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- Written by: Nita Teoh
- Category: Arts & Culture
On a balmy summer’s evening I headed to Windsor Theatre to watch Midwinter Break.
The trailer had caught my attention – about a middle aged couple who go on holiday to Amsterdam and their relationship challenges which could result in drastic life changes.
Based on the novel by Irish author Bernard MacLaverty and directed by Polly Findlay who has a theatre background, it tackles beautifully the inner workings of a long time relationship and its ensuing intimacy. Midwinter Break also examines the conflicts that come with knowing a loved one well, and the process of a reflecting on long term relationship to consider what the future might hold.
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
- Category: Arts & Culture
On a rather hot day in Perth, I wandered down to Luna Leederville to watch Jimpa.
The story of Jimpa revolves around the complexities of the interrelationships between 3 generations of a queer family: Frances, a coming of age non-binary teenager (Aud Mason-Hyde); their mum Hannah (Olivia Colman); and Frances’ grandpa Jimpa (John Lithgow).
Jimpa is a modern story covering some of the challenges faced by each of the main characters: Frances is excited with the idea of broadening their horizons by shifting to Amsterdam from Adelaide; Hannah is juggling her film-making career, family duties and her relationship with her elderly father whom she has learnt not to rely on too much for various reasons; and Jimpa – a gay man in Amsterdam who has lived a full life and is now facing the issues of ageing.
A number of interesting topics are addressed in Jimpa, including the multiple hats that we all wear in our lives, generational conflicts, parenting and ageing parental challenges, recognition and discoveries of sexuality and gender identity, and their impact on the relationships with other family members.
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
- Category: Arts & Culture
Liberty Theatre is one of my favourite venues and I was looking forward to watching Skinny with my partner there on another Fringe evening out.
This time it was to watch Michelle Pearson (from Adelaide) in her Off-Broadway hit show Skinny – telling her personal story about body image issues from a young age and her quest to have the perfect skinny figure.
The show tackles issues such as society’s obsession with being thin, and the absurd lengths that we go to in our quest to look perfect in society’s eyes.
Michelle blitzed the stage right from the get go, accompanied by her 4 piece band. Her voice is amazing, her stories are heartfelt (and heartbreaking in parts), and she commands the stage dressed beautifully in all her different outfits.
There were some funny little moments as well – including my partner being asked to help Michelle on stage.
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- Written by: Greg Letts
- Category: Arts & Culture
My partner and I are regulars at Fringe World, and every year we try to check out a few acts that are outside our usual suspects. This time around we thought that I Am Grease Grillson, with its mix of physical comedy, clowning and mime, might fit the bill.
Hosted at The Jonesway Theatre in William Street, Northbridge (a very nice setup by the way, love the comfy seats!), the opening night was pretty much sold out. Pro tip: expect some gentle ribbing if you turn up late – you have to do the walk of shame right across the front of the stage to get to your seats!
Performer Elise Wilson takes on the persona of Grease Grillson, a well-built weightlifter with radical facial hair who is attempting to lift the world’s heaviest weight and shrug off a fear of inadequacy at the same time. We get to join Grease on his quest, featuring flashbacks, fast-forwards, feats and failures, plenty of fun and a little bit of fear (just a bit of audience participation, nothing too embarrassing, so don’t panic!).
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
- Category: Arts & Culture
Who doesn’t like magic??!!
As my partner and I waited in the Crown Theatre to watch the magic show Now You See Me Live, the keen audience members included the young and old, families, couples, and groups of friends – showing the love of magic is alive and well in 2026.
Everyone has inside us a sense of curiosity, disbelief, and wonder… and the four horsemen who wowed us on Sunday night with their repertoire of magic tricks left us in jaw dropping awe.
The four horsemen on the evening consisted of the fun and amazing Matthew Pomeroy (UK), Andrew Basso (Italy), Gabriella Lester (Canada) and Pablo Canovas (Spain) who have performed their acts in many different countries around the globe.
Their two-hour performance on stage is inspired by the “Four Horsemen” in the film Now You See Me by Lionsgate and is brought to audiences by the same producers who brought the popular magic show The Illusionists to the stage.
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- Written by: Nita Teoh
- Category: Arts & Culture
My first introduction to a Park Chan-Wook film was a few years ago at the Perth Festival where I watched Decision to Leave - a slow burn crime noir at the UWA Somerville.
Hence, I was looking forward to watching No Other Choice with my partner as we walked down Oxford St towards Luna Leederville.
Interestingly, the film No Other Choice is based on a horror thriller novel titled The Ax by author Donald E. Westlake, based on the stories of friends who experienced corporate redundancies.
Park’s style is distinctive, and in No Other Choice the key character Man-su (played by actor Lee Byung-hun) is on a desperate hunt for a new job after being retrenched from the paper company that he has worked at for the last 25 years.
His perfect family, beloved family house and the lifestyle he has worked so hard to achieve are all under threat of being lost, so Man-su devises a brutal plan that is not without some challenges along the way.
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- Written by: Lee-Ann Khoh
- Category: Arts & Culture
Being in the beautiful Heath Ledger Theatre is always a bit of a treat. But seeing that lone Christmas tree on the corner of the stage when we went to check out playwright Andrea Gibbs’ new show Carol, was a reminder that the holidays are rapidly approaching and I’m not ready.
I mean, most of us aren’t, right? It’s not just me?
Enter Santa (played by Mark Storen) – but this ain’t your kids’ folk hero. Here, Santa is more sweary bogan larrikin than jolly old Father Christmas. But as he points out after making the front rows vaguely uncomfortable (FYI there’s audience interaction, be ready for it) – this is not Santa’s story. He’s just the gun-toting, fourth wall-breaking commentator.
Titular character Carol (played by Sally-Anne Upton) was born on Christmas Day some 60 years ago. All her life she’s been keeping things running smoothly with a smile on her face, being the good girl, wife and mum. Now the festive season is upon us again, and Carol’s adult son Dean (one of the multiple roles Isaac Diamond takes on) is expecting his mother to take care of the family like she always does.
But this year is different.