Well crafted, well researched and sharply edited, Descent into the Maelstrom serves up a warts-and-all look at the rise and turbulent times of seminal Australian rock band Radio Birdman. Formed in 1974, the band was at the forefront of the punk new wave scene in the 70s. They came about when American-born medical student Deniz…
Based on a true story, Last Cab to Darwin is a rich and beautifully written character study that tells the story of Rex Macrae (Michael Caton), a taxi driver from Broken Hill diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, who drives all the way to Darwin to try and take advantage of the new euthanasia laws being…
Devastating bushfires and a baby koala and miner in peril. These are just two of the interwoven threads that run through the excellent, interactive solo work KOAL, in which sound, music and lighting play a critically important role. The piece was conceived by performer Jacinta Yelland. In 2019, she was sitting in her living room in the United…
Damn time loops. Bill Murray got stuck in one in Groundhog Day and could escape it by surrendering to love. And Tom Cruise had a less pleasant loop in Edge of Tomorrow. He died every time during an alien invasion. Samantha (Zoey Deutch) faces the same problem in Before I Fall. A night out with…
The whole brash and bold Portokalos family is back for more of the larger than life hijinks in a world where everyone has a little bit of Greek in them. My Big Fat Greek Wedding, released in 2002, became the highest grossing romantic comedy of all time. Nia Vardalos wrote the screenplay for the film…
Lily Bloom’s father has just died. Her mother Jenny wants her to eulogise him at his funeral, but she can’t. Why not? That introduction sets in motion a chain of events that will see the sins of the father visited on the child. As a teenager, Lily struck up a loving relationship with a fellow…
Recently a lot of books have passed my way that have, as their central theme, white Australians’ mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians. This is, in my humble opinion, not a bad thing. In the case of Bordertown, however, it’s not a book that is written from an Aboriginal perspective, rather it’s the viewpoint of a white…
Robert Goodman For more of Robert’s reviews, visit his blog Pile By the Bed
Sometimes it takes a great many listens to really hear a record. That is my take on singer/songwriter Ryley Walker’s third long player, Golden Sings That Have Been Sung. Walker continues his fingerstyle guitarist style from his earlier efforts but now takes more time with his intricate picking and let’s space do much of the…
Caroline Lee takes the stage as June, a woman of a certain age who hasn’t spoken to another person in more than a year. So, over that period – apart from accidentally speaking out aloud – she has lived in silence. Now June is taking us, the audience, into her confidence to break the drought and explain…
