A prolific, iconic writer and feminist who lived life on her terms, Miles Franklin (14th October, 1879 – 19th September, 1954) is best known for her auspicious debut, My Brilliant Career. Her legacy lives on through her published works and with the announcement of the annual Miles Franklin Literary Award to a novel of literary…
While growing up, I was captivated by subversive stories in a classical cartoon segment known as Fractured Fairy Tales. That aired as part of the TV series The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. It turned familiar yarns about the likes of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and many others on their head. All these…
Joan of Arc – was she a saint or a sinner? She was an illiterate peasant girl who believed she was acting under divine guidance when she guided the French army to victory in 1429. What she did was, indeed, momentous. She effectively stymied an attempt by the English to conquer France during the Hundred Years’…
Katzenmusik is a German word that translates as caterwaul, the shrill howling or wailing noise of a cat. And this is a story about the slaughter of 85 moggies, the end result of exploitation by greedy landlords. It is a disturbing, darkly comedic yarn about social divide from British playwright Tom Fowler, revealed in extraordinary…
Austrian choreographer and performance artist Florentina Holzinger isn’t known for holding back. So it is when 24 naked women – young and old – take to the stage in A Year Without Summer. The show has been described as apocalyptic theatre and medical cabaret. It blends horror with pop music parody. Holzinger sets up the…
Magnificent, rich, rounded voices against the backdrop of musical excellence. Clarity of sound, stunning solos, delicious duets and rousing three-part harmonies. But wait. There is more. The six artistes that take to the stage at the Regent Theatre are all leading performers who have fronted the biggest musicals. I speak of The Phantom of the…
Newly crafted multi-millionaire Ariel (Tom Stokes) struck up a conversation with the exotic, mysterious, attractive Anna X (Becca Galvin) at a party in New York in 2016. From there, he couldn’t get enough of her. In short, he was smitten from the get go. In her early to mid twenties, Anna proved to be aloof,…
It is a shocking tale of displacement (being wrenched away from family), discrimination, institutionalisation, foster homes and police intimidation. As a result, there is acting up, trouble making, drinking, smoking and getting in with the wrong crowd. Then there is the opportunity to turn it all around, to create a lasting legacy and, with it,…
The outrage I felt while watching events unfold here was palpable, just as it should be. Racism, hatred, misogyny, political dirty dealings – it is all there in giant technicolour, so to speak. At the centre of proceedings is a young actor still to make it, a man who would go on to become a…
As a highly successful recording artist and most engaging live performer, Guy Sebastian is quite the revelation. He comes across as a grounded nice guy – a loving family man and good friend – with a stunning vocal range that he seems to be able to produce at will. What a voice – what rich…
