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Arts & Culture

This Month

Tom Gleisner takes a different sort of look at aged care in his musical Bloom, which opens in Sydney next week.

An aged care musical? Straight to the pool room, said Tom Gleisner

The creator behind The Castle and Utopia spent many hours visiting nursing homes, and emerged not depressed, but inspired to write songs.

We visit the home of the most famous Greek poet you’ve never heard of

Travellers to Alexandria in Egypt can visit the restored apartment of Constantine Cavafy, the favourite bard of Jackie Onassis.

McCartney and Lennon had the kind of intimate male friendship which society “still has trouble thinking about”, according to Ian Leslie’s new book.

Inside the friendship that made The Beatles

A new book uses John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s songs to tell the story of their epoch-making, yet intimate bond.

The famous “that’s not a knife, that’s a knife” scene from Crocodile Dundee.

How Crocodile Dundee became an icon, especially for its investors

A new documentary on Australia’s highest-grossing film lacks bite, but boasts interesting detail about the investors it enriched – including late wicketkeeper Rod Marsh.

Daddy Warbucks (Anthony Warlow) and Annie (Lucille Le Meledo) in rehearsal for John Frost’s 2025 production.

From Annie to Zimmer: the must-see shows to catch in April

Take a break from the hard-knock life with our monthly selection of the best live entertainment around the country.

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Rachel Zegler in a scene from “Snow White”.

‘Snow White’ remake misses box-office hopes amid woke controversy

Disney made the update a tale of female empowerment. Instead of trying to find a husband, the new Snow White leads a Joan of Arc-like rebellion against the Evil Queen.

Artist Khaled Sabsabi; Creative Australia chairman Robert Morgan (left) and CEO Adrian Collette.

‘Shouted into submission’: Monash Uni stops Sabsabi show

The cancelled artist’s gallerist has blasted Creative Australia for not having his client’s back.

Brett Whiteley’s Untitled Red Painting III, 1961, in oil on board, is estimated at $450,000 to $650,000 in Menzies’ Important Australian and International Art auction in Sydney on April 9.

From £450 to $1m: Early Whiteleys emerge with a rich backstory

In 1961 the young Australian artist paid close attention to the pretty Californian art student who bought two of his works in London.

Inside the homes of Australia’s most connected art collectors

Ever wondered how to showcase artwork to let them shine? A new book peeks into the homes of prominent art collectors around the country.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

Mass letter urges arts minister to act over Venice snub

More than 1000 people have signed an open letter to federal Arts Minister Tony Burke demanding the reinstatement of Australia’s representatives for the Venice Biennale.

Abel Selaocoe and the Australian Chamber Orchestra - Special offer

The international cello sensation brings a kaleidoscope of rhythm and sound to his highly anticipated Australian debut.

Richard Cobden, the veteran Sydney barrister, is a patron of new works for Omega Ensemble and wants others to join him.

How this top barrister became a ‘Medici’ of classical music

Senior counsel Richard Cobden has now funded three works for Sydney’s Omega Ensemble. He wants you to know that commissioning is not as hard as you might think.

Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in the four-part drama Adolescence.

Netflix’s new hit should sound a warning for parents. Here’s why

The show has resonated with parents concerned about the significant influence of social media in their teenagers’ lives and its link to violence against women.

Incoming AGNSW director Maud Page at the gallery on Friday.

Art Gallery Of NSW gets first female director after 154 years

Maud Page, the long-time deputy of outgoing director Michael Brand, has been selected to step up at the institution, which gets 2 million visitors annually.

Veronica Sullivan, new head of Melbourne Writers Festival.

‘No room for nuance’: Melbourne Writers Festival avoids Gaza

After the war in the Middle East tore apart the organisation last year, new artistic director Veronica Sullivan’s 2025 program has adopted a small target strategy.

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Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in Adolescence.

Netflix drama Adolescence will chill the blood of any parent

Astonishing performances turn this series about a 13-year-old murder suspect into a devastating watch.

The task of the artist suddenly seems to be to comfort the audience. But hasn’t great art always provoked and challenged us?

Who really pays the price for arts philanthropy?

In the increasingly troubled relationship between donors and artists, it is becoming difficult to figure out which hand is feeding and which is being bitten.

Gal Gadot and Rachel Zegler in Disney’s Snow White.

Disney’s Snow White is not too woke – and it’s better than Wicked

This flashpoint of the culture wars avoids being the disaster many feared (or hoped for).

Bobby Fox, Angelina Thomson, Annie Aitken, Cody Simpson and that giant taxi star in Guys & Dolls for the 2025 edition of Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour.

How to direct a musical on a ‘football field’

There’s a lot riding on Opera Australia’s annual outdoor production but Shaun Rennie is more worried about actors getting to their marks, and nothing getting blown into Sydney Harbour.

Gallerists Joanna Strumpf (left) and Ursula Sullivan with a shimmering pink ceramic piece by sculptor Linda Draper.

The Australian gallery that made art fun turns 20

Sullivan+Strumpf co-founders Ursula Sulllivan and Joanna Strumpf have been turning the gallery scene on its head since their share-house days of wild parties.

Sirius Cove, 1895, by Arthur Streeton carries an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000 in Smith & Singer’s auction of Important Australian Art to be held in Sydney on April 8.

130 years on, Australian art history comes out of the woodwork

An Arthur Streeton painting of a hallowed art location and a canvas that rocketed Brett Whiteley towards his eventual fame will be auctioned in April.

The Australian Ballet’s new executive director, Claire Spencer, alongside artistic director David Hallberg, whose contract has just been extended another five years.

Australian Ballet appointments a show of faith

The artistic director’s contract extension comes as the major performing arts company also gets a new executive director, after being without one for almost a year.

Left: Pianist Jayson Gillham. Right: MSO managing director Sophie Galaise.

Former MSO boss settles with pianist she cancelled

Sophie Galaise has settled with Jayson Gillham on the eve of his discrimination trial against the orchestra.

You can’t unsee this terrifying ‘man-suit’ android

The inventors of the Protoclone hope it can be a skin for future AI applications. In the meantime, it is hanging around looking scary.

Ben Quilty’s ‘Australian Landscape Mazda 121’ was seized from a drug syndicate as an outworking of the Australian Federal Police’s Operation Fuji.

Whiteley, Quilty among artists collected by crime syndicate

Forget Lamborghinis or brass knuckles. This Melbourne drug syndicate preferred Australian paintings such as Ben Quilty’s Mazda 121, which has now made $73,621 for the Commonwealth.

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