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 skillfully 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!
Concerts
- 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.
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.
Exhibitions
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