News

Diary of a Busy Opera Singer

Being in one major production at a time is more than enough for most performers. Imagine juggling three at once. This is the typical week of Jonathan McCauley, an Opera Australia chorister and minor principal. For an insight into his complicated life, he compiled a diary during two weeks in January when he was concurrently performing or rehearsing La Bohème,  Turandot and Wozzeck.

Monday 7th January Turandot Piano Technical Rehearsal, Act 1

Geoffrey Rush Wins Defamation Suit

Geoffrey Rush has won his defamation lawsuit against The Daily Telegraph and its journalist Jonathon Moran over articles accusing him of inappropriate conduct.

He has been awarded initial damages of $850,000, just for the damage to his reputation, a figure certain to rise substantially.

The 2017 stories related to a complaint by fellow cast member Eryn Jean Norvillabout his behaviour during the Sydney Theatre Company’s 2015 production of King Lear.

Megan Hilty at Opera House

Brisbane Performance Added

Tony Award®-nominated Broadway favourite and television star Megan Hilty makes her Sydney Opera House debut in the Concert Hall alongside a 40-piece orchestra for one performance on June 17, 2019.

A Brisbane performance has also now been announced, and Hilty will return to Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s (QPAC’s) Concert Hall, Brisbane on Thursday 20 June 2019, where she will be accompanied by Camerata - Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra.

The Disco Inferno

Saturday Night Fever is returning to Australia, promising to burn the disco floor with a new interpretation of the musical that features the hottest music and dancing of the 1970’s. Based on the movie which shot John Travolta to stardom, it centres on the relationship between 19-year-old Tony and his older dance partner Stephanie. David Spicer reflects on that original movie and asks the actors playing the roles (Euan Doidge and Melanie Hawkins) how they can relate to it.

Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2019 Lineup

The line-up for this year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival has been announced.  

In her debut as Artistic Director, Julia Zemiro presents the 2019 program with more than 380 artists in 245 performances over 16 days and nights. Showcasing classic and contemporary cabaret, the program features 17 Adelaide exclusives, 17 Adelaide premieres and 7 national premieres by Australian and International artists from as far afield as Germany, Sweden, USA, Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK.

New Musical Noli Me Tangere Premieres at Parramatta

Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) A New Musical plays its premiere season at Parramatta Riverside Theatres from 29 March – 6 April 2019.

The musical is based on the novel by Filipino national hero Dr José P. Rizal - a Filipino nationalist during the tail end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines.

Sweeney Todd – Full Cast Announced

TEG Life Like Company has announced the full cast for their re-imagined concert version of the musical thriller Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, playing Sydney and Melbourne  in June. 

Exiled barber Sweeney Todd will be played by quintessential leading man Anthony Warlow and the incomparable Gina Riley plays the tragi-comic role of pie-maker Mrs. Lovett.

The Audience Choice: voting for the most promising new play

Peter Gotting reports

As the artistic director of Sydney’s Griffin Theatre suggests, the idea behind the Lysicrates Prize for a new Australian play - and the source of that idea - is unusual. The wealthy executives and philanthropists John and Patricia Azarias were inspired by the Lysicrates monument in Sydney’s Botanic Gardens. It’s a replica of a monument in Athens that honours the wealthy patron of the Theatre of Dionysus, which happens to be the birthplace of tragedy and comedy.

A Chat With Elise McCann

Triple Threat performer Elise McCann (Miss Honey from Matilda The Musical) plays Cathy in Ensemble Theatre's production of the Jason Robert Brown musical The Last Five Years, from 29 March to 27 April, 2019.

Two young and ambitious New Yorkers. Cathy is an actor. Jamie is a writer. They fall in love and dive head first into a relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

2019 Sydney Cabaret Festival

July 2019 will herald the inaugural Sydney Cabaret Festival, celebrating both international and Australian cabaret stars. Tickets will go on sale from 18 March.