Showcase Pieces
A highly skilled interviewer, columnist, and public speaker with work experience in Australia, Germany and the UK. I have produced an extensive array of content for print, digital, and social since 2010, with a strong focus on LGBTQ+ issues and experiences. I am invested in lesser-told stories and amplifying those voices that are not often heard within society.
Having interviewed authors, film composers, drag queens and queer activists, I have perfected the ability to distil complex and challenging life experiences into written features that are compelling, insightful, and wholly original. My affinity for succinctness is met only by my adaptability, able to flawlessly emulate the specific style guides and house styles of the numerous outlets wherein my work has been published.
Time and again, I have proven myself as a writer who produces material ahead of schedule and beyond expectation.
I am always open to collaborations and freelance assignments. If you feel yours is a story worth sharing, please contact me via email: [email protected]
Showcase Pieces
Digital copy of "Planet Earth: Our World in Music" concert programme notes for the Western Australian Charity Orchestra
"You cannot start without me." So asserts the eponymous Lydia Tár in the opening scene of Todd Fields' austere psychological drama set within the world of classical music, spearheaded by a thunderous lead performance from Cate Blanchett.
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. Tom spent much of the mid-90s buried in his diaries and the celluloid dreamscape of Fred Astaire movies.
It was on an aeroplane in June, 2010 that I first heard the music of Antony Partos. I was 13, flying from the United Kingdom back home to Western Australia with my older brother to spend the summer holiday with our dad.
Keith Haring loved to listen to music as he worked. He would paint in tempo with his playlists, creating a new line or stroke to match the beat of the music. It was his creative stimulant, a constant companion to his output.
INTERVIEW: Film Composers
Artists can undergo an entire evolutionary cycle of job roles throughout the course of their film career, in front of and behind the camera. As in the case of Australian composer Christopher Gordon, music makers might dip their toes into completely different waters, too.
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 piano or singing in the shower, it all stems from the most unassuming sparks of an idea.
For over a century, Hollywood has been the jewel in the crown of the American film industry. Thousands of artists packed their bags for the bright lights, with just a pocketful of change and dreams of making it big.
AUSTRALIA, BOTH AS COUNTRY AND CONCEPT, is something of a paradox. An enormous sunburnt landmass dumped at the bottom of the planet, a million miles from anything else, one would be forgiven for presuming the disconnected nature of its inhabitants.
INTERVIEW: Artists and Creatives
Moments of discovery are usually the result of two things. The first is general word-of-mouth: recommendations from a friend, the things you need to see, to go to, to listen to.
For Australian classical performer Leanne Glover, there are strong links between the musicality of the human voice and the oboe, the chosen instrument of her professional life in music. It is the ties between these two forms of expression which afford her an even deeper understanding of the music she plays onstage for a living.
A sneak peak into the home of trans drag artists Margo Marshall, Cazeleon, and SueGivesAFuck. As much as it may sound like the elevator pitch for a sitcom, 'three trans drag artists share North London house share' is in fact the day-to-day reality of three very special ladies.
An interview with actress Jonell Elliot, the voice of Lara Croft, and queer YouTuber Chris Carpineti
Minority groups often demonstrate the strongest bonds of community, given their smaller population within a surrounding majority. This is especially prevalent for queer people, who have for so long been forced into corners – and closets – on account of who they are, and for their purported failure to integrate into heteronormative society.
Keeping your head above water has proven to be a significant challenge over the past year, even when you're just looking out for yourself. Trying to keep an entire business afloat, however, is a whole other matter, with the livelihood of your team on the line as much as your own.
As the world's leading publisher of economic and political journalism, Financial Times is fundamentally a global entity. Every headline is the product of a reporting network that spans every continent, collecting insights from a diverse range of sources.
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.
The best way to get somebody to do something is by telling them they can't. Instruct a five-year-old to have only two of those chocolate chunk cookies on the table and you can be sure, the instant you leave the room to answer the door, the entire packet will have been devoured.
Keeping your mind active in lockdown is rather like being in a closet: it's very inconvenient and nobody ever asks to be put in one. Yet while the walls of a closet can eventually be smashed apart by the power of the personality trapped within, you can't do much with a pandemic.
Art is a universal language. So vigorously allergic to definition, so reluctant to be placed in a box of This or That, art is the medium which invites the broadest range of opinions.
In September 2013, when I was 16, I interviewed Peter Tatchell, the guest of honour at that year's Pride celebrations taking place in my small town in southwest England.
INTERVIEW: German Startup Community
An idea is a campfire: the initial spark of creativity will burn out into smoke if it isn't nourished with fuel. In the same way, an incredible idea will never be able fully grow without the input of others
With every step we take, towards long-term ambitions or short-term goals, we leave behind our own personal mark on the world. These footprints serve as the lasting legacy to those around us, the people we share our lives and passions with
The path to career success is one formed of millions of different footprints. The journey towards our professional ambitions is one that involves crossing the paths of so many others, each of them trying to leave behind their own mark
At networking events, there is always the potential to find new ideas and those promising flickers of creativity - we want to share with you these moments that matter, and why events can be so meaningful for those who attend them
With one eye on the present and the other eye on the future, Startupnight 's technology exhibition in Cologne was a dazzling display of ideas and innovation
Public Speaking Videos
LGBTQ+ Writings
Opening up to new opportunities - - I was asleep when he first saw me, passed out on a massage bed in the Ruheraum of the Boiler men's sauna. The room is no bigger than a train station Starbucks, housing two parallel rows of about ten beds, as seen through a glass wall allowing visitors to seek out a potential resting buddy.
Liam Heitmann-Ryce Humans are rather like magpies, both easily distracted and drawn to pretty things. The set of keys left on an outdoor picnic table is to the magpie what a TikTok dance is to us: something dazzling that seizes attention quickly.
Since starting my job as a waiter earlier this summer, my social net has broadened quite widely and randomly. I have stumbled into friendship groups with which I had wanted to mix for many of the fifteen years I have now lived in southwest England.
Remember when everyone wanted to do a ctrl+alt+dlt on 2016? Britain left the EU, a load of musicians died, the Australian postal service raised their flat-rate handling fee from 70 cents to a dollar (unforgivable), and some fat guy with crap hair became president. I don't think we knew how good we had it.
In July 2005, my Mum married my stepdad, and in October we moved to England. My birth parents were never married and so this made our relocation a little bit easier. Being eight-years-old at the time, I didn't register what was going on and remember only saying something like Oh wow, that's Stonehenge
I recently went on a date with a guy, my first since the world broke in March. After four months of isolation, I was delighted by the chance to flirt outrageously with the pretty, talkative person with whom I'd matched on Tinder.
In February 2016, I was living in Melbourne and the ten weeks I had there are among the brightest, most joyous periods of my entire life. But there was one sour note in this happy symphony
Between the age of 18 and 19, I travelled along the eastern and western coasts of Australia for eight months. I had only really explored southwest Australia by that point, and I wanted to see more of where I'd come from.
Major societal issues are much like active volcanoes. Such is the awesome destructive capacity of their eruptions, it can be difficult to really measure their impact
Published in 1989, Where Joy Resides is an anthology containing key works of Christopher Isherwood's queer semi-autobiographical canon. Housing two complete novels and excerpts from three other stories, it is, unsurprisingly, the size and weight of a toaster.
If you are a man within the LGBTQ community, I propose that the image above is a fairly common sight. Getting a guy into your bed is as easy as opening up Grindr, pinging a "hey" to the first acceptably attractive face you find, and providing the necessary data.
By all standard metrics of 'gayness,' I satisfy the criteria. I have pierced ears, I wear a necklace, I practice a regular beauty regime, I know at least twelve Madonna songs by heart, and I carefully coordinate my outfits.
Delivered. - Deutsche Post DHL Global Customer Magazine
#EachforEqual: this is the theme of the first International Women's Day of the new decade, forwarding an idea that, "Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender equal world."
Hugs and kisses will only go so far - this year, be sure to show the love with some of the best last-minute gifts that won't disappoint
The business landscape of the 2020s is being shaped by an intensification of familiar threats - as the latest Allianz Risk Barometer finds, changes in legislation and regulation have now risen into the top 3 major risks
Globalization has affected the world on so many different levels that you might not have even noticed it - yet pretty much everything moves around the world because of it: goods, services, data, ideas, people, technologies...
With Halloween just around the corner, the race is on to find the best scary costume, pack the house with candies and frighten your neighbours with spooky decorations
Buffalo Market (San Francisco, CA) - Organic Produce Supply and Delivery
The idea of buying organic produce once seemed a very novel idea, with few consumers prepared to pay the extra premium for higher-quality ingredients. But now buying organic has become one of the leading food trends of the past few years, with sales of organic food in the US exceeding $55,000,000 in 2019.
Tender, slender, long and green, zucchini is the summer squash available for purchase all year round with a silky skin that makes it easy to peel and chop. Zucchini is also ideal for baked goods, thanks to its high moisture content, which isn't surprising given its relation to the cucumber, which is 96% water.
Supported the world over since its 2003 inception, Meatless Monday is a movement dedicated to reducing the consumption of meat, with benefits ranging from the personal to the global. With animal livestock accounting for almost 15% of greenhouse emissions worldwide, changing your diet really could change the world.
Restaurants are fast-paced and challenging environments, with a countless number of issues that may arise at any moment: the quickest way to get a point across is with specific food service terminology. Communication is key, for a strong team that can work together is just as important as the food being served.
One year after the COVID-19 outbreak was officially recognised as a pandemic, US President Joe Biden has signed the American Rescue Plan into law, with many businesses and restaurants set to benefit from this $1.9 trillion relief fund. A total of $28.6 bn will reportedly come to the aid of struggling restaurants.
Food wastage is a costly business, as if running a restaurant weren't a pricey enough enterprise in itself. With up to 40% of all food served in restaurants ultimately ending up in the trash - that's somewhere in the region of 160 bn pounds annually - the cost of all this excess food accounts for $165bn every year.
With so many of them out of action in this pandemic, most restaurants are likely to be closed for business or operating on a delivery-only basis. That means the only part of the dining experience open to your customers is the food on offer: now more than ever, your menu has become the face of your business.
When it comes to marketing your business online, Instagram is the ultimate visual medium - which helps when a picture tells a thousand words. Users of social media platforms scroll through an average of 300 feet of newsfeed content every day, so you're going to have a lot of tough competition when standing out online.
On the one-year anniversary of US restaurant closures, leading members of the Independent Restaurant Coalition and the Golden Gate Restaurant Association came together last night for a public Q&A over Zoom, providing insights into how US restauranteurs are set to benefit from the recently signed American Rescue Plan
Moment Bulletin - German News & Culture
The citizens of Bonn and Köln have their own bespoke festivity known as Karneval, essentially the German equivalent of Mardis Gras. But not this year.
There is plenty to be said for the elegance of marques such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, all of which have produced some real gems over the past century. Here's a round-up of the ten best...
Herbert Diess, Chief Executive Officer of the Volkswagen Group, has reportedly brought a leadership crisis upon the German car manufacturer after he demanded a contract extension as head of the company.
Following the September release of their newest generation of S-Class, the W223 facelift, Mercedes-Benz has given their high-end luxury saloon the millionaire's Pimp My Ride treatment in the form of the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class.
Earlier this month, BMW released details of their new all-electric iX SUV which is due to hit UK showrooms at the end of 2021 - and estimated to leave a £100,000 hole in your pocket.
In the Berlin of old, citizens fared well to remember that rooms had ears. Before the fall of the Wall in November 1989, hundreds of thousands of spies and two-faced friends harboured tip-offs pertaining to any suspected dissident behaviour.
MXDWN UK - All That Matters in Music
Taking centre stage in NME's weekly Breakout feature, in which the rising artists " certain to dominate the near future" are given a platform by the long-running music publication, London-based collective Folly Group are this week's artistic focus point.
Bristol-based duo Massive Attack have responded to this week's illegal removal of a statue in the likeness of Edward Colston. The Bristolian politician, philanthropist and slave-trader's legacy has been irreparably tarnished after the statue was subsequently hurled into the River Avon.
Guernsey-born artist Mura Masa went against the curve yesterday, by remaining active on his social media platforms while many artists remained silent or posted black tiles on their feeds in observance of #BlackOutTuesday.
International streaming service Spotify have released a statement, For the Record , on their official news page to say that today, for #BlackOutTuesday, there will be some marked changes to their site.
Forecasting a "best-case-scenario" loss of £5.1m in revenue this financial year, the Southbank Centre could potentially remain out of action until April 2021 following its Coronavirus-led closure on March 17th.
Yorkshire-born singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has added another bucketload of cred to his watertight reputation as the Mr. Nice Guy of pop, by donating £170,000 to his former school for the purchase of new equipment and facility renovations
Leicester-based band Easy Life have shared two new tracks today, 'peanut butter' and 'petty crime', compiled in their latest demo release 'see you later maybe never'. Following the January release of their pop/poetic sepia-tinged demo 'Junk Food', anticipation is high for the band's latest drop.
Since announcing on April 8th that they would upload classic live concerts to YouTube on a weekly basis, Radiohead are set to stream their 2006 performance at Bonnaroo Festival tonight
Since appointing former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson as its Chair on March 30th, UK Music has released a press statement defending its decision, while allaying claims that its new leader is receiving an excessively high salary.
Norwich Evening News - Columnist
Day-to-day life resembles walking along a familiar pavement in thick sandals. It is very comfortable and you know where you're going. Travel, however, is more akin to walking across sand in bare feet: it feels lovely between your toes, but isn't particularly stable...
Fatalistic thought can be overwhelming, but can also be assuaged with a healthy dose of bright-side thinking
At the risk of sounding like a Hallmark card, if something is not difficult then it probably isn't worth fretting over. It's quite easy to ride the London Eye or swim with dolphins, and I don't think high-fiving Mickey at Disneyland is going to change your life
Learning who you are, and where you belong, is a vital part of wider life as much as it of the university experience
I recently saw the film Call Me By Your Name, whose opening credits burst onto the screen with a piano composition by John Adams. Its title is "Hallelujah Junction" and immediately sets the tone of the film: a joyous dance of notes played by two instruments, out of sync yet beautifully in-key
Those of you familiar with my articles may have noted that I have a particular agenda - to dispel the preconceptions of what it is to be a student. We are not all debt-ridden layabouts who exist on Netflix and ready meals
Our digital personas may be the most widely visible representation of ourselves, but they are not always the most accurate
It is a secret to no-one that I am gay. I do not hide in closets, I am not quiet, and I do not convenience anyone's expectations. I am, however, still young and do not quite know who I am, and I do not expect I ever shall really know until I die, when I stop changing
On the face of it, university is the most exciting time in a person's life - the parties, the clubbing, the laughter, the chatter, the banter, the friends you make and the memories you share...
The DeadBolt - Movie, TV & Music News
Perhaps borrowing the premise of 1991's Double Impact, in which Jean-Claude Van Damme fights his own twin, Ang Lee's latest foray into the realm of action blockbusters sees Will Smith fight a younger clone of himself, with interesting results.
Despite the European promises of the title, 1969's The Italian Job was actually partially filmed in England. Its iconic car chase, featuring three original Minis loaded with $4m worth of stolen gold, was filmed in the traffic-jammed streets of Turin, on the roof of the old Fiat factory, and through some very dark and smelly sewerage tunnels in Coventry.
Having embodied the titular American Psycho of Mary Harron's cult horror-satire, and after a seven-year stint as the Caped Crusader in the Dark Knight Trilogy, Oscar-winner Christian Bale will next be seen gracing our screens in the new automotive biopic Ford V. Ferrari.
After the backfire of a bizarre campaign to purchase Greenland, calling it a "real estate deal" that "strategically, for the United States, would be nice," Donald Trump has been lambasted by the Danish Prime Minister for his "absurd" idea.
With two Oscars, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and, following the UK release this month of Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood, nine feature films to his name, director-screenwriter Quentin Tarantino is a master of cinema who has reshaped contemporary pop culture.
Director Rachel Ward is set to release new Australian domestic drama, Palm Beach, reigning in a titanic cast of legends and awards favourites.
Trill! Mag
The latest season of Charlie Brooker's eternally glib "Black Mirror" has hit Netflix, with the latest trailer promising the usual unhealthy dose of smartphone abuse and spiritual anorexia
At a Cannes Film Festival Q&A, regarding his latest film "Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood," director Quentin Tarantino shuts down a journalist questioning the number of lines allocated to his female lead
Just over a year after the Parkland high school shooting that led to serious reappraisal of Florida's gun control legislation, the State Senate has passed a bill this week which could allow teachers the legal right to bear arms
Photojournalist John Moore has received the distinguished prize of World Press Photo of the Year for his powerful image of a toddler and her mother being detained by US customs officials
Almost four years after his last film - the critically mixed "The Hateful Eight" - anticipation is high as ever for Tarantino's new cinematic release.
This isn't the Will you know and love from 20+ years ago: don't expect any of the backwards-cap-wearing, high-pitched wisecracking that we all connected with in our formative years
Writings on Music
I have loved classical music for as long as I can remember. There is no specific reason for this, as I neither had musical parents nor any zealous teachers to push piano keys under my fingernails. Certainly, my family enjoyed music, but my childhood home was not occupied by radios in every room to stimulate my brainwaves
Following the drug-clumsy misadventures of a young Australian who has recently moved to the German capital, this explores everything from casual sex, comedowns and the musical characteristics of urban rhythm.
The CD you see here has been in our family since the early 2000s. It came with us when we moved from Australia to England and is probably the most important album in my life...
Every day, at almost every waking hour, I am listening to music. Buzzing in my ears or burbling out of a portable speaker, it is always there to lift my high spirits or soothe my frazzled mind. But it was while cooking dinner one evening that I asked myself: does music have a colour?
I am writing to say that your music has enriched my life. I want to thank you for the work you have produced, and the intensely positive impact it has had on me.
Having been a diehard fan of Philip Glass since I was 14, it took me a surprisingly long time to discover the work of his most immediate contemporary: Steve Reich.
Oscar-nominated composer, and New York City native, Philip Glass welcomes the world premiere this month of the King Lear Overture, his first work commissioned by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
Berlin Stories
Burning midnight oil in the world's party capital
When you know, you know - - Some relationships form before you are even aware of them. Love at first sight is perhaps the most overused example of this, but it manifests itself in other, often environmental ways.
Arriving at Matt's apartment, Jonas realises his door is the same dark blue colour as Felix's, though this glossy coating far outshines the sun-scarred lacquer Jonas left behind this morning. Matt holds the door open, its surface reflecting onto Jonas the...
The train rattles appallingly and the scream of its wheels pierce Jonas's ear drums. Jonas is coming down. There is no perfume of voices here, no confetti sentences, only sweat. Jonas is no longer buzzing. The drugs are not fun anymore.
Jonas is buzzing. His fingertips sing with feeling, his feet are electric. The door crackles on his hand as it closes; he can feel the paint fizz in the canals of his fingerprints. Jonas is wired. He is dancing to the music in his head.
Only two days together, but an encounter that has long lived on in mind and memory
Away from the centre, from the anxious headache, The mad rush of Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Tiergarten, Bundestag, Pull me out, lift me up, and let me take...
His name was Hans and he gave me red wine. The apartment was pristinely clean, mostly white, its floorboards smooth and bleached; everything stripped of dust or colour...