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Category: Arts & Culture

Published: Wednesday, 21 November 2018 09:31

Written by Nita Teoh

What would it feel like to be responsible for making a critical life or death decision for another person?

This is the question posed in the movie The Children Act, adapted from the novel by Booker Prize-winning author Ian McEwan.

We stand in the shoes of high court judge Fiona Maye (acted by Emma Thompson) as she is tasked with making the legal decision in the courts as to whether a young 17 year old boy who has leukaemia should receive a blood transfusion that will enable him to live. He and his parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses and receiving another’s blood is not in accordance with their beliefs.

The story told in this movie is thought provoking and provides a glimpse into the inner world of Judge Fiona Maye (also known as “My Lady”) and the complexities of her high pressure job as she navigates this complex issue to arrive at a decision.

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Category: Arts & Culture

Published: Friday, 09 November 2018 06:50

Written by admin3

The Swan Festival of Lights has launched in Perth this year bigger and better offering an impressive line up of events to celebrate Deepavali.

Deepavali  is a celebration of the Inner Light that resides in all of us and is a joyous occasion that is observed by over one billion people across the world.

Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Deepavali celebrates the positive permutations of ‘Light’ - hope, peace, harmony, knowledge, joy and truth – and it's dispelling of ‘darkness’.

Some highlights of the Deepavali festival include the Act-Belong-Commit Swan Festival of Lights Outdoor Festival which will run over 3 days from the 9th to the 11th November.

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Category: Arts & Culture

Published: Sunday, 18 November 2018 09:27

Written by Lee-Ann Khoh

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.

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Category: Arts & Culture

Published: Saturday, 27 October 2018 16:37

Written by Nita Teoh

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.

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Category: Arts & Culture

Published: Wednesday, 24 October 2018 10:42

Written by Greg Letts

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.

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Category: Arts & Culture

Published: Monday, 22 October 2018 09:29

Written by Nita Teoh

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.

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