Like things done differently? There is nothing pedestrian about this dinner and show. A flipped-script on a classic hero to heroine and a bistro featuring upscale dining to align with the theatrics.
The MGallery Porterhouse Hotel, Castlereagh Street is historical real estate, built in 1876 and renovated mid pandemic. It retains its colonial charm and has been brought into 2020s with the addition of some bar, dining and rooftop spaces. Dixson & Sons on the first floor is running a classy pre-theatre menu created by Executive Chef Steven Hartert to kick off a high energy evening. Order the &Juliet themed rosy strawberry gin cocktail if you like a sweet premier or the Aussie Arras bubbles to get the night started alongside some delectable snacks which include oysters with classic mignonette, beef cheek croquette and ricotta stuffed zucchini flowers.
The yellowfin tuna, kohlrabi, green apple and soy ginger dressing headlines the starters. Opt to share with your date and encourage them to order the pistachio rocket pesto dressed burrata with wafer thin crispy sourdough toast, both are fresh and zesty and set off by a glass of the 2021 Wirra Wirra Farmers Heart Grenache, McLaren Vale.
The options for main cover all tastes from snapper fillet on a bed of almond cream with pea salad, to red meat options; Cowra lamb rump in bearnaise sauce and Little Joe Angus beef skirt with a unique umami squid ink broccoli side. The plant based patron can select from hand-made pastas, the spinach casarecce is delicious, glossy and savoury, dusted in aged parmesan. And the 2021 Nanny Goat Vineyard Pinot Noir Central Otago is the right red for this course. All of these are actually beyond Bistro expectations, this is upscale dining.
The portions are very generous so if you have allowed belly space and time for dessert, the pretty blush raspberry mousse pistachio tart is lovely. The star of this course is the sweet, light and tangy mango sorbet and on passionfruit bavarois topped with coconut meringue. Find the time to do three courses, it’s great value.
This musical at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre packs more songs than your average show, one hit after another often in gapless playback. This is a ‘jukebox’ musical however, so it’s designed that way by Swedish dynamo Max Martin who takes 30 billboard bangers together with Schitt’s Creek writer David West Read to rewrite this tale of woe.
That’s right, in the opening scene Shakespeare’s wife Ann Hathaway (Amy Lephamer) contests yet another macabre conclusion with her husband, Shakespeare (Rob Mills). The plotline features them co-writing a different ending which starts with Juliet essentially questioning, “Hmm… do I really want to die for this fella?”
As soon as we hear vocals in Juliet’s (Lorinda May Merrypor) arrangement of Britney’s ‘Baby hit me one more time’, its undeniably going to be OTT entertaining.
A mashup of Katy Perrys’ ‘Teenage Dream’ and Ariana Grandes’ ‘Break Free’ gets everyone jiggling in their seats. And the debut of a new character in the cast May (Jesse Dutlow), who is Juliets non-binary bestie, brings a little sass to the story.
The second act delivers some standout performances with a comical boyband choregraphed rendition of the Backstreet Boys’ ‘larger than life’. You’ll love Angelique’s (Casey Donovan) spotlight soliloquy with a witty recap of life working for the Capulets but it is Juliet belting out Katy Perrys ‘Roar’ who gets the standing O.
There are scores of reviews since the show opened in the UK in 2019, some are polarising, critiquing that the tales’ two heroines end up with the fellas who hadn’t treated them so well. It is however, full of girl-power moments where the female leads stand up for their themselves and direct their own destiny. Any portrayal of leading ladies finding their voice and empowered by choice should leave most of us both feminist and fan of this show.
Dinner and show package – two A-reserve tickets Tuesday/ Wednesday/ Thursday performances and a three-course dinner, $300
Or pre-theatre dinner menu 2-course $75pp /3-course $85ppAvailable on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings till 12 July 2024
The Porter House Hotel, Level 1, 203 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000
