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Category: Arts & Culture

Published: Friday, 14 September 2018 09:17

Written by Lee-Ann Khoh

I didn’t know what to expect when I headed to Nexus Theatre to check out @lantis: A Science Fiction Radio Play – more specifically, Episode 4 of a seven-part series, having not seen the previous instalments. The series was written and directed by Stephen B. Platt as part of his PhD research into science fiction and live performance. In keeping with the futuristic theme, programs were not available in print but could be accessed by scanning a QR code.

@lantis is set in the future at an underwater city and research facility (also named @lantis). In Episode 4: A Dark World, two botanists from @lantis go missing and the quirky team at Ponderlust Laboratory are sent to the surface to investigate.

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Category: Arts & Culture

Published: Thursday, 20 September 2018 13:03

Written by Nita Teoh

Based on the novel by Nick Hornby, the movie “Juliet, Naked” tells the story of Annie (Rose Byrne) who lives in the quiet, seaside town of Sandcliff in the UK.

In a relationship with long-time partner Duncan (Chris O’Dowd), she feels stuck as Duncan devotes most of his time to his obsession with yesteryear rock star Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke).

One day, Duncan is sent a stripped back demo version of Tucker Crowes' one and only album, Juliet. While Duncan is enraptured by the early versions of his favorite songs, Annie finds them dreary and uninspiring. After an argument with Duncan about the album, Annie decides to post a comment on the Tucker Crowe fan site run by Duncan, sparking a lively debate and triggering a chain of events which leaves her with more than she bargained for.

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Category: Arts & Culture

Published: Friday, 06 July 2018 07:45

Written by Nita Teoh

Just around the corner, a smorgasbord of films await with the Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival 2018 to open in Perth on the 19th July. The Festival will feature 21 films from across a range of countries in the Nordic region including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

Our movie picks for the upcoming Scandinavian Film Festival are:

What Will People Say

Iram Haq’s semiautobiographical film revolves the main character teenager Nisha (Maria Mozhdah) whose family live in Oslo, Norway. She balances two different areas of her life - enjoying the nightlife with her high school friends whilst at the same time being a dutiful daughter at home with her conservative family who originate from Pakistan. What Will People Think is an award-winning tale of the complexities of family life, community, and culture.

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Category: Arts & Culture

Published: Wednesday, 11 July 2018 07:57

Written by Nita Teoh

Just around the corner, the Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival 2018 will open on the 19th July in Perth.

It will feature 21 contemporary films across the Nordic region – from the countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

“What Will People Say” by Director Iram Haq is a top pick and has won multiple awards - Winner of the Audience Award, Special Mention – Best Nordic Film, Göteborg Film Festival 2018 and Winner of the Audience Award at the American Film Institute Fest 2017.

The story revolves around teenager Nisha (Maria Mozhdad) whose family live in Norway, and are originally from Pakistan. Caught between two worlds, she experiences a clash of cultures between growing up and going to school in Norway, and playing the dutiful daughter on the home front.

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Category: Arts & Culture

Published: Saturday, 23 June 2018 09:14

Written by Lee-Ann Khoh

Set in the aftermath of a mass shooting that has rocked a community, The Events follows Claire (played by Catherine McClements), an Anglican priest, as she tries to come to terms with what has unfolded.

Sometime before the play begins, the multicultural choir that Claire leads was targeted by a young man with a gun. The shooter, referred to only as The Boy (Johnny Carr), is now behind bars, while Claire wrestles with her conflicting desires to forgive him and seek revenge.

Throughout the play, Carr seamlessly takes on multiple roles: The Boy; his father; his school friend and fellow outcast; the right-wing politician whose ideologies The Boy identified with; the writer whose book inspired The Boy; Claire’s therapist; and Claire’s partner.

In her quest to understand why The Boy did what he did, Claire finds herself confronting each of these characters.

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Category: Arts & Culture

Published: Wednesday, 20 June 2018 12:00

Written by Greg Letts

Why did they do it? is the question that people ask when discussing the latest of America's all too frequent mass shootings. In a country where the disaffected and mentally unstable have easy access to firearms, is it any surprise that some will aim their sights higher than the common public and instead target the leader of the country?

Who were they? is another common query. Stephen Sondheim's 1991 creation, Assassins, showcases the lives and explores the motives of the USA's successful and failed presidential killers. It is a disturbing juxtaposition considering that modern day America is trending towards suppressing the names of mass shooters to deny them any perceived fame or glory, erasing them from history.

Instead, in Assassins we are treated to 100 minutes of song and dance as the assassins claim that their names will be permanently etched in the American psyche. Perhaps so, but Assassins is far from a celebration of this group, exposing the grudges, derangements and self-serving excuses that led to their tragic actions. Who can say which approach is better?

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