Culture

Madeleine Chapman On the verge of international stardom, Rose Matafeo combines supremely confident ambition with deep personal doubt. “Seeing yourself on screen is the fucking worst thing ever. Your perception of yourself is the best version of yourself that you perform in the mirror, and that is not what other people see.”

Neha Kale In his first interview since his appointment, celebrated Colombian curator José Roca speaks about bringing a sense of radical urgency to his new role. “I intend to look for practices that are already under way and let the biennale be a catalyst for the process. One of my guiding principles is to build upon what is already built.”

Elizabeth Flux Four years ago, children’s author Ted Prior thought he had finished with his beloved character Grug. But with a new book and a theatre adaptation celebrating its 10th anniversary, it seems that he is far from done. “I just enjoy the way young children think and the way they do things – and I think there is a bit of the young child in all of us.”

Brodie Lancaster For Melanie Chisholm global fame came at a high price, but she lived to tell the tale. At 46, she has just released her eighth solo album, which she says is her most vulnerable yet. “All of that time I spent searching, trying to find myself, trying to move away from Sporty, I felt like that’s what I had to do: to become an individual I had to leave her behind.”

Steve Dow After a quarter of a century as one of Australia’s finest stage actors, Anita Hegh is well placed to channel Virginia Woolf in A Room of One’s Own. “Although it is a much kinder world for women than it has been, there’s still a long way to go.”

Alison Croggon Ben Wheatley’s new adaptation of Rebecca opts for safe nostalgia over du Maurier’s conflicted subtext.

Tai Mitsuji Lindy Lee’s powerful MCA retrospective demonstrates both her artistic strength and her vulnerability.

Harriet Cunningham The Sydney Chamber Opera discovers a new intimacy in its filmed performance of Leoš Janáček’s feverish song cycle.

Ambelin Kwaymullina Linear time is something Settlers brought here A version of time that creates distance Things that happened a hundred years ago are further away than things that happened yesterday   A version of time weaponised against …

Karen Hollands The woman’s head is at an odd angle, one side of her neck stretched tight like the rawhide of a drum. Carolyn’s skin turns clammy and her breathing shallows as she scans the woman’s body: the cracked, swollen feet; toenails like thick …

Wayne Macauley Beggar A Beggar who had only recently and reluctantly taken up begging after losing his job as an administration officer for a small insurance firm was one day noticed on the street by a, thankfully, employed company director on his …

Reviewer: Geordie Williamson In the winter of 1893, the Irish prospector Paddy Hannan and two compatriots noted the presence of gold in the place that would become known as Kalgoorlie. The diggings were soon swarmed, and a bustling mining town grew up in the years that followed, …

Reviewer: Nathania Gilson When faced with tricky life-or-death decisions, the preteens of Australian graphic novel series Home Time don’t tread lightly or seek parental approval: as one of them says, “Now’s the time to ruin everything by doing something …

Reviewer: Fiona Wright A physical restlessness pulses through the pages of A Jealous Tide, as its unnamed protagonist walks along rivers – first the Yarra, then the Thames – ruminating on gravity and tidal pulls, what it means to be cast adrift, and how …