John Shand Posts

June 22, 2025 / Theatre Reviews

Belvoir St Theatre, June 12 7.5/10 As improbable as this seems when we gaze out upon a broken world, or scrutinise our own chaotic lives, living is the easy part. Dying is the trick: not the last breath itself, but the lead-up, once mortality grips you, and asks whether you…

June 14, 2025 / Concert Reviews

Chatswood Concourse Concert Hall, June 9 7/10 I had a little glimpse of what it would be like to be a god. From my box in Chatswood’s Concert Hall, high above the front edge of the stage, I gazed down on a seething mass of humanity in what was effectively…

June 12, 2025 / Features

Last year, one play rattled my bones like no other: Sport for Jove’s production of Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens. My five-star review enthused that it had “a truth, an energy and a ferocity to make the blood drain from your face”, and a “visceral, raw, compelling and moving” performance from…