Pride & Prejudice (Sort Of) ★★★½By John ShandSydney Opera House Drama Theatre, July 18, until August 30Who knew? Jane Austen seems to have been exhumed, forcibly led to the altar, ordered to place her hand on a dog-eared copy of Pride and Prejudice, and married off to a cross between a Carry On movie and some modern-day piece of music hall. Had she been given a say, I’m sure she’d have demurred – more politely than Lizzie did to Mr Darcy’s initial proposal, but firmly, nonetheless.Glasgow playwright Isobel McArthur has taken P&P, gutted the original wit, and turned the dialogue into a mishmash of potty jokes, ribaldry and farce, with sight gags galore, and more scope for hamming than Christmas.It’s also quite funny.Zoe Ioannou, Amy Lehpamer and Teo Vergara in Pride & Prejudice (Sort Of).Matthew ChenBut it’d be funnier still had McArthur not saddled herself with telling the entire story, as the genuine laugh-lines don’t come thick and fast enough to sustain two-and-a-half hours. She needed to be as ruthless with editing the story as she was with editing the original wit.Though it is quite funny.In fact, somehow it won a 2022 Olivier Award for Best Comedy, and that production’s director, Simon Harvey, has whipped a local cast into shape.McArthur’s cute conceit is having no male actors. A cast of just five plays virtually everyone in the novel, plus gossiping servants. Quick-fire (off-stage) costume changes are part of the fun, as is a curious playlist of songs that the cast sings on McArthur’s whim. Darcy, for instance sings I Think I Love You to Lizzy, and elsewhere tunes as diverse as Chapel of Love and Smooth Operator are shoehorned in, whether accompanied by the cast’s own instruments or backing tracks. Eliminating the songs would certainly have shortened the show, but then it wouldn’t have been so silly.And it is silly – notably when the women wear their white dresses under the jackets that signify Messrs Darcy, Bingley, Collins or Wickham. (In a delightful touch, the unseen Mr Bennett is in a rearward facing leather armchair, with only an open newspaper defining his existence.)KaoriMaeda-Judge, Teo Vergara, Ruby Shannon and Zoe Ioannou. Matthew ChenThe cast is amply strong for a piece that hardly taxes acting skills, led by the rich voice and presence of Amy Lehpamer in a clutch of roles including Bingley, his awful sister and Charlotte (who’s in love with Lizzy, and becomes hilariously robotic, once married to Collins).Teo Vergara shines more brightly as Lizzie as the evening wears on, and Zoe Ioannou excels as Darcy and the frightful Mrs Bennett. Kaori Maeda-Judge is suitably sweet as Jane, grotesque as Lady Catherine and gormless as Wickham. Ruby Shannon battles a little to be Mr Collins, meanwhile playing both Lydia and Mary, with a running gag being everyone’s silencing Mary when she’s about sing.Knowing P&P in advance probably helps – or maybe not, as you want the show to be cleverer and wittier than it is. For more laughs, see The Addams Family. But it is quite funny.1.00pm on Jul 16, 2026The Addams Family ★★★★By John ShandHayes Theatre, July 14. Until August 9They’re still creepy and kooky, but they’re also infinitely more of a scream than in the ’60s TV series, of which this 2009 musical is the lovechild. Common to both shows is the centrality of Morticia, on TV played by the lustrous Carolyn Jones, and here by Erika Heynatz in a performance so magnetic you’d follow her to her grave.Once again, a Hayes show, this time presented by Joshua Robson Productions, and directed with such panache by Julia Robertson, hits the design bullseye. Designer Dann Barber beckons us into a magical black-and-white world, where all elements other than Morticia’s fabulous gowns seem drawn with pencil and chalk; where Shannon Burns’ choreography harmonises with this, so the characters ooze and slink, materialise and dematerialise, with help from Jasmine Rizk’s expert lighting.The huge cast never seems to crowd the stage.James ReiserBetween them, Robertson, Burns and Barber somehow manipulate space and time so the cast of 16 – huge for the Hayes – never seems to crowd the stage, often thanks to the precision in deploying the six-person ensemble (including, miraculously, becoming a chair!), and the prevailing monochrome look.The story? Really? OK, so four love stories are put to the rack until they sing, whereupon writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, release them into the fabled land of happiness.8.34am on Jul 14, 2026Dealing With Clair ★★★By John ShandOld Fitz Theatre, July 12. Until July 25Like a single parent and a teenager sharing a cupboard-sized flat, Dealing With Clair is two clashing plays trying to inhabit the same stage. British playwright Martin Crimp’s wrote it following the 1986 unsolved disappearance of young London estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, presumed murdered.But he frames the play as a satire of humans behaving badly in a real estate market as bloated as Sydney’s. At its best it’s very funny, with the satire gouging the hypocrisy of people pretending to be honourable while driven by the inevitable greed when houses fetch obscene sums.Wealthy couple Liz (Talia Benatar) and Mike (Arkia Ashraf) are selling their four-bedroom house – well, three plus a small, windowless “internally lit” one – with a view to upscaling. Their smug pact to accept the first offer that meets their price swiftly unravels as larger sums and faster settlements flash before their acquisitive eyes.Clair (Olivia Hall-Smith) has layers of naivety, wisdom, shyness and morality. Robert MiniterThey’re dealing with Clair (Olivia Hall-Smith), a mid-20s agent who’s a little too benign to share a cage with vendors and buyers at feeding-time. Having sewn up a sale with a country couple who must offload their own property before they settle, she receives a larger cash offer from sharp-talking James (Daniel Fletcher), and so the drama begins to snuff out the satire.8.13am on Jul 14, 2026Hiatus Kaiyote ★★★★½By Kate PrendergastSydney Opera House, July 12As Hiatus Kaiyote marks its 15-year anniversary, the band continues to magically synthesise new lifeforms in cascading universes with their mind-melting kaleidoscope of psych-funk and alt soul. Listening feels like you’re in a cosmic cocoon: spliced open, genetically rearranged, yet still snug.Singer-guitarist Naomi “Nai Palm” Saalfield shimmered in a snake-skinned silver pantsuit, sea punk green hair swaying with her hips as she swirled about the sunset-lit stage. Bassist Paul Bender, Simon Mavin on keys and drummer Perrin Moss, with one cymbal shaped like fruit peel sculpted intricate structures around her taste-every-note voice, which leapt up and down the register, rivered in melismas.Whether it’s Nakamarra from their 2013 debut, the sultry Red Room or Everything’s Beautiful from their most recent album, Nai Palm savoured it all, tying lyrics in her mouth like a maraschino cherry. “I see colours in the sound / Draw them down and out / Give it up all to you…” she sang.Naomi “Nai Palm” Saalfield savours every lyric. Gabrielle ClementThree happy-looking backup singers (one sending it with a soprano sax solo) added further layers to the lushness. On the screen, our musicians became energy fields, rippling out waves with trippy retro-kitsch effects.8.12am on Jul 14, 2026Benjamin Beilman and Sydney Symphony Orchestra ★★★★By Peter McCallumSydney Opera House, July 7A bar and a half and three taps on the timpani are all it takes for Mendelssohn to establish the distinctive metric framework for the poised, soaring eloquence of the solo violinist’s opening melody in his Violin Concerto.Somehow, the soloist seems always to be there before you know it.Benjamin Beilman played the theme with sweetness and strength, and maintained a sense of eager, almost impatient, anticipation, playing on the leading edge of the beat, right up until clarinets and flutes announced the second theme.Benjamin Beilman played the theme with sweetness and strength. Cassandra HannaganConductor Tabita Berglund assisted that sense of forward movement with spirited nurturing of detail. Between them, they allowed considerable flexibility in tempo throughout the first movement, easing for the second theme and at rhetorical moments, but without diminishing impetus.11.44am on Jul 13, 2026The Neighbourhood ★★★½By Nadia RussellHordern Pavilion, July 7The Neighbourhood brought the heat to a chilly Sydney night.Kicking off with Hula Girl from their most recent record (((((ultraSOUND)))))), the crowd is excited but a little cold to the newer song. But as soon as the band brings out the more familiar Cry Baby and Reflections, the audience warms up quickly.It also takes lead singer Jesse Rutherford a little time to warm up but soon enough his shirt is off and tatts on display.His voice is crisp and smooth and he charms us all night with his tambourine and the occasional un-choreographed dance move. R.I.P. 2 My Youth and Baby Came Home - in the latter he picks up an acoustic guitar - are standouts.The energy is consistent, slowing during Nervous and Planet, before picking up for the high-energy Devil’s Advocate.The rest of the band are a steady presence but receive no introduction. A guitar solo during Planet sings out, but no one steps forward to embrace the moment. And instead of a drum solo from the drummer, Rutherford takes to the bongos during Devil’s Advocate.However, it’s the band’s nostalgic 2013 hits that get the crowd going. Rutherford uses the expletive pre-chorus of Afraid as a call and response that everyone screams, while hit Sweater Weather has the crowd mesmerised, phones high in the air as they take in the moment for the first time since the band last visited in 2017.9.02am on Jul 10, 2026Beyond The Tracks ★★★★By Katie LawrenceDANCECarriageworks, July 8, Until July 11Walking into Michael Leslie’s Beyond The Tracks at Redfern’s Carriageworks is a little like wandering into a family gathering: there are broad smiles of delight, and hugs from Elders to kids.The room is so warm with recognition and community that I barely notice guitarist Ben Hauptmann in the back left corner playing softly but expertly, or the drum set behind him. Calvin Welch takes his place at the kit while everyone is still finding their seats and catching up on how little Gracie’s first term at school went.Michael Leslie’s performance is part jazz performance, part memoir, and part Black history. Daniel BoudJust as I’ve almost forgotten I’m attending a live performance, Leslie bursts onto stage, all sinewy limbs, clicking fingers, and musical hips. He’s dressed with zero theatrical fuss in tracksuit pants, Converse high-tops and a white T-shirt.Maybe he’s that entertaining Uncle with exceptional rhythm? A woman runs past the stage like she’s missed a bus, then settles into her seat at the microphone. Ursula Yovich has arrived, unleashing glorious smoky vocals and spoken word.