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This quiet Australian horror has style in spades but not enough guts
Birdeater uses the seclusion of the landscape to build and sustain a deep psychological unease, but struggles with characterisation and pacing.
- by Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
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Why a playwright who updates the classics thinks it’s mostly unnecessary
Adapting Uncle Vanya, Joanna Murray-Smith was desperate to stay true to the playwright’s intentions.
- by John Shand
A musical Little Women brings Jo’s lurid imagination to life
Our critics deliver their verdict on the latest shows around town.
- by Joyce Morgan, Daniel Herborn, Bernard Zuel, Chantal Nguyen and Harriet Cunningham
★★
Review
Emma Stone returns for another wacky film, but sadly this is no Poor Things
If the filmmaker’s much-praised, award-winning Poor Things was the main meal, Kinds of Kindness is the offcuts.
- by Robert Moran
★★½
Review
Sorry, but Kevin Costner’s new western is both incomplete and dull
The Oscar winner has returned to directing after 20 years, but Horizon – set to be one of four – is exposition-heavy and a three-hour-long trek to nowhere.
- by Jake Wilson
A wildly entertaining play to get you excited about Australian theatre again
Our critics deliver their verdict on the latest shows around town.
- by John Shand, Michael Ruffles and Shamim Razavi
Opinion
Review
Do we care about the Archibald Prize too much?
The best interpretation one may put upon this phenomenon is that it’s a bit of fun, but it is a worrisome trend because the prize becomes the public standard by which art is judged.
- by John McDonald
Interview with a vampire: Kip and Zahra on the making of Dracula
Dracula is the final piece in STC’s Gothic trilogy, which started with The Picture of Dorian Gray and continued with Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
- by Louise Rugendyke
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Architecture
The spot in Sydney where if you sing to whales, they sing back
Two new lookouts at North Head seem to conjure the whales, and there’s an eerie echo straight out of Finding Nemo.
- by Julie Power
A Beatle urged him to stick with tabla. Now he’s the top living player
This year alone Zakir Hussain has taken home three Grammys and appeared in a Dev Patel film – now he’s heading to Australia.
- by Jessica Nicholas
★★½
Review
World domination, sure, but how well does Gru settle into suburbia?
The anti-hero’s family has expanded in Despicable Me 4, and they enter a form of witness protection.
- by Jake Wilson