The 2025 Wrap-Up: 5 Of The Best Sydney Theatre Shows Of The Year

We’re truly lucky to have such a robust theatre scene in Sydney. Whether it’s a big budget production at an iconic venue or something more intimate tucked away in a nook of the city, there’s always an interesting production happening somewhere – and I’ve been rather lucky to see a good number of them this year.

That’s why it was so painfully difficult to create this list of what I believe are the top 5 pieces of theatre I saw throughout 2025. Though I didn’t see absolutely everything (who can?), these are my favourite productions that have stuck with me long after the lights came on. Here are my favourite theatre shows I saw in Sydney this year!

#5: The Play That Goes Wrong in the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House

It’s not particularly easy to fake a “so-bad-it’s-good” vibe, which is exactly what makes the recent run of The Play That Goes Wrong stick out so much, even 6 months on. It’s a show that tells the story of the woefully underprepared Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society as they attempt to put on a murder mystery play, only for things to go… well, you know.

The show authentically feels like watching a bad piece of theatre, but the irony is that replicating this vibe takes a sincere mastery over the theatrical form that few shows can claim to have. Rarely does a show make you think so much about the craft of theatre itself, and centre it in such a delightfully metatextual way.

Plus, with a sensational troupe of performers that enhance the comedic craft on display, I’ve only come to think more fondly of The Play That Goes Wrong in the months since I saw it.

#4: Saints of Damour in the Loading Dock Theatre, Qtopia

Qtopia Sydney has had one of the most consistently interesting theatre and live performance programs in Sydney throughout 2025, centring queer voices through both new and old works alike. James Elazzi’s Saints of Damour is one of those new works, a painfully human work about a forbidden love spanning Lebanon and Australia.

Elazzi’s play managed to lodge itself in my head and has stuck with me ever since I saw it. Its profoundly tragic human story about two young Lebanese men whose love is fractured by societal expectations and war has really stuck with me, owed in no small part to its immensely talented cast.

It’s a real joy to see new Australian theatre take shape, and Saints of Damour was one of the best examples in Sydney this year. In a particularly strong season at Qtopia this year, Elazzi’s play still makes its own mark.

#3: Calamity Jane in the Studio, Sydney Opera House

Half-cabaret show, half-theatrical production but always fully delightful, this revival season of Calamity Jane with Virginia Gay at the Opera House completely won me over from minute one.

The short of it is that this production is some of the most fun I had at the theatre this year. Led by Gay, the entire ensemble of Calamity Jane was firing on every cylinder throughout to create a boot-stomping musical experience that’s almost relentless, charming fun with the perfect balance of audience interaction for a show like this.

But even outside of its sheer entertainment factor, Calamity Jane is also a fantastic musical. The songs are fantastic, the characters are engaging and the direction is absolutely impeccable, making it one of the best productions I had the pleasure of seeing this year.

#2: Iphigenia in Splott at the Old Fitz Theatre

A one-woman show that hits like a freight train, the Old Fitz’s revival season of Iphigenia in Splott shows a totally different side to theatre and performance than the other entries on this list. Standing alone on a simplistic set, actress Meg Clarke delivers an absolutely sensational solo performance of Gary Owen’s searing, Greek myth-inspired work.

It speaks to the incredible talent of Clarke as a performer that she’s able to make a solo show feel as big as anything else on this list, turning the small human tragedy of Effie into an indictment of the societal systems that fail people. In close collaboration with director Lucy Clements, she ensures that Iphigenia in Splott cuts like a knife.

There are moments in this show that haven’t left my mind since I saw them, and I expect that Clarke’s performance of this material will still be bouncing around inside my head for some time yet.

#1: Phar Lap: The Electro Swing Musical at the Hayes Theatre

It was kind of hilarious to come to the conclusion that Phar Lap: The Electro Swing Musical, the unapologetically parodic and horny show about Australia’s favourite racing horse, was the piece of theatre I enjoyed the most throughout 2025.

I’ll admit that I was skeptical before I saw Phar Lap, despite the Hayes Theatre having a sensational 2025 program up until that point. But once the show revealed its hoof – that it’s actually a parody of sports biopics with exceptional production value, incredible performances, and genuinely great tunes – I was all-in.

And really, that’s the best way to appreciate Phar Lap. Much like its titular horse, it feels like a bit of an underdog as a new Australian work by Steven Kramer. It’s rare that something this bombastically entertaining comes along, and it utilises the Hayes Theatre space in absurdly creative ways to deliver some of the funniest musical setpieces of the year while finding sincerity amidst the chaos.

With its exceptional cast full of some of Sydney’s best theatrical performers under the stewardship of director Sheridan Harbridge, it’s retrospectively easy to say that Phar Lap: The Electro Swing Musical, like its real-life namesake, was destined to steal the heart of the nation (or at least Sydney), and that I should’ve bet on it from the start.

In conclusion…

I had the opportunity to experience a lot of great theatre this year, and I’m truly thankful for the chance. There are so many shows I wish I could’ve shouted out, but alas, this list could only include five shows – a number that can’t possibly convey the scene’s brilliance across the board this year.

We can only hope that 2026 promises the same level of quality for Sydney’s theatre scene… and based on the programs theatre companies have released so far, I’m feeling optimistic!