Author: Naomi Gall

Review: The Other Art Fair Sydney makes art affordable and relevant

March 23, 2021

Described as an art fair for a new generation of art buyers, The Other Art Fair in Sydney presents a selection of over 100 independent artists with works ranging in price from under $100 to over $1000. Presented by Saatchi Art and held at The Cutaway at Barangaroo, The Other Art Fair also delivers performance […]

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Review: You’re Not Special at Kings Cross Theatre is insightful and thought provoking

March 12, 2021

The average Australian spends close to 40% of their waking hours on the internet. That’s over 6 hours a day scrolling, liking, searching and connecting to other people. But what happens when your screen time begins to take up all your time. What happens when the connections you make online become more real than the […]

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Review: All About Women at the Sydney Opera House addresses inclusivity and your right to be angry

March 10, 2021

It’s an interesting time to be a woman right now. The news coming out of Canberra of harassment, assault and rape is shining a light on the fact that the “boys club” in this country is still alive and well – and women are, rightfully, angry. Angry that it is 2021 and we are still […]

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Whisks at the ready, The Big Bake comes to Sydney

February 19, 2021

Copious amounts of sugar, a baking competition and a cocktail bar – what could possibly go wrong?! The Big Bake Sydney is a pop up baking experience where you team up to compete for the title of Baking Champion. Loosely based on the popular Canadian television show of the same name, The Big Bake incorporates […]

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Preview: STC’s Appropriate has all the benchmarks of great theatre

February 16, 2021

With everything that occurred in the year that was 2020, Appropriate, directed by Wesley Enoch seems, well, appropriate. Written by the American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, the play centres around a dysfunctional American family brought together by the death of their father. As they begin to sort through his belongings they struggle between a desire to […]

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Magic Mike Live

Review: Is it hot in here? Magic Mike Live comes to Sydney

January 25, 2021

It is with no small amount of amusement that I tell you, Magic Mike Live has been one of the most difficult reviews I’ve ever had to write. It would be easy for me to sit here and wax lyrical about how attractive the dancers were (because they were) or how much the crowd of […]

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Review: All About Women at the Sydney Opera House is the feminist fight song for a new generation, so listen up

March 11, 2020

All About Women at the Sydney Opera House celebrated feminism with a line-up of powerful and inspiring innovators and thinkers. Coinciding with International Women’s Day (March 8), the festival was originally conceived to push back against the fact that, at the majority of conferences, most of the speakers tend to be male. What has evolved […]

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Live Review: Amanda Palmer’s …No Intermission had Sydney in tears

February 25, 2020

It seems fitting to start this review with a confession – I knew very little about Amanda Palmer before this night. I’ve never listened to The Dresden Dolls, have never seen her perform, I’d never even heard her sing. But after tonight, I know more than I ever thought I would. The show she’s currently […]

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Film Review: Suddenly A Tree – personal narratives run deep at Persian Film Festival

December 9, 2019

In its 8th year, the Persian Film Festival was officially opened by Festival Director Amin Palangi, who gave one of the most engaging and genuine opening night addresses I’ve ever heard. He touched on the current conflict in Iran and the very real impact it had on the festival, given all the films were physically […]

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Theatre Review: Mercutio and The Prince of Cats both entertains and confuses its audience at Sydney’s Old 505

November 24, 2019

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the most iconic tragedies of all time. If you’re unfamiliar with this tale of woe – plot spoiler – they die in the end. But Giles Gartrell-Mills, the writer behind Mercutio and The Prince of Cats, isn’t interested in the star-crossed lover’s plight. Instead the play focuses on […]

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Film Review: Odessa (Russia, 2019) – Amazing cinema at the Russian Resurrection Film Festival Launch

November 11, 2019

The Russian Resurrection Film Festival is considered one of the largest and most well respected film festivals outside of Russia. Travelling to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra, the festival offers an insight into Russian culture through some of the most imaginative and creative cinema you’ll see. After some welcome speeches, including the Russian […]

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Theatre Review: Things I Know to be True will leave you shaken and amazed

June 18, 2019

A word of advice about Things I Know to be True – do not read any reviews about this play. Just see it. Immediately, if not sooner. Do not risk any twist, turn or roundabout being ruined for you. Having said that, here’s my thoughts. I went into this play with no expectations, having heard […]

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Live Review: So Pop sees Aqua headline a nineties revival with all your favourites

February 3, 2019

The line – up for So Pop read like the best of the Nineties – Lou Bega, Eiffel 65, Blue, Vengaboys, Aqua – it was the soundtrack of my High School years. Nostalgia hung heavy in the air as the first act of the night, Mr President, took to the stage. By the time B*WITCHED captivated […]

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Opera Review: La Bohéme is all at once decadent and tragic at the Sydney Opera House

January 4, 2019

A world of starving artists, love at first sight, decadence and jealousy – so sets the scene for Puccini’s formidable La Bohéme. The performance begins with four friends, each a poor artist, struggling to survive another winter. By the end of the first act Rodolfo, a poet, has fallen in love with Mimí, a seamstress, […]

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Review: Personal narratives take centre stage at the Feminist Writer’s Festival in Sydney

November 6, 2018

Established in 2016, the Feminist Writer’s Festival aims to support and promote feminist writers in Australia. For the first time this biennial festival came to Sydney, and over the course of two and a half days this writer attended a total of ten talks. Topics of the talks ranged from Writing and Speaking Indigenous Lives […]

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Film Review: Lady Gaga shines as A Star is Born (USA, 2018) proves perfection on screen

October 19, 2018

Lady Gaga is not the first singer to embark on the transition from music to film (J. Lo, I’m looking at you), and I doubt she will be the last. However, never before have I seen a musician take this leap with such skill, such talent and such raw emotion reminiscent of a seasoned actor. […]

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Interview: Festival Director Nikki Anderson talks ahead of the Feminist Writers Festival in Sydney

October 16, 2018

Next month, some of Australia’s leading feminist writers and thinkers will be heading to Sydney for the Feminist Writers Festival. Held in conjunction with the UTS Centre for Social Justice and Incusion, it will be the first time the festival has been held in Sydney. Over three days, thirteen sessions, and featuring over forty speakers, […]

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Review: You will never look at your kitchen sink in the same way again after STOMP at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre

August 2, 2018

Using everyday items such as brooms and buckets, the eight performers who make up STOMP create their own soundtrack, a hybrid of noise that form a melody which will see you tapping your feet in no time. Incredibly theatrical, no words are spoken for the duration of the performance yet the cast are able to […]

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Review: The skaters may have flown at Swan Lake on Ice, but the re-vamped ending did not (Sydney’s Capitol Theatre to 29th July)

July 29, 2018

NB: Spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned. Most people are familiar with the story of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Even if they haven’t seen the ballet, they will know some of the iconic music, in particular the dance of the cygnets. Personally – I love Swan Lake – so when an opportunity to see it performed on […]

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Review: Jurassic Lounge 2099 is a guilty pleasure – without the guilt at the Australian Museum

June 19, 2018

You’re walking around a museum after dark, encountering all kinds of weird and wonderful animals, suddenly you swear the Brachiosaurus just winked at you – is your mind playing tricks on you? Or is it the four cocktails you’ve just polished off taking effect? Either way, this is Jurassic Lounge and in here, anything is […]

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Theatre Review: Gypsy is a slow burn that just misses the mark (Sydney’s Hayes Theatre Co to 30 June)

May 25, 2018

I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting walking into Hayes Theatre to see Gypsy, a musical based on the memoirs of famous burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee. All I know is this wasn’t it. The performance focuses heavily on the early life of Gypsy Rose Lee, growing up in the shadow of her sister […]

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Review: Alison’s House is as relevant today as when it was written – perhaps more so (Sydney’s Depot Theatre to 21 April)

April 17, 2018

In a society where the literary works of men are frequently performed on the Sydney stage, it was refreshing to see a play by an esteemed female writer grace The Depot Theatre. Inspired by the life and work of American poet Emily Dickinson, Susan Glaspell wrote Alison’s House in the 1930s, creating a world full […]

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Review: Want to laugh so hard wine comes out your nose? The Miss Behave Gameshow is for you (Sydney Opera House)

March 10, 2018

Flying candy, endorsement of cheating and a few life lessons – and that’s just in the first 10 minutes – The Miss Behave Gameshow is hands down the most entertaining night out I’ve had in a long time. In fact, stop reading, jump over to the Sydney Opera House website and grab yourself some tickets […]

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Review: “We want equality, and orgasms” (Anne Summers) All About Women at the Sydney Opera House

March 5, 2018

In its sixth year, All About Women celebrates International Women’s Day (March 8) with a line-up of inspiring and empowering discussions around the universal struggle for equality in a world still dominated by the white, privileged patriarchy. While I could have easily gone to every talk on offer, it wold have been physically impossible given […]

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Review: Where’s the love? Cupid’s arrow just misses the mark at the Australian Museum

February 16, 2018

When I heard that the Australian Museum was hosting a special anti-Valentine’s Day event as part of their Culture Up Late series, I was more than just intrigued – I was excited. I’ve never been someone who buys into the whole commercialisation of Valentine’s Day, having always felt it was an expensive, over the top […]

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Apparently you can turn back time: Experiencing Cher in Las Vegas

December 4, 2017

I travelled to Las Vegas to see Cher. You heard me. Cher. I was first introduced to her music as a child in the 1980s and have always wanted to see her perform. Realising the chances of her coming to Australia were slim, when I discovered she was performing in Las Vegas I felt a […]

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Review: Tammy & Kite beautifully articulates the resilience of childhood and the enduring power of friendship

October 30, 2017

How much do children perceive of the world around them? How do children cope with sadness? Hannah Cox and Caitlin West tackle these tricky questions in Tammy & Kite, a play about two sisters whose love for each other appears to be stronger than anything the world can throw at them. The performance opens with […]

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Review: Grace Under Pressure highlights the need for change in the medical industry

October 30, 2017

Grace Under Pressure examines workplace and training within the health industry and presents a verbatim theatre project in which four performers recite transcripts from real interviews with healthcare professionals at varying stages of their careers. Created by David Williams and Paul Dwyer, in collaboration with the Sydney Arts and Health Collective, Grace Under Pressure presents […]

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Make Nice: when creative women join forces there isn’t much they can’t accomplish (and other key lessons)

September 26, 2017

Make Nice launched in 2016 and was born from the desire to push back against the “boys club” which exists within creative industries (most industries, let’s be honest) and show creative women they don’t have to be competitive to get ahead. Women can “make nice” and still be successful. In fact, when creative women join […]

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Interview: Keynote speaker Ann Friedman chats ahead of Make Nice: Un-conference for Creative Women

September 21, 2017

Ahead of Make Nice: Un-conference for Creative Women, which kicks off tomorrow in Sydney, we caught up with the event’s Keynote speaker Ann Friedman, an acclaimed freelance journalist who writes about (among other things) gender, media, technology, and culture. How did you start out as a writer? What were some of your first jobs? I am one […]

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