The reach and influence of Vladimir Putin is breathtaking. In A Very Expensive Poison, writer Lucy Prebble details and explores the assassination of Russian Defector Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 and surmises that Mr Putin most probably authorised the hit. If it weren’t based on a real incident, A Very Expensive Poison may simply…
A distressing story about intimidation and forced relocation, Aboriginal playwright and performer Brodie Murray dug into his own family history to bring it to life. The Whisper is a reimagining of his grandmother’s journey on horse and cart in the 1940s. When she was just a little girl, under cover of darkness she travelled with her family…
What a privilege it was to be in the audience at the Regent Theatre to celebrate all that is grand in opera, at Opera Australia’s 70th Anniversary Gala. Indeed, it was a very special occasion, introduced by Opera Australia’s CEO, Alex Budd and hosted by ABC Classics’ Mairi Nicolson, resplendent in green. Her love affair…
Caleb Azumah Nelson’s debut novel Open Water is a deeply personal exploration of the connection between two people and whether that connection can survive the pressures of the world. It is clearly, from the first page, a love story, but it is much more than that, as Nelson considers what it means to be young…
The Wych Elm is one of those releases that I’ve had circling in my library pile for ages and keep meaning to come back to. All the opinions I’ve heard in the year and a half or more since its release have been positive and fresh off the back of viewing (and reviewing) a Tana…
WARNING: PLEASE BE AWARE THIS REVIEW CONTAINS DETAILS OF A CONFRONTING THEME In Jerrod Carmichael’s dramatic comedy On the Count of Three two uninspired, 30-something mates decide to end things for good. Kevin (Christopher Abbott) has been in and out of therapy since the age of 8. He was in foster care and was abused…
The Trouble with You is an absurdist French comedy that’s both clever and silly. I didn’t know whether to delight in its eccentricities or howl at its stupidity, so I flipped from one to the other and back again. Let’s be clear on one thing – the plot is ridiculous. Detective Yvonne Santi (Adèle Haenel)…
From The Hunger Games to Divergent, dystopian films aimed at tweens have made serious coin; so why wouldn’t producers keep pouring money into them? They follow a familiar storyline where youngsters are outcasts. And so to the latest incarnation, The Darkest Minds. Based on the popular YA novel by Alexandra Bracken, The Darkest Minds starts…
Happiness is the name of the game for two inpatients at a progressive psychiatric institution, both of whom are trying to attain it in Like Crazy. Beatrice speaks at a thousand miles an hour and is easily worked up. She is a self-styled billionaire countess who likes to believe she is on intimate terms with…
The 40th anniversary production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical CATS is mesmerising – a real crowd pleaser. Superb prowling and dancing, choreographic excellence, an enticing set design and look at me performances are its hallmark. That is not to overlook moggie-appropriate costuming, attractive hair pieces and feline-friendly make-up. And who can forget the hissing…
