Multiple media collide in SCREAM, the latest high-octane offering from European hyper-creative collective Chicks on Speed. Fresh from their residency at ZKM Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany, for this exhibition the Chicks have hatched an interactive app that lets spectators participate in the artwork. A combo of live performance and technological mayhem, SCREAM centres on a huge sculpture that plays canvas to the iPad-controlled whims of the viewer, who can pick and mix the audiovisual elements that are projected into the space. The work is a logical progression from the Chicks' Objekt Instruments, which landed here during Mardi Gras. SCREAM will be at Brisbane's Institute of Modern Art until late-September.
It isn't always easy to satisfy fans of pastels and symmetry, brand-new Australian cinema, one of Japan's greatest filmmakers, a buzzy Euphoria and The White Lotus star, Succession, the internet's boyfriend and heartfelt animation all in one go. Or devotees of acclaimed Iranian directors, kaiju flicks, NBA superstar Stephen Curry, John Wick-style revenge tales, and wild commentaries on America's recent political landscape using clips from Wayne's World and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, either. But, when you're a cinema celebration hitting 70 years old as Sydney Film Festival is in 2023, ticking all those boxes is just another annual program. Of course, there's no such thing as an ordinary or routine SFF lineup. Whether you're a diehard cinephile or a more casual moviegoer, this festival has always spoiled viewers for choice, making sure there's truly something among its selection each year for everyone. In 2023, Festival Director Nashen Moodley's carefully curated bill kicks off with one of the most exciting Aussie films of the year arriving straight from Cannes, then includes Wes Anderson's latest doing the same — and throws in new work from Hirokazu Kore-eda, Sydney Sweeney, Sarah Snook, Paul Mescal and Pixar, plus much, much more. When SFF's milestone 70th fest officially opens on Wednesday, June 7, launching a program that'll screen 239 films from 67 countries until Sunday, June 18 — with 90 narrative feature films and 54 documentaries, and also notching up 37 world premieres and 123 Australian premieres — it'll do so with Warwick Thornton's The New Boy. The Cannes-selected title is his first film since 2017's stunning Sweet Country, and sees him team up with none other than Cate Blanchett. 2023's Tár Oscar-nominee plays Sister Eileen, who runs a monastery and home to orphaned boys in the 1940s, which is where the titular nine-year-old (newcomer Aswan Reid) is sent. Also among the cast: Deborah Mailman (Total Control) and Wayne Blair (Seriously Red). The New Boy is also vying for the festival's annual prize alongside 11 others, in what marks the official competition's 15th year. Other contenders span Aussie documentary The Dark Emu, about Bruce Pascoe's book; Bad Behaviour, the feature directorial debut of actor-turned-filmmaker Alice Englert (You Won't Be Alone) starring Jennifer Connelly (Top Gun: Maverick); Kore-eda's Monster, the prolific helmer's latest after fellow recent SFF titles Shoplifters and Broker; and Celine Song's first effort Past Lives, telling a bittersweet romance about two childhood friends (Russian Doll's Greta Lee and Decision to Leave's Teo Yoo) who briefly reunite after decades apart. From the competition highlights, there's also Cobweb from South Korean A Tale of Two Sisters talent Kim Jee-woon; the animated Art College 1994 from Have a Nice Day's Liu Jian; Finnish great Aki Kaurismäki's (The Other Side of Hope) Fallen Leaves; and Afire, a Berlinale Silver Bear for Undine and Transit's Christian Petzold, which was part of the fest's first lineup announcement for 2023. Yes, Anderson's Asteroid City is on the 2023 SFF program, too, bringing the filmmaker's now-trademark sensibilities and aliens together at last — and a characteristically massive cast filled with every famous actor ever or thereabouts. Also set to flicker across Sydney's screens is the Sweeney-starring whistleblower docudrama Reality, Snook in Sundance-bowing Australian psychological thriller Run Rabbit Run, the Mescal-led (and Aussie-shot and opera-inspired) Carmen and Pixar's what-if-elements-had-feelings newbie Elemental. Jafar Panahi's (Tehran Taxi) Venice Special Jury Prize-winner No Bears was announced earlier as well, but remains a SFF must-see — and the kaijus come via Shin Ultraman, which springs from the creators of Shin Godzilla and Neon Genesis Evangelion. NBA fans will want to see Stephen Curry: Underrated, and the vengeance arrives via SXSW hit The Wrath of Becky (well, one of SFF's 2023 flicks about vengeance). And Soda Jerk return to the fest after Terror Nullius screened in 2018, this time with Hello Dankness and its chaotic yet cutting survey of US politics from 2016 onwards. Movie lovers should already be eagerly anticipating SFF's already-revealed Jane Campion retrospective, with the filmmaker herself in attendance — and Indian screen icon Amitabh Bachchan also earns his own program strand. But the new features keep coming, too, including in the fest's returning strands. Seasoned attendees should already be well-acquainted with SFF's ten-film focus on female directors from Europe, selection of movies about music, weird and wonderful horror and genre flicks, family-friendly fare, celebration of filmmaking talent with disability and titles from First Nations creatives, all back in 2023. Other specific standouts range from comedy Biosphere, about the last two men on earth; to Passages, from Love Is Strange's Ira Sachs; and also German filmmaker Wim Wenders (Submergence) heading to Japan with Perfect Days. Plus, there's assassin thriller Kennedy by Gangs of Wasseypur's Anurag Kashyap; literary thriller The Lesson, which stars Richard E Grant (Persuasion), Julie Delpy (On the Verge) and Daryl McCormack (Bad Sisters); and historical drama Chevalier, with Kevin Harrison Jr (Cyrano) playing 18th-century Black composer Joseph Bologne. Cinemagoers can similarly look forward to Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winner A Thousand and One, the obviously film-loving I Like Movies, environmentalist tale How to Blow Up a Pipeline, talk show-set horror Late Night with the Devil and the self-explanatory tribute Cannes Uncut. Also, SFF has added a new Independent in Spirit section that's all about indie films by up-and-coming Australian directors, which is where The Big Dog will get comedic about a stockbroker with a financial domination fetish, Sunflower will spin a Melbourne-set queer coming-of-age tale, Birdeater will follow a bride-to-be attending her fiancé's buck's party — and more. As for where you'll be heading to get your festival fix this year, SFF is back at The State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Newtown, Palace Central, Palace Norton Street, Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace Cremorne, Ritz Cinemas Randwick, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Australian Museum and Art Gallery of NSW. Sydney Film Festival 2023 runs from Wednesday, June 7–Sunday, June 18 at various Sydney cinemas — head to the festival website for further information and tickets.
Biopics remain very much the projects of choice for studios in 2015, subject to one clear, discernible shift. Rather than centring on the individual’s most notable achievement or moment of infamy, this current crop of films shines the light on the protagonist’s lesser known, more intimate details: the formative years or the family unit. Their subject’s fame is taken as read, serving largely as a mere precursor to, or consequence of, the film’s actual content. In this vein, Selma is a Martin Luther King story that eschews the ‘I have a dream’ speech and begins instead with his acceptance of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize that resulted, at least in part, because of it. The film’s name, Selma, refers to a town in Alabama from which Dr King organised a series of marches to protest the denial of constitutionally protected voting rights for African-Americans. Segregation was, by 1965, illegal, yet in practice still found ample avenues of application in the southern states, as well as many willing supporters to maintain it — most notably the politicians, police and government officials. With a compassionate yet unenthusiastic White House refusing to back new voting rights legislation, King and his supporters drew a line in the sand and selected Selma as the staging ground for protest. What followed were beatings, shootings and even murders perpetrated by whites — both civilian and official — who seldom faced arrest and never once saw conviction. It all makes for very uncomfortable yet necessary viewing. Selma fills you with an anger borne not only of the injustices depicted but of the knowledge that more than half a century later they remain far from resolved. It’s impossible not to draw comparisons with Ferguson, and in that sense Selma is as timely as it is challenging. The standout is, of course, David Oyelowo in the lead role. His recent run of films — including The Butler, Lincoln and Red Tails — have all explored racial discrimination, yet it’s in Selma where the intolerance feels most raw, the inequity most glaring. With a near-flawless accent and remarkable physical similarity, Oyelowo magnificently captures King's extraordinary patience, discipline and eloquence. The civil rights leader's command of the language that in turn facilitated command over the thousands who flocked to hear him speak flows beautifully from this accomplished actor’s lips — each line a glowing tribute to the rhetoric that galvanised supporters and tormented presidents. Supporting Oyelowo is an impressive cast that boasts Oprah Winfrey (who also executive produced the picture), Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth and Carmen Ejogo as King’s stoic wife Coretta. It's an accomplished and confronting film with division at its heart, though not just between races. Internal squabbling among competing civil rights groups, political differences between state and federal leaders, the struggles within King’s family and even his own personal doubts all receive attention — a myriad of complexities and obstacles reminding us that sometimes ‘black and white issues’ are in fact the most ambiguous and impenetrable of all.
We can all agree that the annual racing carnival should just be renamed the Season of Bubbles. It's a great occasion to splash out, pop Champagne and eat cheese like it's going out of fashion. And the good people at Mumm — purveyors of fine Champagne, fun times and free holidays — want to take you there. They're giving away a luxe Melbourne Cup Emirates Stakes Day experience and, trust us, you don't want to miss this. The winner — and their luckiest friend — will win a killer race-day adventure. Fly to Melbourne (from Brisbane or Sydney) and prepare to be chauffeured around by a private car (to and from your five-star hotel, mind you). You'll have access to the Mumm Marquee, too, where you'll enjoy flutes of Mumm Champagne, delicious canapes and a big screen to take it all in. And because Mumm knows how to take care of you, they've set up a luxurious (and greasy) breakfast at your hotel the next day, before your private car whisks you back to the airport. Now that's race day glamour. To enter, see details below. If you're a Sydneysider and don't win the comp, fret not. You can head down to the Cup Day Festival at Barangaroo — there'll be pop-up eateries, live music and, of course, plenty of Mumm to go around. Entry into the event is free and Barangaroo's restaurants and bars will be serving up race-day specials (many of which include complimentary Champagne). Splash out on seafood at Cirrus, a Shanghai feast at Lotus or a nine-course Turkish banquet at Anason. We'll tip our hats to that. [competition]642528[/competition]
What's better than watching a heap of top Australian talent sit around and talk about music? Watching them do all of the above while answering questions, competing for points and just generally being funny, too. That's the concept behind ABC TV show Spicks and Specks, which took a few cues from the UK's Never Mind the Buzzcocks, pit Aussie musos and comedians against each other, and has proven a hit several times over. It was a weekly favourite when it first aired between 2005–2011 — and it will be again from today. As fans will already know, Spicks and Specks just keeps coming back; however, that has meant different things over the years. When the program was first revived back in 2014, it did so with a new host and team captains, for instance. And when it started to make a return with its original lineup of Adam Hills, Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough, it first did so via a one-off reunion special. That 2018 comeback proved more than a little popular. It became the ABC's most-watched show of that year, in fact. So, the broadcaster then decided to drop four new Spicks and Specks specials across 2019–20 and, for 2021, to bring back Spicks and Specks in its regular format. As first announced last year, the show is returning for a full ten-episode season — and, as the broadcaster revealed last month, it'll kick off on Sunday, April 18 at 7.40pm. You'll be able to watch it on TV when it airs, or stream it via iView afterwards. Hills, Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough are all settling back into their old chairs, obviously — and, guest-wise, they'll be joined by music stars such as The Teskey Brothers, Alice Skye, G-Flip, Vika and Linda, and Missy Higgins, as well as comedians including Anne Edmonds, Nazeem Hussain, Luke McGregor, Dave O'Neil and Denise Scott. So, add playing along with the show from your couch to your end-of-weekend plans from tonight onwards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT5t-G4iGDc Spicks and Specks returns to ABC TV for a regular full season from 7.40pm on Sunday, April 18, with episodes airing weekly afterwards. You'll also be able to stream the series via ABC iView.
Game of Thrones was always going to spark spinoff shows. Indeed, when HBO started thinking about doing a prequel five years ago, before the huge fantasy hit had even finished its run, it was hardly surprising. And, when the US network kept adding ideas to its list — including a Jon Snow-focused series with Kit Harington (Eternals) reprising his famous role, novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg and an animated GoT show, to name just a few prequels and spinoffs that've been considered, but may or may not actually come to fruition — absolutely no one was astonished. So far, just one fellow GoT-related series has hit screens: House of the Dragon, which jumps back into House Targaryen's history. When it arrived in 2022, it became an instant success. Accordingly, it was quickly renewed for season two. But if you've been hanging out for the next part in its story, and hoping to see it in 2023, you might have to wait a little longer. In an interview with Variety, HBO and HBO Max content CEO Casey Bloys has advised that viewers likely won't be returning to Westeros until sometime in 2024. He said that timing for House of the Dragon season two's debut "is a good guess", and that it probably won't be eligible for the Emmys held that year — which means that new episodes might be coming in winter Down Under, fittingly. The first season also started screening and streaming during Australia and New Zealand's winter, so that'll mean a two-year gap — or thereabouts — between the show's maiden go-around and its second effort. And, it means thinking "winter is coming" to yourself all over again, amid pondering the GoT realm's relationships, flowing long blonde hair, dragons, stabbings and fights for the Iron Throne (whether or not you turn watching House of the Dragon into a drinking game, as we did). The series kicked off 172 years before the birth of Daenerys and her whole dragon-flying, nephew-dating, power-seeking story, and gave HBO its largest American audience for any new original series in its history when it debuted. Yes, House of the Dragon is basically a case of new show, same squabbles, as it was easy to foresee it would be. Yes, it's pretty much Game of Thrones with different faces bearing now well-known surnames — and more dragons. If you haven't yet caught up with the series, it dives into the battle for the Iron Throne before the one we all watched between 2011–19. Paddy Considine (The Third Day) plays King Viserys — and it's exactly who should be his heir that sparks all the Succession-style fuss. The words "succession" and "successor" (and "heir" as well) get bandied around constantly, naturally. The king has a daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (played by Upright's Milly Alcock, then Mothering Sunday's Emma D'Arcy), who is also his first-born child. But because putting a woman on the throne isn't the done thing, the King's younger brother Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith, Morbius) considers that spiky iron chair his birthright. And, this wouldn't be Westeros if plenty of other people didn't have an opinion, including Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans, The King's Man), the Hand of the King; his own daughter Alicent (The Lost Girls' Emily Carey, then Slow Horses' Olivia Cooke); and Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint, It's a Sin), who is married to Princess Rhaenys Velaryon (Eve Best, Nurse Jackie), who had a better claim to the throne when Viserys was named king instead. Also yes, this latest adaptation of George RR Martin's popular fantasy books is bound to continue on for more than just two seasons, but that's all that's confirmed for the moment. Check out the full House of the Dragon trailer below: House of the Dragon streams Down Under via Foxtel and Binge in Australia and SoHo, Sky Go and Neon in New Zealand. Read our full review of season one. Via Variety. Images: Ollie Upton/HBO.
For more than six decades, 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 — and strawberries in all kinds of other foods as well. In 2022, RedFest is back. Now it's called RedFest by the Bay, and it's taking place around the Raby Bay Harbour. And if you think that you can eat more strawbs than anyone else, an eating contest forms part of the fun. Want to wander around the Redland Showgrounds dressed as a strawberry? You'll also be in your element. And yes, the word strawberry will be uttered so many times that it'll lose all meaning. Running over three days from Saturday, October 1–Monday, September 3, the full program also spans general show shenanigans — such as live music, arts and cultural displays, carnival rides, a sideshow alley, showbags and fireworks. Oh, there will be a heap of food other than strawberries, although they can still be your main attraction.
In one of the finer examples of literally living and breathing your work, meet The Exbury Egg; a temporary, energy efficient, self-sustaining work space for artist Stephen Turner that will float in the estuary of the River Beaulieu. Talk about every impassioned greenies’ dream, right? The Egg is a place to stay while doubling as a laboratory for studying the life of a tidal creek. The Egg will rise and fall with the tide and be tethered a bit like a boat. Turner is interested in exploring an intense relationship with nature and so it only makes sense for him to completely immerse himself in it. Turner upholds that this isn’t a big anti-technology-back-to-nature experiment. He still plans on using items like his cellphone, his laptop and digital camera, but in the planning of this project he has created these to be charged via solar power. There’s also a huge educational component to this project, with schools being able to engage with the Egg project in topics from construction, science, art, ecology and engineering. To quote Turner “Climate change is already creating new shorelines and habitats. Established salt marsh is being eroded by a combination of rising sea levels and falling landmass and the entire littoral environment is in a state of flux. The implications for wildlife and for the flora as well as for people are challenging. Raising awareness of the past and the unfolding present of a very special location will be the task, whist living in an ethical relationship with nature and treading as lightly as possible upon the land.’ The Egg was placed in the River in May and an Egg Cam is set to launch early July for those wanting to check up on how things are floating along.
If a swag of stars made up to look like cats hasn't already scared you today, then a good ol' dose of creepy clown horror just might. Bringing the second part of Stephen King's bestselling book to the screen, IT: Chapter Two returns to the exploits of maniacal clown Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård), as well as the gang of kids he's rather fond of terrorising. This time, however, all those teens have grown up. We've already seen the adult Losers Club in the first trailer for the unnerving sequel, which dropped back in May. Now, with San Diego Comic-Con currently in full swing, it's time for a second glimpse. While the initial IT's Sophia Lillis, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard and company all make an appearance as the younger versions of the characters, circa 1988-89, the likes of Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Bill Hader step into their shoes 27 years later. Yes, they're still being forced to put up with Pennywise's chaotic antics, including his love of sewers, his obsession with balloons and his usual white-faced, flame-haired get-up. Of course, the frightening villain has a few fresh tricks up his sleeve, as this sneak peek at a few of IT: Chapter Two's set pieces shows. It seems like every film features a hall-of-mirrors scene these days, including John Wick: Chapter Two and Us, but the concept is decidedly more terrifying when Pennywise is involved. And, while Stranger Things' third season just spent a fair amount of time at a carnival, again, IT: Chapter Two ups the ante by trotting out its unhinged clown. All of the jumps, bumps and bloody carnage takes place in King's usual setting of Derry, Maine once again, with the Losers Club all heading home to face the nightmare they thought they'd escaped. And, behind-the-scenes, original director Andy Muschietti (Mama) is back — so if you liked what he did the first time around, get ready for a second nerve-rattling serving. Watch the new trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhJ5P7Up3jA IT: Chapter Two releases in Australian cinemas on September 5, 2019.
UPDATE: September 16, 2019 — PUFFS or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at Certain School of Magic & Magic has extended its run, from Sunday, September 15 to Sunday, September 29. This post has been updated to reflect this. More than two decades since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone first reached bookshelves, and almost as long since the first film adaptation released in cinemas, it's safe to say that you've probably read your way through the franchise — and binge-watched all of the movies — more than once or twice. With Harry Potter and the Cursed Child currently on in Melbourne, you've likely made the trip to see the series' stage continuation, too. But, we're betting that you haven't delved into the story of the other kids at Hogwarts. An off-Broadway hit that's finally making its way to Brisbane, PUFFS or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at Certain School of Magic & Magic journeys to everyone's favourite enchanted school to spend time with characters other than the usual wizarding trio, their well-known friends or their infamous adversaries. While all the folks we all know and love were going about their epic business, a group of kids in Hufflepuff were there too. This is their tale. Potter parodies aren't new, but this comic take on the Boy Who Lived has proven a smash both in the US and Australia — and now it's playing Brisbane Powerhouse from Friday, August 23 to Sunday, September 29. Whether you just need more spellbinding entertainment in your life, or fancy a good giggle, this popular production promises to deliver faster than you can say "accio fun!".
Christmas day and backyard cricket might go hand in hand, but Victoria Park's mini-golf course keeps adding its own sporty suggestion to festive season. Fancy tap, tap, tapping around a putt-putt course to compete against your date, mates and/or family for supremacy — on Christmas-themed greens at that? That's where the Herston site's annual bit of merriment comes in. Victoria Park's Halloween course is gone for the year, with festive cheer, decorations and sculptures set to take its place from Friday, November 10, 2023–Wednesday, January 3, 2024. The seasonal makeover will deck the greens with jolliness all round. Usually, that means baubles, lights, mistletoe, trees both green and white, and more. Also gracing the kidulting favourite: bells, bows and twinkling lights. In past years, the course has also sported holly, giant candy canes, gingerbread houses, elves, toy soldiers, polar bears and everything else festive that it can think of. Reindeers and Santa are usually involved, too, and different sections of the 18-hole site tend to be designed around ideas like Chrissy Down Under, Santa's mailroom and Christmas morning — plus there's even been a festive feast fairway, The North Pole and a 'deck the halls' hole. Find out whether you're naughty or nice while swinging a club from 6am–10pm Sunday–Thursday and 6am–11pm Friday–Saturday — which means that you can stop by on your way to work, during your lunch break or after quittin' time as well. If you drop by post-6pm, you'll take to the green beneath Christmas lights, naturally. If vying for mini-golf glory while getting merry also feels like an occasion for a beverage, boozy tequila slushies will be on offer. Also, the course lets you order drinks and snacks as you play. Christmas Putt Putt takes over the Victoria Park Putt Putt Course at 309 Herston Road, Herston from Friday, November 10, 2023–Wednesday, January 3, 2024, operating 6am–10pm Sunday–Thursday and 6am–11pm Friday–Saturday — with tickets costing $23 for adults. For more information, head to the venue's website.
Working at the exciting intersection of design, art and iced treats, American artist Wei Li has just embarked on a pretty interesting experiment. In an effort to understand how aesthetics dictate taste, she's crafted a range of ice blocks shaped like totally unappealing things. Her series, Dangerous Popsicles, features treats that resemble a range of cacti, influenza, E-coli, HIV and chicken pox. Yum! If you thought the plastic corners of Zooper Doopers were dangerous, this stuff is undoubtedly next level. Modelled exclusively after dangerous viruses and cacti, Li's popsicles are armoured with little bulbs and thorns that make them incredibly difficult to eat. But here's the catch. Though they're made with the help of silicon moulding, these little jerks are comprised of the simple sugar and water recipe you'd use for any standard ice block. Anyone who wants to devour their deliciousness has to first fight through the pain. This dichotomy is central to what Li is trying to explore. "What will happen when we put these dangerous thing on one of our most sensitive organs, our tongues?" she asks. "Does pain really bring pleasure? Is there beauty in user-friendly things?" The artist's concern with conflicting sensations is something she's explored in the past. Her hilarious (and totally disturbing) video work Machine Pornography is much the same. By filming tools and machinery equipment doing suggestive "sexual activities" — don't worry, it's not nearly as bad as it sounds — she tests the viewer's connotations of certain actions and presents something conflicting and unsettling. Though we doubt the Dangerous Popsicles will be hitting shelves any time soon, we'd love to give them a try. This is the only time we'll ever say this, but we could really do with some delicious influenza right about now. Via PSFK.
Along with Glastonbury, Coachella is one of the biggest, most famous and highly coveted music festivals in the world — the type of fest that everyone wishes they could nab a ticket to at least once. But 2020's eager revellers will need to wait a little longer to dance in a Californian field, with the festival joining the growing list of events changing plans due to the coronavirus. Originally slated to take place across two weekends next month — April 10–12 and 17–19 — Coachella 2020 has been postponed until October. If you've been preparing to head along, or you've just blocked out those dates to watch the always-popular livestream, you'll now be catching sets by headliners Travis Scott, Frank Ocean and Rage Against the Machine on October 9–11 and 16–18. Fest organisers haven't specifically commented on the lineup, but the event did post the full existing list of talent with its rescheduling announcement. So, for now, it's safe to assume that the same folks will hit the stage during the later timeslot — including Lana Del Rey, Flume, Calvin Harris, FKA Twigs, Run the Jewels, Charli XCX and Fatboy Slim. Announcing the shift of dates in a statement, Coachella's powers-that-be said "while this decision comes at a time of universal uncertainty, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously. We urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials". https://twitter.com/coachella/status/1237514789762416640 All ticket purchases for the original dates remaining valid for October — and for those no longer able to attend thanks to the postponement, refunds will be available. As COVID-19 keeps spreading around the globe, this kind of news is quickly becoming the new normal. Already today, Australian winter arts festival Dark Mofo has pulled the plug on its 2020 iteration. Coachella's delay comes hot on the heels of South by Southwest's cancellation this past weekend, less than a week before it was due to kick off for 2020. Last week, new Bond flick No Time to Die pushed back its release from April to November, too — and for upcoming events such as the Tribeca and Cannes film festivals, the Tokyo Olympics, Eurovision and the aforementioned Glastonbury, cancellations and/or postponements seem increasingly likely. Coachella will now run from October 9–11 and 16–18 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. To find out more information or register for the fest's waitlists, visit coachella.com. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
This exhibition is an unbridled celebration of summer. You might be sitting at your computer, slightly or heavily sweating, thinking that summer isn’t so great but think for a moment what summer entails; beaches, cold drinks, pool party’s, and in the words of Grease, summer lovin’. The cool peeps at the ARTDESIGNPRECINCT have gathered some great artistic talent to display a series of works celebrating the summer months and the hot lifestyle we enjoy here in Australia. Exhibting artists include Leisa O'Brien, Monique O'Callaghan, Helen Rowlands, Keith Virtue, Michelle Bowden, Marieke Van der Leest, Cecilia Hine, Annette Archer, Helen Shaw, Vivienne Searle, Dan Webb, Jeremy Keane, Elaine Weller. There aren’t many better ways to beat the heat than checking out some cool art. The exhibition is on until January 15, so be quick or this exhibition will be gone quicker than a 50 cent cone in the sun.
The term ‘boutique’ has accrued a lot of synonyms since coming into common parlance in recent years. When attached to a festival, it usually means ‘overpriced’, ‘obscure’ and ‘painfully hip’. But in a depressing festival landscape of hot, sticky summer sameness, one Brisbane crew is restoring the glory to the boutique festival name. The second Jungle Love is coming in November and they’ve carried on the integrity that defined their debut 2014 festival. So how does a festival do ‘boutique’ justice? Oh let us count the ways. Despite a relatively limited budget, the two-day lineup is impressive and mostly locally-sourced (all power to homegrown produce). It includes The Cairos, The Belligerents, Baskervillain, The Bombay Royale, The Cactus Channel, Bullhorn, The Durries, Resin Dogs, The Tommyhawks plus a fair few more for your festival listening pleasure. Jungle Love's lineup was chosen not necessarily for their ability to court triple j airtime but their stage presence, crowd-wooing tricks and the quality of the music they make. It’s a refreshing change from the standard festival shuffle of the top-played radio darlings and a return to what the summer festival should be: just a small group of people, hanging out in nature and enjoying some quality tunes. And don't forget the nosh — local culinary crews Lost Boys and Kettle and Tin will be there serving up organic chow to the happy masses. Location-wise, Jungle Love also solves the whole deadly-summer-heat thing (something most festivals overlook) by picking a spot with an onsite swimming creek. So bring your cutest togs and inflatable ring for dips between sets. It's just two hours' drive north of Brisbane, at Borumba Deer Park. But the best thing about Jungle Love, the thing that will melt hearts and draw crowds? It’s BYO, as nature intended. No more $10+ cans of Smirnoff Festival Edition™ that taste like sugary nuclear runoff. No more waiting in bar lines and missing important sets and feeling obliged to give your dog mates front cutsies. No more!
When Touch played Australia's Scandinavian Film Festival, which fittingly fills cinemas around the country each winter, it wasn't the only feature from Iceland on the program. Of the four titles from the Nordic nation, however, two of the fellow movies around this tender romantic drama fell into the thriller category. Scandi noir has become its own genre, buoyed by the success of efforts across the Nordic region such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels, and the likes of The Killing and The Bridge on TV. Icelandic television series Trapped also sits in the same camp, as created by one of its most-famous filmmaking names: director Baltasar Kormákur. Kormákur knows how to lean into the genre that the rest of the planet now considers synonymous with his part of the globe. He's also well-aware that there's far more to Iceland's screen output than its moodiest efforts, and how important it is to ensure that other tales are being told. An actor before moving behind the lens — and sometimes afterwards, including for himself — he's just as familiar with a recent trend among features from his homeland: movies with animal-themed titles (see: Of Horses and Men, Rams and Lamb). In comparison, Touch takes its own path, eschewing both noir and critters. That said, character-driven films are hardly new to the country; Kormákur has been there before himself, in fact, starting with his 2000 directorial debut 101 Reykjavík. Consider Touch a reminder, then, that crime-thrillers, the frosty landscape and the animals that live upon it are only a part of Iceland's storytelling. Hopping between Iceland, the UK and Japan, as well as between time periods, Kormákur's latest feature found its details on the page via the filmmaker's compatriot Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, who co-wrote the script — and its narrative spreads far beyond what's become regarded of late as typical Icelandic fare. It all kicks off in Reykjavík, where widower Kristófer (Egill Ólafsson, another Trapped alum) does indeed have a mystery to solve: the whereabouts of the woman he loved five decades earlier. In the late 60s, he was a student (played by the director's son Pálmi Kormákur, The Deep) in London who took a job in a Japanese restaurant, with a romance with his boss Takahashi-san's (Masahiro Motoki, Giri/Haji) daughter Miko (Kōki Kimura, Ushikubi Village) blossoming. Touch begins in 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was shutting down existence as everyone knew it. Before he flies out to the UK, it also commences with Kristófer receiving an early-stage dementia diagnosis. As the film flits back and forth between the elder version of the character on his search for the Hiroshima-born Miko and his memories of their time together, it contemplates paths not taken, connections that will never fade, choices that haunt and emotions that last forever. It plunges, too, into one of the 20th century's horrors and its lingering ramifications. Kormákur also sees Touch as a picture about seeking closure, and knows how universal that idea is — and how cathartic Kristófer's journey is to watch. He feels that link personally. "As the years come in, it becomes a heavier burden," he tells Concrete Playground. "There are things — you did something wrong to somebody, or weren't fair or left a love relationship in the way you shouldn't, whatever it is — there's the need to rectify and close. Not to necessarily pick up. I don't think Kristófer is there to pick up and run around with a newfound love, no. It's about finding closure and understanding. I have very strong ties to that. That has come very a heavy burden in my life, which I didn't think much about when I was in my 20s and 30s." [caption id="attachment_970779" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kormákur hasn't just crafted a departure from the current Nordic norm. He's now spent decades jumping between both sides of the Atlantic, with English-language action and survivalist movies dotted across his resume. The Mark Wahlberg (The Union)-starring Contraband and 2 Guns, scaling mountainous heights in Everest, the also based-on-a-true-tale Adrift, Idris Elba (Hijack) fighting lions in Beast: they've all boasted Kormákur behind the lens, but he doesn't see himself as linked to or fascinated by any one genre.[/caption] We also chatted with the filmmaker about discovering Ólafsson's book and being inspired to turn it into a film, celebrating a different kind of Icelandic movie than the kind worldwide audiences are often seeing of late, juggling Touch's different locations and eras, and casting when you're telling a story across half a century. On Kormákur Coming Across the Novel and Knowing That He Wanted to Turn It Into a Film "It was given to me by my daughter as a present for Christmas. And I opened it right away and started reading, and I couldn't put it down. I think I read it in less than 24 hours. First, it took its time in the beginning, and then it just got me more and more and more. And there's something about the way that it reflects time and life through the two story threads. I also wanted to find a love story, but a real one to me, something that would mirror my experience in some way with love, because I've had a relationship with love for now 58 years. It was just a great vessel for that in the movie. It's also very unusual for Icelandic films to have these kind of cross-cultural references, and an opportunity of travelling through space and time." On Making an Icelandic Film Away From the Country's Frosty Landscape and the Nordic Noir Genre "I think it's very important. I think it's actually more important, possibly, than people realise in the moment. I think always when you break a little bit of boundaries in telling stories, it gives the young people who are coming after you a different perspective and opens up to them — 'yeah, well if that's an Icelandic film, then I can maybe do something of that kind or something different'. I think with small countries, often there is a tendency that there are certain kinds of films that are accepted and tend to be repeated. We've done a lot of films about domestic animals in Iceland. I think every title — we have Lamb, we have Rams, we have Of Horses and Men. It's all good, very good films, don't get me wrong, but at some point we're running out of domestic animal titles. So it was about time for something else. But also I come from a background of two nations. I'm half Spanish and half Icelandic. My parents actually met pretty much like Miko and Kristófer in the story — in a restaurant in Reykjavík as my father was passing through. He was a Spanish artist escaping Franco at the time, and he ran into my mother and he just stood up in the restaurant. He was coming in, she was working in the restaurant, and 18 days later they were to be married — and 60 years later they're still together. Unfortunately he has a bit of Alzheimer's, like the character. So there's a lot of things that connected me to the story on many levels. Also the need for closure, which is very important to me, and I feel like is coming harder and harder down on me — like the need to close certain chapters and stories and make peace with them." On Balancing Multiple Different Time Periods — and Hopping Between Iceland, the UK and Japan "It was very, very complicated in terms of shooting. People thought Everest was complicated, but this is actually more complicated because there's also three languages. But I love it. We are allowing more languages and more culture into films, and it's getting more accepted, and I think it's really important. And for me, it has to be in the language that these people would authentically be speaking to each other. Then the market comes next and says 'I'm not going to...' because there was this idea, somebody came and said 'what about if Kristófer is in England rather than Icelandic and we can just have him...'. And yeah, it would work, but that's not my story. So, that's very important. And of course, it's incredibly complicated to create a restaurant. A Japanese restaurant in England 1969, there are hardly any references. But by digging, we found actually a couple still alive that ran a restaurant — a Japanese couple, immigrants in England — that gave us a lot of information about their place. So, for me it was so much about all the preparation and work. We had Japanese people working with us from day one, everyone possible in Iceland in the Japanese embassy. And the respect — when you come from a small culture like Iceland, your country and your culture has been tarnished by Hollywood, just because they don't care. It's a small market. So the names are usually wrongly used, and there is not much authenticity to the story. But I think that's lazy. Because you can tell this is a good story, and even better, you can just little do a little homework and digging and learning about cultures. Also, I love the fact, and I didn't say that in the beginning, that this story leads you to one of the most horrific acts in history, war crimes in history, in such a different and unique way. It's just to one victim that wasn't even born at the time of the bombing, and it affects a life of an Icelandic guy whose whole life is affected by this. So this choice of taking just a single view, when I read the book, I didn't see that coming — an Icelandic novel dealing with the aftermath of Hiroshima." On Casting When You're Working with Both Younger and Older Versions of the Same Characters "For me, it's more about finding the right person for its purpose. I wasn't necessarily chasing that it had to be totally aligned for Kristofer — for me, it's more important that the actors are right for the role and for their purpose, and then matching them up. It was very important for the younger actors that they would sit on the baseline in the role. They don't have to be playing someone else. They'll allow you to come closer, because falling in love is an intimate thing. And I wasn't going for the sexual version, I was going for the sensual version of it. And for me, it's very innocent and you have to allow the camera into the act rather than him playing it for you. And I think I chose the two of them from that perspective, the young cast. On the other hand, it was very important to me — I told you about my father — Egill reminds me a little bit of my father. A very nicely dressed man, even in his Alzheimer's and the fog of that, he always carries himself with some grace. Egill used to be the sex symbol of Iceland. He used to be this big singer and actor. All my youth, everyone knew who Egill was. Then, he now actually has Parkinson's, and it's just changed his whole demeanour. He's very gentle and he steps to the earth very carefully. I learned this about him, and I thought he was absolutely perfect for the role. It's just something about the grace and I wanted him to be romantic in a way, but not somebody you would feel sorry for — actually, you can go on this journey and you can want him to have his closure." On the Approach to Flitting Across Genres When Your Career Jumps Between Romance, Action, Thrillers, Survivalist Tales and More "I do not look at genre in the beginning of choosing a project. If something, like with Beast, I've been fascinated with lions all my life since I was a kid. I loved pictures of lions when I was a kid. When I got Everest, it was like 'this is like me walking to school in Iceland every day'. There are certain things that you just are drawn to, and then the genre comes around it. And then everyone, people are like 'oh, he's the action guy, he's the survival guy'. I've had so many versions of 'guy'. But for me, I just choose the project that I'm drawn to and genre is something that it comes after, and I work with that. I understand that genre or tone is very important. But I have many genres inside of me. I am an athlete in some ways, when I was younger. But I'm also a lover. These are two genres inside of me. So I'm full of genres, and I just don't want to limit myself to one thing. It's not conscious, to be honest. It's just when projects — like when I read this book, I love this book. I want to do it and then I do it. And then I let the specialists analyse it." Touch opened in Australian cinemas on Thursday, August 22, 2024. Images: Lilja Jonsdottir and Baltasar Breki Samper / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC.
And just like that, there was a teaser trailer — for HBO's new Sex and the City spinoff And Just Like That..., that is. First announced back at the beginning of 2021, and already locked in for a December release, the ten-part series reunites Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon more than a decade since they last shared a screen in the terrible 2008 and 2010 Sex and the City movies. And, if you're wondering what's in store, the first teaser trailer has just been released. Obviously, Parker's Carrie Bradshaw narrates the sneak peek. It really wouldn't be a Sex and the City-related series otherwise, and you'd probably want to a pair of Manolo Blahniks at your screen in protest if that was the case. This time, the famed fictional New Yorker is waxing lyrical about life's changes — and obviously the words "and just like that" get uttered. The teaser doesn't provide much in the way of narrative detail, but it is filled with images of Carrie, Miranda (Nixon) and Charlotte (Davis) going about their lives — and of plenty of other familiar Sex and the City faces as well. The series' main trio won't have Kim Cattrall's Samantha for company, but Chris Noth, Mario Cantone, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler and the late Willie Garson all return. Yes, that's Big, Anthony, Steve, Harry and Stanford all accounted for. Grey's Anatomy's Sara Ramírez features, too — and, in news that's worth raising a few cosmopolitans, the ten-episode spinoff now has an exact release date. So, you'll be able to stream the first two episodes on Thursday, December 9 via Binge in Australia, with new episodes dropping weekly on Thursdays afterwards. In New Zealand, it'll air on Neon and Sky Go from Friday, December 10, with new episodes dropping at 1pm each week. It'll also head to SoHo from 9.30pm on Mondays from December 20. Due to Cattrall's absence, And Just Like That... is being badged as a "new chapter' in the Sex and the City story, rather than an additional season of the existing 1998–2004 program. Parker, Davis and Nixon are also named as producers on And Just Like That..., alongside Michael Patrick King, who worked as a writer, director and executive producer on the original (and on the two movies). Check out the first teaser trailer below: And Just Like That... will start streaming in Australia via Binge from Thursday, December 9. In New Zealand, it'll air via Neon and Sky Go in New Zealand from Friday, December 10, and also on SoHo from 9.30pm on Mondays from December 20.
It is often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. However, there is considerable argument about who first said it. In this post modern era, it has been well argued that everything worth doing has probably already been done. And as anyone who has raided their grandparents' wardrobe for vintage classics will tell you, fashion and design are cyclical. Despite all this, as a culture we still value and believe in authenticity, innovation and originality. And we support the rights of artists and designers to sue the pants of anyone who wittingly rips their ideas off. But what if you unwittingly rip some off yourself? What if, by chance, two artists independently come up with the very same idea? Is that impossible? And where do you draw the line between being influenced by someone and blatantly copying their ideas? Where does referencing end and plagiarism begin? These are the questions which occupy retired professor of Graphic Design Bob Caruther, and are the theme behind his flickr page entitled, Similarities. In this extensive collection, Caruther pairs up two or more similar images without making either comment or judgement. In many pairs the similarities were well-intentioned, as for example in Rufus Wainwright's homage to Judy Garland and The Clash's homage to Elvis Presley. However, in other examples, intentions are not quite as clear, leaving the viewer to contemplate whether the later image is a coincidence, proof of an artistic collective unconsciousness, or grounds for a lawsuit. We'll let you decide.
For the next six months, a patch of rare Australian greenery is blooming on the other side of the world. As part of the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, more than 10,000 native grassland plants are currently sitting in and around the event's Australian Pavilion — not only highlighting the endangered nature of the species on display, but also showcasing the importance of architecture that integrates the natural with the man-made. In what the artists have dubbed a "living installation", visitors wander past an array of plants before entering a room filled with them, with the field of vegetation appropriately titled Grasslands. It's comprised of 65 species of Victorian Western Plains grasslands, of which only one percent remains in Australia since European settlement. As the exhibition's guiding forces — Melbourne architects Baracco+Wright (Louise Wright and Mauro Baracco) with collaborating artist Linda Tegg — explain, the plants on display are "smaller area than that of an average Australian family house. Such an area takes around an hour to bulldoze." Their statement about the impact of urbanisation, agriculture, grazing and industrial land use on native Australian plant life forms one part of the overall exhibition, which also has a very fitting moniker: Repair. As presented by the Australian Institute of Architects, the showcase also includes a piece called Skylight, and it's practical as well as informative. The custom-designed lighting installation mimics the sun's 24-hour cycle in order to keep the plants alive — and its daily rotation is drawn from Australian time and sun patterns. For energy, Skylight takes its power from the Italian electricity grid, using 64 percent fossil, 21 percent hydro, nine percent wind and solar, five percent nuclear, and one percent geothermal sources. The final aspect involves a video series titled Ground, as projected on five-metre by eight-metre screens throughout the pavilion — highlighting 15 architectural projects that embody different notions of the overall theme of repair. The Venice Architecture Biennale runs from May 26 to November 25. For more information, visit the Australian Pavilion's website. Images: Rory Gardiner
There’s an interesting trend in today's disaster movies. Yes, they all feature disaster, but less obvious (though almost always present) is the Estranged Family Subplot. If you don’t think you’ve seen it, you have, because just in recent years it’s been in Twister, 2012, The Day After Tomorrow, Deep Impact, Volcano, War of the Worlds, Independence Day and, now, San Andreas. What is it? A separated couple — usually with divorce papers freshly drafted — sees one of the pair now involved with a wealthier, more glamorous partner, while the other tries to reconnect with their angsty teenage child/children. Disaster then strikes, the new partner proves to be a vacuous douche who satisfyingly bites it and a series of deadly trials and tribulations ultimately brings the original family unit back into line. Point is: if you’re currently estranged from your ex but desire reconciliation, get yourself over to a tectonic hot-zone ASAP, because as they say: ‘nothing rekindles the flame better than literally everyone else around you dying in a horrible painful disaster’. As far as disaster movies go, San Andreas doesn’t break the mould; it just settles for breaking everything else per the catastrophe movie social contract. Our hero, a rescue helicopter pilot named Ray Gaines (Dwayne Johnson, aka ’The Rock’), is called into work after a giant earthquake lays waste to both San Francisco and his plans for a bonding weekend with his daughter Blake (True Detective's Alexandra Daddario). For the record, yes, Ray’s estranged wife (Carla Gugino) is also moving in with her wealthy new boyfriend (Ioan Gruffudd), and divorce papers have been dispatched. Estranged Family Subplot checklist: complete. Despite being a rescue pilot for the State, Ray opts to rescue only those people who feature in his family photo, meaning the bulk of the film involves him driving, boating or flying past hundreds of thousands of dying people in the hope of finding his own daughter. Disaster movies, of course, are all about the special effects, and in San Andreas they are genuinely spectacular, with giant quakes rippling through entire cities like waves beneath sawdust. Skyscrapers topple, boulevards buckle and a tsunami stares down the Golden Gate Bridge like it’s some sort of Godzilla. In what marks a major departure for the genre, scientists are again the ones who predict it all (chief amongst them, Paul Giamatti), but this time there’s no 'this is mankind’s own fault’ lecture. It’s pure and simple Mother Nature vs People, and Mama’s well pissed. San Andreas is a film where big muscles and big chests (both male and female) dominate the screen, which in the 3D format is almost comical at times. Performances are rarely noteworthy in disaster movies, but in this case Game of Thrones’s Art Parkinson deserves a mention as the romantic interest’s younger brother Ollie. Beyond that, though, San Andreas’s star is the disaster itself, and, thankfully, an earthquake can’t mutter incomprehensibly corny lines like its victims so often do. ‘Big, Dumb and Fun’ should almost be its own genre by now, and San Andreas is nothing but.
If you're just a hunk, a hunk of burning love for the one and only Elvis Presley, and you live in Australia, you've been having quite the year or so. For four months in 2022, a massive exhibition dedicated to the king of rock 'n' roll hit Bendigo. Since June, Baz Luhrmann's AACTA-winning and Oscar-nominated biopic Elvis has been wowing fans at festivals, then in cinemas, then also at home. And now, when the middle of 2023 hits, a new Presley-focused stage musical will start doing the rounds across the country. Called Elvis: A Musical Revolution, this brand-new production will feature more than 40 of the singer's hits, because there's just that many songs to include. Expect all of the favourites to be worked into the biographical musical, which means everything from 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Hound Dog', 'That's All Right' and 'All Shook Up' through to 'Suspicious Minds', 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'Burning Love' and 'Blue Suede Shoes'. 'Good Rockin' Tonight', 'Earth Angel', 'Don't Be Cruel' and 'Are You Lonesome' are also set to get a whirl as well, as are 'Blue Moon of Kentucky', 'See See Rider', 'Can't Help Falling in Love' and 'A Little Less Conversation'. That's what you'll be hearing. As for what you'll be seeing — what'll make the musical one for the money, naturally — the show's action will tell Elvis' tale from his childhood in Tupelo, Mississippi through to his triumphant '68 Comeback Special. If you've seen the aforementioned Elvis, none of it will be new news, but expect Elvis: A Musical Revolution to work its hip-swinging magic anyway. Exact dates haven't yet been revealed, or a full list of cities that'll get this musical in their buildings. But the show will get started at Sydney's State Theatre in July, and also head to Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre from September. Cross your fingers for more stops afterwards. The cast hasn't been unveiled yet either, with a national talent search set to be held to find the right actor to slip into the blue suede shoes. Yes, following up Austin Butler's Oscar-nominated efforts will be a huge task. Elvis: A Musical Revolution hails from David Venn Enterprises, which has also been behind Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical, The Wedding Singer and Bring It On: The Musical — and arrives via a partnership with Authentic Brands Group, the owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises. Also behind the scenes, the musical's book comes courtesy of David Abbinanti and Sean Cercone — who have Saturday Night Fever: The Musical and Ghost: The Musical on their resumes — with Abbinanti also composing the orchestrations, arrangements, and additional musical and lyrics. "We are honoured to be tackling one of the world's greatest icons through a Broadway musical. Elvis' life is such fervent ground for this medium from his epic concerts to his unprecedented meteoric rise to fame. There was no roadmap, no guide, and no limit on what could be created. His journey, from dirt-poor shotgun shack Tupelo, Mississippi to a singular name, Elvis has fascinated generations and we're excited to have him tell it in his own way," said Abbinanti and Cercone. ELVIS: A MUSICAL REVOLUTION 2023 AUSTRALIAN DATES: From July 2023 — State Theatre, Sydney From September 2023 — Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne Elvis: A Musical Revolution will start touring Australia from July 2023. Head to the show's website for further details, and to join the ticket waitlist — with seats on sale from Wednesday, March 1.
Directed by David Mackenzie (Young Adam, Hallam Foe), You Instead is a romantic comedy that is set and filmed live at T In The Park, one of Scotland's biggest music festivals. The rock'n'roll love story begins when two musicians are handcuffed together after a feud. Adam (Luke Treadaway) is the lead singer from an electro-pop band and Morello (Natalia Tena) plays in a post punk riot band struggling to make it to the top. Morello's band is going to play their biggest gig at T in the Park and being handcuffed to Adam makes things a little more interesting. After spending so much time together they realise that there may be a connection between them, proving difficult as Adam has a supermodel girlfriend and Morello is dating a banker. Concrete Playground has five double passes to giveaway. To go in the running to win tickets to You Instead, make sure you're subscribed to Concrete Playground then email your name and postal address to us at hello@concreteplayground.com.au
If your idea of bliss is a lengthy soak in warm water in a stunning location, you have a date with the outback Queensland town of Cunnamulla in your future. Before summer is out, it'll be home to a new hot springs that boasts seven geothermic pools, is perched right by Warrego River for the ultimate in scenic surroundings, and will also get you relaxing by sunrise and sunset. And, it hails from the Peninsula Hot Springs crew. Not content with getting folks steeping on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula and at Metung Hot Springs in East Gippsland — both in a state vying to become home to a 900-kilometre hot springs trail — plus at Maruia Hot Springs in New Zealand, the team is spreading its footprint. Cunnamulla Hot Springs was announced in 2023, and originally set to launch last winter; however, the fact that the Peninsula Hot Springs Group is now running it is new, and so is the Thursday, February 1, 2024 opening date. The local Paroo Shire owns the five-star venue, which cost $11.7-million to establish, with contributions from both the federal and Queensland state governments. But, now that Cunnamulla Hot Springs will soon welcome in patrons after becoming the largest-funded project that the Paroo Shire Council has ever undertaken, it has handed over day-to-day operations to one of the big Australian names in the business. The site's pools are surrounded by native trees, and feature mineral- and vitamin-rich water taken from and heated naturally by the artesian basin underneath. Learning about the latter around your soak is also part of the experience — relaxing your body and feeding your mind at the same time. Each of Cunnamulla Hot Springs's bathing spots sport different temperatures, so you can get steamy, opt for a stint in the chilled plunge pool or both. One has been specifically built to be shallow, so that folks sitting in it can gaze at the stars in the most immersive way possible. In the state-of-the-art complex, a sauna and a steam room is also part of the setup, as is an area for salt scrubs and clay masks. The aforementioned early-morning and late-afternoon dips are all about taking advantage of day's cooler temperatures. Dawn bathing starts at 6am, while a twilight soak is on offer from 5–9pm on weekdays. Patrons aren't merely surrounded by Cunnamulla's landscape as they sit; everything about Cunnamulla Hot Springs has taken its cues from its environment, with Cox Architects on design duties. Think: earthy colours, and using stone and ironbark timber among other natural materials — plus the thermal waters, of course. "Cunnamulla Hot Springs in one of the remotest destinations in one of the least populated countries in the world. We want guests to connect with the outback, the local indigenous communities and most importantly, the water — the mineral-rich artesian water that is found at Cunnamulla," said Peninsula Hot Springs' Charles Davidson. "Our hope is that Cunnamulla Hot Springs will create a sense of community by embracing the land, culture and wellbeing — as the Mornington Peninsula did when it opened, over 18 years ago." When it was announced last year, Cunnamulla Hot Springs was named as a highlight on the Outback Queensland Traveller's Guide, which is filled with things to do inland in the Sunshine State. Queensland isn't just about beaches, rainforests and the tropics, even if that's what it's best known for. So, the bathing venue joins everything from starlight river cruises in Longreach and Winton's Australia Age of Dinosaurs Museum through to the Southwest Queensland Indigenous Cultural Trail and a heap of national parks (and other outback spas and baths, including in Julia Creek, Bedourie, Quilpie, Mitchell and Yowah). If you're now planning a trip to Cunnamulla, it's around a nine-hour drive west from Brisbane, with flights via Rex, and also boasts an outback river lights festival; the Artesian Time Tunnel, which explores the Artesian Basin's history; and safari-style glamping — among other attractions. Cunnamulla Hot Springs will open at Lot 5 Ivan Street, Cunnamulla, Queensland on Thursday, February 1 — head to the venue's website for bookings and further information. 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.
Here's an incredibly obvious but still always true statement: the finest sushi you'll ever eat is found in Tokyo. That's just a delicious reality, but so is struggling to get into the best sushi joints during your Japan holiday because they're impossible to book. Thanks to Melbourne eatery Uminono, however, there's now a tour jetting out of Australia this spring that'll let you spend five nights eating your way through Tokyo's finest sushi restaurants. And yes, it takes care of all the reservations for you — including to quite the selection of exclusive spots. First, you'd best check your bank account. The Uminono x Plan Japan Luxury Sushi Discovery Experience doesn't come cheap, costing $9600 if you're willing to share a room and $11,900 if you want to bunk solo. But that fat stack of cash will get you the kind of Tokyo holiday you've only dreamed of, as co-guided by Uminono sushi chef Arnaud Laidebeur. Between Sunday, September 25–Friday, September 30 — departing out of Melbourne, and presumably assuming that Japan allows tourists back in by that time — this trip will hit up the likes of eight-seater boutique Sushi Amamoto, which boasts two Michelin stars, plus acclaimed chef Masamichi Amamoto in the kitchen; and Sugita, an extremely well-known standout that uses traditional Edomae skills to make its sushi. Also on the list are Ginza's Hakkoku, a six-seater that serves up to 30 different fish varieties; and Sushi Kimura, which is all about aged sushi and non-conventional fish varieties. While sushi is the main focus, the tour also includes a range of Tokyo fine-diners with a particular focus on French-Japanese fusion. So, that means a meal at the world-acclaimed Sugalabo, as well as Florilège and Été, with the latter only seating up to four guests a day. The exact itinerary hasn't been locked in just yet, but other restaurants on the list include Arai, Shimazu, Takamitsu and Sushi Ryujiro among the sushi spots; Ode from the French-Japanese eateries; and also eight-seater upmarket seafood and steak joint Tacubo, yakitori standouts Torishiki and Yakitori Eiki, yakiniku spot Yoroniku, the wagyu-covering Wagyumafia, Toyosu market, and a heap of street food and ramen places. Only six seats are available for the tour's September dates — so if this'll let you live your sushi dreams, and you can afford it, getting in quick is obviously recommended. And, you'll be slumbering in hotels to match the luxe culinary experience on offer, such as Palace Hotel Tokyo in the Marunouchi district and Shangri-La Tokyo, which is right near Tokyo Station. The Uminono x Plan Japan Luxury Sushi Discovery Experience arrives in Tokyo on Sunday, September 25, then returns to Melbourne on Friday, September 30. For more information or to register your interest, head to the Plan Japan website.
Love indulging in a few-too-many gins on a summer evening, but don't love the dull, dehydrated, hungover face you wake to the next day? We've now got the perfect solution, thanks to an exciting new collaboration between two beloved Aussie brands: Four Pillars Gin and Go-To Skincare. Together they've launched My New Go-To Gin, a new "wildly limited edition" spirit set to be your tipple of summer. The perfect Christmas present for both that skincare fanatic and gin connoisseur in your life, this new addition to your liquor cabinet has all of the peachy goodness you'd expect from Zoe Foster Blake's beloved beauty brand. Not only is it made with quandong, a native Aussie peach and some tart ruby grapefruit, the familiar Go-To label aesthetic means you could probably add it to your bathroom counter's line-up, and nobody would notice anything out of the ordinary. And if you sip a few too many the night before another event (hello, festive season) you're in luck: Every bottle comes with a Go-To 'Transformazing' sheet mask to soak your skin in much-needed moisture. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Go-To (@gotoskincare) Go-To Skincare has become well-known for its cult following of skincare fanatics across the world. The beauty venture from Foster-Blake has been so wildly successful since its 2014 launch, she just sold her majority stake in the company for a cool AU$89 million. Meanwhile, Aussie spirits producer Four Pillars has also become well-known known for innovation. Its inventive collaborations and tasty creations like the rare dry and bloody shiraz gin ranges have earned it the title of World's Best Gin for two years running now. With two very intense fanbases onboard, we imagine this one is going to sell out from shelves quick smart, so do yourself a favour and grab it while you can. Currently, it's just available for sale on the Four Pillars website, with orders limited to maximum of one per order — it's up to you if you gift it to a friend, or keep it for yourself. They've also included a specialty cocktail recipe, perfect for the festive season. Find more information about My New Go-To Gin on the Four Pillars website.
Ethel Carrick and Emmanual Phillips Fox’s marriage in 1905 was the beautiful beginning of Australian’s most prominent relationship in the art world. They spent their early years travelling the world and interpreting the sights into impressionist paintings. Now, for the first time both artist’s works will be presented together at the Queensland Art Gallery as the exhibition Art, Love and Life: Ethel Carrick and E. Phillips Fox. QAG has collected over 100 paintings, works on paper and related paraphernalia from their lives that will be on display from April 16 to August 7. The couple’s work is noted for its reflections on culture at the beginning of the last century, depicting what life was like at that time. Several prominent paintings were completed during their time overseas and heavily feature North Africa, as well as Italy, France, England and Spain. This collection is truly worthwhile and a loving tribute to a couple that had equal dedication to each other, their work and the art industry. Even if art isn’t your thing normally, love should be, and this collection is a wonderful celebration of two lives and their shared passions.
When May hits, the Gold Coast will boast yet another attraction — and it doesn't involve sun, surf, sand or theme park rides. Southeast Queensland's popular tourist destination will open its new $60.5 million, six-level art gallery, which'll become the country's largest art gallery outside of a capital city. If the news sounds familiar, that's because it was first announced back in 2018, with an early 2021 opening date set at the time. And yes, it's sticking to that timeframe. While the pandemic has delayed more than a few things over the past year, the new addition to HOTA, Home of the Arts at Surfers Paradise's isn't among them. It'll launch on Saturday, May 8. Art lovers can get excited about a multi-floor gallery with more than 2000 square metres of exhibition space, including a main area that'll be used for touring exhibitions, plus a permanent collection space across three levels, a children's gallery and an area for storing works that aren't on display. Simply called the HOTA Gallery, it has been built at the top of the site's concert lawn, and overlooks HOTA's outdoor stage. View-wise, there'll be much to look at if you're keen on gazing at creative pieces. That includes two sculptural installations that'll be placed outside, as created by Queensland Waanyi artist Judy Watson and Sri-Lankan born, Sydney based artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran. Watson's artwork will hero Indigenous native plants, plus a pathway that forms a topographical map of Nerang prior to European settlement. Piccabeen basket and dilly bag sculptures designed with Quandamooka artists Libby Harward and Elisa Jane Carmichael will also feature, as will a two-metre-tall feather canopy and snippets of local language sandblasted onto the bleachers. As for Nithiyendran, he has crafted a six-metre-high, double-sided sculpture made out of bronze, concrete, neon and fibreglass that's designed to reflect the vibrancy of the new building. Visitors will also be able to peer at something other than the art gracing the walls, with the building featuring a rooftop bar and restaurant. Called The Exhibitionist Bar, it'll take over 233 square metres, and pair panoramic views with tapas, share plates, cocktails, wine, beer and house-made sodas. And, it's also opening in May. Both indoor and outdoor terrace seating will feature, and you'll get a vantage that sprawls over the Goldie's waterways, Surfers' Paradise skyline and the hinterland. Plus, in terms of decor, the venue is taking its cues from rainforests — as does the building itself, which is inspired by William Robinson's 'The Rainforest'. HOTA Gallery and The Exhibitionist Bar are both set to open at HOTA, Home of the Arts, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise on Saturday, May 8. For more information, visit the HOTA website. Top images: Scott Chrisman, Pixeltape Media
Cliffhangers aren't a new creation. On the page, abrupt endings and shock revelations that leave you hanging for the next chapter date back centuries, in fact. On the screen, they've been around as long as movies and TV shows have existed, too, and have popped up in everything from The Empire Strikes Back to Twin Peaks. Streaming platforms love them with a particular passion, however. End an episode with a cliffhanger, and viewers will ideally keep watching the next instalment right there and then, and the one after that, until they've just binged the entire program in one go because they simply couldn't wait to find out what happens. We've all been in that situation — and, once you press play on Dr Death, you're likely to find yourself in that same terrain again. Now streaming on Stan, the true-crime series deploys the tactic masterfully. When each episode ends, the audience desperately wants more. That's a product of the show's structure, with jumping around between different years in Christopher Duntsch's life part of its approach, and also a result of the stressful story itself. As played by Joshua Jackson (Little Fires Everywhere), Duntsch is full of charm when he's trying to encourage folks with spinal pain and neck injuries into his operating theatre — or when he's attempting to convince hospitals, particularly in Texas, to hire him. But again and again, those surgeries end horrendously. And if he's not endeavouring to sweet talk someone to get what he wants — and maintain the reputation and lifestyle he demands — the neurosurgeon's charisma melts into pure arrogance, including when he's dealing with his patients post-surgery and/or their loved ones. That's the narrative that Dr Death charts, all based on Duntsch's real-life tale — with the series following The Case Against Adnan Syed and the first and second seasons of Dirty John in jumping to the small screen from podcasts. If you've heard the Wondery release that shares Dr Death's name, you'll know how it all turns out, but that doesn't make the show any less effective. If you're coming to it all anew, prepare to watch a horrific scenario unfold over and over in this eight-episode drama. The longer he's allowed to operate, the bleaker Duntsch's story gets, all while fellow Texas surgeons Randall Kirby (Christian Slater, Dirty John) and Robert Henderson (Alec Baldwin, Pixie) do whatever they can to bring his misdeeds to light. Working in Dallas during the past decade, Duntsch was originally a rising neurosurgery star. Then, as the series charts, his patients started leaving the operating theatre either permanently maimed or dead. And, as Kirby and Henderson begain to realise, these weren't just the kind of mistakes that any highly skilled surgeon might make. If you've ever faced going under the knife, this is pure, unfettered and deeply disturbing nightmare fuel — and Dr Death rightly treats it as such. The plot here is inherently petrifying anyway, given that it all really happened; however, directors Maggie Kiley (another Dirty John alum), Jennifer Morrison (also an actor on House) and So Yong Kim (Lovesong) draw out every ounce of terror and tension, as does series creator Patrick Macmanus (Homecoming) and his writing staff. Playing Duntsch, Jackson is worlds away from his well-known work on Dawson's Creek, The Mighty Ducks and Fringe. When the situation calls for it, he can win over whoever he needs to, but something chilling lingers in every moment. It's a powerful performance in a series that also boasts great work from Slater and Baldwin — the former sliding into his usual talkative on-screen persona, and gifted one particular line that'll make Mr Robot fans laugh; the latter operating in a quieter and more solemn tenor. As the Dallas prosecutor who takes the case, AnnaSophia Robb (Words on Bathroom Walls) plays dogged and determined with aplomb as well. Obviously, this is grim viewing — and gripping, anxiety-riddled, cliffhanger-filled and highly bingeable viewing, too. It's also a damning indictment of America's health system, the push for profits infiltrating medicine, the lack of checks and balances afforded egotistic white men with high-powered jobs, and the rockstar standing that's handed out much too easily and quickly to those same culprits. Check out the trailer below: Dr Death is available to stream now via Stan. Top image: Scott McDermott/Peacock.
Sydneysiders, don't throw away your shot to see the biggest thing in musical theatre this century — again. Lin-Manuel Miranda's game-changing, award-winning, rightly raved-about Hamilton is returning to the Sydney Lyric Theatre after its lockdown-induced shutdown. You'll only have a few months to be in the room where it happens, however, before Melburnians will get their turn. In Sydney, the hit show will return to the stage on Tuesday, October 19 — a day before fellow big-name musical Come From Away will also resume its local season. Hamilton's Lyric Theatre run is now set to last until Sunday, February 27, with the production already slated to kick off its Melbourne shows at Her Majesty's Theatre from Wednesday, March 16. Like much about life after lockdown, there'll be a few rules in place for Sydneysiders eager to take an all-singing, all-dancing trip through US history, with updated conditions of entry set to come into effect. While Come From Away has already announced that it'll only be welcoming in fully vaccinated audiences, the requirements to see Hamilton haven't yet been revealed, other than noting that the show will operate "in line with the relevant NSW Government Public Health Order when it is available." All current ticketholders will be contacted by the Sydney Lyric Theatre with the updated guidelines, while all new customers will be need to accept the conditions of entry when they buy their tickets. The Broadway blockbuster finally made its way to Australia earlier this year, opening in March with a cast that includes Jason Arrow as Alexander Hamilton, Chloé Zuel as Eliza Hamilton, Lyndon Watts as Aaron Burr, Akina Edmonds as Angelica Schuyler, Matu Ngaropo as George Washington, and Victory Ndukwe as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. Also featuring in this lively exploration of 18th-century American politics in song: Shaka Cook as Hercules Mulligan and James Madison, Marty Alix as John Laurens and Philip Hamilton, Elandrah Eramiha as Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds, and Brent Hill as King George III. Haven't become a Hamilton obsessive yet? Not quite sure why it has been the most-talked about theatre show of the past six years? The critically acclaimed hip hop musical, for which Miranda wrote the music, lyrics and the book, is about the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, as well as inclusion and politics in current-day America. In addition to its swag of Tony Awards — 11 in fact, which includes Best Musical — it has nabbed a Grammy Award and even a Pulitzer Prize. The filmed version of its Broadway production also just won an Emmy. Over the past few months — and before March this year — Australians eager to see the show had to be content with watching that stage-to-streaming recording, which hit Disney+ in 2020 (and yes, it's as phenomenal as you've heard). Tickets for Sydney shows are back on sale, with seats for dates between Tuesday, December 21–Sunday, February 27 set to release on Friday, October 1. Melbourne tickets are currently on sale now, too — and Brisbanites, start crossing your fingers that Hamilton plans a move up north after its Melbourne run. Hamilton will return to the Sydney Lyric Theatre from Tuesday, October 19–Sunday, February 27, with tickets on sale now. It'll then kick off its Melbourne season at Her Majesty's Theatre from Wednesday, March 16. Head to the musical's website for further details. Images: Daniel Boud.
Late in the second season of Dr Death, the concept of trust in healthcare fuels a rousing speech. In a plea for a hospital to make the right choice about the titular practitioner, the importance of doctors doing their utmost to earn, deserve and uphold the faith that patients put in them — and that the entire medical industry is based on — is stressed like it's the most important aspect of being in the healing business. It is, of course. That anyone with an ailment or illness can have confidence that they're being given the best advice and treatment, and that whether they live or die matters to the doc caring for them, is the most fundamental tenet of medicine. It's also why this anthology series keeps proving shiver-inducing nightmare fuel, initially in its debut season in 2021 and now in its eight-episode follow-up. Streaming via Stan in Australia and TVNZ+ in New Zealand from Friday, December 22, season two of Dr Death again explores the actions of a surgeon who threatens to shatter humanity's shared belief in doctors. The first time around, Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was sparking terror. Now, the series tells of Paolo Macchiarini. Where Duntsch specialised in operating on spinal and neck injuries, often with heartbreakingly grim results, Macchiarini was dubbed 'Miracle Man' for his pioneering research into synthetic organs and regenerative medicine. In 2008, he was among the team that undertook the world's first-ever windpipe transplant aided by using the patient's own stem cells — a procedure that he hailed as a ground-breaking step forward, then kept building upon. Even without knowing the specifics of Macchiarini's life and career when sitting down to binge Dr Death's second season — which is compellingly bingeable in a can't-look-away fashion — it's obvious that everything that the Swiss surgeon claims can't be true. If it was, he wouldn't have been the subject of the third season of the Wondery podcast that originated the Dr Death moniker, or of this TV adaptation. Hospital horrors are one strand of true-crime's trusty go-tos. Another: romantic scandals. So, when the audio network that's also behind Dirty John learned of Macchiarini, it must've felt like it had hit the jackpot. With devastating results that are chilling to watch, his patients did when he offered them hope, too. With Édgar Ramírez (Florida Man) as Macchiarini and Mandy Moore (This Is Us) as investigative journalist Benita Alexander, two unnerving stories sit inside Dr Death's return. One examines the doctor who promises survival to people with tracheal injuries or cancer, or who were born without the tube connecting the larynx to the lungs, via new experimental surgery. Later, he'll also pledge a fresh lease on life to folks who aren't facing death, turning the operation into an elective procedure. The other narrative focuses on a woman who falls for a con man. Macchiarini is the key figure in both, with his charm helping put his patients at ease and get Alexander to see him as more than just a subject. Their paths cross when she's looking for feel-good news content, choosing producing a special about his efforts with two-year-old Hannah Warren (first-timer Naomi Rothing), a candidate for a biosynthetic windpipe. Although every episode of Dr Death season two jumps between countries and years — across the 2010s, Macchiarini worked in Sweden, the US and Russia — creator and writer Ashley Michel Hoban (The Girl From Plainville) pushes the rom-con to the fore to begin with, leaving much of the quest to expose medical malpractice to later instalments. Accordingly, early chapters spend more time with Alexander in New York as she dives into her gushing Macchiarini report while coping with an ex-husband (Jason Alan Carvell, Godfather of Harlem) facing terminal cancer and supporting her pre-teen daughter Lizzi (Celestina Harris, Yuletide the Knot). When the bulk of the attention shifts to the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm after casualties start mounting, doctors Ana Lasbrey (Ashley Madekwe, The Strays), Anders Svensson (Gustaf Hammarsten, Parliament) and Nathan Gamelli (Luke Kirby, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel) relentlessly pursue their mission to stop Macchiarini from inflicting harm. The flitting-about structure isn't this season's strongest choice, but it's done with a purpose: putting viewers unacquainted with Macchiarini firmly in Alexander's shoes. From the outset, Dr Death's audience sees the transplantees who don't make it, the cavalier attitude in the operating theatre, Gamelli's skepticism from the moment the Karolinska Institute commences fawning over its star arrival and the concerning results of Svensson's trials in rats for Macchiarini. With Ramírez all enigmatic charm in the show's initial half, however, they also spy why Alexander flouted journalistic ethics to have an affair with and then plan to marry the surgeon (and fell for claims that the Pope would officiate their lavish wedding). Across both his professional and personal spheres, Dr Death demonstrates how Macchiarini trades so ruthlessly and manipulatively in hope as well, with patients and Alexander alike seeing the doc as their solution for a better future. Ramírez is convincingly smooth as Macchiarini at his most charismatic and glossily shot, while always exuding an air of insincerity like everything that he's saying is too good to be true (again, it is) if you question it. He's also hauntingly petrifying whenever he's challenged, and in the utter lack of regard he has for anyone under his knife's welfare despite claims to the contrary. Moore ensures that Alexander isn't seen as dewy-eyed or simply easily duped out of grief; that she's astute and capable makes Macchiarini's scam all the more distressing. Combining compassion, anger and exasperation, Kirby gives Dr Death's best season two performance, though, especially in a traumatic episode about Yesim Cetir (Alisha Erozer, in her first TV role) and the 191 surgeries that sprang from being in Macchiarini's care — which visibly and emotionally charts the impact on the patient, plus the toll on the doctor trying to keep her alive. (Yes, that number is correct.) While Dr Death fleshes out the characters surrounding its latest titular figure, it isn't without its gaps. Still layered within is the infuriating lust for fame, prestige and money, including over safety, that drives not only Macchiarini but also the institutions that court, celebrate and protect him. The media's role in boosting his status is given less scrutiny, even though this story screams for it. He isn't just a true-crime favourite now — 2023 has brought two new on-screen accounts about Macchiarini, following Netflix documentary Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife, which released in November — but was fêted by Alexander's report and others. Although Dr Death depicts interviews, spots headlines and seethes with fury generally, and can't be faulted for taking the human angle, the bleak reality that Macchiarini garnered so much trust because of his press-assisted reputation can't be shaken. Check out the trailer for Dr Death season two below: Season two of Dr Death streams via Stan in Australia and TVNZ+ in New Zealand from Friday, December 22. Images: Scott McDermott/Peacock.
Months before any athletes take to the track, field, pool and court, everyone's talking about the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. With the event coming to Queensland for the first time since 1982, it definitely won't just be business as usual — shops will be able to operate around the clock, an arts festival will take place across southeast Queensland and now Brisbane's trains will be thrown into disarray. Unsurprisingly, in order to get folks around the Goldie — and, between Brisbane and the coast too — a large number of trains will be needed. The State Government have just released the relevant travel information for the Games, which includes trains operating 24-hours a day, tripling the number of daily services on the Gold Coast, and running trains every 10 minutes, on average. But, as they've put it, it also features "some adjustments to heavy rail services across the wider SEQ network... due to the unprecedented demand of this world class event." For Brisbanites, that means services changes not only during the Games period of April 4 to 15, but from March 30 to April 20. Yes, that period runs over both Easter and the school holidays. Most lines will have their services cut to half-hourly in off-peak periods, and hourly on weekends and public holidays, as anyone riding the Caboolture, Cleveland, Doomben, Ferny Grove, Ipswich, Redcliffe, Shorncliffe and Springfield lines will experience. Those headed to and from the Sunshine Coast might find themselves dreaming of the proposed high-speed option that's been floated — but won't be operational yet — with services running every 90 minutes in off-peak times and every two hours on weekends and public holidays. And everyone along the Beenleigh line won't have trains at all from April 5 to 15, with buses operating instead. Queensland's railways aren't known for responding well to heavy demand, as anyone who has ever waited for a train that just hasn't shown up or been packed into a carriage on the Gold Coast line well and truly knows. And while the Goldie is certainly going to need all of the trains it can get if the usual crowded services are anything to go by, everyone in Brisbane just going about their regular, non-Games-attending business is going to be in for a significant wait for most of the month. Image: Ash Kyd via Flickr.
Kick-Ass is back. The self-made masked crusader (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has bulked up and is ready to deliver a bigger punch of vigilante justice to the criminals of New York City in Kick-Ass 2. He isn't the only one who has come back for more either; old friend Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) will join Dave Lizewski's heroic alter ego as they take on their nemesis Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who has restyled himself as The Mother Fucker in another bout of Hollywood comic book violence. There is also a gluttony of new superheroes and villains entering the good vs bad fray, most notably Jim Carrey, who is almost unrecognisable as the patriotic Colonel Stars and Stripes. Whilst the sequel is unlikely to hit the controversial heights of an 11-year-old Moretz hilariously dropping the C-bomb, the trailer suggests that it has lost none of its quirky humour, and if Jim Carrey's post-production Twitter reaction is anything to go by, we can look forward to a flurry of stylised screen violence that is set to make this another (kick ass) cult classic. Kick-Ass 2 is in cinemas August 22 and to celebrate we have ten double in-season passes to give away thanks to Universal Pictures. To be in the running, subscribe to our newsletter (if you haven't already) and then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
Danny and Michael Philippou know how to haunt. When the Adelaide-born twins unveiled their debut feature Talk to Me in 2023, a new Aussie horror sensation took the genre, and the world, by the hand to share its entertainingly eerie energy. The filmmakers behind it also became one of the hottest new things in scary movies. Two years later, the Philippous are returning with their sophomore effort — and, based on its just-dropped first teaser trailer, more must-see chills are on the way. After Talk to Me's huge success, including for cult-favourite distributor A24, sequel Talk 2 Me was quickly greenlit. But the filmmakers who started out their careers behind the camera as YouTubers RackaRacka will have Bring Her Back in cinemas first. Horror? Tick. A24 onboard? Tick again. Dancing with the dead once more? That seems to be the case as well. The non-Talk to Me flick that's combining all of the above, and also the Philippous (of course), stars The Shape of Water Oscar-nominee — and Wonka, Spencer, Paddington and Godzilla: King of the Monsters actor — Sally Hawkins. As the initial trailer shows, she plays a foster mother. The brother and sister newly in her care find more than just a new parent in her home, however. In the first sneak peek, this is a picture of grief, death and blood, plus strange circles and petrifying rituals. Alongside Hawkins, the Australian-made Bring Her Back also stars Billy Barratt (Kraven the Hunter), Jonah Wren Phillips (How to Make Gravy) and film first-timer Sora Wong. A24 went all-in on the Philippous after picking up Talk to Me in a Sundance Film Festival bidding war, when global attention started being showered upon the Aussie flick about shaking hands with an embalmed palm, feeling the rush while being haunted, having your mates watch and film it, and dealing with the spooky consequences. Danny and Michael made their feature directorial debut after racking up a huge following with RackaRacka's viral videos, and via behind-the-scenes work on Australian films such as The Babadook. Their first flick feature proved a big box-office success, taking in US$10 million on its opening weekend in America alone, which placed it second among A24's films after Hereditary. Across its big-screen run, it clawed its way up to second on the company's all-time worldwide list, after Everything Everywhere All At Once and Civil War. And, at the 2024 AACTA Awards, Talk to Me took home eight accolades, including Best Film of 2023, plus Best Director. Check out the trailer for Bring Her Back below: Bring Her Back releases in the US on Friday, May 30, 2025, but doesn't yet have a release date Down Under — we'll update you when more details are announced. Read our review of Talk to Me, and our interview with Danny Philippou.
How many times can you listen to Toto's 'Africa' in one sitting? Not sure? Well, you're about to find out — again. For the fifth year in a row, drums will echo and quiet conversation will be whispered at Black Bear Lodge's entire evening dedicated to appreciating the almost four-decade-old song. And yes, the rains will be blessed. It's gonna take a lot to take anyone away from a whole night focused on Toto's finest moment, even though the American band actually had some other catchy tracks. You'd expect that you won't be hearing 'Rosanna', which is commonly assumed to refer to actress Rosanna Arquette. Or 'Hold the Line', the tune that first put them on the map. Instead, it's 'Africa' all the way from 7pm on Wednesday, March 24. There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do to stop the song repeating over and over — and if you think you might find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies, think again. But, as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti, we're betting that somewhere there'll be a screen playing the music video as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQbiNvZqaY
Some film festivals celebrate the latest and greatest movies a particular part of the world has to offer. Others go broad and new, amassing hundreds of the freshest titles wowing the international circuit. Or, a cinema showcase might focus on a particular theme, such as human-rights issues. The Melbourne-based Human Rights Arts and Film Festival clearly takes the latter approach, and has been doing so more than a decade — including in its 2023 program. Exactly how this annual fest explores its subject matter, what it covers and where it screens has varied over the years. Past iterations have included stints around the country, and some fests have solely remained in the Victorian capital. Across Thursday, May 4–Tuesday, May 9, 2023's lineup is only hitting cinemas in-person in Melbourne, but has a date with viewers elsewhere thanks to its online component. In its physical form, HRAFF opens with Kash Kash — Without Feathers We Can't Live, a documentary from first-time filmmaker Lea Najjar about her hometown of Beirut. For folks elsewhere, or for those who can't make it along on the night, it's one of the movies on the event's digital bill as well. From a lineup that includes work from Iran, Brazil, Ireland, Lebanon, Venezuela, South Sudan, Mexico, the US, Canada and more, Melburnians can also look forward to North Circular, which highlights the importance of music in culture in Ireland; Dark Days, telling the tale of a community living in New York City's underground train tunnels in the 90s; and Uýra: The Rising Forest, about trans non-binary Indigenous artist Uýra. From Venice 2022, Alice Diop's Saint Omer is an absolute must-see, with the documentarian drawing from true events to craft a drama about a young Parisian journalist and novelist attending murder trial, then wading through the complexities it surfaces within her own family history. In The Last Daughter, Wiradjuri woman Brenda Matthews charts her experience being taken from her family as a toddler, growing up with a white foster family, then being returned to her parents. And in closing night's Fashion Reimagined, designer Amy Powney's efforts to create a sustainable collection are in the spotlight. Viewers watching on from home can also enjoy The Endangered Generation?, which boasts narration by Laura Dern (Jurassic World Dominion) as it explores the fight against climate change — plus the world-premiere of We Eatin' Good, which sees Matisse Laida and Nisha Hunter get recipes for food and life alike from members of Melbourne's queer community. To take care of the 'arts' part of its name, HRAFF is hosting two exhibitions as well: Real Job, which ponders how the labour of visual artists is so often neglected; and A Wholesome Gang, a storytelling photo series by South Sudanese Dinka woman Awak Rech Kongor (and shot and edited by artist Joshua Sims). The Human Rights Arts and Film Festival runs from Thursday, May 4–Tuesday, May 9 at various venues around Melbourne and online. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the festival's website. Top image: Nick Prendeville.
When Zach Braff announced he was making a follow-up to Garden State, there were mixed reactions. While the 2004 film was a landmark for quirky coming of age stories, the manic pixie dream girl and alternative tweens "finding themselves", time has not been kind to it. Yelling into the infinite abyss inevitably seems a bit more heavy-handed than meaningful these days, and yes, Natalie Portman, everyone has heard of The Shins now. Regardless, the (sort of) sequel is happening and its first inevitably twee trailer is here. Wish I Was Here tells the tale of a struggling thirtysomething actor who homeschools his two children out of financial necessity. You won't squeeze more plot than that out of the trailer, but what we can conclude is that the film will feature meaningful slow motion frontal shots, people looking impossibly magical underwater, another infinite abyss and more music from The Shins. Braff has constantly pointed out that the film isn't a direct sequel to Garden State, but more a continuation in theme and tone — a fact made pretty evident from the cringeworthy first line: "You can pick whatever [wig] you want. Just as long as it's unique and amazing... like you." The trailer comes just under a year after the controversial Kickstarter campaign that funded the film. Instead of teaming up with willing production companies, Braff opted to try his hand at crowdfunding. Though the project was wildly successful — garnering over $3 million — the filmmaker came under harsh scrutiny for taking advantage of his loyal fans. Despite the backlash, Braff claimed it was a necessary measure to retain creative control over his sophomore endeavour. Time will tell if those millions were worth it. Reviews from Wish I Was Here's Sundance premiere were less than kind, but the film won't see a general release in the US until July 18. At the very least, Braff will enjoy a ticket sale from each ex-Garden State devotee. Myself included.
The United Colors of Benetton is at the centre of controversy after the company's new 'Unhate' campaign showed some of the world's leading political figures locking lips. Benetton's advertising campaign addressed some of the most vital conflicts in global politics and turned them on their head in six striking, amusing images. These include North Korea's Kim-Jong Il kissing South Korean president Lee Myung-bak in a passionate embrace, while President Obama gets cosy with Venezualan president, Hugo Chavez. A statement from the brand said that they 'seek to contribute to the creation of a new culture of tolerance, to combat hatred, building on Benetton’s underpinning values. It is another important step in the group’s social responsibility strategy: not a cosmetic exercise, but a contribution that will have a real impact on the international community.' Not surprisingly, the campaign has been widely condemned and been labelled as disrespectful. The Vatican formally requested that images of the Pope be removed, and even threatened legal action against the brand. Benetton has since complied with their requests and taken down the image of the Pope sharing the love with Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, an Egyptian Imam. Have Benetton overstepped the line here? Conservative homophobes across the globe seem to think so. However, if a handful of photoshopped images of world-famous leaders are enough to cause such a reaction, we really should applaud this well-executed advertising campaign and its clear message of acceptance and tolerance. [Via PSFK]
The Queensland Youngblood organisation brings together media, marketing and advertising professionals and aspiring professionals together in a series of networking events throughout the year. These events help students meet high-profile industry professionals, gain contacts, learn about their craft and have a little bit of cheeky fun as well. The Blood Transfusion is the jewel in the Youngbloods crown. This is a Gruen Transfer style event that features a panel of marketing and advertising experts from Queensland’s top agencies discussing and dissecting current trends and campaigns, as well as providing advice to up-and-comers. Now in its third year, Blood Transfusion will surely be a great opportunity for young marketing professionals and also a great night out for anyone interested in marketing or advertising fields.
Richard Phillips was born in 1962 in Massachusetts during a socially and politcally turbulent time. His work as an artist is world renowned, iconic and largely recognisable. The popular large scale and hyper realistic paintings have been shown in numerous galleries including Le Consortium in Dijon, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Tate Modern in London. In short - he's big news. Lindsay Lohan, y'all know and definitely does not need much of an introduction. She's big, big celebrity news. Richard Phillips and Lindsay Lohan may sound like an unlikely artistic pair, but the more you think about what they collectively represent, you realise it makes sense. Richard predominately features women from popular culture in his work and especially loves 'wasted beauty'. And well, what a succinct way to describe Lindsay and her career? For those intrigued, the Institute of Modern Art is currently screening Richard Phillips’ Lindsay Lohan, which incredibly makes her seem almost sane and talented.
Yarra Valley winemaker Innocent Bystander might have temporarily closed to visitors, but there's now a virtual version of its cellar door that should help fill the void. The team's taking to Facebook to host a series of weekly wine-sipping sessions you can enjoy from the comfort of home. The Live Tasting Bar is set to grace screens from 5pm AEST over the next three Fridays, April 17–May 1, led by Innocent Bystander's own sommelier Margaret. Get comfy and tune in each week for a relaxed wine tasting experience, complete with tasting notes, food pairing tips and general wine-related chat. Each session will be themed around a different variety — from this Friday's Sipping Syrah to Chatting Chardonnay on May 1 — so you can line up a bottle of the same to sip while you watch. As an added bonus for those that want to stock up in preparation, the winery's offering a neat 20-percent-off all drops in its online store, along with free shipping.
After revealing its December programming last month, Moonlight Cinema has unveiled the next part of its 2021–22 program. As always, one piece of advice bears repeating: pack your picnic basket and get ready to watch a heap of flicks under the summer evening sky. While the outdoor cinema runs until different dates in different parts of the country — till mid-January in Adelaide, the end of January in western Sydney, late February in Brisbane, the end of March in Melbourne and Perth, and early April in Sydney — it's latest announcement focuses on its January films. So if you're keen to catch a movie under the stars over the break, take note. As always, plenty of recent favourites and new movies are on the bill — including No Time to Die, Dune, Spider-Man: No Way Home and West Side Story, as well as King Richard, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci and The Matrix Resurrections. Depending on your city, there's also the new Scream, The French Dispatch, Kristen Stewart playing Princess Diana in Spencer, sing-along sessions of Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star Is Born, and late-90s classic 10 Things I Hate About You. It's also worth remembering that every city is BYO except Brisbane — but, wherever you're settling in for an outdoor cinema session, there'll be food, snacks, a bar and (if you'd like to pay for them) bean bags as well. And, in great news for movie-loving pooches, you can bring them along to all venues except Perth, too. MOONLIGHT CINEMA 2021–22 DATES Adelaide: Friday, November 26–Sunday, January 16 (Rymill Park) Brisbane: Friday, November 26–Sunday, February 20 (Roma Street Parkland) Melbourne: Thursday, December 2–Sunday, March 27 (Royal Botanic Gardens) Perth: Thursday, December 2–Sunday, March 27 (Kings Park and Botanic Garden) Sydney: Thursday, December 9–Sunday, April 3 (Centennial Park) Western Sydney: Thursday, November 16–Sunday, January 30 (Western Sydney Parklands) Moonlight Cinema runs through until April 2022. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the cinema's website.
Praise be to science, the invisible threads that make sense of our nonsensical existence. From the cosmic majesty of astronomy to the life-saving arts of medicine, we owe a great deal to science. And, while we all spend our lives surrounded by it, let's not take it for granted. Science and the experts who champion it deserve to be celebrated — and that's exactly what happens at events like the World Science Festival Brisbane. This annual event series, taking place between Friday, March 15 and Sunday, March 24, puts the top experts from every field front and centre to talk about the wonders and mysteries of science, both the fun and important kinds. With the 2024 iteration of the World Science Festival just around the corner, here are eight events we are not going to miss. 'An Afternoon of Science' with Leigh Sales, Annabel Crabb and guests — Saturday, March 23 If there are two hosts suited to lead a discussion about the all-encompassing joys and wonders of all things scientific, it's these two entertaining, intelligent women. Leigh Sales needs no introduction; anyone who has paid attention to the news in Australia in the past ten years will recognise her and that oh-so-familiar ABC anchor voice. Joining her is an equally influential name in media, commentary and creativity: Annabel Crabb. Together, the two of them host a much-loved podcast and have recently co-authored a book, but for WSFB they'll lead a conversation with some yet-to-be-announced special guests about everything exciting happening in science. Buy tickets now. 'ADA' by Karina Smigla-Bobinski — Friday, March 15 to Sunday, March 24 For something interactive, it's worth considering Curiocity Brisbane and its range of artworks running alongside WSFB 2024. Chief among them is an interactive piece titled ADA at the Cultural Forecourt in South Bank. On the surface, it's a white room containing a floating plastic orb, an orb that bears several charcoal sticks and an open encouragement for visitors to push it around as they please. The idea of the piece is more nuanced. In giving it a nudge, you contribute to the growing web of markings on the walls, ceiling and floor as the orb moves around the room. It's a lovely callback to the earliest form of human communication: drawing on the walls. It's also a tribute by German artist Karina Smigla-Bobinski to Ada Lovelace, a visionary figure in early computing. Buy tickets now. 'Cultivating the Future of Food' with Rhianna Patrick and guests — Thursday, March 22 As entertaining as a floating orb of charcoal pencils is, it's not exactly something that the future of humanity depends on. A much more significant subject in that realm of interest is the issue of food; rather, the increasing risk of food shortages in a future shaped by climate change. That's the issue on hand for this panel of experts, led by Torres Strait Islander journalist and broadcaster Rhianna Patrick. The First Nations people of Australia (and the world) have championed sustainable food practices since the dawn of civilisation so what can we take from that knowledge and apply to the future? Patrick and her guests, Suzanne Thompson and Madonna Thompson, will lead an insightful discussion to address that question. Buy tickets now. 'The Earth Above: A Deep Time View of Australia's History' — March 15 to March 24 One of the most popular destinations during WSFB is the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, famous for its immersive dome cinema. This year, the starring show is a movie-length visual presentation on the huge dome screen, one that charts 140,000 years of Australian natural and cultural history. To explore that history, audiences will be transported to four locations across the country: Girraween Lagoon on Larrakia and Wulna Country near Darwin; Cloggs Cave on GunaiKurnai Country in Victoria's Gippsland region; Lake Mungo in NSW on the land of the Barkandji/Paakantyi, Ngiyampaa and Mutthi Mutthi people; and Jiigurru (Lizard Island) on the Great Barrier Reef, which is sacred to many, including the Dingaal people. Buy tickets now. 'Night of the Nerds' — Saturday, March 23 'Night of the Nerds' is a WSFB tradition, regularly adding a splash of hilarity to the festival program. In essence, it's a quiz show starring Aussie comedians and scientists putting their combined knowledge to the test. Hosted by whip-smart comedian Mark Humphries, two teams will enter but only one can be crowned nerds supreme. The games will star Chaser comedian Craig Reucassel, broadcaster Nate Byrne and astrophysicist Kirsten Banks, Professor Paul Young, Dr Naomi Koh Belic and more. The night will also feature a band comprised of Brisbane music luminaries like The Grates' Patience Hodgson, Velociraptor's Georgie Browning, Ball Park Music's Jen Boyce and Paul Furness, and Simi Lacroix. Buy tickets now. 'Social Science' — Friday, March 22 Another WSFB favourite, 'Social Science', is an after-dark transformation of the Queensland Museum into a space of celebration where art and science become one. Grab a science-themed cocktail from the bar and explore the museum to find one of the many free workshops and activities scattered across level two of the museum. Explore and you'll find a fashion show, live podcast recording, a drag show, live painting, an insect-pinning workshop, multiple dancefloors and after-dark entry to two of the museum's most popular exhibits: The Hatchery and Jurassic World by Brickman®. Buy tickets now. 'Life on Mars' with Graham Phillips and guests — Friday, March 22 For as long as humans have existed, we've been fascinated by the night sky. How could we not be? That beautiful mosaic has enchanted and inspired us, and as technology has taken us higher, we've started to explore it more and more. In this expert-led panel, astrophysicist and science journalist Graham Phillips will lead a conversation about the mysteries of the universe as we know them in 2024. Joining him will be Professor Tamara Davis, an accomplished astrophysicist who will share her knowledge on dark energy and the continuing expansion of the universe; Professor Kathleen Campbell, a leading expert on astrobiology who can offer insights on the ongoing search for alien life — and finally Professor Martin Van Kranendonk, an expert in early Earth research and how that can help us explore our solar system. Buy tickets now. 'Space Rocks to Moon Rocks: Paths to Life in the Solar System' — Saturday, March 23 If the solar system and the mysteries of the universe is exactly your kind of jam, then this is the unmissable event for you. Over the past few years, NASA has been set on answering fundamental questions like how our solar system came to be, how life on earth was sparked, and more. To do so, three famous missions were launched: Osiris Rex, Artemis and Perseverance Rover. What samples of the universe have these expeditions sent home? What can we learn? Discussing these questions and what this means for our many questions will be a panel made up of Professor Brian Greene, astrobiologist David Flannery and planetary researcher Phil Bland, three experts who together will do their best to chart the story of our planetary neighbourhood. Buy tickets now. World Science Festival Brisbane runs from Friday, March 15 to Sunday, March 24. For more information or to book tickets to one of the events, visit the website.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many things, and reminded us of plenty of advice that we've all heard for years. We're all now well and truly aware that any situation can change quickly, for instance. In the latest example to prove those words accurate, the Australian Government has moved forward its vaccine rollout plans — just a day after announcing its last fast-tracked inoculation schedule. Yesterday, Wednesday, January 6, Minister for Health Greg Hunt said that COVID-19 vaccinations would begin at the beginning of March, which was earlier than the previous date of late March (which, in turn, had been brought forward from the second quarter of 2021). Then today, Thursday, January 7, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced in a press conference that the timeline for kicking off vaccinations has now been shifted to February. First in the queue when jabs start being administered mid-to-late next month (with an exact date yet to be revealed): frontline workers — particularly those working at hotel quarantine sites and international border checkpoints — as well as health workers and residential aged care facility residents. They'll comprise the first of five priority groups, with elderly Aussies aged over 70, Indigenous Australians over the age of 55, other health care workers, younger adults with an underlying medical condition, and other critical and high-risk workers falling into the second group. From there, adults aged 50–69, Indigenous Australians over 18 and the next tranche of critical and high-risk workers will receive the vaccination, followed by the balance of the adult population. Department of Health Secretary and former Chief Health Officer Brendan Murphy noted that children will fall into the last group. The Prime Minister also advised that that the rollout will begin with a target of giving 80,000 vaccinations per week, starting with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. By the end of March, it's expected that four million Australians will have been vaccinated — with capacity ramping up once the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is approved. Several vaccines have not only been created over the past year — much faster than the usual timeline — but have started being used in countries around the world. The latter is happening in places such as the UK and the US, where coronavirus case numbers have remained at enormous levels. In Australia, where the situation thankfully hasn't reached the same scale, the federal government has decided on a different approach. Vaccines need to be evaluated and approved locally by the Therapeutic Goods Administration before they can be rolled out anyway, and that process is currently underway for multiple different vaccines, including from Pfizer-BioNTech and University of Oxford-AstraZeneca. As the Prime Minister announced in mid-2020, vaccines will be provided to every Aussie for free when they are available. Australia currently has agreements to receive ten million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which will be manufactured overseas, and 53.8 million doses of the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, with production of the latter already starting locally. Both require two doses per person to be effective — and you have to get two doses of the same vaccine (so you can't mix and match them). If you're wondering how it'll all work logistics-wise, there'll be specific hubs to deliver the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine — at 30–50 hospitals around the country — first up. After that, when the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine becomes available, vaccinations will be available at other sites, such as GPs and respiratory clinics. Obviously, it's expected that specific details about sites and dates will be revealed before vaccinations start in February. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Australia, visit the Australian Government Department of Health website.
The Brisbane and Australian music scene have completely exploded in the last little while, with incredible tunes coming out at all angles. No stranger to the limelight is local band Last Dinosaurs, who have had more than their fair share of Triple J airplay, with a feature album recently on the airwaves that broadcasted their unique and raw rock sound to all corners of the nation. They’ve just released their debut album, ‘In a Million Years’ and have a sweet record international record deal under their belt. What’s more is that they’re embarking on a national tour to display their critically acclaimed talents, before once again bearing us witness to them at this year’s Splendour in the Grass. After that point, who knows, they may never come back after they are inevitably snapped up by the marketing sharks and music execs overseas. Even co-Splendour artists Bloc Party have had something to say about the Last Dinosaurs, tweeting about how catchy their debut is and that the guitar work is the best they’ve heard in a long time. With that kind of kudos, there’s no surprise the Brisbane group have had so much demand they’ve had to announce another show. As if that wasn’t enough, the generous dudes are streaming their album on their Facebook page and have a competition to win a Fender Stratocaster. What are you doing? Go buy a ticket, now.
After debuting in 2023 with Solange and Sampa The Great taking to its stages, the Art Gallery of New South Wales' Volume music series is going big again for its 2024 return. André 3000 making an Australian-exclusive stop with the Outkast rapper's experimental jazz project André 3000 New Blue Sun LIVE, Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, Ghanaian Australian talent Genesis Owusu and Zimbabwean Australian singer-songwriter Tkay Maidza: they all lead a lineup that shouldn't just get Sydneysiders excited, but is worth travelling from the rest of the country for. Volume's main names will each play their own dates between Friday, July 5–Sunday, July 21 at The Tank, a Second World War oil tank that's been turned into a performance and art venue. It's located inside Naala Badu, AGNSW's $344-million extension that opened in late 2022 — and this is quite the way to check it out if you haven't had the chance before. [caption id="attachment_954053" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dexter Navy[/caption] Genesis Owusu will kick off Volume across Friday, July 5–Saturday, July 6 with a visual arts-inspired show. Audiences will hear tunes from his records Smiling with No Teeth and STRUGGLER, with The Black Dog Band — aka Kirin J Callinan, Touch Sensitive and Tim Commandeur — doing the backing honours. The next weekend, on Saturday, July 13, Tkay Maidza will play her first Aussie headline show in 2024 — and she has Sweet Justice, her second album, to showcase. This is a one-night-only return to Australia for the LA-based rapper, because she's also playing Chicago's Pitchfork Music Festival in June. Kim Gordon's Aussie tour — which is also stopping at Illuminate Adelaide, as well as in Brisbane and Melbourne — will bring her to Volume on Thursday, July 18–Friday, July 19. The main focus: The Collective, her latest solo record. And on Saturday, July 20–Sunday, July 21, André 3000 New Blue Sun LIVE will wrap up the AGNSW lineup. The performance takes its name from André 3000's debut solo album, which released in 2023 — and will also feature percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Carlos Niño, and guitarist and guitar synthesist Nate Mercereau, alongside Surya Botofasina playing the keyboards, plus Deantoni Parks on synthesiser and drums. This is André 3000's first trip Down Under in ten years, with Outkast's headlining slot at 2014's Splendour in the Grass his latest live gig in Australia. [caption id="attachment_954055" align="alignnone" width="1920"] @trippydana[/caption] "We are thrilled to be inviting some of the most innovative and bold local and international musicians to The Tank to create unique music experiences that will make audiences think, feel and move. We look forward to seeing how each artist responds to this remarkable space," said Art Gallery of New South Wales Director Michael Brand. There's still more details to come for Volume, which will pair its headliners with a lineup of free events that's still to be announced. If it sounds huge, that's because it is — and both AGNSW buildings, aka north building Naala Badu and south building Naala Nura, will play host. [caption id="attachment_954056" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bec Parsons[/caption] Volume 2024 Headliners and Dates: Friday, July 5–Saturday, July 6 — Genesis Owusu Saturday, July 13 — Tkay Maidza Thursday, July 18–Friday, July 19 — Kim Gordon Saturday, July 20–Sunday, July 21 — André 3000 New Blue Sun LIVE [caption id="attachment_880681" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Tank space in the Art Gallery of New South Wales' new SANAA - designed building, 2022, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter[/caption] Volume 2024 runs from Friday, July 5–Sunday, July 21 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, with ticket presales from 11am on Tuesday, May 21 and general sales from 11am on Wednesday, May 22 — head to the festival website for further details. Top image: Sven Mandel via Wikimedia Commons.
If you've been hangin' out down the street again, getting a huge blast from the past from That '90s Show in two ways — as a sequel series to That '70s Show and as a jump back to its titular decade — then you've been enjoying one of 2023's most easy-to-binge new shows so far. And, you can now make a future date to do the same old thing you did over the past few weeks. This follow-up is keeping on keeping on itself, with Netflix renewing That '90s Show for season two. "Going to Point Place last season was a real treat for all of us. We're thrilled to return," said co-creator and executive producer Lindsey Turner to Netflix's Tudum website. "We here in Point Place are thrilled that we're doing a second season," added co-creators and executive producers Bonnie and Terry Turner, who were also behind That '70s Show (and, fitting the multigenerational theme of the ongoing franchise, are Lindsey Turner's parents). "We'd like to thank all of the fans old and new for tuning in. We're truly grateful," they continued. That '90s Show's first season hit Netflix in mid-January, arriving 17 years after its predecessor wrapped up after running from 1998–2006 — and bringing a new take on That '70s Show's Cheap Trick-sung opening theme tune along with it. This time, teenager Leia Forman (Callie Haverda, The Lost Husband) and her friends are the focus, after she decides to spend the summer of 1995 saying "hello Wisconsin!" at her grandparents Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp, WandaVision) and Red's (Kurtwood Smith, The Dropout) house. Accustomed to feeling like she doesn't fit in back in Chicago, Leia — the daughter of Eric Forman (Topher Grace, Home Economics) and Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon, Orange Is the New Black) — finds a much-needed connection during her Point Place stay. That's where the elder Formans' neighbours Gwen (Ashley Aufderheide, Four Kids and It) and Nate (Maxwell Acee Donovan, Gabby Duran & The Unsittables) come in, as well as Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher, Vengeance) and Jackie Burkhart's (Mila Kunis, Luckiest Girl Alive) son Jay (Mace Coronel, Colin in Black & White), plus the witty Ozzie (Reyn Doi, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar) and Nate's super-smart girlfriend Nikki (Sam Morelos, Forgetting Nobody). While Rupp and Smith are main cast members again in That '90s Show, the bulk of the OG crew — including Wilmer Valderrama (NCIS) and Tommy Chong (Color Out of Space) — only make brief appearances. That '90s Show's overall formula is the same, but it's firmly devoted the new group of high schoolers making the most of the Forman family basement. Netflix hasn't announced when That '90s Show will return for season two but, when it does, the series will be set during the next summer. "We can't wait to return to Point Place for another summer of laughs and surprises. Hello, 1996!," said co-creator, executive producer and showrunner Gregg Mettler. Check out the trailer for That '90s Show below: That '90s Show streams via Netflix. Read our full review of season one. Images: Patrick Wymore/Netflix © 2022.
A coffee cup you're actually encouraged to throw on the ground? Tossers, this is your moment. After acknowledging people are jerks and will continue to litter to their hearts content, Californian environmental organisation Reduce. Reuse. Grow. has created a biodegradable coffee cup, embedded with seeds from local native plants. So if you're one of those straight-up idiots who likes to chuck their cup, you won't be adding to the already existing waste in the natural environment. It's a brand new project sitting on Kickstarter, with Reduce. Reuse. Grow. attempting to raise a mere US$10,000 to fund the seed cups. So how does it work? Specific to the Californian landscape, the cups decompose within 180 days, letting the seeds of local redwood trees and poppy flowers find their way to the soil. So you're left with new seedlings and no remnants of a latte in sight. Although the concept is a purely American one — a little drawing of a state lets you know where the seeds are native to — here's hoping there's enough interest for an international range, or an Australian company picks it up. The Reduce. Reuse. Grow. team have created the cups in an a attempt to take recyclable cups even further. "In America we discard over 146 billion cups from coffee consumption annually," say the team on their Kickstarter page. "Even when we think we are recycling and doing a good deed, the paper itself within these products can only be reused two to three times before the fibres are unusable and discarded into local landfills without consumer's knowing. It is time to consume smarter." Importantly, not everyone is going bush just to throw a litter party. The Reduce. Reuse. Grow. team have already thought of this. The team have suggested cafes creating a designated bin for the seed cups, one the crew themselves would pick up and dump in spots in dire need of new vegetation. Or you can just plant the cup yourself, after soaking it in water for five minutes. Apparently the seeds from one cup could extract over one tonne of CO2, so we're hoping native Australian seeds are next for the plantable cups. Check out the Reduce. Reuse. Grow. Kickstarter page over here. Via Fast Company.
Everyone's 2022 streaming obsession is mere months away from making our comeback, bringing all those beef sandwich cravings along with it. After proving one of the best new shows of 2022, and also increasing the amount of times that "yes chef!" is yelled by approximately 75,000 percent, The Bear will return this winter. To whet appetites, it has just served up its first teaser trailer for its second season, too. When season two arrives, don't expect to slide back into The Bear's kitchen chaos like no time has passed, though. As this debut sneak peek shows, things have changed at the show's central sandwich shop. That won't come as a surprise if you've watched season one, of course — and where the Golden Globe-winning series is going from here hasn't yet been revealed. The Bear was renewed for season two before the show even made its way Down Under, after debuting in the US last June, then reaching Australia and New Zealand via Disney+ at the end of August. Given that it's now a huge hit, here's hoping that audiences here won't experience a delay again this time around when it hits the US in June again. This go-around will span ten episodes, giving viewers two extra servings of chaos surrounding Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White, Shameless) and his culinary endeavours. While season one already saddled him more than his fair share of troubles and struggles, there's no way that season two is going to a cruisy dream for the kitchen ace. If you missed the first season, it jumped into the mayhem after Carmy took over The Original Beef of Chicagoland, his family's business, after his brother Mikey's (Jon Bernthal, We Own This City) suicide. Before returning home, the chef's resume spanned Noma and The French Laundry, as well as awards and acclaim. Accordingly, trying to bring that fine-dining level of meticulous to a neighbourhood sandwich shop didn't go smoothly. That's just the beginning of the story, in a series that truly conveyed what it's like to work in the hospitality industry — including navigating a restaurant kitchen's non-stop intensity. Yes, the mood is anxious from the outset, with The Bear's creator Christopher Storer (who also has Ramy, Dickinson and Bo Burnham: Make Happy on his resume) starting the series as he definitely meant to go on, but still expertly managing to balance drama and comedy. Also a crucial part of the show: the rest of the impressive cast, such as Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Dropout) as Richie, aka Cousin, aka Carmy's brother's best friend; Ayo Edebiri (Dickinson) as new sous chef Sydney; Abby Elliott (Indebted) as Carmy's sister Natalie, aka Sugar; and Lionel Boyce (Hap and Leonard), Liza Colón-Zayas (In Treatment) and Edwin Lee Gibson (Fargo) among the other Original Beef staff. Check out the first teaser trailer for The Bear season two below: The Bear streams via Disney+, with season two set to return in June — we'll update you with an exact season two release date when one is announced. Read our full review of season one. Top image: Matt Dinerstein/FX.
This July, it's time to deck your halls with boughs of whichever greenery you'd like. Yes, we know it's not Christmas yet. Winter in Australia means pretending 'tis the season — but early — and VEND's Virginia marketplace is doing just that with a huge Christmas in July Twilight Market. There'll be more than just succulents, cacti and indoor-friendly plants on offer; however, given that the northside spot is home to its own indoor greenhouse — aptly called the Greenhouse, naturally — that's definitely a big drawcard. Between 4–9pm on Saturday, July 22, you'll also be able to get festive at VEND's 130-plus shops, and at the array of pop-up stalls that it's setting up outside. Food trucks will keep your stomach satisfied, and there'll be a pop-up cocktail bar serving boozy beverages. Christmas dinner will be on the menu as well. Also, VEND is also doggo-friendly — should you want to bring your four-legged pal with you for a stint of Christmas in July fun. There's also a competition for dressing the part, with a $100 voucher up for grabs. That's a good enough reason to bust out your jolliest outfit — whether it's a red-and-green number or a festive costume. And yes, getting your Christmas shopping early is also a huge motivator. Just think how smug/good you'll feel come December, when everyone else is rushing about. Images: VEND Marketplace.
We are a musical city, it’s undeniable. We have a lot of talent; there are so many musicians who are creating great music in our city – many of whom go unheard. Brisbane City Council is trying to rectify this by hosting free live music in Queen Street Mall on Sunday the 24th, Monday the 25th and Tuesday the 26th. If you are just out and about for lunch, doing a bit of shopping or are just curious to hear what Brisbane has to offer music wise, you should stop by one of three locations to catch a song or two. Mixtape Weekend will feature some great local and interstate musical acts such as Tiger And Me, Dave Di Marco, Free Like Me and Brisbane Concert Orchestra to name a few. If you want to know more, you should head on over to BNE City to see the full list of participants, locations and times.
