It’s been a while since I’ve immersed myself in some Scandi crime … what a terrific book to start with. Stefan Ahnhem is a new author to me, but he clearly has what it takes to deliver a gripping read. Two countries in the grip of winter. On the coldest day of the year, Sweden’s…
Matador la experienca has taken the best of Matador and stepped it up a notch to create a totally electrifying and immersive showcase of talent. It is erotic, pulsating and energetic and presents the lion’s share of two hours of non-stop action and entertainment. The audience is into it from the get go – cheering, clapping and…
Nophek Gloss is a space opera debut and first in a new series from Essa Hansen. The name of the book comes from Gloss, the most valuable substance in the multiverse which is harvested from the brain of a vicious mammalian creature called nophek. This is not the only strangeness in a book that is…
We don’t see many horror films from Iran, as their cinema is mainly centred around domestic dramas and social realist pieces that subtly critique the repressive regime and its patriarchal nature and religious zealotry. Last year we had the low budget A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, a low key and understated horror film…
As a pre-show soundtrack reminds us, love is a drug, a crazy little thing and the thing of which sweet dreams are made. It is also very much all around courtesy of Trent Dalton’s Love Stories, appearing in its world premiere as part of the 2024 Brisbane Festival. The stage adaption of popular author Trent…
What an experience! I speak of a searing, at times humorous trilogy covering 16 years and lasting seven hours, in which, on several occasions, the characters eviscerate one another. And “yes”, I approached it with fear, simply because even for an unashamed theatre enthusiast like me 420 minutes in a small, black box theatre seemed…
If you find period ghost stories appealing and are a fan of Charles Dickens, I may have just the ticket for you. British writer Hugh Janes has combined five of Dickens’ lesser-known ghost stories with elements of the author’s private life, his books and letters to create The Haunting. The action is set in an ancient…
Aftersun is a sensitive, heartfelt and naturalistic film by debut writer-director Charlotte Wells. This beautifully reflective piece concerns an 11-year-old girl, Sophie (Frankie Corio) and the last holiday she took with her father Calum (Paul Mescal) two decades earlier. They travel from Scotland to a fading resort in Turkey. They swim, sunbathe, play pool, go…
then Loveless is a slow moving, atmospheric Russian drama that features harsh characters. It won of the Jury Prize at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Oscar. Zhenya (Maryana Spivak) and Boris (Aleksey Rozin) have a deep disdain for one another; and for their 12 year-old son, Alyosha…
Romeo and Juliet are transplanted from Renaissance Verona to mid-20th Century Poland in Paweł Pawlikowski’s stunning Cold War. This elegant film charts a fractious love affair against the backdrop of fractious times. Pawlikowski has a reputation as a stylish and thoughtful director; sometimes compared to a younger version of his compatriot Roman Polanski (without the…
