To celebrate its recent 50th birthday, Currency Press, Australia’s foremost publisher of the performing arts, is convening the Australian Playwrights’ Festival. Showcasing their playwrights and the roles they have played in reflecting our society and defining who we are, the festival will be held from 18-20 March 2022 at the Paddington RSL.
With Jagged Little Pill on stage in Melbourne, confirmed for Perth in May, and a return season in Sydne in July, Maggie McKenna and Tim Draxl tell David Spicer why they relish being cast in a musical of our times.
Described as the most ambitious jukebox musical ever, Jagged Little Pill is a family drama traversing drug addiction, rape, sexual identity, relationship stress and more – set to the pulsing music of Alanis Morissette’s seminal 1995 album.
Sydney Theatre Company Artistic Director Kip Williams has unveiled Act 2 of the company’s 2022 season, nine shows from May to December to round out the year, which he says are “the result of the perseverance and boundless dreaming our artists and creative teams have done during successive lockdowns”.
Image above: Richard Roxburgh.The Tempest. Photo: Andrew Cowen.
Pulitzer-winning musical returns to Melbourne following 2021 opening night COVID-19 shut-down
James Terry Collective’s production of Next to Normal, re-opening next month, will see Green Room and Helpmann Award winning actor, Matt Hetherington, reprise the role of Dan that he originated in the inaugural Australian production of the Pulitzer-winning musical with the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) in 2011.
Shane Jacobson will star as housewife Edna Turnblad in a revival of the musical Hairspray at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne this August. David Spicer reports.
In an interview with Stage Whispers the star of stage and screen, best known for his breakthrough movie Kenny, revealed why he took the role.
"It is a musical with great music. Hairspray has fantastic music from start to finish. My kids are excited about me doing it because it is a family favourite," he said.
Opera Australia has announced the cast who will bring Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera to Sydney Harbour.
One of the longest-running and most successful musicals of all time, the trio playing the leads will be Melbourne-born Joshua Robson as The Phantom, Brisbane performer Georgina Hopson as Christine and West End and Broadway musical theatre performer Callum Francis as Raoul Vicomte de Chagny (Image by Daniel Boud).
Image: Marty Alix, Jason Arrow, Victory Ndukwe and Shaka Cook - Hamilton, Australia. Photo: Daniel Boud
The winners of the 2021 Sydney Theatre Awards were announced last night at a star-studded ceremony, with 29 Awards presented, shared between 18 productions which played on Sydney stages during 2020 and 2021. Almost 400 members of the Sydney theatre community gathered at the Seymour Centre to celebrate what was termed a “family reunion” after two devastating years due to Covid-19.
Due to inclement weather conditions in both Queensland and New South Wales which have subsequently affected audience numbers and ticket sales, producers of Sondheim on Sondheim have made the difficult decision to cancel the upcoming Australian tour.
All ticketholders will receive a refund.
This is sad news for the cast, crew and audiences, as it was going to be a special night in the theatre.
As Debora Krizak prepares to return to the stage in Packemin's Mamma Mia! this month, she reflects on the challenges facing performers in her column Behind the Scenes.
How have performers coped with the crushing disappointment of cancellations during the pandemic, and now going from ‘zero to 100’ with the return of live theatre? Can they just bounce back?
