Yesterday
Musicians are disappearing from our big musicals
A software program is behind the shrinking size of pit orchestras in musicals such as The Lion King, even as state governments continue to subsidise the tours.
This Month
David Wenham on what The Iliad can tell us about today’s war
The Lord Of The Rings made him a global screen star, but another epic has drawn the Sydney-born actor back to his first love: theatre.
Moll find delivers 19x pay day, Carrick emerges and Monet trumped
The eagle-eyed collector who recognised a Carl Moll painting secured a huge profit, while the 200th anniversary of Claude Monet’s death brings works to market.
How to stop getting phone shamed by your kids
The tedium of parenthood is real, and so is the exhaustion of an adult who craves a moment to zone out. But it’s mortifying when your children point out your failings.
Biennale to review remaining acts after DJ Haram furore
The organisers of Australia’s largest visual arts festival admit the performer’s tirade distressed some, and are now primed to pull the mic on hate speech.
Junk room to become jazz club with priceless Melbourne view
The 100-seat venue with bar and kitchen will transform a forgotten corner of Melbourne Recital Centre, thanks to a $1 million donation
Val Kilmer died a year ago. Now he’s back for one last movie
Kilmer’s estate collaborated with the filmmakers to make a digital likeness of the actor, who died of cancer last year.
Michelle Pfeiffer makes it look easy. It isn’t
At 67, the actor is busier than ever, a movie queen lately reinvented as a small-screen star. And she is imperfectly trying to ease up on perfectionism.
‘Unknown’ artist expected to deliver 10-bagger for canny collector
A work picked up recently for $5000 turns out to be by an Austrian who founded the Vienna Secession movement with Gustav Klimt.
Billionaire scores 3500pc return on art by Freud, Bacon
After being pardoned by Donald Trump, entrepreneur Joe Lewis, 89, is offloading some of his School of London art. One piece went for five times the estimate.
If you see just one film in the cinema this year, this is a good pick
Project Hail Mary must be seen on a big screen. It’s an escape to a grand universe that still believes in the best of humanity – and you can bring the kids.
‘Glory to all our martyrs’: the moment the crowd turned on DJ Haram
An opening night speech has put Sydney’s 53-year-old art showcase at risk after the Biennale’s organisers ignored months of warnings.
This orchestra just ditched a much-hated fee
Sydney Symphony’s ticket buyers were complaining that the $8.95 booking fee was unfair. So it became one of very few live events organisers to get rid of it.
Refund complication as Bluesfest collapses owing $5.7m
Poor ticket sales have forced the 35-year-old festival to close just weeks from its 2026 show, with sources saying “bad will” was created by last year’s event.
The best shows and exhibitions to see at the 2026 Sydney Biennale
The 25th edition of the nation’s biggest visual art festival has been dogged by culture war controversy – but here is what the actual works look like.
Plenty of perks and worldwide attention: the life of an Oscar voter
For some, the invitation to join comes as a happy surprise. Others lobby hard to become a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Jewish group rejects offer to preview Sydney Biennale
The snub from the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies comes after Biennale artists put up antisemitic social media posts without censure from the organisers.
Vendors lift Emilys off walls for year’s first big Indigenous sale
Boosted by the acclaim of a Tate Modern retrospective, vendors are hoping Emily Kame Kngwarreye will deliver in an auction expected to top $4.5 million.
Nicole Kidman makes a great forensic pathologist
It’s the first time Kay Scarpetta has made it to the screen; while there are nifty plot techniques, the hunt for a serial killer overshadows all.
Sydney Biennale unveiled despite curator no-show
The director of Australia’s largest visual art festival did not turn up to her own media preview, after months of controversy about a supposedly anti-Zionist agenda.
Surprise Bollywood twist in Sydney film studio search
A geographic curveball has been thrown in the search for a $100 million film studio, as NSW fights to seize the screen capital crown back from Queensland.
Artwork ‘painted’ with incense sticks wins $80k prize
The Glover Prize for contemporary Tasmanian landscapes has been won by an artist using a traditional Chinese technique.
This anti-members’ club members’ club will ask why you want to join
People are spurning hyperbaric chambers, IV infusions and big annual fees for tinned fish, vermouth and deep conversation at this club in Chippendale, Sydney.
A feast for the eyes but good luck following the plot
Star actor Jessie Buckley turns the dial to 11 in the opening scene and doesn’t relent in this confusing and chaotic reprise of a 1935 classic.
If you loved the 2024/25 brat summer, Charli XCX has a gift for you
This mockumentary starring the British singer is an amusing, and occasionally sharp, look at celebrity and pop culture.
