Lally Katz' Minnie and Liraz an oddball romantic comedy with a dark edge
Sue Jones' brilliant performance as a larger-than-life demon grandma Liraz Her is a masterful comic creation that lifts the show as she schemes and scoots around the stage.
Stage
Pressure cooker production brings a classic to the boil
Genevieve Lemon and Darren Gilshenan bring a comic touch to characters famed for their no-holds-barred hostility.
Sydney Dance Company's Orb a bombastic, powerful double bill
Sydney Dance Company's double bill features some terrific dancing across both works.
Theatre
Lally Katz' Minnie and Liraz an oddball romantic comedy with a dark edge
Sue Jones' brilliant performance as a larger-than-life demon grandma Liraz Her is a masterful comic creation that lifts the show as she schemes and scoots around the stage.
HIV prevention drug trial features in local comedy, burlesque show
A Queensland trial of the HIV prevention drug PrEP may sound like odd fodder for a cabaret and burlesque show about queer sex, but not for Regan Lynch.
My Fair Lady revival sporadically entertaining
Anna O'Byrne sings with enchanting beauty, and eventually crisp diction, as Eliza Doolittle, while Robyn Nevin is simply sublime as Henry Higgins' mother.
Dance
Sydney Dance Company's Orb a bombastic, powerful double bill
Sydney Dance Company's double bill features some terrific dancing across both works.
Temperance Hall move gives new lease of life to Phillip Adams BalletLab
With a little help from Airbnb, Phillip Adams' BalletLab is bucking the trend.
Sinful entities lacking despite company's vigour
The title of Limitless Dance Company's second season, SE7EN, is a reference to the 'sinful entities inside all of us'.
Musicals
My Fair Lady revival sporadically entertaining
Anna O'Byrne sings with enchanting beauty, and eventually crisp diction, as Eliza Doolittle, while Robyn Nevin is simply sublime as Henry Higgins' mother.
How did Dame Julie solve a problem like Eliza?
It's the sort of compliment any actress would love to hear, especially from Julie Andrews.
Spirit-lifting show full of glamour, glitter
This musical show never quite allows the balancing and the flying and the hula-hooping to overpower the young man's journey of discovery.
Opera
Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci review: Superbly rendered penny dreadful opera
Shining performances and some interesting artistic choices make this a splendid double bill from Opera Australia. ★★★★½
Tiny theatre draws big names
The tiny 115-seat Hayes Theatre is getting a big reputation for staging musicals with top talent. Coming soon to the theatre: opera diva Emma Matthews, and musical theatre stars David Campbell and Toby Francis.
Our man in Havana: Cuban twist to John Bell's Carmen revival
Theatre veteran John Bell is enjoying the challenge of directing Opera Australia's Cuban-inspired production of Carmen.
Comedy
Minhaj's harshest burns at the White House journos' dinner
US President Donald Trump wasn't there to roast in person at the White House correspondents' dinner, but that didn't stop the evening's entertainer, Hasan Minhaj.
Performers try critics' skin on for size
What could be more provocative than prancing around naked on stage? Talking back to critics.
Frank Woodley's festival show is a 'cavalcade of humiliations'
Soon to turn 50, Frank Woodley rightly considers himself a seasoned veteran of Australian comedy. But the anxiety never goes away.