John Shand Posts

December 12, 2025 / Theatre Reviews

Ensemble Theatre, December 3 7/10 Without the sharp editing available to a film-maker, on-stage thrillers tend to gurgle down the drain of melodrama. The wonder of this production of Dial M for Murder is that avoids that grisly end. Just. Alfred Hitchcock took Frederick Knott’s original play, and turned it…

December 10, 2025 / Album Reviews

Khmer Live in Bergen (Edition) 7.5/10 The material revisited on this live album was a mini-tornado tearing through the music world in 1997. Who knew you could use loops, beats and samples and still make something called jazz? The influence of Khmer was and remains immense. Wander past the Opera…

December 4, 2025 / Theatre Reviews

KXT on Broadway, November 26 8/10 This is Chekhov’s The Seagull not so much adapted as recooked. The characters remain recognisable despite some renaming, and the story’s intact despite being set in Bellingen during Covid. The big change of ingredient is the dialogue, but even that remains close to the…