September will see Robert Forster, of iconic Australian band The Go-Betweens, in conversation with Triple J’s Zan Rowe as part of a special in-conversation event for The School of Life Sydney; the topic of discussion? Friendship. On September 7th, Forster and Rowe will be attempting to get to the bottom of what makes a good…
26 year old Torres Straight Islander Daniel O’Shane has won this year’s National Works on Paper Prize, for his piece Aib Ene Zogo ni Pat (Story of Aib and the sacred waterhole). Living and working in Cairns, O’Shane’s piece draws on his Torres Islands heritage. Of the traditional story behind the work, O’Shane says: “Meuram…
On July 29th, the 2016 World Press Photo Exhibition will return to the Brisbane Powerhouse for a month long stay. Showcasing some of the most powerful and politically charged images of the previous 12 months, the exhibition has been touring for the last 59 years. Running since the 1950s, this year’s contest drew entries from around…
One of my most despised elements of social media culture is the need for people to flaunt body image across Instagram with fifty-odd hashtags to accompany. The rise of ‘thinspo’ and ‘thinspiration’ in particular has grown from advocating clean living and a fitness-driving lifestyle into something more toxic in recent years and it’s this toxicity…
The Depot Theatre’s production of Christina in the Cupboard, by Paul Gilchrist, is bewildering at first, but eventually gets to a thought-provoking point which will have you pondering long into the night. The play, first performed at the Tap Gallery in 2013, is an exploration of one young woman’s retreat inwards as she struggles to…
Melbourne artist Louise Hearman has won the 2016 Archibald Prize with her work, Barry, a hyper-realistic portrait of iconic Australian entertainer Barry Humphries. The Archibald Prize is the preeminent portraiture prize in Australia, and is awarded to annually to the best portrait ‘of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, painted…
In Ira Glass’ own words, this was a melding of two mediums no one ever asked to see in the same show. A mashup (for want of a better term) of radio and interpretive dance, Three Acts, Two Dancers… could be the most pretentious thing you might ever see, but is far from it. The…
Michael Jackson tribute concert HIStory will have attendees questioning what they see in front of their eyes, as impersonator Dantanio is almost as good as the real thing. Over six years since Jackson untimely death, Dantanio emerged after a year-long search to become the world’s most-loved impersonator of the fallen king of pop. He originates…
Simple Infinity successfully combines three art forms to create an enchanting and genuine experience that encourages us to look again. We begin by engaging with the work of artist and designer David Hawkes, who has created both a large-scale installation and performance space. Taking its cue from the infinity sign, Hawkes invites the audience to…
The Sydney Fringe Comedy program is returning next month for it’s sixth year. The program presented by the producers of the Sydney Comedy Festival will run for a month, from the 30th August to the 30th September, and promises to showcase up-and-coming talent alongside some of the more established acts. With other 100 shows from…
Twenty years of travellers’ tales have gone into British comedian Bill Bailey‘s latest show, Larks In Transit, which will be touring Australia and New Zealand later this year. His 15 date tour will see him travel around Australia, sharing tales from two decades as a comedian, from politics, to philosophy, to a painful encounter with Paul…
Breaking attendance predictions made for every year up until 2019, the 2016 Brisbane Anywhere Festival has cemented itself as one of the most successful in the festival’s history – excellent news, just as cuts to arts funding are already causing damage to the industry’s small to medium sector groups. Productions this year took place at abandoned…
In August Sydneysiders will be treated to a very special production of My Fair Lady at the iconic, Sydney Opera House. But if audiences want to see two fair ladies then they have one very special opportunity; that is, to see Dame Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton live and in conversation. The…
Earlier this month, the line-up for the 2016 Brisbane Festival dropped, and this year’s theme is ‘Welcome to Youtopia‘. To celebrate the reveal, and to start getting you all super pumped for a jam-packed September, we’ve compiled a list of the ten shows you’d be mad to miss. We’ve left the countdown in the capable hands…
Brisbane comedian Jenny Wynter will be jetting off to France later this year, to take up a prestigious screenwriting residency at Marseille WebFest. The opportunity comes courtesy of Melbourne WebFest, who chose Wynter’s pitch for comedy Viking Mama as the winner of their inaugural Pitch Perfect Award. A joint venture between Melbourne WebFest and ABC…
As part of the 2016 national tour, Riverside Theatres will present Opera Australia’s brand new production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro this August. We caught up with Director and recent Helpmann nominee Michael Gow ahead of the tour to chat about Mozart’s classic comedy, stunning sets and opera in English! Can you tell us a little bit…
Perth’s FRINGE WORLD Festival has released it’s annual Festival Impact Report, which covers the significant and positive social, cultural, and business impacts the yearly event has on both the city and the state as a whole. 713 events were spread across 159 venues, featuring 3,381 artists, both local and international. It is recognised as the third…
Best selling author Nicole Alexander holds a unique place in the book world as the only female author in the rural literature genre making Australian rural history accessible through her popular fiction. Dividing her time between writing and managing her family’s agricultural holdings, passed down through the generations since 1893, Nicole’s novels are rich with historical detail and…
It’s one of the oldest adages of the stage, but Singin’ in the Rain’s Sydney run – which officially kicked off on Saturday night – has put “the show must go on” very much into practice. The show’s headline star, Adam Garcia, who sustained an injury during one of the final Melbourne performances, won’t be appearing in…
Dantanio is one of the world’s best impersonators that greets the stage. As well as performing as Sammy Davis Jr, he has observed Michael Jackson with a magnified eye since a young age. All that studying has paid off in what is deemed one spectacular show in HIStory – exploring the pop star’s most most…
Once again it is time to go through a whole bunch of fascinating shows, exhibitions and other arty stuff around the country for the month of July. Here are our picks: Cosi Fan Tutte Mozart’s opera about testing fidelity is an intriguing story to music of impossible beauty. Two men disguise themselves as Albanians and…
Yep, you read that title correctly. Superstar comedian Amy Schumer is set to tour Australia and New Zealand this December for the first time*, playing massive indoor arenas around the country. We’d probably be able to make some crude joke here, but we’re sure she’ll have that more than covered in December, as the Inside Amy Schumer and…
Philosopher and best selling author AC Grayling is returning to Australia next month; and will be including a stop in Perth for an out of season Perth International Arts Festival event. One of Britain’s foremost public intellectuals, Grayling will be talking on the subject of his new book The Age of Genius. The address entitled…
Following a successful pop-up season earlier in the year, the Sydney branch of The School of Life will open permanently from the end of the month. Philosopher Alain De Botton first founded the School of Life in 2008 in London, but since then it’s branched out overseas, with Melbourne becoming the first permanent branch outside…
From Friday 15th July, Melbourne’s Gertrude Street, will be bathed in light for ten days, courtesy of the collective of artists behind the Gertrude Street Projection Festival. Now in its 9th year, the festival transforms one of Melbourne’s best-loved streets into a large-scale outdoor art gallery. Thirty-eight sites along or around Gertrude Street will be…
Showcasing the work of over 20 artists from refugee backgrounds, Casula Powerhouse will present a free exhibition, featuring 65 works that aim to humanise both the current refugee crisis and similar situations from global history. With 22 international and Australian artists behind the 65 works on display, over 120 years of refugee history will be…
Now in its 6th year, the Festival of Performing Arts (FOPA) has announced the major acts for the three day festival, which will take place from the 2nd to the 4th of September, in the Surf Coast of Lorne, Victoria. Heading the line-up are Tom Gleeson, Denise Scott, and All Our Exes Live in Texas. Started by the Lorne Community Arts…
As tribute shows go, Queen – It’s A Kinda Magic was widely revered as a huge magical experience that worked very hard to emulate the life and times of Freddie Mercury and his Queen bandmates. So of course it had to come back to Australia. We were lucky enough to have a short chat over email…
The stars of cult TV series Ru Paul’s Drag Race got ready to lip-sync for their lives at Sydney’s Luna Park Big Top this past weekend, arriving in a flurry of sequins, glitter, fake lashes and vertigo-inducing high heels. Fans delighted in performances from some of their favourite artists of the last seven seasons, but those…
Last month saw Vivid Sydney come and go for another year of spectacular lights, music, and ideas, bringing in eyes from around the world as the Harbour city turned into a palate for more than 150 artists from 23 different countries, 658 speakers, and an impressive lineup of live music acts. Of course, attendance seems…
