Arts

Sydney’s iconic Carriageworks is set to open an enormous expansion in January 2017 following a recent partnership with UrbanGrowth NSW and the acquisition of The Clothing Store, a heritage part of the historic Railway Workshops network in North Eveleigh. Announced today, the arts destination will put out a public call for expressions of interest for…

Eric André may very well be one of the hottest comedians in the world right now. Sure, you’ve got his standout role in FXX’s Man Seeking Woman, but it’s his own The Eric André Show, for which he “plays” an incompetent and slightly deranged talk show host, that has really propelled the comic onto a…

The Archibald holds a special place in within the art history of Australia, and looking at the images through the history of the prize shows that portraiture has moved from the plain, white man to a fascinating array of subject and ideas on all sorts of mediums. Earlier this month the ‘Archies’ were displayed at…

Bernhard Schlink is a German lawyer and writer. His internationally best selling novel ‘The Reader’ became an Oscar winning film staring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes. He lives in Berlin and New York and he takes us from Germany to Australia in his current novel The Woman on the Stairs. The nameless narrator of this book…

A special pop-up exhibition will hit Surry Hills this week to highlight the works of ocean photographer and social media influencer Mark Fitz (@_markfitz) and the possibilities of works shot exclusively on a smartphone (in this case the iPhone 7 Plus). The exhibition, which has been created by impact protection pros Tech21 has been designed…

Forming part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras celebrations, Trevor Ashley will bring his depiction of the life of Dame Shirley Bassey to the Sydney Opera House for a one off gala event in March 2017. Performer and drag artist Ashley will transform into Bassey for the evening, with a little help from…

Hannibal Buress came into Brisbane like a whirlwind. Giving a solid nearly 2 hour set and bringing a great troupe of supports The Tivoli reverberated with laughter last Monday. Even if you’ve missed Buress’s show, keep an eye out for more Al Jackson. The biology teacher turned comedian has a sharp tongue and jokes to…

Returning for its 13th year, and already boasting a lineup of some of the biggest names in Australian and international comedy, the Sydney Comedy Festival will run from April 24th until May 21st 2017. Home grown acts include Dave Hughes, Joel Creasey, Aunty Donna, Rove McManus, Susie Youssef, and Merrick Watts, while Jason Bryne, Daniel…

Starring Richard Roxburgh and Cate Blanchett, Andrew Upton‘s The Present is based on Anton Chekhov‘s first play, untitled and only discovered sixteen years after his death. After an acclaimed season in Sydney, the STC production will begin previews at Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre later this month. With Upton’s adaptation set post-Perestroika in the mid-1990s, friends gather…

Friends, music, food and wine: So Frenchy So Chic brings the simple pleasures together for one glorious summer’s day. You’re invited to a party and a picnic in the park celebrating life and culture, the frenchy way. This is the sixth year so frenchy has taken over the grounds of Werribee Park Mansion outside Melbourne…

Bare is, in my opinion, one of the most underappreciated musicals. Ever since I first heard it it has been a favourite but I always knew the chance of seeing it live was going to be small. So when I read The Depot Theatre in Sydney were producing it I was extremely excited. I had some trepidation though,…

Sitting at no less than 6,000 square metres, Australia’s largest contemporary gallery, The Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Brisbane’s South Bank, turns ten years old this month. To celebrate, the now iconic space has launched a massive, free exhibition dubbed GoMA Turns 10, which revisits some of the curator’s favourite artworks and artists who…

There may be relaxation, holidays and many other festivities on the mind of everyone during the month of December, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go out and enjoy the best the art world has to offer, here’s what we think is the best of the bunch this month! Opera Australia’s The Opera Gala &…

Performed by the Phillip Glass Ensemble, the score from 1983 cult masterpiece KOYAANISQATSI will accompany a screening of the film at a special event at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall next March. KOYAANISQATSI took five years to film. Free of narrative, the title comes from the Hopi language word for ‘life out of balance’. Using…

The Depot Theatre has announced its 2017 season, promising another exciting year of Australian firsts, new writing and innovative interpretations of much-loved classics. Based in the historic Addison Road Community Centre in Marrickville, in Sydney’s inner west, The Depot Theatre aims to give a home to independent theatre-makers and creatives. In 2017, the Depot will…

20 diverse productions make up Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres‘ 2017 program, featuring resident company National Theatre of Parramatta, as well as major companies from across Australia and international touring productions. “Every great city has a great theatre,” said Riverside Theatres Program Manager Michelle Kotevski. “As Parramatta grows to take its place as a global city, Riverside…

Featuring interpretive dance routines, magical show stoppers, interactive installations, and comedy performances, each Falls Festival location has a huge lineup set to wow festival goers. Boogie Nights will open each festival again this year, with the 2016 fancy dress theme set as ALL GOLD EVERYTHING! Marion Bay will host The Village, with circus shows, interpretive…

Paying homage to the musical partnership between iconic artists Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, A Celebration of Ella and Louis  will open the Melbourne International Jazz Festival in early June. Grammy Award winning vocalist Patti Austin and renowned Australian jazz musician James Morrison will join forces with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to perform hits from…

Kitt Bennett is a Melbourne artist who has generated a bit of a knack for amazing detail in his illustrations. As the above piece demonstrates, his desire for detail produces pieces that are intricate and bitingly astute. He is opening his first exhibition at the Juddy Roller gallery today and had some time to answer a few…

The latest collection of fashion from the YEVU label is out and about. YEVU was conceived in Ghana in 2013, with an aim to support to try and strengthen the economy of the West African country, and to celebrate the vibrancy and cultural significance of Ghanaian wax print and textiles. The label also aims to create…

  Don those dapper suits, tailored tuxes, velvet, sequins and sparkle, glamour is back as the smash-hit cabaret Club Swizzle sets up for summer at the Sydney Opera House. This scintillating new season of Club Swizzle marks the triumphant return of a company that has been seducing Sydney with top-shelf cabaret since the 2012 debut…

Following the announcement that West End smash The Play That Goes Wrong will be touring Australia next year, Mischief Theatre has revealed the cast that will bring the comedy caper to Australian audiences. With director Mark Bell overseeing the casting process, nine Australian actors will join original cast member James Marlowe in bringing the members…

A joint venture between PACT Centre for Emerging Artists and Moogahlin Performing Arts, iDNA is an examination of identity and personal history; and is currently showing at PACT’s Erskineville location. Collective is the flagship ensemble program of PACT and has in the past supported groundbreaking artists such as Zoe Coombs Mar, Lara Thoms, Grant Moxon,…

Held over five nights, Sydney will play host to a series of free discussions held by prominent human rights experts. Covering a different topic each night, the Rights Nights series will lead up to Human Rights Day, on December 10th. Running from December 5th until December 9th, Rights Nights offer a unique opportunity to interact…

Mack and Mabel is a musical that I hadn’t yet gotten around to listening or paying much attention to. When the Hayes announced that they were producing it however, I decided to take a nosy into what it was all about. From what I could garner the musical was a bit of a well-known, somewhat…

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…

If you’ve been to a public lecture in Australia over the last couple of years, there’s a good chance you’ve been to a Think Inc. event. Over the last couple of years the group have brought the likes of Dr Cornel West, Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to Australian shores –…

Ahead of her new show Cathartic, Award-winning cabaret artist Catherine Alcorn toured around the US visiting some of the country’s most famous music sites. During the tour Catherine kept a travel diary so she could share the experience exclusively with the AU. Read about all of her exciting adventures below! Carthartic will be a one night only performance Wednesday…

Carriageworks continue to push the boundaries with its new 2017 season, showing both the flexibility of the space and the commitment to unique works particularly looking at Australian history Highlights of the 2017 Program include the inaugural edition of The National: New Australian Art, the already announced exhibition resulting from a partnership between Carriageworks, Art…

At a special event at Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Merrigong Theatre Company revealed their 2017 lineup, which includes smash hit cabaret VELVET. Merrigong Artistic Director, Simon Hinton said “Season 2017 is a celebration of characters. From some of the great theatrical classics, like Cyrano de Bergerac, to characters that give us a window into the…