The best shows to see on Sydney stages this week

Well, that rabble rouser Jesus Christ is at it again. Stirring up the people of Judea, angering Caiaphas and the Pharisees, encouraging a revolt against the occupying Roman government – although Governor Pontius Pilate doesn’t seem particularly fussed. Still, even among his own followers there’s dissent in the ranks – his bestie, Judas, seems particularly ticked off. Jesus better watch his sandaled step – and hey, that’s an awfully big Cross taking up a lot of real estate on the stage? I have to assume you’re familiar to at least some degree with the general drift of Jesus Christ Superstar; after all, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock opera is based on one of the most popular books ever published, the Bible – or at least, parts of the New Testament. First staged on Broadway in 1971 (although it was a concept album first, the composers having had trouble finding anyone who would stump up cash for an arguably-blasphemous take on the story of Christ) it was the longest-running West End production of all time until Webber’s own Cats outpaced it in 1989.  It is a spectacular interpretation... passionate, creative, and immensely impressive Now, of course, it’s a classic of the stage, with revivals occurring regularly. Here in Australia, we’ve had Jon English as Judas (1972), John Farnham as Jesus (1992), and even rock ‘n’ roll nerd Tim Minchin as the former in the 2012 Arena Tour (technically not an Aussie production, but Minchin certainly is). Indeed, it was the Australian

[Content note: this review discusses themes of suicide and mental health issues. If you need support, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or find more options at healthdirect.gov.au.] I suspect anyone reading this is either a huge fan of Dear Evan Hansen, or you’re not. The middle ground is sparsely populated. If you’re part of the former cohort, it’s because the show is beloved in musical theatre circles and revered by critics. It’s a new classic in the canon, and we don’t get those too often. Premiering on Broadway in 2016, it was an instant hit, and at the 71st Tony Awards it handily scooped up six out of nine nominations, including Best Musical, Best Book for Steven Levenson, Best Score for Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Best Actor for Ben Platt, and Best Featured Actress for Rachel Bay Jones. It’s now making its Australian debut at the Roslyn Packer Theatre ahead of a national tour, and its reputation ensures an audience is built in – expect tickets to go fast. If you’re part of the latter, that’s probably down to the widely derided 2021 screen adaptation, which saw Platt, at the age of 27, reprise the title role, a move that drew scathing criticism – largely because he very much did not look like a teenager, especially alongside his age-appropriate co-stars. The film tanked, and the play closed shortly thereafter (in fairness, the pandemic didn’t help). Perfectly cast, perfectly mounted, perfectly polished...and surprisingly complex in its themes I was in the latter group.

Ah, the Titanic. An unsinkable cultural icon, the “Ship of Dreams” has appeared in almost as many movies and stage productions as the songs of Canada’s queen of the power ballad, Céline Dion. It’s even got a two-and-a-half-hour (surprisingly serious) movie musical adaptation based on Maury Yeston’s Titanic: the Musical. Although, none can hold a candle to the cultural impact of James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster – you know, the one with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. So, with nostalgia being such hot property right now, it was only a matter of time before we got the camp-as-hell musical fantasia-made-for-and-by-the-gays that is Titanique. Created by Marla Mindelle (who originated the role of Céline Dion – well, as imagined in this show), Constantine Rousouli (who originated the role of Jack) and director Tye Blue (whose countless industry credits include working on the casting team of RuPaul’s Drag Race), Titanique is revisionist history at its best. Loaded with Céline Dion’s greatest bangers, it casts Queen Dion herself (played so wonderfully by cabaret legend Marney McQueen here in Aus) as the narrator of the tragic tale, who continuously places herself at the center of the action – quite literally – much to Jack and Rose’s repeated dismay. It brings the campness of the film to the front, with Stephen Anderson (Mary Poppins) playing Rose’s awful mother Ruth (complete with a bird’s nest headpiece), and Abu Kebe (Choirboy) playing a brilliant, tear-jerking drag parody of T

It was always inevitable that Hamilton would make its way Down Under. It’s been almost three years since Lin-Manuel Miranda’s game-changing musical made its five-star Sydney debut in March 2021, and was met with overwhelming audience and critical acclaim. Remarkably, this was also the first production of the Broadway mega-hit to open anywhere in the world, following global pandemic lockdowns. A roaring success, the show went on to tour to Melbourne, Brisbane, New Zealand, and across Asia. Now, Hamilton’s back for round two. The Sydney Lyric Theatre’s exclusive return season reuniting some of the original Australasian cast with mind-boggling new talents, some of whom are making their professional theatre debut (not that you’d even guess).  So, in the year 2024, does the pop-culture hype around Hamilton maintain its heat? And can the live production withstand the test of time, especially when you can stream the original Broadway cast recording on Disney+ for $13.99? The simple answer to both questions is: yes. Although, anyone who is unfamiliar with the Hamilton lore might benefit from reading up on it beforehand (we’ve explained it briefly over here). For Australian audiences, the draw of Hamilton is not really the plot, which holds many contradictions (even Miranda himself admits to that). But if you know anything about the show, you know that the true ingenuity (aside from the game-changing race-reverse casting) lies in Miranda’s magical, genre-defying score – and by bringin

Do you know the one about the love triangle behind one of Australia’s most famous artistic exports? And the remarkable woman, who many argue was the guiding hand behind Sidney Nolan’s iconic Ned Kelly paintings? Get down to the Sydney Opera House to see how the paint and passion plays out in Sunday. Under the guidance of acclaimed director Sarah Goodes (Julia), this is playwright Anthony Weigh’s tribute to the late patron of the arts and Melbourne icon, Sunday Reed.  The extraordinary Nikki Shiels reprises her role in this Melbourne Theatre Company production, which is brought to the Harbour City with the helping hand of Sydney Theatre Company. A woman ahead of her time, Sunday Reed helped shape Australian modernism by co-founding the Heide artistic commune with her husband John Reed (played by Matt Day) on Melbourne’s then-rural edges in the 1930s.  The play focuses on the passionate love triangle between the Reeds and the Heide Circle’s most notable member, Sidney Nolan (James O’Connell). They are joined by Ratidzo Mambo as celebrated modernist painter Joy Hester, and Jude Hyland as Sweeney Reed.As attested by critic Stephen A Russell in his three-star review of Sunday’s debut in Melbourne, there is brilliance to be discovered amidst the play’s somewhat dreary staging and drawn-out runtime. Especially when Shiels – who “shines as bright as the dappled Melbourne sunlight” – is given space to shine. After all, she is an actor of such high calibre that she swung in for Eryn-Je

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived… and now, live in concert! Holy numerical, the Six pack is back in action. (But the question remains, was it ever out of action?) This pop-powered global phenomenon has already had multiple record-breaking seasons across the country, and now due to popular demand, the disgraced wives of King Henry VIII are back at the Theatre Royal in ye olde Sydneytown following an enthusiastic welcome in Melbourne.  “What if the Spice Girls did a concept album about King Henry VIII’s wives, and Baz Luhrmann directed the concert video?” – Six the Musical has perhaps never been better summarised than in these words, directly quoted from critic Travis Johnson’s review of the production that hit The Studio at the Sydney Opera House between lockdowns in 2020. For the uninitiated, this unconventional pop-rock musical takes a dry historical topic, and turns it into a rowdy 80-minute concert primed to rival the world’s biggest pop groups.  Everyone knows that King Henry VIII had not four, not five, but six wives – enough to require a mnemonic technique to keep track. History (aka “his story”) has reduced the legacies of these ladies to little more than singular words in a rhyme that details their fearsome fates, but what if we carved out space to remember them as real, three-dimensional women?  Six the Musical takes on this noble task by embracing a far-fetched premise: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine H

Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer-winning black comedy has come to Sydney’s Belvoir St Theatre – slouching in through the door, bottle in hand and a cigarette dangling from its fingers, simmering with rage and love and resentment and sorrow and disappointment – and all the other emotions, and emotional scars – that belonging to a big, messed-up family can leave you burdened with.  Debuting in Chicago in 2007, August: Osage County went on to conquer Broadway and the West End before Hollywood took a swing at it in 2013. The story is set in Oklahoma, the playwright’s home state, but the tradition it’s drawing on is Southern Gothic – or maybe it’s Midwestern Tragic? There’s a bit of William Faulkner in the mix, maybe a bit of Truman Capote and Harper Lee. There’s a touch of Shakespeare, too – specifically King Lear, which also features three daughters caught in a dynastic struggle after their father abdicates.  Alcoholic former poet Beverly Weston (John Howard, superb in a one-scene appearance) is missing, presumed drunk, which prompts his three daughters to return home to care for their acerbic, pill-addled mother, Violet (a brilliantly bitter Pamela Rabe). There’s the dutiful Ivy (Amy Mathews); the wild child youngest, Karen (Anna Samson) who brings her fast-talking, sleazily charming fiancé, Steve (Rohan Nichol); and prickly eldest daughter Barbara (Tamsin Carroll) along with her college professor husband, Bill (Bert LaBonté), and precocious teen daughter, Jean (Esther Williams). Also bac

What was the time of death for the American dream? In her Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat, Brooklyn-born playwright Lynn Nottage offers a compelling starting point: with the heedless disregard for the plight of the working class, which flatlined with the North American Free Trade Agreement. Set in Reading, Pennsylvania, as the country’s once-strong Steel Belt turned to rust, the play is a sociological exploration of class struggle in the United States. Directed by Zindzi Okenyo (Is God Is, Orange Thrower, Choir Boy) the play’s timely Australian premiere is here to close out Sydney Theatre Company's huge 2024 season. Sweat is oft-quoted as the “play that explained Trump’s win” in the 2016 presidential elections. However, this description does not do justice to the depth of Nottage’s work and extensive research. Sweat is not merely an explanation, as that connotes a retrospective reflection – rather, when it debuted in 2014, the play served as a prescient warning that highlighted the dissatisfaction of blue-collar workers, who were once regarded as the backbone of the American economy. There is an eerie sense of déjà vu that comes with watching this play in light of the result of the United States’ recent presidential election. Sweat’s themes and concerns are just as relevant today, and have arguably become worse for both the working and middle classes. The story unfolds in a bar, the watering hole of choice for the factory workers who toil away at the local steel mill. The n

Some 25 years ago, The Wharf Revue began as a post-show, cabaret-esque satire act in the Sydney Theatre Company’s Theatre Bar at the End of the Wharf. It soon became obvious that it deserved a place on the main stage, and it quickly became one of STC’s most sold-out shows for the Sydney Theatre Company. I first attended this annual comedic roasting of (mostly) Australian politicians back when I was 21. Cut to 20 years on (yikes) and I’m here at the Seymour Centre (it eventually moved here and into the hands of indie producers, Soft Tread) for their last ever show. It’s the end of an era for the revue’s long-term writers and performers – Phil Scott, Jonathan Biggins and Drew Forsythe; all now in their 60s and 70s – and the end of an era for staunch audience members like me. I start to wonder if, perhaps, this is also the end of an era for satire like this. For a quarter-century no one in the public eye has been safe from mimicry. The End of the Wharf as We Know It opens with Paul Keating (portrayed by Biggins) expressing his relief at the extinguishment of this “satirical blowtorch”, which he compares to being “thrashed with overcooked broccolini”. The musicality of the revue has always been one of its most charming aspects. Scott is a talented composer, pianist and lyricist, having written and composed musicals and cabarets over the years. The others jump on guitar, bass and drums now and then as support, and everyone sings LOL-inducing lyrics, including new lyrics set to wel