Big Name, No Blankets | Andrea James with Anyupa Butcher & Sammy Tjapanangka Butcher
review, musical Catherine Lawrence review, musical Catherine Lawrence

Big Name, No Blankets | Andrea James with Anyupa Butcher & Sammy Tjapanangka Butcher

Each of the actors presented a compelling portrayal of the members of the band. Baykali Ganambarr’s Sammy was humble, modest, honest and a great narrator of the story. Definte highlights included the fantastic vocals and performances by Cassandra Williams (Suzina, Mum & Ensemble), and the superb stage presence and singing by Taj Pigram, as the Warumpi Band frontman.

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Trent Dalton’s Love Stories | Tim McGarry, Trent Dalton and Fiona Franzmann with Brisbane Festival and QPAC
review, theatre Kaylee Vera review, theatre Kaylee Vera

Trent Dalton’s Love Stories | Tim McGarry, Trent Dalton and Fiona Franzmann with Brisbane Festival and QPAC

Following the resounding success of Boy Swallows Universe as a novel, play, and Netflix series, it was almost a given that we would see another of Trent Dalton’s books adapted for the stage. Walking into Love Stories it is nearly impossible to not have expectations. But comparing the two adaptations is unfair, Love Stories is its own experience with a very different narrative approach.

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GRIMM | Shake & Stir
review, theatre Ophelia Novak review, theatre Ophelia Novak

GRIMM | Shake & Stir

Shake & Stir are one of Queensland’s best known theatre companies and they know how to put on a show. GRIMM, their latest offering, was no exception and soared into the self aware, campy horror I love with both glee and skill.

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Dreams & Stories | Queensland Symphony Orchestra with William Barton
review, music Harmonie Downes review, music Harmonie Downes

Dreams & Stories | Queensland Symphony Orchestra with William Barton

Sculthorpe’s Kakadu followed, which was a standout in terms of William Barton’s additions through didgeridoo. Note that this was not part of the original score and something Sculthorpe included after hearing Barton play. In part a beautiful homage between musos. I loved the harmonic shifts of the different instruments mimicking birds, trees, nature and the sometimes flight, fright, freeze and fawn.

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Horizon | Bangarra Dance Theatre
review, dance Catherine Lawrence review, dance Catherine Lawrence

Horizon | Bangarra Dance Theatre

If you are new to Bangarra’s work, then Horizon is for you. If you are looking for a memorable creative and cultural experience, then Horizon is for you. If you want to admire exceptional cutting-edge contemporary dance, with great music, lighting and costumes … Horizon is also for you. angarra’s Horizon is an unmissable experience.

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Dangerous Goods | Polytoxic
review, cabaret Harmonie Downes review, cabaret Harmonie Downes

Dangerous Goods | Polytoxic

If you want to see a subversively hot, femme-fuelled show full of hot babes smashing the patriarchy, go see Dangerous Goods at QPAC. It’s one of the best shows I have seen. Bonus is, there'll be various guest artists throughout this season so no two shows will be the same. You’ve got another three weeks to see this unmissable show.

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Duck Pond | Circa
review, circus BB le Buff review, circus BB le Buff

Duck Pond | Circa

If you enjoy seeing circus performances, you’ll enjoy this show. The cast do a wonderful job and display a wide range of fabulous skills. It won’t be a production that leaves a life-changing impression on you, but you will enjoy it even if you leave somewhat confused by the overall narrative. If, like me, you go in as an audience member with a critical eye for circus and dance productions and with a knowledge of the classical greats however, you may leave somewhat disappointed and confused.

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Common Dissonance | Na Djinang Circus
review, circus Ranjini Ganapathy review, circus Ranjini Ganapathy

Common Dissonance | Na Djinang Circus

Under the purposeful glare of the spotlight, the sight of two bodies cocooned in a tight embrace appeared before us. I saw their fingers endeavouring to make imprints on the skin of the other, pressing and digging into soft tissue. As they pushed themselves into each other while trying to simultaneously pry and peel themselves off the other, I gathered that the uneasy, uncomfortable yoking of their physical beings underscored the theme of common dissonance deliberately right from the get-go.

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The Elephant in the Review
article, poetry, op-ed Claire Alcock article, poetry, op-ed Claire Alcock

The Elephant in the Review

Shows like The Bigger Picture have value whether a white reviewer approves of it or not. As much as I enjoyed it, my review is ultimately an incomplete understanding of the work, because I will never have the lived experience that would allow that level of depth in analysis.

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The Bigger Picture | Sachém, featuring Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra.
review, poetry Claire Alcock review, poetry Claire Alcock

The Bigger Picture | Sachém, featuring Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra.

With the colourful ensemble of Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra providing a sonically vibrant depth to Sachém’s poetic innovation from his 2021 debut EP Part of the Picture, The Bigger Picture is explosive but not unstable, complex yet entirely focused, and expansive without ever being overwhelming. Altogether, the experience is simultaneously the manifestation of the incredible skill and ambition of one man while also being an unreservedly proud celebration of a rich, inclusive community. 

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The Wharf Revue: Looking for Albanese | Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott
review, cabaret Harmonie Downes review, cabaret Harmonie Downes

The Wharf Revue: Looking for Albanese | Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott

The Wharf Revue is an irreverent adventure combining popular culture, cabaret and politics cleverly executed just as much as Scomo ruled the nation singlehandedly and got away with it till he didn’t. This show is just as ambitious as Clive Palmer spending $123 million to win one seat to open another iron ore mine. With such a huge field of contenders to choose from, this show delivers one punch line after the other, meticulously crafted to squeeze out every climate denying, debt defying, corrupted and lying gag possible.

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"It shows how much views are changing on sexuality."  The cast of Blush on making a 'sexy adult circus' more subversive & inclusive
article, interview, circus, cabaret Ads J article, interview, circus, cabaret Ads J

"It shows how much views are changing on sexuality." The cast of Blush on making a 'sexy adult circus' more subversive & inclusive

Some of the reviews we received had a bit of a stab at the male nudity, but not the female nudity, because Australian audiences especially are very used to women being sexualized in that way…  And the success of the show sort of shows how much people are changing, like how much views are changing on sexuality.

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Slava's Snowshow
circus, review Nadia Jade circus, review Nadia Jade

Slava's Snowshow

here were marvels galore, and an endless stream of giddy slapstick, which is the simplest and most beautiful form of comedy that exists. It punches neither up nor down. To understand it requires no language not even the speech of toddlers, for they too grasp the innocent amusement of slapstick effortlessly. To try and fail is the human condition, we know it implicitly.

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Blush | Highwire Entertainment
review, circus, cabaret Ads J review, circus, cabaret Ads J

Blush | Highwire Entertainment

This isn't one of the typical cabarets that tries to sell sexy as performers brushing past each other, femme figures as objects and same-sex desire as queer baiting. Blush makes the titillation of such shows seem like childhood flights of fancy. There is something truly for everyone here, with each performance celebrating love, lust, passion and desire in various forms.

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Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap | QPAC
review, theatre Georgia McKenzie review, theatre Georgia McKenzie

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap | QPAC

For a script written in the 1950s, I was pleasantly surprised by the strong female leading the show. Played by clearly talented actress, Anna O’Byrne, Mollie Ralston was a witty and electrifying character. O’Byrne’s energy filled the stage and was captivating to the very end. The entire cast was incredibly well-suited. I particularly enjoyed Laurence Boxhall’s performance of Christopher Wren, a delightfully peculiar character that was often times the comic relief.

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Holding Achilles | Dead Puppet Society & Legs on the Wall
review, theatre, physical theatre Catherine Lawrence review, theatre, physical theatre Catherine Lawrence

Holding Achilles | Dead Puppet Society & Legs on the Wall

Morton’s Holding Achilles’ queer lens, and re-gendering/de-gendering of key roles, offers fascinating new insights into an old story. My two strongest ‘ah-ha’ moments connected with the themes of parent/child legacies, and about the true nature of heroism - are heroes those who have the short lives that are celebrated in epic tales, or those who seek the ordinary long lives that are celebrated on the warrior’s shield?

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Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella | Crossroads Live
review, musical Georgia McKenzie review, musical Georgia McKenzie

Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella | Crossroads Live

Advertised as a “surprisingly contemporary take on the classic tale”*, this 2013 adaptation of Rogers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella fails to deliver any refreshing takes on the outdated traditional fairy tale. While there are certainly elements that are different from the well-known story—new characters, additional parties, expanded motivations for characters, and shoe things—the main problematic and patriarchal factors from the original plot remain intact.

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