Pier 2/3

It has been more than a century since the Titanic sank into the icy depths of the North Atlantic Ocean, claiming the lives of 1,496 people, and the legend continues to captivate us.  Sydneysiders can explore detailed life-size recreations of the ship’s interiors and take a deep dive into the stories of the people on board at Titanic. The Human Story, open from May 30 at the historic Pier 2/3 in the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct. Created by award-winning exhibitions producer Musealia alongside one of the world’s foremost experts on the Titanic, renound Swedish historian and author Claes-Göran Wetterholm, the exhibition features a selection of around 200 never-before-seen objects and personal artefacts that unveil touching human stories of the ship’s passengers and crew. Far more than just a display of historic items, this is a unique narrative experience, sharing tales from history’s most legendary ship and its ill-fated maiden (and final) journey. The experience encourages guests to travel back in time through photographs, handwritten letters, cherished keepsakes, and other personal belongings. Having captivated audiences with previous iterations across America and the UK, this exhibition welcomed more than 146,000 visitors during its Australian debut in Brisbane in 2024. (Not to be confused with the similarly immersive Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition in Melbourne.) Tip: you'll want to allow about an hour and a half to explore the exhibiton, and you can book ahead for sessions...

There are some stories that feel eternally relevant. Set in ancient Rome, and written more than 400 years ago, the brutal, volatile, ego-driven politics on display in Coriolanus seem to cut like a blade close to the throat of our own century and civilization. This is the second time in Bell Shakespeare’s history the company has mounted Shakespeare’s final tragedy, and director Peter Evans marshals an impressive, vigorous and robust undertaking of the play’s weighted themes. He’s helped by an excellent ensemble and a monumental lead in Hazem Shammas. We, the theatre-going people, are also involved in the play’s politics from the start. Down the subtly lit hall of the Neilson Nutshell, in a small yet meaningful simulation of the class divide, the audience is split down an arbitrary and unbreachable line. Those seated on one side of the theatre are dubbed ‘patricians’ (the contemptuous ruling classes, whom costume designer Ella Butler has in charcoal suits and creamy loose-fitting garments); the other side are the ‘plebeians’ (who are hungry, angry, and fomenting rebellion). It is between these two groups and the Senate that the arrogant warrior Coriolanus becomes embroiled when he returns bloodied and victorious from war with the Volsces, the state’s enemy neighbours, and is offered the honourable role of consul.  Volumnia – a fiercely exceptional Brigid Zengeni, in her Bell Shakespeare debut, who gloats of her son’s many stab wounds with a sick adoring pride – would love...