Spectrum
Why Stephen Sondheim leaves a cryptic gap on the world’s puzzle stage
The composer revolutionised puzzle writing as he did the musical. But how to connect in a Melbourne theatre foyer? “Hedonism”, I sang.
- by David Astle
Latest
Opinion
Review
Meet the Blue Mountains sculptors who cut up a Cessna and a Honda
Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro’s big ideas about technology have seen them mail a chopped-up Cessna to the US and back. And build Lego animals.
- by John McDonald
Gobsmacked, tearful, I climbed it: Ancient Greeks thrill still
Introduced to the works of Ancient Greece through a cereal packet or a replica statue in Grandad’s garden? A major exhibition shows their continuing power.
- by Barry Divola
★★★★
Review
Haunting TV series reveals a post-pandemic world, but not as we know it
Station Eleven takes place after a deadly flu has wiped out 99 percent of humanity. It’s a surprisingly buoyant vision of dystopia.
- by Kylie Northover
Opinion
Review
See the new Sydney sculpture show set to become a permanent fixture
Les Sculptures Refusées at Manly’s Q Station, featuring works rejected by Sculpture by the Sea, might be in for the long haul on this city’s art circuit.
- by John McDonald
★★★½
Review
Neil Young finds his soft and sunny side in a Rocky Mountains barn
There’s classic Neil Young tracks along with beautiful songs that ponder the passing of time. Plus a five-star album from Egyptian guitar great Omar Khorshid
- by John Shand, Barnaby Smith and Eugene Ulman
Sydney’s night mayor: ‘My job is to get people out of the house and having fun. And often.’
Michael Rodrigues is in charge of reimagining Sydney’s post-lockout, post-lockdown possibilities. Which means he has to stay away from the couch.
- by Robert Moran
Opinion
Retail
Why is our supermarket now tricked up like an Italian market?
Suddenly, it’s all fish in buckets of ice and tomatoes in wicker baskets. I half expect to see Rick Stein picking through the herbs.
- by Richard Glover
Rock’n’roll Christmas: fill up those stockings and support our musos
When lockdowns closed down the entertainment industry, our musicians turned Santa’s Little Helpers.
- by Lo Carmen
★★★★
Review
This bizarre crime series proves truth is stranger than fiction
Starring Olivia Colman and David Thewlis as an unassuming couple accused of murder, Landscapers is not your typical true crime series.
- by Kylie Northover
★★★
Review
Were Oasis Britain’s best band since The Beatles?
Reviewers give their thoughts on new releases albums, including Oasis’ Oasis Knebworth 1996. Which records sizzled and which fizzled?
- by Craig Mathieson, John Shand and Barney Zwartz