In 2019, Ajay Chowdhury won the inaugural Harvill Secker/Bloody Scotland award aimed at discovering new crime writers from underrepresented communities. The Waiter, which appears at first to be two crime novels for the price of one, is Chowdhury’s debut crime novel (he had previously published a children’s book). And along the way it tips its…
Angel of Mine is a slow-moving thriller about intuition and obsession. Inspired by real events, it follows divorced mother Lizzie Manning (Noomi Rapace). She’s emotionally fraught, as she battles for custody of her son and juggles a job as a sales rep for a cosmetics line. An encounter with Lola (Annika Whiteley) turns Lizzie’s life…
You can’t say you don’t know what you’ll get with a John Wick movie, because that was very much established in the last two installments. The story starts with bloodied and retired super assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) just minutes away from having a $14 million bounty put on his head. He has killed a…
It’s not hard to see why West Side Story has become such a staple. The tale it tells continues to resonate – in fact perhaps even more so today. Whether we’re talking gang violence or racial or religious divisions, the enmity continues unabated. The depth of feeling in the way the story is told –…
Creative excellence and supreme artistry are the hallmarks of three short works that constitute The Australian Ballet’s new production, Prism. The trio is decidedly modern, starting with Jerome Robbins’ Glass Pieces. It starts with urgency, as people wearing striking pops of colour criss-cross one another, as they walk purposefully across the stage. Interspersed with that…
She, Grace (Annette Bening) is intelligent, strong willed, heavily opinionated, volatile and fearsome – a force of nature. He, Edward (Bill Nighy) is intelligent, introverted and averse to confrontation. He likes to be left in peace. Married for 29 years, both are unhappy. She wants to work through it, believing they are a couple for…
A rich, harrowing and deeply evocative story has been superbly translated into captivating musical theatre in this Australasian premiere production of The Color Purple – The Musical. It charts the life of Celie Johnson (played by Jayme-Lee Hanekom – Disney’s The Lion King), a battered and downtrodden African-American woman from when she was a 14-year-old…
The Humans is an adaptation of the 2016 Tony award winning drama written by Tony award winning playwright Stephen Karam. The film reworks many of the familiar tropes of the dysfunctional family gathering sub-genre – a favourite theme of many productions, such as Tracy Letts’ August Osage County. Karam makes his feature film directorial debut…
A quirky, psychological drama, Cat Person takes its time to ignite but comes into its own in the third act. Margot (Emilia Jones) is a diligent, 20-year-old university student, specialising in anthropology, who has a vivid imagination. She works part-time at the candy bar in an old-style movie theatre. Into the cinema walks tall, dark,…
Clever and melodic, The Dark Web is a delightful, rib tickling, original musical from the vivid imagination of its writer, composer and star Ariella Gordon. The 90-minute show without interval, with four principal performers and another four in the ensemble, concerns a dysfunctional family. June (Gordon) plays 15-year-old Andy’s (Eleanor Davey) aunt, to whom she is…
