Australia - Sydney Theater Reviews

REVIEW: SUNSET BOULEVARD Showcases Australian Talent But Brightman Doesn't Quite Get The Return Her Norma Wanted
by Jade Kops - September 02, 2024

Andew Lloyd Webber (Music), Don Black (Book & Lyrics) and Christopher Hampton’s (Book & Lyrics) SUNSET BOULEVARD is given a reworking for Opera Australia and GWB Entertainment by director Paul Warwick Griffin.  ...

REVIEW: HAMILTON Returns For A Final Sydney Season
by Jade Kops - August 10, 2024

In 2021 Lin-Manuel Miranda’s (Book, Music and Lyrics) multi-award-winning musical HAMILTON blew us all away and it is back for a final encore season at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre. ...

REVIEW: Jane Harrison's STOLEN Is Presented With Powerful Simplicity By Sydney Theatre Company
by Jade Kops - June 25, 2024

Ian Michael’s (Director) presentation of STOLEN reminds the audience that Jane Harrison’s (Playwright) Kate Challis RAKA Award winning play retains a relevance in the 26 years after it premiered. ...

REVIEW: Outhouse Theatre Co's ULSTER AMERICAN Is Revived For An Encore Season at Ensemble Theatre
by Jade Kops - May 19, 2024

Shane Anthony’s (Director) presentation of David Ireland’s (Playwright) ULSTER AMERICAN returns to the Sydney stage at Ensemble Theatre....

REVIEW: Reuben Kaye Delivers Another Insightful And Intelligent Evening Of Comedy And Cabaret With APOCALIPSTIK
by Jade Kops - April 29, 2024

Reuben Kaye, the Glamazon international icon of intelligent cabaret returns to the Enmore Theatre, Sydney, with his latest creation, APOCALIPSTIK....

REVIEW: Guest Reviewer Hamavand Engineer Shares His Thoughts On ELVIS: A MUSICAL REVOLUTION
by Jade Kops - February 19, 2024

ELVIS: A MUSICAL REVOLUTION offers a captivating glimpse into the life and music of Elvis Presley...

REVIEW: Guest Reviewer Hums Engineer Shares His Thoughts On ODE TO JOY (HOW GORDON GOT TO GO TO THE NASTY PIG PARTY)
by Jade Kops - January 18, 2024

sex, drugs and techno (sorry, no rock and roll in these homosexual nightclubs), with the portrayal of Gordon’s (Lawrence Boothman) journey to self-discovery at its centrepiece. ...

Review: Guest Reviewer Charley Allanah Shares Her Thoughts on MASTERCLASS
by Jade Kops - January 12, 2024

To be blunt, if you’re into theatre of social commentary and/or socially minded comedy, Brokentalkers and Adrienne Truscott’s ‘Masterclass’ is, simply, brilliant.  ...

REVIEW: Guest Reviewer Kym Vaitiekus Shares His Thoughts On A MIGRANT'S SON
by Jade Kops - November 05, 2023

A MIGRANT’S SON is the engaging and passionate story of Michaela Burger’s family history expanding over 100 years. A story of grit, determination, ambition and love that centres around her larrikin father Luke....

Guest Reviewer Hamavand Engineer Shares His Thoughts on THE HEN HOUSE
by Jade Kops - September 12, 2023

If an education in cleaning chicken carcasses is what you’re looking for, you’ll find it at The Hen House....

REVIEW: Oscar Wilde's THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Comes Up Short Despite Sydney Theatre Company's Bold Aesthetic
by Jade Kops - September 11, 2023

The comedy of Oscar Wilde’s THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST loses power with a performance that fails to trust the source material. ...

REVIEW: Guest Reviewer Hamavand Engineer Shares His Thoughts on RAZOR GANG WARS
by Jade Kops - September 06, 2023

Based on the real life story of when the razor gangs battled for supremacy on the streets of Sydney in the 1920’s, RAZOR GANG WARS is staged in the unique setting of a 200-year-old sandstone crypt beneath St James’ Church in Sydney...

REVIEW: Cameron Mackintosh's Revival of MISS SAIGON Arrives In Sydney With A Stronger Focus On The Fallout Of American Arrogance
by Jade Kops - August 26, 2023

Presented by Opera Australia, Cameron Mackintosh’s Revival of MISS SAIGON reunites the creatives from the 2004 Touring Production, which reached Australia in 2007, to reincorporate elements of the 1989 West End original while shifting the focus to make a more powerful message than the central love s...

REVIEW: MURDER FOR TWO Pairs A Multi-talented Duo With Hilarious Take On The Classic Murder Mystery For An Incredible Night Of Theatre
by Jade Kops - August 15, 2023

Kellen Blair (Book and Lyrics) and Joe Kinosian’s (Book and Lyrics) clever comic murder mystery MURDER FOR TWO is brought to life by Gabbi Bolt and Maverick Newman under Richard Carroll’s direction. ...

REVIEW: Miranda Michalowski's SATURDAY GIRLS Is A Heartwarming And Humerous Exploration Of Navigating Female Friendships And Adolescence.
by Jade Kops - August 13, 2023

Presented as part of Belvoir St Theatre’s 25A series, SATURDAY GIRLS is an honest expression of the teen female experience with the added challenge of sexual discovery. ...

REVIEW: Bernadette Robinson Takes On Ten Great Ladies Of Music with Her New Show DIVAS.
by Jade Kops - August 08, 2023

Australian singer and actress Bernadette Robinson brings her latest vocal tribute to Sydney with her latest cabaret concert, DIVAS. ...

REVIEW: SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET - A MUSICAL THRILLER Is Given A Gloriously Gothic Treatment
by Jade Kops - July 31, 2023

Victorian Opera’s incoming Artistic Director Stuart Maunder AM revives his a deliciously dark but incredibly clear expression of Stephen Sondheim (Music and Lyrics) and Hugh Wheeler’s (Book) SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET – A MUSICAL THRILLER....

Review: WALANBAA YULU-GI: BURN THE FLOOR at The Palms At Crown
by Josh Stent - July 25, 2023

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REVIEW: THE HERO LEAVES ONE TOOTH Considers What Happens When Myths Become Reality But 'Evolution' Still Hasn't Fully Fixed Things.
by Jade Kops - July 23, 2023

Erica J. Brennan’s new play THE HERO LEAVES ONE TOOTH reimagines a world where female superpowers are more than just cautionary myths. ...

REVIEW: The Challenge Of Living Across Cultures as Australians with Chinese Heritage Is Contemplated In the Heartwarming and Humorous MISS PEONY.
by Jade Kops - July 16, 2023

Michelle Law (playwright) draws on childhood memories of when she finally saw people like herself on screen to create MISS PEONY, a work that celebrates retaining a connection to her heritage while challenging what it means to identify as Chinese in 21st century Australia. ...

REVIEW: DRIFTWOOD THE MUSICAL Puts Eva de Jong-Duldig's Memoir About Her Australian Jewish Family's Journey Across The World On Stage
by Jade Kops - June 09, 2023

In the former Burton Street Baptist Tabernacle the story of a family fleeing religious persecution plays out in DRIFTWOOD THE MUSICAL. ...

REVIEW: Guest Reviewer Hamavand Engineer Shares His Thoughts On BROADWAY DIVA
by Jade Kops - May 29, 2023

Following her 2022 BroadwayWorld Awards Wins for her cabaret/play PUPPETS, Olivia Ruggiero’s BROADWAY DIVA joined the opening season of QTOPIA’S: Live At The Bandstand....

REVIEW: Two Twenty-Somethings In The 21st Century Navigate The Aspects Of Social Behavior That Have Sadly Become Accepted In THE CULTURE.
by Jade Kops - May 15, 2023

Laura Jackson’s (Playwright and Performer) THE CULTURE considers what modern society has deemed ‘accepted’ behavior with a realistic expression of the possible lives of two twenty-somethings. ...

REVIEW: Guest Reviewer Hamavand Engineer Shares His Thoughts on ROLLING THUNDER VIETNAM
by Jade Kops - May 12, 2023

ROLLING THUNDER VIETNAM has made its eagerly awaited return to the stage after it took Australia by storm when it first toured in 2014 and received critical acclaim, making it one of the most talked about musical and theatrical events ever to be created and produced in Australia....

REVIEW: Julia Robertson and Zara Stanton's Musical Theatre Adaptation METROPOLIS Is A Beautiful Interpretation Thea von Harbou's Dystopian Tale.
by Jade Kops - April 30, 2023

Thea von Harbou’s 1925 dystopian tale of the dangers of class divides and favouring progress over humanity is given the musical theatre treatment in Julia Robertson (Book, Lyrics, Director and choreographer) and Zara Stanton’s (Music, Orchestrations and Music Director) new adaptation of METROPOLIS. ...