A work in progress (at least during 2025) …
Musicals and theatre
- Hamlet Camp, Carriageworks: A kooky idea with engaging pros telling the story. I loved the autobiographical poems that opened this, our friend Claudia provided a wonderful different energy to the production, and the evening was both skilfully and carefully created and chaotic! Absolutely loved it.
- Jesus Christ Superstar, Capitol Theatre: An incredible cast assembled to sing the shit out of this old musical, with the orchestration and direction making it feel contemporary. It’s jarring to compare this music to Lloyd Webber’s other musicals: songs here that have been in my head for decades. But the staging was pretty hectic, and I would have liked to here more variation in the singing (I think only Paynter, as Jesus, gave us some quiet moments). Great to see the production so well received. It’s an entertaining show.
- Ghost Quartet, Hayes Theatre: I was pretty speechless after this. Wonderful music with unusual harmonies and crazy, complex and effective storytelling, with a powerhouse cast of four people. How I loved this.
- Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible is Going to Happen, Sydney Opera House: Written by Marcelo Dos Santos and performed by Samuel Barnett. One-person shows always engage me: they need to have every line, word and pause in place to propel the story. This exceeded my expectations: sharp, dark, funny and beautifully constructed. A hit of a past Edinburgh Festival, I’m glad I got to see it here in Sydney!
- Hadestown, Theatre Royal: Wow. I had no idea. I did remember it winning the Tony Award for best musical and my husband saw it and loved it, but I somehow didn’t pay attention. The music, storytelling and staging: all amazing. Brought to life by a stellar cast. I really, really loved this.
- An Evening Without Kate Bush, Bondi Pavillion: It’s surprisingly hard to find information on the history of this cabaret show by Sarah-Louise Young but I think she premiered it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023. It is a pretty fun show, and I do love Kate Bush, though don’t know her work all that well. I felt there was a lack of spark in the audience reaction and the performance that night.
- Candide, Opera Australia: I love Leonard Bernstein’s music but I have to admit to being a bit apprehensive to see a 2.5 hour production of a Broadway operetta. But it was made as accessible as possible, with Australian accents and settings, lots of humour and a fast pace. Annie Aitken as Cunegonde was my favourite. What a voice. And what an acting triumph during ‘Glitter and Be Gay’. I thought Lyndon Watts’s microphone should have been turned up during this opening night performance, so as to somehow match Cunegonde. He got overshadowed. And for both Candide and Maximilian to be so gay, it was a little odd, on top of the totally bonkers story that jumps all around the globe.
- Guys and Dolls, Opera Australia: There’s no doubt that the Fleet Steps, with a view of the Opera House, on a temperate Sydney night, is one of the most beautiful places in the world to see a show. And that’s the formula: Sydneysiders flock to see one of these musicals or operas, and hope that it doesn’t rain. But changing a show to a spectacle, adding fireworks as during this show at a random point, and miking the performers loud enough so you can hear them, takes away from the shows, except for their most spectacular parts. The performers can feel swallowed by the stage. Any subtlety in the dialogue or quiet humour is lost. After seeing 4 or 5 of these, I think this will be the last one, no matter how much I enjoyed the orchestra and some of the cast members (Annie Aitken was the standout for me).
- No Love Songs, Foundry Theatre: Interesting to check out the new performance space at the Star (which is in receivership, what’s going to happen there?) This show was apparently a hit at the Edinburgh Festival, and they Australianised it and are putting it on here with two great performers, but I wanted to like it more than I did. Sure, it felt truthful and honest, but I found it hard to enjoy or appreciate watching an immature relationship founder, post-natal depression and a suicide attempt, all set to music.
Concerts and performances
- Tom Odell, Sydney Opera House. I wasn’t familiar with Odell’s music but we always trust our friend Steven, when he asked if we wanted to come. Backed by the Metropolitan Orchestra, these pop songs were given incredible orchestrations and Odell is a real artist and musician: his voice is a beautiful instrument – emotional, powerful and with its own character. Loved the concert. I am now a fan.
- Alok, Enmore Theatre. As interesting as seeing Alok, a trans-feminine South Asian stand-up comedian and storyteller, was the audience and how supportive they were. Which made it weird that some of Alok’s routine seemed to presuppose an audience that included non-queer and possibly non-supportive people. So, those lines fell flat for me. An interesting, and all in all enjoyable night.
Books
- Alice Munro’s The Progress of Love. See my review here.
- Superman, Son of Kal-el, Volumes 1, 2 and 3. My pal James loves comic books and recommended that I check these out. I do find it amazing that we live in a time where the son of Superman, in an apparently popular series, has a boyfriend with a Japanese family name (I’d say Japanese-American, but he’s from a fictional island called Gamorra, where his mother was the President …)
- Ronald de Sousa’s Love: A Very Short Introduction. See my review here.
- Copenhagen Tales, edited by Lotte Shankland. See my review here.
- James Loxton’s Authoritarianism: A Very Short Introduction. See my review here.
Exhibitions
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