Encore! Songs From The Musicals (Opera Australia), at Regent Theatre – musical theatre review
Magnificent, rich, rounded voices against the backdrop of musical excellence. Clarity of sound, stunning solos,…
Sainting Joan, at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory – theatre review
Joan of Arc – was she a saint or a sinner? She was an illiterate peasant girl who believed she was acting under divine guidance when she guided the French army to victory in 1429. What she did was, indeed, momentous. She effectively stymied an attempt by the English to conquer France during the Hundred Years’…
Katzenmusik, at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory – theatre review
Katzenmusik is a German word that translates as caterwaul, the shrill howling or wailing noise of a cat. And this is a story about the slaughter of 85 moggies, the end result of exploitation by greedy landlords. It is a disturbing, darkly comedic yarn about social divide from British playwright Tom Fowler, revealed in extraordinary…
Backrooms (M) – 105 minutes – movie review
A supernatural horror thriller, Backrooms is a phenomenon that has grown through the internet. Co-writer and director of the film Kane Parsons was just 16 when he used open-source software to create what was initially intended as a visual effects test. The nine minute short The Backrooms (Found Footage) was uploaded to YouTube in 2022….
A Year Without Summer, at Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, as part of the RISING Festival – theatre review
Austrian choreographer and performance artist Florentina Holzinger isn’t known for holding back. So it is when 24 naked women – young and old – take to the stage in A Year Without Summer. The show has been described as apocalyptic theatre and medical cabaret. It blends horror with pop music parody. Holzinger sets up the…
Encore! Songs From The Musicals (Opera Australia), at Regent Theatre – musical theatre review
Magnificent, rich, rounded voices against the backdrop of musical excellence. Clarity of sound, stunning solos, delicious duets and rousing three-part harmonies. But wait. There is more. The six artistes that take to the stage at the Regent Theatre are all leading performers who have fronted the biggest musicals. I speak of The Phantom of the…
A Private Life (M) – 103 minutes – movie review
Living in Paris, American/French psychiatrist Lilian Steiner’s (Jodie) life is spiralling. A patient she has seen for eight years, Pierre Hallan (Noam Morgensztern), who originally came to see her to quit smoking, abruptly cancels all future appointments. Pierre claims one visit to a hypnotist cured what Steiner couldn’t and he maintains that he is 40,000…
The Sheep Detectives (PG) – 109 minutes – movie review
A cute Babe-like (1995) whodunnit with some good humour and sight gags. That is what you are in for with The Sheep Detectives. Nothing to think about too deeply and some of the comedy hits the mark better than other attempts, but overall, it is a most enjoyable romp. George Hardy (Hugh Jackman), who lives…
Anna X, at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre – theatre review
Newly crafted multi-millionaire Ariel (Tom Stokes) struck up a conversation with the exotic, mysterious, attractive Anna X (Becca Galvin) at a party in New York in 2016. From there, he couldn’t get enough of her. In short, he was smitten from the get go. In her early to mid twenties, Anna proved to be aloof,…
Lazarus, at Theatre Works – theatre review
It is a shocking tale of displacement (being wrenched away from family), discrimination, institutionalisation, foster homes and police intimidation. As a result, there is acting up, trouble making, drinking, smoking and getting in with the wrong crowd. Then there is the opportunity to turn it all around, to create a lasting legacy and, with it,…
Retrograde, at Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne – theatre review
The outrage I felt while watching events unfold here was palpable, just as it should be. Racism, hatred, misogyny, political dirty dealings – it is all there in giant technicolour, so to speak. At the centre of proceedings is a young actor still to make it, a man who would go on to become a…
