Your April guide to the best art, culture and film
Our top picks for what to see this month, from twenty-five years of Australian art at one of the world’s largest festivals to a home grown theatre hero’s return to the harbour city.
Here are our top picks for what to see this month, from twenty-five years of Australian art at one of the world’s largest festivals to a home grown theatre hero’s return to the harbour city.
1. Into the woods
Academy Award-winning director Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) continues his hot streak with his latest film, Evil Does Not Exist. This Japanese eco-thriller follows a father and daughter living in a serene rural village when two Tokyo businesspeople propose a “glamping project” to bring city dwellers to nature. Hamaguchi’s film, which enjoyed an acclaimed international festival run, is a timely examination of how industry changes the social fabric of communities forever. In select cinemas nationally from April 18.
2. An International affair
Archie Moore will be only the second First Nations artist to present a solo exhibition in the Australia Pavilion at the 60th La Biennale di Venezia. kith and kin, curated by Ellie Buttrose, powerfully explores Moore’s Kamilaroi, Bigambul, British and Scottish heritage through a holographic map of the relations that connect people through place and time. This exhibition ushers in Australia’s milestone 25th year participating in the biennale. On view from April 20 – November 24.
3. Dynamic duo
After a successful run in Dublin, Ireland’s Gate Theatre makes a rare international collaboration with Sydney Theatre Company to deliver Thomas Bernhard’s dark comedy The President. Hugo Weaving is joined on stage by Irish great Olwen Fouéré to play the president and first lady of an unnamed country besieged by revolution. This searing critique of unjust power and a foray into the politics of marriage is a must-watch. Running from April 13 until May 18 at the Roslyn Packer Theatre.
4. Going the distance
Bri Lee, the Australian author known for the best-selling memoir Eggshell Skull, makes her fiction debut with The Work. When an ambitious Manhattan gallerist happens
upon a struggling Sydney boy at New York’s art fair, what starts as a meet-cute unravels into an exploration of ambition, art, intimacy and long-distance love. This novel broaches the ultimate question: what price do we pay for wanting it all? Released on April 3.
5. Human nature
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia presents Nicholas Mangan’s extensive exhibition, A World Undone. The Geelong-born artist uses film and sculpture, often comprising materials such as coconuts or coral rubble, to probe humanity’s connection to the natural world. The exhibition runs from April 5 until June 30 at the MCA. mca.com.au
This story was featured in the April issue of WISH.
