For charm and sophistication this superb show can’t be beaten
Our critics give their verdicts on all the latest performances.
By Rod Yates, Chantal Nguyen and John Shand
Updated January 12, 2026 — 10.29am
**MUSICAL THEATRE
****Putting It Together
****Foundry Theatre, January 8
****Until February 15
****Reviewed by JOHN SHAND
**★★★★
This makes one’s brain fizz without resort to champagne. When the wit, elegance, craft, intelligence and passion of Stephen Sondheim’s songs are married to superlative performances, ingenious arrangements and stylish design, I can’t imagine a more charmingly sophisticated night out.
The apotheosis comes when Caroline O’Connor sings The Ladies who Lunch (from Company). No one does caustic satire in musicals like Sondheim, and he never did it better than in this song about the female idle rich, including the ones who “play wife”, “Keeping house, but clutching a copy of Life/Just to keep in touch.” Sipping a martini, Caroline O’Connor electrifies each word, expertly milking each pause.
Michael Cormick and Caroline O’Connor .Credit: Daniel Boud
Sondheim reluctantly assembled Putting it Together (with Julia McKenzie) in 1992, when the Side by Side by Sondheim revue had been done to death. Director/choreographer Cameron Mitchell has gathered an exceptional cast: Stefanie Caccamo, Michael Cormick, Nigel Huckle and Bert Labonte all hold their own against the remarkable O’Connor, and shine individually and collectively.
Equally impressive is the work of Guy Simpson and Kevin Wang in reducing Jonathan Tunick’s original orchestrations to just two pianos (Wang and Nicholas Till) and myriad percussion expertly played by Richard Gleeson. These arrangements are so complete in terms of colour, breadth and contrast that one never misses the strings or wind.
Across the show, the recurring theme is disappointment in life and particularly in love. Sondheim’s characters routinely find their love unrequited, waning, souring, cheated upon or just a fantasy, and they sing about their dilemmas with shrewdness and irony.
Caccamo was outstanding on the bluesy Sooner or Later (Dick Tracy), exhibiting the ability to change the timbre of her voice in any range, like moire fabric being rustled in the light. The fireside warmth of Cormick’s baritone was heard to full effect on The Road You Didn’t Take (Follies), and Huckle’s tenor soared on Marry Me a Little (Follies). Also from Follies came Buddy’s Blues, a fabulous showpiece for Labonte as a comedian, capped by Gleeson’s slapstick woodblock highlights.
But then highlights abounded, including O’Connor and Caccamo delivering their devious plans for murdering rival women in There’s Always a Woman (Anyone Can Whistle), and earlier sharing the exquisite Every Day a Little Death (A Little Night Music). Similarly, Cormick and Huckle brought Pretty Women (Sweeney Todd) to full bloom_._
Nick Fry (set), Nigel Shaw (costumes), Trudy Dalgleish (lighting) and Michael Waters (sound) ensured the show had the requisite stylishness, and the Foundry proved an admirable addition to Sydney’s venues on my first visit. My only reservation is that, given the riches available in the Sondheim oeuvre, I’m not sure the great man did himself full justice in the choices he made, with his ultimate masterpiece, Sunday in the Park with George, under-represented, for instance.
MUSIC
Yungblud
Qudos Bank Arena, January 11
Reviewed by ROD YATES
★★★★½
Even with four albums to his name, British artist Yungblud acknowledges some will be here because of his showstopping cover of Black Sabbath’s Changes at last year’s Back To The Beginning Ozzy Osbourne tribute concert.
If ever there had been doubts about the credentials of the 28-year-old born Dominic Harrison – and there have been plenty, courtesy of critics who’ve long cast a suspicious eye over his genre-straddling sound and larger-than-life persona – that one performance did a tremendous job of dispelling them.
Yungblud doesn’t stop working from the moment he steps on stage.
So too does a night such as this.
As with Ozzy – who gifted Yungblud the gold cross that hangs around his neck – the singer does not stop working from the second he walks onstage, a whirling dervish of perpetual motion who takes wild-eyed pleasure in whipping the crowd to ever more manic heights.
Harrison is a stunningly good frontman, blessed with Mick Jagger’s swagger, Michael Hutchence’s sex appeal, Iggy Pop’s manic energy and the roguish exuberance of David Lee Roth.
Throughout the show there is fire, there are confetti canons, there is localised banter (“I f--king love Chicken Twisties!“), and an impromptu invitation to a fan from Wollongong to play guitar on the light grunge of fleabag.
If it all sounds a bit cliched, it is – but Yungblud’s ability to revive and breathe new life into old tropes feels undeniably exciting.
A monumental Changes that re-confirms his reputation as a singer par excellence is a dramatic counterpoint to the pop-punk of The Funeral, the Gorillaz-tinged Lowlife, the string-laden pop-rock of Idols Pt. 1 (one of several songs to feature a four-piece string ensemble) and opening nine-minute epic Hello Heaven, Hello.
And while the quality of his material is yet to consistently match his abilities as a performer, Yungblud is one of the greatest young rock stars going around at the moment.
**CIRCUSDuck PondSydney Opera House, Concert Hall, January 9****Until January 12
****Reviewed by CHANTAL NGUYEN
**★★★★
The circus is back in town with Circa’s Duck Pond: a satirical mash-up of The Ugly Duckling and the ballet Swan Lake. Unlike Circa’s sociopolitical pieces or prestigious classical arts collaborations, Duck Pond is a relaxed outing for the whole family. There’s not a ballet shoe in sight: just slick glittering unitards, wings for Cupid, lethal red stilettos for the Black Swan, and a bunch of yellow overalls and flippers for the obligatory duck slapstick (Libby McDonnell’s costumes).
Set to Jethro Woodward’s techno reconstruction of Tchaikovsky’s iconic ballet score, the story flies along in a series of satisfying acrobatics. There are aerial silks, trapeze swings, somersaults, sky-high balances and (my personal favourite) the aerial pole. Who needs the Black Swan’s famous “thirty-two fouettés” variation when she can just spin — mid-air and upside down?
The ‘Underduck’ emerges triumphant in this charming piece of work. Credit: Daniel Boud
Audience members gasp as the artists launch and lock their bodies into human towers, slings, and catapults. But the best moments always feature a more artistic aesthetic where — if you took a split-second photo — the resulting image would capture clean balletic lines, more pointed feet, and the performers in formation like ancient Greek statues.
The Swan Lake story pairs surprisingly well with The Ugly Duckling. After all, both tales feature a waterfowl heroine battling villains and discovering her true self. Duck Pond’s main character is also something of an underdog (“Underduck?” I pun to my groaning guests), relegated Cinderella-like to carrying down-stuffed pillows and sweeping up feathers.
There’s some social class commentary as the Prince raises an eyebrow at her lowly janitorial status and modest Elizabethan neck ruff, turning his attention to the more glamorous Black Swan, who is flaunting the kind of sparkling unitard Taylor Swift might wear.
Characteristic of Circa and its trailblazing director Yaron Lifschitz, the acrobatics are focused on narrative rather than stunts, lyricism rather than exhibitionism. The costumes and set keep it classy with dramatic monochrome and mood colours. There’s even a billowing fabric lake finale that Australian Ballet fans will recognise from Graeme Murphy’s beloved production.
But Duck Pond is still notable for its likeable characters and Australian sense of larrikinism. This is a credit to the performers — not even Cirque du Soleil has character arcs in which you can emotionally invest.
And once the main story is over, the fourth wall drops in a cheery coda as the artists perform their hearts out for the appreciative, laughing audience.
Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.