‘The Simon & Garfunkel Story’ Returning To Australia For 2023 Tour

Five years after it first stunned Australian theatregoers with a sold-out tour in 2018, The Simon & Garfunkel Story – a theatrical ode to the iconic singer-songwriter duo – will return to stages Down Under this August. 

Part play, part rousing live performance, the acclaimed David Beck-directed show stars UK stalwarts William Sharp and Oliver Cave, who take on the respective roles of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. They’ll be joined by a full live band for the 12-show stint, comprising bassist Leon Camfield, guitarist/keyboardist Will Tuckwell and drummer Mat Swales. Adding to the visual bonanza, according to the show’s website, will be “state-of-the-art video projection [and] incredible lighting”. Included in the visuals will be rare film footage and photos taken in the 1960s.

The band will perform all of Simon & Garfunkel’s biggest hits: Mrs. Robinson, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Homeward Bound, Scarborough Fair, The Boxer, The Sound Of Silence and many more.

The tour will begin at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide on Wednesday August 2, rounding out that week in Mandurah and Perth. From there, the crew will roll through Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, the Gold Coast, Parramatta, Thirroul, Chatswood, Newcastle and Canberra, before finally wrapping up in Geelong on Saturday August 26. Tickets for all shows are on sale now – find them here.

As we’re told from the official synopsis, The Simon & Garfunkel Story follows “the fascinating tale of how two young boys from Queens, New York went on to become the world’s most successful music duo of all time”, kicking off with “their humble beginnings as ‘50s rock’n’roll duo Tom & Jerry” and rolling through “all the songs and stories that shaped them, the dramatic split [and] their individual solo careers”. But of course it wouldn’t be complete without a big, celebratory ending, so theatregoers can also expect “a stunning recreation of the legendary 1981 Central Park reunion concert”.

Simon & Garfunkel performed for the last time together in June of 2010, singing their 1967 classic Mrs. Robinson as a tribute to Mike Nichols at that year’s AFI Life Achievement Awards (the song itself was written for Nichols’ film The Graduate). Their last proper concert went down two months prior. Garfunkel argued in favour of a reunion right up until 2015, but conceded the following year that it’ll “never happen”. Simon retired from touring in 2018.

The pair released five studio albums between 1964 and 1970, with every single one being critically and commercially lauded. Their final full-length effort, Bridge Over Troubled Water, is their most successful, racking up 21 Platinum certifications across four territories. It also topped the charts in 10 major territories.

As for Sharp and Cave, both multi-hyphenates recently graduated from college – the former from the London College of Music, and the latter from the Royal Academy Of Music. As of late, they’ve been touring with The Simon & Garfunkel Story throughout the UK and Europe.