A fusion of dance, burlesque and circus, Matador sizzles and bedazzles. The show is characterised by pulsating, ear-pleasing beats, brilliantly choreographed, fast paced routines, superb athletic and acrobatic prowess, a phenomenal array of sensual costuming and outstanding, colourful lighting design. Written, directed and produced by Bass G Fam, Bass used his own life experiences as inspiration for…
Not to be confused with the 1984 thriller that starred Drew Barrymore as a young girl who could start fires with her mind – Firestarter is a documentary that looks at Australia’s Bangarra Dance Company, one of the foremost indigenous dance companies in the world. The company was founded in Sydney in 1989 by Stephen…
These cousins from Melbourne, Kllo (rhymes with “flow”) return with a follow-up to their 2017 electro-pop debut, Breakthrough. As described in their bio, the two abandoned recording together late in 2018, following tours that took them around the world twice, unsure about their musical direction and focus. Drawn back together following a period of collaborations…
The fact that we’re talking about the 17th album by Moby says a lot. Few artists have the distinction of taking a music form often limited to the club scene – dance, electronica, ambient – and giving it mainstream relevance, earning pop radio airplay in the bargain. Early artistic triumphs like Everything Is Wrong (1995),…
These two documentaries opened on 31 October 2019 in limited release. Both are worth searching out. Happy Sad Man An empathetic look at a number of ordinary Australians struggling with mental health issues, Happy Sad Man is a beautifully composed and moving documentary. The focus is on five men aged from their 30s to 70s,…
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…
Melbourne International Arts Festival was first staged in 1986 under a different name – Spoleto Melbourne – and has carried several other names since. Covering dance, theatre, music, visual arts and multimedia, as well as free and outdoor events, it is held every October. The 2019 Festival runs from the 2nd to the 20th of…
Premiering to rave reviews in 2015, The Dinner Party (former title The Host) is a gripping contemporary dance work from Queensland’s award-winning Expressions Dance Company. And in its 2019 reincarnation, the work, which is choreographed by internationally renowned choreographer and former Artistic Director Natalie Weir, has audience members once again absorbed, from the very first frame…
The Queensland Ballet’s Dangerous Liaisons is not only a world premiere but it is also an amazing blockbuster of a show. The whole production just blew me away. It was the ballet’s premiere season and yet the choreography, the costumes and the music, made me feel I was watching an ageless classic. It was genius on…
Back when I was reviewing for Brisbane’s Spectrum radio show I created the “Scottie” Awards. They were based entirely on my taste in entertainment and collated basically as a tribute the people who gave me a lot of pleasure and whose work I admire. This year I have decided to revive this annual event. So…
