Olivier Tarbaga - A Story of Migration by WA Indian Dancers
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
As I took off my shoes to step into the Saraswati Mahavidhayala Centre for Performing Arts & Education, I was struck by the colourful artwork on the walls - I felt like I was entering a special sacred space.
It brought me back to a time when I used to dine at the Annalakshmi restaurant (on The Esplanade) when the lifts would go up to the restaurant and you would be transported to a magical world of Indian artwork and pieces.
This evening I was to watch the showing of local young Indian classical dancers who had been working on new works with the renowned New York Based West African Dancer / Choreographer / storyteller Olivier Tarbaga.
The 8 young dancers up on stage were lithe and agile.
Bleeding Tree by Black Swan State Theatre Company
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
I was eagerly awaiting another visit to the State Theatre Centre of WA – one of my favourite places in Perth.
This time I was headed down to Studio Underground to watch The Bleeding Tree by Black Swan State Theatre Company.
The stark, minimalist set with white painted lattice work on all three sides from top to bottom was all that met the audience as we waited for the play to begin.
The shadowy effects of the lattice created a slightly eerie effect...exuding silence and nothingness. A small thought bubble came up in my mind – I wonder what is going to happen?
This was my first time seeing The Bleeding Tree – it was last performed back in 2021 at The Blue Room Theatre.
This adaptation by Black Swan State Theatre Company did not disappoint.
The Blue Caftan at Perth Festival
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
As the Perth Festival movie season comes to an end (there will be an encore season from the 3rd to 9th April), my better half and I headed to UWA Somerville to watch The Blue Caftan.
The Blue Caftan is set in a small Moroccan town where Mina (Lubna Azabal) and Halim (Saleh Bakri) run a store making beautifully embroidered caftans. Their days are spent manning the shop, dealing with customers, and keeping up with the workload of making caftans for sometimes demanding customers.
The middle aged couple decide to take on Youssef (Ayoub Missioui) as an apprentice. He is keen to learn embroidery and tailoring from Halim (the master tailor – also known as a maalem). And thereon as the story unfolds, an intimate love triangle develops between them.
The story is tender, the story is sensuous. It is exquisite in portraying the fragility of love that comes in many forms and the intimacy that goes with love.
Of an Age at Luna
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
On a sunny Saturday morning, I had a leisurely walk down Oxford St, heading to Luna Leederville to watch Of an Age.
The teenage years can be rocky and turbulent times, let alone being a young gay man growing up in a Serbian immigrant family in a working class Northern suburb of Melbourne.
It is 1999 and Kol and Ebony are best of friends and dance partners when a distress call from Ebony after a big night out brings Kol and Ebony’s brother Adam together on a long drive to rescue Ebony.
From there, an unexpected romance blossoms between Kol and Adam. Kol is “fresh as” just out of school, experiencing love for the first time, unsure about himself and his place in the world, and tentative about his sexuality, whilst Adam is older and more settled about his place in the world.
Close at Perth Festival
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
My friend and I headed to UWA Somerville on a cool March night, looking forward to our pre ordered garlic prawn pizza from Charlies Pizza before watching the movie Close.
The Belgian movie Close centres around the friendship between 2 teenage boys: Léo (Eden Dambrine) and Rémi (Gustav De Waele).
They do everything together. They cycle to school together, they play together, they have sleep overs at each other’s place. They are bonded in the special way that close friends are.
Until the school year begins at a new school and their friendship takes a turn – triggered by the observations of their peers on their intimate closeness.
Close is a poignant movie about the tenderness and bonds of friendships, along with the volatility and inner turmoil of emotions that can be felt and heightened during the formative teenage years.
Empire of Light at Luna
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
The title of this movie struck me as rather beautiful. I envisioned a light beam casting a warm glow on the Empire Theatre.
It is cognisant of the warm and fuzzy feeling that you get when you enter a movie theatre knowing that you can switch off for a couple of hours and immerse yourself in a good movie.
The trailer didn’t reveal much about the story line – so with this vague introduction to the film, my partner and I headed to Luna Leederville to watch it at Cinema 5 – one of their small cosy cinemas.
Empire of Light clocking in at around 2 hours is one of the most tender movies that I’ve watched recently. It strikes all the right chords.