Douglas has been a professional food writer since 1986. A former Gold Plate judge, he is a self-confessed food addict - 'I'm up to three meals a day' he admits.
Ainsley Hayes: I said I feel a sense of duty.
Lionel Tribbey: What, did you just walk out of The Pirates of Penzance?... [more]
History is full of examples of really bad timing - the Light Brigade not waiting for further and better instructions; t... [more]
The restrictions imposed by control of the Covid-19 virus have now been loosened to a considerable degree allowing resta... [more]
From time to time I am asked by people finding out that I'm a food writer and restaurant reviewer 'What's your favourite... [more]
In my opinion there are two Michael Caines. There's Michael Caine the actor (Sleuth, Alfie, Zulu, The Italian Job, ... [more]
The ingredients for a traditional English pantomime are quite simple. Take a large man dressed unconvincingly as a woma... [more]
David Williamson AO is one of Australia's leading playwrights, and can truly be described as 'the voice of middle Austra... [more]
Arguably one of the world's funniest and certainly best enduring plays in the English language. The Importance of Being ... [more]
There is a meme going around pointing out that Shakespeare wrote several plays while kept at home during a plague lockdo... [more]
The Rev Dodgson would have little realised on a warm afternoon in 1862 when he and his friend Duckworth took his boss's ... [more]
Dr Johnson felt that ultimate happiness could be obtained by riding in a fast pony chaise with a pretty woman. While I ... [more]
Once upon a time, in a faraway imaginary land called Hollywood there lived two famous stars, one a great actress, the ot... [more]
Fringe is back for 2020 in all its madcap glory! Good, bad, excellent, execrable, the shows in their hundreds are there ... [more]
Anton Burge is a writer, actor and playwright, specialising in writing for women, focusing on celebrated women of the 1... [more]
Everyone loves a pantomime (Oh no, they don't!; Oh yes, they do!) - it's an innocent family entertainment for all ages ... [more]
The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of WA is well-known for good, often excellent productions of Gilbert and Sullivan works... [more]
The year 1965 was a year of endings and beginnings. Sir Winston Churchill died, Sir Stanley Matthews retired from foot... [more]
Probably Australia's most well-known popular playwright, certainly the most awarded with four Honorary Doctorates of Let... [more]
In 441BCE renowned Athenian playwright Sophocles wrote a tragedy called Antigone, the daughter of incestuous couple Joca... [more]
Katherine Susannah Prichard was a great writer and in the fifty years since her death, her home in Greenmount has become... [more]
If it is true, as famously Frank Lloyd Wright said, that the hearth is the heart of any home, then I think we may assume... [more]
Ever since John Logie Baird rang his mum and said: 'I've got a bit of an idea ...' the British have done period drama we... [more]
Ben Elton is possibly best known for his light comedy. Stand -up routines and so on. Blackadder sort of falls into thi... [more]
Ben Elton, the well-known Fremantle resident, stand-up comedian, author, playwright, actor, director and writer, is some... [more]
I like action movies. I enjoy thriller novels. I am a fan of imaginative fantasy like Sir Terry Pratchett. Theoretica... [more]
Although not the first written of the fourteen joint operatic collaborations of Sir Arthur Sullivan and Sir William Gilb... [more]
In the world of romantic comedy nothing is impossible, no woman unobtainable, no dream unrealisable, no coincidence too ... [more]
For those of you, gentle readers, who have taken part in the Great Margaret River Gourmet Escape, or who are well aware ... [more]
Sir Noel Coward's short story Star Quality, was published in 1951, a wickedly observant story about theatre veterans put... [more]
Few novels are set in Perth, the most isolated capital in the world. Duncan Kyle set two thrillers here in the late 80'... [more]
It is entirely possible that musician and comic Stephen Valeri may just be John (Farnsey) Farnham's biggest fan.
Cert... [more]
If it is true that Fringe is like a box of chocolates as has been said elsewhere, then Sense and Spontaneity must be the... [more]
Fringe is like a box of chocolates, as the late Mrs Gump might have said, you never know what you're going to get.
At... [more]
Charlotte and her daughter Enid come to Greece, to Salonika, searching for the grave of their husband and father, Ben, k... [more]
What do you get if you combine the lovely Cougar Morrison, the talented Mark Turner, gorgeous showgirls and the Perth Ca... [more]
Legendary opera diva, Maria Callas, was, even in her own lifetime, an enigma.
Her artistry and vocal technique enthr... [more]
First of all, let me say without equivocation that Jake Dennis has a lovely singing voice, rich, smooth like liquid milk... [more]
The Booklover's Comedy Show is straightforward; it's comedy for all those in love with books. The stage is set by George... [more]
At last, stand-up comedy for the literate. It's always good to see someone passionate about a subject and willing, eve... [more]
The Black Swan Emerging Writers Group, The Blue Room and the Perth Fringe Festival all have a common purpose – to provid... [more]
The clue to the quality of the show is in the name - A Very Good Variety Show is exactly that – a very good variety show... [more]
Making its triumphant return to Perth Fringe World is La Soirée, filling in for the cancelled Club Swizzle.
Havin... [more]
The Fringe World programme states that this forty-minute show is about puppies and mental illness. That is not quite ac... [more]
Djuki Mala is an indigenous dance group from North East Arnhem island.
Never have I seen four young men with such... [more]
There is one thing you can be absolutely sure of in any Festival and that will be lots of stand-up comedy. It's incredi... [more]
Gospel Music has a huge and glorious history, much, much older than what is usually thought of as 'Gospel Songs' a term ... [more]
We certainly see a good deal of variety at the Perth Fringe World, but it is more usually focused on performance, theatr... [more]
Returning to Perth Fringe World is Timothy McDougall in the persona of Frater XV's Cabaret of Curiosities.
Obviousl... [more]
It's in all the advertising for the Fringe – 'A mix of new and old favourites'. Well, The Best of British is an old f... [more]
Breaking news! Shakespeare and the 16th Century were sexist and to a large extent misogynistic. And probably the play... [more]
One of the better things about Perth Fringe World is that, for younger or less experienced performers it provides a prov... [more]
To the average Australian the word 'Texas' means beef, oil, big hats and John Wayne* - not necessarily in that order. ... [more]
Sad though it was to see the Valencia Winery close all those years ago in 1982, the fabric of the place has been in cons... [more]
Tea With the Dames is a documentary like no other. The recipe is very simple - take four old friends with a collective ... [more]
In one of The West Wing episodes Sam Seaborn boasts that he was in the G & S Society and when someone can't recall the t... [more]
It was only a matter of time, after the success of the two Paddington movies, that we would see a live action Winnie... [more]
The Adventure Travel Film Festival is coming to Guildford! It is a festival that has been inspiring travellers, and armc... [more]
It was Robert Benchley who sent a telegram to David Niven when he arrived in Venice 'Streets full of water, please advis... [more]
I confess I never saw Monster, I assumed that casting arguably the most beautiful actress in Hollywood as a serial kille... [more]
I have to confess that I am not, in principle, in favour of TV series being staged, particularly in community theatre. ... [more]
Regular readers of my food ramblings will recall that I lauded the American Ribs and Grill, a take-away kiosk at Hillary... [more]
Every now and then we get a book or play with a really long but catchy title. One thinks of The Persecution and Assassi... [more]
Say 'farce' and you think 'British Farce'. Think 'British Farce' and you think Ray Cooney, the 85 year old doyen of the... [more]
Names have a fashion - it is even possible to guess pretty accurately someone's age if their name is Shane, Tracey, Kyli... [more]