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Canberra Today 21°/24° | Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Arts / ‘Silent Night’ attracts unhappy attention

Mary Rachel Brown’s “Silent Night”… unloved by a critic.

CANBERRA-raised playwright Mary Rachel Brown and director Glynn Nicholas have just finished a season of Brown’s new Christmas play “Silent Night” at Darlinghurst Theatre. It was advertised as “a hilarious take-no-prisoners comedy for anyone who feels a mix of terror and affection about spending Christmas with family”. Alas, one critic likened it to “a half-baked Christmas turkey.”

HOT on the heels of news that Juilliard graduate Eloise Fisher would take over from Kathleen Grant as CEO of Music for Canberra comes the revelation that she’s pulled out. The board expects to proceed with another name on its shortlist before January.

ADHOC Baroque will be joined by strings and wind instruments as well as a ladies-only chorus for the “Venetian Christmas Extravaganza” with the highlight a reconstructed original version of Vivaldi’s “Gloria” and his “Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera”. At St Paul’s, Manuka, 3pm, Sunday, December 17. Bookings to trybooking.com

BUSY writer-director Michael Weston has just recorded his annual radio play, this time a detective story called “Who Stole Christmas?” with Radio 1RPH for broadcasting over the festive season. “It’s a bit of a tribute to old ’50s/’60s shows like ‘Dragnet’,” Weston says, adding that “it was so much fun, as I played the central character myself.”

CRAFT ACT: Craft + Design Centre, basking in the success of its venture Design Canberra, is winding up the year by offering locally-designed Christmas gifts in its shopfront in the North Building, Civic Square. Local artists such as Alison Jackson, F!NK, Girl Nomad Ceramics and Fi Glover have work for sale in this carefully curated selection.

FREE tickets are now available for the NSW government’s two Seniors Christmas Concerts. The concerts travel to different NSW locations each year. This year it’s The Q, Queanbeyan, where it will run at 10.30am and 2pm, Thursday, December 21. Up to four tickets are available per person for seniors, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people and people with a lifelong disability, with their carer or companion. Bookings at The Q box office, Monday to Friday 10am-4pm and Saturday, 10am-2pm or by phoning 6285 6290. No online bookings.

That Christmas bon-bon of a ballet, “The Nutcracker”, will screen in Manuka.

THAT Christmas bon-bon of a ballet, “The Nutcracker”, will screen in Manuka as part of the Royal Opera House 2017/18 Live Cinema Season. Filmed at the Royal Opera House, London, Peter Wright’s production, danced to Tchaikovsky’s memorable score, will be at the Capitol Theatre, December 16, 17 and 20. Bookings to eventcinemas.com.au

He’s back… “Paddington Bear 2” opens on December 21.

WITH a similar audience in mind, StudioCanal is releasing “Paddington 2” for the silly season. The story follows on from the film adventures of that bear from Peru. Featuring everyone from Hugh Grant to Ben Whishaw, as the voice of Paddington, it’s in general release from December 21.

 

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Helen Musa

Helen Musa

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