Summer showtime in Sydney
Summer heralds a host of stage shows in Sydney, ranging from big-budget musicals to high-flying circus thrills. The AJN gives a sneak peak into a few upcoming productions.
THE story of the loveable ogre Shrek, made famous in the 2001 Oscar-winning animated movie, enjoyed great success when the musical opened on Broadway in 2008. Now Shrek the Musical is set to delight Australian fans, opening at the Sydney Lyric Theatre on January 1.
Taking on the role of Peter Pan in the part-romance, part twisted fairytale is Rubin Matters, who recently starred as Diesel, second-in-command of the Jets gang in West Side Story, and in the ensemble of The Wizard of Oz.
“I performed in West Side Story which shed light on topics still extremely relevant to the world today. Although Shrek is filled with humour and big musical numbers, at the heart of the show there’s a really beautiful message of acceptance,” Matters told The AJN.
“Us fairytale creatures explore that in the song ‘Freak Flag’ – what makes us special, makes us strong. Celebrating what makes you different and embracing others for doing so too.”
Shrek the Musical stars Ben Mingay in the title role, Lucy Durack as Princess Fiona, Todd McKenney as the short-in-stature Lord Farquaad and Marcia Hines as the Dragon.
Following her acclaimed sold-out season on London’s West End, Bernadette Robinson returns in the hit play Songs for Nobodies at the Sydney Opera House from January 23 to February 9.
First performed 10 years ago, Songs for Nobodies is a solo show featuring imagined encounters between five ordinary women and their musical idols – Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf and Maria Callas.
As she breathes new life into the five legendary performers, Robinson switches characters and adjusts her voice from blues to a thrilling soprano.
The brainchild of Jewish producer Tim Lawson, Cirque Stratosphere is a new circus from the creators of last summer’s hit The Illusionists and Circus 1903 (2016) being staged at the Sydney Opera House’s Concert Hall from December 24-29.
Cirque Stratosphere features a variety of acts including the Columbian Wheel of Death, stunts on roller-skates, death-
defying acrobatics in Russian Bar, and sky-high contortions in the Aerial Sphere.
An annual summer favourite, Sydney Festival will be in full swing this January with performances by famed artists including renowned composer and pianist Elena Kats-Chernin, who will perform highlights from Book of Rags, her ballet Wild Swans, and her new Australian opera Whiteley, which was performed earlier this year, along with new compositions, at Sydney’s Town Hall on January 16.
While writing Whiteley, Kats-Chernin considered two sources of inspiration in Australian artist Brett Whiteley’s life – his love for Wendy Whiteley, and Whiteley and his art, she said.
“They play a role throughout the whole opera. I was responding as much to him as a person and to Wendy Whiteley as a person, as to his art and how his lines, colours are, and his development over time,” Kats-Chernin remarked.
“There is action, movement, highs and lows, the whole story of Brett and Wendy is really operatic.”
Two hands will become four when Kats-Chernin performs with Tamara-Anna Cislowska on January 17 at Sydney Town Hall.
Together they will perform pieces from their albums, Butterflying and Unsent Love Letters: Meditations on Erik Satie in their concert, Four Hands at the Piano.
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