John Shand Posts

March 28, 2025 / Features

When director Damien Ryan approached actor Liam Gamble to play Richard III, Gamble was unfamiliar with both the historical figure and the Shakespearian character. After investigating him, he was taken by this “badass guy” and duly auditioned. “One of the reasons I cast Liam was the searing honesty of his…

March 27, 2025 / Concert Reviews

The Lounge, Chatswood Concourse, March 21 8.5/10 Ruthie Foster wasn’t just born to sing, she was probably already singing in the womb. Music pours from her mouth like water from a tap, and when she turns the tap on full, she makes an astounding sound: a huge, church-bred cry that…

March 24, 2025 / Album Reviews

Avicennia 7.5/10 Carl Dewhurst is among the great chameleons of Australian music. Were each of the manifold projects in which he’s been involved across the last 30 years to be played in adjacent rooms off a long corridor, every time you opened a new door you’d swear you heard a…