Katzenmusik is a German word that translates as caterwaul, the shrill howling or wailing noise of a cat. And this is a story about the slaughter of 85 moggies, the end result of exploitation by greedy landlords. It is a disturbing, darkly comedic yarn about social divide from British playwright Tom Fowler, revealed in extraordinary…
The atmosphere was charged for a reunion that was meant to be. The four original Australian-based Jersey Boys, handpicked at the time from 800 hopefuls, have taken to the stage again to recreate the magic from 17 years ago. Jersey Boys kicked off at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre in July 2009. I speak of Irish-born Bobby…
A decade into their relationship with Bloodshot Records, Ha Ha Tonka release their 5th album of rootsy Mid-American college rock and Ozark mountain music. Formed in West Plains, Missouri, way at the bottom of the state almost to Arkansas, named for a state park in the Ozarks, bar-tested in the college town of Springfield, Ha…
Arguably the most sophisticated animated feature I can immediately recall, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse lifts the bar on what’s possible in a cartoon medium. We’re introduced to Brooklyn teen Miles Morales (the voice of Shameik Moore) and the limitless potential of the Spider-Verse, where anyone can wear the mask. The movie centres on Miles’ adventures…
Two actors – presumably in their 60s – dressed in dark attire, sitting on fixed chairs about five metres apart, one questioning the other and then the roles are reversed … for 100 minutes without interval. No set. The audience on tiered seating on either side. Hardly what you may imagine could lead to riveting…
The ABC’s brilliant little gem Rosehaven is now no more. We’ve reviewed it in the (web)pages of The Blurb previously. But with the show now wrapped forever, it seems a fitting time to look back at this memorable work of local production. What began as “the little show that could” in 2016 has vaulted into…
The Women, by Clare Boothe Luce is a tart comic satire written in 1936. Its famous gimmick is that only women feature in the casting – in the original play some 130 roles – and is a play concerned with the indulged class of the Manhattan rich and their servants, in their homes/apartments/beauty parlours, and…
Strong socially progressive views, music and poetry distinguish Neil Cole’s new play An Audience with Don Dunstan. It shines a light on the South Australia’s premier, who served in the role from 1967 to 1968 and again from 1970 to 1979. The flamboyant and eclectic Dunstan (21st September, 1926 – 6th February, 1999) was born…
A sheer enchanting delight from start to finish, Babe The Sheep-Pig has all the charm and magic that made the movie Babe such an audience fancy and critics’ favourite in 1995. It concerns an orphaned piglet that wants to be a sheepdog … after Farmer Hoggett wins her in a “guess the weight” contest at…
From the folk tales of One Thousand and One Nights, to highest grossing film of 1992, Aladdin, the story of the genie in a lamp is familiar. Now director George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road) provides a new take on the tale with Three Thousand Years of Longing. Dr Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) is a…
