Directed by Susan O'Toole Cridland

Written by Louis Nowra

Reviewed by Fiona Bell

It’s 1971 and young Lewis, straight out of university, takes up a job offer to direct a play for a group of inmates in a metal institution. The most eager and sardonic of this wayward trope is Roy, who cajoles the disparate group into performing Mozart’s opera Cosi Fan Tutte. To his despair and our amusement, Roy’s fellow performers can’t sing opera or speak Italian, let alone act. The mayhem that ensues as Roy’s vision transforms is driven by the strength and appeal of these wonderful characters.

The Australian Film Festival ended a great second year with a huge party at “The Spot” Randwick on Sunday night. The streets were closed for Randwick City Council's Spot Food and Film Festival and over 25,000 fans gathered for the closing night celebrations as stars Garry Sweet and Jack Thompson had their names cemented in gold plaques outside Sydney’s iconic art-deco cinema – The Ritz.

Written by Roland Schimmelpfennig

Directed by Cristabel Sved

Reviewed by Adam Norris

Occasionally I worry that I mention H. P. Lovecraft too often in these reviews. After all, how much eldritch horror from Beyond the Madness of the Sun can really be depicted on stage and still be conventionally referred to as theatre? Surely that very first sight of a half-man, half-fish monstrosity strutting across the boards with top hat and tails (literally) would be enough to convince even the most open-minded of patrons that the Good Old Days of theatre have disappeared, gibbering madly as they scurried off into the night. Although I’m fully aware that in order for theatre to come full circle we must reach a stage where certain members of the audience (usually those most buxom, or whose name unfortunately happens to be Fay) are ritualistically sacrificed to appease the producer, I’m not convinced that time is upon us quite yet.

Reviewed by Ian Lipke

 

As its title suggests, Suddenly, Last Winter: An Election Diary is the story told in diary form of one man’s perceptions of the downfall of Prime Minister Rudd and of Julia Gillard’s search for election to power in her own right. It contains acidic observations of the major personalities and of the practices we, as a nation, hold dear. Always, there is a searching mind behind the observations, holding all up to rational thought and discriminating criticism. Interspersed with political commentary is Ellis’s critique of his other great love, the theatre.

Reviewed by Julie Kearney 

 

I have fond memories of sitting in the air-conditioned comfort of Kolkata’s famous Seagull Bookshop being fed cups of fragrant chai while thumbing through esoteric and beautifully packaged volumes of art.  Not for Seagulls the noisy coffee shop plonked down among its wares; instead it favours the elegant ambience of a well-to-do gentleman’s library.  This same bookshop, as it turns out, is linked through Seagull Books with the translation and publication of Tzvetan Todorov’s latest work, The Limits of Art.   Not surprisingly, therefore, the cover design by Sunandini Banerjee with its reference to Russian Constructivist painting is stunningly gorgeous; the only surprise lies in realising that many of the books I enjoyed that day in Kolkata were actually in-house publications.

Reviewed by George Ivanoff 

 

Apparently is all started as a bit of a joke. Authors Justine Larbalestier (Liar) and Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles), had an ongoing, tongue-in-cheek blogging war about zombies and unicorns—which of these two fictional creations held greater merit? The blogging started a tidal wave of interest that spread across the Internet. Then someone thought that these two authors editing a collection of zombie and unicorn stories would make a good book. Well, it didn’t. Zombies vs Unicorns is not a good book —it’s an AWESOME book!

Reviewed by Michael Dalton

 

An effective rejoinder to the recent documentary Inside Job, a mind-boggling examination of the 2008 financial crisis, The Company Men takes on the human side of the fallout, focusing on the personal aftermath of economic downsizing. Of course it’s still all about the numbers but it’s also a wakeup call to the suits who are living too high on the hog and not prepared for the harsh realities. 

Reviewed by Michael Dalton

 

Fans of Roman Polanski’s classic 1974 noir Chinatown should get a real kick out of Rango, a riotous reworking complete with copper coloured clues and a villainous mayor standing in for John Huston. Of course, Johnny Depp is no Jack Nicholson but he more than makes up for it with an inspired, elastic performance in this fast paced animated adventure that deserves a broad audience. In fact, the adults may love it more than the kids.

By Pat Reid

Welcome to the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival 2011. Now into its 22nd year, the festival has a line up of 46 films, with many films being Australian premieres. Some of the highlights include, Angele and Tony, a complicated love story of two lost souls. My Father's Guest, a comedy where siblings discover their father has disinherited them for the love of a younger woman, A Perfect Date, where best buddies try to find the perfect woman and learn how not to lose her, and Bus Palladium, a bitter-sweet rock n roll story about the choices one makes and the future consequences.

The Alliance Francaise Film Festival is showing in Melbourne from March 9th - 27th at the Palace Como, Palace Balwyn, Palace Westgarth, Palace Brighton Bay and Kino Cinemas. See the festival web site for other Australian capital cities.

 

After sell out seasons at Sydney Festival 2010 and 2011, Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the indomitable Smoke & Mirrors returns to Sydney for one final season in May at the Seymour Centre. Part vaudeville, part fantasy, Smoke & Mirrors is a lavish and lyrical journey across an illusory landscape. The extraordinary iOTA is the sultry, insatiable and enigmatic ringmaster, accompanied by some dangerously charismatic strangers, all performing a host of original musical numbers backed by a formidable live band.