MSO plays Beethoven 9 review: Orchestra brings joy to familiar ode
Under associate conductor Benjamin Northey the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra delivered a full-bodied performance.
Stage
Toruk review: A magical feast for the senses
Cirque du Soleil brings the world of James Cameron's Avatar onto the stage.
An enchanting road trip from heartbreak to Las Vegas
Lally Katz takes her audience on an incident-strewn journey to the lost world of her childhood.
Theatre
This Shakespearean send-up is glorious fun
The 1987 Australian play gets a few nips and tucks and comes up well in this new production.
Shakespeare's clowns take centre stage in Canberra
A Midsummer Night's Dream gets a new emphasis in this touring revival.
Shakespearean comedy with something for everyone
This Aussie variation on A Midsummer Night's Dream puts the clowns centre stage.
Dance
Excruciating, impoverished and boring
Let's not fall victim to false promises.
Making a meal out of a Barbie
Liveworks has a range of new works showing until October 29. So if the pieces I saw on opening night were disappointing, they are only a fraction of what lies ahead.
We Love Arabs is the cleverest satire at this year's Melbourne Festival
A dance-theatre work on the topic of the Arab-Israeli conflict is enhanced by darkly funny layers of irony, self-criticism and parody.
Musicals
Brigadoon abrim with mystical charm in the purple heather
The musical's whack-a-doodle plot involves two American tourists who stumble across a mystical town that appears for one day each century.
Memphis the Musical review: A moving take on the birth of rock music
Lead singer Elandrah Eramiha-Feo tears the house down in this indie production of the Tony Award-winning musical.
Sweet and sour in Porpoise Spit
"I'm very aware of having a certain kind of Australian identity on television or film or stage," Gary Sweet says. "But as an actor you want to be as versatile as you can be."
Opera
Grab a blood-stained bargain
Even with an entire warehouse for a wardrobe, eventually something has to give, which is why Opera Australia will stage the garage sale to end all garage sales this weekend, with more than 2000 wild and wacky outfits for sale.
Netrebko & Eyvazov review: Russian superstar delivers
If you are going to extract bleeding chunks of opera, make it the finest fillet steak.
Victorian Opera's 2018 season brings William Tell to the Australian stage for the first time
Victorian Opera's 2018 season, Encounters, brings together grand adventures, tragic love stories, an Australian premiere and charming children's tales.
Comedy
The irresistible rise of Ronny Chieng
Ronny Chieng was born in Malaysia, raised in the US and Singapore and studied law in Melbourne, where his comedy career kicked off after he won a campus stand-up competition.
Kathy Griffin's world tour an act of defiance in the Trump age
"I've got no agent, I've got no publicist."
Technical issues, tears could not keep Kathy Griffin down: review
Of course, it's Trump who is the primary target of Griffin's acerbic, vulgar brand of shock comedy.