THE Proclaimers’ Charlie Reid has labelled the British monarchy an “embarrassing hangover from feudal society” and backed calls for Australia to ditch it, ahead of their gig at Perth Concert Hall next week. The famous Scottish duo, Charlie and twin brother Craig, have been playing together for more than 40 years and turn 61 in…

AN unlikely friendship between 101-year-old retired cray fisherman Bill Newbold and 16-year-old Coogee artist Finn Brophy has been the catalyst for a touching artwork. They were paired up as part of The Centenarian Portrait Project by Teenagers, which sees young, budding artists chat to centenarians and create a portrait of them to help dispel negative…

SEE RAMPAGE ELECTRA AT THE WA MADE FILM FESTIVAL on FEBRUARY 24. TICKETS HERE Fremantle Prison has seen some horrors down the years and that continues when it takes centre stage in the gripping action thriller Rampage Electra. Written and directed by Hassibullah Kushkaki, the film was shot extensively in WA with locations ranging from…

HE started WA’S first experimental radio station 100 years ago, played a key role in creating Perth’s first commercial radio station 6WF and The Royal Flying Doctor radio service, and had many technical firsts in his field, but most sandgropers will have never heard of Walter “Wally” Coxon. Well now the “Godfather of Perth radio”…

KIDS driving you nuts at the tail end of the school holidays?  Sick of going to the beach and the hot weather? It might be time for a little edification and air con – step forward the WA Museum Boola Bardip. They’ve got some cracking summer exhibitions for a broad range of ages and interests…

EVEN in his darkest hour, Michael Shafar still saw the funny side to losing a bollock to testicular cancer – “I finally feel comfortable in skinny jeans”. Diagnosed in 2017, the Aussie comic underwent chemotherapy and several rounds of surgery. He got the all clear, but relapsed in 2020 and had more chemo and went…

A FRANK exploration of masturbation, a jazzy take on mental health and a heavyhearted look at happiness are three of the shows heading our way for the 2023 Perth Fringe World. When soprano Phoebe Deklerk was growing up, nudity was normal at home and her mother actively encouraged her to “flick your bean” from a young age so…

IT all started when choreographer Jacob Watton was living with his IT-mad brother and the “chalk and cheese” siblings clashed over the use of in-home technology. In every room there was an Alexa smart home device – which can turn on lights using voice commands and is up for a chat – but arty Jacob…

IF you’re over turkey leftovers by new year, check out a different species of bird at the unique concert Life on Land’s Edge at Government House in Perth. The sublime playing of The Bowerbird Collective – Simone Slattery on violin, Anthony Albrecht on cello – will accompany stunning footage of migratory birds making their way across…

JOANNA MORRISON says her first novel The Ghost of Gracie Flynn is proof that “writing is actually writing”.  Gracie, the novel’s ghostly narrator, didn’t appear in the first two drafts and only took her central role in the final rewrite before Morrison posted the manuscript off to be judged in the Hungerford Award. It was…