The design sector is pushing for greater recognition through a national design policy. But is anyone listening, ask Ben Eltham and Rebecca Harkins-Cross?
Culture / The Arts
My Cup Of Tea: By design, not circumstance, a push for recognition
theatre reviews 
Infinity — Operate Theatre, Sydney
Infinity is the first programme for the Australian Ballet’s 50th anniversary year. It encompasses three brand-spanking-new all-Australian works, from three very different choreographers, writes Lloyd Bradford Skye.
Acting the part: Felicity Ward in The Hedgehog Dilemma (MICF)
Felicity Ward is a loud and boisterous comedian with the motor mouth and unfettered energy of a true extrovert, and while her delivery is sound the jokes in her show The Hedgehog Dilemma need work, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Maude keeps political satire alive at the Archies
Now in their seventh year, the Bald Archy Art Prize still itches to aggravate the art establishment with its shameless dig at the Archibald. Julia and Tony were among the winners, writes Lloyd Bradford Syke.
comedy Tommy Dassalo — making childhood cancer funny (MICF)
It takes a special kind of comedian to find the funny side in something so dark as childhood cancer, and Tommy Dassalo to some extent achieves this, writes Matt Smith.
New Kid on the Block: a True approach to music
Collapse Board, a music website, is this week’s entrant in Crikey’s occasional series New Kid on the Block.
book reviews Finding love beneath the shadow of The Cove
At its heart, The Cove, a novel by Ron Rash, is a love story about two misfits who come together against the odds. In the world of the Southern Gothic though, such romances are never without tragedy, notes Rebecca Harkins Cross.
Travel by the book: literary tourism
Last week, Lisa Dempster walked the halls of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, once again a literary tourist in a foreign city. Just like shopping, eating or sightseeing abroad can reveal a lot about a place, so too can its literary culture.
video games Four ways of reading Journey
Journey is about as expressive and aesthetic experience as you’ll find in mainstream video games of 2012. Dan Golding suggests four different ways to read it.
Raunchy raconteurs: an interview with East End Cabaret (MICF)
Salacious London-based musical duo East End Cabaret take sing-a-long raunch to the next level in their new show, currently playing in Melbourne. The prurient pair spoke to Luke Buckmaster about some of their strangest performances.
It’s quills at ten paces as Australian Poetry director walks
It may not quite be Lord Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade but the recent ructions inside Australia’s peak poetry body have left some literary insiders scratching their heads at how it has quite come to this.
David Walsh: filling ‘subversive Disneyland’ with sex and death
David Walsh hasn’t just changed how the rest of the country sees Tasmania with his sex and death museum, he’s altered the very mindset of the Apple Isle itself, writes Tom Cowie.
Dave Thornton in The Sum of all the Parts (MICF)
With a goofy but trendy attitude and plenty of fast paced jokes, it’s easy to see why Dave Thornton has become a familiar face in the Australian comedy scene, writes Siobnhan Argent.
Can-Do economy: $244k saved on arts awards in $4.6b deficit
Saving a few extra dollars can cause all sorts of unwanted attention. That’s the situation Queensland Premier Campbell Newman finds himself in after axing respected arts awards.
comedy Greg Fleet’s Heroes — Fleety turns reflective (MICF)
A reflective Greg Fleet stars in Heroes, a comedy show composed of tales from his life selectively cribbed from previous shows, writes Matt Smith.
The burden of an ending: why finish video games?
There is a unfair and unreasonable fixation on finishing things in contemporary culture, writes Dan Golding. So in the context of video games, how important is “clocking” one? Does an ending validate our labour?
Robert Dessaix: in praise of idleness
Celebrated writer Robert Dessaix took the stage at Melbourne’s The Wheeler Centre and delivered a brilliantly shy and penetrating performance full of dramatic and witty intonations, writes W H Chong.
Do superheroes have a legal obligation to rescue?
If actual superheroes existed in society, would they have a legal obligation to rescue people? If so why? James Daily from Law and the Multiverse discusses the ‘duty to rescue’.
comedy Peter Helliar’s Snazzy — Rove alumni lets loose (MICF)
Don’t assume Rove alumni Peter Helliar is a play-it-safe family friendly comedian. His new stand-up show Snazzy breezily drifts from inoffensive stories to the lair of the dark and dirty, writes Luke Buckmaster.
It all comes down to three words: make ‘em laugh
The three most important words in a comedian’s head reverberate through Simon Keck’s mind: “make ‘em laugh.” In this sprawling stream of consciousness spiel, the Australian stand-up shares with readers a journey into the green room inside a comic’s mind.
Liticism’s Miles Franklin countdown
To mark the announcement of the Miles Franklin Award nominees, Crikey book blogger Bethanie Blanchard will read a book a week until the winners are declared.
theatre reviews Every Breath — reeks of the stench of death
John Howard stars in Every Breath, an overwrought, hamfisted, career-killing play at Sydney’s Belvoir St theatre. It reeks of the stench of death, writes Lloyd Bradford Skye.
comedy Justin Hamilton’s The Goodbye Guy (MICF)
Celebrated Australian stand-up Justin “Hamo” Hamilton’s The Goodbye Guy delivers a fast paced array of gags and anecdotes from a slick and endearing comic, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Vale banjo pickin’ pro Earl Scruggs
Celebrated musician Earl Scruggs, who passed away this week age 88, was “almost too perfect as a banjo player” and was instrumental in revolutionising its use, writes Malcolm Jones.
