Joanna Morrison’s debut The Ghost of Gracie Flynn is a double crime novel. It opens with a death and explores the lead up to that crime. But it is narrated by the victim of a much earlier crime. An event that literally haunts the main characters of this book, former friends who went their separate…
CLOC’s production of the hit musical Chicago sizzles. It is cheeky and cheery and holds its own nearly half a century after it was first produced and more than a quarter century on from its revival. The music by John Kander with lyrics from Fred Ebb and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse continue to resonate. Musically, it…
The 2022 Cunard British Film Festival full programme has been unveiled with a formidable line-up celebrating the talents of Britain’s finest filmmakers and actors including Stephen Frears, Sally Hawkins, Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy and more. Marking its 10th anniversary this year, the festival will deliver a number of exclusive premieres of highly anticipated films in…
Do you love the theatre? How about whodunnits? If you said yes to either, then Tom George’s star-studded See How They Run is likely to be your cup of tea. This frothy mystery has its problems, but still manages to tick a lot of boxes. The script by Mark Chappell is crammed full with theatrical…
Sandra Pankhurst was a remarkable woman whose life hardly followed a conventional path. She founded a successful trauma cleaning business and is a no-holds-barred public speaker. The documentary Clean starts by outlining the work undertaken by her conscientious employees. They must have a strong constitution, because this is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. Blood,…
Australian lawyer, journalist and comedian James O’Loghlin draws on his time as a legal aid lawyer in the 1990s as the basis of his new novel Criminals. The book revolves around three characters, connected by an armed robbery, an event which causes each of them to reconsider their lives and move in new directions. Dean…
Greg Woodland’s debut novel The Night Whistler was one of the many new voices in the last few years producing Australian rural crime that sets itself a little apart by also having a historical edge (see also: Matt Nable’s Still, Maryrose Cuskelly’s The Cane and Hayley Scrivenor’s Dirt Town). Set in Moorabool, a New England…
A deceptively clever period crime drama, director Graham Moore’s The Outfit is a slow burn mesmeriser. Set in Chicago in 1956, all the action takes place at the premises of a bespoke tailor. Leonard (Mark Rylance) is a well-spoken, nondescript British “cutter” who takes great pride and pleasure in his work. His narrative about what…
Up until now, award winning Australian author Chris Womersley’s novels have been stand-alones. And the same could be said about his latest novel The Diplomat. But it is a sequel of sorts – to his 2013 novel Cairo. Or if not a sequel then at least a companion piece or spiritual successor. And given it…
Former professional snowboarder Allie Reynolds wrote what she knew in her debut thriller Shiver. That book centred around the reunion of a group of old friends at an isolated ski resort when things start to go wrong. The world of professional snowboarding and the competitive nature of the characters comes very much into play in…
