Lullaby Movement and Birdman

It's Australia Day today so Onagh and I took advantage of having the day off to catch up and do a couple things. First off we went to the NGV to see Lullaby Movement featuring Sophia Brous and special guests Leo Abrahams and David Coulter. This work was originally commissioned by Urban Theatre Projects for Bankstown: Live as part of the Sydney Festival 2015. It featured Sophia exploring the melodies and multi-layered meaning of lullabies, drawn from migrant families in Bankstown. There were lots of children in the audience for the half-hour performance in the Great Hall, and Sophia alternated between performing in the crowd and on the stage. It was lovely to hear these lullabies sung in different languages, and always great to see Sophia perform (I'm hopeful she will release some new music soon).

Next we headed to the Kino Cinemas for an afternoon showing of the movie Birdman. The film stars Michael Keaton as Riggin Thomson, a washed up famous Hollywood actor who starred in the Birdman movie franchise. To revive his career he decides to write, direct and star in an adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story on Broadway. The movie covers the rehearsals and preview performances of the play leading up to opening night as well as Thomson's battles against the voice of Birdman, which torments him throughout. The staccato jazz drumming in the score really adds to the pace and feel of the film. Keaton is great in a role that seems to parallel his own career, and I thought Edward Norton as Thomson's acting nemesis Mike Shiner gave an absolutely standout performance. All the accolades are definitely deserved for this film and if you haven't seen it already go check it out.