Arts and Entertainment Archive

The Merchant of Venice With standout performances in the key roles of Portia and Shylock, as well as those of Bassiano, Lorenzo and Jessica, this is a memorable Merchant of Venice and – as has proved normal with the three plays I …

What to make of Eva Peron? Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s bio musical of the former Argentine First Lady doesn’t answer the question (far too hard, would take far too long!) and lets the adulating crowds, the cynical narrator Che and …

In a world of ‘fake news’, rotating prime ministers and scandals of all kinds, Dario Fo’s 1969 comedy about corruption is as relevant as ever. Here, in the able hands of director Sarah Giles, it is presented as pure farce and is …

Life wasn’t meant to be easy, and there’s certainly a lot of unease in this tale. Two 19-year-olds, incapable of looking after themselves, have a baby. The authorities step in, led by a veteran social worker, and declare neglect (always a potentially …

If Stephen Karam didn’t have Tolstoy’s famous phrase “each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” in his head when he was writing The Humans, then he missed a trick. Because this family of humans is exceedingly unhappy, each one of …

Everyone loves a ‘loose cannon’ or the black sheep of the family, and Rake is the lone voice in this sea of demands who has been ripped from the courtroom and tossed into the senate with his notorious self-destructive behaviour. Throw in …

Oh, what a night! A rags to riches story, amazing singers and dancers, slick choreography, enthusiasm and a huge cache of hit songs that will have you singing all the way home. What’s not to like? Jersey Boys, the story of Frankie …

In short: Fabulous! I have never enjoyed a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream more. It’s joyful from start to finish and the venue is a treat in itself. Now, for some more information. It is not often that a Shakespeare play …

In 2004, Mark Taylor was travelling across Argentina and discovered countless Latin American films he felt needed to be showcased in Australia.  Scoping across horror, fantasy, comedy, family friendly animation, shorts, documentaries and mockumentaries, Taylor returned home to Australia and launched the …

Since Ray Charles created Soul music in the mid-1950s by combining Gospel ecstasy with the secular (and sexual) themes of the Blues, the genre has given us almost an embarrassment of astonishing vocalists. Charles himself, Smokey Robinson, David Ruffin, Chaka Khan, Otis …