This December, John Foreman reunites with Australian Idol superstars Rob Mills, Casey Donovan and Paulini with the Australian Pops Orchestra for an unmissable night of musical theatre at the Melbourne Recital Centre. artsreview.com.au/the-idols-of...

A new exhibition at the White Rabbit Gallery, The Hooligans, takes a look at the Chinese artists who have learned to think beyond imposed boundaries in the face of relentless restrictions. artsreview.com.au/the-hooligans/

The cult Broadway and Hollywood sci-fi smash musical Little Shop of Horrors is back – bigger, bolder, and hungrier than ever, and ready to take over the Cremorne Theatre – QPAC from 3 January 2026. artsreview.com.au/little-shop-...

Sofitel Melbourne On Collins reaffirms its position as the hotel for the Arts with a major cultural highlight closing out 2025 and welcoming the new year; the launch of exclusive ANASTASIA the Musical Stay and See accommodation packages and experiences throughout the Melbourne season. bit.ly/4j6EiYk

John Moyle takes a look at GATSBY at The Green Light - currently playing in the Studio - Sydney Opera House until 28 March 2026. artsreview.com.au/gatsby-at-th...

Known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics Rainforest, a new immersive exhibition in Cairns, Tomb of the Pharaohs, offers to fulfil Australian’s love of ancient history with a completely unique experience for modern audiences. artsreview.com.au/tomb-of-the-...

Melbourne and Sydney audiences are in for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, with legendary composer Alan Menken confirming one-night-only performances of A Whole New World of Alan Menken in May 2026. artsreview.com.au/disney-legen...

A raw and unsettling portrait of family, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive, Light the Torch Productions in association with New Theatre presents A Lie of the Mind by noted American playwright Sam Shepard, this January. artsreview.com.au/a-lie-of-the...

Opera Australia has announced that Jarrod Draper, Jake Lyle and Amy Manford have been cast in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera when it returns for a much anticipated, limited season at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour from 27 March to 3 May next year. artsreview.com.au/exceptional-...

Get ready for an unforgettable fairytale adventure as Showcase Entertainment Group brings the larger-than-life Broadway hit Shrek The Musical to Melbourne and Sydney stages throughout December and January. artsreview.com.au/the-wait-is-...

Award-winning UK choreographer and dancer Aakash Odedra returns to Australia in 2026 with his dance work, Songs of the Bulbul, playing at the Sydney Opera House (28 - 31 January), Arts Centre Melbourne (3 - 7 February) and the Perth Festival (13 - 15 February). artsreview.com.au/songs-of-the...

From minimalist residential courtyards to large-scale public spaces, bluestone continues to shape how architects, designers, and landscape professionals approach form, texture, and longevity. artsreview.com.au/why-blueston...

From the Producers of the sold-out hit The Addams Family, TEATRO at the Italian Forum presents a dazzling new holiday spectacle, Santa Claus: The Musical this December. artsreview.com.au/santa-claus-...

As 2025 comes to an end, Australian Arts Review takes a look at a number of terrific books to while away the hours over Summer. artsreview.com.au/summer-readi...

Returning this summer, Peter Quince Presents: Shakespeare’s Best Bits is taking the Bard off the school syllabus and letting his funniest characters run loose in the Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens from 20 December 2025 - 17 January 2026. artsreview.com.au/peter-quince...

Michele-Rose Boylan takes a look at Sweet Charity - which recently played at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). artsreview.com.au/sweet-charit...

Before Rodgers and Hammerstein there was Rodgers and Hart yet most people know very little of Lorenz Hart even though they would have listened to many of his songs in every decade since the 1920s. Peter Khoury discusses... artsreview.com.au/revisiting-l...

Marking 100 years since it first premiered, Opera Australia is thrilled to present a brand new production of Puccini’s final and iconic opera Turandot, by International Director and Choreographer Ann Yee, opening at the Sydney Opera House on 15 January 2026. artsreview.com.au/opera-austra...

Bill Stephens OAM takes a look at A Celtic Christmas by A Taste of Ireland - which recently played at the Canberra Theatre Centre before playing at Frankston Arts Centre, Geelong Arts Centre, Her Majesty’s Theatre Adelaide, State Theatre Sydney and HOTA Gold Coast. artsreview.com.au/a-celtic-chr...

Bringing more than two decades of leadership experience within Australia’s cultural sector, Arts Northern Rivers (ANR) has announced the appointment of Rosie Dennis as its new Executive Director. artsreview.com.au/arts-norther...

For the first time in almost a decade, Australia will once again witness the magnetic presence of an artist who transcends genre, era and expectation as Grace Jones returns in 2026, performing in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. artsreview.com.au/global-icon-...

Award-winning company Trick of the Light Theatre is heading to Arts Centre Melbourne with The Bookbinder – a wildly inventive one-man show set in a bookbinder’s workshop playing in The Show Room from 23 – 25 April 2026. artsreview.com.au/award-winnin...

The NSW Government has lifted event caps at Royal Randwick, unlocking new opportunities for Sydney’s live entertainment scene — from large-scale concerts to community events and creative gigs. artsreview.com.au/randwicks-ev...

This December, Shake & Stir Theatre Co’s award-winning stage spectacle – Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol – returns to lift your spirits in the Playhouse – QPAC from 12 – 24 December 2025. artsreview.com.au/a-christmas-...

The Australian Museum of Performing Arts (AMPA) at Arts Centre Melbourne has launched its first major exhibition, DIVA, a dazzling celebration of the bold, genre-shaping performers who have long fuelled the world’s cultural imagination. artsreview.com.au/in-a-spectac...

Communities across the country will have the chance to enjoy exhibitions from leading Australian cultural institutions thanks to the Visions of Australia regional exhibition touring program. artsreview.com.au/visions-of-a...

An exceptional Australian cast led by talented triple threat, Ethan Churchill, will bring the 1970s cult classic characters from Saturday Night Fever to life in this reimagined production at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre in January 2026. artsreview.com.au/stellar-cast...

Australia’s favourite outdoor cinema, Moonlight Cinema, has released its January program, with a blockbuster line-up perfect for summer evenings under the stars. artsreview.com.au/moonlight-ci...

39 projects will receive investment through Music Australia’s Export Development Fund, supporting Australian artists, producers and composers to undertake career-defining activities around the world. artsreview.com.au/supporting-t...

Take a drive down memory lane with State Library Queensland's new Summer exhibition, Driven: every car has a story. artsreview.com.au/driven-every...

Pack your mince pies and Christmas spirits – The Kransky Sisters are bringing the party back to Brisbane after a cracker sold-out 2024 season! artsreview.com.au/a-cracker-kr...

The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards has unveiled the shortlist of outstanding works vying for one of Australia’s richest literary prizes in 2026. artsreview.com.au/shortlists-a...

The Peninsula Summer Music Festival (PSMF) will once again bring the sounds of baroque, jazz and ensemble music to Mornington Peninsula for 18 stunning events across nine glorious days from Saturday 3 to Sunday 11 January 2026. artsreview.com.au/peninsula-su...

Exclusive to Sydney, the Art Gallery of New South Wales presents Ron Mueck: Encounter – the largest exhibition of the internationally acclaimed Australian sculptor ever shown in the country. artsreview.com.au/ron-mueck-en...

Tickets are now on pre-sale for the Melbourne premiere of Broadway’s smash-hit musical WAITRESS, which will light up Her Majesty’s Theatre from 1 May 2026. General public tickets go on sale this Friday 12 December 2025. artsreview.com.au/waitress-tic...

The Australian World Orchestra (AWO) will celebrate 15 years of ambitious programming, and visionary collaborations in 2026 with a bold new three-part program, conducted by Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Alexander Briger AO. artsreview.com.au/australian-w...

After its most significant transformation in decades, the State Library of NSW's popular Macquarie Street Building has reopened offering Sydneysiders and visitors even more places to study, gather and enjoy. artsreview.com.au/state-librar...

Opera Australia's 70th anniversary season will open with the welcome return of former OA Artistic Director Moffatt Oxenbould’s beloved production of Puccini’s beautifully tragic Madama Butterfly, one of the most iconic in OA’s repertoire. artsreview.com.au/opera-austra...

After claiming the 2025 Tony Award for Best Play, the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2025 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, Sydney Theatre Company presents the Australian premiere of Purpose by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins at the Wharf 1 Theatre next February. artsreview.com.au/branden-jaco...

On display until 12 July 2026, Presence – a major exhibition by Berlin-based Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson has opened at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). artsreview.com.au/olafur-elias...

Fans of the beloved ABBA musical can rejoice as the MAMMA MIA! The Musical makes a triumphant return to Melbourne this summer at St Kilda's National Theatre. artsreview.com.au/full-cast-an...

In a bold, expansive and artist-driven program featuring more than 50 productions, Theatre Works reveals its 2026 season. At the same time the organisation has announced Executive Director Dianne Toulson will step down in July 2026 after eight years in the role. artsreview.com.au/theatre-work...

Producers John Frost for Crossroads Live and Opera Australia have announced that Broadway musical ANASTASIA will premiere at Adelaide Festival Centre's Festival Theatre from August 2026. artsreview.com.au/hit-broadway...

Alexa Hafner Keelan takes a look at Pretty Woman: The Musical - currently playing at Theatre Royal Sydney, before heading to Crown Theatre Perth from 18 April, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide, from 31 May, and Melbourne’s Regent Theatre from 14 July 2026. artsreview.com.au/pretty-woman...

Michele-Rose Boylan takes a look at Queensland Ballet's The Nutcracker - which is currently playing at the Lyric Theatre - QPAC until 13 December 2025. artsreview.com.au/the-nutcrack...

Righting My World is a collection of writings over the past half-century from the acclaimed professor of politics and gay rights activist, Dennis Altman. artsreview.com.au/dennis-altma...

Opening 7 December 2025, the NGV’s world-premiere summer blockbuster exhibition pairs two global icons – and iconoclasts – of the fashion world for the first time, British designer Vivienne Westwood (1941 – 2022) and Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo (b. 1942) of Comme des Garçons. bit.ly/3Mg0nHH

Compressions is a new public artwork at Fed Square, and the first public outcome of the Test Garden artist-in-residence program, commissioned by MAP Co with the University of Melbourne. artsreview.com.au/compressions...

After sold-out seasons at the Castlemaine State Festival and Yirramboi Festivals in 2021, Brodie Murray’s Soul of Possum makes its return to fortyfivedownstairs this December. artsreview.com.au/soul-of-poss...

Ahead of the creative precinct’s 40th birthday in 2026, new Creative Director and CEO Sam Strong has unveiled a fresh vision for Gasworks Arts Park as a home for creativity. artsreview.com.au/gasworks-tur...