John Shand Posts

November 25, 2018 / Album Reviews - Archive

SHADY CABAL (azobell.bandcamp.com) 7.5/10 Is there a sound closer to heaven than the kora? More than any other instrument it defines the texture of Byron Bay’s Palm Wine Ambassadors, with its ability to drape melody across rhythm in such a way that the harder lines of the groove become shrouded…

November 24, 2018 / Theatre Reviews - Archive

Drama Theatre, November 9 7.5/10 Patrick White led Australian playwrights to a crossroads: the stultifying dead-end of naturalism, or the boundless possibilities of rampant theatricality. The latter offered dreams and fancies painted in surreal extravaganzas, and people’s internal and external worlds mingling like mismatched guests at a cocktail party. Alas,…

November 23, 2018 / Theatre Reviews - Archive

Ensemble Theatre, November 8 7/10 For the snide critic to rip into Alan Ayckbourn’s TV-style sit-coms is as easy as shooting ducks on a pond. But that is to miss many skilful subtleties, most notably the shrewd plotting of his plays, brilliantly exemplified by the 45-year-old trilogy known as The…