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Ireland The Voyage

16/03/202607/03/2026 Debra Campbell🥈

Ireland The Voyage Rating

★★★★★

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From the producers of Celtic Illusion, comes a powerful new theatrical experience in Ireland: The Voyage, an epic celebration of Ireland’s history, heart, and heritage brought to life through authentic voices, live music, and world-class Irish dance. Emotional, exhilarating, and deeply immersive, Ireland: The Voyage invites audiences to feel the pulse of a nation – it’s triumphs, its tragedies, its music, and its unbreakable spirit, in a live experience you will never forget!

I was fortunate to be able to delve into this world of all things Ireland currently touring around our country.

Firstly, in my years in dancing (over five decades) I’ve only ever seen Irish dancing twice in my life before (shameful I know!). Once at a high school talent show, and once when I organised a display floorshow at one of our dance fundraisers (everyone commented afterwards how good it was).

This style of dance has sustained as entertainment for decades in theatres around the world, on cruise ships, feature festivals and more. And certainly now I can fully understand why. Whether or not you are Irish, love Irish dancing or music, or just enjoy any stage performances generally; Irish vibes are contagious and captivating!

This show however is much more than just an Irish jig to a whistling tune; it is a real journey of shared stories, history and spirit.

We learn in detail from our host Giselle about the interesting Irish instruments being played in the traditional Irish band, which remains in full view throughout the show on stage. Each band member is also introduced by name with a little of their Irish background and musical accomplishments. They are all simply brilliant musicians and together bring this show wholly to life.

Irish songs sung both in English and traditional language by Giselle O’Meara are truly unforgettable. Her superior voice carries off each and every note like a fine instrument you could easily listen to for hours. Not loud and showy, but gentle and sweet; welcoming and inviting us to just enjoy!

I closed my eyes a number of times purposefully to listen and take it all in. Not only am I learning along the way about Ireland, a place I loved visiting 25 years ago, I am growing a great appreciation for this music and sound.

Shining stars are evident in the Irish dance champions – a trio mesmerize us with unbroken unison of speed and grace, extraordinary flexibility and control in traditional Gaelic; skillful solo features of rapidly increasing intricate footwork are an honour to witness, and later in the show we will clap along to particular beats in joyful harmony encouraged.

This beautiful show was such a lovely relaxing night out, and my Mum who came with me went home to try and find the great Irish love song ‘Grace’ to add to her playlist.

Thank you so much to the cast, musicians and team at Base Entertainment for this chance to broaden my knowledge of Ireland whilst at the same time tapping my foot along to some incredible music and songs from this voyage on stage transporting us all in the lucky audience to the Emerald Isle afar.

Ticket link: https://www.irelandthevoyage.com/

INSTAGRAM: @ireland_thevoyage

Tour includes cities and towns all over Australia and New Zealand.

Cast:
Giselle O’Meara (Champion Irish dancer and former lead vocalist for Michael Flatley’s global phenomenon Lord of the Dance Arena Tour)
Sara O’Hara (World Top 20 Irish Dancing Championship)
Liam Mcweeny (former quadruple Australian National Champion Irish Dancer)
Corey White (runner-up Australian International Oireachtas)

Musicians:
Tim Gleeson (guitar and Irish drum, the bodhrán)
Cormac O’Hanlon (concertina)
Ciara McGoldrick (low and high pitch whistles)
Muireann O’Dwyer (harp)

To book tickets to Ireland The Voyage, please visit https://www.irelandthevoyage.com/australia.

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A Mirror

27/02/2026 Anastassia Gerakas🥈

A Mirror Rating

★★★★★

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As you enter the theatre for ‘A Mirror’, it feels less like attending a play and more like arriving at a celebration. The foyer hums with anticipation. Ushers hand you a wedding programme, neatly printed with the order of events, inviting you to witness a union. It is a charming touch—until you turn the paper over. There, instead of a sentimental note, is a stark Oath of Allegiance to the Motherland. The shift is immediate and unsettling. You take your seat—slightly more uncomfortable than expected—and as the festivities begin, you sense that you are not merely watching a wedding. You are being watched yourself.

From the outset, Holcroft’s play establishes a world chillingly reminiscent of George Orwell’s ‘1984’. The auditorium becomes part of the dystopia. Eyes seem to linger too long. Applause feels monitored. In this society, a misstep, a wrong look, an insufficiently enthusiastic smile—any of these could betray you. The atmosphere is thick with suspicion.

The wedding that frames the narrative is a masterstroke of theatrical irony. Traditionally a symbol of joy and new beginnings, here it is a hollow performance: a carefully constructed fiction designed to appease the authorities. Beneath rehearsed vows and forced laughter lies desperation. The ceremony becomes a metaphor for the wider social order—an elaborate façade maintained for survival. Love is secondary; compliance is everything.

As the story unfolds, we are drawn into the lives of writers coerced into producing patriotic fabrications. They are tasked with rewriting history, inventing heroes, and manufacturing narratives that glorify the regime. Their creativity, once a source of meaning, becomes an instrument of oppression. Through intimidation and propaganda, they are compelled to betray not only the truth but also themselves. Holcroft incisively explores how authoritarian systems corrupt the act of storytelling, transforming art into ammunition.

Yet the weight of the subject matter, combined with the absence of an intermission, makes the production feel deliberately relentless. There is no pause for reflection, no moment to breathe. While this structural choice reinforces the suffocating atmosphere of the regime, it also renders the experience slow at times, even long. The unbroken intensity mirrors the characters’ entrapment, asking the audience to endure the same sustained pressure.

When the lights dim, the impact lingers. The play offers no easy catharsis, no triumphant overthrow. Instead, it leaves the audience with a question that echoes long after departure: would you speak the truth if the price were injury, imprisonment, even death?

In its bitterness, the play achieves a powerful moral clarity. It compels compassion, provokes self‑examination, and reminds us that while regimes built on lies may feel immovable, they persist only as long as individuals choose silence over courage. The truth may not always triumph—but as long as there are people willing to tell it, even at great cost, it can.

To book tickets to A Mirror, please visit https://belvoir.com.au/productions/a-mirror/.

Photographer: Brett Boardman

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Moving, Off-Beat, And Deeply Tender

27/02/2026 Chantal Harrison Writer🥉

Tonsils + Tweezers Rating

★★★★★

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As we enter the theatre, an actor in boxers, a singlet, and a sleeveless tuxedo top is already on stage, catching our attention with a scientific riddle and collecting our answers as we take our seats. When the lights focus on them, the show officially begins, the riddle now in the hands of two figures we come to know as Lewis (Tweezers) and Tonsils, our excitable and endearing narrator.

The set, designed by Bella Saltearn, is deceptively simple; vintage wallpaper, a small corner kitchenette, two chairs off to the side. It grounds us in a space that slips gently through times, ages, and memories.

Early on, we’re warned something terrible will happen in eight minutes, setting an urgent emotional pace for Tonsils as they try to save Lewis from whatever fate lies ahead.

Max and Beth enter as narrative threads of their own. Their present-day scenes (preparing to perform Macbeth) become a vehicle for reflecting on the past. Gradually, it’s revealed that Max was one of the “Fountain Boys,” childhood bullies of Lewis and Tonsils.

Matthew Phillips’ tightly orchestrated sound design, paired with Poppy Townsend’s nuanced lighting, adds immense texture. What seems simple at first quickly reveals itself to be intricately timed, every shadow and flicker purposeful, especially as moments of puppetry and shadowplay appear.

Lia T’s delicate compositions, together with handmade props and playful visual touches, bring a sense of whimsy that keeps us laughing even as the story edges toward heartbreak.

This is part of the emotional rollercoaster of this piece; you go from belly laughs to a shocked silence, or deep tenderness in moments. This is the show’s quiet brilliance, sustained by an exceptional ensemble. Ariyan  Sharma, as Tonsils, fills every inch of the space with captivating energy, never losing the thread even through unexpected moments (a broken glass in the audience doesn’t faze Ariyan for a second). Caitlin  Green and Toby  Carey offer depth and grounded humour, while Victor Y Z Xu’s performance as Lewis is a slow-build ache, leaving more than a few of us wiping away tears by their powerful performance in the final moments of the play.

Lucy Rossen’s direction is thoughtful, playful, and deeply human. Lucy navigates Will O’Mahony’s script with care, finding the humour within the heaviness and the truth within the surreal. Tonsils + Tweezers is a darkly funny and haunting exploration of friendship, grief, and the fragile membrane between imagination and reality.

There is a reference to how Macbeth is known as “A tragedy of the imagination…” and this is clearly drawing a correlation between Macbeth and Tonsils + Tweezers. We are seeing what happens when the veil between reality and imagination is held together by the flimsiest thread.

It’s deep themes, and hard subjects are not for everyone but it was truly enjoyable from start to finish, and relatable on so many levels (some you wouldn’t want to share with most people). It was light, painful and incredibly touching all at once. It will leave you tender but grateful.

To book tickets to Tonsils + Tweezers, please visit https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/tonsils-tweezers.

Photographer: Nicholas Warrand

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Worlds Alive 2026: Five Short World Plays Never Before Seen In Australia

27/02/2026 Breaking News

Elaine Hudson directs eight professional actors in five short contemporary world plays. These award-winning plays have never been seen in Australia. Carol Dance, the Artistic Director of Scene theatre Sydney, selected the plays for global thinkers, theatre lovers and curious Sydneysiders. All the plays are entertaining, progressive and relevant to our times. They are presented as dramatic readings, script-in-hand.

From South Africa: Kunene and the King by John Kani, OBE. The play premiered in 2019 at the Royal Shakespeare Company to great acclaim. In the story, an elderly English actor in South Africa is trying to remember the lines to King Lear. Kunene, his black carer, helps him and interprets Lear in a new way. They are an odd pair, and their comic spats finally lead to mutual respect. It is powerful entertaining theatre.

From Brazil: Miss Margarida’s Way by Roberto Athayde. This short comic monologue has been produced in more than thirty countries, including on Broadway.

From The Philippines: A Night at the Opera by Floy Quintos. This 2017 play portrays the power of the elite in The Philippines. A ‘wife vs husband’ tense tête-à-tête ends in humour that saves the relationship.

From Indonesia: The Struggle of the Naga Tribe by W. Rendra. The Naga villagers protect their copper-rich sacred mountain from the ogres (westerners) when a corporation bribes the tribe’s Queen. There are good people and bad people on both sides.

From Korea: The Sound of Rain Falling, by Sue Ja Joo. This short lyrical work captures how the smallest sounds — rain on a roof, silence between words — can stir longing, connection and unexpected insight. Poetic without being precious, the play presents a gentle respite from our complicated world.

The performers of WORLDS ALIVE 2026 are Seth Eren, Paul Williamson, Tiang Lim, Ruba el-Kaddoumi, Micah Doughty, Madison Chippendale, Christopher Brown and Alan Faulkner. The director is Elaine Hudson.

Artistic Director Carol Dance says: “All the world’s a stage” and we want to provide Sydney with great theatre from around the world. The good reviews of last year’s WORLDS ALIVE prompted us to bring another set of exciting world plays to Sydney audiences. Here are reviews of last year’s WORLDS ALIVE:

The performances were well received by an enthusiastic audience. The plays were performed with commitment and vibrancy. Sydney Arts Guide

Great acting and a good range of plays! Maggy Franklin, Theatre Time Sydney

The actors were all fantastic. I loved the variety. I loved all the plays. WORLDS ALIVE wonderfully invited us to think globally and act locally through the power of storytelling. Brett Martin, VP, United Nations Association of Australia (NSW)

Details of playwrights, plays and actors: https://www.scenetheatresydney.net.au/worlds-alive-26

When: March 13 and 14, 2026, 7PM
Duration: 2 hours
Where: Walsh Bay Arts Precinct of Sydney (opposite the entrance to Sydney Dance Company on Pier 4)
Tickets: $35 and $25 for students

Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/worlds-alive-2026 ($35 and $25 students)

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