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This is a surprising crime thriller about a medically challenged piano tuner cum safe cracker. Niki White (Leo Woodall) has a severe medical condition that means he can’t tolerate loud noises. He was a musical prodigy when his hearing was compromised at age 7. Now he has to wear inner ear aids with headphones on top just to deal with everyday life. After two years of therapy, he still has perfect pitch, but he no longer plays the piano. Instead, he is “apprentice” to H

Featuring the music of Antonio Vivaldi, Primavera is a deeply moving story set in Venice in the 18th century. It concerns the passion of a gifted 20-year-old orphan and her acclaimed teacher. Cecilia (Tecla Insolia) was abandoned by her mother in the Ospedale della Pietà orphanage and she grew up there, adhering to its strict protocols. It is a place where gifted young women are musically trained to perform for the elite of Venetian society. Their talents though are hi

While growing up, I was captivated by subversive stories in a classical cartoon segment known as Fractured Fairy Tales. That aired as part of the TV series The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. It turned familiar yarns about the likes of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and many others on their head. Photos by Joel Devereux All these years later, one of my all-time favourite theatre companies, Shake & Stir, has done the same, now featuring real flesh an

Nearly five decades ago, it was a close encounter with a UFO that resonated with audiences (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1977). Five years on, it was all about helping a friendly alien return home (ET: the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982). Next, an alien invasion threatened the future of humanity (War of the Worlds, 2005). And now director Steven Spielberg (who wrote this with David Koepp – Jurassic Park) is at it again, this time with humans treating aliens abominably.

The Australian Ballet’s glorious retelling of the classic Shakespeare tragedy Romeo and Juliet is colourful, powerful and passionate. This is a step back in time to wealthy, medieval Verona, where rivalries explode and danger lurks. The innocence of first love is shattered through the antipathy of the Montagues and the Capulets. Photos by Daniel Boud The interpretation we witness is that of choreographer John Cranko (who passed away in 1973). The thoughts behind it have

The twists keep coming in a darkly comedic film based around art and subterfuge. Specifically, it concerns the legacy of London-based Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen), a prickly painter whose reputation has faded as he has aged and become infirm. In the 1990s, Sklar fell in love with a man who inspired him to create a series of portraits, which became known as The Christophers. However, only two series of the now valuable works have seen the light of day. The third was never

Katzenmusik is a German word that translates as caterwaul, the shrill howling or wailing noise of a cat. And this is a story about the slaughter of 85 moggies, the end result of exploitation by greedy landlords. It is a disturbing, darkly comedic yarn about social divide from British playwright Tom Fowler, revealed in extraordinary fashion by theatre company Paracosm. Photos by Alec Farrow Seven actors play 77 roles over dozens of short scenes in three acts, with events

You are really into this young woman who works with you in a music store and is very soon to move away to pursue her passion for writing. At the moment, you are just friends. So far, you haven’t had the guts and haven’t found the right time to tell her how you feel because you fear rejection. Then you seize an opportunity to cast a love spell on her via a silly little toy that in your heart of hearts you know won’t work … but, surprisingly, it does. In fact, it works

Paul Rudd helms a feel-good story about a wedding singer who dreams of being a global music megastar and filling Madison Square Garden. He plays Rick Power, an American who moved to Ireland to marry the love of his life, Rachel (Marcella Plunkett), when his then band was touring there. Mind you, that was 15 years ago and soon thereafter they welcomed their daughter, Aja (Beth Fallon), who is now 14. Now, Rick is the front man for a wedding band named The Bride and Groove