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Recent reviews
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies (1954), about a group of British schoolboys marooned on a tropical island during a nuclear war, has been adapted for radio, stage, and screen. Acclaimed theatre director Peter Brook’s austere, 1963 black-and-white film, with a superb cast, is by far ...
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The opening scene is a stunner. David Irving (Timothy Spall), top of the pile of Holocaust deniers, is giving a lecture. He is framed by darkness, we do not see the audience. ‘I say to you quite tastelessly,’ he says, ‘that more women died on the back seat of Senator Edward Kennedy’s car ...
... (read more)Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment) ★★★★1/2 and The Walking Dead (Telltale Games) ★★★★
The worlds of literature and video games appear at first glance to be distinctly at odds. Book lovers may feel that playing video games is puerile, a waste of time that could be better spent improving oneself by reading. Some gamers regard books as old hat, a stuffy waste of time that ...
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That Monash University has become a national leader in jazz studies is far from surprising when we consider the calibre of its teaching staff: pianist and composer Paul Grabowsky, saxophonist Rob Burke, trumpeter Paul Williamson, and trombonist Jordon Murray, among others ...
... (read more)Trainspotting Live (In Your Face Theatre/fortyfivedownstairs) ★★★★1/2
When ticketholders are forewarned not to wear white clothing to a small-scale production, feelings of trepidation are understandable. The aptly named ‘In Your Face Theatre’ troupe’s Trainspotting condenses Irvine Welsh’s 1993 critically acclaimed collection of short stories about a ...
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Martin Zandvliet’s Land of Mine is unsettling from the very outset. During the credits a recurring sound becomes audible, then consuming: the sound of heavy, ragged breathing. Sergeant Carl Rasmussen, sitting in Danish army fatigues and a maroon beret, he is watching a column of ...
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How much is too much music? What creates a successful program? The first of András Schiff’s two Tokyo recitals in the splendid Opera City Concert Hall left these and other questions in the forefront of this reviewer’s mind. Advertised under the banner ‘The Last Sonatas’, the pair of recitals ...
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The Australian Ballet opened its first 2017 Melbourne season looking like a new creature – mature, chic, and serious, ready to tackle any challenges choreographers placed in its path ...
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In this fortnight's Update: Marten Bequest Scholarships, The Faith Healer, Bill Henson at the NGV, The Balnaves Award, Art for Epilepsy, Castlemaine State Festival, and a film giveaway from Entertainment One.
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In this fortnight's Update: Ian Potter Museum of Art, Adelaide Festival ends with a bang, Christoph von Dohnányi, ACMI’s new $240,000 VR program, Armando Iannucci, The 2017 National Folk Festival, Shona Martyn, R&R in Melbourne, Yirramboi (Tomorrow) Festival ...
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