‘A disturbing, yet brilliant example of new writing in London’ Fringe Review ‘Hayes evokes Renaissance writers like Middleton and Ford in the more gruesome touches... it is brilliant’ The Public Reviews Walking into this glorious space, you always know you're in for a treat. Particularly in the expectionally safe hands of James Dalton, returning to 505 to direct British playwright Rob Hayes' new work, 'A Butcher of Distinction.'     Two brothers (Heath Ivey- Law, Liam Nunan), who only ever speak of their estranged, dead father: "He was our father, we were his sons. It was a mutual arrangement we had" move to the city to discover his buried secrets (and, hopefully, a hidden fortune). Instead, much to their dismay, they come into contact with a disgruntled pervert (Paul Hooper).     Strange events ensue...     Ivey- Law, Nunan and Hooper handle the show with the perfect balance of absurdist realism. Heightened circumstances, sometimes psychopathic behaviour, is often hard to be convinced of but I don't doubt any of them for a second. The incredible stage design created by Dylan Tonkin enhances this idea, encircling an overly cluttered world full of trinkets, reams of belts and piles of hoarded crap, dripping with now futile memories.     A wonderfully executed show by a group of professional creatives, getting together to make art they all believe in. So refreshing and inspiring.     Get yourself along. Promise you wont be disappointed.     A BUTCHER OF DISTINCTION     WHEN: Now - May 26th   WHERE: Old 505 Theatre, 505/342 Elizabeth St Surry Hills (catch the train to central, it's about a 4 minute walk from there)   HOW MUCH: Adult: $26.50, concession: $16.50  

  Fury, opening Friday 19th April, is a powerful new work by Australian Playwright Joanna Murray-Smith. Commissioned by STC and directed by Andrew Upton, Fury puts middle class Australian family life under the microscope – and it isn’t pretty. The façade of a seemingly perfect family falls away as they battle through a series of disasters, exposing the secrets and lies underneath. It has been two years since Honour, Murray-Smith’s last work staged at STC, a family drama that was as witty and bittersweet as it was heartbreaking.     Featuring the formidable Robert Menzies, Sarah Peirse, Geraldine Hakewill and Harry Greenwood in his STC debut, Fury’s stellar cast and crew promises an exciting night of new Australian theatre – get yourself along.     FURY   WHEN: 15 April – 8 June 2013.  8pm.   WHERE: Sydney Theatre Company, Wharf 1, Pier 4/5 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay.   HOW MUCH: $50-$95     Box Office: 02 9250 1777 or sydneytheatre.com.au     Honey Debelle          

    Country dreamboat Morgan Evans chats with Daily Sydney about awards, festivals and their first album   Morgan, huge congratulations on just taking away the CMC New Oz Artist of the Year! How does it feel?   It’s a fan voted thing, they’ve got 200 and something thousand votes on there and they voted for me, which is pretty amazing! Yeah, it was a good night. The channel now gets right behind you, they’re sort of really into getting behind new artists and promoting young artists, so its great for me, they’ve been an awesome support. They want to follow me and have blogs on the tele, which is great.   And the APRA Professional development award? You’re taking ‘em out!   It’s pretty amazing yeah. It’s a ‘Prize Package’, which means they take care of you by mentoring with managers and lawyers. (And they give you a whole bunch of cash as well, which takes the pressure off a bit for us travelling musicians… It actually means that we now have to flexibility to go to the States in May and play at a couple of festivals there. Which is really exciting. We play songs and tell stories, and it’s fantastic for networking too. We actually received the package from one of the festivals the other days and the instructions were “While the artists are not playing they’re encouraged to fish, party and relax by the beach!”     You’ve just come away from filming a video in Hibernian House, am I right?   You are! We just finished filming there last week and the single comes out in a couple of weeks. It’s a song from the EP we put out last year called “While We’re Young.” We’re also putting out another single in a couple of weeks called “Carry On”; that’s another single off the same EP, but it just gives us a bit more time to make the album in May and June.   And then onto Nashville?   Yes, exactly. After the festival gigs in the states, we’re going straight to Nashville to get the first album going. I’ve been playing for a long time, so it’s a huge relief to finally be releasing the album. I can’t wait.   Stay tuned for the release of Morgans first album later this year. For more info or to check out his fan page, click here.

[gallery columns="4" orderby="rand"]   As festival-goers traditionally soak up rays at the Byron Bay's Bluesfest over the Easter weekend, Daily Sydney attended the FIRST EVER Blues and Roots festival in the ute mustering town of Deniliquin located about 8 hours North East of Sydney.   And what a good decision we did make! As Byron Bay's tunes turned to mud due to the overwhelming rainfall they had this past weekend, DS was chillin in the country sun to the incomparable beats of international sensations including Newton Faulkner, Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Jason Mraz, Chris Isaak, Zac Brown Band, Status Quo and Steve Miller Band.   The festival was an absolute blast, we couldn't have conjured up a better way to have spent the Easter long weekend.   The local town of Deniliquin is full of the happiest, most down- to- earth folk who us Sydney siders merely dream about, topped off with perfect blue sky weather for the full three days. The camping grounds were exceptionally maintained, clean and comfy, the stages were large, sound clear and picnics ahoy!   Surrounded by the particularly green inspiring Australian landscape, the annual Deniliquin Ute Muster site was used to host the festival, including two stages, market stalls, food vendors and even a XXXX brewery bar.   Such a gorgeous weekend, incredible music and wonderful people. Don't miss out next year! Click here for more information on the festival and to put it in your planner.   Stay tuned on Daily Sydney for gallery pics from the weekend along with an interview with Morgan Evans, the newest CMC artist of the year!

“The ANZAC spirit is deeply entrenched in the Australian ethos. We expect War Horse to have a great resonance in this country not only because of our connection to World WarI but because themes of the land, loss and the ultimate triumph of friendship have a special place in the Australian psyche. We are proud to produce this highly acclaimed show with the National Theatre.” Carmen Pavlovic, CEO of Global Creatures. Playing to standing ovations in London and New York, the highly acclaimed WarHorse has finally landed in Sydney. This epic saga tells the age old tale of love and redemption beyond all odds. When young Albert falls into a (platonic) love spell with a horse he sees at the action house one day, his father basically mortgages the house to buy it for him. Unfortunately, the outbreak of war in England results in their separation, when Albert's father  deceptively sells the horse behind his back. He is devastated and begins his search to rekindle the friendship that once was. I won't spoil anymore of it for you. Absolutely without a doubt one of the most amazing puppetry experiences I've had in the theatre. As if you needed more convincing, but since its world premiere in London in 2007, War Horse has won a plethora of prestigious awards including two Laurence Olivier Awards, five Tony Awards and four Outer Critics’ Circle Awards amongst a host of others. The Handspring Puppet Company has also won many accolades including a 2011 Special Tony Award. War Horse When: Currently on sale until 12 May 2013. Season from 16 March to 30 June 2013 Where: Sydney Lyric Theatre Duration is approximately 2 hrs & 35 min (including 20 min interval)   War Horse is recommended for children ages 10 and up   Trailer  

  Artist in residence Sarah Giles (Mariage Blanc) directs the much-loved Helen Thomson and Eamon Farren in George Bernard Shaw's Mrs Warren's Profession.   When Vivie Warren finds out her privileged upbringing has been financed through a profession she fundamentally disagrees with, she's faced with the tough decision: continue to live in ignorance, or face up to reality and get lost in the scary world of financial independence.   This play deals with the eternally spinning issues surrounding this somewhat feminist debate. Although written in 1893, Mrs Warren's Profession was not given a public performance in London until 1925, having been banned for its frank discussion of a taboo topic. Tusk tusk.   Oh well, they're talking about it now. Go check it out, see if you think it really is naughty enough to be banned for thirty years!       Mrs Warrens Profession WHERE: Wharf theatre, Hickson Rd, Sydney Theatre Company; Mon 6.30pm, Tues - Sat 8pm, Wed 1pm, Sat 2pm; Mon 18 Feb 8pm WHEN: Now - 20th july HOW MUCH: Tickets range from $50 - $95 2hrs 15mins (including interval)

  Based on real events This Heaven at Belvoir Downstaris follows the all too familiar story of an innocent aboriginal man who suspiciously died in police custody.   So the ongoing philosophical argument continues: do you fight, or sit tight and shut up?     Wait and watch see the streets and parks of Mount Druitt turn into a nauseating dystopia on stage.   The playwright of This Heaven, Nakkiah Lui emotionally self proclaims in the program "I wish I didn't have to write this story." Growing up in the Mount Druitt Aboriginal community, Lui feels an overwhelming responsibility to publicise these atrocities, to bring awareness to this hell. This Heaven is her first full-length play. In the time she wrote it she was an associate playwright at Belvoir and finishing her law degree. She won the inaugural Dreaming Award and was the recipient of the inaugural Balnaves Foundation Indigenous Playwright’s Award.   The bright and shiny new artistic director of Griffin Theatre, Lee Lewis, has impeccably and very delicately directed this fragile piece. Every show I see of hers I only become more and more impressed. The cast also features Travis Cardona (The Sea Project, Griffin Independents) as Sissy’s brother, recent NIDA graduate Josh Anderson, Tessa Rose (Redfern Now, ABC1) as their mother and incredibly talented Eden Falk.   Get yourself along, the end of the season is fast approaching! They've played to so many sold out shows that they've been forced to extend the season for another week. Get online now to secure your ticket!     THIS HEAVEN WHEN: 7 February- 3 March 2013 WHERE: Belvoir St Theatre | 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills HOW MUCH: Full $45 | Seniors/Industry/Group $39 | Concession $35 Bookings 02 9699 3444 or belvoir.com.au      

“A life-enhancing play” – THE GUARDIAN " Brilliantly funny... Bennett’s finest work in decades" - FINANCIAL TIMES Hurry in to catch Alan Bennett's flawless play, The History Boys, now playing at the Sydney Opera House. Peach Theatre Company have brought the show to Sydney after its successful exposure in Auckland. The company, founded by the illustrious Jesse Peach has directed both shows and hopes to continue to bring lucrative seasons of particularly wonderful playwriting to our fair shores.   Set in a fictional boys' grammar school in the north of England in the early 1980s, the play follows a group of history pupils preparing for the Oxford and Cambridge entrance examinations under the guidance of three teachers (Hector, Irwin and Lintott) It's an incredible play, evidence in playing to sold-out houses around the world since its release, on top of winning multiple awards, including the 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play and the 2006 Tony Award for Best Play. It has also been made into a wonderful film (also great and you should definitely see that too if you haven't already... Dances De La Tour is a knockout).   John Wood plays a stellar Hector; that teacher all the boys love for priding 'knowledge' over 'education.' A highlight of the show is their French lesson, transforming the classroom into a Parisian brothel. 24k comedy in my books. Combine this with 8 teenage boys, trying their darnedest to cruise through those particularly uncomfortable adolescent years, expertly executed by Aaron Tsindos, Lindsay Farris, Simon Brook McLachlan, Caleb Alloway, James Elliott, Matthew Backer and Gary Brun. Extra special mention to Matt Hardie (Timms), as the short film he directed and stared in made it into the finals of Tropfest last weekend. Talent never sleeps.   The production was a joy, undeniably held up by Bennett's effervescent words and some very intelligent actors. Particularly Heather Mitchell, holding her own as the sole female in a testosterone heavy feature length performance. She's just brilliant, as usual. All in all, a wonderful show, I guarantee you bang for your buck. And what's more, on gorgeous balmy nights in Sydney like these, there really is nothing better than leaving a great show and walking out to the waterfront of one of the most exceptional views in the world.   THE HISTORY BOYS WHEN: Febraury 8 - March 12, 2013 Playhouse, Sydney Opera House (Previews Feb 8 to 11) Tues/Wed 6.30pm Thurs - Sat 7.30pm Matinees: Sat 1pm / Sunday 4pm WHERE: Playhouse, Sydney Opera House HOW MUCH: $35 - $65 + $20 Tuesday - February 12 Bookings phone 9250    

  Dearest Friends, Fans, Party People, Decadent Society Members, Wild At Heart Hangovers, Route 66 Rough Riders, Wolf Callers, Elvis Fanatics and Bridal Blood Brothers... In the ripest final years of my raging teenagedom, I have been very secretly, oh so quietly, writing and recording a solo debut. All Originals. All Classics. All hell bent idealistic visions of dreamwave pop, and as ever 100% Heart & Soul. Bare witness before I Houdini my little ass back across the oceans and seas, this sneaky early bird preview... With All Star Band: Kirin J Callinan Pia May Michael Di Francesco Laurence Pike (PVT) Ivan Vizintin Twincest   Featuring: Black Vanilla The R 'n' B Slow Jams of Collarbones, Guerre and Marseilles Members. My mother said they're like Prince. DJ Smokey La Beef  The Coolest Cat in town, a sure fire feather rufflin', shakin' all over, cuckoo columbo coconut splatter platter of licorice vinyl love makin'.   Yours Truly, Holiday Sidewinder   When: Thursday, 24th January, 8.30pm Where: Goodgod Small Club, 55 Liverpool St, Sydney How much: $10

    Kate Grenville's gorgeously adapted novel, 'The Secret River' was the first commission Cate Blanchette and Andrew Upton created when they started at the Sydney Theatre Company. Now – after all those years- it's finally come into full fruition opening the Sydney Theatre scene for 2013 with a knock out show. Not to mention, one of the biggest shows STC has even put on (including the size of the cast and scale of the set).   The unmatchable Neil Armfield directed the show. I honestly can't think of anyone who could have told this difficult story with more dignity, humanness and depth. Armfield consistently brings so much light and magic to the stage. It's ever so pleasant to be reminded sometimes why it is we go to the theatre: for magic, for entertainment, but most of all for storytelling. Armfield is undoubtedly one of the wizards of his field.   “The play brings up a lot of hurt. We all know the history, what comes next. The hurt comes from the knowledge that the actions portrayed at the end of the play (although so very long ago) have had a huge domino effect, even to this day.” (Excerpt from the letter composed by Ursula Yovich (Dhirrumbin/ Dulla Djin) to Armfield on accepting her role in The Secret River)   It is obvious this play means a lot not only to the actors who get the (somewhat) luxury of going through the (somewhat) therapeutic reconciliation each night, but how much it means to each and every person in the cast and crew. The sense of duty, care, love and obligation to tell this story with heavy hearts and minds will never go unnoticed.   What a beautiful story. And what an incredible way to express it to the world. Highly recommended. Click here for more DS news on the show.     The Secret River When: Now - February Where: The Sydney Theatre Company, 22 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay How much: $50- $100      Click here for tickets:  http://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/what's-on/productions/2013/the-secret-river.aspx    

"I imagined a sympony: three voices speaking at first in isolation, then alternatiely, then finally converging."  - Caleb Lewis   'Rust and Bone' at Griffin Theatre opens the Sydney independent theatre season with a bang this January!   This 65 minute beauty written by Caleb Lewis is based on the intricate Canadian prose of novelist Craig Davidson. The piece tells the story of three intertwined lives, very different in narrative, but all too similar in heart break and other assortments of all that fabulous human pain and suffering.   These three actors worked so fluidly assisted by the incredibly sophisticated direction of Corey McMahon (watch this space, he's a pretty impressive guy).   Get yourself along, theatre lovers! You wont be disappointed.   Rust and Bone When: now - 2nd Feburary Where: Griffin Theatre, Nimrod St Darlinghurst Click here for tickets.  

  Based Kate Grenville's prize- winning novel, the incomparable Andew Bovell has adapted this literary masterpiece for the stage.   Beautifully directed by the irreplaceable Neil Armfield, this is an incredible piece of Australian theatre following the histories of two families ruptured by culture and land.   Fuelled by an exceptionally talented creative team that will knock your socks off including the likes of Stephen Curtis (set), Tess Schofield (costume), Mark Howett (lighting). Not to mention the infamous Kip Williams aiding in the creation of yet another Sydney Theatre success story.   I can't even go into how incredible the actors are working on this show (Anita Hegh, Jeremy Sims) their performance and relationship as an ensemble was stellar. Stay tuned for our more detailed review to follow.   Go! Now!   Secret River Where: Sydney Theatre, 22 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay When: now - 9th Feburary How much: Tickets from $50-80   http://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/what's-on/productions/2013/the-secret-river.aspx