The loudest voices and strongest changemakers often emerge from the sidelines. In their efforts to be recognised and represented, and by dint of their diminished population, minority groups are required to surmount far greater hardships than most.

After all, the modern LGBTQ+ movement can trace its roots back to a room full of society’s outsiders who, over fifty years ago, emerged from the Stonewall Inn and took to the streets simply to have their voices heard.

Those battle cries for equality have echoed through the decades and are now reverberating in some unexpected arenas: the world of cryptocurrency. Given its…

For Bromley-born comedian Tom Allen, the fantasy world inside his head was always much more appealing place than the suburban “middle place” where he grew up. While Cool Brittania ruled the airwaves, Tom spent much of the mid-90s buried in his diaries and the celluloid dreamscape of Fred Astaire movies and Mary Poppins. This love of theatricality is perhaps what led to his somewhat audacious taste in clothing as a child.

A memorable anecdote in Tom’s new memoir, No Shame, sees him dress in Victorian clothing to draw attention away from the fact he was gay. …

WHETHER ON THE EDITING SOFTWARE OF A HOME STUDIO OR IN FRONT OF A 90-PIECE ORCHESTRA, the magic of making music always begins inside somebody’s head. From the rattling of a few chords on a piano, or the tunes hummed aloud in the shower, it is often the most unassuming sparks of an idea that can suddenly become the lightning bolts of a Eureka! moment.

Inspiration is a mysterious and beautiful thing, and few are more enchanted by its vivacious nature than Australian composer David Hirschfelder. …

January 19th, 2021

Tomorrow sees the end,
Tomorrow we call time;
The siege is as its close, and now we draw the line.
Four long years of fear, an eternal term of hate,
— Was it really all that Great? —
We see a clearer view and a fresher start,
As the tyrant leaves,
As the bigot flees.

A man who tore apart a nation,
Who pissed upon his flag;
Who invoked such malice
With a wave of tiny hands. …

AT THE AGE OF EIGHT, I WAS MOVED TO ENGLAND WITH MY MUM, my older brother, and my British stepdad. It is where I have now lived for over fifteen years, but I often return to Australia for long holidays, and, between September 2015 and May 2016, I undertook a gap year in Australia. It remains the last time I have been home again, as I was due to relocate last year but COVID, of course, had other ideas. Australia remains an objective, nevertheless, and I am determined to come home.

I reflect a lot on that gap year —…

WHAT IS THIS LIFE OF OURS? Where does it lead — ?
Where it goes we cannot say,
All we know, all we care to think about
Are the pathways of the day:
The sun rises, falls; shines, declines.
It is up to us whether we burn or glow;
Do we embrace the heat of this source,
or do we remain unsure and flow
With the tides of the world
And the words that pass
O’er our heads and through our eyes?

It is hard to say: I cannot tell you, I’m afraid. The current is fast, the waters too…

AS MY BROTHER’S GIRLFRIEND,
I didn’t quite expect
To get to know you much
Or do little more than text;
But, I’m pleased to say,
We’ve since shared more than one foray
Into the sunny wilderness,
And out into the day.

Bowling games and Southbank dawdles,
Sharing words as bright as baubles,
Everything you say to me
Has its own
Sort of electricity.
You really do
Talk quickly,
But, saying that,
In my view,
It brings no shortage of
Hilarity.

Upon you I can rely To bring a smile, Without question of how or why: It’s simply who you are…

IF, AS EMILY DICKINSON ONCE SUGGESTED, fame is a fickle food upon a shifting plate, then it stands to reason that the entertainment industry is a shifty business. In front of or behind the camera, a person can undergo an entire evolution cycle of job roles and titles across the course of their career.

Cinematographers might decide they want to try their hand at directing (looking at you, Barry Sonnenfeld). Sometimes the director might have a go at screenwriting (hello, Mr. …