Sammy J has long been associated with his partner in crime, the purple and ever-entertaining, Randy. We last saw the twosome at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, where they took the South Australian audiences through the story of their wild and fantastical theme park. Since then, things have been somewhat on the outs for the duo. Giving Sammy…
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Il Signor Bruschino is a huge hearty romp of laughter and complexity. Setting itself in an Italian setting, but also singing in English, the opera translated itself well to a little but lively audience at Chapel off Chapel. Gioachino Rossini’s Il Signor Bruschino for the uninitiated is a tale of mistaken identity where the head…
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An open letter to Megan Hilty. Dear Megan, Hi, my name is Kara. You may remember me from the other day. Or not? I bumped into you outside The Langham Hotel in Melbourne as you were wrapping up a photo shoot. You startled me. I honestly couldn’t believe I’d met you. Let me tell you, the…
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Mary Shelley’s Gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein, forms an unlikely subject for London’s Royal Ballet. Choreographed by Artist-In-Residence Liam Scarlett, the Covent Garden based company’s performance will receive its Australian première, in an exclusive screening event in Sydney later this month. Reunited with composer Lowell Liebermann, and designer John Macfarlane, and featuring principal dancers Federico Bonelli (Victor Frankenstein),…
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Love, Loss, and What I Wore, a play by Nora and Delia Ephron, is based on the 1995 book of the same name by Ilene Beckerman. We are introduced to five women who take it in turns presenting individual, and sometimes joint, monologues. These range from irreverent and funny to painful and heartbreaking, the common…
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What better way to spend a wintery Sunday afternoon than at the theatre soaking up all the incredible orchestrations by the one and only, Jason Robert Brown. As you enter The Loft at the iconic Chapel Off Chapel you are wistfully calmed by the sounds of a lapping sea, as a ship with its mast…
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Co-comissioned by the Brisbane Festival in 2015, Il Ritorno wowed audiences in the River City last September with its fusion of stripped back acrobatics and baroque opera. This coming August, the creators, Brisbane based circus troupe Circa, are bringing the show to Melbourne, for a strictly limited run. Headed by artistic director Yaron Lifschitz and…
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After a sell out season at the Adelaide Fringe, Danielle Baynes, with Lies, Lies and Propaganda, is set to bring her one woman play, Bicycle, to the Old Fitz Theatre, Woolloomooloo, later this month. A thematic mash-up made up of one part Gothic horror and one part celebration of a female “first”, Bicycle follows a Victorian Englishwoman…
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A once-charming cabaret chanteuse has gone rogue – armed with a biting wit, an appetite for romance and revenge, and a set of lungs you really have to hear to believe. A brand new work from this fearless darling of the Australian Cabaret Stage, Rogue Romantic sees Anastasia’s satirical wit turn personal experiences inside out…
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Time to take a look at seven of the must-see arts events happening around Australia this month – June 2016. As the winter sets in, there are hidden gems all around Australia to go and see: Il Signor Bruschino A operatic farce of dual identity where a two lovers attempt to deceive their elders in…
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Adorned in a steampunk-esque head-piece made of gold wire and pearls, pioneering Icelandic artist and musician Björk addressed a small group of media ahead of her collaboration with Carriageworks and Vivid Sydney, an exhibition titled BJÖRK DIGITAL. “The music came first and it kind of had that sense of urgency about it,” she said, making…
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Buried Country: Live in Concert is a new stage show born from the ground breaking book, film and compilation album from Clinton Walker – Buried Country: The Story of Aboriginal Country Music – which was initially published in 2000 before being updated and re-released in 2015 to acclaim. Buried Country, which premieres at The Playhouse…
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Just for Laughs Sydney will be back for their sixth year when the festival kicks off in in early September. The festival, which brings together, some of the biggest names in comedy from Australia and internationally, will be returning to the Sydney Opera House. Taking place from the 6-11th September, the festival has announced the…
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Chances are you’ve seen the 80s cult classic film Heathers, with its darkly humorous story of high school cliques, power-crazy scrunchie-wearing girls and trench-wearing bad boys. The off-Broadway smash hit musical translates all of this glory straight to the stage, and now after a sell-out season at the Hayes theatre Heathers is marching its shoulder-pads…
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Splendour in the Grass 2016 is almost upon us, and with that comes the announcement of its arts programs – Splendour Arts and Splendour in the Craft. This year’s Splendour Arts will feature six major pieces scattered across the events site, curated by artist Craig Walsh. The Arch Tunnel Response, a site responsive painting by Melbourne…
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Quarterly magazine The Lifted Brow is nearing its tenth birthday, after thirty issues dedicated to showcasing young Australian literary and artistic talent. The 30th issue is both a milestone publication for the team, and also a swan song for editors Ellena Savage and Gillian Terzis, who have been with the magazine since its relaunch in 2015….
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Supported by VIVID Ideas 2016, Telling Tales: Excursions in Narrative Form opens this week at the Museum of Contemporary Art, in Sydney. Running from June 2nd until early October, Telling Tales explores inventive approaches taken by Australian and international artists to the narrative form. Ahead of opening weekend, MCA has released a schedule of events showcasing…
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Sure Vivid Sydney has been seen as a great celebration of music and light, but many fascinating talks are to take place over the next few weeks of the festival as well. Many topics in this year’s festival have a focus on tackling difficult ideas with creative solutions. With this in mind, we have decided here to…
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The 2016 Adelaide Cabaret Festival is mere weeks away and with this year’s tagline a lingering ‘What Comes Next…’, the program curated by incoming Artistic Directors Ali McGregor and Eddie Perfect is indeed diverse and does well in breaking traditions. Taking the concept of ‘cabaret’ and the different forms of artistic expression that can be pulled under its banner,…
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In February 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd publicly apologised to the Stolen Generations of Indigenous Australian’s. Eight years later on National Sorry Day, May 27th, Hart, a new play from She Said Theatre, celebrated it’s second night of a new season at Perth’s Blue Room Theatre. Hart, written by Ian Michael and Seanna van Helten,…
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Melbourne based multi-disciplinary artist and Creative Director of the Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival, Jacob Boehme has 20 years experience as a dancer and choreographer, but his latest performance piece at Melbourne’s Art House can possibly be argued as his strongest creative statement yet. Blood on the Dancefloor is a politically charged piece that looks at…
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At the Australian Booksellers Association Conference in Canberra, the 2016 shortlist for the prestigious Miles Literary Award was announced. With a focus on uniquely Australian identities and struggles, this year’s nominees, including three authors shortlisted for the first time, are in the running for a $60,000 prize. Making the 2016 shortlist are: Hope Farm by Peggy Frew…
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Following overwhelming demand, the world’s premier Queen tribute, Queen – It’s A Kinda Magic, will return to Australia, taking fans back to the glory days of Freddie Mercury and his iconic band, Queen. Capturing the imagination of Queen fans both locally and internationally, Director Johnny Van Grinsven attributes the show’s continued success to the attention-to- detail;…
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As part of the Seymour Centre’s Great Ideas Performance Series and Vivid Ideas, Carnival of the Bold will bring together six incredible artists who are leading the way in creating social change via their work. For one night, the artists will come together for a discussion on the power of arts to facilitate change in…
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The Imperial Bells of China is all at once a vivid display of colour and sound and a glimpse into a revived culture right before your eyes, and I’m not sure which part I enjoyed more! Narrated in Chinese, the staging offers English subtitles so we can follow the tale. We are introduced to State…
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In a very brief yet consuming experience, much like the turn of many events in our lives, Judith Wright Centre became the space for Andrew Bovell’s When The Rain Stops Falling for the weekend only. THAT Production Company based in Ipswich presented the show and made it through the challenge of capturing the fluidity of…
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Now in its fifth year, Oz Comic-Con’s dedicated focus to the very best across the local and international pop culture sphere places it in a league of its own. 2016 will see the return of the show-stopping Australian Championships of Cosplay, as well as a huge range of new and exclusive event features such as:…
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A desire to connect communities and celebrate the diverse cultures that exist within Australia is the driving force behind the New Beginnings festival, to be held on 18 June at Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour. Showcasing the talents, cultural expressions and stories of people with refugee backgrounds and those who are seeking asylum, New Beginnings features…
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As part of a massive growth for the eighth annual Vivid Sydney, the now world famous festival of lights, music, and ideas has been expanded to 23 nights throughout May and June, and it all kicked off last night. Beginning with the traditional lighting of the sails, which this year features Songlines by six renowned…
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Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre, lead by director Susanna Dowling, will present a season of Nina Raine‘s awarding winning play Tribes, previewing later this week. In Raine’s acclaimed show, Billy, a deaf man from a intellectual, though comically dysfunctional, Jewish family, meets Sylvia, who teaches him sign language. Exploring the idea of families and communities as ‘tribes’, governed…
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