News

Leads Announced for The Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbour

Opera Australia has announced that Australian soprano Amy Manford has been cast as Christine Daaé in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera when it returns for a limited season at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour from 27 March to 3 May next year.

Amy has attracted global recognition for her portrayal of The Phantom’s protégé, playing the role to critical acclaim in both the recent Australian in-theatre tour and the West End production in London.

 

Saturday Night Fever Melbourne Cast

Ethan Churchill will lead the cast who bring the 1970s cult classic characters from Saturday Night Fever to life in this reimagined production at Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre with performances starting on January 8th, 2026.

Australian Musical Theatre Festival 2026

Image (above): Delia Hannah

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra returns and Nancye Hayes announced as Festival Patron

Pretty Woman the Musical

They are stepping into big shoes.  Samantha Jade and Ben Hall are taking on the roles made famous by Julia

STAGE WHISPERS MAGAZINE: DECEMBER 2025 TO FEBRUARY 2026 EDITION OUT NOW!!!

IN THIS EDITION

 

The Lure of Anastasia

Stars Georgina Hopson and Joshua Robson shower praise on lost Princess musical

The ART of Good Taste

Director Lee Lewis on her new production of Yasmina Reza’s hit play

SIX The Musical to Return in 2026

SIX the Musical will return to Australia in 2026, with seasons confirmed at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from July 2026, Theatre Royal Sydney from October 2026 and QPAC’s Playhouse Theatre in Brisbane from January 2027.

WAITLIST NOW SIXTHEMUSICAL.COM.AU

S,B &W Foundation Announces $250,000 in Performing Arts Grants & 2025 Winner Of $20,000 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award

As it approaches its 40th Anniversary year, the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation, a charity established to assist the performing arts in Australia, announced substantial Grants for 2026 and a significant playwright’s award to a packed gathering of theatre practitioners and supporters at the S,B&W Foundation’s annual Christmas celebration, in the Seaborn Library at their Neutral Bay headquarters on Thursday evening, November 20, 2025.

A Purr-fect Return

With CATS the Musical on the road in a national tour Coral Drouyn looks at the magic of both

Sydney Festival 2026

Image: Mama Does Derby

Sydney Festival marks its 50th anniversary in January 2026 with a diverse city-wide program that honours five decades of cultural transformation and looks ahead to the next generation of artistic innovation. From 8-25 January, Sydney becomes a playground of imagination, with theatre, dance, music, visual arts and immersive experiences taking over historic venues, pop-up spaces and unexpected corners of the city. 

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