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If you ever wanted to get up close and personal with The King in his heyday, here is your chance to do so in retrospect.   As a follow up to his 2022 biographical film Elvis, Baz Luhrmann has crafted a compelling documentary in which Presley is front and centre, larger than life.   Most of the time, Elvis is shot in close up, appearing just in front of your face, making the great music for which he was renowned, forever gyrating.   What extraordinary stage presence! The visua

What makes life meaningful? Why do we do what we do?   These large existential questions are dealt with humorously and poignantly in Jean Tong’s Do Not Pass Go.   Flux (Ella Prince) walks into a new job needing the money for a sex change operation … for they are not comfortable in their own skin.   There they meet the strait-laced, by the book mother of a 15-year-old daughter, Penny (Belinda McClory).  Photos by Pia Johnson Flux has been hired after the firm with high expecta

White man has a lot to answer for … and Black Light makes it clear just how much in an expressive family drama with comedic elements.   A cataclysmic event envelopes the nation. Planes have been grounded. Blackouts are frequent. There is no choice but to wait it out.   Outside Darwin, three generations of the one clan reflect on the importance of Country and the ills that have befallen Australia’s First Peoples since colonial rule. Photos by Pia Johnson That includes displace

Sexually charged, Pillion is a dramatic comedy that opens the door on relationships between gay men with a dominatrix mentality.   Written and directed by Harry Lighton, it is based on the 2020 book Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones, which was set in the pre-AIDS era.   Colin (Harry Melling) is an introverted, naïve homosexual parking officer who lives with his kind-hearted parents in London.  Pete (Douglas Hodge) and his wife Peggy (Lesley Sharp), who is dying, but is not backward

The power and punch of Martin Crimp’s 2019 free adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac , as superbly realised by Artefact Theatre Company, will stay with me for a long time.   It is a sharp, modern version of Edmond Rostand’s classic love triangle , set in 17 th century France, with toxic masculinity at its core.   Insecurity and self-loathing are mainstays.   The play contains poetry, rap and a liberal amount of swearing.   No prosthetic nose is within sight, nor elaborate perio

Eleven-year-old Juniper May is different.   With artists for parents, she is smart, speaks her mind and loves robots.   Her favourite is drawn from a short-lived Japanese animated 1983 television series known as Battletac. A loner, Juni doesn’t fit in with others and doesn’t want to go to school.   In the back garden is an old recycling bin she has named Gomi that contains all sorts of childhood treasures.   There is an animal mask, a doll’s head, a small robot made from thre

Bittersweet, comes this slapstick, but poignant tale of sisters looking to escape from their mundane small-town (Dumfordton, population 340 and falling) existence.   To do so, with her school dropout, songwriting little sister Shannon’s (Alana Louise) undying support, 25-year-old Jodi (Sarah Palmieri) has her heart set on winning Simon Cowell’s the X-Factor. Photos by Nina Hopley Shannon has a history of picking the winners of that talent competition and next year she firmly

Irreverent, crude, witty, clever and lyrically and vocally adept, The Book of Mormon is an hilarious religious satire.   It is a rolled gold hoot from start to finish.   Not for naught did it win nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, a Grammy and four Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical.   It starts with a quick, quirky and humorous pantomime about the formation of the Church of Latter Day Saints.  Photo by Daniel Boud Then, we are into the body of the story, a cre

A star is born. Such is the impact of sweet-voiced Belle Parkinson in the lead role in the up-tempo musical inspired by many of ABBA’s hit songs.   From her first melodic note, she is utterly captivating as the bright and breezy Sophie Sheridan, who – on the cusp of her wedding day – yearns to know who her father is. Photos by Natalie Edge Photography Energetic and heaps of good-natured fun, Mamma Mia! is unquestionably a mood lifter – a spirited delight.   With music and lyr