See & Do
Melbourne Fringe
Melbourne live reviews
A blacksmith forge and a return to the Tamagotchi era? This festival has it all
From the secrets of a public library to dating roulette, this year’s Fringe is in full swing. Keep an eye on our ever-growing list of reviews here.
- by Andrew Fuhrmann, Cameron Woodhead, Cher Tan, Donna Demaio, Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen, Guy Webster, Hannah Francis and Vyshnavee Wijekumar
Latest
These two pieces are beautiful – but they don’t fit together
With Études and Circle Electric, The Australian Ballet is bringing together the new with the classical. Separately, they work. Together, less so.
- by Andrew Fuhrmann, Cameron Woodhead and Tony Way
It starts with a lie, but this musical will teach you to be a better human
As Beau Woodbridge prepares to take the stage for Dear Evan Hansen, the actor and show’s director talk about the musical’s dark subject.
- by Lenny Ann Low
★★
Review
At first, Joker: Folie a Deux is entertaining. Then it quickly isn’t
Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, the sequel is wildly misconceived – a small story inflated by grandiose intentions.
- by Sandra Hall
★★½
Review
The Critic is nasty but not nasty enough (as a critic, I would say that)
This sordid yet cosy British melodrama starring Ian McKellen is full of people behaving badly, but it never quite comes together.
- by Jake Wilson
Olive Kitteridge returns in Elizabeth Strout’s stunning new novel
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author continues her intricate world building, and brings back characters that her fans will love.
- by Michael McGirr
Why making a film about Donald Trump turned into a minefield
Ali Abbasi sees The Apprentice as a study in naked ambition, but his subject isn’t the only one who’s not happy.
- by Karl Quinn
Exclusive
Arts
What can a Bjork dress teach us about the future? Well, we’re about to find out
As part of an upcoming exhibition, ACMI is turning to pop culture, video games and films including Blade Runner 2049 to offer up a look of what might lie ahead.
- by Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
The controversy that revealed how AI has become a red rag to a bull for many authors
National Novel Writing Month, better known as NaNoWriMo, has become mired in controversy over its stance on AI.
- by Jane Sullivan
From cosy crime to anonymous female fantasies: eight new books
Our reviewers cast their eyes over new fiction and non-fiction releases.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp
This tale of a 19th-century engineering marvel is a cracking yarn
The story of how Charles Todd connected Australia to the world has violence, tragedy, obsession and more.
- by Pat Sheil
Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/topic/see---do-1ntl