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          

  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)

  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    

    The bar at the end of the wharf at Sydney Theatre company is absolutely my pick of the Sydney NYE parties to wrap up what has been a bloody crazy 2012.   There'll be amazing live music brought to you by the Pat Capocci Combo and Lucky Luke and his Shooting Stars. Yummy food (which you can decorate to your fancy with the wooden boxes of herbs which dominate the centre of the bar) and don't forget THE FIREWORKS!   This bar is so close to our beautiful Harbour Bridge that there's a danger of a firework ending up in the bottom of your cocktail.   Don't wear anything synthetic.   Now you can't say I didn't warn you.   Tickets cost just $185 each, which is pretty good, particularly considering how extortionate some places get on this date of the year particularly. Ticket price includes a glass of Mumm Champagne and delicious food (directly from the gorgeous chefs from Duke Bistro).So you're basically just paying for alcohol.   ...You'll probably want a lot of that, so consider it being a $200- 300 all inclusive evening (depending on how lush you are with your cocktail orders). Click here for tix.   Happy New Year Daily Sydney-ers. Bring on the next!     New Years Eve at the Bar at the end of the wharf When: 31st December 7pm - 2am Where: Pier 4, Hickson Rd in Walsh Bay     Emily Eskell emilyeskell@gmail.com

"I’m not really sure what’s behind this little detour.  I just seem to have fallen into it.  I’ve always enjoyed writing dialogue and I like (and fear) the immediacy of theatre, the way your words live or die in the moment, in the midst of a crowd." Tim Winton   Signs of Life is Tim Winton's second (deliberate) piece of written theatre. In this heartfelt drama centred around grief and loss, Winton again deals with the infamous and never ending themes surrounding the question of human purpose.   Signs of Life tells the story of a recently widowed woman (Georgie) who seems to live on a piece of land surrounded by nothing at all. When her isolation is broken by a nomadic brother and sister. Heather Mitchell delivers a consistent A grade performance playing the role of Georgie, alongside with Aaron Pedersen, George Shevtsov and Pauline Whyman, directed by Kate Cherry.   This is a slow moving tale of belonging that transports us through the magic of the Australian landscape. Though Winton's writing can be at times more poetic than theatrical, it's remains a wonderful piece that will hopefully spark future projects for this wonderful writer.     Signs of Life   When: Mon 6.30pm; Mon 5 Nov 8pm; Tue - Sat 8pm; Wed matinee 1pm; Wed 14 Nov matinee 12.15pm; Sat matinee 2pm   Duration:  1 hour 15 minutes, no interval   Where: Sydney Theatre Company, Hickson Rd. Walsh Bay.      

This year marked the debut for the Cockatoo Island International Film Festival. Ah, what fun we had! Festival organisers Allannah Zitserman and Stavros Kazantzidis have been running a very successful film festival in Dungog (Hunter Valley) for the past 5 years and decided this year to branch out to this maginificent island on Sydney's harbour.   Past arts events I've attended on the island have seemed desolate and lonely but the enormous turn out for this festival (36 000 people) meant the island was anything but deserted. No doubt due to extrordinary events such as Paul Thomas Anderson coming to introduce his opening night film 'The Master', the international debut of the American comedy 'Family Weekender', David Michod talking about Animal Kingdom and plans for his next film 'The Rover'...   or even Matt Dreamy Eyes Corby singing at the Saturday night concert...   Unfortunately a bit of bad press put a grey cloud over the opening night of the festival, where thousands turned up for the opening night screening and, unfortunately, some missed out. Look, if you were going to have the best of bad problems, too many people supporting the event would have to take the cake, yeah?What the bad press also failed to mention was that those who missed out were drinking and chatting to Paul Thomas Anderson (the writer and director of the film). I don't know about you, but I'd much rather have been out there with him. Short trip to the DVD shop versus stimulating conversation with a critically acclaimed screenwriter? Ah, hello...   All in all, what a fantastic beginning to what I hope will continue to be a sensational event for many years to come; it's almost a shame the festival isn't on a couple of weeks later- like now, the weather is so beautiful! The festival itself included screenings of more than 80 feature films, concerts, talks, play readings, parties and even a yacht race. The sheer numbers the festival brought in is incredibly encouraging for an industry where nowadays so many people resort to illegal downloads and burnt discs.   A great addition to Sydney's cultural landscape. Looking forward to our second date.   Emily Eskell emilyeskell@gmail.com

After graduating from Metro Screen in 2009 however, Jo-Anne slipped on her the directorial boots and has not looked back since. She has written and directed various short films, documentaries, music videos and community projects. In 2011 Jo-Anne was awarded the First Breaks grant for her short film This Dog’s Life starring Martin Sacks (Blue Heelers, Underbelly), which is currently touring the national and international film festival circuit. She is also currently in post-production on her next short film, Booth, starring Danielle Cormack (Underbelly Razor) and is also busy penning her first feature film script.   Q: How long have you been making films -and why?   When I was growing up, I wanted to be a psychologist, but I dropped out of Uni and ran away to film school. Turns out film has taught me more about what it is to be human than a psych degree ever could have.   I have always been into arts, from painting to poetry to music, anything to switch my brain off and just be in a space alone with myself; a space that often comes about when I’m absorbed in writing a script, or creating a film. I guess I just keep on seeking to find that space.   But when did I know I wanted to be a filmmaker? I don’t think my conscious mind was awake to this decision until I was about 17, but my subconscious was on top of things early.   Ever since I balled my eyes out at the finale of Free Willy when I was what? 8 years old, I knew that I wanted to recreate that. I wanted to make something that made other people feel as much as I did that day, and I am still inspired to do so.   Q: What’s your aspirations for the future in film?   The future? Well, I want to make more films. I want to make films that people want to see. The kind that people go and see once and then go again and take a friend to see, and then go back the next week with that same friend as well as a friend of the friend. I want to tell stories on screen that people love to see.   Q: Describe the film and the story?   This Dog’s Life is about a young boxer who is forced to fight – and kill – for his father’s love.   Dean is a young boxer desperate for his Father’s love. His Father, who doubles as his coach, is a tyrant who will not tolerate failure. When Dean is forced to fight an opponent twice his size, his chances of success are slim.   His hopes of impressing his Father are further squashed when Dean’s greyhound fails to win at the track. With his shotgun at hand, Dean’s Father teaches his son why one must not fail and what happens to those who do.   Q: What was the inspiration for the story   This Dog’s Life is originally inspired by my best friend when I was growing up. From before he could walk, he was a star footballer in the making - his Dad’s making – to compensate for the career he never had.   But at age 16 he broke his arm and lost his scholarship to play footy. Shortly after that his dad left the family for another woman. Looking back, I guess the question at the core of This Dog’s Life is the question of who disappointed who in the end? Father or son?   Q: Tell us some details about where you shot it?     The film was shot in Western Sydney (where I grew up), including Richmond RaceCourse, Parramatta PCYC, a heritage property at Prospect and my own family and friend’s homes.   One of the biggest challenges of the film I suppose was working with kids and animals; all the things they warn against, right? This Dog’s Life starred 3 untrained and never-set-foot-on-a-film-set children and one animal shelterrescued grey hound.   For 8 weeks I slogged it out in the gym with Josh (our leading boy). He ran me ragged in the boxing ring (he is a boxer) and I ran him round in circles teaching him how to act (and I’m not an actor).   Coming to set was scary. I had no idea how he’d go with it. But both Josh, Tiahna, his little sister (both in real life and the film) and their co-star Jack, blew us all away with their skills, their courage to tackle the scenes and their super quick learning of our filmmaking jargon. By the second shoot day, Josh was hassling our camera boys about hitting their marks and Jack was calling the roll.   For the official trailer of This Dog’s Life click here   A full recap of the incredible 4 day festival is coming soon from us! Stay tuned!! - Emily

    The Russian National Ballet Theatre commences a tour of full-length classical performances of Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty in over 25 cities across Australia.   Evgeny Amosov (the Artistic Director of The Russian National Ballet Theatre) has directed these nationally touring pieces of brilliance - so if it wasn't guaranteed before, I absolutely promise you an evening of jaw dropping physical magic.   Everybody knows the Russian's are the masters of this dance form. To see more than 50 experts at their absolute finest, you better get in quickly - only 4 shows in Sydney!     To get your tickets now, click here.     The Russian National Ballet Where: State Theatre, 49 Market St Sydney When: 14th - 16th October (3pm, 7.30pm)     Emily Eskell emilyeskell@gmail.com

    "Rather than aim for Cuban museum theatre of a tokenistic, Australian version of the play, our challenge is to create a work that feels like its own, sealed universe."  James Dalton, Director   The Criminals follows the lives of three siblings, trapped in the attic of their house by their oppressive (and obviously psychotic) parents. To pass the time, everyday they play a 'game' in which they plot and rehearse the murder of their parents.   Scary? Honest? A game? ...Or practise?   This show marks James Dalton's directorial debut in Sydney, so with the excitement (and impending pressure) of that news, along with the mega mix of creatives on board for the project; including Dylan Tonkin, Emma Kingsbury and Johnathan Hindsmarsh and exceptional actors: Emily Morrison, David Valencia and Rosana Easton. The Criminals makes for a really entrancing piece of art, let alone theatre. So get yourself down to the Old 505, this production will do far from disappoint.     The Criminals   When: 4 - 21 October Where: Old 505 Theatre, 505/ 342 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills (basically opposite Central Station - super easy to get to. It's also a really awesome building, so go exploring.)    

    Round up round up! Cockatoo Island International Film Festival starts on the 24th October!   Premiering some of most highly anticipated films of the year, transport yourself from the mess of circular quay to the golden gates of Cockatoo Island, settle in for one of the beautiful outdoor screenings and enjoy a good film, with a gorgeous view and killer ambiance to match.   Documentaries, indie films, Aussie classics and kids flicks - this festival really has it all. Stemming from the industrious and successful Dungog Film Festival, the organisers have made the genius decision to move it to one of the most fascinating and beautiful secluded islands this side of the nation.   Daily Sydney will be covering the festival, so stay tuned and get yourself along! Tickets are selling fast so go go go! Absolutely not to be missed. Don't be that person.   COCKATOO ISLAND FILM FESTIVAL When: 24th - 28th October Where: Cockatoo Island. For the duration of the festival, special ferries will be running direct to the island, getting you there at the perfect time that's right for you. Every 15-20 minutes. Good idea to pre- purchase your ferry tickets online.   Emily Eskell Emilyeskell@gmail.com

    Sydney, you are a flirt.   What a gorgeous night to spend at the Opera House, surrounded by incredible views and beautiful people. It's always fun to be in a room full of people who have spent the majority of their day getting prepared for an event. Slightly ridiculous, but never ceasing to entertain.   This year's Helpmann Awards was somewhat overshadowed by the big industry dispute hot on the radar concerning the termination of an agreement which limits the employment of foreign artists, initiated by the organisation 'Live Performance Australia.' Winning the award for best male actor, Paul Capsis highlighted the fear for artists:   "It's very hard for Australians to make it here, to have a life, to work here," he said, "It's already difficult, so to compete with the world makes it ridiculous."   Hosted by Simon Burke with performances from Cirque Du Soleil, A Chorus Line, Eddy Perfect and Lisa McCune (among others) the black cloud slowly moved and, for the most part, the evening was a huge success for all involved.   Paul Capsis took this year's best male actor award in the Griffin Theatre production Angela's Kitchen.   Cate Blanchett was named best female actor for her role in the Sydney Theatre Company's play Gross Und Klein (Big And Small). Robin Nevin walked away with best supporting for Summer of the Seventeenth Doll.   Opera Australia's spectacular open-air performance of La Traviata cleaned up somewhat, being widely recognised at the ceremony. These included awarding Emma Matthews as best female performer in an opera and Brian Thomson with the best scenic design award for the show.   Kylie Minogue's 2011 Aphrodite tour won best Australian contemporary concert. Much to my surprise, the groans of annoyance were audible for this one..     emilyeskell@gmail.com