Books Editor. An admirer of songs and reader of books. Simon has a PhD in English and Comparative Literature. All errant apostrophes are his own.
Former keyboardist, and current superstar physicist Professor Brian Cox OBE is returning to Australia in August with a brand new stage show; A Journey in to Deep Space. Once again teaming up with Lateral Events, Cox over the course of the show will be exploring some of the unanswered questions that abound about deep space; drawing…
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Let me set the scene. It’s about half way through the set, the comedian’s just had to deliver the punch-line of a joke for the third time; and now he’s offered to get a round in for the audience because an older Swiss-Aussie audience member told him he was making him thirsty. Presumably this was…
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The Mars Project is the new work from writer Will O’Mahony and The Skeletal System, the team behind the acclaimed Great White. The Mars Project tells the story of Wren and Sam, Sister and Brother, detailing their diverging lives, as one tries to reach Mars and one struggles to speak – Sam has autism. The…
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Actor David Koechner is perhaps best known as Champ King from Anchorman and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues; or maybe as Todd Packer from The Office. But did you know he’s also an accomplished stand up performer? Despite his fairly prodigious filmography, Koechner has at least 60 films under his belt, and a pretty busy…
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Melbourne ‘future soul’ quartet Hiatus Kaiyote are set to headline the Saturday night of the Perth International Jazz Festival when it returns for a fourth year this June. Over the first weekend in June, the festival presented in partnership with Brookfield, will see over 50 performances take place across multiple venues across the city; with…
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From today the Anna Schwartz Gallery in Melbourne plays host to the first Australian exhibition of work by North Korean artist Kim Guang Nan. The exhibition titled The Future is Bright, curated by Doug Hall AM runs until the 21st May. Kim Guang Nan was born in 1953, a few months after the armistice of…
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The April – July Season at Perth’s Blue Room Theatre kicked off last week with Renegade Productions’ Selkie the new work from writer Finn O’Branagáin, and directed by Joe Lui. Selkie is a contemporary reimagining of the old myth; stripped of the romanticism and whimsy; an exploration of the darker themes at play. I was…
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Australian comedy legend Barry Humphries this week announced the nominees for the 19th annual Barry Award – an award named in his honour – as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The Barry Award is one of the world’s most prestigious comedy awards. Launched in 1998 as the ‘Stella Award’ it was renamed in…
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Melbourne will be playing host to a celebrity wedding on Friday night. But this isn’t quite the stuff that celebrity gossip mags are made on. This wedding is a protest wedding! Comedian’s Zoe Coombs Marr and Rhys Nicholson will get married on Friday at the Festival Club in a wedding ceremony designed to highlight the…
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When the Sex Pistols‘ TV interview with the journalist Bill Grundy broke up in a barrage of four-letter words in November 1976, the incident and its aftermath filled the front pages of Britain’s tabloid press for an entire week. From this moment Punk entered the British consciousness and quickly spread around the world. It is…
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Kinky Boots, the musical from Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Mitchell, added to its awards tally of 6 Tony Awards last night picking up 3 awards at the 40th Olivier Awards. The musical which debuts in Melbourne in October won Best New Musical, Best Costume Design for costume designer Gregg Barnes and Best Actor in a…
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The National Theatre Melbourne for the first time in its history, has been transformed into a hub for 30th Melbourne International Comedy Festival, hosting five shows over the course of the festival. CEO Nic Clark has said that the affiliation with the iconic Comedy Festival has allowed The National Theatre to offer a variety of…
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Calling all Brisbane mums. Desperately trying to keep it together? So is Jenny Wynter in Viking Mama! Join Wynter and release the mother warrior within from Wednesday 4 to Saturday 7 May at the Judith Wright Centre. Viking Mama sheds light on a day in the life of a Viking mother, as she tries to…
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Following the teased release of two works earlier this month; Perth’s Blue Room Theatre has now released the complete line-up for their April – July season. Comprised of seven shows the season aims to make audiences contemplate survival in all it’s forms; and hopes to prompt and embolden theatregoers to be self reflexive, to look…
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April 23rd marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. To commemorate the occasion the State Library of NSW is staging a major Shakespeare celebration; headlined by acclaimed Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly. The celebration will see Kelly launch his new Shakespeare inspired album, Seven Sonnets & A Song, in the atmospheric Mitchell Reading…
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FBi Radio’s Brush With Fame is back! The online auction of musician-made masterpieces is back for a third year. And with just over 24 hours left before the auctions close now’s the time to make those last minute bids and help keep FBi Radio on the air. For those of you not familiar with Brush…
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Brisbane’s Jazz Music Institute (JMI) and New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) are teaming up to bring a new and exciting festival to Australia in August this year. The Essentially Ellington Down Under Regional Festival will be making its debut in Australia and be swinging by Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney offering high school…
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Fresh from fantastic runs at Fringe World in Perth, and a completely sold out run at The Atlantic Fringe Festival, celebrated Canadian storyteller, Gillian English is heading to Melbourne this week to perform two autobiographical solo storytelling shows at the Butterfly Club. After performing in cities around the world, such as Montreal, Toronto, New York,…
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The varied and diverse arts world will converge in regional NSW this October at ARTLANDS DUBBO 2016. Think art, education, music, theatre, circus and so much more under the backdrop of big open skies and fresh air. The four-day conference and festival program launched yesterday at the Sydney Opera House under the tagline, “Part Conference,…
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La Trobe University, in collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), has introduced a unique and interactive art experience as part of the gallery’s Friday Night summer series events, which runs until April 22nd. Visitors to Friday Nights at the gallery will be able to see in real-time how their mind engages with a…
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On the back of a hugely successful Summer Nights season as part of Fringe World 2016, Perth’s The Blue Room Theatre have announced the first two shows in their Season One program; ahead of a full season launch on March 23rd. Opening the season will be Selkie by Renegade Productions and The Mars Project by…
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Ever wondered why Siri is female or why men dominate the tech world? The City of Melbourne is inviting people to a special event that will dissect the role of gender and cultural diversity in an increasingly digital world. Machine learning is already a part of our everyday – from spam filters to Siri –…
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Ibeyi kicked off their Australian tour on Friday night, with a performance at Perth’s Chevron Festival Gardens as part of the Perth International Arts Festival. The twin sisters, Lisa-Kainde and Naomi Diaz, gave the crowd a crash course in the Yoruba culture, beguiling and entrancing the gathered audience with their infectious enthusiasm and their soulful…
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This week a rare Automata has appeared at the Arts Centre Melbourne. In an age oversaturated with digital art and entertainment, Melbourne artist Mark Ogge has drawn on the centuries-old tradition of mechanical automata and coin-operated attractions to create a work of great immediacy and charm. The Circus Automata, a large, three-dimensional, mechanically operated diorama…
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The City of Knox in Melbourne’s east will be rocking on Friday 4 March when Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be – The Story of Bon Scott is presented as an outdoor concert performance for the first time at Wally Tew Reserve, Glenfern Road Ferntree Gully. Following a season at the National Theatre Melbourne…
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Now in it’s fourth year, Pixel Sounds returns to Campbelltown Arts Centre on Saturday March 12, as part of the Centre’s Contemporary Music Program. Incorporating workshop elements with a musical performance, Pixel Sounds hosts some of the best chip tune creators and performers from across Australia and around the world. The event featuring Tuberz McGee,…
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Jóhann Jóhannsson wasn’t much of a talker on Monday night; maybe nobody gave him a microphone, but his music and compositions were exquisite. Performing as part of the Perth International Arts Festival, the Oscar nominated composer was accompanied on stage by the Adelaide based Zephyr Quartet, as over the course of seventy minutes he beguiled…
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On January 10th 2016, British music icon and legend David Bowie passed away at the age of 69. In the intervening days, weeks and months there has been numerous tributes paid to the star; at awards galas, second line parades, and impromptu sing-alongs around the world. Now in Australia, there is to be another tribute….
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dLux MediaArts invites you to join them for the third installment of IS THIS ART? a celebration of seventeen of Australia’s most innovative and experimental emerging media artists on a night not to be missed. Taking over Marrickville’s Create or Die Warehouse space on Thursday, March 10, dLux will be showcasing the unexpected as part of The Sydney…
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“We are all more intelligent than we are capable, and awareness of the insanity of love has never saved anyone from the disease.” – Alain de Botton Is love just an illusion? Philosopher, bestselling author and School of Life co-founder Alain de Botton returns to the Sydney Opera House on 9 July to explore what it…
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