CLOC’s production of the hit musical Chicago sizzles. It is cheeky and cheery and holds its own nearly half a century after it was first produced and more than a quarter century on from its revival. The music by John Kander with lyrics from Fred Ebb and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse continue to resonate. Musically, it…
The 1975 are, to say the least, an enigma. A quartet of high school friends from Wilmslow, south of Manchester, England – that has produced bands like The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Joy Division/New Order and Oasis – is eclectic to the point of being beyond description. On the one hand, they produce great 80’s…
On John Marsden, by Alice Pung is the second book in Black Inc.’s Writers on Writers series, published in association with La Trobe University Press. In the series, prominent writers share their intimate reflections on the work of Australian authors who have inspired them. In doing so, they begin new conversations about writing and culture,…
Toy company Hasbro created their line of giant shape changing robots known as Transformers way back in 1984. Then came the animated television series in 1985, which then became an animated movie in 1986 and which featured the vocal talents of Leonard Nimoy, legendary actor Orson Welles, and even DJ Casey Kasem as the voices…
We’re among African Americans in a working-class suburb in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1950s. Although affable when it suits him, Troy Maxon (Bert Labonte) can be a hard man to stomach. A garbage collector, he has a “my way or the highway approach” and sometimes the choices he makes are decidedly ordinary. His upbringing was far from desirable….
Given the state of the world, the anti-war message carried by the tribal, love, rock musical Hair is as relevant today as when it exploded onto the stage in 1967. With a book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, and music by Galt MacDermot, it began off-Broadway that year. It started its Broadway…
In a plentiful year for Australian film, Ladies in Black is the latest local story to grace our screens. Directed by iconic storyteller Bruce Beresford, Ladies in Black has the makings of the next Australian classic. Adapted from a book by Madeline St John (and subsequent successful musical, with music by Tim Finn), the story…
A sharp and witty British woman unpicks her life before our eyes and what a life it has been. It has included the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. She explains how she met her one true love, her husband, in a queue at an Italian airport and what came before him, not all of…
Eight years after he first hit the screen, the clumsy, plump, black and white panda Po (voiced by Jack Black) is back with a new test of strength and resilience in Kung Fu Panda 3. He’s been living large and loving life as the Dragon Warrior, until his teacher Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) presents him with…
In Norse mythology trolls were ugly, slow witted, fearsome flesh eating giants, as seen in Andre Ovredal’s 2010 horror fantasy Troll Hunter. In modern cyberspeak a troll is an individual who prowls the internet posting nasty and inflammatory remarks on community noticeboards to sow discord. In this cute and colourful animated family friendly comedy from…
