Things to do in Sydney today

Calling all amateur Egyptologists, history buffs and lovers of gold and glamour – a blockbuster exhibition packed out with priceless Ancient Egyptian artefacts is coming exclusively to Sydney this summer. Opening from Saturday, November 18, at the recently refurbed Australian Museum in Sydney, Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs is an interactive museum experience more than 3,000 years in the making, featuring 181 priceless artefacts. It is the largest cultural exhibition to visit Australia in more than a decade, and in a huge coup, the Museum shipped over the actual coffin of Ramses the Great for it. Time Out got a sneak peek at the exhibition and sussed out the top three highlights of Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs. You can also check out our First Look video. The secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and renowned archaeologist, Dr Mostafa Waziry, flew to Sydney to launch Ramses at the Australian Museum. You may have seen him appear in television specials and documentaries, including Netflix’s recent doco Unknown: The Lost Pyramid. Time Out’s Alannah Le Cross was there to get the scoop on what’s in store with the exhibition, and be regaled by Dr Waziry’s stories from expeditions and his passion for Egyptian history. Dr Waziry said that about 60 per cent of Egypt’s treasures are as yet undiscovered, and revealed the four artefacts he would like to see returned to Egypt (one of them is the Rosetta Stone, which currently resides at the British Museum).

November 2023 update: Due to hugggge demand and sell-out sessions, Jurassic World: The Exhibition has been extended for the whole of summer. You've now got until February 18 to get around it. ****** Have you ever dreamed of walking with dinosaurs? Well Sydney, life finds a way. Jurassic World: The Exhibition is roaring into the Harbour City this spring following recent record-breaking engagements in cities around the world. This enormous and immersive experience celebrates 30 years of the film franchise that began with the ground-breaking 1993 movie Jurassic Park. At this family-friendly exhibit of Jurassic proportions, you can walk through the iconic “Jurassic World” gates and encounter a life-sized brachiosaurus, velociraptors, and the most fearsome dinosaur of all, the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex. (We’re yet to receive confirmation on whether you’ll also encounter the glistening, exposed chest hair of Jeff Goldblum as you explore the richly themed environments.) Visitors will be able to imagine what it would have been like to roam amongst these breathtaking creatures (the dinosaurs, not Sam Neil and the gang), and even interact with baby dinos, including “Bumpy” from the popular animated series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (currently streaming on Netflix). Are you finding yourself thinking that the mad scientists behind this experience “were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should”? Well, hold onto your butts. They’re not pla

To paraphrase a line in Oil: “as soon as mankind had the audacity to dream it could keep itself warm when the sun went down, we were at war”. The Earth became an extractive commodity to be fought over; abstract lines sprung up into nation-states; division, jealousy and greed became society’s ever-burning fuel. Colonialism, empire, capitalism, modernity: the same basic impulse to escape cold and darkness rules them all.  In pioneering British playwright Ella Hickson’s ambitious modern play, it also rules a wilful (and often problematic) mother’s love. A time-bending, continent-hopping, multi-layered sci-fi epic and mother-daughter drama, Oil transports (by magical stretch of the imagination) her two main characters from the Industrial Age in Europe when crude oil was discovered, to the oil-rich Middle East at the turn of the century, to nondescript suburbia, and into the future. In each time period, the scene is some manner of dining room, which rests upon a vast mound of blackened soot (Emma White does a brilliant set). Paul Jackson’s lighting is crucial to our perception of what’s going on, and it is fantastic – moving us through greasy pools of waxy candlelight, to thrusting candelabras of boastful brightness, to rainbow fanfares, and to bleached and glaring whites.  ...the grim yet always entertaining adage of Oil has left me in a dark pool of reflection. STC has achieved a commendable feat. Directed with maturity and panache by Paige Rattray (The Lifespan of a Fact, Blith

When it comes to over-the-top displays of Chrissy lights, the Hunter Valley Gardens really takes the pudding. Every year, the well-manicured greenery of these parklands is bejewelled with some four million glittering lights, along with old-school rides, festive food and kids' entertainment. You’d have to be a real grinch not to be charmed by the Southern Hemisphere's largest light show. This year’s spectacular will twinkle to life with a colourful 35-metre long superslide, spinning teacups, a 25-metre high ferris wheel and a traditional Venetian carousel. There will also be plenty of new photo opportunities in 2023, including a colourful candy cane tunnel, twinkly tree trail and giant Santa’s arch. Christmas ain't Christmas without Mr and Mrs Claus, and this festival is no exception. Kids will be able to snap a picture with Santa, pose next to a 14-metre tall Christmas tree, and enjoy energetic weekend shows featuring Christmas characters, comedy, magic and stunts. There will also be a breathtaking fireworks display that will light up the sky on New Year’s Eve at 9pm. All the fan favourites from previous years will be at the Gardens too, spread over eight hectares of interactive displays. Dream no longer of a white Christmas by exploring the snowy display filled with arctic animals and frost-capped trees, get sweet at Candyland and frolic through the 12 days of Christmas LED display.  While they're certainly the main event, there’s more than just lights on offer. There are al

As the weather warms up in Sydney, the live music scene is gearing up to inject some heat into our evenings. Monumental series Great Southern Nights is back with a line-up of gigs and concerts ready to reignite the state’s live music scene from March 8-24, 2024 – but before then, they’re giving us a taste of what’s to come with a series of special events this November.  An eclectic mix of artists like folk-pop darling Alex The Astronaut, Dami Im, Jet, Thelma Plum (with support from Ashli), Blacktown deathcore outfit Thy Art is Murder, and the ‘Sweet Disposition’ of The Temper Trap are lighting up stages across Enmore, Marrickville, Newtown, Parramatta and Penrith. Take your pick from ten nights of incredible live performances from November 16-25, 2023 – this program is over here. The line-up for the 2024 series will be announced in December, with Great Southern Nights set to spotlight a diverse array of artists across 17 nights, with everyone from established household names to emerging talents and grassroots acts.  Alex the Astronaut said: "There’s nothing quite like putting on a live gig in front of fans and music-lovers, I can’t wait to put on a show for the return of Great Southern Nights. It means a lot that the government is continuing to add bricks and support to a music industry that is still rebuilding itself.” Great Southern Nights is a NSW Government initiative born out of previous lockdowns to provide practical state-wide industry support for the entertainment and