THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY PERFORMS MUSIC THAT MOVES YOU - Snow Concert Hall - Canberra

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra in The Snow Concert Hall - Canberra

Conducted by Benjamin Northey

Snow Concert Hall, September 26^th, 2026 – Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

History was made at Snow Concert Hall with the return of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to Canberra after an absence of 13 years.

Celebrating the occasion with a scintillating program of symphonic dance music appropriately titled “Music That Moves You” by composers as varied as Kodaly, Debussy, Stravinsky and Western Sydney’s own Holly Harrison, the orchestra received an enthusiastic reception from an appreciative capacity audience.

Benjamin Northey conducting The Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the Snow Concert Hall 

Conductor Benjamin Northey introduced the orchestra with Zolton Kodaly’s lovely Dances of Galanata, which Kodaly composed in 1933 for the 80^th anniversary of the Budapest Philharmonic Society.

An enthusiastic collector of eastern European folk music, Kodaly drew heavily on the melodies of the Romani people for the five movements of this composition, particularly the verbunkos popular among Romani musicians at the time.

This captivating composition, with its catchy melodies and tempi changes highlighting the wind section, proved the perfect entrée to a memorable concert.

 Written in 1904 as an advertisement for a new chromatic harp, Claude Debussy’s lush Dances for Harp and String Orchestra followed.  Scored for solo harp and strings and written in two sections, Dance sacred and Dance profane, this work showcased the artistry of French harpist, Louisic Dulbecco.

Louisic Dulbecco during Debussy's "Dances for Harp and String Orchestra 

Currently Principal Harp with the SSO, Dulbecco’s spell-binding interpretation, attentively and sympathetically supported by the orchestra’s string section, was greeted with prolonged cheers and applause so thunderous that it became obvious that only an encore would satisfy.

Dulbecco’s response was a virtuoso rendition of Debussy’s Arabesque No 1.

The most unexpected offering of the program, and for many, the highlight, was Holly Harrison’s 2021composition, Hi-Vis.  

Inspired by sleep deprivation caused by night roadworks, this work had the orchestra approximating traffic noises, flickering lights, reversing vehicles, continuous drilling even electronic dance music…so successfully that one was immediately reminded of George Gershwin’s similar idea with his ballet music for “An American in Paris”.

Great fun for both the audience and the orchestra, and a real find for an adventuress choreographer looking for inspiration.

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra -conducted by Benjamin Northey in The Snow Concert Hall

Providing the perfect finale for this thrilling concert was “The Firebird Suite” composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1919, revisiting music he originally composed in 1910 for a ballet of the same name performed by Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.

Unleashing the full resources of the orchestra, this composition is laden with bombast, drama and romance, over seven movements which climax with a sustained melody passed from solo horn through the full orchestra, proudly announcing the destruction of the evil demon and the reawakening of knights previously turned to stone.

Again, thunderous applause, rewarded with a lightning-fast rendition of Rossini's ever-popular William Tell Overture and a promise from the genial conductor that the orchestra would be eager to return to Canberra again soon. Yes! We heard you, Ben.

                                                      Photos by Peter Hislop 

                             This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. 

ALL IN - Dance Makers Collective - Belco Arts - Canberra

Dance Makers Collective dancers in "All In"

Produced by Carl Sciberras - Directed and Choreographed by Miranda Wheen

Composed by Fiona Hill – Designed by Anya McKee – Lighting Design by BROCKMAN

Performed by Samuel Beazley, Jana Castillo, Mitchell Christie, Eliza Cooper, Amy Flannery, Emma Harrison, Emma Riches, Ella Watson-Heath, Vincent Garcia.

Canberra Dance Companies: Project Dust, Apsaras Arts Canberra, Quantum Leap Australia.

Canberra Theatre Centre presents a Dance Makers Collective Production, presented at Belco Arts.

Dance Makers Collective Production presented by Canberra Theatre Centre at Belco Arts.

Performance on September 24, 2026, reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Based in Western Sydney, Dance Makers Collective (DMC) is a collective-led dance organisation with a mission to transform people and communities through dance. 

These Canberra performances of All In by DMC come at the end of an extensive national tour which has included Launceston in Tasmania, Wagga Wagga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Bondi and Newcastle in NSW, Geraldton, Margaret River, Harvey and Bunbury in WA, and finally Belco Arts in the ACT

In each centre the company involves local dance organisations, which for the ACT performances were First Nations contemporary dance group, Project Dust, Indian classical dance troupe, Apsaras Arts Canberra, and Canberra youth dance organisation, Quantum Leap Australia.

Directed and choreographed by Miranda Wheen, to a soundtrack composed by Fiona Hill, with design by Anya McKee which incorporated sophisticated lighting by Brockman, All In commenced with a short, lightly choreographed introduction during which each group gave a brief demonstration of their particular dance style before vacating the stage for the major work by DMC.

Dance Makers Collective dancers performing "All In".

This work commenced dramatically with seven DMC dancers, each isolated in an overhead spotlight, performing apparently spontaneous individual motifs.

As the dance progressed, the dancers began to move around the perimeters of the performance space flirtatiously making eye contact with members of the audience seated on both sides.

As the intensity of the dance increased it became obvious that the opening motifs were indeed choreography as the group began repeating them in unison, quickly shifting focus and speed, utilising the entire performance area with broad exciting movement.

Taking up the challenge, Project Dust, Quantum Leap Australia and Apsaras Arts dancers took the stage, each group demonstrating a different dance technique.

Project Dust contributed an indigenous dance style handed down over thousands of years. Quantum Leap Australia contrasted with its athletic contemporary dance, while the splendidly costumed Apsaras Arts dancers delighted with its fiercely intricate Bharatanatyam technique.

The object of the DMC mission became clear as all the dancers, regardless of their technique, became swept up in the final section of the work, joined by almost the entire audience who accepted the invitation to join them on the performance space, inhibitions overcome by the realisation that they could dance like no one was watching.

Prompted by instructions beamed on a huge screen at one end of the performance space, with each adding their own moves to those already demonstrated, the performance morphed into an exhilarating, joyful dance party experience and a persuasive demonstration of the transformative qualities of dance.

                                                             Photos by Nat Cartney            

MY FAIR LADY - Joan Sutherland Theatre - Sydney Opera House

Claire Lyon as Eliza Doolittle in the 2026 John Frost - Opera Australia production of
"My Fair Lady 

Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner – Music by Frederick Loewe

Directed by Karen Johnson Mortimer based on the 2016 production by Julie Andrews

Set Design by Oliver Smith – Costume Design by Cecil Beaton

Musical Direction by David Young – Choreography by Christopher Gattelli

Lighting Design by Richard Pilbrow – Sound Design by Michael Waters

Produced by John Frost and Opera Australia with Power Arts and Shake & Stir

Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House until October 31, 2026

Opening night performance on September 22^nd reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

Claire Lyon (Eliza Doolittle) and company in "My Fair Lady"

There are many reasons to savour this magnificent production of My Fair Lady. 

Firstly, it is the only production in the world directed by Julie Andrews, who created the role of Eliza Doolittle in the original 1956 Broadway production.

Although she had played the role hundreds of times during its original seasons on Broadway and in London, Julie Andrews had never seen the show from the front.

Therefore, when invited by John Frost and Opera Australia to direct a recreation of the original production for its 60^th Anniversary, she did so from her memories of performing in it.

That production toured Australia in 2016, and it is that production, with Ms Andrews’ direction intact under the stewardship of Karen Johnson Mortimer, who was her assistant director when she created it, which has now been revived for this 70^th Anniversary tour.

 The magnificence of this production for which extraordinary efforts have been undertaken to ensure the meticulous reproduction of Oliver Smith’s breath-taking set designs, and the much-celebrated Cecil Beaton costumes, for this production faithfully recreated by John David Ridge, is still awe-inspiring.

The Embassy Ballroom Scene in "My Fair Lady"

The Covent Garden exterior which opens the show, Professor Higgins’ wonderfully detailed study, the stunning Ascot scene, and of course the breath-taking transition into the Embassy Ballroom, all gloriously enhanced by the lighting design of Richard Pilbrow, remain as gasp-inducing as ever. Each reveal drawing excited applause from the first-night audience, a reminder that there were those in the theatre who had not been born at the time of the first Australian production or had never seen a stage production of My Fair Lady.

The Ascot Scene in "My Fair Lady"

Although one who certainly had, and sitting quietly among the first-night audience was Australia’s original 1959 Eliza Doolittle, Bunty Turner.

In 2026, Claire Lyon is a bewitching Eliza Dolittle, as comfortable vocally as the uneducated cockney flower-girl as she is as Higgins newly minted faux duchess. Her renditions of  "The Rain in Spain" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" are a joy, as is her entrance as Eliza dressed for the ball.

Similarly, Nathaniel Parker, who while embracing the unfettered misogyny of Henry Higgins, manages to invest his portrayal with a winning likability, even a modicum of warmth that allows Eliza’s capitulation at the end to almost makes sense.

Claire Lyon (Eliza Doolittle) - Nathaniel Parker (Professor Henry Higgins) in "My Fair Lady".

Particularly unique are the three Australian stage legends returning to the roles they created in the 60^th Anniversary production. Reg Livermore as Alfred Doolittle remarkably reprising his show-stopping versions of "With a Little Bit of Luck" and "I’m Getting Married in the Morning"; Robyn Nevin delightfully dignified but landing every laugh as she brings her son, Henry, to heel; and Tony LLwellyn- Jones as the ever-urbane Colonel Pickering.

None look a day older than when they created these roles in 2016, and each bringing to the stage, a unique command and style earned over a lifetime lighting up stages in a succession of memorable roles.

New to this production but bringing with them a wealth of stage experience, Anne Wood plays Henry Higgin’s formidable though kindly housekeeper, Mrs Pearce. David Whitney clearly enjoys playing Higgins's' phonetics rival, Zoltan Karpathy, while Freddy Hellier brings an impressive voice and presence to the role of the besotted Freddy Eynsford-Hill even harvesting laughs from the verse of his impressively sung On the Street Where You Live.

If you need more encouragement as to why you should not miss this production, there’s the opportunity to hear the glorious Lerner & Lowe score played magnificently by the Opera Australia Orchestra, conducted by David Young, who generously allows the orchestra to have its head during Christopher Gattelli’s boisterous dance numbers, while keeping it restrained during the many songs to allow Alan Jay Lerner’s witty lyrics to be relished.  

If you have ever yearned to experience this classic musical as its creators intended, then this is your opportunity.

                                                             Photos by Jeff Busby

         This review first published in CITY NEWS September 25, 2026. Link here 

                                                 Link here  Australian Arts Review

 

 

DANZA & DEBUSSY

Grevillea Quartet

Generator Gallery, Belconnen Arts Centre, September 23

 

Reviewed by Len Power

 

This concert was an evening of contrasts.

The first part of the program was dedicated to vibrant Spanish dances and was followed by a masterpiece of French Impressionism, the groundbreaking String Quartet in G minor by Claude Debussy.

Introduced by violinist, Shilong Ye, the concert commenced with three works from the Suite Española by Isaac Albéniz – Cádiz, Granada and Asturias. Spanish rhythms filled with drama and passion evoked the distinctive sound of strumming guitars and nighttime serenades. The quartet played the strong, sensual and emotional music with clarity, colour and great appeal.

Shilong Ye then drily suggested that if the audience felt the music made them want to dance, no judgements would be made. Many audience members were, understandably, seen to be at least swaying to the infectious dance music as the program continued.

Grevillea Quartet

The quartet next played Danzas Españolas, Op. 37: No. 2 ‘Oriental’ by Enrique Granados. This dance with its seductive rhythms and melodies had a haunting melancholic restraint and was beautifully played.

Three well-known works followed – Spanish Dance No. 1 from the opera, La Vida Breve, by Manuel de Falla, La Paloma by Sebastián Iradier and Danse Espanole (from Swan Lake, Op. 20) by Tchaikovsky. Hearing them played live gave them another pleasing dimension and all were given superb performances.

Shilong Ye

The final work on the program was Claude Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10. Shilong Ye informed the audience that this one would probably not be danceable, but he was prepared to be surprised.

Their playing of this extraordinary work, rich with shimmering textures, unexpected rhythms and unique harmonies, was masterly. The third movement, Andantino, was given a particularly sublime performance.

The concert finished with a perfect, sensual encore of Libertango by Astor Piazzolla.

The Grevillea Quartet was celebrating a milestone anniversary of eight years with this concert. Violinists, Vanessa Driver and Shilong Ye, violist Julia Horneman, and cellist Samuel Payne certainly provided a memorable and enjoyable celebration concert. It was delightful to see their surprise as unexpected presents were delivered to fellow ensemble members by Shilong Ye.

 

Photos by Dalice Trost

 

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 24 September 2026.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.

Len Power also presents the weekly Concert Hall program on Artsound FM, playing recordings of some of the best concerts from in and around Canberra. Concert Hall can be heard on Sundays at 8pm and is repeated on Wednesdays at 2pm.

  

PRIDE & PREJUDICE*(sort of) - Canberra Theatre

Teo Vergara -Kaori Maeda Judge -Zoe Ioannou - Ruth Shannon in "Pride & Prejudice *(sort of).

Written by Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen

Directed by Simon Harvey -Associate Direction and Choreography by Simone Sault

Set and Costume design by Ana Ines Jabares-Pita – Lighting Design by Jason Bovaird

Sound Design by Marcello Lo Ricco – Musical Direction by Kohan van Sambeeck.

Produced by Neil Gooding Productions & Woodward Productions.

Canberra Theatre September 16 to 27, 2026.

Opening night performance on September 18th reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Ruby Shannon - Kaori Maeda Judge - Amy Lehpamer - Zoe Ionnou -Teo Vergara   

Responses to this production will doubtless depend on how comfortable audiences are with seeing favourite Jane Austen characters lampooned, and how familiar they are with the source material.

Having seen several stage versions of “Pride and Prejudice” over the years, the opportunity to see this Olivier Award-winning adaptation was irresistible, particularly because it promised to be even funnier than the original.

The production is lavishly mounted. Ana Ines Jabares-Pita’s striking set features a tall staircase and an even taller bookcase, with every inch of each stair and shelf layered with books in a witty nod to the literary source material.

Her costumes are equally witty, though somewhat wilted. No doubt because of the rough handling required during the many quick changes that allow the actors to play multiple female and male characters.

Isobel McArthur’s adaptation opens with five maids setting the tone downstairs emptying chamber pots and grappling with plumbing blockage problems. Their performances were broad, leaning heavily towards mugging and buffoonery.

As the action moved upstairs, Amy Lehpamer was able to demonstrate her renowned versatility by taking on the roles of Charlotte Lucas, Charles Bingley and Miss Bingley as well as playing violin and piano.

Amy Lehpamer - Teo Vergara -Kaori Maeda Judge

At the heart of the story, Teo Vergara as Elizabeth Bennet and Zoe Ioannou as the uptight Mr Darcy set up the romantic vibe. Ioannou also triumphed as the fearsome Mrs Bennet. 

Kaori Maeda Judge’s roles included Mr Wickham and Lady Catherine de Bourgh, while Ruby Shannon played not only Mr Collins but both Mary and Lydia Bennet. 

Tongue-in-cheek snippets of around twenty popular songs that comment on the action are sprinkled throughout the story commencing with Elvis Costello's Every Day I Write the Book and Carol King's Will You Love Me Tomorrow. 

Among others are Robert Hazard's Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Chris De Burgh's Lady in Red and particularly appropriate for Mr. Darcy, Carly Simon's You're So Vain. The actors deliver the songs through in-hand microphones while performing amusing choreography devised by Simone Sault.   

However, despite the unquestionable skill of the five accomplished actors over the two-and-a-half-hour running time, and the involvement of West End co-director Simon Harvey who directed this Australian production, it was difficult to escape the feeling that something had been lost in translation during the transfer of the production from England to Australia.

Zoe Ioannou - Amy Lehpamer - Teo Vergara

Perhaps the size of the Canberra Theatre contributed to the problem, prompting the actors to overplay the buffoonery as they searched for the correct balance. Whatever the cause, laughs were sparse during the first act on opening night.

Things improved considerably after interval. The actors appeared more settled, and the performances became less broad and more nuanced, allowing the story to take over, or perhaps the audience had simply adjusted to the style.

Whatever the reason, the laughs began to come thick and fast, so that by the end of the performance some audience members felt moved to reward the hard-working actors with a standing ovation.

Kaori Maeda Judge - Teo Vergara - Ruby Shannon - Zoe Ioanou

Ultimately, PRIDE & PREJUDICE* (sort of) proved an inventive and energetically performed reimagining which finally found its footing and an audience willing to embrace its irreverent approach to Austen’s beloved novel.

                                                           Photos by Matthew Chen

The Elevator - Ensemble Theatre

 

 The Elevator by Eloise Snape   Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli, Sydney, September 18 – October 18 2026.
Running Time 90 minutes (no interval)
Rec. Age 14+ - occasional coarse language
The Elevator was commissioned by Ensemble with the support of the Commissioners’ Circle

 
Previewed by Frank McKone
September 18

Previews September 18 / 19
Opening September 20

Cast
Leeanna Walsman as Margot, Di Adams as Ollie, and Shirong Wu as Alison

Director: Anthea Williams
Set & Lighting Designer: Kelsey Lee
Costume Designer: Keerthi Subramanyam
Composer & Sound Designer: Daniel Herten
Stage Manager: Krystelle Quartermain
Asst Stage Manager: Amelia McCann


Standard practice says that I’m not allowed to write a real review of a preview performance.  The opening is Tuesday, September 22, as my other commitments have prevented my being there – and I find it hard to imagine how it could be much better then, than the top-class show I saw on Friday night.

The Ensemble’s publicity says “playwright Eloise Snape delivers a whirlwind of laughs and truth bombs in this no-fluff office satire”, but the script is much cleverer than this makes it sound; and the demands it makes of the three women actors, performed close to perfection I thought, takes the characterisations and the plot far beyond an entertaining satire.

This is where the quality of directing by Anthea Williams shines through, in the strength of character of Ollie; the new realising in the frightened Alison of how to take control; and especially of turning around the hard-nosed Margot to the point where we can even begin to feel sorry for her.

And, in the face of the newly even more threatening AI situation, the point of the play is especially sharpened.

This is an Ensemble short play wonder – and you have a whole month to make sure you don’t miss it.

 

 

 

National Photographic Portrait Prize (NPPP) - Retrospective

Visual Art Exhibition Review | Brian Rope

National Photographic Portrait Prize (NPPP) - Retrospective I Various Artists

National Portrait Gallery (NPG) I 22 August – 11 October 2026

The National Photographic Portrait Prize (NPPP) was first conducted in 2007. Whilst at the NPG, the final NPPP in 2026 (which I’ve previously reviewed) is accompanied by selected finalists from previous years. This review discusses some of the latter.

Grant Hawkes’ subject fell asleep during a documentary they were watching. When entering it in the 2007 NPPP, the artist said that the image explored the significance of objects and their assumed symbolism in portraiture. Looking back on it after 20 years, he found himself drawn to his use of a “dramatic pose to describe a state of rest.” I’m not sure how a sleeping subject could actually pose, dramatically or otherwise. Nevertheless, it an excellent composition and it reveals more than a traditional portrait.

 

Grant Hawkes - She Fell Asleep During the Movie, 2007, pigment photographic print (sheet: 32.4cm x 48cm), National Photographic Portrait Prize 2007 Finalist

However, Samantha Harris, 2010 is a traditional head-on portrait. Hamish Ta-Mé was creating a series in which he asked many of his models to be photographed immediately on arrival at the studio before “hair and makeup.” His collaborative creations sought to convey intensity and engagement. In this particular image, I certainly believe he achieved his aim. He and his model are engaged. I can feel the intensity.

Hamish Ta-Mé - Samantha Harris, 2010 (printed 2026), pigment photographic print (sheet: 86.7cm x 65cm), National Photographic Portrait Prize 2011 Finalist

David Rosetzky’s portrait of champion Australian ballroom dancer Lyu Masuda is from an ongoing series of analogue, double-exposures using 35mm film. They bring together images of flowers with individuals from LGBTQIA+ communities. I enjoyed this print, particularly for the translucent area over the subject’s left eye. The flowing lines of the flowers seem most appropriate in a portrait of a dancer.

 

David Rosetzky - Lyu with Orchid, 2017 (printed 2026), pigment photographic print (sheet: 106.6cm x 82.4cm), National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018 Finalist

Comment on the image of the charismatic Bob Hawke was a no brainer. The artist, known for his playful works, simply found the pose he would capture the moment Hawke walked in sipping through a pink straw. It was chosen as their favourite by people who saw the 2018 NPPP. Readers with no knowledge of Hawke might appreciate why if I mention that he was a highly popular Australian Prime Minister, trade union leader, and reformist politician and that he set a Guinness World Record by drinking 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds when at Oxford University. Australians loved the larrikin in Hawke.

 

Harold David - The Honourable Bob Hawke Savouring a Strawberry Milkshake, 2017 (printed 2026), pigment photographic print (sheet: 67cm x 50cm)' National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018 People's Choice Award

A self-portrait finalist in 2019 sought to reference the collective anxiety and uncertainty of the climate threat that defined those times. The title is a well-known colloquialism for a situation both impending and unavoidable. The artist disappears into a constellation of flowers. Some may struggle to see this artwork as portraiture, but it is one of many successful NPPP entries over the years that have challenged viewers whilst successfully redefining the concept of portraiture. When I reviewed the 2019 NPPP, I described this work as elaborate and stunning, with its vivid colours immediately attracting attention.

 

Dr Christian Thompson AO - Writing on the Wall, 2019, pigment photographic print (sheet: 120cm x 120cm), National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 Finalist

In The Mahi-mahi, Josh Niland, a head chef and restaurant owner, reinvents what can be done with every part of a fish, to drastically reduce wastage. Photographer, Rob Palmer, seeks to create honest portraits celebrating people behind such stories. This work was the 2019 NPPP winner.

 

Rob Palmer – The Mahi-mahi, 2019 (printed 2026), pigment photographic print (sheet: 75.8cm x 113.5cm), National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 Winner

Finally, a comment on the 2024 NPPP Art Handlers’ Award. Artist Shelley Xue uses photography, personal objects and archives to remember, reconnect and reflect on family and home. When, after three years apart, she reunited with her mother for three precious weeks, she felt as though she’d never previously truly seen mum. During their reunion, mother told daughter stories she had never known. She exuded childlike joy and sought her daughter’s hand on walks. This most interesting portrait beautifully captures those feelings.

Shelley Xue - 阿谊 (ah Yi), 2023, pigment photographic print on paper (sheet: 90cm x 60.8cm), National Photographic Portrait Prize 2024 Art Handlers’ Award

If you are unable to visit the exhibition, all the artworks can be seen at https://www.portrait.gov.au/nppp-images.php. (The retrospective images will not be joining the 2026 finalists when the exhibition goes on tour to various other venues.)


This review is also available on the author's blog.