Front Page Archive

Gripping finals matches, success for our Australian players and outstanding attendance figures highlighted the 2013 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. Considered as the first of the four ‘Grand Slam’ tennis events of the year, the Australian Open is conducted on the picturesque …

The first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander playwriting festival to be held in Sydney in two decades is now underway with six playwrights chosen to showcase their work this week. The last Indigenous playwriting festival was held in Adelaide in 2000; the …

Vampire Weekend is a band in demand.  On the afternoon of the gig I ended up with a spare ticket at late notice due to illness. After offering it for sale on Gumtree the phone didn’t stop beeping all night. While it’s a …

I meet blues musician Ash Grunwald on Australia Day, a few hours before his gig in The Rocks. Ash lounges on a couch, with aviator sunglasses nestled in his dreadlocks and a guitar at his side. As I approach him, I tiptoe …

Big Day Out has provided great experiences for me over the past three years with memories that will live on. But I found this year’s event was not what it was in 2011. Each year Big Day Out attracts a bigger crowd …

Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey is a cinematic masterpiece and an epic trek through space and time. Now, 35 years after the film’s release, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Philharmonic Choir have taken Kubrick’s film into a whole …

For some people Australia Day is about fireworks, Aussie flags, Australian of the Year awards or a day off work with barbecues and  entertainment. For others it is Invasion Day, Sovereignty Day or Survival Day.  Not a day to celebrate. In fact, …

A bold new production of the  much-acclaimed Torch Song Trilogy will be among the artistic and cultural events held during the three-week Sydney Mardi Gras 2013 festival. Directed by Stephen Colyer (Kiss of the Spider Woman, Paris Letter, Hello Again) and with a stellar cast that includes Simon …

Most Sydneysiders sought refuge in air-conditioned offices or shopping centres on Friday when the temperature hit 45 degrees. Instead, I joined a sweaty, swarming crowd of 50, 000 music fans at the Big Day Out. With a bottle of sunscreen and a …

The rhythmic patter of rain on the tent wakes us before our alarm: 3:30a.m. Whose idea was this again? We step out into the pitch black and are met by our smiling guide, Made, who hands us torches and ponchos. How can …