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Cartier at NGV

Beautiful but shallow: The NGV’s new blockbuster is big on celebrity but light on insight

Mostly, the pieces are designed to showcase the wealth of the wearer, and a jewel is nothing if not draped across a powerful figure.

  • Will Cox

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Senuri Chandrani in Mad Rush, screening at MIFF 2026.

Is this how it feels to be young, broke, scammed and cast out on the street?

The new film Mad Rush, premiering at Melbourne International Film Festival, is urgent and powerful – and couldn’t be more relevant to many young people.

  • Karl Quinn
Grace Carroll as Juliet and Joseph Caley as Romeo.

Catastrophe and drama collide in this lavish production

John Cranko’s 1962 Romeo and Juliet is most admired – among those who do admire it – for the ensemble grandeur of its large set-piece scenes.

  • Andrew Fuhrmann, Cameron Woodhead, Tony Way, Sonia Nair and Jessica Nicholas
Rising artistic director Hannah Fox, centre, with breakdancers Michael Fox and Demi Sorono in the Flinders Street Station ballroom.

Rising festival 2026

This year’s festival has kicked off. Here, our writers take a closer look.

Ketamine Sofa from Belfast choreographer Oona Doherty.

With 26 acts in six spaces, it’s impossible to see it all – but I gave it a red-hot go

Rising’s full-day music festival had something for everyone, even if they didn’t know it beforehand.

  • Karl Quinn
The Shepherds at Rising festival

This is the best dance work I’ve seen at this year’s Rising

The show runs for little more than an hour – with an ensemble of just four dancers – but nonetheless gives the impression of an epic drama.

  • Andrew Fuhrmann, Nick Buckley, Will Cox and Cameron Woodhead
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Michelle Perera (left) and Sarah Fitzgerald star in The Supposed To Be.

Clones, OnlyFans and the real you: The new play leaning into the unexpected

In The Supposed To Be, an executive embodying the conventions of the model migrant channels her fantasy life as a Sri Lankan Tamil actor and OnlyFans star.

  • Vyshnavee Wijekumar
Bloomshed’s Pride and Prejudice offers a slick period parody full of brilliantly executed comic scenes.

This lively adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is hard to resist

Full of brilliantly executed comic scenes, this production is an affectionate homage to Austen’s gift for social satire.

  • Cameron Woodhead, Tony Way, Kosa Monteith, Rose Lu and Andrew Fuhrmann
Never Closer

This is one of the finest ensemble performances I’ve seen. It’s hard to believe it’s a debut

Never Closer is a love story – also a ghost story – set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles

  • Cameron Woodhead, Bridget Davies, Tony Way and Jessica Nicholas
Gabriyel Thomas, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Mackenzie Dunn in waitress.

Starry cast redeems problematic, pie-in-the-sky plot in Waitress

Yes, there’s a squeamish rom-com vibe and a problematic plot in this Broadway musical - but don’t let that put you off.

  • Marcus Teague, Cameron Woodhead, Kelsey Oldham and Sonia Nair