Arts

A female comedian, dressed as a male comedian, dressed as a silent Gaulier clown trying not to offend anyone. That is the premise of Zoe Coombs Marr’s award-winning show Trigger Warning, and it promises to have you in stitches. After a successful run last year that saw the Australian comedian win a Barry Award, Zoe…

Several years ago, a virus came to Sicily. It stalked the adults, picking them off one by one, until all that remained was handful of children. Struggling to protect her younger brother, Astor, Anna knows her days are numbered. When she reaches adolescence, the disease will come for her too. Falling in with a boy…

“We’re in church” said one fellow audience member as we walked into the basement theatrette of the Butterfly Club. Rows of recycled pews and framed Elizabethan portraiture sit inside this quirky performance space, but what followed was far from biblical. An hour of clowning, astronaut-themed burlesque and bubble-gum art. Now, that’s the kind of religion…

If you’re a lover of cinema and history, Deborah Pearson has you covered! In a unique performance that uses audio and memory, History History History transports audiences back to October 23, 1956 and recreates a film that was supposed to screen at the Corvin Cinema the night the Hungarians rose up against the Soviets. Making her…

The New Chinese are the Chinese people born on mainland China after 1949. The book of the same name is intended for Australian readers who don’t know a lot about China, but who are eager to learn; either for business or pleasure. Australia has become a hotspot for Chinese immigrants, your next hire or business…

Night festivals are a chance for cities to showcase their prowess in a way that glitters.  The Singapore Night Festival (SNF) is always evolving and in its tenth year they pulled out all the stops. For 10 balmy nights young and old were out of the house and hitting the streets in what was a celebration of…

Australians let us all rejoice for we are a nation full of self-deprecating individuals with a great wit and a keen sense of humour. Never has this been more apparent than in the book, The Wisdom of Oz. This should be required reading for every true blue Aussie (forget the citizenship test) because it’s chock…

In the five years since I left Singapore (my home for two years) I was amazed to go back and learn how much the government has invested into developing, nurturing and showcasing arts and culture in Singapore. Whether it be giving locals a platform to share their works, or inviting international legends to exhibit on…

Bram Stoker’s Dracula has been interpreted many times over the years on stage and screen. This time, Queensland based Shake and Stir Theatre Company have breathed new life into the ageless classic. A single lit window on a darkened stage is the only clue to what is to come. There are shocks a plenty –…

As part of the National Theatre Live broadcasts, we have been privy to some of the West End’s most prestigious plays from playwrights that span far and wide. However, Tony Kushner’s multi-award winning two-part play Angels in America is something else. You will never see anything like this in your life. Ever. Directed by Olivier and Tony award winner…

Be they flocking or fleeing, birds are always a sign of impending danger. Hell, if you grew up in Brisbane, the clicking sound of a magpie’s beak and the beat of black wings are a certain sign of danger. The Bluebird Mechanicals is no less than this. A neat artist’s palate of danger organised, devised…

A leading Australian bibliophile goes on a tour of thousands of libraries. The result isn’t a punchline but in fact a book called The Library by Stuart Kells. This volume is a fascinating text that draws together Kells’ scholarly essays on a range of different topics related to the storage of books, reading in general…

Offering a fascinating glimpse into the art and lives of a princely Florentine family, The Art Gallery of WA has announced a new exhibit,  A Window in Italy- the Corsini Collection: Masterpieces from Florence, set to open on Saturday 24 February 2018. The exhibition will kick off with an Italian Festival Day and a series of visitor programs…

Seven artists have been shortlisted for this year’s NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Mid-career/Established). One artist or partnership will score a cash amount of $30,000 from Create NSW,  a major Artbank commission of up to $20,000 and a residency at a NSW regional gallery. The work of Zanny Begg, Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro, Jonathan Jones,…

“BITCH!”, one of the most complex insults in the English language, predominately used as a derogatory term towards women. But where did it come from?  And why is it used in this way? BITCH: The Origin of The Female Species reflects upon the relationship between humans and animals, exploring the idea that women and dogs…

TEDx is a forum that is all about “Ideas worth spreading.” In 2017 TEDxYouth Sydney was launched as its own unique event and showcased the talents of many young people. We put together the top 14 things we learned at TEDxYouth Sydney: 1. Sixteen year old inventor Macinley Butson is an inspirational young woman. She…

Inspired by recent Australian political events, A Prudent Man takes an unapologetic look at memory, ego and power! Written and directed by award-winning playwright Katy Warner and performed by Lyall Brooks, this one-man monologue promises to take a dark comedic tour towards what it means to be right. Playing at the 2017 Brisbane Festival this…

Taking the words out of our Prime Ministers’ mouths and merging them seamlessly together over of stirring music, The Singing Politician is the classical performance you didn’t know you wanted to see. From Menzies’ ‘Declaration of War’ to Whitlam’s ‘Well May We Say,’ and even a possible appearance from Donald Trump, Brisbane’s Topology and The…

Twin: duplicate or match. Identical: being the exact same one. Once again Dirk Kurbjuweit brings us a novel with some unusual characters, something I feel he is mastering rather well. Twins, is a novel about growing up, first loves and friendships. And whilst it touches on eccentric behaviour, it also involves two main characters that you’ll…

Jennifer Down‘s book of short stories, Pulse Points, opens with a story about two men who are driving home from visiting one of their fathers at a retirement home, when they discover an injured person lying in the middle of the road. It is a shocking moment, which leaves both men reeling, and yet, the story…

The China National Symphony Orchestra will dazzle Australian music-lovers with a one-night-only performance at the iconic Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on Monday 23 October. Over 100 musicians make up this exceptional orchestra under the baton of the CNSO’s world-renowned chief conductor Maestro Li Xincao. The concert also features violinist Lü Siqing, the first Asian…

The Book of Mormon has proved to be one of the most controversial and critically acclaimed Broadway shows in history, and now after much anticipation the hit musical will officially be making its way to Sydney’s Lyric Theatre on 28th February 2018. Described by our own reviewer as, ‘two-and-a-half hours of sheer intellectual and comedic brilliance,’…

The sands of Coolangatta Beach will transform into the Egyptian shoreline when Opera Australia presents Griffith Opera on the Beach – Aida this month. We caught up with mezzo-soprano Milijana Nikolic , who will be sharing the role of Amneris, to discuss this unique opera setting! So, Opera on a Beach! How will you have to adjust your voice…

Plunge is innovative theatre at its best. What an extraordinary experience to be able to be a part of a production where you follow the actors across various locations of The Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, soon to be centre pieced for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The audience are provided with headphones where a mixture of…

For its 33rd year running, Kaldor Public Art Project is showcasing The Last Resort, a world-premiere installation by internationally celebrated French-Albanian artist Anri Sala. Taking stage on Observatory Hill, the artwork, including free public programs, will run over three weeks from 13 October until 5 November 2017. Anri Sala’s installation is a compromise of sculpture and…

I attended the opening night of OperaQ’s regional tour of Night with Opera Queensland from Sunpac Theatre Sunnybank on Friday night and was totally enthralled by the passion, talent, power and beauty of the work. Presenting Opera in this non-conventional form like a cabaret, a chocolate box of hits from Madame Butterfly, Rigoletto and Don…

Khon is a genre of dance drama from Thailand that combines several forms – dance, music, painting and crafts. Traditionally performed exclusively at the court and for royal functions, the masked dance is created for the Devine King with scenes from the Ramakien. On this night at the Sydney Opera House, KHON: Exquisite Masked Dance…

Last Sunday closed the week out for the Queensland chapter of Australian Poetry Slam, as part of the 21st Queensland Poetry Festival, but for some it was just the beginning. 20 Finalists. 5 judges whimsically selected from a libated crowd. 1 Bucket (it was quite literally a bucket) and 1 Winner to go onto the…

As far as cheesy and ridiculously melodramatic stage productions go, The Bodyguard Musical takes the cake. Were the over dramatic scenes intended to be funny? I’m not sure. Was the acting subpar? Absolutely. But did the powerful ballads make up for this? The Goosebumps I felt when Paulini Curuenavuli, ripped into ‘I Have Nothing,’ strongly…

Inua Ellams, is a Nigerian-born, award-winning poet, playwright, performer and the founder of The Midnight Run. He has published four books of poetry, including his most recent publication #Afterhours. His plays have toured internationally, and have been performed at England’s The National Theatre, the Edinburgh International Theatre Festival, and at the Perth International Arts Festival earlier this…