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- Written by: Nita Teoh
- Category: Arts & Culture
For some of us, making a cake is a seemingly simple event and we take it for granted. We go to our local supermarket, buy the ingredients, go home, mix the batter, put it in the oven, wait till it’s cooked and voila – we have a delicious cake to eat.
Not so for 9 year old Lamia (Baneen Ahmed Nayyef) – the main character in the movie The President’s Cake by Iranian film maker Hasan Hadi.
We follow the story of Lamia – who carries her beloved pet rooster Hindi everywhere she goes. She leads a life of poverty by the marshlands in Iraq with her grandmother Bibi (Waheeda Thabet) during the era of Saddam Hussein.
Unluckily, she is chosen amongst the students in her classroom to make a cake for Saddam Hussein’s birthday – an auspicious day – the ingredients for which her elderly and unwell grandmother can ill afford, but if she doesn’t deliver will have consequences.
Despite difficult circumstances, Lamia and her school mate Saeed (Sajad Mohamad Qasem) find simple games to play that find joy in the moment during their tumultuous journey to buy ingredients to make the President’s cake.
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- Written by: Greg Letts
- Category: Arts & Culture
On a mild summer’s night, my partner and I headed into Perth to check out Meow Meow’s The Red Shoes at His Majesty’s Theatre, presented by Black Swan State Theatre Company, Malthouse Theatre & Belvoir St Theatre. The stage set consisting of a large trash heap on the left side of the stage and otherwise empty space was a striking contrast to the opulence of the theatre itself. Having come to the show with a vague memory of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale and little else, I was intrigued about where Meow Meow would be taking us in the next hour and a half.
Once the last few latecomers had finally trickled in to the packed theatre and the show began, it was clear that we were not about to get a traditionally conservative take on The Red Shoes. With pianos gracefully gliding onto the set followed by Meow Meow being literally dragged on stage, we started with a mix of the graceful and the garish, and things only got weirder from then on, to the delight of the audience, who were obviously there to see the powerhouse Meow Meow do her thing.
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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.