State Theatre

Well Frodo, we’re not in The Shire anymore.  Sydney is in for a great big year of musical theatre, and it’s already off to an epic start with the Australian debut of The Lord of the Rings - A Musical Tale, which seeks to bring the Middle-earth of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy series to the State Theatre for one month to rule them all (cough cough) before embarking on a national tour. This tour commemorates the 70th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring hitting the shelves in 1954, which is of course the first book of the trilogy that inspired Peter Jackson’s blockbuster films in the early 2000s.  For elder Millennials like me, the franchise conjures memories of a simpler time: a time when movies were treated more like a coveted form of storytelling rather than just another option in an endless barrage of ‘content’ to ‘stream’. A time when I would go to the local cinema to watch each new instalment in the adventures of my favourite beardy boys club with my dad, who even loaded my sister and I into the car for a day trip to Sydney to check out an epic exhibition about how those epic movies were made across the ditch in New Zealand. (So many used prosthetics! So cool!) I believe that there’s elements of LOTR lore that are so inescapable that you need not have watched the movies or read the books to get it. (Am I right, Preciousss?) There have been several attempts to realise the story of Frodo and the One Ring on stage, as musical theatre fanatics and Tolkien die-hards...

Has Australia produced a better pop singer than Tina Arena? We're struggling to come up with any who can rival the warmth and power of her voice, her astonishing skill as a storyteller, and her songwriting chops. With all these elements coming together, a night in her presence is a near-religious experience. A couple of days after Sydneysiders were swooning over her performance for the Sydney Opera House’s outdoor concert series with Richard Marx, our queen of the power ballad announced that she’ll be on the road again in 2025 for her encore Don’t Ask Again Tour in April and May, and she'll be performing all her famous hits (did you know 'Sorrento Moon' is about that Sorrento, not the one in Italy?). Following the news that her classic hit 'Chains' has been selected as one of ten extraordinary audio recordings to be added to the National Film & Sound Archive’s unique Sounds of Australia collection, this tour promises to be "a love letter to Tina's loyal fans". The NSFA Archive collects sound recordings for inclusion in Australia’s audiovisual archive, creating a continuous record of Australian culture, and 'Chains' is being recognised for "illustrating Australia’s cultural and political life and environment" – and we reckon anyone who has belted along to the words "I'm in chaaaiiinnnsss" can only agree.  The tour is kicking off in Perth before heading to Sydney’s gorgeous State Theatre for two big shows on April 29 and 30 – that’s a Tuesday and a Wednesday night, for...