Tom Holloway’s 100 Reasons for War (2015) has been updated to reflect present day conflict in Calamity Practice’s uproarious, disturbing production of the work. At one point, all eight actors that form the ensemble detail the multitude of unending fighting that has taken place since the Great War (WWI). It doesn’t make for pretty watching (not that…
“I was lucky that I was in the right place at the right time,” says David Stratton, somewhat modestly when reflecting back on his life as one of Australia’s best known and most revered film reviewers. Stratton is the doyen of Australian film reviewers, well known to television audiences through his thirty-year association with fellow…
Friends and family gather for a weekend in the countryside in Michael Mayer’s version of Chekhov’s The Seagull. While everyone is caught up in passionately loving someone who loves somebody else, a tragicomedy unfolds about the eternal desire to live a purposeful life. Sorin (Brian Dennehy), a retired government employee, and his sister Irina (Annette…
If you are into slapstick humour, you are going to have a ball with The Play That Goes Wrong. This riotous theatrical disaster is stumbling its way around Australia, starting in Melbourne. The premise is straightforward enough, but its execution something else entirely. The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is attempting to stage a 1920s Agatha…
For the VFL/AFL club that has finished runner up more than any other, the continued pain of losing Grand Finals and wasted seasons (when the result was far worse) was piling up. From working class roots, Tony Shaw tried his hand as basketball, but lack of height saw him turn his energies to Aussie Rules. At least,…
– RAMS – Only in cinemas from 29 October 2020 We have 5 double in-season passes thanks to Roadshow Films. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE In remote Western Australia, two estranged brothers, Colin (Sam Neil) and Les (Michael Caton), are at war. Raising separate flocks of sheep descended from their family’s…
Experience of Shock Therapy’s Locked In is an intense one, elevated by its grounding in truth. The Australian premiere is inspired by two stories – Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Baub – which both share about the experiences of living with Locked-In Syndrome. That is a rare…
Few, if any, would question how revolutionary the preschool educational television program Sesame Street has been since it first aired in 1969. It has, of course, bred familiarity with the characters, leading to merchandising and campaign leadership. And then there is the acclaimed Sesame Street parody with adult themes, Avenue Q, which received gongs for…
The Whale is the film that has excited me more than any other since lockdown. While the story itself is remarkable, the acting has me champing at the bit to recommend it. It’s all set in a rundown apartment in Idaho. Charlie (Brendan Fraser) is morbidly obese. His blood pressure is off the charts and…
Gloria is a play by Benedict Andrews. Says Mr Andrews in his note in the program: “Gloria depicts an actress in the grip of an emotional breakdown.’ Performing, onstage, Gloria cannot distinguish her ‘play’ role from her ‘life’ role. Through fraility, both become entwined and a personal calamity ensues.” This production of Gloria, by the…
