John Shand Posts

June 20, 2026 / Theatre Reviews

Sydney Opera House Studio, June 17 7/10 Jonny Hawkins first blazed on to the Sydney stage in 2021, playing the finely drawn, elderly Kings Cross eccentric Maureen, in the self-penned Maureen: Harbinger of Death, for one-actor. Five years later, and Hawkins has a new character to inhabit: now he is…

June 19, 2026 / Concert Reviews

Concert Hall, June 15 8/10 Well, that answers that question. In the four years since the Concert Hall’s major acoustic revamp, I haven’t sat up in the seats that seem nearer the Lower North Shore than the CBD. In case you’re wondering, the sound is equally pristine. Every note had…

June 18, 2026 / Theatre Reviews

Reginald Theatre, June 13 8/10 Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler is a play that, like the painting of Edvard Munch and saxophone playing of Jan Garbarek, enshrined the rest of the world’s idea that Norwegians revel in desolation and despair. In 2023, British playwright Nina Segal crafted this work about shooting…