Sydney Theatre Company’s feminist take on the classic isn’t definitive, but it is thrilling, writes Lloyd Bradford Syke.

In Sydney via Timor, the genre-bending, cross-hatched Doku Rai is the kind of immersive experience you want to have in the theatre — but rarely do.

Nellie White has great material, but sadly the show is under-cooked, writes Patrick O’Duffy.

Dropped is hardly a comedy, but makes up for the lack of laughs with its strength, writes Patrick O’Duffy.

A lack of material, focus and rehearsal made for a mediocre show for metal-heads, writes Alana Mitchelson.

Sure, Randy is a puppet show, but goes to a much darker place than Sesame Street, writes Patrick O’Duffy.

A self-deprecating look at social media “addiction” which uncovers a few home truths about loneliness and connection.

Making stupidity funny is harder than you’d think. Sabrina D’Angelo talks clown college ahead of her Melbourne Fringe show.

A modern classic versus a dance-fest with lofty ambitions — Lloyd Bradford Syke examines both musicals.

It’s the Sydney Opera House’s 40th birthday, and a milestone for its first-ever production.

The works of William Shakespeare were ripe for reinvention in two productions — at very opposite ends of the spectrum — at this year’s Brisbane Festival.

The Australian Ballet has delivered a heartbreaking take on the classic fable, writes Corina Thorose.

Old furniture wages a war against its sleek Swedish replacements, in this riotous puppet play for adults and kids, writes Mark Pearce.

The debut effort from Anya Reiss proves the Australian Theatre for Young People is still breaking ground after 50 years.

In response to tabloid beat-ups and moral panic, photographer Bill Henson has pulled out of the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art. InDaily arts editor Suzie Keen says it’s a terrible shame.

James Rose examines the NGA in the latest installment of his series on national identity and story telling.

Freelance journalist Hari Raj takes in the cavalcade of art, costume, nudity and general weirdness that grows every year in the Nevada dessert.

Rick Amor is one of Australia’s best painters of the metaphysical, and WH Chong reckons his talents would be perfect for book cover artwork.

Recent outcries over public art installations show that not everyone is thrilled by artistic statements in public places, writes Alan Davies.

A new public art installation on a median strip has been described by locals as ugly and dangerous. Does art need to conform to space and expectations?

For the second time in its 159 year history, Melbourne’s Flinders Street Station will be redesigned by a competition winner. Alan Davies shares his thoughts ahead of this week’s winners announcement.

Journalist and author Jonathan Englert says Australia should think twice before making James Packer’s new casino the face of Australia.

Gerard Geer makes sculptures and jewellery out of roadkill, contravening the Wildlife Act. He promises to burn his art, but not before one final exhibition. Crikey intern Bension Siebert reports.

Futurist Syd Mead believes cyclists are “eco elitists” and that the bicycle is “not, strictly defined, a transport device.” Alan Davies reckons that’s poppycock.

Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, one of our great conjurers of calm and silence, has passed away. W.H. Chong says she was a proud potter; she declined to be an “artist”.

Cities around the world are hoping to emulate Melbourne’s vibrant laneway culture. Alan Davies explores how that culture came about — and whether it can be replicated.

A contemporary Australian artist is accusing the National Gallery of Australia of purchasing a “fake” painting of his, a claim the gallery vehemently challenges. You spot the fraud.

Architects often use unconventional forms when designing social housing, writes Alan Davies. But is this an effective way of promoting integration with the local community?

Jeffrey Smart, who passed away this month, was one of the last of a famous generation of Australian artists born into a world of full modernism. W H Chong asks: is he important to our art?

Hobart’s Dark Mofo arts festival, which runs till the Winter Solstice (June 23), is a celebration of the dark through large-scale public art, food and music, as well as “light and noise”.

Was the weekend Victoria Police raid on a St Kilda art gallery motivated by wannabe local politicians? Art critic Mark Holsworth examines the issues surrounding the criticisms of artist Paul Yore.

Demand for “performance art” is growing, but it’s a painful process. For the naked models who stand for hours as crowds gawk, it’s a confronting but exhilarating experience. James Elton-Pym reports.

What are Australia’s most walkable cities? Certainly not Canberra, as Alan Davies explains.

Good photography is all about pictures that move, in one sense or another. James Rose reviews the latest display from New York’s Open Society Foundation.

The man who sentenced Ned Kelly to death would be instrumental in creating the institution that educated Sidney Nolan in famously capturing the outlaw. John Kelly looks at the legacy from Ireland.

Australia is getting a new pavilion at the Venice Biennale, largely funded by private donors. But very few of us will ever see it. The rich are spending more on art, but do we really benefit?

Bob Gosford likes planes and likes light. And he really likes the light that planes make at night, which he has chronicled in photos over the last year. Just don’t ask him how he did it …

The winner of the architectural competition for Sydney’s new $40 million Green Square library has been announced. But in this day and age, asks Alan Davies, does it make sense to spend big money on branch libraries?

The relationship between publishers and readers has changed dramatically — and it’s all thanks to digital marketing technologies. Social media and video trailers are flogging more books.

Henry Reynolds’ new book explores the dark history of Australia’s Frontier Wars and finds that Australian history is in denial.

The shortlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize is out — and a 28-year-old author from New Zealand could be the youngest ever winner of the prestigious literary gong.

Jim Morgan reads “Stoner” and “The Young Desire It” with great admiration, and recalls blood on the pages of another volume in the farmyard.

It’s no secret that big business plays a role in governance, but Dollarocracy shows just how deep those ties run, writes James Rose.

In solidarity with Caroline Criado-Perez, threatened with rape on Twitter because she suggested Jane Austen should feature on British banknotes, S.A. Jones has anti-trolling techniques from the great lady herself.

Young people take grammar more seriously than you’d think, writes Allie Severin.

James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch dance on the grave of Fairfax while its newspapers fail to properly scrutinise their power and influence. The recent story of Fairfax is one of independence cut short.

This week in the UK there was an announcement of a more bookish kind than the Royal ones we’ve been inundated with: the longlist for the 45th annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Bethanie Blanchard has the low-down.

James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch seemed to have plenty to talk about as they mingled at the Sydney launch of journalist Pamela Williams’ book Killing Fairfax. And News Corp staff were everywhere …

Great Australian poet Les Murray wrote a book about his debilitating depression, but was cheerful at a recent bookshop appearance where W H Chong witnessed the world premiere of four poems.

Lonely Planet will make more cuts — up to 100 jobs could go — as it transitions painfully to a digital future. While more people are travelling, fewer are buying guidebooks.

Before the full launch of the 2013 Melbourne Writers Festival program, Bethanie Blanchard spoke with festival director Lisa Dempster about the writers chosen for inclusion in this year’s line up.

Australia’s new Treasurer found he had more than a few friends in high places eager to see and be seen at his book launch.

Michelle de Kretser’s novel Questions of Travel has picked up two of Australia’s most prestigious literary prizes. It mines our political and personal dilemmas splendidly, writes James Waite Morgan.

There’s a fierce debate on the Australian stage over classic texts, original plays and the blurry line between the two. Theatremaker and La Boite artistic director David Berthold hopes it inspires better writing.

W.H. Chong bids farewell to the late, great sci-fi author Iain M. Banks by re-reading all his books. It is a sad pleasure to read the 15 novels and a non-fiction book in a remarkable career.

Every publisher in the country is releasing at least one political book this year, and although they vary in style, there’s really only one overarching theme: “What the F-ck is Wrong with the Labor Party?”

Tales and thoughts, tropic rain, design awards and midnight shards of Sydney’s outrageous beauty. W H Chong visits the Sydney Writers Festival, notepad in hand.

Thrice nominated for the Booker Prize, writer Anita Desai reflected on her place in India’s rapidly changing literary canon in a speech in Melbourne last night.

A new DVD and book tell stories about individuals. But in doing so, they unveil all our stories and highlight our reliance on narrative, writes James Rose.

The Emerging Writers Festival began as a one-day sine fair in 2004 and has progressed in leaps and bounds. Bethanie Blanchard talks with director Sam Twyford-Moore.

Joe Hockey described the federal budget as a ‘magical pudding’, becoming the latest in a long line of politicians to use the metaphor. Piers Kelly explores its literary origins.

Annual music industry talk-fest Big-Sound is wrapping up, and the talk was of local content requirements for commercial radio, plus what the Abbott government will (or won’t) do to help the domestic music industry.

On the weekend musician Paul Kelly gave a touching four and a half minute tribute to late Yothu Yindi frontman Dr. Yunupingu. The Northern Myth publishes the transcript.

Despite technical imperfection, the rags to riches story of soul artist Charles Bradley is an inspiring a portrait of a man who clearly loves life and humanity, writes James Rose.

Hobart’s Dark Mofo arts festival, which runs till the Winter Solstice (June 23), is a celebration of the dark through large-scale public art, food and music, as well as “light and noise”.

Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon and frontbencher Peter Garrett vied for dominance in an upstairs downstairs feud over live music on Friday night. So who won?

M. Yunupingu, former lead singer of Yothu Yindi, has passed away in his Northern Territory home. Bob Gosford pays tribute to a vibrant and influential Australian.

Opposition communications minister Malcolm Turnbull and shadow treasurer Joe Hockey were in fine form at the Sydney Writers’ Festival — and might even have gone off script.

In addition to the wacky tunes and party time atmosphere, Eurovision is a great chance for linguistic nerds to observe flamboyant lesser-known European languages, writes Lauren Gawne.

They Might Be Giants would be pop kings except for one factor: their brains are too big. Needless to say, their concert in Melbourne rocked, writes W H Chong.

Chrissy Amphlett blasted the door open for women who didn’t want to be demure. Her legacy in Australian rock will live on long after her death from cancer yesterday, writes journalist (and fan) Andrew Stafford.

The Iron Lady found herself in the lyrics of many UK songs over the years, from Morrissey to raps about the 1981 anti-unemployment riot. Crikey chronicles the best of them.

Use of birds in Nick Cave’s writing runs the full spectrum, from pestilent purveyors of gloom to bright-winged messengers of love. Bob Gosford ponders Cave’s lyrical aviary.

Community radio broadcasters around Australia say government funding to make the digital transition will come up short. Musicians are worried about the consequences.

Terry Napilil Pascoe, bass player for Sunrize Band and a member of the Indigenous Music Hall of Fame, has passed away. Bob Gosford pays tribute.

With the Big Day Out on the hunt for a new site, the economic impact of big festivals has never been more important. But are tourist dollars really the best way to measure the impact of cultural events?

David Bowie’s re-emergence is sneaky, surprising and very exciting, as the artist has been very quiet since his worldwide tour a decade ago. Angela Meyer reviews his new album The Next Day.

What was the best film of 2012? The best TV show? The book you have to read, the video game you have to play, the album you have to download, the theatre you should have seen? Crikey picks the best.

As the inquiries into the Jimmy Savile scandal widen, the present is cannibalising the past, to general distress. The question is: how many other people will be drawn in?

Wally De Backer — AKA musician Gotye — provides star power to an NGO that supports wildlife rangers around the world. He speaks to Crikey on the ethics of celebrities getting involved in charities.

Weekly sex advice, fortnightly language discussions, fashion tips and yacking about movies. W H Chong writes on his favourite podcasts of 2012.

Community radio — which plays more Australian music than commercial rivals — relies on a government-funded project to put tracks to air. But will that money be there in 2013?

Terrible conditions inside Russian prison colonies and a bust-up with lawyers. Russian-born freelance journalist Sasha Petrova discovers that things aren’t looking so good for punk band Pussy Riot.

Sydney Theatre Company’s feminist take on the classic isn’t definitive, but it is thrilling, writes Lloyd Bradford Syke.

In Sydney via Timor, the genre-bending, cross-hatched Doku Rai is the kind of immersive experience you want to have in the theatre — but rarely do.

Nellie White has great material, but sadly the show is under-cooked, writes Patrick O’Duffy.

Dropped is hardly a comedy, but makes up for the lack of laughs with its strength, writes Patrick O’Duffy.

A lack of material, focus and rehearsal made for a mediocre show for metal-heads, writes Alana Mitchelson.

Sure, Randy is a puppet show, but goes to a much darker place than Sesame Street, writes Patrick O’Duffy.

A self-deprecating look at social media “addiction” which uncovers a few home truths about loneliness and connection.

Making stupidity funny is harder than you’d think. Sabrina D’Angelo talks clown college ahead of her Melbourne Fringe show.

A modern classic versus a dance-fest with lofty ambitions — Lloyd Bradford Syke examines both musicals.

It’s the Sydney Opera House’s 40th birthday, and a milestone for its first-ever production.

The works of William Shakespeare were ripe for reinvention in two productions — at very opposite ends of the spectrum — at this year’s Brisbane Festival.

The Australian Ballet has delivered a heartbreaking take on the classic fable, writes Corina Thorose.

Old furniture wages a war against its sleek Swedish replacements, in this riotous puppet play for adults and kids, writes Mark Pearce.

The debut effort from Anya Reiss proves the Australian Theatre for Young People is still breaking ground after 50 years.