Arts

What can be said about an Aunty Donna show that is negative? Nothing much really. The troupe are truly at the top of their game after years and years of sketch shows and Youtube antics and they do it without any grand pomp or ceremony. The comedy from Zack, Mark and Broden genuinely glow on…

This June, The Museum of Everything will be heading to Australia for the very first time with a curated exhibition at Hobart’s MONA. The exhibition will feature over 1500 works of art from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, arranged across a series of themed spaces designed to take visitors on an informal journey through…

The National 2017: New Australian Art, the first exhibition in a six year partnership, is now underway at three of Sydney’s premier cultural institutions – The Art Gallery of NSW, Carriageworks and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Presented concurrently across the three institutions, The National 2017 features work by emerging, mid-career and established Australian…

Today the curators of the 21st Biennale of Sydney have announced the first group of 21 artists who will take part in the 21st instalment of the leading contemporary art event in the Asia-Pacific region. The 21st Biennale of Sydney will be presented across 12 weeks in 2018, from Friday 16th March until Monday 11th…

A bundle of energy greets you with when you take your seat at Tessa Waters’ Fully Sik. High fives pumping music and a pillow fight start things off. You’d call it a little absurd if the only type of fare you’re used to in comedy theatre is someone telling jokes into the microphone. In reality,…

The Art Gallery of Ballarat hosted the Guirguis New Art Prize award ceremony recently, with Melbourne’s Yhonnie Scarce taking home the $20,000 prize for her work, The More Bones the Better. The installation, made up of six medical beakers, hand blown glass and tubing, the work has been described as haunting and delicate, a culmination…

Running over 10 days this May, the YIRRAMBOI First Nations Arts Festival aims to celebrate diversity within Aboriginal culture through 60 events encompassing dance, music, theatre, film, talks and visual arts in Melbourne. Highlights of the festival program include a citywide treasure hunt – Barring Yanabul – on May 13th, a traditional welcome ceremony for…

Melbourne’s Anna Scwartz Gallery is hosting the impressive 10th solo exhibition by local artist and sculptor, Emily Floyd. The exhibition, entitled Icelandic Puffins, opens on April 8th and runs until May 13th, showcases Floyd’s technique for hand carving – the individual puffins come next to Icelandic text identifying members of the financial elite. Of course,…

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has hundreds of performers and shows worth seeing – that’s the most obvious statement of the most obvious of obvious-towns. There are a huge amount of great showcases throughout the festival too – one of them being The Comedy Zone, a showcase of fresh and amazing comedic talent from around…

Walking into Josie Long’s show was a strange experience. Thinking that I was late, Long was singing and doing her funky moves while singing into the microphone. It’s certainly a different way to start a show, and I liked it. I’d not like to have the heart attack thinking I was late though next time…

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned girl’s night out, so when this show came onto my radar I had to rally up my bestie and make a night of it. The idea of this show is that each night, three different female comedians will take to the stage with Cath Styles as the MC. Now,…

I am no stranger to the man that is Joel Creasey and with a career as successful as his, you’re a downright nuffy if you haven’t heard of him! I saw his show at last year’s MICF and looooved it, but there is something about this year’s that is a whole other level. Yes, Creasey will…

Triple J Breakfast just isn’t the same without the dream team Matt and Alex. I really miss listening to their friendly banter and views on certain issues that overwhelm our society, so it was a no-brainer to head along to Matt Okine‘s one-man show and have a good ol’ catch up. Okine’s style of comedy is really…

Andy Zaltzman is a comedian who I knew little about prior to me seeing him. Weirdly, I knew him as the brother of Helen Zaltzman, a host on the very funny Answer Me This! podcast. But it was only when he was announced that I found out that he co-hosted a pretty hilarious podcast of his…

Titanic The Exhibition arrives in Sydney for the first time ever from 8 April at The Byron Kennedy Hall, The Entertainment Quarter. Experience the world’s largest and most comprehensive Titanic exhibition. Receive a real passengers boarding pass, come face to face with an actual iceberg, experience spectacular recreations and witness over 300 artefacts plus memorabilia…

It’s time to go through our monthly look at the best the art, theatre and cultural industries has to offer this upcoming month around Australia. We have a wide array of things to see, including comedy, spiritual journeys and reliving Whitney Houston movies… on stage! Go out and plan for these upcoming events for April…

After another successful season in Sydney, the Melbourne Opera Australia  season will be kicking off from the 4th May at the Art Centre Melbourne. One of the productions on offer is Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci, a double opera of interweaving tragedy and drama. We caught up with José Carbó ahead of the new season to discuss his dual…

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has hundreds of performers and shows worth seeing – that’s the most obvious statement of the most obvious of obvious-towns. There are a huge amount of great showcases throughout the festival too – one of them being The Comedy Zone, a showcase of fresh and amazing comedic talent from around  Australia. We decided…

In his latest collection, Perth author John Kinsella creates a uniquely Australian text that drops the reader seamlessly into the turning points in the lives of men, women, and children. Old Growth offers twenty-seven short stories set in recognisable West Australian landscapes from suburban Perth to dusty bush terrains and empty rural pubs. Kinsella’s language…

This will be the best night out at the theatre you will ever experience. But be warned; no one is safe. If you’re not into audience participation then this show probably isn’t for you but I’m telling you now if you miss this show you will be sorry. Fresh from sold-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival…

I officially have a new hobby – seeing any National Theatre Live film that comes to Australia. This is a genius concept that has been going on for a number of years but this particular viewing was my first time. Imagine being able to see the best of British theatre at the cinemas?! Genius I tell…

There is nothing quite like seeing a contemporary ballet reflect the world in which we live in. For such a traditional dance form where discipline is paramount in the execution of movement, to see such fluidity and freedom amidst the dancers is refreshing and forward-thinking. The Australian Ballet‘s Artistic Director David McAllister says this triple…

CARMEN. Big block letters spell out the opera in fierce red against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour, an outline of a bull back to back with the lettering. Nothing takes away from the thrill of gazing upon the stage at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour each year and seeing the cityscape stretch behind, but this…

There’s all manner of comedy at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, from theatre, to stand up to improv. We have already put together a bunch of great shows you go and see already. Some people like to go all out and either shock, deal with subjects that push the edge, or simply provide thought-provoking stuff…

Earlier this year it was announced that The Copyright Agency was to team up with remote publishing house Magabala Books, and the Australian Literary Educators Association to devise a series of specially created teaching resources for 15 Indigenous stories; which would then be made available to teachers via the Reading Australia website. These resources have…

Thanks to the National Trust, over 1000 events have been announced to showcase throughout the Australian Heritage Festival this year. The event, which is the larger and longest running festival celebrating Australia’s natural, historic Indigenous and multicultural heritage, is presenting yet another dynamic program of productions across its five week run from April 18th. Proudly supported…

VIVID Ideas has dropped its program for 2017, hosting over 200 events over 23 days and nights. Leading the charge is and exclusive festival appearance by American artist Shepard Fairey – best known for his Barack Obama HOPE campaign and his OBEY GIANT art project – at the Sydney Town Hall. Along with Fairey’s appearance as part of VIVID…

Seated inside The Parlour at The Royal Croquet Club on the final night of the Adelaide Fringe Festival, I witness a duo get decidedly dark about the fascinating and oftentimes all-consuming culture of social media. Honor and Patrick present CULL; it’s a show of strobes and online drinking challenges. A show of YouTube vloggers and…

Beginning in 1989, Chimerica brings us Joe Schofield, an American Photojournalist stationed in Beijing. Sitting in his hotel room during the Tiananmen protests, he manages to snap the all-famous photograph of Tank Man – a young student standing defiantly in the way of a line of tanks. Fast forward to 2012 and Joe, now back…

Oh yes, people! It’s that time of year again where Melbourne becomes a haven for the utterly hilarious and outrageous. We thought we’d help you out with five Aussie and international acts to see at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The programme is a cracking one but here’s our input to help make your decision…