Lifestyle

An Australian female director, SOPHIE MATHISEN, answers the question being asked the world over: where are the female directors? Sophie is currently working on her first feature film, DRAMA.

REVIEW | Margaret Evison's Death of a Soldier - A Mother's Story is a book that needed to be written. It goes beyond the headlines and strips away the veneer to show what it is really like on active service in Afghanistan, and just as importantly, the mother of one.

INTERVIEW | Australian mezzo-soprano and musical all-rounder Caitlin Hulcup talks to WILL FITZGIBBON ahead of her performance as Calbo in Gioachino Rossini’s opera Maometto secondo at Garsington Opera.

REVIEW | The intimate Hoxton Hall provides a unique setting for Airealism’s The Bleeding Hearts Circus.

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the Kitchen Party. ‘Russian Revels’ offers an intimate and challenging interactive dining experience, wrapped up in 1920s Soviet glamour.

FACE THE FESTIVAL 2013 | Have you got festival fever? We've got the ultimate guide to the music festival season for 2013. All the best music festivals from London, the UK and Europe, all in one handy location. Plus, win tickets to festivals in Spain, Portugal and London. Find out...

Combining dance, story-telling, live music and filmscapes, Shield is a humorous, physical and delicate journey to a fragile land where identity, diversity and love are re-imagined. It is on at Ovalhouse from 11-29 June.

The Britain-Australia Society and the Western Australian European Office will host a WA wine tasting event at the Australian High Commission on Thursday 13 June to celebrate the founding day of Western Australia.

Melbourne’s finest genre-busting, multi-platinum collective The Cat Empire are back, and they’re heading to the UK. With 60 shows across three continents, The Cat Empire will play a number of UK dates in October, including a London performance at the Brixton Academy.

INTERVIEW | Ever dreamt of running away with the circus? Australian circus artist Emelia Holdaway has made this dream a reality for the stars of circus art group Airealism in their latest show, The Bleeding Hearts Circus, showing at Hoxton Hall.

Coming to the Southbank Centre this June, ‘Untrained’, a new show from Australian dance company Lucy Guerin Inc. sees two professional dancers performing alongside two men with zero dance training.

INTERVIEW | Multi-award winning Australian writer, actor and director Brendan Cowell is set to premiere his play Happy New in London’s West End. He talks to PAUL BLEAKLEY about chickens, childhood and modern media.

Circa, the highly acclaimed Australian contemporary circus company are touring the UK throughout May and June with two very distinct shows: Beyond and How Like An Angel.

IT was windy at the Archerfield Aerodrome in Brisbane on Friday February 19, 1937 when the mail-plane bound for Sydney took off on its usual route.

REVIEW | The quirky ‘Royal Labour of Love Menu’ at The Cinnamon Club is everything PAUL BLEAKLEY was expecting — a fusion of flavours packaged in a unique set menu that pays homage to the Duchess of Cambridge.

INTERVIEW | Ahead of a two week run at London’s Soho Theatre, Wil Anderson takes a breather to speak with BONNIE GARDINER about his life, his legs and his comedy.

New Zealand-born, Australian-based filmmaker Jane Campion has been acknowledged by her peers receiving the prestigious Carrosse d’Or in Cannes last week. Her latest work, a six-hour critically acclaimed crime miniseries 'Top of the Lake' was filmed in New Zealand and is set to be aired on UK's BBC2.

Moviegoers and literature fans have been anticipating the release of Baz Luhrmann’s big screen adaptation of The Great Gatsby, which officially opened the Cannes Film Festival last week. The movie enjoyed it's première in Australia on Wednesday night, at a star-studded event held at Sydney's Fox Studios.

Two men, an orchestra of instruments. Australian musicians Daniel Holdsworth and Aidan Roberts recreate Mike Oldfield's iconic album Tubular Bells, live, onstage, in real time. With two special anniversary shows at London's Union Chapel and Southbank, as well as 43 other dates around the UK, this is one musical experience...

Jagwar Ma and Flume are set to join the likes of Kraftwerk and Foals in the UK for Latitude 2013.

FACE THE FESTIVAL 2013 | The people you go with can make or break any festival, no matter who’s playing and what the weather’s like. You’re also likely to meet a few, erm, characters along the way. To help you spot them, we’ve compiled a list of the five people...

FACE THE FESTIVAL 2013 | Having learnt the hard way about many hidden pitfalls of the British festival during a number of UK summer musical festivals, we feel it our duty to dispense the following Festival To Do List. Here is the Top 5 things to do at a music...

FACE THE FESTIVAL 2013 | Looking for a music festival close to home? Check out our list of all the best music festivals happening in London this summer.

FACE THE FESTIVAL 2013 | Want to head out of town to get your festival fix? Check out our top UK music festivals, almost right in your backyard.

FACE THE FESTIVAL 2013 | Fancy your festival with a side of sun and sangria? Or beer and bratwurst? Get out of the UK and into Europe with our list of the biggest music festivals happening over the Channel this summer.

British rapper Example and former Miss Universe Australia Erin McNaught have married in a small ceremony at a guesthouse in northern New South Wales over the weekend.

Burlesque is back, as some of Australia’s finest exports touch down in London ready to dazzle the UK. Sapphira’s Showgirls bring their burlesque extravaganza Burlesque or Bust to the stage this Sunday 26 May at Soho's Madame Jojos. Plus WIN TWO TICKETS below.

REVIEW | Travels With My Aunt at the Menier Chocolate Factory is a theatrical trifecta; clever writing, brilliant directing and acting that will blow you a world away.

WILL FITZGIBBON chats with opera choreographer and director Sarah Fahie. Her work can be seen in the revival of Verdi's Falstaff, now on at Glyndebourne.

INTERVIEW | On the back of a successful second album, You're A Shadow, Hungry Kids of Hungary are once again sharing their sound with London and the UK. GEORGE KATRALIS chats to vocalist Kane Mazlin.

Australian artist Joseph O'Farrell is celebrating "all things kitchen" with a food art installation, Street Kitchen, allowing visitors to share their own kitchen experiences on the streets of Wandsworth as part of the Wandsworth Arts Festival.

Australian director Baz Luhrmann has told media in Cannes he expected criticism over The Great Gatsby, but he’s humbled by its early success.

INTERVIEW | Australia with Simon Reeve, a three-part series scheduled to premiere on BBC2 on Sunday night, follows the author and television presenter as he attempts to challenge the pre-conceptions that British audiences have about Australia, including bikies, dangerous wildlife and the Outback.

Australian starlet Sophie Monk has been tricked into revealing her long-suspected romance with actor Sam Worthington in an exchange with radio personality Jules Lund on the duo’s 2DayFM drive-time programme.

INTERVIEW | Aussie comedy folk rock band The Beards are bringing their message of bearded revolution to London as part of a UK/Europe tour. ALEX IVETT discusses facial hair maintenance with guitarist, Facey McStubblington, ahead of their Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen gig.

Australian Ironwoman and triathlete Candice Falzon has sparked rumours of a relationship with Manchester United superstar Anderson after tweeting a series of images from several of the Brazilian footballer’s recent matches at Manchester's Old Trafford stadium.

Business networking may sounds like a dry and serious business, but Australians never do things by the book.

On Thursday 9 May 2013 all Australian orchestra Ruthless Jabiru, led by conductor Kelly Lovelady, put on a remarkable and moving performance to a gathered crowd of both Australian and UK supporters at Australia House.

Sound Tracks Festival hopes to help us re-imagine both our transport and tunes — with a one day music event taking place on 11 May 2013 on the East London Overground line, as well as in venues alongside it. See if you can find Australian singer/songwriter Amy Firth as she...

REVIEW | Following a sell out season at the Menier Chocolate Factory, it is easy to see why Merrily We Roll Along is back by popular demand, this time playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre.

The Aussie BBQ in London, held in the heart of London at Cargo in Shoreditch on 12 May 2013, offers a massive 12 Australian acts over 12 hours for those expats keen to get an earful of home.

Glydnebourne has appointed its first Young Composer in Residence, Sydneysider Luke Styles. WILL FITZGIBBON finds out what to expect ahead of his first work for the famed opera festival.

Pack your bags because The Menier Chocolate Factory is taking you on a round-the-world trip with their new production Travels With My Aunt. It stars Australian born actor Jonathan Hyde.

Australian rock legend Daryl Braithwaite has told The Age he thought Daft Punk were a heavy metal band when offered the chance to appear on Daft Punk’s new record Random Access Memories. The global album launch is set to be held in the regional NSW town of Wee Waa, 500km...

WHATS ON | A new exhibition which opened on Wednesday juxtaposes natural images and manmade objects against the backdrop of Battersea Park. Inspirational Objects: Nature as a Designer by artists Alison Milner and her photographer husband Steve Speller is showing at the Pumphouse Gallery until 16 June from Wednesdays to...

WHATS ON | Sydneysongstress George Maple is set to showcase her unique electro-soul sound at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen on Wednesday 1 May.

Peter Singer AC, preeminent Australian moral philosopher and ethicist, is presenting a talk in Cambridge on Wednesday 1 May for Giving What We Can and the Cambridge Union on effective altruism — a new talk on how we can all best help others.

The Nine Network’s struggle to fill the final remaining seat on its new-look Australia’s Got Talent line-up has been resolved today with the announcement that Geri Halliwell would replace former band mate Melanie Brown as a judge on the Down Under edition of the TV talent quest.

INTERVIEW | Adam Pretty and Ryan Pierse, winner and runner-up of the title of Sport Photographer of the Year at the Sony World Photography Awards in London, talk to Australian Times.

The International Pirate Festival in Brixham offers the perfect escape — a weekend in Devon and the opportunity to dress up as a swashbuckling buccaneer.