Image: Georgie Parker - The Great Divide. Photographer: Brett Boardman.
Australia’s most successful playwright, David Williamson, has burst out of retirement to premiere three new plays this year in Sydney, Adelaide and Noosa. In a wide-ranging interview with David Spicer, the 82-year-old discusses the prevailing themes of Australian theatre, the issues raised in his latest offerings, and names the best and worst plays of his career.
Opera Australia has announced that pop star and champion swimmer Cody Simpson return to the stage in 2025, making his Australian musical theatre debut alongside an all-star cast in a brand-new production of the award-winning Broadway musical Guys & Dolls at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour from 21 March to 20 April.
State Theatre Company South Australia’s 2025 Season invites audiences to immerse themselves in a mix of theatrical drama, comedy, musical theatre and reimagined classics. Season 2025 highlights range through Emily Steel’s behind-the-scenes dive into Australian politics in Housework to the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Kimberley Akimbo, to the legendary The Glass Menagerie.
Halloween is a mix of traditions: in some cultures, it is a day for remembering our dearest departed; in others, it is a festival time for welcoming the harvest of a new season. Celebrating long-departed souls is something that classical musicians do on a daily basis as they reconnect with the muses and angels of yesteryear. Brisbane-based Ensemble Q are completing their 2024 season with a special end-of-year party family concert, with a fun Halloween theme. Beth Keehn caught up with their Co-Artistic Director, Trish Dean to find out more.
While there has been rumours that multiple gay players exist, there is no openly gay player - past or present - in the men's AFL. A new Australian musical, One Day in September, explores the fictional story of a professional footballer grappling with his personal and private lives and opens at the Athenaeum 2 in Melbourne from 28 – 30 November 2024.
Following a sold out, critically acclaimed run in the West End, Sarah Snook (Succession) will make her Broadway debut playing 26 characters in The Picture Of Dorian Gray. The stage adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s only novel is adapted and directed by Kip Williams, the Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company, where the production originated. The Picture Of Dorian Gray will open at a Shubert theater in March for a strictly limited engagement.
Belvoir has announced its 2025 Season, presenting nine plays including new Australian work, multi-layered and joyful Indigenous stories, some adaptations, a Shakespeare and some classics done the Belvoir way.
The epic Australian play Counting and Cracking has opened in New York for a three week season sponsored by the Public Theatre after completing seasons in Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Edinburgh. See below for Stage Whispers TV's exclusive coverage of their first preview. The ensemble of 19 is bucking the trend towards smaller casts. David Spicer reports.
