A dystopian future is the setting for BottledSnail’s production of Urinetown. Twenty years of drought has taken its toll. Citizens must pay to use public facilities – operated by a ruthless private organisation known as Urine Good Company – to pee. Anyone who breaks the law is sent to their demise in a mysterious place…
Marry Me is a slick but enjoyable rom-com starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. Kat Valdez (JLo) and Bastian (Maluma) are superstars of song … and the hottest couple on the planet. Their social media presence is in the stratosphere and their megahit Marry Me is about to come true in front of 200 million…
Do tech bros, that is entrepreneurs in the tech industry, rule the modern world without taking personal accountability for their missteps? You need not think too hard to come up with names that roll off virtually everyone’s tongues. That is a concept explored in this horror sci-fi about such a man who sets about trying…
Written by actor Damien Hill (Neighbours) and directed by Paul Ireland, Pawno is a gritty ensemble-driven slice of life drama and also a love letter to the suburb of Footscray and its multicultural nature and colourful inhabitants. It revolves around a seedy and cluttered pawn shop located in Barkly Street and the motley character who…
Sparkling wit, energy and enthusiasm characterise Coral Browne: This F***ing Lady!. Maureen Sherlock’s smart script showcases the colourful life of a girl raised in Melbourne’s West who went on to conquer the West End. Now all but forgotten, BAFTA winner Coral Browne wasn’t one to pull her punches. After Melbourne success, she took all before…
If you haven’t heard of Kill Climate Deniers you probably should have. The hyperbolically titled play’s controversial take on the contentious climate change debate in Australia saw it hit the headlines in 2014 when its playwright David Finnigan received $19 000 from Arts ACT to write a play exploring climate change and Australian politics. The…
The powerful Australian produced and shot drama Shayda is set in suburban Australia in 1995 but has contemporary resonance as it deals with some important themes. It centres around Shayda (Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi) who is married to Hossein (Osama Sami) who has moved to Australia to study medicine and become a doctor. He…
As popular fiction catches up with the fact that the home is where true horror lives, there’s a heck of a lot of authors writing about the dangers nested deep in our most intimate relationships. My Perfect Wife depicts how many small acts of cruelty and control can incrementally cause enormous amounts of damage. Returning…
Not to be confused with Barry Levinson’s 1994 erotic thriller of the same name, the provocative and intimate drama Disclosure looks at the darker side of suburban life in contemporary Australia. Two sets of parents gather together to discuss an incident involving their children, but things turn ugly as the impromptu meeting progresses. Natasha Bowman,…
I saw Red Stitch’s Iphigenia in Splott three years ago and thought it was one of the finest productions I had seen. This return season serves to reinforce my original sentiment. What an ordeal! If Iphigenia in Splott is tough to watch because of the material it covers, just imagine what it would be like…
