Culture

  • The chains that bind the mind

    ErmoDirected by Zhou XiaowenFeaturing Alia, Ge Zhijun and Liu PeiqiValhalla, Sydney, from May 9Reviewed by Eva Cheng Ermo is an attempt to portray an unconventional woman from an oppressive culture and social setting. Ermo (Alia), with a strong

  • Poem: The things I see

    The things I see are not part of the constructed collective consciousness. The things I see are terrifying. They haunt me in nightmares. They fill me with anguish. They make me cry and want to scream my desolation with big

  • Like an audience with a saint

    A Day With President MandelaA Weekly Mail Television productionSBS, Friday, May 10, 8.30pm (8 in SA)Previewed by Norm Dixon The reactions of some on the left to criticism of Nelson Mandela and his government is not unlike the response when you fart

  • The revolution will not be televised!

    On April 2, US musician and songwriter Gil Scott-Heron was arrested for cocaine possession in Brisbane after flying in from London. On April 4 he pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Magistrate's Court and was fined $2000 for 2.3 grams of cocaine, $1500

  • Left on-line

    Red Pepper (http://www.rednet.co.uk/redp epper) — Describing itself as a forum for the libertarian left, the electronic version of the British left magazine Red Pepper sets out to challenge "the monetarist New Right and the complacent liberal

  • Learning from Howard's forerunners

    Altered States: the regional impact of free market policies on the Australian statesEdited by John Spoehr and Ray BroomhillCLS Research Paper Series No 4, December 1995In association with the Social Justice Research FoundationReviewed by Melanie

  • Behind the scenes on stage

    The Fall and Fall of Jeromy HawthornWritten and directed by Adam ZwarMetro Arts Theatre, Brisbane CityNightly at 8pm until May 4Reviewed by Lisa Young The Fall and Fall of Jeromy Hawthorn is an honest, yet comical view of an actor's life and the

  • The long walk of Nelson Mandela

    Long walk to freedomBy Nelson MandelaAbacus, 1995. 768 pp., $16.95Reviewed by Brendan Doyle Long walk to freedom is Nelson Mandela's moving account of one of the greatest stories of the struggle for justice and human dignity. Written in an informal,

  • Short story: The good fight of Elvis and Marilyn in cyberspace

    The good fight of Elvis and Marilyn in cyberspace A short story by Craig Cormick She altered my life. And when she found me, I was sitting alone in my room in my underpants, with a large file before me, hacking at my profile. It's true. It's all

  • Against 'the dream of the revengeful and the greedy'

    ALICE WALKER, the African-American writer, sent a letter regarding Cuba to US President Bill Clinton on March 13. It is reprinted here abridged. Dear President Clinton: Thank you very much for the invitation to the White House while I was in

  • Raw, wacky and funny

    Higglety Biggledy CabaretBy ThrottleDispensary Cafe, 84 Enmore Rd, EnmoreWednesday nights at 8pm until May 8Reviewed by Brendan Doyle After performing at the '95 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the recent Adelaide Fringe, Throttle returns to Sydney for

  • Was the chairman an 'emperor'?

    Chairman Mao — the Last EmperorDirected and produced by Jeremy BennettABC TV, Wednesday, May 1, 8.30pm (8 in SA)Reviewed by Eva Cheng Jeremy Bennett believes that a monstrous tyrant controlled China single-handedly for 27 years following the 1949