Category: Theatre
-
Tiddas (Belvoir) ★★★
When Anita Heiss’ Tiddas is funny, it’s damn funny, and when it’s didactic, it’s like having wikipedia recited to you. The two tones struggle to co-exist in Heiss’ stage adaptation of her 2014 novel about five friends whose book club becomes a meeting place for ideas, angst and more.
-
Masterclass (Sydney Opera House) ★★★★
Feeling the energy in the theatre shift from gleeful laughter to uncomfortable tittering to bewildered joy and finally buzzing chatter is simply delicious. This is a brilliant example of how theatrical forms can be used to enlighten and subvert. Yes, it’s a two hander about sexism in the arts, but that description barely scratches the…
-
Send For Nellie (Wharf 1 Theatre) ★★1/2
The legacy of performer Nellie Small is given a whistle-stop tour in Send For Nellie, a cabaret/vaudeville performance at Sydney Festival that showcases the vocals of Elenoa Rokobaro as the legendary Sydney entertainer.
-
Smashed: The Nightcap (Wharf Theatre) ★★★★★
My Sydney Festival kicked off with an almighty bang thanks to Victoria Falconer and her chaotic cabaret, Smashed: The Nightcap. Sydney Theatre Co’s wonderfully restored Wharf Theatre is being delightfully debased by this blend of drag, burlesque, circus and cabaret. Grab a drink and jump on this bawdy ride.
-
Midnight Murder at Hamlington Hall (Ensemble) ★★★1/2
Midnight Murder at Hamlington Hall isn’t the first play to derive comedy from a night at the theatre going wrong before your eyes, but it may be the first to do so with such a tender heart.
-
35mm: A Musical Exhibition (Flight Path) ★★★★
35mm: A Musical Exhibition has the energy of noughties rock radio. So get ready for your girl-rock anthems, indie romance belters and quirky singer-songwriters all mixed with musical theatre storytelling.
-
Looking Ahead to 2024 – Final Update!
Judging by the announced theatrical seasons, 2024 is looking pretty stacked with great stuff on our stages. I’ve done a bit of a dive into the seasons for Sydney Theatre Co., Belvoir, Ensemble, Griffin, Opera Australia, Hayes, Seymour Center and more to make some plans.
-
The Seagull (Sydney Theatre Co) ★★★1/2
A familiar, classic play, adapted by a familiar, acclaimed playwright, starring a lot of familiar, adored faces. This should be an end-of-year showstopper, but as good as it is The Seagull is a bit less than the sum of its exciting parts.
-
Darwin’s Reptilia (Belvoir 25a) ★★1/2
Darwin’s Reptilia, closing out 2023’s Belvoir 25a season, is bonkers. Whether you think it’s “good bonkers” or “bad bonkers” is going to be entirely up to you, but at $25 a ticket it’s hardly a huge investment.
-
The Master & Margarita (Belvoir) ★★★★★
When I read that Belvoir’s The Master & Margarita was “devised by the cast”, in addition to “duration: 3hrs” and adapted from a Russian novel… well my brain was prepared for a whole evening of pain. I should have known better.
Cultural Binge 