Just as all families are unique, it’s safe to say that all have their own individual issues and, accordingly, suburban family life has long been fodder for theatrical works. In the case of From Darkness Steven Oliver’s take comes with humour but so much more; the darkly funny drama is, at its core, about bigger…
In Swimming with Men, Rob Brydon stars as Eric Scott. Eric’s a middle-aged accountant suffering a mid-life crisis, who finds new meaning by joining an amateur men’s synchronised swimming team. His wife, Heather (Jane Horrocks), has just been elected as a local councillor and can’t understand why her husband is becoming increasing distant. The film…
Have you ever faked it? In the intriguing psychological thriller Who You Think I Am, a middle-aged woman creates a fake Facebook profile to lure a much younger man. He’s on the hook, and she’s besotted, but the pair never meet. She is teacher Claire Millaud (Juliette Binoche), who assumes the name of Clara. She…
In her last few books, award winning author Ann Patchett has increasingly focussed on the domestic. From 2016’s Commonwealth which centred on a group of cousins growing up to 2019’s The Dutch House which focussed on siblings coming to terms with their family’s past. Her latest novel, Tom Lake, treads similar territory from a different…
Desire, loss and madness are in the spotlight in the Australian premiere of Right Now. This comedic drama asks the question: what’s real and what is imagined? Quebecois playwright Catherine-Anne Toupin wrote the play, and Chris Campbell translated it from the French. Alice (Christina O’Neill) is a beautiful young woman. She’s been married for three…
A Midnight Visit is an award-winning immersive live theatre show that, having previously been unleashed in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne, has recently resurrected in Brisbane. Inspired by the life and works of Edgar Allen Poe, the magnificently macabre multi-room experience, invites its guests to explore a dark dream world of gothic thrills, obsession, decadence and…
Combining live action with animation and fantasy, Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life is a feel-good early-teenage comedy. Rafe Khatchadorian (Griffin Gluck from Red Band Society) has a last name that’s difficult to pronounce, an epic imagination, loads of artistic ability and an ever-so-slight problem with authority. More kid with a cause than…
Nell Gwynn, by Jessica Swale, won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2016. In a large number of short scenes – it’s in two acts and almost three hours long – the play brings to life the career of Nell Gwynn (Bishanyia Vincent). She’s a young woman who grew up in Cheapside experiencing…
Set in Galway, Ireland between May 2016 and March 2019, Duck Duck Goose explores sexual assault and its impact. I refer to the effect on the accuser and the accused, along with friends and family. Jane Scully (Rachel Nutchey) meets Chris Quinn (Mitchell Holland) in the aftermath of a house party, where Chris got wasted. Jane alleges she…
A calm movie from time to time is something I welcome. Not a flashy, action film where you’ll get nervous because the scenes follow each other at a rapid pace and stroboscopic effects get you a cutting headache. Submergence undoubtedly belongs to the calm movie category. So, no nauseating headache. No disorientation. You’ll certainly not…
