Arts

Australia’s first Marvel’s Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. experience is open in Melbourne (Running until June 30)

For all Marvel enthusiasts, there is a total immersive experience that awaits you. This world-class experience steeped in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, integrates science and modern technology with movie based props for all of you to experience for yourselves.  The Marvel’s Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. Melbourne experience includes never before seen exhibits on Black Panther, Thanos and The Wasp. The…

Read more

Theatre Review: The Wolves treats theatre as team sport in Sydney

America has an interesting and contentious relationship with soccer. Where the world game has been at the centre of global sports (and often politics) for centuries, Americans sidelined the sport during the depression years, only to resurrect it in the 1960s as a high school game. With many young boys choosing American football (the nation’s…

Read more

POPSART: Outer Space ARI regenerates middle Earth Brisbane

A city’s cultural ecology is a complex beast made up of layers of interwoven factors that influence and feed each other. These layers respond and support different phases of the most crucial factor in the creative ecology “the artist’s” life, work and career. Generally to start with, artists do a Degree and emerge from their…

Read more

Book Review: David Adam’s The Genius Within is smarter than your average book

A lot of us are now aware that the brain is plastic and has the ability to change and adapt. A new area of neuroscience that looks to take advantage of this phenomena is  cognitive enhancement. This is a field that sees individuals alter the way their brain and mind works in order to make…

Read more

Book Review: John McPhee’s Draft No. 4 is all right for some, but not for everyone

Truthfully, I had no idea who John McPhee was when I picked up this book. I knew only a few things about the book at all- that it was about writing, that it was published by Text (a fabulous Australian publisher whom I trust with my reading material), and that it had a glowing quote…

Read more

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the musical is coming to Sydney in 2019

Roald Dahl’s iconic story, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been transformed into a musical and will be hitting an Aussie stage for the first time at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre in January 2019. It’s the magical story of a young boy, Charlie, who wins the tickets of all tickets – the golden ticket, that allows…

Read more

Sydney Writers’ Festival reveal huge 2018 line up

Power, sex and politics are just some of the themes that will be explored at this year’s  21st Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF). Returning to Sydney from 30 April to 7 May, SFW will welcome around 400 Australian writers, academics and public figures, and 60 international writers for a week of talks, performances and workshops at…

Read more

Book Review: Lloyd Jones’ The Cage is an unsettling examination of the lengths we will go to for the truth

Two men, fleeing for their lives, arrive in a small country town. The townspeople, desperate to know where they have come from and what they have seen, assign a group of Trustees to find out more. But as the men prove unable to speak of their trauma, the town’s early hospitality is slowly withdrawn, replaced…

Read more

POPSART: Robert Smithson rockstar legend show opens UQ Art Museum

I have a new art crush. The more I hear about him the more I want to know. Renowned American earthwork artist Robert Smithson died way too young in 1973, but in that short 35 years he managed to secure himself a position as one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century. Robert…

Read more

Review: Want to laugh so hard wine comes out your nose? The Miss Behave Gameshow is for you (Sydney Opera House)

Flying candy, endorsement of cheating and a few life lessons – and that’s just in the first 10 minutes – The Miss Behave Gameshow is hands down the most entertaining night out I’ve had in a long time. In fact, stop reading, jump over to the Sydney Opera House website and grab yourself some tickets…

Read more

Theatre Review: The Book of Mormon will make you laugh til it hurts even if you feel you shouldn’t (Sydney Lyric Theatre)

What do you get when you combine a much-maligned American religion, Disney-movie songs and the writers of a politically incorrect adult cartoon? A ridiculously so-wrong-it’s-right musical called The Book of Mormon. As close to Broadway as you’re likely to see on the Australian stage, this show is an all-singing, all-dancing, joke-filled tribute to American musical theatre….

Read more

Win a family pass to see Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies at The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

School holiday fun for the entire family, Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies returns to the open-air theatre at Royal Botanic Garden Sydney from 14th to 29th April. In Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies, the adventurous Tinkerbell happens upon the fairies from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Together, the cheeky Mustardseed, fluttery Moth, daring Cobweb and sweet…

Read more

The Stella Prize announces 2018 shortlist

Women across the creative industries are demanding their voices be heard. Today the publishing world is holding the mic, with The Stella Prize announcing its 2018 shortlist. First established in 2013, The Stella Prize is named for author Stella Maria Sarah ‘Miles’ Franklin, and celebrates fiction and non-fiction published by Australian women. Coinciding with International…

Read more

Adelaide Fringe Review: Aphrodite and the Invisible Consumer Gods turns the spotlight on objectifiction with boldness and humour

Aphrodite is the Goddess of Love and Beauty and was born from the foam in the waters of Paphos, on the island of Cyprus. She supposedly arose from the foam when the Titan Cronus slew his father Uranus and threw his genitals into the sea. How does this tie in with a play about consumer…

Read more

9 shows not to miss at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is bringing the best comedians from around the world to Melbourne from 28 March to 22 April,  just for your laughing pleasure and without the inconvenience of having to calculate your duty free allowance. With a couple of weeks until the festival kicks off, we’ve wrapped up nine shows guaranteed…

Read more

Adelaide Fringe Review: #nofilter Fair at Carclew brings the community together in North Adelaide

Carclew has been a youth arts hub for young adults for many years and offers a range of opportunities for the under 26. The #nofilter Fair and open day was a way to showcase some of the arts on offer, including visual arts and music with Emma Rowe releasing a new single and video. Headspace…

Read more

POPSART: Circa opens at Flowstate Brisbane’s newest performance space

  As an aspirational concept, Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. The Placemaking process capitalises on a local community’s assets, inspiration, and potential, and results in the creation of authentic, vibrant and resilient places that are valued by their communities and admired by visitors. In practice, councils…

Read more

Adelaide Fringe Review: The Naked Magicians expertly deliver exactly as advertised

The Naked Magicians are just exactly as you would expect – two guys who strip down and perform magic tricks to a mostly female audience. This is no place for a guy’s night out, but there are probably plenty of “girl’s nights” in the audience. Endlessly touring Australia, the pair just wrapped up a run…

Read more

Review: “We want equality, and orgasms” (Anne Summers) All About Women at the Sydney Opera House

In its sixth year, All About Women celebrates International Women’s Day (March 8) with a line-up of inspiring and empowering discussions around the universal struggle for equality in a world still dominated by the white, privileged patriarchy. While I could have easily gone to every talk on offer, it wold have been physically impossible given…

Read more

Book Review: Delve into a 1930s murder with Katherine Kovacic’s The Portrait of Molly Dean

Molly Dean, artist’s muse and aspiring journalist, was brutally murdered in Melbourne in 1930. Despite compelling evidence her killer was never officially found. Seventy years later, art dealer Alex Clayton discovers what she believes to be a portrait of Molly and delves headfirst into the mystery. Despite cover-ups, missing records, and suspects long since deceased,…

Read more

Book Review: Award-winning journalist Witold Szabłowski collects oral histories of Eastern Europe in Dancing Bears

For hundreds of years, Bulgarian Gypsies trained bears to perform. In the early 2000’s the practice was outlawed following the fall of communism, and the bears, who had only ever known their human family, were released into a reserve. Even now, years later, the bears still stand on their hind legs to dance whenever they…

Read more

Book Review: Join eleven year old Sam on a dangerous and unpredictable road trip in Colin Dray’s Sign

Recovering from a major surgery that took away his ability to speak, Sam is a young boy without a voice. So when his Aunt Dettie packs up Sam, and his sister Katie, and sets out to drive from Sydney to Perth, Sam is unable to protest. Promised that their estranged father is waiting for them…

Read more

SXSW Comedy Festival reveals a packed lineup for 2018

South by Southwest (SXSW) have announced the initial line up for the SXSW Comedy Festival, kicking of 9 to 18 March 2018. The festival will pull guests from all corners of the entertainment industry and showcase film and media icons alongside the next wave of groundbreaking comedic talent. This year will also host performances from…

Read more

Skyfire and Enlighten Festival converge on the ideal weekend to visit Canberra in 2018

It’s looking like March will be the ideal time for Aussies and international visitors to head along to Canberra, which was recently – to a lot of shock and curiosity – named one of the world’s top ten cities to visit in 2018 by Lonely Planet. Why? Well two our Canberra’s best events are on…

Read more

How to Score $40 tickets to The Book of Mormon in Sydney

The Book of Mormon have kicked off a $40 ticket ballot, that will give you the chance to score cheap-as tickets to every show of the world-class musical. The limited number of tickets will be sold by ballot before each performance at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. To get your hands on on a ticket or…

Read more

Adelaide Fringe Review: jden redden truly is The Expert at the Card Table

Usually a magician likes to keep his tricks a secret for obvious reasons. But jden redden is no ordinary magician. Part of the Adelaide Fringe, over the course of an hour, jden performs card tricks and then explains how they are performed. The audience is led upstairs at La Boheme Theatre and sits around a…

Read more

Review: Hand To God is the most hilarious show you’ll see this year (Performances until March 18th)

Hand To God has become one of Broadway’s classic comedies with two Tony Awards under its belt. Now Australian audiences have the opportunity to broaden their theatrical minds with a play that has no boundaries. I don’t think you’ll fully understand what the show is about until you immerse yourself into the crass and messed up…

Read more

Theatre Review: Esther Hannaford Shines in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Performances until June 24th)

When news first broke of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical making its way to Australia, the buzz was high. But who would play the coveted role of Carole King? In what has to be one of the best casting triumphs in Australian musical theatre history, Esther Hannaford was the prized winner. It’s safe to say…

Read more

Adelaide Fringe Review: Ferrari – Unlimited Kilometres at the Kentish Wine Shed

Jane Ferrari (normally known as just “Ferrari”) spent 30 years in the Australian wine industry, brand building and promoting wine both locally and abroad. Her show Unlimited Kilometres is a tribute to the people and places she’s met and been to along the way. Opening night at the Kentish Wine Shed was filled to the…

Read more

Adelaide Fringe Review: Aphrodite’s Voodoo – Royal Croquet Club

Aphrodite’s Voodoo showcases chanteuse Jennifer DeGrassi with her live band and some special guests. Set in the beautiful Royal Croquet Club on the northern banks of the River Torrens, the Plaza Parlour tent is an intimate Bedouin style space that is perfect for the dark and mysterious journey to come. The voice of Anais Nin…

Read more