The Stage Show

Ivo van Hove is renowned as one of the most innovative — and divisive — theatre directors working today. The Belgian's enthralling stage adaptations of classic works consistently subvert expectations. Now, van Hove's adaptation of the confronting novel A Little Life is coming to the Adelaide Festival. Also, a married lesbian couple with two children face divorce in Blessed Union, a new comedy at B...

We celebrate Sydney WorldPride with cabaret performer and drag artist Reuben Kaye. In his breathlessly entertaining shows, Kaye shares his family's extraordinary story of survival and how the arts carried him through trauma — all while singing up a storm. Also, the Hayes Theatre Co revive Gentleman Prefer Blondes — but how is it a queer story? And we consider the evolution of queer performance thr...

This year's Perth Festival takes us to the stars, with many events in the program inspired by stories of the cosmos. The West Australian Symphony Orchestra's concert Music of the Spheres included music from Australian composer Richard Mills' forthcoming opera Galileo, inspired by the life of the pioneering Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. Also, Aboriginal dreaming stories inspire bold new theat...

Roald Dahl's beloved novel Matilda was brought to glorious life as a stage musical in 2010 and now it is on screen, once again buoyed by the clever, funny, moving songs by Tim Minchin. Also, we revisit our conversation with another talented West Australian: the writer and actor Kate Mulvany. Kate will soon star in the Melbourne Theatre Company production of Bernhardt/Hamlet.

What happens when we see real events and meet well-known people on stage? Can the theatre shape our sense of our own history? Those questions are raised by a new Australian play called Sunday. It features a knockout performance from Nikki Shiels as arts patron Sunday Reed. Also, we're joined by the writer of Sunday, Anthony Weigh, to discuss what responsibilities artists have to truth and accuracy...

If you've seen a performance by Bangarra Dance Theatre in the last 12 years, then you've seen the work of Jacob Nash. Jacob is Bangarra's head of design and he has created the dazzling sets for every Bangarra show since 2010. He is also a key creative force at the Sydney Festival. Also, we hear a performance from the new opera The Priestess of Morphine, based on the life of Baroness Gertrud von Pu...

Sydney Theatre Company artistic director Kip Williams' production of The Picture of Dorian Gray starred Eryn-Jean Norvill in all 26 roles and incorporated video screens to spectacular effect. Now, Williams has brought another classic to the stage: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Also, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera and Cats were all produced by the same man: Cameron Mackintosh. In Aus...

Suzie Miller was a lawyer before she became a playwright. Now, Prima Facie, a play that takes her back to the courtroom, has launched her career on the West End and Broadway. Also, experimental theatre-maker Robert Wilson transports audiences into an almost trance-like state of stillness. His Moving Portraits invoke a similar sense of stillness and theatricality.

Our oldest modern dance company, the Australian Dance Theatre, has been delighting and challenging audiences for nearly 60 years. Now Wiradjuri dancer and choreographer Daniel Riley is at the helm, becoming the first Indigenous man to lead the company. Also, Larrakia founder of the NT Dance Company, Gary Lang, shares what's on his Top Shelf and after wowing audiences at the Royal Albert Hall and T...

As the ABC celebrates its 90th birthday, we delve into our archives to revisit key moments in Australian performing arts history. Highlights include Laurence Olivier on tour, Nureyev and Fonteyn dancing into Australian hearts and Indigenous theatre taking centre stage. Also, Ian McKellen makes his Australian debut, Dorothy Hewett revolutionises Australian playwriting, Philip Glass writes a piece f...

Dancers Ako Kondo and Chengwu Guo travelled great distances at a very young age to join The Australian Ballet. Here in Australia, they’ve risen to become award-winning artists and principals at the company — but they also found each other, beginning a fairy-tale romance and inspiring each other to new heights. Also, in 2002, John Waters' brash and big-hearted musical comedy Hairspray was adapted f...

Welsh stage and screen star Michael Sheen is in Australia to perform in a new production of Peter Shaffer's classic play Amadeus and the Sydney Opera House. He's taken on the powerhouse role of Mozart's bitter and vengeful rival, Antonio Salieri. Also, at Sydney's Ensemble Theatre, two new plays ask probing questions about what the Christmas message of generosity and hope means in an era of divisi...

Performer James Thiérrée takes audiences into surreal worlds that leave us pondering some big questions about life on Earth. As the son of two pioneers of contemporary circus and the grandson of Charlie Chaplin, it's no wonder James sees the world differently. His latest mind-bending work of physical theatre is called Room. Also, Richard Jordan drops by to share the story of an actor who once star...

Classical repertoire dominates Australian ballet seasons, but in the mid-20th century, new work was a key priority for Australian ballet companies. What has become of these works? Our Top 5 Arts resident Yvette Grant introduces us to the prolific choreographer Laurel Martyn (1916-2013) and we learn about Yvette's own mission to resurrect forgotten Australian ballets. Also, to mark Barbra Streisand...

British director Laurence Connor has a knack for knowing what audiences want. He has directed or revived some of the most successful musicals ever produced, including a hit new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's first musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Also, the Australian comic opera Love Burns by Graeme Koehne and Louis Nowra is revived by the State Opera of South Australia,...

Danish-British writer and comedian Sandi Toksvig has written books, plays, musicals, and she's the host of the ever-popular British quiz show QI. She is now touring Australia with her show Sandi Toksvig Live — an evening of comedy and stories from her extraordinary life.  Also, we hear a scene from The Mentor, a new Australian play about an ageing star who begins tutoring a young actor, but person...

S. Shakthidharan's new play for Belvoir St Theatre, The Jungle and Sea, adds dimension to his award-winning epic, Counting and Cracking. The Jungle and the Sea also builds on Shakthidharan's deeply held belief that the arts, and theatre in particular, can unite communities.  Also, Emilia Bassano pursued a career as a poet during William Shakespeare's time and a new play commissioned by Shakespeare...

To ring in the holiday season, an award-winning production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is in Australia from London's famous Old Vic Theatre. It's directed by Matthew Warchus, who is also the director of Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly's musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's Matilda.  Also, we gather the cast of Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical in our music studio to perform the big act one f...

Choreographer Stephanie Lake gets dancers to perform with a kind of joy and discipline which would hold the attention and the wonder of anyone. She currently has work on the way for the Sydney Dance Company, Malthouse Theatre and Sydney Festival, and even more in the pipeline. Also, a company of dancers from war-torn Ukraine are now in Australia with a production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and Ade...

In the 1980s, Annette Shun Wah was at the cutting edge of Australian radio and television and was one of the first Asian Australians to host her own show. Now Annette is empowering a new generation of creative Australians at the OzAsia Festival. Also, we meet a martial arts performer who tells her life story in an explosively physical theatre show called Action Star, and to mark the 50th anniversa...

For nail-biting drama and spectacular performances, many Australians head to a different kind of theatre: the footy field. Andrea Gibbs' debut play, Barracking for the Umpire, unites her passion for the arts and AFL and asks important questions about how much we sacrifice for the love of the game.  Also, we speak with Patrick Livesy about Naomi, Patrick's one-person verbatim play about their mothe...

Dancers Ako Kondo and Chengwu Guo travelled great distances at a very young age to join The Australian Ballet. Here in Australia, they’ve risen to become award-winning artists and principals at the company — but they also found each other, beginning a fairy-tale romance and inspiring each other to new heights. Also, Broadway's longest-running show The Phantom of the Opera will soon give up the gho...

Les Misérables opened on the West End in 1985 and is still running, making it London's longest-running musical. It's by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, who are in Australia to present a concert of their best-loved songs performed by the crème de la crème of musical theatre. Also, Maori man Rodney Bell (Ngāti Maniapoto) traces his journey from butcher and rugby player to celebrated dance...

We pay tribute to Boon Wurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta actor, writer and activist and elder Jack Charles who has died at the age of 79. Also, Stephen Karam's Tony Award-winning play The Humans is now a film, directed by the playwright himself, and we unpack Charles III's first speech as king, a tribute to his late mother Queen Elizabeth II, which ended with a quote from Willia...

In his 50-year career, English writer David Hare has written more than 30 plays. His latest, Straight Line Crazy, features a powerhouse performance by Ralph Fiennes as the autocratic American road builder, Robert Moses.  Also, experimental theatre-maker Robert Wilson transports audiences into an almost trance-like state of stillness. His Moving Portraits now on display at the Art Gallery of South...