A Dodgeball Named Desire is a clever, creative and involving hoot, contrasting the literary with the sporting. It is a decidedly fresh take on A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. First performed on Broadway in December 1947, that is the story of former Southern belle Blanche DuBois, whose personal circumstances have changed for the worse. An…
Harry Potter is a global cultural phenomenon. It started with what became the most successful book series in history (more than 600 million sold). Then, it transformed into one of the highest grossing film franchises (with a take of upwards of 12.75 billion Australian dollars for the eight movies). Further, the theatrical production Harry Potter…
A haunted mansion in the middle of suburban Melbourne. Who knew that was a thing in this town? The perfect venue for a creep show where things go bump in the night. It is about broken love and apparitions. There is a back story, given to us by a narrator (Mike Snell) in the hallway…
A cavalcade of colour, movement and sound, EONARIUM Enlightenment is a sensory sensation with huge emotional resonance. Upstairs at the Immigration Museum is the perfect venue to immerse yourself in this spirited showcase that dazzles and delights. Antonio Vivaldi’s Baroque era masterpiece The Four Seasons provides the ultimate sound bed for an extraordinary half hour…
The Tokyo Ballet’s romantic, tragic and haunting Giselle is spectacular. It looks and sounds magnificent. It is the story of a charming and naïve peasant girl with a weak heart, who attracts the attention of a woodsman, Hilarian and a count in disguise, Albrecht. Giselle falls for the latter, but humiliated, the former vows revenge. That comes when…
In the original published text of Dinner – which differs from what we see in this production – Paige (Caroline Brazier), a famous gourmet hostess, invites a group of middle class intellectuals (not aristocrats, as suggested in the program) to a, supposedly, celebratory dinner. The event is to celebrate the successful publication of her husband’s,…
Bogan culture on our screens is nothing unusual, dating back to The Adventures Of Barry McKenzie right through to Fat Pizza, Housos, and their ilk. And now the ugly bogan stereotype raises its head again in Down Under, a politically incorrect black comedy set in the aftermath of the 2005 Cronulla Riots. This is very…
Adapted from the bestselling novel by American author Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere was another swift and savvy snap up by Hello Sunshine, the media production company owned and founded by actor/producer Reece Witherspoon. Ng’s fictional drama of motherhood, social expectations and economic divides was optioned for TV even before it hit the bookstores in…
John Sturges’ classic 1960 western The Magnificent Seven made stars out of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn (who all later appeared in Struges’ epic WWII adventure The Great Escape in 1963). Sturges’ film was inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s classic 1954 film The Seven Samurai, regarded by some critics as the greatest action movie…
On stage in her cabaret show 39 Forever, Amity Dry is funny and empowered. It’s hard to believe that back in 2003 this versatile performer shot to prominence in the first season of The Block. Now on a fun girls’ night out (with a few new age sensitive guys in tow), Amity charms us with…
