The current association Kulturscheune Herborn e.V was founded in November 1990 as Herborner Heimatspiele e.V and renamed by the general meeting on 12 March 2020 After almost 40 years of "unorganised theatre" in Herborn we dared to take the step at that time of joining together as an association and giving the work of Herborn's theatre professionals a structural framework Since then we have become firmly established in the town's associative life and are now much more than a group of theatre enthusiasts we not only found a home for the association but with our KulturScheune we also created a venue and event location that can compete with other cabaret theatres in Hesse and beyond cover a broad spectrum with our own productions but also act as organisers and bring a large number of external artists to Herborn every year Translated with DeepL (www.deepl.com) For subscription enquiries call 1800 077 514 or email [email protected] For this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival the website offers an AI assistant that purports to help you choose a show When I asked for recommendations based on Daniel Kitson namely – see if you can work out what it did here – Daniel Muggleton In the absence of guidance from the algorithm seeing Geraldine Quinn’s latest is always a grand idea was a heartfelt and poignant tribute to her late brother This year she’s opted for a lower-stakes work employing her rich vocals to lampoon every boneheaded fashion trend that has come and gone in her two decades on stage sillier costumes and sporadic faux-documentary video snippets that poke fun at every worthy cabaret can be thought-provoking and poignant There are many ways to bake a cake in comedy From another shapeshifting festival veteran Zoë Coombs Marr’s The Splash Zone is a more conventional show than her previous work though that’s a relative term – there is a section where she fires underwear into the front row using a homemade gun such as the twisty meta-comedy of Bossy Bottom or Trigger Warning Coombs Marr can never resist a groan-inducing pun and here she leans into absurdity for a slight but consistently enjoyable picaresque act about a train trip gone wrong which she eventually reveals was a transformative experience Just as no Coombs Marr work is ever totally serious her apparently lighter stuff also has its hidden depths she outlines her distaste for “feeding the algo” and how she can’t look away from her phone even as she’s appalled by the disinformation AI hallucinations and echo chambers our social media-saturated age has wrought she reckons with the oddness of proud Trump supporters enjoying her openly queer and makes an impassioned plea for us all to keep talking in these fractious times Dom McCusker is doing her first solo show with Be Gae Do Crime Inspired by her day job working on a re-created tall ship that offers boozy getaways McCusker has written original sea shanties and gets the crowd chanting along to her creations While the stories sometimes fall into the trap of telling rather than showing Be Gae Do Crime is the kind of early career work that could soar with a bigger budget A large screen displaying McCusker’s roguishly witty lyrics karaoke-style would ramp up the inclusive fun; as it stands we’re squinting at Texta scrawls on butcher’s paper You hope McCusker’s career grows so she can afford all the bells and whistles for a jolly and in a festival that runs to almost 700 shows she deserves credit for doing something singular Colombian–Australian comic Aidan Jones’s Chopin’s Nocturne takes place in the upper level of a Fitzroy art gallery decked out as a 19th century Parisian salon the kind of intimate space where Frédéric Chopin almost exclusively played with Jones dressed in period finery as the composer While it retains his knockabout club comic rhythms polish and a generous – apparently self-funded – budget Jones has been a comedian for more than a decade but last festival decided to take a break from the show-a-year grind to refine this work Chopin’s Nocturne is sublime – it should contend for the festival’s top gong Jones grew up aspiring to become a classical pianist before ditching it for comedy He took up the instrument again during the Covid-19 lockdowns and plays beautifully alive to every nuance in Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat major Alternating between snippets of the melancholy composition commentary on the work’s meaning and illuminating digressions on the composer’s life It prompts questions such as “Was Chopin a fuckboy?” and “How did Jones get a grand piano up those narrow stairs?” There is a freshness in how it casts Chopin and his peers as recognisably horny hot-tempered youths rather than inscrutable artists and makes a powerful argument for a more inclusive classical music scene “Is anyone feeling worried?” Gillian Cosgriff asks her audience a telling twist on the “Are you ready for a good time?” inanities many comedians employ The last time Cosgriff brought a new hour to this festival she was crowdsourcing things that made people happy Now she’s collating our worries on slips of paper and weaving them into her musical comedy But if Fresh New Worries is an artistic zag it’s one that coalesces with the zeitgeist we’re now in an era where we’ve all had to learn how to pronounce the word “oligarch” a Trump-fuelled recession or more quotidian concerns Cosgriff incorporates them into an ingeniously structured hour in which each seemingly disparate element connects to a satisfying and uplifting whole She has a knack for niche references – including the Big Mouth Billy Bass novelty toy and forgotten early 2000s retailers – that perfectly illustrate her arguments Cosgriff’s singing voice is warm and expressive; in another life she could have been a Laurel Canyon folk singer Other shows eschew the anxiety of today’s headlines and retreat into escapism Con Coutis’s Escape from Heck Island is fascinating if uneven – one interactive bit shows the perils of relying on audience members for creative input though another extended crowd-work section makes wildly inventive use of its Malthouse Theatre location It’s hard not to be wowed by the avalanche of ideas and its distinctive tone The show combines thigh-slapping puns à la Tim Vine with video game action and makes ingenious use of live recorded audio and a sound effects board Real-life siblings Josh and Tom Burton also take off on a flight of fancy in The Burton Brothers’ Fortune Seekers The enjoyably wacky plot sends a delusional stage mother a dramatic French detective and “the world’s suavest man” on a cross-continent journey to compete for an ailing billionaire’s wealth whose only distinguishing feature is his love of bubble tea It’s generously packed with uncanny physical comedy elaborate shenanigans and dozens of precisely calibrated sound cues Josh seems a second away from breaking into hysterical laughter splits the difference between fantastical entertainment and grim reality unflattering portrait of Andrew Lloyd Webber Sketch comic George Fouracres gives an energetic performance as the laughably out-of-touch conservative and vengeful musical theatre composer who comes across as the Elon Musk of the arts his early headline-grabbing ubiquity and influence eventually crumble into irrelevance While many of this year’s most memorable shows make clever use of music Wil Anderson doesn’t even need a script to get rolling laughs stand-up in its most ephemeral and pure form While bullying audience members in the name of comedy lives on in clubs and viral TikTok reels Anderson is from the school that prefers to collaborate with Using simple questions about each person’s name and job as a springboard showing a savant-level ability for off-the-cuff wordplay droll observations and unexpected connections It’s a one-off magic trick that even includes a self-deprecating bit on that day’s version of The New York Times’ Connections game Somehow Anderson achieves a laugh-per-minute ratio to rival anything in this festival It’s a feat that few comics alive – and certainly no AI bot – could pull off to such dazzling effect Melbourne International Comedy Festival runs until April 20 UTS Gallery Festival Theatre Heath Ledger Theatre MULTIMEDIA Danie Mellor: marru | the unseen visible Queensland Art Gallery NGV Australia Peacock Theatre Share this subscriber exclusive article with a friend or family member using share credits use share credits to share this article with friend or family Share credits renew each month and allow a non-subscriber to read a full article Subscribe to The Saturday Paper for less than $2.30 a week Phone   1800 077 514 Email    [email protected] Email    [email protected] a German musical group called Musikverein Herborn-Seelbach visited New Ulm for Heritagefest some of the group members are still returning to New Ulm to visit friends Musikverein Herborn-Seelbach band member Volker Knetsch came to New Ulm Sunday with this family Knetsch brought along his wife Bekima Knetsch his daughter Rebekka Pulfisch and her husband Holger Pulfrich for the trip Volker Knetsch said the main reason for their visit to New Ulm was to see old friends Knetsch and Menger have visited New Ulm many times over the years and over the years two men have made several friends in New Ulm the German group visited the home of Kathy and Mary Ann Kalz The two served as the hosts for the Knetsch family during their band’s 2000 visit they kept asking to return every few years but it’s been over a decade since they hosted the Knetsch family Musikverein Herborn-Seelbach last performance in New Ulm was 2012 Musikverein Herborn-Seelbach visited the United States in 2016 but their tour did not take them to New Ulm They planned to return to Bavarian Blast in 2020 but the event was canceled due to the COVID pandemic Menger said they tried to visit New Ulm once every four years Menger has another career transporting medical supplies He has been able to visit the United States several times He was in New Ulm last October but wanted to return with the Volker clan as part of a series of birthday celebrations recently celebrated his 75th birthday and he wanted to attend the celebration in person Menger also celebrated a birthday on Monday and Volker Knetsch celebrated his 60th birthday on Tuesday the German visitor spent the day catching up with friends in New Ulm but were off to Memphis the Herborn group plans to visit several musical points of interest they paid a stop at Paisley Park to visit Prince’s home They were excited to learn New Ulm’s Minnesota Music Hall of Fame acquired additional Prince memorabilia the group will visit the home of The King of Rock ‘n Roll: Graceland All five German visitors are huge Elvis Pre fans Kathy Kalz said she received a call from the Herborn group Tuesday morning Copyright © 2025 Ogden Newspapers of Minnesota Idaho Transportation Department in the work zone to upgrade the I-90 and State Highway 41 Interchange in Post Falls as work shifts to Seltice Way The $78 million project is funded through Governor Little’s Leading Idaho program and is in its second year of construction Drivers will still be able to access the freeway but should plan for congestion “Next week is a major shift in impacts and really the first time we will be closing lanes on Seltice Way,” Project Manager Shannon Stein said “Travelers will still be able to access local businesses on the route.” Bicycle and pedestrian pathways will remain open with occasional detours when necessary This phase of work on Seltice Way is expected to be complete by the fall of 2023 Crews will transition back Seltice Way to align it with the new I-90/SH 41 Interchange later in construction Crews continue to build temporary and permanent bridges on I-90. All construction is anticipated to be done in 2025. To learn about the future I-90/SH-41 interchange and how it will function, watch this video To stay informed on regularly scheduled nighttime closures, sign up for updates by emailing info@i90corridor.com or visit itdprojects.org/i90sh41ic for more information. Live traffic impacts can also be found at 511.idaho.gov Governor Little’s Leading Idaho initiative allowed the project to begin one year earlier than expected and has enabled ITD to address rapid growth and build critical infrastructure today across the state that would otherwise take many years to fund and build For subscription enquiries call 1800 077 514 or email [email protected] Just moments into a Zoom call with comedian and theatre maker Lou Wall they’ve spilt water on their laptop and it’s no longer working properly The thought of anyone losing unsaved work seems like a peculiarly modern hell it feels particularly galling as their live comedy shows have an audiovisual backbone with each hour containing hundreds of sound cues Wall – an enthusiastic and animated presence – seems undaunted by their latest technological setback Wall is in London for some work-in-progress shows They’re buzzing with the possibility of a brand-new hour and even enjoy the prospect of most comedians’ nightmares “I have fucking bombed so many times,” they say The prospect of their laptop not working and an AV extravaganza suddenly becoming a bare-bones show doesn’t faze Wall “They’re like the printers of the art world Wall has to throw out their meticulously planned collage and instead do an improvised show talking to the audience to create a one-off performance the beauty of live art is that you are right there in the moment and there’s nothing that puts me in the moment more than a tech fuck-up.” Many people tuned into Wall’s brand of comedy internet deep dives and autobiographical stand-up answering viewers’ questions in inimitable style They’ve been hard at work on their craft for years a town of a few thousand people on the Snowy Mountain Highway in New South Wales They were an unusually tall kid – standing today at 193 centimetres – and in those early years a future on sporting fields seemed more likely than one on theatre stages Religion was a constant in Wall’s early life with a mother who played organ in the church They attended mass and Sunday school each week though Wall’s exposure to music was limited “My dad would play Classic FM from 6.30 to 8am My mum [a music teacher] would always say: ‘No music in the house – I hear it all day!’ ” A resourceful church mate sneaked them their first pop music: “She gave me what she called a Christian mixtape While Wall’s present-day work – on show at the upcoming Melbourne International Comedy Festival – feels every bit the product of a digital native they didn’t get a laptop or phone until the last couple of years of school Wall lapped up the pace and restlessness of the new digital world and at one point aspired to become a video blogger Things changed when Canberra comic Emo Parsonson came to town to run a stand-up comedy workshop “It was really out of the blue,” Wall says “I signed up for it because not enough people had signed up … I had no perception [comedy] was a skill I could use.” Wall stood out among the middle-aged male farmers in the group and the audience applause was generous and intoxicating Something shifted: now a life on stage beckoned Soon they were off to the Victorian College of the Arts winning a scholarship to study acting and dreaming about being the next Cate Blanchett Wall – who identifies as queer and non-binary – found a new home in the city’s queer creative community “Coming from the country to the middle of a Melbourne arts school was pretty eye-opening and I was surrounded by phenomenal makers,” they recall “The only thing that jarred with me a little was that theatre was inaccessible; you needed to have money to put on a show or to risk studying the arts But I loved the brains of people who were interested in theatre.” While their parents are still active in the Anglican faith Their feelings about this strand of their upbringing are complex “In terms of churches that are restrictive of queerness but there were still people with homophobic views they showed me so much love – but it wasn’t hard to leave The only thing that was hard was that my parents are wonderful and supportive of everything I do and it makes me sad that they feel sad that I’m not religious.” While Wall sometimes felt they were “cosplaying” as a serious theatre artist an opportunity soon came to make something that played into their talent for comedy students could present a work in the Frisk program at Melbourne Fringe Festival The other performers teamed up with a collaborator operated a loop pedal and changed outfits behind an onstage bush to portray different characters Some of the material trod a familiar path – one song lampooned silly baby names a comedy festival chestnut – but something was brewing there was a strong autobiographical element to Wall’s work Partly this stemmed from their university teachers who had stressed the adage “write what you know” but it also grew out of a belief in the value of vulnerability and personal storytelling “I realised that I frothed on making people laugh and comedy was a way I could walk into a bar and talk to anyone – country people Wall saw a lot of art in their early years in Melbourne offering free tickets to a show and Wall would often take in three or four performances a week “I started adoring stuff that was either phenomenal or horrific,” they remember like a mid-tier ‘been done before’ adaptation Wall was trying out different creative avenues and started performing in drag shows “That was a time when RuPaul’s Drag Race was having a mainstream pop culture moment and infiltrating into queer spaces,” they say “I remember being so angry that bio [biologically female] queens were not allowed in some spaces I never really had the aesthetic eye for drag As Wall reconciled their queer identity with their religious upbringing drag stages offered an arena to try on a new identity “It gave me the freedom to be silly on stage I could play out my fantasy of being a wildly confident hilarious host who brought together the misfits who didn’t fit into other spaces.” While working up their skills and gradually building a profile across the festival circuit and comedy clubs Wall worked a range of odd jobs across childcare The latter was a favourite: they could space out to whatever was in their headphones while working In a story that will be familiar to many Australian performers when Wall was preparing to be a guest on the ABC TV music quiz show Spicks and Specks a producer thought they recognised Wall from the stage remembering the producer – and their daily coffee order – from an old job in a cafe Wall was working on Lousical the Musical for the Melbourne Fringe Festival It was a typically ambitious and autobiographical project that riffed on their ADHD diagnosis and anxiety and involved trying to complete hundreds of tasks they had recorded on to-do lists but never got round to doing There were also original songs and meta-commentary about the head-spinning prospect of procrastinating over a work largely about procrastination When the Fringe canned all its live performances but gave artists the option of doing an online show Wall’s work took an unexpected but profound turn Something about the new tool clicked with Wall They could spend a whole day manipulating and rearranging elements “It was one of the first times I’d achieved a full flow state,” they say the audiovisuals are a way to use the speed at which my brain works It was a way to bring my obsession with the internet to something live I want to create work for people who are obsessed with their phones I think the future of stage is works like [Kip Williams’ 2020 Sydney Theatre Company adaptation] The Picture of Dorian Gray that are doing phenomenal audiovisual stuff and combining mediums.” The use of AV elements moved Wall further away from their influences Early reviews often compared them to another lanky redhead “I would be so angry because I’m my own person when in reality that is a beautiful thing to say But the audiovisual stuff was really the first time it felt like a Lou Wall original.” Wall continued honing their hyperactive comedy and by 2024 reached a new level with the award-winning The Bisexual’s Lament It was written at a time of new professional heights but also a personal nadir: the relationship with Tong ended and Wall faced the trauma of a sexual assault a dizzying trip through 69 things Wall found funny was both their funniest and most moving to date Wall values creating narratives of resilience and joy “I’m never really interested in telling stories that don’t finish in hope but there are better storytellers to do that,” they say “My road is hope – it’s the only way I can keep going I think why I gravitate to comedy is that I want what you get from church – that religious and beautiful sense that the world might be crazy as a reflection on lying in the age of artificial intelligence and digital misinformation “Essentially it’s a forensic look into stand-up comedy as an art form and how comedians lie,” they say “The question at the centre of it is: ‘Can lying ever be good?’ ” the happy outcome of a chance meeting at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival two years ago when Wall strode up to their comedy idol and told her they should work together Wall soon forgot the encounter but Coombs Marr didn’t Wall is fizzing with excitement about the collaboration “She just expands my work in ways that I couldn’t even conceive of.” Email    [email protected] Email    [email protected] Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time Daniel Herborn is a writer and lawyer who lives in Sydney You're the Kind of Girl I Write Songs About (HarperCollins) is a story of first love set in the dive bars and band rooms of Sydney's inner west It's probably cheating a bit to include an anthology but Capote is my favourite writer ever and I love both his fiction and non-fiction which is maybe my favourite novella and something I always go back to plus all of his celebrity profiles and travel writing which are the absolute pinnacles of those genres He was a flat-out beautiful stylist – there's a tone he strikes which no other writer can really match RACE & THE SOUL OF AMERICA Craig Werner I picked this up as some slightly off-topic reading when I was studying history and knew instantly I hadn't read anything like it before It was sweeping and optimistic and covered music from Sam Cooke to Public Enemy and detailed how it both reflected and inspired the civil rights movement Werner's enthusiasm influenced how I write about music; it makes you want to listen to all the songs you haven't heard and appreciate the ones you do know more deeply Along with Nick Earls' After January and Laura Buzo's Good Oil this got me interested in writing something for young adults something that would hopefully feel approachable as though the action in the book could be happening down the street from you I found the local setting and the fact it named specific places – Glebe really exciting and it inspired me to have that specificity and sense of place in my own book When this became a massive hit I assumed it was something I wouldn't be into but after a few people whose taste I trust insisted I read it I can remember missing my stop on the train because I was so caught up in it It's so funny and insightful about how we live now It showed me that you don't need fantastical events for a story to be absorbing You're the Kind of Girl I Write Songs About (HarperCollins) is a story of first love set in the dive bars and band rooms of Sydney's inner west It's probably cheating a bit to include an anthology He was a flat-out beautiful stylist \\u2013 there's a tone he strikes which no other writer can really match I picked this up as some slightly off-topic reading when I was studying history and knew instantly I hadn't read anything like it before Werner's enthusiasm influenced how I write about music; it makes you want to listen to all the songs you haven't heard and appreciate the ones you do know more deeply Along with Nick Earls' After January and Laura Buzo's Good Oil this got me interested in writing something for young adults I found the local setting and the fact it named specific places \\u2013 Glebe When this became a massive hit I assumed it was something I wouldn't be into It's so funny and insightful about how we live now It showed me that you don't need fantastical events for a story to be absorbing hybrid imaging and the quest for a personalised medicine.… a global leader in manufacturing advanced medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment showcases a range of cutting-edge technologies aligned with sustainable values United Imaging announces four installations of their diagnostic imaging systems at three healthcare facilities in Romania Working closely with distributor Tehnoplus Medical This website uses cookies to give our readers the best website experience. Please refer to our privacy policy to find out how we use cookies and how you can edit your preferences. For many players, a call-up to WNBA training camp would be overwhelming. In a whirlwind year for Bendigo Spirit stat Anneli Maley, the invite to train with the Chicago Sky after the WNBL season is a great opportunity, albeit one she hasn’t turned her mind to yet. “I’m going to reach out to some people that have been to a camp to get some tips on what to expect, but to be honest, I haven’t thought about it,” she says. Speaking to The Pick and Roll shortly before Bendigo’s final game of the season, the 23-year old says she simply “wants to be in the moment”. Subscribe to The Pick and Roll to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. Credit: Michelle Couling Photography For many players, a call-up to WNBA training camp would be overwhelming. In a whirlwind year for Bendigo Spirit stat Anneli Maley, the invite to train with the Chicago Sky after the WNBL season is a great opportunity, albeit one she hasn\u2019t turned her mind to yet. \u201CI\u2019m going to reach out to some people that have been to a camp to get some tips on what to expect, but to be honest, I haven\u2019t thought about it,\u201D she says. Speaking to The Pick and Roll shortly before Bendigo\u2019s final game of the season, the 23-year old says she simply \u201Cwants to be in the moment\u201D. Actor/Keith Richards impersonator Johnny Depp turns 55 today (June 9) and while the world first fell in love with him as sexy narc Tom Hanson on 21 Jump Street these days Depp has taken on a different role:  Guitarist in the Hollywood Vampires alongside legends Alice Cooper and Joe Perry we've assembled a gallery of Depp's time in the Hollywood Vampires thus far.  The band is currently making its way through Europe on tour they'll return stateside soon for a run of shows GERMANY - MAY 29: Actor/Musician Johnny Depp of Hollywood Vampires performs onstage at Hessentags-Arena during the 56th Hessentag on May 29 GERMANY - MAY 29: Actor/Musician Johnny Depp and Musician Joe Perry of Hollywood Vampires perform onstage at Hessentags-Arena during the 56th Hessentag on May 29 CA - FEBRUARY 15: (L-R) Singer Alice Cooper musician Joe Perry and actor/musician Johnny Depp of Hollywood Vampires attend The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 15 (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS) CA - FEBRUARY 15: (L-R) Actor/musician Johnny Depp singer Alice Cooper and musician Joe Perry of Hollywood Vampires perform onstage during The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 15 (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) GERMANY - MAY 29: Musician Alice Cooper (R) and Actor/Musician Johnny Depp of Hollywood Vampires perform onstage at Hessentags-Arena during the 56th Hessentag on May 29 MN - JULY 17: Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper from The Hollywood Vampires perform at the 2016 Starkey Hearing Foundation "So the World May Hear" awards gala at the St Paul RiverCentre on July 17 (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images for Starkey Hearing Foundation) Johnny Depp and Joe Perry perform onstage at the TEC Awards during NAMM Show 2017 at the Anaheim Hilton on January 21 (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM) CA - FEBRUARY 15: (L-R) Actor-musician Johnny Depp and singer Alice Cooper of the Hollywood Vampires attend The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 15 CA - FEBRUARY 15: Actor/musician Johnny Depp (L) and musician Joe Perry of Hollywood Vampires perform onstage during The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 15 CA - JANUARY 21: Actor Johhny Depp and musician Joe Perry perform onstage at the TEC Awards during NAMM Show 2017 at the Anaheim Hilton on January 21 Download the app to LISTEN LIVE wherever you are and connect with us like never before For subscription enquiries call 1800 077 514 or email [email protected] There’s a scene early in Shaun Micallef’s Origin Odyssey that signals this will not be a slick travelogue replete with swooning drone shots of sumptuous locations We watch Micallef and his travel companion stand helplessly on a Swiss railway platform their faces slowly curdling in dismay as they realise they have missed their connecting train they confidently stride towards the building where Wipfli’s grandfather spent his childhood only to find it locked and seemingly unoccupied “We wanted to show the heart and grunt of travelling and how much of a pain in the arse it is to travel for five hours on a train to get to a particular destination,” Micallef says “I think that’s where the interesting conversations happen when you’re filling in time on a journey.” a six-part series premiering on SBS next week pairs the 62-year-old Micallef with younger comedians – Nina Oyama and Dilruk Jayasinha among them – as they travel overseas to uncover new insights into their heritage He says the loose feel of the show helps present its familiar performers in a fresh light when you’ve got a camera following you around for five days you’re going to let slip what your persona normally is,” he says and they choose what they’re going to present to an audience While Micallef hadn’t met Wipfli before they travelled to Switzerland together he says they quickly and instinctively found a comic rhythm and I think that’s because we’re both used to doing that dance with other people you need me over here for your bit.’ [Talkin’ ’Bout Your Generation co-star] Charlie Pickering and I and I’d move where I was needed to catch him Micallef has just finished filming an episode of another new television project For someone who retired from the medium two years ago he’s seemingly having a hard time staying away He’s done it all as the front and centre of television crime comedy (Mr and Mrs Murder) game shows (Talkin’ ’Bout Your Generation) awards hosting (The Logies) and a lengthy list of television specials he’s content to slide into a supporting role “I made a pledge when I finished Mad As Hell to help realise other people’s stories and I’d been able to do pretty much what I wanted to do I was going to be the host of this thing and their guide but really I was there to step aside and let them do their thing.” Micallef is long established as an elder statesman of Australian television comedy but such ubiquity seemed unlikely when he was ensconced in the legal profession – where he spent 10 years – and was hesitant about pursuing his passion full-time famously gave him an ultimatum: do something about his comic ambitions or stop talking about them After years of developing his chops in theatresports competitions and fruitlessly dropping audition tapes at radio stations his breakthrough came when he joined the popular sketch show Full Frontal in 1995 first as a writer and then an occasional extra and gradually worked his way into the cast beloved characters such as useless reporter David McGahan brain-injured boxer Milo Kerrigan and Phillip Quist a pompous art critic slumming it in post-match interviews with footballers that sketch world and its exaggerated characters,” he says I haven’t really been able to shake any of those influences loose.” He considers his work on Full Frontal uneven but he found it an ideal stepping stone for an emerging performer there was little pressure on Micallef personally and he could try things with impunity he steered his sketches in a more surreal and arcane direction before the showrunners gently reined in his work He laments that today’s young comics don’t have a similar testing ground he recognises the democratising possibilities of online content where new voices can bypass traditional gatekeepers and find an audience “That old reliance on heritage media is not as essential as it was when I was coming in but one observation I’d make is that you get tested less online but opportunities are pretty limited in terms of actually hearing an audience laughing at your material and getting that instant feedback because I think that’s how you learn to be funny Micallef believes the television sketch show is largely a thing of the past – with some notable exceptions such as his beloved Aunty Donna – but that we’re generally trending towards a “long tail” culture of a million niches moving away from the monoculture where seemingly everyone watched shows such as Full Frontal and its even more successful rival “You’re more likely to find what floats your boat comically somewhere on a digital platform or the internet,” he says we’ve got such a small population that the television tends toward the bland – you end up with something without any real point of view as you’ve got such a huge audience that you can make a very decent career for yourself if you only appeal to 1 per cent of the population I think within the next five years free-to-air is going to disappear and looking at the quality of the product that exists While Micallef came to prominence with acutely physical sketch characters he also proved adept at deadpan in the vein of his latter-day comedy idol This skill set proved useful when he transitioned into news satire with Newstopia and then the long-running Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell While these news-heavy shows often lead people to assume he’s a political junkie he has never been particularly interested in the cut and thrust of politics It’s policy rather than personality that piques his interest “There’s a certain pleasure in not making it a personal argument but an argument based on the proposition being put to you,” he says it was because they liked that the idea being exploited by a particular politician was the thing being torn apart Micallef originally became interested in news satire from an unusual angle He greatly admired John Clarke’s work on the short-lived but seminal television program The Gillies Report but he warmed to the comic dynamic between Clarke and Max Gillies rather than the political references he’s been able to distance himself from the daily news cycle “I’ve enjoyed the process of disconnecting from this heroin that I was on,” he says I’ve been off it for a year and a half now he saw common ground between law and comedy He observed the “muted theatrical tricks” skilled barristers would use and incorporated them into his work The intellectual malleability of practising law also proved helpful: he would test out ideas as though he were going to defend them as their advocate or attack them as opposing counsel Micallef is perhaps the great all-rounder of modern Australian comedy yet one style has eluded him across his sprawling career – the sitcom He had a couple of cracks at the format with The Ex-PM and Welcher & Welcher but breezily concedes they didn’t work Does he have a theory on why Australia has produced so few enduring sitcoms which boasts scores of internationally acclaimed stand-ups and thriving satire and sketch scenes “Maybe the strength of the other strands means there’s no real need for it,” he says When someone comes up with an idea for a sitcom whereas I think you probably need to have a network or a broadcaster saying yes to 10 things which is probably the case in the US and the UK so you have to be very careful about the one you pick A few more confident investments would be quite helpful But that will probably happen on the digital platforms rather than the commercial networks.” Reflecting that he was perhaps too much a product of the sketch world to make the transition to sitcoms Micallef doesn’t seem tortured by his misfires; he’s just grateful he kept getting other chances He’s still finding new creative avenues: as well as his two new television shows this year he has more children’s books (written for his “non-existent grandchildren”) in the offing an anthology of his comic writing that spans poetry to philosophy In an age where many veteran comic performers routinely bemoan the changing sensibilities that render their work outmoded Like Mad As Hell – you wouldn’t bother watching an episode of that now so you’re not necessarily going to pick up on what the point of it was “But I think its perishability is what makes it precious You can look at a film with Daniel Day-Lewis and think you need to experience it when it’s around because it’s not going to be around forever.” Micallef’s has been an extraordinary career by any measure but there’s also a winning ordinariness about him in conversation It’s no wonder people often feel free to say hello when they see him in public He puts this down to the intimacy of television where performers are in someone’s lounge room week in and week out A man and his adult daughter recently approached Micallef to say they had watched Mad As Hell since the woman was 10 “She said to me that she thoroughly enjoyed it and it was something she and her father did together “The good thing about being where I am at my age is that I don’t get to tell people what they should remember Those moments are entirely chosen by the audience I regard most of my work as not terribly important but some people think it’s worth putting up there and sharing Email    [email protected] Email    [email protected] For subscription enquiries call 1800 077 514 or email [email protected] and now the youngster’s creative endeavours are interrupting our Zoom call animated blue eyes flash with exasperation as he moves through his house But he’s soon back on to one of his favourite topics the siloing and radicalising potential of social media It’s fair to say Minchin would prefer his son be banging drums than doomscrolling doesn’t give pat answers or trot out pre-planned soundbites unrelated to an interviewer’s questions sprawling trains of thought that often make an argument and offer a counterargument in the same breath a song that decries black-and-white thinking and ideological silos social media has only entrenched the binary divisions described in that song Yet he doesn’t think that keeping children away from social media is the answer or that the future of these technologies is unavoidably bleak but a distressed kid doesn’t also need to be isolated from their community partly because we’ve taught them how bad it is but they’ve also discovered that themselves I think the next generation might figure it out better than we have The ubiquity of social media is one of the recurring topics in Minchin’s new book The collection comprises three of his university commencement speeches with whimsical illustrations by Andrew Rae Minchin also has written new introductions for each musing on how the world has changed since he penned them and in what he describes as a “slightly pretentious thing to do” he’ll take to the road for a national book tour featuring him in conversation and fielding some audience questions He admits to feeling a bit nervous about playing shows without a piano to hide behind and I use a lot of different things to do so “Piano and comedy are ways to package up your ideas There’s also a status thing with the piano Adherence to atheism and rationality have been among the defining ideas running through his work “Do you know what they call alternative medicine that’s been proved to work his sardonic song “Thank You God” posits that scientific endeavour rather than divine intervention was responsible for restoring a woman’s eyesight but he explains that neither of his parents were overly didactic he excitedly told his father his friend had cured his asthma through chiropractic treatment He told Tim that if chiropractors could cure asthma there would be data to support such a claim But after a brief interest in “reiki and all that shit” as a teen Minchin soon embraced scepticism through authors such as Carl Sagan and Michael Shermer this is the way you find out whether your ideas are good – you try to disprove them.” A key message in his “Nine Life Lessons” speech for the University of Western Australia is to embrace intellectual rigour: “Be hard on your beliefs Take them out onto the verandah and hit them with a cricket bat.” His reverence for science and critical thinking is somewhat unusual in his line of work “I’m a working example of how you don’t have to be clueless … Not all artists are like this but there’s definitely a sense that being an artist is about engaging with the illogical or non-provable side of the world or that art is more like love than science While the speeches in You Don’t Have to Have a Dream became viral successes and enduring touchstones they weren’t the product of lengthy writing and rewriting The addresses for both the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and his alma mater the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts were penned in a last-minute burst of inspiration Minchin says the white-knuckle rush of a fast-approaching deadline is just part of being a working creative so I procrastinate.’ But I think it’s really fucking normal to put off hard things until you can’t put them off anymore,” he tells me You’re constructing something out of nothing; it’s hard to bend over and pick up the first piece of shit and try to put it with another piece of shit and see what that looks like.” That unglamorous view of creativity runs through the three speeches The poem he wrote for his speech at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts presents fame as strange and inevitably disappointing the byproduct rather than the goal of a young artist’s striving He counsels aspiring creatives that they can’t have his career experimenting with beat poetry and playing piano for cabaret acts When he was about three years into his career and had about a dozen obscure and sometimes unpaid musical theatre shows to his credit he made tentative inquiries about acquiring the rights to Roald Dahl’s Matilda for a small youth theatre production He was surprised at how seriously the Dahl estate took his request his early years onstage were marked by rejection and defiant perseverance as he increasingly drifted away from what he thought the industry wanted and towards his own idiosyncratic style He suggests youngsters do the same – to become proficient at their craft and find their individual voice – though he’s aware of how trite that sounds His profile kicked up a gear when he started combining his dexterous piano playing with his unusually cerebral and wordy comedy Darkside won the Director’s Choice Award at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival and he landed at that year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival with building momentum When The Guardian gave Darkside a one-star pan Minchin responded with “The Song for Phil Daoust” which took aim at the newspaper’s reviewer and it’s hard now to recognise it as the work of the same artist who wrote the elegantly melancholy Apart Together album Does he feel as though today’s emerging creatives have the opportunity his generation had to try things evolve and find their voice in the public eye that song was an interesting lesson in a couple of ways you never think your power is going to get anywhere near that of a Guardian journalist and I didn’t ever think I could be the giant stomping on a little guy.” It irks Minchin that Daoust never showed any interest in burying the hatchet “He’s had opportunities to come to my work or reach out to me and make a joke,” he says But forgiveness and understanding that humans are flawed is incredibly important.” “I almost missed that opportunity because I was in the middle of becoming a comedy rock star and I thought I didn’t want to go back to writing new theatre,” he says the prospect of working with director Matthew Warchus for the Royal Shakespeare Company proved impossible to resist “It was a very long journey to take myself seriously I had made a lot of art before I started being pretentious enough to call myself an artist but I’ll definitely do a better job at this than most cunts.” Minchin doesn’t listen to music or watch much television these days He swears by jogging to clear his mind and because he believes in the power of habit whether it’s regular exercise or diligently clocking in daily to work on his various projects Disconnected as he may be from contemporary pop culture Celebrated musical comic Bo Burnham has famously cited him as a pivotal early influence His influence also extends outside the obvious: the affable comedy magician Dom Chambers once told me watching Minchin gave him the freedom to be his weird but I hate the idea of getting publicly piled on because it’s just mean kids who don’t understand the emergent trauma that comes with piling on people one mostly worries that your name or work will get ripped up into pieces and one piece of that will become representative of you and someone who doesn’t like you will use that piece On second thoughts – there’s always a second thought with Minchin – he does love hearing about someone’s brother-in-law’s sister’s nephew doing a production of Matilda at their local school and I’m so proud that of all the things I’ve done With our allotted interview time long since over – I’m inclined to believe Minchin when he says he could continue talking about critical thinking and social media anxiety for hours – our conversation loops back to his book and how he hopes it goes beyond didacticism to uplift and inspire Finding beauty in the rational has been vital to the Minchin modus operandi wears its anti-consumerism and atheism on its sleeve but it’s the yearning and tenderness that stay with you “I have to remember that the sharp-edged part of my intelligence I’m actually quite good at making joyous things that address these issues The point of this book is that it’s full of hope and love a very wide-armed world view that includes a huge amount of art and humour and reaching out across divides,” he says even though it has these slightly pointy ideas in it Email    [email protected] Email    [email protected] © 2025 The Saturday Paper. All rights reserved. If you’d like to support the show through advertising, contact us at partnerships@pickandroll.com.au. The Pick and Roll is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Daniel Herborn joins Adam to discuss Game 1 of the 2025 WNBL Finals between Bendigo and Townsville as well as Daniel\u2019s recent interview with Bendigo Coach Kennedy Kereama Then Will Crouch stops by to chat about his conversations with Lauren Jackson including the chat that inspired his latest piece around the need for more young stars in the WNBL possibly through a re-addition of the AIS into the competition If you\u2019d like to support the show through advertising contact us at partnerships@pickandroll.com.au The Pick and Roll is a reader-supported publication consider becoming a free or paid subscriber For subscription enquiries call 1800 077 514 or email [email protected] Surrounded by friends and family at a casino function room Shyla Heal felt something she’d rarely experienced on a basketball court: nervousness The 19-year-old was watching a live stream of the WNBA draft hanging on confirmation of where her career in the sport’s elite competition would begin “I had dreamt about and pictured this day so many times,” Heal says “We were all pretty nervous and anxious to get it going,” he says As teams began selecting their rookie players sparking scenes of celebration across households in the United States But anxiety soon turned into elation as Chicago Sky read her name as the eighth pick The draft night capped the rise of a young player long seen as one of the most promising talents in Australian basketball Despite not being blessed with great height (she stands 168 centimetres tall) she had become a fixture of junior representative teams by her early teens culminating in an eye-catching turn at the FIBA Under-17 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Belarus in 2018 where her 16 points a game was only bettered by Mali’s Sika Koné For most of the sport’s elite young players the logical next step from junior stardom is an apprenticeship in the US college system with interest from blue-chip schools including the University of Connecticut home to the most prestigious women’s college basketball program I wanted to go down my own path.” She’d made her debut in Australia’s WNBL at just 14 playing under her father as coach and becoming the youngest player to appear in the league “People thought we were crazy for not doing what everybody else had done,” says Shane “Yet my belief was if you’re ready to contribute as a pro and play against women at a much higher level than the collegiate system An injury-plagued season at the Perth Lynx followed before Heal emerged as a quality starter for the Bendigo Spirit silken ball-handling and a seemingly unquenchable appetite for the contest she reunited with coach Shannon Seebohm at the Townsville Fire; the pair had previously won a bronze medal together at the 2018 World Cup “I went to Townsville for Shannon Seebohm,” Heal explains “Most coaches probably wouldn’t have faith in a 19-year-old to run their team and be their starting point guard and I’m really grateful it worked out that way.” Heal didn’t just hold her own against the best in the WNBL: she dominated She ranked fifth in the league for scoring further refining her already high-level ability to draw contact and drive to the hoop and disrupting even the most organised defensive schemes with her polished step-back jumper But the most striking thing was her preternatural confidence “She’s had belief because she’s done the work,” explains Shane “She’s had more reps shooting the ball than anyone else in the country.” Playing point guard may be the most challenging role in basketball for a young player As the team’s primary ball handler and playmaker the point guard tells their teammates exactly where to be and what to do on any given play It’s generally not a role for a youngster feeling their way into a higher level of competition As the 2020 season rolled on and the stakes got higher putting up 30 points in the semi and 28 points in the preliminary final including a pair of coolly taken free throws to secure Townsville’s place in the season decider This self-possession in the big moments suggests her inevitable rise to Opals selection may come sooner rather than later She was part of the national team camp in March and is hell-bent on being in the final team While many players her age would be content to have the experience of being around the squad and consider an Olympics berth a bonus “I’ll definitely be disappointed if I don’t make it,” she says “It would be an absolute dream making the Olympics and the WNBA in the same year – that’s probably an understatement.” To be in the mix at such a young age speaks to not just her ability but her work ethic and methodical approach to all aspects of preparation She keeps a diary tracking different types of training as well as scheduling recovery sessions and carefully monitoring her diet Asked about the strongest parts of her game she immediately goes to intangibles: her love of the sport and her determination to constantly improve For all her hard work off the court and her cold-blooded efficiency on it Heal is determined to keep a healthy balance in her life “There’s definitely two sides to how she works mentally,” says her father who captained Australia at the 2004 Olympics “She’s unbelievably focused and professional and then she’s a teenage girl that loves her Instagram going to the beach and hanging out at the cafe with her friends.” Most teenagers would presumably baulk at playing under a parent as a coach but Shyla has signed up to play WNBL for Shane at the Sydney Uni Flames once the WNBA season wraps up She’ll be well-versed in his coaching style “I wouldn’t be the player I am without him He’s taught me everything I know,” she says There may be fewer familiar faces in Chicago but signing with the Sky does afford Heal the opportunity to play understudy to 32-year-old Courtney Vandersloot the American–Hungarian floor general who has led the WNBA in assists (passes leading directly to a basket) for the past four seasons “I’m so excited,” Heal says of working with the veteran “She’s one of the best point guards in the league I want to be learning heaps from her and just getting better each day.” With positional versatility being all the rage in professional basketball Heal can also see a path to earning court time alongside Vandersloot “I do see myself as mostly a pure point guard but I do think I could play as a shooting guard next to Vandersloot and I think I could do that pretty well and then defend a two-man.” Heal’s also prepared to bide her time and says she’ll have no qualms about adapting to a supporting rather than starring role “I’m one of the youngest in the league and I still have so much development and so many things to learn While Heal has thought through many of the details of how her long-held dream is finally about to turn to reality there are some aspects of the whole adventure she still finds surreal The mention of her running pick and roll (basketball’s fundamental offensive structure) with her new teammate and two-time Olympic gold medallist Candace Parker Email    [email protected] Email    [email protected] Until April 27.★★★1/2Reviewed by DANIEL HERBORN London-based comic Kemah Bob’s therapist suggested she take daily “mental health walks” to help manage her bipolar disorder But when one of those walks turned into a casual spending spree at a fashionable boutique it seemed like maybe she needed to up the ante on her wellness regime Kemah Bob finds comedy in a trip to Thailand gone wrong she books a flight to Thailand and is soon happily exploring her new surroundings waving off warnings about wandering around a night market alone she believes herself an instant expert in all things Thailand a man who describes his job as helping independent African miners sell their gold in Asia swoops in determined to whisk her away from the tourist trail Bob tells a winding tale with upbeat warmth and easy charm It’s an unusual story and one rich in dramatic irony We grimace at every red flag she ignores and see through every tall tale she laps up as her plans for a chilled-out vacation are upended in a whirlwind of weed shops and extravagant spending wryly funny portrait of living with bipolar disorder and the frustrating unpredictability of the condition; Bob explains that manic episodes can be triggered by achieving goals life experiences (good or bad) and even the changing of the weather and the passage of time While sometimes more gently engrossing than hilarious where she takes a sanguine look back at the holiday from hell happy enough to have survived to tell the tale April 22Until April 24Reviewed by DANIEL HERBORN★★★★ Midway through his Sydney Comedy Festival show British comic Nish Kumar outlines the topics he’s about to cover: anxiety No wonder someone recently told him he should try more relatable material like riffing on the contents of his fridge He’d already rattled through a litany of injustice and nonsense from billionaire biohacker Bryan Johnson – who injects himself with his teenage son’s blood in a bid to live forever – to his deep frustration at being told he should be “pleased about the representation” of having a fellow British Indian The 39-year-old Kumar seems so energised by white-hot rage that he barely pauses for breath The breakneck style makes for an urgent and wide-ranging excoriation of powerful individuals demonising minorities for their own gain Kumar doesn’t settle for making right-on points but draws consistent belly laughs with his furious monologues aided by vividly grotesque descriptions of his foes – from Elon Musk to his transphobic comedy peers – and his knack for unexpected but spot-on analogies giving a potentially one-note show some much-needed light and shade “I’m like this all the time,” he says of his exasperated state reflecting on how exhausting being constantly outraged is and how it both drives and results from his anxiety A streak of humility runs through Kumar’s work The self-deprecation shines through in the hilarious and farcical closing account of his confronting Boris Johnson He even gives writing a joke about his fridge his best shot it goes somewhere angrier and more political than you’d expect Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday Until April 27.\\u2605\\u2605\\u26051/2Reviewed by DANIEL HERBORN London-based comic Kemah Bob\\u2019s therapist suggested she take daily \\u201Cmental health walks\\u201D to help manage her bipolar disorder It\\u2019s an unusual story and one rich in dramatic irony Bob\\u2019s relaxed charisma keeps you on board April 22Until April 24Reviewed by DANIEL HERBORN\\u2605\\u2605\\u2605\\u2605 British comic Nish Kumar outlines the topics he\\u2019s about to cover: anxiety He\\u2019d already rattled through a litany of injustice and nonsense from billionaire biohacker Bryan Johnson \\u2013 who injects himself with his teenage son\\u2019s blood in a bid to live forever \\u2013 to his deep frustration at being told he should be \\u201Cpleased about the representation\\u201D of having a fellow British Indian Kumar doesn\\u2019t settle for making right-on points but draws consistent belly laughs with his furious monologues aided by vividly grotesque descriptions of his foes \\u2013 from Elon Musk to his transphobic comedy peers \\u2013 and his knack for unexpected but spot-on analogies \\u201CI\\u2019m like this all the time,\\u201D he says of his exasperated state A streak of humility runs through Kumar\\u2019s work it goes somewhere angrier and more political than you\\u2019d expect streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees The Capitol Hill Block Party Artist Panel Series 2019 is free (no festival wristband required) For subscription enquiries call 1800 077 514 or email [email protected] When cabaret performer Reuben Kaye arrived at a gig last year in Sydney’s Enmore Theatre he snuck in early only to find police sniffer dogs combing the venue for threats This sobering reality had become his new normal after he appeared on The Project and made a joke about Jesus Christ being nailed to the cross People bombarded him with online abuse and death threats he made the point that many other performers had made similar quips but he was getting hate because of who he was – an openly gay man performing in drag make-up – rather than the content of the joke “It was rough,” he tells The Saturday Paper over a Zoom call from a grey Manchester morning We had to have private security in Adelaide and that brought it home.” That Sydney show had already been postponed due to fears for Kaye’s safety Just before the curtain went up on the rescheduled event and said the same words to him he says before every performance: “I’m going to have a good show I love you.” He braced himself for the worst but when he took the stage there was pandemonium – the roar of the crowd caused him to reel backwards and drowned out the cues in his earpieces “That was a life-changing gig,” he reflects which straddle glitzy show tune numbers and comedy both raunchy and bitingly satirical had been notable for their open-heartedness He would give out his hotel room number during shows for potential paramours “No one ever came,” he sighs with mock offence Where others may have retreated from the public in the face of the furore Kaye doubled-down on his direct connection with his audience – where possible he began opening shows by welcoming people at the door and giving everyone a hug “People had to know that I’m a real person and I trust you and if anyone’s going to come in with any [malicious] intention then hopefully they’ll see that I’m a human being It’s very easy to demonise or be demonised through the lens of social media or behind a keyboard.” Kaye is touring nationally with a new show titled Apocalipstik which opens at Malthouse Theatre on March 28 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival It features original songs penned with Whitelock and traverses some 60 years of newly uncovered family history and secrets rebellion and espionage in the Eastern Bloc to the queer experience in Australia today It asks whether our current political divisions are new or just the latest iteration of a repeating history an enigmatic reprobate who lived in East Germany and lost his life in a bank heist gone wrong Kaye didn’t know much about him growing up but discovered a “treasure-trove” of his documents and assorted possessions – including a harmonica collection – after his death Despite their very different circumstances Kaye strongly related to his late uncle and came to view his criminality as a yearning for a better life As someone who understands much of the queer experience as searching for a utopia his uncle’s refusal to accept societal norms struck a chord with him feels the show has strong contemporary resonances “I don’t think there’s another story like it out there It’s been sitting under my skin for I don’t know how long The rest of my family have all died in the war Their stories deserve to be told in a way that’s a celebration of their life not a taxidermied version of their death.” Kaye had a torrid time at school as homophobic bullies relentlessly attacked and assaulted him One classmate threw him in front of a moving car Another attack left him with an eyebrow scar that still makes it tricky for Kaye to attach his trademark make-up But he says trying to conceal his sexuality out of self-preservation was never an option “I was so visible – it didn’t matter if I tried to butch up or quieten down I would have been beaten up and picked on regardless It was my instinct to fight back and engage ‘Just don’t play the game.’ But if someone were going to come for me It was during this time that Kaye’s penchant for biting He considered it a small moment of triumph when his retort to a tormentor made a teacher crack up [The bully] can’t say anything else to you because the whole class sees that someone smarter and older is in on the joke It’s a very Jewish thing to use comedy as a weapon Kaye – who was diagnosed with ADHD as a child – felt hemmed in by the routine and rigours of school and was impatient to start his life as an entertainer Both his parents were creatives – his mother a documentary-maker Sometimes their life advice ran to the eccentric – Kaye’s mother told him to always travel at the back of a flight because she’d never known a plane to reverse into a mountain Knowing full well the precarious economics of being an artist in Australia they suggested their offspring study plumbing or accounting But they soon relented and saw in the young Kaye a performer’s soul They enrolled him in singing lessons and he gradually progressed from being “completely tone deaf” to the powerhouse vocalist of today he studied musical theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts but any notion of “finding his people” in the new scene quickly evaporated “Musical theatre is actually a very regimented discipline It takes a lot of repetition and instruction; you have to be able to do it eight times a week the exact same way.” Despite not being a good fit the program proved a useful springboard into productions such as Evita and Iolanthe But what really accelerated Kaye’s development as a singing joke-slinging performer were the eight years he spent enmeshed in London’s vibrant He often darted between clubs to perform up to four shows a night and often barely had time to touch up his make-up or throw back a shot between gigs He reels off the names of the performers that once trod those same stages – including Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland – with awe where you’d be surrounded by celebs doing coke and performers pulling things out of wherever It taught you to take anything that gets thrown at you You could be doing a hen’s party for people from Leeds one day and then performing for the Beckhams the next “We’d all been rejected by other art forms,” he recalls of his cabaret peers this clichéd idea of the demimonde – drunk One of the best parts about cabaret for me is the release that impulse to stick two fingers up at something.” cabaret has always had an Australian flavour despite its origins in the taverns and theatres of Europe he found the cabaret scene here was far smaller and increasingly drifted into comedy rooms It seemed natural enough; he had long admired comics such as Julian Clary and Eddie Izzard While people in the cabaret world often saw him as primarily a comedian in the comedy industry bookers initially viewed him as “too cabaret” to be an easy fit A successful run making autobiographical videos during the Covid lockdowns boosted his profile and a surprise invitation to perform in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival opening night gala sealed his ascent to the upper levels of this scene But despite his growing mainstream profile Kaye still relishes being difficult to pigeonhole “Who I am was defined by other people much earlier than I could define it myself I was called a ‘faggot’ before I knew what one was I never worry about what people are going to call what you do but somewhere along the line he changed his performing name to Reuben Kaye in honour of Danny Kaye “He was the embodiment of the truth-telling fool the innocent who’s still somehow cynical and world-weary He brought out the child in you when you watched him.” Kaye also reveres the tradition of drag queens onstage but aims to bring a modern twist “We’ve all been raised with the cliché of the bitchy queen who cuts every audience member down I think we’ve moved on as a community to not need that much vitriol and bile as a self-defence mechanism.” His shows are often heavy on audience participation but he doesn’t seek to embarrass or confront anyone “I work very hard to let the audience know that this is a wonderful blend of a safe space and somewhere quite dangerous The notion of a safe space for queer rites of passage informed his Green Room Award-winning The Butch is Back and I’ve had parents bringing their kids to that show and their kid came out to them after it They say it made their lives easier in some way I can’t think of anything more special than that.” a figure of paradoxes – the soft-hearted provocateur the acid-tongued bon vivant with a commitment to social change At the heart of his work is a conviction that the frivolous and deeply serious can sit side by side Kaye is great company – witty and thoughtful he swivels around his laptop to show me a passing cat that had caught his attention In contrast to the hyper-confident Kaye we see onstage He describes himself as a part-time extrovert “I remember once when I was a kid and I was going crazy turned to me in front of everyone and said ‘You’re an introvert pretending to be an extrovert I wonder out loud about the dichotomy between his onstage and offstage personas and whether we ever see a less-than-fabulous Kaye his hair unwashed and his clothes a crumpled mess He throws his head back in laughter and then stands to reveal his full outfit including a humble pair of tracksuit pants Email    [email protected] Email    [email protected] For subscription enquiries call 1800 077 514 or email [email protected] you get really good at deceiving people,” says James Galea Then you have this thing that you’re told needs to be a secret It can be really hard to distinguish the two.” Galea explored these blurred lines and reckoned with how his sexuality has shaped his work One song wondered aloud: Are all magicians gay But gay and openly gay are two different things and he didn’t have a single touchstone of a queer magician to aspire to while he was growing up “That was kind of the jumping-off point for the musical,” Galea explains why is it not being spoken about?’ Like anything There’s many out famous queer magicians now That shift to inclusivity hasn’t always been easy in a field that can be painfully beholden to tradition perhaps the most fabled magic organisation only allowed women to become members in the 1990s It’s a telling detail that the Amazing Randi one of the most esteemed and influential magicians of the past century “Some things change slowly,” Galea reflects “I don’t think anything institutional like that is quickly passed There are people that are trying to keep it the same.” It’s a bit hard to reconcile the leather-jacket-wearing classic-car-driving Galea of today with the stories he relates of a restless teen obsessively practising magic and eyeing it as a means to escape But the pressure he felt to conceal his sexuality as he made his first steps into life as a performer weighed heavily that outsider mentality and the impulse to make art are impossible to prise apart “You always feel like the odd one out,” he says is that everyone in the arts feels like that I think that’s what pushes you to create as well.” That creative process has not been without its trying moments; in his short film The Magician Galea ponders the lot of the conjuror skilful enough to have some audience members convinced they are “really magic” but it captures a strain of melancholy that will be familiar to any artist who has put in improbable amounts of effort to make their performance look effortless betrays less angst about his career choice It focuses instead on the more joyful and social aspects of life as a magician In the two-part series Galea travels Australia and the United States doing tricks for punters on the street and meeting up with sword swallowers with a loose concept carried by Galea’s enthusiasm for the craft in its various forms and punctuated by his hearty laugh He tells me he loves the immediacy of theatre best “There’s something that you just can’t get on TV,” he says “I think people are so used to seeing stuff on their phones when they’ve just got 20 seconds to spare His new stage show – also titled James Galea’s Best Trick Ever – sees him play host to a quartet of fellow magicians He’s relishing the camaraderie and the chance to talk shop “It’s a pretty lonely art form usually,” he says of magic “It’s not like dance or musical theatre where you’re collaborating from the get-go so it’s wonderful to be able to work together.” Is there a sense of community among magicians you have to see the newest thing I’m working on.’ You don’t have to explain why you can’t have this there or that here; you finally get to have a shorthand with people We’re all just sitting and watching magicians Galea is a veteran of the stage; his career has straddled magic he told the story of a mentor who turned out to be putting his magical skills to nefarious ends in Lying Cheating Bastard He also curated and co-starred in the critically lauded Band of Magicians shows and toured widely with his solo work I Hate Rabbits he didn’t so much arrive on the scene as loudly barge onto it While some critics didn’t find the show as groundbreaking as it claimed to be it established Galea as a stylish magician eager to set himself apart from the musty trappings of magic acts past He first took up magic at 14 when he was studying acting at the Australian Theatre for Young People Galea asked to learn it and started practising to make it look slick He’d walk around school rolling coins or handling cards earnestly acquiring a pair of wingtip shoes He cut an unlikely figure as he wore them on the bus to his early gigs “It wasn’t until later that I realised it’s just weird for a 14-year-old to be wearing a top hat He soon swapped the old-style get-up for V-necks and jeans he’s blasting the lockdown cobwebs away with a big theatre show and is reaching for the sequins the decision to eschew the goofier trappings of magic signalled the beginnings of a move to a more authentic performance that saw him grow increasingly comfortable with weaving personal elements into his work A gifted technician from early on – he was Australian close-up magic champion in his early 20s – he levelled up when he began embracing the art form’s potential for storytelling His flair for fusing narrative and trickery reached a new peak with his “673 King St” the story card trick where a shuffled deck of cards are dealt and seem to sync up with the story the magician is spinning The trick has proved his key to the kingdom but initially he didn’t even know if it was any good but that was like no reaction I’d ever got in the past Just as a comedian has a finely tuned antenna for which specific beats of a joke get laughs he would pay close attention to where the “oohs” and “ahhs” were in honing a routine Galea performed the finished product on The Ellen DeGeneres Show with a veteran’s panache but it also served as a reminder of how easily a live magic act can be derailed Rewatch the clip and you’ll notice a stray card almost gets left on the table If Galea hadn’t caught this in time and returned it to the deck he could have been the unwanted star of a litany of “Magician’s EPIC FAIL on TV” style YouTube clips “You’re freaking out,” Galea recalls of that near miss You need so much confidence and bravado to get through some of those things because some of it’s quite terrifying He drew on Bill Malone’s legendary “Sam the Bellhop” routine itself an iteration of a genre of tricks that may date back to the 19th century Galea’s dazzling sleight of hand here serves a distinctly Australian vignette of a night out with chance meetings with a couple of inspired comic hairpin turns along the way There’s something analogous to music in the way the best contemporary magicians reshape and rework effects that date back generations Just as there are only a finite number of chord progressions that hit the ear in a pleasing way there may be only a relatively small set of foundational tricks from which to expand on who started playing piano at age three and believes that training provided the finger dexterity needed for close-up magic “There are so many hit songs where you’re like: ‘Oh whether it’s the story or the person doing it and that’s the great thing about magic too Different magicians all have different takes on all the same effects and the winners from that are the audience.” James Galea’s Best Trick Ever is a kind of artistic cousin to Magic for Humans a show created by Galea’s erstwhile collaborator Justin Willman Both programs have a humanistic view of magic They can be bracketed with Penn & Teller: Fool Us – which has quietly become one of the warmest reality shows going – as part of a new wave of feel-good magic shows There’s something delightful about seeing people getting their groceries or walking their dog and unexpectedly finding themselves the one-person audience for a Galea trick There are even moments of unexpected poignancy One of his favourite responses came when he did a mentalism trick for a woman on the streets of Blacktown He asked her to think of an object that meant something to her She thought of a circle and he duly guessed it and drew it for her she told the camera crew she was “proud” of Galea “It was the sweetest thing in the world,” Galea says “It was just genuinely the most amazed I’ve ever seen a human being It makes me emotional even thinking about it I think magic has that power that other art forms don’t That’s a really special thing to be able to give someone and to be able to share with them The weirdly emotional pull of magic may be the key to its survival in the information age when its very foundation of secrecy would seem to be under threat Now anyone can go on their phone and almost instantaneously locate any number of tutorials laying bare the secret mechanisms of magic to have that dizzying feeling of having seen something inexplicable can Galea watch other magicians without trying to figure out how they’re doing it I much prefer to just sit and enjoy.” As the producer of a magic variety show every detail of how his colleagues’ tricks are done… “It’s the great paradox of being a magician,” Galea says “You get into it because you loved that feeling when you watched magic for the first time to be good at your job and create that magic and wonder So that’s the saddest part about it as well.”  Email    [email protected] Email    [email protected] and producer Tems will make her highly anticipated return to Australia with a series of East Coast headline shows this November Last down under in September 2023 when she performed sold-out headline shows on her debut visit Tems this year returns to Melbourne and Sydney adding a stop in Brisbane for the very first time Tems’ Born In The Wild Tour kicks off at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena on Saturday 9 November before heading to Brisbane’s The Fortitude Music Hall on Tuesday 12 November and Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Friday 15 November For subscription enquiries call 1800 077 514 or email [email protected] If you haven’t been paying much attention to comedy in recent years you’d be forgiven for thinking the artform is moribund A scan of the headlines would see some of the globe’s biggest comedians feebly aiming to “get cancelled” for their next stand-up special (Ricky Gervais) trashing their legacy with progressive-baiting transphobia (Dave Chappelle) or drawing criticism for their extracurricular activities (too many to mention) Avoid the stadium fillers for the myriad small rooms of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and you get a very different impression this year’s iteration remains primarily local in flavour it loses little for that with more intriguing under-the-radar acts than even the most indefatigable punter can reasonably hope to see One change this year: the apparent decline of comics standing on Swanston Street trying to sweet talk you into attending their show targeted Instagram ads may be eerily accurate If you’re going old school and picking festival shows from the program one rule of thumb has always been: the later the time slot Dan Rath’s Cockroach Party is on very late The midnight hour seems his natural environment given his comedy has always crackled with nocturnal weirdness and had the feel of the kind of thoughts that keep one up at night Inexplicably dressed in a faded Fanta T-shirt and white-knuckling the microphone Rath has an overcaffeinated demeanour and a seemingly endless series of tales casting him as a kind of burnt out Rodney Dangerfield bumbling from one mortifying encounter to another He’s getting bullied at an indoor rock-climbing gym he’s barking down the line at debt collectors he’s logging into myGov just to momentarily salve his loneliness through the ping of an automatic text reply wired persona was in place before the pandemic constantly surprising writing offer laughter in the dark for these jittery times Some stretches of crowd work are predictably awkward but it’s fun to see Rath dig himself a hole and scramble his way out of it Cockroach Party is also commendable for largely avoiding lockdown takes noting its dissimilarities to Hollywood pandemics You didn’t see Uber Eats drivers delivering curries in Contagion The onset of Covid-19 affected Perth native Laura Davis more immediately She was stranded in New Zealand when it kicked off eventually enduring the indignity of having her London landlord packing up her flat over Zoom she started rehearsing what became this show to an empty space in the adjacent woods Davis first played this festival in 2010 with the apparently animal fact-heavy Ants Don’t Sleep and laments here that she can no longer write a show of such low-stakes whimsy The world and her work have become more complicated Davis has always had a restlessness about her a need to pick at the conventions of stand-up – one year If This Is It isn’t quite as formally inventive but does find Davis disquieted by the thought that the planet’s environmental and political woes have become too big for the confines of stand-up “I wish this were a fun show,” she says at one point but it’s fascinating to see a brilliant comic thinker wrestle with the limitations of the form comforting answers that lesser festival shows peddle Davis frets at the rise of human stupidity but feels ambivalent about this as an explanation for social woes She wants our body politic to swing hard to the left but finds herself frustrated at the fractiousness and self-aggrandisement of progressives online aided by Davis’s remarkable ability to extend a train of thought to wild places One musing on body hair removal that reminds her of military conscripts having their heads shaved takes a surreal she ponders what it would look like if a female comedian insisted on exposing themselves à la Louis C There’s an apocryphal story that Tom Lehrer quit satire when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel peace prize you fear that the spectacle of billionaires blasting themselves into space during a global pandemic will prove too monumentally stupid to satirise and will see her retreat to those woods in New Zealand for good Let’s hope not; that would mean the loss of a singular talent The best show I saw in the festival’s packed first week belonged to Scout Boxall a young non-binary comic who debuted last year with Good Egg That promising if slightly uneven (mostly) sketch show featured characters including a fitspo (fitness-inspiration) nun and an ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) bogan It turns out the most intriguing character in their arsenal is Boxall themself Buck Wild is a stunningly assured move into autobiographical stand-up affecting and illuminating look at living with bipolar disorder – and I predicted Boxall had a great show in them bursting at the seams with ideas and insights songs – one memorably outlining a confusing mix of hatred and lust for formula one driver Max Verstappen – and audiovisual elements including a range of novelty T-shirts skewering the commodification of mental health One minor quibble common to festival shows: the screen is placed too low to see from the second row without ungainly neck craning discordant noise and swaths of blue and green light flicker around the stage adding to the poignancy and power of the spoken word It makes you realise how much storytelling depth most festival shows leave on the table by barely using these tools The tonal shifts throughout are sharp but deftly handled which somehow detours into the relative merits of biscuits – bonus points for correctly identifying the Kingston as the diamond of the Arnott’s Assorted Creams – without pulling you away from the central narrative or diminishing its visceral force To watch this show is to see a thrilling talent developing at warp speed It’s further evidence that in the upstairs hideouts and dingy back rooms of this sprawling festival the eccentric heart of comedy is beating strong The Melbourne International Comedy Festival continues until April 24 Email    [email protected] Email    [email protected] For subscription enquiries call 1800 077 514 or email [email protected] With 3x3 basketball set to make its Olympic debut at Tokyo the Australian women’s team is eyeing not merely a spot in the history-making eight-team competition but also on the podium The delayed Games will cap the rapid ascent of this version of the sport which has morphed from youth competitions and street basketball Since the first official International Basketball Federation (FIBA) 3x3 event in 2007 the sport has been booming at a grassroots level despite a relatively low media profile with games ending either when one team scores 21 or after just 10 minutes A standard Olympic Games match lasts 40 minutes Shots made from behind the three-point line are worth two making long-range shooting even more valuable The shot clock is 12 seconds instead of 24 and games are played on a single-hoop outdoor sports court with a slightly smaller ball “It’s an intriguing game,” says David Biwer the Californian-born head coach of Australia’s women’s 3x3 team For players who came up in the traditional game first started playing 3x3 when a former coach invited her to play in a competition for prize money “It was a time in my basketball life when I wasn’t in such a great spot,” Cole recalls “But that first tournament – I absolutely loved it The style of play is right up my alley: aggressive and athletic I’ll always have a soft spot for it because of that.” Biwer also relishes the new challenges that come with the different rules and the nonstop action where coaches can stalk the sidelines and keep up a running dialogue with their players (and coaches in 3x3 can’t make direct eye contact with their charges or issue detailed instructions He likens it to the role of a tennis coach during a game “There is some yelling that goes on … you can do reminder stuff,” he explains “But that’s one of the good things about coaching 3x3 – you have to evolve You can’t overload the players with information but you do have to find a way to get them ready for any situation that might occur.” Seasoned observers of basketball know the sport at its highest levels is something like chess for tall people a nuanced tactical game of punch and counterpunch with coaches continuously shifting offensive and defensive structures calling set plays and rotating players to hunt mismatches explains there is more planning involved than may seem evident “It’s so quick that there’s no time to think between offence and defence We do have a structure off dead-ball situations the game is just played in free motion,” she says While some of the nuances of the traditional game are less important in 3x3 the shorter form can expose any flaws in a player’s game An undersized guard who struggles defending or a tall forward who doesn’t have the agility to stay in front of a more mobile guard quickly becomes a liability The 3x3 game also doesn’t have the ebbing and flowing intensity of 5x5 basketball where the full-court press defence is rare and teams generally let a guard bring the ball into the front court and prioritise defending the ring “You’re always going from offence to defence; the transitions are so quick,” Cole says where potentially you can playing [traditional basketball].” Biwer says a major element of his role as coach is ensuring his players are ready for the rough and tumble of 3x3 Cole confirms that the scrimmages can be bruising a silver medallist with the Opals at the 2017 Asia Cup “The energy systems we’re using are so different to the traditional style of basketball We found that was probably too long for a 3x3 camp We’re learning on the run on how to schedule training without going too far.” The Australian women’s team may still be fine-tuning their preparations for this format but they’ve already made impressive progress on the international stage Garrick and Cole teamed with former Opals Alice Kunek and Hanna Zavecz to become the undefeated champions of the Asia Cup in Changsha they placed fourth at the most recent World Cup in Amsterdam which ended in an agonising one-point loss to eventual champions China in the semi-finals Cole was named the tournament’s most valuable player (and one of FIBA’s “10 women who defined 3x3” for the year) but it’s the sting of defeat that has stayed with her “The fire we felt when we lost that game; that is going to burn inside us to make sure it doesn’t happen again We just didn’t have enough experience at that stage.” The team goes into the final Olympic qualifying tournament – in Graz but this reflects Australia having played relatively few tournaments compared with their European counterparts Most of the Australian squad play in the WNBL and can only play 3x3 in the off-season putting them at something of a disadvantage to other teams whose players are primarily 3x3 specialists Cole agrees that expectations are much higher than their ranking suggests “We see ourselves as top five in the world,” she says “We’ve earned our respect from other countries.” They now need a top-three finish at Graz to qualify for the competition in Tokyo The nature of 3x3 means the process is precarious as it only takes a team losing concentration for a minute or an opposition shooter going on a hot streak for an upset to occur As Biwer’s team prepares for its moment of truth the veteran coach is relishing the occasion but there’s also lots of pressure,” he says the pressures of it all excite me more than they threaten me I really think we can do some great things.” When Garrick first got a call from officials inviting her to try 3x3 Now it looms as both her ticket to Tokyo and to being an unexpected pioneer “Maybe [one day] I’ll look back and think: ‘You know Email    [email protected] Email    [email protected] The term "angiodysplasia" describes a wide range of vascular malformations Classifying the lesions accurately and defining the extent of disease are essential steps for optimal management and treatment assessment is a difficult process that usually requires a combination of imaging modalities At the 2002 European Congress of Radiology in Vienna Christoph Herborn from the radiology department of University Hospital in Essen discussed MRI and MRA imaging as promising techniques that could potentially replace conventional angiography and ultrasound "The congenital forms of angiodysplasia are either the typical arteriovenous malformations or may occur within systemic disorders such as Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome," he said "The acquired forms can easily be due to traumatic events or iatrogenic due to postinterventional events They can be contained in the subcutaneous tissue as well as the mucous tissue They often have multiple manifestations in the breast with multiple microshunts or fistulas which might impair the function of peripheral extremities." Beyond the accurate assessment of disease extent evaluation requires distinguishing among several different types of lesions -- for example differentiating capillary or cavernous hemangiomas from arteriovenous angiomas or purely venous hemangiomas But venography and plethysmography are invasive So the researchers sought to assess the characterization of angiodysplasia with MRI and MRA compared to Doppler ultrasound and conventional angiography including 9 men and 5 women aged 10-64 (mean age 47.3) All patients had known peripheral arteriovenous malformations according to a standard of reference that included digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and/or duplex Doppler sonography The images were acquired on a 1.5-tesla Magnetom Sonata scanner (Siemens Medical Solutions using dedicated extremity and body-array surface coils whenever possible "We used a T1-weighted 2-D FLASH (fast low-angle shot) sequence in an axial acquisition; T2-weighted spin echo also in an axial acquisition; then a STIR (short tau inversion recovery) sequence with both axial and coronal acquisitions; and finally a dynamic 3-D FLASH sequence with coronal acquisition following the injection of a body weight-adjusted dose of gadolinium contrast," Herborn said Radiologists interpreted the images in an effort to detect and localize the lesions -- especially the extent and involvement of neighboring structures -- and classify them All of the MR examinations were of diagnostic quality Together MRI/MRA detected a total of 11 arteriovenous angiomas; and 7 hemangiomas and one patient with Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome All manifestations of the lesions were subcutaneous but 6 of the patients also had bone and muscle involvement which looks like some kind of vericosis," he said which is underestimated on the T1- weighted images which show involvement of the musculature and tibia bone "The contrast-enhanced images provide some comparable information for the muscular and bone manifestation of the disease," Herborn said "The coronal STIR images show (AVM) presence inside the tibia as well as in the subcutaneous and intramuscular tissue The arterial phase of the contrast-enhanced sequence just covers the structures like bones and muscles and therefore nicely shows the small vessels feeding a microshunt." the STIR sequence was helpful for determining the extent of vascular malformation Dynamic MRA was needed to accurately classify the lesion type Compared to the reference standard (DSA and/or Doppler US) the sensitivity of MRA/MRI imaging for classifying lesion type was 100% The results were well correlated with conventional angiography (N=11) and Duplex ultrasound (N=16) "The STIR and T2-weighted images were really helpful for determination of lesion extent Although these results are pretty promising one should keep in mind that the exact noninvasive classification of angiodysplasia (type) remains challenging and still depends on a combination of different radiological modalities." Copyright © 2002 AuntMinnie.com If one of the glories of sport is its ability to produce perfectly unscripted moments then the Sydney Sixers Pride Party earlier this year was as unexpectedly memorable as they come but it set the stage for a crowd awash with vivid rainbow colours to dance defiantly and joyfully in the downpour As a statement of LGBTQIA+ inclusivity in a domain that had previously been resistant it was a vibrant reminder of how far the sporting realm had come from a time when the only notable presence of gay life were the homophobic epithets tossed around by competitors and spectators alike a former Australian rules player with Yarra Glen the tides of change feel both welcome and profound homophobic language felt like it was part of the game,” he tells The Saturday Paper It made me feel like that was one environment where I would never be able to come out.” Ball came out to a supportive response from his teammates The team went on to stage a Pride Cup to show its support “To see players these days pulling on the rainbow as a sign of solidarity with the LGBT community… it’s been a massive turnaround,” he says Australia’s other top-rating football code rapper Macklemore and his gay rights anthem “Same Love” featured at the 2017 NRL grand final The performance predated same-sex marriage becoming legal in Australia signalling a sporting code firmly planting its flag on the side of inclusivity at a time when the federal government was doing no such thing but no openly gay players; the NRL has had four floats in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras “A player coming out would attract media interest but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing,” says Ball “The visibility would go a long way to giving hope to young LGBT people.” Several out athletes have noted the immense mental toll not being able to live as their authentic selves took Yet a very public coming out also requires a particular brand of resilience “The reality is the first or second player to do it will create a big splash and will be remembered as that trailblazer,” Ball says of the AFL “Not everyone is born to be a trailblazer.” One such pioneer is former Newcastle Jets soccer player Andy Brennan who now plays for Hume City in the National Premier Leagues Victoria he became the first current or former A-League player to come out as gay at the same time revealing the longstanding burden of hiding his sexuality amid fears about the reaction of those around him While the general response from the soccer community has been positive Brennan understands why gay elite athletes may choose to keep this part of their identity a secret “Stakes at that level are so high,” he says “you don’t want to jeopardise everything you’ve built your whole life.” a lecturer in sport development at Western Sydney University and vice-president of LGBTQIA+ inclusion organisation Proud 2 Play says research shows queer youths have lower participation rates in sport than their straight counterparts A culture of rampant bullying and unchecked homophobia and transphobia at junior and school levels is a significant driver of this trend High dropout rates for LGBTQIA+ youths are not just about a failure to achieve inclusivity There is now a mountain of evidence linking physical activity to better mental health outcomes so depriving a cohort of young people with a higher incidence of mental health conditions of a potentially rich source of community and wellbeing seems particularly remiss playing basketball has brought immense benefits “I’m very grateful for sport,” says the University of Canberra Capitals forward “You might just be chasing around a basketball but it teaches you so many life lessons,” she says It lets you be part of the broader community.” in her native Alaska and has found basketball a welcoming space for those in same-sex relationships “I’ve always felt very supported and included,” she says “I suppose there was a little bit of growing into [being out] but I don’t think that was the people around me That was more me and my own insecurities and eventually becoming more confident in who I am as a person.” appear to be further down the road towards inclusivity With a less persistent media spotlight and fans who are less prone to vitriol rugby league and cricket are home to many more openly out athletes at elite levels than their male counterparts “They understand more around diversity and inclusion,” says Ryan Storr “They’re more welcoming and are seen as safe spaces where women can be themselves and connect with others like them.” Acceptance may be less straightforward for transgender athletes had her nomination for the AFLW draft rejected in 2018 after a row over her testosterone level despite the level being below relevant International Olympic Committee guidelines Some sharply criticised the AFL for its handling of the matter said the episode “helped to embolden the most hateful and ignorant of the game’s supporters” Transgender athletes remain underrepresented in elite sports and their presence there is often hotly disputed Several sporting codes have developed inclusion policies based on Australian Human Rights Commission guidance Jason Ball believes there is still serious confusion around transgender inclusion and that while sporting bodies generally have good intentions “We have so much more to gain in welcoming transgender people into sport rather than excluding them,” he says From the explosion of joy at the Sydney Cricket Ground that rain could not extinguish to the formation of LGBTQIA+ supporter groups to the quiet acceptance that some out athletes have found advocates in this space have often expressed something close to wonder that the sporting world has come this far Reminders that progress is rarely uniform nor linear abound intensely damaging vitriol of Israel Folau and Margaret Court or the thoughtless bumbling of straight cricketer James Faulkner calling his mate his “boyfriend” on Instagram if you told me we’d have Pride Rounds and all these wonderful things happening I wouldn’t have believed you,” Storr reflects But this is only the start of the journey.” This piece was supported by funds from the Google News Initiative Email    [email protected] Email    [email protected] Straight Presents Live Nation announced today that Lady Gaga has added a second date to her Born This Way Ball Tour at Rogers Arena on Saturday, January 12, in addition to the previously announced January 11 show Both concerts will feature opening acts Madeon and Lady Starlight Be sure to enter our Beat the Box Office contest here by Thursday for a chance to win tickets before they go on sale on Friday Tickets for the January 12 show are priced at $49.50, $90, $175 (plus service charges and fees) and go on sale this Friday (September 28) at 10 a.m. on the Live Nation website Tickets are also available for purchase by phone at 1-855-985-5000 And don't forget to become a fan of the Georgia Straight on Facebook and sign up for THE LIST newsletter for more concert announcements and exclusive “beat the lines” presale passwords Your hair was short-cropped and dyed orange ORANGE City Council hopes to prevent the euthanasia of hundreds of dogs in the city each year with a new desexing program All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxInteractive Crosswords Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueRecognised as a “euthanasia hotspot” by the state government Orange has received $15,000 from its Responsible Pet Ownership Grants Program which will allow up to 70 low-income pet owners to have their dogs desexed and micro-chipped for just $50 Of the 1200 dogs that came to the Orange RSPCA Shelter last year about half were not returned to their owners because they were not microchipped which meant they were either adopted out or euthanised About 400 of the dogs that came to the shelter were strays captured by council rangers microchipping and lifetime registration costs for pensioner concession cardholders while the remaining $8000 will be spent on education programs Summer Street Vet Clinic owner and veterinarian Sally McPhie said it was a great step forward for responsible pet ownership in Orange “If the cost of desexing is preventing people taking this step for their pets then this subsidy scheme will remove that barrier,” she said microchipping and lifetime registration can cost up to $500 per dog Council’s Companion Animals Community Committee chair councillor Neil Jones said the program would address the heart of the problem “The overriding problem is the euthanasia of animals that are the result of unplanned litters Desexing can also change a dog’s behaviour; they wander less and are less aggressive,” he said The program will run for one month and bookings must be made at the Civic Centre’s customer service desk by Friday 19 June.  Dogs that are already microchipped but not desexed can be part of the program and any other dogs a resident might own can also be part of the program Today's top stories curated by our news team Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert Your digital replica of Today's Paper Test your skills with interactive crosswords