Things to do in Sydney today

It may be tempting to hibernate inside this winter, but The Rocks is giving you every reason to rug up, head outside and savour the season. For the month of August, you can take part in a $25 cocktail and canapé trail available at not one, but 20 of The Rocks' finest bars and restaurants, catch some tempting happy hours, settle in for weekday lunch deals and check out the newest openings that have Sydney talking.  Here are just some of the deals and meals you have to add to your hitlist: $25 Cocktail and Canape Trail  Fortune of War: Salted Caramel Espresso Martini and caramelised popcorn Glenmore Hotel: Mini Martini and an oyster El Camino Cantina: Pocket Rocket Rita and taco MCA rooftop: Native Garibaldi and smoked trout Endeavour Tap Rooms: Spicy Mule and chicken wings  Happy hours  Mercantile Hotel: $11 pints Como Italian: three spritzes and light bites midweek from 4pm to 6pm The Garden: everything $7 everyday from 5pm to 6pm  Midweek lunch specials Luna Lu: $55 two-course express menu from Monday to Thursday, 12pm to 3pm The Orient and Mrs Jones: winter warmers specials – $19 chowder or $29 chicken pie  Hooked and Harvest: $10 seafood snack pack with a drink Izakaya Mitto: $15 express teriyaki chicken donburi  What’s new Grappa: focaccia and salumi with an Amante Spritz, $25 Cocktail and Canape Trail The Cut (from the crew behind Rockpool Bar & Grill): Pie and Pint experience The Tailor Room: Martini with olives or chips, $25 Cocktail and Canape Trail ...

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London has become a home for staggering visuals and reimaginings of classic musicals. The most recent touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar arrived with rave reviews and award-winning performances from its electrifying revival of the rock musical. Now, Fiddler on the Roof gets its turn for a facelift at Theatre Royal Sydney, with a backing from a stellar team whose work covers Olivier and Tony Award-winning productions.  What is the premise of Fiddler on the Roof? It’s 1905 in the fictional shtetl of Anatevka set in Tsarist Russia, twelve years before the Russian Revolution of 1917. A ghostly rise of the curtain sees Ben Adler’s Fiddler on a flat-roofed stage, the name of the village faces backwards towards the band sitting behind a high row of wheat fields. Tevye, a Jewish milkman, leads his family by their proud traditions. This means a loyal wife, visits to the matchmaker, five obedient daughters, and daily conversations with God. But this is a time of change, his daughters wish to break away from the closed community’s traditions amidst the backdrop of a changing world.  Throughout, we see more than just Tevye’s family dynamics needing to grapple with forces far greater than Anatevka can withstand.  Who are the cast and crew of Fiddler on the Roof? Jordan Fein’s direction gives ample scope for spectacle, particularly when Julian Cheng’s choreography is placed front and centre – the high-energy traditional dances are the show’s...

Dust off your sequins – a glittery-as-heck night of disco, circus and cabaret is taking over the Sydney Opera House this winter. Showing in the Studio from July 24 to September 13, Velvet Inferno is the very sparkly new evolution of the hit Australian production Velvet, promising wildly impressive acrobatics, powerhouse vocals and a solid soundtrack of disco anthems. The brilliant Marcia Hines will own the role of The Diva, with beloved multidisciplinary star Brendan Maclean taking on the fan-favourite role of Country Mike. Joining the Velvet family for the first time is singer-songwriter KYE as Gloria, whose coming-of-age story unfolds beneath a sparkling Studio 54-inspired mirrorball. The circus line-up is just as impressive. Expect next-level hula-hooping from Craig "Hula Boy" Reid, the Australian debut of Ukrainian roller-skating duo Duo Stardust, plus terrifyingly impressive aerial performances from Oleg Tatarynov and Zoe Marshall. Hyper-talented vocalists Emma Feliciano and Mateja Sardelis round out the cast. Soundtracked by disco classics including It's Raining Men, If You Could Read My Mind and No More Tears (Enough Is Enough), Velvet Inferno reunites the original creative team behind the global hit: director Craig Ilott, musical director Joe Accaria and choreographer Amy Campbell. More than a decade after Velvet first wowed audiences, the production continues to tour internationally, with an ongoing residency in Hamburg. Tickets start at $49.90. You can learn more...

Few things in life manage to bridge generational divides, and one of them is Animal Crossing. Whether you’re looking for activities these school holidays or feeling nostalgic for the hours spent catching fish on your Nintendo Switch, head to Darling Harbour from July 1 to August 23 to experience a dreamlike underwater world where your favourite virtual characters and the real marine world collide. Back by popular demand, the Animal Crossing: New Horizons experience returns with a fresh and even more immersive take, giving returning fans the perfect excuse to come back. Snap a pic with Isabelle, everyone's favourite secretary, or check out panels from Blathers about the aquarium’s real-world marine life. In between lessons, see if you can spot a washed-up Gulliver alongside giant cutouts of other island residents hiding around. You can also take part in a stamp rally inspired by the game. If you collect all the character stamps, you'll take home a postcard as a reward that’s worthy of a spot on the fridge.  Tickets start from $99 per family, with 30 per cent off until July 19. Plus, students save more than 50 per cent, with $24 tickets available weekdays anytime (outside school holidays) or every day after 3pm. The Animal Crossing: New Horizons experience at Sea Life runs for a limited time from July 1 to August 23, 2026. To learn more and get tickets, visit the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium website. To celebrate the return of The Animal Crossing: New Horizons experience, we're...

Isobel McArthur’s Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) strips away the intellectual exclusivity of Jane Austen’s classic, not only making it accessible to a wide variety of audiences, but also making clear the sort of tools that Austen herself was using in her original novel: gender, satire, romance, and – most of all – comedy. There’s no Colin Firth here – but there are plenty of karaoke songs to hum along to. What is the premise of Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of)? Told by the servants who work tirelessly behind the main characters within Austen’s work, we’re given a slapstick comedy version of Pride and Prejudice. Dressed in white gowns with Doc Martens poking out underneath, the five-strong cast clean their way through the audience with yellow rubber gloves and individualised accents from across Great Britain. The fourth wall is destroyed immediately – they want you to be a part of the story. After a rather disturbing entrance involving a plunger and a rather messy toilet, Elvis Costello’s ‘Everyday I Write the Book’ launches us into literary territory and the premise is set up. Though you may only know the main characters of Pride and Prejudice, there were unsung heroes helping to push the Bennet sisters along their journey towards love and stability. Now, it’s their turn to tell a version of the events, with a song or two along the way – it’s best not to reason about the artistic merits or reasoning behind this addition, just go with it. Perhaps the jumbled selection of songs...