Bold, brassy, belligerent, sensitive and respectful. The supremely talented Christie Whelan-Browne is all that and much more, as she tackles the thorny subject of making it in the world of musical theatre. Not content with playing herself, she assumes multiple personas. First up, a new graduate – Jessica – whose job it is to introduce Ms Whelan-Browne…
The Invisible Opera literally gives you a grandstand seat to the comings and goings in Melbourne’s CBD. With seven rows of tiered seating in Federation Square, in front of you is Flinders Street station. From there, you watch the world go by. That, for me, was a most unusual experience, because when I am normally in the…
Asghar Farhadi (A Separation – which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012) is an Iranian filmmaker of extraordinary insight and skill. He writes and directs movies involving ordinary people that have moral quandaries. So it is with his latest film, A Hero. Rahim Soltani (Amir Jadidi) is a man whose wife…
The Picture of Dorian Gray is an extraordinary triumph of talent and theatricality. It is the very finest of entertainment involving a handsome young man and a portrait that becomes a mirror to his soul. The play shines a spotlight on a world obsessed with youth and beauty. Dorian Gray is painted by his friend, artist Basil…
A creepy, well-made horror movie, Hatching bites. Young gymnastics student Tinja appears to have the perfect Finnish family. At least her social media obsessed mother wants the outside world to believe that. It is all about perfect smiles and beautiful things. She is also one of those pushy parents who desperately wants her daughter to…
The Wilds, which is the centrepiece of this year’s Rising cultural and artistic festival, is a sensory sensation that I would highly commend to you. You can readily complete a circuit around the “Bowl” in less than an hour. I chose to spend more time there, dwelling around certain installations and taking in the experience of the…
Five lost souls in their early 30s try to get more out of life than what they have in John Patrick Shanley’s Savage in Limbo. Set in a bar in the Bronx in the 1980s, the barman has a strict rule – if you don’t have a drink in front of you, then you’re out. April White…
Two strangers find themselves trapped in a barren room with a gun. They have no idea how they got there or what will become of them. In any event, the outlook is bleak. One could shoot the other or they could both starve to death. The character known simply as A (Boaz Hulme) starts with bravado, but then his…
What is fact and what is fiction? You are left asking that question after an exhilarating 50 minutes at Chapel Off Chapel, with the wonderfully written and performed gay political thriller Dirt. The intrigue keeps ratcheting up. Just when you think you have a fix on what is going on, the rug is pulled from under you. The…
Two loners connect over literature. One is a 53-year-old Yale professor of creative writing. The other is a freshman who is engaged by her lectures. They bond over Dostoevsky. Bella Baird is a single woman without children. Her father passed away from a heart attack at age 62 and her mum died a horrible death from stomach cancer when…
