Arts & Culture

Details: Written by: Lee-Ann Khoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 18 November 2018

When I read that Frankie’s was completely unscripted, I thought: “This will either be amazing or terrible.” Fortunately, it was not the latter.

Frankie’s is the name of the dive bar where this unique play (Is it still called a play if there’s no script?) is set.

Each show is another night at Frankie’s, where we – the audience – get to hang out, observe and engage with the banter between the staff and regular punters.

If you attend multiple shows, you can see where the main characters have gotten to in their lives since you last saw them.

Each show is also illustrated, with the artwork displayed at the Blue Room Theatre during the show’s run, so you can catch up on what happened on previous nights.

Details: Written by: Nita Teoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 27 October 2018

After the fun we had watching In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play at the Heath Ledger Theatre a few days ago, we eagerly returned to the State Theatre Centre of WA – this time to watch Xenides at the Studio Underground.

As we waited for the performance to start, we were greeted with a glitzy background set straight out of the popular TV game show The Wheel of Fortune.

The play is about the life of Adriana Xenides – the game show co-host of The Wheel of Fortune. An iconic figure for many Australian families as they watched the box each night, she lays claim in the Guinness Book of Records for being the longest running TV show game hostess, with an 18 year run.

Details: Written by: Greg Letts; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 24 October 2018

With a title like In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Black Swan State Theatre Company had eschewed their usual polished productions in favour of the crude, rude, and lewd.

You would, of course, be greatly mistaken.

While the play is powered by Dr Givings' new method of treating hysteria in Victorian England (the electrical vibrator), it is the interactions between the cast that provide the friction, tension and satisfying release for the audience.

Once again Black Swan State Theatre Company have put together a stunning and innovative set that allows the audience an intimate peek into Dr Givings' operating theatre (the Next Room of the title) as the backdrop to his wife Catherine's family parlour, without the need for jarring scene changes.

Details: Written by: Nita Teoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 22 October 2018

Less than a week away, the British Film Festival will grace our screens in Perth from the 25th October to the 14th November.

It will feature films spanning a variety of genres and times – from the Swinging 60’s to modern days - including those paying tribute to film legend Michael Caine, war movies, and family classics such as Paddington Bear and Mary Poppins.

Our top 5 movie picks from this year’s #BritishFilmFest are:

Colette will premiere at the Opening Night of the #BritishFilmFest. At the dawn of the feminist age, Colette tells the story of twentieth century writer who is swept into the world of high society when she arrives from the countryside betrothed to literary entrepreneur Henry Gauthier-Willars.

Details: Written by: Nita Teoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 18 October 2018

The opening of the 2018 MINI British Film Festival in Perth is just around the corner, and a plethora of excellent films await movie goers, including the documentary “My Generation”.

Narrated by Michael Caine, My Generation takes us on a nostalgic journey through the Swinging 60’s. It was a period of decadence and “sex, drugs and rock and roll” as the young generation enjoyed the heady days of music and fashion to excess – think Beatles mania, Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, and fashion icons such as Twiggy and fashion designer Mary Quant.

Details: Written by: Lee-Ann Khoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 22 September 2018

Following my first taste of @lantis: A Science Fiction Radio Play last week, I returned to Nexus Theatre for the second half of a double episode.

After a recap of the previous week, Episode 5: The Year of the Long Tail continued where Episode 4: A Dark World left off. Mary (played by Tegan Mulvany), Jules (Murray Jackson), and Harry (Max Rankin) have been captured by the Rattus Sapiens, a community of intelligent human-sized rats. Harry is seemingly dead, Jules is facing the prospect of becoming a human guinea pig, and Mary’s life depends on her ability to cure a gravely ill child.

Details: Written by: Lee-Ann Khoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 14 September 2018

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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Frankie's at The Blue Room Theatre

Xenides by Black Swan State Theatre Company

Good Vibes at In the Next Room - Black Swan State Theatre Co

British Film Festival

My Generation at the British Film Festival

@lantis The Year of the Long Tail by Thought Jar Productions

@lantis Episode Four A Dark World by Thought Jar Productions