James Jennings and Cassie TongueUpdated June 2, 2026 — 10:04am,first published June 1, 2026 — 12:20pmWhat our critics are watching this weekBy Welcome to our Sydney live review wrap. Here, you’ll find reviews of all the big shows on around town this week, assessed by our expert team of critics.The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday.Latest Posts10.04amW ★★★★By Cassie TongueOld Fitz Theatre May 31Until June 14What do you want from your life, and what will you sacrifice to get it? These are questions we all must ask ourselves, and for women, these questions have thorns: can you dream as widely and freely as men can and have that ambition rewarded?In W, a new play by Madelaine Nunn making its debut at the Old Fitz Theatre, our characters are wrestling with these questions from inside a pressure cooker: a make-or-break season of elite women’s AFL.The performers playing as the team. (From left) Danielle Cormack; Celeste Cortes-Davis, Edyll Ismail, Ally Morgan, Shannon Ryan and Grace Smibert. Phil ErbacherTeam captain Rosie (Shannon Ryan) has been playing her heart out since well before women were paid to do it professionally, and is now at the height of her career. Her wife Alex (Grace Smibert) is also on the team, and when complications arise in their IVF process, Rosie’s relationship to the game, and her personal life, comes under new strain.yesterday 12.20pmVivid Live: Cate Le Bon ★★★ and Cass McCombs ★★★★By James JenningsJoan Sutherland Theatre, May 31One of the more interesting double bills to come along in a while pairs Welsh art-pop musician and producer Cate Le Bon with Bay Area-born singer-songwriter Cass McCombs, the artists sharing little in common beyond both being gifted, idiosyncratic world builders.McCombs’ landscape is full of finely drawn oddballs, such as the titular protagonists of A Girl Named Dogie and Priestess, or the macho trucker in Big Wheel. These character portraits, often laced with dark humour, are delivered with patient, precise detail, pulling you in closer to people you should probably be keeping a safe distance from.Cate Le Bon’s musical universe feels ephemeral, and can be hard to latch on to.Ravyna Jassani In contrast, Le Bon’s musical universe feels far more ephemeral, like hearing a song in a dream and half-remembering it upon waking. The cloud-like bunches of white netting that adorn the stage during her set are apt, as many of the tunes from recent album Michelangelo Dying feel weightless and form-shifting – always slightly out of reach and harder to connect with as a result.yesterday 12.20pmThe Beta Band ★★★½By James JenningsEnmore Theatre, May 30Heroes to Zeros, the title of the third album from Scottish group The Beta Band, acts as a succinct summary of the group’s career.After being feted by the music press in the late ’90s for a series of visionary, genre-mashing EPs, they went on to release three albums to mostly critical praise but middling success, breaking up shortly after Zeros′ 2004 release and £1.2 million ($2.2 million) in debt to their label.Robin Jones on drums and Steve Mason on vocals, performing with The Beta Band in Seattle in October last year.Getty ImagesFor their first ever Australian show after reuniting in 2025, the group’s original members - Steve Mason (vocals, guitar), Robin Jones (drums), John Maclean (keyboard, samples, turntables) and Richard Greentree (bass) – finally get to enjoy a hero’s welcome once more.Pinned post from yesterday 12.20pmWhat our critics are watching this weekBy Welcome to our Sydney live review wrap. Here, you’ll find reviews of all the big shows on around town this week, assessed by our expert team of critics.The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday.1 of 1