Dangerous When Wet is a fabulous new musical comedy celebrating the friendship and rivalry of local swimmers Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie – Australia’s first female Olympic representatives and winners of Gold and Silver in the 100m freestyle at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.
Narrated by Australia’s first Hollywood Superstar, Annette Kellerman, this vaudeville-styled, hilarious and touching show will have you laughing, crying, singing along and rejoicing in Australia’s swimming history.
It was such a joyous experience to be at opening night of this wonderful new musical. Based on a true story, with an all female cast and nearly all female creative team. It was truly an amazing way to celebrate many fabulous female Australian icons. We need more of this!
This has a beautiful score by Joanna Weinberg and had me humming many of the tunes as I left the theatre. It is so refreshing to hear such glorious legit musical theatre singing by all cast members. The melodies and counter melodies with gorgeous harmonies shone through. The music in act two is where this particularly shines and has one showstopper number after the next. Just when you think you’ve heard the best song in the show, the next song comes in to knock your socks off. Hopefully they consider doing an original cast album.
The cast of 8 not only play their respective principal roles but many other smaller parts as well. There was much great strength in stamina by all.
Megan Walshe as Annette Kellerman is an absolute star. The creative team must have thanked all the gods when she auditioned. Excellent comic timing, velvet toned speaking voice and bell like singing voice and oh can she dance. The Olympic song in act two was a highlight of the show. By the way, she also choreographed the show.
Cypriana Singh as Fanny Durack and Grace Trainor as Mina Wylie were perfectly cast in their leading roles. They sounded exquisite when singing individually and together. Their acting was so genuine and heartfelt. I think we will be hearing from both of them a lot in the future.
Jacinta Gregory as Cecil Healy was hilarious from start to finish and it’s exciting to hear a rich female tenor voice. Annerose de Jong as Mrs Mack and Eliane Morel as Rose Scott/Alick Wickham we fantastic comedy duo sparring team in the main and supporting roles. Addy Robertson and Vida Cullen were great support to the rest of the cast.
Darryl Wallis (Musical Director, Arranger and Accompanist) was the one man band for the show, he played beautifully and it fitted the vaudevillian style of the show.
Lyndal Loves costumes for Megan Walshe’s Annette Kellerman were particularly stunning.
I do hope that they get more opportunities to do this again. If the show gets licenced, it would be perfect for many universities and community musical theatre groups to perform.
I look forward to finding out what happens next to Dangerous When Wet the Musical.
Grace Chapple’s “A Room With a View”, based on the novel of the same title by E. M. Forster, was a delightful adaptation brought to stage, with a dose of heartfelt romance and subtle yet at other times bold, uproarious humour.
At first glance the set was minimal. A few chairs, tall doors and windows introduced the audience to a hotel room in Florence. This remained the set throughout the whole play, with some additions. It became apparent as the play progressed that the set did not need to be cluttered with period furniture and ornate furnishings. The costumes were beautiful and intricately detailed enough to place us in the exact time period of the early 1900’s, courtesy of set and costume designer Zoe Atkinson.
Lighting designer Amelia Lever-Davidson, sound designer Madeleine Picard and composer Grace Ferguson pulled together masterfully to create an atmosphere to surround the characters and convey exactly where they were at any given time. This was through nuanced lighting and clever sound design. One standout scene was when three characters, George Emerson (Luke Wiltshire) Freddy (Tomas Kantor) and Mr Beebe (Tom Conroy) went swimming in the pond in the woods in Surrey. When they ducked under the water in a circle together, the light spotlit the men using cool blue tones and underwater meditative sounds. This, combined with the actors’ slow and exaggerated ‘underwater movements’ and playful interactions whilst holding their breaths had me almost believing they were going to emerge from this scene totally soaked when their heads popped up.
“A Room With a View” follows Lucy Honeychurch (Nathalie Morris) as she begins her holiday in Florence with the older and wiser (in her own words) Charlotte (Hayley McElhinney). Charlotte has been put in charge by Lucy’s mum Mrs Honeychurch (Kate Atkinson). She is accompanying her naive-to-the world cousin and promises to keep Lucy safe and ladylike, a responsibility which she takes extremely seriously. McElhinney’s exacting potrayal of an anxious Charlotte rang true to her character, kudos to her.
It is in Florence where the ladies meet Mr Emerson (Patrick Williams) and his kind hearted son George (Luke Wiltshire). He offers his room with a beautiful view of the piazza to Charlotte and Lucy after overhearing them wishing their room had a view. Morris effortlessly became her character and immersed into Lucy with ease, portraying her as a young woman genuinely torn between acting as society expects – a respectful and quiet young lady – and the need to burst out of her conventional self to bloom into a spirited woman who wants more than being a subservient wife and living a sombre life.
Williams played Mr Emerson well, portraying his kind, honest and truthful heart in a calm and likeable manner. His poetic delivery of advice towards the end hits to the core of the play and the message the audience are left to ponder – “We fight for more than Love or Pleasure; there is Truth. Truth counts, Truth does count.” – is poignant.
There are outings together in Florence and one day, they are taken on a sight seeing trip led by a confident and outgoing Italian driver, portrayed by Tomas Kantor. After the British tourists leave, the Italian driver, cigarette in hand, turns to the audience and begins a one way conversation. He spoke expressively about the tourists in fluent Italian, even pouring a drink from a wine bottle into a glass that he gave to some front row patrons, thus breaking the fourth wall. How did we know what he was saying? With the very creative use of subtitles! This was done the 1900’s way with a projector and with the Italian driver manually clicking through slides as he spoke. This delighted myself and from the audience’s laughs, they appreciated it too.
Later, the play progresses to Windy Corner and Surrey where Lucy lives with her mum Mrs Honeychurch (Kate Atkinson) and her younger and animated brother Freddie, played by Tomas Kantor. Mr Beebe, the local Pastor who had also been in Italy, has new neighbours move in who happen to be Mr Emerson and his son George. They had been invited to stay by Mr Cecil Vyse (Charles Wu). Lucy announces her engagement to Cecil. Wu’s portrayal of Cecil is excellent, and we see that this upper class character, “a fortunate man of leisure”, is a mismatch for dynamic Lucy. There is a very funny scene which highlights this. Lucy, George and Freddy are playing tennis. As each ball hits the tennis racquet, it was highlighted with a live note struck by Patrick Williams discreetly situated at the back behind the windows on a keyboard. As they are screaming with laughter, running around and having rallies (resulting in a shower of musical notes being played), Cecil sits on the umpires chair, trying to read a novel and looking extremely uncomfortable amongst the physicalities and laughter from his fiancé and the men. Lucy is faced with the choice of continuing her engagement or breaking it off with Cecil, and trusting and following her heart, to wherever and to whomever that may be.
Serious themes such as the complexities of one’s heart, women in society, family and class structure and expectations are balanced perfectly with the lighter moments brought to the stage by the cast. One such scene comes with a full frontal nudity scene warning on the program, and not having viewed the program before the play began, this particular scene was a surprise and created the intended hilarious response from myself and from the audience. Director Hannah Goodwin, A Belvoir St Fellowship Awardee, has brought together a captivating and complete reimagining of a novel nearly one hundred and twenty years old, and it is a timeless theatrical masterpiece! Book your tickets to “A Room With a View” at The Belvoir Theatre soon, before it changes its room with a view and onwards travels to Melbourne.
“A Room With a View” is playing from 3 October – 1 November at The Belvoir St Theatre. 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills 2010. Run Time: 2 hours and 40 minutes (including a 20 minute interval) Tickets: www.belvoir.com.au/productions/a-room-with-a-view
After rave reviews and sold-out performances in Melbourne, the highly anticipated international smash-hit phenomenon SIX the Musical has arrived in Sydney. The queendom will descend on Sydney’s Theatre Royal to celebrate the newly coronated cast of queens. The official opening night of this award-winning global sensation will be on Wednesday 14 October at Theatre Royal Sydney. The production will then be heading to QPAC’s Playhouse Theatre in Brisbane from January 2027.
The opening night Purple Carpet is expected to bring out Sydney’s finest. Media can make their way to the Theatre Royal for 6.30pm guest arrival, with the performance kicking off at 7.30pm sharp.
Guest List for SIX Opening Night
Amanda Keller; Andy Trieu; Damien Leith; Donny Galella; Georgie Parker; Jeremy Fernandez; Kate Ritchie; Leigh Sales; Melissa Hoyer; Penny McNamee; Richard Reid; Savannah Clarke; Steve Pennells.
Angelina Thomson; Ash Magic; Darren Palmer; Emily Weir; Ian Stenlake; Jessica Redmayne; Kathryn Eisman; Lisa Wilkinson; Nancye Hayes; PJ Lane; Rob Mills & Georgie Tunny; Simon Burke; Taylor Haynes.
Annabel Crabb; Belinda Russell; Deborah Hutton; Erika Heynatz; Jay Laga’aia; John Pearce; Kerri-Anne Kennerley; Mitch and Mark; Nikki Webster; Rachael Beck; Rodger Corser; Sophie Dillman; Tina Bursill.
From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the six wives of Henry VIII—Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr—turn up the mics remixing five hundred years of history into an 80-minute electrifying pop-concert musical.
The new SIX Queens are played by an Australian cast: Sarah Murr (Catherine of Aragon), Mia Paris Scalise (Anne Boleyn), Cara Bessey (Jane Seymour), Kadesa Honeyhill (Anna of Cleves), Angela Brischetto (Katherine Howard), and Lorinda May Merrypor (Catherine Parr).
Swings include Lauren Goetz, Geena Hutton, Thalia Smith (Dance Captain/Swing) and Cristina D’Agostino (Associate Choreographer/Assistant to the Director/Alternate Swing). The on-stage band includes Claire Healy (Music Director/Keys), Heidi Maguire (Assistant Music Director/Keys), Kathryn Stammers (Drums), Danielle Colligan (Guitar) and Matilda Yang (Bass). The company works under Australian Associate Director Sharon Millerchip.
SIX tells the story of the six wives of King Henry VIII who step out of the shadow of their infamous husband and reclaim their own narratives. Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, this pop-inspired musical portrays these historical figures as influential pop stars.
SIX has won 38 international awards including two Tony Awards and has a Platinum certified soundtrack listened to over 5.5 billion times. Since debuting at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017, it has played in over 15 countries.
Creative team: Book, lyrics and music by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss; directed by Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage; choreographed by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille; set design by Emma Bailey; costume design by Gabriella Slade; lighting design by Tim Deiling; sound design by Paul Gatehouse; orchestrations by Tom Curran; musical supervisor Joe Beighton. Originally produced by Kenny Wax, Wendy & Andy Barnes, and George Stiles. Produced in Australia by Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Linda Bewick.
Tickets on sale now Sydney – Theatre Royal Sydney – until December 20 Brisbane – Playhouse Theatre, QPAC – from January 2 https://www.sixthemusical.com.au
The champagne is back on ice and Sydney is invited to indulge as the five-star BLANC DE BLANC returns by popular demand, opening 28 October 2026 at one of Sydney’s hottest destinations for live entertainment, The Grand Electric, Surry Hills.
Celebrating 10 years since BLANC DE BLANC first burst onto the stage at the Sydney Opera House in 2016, this dazzling new season brings together the very best in its most ambitious Sydney staging yet.
A heady cocktail of high-energy performances from world-class acrobats, dancers and aerialists, cheeky comedy, cabaret, burlesque and vintage glamour, BLANC DE BLANC has seduced audiences from London’s West End to Las Vegas with its intoxicating blend of high-energy entertainment and sophisticated mischief.
Producer Jess Copas said, “This remount will be one of our most ambitious stagings of the production yet and will herald many new theatrical surprises and will bring back some beloved classics including a rather infamous hot-tub scene!”
The all-new cast includes your charismatic host, Alex Makardish (USA) direct from extended seasons in London and Melbourne alongside world champion contortionist Misha Makarov. Joining them are award-winning aerialists − Duo Coco & Marie, Marie Lebot (France) and Corentin Lemaitre Auger (Canada). This will be the first time all four performers have appeared on a Sydney stage.
Previous Sydney seasons have won over audiences and critics alike:
“Awe-inspiring and fun.” Megaphone Oz
“A scintillating night of entertainment.” Scenestr
“A deliciously hedonistic evening of escapism.” Broadway World
“Delightfully decadent” Theatre People
“Spectacular” The AU Review
“Flawless, and it’s a toast to the boundless creativity and joy that cabaret brings” Stage Whispers
Provocative, playful and deliciously decadent, BLANC DE BLANC is an invitation to leave everyday at the door, pop the cork and surrender to a night of champagne-fuelled revelry.
Venue: The Grand Electric, 199 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills Season: From 28 October 2026 Showtimes: Wed to Fri 7pm; Sat 4pm & 7pm; Sun 5pm Tickets: From $75 to $449 for a Möet Chandon Champagne table for two Bookings: https://blancdeblancshow.com/sydney
Spread the word on your favourite platform!
Subscribe to What's The Show
Reviews, show news and what is on, straight to your inbox.
