Paul Ransom, Journalist

To pull off retro pastiche is always tricky. So easy to be awful. Thankfully, Pink Martini are largely fabulous, as A Retrospective duly notes.

“Y’know, classical music is generally a bit more intricate but the more contemporary stuff has its issues, usually around the rhythm side of things. For a regular orchestra player it certainly represents a challenge. In some ways there’s a little less room to hide.”

"There’s no way I could just walk up to some lady in a park and say, 'Excuse me, but would you like it if I could make your vagina feel nice'."

“If you ever feel like having a whinge people just go, ‘Shut up’ but y’know what, it really is hard work. It’s not all sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. Actually, there’s no sex, ‘cause our partners are all at home.”

When Stockholm takes to the Red Stitch stage for its Victorian debut this week, the gloves will most certainly be off. Lavery’s intense tale of co-dependent meltdown combines dialogue, direct address and elements of dance, pitching dream team Todd and Kali into a birthday maelstrom.

“Playing Frank’s music is like training for the Olympics,” says Dweezil Zappa from his home in LA.

Since 2004 The Suitcase Royale have been reshaping Australiana with bits of discarded corrugated iron. However the time has come for the trio to tackle the king of the wombats.