Belvoir Theatre, Sydney, then Perth in 2025 Tracy Letts’ family drama, which sees three generations gather after the disappearance of their patriarch, is beautifully performed Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email In the wake of the US election, two Pulitzer prize-winning American plays have opened simultaneously on Gadigal Country in Sydney this week: at Belvoir, Tracy Letts’ 2007 drama August: Osage County; and at Sydney Theatre Company, Lynn Nottage’s 2015 tale of fractured friendship, Sweat. Both centre on women, and both explore the legacies of economic impoverishment. Both have America on their mind. That’s about where the similarities end. It’s easy to see why Sweat was programmed for this moment: a play that debuted on the eve of Donald Trump’s first term, set among disenfranchised steelworkers in Pennsylvania – a crucial battleground in recent US elections – and exploring the vexed intersection of class and race. Sign up for our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

Pamela Rabe has been a star of Australian stage and screen for more than 40 years. Now, she takes on a new challenge: playing the matriarch in August: Osage County.