Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney The powerhouse actor and the author’s keen prose fuel this show about a woman grappling with grief and rage while caring for her dying friend • Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email There’s real magic in the moment after the house lights go down and the stage lights go up before a play begins. There’s a concert of rustled movement that slows and stops as we find our silence and attention and tune in together. In The Spare Room, Belvoir’s new adaptation of Helen Garner’s 2008 novel, that small ritual becomes electric. Helen – played by the indomitable Judy Davis – watches us prepare to watch her, waiting us out until we settle in. She finds the first perfect moment of silence, nods, says “Right,” and the play begins. Continue reading...

The Australian literary icon told Crikey, 'The younger one shouted, "What the actual FUCK?" and rushed out to tell his girlfriend.'