Interactive theatre can be stimulating. In the case of Day After Terrible Day, while creative, I found it totally perplexing. Upon arrival, patrons are divided into groups and led to the double doors of what turns out to be an unfinished mansion. Once ushered inside, perched on a 10-rung ladder at the back of the theatre…
Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterful work The Phantom of the Opera sizzles. Everything about the production works a treat. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music, a cavalcade of riches, still stirs the soul 36 years after the musical debuted in London. In this case, plaudits to Orchestra Victoria for bringing it to life, with Anthony…
Set in New York City in 1980, Armageddon Time is a coming-of-age story highlighting African-American and Jewish experiences. And it’s the vehicle to propel two bright young actors onto the world stage. Fourteen year-old Banks Repeta plays sixth-grader Paul Graff, a boy from a middle class Jewish family. Jaylin Webb, 16, portrays Johnny Davis, a…
Prolific historian Dan Jones has turned his deep knowledge to provide the basis of a fictional account of the start of the hundred years war in Essex Dogs. The book is the first of a planned trilogy about a group of scrappy fighters caught up in the wars between the British and the French, a…
– Mistletoe Ranch – Only in cinemas from 17 November 2022 We have 10 double in-season passes thanks to Athabasca Film. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE Upon learning her hometown’s holiday celebrations have been put on hold, international photographer Aimée Tremblay returns to the town of Snowy Oak to restore the…
A proud, potent and poignant piece of artistry that combines dance, song, monologue and athleticism with projections is the highlight of DanceX Part III. I speak of Gudirr Gudirr by Marrugeku, which contains truth-telling about the history of indigenous Australians from the Kimberley region of Western Australia. To say what is acted out is not pretty is…
There’s no mistaking where The Caretaker is located. As the lights dim, the powerful throng of the bells of Big Ben ring 12 times. Mick, a builder with own van sits solemnly on a single bed in a shabby boarding house in the late 1950s. He is surrounded by meagre furnishings, junk knick-knacks, a gas…
Writer-director Anthony Fabian takes his audience on a giddy trip around Paris and the would of haute couture in Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. Despite the fact the film is based on Paul Gallico’s 1958 novel Mrs ’Arris Goes to Paris, its closest relative seems to be the recent Netflix series Emily in Paris. The…
A 20-year drought has led to blatant exploitation of the underprivileged. That is the basis of the satirical musical comedy Urinetown. The narrator who sets the scene is also the town’s crooked cop Officer Lockstock (Dom Hennequin), as he is joined by street urchin Little Sally (Chloe Halley). The terrible water shortage has meant that it costs to…
The gay romantic comedy Bros is very funny and has broad mainstream appeal as it follows the formula of those classic rom-coms like When Harry Met Sally. Bobby Leiber (Billy Eichner) hosts a podcast called “the Eleventh Brick at Stonewall” that explores queer history and issues of importance for the gay community. He is also…
