Some days you just want a quick, no-fuss dip close to home. Ithaca Pool in Paddington is the most convenient way to cool off, making it perfect for last-minute plans. This 25-metre outdoor pool has lap lanes for the serious swimmers, plus a recreational space for the casual splasher. Relax post-swim in the grassy park and shaded areas beside the pool, kicking back with an ice cream or cold drink from the cafe. Then again, it's so close to Caxton Street, you can just shower and head straight out to the bars.
In the latest of its comeback moves, Polaroid has jumped on the Instagram bandwagon with a brand new camera, Socialmatic. Not only does it print photos on the spot (let's face it, the only reason anyone buys Polaroid cameras any more), it also lets you upload them to your social media accounts instantly. Seems like Polaroid wants to remind us all where those square-shaped, Nashville-filtered snaps came from. Available for pre-order at US$299 and expected to hit shelves in January 2015, the Socialmatic runs only with Android. It uses Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet, and Bluetooth to connect to your smartphone. Shots can be sent to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and any other network with an Android App available on Google Play. At the same time, Polaroid's instant-print tech has received an upgrade. Gone are the days of shaking your photos until the black layer disappears. And, if you request it, every photo comes with its own QR barcode, so you can keep up with its movements in cyberspace. Shots are printed at dimensions of 5 x 7.5 centimetres. What’s more, the Socialmatic comes equipped with two cameras in one. The regular camera measures 14-megapixels, and there’s another on the back, which provides 2-megapixels of resolution and is designed specifically for taking selfies. Seems Polaroid really want to get in the game with this one. Before this, Polaroid’s most recent attempt at modernising happened with the release of the Polaroid Cube. It’s a teeny-tiny, HD, cube-shaped video camera that competes with the GoPro, selling at just US$99. Via Racked.
It was set to be one of the biggest Australian tours of the year, but Childish Gambino fans will have to wait a little longer for some summertime magic. Promoter Live Nation has announced that the US hip hop star has cancelled his Aussie trip due to an ongoing injury. Childish Gambino was due to play solo shows at HBF Stadium, Perth on November 8; Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne on November 10; and the Sydney Opera House, Sydney on November 14 and November 15. He was also slated to be the headline act at Canberra's Spilt Milk festival, which will take place on November 17. The performer — AKA Donald Glover, AKA writer/director/star of Atlanta, if you haven't already worked that out — reportedly broke his foot at a show in Dallas last month, and was already forced to postpone the final US leg of his 'This Is America' tour as a result. In a statement posted to Live Nation's social media feeds about the Aussie cancellation, the star said, "I'm not ready to put on 100 percent shows. Apologies to the fans. I will be back soon". Live Nation is working to reschedule Childish Gambino's dates, so if you've nabbed yourself a ticket, keep your eyes on the company's website and social media for further updates. With the single 'This Is America' tearing up the US charts — and the accompanying video — racking up hundreds of millions of views, it's safe to that Australia was pumped for Childish Gambino's arrival. This would've marked his first Aussie shows since performing at Falls Festival in 2016. CANCELLED TOUR DATES: November 8 — Perth, HBF Stadium November 10 — Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl November 14 — Sydney, Sydney Opera House November 15 — Sydney, Sydney Opera House November 17 — Canberra, Spilt Milk Festival
Voila! The Four Horsemen are hitting Australia, in magical news if you like illusionists and the Now You See Me film franchise. Back in 2018, it was announced that the Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain)-, Woody Harrelson (Last Breath)-, Dave Franco (Together)- and Isla Fisher (Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy)-starring cinema saga was making its way to the stage — and while that's proven the case elsewhere since, the IRL production will make its first trip to Australia before 2025 is out. Now You See Me Live doesn't feature the cast of the films, but gets real-life illusionists demonstrating their skills instead. Their Aussie stop: the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall across Friday, December 19, 2025–Saturday, January 3, 2026. Audiences will be able to see Adam Trent from the US, Enzo Weyne from France, Andrew Basso from Italy and Gabriella Lester from South Africa step into the Four Horsemen's shoes. From Trent, expect plenty of sleight of hand, while Weyne specialises in large-scale magic. Basso prefers death-defying acts and Lester is a master of Houdini's upside down straight-jacket escape. The ensemble have taken to the stage for residencies on Broadway and in Las Vegas, and also in hundreds of other cities. Now, it's Australia's turn. "Hosting an Australian-premiere season at the Opera House is always a thrill, and this show is a spectacle — perfect for anyone with an appetite to be wowed this summer. Now You See Me Live takes movie magic to a whole new level of drama in this high-stakes live experience," said Brenna Hobson, Sydney Opera House Director, Programming, announcing the shows. Added Simon Painter, the production's Creative Producer, "Now You See Me Live pushes the boundaries of stage magic to the absolute edge, making the impossible possible in front of your very eyes. Together we've created a show with truly mindblowing artistry at epic scale and we can't wait for Sydney audiences to experience the magic — live!" 2025 is a big Now You See Me year: a new movie in the franchise is on its way to cinemas, too, with Now You See Me: Now You Don't releasing in Aussie picture palaces on Thursday, November 13, 2025. Check out the trailer for Now You See Me Live below: Now You See Me Live is playing the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall across Friday, December 19, 2025–Saturday, January 3, 2026. Head to the venue website for more information — with presale tickets from 9am on Tuesday, August 26, 2025 and general tickets from 9am on Wednesday, August 27, 2025.
In the misfire that's always been 1996's Space Jam, basketball superstar-turned-unconvincing actor Michael Jordan is asked to hurry up. "C'mon Michael, it's game time! Get your Hanes on, lace up your Nikes, grab your Wheaties and your Gatorade, and we'll pick up a Big Mac on the way to the ballpark," he's told. Spoken by go-to 90s schemester Wayne Knight (aka Seinfeld's Newman), this line couldn't better sum up the film or the franchise it has now spawned. The Space Jam movies aren't really about the comedic chaos that springs when a famous sportsperson pals around with cartoons. That's the plot, complicated in the original flick and now 25-years-later sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy by evil forces that turn a basketball game into a battle ground; however, it's also just a means to an end. These features are truly about bringing brands together in a case of mutual leveraging, as product placement always is. Connect Looney Tunes with the NBA, and audiences will think of both when they think of either, the strategy aims. It has worked, of course — and with A New Legacy, the approach is put to even broader and more shameless use. Everyone who has ever even just heard of Space Jam in passing knows its central equation: Looney Tunes + hoop dreams. The first Space Jam's viewers mightn't also remember the aforementioned product name-drops, but Warner Bros, the studio behind this saga, hopes A New Legacy's audience will forever recall its new references. All the brands shoehorned in here are WB's own, with its other pop culture franchises and properties mentioned repeatedly. The company also has Harry Potter, The Matrix, the DC Extended Universe flicks such as Wonder Woman, and Mad Max: Fury Road in its stable. Its catalogue includes Game of Thrones, Rick and Morty, The Lord of the Rings, and Hanna-Barbera cartoons like The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo, too. And, it holds the rights to everything from The Wizard of Oz, Metropolis and Casablanca to A Clockwork Orange and IT. A New Legacy wants to forcefully and brazenly impress these titles into viewers' minds so that they'll always equate them with the studio. In other words, this is just a Warner Bros ad with LeBron James and Looney Tunes as its spokespeople. You don't need to be a cynic or have zero nostalgia for the OG Space Jam to see A New Legacy as purely a marketing exercise. Bringing brands together is what the movie literally focuses on. James takes over from Jordan as the flesh-and-blood figure who hops onto the court with the Tune Squad, including Bugs Bunny (Jeff Bergman, Our Cartoon President), Lola Bunny (Zendaya, Malcolm & Marie), Daffy Duck and Porky Pig (both voiced by Teen Titans Go!'s Eric Bauza) — and he's plunged into the game by Warner Bros itself. On-screen, the studio is run by an algorithm unimaginatively named Al G Rhythm (Don Cheadle, Avengers: Endgame), which wants to capitalise upon the Los Angeles Lakers star's popularity. The plan: digitising James' likeness and inserting it into some of WB's best-known fare, all via a computer realm called the Warner 3000 Serververse. While there's also a subplot involving the sportsman's fictional son Dom (Cedric Joe, Loving Him), who'd rather be coding than dribbling, is pushed towards the latter by his dad, but creates the basketball video game the elder James and his animated teammates eventually find themselves playing, that always comes second to Warner Bros doing exactly what LeBron condemns in the flick itself. Perhaps we're all supposed to be too distracted by constantly spotting the likes of the Iron Giant, Austin Powers, King Kong and the Gremlins to notice that A New Legacy makes corporate synergy the bad guy while also epitomising the concept. Perhaps we're meant to be so overwhelmed not just by the pointless intellectual property onslaught, but by the frenetic visuals and domineering soundtrack favoured by director Malcolm D Lee (Girls Trip, Night School), that we just succumb. Maybe, given that Wreck-It Ralph and Ready Player One have charted similar reference-heavy territory before — the first engagingly, the second to puff up a terrible movie — we should all be accustomed to blatant advertising passing itself off as films by now. Maybe Warner Bros just thinks that saying "hey, all these other well-known movies and shows exist" constitutes a narrative, even if it takes six credited screenwriters to come up with an abysmal script. A New Legacy operates as if all the above is true, and also tries to convince itself that it has genuine emotions at its core, but it's impossible to see this as anything other than a commercial. WB's parent company also owns US streaming service HBO Max and, wouldn't you know it, many of the pop culture titles referenced in A New Legacy are available on the platform. Now kids will link them all together, and to Warner Bros; advertising mission accomplished. Again, the original Space Jam is beloved only through the lens of nostalgia — it's a mess of a Nike ad, and little more — but A New Legacy didn't have to be like this. James was a genuinely funny scene-stealer in Trainwreck. Looney Tunes fare is too rarely seen these days, and the tiny snippets of the cartoon's old-school antics that do feature here, including with a cartoon James, are among A New Legacy's best moments. (That the toons' 1996 big-screen outing inspired 2003's Looney Tunes: Back in Action isn't as widely remembered, but everyone needs some animated slapstick in their lives every now and then.) A New Legacy really should've trusted its basic elements; however, that would've been bucking the trend established by the saga's initial flick. At least the new film does deploy one obvious but nonetheless excellent joke regarding Space Jam's original hoop shooter, although in a better movie, that wouldn't be as much of a highlight as it proves. It doesn't involve basketball, but a far better option than this designed-by-algorithm shambles is to just rewatch Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which remains the pinnacle of live-action/animated hybrids.
If you're a fan of venturing off of the beaten track, then you'll know that sometimes, you don't actually have to journey all that far to discover something different. Take Indooroopilly's latest bistro, Little Beirut, for example. You might be accustomed to tending to your eating and drinking needs on the shopping centre side of the train line; however this new place awaits if you cross the tracks (using the appropriate tunnels and walkways, of course). Nestled into Lambert Street just a stone's throw away from the station, this newcomer wants to whisk you away to Lebanon — or make you feel like that's the case, even if you're still physically located in Brisbane. Share plates and platters, cocktails, shisha: you'll find them all here. Yes, the Little Beirut Signature Cocktail just screams "drink me!' — and who doesn't want to try the beverage the house recommends? Then, pick your way through three types of dips, eight vegetarian and four meat mezze options, a couple of salads, a choice of eight platters, three kebabs and/or two desserts. Smokey baba ghanouji, pan-fried felafel, stuffed meshi maloof (aka cabbage rolls), zesty tabouli and shawarma all feature, as does kanafeh, the restaurant's specialty cheese dessert soaked in sugar syrup.
When February 2024 arrives at QPAC's Lyric Theatre in Brisbane, expect three words to echo with enthusiasm: "be our guest". And, when June hits at Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre, expect the same. Both venues will be home to the next Australian seasons of Disney's Beauty and the Beast musical, which has arrived Down Under as a newly reimagined and redesigned production. Exact dates haven't yet been announced, but the huge show will bring a tale as old as time to the Queensland and Victorian capitals after its current Aussie-premiere run in Sydney — and marks the latest in a growing line of Disney hits to come our way. Frozen the Musical did the rounds in recent years, as did the musical version of Mary Poppins. This version Beauty and the Beast first made its way to the stage in the UK in 2021, and reworks the original show that premiered in the US in the 90s — adapting Disney's hit 1991 animated movie musical, of course. Fans can expect the same Oscar-winning and Tony-nominated score courtesy of composer Alan Menken and lyricist Tim Rice, including all the beloved tunes such as 'Be Our Guest' and 'Beauty and the Beast'. It also comes with new dance arrangements by David Chase, and with original choreographer Matt West revisiting his work. When the British return was announced, Menken said that "Beauty and the Beast is a testament to the genius of my late friend and collaborator Howard Ashman, but the show's richness comes from the combination of Howard's style and that of the brilliant Tim Rice, with whom I expanded the score to give voice to the Beast." "It's clear that audiences the world over want to return to the world of Beauty, which continues to amaze and humble those of us who created it." Cast-wise, the production features all-Australian talent, including Brisbanites Shubshri Kandiah as Belle and Jackson Head as Gaston, the Gold Coast's Jayde Westaby as Mrs Potts, Melbourne's Gareth Jacobs as Cogsworth, plus Brendan Xavier as Beast and Rohan Browne as Lumiere. "We are thrilled to return to Brisbane and Melbourne with Beauty and the Beast, as re-imagined by members of the brilliant original creative team. This beloved show — and Belle herself — are somehow as contemporary today as when the film premiered in 1991, even more meaningful to those who first discovered them decades ago and to new generations," said Thomas Schumacher President & Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, announcing the Brisbane season. "Each time we've returned to Australia over the last quarter century we see audiences grow larger and more appreciative and the deep pool of extraordinary home-grown musical theatre talent grow even deeper. We cannot wait to bring this cherished story to two of our favourite Australian cities once more." DISNEY'S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: THE MUSICAL 2024 AUSTRALIAN DATES: From February 2024 — QPAC Lyric Theatre, Brisbane From June 2024 — Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne Disney's Beauty and the Beast musical will hit QPAC's Lyric Theatre in Brisbane from February 2024 and Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre from June 2024. We'll update you with exact dates when they're announced. For more information, or to sign up for the ticket waitlist — with Brisbane pre-sales from Monday, October 16 and Melbourne's from Monday, November 13— head to the musical's website. Images: Daniel Boud.
In just a couple of years time, Brisbanites will have another way to cross from the CBD to Kangaroo Point, with a new bridge between the two locations set to join the city's growing collection of river crossings. This one will be a green bridge, so it'll be completely car-free. It'll also boast something that even its fellow pedestrian, bus and bicycle-only structures don't have: an overwater bar and restaurant. Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has revealed that the Connect Brisbane consortium, led by BESIX Watpac, has been awarded the contract to design and construct the bridge — and that their vision for the structure includes places to stop for a drink and a bite to eat. While this town of ours has more than a few eateries and watering holes either perched over the river or next to it (including plenty adjacent to river crossings), the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge will mark a first for the city, because no other bridges have built-in bars and restaurants. "The final design of the city-shaping project showed not only would the bridge deliver a much-anticipated crossing for pedestrians and active transport users, but it would also offer recreational opportunities unique in Brisbane," said the Lord Mayor. "The Kangaroo Point Green Bridge will be more than an active travel bridge; it will become a must-visit destination for residents and visitors to our great city." Exactly what kind of restaurant and bar will call the structure home hasn't yet been revealed; however, the bridge's overwater area could also include an event space — and has a cafe in its plaza area, and other small food and beverage outlets all earmarked, too. Also part of the design: viewing platforms, so that you can stop and scope out the scenery while you're making the 460-metre walk across the river. Due to start construction this year, with a 2023 opening date targeted, the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge will stretch between the corner of Alice Street and Edward Street in the CBD over to Scott Street at Kangaroo Point. Dedicated cycle and pedestrian paths are a big feature, with the bridge spanning a minimum width of 6.8 metres — and the design features a single-mast cable stayed structure, if you're wondering what it'll look like. The Kangaroo Point Green Bridge is one of four that the Brisbane City Council currently has in the works — down from the five that were announced back in 2019. The other bridges still forging ahead include two in West End, linking to both Toowong and St Lucia, and one from Albion to Newstead at Breakfast Creek. A fifth crossing from Bellbowrie to Wacol has been scrapped following community feedback. And yes, Brisbane is clearly a city of bridges. Our governments can't get enough of them, it seems. In the CBD alone, we already have the Go Between Bridge, which caters for vehicles, cyclists and walkers between West End and Milton; the William Jolly Bridge that links Grey Street with North Quay; the foot traffic-only Kurilpa Bridge that runs from the Gallery of Modern Art over to Tank Street; the Victoria Bridge from QPAC to George Street; and the pedestrian-only Goodwill Bridge that spans from the southern end of South Bank over to the Queensland University of Technology. And, the Neville Bonner Bridge from the new Queen's Wharf precinct to the Cultural Centre Forecourt is currently under construction as well. Images: Brisbane City Council.
A restaurant that takes bookings basically has unicorn status these days. Not that we're fully against this walk-ins only business — it's been known to work in our favour — but sometimes you just want to be confident you'll be able to take your Dad to dinner without a grumpy one-hour wait. For those times, you'll need to find a restaurant you can book. Helping out with that conundrum will soon be San Fransisco-based restaurant booking service OpenTable, which will be launching in Australia later this month. OpenTable has been around since 1998, and while it's an international service — they're present in Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Mexico and the UK — they take up the most space in the North American market, where it supposedly facilitates 52% of restaurant reservations through its mobile app. The app is something of a cross between restaurant finder Zomato and reservation site Dimmi, which was bought out by TripAdvisor earlier this year. The OpenTable desktop site and mobile app lets you search restaurants with available tables, view the restaurant's menu, user reviews, and any other restaurants nearby you might be interested in. And while it isn't all too different to Dimmi in terms of functionality, it certainly looks a lot nicer and has some handy integrations for the hospitality industry, such as the Guest Centre booking management app for front-of-house staff. "Whether it’s at a cafe, neighbourhood bistro or hatted restaurant, Aussies love to dine out and we're committed to empowering what that experience means for people," says APAC VP and Managing Director Adam Clarke. "OpenTable's growth has been driven by our ability to develop products that cater for the changing needs of restaurants and diners. Here in Australia, we will continue to innovate by providing insight into dining trends and behaviours, and building on all we have learned over the past two decades." The OpenTable app is set to go live mid-December, and will allow you to make bookings at restaurants including Rockpool and MoVida. Of course, this service only works if your restaurant of choice doesn't work on a no-bookings system — no one can help you there, I'm afraid.
Portraits aren't all regal furs and awkward "Oh, didn't see you there," poses. Tim Storrier nabbed the Archibald Packing Room Prize today with his unflattering-as-blazes portrait of Dr Sir Leslie Colin Patterson KCB AO, with this morning's announcement of the finalists for Australia's prestigious Archibald Prize. Capturing a realistic, unrelentingly vulnerable likeness of your own reflection, someone you've just met or one of your oldest buds takes a fair few stories, maybe a few beers and a willingness to tackle the intimidating notion of thinking up something new after decades of Archie winners. At the risk of sounding like an HSC essay opener, the final image isn't the whole story. Here's eight of the Archibald finalists making us wake up and pay attention (whether for great or WTF reasons) to Australia's big ol' faces — as told to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in their own words. Peter Churcher, Four self-portraits in a bunch of balloons "One particular evening I was walking down a street and coming towards me was a fellow holding an enormous bunch of balloons. I thought it would make a wonderful subject for a still life. I set up a large bunch in my studio. To my delight, I noticed my own reflection very clearly looking back at me in many of the balloons. I particularly like the way each individual balloon slightly distorted my reflection the way those mirrors in the funfair used to. "I quickly realised I was no longer looking at a straightforward still life. The subject had transformed into a quadruple self-portrait showing myself in my painting studio in four different ways. All this sets up a complex set of different scenarios within the painting. Who is looking at what? Who is looking at who? Is it a still life or a self-portrait?" James Powditch, Citizen Kave "I want to stop people in their tracks with this work and have them scratching their heads, thinking “that’s one hell of a film, how come I don’t remember it? Then when the penny drops that it’s all make believe, that it’s a 'what if' picture from 30 years ago, they’ll start thinking about what they were doing back then, remember all the influences and events in their own lives, all the stuff that moulds us over time and makes us who we are. "Artists like Nick Cave gather all that stuff up: a book from here, a great film from there, music and art. It’s all repackaged and sent out into the world where it is evaluated, absorbed and informs the next generation. He becomes an influence — or if they saw him, maybe a pivotal moment in their lives — and the process just keeps rolling along, repeating endlessly. So the painting represents an imaginary rock opera made in 1983 when Cave was 26 years old, the same age as Orson Welles when he made Citizen Kane in 1941. But it’s about a modern-day media tycoon, Rupert Murdoch rather than William Randolph Hearst. I see Cave and Welles as similar, extraordinary talents, across multiple disciplines." Sophia Hewson, Artist kisses subject "I sought out working with Missy [Higgins] because I belt out her songs in the car. I also know her to be genuinely egoless with a deep respect for artistic autonomy, which meant she was willing to work with me outside the traditional portrait structure. "I’ve been thinking about the proximity of the orgasm to death and spiritual revelation. In my work I’ve been considering the orgasm as a kind of transcendence, and using metaphors like 'orgasming against something plastic' to explore the human experience of when revelation falls short and faith is not found. In this painting it is the constructed nature of the intimacy that suggests ecstasy is just out of reach. I wanted to create something equally portrait, self-portrait, and an examination of post-feminist self-objectification." Rebecca Hastings, The onesie "It’s difficult to take anyone seriously when they are wearing a onesie. In this self-portrait I mock my own inadequacies as a mother and lament the struggle to also be an artist. Instead of a paintbrush I hold aloft a lollypop-like object, satin gloves replace my usual hand protection, and the painter’s apron becomes instead a shimmering onesie. "As a mother of two children I find myself constantly beset by guilt, frustration and anxiety. I consider myself ill-equipped and a bit of a joke when it comes to meeting the lofty, idealistic heights of mummy perfection. This painting is part of a broader exploration of themes relating to 'maternal ambivalence', reflecting my desire to subvert the romantic ideal of motherhood, and chart the unacknowledged, darker side of the complex and contradictory experiences that come with having children." Wendy Sharpe, Mr Ash Flanders, actor "I first saw Ash in a production called Little Mercy. He played Virginia, the mother of an evil seven-year-old girl. Although it was crazy and surreal, Ash played her absolutely straight. It is really moving when something can be ridiculous, funny and poignant at the same time. Ash has now been cast as Hedda Gabler, the female lead in Henrik Ibsen’s famous play at Belvoir Street Theatre: a brave and exciting choice. He is not being a drag queen but will play Hedda seriously with intelligence and sensitivity. "This painting is not about Ash himself but about the uneasy stage persona he will create as Hedda Gabler. The disturbing mix of masculinity and femininity was what excited me to paint the picture. Ash understood exactly what I was after. We worked together in my studio trying different poses and clothes (my dresses, his shoes) to get something intriguing and unnerving, vulnerable and powerful. I was thinking of the paintings of Edvard Munch who, like Ibsen, was Norwegian." Sally Ross, Harvey "His [Harvey Miller of Flight Facilities] elaborate corporate narratives and performances combine beauty, brains and youthful hedonism with rump-shaking, turn-of-the-nineties synth pop, blurring the line between art and pop, performance and cultural satire,’ says Sally Ross. ‘When I first saw his epic Aussie montage music video End of the Earth, I thought I had just experienced the work of Barry Humphries’ secret love children. Harvey and lead singer Monte Morgan have featured in my paintings ever since. "I want to paint clever people that I get to meet in my life, creative people that dare to make the leap of faith required to make art, perform, put their ideas out there. This is a labour of admiration and enthusiasm. My portraits are about asking what do clever people look like? Can a picture have a presence? There is a particular, quite intimate scrutiny created when you paint someone. When I do the “reveal” and show the sitter their portrait for the first time it is completely awkward and wonderful." Rodney Pople, Well dressed for a Sydney audience "During his Weimar cabaret in Sydney last year, Barry Humphries commended the crowd as being “well dressed for a Sydney audience”. The same could have been said of the performer. Later, as he transitioned from performance mode to talking with me backstage, I glimpsed a momentary uncertainty behind the facade of Humphries’ various theatrical personae. It is this image, in addition to the sketches made both backstage and from my seat in the audience that evening, on which the painting is based. The result has, to quote Humphries’ response upon seeing the finished painting, achieved a 'more than flattering likeness'. "The portrait takes its composition form Max Beckmann’s Self portrait in tuxedo 1927, chosen because of Humphries’ interest in Weimar culture. The work of both men combines unsentimental insight and sharp satire to comment on the contemporary society of their respective eras. Where the Beckmann self-portrait conveys a sense of assurance, this painting reveals insight into the man as he moves between roles from stage to sitter. Beckmann’s portrait describes a man at the height of his powers; similarly, this portrait of Humphries celebrates the outstanding career of a man at the pinnacle of success in his 80th year." Paul Ryan, Rox "It was Rox’s inspired character Cleaver Greene in the television series Rake that was the catalyst for my desire to paint [Richard Roxburgh]. My regular practice is an exploration of ideas and images of early colonial men and wild colonial boys: lieutenants, squatters, cowboys and dandies. Cleaver Greene is a contemporary portrait of the wild colonial boy. A larrikin, drunk, womaniser and dandy, he falls somewhere between hero and anti-hero. Some of us want to be him, until he wakes with a hangover in another man’s bedroom with another man’s wife. "The painting is a portrait of an idea of Rox. He is dressed in colonial coat and shirt. It has elements of a likeness but is clearly not a photographic likeness. In the early stages it looked more like Rox but I wasn’t happy with the paint. I moved it around in vigorous swirls with large palette knives. In an instant the image changed and came to life. I had broken free from the constricting desire to capture the face. For me, the best portraits move on from likeness and go deeper." Peter Daverington, The Golden City has ceased "This is a self-portrait of my imagination, where my signature geometric and spatial elements appear among figurative compositions drawn from various painting traditions. The painting’s title is inscribed as a motto beneath the coronet within a coat of arms. The phrase comes from the Old Testament book of Isaiah and refers to the fall of Babylon. In the centre field is a self-portrait in which my face and arms are connected to a female torso. I appear again in a portrait miniature hanging from ribbons beneath the ring. A second motto written at the base of the star on a blue scroll reads From the future with love. My wife Kianga stands on the step-ladder. The image of burning buildings at her feet is taken from a photograph of the fall of Baghdad in 2003. "This painting developed intuitively over 18 months. I have drawn inspiration from socialist propaganda posters, Renaissance art, Romantic landscape painting, medieval European heraldry and religious iconography. The unusual combination of breasts and beard has an interesting precedent in Jusepe de Ribera’s The bearded woman, a portrait of a husband and wife from 1631." Find more stories and the rest of this year's Archibald finalists at the AGNSW website.
It has been a while coming, but Australia will finally see the opening of a long-awaited Ace Hotel in May 2022 — with the first look inside the Surry Hills-based outpost unveiled at last to reveal gorgeously sleek, modernist lodgings for Sydney-based travellers or staycationers. Melbourne-based architecture and design studio Flack Studio was responsible for creating the spaces, which balance warm minimalist designs, earthy tones that feel lifted straight from the Australian landscape, and the heritage of the site housed in the historic Tyne House brick factory on Commonwealth Street. Says Flack Studio founder, David Flack, "Surry Hills has been home to so many culturally important movements and people, and has always been a home for creatives and migrating cultures. We wanted to preserve the creative, slightly renegade energy of the space since its origins as one of Australia's early brickworks." We do love a renegade energy! This will mark the first Southern Hemisphere address for the American hotel chain - a favourite among the global creative set (and hilariously parodied in the Portlandia episode "Blunderbuss"). And while specific details are being kept on the downlow, we do know that Sydney's Ace will feature a ground floor restaurant, bar and cafe in the lobby and a restaurant and bar on the rooftop. Each of the hotel's 264 rooms are either doubles or twin doubles for four guests. Reservations are now open for booking for when the Ace opens from 1 May 2022. Ace Hotel is located at 47 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney. Images: Anson Smart
When one contemplates their memories involving the fine and noble art of knitting (a.k.a making wonderful things out of nothing), invariably those thoughts include a fine Grandmother or Great Aunt. Someone who would wile away afternoons knitting you a fresh woollen jumper for winter, offer you chocolate biscuits, and share sage advice about how different the world is today. Although those memoirs are indeed ones to treasure, one mustn’t put every knitter, weaver or fibre artist into one little arts and crafts box. Celebrating the diviersity that does occur among their ranks, the Queensland Spinners Weavers and Fibre Artists will be having their annual Open Day next Sunday. Offering up a chance for you to reminisce about the good times spent with wise and talented family members, whilst also inviting you into the eclectic world that still exists and is thriving, the day includes as many facets as a rainbow scarf. With a wide selection of market stalls stocked to the brim with high quality arts and crafts made by QSWFA club members, you can be assured you will find something worthy of placement on a coffee table or bed. Also happening on the day is a Fashion Parade showcasing the fabulous handmade wares of club members and simultaneously making you jealous of their talent.
UPDATE: Thursday May 6, 2021 — New COVID-19 restrictions have been announced. We'll keep you updated on this event as the situation changes. For the latest information, visit NSW Health. What time is it? Showtime! After taking the world by storm when it hit Broadway in 2015, Lin-Manuel Miranda's critically acclaimed musical Hamilton is finally coming to the "greatest city in the world": Sydney. If, like us, you've been watching the filmed version of Hamilton with the original Broadway cast on repeat since it was fast-tracked to Disney+ in July, then we bet you could not be more satisfied with the news you'll finally be able to see it live on stage. The record-breaking production, which nabbed 11 Tony Awards (including Best Musical), six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Grammy Award and a Pulitzer Prize, was inspired by Ron Chernow's 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton. It tells the story of Caribbean-born immigrant Alexander Hamilton, who rose to become America's ten-dollar Founding Father ("without a father"). Directed by Thomas Kail, the musical tracks Hamilton's arrival in New York in the early 1770s, fighting in the Revolutionary War, and working alongside the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and his rival Aaron Burr to form the United States of America. On paper, the subject matter may sound a little dry. But Miranda's energetic lyrics and music, which spans hip hop, R&B, soul and traditional show tunes, as well as Andy Blankenbuehler's choreography ensure it's anything but. You'll be captivated by cabinet rap battles, hip hop-heavy duels and heart-wrenching ballads about Hamilton's complicated love life. The Aussie production has also continued the Broadway musical's colour-blind approach to casting, by enlisting BIPOC actors to play historical white figures. The cast includes Jason Arrow (Disney's Aladdin, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) as Alexander Hamilton, Lyndon Watts (Disney's Aladdin, West Side Story) as Aaron Burr, and Chloé Zuel as Eliza Hamilton. A common feature of Hamilton is actors playing two different roles throughout the show — Marty Alix, who played Sonny in Sydney Opera House's season of Miranda's other Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights, has signed on for the dual roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton. If you want to be in the room where it happens, Hamilton is opening at the Sydney Lyric Theatre on Wednesday, March 17, 2021, booking through to September. Tickets will set you back $70–250 a pop. There are flexible ticket options available, now including gift vouchers, which might suit those planning to travel to Sydney especially for the show. They'll also make excellent Christmas presents. The Sydney Lyric Theatre also has a COVID-19 safety plan in place, in accordance with NSW Health. Top images: Images 1–5, US National Tour, Joan Marcus; Images 6–7, Broadway. Courtesy of Destination NSW.
“For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo,” wrote William Shakespeare, and even with all the tragedies he imagined, he may have meant it. Romeo and Juliet serves up family feuds, forbidden lovers, fateful pacts, interfering relatives and several cases of terrible timing. There’s bad luck, there’s tragedy, and then there’s the plight that awaits the star-cross’d duo. The latest stage version provides all that and something more, the added extra coming courtesy of Shake & Stir. Known for treading the boards with the next generation, the contemporary youth theatre company thrusts the top 35 competitors from the 2014 Queensland Youth Shakespeare Festival into the famous performance. Live music helps the play dance along; however, the emerging cast are the real stars of the show. You might know the tale told, and the characters as well, but you won’t be familiar with the shining new talents in this interpretation.
Coveting a piece that you spied on Instagram? Searched high and low for an object with absolutely nothing to show for your efforts? It's a dilemma we often find ourselves in, too. So, following our recent video with interior stylist Steve Cordony, produced in partnership with Samsung, we decided to help you bring some of the goods straight to your shopping carts. From style-heavy couches to smaller, more intricate choices, how you dress up your home should reflect your personal style. Make like Cordony and recreate his clean aesthetics, or pop your own stylist hat on and pick and mix with pieces you already own. THE SERIF, SAMSUNG (FROM $1389) Using Samsung's The Serif as the statement piece, Cordony was challenged to zhoosh up two living rooms in our recent styling video series. The boundary-pushing TV was conceptualised by Paris-based design duo Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and is a chic-yet-functional choice for any household. With clean lines and exceptional specs, it's the versatile piece you've been looking for. It boasts a sleek 360-degree design with a unique 'I'-shaped profile that acts as a shelf and has removable legs — so it's going to suit any space you're styling. This is all complemented by Samsung's QLED picture quality and powerful sound. HUXLEY TRACK ARM SOFA BED, COCO REPUBLIC (from $5775) If you're after comfort that's equally matched in style, this is the lounge for you. Natural linen is an ideal colour when forming the base palette of a room, leaving your finishings to bring the pops of colour or texture. INDIGO MERINO RUG IN SAND, CADRYS ($3600) If you want to nab this exact rug, you'd better hop to it. It's a one-of-a-kind on offer from Cadrys, the family-run business that's in possession of Australia's largest collection of antique rugs. Enjoy the pared-back colour, luxe material and the perfect base for your styled room? Find something similar here. LARGE FLOW BOWL, DINOSAUR DESIGNS ($450) Adding small, considered pieces to your space is an effortless way to add a personal touch. Splurge on a forever piece like the Flow bowl from resident resin-experts Dinosaur Designs — with a large range of colours and sizes, the hardest part will be choosing your favourite. EMILY BELLE ELLIS VASE, THE DEA STORE ($289) From Sydney-based contemporary ceramicist Emily Belle Ellis comes a vessel that allows you to get experimental with texture and form. Pop by Redfern's The DEA Store to check out this beauty among many other design-centric objects. CLASSICS CUSHION RANGE, LUCY MONTGOMERY ($285) These fringed cushions — courtesy of Lucy Montgomery, the Sydney-based interior architect and designer — allow experimentation with colour, sans commitment. Not quite ready for a bright feature wall? Or a statement lounge? Quell your desire for colour with accessories instead. MOON DISH IN ZEST, DINOSAUR DESIGNS ($80) This delightfully unique dish brings both a pop of colour and a home for trinkets — maybe shells from a morning beach walk or chic and fun marbles for a more playful edge. When it comes to a room that really shines, it's all in the details. CALACATTA NERO QUARTZ PLINTH, EN GOLD ($580) Made of solid stone, this plinth offers the perfect access point to considered style. Adding smaller pieces in differing heights will catch the eye, as well as create a base for your plant-filled pots and vases. JULIETTE BOWL, GARDEN LIFE ($70) A surefire way of making a room a delight to be in? The bright viridescence of plants. Start with your pots — play with colour, shape and size — then grab plants that are happy in the light conditions of your room. Plant your green friends in pots that are only 25 percent larger than their current ones and they'll be given their best chance to thrive. SIMONE KARRAS SPECKLED RAKU VASE, JARDAN ($390) Choosing a uniquely shaped vase will add an element of interest to any room. Sit this one atop a chic quartz plinth or side table to play with heights and finishes. Want to pop a cherry on top? Fill this speckled number with freshly picked florals or some bright citrus fruit. REX COFFEE TABLE, MCM HOUSE ($1950) From the luxury, Australian-designed furniture-heaven that is MCM House comes this circular table (which is available in two sizes and is sure to receive compliments). Designed by Sam Whitman, the table's smooth marble top and powder-coated legs form the perfect addition to any room, regardless of colour palette. VINTAGE CANE ARMCHAIRS, THE VAULT (POA) Sourcing the perfect vintage pair can be a pain, so you're best to leave it to the experts — namely, the curators at The Vault. When picking core pieces of furniture, don't be afraid to mix different styles — vintage cane chairs around a sleek coffee table or vintage books atop sleek marble plinths. MEDIUM ROUND BASKET, ORIENT HOUSE ($80) Storage and style combine in this cane basket from the treasure trove that is Orient House. Tucked under a table or with a pot plant propped up inside, it's the perfect way to add texture to the room. COLLECTION PARTICULIERE MEDIUM BOS VASE and RIPPLE TRAY, ONDENE (POA) Add finishing touches to a room in high-quality materials that are sure to go the distance. Placed on top of a side table, or the landing pad to your Serif's remote, these considered pieces from Collection Particuliere combine function and style seamlessly. To find out more about The Serif TV, visit the Samsung website.
UPDATE, August 20, 2021: Promising Young Woman is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Promising Young Woman would've made an excellent episode or season of Veronica Mars. That's meant as the highest compliment to both the bubblegum-hued take on the rape-revenge genre and the cult-status private detective series. Make a few casting swaps, and it's apparent how the latter would tackle this tale. Actually, as Veronica Mars fans know, the beloved TV show repeatedly examined the way women are treated in a patriarchal society, and the privilege afforded the wealthy, white and male at the expense of everyone else. It also explored rapes on college campuses in its third season, spanning the impact upon victims, the aftermath and the culture that's allowed such attacks to proliferate. Promising Young Woman writer/director Emerald Fennell clearly isn't blind to these parallels, even casting Veronica Mars stars Max Greenfield (New Girl) and Chris Lowell (GLOW) in her feature debut. Don't go thinking the Killing Eve season two showrunner and The Crown actor is simply following in other footsteps, though. At every moment — and as channelled through Carey Mulligan's fierce lead performance — the brilliant and blistering Promising Young Woman vibrates with too much anger, energy and insight to merely be a copycat of something else. When Mulligan's character, Cassie Thomas, is introduced, she's inebriated and alone at a nightclub, her clothing riding up as she slouches in her seat. Three men discuss women over beverages by the bar, complaining that they can't hold meetings at strip joints due to the objections of a female colleague. They notice Cassie while chatting, with one commenting, "they put themselves in danger, girls like that". Voicing worries she could be taken advantage of by guys who aren't as nice as him, Jerry (The OC's Adam Brody) checks she's okay. A shared Uber ride follows, as does the offer of a drink at his place and, despite Cassie's out-of-it state and his supposed chivalry, Jerry's sexual advances. But when Cassie snaps her eyes open wide, asks what he's doing in a firm voice and reveals she isn't actually drunk, the night takes a turn — something Jerry didn't anticipate, just as he didn't ever entertain he was that kind of man, but one familiar to the medical school dropout-turned-coffee shop employee he's trying to bed. Colour-coded names and tallies scrawled in a notebook illustrate this isn't a first for Cassie; it's her weekend routine. Fennell's script drip-feeds details about its protagonist's motivations for her ritualistic actions, the reason for ditching her studies seven years prior and why she spends her weeknights staring at photos of her childhood best friend; however, the specifics aren't hard to guess. Since moving back in with her parents (The Mortuary Collection's Clancy Brown and Like a Boss' Jennifer Coolidge), Cassie has taught lessons to opportunistic men hiding behind faux gallant facades — the type of guys who'll tell a woman they don't need so much makeup, then try to ply them with liquor when they're already sauced and take off their clothes while they're passed out, as Neil (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bad Neighbours 2) does. But then ex-classmate Ryan (Bo Burnham, The Big Sick) walks into Cassie's workplace. She spits in his coffee and sparks still fly, but it's the news that someone from their past has returned to town that changes her vigilante quest. In its much-talked-about trailer and in the film itself, Promising Young Woman makes stellar use of Italian quartet Archimia's orchestral version of Britney Spears' 'Toxic'. It arrives late in the movie, but anyone who saw the promotional clip knows it's coming — and that forewarning doesn't undercut its power, or how expertly it encapsulates the entire feature. Fennell wants viewers to fill in the pop song's words themselves, rolling around lyrics such as "a guy like you should wear a warning" and "poison paradise" in their heads. She wants everyone pondering toxic masculinity, and how heat-of-the-moment passion is often used to nullify consent concerns, too. Often dressed on her nights out like she could've stepped out of a music video, Cassie is on a self-given mission of vengeance against sexual violence, so Promising Young Woman deploys every method possible to reinforce that idea. Another 00s track, Paris Hilton's 'Stars Are Blind', accompanies a romantic sing-along that segues into an affectionate montage of Cassie and Ryan's dating honeymoon — and using a song by an objectified celebrity whose sex life has been so frequently dissected and shamed that no one now bats an eyelid obviously isn't accidental either. Fennell's savvy, provocative and downright fearless choices just keep coming. Indeed, there's a relentlessness to Promising Young Woman overall that mirrors the persistence of grief and pain after trauma — and that remains the case even when the film makes big tonal swings, which always reflect the highs and lows of Cassie's emotional rollercoaster ride. Through cinematographer Benjamin Kracun (Monsoon, Beats), the movie weaponises its pastel, peppy and popping Instagram-friendly imagery, crafting a vicious flick about a dark subject that's gorgeous to look at. It fills its frames with vibrant surface sheen, as sighted at bars and in Cassie's outfits, then peels back their allure, making its audience constantly grapple with the contrast. Promising Young Woman never lets its protagonist's rage subside either, including in a bold finale that's one of its very best touches. It's furious from start to finish, Cassie is always inflamed, and sharing that feeling even in the film's most overt setups and obvious scenes (which are also some of its most entertaining) is a foregone conclusion. And, of course, Fennell has also made the smart decision to cast Mulligan, and to draw upon her near-peerless ability to express complex internalised turmoil. It's one of the reasons that she's such a standout in everything from An Education and Drive to Shame and Wildlife, and it's once again on display in this sharp, strong and formidable portrayal. No woman brings sexual assault upon themselves, with this whole intelligent and astute revenge-thriller rebuffing the bro-ish bar guy's early observation in every way possible, and meting out punishment to those who think similarly. But Mulligan's performance as Cassie hammers home the dangers of that wrong notion in a manner that ensures Promising Young Woman is than just a female empowerment fantasy. She scorches, sears and resounds with such burning truth, and so does the feature she's in as a result. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vdaJcoKk0s
Legendary architectural historian and photographer, Richard Nickel, once famously said that "great architecture has only two natural enemies: water and stupid men". Private developers, whom are often viewed as the modern equivalent to the Biblical tax collector, seem to sit fairly squarely in this latter category. Derided and debased by society, private developers are seen as men who value profitability above productivity, men who look at an architectural treasure and only see it's potential for money-making and who with one foul swoop of a wrecking ball can reduce cultural icons into rubble and dust. While this characterisation may not be entirely fair, these photographs commemorate the destruction wreaked by private developers. They provide a vision of beautiful buildings being demolished and the modern monstrosities that are often left in their wake. Here are seven stories of stunning theatres transformed into multi-storey carparks, modernist masterpieces replaced with multi-lane highways, and sandstone sanctuaries turned into apartment blocks. Have a closer look at these fascinating photographs and the stories behind them to see how the price of "progress" often appears to be the destruction of a rich and beautiful architectural history. Garrick Theatre - Chicago, Illinois Formerly known as the Schiller Theatre Building, the Garrick Theatre was one of the tallest buildings in Chicago upon its completion in 1892. Despite quickly gaining a reputation for being one of the city's premiere cultural centres, housing everything from German operas to traveling theatre productions to television studios in its 68-year-history, the theatre was demolished in 1960 after a long battle with Chicago residents and preservationists. While Richard Nickel attempted to honour the theatre's legacy by hording and collecting hundreds of artifacts and ornaments that adorned the iconic building, the site now plays home to a car parking facility. The Wabash Terminal - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The demolition of the Wabash Terminal provides a snapshot into the incredible destruction that was Pittsburgh's post-WWII urban development project. 1,500 businesses were forced to relocate, more than 5,000 families were uprooted and more than 3,700 buildings were razed. The Wabash Terminal was one of the centrepieces of robber baron, Jay Gould's elaborate (and ultimately failed) plans to construct a transcontinental railroad empire at the turn of the 20th Century. Its demolition, beginning in late 1953, was a long and brutal process with workmen armed with crowbars and sledgehammers taking down the building brick by brick. Biltmore Hotel - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma These images, taken from a live video broadcast in 1977, played a significant role in sparking public outrage and subsequently bringing to an end the "Urban Renewal program" in post-war America. The 26-story, 300-room Biltmore Hotel was one of the largest buildings to be demolished in this nationwide program to eliminate urban slums. These startling images, for many Americans, brought into sharp focus what terms like "redevelopment" and "restruturing" actually meant: widespread and often indiscriminate destruction of major cities. Before and after shots of the US Post Office - Boston, Massachusetts The majestic US Post Office was located in the heart of Boston and was an architectural centrepiece of the city upon its opening in 1870. Only half a century later, the building fell victim to the wrecking ball with very little explanation given as to why this beautiful building was seen as requiring demolition. Pennsylvania Station - New York, New York On July 14, 1966 Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic, Ada Louise Huxtable wrote this "obituary" of New York's iconic Pennsylvania Station in the New York Times: “Pennsylvania Station succumbed to progress this week at the age of 56, after a lingering decline. The building’s one remaining facade was shorn of eagles and ornament yesterday, preparatory to leveling the last wall. It went not with a bang, or a whimper, but to the rustle of real estate stock shares. The passing of Penn Station is more than the end of a landmark. It makes the priority of real estate values over preservation conclusively clear. It confirms the demise of an age of opulent elegance, of conspicuous, magnificent spaces, rich and enduring materials, the monumental civic gesture, and extravagant expenditure for esthetic ends.” Pruitt-Igoe Public Housing Complex – St. Louis, Missouri Depending on who you speak to, the demolition of this massive 33-building public housing complex designed by George Hellmuth and World Trade Center architect Minoru Yamasaki represents either the death knell of Modernist architecture or the rebirth of St Louis as a modern metropolis. Initially built to combat the problem of St Louis' ever-growing slums, the buildings experienced a rapid and dramatic deterioration upon its unveiling in 1956. By the late 1960s the overcrowded complex became a hotbed for gang violence and crime and Pruitt-Igoe, St Louis' shining example of the wonders of urban renewal, was a national embarrassment and a global symbol of American poverty, crime and racial tensions. When it was torn down in the mid-1970s, St Louis may have been able to say goodbye to an embarrassing icon, this was little consolation for the thousands of poor and disadvantaged Americans who woke up one morning to find they were now homeless. Astor House - New York, New York Through much of the 1800s Astor House was considered to be America's most luxurious 5-star hotel, with the likes of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Abraham Lincoln (on his way to his inauguration no-less) frequenting the iconic Broadway hotel. By the early 20th Century however Astor House gained a reputation as an "old-fashioned" establishment and in 1913 the building began its long drawn-out demolition, with subway constructions and a transportation building eventually replacing the decadent hotel.
Christmas means many things: chaos in the shops, carols invading your brain, and a focus on all things red and green. In Brisbane, it also means Queensland Ballet's final production for the season, with The Nutcracker brightening up the QPAC stage every year. It really wouldn't be the festive season without it. Whether you've experienced the Tchaikovsky-scored two-act performance about sentient toys, dancing snowflakes and the Sugar Plum Fairy before, or you're joining little Clara on her Christmas Eve journey for the first time, you're certain to get swept up in the show's magic. And if you don't already have a ticket, don't delay — selling out is also an annual tradition. Queensland Ballet's The Nutcracker dances across the Lyric Theatre stage from Thursday, December 16–Thursday, December 23 — and, depending on the day, you can either hit up an evening session or a matinee. Top image: David Kelly.
It might just be Australia's brightest festival, and it's back to light up Alice Springs once again. That'd be Parrtjima - A Festival In Light, which kicked off for 2020 on Friday, September 11 and runs through until Sunday, September 20. And, while it's being held as a physical event, the fest also has something on offer for everyone who can't be there in person. For the first time, Parrtjima is hosting a virtual tour — via a four-and-a-half-minute video that showcases the event's dazzling, glowing sights. Expect luminous lights and plenty of them, with the tour giving viewers a peek at the Indigenous arts, culture, music and storytelling fest's enthusiastic celebration, including its signature installations and new displays. This year, all of the above falls under the theme of 'lifting our spirits'. Even from afar, via your screen, seeing the Alice Springs Desert Park come alive will do just that. You'll also see the huge artwork that transforms a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the majestic, 300-million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges each year, showering it with light each night of the festival. Yes, it's spectacular — and called The Ebb and Flow of Sky and Country in 2020, it's designed to reflect the colours and movement of the changing seasons. Check out the virtual tour below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=217&v=l0v6l2LeP4E&feature=emb_logo Of course, Parrtjima is just one of Northern Territory's two glowing attractions in 2020, with Australia's Red Centre lighting up in multiple ways. The festival is a nice supplement to Bruce Munro's Field of Light installation, which — after multiple extensions — is now on display indefinitely. And, in good news for everyone who can't head to the NT this year, Parrtjima will be back in 2021 — taking place again from April 9–18. Parrtjima – A Festival in Light's runs until Sunday, September 20. For further details, visit the festival website. Top images: Lachlan Dodds-Watson, Greg McAdam.
Starting a new business is daunting, even if you're confident that you've got a game-changing idea or unrivalled product on your hands. We're here to help — we teamed up with the business solution experts at Square to chat to three stalwarts of Sydney's hospo scene, and got their key points for starting a small business. The Love Tilly Group know a thing or two about getting a business off the ground. Matthew Swieboda, Nathanial Hatwell and Scott McComas-Williams are behind some of Sydney's best restaurants and wine bars, including Love, Tilly Devine, Ragazzi, Fabbrica, Dear Saint Éloise and Palazzo Salato. Bitter Phew has been pouring craft beers from Australia and around the globe at its Oxford Street digs for a decade. Founded by Aaron Edwards and Jay Pollard, the upstairs bar was recognised as Australia's Best Beer Venue by the Australia Liquor Industry Awards in 2023, and voted Australia's Top Beer Venue by Beer & Brewer Magazine in 2020 and 2017. Helmed by Kenny Graham and Jake Smyth, The Mary's Group started with a burger shop in Newtown in 2013. Since then, the group has expanded to open five other eateries, two music venues (Liberty Hall and Mary's Underground) and natural wine brand P&V Wine + Liquor Merchants. From staying flexible and trialling new systems to the importance of communication and media, The Love Tilly Group, Bitter Phew and The Mary's Group share what they've uncovered from starting their respective businesses. What were the most important steps you took before opening your business? "We opened our first business, Love, Tilly Devine, in the backstreets of Darlinghurst way back in 2010. We were young and built the business on the smell of an oily rag with the idea of giving the people of Sydney access to premium and exciting wines, without the preconceived notion that wine bars needed to be stuffy," shared Managing Director Nathanial Hatwell. "At the time, we didn't know where this journey would take us, but the concept of Love Tilly still rings true to this day. Nailing that concept was fundamental to the success of the group that we have become." Though staying true to your original concept and brand is important, it's also vital to be able to adapt. Prior to opening each Mary's venue, Kenny Graham and Jake Smyth have tried to reevaluate and evolve the brand from its original roots on Newtown's back streets. "As we grow as people and as a company, we want to open the doors wider, metaphorically speaking. We wanted our own kids to be excited about going to a Mary's venue. [We tried to] Embrace current popular culture more, expand the offering a little, and make it fun for a wider range of people." Bitter Phew's Aaron Edwards had some practical tips. "Work on engaging events to garner new customers and help build your base." He added, "Have enough liquid cash — try to have reserves for those ups and down in the first year. Where possible, avoid borrowing excessive money as you want to have the freedom to work on your business." What's one key thing you wish you knew before you opened your doors? "As we've grown, systems and processes have been introduced in order to streamline our operations. Some of those have been trial and error, which have unfortunately cost us time and money," responded Hatwell. "In retrospect, we could have been better at doing our research in the lead-up and ensuring that the correct systems were introduced from the get-go." Edwards focused on the importance of communication, branding and media. "I thought that what we were doing would get enough attention, so I didn't push media enough. I would partner with media partners earlier and communicate clearly how you are building a diverse and interesting offering for the community." Graham and Smyth had a similar answer. "Speed, options, and clear and concise visual information is a must. People need to know at a glance who you are, what you do, and how they go about getting it. Barriers to entry need to be removed at any point." [caption id="attachment_780347" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To[/caption] What methods did you use to generate buzz and attract customers before opening? All three businesses emphasised the significance of communication, marketing and media. "Over the years, we've been lucky enough to work with some of the best in the industry when it comes to marketing, PR and social media engagement, which we continue to rely upon to this day," said Hatwell. Bitter Phew had an advantage by "Making sure our socials were up and running before [opening], and connecting with key influential people in our industry to ensure we were on the right track." "Great communication at every point is key," explained Graham and Smyth. "We engaged with local businesses and the community, and we spent months working on new branding ideas to help introduce ourselves to what we perceived as a new market. We engaged our PR Agency, Electric Collective, to help land some important media pieces. We staged a marketing campaign via our own social media and EDM channels. Little by little and piece by piece, it helps towards creating a structured and controlled narrative." [caption id="attachment_979760" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trent Van Der Jagt[/caption] How did Square help you stay organised? "Square makes the POS side of things super easy. It's modern tech for a modernising industry, and it takes the time and pain out of what used to be a laborious process," shared Graham and Smyth. "The system looks great, operates fluently and allows us to tap into our business instantly. We can check the app on our phone and see how business is going. The ease of transparency allows us to use the tools available to us to operate a more dynamic business. They say that retail is detail and Square helps us greatly with keeping our eyes on the important things." "The Square dashboard is phenomenal, providing oversight across all of our venues on a day-to-day basis," added Hatwell. "The payment terminals are super user-friendly and allow us the opportunity to customise the guest experience." Find out how Square can kickstart your business at squareup.com.
Like commemorating the birth and life of famous figures? Like multicultural festivities that shed a light on diversity and harmony? If so, it's party time. Brisbane's annual Buddha Birthday Festival is back for its 25th festival, this time taking place at the Chung Tian Temple in Priestdale. Running from Friday, May 6–Sunday, May 8, the 2022 program is serving up three jam-packed days of lion dances, calligraphy, art, performances and more. While it might not cater to 200,000 people as it has in pre-pandemic years, you still won't find yourself lacking in either company or something to watch. The festival isn't just about seeing other people strut their stuff, though. With a vegetarian food fair serving up culinary delights, tea ceremonies keeping you hydrated, meditation sessions taking care of your mental bliss and red lanterns on display, this isn't just a feast of entertainment; it's a complete mind and body experience as well. Images: Buddha Birthday Festival
Some holidays arise from months of planning. Others happen simply because an airline has cheap flights on offer. Both are perfectly acceptable ways to lock in a getaway — and if you're keen for the latter, Jetstar is doing a big 48-hour sale with 400,000-plus fares to Bali, Phuket, Hawaii, Vietnam, Japan and Seoul, among other destinations. Actually, the Australian carrier is doing discounted flights across Australia as well as to international spots — but after the couple of years we've all had, with closed borders both locally and overseas, you're probably (and understandably) itching to venture to other countries. International fares start from $199 return — yes, both ways — because this is Jetstar's 'return for free' sale. Running from 12am AEST on Wednesday, May 4–11.59pm AEST on Thursday, May 5, or until sold out, it's as straightforward as it sounds. Whatever flights you opt for as part of the sale, you'll get the return fare for nothing. Overseas, one big caveat is worth keeping in mind: some destinations, such as Japan, haven't yet opened to international tourists. But if you'd like to book cheap flights to Tokyo or Osaka and back for later in the year and cross your fingers that the border situation changes, you can. Also on the list: fares to Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown, to name a few, with 29 international routes covered. Locally, you've got a choice between 59 routes — all with return legs for free — starting from $69. Tickets in the sale are for trips from this coming spring onwards, with exact days varying in each region. There are a few other rules, as is always the case. You have to the same departure and arrival ports for the two fares — so you can go from Melbourne to Honolulu and back, for instance, but can't return via another place or to another city. And, the sale fares don't include checked baggage, so you'll need to travel super light or pay extra to take a suitcase. Jetstar's 'return for free' sale runs from 12am AEST on Wednesday, May 4–11.59pm AEST on Thursday, May 5 — or until sold out.
2023's inaugural SXSW Sydney saw everyone from Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker and Chance The Rapper to Future Today Institute founder and CEO Amy Webb and Nicole Kidman take to its stages. Who'll follow in their footsteps in 2024? That's the question now that the tech, innovation, screen, music, games and culture festival has confirmed that it will be back next year, running from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 after its first Down Under stint proved a success. "To say SXSW Sydney left a mark on the city in its inaugural year is an understatement. The team pulled together a remarkable grand-scale event that brought together APAC's creative communities in a way the region had never seen before," said SXSW Sydney Chair Geoff Jones, announcing the news. "We are thrilled to announce the dates for SXSW Sydney 2024 in partnership with the NSW Government, and look forward to opening more doors for innovators across the tech and innovation, music, screen, games and creative industries." Locking in SXSW Sydney's 2024 return and dates came with a few stats from the 2023 event, revealing that it notched up 287,014 attendances from 97,462 unique attendees. Those figures came from 34,975 total tickets, with folks from 41 countries heading along to 1178 sessions. It's too early for SXSW Sydney 2024 lineup drops yet, with applications for the event's Session Select, plus its music, screen and games showcases, set to open in 2024 — and badges due to go on sale then as well. Among its wealth of highlights, 2023's SXSW Sydney featured Brooker chatting about his hit series and technology's future; Chance The Rapper talking about 50 years of hip hop; Coachella CEO Paul Tollett discussing his own fest; Kidman exploring her work as a producer on the likes of Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers, The Undoing and Love & Death; the Australian premiere of Kitty Green's The Royal Hotel; and the world premiere of The Wiggles documentary Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles. The full lineup spanned a 700-plus strong bill of talent, covering over 300 sessions, and featuring more than 300 gigs across 25 venues. From talks and concerts to films, TV shows and games, there was no shortage of things to see. That's all now in store again in 2024. SXSW Sydney 2024 will run from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Images: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney.
Love indulging in a few-too-many gins on a summer evening, but don't love the dull, dehydrated, hungover face you wake to the next day? We've now got the perfect solution, thanks to an exciting new collaboration between two beloved Aussie brands: Four Pillars Gin and Go-To Skincare. Together they've launched My New Go-To Gin, a new "wildly limited edition" spirit set to be your tipple of summer. The perfect Christmas present for both that skincare fanatic and gin connoisseur in your life, this new addition to your liquor cabinet has all of the peachy goodness you'd expect from Zoe Foster Blake's beloved beauty brand. Not only is it made with quandong, a native Aussie peach and some tart ruby grapefruit, the familiar Go-To label aesthetic means you could probably add it to your bathroom counter's line-up, and nobody would notice anything out of the ordinary. And if you sip a few too many the night before another event (hello, festive season) you're in luck: Every bottle comes with a Go-To 'Transformazing' sheet mask to soak your skin in much-needed moisture. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Go-To (@gotoskincare) Go-To Skincare has become well-known for its cult following of skincare fanatics across the world. The beauty venture from Foster-Blake has been so wildly successful since its 2014 launch, she just sold her majority stake in the company for a cool AU$89 million. Meanwhile, Aussie spirits producer Four Pillars has also become well-known known for innovation. Its inventive collaborations and tasty creations like the rare dry and bloody shiraz gin ranges have earned it the title of World's Best Gin for two years running now. With two very intense fanbases onboard, we imagine this one is going to sell out from shelves quick smart, so do yourself a favour and grab it while you can. Currently, it's just available for sale on the Four Pillars website, with orders limited to maximum of one per order — it's up to you if you gift it to a friend, or keep it for yourself. They've also included a specialty cocktail recipe, perfect for the festive season. Find more information about My New Go-To Gin on the Four Pillars website.
Haruki Murakami's novel Norwegian Wood is filled with fuzziness, unreliability, landscapes that shift between the real and imagined, and the saturated sensation of tragedy. It's not the easiest thing to adapt to film, but director Tran Anh Hung (I Come with the Rain, The Scent of Green Papaya) has found a rich cinema language for it that's as affecting as Murakami's words. Concrete Playground spoke to him ahead of the film's Australian release. When did you first encounter Murakami's work? It was in '94. This book [Norwegian Wood], it was the first one. Since I really liked it, I didn't want to read other books from him and I didn't want to know anything about him. It's the way I work — I really want to keep my feelings for the book really fresh, and nothing can mix with it … I read his other books later on, during the editing of the movie. And what made you want to adapt Norwegian Wood into a movie? I loved the book because of the character and the story. Because it has to do with love and loss of love and that was a very strong thing, and something that talked to me directly, intimately. It's also about the burdens we acquire in youth that have to be left behind for us to move into adulthood. Tell us about the journey the main character, Watanabe, is on. It's someone who experiences love for the first time. It's a very strong feeling, and then the next day he loses it; Naoko just disappears. And it puts his life in suspense — like he's holding his breath. He's not breathing the same way as before. And when he meets Midori, she offers him her love and he cannot accept it because he has something unfinished with Naoko … [Where Watanabe's journey goes] is very disturbing, but behind it, there is something that is really beautiful, in terms of meaning and in terms of spiritual deliverance. Murakami's works are often regarded as 'unfilmable'. What were the challenges in adapting such a story to screen? There was one thing that was really strong in the book, and that was the feeling of melancholy ... For some scenes I need to give the feeling of something that is a little bit dreamy, that is between reality and dream ... Like the night when [Naoko] comes and kisses him and ask him if he loves her, this kind of scene is very like a dream. And this gives us the feeling that it could be something that will be later a souvenir for Watanabe; it has that texture of a souvenir. And it gives us that feeling of melancholy. And you made the story linear, cutting out the older Watanabe we meet at the beginning of the book? Yes, because if you keep that older Watanabe, then you have that structure of flashback, back and forth between the present time with the older Watanabe, 36 or 39, and the past when he was 20. It will give the audience a feeling of something that is very well known as a structure, so it was not interesting for me to use this. And also because when you go in a movie back and forth, you have to show what in the past influenced the present time. Then you need to create some events, some actions in the present time, because it's not in the book. And that doesn't make sense, because the book is so rich, too rich, I needed to get rid of a lot of things to be able to make a movie, so I'm not going to add some new scenes. And that's why I didn't keep the older Watanabe. You worked with cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bin, known for his work with Wong Kar-wai (In the Mood for Love). What was the vision the two of you had for how the film should look? What I really appreciate in working with Mark is he has this quality of being really sensual with movement of the camera ... I really need it for all of my movies because I like people to have a really sensual feeling of the image. And I ask everyone to work in a way to make the skin of the actor very obvious — not to enhance it, not to make it more beautiful, but to make it obvious — so that the people wish to touch it, to smell it on the screen. So with Mark I really asked him to use the light in a way so we can feel the skin, because for me, cinema is the art of incarnation. We put ideas and stories, drama in blood and flesh, meaning in the actor. So we need to see the skin very precisely. That's what I'm going for, because I don't like pretty pictures; the beauty must come from the fact the feeling is right, and it's right because its right with the story, with the psychology, with the characters. If everything is right, then it's beautiful. https://youtube.com/watch?v=kYBgsyBwYso
It's been a year since Melt first promised big things in 2024. Before the LGBTQIA+ festival held its 2023 event, it advised that it was set to be reborn as a fringe-style celebration of queer arts and culture afterwards, and would spread across Brisbane in the process. That pledge is being taken seriously, as the just-unveiled full lineup for this year demonstrates — complete with more than 120 events in 70-plus venues around southeast Queensland. How Melt 2024 will play out has been revealed in stages since late 2023, starting with news of Spencer Tunick's upcoming nude photography work on the Story Bridge, then announcing Brisbane's first-ever River Pride Parade, then adding Sophie Ellis-Bextor and a Wicked-themed Halloween ball — plus a pool party and plenty more — to the program. The latest lineup drop brings a cabaret and drag Tina Turner tribute, the improvisational antics of Thank God You're Queer, and social soccer and netball games, for starters. There's also the return of the Bay Pride Diversity Walk to Wynnum, a Pride Picnic at South Bank and a heap of queer film screenings, too. Whether you're keen to see a show, dance to live tunes, check out an exhibition, catch flicks, party, splash around, get spooky or take your kit off in the name of art, Brisbanites are in for a busy couple of weeks between Wednesday, October 23–Sunday, November 10. Also newly added to the program: markets in The Lanes in Fortitude Valley, Rose Miho's Erotic Art of a Bisexual exhibition, the Rainbow History Class, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers hitting the stage and the First Nations-focused three-day Friction, which will combine talks, art, workshops, performances and open-mic chats. From past announcements, the fest includes Bidjara artist Christian Thompson unveiling a large-scale outdoor exhibition across town as well — and also Hans: Disco Spektakulär!, The Ungrateful Bastards and The Lucky B*tches teaming up for a big night. Halloween Hall is back for a DJ-soundtracked way to get eerie; Femme Follies Burlesque is led by queer artists and heroes the queer gaze; alt.BIMBO focuses on the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, The Craft and Charmed, alongside AFAB, non-binary and trans artistic talent; and Confidence Man, Mark Trevorrow and Rupert Noffs singing Stephen Sondheim, and the Pink Flamingo Spiegelclub are equally all on the list. Since it was initially announced, Tunick closing down a Brisbane icon to fill it with a cast of thousands sans clothes has been one of Melt 2024's highlights, with registrations still open if you're keen to take part. As for the River Pride Parade, it will float boats from William Jolly Bridge to Brisbane Powerhouse. Ellis-Bextor, who played Melt 2022 and is now fresh from the Saltburn buzz, is supporting Take That at A Day on the Green at Sirromet Wines — all of which was announced earlier in 2024, then joined the Melt 2024 lineup. And if you're keen to see movies under the stars, the newly added Melt on Screen bill at Dendy Powerhouse's outdoor cinema features classics such as The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Paris Is Burning, plus 2024 newcomers Love Lies Bleeding and Problemista. As for where you'll be heading, venues include Melt's OG home Brisbane Powerhouse, plus The Princess Theatre, The Tivoli, IMA, PIP Theatre, The Wickham, James Street, Fish Lane and Valley Pool — and others in Wynnum, Logan and Ipswich. The revamped Melt was announced in 2023 as a fringe-style event to celebrate LGBTQIA+ art and performance everywhere from Fortitude Valley to Woolloongabba, showcasing queer work, talents, legends and allies. Brisbanites should already know that Brisbane Powerhouse has hosted Melt Festival for eight years and counting, with that event considered a predecessor to this newcomer. The latest iteration broadens its scope by building upon Melt's success — spreading beyond the Powerhouse, clearly; featuring more artists and venues; and operating as an open access-style shindig. [caption id="attachment_939500" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jack Martin[/caption] Melt Festival 2024 runs from Wednesday, October 23–Sunday, November 10. Head to the festival website for additional information, and for tickets from 10am on Thursday, July 4.
Every December, the Geminids meteor shower lights up our skies. Considered to be the most spectacular meteor shower of the year, it's caused by a stream of debris, left by an asteroid dubbed the 3200 Phaethon, burning up in Earth's atmosphere. The shower kicked off back on December 4, but it's expected to be at its peak in Australia overnight between Sunday, December 13–Monday, December 14. So, if you fancy starting off your week with a stint of stargazing, you'll have something spectacular to look at — from around 9pm in Brisbane, 10pm in Perth, 11pm in Sydney, 11.30pm in Adelaide and 12am in Melbourne. The best time to catch an eyeful will be after midnight, when the moon has set and its light will not interfere, and before sunrise. Some years you can catch as many as 120 meteors every 60 minutes — and this year the peak happens the day before the new moon, which will make it easier to see. [caption id="attachment_699423" align="alignnone" width="1920"] NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, Jeff Dai.[/caption] For your best chances, it's worth getting as far away from bright lights as possible — this could be a good excuse to head out of the city to a clear-skied camping spot — and pray for no clouds. To see the meteors, you'll need to give your eyes around 15–30 minutes to adapt to the dark (so try to avoid checking your phone) and look to the northeast. The shower's name comes from the constellation from which they appear to come, Gemini. So that's what you'll be looking for in the sky. To locate Gemini, we recommend downloading the Sky Map app — it's the easiest way to navigate the night sky (and is a lot of fun to use even on a non-meteor shower night). If you're more into specifics, Time and Date also has a table that shows the direction and altitude of the Geminids. The Geminids meteor shower will be at its peak during the night on Sunday, December 13–Monday, December 14. Top image: A composite of 163 photos taken over 90 minutes during the Geminids by Jeff Smallwood for Flickr.
Pioneering pop art with Campbell's soup cans and Marilyn Monroe portraits helped make Andy Warhol a huge star, but that's only a fraction of his creative output. In fact, the above mightn't have come about if he wasn't so interested in photography — and if you'd like to learn more, an upcoming Australian exhibition has just the details, works and snaps. Running from Friday, March 3–Sunday, May 14, 2023, Andy Warhol & Photography: A Social Media will take over the Art Gallery of South Australia with an impressive exploration of Warhol's fascination with taking photos. It's the first exhibition in Australia on the topic, and it will display more than 250 works, including photographs. Warhol's experimental films will also feature, given the focus is on his talents with a camera; however, there will also be a selection of his screenprints and paintings. [caption id="attachment_872132" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gerard Malanga, born 1943, No title (Andy Warhol), 1971, gelatin silver photograph, 33.7 x 22.6 (printed image), 35.6 x 27.8 cm (sheet); National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Purchased 1973[/caption] So, you'll be able to see images that Warhol snapped himself, including AGSA's own collection of 45 Warhol photographs, which will be shown together for the first time. You'll also be able to check out some of those famous pop art portraits — Monroe's, unsurprisingly, as well as Elvis Presley's — with examining how Warhol's photos flickered through his other art a key focus. This is a wide-ranging survey that also peers at Warhol, however, complete with behind-the-scenes glimpses into his life. And, it will look into the lives of friends and other celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Bob Dylan, Debbie Harry, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Liza Minnelli, Lou Reed and Elizabeth Taylor. As a result, Warhol's works will sit alongside others by his creatives he collaborated with and contemporaries; think: Brigid Berlin, Nat Finkelstein, Christopher Makos, Gerard Malanga, Robert Mapplethorpe, Duane Michals and Billy Name. [caption id="attachment_872133" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andy Warhol, born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1928, died New York City, New York 1987, Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts (photo shoot for the Rolling Stones 'Love You Live' album cover), 1977, New York, Polaroid photograph, 10.8 x 8.6 cm (sheet), 9.5 x 7.3 cm (image); V.B. F. Young Bequest Fund and d'Auvergne Boxall Bequest Fund 2018, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. ARS/Copyright Agency[/caption] The exhibition's title nods to the social aspect of the showcase, hopping between Warhol, his pals and his peers. It also references his enduring influence in today's social media-heavy times. "Some 35 years after his death, this exhibition attests to Andy Warhol's enduring relevance as an artist and cultural figure in an era defined by social media. With cross-generational appeal, this is an exhibition of our times which begs the question, was Warhol the original influencer?" said AGSA Director Rhana Devenport ONZM, announcing the exhibition. [caption id="attachment_872134" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andy Warhol, born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1928, died New York City, New York 1987, Bianca Jagger, Liza Minnelli and Jacqueline Onassis in Liza's dressing room, New York, no. 12 from the portfolio Photographs, 1978; published 1980, New York, United States, gelatin silver photograph, 30.0 x 42.3 cm (image), 40.9 x 50.5 cm (sheet); James and Diana Ramsay Fund 2020, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. ARS/Copyright Agency[/caption] "Photography underpinned Warhol's whole artistic practice — both as an essential part of his working method and as an end in its own right," adds Julie Robinson, AGSA's Senior Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs, and also Andy Warhol & Photography: A Social Media's curator. "He took some 60,000 photographs in his lifetime. His candid images, which capture his own life as well as the lives of his celebrity friends, offer audiences a revealing insight into Warhol the person, taking viewers beneath the veneer of his pop paintings and persona." Andy Warhol & Photography: A Social Media forms part of the 2023 Adelaide Festival program, kicking off with the fest but running for a couple of months afterwards. That's plenty of time — more than the 15 minutes of fame that Warhol has become synonymous with — to make a trip to SA to see one of the year's certain Aussie gallery highlights. [caption id="attachment_872135" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andy Warhol and Henry Gillespie, image courtesy Henry Gillespie[/caption] Andy Warhol & Photography: A Social Media will display at the Art Gallery of South Australia from Friday, March 3–Sunday, May 14, 2023. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the AGSA website. Top image: Oliviero Toscani, born Milan, Italy 1942, Andy Warhol, 1975, New York, United States of America, pigment print on paper, 32.0 x 46.0 cm (image), 40.0 x 50.0 cm (sheet); Public Engagement Fund 2021, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Oliviero Toscani.
Thanks to a proposed multimillion-dollar makeover, Brisbane's oldest-surviving CBD pub might soon look a whole lot different, transforming into a four-in-one venue that'll get patrons sipping drinks from the basement to the rooftop. News that The Victory Hotel was set for a revamp first arrived back in 2023, after the Edward Street watering hole temporarily closed, then reopened under new management. Now, the details of the site's next guise have dropped. If the submitted development application gets approval, this Brissie icon will boast everything from a speakeasy to a steakhouse. When The Vic shut up shop in February 2023, the short-term halt came as ALH Hotels decided not to renew its lease on the inner-city site. Then, Athena Group inked a long-term agreement with owners Precision Group. Together, they have huge plans for the pub's major redevelopment. The Vic is heritage-listed thanks to its hefty history. First constructed in 1855, it was initially known as the Prince of Wales, and is a prime example of 19th-century corner hotels. Over its lengthy lifespan since, the venue has become well-acquainted with facelifts. Indeed, this will be one of many, including during the 1880s, 1920s–30s — when the venue's name was changed to the moniker that Brisbane knows today — and then the 1950s as well. The beer garden area scored a makeover in the 1980s, with an awning added in 1995 and more changes amde to the outdoor space in the 2000s. The latest proposal involves creating a sports bar and beer garden as one distinct venue, plus a rooftop garden bar as another. A steakhouse restaurant will give The Vic its third venue, while the basement will become a speakeasy-style bar with gaming room. Historical details will be honoured in the redevelopment, with architecture firm Bureau Proberts and interior designers S.Shyne — plus heritage architect Ruth Woods — crafting the pub's new aesthetic. "The Victory Hotel has been a popular destination for more than 150 years, and we're excited to elevate the offerings of this iconic venue and reinvigorate this corner of Brisbane," said Precision Group Leasing Executive Rory O'Brien. "Our focus is on creating a world-class destination that will attract visitors from across Australia and around the world, while preserving the heritage of the site for future generations." "Through this redevelopment, patrons will be able to look up from the beer garden or rooftop bar and see the original structure of the hotel whilst enjoying the advantage of the outdoor Brisbane climate," added Bureau Proberts Lead Designer Dan Liddy. "The basement bar is an exciting feature that gives life to elements of the building that people don't usually get to see, and will remember and honour the historic site." Find The Victory Hotel at 127 Edward Street, Brisbane City — head to the venue's Facebook page for more details. Renders: S.Shyne.
Keeping a beef-slinging diner running, transforming it into an upscale fine-diner, launching that new restaurant to the world: that's The Bear story so far. In the first, second and third seasons of hit series, those challenges awaited Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White, The Iron Claw), plus his colleagues and his loved ones, including fellow chef Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri, Inside Out 2) and the Berzatto family's lifelong pal Richie Jerimovich Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Hold Your Breath). Next, in season four, keeping the show's namesake fine-diner in business is the focus. There's even a literal countdown clock ticking down to the eatery's possible demise in its fourth run, as the just-dropped trailer for the series features. "That clock is telling you how much money we have left," Cicero (Oliver Platt, Chicago Med), The Bear's key investor, advises in the sneak peek. "When that shows zero, this restaurant needs to cease operations". Accordingly, "chaos and turmoil" are still being plated up in this award-winning favourite, so much so that they're specifically mentioned by Syd. "It's hard and it's brutal, and that's what makes it special," notes Carmy. Also part of the trailer: reviews calling out concerns about the restaurant's consistency, new menus, ample food shots, advice not to hide from things, the return of Carmy's mother (Jamie Lee Curtis, The Last Showgirl), and everyone from Carmy's sister Natalie (Abby Elliott, Cheaper by the Dozen) to eatery staff Marcus (Lionel Boyce, Shell), Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas, Cat Person), Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson, Unprisoned) and Fak (IRL chef Matty Matheson) dealing with the pressure in their own ways. As announced earlier in May, The Bear returns in June 2025 for prime winter binge-viewing. The date for your diary: Thursday, June 26, 2025 in Australia and New Zealand. As in past years, season four will drop its entire season — ten episodes this time — in one hefty helping. The fourth season of the series has been in locked in since before season three even aired and, while throwing new challenges at its characters, is set to continue to raise a perennial question along the way: what should you cling to when you're chasing greatness, and in life in general? If you need more details about The Bear to date, its debut season jumped into the mayhem when Carmy took over the diner after his brother's (Jon Bernthal, The Accountant 2) death. Before returning home, the chef's resume featured Noma and The French Laundry, as well as awards and acclaim. Then, in season two and three, Carmy worked to turn the space into an upmarket addition to his hometown's dining scene, with help from the restaurant's trusty crew. Check out the trailer for The Bear season four below: The Bear season four will stream via Disney+ in Australia from Thursday, June 26, 2025. Read our reviews of seasons one, two and three. Images: FX / Disney+.
If you're looking to escape the hustle and bustle of city life but want to switch it up from your usual beachside getaway, head to one of Australia's most stunning patches of river country and reconnect with nature — the Murray Region. Boasting picturesque landscapes, serene waterways and abundant wildlife, it's an ideal destination for some rejuvenation. Journey through some of the most beautiful spots in the state — exploring stunning gardens and reserves, cruising along the river, or simply relaxing in some seriously serene surroundings. Together with Destination NSW, we've compiled this guide to ensure you get the absolute most out of your stay. It's time to hit the road and explore our beautiful river country. CIRCA 1928 DAY SPA AND HOTEL Looking for some small-town charm to kickstart your weekend rejuvenation? Albury is the ideal regional hub for you — managing to perfectly balance the old school and trendy. The best example of this is the CIRCA 1928 Art Hotel, sitting pretty in the centre of town. What's more, you and a date (or mate) can enjoy a night here while saving some pennies. At this spot, you'll be greeted with luxe eclectic interiors, considered design features and a night-cap delivered straight to your door — plus in-suite brekkie and 20% off at the renowned onsite spa. Combining Indonesian techniques with Australian-made botanical products, the treatments here will have you blissed out in moments. [caption id="attachment_893890" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] MURRAY RIVER CANOE TRAILS If you're looking for a bit more adventure, why not cruise down the flowing Murray River on a scenic canoe trail? There are four trails to pick from in the neighbouring Murray Valley National Park and Barmah National Park. All have easy water access and offer something special for every paddler. Go for a quick 30-minute trip from Barmah Lakes to Rices Bridge; or, opt for a lengthier 3.5-hour canoe from Picnic Point to Barmah Lakes, stopping for a picnic on the way at the scenic Swifts Creek campground. [caption id="attachment_893966" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wendy McDonald[/caption] MURRAY DARLING SCENIC FLIGHT Get a new perspective and fly high above the Southern Murray Darling Basin for a truly unforgettable experience. Soar above Yanga National Park and the vibrant Gayini wetlands or gaze in awe over the swirling hues of the desert meeting the water with Murray Darling Scenic Flights. Embrace the stunning vistas of the River Country, including red gum forests and ancient desert lakes. You'll also catch a glimpse of the glowing colours of nearby Lake Tyrrell. Flights depart from Swan Hill, Echuca, Deniliquin and Kerang airports. [caption id="attachment_894063" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] STAY ON THE EMMYLOU PADDLESTEAMER Three nights atop the river on a delightful slice of local history — that's what you'll get if you book this all-inclusive trip for two. Immersed in the riverscape, you'll be relaxing as you float on the Emmylou. Check in to your air-conditioned queen suite when you board your vessel and get ready to cruise down the Murray in the charming paddlesteamer. Sip wine and beers and savour regionally inspired meals prepared by your onboard chef. Enjoy all this, plus barbecues under the stars, stop-offs at riverside wineries and late-night campfires while you listen to the local Aussie wildlife. [caption id="attachment_894605" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Albury Wodonga[/caption] ALBURY BOTANIC GARDENS If you want a healthy dose of serenity and history, be sure to visit the Albury Botanic Gardens during your Murray explorations. Established in 1877, the gardens have been a highlight of the charming regional town for well over a century. Here, you're free to take a self-guided stroll along the Heritage Walk, picking up some of the local history. Or, simply get lost in the grounds, immersing yourself in more than 1000 plant species — and even an extremely rare rainforest collection. [caption id="attachment_894067" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] MUNGO WALK THE WALLS OF CHINA TOUR Embrace the natural landscape and rich cultural heritage of Mungo National Park with an expert First Nations guide. Explore the ancient lakebeds and the spot where some of modern humanity's oldest remains were found, before embarking on the Walls of China Tour, which will take you on a journey back in time through the ancient sites that hold over 40,000 years of Aboriginal history. There is much to learn from this immensely significant area's Traditional Owners. Over two hours, you'll hear of the secrets of the expansive Willandra Lakes region, with plenty of time to photograph the Mars-like landscape — which formed naturally with the movement of wind and water. You can only visit the awe-inspiring Walls of China via a guided tour. [caption id="attachment_893892" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] STAY ON THE RIVER OF ISLANDS HOUSEBOAT If you prefer to rejuvenate with absolute alone time, opt for a stay on the River of Islands, a drive-yourself houseboat that'll have you exploring the gorgeous Murray River at your own pace. The boat sleeps seven people across three bedrooms, with a shady deck for lazing around and a rooftop (boat-top?) hammock for enjoying the afternoon sun. Located between Mulwala and Corowa, the simply stunning River of Islands docks at the perfect spot to explore the river's wildlife and sweeping gums. Relax and recharge by soaking in your vista on a sunset swim, kayaking around your floating home, or by dropping a line. Or simply sit back and enjoy the view. [caption id="attachment_894060" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] WAGIRRA TRAIL AND YINDYAMARRA SCULPTURE WALK Along the Murray River pathway, in West Albury, you'll find a unique cultural experience. The Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk is a peaceful and scenic route through soaring red gums and First Nations art pieces. The walk is along the Wagirra Trail, a 15-kilometre return journey with plenty of picturesque spots to take a picnic break and really soak up the scenery. Between Kremur Street and the Wonga Wetlands, the trail tells a series of First Nations stories with 15 sculptures made by contemporary Aboriginal artists. There's plenty of info along the way, so you'll be learning about the artistic processes and fascinating local Indigenous history while you wander. [caption id="attachment_894607" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Murray River Council[/caption] MOAMA BOTANIC GARDENS Located in the charming riverside sister towns of Moama and Echuca, you will find the beautiful Moama Botanic Gardens. A peaceful stroll through these gardens is the ideal spot for a rejuvenating hit of nature. While you're soaking up our natural world, wander through Indigenous plantings, learning of our beautifully unique arid and semi-arid Australian landscapes. After your explorations, sit back and relax in a shady spot — and don't forget a loaded picnic basket. Check out where to stock up on local supplies using our food guide to the region. For more ways to enjoy the Murray region, check out our food and drink guide or history and culture guide. To start planning your rejuvenating trip to the Murray region with the exclusive packages curated by CP's editors, head to the website. Top images: Destination NSW (first, Lake Mulwala; third, Emmylou Paddlesteamer; fourth, Wagirra Trail and Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk); Visit Albury Wodonga (second and fifth, Albury Botanic Gardens).
At a press conference in Brisbane during his first trip to Australia to see the Down Under production of Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda said that the Aussie stars of his hit Tony-, Grammy- and Pulitzer Prize-winning show had been "stacking up against the originals in a very tangible way" ever since casting took place three years back. That isn't the only time the acclaimed theatre talent has been chatting during his Australian visit, however, taking part in a live public Q&A session for fans in the Sunshine State capital. Missed out on being in the room where that happened? Thankfully, you'll have a shot to watch the results in your own room — and soon. Given that Leigh Sales hosted the discussion, which took place on Sunday, March 5, it should hardly come as a surprise that the talk is heading to the ABC and ABC iView. It'll air on TV twice: at 6pm on Saturday, March 18 and 10pm on Tuesday, March 21, as well as joining the iView catalogue. Viewers can watch Miranda step through the smash-hit musical that's had the whole world talking since it first debuted off-Broadway in 2015. His chat with Sales came the day after he saw the Aussie version of Hamilton at the QPAC Lyric Theatre — the same stage he took to discuss it, in fact. Viewers can expect to hear about everything from the process Miranda went through to make the musical to begin with, behind-the-scenes details and the Aussie production's impressive talents. [caption id="attachment_870525" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] The biggest show in musical theatre this century, this game-changing, award-winning, rightly raved-about take on 18th-century American politics is about the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, as well as inclusion and politics in current-day America. Miranda wrote the music, lyrics and the book for the critically acclaimed hip hop musical. The Broadway hit's Aussie production features a cast that currently includes Jason Arrow as Alexander Hamilton, Martha Berhane as Eliza Hamilton, Callan Purcell as Aaron Burr, Akina Edmonds as Angelica Schuyler, Matu Ngaropo as George Washington, and Victory Ndukwe as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. Sami Afuni plays Hercules Mulligan and James Madison, Wern Mak does double duty as John Laurens and Philip Hamilton, Elandrah Eramiha plays Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds, and Brent Hill steps into King George III's robes. [caption id="attachment_870526" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] When it finishes its Brisbane season at QPAC's Lyric Theatre on Sunday, April 23, the show will leave the country for a New Zealand run. That'll mean that Aussie fans will then need to be content with watching the filmed version of Hamilton's Broadway production, which started streaming via Disney+ in 2020, again. (And yes, it's as phenomenal as you've heard). Brisbanites keen to see Hamilton for cheap in-person can also try the $10 ticket lottery, which offers tickets for less than the cost of lunch. Lin-Manuel Miranda's chat with Leigh Sales at QPAC's Lyric Theatre will hit the ABC and ABC iView at 6pm on Saturday, March 18, and air again on the ABC at 10pm on Tuesday, March 21. Hamilton's Brisbane season runs until Sunday, April 23 at QPAC's Lyric Theatre, South Bank, with tickets available via the musical's website. You can also read our rundown of what Lin-Manuel Miranda had to say at his Brisbane press conference. Top image: Joan Marcus.
Located at the very northern tip of New Zealand's South Island, Marlborough has something for everyone. The region is famously home to the Marlborough Sounds, a winding and picture-perfect network of sea-drowned valleys which encompasses one-fifth of New Zealand's coastline. It also happens to be the oldest winemaking region in the country with more than 35 cellar doors, so there's no question that one of your main objectives should be sampling local varietals. And now, we have it on good authority that locals will be breaking out the good china next time you pay a visit — the region has just been named as one of the ten most welcoming regions on earth for travellers. Known predominantly for its epic sav blanc and stunning walking and hiking trails, Marlborough is also the only spot in the southern hemisphere to make the list from international travel site Booking.com, coming in at number six. It was beaten by fellow friendly spots La Rioja in Spain and Epirus in Greece — but came in front of Ninh Binh in Vietnam and Limon, Costa Rica. The votes were tallied from a pool of over 240 million customer reviews – and yes, only customers that have actually stayed at an accommodation, rented a car or rode in a taxi can leave a review of their experience on the website. This award is coming straight from the road well-travelled. If you're the type of traveller that books holidays based on word of mouth, you'll probably want to start putting together that itinerary ASAP — check out our Weekender's Guide for more inspiration. And while you're travel planning, head to Concrete Playground Trips to snap up some epic international travel deals. Booking.com's Top 10 Most Welcoming Regions on Earth for 2023 1. La Rioja, Spain 2. Epirus, Greece 3. Oberosterreich, Austria 4. County Down, UK 5. Mures, Romania 6. Marlborough, New Zealand 7. Ninh Binh, Vietnam 8. Limon, Costa Rica 9. Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada 10. North Dakota, US Marlborough has come in at number six on Booking.com's list of the top ten most welcoming regions in the world — the only destination in the southern hemisphere to do so. For more information on the famous wine region, head to Marlborough NZ.
Prepare to exclaim "yeah, science!" like Jesse Pinkman — and to see a whole lot more of Aaron Paul's Breaking Bad character. The acclaimed series is making a comeback, cooking up a movie that serves as a sequel to the show's finale. In the spotlight: Walter White's former student and protege, who happens to be in a spot of trouble (again). When we last saw Pinkman in Breaking Bad's final episode six years ago, he had just escaped captivity, all thanks to Walt (Bryan Cranston). The latter was injured in the process, but when he asked his former meth cooking partner to kill him, Pinkman couldn't bring himself to do it. So, Pinkman ran, and Walt lost consciousness just a cop arrived. And, that's how the series ended — until now. As happens when every great show comes to a conclusion, we've all wondered what happened next. Come October, fans can find out. First revealed last year, and initially given the working title of Greenbriar, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie will continue Pinkman's tale in a thriller written and directed by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan. While details are being kept scarce, the film is set "in the wake of his dramatic escape from captivity", with Jesse being forced to "come to terms with his past in order to forge some kind of future", according to the official synopsis. Although this follow-up will span a single package rather than run across multiple episodes, it is still coming to a small screen near you thanks to Netflix. Dropping the debut teaser over the weekend, the streaming platform also revealed that El Camino will arrive soon — on October 11, so mark your calendars. As Better Call Saul diehards are well aware, Breaking Bad has never completely gone away since the OG show wrapped up in 2013; however fans eager to look forward in the show's chronology, not backwards at the early life of Bob Odenkirk's shady lawyer Saul Goodman, have something to add to their must-watch list. Whether Cranston will show up in El Camino is still the subject of rumour, but the date announcement clip does reveal another familiar face, with Skinny Pete (Charles Barker) being questioned by the cops about Pinkman's whereabouts. Check out the El Camino teaser below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZKqMVPlDg8 El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie hits Netflix on October 11. Image: Courtesy of Netflix.
UPDATE: April 15, 2020: Aladdin is available to stream via Disney+. Let's get the obvious reference out of the way: in remaking the 1992 classic, Disney's live-action Aladdin doesn't venture to a whole new world. Instead, the company's latest rehash of its back catalogue adds literal, visible flesh to everyone's favourite makeover concept (Blue Eye for the Street Rat Guy, basically), as well as a few minor twists and an extra song. Relaying the same tale again isn't necessarily an issue, on paper. Storytellers have been doing the same thing since time began, as have filmmakers for more than a century, with re-interpreting familiar narratives, adapting them to different contexts and seeing them afresh all part of human nature. But what Aladdin lacks is a purpose beyond the obvious. It's a glossy new version with actors instead of animation; a shiny, nostalgic replica that's definitely entertaining enough. However it never tries to soar on its own magic carpet. One line of thinking, of course, is that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Another is that faithful do-overs of beloved hits (including Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast and Dumbo, plus the forthcoming The Lion King) are just Disney's safety-driven success strategy. These are risk-averse filmmaking times, so the latter approach is understandable. When fans mobilise online en masse to cry about women with lightsabers and demand that a television show be remade because it didn't end the way they personally wanted, simply giving viewers what they already like is the all-too-sensible option. Accordingly, Aladdin circa 2019 is exactly what it was always going to be, with all of the expected ups and downs that entails. Yes, it'll make you want to revisit the original. No, Will Smith can't match Robin Williams, but he doesn't always try to. Surprisingly, while there are no geezers spouting Cockney rhyming slang (and no Jason Statham, sadly), director Guy Ritchie's penchant for energetic spectacle generally fits. The story, for those who didn't spend their childhoods rewatching the animated flick endlessly and committing the details to memory, charts Agrabah urchin Aladdin (Mena Massoud), his newfound love for Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) and the lamp-dwelling Genie (Will Smith) who can make dreams come true. Aladdin is merely a kind-hearted petty thief with a cheeky monkey for a best friend, with Jasmine only able to marry royalty — and her sultan father (Navid Negahban) is hardly fond of breaking tradition. Complicating matters even further is nefarious advisor Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), who exerts his own influence — with the help of his all-seeing parrot Iago (voiced by Alan Tudyk) — to try to seize the throne. With Genie's wish-granting assistance, Aladdin pretends to be a prince to secure Jasmine's hand, but securing the kingdom becomes just as pressing a concern. There's a timely female empowerment thread to this version to Aladdin, as seen in its new song, as well as Jasmine's rallying against her lack of agency. Barely tinkering with the initial flick's script, Ritchie and co-scribe John August (Frankenweenie) aren't trying to break the mould — or enchanted lamp — yet it's a welcome albeit fairly obligatory touch. Where the director best exerts his influence is in teaming with cinematographer Alan Stewart (Mary Poppins Returns) to bring Agrabah to vivid, jewel-toned life, watching Aladdin sneakily parkour himself around the city and giving the musical numbers the requisite bounce. Where the tunes are concerned, established crowd-pleasers such as 'Prince Ali', 'Friend Like Me' and 'A Whole New World' prove the high points they're meant to be, which sums up the film's fortunes perfectly: its hits are already known, and making sure they don't crash compared to the original is the primary plan. That could sum up Smith's tactics also, or at least that's how it initially seems. He's less comfortable and convincing when he's overtly mimicking Williams at the outset, but serves up an engaging and amusing Genie once he makes the character his own (and when he isn't sporting a distracting shade of blue). Indeed, if viewers had three wishes for the Aladdin remake, and one of them was for a great cast, that has largely been granted. Crucially, Massoud makes a suitably charismatic rapscallion, and Scott brings poise and radiance to a star-making performance, helping you forget that she was in the awful Power Rangers movie. The true scene-stealer, though, is ex-Saturday Night Live star Nasim Pedrad as Jasmine's handmaiden Dalia. It's a move that'd never happen, but if this adequate yet never arresting Aladdin revival sparked a spin-off about its two main ladies just being great and taking on the world, it'd justify its existence several times over. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foyufD52aog
It took a mere one episode when House of the Dragon premiered for HBO to sign on for season two of the Game of Thrones prequel. That second season debuts on Monday, June 17, 2024 Down Under, but the US network behind the TV adaptations of George RR Martin's novels just can't wait to go all in on more battling Targaryens, already renewing the show for season three. Yes, Succession may be over, but the fight for the Iron Throne between half-siblings Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney, Rogue Heroes) and Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy, Mothering Sunday) is sticking around for at least another batch of episodes after 2024's return to Westeros continues the story before the hit fantasy series everyone watched from 2011–19. Both figures want to rule the Seven Kingdoms. Both claim the famous seat as theirs. Both are destined for war: the Targaryen civil war between the green and the black camps known as the Dance of the Dragons. "We are in awe of the dragon-sized effort the entire team has put into the creation of a spectacular season two, with a scope and scale that is only rivalled by its heart. We could not be more thrilled to continue the story of House Targaryen and watch this team burn bright again for season three," said Francesca Orsi, the Executive Vice President of HBO Programming, and Head of HBO Drama Series and Films, about the renewal. There's no details yet on when season three of House of the Dragon will arrive — including if it'll be in winter in Australia and New Zealand, as has proven the case for both season one and two — but this account of flowing long blonde hair, carnage, fire, dragons, conflicting factions and fights for supremacy is nowhere near done yet. When the show's season season premieres, it will arrive two years after the first debuted in 2022. If you haven't yet caught up with the series so far, which is based on Martin's Fire & Blood on the page, it dives into a prior battle for the Iron Throne. Paddy Considine (The Third Day) started the series King Viserys — and it's exactly who should be his heir that sparked all the fuss. The words "succession" and "successor" (and "heir" as well) got bandied around constantly, naturally. Also, Australian actors Milly Alcock and Ryan Corr were among the stars. As this first Game of Thrones spinoff jumps back into House Targaryen's history, the initial season kicked off 172 years before the birth of Daenerys and her whole dragon-flying, nephew-dating, power-seeking story — and gave HBO its largest American audience for any new original series in its history when it debuted. If you're thinking that House of the Dragon is basically a case of new show, same squabbles, as it was easy to foresee it would be, you're right. It's pretty much Game of Thrones with different faces bearing now well-known surnames — and more dragons. Game of Thrones was always going to spark spinoff shows. Indeed, when HBO started thinking about doing a prequel six years ago, before the huge fantasy hit had even finished its run, it was hardly surprising. And, when the US network kept adding ideas to its list — including a Jon Snow-focused series with Kit Harington (Eternals) reprising his famous role, novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg and an animated GoT show, to name just a few prequels and spinoffs that've been considered, but may or may not actually come to fruition — absolutely no one was astonished. So far, just House of the Dragon has hit screens; however, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, the Dunk and Egg adaptation, is now due in 2025. Also returning among the cast when House of the Dragon season two hits: Olivia Cooke (Slow Horses) as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith (Morbius) as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Rhys Ifans (The King's Man) as Ser Otto Hightower, Eve Best (Nurse Jackie) as Rhaenys Targaryen and Steve Toussaint (It's a Sin) as Lord Corlys Velaryon, plus Fabien Frankel (The Serpent), Ewan Mitchell (Saltburn) and Sonoya Mizuno (Civil War). HBO is also adding new faces to the mix, with Clinton Liberty (This Is Christmas) as Addam of Hull, Jamie Kenna (Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story) as Ser Alfred Broome, Kieran Bew (Warrior) as Hugh, Tom Bennett (Black Ops) as Ulf, Tom Taylor (Love at First Sight) as Lord Cregan Stark and Vincent Regan (One Piece) as Ser Rickard Thorne. They join Abubakar Salim (Napoleon) as Alyn of Hull, Gayle Rankin (Perry Mason) as Alys Rivers, Freddie Fox (The Great) as Ser Gwayne Hightower and Simon Russell Beale (Thor: Love and Thunder) as Ser Simon Strong among the season two newcomers. Check out the full trailer for House of the Dragon season two below: House of the Dragon streams Down Under via Foxtel and Binge in Australia, and SoHo, Sky Go and Neon in New Zealand, with season two arriving on Monday, June 17, 2024. Season three doesn't yet have a release date. Read our review of season one. Images: HBO.
Now that Australia's borders have reopened, heading overseas is far easier than it's been for the past two years — but that doesn't mean an international getaway is immediately on everyone's itineraries. Sad about missing Coachella this year? Won't be able to head to Germany to celebrate Oktoberfest? If you're happy to pretend while putting, then make a date with Brisbane's newest mini golf joint. The first putt-putt offshoot of indoor golf simulator business X-Golf — aka the virtual greens you tap, tap, tap your way along when you're not actually hitting the grass — Hey Caddy has just opened in North Lakes. While that means that Brisbanites further south will have a drive north on their agenda, this 18-hole spot is all about indulging your wanderlust for further-away places, with each green themed around a particular destination. With a ferris wheel and coloured cacti, Coachella does indeed provide inspiration for one hole. Thanks to giant steins of beer and pretzels, so does Oktoberfest. Area 51 in Nevada gets the Hey Caddy treatment as well, and so do New York, Miami, Bora Bora, Egypt and, much closer to home, Melbourne. And Mars, too, although growing potatoes and counting sols probably isn't part of it. Murals by Brisbane-based artist Lee 'LINZ' Harnden grace the walls, and all 18 holes sit indoors, so it's the kind of club-swinging you can do no matter the weather. Also, because mini golf without drinks now feels like a relic of another time, there's a nineteenth hole, aka a bar, with beer, colourful cocktails and snacks. That means tucking into popcorn cauliflower, cheeseburger spring rolls, pizzas, sliders and doughnut fries whether you're celebrating a win or commiserating your bad luck at picking the angles (yes, mini golf is all about angles), all while making the most of the fully licensed setup. Sips on offer include brews on tap and by the bottle — non-boozy beers included — plus a small selection of wine and ready-to-drink pre-mixed spirits. Or, try a peanut butter old fashioned, elderflower margarita, whichever classic cocktail takes your fancy, and concoctions themed around certain holes. 'Little Green Men' includes gin, chartreuse, Midori, lime juice, sugar syrup and apple juice, for instance. Although adults can get sipping, Hey Caddy is an all-ages-friendly space — so if you're heading by during the day, you might have little putt-putters for company. And if you're not a North Lakes local or aren't heading that way anytime soon, Hey Caddy will also be setting up shop in South Brisbane as well, with its second venue due to open in September. Find Hey Caddy at 2/4 Burke Street, North Lakes — open 10am–10pm Monday–Saturday and 10am–6pm Sunday.
Closure is a beautiful thing. It's also not something that a 24-film-and-growing franchise tends to serve up all that often. Since 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has operated with the exact opposite aim, in fact — extending and expanding the series at every turn, delivering episodic cinema instalments that keep viewers hanging for the next flick, and endeavouring to ensure that the superhero saga blasts onwards forever. But it's hard to tick those boxes when you're making a movie about a character whose fate is already known. Audiences have seen where Natasha Romanoff's (Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story) story finishes thanks to Avengers: Endgame, so Black Widow doesn't need to lay the groundwork for more films to follow. It's inexcusable that it has taken so long for the assassin-turned-Avenger to get her own solo outing. It's indefensible that this is just the second Marvel feature to solely focus on a female figure, too. But, unlike the missed opportunity that was Captain Marvel, Black Widow gives its namesake a thrilling big-screen outing — in no small part because it needn't waste time setting up an obvious Black Widow sequel. Instead, the pandemic-delayed movie gets to spend its 143 minutes doing what more MCU flicks should: building character, focusing on relationships, fleshing out its chosen world and making every inch of its narrative feel lived-in. The end result feels like a self-contained film, rather than just one chapter in a never-ending tale — which gives it the space to confidently blend family dramas with espionage antics, and to do justice to both parts of that equation. Indeed, like Black Panther, Black Widow is one of the few Marvel movies that could dispense with its ties to the saga and still not only work, but still engage and entertain with precision. And, free of the dutiful task of linking into ten, 20 or 50 future features, it sincerely leaves viewers wanting more — more jumps into the past like this with Romanoff; more of its no-nonsense, high-octane spy action; and more of Florence Pugh (Little Women), David Harbour (Stranger Things) and Rachel Weisz (The Favourite), Johansson's supremely well-cast co-stars. Harbour and Weisz play Alexei and Melina, happy Ohio residents, parents to young Natasha (Ever Anderson, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter) and Yelena (Violet McGraw, Doctor Sleep), and the portrait of all-American domesticity — or that's the ruse in 1995, at least. But Black Widow doesn't give them long to revel in small-town life, neighbourhood playtimes, 'American Pie' sing-alongs and an existence that could've been ripped from The Americans, with the quartet soon en route back to Russia via Cuba at shady puppetmaster Dreykov's (Ray Winstone, Cats) beckoning. When the film then jumps forward to 2016, and to the aftermath of that year's Captain America: Civil War, Natasha hasn't seen her faux family for decades. On the run from the authorities, she isn't palling around with the Avengers, either, with the superheroes all going their separate ways. Then the adult Yelena (Pugh) reaches out, because she too has fled her own powers-that-be: Dreykov, the fellow all-female hit squad she's been part of for the last 21 years, and the mind-control techniques that've kept her compliant, and killing, since she was a child. Vials of a brain-liberating serum are of vital importance here, and so is getting revenge on Dreykov — although they're really just the gadgets and goals that help reunite not just Natasha and Yelena, but also their ex-foster parents. Alexei, Russia's first super soldier, has slid from prominence, while Melina has fared better; however, they're all soon trying to break into Dreykov's Red Room training camp. There's an unmistakable air of Bourne and Bond to Eric Pearson's (Godzilla vs Kong) script, and to the story by Jac Schaeffer (WandaVision) and Ned Benson (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) he's working with. Moonraker especially comes to mind in Black Widow's visuals and action setpieces, too. But this deftly satisfying flick doesn't trade the MCU's blueprints for other franchises' templates, thankfully. With Cate Shortland in the director's chair, it spins a thoughtfully weighty story about women trapped at the mercy of others and fighting to regain their agency. If that sounds familiar, that's because the Australian filmmaker has a history with these types of notions thanks to Somersault, Lore and Berlin Syndrome. The first solo female director in the MCU, Shortland proves a savvy pick to guide Black Widow, and not only because she's in her thematic wheelhouse — or because her past films have all been about young women and their connections, as this Marvel instalment is as well. When it comes to action, she directs intense and suspenseful yet always fluid scenes. When the movie gets interpersonal, including during a memorable dinner table exchange where Natasha and Yelena demand answers from the closest thing they've ever had to a mum and dad, Shortland finds the ideal balance between raw emotion and rich character interplay. The film finds humour also, and repeatedly. Yelena's jokes at her sister's expense are a light but disarmingly realistic touch, and they always play that way. Their banter persistently reads that way, in fact. As Alexei, Harbour is given room to get goofy as well, and it never feels out of place — even in a feature with a deep vein of poignancy pumping through its frames, particularly when it comes to the childhoods that Natasha and Yelena didn't get to have. Using a breathy female cover of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', frenetic fight-scene editing that's occasionally too quick for its own good, and Winstone's unconvincing Russian accent: these are among Black Widow's rare missteps. Thoroughly deserving her time in the MCU spotlight after 11 years and eight prior big-screen appearances, a flame-haired Johansson relishes the long-awaited chance to give Natasha more depth than she's ever been afforded — and, in a generous performance, she also sparks with and bounces off of the always-impressive Pugh, who just keeps going from strength to strength (see also: Lady Macbeth, The Little Drummer Girl, Fighting with My Family and Midsommar). It doesn't need to, and it didn't spend an entire feature threatening to, but if Marvel somehow found a way to pair these two together again, it'd be more than welcome. If it keeps genuinely trying to push aside its usual formula and do more than extend its brand, that'd be welcome as well. Luckily for audiences, it's definitely handing the reins to another female filmmaker again, and soon — and now Chloe Zhao's Eternals can't come quickly enough. Black Widow is now screening in Australian cinemas, and will be available via Disney+'s Premium Access from Friday, July 9. Top image: Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis, Hit-Monkey), Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham, Smurfs), Keeley Jones (Juno Temple, Venom: The Last Dance) and Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift, Snow White) all sit in a diner booth looking adoringly at each other: that's it, that's your first glimpse at Ted Lasso season four. The heartwarming Apple TV+ hit comedy is now officially back in production, after a new season was locked in earlier in 2025. And no,"we're not in Richmond anymore" — at least initially. The streaming platform has unveiled a first image from the series' fourth season, and also dropped a "now in production" video that matches the filming of the moment that the still is from with some behind-the-scenes audio. On YouTube, the clip comes with that Wizard of Oz-paraphrasing note about the setting, too, aptly given that Lasso is famously from Kansas. If you've been believing that more Ted Lasso would be on the way ever since the kindhearted show seemed to wrap up its storyline for good at the end of the third season, that faith has proven well-founded — and here's more proof. Sudeikis is back in his two-time Emmy-winning role, donning the American college football coach-turned-English soccer manager's moustache again. While only Waddingham, Temple and Swift are also in the debut image from season four, they're not the only fellow returning cast members. As The Hollywood Reporter confirms, Brendan Hunt (Bless This Mess), aka Coach Beard, is back both on-screen and among the new season's producers — a behind-the-camera role he also held in the first three seasons — and Brett Goldstein (Shrinking) is also doing double duty, reprising the part of Roy Kent and executive producing. These familiar Ted Lasso faces will have company from a number of new cast members, with Tanya Reynolds (The Decameron), Jude Mack (Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning), Faye Marsay (Andor), Rex Hayes (getting his first screen credit), Aisling Sharkey (Jurassic World Dominion), Abbie Hern (My Lady Jane) and Grant Feely (Chicago PD) all joining the series. The latter is now portraying Ted's son Henry. And no, that "we're not in Richmond anymore" description won't prove true for long, with Ted Lasso season four set to chart its namesake's Richmond comeback to coach a second-division women's team. As Sudeikis noted when the new episodes were announced, "as we all continue to live in a world where so many factors have conditioned us to 'look before we leap', in season four, the folks at AFC Richmond learn to leap before they look, discovering that wherever they land, it's exactly where they're meant to be". There's no trailer yet for Ted Lasso's fourth season, but check out Apple TV+ "now in production" video below: Season four of Ted Lasso will stream via Apple TV+ — we'll update you when a release date is announced. Read our full review of season two and season three, our interview with Brendan Hunt and our chat with Bill Lawrence, who co-developed the series.
Sweat, skin, sex, schisms, secrets and survival: a great film by French auteur Claire Denis typically has them all. Stars at Noon is one of them, even if her adaptation of the 1986 novel of nearly the same name — her picture drops the 'the', as a certain social network did — doesn't quite soar to the same astonishing heights as High Life, her last English-language release. Evocative, enveloping, atmospheric, dripping with unease: they're also traits that the two flicks share, like much of the Beau Travail, 35 Shots of Rum and White Material filmmaker's work. Here, all the sultriness and stress swells around two gleamingly attractive strangers, Trish (Margaret Qualley, Maid) and Daniel (Joe Alwyn, Conversations with Friends), who meet in a Central American hotel bar, slip between the sheets and find themselves tangled up in plenty beyond lips and limbs. Shining at each other when so much else obscures their glow, Stars at Noon's central duo are jumbled up in enough individually anyway. For the first half hour-ish, the erotic thriller slinks along with Trish's routine, which sees perspiration plastered across her face from the Nicaraguan heat, the lack of air-conditioning in her motel and the struggle to enjoy a cold drink. The rum she's often swilling, recalling that aforementioned Denis-directed feature's moniker, hardly helps. Neither does the transactional use of her body with a local law enforcement officer (Nick Romano, Shadows) and a government official (Stephan Proaño, Crónica de un amor). Imbibing is clearly a coping and confidence-giving mechanism, while those amorous tumbles afford her protection in a precarious political situation, with her passport confiscated, her actions being scrutinised and funds for a plane ticket home wholly absent. Trish is a freelance journalist, albeit without much in the way of gigs, as the snarky response she gets from an editor (John C Reilly, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty) on a video chat shows. Cue trading coitus for cash; when she's first flirting with the white-suited Daniel at Managua's Intercontinental Hotel, however, she's as interested in the free drinks, comfort and cool surroundings as the $50 price she puts on a night together. They click, then go their separate ways in the morning. But after she spies him talking with a Costa-Rican cop (Danny Ramirez, Top Gun: Maverick), she offers words of warning. Daniel says he works in oil, and his situation in the region is as tenuous and thorny as hers — details of which are largely talked around in both cases, in a picture concerned with characters, emotions and sensations over plot mechanics. In a script penned by Denis with Andrew Litvack (High Life) and Léa Mysius (Farewell to the Night) from Denis Johnson's text — which drew upon his time in Nicaragua and Costa Rica in the early 80s, trying to become an international political reporter — there still remains ample story to go around. Car chases, police threats, assassinations, border runs, collateral damage and CIA offers flesh out the narrative, as does the late arrival of a sharp-talking American (Benny Safdie, Licorice Pizza). Creating a tinderbox environment to ignite around Trish, Daniel, and their dance of lust, loyalty and love is all that politics-fuelled intrigue's main aim, though. Stars at Noon updates the book's time period to now, with masks, vaccinations and testing anchoring it firmly in the COVID-19 age, but there's a timelessness in the way that specifics about controversial articles, election troubles, spying and foreign meddling come second to feelings and flesh. Some things stay the same no matter the period or players, Denis contends, and means it in multiple manners. Fans of the filmmaker's past work — even just viewers of it — will know that she loves dwelling in this fraught, fragile and fiery space, where things can change in an instant in a personal and existential fashion alike. Denis sees life that way in general; we aren't all writers who've fallen afoul of foreign regimes and are now getting by via sex work, or businessmen patently not doing what we say we are, but being plunged into messes of both our own and others' making is a universal fact of being alive. By focusing on white characters in a location where they instantly stand out, the West Africa-raised Denis also continues the contemplation of colonialism and privilege she's placed on-screen since her 1988 debut Chocolat ("having sex with you is like having sex with a cloud," Trish notes to Daniel here, on account of the Brit's pale complexion). Chaos swelters as thick as the humidity wherever the westerners go, but these outsiders create far more for everyone they meet, especially everyday locals. Just like in a 90s-era erotic thriller, which this often resembles, the calmest place to be in Stars at Noon is loitering in Trish and Daniel's shared embrace in bed or swirling around an empty dance floor; whichever Denis is focusing on, and cinematographer Eric Gautier (The Truth) as well, the experience is lingering as well as rhythmic and woozy. Sometimes rain clatters down around the film's core duo, sometimes the lighting beaming above couldn't be more seductive — and frequently Tindersticks, who've scored Denis' work for two-plus decades now, add a dazed but urgent mood. The tension, the uncertainty, the desperate solace that having even a tenuous and tricky physical connection with someone else can bring: they all become almost tangible and definitely palpable. Playing their parts with the requisite spark, Qualley and Alwyn melt stickily into each other, and viewers watching take their lead with the movie. That deeply intimate focus pushes the Cannes Grand Prix-winning Stars at Noon out of Graham Greene-esque, The Quiet American-style territory. Also, with her screaming in the streets as she struts and saunters barefoot in sundresses and singlets, Trish is anything but hushed. In one of the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and My Salinger Year actor's best performances yet, Qualley exudes tenacity and flightiness — two traits that keep somersaulting the more Trish is with Alwyn's suave and enigmatic Daniel. Cannily, Qualley and Alwyn feel thrust together rather than destined, a truth on-screen and off- (High Life's Robert Pattinson was initially cast, then Black Bird's Taron Egerton). Indeed, there's a volatility to Stars at Noon, and to the romance at its centre, that's equally apt. When you're surveying life's instability — one of its basic and unavoidable truths — getting the film itself in the same kind of lather is no small feat.
Toowoomba-based ceramics artist Dan Elborne explores the action and consequence of human brutality. By combining existing animal skulls and bones with porcelain, Elborne is able to capture something of the delicate nature of human violence. The subtle, impactful and intricate works demonstrate just how brutal humankind can be, and at the same time, how fragile. His works are epic; as his grad work, he recreated the white blood cells from a single drop of blood on the gallery floor, as individual porcelain marbles visitors could interact with (and even take away). You'll find Elborne's bony fragments in gallery 2. Exhibiting concurrently are artists Brian Robinson and Christopher Trotter in ‘Chain Reaction’, as well as Pamela See in ‘In the Minority’.
Brisbane's pubs have started looking a little different, with a heap of watering holes around the city undergoing considerable makeovers over the past year or so. As seen as spots such as Cleveland Sands Hotel, Salisbury Hotel, the Crown Hotel in Lutwyche and Bribie Island Hotel, bars owned by Australian Venue Co have been getting revamp — and The Wickham in Fortitude Valley is about to join them. The 137-year-old heritage-listed pub has just announced a $1.5-million renovation, which'll see its ground-floor bar, beer garden and second floor all transformed. While the refurbishment is under way, the venue has also temporarily closed most of its spaces, effective Monday, August 8, except its gaming room. A reopening date hasn't yet been set, but The Wickham will welcome patrons back in before 2022 comes to a close. When it throws open the doors again, it'll boast dedicated areas for socialising, casual dining, group gatherings and events — and, crucially, for dancing. With Newline Design leading the makeover, the hotel will also sport a modernised look and feel, although exactly what that'll entail hasn't been revealed. That said, Chief Operating Officer Craig Ellison advised that "The Wickham is a Fortitude Valley icon. We want to make The Wickham the best version of itself, and offer Brisbane's LGBTQIA+ community the best experience every time they visit." [caption id="attachment_680674" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Grace Smith[/caption] Regulars can also look forward to a new entertainment program — with existing popular weekly events such as trivia and drag bingo returning, of course, as well as guest DJs. The Wickham will continue to host LGTBQIA+ street party Big Gay Day once a year as well. And, under Executive Chef Dylan Kemp, the venue will score a new menu — which will include woodfired pizzas, bar snacks and late-night options, including a sizeable range of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. The Wickham is no stranger to nips and tucks during its century-plus existence, last undergoing a refresh back in 2014, which gave the spot five completely new spaces. The Wickham will reopen its bar, beer garden and studio at 308 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley, sometime before the end of 2022 — we'll update you with an exact date when one is announced.
Cliffhangers aren't a new creation. On the page, abrupt endings and shock revelations that leave you hanging for the next chapter date back centuries, in fact. On the screen, they've been around as long as movies and TV shows have existed, too, and have popped up in everything from The Empire Strikes Back to Twin Peaks. Streaming platforms love them with a particular passion, however. End an episode with a cliffhanger, and viewers will ideally keep watching the next instalment right there and then, and the one after that, until they've just binged the entire program in one go because they simply couldn't wait to find out what happens. We've all been in that situation — and, once you press play on Dr Death, you're likely to find yourself in that same terrain again. Now streaming on Stan, the true-crime series deploys the tactic masterfully. When each episode ends, the audience desperately wants more. That's a product of the show's structure, with jumping around between different years in Christopher Duntsch's life part of its approach, and also a result of the stressful story itself. As played by Joshua Jackson (Little Fires Everywhere), Duntsch is full of charm when he's trying to encourage folks with spinal pain and neck injuries into his operating theatre — or when he's attempting to convince hospitals, particularly in Texas, to hire him. But again and again, those surgeries end horrendously. And if he's not endeavouring to sweet talk someone to get what he wants — and maintain the reputation and lifestyle he demands — the neurosurgeon's charisma melts into pure arrogance, including when he's dealing with his patients post-surgery and/or their loved ones. That's the narrative that Dr Death charts, all based on Duntsch's real-life tale — with the series following The Case Against Adnan Syed and the first and second seasons of Dirty John in jumping to the small screen from podcasts. If you've heard the Wondery release that shares Dr Death's name, you'll know how it all turns out, but that doesn't make the show any less effective. If you're coming to it all anew, prepare to watch a horrific scenario unfold over and over in this eight-episode drama. The longer he's allowed to operate, the bleaker Duntsch's story gets, all while fellow Texas surgeons Randall Kirby (Christian Slater, Dirty John) and Robert Henderson (Alec Baldwin, Pixie) do whatever they can to bring his misdeeds to light. Working in Dallas during the past decade, Duntsch was originally a rising neurosurgery star. Then, as the series charts, his patients started leaving the operating theatre either permanently maimed or dead. And, as Kirby and Henderson begain to realise, these weren't just the kind of mistakes that any highly skilled surgeon might make. If you've ever faced going under the knife, this is pure, unfettered and deeply disturbing nightmare fuel — and Dr Death rightly treats it as such. The plot here is inherently petrifying anyway, given that it all really happened; however, directors Maggie Kiley (another Dirty John alum), Jennifer Morrison (also an actor on House) and So Yong Kim (Lovesong) draw out every ounce of terror and tension, as does series creator Patrick Macmanus (Homecoming) and his writing staff. Playing Duntsch, Jackson is worlds away from his well-known work on Dawson's Creek, The Mighty Ducks and Fringe. When the situation calls for it, he can win over whoever he needs to, but something chilling lingers in every moment. It's a powerful performance in a series that also boasts great work from Slater and Baldwin — the former sliding into his usual talkative on-screen persona, and gifted one particular line that'll make Mr Robot fans laugh; the latter operating in a quieter and more solemn tenor. As the Dallas prosecutor who takes the case, AnnaSophia Robb (Words on Bathroom Walls) plays dogged and determined with aplomb as well. Obviously, this is grim viewing — and gripping, anxiety-riddled, cliffhanger-filled and highly bingeable viewing, too. It's also a damning indictment of America's health system, the push for profits infiltrating medicine, the lack of checks and balances afforded egotistic white men with high-powered jobs, and the rockstar standing that's handed out much too easily and quickly to those same culprits. Check out the trailer below: Dr Death is available to stream now via Stan. Top image: Scott McDermott/Peacock.
One weekend a year, Brisbanites can get a free peek behind usually-closed doors, explore secret corridors, step through heritage-listed history and marvel at the grandest of designs. Opening up the city's public and private architectural gems is what Brisbane Open House is all about, after all, and it has the 2017 program to prove it, with more than 90 buildings featured in the event's eighth iteration. Taking place over the weekend of October 7 and 8, this year's lineup will let curious residents explore everywhere from the Anna Meares Velodrome to Queensland Ballet's West End home, both new additions to the city-wide open house. They join the iconic likes of the towering St John's Cathedral on Ann Street, South Brisbane's old Peter's Ice Cream factory, 4ZZZ's studios in the Valley, Spring Hill's Old Windmill Tower and the Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct out east. Gaols, more churches, galleries, schools, scientific institutions, fire stations, studios, Brisbane's oldest surviving home, the houses inside Indooroopilly's Walter Taylor Bridge (yes, inside) — the list goes on. It's the kind of event that'll get you scampering across city — but planning your route in advance is essential, with some places open for all visitors, others hosting guided tours and some requiring bookings. Walks through the CBD, of Spring Hill, behind the scenes at South Bank, via Brisbane's public art highlights and more are also on the agenda. Plus, wandering through a vast array of spaces is only part of the fun, with Brisbane Open House as committed to talking about architecture as it is trekking through it. In the lead up to your exploring, a speaker series will touch upon topics such as gardening, keeping things local, the interplay between protecting heritage and supporting progress, and revitalising industrial spaces, while special events during the main weekend include art in the Spring Hill reservoir, big bands at Boggo Road Gaol, and a maker day showcasing artisans, artists and manufacturers at Albion Fine Trades. Images: Bardon House shot by Cathy Schusler.
If winter has left you unimpressed by the current state of your wardrobe — or if, y'know, you just like some fancy new clothes now and then — you'll be pretty pleased to know that the Big Fashion Sale is back. Usually, it's a physical affair that takes place in Sydney and Melbourne; however like plenty of other events at the moment, the shopping extravaganza has hopped online — and gone national — for its current outing. The name pretty much says it all. This thing is big. You'll find a hefty array of lush items from past collections, samples and one-offs from a huge lineup of cult Australian and international designers, both well-known and emerging — including Romance Was Born, Alexander McQueen, Isabel Marant, Alex Perry, Pucci, Permanent Vacation and more. With discounts of up to 80 percent off, this is one way to up your count of designer threads while leaving your bank balance sitting pretty, too — whether you're keen on clothes, shoes, swimwear or accessories. The Big Fashion Sale's latest online sale runs until Friday, July 31 on the event's website.
It's just a jump to the left. And then a detour down to the Schonell Theatre for an evening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Floor Show. Prepare for a debaucherous night courtesy of Dr. Frank N. Furter, as you marvel at vintage Susan Sarandon, and wish like hell you had legs like Tim Curry. Oh, and as any Rocky Horror fan worth their fishnets knows, the only way to see this Science Fiction Double Feature is decked out in full raucous regalia. Audience participation is actively encouraged, including dancing in the aisles, and the accompanying floor show comes courtesy of performance troop, Cards 4 Sorrow. Saucy good fun - bookings are essential. Image: 20th Century Fox.
When Candace Bushnell first started penning a newspaper column about life, love and sex in New York City back in the early 90s, she couldn't have known what would follow. Those missives sparked a book, plus two prequels on the page. Then came a smash-hit TV series, two movies, a prequel television show and a small-screen sequel. And, there's no signs of all things Sex and the City-related slowing down anytime soon. In fact, follow-up And Just Like That... is guaranteed to hang around for at least one more season, with HBO renewing the show. The series first premiered in 2021, and is currently airing its second season — and now a third has been locked in. "We are delighted to share that since the launch of season two, And Just Like That… ranks as the #1 Max Original overall, and is the most-watched returning Max Original to date," said Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content at Max, HBO's streaming service in the US. "As we approach the highly anticipated season finale on Thursday, we raise our cosmos to Michael Patrick King and his magnificent team of writers, producers, cast and crew, who continue to charm us, 25 years later, with dynamic friendships and engaging stories. We cannot wait for audiences to see where season three will take our favourite New Yorkers." "We are thrilled to spend more time in the Sex and the City universe telling new stories about the lives of these relatable and aspirational characters played by these amazing actors. And Just Like That… here comes season three," added King, the series' executive producer, who also worked as a writer, director and executive producer on the original show (and on the two terrible 2008 and 2010 Sex and the City movies). Sarah Jessica Parker (Hocus Pocus 2), Kristin Davis (Deadly Illusions) and Cynthia Nixon (The Gilded Age) star in And Just Like That..., but it isn't just called Sex and the City again for one key reason: Kim Cattrall is largely sitting it out. While she does make a brief cameo in season two, however, the program has been focusing on Carrie Bradshaw, Charlotte York Goldenblatt and Miranda Hobbes, not Samantha Jones, thanks to off-screen dramas. Other familiar faces abound, though, including John Corbett (To All the Boys: Always and Forever) reprising his role as Aidan Shaw in season two. Mario Cantone (Better Things), David Eigenberg (Chicago Fire) and Evan Handler (Power) have all also returned. Among the full cast: Sara Ramírez (Madam Secretary), Sarita Choudhury (Ramy), Nicole Ari Parker (Chicago PD), Karen Pittman (The Morning Show), Christopher Jackson (Space Oddity), Niall Cunningham (Poker Face), Cathy Ang (My Best Friend's Exorcism) and Alexa Swinton (Old). Cosmos at the ready — again. Exactly when your next excuse to sip vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and lime juice will arrive hasn't been revealed, but expect it on Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. And if you've spent any part of the past two-and-a-half decades dreaming about being a fabulously dressed Big Apple writer who seems to do very little work but can still afford a fantasy wardrobe — or if you've just filled it drinking a lot of pink-coloured cocktails — then you'll already be excited. Also, you'll know that when the first season of And Just Like That... arrived to step into Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte's lives and friendships in their 50s, when things are even more complicated than they were two decades ago, it did so 17 years after Sex and the City wrapped up its 1998–2004 HBO run. There's no sneak peek at And Just Like That... season three yet, but you can check out the season two trailer below: And Just Like That... streams via Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. We'll update you with a season three release date when one is announced. Images: HBO.
If you've been following the rise of Tesla in the hope that one day they might make electric cars mainstream and affordable, you'll be glad to hear that the car and energy company has taken a big step in that direction. Today Elon Musk's California-based company will start production on its first mass-market electric car, the highly anticipated Model 3. Model 3 passed all regulatory requirements for production two weeks ahead of schedule. Expecting to complete SN1 on Friday — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2017 Why is this such a big deal? Because up until now, Tesla's vehicles — the Model X and the Model S — have clocked in at well over $100,000. This new Model 3, however, will be on the market for 35,000 USD (around 46,000 AUD or $48,000 NZD). That's a lot more affordable, and around the same price that other electric cars, like the Chevy Bolt or the Nissan Leaf. A major drawcard of a Tesla vehicle is its driving range — on a single charge, you can expect to travel about 350 kilometres. That's a lot further than pretty much any other electric car at the same price point, except perhaps the Chevy Bolt. The Model 3 comes with room for five people (the driver included), the ability to go from zero to 100 kilometres in 5.6 seconds, autopilot hardware and a five-star safety rating. Tesla will start production of these cars today, and has some ambitious goals. The aim is to be cranking out 5000 cars per week by the end of this year, and double that throughout 2018. And, to cater to the growing number of electric vehicles on the road, Tesla has plans to double the number of charging stations currently available and to operate a bunch of trucks that can service cars in remote areas. Those who've got $1500 to spare can reserve a Model 3 now and expect delivery by mid-2018. Although, perhaps we won't need cars when Musk's high-speed vacuum tube Hyperloop comes into play. Via The New York Times.
What kind of holidaymaker are you? Do you seek sun and sand on your break from the daily grind? Country hopping and sight spotting? Or just comfortable surroundings and a cold brew or two? Those keen on the latter will soon be able to put their feet up at the ultimate accommodation for beer lovers. In fact, The DogHouse is so steeped in yeasty tipples, it's attached to and run by a brewery. Scottish outfit BrewDog has been running a crowdfunding campaign to set up the boozy venture, which it'll build next to its just-launched US facility in Columbus, Ohio. So, what does the world's first craft beer hotel entail? In addition to a sour brewing facility, it includes beverages and lots of them, of course. Visitors will sleep in beer-themed rooms, eat craft beer-infused meals with brews tailored to every course, treat themselves to beer spa treatments (malted barley massages and hop oil pedicures, anyone?) and take brewery tours. In-room beer taps are also on the agenda, plus some suites will feature shower beer fridges and beer-filled jacuzzis. If all of the above sounds like your idea of heaven, here's the even better news: at the time of writing, BrewDog's cash-raising campaign has been funded more than twice over. They're now attempting to rustle up additional support for a rooftop resident's bar that will serve the sour beverages brewed up next door. For those looking to book plane tickets now, the hotel is expected to be operational by the second half of 2018.
Home baking might be among 2020's biggest trends — and its most unexpected — but tucking into bakery-level bread and pastries remains one of life's simple pleasures. And, that's exactly what's on the menu at West End newcomer Superthing. That, and an eye-catching pastel pink colour scheme. Open on Montague Road since March, the croissanterie, bakery and cafe serves up a creative range of baked goods in a visibly striking space, so you can give both your stomach and your eyes a feast. It's a case of coming for the croissants, danishes, bagels and cruffins, then staying to feel like you've walked into a cloud of pink — while standing beneath globe lighting and sitting on bench seats. Croissants are, unsurprisingly, one of the main attractions. Tuck into a plain variety on its own, stuffed with ham, cheese and bechamel, or filled with your choice of cream cheese, Nutella or avocado. Or, you can treat your tastebuds to tiramisu, almond, or chocolate and hazelnut versions. If you prefer your flaky pastries mixed with a muffin, the cruffin lineup includes zesty bitter orange and burnt basque cheesecake. Fruit danishes, vanilla custard buns and choc-chip cookies are also on the menu, alongside special daily flavours and a range of organic sourdough. Superthing also serves up breakfast, brunch and lunch-style meals, such as big brekkies, mushroom and polenta plates and supergreen salad bowls — as well as reuben sandwiches, bagels stuffed with salmon and cheeseburgers. Drinks-wise, expect Padre coffee to put a spring in your step, with a selection of packaged cold beverages available, too.
