Theatre

Finally, Malvolio gets revenge

ELISSA BLAKE Is there a figure more mocked and derided in Shakespeare than Malvolio, the puritanical, self-deluded household steward of Twelfth Night?

Theatre

Magic stunt to bite the bullet

ELISSA BLAKE When a gun is on stage, it's a loaded situation.

Music

Lee Ranaldo's haunting work after Sandy

Harriet Cunningham Instead of taking cover from the New York hurricane, Lee Ranaldo went into the wind and rain with a microphone.

Circus

Lives hanging by a thread in Ockham's Razor

ELISSA BLAKE Ockham's Razor explores the fragility of peril and trust.

Music

John Grant: Love and other bruises

ANNABEL ROSS In the mid-2000s, John Grant moved to New York to clean up. A drug addict and alcoholic, the former lead singer of the Czars thought his days of making music were over.

Theatre

Hip-hop beat changes Shakespeare's tune

ELISSA BLAKE Two brothers have given Othello a modern makeover.

Music

Tom Thum: Out of the beatbox

George Palathingal From trumpet to didgeridoo, Tom Thum can make any noise with his voice.

Music

Edwyn Collins: Regaining the rhythm

BERNARD ZUEL A debilitating stroke has given former Orange Juice frontman Edwyn Collins a new perspective.

Music

Singer/songwriter John Murry connects

Bernard Zuel A simple sorry to his family put John Murry's talent for honest Americana on the map.

Music

Amanda Palmer ready to fly solo

Lauren Ziegler Controversial at times, screamingly funny at others - and always enthralling, Amanda Palmer is back.

Theatre

Rocking with strangers to Samuel Beckett

ELISSA BLAKE Sitting in a rocking chair and relaxing is one thing. Sitting back, relaxing and listening to a play by Samuel Beckett in the company of strangers is something else.

Magic

Under their spell: The new breed of magician

STEPHANIE BUNBURY Wands are out. Cloaks are over. Rabbits are passe. The new breed of magician uses the psychology of secrets to enchant a crowd.

Music

French connections

CRAIG MATHIESON It has taken 15 years, but Mick Harvey is finally ready to put his Serge Gainsbourg project on tour.

Music

Omara Moctar's purple haze in desert blues

PETER VINCENT An African herdsman from a troubled region takes inspiration from a Western master.

Visual art

Baby factory reflects art of war

STEVE DOW A Sydney Festival attraction sprang from Nazi trauma.

Music

In search of a raucous crowd

STEVE DOW New York performance artist Lady Rizo is a class act who doesn't mind getting a little dirty.

Circus

Circuses get into the act

ELISSA BLAKE Sydney venues will be overrun with fire-breathers, aerialists, tattooed ladies and tiny gymnasts as a bevy of circus and sideshow themed productions compete for audiences.

Circus

Devil of a good time

ELISSA BLAKE Entertainment with an edge is coming to the Sydney Festival.

What's on

Something for everyone this summer

Lenny Ann Low As the city heats up, so does the competition to keep you and your family entertained. Here's the best of what's on offer.

News

Festival ducks issue of opening day with free events

ANDREW TAYLOR One of the Sydney Festival's major sponsors is disappointed with the lack of an opening day of free events for the 2014 program.

Chaka Khan gives free concert

STEVE DOW US singer will headline a free concert in The Domain on the Sydney Festival's opening weekend, as organisers defend the festival against criticism it now lacks an opening day of free entertainment in the CBD.

News

Sydney Festival's free first day moves to Parramatta

ANDREW TAYLOR It has a giant rubber duck and a free outdoor concert just like the opening day of this year's Sydney Festival.

News

Just when you thought it was safe to go quack in the water

ANDREW TAYLOR Giants of the art world are set to make a visual splash at Sydney's annual festival, writes Andrew Taylor.

Theatre

Forgotten in the line of fire

STEVE DOW Aboriginal soldiers' stories are finally being told.

News

Festival forced to end free opening events

ANDREW TAYLOR The Sydney Festival will not run its popular opening day of free events, including the concert in The Domain, next year, with City of Sydney council blaming state government funding cuts.

Visual art

Kaldor's latest work measures up well

John Saxby Philanthropist John Kaldor has helped artists wrap Sydney's Little Bay in 90,000 square metres of erosion-control fabric, park a 12-metre-high floral puppy at Circular Quay and adorn the side of the Australian Museum in the illuminated names of 100,000 people.

News

Fish tank full of dancers takes centre stage

ANDREW TAYLOR A giant fish tank filled with dancers will be the centrepiece of the 2014 Sydney Festival, Arts Minister George Souris announced on Thursday.