In Glimpses of Heaven Mary-Agnes O’Loughlin draws inspiration (or should that be devastation?) from the battles with alcoholism, drug dependence and mental health issues of her own mother, comedic veteran Fiona O’Loughlin.
asserted
that → draw → mother
Fiona’s struggles in the past are well-documented.
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struggles → document → past
She’s never been one to shy away from detailing her addiction and a 2013 suicide attempt (that she credits Mary-Agnes for saving her life from).
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she → shy → life
A partly fictionalised story, the reality of Mary-Agnes’ truths about her upbringing are laid bare.
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reality → fictionalise → upbringing
She performs as Hannah, attending her mother’s apartment – an illustrious musician with chaotic habits (of which Fiona herself provides the voiceovers for) – to pack up her belongings.
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Fiona → perform → belongings
All of the sentimental keepsakes elicit memories from a childhood with a mother constantly in the spotlight and turning a blind-eye to the lowlights caused due to her compulsions.
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All → elicit → compulsions
The show asks: is unconditional love possible when you’re watching a family member slowly killing themselves? Is any amount of fame and fortune amassed worth it if you seem destined to join The 27 Club, even if you may be a few years past the admission date?
uncertain
you → ask → date
Glimpses of Heaven is a tender, vulnerable exploration of the struggles with the concepts of familial love, intergenerational trauma and the catharsis found in forgiveness.
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Glimpses → find → forgiveness
While it must come recommended with the caveat of a strong trigger warning for anyone with a history of domestic distress, it’s a very impressive solo debut deserving of a main-stage season in future runs to come.
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it → come → runs
★
Reviewed by Tyson Wray
THEATRE
Ryan Hamilton and Georgie Wolfe | F--- Your Funding
Festival Hub: Trades Hall - Solidarity Hall, until October 4
What if, over the course of a night, you could agitate for the arts to occupy a more central place in the political agenda and redress inequitable funding models?
uncertain
arts → review → models
Such concerns reach an apotheosis at the 2026 Melba Awards, a fictional annual celebration of seriously high stakes in the play F--- Your Funding.
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concerns → reach → play
Hosted by a venerated opera singer and opened by an imagined version the Victorian arts minister, the night descends into chaos when two cultural terrorists hold them at gunpoint with a list of demands.
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terrorists → host → demands
F--- Your Funding is at its most uproarious when it’s laying bare the arts sector’s greatest hypocrisies.
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it → lay → hypocrisies
As the play lurches wildly from farcical hijinks to sincere proselytising about the role of art in a whiplash-inducing manner, it simultaneously lampoons itself and us while paying homage to its intended audience.
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it → lurch → audience
Artists making work centred on their latest diagnoses.
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Artists → make → diagnoses
Caroline Meaden struts and frets, with crisp bird-like movements, then hesitates.
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Meaden → strut → movements
Then an arm – or a hand or a leg – begins to wobble.
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arm → begin → ?
It’s like a part of the body just turns to water.
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part → ’ → water
The dimly lit stage is furnished with only a clothes rack, some biscuit crumbs and a stool, but Meaden keeps mostly to its edges.
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Meaden → light → edges
She is pulled backwards or drawn into the corners, as if kept out of the empty centre by some unseen force.
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She → pull → force
Immacolata tantalises with the mystery of its significance.
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Immacolata → tantalise → significance
What does it all mean?
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it → mean → What
In fact, Meaden provides an accompanying essay, intended to be read after the performance, which does explain much of what we see – and gives the work’s air of sadness a touching specificity.
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we → provide → specificity
★★★★
Reviewed by Andrew Fuhrmann
The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from Jason Steger.
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Booklist → review → Steger
Get it delivered every Friday.
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it → get → ?
The Aporia
