Arts & Culture

Details: Written by: Greg Letts; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 20 February 2019

After settling into our seats at the UWA Somerville theatre on a mellow Monday night, my partner and I were looking forward to checking out the French movie Non-Fiction, by director Olivier Assayas.

The advertising blurb for Non-Fiction stated “This droll, very contemporary drama probes literature, relationships, art and online culture... Over a series of meetings and sparkling, rapid-fire conversations Alain, Selena and Léonard reveal that their professional and personal affairs are connected in surprising ways.”

While not wishing to give away the plot, the film revolves largely around book publisher Alain and his TV actress wife Selena, who are friends with writer Léonard.

Details: Written by: Nita Teoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 14 February 2019

As my partner and I waited outside Cathedral Square on St George’s Terrace, we were greeted by large droplets of cooling summer rain whilst enjoying the multi-coloured aura of the City of Perth Council House building.

We were here to watch our last show of Fringe Perth for the year – the cabaret A Migrant’s Son.

Winner of the 2015 International Cabaret Contest and co-writer and star of the stage show Exposing Edith (on the life and times of Edith Piaf), Michaela Burger appeared on stage brimming with energy.

Throughout the course of the evening, she entertained us with stories about her family as new migrants to Australia from Greece.

Details: Written by: Lee-Ann Khoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 11 February 2019

Thornton Wilder’s Our Town is a play that knows it’s a play. And Black Swan State Theatre Company’s production of this Pulitzer Prize-winning play knows it’s being performed in Australia in 2019, not the United States in 1938 (where it made its debut).

Our Town is set in the fictional small town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire in the early 20th century. The first act takes place in 1901 and introduces us to various townsfolk, including the neighbouring Gibbs and Webb families. The second act jumps forward three years, where George Gibbs and Emily Webb, who have recently finished high school, are getting married. The third act, set nine years after the second, focuses on Emily after she dies giving birth to her and George’s second child.

But as I mentioned earlier, Our Town knows it’s not really in New Hampshire.

Details: Written by: admin3; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 08 February 2019

This spectacular walkthrough experience for the whole family will run over the Opening Weekend of Perth Festival commencing tonight.

Boorna Waanginy : The Trees Speak attracted over 100,000 people to Kings Park in 2017, and it is expected that it will be a very popular event again this year.

This magical and spectacular work will see Kings Park transformed into a nocturnal wonderland, experienced through sight and sound, as the stories of the Noongar are told over six seasons of the year.

Art and technology will intersect as huge projectors will be used to change the beloved Kings Park scenery into a living canvas to showcase the changing landscape over the seasons and the biodiversity of our environment – with flowers blooming, flocks of birds descending , wetlands filling up and wild bushfires raging.

Noongar stories will be shared over 4 evenings this weekend and provide an excellent opportunity to learn about Western Australia’s diverse landscape and bio diversity from both the Noongar understanding of the land and the perspective of Western science.

Details: Written by: Lee-Ann Khoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 05 February 2019

For the second night in a row, I headed to the Actors’ Hub. This time, it was for Implied Consent, another of the four shows that forms part of their 4x4x4 program for this year’s Fringe World. As I walked in, there were print-outs of news articles concerning rape, sexual assault, and the question of consent. Various activities had also been set up in the foyer; for example, attendees could write their stories of implied consent, then either shred them or hang them on a makeshift washing line for others to see.

As the name suggests, Implied Consent examines the grey area of implicitly-granted consent through four actors who, at various times, portray a series of nameless characters of varying genders, ages, and backgrounds. Over the course of the evening, these characters share their thoughts and tell their confronting stories, compelling the audience to think about the questions raised.

Details: Written by: Lee-Ann Khoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 04 February 2019

It’s been about a year since I saw a show at the Actors’ Hub, but as I walked in, it all came back to me. The cosy, dimly lit foyer. The live acoustic entertainment before the show.

For An Evening With…, part of the Actors’ Hub’s 4x4x4 program for Fringe World, the evening actually began with a short quiz, comprising questions taken from the Australian citizenship test. My table fluked our way to a 7 out of 9 score.

As for the play itself, An Evening With… was presented as a “televised” talk show-cum-game show, hosted by a fictionalised version of Perth-raised comedian Joel Creasey. We were introduced to recreations of Aussie icons Dame Edna Everage and Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, who were each interviewed before competing to determine who is the most Australian.

Details: Written by: Greg Letts; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 30 January 2019

To cap off the Australia Day long weekend my partner and I headed down to the UWA Somerville theatre to watch Everybody Knows, a slow-burning mystery thriller from director Asghar Farhadi.

Pro tip: gates open at 6pm, and don't come much later than that if you want to get a deckchair to sit on. The Perth Festival Films are more popular than ever, so if you turn up after 6.30pm like we did, you'll probably end up sitting on the grass to watch the film – which still makes for a relaxed viewing experience, especially if you manage to nab one of the beanbags available!

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Non-Fiction at Perth Festival

A Migrant's Son at Fringe Perth

Our Town by Black Swan State Theatre Company

Boorna Waanginy: The Trees Speak at Perth Festival

Implied Consent at Actors' Hub, Fringe Perth

An Evening With...at the Actors' Hub, Fringe Perth

Everybody Knows at Perth Festival