During the Golden Age of Hollywood, which generally refers to the period from the late 1920s to the early ‘60s, with the peak in the ‘30s and ‘40s, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were regarded as royalty. Both were nothing if not colourful characters. Davis, whose maxim was “no guts, no glory” was wed four…
A pathological hatred and disdain for women is brought into sharp focus in a searing production from Vixen Theatre Company. Frankly, what is depicted on screen behind the actors disgusted me. And what makes it more appalling is that every word of it is true. Welcome to the domain of incels (involuntary celibates) and “manosphere”…
It happened more than 55 years ago – on 15th October, 1970 – and was Australia’s worst industrial accident. I speak of the West Gate Bridge collapse. Thirty-five workers died and 18 were injured. In fact, due to several issues before the bridge fell – identified in the findings of the subsequent Royal Commission –…
A comedic drama romance, Colours of Time is intriguing tale about the past and how it can help inform the future. A developer is expanding a shopping centre and a countryside home in Normandy –abandoned for decades and suspended in time – stands in the way. A meeting is called of 30 ancestors of the…
Anne Frank’s story is a tragic but inspiring one and it is played out in dramatic fashion on stage. As Jews, when her Dutch family was forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust, she was gifted a diary, which she wrote in religiously. It contained her innermost thoughts about those she was with and…
Provocative from the opening scene, Afterglow sets out to push the envelope. It starts with shadow play of a heated ménage à trois between three buff men, two in their 30s and one in his 20s. Thereafter, the play features full frontal nudity and steamy shower scenes. Yes, a real shower with an imposingly large…
It is December 1999. With the imminent threat of Y2K (the millennium bug) hanging over participants in this drama with comedic elements, the main focus is on cross generational relationships. Lucinda (Tahlia Moffatt) is a 24-year-old goth who walks into an op shop operated by Rose (Janine McGrath). Lucinda, who works in a café, is…
The ugly threat of colonialism looms large in Brodie Murray’s well realised Soul of Possum. We are on the Murray River – Wamba Wamba country – in 1853. Suddenly, the bush is devoid of its usual wildlife. There is an unseen danger. Wirramanda (Balla Neba) tries to warn brothers from another clan, but they are…
Many know the iconic cinematic phrase, ‘You can’t handle the truth!’, even if they haven’t seen the 1992 film A Few Good Men. I’m one of them. Perhaps it’s my aversion to Tom Cruise, but somehow the film passed me by, so seeing Queensland Theatre’s riveting production of Aaron Sorkin’s 1989 play was a pleasant…
Intense. Visceral. Passionate. Angry. Confronting. My instant reaction to a remarkable two-man show about art and what it means. It is the late 1950s. A master painter lets loose – doesn’t hold back – in “schooling” his assistant. In short, it is verbal diatribe of biblical proportions. Ken (Jordan Briggs) is like the cat that…
