Around Sydney

Theatre fans, take note. Sydney Theatre Company – Sydney’s largest and most prominent theatre producer – has just dropped the details for its 2026 season. The beautifully varied 2026 season will comprise 13 productions, with more than 80 beloved and emerging performers set to take to the stage throughout the year. Following Kip Williams' departure from the company, the 2026 season will be the first curated by new Artistic Director Mitchell Butel, who joined STC in late 2025. Reflecting on what theatre-goers can expect in 2026, Butel described the 2026 program as a "season of dream teams: celebrating the diversity of Australian storytelling. Highlights from STC’s 2026 season will include three world premieres of brand-new Australian works, the Australian Premiere of the most awarded Broadway play of 2025, the Sydney premiere of a new Australian musical and a handful of other Australian and international plays. If you’re keen to see something new, get in line for the season’s key world premieres: Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical (from award-winning writer and director Jack Yabsley), Bennelong in London (by Jane Harrison, the brilliant playwright behind The Visitors and Stolen) and Strong is the New Pretty by Olivier Award-winning playwright Suzie Miller. Bennelong in London will be showing from July 24 until August 16 2026, Strong is the New Pretty will be playing from October 26 until December 5 2026, and Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical will be showing...

A friend who recently returned from Tasmania's Dark Mofo told me it was her mission to "find the Dark Mofo every day" here in Sydney, and I had to admit it was a pretty good strategy for living well. Tracking down offbeat arts on any given day in the Harbour City generally takes a bit of digging, but during Sydney Fringe, it’s served up on a silver platter. NSW's biggest celebration of independent arts is landing back in Sydney this spring, and I know we say this every year, but seriously – this year's program is bigger than ever. From August through October, Sydney Fringe Festival will transform theatres, warehouses, heritage buildings and public spaces across the city with more than 350 events featuring 2,000-plus artists at 64 venues. From delightfully boundary-pushing theatre to wildly impressive circus acts, conversation-shaping comedy and full-throttle parties, this year's line-up is stacked with shows and events that are pretty much guaranteed to fill your cultural cup, no Tassie trip required. The festivities kick off with Fringe Ignite! on Saturday, August 29, when Darlinghurst's Stanley Street will be closed to traffic and transformed into a free, all-ages street party. Expect live music, roaming performers and plenty of food as one of Sydney's fave inner-city streets comes alive for one wild afternoon and evening. Arts-wise, there's way more on than we can cover in one listing. Among this year's biggest drawcards is Copa on The Rocks, where Andrew Bukenya will...

Put down your crystals and cottage cheese and head over to South Eveleigh this September – and get around the month-long program of free and affordable events designed to help you move, reset and feel your best. Now back for its third year, Live Well runs from now until September 28, with everything wellbeing – think free run clubs and pickleball, body composition scans, mindfulness experiences and creative workshops. This year, Sunrise clinical nutritionist Sarah Di Lorenzo is joining as the Live Well ambassador, hosting three free talks and Q&A sessions throughout the month covering nutrition, health and workplace wellbeing. She’ll also be signing copies of her book at one of the sessions. Elsewhere, you can get your sweat on with South Eveleigh’s weekly 5km run club, have your aura photographed (yes, really) or get a gang together for a few games of pickleball. There are also free body composition scans, and a series of Thursday night Plants & Pours workshops, including bonsai, botanical incense making, terrarium building and kokedama creation. Throughout the month, there’ll also be free pop-ups and fun including crystal finding, pet photography, archery, Aboriginal Elder Walangari Karntawarra’s sand painting session and a bike tune-up. Michael Carabetta, portfolio manager at South Eveleigh, says: “Spring is the perfect time to reset and invest in your own wellbeing. Live Well is about giving our community easy ways to move, connect and look after themselves, right in...