The United Ukrainian Ballet’s stunning production of Swan Lake is only trumped by the spine-tingling moments after the final bars of Tchaikovsky’s majestic score ring out. That is when the company takes to the stage to rapturous applause. They carry with them the bicolour blue and yellow Ukrainian flag, which bares the line “make dance not war”…
Barbarian is a genuinely creepy horror movie with bite. It opens with the power of suggestion, but morphs into something far more sinister. Tess (Georgina Campbell) has driven herself to a very shady part of Detroit, where she intends to stay for the night ahead of a job interview. But with rain falling, when she…
The Australian premiere of Johan Inger’s comic, romantic dance theatre piece I New Then, set to songs by Van Morrison, is the undoubted highlight of DanceX Part I. Inger, a Swedish choreographer, danced with Nederlands Dans Theater and has made works for leading companies all over Europe. The feel-good 28-minute dance experience is energetic and humorous. The music…
A film for fanboys, Black Adam is mired in mythology, which will be far more meaningful if you’ve read the DC comics. The film tells the story of Teth Adam, the slave who became champion, who becomes Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson). The action starts in the ancient city of Kahndaq, where Adam is enslaved before…
Ana Lily Amirpour’s new film, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, is an intriguing and entertaining fantasy-thriller. Mona “Lisa” Lee (Jun Jong Seo) first appears wearing a straitjacket in a padded cell at a US psychiatric institution. Regarded as a violent schizophrenic, and still only 22, the abandoned Korean immigrant has been there for the…
Although the title of this film is Halloween Ends, after 13 instalments (three since the reboot) you have to ask whether Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) will ever die? I’m not going to say, but I can say his blood lust hasn’t dissipated in this chilling finale of the slasher franchise. Blood be spilled as…
Risqué and ribald, the R-rated treat that is Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett features an astounding cavalcade of talent. Provocative costuming, sexual tension, bawdy humour, original music and death-defying feats of strength, dexterity and precision are the order of the day. Aerial skills, pole dancing and fire eating are hot on the menu, as is hilarious audience interaction. There…
CLOC’s production of the hit musical Chicago sizzles. It is cheeky and cheery and holds its own nearly half a century after it was first produced and more than a quarter century on from its revival. The music by John Kander with lyrics from Fred Ebb and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse continue to resonate. Musically, it…
After a 19-year hiatus, the emotion charged, highly acclaimed production of Romeo and Juliet by choreographer John Cranko takes centre stage at Arts Centre Melbourne. It has power, passion and playfulness and introduces a new generation of The Australian Ballet Dancers. They are headlined by Callum Linnane and Sharni Spencer in the lead roles on opening night. In…
Dr John Everyman (Dennis Coard) is a retired and much-loved GP who lost his wife Sophia, when she was just 59. She was taken 13 years ago and he hasn’t been able to fill that void. To this day he rages at God for the “theft” of his beloved wife (he calls it “an act of divine…
