Author: Natalie Salvo

The A Word is an important BBC program that is based on an Israeli TV drama called Yellow Peppers. It is a show that focuses on a very real (read: dysfunctional) family as they try and cope with a five-year-old son who is diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. The Iris watched the first…

The company of others is an essential and inseparable aspect of Greek eating. The Greek table is all about celebrating the things that matter like friendship, love, food, wine (even, at times, shouting at each other). This is what we were told by chef, David Tsirekas., former Head Chef of Xanthi and Perama and the…

The word “Margherita” is normally synonymous with pizza. It could also be mistaken for a cocktail, as this could be how you would spell it after drinking one too many. But “Margherita’s” is also the name of a new restaurant, vinoteca and charcuterie in the heart of World Square in Sydney. It is located in…

In August Sydneysiders will be treated to a very special production of My Fair Lady at the iconic, Sydney Opera House. But if audiences want to see two fair ladies then they have one very special opportunity; that is, to see Dame Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton live and in conversation. The…

Watching Cinderella – The Pantomime was like stepping into a wonderful world of magic where your inner child could run free. This panto is the third one to be brought to Australia by Bonnie Lythgoe Productions and it looks poised to follow in the success of Snow White and Aladdin. Cinderella was ultimately a light…

Margherita & Co is like a little slice of Italy. The new restaurant in the Hordern Arcade at World Square in Sydney looks poised to bring food that is buona and bella (good and beautiful – doesn’t everything sound better in Italian?) to a spot previously renowned for Asian eateries. The concept is courtesy of…

Most people love it but what do people really know about chocolate? The team at The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney look set to change all that with a fun and informative new exhibition. Sweet Addiction allows people to experience chocolate as a botanical adventure that fuses together art, education, theatre and flora. The exhibition is…

The days of eating Nutella on white bread are over. The team behind the beloved chocolate hazelnut spread are on a food drive designed to get people thinking about new ways to eat and enjoy Nutella. In an Australian first a Nutella food truck will be travelling through New South Wales and Victoria handing out…

Trigger warning: This post includes information about domestic violence and may be distressing for some readers. Vanessa de Largie’s book will leave you torn. It’s a diarised account of the domestic violence she suffered from 2001–03. On the one hand you wish this book didn’t exist (and that de Largie didn’t have to live through…

Some shows work best when certain things are kept to a minimum. Prince’s “Piano and a Microphone” concerts were one such example as is the kiwi cabaret known as Daffodils [inspired by true events]. The play is a love story inspired by writer, Rochelle Bright’s parents and grandparents meeting at the same spot in New Zealand…

Stephen K Amos knows Australians. The English comedian has been visiting our fine country for over a decade and he even has the nasally accent down pat. His show at the Enmore Theatre for the Sydney Comedy Festival was a rather clever look at life both in general as well as different observations and anecdotes…

When we were children most of us would’ve blown bubbles and tried to catch them. As adults there is still something magical in watching large bubbles being created as they fly through the sky before they reach the end of their transient lifespan and go “Pop!” Melody Yang is someone that knows all about this….

Stephen K Amos is no stranger to Australian audiences. The English comedian has been visiting our shores for ten years and has made us laugh with his funny anecdotes and observations. The author of the hilarious autobiography, “I Used to Say My Mother Was Shirley Bassey”, has just completed a run of shows for the…

Trigger warning: This post includes information about rape and domestic violence and may be distressing for some readers. Vanessa de Largie makes no apologies. The former actress and feminist is now a successful author and sex blogger for The Huffington Post. Her writing is fierce, funny and honest with things like “The Blowjob Artist”, “The…

Punk band, The Scavengers once sang about true love being beautiful. You could also say that Daffodils is a gorgeous romance story set in New Zealand where the aforementioned are from. The play is actually a Kiwi cabaret based on a real life love story between two teenagers, a farm girl named Rose and a…

Love will tear us apart. This song lyric by the late Ian Curtis of Joy Division seems an appropriate way to sum up the gothic romance tale, Wuthering Heights. Queensland’s shake & stir theatre co. have produced a rather faithful and intense adaptation of Emily Brontë’s story, but it also manages to add a few…

Emily Brontë’s classic novel, Wuthering Heights has inspired many different adaptions and other art forms since its initial publication in 1847. It has inspired everything from a Kate Bush song to a Hindi movie and a Death Cab for Cutie track, to name a few. Australia’s very own, shake & stir theatre co will also…

If you’re old enough to recognise Hey, Hey It’s Saturday’s Plucka Duck in the current KFC ads than chances are you’ll also remember David Strassman. The ventriloquist and comedian was often a guest on the show with his two much-loved characters, the naive but sweet Ted E Bare and the foul-mouthed, Chuck Wood. Strassman now…

Henry Lawson and Dame Mary Gilmore (nee Cameron) are famous Australian authors who appeared on Australia’s old paper $10 note. They’re also the subject of an intense period drama and romantic play called All My Love. It’s a story that asks a number of “What if?” style questions and hints at what could have been a great…

Henry Lawson and Mary Gilmore are two famous, Australian writers. But what people may not realise is that the pair were also lovers and secretly betrothed. This information has only come to light in the couple’s surviving letters and in Gilmore’s memoirs and forms the basis of a new play titled, All My Love. It’s…

Both Sydneysiders and visitors to this great city may know the large, salmon-coloured Novotel building in Darling Harbour. What they may not realise is that this hotel also houses a great restaurant called The Ternary. This is the brain-child of Executive chef, Anthony Flowers and the perfect place to experience a memorable dining experience, which…

Photo by: Jamie Williams Oh you pretty things. As Hyde Park’s Sydney Festival Village heaved with people paying their last respects to the one and only David Bowie, a little band from New Zealand played a nice venue called the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent. They were The Chills and they played a set that was brimming…

Life Story is nothing short of amazing. The incredible nature film starring Sir David Attenborough and produced by the Emmy award-wining team that made Life is an intense ride that is supported by a sensitive soundtrack performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. It conveys a thrilling roller-coaster of emotions, as it chronicles the…

Can a few dating wrongs allow you to find Mr. Right? That is the question that is asked in the British rom-com, Man Up. The film is simply one zany night stretched out to feature length. It’s an evening filled with mishaps and misadventures and it’s all madcap fun that is uncomplicated, funny and silly….

A lot of people want to live in Utopia but not many would want to work there. Or at least the “Utopia” that’s depicted in the eponymous TV show by the Working Dog production team. The series is a comedy one that feels so real it could have been a documentary if it wasn’t so…

Kevin Mitchell once sang about his “animal” and being insufferable whilst in heat but it’s hard to know whether the Jebediah front man considered this “lust”. The latter is one of the seven deadly sins. It’s also the subject of a new TV series which questions whether the seven deadly sins are bad vices or…

What women want is something that has befuddled many men. But what guys don’t realise is that the answer to this question is quite simply a silly little reality program called Say Yes To The Dress Canada. The show is the equivalent of cotton candy in that it’s sugary and superficial but it’s also a…

The Chaser boys will host The 16th Inaugural Chaser Lecture on Monday the 9th November at Sydney’s Town Hall. Delivered by one of the world’s most respected and influential political comedians, Egyptian Bassem Youssef, the evening promises to be immensely entertaining complete with a formal dinner and some after-dinner conversation. The Chaser’s Julian Morrow will…

Just like starting over. Danny Collins is a film about an aging rocker who is strongly influenced by John Lennon. This dramedy is a predictable and formulaic film but it is redeemed by some great performances and its pleasant foray into the world of music. The film marks the directorial debut of Crazy, Stupid, Love…

On album number five, Sarah Blasko shimmies and struts to the language of love. Her recent show at the Sydney Opera House for Graphic Festival saw the world premiere and official preview of her latest offering. It was worlds apart from her previous concert at this iconic venue where she was backed by the Sydney…