Five songs into his spellbinding set, Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice genuinely lets the crowd decide what he’s going to play next. There are screams. Many. And just about every single one of them are shouting out a different song title (the winner was “Woman Like A Man”) Such is how highly regarded Rice is amongst…
Read More
Punk rock riot grrrl legends Bikini Kill reformed and not seen in Australia since the 90s played the Sydney Opera House for the first time last night. They were led by iconic singer Kathleen Hanna and original members Tobi Vail and Kathi Wilcox. Powering away through their set list, the newly renovated Sydney Opera House…
Read More
All About Women at the Sydney Opera House has been running for 11 years. In recognition of International Women’s Day (March 8), it showcases some of the most inspiring voices in this ongoing fight for equality and opens up dialogue in the hope for change. 11 years. Some things have changed for women over that…
Read More
Angel Olsen was made for the Sydney Opera House. As part of her All Mirrors tour of Australia, the 36-year-old singer-songwriter presented a beautiful performance that really iterated how formidable the Concert Hall has become for live music. And while this can be attributed to many factors, no less Angel Olsen’s ethereal and incisive tunes,…
Read More
When sitting down to review Liz Kingsman’s critically acclaimed One Woman Show at the Sydney Opera House, the real challenge is trying not to reveal too much while simultaneously describing one of the funniest comedic performances you’ll see this year. Written and performed by Kingsman and directed by Adam Brace, One Woman Show uses self-deprecating,…
Read More
With a disco soundtrack that had more than one person dancing in the aisles, Velvet Rewired at the Sydney Opera House is an explosion of glitter, glam and classic 70s hits. Lead by the iconic Marcia Hines, the night is filled with aerial feats, acrobatics and vocal talents. The show adopts a vaudeville – style…
Read More
Bringing together performers from Australia and abroad, L’Hôtel at the Sydney Opera House combines cabaret, circus and a touch of burlesque all within the walls of an opulent French hotel lobby. Directed by Craig Ilott and choreographed by Lucas Newland and Jo Cotterill, the audience is invited to take a seat in Le Salon and…
Read More
Antidote at the Sydney Opera House is marketed as a ‘festival of ideas, art and change’ and the 2022 line-up presented a diverse and intriguing list of topics from climate change to the war in Ukraine. Over the last few years, it feels as if the stability we have so long expected and taken for…
Read More
Over three decades Phantom of the Opera has been solidified as a paradigm-shifting theatre production without equal. I know many people who don’t care for the theatre who would relish in every single second of any iteration of this story, no matter the time, setting or season. And those who do have a particular love…
Read More
Nils Frahm is just some guy on a stage fiddling with knobs, tinkering with futuristic glass harmonicas, and clanging away at keys with a penchant for building waves of contemplative sounds. So you can soundtrack whatever stressful thoughts you may have brought with you on a Thursday night. Across the better part of a decade,…
Read More
There has been a lot of discussion around International Women’s Day this year, with many expressing strong concerns the day has become tokenistic. Big corporations, largely still run by middle aged white men, throw a morning tea (often organised by the women in the office) and lament lyrically about the organisation’s commitment to inclusivity and…
Read More
Livestreaming from the Sydney Opera House on September 5th, Antidote 2021 promises an exciting and inspiring line-up of speakers for its fifth celebration of ideas, action, and change. Speakers including Elizabeth Kolbert, Benjamin Law, Ronnie Gorrie, Bri Lee, Rick Morton, Cathy Park Hong, and Scott Ludlam will cover a wide range of topics, from climate…
Read More
You could be forgiven for having never heard of a French sculptor named Camille Claudel. Like many talented and brilliant women history forgot, she existed in the shadow of a man and within the confines of a society that feared the ambitions of women. Growing up with a father who encouraged her and a mother…
Read More
It’s one of Sydney’s most sought after dining spots, given it sides right up to Sydney Harbour, and now Opera Kitchen has reopened with a fresh new approach to dining. The venue is now a multi-cuisine food hall, giving Opera Bar more than a few new neighbours for anyone keen to mix-and-match their dining experience….
Read More
Sydney Opera House will present two free livestreams of The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Dream this week, a reimagined live performance based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Using gaming and motion-capture technology, Dream will conjure the ethereal surrounds of the forest of sprites and fairies, with narration of the forest by Australia’s very own, Nick…
Read More
It’s an interesting time to be a woman right now. The news coming out of Canberra of harassment, assault and rape is shining a light on the fact that the “boys club” in this country is still alive and well – and women are, rightfully, angry. Angry that it is 2021 and we are still…
Read More
All About Women at the Sydney Opera House celebrated feminism with a line-up of powerful and inspiring innovators and thinkers. Coinciding with International Women’s Day (March 8), the festival was originally conceived to push back against the fact that, at the majority of conferences, most of the speakers tend to be male. What has evolved…
Read More
Although she may have cut her planned quad-run at the Sydney Opera House in half, citing health issues, Houston artist Solange was very much in fine-form as she danced across the Concert Hall last night. The first of two shows (the final one being tonight), Solange and her impeccable band managed to perfectly capture the…
Read More
Performance artist Bryony Kimmings is known for work centering on the personal, with prior shows exploring her partner’s depression, a show devised with her tween-aged niece and another sleuthing the source of an STD. In I’m a Phoenix, Bitch, however, things get far more raw. If one uses life experience as a platform for their…
Read More
Much like 2018’s widely acclaimed Singularity, a Jon Hopkins live show is defined by the tense relationship between order and chaos. Not chaos in the random sense, but a tightly controlled and wildly frenetic disruption to fundamental sonic throughlines, steered by the gifted musician to transcend the typical IDM experience. If anyone had their doubts…
Read More
If you have ever wanted to go behind the scenes of the iconic Sydney Opera House, and blend your own gin as you soak up Harbour-side views, then you’ll want to get around this exclusive Gin & Tour experience coming early next month. Archie Rose Distilling Co. and the Sydney Opera House have collaborated on…
Read More
Forget harmony, Kamasi Washington and his exceptional band, The Next Step, are here to preach the virtue of divergence. The kind you’d hear sparingly in Sydney Well, not entirely; they are here to show how top-tier musicians can veer off onto their own paths, only to meet back at one singular spot, occasionally checking in…
Read More
Sydney’s iconic Bennelong have not only made a huge change to their beloved wine menu, but a big statement about the strength and vitality of the Australian wine industry. Switching from their wide-reaching wine program, to a menu that is completely Australian focused (except for the Champagne), the destination restaurant has committed itself to showcasing…
Read More
VIP guests walk the red carpet for the opening night of West Side Story. The original Broadway classic is playing now until October 6th at the Joan Sutherland Theatre Sydney Opera House You can find more information and tickets HERE
Read More
Normally when I write an article about a gig I’ve seen, a lot of what I talk about is very subjective to my own experience. I’m sure there’s been times where I’ve written things that others haven’t agreed with. This article isn’t going to be one of them. What follows is totalling and utterly objective:…
Read More
The walrus was Paul, Clapton was God and Lennon is Legend. John Waters knows this because he’s had a lot of practice. Playing the tribute show, Lennon: Glass Onion since 1992, he sure knows how to live and breathe John Lennon. Oh, and that’s along with a little help from a friend called, Stewart D’Arrietta….
Read More
Created and performed by renowned Australian actor/musician John Waters and esteemed singer/pianist Stewart D’Arrietta, Lennon – Through a Glass Onion is part concert and part biography, revealing the essence of the life and astonishing talent of one of the most admired icons of the past century. It’s a compelling story and features 31 iconic hits…
Read More
Production house Strut & Fret are now welcomed regulars around the Sydney Opera House, enjoying a strong reputation thanks to exciting past productions like Blanc de Blanc and Limbo Unhinged. It’s almost a given now that the masterminds behind these finessed circus cabaret shows will be back each year with another exhilarating project, and for…
Read More
A world of starving artists, love at first sight, decadence and jealousy – so sets the scene for Puccini’s formidable La Bohéme. The performance begins with four friends, each a poor artist, struggling to survive another winter. By the end of the first act Rodolfo, a poet, has fallen in love with Mimí, a seamstress,…
Read More
The Beatles’ last official live concert was in San Francisco in 1966. They also did one last impromptu appearance on the rooftop of Apple in 1969 to bemused onlookers. This means that many of the band’s more experimental and expansive songs from their studio years have only been performed by tribute acts. The All You…
Read More
