At Perth Design Week, designers and cultural leaders asked why cities invest heavily in cultural spaces but neglect the artists and practices that animate them. Mark Naglazas writes.
Author Archives: Mark Naglazas
Features
French films build WA alliance
11 March 2026
Cedric Klapisch’s Midnight In Paris-inspired ensemble comedy Colours of Time is one of the big attractions of a dazzingly diverse 2026 French Film Festival.
Reviews
Making merry from the macabre
5 March 2026
Brit Brechtian punk cabaret pioneers The Tiger Lillies mortify and electrify their Perth Festival audience. Reviewer Mark Naglazas was at their bleakly comic show at the Embassy.
Reviews
Meow Meow gets her claws into The Red Shoes
28 February 2026
Anyone whose knowledge of Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale The Red Shoes comes from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s lush 1949 dance drama should cast aside all expectations when settling into His Majesty’s Theatre for Meow Meow’s loopy update.
Reviews
A glimmer of rock and roll heaven
24 January 2026
The incredible list of artists who died at 27 inspire a show that will rock Fringe World for a month.
Spotlight
Still seduced by Somerville nights
15 January 2026
Film critic Mark Naglazas returned to Somerville Auditorium for the first time in years and was transfixed by the upgrades and the program.
Features
Barefaced Stories quietly becomes a Perth institution
16 December 2025
What began as an intimate night of storytelling has become one of Perth’s most enduring live performance successes. As Barefaced Stories marks its 15th year, founder Andrea Gibbs reflects with writer Mark Naglazas.
Spotlight
Biennale’s biggest star to soar above Fremantle
27 November 2025
Ben Frost brings two major works to the Fremantle Biennale. Mark Naglazas explores Frost’s journey from Hollywood outsider to experimental trailblazer, and the powerful ideas behind A Predatory Chord and Whalefall.
Reviews
A Freo photographer’s deeply personal Biennale entry
21 November 2025
In Veil (Heddwch A Tawelu Yma), photographer Duncan Wright transforms his late grandfather’s Fremantle shed into a camera obscura by the ocean. Mark Naglazas explores this deeply personal Fremantle Biennale installation.
Reviews
WA’s pink lakes inspire a striking Biennale show
20 November 2025
Melbourne artists Charlie Lawler and Wona Bae find home for life on Earth in a toxic environment for humankind, writes Mark Naglazas.
