Art Smitten

Hosts Christian and Jim are joined by Chris Hosking, The Ribcage Collective's Co-Artistic Director for their upcoming immersive theatre production. It will be running at La Mama Theatre until September 11th. Tickets and more information available: http://lamama.com.au/2016-winter-program/the-ribcage-collective See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosts, Jim and Christian, interview actor Francis Greenslade, best known for his televisions roles opposite Shaun Micallef in Mad as Hell and Denise Scott in Winners and Losers. Greenslade is also a seasoned stage actor and speaks about his upcoming role in Red Stitch Theatre's production of You Got Older.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosts, Thierry and Adalya, are joined by Alex De La Rambelje, one of the magicians in Gentlemen of Deceit. They talk about his performance on Australia's Got Talent and their upcoming shows at the Sydney Opera House on October 15th and 16th. Tickets available here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosts, Adalya and Thierry, interview actor Belinda Campbell about her role as Macbeth in Wit Incorporated's production of Shakespeare's Macbeth . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosts, Thierry and Adalya, speak to actor Peter Houghton about Eddie Perfect's new play, The Beast. It's running until September 10th at the Comedy Theatre, 240 Exhibition St, Melbourne. Tickets are available here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dangerous Liaisons by Little Ones theatre is a theatrical adaption of Pierre Chodelos De Laclos novel. The story takes place in France in the 1700s, It’s a long winding story of revenge and seduction. Two ex lovers have plans for revenge and humiliation; they try to out do each other in an attempt to dominate one another.  Little Ones theatre originally staged this in 2014 at MTCs Neon...

My Scientology Movie sees BBC presenter, Louis Theroux, attempt to infiltrate the Church of Scientology, an organisation infamous for being shrouded in secrecy. Curiosity about the mysterious inner workings of the church, along with reports of assault committed by leader, David Miscavige, motivate Theroux’s efforts to understand life inside the Church and why it is so confidential.  Sin...

Hosts Christian and Rachel interview Fairy Turner, the artist behind  Disco Bin  in the  Glow Winter Arts Festival .  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosts, Christian and Rachel, are joined in the studio by Brian Lipson, actor in Two Jews Walk into a Theatre , alongside Gideon Obarzanek.  Directed by Lucy Guerin, this improvised art installation of the two men impersonating their fathers will be running until the 28th August at the North Melbourne Town Hall, 521 Queensberry Street. Tickets available here .  See omnystudio.com/listener...

Hosts, Christian and Rachel, are joined in the studio by Brian Lipson, actor in Two Jews Walk into a Theatre , alongside Gideon Obarzanek.  Directed by Lucy Guerin, this improvised art installation of the two men impersonating their fathers will be running until the 28th August at the North Melbourne Town Hall, 521 Queensberry Street. Tickets available here .  See omnystudio.com/listener...

Hosts, Christian and Rachel, are joined by director of Theatre Works' production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Phil Rouse.  Tickets are available at the Theatre Works website .  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosts, Christian and Rachel, interview Tim Chiang, one of twelve finalists for the 2016 Australian National Piano Award. Running from the 5th-10th September, the recitals will be held at the Eastbank Centre in Shepparton. Tickets are available and you can find out more at the website .  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Mama’s P.O.V. Dave is essentially a film noir play about a retiring press photographer who gets more than he bargained for with his last assignment. It definitely shows that most of playwright/producer Noel Maloney’s background is in screenwriting as he takes on the kind of story and genre that is much more acquainted with the screen than with the stage. Dave’s profession as a...

There is of course an old adage that comedy equals tragedy, plus time. In the case of Cholai , Arun Roy's black comedy about the Bengali hooch fatalities in 2011, not much time apparently is needed for us to be laughing about the thousands of deaths caused by a bad batch of illegal home liquor. Cholai is the local common name for this strongly addictive, very cheap and very lucrative brew. The Ben...

The first half of the Melbourne International Film Festival has flown by, and I've already seen some great films like Cosmos, Paterson and The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki. Among the films I've seen, though, there's been a fantastic selection of horror films, and I thought I'd spotlight four of them: three narrative features, all by first-time filmmakers, and a documentary. First up,...

234 years after Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's novel Les liaisons dangereuses was published, and 31 years after the premier production of its stage adaptation by Christopher Hampton, this new production from Little Ones Theatre comes to Melbourne as a fresh and lively piece of contemporary theatre. Those who've studied the novel will certainly appreciate how director Stephen Nicolazzo has captured t...

Not-so-Raging Bull, Juho Kuosmanen's boxing biopic pulls the gentlest punches it can in telling the story of amateur boxer Olli Mäki, hailing from a small town in Finland and aspiring to not much more. It's warm and personable, and its deliberate type of simplicity is one that more filmmakers should aim for. Affectionately put together, the film has a fantastic grainy black-and-white 16mm aes...

First-time filmmakers seem to either stumble on their feet or find those feet immediately and use them to run away with a superb debut. Such is the case with Bi Gan, a poet-turned-director whose Kaili Blues is a simply staggering first feature. The plot - in short, an uncle searching for a nephew - is central to the understanding of the film and yet absolutely irrelevant. It's a tale of repentance...

When I read the book [Witold Gombrowicz’s Cosmos ] in preparation for watching the film I was struck by the singular oddness of the writing (albeit a translation) both in style and in content. There were moments when the sheer incessancy of the intricate madness lost me but I battled through and ended up being wholly won over. Three things in particular struck me: the emphasis on the mundane...

Jerzy Skolimowski's career is defined by a healthy disregard for conventional filmmaking. He has always been a punk of the highest order. And it's with total delight that I report that this pedigree is on full display in 11 Minutes. From the beginning, we know we are in the hands of an unhinged master. The menacing pre-titles scrapbook of low-res footage from laptop, phone and security cameras cle...

Red Stitch continues their environmentalist theme for the season in Extinction, written by the powerhouse creative talent Hannie Rayson and directed by the critically acclaimed Nadia Tass. On the International Union for Conservation of Nature and natural resources red list (IUCN), Australia is classed as having 35 of its discovered species extinct. The fraught task of resolving this issue, beneath...

Jump First, Ask Later is an urban choreographic portrait of the streets of Fairfield in Western Sydney, the most culturally diverse region Australia. The show features 5 young street dancers moving between their stories and dance sequences. Right from the beginning their physical strength and agility is striking and compelling to watch. The opening sequence is a warm up, but unlike any I’ve...

Hosts Beth and Adalya are joined in the studio by Rory Kelly, actor in Red Stitch Theatre's production of Trevor.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jim Thomas speaks to artist, Sebastian Kainey, about his works showing in the Future Works exhibition at the Brunswick Street Gallery.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There will be some mildly sexual language and content throughout this review. If that might be a problem for you, tune out for the next five minutes or so - but, you'll be missing the breakdown of a great show. A live band of sorts, and performance goes with the music Duets is a show that will probably take you out of your theatre-comfort zone, unless you usually attend shows that include women pe...