Technological endeavour and craftsmanship combine in the beautifully realised The Wizard of Oz. This fun-filled family musical will have cross-generational appeal. This London Palladium production was developed from the popular MGM movie of 1939. The movie, in turn, was based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The Wizard of…
Aurore is an unobtrusive little charmer of a French comedy. Aurore (Agnes Jaoui) is a middle-aged woman with two adult children. She muddles through life as best she can. She’s a fighter, not a victim, although she experiences discrimination. Then she unexpectedly bumps into an old high school flame, Totoche (Thibault De Montalembert). She hasn’t…
Marvel’s most, um… inappropriate, superhero returns in Deadpool 2. And if you liked the original’s blend of raunchy humour and super doings, this has more of the same. David Leitch (Atomic Blonde) replaces Tim Miller in the director’s chair but the difference in style is largely imperceptible. Deadpool 2 offers pretty much a re-run of…
A dark, but extraordinary tale, The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris was confronting, raw and evocative in an entirely different way. Here’s the blurb: Lale Sokolov is well-dressed, a charmer, a ladies’ man. He is also a Jew. On the first transport from Slovakia to Auschwitz in 1942, Lale immediately stands out to his fellow…
You might not have heard of Charlotte Mclean, but chances are you soon will. The Brisbane-based jazz singer is emerging as one of Australia’s most captivating and original young vocalists. Having completed her Bachelor of Jazz Music in Voice at Brisbane’s renowned Jazz Music Institute, (affiliated with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center…
Going Down gives cultural identity a good old-fashioned pounding. A stellar lead performance provides the highlight of this 90-minute play (no interval). Hmong-Australian playwright Michele Lee (winner of the 2018 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Rice) provides the source material. Going Down is one for the “me” generation; the hedonists who would rebel against their past. The…
Just where the line between sanity and madness lies is one of the questions in Bliss. Another concerns the true value of the contribution one makes in life. Everyone loves Harry Joy (Toby Truslove). The world revolves around the successful advertising man who runs his own agency. Then, on a sunny afternoon, when aged 39,…
You might not be able to buy love, but you can Rent it. I discovered this 22 years ago when I saw Jonathan Larson’s iconic rock musical on Broadway. That year it won the Pulitzer Prize for drama and received four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. As a self-confessed Renthead, I not only know the…
Love in the slaughterhouse? On Body and Soul is a quirky drama about an unlikely romance between two lonely employees in a Budapest abattoir. The film won the prestigious Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival; but it’s an art-house film that will have limited interest to a broader audience. Endre (Géza Morcsányi) is the…
The MTC’s Wild is an example of a play in which technological achievement outdoes narrative content. To say any more about the former would be to spoil the surprise and I’m not about to be a party pooper. Andrew (Nicholas Denton) is an ordinary Joe one day – and America’s most wanted the next. The…
