Arts

Theatre Review: The Importance of Being Earnest is a feast for the eyes and a delight for the ears

The first thing you will notice about The Importance of Being Earnest at the Sydney Theatre Company is the stage. Impressive seems an inadequate description for such an elaborate set design. Created by Charles Davis, the audience is transported to another world, a world of excess, decadence and extremely high ceilings. With incredible attention to…

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Aussie Indie Artists: Tania Malkin on her abstract aerials, artistic inspirations, and Fujifilm project

Aussie Indie Artists is a series of interviews with lesser known Aussie creators across all forms and fields. The goal is to share exciting new works, find new angles towards the art, and peek behind the scenes. You could easily mistake the brilliant swirling colours, and twisting alien shapes of Tania Malkin’s photos for abstract…

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Theatre Review: Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill is beautifully raw and emotional

Adelaide’s Space Theatre has been wonderfully transformed into Emerson’s Bar and Grill. With moody dark lighting, café seating near the stage and a three-piece jazz band, the audience is transported back to the 1920s. Kym Purling plays the part of pianist Jimmy Powers, who introduces us to the band, with Victor Rounds on Double Bass…

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Get ready to “jump in the line” for tickets, as Beetlejuice announces Melbourne premiere for 2025

Michael Cassel Group, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures and Langley Park Productions have just announced that the Ghost with the Most is heading Down Under, with the eight-time Tony Award-nominated hit musical Beetlejuice set to premiere at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre in 2025. Based on the iconic Tim Burton comedy-horror of the same name, Beetlejuice centres around…

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Constellations

Theatre Review: Sydney Theatre Company’s Constellations is an impeccably performed exploration into the multiverse of relationships

Boy meets girl. Then meets again. And again, and again across various states of time and space in numerous dimensions. Some meetings see a failure to launch, others bloom, with the couple going through a number of relationships across the multiverse, with only minor alterations making, in this case, literal worlds of difference. Ian Michael…

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Theatre review: Bernadette Robinson mesmerises with star performances in Divas

Directed by Simon Phillips, Divas is a captivating journey through time, exploring the (often quite short) lives of the biggest music stars to ever grace stage and screen. There are ten, in fact, each with their own unique personality, connection to music, and outlook on life and love. Unbelievably, there is one star who brings…

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Paul Tollett, Tan France and Cal Henderson join over 700 unmissable speakers at SXSW Sydney this October

The inaugural SXSW Sydney has just revealed an unmissable line-up of headline speakers. Initially an annual event in Austin Texas famous for launching the careers of the likes of Billie Eilish and Uber, this year the “festival of festivals” has been expanded to Sydney, and will comprise of 1000+ events, speakers and music acts. Coachella…

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Theatre Review: 2:22 A Ghost Story is a good, not great, slow-burn supernatural thriller

Do you believe in ghosts? Keep an open mind and uncover the truth in 2:22 A Ghost Story – a supernatural thriller play that’s transformed Melbourne’s Her Majesty’s Theatre into the innards of a potentially haunted house. Belief and skepticism clash when Jenny (Gemma Ward) senses a strange presence in her home, but her husband…

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A man and a woman sit on the end of a pier. They are looking into each others eyes as they lean in for a kiss.

Theatre Review: Sydney Theatre Company’s stunning adaptation of On the Beach hits close to home

If the end of the world was upon you, how would you respond? Hopeful optimism? Or perhaps defiant acceptance? It’s a question that has found its way into social consciousness a lot over the last few years, and it forms an integral part of Sydney Theatre Company’s On the Beach. Directed by Kip Williams and…

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Live review: Little Simz brings big charisma to Hordern Pavilion (21.07.2023)

Michael Jackson’s iconic 1993 Superbowl halftime performance is one of the greatest displays of performative presence. Famously, he stood still for close to two whole minutes, during which the screams of his fans only increased in intensity. There was a reason that MJ could do that, and not many others could. His charisma and presence…

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Theatre Review: Unfair Verona sees Shakespeare meet The Play That Goes Wrong

Romeo & Juliet is a classic love story. It has inspired many different adaptations over the years including Baz Luhrmann’s famous film and the stage musical & Juliet, which ponders what could have happened if Juliet didn’t die. Unfair Verona is another new interpretation, in a style largely cut from the same cloth as The…

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Theatre Review: Miss Peony tells a courageous fun-filled tale of family and pursuit of one’s true self

At the tender age of five, my life took a remarkable turn as my family migrated to this sunburnt Australian land from Northern China. Little did I know that this journey would shape the very core of my identity, transforming it forever from the days of my humble industrial neighbourhood in Shenyang. As the years…

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Four paintings by Belinda Wiltshire.

Aussie Indie Artists: Belinda Wiltshire on her painting and pottery

Aussie Indie Artists is a series of interviews with lesser known Aussie creators across all forms and fields. The goal is to share exciting new works, find new angles towards the art, and peek behind the scenes. The colour and light in Belinda Wiltshire’s oil paintings turn the mundane into the magical. The soft glow…

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Benjamin Knock

Australian artist Benjamin Knock launches his newest exhibition Terra-Therma at No Vacancy Gallery

Friday 14th July will see internationally acclaimed Visual Artist and Multi-Sensory creator Benjamin Knock opening his Terra-Therma exhibition at No Vacancy Gallery in Melbourne. The artist travelled through Iceland with a videographer and sound recordist to capture incredible footage of the landscape. This new work acts as both a research project and a multisensory exhibition…

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Five Brisbane Festival 2023 shows you’d be mad to miss

The Brisbane Festival is gearing up to kick off the festivities this September, and the line-up they recently dropped is MASSIVE. Boasting an incredible number of acts from across the worlds of music, theatre, cabaret, comedy, visual art and every other medium you can think of, the program is absolutely stacked. Running in its current…

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Review: Reuben Kaye proves that love and acceptance always triumph over fear and hate

Enmore Road was buzzing. Not just because it was a crisp Saturday night in mid-winter, but because Reuben Kaye was back and his presence at the glorious Enmore Theatre was highly anticipated by the public and police alike. Many words have been written about Kaye’s appearance on The Project in April, but it was the…

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Theatre Review: Tick, Tick… Boom! doesn’t fully explode

Tick, Tick… Boom! is the semi-autobiographical story of playwright Jonathon Larson, who was most notable for creating the musical RENT. This story focuses on his time as a struggling writer, living in New York, writing his first musical, Superbia. The story opens with the sound of ticking, the sound that becomes louder and louder in…

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How does technology bring one closer to nature? Illuminate Adelaide’s new programs Resonate and Mirror Mirror will show you how

In a time where technology seems to isolate us, Illuminate Adelaide uses large-scale technology to embrace and connect ourselves to the natural world. Last year, we saw Illuminate Adelaide’s Light Cycles program transform the Adelaide Botanic Garden into an ethereal experience with nature. This year, the creators of Light Cycles, Moment Factory, are turning the “cold”…

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Brisbane Open House unveils 2023 program

Taking place over the weekend of July 15th and 16th, Brisbane Open House has announced a huge program of events, showcasing the city’s rich architectural heritage, cutting-edge design, and innovative spaces. Launching back in 2010, Brisbane Open House is a free annual event, inviting residents and visitors a rare opportunity to explore some of the…

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Queensland Theatre brings Nia Vardalos’ adaptation of Tiny Beautiful Things to Brisbane

Queensland Theatre‘s production of Cheryl Strayed New York Times bestseller Tiny Beautiful Things took to the Billie Brown theatre stage earlier this month. Adapted for the stage by Academy Award nominee Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Tiny Beautiful Things follows Sugar, an online advice columnist, as she helps strangers navigate the contradictions and complexities…

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Beauty and the Beast

Theatre Review: You’ll be honoured to be a guest at the new staging of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

Direct from the West End, Disney’s classic Beauty and the Beast has arrived in Sydney at the Capitol Theatre. This reimagined production brings together the original creative team: Broadway’s Matt West as director/choreographer, Alan Menken as composer, Tim Rice & Howard Ashman as lyricists. Alongside them are Natasha Katz (lighting designer) and Ann Hould-Ward (costume…

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Poison of Polygamy

Review: Sydney Theatre Company’s The Poison of Polygamy is a journey you’ll want to go on

The Poison of Polygamy at the Sydney Theatre Company will take you on a journey. From China’s Qing dynasty to Victoria’s nineteenth-century goldfields, and the colourful landscape of Melbourne’s Chinatown, the play seamlessly shifts focus. Based on the novel by Wong Shee Ping and adapted for the stage by Anchuli Felicia King, The Poison of…

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Grease the Musical announces its Melbourne and Sydney cast

Your summer nights are sorted! Grease the Musical is coming back to Australian shores just in time for the New Year, and has recently announced cast and ticket details for its Melbourne and Sydney runs. From a Broadway mainstay to an iconic film starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta, Grease has stood the test of…

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Six singers perform on a stage with a band behind them.

Review: ARETHA: A Love Letter to the Queen of Soul is a fitting tribute to an unforgettable icon

Known around the world as the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin is one of the most iconic singers of all time. During her impressive career, she won 18 Grammy awards and sold over 75 million records. Her incredible life and the songs defining her career form the heart of the stage production, ARETHA: A Love…

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A stage is set up like a backyard with a large slide projected on a screen. The slide shows an old man with a young child. On the stage comedians act out a skit.

Review: Slide Night! with Rove McManus at the Sydney Opera House will have you reaching for your projector

Cultivating an atmosphere of neighbourly fun, Slide Night! at the Sydney Opera House brings together some of Sydney’s most prolific comedic talent for a night of laughs and nostalgia. Hosted by Rove McManus, the audience is invited to an old-school backyard BBQ complete with music (from the skilful Benny Davis), games and a slide show….

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Theatre Review: Driftwood the Musical presents a timeless story of love, courage and survival

It’s an exciting time for the Australian arts when we get to see an ambitious, personal, and original Australian musical take the stage. Driftwood the Musical presents a captivating tale of hope and perseverance which delves into poignant themes involving the Holocaust, inter-generational trauma, sacrifices in times of war, and the perseverance of art. Created,…

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Scenes From A Climate Era

Theatre Review: Scenes from the Climate Era at Belvoir is a lesson we should have learnt a long time ago

Climate change, global warming, greenhouse effect, carbon emissions – there are many words to describe it and even more emotions associated with its impacts. Scenes from the Climate Era at Belvoir explores our complicated and tumultuous relationship with climate change. Presenting over fifty stories which delve into climate science, activism, and denial, it doesn’t pull…

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Elvis

Elvis: A Musical Revolution will be in the building (Sydney and Melbourne) from August

Lace up your blue suede shoes and get ready to relive the storied life of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley in the premiere of a brand new bio-musical – Elvis: A Musical Revolution. Following successful Australian runs of The Wedding Singer and Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, David Venn Enterprises presents a…

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Sneak Peek of some of the exciting acts of the 2023 Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival

The Cabaret Fringe Festival is an open-access arts festival held annually in Adelaide, South Australia. We caught up with vivacious Festival Producer Lauren Thiel at The Piccadilly, showcasing some of the acts on offer this year. Dolly Diamond is the emcee of the nightly CabLIVE at The Piccadilly. These recreate the memorable past nights at…

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Mamma Mia

Theatre Review: MAMMA MIA! The Musical, is back and…here we go again!

MAMMA MIA! The Musical boasts a coverage of 22 of ABBA’s greatest hits, loved by multiple generations since the super group first stepped on stage in the 1970s. This stage musical, first coming to life in London in the 1990s, has gone on to perform in over 20 languages around the world. It also turned…

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