Mysteries to solve, eye-catching landscape to traverse and Eric Bana (A Sacrifice) playing sleuth: it worked in Australian film The Dry and its sequel Force of Nature: The Dry 2, and it has again in Netflix's unrelated series Untamed. The streaming service is betting it will once more when it brings back the latter mystery-thriller for a just-announced second season. After Untamed debuted in Netflix's global English-language top ten in mid-July 2025, the platform has revealed that more is on the way. This show was only originally envisioned to run for one season; however, it's set to return with a new investigation in a new national park. In Untamed, Bana plays Kyle Turner, an Investigative Services Branch agent of the US National Parks Service. Also starring Sam Neill (The Twelve), Rosemarie DeWitt (Smile 2), Lily Santiago (La Brea) and Wilson Bethel (Daredevil: Born Again) — portraying chief park ranger Paul Souter, Kyle's remarried ex-wife Jill, Los Angeles police officer Naya Vasquez and former army ranger-turned-park wildlife management officer Shane Maguire, respectively — the first season saw the Chopper, Dirty John, Blueback and Memoir of a Snail star's character looking into a death in Yosemite National Park, a case that forced him to confront his own past in the course of the investigation. "I am absolutely thrilled that we get the chance to bring another season of Untamed to life," said Bana in a statement as per Netflix's Tudum. "The response to season one has been a testament to the incredible effort by our crew to deliver something truly unique. I can't wait to take Kyle on his next journey. Massive thanks to Netflix, John Wells Productions, Warner Bros Television and our fans." There's no release date for Untamed season two, which was created by Mark L Smith (American Primeval) and and boasts The Pitt's John Wells as another of its executive producers, as yet. But stepping back into the show's world, rather than leaving the project as a six-episode limited series, eventuated because "the more that we got into it, it was just such a great cast ... it was just like, 'oh yeah, how do we keep this going?'", said Smith. Of the new setting, "this won't be the first park he's been in since Yosemite. He's been to a lot of parks. He's been busy, taking on a lot of cases. This will be the latest and it'll be more impactful for him," Smith also shared about Turner. Viewers can also expect Untamed's protagonist to be the newcomer in his surroundings, while digging into a different type of case from the first season — and for the new park, which hasn't yet been revealed, to be a key character the way Yosemite is in season one. Check out the trailer for Untamed season one below: Untamed streams via Netflix — and we'll update you with a release date for season two when more details are announced. Images: Ricardo Hubbs / Netflix © 2025.
If there's an occasion worth celebrating, including Christmas, spring and winter, Woolloongabba's South City Square sure does like marking it with markets. The inner-east precinct can still roll out the stalls just because, however — such as on Friday, July 7, when it's hosting a European Food Trail. Running from 5–8pm, this after-work pop-up goes heavy on bites that'll make your tastebuds think they're on the other side of the globe. Think: German sausages, French crepes, paella, churros and more. Setting up shop for the evening: La Republika Tapas and Bar, Jessie and the Chef, Samba Catering Co, Hungarian Langos, Yes Chef, Greek Recipe, German Sausage Haus and House of Poffertjes, as well as Churros Bites, Oh Tiramisu and Cake & Flour. [caption id="attachment_893537" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Markus Ravik[/caption] Live tunes are also on the agenda — and, of course, market stalls aplenty. For kids, there'll be face painting. Entry is free, with the European Food Trail taking place in and around a brick-lined, industrial-style space that automatically makes you feel like you're wandering around a European-style market anyway.
Setting up shop just a stone's throw away from the Story Bridge, Sea Legs Brewing Co has transformed a former industrial warehouse into Kangaroo Point's newest watering hole. Created by five engineering mates, including co-owner Dave Machin, it boasts five of its own beers as well as the facilities to brew plenty more — with Jon Fuchs overseeing the hoppy drops as head brewer. If you're a beer nerd, you'll be excited to know that the spot features a 15-hectolitre brewery that can ferment up to a 9000 litres, as well as an extra 100-litre setup for speciality, seasonal and experimental tipples. And while Sea Legs is focused on its tropical lager, golden ale, pale ale and IPA at present, as well as an interesting sounding oats and lactose-infused milk stout, one-off batches are on the agenda down the track. The inner-city newcomer also serves up the type of bar food that pairs well with a cold one (or several), spanning seven kinds of pizza, three different burgers, katsu bao, fried chicken wings, haloumi chips and build-your-own charcuterie and cheese boards. For those after a beverage that isn't beer, Sea Legs pours 17 different wines and four cocktail jugs as well.
The year was 1992. Aladdin, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Batman Returns, Lethal Weapon 3 and A Few Good Men ruled the international box office. Slipping into a habit and sliding in next on the list, becoming the sixth-biggest hit of the year: Sister Act. The film about singing nuns spawned a sequel, with word of a third movie floating around for years since — and, as everything from Mean Girls and Muriel's Wedding to Groundhog Day and Beetlejuice has also done, it inspired a stage musical as well. The theatre take on the Whoopi Goldberg (The Color Purple)-led film franchise debuted in California in 2006, then hit West End in 2009 and Broadway in 2011. Now, from August 2024, it's finally Australia's turn. Sister Act will make its Aussie premiere at Sydney's Capitol Theatre to see out winter, then make a date with the Regent Theatre in Melbourne from November. (If you live in other cities, start praying that it comes your way as well; however, for now, only Sydney and Melbourne seasons have been announced.) The first movie was filled with songs like 'Rescue Me', 'My Guy' and 'I Will Follow Him', making its soundtrack a smash as well, so the film was always primed to tread the boards. The Sister Act musical features original tunes, with Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid) doing the honours. Among the show's rewards so far: five Tony Award nominations and six Olivier Award nominations. "It is a joyous thing to produce a musical that has never been seen in Australia before and I feel very blessed to be bringing Sister Act to our shores," said producer John Frost, announcing the Aussie seasons. "It's a brilliant, must-see show that will lift audiences up and I know Australians will get into the habit of seeing again and again." Story-wise, the production follows Deloris, who witnesses a murder and has to go into protective custody. Her hideout: a convent. It's there that the nightclub singer finds a struggling choir, which she begins to help. So far, no cast details have been announced for the Aussie run — so who'll literally be donning a habit is yet to be revealed. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sister Act The Musical (@sisteractmusicalau) Sister Act Australian Tour 2024: From Tuesday, August 3, 2024 — Capitol Theatre, Sydney From Sunday, November 3, 2024 — Regent Theatre, Melbourne Sister Act will hit the stage in Australia from August 2024. For further information and tickets, head to the show's website. Top image: Sister Act UK & Ireland Touring Production 2023-24, Mark Senior.
For the past few years, Eleven Rooftop Bar has welcomed Brisbanites eager for a drink with a view, pairing a 270-degree vantage across the city with cocktails and tapas. Now, after a significant makeover, the Fortitude Valley venue is home to Maya Mexican. The revamped bar serves up mezcal cocktails, tequila, margaritas and bites to eat inspired by the country that gives the bar its name — as well food influenced by the Pacific Coast, Yucatan and Sonoran regions. Expect dishes such as spicy tuna tostadas, snapper tacos and wagyu steak asado. Also prominent: decor to suit the site's change of focus. That includes plenty of stone, marble and timber, a hefty use of white and a scattering of plants, including desert cacti. The venue now also benefits from a bigger seating area and a renovated courtyard, plus booth and lounge seating. Casual in vibe, Maya is open from 12pm till late Wednesday through Sunday for openair beverages with quite the backdrop — and with DJs spinning tunes, too. Images: Eleven Rooftop Bar
Brisbane has already scored one new green bridge in 2024 — and by the time that the year is out, the city's pedestrians and cyclists will be able to cross the river via another. Launching Breakfast Creek's Yowoggera green bridge opened the year. Getting folks strolling and rolling across Kangaroo Point's counterpart is set to close it. Only the latter comes with its own restaurant, bar and cafe, however. Brisbane City Council has announced that the final span of the new 460-metre bridge that's connecting Alice Street and Edward streets in the CBD to Scott Street in Kangaroo Point has just been placed. That means that the project is now 85-percent done. There's still more work to underway, but Brisbanites can expect to be moseying over it sooner rather than later — although no exact opening date, other than late 2024, has been announced. Also now in place: the stay cables supporting the bridge's main 182.7-metre span. Workers are currently concreting the bridge deck; adding the structure's balustrades, as well as its seating and lighting; and installing the covered pedestrian walkway, which will help power the bridge via solar panels. Stairs to Scott Street and a lift up to the bridge deck from CT White Park are also still in the works. And if you're wondering about overwater restaurant Stilts, the steel framework is in place and the roof is being installed. On the CBD side of the bridge, construction of riverside cafe Mulga Bill's is also ongoing. The complete bridge, a single-mast cable stayed structure with minimum width of 6.8 metres, will feature dedicated cycle and pedestrian paths across its expanse. On either side, viewing platforms will give visitors a 360-degree view of the city. It was back in 2021 that Brisbane learned of the structure's plan to become a destination for eating and drinking as well, viaan overwater venue and a cafe in its plaza area. Then, in 2023, Brisbane City Council revealed a heap more details, including that two dining spots will open in 2024 — and that Tassis Group, the hospitality crew with Fatcow on James St, Longwang, Fosh Restaurant & Bar, Opa Bar + Mezze, Yamas Greek + Drink, Rich & Rare, and Massimo Restaurant and Bar to its name, is behind them. Tassis will open restaurant and bar Stilts — which was formerly going to be called Bombora — for bites and drinks ten metres above the Brisbane River, plus the Mulga Bill's cafe to take care of bridge visitors' caffeine fix. Neither have exact launch dates at present. Views are clearly a big highlight at Stilts, which will feature vistas spanning over the Brisbane River, CBD, Story Bridge and Kangaroo Point cliffs. Nothing has been unveiled about the menu yet, but the venue's design will take its perch to heart, evoking moving water in a homage to its above-the-river spot. As for Mulga Bill's, it'll sit by the river in the new urban plaza that's being created on the corner of Edward and Alice streets. The cafe is pitched as a stopover spot for frequent bridge users, which it'll reflect in its bicycle-themed decor. And, food-wise, it'll serve up wood-fired pizzas, steak and seafood to eat in, plus pastries and picnic boxes to grab and go. Both venues are expected to score ample foot traffic. Indeed, more than 6000 pedestrians, cyclists and e-mobility riders are forecast to be using the bridge every day by 2036. The Kangaroo Point Green Bridge is set to open by late 2024, stretching from Alice Street and Edward streets in the CBD to Scott Street in Kangaroo Point. We'll update you with exact launch dates when they're announced. Head to the Brisbane City Council website for more details in the interim. Images: Brisbane City Council.
UPDATE, May 29, 2021: With Victoria in lockdown, the St Kilda Film Festival isn't hosting any physical screenings on its final day — but you can watch Australia's Top 100 short films for free online until 11.59pm today, Saturday, May 29. You'll find big things in small packages at the St Kilda Film Festival this year. That's true every year — even last year, during lockdown — but you'll also find some changes on this year's program as well. Australia's oldest short film festival, the massive event will once again physically descend upon St Kilda in 2021; however, as it did in 2020, the lineup is also jumping online and screening to movie buffs nationally. The hybrid version of the festival will still showcase works by some of the best up-and-coming filmmakers in the country, which you can watch at 11 physical events or via 15 digital sessions. Running from Thursday, May 20–Saturday, May 29, it all kicks off with opening night at The Astor Theatre, then gives student animation, family-friendly animation, Victorian-made shorts, women filmmakers and directors under the age of 21 their time to shine at ticketed screenings. As always, the backbone of the festival is Australia's Top 100, featuring filmmakers from every corner of the country competing for prizes. You can view these short flicks online this year — and for free — as broken down into themed packages. The Australian Animation Showcase highlights Aussie animation, 'Dark Matter' showcases horror, thriller and dystopian tales, 'Suburban Keyholes' is all about life in the suburbs and 'Age of Innocence' focuses on coming-of-age stories, for instance. Image: Jim Lee
David Attenborough may have turned 94 in 2020; however the acclaimed broadcaster and natural historian isn't slowing down anytime soon. Fresh from narrating and presenting two new TV series in 2019 (Our Planet and Seven Worlds, One Planet), appearing at Glastonbury and recently joining Instagram, he's now bringing his latest movie-length documentary to your screen. Called David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet, the film sees Attenborough look back on his more than nine decades on earth, the sights he has seen and the changes he has witnessed. Specifically, he reflects upon humanity's enormous and damaging impact on the natural world — and, when it hits Netflix on Sunday, October 4, it servers up quite the powerful viewing experience. Since the early 50s, Attenborough's stunningly shot documentaries have been awash with revelatory sights and detailed insights from across the planet, sharing the kind of wonders that eager audiences would be unlikely to see or discover themselves otherwise. Now, after becoming a constant, respected and beloved presence in the field, his passionate and vibrant work has earned its place in history several times over. But it might also become a record of a world, and of natural history, that's lost due to climate change. It's this possibility that's behind A Life On Our Planet — that, and the great broadcaster's efforts to motivate a response to combat both global warming and the catastrophic loss of biodiversity blighting the environment. On offer here is an urgent and far-ranging exploration of how our pale blue dot evolved to its current state, what might be in store if we continue down this path, and how and why things could and should change. Determined in his tone, Attenborough calls the documentary his witness statement several times within its frames, and it's as potent and devastating as intended. Bookended by scenes in Chernobyl that are initially designed to illustrate what can happen ecologically when bad planning and human error combine — a situation that, Attenborough posits, applies to climate change as well — A Life On Our Planet is both broad and intricate, and personal and political too. Cycling through the earth's life to-date to provide a snapshot of the planet's predicament, it delivers a comprehensive overview, a raft of telling facts and figures, and a plethora of reflections from its central figure. It also features the now-requisite array of eye-catching footage that Attenborough's hefty body of work has long become known for, served up here to not only revel in its glory and showcase his exceptional career, but to demonstrate what's fading away due to humanity's impact upon the globe. Accordingly, it's impossible not to be moved by the film. If viewers won't listen to Attenborough on this topic, and as he explains what he's seen and where he sees things heading, then they probably won't listen to anyone. In the documentary's latter third, A Life On Our Planet follows in the footsteps of Australian doco 2040, too, by pondering how the world might adapt for the better. Produced by wildlife filmmakers Silverback Films and global environmental organisation WWF, A Life On Our Planet was originally slated to play in cinemas in April — but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, its release was postponed. It's currently showing on the big screen Down Under now (except Victoria), with the film paired with an exclusive cinema-only conversation between Attenborough and Michael Palin, if you'd rather see its vivid and impassioned sights in a larger format. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64R2MYUt394 David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet hits Netflix on Sunday, October 4, at 5pm AEST / 6pm ADST. It's also currently screening in Australian and New Zealand cinemas.
"We're in a war. You wanna fight?" If you've watched 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, then season one of Andor — the Disney+ prequel series to the big-screen spy thriller — then hearing those words uttered by Diego Luna (La Máquina) won't come as a surprise. Viewers know where this tale is headed, but watching the best small-screen addition to a galaxy far, far away lead us there has already proven gripping TV once. The show's namesake makes the above statements in the just-dropped first teaser trailer for Andor's long-awaited second season — and more rebellion and fighting for revolution awaits. Almost three years have passed since the Mouse House's streaming platform stepped into this story — three years that've been filled with Ahsoka, the sadly short-lived The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew. When it returns in April 2025, Andor will be just the second of Disney+'s live-action Star Wars shows to extend beyond a single season (the other: The Mandalorian), although Ahsoka is also locked in for more episodes. If you missed it the first time around, Andor takes a favourite big-screen character and steps back into their story before the events that viewers have already seen — so, like Obi-Wan Kenobi. As its title makes plain, the show focuses on its namesake, Cassian Andor, with Luna reprising his Rogue One role. Star Wars fans have already seen him as a Rebel captain and intelligence agent, and also watched how his story wraps up, hence the show's need to jump backwards. The focus: following Andor as he discovers how he can play a part in battling the Empire. Indeed, charting the rebellion, and how people and planets joined in, is the series' whole remit. In season two, as the end we all know is coming gets closer, expect higher stakes — and also Ben Mendelsohn (The New Look) as his Rogue One character Orson Krennic, plus Alan Tudyk (Grimsburg) as K-2SO. The first season of Andor saw filmmaker Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Legacy) — who co-wrote the screenplay for Rogue One — rejoin the Star Wars franchise as the series' creator and showrunner. He's back for season two. On-screen, so are Stellan Skarsgård (Dune: Part Two), Genevieve O'Reilly (Tin Star), Denise Gough (Who Is Erin Carter?), Kyle Soller (Bodies), Adria Arjona (Blink Twice), Faye Marsay (Ten Pound Poms) and Forest Whitaker (Emperor of Ocean Park) . Release-wise, the 12-episode season — which is not just Andor's second, but its final season — is being unveiled in four chapters comprising of three episodes a piece. A new chapter will hit your streaming queue each week from Wednesday, April 23 Down Under. Check out the first trailer for Andor season two below: Andor season two streams via Disney+ from Wednesday, April 23, 2025 Down Under. Read our review of season one. Images:©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Picking just one event to get excited about at Dark Mofo 2023 is like selecting your favourite child, niece or nephew: no matter the circumstances, no one wants to make that choice. But at Tasmania's annual winter festival, a particular shindig keeps putting its hand up, especially if you love wild affairs that run late into the evening — because anything and everything can and does happen at Night Mass. Usually, the after-dark affair takes over the In The Hanging Garden precinct; however, this year, it's sprawling wider. In their latest big reveal after announcing Florentina Holzinger's dance theatre performance A Divine Comedy back in January, the full boundary-pushing lineup in March and a few fresh additions in mid-April, the Dark Mofo team has unveiled Night Mass' roster of talent for this year, as well as its massive footprint in the middle of downtown Hobart. [caption id="attachment_898330" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Night Mass. Photo Credit: Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] In 2023, Night Mass will take over three city blocks, naming the space District X. Within its confines, there'll be 13 stages hosting a hefty list of acts, all in an area that'll have a capacity of 4500 — and take place over five nights across two weekends. Those dates: Friday, June 9–Sunday, June 11, and then Friday, June 16–Saturday, June 17. On offer: everything from music and cocktail lounges through to punk theatre and junkyard raves. [caption id="attachment_898332" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Plaid | Dark Mofo 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo.[/caption] Dark Mofo has dubbed the event Night Mass: Exstasia for 2023 and, as curator Mason Browne explains, "Extasia embraces the notion of radical entropy and exultation; that primordial desire to assume a Dionysic state. We want the Night Mass audience to journey through it being surprised, delighted, disgusted, aroused and alarmed." Attendees can also expect art, performances, cinema cabarets, games arcades, tarot readings, plenty of places to eat and drink, and fire beacons lighting the way. [caption id="attachment_898329" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Night Mass. Photo Credit: Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] District X will be split into themed precincts, spanning Walpurgisnacht in Bidencopes Lane, Underground Cinema and The Grand Poobah; The Boneyard in Watchorn Street and Harrington Lane, and their car parks; Urban Dystopia in Liverpool Street; Origins in the Cathedral and In The Hanging Garden; and Event Horizon in Odeon Theatre and its labyrinth. There's also Nachtlicker, which is concept from Alex Podger (Altar, High Altar). On the bill: folks such as Desire Marea, dameeeela, Amnesia Scanner, Violent Magic Orchestra and Mahne Frame, as well as Ms Boogie, Prison Religion, Pelada, Marie Davidson and Moktar. [caption id="attachment_898327" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Debby Friday | Dark Mofo 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo.[/caption] Run by Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art, and taking place in Hobart between Thursday, June 8–Thursday, June 22, Dark Mofo also includes The Blue Rose Ball, which does indeed take its cues from the one and only David Lynch; Giant Teddy, EJ Son's towering Korean pop culture-inspired teddy bear that has lasers for eyes; Max Richter's SLEEP, which returns to Australia for an eight-and-a-half-hour overnight stint; and Soda Jerk's latest film Hello Dankness. The list goes on from there, whether you're keen on live tunes, the kind of shows you won't see elsewhere or nude solstice swims. Keen to make the most of it? Concrete Playground Trips' Dark Mofo accommodation package might come in handy — and yes, it includes Night Mass tickets. [caption id="attachment_898328" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kinder | Dark Mofo 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] DARK MOFO'S NIGHT MASS: EXSTASIA LINEUP: Amnesia Scanner Aqueerius Arcana Arunya Lee Olive Axon Breeze Aya Gloomy Ayebatonye Bambii Big Wett Brixx Buzz Kull CaucasianOpportunities Claire O'Brien CORIN dameeeela Dane Blacklock & The Preacher's Daughter Debby Friday Desire Marea Elisabeth Dixon Eris & The Disciples Estée Louder Fabian B IN2STELLAR Jacqui Cunningham JLaw Joey Labeija Kangding Ray Kasimyn Kinder Laurel Halo Lips Service Liquid Nails L$F Mahne Frame Makeda Marie Davidson Mobiletti Giradischi Moktar Ms Boogie Nabihah Iqbal (DJ Set) Nooriyah OKENYO ONYX Our Carlson Pelada Prison Religion Real Lies SI Process Simona Castricum SMB8 Sote & Tarik Barri SOVBLKPSSY Stev Zar Stormworm Sveta The Riot Tjaka Trophie V VACUUM Varg2™ Violent Magic Orchestra Vv Pete Winternationale WÖØLWORTHS\\FLUSHOT ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U ZCluster Dark Mofo 2023 runs from Thursday, June 8–Thursday, June 22 in Hobart, Tasmania, with tickets on sale now. Top images: Night Mass, Dark Mofo 2019. Photo Credit: Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford, 2019. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. // Stev Zar | Dark Mofo 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo. // dameeeela | Dark Mofo 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world — including our Dark Mofo tickets and accommodation package.
Surfers Paradise's beachfront always knows how to stun, no matter how many times you've seen it. Here's another way to peer at its coastal expanse: from new dining and drinking venue Coast Beach Bar & Kitchen on The Esplanade. The latest addition to the new Ocean by Meriton precinct boasts multiple spaces for Gold Coast locals and visitors to choose from. If you're keen for a meal, the 110-seat restaurant awaits. If you're in the mood for a drink, hit up the 160-seat bar. Either way, the venue sports uninterrupted views — aka the kind of vista that's worth dropping by for alone. Also part of Coast: a lounge area as well as the main dining room, a sizeable outdoor bar, and booths to get cosy in with your mates or date. Drinks are whipped up at the eye-catching 14-metre-long marble bar, while dishes are cooked in the Spanish-style Josper oven. For vino lovers, your tipples hail from the venue's 2000-bottle wine cellar, which unsurprisingly takes price of place in the restaurant. There's around 120 drops on the menu, with about 80 percent skewing local. Feeling flush with cash? Coast also boasts the Penfolds Grange Magnum Collection, which is valued at over $60,000. Thirteen signature cocktails are on offer, too, including banana daiquiris, plus a 'Coast Espresso' made with vodka, coffee tequila liqueur and creme de cacao — or you can order all the classics instead. The spritz lineup spans four types, such as rhubarb, quince and lavender versions, and there's also five mocktails available. Owners Justin and Elizabeth Allie, veterans of Longboards Laidback Eatery and Bar in Surfers Paradise, The Fish Shak in Southport and catering company Gourmet en Counter, have enlisted chef Rhett Willis (ex-Jellyfish and Cha Cha Char) to oversee the modern Australian cuisine menu. It hews share-style; think: coal-roasted yogurt bread with smoked eggplant pate; beef fillet tartar with shoyu, avocado and miso-cured yolk; and wasabi leaves with sand crab, chilli, lime and caviar — as well as prawns with XO butter and truffled baked potato chips. Oysters from Stradbroke Island are also on the menu, and mains include cauliflower steaks, lamb shoulder, wild mushrooms with silkened tofu, and a 120-day, grain-fed, dry-aged tomahawk — the restaurant's signature dish. Can't decide? Opt for one of two set menus — a three-course version, or a four-course feast that ends with a banoffee eton mess for dessert.
Adelaide is often sold on what sits just beyond it: The Barossa, The Adelaide Hills, The Fleurieu Peninsula — long lunches, wine tastings and the promise of a slow, restrained kind of indulgence. But during Mad March, the city makes a far louder case for itself, shrugging off some of that tidiness and slipping into something more expansive — busier, brighter and much more culturally alive than its reputation as the 'City of Churches' might suggest. In the early days of Autumn, Adelaide feels most switched on. The parklands fill, the East End hums, the bars spill out and even the shortest walk begins to feel faintly eventful, as though the whole CBD has agreed to operate at a slightly higher frequency for a few weeks. Much of that energy comes from Adelaide Fringe, which turns the city into a kind of open-access performance map each February and March, with comedy, cabaret, theatre, circus and music scattered across venues, lawns, tents and temporary precincts in a way that makes the whole place feel less like a host city and more like part of the show. [caption id="attachment_1090366" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Adelaide Fringe Festival — Tourism Australia[/caption] Then there is WOMADelaide, which arrives with a different mood altogether. Set in Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, it offers a softer, broader counterpoint to Fringe's after-dark buzz — more immersive than frenetic, more transportive than chaotic, and the kind of festival that encourages lingering. Where Fringe gives Adelaide its late-night pulse, WOMADelaide brings depth and drift: global music, ideas, food and performance unfolding under the trees in a setting that feels removed enough to lose entire afternoons to. That is precisely why a specific itinerary helps at this time of year, because Mad March rewards proximity. Adelaide is never a particularly difficult city to move through, but in March, being in the right part of it makes all the difference. Keep yourself anchored around the CBD, East End and parklands, and the weekend begins to assemble itself with very little effort — breakfast bleeding into galleries, a late lunch into a show, a drink into dinner, another drink into something much later. [caption id="attachment_1090364" align="alignnone" width="1920"] WOMADelaide — WOMADelaide Foundation[/caption] WOMADelaide is the one to book ahead for; Fringe, by contrast, benefits from a looser hand. Lock in a few things you really want to see, then leave enough room for instinct, overstimulation and the occasional excellent accident. Read on for our guide to the best ways to experience a weekend in Adelaide in Mad March. [caption id="attachment_1090357" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Market & Meander at Hotel Indigo — Hotel Indigo Adelaide[/caption] STAY Hotel Indigo Adelaide Markets Set in the Market Precinct, Hotel Indigo Adelaide Markets is a cheerful boutique base that folds local references into its design language without feeling overly themed — drawing on the neighbourhood's industrial past while still delivering polish, amenities and a decided 'cool' factor. Don't let the word 'boutique' fool you, you'll find a downstairs restaurant, rooftop pool, gym and rooftop bar all within the building. Perfect for: travellers who don't want to sacrifice personality for amenities. Location: 23–29 Market Street, Adelaide SA 5000 Sofitel Adelaide The Sofitel Adelaide is a polished CBD stay that brings a little more occasion to the weekend without tipping into stiffness. The appeal here is not just the refinement of the rooms or the sense of classic city luxury, but the fact that it places you within easy reach of Rundle Mall, North Terrace's major institutions and a good portion of the city's Mad March foot traffic, plus all the creature comforts you'd expect at this price point. Perfect for: travellers after a more polished, occasion-worthy city stay. Location: 108 Currie Street, Adelaide SA 5000 Part of the pleasure of being in Adelaide at this time of year is that you can spend entire days drifting between festival precincts, bars, food stalls and accidental snacks without ever feeling short of options. But if you want to build in a few more elevated meals — the kinds of venues worth pausing for — these spots succinctly slot into a day of Mad March adventuring. EAT: Breakfast [caption id="attachment_1090361" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hey Jupiter — South Australian Tourism Commission[/caption] Hey Jupiter This long-running French brasserie on Ebenezer Place has enough charm to make breakfast feel like a stop on the itinerary, rather than simply the first logistical task of the day. There is something about its Parisian lean, its terrace and its all-day sense of occasion that suits festival weekends especially well: come for something quick if you need to get moving, or settle in and let the morning stretch a little longer than planned. The petit dejeuner menu spans croissants and cultured butter to croque monsieur, brioche French toast and richer, more old-world options like oeuf meurette or a breakfast cassoulet laced with pork belly, smoked ham and duck confit. Must order: Oeuf Meurette Location: 11 Ebenezer Place, Adelaide SA 5000 Arlo's If the morning calls for something faster and more functional, Arlo's offers a nonchalant practicality in the form of coffee, fresh juices, cabinet-loaded breakfast and quick turnarounds. In an effort to not let convenience diminish qualtiy, the offerings are simple — but expertly executed. Smoked salmon bagels, chicken schnitzel rolls, ham-and-cheese croissants, quiche and the sort of pastries that quietly suggest breakfast is the perfect time to carb-load. Must order: Cinnamon Scroll Location: Shop 7, 82 King William Street, Adelaide SA 5000 EAT: Lunch [caption id="attachment_1090350" align="alignnone" width="1920"] OMADA Bar & Grill[/caption] OMADA OMADA is Currie Street's new Greek-inspired bar and grill. The easy-breezy interior faintly suggests a Cycladic shoreline, paired with a menu which primarily communicates via coal and fire — taking cues from Greek tradition without being overly reverent about it. Cloud-like pita dipped into salty tarama, chargrilled octopus, avgolemono-laced dolmades and larger-format meats and seafood designed to be passed around the table. The drinks list carries just as much identity, with locally-made aperitifs and spirits, and a whole page of the menu dedicated to ouzo and tsipouro as they're meant to be treated — slowly, properly and with enough time to turn a long lunch into something that starts to resemble a pleasantly hazy afternoon. Must order: Roast Pork Gyros Location: 46 Currie Street, Adelaide SA Kiin Kiin takes Thai-inspired cooking and runs it through a more polished, contemporary filter, resulting in a lunch offering that feels both high-impact and highly considered. The menu moves between bright, sharp and playful flavours — oysters with turmeric and ginger vinaigrette, prawn and lychee pop sticks, tuna crudo, red curry cheeseburger sliders — and richer, more substantial dishes like pad kee mao spaghetti, braised beef in green curry and roast coconut potatoes. The drinks program pulls in accompanying flavours of pandan, makrut lime, Thai tea, mango-coconut and spice for a twist on the usual house classics Must order: Red Curry Sliders Location: 73 Angas Street, Adelaide SA 5000 EAT: Dinner [caption id="attachment_1090352" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tarantino's — The Big Easy Group[/caption] Tarantino's Tarantino's takes an old-school New York-Italian mood and gives it a more contemporary, slightly unrulier menu than you might expect. Executive chef Shane Wilson centres the open-hearth grill, but the food moves well beyond straightforward red-sauce nostalgia, folding in Asian accents through dishes like lobster with bonito butter and parmesan rind dashi or cucumber and fennel salad with basil, sesame and chilli crisp. It leans into a more atmospheric, occasion-driven style of dining, the sort of place that suits a city weekend built around late starts, late finishes and the idea that dinner should feel like part of the entertainment rather than simply a stop between other plans. Must order: Woodfired Scallops with Nduja Butter Location: 30 Vardon Ave, Adelaide SA 5000 Africola If you want one meal that captures Adelaide in full Mad March mode, Africola is it. The high-voltage menu (in flavour, not in spice) is African-inspired rather than narrowly regional, and thrives on smoke, spice, ferments and open-flame grills — with vegetables given as much swagger as the meats. One minute you are in kingfish sashimi and fermented chilli territory, the next in peri peri chicken, dahl, white bean and chilli crisp, or grilled and smoked cuts that feel built to meet the room's energy head-on. Housed in a colourful East End building, dinner here should be lively, a little unruly and ideally followed by a drink somewhere nearby. Must order: Chicken Skin Sandwich (and the off-menu 'Peri-Back' shot) Location: 4 East Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000 DRINK [caption id="attachment_1090358" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Stag Public House — Josh Geelan[/caption] Proof Proof earns its place in an Adelaide weekender, not because it is trying to overly dazzle, but because the drinks list is more interesting than most bars of its size have any right to be. Wine is taken seriously, cocktails lean inventive without becoming overwrought, and there is enough curiosity in the back bar — absinthes, Australian vermouths, brandies grouped by fruit origin — to reward anyone who wants something a little less obvious than a standard spritz. Even the food follows the same logic: toasties, cheeses, sardines and anchovies that feel chosen for what they do with a drink rather than tacked on as an afterthought. Location: 9a Anster Street, Adelaide SA 5000 The Stag The Stag brings a different kind of energy — more public-house than cocktail bar, but still with enough personality to earn a place in the itinerary. During Mad March, venues like this matter just as much as the more polished ones, because sometimes what the day calls for is not another high-concept drink but somewhere central, easy and pleasantly low-pressure to reset, regroup or let one round become two. Plus, it's as close as you can humanly be to The Fringe festivities without actually being inside The Garden [of Unearthly Delights]. Location: 299 Rundle St, Adelaide SA 5000 PLAY [caption id="attachment_1090365" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 2K.W. Bar and Restaurant — South Australian Tourism Commission[/caption] 2K.W. Adelaide as a city rates pretty damn high on the prettiness scale. If you want to begin the evening somewhere you can really soak in all that Colonial-era architecture (while being far away from the Mad March riff-raff), 2K.W. is the move. Set high over King William Street, it turns a rooftop perch into something much more persuasive — all broad city views and the kind of cocktails-and-small-plates atmosphere that makes it very easy to stay longer than intended. Location: 2 King William Street, Adelaide Cry Baby If the night is still going, Cry Baby is a rough-edge (at least by Adelaide standards) option, ready to sweatily embrace you with open arms. It has the spirit of a dive, but with enough intention behind it to stop the whole thing from collapsing into cliché: strong spirits, loud music, a working jukebox, and a late-night temperament that makes it feel entirely plausible to stay far later than originally planned. Location: 11 Solomon Street, Adelaide SA 5000 [caption id="attachment_1090367" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Garden of Unearthly Delights — South Australian Tourism Commission[/caption] WANDER Mad March may be the hook, but Adelaide is very easy to fill in around the edges, which is part of what makes it such a good city for this kind of weekend. The East End is the clearest place to start, not least because it already contains so many of the trip's natural overlaps: bars, boutiques, cafes, galleries, laneways and a longstanding relationship with Fringe that gives the whole precinct a built-in sense of movement during March. From there, it is easy to stitch together a day that includes Adelaide Central Market, the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Botanic Garden, Rundle Street and Ebenezer Place, with very little sense that you are ever leaving the city's main current behind. [caption id="attachment_1090354" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kiin Restaurant[/caption] And if you want to stretch the trip beyond Mad March proper, that is when Adelaide's proximity to the regions comes back into focus. One of the city's more persuasive qualities is that it allows you to do both things well: immerse yourself in a festival-heavy city weekend, then tack on an extra day of wineries and slower lunches without much effort at all. Mad March may be the reason to book the trip, but it does not have to be the reason it ends there. Concrete Playground was a guest of the South Australian Tourism Commission. Images: South Australian Tourism Commission (see individual credits) Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
Drinking a beverage and watching a band ranks among life's simplest pleasures. Enjoying one of hundreds of craft beers and ciders from around 50 independent brewers and cideries, while being entertained by Thundamentals, Briggs, Jesswar, Hockey Dad, Ruby Fields, Dear Seattle, Charlie Collins, BRIS182 and VOIID — now that's how you take something great and make it even better. Ensuring a good time is had by all is part of the aim of the Beer InCider Experience, which is returning for a second time in 2019. After holding a one-day fest in March, it's back for the full two-day deal on Friday, September 20 and Saturday, September 21 — and it's a same place, same ace fun kind of situation. As always, the event will showcase the best in brews and music, and throw in some delicious food and entertainment options. And, like previous fests, the tasting festival is taking over the Brisbane Showgrounds. Felons, Gage Roads, Stone and Wood, Young Henrys, Range Brewing, Burleigh Brewing, Soapbox Beer, Slipstream and Kaiju are among the breweries that'll be quenching your thirst for lagers, ales and more, plus Golden Axe, Sunshine Coast Cider and others on the cider front. Expect collaborative beverages and exclusive brews made just for the day, plus local food-slinging folks helping to line your stomach, and even a ping pong arena, a handball court, art installations and games. Yes, this truly is the ultimate in drinks-focused festivals. Tickets start from $35 and are on sale now. Images: Beer InCider.
This news isn't like rain on your wedding day. It doesn't resemble finding a black fly in your chardonnay. And it definitely isn't anything like hitting a traffic jam when you're already late, either. But, it will have you singing those lines — and it is news that you oughta know, too — because 15-time Tony Award-nominated musical Jagged Little Pill is heading to Australia. The acclaimed production is making its first trip beyond Broadway, in fact, when it hits the Theatre Royal Sydney in September. And, when the curtains are raised, it'll help mark another milestone, reopening the Theatre Royal five years after it closed its doors in 2016. Inspired by Alanis Morissette's 1995 album of the same name, Jagged Little Pill the Musical weaves a story around songs from that iconic record. So yes, it's a jukebox musical like Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You and Rock of Ages. Famed tracks 'Ironic', 'You Oughta Know', 'Hand in My Pocket', 'Head Over Feet' and 'You Learn' all feature, in a production that boasts music by Morissette and her album co-writer and producer Glen Ballard, lyrics by Morissette, and a book by Juno Oscar-winner Diablo Cody. And, songs such as 'Thank U', 'So Pure', 'That I Would Be Good', 'So Unsexy' and 'Hands Clean' all pop up as well, even though they hail from the musician's subsequent albums. [caption id="attachment_807910" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jagged Little Pill the Musical original Broadway cast, Matthew Murphy.[/caption] Just who'll be starring in the show is yet to be revealed, along with the exact season dates. But, narrative-wise, Jagged Little Pill the Musical tells the tale of the Healy family. They struggle their seemingly idyllic suburban lives after a troubling event in their community. Expect to hear Morissette's tunes — including two new songs written just for the show — used in a tale about social issues relevant to today, but with an overall message of hope, healing and togetherness. Whether Jagged Little Pill the Musical will be a Tony-winner by the time it hits our shores, rather than just a nominee, isn't yet known. Its 15 nominations were all announced in 2020 for the pandemic-delayed 74th Tony Awards, which won't be held until Broadway reopens. Australians keen to see the musical can sign up for the ticket waitlist, and can look forward to watching it in a venue with quite the history. The 1100-seat Theatre Royal is one of Australia's oldest theatres, dating back to the 1870s. But most folks will know it in its current form, after it reopened in the 1970s with a design by famed Australian architect Harry Seidler as a replacement for the old theatre that was demolished when the MLC Centre was built. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh49oFfh1Bw Jagged Little Pill the Musical will play the Theatre Royal Sydney at 108 King Street, Sydney, from September — with exact season dates yet to be announced. For further details and to join the ticket waitlist, head to the musical's website. Top image: Jagged Little Pill the Musical Broadway opening night curtain call, Bruce Glikas.
The area once known as Bacchus pool bar has recently undergone a makeover and relaunched as Soleil Pool Bar, a new summer spot in South Bank to be enjoyed by Brisbanites from sunrise to sunset. Soleil Pool Bar is all about celebrating the sun. A chic palette of gold, white and timber decorates the space and creates an air of elegance on the podium level at Rydges South Bank. Sun yourself on the pool deck or lounge around the main bar while DJs spin soundtracks of summer and a team of mixologists stir, shake and serve a brilliant array of cocktails. Soleil invites you to enjoy a poolside party vibe with a little bit of glamour as Brisbane settles in for a summer of fun in the sun. A giant LED screen embedded in the ceiling above the main bar begs to steal your attention, but it is behind the bar where the magic happens. An extensive cocktail list sees creativity, flair and a passion for the art of mixology extend well beyond the meagre mojito. She's A Daydreamer ($18) alludes to childhood as Belvedere pure vodka, lemon and vanilla syrup, raspberry puree and lemonade fizz over a scoop of vanilla ice cream (complete with a paper straw). The Sloe Loris Adventure Time ($19) will have you licking your lips as you sip a balanced combination of Hayman's London Dry Gin, Hayman's Sloe gin, Massenez Creme de Mure, lemon, pomegranate tea and orange bitters. Ra, The Egyptian Sun God ($19) is a powerful tiki cocktail designed to honour the magnificence of summer, while Velvet Downtime ($20) — made with Patron XO Cafe Dark and fresh espresso and topped with dark chocolate shavings — is best described as sipping on tiramisu. The folk tending bar have a penchant for theatrics, but we don't want to spoil all the surprises. If the multitudes of pages seem overwhelming, the welcoming staff relish in the opportunity to give recommendations. Alongside cocktails, the menu is rounded out with punches to share, international and Australian wines by the glass or bottle, and a selection of draught and bottled beers. As sister venue to Brisbane culinary gem Bacchus, Soleil isn't just about the drinks. Morning, noon and evening menus offer guests a wide selection of snacks tailored to poolside dining. For a light breakfast try the granola parfait ($14) or housemade toasted fruit and nut loaf ($9). As the day wears on, graze on a selection of pizzas ($18-22), charcuterie ($32) or a cheese board ($24) as you soak up the sun. Food is served until 10pm.
The ability to shop online, in-between emails and before we drift off to sleep, is a thing of beautiful convenience. But despite international brands like Zara, H&M and COS launching a string of retail stores in Australia, we've been largely left in the cold (or in long fitting room lines in shopping centres) when it comes to buying these clothes online — which, in a world where we can order same-day deliveries from The Iconic, seems a little behind. But today — Wednesday, March 14 — Spanish fashion chain Zara has officially launched its Australian online store, seven years after its first bricks and mortar store opened on our shores. The site is now live, with the brand's extensive women's, men's, kids and TRF collections all available to peruse and — most importantly — get your hands on without having to enter the chaos that is the Pitt Street/Bourke Street/Queen Street store. Delivery is the game-changer for Zara fans here. Next-day delivery is free on orders over $75 (or $7.95 if you're spending under that) as long as you're in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra or Brisbane and order before 4pm. Sydneysiders can get same-day delivery for $12.95 if they order before 2pm — the goods will arrive between 6 and 9pm that evening. Importantly, there are no charges for exchanges and returns, which you can do in-store or via a drop-off point. Zara's Australian online store is now live. You can spend all your money at zara.com/au.
The group chat is blowing up with TGIF memes, the rosé is chilling in the fridge and everyone in your crew has a free Friday night for the first time in what seems like forever. You've decided to treat yourselves to a TV marathon over said rosé, plus a takeaway feast and a side of popcorn for good measure. The only question: what on earth is everyone going to eat? You want something tasty (obvs) but you also want it to be local, fresh and served hot (or cold, depending on your order) upon delivery. Lucky for you, DoorDash has every corner of Brisbane covered with fast delivery from your favourite restaurants. This means you can feast with the whole crew without missing out on the crucial plot points — like every time Ross says "we were on a break".
The Laneway Festival 2026 sideshows have landed, giving fans a chance to catch some of the lineup's biggest international names up close before and after the main event next February. Announced today, the official run includes headline shows from Alex G, Lucy Dacus, BENEE, Wet Leg, Cavetown, Geese, Gigi Perez, Jensen McRae, Malcolm Todd, Mt. Joy, Oklou and Wisp — spanning major venues in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Wellington. [caption id="attachment_974758" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Laneway Festival 2024 | Charlie Hardy[/caption] The sideshows arrive ahead of Laneway's 21st anniversary edition, which will bring a refreshed route across Australia and New Zealand and a lineup featuring Chappell Roan, PinkPantheress, Wolf Alice, Role Model and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers. Sydney and Melbourne dates sold out within an hour of going on sale, marking the second consecutive year the festival has hit capacity on day one. From long-awaited returns to debut Australian performances, the sideshows promise intimate sets from some of the most talked-about names in the 2026 lineup. [caption id="attachment_897686" align="alignnone" width="1920"] BENEE[/caption] You can find the full list of Laneway 2026 sideshows, dates and tickets via Ticketek. Images: Supplied
The least surprising aspect of Tár is also its most essential: Cate Blanchett being as phenomenal as she's ever been, plus more. The Australian Nightmare Alley, Thor: Ragnarok and Carol actor — "our Cate", of course — best be making space next to her Oscars for The Aviator and Blue Jasmine as a result. Well-deserved accolades have been showered her way since this drama about a cancelled conductor premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival (the prestigious event's Best Actress gong was the first of them) and, as the Golden Globes showed, they're not likely to stop till this awards season is over. Blanchett is that stunning in Tár, that much of a powerhouse, that adept at breathing life and complexity into a thorny figure, and that magnetic and mesmerising. Even when she hasn't been at her utmost on rare past occasions or something she's in hasn't been up to her standards — see: Don't Look Up for both — she's a force that a feature gravitates around. Tár is astonishing itself, too, but Blanchett at her finest is the movie's rock, core and reason for being. Blanchett is spectacular in Tár, and she also has to be spectacular in Tár — because Lydia Tár, the maestro she's playing, earns that term to start with in the film's on-screen world. At the feature's kickoff, the passionate and ferocious character is feted by a New Yorker Festival session led by staff writer Adam Gopnik as himself, with her achievements rattled off commandingly to an excited crowd; what a list it is. Inhabiting this part requires nothing less than utter perfection, then, aka what Tár demands herself, her latest assistant Francesca (Noémie Merlant, Jumbo), her wife Sharon (Nina Hoss, Shadowplay) and everyone else in her orbit constantly. Strong, seductive, severe, electrifying and downright exceptional, Blanchett nails it. That Lydia can't always do the same, no matter how hard, painstakingly and calculatingly she's worked to ensure that it appears otherwise, is one of the movie's main concerns. Directing a film for just the third time in 22 years — and the third at all, as well as the first since 2006's Little Children — writer/helmer Todd Field begins Tár with the woman, the myth and the legend. Since the feature's US release, viewers have been known to think that Lydia is an actual person, which has proven instantly memeable, yes, but more importantly is a testament to the detail and potency of the filmmaker's layered script. As Gopnik advises, Tár is a protégé of the one and only (and real) Leonard Bernstein, the first female chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic and an EGOT-winner. She has a book in the works, Tár on Tar, and she's soon to record her dream piece, Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5. She's not fond of having her successes ascribed to battling sexism, but she's proud, confident and authoritative talking about her career, field and leap to the top of classical music. Not mentioned in this early celebration, unsurprisingly: the behaviour that'll come back to stalk Lydia, involving her treatment of mentees and students, and cracking her hard-carved place in an elite realm. With two Academy Award nominations to his name for screenwriting, for both Little Children and his 2001 feature debut In the Bedroom, Field is in his element plotting Tár's intricate and tangled life that just keeps getting more and more knotted — and penning and directing a film that's equally as complicated. Tár is many things and never merely one thing, but it's a psychological character study above all else. As the feature charts its namesake's downfall from the heights that the picture opens with, and unpacks her arrogance and ambition, it unravels Lydia. As it examines her professional dealings and personal bonds, sees transactional connections wherever she goes and shows her scant regard for most folks other than herself (although she'll happily bully a schoolgirl for her young daughter Petra, played by first-timer Mila Bogojevic), the movie chips away at Lydia's carefully established personality and mystique. And, as her standing plummets amid a scandal, and her relationships with it, the film probes and ponders who she truly is anyway — and why. Is Tár a groomer, predator and liar? A talent who took her lust for triumph too far? A celebrity overly enamoured with her own fame and power? Is she a woman fracturing? Someone literally haunted? An egotist using and emotionally bruising, then getting what she deserves? Tár is too crafty — and well-crafted — a drama to quickly or easily tick most of those boxes for its protagonist, and finds much of its depths (and much of its fuel for Blanchett's performance) in provocatively giving all of the above attention. As Lydia belittles Juilliard kids in showy lectures about JS Bach, grinds first violin Sharon down to just one of her offsiders, capitalises upon Francesca's own conducting dreams, weathers a storm with her past favourite Krista (debutant Sylvia Flote) and throws her current approval towards new Russian cellist Olga (acting newcomer Sophie Kauer), Tár is also as precise at building the world that its titular character dwells in, where her genius and thrall draws in everyone, enables her, and lets Lydia herself believe that everything is excused and even worth it if it results in her art. Collaborating with cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister (Pachinko), editor Monika Willi (Happy End), costume designer Bina Daigeler (1899), production designer Marco Bittner Rosser (Only Lovers Left Alive) and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker), Field does indeed fashion Tár immaculately. A film of cool hues, firm lines and rich surfaces — Lydia's suits encapsulate the look perfectly — as well as a gripping, tension-dripping beat, it's a film where every choice seen and heard is revealing about its story, central figure and themes. Tár is also a movie of striking scenes revelling in such tightly constructed surroundings, all with Blanchett at their centre. Every choice she makes with her facial expressions and body language, whether Lydia is regaling fans, instructing pupils, pushing aside loved ones or luring in new points of interest, is a compelling, entrancing masterclass. When Tár picks up the baton, plays the piano, holds court, tries to navigate her own fall and perhaps even orchestrate her own second rise: these moments, whether loud and intense or quiet and contemplative, are hypnotic and loaded, too. But, across a 158-minute duration that never feels that long and shows zero signs of bloat, Field fills his frames with more than just one outstanding player. He could've simply let Blanchett's awards-worthy efforts be Tár's everything alone, and this'd still be captivating, bold and intelligent. Again, there wouldn't be a film this piercing without her, and it rises in tandem with her astounding work. In what's hopefully not his last picture for another decade and a half, however, Field sees what Lydia can't and won't. Casting German acting royalty Hoss and French Portrait of a Lady on Fire standout Merlant, both of whom bring texture, vulnerability and visible signs of pain to their pivotal characters, makes a statement: that no story is one person's only.
If you're a Brisbanite with a healthy appetite, there's only one place to be between Thursday, July 25 and Sunday, July 28. Take your rumbling stomach and its yearning for something scrumptious down to James Street — and fill it with tasty treats. Over a massive four-day period — two days longer than usual — the New Farm precinct becomes a foodie wonderland for the eighth year running, once again highlighting the gastronomic delights of the area. That includes devouring delicious dishes and drinks, of course, regardless of what kind of food, beverage or event takes your fancy. And, it also boasts a whole day of market activity. On Thursday–Saturday, which have been dubbed 'trail days', attendees can follow the roadway to a feast of dishes and drinks — think Greek wine and eats at Hellenika, a feast of duck at Chow House and a five-course dinner at King Arthur Cafe. Then, come Sunday, more than 20 businesses will unleash their wares, with the lineup spanning everything from crayfish brioche to wine to lamb salad to ragu. Because Gelato Messina now calls the neighbourhood home, you'll be able to tuck into two special dessert concoctions, too, with a baklava slider (featuring fior di latte gelato between lemon- and honey-soaked layers of filo pastry, then topped with toasted pistachios, walnuts and almonds) and a loukoumades sundae (honey gelato paired with honey-soaked fresh loukoumades, honey caramel, and candied pistachios and walnuts) on the menu for the day. Also on the agenda at the picnic-style event: cooking demos, multiple stages of live music and craft classes. No wonder the road will be closed between McLachlan and Roberston Streets, with the trail's zone expanding over to Pottery Barn and St Barts as well.
It's amazing what you can do with a butter cake mix, vienna cream icing and some lollies. Indeed, if you grew up in Australia or New Zealand in the past four decades, it's highly likely that you've eaten that above combination many a time. You probably also begged for it to be served in various creative shapes and configurations at all of your childhood birthday parties. And, even when you were months and months away from next blowing out your candles, we're guessing that you pored over pictures of cakes made using those ingredients for hours and hours, studiously planning which one you wanted next. Yes, we're talking about the cake recipes that line the pages of the best kids' book there is: The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book. If you didn't live in a house with one of these beloved tomes on its shelves when you were young, then you turned mighty green-eyed with envy at your friends who did — and now this source of so many happy cake memories is turning 40. That's reason enough to bake a cake, naturally. If you need some help, The AWW is releasing a new hard-cover anniversary version of the classic text, too. From Monday, August 17, the limited-edition book will return to newsagents and supermarkets (and, from Tuesday, August 18, to bookstores as well), complete with over 50 of those recipes you loved and obsessed over way back when. [caption id="attachment_778934" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The original 1980 cover[/caption] That includes the famed train cake, which graces the book's cover as it always has for all these years. In case you didn't commit the entire recipe collection to memory when you were a kid, other highlights span the swimming pool cake filled with green jelly, as well as the duck cake with a beak of potato chips. Or, there's also the liquorice-heavy witch cake, plus the meringue-covered towering castle cake (and if you've ever been lucky enough to have someone spend hours making the latter for you, you'd remember it). Whether you're isolating or quarantining, or just spending more time at home cooking like everyone has been in 2020, consider that your next baking project — or several — taken care of. The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book 40th Anniversary edition hits newsagents and supermarkets from Monday, August 17 — and will be available in bookstores, too, from Tuesday, August 18.
If Luca Guadagnino wants to keep making movies with Timothée Chalamet after the swooning, moving delight that was Call Me By Your Name, film lovers and Chalamet stans everywhere will be more than happy. And with Bones and All, that's exactly what he's doing again next. The Italian filmmaker is also giving fans of his 2017 queer romance — a flick that nabbed Chalamet a Best Actor Oscar nomination — another repeat gift, too. Who doesn't want to see that picture's Michael Stuhlbarg give Timothée life advice again? This time, though, it's in far bloodier circumstances. Arriving five years after Call Me By Your Name, and set to hit cinemas Down Under in November, Bones and All also sees Chalamet and Guadagnino collaborate on a love story — but with an extra bite. Forget peaches, as both the first sneak peek and the newly dropped full trailer make plain. Here, Chalamet plays one half of a cannibal couple. As Lee, the Dune, The French Dispatch and Don't Look Up actor gets gory — including with Taylor Russell's (Waves) Maren. The hybrid horror, romance and coming-of-age tale follows the pair of cannibal lovers as they road trip across America, chasing and satisfying their desires, and also grappling with what's brought them to this juncture. In both trailers so far, the vibe is yearning, swooning again, but also unsettling. It skews darker and more violent this time around, sinking its teeth into its biting premise. And when Mark Rylance (The Phantom of the Open) pops up in the two sneak peeks, he has his finger to his lips in a telling gesture of warning. Bones and All marks Guadagnino's first feature since 2018's Suspiria remake — after a detour to television with HBO series We Are Who We Are — and sees the director bring Camille DeAngelis' novel of the same name to the screen. Also featured in the film: We Are Who We Are alums Chloë Sevigny and Francesca Scorsese (yes, the daughter of filmmaker Martin Scorsese), plus André Holland (Passing), Jake Horowitz (The Vast of Night), filmmaker David Gordon Green (Halloween Kills), and Jessica Harper from both the original Suspiria and Guadagnino's version. Check out the full trailer for Bones and All below: Bones and All releases in cinemas Down Under on November 24.
Sherwood Road’s Mariosarti Ristorante Italiano is a long established restaurant, having served local residents for almost 20 years. Though the area surrounding Toowong Tower is crammed with eateries, many of them are of the cafe or takeaway shop variety, so Mariosarti seems to fill what could otherwise be a bit of a gap in the neighbourhood's culinary makeup. The popularity is proven as the place overflows with patrons, even on weeknights. Mariosarti's atmosphere is warmer and comfier than you might expect if walking past on the street. Staff are professional, and they do a pretty good job of getting you in and out, without being too overt about the fact that they need your table cleared and ready for the next round of diners. By their own account, Mariosarti has changed tack somewhat since their inception in 1995, shifting from traditional regional style Italian to a more modern take on the cuisine. The food, however, remains fairly uncomplicated. Dishes look and taste more or less as you would expect from their descriptions on the menu. The pappardelle con anatra e funghi pocini (confit duck, shallots, portabello mushrooms and fresh herbs finished in a light mushroom stock with truffle pesto and reggiano, $31.9) is a prime example. Each separate ingredient is easily distinguishable, and no element overpowers the rest. The menu is quite lengthy, and fans of Italian food will easily be able to pick out a few dishes. The scarmorza (wood smoked white mozzarella lightly grilled and served with smoked sea salt and fresh lemon, $15) should whet the appetite, ready for Mariosarti’s signature dish – pancetta di Maiale arrostito con tartuffo e porcini funghi (crispy skin pork belly served with a pumpkin and sage puree, smashed green peas finished with a truffle infused porcini jus – $21.9 as an entrée, or $35.9 for a main course). The dessert list has just about all the best loved dolci, but the biscotti e crema pannacotta with blood orange curd holds the most intrigue. Though Mariosarti has its own wine list (with drops from Italy, France, Australia and New Zealand) BYO is available for tables of 8 or less. Be warned, however, that the corkage fee is very steep at $25 per bottle.
When someone tells you to try to put yourself in another person's shoes to understand how they feel, it isn't meant literally. In the Freaky Friday franchise, however, the Coleman family keep taking that idea to the extreme, albeit not by choice. In 2003's mother-daughter body-swapping comedy, Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis, The Last Showgirl) and Anna (Lindsay Lohan, Our Little Secret) found themselves switching places courtesy of a fortune cookie. In 2025's sequel Freakier Friday, their lives and the circumstances have changed, but waking up as someone else is back on the agenda. It was back in 2023 that word arrived about a follow-up to the 00s version of Freaky Friday. Audiences will see the results on the big screen this winter Down Under, with Freakier Friday locking in a Thursday, August 7, 2025 release date. As for what's in store this time around for the Colemans, the sequel's just-dropped first teaser trailer promises more chaos, plenty of nods to its predecessor — a nostalgic favourite — and taking the identity-crisis scenario up a few notches. Story-wise, Anna has a daughter herself and is about to gain a stepdaughter, with the process of merging families happening just as a familiar scenario pops up. At the beginning of the debut sneak peek, Anna and Tess are told by a fortune teller (Vanessa Bayer, No Good Deed) that they've "walked in each other's paths" and "learned a lesson — a lesson that may serve you again". Cue the ground rumbling once more, plus quite the shock the next morning. When it was revealed in 2024 that the new film would feature "a multigenerational twist", we wondered if there'd be multiple swaps and if the kids would be trading places with their grandmother — and yes, the trailer has the answers. Also returning alongside Curtis and Lohan from Freaky Friday: Mark Harmon (NCIS: Origins), Chad Michael Murray (Sullivan's Crossing), Christina Vidal Mitchell (The Terminal List), Haley Hudson (Queen Gorya), Lucille Soong (Raya and the Last Dragon), Stephen Tobolowsky (The Madness) and Rosalind Chao (3 Body Problem). For more company, Julia Butters (The Fabelmans), Sophia Hammons (The Absence of Eden), Manny Jacinto (The Acolyte) and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever) join the cast. Behind the lens, Nisha Ganatra (The High Note, Late Night) is directing, with Curtis and Lohan among the executive producers, all on a movie that keeps building on the Freaky Friday name. The first Curtis and Lohan team-up didn't start the franchise, of course. Instead, it began with the 1972 book by Mary Rodgers, then the 1976 Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country)-starring first movie adaptation, and also a 1995 remake with Gaby Hoffmann (Zero Day). After 2003's beloved Curtis- and Lohan-led take, horror flick Freaky also gave the idea a spin in 2020. Check out the first teaser trailer for Freakier Friday below: Freakier Friday releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, August 7, 2025. Images: Glen Wilson © 2024/2025 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
While the Gold Coast might be known for its beaches, you don't have to be an ocean person to enjoy the relaxation of the destination. Beyond the sand is a leader in Australia's booming health and wellness scene. Whether you're planning a dedicated wellness escape or weaving a little indulgence into a holiday itinerary, Get Up and Gold Coast to the destination's best spa and wellness experiences for slowing down and switching off. [caption id="attachment_1067919" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Native State[/caption] Bathhouses Bathhouses are all the rage at the moment, including on the Gold Coast. SOL Elements in Mount Tamborine is described as a transformative sanctuary where ancient healing meets modern-day wellness rituals. Enjoy the elemental bathhouse, float caves for weightless stillness, and hands-on massages and treatments. If you can make it midweek, SOL Elements offers a midweek bathhouse session and a private floatation cave session, with a wellness drink on arrival and robe hire, for $150. In Coolangatta, Native State is the Gold Coast's premier bathhouse, offering hydrothermal pools, steam rooms, and quiet spaces to boost your immune system, reduce stress, revitalise your body, and more. Its 90-minute bathhouse sessions are currently available for $49 with code 45ONUS. [caption id="attachment_1067921" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ground Bathhouse[/caption] Worth bookmarking for your hinterland escape are Ground Bathhouse in Currumbin and Greenhouse Bathhouse in Tallebudgera Valley. Both are known for their calming atmosphere, mineral pools, and community-driven approach to modern wellness. Ground Bathhouse offers bespoke facials, hydrotherapy spas, a traditional cedar hot tub, a large wood-fired hot stone sauna, and an outdoor infrared sauna. Greenhouse Bathhouse is the Gold Coast's original bathhouse, having been established in 2017. It offers massages, an on-site restaurant, a magnesium pool, a red cedar sauna, and more to help you unwind and relax in the hinterland. [caption id="attachment_1067922" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Spa by JW Marriott[/caption] Day Spas For those craving hands-on treatments and experiences, the Gold Coast's hotel spas deliver polished, high-end experiences that will have you feeling like a new person. Inside The Star Gold Coast, Azure Spa is a destination for moments of solitude, offering treatments that focus on relieving tension, rejuvenating the skin, and providing full-body restorative treatments. The Babor facial is $160 for 60 minutes, giving you an hour of indulgence and self-care. Over at The Langham, Chuan Spa blends traditional Chinese medicine philosophies with modern spa techniques. Restore your balance with massage, detoxifying face masks, and more. [caption id="attachment_1067923" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chuan Spa[/caption] If you're looking for a spa destination for a bachelorette party or birthday, the Spa by JW Marriott at Surfers Paradise is ideal for groups. A four-hour pamper package comes to $539 (valued at $702) and includes a one-hour facial, a one-hour massage, high tea, sauna and steam shower, a glass of champagne and more. [caption id="attachment_1067924" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gwinganna Retreat and Spa[/caption] Retreat-Style Wellness Escapes If you're ready to take the (cold) plunge and book an overnight retreat, the Gold Coast hinterland is the perfect place to escape and switch off. For two decades, Gwinganna Retreat and Spa in Tallebudgera Valley has been a leader in holistic wellness retreat experiences. With the principles of organic living, healing spa treatments, and restorative rest in nature, you're guaranteed to feel rejuvenated. Currently, guests can stay five nights and pay for only four, plus experience a massage, facial, $100 wellness therapy credit, and complimentary Gold Coast Airport transfers. Use the code GCSTAYS to redeem and prepare a schedule built around movement, nutrition, rest and reconnection. [caption id="attachment_1067925" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Eden Retreat[/caption] Eden Retreat in Currumbin Valley is designed for those looking to step away from everyday life in a secluded, nature-focused environment. The retreat offers stays that are focused on realignment through holistic wellbeing, meditation, nourishing food, and therapeutic treatments. If you want to experience Eden Retreat without staying overnight, its day spa is also open to guests seeking restorative treatments. Finally, On Eagle Wings Mountain Retreat & Spa in the hinterland is a relaxing retreat set in the rainforest. The two-and-a-half-hour soak spa package, which lets you recharge your body and take in the incredible skyline views from the infinity pool, is currently priced at $159 per person and includes infrared therapy and mineral spas. [caption id="attachment_1067926" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Eagle Wings Mountain Retreat & Spa[/caption] The Gold Coast's wellness scene proves that relaxation here goes far beyond the shoreline. From accessible bathhouse sessions to luxury spa treatments and immersive hinterland retreats, these experiences show just how zen a Gold Coast getaway can be. Image credit: Supplied
One of the oldest, and most intricate questions man has ever posed to his peers is if Frankenstein, Dracula, and King-Kong worked together, could they save Tokyo from Godzilla? The Gallery of Modern Art's latest exhibit, Monsters, probably won’t touch on this topic, but will definitely be providing a rare insight into these legendary cinematic creatures. Monsters, is an exploration of monsters in cinema, covering all six groups of these much feared villains - bloodthirsty fiends; zombies, mutants and shapeshifters; misunderstood monsters; mad doctors; foreign entities; and monstrous absurdities. This unique exhibit offers an opportunity to rediscover some of the most popular films featuring these creatures on the big screen, including recent digital restorations and archival film prints from around the world. Monsters is your chance to not just see vampires, zombies, and mutants, but to ask why vampires? Why zombies? Why mutants? Titles like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Dracula are considered the a part of the stable diet of nearly all cinema goers and this GOMA exhibit is a chance to indulge in these great meals gluttonously, but also introspectively.
The world is an incredible and enigmatic place that holds many secrets and wonders that we humans sometimes struggle to explain. There are places that many of us would find difficult to even dream about or conjure up in our imaginations, yet they actually exist. Ranging from popular tourist destinations to awe-inspiring sights, here are a handful to add to the bucket list of amazing ones to visit before you kick it. 1. Wisteria Tunnel [Map] This stunning and mesmerising array of purple, cream and lilac flowering trees appears as though it has sprung from the pages of a childhood fairytale. This Japanese garden contains three massive wisteria trellises that are at the height of their beauty in May and is just a four hour drive out of Tokyo. 2. Cinque Terre [Map] Located on the rugged coastline of the Italian Riviera, Cinque Terre is an historical and unfathomable sight to behold. With the almost non-existent corporate development or public transport infrastructure surrounding the area, these majestic hillside terraces are a magnet for tourists searching for an authentic taste of Italy’s most spectacular cultural destination. 3. Hotel La Montana Magica [Map] A Lord of the Rings-esque four star lodge, Hotel La Montana Magica is a breathtaking establishment in the biological reserve of Huilo, Chile. The hotel is set in the middle of a 120,000 hectare native forest and built inside a man made volcano, which actually spurts water from its peak and then flows down the side of the mountain past the windows of the thirteen rooms inside. With moss and vines wrapping their way around the structure it would be hard not to feel part of a fantasyland whilst bunking here. 4. Crooked Forest [Map] If you thought trees could only grow straight up in a linear direction, then you obviously have never been to Nowe Czarnowo in West Pomerania, Poland. The grove, known as the Crooked Forest, contains approximately 400 slanting pine trees, which were planted in the 1930s. Seemingly defying gravity, these wonder trees will be sure to awe, and quite possibly confound you, as though you were living in perpetual state of ‘opposite day’. The reason for their planting is to this day still unknown, but plain beauty is good enough for us. 5. The Tunnel of Love [Map] Dubbed the Tunnel of Love, this old train tunnel surrounded by giant trees is located in Kleven, Ukraine. In true love story fashion, it is believed that if couples visiting the tunnel share genuine love then kiss and make a wish, their wish will come true. 6. The Blue Lagoon [Map] The mystic and mesmerising geothermal spa, the Blue Lagoon is one of the most visited places in Iceland, and for good reason. With temperatures ranging from 37-39°C and having therapeutic powers to help sufferers of skin diseases such as psoriasis, this relaxing and soothing oasis would be a tough one to miss. 7. Ice Canyon [Map] The sheer beauty of the Ice Canyon in Greenland speaks for itself, as is visible in the innumerable images of this icy wonder. One of the most photographed spots in Greenland, it is also (quite literally) one of the coolest places on Earth. The canyons were carved by meltwater and can measure to be a near whopping 50m deep. The area is home to lush mountains, stunning icebergs and various flora and fauna unlike anywhere else on the planet and is also a popular sporting and recreation spot. 8. Ball's Pyramid [Map] Measuring at 562m high, Ball Pyramid is the tallest volcanic stack in the world, which formed around 7 million years ago. It is an erosional remnant of a shield volcano 20km south of Australia’s idyllic and secluded Lord Howe Island. The pyramid was discovered in 1788 but after failed attempts wasn’t successfully climbed to the summit until 1965. The ancient wonder is also home to a number of rare insect and plant species, which were previously thought to be extinct. 9. The Great Barrier Reef [Map] Australia’s own natural wonder, – only one of seven in the world – the Great Barrier Reef is the only living thing on Earth visible space. Boasting of breathtaking beauty and incredibly diverse and vibrant marine species, it contains over 3000 individual reef systems and coral cays as well as thousands of dream-like tropical islands. The marine park extends over 300km along the Queensland coast, entailing one of the most spectacular underwater experiences the globe has to offer. 10. Plitvice Lakes National Park [Map] The Plitvice Lakes National Park really demonstrates nature at its best, both in terms of beauty and natural marvels. 16 lakes can be seen from the surface of the largest national park in Croatia, which are all interconnected and arranged in cascades, yet separated by natural dams of travertine. These travertine barriers are created by the accumulation of moss, algae and bacteria and serve to retain the flow of water, causing the height of the dams to continuously grow. The luscious greens, greys and blue of the lake clusters alter depending on the minerals in the water, making this unpredictable spectacle all the more fascinating. [Via Buzzfeed]
This time last year, the world had gone more than 12 months without seeing a new Marvel movie. Just a few months back, no one had used the words 'squid' and 'game' right next to each other unless they were talking about cooking up a particularly impressive seafood dish. But 2021 has proven the year of both caped crusaders and a certain South Korean Netflix phenomenon — and we all have the Google search history to prove it. With the year coming to a close, the technology behemoth has revealed exactly what we've all been scouring the web for in 2021, and its film and TV lists provide quite the snapshot of everyone's viewing. When we were all eager to watch a flick, we went big, with franchises, familiar names and super-famous faces defining the top ten most-searched movies. When we were staying in — it was another year filled with lockdowns, after all — we threw plenty of love towards streaming platforms. Topping the film list: Eternals, Chloé Zhao's addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and her first film after winning this year's Best Director Oscar for the immensely dissimilar Nomadland. It was closely followed by the long-delayed Black Widow, Timothée Chalamet-starring sci-fi remake Dune, more Marvel again via Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Netflix's heist-fuelled action flick Red Notice. Next came the new Australian-shot version of Mortal Kombat, the Emma Stone-led Cruella and the return of Michael Myers in horror sequel Halloween Kills, as well as monster melee Godzilla vs Kong and straight-to-streaming zombie film Army of the Dead. When it came to the globe's binge-viewing for the year, Squid Game came in at number one — likely not only because it's all anyone seemed to be watching in September and October, but because we all became so obsessed with it that, yes, we were all searching for every piece of information about it that we could find. It was followed by Bridgerton's period soapiness, WandaVision's trippy superhero dramas, Karate Kid spinoff series Cobra Kai and more Marvel (yes, again) thanks to Loki. Also placing in the top ten: Netflix's Sweet Tooth and Lupin, the latter of which probably benefited from dropping its episodes in two batches; the streamer's Ginny and Georgia; South Korean series True Beauty; and Big Brother Brazil 2021. If you haven't watched any of the above yet, consider this a catch-up list, too. For further details about Google's 2021 trend lists, head to the Google Trends website. Top image: Noh Juan, Netflix.
Every precinct packed with eateries and bars wants patrons to head by more than once. At Portside, Harry Ohayon and Maxime Bournazel have fulfilled the restaurateur take on that concept: they've opened two venues in this riverside patch of Hamilton. First came Rise Bakery. Now arrives Mademoiselle. Both adore France — which is what happens when two French friends go into business together. With croissants and pains au chocolat staples of its menu, Rise Bakery has been serving up French fare for years, baking that affection not only into its OG Sanctuary Cove venue, but into the patisserie's Portside spinoff since mid-2023 as well. At Parisian-influenced brasserie Mademoiselle, which was first announced earlier in 2024 and opened in October, replicating classic French bistros is now in the spotlight. [caption id="attachment_972000" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bastion Photography by Paul A Broben[/caption] "We are proud to introduce Chef Laurent Hoffarth, whose extensive culinary background spans both Michelin-starred kitchens and the vibrant Melbourne dining scene," says Ohayon. "Our menu offers a dynamic selection of French classics, from our signature braised wagyu beef daube à la provençale to the delicate oeuf mimosa. We aim to provide an unforgettable dining experience, where every bite is a celebration of French gastronomy." In a place that Ohayon described as "a warm, inviting space where people can enjoy long lunches, hearty dinners and Sunday roasts with their loved ones" prior to opening, Mademoiselle is serving up traditional French dishes given a modern twist. Rotisserie meats and gourmet salads are a feature of the comfortable and cosy 245-square-metre venue, which takes its design cues from France, of course, under Sydney-based architect Tom Mark Henry. Alongside the devilled eggs with fennel cream and confit prawn, the appetisers include French salami served with ribbons of carrot picked in rosé, plus mussels in garlic and chervil butter, while the entrees range from ham hock terrine and skewered scallops to flash-seared sardines and a cured meat board. For something more substantial, steak frites made with a 300-gram grass-fed sirloin sits alongside duck breast with blackberry and juniper reduction, gnocchi, and the catch of the day poached in an aioli-infused broth with mussels and prawns. Fancy sharing? That's where the rotisserie chicken, which comes in half and full serves, is a handy option. Mademoiselle also does a set menu featuring its showcase chook as one of the mains choices, alongside three entrees for the table and a choice of two desserts. Both the crème brûlée and dark chocolate sauce-topped vanilla ice cream are on offer in the group meal and the standalone menu, with Rise Bakery cakes by the slice and a selection of French cheeses also on the latter. Stop by for lunch from Monday–Friday to pick from a one-, two- or three-course spread from a condensed listing, including Julia Child's salad niçoise, a black angus burger with fries, and warm goat cheese and prosciutto on toast. The drinks selection boasts four pages of wine — champagne, sparkling and rosé included — plus black raspberry margaritas, French martinis, Chambord spritzes and mimosa among the cocktail choices. For a non-boozy sip, two mocktails are available. For seating, you can choose from booths indoors or to go al fresco — and if the concept is a success, the hope is to roll it out beyond Portside, including more Brisbane locations and at the Gold Coast. But each won't be exact copies of the other, with tailoring menus to suit each community that Mademoiselle calls home also the plan. The French restaurant joins an ever-growing list of new additions to Portside as part of the inner-north spot's current $20-million revamp. Not just Rise Bakery but also Fosh, Rosé Gelateria and Birds Nest Yakitori set up shop at the Hamilton precinct in 2023. Portside Social, a gastropub from the Newstead Social crew, has opened already in 2024, as has burger joint Dumbo and baseball-loving bar The Ballpark Portside (complete with its own batting cage), while Italian restaurant Sbagliata is on the way. Find Mademoiselle at Portside Wharf, 39 Hercules Street, Hamilton — open from 11.30am–9.30pm Sunday–Thursday and 11.30am–10pm Friday–Saturday. Head to the restaurant's website for reservations and more details. Images: Markus Ravik.
This year's Oscar winner for best documentary, Free Solo took viewers into the nerve-wracking world of rock climbing, charting Alex Honnold's epic quest to scale Yosemite's El Capitan without ropes. But he's not the only superstar climber endeavouring to literally rise to great heights — and the film about him wasn't the only rock climbing doco to reach the big screen recently. Last year, another movie called The Dawn Wall started doing the rounds, chronicling another couple of daredevils. Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson are also considered among the globe's best climbers, and their feats are mighty impressive. Now they're coming to Australia to talk about their efforts. On Monday, July 29, the duo will take to the stage at the QPAC Concert Hall — providing live commentary while The Dawn Wall plays on the big screen, chatting about just why they do what they do, and answering all of your other questions. It's their first time in the country, and they'll talk you through their inspirations, motivations and, again, why they took on the world's hardest rock climb. This goes without saying, especially if you're not fond of heights, but prepare to be both in awe and mighty tense. Image: Brett Lowell.
Much has already been made of Peter Jackson's decision to turn the relatively short novel of The Hobbit (relative to, say, anything else by Tolkien or Peter Jackson) into three, three-hour movies. The first instalment of the 'wasn't-a-trilogy-but-now-is-a-trilogy' trilogy smacked of excess — a painfully slow and padded affair that looked and felt more like an in-store demo for big-screen TVs than a sprawling epic of men and monsters. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is, in that sense, a marked improvement. For one thing, it doesn't take an hour for something to happen. Instead, after a brief yet engaging flashback to the first encounter between Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Thorin (Richard Armitage), the film explodes into life with a pursuit of the Dwarf Dozen et al, and remains — by and large — a pursuit to the end. In terms of the storyline, well, it's the same as the first film because, as you'll recall, it's still the same story. The dwarves, whose names are entirely forgettable (Boring, son of Boredom and heir to the Realm of Snore), are still on a quest to reclaim their mountain kingdom from Smaug, the gold-loving dragon. Standing between them are a ferocious pack of orcs (Windows Vista) and giant spiders (OSX). Fans of the book will be surprised to discover an Elven sub-plot has been inserted into the story, meaning fans of Orlando Bloom will be happy to discover Orlando Bloom. Jackson went even further, however, by inventing entirely new characters, most notably the she-Elf 'Tauriel', played by Evangeline Lilly. Fortunately, it's a gamble that paid off, because Tauriel's scenes are amongst the film's best, both in terms of action sequences and her quiet romantic attraction to the dwarf known as…I want to say 'Kili'? (Aidan Turner). Perhaps the biggest mystery, though, is why, in a film called The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, we see an impossibly small amount of Hobbit, and don't meet Smaug until well into the second hour. It's a giant misstep by Jackson in failing to capitalise on Freeman's outstanding performance, with the actor's every confused blink and chuffed nod of the head lighting up the screen. Similarly, Freeman's scenes with Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) are the undisputed standouts, reuniting the Sherlock duo in battles of wits and words that prove far more engaging than any of those involving swords. Languishing in his ocean of gold like a 747-sized Scrooge McDuck, Smaug is a delectably menacing villain deserving of far greater screen time, and Cumberbatch's mellifluous baritone voice is perfectly applied. This is a film with enough action to entertain and enough Tolkien to satisfy; however, it ultimately feels more 'distraction' than 'attraction'. As always, the world of Middle Earth looks exquisite on screen, ensuring Tourism New Zealand will remain in good currency for years to come, but it's also a powerful reminder that the unadulterated is almost always more compelling than CGI, and that no amount of special effects wizardry can compete with actual actors acting. https://youtube.com/watch?v=OPVWy1tFXuc
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations — giving you a little inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we take you to Jackalope Hotel at the Mornington Peninsula. We've partnered with this boutique hotel to create a wine-filled weekend getaway that can only be found on Concrete Playground Trips. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? Inside and out, this is one sexy hotel. The sleek interiors were dreamt up by Carr — one of Australia's top architecture and design firms — and are complemented by specially commissioned artworks. The entire building is also designed to take advantage of the stunning views across the surrounding vineyard, whether it's from the rooms, restaurant or 30-metre infinity pool. THE ROOMS Each of the 45 rooms comes with floor-to-celling windows and private terraces overlooking the estate while the suites (saucily referred to as "lairs") are even more luxe — think fully-functioning fireplaces, loft ceilings and even greater views. A dangerously attractive Bond villain would be right at home. Design wise, the rooms are understated with simple black and white finishes (mostly black), filled with custom-built furniture from Melbourne designer and manufacturer Zuster as well as lavish bathroom features including rain showers and jet-black bathtubs. FOOD AND DRINK When staying at Jackalope Hotel, you should dine at its opulent on site restaurant, Doot Doot Doot. Head chef Guy Stanaway runs the kitchen, serving up a regularly changing degustation menu that celebrates farm-to-table dining, injecting refined playfulness into each dish (and is an extremely reasonable $140 per person). You can also head over to Flaggerdoot, the hotel's cocktail lounge, that feels more like a gallery space than bar. It is housed in Edwardian homestead McCormick House (which dates back to 1876) but has been filled with an eclectic collection of art pieces. The faceless busts, geometric light installations and mirrored surfaces make the space a feast for the eyes. THE LOCAL AREA Set between Red Hill and Balnarring at the Mornington Peninsula, Jackalope is in the perfect position for exploring the famous region. There are over 50 cellar doors and restaurants scattered across the surrounding hills, as well as a stunning collection of beaches, golf courses and hiking trails — there's no doubt a long weekend spent here will be a memorable one. THE EXTRAS Extras abound at Jackalope. First off, there is the obligatory spa. Head here for massages, facials and scrubs or purchase the Jackalope x Alba package to get special access to the new Alba thermal spa oasis. They also run yoga classes, organise day trips around the area and take guests on guided tours of the vineyard. It truly is an incredible stay in every conceivable way, and that's why we've teamed up with the boutique hotel to create a one-of-a-kind long weekend package that includes a two-night stay, a wine tasting experience at its own cellar door, daily breakfasts at Doot Doot Doot and a whole host of extra bits. This is perfect for those wanting to relax in style, filling their days with sensational food and wine. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world.
Selling records, winning Grammys, putting on huge tours, making concert films, sparking free public transport: Taylor Swift can do it all. In excellent news for Swifties heading to the first two shows on the singer's Australian leg of her Eras tour at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, getting there by tram just got cheaper, with the Victorian Government temporarily including the venue in the city's free tram zone. Swift plays the MCG from Friday, February 16–Sunday, February 18, in gigs that might become her largest ever, with 86,000 people expected to attend each night. That's a whole lot of people heading to the stadium — and not just locals, given that the pop superstar is only doing shows in Melbourne and Sydney when she visits Down Under. So, making using public transport easier is a no brainer. [caption id="attachment_939191" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paolo Villanueva via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption] Across the three days, the Victorian Government has announced that the free tram zone extend to the MCG via routes 48,70 and 75. Obviously, expect them all to be busy as they travel to the Melbourne Park precinct along Flinders and Collins Streets. To cater to demand, approximately 150 extra services are running over the three nights, too. And, regional lines as well V/Line train services have added as extra capacity also, including on the Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Traralgon and Seymour lines. [caption id="attachment_939194" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption] "We've added hundreds of extra train and free tram services across the three days to get Swifties to the shows as easily and safely as possible," said Victorian Minister for Active and Public Transport Gabrielle Williams, announcing the public transport changes. "Taylor Swift's biggest ever Australian shows will have the same impact on the transport network as three AFL grand finals back to back — that's why we're encouraging everyone attending to plan ahead and take public transport to get to the 'G." This is the state that declared the 'Fearless', 'Enchanted', We Are Never Getting Back Together' and 'Blank Space' talent's shows a major event under its Major Events Act 2009 act, to ensure that Swift fans don't get ripped off by ticket scalpers. And, it's the home of Australia's only official offsite merchandise pop-up before Swift's gigs. Is Victoria aiming for "The Swiftie State" to be its new nickname? This is Swift's first tour Down Under since 2018, when she brought her Reputation shows to not only Melbourne and Sydney, but Brisbane and Perth, too. On the Eras tour, she's following up her three nights in Victoria with four in New South Wales. Melbourne's free tram zone will be extended to the Melbourne Cricket Ground from Friday, February 16–Sunday, February 18, 2024. For more information, head to the Public Transport Victoria website. Taylor Swift is bringing The Eras Tour to the MCG from Friday, February 16–Sunday, February 18, 2024. Head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Paolo Villanueva via Wikimedia Commons.
For 60 years, the eastern suburbs of Brisbane have celebrated a red, juicy and delicious fruit. RedFest Strawberry Festival is about more than its eponymous foodstuff; however it's definitely the place to be if you're keen on strawberry sundaes, jams, wine, scones, salads and smoothies. Think that you can eat more strawbs than anyone else? Unsurprisingly, an eating contest forms part of the fun. Want to wander around the Redland Showgrounds dressed as a strawberry? You'll be in your element. There's also a strawberry parade, filled with strawb-themed floats. And yes, the word strawberry will be uttered so many times that it'll lose all meaning. Running over three days from Friday, September 6 to Sunday, September 8, the full program also spans general show shenanigans — such as music, arts and cultural displays, a sideshow alley, a lantern parade and fireworks. Oh, and a heap of food other than strawberries. The actual lineup of performers is yet to be announced, but more than 300 acts will be involved. RedFest Strawberry Festival runs from 5–9pm on Friday, 9am–9pm on Saturday and 9am–4pm on Sunday, with adult tickets starting from $15.
Housed within the 125-year-old Stewart & Hemmant building on the corner of Marshall Street, Rosmarino pairs heritage bones with modern Italian cooking. Inside the restored brick walls, the dining room feels warm and light-filled, with timber finishes and thoughtful details that nod to Europe without feeling theatrical. The adjoining outdoor courtyard adds another dimension, offering an intimate, greenery-framed setting that has quickly become a drawcard for celebrations and private events. Led by restaurateurs Lauren Smith and Andrea Gatti, with Head Chef Dario Manca at the helm, the menu leans Sicilian in spirit while remaining broadly Italian in execution. Expect house-made pasta, refined antipasti and slow-cooked mains, alongside structured degustation options for dinner and a considered lunch offering. The wine list focuses on biodynamic producers and well-priced Champagne, complemented by a confident cocktail list featuring multiple Negroni and spritz variations. Beyond regular dining, Rosmarino has carved out a niche hosting micro-weddings and boutique events. Whether for an intimate ceremony, a long-table celebration or a relaxed dinner, it's a venue that blends old-world character with contemporary Italian hospitality. Images: supplied.
We all enjoy a quiet night at home every now and again — but we never expected this year to involve quite so many. So, if you're starting to feel a little restless, we've teamed up with Miller Design Lab to highlight some alternatives to spice up your next night indoors. Miller Design Lab is the home of creativity and self-expression built by Australia's leading minds in design, art, technology and fashion (and now you). Together, we're celebrating our nightlife and its impact on culture with exceptional moments brought to you at home. Keep reading to discover four ways you can easily experience parts of Brisbane's epic nightlife — from live music and cultural events to world-class food and drinks — without leaving your pad. LIVE-STREAM A GIG FROM A LOCAL DJ When you're confined to the same four walls for most of the day, you can spend an awful lot of time sitting down. Rather than spending another evening working on that imprint in the couch, get on your feet and turn your lounge room into a makeshift d-floor. Sure, the feeling of being out at a club surrounded by all your mates is pretty hard to replicate, but there are some positives — for starters, nobody can judge you for your terrible moves. Have a crack at creating your own playlist or, if you want to leave it to the professionals, check out one of the virtual club nights that are happening online. For a dose of nostalgia, tune into Hot Dub Time Machine's biweekly parties, which cover six decades of musical bangers, from mid-50s rock 'n' roll to the latest dance hits. And, if you've been a regular attendee of gay club night Poof Doof, you'll be pleased to hear it's now jumped online, too, with a weekly live-stream. See also: Room 2 Radio's Friday night streams and Club Quarantine's nightly offering. For a night of throwing shapes, you'll want to prep with something filling but not too heavy. Middle Eastern eatery Naim is a good place to turn with a selection of hearty delivery dinners loaded with veggies and grains — like a falafel wrap or a hummus platter with lamb kawarma, garnishes and flatbread. Pair your dinner with a premixed double martini from West End bar Covent Garden. [caption id="attachment_710997" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Lidmila[/caption] LEARN A NEW PARTY TRICK We can only hope that when normal life resumes, there'll be an onslaught of parties and nights out. So, if you want to have something to show for your time in isolation, use this downtime to pick up a new party trick. If the above DJ live-streams have inspired you, head over to Ableton's website. There, you'll find a bunch of free resources to kick off your music making journey, including ebooks and a 90-day free trial period of its Live 10 interface. Or, if you're more concerned about improving your moves, try an online dance course. Sydney Dance Company has currently shifted its entire class program online, including hip hop beginners classes, and they cost just $12 a pop (or you can get an unlimited membership for $28 a week). Or you could check out Groove Therapy's online courses. There's a very suitable Party Dance course (USD$89), which includes bite-sized video tutorials, curated playlists and bonus resources on dance history. Whichever you choose, it'll add a little flavour to your house parties — both pre- and post-lockdown. To keep you both well-fuelled and inspired while you study, order in some class party staples. An easy-drinking beer, like Miller Genuine Draft, and a woodfired pizza from local Newstead pizzeria Italian Street Kitchen should suit the scene perfectly. VIRTUALLY CELEBRATE YOUR MATE'S BIRTHDAY Poor ol' autumn babies. They're currently all experiencing one of childhood's biggest fears: nobody coming to their birthday party. So, make sure the birthday guy or gal's special day isn't forgotten in all the madness by organising an isolation-style bash with the entire crew over Houseparty. Play some games that'll get everyone up and moving — think good ol' charades or Heads Up — or challenge yourselves with a virtual escape room. And end the evening the way every birthday night out should end: karaoke. You can blame your bad vocals on your mate's shitty laptop speakers. Of course, it isn't a true birthday party without some cake so splash out on decadent creation from Jocelyn's Provisions — you can opt for cupcakes, medium or large cakes depending on how many people you're isolating with. And you'll need a drink to raise a toast to your mate, too, so order some cocktails from Death and Taxes. The Brisbane City bar is delivering bottled tipples — think negronis, old-fashioneds and the Mary Morey with citroen, ruby grapefruit, peach aperitif and blueberry wine — alongside boilermakers and whisky flights. [caption id="attachment_767870" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Reuben Gibbes[/caption] CREATE YOUR OWN LIGHT FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE INDOORS While small gatherings and dining out may return to our lives in the near future, it's looking like we'll be waiting a little longer for large-scale cultural events. But even though Vivid, Sydney's legendary festival of lights, art and ideas, isn't happening this year, there is a movement swelling to recreate the magic on a smaller scale. Kicking off on May 22, DIY Vivid will encourage Aussies to transform their isolation pads into a makeshift light festival using coloured light bulbs and strobe machines. There'll also be a DJ simulcast stream happening on the launch night. You could take it a step further and — just like the epic animated light projections that happen on buildings across Sydney during Vivid — project one of Nema Adel's digital art loops onto your living room wall, or tune into Hobart museum Mona's live-stream of Ryoji Ikeda's Spectra. It's a 15-kilometre tall tower of beaming white light that stands over the city's skyline, and the stream is accompanied by music specially curated for the exhibit. In homage to the buzzing festival, pair your arty activities with some colourful tipples and street food. Check out Baja in Fortitude Valley — its takeaway menu includes a range of SoCal Mexican-inspired eats including build-your-own taco kits, chipotle slaw and spiced roast pumpkin dips. Oh, and don't forget to order some spicy margaritas, too. For more ways to celebrate your city's nightlife and recreate its energy in your own space, head this way. Image: Reuben Gibbes
Bring any group of people together in a family home, mode of transport or lavish vacation setting, and one thing just might happen: a murder, at least if whodunnits of the page and screen are to be believed. Agatha Christie loved that exact setup, as book-to-film adaptations Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile have shown. The author's play The Mousetrap and recent flick See How They Run, which riffs on it, make the same point. And, so does the clearly Christie-inspired Knives Out franchise. Yes, the latter is a franchise now, with sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery due in cinemas for one week only mid-November, then on Netflix on Friday, December 23. Once again, Daniel Craig (No Time to Die) returns as Blanc, Benoit Blanc, in the first of two followups planned by the streaming platform — and after a first teaser trailer back in September, the film has just dropped its latest sneak peek. "Alright, when's the murder-mystery start?" is still a fabulous line, as it was in the initial trailer; however, this time there's a bit more context. The movie's cast — Craig, obviously, plus Edward Norton (The French Dispatch), Janelle Monáe (Antebellum), Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision), Leslie Odom Jr (The Many Saints of Newark), Jessica Henwick (The Gray Man), Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks), Kate Hudson (Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon) and Dave Bautista (Thor: Love and Thunder) — are in Greece, and they're about to play a murder-mystery party game. Then, there's an actual real dead body complicating their fun. If you saw the original — or any murder-mystery involving a motley crew of characters brought together in one location when someone turns up dead — then you'll know how it works from there. There's a lavish setting, that aforementioned big group of chalk-and-cheese folks, threats aplenty and just as much suspicion. Is the culprit Bautista's Duke Cody on the yacht? Hudson's Birdie Jay in the games room? Hahn's Claire Debella by the pool? You'll have to watch to find out, with the film getting sleuthing in cinemas between Wednesday, November 23–Tuesday, November 29 — a month before the movie heads to streaming. And, you'll want to get in quick, as it's only showing on the big screen for that one week. After that, you're back to waiting for an early Christmas gift at home. Just like its predecessor, Glass Onion is both written and directed by Rian Johnson, with the filmmaker moving onto the franchise after 2017's Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi — and still indulging his love of on-screen puzzles, as shone through in Brick and Looper as well. Check out the full trailer for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery below: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will hit Australian and New Zealand cinemas from Wednesday, November 23–Tuesday, November 29, then become available to stream via Netflix from Friday, December 23. Images: John Wilson/Netflix © 2022.
They are an English garage rock band whose musical style has been likened to The Birthday Party, MC5, Motorhead, The Stooges, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. What an amazing mix of likenesses! Basically, the JJR have taken all kinds of awesomeness and combined it into one amazing sound. The band formed in 2007 and has released three albums since their inception, including their early 2010 record Burning the House Down which received rave reviews, and was produced by Jim Sclavunos of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Grinderman fame. They have also played on the Late Show with David Letterman and sold out shows the world over. Now they are bringing their brand of frenetic rock n’ roll, blues and soul to Brisbane at The Zoo as a side show since they will be round the traps anyway to headline Falls and Southbound.
Get ready to get lit: Enchanted Garden, one of the big highlights of Brisbane's festive calendar in recent years, is returning to celebrate Christmas in 2023. The luminous show lets you see one of the city's favourite places in a completely new light, and will switch on its seasonal brightness for a month leading up to the jolliest day of all — complete with food trucks and a bar so that you can make a night of it. To be accurate, Enchanted Garden fills 22,000 square metres of Roma Street Parkland with lights flickering in, around and over the top of its lush greenery. The local favourite pops up year after year, delighting Brisbanites of all ages — and 2023 is no different. This year, you'll be heading along from Thursday, November 23–Wednesday, December 20, with the event sticking around for an extended season due to past demand. We all sure do love glowing lights, clearly. Designed to take around half an hour to wander through, The Enchanted Garden combines custom-made LEDs — plus special effects, light sculptures, lasers, projections and holograms — with an immersive audio soundscape. The aim: getting merry and celebrating nature, with the 2023 installation telling a tale about a possum getting mischievous in an island cave, then breaking a magical crystal, which shattered into four pieces. For your $9 entry fee, attendees shouldn't go expecting the kind of setup that you've been ignoring on every street corner in Brissie's suburbs. Lights will twinkle and decorations will sparkle; however, this isn't a tacky DIY display at all. That said, a word of warning: people love all things glittery, so prepare to a heap company. Also, tickets usually get snapped up quickly, with this year's going on sale at 10am on Monday, November 13. Sessions run from 6.30pm, letting folks in every 15 minutes until 9.15pm — and, if you're organised enough, you can always pack a picnic, arrive early and enjoy dinner beforehand. Food trucks will also be onsite at the Celebration Lawn from 5pm daily, as will a licensed bar, if you don't get around to taking care of your own nosh.
Following a year's delay, the biggest event in global sport has returned. That'd be the Olympics, obviously. After being postponed due to the pandemic, the 2020 Tokyo games are finally taking place from Friday, July 23–Sunday, August 8. There aren't any spectators onsite due to the pandemic, with neither overseas travellers nor local residents permitted to attend; however, Queenslanders can still watch along locally — including when they're out of the house. Pubs will be screening the Olympics, of course, and so will a heap of pop-up sites around the state. As part of an event called Olympics Live, screens will be set up at a number of locations, including at South Bank's Riverside Green from Wednesday, July 21. Also getting into the spirit: Kurrawa Beach on the Gold Coast, Kings Beach Amphitheatre on the Sunshine Coast and The Esplanade in Cairns, which'll also celebrate the games for the same period. The event will pop up at Tulmur Place in Ipswich's Nicholas Street Precinct and Walton Stores in Toowoomba from Friday, July 23–Sunday, August 8, and in the Bloomfield Street Park in Cleveland from Saturday, July 24–Sunday, August 8 as well.
There really is a festival for everything, and come July at Melbourne's Australian Centre for the Moving Image, that includes television. Not content to let film monopolise the big screen fest space, ACMI is playing host to the world's biggest TV festival, with Series Mania heading to Australia for the first time. With a name that could also describe humanity's reaction each and every time a new season of a TV show hits a streaming platform, Series Mania comes to Melbourne from July 20 to 24 for five days of television-focused fun. The program won't be announced until July 3; however expect it to include more than 40 screenings of premiere seasons of some of the best new drama, narrative comedy and web-based series from around the world. Workshops, panel discussions, masterclasses and Q&A sessions will also be on the agenda, with the fest catering for both industry and the public. In case you're wondering just how exciting this is, Series Mania's Paris festival gives a great indication of what might be in store. In 2016, it attracted more than 40,000 attendees to see 80 shows from 20 countries, and has previously showcased Aussie efforts such as The Kettering Incident, Cleverman, The Family Law and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. The 2017 fest — aka season eight of the event — takes place from April 13 to 23. It's set to include discussions with Lost and The Leftovers writer/producer Damon Lindelof, and The Good Wife's Julianna Margulies; a tribute to Buffy the Vampire Slayer; a marathon on new TV comedies from the UK, US, Canada and Australia; and the world premiere of the Melbourne-made drama Seven Types of Ambiguity, which stars Hugo Weaving, Xavier Samuel and Suzie Porter. "We are experiencing a golden age of television around the world right now, as this medium rapidly expands into new platforms," says ACMI CEO and Director Katrina Sedgwick. "We're delighted to partner with Film Victoria to bring Series Mania to Melbourne. Our audiences will preview some of the best series coming to our screens in the year to come — and discover stunning international TV that we might not ever see otherwise." If that all sounds like your idea of a great way to spend a day or several, then prepare for an epic binge session, but out of the house and not in your pyjamas. In even better news, Series Mania will be free — but, expect tickets to get snapped up quick smart when the lineup lands. Image: Nathalie Prèbende
Brisbane welcomes Thai restaurant, TABOO, to its already booming restaurant scene. The monochrome pale-green, serene oasis, located above The Constance Hotel, is set to become an all-day drinking and dining destination, with contemporary Thai dishes and speciality drinks. Around the corner from the inimitable Calile Hotel, TABOO adds to the already thriving hospitality offering around the James Street Precinct in the valley. No strangers to the scene, this new venue comes from the team behind Mr. Vain, a modern pan-Asian restaurant in Fortitude Valley, loved for its signature dishes including duck spring rolls, coconut king prawns, cured kingfish pani puri and fried corn ribs with kombu butter. Set to open across three phases, the first includes a breakfast offering crafted by Executive Chef of the group, Benson Skelton, and Head Chef, Alec Kapitz. On the menu are brekkie classics reimagined with a modern Thai twist such as Thai eggs benedict with crispy roti, pork belly and red curry hollandaise, maple lime French Toast, and coconut pancakes with salted Thai coffee caramel. The Brunch Club Banquet will showcase the chefs' signature dishes and hints at what is to come for the future lunch and dinner menus, which will launch as part of phase two and three. Share-style plates may include the likes of oysters with nam jim granita, Crying Tiger wagyu striploin, kingfish and green mango ceviche, and coconut sago pudding. Signature drinks include a Thai basil matcha, and a spiced golden Mont Blanc. The venue unfortunately endured significant damage from Cyclone Alfred, causing unexpected delays, but proving the teams' resilience and determination. They describe their new venue as more than just a rooftop, "It is a destination designed for those who move with intention, dine with curiosity, and find meaning in detail. At every turn, the experience invites you to stay just a little longer." Images: Supplied.
What does it take to amuse a city? How many funny folks need to hit the stage, showcasing an array of different jokes, formats and comedic styles? By the numbers, 2025's Brisbane Comedy Festival is set to host over 135 acts, getting the Queensland capital giggling and chuckling at four venues across five weeks. When you're not laughing along with Rhys Darby, Ross Noble, Nazeem Hussain, Melanie Bracewell and Sh!t-faced Shakespeare doing A Midsummer Night's Dream, you'll be enjoying the comic efforts of Sara Pascoe, Tom Allen, Matt Okine, Janty Blair, Guy Montgomery and Shrek burlesque parody Shreklesque. Each year, Brisbane Comedy Festival unveils its lineup in stages — but as the event's 16th edition approaches, happening across Wednesday, April 23–Sunday, May 25, it has locked in its full program. Attendees will be heading to Brisbane Powerhouse, The Tivoli, Fortitude Music Hall and The Princess Theatre to catch Danny Bhoy, Mark Watson, Elf Lyons, Andrew Hansen, Adam Kay, Claire Hooper, Joel Creasey and Zoë Combs Marr, too, and also Jimeoin, Ray O'Leary, Luke Heggie, Becky Lucas, Bron Lewis, Chris Parker, Guy Williams, Laurence Mooney and Schalk Bezuidenhout. The fest is filled with impressive names — and also galas and all-star celebrations teeming with them, such as the annual Brisbane Comedy Festival Opening Gala, the Aboriginal Comedy Allstars and the Best of the Edinburgh Fest. For fans of late-night laughs and free after-work shows, BCF's popular After Hours and Knockoff sessions are also back. But stand-up isn't the only type of amusement on offer. A comedy troupe giving one of the Bard's great works a go while one member of the group is completely sloshed is just the start there, as is getting saucy with Shrek as well, joined by improvised whodunnits, a dog-friendly screening of Best in Show and a cabaret paying tribute to Kate Bush. Fancy a comedy show that's also a wine-tasting session? The return of Wankernomics? Brisbane's LGBTQIA+ improvisers making Thank God You're Queer a must-see? A performance of every Penguin Classic novel ever written, all in an hour? They're just some of the other highlights on the bill. "As always, we have a few viral sensations making the leap from your phone screen to the stage, international icons, people you see on the telly and hear on the radio, as well as a pack of up-and-comers ready to make you lol. No matter your taste in comedy, there's something for everyone," explains Brisbane Comedy Festival Director Phoebe Meredith. A number sessions have already sold out — so if you're keen to see Aunty Donna's Broden Kelly, for instance, you'll need to grab a ticket for his July return, because seats to his two BCF dates have already been snapped up. The 2025 Brisbane Comedy Festival takes place across Wednesday, April 23–Sunday, May 25. For further details and tickets, head to the festival's website.
Housing shortages in Australia are pushing residents and buyers to extreme lengths. That's old news, but realestate.com.au reports that buyers are moving closer to the shoreline and away from capitals. Fair enough, considering that Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Canberra are among the 100 cities with the highest cost of living worldwide. According to a 2025 study by the Australian Marine Conservation Society, over 85 percent of Australia's population lives within 50 kilometres of the coast. That's not stopping aspiring homeowners from pushing closer and closer to the water, with value booms well underway in coastal towns nationwide, while other suburbs still fly under the frenzied market radar. But which towns are seeing the most excitement? [caption id="attachment_990482" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Courtesy of Lake Macquarie City[/caption] NSW's Port Kembla, with a comparatively generous average median price (AVM) of $1.01 million, saw a 13 percent growth in enquiries in the last year, making it the most in-demand regional suburb in the entire state. It's followed by other New South Wales coastal towns such as Tweed Heads, Swansea, Wollongong, Byron Bay, and multiple suburbs in the Newcastle/Lake Macquarie area. In Victoria, Geelong is a red-hot area, with Newcomb leading (AVM $609,000), and East Geelong, Clifton Springs, Curlewis, and Ocean Grove all seeing growth in enquiries over the last year. Gippsland follows, with Grantville, Ventnor and Coronet Bay all taking other spots in the top ten. [caption id="attachment_890754" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] iStock[/caption] Queenslanders are flocking to the Gold Coast in droves, specifically to Currumbin, Tugun, Southport, Runaway Bay and Labrador — which has the lowest AVM of its neighbours at $1.12 million. The Mackay/Isaac/Whitsunday area is also seeing interest in Bucasia, South Mackay and Slade Point, while the Sunshine Coast is seeing action in Currimundi and Mooloolaba. In WA, the Bunbury region is dominating the market in all ten places, with Quindalup leading by 54 enquiries, a 21 percent growth and with an AVM of $1.883 million. In South Australia, Port Augusta is the most sought-after location, with 41 enquiries per listing, while Devonport in Tasmania leads with 48 enquiries per listing. This article references data from PropTrack, as reported on by realestate.com.au. Lead image: FiledIMAGE via iStock
Given the current state of the world, holidays aren't on many folks' agendas at present — but, as always, you can pretend. For the entirety of March, Riverbar and Kitchen wants Brisbanites to feel like they've ventured to Latin America, turning the whole month to one huge Cuban Nights party. Every day of the week, that means cocktails and Cubano sandwiches. Sip your way through a Stormy Spritz with white rum, triple sec, coconut syrup, lime juice and ginger beer, or opt for a Malecon Mai Tai with white rum, orgeat, orange juice, yuzu soda and grenadine — all while you're eating a sanga stuffed with smoked ham, pulled pork, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard. If you're just in the mood for a snack, there's also plantain chips with mojito dip. Why just drink mojitos when you can eat them, obviously. From Thursday–Sunday each week, Cuban Nights is also putting on live music — and if you're keen on doing the salsa (and learning how), you'll want to end your weekend there. On Sundays from 4pm, you can take a free dance class, with a three-piece Latin band playing live afterwards from 5–7pm. If you're choosing to go out and support local businesses, have a look at the latest COVID-19 advice and social-distancing guidelines from the Department of Health.
Brisbane, please bid welcome to a new addition to the food, drink and sports community that's opened for business in Newstead's Gasworks Plaza, on the site formerly known as Maggie May: Gas Hound Bar & Kitchen. From Hallmark Hospitality, the new offering pairs an elevated Aussie bistro menu with high-grade entertainment — a step up from your local pub's dart board and kitchen. Being a sports bar, you can expect electronic dart boards, pool tables and plenty of televised games to enjoy with your food. Speaking of food, the (literal) roaring heart of the kitchen is a wood-fired oven that sets the theme for much of the menu, crafted by Executive Chef Jason Flett to hero local ingredients and shift with the changing seasons. [caption id="attachment_1080132" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Markus Ravik[/caption] "At its heart, Gas Hound serves classic pub fare but we're elevating it with premium ingredients and beautiful presentations," Flett said. "We make everything from scratch — for example, hand-crumbing and pan-frying our chicken schnitzels – to give our food that extra bit of love and attention." "About 50 per cent of our menu will be cooked over flame in the wood-fired oven, including our steaks, to open up more flavour and add a touch of smokiness." [caption id="attachment_1080129" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Markus Ravik[/caption] On the drinks front, Gas Hound boasts a cocktail menu that mixes premium spirits with a modern makeover on the classics you've been sipping in bars around the world. Hallmark Hospitality director Cade Hopman said, "Highlights include the punchy Sure Fire, a tropical, ginger-spiked Margarita, the crisp and savoury Steel Tip martini, and Deep Pocket, a rich, slow-sipping take on an Old Fashioned." "Our cocktail and drinks offering is crowd-pleasing, designed to suit everything from casual catchups to big nights." [caption id="attachment_1080130" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Markus Ravik[/caption] The redesign of the space from Maggie May's retro supper club aesthetic to Gas Hound is grounded in Modern Australian designs, with Queensland local Space Cubed Design Studio to thank for the vision (you'd have seen their work at Donna Chang, Boom Boom Boom, Southside and West Village's Soak Bathhouse). The core aesthetic is now built on hardwood eucalyptus timbers, terracotta tiles, a pergola and greenery inside and out. Space Cubed Director Arran Woollams said "We've really leaned into biophilic design principles to bring nature into the venue; planter boxes, greenery throughout and flowering vines outside that will merge with the interior to create a conjoined space." "We're installing character lighting that still gives that moody presence during the day while keeping things light and bright. As night progresses, the lighting retains a warm and comfortable feel throughout." [caption id="attachment_1080133" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Markus Ravik[/caption] Find Gas Hound kitchen & Bar at 84 Longstead Street, Newstead. Open 7am–10pm Monday-Wednesday, 7am–11pm Thursday, 7am-12am Friday, 11am-12am Saturday, 11am–9am Sunday. For more information, visit the website. Images: supplied.
When you chat with your friends, family and co-workers about your latest streaming obsession, do you tell them where you've been watching? Not which platform, but where you're sat while your eyes are glued to the screen? If you're one of the approximately 2.8-million Australians who've apparently watched Netflix on the toilet, you likely haven't mentioned that — but you might if you hit up loos based on Squid Game, Heartbreak High and Emily in Paris. Rarely one to miss the opportunity to take its shows off the screen and into real life, especially in Sydney — see: its Stranger Things rift on Bondi Beach, the Squid Game Red Light, Green Light doll by Sydney Harbour and a pop-up Heartbreak High uniform shop in Newtown, all in the past few years — Netflix has taken the research about dunny viewing and run with it. For one day only, aka today, Thursday, February 22, the streamer has set up pop-up toilets that take their theming from some of its hit series. The toilets — or the "tudunnies", as Netflix likes to call them — are indeed functional. That said, the main aim of this installation at Hickson Road Reserve in The Rocks in Sydney is to get everyone snapping while they're on the sets. So, if your social media feeds are filled with toilet pics today, this is why. If you're in the Harbour City, you can drop by between 9am–5pm for the ultimate pop culture-inspired bathroom break. If you're making a detour from work, you might need more than a bathroom break's worth of time if the installation proves popular. And that research? It hails from YouGov, as commissioned by Netflix, and found that 21-percent of folks who responded to the survey about their viewing habits had watched the platform's shows while on the throne. As for the choice of shows for the service's pop-up tudunnies, all three of Squid Game, Heartbreak High and Emily in Paris will drop their latest seasons in 2024. Find the Netflix toilets pop-up at Hickson Road Reserve, The Rocks, Sydney from 9am–5pm on Thursday, February 22. Squid Game, Heartbreak High and Emily in Paris are available to stream via Netflix — read our review of Squid Game season one and review of Heartbreak high season one.
Because there's nothing quite like watching a movie under the stars, Openair Cinema is back for 2019. There are two differences this year, however. Firstly, the annual outdoor film season is returning early. Secondly, it's moving to a new home. From Friday, July 19 until Sunday, August 18, Brisbane City Botanic Gardens is your destination for catching flicks in a leafy setting — and while this isn't the first time that a pop-up cinema has graced the Gardens Point spot (Moonlight Cinema once called it home, years ago), it's a definite change of scenery for Openair. Just head to Soundshell Hill and look out for the big screen. Then, get ready to get cosy in front of it. The full program is packed with highlights. If you like music and movies, then Rocketman will keep you tapping your toes — as will Yesterday, Danny Boyle's 'what if'-style flick about a world where The Beatles don't exist. Or, go web-slinging with Spider-Man: Far From Home, hit the magic carpet with the new live-action version of Aladdin and watch Keanu Reeves unleash his lethal skills in John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum. Long Shot and Top End Wedding bring some rom-com fun, and Clueless and The Wizard of Oz will take you back with a couple of classics. Plus, you can also indulge your inner kidult with The Secret Life of Pets 2 and Toy Story 4. There's more where they came from — plus food and drink from Qld Pizza Bros and the onsite bar, comfy lounges and live entertainment. If you'd prefer to bring your own picnic and blanket, that's an option as well. And, you can bring your doggo to all screenings. Updated June 26.
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, everyone's favourite friendly neighbourhood web-slinger still does whatever a spider can. (Don't expect the catchy cartoon theme song, though.) To be precise, Spidey's latest outing — starring Tom Holland (Chaos Walking), as every live-action film in the ever-sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe that's featured the superhero has — sees him do whatever spider-men have for decades. The masked crusader shoots webs, flings them about New York and swings around the city. He helps people, battles crime, literally hangs out with his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya, Dune) and saves the world, too. As the movie's trailers revealed, Spider-Man also fights whoever his on-screen predecessors fought. The twist that isn't a twist because it's part of the flick's marketing: that villains from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's stints as Spidey show up here. Those familiar faces, including Willem Dafoe (The Card Counter) as the Green Goblin, Alfred Molina (Promising Young Woman) as Doctor Octopus and Jamie Foxx (Soul) as Electro, aren't Peter Parker's initial problem, as viewers of 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming and 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home will already know. No Way Home picks up immediately after the latter, after Spidey's secret identity has been blasted across the internet by online conspiracist J Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons, Ride the Eagle). The media swiftly make Peter "the most famous person in the world", the public get hostile and his college prospects — and MJ and Ned's (Jacob Batalon, Let It Snow) as well — take a hit. The only solution he can see: asking Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog) to cast a spell to make everyone forget who he is. With drastic magic comes drastic consequences, hence those recognisable nefarious folks who know Spidey — and definitely know that he's Peter Parker — yet don't recognise the MCU's version. Marvel's next flick after this one is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so the franchise is about to go big on alternate worlds, but No Way Home still doesn't actually jump into that domain first. It's a curious choice on the whole huge saga's part to take cues from the animated delight that is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which relished having multiple spider-realms, got inventive with both its concept and visuals, won an Oscar and is easily the best spider-flick to-date, all without sitting within the MCU itself. Indeed, the live-action franchise's third stand-alone Spider-Man movie can't shake the feeling that it's playing catch-up. Directed by Jon Watts, as all three recent web-slinging films have been, No Way Home does more than give flesh, blood and spandex to an ace idea already brought to the screen a mere three years back. It also delivers the heftiest helping of fan service that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever dished up. The franchise has long enjoyed hitting all the obvious crowd-pleasing notes, but Martin Scorsese's 2019 comment that compared MCU fare to theme parks rings particularly true here — unsurprisingly given this Spider-Man outing wants to elicit the loudest of screams and shouts from its audience. Buy the ticket, take the cinematic ride, ooh and aah over every clear spin and foreseeable twirl: amid the stock-standard CGI-packed action scenes and triple-layered Spidey nods to iterations past, not all that long ago and present, that's what No Way Home seeks from its viewers. And, it takes the rollercoaster approach to evoking that reaction, rolling its story down the most glaring of tracks. You can anticipate each jolt and shake on any given amusement ride, see every up and down coming, and still relish the experience — and that's what No Way Home is hoping for. It wants to be the fun flick that gleefully makes Spidey fans' dreams come true, and to coast on the buzz of all those fantasies fulfilled. That's all busy and nostalgic and undemandingly entertaining but, even though No Way Home isn't short on twists that haven't been laid out in the trailers, this is one of the least surprising MCU films yet. Three-time Spider-Man screenwriters Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna make every expected move they can with this greatest hits package, both within the usual Marvel formula and with the parts of their script that are meant to startle and astonish. As a result, No Way Home's best moments swing in one of two directions: weighty or silly. Much of the movie hovers in the middle, resembling the empty space between an arachnid's silky threads, but when it either burrows deep or keeps things goofy, there's enough that sticks. Pondering the cost of being Spider-Man, the film doesn't fling itself into new territory — and yet it manages to add extra strands to the 'being a superhero is tough' scenario by recognising how such woes keep recurring. Finding laughs in the whole situation isn't unique either, and No Way Home isn't as funny or as loose as Homecoming or Far From Home. Still, that's the vibe that suits Holland; in his stretch in the red-and-blue suit, he's always played Peter like an excited, awkward and overwhelmed teen who's daffily grappling with what it all means, which is particularly pivotal here. There is one brief glorious moment during No Way Home's climax — a trio of shots, all edited together rapidly and framed to match each other — that perfects what Watts is aiming for overall. It's astute, amusing, enjoyable and, although still undeniably obvious, thoughtfully taps into the existential Spidey struggle while simultaneously proving loving and playful. It's the full web, even spanning just seconds, but that term doesn't fit the bulk of the feature that sprawls around it. No Way Home isn't without its charms — Holland and Zendaya's chemistry still sparkles, it's a definite treat to see Dafoe and Molina back in the fold, and, as blasts from the pasts keep popping up, Watts cleverly juggles the varying tones of all three different web-slinging franchises — but this spider-sequel is always happiest when it's trying to catch the audience's claps and cheers just like flies.
Already one of Brisbane's best Japanese eateries, Howard Smith Wharves' Yoko Dining wants to be one of the city's best Japanese bars as well. Five years after first opening, the waterside venue has given its top level a revamp. Meet B-SIDE, its new upstairs record bar — and get ready for vinyl-spun tunes, boozy slushies, and everything from chicken miso ramen and miso caramel soft serve to tuck into. "We wanted to create something that encapsulates the energy and playfulness of Tokyo's vibrant back-alley bars but with a Brisbane twist," advises restaurateur Jonathan Barthelmess, who is behind Yoko Dining, as well as fellow HSW eatery Greca. "B-SIDE is for those who want to kick back after work, enjoy amazing food and drinks, and let loose with good music," he continues. For years, if someone said that things were looking up in Brisbane, they were probably talking about the Queen's Wharf precinct with its 100-metre tall Sky Deck, or the city's embrace of rooftop bars over the past decade or so. Over at HSW, however, levelling up is now also on the agenda (and not just due to the broader precinct's own plans to add a new nine-story hotel to the site, plus a music hall, overwater pool, and waterside food and drinks deck). B-SIDE is one of two new additions to the riverside spot in October 2024 alone, alongside the Hong Kong-inspired Stan's above Cantonese eatery Stanley — each from beloved restaurants revamping their second levels. Welcoming in patrons from 5pm on Monday, October 14 —with 50 bowls of free chicken miso ramen on offer for the first customers through the door — B-SIDE takes inspiration from Tokyo in a number of ways. Firstly, Yoko Dining as a two-storey izakaya already owes the Japanese capital's similar joints a debt, so its record bar not only embraces that idea but runs with it. Menu-wise, however, B-SIDE is also nodding to the kind of fare that you'll find in Tokyo train stations. For bites to eat, diners can also enjoy wagyu katsu sliders, prawn rolls on milk bread and kizami wasabi octopus — plus sashimi (with kingfish, tuna, ocean trout, Hokkaido scallop, ocean trout and eel the choices), Japanese potato salad, tuna tataki and chicken karaage. The tunes come via DJs hitting the decks every night. On Monday evenings, 80s and 90s tracks are set to echo at the bar's retro vinyl sessions. On Sundays from 8pm, discounted rates for hospitality workers who show their RSA card are on offer. B-SIDE's drinks lineup has another impressive name involved: Matt Whiley, best-known of late for his acclaimed low-waste Sydney bar Re (which placed 46th in 2021's World's 50 Best Bars list and made the 51–100 longlist in 87th spot). Fresh from whipping up a sustainability-focused cocktail menu across town in Brisbane at W Brisbane's Living Room Bar, he's done the honours for B-SIDE, where slushies and highballs feature prominently. Find B-SIDE upstairs at Yoko Dining, Howard Smith Wharves, 5 Boundary Street, Brisbane — open nightly from 5pm–late. Head to the venue's website for more details. Images: Nikki To / Dexter Kim.
