A trombonist is forced to play the cymbals, while a pair of marching girls dance out his frustrations. A full brass band slips from classical, to jazz, to folk and cabaret. En Avant, Marche! is a strange show, but worth your time.
Sydney Theatre Company now has an interim artistic director, after the sudden departure of Jonathan Church. A flagship theatre company can transform a city’s view of its place in the world, which is why the role is so important.
Two musicals set in working class mining communities – one in the UK and the other in South Africa – have diametrically opposed messages: one of hope; the other, despair.
When former prisoners – and audience members – come together in a play examining our justice system, the result is unruly, uncomfortable and worthwhile.
The first Australian National Playwrights Centre (ANPC) was founded in 1973 – the age of bongs, thongs and social wrongs. Australian drama was by then well into its Biggest Renaissance Ever. The Pram Factory…
A new production of Edward II by the ‘bad boy of Elizabethan drama’ breathes fresh life into the play, accentuating the story’s political and psychological dimensions.
Belvoir St Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night features veteran actor Keith Robinson, who returns to the stage after recovering from Guillain-Barre Syndrome. There’s radical potential in cross-mobility casting – but Belvoir doesn’t quite get there.
On the surface – and when compared to the Oscars – the 2016 Tonys looked like a groundbreaking moment for diversity in entertainment. But when it comes to inclusion, Broadway has a long way to go.
Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced explores the contemporary conflict between Islam and the West by exposing the fear and loathing lurking beneath personal relationships.
The psychological complexity of Shakespeare’s characters has rendered them timeless. Today, we see The Bard’s influence in shows like ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘True Detective.’
Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 novel ‘It Can’t Happen Here,’ which described the rise of an American dictator, was turned into a play seen by over 500,000 people.
A copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio of plays has been found in Scotland. While this is good news, a staggering 744 plays from Shakespearian London - at least two of them written by the Bard - remain lost.
The stage version of The Secret River gives us a deeper sense of our history. But can understanding the past from different perspectives help us confront the inequalities that linger in our present?
While London and Stratford-upon-Avon go into meltdown over the upcoming anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, a new production – shown recently in Western Australia – is worth looking at closely.