Comedy
‘Hot food or cold?’, and other divisive Christmas debates
There’s no end to Noel stress for those deemed the decision-maker-in-chief.
- by Richard Glover
Latest
Hannah Gadsby’s new show shrugs off celebrity and embraces the weird
This wrap of shows around Melbourne includes Hannah Gadsby’s Banana Palace, and a colourful and fun pocket-sized version of Cinderella by The Australian Ballet.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Andrew Fuhrmann
Opinion
Christmas
How to buy a Secret Santa gift for the person you hoped you wouldn’t get
Every year, I get my father-in-law in Secret Santa, and every year, the experience is the same: a crushing reminder that he will never love me (or at least love my gifts).
- by Thomas Mitchell
Ciggies, nudie mags, souvenir spoons: These are the things I was raised on
The world of the 1970s Australian newsagency – my father’s business – is all but gone.
- by Richard Glover
★★★★
Review
The comedy designed to put the fear of God in you
Simon Bird of The Inbetweeners plays the patriarch of a fundamentalist Christian family that can’t wait for the end times in a delightful British comedy series.
- by Karl Quinn
Opinion
Christmas
There are too many Christmas parties, and it needs to stop
Seeing family and friends is one thing, but must I celebrate the festive season with people from my gym?
- by Thomas Mitchell
Couch surfer in his 30s. Oscar winner in his 40s. Why the whole world wants Taika
One of New Zealand’s most original creative exports, filmmaker and actor Taika Waititi is the king of the oddball.
- by Konrad Marshall
Small talk is cheap. Let’s bring it back
We’ve become so bad at chatting that it’s now being taught at university.
- by Richard Glover
New Aussie movie puts a twist on the classic Christmas comedy
A Savage Christmas stars newcomer Thea Raveneau as a trans woman returning home to discover her family is more messed up than she ever knew.
- by Hannah Story
Is Nathan Fielder for real? How a master of cringe comedy blends fact and fiction
Famous for Nathan For You and The Rehearsal, Fielder is back with a new drama starring Emma Stone – and it’s wilder than ever.
- by Jake Wilson
Fools of the trade: This electrician might just be the next Kenny
No funding? No worries. Comedian John Cruckshank’s series about the trials and tribulations of an electrical contractor is impressing audiences.
- by Thomas Mitchell