With no shortage of drama, hijinks and a surfeit of musical talent, this unauthorised musical parody is pure gold for Harry Potter fans. It is 1942 and we are in Hogwarts castle. There, Professor Dumbledore (Ellis Dolan) is holding court trying to control his students. Among them are Muffin Rows (Mel O’Brien), who has a penchant for…
British trio Maxïmo Park combine the big guitars of modern rock acts with the catchy electro-pop melodicism of 80’s new wave on their solid seventh full-length album, Nature Always Wins. With the departure of long-time keyboard player Lukas Wooller, the remaining trio of players have regrouped to create a record that showcases their strengths at…
Bigger & Blacker begins with Steven Oliver’s iconic line from ABC’s Black Comedy. It is appropriate, given that the Cloncurry-born writer and actor is probably best-known for his sketch performances in the fast-paced, provocative and bold foray into race relations. However, as his autobiographical comedy cabaret shows, there is much more to this self-proclaimed faboriginal…
Debra Oswald’s latest book The Family Doctor opens with the shocking death of a young family at the hands of their father and husband. This sounds a little like the set up of Jane Harper’s debut The Dry. But while Harper used this scenario to launch a mystery story, Oswald’s take is much more realistic….
Triple X is an honest and moving love story that is powerful and entertaining. Scotty (Josh McConville) is living the dream. A successful Wall Street banker, he is about to marry his beautiful and rich girlfriend. On the eve of their wedding, his family descends on his recently purchased multi-million dollar Tribeca loft. There are philosophical…
The documentary Girls Can’t Surf is a look at those pioneering female surfers who fought against the entrenched sexism of this male dominated sport. In the 60s, the male surfers were the heroes, while female surfers were largely relegated to the sidelines, forced to wear skimpy swimsuits and were treated almost as a sideshow or…
The audience is excited for opening night of Shaun The Sheep’s Circus Show. It is a collaboration between Brisbane-based Circa Contemporary Circus and Aardman Animations, creators of the multi-award-winning TV series Shaun the Sheep. Devised by Richard Starzak, the show is a spectacle of staging, using the height and depth of QPAC’s Lyric Theatre to…
What is appropriate and inappropriate behaviour in a relationship between two adults, when one is clearly more powerful and significantly older than the other?That is the question raised and dissected in a crackling new MTC drama, Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes. It is 2014. Jon Macklem (Dan Spielman) is an acclaimed author with tenure at…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 12 March 2021. Australian indie-folk act The Paper Kites have released their fifth studio album Roses via Wonderlick/Sony Music Entertainment Australia. The band are also hitting the road this August for a national tour of Australia. With their brand…
The scourge of opioid addiction is at the core of the dramatic thriller Crisis. A tension-filled opening sees a teenager, Cedric Beauville (Charles Champagne), in deep snow near the US-Canadian border being chased by unseen pursuers. The lad’s capture sets off a chain of events. Jake Kelly (Armie Hammer) is deep undercover. The Drug Enforcement…
