Inga Vesper’s debut novel The Long, Long Afternoon was a crime novel set in a perfect Los Angeles suburb in the 1950s. Vesper used that scenario to get beneath the façade of the perfect housewife and community of the time to reveal the racism, infidelity and drug use that sat beneath the surface. Her second…
Slapstick humour characterises a little staged and decidedly different style of saints and sinners musical. Victorian Opera’s Happy End is set in America in 1919. The storyline sees the Salvation Army come face to face with gangsters. The hoodlums gather in Bill’s Beerhall, named after the man who strikes fear into others’ hearts. Bill Cracker (Adam Murphy) arrives…
Tony Burge, who assumes the role of lead FBI agent Carl Hanratty chasing boyish con man Frank Abagnale Jr. excels in Cloc’s production of Catch Me If You Can. He is strong vocally and as an actor, with a fine command of comic timing, which is a key ingredient in the musical. With book by Terrence McNally,…
Cirque Adrenaline is, as promised, breathtaking, and at times makes eye-boggling tributes to the versatility of the human body, mixed in with a laser light show and pounding music. All the acts were great, but there was one that stood out for me. Just when you think circus performers have reached the peak of dare-devilry,…
For those unfamiliar with John Steinbeck’s classic 1937 novella Of Mice and Men, a strumming pre-show soundtrack accompanying the rustic bunkhouse staging (Bill Haycock, designer) plants Ad Astra audiences firmly in its Depression-era California setting. Lighting also warms us to the tender take at the heart of the story as we meet is main characters,…
– The Leisure Seeker – Only in cinemas from 14 June 2018 We have 10 double in-season passes thanks to eOne Films. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE John and Ella Spencer have almost reached the end of the road; Ella is frail, while John’s memory is failing. Instead of quietly fading…
Rosie Andrews pulls a slight bait-and-switch in her debut novel The Leviathan. Set in the 17th Century, the first half of The Leviathan concerns itself with a possible witch trial before pivoting into something even darker. The short prologue ends with the ominous words: “She is awake.” But it will be a while before those…
Cesare Aldo is back in the sequel to DV Bishop’s historical crime debut City of Vengeance. Once again, Bishop brings the world of Sixteenth Century Florence vividly to life while delivering a well paced murder mystery While this book deals with a very different crime, Bishop keeps some of the threads hanging from his debut…
Disney’s latest animated offering, Ralph Breaks the Internet, just lifted the roof on what’s possible. It’s not only extremely clever, but funny and engaging for the whole family. Wreck-It Ralph (voiced by Jon C. Reilly) and Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) have been best friends since their previous misadventures (six years ago in Wreck-It Ralph), hanging…
In 1973, former Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs played women’s champion Billie Jean King in a spectacular tennis match – dubbed the Battle of the Sexes – at the Houston Astrodome. Riggs was also a serial tennis hustler, gambling addict and sexist braggart. It proved a landmark that ultimately had repercussions for the status of women’s tennis and…
