Alannah Le Cross

When visiting a new city, it’s highly likely that, at some point, you’ll find yourself standing in front of a big and beautiful museum or gallery. Come rain, hail or shine, these brilliant buildings are the place to brush up on historical happenings and learn a thing or two about local heritage.  Inside you’ll find some of our country’s greatest treasures and a huge diversity of subject matters too, ranging from natural history and cultural artefacts to science marvels and sporting achievements. Don’t wait until the next rainy day to explore Australia’s best museums with this ultimate guide.  RECOMMENDED: The 18 best art galleries to explore in Australia.

Sydney is home to some pretty fascinating museums, places where you can learn about ships, time, military history, society, the police force and more.  Rain or shine, head out on a journey of discovery at these all-weather-friendly houses of knowledge. You'll learn about fascinating natural histories, scientific endeavours, design innovations and the many surprising stories that have made this city everything it is today. Along the way, you'll discover curious taxidermies, real Egyptian mummies, interactive space shuttles, and a peek into the lives of the real housewives of colonial era Sydney. If your interests are more piqued by the bizarre, be sure to check out these six unusual museums in Sydney. Looking for a different perspective? Check out these Indigenous walks and tours in Sydney.

If there's one sure-fire way of injecting joy into your year – it's festivals. Gathering with like-minded people in rainbow-festooned palaces full of amazing music, glittering performances and zesty food sounds like utopia to us – which is why it's a blessing that Australia has an incredible array of festivals on offer, one for every season of the year. In this list, we round up the best festivals that we reckon you should check out Down Under in 2024. Starting with those that are on earliest in the year and ending with those at the end, each of these festivals has been selected for its scale, its astonishing visuals, and its commitment to seriously good times. From music to comedy, to wild light displays in the Outback, you can rest assured that going to any of these incredible Aussie festivals will be a bloody good time indeed.  RECOMMENDED: The best musical and theatre shows to see in Australia in 2024. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Australia newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. 

From the razzle dazzle of big budget musicals to indie theatre gems, there's pretty much always a mind-boggling amount of entertainment to pick from on Sydney's stages.  Two of the biggest shows of the year are onstage this month, with Sydney Theatre Company is debuting the bloody and eagerly awaited final chapter in Kip Williams' epic "cine-theatre" trilogy – Bram Stoker's Dracula – and Belvoir bringing homegrown hit Counting and Cracking back for an epic new staging at Carriageworks.  It's also been a bumper year for musicals, and July is no exception, with the hotly-anticipated return season of Hamilton hitting the stage soon, exclusive to Sydney. Check out more of our top theatre selections for the month below.

From musicals based on much-loved and seriously messed up kids’ TV shows to gothic horror reimagined via icons returning to the stage after decades away, this year in theatre is shaping up to be one of the strongest we’ve seen in quite some time.Here are a few shows we know you’ll want to catch before it’s too late to say you were there. RECOMMENDED: Culture vultures, come and get your fix at these top Australian art galleries. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Australia newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. 

The nominees in the Best Art Exhibition category are outstanding exhibitions that have impressed us across a number of key criteria – including visual impact, use of exhibition space, design, technical integration, accessibility, historical/cultural value and educational value. The winner for each category will be announced on July 29, 2024. To see nominees for all categories, click here. For more information about the awards, click here.

Sydney can be a pretty exxy place to live, but if you keep your bargain hunting eyes open, you’ll find heaps of free and cheap things to do on any day of the year. Some of the best things in life really are free. Here's where you can find them in Sydney. Stay thrifty with one of these 25 fun (and delicious) things to do in Sydney for under $25. Looking for cheap places to eat? Here's our pick of the best cheap eats in Sydney.

NAIDOC Week is a big week for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians alike. It’s all about celebrating the richness and resilience of First Nations history and tradition, and drawing much-needed attention to the world’s oldest living culture and all the beauty that comes with it. This year, NAIDOC Week will run from Sunday July 7 to Sunday July 14. NAIDOC stands for 'National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee', and was created in 1956 as a means of organising national events celebrating Indigenous culture. What is the 2024 NAIDOC Week theme? The theme for 2024's NAIDOC Week is ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud’. The fire represents the enduring strength and vitality of First Nations cultures, passed down through generation despite enormous challenges. Fire is also a symbol of Indigenous culture's connection to the land, each other and traditions. It's about kindling the sparks of pride and unity, and igniting a renewed commitment to acknowledging, preserving and sharing this cultural heritage that enriches this nation. What NAIDOC Week events are on in Sydney? Sydney’s Eora Nation will be coming alive this week with live music, art and cultural festivities and free events. Everybody, regardless of where they come from, is warmly welcomed to come along in celebrating what has always been, and always will be, Aboriginal land. Check some of it out, below... RECOMMENDED: How does the head of Bangarra keep the fire burning? Read our interview with Fr

You know what’s finally trending in 2024? Self-care. While a warm bubble bath or 15-minute face mask is a nice pick-me-up, nothing beats a full-on pamper session at the spa. And boy does Australia have some pretty phenomenal pamper palaces that’ll leave you glowing from head to toe. Whether you’re treating yourself to a five-star massage while on holiday or searching for a local bathhouse to add to your weekly routine, we think you should add these spa days to the top of your to-do list. Here are the most luxurious day spas in Australia. RECOMMENDED: The best health and wellness retreats in Australia.

Last year we bid farewell to Succession, Barry and Top Boy, fell hard for Beef, Colin From Accounts and Blue Lights. The next 12 months should help us move on – the potential impact of 2023’s writers’ strike notwithstanding – as early hits like World War II epic Masters of the Air and Mr and Mrs Smith, Prime Video’s intoxicating mix of witty marital drama and zippy espionage caper, are already proving. Ahead is a hotly-anticipated new run of Squid Game on Netflix, a third season of Industry, a sci-fi prequel in Dune: Prophecy, Colin Farrell in DC spinoff Penguin, and The Franchise, the latest from telly genius Armando Iannucci – among many other potentially binge-worthy offerings. But there’s only so many hours in the day and you can’t spend all of them on the sofa. Here’s our guide to the shows most worthy of your time.RECOMMENDED: 🔥 The best TV and streaming shows of 2023🎥 The best movies of 2024 (so far)📺 The 100 greatest ever TV shows you need to binge

Despite the criticisms that get levied at our after-dark offering, it's impossible to deny that Sydney loves to party. We'll party on the roof, in the basement, by the pool, even once every few months in a suburban bowling club. But if you're looking for somewhere to "go clubbing", we've got you covered. Below are the best places to dance all night in Sydney.  If you're more of a one-nice-drink kind of party person, check out our guide to Sydney's best underground bars. Or if you'd like to kick things off (or round the night up) with an LGBTQI-friendly venue, we've got you sorted.  Looking for a late-night bar, as opposed to a club? Here's a list of our favourite bars open through to the early hours of the morning.Want to jam out instead? These are the best bars and pubs in Sydney for live music.Need a place for a pre-drink? These are the very best bars in the city. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, things to do and travel inspo, straight to your inbox.

We might be a little biased, but in our humble opinion, Sydney's got it all. Can you think of many other cities in the world that rival its natural beauty, rich heritage and history that dates back thousands of years, and its creative, culinary and cultural offerings by world-class pros. In fact, there's so much to see, do, sip and ponder here, you could be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed. Worry not, dear reader – we're making it simple for you. Our team (including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure and our Sydney Editor Alice Ellis) sifted through every good time the Big Smoke has to offer and put together a Sydney bucket list for the ages. Whether you're a new arrival or a born-and-bred local, this 2024 Time Out Sydney round-up of the city's must-do activities will let you experience Sydney from every angle. After all those great activities you're bound to be thirsty. We suggest you head to one of the best pubs in Sydney right now.  Need somewhere to stay? Check in to one of Sydney's best hotels. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox.

Mark up your calendars and start dreaming of warm, sunny days – one of Sydney’s most beloved events, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, will return to our city’s coastline later this year. The Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk (the spectacular two-kilometre stretch between two of Sydney's best beaches) will be transformed once again, with more than 100 eye-catching art installations by Australian and international sculptors. The 2024 edition of Sculpture by the Sea will run from October 18 to November 4, and as ever, it will be totally free to visit. The exhibition always beckons the start of the Sydney summer, with some 450,000 visitors expected to pop down for a stroll over the course of 18 days. "Sculptures" always showcases an eclectic mix of art styles, from the comedy and commentary of a life-sized ice cream truck melting into a puddle on the sand, to a nonchalant oversized lobster reclining on a folding chair, to more abstract-looking structures that defy the laws of physics. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Time Out Sydney (@timeoutsydney) Last year, the popular cultural event celebrated its momentous 25th anniversary (and we were on the scene to suss out the sculptural highlights). That’s not a bad run (so far) for something that had humble beginnings as a one-day exhibition that was run by volunteers and featured works by 64 artists, attracting a cool 25,000 visitors. Since then, the event has grown to become the largest annual free-to-the-publ

A danger lurks in the shadows. Is it a ghost? Is it a demon? Is it the unbearable weight of comparison? Much more threatening than all of that, it’s history’s most prolific vampire – Count Dracula. Now new and improved, with a shock of bright red hair. Sydney Theatre Company’s outgoing Artistic Director Kip Williams sinks his teeth into Bram Stoker’s much-adapted 1897 novel for the eagerly anticipated final chapter of his game-changing gothic cine-theatre trilogy. The story of Dracula has never been told like this before – with just one performer, the award-winning Zahra Newman, portraying all of the characters in the ambitious mash-up of live theatre and film that has become Williams’ signature.  This production is fundamentally spectacular, and every bit deserving of the rapturous standing ovation it was met with on opening night. But how does Dracula compare to its predecessors, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde, those other gothic tales that Williams reinvented for modern audiences? There’s a lot riding on Dracula’s bat-winged shoulders – especially with the sensational Dorian Gray poised to debut on Broadway following Sarah Snook’s Olivier Award-winning performance on the West End (not that local audiences will ever be able to imagine anyone owning it like the incredible Eryn Jean Norvill). Photograph: STC/Daniel Boud The show begins in a very stripped-back style – it’s almost alarmingly bare, in fact – with Newman walking onto the stage in t

Want to see something fresh? Six of the most exciting emerging visual artists in the country are currently exhibiting at Artspace in Woolloomooloo, and it won’t cost you anything to stroll on in and take a look. The long-running NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) exhibition has earned a reputation as a highlight in the NSW visual arts calendar, showcasing the diverse and exciting talent of a new generation of artists, and helping to launch many careers. Each year, Create NSW convenes a judging panel of esteemed colleagues to assess the highly competitive pool of applications, and select the exhibition finalists and the Fellowship recipient. Gillian Kayrooz, an artist hailing from Guildford in Western Sydney, has been announced as the Fellowship recipient for 2024, with the news being announced at the official exhibition launch event on Thursday, June 4. She will use the prestigious $30,000 Fellowship to undertake a self-directed program to develop her professional practice. Gillian’s intimate three-channel film installation titled ‘Leave Your Shoes at the Door’ poignantly interweaves personal narratives, cultural traditions and local landscapes around Darug Country in Sydney’s outer west, where the artist grew up. Accompanied by an immersive stereo soundtrack, the 4-minute and 30-second video was filmed across three locations that have personal significance to Gillian, and interrupts the everyday ritual of leaving your shoes at the front door to share a message of gratitud

Australia’s longest-running adults-only weekend, Sexpo, is back by popular demand – bringing its signature festival of inclusive sexuality and performance to the Harbour City for the first time since 2022. The sex-positive showcase (including the largest sex education stage in the Southern Hemisphere) is coming to Darling Harbour's International Convention Centre this July – with three days of inclusive, non-judgemental fun and education.  Despite its brief hiatus, Sexpo is back and bigger than ever –with industry-leading retailers, interactive displays, kink demonstrations, and guest appearances from world-famous adult stars. Festivities kick off with a Fetish Friday affair, which will run from 5pm until midnight with back-to-back shows on the main stage. The next day, come along from 11am until 5pm, or to the night-time session which will run from 6pm until midnight. The fun will culminate with a Champagne-fuelled brunch on Sunday, July 28 – with shows, talks, strip competitions and workshops taking place throughout the three day festival. Sexpo lands at Sydney’s International Convention Centre for a big weekend of grown-up fun from Friday, July 26 until Sunday, July 28. Tickets start at $69, or you can score a VIP ticket to the Sunday (bottomless) Brunch for $189 (which includes a two-hour drinks package and canapés from 11am-1pm, plus access to the strip lounges, kink lounge and a carefully curated Sexpo goodie bag). Grab your tickets here and find out more about Sexpo he

If you’ve ever heard the words “feminist” and “Australian contemporary artist” in the same sentence, then you’ve probably also heard the name Julie Rrap. With a career spanning more than 40 years, she’s a major figure in the art world who is known for stripping down and incorporating her own body into her multidisciplinary art practice – in which she examines representations of the female nude in art and popular culture over time. You have the chance to have an intimate encounter with Rrap’s work at the the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) with Past Continuous, a new exhibition featuring both new and past work.  “When I looked in art history books, particularly, there were lots of pictures of women – nude women mostly – and not a lot of women artists,” said Rrap, when speaking with Time Out Sydney’s Alannah Le Cross.  “At the same time I was reading people like Simone de Beauvoir, and I was just beginning that little journey of my own about what it is to be a woman in the world,” she said, also adding that at the time she was studying literature and was quite active in the anti-Vietnam War protest movement. “So I guess this show, for me, represents that back history for me… there was always this way in which the female body was always the subject, but they were never themselves a subject.” Rrap’s landmark 1982 installation work – ‘Disclosures: A Photographic Construct’ – has been drawn from the MCA Collection for the exhibition, and this is where your journey begins. The firs

Hey Melburnians, have you checked in on the melancholic sapphic in your life? You might need to, because Girl in Red is headed to our city, and this news probably means the aforementioned sapphic is losing their mind right about now. That’s right, after selling out her run of headline dates last year, Girl in Red is heading back Down Under in 2024 courtesy of Secret Sounds. In fact, she’ll be playing some of her biggest Australian shows yet this July.  With her fresh album in tow, the Doing it Again Tour will bless Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday, July 17. Aside from her Melbourne show, Girl in Red will also play in Perth, Sydney and Brisbane (as well as a headline set at Adelaide's Spin Off Festival). Support in Melbourne will be from alt-pop three-piece Telenova.  Since the release of her charming debut single ‘I wanna be your girlfriend’ Norwegian alt-pop artist, songwriter and record producer Marie Ulven (aka Girl in Red) has been gaining legions of fans with her biting songs about navigating the world as a young queer woman. Her honest lyrics and intimate production has thrilled listeners around the world, making the singer-songwriter one of the streaming era’s biggest grass-roots success stories. Ulven’s successes have taken her a long way from the bedroom where she made her earliest records. She's played popular festivals such as Oya and Glastonbury and toured with pop icons like Conan Gray, Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift on the North American leg of her

Take a deep breath, music theatre fans, because Dear Evan Hansen is making its Melbourne premiere in December 2024. This musical tracing the story of an anxious high schooler forced into the spotlight has six Tony Awards under its belt and is known for being a raw, moving reflection on contemporary life. Last year, Sydney Theatre Company announced that it would bring Dear Evan Hansen to Australia for the first time ever, in a co-production with major musical producer Michael Cassel Group. Adding to this momentous news was the fact that this is the first original staging of the musical to be licensed since it was originated. Dear Evan Hansen will have its Australian premiere in Sydney in October, and now we can finally confirm that it's also going on tour. The exact details are still under wraps, but what we do know is that the show will move audiences at Arts Centre Melbourne's Playhouse Theatre in December.  Details about the production have been light, until now. Following an exhaustive national search, the cast has finally been announced, featuring an array of Aussie theatre icons and promising newcomers.  Multiple award-winning performer Verity Hunt-Ballard, who first won hearts as the world’s favourite nanny in the original Australian production of Mary Poppins, will play Evan’s mother Heidi Hansen. Music theatre icon Natalie O’Donnell, who starred as Donna in Mamma Mia! before joining the Australian company of Come From Away, will star as Cynthia Murphy; while legendar

Something special is happening right now at Bangarra Dance Theatre and it's on its way to Arts Centre Melbourne. Soon, Melburnians can experience a groundbreaking cultural journey with the theatre's first-ever cross-cultural mainstage production. Horizon brings together the creative forces of two distinguished First Nations choreographers on the Melbourne stage from August 29 until September 7. Featuring expressive costumes and versatile dancers, Horizon delves into narratives that pay homage to the First Peoples of the Oceania region, spanning (so-called) Australia, the Torres Strait Islands, and Aotearoa (New Zealand). It explores themes of resilience and cultural heritage, weaving together stories that transcend oceans and generations. Māori choreographer Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, known for his transformative works with Atamira Dance Company and recently appointed as Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the New Zealand Dance Company, joins forces with Bangarra alumna Deborah Brown. Brown, a senior dancer with Bangarra for thirteen years, has garnered acclaim for her choreographic prowess and mesmerising performances. The production opens with ‘Kulka’, an expanded iteration of Sani Townson’s celebrated work from Dance Clan, which Time Out’s critic described as “innovative and captivating”. Townson, a descendant of the Saibai Koedal and Samu Clans of Saibai Island, brings his Torres Strait heritage to life through evocative choreography that honours his grandfather and

Something special is happening right now on Gadigal Country, at the Sydney Opera House – you can experience a groundbreaking cultural journey with Bangarra Dance Theatre’s first-ever cross-cultural mainstage production. Horizon brings together the creative forces of two distinguished First Nations choreographers on the Sydney stage (playing ‘til July 13) ahead of a national tour.  Featuring expressive costumes and versatile dancers, Horizon delves into narratives that pay homage to the First Peoples of the Oceania region, spanning (so-called) Australia, the Torres Strait Islands, and Aotearoa (New Zealand). It explores themes of resilience and cultural heritage, weaving together stories that transcend oceans and generations. Māori choreographer Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, known for his transformative works with Atamira Dance Company and recently appointed as Chief Executive and Artistic Director of The New Zealand Dance Company, joins forces with Bangarra alumna Deborah Brown. Brown, a Senior Dancer with Bangarra for thirteen years, has garnered acclaim for her choreographic prowess and mesmerising performances. RECOMMENDED: How does the head of Bangarra keep the fire burning? Read our interview with Frances Rings.  The production opens with ‘Kulka’, an expanded iteration of Sani Townson’s celebrated work from Dance Clan 2023, which Time Out’s critic described as “innovative and captivating”. Townson, a descendant of the Saibai Koedal and Samu Clans of Saibai Island, brings

From the iconic initial beats of “Pop, Six, Squish…” to the flash and flummox of lines like “Give 'em the old razzle dazzle” – the sassy, sleazy charm of Chicago is undeniable. Kander and Ebb’s 1975 mega-hit is one of those shows that has become part of the fabric of our collective culture, a timeless call-back for anyone who has ever struck a pose on a rickety chair while wearing an imaginary bowler hat, or day-dreamed a (strictly imaginary) bloody revenge fantasy, and all that jazz.  Australia’s latest tour of this jazz-era spectacle of seductive murderesses, greed, corruption and the fickle nature of tabloid infamy struts into Sydney’s lush Capitol Theatre after doing time in Perth and Melbourne. Under the direction of Karen Johnson Mortimer, this staging of Walter Bobbie’s six-time Tony-Award-winning, stripped-back 1996 Broadway revival (the second-longest running show on Broadway) comes a mere six years after it toured Down Under in 2019. Producers Crossroads Live presumably made a safe bet that this show is a surefire seat-filler (and they’d be right). Or, as one pinstripe-wearing Billy Flynn might say: “Give ‘em an act with lots of flash in it, and the reaction will be passionate…” But with the memory of Casey Donovan’s brilliant performance as Matron Mama Morton and Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s delightfully deranged Roxie Hart being so fresh for Aussie theatregoers, many die-hard musical theatre fans are understandably hesitant to splash out on a ticket this time around

If you’re interested in starting an art collection, but you’re short on expertise and funds to fling around, then this is exactly where you ought to get started. After two successful events in 2022 and 2023, the Affordable Art Fair will make its much-anticipated return to the Royal Randwick Racecourse from Thursday, June 13, to Sunday, June 16.  The world’s biggest art fair organiser made their initial splash in the Harbour City in 2022, welcoming close to 10,000 visitors and generating millions of dollars’ worth of art sales for galleries. This weekend will feature almost double the offering of its Sydney debut – with more than 50 of the nation’s best boutique galleries (and more from around the world) converging  to showcase thousands of original works under $10,000. Alongside a kaleidoscope of artworks, the Fair’s extended program will provide immersive experiences for visitors including live artist demonstrations, free interactive workshops and a scrumptious selection of culinary delights and tasty tipples. Enjoy a glass of old-fashioned lemonade and a slice of lemon meringue pie while West Australian artist Nell Symonds creates lemon-inspired masterpieces before your eyes, or head to the Monopoly Café: an oversized Monopoly board created by Blue Mountains-based artist Ben Tankard. This year’s gallery line-up has been carefully curated to bring the best artwork to Sydney, with highlights including Auckland’s LIMN Gallery, Manyung Gallery Group from Victoria and Mooree’s Y

It’s the face that stops the nation. Australia’s favourite portrait prize is back for 2024, and as always it's a delight to see which famous faces have made it into the mix of painterly interpretations. This year, more than 1,000 paintings were submitted, and you can peruse the 57 finalists at the Art Gallery of NSW – from June 8 to September 8, after which they’ll ship off around the country. So who took out the top gong? Sydney-based artist Laura Jones has won the Archibald Prize for 2024, taking home $100,000 for her portrait of Tim Winton, the Australian novelist and environmental conservationist. It's not the first time Jones has been an Archie finalist (she's been featured four times, to be exact), but her win this year makes her the 12th woman to take out the Archibald Prize since it began in 1921. She hopes such an accolade "inspires more young girls to paint". Jones held an exhibition in 2016 called Bleached after an artist residency on the Great Barrier Reef. Environmental advocacy is a key theme in her work, which is what led her to Tim Winton. On receiving the award, she said, "I'd like to thank my sitter, Tim Winton. Tim is one of the world’s greatest novelists and also a tireless advocate for the environment. He is an inspiration to me as both an artist and as a human being." Tim Winton's award-winning novels are a love letter to the Australian landscape in all its forms. Based in Perth, a lot of Winton's recent work has focused on the conservation and preserva

Zahra Newman is Dracula. Indeed, Zahra Newman is everyone in Dracula. The hugely talented actor portrays all 23 characters that appear in  Sydney Theatre Company’s epic staging of Bram Stoker’s classic horror novel. It is, of course, the third and final chapter in outgoing artistic director Kip Williams’ gothic literature adaptations, following on from The Picture of Dorian Gray and Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde. As in both those productions, Dracula has been interpreted through the lens of the writer-director’s groundbreaking cine-theatre technique, which employs live and pre-recorded video – plus, good old-fashioned smoke and mirrors – to enable one actor to play multiple parts on stage, simultaneously.  That level of queer subversion has been at play across the entire trilogy, and that's...alive in this adaptation of Dracula It’d just be a good party trick if it wasn’t so profoundly effective, evoking contemplation on the notion of identity, conflicted or otherwise, that connects all the entries in his gothic trilogy. Here, it enables Newman to play the Count (depicted here with a shock of red hair), his virginal victim Lucy Westenra, scholarly vampire hunter Abraham van Helsing, madman Renfield, and more. Identities and genders become blurred and refracted. “One of the thematics of the trilogy has been an interrogation of an individual's relationship to their own identity,” Williams notes. “And gender and sexuality are profound parts of any human's expression

What does it mean to keep the fire burning? For the Artistic Director of Bangarra Dance Theatre, Frances Rings, the answer to that question is profoundly multifaceted, but it ultimately comes down to hope – forging a path towards a more empowered future by drawing on the powerful legacies of First Nations people, and the invigorating energy of the next generation.  Every year in early July, NAIDOC Week prompts the nation to recognise and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. However, for Frances – the custodian of one of Australia’s most highly regarded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts companies – this sort of just means business as usual. However, this year’s theme – Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud – is also a prompt to have a look around and take stock: of the work of Bangarra, her personal trajectory, and the power of her community. And with it being the first year after the disappointing result of the Voice to Parliament Referendum, this is especially poignant.  “Fire is our totem. Bangarra is a Wiradjuri word that means ‘to make fire’ – and I love that this year we are keeping our fire burning,” said Rings, when speaking with Arts & Culture Editor Alannah Le Cross. Photograph: Bangarra Dance Theatre/Daniel Boud | 'Horizon' Intersecting with NAIDOC Week is the inaugural season of Bangarra’s first-ever international cross-cultural mainstage show, Horizon, playing at the Sydney Opera House 

The big updates about the second edition of SXSW Sydney just keep rolling in, with initial keynote speakers and panellists for the annual conference dropping today – and we can reveal that there’s Aussie Hollywood royalty in the mix. Alongside prominent human rights lawyers, best-selling authors, and big wigs in the world of business, tech, and music, we also have a Hemsworth coming to town. Luke Hemsworth, to be exact. The Australian actor, Neighbours alum, and Westworld star is older brother to baby bros Chris Hemsworth and Liam Hemsworth. (There’s no word yet on whether the rest of the Hemsworth clan is shipping in from Byron Bay, alas. Also fun fact, did you know that Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was Chris’ first Australian movie role!?) Speaking of genetics, the elder Hemsworth will moderate a panel all about the latest efforts to de-extinct the Thylacine (aka, the Tassie Tiger) and return the storied animal to Tasmania. Titled Better than a Hollywood Movie: The highs, lows, epic moments, and colossal steps forward in bringing back the Tasmanian Tiger, the panel will feature co-founder and CEO of Colossal and serial technology entrepreneur Ben Lamm, who has been committed to building disruptive businesses that future-proof our world for over a decade; and Professor of Biosciences at University of Melbourne TIGRR Lab Andrew Pask, whose genetics work has led to the sequencing of several marsupial genomes, including that of the extinct Tasmanian Tiger (tip: you can learn more ab

Sydney's arts and culture scene is buzzing. From dazzling musicals to provocative indie shows, to blockbuster exhibitions and eye-opening visual art, the city is alive with a diverse array of cultural treats. And what better way to shine a spotlight on our vibrant industry than by launching the very first Time Out Arts & Culture Awards? The inaugural awards celebrate the best of performing and visual arts over the past 12 months (productions and exhibitions showing between May 17, 2023 to May 17, 2024 are eligible). Time Out's dedicated editors and reviewers in Sydney and Melbourne have been busy catching countless musicals, plays and exhibitions to give our readers what Time Out has long specialised in: independent critical reviews. And now, they're ready to share the findings – all of the nominees for our critics' choice awards have just been announced!  Presented in exclusive partnership with the Pinnacle Foundation, the 2024 Time Out Arts & Culture Awards will feature the following categories: Critics' Choice Awards: Best Musical Best Performance in a Musical Best Play Best Performance in a Play Best Art Exhibition Best Museum Exhibition The Impact Award  People's Choice Awards: People’s Choice: Best Musical People’s Choice: Best Performance in a Musical People’s Choice: Best Play People’s Choice: Best Performance in a Play People’s Choice: Best Art Exhibition People's Choice: Best Museum Exhibition A winner will be awarded for each award category, in both Sydney and

Australia’s original festival of disruptive ideas returns to Sydney this August to provide a “Sanctuary” for curious minds with a taste for danger. For its 2024 edition, the Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI) presents an expansive roster of international experts, bestselling authors, cutting edge academics and innovative thinkers; all appearing in-person. In addition to the previous announcement about Roxane Gay coming to FODI for an exclusive Sydney appearance, the festival has dropped the full program – featuring 87 speakers and artists, including 16 international guests appearing in 88 sessions across two packed days. Aside from spicy talks, there is also an array of other out-of-the-box events, art installations, interactive theatre, and even an intimate phone-free dinner function coming to Carriageworks from August 24–25. With so much to take in, we had a quick chat with festival director Danielle Harvey to help us wrap our heads around the festival which always has a way of setting – or resetting – the current affairs agenda. “What people consider dangerous is always evolving, and we respond to the times. I think the Festival of Dangerous Ideas exists for times such as these. There are increasing complexities, and we need time and a place where we can robustly test ideas,” says Danielle. “I think at a time when we are surrounded by bad ideas and bad faith, where information is cheap and shallow, we need a place where we can come together and be curious – where we can en

When Sydney Theatre Company announced the Australian premiere of Dear Evan Hansen as part of the company’s bumper 2024 Season, the news piqued the interest of musical theatre fans right across the country. An instant hit on Broadway for its deeply personal and profoundly contemporary take on life and the way we live it, this Aussie production opening in October this year is the first original staging of the musical to be licensed since it was originated.  Details about the co-production with major musical producer the Michael Cassel Group have been fairly light, until now. Following an exhaustive national search, the cast was finally announced over the weekend, featuring an array of Aussie theatre icons and promising newcomers. And, following impassioned audience demand since the Sydney season was announced, the producers have revealed that the production will also tour nationally – heading to Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide.  Photograph: Supplied | LtoR: Natalie O'Donnell, Verity Hunt-Ballard, and Martin Crewes. Multiple award-winning performer Verity Hunt-Ballard, who first won Australia’s hearts as the world’s favourite nanny in the original Australian production of Mary Poppins, will play Evan’s mother Heidi Hansen. Music theatre icon Natalie O’Donnell, who starred as Donna in Mamma Mia! before joining the Australian company of Come From Away, will star as Cynthia Murphy; while legendary theatre star Martin Crewes plays her husband Larry Murphy.  Newcomer Georgia Laga’

This is ‘simply the best’! The multi-award-winning smash-hit, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical is making its highly anticipated debut in Brisbane this June, following its Australian premiere in Sydney. There are plenty of reasons to get excited about this heart-pumping production. A 12-time Grammy winner, Turner’s Australian connections run deep (and not least for her iconic role in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, or the nation’s enduring enthusiasm for a good dance off to ‘Nutbush City Limits’). This new production also stars rising star Ruva Ngwenya in the coveted title role, and award-winning American actor Giovanni Adams making his Aussie debut as Ike Turner.  If you’re a fan of the Queen of Rock’n’Roll and a good show, we bet you’re getting excited. So what’s love got to do with it? While there ain’t no river deep enough or mountain high enough to calm our excitement for a great musical, the current cossy livs (cost of living) might be putting a dampener on any plans to see every blockbuster show in town.  Luckily, TodayTix is coming through with the goods – giving you a chance to see Tina for the low price of $35. The TodayTix digital lottery for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical is now open, and closes on Thursday, June 27 at noon / 12pm AEST. Winning entrants will have the chance to purchase up to two tickets at the exclusive price of $35 each. The lottery will continue to run each week, opening every Friday, with the winners drawn the following Thursday for the upcoming week’

From “Tell him he’s dreaming” to “You’re terrible Muriel”, there are just some phrases that are immediately recognisable to all Australians. They activate something deep within our bogan hearts. And when it comes to the dankest of memes, there is truly no reference more iconic than “Democracy Manifest” – the ridiculously quotable legend of a man who just wanted to dine out on a “Succulent Chinese Meal”. If the mere mention of this gets you chuckling, then you will be delighted to hear that this week, it was announced that a documentary about the man behind the meme – Jack Karlson – is coming soon to a screen near you.  So where did this legend of eating out gone wrong begin? Well, it was October of 1991, outside a Chinese restaurant in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, where Jack Karlson was apprehended by Queensland Police, and it was all caught on film. Following a certifiably Shakespearean response from Karlson during the arrest and subsequent coverage from Channel 7’s Chris Reason – who, at the time, believed he was Queensland’s most wanted criminal – a legend was born. The footage spawned countless memorable quotes such as "This is democracy manifest!" and "What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?" and “I see that you know your judo well!”  Decades later in 2009, the original video would go on to be immortalised as a YouTube viral sensation, clocking up millions of views across the globe. The incident is now deeply embedded in the Australian cultural psych

Whether she is poignantly articulating her experiences as a Black woman and self-described fat person in America in books like her hit memoir Hunger, or providing hilarious and insightful commentary on popular culture and trash television, Roxane Gay has a knack for getting you to hang off her every word. And now, Sydneysiders have a chance to see her speak in-person, with the renowned New York Times-bestselling author and social commentator being announced as the first guest in the 2024 line-up for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI). Running from August 24–25 at Carriageworks, the original disruptive ideas festival will exclusively host Gay for her only Sydney appearance this year.  Roxane will deliver a keynote address at FODI exploring what it takes to be a serial dissenter in the age of tribal warfare. Across her work, Gay has continued to urge audiences to embrace the danger and discomfort of dissent. But in an age of polarised opinion and dwindling nuance, this has come at a personal and professional price. In How to Have Dangerous Ideas, she will impart how she combats the tide of viral criticism to fight for complex and difficult ideas. Roxane will also join some of her fellow FODI guests in panel appearances over the course of the festival weekend – the full festival program is set to be launched next week.  Photograph: FODI/Jodie Barker | Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2023 Gay’s most recent book – Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other Peo

They don’t make leading women like Patti LuPone anymore – or perhaps, they never did. As a bonafide icon of musical theatre, LuPone carved her own path to fame and recognition on Broadway and the West End, propelled by her incredible voice and an admirably defiant attitude in the face of scrutiny. With the star in Australia for the Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes tour, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to speak with this living legend. For the uninitiated, here are a few iconic things you must know about Patti LuPone:  She originated some of the most famous roles in musical theatre, including Eva Perón in Evita, which she won a Tony Award for. She famously named her pool the “Andrew Lloyd Webber Memorial Pool”, which she had built with funds gained from successfully suing the heavyweight musical composer (because he fired her from the Broadway-bound debut of Sunset Boulevard, replacing her at the eleventh-hour with Glenn Close). And lately, the 75-year-old has gone viral with her radical stance against poor theatre etiquette, including confiscating a mobile phone from an audience member who was texting throughout a show (without breaking character).  She is simply a badass.  “I'm still the type of person that says what's on her mind, and I probably would be more punished in an earlier decade, I think,” says LuPone, in response to a question about her rocky path to success. “But I don't know whether it's any better for women now than it was when I was coming of age in this bus

Is it getting hot in here? Come on Sydney, it’s time to head way down, to Hadestown. Seen by three million, streamed by over 350 million and adored by fans all around the world – the acclaimed West End and Broadway musical phenomenon Hadestown will make its Australian premiere at Theatre Royal Sydney very soon, in February 2025.  For the uninitiated, the gist is this: written by singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, Hadestown is a genre-defying musical adaption of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in a dystopian steampunk-esque underworld, set to an evocative score that blends New Orleans-style jazz and blues with modern American folk music – with a live brass band on stage, to boot. The show won eight Tony Awards when it opened in 2019, including Best Musical, and is still playing to packed houses five years later. Hadestown already has a dedicated fandom around the world and here in Australia, and it has an edge that will also appeal to everyone who isn’t already a die-hard musical theatre fan.  Photograph: Supplied/Opera Australia | 'Hadestown' Original London Cast To break the fourth wall for a moment (howdy, this Arts & Culture Editor Alannah Le Cross), I am so excited to break this news that I am literally shaking. On my one and only trip to New York, I snatched up a rush ticket and fought through jet lag to see Hadestown on Broadway – and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. This show is gritty, evocative – it’s the perfect musical, but it a

If you thought that ballet is just a posh old form of entertainment, the Australian premiere of Benjamin Millepied’s Romeo & Juliet Suite will send your preconceptions pirouette-ing into oblivion. Hot off a sold-out season in Paris and navigating seamlessly between the conventions of cinema, dance and theatre, this production makes its Australian premiere in an exclusive season at the Sydney Opera House this week, from June 5–9. (Just in time for global Pride Month. Slay!)  Reflecting a universal expression of love, three different pairs of dancers will bring Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers into a contemporary setting. The rotating cast features a male-male pairing, a female-female pairing, and a female-male pairing – with each couple performing on different days.  Same-sex pairings are still a rare sight on the world stage of ballet, but this world-class production doesn’t stop breaking new ground there. Similar to the innovative “cine-theatre” work of Sydney Theatre Company’s outgoing artistic director Kip Williams, Romeo & Juliet Suite harnesses the interplay of dance and live cinema to tell the classic story through a bold, modern lens. A film crew will follow the L.A. Dance Project ensemble as they perform on-stage in the Joan Sutherland Theatre and beyond – moving throughout the building into unexpected spaces, with the live performance broadcast back to audiences inside the theatre in real-time.  Photograph: Sydney Opera House/Daniel Boud Performing in this work ar