In a solicitor’s rooms in Brisbane, baby-boomer siblings, Richard, Evonne and Kelly Whittaker are read their late father, Daniel’s will. Daniel has left his grieving children a substantial estate. Before they can collect their inheritance however, the three Whittakers are required to hand-deliver twelve letters to a list of apparent strangers. Each sibling has had…
Night Slows Down, is a new Australian play, by Phillip James Rouse. It is an ambitious play, with a flashback set of scenes interpolated into the forward action of the narrative, that attempts to illustrate the modern political world where the Nationalistic/Fascist tendencies of a government can lead to overwrought and misconceived expressions of power,…
If The Room isn’t the worst commercially released movie of all time, I don’t know what is. It’s badly acted and directed, and its script doesn’t make any sense. Against all expectations though, it has developed a cult following, with midnight screenings around the world selling out. Made for a reported US$6 million (of writer, director,…
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has fascinated and delighted readers for almost two centuries. In fact, it set a new standard for the holiday, inspiring the spirit of the traditional Victorian Christmas and beginning a host of customs that are still popular today. But while most readers are familiar with the beloved tale, few know the story…
There have been a few great films about heroic firefighters, and the best of them is, arguably, Ron Howard’s Backdraft. Others include Irwin Allen’s star-studded disaster movie The Towering Inferno and the 1968 Hellfighters, which starred John Wayne as fictitious version of the legendary Red Adair. And while Only the Brave is a moving homage…
Based on the 2013 bestseller of the same name, Wonder tells the inspiring and heartwarming story of 10-year-old August Pullman. Born with facial deformities, Auggie (Jacob Tremblay) becomes the most unlikely of heroes when he enters the fifth grade at his local school. His medical issues had prevented him from going to a mainstream school before…
Following on from their first round announcement last month WOMADelaide have now dropped their entire 2018 program – and it’s absolutely huge. Joining the likes of Le Vent du Nord, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Yirrmal next year will be Scottish neo-Trad quintet Elephant Sessions, country-blues favourites Hat Fitz & Cara, roots collaboration Mama Kin Spender,…
Every night, I curl up in bed with my book of the moment and read until my eyes droop and I shut them ‘just for a moment’ … and then wake up with a jump. Lately my reading pile has been filled with books of or about fairy tales and folklore, with a few exceptions,…
The New Theatre is presenting a revival production of Jonathan Biggin’s 2012 comedy, Australia Day. It was first seen in the Drama Theatre for the Sydney Theatre Company in 2012. Australia Day is set in the local community hall in a country town called Coriole. Says, the director of this production, Louise Fischer, a girl…
The insidious use of power in an unlikely setting is the basis for The Teacher, a wickedly clever black comedy. The film is inspired by the true story of a Communist-era schoolteacher who manipulated her pupils and their families for unprecedented personal gain. Jan Hřebejk (Divided We Fall) directs. It is the early 1980s and the…
