“Wet seats all around.” AS covid-enforced proximity has tried and torn at personal relationships, so has it tested connection to place.  In Western Australia, we are fortunate for the enormous breadth and depth of local artistic talent that has made it a true pleasure to be stuck here.  This year’s Perth International Burlesque Festival has a…

LET’S face it, the entertainment at the AFL Grand Final is no Super Bowl halftime show. Over the years it has veered wildly from showcasing big-name overseas acts past their best to popular but overfamiliar Aussie bands that lack a bit of stardust. Oh, and every so often we had a toe-curling moment of car…

IF you thought the recent Hollywood adaptation of Cats was slightly weird, wait until you see the wacky feline critter in Unheimlich. Featuring a house cat that acts as a mischievous guide, the audience is taken on a darkly-comic voyage through the dreams and memories of a suburban couple, touching on their subconscious fears and…

DESPITE all the obstacles thrown up by covid, this year’s Perth International Jazz Festival will be the biggest yet with the jazzers embarking on a tour of regional WA. Festival director Mace Francis says a $612,000 federal arts grant has enabled them to hire people to work on the festival all year around, whereas previously…

CHOPPER’S back. The classic Australian movie has been digitally remastered for a 20th anniversary edition with bonus footage and a limited release in cinemas across Australia. Chopper has never been shown on streaming services in Australia, adding to the myth and cult following it has attracted since hitting the big screen in 2000. Featuring a…

THE conflicting emotions of lockdown are beautifully documented by Perth artist Jo Darbyshire in her latest exhibition Fennel and Crow – The Long Quiet. During her one hour of exercise a day, Darbyshire sought refuge in the abandoned golf courses and industrial areas around Fremantle, as well as nearby Booyeembara Park, which has serpentine trails,…

“ALAS, poor middle-aged white male. I knew him well…” Women take centre stage in Unbound, a reinterpretation of Shakespeare in which females are empowered and don’t take any nonsense from men. Using dialogue cut and pasted from Shakespeare’s entire canon, Blank Space Productions have created a lively and clever work that better reflects women in…

THE link between Aboriginal culture and the wonders of the universe are explored in the ground-breaking film Star Dreaming at CinefestOZ. Featuring WA’s first mobile dome cinema, filmgoers will be immersed in the magical tale of two children exploring the cosmos through the world’s largest radio telescope and the ancient story-telling of Yamaji artists from…

PERTH student Tanna Wasserman has taken the fashion industry to task with a dress made entirely from dehydrated fruit and vegetables. Alarmed that the fashion industry is one of the leading culprits of environmental degradation, the year 12 Carmel pupil created the artwork Made from 100% fruit for the WA Art Gallery exhibition Pulse Perspectives. “I…

#METOO protests may have slipped from the front pages, but the pause in finger-pointing and shaming has opened the way for the arts to take a nuanced – but still pointy – look at where to next. Fremantle Theatre Company will follow up last year’s debut breakthrough featuring Grey’s Anatomy star Kate Davies with a local…