LAUGHTER isn’t usually associated with a Greek tragedy, especially one about a mother killing her sons. But Kate Mulvany and Anne-louise Sarks’ re-writing of Medea in a modern setting had the audience chuckling away. Tragedy The script is skilfully brought to life by young teen actors Jesse Vakatini and Jalen Hewitt, who play brothers Leon…

LEEDERVILLE photographer Jessica Eva is helping to empower Indian women who have been sexually assaulted. For her latest exhibition Woman in Red, Eva travelled to Lucknow in India to photograph young women – some still in school – who had been sexually assaulted and in many cases gang-raped. She says she felt compelled to meet…

POETS from around the world will be in town for the launch of the 15th Perth Poetry Festival next Friday (August 9). The two-week festival includes slam and anti-slam poetry, wellness poetry and a host of fascinating workshops. South Fremantle poet Carolyn Abbs will do readings from her new collection The Tiny Museums, which flits…

PERTH muso Katy Steele says motherhood has helped give her upcoming album Soul Bride a looser feel. The former Little Birdy frontwoman is still putting the final touches to the album, but will showcase some of the new material at her gig at the Rosemount Hotel next Saturday (August 3). Steele and her partner Graham…

A NEW exhibition open this weekend at the Bon Marche Arcade examines the struggle of retired farmers in China. They receive just 88 RMB (the official Chinese currency) a month to survive. To put that in context, that’s less than $20 Aussie dollars. Photographer Tami Xiang gave obliging farmers 88 RMB to spend and captured…

WHILE orchestras elsewhere funk themselves up by playing with rock bands, Perth Symphony Orchestra is the rock band in its production Love Him Madly: The Doors Reimagined. Rock bands inevitably swamp an orchestra, says PSO head Bourby Webster. “Rock bands just drown them out, you are never going to hear the second cello.” In Love…

MT LAWLEY playwright Charlotte Otton’s feminist cabaret Feminah is back to wreak more vulgar hilarity on Blue Room Theatre’s new Winter Nights festival. The show was a big hit at this year’s Fringeworld Perth where it picked up an award, and has also scored a gong for “tour ready” show from the Melbourne fringe –…

A RANGE of established and emerging Indigenous artists tell a story of standing strong and celebrating their heritage and  culture at Gallery Central for NAIDOC Week. I See You, I Hear You explores non-verbal communication through gesture, clothing and adornments, and features artists such as Minang Noongar Christopher Pease, who uses native flora as a…

After a terrible bushfire, an injured Magpie and Dog form an unexpected friendship, sharing a deep bond, until…into their midst a Fox arrives! Adapted from the book by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks, Fox is a thrilling fusion of puppetry and dance, presented by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Fox takes you on a journey through scorched scrubland…

NU WAVE Festival is a weekend of hip hop music, dance, competitions, and open mic. The event also includes performances from a new wave of emerging professional artists 25 and under. It’s on at YMCA HQ Leederville and is a drug and alcohol free event. “Free entry allows the community to be part of it,…