A striking image of African migrants raising their phones to catch an elusive signal took out first prize in this year’s World Press Photo contest. The image, “Signal”, is on display at the New South Wales State Library in Sydney as part of a touring exhibition of the best photos. The year-long exhibition, which travels […]

New Farm Nash Theatre Shuffles were seen from the audience as they leant forward in their seats, waiting in awe for that historic cry. “STELLAAAAAAA!” cried the slick Stanley, played by Tristan Ozinga. With a great, powerful scream, ears trembled and eyes widened. Would Stella take back her beloved Stanley? A cast of 10 brings […]

As the most highly anticipated film event of the year, the most obvious question is whether The Dark Knight Rises lives up to the hype. Director Christopher Nolan found great success when he re-introduced the world to the beloved Batman. There are many elements which make this film great – the portrayal of iconic Batman […]

The masterpieces of Prado take their audience on a journey of religion, mythology and sainthood in the Queensland Art Gallery exhibition “Portrait of Spain”. As you step into the largest most significant international loan undertaken by Madrid’s museum, Museo Nacional del Prado, you feel as though you are stepping through the corridors of Madrid. Dr […]

“Today you are going to enter the past of my life. Three things are carried by my wounded heart: love, despair, pain!” The Tango los Mareados frames tonight’s Winter Ball as we swirl past and dip into the lives and loves of Racine’s Phedre, Flaubert’s Emma Bovary, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler. Director […]

What do you get when you take a bit of Truman Show, mix in a little Evil Dead and of course the secret ingredient: a whole lot of love? You get: The Cabin in the Woods. The film is the brainchild of geek-god Joss Whedon (Buffy, Avengers) and Drew Goddard (Angel, Lost, Cloverfield), with Goddard […]

Opera Queensland’s production of The Mikado fizzes with charm which belies its serious message. Flirting, the capital crime in The Mikado, reflects the hot potato of London politics in March 1885: child prostitution. The age of consent was raised from 13 to 16 some months later – after a sensationalist newspaper article (“The Maiden Tribute”) […]

I loved Sarah Polley’s impressive 2006 directorial debut film Away From Her. She showed a subtle hand in depicting an elderly couple dealing with the onset of Alzheimer’s without sinking into midday movie territory. In this her second feature film, the young Canadian actress, writer and director takes on the topic of marital infidelity. The […]

If Iron Sky were to be summarised in two words it would have to be “Moon Nazis”. As a fun idea for a B-movie it’s up there with Snakes on a Plane and Lesbian Vampire Killers. But much like those two movies, a single clever idea isn’t quite enough to sustain Iron Sky through its […]

A mother comforts her injured son. The scene echoes the Christian iconography of the Pietà – Mary holding a crucified Jesus. Except this mother and son are inside a mosque. On display at the Brisbane Powerhouse as part of the 55th annual World Press Photo exhibition is the Photo of the Year for 2011, taken […]

From the opening shot of an oval, pebble shaped ship rumbling away before a sickly white human-looking individual you know you are watching a film which is unabashedly science fiction. The plot centers on an expedition to uncover the meaning behind a cryptograph depicting a constellation placed in a 25,000-year-old cave on earth. The mission: […]

Kate Forsyth’s novel Bitter Greens interleaves the scandalous life of Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force (1650-1724) with Persinette (“Little Parsley”), her retelling of Petrosinella – the first published Rapunzel tale – by Giambattista Basile (1634). Mademoiselle de la Force changed the ending to have the prince’s eyes healed by Persinette’s tears and to redeem […]

Le Havre is a fairy tale. Set amidst domestic shabbiness and commercial ugliness in the French port city from which it takes its name, it radiates a charm buoyant yet wistful. Finnish writer-director Aki Kaurismäki has composed a film about small miracles which is itself a small miracle. Its deceptively subdued surface shimmers with wonders […]

Everyone deserves a happy ending, don’t they? From the producers and writers of LOST comes a fairytale ending, but not for everyone! This series has put its own delicious spin on the once beloved fairytales we grew up reading and explores each character in two different worlds. The evil queen’s curse is the main reason […]

Local community theatre company New Farm Nash Theatre have achieved an entertaining and engaging production of this romantic but dark comedy. In spite of a shoestring budget, the enthusiasm and dedication of the cast and crew make this more memorable and intimate than many bigger budget productions. The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s […]