This Month
Richard Roxburgh waited years to make us laugh again
The actor behind Australia’s funniest fictional barrister is relishing a rare chance to perform a comedic play about friendship with his real-life mates.
December 2025
Sydney Festival sticks with pro-Palestine headliner after Bondi
Actor Khalid Abdalla accuses Israel of “genocide” in Gaza but organisers say his show will be presented with “due regard for the wellbeing of audiences”.
‘Speechless and enraged’: Trump renames Kennedy Centre in his honour
The board for the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts announced it would now be named the Trump-Kennedy Centre, sparking outrage.
Kirsty MacColl’s killer was billionaire’s ‘fall guy’, says ex-husband
The singer of Christmas favourite Fairytale of New York died when she was struck by a speedboat. Steve Lillywhite now claims a tycoon was at the wheel.
This Queensland farmer sold 400 cattle for a shot at US stardom
Wade Forster has a fan base in America bigger than any Australian country singer since Keith Urban, but getting to them takes a serious investment.
Meet the women turning an Australian icon into a New York musical
Peter Weir’s “Picnic at Hanging Rock” put Aussie cinema on the world stage and spawned many adaptations, but never a musical. This indie-pop collaboration fixes that.
MSO’s star witness Sophie Galaise returns from hide-and-seek
Most arts institutions are sprinting away from any Israel and Palestine-related scandal. QPAC is running towards it.
Looking for unusual ways to celebrate Christmas? Try these events
The Messiah. The Nutcracker. Bloody Mariah Carey. Seasonal entertainment can seem stuck in a tinsel-tangled rut, so why not check out a more offbeat show?
November 2025
How this band became a favourite of the philanthropic elite
Fifty years ago, the ACO’s musicians were rehearsing in each other’s lounge rooms. Now they are being gifted things such as a $3.1 million violin.
AC/DC, Metallica tours prove metal is the genre that just won’t die
Families three-generations deep are buying black T-shirts as a season of heavy metal tours helps keep a once-doomed part of the music industry alive.
Real-life opera tragedy leaves Aida stranded on docks
The extravaganza, with a cast and crew of more than 700, was meant to fill Adelaide Oval, but it has been caught out by shipping problems.
One major theatre company’s dumped the leadership model everyone uses
Australia’s second-largest producer of plays just ditched a governance model used by every other major performing arts company.
Melbourne Symphony’s discrimination trial delayed, lengthened
The MSO’s decision to call up to 20 witnesses means the workplace discrimination lawsuit brought by pianist Jayson Gillham now can’t be heard until next May.
Leon Zwier and the MSO can’t find their witness, Sophie Galaise
It’s the latest turn in the ongoing legal saga over the orchestra’s cancellation of pianist Jayson Gillham’s contract after pro-Palestinian comments.
October 2025
Why opera doesn’t have to be ‘elitist’
Alexandra Wilson’s history of the art form in Britain shows how it used to appeal to everyone, from miners to managing directors – and how it might again.
$100k to test if AI can save the arts
Composer Ciaran Frame has an 18-month fellowship to test if artificial intelligence and virtual assistants can save and even grow jobs in the creative industries.
This actor will reprise an icon’s best role, and play her co-lead too
Director Dean Bryant has done nine plays with Christie Whelan Browne, and wanted to “raise the bar” for their latest. To Bette Davis height.
AC/DC, Bluey winners in Aussie song boom, but rest are doing it tough
A new report has laid bare the income Australian composers are foregoing because of streaming algorithms stacked against them.
Troye Sivan is home for the party of the year
The Australian pop star and entrepreneur is bringing his creativity to what is arguably Australia’s most stylish philanthropic event – the NGV Gala.
New $100m contract could mean more SCG concerts, easier ticket resales
Live Nation subsidiary Ticketmaster has won the right to ticket the Sydney Cricket Ground and six more NSW stadiums from rival Ticketek.