Flying in my gondola

Left – Claudio Sgura and Martina Serafin. Cover – Claudio Sgura and Diego Torre. Photos –  Jeff Busby Giacomo Puccini’s  Tosca , based on the 1887 French-language dramatic play by Victorien Sardou, was originally set in the summer of 1800, in Rome, when the Kingdom of Naples was threatened by Napoleon’s invasion of Italy; a very turbulent and violent time. Opera Australia’s  latest rendition of  Tosca , is directed by one of Australia’s  most acclaimed theatre personalities, John Bell , who has set the opera, which some critics have referred to as ‘over-familiar’ even ‘old’, in an equally dangerous and brutal period in Italy, the German occupations of Rome of 1943. Martina Serafin  embodying  Tosca , and  Diego Torre  as her artist lover,  Cavaradossi , radiate a special chemistry, which is laden by jealousy as well as great affection. Their performance was thoroughly moving. “Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore,” (I lived for art; I live...

If you are a child of the 80s you will recognize Rock the Casbah as a popular song by the English punk rock band, The Clash. And that’s where the similarity ends... or so it seems. The song, Rock the Casbah , gives an account of a ban on rock music, by a king who is being defied by his kingdom’s population. The king orders jet fighters to bomb anyone who violates the ban, but the pilots ignore the orders. The Clash based their 1982 top 40 songs on the ban of Western music in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The film Rock the Casbah is not about Iran, nor is it about its Islamic Revolution, but it does have a so-to-speak king, and his “population” does indeed revolt against his rules. In this case, the “king,” Moulay Hassan ( Omar Sharif ) is a respected entrepreneur and the patriarch of an affluent Moroccan family. Hassan unexpectedly suffers a cardiac arrest and dies, leaving behind his grieving wife Aicha ( Hiam Abbass ), three daughters and a brother to tend to h...

On a remote desert army base in southern Israel, very important strategic military maneuvers are being mapped out in a smoke-filled hot office, and the big wigs are getting irritated due to the lack of refreshments. A male superior officer directs his discontent to a female officer - Rama (Shani Klein) - who promptly rushes off to hunt down the culprit who’s failed at the mundane task of making and delivering of beverages. Rama’s frustration is palpable.  Adding to her stress, just as Rama is about to serve the refreshments to the officers, a flurry of young women donning uniforms waltz into the office/kitchen, coming back from weekend leave, spewing dialogue of extreme discontent with the military forces. Among them are Daffi (Nelly Tagar), a young woman who clearly has no desire of returning to her duties, and Zohar (Dana Ivgy) her comrade in arms, equally unenthused.  After Rama hurls a rapid and heated verbal reprimand their way, the two soldiers enter the meeti...

Photos – Aaron Walker After years of learning, practicing and refining their craft, the National Institute of Circus Arts’ (NICA) final year circus students are able to exhibit their dynamic and captivating acts in front of the public in a special showcase held at the custom built NICA in Prahran. This year’s show, featuring 20 final year students, is titled ROUGE et BLANC , and it’s actually two very distinct performances... one being ROUGE, and the second BLANC, running from July 2nd to the 5th, and each show performed three times throughout the six show season. Hosted by MC  Aurora Kurth , donning a top hat, rhinestones, corset, fishnet stockings, ruby slippers, matching sparkling lipstick and speaking with a French accent,  Kurth  was the “glue” between performances, and a perfect fit for the cabaret-style show, where she delivered her humour laden lines with cheeky zing, and a singing voice to be reckoned with. NICA is Australia’s only Bachelor of Circus Arts. Duri...

The below review was originally published on Australian Stage and can be read by clicking here . Written by Gordana Andjelic-Davila    Friday, 30 May 2014 08:39 Melbourne has the privilege of being one of the stops on internationally acclaimed dance troupe Pilobus’ world tour, performing its groundbreaking new show Shadowland . Having featured on the 79th Annual Academy awards, and performing for Oprah Winfrey, Shadowland , simply put, is a fusion of shadow theatre, dance and acrobatics – but in actuality it is so much more. Using screens of all sizes to project onto them seemingly impossible body morphing, where dancers magically transform into exotic creatures and beautiful imagery, to convey a fantastic tale, Shadowland brings to life the story of a young girl who is at life’s cross road. While she reluctantly prepares for bed, she wishes that her parents’ perception of her would change. Convinced that she is more mat...

Each year, around this time, Little Big Shots (LBS) comes to town with a new collection of films from around the globe, intended for children or made by them. The film festival was conceived by Nick Place back in 2004, and this year LBS celebrates it first big milestone, a whopping decade of dedication to exposing kids to the very best international and domestic films, as well as the process of filmmaking. To commemorate their fabulous decade, LBS has released a limited edition 10th B’day Retro Collection DVD , featuring some of their most memorable films: Birthday Boy (2005, Aston’s Stone (2008), Because You’re Gorgeous (2009), Brunswick Browns (2010), The Animal Book (2010), The Vacuum Kid (2012), Abiogenesis (2013) and The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore (2013). The film festival offers 13 different packages appropriate for ages ranging from 2 years old to 15+. Movie aficionados of all ages can customise their film viewing schedule according to age, subjec...

In a not so distant future, Earth has been invaded by an alien race called the Mimics. The occupiers are - of course - menacing and über scary, resembling the offspring of   octopi who mated with some vicious space insects, with anger management issues.   Humans have looked past each other’s racial, religious and socio-economic differences by fighting  together  an up hill battle against their common enemy, and failing at it royally. It seems that, no army in the world or its arsenal of weapons can match the lightning speed or ruthlessness of the Mimic forces.  Lt. Col. Bill Cage ( Tom Cruise ) has been spared from combat during most of his career however, after his sudden drop in rank, he is forced to embark on suicide mission alongside more experienced soldiers, in a last ditch effort to defend the globe against its alien invaders. Unfortunately, within a few minutes of on the ground fighting, Cage is killed. For reasons unbeknown to him, Ca...