News

Carmen Returns to Sydney Harbour in 2017

Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour returns in 2017 with one of the most well-known and loved operas of all time, Bizet’s Carmen.

Take a harbour side setting with an unrivalled view of the famous Sydney skyline. Build a pop-up opera house, complete with bars, restaurants and tiered seating. Add a monumental set, colourful, eye-catching costumes, spectacular dance and an explosion of fireworks, and you’ve got a night like no other.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Theatre companies are amongst the 62 organisations to be defunded by The Australia Council in latest four year key organisation funding round.

The Red Stitch Theatre Company in Melbourne, the Lismore based NORPA and Adelaide’s Slingsby theatre company were unsuccessful in their grant bids.

All three companies have produced critically acclaimed new Australian work in recent years.

Stage Whispers' Peter Pinne described NORPA’s Railway Wonderland as the best site specific theatre he had ever seen. Picture, above, by Grant MacIntyre.

My Fair Lady Cast Announced

Producers John Frost and Opera Australia’s Lyndon Terracini have announced a the principal cast members of the new Australian production of Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady directed by Julie Andrews.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical for Sydney

The multi award-winning Broadway hit musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical will make its Australian premiere at a newly refurbished Sydney Lyric Theatre from September 2017.

The true story of the legendary singer's journey from schoolgirl to international superstar features a book by Tony® and Academy® Award-nominee Douglas McGrath, direction by Marc Bruni, choreography by Josh Prince and a stunning array of beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil.

Sydney Sings

Australia’s International Festival of the Voice

28 July - 7 August 2016

Leo Schofield AM and Jarrod Carland, together with the NSW Government, have launched an exciting new cultural event – to be staged exclusively in Sydney - SYDNEY SINGS.

SYDNEY SINGS is an exciting, entirely new festival celebrating singing in all its many and varied manifestations, from Bach to beatbox, from massed choirs with orchestra to unaccompanied soloists, performing vocal repertoire that will range from classical to jazz. 

Queen Still Rocks You

As the cast of the new Australian production of We Will Rock You rehearsed ahead of opening night, Stage Whsipers Editor Neil Litchfield took the chance to chat to several ensemble members about Queen, and their favourite moments in the show.

How I Got Into Hamilton

With Hamilton receiving a record 16 Tony Award nominations, David Spicer reports on how he got his hands on Broadway's hottest ticket.

It is the hottest ticket, in the hottest theatre town – maybe ever. Getting into the musical Hamilton in New York is murderously difficult.  It is sold out until the end of 2016 and the formal ticket re-sale web site has prices of $400US (if you buy two) and $700US for a single seat.

2016 Tony Awards Nominations

Broadway blockbuster musical Hamilton has made Tony Award history with a record total of 16 nominations for the 2016 awards across the 14 categories available, a record previously shared by The Producers (2001) and Billy Elliot (2009), each nominated for 15 awards.

Other nominees in the Best Musical category, for which Hamilton must be considered runaway favoutite, are Bright Star, Waitress, School of Rock — The Musical and Shuffle Along, or, The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed.

Bitten by Theatre

Dogfight finally reaches Melbourne on May 5th at Chapel off Chapel and the musical's director Darilyn Ramondo chats to Coral Drouyn.

There’s an old saying “For Love or Money” – and theatre is not exempt from it. After all, we all have to eat, don’t we? And artists will argue that theatre companies make their moolah regardless of whether they pay the artists what they deserve, don’t they?

Well, actually no, not always - in fact seldom in the crazy world of independent theatre.

A Horror-fying Role

Brent Hill, currently playing Seymour in the cult musical Little Shop of Horrors, talks to Coral Drouyn before the opening this week on May 4th at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre.

Musical Theatre can be a strange beast – and no more so than when it is about an actual Strange Beast, albeit with a name “Audrey II”, a man eating plant from another planet.

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.