The Sydney Opera House is arguably best known for its stunning concert hall, which hosts some of the world's biggest artists and performances. But beyond the main stage, a multitude of rooms host smaller, curated programs and performances — including the Playhouse. This stage is far more intimate, perfect for the return of the Sydney Opera House Cinema, screening a tidy five-day program of films and theatre screenings to end April. Highlights on the program include the 2008 surfing documentary classic Bustin' Down the Door with star and champion surfer Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew in attendance for a Q&A — followed by a screening of the beloved Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy-starring mockumentary Best in Show on Wednesday, April 29. [embed]https://youtu.be/sur_pxcpuoE?si=ExyukE9yoTltrLZZ[/embed] On Thursday, April 30 comes Shortwave x Awesome Black, an hour-long showcase of independent and First Nations short films curated by creative studio Awesome Black — followed by a 4k restoration of Tampopo (1985), a "ramen western" that follows a band of ramen ronin aiding a widowed ramen shop owner on a quest to find the perfect recipe. Otherwise, on Friday, May 1, the 1990 classic from director Wong Kar Wai, Days of Being Wild, charts a tense relationship between a young playboy, the woman enamoured with him, and the policeman caught in the middle in 1960s Hong Kong. [embed]https://youtu.be/dQIdBfrF0Ik?si=gMB18eu5OpHEnGkN[/embed] David Lynch lovers can't miss the Nic Cage and Laura Dern starring classic, Wild at Heart (1990) on Saturday, May 2, nor should Studio Ghibli lovers pass on a chance to see a self-affirming animated classic, and the origin of one of cinema's best lines: "I'd rather be a pig than a fascist" — Porco Rosso (1992), come Sunday, May 3. Later that day, there are two more classics: Wes Anderson's deeply dysfunctional tragic comedy, The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and one of the most acclaimed international films in history — City of God (2002), which charts the diverging life paths of two friends in the favelas of 1970s Rio de Janeiro. [embed]https://youtu.be/dcUOO4Itgmw?si=xW5kCzSaTc0DL0AG[/embed] It's not all film on the program. Theatre lovers can settle in for recorded screenings of two stage shows. On Friday, May 1, is the Tudor-set retelling of the lives of Henry VIII's wives in SIX The Musical — followed by a recording of All My Sons fresh from London's National Theatre, starring Bryan Cranston in a story of fatherhood and consequences in wartime.
