Hidden Sydney brings to life legends of Kings Cross's history – from its cosmopolitan ’50s to its debauched ’60s and its seedy ’70s. Billed as "immersive cabaret", the interactive show invites audiences through a laneway entrance at the back of World Bar (re-cast as 'The Nevada', the infamous brothel that once occupied the building) and up four levels of the building, one 'scene' at a time – most of them centred around songs.
A cast of minor characters (bouncers, barmen, sex workers) keep the action moving between rooms, with an ensemble of well-known Sydney performers delivering larger roles.
Property developer and crime lord Abe 'Mr Sin' Saffron and Les Girls legend Carlotta are name-checked early, and a whole sequence is dedicated to the fate of alt-publisher and anti-development campaigner Juanita Neilson (who went missing, presumed murdered, in 1975). Occultist and "sex magic" enthusiast Rosaleen Norton and street poet Bea Miles are just two of the colourful characters who get their own scenes.