Performing arts
A ritual once marked marriage as a spiritual death for women. It’s now a stunning performance
The Bridal Lament by Rainbow Chan brings together the ancient and contemporary to explore the line between cultures.
- by Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen, Barney Zwartz and Cameron Woodhead
Latest
‘I probably wanted to be a politician’: The Sydney Shire boy who made it big in opera
A lover of cocktails, cigars and conservative politics, Stuart Skelton isn’t your typical opera star.
- by Nick Galvin
Beauty and horror collide in this famous exploration of ‘madness’
One of opera’s most famous ‘mad scenes’ is on show in Melbourne Opera’s production of Lucia di Lammermoor.
- by Bridget Davies, Cameron Woodhead, Tony Way and Andrew Fuhrmann
Epic tale of destruction and family ties: Our latest show to take on the world
Just weeks after The Picture of Dorian Gray made a West End splash, this local stage hit is heading to the US.
- by Linda Morris
From the footy field to the stage for this Indigenous dancer
Indigenous dancer Thomas ES Kelly says his work SILENCE has a message for all Australians.
- by Chantal Nguyen
Jobs at Bunnings: How Australia’s musicians, actors and artists scratch a living
Half of Australia’s working artists are earning as little as $200 from their craft as the sector falls deeper into crisis.
- by Linda Morris
These are the gigs not to miss in May
A Jungle visit, not-so-fresh Air, an inner-city indie music festival and a couple of PNG-born singers round out the month of May.
- by James Jennings
A rare act of impersonation: Heather Mitchell’s enthralling RBG
Inhabiting someone as illustrious as US Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg is no mean feat, but Mitchell doesn’t just capture her likeness – she captures her spirit.
- by Cameron Woodhead, Nadia Bailey, Jessica Nicholas and Vyshnavee Wijekumar
When this play premiered, its actors were arrested for obscenity. Now it’s back
A controversial classic, and a smart contemporary response to it, takes the stage at La Mama in an excellent double bill.
- by Cameron Woodhead, Karl Quinn, Tony Way and Sonia Nair
A smile so hideous it inspired the Joker: The Grinning Man comes to Melbourne
Eight years after becoming a huge cult hit in the West End, the musical The Grinning Man is heading Down Under.
- by Will Cox
Shift nurses just want to feel safe at night. These are the artists trying to help
A new art project asks Sydneysiders to walk the streets of Randwick to honour healthcare workers and help make them feel safer.
- by Jane Albert