Arts

A premiere show for the Sydney Festival, In Between Two sees two Australian musicians, TZU’s Joelistics and Sietta’s James Mangohig, overlap their stories as mixed-race Asian Australians in Australia’s hip hop culture. Sharing family photos and tales from their heritage, the two share a basic commonality, however their histories couldn’t be more different. Joelistics happily…

The Lonely Circus production of Fall Fell Fallen has a twist. It’s not the lone tightroper, and it’s not the experimental music accompaniment. It’s Acrobat Sébastien Le Guen falling. A lot. He doesn’t hurt himself or anything. It’s not exactly for the epic fail crowd, though it does disarm with the same gravitational force. Thankfully,…

La Verità could only be described as a swift fall down a rabbit hole where reality is warped and nothing is as it seems. Surrealist tones are prevalent throughout this offbeat circus extravaganza which revolves around the discovery of one of Salvador Dali’s scrims that was found in a wooden box in a theatre after…

It’s truly incredible what one man can achieve with a touch of sequin, a lot of pizazz and a set of lungs that support such badass pipes for a whole two hours. Trevor Ashley is one of, if not, the best drag queen performer this divine country has ever had. And yes Dame Edna Everage…

The ever so colourful Trevor Ashley is at it again. The man seriously does not stop. Having just ended a two-year national tour with Les Miserables and directing the Hayes Theatre Co’s latest show Heathers, Ashley has now focused and channelled his energies into the leading woman in his life; Liza Minnelli. First off, we…

Two young men explore the Tasmanian wilderness in their youth. Francis, a young engineer and his friend Peter, a geologist, have bright futures ahead of them. But when they stumble upon a tribe of outcasts deep in the bush, they enjoy a moment of curious joy before despair. The tribe are a group of misfits,…

The Rabbits, written by John Marsden and illustrated by Shaun Tan, is an extraordinary piece of work. It takes important historical events and recreates its message in a haunting picture book- reaching children and adults alike. It does not shy away from what it needs to say. The adaption of this work into this opera…

In a time where our discussion is stilted, mediated and increasingly online, community engagement has formed a central aspect of contemporary theatre. The facilities to congregate and share stories are rare, particularly in outer urban areas or those where many cultures co-exist separately. While Reclaim Australia toots it’s white power horn, there’s a deeper issue…

The Fantasticks has become the longest running production of any kind in the history of American theatre, no small feat, and yet I hadn’t heard of it. So noticing we were getting a production here in the wonderful Hayes Theatre I went to listen on Spotify. I wound up a good deal confused- what is…

Gone are the days of the silent movies set in black and white where a comical gentleman enigmatically dances around the screen engaged in a slapstick routine. We now live in a world where sound, special effects, and computer graphics are what it takes to keep us enthralled. When I heard that The Pianist was coming…

Quirky circus performer Thomas Monckton is in Melbourne right now in partnership with Circo Aereo performing his solo show ‘The Pianist’. This contemporary physical theatre piece is set to wow audiences with its hysterical mime style of comedy, and physical feats. I recently chatted to the talented Mr Monckton about his attraction to clowning, working…

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) will be hosting an exclusive Sydney exhibition as part of the 2016-2017 Sydney International Art Series, presenting the public with a major showcase of renowned Japanese contemporary artist Tatsuo Miyajima, a man known for his immersive, technology-driven sculptures and installations. This will be Miyajima’s first major solo exhibition…

When a story is told and retold and adapted in so many different ways you know there’s something special about it. This is of course the case with Puccini’s La Bohème, which has been adapted into popular modern musical RENT and used as inspiration for Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge just to name a few. In…

I have wanted to see Mozart’s The Magic Flute for so long. The “happy” opera, full of playfulness, colour and magic, a welcome change from my more recent (brilliant) but tragic La Bohemes and Don Carlos’. And boy was everyone correct! The Magic Flute is absolutely the happy opera. The first thing I noticed about…

Whether your faith is a God, the community or a Seers shopping catalogue sometimes we don’t ask the higher powers for something but he gives it to us anyway. Was there a riot demanding the 1988 cult classic Heathers be revamped into a musical? Probably not. But Off-Broadway is one of those whimsical places that…

Bright flashes beckoned us towards Melbourne’s Princess Theatre on Tuesday night as a myriad of celebrities sashayed along the red carpet. It was the opening night of Fiddler on the Roof and it seemed the entire city had come out to enjoy this long awaited spectacle. Long gowns brushed the floor, and champagne glasses clinked…

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) have recently introduced another impressive Australian work to the MCA Collection, acquiring Square Cloud Compound (2010) by Sydney artist Mikala Dwyer, who also has gifted the museum with Spell for a Corner, a new multi-coloured wall painting. Mysterious and experimental with an imposing form, Square Cloud Compound is an…

Circus Oz has become an Australian institution in its 37 years of performing around the world. One of the world’s first ‘contemporary’ circus’ – presenting shows without animals in more artistic settings – the group is partly responsible for many of the current crop of art circus troupes we’re familiar with today. But Wait.. There’s…

As I entered the Arts Centre’s State Theatre with a hoard of people old and young, I could imagine a time long past where the magicians, illusionists, and freaks of the world held centre stage as they shocked and tantalised their audiences worldwide. A time without t.v or internet, where the prime form of entertainment…

On the 13th February at Sydney’s Theatre Royal, Leigh Sales will sit down with the one and only acclaimed composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz! There is no doubt that you would have heard some of Schwartz’s work, whether it be his Broadway hits including Godspell, Pippin and Wicked or his work on Disney movies such…

World renowned Mentalist Lior Suchard is heading to Australia this month for another national tour. Following sold out shows in 2015, Lior is back again to blow minds with his incredible techniques. I was lucky enough to chat with the Master Mentalist about his newfound fame, his world travels, and growing up with a strong…

It’s been an incredible year for the Sydney arts scene. I managed to get to well over fifty productions this year, ranging from musicals to operas to theatre to experimental interactive experiences. It seems like each year there are more and more wonderful things to see! With so many fabulous productions it was tough to…

Sport for Jove’s The Importance of Being Earnest opens with perhaps one of the most perfectly choreographed scenes in theatre. Staged within an elaborate house and performed to “Le amour est un oiseux rebelle” from George Bizet’s opera Carmen, we see Algernon Moncrieff (Aaron Tsindos) after a long night of revelry, emerge and move about…

From do-re-mi to hills to brown paper packages to yodelling to being sixteen (going on seventeen) to climbing mountains to solving problems like Maria and all the way to that beautiful little flower Edelweiss, mention The Sound of Music to anyone and they’ll surely be respond by singing any one of these fabulous tunes. It…

For two weeks only, the incredible cast of North By Northwest are taking to the stage in the New Year for a return season. This Alfred Hitchcock classic will be brought to life on stage with the same incredible cast but with the addition of Gina Riley. We had a chat with lead actor Matt…

One of the beautiful things about contemporary dance is its ability to transcend mediums not often explored by mainstream dance disciplines. However, when it comes down to it, there does need to be a message that isn’t clouded by obscurity and organic motive. Miss Universal is Atlanta Eke’s second work commissioned in the Next Move…

Back in August 2003, We Will Rock You first opened in Australia at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre. Written by Ben Elton (The Young Ones, Blackadder) and featuring no less than 24 songs from classic rock group Queen, the show was a huge success, with over 15 million theatregoers in 17 countries having since experienced the stage…

What a breath of fresh air for Australian musical theatre. In recent years, we’ve tried to create our own original work but it hasn’t always translated. Well, let me tell you; this one translates. Starring 11 of the industry’s most dazzling ladies comes a show dedicated to celebrating the works of American composer and lyricist…

In June 2016 a world-first exhibition will make its way to The National Gallery of Victoria for the thirteenth annual Melbourne Winter Masterpieces. Degas: A New Vision will showcase over 200 works of one of the world’s most loved artists in all of his disciplines, including painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and photography. Tony Ellwood Director…

Before you all start to fantasize about Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan, I must tell you; this musical is not the stage adaptation of the 1998 film of the same name. But, I can assure you it is just as juicy, just as sexy and just as heartfelt. City of Angels is all about the…