Alastair Blanshard

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and space tourism company Blue Origin, jogs onto Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket landing pad in Texas in July 2021 before launching into space. Tony Gutierrez/AP

Friday essay: ambition, our least liked virtue?

Ambition is a two-edged sword: both creative and destructive. Debate about its value has raged since antiquity and there is a long tradition of casting ambitious women as monsters.
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) Italy 1571–1610. The Musicians 1597 Oil on canvas 92.1 x 118.4cm Rogers Fund, 1952 / 52.81 Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

European Masterpieces from the Met demonstrates art’s power to speak to the human condition

None of us are going to be able to travel with ease to New York any time soon but this exhibition showcases the quality and depth of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection.
Kevin Jackson, Robyn Hendricks and Ty King Wall in the Australian Ballet’s production of Spartacus. Justin Ridler

Spartacus: the rise and rise of an unlikely hero

When Spartacus and 70 or so of his comrades revolted and escaped from their gladiatorial school near Capua in 73 BC, everyone imagined the matter would soon be dealt with. But his rebellion has continued to inspire political movements.
India Henry after getting to the end of the course in Australian Ninja Warrior. Screenshot from Youtube

Australian Ninja Warrior and the death of style and grace in sport

Ninja Warrior is the latest attempt to appropriate an ancient artform for a mass audience. But the ancient ninja moved in silence. Anonymous, he never bothered to develop signature dance moves.
The Fall of the Titans, Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem, circa 1590. Wikimedia

Friday essay: the myth of the ancient Greek ‘gay utopia’

The dream of a “gay utopia” is a constant in gay and lesbian historical imaginings over the last 200 years. But the Greek attitude to same-sex attraction was not nearly as permissive as many have assumed.
In Per Te (For You), the circus troupe Compagnia Finzi Pasca offers its audience an acrobatic garden of remembrance. Compagnia Finzi Pasca

Per Te: a garden of earthly delights

The production Per Te, by circus troupe Compagnia Finzi Pasca, seeks to reaffirm our humanity in face of an often cold and capricious world.
The Muse allows us to avoid one of the great anxieties about the creative process. Richard Mortel

Conversing with the divine – why we still need our muses

Olivia Newton-John has a lot to answer for. Even now, after 35 years has passed, it is hard to forgive her for her role in Xanadu, a film consistently voted as the worst film of 1980. This is quite an…
Performers cavort around five onstage bathtubs in Soap, currently playing at the Brisbane Festival. Andy Phillipson/Brisbane Festival

Soap: a sexy night on the tiles at the Brisbane Festival

Traditionally soap is made by rendering down lard. But in this tight show, Soap, playing at the Brisbane Festival, there isn’t an ounce of fat to be seen. The pace is fast and the bodies are lean. It’s…
“I’ve never been at a film where so much food was put away.” © 2014 Paramount Pictures Corporation and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.

Hercules, body envy and the challenge of being man

Who wants to be Hercules? Judging by the huge amount of internet interest in the diet and fitness regime of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, former professional wrestler and star of the latest Hercules film…
Ancient Athens practically invented Western culture, but xenophobia led to the collapse of the Empire. Flickr/SantiMB

A lesson in immigration policy from the cradle of democracy

Those debating Australia’s future, and its immigration policy would do well to consider a lesson from the past. Anybody can establish a successful state, the real difficulty is maintaining its success…

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