John Shand Posts

June 25, 2026 / Features

Belinda Bromilow sprang into the world’s imagination wrangling butterflies. Such was the impact of the Sydney actor’s performance as the eccentric Aunt Elizabeth (whose hobby was training butterflies) in Stan’s series The Great that she’s been mobbed by fans from an airport in Zimbabwe to a restaurant in Portugal. Created…

June 20, 2026 / Theatre Reviews

Sydney Opera House Studio, June 17 7/10 Jonny Hawkins first blazed on to the Sydney stage in 2021, playing the finely drawn, elderly Kings Cross eccentric Maureen, in the self-penned Maureen: Harbinger of Death, for one-actor. Five years later, and Hawkins has a new character to inhabit: now he is…

June 19, 2026 / Concert Reviews

Concert Hall, June 15 8/10 Well, that answers that question. In the four years since the Concert Hall’s major acoustic revamp, I haven’t sat up in the seats that seem nearer the Lower North Shore than the CBD. In case you’re wondering, the sound is equally pristine. Every note had…