L-R Stuart Maunder (director),Ethan Jones (lead actor) and Reg Livermore (actor and writer). Ned Kelly the Musical by Victorian Opera.

Australian theatre is caught in a cancellation crisis – this obscure 1970s Ned Kelly musical offers hope

Reg Livermore’s larrikin musical closed in 1978 to savage reviews – its revival comes at a turning point for the theatre industry.

  • Will Cox

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Novelist Andrew Sean Greer.

This novel is ridiculous,delectably silly – and a sheer joy to read

The epigraph alone made me want to quarter an apple,fold-up on the sofa,and turn to chapter one.

  • Helen Elliott
Sisters in Yellow is a rambling,Y2K-era novel about a precarious group of Tokyo underworld outcasts.

She thought her past was buried. Then she saw the headlines

Mieko Kawakami’s Sisters in Yellow begins with the kind of opening crime writers kill for.

  • Declan Fry
From left:Madeleine Sami,Michala Banas and Christie Whelan Browne have great chemistry as long-time friends.

This play should have been spiky fun. Instead,it’s a missed opportunity

Billed as “a perimenopausal Weekend at Bernie’s”,Marieke Hardy’s Losing Face should be funnier and more edifying than it is.

  • Cameron Woodhead,Tony Way,Andrew Fuhrmann,Jessica Nicholas,Bridget Davies andSonia Nair
Stacey McEwan is one of the Australian authors at the forefront of the global romantasy boom.

The Australian author who went from rejection letters to global bestseller

For years publishers and agents said no to Stacey McEwan. Then readers said yes.

  • Melanie Kembrey
Whether you’re after an inventive short story collection or a cosy Parisian murder mystery,this week’s releases have you covered.

From porn bots to national parks:The 10 books worth your weekend

Whether you’re after an inventive short story collection or a cosy Parisian murder mystery,this week’s releases have you covered.

  • Cameron Woodhead andFiona Capp
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Jack White,now 51 and still rocking.

Impenetrable prose aside,there’s treasure to be found on Jack White’s new album

White’s first album since The White Stripes’ induction into the Rock& Roll Hall of Fame finds the guitarist of a generation carrying the torch for a bygone era.

  • Tom W Clarke
Harvey Zielinski,meet Harvey Zielinski:The actor-turned-director plays twins in Sweet Milk Lake.

Writer,director and actor times two:Harvey Zielinski’s debut double act

The trans actor makes his directorial debut with a film in the hunt for big prizes at two major festivals.

  • Karl Quinn
Monet to Matisse

‘I’ve seen a lot of Monet’s water lilies. Do I really need to see any more?’

Monet,Matisse,Picasso,van Gogh:Why it’s worth seeing works by art’s biggest names in person rather than on a page or screen.

  • Elizabeth Flux
Kris Kneen Rite of Spring

Yes,there’s lots of sex,but this novel is more than a racy read

Kris Kneen’s Rite of Spring is an erotic exploration of what happens when we cross the boundaries of human identity.

  • Thuy On