Lip Reading is a column about the books in our lives. Each month, Lip staff and writers share what books have obsessed, delighted, or even saddened them. What have you been reading? We’d love to hear your recommendations. — Donna Lu, Books & Literature Editor * Amy Nicholls-Diver I recently finished The Vegetarian, by Han Kang (translated…
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When a classic movie is remade or rebooted, when a book is made into a movie, when a new Bond, Superman, Spiderman or Batman is selected, there are rumblings of discontent in the fandom. Remember when fans thought Heath Ledger too pretty to be the Joker and Jennifer Lawrence too blond to be Katniss Everdeen?…
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In Above Us Only Sky, Michele Young-Stone, an MFA grad and the author of The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors, once again digs into a quirky pseudo-realism that’s based in the great conflict of growing up. In an interview, she admits that Above Us Only Sky is a few different things rolled into one: it’s…
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It’s a cold-bitten evening and I’m getting myself out of the house for an evening of poetry. Nestled in-between pubs and tourist shops in Sydney’s historical Rocks area, I find a woman with a makeshift sign that catches my eye. I’m here, and I’m in for a ride. I go inside and then up some…
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The inimitable Greta Gerwig stars in Maggie’s Plan, a colourful comedy about a woman who is always in control. Gerwig is great at playing characters that have no idea what they’re doing (like the titular character in Frances Ha), but in this film, she proves she can also play the opposite. Maggie, a university graduate…
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Rebellion is a historical drama that puts women at the centre of the action. The five-part mini series premiered earlier this year, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, and is still available on Netflix for subscribers to binge-watch at their leisure. The series begins in 1914, with three…
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If you’re in Sydney and you don’t have anything to do this coming Saturday night (23rd July) then why not tickle your cultural and artistic sensibilities with a little bit of inspirational poetry? Award-winning writer, poet, performer and teacher Desireé Dallagiacomo is coming to Sydney as part of Word Travels for a workshop and performance at…
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Jo Baker’s A Country Road, A Tree is an emotive novel that spans the World War Two experiences of Nobel Prize–winning author and playwright Samuel Beckett. On the heels of Baker’s bestselling work Longbourn, an homage to Pride and Prejudice, her second novel shines under critical spotlight. Samuel Beckett is introduced to the reader first…
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With today’s power and abundance of social media, it’s very rare to discover an artist’s music without already having some sort of preconceived idea about what you’ll think of them. Lana Del Rey’s music has always been clouded for me with the pervasive opinion that she’s a fake. Little criticism about Lana Del Rey’s career…
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This article contains spoilers for Season 4 of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, along with discussions of potentially upsetting content, including rape, torture and violence. Our favourite Litchfield inmates are back, with June 17 heralding the season four premiere of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black. Season four is arguably the most enthralling, witty, and…
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About thirty seconds of googling will turn up innumerable think pieces that proclaim the end of the novel or lament the decline of the reading public. Yet print book sales are happily on the rise again and even non-readers can get their narrative fix in the form of recent film adaptations. Despite the distractions of…
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Geraldine Brophy, actress, playwright and author of The Viagra Monologues, says of her recent foray into the male mind: ‘Parenthood, marriage, celibacy, puberty, virginity, are all complex things that influence human experience, for better or for worse. They are common human experiences, not the province of any gender.’ This notion regarding the experiential equivalence of…
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Mother’s Ruin: A Cabaret about Gin is a riotous journey through the history of gin and its associations with the most scandalous of women. Once the scourge of the masses, now drink du jour, gin is an unlikely but surprisingly entertaining topic for a cabaret. Performed by Maeve Marsden and Libby Wood, under the direction…
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Katy Warner’s story, One Hundred and Fifty Seconds, won 1st place in the 2016 Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction. Here is an interview with Katy, plus her award-winning story! * Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you? I am a playwright, sometimes actor and writer based in Melbourne. I grew up in Perth…
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