Booker Prize winning author Aravind Adiga takes on the issue of refugees and asylum seekers, focusing on Australia in his latest novel Amnesty. Set in Sydney, on a day sometime in the recent past, the book concentrates on Dhananjaya Rajaratnam, aka Danny the Cleaner, as he grapples with his duty to society and his…
The contention is hardly conventional, but the vitriol and resultant humour crafted by one of Australia’s foremost playwrights, Joanna Murray-Smith (Switzerland), makes Three Little Words a most enjoyable, inflated slice-of-life reality piece. Catherine McClements plays Tess, a book editor and Peter Haughton is Curtis, a teacher. They are a happily married couple (or so it…
Thomas Mullen has shown his ability to deliver engaging crime-genre driven historical fiction in the trilogy which started with 2017’s Darktown. Set in Atlanta in the late 1940s, that series focussed on the first Black policemen in the city as they navigated the city’s racial divide. His new book, The Rumor Game, has some similar…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 6 March 2020. The Kite String Tangle (aka Danny Harley) will be releasing his second album C()D3X on Friday 20 March; followed by a national tour taking in capital cities and some regional spots. The album contains previously released…
The Get Up Kids came out of Kansas City in the mid-90s in that second wave of emo, punk/pop bands like Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World, and My Chemical Romance. Best remembered for their 1999 release, “Something to Write Home About,” the band broke up after four albums in 2005 only to re-group four years later….
Judy and Punch is a real mixed bag. This Australian production from actor-turned-director Mirrah Foulkes is something of a breakthrough for the local industry. It proves Australian cinema can be more than just sunshine, beaches and gritty dramas. But its wildly uneven tone and confronting themes will test audiences’ patience. Domestic violence presents a huge…
This enjoyable if somewhat formulaic romantic comedy comes from Australian filmmaker Ben Lewin, who gave us The Sessions with Helen Hunt and John Hawkes in 2012. Successful and ambitious fund manager Millie (Danielle Macdonald,) quits her job just as she receives a promotion and sets out to become an opera singer. This despite having no…
Bold (to a point) and imaginative, writer and director Thomas Ian Doyle’s latest work Between the Sheets straddles the line between film and theatre. The contention is you don’t really need to “act” to appear on film, but theatre takes a lot more time and effort. Tristan Beckett (Jayden Popik) has signed a $32 million contract…
What a buzz. How much energy does School of Rock: The Musical have? What a riotous night for the whole family. How good are Brent Hill, Amy Lehpamer and the 12 talented children? This is a sensational production you could see over and over. Based on the 2003 movie, it features music by Andrew Lloyd…
Chloe Hooper has, yet again, taken on difficult terrain and a complex subject matter in The Arsonist. As in The Tall Man, there are victims, family members, affected communities and people still trying to get on with their lives, Black Saturday being ten years ago this month / year in the one of the most…
