Nutcracker adaptation for kids is lots of fun and doesn't scrimp on skilful dancing
The Australian ballet clearly understands the needs of its young audience in this Storytime Ballet version of the Christmas classic.
Stage
Sydney Festival: women stride onto centre stage
The first program from new director Wesley Enoch is full of all-female productions, from cabarets about gin to modern Indonesian dance.
Creature feature
An inventive puppeteer plays in the shadows.
Theatre
Top five Canberra theatre picks for 2016: from new drama to musicals
Canberra was well served by local theatre this year with some daring and artistically successful choices.
Which Way Home a heartfelt tribute to a much loved dad
Playwright and actor Katie Beckett wrote her new play Which Way Home in a hurry.
Appealing shambles of a show completely geared to the silly season
The Old Fitz ends a year of weighty drama on an upbeat with this lovingly scrappy satirical pantomime.
Dance
RiRi or Bey? You decide at BingeFest
Are you big on RiRi or are you more in the Sasha Fierce camp? Or maybe you haven't a clue what that even means.
Nutcracker adaptation for kids is lots of fun and doesn't scrimp on skilful dancing
The Australian ballet clearly understands the needs of its young audience in this Storytime Ballet version of the Christmas classic.
Bored ballerinas with patchy technique let down a standout soloist
Irina Kolesnikova is outstanding in the lead roles. It's a shame the supporting cast wasn't up to scratch.
Musicals
Intimate two-hander with a chronological twist
Jason Robert Brown's chamber musical is an intimate two-hander with a chronological twist.
Action!: Music, dance, comedy at the Q
From a new musical about Australia's first female prime minister to a three-person adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days, there's plenty on offer in next year's season at the Q.
Adaptation of cult parody Reefer Madness leaves audience on a high
The 1930s anti-drug propaganda film became a cult classic for all the wrong reasons. It translates well to the stage.
Opera
Seraphic beauty would make choirs of angels sing with joy
It is difficult to know what to commend most strongly.
Final instalment of Wagner's Ring ends in blaze of glory
It was hard to imagine things could step up any further but this last and longest of the Ring operas was also the most majestic.
Stefan Vinke astounds in third Wagner instalment
That anyone can sing Siegfried, the title role in Wagner's third Ring opera, is surprising, so challenging is the role. That anyone can sing it like Stefan Vinke is astounding.
Comedy
Trump is the gift that keeps on giving to SNL
Saturday Night Live unsurprisingly concluded the year with a Christmas special featuring Alec Baldwin as his favourite blonde in office, only this time Vladimir Putin was included in the act.
Amy Schumer cancels tour
Comedian Amy Schumer has cancelled her Australian stand-up tour just five days before she was due to perform in Perth.
Comedian, idiot, hoof prancer
Sam Simmons and his fight against beige is our hottest comedy export.