Time Out Sydney Arts & Culture Awards 2024: People's Choice winners

This is it, the yassification of Shakespeare. Fuelled by a playlist of certified pop hits, this jukebox romp billed as “the greatest love story ever remixed” posed a simple but provocative question: What if, instead of joining Romeo in eternal slumber, Juliet decided to live? A contagiously joyous musical spectacular, & Juliet finally landed at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre after being met with critical acclaim on Broadway and the West End, not to mention the rapturously received Australian debut in Melbourne.

Read our full review of the musical over here.

& Juliet blew Sydney audiences away, as did performer Casey Donovan, who played Juliet's dutiful nurse Angélique in most of the Sydney season. Donovan's powerful stage presence can uplift any production she appears in, and her bravado in & Juliet sees her make a divine meal of every song that lands on her plate. Watching Angélique rekindle with an old flame and blossom into her dormant sexual power is something we felt very lucky to witness.

The iconic Imperial Hotel in Erskineville has famously been seen on screen, immortalised in the cult classic flick The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. But the old dame has never hosted a proper play – until Back to Birdy. And there couldn't have been a more fitting location than a nightclub basement for the debut of this candid and humorous exploration of friendship, identity politics, and the evolving landscape of queer spaces.

Read our review of the play, here.

Heartfelt and heart-wrenching with great comic timing, Janet Anderson's career-defining performance in the debut Australian production of Overflow – a hilarious and devastating exploration of women’s bathrooms and the experiences of transgender women – will not be forgotten any time soon. Seemingly effortlessly, Anderson held the attention of everyone in her orbit, seamlessly switching gears to impersonate Rosie’s associates and their various British dialects. Anderson played Rosie as funny and smart and hurt, a person just trying to survive and find joy. She doesn't look for trouble; it finds her. 

British playwright Travis Alabanza's critically acclaimed one-act play made a mark on the local theatrical landscape when an all-trans- and gender-diverse team brought it to the Sydney stage with Darlinghurst Theatre Co in 2022. So lucky for us, it came back for Sydney Festival and a national tour in 2024.

Find out more about Overflow over here.

The Biennale of Sydney pulled out all the stops for its 50th anniversary edition in 2024. It took over six different locations around the city with stunning and provocative art by artists from all over the world, and while we wouldn't want to play favourites, the stand-out venue was absolutely White Bay Power Station. After being closed to the public for more than 100 years, the heritage-listed industrial site in Rozelle was relaunched as a hub for arts, culture and community with the Biennale. Punters obviously loved the whole thing as much as our critics did!

To read more about the Biennale of Sydney 2024, head over here.

The city's brand new museum of LGBTQIA+ history and culture, Qtopia Sydney finally opened in time for the 2024 Sydney Mardi Gras. The museum's primary location is the reclaimed old Darlinghurst Police Station, which was used as a lock-up for gay men in the '70s and '80s. There are many facets of queer history and culture commemorated across almost 20 exhibitions, but the people voted for The Underground! The infamous public toilet block below Taylor Square (which was a popular "beat" until it was closed to public access in 1988) was revitalised for this adults-only exhibition. Impressively curated with a combination of historial objects and new art works bathed in neon lights, it commemorates an unavoidable element of local gay history. 

To find out more about Qtopia, head over here.