Gold-standard disco hits delivered with panache by a sparkling SSO and guests.

Heart and humour but Mama Does Derby has yet to find the balance between sporting chaos and theatrical order.

In a triumphant homecoming, soprano Rebecca Nash reinvents Turandot for Ann Yee's centenary production.

In her debut cabaret show, Natalie Abbott delivers a moving meditation on love, loss, grief and trauma, while her sublime singing knocks you for six.

"It lives!" A vividly entertaining mashup of The Smiths and Mary Shelley lights up the Sydney Festival's cabaret room.

Ambition and autobiography collide powerfully at times, but indulgence blunts the work's emotional and political impact.

A tribute to Dharug culture is touching but uneven.

Hundreds surrender to the bliss of all-embracing dance, music and togetherness.

A generalisation-busting provocation of the most joyous kind – kinetic, embracing and celebratory.

Having got to grips with the city he now calls home, Sydney Festival Director Kris Nelson is fast closing in on a decent night's sleep.

"Practical and community considerations" lead to the shelving of a new work by Sydney's Legs on the Wall.

Our readers gravitated to daring premieres, festival feats and revisited classics alike.