MAN ABOUT TOWN

So in 2006-2007, as regular blog readers would know, my entertainment crush was definitely Captain Jack Harkness, played by John Barrowman, from Dr Who spin-off Torchwood . This year however, thanks to the way his role has developed in the show, I'm definitely falling for the sharply-dressed, sharp-quipping Ianto Jones, played by Welsh actor Gareth David-Lloyd. Or am I falling for Gareth? No, I think it's definitely Ianto who I'd like to get into bed - all I'd need is a stopwatch, and perhaps a cute red beret (sorry, those are references which only keen fans of the show will recognise)... Anyway, you can read an interview with Gareth here , in the online version of SFX magazine, which goes into a little more detail about his role, and the character of Ianto generally; whereas if you want to know more about Gareth himself, then I suggest checking out his official website . Did you know, for instance, that he fronts a rock band called Blue Gillespie? No, I didn't eit...

Friday evening saw me dropping in at RRR for a quick drink with Kim Jurick, who's stepping down from the Music Coordinator's position he's held for a year; and receiving the excellent news that the station would like me to host its annual Intrepid Travel trip later this year. It was a huge surprise and an honour to be asked, and also a much-needed morale booster given that I've had the week from hell at work this week. The country we'll be visiting has yet to be determined, with Egypt, Morocco and Cuba all possible at this stage, as I undestand it. Budgeting and availability of flights and etc will whittle that list down to one country, but any of them would suit me! Any recommendations from you blog readers, please? Which of the three would you visit if you had the chance? Thereafter I headed back to Fitzroy for the opening night of Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Theatre Collective's The Dirty Mile . This interactive theatrical experience i...

Kicking off the CUB Malthouse Theatre 's 2008 program is Louise Fox's contemporary adaptation of Tartuffe , Moliére's savage satire of faith, power and hypocrisy that scandalised Parisian society when first performed in 1664. Set in the home of the wealthy Orgon and his second wife, Elmire, the play sees the household fighting and falling apart due to the presence of Tartuffe, a seemingly spiritual figure whose devious machinations trick Orgon into banishing his son, Damis; breaking off his daughter Mariane's engagement to young Valère; and handing over control of his assets to the charismatic villain. Wednesday night's performance of Tartuffe left me cold, indeed bored; at least initially - so much so that I seriously contemplated leaving, as my housemate did, at interval. After interval, however, the production's disparate elements suddenly clicked together, leaving me delighted. Read on, and I shall explain. Upon entering the theatre, the first thing one sees...

OK, so I've been tagged by Gempires with this saucy little meme, which means it's time to cast my mind back through the dry and dusty months of late to more fertile days of yore, when I actually had a sex life. You're welcome to post it on your blogs. You must call it the Smut Meme, you must link to me in the beginning paragraph, and you must tag two people, and link to them as well. Oh, and you must post this little blurb of instructions at the beginning, as has been done here. Which reminds me. If you've come here for the first time in search of arts criticism and theatre reviews? This may not be the best post for you... As for the rest of you, oh brave readers? Onwards! 1. Chocolate or Whipped Cream? To be honest, neither have a place in my menu of carnal activities, though I'm quite fond of slurping alcohol out of a man's belly button or from between his pectorals, or swapped in a kiss, it should be said. And of course, a mouthful of champagne adds pleasure...

...is that hot (in both senses of the word) boys wear fewer clothes. Treasure trails and sun-kissed shoulders are a much-needed distraction from sweaty, irritable, crowded summer tram trips and uncomfortable walks home.

It's hard to believe that a four-piece band from Texas can create such thundrous, rolling, crashing seas of sound as were generated last night at the Corner Hotel by Explosions in the Sky. God, they were amazing . Just jaw-droppingly good. No more needs to be said.

I've now seen this show three times in two different incarnations: the original Drowsy Drivers incarnation (well, not the original - sadly I missed it in its very first production at the 2005 Comedy Festival; I mean the original version before it became a fully fledged wizz-bang stage show with a predominantly new band, The Belvoirs, and mostly new cast) and the Neil Armfield-directed large scale production, which is the version I saw again last night at its (re)opening at the Comedy Theatre. Yes, three times. It's that fucking good. That said, I do think the first half of the show as it now stands, pre-interval, is still a little light-on substance-wise, though still very good; but any such qualms are abandoned in the flurry of the second act, which takes the momentum of the first half and charges helterskelter towards the home straight, taking no prisoners and delighting all the way. Mike McLeish is a dapper, debonair, devilish Paul Keating; a tap-dancing, reggae-singing ma...

This post was originally written as a response to a comment made on my blog yesterday, but after this morning, and the pride and joy and sorrow I felt at Federation Square, gathered with so many people and listening to the Prime Minister's apology, I thought it deserved a post of its own. Anonymous said... Loved the symbolism of the opening of parliament and really pleased that this will occur from now on. On the other hand i just don't see why the government should apologise for past matters that i or most Australians today are just not responsible for. Will the current intervention in the NT - will we be asked in years to come for an apology, i sure hope not.. The dispaire that many aboriginal kids face in those communities has got to stop. I am sorry but i can't feel a sence of guilt for something i was not responsible for. Ant 12/2/08 20:27 richardwatts said... Ant - for me, it's not about 'a sense of guilt for something I was not responsible for'. It...

Yes, I saw Rufus Wainwright performing at Hamer Hall - twice - and yes, he was definitely swoonsome. I just wish I'd been slightly more sober when I ran into him at Miss Libertine the second night. I also interviewed him again, which you might have heard on RRR last week. If not, never fear; you can read a transcript of the interview in The Trip magazine if you're a subscriber next month. Yes, I went to northern Victoria to visit my mum, and no, this time, unlike my visit a year ago , I didn't try and pick up anyone. I did, however, go for a long walk by the river and see a goanna. A very large goanna. Half an hour later I dropped into the top pub (Numurkah has three pubs, unlike the small country town Trafalgar where I went to high school, which has only one) and encountered a large reptile of a different kind - a bilious, bloated man sitting at the bar, whose first words, declared to his equally repugnant friends as I walked in, were "fucken abos fuken lying around ...

Federal Parliament opened in Canberra today with its first ever Welcome to Country by an elder of the Ngunnawal people, the traditional owners of the land on which Parliament House stands. Yes, it's symbolic; a gesture only, but what an important symbol it is. Mr Rudd said indigenous people had occupied the land for thousands of generations but Europeans only for five, six or seven. ''Despite this antiquity among us, despite the fact that parliaments have been meeting here for the better part of a century, today is the first time in our history that as we open the Parliament of the nation, that we are officially welcomed to country by the first Australians of this nation,'' he said to applause. Mr Rudd said he celebrated that indigenous Australia was alive, well and with us for the future. ''Today we begin with one small step, to set right the wrongs of the past, and in this ceremonial way it is a significant and symbolic step.'' Mr Rudd said th...

I'm up at my mum's place in the small country town of Numurkah, in northern Victoria, about a half hour drive from the Murray River. I'm perving on cute country boys and catching up on some reading. I'll post a proper update when I get home tomorrow night.