Yesterday
Being George Clooney is harder than it looks
A big Democrat donor, Clooney said he sees “a lot of cowardice” as the tech moguls bow to Trump.
This Month
Roberta Flack, piano teacher who rose to rule the charts, dies
The music industry didn’t quite know what to do with the soulful, yet classical-inspired music of the North Carolinian – but Clint Eastwood did.
Seven shows you must see in March
From a Michael Jackson musical to an anniversary tour of Green Day’s breakthrough album, there are plenty of performances to get you off the couch.
He won over Shane Warne with a musical. Could Gina Rinehart be next?
Eddie Perfect wrote a Broadway smash in Beetlejuice, a critical hit (but financial disaster) about the leg-spinning legend, and would love to give another prominent Australian the song-and-dance treatment.
Meet the rare male soprano shaking up concert halls
Samuel Marino is one of just a handful of professional male singers with the voice type, but his significance is more than musicological.
This 4000-year-old story could be fresh off the front page
Sanskrit epic Mahabharata showing at Perth Festival has an urgent message for all of us – particularly for some in the WA capital.
‘He was Switzerland’: Edgar Myer to chair MSO as court battle looms
The anthropologist and lawyer turned fund manager and philanthropist takes the orchestra’s helm ahead of a court date with pianist Jayson Gillham.
Falls Festival site going for a song as Live Nation cuts asking price
The entertainment group wanted $4 million two years ago for the site near the Great Ocean Road. It’s less optimistic now on price.
Wuthering Heights gets a folk-protest remix in new musical
The rebellious British director Emma Rice has made a version of Emily Bronte’s gothic classic that leans into its darkness and sense of injustice.
Troubles at Opera Australia a symptom of a bigger cultural malaise
Getting the books of legacy arts institutions back in the black requires reining in bureaucracy, improving arts education and rejecting ideological distractions.
January
Eight shows you must see in February
From Billie Eilish to a big surprise out of Arthur Boyd’s Bundanon, here are the artistic events with which to round out your summer.
Star deal crowns Sydney’s media-shy theatre king
Star’s sale of its Sydney events centre means that by 2026 the city will have three major commercial theatres under the control of one owner, Stephen Found.
Opera Australia took director loan amid cash crunch
CEO Fiona Allan is leaving Australia’s largest performing arts company, as the fallout from its staging of Sunset Boulevard widens with the revelation it accepted a director loan to stave off a cashflow crisis.
New shows, ‘worship-worthy’ products you need to know about
A few things to inspire from the Currency section of our Arts & Culture issue out on January 31.
The writer who got fired – and turned it into a cabaret show
After a career in fashion, Glynis Traill-Nash returned to her first love of singing – but made sure to bring the stunning gowns with her.
Splendour in the Grass cancelled for second year running
One of Australia’s largest music festivals said it needed “more time to recharge” after a last-minute cancellation in 2024, although other music festivals are thriving.
Sign up, check in, chill out: What not to miss in Australia in 2025
From a hot spring trail in outback Queensland to duelling pianos in Darwin and a clutch of cool hotel debuts, here’s what’s happening on the home front.
London’s theatre scene is booming. Can pricey Broadway catch up?
New York’s high costs mean shows that would have broken even at $US700,000 a week pre-COVID now require more than $US1 million a week to turn a profit.
Robbie Williams calls ABC ‘twits’ after movie promotion criticism
The English pop star held a surprise performance in Melbourne, where he lashed the public broadcaster for criticising him for promoting his new biopic.
December 2024
The sole survivor from jazz’s most important photograph
One summer morning in 1958, a group of jazz notables gathered on the steps of a Harlem brownstone for a photo that became iconic.