Review
Been workin’ on the railroad
Iain SheddenBilly Bragg and Joe Henry’s celebration of the train in American folklore is bringing them to Australia.
Fantastic magic
PHILIPPA HAWKERJK Rowling’s latest addition to the Harry Potter franchise has attracted fans old and new to its cast.
Guilty secrets
GRAEME BLUNDELLThe Affair continues to delve into the repercussions of infidelity, long after the thrill is gone.
Northern songs
Victoria LaurieThe Pilbara’s rich cultural heritage is at the heart of an inspiring arts project.
The road to chaos
Richard FergusonWas Malcolm Turnbull’s dethroning of Tony Abbott worth the gamble?
Insights from a ‘deplorable’
Stephen RomeiIf you’re wondering how Donald Trump made it to the White House, this book is an excellent starting point.
Danes steal our moment in sun
Deirdre MackenSummer in Australia is a signal for the world to be jealous. But this year the natural order has been overturned.
Angry at underdog’s plight
david strattonBritish director Ken Loach has spent his career championing the rights of those who live on struggle street.
Lyrical tribute
International opera star Sumi Jo’s latest concert tour honours two of the most important women in her life.
Rowling’s brave new world
Stephen RomeiFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is JK Rowling’s screenwriting debut. Does she have another hit on her hands?
Birth of a colony
CHRISTOPHER ALLENDepictions of the nascent colony of what would become Perth point to the hopes and dreams of settlers.
Your weekly TV planner
TV writer Graeme Blundell gives his top recommendations for this week’s viewing on the box.
Rhythm and rhyme
Staff writersJazz poetry is defined as poetry that demonstrates jazz-like rhythms and the feel of improvisation.
Crowded House headline Arias
Iain SheddenThe ARIA Awards will be held in Sydney next Wednesday featuring this year’s leading nominee Flume.
Standing for the fallen
Bronwyn WatsonA stark image of a tree in regional Victoria is a poignant tribute to a soldier who fell in World War I.
This (hugging) life
Wendy HornI weighed up the situation and thought: what the hell! I walked towards him and he towards me. Hug accomplished.
The dotted line
Peter CravenNicolas Rothwell’s deeply personal essays explore the paradoxical idea that some laws are violated to be upheld.
Brought to life … and death
Bob CarrHarry Sidebottom’s novels dramatise the Roman crisis of 235 to 238 which saw seven emperors rule in three years.
Frenemies spin a dazzling tale
Malcolm ForbesWhite Teeth author Zadie Smith ventures outside her comfort zone in her new novel and the results are captivating.
Friendship blossoms
Felicity PlunkettThe luminous relationship between Ali Smith’s protagonists draws the strands of her new novel, Autumn, together.
Creation of a popular hero
Simon CatersonCrocodile hunter Steve Irwin had a special relationship with his dad.
A veterans’ affair
Peter PierceThree of Australia’s veteran novelists are showing a late burst of creative output.
Nice work if you can get it
Andrew BroertjesSocial and political anxiety form the backdrop for Tim Dunlop’s Why the Future is Workless.
Best way to buy your vote
Les ColemanWhether the race is for a presidency or a parliament, elections cost money, and this heightens voter cynicism.
Out of Africa and beyond
staff writersLakuta and Alma Afrobeat Ensemble update the genre that Nigerian musician Fela Kuti hatched half a century ago.
Day the Diggers beat the odds
Ross FitzgeraldWriting about defeats is a necessary part of any war historian’s job, but it’s refreshing to read about a victory.
Remember the age of chivalry?
GREG SHERIDANWhen it comes to Donald Trump’s demeaning attitude towards women, don’t blame the 1950s.
On the road without a map
Stephen RomeiAmerican Honey, starring Shia LaBeouf, is an intriguing film despite its considerable irritations.
Surreal estate
PHILIPPA HAWKERRoman Polanski’s unsettling apartment films, with their heightened sense of horror and suspense, are being revisited.
In the box
Brendan WardJames Crabb is proving there’s much more to the accordion than keeping drinkers entertained in taverns.
Booze, blokes, female convicts
Babette SmithWomen prisoners sent to the Moreton Bay penal settlement had a little too much time on their hands.
This (speechless) life
Michelle AtkinsAn anniversary of a family loss brings contemplation of the power of words and gestures.
Smart reading of a melodrama
David StrattonTom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals is head and shoulders above the typical tired films made in Hollywood these days.
Memoirs of a spy’s son
Tom DusevicABC journalist Mark Colvin’s memoir is as much an odyssey to find a late father as to make sense of the world.
To Vanya, with love
PETER CRAVENNadia Tass, creator of the Aussie film classic Malcolm, is relishing the opportunity to stage Chekhov.
PM’s night of nights
Stephen Romei‘Malcolm Turnbull was a good boy and did as he was told.’ So said a judge of the PM’s Literary Awards, in jest.
Gong for a song
iain sheddenDarren and Sally Seltmann are the first married couple to collect a trophy at the Screen Music Awards.
MORE STORIES
Cracking outing for a chestnut
Rita ClarkeWest Australian Ballet’s The Nutcracker is a beautiful production, a must-see in the company’s repertoire.
Power play given modern twist
VICTORIA LAURIEDeath by media exposure is a very modern way of knocking off your enemy.
Inventive theatre with punch
CHRIS BOYDSeven years in the making, Animal is a remarkably spare, distilled and forceful piece of theatre.
The sum of their parts
Oliver MoodyLock up your Voltaires: science is muscling in on the humanities in often interesting and enlightening ways.
Comfortable in his skin
Iain SheddenThings got big on ‘bedroom producer’ Flume but, in a retiring way, he’s coping with fame.
Big ideas in tiny spaces
John McCallumWhat is astonishing about this small-venue play is that there are nine actors of such calibre and experience.
Fiery singer found audience late
John JurgensenAfter decades on the margins of music Sharon Jones had a middle-age career burst in the early 2000s with the Dap-Kings.
Something ‘oddball’ in adaptation
Chris BoydNadia Tass’s limpid production uses an adaptation by playwright Annie Baker for a 2012 Soho Rep production.