Big names include Ashnikko at Luna Park, Counting Crows at the Enmore, and Jackson Browne at Aware Super Theatre, but let us take you a bit further into the month for some popular, and some iconic, as well as some less well-known Sydney what' on in April.
The Blak Markets kicks off back on Bare Island, La Perouse on Sunday 2 April 2023 with Aboriginal stallholders selling Arts and Crafts including Native Plants, Indigenous Art, award winning Jewellery and Pure Silk Scarves featuring Aboriginal designs. As always there's a wonderful festival line up of both contemporary and cultural performances, with a special guest performance by Angel and Djiriba Waagura Dancers and a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony. The Blak Markets are a great chance to buy authentic and unique gifts knowing that 100% of the profits are going back into Aboriginal communities.
Easter in Sydney is synonymous with the Sydney Royal Easter Show. This year 6 - 17 April. First held in 1823, the Sydney Royal Easter Show is Australia's largest annual ticketed event, attracting over 828,000 attendees on average. The Show is a celebration of Australian culture, from our rural traditions to our modern-day lifestyles, providing unique experiences for everyone. Revenue generated by it allows the RAS to invest in agricultural programs, competitions, education, youth and rural NSW.
When the gates swing open new Neon Alley will be the biggest ever food truck installation in the 200-year history of the Royal Easter Show. The Air-Stream food trucks right in the heart of the show on Monaro Street will include individual ‘I love Fairy Floss’, ‘I love Hot Dogs’, ‘I love Churros’, ‘I love Gelato & Shakes’ and ‘I love Fairy Floss’ custom builds that will shine bright in the Show food destination. It's the next take on tradition as five generations of the Evans and Foster families have shared a proud history with Royal Easter Show.
Launching just in time for the Easter break, a brand new, original theatre production The Stoned Ape explores the deepest, darkest themes of relationships, drugs and crime. Premiering at the newly refurbished Bondi Pavilion Theatre from 2 - 13 April, audience members are set for a gripping experience that guarantees tears, laughs, shock, anger, shame, and possibly even enlightenment.
La Cage Aux Folles the hit Broadway musical returns to Sydney at the State Theatre from 19 April for one week only. This acclaimed production, stars one of Australia’s most versatile stage and screen performers, five-time Helpmann Award winner Paul Capsis in the lead role of Albin, La Cage aux Folles is a traditional Broadway musical with big, brassy dance numbers, yet it was revolutionary in many ways. Opening on Broadway in 1983, it broke barriers for gay representation by becoming the first hit Broadway musical centred on a homosexual relationship. The show’s act one finale, I Am What I Am received praise as a "gay anthem" and has been widely recorded and performed ever since.
The Giants opens in Sydney cinemas April 20. This Madman film explores the intertwined fates of trees and humans in this cinematic portrait of environmental folk hero and gay icon Bob Brown who took green politics to the centre of power. From a seedling to forest elder The Giants interweaves Bob’s story with the life cycle of the ancient trees he is fighting for. The hidden life of the forest is brought to life by cameras rigged high in the tree canopy, immersive point cloud animation generated from 3D tree scans, and thought-provoking insights by the likes of David Suzuki and Merlin Sheldrake.
Drawing on Bob’s lifetime of activism, from the Franklin to the Tarkine, The Giants ignites an urgent conversation about the right of the Forest to exist and challenges the audience to write the next chapter.
"You can't go to the shop and just get the forest in a flat pack."
Griffin Theatre Company presents UFO by Kirby Medway and Solomon Thomas at the SBW Stables Theatre from 18th to 29th April 2023. On the putting green at the edge of a regional town, a group of young people have been recruited for a highly confidential and, it turns out, highly dull job: to keep tabs on a grounded UFO. Sitting still and silent for weeks, the workers are about to call it quits when…
Part of the exciting Griffin Lookout program, UFO promises an inventive, funny, and freaky encounter with the third kind like you’ve never experiences before. Using an innovative blend of science fiction tropes, live cinema and exquisitely detailed 1:8 miniatures, this beguiling mix of video, stop-motion animation and live theatre guarantees you have never seen a more realistic depiction of human-UFO relations on stage.
“There are certain men in the world who rather see everybody hung before they’ll take blame.”
Arthur Miller’s searing drama of a family in crisis, All My Sons written in 1946 steps within the perfect Middle American couple: he’s a successful businessman and she’s a home-maker. Together, they’re the embodiment of the American Dream. The play was also a scathing indictment of post-war America. Half a century later, it is still devastatingly relevant. Forty-three years after New Theatre first presented Arthur Miller's great play, they are bringing this revival to Sydney's stages.
FLIGHT at Powerhouse Ultimo from 13 April takes audience members through two worlds, two realities and two possible outcomes to their journey. The ‘many worlds’ interpretation of quantum mechanics proposes all possible outcomes that could occur are occurring in countless worlds of varying similarity. SÉANCE is an intense sonic performance that explores the psychology of a group of people who have been bombarded with suggestible material. In complete darkness, your senses become vulnerable to persuasion. Sitting at the nexus of technology and theatre, these stunningly crafted, mind-bending shows unfold inside the total darkness of transformed shipping containers.
A magnificent evening of 70s nostalgia, British iconic punk and new wave rockers, The Stranglers play the Metro Theatre Saturday 22 April.
First forming in 1974, the bands no bullshit attitude saw the band blaze an experimental trail, from Art Rock to Goth to New Wave Pop, inspiring a wave of prog rock guitar players and confrontational vocalists to find their roots in The Stranglers' unabashed confidence.
Delta Heavy the powerhouse Drum & Bass duo are back in Australia. Expect lots of new unreleased music in Sydney at Manning Bar 28 April.
The first-ever SWANA Film Festival presented by Arts & Cultural Exchange (ACE) Parramatta, is a three day festival of Southwest Asian and North African cinema screening at Riverside Theatre, Parramatta across the weekend 28 - 30 April 2023. The SWANA Film Festival promises to be an exciting event for film lovers, artists, and cultural enthusiasts offering 20 unique films across the program, from Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Armenia, and Syria.
Oscar nominated new film by legendary Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski called EO wll be released in Australian cinemas on April 6. The film won the Jury Prize at Cannes last year and is the most honoured international film of 2022.
360 ALLSTARS - Riverside Theatres Riverside Parramatta and The Concourse Concert Hall, Chatswood BMX, Basketball, Breakdancing, Acrobatics, Drumming and more. A phenomenal physical performance exploring all forms of rotation, 360 ALLSTARS connects the street with the elite to deliver a supercharged urban circus. Boasting a stellar cast of World Champion and World Record holding artists and athletes, 360 ALLSTARS is a spectacular fusion of the extraordinary artistry that emerges from street culture.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) will be presented by Precipice Creative at Meraki Art's Bar. 3 actors. 1 stage. 2 words. William Shakespeare. It’s not easy being an indie theatre actor in Sydney. You’ve got to be good. Prove yourself. And what better way to do it than to perform Shakespeare? Not just any Shakespeare. All of Shakespeare. And just to really drive the point home, you’re going to do it in under 90 minutes. How hard could it be?
In a special event hosted by Patrón Global Brand Ambassador Alex Godfrey at Manly Pavilion Wednesday 5 April, Boathouse Group Executive Chef James Brownrigg curates a delectable three-course dinner with paired Patrón cocktails and a Patrón tasting experience.
Climb aboard the Jolly Roger and hang out with the Lost Boys as you journey through Neverland in the Peter Pan themed pop-up bar in Surry Hills opening from 19 April. Created by the mystical minds behind The Alice Cocktail Experience and The Wizard's Den, you'll never want to leave (or grow up!). Prepare to leave reality behind and dive into the timeless classic.
Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour Madama Butterfly where love flutters on wings of desire and expectation meets disappointment until 23 April. Take your seats overlooking ‘Paradise’ complete with a bamboo grove, giant moon, and a rising sun floating on the harbour. The picture-perfect backdrop of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge twinkles with thousands of city lights.
For innocent Cio-Cio-San, love flutters on wings of desire. For brash Pinkerton, a flight of fancy is irresistible. Puccini’s intimate ode to unrequited love has always been shocking. East meets West, devotion meets disregard, expectation meets disappointment. In the clash, Cio-Cio-San’s dreams are shattered. Presented by Opera Australia.
Sydneysiders will be treated to a neoclassical solo piano concert on Saturday, 1 April at The Conservatorium of Music, by Canadian Multi-Grammy® and Academy Award® nominated composer, producer, pianist, arranger, conductor and recording artist, Stephan Moccio. It is Moccio’s first visit to Australia and he will be showcasing tracks from his most recently released albums Tales of Solace and Lionheart along with hit songs he penned for superstars like Celine Dion, Dua Lipa and Avril Lavigne. This appearance is in addition to a master class he will be giving on Tuesday, 28 March at the Tom Mann Theatre in Surry Hills. Concert goers can expect a program full of music to soothe a weary soul. Tickets are available now Stephan Moccio - Live in Australia.
