The Nutcracker (The Australian Ballet), at the Ian Potter State Theatre and Joan Sutherland Theatre – ballet review
What a pleasure it was to be in the audience to see such a spectacular…
Before I Forget (MTC), at Arts Centre Melbourne – theatre review
Born in south-east Queensland and growing up in Brisbane, Jeanie Bell was a highly respected linguist. She made a substantial contribution to the preservation of Indigenous Australian languages, before passing away in 2024, aged 75. With assistance from Amanda Seed, Ms Bell compiled the Dictionary of the Gubbi-Gubbi and Butchulla languages. She was Badtjala/Butchulla/Jagera theatre…
Pressure (M) – 101 minutes – movie review
The weather. We talk about it frequently. “Gorgeous day.” “Isn’t it blowy.” “It’s raining cats and dogs.” And on it goes. In movie terms, we often associate it with Hollywood blockbusters – think Titanic (1997), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Twister (1996) and the like. But now, along comes a tense, dramatic war film in which…
Wild Horse Nine (MA) – 116 minutes – movie review
Martin McDonagh makes extraordinary films (In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Banshees of Inisherin), and this one is no exception. The darkly comedic, political satire Wild Horse Nine has Oscar nominations written all over it. In the first instance, I speak of the writing and direction, but then there is a series of…
La Ronde (Strut & Fret) at Melbourne Spiegel Haus – cabaret review
International circus and cabaret artistry par excellence is the treat that awaits you in the risqué 18+ show La Ronde. To a decidedly up-tempo beat, seven fine exponents of their craft strut their stuff on and around a small, circular, mirrored stage. Being theatre in the round, everything is up close and personal. It starts…
Never Closer (Patalog Theatre), at fortyfivedownstairs – theatre review
Spirited, tense and unrelenting comes this tale of kinship and hatred set against the backdrop of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Pivoting around the personal fallout for a group of friends, it marks a searing debut for Australian writer Grace Chapple. The starting point is the late 1970s, at Deidre’s (Enya Daly) home, close to…
Everest: The Other Side (M) – 115 minutes – movie review
In the wake of not one but two personal tragedies, on 15th October, 2025 American mountaineer and skier Jim Morrison created history on Mount Everest. Before Morrison’s monumental achievement, only five others had ascended the world’s highest peak via the most direct route on the north side, the last in 1991. As if that wasn’t…
I Am Woman (Morning Melodies), at Hamer Hall – concert review
Aussie-born Helen Reddy’s 1972 signature song I Am Woman, that reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, may have been the ultimate girl-power anthem. But long before, Australian women were fighting for equal rights. In 1965, Merle Thornton (Sigrid Thornton’s mother) and Rosalie Bogner chained themselves to the bar of the Regatta Hotel…
The Nutcracker (The Australian Ballet), at the Ian Potter State Theatre and Joan Sutherland Theatre – ballet review
What a pleasure it was to be in the audience to see such a spectacular production of the first ballet to be performed at the newly refurbished State Theatre three years on. Composed by Tchaikovsky, with choreography by Peter Wright, Lev Ivanov and Vincent Redmon, complete with additional choreography by the Birmingham Royal Ballet, The…
Klara and the Sun (M) – 116 minutes – movie review
Quirky and bittersweet comes this dystopian, AI, science fantasy about an obsolete, empathetic companion robot. Her name is Klara (Jenna Ortega) and she is happy, smiling and enthusiastic. She has a predilection to bend one knee while standing. Klara is obsessed by the sun, convinced it is all powerful – God-like, if you will –…
Bad Apples (MA) – 100 minutes – movie review
There is teaching a troublesome kid and then there is TEACHING a troublesome kid. Maria Spencer’s (Saoirse Ronan) life would be so much more satisfying without having to allow for Danny’s (Eddie Waller) violent and disruptive ways. Seemingly permanently angry and uncooperative, he is the ultimate primary school horror child. As the film opens, on…
