As the title suggests, the outcome of Spoiler Alert is obvious at the start of the film. The film charts a 13-year love story between two guys. Michael Ausiello (Jim Parsons) is a sensitive journalist who writes about TV shows. As a child, he dreamed about a sitcom with him at the centre and his…
Jonathan Larson wrote the smash hit Broadway musical Rent. How he got there involved pain and persistence. That’s the subject of tick, tick … Boom! Living in New York, Jon (Hugh Sheridan) dreams of being a Broadway musical writer. His creativity is recognised by his close and loyal friends, but he is on the cusp of 30…
Wittenoom, the former town and declared contaminated site in the Pilbara region of Western Australia was, in short, a death trap. During the 1950s and early ‘60s, it was Australia’s only supplier of deadly blue asbestos. The mine was shut down in 1966. Wittenoom, the play – a work of fiction – uncovers just how toxic an…
The story made world news. On 15 May 2010, 16-year-old Jessica Watson became the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, non-stop and unassisted. It was just her, a 10-metre-long boat named Ella’s Pink Lady and the elements. In the Netflix movie True Spirit, Teagan Croft plays Watson. Her mentor is a Ben Bryant (Cliff…
In a word, Mary Poppins is Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! The theatrics – the staging, set design and magic introduced into this Disney and Cameron Mackintosh production are sublime. I speak of everything from the doll’s house that opens up to the Banks’ family home to the appearance of Poppins’ iconic large-scale brolly towards the end of the show. You simply…
In M. Night Shyamalan’s intriguing psychological thriller, Knock at the Cabin, Kristen Cui plays eight-year-old Wen – a bright young girl who collects grasshoppers so she can study them. She’s special because she was adopted by her two dads – Andrew (Ben Aldridge) and Eric (Jonathan Groff) – when she was only a baby. Now…
The Whale is the film that has excited me more than any other since lockdown. While the story itself is remarkable, the acting has me champing at the bit to recommend it. It’s all set in a rundown apartment in Idaho. Charlie (Brendan Fraser) is morbidly obese. His blood pressure is off the charts and…
Sunday Reed is a firecracker. She is a woman unlike any other. She is instinctive … a free spirit. Although she has some mental health issues, Sunday doesn’t hold back. She says what she thinks and feels. Married to John, he surprises her when – on a whim – he purchases a farm in Heidelberg (in Melbourne’s northeast) in the…
Energy and enthusiasm are the hallmarks of a slick tribute show to some of the greatest musical artists the world has seen. Legends in Concert features tributes to Elton John (Stephen Sorrentino), Cyndi Lauper (Nellie Norris) and Cher (Lisa McClowry) before interval. In the second act, it is Stevie Wonder (Tino Ibach), Tina Turner (Lori Mitchell), Michael…
Emily is a fictitionalised story about lauded 19th century writer and poet Emily Brontë (Wuthering Heights). Australian actor-turned-writer/director Frances O’Connor has woven a compelling tale. As a youngster, Emily (Emma Mackey) enjoyed making up stories. Considered odd and deviating from the norm, her mind worked differently to others. While comfortable in the company of family,…
