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On the morning of 19 May, a year ago today, Australians awoke to the news that Carlton’s beloved La Mama Theatre had been gutted by fire, the blaze sparked by an electrical fault in the two-storey brick building constructed in 1883. Coming so soon after La Mama had celebrated its 50th anniversary the year prior, the
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Game of Thrones is undoubtedly the biggest show in the world. And this week it is also undoubtedly the most controversial. Daenerys Targaryen’s decision to ignore the surrender of King’s Landing and instead go on a brutal rampage of destruction with her dragon has ignited the show’s fan base. Waves of hate mail have been
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Jo Caust is Associate Professor and Principal Fellow (Hon), University of Melbourne Labor launched its arts policy in Melbourne on Saturday. The new policy document is called “Renewing Creative Australia”, paying homage to Labor’s two previous cultural policy documents; “Creative Nation” in 1994 and “Creative Australia” in 2013. The policy includes a commitment to restore funding
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In this remarkably honest interview, recorded just days before the Federal Election, The Chosen Minister returns to the Office of Empathy to talk about the Earth, student climate strikes and deference to the Ultimate Leader. This is the last in a series of videos in the lead-up to Saturday’s Federal Election 2019 conducted by the Minister for Empathy*,
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How do the major political parties understand Australia’s culture and what vision do they offer for our future asks Esther Anatolitis, the executive director of the National Association for the Visual Arts. We’ve got Labor who’ve launched a comprehensive policy after extensive consultation; the Greens, who’ve released a considered policy without a launch nor consultation;
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What a vile piece of art is Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho. What a toxically sexist, nefariously homophobic, grossly classist, shameless celebration of undue privilege and abject narcissism. So why is this musical treatment of his novel, making its Australian debut at the Hayes Theatre, so much fun? Oh, it’s transgressive, we’re told, a satire
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Darwin has a strong cultural heartbeat. Its beginnings can be traced to creatives who have come and gone and to many who remain, their influence shaping our perceptions and narratives about place. There is a thirst for visual representation from artists that habituate in this place. One of these artists consummating our desire for iconography
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For an unadaptable novel, Tim Winton’s cherished Cloudstreet sure has been adapted a lot. Just a couple of years ago there was the admirable opera version (State Opera of South Australia). The inevitable prestige television mini-series (Foxtel) landed in 2010. There was even a radio play (ABC Radio National) back in the ‘90s. The most
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Fire and Blood – the Targaryen family words are as much a warning as they are of a description of their close ties to dragons. For the first time in a long time, the citizens of Westeros were reminded of the true horror that implies. After eight seasons of set-up, ‘The Bells’ finally delivered upon
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The Human Rights Arts and Film Festival is in Melbourne until May 23 and in Canberra from May 22-25. Hannah Carrodus reviews three of its highlights. Click on film title for details and times. The Panama Papers “Who’s surprised that bad guys hide their money? Nobody is saying that’s a surprise,”McClatchy reporter Kevin Hall muses in The
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