Culture

Archibald Prize

In detention, with no brush or oils, this Archibald finalist taught himself to paint

Mostafa Azimitabar was desperate for distraction and denied art supplies, out of fears he would self-harm. So he used what he had.

by Kerrie O'Brien

Namila Benson presents The Art Of..., the ABC’s latest arts offering.

ABC

Divorce parties and sex scenes: How the ABC’s new show breaks the mould

by Kerrie O'Brien

Powell transforms into leading man in this delightful romantic comedy

★★★★½

Streaming

Powell transforms into leading man in this delightful romantic comedy

by Craig Mathieson

Review

Bogie and Bacall: Hollywood’s greatest love affair or PR fairytale?

by Tom Ryan

Charmian Clift in a new documentary, Rachel Lane’s Charmian Clift: Life Burns High, that is screening at Sydney Film Festival.

Film Festivals

Charmian Clift, ‘radicalising force’ for feminism, finally gets to shine

by Garry Maddox

Movies

Cinema

Will Furiosa’s box-office struggles mean the end of Mad Max?

George Miller’s latest film has struggled for a second weekend in cinemas around the world. What does it mean for the future of the franchise?

by Garry Maddox

From IF to The Tiger’s Apprentice: why are family-friendly movies not quite hitting the mark this year?

Cinema

If you think kids’ films suddenly suck, this is why

Most major studios are opting for less original and juvenile titles, as they struggle to attract the entire family.

by Nell Geraets

Film Festivals

Charmian Clift, ‘radicalising force’ for feminism, finally gets to shine

by Garry Maddox

Dynevor played Daphne Bridgerton in the Netflix series.

Film & TV production

Bridgerton star tipped for Aussie shark film from Succession producers

by Karl Quinn

Film

Why romcoms are the only thing we’re going to be watching this year

by Meg Watson

TV & radio

TV Guide

Miranda Otto as Mrs Virginia Ambrose, one of the new characters introduced into the Ladies in Black universe.

Australian TV

Miranda Otto on the Ladies in Black – and the lost art of customer service

The Australian actor plays one of the new characters in the ABC TV series, which is the third spin-off from Madeleine St John’s 1993 novel, The Women in Black.

by Louise Rugendyke

Michael Theo, from <i>Love On The Spectrum</i>, stars in the comedy Austin.

ABC

Austin isn’t a show about autism, but it gets the depiction just right

We first met Michael Theo in Love on the Spectrum. Now he’s one of the stars (and a script consultant) of the sweetly farcical comedy Austin.

by Craig Mathieson

ABC

Divorce parties and sex scenes: How the ABC’s new show breaks the mould

by Kerrie O'Brien

Adria Arjona as Madison Masters and Glen Powell as Gary Johnson in Hit Man.

★★★★½

Streaming

Glen Powell shines in Netflix’s twisty, delightful romantic comedy

by Craig Mathieson

Four Aussie couples are set to change their lives in the trailer for Do You Want To Live Forever? Coming soon to 9Now. — 1:15

by David Free

Rising Festival

If the Yarra could make music, this is what it would sound like

by John Bailey

Vivid Sydney

Sky Ferreira emerges after 10 years of ‘being erased’ by record label drama

by Robert Moran

Members of the City of Dandenong Brass Band.

Rising Festival

A brass band with acid house bangers? Hold on to your flugelhorn

by Kylie Northover

Performing arts

A pub with no peer: Remembering the glory days of the ‘Hoey’

by Barry Divola

Pop music

Tears, relief and a room full of love greet Beth Gibbons’ stage return

by Michael Dwyer

Live reviews

★★★★★

Melbourne live reviews

Joy, humour and hurt collide in this profoundly human story

by Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen, Andrew Fuhrmann, Cameron Woodhead and Jessica Nicholas

Gaslight stars Toby Schmitz and Geraldine Hakewill.

Review

It’s a gas! Laughs and gasps fill the Regal for this smart update of a classic play

by Mark Naglazas

Tim Freedman plays with The Whitlams Black Stump at Factory Theatre last Friday night.

★★★★

Sydney live reviews

Newtown to Nashville: The Whitlams’ Tim Freedman takes a surprise detour

by John Shand, Shamim Razavi, Peter McCallum and Michael Bailey

by Avi Selk

Debi Mazar is starring in the new ABC drama, Ladies in Black.

Sunday Life

Raised by single women who had to leave bad men, Debi Mazar beat the odds

by Steve Dow

Matthew Perry, who starred as Chandler Bing in the hit series Friends, died last year aged 54.

Vale

Matthew Perry’s death under criminal investigation

Stage

Actor Conor Leach (left) and author Shannon Molloy. Leach is starring in the play Fourteen, based on Molloy’s memoir, and is portraying the author on stage in regional areas as well as cities.

Bullying

‘The school feels bad’: True story of bullying is touring Qld region where it occurred

by Nick Dent

Opinion

Comedy

Give me back my landline, my desk drawers, and my dreary old office

by Richard Glover

See & Do

Hot nights and cool gigs: Your guide to Melbourne’s best this winter

by Kath Dolan

Brightman as Norma Desmond in <i>Sunset Boulevard</i>.

Interview

‘I felt I could understand this role’: Sarah Brightman on playing Norma Desmond

by Lenny Ann Low

by Linda Morris

Exhibitions

Think selfies started with the iPhone? Pharaohs beat us by 5000 years

by Richard Jinman

Who is watching who? Rene Magritte’s The False Mirror (1929).

Exclusive

Art

Surrealist master heads to Australia for a summer of blockbusters

by Linda Morris

The north and south wings of the Art Gallery of NSW are to be given Indigenous cultural names.

Art

Art gallery wins more funding, faces more job cuts in tough NSW budget

by Linda Morris

by Melanie Kembrey

Harry Houdini preparing to jump into the Yarra in 1910.

Review

The Taylor Swift of his day: Harry Houdini’s Melbourne tour

by Simon Caterson

Miranda July has published her first novel in almost a decade, All Fours.

Literature

Did Miranda July just write ‘the first great perimenopause novel’?

by Melanie Kembrey

Review

Bogie and Bacall: Hollywood’s greatest love affair or PR fairytale?

by Tom Ryan

The Sydney Morning Herald

★★★★½

★★★★½

★★★★★

★★★★

Opinion

Exclusive