Five years ago, you would have been hard pressed to find a craft beer bar in Brisbane any better than the collection of yeasty hand grenades stored in the back corner of your Uncle Tom's garage. But times have changed. The XXXX joint in Milton is no longer Brisbane's only brewery and chances are you'll even find a craft beer or two sneaking onto the taps at your local. Read on, drink up (responsibly) and enjoy. Archive Beer Boutique If you haven't already heard about Archive then we're honestly surprised you've managed to find your way to this article. Even so, I'll briefly wax lyrical about what may not be our city's first craft beer bar but is certainly its longest running. With 22 constantly rotating taps and more than 400 different bottled beverages, this West End institution is likely Brisbane's most comprehensive beerblioteca. For the craft beer novices it's never too hard to find an easy-to-drink classic from the likes of Stone and Wood, James Squire or Little Creatures and for the more experienced there's no shortage of choice in ales from pale to black, porters, wheat and rye beer. A sparse but tasty bar menu and regular live music cap off the experience nicely. 100 Boundary St, West End; (07) 3844 3419; www.archivebeerboutique.com.au Newstead Brewing Co. Right in the middle of Newstead's craft beer district (henceforth known as Brewstead™) Newstead Brewing Co is the tonic for anything that ails you. Inside this old bus depot/art gallery you'll find eight home-grown favourites on tap, plus a couple of seasonal specialties and a guest beer or two. You'll need many repeat visits to make a dent in the 'Other People's Beer' list without doing yourself some lasting damage. There's also a delicious range of snacks including honey and hops roasted cashews, jerky and pizza. The buffalo wings with blue cheese dipping sauce are probably the best this beer-lover has ever had. Sticky hands? Never fear. With state-of-the-art brewing comes state-of-the-art hand drying. Welcome to one of the only places in Brisbane you can find the all-in-one moisture-battling masterpiece that is the Dyson Airblade Tap. 85 Doggett Street, Newstead; (07) 3172 2488; www.newsteadbrewing.com.au Embassy Bar Remember the familiar compromise you made when The Vic was too busy, The Port Office too far to walk, and a cab ride to the Valley was money better spent on another drink? You'd always head to The Embassy. Now, of all the obvious signs that Brisbane's craft beer scene has come a long way, there are possibly none more telling than the transformation of Brisbane's premier piece of average after-dark entertainment into a stellar craft beer bar. Now when you pour your own (on the hand-pump tap) you're more likely to see a nod of approval from the bartender than be swiftly ejected by some fun-squashing bouncer. Thankfully, you're more likely to see classic Charlie Chaplin on a TV screen than someone vomiting back into the jug they were drinking straight out of like in the (not so good) old days. 214 Elizabeth St, Brisbane; (07) 3221 7616; www.embassybar.com.au Brisbane German Club Okay, so it's not technically a 'craft' beer bar but where else in Brisbane can you find this many weizens, dunkels, bocks, biers and braus from one of the great beverage's traditional homes. On this Deutsch drinkery's taps you'll find 12 of the finest German offerings — from mainstream brews like Becks to more adventurous (and dare we say rewarding) options like the tar-black Schwarzbier or lighter, fruitier weissbiers (wheat beers, simple right?). I don't know about you, but my mum always told me not to drink on an empty stomach. Once again the Brisbane German Club has you covered. You'll find staples like sauerbraten, schnitzels, sausages and pork knuckle so good it has to be eaten to be believed. 416 Vulture Street, East Brisbane; (07) 3391 2434; www.brisbanegermanclub.com Woolly Mammoth Alehouse The Valley's newest extinct-animal-themed venue is another example of the craft beerhemoth sending its hoppy tendrils into places we never thought it could go. Surely nobody would have predicted the infamous Mustang Bar would become a craft beer paradise. With six mainstay taps pouring favourites like James Squire One Fifty Lashes and Stone and Wood Pacific Ale and a craft bar with another 23 independent brews from all over the country, you're spoilt for choice. If you're hungry, there's also a great menu of pizzas, ribs, and some surprise options you're unlikely to see elsewhere in Brisbane. 633 Ann St, Fortitude Valley; (07) 3257 4439 Green Beacon Brewing Co. Another staple of Brewstead™, Green Beacon Brewing Co. stocks all its own brews; from regular classics like the 3 Bolt Pale Ale to seasonal varieties. The team thinks beer can be about more than just drinking, so there's a heavy focus on pairing different drops with items on the menu of share plates, toasted sangas and fresh local seafood. On the all-important taps you'll find a great range of seven ales, porters and lagers. The malty Barbary Coast and an American golden ale called The Whaler are featuring on the seasonal taps for now, and the Uppercut IPA is a powerful drop that lives up to its pugilistic name with a 9.3 percent ABV and a palate to match. 26 Helen St, Teneriffe; (07) 3252 8393 The Scratch The Scratch's motto is "No pretension, no dress code and no pub cover bands". The small bar is a cosy, chilled, shabby-chic addition to Milton's wining 'n' dining Park Road precinct; an area once better known for metre-long pizzas, espressos and relatively diminutive Eiffel Towers. At the bar you'll find six regularly rotating taps stocked with a range likely to offer a few surprises for all but the most experienced crafty beerggars. For instance, right now the drops range from a 2.5 percent passionfruit sour to a 9.6 percent Russian imperial stout. 8/1 Park Rd, Milton; (07) 3107 9910; www.scratchbar.com Brewski Bar This cosy spot on Caxton Street has a wide range of beers and some great simple eats to match. You'll find an ever-changing selection of eight beers on tap along with more than 120 varieties of your favourite libations bottled and ready to go. As a bonus for those new to the wonders of craft beer, this bar hosts a series of Beerginners talks, starting with a basic guide to the craft industry before drilling deeper into just how each of the amber nectar's ingredients affects the taste. 22 Caxton St, Brisbane; (07) 3369 2198; www.brewskibar.com.au Want to brush up on a few craft beer basics before buying? Check out our Bluffer's Guide to Craft Beer. 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Before we plunge a spoon into the deliciously diverse range of oaty goodness being served up in cafes across Brisbane, let us first indulge in some breakfast history. You may be wondering why both toasted muesli and granola are in the title of this feature. Although these days the terms are used interchangeably, historically speaking there is a marked difference in their definitions. Granola, also known as the "hippie health food" by some, was originally known as 'granula' and in 18th century America became a registered trademark for foods consisting of whole grains that were baked until crisp. Today, the mighty 'granola' is in fact only trademarked in Australia and New Zealand by Sanitarium (who tried to sue Irrewarra for using the word granola to describe their cereal product). Muesli on the other hand was developed by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner in the 19th century and is made up of raw rolled oats (the key difference) with fruits, nuts and seeds. Toasted muesli is really just raw muesli that has been baked (either with or without a sweetener like maple, honey or coconut oil). Granola, on the other hand is traditionally more clustered and brittle due to the use of honey in the toasting process. So, there you have it. Now to the more important matter of who dishes it up best. The key requirements? It must be housemade (no pre-packaged muesli here thank you), have a solid fruit-to-nut-to-grain ratio, have significant crunch factor and show an innovative twist on the standard recipe. Spoons up. Gerard's Bistro Gerard’s Bistro is well-celebrated for its food innovation with unique pairings and wild flavour combinations — always using the freshest produce. But who knew they could continue such splendour in a simple granola? Their own spiced granola with caramelized yoghurt and roasted fruit is easily the best going 'round; we're talking epic crunch from macadamias, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachios and cashews as well as huge chunks of dried apricot, fig and raisin. The cinnamon oats are toasted to perfection in-house, balanced with acidity from poached peaches and tangy slightly smoky yoghurt on top. Breakfast bliss. 14/15 James St, Fortitude Valley The Golden Pig Food and Wine School With Katrina Ryan (previously head chef at Rockpool and boasting over 27 years experience) at the helm of The Golden Pig Food and Wine School, you know your breakfast is going to be up there with the best. The Pig’s housemade toasted muesli (which you can also purchase to take home) is crunchy and golden with rolled oats, sesame seeds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans and walnuts. Lavishly adorned with a fanned poached pear underneath a huge dollop of thick creamy Greek yoghurt, while stewed rhubarb strikes a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness; this is truly a mouth-watering muesli masterpiece. 38 Ross St, Bowen Hills The Corner Store Cafe One for paleo enthusiasts, Corner Store's 11-seed granola is a brilliant take on the dish. Using quinoa flakes and delivering on the promise of exactly 11 types of seeds and nuts (linseed, flaxseed, black and white seeds, chia seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, sesame seeds, almonds and macadamias), a bowl of Corner Store granola is filling, delicious and nutritious. Your brekkie also comes with a green juice shot for that extra health kick. 113 Sylvan Rd, Toowong Kettle & Tin Let's be honest, this one's practically a dessert in breakfast form. Kettle & Tin's devilishly delicious granola is an artfully-presented mix of oats and almonds, baked together in honey and served in crunchy, brittle-bound clusters. This Paddington cafe's version epitomises the true definition of granola — with no seeds or dried fruit in sight. This super 'grammable dish is served as is with a decadent creamy labnah, topped with perfectly poached pears and dusted with icing sugar. 215 Given Terrace, Paddington DEPO Toasting is the key with this little number. West End's DEPO makes their deliciously golden granola with oats, uncooked crunchy quinoa flakes, pistachios, macadamias and coconut, which is then toasted in maple syrup and coconut oil until crisp. Mixed through with sultanas and dried blueberries, this loud crunch-inducing granola is finished with super juicy pomegranate seeds and a light but creamy coconut yoghurt. 16 Horan St, West End Shouk Cafe This Middle Eastern-inspired cafe is causing a big stir in Brisbane breakfast scene with their picture perfect dish presentation. Toasted rolled oats and sultanas are mixed with baked coconut shards, almonds and apricots amongst a beautiful sweet vanilla flavour. The mixture is crisp but still slightly chewy, made superb with a sweet sprinkling of the pistachio halva on top. Served with brightly hued fresh fruit, Shouk’s granola is food art for breakfast. 14 Collingwood St, Paddington Dello Mano Chocolate lovers will love this one. Dello Mano's chocolate granola is a little bit naughty and a whole lot delicious with cinnamon oats, seeds, crunchy toasted almonds and dates lightly coated in a mixture of 72% dark Belgium chocolate, brown sugar and maple syrup. Though it sounds intense, the chocolate is subtle and the dish is not overwhelmingly sweet. Plus, it leaves a chocolate milkshake in the bottom of your bowl to slurp up at the end. 29 Doggett St, Teneriffe Chow House The Chow House muesli is completely gluten free, made up of puffed quinoa and crunchy buckwheat groats with sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, dried cranberries and raisins. Served in an adorable little jar, Chow House's creation adopts the self-assembly trend with an array of fresh seasonal fruits (think tropical with dragonfruit, kiwi and berries) and creamy housemade coconut yoghurt. This artfully-served muesli is perfect for those seeking a truly healthy breakfast. 39 James St, Fortitude Valley Moray Cafe Gorgeously nutty with big chunks of pecan, walnut, almond and macadamia, Moray Cafe’s toasted muesli is baked until tantalisingly golden and slightly caramelised. With an incredible hint of smokiness from slightly charred oats and nuts, Moray's muesli takes on a whole new dimension — relying on balanced sweetness from the fresh berry coulis and sweetened Greek yoghurt (which harmonises perfectly). Fresh mint on top and a sprinkling of icing sugar not only adds to the flavour but also the visual appeal. 158 Moray St, New Farm Kitchen Sanitarium It wouldn't be right not to include these guys. Although Sanitarium has actually trademarked the name granola in Australia, Kitchen Sanitarium's offering is the 'Kitchen Muesli' — a mighty mix of both muesli and granola. Untoasted, unsweetened oats are mixed with a chia granola (chia seeds, sesame, pepitas and almonds toasted lightly in honey), which means it’s not intensely sweet. Wrapping things up nicely, this fusion of our two breakfast friends comes with thick natural yoghurt on the side and fresh whole strawberries on top. 145 Eagle Street, Brisbane Photography by Mimi Hyll
It's cocktail-sipping season, Brisbanites. And this city of ours has just delivered a new — albeit short-term — place to get drinking. Pomona Distilling Co is based in the Noosa Hinterland, but the small-batch distillery has made the merry jump down to Teneriffe for a couple of weeks of pre-Christmas gin tipples. Each Thursday, Friday and Saturday until Saturday, December 19, Pomona Distilling Co's Summer Pop-Up Gin Bar will be in full swing at 132 Commercial Road. On the menu: drinks made with the company's botanical-infused spirits, which are made on a family-run nature reserve farm. Heading by for after-work drinks is definitely on the agenda as well, or for a cruisy Saturday afternoon beverage (or several) — with the bar open from 3–10pm each day it's running. Bookings are recommended, unsurprisingly. Pomona Distilling Co's Summer Pop-Up Gin Bar is actually also sticking around between December 20–24, but only for event bookings — if you still have a festive party to organise.
Over the Easter long weekend, plus in the days and weeks leading into it, one type of sweet treat is always on the menu: chocolate. No matter how you like getting a taste of cocoa, there's always an egg, bun or other dessert for it on offer around March and April. There's always several, in fact. But Brisbane isn't done getting a choc fix yet, even though Easter is done for 2025. Across Saturday, April 26–Sunday, April 27, the Brisbane Chocolate Festival is making its debut at The Hills of Rivermakers in Morningside. Two days, one riverside precinct, oh-so-much chocolate to feast on from 10am–5pm daily: if you're a chocaholic or just a chocolate fiend, that's your new favourite recipe. This is a ticketed affair, and then you'll pay for what you eat once you're in — but whether you want chocolate for breakfast, brunch, morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea, you have options. Think: chocolate fountains, chocolate brownies, chocolate poffertjes, chocolate soufflé waffles and chocolate cupcakes, as well as chocolate doughnuts, chocolate gelato and ice cream, chocolate slices, chocolate meringue and plenty more. Yes, there'll be chocolate eggs. There'll also be bites for lactose-free, gluten-free, nut-free, sugar-free and vegan diets. Also on the bill: hunting for those chocolate eggs, an eating contest, pop-up bars, live tunes and other entertainment — and dessert cocktails. Brisbane Chocolate Festival is the latest event from the folks behind the Sweet As Brisbane Dessert Festival, which was drawing crowds between 5000–10,000 in its pre-COVID-19 days in West End's Musgrave Park — so expect to have a whole lot of company.
In what could possibly be the most exciting music news to hit our shores in recent memory, Radiohead have announced a tour of Australian and New Zealand in 2012. This will be Radiohead's first Australian tour in eight years, and the band's first to New Zealand since 1998. With the release of their eighth album, The King of Limbs, in February 2011, Radiohead have steered away from their rock foundations to become more experimental with electronic sound and vocals. Tickets are set to go on sale on Thursday, March 1, but a limited number have been made available via the band's site. To get in before the rush click here (Update: these tickets have now sold out). More pre-sale tickets will be available here at 12pm (EST) on Tuesday, February 27, or you can buy regular release tickets at Ticketek from 10am (EST) on Thursday. Australian and New Zealand 2012 tour dates: Friday, 6th November 2012 - Vector Arena, New Zealand Friday, 9th November 2012 - Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Monday 12th November 2012 - Entertainment Centre, Sydney Tuesday 13th November 2012 - Entertainment Centre, Sydney Friday, 16th November 2012 - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Saturday, 17th November 2012 - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne https://youtube.com/watch?v=7AJrCsp2Ago
As a Coorparoo local, it is refreshing to have a choice when it comes to going out for breakfast. And no, drive-thru McPancakes are not considered a viable option just because we live in the 'burbs. Yes, call me a food snob. Whatever. Most suburban food fans would have to get in their car, hit the highway and end up in the likes of West End or New Farm only to find a queue as long as the one for Beyonce tickets. However, for us 'paroosians (see what I did there?) the journey is but a mere stroll away. Located in the Cavendish Central complex of Cavendish road, Flute prides itself on just that: Fine Food (without the often ridiculous price tag). On any given day, Flute's popularity is evident. However, unlike most cafes inundated with hungry patrons, the friendly and highly trained staff somehow always seem to accommodate any special seating requests. Flute's design makes the most out of the seemingly small space. The takeaway counter is perfect for those who need to grab their caffeine fix and be on their way, although we all know you won't make it very far with the awesome Vanilla House home wares gift shop next door. Who said suburbia was boring? For those sick of the usual cafe fare (hello eggs Benny for the fourth time in a row) Flute's little Greek breakfast is a must, complete with pita, haloumi, spiced lamb and sour cream. Wash it down with a T2 spiced chai tea and you're good to go. The signature breakfast (complete with rosti and white wine sauce) can easily satisfy any of your caveman companions and will make you rethink your 'no wine for breakfast rule'. Overall, it's best to arrive early at such a local hotspot, but considering the convenience of not having to drive too far and the fact that the staff will always go the extra mile for you, Flute is always worth the wait. Much like Queen Bey herself!
While the beach is often the first port of call for us when summer hits, it's not the only activity on offer in the hotter months. When the heat gets too hot to handle — or when those storms roll in — a trip to the shaded, air-conditioned haven of an art gallery is always a good idea. And while a visit to an art gallery is a noble enough activity on its own, we think it's made that much better by heading to a nearby bar afterwards to discuss what you've just seen. We've teamed up with Bombay Sapphire to showcase nine leading art galleries in Brisbane (and one on the Gold Coast) to head to this summer, and where to go afterwards to really make an evening of it. [caption id="attachment_836709" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 'The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art' (APT 10) Members Preview GOMA[/caption] QUEENSLAND ART GALLERY & GALLERY OF MODERN ART Many a summer's day has been spent by many a Brisbanite inside QAGOMA, avoiding the heat and taking in whichever exhibition is on at the time. At the moment, the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art is holding court in the South Bank precinct, an exhibition featuring 69 artworks from more than 150 Asia Pacific creatives, covering more than 30 countries. Where to go afterwards: Head down Fish Lane and make a pitstop at The Fox for a cold drink and a quality pub feed. Continue the art talk streetside or head up to the rooftop for city views, cocktail jugs and handmade pizza. WOOLLOONGABBA ART GALLERY Since 2004, Woolloongabba Art Gallery has showcased works by some of Australia's best emerging and established artists within its three exhibition spaces. Pop in to this heritage-listed building on Stanley Street for its summer group exhibition, which includes contemporary works by 20 Australian artists spanning a range of mediums. Where to go afterwards: Once you've checked out the gallery, head next door to Can You Keep A Secret. This vintage store-meets-cocktail bar is fitted out like Nan's house, with an old piano, humble chandeliers, antique landscape paintings and knick-knacks galore. There's also a year-round calendar of live music, as well as curated vintage finds available to purchase. PHILIP BACON GALLERIES No Brisbane art tour would be complete without a stop at this Fortitude Gallery veteran. Established by renowned Australian art dealer Philip Bacon AO in 1974, the commercial gallery — which boasts five distinct exhibition spaces — is known for representing some of Australia's most influential contemporary artists, as well as its stockroom that houses an expansive range of Australian artworks from the 19th century to today. Where to go afterwards: Set on the corner of Arthur and James Streets, Sixes and Sevens is a prime al fresco locale for an afternoon bev. Nibble on plates of mushroom arancini, popcorn chicken and burgers while sipping on cocktails made for summer — the Pineapple Gin Fizz is particularly refreshing. [caption id="attachment_820754" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Millie Tang[/caption] INSTITUTE OF MODERN ART The Institute of Modern Art's multifaceted performances, workshops and exhibitions make it one of Brisbane's best contemporary arts spaces. This summer, catch artists playing electronic music with handmade instruments and a free exhibition showcasing works by Australian First Nations and diasporic artists exploring the competing forces of cultural preservation and innovation. Keep an eye out for IMA's regular series of evening events — perfect for a pre-nightcap culture fix. Where to go afterwards: Complement the thought-provoking art you've just seen at IMA with an equally intriguing cocktail at nearby Savile Row. Look for the orange door on Ann Street and take a seat beneath the venue's dazzling chandelier or in a handsome leather-lined booth as you sip on a cocktail made from a selection of the bar's 900-plus bottles of liquor. [caption id="attachment_838871" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Supplied[/caption] EDWINA CORLETTE GALLERY If the bright artworks hung behind the glass windows of Edwina Corlette Gallery have ever caught your eye while you've been in New Farm, consider this your sign to go and check out the inside. The Brunswick Street space represents a select group of artists from Australia and the Asia Pacific region who exhibit contemporary works across a range of disciplines. Where to go afterwards: Just a block down from the gallery is Gerties, a bona fide New Farm institution that has been slinging cocktails on Brunswick Street for nearly 30 years. Here, the extensive cocktail list is paired with Latin-American style eats — think patacones, arepas and tostadas — which you can enjoy from a window seat, the perfect spot to watch the New Farm crowd traverse in and out of the Valley. [caption id="attachment_839826" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Supplied[/caption] LETHBRIDGE GALLERY Contemporary and fine art lovers alike know to head to Lethbridge Gallery in Paddington for a well-rounded display of works. The renovated cottage shows works by emerging and established artists, with a regular rotation of exhibitions that means there's always something interesting to see. Where to go afterwards: Amble along Latrobe Terrace post-gallery and settle in the courtyard or within the exposed brick-laden interior of old English-style bar Hope & Anchor for craft beers, cocktails and a menu of pub food favourites. Being a British-inspired watering hole, it should come as no surprise that beer and gin selections here are very impressive. With a dose of historic charm and a laidback atmosphere, Hope & Anchor is an ideal spot for your post-gallery hangs. METRO ARTS As one of the biggest arts organisations in Brisbane, Metro Arts develops, presents and supports contemporary works from artists throughout Queensland working in multiple disciplines including theatre, visual art and music. Its main venue in West End is a purpose-built precinct, ideal for checking out the latest in forward-thinking exhibitions and performances. Where to go afterwards: A proverbial stone's throw away in the hustle and bustle of Boundary Street is Covent Garden. This laidback oasis is a gin lover's dream, thanks to its selection of over 400 botanical drops on hand (including three different types of Bombay Sapphire) as well as a substantial selection of beer, wine, cocktails and a fully coeliac-friendly food menu. TW FINE ART TW Fine Art's modern industrial-style exterior almost hides in plain sight among the apartments and offices of Newstead. The local and international artists on this gallery's roster represent an eclectic range of styles, with works displayed in a light-filled, airy gallery space. Like what you see? Collectors, enthusiasts and casual browsers alike can feel at home here with gallerists ready to assist with purchasing originals and prints of the often colourful works on display. Where to go afterwards: Go from fine art to fine wine at intimate wine bar Carl's. Named after one of Brisbane's first winemakers, Carl Gerler, this cosy bistro is a go-to for locals to explore new- and old-world drops alongside a seasonal dining menu of bar snacks, charcuterie and sharing-style plates. If you're meeting a friend post-gallery tell them to bring their dog — our four-legged friends get bottomless treats here. [caption id="attachment_835753" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of 'Thinking into Being: QUT Alumni Triennial', QUT Art Museum, Brisbane, 9 October 2021 to 27 February 2022. Photo by Louis Lim.[/caption] QUT ART MUSEUM This Gardens Point gallery exhibits QUT's impressive art collection, and is also home to touring exhibitions and commissioned pieces. The gallery takes pride in being inclusive and welcoming to both art lovers and the art curious, with its free exhibitions complemented by a series of community events and education programs. This summer, you can catch works by notable QUT alumni that examine the thought process that brings objects, products and experiences to fruition. Where to go afterwards: Venture further into the city to find Boom Boom Room, a luxe underground izakaya-inspired bar and eatery. Settle in under the dazzling chandeliers and snack on plates of sashimi and yakitori, and pair your bites with cocktails like Southside of Tokyo, a sharing serve which features Bombay Sapphire, pineapple, mint, chocolate, lime and matcha. 19 KAREN CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE Heading down to the coast this summer? You can get your art fix at Mermaid Beach's 19 Karen Avenue. This art gallery represents over 100 artists across a huge range of styles. Six different exhibition spaces feature a year-round program of solo and group shows, each curated by gallery director Terri Lew. There's also a private gallery, in which Lew displays some of her impressive private collection. Where to go afterwards: If it's beer, cocktails and hearty food you're after when you leave 19 Karen, drop anchor at The Cambus Wallace. This old-world nautical-themed haunt is a five-minute drive down the Gold Coast Highway and is known for live music and easy-going vibes, as well as its extensive selection of rum and whisky. For more summer inspo, head to the Bombay Sapphire website. Top image: QAGOMA
This artist refuses to stop sliding. Longtime lover of the playground staple, Carsten Höller has been bringing slides into his work since the '90s. Now he's installed a colossal freestanding slide at Swiss furniture company Vitra's campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Off-time just got a whole lot better for Vitra residents. Höller's latest piece, straightforwardly named Vitra Slide Tower (2014), stands at a whopping 100 feet tall. It's also a clock. Why not. “I think it would change our lives if we could slide more,” Höller told the New York Times. True that, imagine sliding from bed to work instead of that dastardly train trip. You're feeling a cheeky second morning coffee but you work in a walk-up? Sliiiiiide. You're running late but the nearest bus stop is at least twenty minutes down the hill thattaway? Sliiiiiide. You despise the Goo Goo Dolls but your housemate just cranked their Party of Five-friendly '98 single? Sliiiiiide. Höller has been using slides in his work since 1998, from the Berlin Biennale to his hugely popular 2007 work Test Site in the Turbine Hall at London's Tate Modern. More recently, Höller installed a spiralling tube slide through all four floors of NYC's New Museum as part of his stunning 2011-12 takeover exhibition Experience. You'd jump in here... ... shoot through here... ... end up here. Then race back up stairs, push the kiddies out of the way and ART AGAIN! But there's more to sliding than "WEEEEEEEEE!" Höller more eloquently quotes French sociologist Roger Caillois in his New York Times interview, seeing structures as more than their functional ability to transport things — creating what he calls a "voluptuous panic" during sliding. Höller's love for sliding is reminscent of the time a UK artist decided to build a giant Slip N Slide through Bristol, primarily because he was jaded by how people move from A to B. Either way, dudes know how to party. Via artnet and New York Times.
It's a tale that's both sinister and seductive. Indeed, the clash of those two opposing feelings is one of the reasons that it has proven such a hit over the past 124 years. We're talking, of course, about the book that thrust a certain bloodsucker into the public consciousness and inspired many a vampire novel, movie, TV show and stage performance afterwards — aka Bram Stoker's Dracula. Perhaps you've read the gothic horror text, which happens to be one of the best printed tomes ever written. Perhaps you've seen the Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder-starring 90s movie, or maybe you've watched Netflix's recent three-part re-imagining. No matter which category you fall into, you haven't seen the undead classic told as it is in this ballet, which Queensland Ballet is staging at QPAC this year. Taking over the Lyric Theatre from Wednesday, November 24–Saturday, December 4, this version of Dracula is the handiwork of acclaimed Polish choreographer Krzysztof Pastor, and first premiered in Western Australia in 2018. Now, it's Brisbane's turn to see the world's most famous fanged fiend dance across the stage while doing dastardly deeds — and trying to reunite with his true love, Mina. Plus, the score stems from Wojciech Kilar, and was originally composed the music for the aforementioned 1992 Dracula film. [caption id="attachment_757759" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Western Australian Ballet[/caption]
Book in a date with 2 M3GAN 2 Furious now: even if it doesn't take that name, which it won't, a sequel to 2023's first guaranteed horror hit will come. Said follow-up also won't be called M3GAN 2: Electric Boogaloo, but that title would fit based on the first flick's TikTok-worthy dance sequence alone. Meme-starting fancy footwork is just one of the titular doll's skills. Earnestly singing 'Titanium' like this is Pitch Perfect, tickling the ivories with 80s classic 'Toy Soldiers', making these moments some of M3GAN's funniest: they're feats the robot achieves like it's designed to, too. Although unafraid to take wild tonal swings, and mining the established comedy-horror talents of New Zealand filmmaker Gerard Johnstone (Housebound) and screenwriter Akela Cooper (Malignant) as well, this killer-plaything flick does feel highly programmed itself, however. It's winking, knowing, silly, satirical, slick and highly engineered all at once, overtly pushing buttons and demanding a response — and, thankfully, mostly earning it. Those Child's Play-meets-Annabelle-meets-The Terminator-meets-HAL 9000 thoughts that M3GAN's basic concept instantly brings to mind? They all prove true. The eponymous droid — a Model 3 Generative Android, to be specific — is a four-foot-tall artificially intelligent doll that takes the task of protecting pre-teen Cady (Violet McGraw, Black Widow) from emotional and physical harm deadly seriously, creeping out and/or causing carnage against everyone who gets in its way. Those Frankenstein-esque sparks, exploring what happens when humanity (or Girls and Get Out's Allison Williams here, as Cady's roboticist aunt Gemma) plays god by creating life? They're just as evident, as relevant to the digital age Ex Machina-style. M3GAN is more formulaic than it should be, though, and also never as thoughtful as it wants to be, but prolific horror figures Jason Blum and James Wan produce a film that's almost always entertaining. In her job for toymaker Funki, working under brash CEO David (Ronny Chieng, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Gemma is responsible for three of the movie's most perturbing aspects. Yes, M3GAN is one of them. But the "cyborg puppet show", as David initially dubs it dismissively, comes about after his star employee installs listening software in the company's bestselling PurRpetual Pets — aka furry, troll-like trinkets that chat back, poop if you overfeed them and, as a parody-leaning ad openly says, bests IRL dogs and cats by never dying. As technology advances, ignoring how insidiously it's surveilling us is the bargain we've generally struck, but M3GAN doesn't forget it. Fleshing out a story co-conjured up by Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring's Wan, Cooper doesn't forget the other deal we've made with our smart gadgets and even just our ever-present screens, letting them make our lives easier by eradicating plenty of our human interactions. Gemma is meant to be working on a new, cheaper but shinier version of PurRpetual Pets, with a competitor undercutting Funki with a more affordable knockoff to David's dismay; however, her heart belongs to M3GAN. Then, via a tragedy, she's suddenly Cady's guardian — and because she wears flannelette, keeps collectibles and gets cranky about her overbearing neighbour's wandering pooch, she's immediately coded as anything but the mothering type. So, getting M3GAN functional serves multiple purposes, including giving Cady the kind of caregiver that her aunt instinctively isn't. "We're gonna kick Hasbro's dick!" David exclaims when he sees M3GAN in action as a walking, talking, bonding, nurturing, do-it-all bestie-slash-nanny that he can sell for $10,000 a pop. While the doll itself doesn't ever utter anything similar — she's murderous, but also child-friendly — as its AI learns and evolves, it's gonna knock about everyone who threatens Cady and its own existence. Hasbro's wares have scored the movie treatment in the Transformers, Power Rangers and GI Joe flicks and more, and M3GAN makes junk of most. They all largely did that themselves anyway, but none have this film's namesake, who makes one helluva horror nemesis. Clearly the product of ample time meticulously getting the specifics exactly right, M3GAN sports a lifelike-enough appearance that dwells deep in the uncanny valley, and could never visibly be confused for actual flesh-and-blood up close. And yet, the size is right, it pals around with Cady like they're peers and it dresses more like a stylish 70s Barbie than a standard doll. Its physical movements are preternatural, and its arch retorts and reactions — and often just its voice — would make Mean Girls' Plastics wither. Young actor Amie Donald (Sweet Tooth) plays the part, while TikTok star Jenna Davis (Maggie) provides M3GAN's vocals, with every detail pitch-perfect. Execution: M3GAN chiefly slays it, but because Gemma fluffs it (rushing to get the job done, overlooking parental controls as well as parameters for morals and ethics, and being too eager to avoid her guardian responsibilities), M3GAN savagely and repeatedly slays. As the brutal plaything's inventor and main target, Williams is fascinating, too, especially given that she comes to the part — any part — with her most famous past role's considerable baggage. She isn't playing Marnie Michaels as an expert coder here, obviously. In fact, the fact that the deranged toy she's facing patently resembles Williams is a savvy way of having the actor tear down the idea that she's crafted herself an on-screen type. Gemma isn't the uncomplicated hero of the piece, though, as a workaholic who happily outsources caring for a child to an untested gadget, revels in creating AI life to help cope with loss, then finds herself firmly standing in Victor Frankenstein's shoes. There's bite to Gemma's path, and to M3GAN's musings on motherhood, work-life balance, corporate culture and 21st-century chaos, as familiar as they all are — and, even when simply jerkily tilting its head or stealthily sneaking up unexpectedly, to M3GAN. There isn't as much blood to the film, sadly, with needing to appeal to a teen audience ensuring that it never fulfils its gory and deranged potential, including when the body count starts ramping up and the final act goes for adolescent-appropriate broke. What this sci-fi nightmare lacks in splatter, it compensates for with that gleefully campy, tongue-in-cheek and utterly self-aware vibe, forceful as it can be; M3GAN's trailer and its choreography didn't go viral months before the movie hit cinemas by accident. Indeed, Johnstone evokes the right sardonic atmosphere with the efficiency of his central robo-slasher. 2023 was already set to be the year of the big-screen doll thanks to Barbie, but M3GAN stalks the cinematic toy chest formidably and fiendishly first.
When spring arrives in southeast Queensland each year, fans of soaking in the region's great outdoors can ignore boy band names and head in two directions. Go west and all things floral await for the entire month of September, thanks to the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers. Venture down to the Gold Coast, however, and you'll find a huge outdoor art gallery gleaming for ten days, and stretching across a one-kilometre expanse of sand. The latter comes courtesy of Swell Sculpture Festival, which returns to Currumbin Beach for 2022 between Friday, September 9–Sunday, September 18. As it has for 20 years now, the event features large-scale artworks displayed along the shore, ready for patrons to see while getting their feet sandy and/or wet, with more than 70 pieces popping up at this year's festival. Once again, visitors can expect to get an eyeful of stunning creations. Yes, by simply walking along the beach, you'll view some stellar art. This year's fest features more than pieces made by more 132 artists using a variety of materials — including works using concrete, stainless steel, copper, bronze, wood, glass, plastic and natural fibres, as well as fibreglass, bamboo, wire, silk, stone and aluminium. Some creatives, such as Malvika Satelkar, have taken inspiration from the ocean's unknowns. Others, like Irene Messia, pay tribute to the natural world — while Amelia Batchelor uses recycled materials to draw attention to humanity's dependence upon plastic and its environmental impact. Emily Hastie has taken cues from her love of surfing, Phil Darnton ponders the crossover of art and architecture, and Dion Parker found inspiration from Where the Wild Things Are. Obviously, the list goes on. Of course, every day, every beach becomes an art gallery in its own way. If you've ever taken a bucket, filled it with sand, plonked it onto the shore and shaped it with your bare hands, then you've sculpted something — and you've added a tiny piece of temporary art to the shoreline, too. So, it makes sense that part of the Gold Coast would celebrate this specific art form right by the water — with more than just sandcastles on offer, though. The 2022 fest includes guided walks; yoga among the art; pop-up food vendors; and masterclasses covering everything from photography and weaving to bush dyes, native foods and sculpture wheels. A beachside fringe fest features live tunes and comedy as well, alongside artist panels and poetry. Swell Sculpture Festival 2022 runs from Friday, September 9–Sunday, September 18 at Currumbin Beach. For further information, head to the event's website. Top images: PBR Images/Leximagery.
There is nothing wrong with grown ups playing with Lego. Just ask architectural artist Adam Reed Tucker. In collaboration with Lego, Reed has created two new series in the Lego line which aim to celebrate the world's most iconic landmarks by bringing them to Lego life. For Reed, the humble lego brick has been somewhat of a revelation and he sees his mini lego creations as 'interpretations rather than replicas'. And he's right. Despite the fact that his creations are made of a toy you may have tried to eat as a toddler, they are undeniably sophisticated, artistic and a challenging exercise in right-brained fun. The Lego Architectural line consists of a Landmark Series and an Architect Series. The landmark series allows architectural enthusiastics to assemble their very own Empire State Building, White House or Rockerfeller Center, while the architect series pays homage to some of the world's greatest architects, in particular Frank Lloyd Wright. There is both a Lego creation of Wright's Solomon R. Guggneheim Museum and his Fallingwater, now one of the world's most famous and visited residences. The Lego Architectural line is a fresh and clever take on a much loved old toy , and a great gift for the young (or not so young) architects in your life. Or you might just want to keep it for yourself.
Visit Bowen Hills for nine days each August and the sounds of the Ekka echo through the suburb. Hit up the inner-city spot from Saturday, August 12, not just right through the Royal Queensland Show but beyond, and you'll hear plenty of cracking. Launching just in time for the show bag-loving influx but settling in permanently, Claw is the latest addition to King Street — and it's all about the kind of shellfish that you need to don a bib to eat. This crustacean-slinging joint was first announced back in May, and now opens its doors in August as promised. The American-influenced crab shack is focusing on the Ekka during its initial week and a half, including grab-and-go packs featuring a choice of chip butties, fairy bread, peel-your-own shrimp and beef brisket mac 'n' cheese — and a reduced menu in-house. Expect the full culinary lineup to kick on Monday, August 21, pairing seafood with barbecue fare in a massive sports bar. How massive? Taking over the space that food truck park Welcome to Bowen Hills previously called home, Claw can cater to 1000 people donning bibs, slicing into a steak, sipping boozy slushies and watching a match. Obviously, the crab shack heroes its fondness for seafood in its moniker, with king crab its signature menu item. You'll nab it in buckets, prepared Baja-style, and paired with chilled shrimp, oysters, lemon and cocktail sauce — and you'll pay $199 for the venue's delicacy. Also on offer: plank-roasted salmon, shrimp enchiladas, rib-eye steaks topped with half a lobster tail, jalapeño bacon burgers, fried chook, beef short ribs, Texas smoked beef brisket, Carolina pulled pork, buffalo chicken wings and blackened shrimp tacos. Add Cheetos mac 'n' cheese as a side, then feast on a salted choc brownie sundae for dessert. When the eatery was first announced, its food range also included buffalo shrimp po'boys, freshly shucked rock oysters, shrimp cocktails, fried calamari, fish tacos, and buckets of steamed mussels and clams — here's hoping they also pop up on the full menu. To wash down all of the above, frozen cocktails and craft beers are in the spotlight. Claw's drinks list features boozy slushies — think: margaritas, mango daiquiris and beergarita made with Coronas to share — plus both local and international brews, with an exposed keg room heroing the latter. If you prefer wine, there's a short array of options. And for more cocktails, go for guava or cactus apple margs, the root beer float, an apple pie-inspired tipple and a two-person concoction that's served in "a shark-infested fishbowl". For sports fans, large-screen TVs are a given, while DJs and live music will provide a soundtrack. Plus, because this is a family-friendly joint, there's even a playground for children. And, for everyone, arcade games will get you mashing buttons. Claw joins Potentia Solutions Leisure's growing Brisbane footprint, with the hospitality company also behind rooftop spots Lina and Soko, plus tequileria Carmen. Find Claw at 56 King Street, Bowen Hills, from Saturday, August 12 — open 4–10pm Monday–Tuesday, 11am–10pm Wednesday–Thursday, 11am–11.30pm Friday–Saturday, and 10am–10pm Sunday.
There are many activities you can do in a two-hour time slot. You could watch all six episodes of the ABC's satirical beauty blog Sarah's Channel, cook 60 packets of 2 Minute Noodles or listen to Pink Floyd's 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' 4.6 times. But we think the tastiest way to pass 120 minutes is to spend it eating endless plates of tacos. And that's exactly what you can do each Sunday in January, when El Camino Cantina dishes out two hours of unlimited tacos for just $19 a pop. Rock up to either the Bowen Hills or Chermside between 3–6pm, and you'll be able to dig into a bottomless feast of everyone's favourite Mexican dish. To redeem the offer, you will need to purchase a drink of sorts. Watermelon margs will be $7.50 — but you can get a glass of sangria, a Dos Equis or, really, anything else on the extensive drinks menus. [caption id="attachment_746036" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] El Camino Chermside[/caption] If you're getting a crew together, you might want to book in advance. You can lock down a table here.
Nearly twelve months after announcing the location for Australia's first Pride Centre, the Victorian Government has revealed the designs for the St Kilda structure. Local firms Grant Amon Architects and Brearley Architects & Urbanists will be responsible for what's certain to prove an important and influential building, both in its appearance and thanks to its status as a dedicated LGBTI hub. The St Kilda outfits were selected from a pool of 18 submissions, with the finished product due to open at 79-81 Fitzroy Street in 2020. The building will house up to ten major resident organisations — including JOY FM, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Midsumma Festival, the Victorian Aids Council, LGBTQI Multi Culture, Multi Faith, Team Melbourne and the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives — and also offer flexible and multi-use spaces. Among them: a health service, library, training room and meeting rooms, as well as a café and bar, a theatrette and a gallery. "We wanted the winning design to be a building that our LGBTQI community can be proud of owning, a place of celebration and a safe sanctuary," said Jude Munro AO, Chair of the Victorian Pride Centre board. "This design is inspirational and more than satisfies these criteria. Our aim is for the Pride Centre to be a catalyst for the revival of Fitzroy Street and to fit into the St Kilda design vernacular which this design does superbly." Modelled after San Francisco's LGBTI Community Centre, the Victorian Pride Centre will receive $15 million in State Government funding, plus $13 million from the City of Port Phillip. "It will be a space for the community and LGBTI organisations to share ideas, collaborate and celebrate our diversity — it's also at a key site the Pride March goes past," said Minister for Equality Martin Foley. For more information, visit www.pridecentre.org.au
Eight days after going into lockdown in the latest attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19, 11 Local Government Areas in southeast Queensland will emerge from stay-at-home conditions at 4pm today, Sunday, August 8. Since the same time on Saturday, July 31, residents in the Brisbane City Council, Logan, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redlands, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Noosa, Somerset, Lockyer Valley and Scenic Rim LGAs have only been permitted to leave their homes for the four reasons that were identified at the beginning of the pandemic. Initially, the lockdown was put in place for three days after new instances of the Delta variant were identified in Brisbane's western suburbs, but it was then extended for another five when new locally acquired COVID-19 case numbers remained high. "It will end at 4pm, but we are not out of the woods. I just want everyone to have a really good understanding that we are dealing with the Delta strain. It is highly, highly infectious," said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at Queensland's daily COVID-19 press conference. "I can tell you from my conversations in Tokyo, with people around the world, this strain is sweeping the world. So we need to make sure that we are making some extra precautions," the Premier continued. While ending the latest lockdown across southeast Queensland is obviously welcome news, restrictions will obviously still apply — as also happened after Brisbane's January, March and June lockdowns — until Sunday, August 22. So, Brisbanites will be able to leave their homes again once 4pm hits today — and for any reason. That said, new rules will limit what you can do, where and with how many people, as we've all become used to during the pandemic. https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1424160294612307971 A ten-person limit on at-home gatherings will be put in place, which includes people who live there. That cap will also apply to public gatherings outside of the house as well. And, weddings and funerals will only be able to have 20 people in attendance. Venues can reopen, including retail, gyms, convention centres, hairdressers, and beauty and personal care services; however, the one person per-four-square-metres rule will be in effect inside, and the one person per-two-square-metres outside — and dancing isn't allowed, except at weddings. Where there's ticketed and allocated seating, venues can fill to 50-percent capacity. Also, community sport isn't allowed to resume yet. In hospitality, you'll need to remain seated to drink or eat in cafes and restaurants. The aforementioned density requirements will also apply, but smaller venues up to 200 square metres can have one person per-two-square-metres — up to a maximum of 50 people. Masks remain mandatory whenever you're not at home — and you'll always have to have one with you as a result. So, they must be worn in all indoor spaces other than your own house, all indoor workplaces unless it is unsafe to do so, on public transport, in taxis and ride share vehicles, and outdoors, unless you're doing vigorous exercise. Folks in the 11 LGAs are also asked to reconsider their need to travel outside of these areas, and are asked not to do so. https://twitter.com/qldhealthnews/status/1424166253443252228 The usual requests regarding social distancing, hygiene and getting tested if you're feeling even the slightest possible COVID-19 symptoms all apply, too, as they have since March last year. In the past 24 hours, Queensland reported nine new locally acquired cases, with 148 cases currently active in the Sunshine State at the time of writing. The state is also implementing a three-day lockdown in Cairns and Yarrabah due to a new case out in the community in that northern region, with stay-at-home conditions coming into effect there at 4pm today, Sunday, August 8. Queensland Health is maintaining an active register of locations that have been visited by positive COVID-19 cases, which you can check out on its website. You can also check out this nifty map that uses Queensland Health's data. Eleven LGAs in the Greater Brisbane area will come out of lockdown at 4pm on Sunday, August 8. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Queensland, head to the QLD COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website. More details about the lockdown and associated restrictions once it lifts can also be found on the Queensland Health website. Top image: Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons.
Over the past couple of years, change has been sweeping through Bowen Hills, and it shows no signs of stopping any time soon. King Street continues to flourish as Brisbane's new foodie precinct, adding new eateries with frequency. A new boutique laneway is set to join the fold, complete with its own dining hub. And now a huge food truck hangout is about to pull up at the Ekka site as well. As first announced last November, the new meals-on-wheels mecca is named Welcome to Bowen Hills — and no doubt you'll be making yourself most welcome indeed when it opens at 5pm on February 14. Making its home in the Dairy Hall and Sugar Building at the Brisbane Showgrounds Precinct, and designed to host a rotating array of Brissie's best food vans, it'll change its lineup daily. For those keen to drop by in the first few weeks, initial vendors include Mr Burger, King of the Wings, Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers, The Bratmobile, Mussel Brothers and Mac From Way Back, among a mouthwatering range of others. Employing a concept that not only follows in the footsteps of Melbourne's Welcome to Thornbury, but is run by the exact same team, Welcome to Bowen Hills will also boast a permanent indoor bar slinging craft brews and cocktail jugs, called the Milk Bar, plus a separate boutique gin bar called Swill. And, like its southern counterpart, patrons can expect themed fun aplenty as well. Trivia, BYO dog, $10 tallies and tiki, and life drawing are all currently on the schedule, while the Victorian venture has hosted burger festivals, mulled wine and hot cheese parties, vegan feasts and a mimosa and brunch fest — as well as events dedicated to hot chilli sauce, dim sims and dumplings, bacon and chicken nuggets. Find Welcome to Bowen Hills in the Dairy Hall and Sugar Building at the Brisbane Showgrounds Precinct, Bowen Hills from February 14, or visit the precinct's website and Facebook page for further details. Image: Mr Burger.
They're undeniably cute and cuddly. They hop through fairy tales, cartoons, and play an important part in everything from Us to The Matrix. They're also considered adorable by some and a pest by others. That'd be the humble rabbit — and for two weeks between Friday, March 13–Sunday, March 29, the floppy-eared creatures will be taking over Eagle Street Pier in a giant, inflatable and illuminated way. That's when Amanda Parer's eye-catching Intrude is popping up at the CBD spot, with the Australian artist's installation featuring six seven-metre-tall bunnies that'll tower over the riverside. The world-famous artwork is designed not only to glow, garner attention and look glorious, but also to get people thinking about rabbits, their environmental impact and the many contradictions surrounding the way they're regarded by society. It's the first time the installation has come to Brisbane, so expect it to be popular. Sky-high luminous bunnies will have that effect. Entry is free and, if you don't want to be late for this very important date, the rabbits on display daily from 12–9pm. If you're choosing to go out and support local businesses, have a look at the latest COVID-19 advice and social-distancing guidelines from the Department of Health.
Is buying vinyl is part of your regular weekend shopping plans? Whether you're scouring the racks for something specific or just generally looking for a bargain, make a beeline to the Albert Street Mall. The Queen Street Mall offshoot is playing host to a record fair — an event that marks Brisbane's regular record-selling event's big return to the CBD, in fact. Yes, you can bet there'll be plenty of tunes waiting for a new home. Taking place from 10am–3.30pm on Saturday, March 4, the Brisbane City Mall Record Fair will bring vinyl galore to the CBD location. Expect a whole range of sellers keen to offload their records to avid shoppers and collectors. Rocking Horse Records is one of the organisers, too, so the event has a Brisbane music icon's tick of approval. Entry is free, although you'll want to bring your wallet if you're eager to boost your collection. You can find all manner of delights at a fair like this, from old classics to retro wonders — and albums you never even knew existed. Befitting the type of massive record fair that's set to sprawl across this central patch of pavement, DJ El Norto will setup the decks under the Queen Street Mall archway to spin a soundtrack to shop to.
After adding German-themed drinking spots to Chermside, South Bank and Bowen Hills, Rockpool isn't done with its new mission to spread steins and schnitzels across the city. Brisbanites can now enjoy all of the above at The Bavarian The Barracks, with the hospitality group expanding its footprint and one of its brands. Situated the top of Petrie Terrace, on the edge of the Barracks complex, the site is no stranger to hearty meals paired with hefty brews — for 26 years, up until April 2018, it was home to the city's most prominent Hog's Breath Cafe. With The Bavarian taking over the premises, the two-level spot is now a huge restaurant and beer hall that can accommodate 600 people. It also features a mix of indoor and outdoor seating, including in its 300-seater, string-lit beer garden. Visitors to any of Rockpool's other Bavarian joints — on Eagle Street, at Broadbeach and Coomera, and on the Sunshine Coast — will know what they're in for. As well as a range of 20 Australian, German and international brews on tap (and served in one-litre steins), plus a sizeable schnapps selection, the menu spans pretzels, pork knuckles, sausages and platters piled with meat. Picking a particular night of the week to head by is recommended, with different specials offered on various evenings, such as a two-for-one schnitzel deal on Tuesdays. Fancy stopping by for an afternoon brew and bite? The chain's Royal Snack Hour promotion, which offers up free gourmet sausage rolls, sloppy fries and popcorn chicken with a drink purchase between 4–6pm, also applies here. And if you're in the vicinity for lunch from Monday–Thursdays, there's also a $10 daytime deal. Decor-wise, think bright but rustic, including stone walls with timber finishes, communal wood tables and plenty of noticeable flourishes — including a beer barrel wall, and a chandelier made out of more than 500 steins. Greenery can be seen both inside and out, and, in a nod to the beer hall's location, so can 12 large-screen TVs playing sports. Indeed, although it might seem as if The Bavarian's latest outpost is rather close to its sibling venues in the CBD and just over the river in South Brisbane, setting up shop on Petrie Terrace is a smart move. The inner-city area is already home to more than a couple of watering holes, with two pubs and a burger brew bar just along Caxton Street; however, the proximity to Suncorp Stadium means that there are always plenty of hungry, thirsty Brisbanites in close range. Find The Bavarian The Barracks at 5 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane, open from 11am Monday–Sunday.
If you've seen A New Zealand Food Story then you'll already know the backstory behind new downtown restaurant Ahi. The eight-part online series follows acclaimed chef Ben Bayly and his team as they set out to discover what local cuisine is all about and where our produce comes from. It sees him enter rough Fiordland waters to harvest paua and crayfish, stalk deer through the Avon Valley, join a hook-to-plate fishing expedition in Foveaux Straight, and munch an absolutely enormous fig in Marlborough. The end goal is to create a truly unique New Zealand restaurant for the 28 March deadline. Five months later, in this year from hell, it's finally here. Ahi, translating from te reo Māori to 'fire', opened its doors for the first time on 31 August inside the new Commercial Bay precinct. Inside, Bayly and co-founder Chris Martin expand on the concept of fire with an open hearth in the kitchen. The 120-seat, hyperlocal space also features a woven oak ceiling to represent traditional Māori kete baskets, handmade plates from a West Auckland potter and an abundance of native timber which was salvaged by Bayly during the course of construction. Bayly says that Ahi's menu has been devised as a "culinary representation of what it means to be home, celebrating the diversity of the New Zealanders who bring produce to our tables." From whenua and moana, the land and the sea, diners can enjoy oysters by way of Waiheke Island, buffalo cheese from Whangaripo, speared butterfish from Cook Straight and cauliflower from Pukekohe. Snack items include tahr tartare with wild garlic and fermented hot sauce, hāngī pāua with kahawai, sour cream and kawakawa, and an interpretation of the 'Trumpet' made with buffalo ice cream and chocolate from Auckland's Miann. The larger courses complete the nationwide food tour. There's Fiordland crayfish soup with kūmara and saffron ravioli, Gisborne butternut with toasted harakeke flax and māhoe shoots, and 'Boil-up Toast' made with Berkshire pork, watercress and egg. From A New Zealand Food Story comes Bayly's wild-shot fallow deer in loin and cheek form, while the half crayfish you may have seen being charcoaled on the rugged Fiordland coast now comes with green onion and ginger sauce and lemon-sorrel salad. The restaurant comes complete with picturesque views out over the Waitematā Harbour — something which Bayly says is essential so diners know that they are in Aotearoa. Find Ahi on the second floor of the Commercial Bay precinct at 7 Queen Street. It's open 11.30am til late, seven days a week. Images: Manja Wachsmuth.
Thanks to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child gracing both the stage and the page, and the film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them making its way to movie screens, 2016 has offered plenty of opportunities to step back into the magical world of everyone's favourite wizard. Of course, there's a difference between eagerly heading to the theatre, ripping through a book or rushing off to the cinema, and entering a real-life Hogwarts-style school. HP fans, you might want to book a flight to Utah. Blackburn Academy of the Magical Arts is the passion project of Springville artist Benjamin Lee Roche, as inspired by J.K. Rowling's finest creations. And, as he puts the finishing touches on the kind of Harry Potter-themed home makeover that even the most enchanted among us would need an army of house elves to pull off, he's opened the abode's Gryffindor-centric bedroom to Airbnb travellers. Yes, you can spend a night or several in a room decked out like a cross between the Gryffindor common room and Harry Potter's dorm room — and you won't even have to exclaim "alohomora!" to get in. You'll also be able to access what's described as "an immersive environment meant to inspire imagination," complete with "multiple exotic animals that are available to see and potentially interact with". Decor-wise, the house includes hanging candles to mimic Hogwarts' Great Hall, as well as spaces dedicated to different magical arts. In addition to Airbnb bookings, it's currently open for tours and parties, with actual classes teaching divination, potions, calligraphy, care of magical creatures and more on the horizon. Via Daily Herald.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations — giving you a little inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we take you inside the San Domenico Palace, a Four Seasons Hotel. This luxe Sicilian stay is the real life set of The White Lotus season two, set within a 14th-century convent. Welcome to the playground of the rich and famous. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? This hotel is located within the ancient town of Taormina, sitting atop cliffs overlooking the sea. Yes, it's stunning. It's also where The White Lotus season two was filmed, meaning that you'll be walking in Jennifer Coolidge's footsteps — perhaps even staying in her glam suite. (A note: it does close over the European winter, with 2022 stays ending on November 28 and 2023 stays beginning from March 14.) THE ROOMS This swanky joint has 111 rooms and suites dotted about the property, most of which boast incredible views across the Ionian Sea. And those without ocean views get to look out towards Sicily's famous active volcano Mount Etna. It's obvious, but still worth mentioning that entry into this world doesn't come cheap, with rooms starting at about AU$850 a night and suites going for upwards of AU$10,000. It's stupid, but look at the photos — this place is gorgeous. We can imagine ourselves sitting in one of the sea-view suites, dipping in and out of our private plunge pool with a cheeky negroni sbagliato in hand — and then living off nothing but packets of ramen noodles for the rest of our lives. FOOD AND DRINK This is a Four Seasons Hotel, so you can expect some incredible food onsite. It has three separate restaurants and a garden bar (with the obligatory room service, too). Principe Cerami is the fine-dining restaurant, where you can wear your most glamorous holiday gowns and suits — because, we all have those, right? The slightly (just slightly) more chill restaurant Anciovi is where you'll get those White Lotus vibes. Grab a seat looking over uninterrupted views of the ocean and sink deep into la dolce vita. Sicily has got to be one of the best places in the world to eat, thanks to all that Italian cooking — be sure to get all the best local dishes while you're here. THE LOCAL AREA San Domenico Palace is in one of the most stunning parts of Sicily. Views from any part of this town are incredible, but this area is also steeped in history, with so much being preserved. The most famous site is the Teatro Antico di Taormina, as also seen in The White Lotus. It's an ancient Greco-Roman theatre which is still used to this very day. When visiting, you can see openair live orchestras and theatre permeances, all the while looking out over the sparkling waters. And, of course, you've also got plenty of beautiful beaches and coves down below the cliffs of the town. Beach hop for a few days before heading off another iconic Sicilian town — our picks are Palermo, Modica, Catania, Syracuse, Agrigento and any of the Aeolian Islands. THE EXTRAS A place this lavish doesn't just offer stunning views, rooms and food. There's always more. Treat yourself even more with massages, facials or scrubs in the Botanica Spa, or hit up the gym to work off all the arancini and pasta you'll be eating during the stay. But you really should explore the local area while you're here, too — and the San Domenico Palace team will organise all the best exclusive travel experiences for you. Go on a stargazing safari, a food tour around Mount Etna (led by the hotel's head chef), an Aeolian Islands sailing trip or even try a unique Sicilian sushi masterclass (yes, that's a thing). If you want to take advantage of all this, best get saving now — or start buying some more lotto tickets. For more information about San Domenico Palace, head to the hotel's website. 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.
Blue Bayou isn't Justin Chon's first film as an actor, writer, director or producer, but it's a fantastic showcase for his many talents nonetheless. It's also a deeply moving feature about a topical subject: America's immigration laws, which are complicated at best and draconian at worst. Worlds away from his time in all five Twilight flicks — because Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Anna Kendrick aren't the franchise's only breakout stars — Chon plays Antonio LeBlanc. While the Korean American tattoo artist has lived in Louisiana since being adopted as child, the name he was given upon his arrival in the US still sparks cognitive dissonance, as the job interview that opens the movie illustrates. It also doesn't stop both the casual and overt racism frequently directed his way, or the deportation proceedings that spring after he's accosted in a supermarket by New Orleans police officers. Helming and scripting as well as starring, Chon layers Antonio's situation with complexity from the outset. He's getting by, just, but his criminal record makes it difficult to secure more work — which he needs given his wife Kathy (Alicia Vikander, The Green Knight) is pregnant. He's a doting stepdad to her daughter Jessie (Sydney Kowalske, Doom Patrol), but her birth father Ace (Mark O'Brien, Marriage Story) is one of those aforementioned cops. Also, Ace has a bigoted partner, Denny (Emory Cohen, Flashback), who makes antagonising Antonio his daily mission. And, after that grocery store run-in, the latter discovers that his adoptive parents didn't ever complete the paperwork required to naturalise him as a US citizen. His life, his wife, his kids, that he has no ties to Korea: sadly, it all means nothing to the immigration system. Based on the plot description, it'd be simple to accuse Blue Bayou of throwing too much at its protagonist, dialling up his hardships and wallowing in his misery, all to tug at heartstrings. The film inspires a strong emotional reaction; however, this isn't just a case of calculating narrative machinations manipulating viewers to feel everything — or even something. There's a sense of inevitability to Chon's feature, his fourth after Man Up, Gook and Ms Purple, and it's all by design. The path that Antonio's life is forced down isn't surprising, complete with tough truths and heartbreaking realities, but it's filled with authenticity. Piling on misfortune after misfortune isn't merely a ploy when all of Blue Bayou's dramas can easily accumulate as they do here, and when no one's struggles are ever limited to just one or two troubles. There's no contrivance in sight, but rather a firm understanding of snowballing sorrows and their overwhelming impact. Still, Chon walks a delicate tightrope. He could've veered into tear-wringing movie of the week-style melodrama, clogged it up with cliches and failed to evoke even a single genuine feeling — or, alternatively, he could've deployed too much restraint and crafted a clinical, procedural film that saw Antonio as a mere cog in a system. The space he's carved out in-between is both masterful and organically messy; finding the right balance is a mammoth task, and embracing the whirlwind that sweeps along Antonio, Kathy and Jessie is inherently chaotic. The result is a stirring and empathetic film that's also precise and intricate, especially when it comes to the emotional deluge weathered by its central trio. At every turn, Blue Bayou plunges viewers into their turbulent existence, sees their plight with clear eyes and acknowledges all that that encompasses. That's true not just in the story's ups and downs, but in every shimmering sight lensed by cinematographers Ante Cheng (Death of Nintendo) and Matthew Chuang (My First Summer). Blue Bayou looks both gritty and romantic at once, finding the immensely tricky midpoint between staying in the moment with all its bleak developments, and also savouring the details, including the small joys and wins, as one does when recalling memories. The movie's urgent, bustling pacing falls into the first category as well, while the second camp spans a fondness not just for water and water lilies — its most heavy-handed piece of symbolism — but also for lingering close-ups of Chon, Kowalske and Vikander. The time spent with Chon and Kowalske alone is revelatory, in fact, soaking in their bond as if it's the most meaningful thing in the world. There's an openness and genuineness to these scenes — an in-the-moment earnestness — that marks Blue Bayou at its finest. The whole film takes the same approach as it shows not only what Antonio is battling against, but what he's fighting to retain; however, these tiny slivers of connection are its crowning glories. Chon is terrific on-screen and -off throughout, but he's exceptionally sincere and full-hearted when he's lapping up oh-so-fleeting seconds with scene-stealer Kowalske. That said, he brings the same resonance to Antonio's well-intentioned but self-destructive choices, especially in the film's midsection. His rapport with the also-excellent Vikander resounds with the kind of hard-fought love that's learned to survive and thrive against the odds, too. Visually, thematically and thanks to potent performances, Blue Bayou would make a stellar double with Monsoon — another big-hearted yet small-in-scale gem that's also about immigration, identity and the interpersonal flotsam that washes up when the pair collide. Scenes where Antonio befriends Vietnamese refugee Parker (Linh-Dan Pham, Mytho), who has similarly lived in the US since childhood and invites him to her family gatherings, particularly bind the two films. They're different in a plethora of ways but, crucially, both pictures recognise the importance of atmosphere in conveying an emotional state, putting audiences in the thick of it with their characters, and peering into minds and hearts. That's where Blue Bayou echoes, whether or not it's playing the Roy Orbison-penned song that gives it its name. This is a movie about migration, discrimination, resilience and endurance in an uncaring world, and about oppressive bureaucracies, engrained prejudice and a supposed land of the free that rarely lives up to that ideal, but it's always a film about people first and foremost.
Have you ever watched Groundhog Day and found yourself thinking, "this is all ace and amusing, but I wish a masked murderer was running amok?" Have you ever settled down for Edge of Tomorrow and decided that the whole thing really could use some spooky college hijinks? If your answer to either of those questions is yes, then horror-comedy Happy Death Day just might be the film you're looking for. Here, reliving the same day comes with laughs, scares and a very determined killer. Sorority sister Tree (Jessica Rothe) is the character caught in a loop, but becoming a better person or stopping alien invaders isn't her aim. Instead, she just wants to work out why she keeps ending up dead — and, obviously, to figure out how to avoid it. Each day plays out the same way: she wakes up in the dorm room of a classmate, Carter (Israel Broussard), who she assumes she drunkenly hooked up with, before shuddering when her roommate Lori (Ruby Modine) tries to give her a birthday cupcake. Going to class, house meetings, ignoring her dad, getting ready for her own surprise party — nothing is particularly out of the ordinary. Or rather, it seems that way until she's brutally attacked, then finds herself doing it all over again. Given Hollywood's fondness for repetition, it's surprising that a film like Happy Death Day didn't happen earlier. There are plenty of elements here that movie fans will recognise — and that's not news to director Christopher Landon (Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse). This is a flick that's well aware that Groundhog Day exists, and that the slasher scenario has been done to death (note the sly references to "Monday the 18th"). It's also knows that the Scream franchise has already found the thrilling and funny side of calling out and exaggerating genre tropes. Still, don't underestimate how far a playful tone and knowing approach can go in this situation. Producer Jason Blum is something of a horror maestro these days, backing the Paranormal Activity and Insidious franchises as well as this year's hits Split and Get Out. Keeping that successful run going, his latest takes to its satirical task with glee — think slick, montage-heavy visuals, an upbeat vibe and soundtrack, and absolutely no misapprehensions about the sort of entertaining, tongue-in-cheek movie that it wants to be. Thanks to the great work of Rothe, Happy Death Day also boasts an impressive central performance. Focusing on an attractive young woman fending off a bad guy is hardly new territory given the picture's chosen genre, but the actress last seen in La La Land portrays her protagonist as more than just a victim in waiting. After starting in Mean Girls territory, her zest and take-charge attitude matches that of the movie. As such, audiences should have no qualms about watching her experience the same day again and again — even if the film itself doesn't necessarily warrant repeat viewings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ENyivsLb_g
When life is operating as normal — or as close as possible to it — the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens gets a vibrant boost once a year. Thanks to outdoor contemporary art exhibition Botanica, the inner city spot comes alive with artworks, talks, installations and microprojections. In 2022, it'll do just that from Friday, May 20, in fact, with the dazzling showcase due to end on Sunday, May 29. The free event features luminous new outdoor pieces from artists such as Honari, Julie Monro-Allison, Tim Gruchy — and they deliver quite the feast for your eyes. Expect everything from the gardens' plant life to its furniture and buildings to get quite the vibrant makeover, and for the entire place to have quite the glow about it. If you need any further motivation to drop by and scope it out, Botanica Live Nights wants to tempt you along from 5pm each weekend — so, on from Friday, May 20–Sunday, May 22 and again from Friday, May 27–Sunday, May 29. That's when DJs spinning tunes, food trucks serving food and a pop-up bar pouring booze are also part of the program. You can take a guided tour and meet the artists, too. And if you want to bring a picnic to eat while you see the Gardens in a whole new way, feel free. [caption id="attachment_812086" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Museum of our lost world (2021) by Simone Eisler[/caption] Top image: Superorganism (2021) by Esem Projects (E/P).
When word first dropped in late 2020 that Surfers Paradise was about to nab a new sky-high beach club — a space that takes its cues from both California and Europe, sits right near the ocean, and features everything from pools and cabanas to restaurants and volleyball courts — the venue loomed as a must-visit summer destination. And, that's still the case, albeit almost a year later. Initially set to open over the 2020–21 summer, Cali Beach Club will now finally start welcoming in punters this month. From 5pm on Friday, September 24, you'll be able to mosey down to Surfers Paradise Boulevard, head up to a fourth-floor rooftop and get swimming and sipping — and enjoy lazing around on sun loungers and daybeds under both the sun and the stars. Bookings open at 12pm on Friday, September 10, too, if you're already keen to add the venue to your spring and summer plans. This new space inspires a few questions, the answers to which make quite the itinerary. Do you like hanging out by the beach? Splashing around in four pools, including three with beach edges? Enjoying a few games of volleyball on the sand? Watching a movie under the evening sky? If you nodded heartily in agreement at all of these queries, then you'll want to add Cali Beach Club to your must-visit list. If you also like to spend your time kicking back in a cabana, hopping between multiple restaurants and bars, dancing to DJs and gathering the gang on a rooftop with a view, you will as well. The site features all of the aforementioned facilities and activities in the one spot, so it's more than a little jam-packed with things to do. Perched on the corner of Surfers Paradise Boulevard and Elkhorn Avenue, sprawling across more than 5000 square metres, and boasting vantages over both the ocean and the Surfers' skyline, it's billing itself as an "adults-only playground" — but you might prefer to think of it as the boozy adult alternative to the theme parks that the Gold Coast is best known for. Australian hospitality group Artesian Hospitality is leading the charge here, putting almost $10 million into the entertainment precinct. Those funds have been spent on all of the aforementioned features, plus exercise areas and sports facilities — including that beach volleyball court — and an openair cinema and dance floor as well. In terms of food and drink, you'll have options courtesy of two restaurants and a couple bars. Exact details of what they'll be serving, and what'll make them different from each other, haven't yet been revealed — but one eatery will sit right by the ocean. Come evening, a moonlit cinema will screen flicks by the water — again, though, no other details have been revealed just yet. Showing Jaws and Point Break seems like a must, however, because everyone likes catching movies about the sea while they're literally right next to it. And, while it looks perfect for spring and summer shenanigans — 'tis the season for it — Cali Beach Club plans to operate year-round. Southeast Queensland does have the right weather right through autumn and winter, after all. Find Cali Beach Club on the corner of Surfers Paradise Boulevard and Elkhorn Avenue, Surfers Paradise, from 5pm on Friday, September 24.
Every Australian knows that our warm weather doesn't suddenly kick in when December 1 hits — Sydney just experienced its hottest November night on record, for instance — but the arrival of summer still always feels like an occasion. The end of the year is near, the festive season is in full swing and holidays are so very close. Understandably, that's all worth celebrating. Fancy marking the warmest portion of the year by licking your way through an ice cream — and a free one at that? Of course you do. So, to make that dream a reality, Ben & Jerry's and Uber Eats have teamed up to deliver free ice cream tubs across the first six days of December. Every day between Tuesday, December 1–Sunday, December 6, the two companies will be targeting a different Aussie city and handing out freebies. It all kicks off in Melbourne, before heading to Sydney on Wednesday, December 2 and Brisbane on Thursday, December 3. Then, it's Perth's turn on Friday, December 4, Adelaide's on Saturday, December 5 and the Gold Coast's on Sunday, December 6. To score yourself some ice cream without spending a cent — with around 1500 pints available per city — you will need to do some sleuthing, though. Think of it as a virtual dessert treasure hunt. Uber Eats is dropping clues each day via its Instagram feed, which'll point you to a local celebrity's own Insta page (once you've worked out the clue, that is). On the latter, you'll then find a code. That's what you'll have to enter after you've then hopped over to the Uber Eats app, found the participating Ben & Jerry's outlet near you and picked your favourite flavour. You will need to pay a delivery fee — but the ice cream itself won't cost you a thing. It's a first in, best dressed kind of giveaway — so you'll want to get in quick. But, when it comes to free ice cream, no one ever needs much motivation. For more information about the Ben & Jerry's and Uber Eats free ice cream giveaway — which is available in Melbourne on Tuesday, December 1; Sydney on Wednesday, December 2; Brisbane on Thursday, December 3; Perth on Friday, December 4; Adelaide on Saturday, December 5; and the Gold Coast on Sunday, December 6 — keep an eye on Uber Eats' Instagram feed.
"It's a hard film to Google," says Molly Manning Walker of How to Have Sex, simply due to her debut feature's moniker. "Everyone's always really loved the title, and it's been the title since the beginning. I guess it gets complex when it goes onto the internet and you get bots saying 'maybe I'll learn something' or 'they think they could teach me how to have sex'," the British writer/director continues. "The only thing I think someone once said was 'why don't we call it How Not to Have Sex?'. And I was like 'I think that's too obvious'. As it spends time with three 16-year-old British girls on a boozy Greek getaway to Malia, Crete — a Schoolies-esque rite-of-passage vacation where getting sloshed, soaking up the sun and slipping between the sheets are the only aims — How to Have Sex is as candid as its name. But Walker is never interested in being bluntly overt or neat; rather, everything about the movie is honest, raw and authentic. Premiering at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and collecting the Un Certain Regard Award in the process, her picture resonates because it's so lived in, so ripped from reality and so familiar to everyone who has ever been a teenager. It isn't a slice-of-life documentary, but finding someone who doesn't recognise their own youth in its frames will be rare. Walker doesn't just understand that sensation, which she's seen firsthand among audiences after screenings; she's in the same camp. Amid its fluorescent colours, strobing lights and sweaty intimacy, How to Have Sex sports a doco feel because its guiding force's own teen experiences partly inform this tale of Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce, Vampire Academy) and her best friends Em (debutant Enva Lewis) and Skye (Lara Peake, Halo) heading abroad to let loose, drink away their days and hook up. That includes witnessing fellatio on a stage in front of a heaving crowd, a scene in the feature — and in actuality — that couldn't say more about how cavalier that teen attitudes on sex can be, especially when aided by free-flowing alcohol. It also helps show the mindsets, plus the lack of thinking, that contribute to not taking an active approach to consent. How to Have Sex sees Tara lose her virginity in an inebriated haze of coercion and peer pressure. It also sees how and why a situation like this is so heartbreakingly common and recognisable, and unravels the aftermath. Walker's aim isn't to direct judgement at any character within the film, but to start conversations. Workshops also helped her gauge IRL takes on consent among today's teens. In England and Wales, How to Have Sex will now be shown to the age group it depicts as part of lawyer-led sessions run by the Schools Consent Project. With her first stint in the director's chair — she's also a cinematographer, lensing Scrapper, which debuted at Sundance 2023 — Walker has made an unforgettable feature. The BAFTA-nominee has also crafted a piece of essential viewing. And, as she always hoped, it is sparking discussions. "I think even without these holidays as such, these experiences happen when you're out and about in your local town as well. So I think as much as it was a comment on these holidays, it's a bigger conversation than that for sure," Walker says. Still, wanting that to be the outcome wasn't the same as knowing that's how people would respond. "It's been beautiful to see how people react to the film. We never expected it. When we were in the edit, you finesse over all these small things and spend so long stressing about how people might see it. So yeah, it's been pretty magical." Walker hopped from Cannes to the New Zealand International Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival with How to Have Sex last year, describing the period as "pretty hectic, just really full on". "We finished the film on like the Friday and we went to Cannes on the Tuesday, so I hadn't really had time to breathe or think about it," she also tells Concrete Playground. Her must-see feature receives a general release in cinemas Down Under from Thursday, March 7, 2024 — and Walker kept chatting with us about getting people talking, the movie's inspirations, those workshops, casting British Independent Film Awards' Best Lead Performance- and BAFTA Rising Star-winner McKenna-Bruce, ensuring that Tara wasn't just a victim and more. [caption id="attachment_944364" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Molly Manning Walker behind the scenes on Scrapper.[/caption] On What Inspired How to Have Sex, Including Walker's Own Experiences "I was very different as a teenager. I was like, when I was 16, long fake hair, fake eyelashes, covered in fake tan — and I went on loads of these holidays. I went on a holiday with some friends, and we were recalling some of the scenes from these holidays that we remembered, and I started to think it had a big impact on our perception of sex and how we navigate sexual experiences. That's where the idea sort of started. I guess it's all a combination of experiences and just imagination as well. The blowjob on stage is something I witnessed when we were on holiday." On the Research and Workshops That Helped to Shape the Movie "We lived in Malia for two weeks on the scout. We lived there in high season in the middle of a party town, so we were witnessing a lot of chaos all the time. Some of that, we were going up to people and saying 'we're making a film, can we take pictures of your outfits?'. And they were up for it. So it was all direct reference from reality or from memory. We went all around the UK doing some workshops, and it was just mad to see their perception on consent. Not many of them were wised up to consent. We would show them the assault scene and they would be like 'yeah, but, you know, they slept together the night before, so it's fine'. Or stuff like that. So it was really shocking, to be honest." On Giving How to Have Sex That Ripped-From-Reality Specificity "Every choice was to make it as authentic as possible, to ground it in reality. I would never have wanted it to feel like it was a film. So all across the production design, costumes, we chose a documentary cinematographer — everything was to ground it in reality. I wanted to really live and breathe it with them. The first half of the film is meant to be this really joyous party experience — and the second half, you start to see the underbelly of the party town. You see the glitter and then you see the darkness of it. It was split in two halves, both in every design, in production design, in lighting, in everything." On Finding Mia McKenna-Bruce to Play Tara, and the Impact of Her Performance on the Film "It was actually pretty early in the casting process. We got a tape of of Mia, and she's just so funny and her tape was so funny, but there was so much going on behind her eyes. I was pretty sure straight away that she was the one, which we were shocked at because we thought Tara would be the harder one to cast, considering how much she has to go through. But I was just really confident. I don't know what it is — when you see someone, you just kind of know. She's such a legend, Mia. She's a superstar, and she comes to set every day with energy. And often her first take, you'd be like 'so good', so you know where to go with that. But what it did mean was that we could experiment loads because she would always nail it on the first take, so we could bring some options to it. Sometimes, we would try a take with no words or we'd run lots of different experiments, which was really fun — and we could only do that because Mia was so good at nailing it the first time." On Ensuring That This Wasn't a Standard Victim Tale — and That Tara Was Resilient "With Tara, we wanted to not tell a victim story as we classically see it on screen. She's meant to be a bubbly character like all of us. We all go through these experiences and we're not just ruined for life as a film often shows it. So it's meant to show the resilience of young women. It's not that she's not affected by it, because of course she's going to be affected by it, but that she's resilient like people are. They carry on with all of their experiences." On Approaching the Film's Characters and Friendships Without Judgement "I guess they all have their own little stories going on, and the main thing for me was that we never looked down on them, and we never judged them — especially the boys. We want men to recognise themselves in them, in order to open the conversation up. We want it to be fun and for people to want to be on that holiday, but also to question what they're up to. So it was it was complex, for sure. The main thing for me was not to judge them, even though they're all going through their own stuff. But we've all been in those situations." On Starting Conversations with How to Have Sex — and the Reactions to the Film "We didn't really know to what extent people had been affected by this topic. Like, we knew that we wanted to talk about it, but we didn't really know how big the the impact would be. So many young women are coming out of screenings saying 'thank you for making this film, I feel seen'. I guess the quantity was unknown, but we were always hoping to to start a conversation for sure. I think one of the most powerful experiences was, it was like a 65–70-year-old guy pacing after the one of the screenings, and one of the distributors went up to him and said 'are you okay?'. And he said 'I've just realised that I've been that guy. I've been Paddy before.' That sort of blew my brain open because if we can do that for one person, then the film's done its job." How to Have Sex opens in Australian and New Zealand cinemas on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Read our review. How to Have Sex images: Nikolopoulos Nikos.
Woodford Folk Festival is a six-day cultural festival, held in Woodfordia, Queensland. Sure, this isn’t a festival for the faint-hearted: six days and nights of camping and partying is an epic venture. But, oh boy, is the trip and pricey ticketing worth it. This truly is the summer festival to end all summer festivals, with over 2000 performers, 35 venues and 438 national and international acts to feature this year — including the likes of the beautiful Clare Bowditch, uber-talented Sydney boy Brendan Maclean, the timeless Tim Finn and dreamboat Matt Corby. This is the festival for the free spirit.
After almost two years of waiting, there's less than two weeks left until Stranger Things returns to your Netflix queue to unravel more of the Upside Down's mysteries. Come July, the beloved series will finally unveil its latest 80s-set supernatural chapter, much to the delight of fans everywhere. And if you've been counting down the days for far too long, the streaming platform has gifted fans with another look at the series' new eight episodes. As we saw in the show's first full season three trailer three months ago, everyone is back — although the main crew is a little older, so expect teenage versions of Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Eleven (Millie Bobbie Brown), Will (Noah Schnapp), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Max (Sadie Sink) this time around. Elsewhere, Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) still looks shaken, Hawkins police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) is still a man on a mission, and everyone's favourite walking hairstyle — aka Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) — is now working in an ice cream parlour. Of course he is. Steve's place of work isn't a minor detail. As the marketing campaign has made plain and this new trailer expands upon, the brand new Hawkins mall plays a major part in the new batch of episodes. It's the sunny summer of 1985 in the small town, and its inhabitants are making the most of the warm weather, lack of school and abundance of free time that comes with it by hanging out at the shops. And dallying with more monsters, naturally. Said critter don't appear to be just regular ol' Demogorgons, either. This time, the creatures have a voice, too, advising Eleven and the gang that "we're going to end you, we're going to end your friends, and we're going to end everyone." While she thought she had banished them from our world at the end of the last season, it seems that's not how things have turned out. Adding to a list of trailers, alongside the season's initial cryptic teaser, this new footage also serves up plenty of other bits and pieces, but we'll let you discover the rest by watching. Check out the full trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcnHOQ-cHa0 Stranger Things season three arrives on Netflix on Thursday, July 4. Images: Netflix.
Over the past 47 years, in this very galaxy, how much Star Wars merchandise has been collected? Not even a Jedi could probably give a definitive number. When it makes its Australian premiere, The Fans Strike Back: Exhibition won't answer that question either, but it will give fans of the space-opera franchise a glimpse at a hefty range of Star Wars memorabilia — one of the planet's largest private collections of replicas, in fact. The force is strong here, and so is love for everything in the George Lucas-created big- and small-screen saga. Soaring into Melbourne from Saturday, November 23, 2024, and then set to tour the country afterwards — with dates for its other stops not yet announced — The Fans Strike Back: Exhibition features Star Wars starships, lightsabers, droids, creatures and even battles. An entire section is about the dark side, with Sith obviously starring heavily, while another is called The Jedi Temple. Some pieces are life-sized. Others are detailed models. Either way, Star Wars will surround attendees everywhere they look. This isn't an official showcase, however, with only private works featured. The Fans Strike Back: Exhibition finally heads Down Under after past stops in New York and Los Angeles in the US, and also London, Madrid and Paris in Europe. After Melbourne, where it'll display at The District Docklands, it's also set to show in Brisbane, Sydney and Perth. The Fans Strike Back: Exhibition is one of two Star Wars-related celebrations with an upcoming date with Australia. The other: Lego Star Wars: The Exhibition, which is a world-first showcase of Lego models based on the franchise. It'll arrive in 2025, making its global premiere. The two showcases aren't linked in any way, other than adoring Star Wars. The Fans Strike Back: Exhibition hails from the same crew that've also celebrated Banksy and NBA Down Under, and have a Wes Anderson tribute about to hit Melbourne. The Fans Strike Back: Exhibition opens at The District Docklands, Level 1, corner Star Crescent and Studio Lane, Docklands, Melbourne on Saturday, November 23, 2024, with tickets on sale from 6pm AEST on Wednesday, September 18, 2024. After that, it'll head to Brisbane, Sydney and Perth, with dates yet to be announced. Head to the exhibition's website for more details.
Two months after the Greater Brisbane area went into a snap three-day lockdown in response to a COVID-19 case, and following a period since that has been clear of community-acquired cases, state authorities have announced a new local infection. A doctor who had contact with two COVID-19 patients at the Princess Alexandra Hospital has now tested positive. Queensland Health first issued an announcement about the case late on Friday, March 12, and has now followed up today, Saturday, March 13 by outlining places that residents should note. By now, it has become a familiar routine — and, in this case, if you've visited these spots on the dates and during the times outlined, you should get a test for COVID-19 immediately and quarantine until you receive your results. This applies regardless of whether you have any coronavirus symptoms or not. On the high-risk list, all due to visits on Thursday, March 11: West End's Morning After from 2–3.15pm, Corporate Box Gym in Greenslopes from 5.45–7pm and the Stones Corner Hotel in Stones Corner from 7–7.45pm. Queensland Health has also identified McDonald's Coorparoo as a low-risk site, applying to visits from 3.10–3.20am on Thursday, March 11 — and the Corporate Box Gym in Greenslopes is on the low-risk list as well, but applying from 7pm that day. That means that anyone at either place at those times is being asked to monitor for symptoms and get tested if any arise. Patients and staff who may have been in contact with the doctor at the PA Hospital on Thursday, March 11 are also being contacted — and being quarantined, tested or both. https://twitter.com/qldhealthnews/status/1370334300114018304 In response to the current case, Queensland is changing some of its restrictions. All hospitals, aged care and disability services in the Greater Brisbane area — which includes Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay and Redlands — are now closed to visitors for at least three days, and anyone who does go inside has to wear a mask. The PA Hospital was also placed on lockdown on Friday night. The emergency department remains open, though, but Brisbanites are asked to get care at a nearby hospital or at a GP instead if they can. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said that the government will be "keeping the public updated over the next 72 hours. The next 72 hours is pretty critical to see if there has been any further community spread". For now, though, no other restrictions are tightening. Overnight, the state loosened caps on the amount of people who can gather in homes and in outdoor public areas, to 100 and 500 respectively. While Premier Palaszczuk said that the government isn't requiring the general community to wear masks at this stage, the usual advice applies — including maintaining a 1.5-metre distance from other people, washing our hands thoroughly, and the standard social distancing and hygiene tactics that have been in place for the past year. Queensland currently has 42 active cases of COVID-19, including the one community case, from a pandemic-wide total of 1379 to-date. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Queensland, head to the QLD COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website. Top image: Google Maps.
Lycra-clad ladies of the 80s and 90s making their mark in a ruthless, consumer-driven and male-dominated world, all by getting active: as far as on-screen niches go, that's particularly niche. It's also growing, though. Back in 80s itself, Flashdance did it. Starring a fantastic Kirsten Dunst, the sadly cancelled-too-soon 2019 series On Becoming a God in Central Florida did as well. For three seasons from 2017–19, GLOW similarly stepped into the ring. And since 2021, Apple TV+'s Physical has, too. What a feeling indeed. Starring Rose Byrne in one of her best performances yet — slipping in smoothly alongside everything from Damages on the small screen to Two Hands, Bridesmaids, Bad Neighbours and Bad Neighbours 2 in cinemas — this 80s-set dark comedy series bends, stretches and struts through the world of aerobics. More than that, Physical uses getting physical in spandex as a flex, savvily examining the agency and control that women have over their lives, or don't, one squat and step at a time. That's a particular focus in the show's now-streaming second season, which is dropping new episodes weekly, and finds itself in the post-fairytale zone. What happens when your dreams actually seem to come true? That's season two's obsession. Season one didn't quite see Sheila Rubin (Byrne, Irresistible) get everything she'd ever fantasised about. Rather, it followed the San Diego housewife as she pursued something she didn't even know she wanted until her endorphins kicked in at an aerobics class. The series' first batch of ten episodes established Sheila's routine existence, one that women in her situation were expected to just and breeze through in the early 80s. Married to professor and aspiring politician Danny (Rory Scovel, I Feel Pretty), and also a mother to Maya (Grace Kelly Quigley, Killing Time), she hid her bitter unhappiness with a focus on physical perfection — complete with an eating disorder and fraying mental health for her troubles. Then, exercise became her path forward. In season two, Sheila is the star of her own fitness tape — and spruiking it, be it in supermarkets or by hosting public aerobics classes, has become her life. But while she's in control of every exercise move she makes, earning the same power in her relationships, and in business, isn't as straightforward. She's still stuck in a rut with Danny, to put it mildly. He reinvents himself as a house husband while she focuses on her career, but he's also clearly uncomfortable about no longer being the centre of attention. Sheila is still caught in a torrid affair with grim Mormon business developer John Breem (Paul Sparks, Castle Rock), too. And while she starts leaning on her wealthy and supportive best friend Greta (Dierdre Friel, Second Act) more, she's also unable to shake the engrained notion that needing anyone's help is a sign of weakness. Byrne plays Sheila with emotional dexterity to match the character's physical fitness. Her ability to segue from projecting strength and confidence in Sheila's efforts to establish her own lifestyle brand, to still grappling with the hurt and self-loathing that's long been festering inside, is masterful and phenomenal. And, while the internal monologue that tears its protagonist to shreds again and again isn't as prominent this time around, Physical's second season is deeply committed to understanding Sheila's complicated relationship with herself. It sees the solace she gains in her workouts, as well as the distress of her binge-purge cycle. It spies the inherent contradiction between the image she wants to project to the world, and monetise, and her real inner state. It doesn't shy away from how messy that contrast is, or the struggles of bulimia, or her unhealthily vicious mental tirades — and it doesn't judge, either, even if Sheila does still judge herself. As marvellous as Byrne remains in her leading part — as attuned to the show's balance of sharp comedy and bristling tension, too, all while shot with a beachside, decade-appropriate and fitness-attire sheen — she's gifted also-excellent costars. The camera often lingers on Byrne's face and the whirlwind of feelings it is usually endeavouring not to betray, and moments where she's the sole focus of attention come often. Many, including multiple instances in season two where she's physically in pain but attempting to soldier on, are an acting masterclass. But she's also a sight to behold and a force to be reckoned with when she's bouncing off of Scovel, who plays his part with a relaxed sense of goofiness masking an insidious streak of selfishness. The same holds true about Byrne's scenes with Sparks and Friel. And, it's also accurate with Della Saba (Stillwater) and Lou Taylor Pucci (American Horror Story) as Bunny and Tyler — the aerobics instructor whose routine Sheila uses as inspiration for her own video and her surfer/stoner/videographer boyfriend. Season two also pairs Byrne with another Australian actor currently doing big things in America: The White Lotus scene-stealer Murray Bartlett. In a glorious piece of casting, he joins Physical as fellow aerobics instructor Vinnie Green, who Sheila seeks out when she wants to learn how to push her burgeoning aerobics empire into merchandise and infomercials. While Bartlett doesn't crap in anyone's suitcase here, his character plays a pivotal part in examining one of the season's core ideas: that truly having your shit together is a myth, no matter how much we'd all like to pretend otherwise. Indeed, for a series that's both candid and piercing about how its central figure sees herself — and what she has to do to tussle with that, all while carving out her own place in the world — Physical also understands and embraces how fraught and flawed it is to pursue perfection at all costs. On-screen, though, this smart and entertaining series from creator/writer/producer Annie Weisman (Suburgatory, The Path) does indeed have it all. That includes a staggering lead performance, a superb supporting cast and a complex premise unpacked with precision, as well as a pitch-perfect vibe and a killer 80s soundtrack. Check out the trailer for Physical season two below: Physical is available to stream via Apple TV+.
It wasn't just a Twitter thread — it was the Twitter thread. Whether you read Aziah 'Zola' King's viral 148-post stripper saga live as it happened back in October 2015, stumbled across the details afterwards as the internet lost its mind or only heard about it via Zola's buzzy trailer, calling this stranger-than-fiction tale a wild ride will always be an understatement. Its instantly gripping opening words, as also used in Janicza Bravo's (Lemon) savvy, sharp, candy-hued tweet-to-screen adaptation, happen to capture the whole OMG, WTF and OTT vibe perfectly: "you wanna hear a story about how me and this bitch fell out? It's kind of long, but it's full of suspense." In the film, that phrase is uttered aloud by Zola's eponymous Detroit waitress (Taylour Paige, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom). Still, the movie firmly embraces its origins. For those wondering how a filmmaker turns a series of tweets into a feature, Bravo handles the task with flair, energy, enthusiasm and a clear understanding of social media's role in our lives. Much of the phrasing that the real-life Zola used has made its way into the conversational script, which was co-written by playwright Jeremy O Harris. Each time that occurs, the film echoes with tell-tale swooshes, whistles and dings. But those words and alerts are just the starting point; as Zola's chaotic narrative unfurls, it comes to life with a mix of the hyperreal, the loose and the dreamy. It doesn't merely tell a tale taken from the tweetstorm to end all tweetstorms, but also uses every aesthetic choice it can to mirror the always-on, always-posing, always-sharing online realm. The other person that Zola refers to in her initial statement is the cornrow-wearing, blaccent-sporting Stefani (Riley Keough, The Lodge), who she serves at work, then joins on a jaunt to Florida. They immediately hit it off, which is what inspires the invite to head south — a "hoe trip" is how Zola describes it — however, what's meant to be a girls' getaway for a stint of lucrative exotic dancing in Tampa soon gets messy. The drive is long, and Stefani's boyfriend Derreck (Nicholas Braun, Succession) quickly dampens the mood with his awkward, try-hard schtick. Then there's X (Colman Domingo, Candyman), who, while introduced as Stefani's roommate, is actually her pimp. Trafficking Zola into sex work is the real plan of this working holiday, she discovers, but she's ferociously adamant that she won't be "poppin' pussy for pennies". As the woman both relaying and riding Zola's rollercoaster of a story, Paige is fierce and finessed. It's a tricky part; making the dialogue sound authentic, and also like it could've just been rattled off on social media with a mix of emojis and all caps, requires a precise tonal balance, for starters. So does ensuring that Zola always feels like a real person, especially given the tale's ups and downs. That said, Paige is guided by Bravo at every turn, with recognising how things play online and how they pan out in reality — and the frequent disconnection between the two — one of the filmmaker's biggest masterstrokes. That's exactly what a flick that's based on a Twitter thread should offer, rather than just mining posts for punchy content that's already proven popular. Using the platform as source material definitely doesn't equal an endorsement here. Instead, it sparks a brash and bouncy feature that interrogates its inspiration and the mechanism that turned it into a whirlwind, rather than serves up a cinematic retweet. Zola also draws upon David Kushner's Rolling Stone article 'Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted', because 148 tweets can't cover everything. Nonetheless, plenty of the film's success emanates from its almost-surreal 16mm imagery and its airy, eerie-scored atmosphere, too. Its namesake's early words aren't misleading: this is a narrative filled with suspense. The waves it surfs in its mood and stylistic decisions cause just as must jitteriness, though — in a fantastic way. Zola hangs together immaculately, and it constantly feels as if Bravo, cinematographer Ari Wegner (The Power of the Dog), editor Joi McMillon (If Beale Street Could Talk) and composer Mica Levi (Monos) could go anywhere. That's a powerhouse lineup of talent, after all, with the latter trio's resumes spanning some of the killer films of the past decade: Lady Macbeth, In Fabric, True History of the Kelly Gang, Moonlight, Under the Skin and Jackie all included. Alongside Paige, Zola's cast is equally impressive, even if it initially appears as if a few might simply stick to type. Keough could've stepped off of American Honey's set and onto this one, and not just because they're both road-trip movies, yet adds another tricky yet memorable performance to her filmography. Written into her character, and conveyed in her portrayal as well, is a dissection of cultural appropriation. Stefani acts like she's Black in lieu of forming her own identity, is wilfully ignorant of that fact while being openly racist, and provides a pinpoint-precise portrait of oblivious, exploitative, all-devouring whiteness. Similar ideas bubble through Braun's work as the gangly and bungling Derrek — a twist on his acclaimed Cousin Greg persona, but with far less cash — and the concept of adopting a part and facade also lingers in Colman's scarily compelling and icily charming efforts. These are layered performances, befitting the rich and multi-faceted film they're in. Nothing in any movie is ever just one thing, but Zola demonstrates that notion with commitment and command. It's there in the feature's bold approach, including its eagerness to unpack its genesis on several levels. It's there in the film's gleaming yet never glamorous appearance as well, which almost pitches itself into the world of fantasy while steadfastly recognising that nothing about its story is seductive or alluring. And, it echoes in the tiniest of choices. Take an early moment, in a bathroom, where both Zola and her new pal take a leak. Shot from above, this is the smartest peeing scene you're ever likely to see, and expresses so much about its central duo purely by peering at their urine. Turning tweets and piss into a must-see movie? That's cinematic alchemy.
Karaoke has the power to change even the most lacklustre of personalities into momentary legends. All you need is a strong microphone grip, a few measly bucks and the confidence to stand in front of a crowd of drunks and sing your little heart out. Karaoke can turn boys into Men at Work, girls into Scissor Sisters and the rest of us into Laupers, Twains or Springsteens. So sit down, read up, and find out where, when and for how much your X Factor dreams can come true. CASABLANCA Casablanca holds the throne as Karaoke King of Brisbane. If you’re clever you won’t have to pay a cent to jump on stage and belt out a tune — just manoeuvre the crowds, head to the karaoke curators at the side of the bar and pick the perfect song to win over your audience. With Suncorp-quality lighting and a modest platform that instils both nerves and notoriety, karaoke at Casablanca is a public affair where your talents (or lack thereof ) can't possibly go unnoticed. Beware by-products of the Caxton Hotel and indulging your nastier taste buds with a succession of vodka Cruisers. But most importantly, don’t go accidentally falling into the crowd of perspiring women laced in 'Bride to Be', 'Birthday Girl' and generic 'Princess' sashes, heading down the steps to Aussie Thunder. 52 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane; (07) 3369 6969; Mon-Sun from 9.30pm; www.casablanca.com.au BRUNSWICK HOTEL One for the picky song-choosers. The Brunswick has the best karaoke song list in Brisbane, with all your Farnhams and Newton-Johns as well as newer chart toppers for the serious karaokers. Luckily the Brunswick crowd happily accepts everything from Led Zeppelin's entire back catalogue to Avicii hoedowns, Beatlemania to One Direction squeal-inducers. And if all that crowd work makes you peckish, there’s a solid selection of nibbles on offer; with a range of cocktails that will have you confusing this humble abode for The Viper Room. 569 Brunswick St, New Farm; (07) 3850 0000; Thursday and Saturday from 9pm; www.thebrunswickhotel.com.au CYBER CITY 2002 The myths surrounding Cyber City 2002 have been passed down from generation to generation, growing thicker with time. Do the Yakuza really own it? Does it really have some of the best karaoke in Brisbane? And is it the largest hub of MSG in all of Australia? We can tell you one of these myths is indeed fact. The karaoke at Cyber City 2002 is real bang for your buck — Fortitude Valley location, rooms that could fit The Brady Bunch and a dinner menu that's the kind of greasy, questionable Chinese that pairs well with drunk ballads. It's worth getting a group together to pay for a room — prices aren't steep, but they aren't cheap either — and the karaoke corridors can be confusing in any state of mind, so make a point of remembering your room number if you have to duck out. If you need a moment to rest your voice box, don't bother trying your luck on one of the claw toy vending machines. Thirty dollars later and no stuffed elephant, I shouldn't have to explain. 206 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley; (07) 3229 7031; Mon-Sun till late. FAT LOUIE'S The beauty of Fat Louie's is its central location, perfect for spontaneous post-drinks karaoke decisions. But with pool tables in abundance, a seemingly strict dress code of black on black and drinks cheaper than you deserve, Fat Louie’s has everything you want — on a rather doable budget. Louie's Tokyo-style karaoke rooms are decked out with laser lights, modular lounges and hip hop-inspired electronics that will have performing like you've got a main-stage slot at Stereosonic. Karaoke rooms book out fairly quickly on a Friday and Saturday, so calling ahead always helps. And if you karaoke before 5pm, rooms are half price — that's something worth singing about! 1/124 Albert St, Brisbane; (07) 3229 7031; Mon-Sun till late; www.fatlouies.com.au
Everyone has a favourite kind of cocktail — and if yours is the good ol' trusty tipple that is the old fashioned, November is your time to shine. Every year, Woodford Reserve hosts Old Fashioned Week, which is about putting the brand's booze to work in a classic concoction. In 2023, it runs from Saturday, November 4–Saturday, November 18. Hailing from the alcohol label and showcasing one specific type of drink, the fest is popping up at more than 40 bars across Australia, including nine in southeast Queensland. Even better: there's a complimentary Woodford Reserve old fashioned up for grabs for everyone. To claim your sip, you will need to head to the event's website, enter your details, then activate your voucher when you're in one of the participating watering holes. Your places to hit up: The Press Club, The Jubilee and Caxton Hotel in Brisbane, as well as Boston Shaker on the Sunshine Coast — and The Roosevelt Lounge, Loose Moose, Bine, Hideaway and Den Divine on the Gold Coast. And, of course, whether you're drinking your free beverage or not, old fashioneds are firmly on the menu.
Winter is coming, and while there aren't any white walkers to fear in Tasmania (that we know of), it does get pretty darn cold. But don't get ahead of yourself. There's something incredibly magical about the cooler months in Tassie. While us northerners get chilly, rainy grey days once winter settles in, this southern state becomes a glittering wonderland that looks like it's straight out of a fairytale. Plus, along with the dustings of snow prettying up the place, the season brings a calendar of epic events. You really have no reason to hibernate this year. From 5000-strong singalongs around massive bonfires to dressing up in costumes to scare away evil spirits in the apple orchards, partaking in Tasmania's winter events is much more enjoyable than hibernation. To help you start planning, we've compiled a list of the best, most interesting experiences the island state has to offer. So, pack your warmest winter woollies, grab some mates and prepare yourself for a jam-packed Tasmanian winter adventure. [caption id="attachment_619512" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rosie Hastie.[/caption] SWIM NAKED WITH A THOUSAND PEOPLE DURING THE WINTER SOLSTICE You haven't swum, till you've swum stark naked — in the company of a thousand people and in really, really, really cold water. This chilling event happens every year as part of Dark Mofo, MONA's midwinter festival that delves into ancient rituals and mythologies to uncover all things dark — and light. The swim always takes place at sunrise on the winter solstice (set this year on Saturday, June 22 at 7.42am), with swimmers lining the shores of the River Derwent in the dark, before donning red bathing caps and diving in simultaneously. Oh, and the water temperature? It's usually at a cosy seven degrees celsius, give or take. [caption id="attachment_719539" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Festival of Voices by Phil Kitt.[/caption] SING ALONG AT THE FESTIVAL OF VOICES If you were one of those kids at camp that actually enjoyed sitting around the campfire and singing 'Kum Ba Yah', then you're going to love the Festival of Voices. First held as a way for the community of Tasmania to stay active and warm over the island state's famously chilly winter, the event now attracts thousands of people each year to come and sing together around a huge bonfire in Hobart's Salamanca. It's a pretty raucous affair, unsurprisingly. Plus, now that the festival is so popular, there are also plenty of professional performances all over Hobart and its surrounds that you can catch while it's on. [caption id="attachment_719533" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Enchanted Walk by Paul Fleming.[/caption] WANDER ALONG CRADLE MOUNTAIN'S ENCHANTED WALK The Lord of the Rings movies might've been shot in New Zealand, but Tasmania could have easily been a secondary location choice. Nowhere is this truer than Cradle Mountain, where the landscape is an utterly stunning combination of misty rivers, ancient trees and rugged peaks. One of the best ways to experience this beauty is the Enchanted Walk. Beginning at Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge, this short, one-kilometre trek winds its way around Pencil Pine River, a lovely waterfall and a whole host of magical looking snow-dusted vegetation, before finally ending at Ronny Creek. If you're lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of some wombats grazing among the buttongrass. [caption id="attachment_719537" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sarah Island, courtesy of RACT Destinations.[/caption] TAKE TO THE WATER ON THE GORDON RIVER CRUISE Speaking of misty rivers and ancient trees, you'll find both deep within the heart of Tasmania's Wilderness World Heritage Area, where the Gordon River is setting the bar high when it comes to mystical landscapes. If you're keen to experience that magic in all its glory, jump on a Gordon River Cruise and set sail past some of Tasmania's most historic landmarks and wild wonders. From Hells Gates at Macquarie Harbour to rare white-breasted sea eagles and ancient rainforests filled with Huon pine (Australia's oldest tree), you'll have a chance to learn all about Tasmania's convict history while also taking in some of the most incredible scenery you'll ever lay eyes on. [caption id="attachment_719541" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival by Natalie Mendham Photography.[/caption] PARTY AT THE HUON VALLEY MID-WINTER FESTIVAL Known in some circles as the Apple Isle, it's not surprising that Tasmania and its locals are pretty keen on the crispy red fruit — and that's exactly why the Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival has become so popular in recent years. Luring people in with the promise of apple cider, huge feasts, dancing and a big ol' bonfire, it's the wassailing event that's the festival's most famous. Performed to bring on a good apple harvest, the ancient English tradition involves dressing up in all sorts of strange, sometimes animal-like costumes to scare away evil spirits from the apple orchard. But if ceremonies aren't your thing, there's still plenty of live music, Willie Smith's Organic Apple Cider and locally sourced food to enjoy. Top image: Huon Valley Mid-Winter Fest by Lusy Productions.
It'd be easy to be cynical about The Zookeeper's Wife. If it wasn't based on a true story, setting a World War II tale in a zoo could seem like an obvious attempt to wring cheap sentiment out of a tragic situation — we've already seen humans ravaged by combat, so we'll throw animals into the mix instead. Thankfully, that's not actually the case here. The drama might feature cute creatures big and small, but it's firmly concerned with the human impact in times of conflict. To be specific, The Zookeeper's Wife explores how people cope when their lives and livelihoods are threatened, and how they band together to help others subjected to unspeakable horrors. When war hits and Hitler's head zoologist Lutz Heck (Daniel Brühl) arrives, it doesn't take long for Warsaw zookeeper Dr. Jan Żabiński (Johan Heldenbergh) and his wife Antonina (Jessica Chastain) to switch their focus. If they can't run their usual operation — their best animals are shipped to Germany, while others meet a bleaker end — then they'll do everything they can to help rescue the Jewish people that have been rounded up in ghettos and treated worse than cattle by the Nazi regime. Schindler's List might've just popped into your mind, as well as a plethora of other movies based upon tales of courage and sacrifice during the Holocaust. That's perfectly understandable. Familiarity isn't always a bad thing — there's a reason that filmmakers are drawn to similar stories, particularly when they demonstrate people displaying their best possible traits at a time when civilisation as a whole is doing the opposite. There's much about The Zookeeper's Wife that follows the expected path. Whale Rider director Niki Caro brings the non-fiction book of the same name to the screen with handsome images and a solemn tone. There are grim scenes of cruelty and carnage, although the darkest deeds are alluded to rather than shown. The movie charts acts of hidden resistance that saved lives, and paints its otherwise ordinary protagonists as extraordinary heroes. Not unlike the recent Their Finest, it also provides an unmistakably female-aligned view of war, from the nurturing urge that sees Antonina shelter as many escapees as she can, to the clear threat of sexual violence that lingers every time Brühl's villainous character makes his intentions known. Of course, that's where the reliably excellent Chastain comes in. After proving so ruthless and defiant in Miss Sloane, she's softer and kinder here, yet no less compelling. Indeed, there mightn't be much nuance in the film's melodramatic storytelling, but Chastain herself brings plenty. That applies whether she's saving a baby elephant, helping her secret house-guests, conveying a world of dismay in a glance, or rallying against oppression. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ibf46kh2Ec
When Netflix officially launched on our shores back in 2015, three things happened. First, everyone without a VPN rejoiced. Next, anyone already familiar with their US offering couldn't help noticing that the Aussie catalogue was considerably smaller. Finally, while the streaming service was eager to sign up Australian customers, it didn't show any signs of putting those subscription fees towards making local content. It might've taken two years, but they're finally addressing the latter issue. Behold, Netflix's first original Aussie series. Due to be made in Queensland in 2018, and presumably providing fuel for late 2018 binge-watch sessions, Tidelands is a supernatural crime drama series about a fishing village with strange inhabitants: a group of dangerous half-Sirens, half-humans called 'Tidelanders'. Ten episodes, each running for 50 minutes, will be made, with Brisbane's Hoodlum Entertainment doing the honours. And Tidelands won't just gift Australian users with a new favourite series, with the show set to land in all 190 countries that Netflix is available in. Thinking you've seen plenty of Aussie stuff on Netflix already? You're not wrong, however, there's a difference between throwing old sitcoms and standup specials into a range inexplicably overflowing with new Adam Sandler movies, and actually funding brand new Australian material. Last year, it was announced that they'd join forces with the ABC to co-produce a second season of Glitch, which showed them dipping a toe in the water — but now they're completely diving in. Tidelands will join the platform's hefty stable of original series, which started back in 2013 with House of Cards, and just keeps growing (Orange Is the New Black, The Get Down, The OA, Wet Hot American Summer, Master of None, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Dear White People, BoJack Horseman, four Marvel series with one more to come — the list goes on). Given the premise, here's hoping it'll be the next Stranger Things, and not the new Hemlock Grove.
Brisbane Festival is almost here, with Queen's Wharf serving as a central dining and entertainment hub drenched in a bright pink hue. Running from Friday, September 5–Saturday, September 27, this 22-day festival will feature a host of groundbreaking culinary celebrations, live performances and cultural encounters, with Queen's Wharf playing a significant role in what's now recognised as Australia's largest international arts festival. Dining is a major focus, with the precinct's top-notch restaurants rising to the occasion. Spanning the likes of Sokyo, Aloria, Cucina Regina and Black Hide Steak & Seafood, guests can expect limited-edition eats and ten-plus gastronomic experiences, from bottomless feasts to golden hour sips. Queen's Wharf will also become the Brisbane Festival's go-to vantage point for Riverfire, the event's most vibrant night. Think dazzling fireworks alongside three cross-river bridges adorned with pop art installations by acclaimed design duo Craig & Karl. The Landing, a purpose-built, 600-seat grandstand on the river's edge, might just offer the best experience. Plus, this brand-new spot will also be prime position for two of the festival's most anticipated spectacles. That'd be Baleen Moondjan, Art Director Stephen Page's first major solo commission, celebrating First Nations culture and stories set among giant whale bones floating on the Brisbane River. Meanwhile, visitors can catch Skylore from The Terrace, where hundreds of drones will illuminate the sky above the city. Back on solid ground, the precinct will also burst to life with headline-grabbing musical talent. Throughout the festival, catch the upbeat Latin tunes of Major Musiq, the electronic beats of Ladyhawke or the disco hits of Groove City, who close out the festivities with a galactic celebration. Don't forget to hunt down a specially created Turkish Delight Martini from the precinct's signature venues.
UPDATE, February 1, 2021: Beauty and the Beast is available to stream via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. It's a tale as old as time, or so the song tells us. But just what is that ageless story at the heart of Beauty and the Beast? Opposites attracting, sure, but a fair maiden warming to an arrogant prince who's been cursed with a monstrous appearance isn't really an everyday experience. On the other hand, with gender equality still an ongoing problem in our society, a narrative about a young woman being undermined by an egocentric male, belittled for her intelligence, and robbed of her agency by an imposing force all very much fits the bill. While breathing new life into Disney's popular animated effort is the movie's main aim — just as they've done with Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, Cinderella and The Jungle Book — the Mouse House hasn't missed the opportunity to bolster this live-action offering in certain distinctive ways. You don't cast Emma Watson as Belle without ensuring that the titular beauty isn't just kind but determined, confident, courageous and willing to fight for her place in the world. In fact, with the film also boasting Disney's first interracial kiss and first exclusively gay moment, the studio is clearly trying to bring the narrative in line with the times. The plot is much the same as it was in 1991, or the mid-18th century for that matter. The prince (Dan Stevens) is transformed due to his uncaring behaviour, with love the key to breaking the spell. Meanwhile, a young girl named Belle yearns for life beyond her quiet village, where she is frowned upon for her studious ways and persistently wooed/harassed by vain town hunk Gaston (Luke Evans). Beauty meets beast when she goes looking for her missing inventor father (Kevin Kline), who has been imprisoned in the man-turned-creature's enchanted castle. With singing household objects such as Lumière the candlestick (Ewan McGregor), Cogsworth the clock (Ian McKellen), Mrs Potts the teapot (Emma Thompson) and Plumette the feather duster (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) all on hand to dispense advice, what follows is a tale about longing and romance, as well as a spirited fable that champions a woman's right to choose her own destiny. The film's modern attitude feels especially refreshing, without ever seeming too on the nose. This is a production that's eager to weave its progressive positions into the fabric of the narrative rather than shout its from the castle turrets. Director Bill Condon (Mr Holmes) takes a classical approach to the movie's look and feel. Lavishly staged, costumed and choreographed, stepping into the world of Beauty and the Beast is like stepping into a storybook. All of the old tunes hit the spot (McGregor and company crooning 'Be Our Guest' is a highlight), although a couple of new inclusions prove little more than melodic padding. As for the cast, the expectedly impassioned Watson, suitably brooding Stevens and gloriously pompous Evans all help make this timeless tale seem equally nostalgic and new.
Did you promise yourself that 2022 would be the year that you make that long-awaited trip to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef? Well, now you can finally tick that bucket-list trip off your list — on us. To celebrate the launch of the Qantas Green tier program, Qantas Frequent Flyer has teamed up with the destination leader in sustainable travel in Australia — Tropical North Queensland — to give away an eco-conscious holiday to the tropical north for you and a plus one. The prize is valued at over $11,000 and includes all the sustainable travel trimmings. You'll start with return airfares with Qantas that are 100-percent carbon offset. Then you'll spend three nights at the luxe carbon-neutral Daintree Eco Lodge, a Qantas Hotels eco-accredited property. The prize also includes an eco-certified trip to the Great Barrier Reef with National Sustainability Award winner, Sailaway, an exclusive rainforest conservation experience at Rainforest Rescue with a smoking ceremony by a Kuku Yalanji Traditional Owner, provided by Walkabout Cultural Adventures, and more. To take things one step further, we'll also be donating $5000 to Rainforest Rescue to help the organisation continue its crucial work in preserving and conserving the ecosystem in Tropical North Queensland. So you'll be doing good while you have a very, very good time. Keen to nab this incredible tropical holiday? Simply fill out your details below for your chance to win. [competition]844390[/competition]
2023 is almost upon us, and the team at Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art's (MONA) is getting ready in a big way. Already this year, the venue has locked in dates for the return of its sinister winter arts and culture festival Dark Mofo in June 2023; however, it hasn't forgotten about summer fest Mona Foma — which'll be back in February with some mighty impressive names on the bill. The dates to get excited about: Friday, February 17–Sunday, February 19, 2023 in Launceston, and Friday, February 24–Sunday, February 26, 2023 in Hobart. The onstage talents to get even more excited about: Pavement, Bon Iver, Bikini Kill, Angel Olsen and Peaches, just for starters. [caption id="attachment_874262" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Graham Tolbert. Image courtesy of the artist and Mona Foma.[/caption] Bon Iver has already locked in an Australian tour for 2023, and it includes Mona Foma's Hobart run — well, an early show on Tuesday, February 21, before the fest kicks off in the city properly that Friday. Pavement already has an Aussie tour on the books for 2023 as well, and will play Mona Foma in Hobart on Saturday, February 25 with Missouri singer-songwriter Olsen. Actually, the Hobart leg of the fest is looking incredibly enticing, because that's where Bikini Kill will pop up, too. Girls to the front, because the iconic Kathleen Hanna-fronted, Washington-formed, Riot Grrrl movement-instigating group will perform their first Australian show in more than 25 years. (Yes, either watching or rewatching exceptional documentary The Punk Singer, about Hanna, should be on your must-do list right now. Fun fact: when Hanna spray-painted "Kurt smells like Teen Spirit" across her pal Mr Cobain's wall, the name of a certain grunge anthem was born.) [caption id="attachment_874264" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tarina Westlund. Image courtesy of the artist and Mona Foma.[/caption] Peaches is also heading to Hobart, joining the Pavement and Angel Olsen, and Bikini Kill gig, as part of the MONA Sessions — aka summery evening gigs on the MONA lawns. Launceston will get its own batch of impressive talent. Get ready to see Perturbator, The Chills and Kae Tempest in the northern Tassie city; again, that's just the beginning of the full lineup. That complete program will be unveiled on Monday, November 28, with tickets for Bon Iver on sale now, and all other currently revealed gigs going on sale at 9am AEDT on Monday, October 24. [caption id="attachment_874265" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hadley Hudson. Image courtesy of the artist and Mona Foma.[/caption] "We are effusively launching back into international artists big-time in 2023," said Mona Foma Artistic Director Brian Ritchie, announcing the lineup so far. "The intellectual, spiritual and partying life of Tasmania cannot help but be enriched by such a diverse range of artists as renaissance person Kae Tempest, provocateur Peaches and her raunchy mob, storyteller Angel Olsen, pioneers and forerunners Bikini Kill, venerable Antipodean philosophers, The Chills and the enveloping miasma of Perturbator. This in addition to already announced Bon Iver and Pavement, plus a whole lot more to come. Stay tuned." MONA's summer event was originally held in Hobart, where MONA is located, but made the move to Launceston in 2019. [caption id="attachment_874267" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mona/Adam Gibson. Image Courtesy Mona, Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] Already keen to get booking? Fancy a Tasmania trip in the interim? Our Concrete Playground Trips Hobart getaway might also be of interest. Mona Foma will take place from Friday, February 17–Sunday, February 19, 2023 in Launceston, and from Friday, February 24–Sunday, February 26, 2023 in Hobart. We'll update you when the full program is announced on Monday, November 28 — but head to the festival website in the interim for further details. Top image: Debi Del Grande. Image courtesy of the artist and Mona Foma 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.
How much green will be seen at 2025's Laneway Festival? With Charli XCX headlining, expect the Brat hue to be everywhere. Given the event's February timing, and the fact that Charlotte Emma Aitchison is headlining, it's going to be Brat summer Down Under. It's set to be a Djo, Beabadoobee-, Clairo-, Barry Can't Swim- and Remi Wolf-soundtracked summer as well, with the quartet also among the big names on Laneway's lineup. Charlie XCX was last in Australia in 2023 for Sydney WorldPride and For the Love, and before that in 2020 at Laneway. If you're keen to see the 'Guess', '360', 'Apple', 'Speed Drive', '1999', 'Doing It' and 'Boom Clap' talent this time, you'll need a Laneway ticket, as she's playing exclusively at the fest. [caption id="attachment_975321" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Harley Weir[/caption] In 2025, she'll have company from BICEP doing their CHROMA AV DJ set, Olivia Dean, Eyedress and Skegss, too, alongside STÜM, RONA, Hamdi, Joey Valence & Brae, 2hollis, Fcukers, Ninajirachi, Julie, and Girl and Girl. The event started by Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio in the mid-00s is playing Brisbane Showgrounds in the River City on Saturday, February 8, 2025. [caption id="attachment_974759" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Charlie Hardy[/caption] Laneway Festival 2025 Lineup Charli XCX Beabadoobee Clairo Barry Can't Swim BICEP present CHROMA (AV DJ set) Djo Remi Wolf Olivia Dean Eyedress Skegss STÜM RONA Hamdi Joey Valence & Brae 2hollis Fcukers Ninajirachi Julie Girl and Girl + Triple J unearthed winners Top images: Charlie Hardy/Maclay Heriot. Updated Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
When it comes to taking to the streets, spraying some paint around and stencilling up a storm, Banksy isn't the only artist worth celebrating. In fact, street art is thriving in Brisbane — so much so that there's now a returning festival dedicated to it. That'd be the Brisbane Street Art Festival, which unleashes its fourth iteration around the city from Saturday, May 4 to Sunday, May 19. If you're wondering just what it involves, let us throw a few numbers and details your way: 46 large-scale murals will pop up around town, all from Australian and international artists, including 27 prominent female street artists. They'll take over 16 different spots, too. And, the two-week fest will also include music, several showcases, talks and workshops. The full rundown includes a launch party in a riverside brewery, scribble slam sessions, live tunes, an aerosol masterclass, an exhibition about climate change and a street art cycling tour — plus art in places as varied as the Valley Mall, Howard Smith Wharves, West Village, the Wharf Street Tunnel, and many a street around the city, too. If that all sounds rad — and it really does — then you have no excuse not to take part. Images: Aimee Catt. Artists: Gus Eagleton / Drapl and Treazy Updated April 8.
Usually, for one week each September, Brisbane becomes Australia's live music capital — even if a Melbourne survey generally claims otherwise. When BIGSOUND hits the city, it seems like every venue in Fortitude Valley is packed to the rafters with bands, industry folks and music-loving punters, all enjoying the latest and greatest tunes and talent the country has to offer. There's nothing usual about 2020, though. And, yes, that applies to this beloved music-fuelled celebration. Thankfully, BIGSOUND is still forging ahead this year as a physical — but socially distanced and COVID-safe — event; however it'll look a little different. Rather than a four-day lineup of conferences, workshops, facilitated conversations, live festival showcases, secret shows and official parties, music fans can look forward to all of the above across a condensed two-day (and two-night) program. And, instead of happening in September, it'll all take place on Wednesday, October 21 and Thursday, October 22. While just who'll be strutting their stuff hasn't yet been revealed, this year's changes are likely to mean that there'll be a smaller list of artists gracing the event's stages — down from last year's tally of 147. Venue-wise, too, BIGSOUND will be smaller, taking over ten Fortitude Valley spots compared to 2019's 18 sites. Again, just where the fest will be cranking up the tunes hasn't been revealed, but venues such as Black Bear Lodge, The Zoo and The Elephant Hotel have been involved in past years. [caption id="attachment_636255" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bec Taylor[/caption] Overseeing the yet-to-be-unveiled program are Janne Scott, BIGSOUND's creative director (and Splendour In The Grass' senior creative manager); Alethea Beetson, the event's First Nations producer and programmer; and Dominic Miller and Ruby-Jean McCabe as festival co-programmers. Past BIGSOUNDs have showcased everyone from Gang of Youths, Flume, Tash Sultana and Courtney Barnett to San Cisco, Violent Soho, Methyl Ethel and The Jungle Giants, so its program is usually a very reliable bellwether of current and up-and-coming talent. BIGSOUND 2020 runs across Wednesday, October 21 and Thursday, October 22 at various venues around Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. For further details, or to pre-register for delegate pass from 9am on Wednesday, July 29, visit bigsound.org.au. To discover what to do, see, eat and drink while visiting Brissie for the annual event, check out our weekender's guide to Brisbane during BIGSOUND.
Bending, twisting, somersaulting, swinging — on the stage and in the air, that's what a Circa production serves up. The Brisbane-based company doesn't put on your stereotypical kind of circus shows, instead showcasing the physical art form in its contemporary guise. It's acrobatic, it's inventive, and it also blends movement, dance and theatre into one stunning circus performance. Naturally, all of the above is on display at Circa's Peepshow, the company's hit adults-only show. Imaginative, playful, and featuring a heap of extreme aerial work and contorted poses, the circus cabaret production debuted in 2018, sold out a six-month season in Berlin, and has been seen by more than 47,000 people. Now, it's hitting Brissie to start off 2020 in style. [caption id="attachment_756607" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] The Other Richard[/caption] Filled with eye-popping feats, Peepshow will light up QPAC's Cremorne Theatre from Tuesday, January 14–Saturday, January 25. Expect a production that's both amusing and athletic — and sultry, too. Top image: Andy Phillipson.
Whether your fridge-shaped DVD box set is looking a little worse for wear, or you've spent too much time streaming the series in your spare time, we could all use a little more Seinfeld in our lives — and one Australian indie game developer is hoping to help. If Jacob Janerka's side project comes to fruition, playing a game about nothing could be as simple as pointing and clicking your way around your computer screen. Janerka's Seinfeld game has been mooted for the past couple of years; however the Perth-based fan released an updated compilation of potential artwork just before Christmas. Familiar characters, settings and scenes all get the pixelated treatment, including Jerry greeting Newman and the potential to play as the Soup Nazi. Here's hoping that Elaine's distinctive dancing style is next. https://twitter.com/ParadigmGame/status/942847812059906049 Before Seinfeld lovers start getting excited about wandering around a parking garage, enjoying Festivus or shouting "yada, yada, yada" — or seeing anything else from the series' 180-episode run make the leap onto your computer screen — Janerka has been waiting until he has a decent premise before progressing further. Or, in other words, he wants to ensure that it isn't really about nothing. In the interim, he has had his hands full with the indie adventure game Paradigm, which takes players through a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by the titular mutant and a genetically engineered sloth that vomits candy. https://twitter.com/ParadigmGame/status/946449916800393216 Via IGN. Image: Jacob Janerka.
