Reviews

The opening of 2026 saw Opera Australia reach back into its vaults to revive the delightful 1997 Moffatt Oxenbould production of Puccini’s classic.

Already this decade the company has staged a modern Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour production (2023) with contemporary suits and jeans.

A year earlier, when AV was all the rage, Graeme Murphy directed a sci-fi looking production with giant screens, futuristic avant guard costumes set on a giant glass circle and acrobats descending off ropes.

It’s the theatricality that sets productions like Cirque de Soleil apart from most acrobatic shows, even those that raise the “oo-ah” and “gasp” value by adding a bit of burlesque. Tim Lawson and Simon Painter know how important that theatricality it. It’s what made their productions like Le Grand Cirque and The Illusionists so popular in Sydney and around the world.

Queensland Ballet’s My First Ballet season of The Little Mermaid confirms that making work for young audiences doesn’t require artistic compromise. This production demonstrates how clarity of storytelling, strong design thinking, and disciplined performance can coexist with genuine craft, to delight the little ones. It is a work that understands its audience and respects it, offering visual richness and emotional coherence.