Cultural Binge – independent theatre reviews from Sydney, Australia (mostly).
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GöteborgsOperans Danskompani (Roslyn Packer) ★★★★
GöteborgsOperans Danskompani are renowned and these two works make it clear why. Both fun and form-breaking, this is exciting contemporary dance to watch.
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Overflow (Darlinghurst Theatre Co) ★★★★★
The bottom line is, yes, Overflow is as good as everyone says it is, go see it!
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Alma Zygier: Premarital Sextet (Wharf 1 Theatre) ★★★★
Stepping away from the more theatrical side of Sydney Festival, I spent an early afternoon listening to Melbourian jazz singer Alma Zygier and her band reinterpret jazz classics with gusto in the Wharf 1 Theatre.
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An Evening Without Kate Bush (Wharf 1 Theatre) ★★★1/2
Kate Bush is an icon, a legend, an enigma and she is NOT appearing at the Sydney Festival. But Sarah-Louise Young is!
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Are we not drawn onward to new erA (Roslyn Packer Theatre)★★★
Are we not drawn onward to new erA, the palindromic (or should that be palin-dramatic?) show from Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed challenges us to move forward and not lose hope in a world we continue to destroy – we can, and must, clean up our own mess.
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Ode to Joy (How Gordon got to go to the nasty pig party) (Neilson Nutshell) ★★★★
It’s like How Stella Got Her Groove Back but instead of using Taye Diggs, it uses ketamine.
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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.
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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…
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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.
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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.
Cultural Binge 