Culture

'Four fifths of the world cannot be wrong'

World Music: The Rough Guide Rough Guides/Penguin Books, 1994 720pp., $29.95 (pb) Reviewed by Norm Dixon This moderately priced brick of a book is a godsend for anybody interested in beginning the addictive journey of exploration through

Not playing with fire

Burnt by the Sun Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov Screening at the 42nd Sydney Film Festival State Theatre, June 9-24 Reviewed by Peter Boyle As a hero of the Red Army in the civil war, Colonel Sergue‹ Petrovitch Kotov lived comfortably and

Much too nice

Much too nice The Threepenny Opera Music by Kurt Weill. Text by Bertolt Brecht Director: Chris Johnson Musical Director: Michael Morley Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane Until June 10 Reviewed by Dave Riley Before Hair and The Rocky

Thinking it over at the health farm

Trim, Taut and Terrific Written by Nick Hughes and Ian Farr Junction Theatre, Thebarton (Adelaide), until June 10 Reviewed by Sophia Villis and Anthony Thirlwall Trim, Taut and Terrific is exactly that. It's musical theatre that neatly

Loud silences and abusive families

Loud silences and abusive families Spanking the Monkey Opening in Sydney June 1 and Melbourne June 9 Previewed by Lou Stanley The film is well directed and at points quite funny, but the most disturbing aspect is the audience's response

Private life and public facade

The Private Life of Chairman Mao: the inside story of the man who made modern China By Zhisui Li London: Chatto and Windus, 1994. 682 pp., $19.95 Reviewed by Eva Cheng Official history often only tells half truth and leaves out what the

A moving tale, told in music

A moving tale, told in music Oh My God I'm Black! Devised by Maryanne Sam, Irine Vela and Patricia Cornelius Performed by Maryanne Sam and Irine Vela Budinski's Theatre, Carlton, until June 10 Reviewed by Bronwen Beechey Melbourne

Taking up where World War II left off

Taking up where World War II left off The Secrets of Porton Down The Cutting Edge, SBS TV Tuesday, June 6 8.30pm (8pm SA) Reviewed by Sean Moysey World War II produced some horrible weapons: napalm, nuclear bombs, guided rockets, fire

I bandaged my wound, dried my eyes

Ding Zilin is the mother of Chiang Jielian, a 17-year-old student who was among the hundreds massacred in Tienanmen Square six years ago, on June 4, 1989. Chinese officials branded the pro-democracy protests "counter-revolutionary" and claimed that

'Tricontinental' is back

'Tricontinental' is back By Leonardo Anoceto After approximately four years without being published, as a result of Cuba's severe economic crisis, Tricontinental magazine is once again poised for circulation on a quarterly basis.

The politics and profits of addiction

The Nicotine War The Cutting Edge, SBS TV, Wednesday May 31, 9.30pm (8 in SA) Previewed by Lisa Macdonald Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known. Despite this, in the US, tobacco is defined as an agricultural product and so

Sydney Film Festival

Sydney Film Festival The 42nd Sydney Film Festival, which opens on June 9, will mark the centenary of cinema. As well as the 150 plus films from 30 countries, there will be a larger group of retrospectives including a selection of underrated