A truly wonderful and memorable musical set in America’s south over a quarter of a century (we are dealing with two time frames – the 1920s and ‘40s), Pursued by Bear has pulled out all stops to make it a winner. Inspired by truth, Bright Star follows twin story arcs in North Carolina. Handsome, shy,…
Danger Close provides an insight into the horror and heroism of the Battle of Long Tan from an Australian perspective. Although overacted, this is a movie not easily forgotten. The movie is based on the true story of that battle in South Vietnam on 18 August 1966. It saw 108 young and largely inexperienced Australians…
Sometimes third albums put artists in weird places. You have your introducing debut, avoid the sophomore slump with either more of the same or pushing your artistic boundaries and then where do you go? For Best Coast, it is no different with a great debut like Crazy For You (2010) that put Bethany Cosentino on…
Cinema, like any art form, has boundless capacity to surprise. Disney-Pixar has struggled a little recently (see Onward, for example). But the studio reclaims its title as the benchmark in animation with the incredible Soul. I suspect the success of Soul has a lot to do with the return of Pete Docter to the director’s…
This clever, thoroughly entertaining French comedy is the latest from co-writer and director Carine Tardieu (The Dandelions). The breakout hit of the 2017 Cannes International Film Festival, Just to be Sure premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight and received multiple standing ovations. The charming rom-com is a tale of parenthood, love and family – both lost and found….
Superb chemistry between the male and female leads is a highlight of The Production Company’s 50th musical, which remains as poignant today as when it first appeared. The story, set in the mid 1950s in New York City’s Upper West Side, explores the rivalry between gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The Sharks are Puerto Rican,…
The Invisible Opera literally gives you a grandstand seat to the comings and goings in Melbourne’s CBD. With seven rows of tiered seating in Federation Square, in front of you is Flinders Street station. From there, you watch the world go by. That, for me, was a most unusual experience, because when I am normally in the…
What a buzz. How much energy does School of Rock: The Musical have? What a riotous night for the whole family. How good are Brent Hill, Amy Lehpamer and the 12 talented children? This is a sensational production you could see over and over. Based on the 2003 movie, it features music by Andrew Lloyd…
As the director of Borat and Bruno, Larry Charles can hardly be accused of playing it safe. So it is again with Dicks: The Musical. This is a hard-swearing, politically incorrect comedy, which will delight those sick and tired of woke. Dicks is the cinematic adaptation of the musical stage play F…ing Identical Twins: The…
Much-loved international klezmer ensemble the London Klezmer Quartet return to Australasia this month their latest album. LKQ’s fourth album, To the Tavern, takes their evocation of the celebratory and soulful music of Jewish Eastern Europe (klezmer) to a whole new level. The recording, which they will re-create live in performance for the tour, is a…
