The best shows to see in Sydney this month

It was 25 years ago New York’s Tectonic Theater Project began to craft The Laramie Project. One of the world’s most striking examples of verbatim theatre, the play draws on interviews with the townspeople of Laramie, Wyoming, in the aftermath of the shocking murder of 21-year-old gay man Matthew Shepard. For one night only, an all-star Aussie cast will bring this impactful historic story to life in a special one-off event at the City Recital Hall.

This muscular, epic and poetic story of love, loss and renewal set in rural Australia comes from the monumental playwriting talents of Angus Cerini (The Bleeding Tree, Wonnangatta). Legendary Aussie actors Colin Friels and Kerry Armstrong play Ray and Floss, a farming couple who have lived off the land their entire adult lives.

Fed up with the rising cost of living, two women lead an uprising at a local supermarket that sees a group of angry housewives shoplift ‘til they drop. (That premise sounds eerily current, right?) Adapted from its original Italian by comedy powerhouse Marieke Hardy, No Pay? No Way! has audiences rolling in the aisles at the Sydney Opera House.

In this new solo play infused with traditional music and dance, we meet our heroine (Vaishnavi Suryaprakash – Counting and Cracking) as she is reconnecting with her childhood best friend. Beginning with a meeting over over-priced entrees in Sydney, the story explores bursts of the forgotten joy and sorrow the pair shared in Chennai, India, over four formative years as our heroine learned about love, met a boy, began a relationship and ultimately escaped its perils with her own scars.

How can one of the world’s most remarkable, transcendent myths of love be possible? Can we love what we make war with? What are the limits of forgiveness? Clever, savage, sensuous and very funny, Isolde & Tristan speaks to our torn world loudly and clearly. Penned by German playwright Esther Vilar, Sport for Jove brings this mediaeval tale to the subterranean intimacy of the Old Fitz Theatre.

Gerture and Abalone are agoraphobic. Left to their own devices after the tragic death of their parents in a tree pruning accident, they prepare to win something called ‘the eisteddfod’ with the performance of a lifetime: Macbeth. As the siblings’ stark reality coalesces with the darkly playful world of their imaginations, Lally Katz’s beloved black comedy The Eisteddfod makes it almost impossible to discern which is which. Catch this inventive show as part of the Late Night Program at the Fitz.

Australian acting legend Hugo Weaving returns to the stage for this epic story, joined by one of Ireland’s greatest actors, Olwen Fouéré (Terminus). In a first-time co-production, Sydney Theatre Company has joined forces with Dublin’s renowned Gate Theatre to mount this new adaptation of Thomas Bernhard’s visionary touchstone of twentieth-century playwriting.

Sydney, get ready to be seduced all over again. The utterly salacious queen of punk-kabarett Bernie Dieter is making a triumphant return to our corner of the world with her legendary variety show. Bernie and her band of bombastic bohemians will be bringing their edgy brand of opulence and otherworldliness to the Sydney Spiegeltent. You’ll be transported to the Berlin Underground with an intoxicating blend of theatrics, circus, aerials and kabarett.

Do you like magic? Do you like amazing views of the city, especially during the bright lights of Vivid? And, do you like the idea of a tiny museum hidden inside a pylon of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge? Well put your walking shoes on, because this intimate show 200 steps above the harbour is something you won’t want to miss out on. 

Sydney Comedy Festival is back with its biggest program ever in 2024 – more than 750 artists are gearing up to flood the city with laughter at more than 315 shows scattered across all corners of the city (from April 22 – May 19). You can expect laughs of all shapes and sizes, from musical comedy to stand-up acts. With comedians coming from around the globe to entertain us in addition to a swathe of local jokesters, we've pulled together some recommendations and grouped them by vibe.