Confused misery-go-round, caught between comedy and contemplation
Perhaps Joanna Murray-Smith was due a theatrical misstep, and her latest offering certainly feels like one.
Stage
Gadsby ends stand-up career on a high with coveted prize
It's a case of third time's the charm for the Melbourne-based comedian.
Smith and Barnett share powerful moment on stage
Music legend Patti Smith has passed the baton to the next generation of rockers.
Theatre
Turning theatrical catastrophe into comedy
The longrunning West End comedy hit has made a success out of a disaster.
Dracula: giving the vampire new blood on stage
This new adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel plays up the thrills and excitement of the classic horror story.
Your free seat at The Winter's Tale from Cheek by Jowl in London
Fairfax Media has partnered with London's acclaimed Cheek by Jowl theatre company to bring you an exclusive livestream of the company's The Winter's Tale, directed by Declan Donnellan.
Dance
Hills Hoists, thongs and tutus: a rare Aussie story on stage
Graeme Murphy's Nutcracker remains one of the few attempts to tell Australian stories in ballet form.
Dancers' athleticism displayed but Faster lacks variety
In the Australian Ballet's latest triple bill, Faster, diversity is missing.
Toned and terrific: Ballet gets a sporty makeover
''Faster'' is a modern ballet that plays out like an MGM musical with a Hitchcockian soundtrack.
Musicals
A musical Sesame Street aimed at adults
Supa Productions brings this blend of puppets and people to the stage and warns it might be best to leave the children at home.
Lauper's thigh-high show lacks soul
Movie reboot musical has the gloss and gleam but loses something in translation
Broadway spectacular in a league of its own
Aladdin's flawless technical wizardry and gorgeous visual delights offer a taste of Broadway at its best. ★★★★½
Opera
The Princess and the Pea review: Fast, furious, farcical and musically rewarding
Austrian-born Ernst Toch's 1927 opera, in the hands of Victorian Opera, updates Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale to the digital age.
Shipshape rendition of Gilbert & Sullivan classic
Melbourne Opera delivers a fine production of HMS Pinafore but it's almost too energetic for its own good.
Sex, jealousy, murder: Opera's feistiest females
As Opera Australia bumps in its spectacular restaging of Carmen outdoors on Sydney Harbour, we look at the feistiest women in the repertoire.
Comedy
Gadsby ends stand-up career on a high with coveted prize
It's a case of third time's the charm for the Melbourne-based comedian.
How Jason Byrne turned to memoir and children's books
Writing a book was a very different proposition for the Irish comedian Jason Byrne. But he knuckled down to produce his memoir – and he didn't need any props.
Sick, delirious and self-deprecating, but not dead yet
New Zealand comedian Rose Matafeo is your sassy best friend.