Campbell Newman is like the character Newman (pictured) in Seinfeld, Minister for Industrial Relations and Education Cameron Dick said today. “Like the postman in Seinfeld, Campbell Newman is known for his shonky, shoddy and grand schemes that eventually come to nothing. Like the postman, Campbell Newman loves his position, loves his status, but never delivers,” […]

Many brick-and-mortar bookstores are faced with the fact that readers are increasingly buying books in digital form or from internet marketplaces. Borders bookchain in the United States announced bankruptcy last month and the Australian chain announced voluntary administration the next day. We came to the Borders store in Brisbane’s CBD to ask shoppers if they […]

With the US film industry’s annual Academy Awards having their big event last night, we asked Brisbane people whether they watched the telecast of the ceremony – and what they thought of it. Camera and production supervision: David Douglas Stuart

Brisbane’s second-oldest convict-built structure was a victim of the 2011 floods. A retaining wall at the Royal Historical Society of Queensland’s museum at the old Commisariat Store in William St partially collapsed after a water main under the footpath burst. The building is only one of two remaining structures built by convicts in Brisbane – […]

New Farm Nash Theatre Blood and butchery, swords and sorcery, tyranny and tragedy, murder and mayhem,  daggers and death are all promised in promotions for Nash Theatre’s production of Macbeth.  It’s a promise the cast are clearly driven to deliver as much as Lady Macbeth in her wanton desire for the throne. Brenda White’s decision […]

West End landmark Trash Video closes its doors for the last time this weekend, but owner and fan of exploitation movies Andrew Leavold has plenty of things to do after locking up on Sunday night. For a start, he’ll be making his own movies. Leavold (pictured) says he opened Trash Video in 1995 “because I […]

Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art beat hundreds of international galleries to win the first overseas exhibit of the revered Parisian Valentino exhibit. Valentino Retrospective Past/Present/Future was unveiled in Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art last weekend in the exhibit’s first display outside Paris. It follows Valentino Garavini and the fashion powerhouse over the decades since 1959. […]

“Sex won’t save you, but a good story – yes!” said a smiling Brenda Walker, award-winning author and academic. She appeared with fellow literary scholars Stuart Glover and David Carter in a panel discussion on “The Art of Reading” at Avid Reader in West End on Tuesday night. In a discussion chaired by newly published […]

Fractal Theatre (Metro Arts Theatre, Brisbane) Reading between the lines of Shakespeare’s Hamlet there is little doubt that the prince of Denmark had his way with the daughter of the king’s minister, Polonius – or at least tried to. Steven Berkoff speculates about the possibilities in this clever parallelquel to Hamlet, reminiscent of Tom Stoppard’s […]

New Farm Nash Theatre The wheels within wheels, the corruption, the bribery and the back room deals are as much a feature of modern politics as they were one hundred years ago.- Nigel Munro-Wallis, director. Set in London’s Grosvenor Square, Oscar Wilde’s classic play begins at a dinner party hosted by the wealthy and highly […]

For refugees escaping persecution in their homeland, adjusting to Australian culture can be difficult. Refugee inclusion groups in Brisbane are using sport and music to break down social barriers, not only between refugees and the Australian community, but also between separate cultures within the refugee community. Brisbane Women’s Volleyball coach Mandy Cox said sporting clubs […]

Thousands of lords and ladies turned out to re-create history and celebrate all things medieval at Caboolture last weekend. The Abbey Medieval Tournament included medieval markets, dancing, mock battles and jousting, as well as new events horse archery and falcolnry. Abbey Museum CEO Edith Cuffe said the festival was the largest of its kind in […]

Waiters and waitresses raced up and down Queen Street Mall on Friday, forbidden to spill a drop from the glasses of wine on the trays they carried. They were celebrating Italian Week which runs from 26 May to 2 June. The Waiters’ Race, or Corsa dei Camerieri, saw staff from some of Brisbane’s Italian restaurants […]

“A Girl” is Ron Mueck’s scuplture of a nude newborn baby complete with blood smeared on her body and a purple-blue umbilical cord still attached. The baby is quite ugly, suggesting a challenge to the idea of beautiful and innocent childhood. This sculpture is of no innocent, but of a primal force of nature. One […]

Queenslanders flocked to the Paniyiri Festival in record numbers over the weekend to enjoy all things Greek. More than 75,000 people attended the two-day event compared to last year’s attendance of about 45,000. About 30,000 people went to the Festival on Saturday alone, a 40 percent increase on last year’s attendance for the same day, according to marketing consultant Lorraine Monsorte.