John Shand Posts

April 4, 2026 / Theatre Reviews

Ensemble Theatre, March 27 8/10 Acting is a challenging art. Playing real people – especially those with whom the audience is readily familiar – is tougher, still. Now the actor is torn between mimicry and shooting for something that blends reality and artistry. The audience, meanwhile, easily becomes preoccupied with…

March 31, 2026 / Theatre Reviews

Roslyn Packer Theatre, March 25 8/10 How many novels spawn a film, play, musical and forthcoming TV series? The fascination with Miles Franklin’s 1901 story continues because protagonist Sybylla’s debunking of patriarchal ideas of marriage as fulfillment for a woman, instead following a nascent dream of being a writer, so…

March 28, 2026 / Features

The feud between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford makes subsequent hostilities between Taylor Swift and Kanye West, or Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, look like playground skirmishes. The Hollywood stars’ fabled 40-year vendetta is investigated in a play by Anton Burge, Bette & Joan, at Ensemble Theatre, with Jeanette Cronin…