Few texts are as closely associated with a single era – or as widely mischaracterised – as The Great Gatsby. In truth, the two go hand in hand; the imagined glamour of the Roaring Twenties often serves to obscure just how deeply cynical and pessimistic the novel is. Despite its brevity, abridged adaptations inevitably prioritise…
On the surface, this deeply confrontational play deals with several heavy themes, including (but not limited to) trauma, discrimination and the destructive aftermath of both. But it’s equally concerned with an even more ambitious matter: the nature of truth. The action begins with several figures in hazmat suits sweeping a crime scene as Laurenz Laufenberg's…
This is not the story of Josephine Baker that you know. As the title suggests, it is “for”, rather than “about” the famed singer, dancer and actress. Baker’s story defies neat narratives, and while this performance touches on many elements of her life, from her onstage persona to her Rainbow Tribe of adopted children and…
The most popular prestige television shows of recent years have made it clear that we all love to watch rich people being awful, but Chekhov’s 1904 masterpiece is a reminder that this is nothing new. The action in The Cherry Orchard centres around an aristocratic family in terminal decline, and the coddled individuals who prioritise…
The opening night of Head Over Heels could have been a complete disaster. Days before the season commenced, the air conditioning system broke, the preview was cancelled completely, and one of the main performers was struck down with illness, unable to perform. Having the director announce this before the lights went down makes you wonder…
Nestled amongst the attractions of sideshow alley at the rear of the Garden of Unearthly Delights is an unassuming collection of white ocean containers. They house three of the Darkfield experiences, Seance, Flight and Invisible. The nearby screams of patrons being flung high in the air on the various rides lend a strange contrast to…
Oscar Wilde‘s farce The Importance of Being Earnest is all about two young men about town who lead double lives, avoiding their social obligations. It is normally played in a rather rigid format by rather experienced thespians. It’s a play that explores explores themes of identity, social expectations, and the nature of truth and deception. Which…
The Greek mythological tragedy Orpheus and Eurydice is an epic tale of how the musician Orpheus descends into the Underworld to rescue his wife, Eurydice, after she dies from a snake bite on their wedding day. His music moves Hades, allowing her to return, on the condition that Orpheus walks ahead and does not look…
Holden Street is known as “Home of Theatre” during the Adelaide Fringe. For some 23 years, the artist-run hub has been at the forefront of cutting-edge theatre. Hidden away in Hindmarsh, it’s like a secret gem in the inner west. This reviewer saw a small selection of plays, each of which were world class, thought-provoking…
Three friends, one artwork, three very different perspectives. ART The Play, written by French Playwright Yasmina Reza and directed by Lee Lewis, is the story of three friends – Marc (Richard Roxburgh), Serge (Damon Herriman) and Yvan (Toby Schmitz) – whose 20+ year friendship is thrown into turmoil when Serge decides to spend 160,000 euro…
Irrespective of how old you are, the memories of adolescence are never far behind. The awkwardness and insecurity of growing into yourself – both physically and mentally – and the overwhelming sense that your parents will simply never understand. And if they try, well that’s just so embarrassing. Perhaps that is what makes the character…
Frank Roberts, a Widjabul Wia-bal and Githabul man, known as ‘Honest Frank’, was Australia’s first Aboriginal Olympian. A man of incredible integrity and determination, Frank’s skills in a boxing ring saw him selected for the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. In My Cousin Frank at the Sydney Opera House, his first cousin, artistic and cultural leader…
There’s something exciting about A Christmas Carol returning to the Melbourne theatre each year. Much like the season itself, Charles Dickens’ timeless tale has a way of circling back with a sense of familiar comfort, but the Old Vic’s acclaimed production manages to make that return feel exciting rather than routine. Back at the Comedy…
With sexual fluidity becoming more a open topic of discussion and exploration, it’s quite surprising how revelatory something like Gravity still feels in 2025; Bradford Elmore‘s sexual celebratory romantic dramedy that flips the usual boy-meets-girl narrative with a boy-meets-boy-meets-girl layering. A tale of two distinct love stories unfolding simultaneously, Gravity initially sets up the meet-cute between Heather (Annabelle Kablean, comedically…
The 2022 film version of The Whale, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Brendan Fraser, earned two Oscars and a BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Samuel D. Hunter‘s play, written in 2012, centres on a morbidly obese online English tutor trying to reconcile with his perpetually angry daughter. The University of Adelaide Theatre Guild,…
It’s 1968, and Hair has just brought a story about identity, hippie culture and war to the musical theatre scene. Cut to nearly 60 years later, and the same cultural movement is making its way through Australia, capturing the audience with an emotion-fuelled tribal ritual. This tribal love rock musical is hinged around 60s counterculture,…
Appropriately pitched as a “stripped-back, rough-and-ready reimagining”, Calamity Jane at the Sydney Opera House is a rowdy and rambunctious tale of the well-known American frontierswoman. Known as a sharpshooter and avid storyteller, there have been many reprising’s of this infamous character – Doris Day in the 1953 film, Robin Weigert in the 2004 series Deadwood…
If you’re a popular-enough movie with a strong feminine edge, there’s a good chance you have been, will be, or are receiving the screen-to-stage treatment. Over the last near-two decades we’ve seen such titles as Legally Blonde, Bring It On, 13 Going On 30, and Mean Girls all get the musical treatment, and now, the…
Mario Marchese, known to his adoring fans as Mario the Maker Magician, is a fireball of energy. This is what you will expect for the 60 minutes he graces the stage in his high-octane magic show. Not only is Mario the Magician absolutely hilarious, but he is also the most friendly and personable man you…
Jonathan Larson’s RENT musical was first performed on stage on 26 January 1996, the day after he passed away suddenly in his kitchen. Larson didn’t get to witness the lasting impact his creative work has had at a global level. Almost 30 years later, RENT returns to our country and finds itself in the most…
Think of it as Shakespeare for the TikTok generation, The Lovers, courtesy of lyricist Laura Murphy, injects the same type of energy Baz Luhrmann laced his Romeo & Juliet telling with across the Midsummer Night’s Dream narrative, reimagining the classic chaos of the original love story with a serious pop sensibility. The core story itself…
Put on your white glove, dust off your red “Thriller” jacket and get ready to witness a musical production fit only for the King of Pop. Michael Jackson is more than a name, he’s a symbol of creativity, aspiration and resilience: a true superstar who transcended musical and cultural boundaries to unite the world through…
Musicians taking centre stage on Broadway is nothing new. In recent years, artists like David Byrne and Bruce Springsteen have transformed the Broadway stage into long-running residencies. Scripted productions about real and imagined musicians, like MJ The Musical (about the life and music of Michael Jackson) or the play Stereophonic, have been awarded Tony’s, and have…
Anne Frank is a name synonymous with youth, innocence, and heartbreaking tragedy. Her diaries, published after her death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945, detailed her life, and that of her family, hiding in an annex in Amsterdam during World War II. The Diary of a Young Girl, commonly referred to as The Diary…
Inspired by the music of Dolly Parton, Here You Come Again is a new musical that celebrates the country musician in the most unique way. The story centres on a forty-year-old man, Kevin (Dash Kruck), who is caught in a mid-life crisis during the pandemic. For this iteration of Here You Come Again, he is…
When an ensemble of accident-prone actors take on a murder mystery performance, everything that can go wrong… does. But amount of chaos can crush their spirits, as they battle the odds to make it to their final curtain call – by any means necessary. Never has a play gone so wrong, yet felt so right….
The 39 Steps’ evolution dates back to the novel of the same title by John Buchan, published in 1915, Alfred Hitchcock’s film in 1935, then reimagined on stage in 1996 by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, and then Patrick Barlow in 2005. As eloquently noted by director Damien Ryan, “The stage version winks at the…
Agatha Christie is a timeless story-teller, weaving intriguing stories about complex characters with dark secrets. With some 66 crime novels, 150 short stories and over 25 plays, she is regarded as the Queen of Crime. Director Robyn Nevin AO has bought And Then There Were None to life with style and humour. The play is set…
It doesn’t need to be the hard knock life. Take a trip down Easy Street with one of Broadway’s brightest sources of love, laughter and happiness. Returning to Australian shores, Annie the Musical has delighted audiences worldwide for nearly 50 years, capturing the hearts of generation after generation. It’s a truly joyous adventure following the…
Part of the winter school holiday line-up at the Sydney Opera House (see: Kids & Families | Sydney Opera House), The Twits is a staging of the disgusting(!) Roald Dahl book. The people behind the show, Shake and Stir Theatre Productions, really lead the way with children’s theatre (that can be sincerely enjoyed by parents…
