Gangnam style isn't just a song that you now have stuck in your head as you read this — it's also a wet and spicy flavour of chicken wings at Newstead's latest hotspot. That'd be Zero Fox, which has taken its space at the bottom of the London Woolstores and turned it into a craft beer bar and Japanese kitchen hybrid (with a few Asian fusion option thrown in as well). On the beverage side of the equation, nine taps rotating through whichever local and international kegs happen to be attached at the time offer up quite the range of thirst-quenchers, with a trio of red and white wines also available too. When it comes to food, expect small snack plates, kimchi fries and bigger selections such as katsu curry, udon, nigiri and sushi, both to enjoy within the eatery's walls or to take home with you. Indeed, as much as their menu proves a drawcard — and with red and green chicken curry sushi available, as well as butter chicken and cheesy chicken, it certainly does — that's not the only reason to stop by. No, we don't just mean the eye-catching fox-centric feature art, though you definitely won't miss it. In addition to its blend of eating and drinking styles, Zero Fox endeavours to bring something else to Vernon Terrace: an affordable hangout.
The Corner Store Café in Toowong delivers a truly delightful experience, with homemade sweets, a herb and vegetable patch, and friendly staff. A new patio has been added to the renovated cottage creating a large outdoor eating space, perfect for a breakfast or lunch date. Sipping on an earl grey tea and nibbling on a home made berry muffin you can have a perfectly enjoyable time on your own admiring their flourishing garden. A Concrete Playground breakfast recommendation is the zucchini and haloumi fritter with bacon and poached eggs - the perfect meal to kick-start a productive Saturday. For lunch we recommend the prawn quesadilla – delicious and packed full of flavour. Corner Store is also a great spot to take kids, offering a children’s menu for breakfast and lunch including old favourites like eggs and soldiers. Inside is a vast display cabinet full of wonderful looking treats, savoury and sweet. You can enjoy these at the large wooden table with a paper and some coffee. They also have bunches of flowers to purchase as well as olive oils, sauces and old favourites like Vegemite, honouring their corner store character.
Perhaps your pooch really loves seeing cars drive across the small screen. Maybe they seem to adore Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs. One day, you might've even come home from work to find your puppy watching the television all by themselves — because they'd stepped on the remote, accidentally turned it on, then gotten comfy. Every pet owner has noticed their four-legged companion staring intently at the tube once or twice — and likely more than that. Usually, though, your TV-loving canine isn't watching a streaming platform that's been designed especially for barking, tail-wagging, bone-coveting viewers. Dog TV is exactly that kind of streaming service: an online channel that's all about entertaining your woofer, and creates videos that are specifically designed to do just that. Now available in Australia, it features content filled with sights and sounds that'll appeal to your pooch. Some programs aim to relax them, focusing on calming and soothing your little fluffball. Others endeavour to keep them mentally stimulated, and feature scenes of dogs and other animals playing. Indeed, making sure that your pupper is fine when you go out is one of Dog TV's big motivations — with its content also made to ease doggo boredom. If you're the kind of person who leaves the television or radio on for your pooch when you head off to work, then you're familiar with the concept. Here, though, your canine can feast their eyes and ears on footage and audio created especially for them, and not be forced to endure whatever daytime TV is currently serving up. Some clips attempt to do more than just relax or stimulate — by helping dogs get used to car rides and ringing doorbells as well. In fact, you could say that the entire streaming platform is designed to help canines cope, given that anyone who has recently transitioned from working from home full-time to venturing back into the office is now forced to leave their four-legged friend in the house alone far more often. Overall, the whole service takes into account a dog's usual daily cycle, including when they're most active, and tailors its content to match. "Three programs, including stimulation, relaxation and exposure, have been scientifically created to keep your dog feeling happy and confident," says Dog TV General Manager, Beke Lubeach. "Each program is scheduled throughout the day, exposing dogs to visual stimuli and sounds that positively impact their behaviour and reduce feelings of anxiety." If you're eager to add another streaming platform to your list of subscriptions (well, to your woofer's list), Dog TV has launched in Australia via Petstock — and if you're one of the retailer's members, you can access a month for free. Monthly subscriptions cost $8.95 otherwise, or you can pay $69.95 for an annual pass. For more information about Dog TV, or to sign up for your pooch, head to the streaming service's website — or to Petstock's website.
The Grand View Hotel, overlooking North Stradbroke Island, enters a new era following a major refresh and upgrade. The significant transformation future-proofs the pub, modernising the venue so that it will remain a cornerstone of the Cleveland community for many decades to come. The project, undertaken by Kickon Group, has given close consideration to preserving the heritage of the pub, while also looking to the future. Craig Shearer, CEO and Founder of Kickon, says, "The Grand View isn't just a pub — it's a part of Queensland's story, and we're proud to keep that story alive for generations to come…We can't wait to welcome locals and day trippers alike back to the Grand View for a cold beer, great food, and the kind of amazing hospitality that turns a visit into a lasting memory." Considering the pub was proudly established 174 years ago, it's no surprise it was due for a facelift. In the kitchen, a multimillion-dollar rebuild has seen the introduction of a Josper grill, an Italian Rotary pizza oven, and a state-of-the-art expanded bar. The new menu showcases chargrilled meats and rotisserie chickens cooked over the Josper, pub classics such as parmis, fish and chips, burgers and pastas, as well as fresh seafood and snacks. There are the likes of sesame-crusted squid, Korean chicken wings, braised lamb nachos, and a 1kg mussel pot. It's not just the kitchen that scored a massive upgrade. The pub is now home to a marquee, which can accommodate up to 150 guests for cocktail events, a pet-friendly lawn, and an upper dining terrace. "The transformation is not just a facelift, it's a safeguard for one of Queensland's most historic venues, ensuring it remains a cornerstone of the community and a place where new memories continue to be made," says Shearer. While the renovation has modernised the space, the venue still pays tribute to its past. The heritage-listed hallway and the Cleveland Room remain untouched, and a historic cistern, featured in an 1855 advertisement, which was unearthed on-site, has become a centrepiece of the reno. "Discovering the 1855 [cistern] reminded us of the Grand View's deep history, and now we've created a venue that honours that past while offering something truly exciting for the future." Images: Supplied.
Every balanced diet recommends eating sweet treats in moderation. It's probably best you don't think about that at the Sunshine Coast Dessert Festival, though. No one is being sensible at a fest dedicated to cakes, brownies, ice cream, doughnuts, crepes and lollies, after all. Thanks to a hefty lineup of dessert food trucks, you'll have plenty of dishes to choose from. Also on offer: dessert dumplings and dessert wine tastings. Demonstrations, live music and artisan markets are on the bill as well, so you'll have something to do when you're not gulping down the sugary stuff. It all takes place on Saturday, February 15, running from 10am–7pm. Head north and make a day of it, with the fest taking over Aussie World. That means you can just nab a $10 ticket (with all food bought for separately), or pay $40 and get access to the venue's rides as well. Mini golf and a sideshow alley are also part of the Palmview spot, too.
Saving the galaxy is a big job. Finding a place in to belong in the huge Marvel Cinematic Universe is too. There's much that's massive about Guardians of the Galaxy, the first flick to spend time with Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon and Groot, so you'll want to revisit it on a particularly huge screen — one that measures 44 metres long, perhaps? Set up in the middle of Eagle Farm Racecourse, the aptly named Big Screen on the Green is that giant screen. It hosts films regularly, and from 7pm on Friday, April 5, it'll bringing this goofy MCU space opera to its sizeable expanse. Tickets cost $15, which gets you a spot on the public lawn — or you can spend $25 and get a large popcorn as well, plus your choice of wine, sparkling, house beer or a non-boozy beverage. You can't BYO food or drinks, but there'll be more available to purchase. Or if you'd like a picnic, bring a pal and nab a $60 gourmet hamper package for two, which includes charcuterie, a cheese platter and breads. Image: Big Screen on the Green.
Paul Manser really puts himself into his writing. When reading the self-penned adventures and misadventures of the Melbourne-based travel scribe, you experience the destination and surrounds from his singular POV. The scenes he often sets have a shambolic, gonzo feel as though something is about to go terribly awry, with Paul giving huge main character energy as both narrator and observer. Things often do go terribly awry and those breakneck narrative zags make for great stories, many of which are featured in his recently published collection of travel mini-memoirs Life Plans On Dive Bar Napkins, a series of stories that include a profane interlude at San Francisco's disgracefully under-recognised Hunky Jesus Contest, stinking out Pamplona due to an unfortunate case of missing luggage, and other incidents that imply Paul is fortunate to be alive and/or not incarcerated. If you are planning a trip to Los Angeles in the coming months and would be interested in some sound, sensible advice on what to do, please do not read the following guide that Paul Manser kindly compiled for us. [caption id="attachment_875641" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The author Paul Manser on a bike[/caption] PAUL MANSER: Los Angeles is the suggestive, shapely leg that slips out from beneath conservative Middle America's full-length skirt. It is the kind of leg that shows enough skin to let you know there are good times to be had, but that you could have your bank account cleaned out for your indiscretions. Not just a city built for good times, LA is also a magnet for aspiring movie stars who are drawn to the city like a mosquito, drunk on summer's blood, is to a caravan park's fluorescent blue bug zapper. You jump in an Uber and before you know it, you're listening to the CV of an out-of-work actor who played a lactose intolerant lifeguard in Baywatch for two episodes in the 90s, as they take you the long way from Santa Monica to West Hollywood just to make a few extra dollars. With so many people waiting to be 'discovered', it can be a little hard to find the real Los Angeles these days; the city the locals live. To help, here's my guide that you may (or may not) want to follow: [caption id="attachment_875639" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Santa Monica pier by Vincentas Liskauskas via Unsplash[/caption] WHERE TO GO On my first visit to LA I was told don't drink the tap water, avoid hiking Runyon Canyon in flip flops and don't ever, under any circumstances, be out in Downtown LA after dark unless you are so enamoured with acupuncture you're willing to let a teenager poke you with a blunt knife for the contents of your wallet. However, things have changed. These days Downtown LA is so cool the ice wouldn't melt on the sidewalk in a mid-afternoon heatwave. With some of the most innovative restaurants in the city like 71Above, amazing rooftop bars like Upstairs at The Ace, boutique designer hotels and an abundance of skinny-jeaned, bushranger bearded locals, downtown LA is now the place to go to eat, get rowdy and find a drinkable coffee the day after — which is no mean feat in America. [caption id="attachment_875643" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Upstairs at The Ace, The Ace Hotel Los Angeles via The Ace Hotel[/caption] WHERE TO DRINK If New York is the city that never sleeps, LA is where the beautiful people doze in seal-placenta face masks before spending their days doing hot yoga, discussing the latest colonic hotspot and looking fabulously bored poolside at one of the many party hotels of West Hollywood. While the city is undoubtedly glamorous, any self-respecting traveller with a thirst to quench will forgo the latest Insta-famous rooftop restaurant to trawl the city's bars of yesteryear. Sunset Boulevard's infamous Viper Room, Whisky a Go Go and Rainbow Bar and Grill have seen stars come and go and given birth to many a road trip playlist's favourite band, including Guns 'N' Roses. Don't assume that because the venues are a little less polished, that your night will be devoid of celebrities, although the high-profile patrons may be less 'washed' and more 'washed up' these days. That is not to say that you won't be rewarded for seeking out a more sophisticated drinking environment. Located in downtown LA, The Wolves is a spectacularly overindulged Parisian-style cocktail bar featuring Tiffany glass ceilings. The dark, moody bar features more wood and dark leather than you'd find in a friendly neighbourhood BDSM swingers club. The Wolves draws an eclectic crowd on the weekends with a cocktail list as long as the security line at LAX, but if you really feel adventurous let one of the bartenders guide your evening. That way at least you'll know who to blame when you wake up in the morning full of regret. [caption id="attachment_875652" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Wolves at Downtown LA, image via The Wolves[/caption] WHERE TO EAT While sucking down a wheatgrass and kale smoothie next to Billie Eilish as she chews on a raw vegan lasagne at Crossroads Kitchen might seem peak Los Angeles, you're probably going to need something more substantial (and a bit greasier) to soak up the booze. Try the ramen burger at Tatsu Ramen (if it is on the menu at the time.) A glorious artery-clogging delicious patty of beef sandwiched between to ramen noodle buns. Five stars. WHERE NOT TO STAY Last time I stayed in LA, I awoke to sunlight piercing the soft mustard surrounds of a hotel room that self-proclaimed three stars, but that would soon be on the receiving end of a biting TripAdvisor review I was penning in my mind. Four paragraphs alone were to be dedicated to reporting the hotel owner to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague over the fluorescent purple shower curtain that would burn holes into the retinas of small children. Then I decided that a negative review was not enough. No. A parody webpage dedicated to a hotel room that went missing in the 1970's was more fitting. It would include photos and satirical descriptions for how best to recognise the room. "ATTENTION: Be on the lookout for a hotel room with a burn mark in the two-tone green carpet resembling a snake making love to The Leaning Tower of Pisa. A stain that looks like the outline of where a jockey had been murdered with an ice cream scooper. And a bible with a series of stunningly accurate genitalia drawn throughout." Honestly, I'd tell you where this hotel was in LA, but I don't want to be sued. So maybe just avoid every hotel in the city to be safe and stay in an Airbnb instead. This guest house looks pretty good: WHERE TO BE SEEN LA is one of those cities where you go not only to see, but to be seen. With more instantly recognisable faces big screen packed into a few square miles than anywhere else in the world, paparazzi-dodging-people-watching can resemble a bloodsport at times. But what fun is merely watching others get all of the attention? Where can you go to not only watch others, be a part of the action yourself? Chateau Marmont is a place of celebrity legend. It's where Led Zeppelin rode motorcycles through the lobby in the 1960s and one of the first places to ban Lindsay Lohan from entry. These days drinking poolside at Chateau still offers up a decent chance of lounging next to brutally hungover, non-communicative, blood-shot eyed celebrity. If the Chateau sounds like the spot for you, maybe pack a pair of reflective Ray-Bans so you can get a good look at everybody, without coming across as some crazed stalker. AND, WHERE TO ESCAPE TO Los Angeles is a hot mess. The city is impossible to cross at peak hour and realistically you shouldn't attempt using the public transport unless contracting dysentery is on your bucket list. Sometimes it's a city you just need to get away from. But where to? While the internet is plastered with images of celebrities escaping to sun themselves on the beaches of Malibu, those looking for a piece of old Hollywood glamour should head inland to Palm Springs. A playground for the icons of Hollywood in the golden age of cinema, Palm Springs was the place that fabled celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Dean Martin came to escape Los Angeles. A sun drenched desert Oasis, these days travellers come to Palm Springs to admire its mid-century modern architecture, for mammoth music festivals like Coachella and Stagecoach and relax and people watch poolside in one of the many impeccably styled hotels which appear to have jumped straight out of a photo-spread in a design magazine. [caption id="attachment_875657" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Palm Springs by Cody Board via Unsplash[/caption] Paul Manser's book Life Plans On Dive Bar Napkins is available from various book stores or you can order it from Dymocks. For more of Paul's travel tales visit his website. Main image by Jake Blucker via Unsplash.
If you need a reason to see Blanc de Blanc, it's this: it comes complete with a human champagne fountain. Of course, given that the acrobatic cabaret is the latest production from Brisbane Festival favourites Strut & Fret (aka the folks behind LIMBO, Fear & Delight and Cantina) that shouldn't be the only enticing factor. It's a show that's heavy on vintage glamour and agile acts, as well as foam and giant bubbles. Heading to Brissie straight from London's West End, it's also the most indulgent, seductive and cheeky night out you're likely to have in some time — but hey, isn't that what festivals are all about? Image: Ken Leanfore.
The usually sparse, concrete surrounds of Port Melbourne's Fisherman's Wharf precinct have been given a dramatic facelift, jazzed up with the help of a huge, record-breaking artwork. Gracing the ground of the waterfront stretch, you'll now find a sprawling mural by Melbourne-based large-scale artist Kitt Bennett. And, not only is the 9000-square-metre design the largest mural in the southern hemisphere, but it's also nabbed the title of the world's largest independently produced work of animated 'gif-iti' — a term referring to gif-style graffiti or street art which is viewed online, as coined by UK artist ISNA. Called Revolution, the giant artwork was crafted using satellite technology and over 700 litres of paint, taking Bennett a whole 30 days to complete. Designed to be viewed from above, it features a row of ten individual 30-metre-long figures each in different poses which, when seen together, form separate frames in an animated sequence. A team of animators and designers have also optimised it for audiences, creating a fluid, gif-style animation that audiences will be able to view online. This new piece was born of a collaboration with local street art collective and street art collective and creative agency Juddy Roller, who you might know from teeing up Adnate's Collingwood public housing block mural last year, as well as regional Victoria's famed art silo trail. The Port Melbourne work has stolen the ultimate bragging rights from Perth's new Adnate hotel, which was previously home to the southern hemisphere's largest (and still its tallest) mural. That mural reaches 27 storeys in height, while Revolution covers the equivalent of 90 floors worth of ground space. A short film documenting the whole Port Melbourne mural process has also been created, and will be on show at an exhibition at Juddy Roller next month. It's designed to be seen from an aerial perspective, but Revolution is now gracing the ground at Port Melbourne's Fisherman's Wharf. For further information about Juddy Roller, visit its website. Top image: Nicole Reed.
What's better than one stunning glimpse well beyond this pale blue dot we all call home? Several, each as spectacular as the next. If you're a fan of space — and aren't we all? — then this week has been huge for peering past the earth, with NASA releasing a number of images from the James Webb Space Telescope. First came the snap dubbed Webb's First Deep Field, aka the deepest and sharpest view of the universe that's ever been captured. Yes, showing the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it appeared a whopping 4.6 billion years ago, and covering thousands of galaxies, it's quite the sight. NASA then backed that up with more pictures from the space science observatory that's been charged with peering deeply into our solar system and far beyond, and taking images of what it spots. Prepare to be dazzled again. Cosmic cliffs & a sea of stars. @NASAWebb reveals baby stars in the Carina Nebula, where ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds shape colossal walls of dust and gas. https://t.co/63zxpNDi4I #UnfoldTheUniverse pic.twitter.com/dXCokBAYGQ — NASA (@NASA) July 12, 2022 Perhaps the most astonishing has been called 'Cosmic Cliffs', and looks at a star-forming region NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula — around 7600 light-years away. As captured in infrared light by the Webb telescope's near-infrared camera (NIRCam), it shows areas of star birth that have been obscured previously, and also proves the kind of sight that'll inspire a thousand big-screen space operas. Also phenomenal: two looks at the Southern Ring Nebula, a hot, dense white dwarf star, including one at its centre for the first time. One shows jagged rings of gas and dust, with light emanating from it — and, because perhaps the only reference point we have for looks at the heavens this stunning is everything that movies have thrown at us, it blows the best special effects you've ever seen out of the water. [caption id="attachment_861133" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Southern Ring Nebula[/caption] And, the Webb telescope has also captured Stephan's Quintet, a grouping of five galaxies. Again, there's a cinema tie — it's what the angel figures at the beginning of Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life are based on. Located in the Pegasus constellation, it features galaxies located between 40 million and 290 million light-years from Earth: galaxies NGC 7320, NGC 7317, NGC 7318A, NGC 7318B, and NGC 7319. With these jaw-dropping visuals, NASA now has images of a dying star's last hurrah thanks to the Southern Ring Nebula shots, and pictures that'll help scientists explore galactic mergers and interactions, as well as black holes. Indeed, showing the world staggering sights is really just the beginning when it comes to the telescope's output. [caption id="attachment_861135" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Stephan's Quintet[/caption] "Today, we present humanity with a groundbreaking new view of the cosmos from the James Webb Space Telescope — a view the world has never seen before," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "These images, including the deepest infrared view of our universe that has ever been taken, show us how Webb will help to uncover the answers to questions we don't even yet know to ask; questions that will help us better understand our universe and humanity's place within it." Yes, you're allowed to only want to stare at these pics for the next few minutes, hours and days. You're also allowed to summon your inner Keanu and exclaim the only thing that's appropriate right now: "whoa!". [caption id="attachment_861132" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Southern Ring Nebula[/caption] For more information about the James Webb Space Telescope, head to the NASA and James Web Space Telescope websites. Images: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI.
What comes to mind when you think of The Elephant? Well first of all, you probably know it as The Elephant & Wheelbarrow, a dingy, not-always-clean place every Valley-goer has ended up at in the wee hours of some godforsaken morning. Well rest in peace, Elephant & Wheelbarrow. The new Elephant has dropped the wheelbarrow and had a facelift to become less of a last-drinks pit-stop and more of an all-night venue. The beer garden, with its bright murals, well-stocked bar and outdoor live music stage, is a great place to while away a sunny afternoon with a pint and a wood-fired pizza. Head inside for more live music and a lively dance floor, or upstairs for an inviting cocktail list and lounge seating. But first, let's talk about that live music. The Elephant remains one of the few places in Brisbane where you can catch a gig almost every night of the week. Acoustic singer-songwriter sets, original band shows, rock'n'roll tribute shows and classic pub rock all have their place in the gig guide – and are pretty darn good. Keep an eye on the Facebook page for upcoming shows. Another major drawcard is the brand new wood-fired oven, which churns out delicious pizza 'til late Wednesday to Sunday – perfect for satisfying those post-beer snack cravings. Flavours include classic margherita, Diavolo (hot salami, tomato, mozzarella, olive and basil) and mushroom (all $18). If dinner is on your mind, the food menu also features a handful of fresh salads, (including the crisp fried ocean trout with deep fried egg, cherry tomatoes, green beans, Asian herbs, fried onion and red chilli dressing, $18); a range of sandwiches and burgers (including pulled duck sandwich with red slaw and smoked BBQ sauce, $18), and a smattering of main meals (such as crispy skinned salmon with green beans, cherry tomato and basil aioli, $22).
When a TV show or movie hits the screen adapted from the pages of a novel, maybe you're the kind of person who just has to read the book before watching. Perhaps you prefer the opposite, soaking in every minute of the series or film afresh with no knowledge of what's to come, then devouring the source material to spending more time in its world and fill in the details. Whichever best describes your style of page-to-screen fandom, you're welcome at a new Australian event that's all about streaming hits that started as novels. In fact, it's Prime Video's very own book club. You might've noticed that plenty of the streaming platform's recent fare began on the page. It's true of The Summer I Turned Pretty, which is about to drop its third and final season — and of the Culpable trilogy and also We Were Liars, for instance. So, the service is celebrating that fact in Sydney, putting on Prime Book Club LIVE with a number of authors and actors connected to its lineup as guests. The last season of The Summer I Turned Pretty begins on Wednesday, July 16, with the streamer's most-successful original series releasing episodes through until Wednesday, September 17. So, author Jenny Han — who not only penned the books The Summer I Turned Pretty, It's Not Summer Without You and We'll Always Have Summer that the show is based on and is the series' showrunner, but also wrote the To All The Boys I've Loved Before trilogy — will be in attendance. Stars Lola Tung and Rain Spencer (Test Screening) will also be there. Ahead of Culpa Nuestra (Our Fault), the third and final Culpable trilogy flick after films Culpa Mia (My Fault) and Culpa Tuya (Your Fault), reaching Prime Video in October, author Mercedes Ron will also get chatting in the Harbour City. Taking place from 5pm on Thursday, July 31, 2025 at Machine Hall in Sydney, Prime Book Club LIVE will boast Lucinda 'Froomes' Price as its host, feature a #BookTok panel, and sport an immersive setup spanning interactive experiences, giveaways and more. The event will also cover We Were Liars — which has an Australian connection thanks to Invisible Boys talent and future The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping star Joseph Zada — and others that fit the page-to-screen mould, including upcoming book-to-screen titles. Attendance is free, but you'll either need to register for a ticket in advance from 12pm AEST on Monday, July 14 or try your luck for one of the limited seats that'll be available on the day. "Prime Book Club LIVE celebrates our prolific book-to-screen storytelling and is a chance for our customers and fans to engage with Prime Video's series and films, and hear directly from talent about how these stories were brought to the screen. We're thrilled to have Jenny Han, Lola Tung, Rain Spencer and Mercedes Ron join us in Sydney for this exciting event," said Hwei Loke, head of Prime Video Australia and New Zealand. Prime Book Club LIVE takes place at 5pm on Thursday, July 31, 2025 at Machine Hall, 185 Clarence Street, Sydney, with free tickets available from 12pm AEST on Monday, July 14 and limited seats available on the day. The Summer I Turned Pretty images: Erika Doss © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC / Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Prime Video.
Get ready to get lit: Enchanted Garden, one of the big highlights of Brisbane's festive calendar in recent years, is returning to celebrate Christmas in 2023. The luminous show lets you see one of the city's favourite places in a completely new light, and will switch on its seasonal brightness for a month leading up to the jolliest day of all — complete with food trucks and a bar so that you can make a night of it. To be accurate, Enchanted Garden fills 22,000 square metres of Roma Street Parkland with lights flickering in, around and over the top of its lush greenery. As every home renovation-focused TV show has told us time and time again, a splash of colour can make a world of difference — and at this event, it can turn an already picturesque space into a glorious festive wonderland. The local favourite pops up year after year, delighting Brisbanites of all ages — and 2023 is no different. This year, you'll be heading along from Thursday, November 23–Wednesday, December 20, with the event sticking around for an extended season due to past demand. We all sure do love glowing lights, clearly. Designed to take around half an hour to wander through, The Enchanted Garden combines custom-made LEDs — plus special effects, light sculptures, lasers, projections and holograms — with an immersive audio soundscape. The aim: getting merry and celebrating nature, with the 2023 installation telling a tale about a possum getting mischievous in an island cave, then breaking a magical crystal, which shattered into four pieces. Unsurprisingly, it's a family-friendly affair — and, as there has been since 2021, there is a fee. You'll pay $9 to head along and stare up at all that dazzling brightness. Once you're in, you can soak up the luminousness for as long as you like. Attendees shouldn't go expecting the kind of setup that you've been ignoring on every street corner in Brissie's suburbs. Lights will twinkle and decorations will sparkle; however, this isn't a tacky DIY display at all. That said, a word of warning: people love all things glittery, so prepare to a heap company. Also, tickets usually get snapped up quickly, with this year's going on sale at 10am on Monday, November 13. Sessions run from 6.30pm, letting folks in every 15 minutes until 9.15pm — and, if you're organised enough, you can always pack a picnic, arrive early and enjoy dinner beforehand. Food trucks will also be onsite at the Celebration Lawn from 5pm daily, as will a licensed bar, if you don't get around to taking care of your own nosh. The Enchanted Garden returns to Roma Street Parkland from Thursday, November 23–Wednesday, December 20. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Monday, November 13 — head to the event's website for further details.
Eager to add a new dog to your family? Keen to adopt a cute pooch in need? Fancy making your latest life-changing decision over a few beers? Then look no further than Puppies and Pints, which delivers exactly what it sounds like — including adorable fluffballs that you can take home afterwards. Happening from midday–3pm on Sunday, July 7, the event sees Semi-Pro Brewing Co and the RSPCA join forces — bringing four-legged friends to the East Brisbane watering hole, welcoming local dog-centric businesses as well, and letting you meet your next barking bestie. For those who want to help a good cause but can't become a new pet parent for many reasons, you can also lend a hand just by drinking, with Semi-Pro putting on a karma keg and donating the proceeds to the RSPCA, too. And if you simply have a better time when you're sipping brews and looking at gorgeous little pups, that's catered for also.
At Sokyo, the phrase "looks good enough to eat" earns a new spin. Here, the sushi, sashimi, king prawns in yuzu butter off the robata grill and plenty more almost look too artful, too eye-catching and too enticing to devour. For its first expansion out of Sydney, as well as its debut eatery in Queensland, this Japanese fine-diner has given its Brisbane location in the new Queen's Wharf precinct a specific gift: Executive Chef Alex Yu, brandishing his skills as a "sashimi florist" over the restaurant's aesthetically pleasing menu. Yu earned that nickname at Sokyo Sydney, where he worked for eight years from 2014 and became renowned for his fish platters featuring floral arrangements. In 2022, he moved to Yugen Melbourne to take on that restaurant's Head Chef position. Now, he has completed the east coast capital-city trifecta by coming to Brisbane to helm the new Sokyo. Sokyo's opening, launching when Queen's Wharf did at the end of August 2024, brings a swag of good news to the River City. Brisbanites no longer need to visit Sydney to dine at the culinary standout, for starters. The second Sokyo is part of The Star Brisbane, just as the Harbour City's sits inside The Star Sydney. At The Star Gold Coast, Queensland already boasts fellow Japanese restaurant Kiyomi — a sibling eatery, if you like — but this is the first time that the Sokyo brand has set up shop elsewhere. If you haven't visited Sokyo down south, it heroes traditional cooking techniques and making dining a sumptuous feast for the senses. The restaurant's guiding principle: ritual meets art. The idea is to apply Japanese culinary practice to Australia, including using local produce — from Queensland, of course, at Sokyo Brisbane. In a space that seats 160, features both a sushi bar and a circular private dining room, and has Hassell to think for its scroll- and timber screen-heavy Japanese restaurant decor, patrons can enjoy a range of Sokyo's famous dishes that've made the jump from its OG location to Brissie. Two such highlights: spicy tuna with crispy rice, plus hiramasa kingfish with miso ceviche and crispy potato. Standouts from the rest of the menu include A5 wagyu with egg yolk, garlic chips and gold leaf; tempura snapper paired with a coriander salad; miso-glazed toothfish; and salmon belly aburi. Or, as long as you have at least one person for company, opt for the $160-per-person tasting menu. The multi-dish spread features four seafood plates, the choice to upgrade to a chef's selection of sushi or wagyu in wasabi sauce, plus mochi and strawberry milkshake ice cream, and a caramel macchiato. To wash them all down, sake, Japanese whisky, shochu cocktails, and tap and bottled beers from Japan take pride of place on the drinks list. You can also sip wine, champagne and non-alcoholic beverages.
Complaining that you don't have anything to watch is impossible in the streaming age. Spending too much time trying to pick something because you're spoiled for choice? That's the current dilemma. With every new online platform, your viewing options expand — especially when Pluto TV has finally hit Australia with more than 50 streaming channels. Up and running in the US for almost a decade, this streaming service is completely free to watch — and, after announcing that it was heading our way, it launched Down Under in late August. To view Pluto TV, all you need to do is head to Network Ten's 10 Play platform, with its new channels built into the existing platform. (Just make sure that you've updated your 10 Play app to access it.) The catch: Pluto TV is a FAST service, aka free ad-supported streaming television. So, just like in the days before anyone had even dreamed up Netflix and the like, or pay TV, you won't pay a cent to watch; however, you will have to see commercials. As well as the cost — or lack thereof — Pluto TV's big drawcard is delivering its smorgasbord of content via channels, rather than just having audiences scroll through hundreds or thousands of shows and movies to decide what to watch. Basically, it replicates the linear TV experience on free-to-air, but via streaming. You'll still need to do some choosing, though, given that there's a lengthy roster of themed channels to pick from. Fancy only viewing South Park? I Love Lucy? Happy Days? Dynasty? MTV's reality shows? Nickelodeon classics? They all now have their own channels. Nickelodeon and MTV fans, you're particularly well-served. If you're keen on the former, you've got six channels to flick between: Nick Classics, Nick Jr, Nick Movies, Nick Rewind, NickTeen and NickToons. For the latter, there's eight: MTV Biggest Pop, MTV Dating, MTV Drama, MTV Entertainment, MTV Love, MTV Reality, MTV Retro and MTV The Shores. Accordingly, tuning into Pluto TV can mean watching non-stop Daria, Pimp My Ride, Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko's Modern Life and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Two of the MTV channels — MTV Biggest Pop and MTV Love — are also filled with music videos. Prefer Baywatch all day? The OG Beverly Hills 90210? Getting eerie with The Twilight Zone? There's now a dedicated channel for all of them as well. The list also includes The Brady Bunch, Hawaii Five-O, Merlin, Becker, Matlock, Mission: Impossible (the TV show, not the movies), The Drew Barrymore Show, The Graham Norton Show, America's Next Top Model, Survivor and Survivor US, MasterChef, and classic The Bold & The Beautiful episodes. Also, Moviesphere is your destination for flicks, Haunt TV is on hand for scares, True Stories serves up exactly that, and both Nature Time and Xtreme Adventure are as self-explanatory as they sound. Already up in running in more than 35 markets before it arrived in Australia, Pluto TV draws from the Los Angeles-based company's partnerships with 400-plus international media outfits. This is clearly a great time to be fond of Nickelodeon in particular — Network Ten also recently added a free-to-air channel devoted to the brand, the first in Australia outside of pay TV, separate to Pluto TV's online options. Pluto TV's channels are now available to stream in Australia via 10 Play.
Back in 2012, when Daniel Radcliffe was initially trying to shake a certain boy wizard from his system — before everything from Swiss Army Man and The Lost City to Miracle Workers and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story firmly helped — he stepped into a different kind of supernatural thrills. His first post-Harry Potter role saw him take on The Woman in Black, a gothic-horror tale that pitted him against a curse and a ghost. And yes, the latter did have quite the fondness for wearing dark clothing. The film adapted the 1983 novella of the same name for the second time. But before The Woman in Black made it to the screen, it spooked out the theatre. Because hauntings often keep coming back, it's doing so again, this time in a new Australian production starring John Waters (Blaze) and Daniel MacPherson (Foundation). If you don't like scary tales about sinister spirits seeking revenge for past ills, then you might want to sit this one out. If you love them, then prepare to put your nerves to the test. We're betting that the QPAC Playhouse in Brisbane, Adelaide's Dunstan Playhouse, His Majesty's Theatre in Perth, Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre, the Canberra Theatre Centre and Newcastle's Civic Theatre will all be at their unsettling best for the occasion — it's not every day that you host a show that ranks among West End's longest-running productions, second only to Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, after all. The Woman in Black is set in Eel Marsh House in England's north, which sits at the heart of a story that Arthur Kipps recounts about his stint as a young solicitor overseeing Mrs Alice Drablow's funeral. The place isn't just filled with secrets, thanks to the titular figure. Waters plays the elder Kipps, with MacPherson plays an actor who agrees to perform the role of his younger guise. Kicking off its Aussie tour in late April, the stage version of The Woman in Black was first adapted for the theatre by Stephen Mallatratt back in 1987. "I first saw The Woman in Black in 2020 and knew I had to bring it back to Australia. It's such an incrediblem gripping show that is so spellbinding, it has you on the edge of your seat for two hours," said the current season's producer Alex Woodward. "When it came to casting we knew it was perfect to ask theatre royalty John Waters to reprise his role he debuted in Australia more than 15 years ago. Daniel was also a natural choice for his incredible ability, charm and charisma." THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2024 AUSTRALIAN DATES: Tuesday, April 30–Saturday, May 11 — QPAC Playhouse, Brisbane Wednesday, May 15–Sunday, May 26 — Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide Thursday, May 30–Sunday, June 9 — His Majesty's Theatre, Perth From Sunday, June 23 — Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne Tuesday, July 9–Sunday, July 14 — Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra Tuesday, July 23–Saturday, July 27 — Venue Civic Theatre, Newcastle The Woman in Black hits stages around Australia from April 2024, with tickets on sale from staggered dates starting on Wednesday, January 24. Head to the production's website for more information. Top image: James Reiser.
Local brothers Dan and Andy have opened a one-stop shop in Hawthorne for all of your grocery needs (and more). Stocked full of market fresh produce daily, the Hawthorne Garage also offers customers a range of high quality foods. Fresh bread, top meats, deli goods and unique fine foods are available, as well as a range of gluten-free and organic foods to satisfy all customers needs. This includes the need for a fresh coffee or a beautiful bunch of flowers. Working out of the old garage building on Hawthorne Road the brothers have honoured the history of the place by keeping classic aspects of the garage such as the service list at the front of the building. The rest has been impeccably restored creating an impressive space that is focused on providing top quality foods and customer service. Dan and Andy's Hawthorne Garage285 Hawthorne Rd (Cnr Orchard St), Hawthorne (Map)www.hawthornegarage.com.au6am-8pm daily
Around Christmas time, stories of goodwill and kind deeds seem to pop up more frequently, giving you that fuzzy feeling that humanity does indeed exist in our society. One of these stories came to Concrete Playground’s attention, and we thought we should spread the Christmas cheer. A bunch of Sydneysiders have got together and created the organisation The Philanthropic Foodie, a demiurgic thinktank that come up with ideas that marry Sydney’s love of fine food and worthwhile charities. These two elements suit each other better than Tim Tams and early gray on a rainy, summer day. Now you can indulge in your weakness for pricey jars of green olives or $9 bottles of San Pellegrino without getting that guilty twinge from thinking of the price of the equivalent product at Woolworths. Their first project is a gourmet hamper, with contributions from Simon Johnson, Campos coffee, Christine Manfield (Universal), Bourke Street Bakery and Gelato Messina, to name a few, as well as a Danks Street Depot cookbook and a Future Classics CD so you can get your groove on while you chop and stir. There are three different sized hampers at varying prices, with all profits going to charity Youth Off The Streets. Relax into a foodie coma knowing you’ve done a good deed - a pretty good deal if you ask me. Gourmet Hampers Sydney
Things are looking up in the middle of the Brisbane CBD, particularly if you like drinking at a sky-high bar underneath a Queensland sky. Add Sixteen Antlers to the city's list of rooftop hotspots — and add peering out over King George Square and the City Hall clock tower, sipping craft beer and cocktails, and snacking on small plates to your spring and summer must-do list. The new hangout is perched 16 stories above the ground, in case you hadn't already guessed from the name. Taking over the top level at Pullman and Mercure Brisbane on the corner of Ann and Roma streets, it might just boast one of the best inner city views in Brissie. As for the other part of the venue's name, that stems from what they're calling roof 'branches', with the space as leafy in decor as it is lofty in location. While you'll find eye-popping views aplenty, don't go expecting Sixteen Antlers to match its vast vistas with big crowds — instead, it's a relatively intimate 120-person bar. They're still hosting live music and DJ sets on Friday and Saturday nights, offering up a hefty drinks list, and serving the likes of mini brioche sliders, beetroot and goats cheese arancini, and cheese and antipasto boards, though. Expect to eat, knock back beverages and enjoy Brisbane from a new perspective after 3pm from Thursday–Saturday each week. Updated August 13, 2020.
It's easy to delay playing tourist in your own backyard. We've all done it, thinking that we'll head overseas now and see Australia's sights later. Looking for motivation to make 2025 the year that you finally visit some Aussie must-sees, wandering around Uluru, relaxing on Hamilton Island or touring Tasmania? Virgin Australia's latest sale on domestic flights is here to help. You've got until Sunday, March 2 to nab a discounted fare — unless they're all snapped up earlier — for flights between Wednesday, April 30, 2025–Wednesday, February 11, 2026. That gives you options for most of this year and the start of next, and across all four seasons, whether autumn, winter, spring or summer getaways best suit your schedule. Prices start cheap at $49. Where can you head? To Byron Bay from Sydney for that low fare, which covers a one-way flight. Other specials include Brisbane–Proserpine from $59, Melbourne–Launceston for the same price, Sydney–Gold Coast from $65, Sydney–Sunshine Coast from $69, Melbourne–Adelaide for $85, Brisbane–Hamilton Island from $105 and Melbourne–Uluru for $109. Or, travel from Sydney–Hamilton Island, also from $109; Brisbane–Uluru from $129; Melbourne–Perth from $189; and Brisbane–Darwin from $195. The list goes on. This sale kicked off on Tuesday, February 25, 2025 — and the cheap fares, which cover both directions between each point in the discounted route, start with Virgin's Economy Lite option. With the travel periods available, all dates vary per route. Inclusions also differ depending on your ticket and, as usual when it comes to flight sales, you'll need to get in quick if you're keen to spend some, part or even most of April 2025–February 2026 anywhere but home. [caption id="attachment_976496" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Darren Tierney[/caption] Virgin's 'Gotta get away' sale runs until 11.59pm AEST on Sunday, March 2, 2025 — unless sold out earlier. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
In season one of Netflix's Ugly Delicious, Momofuku founder David Chang and his cohort of famous chefs, comedians and street artists ate pizza in Naples, streetside tacos in LA, hot chicken in Nashville and deer tendons in Beijing. In season two of the non-fiction food show, which hits the streaming platform on March 6, Chang and co are heading Down Under. The four-episode second season will see Chang travel around Istanbul, Tokyo, Mumbai and Sydney with actors Nick Kroll and Danny McBride, comedian Aziz Ansari, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, food writers Helen Rosner and Chris Ying, and street artist Dave Choe, among others. While the just-dropped trailer doesn't give too much away in terms of Sydney locations, it does feature a Crocodile Dundee 'that's not a knife' gag at an Outback Steakhouse. It's possible Chang visited one of the 700-plus Australian-themed, American chain stores located in the US, but it's also possible he tracked down one of the eight scattered around the countryside in Australia — for the sake of, perhaps, authenticity. You also see a flash of Paul Carmichael, head chef at Sydney's Momofuku Seiobo, and taking into account how often Chang waxes lyrical about Golden Century's pipis in XO on Instagram, you can assume the chef will head to both of those spots, too. It also looks like the show will dive into Chang's personal life a little, with the trailer teasing discussions about his and wife Grace's nearly one-year-old baby Hugo. Chang will do a bit of a Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, too, and cook a meal for schoolchildren. While you wait for the second season to hit Netflix next month, you can wait the trailer below. https://youtu.be/1eyFq3addMs Ugly Delicious 2 hits Netflix on March 6.
On Steve Zahn's 2020s-era resume, there's no place like Maui resorts and buried silos that house 10,000 souls across 144 underground levels. The actor has been calling both home, or home away from home, in two of the best television series of this decade. In the process, he's also been giving some of the finest performances of his career. An Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Emmy nomination came his way for The White Lotus, an accolade won by his co-star Murray Bartlett (The Last of Us). More awards attention deserves to arrive now that Zahn is among the cast of Apple TV+'s page-to-screen sci-fi dystopian thriller series Silo in its second season. The Minnesota-born and -raised actor has been a screen mainstay since the 90s, when he starred in one of the defining movies of the period: alongside Winona Ryder (Stranger Things), Ethan Hawke (Leave the World Behind), Ben Stiller (Nutcrackers) and Janeane Garofalo (The Apology), he was part of Reality Bites' core quintet. From there, everything from That Thing You Do! and Out of Sight to You've Got Mail and an episode of Friends followed before the 00s even hit — and his Independent Spirit Award-winning performance in Happy, Texas as well. Zahn has since voiced a Stuart Little character, acted for Werner Herzog in Rescue Dawn and played Bad Ape in War for the Planet of the Apes, alongside parts in Riding in Cars with Boys, Dallas Buyers Club, Treme and plenty more. [caption id="attachment_984317" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mario Perez/HBO[/caption] In The White Lotus, he portrayed a husband (to Dear Edward's Connie Britton) and dad (to Immaculate's Sydney Sweeney and Gladiator II's Fred Hechinger) endeavouring to escape his worries in Hawaii. One such concern: his character's health. Joining Silo sees Zahn go from one extreme to another, then. Instead of opting for the tried-and-tested route of a vacation to avoid your everyday life — not that that ever works out well in The White Lotus, either in the Zahn-starring first season in 2021 or the anthology series' second in 2022 — he's now locked in with his woes. Zahn's Solo dwells in a new setting for the show: Silo 17, where Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson, Dune: Part Two) ventures after leaving her own. As streaming via Apple TV+ since mid-November 2024, dropping its ten-episode season weekly, Silo opens its second run with a glimpse of how life can go awry drastically and devastatingly when human existence is confined beneath the earth. That's been one of the series' throughlines overall anyway, but the situation in Silo 17 has left Solo alone behind a locked door after a revolution cleared out his fellow residents. He's wary of newcomers, unsurprisingly, but Solo is also curious about the world beyond his vault and empathetic to Juliette's need for help. After the events of season one cast her outside the only walls that she'd ever called home, she's eager to return back to her own silo to stop Silo 17's fate repeating there. So unfurls a season split across two places, and hopping between the aftermath of Juliette being sent out to clean — as being forced outside a silo is dubbed in the series' parlance — and her and Solo's efforts in the other bunker. In one of season two's locations, rebellion festers among the masses. In the other, two people attempt to survive. Chatting with Concrete Playground, Zahn compares his portion of Silo to a play. Since its 2023 debut, this has always been a TV must-see that feels the intimacy of creating societies beneath the ground, but that sensation earns a new dimension when it's just Solo and Juliette in Silo 17. How did Zahn approach portraying someone who is rediscovering what it's like to have company after being on his lonesome, and is clearly traumatised by his experiences while also eager to do the right thing by assisting Juliette? What was he excited about digging into as Solo? And what make he make of his jump from The White Lotus' beaches to Silo's subterranean levels? We talked with Zahn about the above, and also about how shooting their scenes in order helped him and Ferguson build their characters' rapport organically, what excites him about new projects more than three decades into his career and more. On Going From Playing Someone Trying to Escape Their Worries on Holiday in The White Lotus to a Man Locked in with His Traumas in Silo "Lately I've been lucky enough to do the extremes. And this character is definitely — the world is extreme but also the character. I've never played anything quite like this. And it was it was daunting, but it was also quite simple. I think because of Rebecca and the story, I really love it. It's daunting to play a character like this. It's hard. Day one is really difficult, because you're so self-conscious, right, when you play characters like that. Day one of playing Bad Ape in War for the Planet of the Apes was unbelievably hard, because that character that you establish goes to the end, whether it's good or bad, compelling or not. So you just hope your instincts are right. And you get addicted to playing people like this. I'm a proud character actor, put it that way." On Zahn's First Take on Solo in Silo, and What He Was Excited About Bringing to the Character "I found his childlike vulnerability to be fascinating, and I thought that was something that spoke to me and that I could tap into. That was compelling to me. I loved the story under a microscope, compared to the rest of the story. In season two, you've got chaos happening in volume, and then in this world you have water dripping and quiet and calm. And those two worlds together are insane." On Portraying Someone Who Is Dutiful to His Task to Protect His Vault, But Also Curious About the World — and Lonely and Yearning to Connect "It was a constant balancing act. There are times when he's a child — kids wear their emotions on their sleeves, they don't know the boundaries, they haven't learned all these things that we learn from other people. So at times he can be very scary, almost violent, and then in the next breath it turns on a dime and he can be this kid again. So you don't know how he's going to act in any certain situation. I felt like, and Rebecca and I felt like, we were doing a play — like we are doing some Beckett or some Pinter play in the West End. And every day we just got to explore these two individuals. And we shot it into order, which was actually really unique. We had a controlled environment. We had all these sets. And it was just her and I. So we could actually go in order. So the first week of shooting, you didn't see me. It was just really unique. It just doesn't happen." On How Filming in Order Helped Zahn Unpack Solo and Juliette's Relationship with Rebecca Ferguson Basically in Real Time "It absolutely helps, especially when it's incremental like this. It's these tiny steps that they take towards each other — and away from each other, depending. Honestly, if we had to shoot this out of order, it would have been really difficult to track all that. We would have had to spend a lot of time talking about that, where we didn't have to because it was a natural progression. We learned to trust each other as human beings, as actors, at the same time — it paralleled our characters, which was interesting. And so we could actually live in moments and let them breathe, and let that story evolve on its own. And so dialogue changed and intention changed, because of what we were doing, which is really cool. It happened. So much of the time you feel preoccupied with what you're doing that you don't live freely in moments. And when you're an actor and you get lost in a moment, that's the goal. I mean, I always joke like 'god, we were almost acting'. Which is a real compliment to the show, because it's rare when you're really just acting and everything else goes away. Usually it's in a play that you're doing. You get lost in that. This is all heavy actor shit, but you know, it was really fun, man. It was really fun." [caption id="attachment_984315" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mario Perez/HBO[/caption] On What Gets Zahn Excited About a New Project After More Than Three Decades On-Screen "Story. Being a part of a really cool story. That's what, day one, that's what compelled me. Being in a really good play was awesome, that people liked. And then character and all that stuff, but for me it's the story. And I've been lucky enough to be approached by people that are good storytellers. I've been able to work with so many great, amazing people. And now Graham Yost [Silo's creator], he's a legend. And I worked with him a long time ago on From the Earth to the Moon back in the 90s. It's funny, when I'm walking around, I think of myself as 25. And it's weird to be the guy that people are calling 'sir' on set. It's weird. It's weird, it's bizarre, getting older. Because it's not a bank. We don't have that kind of hierarchy in our business. If I'm working with a 15-year-old, they're my peer. Fred on White Lotus, he's the same age as my son, we're like pals — because we did a show together." Silo streams via Apple TV+. Read our review of season one.
It has been six years since Nodo Donuts first gave Brisbanites the gluten-free doughnuts they were craving. That's six years of baked-not-fried pastries served at a growing range of stores, including at Newstead, South Bank, the CBD and Camp Hill. Obviously, this is an occasion worth celebrating — and so Nodo is doing just that with a $6 special. Head by a Nodo shop from 7am on Wednesday, November 18 — or from 9am at its pop-ups in Carindale and Chermside — and you'll score a doughnut and a coffee for $6. Given that Nodo's doughnuts usually cost that amount anyway if you're just buying one, you're basically scoring a free cuppa. At Carindale and Chermside, you'll receive a voucher for a coffee to use at other Nodo stores, rather than some caffeine there and then — but the deal remains the same. It's a one-per-person special, and it's only available while stocks last. If you needed an excuse to have a doughnut for breakfast, well, you just found one.
Feel like you've spent a little too much time on the couch in the past year? The Bicton Hill circuit track is the perfect way to ease back into hiking. The four-kilometre track is an approachable distance for most fitness levels and is located within the Clump Mountain National Park in Mission Beach — approximately a two-hour drive south of Cairns. As the trail winds to the summit you'll encounter lush rainforest vegetation and native wildlife including kingfisher birds, lace monitors and, sometimes, a cassowary. At the top, you'll be rewarded with sweeping views across the emerald-coloured bay where you can enjoy the incredible sights of the Family Islands National Park. Once you've looped back to the carpark, cool off with a dip in the Coral Sea at Bingil Bay situated just opposite the track. Or, head to the much-loved Bingil Bay Cafe for a freshly squeezed juice and some lunch. Image: Tourism Tropical North Queensland
As the Australian Government increases its efforts to contain COVID-19, Aussies are getting rather accustomed to spending time at home. Non-essential mass events have been banned, indoor gatherings are restricted, anyone arriving from overseas is required to self-isolate for 14 days, and the country's borders have closed to non-citizens and non-residents. As a result, festivals and gigs are cancelling and postponing in swathes, cultural institutions are shutting down and moving their activities online, restaurants and bars are transitioning to takeaway options, and Aussie airlines are suspending all international flights. So far, few limitations on domestic travel have been put in place; however that's now beginning to change, too. The Federal Government has already banned non-essential travel to 76 remote Indigenous communities, while both Tasmania and the Northern Territory have effectively closed their state borders by mandating 14-day self-isolation requirements for anyone arriving from interstate. Now, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is advising that all non-essential travel anywhere — not just overseas but interstate — should be cancelled. The recommendation came as part of the Prime Minister's latest press conference about the coronavirus, held on Sunday, March 22. It isn't a ban at this stage, but advice that the Federal Government is asking Australians to take seriously. And, with school holidays arriving soon, this recommendation is particularly timely. "Those holidays you might've been planning to take interstate over the school holidays — cancel them," Morrison said bluntly. The Prime Minister also advised that "more severe measures are coming", with local lockdowns under discussion — a topic that's also timely after Aussies have been seen flouting mass-gathering restrictions and flocking to popular beaches. However, such measures will only be made in line with medical advice. Also, what might work for one area of Australia at any given time may not work for another area of the country at the same time. With that in mind, when they next meet tonight, the national coronavirus cabinet will consider shutting down particular places to enforce social distancing tactics. "What may be necessary in a part of Sydney may not be necessary at all in rural NSW or in Perth or other parts of the country," the Prime Minister noted, also stating that a consistent set of measures and tools for the entirety of Australia are currently being worked on. After the national coronavirus cabinet convenes tonight, expect more updates tomorrow morning — with developments in Australia's response to COVID-19 happening not just daily, but hourly and even by the minute. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Maxim 75 via Wikimedia Commons.
Digital art is taking over the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in a huge way in 2024. The Melbourne venue might be known for its cinemas, as well as past exhibitions about Martin Scorsese, David Bowie, Disney animation and women in Hollywood, but it doesn't just celebrate movies and television. If it can grace screens, it can feature here — including at the Marshmallow Laser Feast: Works of Nature showcase that displayed until April, and then at fellow world-premiere Beings from Wednesday, May 22–Sunday, September 29. Interactive pieces using innovative technology firmly fit ACMI's remit, which is exactly what its big winter exhibition is about. The playful event explores the work of art and design collective Universal Everything, featuring 13 pieces from its 20-year career. And the experience that you have while walking through Beings won't be the same as anyone else's. This new reason to head to ACMI wants attendees to not merely look at, but also move and dance in front of its large-scale screens and projected artworks. Beings' pieces respond differently to each visitor, using evolving algorithms and generative technology. That makes you part of the art as well. [caption id="attachment_944198" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 'Into the Sun' by Universal Everything, installation view, Lifeforms exhibition, 180 Studios, photo by Jack Hems.[/caption] Founded in 2004, Universal Everything began in a garden studio in Sheffield, England, which is where Creative Director Matt Pyke initially set up shop. Now, the collective — which includes animators, architects, cinematographers, designers, developers, engineers and musicians — works globally. Its creations display around the world, too, with stints in London, Seoul, Paris, Istanbul and New York before its upcoming Melbourne exhibition. Beings' pieces — four of which will be brand-new world-premiere artworks themselves — frequently use the kind of tech that Hollywood studios and video-game makers deploy. Expect to peer at and play with an assortment of characters, and to feel like you've stepped into a movie or a game as well. The exhibition unravels Universal Everything's creative process, including via hand-drawn sketches that'll be seen by the public for the first time. Top image: Future You' by Universal Everything, installation view, Digital Impact, Barcelona, Spain, photo by Eva Caraso.
As a dancer, he joined the New York Ballet while still a teenager. As a choreographer working in film, he's given Denis Villeneuve's versions of Dune their sandwalk. Making a dance film in the desert seems like the logical next step for Benjamin Millepied, then. The French talent's resume isn't short on other highlights — including the LA Dance Project, which he initiated; Black Swan, which he both choreographed and starred in; and the Paris Opera Ballet, where he was Director of Dance from 2014–16 — but a reimagining of Carmen not only shot in Australia, but backdropped by the outback town of Broken Hill, is quite the unique way to make his feature directorial debut. This is Carmen in name and spirit first and foremost, though. This is Carmen broken down and built back up again, too. Despite the contents of its frames, this is Carmen set not Down Under, but across the US-Mexico border amid fleeing to Los Angeles. This is Carmen following strangers who become lovers on the run, its namesake escaping cartel brutality and then racist prejudices when she migrates north, and the ex-marine that she crosses paths with post-smuggling dashing away from his own dalliances with violence. This is also Carmen led by Melissa Barrera and Paul Mescal, the former more in In the Heights mode than Scream, and the latter as entrancing as he's proven in Normal People and his Oscar-nominated performance in Aftersun. It was the pandemic that took filming in Mexico out of the equation, and brought Millepied to Australia. His visit, like Mescal's when he was cast, didn't slink under the radar — that Millepied is married to Black Swan Oscar-winner Natalie Portman, who shot Thor: Love and Thunder in Sydney, meant ample media attention. Carmen was made when much of Hollywood seemed to relocate this way; however, as spectacular as its dance sequences are, and as impressive as it leads prove as well (plus iconic Spanish actor and Pedro Almodóvar favourite Rossy de Palma, Parallel Mothers), it's as intimate as an opera-inspired drama that dances against sweeping plains of ochre Aussie soil can be. "I personally enjoyed it so much out there," Millepied tells Concrete Playground. "I love the desert. I love the light in the desert. I really loved being out there. I'm going back to Australia in a few weeks, and I'm tempted to go back out there." With Carmen now in Aussie cinemas and also screening at the New Zealand International Film Festival, the acclaimed dancer-turned-filmmaker chatted about swapping North America for Broken Hill, giving Prosper Mérimée's novella and Georges Bizet's opera his own spin, his leads, being driven by Succession composer Nicholas Britell's new score, and what he learned in making the leap from performing — or didn't. ON REIMAGINING CARMEN "I wanted to lean on a classical tragedy. I was instinctively attracted to it culturally, for its relationship to the Roma culture — and this idea of someone expressing her freedom through dance. Those were those were the key components. And really thinking that this would be a musical that was a drama with music and dance — that fantasy, that the dancing, would come through dreams, and that it was a drama. I think people forget that there's actually very few musicals that have a more realistic [approach] — here, of course, we're not fully in in realism, but I think that it's still a dark film. That's quite unusual for musicals, because you can make very light musicals, fluffy musicals, where people sing and dance. I probably will make something lighter like that. Hopefully, maybe someday, I get the opportunity. But that's not Carmen — Carmen took a different sort of sense." ON MAKING A DRAMA WITH DANCE, RATHER THAN A CLASSICAL MUSICAL, TO SUIT THE STORY "I don't think you can tackle a political subject like that and just have migrants dancing, for example. I think the subject matter implied that we had to bring a certain depth to the approach of how dance and music existed in the film. When I started to look at the history of the Roma culture in South America, and I started to think about the border — I don't know how it came up — I found out there's an important Roma community that migrated to Mexico in the early 20th century. And that story was quite fascinating, and the way they live, and the way that Mexican culture influenced their own, as they did in everywhere they went, and took on traditions and cultures. So it just made a lot of sense, this idea of the Roma culture being free and moving through the world, and with deep traditions. It made sense to set it on the Mexico-US border." ON AUSTRALIA STANDING IN FOR NORTH AMERICA "When I when I realised that I couldn't shoot in Mexico because of COVID and everything, and I had scouted and I'd done all this work, I looked at Australia because we were supposed to go there. It just made sense. I felt like I could pull it off, and I actually thought that the heightened reality that I was thinking of could really work there — I would just push that element, make it real. So that's how I thought of it, and it worked great. It was really incredible to shoot in in Australia. Just creatively, the team that I had was was really amazing. I loved it out there. We were really so lucky, and it actually looked a lot like the desert in the north of Mexico where I say it is early in the film. It was just this proximity in landscape that was really, really incredible." ON CASTING MELISSA BARRERA AND PAUL MESCAL, AND CAPITALISING UPON THEIR CHEMISTRY It's not easy to find someone who could really be a triple threat — dance and sing and act, and have that kind of magnetism, and [is] Mexican. She was really right. She was really perfect. I needed someone who was believable as a marine. I needed someone who was a real man — someone who was physical, who wasn't a dancer. He was perfect. I mean, how amazing is he in the film! She prepared a lot in terms of movement, in terms of flamenco. She prepared quite a bit, and so did he. You just hope that [the chemistry] is something that happens. You don't know. I mean, you get them together, but you just hope for the best, honestly." ON THE IMPORTANCE OF NICHOLAS BRITELL'S SCORE "The score implied so much of the film. We started with the music — so essentially the whole visual language came from the music, I would say. That was really wonderful. I even had score written that I could play on set. I think what I'm so proud of for this score is just it's so unique — so unique a sound for film, and it's filled with different influences, which is what we were going for. It's been a really beautiful journey with the music. When you hear the last hip hop track, it has West African rhythm influences. When you hear the choir, it's Eastern Europe voices — and then you have the French in the lyrics. And yet you have synths and strings, and so it's really rich in terms of its influences. That's what makes the score so unique. People wouldn't necessarily know it, but it is that way very specifically unique, I think. And I'm really proud of that for Nick, and for the film, that it doesn't sound like any other score that you've heard." ON MAKING HIS FEATURE DIRECTORIAL DEBUT WITH CARMEN "[It springs] from years of wanting to, of playing with film and the camera, and having a desire to actually make a film. It didn't come from one single thing. I think it's my love for photography, for film, for being interested in it — curious to, essentially, explore my own expression in something that has a bit more of an intellectual approach, in a way, and less instinctive like dance. Dance, I can just walk in the studio and just create something out of my dream — but a movie, you're interested in a theme, then you understand why, then you have to dig into it. I learned a lot through the process — of what to do, what not to do. And particularly the screenwriting stuff for me. I'm excited to to do it again, frankly." ON LEARNING FROM DANCING, CHOREOGRAPHY, BLACK SWAN AND DUNE FOR HIS FIRST FEATURE — OR NOT "I think nothing prepares you for really directing a film. I mean, there's little elements, but the magnitude of directing a film is so big that, no, it doesn't prepare you. But that's okay. I think there's a lot you can prepare yourself for, and yet there's so much to learn once you do it — and I love that. I love being thrown in the fire and and having to figure out everything on the go. I will make hopefully at some point a second film with so much more understanding of how do it." Carmen opened in Australian cinemas on July 13, and plays the 2023 New Zealand International Film Festival. Read our review. Images: Lisa Tomasetti / Goalpost Pictures.
Dining out with friends is all good fun until someone tries to split the bill. If Tim, Tahlia and Tony shared a bottle of wine, Thomas had an entree, Tamika ordered three gin and tonics, Tim couldn’t help but have dessert, meanwhile Tahlia and Tony crack a second bottle - you’ve got a mighty mess on your hands. And besides, it’s not fair on ‘budget-wise Tess’ to split the bill even if she refrained from dessert or even a sneaky vino. Enter, Vapiano. This is not casual dining as you know it. Walk in the door and be handed a plastic card - your own personal tab. No messy sharing, you’ll walk out with no bitter disputes. The venue is massive - a double storey mega-complex hidden in a lane just off Queen Street Mall. Not exactly a date venue, the solid wooden tables are designed for four or more - each features a small marble planter with a lamp and fresh basil or rosemary plants to enhance your food. The design is clean and unique - making it hard to believe Vapiano is indeed an international franchise with the same fit-out replicated across Europe and in Egypt, Brazil and South Korea. Food wise, the highlight was most certainly the antipasti plate. Stacked high with an amazing buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto, pepperoni, parmesan, olives, roast veges and bruschetta, the small size ($13.9) was on par with many boards you’d find elsewhere for double the price. We couldn’t let the L’acacia pizza go past without a try. Almost dessert-like in flavour, a strong hit of honey reaches your taste buds before the salty prosciutto and tomato base weigh out the sensation. The pizza base is beautifully thin and crisp with a great woodfired taste that allows the toppings to shine. A little sparse on the fig, but not on other flavours. We also opted for the Gamberi e Rucola, with classic italiano flavours the olives and prawns ran beautifully with a generous topping of fresh rocket giving a healthy and light flavour. The rocket and walnut salad ($10.9) was tasty, albeit a little drowned. Despite receiving a mixed leaf base rather than rocket, the lettuce leaves were crisp and very fresh. Vapiano’s pasta is made fresh on site. You line up to watch your dish being made and while it’s fun to interact with the chefs as they work, it’s a little alarming seeing how much butter, oil and cream gets added to each dish. They say ignorance is bliss, but thankfully the taste makes up for it. Staff are friendly and upbeat - our pasta cooker was a bit of a joker, asking how our night was - and the venue has a great relaxed and fun vibe. With bars on both levels, cocktails aren’t far - nor is dessert. At $3.9 a pop, get yourself a jar of cheesecake, tiramisu or panna cotta. You won’t regret it, because Tess, life’s too short not to order dessert.
Wineism has become a fixture of Albion's growing hospitality scene, drawing locals and wine lovers who know exactly why they're here. This is a venue shaped by experience, led by co-owner and sommelier Ian Trinkle, whose career spans some of Australia's most respected dining rooms and wine programs. Before opening Wineism, Trinkle built his reputation working across high-end restaurants, developing the kind of deep tasting knowledge that only comes from years in the industry. That background informs everything at Wineism, from the structure of the wine list to the way guests are guided through it. The focus is on premium wines, thoughtful selection and helping people find what suits their palate, whether they're eager to explore or happy sticking with what they know. Classic expressions sit alongside newer discoveries, with the list shaped by balance rather than fashion. Styles move across regions and varietals, but the focus remains on clarity, structure and wines that speak clearly of where they're from. Education is part of the experience, but never heavy-handed. With a background in teaching wine, Trinkle and his team focus on giving guests the language to understand what's in the glass, without stripping away the romance that makes wine compelling in the first place. That same approach carries through to Wineism's popular WSET courses, which attract both industry newcomers and enthusiastic drinkers keen to build confidence and knowledge in a relaxed setting. Designed to suit its industrial surroundings, Wineism feels confident, polished and welcoming. It's a place to drink well, ask questions if you want to, and enjoy the simple pleasure of a great glass poured by people who genuinely know their stuff.
With apologies to William Shakespeare, all the world isn't just a stage in French farce Murder Party. Instead, it's a game, then another one, then yet another after that. This candy-coloured murder-mystery takes perhaps the ultimate high-concept setup and hones in on a crucial fact: that audiences love whodunnits, whether they're watching them on the screen or reading them on the page, because charting the unravelling details entails sleuthing along. In other words, when we're wondering who killed who in which room and why (and with what weapon), we're playing. The board game Cluedo also nailed this truth, as have murder-mystery parties, plus the increasing array of other interactive shows and events that thrust paying participants into the middle of such puzzle-laden predicaments. And while Murder Party acknowledges this idea in a variety of manners, here's the first and simplest: it's set among a family famed for making best-selling board games themselves. First-time feature writer/director Nicolas Pleskof and his co-scribe Elsa Marpeau (Prof T) kickstart the film with a killer setup: that eccentric crew of relatives, their brightly hued home on a sprawling country estate, an usual task given to a newcomer and, naturally, a sudden passing. Architect Jeanne Chardon-Spitzer (Alice Pol, Labor Day) is asked to pitch a big renovation project to the Daguerre family, transforming their impressive abode so that living there always feels like playing a game (or several). Patriarch César (Eddy Mitchell, The Middleman) already encourages his brood to enjoy their daily existence with that in mind anyway, including dedicating entire days to letting loose and walking, talking and breathing gameplay. But he's looking for a particularly bold next step. He's unimpressed by Jeanne's routine proposal, in fact. Then he drops dead, the property's doors slam shut and a voice over the intercom tells the architect, plus everyone else onsite, to undertake a series of challenges to ascertain the culprit among them — or be murdered themselves. Also thrust into the high-stakes game, which'll dispense with anyone who refuses to take part or guesses incorrectly: César's son Théo (Pablo Pauly, The French Dispatch), daughter Léna (Sarah Stern, Into the World) and nudgingly named youngest boy Hercule (Adrien Guionnet, Le Bazar de la Charité). Yes, sibling rivalry complicates the hypothesising, as well as the attempts to stay alive. Théo is particularly friendly towards workaholic Jeanne, adding another complexity to the already-chaotic situation. Similarly at hand is the dead man's younger wife Salomé (Pascale Arbillot, Haute Couture) — a mystery writer herself — and his no-nonsense offsider sister Joséphine (Miou-Miou, The Last Mercenary). And, because a home this immense was always going to have some help hovering around, butler Armand (Gustave Kervern, Love Song for Tough Guys) gets drawn in, too. If Amelie and Knives Out combined, the end result would look like Murder Party. If Wes Anderson and Agatha Christie joined forces, the outcome would be the same. It's highly unlikely that Pleskof was ever going to call his feature Murder in the Game-Filled Mansion or Death While Rolling the Dice, but that's the overwhelming vibe. There's an escape room element, too — thankfully, though, nodding towards the Escape Room franchise isn't on the agenda. Murder Party's characters get stuck in intricately designed locked spaces and forced to piece together clues to secure their freedom, and are only permitted to remain breathing by keeping their wits about them, but no one's in a horror movie here. There's also a penchant for twists upon twists, including toying with the film's premise. Those zigs and zags are obviously best discovered by watching, but Pleskof and Marpeau know the genre they're diving into — and its tropes, customs and drawcards. They know the kind of flicks they're parodying as well, nodding and winking at everything from Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers to cutesy Gallic comedies. That isn't the same as making the most of their influences, or thoughtfully satirising stereotypical on-screen French quirkiness, however. It doesn't result in a game-changer of a mystery-comedy, either. To Murder Party's misfortune, the small screen has been awash in excellent comic whodunnits in the past year, spanning Only Murders in the Building, The Afterparty and The Resort. If you've seen even just one of those three shows, it'll linger in your mind while watching Jeanne navigate the Daguerre family's mayhem. Still, there's an enticing air to Murder Party's aesthetic, with production designer Jérémy Duchier (Perfumes), art director Jean-Baptiste Rodet (Agatha Christie's Criminal Games) and costume designer Dorothée Guiraud (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) showering the featuring in a rainbow's worth of shining shades. The film colour-codes its characters just as Cluedo always has — in their outfits, rather than their names — and also turns its vibrantly decorated labyrinth of a mansion into the game-playing version of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Visually, Murder Party is exactly what it's meant to be: a sweet treat. And, just like in Roald Dahl's beloved book and the movies that've brought it to the screen, exactly who endures and who gets eliminated is guided by personality, and by riddles and quests that know their players' strengths and weaknesses. Fluffy, flashy, sugary, elaborate — yes, Murder Party is the dessert of whodunnit flicks in several ways. In-depth characterisations aren't a particular murder-mystery strength (see: the recent versions of Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile), but for everyone except Jeanne, the film remains especially light. There's a reason behind that, linked to the plot's biggest twist of all. Still, in the overall puzzle, that's also too much of a telltale sign. Murder Party wants to ponder the fun and escape of moving tokens, shuffling cards, making guesses and other frivolous trivialities, but getting immersed in the sleuthing, and also invested in each character's fate, proves a slipperier and trickier prospect when it's instantly clear that almost everyone is just a pawn.
High tea and gooey cheese. Whatever time of year it happens to be, you'll likely find one of these things on offer at W Brisbane. The CBD venue's resident bar loves serving up both, typically flitting between the two because your tastebuds like variety — and, now that 2023 is in full swing, it's going arty (again) with its current range of tiny bites to eat, cups of tea and optional cocktails. This returning Eat Your Art Out High Tea at Living Room Bar comes with a creative theme, so it definitely isn't your ordinary high tea. Because design is a crucial part of the hotel, you can even paint your own panna cotta — and then eat it, obviously. Other menu items include cherry chocolate profiteroles, chocolate mousse tarts, mousse and lemon myrtle scones, as well as savoury options such as warm confit duck pie, lobster tarts, creamy truffle eggs, vegan scallops, and wagyu beef with pumpernickel and cream avocado. That'll set you back $65 per person, with the Eat Your Art Out high tea on offer from 11am–3pm every Friday–Sunday until Friday, February 26. And if you fancy getting boozy, you can add a welcome champagne or cocktail — the Till Death Do Us Art features gin, rhubarb, egg white, plum bitters and lemon, and the Oh My Goma is a vodka number that comes with an edible art print.
Baby, baby, baby, 2023 is looking better — funnier, too — with the news that one of the best comedies currently being made will return with new episodes. Come Tuesday, May 30, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson will drop six new instalments like coffins drop bodies on Corncob TV hit Coffin Flop. As always, the very real Netflix rather than the extremely fictional Corncob TV will be the place to see comedian and Detroiters star Tim Robinson unfurl his surreal sketch-comedy stylings — a sense of humour that's already gifted viewers hot dog suits, Garfield houses and sloppy steaks. If you've got slicked-back hair and babies know you used to be a piece shit, you'll be keen to see what this sidesplitting sketch comedy series serve up next. Here, literally anything can happen. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson first arrived in 2019 when, on one otherwise normal day, folks sat down on the couch, switched on their televisions, started scrolling through Netflix and came across an instant cult-hit comedy. The best sketch comedy of that year, and one of the best TV shows in general, too, the series' first season was ridiculously easily to binge. You don't even need two hours to get through all six episodes but, once you're done, you'll wish that it went for at least twice as long. When season two arrived in 2021, it was just as phenomenal. Absurd, hilarious, finding gags about a secret excuse to help men explain away pee stains on their pants, plus quite the loud and lurid shirt, and then a daggy hat — that's this series. Absolutely no one excavates, explores and satirises social awkwardness with the gusto, commitment and left-of-centre viewpoint of Robinson, with his skits diving headfirst into uncomfortable and excruciating situations, dwelling there, and letting them fester. It's no wonder that the former Saturday Night Live comic has a hit on his hands. Just try looking away from his flexible face expressions alone. So far, Netflix hasn't spilled exactly what's in store for season three, or dropped a trailer, but it doesn't matter — whatever Robinson unleashes won't be like anything else. Haven't watched the first two seasons yet, and not sure I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson is for you? It is. Robinson has had plenty of recognisable co-stars by his side over the initial two batches of episodes, too — talents such as Sam Richardson (The Afterparty), Will Forte (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), Steven Yeun (Nope), Vanessa Bayer (I Love That for You) and Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul). And, the series also boasts some big names off-screen too, with The Lonely Island (aka Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Andy Samberg and his regular comedy partners Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone) its executive producers. Check out the trailers for I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson season one and two below: I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson's third season will be available to stream via Netflix from Tuesday, May 30. Images: Terence Patrick, Netflix.
Every Brisbanite has caught a CityCat at some point. Since picnic boats started motoring up and down the river, you might've eaten lunch while sailing through the city with your mates, too. And, you could've also pedalled a floating bike along the waterway — because, when it comes to making the most of this River City, there's no shortage of options. The next way to cruise down the Brown Snake comes courtesy of Museum of Brisbane, with the CBD venue launching its own boat tours in late 2021. Those two-hour trips are back for a 2022–23 season, sending you floating past historic landmarks on select Wednesdays and Sundays from Wednesday, November 2 through to Wednesday, May 24 — for $85 per person. Obviously, you won't be hopping onboard at the Museum of Brisbane usual address. Instead, you'll mosey down to the City Botanic Gardens. From there, the Tides of Brisbane boat tours will deep into Brissie history — verbally, not literally, of course. So, you'll hear about important sites, convict-built structures and more, all while soaking in quite the view. The latter is one of the reasons that new ways to hop on the river keep popping up, after all. When it initially launched, this trip because is Museum of Brisbane's first-ever boat tour, following its popular walking options — such as a new public art tour that also started back in 2021.
Although it's impossible for viewers to tell while watching it, as over 7000 handcrafted items that took around 20 different artisans 48 weeks to make bring Memoir of a Snail to glorious life — pieces that were used to animate the film's 310,000 individual movements, too — Adam Elliot's latest feature Memoir of a Snail is the result of compromises. Every movie by every filmmaker is, of course. Existence in general is a series of bargains and trade-offs anyway. But the Australian animator's output is so distinctive, so clearly the product of its guiding force's vision, and so deeply moving in its balance of laughs and darkness, that each one plays like it's been lifted from his brain wholesale. It has almost been three decades since Elliot first made stop-motion magic with 1996's three-minute short Uncle, starting what he's dubbed a trilogy of trilogies. The plan: to make three short shorts, three long shorts and three features, all using his instantly recognisable style of animation. The fondness for brown and grey hues, the hand-moulded appearance of each clump of clay, the intricate character studies that see the ups and downs that life takes us all on: they've all continued through his two other short shorts, 1999's Cousin and 2000's Brother, and then in his lengthier efforts. 2024 marks 21 years since Elliot initially went slightly longer with the 23-minute Harvie Krumpet — and two decades since he earned one of filmmaking's highest and most-coveted honours, taking home the 2004 Academy Award for Best Short Animation. Then, six years later, came his debut feature Mary and Max, which continued adding to what's now a swag of more than 100 career accolades. The 21-minute Ernie Biscuit followed in 2015, but Memoir of a Snail arrives 15 years since Elliot first ticked off that debut full-length effort. It too has been boosting his prizes. Upon its premiere at the prestigious Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France, it was named the fest's Best Feature. At the London Film Festival, it won the event's 2024 official competition. Memoir of a Snail also opened this year's Melbourne International Film Festival — aptly given that Melbourne plays a key part in its early scenes — on its many fest stops around the world. Unsurprisingly, it's been a whirlwind few months for Elliot when he speaks with Concrete Playground about the movie. "I think this is my seventh film and each one feels like a birth. You just want to make sure the baby has all its fingers and toes, and it's a pretty baby, and no one thinks it's ugly. So it's this sort of very precarious nerve-wracking period. It's no different for any other filmmaker. It's stressful for several reasons. It's not just 'will the film work?', but 'will I have a career to continue on with?'," he advises. "But, I have to admit, not that I had low expectations, but our budget was so much lower than Mary and Max — and so we couldn't afford walking, so we had to do the Muppet technique, and there was a lot of compromises. Everybody worked on award rates. So I didn't think it would be as well received as Mary and Max, but it's still early days, but it seems it seems to be getting a better response than Mary and Max." Elliot continues. "I do find the pressure and the expectation with each film gets greater and greater. I mean, you try to block that out. But the reactions are very consistent. France, then Telluride Film Festival, Melbourne Film Festival and Spain, San Sebastian. And even with the language — France and Spain had subtitling — most of the jokes, excluding Chiko rolls, most of the jokes were understood. So that's a big relief. I think the word 'relief' is probably the word I've been using the most for the last couple of months." With Succession star Sarah Snook leading the cast — and Eric Bana (Force of Nature: The Dry 2), Tony Armstrong (Tony Armstrong's Extra-Ordinary Things), Nick Cave (The Electrical Life of Louis Wain) and Magda Szubanski (After the Trial) among the others loaning their voices — Memoir of a Snail tells another of Elliot's outsider tales, focusing on the lonely Grace Pudel. The film unfurls as Grace's reflection upon her life, from her childhood in Melbourne with her fire-obsessed twin brother Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee, Disclaimer) and their widowed father Percy (French actor Dominique Pinon, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon) onwards, as told to a snail named Sylvia. The movie's protagonist has long loved garden molluscs, literally wearing her love for them on her head. She's also largely been happy in her shell, until she meets and befriends the elderly Pinky (Jacki Weaver, Hello Tomorrow!). Elliot coined the term 'clayography' to describe his films, which use his preferred medium to unpack rich stories about his chosen characters — figures that spring from real-life tidbits gleaned from a lifetime love of observing others. The folks in his frames are as detailed and idiosyncratic as anyone living and breathing, and his movies have always proven deeply resonant as a result. We also chatted with the writer/director about his process of building characters, and finding that mix of humour and heart. Similarly part of our discussion: Elliot's initial animation and filmmaking dream, the path to Memoir of a Snail, his approach to writing, casting the movie and more. On Elliot's Initial Animation and Filmmaking Dream — and How Everything That's Come Since Stacks Up Against It "Well, certainly an Oscar was never even in the realm of something I thought would happen, mainly because I thought my films were too arthouse or boutique, or for adults. I never have had a strong long-term ambition. I did come up with this pretentious idea of doing a trilogy of trilogies: three short shorts, three long shorts and three features. I never thought I'd be up to number seven, so I've really only got two left and then I can die. I think I was very surprised at how universal the films have become, and that they haven't really dated. I still get people who have seen Harvie Krumpet for the first time sending me emails. And I'm constantly aware of and surprised by how people's suspension of disbelief, how they really do invest themselves in these plasticine blobs. It's hard for me to be objective. I've got a friend who's a GP and she just can't watch animation. She can't pretend to believe these characters are real. I think it's quite humbling to know that people really do give over to the characters and their stories. I thought at this point in my career that maybe stop-motion would be an artform that had disappeared. I was told that when I was at film school — I was told that stop motion was a dying artform and CGI would kill it, but the opposite has happened. Stop-motion is going through a bit of a renaissance or a golden period, and there's a lot of reasons for that, but it's alive." On the Path to Memoir of a Snail "I don't want to refer to Woody Allen, but I will. I've always liked his methodology of just finishing one and going straight into the other, and not getting caught up in the hype and the buzz. And, of course, you have to do promotion as an auteur. And you are part of the marketing campaign and strategy by Madman and the distributors and sales agents. But I'm thinking to the next film, and you've got to practice what you're preaching. In Memoir of a Snail, I'm always talking about moving forwards, moving forwards — and it's literally back to the drawing board. I'm starting to think about the next characters. What are they going to look like? And more so narrative and the story and what type of film I want to do next. I'm one of those lucky few filmmakers who hasn't had to revert to TV commercials or TV series or other forms. I've been very lucky that Screen Australia and the state funding bodies, VicScreen here, perpetually fund me. I know I'm lucky. And I know we're lucky in Australia, even having government support. So, I remind myself that quite often. Having said that, I'm always prepared to criticise the funding bodies because I think they could be doing more. I'm very annoyed they no longer fund short films. I do also worry, just quickly, that each film has a lot of references to previous films I've made, and there's a lot of repeated motifs I bring back. And I do start to worry my films are becoming formulaic and repetitive. I know somebody in IMDb posted a comment 'Adam Elliot's films are all the same'. They're right." On Elliot's Entry Point Into His Films and Approach to Making Each One Stand Out From the Rest "I do start each screenplay, I have to wait until I'm agitated by something or frustrated or extremely curious. And this film, I was going through the death of my father, the grieving process, and also getting rid of all his stuff. He had three sheds full of stuff, so I became fascinated by that. So I do a lot of research. I'm a very slow writer and I have to be enthused and driven by something. I can't just force myself to sit down and write. And sometimes it takes a few years. But when I do start the writing process, I really do become obsessed with it, and I love rewriting and writing. I mean, I could just do endless drafts. I never really ever want to start making the film. I just want to keep writing. I try to create films that I don't see and that deal with subject matter you don't see. And not that I'm trying to shock or deal with taboo subject matter, I just feel that there's things — there shouldn't be rules to animation. I don't want to offend, but I get annoyed when people think that animation is a genre. It's not, it's a medium. There was someone in the audience last night, who was talking about 'oh this film's not for the young children'. The onus is not on me. The onus is on the parents. The film's rated M. And I never get this problem in France and Germany, when I go. They have a long history of adult animation, particularly in countries like Estonia and the Czech Republic, there's a lot of surrealist animation. I think it's a job of a writer and a director to push the boundaries and push themselves. I'm very self-conscious of not just becoming stale. And if the artform of stop-motion has got to survive, it's got to move beyond Wallace and Gromit. It's got to move beyond family-friendly. And there's certainly many other stop-motion artists out there who would love to sink their teeth into an adult animation or an abstract stop-motion film, or an experimental. But of course, the thing that prohibits all this is money. It's a very slow, therefore very expensive art form. And again, I'm one of the lucky few who — every year, there's probably only three or four stop-motion features made. There's only been three in the history of Australian cinema and I made one of the others, Mary and Max. So we're very, very rare." On Finding Inspiration for His Characters in Real Life "I'm self-diagnosed OCD. I haven't had a clinical diagnosis, but I know I am. I'm very, very, extremely neat, and I obsess about detail. And I start with the detail and work backwards. So I don't worry about the three-act structure and the plot and the narrative until much later. I just gather all my ingredients — and I have very detailed notebooks going back decades. I collect quotes, I collect names, I collect sounds, I collect smells. I'm a hoarder of words, I suppose. And I just love going over my notes, and there's so many that I've forgotten that I've written. I also have very long descriptions of people I've just seen on the street. And I invent stories. I write poetry. I went through a period during COVID where I would write a poem every morning before nine o'clock. And so if I ever lost these journals, I wouldn't know what to do because they're my recipe books. It's where I get all my ingredients. I love observing people. I'm always staring at people on public transport. Even today, on the plane, I got caught staring at someone, so I'll probably get arrested, too. 'Why are they wearing those shoes? Why did they choose those earrings? I wonder what their backstory is.' I love backstories. Pinky has this whole backstory that no one will ever know about. It's mentioned briefly in the film, but to create very dimensional characters, I think you really have to go into every layer and dimension of them — because I'm aiming to create authenticity and believable characters. To give them dimension, you have to give them incongruities and contradictions. And it's not a matter of just pinning the character full of all these quirks. They have to be human. They have to have contrast and contradictions. So I'm certainly character-driven more than I am plot- and narrative-driven. On Elliot's Casting Process, Knowing Sarah Snook Was Perfect for Grace and Getting Lucky with Tony Armstrong "Well, I collect voices as well. So I have long lists of people who I think have fantastic voices for animation, or I might be able to use in the future. So I had listened to Sarah's voice, one of her early films, These Final Hours, when she was just starting out. There was the quality I loved. There was a quietness and vulnerability about her voice. So she was in my head very early on. But I did then listen to the Blanchetts and the Kidmans and the Wilsons and all the others, but none of them really ticked the boxes that Sarah did. But there's always a danger, too, that you might have this fantastic voice and then the animators do some lovely animation, and you marry them together and it just doesn't gel for generally an unknown reason. A good example is the very first Paddington film, five or ten years ago, was originally going to be Colin Firth. And they paid him. They cast him and they put his voice to the animation, and it didn't work. So they had to let him go and then in the end, they got Ben Whishaw — and he works beautifully as Paddington. So you never know. And you certainly don't want to have to tell an actor 'sorry, your voice doesn't work'. But I'm very intuitive and I also love non-actors. I do like getting people who — for example, Tony Armstrong, we'd already animated Ken, and I just couldn't find the person I wanted to voice Ken. And then I was watching ABC News Breakfast and Tony came on. And not only did he look like Ken, but he had that bass to his voice, that suaveness. And I thought 'oooh, I wonder if he can act?'. So we got in touch. And my gut instinct was actually he'd work. And it did. But sometimes you can get it wrong. And also, too, with casting, they're not the actors — the actors are the animators. I always remind the actors — I call them my voice, they're loaning us their voices, really, that's what they're doing. And they get paid a lot of money for only a few hours work. So you've got to make sure when they're in the studio, you get exactly what you want. So I do work my actors, my voice talent, quite hard, and we do many, many takes." On Filling Out Memoir of a Snail's Voices with an Australian Who's Who "It ends up being quite eclectic, and luckily we don't have to cast everybody upfront. So we only cast the voices where there's lip-sync. So it's quite leisurely in a way. My producer and I, Liz [Kearney, Sweet As], had a lot of time to go through every casting book and listen to every voice. We listened to everybody from Jimmy Barnes through to politicians. Then in the end, I did some of the voices, Liz did a voice. It's just a lot of experimentation, actually — a lot of just closing your eyes and listening, and watching some clips of animation. Certainly we got our dream cast, I have to be honest. We got pretty much everyone we wanted and thankfully it all worked out. But as I say, it's risky, and sometimes it goes pear-shaped." On Balancing Lightness, Laughs and Hope with Melancholy and Tragedy to Make Audiences Both Laugh and Cry "It's the thing that keeps me awake at night, is the balance, and it has been from day one. I often think 'gee, Adam, why don't why you just doing children's TV?' or 'why are you doing something like Bluey?'. Although Bluey has wonderful darkness at times as well, and is very clever. But yes, it is a balancing act and you don't want to depress the audience. I read somewhere, someone, I think it was on Letterboxd or somewhere, said 'Adam's films are all trauma porn'. And I thought 'oh gee, maybe they are'. I'd hate for my films to be called bleak. There's a lot of bleak Australian cinema. I do try to instil moments that are uplifting — and particularly my endings, I really want the audience to come out of the cinema feeling satisfied and relieved. They might be melancholic. I love that Victor Hugo quote that melancholy is the happiness of being sad. And I wouldn't say my films are sad films, they're melancholic at times, but ultimately I'm trying for them to be life-affirming and uplifting and soulful. A word I use a lot is 'nourishing'. I really want to nourish the audience. What's that horrible quote? Chicken soup for the soul. I think that's what I'm ultimately trying to do, it's empathy, that I'm trying to get the audience to put themselves in my characters' shoes and understand what it's like to be someone with a cleft palate. Or someone who, with Mary and Max, somebody who has Asperger's syndrome, who's being bullied and teased. Bullying and teasing is something that is a thread that goes through all my films, and that's because I was bullied and teased. And in some ways, my films are not revenge but they say to the bullies 'what you do is incredibly hurtful and destructive, and there's a whole lot of us out there who've had to carry this with us our whole lives and deal with it, suffer the consequences'. And I think there's so much animation out there doing other things, pure entertainment. I don't like getting lumped in with adult animation such as South Park and Family Guy. They are adult, but they're different, they're not trying to do the same things I'm trying to do. I do feel often very alone with what I'm doing. I'm surprised there aren't more people doing what I'm doing. I think there's certainly a demographic out there. There's certainly people who really connect with the works. I often get emails — I got an email the other day from a woman who has a cleft palate saying it's the first film she's ever seen that dealt with someone having a cleft palate with sensitivity and truthfulness. So you realise as a director and a writer that you have a degree of responsibility, and that films and cinema, they have a longevity, but they also can have an impact. I wouldn't say we save people's lives. I wouldn't go that far. But it's taken me a long while to fully understand that you can have an impact, and so you better be very mindful of that and be careful what you say." Memoir of a Snail opened in Australian cinemas on Thursday, October 17, 2024.
Think that there's a difference between a cafe and a food truck? Think again. Kith 'n' Chow combines the best of both worlds, parking their mobile eatery in Mount Gravatt, settling in for the long haul and serving up breakfast, brunch and brekkie for lunch every Wednesday to Sunday. On Gaynesford Street, the laidback mood of meals on wheels bunkers down in one permanent location, complete with a funky garden, handmade seats made from pallets and plenty of umbrellas for your shady outdoor eating pleasure. And if the idea, vibe and furniture have already won you over, wait until you see the menu. Kith's eponymous platter for two is the main attraction — and one of the best value shared breakfasts you're likely to find across the city. Grab a friend, feast on sourdough, bacon, haloumi, tomatoes, mushrooms, fresh greens, fried eggs, smoked salmon, Greek yoghurt and housemade granola, and start the day in one of the tastiest ways imaginable. For those dining solo, we'd recommend the breakfast bruschetta — because everyone wants to devour an early morning twist on a classic antipasto dish. Drinks-wise, you'll find four juices and six smoothies to choose from, including the P.Nutter. No prizes for guessing what's in it.
Rare is the venue that can cater to all moods, whether you feel like getting cosy in dark surroundings over a lavish meal with your nearest and dearest — or you'd prefer to greet the sun, or the stars once evening hits, while enjoying drinks with the sky as your ceiling. Now open on St Paul's Terrace, Soko Rooftop covers both options, all 14 floors above Fortitude Valley. As first announced back in August, but welcoming in patrons since Friday, November 11, this Brisbane newcomer also combines two other things: Peruvian and Japanese cuisine. Here, you'l find a menu that takes dishes, ingredients and techniques from each. Also on offer: a cocktail menu spanning 40-plus flavours of pisco sours, including a heavy focus sake and yuzu. Edamame, grilled Japanese shishito peppers, and hot and cold sashimi tuna sit on the small-plate selection alongside Latin street corn, tuna with jalapeno on crispy rice and kingfish with salsa, just to get the menu started. There's also a dedicated ceviche and cured fish section — complete with sea bass, yellowfin tuna, sea bream, salmon, red snapper and marinated prawn options — and two types of bao. The mains are designed to share, including slow-roasted chorizo in banana leaves, Peruvian sauteed wagyu, and a wok dish with octopus, shrimp and mussels. Diners can tuck into yakitori and sushi, too, and pair their meal with vino. From Monday–Friday, there's also a must-try business lunch, with three different multi-course choices. Each one starts with miso soup and includes your choice of donburi set. From there, you can add a small plate as well, plus ice cream or sorbet for dessert. Perched on Jubilee Place's highest level — aka atop the new building above the Jubilee Hotel — Soko clearly isn't doing things by halves. It can host 500 patrons, either amid its South American-inspired interior decor or beneath striped umbrellas outside. In both spaces, greenery is a big feature. And, naturally, the outdoor area offers scenic views over the city. Latin music, Latin dancers and bongo players provide the venue's entertainment, which is set to be as sizeable a drawcard as the obviously impressive vistas. And if you're the kind of person who can't stop moving up in the world — taking every opportunity to see whichever city you're in from towering heights, that is — then you'll understand why one Brisbane hospitality crew keeps being drawn to rooftop bars, including this one. Earlier in 2022, Icatha Hospitality's Ross Ledingham launched Lina Rooftop, which soars over South Brisbane. Now, with Evita's ex-head chef David Hernandez, he's added Soko to the Valley skyline. Find Soko Rooftop on the 14th floor at Jubilee Place, 470 St Paul's Terrace, Fortitude Valley from early November — open 12pm–3pm Monday–Thursday for lunch, 5pm–late Wednesday–Thursday for dinner, and 11am–late Friday–Sunday.
A relative newcomer to the Port Douglas restaurant scene, Melaleuca is the culmination of award-winning chef Adam Ion's nine years spent cooking in the area. The eatery is open from 3pm every day with a snack menu on offer — think oysters, ploughman's boards and fresh prawns — which you can enjoy al fresco in the courtyard under a canopy of mango trees. After dark, the focus shifts to the a la carte menu. The venue pegs itself as modern Australian but there are clear nods to Asian cuisines — Ion's wife is from Korea — in the spices and sauces that air paired with local ingredients.
Here's a cheap way to update your wardrobe, as long as you're so fond of ALDI that you're keen to show your love via your outfit. Already a go-to for budget-friendly groceries, snow gear and whatever other specials that it can rustle up, the supermarket chain started its own streetwear collection in 2024, and that move proved a hit. Accordingly, you can now get excited about decking yourself out in the company's 2025 range. Selling clothes wasn't new for the chain when the ALDImania collection initially debuted, as everyone who regularly trawls its middle aisles will be well-aware, but this was the first time that the brand released its own ALDI threads. Those pieces sold out, so 2025's collection is even bigger. Everything still comes cheap, though, clocking in at under $20. Available from ALDI stores from Wednesday, April 9, 2025, the new range features 29 pieces. ALDI-branded hoodies, track pants, sneakers, socks and beanies are back, as are sweatshirts, t-shirts, bucket hats and caps. You can also get ALDI clogs this time around. For some items, there's also multiple colours available, with grey, back and white the 2025 lineup's base hues. Both types of shoes come in two styles, as do the t-shirts. For little ALDI fans, kids' sweatshirts and track pants are also on offer. Again made from sustainably sourced or recycled materials, the collection starts at $4.99 cost-wise, which'll get you a pair of socks. The most you'll pay is $19.99 for the sneakers. In-between those maximums and minimums, hoodies will set you back $14.99, beanies and bucket hats $7.99 each, clogs are the same price, and tees $8.99. If you'd like a compact umbrella (in three designs) or a double-walled insulated mug (in four designs), they help round out the collection. ALDI's 2025 streetwear range will hit the chain's supermarkets around Australia from Wednesday, April 9. Visit the ALDI website for more details.
When a new brewery opens in Brisbane that shares part of its moniker with Queensland's nickname, it's clearly happy to get playful. At Little Miss Sunshine, that's the vibe. First announced in mid-July 2024 and now welcoming in patrons in the River City, this addition to Ann Street is a bistro, too, pouring brews and serving up Sunshine State-inspired cuisine from the back of the ground floor of an office building. From Milton to West End, Woolloongabba to Morningside and Fortitude Valley to Newstead, it isn't hard to find a brewery in Brisbane's inner-city suburbs and their surrounding locales. River City drinkers are spoiled for choice, in fact. Maybe it's thanks to the yeast and hops smell that's long lingered over the inner west courtesy of the XXXX factory, but this beer-loving town has never been one to say no to more breweries, especially over the past decade. Brissie loves new spots making beer as much as new bridges — so opening a brewery in this area of town feels like an inevitability. Whether you're keen to drop in for after-work drinks, lunch, dinner or anything in-between, Little Miss Sunshine sports a choice of both indoor and outdoor seating — and, yes, a sunny yellow hue features heavily, with light-coloured timber to match. Wherever you choose to say cheers, 28 taps have your tips taken care of, complete with both house-brewed tipples, including small-batch sips, alongside favourites from elsewhere picked by the team. On the menu, Moreton Bay bug spaghetti, a wagyu cheeseburger with lettuce from the Sunshine Coast, harissa roasted sweet potato salad with Toowoomba-grown spinach and a sirloin served with Lockyer Valley broccolini are just a few examples of Little Miss Sunshine's Queensland-leaning culinary options. Haloumi skewers, beer-battered barramundi, wings, lamb kofta, and beef and chicken shawarma also feature, as the food lineup additionally takes some inspiration from the Mediterranean. Hitting up Little Miss Sunshine means catching live tunes as well, all in a space that you've probably walked past countless times — especially if you work in the CBD — without considering that a brewery could one day live there. The folks behind it: RMS Group, which also has fellow inner-city haunts Isles Lane Bar & Kitchen, Fig & Olive Bar Bistro, Hellcat Maggie Laneway Bar & Kitchen and The Grove Rooftop Event Space to its name. Find Little Miss Sunshine at 80 Ann Street, Brisbane — operating 10am–9pm Monday–Wednesday and 10–12am Thursday–Friday. Head to the venue's website, Facebook and Instagram in the interim. Images: Markus Ravik.
Hoping for an ace bottle of plonk in your stocking this year? Eager for a glass of red, wine or rose to give your cheeks an extra-merry glow? Need a top tipple to go with lunch? Whatever your vino requirements, The Wine Room's Christmas Wine Fair has you covered — complete with free wine tastings. It's the Ashgrove establishment's largest get-together for the year, taking place over December 9 and 10, and they're making it count. In fact, there'll be over 70 types of grape-made beverages available to sample. And the best part? Like entry, getting a sip is absolutely free. How else will you know which wine goes best with a festive feast? Or which drinks you can enjoy all Christmas day? To help, there'll also be experts on hand to answer your questions, plus specials so you can stock up on your favourites. We'll say cheers to that.
Anyone with a curious impulse in their heart and a phone in their hand can eat well on holiday. But to eat great? For that, you'll need to do a bit of prep and make some bookings at these pilgrimage-worthy restaurants on NZ's South Island. They've made their name on farm-to-table feasting, seafood that's travelled basically a negative number of food miles and foraging in fields home to hobbits and elves. People want in. The South Island is full of mountains to climb, artsy small cities to explore, glassy lakes to gawp at — all perfect ways to work up and appetite for these culinary experiences and then the perfect diversions while you digest the meal of the year. [caption id="attachment_687223" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rodney F.[/caption] FLEUR'S PLACE Fleur's Place is a beautiful fishing shed turned cosy restaurant tucked away in the seaside village of Moeraki, right on the waterfront at the old jetty. This little gem is not to be missed if you're a fan of the freshest catches out of the sea. Fleur's showcases the best of New Zealand produce with signature dishes such as green-lipped mussel pots, hearty seafood soup, fish (literally caught and delivered straight off the boat to the back kitchen of Fleur's) and, if you're lucky, some rare finds such as abalone. Fleur's gets incredibly busy, so it's best to book a table before you go. Really there's nothing that beats eating fresh seafood while watching the waves hitting the shores of Moeraki. It's also around a ten-minute drive from the world-famous Moeraki Boulders, so why not kill two fish with one stone. 169 Haven Street, Moeraki. RIVERSTONE KITCHEN While Oamaru might be known for its blue penguins and steampunk, it also serves amazing food that attracts connoisseurs from all around the world via Riverstone Kitchen. After rising through the ranks of illustrious London kitchens and serving as head chef at Brisbane's E'cco Bistro, Bevan Smith came here and opened up shop on his family's farm with wife Monique in a remote patch of NZ countryside. Now, it's a pilgrimage site, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As is right, given the set-up, the ingredients that start in these fields end up in the restaurant's dishes (which in turn end up in the kitchen's renowned recipe books). Meat comes courtesy of the neighbours. Try the dreamy cheese soufflé ($22) paired with apple and hazelnut salad or a venison massaman curry with roast cauliflower, peanuts and crispy shallots ($36). 1431 State Highway 1, Oamaru. GATHERINGS After working on an organic vegetable farm in North Canterbury, chef Alex Davies launched the Gatherings pop-up concept where the food he cooked represented a taste of the region, the time and place. The concept has since evolved into a permanent restaurant and living wine bar focusing on sustainable, local and seasonal cuisine. The overarching theme is to highlight the connection of what we eat and the planet that we live on. From its original plant-based tasting menu, Gatherings has pivoted towards family-style eating — and introduced sustainably-caught fish in the process. The takeaway 'Fish Supper' was introduced post-COVID-19 lockdown as a way to keep the wheels in motion. The concept has now become the restaurant's main offering, as a more affordable option for the community in trying times and to allow diners to feast as a family or friend unit. Southland's Gravity Fishing supplies the catch to order (and nothing more), which means that repeat diners will likely have an entirely different experience every visit. Diners have the option to order a whole fish for the table and buy smaller Canterbury-centric dishes around it. 5/2 Papanui Road, Merivale, Christchurch. AMISFIELD Located in Central Otago, Amisfield is a specialist producer of pinot noir and aromatic white wines, with a two-hatted bistro on-site. Basically, it's your one-stop portal to a world of amazing wine and food. Your meal unfurls by way of a 'trust the chef' degustation menu of three to seven courses ($140, $60 for matching wines), stopping off at the likes of titi (muttonbird) with seaweed and konini berries and hidden truffles in edible soil. The hyper-seasonal menu is the work of executive chef Vaughan Mabee, who earned his stripes working at Danish restaurant Noma. Another factor giving Amisfield its edge? Mabee works with a dedicated forager, who helps keep his stores packed with little-known local ingredients that invigorate the cooking each night. Amisfield provides the ultimate gastronomic experience against probably one of the most beautiful backdrops in New Zealand. Bookings are essential. 10 Arrowtown-Lake Hayes Road, Frankton, Queenstown. ARBOUR The philosophy of Arbour is "eat, sip, gather". It's a modern and elegant restaurant that champions local produce in its carefully crafted three-, four- or seven-course offering ($79–99). Diners can get an authentic taste of the region through fresh and simple ingredients that are married together in creative ways. So you'll see beef sirloin cooked with parsnip and smoked potato dumpling; john dory smoked and paired with leek, black truffle and 63-degree egg; and corn 'porridge' with various alliums, hazelnut and bacon. Here in the colder months? Head indoors, where Arbour has a 'prep bench' experience ($139 per person) that offers you the seven-course tasting menu, along with the dinner theatre of watching the kitchen in full flight. You'll want to catch owner-operators Bradley Hornby and Liz Buttimore in action — the latter is 2017 Cuisine Good Food Awards Restaurant Personality of the Year, after all. 36 Godfrey Road, Fairhall, Blenheim. Start planning your trip to New Zealand's south with our guide to the South Island journeys to take here.
UPDATE, July 9, 2021: The Farewell is available to stream via Netflix, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Ask someone how'd they prefer to shuffle off this mortal coil, and you'll likely receive the most cliched of answers: to pass peacefully in their sleep. That's certainly better than any alternative (other than somehow managing to live forever), although it's rarely realistic. Still, if you could give a loved one that gift, sparing them the pain of knowing that the end was near, would you? If they were diagnosed with terminal cancer, had mere months or weeks left to live, and invasive medical treatment would only cloud their remaining days, is it better to let them carry on blissfully unaware? Whether such choices are tender mercies or rob one's nearest and dearest of the chance to say goodbye sits at the heart of The Farewell, a sensitive and stirring drama set within a culture where keeping impending death from the unwell is commonplace. Drawing deeply on her own experience, writer-director Lulu Wang also uses this complicated issue as fuel to contemplate identity, belonging, tradition and cultural displacement. Born in China and raised in New York, Billi (Awkwafina) is firmly ensconced in the Big Apple. An aspiring writer, she's constantly hoping for grants to fund her work, is perennially behind on her rent and largely relies on credit cards to get by. But when her father Haiyan (Tzi Ma) and mother Jian (Diana Lin) deliver the news that her beloved paternal grandmother, Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen), has stage four lung cancer, Billi is determined to journey back to China — even when her parents advise her not to go. She's conflicted, however, about her family's decision not to tell their mentally spritely, physically ailing matriarch about her condition. Instead, they're all making the trip under an elaborate cover story, rushing Billi's cousin Hao Hao (Chen Han) to marry his Japanese girlfriend Aiko (Aoi Mizuhara). Such subterfuge is standard in her homeland ("when people get cancer, they die," the Chinese saying goes, referring to the impact such an illness can have on one's will to live), but it rubs against the western sensibilities that've been instilled in Billi since moving to America. One of Wang's most affecting and astute moves, of which there are many, is to task her cast with conveying this moral and emotional dilemma in their every expression and movement. In an intuitive portrayal that's worlds away from her scene-stealing, over-the-top turn in last year's Crazy Rich Asians, Awkwafina lives, breathes and wears Billi's internal turmoil. When the character is plastering on the happiest face she can to hide the truth from Nai Nai, her hunched shoulders reveal her pain. When she's trying to have a quiet, genuine moment with the woman she knows will soon be gone — a vibrant, irrepressibly bossy old lady who bustles about like a near-unstoppable force of nature — sorrow lingers in her eyes. This isn't just Billi's burden, but one shared even by those who support the decision to keep Nai Nai in the dark, sparking stellar performances across the board. Guilt and regret seeps from recognisable Chinese American star Ma (Wu Assassins), playing the son who travelled across the globe to pursue a better life. Chinese Australian actor Lin (The Family Law) tussles with Jian's own difficulties, caught as she is between a crumbling husband and an angry daughter. And as Hao Hao, Han may barely utter more than a few sentences as he endeavours to contain his sadness, but he's always a tense ball of visible discomfort. Favouring the same approach in all facets of the film, Wang styles The Farewell with naturalism at the fore. Dialogue flows freely, often from Nai Nai as she snaps out wedding plans and comments on Billi's appearance as a grandmother is known to, but a picture truly speaks a thousand words here. Collaborating with cinematographer Anna Franquesa Solano, the sophomore filmmaker tells her tale free from any rose-coloured fondness. This is a warm movie, however it steadfastly depicts its central situation, setting and struggle as they are. In practical terms, that means realism and nuance — Billi and her family exist within the film's Changchun locale, and its day-to-day minutiae is baked into every scene, and yet her visiting protagonist doesn't play tourist, for example. The same description applies to the movie's handling of its illness storyline, which is never squeezed for easy sentiment or used as weepie fodder. Wang also finds the right balance between organic humour and earnest emotion, never overstating one or the other — a tactic that particularly resonates when Billi begins to question the existence she was given in America, as well as the links to her broader family and heritage she feels it has robbed her of. All of these choices reinforce The Farewell's takeaway message: that in life and death alike, there is no simple path. There are no clear-cut answers, either, including when you're tossing up whether to tell someone they're dying or keep that knowledge from them. Far from treating these notions as obvious, Wang navigates the many complexities that prove her point with a lived-in maturity. She has literally been there, seen that and emerged to tell the tale, after all. As a result, what could've been a straightforward tearjerker in other hands benefits from her personal and poignant touch, and never heads down the blatant route. This is a subtle, thoughtful and heartfelt film that serves up a continual array of surprises — the kind that can and do get thrown in everyone's way, because that's what grappling with life's ups, downs, comings and goings is like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0yh_ZIqq0c
Every three years, Brisbane plays host to the best art from the Asia Pacific region. If it's innovative, creative and highlights the exceptional endeavours made locally, nationally and in our neighbouring nations, you'll find it at the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art. In 2015, the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art's flagship free event is bigger and better than ever, with the role of performance in recent art — as seen in live action, video, kinetic art, figurative painting and sculpture — its focus. Pieces by over 80 artists from more than 30 countries explore the use of the human form and the role of practitioners in crafting work that conveys cultural, social and political ideas specific to their countries. Featuring efforts from Mongolia, Nepal, the Kyrgyz Republic, Iraq and Georgia will be included for the first time, it's no wonder APT8 has become the world’s largest exhibition focused on art from Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In fact, this year's lineup is so vast that it spans both galleries. It also boasts a bustling program of talks, discussion panels, tours and performances, particularly over the opening weekend of November 21 and 22. Image: Anida Yoeu Ali, Cambodia/USA b.1974 / The Buddhist Bug, Into the Night (still) 2015 / 2-channel HD video projection, 7:00 minutes (looped), colour, sound, ed. of 5 / A project of Studio Revolt. Concept and performance: AnidaYoeu Ali; Video: Masahiro Sugano / Commissioned for APT8. The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art. Purchased 2015 with funds from Michael Sidney Myer through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery / © The artist.
Splendour in the Grass is back this July, but not as we know it. The blockbuster Byron Bay music festival is packing its bags and road tripping down to Sydney to launch a new nine-day festival at the city's Overseas Passenger Terminal. Splendour in the City will run from Saturday, July 10–Sunday, July 18 in the lead up to Splendour's virtual festival Splendour XR, which will kick off the following week. Across the lineup, music fans will find an array of beloved Australian artists — plus two stacked nights of stand-up comedy and a whole heap of extras that are aiming to recreate as much of the OG Splendour in the Grass experience as possible. While you won't get caught knee-deep in mud or have to climb North Byron Parklands' heartbreak hill to reach the main stage, you'll still find art installations, a range of dining options and food trucks, specialty bars from the likes of The Winery and The Strummer Bar, markets, a Little Splendour kids program and a VR pop-up at Splendour in the City. Taking over the 900-person Customs Hall and 400-person Cargo Hall, the lineup ranges from Splendour in the Grass mainstays such as Violent Soho, Illy, Vera Blue, Dune Rats and Tash Sultana to fresher faces like Spacey Jane, Masked Wolf, Ziggy Ramo and Triple One. Some local Sydney and Wollongong artists will also be popping up including Big Twisty, A.Girl and The Lazy Eyes — with the latter launching their second EP at the festival. Then, across at the Comedy Club, you'll find the likes of Nazeem Hussein, Nikki Britton, Tom Ballard, Nath Valvo and Triple J's Michael Hing and Lewis Hobba. 2021 will be the second year in a row that Splendour in the Grass won't welcome patrons come July. The full-sized Byron Bay edition of the music festival is currently scheduled for November with headliners Tyler the Creator, The Strokes and Gorillaz; however, that's reliant upon COVID-19 restrictions allowing the event to take place. [caption id="attachment_788985" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ocean Alley[/caption] SPLENDOUR IN THE CITY Customs Hall Saturday, July 10 — Spacey Jane Sunday, July 11 — Tash Sultana Wednesday, July 14 — Ocean Alley and Clews Thursday, July 15 — Illy, Masked Wolf and A.Girl Friday, July 16 — Running Touch Saturday, July 17 — Vera Blue and Cxloe Sunday, July 18 — Violent Soho Cargo Hall Saturday, July 10 — Nikki Britton, Tom Ballard, Michael Hing and more Sunday, July 11 — Nazeem Hussein, Nath Valvo, Lewis Hobba and more Monday, July 12 — Big Twisty and the Funknasty Wednesday, July 14 — The Southern River Band and Vast Hill Thursday, July 15 — Ziggy Ramo and Alice Skye Friday, July 16 — Triple One Saturday, July 17 (Early) — The Lazy Eyes Saturday, July 17 (Late) — Ebony Boadu Presents Sunday, July 18 — Dune Rats and Totty Splendour in the City will run from Saturday, July 10–Sunday, July 18 at Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday, June 18.
If you're looking for a city break with a difference, head to a place where urban creativity meets Indigenous bush-tucker gardens meets a riverside retreat. That place is Parramatta, Sydney's city outside of the city, just 25 kilometres west of the CBD. In winter, a weekend in these parts means wandering along the Parramatta riverfront, feasting on authentic international food, strolling the Aboriginal Landscape Trail and drinking creative cocktails. Skip the traffic by catching a train or ferry — or better yet, book yourself into one of the AccorHotels nearby, and get stuck into the soul-nourishing activities below. EAT AND DRINK For one of the best brekkies in town, claim a table on Circa Espresso's sunny terrace — or the lamp-lit, book-filled back room. Among the Middle Eastern-inspired offerings are Ottoman eggs with crumbed eggplant, garlic labneh, burnt chilli, sage butter and seeded sourdough. The coffee is roasted in small batches: choose from Three Ropes — a buttery, chocolatey blend of Colombian, Guatemalan and Peruvian beans — or a single origin. Other spots for a good morning brew and bite are White Henry Espresso, tucked away in Fire Horse Lane, and country farmhouse-esque Paper Plane, which serves up Little Marionette coffee. Come lunch or dinner time, head to hybrid eatery-retail space Butter. Yep, this is the sibling of the Surry Hills original, but it's twice the size. Stay downstairs for fried chicken, Champagne and hip-hop; head upstairs for sneakers, hoodies, caps, socks and bags. Another couple of inner-city favourites to have set up digs in Parramatta are BL Burgers and Neil Perry's Burger Project. For a more local experience, try dining at Temasek. Prepare to queue for a table: foodies pack out this friendly, no-frills eatery for excellent Malaysian and Singaporean dishes, from laksa to nasi goreng. Meanwhile, just one train station — or five minutes' drive — away is Harris Park's cornucopia of Indian restaurants, where Chatkazz does tasty, affordable, vegetarian street food and Not Just Curries an array of regional dishes from all over India. Or, for something fancier, head to 350 Restaurant and Bar, the refined offering within the Novotel Parramatta Sydney, for a three-parter of blue swimmer crab with sweet corn veloute, Cape Grim beef cheeks and Frangelico panna cotta. It's recently nabbed a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, which goes to the spots with the top user reviewers. A couple of sweet spots for pre-dinner bevvies are ALEX&Co., whose cocktail bar overlooks Parramatta River, and the Riverside Brewing Company, which offers an ideal winter beer in the chocolatey Eighty-Eight Robust Porter. Note that the cellar door is only open Friday and Saturday, 2pm—6pm. After dinner, swing by Uncle Kurt's, a street-art-plastered small bar hidden away in a car park that feels as though it's straight out of Brooklyn and where head bartender Alex Colman makes every cocktail from scratch. Among his winter-friendly signature creations is the Westside, a heartening concoction of kaffir lime leaf-infused gin, yellow chartreuse, citrus, sugar snap peas, honey and ginger. DO Parramatta knows how to throw a festival just as well as the Sydney CBD. Coming up from October 9–12 is Parramatta Lanes, which takes over the area's laneways, plazas and hidden nooks. Roam the night and you might stumble across bands, street eats, pop-up bars, projections, glowing sculptures and interactive art installations. Before or after, book a ticket to a show at Riverside Theatres — the diverse program features everything from political satire to orchestral performances. During the day, Parramatta's surprisingly bushy outdoors offer stacks of escapades. To immerse yourself in Indigenous culture, head to Parramatta Park, where the Burramatta Aboriginal Landscape Trail travels through terrain that's been regenerated to reflect its state before European arrival. Meanwhile, among Parramatta Lake's 73 hectares of bushland, you'll find the Arrunga Bardo Bush Food Garden, crowded with edible and medicinal plants. Need to get warm? Jump on your bike and conquer one of Parramatta's many and varied cycle paths. The Heritage Ride takes in 27 historical spots; the Parramatta Park Ride is an easy, 3.5-kilometre loop through greenery; and the riverside route travels (mostly) along the waterfront to Sydney Olympic Park. If you have more of a lazy winter weekender in mind, then head to the Wentworth Atelier, a revamped Victorian terrace, for a blow dry or hot towel shave — with a top-shelf whiskey — at Dapper & Doll or to get measured up for a shirt or suit at the old-school Tailor & Co. SLEEP When you're on a wintry break, sleeping over in a snug spot is half the fun. For a stay right on the river — and just a minute's walk from the CBD — check into the Novotel Sydney Parramatta. The 4.5-star digs vary from Standard Rooms with queen or twin beds to Spa Suites with jacuzzis, but all come with massive windows that let in buckets of winter sunshine and splashes of earthy colours. There's an on-site gym, steam room, outdoor pool, restaurant and bar. For a more affordable option, book a room at the Mercure Sydney Parramatta, right near Rosehill Gardens Racecourse. You can count on a spacious, peaceful room, plus there's a tennis court, outdoor pool and the M Restaurant and Bar, serving contemporary Australian cuisine from head chef Roshni Bista. The new winter menu includes macadamia-encrusted barramundi with New York cheesecake for dessert. It's located near the M4, meaning getting back to Sydney or journeying on to the Blue Mountains is easy as pie. Go to the AccorHotels website to book your stay in Parramatta, and to discover more of NSW, swing by Visit NSW.
Strolls in Breakfast Creek now involve indulging in a Brisbane staple: crossing a bridge. The Queensland capital is a city of bridges, and governments just keep building them. Indeed, the new Breakfast Creek / Yowoggera green bridge is one of two pedestrian- and cyclist-only river crossings that are set to open in 2024. Announced years back, then confirming its 2024 launch in late 2023, the Brekkie Creek structure isn't open to cars because that's the green bridge setup. Rather, the 80-metre stretch is all about moseying or pedalling and soaking in the view. It features dedicated pathways for pedestrians and cyclists, at a minimum width of six metres, all while extending the existing Lores Bonney Riverwalk and reaching over to Newstead Park. Officially open since Saturday, February 10, the bridge boasts arches as a prominent part of its appearance. For its colour scheme, it's decked out in hues that match the Moreton Bay Fig trees in the area. At its landing point at Newstead Park, it has been designed to integrate easily with the park's heritage look as well. And, the bridge will also help connect the CBD with Olympics Athletes Village that's planned for Northshore Hamilton during the 2032 Olympics. If you're keen to make the most of the scenery over your short walk, the bridge includes pause points on both approaches, overlooking Newstead House and the Brisbane River. The Newstead Park landing also includes rest areas and drinking fountains, while the whole thing is lit up with feature lighting. As well as lengthening the Lores Bonney Riverwalk by 175 metres, the Breakfast Creek / Yowoggera green bridge — which takes the Yowoggera part of its name from the traditional term for "corroboree place" — is part of approximately 700 metres of new and improved paths in the area. "This bridge is really important for residents because it will make it much safer for walkers, bikers and scooter riders to cross over Breakfast Creek into Newstead Park and then on to the CBD," said Hamilton Ward Councillor Julia Dixon, opening the bridge. "Brisbane is the fastest-growing capital city in the country and this bridge is part of our commitment to make it easier for residents and visitors to get around." The other green bridge that's planned for this year: Kangaroo Point's next addition, which will include its own dining spots, complete with a restaurant and bar, plus a cafe. The Breakfast Creek / Yowoggera green bridge opened on Saturday, February 10, 2024. For further details, head to the Brisbane City Council website. Images: Brisbane City Council.
2025 is going to be the year when Australia gets to see Oasis live again. And, after already announcing two Down Under shows on their reunion tour now that Liam and Noel Gallagher are happy to take to the stage together once more, the Manchester-born band has doubled their upcoming Aussie gigs. They're still only playing two cities, however, doing a couple of shows apiece in Sydney and Melbourne. Next year marks 20 years since Oasis last toured Australia, but that's where the lengthy gap between the band's Down Under shows is ending. There's comeback tours and then there's Britain's most-famous feuding siblings reuniting to bring one of the country's iconic groups back together live — aka the biggest story in music touring of 2024 since Liam and Noel announced in August that they were reforming the band, and also burying the hatchet. [caption id="attachment_975202" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Simon Emmett[/caption] Initially, Oasis locked in a run of shows in the UK and Ireland. Since then, they've been expanding their tour dates, also confirming visits to Canada and the US. From London, Manchester and Dublin to Toronto, Los Angeles and Mexico City, the entire tour so far is sold out. That's the story, morning glory — and expect Australian tickets to get snapped up swiftly for Oasis' four announced concerts. The Aussie tour starts on Halloween 2025 at Marvel Stadium in the Victorian capital, and now will also return to the same venue on Saturday, November 1. It's Sydney's turn in the Harbour City a week later, at Accor Stadium across Friday, November 7–Saturday, November 8 . [caption id="attachment_975205" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Oasis Knebworth 1996, Photo by Roberta Parkin/Redferns[/caption] Oasis broke up in 2009, four years after their last Australian tour, and following seven albums from 1994's Definitely Maybe through to 2008's Dig Your Soul — and after drawing massive crowds to their live gigs along the way (see: documentary Oasis Knebworth 1996). If you're feeling supersonic about the group's reunion, you can likely expect to hear that track, plus everything from 'Live Forever', 'Cigarettes & Alcohol', 'Morning Glory' and 'Some Might Say' through to 'Wonderwall', 'Don't Look Back in Anger' and 'Champagne Supernova' when they hit Australia. Oasis Live '25 Australian Dates Friday, October 31–Saturday, November 1 — Marvel Stadium, Melbourne Friday, November 7–Saturday, November 8 — Accor Stadium, Sydney Oasis are touring Australia in October and November 2025, with Melbourne tickets on sale from 10am AEDT and Sydney tickets from 12pm AEDT on Tuesday, October 15. Head to the tour website for more details. Top image: Batiste Safont via Wikimedia Commons.
