Deliciously absurdist, The Long Pigs is one of the cleverest, most creative shows of the year. The three artists on stage – Clare Bartholomew, Nicci Wilks and Mozes – adhere to the adage that actions speaks louder than words. Very few words are spoken. Some sounds are made and the eclectic music bed is triumphant. As you…
The low-brow comedy Bottoms comes out on top. PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edibiri) are besties. They’re also gay. Neither is popular at school. Still, PJ is ready to go with the flow, but Josie is not, convinced she will never get laid. Josie has her eyes on cheerleader Isabel (Havana Rose Liu), who…
Five Troll brothers were once part of a successful boy band, BroZone, but that came to an inglorious end. Now, all these years later, getting the group together again is the only way out for one of the guys, who has been kidnapped by imposters. That, in short, is the plot to Trolls Band Together;…
What is art? That is one of the questions at the heart of Red. Another concerns pretension. American writer John Logan wrote Red about Russian-born painter Mark Rothko (25th September, 1903 – 25thFebruary, 1970), who migrated to the USA at the age of 10. The Broadway production won six Tony Awards in 2010, including Best Play. Rothko…
The first known reference to vampires appeared in written form in Old Russian in AD 1047, soon after Orthodox Christianity moved into Eastern Europe. According to Britannica, the first prose vampire story published in English is believed to be John Polidori’s “The Vampyre” (1819). That was about a mysterious aristocrat named Lord Ruthven who seduces young women, only to…
A quirky, psychological drama, Cat Person takes its time to ignite but comes into its own in the third act. Margot (Emilia Jones) is a diligent, 20-year-old university student, specialising in anthropology, who has a vivid imagination. She works part-time at the candy bar in an old-style movie theatre. Into the cinema walks tall, dark,…
One of the most lauded plays of the 20th century, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a high stakes cat and mouse game. Husband and wife adopt a take no prisoners’ attitude to the unfolding conflict. Before this is over, both will be metaphorically beaten up, as will their unwitting younger guests who become part of the…
Evocative, eviscerating, engaging – these are the hallmarks of a group therapy session in which participants are figuratively filleted. They are encouraged to open up about all their traumas, about their fears and frustrations, their anger and angst, their despair and derision. They beat up on themselves and lash out. They writhe and contort, they repel and…
Imagine if the world had all but come to an end and you were the last person left on Earth. Global warming has sparked a hellfire and only you survived – at least until now. Your demise is but days away. You are 33 years of age. Tortured images grip what little sleep you get. You continue to…
Men behaving badly towards women and the consequences of excessive drinking are themes running through The Royal Hotel. Director and co-writer (alongside Oscar Redding) Kitty Green first saw the documentary Hotel Coolgardie as an Australian film festival jury member. That 2017 doco was her inspiration. She was taken by the story of two young Scandinavian…
