Author Archives
REVIEW: Captain Cook Cruises
On a recent cruise aboard Captain Cook’s newly refurbished Sydney 2000, a group of young influencer-looking types sashayed into the Harbour Bar, dressed in casual expensiveness. Nearby an older couple, seated beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, were enjoying the view and the treat of an upcoming harbour cruise. Pre-COVID, a cruise around Sydney Harbour might have […]
The Witch Of Kings Cross
The story of Rosaleen Norton, later known as the Witch Of Kings Cross in this eponymous doco, is an impressive blend of social history, shock-horror and solid filmmaking. Norton thought herself a witch, and after a privileged upbringing fled to 1950s Kings Cross and enrolled at what is now the National Art School. Her exhibitions […]
Richard Walker – Illuminated
If you haven’t heard the term “light painting,” you are in good company. Balmain photographer Richard Walker says he finds himself “spending a lot of time explaining” the art form he has spent several years exploring, returning to his passion for photography after a career in television directing. There are two components to his exhibit […]
REVIEW: William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play
The Reduced Shakespeare Company has previously produced works such as The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), and the experience can be outright hilarious. The combination of irreverent slapstick and adherence to the original language is a wonderful way to make the Bard more accessible. The Genesian Theatre Company’s William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (Abridged), also from The […]
Australian National Maritime Museum – Defying Empire
The Maritime Museum’s new exhibit, in association with the National Art Gallery’s collection, Defying Empire has been on tour since 2017, marking the 50 years since the 1967 referendum allowing First Nations people to be counted as people (which many believe is the most recent advance of those rights). This is its last stop after a […]
REVIEW: Hotel Bella Luna
Improvisation and interactive theatre might scare away some, but in Flight Path Theatre’s Hotel Bella Luna the shy can choose to clasp on a VIP (Very Introverted Person) badge to avoid the ensuing chaos. The show begins with an induction for audience members, introduced to the highest-rated Moon Yelp hotel, also the only one on the […]
REVIEW: Animal Farm
It feels nearly painful to watch Saro Lusty-Cavallari’s thoughtful adaptation of Animal Farm and realise that the cautionary tale from 1945 is still so shockingly relevant. George Orwell, its author, who also wrote 1984, was prescient decades ago, and instead of fading, the metaphors employed in a barnyard revolt continue to echo. Lusty-Cavallari’s adaptation and direction […]
Seymour Centre Reopens
As the Sydney theatre scene starts to emerge from iso, Seymour Centre is reopening in partnership with Griffin Theatre. Seymour, the long-cherished Chippendale venue associated with the University of Sydney, has a well-earned reputation for presenting challenging and unusual works. Its new relationship with Griffin Theatre marks its place as part of the arts community […]
Honeyland
Once in a while, a film comes out that utterly defies expectations, Honeyland is one of these. The synopsis - a portrait of a beekeeper in remote Macedonia - is oddball enough to attract attention. It is a beautiful, painterly work, shot with composed precision akin to Dutch Old Master treatments of light and shadow. It is […]
REVIEW: Our Blood Runs In The Street
Stories of brutal historical gay hate crimes perpetrated in Sydney in the closing decades of the 20th century, and their dismissal by law enforcement of NSW, are slowly trickling into mainstream media. Murders once put aside as muggings, suicides and misadventure are now being revisited via an ongoing parliamentary inquiry into those crimes. Directed by […]
