Things to do in Sydney this week

Waterloo’s creative precinct is throwing another huge party in its expansive warehouse space. This time around, Commune Our Hood will feature wintery markets and cosy nooks of activity to warm your hearts and minds. ‘Hearts on Fire’ will include fiery live music sets supported by FBi Radio with electronic R’n’B outfit the Goods, hip hop emcee Mirrah and 20 femme fatales from Bad Bitch Choir, who’ll be serenading you with nostalgic ’90s tunes. Calling you to the dancefloor will be Sydney Dancehall Royalty and Ginga Me dance group, who’ll be demonstrating how to whine like it’s carnival season. And drag performer Dusty Glass will be running a fabulously glittery yoga class. For those seeking deep and meaningful, TEDxHaymarket will be there to run talks and workshops on developing personal connections with others. Plus, there’ll be an exhibition exploring themes of combined cultural identities in Australia. If you’re just here for the mulled wine, the Locally Made Markets are where you’ll find snacks, a hidden run bar, life drawing classes and a pop-up barber shop. Because, why not? The event is open to children and puppies, too.

Whenever something is labelled “the future” of a particular art form, it’s probably best taken with a grain of salt. Anybody who thinks they can predict exactly how the winds will blow through a form – especially one as fickle and rigid as opera – is usually mistaken. It would seem Opera Australia’s artistic director Lyndon Terracini has got an idea about what the future of grand opera might involve: slick, digital sets made up of high definition LED panels. Opera Australia’s new production of Aida uses ten massive, stage-filling screens that slide in and out of place and spin, creating a captivating cinematic experience that fuses live performance and video. Debuting the company’s first digital production was a significant gamble; Opera Australia certainly isn’t the first opera company in the world to use projections, but there’s a big investment behind the technology and already two more productions commissioned that will use it. If the opening night response is anything to go by, it’s a gamble that will pay off in the coming years. Italian director Davide Livermore is clearly of the opinion that “more is more” and has created a production that undoubtedly succeeds. There are endless sparkles, gold gilding on just about every surface, huge headdresses and some of the loudest singing (and I mean literally, in decibels) I’ve ever heard in the Joan Sutherland Theatre. He absolutely leans into the melodrama of the piece with all his staging and choreography. (Although there’

Mojo Ruiz de Luzuriaga – better known as Mojo Juju – is coming to the Sydney Opera House to share her personal experiences. The singer-songwriter, guitarist and storyteller known for albums like Seeing Red/Feeling Blue will share her life with the audience in the intimate, stripped back performance Native Tongue, an evening of emotionally raw songs and storytelling. Over the course of an hour, guests will discover how Mojo Juju’s Indigenous Australian and Filipino ancestry, as well as her other personal experiences, have shaped the artist she is today. Through her particular stylistic combination of RnB, soul and indie music Mojo Juju has come along way since she first started with the band Mojo Juju and the Snake Oil Merchants back in 2006. With her latest album about to be released Mojo Juju will exclusively preview some of her new songs to guests at Native Tongue. Learn the stories behind her new songs in this immersive and pared back one-night-only performance at the Sydney Opera House. Described as honest, emotional and straight from the heart, Native Tongue will give deeper meaning to the music and stories of Mojo Juju. The upcoming performance of Mojo Juju: Native Tongue is part of UnWrapped, a series showcasing some of Australia's top contemporary performances. You can view the rest of the UnWrapped line-up, book tickets and purchase food and beverage packages by visiting the Sydney Opera House website.

If you’re down for evenings exploring the city, trying new food and making fast friends on dancefloors and barstools, you’re probably not one to spend hours staring into the abyss of pokie machine screens. If this sounds like you, head to the Petersham Bowling Club on August 19 for a community spirited afternoon of live music, barefoot bowls and drinks hosted by Proudly Pokies Free – an awareness group getting young people away from poker machines and out into the real party. Commend this pokie-free Inner West venue with bouts of bowls and enthusiastic dance moves at the Petersham bowlo from 2pm. There’ll be sets from local punk-rock act Okin Osan, Sydney electro-pop group Cold / Heat, some fabulous harmonies form Imperial Broads (there is one bloke in the mix nowadays), the issue-tackling Wollongong duo Cry Club and the smoky vocals of ’80s power balanda bringer Tilda. There’ll be cold beer in tins from Capital Brewery and a positive Sunday arvo atmosphere.

A marathon music festival is taking over City Recital Hall next month. Extended Play will bring a big line-up of new music to City Recital Hall for 12 hours of continuous music featuring artists from every genre imaginable – and then some. From noon on Saturday August 25 until midnight, City Recital Hall will be buzzing with 20 local and international artists, transforming the venue into an immersive experience in sonic exploration. Headlining the explorative festival are the Bang on a Can All-Stars, who are flying in from New York to share their dynamic brand of classical-jazz-experimental-world-rock with Sydneysiders. We’re also keen to hear the closing act, a 90-minute DJ set from the Stereogamous duo (that’s Paul Mac and Jonny Seymour). Can’t get enough of the soul-restoring sounds of Philip Glass? Extended Play will feature songs from the composer, known for his countless compositions and film scores (he even won a Golden Globe for The Truman Show). There will also be works by established Australian writers like Elena Kats-Chernin and Peter Sculthorpe, plus the chance to hear songs from our top new talents. Everything from classical and jazz to rock and world music will feature at Extended Play, with the uniting factor being that everything you hear is cutting edge, innovative and nothing like what you hear on the average radio channel. There’s nothing fuddy or duddy about the festival so prepare to leave your preconceived notions of music etiquette at the door and

Beyond Cinema have announced their newest party/experience bringing the world of the movies to life. An exclusive mansion 20 minutes from the Sydney CBD will be the setting for an immersive screening party of The Great Gatsby. Baz Luhrmann's 2013 film of the 1925 F Scott Fitzgerald novel will be recreated in front of your eyes, with packages including food and four hours of unlimited wine, beer and soft drinks. (Cocktails will also be available for purchase.) From dancers and jazz through to fireworks, attendees will be taken beyond the screen and into all the action of the jazz age. Before arrival they will be assigned a character for the evening with a dress code to suit. This is an opportunity to really go to town in the costuming department, so get ready to live out those flapper fantasies. Tickets are on sale now, but be quick. This is going to be every bit as popular as one of Jay Gatsby's wild shindigs.

This charming animated family movie about a teenage Polynesian girl fighting to save her Pacific island’s future feels like business as usual for Disney in many ways. There’s a strong young female lead, catchy show tunes, lush landscapes and talking animals – a hermit crab with a fondness for trinkets almost steals the film and a dim chicken offers light relief. But this tale from the directors of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid also feels like progress. Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) is a young woman of colour set to take over from her father as the leader of an island community way back in the past (their beliefs are based around sea-travel and the island’s creation myth). When the plants on Moana’s island start to wither, the ocean chooses this 16 year old to defy her father’s orders and set sail in search of a muscled demi-God Maui (Dwayne Johnson, self-mocking and funny), who can help her secure her people’s future. There’s not a prince or potential husband in sight; Moana’s future is entirely defined by her leadership and ability to fend off the mansplaining know-it-all Maui. As messages go, we’ll take them. The story is a fairly simple quest tale as Moana takes to the open water in uneasy cahoots with macho Maui. His animated tattoos are among the film’s visual highlights, alongside the azure waters lapping the sand. There are some belters on the soundtrack, a few of them courtesy of man-of-the-moment Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of the Broadway smash h

Four Chinese screen divas dominate the screen in a series of free movies at the AGNSW on Wednesdays and Sundays until August Starburst: Icons of Chinese Cinema features highlights of Shanghai silent cinema, golden age Hollywood, the Hong Kong New Wave and recent masterpieces from mainland China. The film series commences by showcasing the career highlights of two 1930s screen icons, Ruan Lingyu and Anna May Wong. On the opening weekend (24 June, 2pm), Lingyu’s brilliant performance in the silent classic The Goddess will be accompanied by a new live score by Hong Kong-born, Sydney-based musician and artist, Chun Yin Rainbow Chan. Live musical accompaniment will also accompany all three screenings of EA Dupont’s lavish Art Deco noir Piccadilly starring Anna May Wong. LA-born Wong was Hollywood’s first Chinese-American film star and even toured Australia in 1939. Starburst continues with films featuring two contemporary Chinese superstars: Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung and Zhao Tao, muse of mainland China’s most acclaimed director, Jia Zhangke. Zhao appears as a theme-park dancer in the surrealist drama The World. Cheung gives an indelible performance as a latex-clad catwoman in Olivier Assasyas’ Irma Vep, stars as Ruan Lingyu in Stanley Kwan’s biopic Center Stage, and kicks arse in Jang Yimou's martial arts actioner Hero. All screenings are free in the Domain Theatre but early arrival is recommended to avoid disappointment. To see what’s screening and when click on the

The Chauvel in Paddington is hosting a season of hard-boiled modern crime classics on Tuesday evenings. Tickets are a measly $10, and you can grab a beer for just $5. In time for the release of Sicario: Day of the Soldado, they are kicking off with Sicario (2015) on June 26 – a dark and violent poem that’s as intelligent as it is thrilling, from the director of Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. Then they're jumping back 30 years with William Friedkin’s brutal cult classic To Live and Die in LA (1985) on July 10. Featuring the young Willem Dafoe, it's arguably the ultimate ’80s crime action thriller, with coke fiends, over-the-top style, and one of the greatest car chases in movie history. More car chases are on offer with Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive (2011) on July 24, with its hyper-stylised blend of violence, music, and Ryan Gosling. Michael Mann’s Thief (1981) is an underseen masterpiece – a philosophical thriller filled with modernist cool, screening on August 7. On August 21, the Coen Brothers’ Miller’s Crossing (1990) takes us back to the depression era with a gangster tale filled with dialogue so sharp it could cut glass. It's one of their very best films. Wrapping up the crime season on September 4 will be the 35th anniversary of the immortal Scarface (1983). Director Brian De Palma and star Al Pacino take it to the limit in this ultra-violent and eminently quotable gangster epic.  

Tom Cruise is 56 years old. Fifty. Six. And he’s been making Mission: Impossible movies for 22 of those 56 years. By all rights, Fallout, his sixth high-flying mission, should be to M:I what A View to a Kill was to Roger Moore’s Bond (Moore being only a year older than Cruise is when he made his final 007): tired, creaky and a bit embarrassing. Astonishingly, however, the opposite is true. This is easily the best, slickest and most daring Mission: Impossible installment. Not only that, it’s the finest action movie of the year so far. The bait-and-switching, double-crossing plot twists and twists again, with Hunt still haunted by his now-incarcerated Rogue Nation nemesis Solomon Lane (a superbly creepy Sean Harris) and dealing with the global terrorist power vacuum left by Lane’s capture, but you won’t care with all the sinew-straining spectacle on show. This is thanks largely to writer-director Christopher McQuarrie. Being the first director to return for a second go at the franchise, he brings a sense of continuity hitherto lacking. Fallout is a direct sequel to Rogue Nation, bringing back most of the key players and upping the stakes from the most knowing of perspectives. McQuarrie also builds on the last film’s self-aware level of wit and, most importantly, its set-piece-crafting sophistication. No action sequence is allowed to peter out, or be chopped to ribbons in the edit, or lean on the crutch of CG augmentation. From a frantic Parisian chase to a brutal brawl in a

To direct a musical – to create a vision for a new production – you have to be courageous. Bold ideas are the only ones that can cut through the overwhelming sensory presence of song and dance to create a clear onstage identity and shake the room with something stronger than the sum of its parts. That boldness is a massive risk – but with it, if the ideas are right, and the director’s creative team is on their wavelength, can come massive reward. Cry-Baby, a twisted take on the teen rebel genre based on the 1990 film by camp master John Waters, is an embarrassment of riches. Directed by Alexander Berlage (a lighting designer and director; this is his first musical) and designed to pop-art and retro-fabulous perfection by Isabel Hudson, this cannily cast show is gleefully ironic. It’s a vision fully realised, an embrace of archness that delights in grotesquerie, and a reminder that, while musical theatre is often classified as painfully sincere, there’s plenty of room in the genre for irreverence. The proudly unpolished cousin of Hairspray, another Waters film onstage, Cry-Baby queers the nostalgia of the past to skewer white upper-class nonsense. It’s the story of ‘square’ Alison (Ashleigh Rubenach) and Wade ‘Cry-Baby’ Walker (Christian Charisiou), a rebellious ‘drape’ with an emcee best friend (Alfie Gledhill) and a gang of ferocious women (Manon Gunderson-Briggs, Amy Hack, and Bronte Florian) by his side. Famously, Cry-Baby hasn’t sobbed since his parents were killed by

The story behind Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey is truly extraordinary. Delaney grew up working class and surrounded by poverty in Salford, Manchester. When she was a 19-year-old theatre usher she decided to try her hand at playwriting. According to her daughter, Delaney had just seen Waiting for Godot and believed there were other voices that should be heard. The resulting play was an absolute smash, moving from the fringe venues to illustrious stages on the West End and Broadway, and was eventually turned into a BAFTA-winning film. It’s an extraordinary portrait of life on the fringes – of people who are simply denied the space to live in society – carving out their own lives and families, and dealing with their own pain with strength and true grit. Yet despite this, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more confused opening night audience at Belvoir, struggling to know how to take a play that’s by turns tragic and bitingly funny, and refuses to deliver the kind of dramatic shape you’d generally expect from a kitchen sink drama. That it refuses to paint its women as archetypes – instead they’re genuinely knotty, complex, capricious and tough – is still relatively unusual on our stages. That it shows women who follow their sexual desire, and casts no moral judgement upon them, is almost entirely unheard of. Despite its radical content, the play’s narrative is fairly easy to follow: a 17-year-old woman, Jo (Taylor Ferguson), and her mother, Helen (Genevieve Lemon), move into

Whenever something is labelled “the future” of a particular art form, it’s probably best taken with a grain of salt. Anybody who thinks they can predict exactly how the winds will blow through a form – especially one as fickle and rigid as opera – is usually mistaken. It would seem Opera Australia’s artistic director Lyndon Terracini has got an idea about what the future of grand opera might involve: slick, digital sets made up of high definition LED panels. Opera Australia’s new production of Aida uses ten massive, stage-filling screens that slide in and out of place and spin, creating a captivating cinematic experience that fuses live performance and video. Debuting the company’s first digital production was a significant gamble; Opera Australia certainly isn’t the first opera company in the world to use projections, but there’s a big investment behind the technology and already two more productions commissioned that will use it. If the opening night response is anything to go by, it’s a gamble that will pay off in the coming years. Italian director Davide Livermore is clearly of the opinion that “more is more” and has created a production that undoubtedly succeeds. There are endless sparkles, gold gilding on just about every surface, huge headdresses and some of the loudest singing (and I mean literally, in decibels) I’ve ever heard in the Joan Sutherland Theatre. He absolutely leans into the melodrama of the piece with all his staging and choreography. (Although there’

What happens when you put three people in a room, and they commit to talking to each other for the next ten years? Find out in this celebration of friendship, nonsense and women-in-theatre, by Zoë Coombs Marr, Mish Grigor and Natalie Rose (who have been working together for more than a decade as Post). Over their decade or so of practice, Post have made fun, irreverent and occasionally confronting shows that fuse daggy dancing, ridiculous spectacle, and text based on conversations they’ve had. They don’t play characters in their works, they play themselves – or, versions of themselves. Their works often feel as though they’ve set themselves an impossible challenge, and they’re letting the audience in on their attempt to surmount it (and occasional inevitable failure). In their 2011 show Who’s The Best, for example, they invited the audience to participate in an adjudication of which of them was definitively ‘the best’; in their 2014 Belvoir show Oedipus Schmoedipus, they attempted to re-enact all the death scenes in all the classic plays.  As Coombs Marr told Time Out in 2014, “What we find most interesting is playing with different contexts and genres, and the conventions or rules within those spaces.” For Ich Nibber Dibber the three have dug deep into their archives: they’ve watched countless hours of footage of their collaborative improvisations from the age of roughly 20 to 30 – and edited the transcript of those conversations into a ‘best of’ that runs for around 75 m

It’s been four decades since the first part of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy (called International Stud) premiered Off-Off Broadway, introducing the world to Arnold, a gay Jewish drag queen living in New York who dreams of finding love and family. He was a character written with the complexities usually not given to queer characters in 1978 and one whose aspirations – for children and a long-lasting love – were pretty unusual at that point. A lot has changed across the world in the 40 years since Torch Song was born – although the fear and backlash triggered by HIV/AIDS in the years following was a significant hurdle. And a lot has changed locally in the five years since Darlinghurst Theatre Company first staged the play; not only has the company moved from its former home on Greenknowe Avenue (now the Hayes Theatre) to the gorgeous Eternity Playhouse, but long-term, committed same-sex relationships are now given the same legal recognition as heterosexual partnerships. Arnold would be thrilled, and not just because he might be finally be able to convince his prickly mother that his life is worthy of her respect. Fierstein’s trilogy of plays – presented across nearly four hours with two intermissions – were brought together in 1981 and finally made it to Broadway in 1982. Fierstein became a star playing Arnold, who falls in love with a bisexual school teacher called Ed. At the end of the first play, Ed has walked out, but he comes back into Arnold’s life in the secon