Four hours before he is due for execution, Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) is visited by a priest (Adrian Lukas). In this black comedy, Becket proceeds to calmly relay his sordid story to Father Morris. Becket’s mother, Mary (Nell Williams), was heir to a family fortune worth US$18 billion – $19 billion. But when she fell…
Vanya Polunin is to clowning what Sir Donald Bradman was to cricket – a genius. Honing his highly creative endeavour over decades, he is unique and ubiquitous. When he created Snowshow in 1993 he wanted to go beyond the regulation clown show. Taking a cue from the surrealist painters he admired so much, combining comedy with poignancy, Polunin…
When I saw the initial production of this show back in 2013 I remarked: “In the US The Nutcracker is an annual Christmas holiday spectacle and after his years in America Queensland Ballet’s Artistic Director Li Cunxing is determined to make it a similar Brisbane institution. Will Brisbane fill a theatre every year for the…
An indigenous lad (Aswan Reid) reshapes the lives of those living at a remote monastery in 1940s Australia in Warwick Thornton’s The New Boy. The outback facility serves as a mission for Aboriginal children. It’s run by a feisty, renegade nun, Sister Eileen (Cate Blanchett). At the time only men could operate missions. But the…
Sometimes the best way to describe a book is to compare it to its influences. While there are plenty of other clear predecessors to choose from, one easy way to describe Alex Hay’s pacey debut The Housekeepers is as a cross between Ocean’s 8 and Downton Abbey. That is to say, in a nutshell, that…
Michael Robotham’s latest thriller, Close Your Eyes, is a brilliant nail biter that’s up there with the best in the contemporary field. Robotham has established himself as one of Australia’s top crime writers, and with this new release, he’s not jumping down from that pedestal any time soon. Set in the UK, the story begins when a mother…
Michael Tuahine thought up the idea of writing this fictionalised version of the life of Aboriginal entertainer and activist Jimmy Little, the first Aboriginal entertainer to appear on television, and what a great idea it was. The show provided a great night of the joyful retelling the life of a man who not only entertained…
An inspired production involving top talent, slick staging and creative costumes, David Bowie’s fantasy Lazarus – his final project before his death in 2016 – is a revelation. Entering the Playhouse at Arts Centre Melbourne, I had no idea what to expect. Sure, I admired Bowie’s musical prowess, but I would hardly say I was…
From the surreal instrumentation to a voice that at times sounds like a young Dylan, Kevin Morby hits all the right notes on his third full length Singing Saw. You may question – how do I not know about this guy? Well you might already and just didn’t know it, as he was in Woods…
I wish I could say great things about the sequel to the bump and grind we got in 2012 with Magic Mike. Three years after Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) bowed out of the male stripper life at the top of his game, “Magic Mike” finds the remaining Kings of Tampa, likewise, ready to throw in…
