Stage Briefs

The Segmento Tarantella Festival 2023

Flora Georgiou reports on the Music and Dance, which runs across Victoria from November 17.

The annual Tarantella Festival celebrating Southern Italian Music and Dance across Victoria is scheduled to launch on the 17th of November and is running until the 3rd of December. A line up of local and international creatives will be entertaining the crowds with dance, music, workshops, storytelling, performances, along with a stunning multimedia exhibition.

The Dreamer by ARC Circus at Fringe World

The Dreamer, a dynamic new solo circus performance, choreographed by acrobat and dancer Robbie Curtis (Arc Circus Co., Cirque du Soleil, Circa, Circus Oz, Australian Ballet) which premiered to a sold-out season at Underground Festival at HOTA on the Gold Coast, will be at the Perth's Fringe World Festival from January 30 to February 4, 2024.

Turning up the heat with SUMMER STAGE!

Call out for young actors, devisers, directors and designers! Side by side with some of the State’s most exciting artists, help WA Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCo) put to the test three fresh ideas for its 2024 production. 

Theatrical Present Dogfight at Chapel Off Chapel

Following their recent successes including American Idiot and The Wizard of Oz, new musical theatre company Theatrical is presenting Dogfight, playing for a strictly limited season at Chapel Off Chapel from 9-26 November. 

Magical Mary Poppins Boosts South Australian Economy

Image: Adelaide Festival Centre 2022 - Supplied by Adelaide Festival Centre.

In addition to the huge impression it made on the hearts of South Australians, the hit musical Mary Poppins had a flow on impact to the state’s economy, generating expenditure of an estimated $23.4 million for the state.  

Candide in Concert Collaboration in Adelaide.

In May 2024, South Australia’s flagship theatre and opera companies will come together for the first time in more than a decade. State Theatre Company South Australia and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra will join forces to present a concert version of Leonard Bernstein’s beloved comic operetta and existential vaudeville, Candide.

Adelaide Premiere of A New Brain

David Gauci and Davine Productions celebrate 10 years of music theatre with another Adelaide debut show, a musical comedy about gratitude and fresh beginnings. 

Producer/Director David Gauci performed in the professional production of A New Brain in Melbourne and has wanted to bring this quirky musical to South Australian audiences ever since.

Seasons 2024

Theatre companies around Australia are now announcing their 2024 seasons. Read on for brief season introductions, and links to our more detailed coverage of each indiividual season.

Sydney Theatre Company

West Side Story Returns to Sydney Harbour in 2024

Opera Australia (OA) has announced that West Side Story will return to the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour stage in 2024, along with renewed partnerships with Dr Haruhisa Handa’s International Foundation for Arts and Culture and Destination NSW.

This production of West Side Story opened in 2019 remains the most successful of all Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour productions, having attracted record audience numbers, selling more than 65,000 tickets.

Miss Saigon for Adelaide

GWB Entertainment has announced Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Boublil and Schönberg’s musical Miss Saigon is headed to Adelaide for a summer season. Featuring an extraordinary cast of talented performers from across the Asia-Pacific region, Miss Saigon will play at the Festival Theatre from January 2, 2024 for a strictly limited season.