Culture

Britney Spears’ lifelong struggle for respect and autonomy strikes a deep chord for Back to Back Theatre ensemble member Simon Laherty.

Sydney Theatre Company’s Julia is not so much about the former prime minister as a historically dubious showcase for the speech that made Gillard internationally famous.

The best performers at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival bring a new buoyancy to observations of social ills and private sorrows.

For theatre director Adena Jacobs, pushing the boundaries has always been key to her art. Now pregnant and with a burgeoning career in Europe, she ponders the ‘wildness’ of creating life, the complexities of a queer family and the value of ancient stories.

Recoiling from bold statements, Sydney’s The National seems to gesture towards a new type of contemporary art that is neither Australian nor global.

British comedian Tim Key builds his stand-up around his poetry, and his pandemic musings have morphed into a new show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

On the day I finally visited you

I forgot how to make the shower hot

as if some part of me

was denying myself that.

On the long drive out

an old yellow rose gone rampant

at the edge of an unreadable business

and the hot pink bougainvillea arching

animal-like

opposite the entrance

to the place where you were held.

Tymon Dogg’s voice my constant companion

on replay

in odd chorus with the directions bot

that in the coming weeks

would be another kind of replay.