John Shand | Music & Other Spheres Posts

January 26, 2019 / Album Reviews - Archive

MUDANG ROCK (Fractal/Birdland) 9/10 Let no early notes foster expectations, because they’re sure to be dashed by music that keeps shifting shape and slithering out of reach. Initiated by guitarist Henry Kaiser, the project uses traditional Korean music to underpin seven improvisations. Kaiser assembled Sydney’s Simon Barker (the ultimate western…

January 25, 2019 / Concert Reviews - Archive

Riverside Theatre, January 13 7/10 I tend to view circus and fireworks through the same lens: haven’t I seen that done before? But China’s Quinghai Acrobatic Troupe performed routines that made my eyebrows shoot heavenward and my jaw so drop the wonder is there was no cascade of saliva. I…

January 23, 2019 / Features - Archive

Director Simon McBurney walked into the first day of rehearsals for Beware of Pity with no script. He had Stefan Zweig’s 1939 novel of that name, and the task before him was to adapt it into a play with the input of the actors. The catch? The company was Schaubuhne…