Noni Hazlehurst delivers an inspired performance in the slice of life piece Mother. Homeless and shoeless, she plays the character Christie. Christie married Lenny (who we don’t meet) because both were lonely. They had a baby, but Lenny is critical of Christie because she drinks – a lot and frequently. Christie channels their conversations. There…
Justin Williams makes the impossible possible with a big smile on his face. He is an illusionist and balloon artist who recently won the Australian reality TV series Blow Up. That saw 10 people competing to create the best balloon artworks. He has parlayed that success into the world premiere of Justin’s BIG Balloon Show, in which he…
The most festive of the traditional Christmas family film offerings this year is Diney’s live action stunner, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. With writing credits including the original Nutcracker storyteller, ETA Hoffman and a score of whimsically re-arranged motifs from Tchaikovsky’s much-loved ballet of the same name, this new film adaptation is a little…
Two of Australia’s finest folk singer-songwriters, John Flanagan and Liz Frencham, have announced plans to head out on a co-headline tour this October and November. Flanagan and Frencham are both firm favourites on the folk and festival scenes and getting the chance to see them in the same space is going to be truly magical….
Ridley Scott has never been afraid to take risks. That much is evident from his many canonical films including Alien, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Blade Runner. But for every Gladiator, there’s a Robin Hood. He seems to have a tendency to always shoot for the stars, sometimes succeeding brilliantly but sometimes falling short. His…
Can someone who denies the Holocaust took place have any credence in a court of law? That is the question at the heart of Denial, based on the book Denial: Holocaust History on Trial, in which an American professor finds herself the defendant in a high-profile British libel trial that would impact the way the…
On the Sunday sliver of space between the end of Brisbane Festival and the Tony Awards celebration of Broadway being back, Queensland Theatre’s Artistic Director Lee Lewis launched its 2022 season with promise of continued celebration of the resilience of the arts and cultural sector, and the power of great stories told by talented artists….
At first glance, Greenwood appears to be yet another environmental dystopia. The novel opens with a group of environmental tourists in 2038 being shown some of the last of the world’s great trees on an island off the west coast of Canada. And whilst there is a deep strain of environmentalism in Greenwood, it is…
A moving, slice-of-life piece, One Fine Morning combines the sensitive touch of writer-director Mia Hansen-Love (Bergman Island) with the acting chops of leading actor Lea Seydoux. Seydoux plays Sandra Kienzler, a single mother whose husband died five years ago. A translator, she and her family are dealing with the deteriorating health of her father Georg…
Often riotously funny, Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Twelfth Night is brilliantly staged by MTC and features several wonderful performances. With lots of musical ditties, it’s a tale of mistaken identities, love triangles and pranks. Here I’m indebted to SparkNotes for helping me to unravel the intricacies of Shakespeare’s Old English. The action is set in the…
