Top 10 books of 2023
Robert Goodman For more of Robert’s reviews, visit his blog Pile By the Bed
Read More
Shadowland (Pilobolus) – theatre review
A remarkably adept, clever and enchanting tale of illusion and dance, Shadowland, by internationally acclaimed troupe Pilobolus* – founded in 1971 – also includes circus elements. As the first theatrical event of its kind to tour the globe, the 80-minute show without interval incorporates multiple moving screens of different sizes and shapes. It is a…
Disney on Ice: 100 Years of Wonder (touring) – theatre review
Disney on Ice is always wonderful family entertainment, but 100 Years of Wonder is the best yet. What a fabulous, engaging show it is – so warm, friendly and inviting. There were seven in my party on opening night, with the youngest being four. The look on her face throughout said it all. She was like the…
The Great Australian Play (Theatre Works) – theatre review
The Great Australian Play is a thoroughly bewildering take on Australian history – specifically one of this country’s most alluring legends – and contemporary Australia. Of the former, I speak of a vast gold-bearing deposit in the MacDonnell Ranges in the Northern Territory purportedly discovered by Harold Lasseter around the turn of the 19th century. After…
Julieta – movie review
Pedro Almodovar’s 20th film, Julieta, is something of a dull affair that lacks many of the Spanish auteur’s usual flamboyant flourishes, edgy quality and signature stylistic touches. It doesn’t carry the emotional weight of his best films. The eponymous Julieta (played by Emma Suarez, who has worked with Almodovar before) is planning to leave her beloved…
The King’s Man – movie review
After Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, director Matthew Vaughn delivers a prequel. The King’s Man is the origin story, explaining how and why the spy organisation the Kingsman was formed. And it’s jam-packed full of action. The story starts in South Africa in 1902. Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) from the Red…
I Love You Now (Darlinghurst) – theatre review
I Love You Now is a new Australian play by Jeanette Cronin, for two actors, Jeanette Cronin and Paul Gleeson, directed by Kim Hardwick, designed by Isabel Hudson with a lighting design by Martin Kinnane supported by co-composers and sound designers, Max Lambert and Roger Lock. Leo (Paul Gleeson) and June (Jeanette Cronin) have loved…
Shaun The Sheep’s Circus Show (Circa) – theatre review
The audience is excited for opening night of Shaun The Sheep’s Circus Show. It is a collaboration between Brisbane-based Circa Contemporary Circus and Aardman Animations, creators of the multi-award-winning TV series Shaun the Sheep. Devised by Richard Starzak, the show is a spectacle of staging, using the height and depth of QPAC’s Lyric Theatre to…
The Miseducation of Cameron Post – movie review
Teenagers have it tough. Physical and emotional changes can wreak havoc. So imagine how much harder it would be if your parents decided these changes were just “wrong” and the only solution was isolation and religion. One teenager has to face just that dilemma in The Miseducation of Cameron Post. This beautiful and moving film…
Louder Than Bombs – movie review
Making his English language debut, Norwegian director Joachim Trier has crafted a tricky relationship movie with deep-seated feelings at its core in Louder Than Bombs. Three years after the untimely death of celebrated war photographer Isabelle Reed (Isabelle Huppert), her eldest son Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg), married with a recently born child, returns to his family…