Author: Natalie Salvo

The name Jean-Jacques Perrey could mean everything and absolutely nothing to different people. Perrey was a musical chameleon and the first and only virtuoso of the Ondioline, a rare French electronic musical instrument and precursor to the modern synthesiser. Perrey’s work has been sampled by rap artists, played on South Park and garnered the likes…

The original “Town Hall” debate was no ordinary affair. So it should come as no surprise that the one-act play based on this historic event is no ordinary piece of theatre. The show comes courtesy of New York’s The Wooster Group and rather than a straight, re-telling of an already chaotic feminist discussion, they inject…

These days the words, “The Post” are more likely to get you thinking about a blog then a newspaper. In fact, Steven Spielberg’s latest film, The Post is all about history and a bygone era in print journalism. It’s a historic thriller and bio-pic that looks at how The Washington Post handled the decision to…

Winston Churchill was a leading writer and orator. So it should come as no surprise that Darkest Hour, a new biopic about the British leader sees the usual guns and weaponry synonymous with wartime films replaced with words, glorious words. While the story is not the most necessary one (as it has been told countless…

For decades Oliver Sacks was lauded as a gifted scientist and storyteller. He penned several books, the most famous being Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat. Prior to his death from cancer in 2015 Sacks had been busy working on two final books. The first, Gratitude, was published posthumously in late 2015. The latest…

A lot of us have heard of the metaphor involving the carrot and the stick. It describes the idea of reward versus punishment, such that a cart driver can use the former to motivate a reluctant mule or they can hit it with the stick. When we think about self-help books they typically use the…

Seeing is believing. Especially when you are watching a theatre show like, The Unbelievables. This variety show comes from the producers of The Illusionists and Circus 1903 and promises to be the “greatest” one on earth. The finished product is a grand assortment of different treats and tricks, with performers from multiple disciplines and presentations…

When The Four Tops sang about “Standing in the shadows of love” Lily Tuck’s Sisters wasn’t quite what they had in mind. And yet, this novella by a National Book Award recipient feels like it could use that track as an anthem. This story is a tense piece about a second wife who is obsessed…

Just To Be Sure (Ôtez-moi d’un doute) is a French comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It deals with some important and weighty issues like: family, identity and roots but handles these in a quirky and funny way. What could have been a self-proclaimed neo-Greek tragedy actually turns out to be a fun and…

On paper, Wonder Wheel seems to have all of the right credentials. It’s a dramatic film set in the 1950s so it’s bound to look great. It stars Kate Winslet and is directed by Woody Allen. It is also set at the Coney Island Amusement Park. But even with all of this stuff on offer,…

Alan Burdick’s book, Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation is one with a fascinating premise that we can all relate to. A staff writer from the New Yorker, Burdick specialises in penning articles about science and technology. Here, he poses the question, “What is time and why does it speed up as we age…

The world is becoming increasingly complex and fast-paced. Many people are feeling out of touch with their spiritual sides and this can manifest itself in a series of mental and physical ailments. Intuitive is a book written by Craigh Wilson, an experienced medical and business intuitive who has spent decades working in an area that…

The National Library of Australia’s publishers have managed to turn back time with their latest book, Living The 1960s. In the book, Australian actress and comedian, Noeline Brown takes us all for a stroll down memory lane through an important decade in her life, and in the lives of her contemporaries. Living the 1960s is a fun slice…

Tess Holliday is a woman that knows all about obstacles. Standing at five-foot-five and wearing a size 26 in clothes, there was a time when if she’d told people she was an aspiring model their reactions would have been laughter and/or scorn. But these days she can thumb her nose at her detractors, because she…

To some people, “Atlantis” is a utopian city lost underneath a wall of water. For Lally Katz it’s a semi-autobiographical play about her mid-30s trip home to America as a newly-single girl. The results are like Bridget Jones played by Kathy Lette. With a panther thrown into the mix. Because you can. Katz is no…

If American music has a heart and soul then you would find it nestled between Memphis and the Mississippi Delta. The documentary film, Take Me To The River realises this and pays homage to the soul men and women that created those passionate and influential hits for the likes of Stax Records and their ilk….

Three Summers is a film that is as light and breezy as its title suggests. It’s also an ensemble comedy that is written and directed by the legendary, Ben Elton. The latter is known for his novels and the TV shows: The Young Ones and Blackadder. In Three Summers he creates a warm-hearted and well-intentioned…

If there was Australia’s answer to the film, Play Your Gender, then Breaking The Mould is it. This music documentary includes interviews with Australian artists about their thoughts and experiences with gender in the local industry. The film is an interesting one about our history and it is something that should help shape the conversation…

It is clichéd to say that a picture tells a thousand words. But there’s also some truth to this and one photographer who certainly knew and appreciated how an image could confound or shape one’s perception is Robert Mapplethorpe. He is the late artist, photographer and former muse to Patti Smith. The Perfect Medium is…

The Beatles sang “All you need is love” but they weren’t talking about movies. The film, Loving Vincent is one that is positively brimming with love. It was a labour, a passion project and it’s one of its kind that reads like a love letter to its namesake. But while the final result is something…

This year marks the 20th anniversary since the death of the legendary, Michael Hutchence. In this time, a lot of books and articles have been published about this enigmatic man. A new biography, Shine Like It Does, from journalist Toby Creswell, may not be the most necessary title, but his book is an intriguing one; with Creswell managing…

As any self-respecting You Am I fan knows, Tim Rogers can spin a yarn or ten. What they may not realise is that this legendary songwriter, artist, and musician has also achieved this in a book format, without the need for a guitar, mic-stand or a drink. Okay, maybe he did need the latter. His debut…

Miracle City is not your typical musical. The show’s director even dubbed it an anti-musical. It’s what you get when the shiny veneer of a Christian family of televangelists implode, live on air. The results are something that are ironic, funny and tragic in almost equal measure. This show first premiered at Sydney Theatre in…

Mythopathy (Notias) is a film about a boy. Except he’s not just any old kid. This child is one that experiences heartbreak in a novel way. When it happens, he looks towards ancient Greek mythology and stories and he changes aspects of these to suit his own narrative. This coming-of-age story is emotional and imaginative…

That Good Night is a film that could be been called “The Last Night.” This is because it’s a drama about second chances and forgiveness. This handsome film is the last one that the late Sir John Hurt acted in and while it has some intriguing moments, it ultimately suffers from being a play that…

A Family Man is a film about an ambitious, corporate-type who is forced to reassess his priorities. Sound familiar? It’s because this road to redemption is a well-trodden one. A Family Man continues along this journey of clichés without offering anything particularly original or endearing through the process. Gerard Butler (300) stars as Dane Jensen…

Breathe is a love letter from producer, Jonathan Cavendish to his inspiring parents. The film is a bio-pic that chronicles the enduring love that this couple shared for each other as well as their refusal to give up in the face of a devastating disease. This story is an important one that is a testament…

If a relationship break-up has ever left you questioning, “Why?” or “What’s next?” then Afterlov is the film for you. This Greek dramedy sees its main protagonist grappling with these questions to the point of obsession. So what is this leading man to do but confront these things as well as his ex. The only…

Wakefield is a long, drawn-out rendering of a short story. It shows one man’s descent into madness and how he becomes a voyeur of his own family. The film is a dramatic one and while the central idea seems original enough, it’s something that was better in the written format than in a full-length, feature…

A book like Your Brain Knows More Than You Think is one that challenges you to leave your assumptions at the door. Originally written by psychologist and neurobiologist Niels Birbaumer, and translated into English by David Shaw, it provides some compelling arguments and case studies from the research and practice undertaken by Birbaumer, and others in this…