Sydney Festival
Critics’ recap: the highs and lows of a Sydney Festival like no other
Our critics look back on a Sydney Festival like no other.
- by John Shand and Jill Sykes
Latest
Opinion
Spectrum
Sydney Festival 2022: best in years, shame so few saw it
For Helen Pitt this year’s Sydney Festival has been one of the best in recent memory.
- by Helen Pitt
Sydney Festival director condemns online ‘intimidation’
Sydney Festival director Olivia Ansell has condemned the behaviour of some activists who called for a boycott of the event.
- by Nick Galvin
Opinion
Israel
Boycotting art? There must be another way
The Sydney Festival ends on Sunday under a cloud caused by the boycott over Israeli embassy sponsorship. Another Sydney festival demonstrates a better approach.
- by Ben Adler and Nawfel Alfaris
The Museum of Modern Love’s shift to stage is unmissable
Tom Holloway has arrived at an inspired adaptation of Heather Rose’s beloved novel.
- by John Shand
A tale of teenage misfits offers ‘breath of fresh air’
Heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking, Chewing Gum Dreams is a one-woman play from the perspective of a 14-year-old black girl growing up in London.
- by Lenny Ann Low
Bodies fly in dizzyingly graceful Sydney Festival collaboration
It wouldn’t be summer in Sydney without the Sydney Festival, featuring a diversity of cultural events throughout January. Here our critics review some festival highlights.
- by John Shand, Jill Sykes and Harriet Cunningham
Four-hander penned with the finesse of a Beethoven string quartet
It wouldn’t be summer in Sydney without the Sydney Festival, featuring a diversity of cultural events throughout January. Here our critics review some festival highlights.
- by George Palathingal, Cassie Tongue, Jill Sykes, Harriet Cunningham, Shamim Razavi, John Shand and Daniel Herbone
The children’s show where making a mess is part of the fun
The young and young at heart are invited to run amok in Sydney Festival’s interactive family show at Carriageworks.
- by Lenny Ann Low
Programs in tatters and audiences halved as Omicron hits Sydney shows
Crew and cast members have been sidelined and wary patrons are staying home, with one festival organiser saying “it feels like the beginning of the pandemic all over again”.
- by Linda Morris
Benjamin Law quits Sydney Festival board following Israeli funding controversy
The author and journalist had faced criticism on social media in recent weeks for not acknowledging the artists’ boycott.
- by Robert Moran and Linda Morris