Vale Sam Neill
14 September 1947 – 13 July 2026 By all accounts from those who knew him, Sam Neill was a thoroughly decent chap, a movie star without any of the trappings of ego or narcissism. He was a dependable leading man (‘Dead Calm’), or second-in-command (‘The Hunt for Red October’), but he was quite accomplished in villainous or morally ambiguous roles as well (‘The Piano’, ‘Event Horizon’). For example, as Old Scratch in ‘The Final Conflict,’ he manages to give quite a good performance, despite the prevailing silliness. He made a lot of films and television shows we’ve never seen, but…
Continue Reading →Return of Split Enz
(Adelaide Entertainment Centre, 25 May 2026) Split Enz arrived in Australia in 1975, at that stage more-or-less a New Zealand cabaret act [‘art rock’ as Glenn A. Baker and Stuart Coupe termed it in their book, The New Music (1980)]. Wonderfully weird, their oddball appearance and intricate songs gave them a certain cachet, but after some musicians moved on, the original line-up that included Tim Finn, Eddie Rayner and Noel Crombie were joined by Tim’s brother Neil (later of Crowded House fame, and, briefly, and surprisingly, Fleetwood Mac). Melody Maker opined that “they are one of the few bands with…
Continue Reading →Faust 2026 – Co-opera
"Faust" by Jean-Paul Laurens
Adelaide, 24 May 2026 (Directed by Nicholas Cannon) We had last caught Gounod’s rather strange take on the Faust legend in Sydney over 10 years ago. Co-opera is somewhat of a boutique company, formed in 1990, that takes the art form on the road and provides opportunities for young aspirants. At the rather unusual venue of the observatory on Hackney Road, the auditorium more apt for dinner theatre than opera, a group of young players (see credits below) belted out Gounod’s pretty music with gusto. Very ably supported by a solitary piano (kudos to Sachiko Hidaka), and with innovative use…
Continue Reading →All My Sons
[written by Arthur Miller, 1947 – Production at the National Theatre, directed by Ivo van Hove, 2026] All My Sons is more-or-less bulletproof. It has been compared to great Greek tragedy, particularly Oedipus (by the playwright himself, among others), and its power derives principally from the way the plot ambles like slow-moving lava, to its shattering conclusion. That said, a production can diminish a great play, and in the new National Theatre, they have managed this to a degree. It is a long piece that takes a great deal of time and exposition to set up that great last act,…
Continue Reading →Roald Dahl – The Complete Short Stories
(Volume One, 1944-1953; Volume Two, 1954-1988) Roald Dahl (1916 – 1990) Welsh born, Norwegian descent, started his writing life by accident. Invalidated out of WWII from the RAF, he was asked by C.S. Forester in Washington to prepare some accounts to publicise the war effort. His robust but sometimes surreal war stories ensued; he then enlarged his métier with droll and often shocking tales of the weird and unexpected. He was no great stylist: his sentences at times stray into the excesses reminiscent of Hemingway, but the ingeniousness of his little plots and the dark corners of life he illuminates…
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