On turning into a crrritic

This might surprise some of you, but I never really meant to be a Critic. I began with an irresistible loquacity, a desire to talk about the...

Fabulous women

My paean to the women on our stages is in today's Australian. And yes, it was a hard list to make.

Review: Quartet

Artaud, the language of pain. Writing from the experience that the masterworks are the accomplices of power. Thinking at the end of the Enli...

Ministering to the arts

Gobsmacked to read in the Age this morning that every single former Victorian Arts Minister, Labor and Liberal, has written to University of...

Monday portmanteau

* I forgot yesterday to mention James Waites's continuing meditations on the Bacchanalian qualities in Barrie Kosky's work, includin...

Blowin' in the wind

Even gale-force winds couldn't stop the theatrical event of the week: to wit, the Save VCA protests, which culminated in a 1000-strong m...

VCA debate

In lieu of a post: a pointer to the discussion on TN about the reforms at VCA.

Media rash

Or something like it. I have 470 unread messages in my gmail inbox, 299 unread messages on my Facebook account, and I don't know how man...

Saving the VCA

Update: more info on VCA action - tent cities! flash mobs! sing outs! - and links to more info at Twitter and Facebook.This week, SaveVCA is...

Review: Poppea

George Orwell once remarked that if a writer says he can't write, he can't write. It's not laziness or malingering or disorganis...

Review: Knives in Hens

(Note: there are spoilers in this review).Written in 1995, David Harrower’s first play, Knives in Hens, already has the status of a modern c...

News from Tassie

Those of you with antideluvian memories might recall that, way back in April, I spent a a few days in Hobart helping to run Critical Acclaim...

Review: Ontroerend Goed, Forced Entertainment

For Ms TN, North Melbourne is the Twilight Zone of Melbourne suburbia. The first challenge is getting there. Theoretically, you can get ther...

Interview: Ross Mollison

"The one rule of producing," says Ross Mollison, "is that nobody knows nothing. The things that you least expect to be succes...

It's all happening in North Melbourne

A short note to alert you to some shows on at North Melbourne Arts House, because if you blink you'll miss them. Three must-sees are run...

But I don't wanna be a pirate!

Born Dancin' gets all Coleridge on the Critic Question. Dudes! Pirates! Sharks! Whales! Poetry! Is he totally taking the piss, or what?

MIFF

I feel remiss for not mentioning the Melbourne International Film Festival, which is now in full swing, with a good dose of political contro...

Et cetera

You're probably all sick to death of last week's Meyrick/Woodhead/Croggon showdown but, as is the way of these things, it is prompti...