HAND TO GOD - Everyman Theatre - ACT Hub

Michael Cooper as Jason, with his puppet friend, Tyrone in "Hand to God"

Written by Robert Askins – Directed by Jarrad West

Executive Producer/Technical Director/ Sound Designer: Nikki Fitzgerald

Set Design: Jarrad West – Puppet Design: Emma Sissons

Lighting design: Nathan Sciberras -Stage Manager: Lucy van Dooren

Intimacy Co-ordinator – Lachlan Ruffy.

Presented by Everyman Theatre - ACT Hub until 20^th December 2025.

Opening night performance on 10^th December reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

Tyrone (Puppet) - Jason (Michael Cooper) - Margery (Amy Kowalczuk) - Jessica (Meaghan Stewart) 

This is the second production by Everyman Theatre of this extraordinary play. If you missed it first time around, do yourself a favour and try to catch it this time.

Again, expertly directed by Jarrad West, with a cast of many of the city’s most accomplished actors, all of whom are new to their roles, apart from Michael Cooper who repeats his tour de force turn in the central role as Jason. This alone is a compelling excuse to revisit this play, even if you were lucky enough to experience its first iteration.

Jason’s mother Margery (Amy Kowalczuk) has been recently widowed and is trying to manage her grief by making puppets for the local puppet club. Margery is a member of a fundamentalist Christian congregation which uses puppets to teach children to follow the Bible and avoid Satan.

Timothy (William Allington) - Jessica (Meaghan Stewart) - Tyrone - Jason (Michael Cooper) in
"Hand to God"

Jason has a crush on his next-door neighbour, Jessica (Meaghan Stewart), who together with his best friend Timothy (William Allington) the school bully who’s attending Alcoholics Anonymous, are all members of the Puppet Club run by Pastor Greg (Lachlan Ruffy).

Pastor Greg has designs on Margery and is doing his best to persuade her to put on a performance by the puppet club the following Sunday.

Pastor Greg (Lachlan Ruffy) wooing Margery (Amy Kowalczuk) in "Hand to God"

When the characters become sexually attracted to each other, Jason’s hand puppet, Tyrone, takes on a life of its own, announcing that he is Satan and revealing secrets the other characters would rather leave unacknowledged.

“Hand to God” can be enjoyed as a farcical romp. It certainly is fun on that level. The writing is witty, even if the language and the subject matter is often quite confronting.

But for those looking for something deeper, the author, Robert Askins, delivers, by drawing on the classical tools of humour to create a desperate atmosphere of mental and physical chaos and violence to display taboos denouncing the hypocrisy of American society, and more particularly, that of Christian congregations faced with the sexuality of teenagers. To this end, he challenges his audience with a complex combination of laughter and unease as he dares them to laugh as they cringe.

Director Jarrad West understands this, and his cluttered set design reflects this notion.   He’s directed his actors to interpret the characters, not as clowns, but as real people, and while most of their reactions are ridiculously over-the-top, the audience is compelled to emphasise and feel for them.

In a brave, compelling performance, Amy Kowalczuk becomes Margery, a woman on the brink of a nervous breakdown, and in her grief, in no mood for a relationship.  Overwhelmed by the attentions of Pastor Greg, and horny teenager, Timothy, her responses are both terrifying and hysterically funny.

Willam Allington, as the sex-obsessed punk teenager, Timothy, is as confused as Margery by her responses to his advances. The cleverly staged scene in which they succumb to their mutual lust is one of the highlights of the production.

 Lachlan Ruffy invests the role of Pastor Greg with a creepy venality that makes it easy to laugh at his inept attempts to seduce Margery. Then later, even admire his acquisition of enough backbone to challenge the out-of-control puppet, and yet, still rejoice in his come-uppance when his self-serving hypocrisy is finally exposed.  

In a delightfully restrained performance, Meaghan Stewart charms as the manipulative teenager, Jessica, aware of Jason’s clumsy attentions, and unimpressed by his friendship with Timothy. The scene in which Jessica and Jason engage in small talk while their puppets joyfully explore every possible sexual position, is another of many highlights.

Jessica (Meaghan Stewart) - Tyrone - Jason (Michael Cooper) share a moment in "Hand to God".

But as accomplished as the performances of the supporting cast are, it is the virtuosic performance of Michael Cooper, as both Jason and his puppet, Tyrone, which drives the production. 

Cooper manages to invest each character a distinct personality and voice, so that there is never the slightest confusion as to which character is speaking, even though he never attempts to disguise his own voice with ventriloquism techniques.

The mood of the play darkens with the climactic scene in which Tyrone begins to take control of Jason’s life. Cooper’s performance of their final fight for control is brutal and disturbing to watch but brilliantly executed and absolutely memorable.

Jason (Michael Cooper) and Tyrone harass Margery (Amy Kowalczuk) observed by Pastor Greg (Lachlan Ruffy) in a tense scene during "Hand of God". 

Though some may find it disturbing and confronting, this production of “Hand to God” is hugely entertaining, brilliantly performed, full of surprises and shocks, and an excellent representative of the quality of the productions presented by ACT Hub throughout 2025.  

                                      Photos by Janelle McMenamin and Michael Moore.

 

  

HAND TO GOD

 

 Hand To God by Robert Askins

Director: Jarrad West. Executive Producer / Technical Director: Nikki Fitzgerald. Stage Manager: Lucy van Dooren. Sound Design: Nikki Fitzgerald, Lighting Design: Nathan Sciberras. Set Design: Jarrad West. Puppet Design: Emma Sissons. Intimacy Co-Ordinator: Lachlan Ruffy

Backstage Crew: Jude Livermore, Alex Boulton, Paige Rawlins, Sophie Hope-White

 

 

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

 

Michael Cooper as Jason with Tyrone

 Three years ago I described Jarrad West’s inaugural production of Robert Askins’ black comedy   Hand to God as “outrageously funny” and “discerningly honest”. West’s revival for Everyman Theatre is still outrageously funny and even more disarmingly honest in probing the fragile complexity of the human condition. Although still capable of having an audience in fits of laughter, this revival appears somewhat darker and more cynical in its depiction of the characters' inner turmoil. Of the original cast of Michael Cooper as meek and mild Jason. Stephanie Roberts as Margery, Jason’s mother, Arran McKenna as Pastor Greg, Josh Wiseman as the rebellious sex crazed Tim and Holly Ross as the sweet and innocent Jessica only Cooper reprises his role as Jason whose tyrannical puppet Tyrone creates a seismic upheaval from the very depths of the subconscious in a tsunami of truth. West’s casting for the revival is impeccable, showcasing some of Canberra’s most outstanding actors.

 

The cast of Hand To God during a devilish moment
Lighting by Nathan Sciberras

Amy Kowalczuk plays Margery, desperately trying to run the church’s puppet club while struggling to cope with the grief at the loss of her husband, the attentions of Pastor Greg, the profession of love by young Timmy and the volatile behaviour of Jason in the grip of Tyrone’s demonic outbursts.  Kowalczuk’s performance is perfectly restrained, searingly honest and wildly liberated when Tim’s sexual advances release the repression. William Allington’s troubled teenager, Tim, exudes surly defiance which becomes unbridled lust when Margery succumbs to her desires. This is in stark contrast to Lachlan Ruffy’s  professions of love and controlled propriety as a servant of the church. Ruffy’s Pastor Greg is the epitome of true Christian morality, while all around him the devil wreaks mayhem and madness.  As Jessica Meaghan Stewart demonstrates her versatility as an actor in her portrayal of the demure and sweet innocent, whose secret fantasies are eventually awakened by the sexual abandonment of her puppet Joelle  with Tyrone. Pivotal to the production is Cooper’s brilliant portrayal of the shy Jason in tandem with his explosive and uncontrolled outbursts as Tyrone.  Cooper’s transition between characters from  human to puppet is magnetic, his timing brilliant and his vocal dexterity and physicality riveting.

Michael Cooper (Jason) and Amy Kowalczuk (Margery)

With a cast as outstanding as this, Jarrad West’s production is a master class in direction. The performances reverberate with honesty. The timing is faultless, the business  is clever and inventive   and West keeps the pace racing along through moments of high octane chaos, simulated sex scenes, tender moments of pathos and empathy and crazy hilarity.  What I wrote in 2022 at the highly success and award winning production rings true of this revival, so I shall repeat it as a reason not to miss this excellent and highly professional production

Meaghan Stewart as Jessica. Michael Cooper as Jason
with puppets Joelle and Tyrone designed by Emma Sissons

“Depending on your sense of humour Everyman Theatre’s production of Hand to God will either have you laughing until you cry or crying until you burst into uncontrollable laughter. It’s a blasphemous devilishly outrageous black comedy.  The guffawer will split his, her or their sides at the rude retorts of the rebellious puppet Tyrone. The giggler will find the sexual antics of mother Margery and yobbo Timmy hilariously ribald. But the more restrained subtle smiler will simply smirk with secret delight  at the absurd members of the local church ministry puppet club. If however, you are prone to shock and indignation, then this wonderfully clever, and an absurdly Pandora’s box of all your private fascinations is certainly the place to revel in your unabashed catharsis.

William Allington as Timmy and Lachlan Ruffy as Pastor Greg

ACT HUB has forged a reputation for providing the very best in first class theatre and Everyman’s Hand to God is no exception.   Playwright Askins reminds us of the complexity of human nature and the peril of blind acceptance, false idols and painful suppression. The comedy may be black but the moral is gleaming white thanks to Tyrone, whose manner may be brash but at least you know at which hand you stand.

 Everyman Theatre’s Hand to God is a revival that you would be sorry to miss.   Let your Tyrone loose and hand it to God. You’ll be glad you did!”

Photos by Janelle McMenamin and Michael Moore

 

 

 

HAND TO GOD

 

Written by Robert Askins

Directed by Jarrad West

Everyman Theatre Production

ACT Hub Theatre, Kingston to 20 December

 

Reviewed by Len Power 10 December 2025

 

When shy young Jason joins his mother’s Christian Puppet Ministry in the tiny, conservative town of Cypress, Texas, he unwittingly releases the Devil through his creation of a puppet, Tyrone. The resulting effect on Jason and the characters around him has to be seen to be believed!

 Robert Askins’ play, first produced off-Broadway in 2011, seems to have everything you need for a good night out at the theatre - religious hypocrisy, family dysfunction, shockingly bad language, faith, bullying, morality, bereavement, horny teenager troublemaking and assorted sexual stuff, blasphemy, insanity, puppet addiction, obsessiveness, furniture smashing, virginal timidness, ear biting, frenzied behaviour and violence. I think that was everything…

All five members of the cast give strong performances with excellent comic timing. Michael Cooper as Jason and his puppet, Tyrone, displays extraordinary vocal ability that brings Tyrone to malevolent life, adding a surreal edginess to the show. His physical performance as he fights with the puppet has to be seen to be believed.

Michael Cooper (Jason)

Meaghan Stewart is quietly funny as Jessica, the young woman attracted to Jason. How she manages to show her true feelings for him results in a hilariously explicit sex scene. William ‘Wally’ Allington, as Timmy, the youthful and horny town tough chasing after the mother, Margery, gives a nicely repellent and amusing performance.

Amy Kowalczuk as Margery, the religious mother overtaken by lust, brings out the humour in her role through thoughtful characterization. Lachlan Ruffy as the hypocritical Pastor Greg with a strange dress sense, is funny as well as creepy.

Lachlan Ruffy (Pastor Greg) & Amy Kowalczuk (Margery)

The speed at which this show is played is breath-taking at times. The Director, Jarrad West, has kept a firm control on the frenzied and farcical action in the first act, but the second act seemed less humorous and slower, making it feel more uncomfortable than funny in places.

Overall, ‘Hand to God’, with its fine performances and strong direction, is an outrageously funny play with a lot of truth under the surface.

Photos by Janelle McMenamin & Michael Moore 

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.

 

 

PRETTY WOMAN The Musical - Theatre Royal - Sydney

Samantha Jade as Vivian Ward and Ben Hall as Edward Lewis in "Pretty Woman" 

Book by Garry Marshall & J.F. Lawton – Music and Lyrics by Bryan Adams & Jim Vallance

Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell – Recreated by Rusty Mowery

Resident Director: Liam McIlwain - Musical Director: David Skelton

Music Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations: Will Van Dyke.

 Scenic Design: David Rockwell – Costume Design: Tom Rogers

Lighting Design: Kenneth Posner & Philip S. Rosenberg – Sound Design: John Shivers

Produced by Jones Theatrical, ATG Productions & Gavin Kalin Productions

Theatre Royal, Sydney until 4th April 2026.

Sydney opening night performance on 4^th December 2025 reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Ben Hall as Edward Lewis - Samantha Jade as Vivian Ward and company in "Pretty Woman"

You don’t have to be a fan of the film, on which this musical is based, to be charmed by this delightful adaptation. Possibly one of the few souls on earth who missed the film, this reviewer still succumbed to the Broadway panache employed by director and choreographer, Jerry Mitchell, and his collaborators, in transforming this seductive adult fairy-tale into a stylish stage musical.

The casting is impeccable. Samantha Jade is bewitching as the feisty streetwalker, Vivian Ward, who wants to be “Anywhere but Here”.  An accomplished singer, actor and dancer, Jade draws on all those skills to create a character, constantly intriguing, as she traces the trajectory of Vivian’s journey. It is the role which will be remembered as her break-out role, and which stamps her as an exciting new musical theatre leading lady.  

Similarly, Ben Hall, as the ridiculously wealthy businessman, Edward Lewis, who intrigued by “Something About Her” provides Vivian with the opportunity (and money) to become her ‘real’ self. Hall has the look and bearing of a perfect Prince Charming and the voice of a Broadway leading man.

Ben Hall as Edward Lewis and Samantha Jade as Vivian Ward in "Pretty Woman"

Both have the presence, and the acting chops, to convince audiences to forget the improbability of the storyline, (thoughts of Sweet Charity, My Fair Lady, even Cinderella), and put questions of common sense aside to wallow in the lusciousness of their romance.  

But this is where Jerry Mitchell’s brilliance surfaces. Recognising the differences between a successful Hollywood movie and a successful Broadway musical, he has surrounded Vivian and Edward with a milieu of thoroughly delightful supporting characters, stylish settings, glamorous costumes, and clever choreography. Theatrical devices which delight the eye and burnish the storytelling.

Tim Omaji as Happy Man and cast of "Pretty Woman".

Principal among the supporting characters is Tim Omaji, completely lovable as Mr Thompson, the manager of Beverly Wilshire Hotel (Oh, for a hotel manager like this one). Omaji also plays an other-worldly, hippy character, Happy Man, who leads the ensemble through “Don’t Forget to Dance”.

Both roles provide Omaji with the opportunity to exercise the formidable dance skills for which he gained fame as Timomatic. The male dance duo during “On a Night Like Tonight” performed by Mr Thompson and the porter, Giulio, (an effervescent Jordan Tomljenovic), is a real showstopper which had the first night audience screaming with delight.

Another showstopper was the dreamy staging of “You and I”, in which Edward introduces Vivian, gorgeous in the iconic red dress, to opera. Snatches of “La Traviata”, gloriously sung by Rebecca Gulinello as Violetta and Callum Warrender as Alfredo, are threaded through swirling dancers in an intoxicating confection observed by Edward and Vivian from a red velvet opera box.

Michelle Brasier as Kit De Luca and cast in "Pretty Woman".

Michelle Brazier, as Vivian’s hooker friend, Kit De Luca, also gets opportunity to display her well-honed comedic skills and powerful vocals in “Welcome to Hollywood”, “Luckiest Girl in the World” and “Rodeo Drive”.

Good performances abound among the busy ensemble, who each play a variety of roles and execute Mitchell’s demanding choreography with enthusiasm and pizzazz.

So how does “Pretty Woman – The Musical” compare with “Pretty Woman- The Film”?

I’ve no idea, but if the film was half as good as the musical, then it is easy to see why it is a favourite for so many.

However, with the musical, as well as a captivating story, expect upbeat songs, spectacular dances, glamorous costumes and scenery, and a cast brimming with top-flight Australian talent. It might surprise you by becoming your favourite musical.

 

The cast of "Pretty Woman".



Photos by Daniel Boud.

GOD

 

 GOD by Ferdinand von Schirach and translated by David Tushingham.  Lexi Sekuless Productions, with Rare Bird Ensemble,  at The Mill, Dairy Road, Canberra, November 26 - December 18, 2025

Reviewed by Frank McKone
Dec 5

CREATIVES & COMPANY

Cast
Rachel Gärtner: Heidi Silberman; Ms Biegler: Alana Denham Preston
Dr Keller: Maxine Beaumont; Dr Sperling: Timmy Sekuless
Bishop Thiel: Richard Manning; Professor Litten: Helen McFarlane
Chair: Jay James Moody; Council Associate: Sarah Hartley

Contingency and understudy for Dr Keller: Chipz Jin (playing Keller 230pm & 730pm 13 December)

Production Team
Writer: Ferdinand von Schirach; Translator: David Tushingham 
Director and Designer: Lexi Sekuless
Sound Designer: Damian Ashcroft; Costume Designer: Annette Sharpe
Shadow Costume Designer: Nicola Vavasour
Lighting Designer: Andrew Snell; Scenic Painter: Letitia Stewart
Set Builders: Revive Canberra
Production Stage Manager: Bea Grant
Deputy Stage Manager: Paige MacDonald 
Assistant Director: Eli Narev
Photographer: Daniel Abroguena

Producer: Lexi Sekuless Productions 
Principal Sponsor: Willard Public Affairs
By Arrangement with International Performing Rights Ltd


GOD asks the first question: when death knocks on your door, would you call the butler and tell them to let you out into the void?

But then a second question arises, since you and the butler are members of society.  What if the butler is afraid of being charged with a criminal act?

The drama is set in what seems to be Germany where a law has been passed to allow the butler to open the door, but only if they are a doctor qualified to judge whether you are of sound mind, but not of sound body – and so agree you would be better off dead.

But a 55-year-old woman has appealed to us to allow her to call death in, despite being sound of both mind and body.  This is because she had suffered for many months with her husband while he was dying in hospital,  where his butlers, the doctors, finally agreed to stop trying to ‘save’ his life; and she, his literally ‘other half’, cannot live without him.  A court has rejected her application as ‘unconstitutional’.

We, no longer a mere audience, sit on the official Council (like the Australian Capital Territory Appeals Tribunal) to hear the woman’s lawyer and a series of expert witnesses for nearly two hours (including a 20 minute tea break), before submitting our votes for or against her request.

The effect is dramatic, to say the least, as we bit by bit realise that our vote in that last ten minutes is not playing out a game of theatrical fiction.

Last night the 35 people voted 19 in favour, 15 against with 1 abstention.  On other nights, I’m told, the balance of votes was quite different, in different directions.

The value, in fact I would say the importance, of presenting this play is to marvel at the author’s amazing capacity, through the medical, social and religious ‘experts’ he creates, to takes us through something like the last three thousand years of the development of Western Philosophy, to the point where we feel sincerely that our decision is for real.

Then we realise how high is the quality of the directing and the acting on everybody’s part to shift our experience beyond mere observation and thinking about the issues, into a state of personal decision-making as we submit our votes (of course, recorded privately by the Council clerk, with only the numbers each way announced).

This is certainly my kind of theatre, becoming one in a tradition at The Mill Theatre, and definitively not to be missed – I say even if I am a generation older and biassed by my approaching the time I may decide I need the law to be on my side.

 

 

 

Low Pay? Don't Pay!

 Low Pay? Don’t Pay! by Dario Fo. Translation by Joseph Farrell. Directed by Cate Clelland. Canberra Rep. Canberra Rep Theatre. To Dec 6. 

Low Pay? Don’t Pay! starts a little too slowly but once it gets up a bit of steam in the strong hands of director Cate Clelland and a capable cast it turns into a heartfelt production that is driven by Fo’s sense of history, politics and social justice. 

They’ve Anglicised the names and made references to suburbs in Canberra but this play remains resolutely Dario Fo and deeply Italian even in translation and really ought to stay there. But that’s a hard call; how do you translate the Italians?

Toni (Maddie Lee) and Maggie (Chloe Smith) are battling the cost of living and decide to take matters into their own hands when it comes to what they will pay for things, if anything. Hiding the goods is another matter and  Toni in particular becomes adept at spinning fantastical explanations and creating false pregnancies to conceal groceries.

Toni’s husband Joe (Lachlan Abrahams) falls for this and reveals his own fantastical view of how a pregnancy works. Maggie’s husband Lou (Rowan McMurray) is a little more grounded.

There’s good capture of characters who are battlers with heaps of attitude. It’s all happening in a working class suburb with graffiti and washing on the line.

Meanwhile the cops are watching out and not averse to a bit of aggro. 

Antonia Kitzel is simply billed as The Actor but that means she expertly plays a range of parts, from police heavies to wonderfully ancient tottering neighbours, transformations often assisted by a mysterious household cupboard upstage. 

And there is a large hardworking tribe of extras lurking around the backyards and verandahs, locals, cops, people with opinions, sometimes individuals, more often as a group. 

The collective sense of injustice builds until finally at the end of the play all the characters are standing with the workers moving toward the viewer in Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo’s powerful painting The Fourth Estate (Il quarto stato) (c 1900). It’s a shift from comedy to history but it does make sense. It makes the point that the struggle remains real. 

Alanna Maclean

‘illuminate ’25

Visual Arts Exhibition Review – Brian Rope

‘illuminate ’25 - Friends of the Gardens Photographic Group

Australian National Botanic Gardens Visitors Centre Gallery

21 November – 14 December 2025

Exhibitions in the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) Visitor Centre Gallery explore the Australian environment through diverse creative forms. This annual exhibition is of photographic artworks, using light to illuminate the subjects in a variety of ways.

As always the standard of the works in this annual exhibition is high – technically and creatively eye catching. Generally, the imagery is what we expect in nature exhibitions – focussed absolutely on nature with no non-nature intrusions, fauna and flora in their natural environment, in the correct colours of the subjects, and capturing the essence of nature so highly valued by people all over the world. There are, however, a few exceptions and that is fine in my view. All the images entered in the competition associated with this event were required to have been taken in the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG), A small number not entered in the competition did not have to be ANBG subjects; but may well also have been.

There are portraits of native plants, close-up images of Australian flowers, birds and insects, and intimate landscapes to be seen in the gardens.

This year’s judges selected two works by Pam Rooney for awards. One of them Bush Dialogue: Tracks and tunnels of the scribbly gum moth larvae won the Fauna category Award. This composite of five vertical images most successfully used selections of those wonderful scribbly patterns that we all enjoy seeing in the surfaces of gum trees. The well-balanced composition is Rooney’s own artwork created from the natural artworks that are the tracks and tunnels. Another member of the Gardens Photographic Group, Karen Neufeld, was Runner-Up in the Fauna category with her image of a masked bee, titled Bubbling Bee.

Pam Rooney – Bush Dialogue

Karin.Neufeld - Bubbling Bee

A work by Narelle Aldridge Dew drops in the desert was Highly Commended in the David Cox Memorial Award which honours and celebrate the contribution made to the Photographic Group’s activities by the late David Cox. The same artwork was also the Rangers’ Choice. The rangers at ANBG are experienced educators who specialise in bringing the stories of the Gardens to life.

Narelle Aldridge – Dew drops in the desert

Amongst the works which were “different” was Ben Harvey’s cleverly titled Banksy. The image is a black and white monochrome, so we do not see the colours of the bird perched on a banksia. But the detail in the print is excellent and provides plenty to be examined, making the artwork successful and most suitable for display in a modern home.

Ben Harvey - Banksy

A work by Mohamed Rageeb titled Through the Dragon’s Eye is most eye-catching. A close up of the dragon’s colourful eye surrounded by delightful shapes and patterns of the creature’s body surface stopped me in my tracks and commanded me to use my own eyes and look into the dragon’s.

Mohamed Rageeb - Through the Dragon’s Eye

Simone Slater’s work Seven! is another artwork most visitors will spend time with. It doesn’t take a long time to work out the title. On a Xerochrysum flowering plant native to Australia, there are variegated Adonis ladybirds. How many do you think there might be?

Simone Slater – Seven

 

Another Simone Slater piece Behind the Wire was also different. A flower in bloom, more or less framed through a section of wire fencing, completely captured my attention. I found myself wondering whether real frames might be created from wire to use instead of displaying images such as this in traditional black timber frames. Perhaps, someone reading this who has the necessary skills might like to have a go at doing what I have suggested?

This is an exhibition well worth visiting if you can - to see all the artworks, not just the ones I have shown and/or spoken about here. You would also have an opportunity to pick up some delightful Christmas gifts for friends or family whilst you are there.

This review is also available on the author's blog here.

Twiggy - movie

 

Twiggy – A Film by Sadie Frost.  Transmission Films in cinemas from December 4, 2025

Reviewed by Frank McKone



There’s plenty to read about Dame Lesley Lawson (née Hornby) on Wikipedia under the name “Twiggy”.

But, you need to see this documentary to understand and appreciate what her life became as Twiggy, “The Face of 1966” when she was 15 going-on 16, through to the making of this memoir.

I feel guilty now that ever since that year, viewing her instant rise to fame from colonial Sydney, she seemed no more than a shallow sparkle of superficiality.  It was a mystery to me how an accidental shape could change fashion as if it really mattered.

Then as I approached viewing, I feared I would be watching nothing more than another form of commercialised or unnecessarily glorified history.  After all, since my reaction back in 1966, I had never followed her career.  I didn’t need to see more thin legs and over-long eyelashes.

How short-sighted I was!!

It turns out that Lesley Hornby, daughter of a practical and sensible tradesman, has never been a go-getting girl, seeking fame.  That was the last thing she expected.  I think, in the film, it is Dustin Hoffman who says how simply open and honest she is; while perhaps it is Charlotte Tilbury who speaks of how Twiggy is a great example of a girl growing into a woman.

I’m probably biassed the other way now, since I found her north London upbringing, though ten years after me, was in a house exactly like mine and my tradesman uncle’s semi-detached.  He was practical and sensible, too.

I mustn’t give you spoilers, but I think the key to appreciating her story is in an interview on TV when she was still a teenager, now among the upper-class of modelling.  She was asked “Do you feel at home among these people, since you come from a working-class background?”

Twiggy / Lesley just looked at this male interviewer, calmly, and simply said “Why not?”

She became a model, an actor, a partner, a wife, a mother, a success in many different ways – in other words a woman who says “Why not!”, and now tells her story first-hand in this documentary for the first time.

Enjoy. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

HERE YOU COME AGAIN - Canberra Theatre

Tricia Paoluccio as Dolly Parton with the cast if "Here You Come Again"

Created by Bruce Vilanch, Gabriel Barre, Tricia Paoluccio – Directed by Gabriel Barre

Australian adaption: Fiona Harris, Mike Dalgleish – Assoc.Director: Mike Dalgleish

Musical Director/Orchestrator: Andrew Worboys – Choreography: James Maxfield.

Set & Costume Design: Paul Wills – Lighting Design: Jason Bovaird

Sound Design: Marcello Lo Ricca – Illusions: Richard Pinner

Presented by Kay & McLean Productions – Canberra Theatre November 28 – 30^th, 2025.

Opening night performance on November 28^th reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Ash Murdica (Guitar) - Dash Kruck (Kevin Russell) - Tricia Paoluccio (Dolly Parton)
in "Here You Come Again"

 A diehard fan of Dolly Parton, failed entertainer Kevin Russell, following the break-up of his long-term romantic relationship, finds himself back home in Bendigo, living in the attic of his parent’s home, without prospects and pondering his future.

That is until his idol, Dolly Parton, miraculously materialises, and by drawing on her repertoire of hit songs, including “Jolene”, “9 to 5”, “Islands in the Stream”, “I Will Always Love You” and “Here You Come Again”, provides our Kev with the keys to navigating his chaotic life.

It’s a flimsy premise but creators Bruce Vilanch, Gabriel Barre and Tricia Paoluccio, have fashioned it into a charming feel-good musical, as a showcase for the remarkable ability of Tricia Paoluccio to channel the voice and personality of much-loved American entertainer Dolly Parton.

Dash Kruck as Kevin Russell - Tricia Paoluccio as Dolly Parton 
in "Here You Come Again".

This talent is perfectly captured in this entertaining  musical directed by Gabriel Barre, which following successful tours through the UK and USA, has now been adapted and Australianised by Fiona Harris and Mike McLeish for an impressive production in which Tricia Paoluccio repeats her starring turn as Dolly Parton, supported by a multi-talented, all-Australian ensemble led by Dash Kruck as a peripatetic, Kevin Russell.

Kellie Rode delights as Kev’s down-to-earth Mum, who together with Bailey Dunnage as his errant boyfriend Jeremy, and Laura Joy Bunting as Tish, all double as background vocalists and musicians along with the four outstanding musicians who make up the white-hot band.

Luke Herbert (Drums) - Andrew Worboys (Keyboard) - Tina Harris (Bass) -Ash Murdica (guitar)
in "Here You Come Again"

Whenever Andrew Worboys is listed as Musical Director, you know you are in for a treat. Here You Come Again exemplifies that reputation. Besides delighting as Kev’s taciturn Dad, Worboys has surrounded himself with an outstanding band consisting of Ash Murdica on Guitar, Tina Harris on Bass and Luke Herbert on Drums.  

The whole cast participate in James Maxfield’s cleverly staged production numbers, for which designer Paul Wills has provided suitably glitzy costumes and a setting crammed with surprises.  

But it is the songs associated with superstar Dolly Parton that are the focus of this production which does them proud. Tricia Paoluccio imbues them with a warmth and showbiz pizzazz so captivating that it’s easy to believe that Dolly Parton is in the room.

It’s an achievement that makes Here You Come Again a must-see for Dolly Parton fans, as well as those seeking an evening of memorable musical theatre.  

Tricia Paoluccia (Dolly Parton) - Dash Kruck (Kevin Russell) and the cast in the finale of 
"Here You Come Again"


Photos by Cameron Grant.


This review first published in the digital edition of CITY NEWS on 29.11.2025.

 

 

      

 

 

 

unBECOMING

Visual Arts Review - Brian Rope

unBECOMING - Fernanda Pedroso

Grainger Gallery on Geelong

15 November – 14 December 2025 (Thu–Sun, 11am–5pm)

Originally from Brazil, Fernanda Pedroso moved to Australia in 2020 and is based in Canberra.  At the age of 40 she transitioned from a 20-year career in advertising to a new life in photography. In the few years since she has achieved a great deal, including being name Australasia's Top Emerging Photographer of the Year in 2024.

Her work has gained international recognition, earning distinctions in The Monochrome Awards, Australian Photography Awards, Asia Pacific and Iris Awards. She was a finalist in the Canberra Contemporary Photographic Prize (2024, 2025) and semi-finalist in the Head On Photo Awards (2024, 2025).

This exhibition of her series unBECOMING is part of this year’s Head On Photo Festival Open Program. It is one of over seventy diverse, artist-run exhibitions in the Festival across Australia. Looking back through my blog to remind myself what I had seen/reviewed of this artist’s work previously, I noticed that I had seen one of the images, It Doesn't Sound Right, being exhibited here when it was shown in Terra:(un)becoming, a group show at Photo Access in December 2023.

It Doesn't Sound Right, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag

(Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso

Her series Silent Currents, 2024, also shown at Photo Access in late 2024, explored “the quiet sadness” of Tokyo. At the time, I wrote that it was an excellent example of how photographers can explore specific urban areas and paint descriptions for those fortunate to see their imagery. And I very much appreciated this artist’s piece Transmuted, 2025 in the 2025 Canberra Contemporary Photographic Prize, and its accompanying delightful poetry artist statement. 

I was unable to attend the opening of this current exhibition but saw the show, and met Pedroso, when attending a book launch at the gallery the following week. You will very likely meet the artist too if you visit the exhibition, as she is there most days.

Pedroso’s work is described as being “deeply inspired by her personal experiences, music, poetry, and the diverse cultures she has encountered. Drawing influence from other notable photographers and artists, she seeks to merge their techniques with her own perspective to create powerful and emotive imagery.”

In a media release by Head On, I read “Pedroso explores technology’s grip on human identity in debut solo exhibition. Are we becoming who we want to be, or who technology wants us to be?” And “Grainger Gallery on Geelong presents unBECOMING, photographer Fernanda Pedroso's powerful debut solo exhibition exploring how digital dependency can reshape human identity and connection.”

So, what is in this exhibition? Two years in the making and shot in Brazil in collaboration with makeup artist and designer Rafa Jones, there are twenty-seven striking images that explore how our hyperconnected age is impacting us. Are we truly more connected or are we, in reality, more isolated from each other? Right now we are witnessing and feeling the many impacts of artificial intelligence. Some think it is absolutely marvellous, at least in particular fields. Others are appalled by its current and almost certain impacts on photography and other arts. 

Disconnected, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag

(Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso

Motherboard, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag

(Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash)  © Fernanda Pedroso 

Overwhelmed 3, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag

(Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso 

So this is a most appropriate time for us to be challenged, by these artworks, to think about the issues caused by the technological accelerations in our world. What are the costs to us personally of being more connected, whilst feeling disconnected? How has technology shaping our lives today? Is the impact any different to when I was one of the first mainframe computer programmers in Australia in the 1960s? Or when digital photography overwhelmed the analogue system we had always previously used?

As you’ve seen in the images above, the exhibition features haunting images of figures painted entirely black. This is intended to refer to the black mirrors of our screens. Seven striking models are adorned with copper wire masks, terminals, tangled cords and headphones. They are futuristic yet also have an ancient tribal feeling. Pedroso intends them to be a visual metaphor for a question she believes we all need to ask ourselves, “What am I becoming? Can I come back to myself, my own truth?” various accoutrements of technology.

Entwined 3, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag

(Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso

The quality of the artworks is outstanding, and the overall exhibition is hugely successful. I am sure we will see more excellent work from this artist.

This review is also available on the author's blog here. And a shorter version has been published by Canberra City News here.