Arts

Win a double pass to see Swan Lake On Ice at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney

The world’s premier theatrical ice skating company, The Imperial Ice Stars, returns to Australia with its award-winning masterpiece Swan Lake On Ice, touring to Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney this July. Sydney audiences can enjoy the classic tale at the Capitol Theatre from 25 – 29 July. Set to Tchaikovsky’s glorious score in the intimate setting…

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Review: Circus Oz warms up Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens with new show Precarious (until July 15th)

With winter upon us the urge to stay rugged up inside is VERY tempting- I mean what other options do we have? Well, what if I told you that instead of sitting by the heater bored at home you could be drinking wine in the Royal Botanic Gardens, surrounded by warmth, watching death-defying acrobats? Sounds…

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5 shows not to miss in Australia this July

Warm up the long winter nights ahead with these sizzling art events on showcase this month around Australia. From classic show stoppers to cultured exhibitions, here are our five top picks for July! Aida (Sydney) Feel like doing something cultured? Why not head to the Opera for a fancy night out. Aida makes its way…

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Book Review: Kitty Flanagan’s Bridge Burning & Other Hobbies is a loose look at some funny episodes from Flanagan’s life

Kitty Flanagan is an accomplished stand-up and regular on TV shows like Utopia and The Weekly With Charlie Pickering. She is a chronic over-thinker in the best possible way, and this is evident in her first book: Bridge Burning & Other Hobbies. A collection of funny anecdotes and personal stories, readers will find this book as relatable…

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Win a family pass to see Sleeping Beauty: A Knight Avenger’s Tale in Sydney

Awake from your enchanted slumber and get read for the family fun fairy tale panto adventure, Sleeping Beauty – A Knight Avenger’s Tale. Bursting into Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre for a strictly limited season from 29 June to 8 July and Sydney’s majestic State Theatre from 13 to 22 July 2018. Featuring dazzling costumes, stunning sets,…

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Win a double pass to see STOMP in Sydney

The Broadway, West End and international sensation STOMP is back, set to return to Australia with its unstoppable energy. The show will tour to Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Adelaide and Sydney from May to August, running at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre from 31 July to 5 August. Eight performers use an array of ordinarily mundane objects,…

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

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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Five things you need to know about Will Larnach-Jones’ Debut Book 50 Queer Music Icons

If you like your music and are looking for a book that celebrates LGBTQI legends then 50 Queer Music Icons is the one for you. This is the first book from former Presets manager, Will Larnach-Jones. It was recently launched at APRA’s headquarters in Sydney. The AU’s Natalie Salvo brings you the five things you…

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Interview: Sven Ratzke talks HOMME FATALE and working with Thierry Mugler at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival

The supernova of international cabaret and festival favourite, Sven Ratzke returns to Australia this week for his new show HOMME FATALE as part of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. The show features Ratzke’s masterful storytelling is eclipsed only by his sensational vocal performances, including works by Rufus Wainwright, Dez Mona, Lou Reed, and Iggy Pop. Sosefina Fuamoli…

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What happens at TEDxSydney (and why you should book your ticket for next year)

If you were in the vicinity of Sydney’s ICC on Friday 15th June you may have noticed an abundance of white canvas tote bags marked with red Xs and Os. No, it wasn’t a giant game of noughts and crosses (although that would have been super fun) – the people toting said totes were taking…

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Got Post Dark Mofo & Vivid Blues? Here’s 5 Arts Events not to miss in Australia the rest of June

In need of an arts fix now that Vivid and Dark Mofo are coming to an end*? The rest of the month still has plenty in store. Iconic art exhbitions, dramatic operas, eye opening musicals and curious burlesque… the rest of June is overflowing with artistic highs. Here are five events around Australia this month…

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Theatre Review: Assassins claims a victim (and wins hearts) on opening night (Sydney Opera House to 1st July)

It takes extraordinary strength of character (both in personality and portrayal) to deliver a flawless performance while one of your leads is being rushed to hospital with a serious injury, but that is what the cast of Assassins did on opening night at the Sydney Opera House this week. A sharply designed, brilliantly performed production,…

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Win a double pass to see Jersey Boys in Sydney

Jersey Boys tells the true-life story and the rise to stardom of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons who were one of the most successful bands in pop music history. The band sold over 175 million records and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for their worldwide hits including Can’t Take…

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Win a double pass to see FORM Dance Projects Above Ground in Sydney

Above Ground features Cat’s Cradle, a new work from Australia’s celebrated physical theatre company Legs On The Wall. Cat’s Cradle explores the depths of what is private and what is public, expertly utilising a commanding apparatus that looms over the space like a curtain of tentacles. The second work, Soft Prosthetics and Metal Gods, sees…

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Kamila Shamsie takes home 2018 Women’s Prize for Fiction

Home Fire, the British Pakistani author’s seventh novel, is a contemporary re-imagining of Sophocles’ Ancient Greek tragedy, Antigone. Freed of the responsibility of caring for her younger siblings, Isma Pasha heads to America to study. But she can’t help but be drawn back into the lives of the twins; headstrong Anneeka alone in London, and…

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Interview: Author Raymond A. Villareal gives us the lowdown on his debut novel, A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising

A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising isn’t your everyday horror novel. Presented as an oral history, it’s a chilling mix of witness statements, legal documents, and interviews, and it should come as no surprise that the film rights have already been snapped up by Fox and 21 Laps, the team behind Stranger Things. AU…

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Interview: Priscilla’s David Harris and Euan Doidge on fab frocks, costume changes & dancing divas

The Priscilla bus is coming. And everybody’s jumping. Sydney to Alice Springs. An intercity disco. Okay, enough Vengaboys! But dear reader, you may not know that the great, big silver bus that is Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert has rolled into old Sydney town to party and celebrate her 10th on-stage birthday. The AU Review’s…

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5 Unmissable Minds on show at TEDxSydney 2018

Ever wondered what it’s like to be the most talked about person in Australia? How to go about becoming a social media sensation? Or what women who work in scientific professions really feel about gender balance? These are just some of the things pondered by some of Australia’s leading minds, all of whom are appearing…

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Interview: Tony Sheldon on playing Priscilla Queen of the Desert‘s Bernadette with a dose of panache and class

The Priscilla Queen Of The Desert film is on the verge of celebrating its silver anniversary and the stage show has also been entertaining audience for ten years. The iconic silver bus recently returned to old Sydney town with star Tony Sheldon, who has been entertaining audiences as Bernadette in various productions of the live…

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Theatre Review: Wheel of Fortune spins a tantalising if not inconsistent tale (Metro Arts Theatre til 9th June)

Round and round the Brisbane Ferris Wheel goes, why tourists pay $30 to ride it nobody knows. At least, that’s what occurred to me while watching the visual piece in the background set the backdrop for TAM and Metro Arts latest production – Wheel of Fortune. Loosely based on the Austrian play La Ronde, which…

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Win a double pass to see Cabaret de Paris at the State Theatre in Sydney

Sydney’s State Theatre will be transported by the atmosphere and excitement of Parisian-themed revue Cabaret De Paris when a parade of exquisitely bejewelled international entertainers reveal all (nearly all) with 2 shows only on Saturday the 30th of June. Cabaret De Paris is a stage spectacular celebrating old-fashioned showgirl glamour mixed with the skill of…

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5 Tips for Navigating the Adelaide Cabaret Festival

The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is upon us for another year – from June 8th through until June 23rd, Ali McGregor‘s latest program is set to bring some revered international names together with some of Australia’s brightest musical and theatrical talent for some truly indulgent, entertaining nights out. If you’ve not been exposed to the delights of the…

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Book Review: Power and politics meet a horror icon in Raymond A. Villareal’s inventive and chilling debut: A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising

In the very near future, a virus dubbed NOBI stalks the population. Those infected with it become something more than human, and designate themselves Gloamings. Attractive, powerful, and exciting, these modern day vampires have thousands clamouring to be like them. But a few see them as they really are, bloodthirsty and dangerous, and as Gloaming…

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Book Review: Jeff Goodell’s The Water Will Come is a devastating warning for a not-too-distant, water-logged world

The idea of a modern-day Atlantis, or large coastal cities flooded by rising sea-levels sounds like the stuff of horror or science fiction films. Instead, The Water Will Come is a frightening, non-fiction book written by Rolling Stone contributing editor, Jeff Goodell. Goodell has written about climate change for over 15 years and is able to distill…

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Book Review: Cynthia Banham’s A Certain Light is a searing look at family trauma and a horrific accident

It is hard for some of us to even fathom being an airplane crash victim. But for former Sydney Morning Herald journalist, Cynthia Banham it was reality. In A Certain Light Banham pens a family memoir that describes this irrevocable tragedy, and the fateful day that left her a double amputee with burns to over…

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MELT 2018 Review: Pop rock opera bare the musical nails the vocals, but fails on story (Brisbane Powerhouse until June 3rd)

At a prestigious Catholic school, two boys fall in love. In their final school year, Peter and Jason test the limits of their secret relationship, as Peter wants to come out to the world, while Jason, wary of losing his family and friends, wants to live the fantasy a little longer. As rehearsals for the…

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

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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MELT 2018 Review: Get ready for a close encounter of the cabaret kind, with Briefs: Close Encounters (Brisbane Powerhouse until June 2nd)

The Briefs boys are back in Brisbane, returning from a distant glamourous future to spread a message of hope, love, and fabulous good times. Led by their drag queen mistress Shivannah (Fez Fa’anana), the stage is set for a night of stunning aerial acrobatics, powerful lip syncs, and raucous good fun. This is cabaret at…

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2018 Miles Franklin longlist announced, with three former winners making the cut

Peter Carey, Michelle De Kretser, and Kim Scott head up an eleven strong list of contenders for the prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award. The past winners are up against eight other established authors, contending for a $60,000 prize. One of Australia’s most important literary awards, the Miles Franklin was established with funds from the estate…

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Explore some of Melbourne’s most famous buildings this July at the Open House Melbourne Weekend

In their largest program yet, Melbourne is once again hosting their annual Open House Weekend this coming July, inviting the public to tour and explore various buildings in and around Melbourne City. A total of 224 buildings will open their doors to the public on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 of July, allowing the public…

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