucky enough to be invited along for…
It’s always a risk to adapt a Shakespeare classic, as there are so many other versions to compete with—how can you find something new to say? Well, it’s never been said in bogan… Bogan Shakespeare Presents: Hamlet takes the most formal, complex material and transforms it into over-the-top Aussie slang, complete with local references and…
One of the most recent attractions to open its doors at the Intrepid Air & Space Museum on the waters of Manhattan in New York City, is an updated experience for one of the 20 Concorde jets built in the 70s and retired in 2003. The British Airways jet – a record breaking Concorde Alpha…
Coffs Harbour comedian Ben Stevenson is coping with grief in the best way that he knows how: through comedy. Using his wit as an outlet for the emotions surrounding the loss of his mother, Stevenson created Ratbag – a stand-up routine combining the darkest point in his life with uplifting stories from his childhood. The…
Best known as a finalist on the commercial television singing competition, The Voice, Prinnie Stevens is a singer and theatre performer, starring in productions including The Bodyguard and Thriller Live. In Lady Sings the Blues, Prinnie brings her Tongan Catholic heritage to stage and maps out a life and love of strong women in music….
Sitting in the audience at Werk It you’d be forgiven for rubbing your eyes and questioning what you’d imbibed prior. The 60-minute show performed by Circus Trick Tease was pretty much all killer, no filler. This was a crazy array of jaw-dropping stunts and circus artistry with lashings of sass and innuendo. As you walk…
Many Sydneysiders are already familiar with Blanc de Blanc. Strut N Fret’s incredibly flirtatious, Champagne-fueled stab at high-class cabaret has played around the city for years, popping up every so often at different views including a sell-out season at Sydney Opera House. Now, it’s back. And quite honestly, we should all be so glad that…
Girls & Boys is a one-woman play that had its Australian debut at the Adelaide Festival last year. The name can be deceiving given it is a rather quaint one for a story that packs a lot of punch. Across 110 minutes, we hear one woman’s story of how her picture-perfect life and marriage unraveled….
Antarctica is a new Australian exclusive opera performed by the Sydney Chamber Orchestra, jointly with The Netherlands’ music ensemble, Asko|Schönberg. It draws its audience in to the endlessness of the southern continent that is Antarctica. As the composers, Mary Finsterer (Music) and Tom Wright (Libretto) intended, the performance “hopes to awaken a vastness of thought”,…
If you’re going to The Cutaway at Barangaroo make sure to wear some flowers in your hair. As part of Sydney Festival, this will host A wonderful and immersive exhibition about Mexican artist and icon, Frida Kahlo. The result is a dazzling array of kaleidoscopic colours as we walk through a powerful homage to this…
With a disco soundtrack that had more than one person dancing in the aisles, Velvet Rewired at the Sydney Opera House is an explosion of glitter, glam and classic 70s hits. Lead by the iconic Marcia Hines, the night is filled with aerial feats, acrobatics and vocal talents. The show adopts a vaudeville – style…
From Disneyland in California to Broadway in New York, America has long catered to those looking for an immersive experience, and few do it better. Here’s just ten of my favourite places to visit in the U.S.A. when looking to escape reality; immersing yourself in art, music, scenery, cowboys (you’ll see what I mean) and…
2022 is the thirty-year anniversary of the opening of the Sydney Jewish Museum. The tagline for the museum is ‘Where History Has a Voice’, and this mission statement is perfectly encapsulated within their new exhibition, Reverberations: A future for memory. With the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI), visitors to the exhibition can experience an intimacy…
Chameleon comedian and musician, Tim Minchin has had some busy years working in theatre and on films. After an eight-year break away from live touring, he returned to the live stage with his show, Back, only for Covid-19 to hit. Filmed live at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in the UK, Back is a clever blend…
ArtsLab is Shopfront Arts Co-op’s emerging artist residency program which offers free space, masterclasses, networking opportunities and professional mentorships over a six-month period. At the end of the residency the participants present their work to the public. More than just about creating work, ArtsLab teaches young artists how to create a sustainable career in the…
WA arts and cultural organisation, Artrage, is bringing a new version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show experience to the stage, and it begins from the moment you enter the venue. For the Perth shows, you’re greeted by a brightly decorated, retro-style bar that serves drinks with names like ‘Pretty in Pink’ and features rows…
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…
