The best shows to see in Sydney this month

Exciting stuff for film buffs: Back to the Future: The Musical will make its much-anticipated Aussie premiere on Friday, September 26, 2025, at the Sydney Lyric. Based on the hit film, the production features an all-Aussie cast, led by Broadway star and Tony Award winner Roger Bart as Doc Brown, and newcomer Axel Duffy in the driver’s seat as Marty McFly. Strap in for a high-octane show packed with heart and humour.

A season of love is about to rock the Sydney Opera House, with an exciting cast announced for the Harbour City’s brand new production of the musical that changed the course of Broadway as we know it – Jonathan Larson’s Rent. A celebration of love, life, art and the resilience of the human spirit, Rent takes audiences to the vibrant streets of New York City’s East Village in the early ’90s, where young people navigate poignant social issues and dreams are born, friendships are tested, and the power of love prevails against all odds.Fresh from his celebrated production of Guys & Dolls on Sydney Harbour, director Shaun Rennie has assembled some of Australia’s finest performers for this critically lauded production from Opera Australia and LPD Productions, which will make its debut in the Opera House’s Joan Sutherland Theatre from September 27.

The state’s largest independent arts festival, Sydney Fringe Festival, is back for 2025 – with more than 460 events hitting our stages for one very entertaining month. Presented across the city throughout September 2025, the dynamic program spans theatre, music, comedy, visual art, film, musical theatre, dance, circus, street festivals, literature and poetry – and it's going to be ace. Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney, says: “The Fringe is as diverse as our city – and I’m very proud of that.” This year, Sydney Fringe Festival is presenting a city-wide playground of entertainment, with ten key hubs hosting immersive theatre shows, boundary-pushing cabaret, comedy galas, dance shows, live music performances and so much more.

Sydney Theatre Company presents a brand-new production of The Talented Mr. Ripley with a hot young cast. Will McDonald plays *the* Tom Ripley (a big pivot from his recent role as teenage drug dealer Cash in Netflix’s Heartbreak High), who becomes enamoured with the confident and dripping-in-money Dickie Greenleaf (played by Raj Labade, Never Closer). While Ripley was hired to bring him home from Italy’s glamorous coastline, obsession slowly clouds his judgement surmounting to a suspenseful fate. The must-see theatrical event has been adapted by eminent playwright Joanna Murray-Smith alongside the expertise of award-winning director Sarah Goodes. The pair are a recipe for success after their brilliant work on STC’s Julia and Switzerland, the latter of which has played theatres across the world and has been adapted into an upcoming screenplay starring Helen Mirren.

As I’m on my way to Sydney's Capitol Theatre for the new Australian production of The Book of Mormon, my friend tells me it’s the very first musical a lot of people see. Created by South Park duo Trey Parker and Matt Stone (with Robert Lopez), the show’s reputation for extremely irreverent jabs at religion draws a non-traditional theatre crowd. What I now realise my friend didn’t mean was, “it’s often the first musical kids see”. When I say the musical is extremely irreverent, I mean it. The humour is crass, verging on grotesque (some things I wouldn’t dare repeat). So it’s probably questionable that I’ve brought along my 13-year-old son with me. That said, he loves it.