Australia - Sydney Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations

REVIEW: Psychological Thriller THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY at The Sydney Theatre Company Stage
by Jade Kops - August 24, 2025

Joanna Murray-Smith’s stage adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 psychological thriller novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley is bought to the Sydney Theatre Company stage by Director Sarah Goodes....

Review: GUYS AND DOLLS at Opera Australia
by Jade Kops - March 23, 2025

Bright, bold and brilliantly fun, Frank Loesser’s (Music and Lyrics), Jo Swerling (Book) and Abe Burrows’ (Book) Tony Award Winning GUYS AND DOLLS delights audiences for Opera Australia’s annual Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour “event theatre” offering....

REVIEW: PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, Part Of Australia’s Contemporary Mythology, Is Given New Life With Sydney Theatre Company’s New Staging
by Jade Kops - March 03, 2025

Tom Wright’s adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK chills and thrills with Ian Michael’s (Director) crisp new production.  Based on Lindsay’s 1967 novel, which was included in the “Big Jubilee Read” list to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, this mysterious thriller is prese...

Review: Leonard Bernstein’s Crazy Philosophical Satire CANDIDE Is Presented With Colour And Clear Storytelling
by Jade Kops - February 22, 2025

Opera Australia brings Victorian Opera’s production of CANDIDE to the Sydney Opera House. ...

REVIEW: Emma Rice’s adaptation of WUTHERING HEIGHTS Is A Clear And Captivating Expression of Emily Brontë’s Gothic Novel.
by Jade Kops - February 04, 2025

Told as a mythic legend, Emma Rice’s (adaptor and director) adaptation of Emily Brontë’s WUTHERING HEIGHTS is captivating combination of storytelling, music and movement.  Following on from UK and US seasons, this co-production from A National Theatre, Wise Children, Bristol Old Vic an York Theatre ...

Review: Enlightening and Inspiring, RACHAEL BECK: IN HER OWN WORDS Is An Intriguing New Verbatim Theatre Offering
by Jade Kops - January 17, 2025

Rachael Beck (performer, concept & curator) and James Millar’s (concept & curation) new work, RACHAEL BECK: IN HER OWN WORDS is a celebration of Australian women. ...

REVIEW: Fabulous And Fun, SIEGFRIED AND ROY: THE UNAUTHORISED OPERA Is The Must See New Work
by Jade Kops - January 12, 2025

The World Premiere of SIEGFRIED AND ROY: THE UNAUTHORISED OPERA showcases fabulous Australian talent as it tells the brilliant and bizarre story of the famous magicians. ...

REVIEW: Contemporary New Work, CONVERTED! Uses Music And Humour To Shine A Light On The Conversion Camps That Targeted LGBTQI+ Youth
by Jade Kops - January 12, 2025

Vic Zerbst (Book, Lyrics and Music) and Oliver John Cameron’s (Lyrics and Music) CONVERTED! premieres as part of The Australian Theatre for Young People’s contribution to Sydney Festival....

BWW REVIEW: THE END OF THE WHARF AS WE KNOW IT Is The Fabulous Final Season For The Wharf Revue
by Jade Kops - November 24, 2024

For a quarter of a century Jonathan Biggins, Phillip Scott and Drew Forsythe delivered an annual examination of Australian and International politics in the form of intelligent satire.  This year’s offering, THE END OF THE WHARF AS WE KNOW IT, is listed as the last Wharf Revue that the trio will pro...

REVIEW: The 50th Anniversary Tour Of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Provides Contemporary Clarity To The Musical That Started Life As A Concept Album
by Jade Kops - November 14, 2024

Timothy Sheader’s (Director) Olivier Award winning production of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber (Music) and Sir Tim Rices (Lyrics) JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR arrives at Capitol Theatre 52 years after the rock musical made its Australian premiere on the same stage....

REVIEW: TITANIQUE THE MUSICAL Is A Camp Celebration Of Celine Dion And James Cameron’s 1997 Blockbuster Movie
by Jade Kops - October 24, 2024

Following on from a successful debut Off-Broadway, Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli and Tye Blue’s (co writers, with Blue also Director) musical comedy tribute to Celine Dion and James Cameron’s cinema hit, TITANIQUE THE MUSICAL is delighting Sydney audiences....

REVIEW: YENTL Explores Gender Politics, Religion, Gender Identity and Sexuality In A New Adaptation.
by Jade Kops - October 21, 2024

YENTL, Gary Abrahams, Elise Hearst and Galit Klas’ adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Yentl the Yeshiva Boy, comes to Sydney following a successful Melbourne season. Read the review. ...

REVIEW: THE QUEEN'S NANNY Is An Entertaining Insight Into The Woman Who Really Raised The Late Queen Elizabeth II.
by Jade Kops - September 11, 2024

New work from Melanie Tait, THE QUEEN’S NANNY, is an amusing and enlightening tale about Marion Crawford, the Governess to the Princess that would become the UK’s longest reigning Queen....

REVIEW: SUNSET BOULEVARD Showcases Australian Talent But Brightman Doesn't Quite Get The Return Her Norma Wanted
by Jade Kops - September 02, 2024

Andew Lloyd Webber (Music), Don Black (Book & Lyrics) and Christopher Hampton’s (Book & Lyrics) SUNSET BOULEVARD is given a reworking for Opera Australia and GWB Entertainment by director Paul Warwick Griffin.  ...

Review: HAMILTON Returns For a Final Sydney Season
by Jade Kops - August 10, 2024

In 2021 Lin-Manuel Miranda’s (Book, Music and Lyrics) multi-award-winning musical HAMILTON blew us all away and it is back for a final encore season at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre. ...

REVIEW: Jane Harrison's STOLEN Is Presented With Powerful Simplicity By Sydney Theatre Company
by Jade Kops - June 25, 2024

Ian Michael’s (Director) presentation of STOLEN reminds the audience that Jane Harrison’s (Playwright) Kate Challis RAKA Award winning play retains a relevance in the 26 years after it premiered. ...

REVIEW: Outhouse Theatre Co's ULSTER AMERICAN Is Revived For An Encore Season at Ensemble Theatre
by Jade Kops - May 19, 2024

Shane Anthony’s (Director) presentation of David Ireland’s (Playwright) ULSTER AMERICAN returns to the Sydney stage at Ensemble Theatre....

REVIEW: Reuben Kaye Delivers Another Insightful And Intelligent Evening Of Comedy And Cabaret With APOCALIPSTIK
by Jade Kops - April 29, 2024

Reuben Kaye, the Glamazon international icon of intelligent cabaret returns to the Enmore Theatre, Sydney, with his latest creation, APOCALIPSTIK....

REVIEW: Guest Reviewer Hamavand Engineer Shares His Thoughts On ELVIS: A MUSICAL REVOLUTION
by Jade Kops - February 19, 2024

ELVIS: A MUSICAL REVOLUTION offers a captivating glimpse into the life and music of Elvis Presley...

REVIEW: Guest Reviewer Hums Engineer Shares His Thoughts On ODE TO JOY (HOW GORDON GOT TO GO TO THE NASTY PIG PARTY)
by Jade Kops - January 18, 2024

sex, drugs and techno (sorry, no rock and roll in these homosexual nightclubs), with the portrayal of Gordon’s (Lawrence Boothman) journey to self-discovery at its centrepiece. ...

Review: Guest Reviewer Charley Allanah Shares Her Thoughts on MASTERCLASS
by Jade Kops - January 12, 2024

To be blunt, if you’re into theatre of social commentary and/or socially minded comedy, Brokentalkers and Adrienne Truscott’s ‘Masterclass’ is, simply, brilliant.  ...

REVIEW: Guest Reviewer Kym Vaitiekus Shares His Thoughts On A MIGRANT'S SON
by Jade Kops - November 05, 2023

A MIGRANT’S SON is the engaging and passionate story of Michaela Burger’s family history expanding over 100 years. A story of grit, determination, ambition and love that centres around her larrikin father Luke....

Guest Reviewer Hamavand Engineer Shares His Thoughts on THE HEN HOUSE
by Jade Kops - September 12, 2023

If an education in cleaning chicken carcasses is what you’re looking for, you’ll find it at The Hen House....

REVIEW: Oscar Wilde's THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Comes Up Short Despite Sydney Theatre Company's Bold Aesthetic
by Jade Kops - September 11, 2023

The comedy of Oscar Wilde’s THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST loses power with a performance that fails to trust the source material. ...

REVIEW: Guest Reviewer Hamavand Engineer Shares His Thoughts on RAZOR GANG WARS
by Jade Kops - September 06, 2023

Based on the real life story of when the razor gangs battled for supremacy on the streets of Sydney in the 1920’s, RAZOR GANG WARS is staged in the unique setting of a 200-year-old sandstone crypt beneath St James’ Church in Sydney...