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…
Jo Nesbø is best known for his Scandinavian-noir crime thrillers starring Detective Harry Hole. But during his long career he has also delivered a number of crime standalones. His latest book, The Kingdom is one of these. Set in and around small town in rural Norway, the book deals with long held grudges, mysterious deaths,…
Melbourne International Arts Festival was first staged in 1986 under a different name – Spoleto Melbourne – and has carried several other names since. Covering dance, theatre, music, visual arts and multimedia, as well as free and outdoor events, it is held every October. The 2019 Festival runs from the 2nd to the 20th of…
When my kids were younger, they loved Pokémon. They’ve now outgrown that phase but the undeniably cute characters remain with them – and me I guess. I can’t say I was ever a huge fan, but they were a social phenomenon for a while there. The Pokémon wave however crested some time ago, so the…
Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810 – 1891) was the master of smoke and mirrors; the ultimate flimflam man. Although often down on his luck and short of money, he always managed to find a way out. That had something to do with his vivid imagination and a lot more to do with his grounded wife, Charity….
Marjorie Prime is an American play by Jordan Harrison, that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2015. The play is set in the mid-21st century. Tess (Lucy Bell) is caring for her ageing mother Marjorie (Maggie Dence). Marjorie is beginning to experience a creeping dementia. Jon (Richard Sydenham), Tess’ husband, has contacted a…
Sicario is a Spanish word used to describe the hitmen associated with Mexican drug cartels. Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario (2015) was a gripping action crime drama set on the border between the US and Mexico. The sequel, Day of the Soldado, doesn’t disappoint. The film is propelled by two antihero protagonists who venture deep into the…
The Bookshop is set in the sleepy small coastal village of Hardborough in 1959. Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) is a war widow who relocates to this small town with the aim of opening a bookshop. She loves books and wants to share this love with the townsfolk. She takes possession of the decaying old residence…
Confession time…. I hate interactive/immersive theatre and I’m not much of a zombie fan. Yet I didn’t hate Directors of the Extraordinary’s Containment. This zombie adventure game sees the Brisbane Powerhouse transformed into a paramilitary-protected private research facility. Scientists have been weaponising a contagion that zombifies humans… until there was a leak in the lab….
Mad bugger. That was my first thought when I saw one of the opening shots in this picturesque documentary, completed with the accompaniment of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. There was this bloke scaling a sheer cliff face, seemingly without any form of aid, staring death in the face. His hands and feet were searching for…
