Arts

Zinnie Harris’s adaptation of Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, in this Spinning Plates production at fortyfivedownstairs, opens on a sombre wasteland setting, bathed in eerie yellow light. In a sudden blaze of colour, a raucous rabble of ordinary characters, rendered extraordinary by Dann Barber’s bold and anarchic costumes, invades the stage. The energy is starkly at odds with Jacob Battista and Dann Barber’s superbly contained and claustrophobic staging. From this heightened theatrical world – part pantomime, part circus – we brace for a wild ride.

How does a ten-day festival in Townsville (Gurambilbarra) in tropical Far North Queensland, with a line-up of thirty-five top musicians from Australia and across the world, go from strength to strength in a difficult economic climate? Maybe it’s because the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, with a track record of more than thirty years, is so much more than a music event.

Andrew Ford is a composer, writer, and broadcaster, and has won awards in all three capacities, including the prestigious Paul Lowin Prize for his song cycle, Learning to Howl. His music has been played throughout Australia and in more than forty countries around the world. Since 1995 he has presented The Music Show each weekend on ABC Radio National. He is the author of eleven books, including The Song Remains the Same: 800 years of love songs, laments and lullabies (with Anni Heino). We review his new book, The Shortest History of Music.

Angela Hewitt, one of the world’s leading concert pianists, appears in recital and as soloist with major orchestras throughout Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Asia. Her interpretations of the music of J.S. Bach have established her as one of the composer’s foremost interpreters of our time. Her latest Australian tour takes in Adelaide, Melbourne, Bendigo, and Sydney, from 9 to 15 October.

Noni Hazlehurst – actor, presenter, ambassador, director, writer, and broadcaster – has been a presence on our screens and stages since her leading role in The Sullivans in 1976. Notable works include Play School (1978-2002), Monkey Grip (1982), Fran (1985), Better Homes and Gardens (1995-2004), Every Family Has a Secret (2019-24), Nancy Wake (1987), The Shiralee (1987), Curtin (2007), and A Place to Call Home (2013-18). Her theatrical appearances have earned multiple awards and she has received several ARIA nominations for her recordings for children. We review Hazlehurst’s memoir, Dropping the Mask, in the November issue.

Nilaveli, on the north-east coast of Sri Lanka, is a long way from Sydney’s S.H. Ervin Gallery, but when in 2017 I visited the exhibition Margaret Olley: painter, peer, mentor, muse, which traced the links between Olley and her circle, the name of one of her fellow artists took me straight back to the white sands of Nilaveli Beach.