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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

Ballet is in wonderful shape for a rich future if the performances of students from The Australian Ballet School at Hamer Hall are anything to go by. They presented a magnificent five dance repertoire, incorporating classical ballet and creativity, including a new work from choreographer Lucas Jervies. The latter was developed in partnership with the Australian National Academy of Music. The hour-long program featured students from three different study levels – 6, 7 and 8*

A supernatural horror thriller, Backrooms is a phenomenon that has grown through the internet. Co-writer and director of the film Kane Parsons was just 16 when he used open-source software to create what was initially intended as a visual effects test. The nine minute short The Backrooms (Found Footage) was uploaded to YouTube in 2022. In its first two weeks, what was dubbed the scariest video on the internet garnered 20 million views. While still in high school, Parso

Joan of Arc – was she a saint or a sinner? She was an illiterate peasant girl who believed she was acting under divine guidance when she guided the French army to victory in 1429. What she did was, indeed, momentous. Photos by Iz Zettl She effectively stymied an attempt by the English to conquer France during the Hundred Years’ War. A year after that famous victory, she was captured by Burgundian forces (those French allied with England at the time). Subsequently, Joan

Austrian choreographer and performance artist Florentina Holzinger isn’t known for holding back. So it is when 24 naked women – young and old – take to the stage in A Year Without Summer. The show has been described as apocalyptic theatre and medical cabaret. It blends horror with pop music parody. Photos by Marianna Wytyczak and Mayra Wallraff Holzinger sets up the contention thus: It is 1816 and a group of artists gather indoors at the Lake House for a considerable pe

Based on Victor Hugo’s acclaimed 1831 novel and songs from the 1996 Disney film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a dramatic tale of heartache and pain. We are in Paris on 6th January, 1482. Two orphaned brothers – Jehan (Robbie Wilton) and Claude Frollo (Mike Gardiner) – are being looked after inside Notre-Dame Cathedral. The former rejects the church’s strict constraints, while the other sits comfortably within its strictures. Photos by Ben Fon After Jehan tries to gift

In Greek mythology, Orpheus and Eurydice is a tragic love story. Singer, musician and poet Orpheus marries the beautiful Eurydice, whose untimely death sees him seek her out in the underworld. It is there that he does a deal with the devil. Photos by Nick Mick Pics Hades allows Eurydice to rejoin Orpheus in the land of the living on the condition that to get back there Orpheus walks ahead of her and never turns back to look at her. If he does, she will be consigned to th