The best things to do in Sydney this August

The Sydney Fringe Festival is back for another year, taking over Moore Park’s Entertainment Quarter from August 26 to October 11. This year’s line-up is stacked, and will see the return of the Fool’s Paradise hub alongside a dedicated Fringe Kids program. For acrobatics, comedy, cabaret, live music and burlesque, head straight to Fool’s Paradise. Spanning two dedicated venues, ‘The Virago’ and ‘The Bunker’, this year’s festivities are curated by the award-winning team at Head First Acrobats. Expect edge-of-your-seat stuff, with performances – day and night – that are guaranteed to get your adrenaline pumping (all from the safety of your seat). Got little ones in tow? The Fringe Kids program takes over the precinct for two weeks during the school break, with a line-up of music, magic, giant bubbles, hands-on science and circus acts. With highlights like All Star Circus and the Flying Bubble Show, and tickets starting at just $12, consider your kids' holiday boredom cured. With the entire seven-week line-up consolidated into one hub, you can catch a show, grab a bite to eat and soak up all the Fringe vibes without even having to rack up a massive step count. Refuel at the Fool’s Paradise bar with signature cocktails and snacks, or explore the many restaurants, cafes, markets and pop-up food stalls around the precinct.Performance times and ticket prices vary by show. To explore the full program, check session times and secure tickets, visit the Sydney Fringe Festival website.

A friend who recently returned from Tasmania's Dark Mofo told me it was her mission to "find the Dark Mofo every day" here in Sydney, and I had to admit it was a pretty good strategy for living well. Tracking down offbeat arts on any given day in the Harbour City generally takes a bit of digging, but during Sydney Fringe, it’s served up on a silver platter. NSW's biggest celebration of independent arts is landing back in Sydney this spring, and I know we say this every year, but seriously – this year's program is bigger than ever. From August through October, Sydney Fringe Festival will transform theatres, warehouses, heritage buildings and public spaces across the city with more than 350 events featuring 2,000-plus artists at 64 venues. From delightfully boundary-pushing theatre to wildly impressive circus acts, conversation-shaping comedy and full-throttle parties, this year's line-up is stacked with shows and events that are pretty much guaranteed to fill your cultural cup, no Tassie trip required. The festivities kick off with Fringe Ignite! on Saturday, August 29, when Darlinghurst's Stanley Street will be closed to traffic and transformed into a free, all-ages street party. Expect live music, roaming performers and plenty of food as one of Sydney's fave inner-city streets comes alive for one wild afternoon and evening. Arts-wise, there's way more on than we can cover in one listing. Among this year's biggest drawcards is Copa on The Rocks, where Andrew Bukenya will...

There’s always a lot going on at Sydney’s favourite house. So much so that it can be hard to keep track – with new headliners dropping every other week, and huge events taking over the various venues seemingly out of nowhere.  Keen to go to a show under the sails over the next few months? We’ve rounded up a few top picks in the Sydney Opera House winter to spring season:  Backstage tours give you a peek behind the curtain Explore the inner workings of Australia's most famous buildings on one of these expert-led tours. Dates: DailyTickets: From $48  Table Top Shakespeare will turn pantry items into Shakespearean stars Forget actors – this delightfully bonkers production has vases, jars, Dettol bottles and salt and pepper shakers taking centre stage. Six performers from acclaimed UK theatre company Forced Entertainment will retell Shakespeare’s most iconic tales using whatever they can find in the pantry, with plenty of relish, marmalade and dish soap along the way.Dates: September 22–27Tickets: $75 Curious will bring some of the world’s biggest thinkers to the Opera House Keen to expand your mind? The Sydney Opera House’s ideas festival, Curious, will reurn with a line-up of influential thinkers, comedians, creatives and chefs exploring everything from the mysteries of consciousness to family drama, the past and what the future might hold.Dates: October 4 & November 4Tickets: From $39 A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen will serve up a family story with a side of curry Part...

Put down your crystals and cottage cheese and head over to South Eveleigh this September – and get around the month-long program of free and affordable events designed to help you move, reset and feel your best. Now back for its third year, Live Well runs from now until September 28, with everything wellbeing – think free run clubs and pickleball, body composition scans, mindfulness experiences and creative workshops. This year, Sunrise clinical nutritionist Sarah Di Lorenzo is joining as the Live Well ambassador, hosting three free talks and Q&A sessions throughout the month covering nutrition, health and workplace wellbeing. She’ll also be signing copies of her book at one of the sessions. Elsewhere, you can get your sweat on with South Eveleigh’s weekly 5km run club, have your aura photographed (yes, really) or get a gang together for a few games of pickleball. There are also free body composition scans, and a series of Thursday night Plants & Pours workshops, including bonsai, botanical incense making, terrarium building and kokedama creation. Throughout the month, there’ll also be free pop-ups and fun including crystal finding, pet photography, archery, Aboriginal Elder Walangari Karntawarra’s sand painting session and a bike tune-up. Michael Carabetta, portfolio manager at South Eveleigh, says: “Spring is the perfect time to reset and invest in your own wellbeing. Live Well is about giving our community easy ways to move, connect and look after themselves, right in...

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London has become a home for staggering visuals and reimaginings of classic musicals. The most recent touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar arrived with rave reviews and award-winning performances from its electrifying revival of the rock musical. Now, Fiddler on the Roof gets its turn for a facelift at Theatre Royal Sydney, with a backing from a stellar team whose work covers Olivier and Tony Award-winning productions.  What is the premise of Fiddler on the Roof? It’s 1905 in the fictional shtetl of Anatevka set in Tsarist Russia, twelve years before the Russian Revolution of 1917. A ghostly rise of the curtain sees Ben Adler’s Fiddler on a flat-roofed stage, the name of the village faces backwards towards the band sitting behind a high row of wheat fields. Tevye, a Jewish milkman, leads his family by their proud traditions. This means a loyal wife, visits to the matchmaker, five obedient daughters, and daily conversations with God. But this is a time of change, his daughters wish to break away from the closed community’s traditions amidst the backdrop of a changing world.  Throughout, we see more than just Tevye’s family dynamics needing to grapple with forces far greater than Anatevka can withstand.  Who are the cast and crew of Fiddler on the Roof? Jordan Fein’s direction gives ample scope for spectacle, particularly when Julian Cheng’s choreography is placed front and centre – the high-energy traditional dances are the show’s...

Society’s definition of success has long been measured in the currencies of wealth, status, power and prestige. The threads of capitalism are so deeply woven into the fabric of our lives that we can sometimes mistake power for responsibility, prestige for accountability and influence for merit. It is a particularly pertinent distinction at a moment when the world’s most powerful democracy is once again led by a businessman, and popularity, power and status are increasingly treated as interchangeable with competence, responsibility and merit. What is the premise of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying? It is within this uncomfortable landscape that How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, which premiered on Broadway in 1961, could find renewed relevance. The musical follows J. Pierrepont Finch (Jake Speer), an ambitious young window cleaner who uses a self-help book to manipulate his way into a job at the World Wide Wicket Company and climb the corporate ladder. As he becomes entangled with Rosemary Pilkington (Georgia Laga’aia), rival Bud Frump (Max Macdonald) and company president J. B. Biggley (Simon Burke), Finch’s increasingly audacious schemes satirise workplace politics, unchecked ambition and the uncomfortable reality of success in a world that rewards the shameless and self-interested. What are the highlights of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying? The production shows considerable promise from the outset. Director and...

The opening note of ‘The Circle of Life’ may just be one of the most recognisable in a Disney musical. If you don’t agree, then you may have to convince the entire theatre-going audience who were at Disney’s The Lion King on opening night. The full house’s roars could be heard all the way out of the Capitol Theatre’s front doors as the king of musicals triumphantly returns to Sydney – the first time in more than a decade. What type of show is The Lion King? It’s called The King of Musicals for a reason. If it’s not Elton John’s iconically recognisable music, or Tim Rice’s lyrics you’ve sung over a late-night karaoke session, then its Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi’s book featuring the characters you love, the characters you hate, and the ones you undoubtedly cry over – tears were definitely still shed during that scene. What’s so beautiful about The Lion King is the blurring of worlds and culture that merges in between all of these. Julie Taymor’s directorial conception blends African culture, language, movement and costume underneath masks and puppetry of the animal characters. Mufasa’s “crown” is a stoic, strong and towering headdress. The elegant lionesses soar and leap through the sky through Garth Fagan’s choreography as wing-like gowns flow behind them. The animals of Pride Rock are adorned with larger-than-life puppets of intricate designs and architecture: a re-engineered bicycle becomes leaping antelope, birds fly above the crowd on poles manipulated by performers,...

The Comedy Store in Moore Park has been Sydney’s go-to spot for belly laughs since 1981. Venture inside and watch the stage come alive with top-notch talent with comedic timing – think homegrown favourites, international stars, rising newcomers and the occasional surprise guest. The Comedy Store Showcases run Thursday through Saturday, packing in 90 minutes of back-to-back stand-up with plenty of comedians on the bill. In fact, you can even catch The Saturday Late Show at 8.30pm if you prefer a later line-up. No two nights are the same, but each one guarantees tons of chuckles with new acts added constantly. RELATED READ: Make Tuesdays more fun with this affordable comedy show in the Inner West, featuring a rotating line-up of cracking comedians – plus, you get a free drink. The calendar is also dotted with solo shows and special events, from household names debuting their latest routine to the next big comedian testing out fresh material. What’s more, all tickets come with an alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverage. Still feeling thirsty? Get more drinks and nibbles at the Lounge Bar that keeps cocktails, cold beers and wine flowing with tasty antipasti also on offer. They even have table service, so you’ll never miss a punchline. It’s true what they say: laughter really is the best medicine, so gather your mates and go. Find out more and book your tickets here. Weather not looking so hot? Check out our list of the best things to do indoors in Sydney. Looking for weekday...

Greek mythology is definitely having a moment thanks to Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster The Odyssey, but Sydney’s very own White Rabbit Gallery is the place to be if you want to learn about Chinese mythology.  Established in 2009 to showcase philanthropist Judith Neilson's remarkable collection of 21st-century Chinese contemporary art, The White Rabbit Gallery in Chippendale has become one of Sydney's most fascinating cultural spaces. And now, David Williams brings us Black Myth, the gallery's 33rd exhibition that explores how ancient Chinese myths continue to shape our modern, technology-centric lives. Inspired by the hit 2024 video game Black Myth: Wukong – a modern reimagining of the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West – the exhibition examines the darker side of mythology and the enduring power of storytelling. Journey to the West follows the monk Tang Sanzang and his travelling companions: the mischievous Monkey King Sun Wukong, the pig-faced Zhu Bajie and the loyal river ogre Sha Wujing as they embark on an epic quest to retrieve sacred Buddhist scriptures. Mirroring that legendary adventure, the video game Black Myth explores journeys of every kind – physical and metaphysical, inner and outer – while delving into the Chinese ideas of transformation and transcendence. Artists include Sun Xun, whose intricate woodcuts and ink paintings create entire imagined worlds; Zong Ning, who reinvents ancient legends through contemporary photography and everyday...

Vishnu, one of the principal deities of Hinduism, is the preserver and protector of the universe. He is believed to restore balance whenever chaos or evil threatens the world, appearing in different forms – or “avatars” – to protect humanity. Some well-known avatars include Krishna, the playful cowherd and spiritual teacher; Prince Rama, hero of the Ramayana; and Narasimha, the fierce half-man, half-lion figure. Over thousands of years, stories of Vishnu have inspired artists across South and Southeast Asia – and now those stories are coming to Sydney in a major new exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW). Opening on June 20, Avatar: Forms of Vishnu is the first Australian exhibition dedicated to Vishnu and will feature more than 200 artworks spanning ancient sculpture, textiles, paintings, photography and large-scale contemporary installations. The exhibition brings together remarkable works from museums in India, Cambodia, London and beyond, many of which are being shown in Australia for the first time. Alongside centuries-old treasures are striking new works by contemporary artists including Gitanjali Das, Jumaadi, Nalini Malani and Sumakshi Singh. Says Art Gallery of New South Wales senior curator of Asian art, Melanie Eastburn, "Across South and Southeast Asia, tales of Vishnu's avatars have inspired contemplation and devotion, as well as entertainment. Vishnu’s avatars are responsive, dynamic and shaped by the cultures and communities that embrace...