Tasting Notes Don’t have time to read the full review? Click here for a quick summary of the who, what, where and wine of this production. Raw and deeply emotional, Belvoir St Theatre’s Holding the Man speaks to those who lived the AIDS crisis in a beautifully human way. Tim and John are two high school boys in love in 1970s Australia. Life is pretty dreamy. But when they both test positive to a new, strange disease called HIV 10 years later, everything changes. Tommy Murphy’s 2006 adaptation of Tim Conigrave’s memoir of two men’s love and loss is a powerful piece. Every person involved i ..read more

Tasting Notes Don’t have time to read the full review? Click here for a quick summary of the who, what, where and wine of this production. Louis Nowra’s stories of human connection on the margins of Australian communities are enlightening and endearing in this 3-part, 7-cast-strong theatre epic as Griffin Theatre Company SBW Stables says ‘goodbye for now.’ A housing commission, a psychiatric institution and a 1980s Kings Cross pub. Three communities that operate in the fringes of society. Playwright Louis Nowra has defined himself in Australia’s creative canon with his determination to he ..read more

Tasting Notes Don’t have time to read the full review? Click here for a quick summary of the who, what, where and wine of this production. No matter how badly things ended with your ex, I promise you the crew from SHITTY has had it worse. You’ll laugh until your sides split in this horror-comedy anthology that explores just how horrifying it can be to fall in love. Almost everyone will have a story or two involving embarrassing hook-ups or drunken karaoke. A few will be able to recount affairs and relationships becoming a little nightmarish, and rarely will you hear of a haunting, possess ..read more

Tasting Notes Don’t have time to read the full review? Click here for a quick summary of the who, what, where and wine of this production. Lovers of gallows humour and characters with not-so-moral personalities will love this story of venomous vindictiveness in brotherhood. From the writer of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, In Bruges, The Banshees of Inisherin and The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Lonesome West is Martin McDonagh’s savage, uproarious tale of two brothers. Photo credit: Saz Wilson The Connor brothers are never not at each other’s throats – not even after their fa ..read more

Nadine McDonald-Dowd is a Yuwi woman who works closely with First Nations Artists to tell their stories, recently collaborating with Anita Heiss to bring her novel Tiddas to the stage as part of Sydney Festival’s Blak Out Program. McDonald-Dowd’s extensive experience in producing theatre and dance has seen her advising multiple government bodies on arts and culture policies, particularly in the area of Indigneous arts. What has been your journey into theatre ? I left Mackay and headed to the big smoke of Brisbane in 1991 to study at QUT Kelvin Grove. It opened my eyes to so many things and I ..read more

Elenoa Rokobaro is an Aussie powerhouse performer and recent recipient of the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Female Actor in a Leading Role for her performance in the acclaimed Caroline, Or Change. Rokobaro is currently playing the titular role in Send for Nellie at Sydney Festival, and took the time to answer a few questions on the role for Stage Sips. What has been your journey into theatre ? I’ve grown up in theatre. Went to a performing arts high school. Started performing professionally when I was 16. I’ve been in the industry for over half my life. My favourite moment was playing Carolin ..read more

Tasting Notes Don’t have time to read the full review? Click here for a quick summary of the who, what, where and wine of this production. Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed brings together visual art, theatre, poetry and political protest in this multi award-winning performance art piece. Read the title. Now read it back-to-front. Are we not drawn onward to new erA puts a unique spin on its exploration of humanity’s insatiable quest for progress that has dramatically changed the planet we live on. It puts to us the question, are our actions irreversible or can they be undone? I have ..read more

Tasting Notes Don’t have time to read the full review? Click here for a quick summary of the who, what, where and wine of this production. Anita Heiss’ adaptation of her eponymous novel Tiddas celebrates the joys, challenges and overwhelming endurance of sisterhood, or in other words, Tiddahood. Five women, best friends for decades, meet once a month to talk about books, drink wine, and update each other on their lives. They’re practically sisters, Tiddas, and have always been open and honest with each other, even when the truth is brutal. But, as life becomes more complicated, they might ..read more

Tasting Notes Don’t have time to read the full review? Click here for a quick summary of the who, what, where and wine of this production. It’s 1987 in Vale Park, just outside Adelaide, and Michael Griffiths is trying to navigate his sexuality at the same time as starting high school as a theatre-loving, sports-avoiding kid and seeing Grim Reaper ads on TV every night at the height of the AIDS epidemic. In these times, the coolly melancholic songs of electronic duo Pet Shop Boys – aka Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe – were his solace and his escape. Griffiths reflects through their music on h ..read more

Tasting Notes Don’t have time to read the full review? Click here for a quick summary of the who, what, where and wine of this production. Cancellations, flooding delays, signal issues and trackwork – Sydney’s train system has always been one for dramatics, but never before have the experiences of a frustrated commuter been captured so uniquely as in BBT’s TRACK WORKS. At Sydney’s stunning historic Mortuary Station, station master Bill (Michael Kaufmann), impatient career woman Jane (Anastasia Gall), homeless woman dreaming of being an artist Sam (Sophie Mohler) and bored schoolgirls Jess ..read more