Sam Baran, Journalist

Briefs: Close Encounters (Sydney Festival)

"A self-described 'boylesque' extravaganza, featuring a troupe of bearded beauties."

RIOT (Panti Bliss, Sydney Festival)

"Quite simply, a fabulous spectacle."

Merciless Gods (Griffin Theatre, Little Ones Theatre)

"An experience that will leave you shattered, but reflective."

Assassins (Hayes Theatre Co)

"If you like Sondheim and snappy, humorous black comedy, give Assassins a shot"

"Taylor Mac's tongue-in-cheek dialogue is sharp and clever but can still leave you wriggling in your chair at the trauma unfolding on stage."

Steen Raskopolous: The Coolest Kid In Competitive Chess (SCF)

"If rivetingly clever audience involvement is something you love to watch, you can't do much better."

Carlo Ritchie: Cooking For No One (SCF)

"If you like weird stories told strangely, Carlo Ritchie's Cooking for No One is a good show to check out."

Jack Gow: Just A Small Town Boy (SCF)

"A whirlpool of memories and musings about growing up in the small country town of Armidale."

DeAnne Smith: Post-Joke Era (SCF)

"It's difficult not to love her."

The Sydney Comedy Festival Gala

"A tasting menu cherry picked from the comedy smorgasbord on offer in the coming weeks"

The Rasputin Affair

"So funny it won't need to poison and then shoot you several times to knock you off your feet."

Features / Arts

DeAnne Smith On How To Do Meaningful Comedy In The Year 2017

"In my mind a lot of comedians are struggling with what we're doing in a world where it feels we need to do so much more than get on stage and tell jokes."

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