Culture
Live reviews
Sydney Festival did not rise to last year’s heights, but still a cut above many
Soaring sitar music, shining lighthouses and slippery slopes were a feature of this year’s summer cultural festival.
- by John Shand and Helen Pitt
Latest
No serious theatre lover should miss this epic event
This wrap of shows around Melbourne includes The Inheritance at fortyfivedownstairs, On the Uncertainty of Signs, Malevo, and Gracie Abrams at the Forum.
- by Cameron Woodhead, Sonia Nair, Andrew Fuhrmann and Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
★★★★
Sydney Festival
This play tells you to trust nothing – including theatre
Our reviewers give their verdict on the latest offerings from Sydney Festival.
- by John Shand, Harriet Cunningham and James Jennings
Veteran actors play teenagers in a show that is both comedic and poignant
This wrap of shows includes Seventeen; Dog Man: The Musical; Neil Gaiman and FourPlay; Peter Cat Recording Co.; Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus; and more.
- by Cameron Woodhead, Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen, Andrew Fuhrmann and Jessica Nicholas
It’s got groove, it’s got meaning: Yes, Grease is (still) the word
This wrap of shows includes Grease, Fantastic Mr Fox, Harold Lopez-Nussa, Circus 1903, The Choir of Man, and the Peninsula Summer Music Festival.
- by Cameron Woodhead, Jessica Nicholas, Andrew Fuhrmann, Sonia Nair and Tony Way
★★★½
Sydney Festival
Nellie Small: Black, queer, proud … and way before her time
Our reviewers give their verdict on Sydney Festival’s first batch of shows, including Send For Nellie; A Bucket of Beetles; Il Tabarro; Smashed: The Nightcap; Encantado; and Bananaland.
- by John Shand, Chantal Nguyen, Cassie Tongue, Peter McCallum and Kate Prendergast
★★★★½
Review
Opera Australia has found for itself a triumphant ‘new’ La Traviata
This much-loved Verdi classic becomes a deeper psychological journey in the hands of director Sarah Giles.
- by Peter McCallum