Liza’s Back! (is broken) sees celebrated Australian performer Trevor Ashley appearing in drag as the Broadway legend Liza Minnelli, straight out of rehab and ready to perform with her seven-piece band, despite her recently-broken back. In sequin pants suit, Ashley looks the part and moves to it too, with on-point mannerisms, albeit over-emphasised, as witty…
Odd Man Out is a new Australian play, by David Williamson. The play explores a relationship between Ryan (Justin Stewart Cotta), a ‘numbers’ genius employed and paid well by a Big Bank for his skills, who suffers from an undiagnosed case of Aspergers’ Syndrome and Alice (Lisa Gormley) a 38 year old physical therapist counting…
Barbarity is brought into sharp focus in Silence, Martin Scorsese’s long-winded story about faith and religion. It is the tale of two 17th century Portuguese missionaries – Father Sebastian Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Father Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver) who undertake a perilous journey to Japan. They are searching for their missing mentor, Father Christavao Ferreira…
One thing I’ve always admired about Liz Byrski is the way she tackles themes like friendship and ageing in a realistic, but warm, manner. After hearing good things about The Woman Next Door, I welcomed the chance to read a friend’s copy. Over the years, the residents of Emerald Street have become more than just…
Take the concept of being held against one’s will in a confined space for an extended period and add a seriously deranged personality and you have the makings of a horror thriller. But what if that deranged personality was, in fact, many people and you never knew who you were going to confront? That is…
A book dealing with the modern-day experience of selfies, social media and cyber-bullying … it’s the kind of read that’s right up my alley. And Wendy James delivered the goods. With a bite. Here’s the blurb: Blogger Lizzy’s life is buzzing, happy, normal. Two gorgeous children, a handsome husband, destiny under control. For her real-life…
Just why the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chose to only nominate Hidden Figures for three Oscars (Best Film, Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay) one can only speculate. For mine, it is one of the films of the year. Hidden Figures is inspirational, poignant, infuriating, witty and warm, an ode to…
In the vinyl era (Indeed, I experienced those days as well) you could purchase an extended version of a single; the so-called maxi-single. Sometimes you were surprised by the extended version of the single because not so bad sounding variations were added in an artistic way. However, in most cases it was just a miserable…
To state the bleeding obvious, mobile phone have become ubiquitous. For many of us, it feels like our whole lives are invested in them and the most personal and intimate details of day-to-day existence are stored there. So, how would you feel if your nearest and dearest had access to everything contained on your mobile?…
Funny, irreverent, crude, witty, clever, lyrically and vocally adept … and I did mention darn funny, at times hilarious, didn’t I? The Book of Mormon is one of the most anticipated musicals to be staged in Melbourne has opened to much merited fanfare. This religious satire now, well and truly, deserves a long stay here. …
