Old Friends back at Ginger’s returns to Oxford Street for three Sunday cabaret evenings this May, blending music, storytelling and nostalgia in an intimate setting.
As dusk settles over Taylor Square, Oxford Street begins to shift into its evening rhythm. Lights glow behind old façades, conversations spill out of bars and restaurants, and somewhere upstairs, the quiet anticipation of a cabaret room begins to build.
Inside Ginger’s at The Oxford Hotel, tables are set close to the stage. Glassware catches the low light. A piano waits patiently in the corner.
This May, Old Friends back at Ginger’s returns to this intimate room for three Sunday evenings – a gathering of music, storytelling and conversation that feels deliberately unhurried. The show has already found its audience after a series of sold-out performances earlier in the year, quietly establishing itself as a small but meaningful ritual on Oxford Street.
The idea is simple: familiar songs, trusted performers, and a room that encourages listeners to stay present.
Old Friends Back At Ginger’s And The Spirit Of Sunday Night Cabaret
There is something different about a Sunday evening performance. The mood is softer than a Saturday night crowd; people arrive not for spectacle, but for connection.
Old Friends back at Ginger’s leans into that atmosphere. Doors open early, at 5:30pm, allowing guests to settle in with dinner and drinks before the music begins. By the time the show starts at 7pm, the room has the gentle hum of conversation and anticipation.
Cabaret thrives in spaces like this – close enough that performers can see every face in the room, and audiences feel part of the unfolding moment.
Sydney has only a handful of venues built specifically for this kind of performance. Ginger’s remains one of the rare rooms where cabaret still feels entirely at home, echoing the tradition of small theatrical salons where music and personality carry equal weight.
The Artists Behind Old Friends Back At Ginger’s
At the centre of Old Friends back at Ginger’s are three performers whose careers span theatre, music and Australian entertainment.
The evening brings together vocalist and host Rupert Noffs, comedy icon Mark Trevorrow, and ARIA-winning musical director Bev Kennedy.
Together they shape a show that moves fluidly between musical theatre, jazz standards, pop and contemporary songs. The structure remains intentionally relaxed. Stories surface between numbers, unexpected harmonies appear, and the occasional moment of improvisation reminds the audience that live performance can still surprise.
Kennedy’s piano anchors the evening, guiding the music with warmth and precision. Trevorrow – widely recognised for his flamboyant stage persona Bob Downe – brings wit and theatrical flair, while Byrne’s voice threads the evening together with understated confidence.
Across the season, guest performers also join the stage, including Australian singer and actor Tim Draxl, adding another layer to the evolving conversation between artists.
Old Friends Back At Ginger’s On Oxford Street
Oxford Street has long been one of Sydney’s cultural arteries. Over decades, its theatres, clubs and bars have hosted everything from underground music to major theatrical premieres.
In recent years the street has been quietly reshaping itself again. Small performance spaces have begun to reappear, bringing with them the sense that live entertainment is returning to its roots here.
Within that broader shift, Old Friends back at Ginger’s feels particularly well placed. The room itself – dimly lit, velvet-lined, intimate – encourages the kind of listening that cabaret demands.
Audience members sit close enough to see the subtle gestures that accompany a lyric: a raised eyebrow, a quiet smile, a glance exchanged between performers. The distance between stage and table is small, but that closeness is precisely what gives cabaret its particular power.
It becomes less like attending a concert and more like being invited into a shared evening.
A Mother’s Day Opening For Old Friends Back At Ginger’s
The first performance in the May run carries an added resonance. The opening night of Old Friends back at Ginger’s falls on Mother’s Day, Sunday 10 May, offering families a slightly different way to mark the occasion.
Rather than brunch or afternoon tea, the evening invites guests into a candlelit cabaret setting – an experience that feels both celebratory and personal.
From there, the series continues across the following two Sundays – 17 May and 24 May – each night offering its own mix of songs and stories as the performers reshape the program in response to the room.
The structure remains deliberately loose. No two evenings are entirely the same, and that unpredictability becomes part of the appeal.
The Quiet Magic Of A Cabaret Room
As the final notes drift through Ginger’s late on a Sunday evening, the atmosphere shifts once again. Conversations soften, glasses empty, and the performers step away from the stage.
Outside, Oxford Street continues its familiar nightlife rhythm. But upstairs, the room holds onto the afterglow of shared music – that fleeting sense of intimacy that cabaret creates so easily and so rarely elsewhere.
For those who attend, Old Friends back at Ginger’s offers something modest but meaningful: a reminder that live music does not always require grand stages or large crowds.
Sometimes all it needs is a piano, a few voices, and a room willing to listen.
And on three Sunday evenings this May, that room will once again be waiting above Oxford Street.
Event Details
Event: Old Friends – May Season
Venue: Ginger’s at The Oxford Hotel
Dates:
Sunday 10 May 2026 (Mother’s Day)
Sunday 17 May 2026
Sunday 24 May 2026
Doors: 5:30 PM (Dinner & Drinks)
Show: 7:00 PM – approx. 9:00 PM
Artists: Rupert Noffs, Mark Trevorrow (Bob Downe), Bev Kennedy
Special guests across the season including Tim Draxl
Tickets & Information: https://bobdowne.com