Sitting in the audience at Werk It you’d be forgiven for rubbing your eyes and questioning what you’d imbibed prior. The 60-minute show performed by Circus Trick Tease was pretty much all killer, no filler. This was a crazy array of jaw-dropping stunts and circus artistry with lashings of sass and innuendo. As you walk […]
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Girls & Boys is a one-woman play that had its Australian debut at the Adelaide Festival last year. The name can be deceiving given it is a rather quaint one for a story that packs a lot of punch. Across 110 minutes, we hear one woman’s story of how her picture-perfect life and marriage unraveled. […]
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If you’re going to The Cutaway at Barangaroo make sure to wear some flowers in your hair. As part of Sydney Festival, this will host A wonderful and immersive exhibition about Mexican artist and icon, Frida Kahlo. The result is a dazzling array of kaleidoscopic colours as we walk through a powerful homage to this […]
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If anyone knows how to argue with finesse it is Bo Seo. The journalist and author is a two-time winner of the Debating World Championships and a former debate coach. In his debut book, Good Arguments, he distills many of the lessons he learnt over the years so that we may know how to debate with […]
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Chameleon comedian and musician, Tim Minchin has had some busy years working in theatre and on films. After an eight-year break away from live touring, he returned to the live stage with his show, Back, only for Covid-19 to hit. Filmed live at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in the UK, Back is a clever blend […]
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Dr Lachlan McIver has had an extraordinary career. An Associate Professor, he has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières and the World Health Organisation, specialising in tropical diseases and rural medicine. Life & Death Decisions takes readers into high-stakes environments: natural disasters and civil war zones where the term ‘life and death decisions’ really counts. This […]
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Make no mistake, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a bad-ass. The late US Supreme Court Justice didn’t get a name like ‘The Notorious RBG’ for standing in the shadows. This feminist icon is the inspiration for the new Sydney Theatre production RBG: Of Many, One and is a truly inspiring show. Heather Miller is incredible in […]
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We all have it. But how much do we know about it? Writer and publisher, Phillipa McGuinness offers us a comprehensive text about skin in her latest book. Across twelve chapters, she covers many different topics in what can feel like a tad dense read at times. This is a well-researched book and McGuinness is […]
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It was twenty years ago that many of us first saw author Nigel Marsh at play. Back then Marsh was the self-proclaimed “Fat, Forty & Fired” corporate type whose career had derailed. Many people could relate, so he followed up his debut with Fit, 50 & Fired Up. Another decade on, and he comes to […]
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Gina Rushton’s debut book, The Most Important Job In The World, explores a simple question where the answers are anything but. The award-winning journalist goes on a deep dive to ask whether we should be parents. The result is something that will resonate with both parents and non-parents alike. Writers are often told to write about […]
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Audiences watching Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde either know the drill or at least have some concept of what happens. But it’s a testament to Kip Williams and the Sydney Theatre Company that this production bedazzles and surprises. This is a rendering that is brimming with so many different layers, that it […]
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They say if you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism. Director, Lin Cheng-Sheng’s latest film certainly confirms this by offering up the stories of four young men who are on the spectrum. The result is a touching fly-on-the-wall documentary. Cheng-Sheng is no stranger to this particular subject matter. In 2010 […]
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For many of us, home is where the heart is. A safe environment and the epitome of ‘homely.’ But, for Janine Mikosza it was more complicated than that. In her memoir, Homesickness, she explores the many childhood homes she lived in before turning eighteen. Mikosza has previously published essays and short stories. She brings some […]
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There aren’t many shows that can successfully straddle the lines between comedy and drama. But This is Going to Hurt is not most programs. The British dramedy based on Adam Kay’s memoir will dazzle audiences with its sharp writing, humour and pathos. Ben Whishaw stars as a young doctor working for the National Health Service. […]
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Issue 85 of the Quarterly Essay is a timely one. The Trauma Cleaner’s Sarah Krasnostein offers a well-researched and insightful look into Australia’s mental health care systems, and its intersection with other institutions. The essay draws upon extensive research and first-hand case studies with vulnerable individuals who fell through the system’s cracks when they should […]
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The Language of Food is a book with a tasty premise. It is based on the true events involving cook book author Eliza Acton, a woman who inspires chefs to this day. With its strong female characters working hard in a male dominated world, it is one that will appeal to fans of Natasha Lester’s […]
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Pil’s Adventures is an animated film set it he medieval city of Foggyborough. At its heart is a strong, little heroine orphan girl named Pil. She embarks on an adventure with some unlikely friends for a warm underdog makes good, slapstick comedy. Julien Fournet writes and directs this animated film. It is the third feature […]
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As a psychology graduate and serial online dater the premise of Speaking in Thumbs was appealing. A psychiatrist – herself a fellow dater – dons the best friend cap to decipher text messages and uncover what is REALLY being said. It’s a great idea, but I found it difficult to relate to this, as some […]
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Many readers will be familiar with Melbourne authors Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus thanks to their wonderful debut novel, The Book Ninja. The clever pair have now written their third book, another contemporary rom-com with a fun twist. Fancy Meeting You Here has some of the intriguing elements from their stellar debut; however, its execution […]
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Living in 2022 it is easy to take reproductive rights for granted. But as Happening shows, it wasn’t long ago that this wasn’t the case. This film serves as a timely reminder of how tortured a situation could become when a woman finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy. It’s a difficult and devastating situation that […]
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The Beetoota Advocate is as proudly Australian as a Southern Cross tattoo. They are full of national pride and lay claim to Australia’s oldest newspaper accolade. Those playful minds behind a publication that has fooled actual news outlets have released a new book called Beetoota-isms. It is a kind of companion piece to their previous […]
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Viewers are likely to know Timothy Spall even though he’s no household name. The actor is famous for his many character roles such as Mr. Turner and in many supporting roles. In his latest film he plays an everyday man in what is a quiet and slow-burning drama. The film is written and directed by […]
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Many people have living abroad on their bucket list. Australian media personality, Kate Langbroek is one of the few people that can say that she and her family have done it. In Ciao Bella! Six Take Italy she offers a travel diary about the two years her family (husband, Peter and their four children: Lewis, […]
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Dr Phil Kennedy initially seems like such a quiet and unassuming character. The maverick neuroscientist was born in Ireland and spent time working with the homeless before moving to the U.S. But as the film, The Father of the Cyborgs shows, that is really Dr Kennedy during the daytime. After hours, he has experimented with […]
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Once upon a time financial literacy involved little more than individuals hitting up their local bank manager for a mortgage. These days the global financial system is a confusing web of interconnected elements: shares, derivatives, energy and taxes. Hot Money is a documentary that aims to demystify this complex subject matter. Susan Kucera directs this […]
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In Polish-Swedish film Sweat, audiences meet social media influencer Sylwia. Fit, pretty, and young, Sylwia (Magdalena Kolesnik) motivates her 600,000 followers to work out and be healthy. But this dramatic character study is about more than just a pretty face; it’s a subtle look at the opposing forces between our public and private personas in […]
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Welcome to the post-biological world. We’re not there yet but we soon will be. Scientists, innovators, engineers and other experts foresee a time where humans could transcend immortality through technology. The answers lie in machine learning, artificial intelligence and robotics. It’s a place where we could download our memories to ensure our “essence” lives on […]
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For most people, the opening chords to Sesame Street theme song “Sunny Days” will bring back a surge of memories. Sesame Street recently celebrated its golden anniversary, and was a staple for many growing up. The revolutionary kids’ show has already inspired many documentaries, including Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days and the puppeteer-focused […]
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The last two years have been tumultuous ones and have left people reeling. You can either dwell on the hopelessness of it all, or try and seek out the light. Poet and writer, Maxine Beneba Clarke does both of these things, but mostly the latter, in her fourth poetry collection, How Decent Folk Behave. This […]
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John Safran is no stranger to stirring the pot. In his third book, Puff Piece, he asks and answers some of the burning questions aimed at Big Tobacco. The result is an enjoyable read that’s full of his trademark humour and is a clever examination on some ethical grey matters. Many readers will perhaps be […]
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