Sometimes, it's good to know when an event just isn't for you. With that in mind, if you think that Jaws is the scariest movie ever made — and you weren't too fond of The Meg, Deep Blue Sea, The Shallows or Sharknado, either — then consider yourself warned. But if sharks don't phase you (or they even fascinate you), here's a night-at-the-museum-style experience that you don't get to enjoy every day. Make that a night at the aquarium, because that's where you'll be slumbering at Sleep Under the Sharks at Sea Life Sunshine Coast. Yes, you'll need to make a trip to Mooloolaba, but that drive will be worth it if you're keen to spend a night sleeping in the venue's 80-metre-long ocean tunnel as sharks swim above your head. Nightmare fuel? A rare thrill? You decide, with the next session taking place on Saturday, June 18. Before you bunker down beneath ocean predators for the night — 11 species of them live at Sea Life Sunshine Coast — you'll also get a tour of the place, including behind-the-scenes access that you wouldn't nab if you just went along during a normal session during the day. A pizza and ice cream dinner is included, too, plus breakfast the next morning — followed by a seal stadium show and some time with the penguins. Unsurprisingly, places are limited, so nabbing a $99 ticket quickly is recommended. Also, you'll need to bring your own pillow, sleeping bag and sleeping mat. And, this is a firmly family-friendly affair, so prepare to have kids for company.
Here's two ways that 2025 will be better than 2024: The White Lotus will return for season three, as will The Last of Us for season two. If you've been hanging out for more holiday chaos and dystopian tension, you can now start marking your calendar. Neither show has exact return dates yet, but HBO has just gotten more specific about when each will be streaming. In February 2025, it'll be time to check in again. Your destination this time: Thailand. Walton Goggins (Fallout), Carrie Coon (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Jason Isaacs (The Crowded Room), Michelle Monaghan (MaXXXine), Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale), Parker Posey (Mr & Mrs Smith) and Lisa from BLACKPINK are among the new cast of The White Lotus season three, all playing characters that are bound to learn — and the anthology series' on-screen figures always do — that getaways and bliss don't always go hand in hand. From season one, Natasha Rothwell (How to Die Alone) is also returning. HBO is planning to drop big tentpole shows a few times a year — so it'll be in 2025's second quarter, which is autumn Down Under, that The Last of Us will return. There's no exact month as yet, but Joel and Ellie will be back. In their shoes, so will Pedro Pascal (The Wild Robot) and Bella Ramsey (Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget), of course. This time around, the series' main duo have company from both familiar faces and a heap of newcomers. Rutina Wesley (Monster High) and Gabriel Luna (Fubar) return as Maria and Tommy, while Kaitlyn Dever (Good Grief), Isabela Merced (Alien: Romulus), Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction), Young Mazino (Beef), Ariela Barer (How to Blow Up a Pipeline), Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope), Spencer Lord (Family Law) and Danny Ramirez (Black Mirror) are the season's additions. The US cable network revealed the timing for both shows during a Wells Fargo-hosted conference, also advising that new Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set to arrive in summer in the US — which is winter in Australia and New Zealand, fittingly. And if you can't wait for more Euphoria, the long-delayed and eagerly anticipated third season is now expected to arrive early in 2026. If you're wondering what else is in store for HBO in 2025 and beyond — or even to close out 2024 — the network dropped a trailer back in November teasing the slate to come. Also on the way, and also debuting never-before-seen footage in the clip: IT prequel series Welcome to Derry, season four of Hacks, season two of The Rehearsal, a new show led by Bottoms and Saturday Night's Rachel Sennott, two-part documentary Pee-Wee as Himself, The Righteous Gemstones season four, Peacemaker season two, The Pitt with ER veteran Noah Wyle, Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things)-led FBI series Task and Tim Robinson (I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson) comedy The Chair Company. Season three of And Just Like That... and The Gilded Age also feature in the trailer, albeit without any new material, with each series joining the list for 2025. You can spot scenes from Dune: Prophecy, season three of The Sex Lives of College Girls, the animated Creature Commandos and limited series Get Millie Black, too, all of which are 2024 releases. From 2025's lineup, newcomer Duster with Lost's Josh Holloway and season two of Conan O'Brien Must Go scored a look as well. Where Australians will be watching all of the above is yet to be revealed, however, given that HBO has confirmed that its own streaming service Max will launch here sometime in the first half of 2025. Watch HBO's most-recent 2024–25 roundup trailer below: The shows highlighted in HBO's new trailer will arrive across the end of 2024 and in 2025. At present, the bulk of the network's programs stream via Binge in Australia and on Neon in New Zealand. Images: HBO.
The world-renowned violinist, acclaimed author, sassy singer and all-round enthralling performer Emilie Autumn is stepping on to Australian shores this week and is ready to amaze audiences around the country. The show was announced last year following the release of Autumn's third and most successful studio album, Fight Like a Girl, which was inspired by her book The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls and her own intimate personal experiences. Emilie Autumn describes her musical style as 'victoriandustrial', largely because she draws inspiration from poetry, plays, novels and history, particularly from the Victorian era. Think punk meets classical meets burlesque mixed in with a dash of darkwave and synth pop to create a theatrical musical feast like no other — and, of course, we can't forget the avant garde stage constumes which have helped develop Autumn as a fashion icon over recent years. The beats of all-girl backing band the Bloody Crumpets will add to the already dazzling performance, ensuring that the violin fireworks will be a humdrum point in the evening. With a stage presence as bright and extravagant as her hair, Emilie Autumn is a refreshingly unique addition to the 21st-century music scene who has to be seen to be appreciated. https://youtube.com/watch?v=8NGKQ1UUD40
Have you ever been half way through the work week and fantasised about living a simple life? Perhaps you've been dreaming about waking up in a timber cottage with nothing but rolling hills as far as the eye can see? Well, luckily for you, there's a small collection of architecturally designed houses on vineyards and cabins set amongst idyllic gardens in New South Wales — perfect for your next serene weekend venture. To help you live out your dungaree wearing, straw chewing, horse riding dreams, here's a list of the most charming farm stays across NSW you can book right now. Recommended reads: The Best Glamping Sites in NSW The Best Hotels in Sydney The Best Luxury Getaways From Sydney The Best Places to Stay in the Blue Mountains The Blacksmith's Luxury Cabin, Bellbrook Perfect for a rejuvenating and relaxing getaway. Situated on a regenerative organic farm, you can preorder hampers filled with the farm's fresh produce, book meditation sessions at the nearby "spirit pools", one-on-one yoga classes, massages, and Ayurvedic diet coaching. From $250 a night, sleeps two. The Gate House by Yeates Wines, Eurunderee This architecturally designed, split-level farm stay shares a backyard with Yeates Wines cellar door, so expect a complimentary wine tasting on arrival. It also boasts high ceilings, a slow combustion fireplace, a kingsize bed and sprawling views of the vineyard. From $390 a night, sleeps two. Jaguar Stay, Mogo One of three adult-only luxury villas on the property, all of which have their own plunge pools. Jaguar Stay is close to nearby South Coast beaches and is directly next to Mogo Wildlife Park, a small, privately owned zoo, so you'll be waking up to the sound of exotic animals. From $575 a night, sleeps two. Rustic Country Escape, Tenterfield An idyllic cottage situated on a creek with homely, rustic interior styling in the Northern Highlands. Set amongst picturesque gardens with a view of the adjacent farm, this farm stay is the perfect spot to switch off and unwind. From $247 a night, sleeps two. Vibrant Meadow Lodge, Far Meadow Gaze across the rolling countryside while lounging by the pool in this quaint and summer-heat-friendly cottage. Inside, cook up a feast in the bright and colourful country kitchen. From $399 a night, sleeps five. Kestrel Nest Ecohut, Mount Adrah Halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, this eco-hut is nestled above a rocky mountain stream on the edge of rolling farmland and a conservation area, with an outdoor bathtub, a fireplace and firepit. From $460 a night, sleeps four. The Shearing Shed, Cowra A charming renovated shearing shed with an open-plan living room. Five kilometres from historically rich Wiradjuri Country (Cowra), what was once a vibrant area during the Gold Rush era. From $250 a night, sleeps two. The Loft, Kyangatha The perfect farm stay for animal lovers, this two-level timber loft is set in a paddock with two horses, a small herd of cows and free-range ducks. It also has outdoor shower, a galley-style kitchen and a river on its doorstep. From $195 a night, sleeps three. Kumbogie Cabin, Daruka Situated on a working sheep farm, this eco-friendly retreat is as secluded as they come. Kumbogie Cabin is 900 metres from any neighbours that aren't the kangaroos, wallabies, birds and echidnas that frequent the surrounding bushland. From $150 a night, sleeps two. Luxurious Farm Stay, Peak Hill A renovated two-bedroom 70-year old shearing shed with French doors leading onto decks with views across the 118-year old property. Offers a family-sized barbecue for open-air cooking, and an outdoor bar to match. From $240 a night, sleeps five. All photos courtesy of Airbnb. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
For someone so pivotal to the story of Jesus, it's surprising how few films have told the tale of Mary Magdalene. The biblical figure has been played by Barbara Hershey, Debra Messing, Monica Bellucci and even PJ Harvey over the years, but she's usually a mere supporting character. More than that, she's frequently painted as a sinner at the very least, and often as a prostitute. Neither proves the case in Mary Magdalene, a contemplative, humanist drama that casts Mary (Rooney Mara) as a woman of determination, devout faith and devotion. In fact, the film proposes that she was Jesus' 13th apostle. An early line gives a clear indication of the movie's focus: "I can't marry," Mary tells her father; "I'm not made for that life." What follows is an account of someone defying convention, sticking to her own path, and finding strength and solace when Jesus of Nazareth (Joaquin Phoenix) comes to town. With her dad and brothers preferring to exorcise her convictions away rather than respect her choices, it doesn't take long for Mary to warm to Jesus' caring and charismatic presence. But his existing offsiders are far from welcoming, with Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) especially wary. In fact, it's Judas (Tahar Rahim) who's actually more accepting. As such, Mary Magdalene depicts a strong woman breaking free from the shackles of her patriarchal fishing village, and from the expectation that matrimony and motherhood are all she should hope for. The film watches on as she finds a supportive and inspirational companion in Jesus, and as she bears witness to not only his deeds and perspective, but to his worries as well. Still, for all of its ambition — for all of its attempts to recast Mary as a feminist hero while the usual Jesus tale plays out — the movie can't quite decide if it's championing the titular character, or getting lost in her affection for the preacher and religious leader. Of course, you can't tell her story without him, but the balance isn't always right. More often than not, it appears as though Mary Magdalene wants the audience to understand Mary's connection to Jesus more than it seeks to understand Mary herself. Thank whichever deity you please for Mara, then. As she demonstrated so emphatically in Carol, she's one of the best actresses of her generation when it comes to conveying a whole world of emotion without saying a word. Her eyes flicker as Mary reacts to Jesus, her posture shifts, and viewers can grasp not only what the character sees in him but how that makes her feel. Phoenix is also impressive, his mumbling take on Christ in keeping with the film's down-to-earth air. This isn't a movie that looks to the heavens to find spiritual meaning, but to people, their actions and the impact their deeds can have. It's a fitting approach, particularly with Australian filmmaker Garth Davis (Lion) in the director's chair. While a religious tale seems quite the departure from his acclaimed debut, both prove intimate dramas about lost souls searching for fulfilment. Both also share stirring scores and scenic imagery — courtesy of the late, great composer Johann Johannsson (Arrival) and Icelandic cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir, and cinematographer Greig Fraser (Lion), respectively — but movie magic doesn't strike twice. Instead, Mary Magdalene is an intermittently convincing film about belief, rather than a film to believe in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH6A_YDafBw
"Careful, you've got about seven cameras on you," Josh Niland quips to one of his chefs on a quiet Monday evening. The Saint Peter cook in question offers a nervous smile, but isn't distracted from his meticulous work: chargrilling twenty identical King George whiting over coal. The butterflied fish are served with a nostalgic play on hundreds-and-thousands — a rich butter sauce with bright chives, finger lime and popping orange tapioca pearls. "Make sure you start at the tail end, so the fish continues to cook evenly," Niland recommends to the group, who have been invited to preview his pop-up collaboration with whisky-maker Talisker. By all accounts, things are going swimmingly for Niland: he was the only Australian chef to be awarded a spot in this year's Best Chef Awards, also nabbing the Best Chef Innovation Award for his nose-to-tail approach to the ocean's finest. Back in 2020, he also won the James Beard Book of the Year Award for his magnum opus, The Whole Fish Cookbook. But the peerless seafood chef rarely dabbles in branded collaborations. So, we took the time to chat about the art of collaboration in the kitchen, teamwork and the best advice he's ever received. [caption id="attachment_873425" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Talisker and Saint Peter pop-up.[/caption] How do you go about choosing the right partners for your venues? "The initial engagement with Talisker was fascinating to me — there are very few metrics around for what you can do with fish and whisky. It's a very robust alcohol to weave into a fish dish. But, I like being pushed into the corner and told 'this is all you're allowed to do'. It's also about quality [when it comes to partnerships]. We're making a decision based on quality and the underlying ethics of the business — ensuring that they're working responsibly in terms of the procurement of their ingredients and how they work within the company. We have to do our due diligence and make sure that both parties are aligned." Speaking of quality products, I assume there were a few whisky tastings involved in the process? "There were definitely some... should we say 'quality checks' — not just from me, but also from my chef Ben, who gave it a good taste." [caption id="attachment_855330" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Rob Palmer, Charcoal Fish[/caption] How do you approach collaborating with Julie, your wife and co-owner, particularly if you disagree? "I feel like Julie and I are obviously very aligned. We've been married nearly 13 years so we've had meals together and experiences together, and that polishes the edges of what we feel we want to be doing as professionals. But that continually changes all the time — the way we were pre-COVID is very different to the way we are now. And I think what you'll see from Saint Peter in the coming years will be starkly different to what you see now — that's just signs of a good, evolving business. Although there are moments of friction, above all it just comes down to trust — knowing that, if it doesn't seem 100% right because it's not the same as what we did at one time, then the trust is there that we're making the best decision. We trust that we're not going to steer the ship astray, and we rely a lot on the team around us to help us make those decisions — especially significant ones. We're very fortunate to be surrounded by some really extraordinary people in our management team and also the young chefs and front of house professionals." [caption id="attachment_870811" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Talisker and Saint Peter pop-up.[/caption] How do you collaborate with your chefs at Saint Peter? "It's been a learning experience the last two years, how to be a better coach as opposed to captain. We're now starting to see the benefits of mentorship and looking after the guys really well, and they're starting to feel more confident with what they can offer to the team. It's been a nice 12 months, even though it's been challenging — it's been super rewarding. You can go home at 6pm and put the kids to bed, and know that everyone is 100% behind you and they all believe in the one thing and they're all driving towards the same product. There are moments where you're like 'I wish I could've had my hands on that', but I've changed significantly in the last six years. I've gone from standing on the stove and going 'nobody touch anything, I'm doing it' to now going 'can somebody else do this cause I want to show you how to do it' and then people are thriving and they're showing the next people. It's all a maturity thing and a learning thing — I was 26 when we opened Saint Peter. I'm getting pulled in every direction personally and professionally so I'm just making sure that at its heart everyone understands what we're doing and why we're doing it." [caption id="attachment_739656" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Fish Butchery by Cody Duncan[/caption] Obviously finding consistent and reliable producers plays a huge role in what you do. How do you approach managing those relationships? "Consistent and reliable — that's actually the biggest challenge. You can never rely on anybody and you can never rely on the weather. When what we plan at the beginning of the week doesn't arrive, then we need to change. That's why when people always ask, 'why can't you leave dishes on the menu, why can't you just stop changing the menu?' It's not for not trying! It's because we always have to work like that. When you're a fish business you have to keep changing and evolving. We now have four teams all working on fish that is not always consistent and that is not reliable, so we rely on [the team] to remain flexible and adaptable and courageous enough to keep turning up. Finding the fishers that we've found — particularly Walkers Seafood in Mooloolaba in Queensland and Bruce Collis at Corner Inlet in Victoria — I would put that down to me having a relationship with Steve Hodges at Fish Face. So you've got Steve Hodges, Neil Perry, John Susman, Greg Doyle and Peter Doyle from the generation that's just gone through and they have carved out a pathway for our next generation and given us the ability to go direct to fisherman. But you have to be ready to pick up the phone and talk for an hour — about fish. The extension of that conversation is really powerful for the customer to hear about, because then there's a registering and appreciation for the price point, because they see the value of someone going out and intentionally catching something for their dinner." [caption id="attachment_870810" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Talisker and Saint Peter pop-up.[/caption] What's the best advice you've ever been given? "'Treat everyday as a sprint, but life is a marathon.' Simon Marnie from ABC Radio told me that, he's a friend from a long, long time ago. I had just got back from overseas and he could see all the layers of places I wanted to go and people I wanted to meet in my eyes, but he kind of slapped me over the head and said 'listen'. Even Luke Magen said to me as a second-year apprentice that 'Rome wasn't built in a day'. That came at a really poignant time in my cooking, I had been there for about eight months and I was really frustrated that I hadn't been 'seen' yet, because you were part of a 35-chef system. It really bothered me. So I went and I did a trial at Balzac with Matthew Kemp and he offered me a job. And then I got back to work the next day, not to have the conversation, but to continue to think about if I wanted the job. Luke came up to me and said 'I heard you had a conversation with Matt Kemp.' And I realised that the kid from Maitland didn't realise how small Sydney was. Luke said, 'Rome wasn't built in a day, you need to be patient.' You gotta — not necessarily earn your stripes — but understand that you can't have everything you want right now, but with a bit of application and intentionality and telling us that that's what you want, then let's get on with it. And then from there I got to really be exposed to a lot more." Josh Niland's Taste of Talisker will pop up in Sydney's North Head between Friday, October 21–Saturday, October 22. You can purchase tickets to either the three-course menu or the Made by the Sea whisky experience via Moshtix. Top image: Rob Palmer, from Josh Niland's The Whole Fish Cookbook
It takes less than two hours for Brisbanites get to one of Queensland's best glamping spots — and its most exclusive. At Nightfall in Lamington National Park in the Scenic Rim, only eight guests can stay at any one time, with each of the permanent safari tents located in its own private clearing. When you're not enjoying your own space within the lush thickness of nature, everything from creek-side lounging and dining to a waterfall walk and taking a dip in the swimming hole is on the agenda. Unsurprisingly, this kind of outdoorsy luxury doesn't come cheap, so expect to pay $795 per couple per night (with a minimum two-night stay), which includes all meals and an open bar. [caption id="attachment_726970" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Morans Falls Lookout- by Jason Charles Hill[/caption]
Brisbane might be situated on the opposite side of the globe to the Amalfi Coast; however, as if you're eager for a local staycation, you can now spend your days lazing around a pool bar like you're in southern Italy. In the latest addition to the Queen's Wharf precinct, The Star Grand Hotel is now home to the Isoletto Pool Club. If the name sounds familiar, that's because there's one at The Star Gold Coast — but Brisbane has scored its very own, complete with three infinity pools. From Saturday, April 12, 2025, splashes and sips seven levels up await — with the catch that you need to be a guest of the 340-room hotel to head by. That's the same on the Goldie, too, so consider that fact motivation to spend a night or several living the vacation life without travelling far. You'll find the Brisbane Isoletto Pool Club and its year-round summer vibes on the Queen's Wharf hotel's leisure deck, where the trio of pools take up 527 square metres combined, the view will have you peering both over the river and at the sunset, and a resort-style feel guides both the food menu and the cocktail list. Also part of the leisure deck for folks staying at the hotel: a gymnasium, sauna and steam room. If you're all about having a swim once you've checked in, you'll be able to do so from 6am–9pm daily in warm waters no matter the season. While Brisbane doesn't get particularly cold even in winter, all three pools are heated. Two will hit 28 degrees as the temperature drops around it, with the swim-up spa pool staying at 32 degrees. Prefer to pick a sun lounge and camp out all day? You can order your bites and drinks from there, whether you're tucking into burrata, Mooloolaba prawn cocktails, club sandwiches or Roman-style pizzas — or margaritas, martinis, a fruit tingle cocktail, another boozy concoction inspired by Toblerones, wine, beer, mocktails or other non-alcoholic choices. The bar and cafe operates from 11am–5pm daily. Given there's three pools to choose from, you can also opt between sitting completely in the sun, a semi-sheltered space and being entirely undercover. Find Isoletto Pool Club at The Star Brisbane, Queens Wharf Road, Brisbane, from Saturday, April 12, 2025, open from 6am–9pm daily — for further information, head to the venue's website.
If you were to round up three friends, hit up a chain of bars that are also mini-golf joints, play a couple of games and earn a $20,000 cash prize for your efforts, how would you react? Exclaiming "holy moly" might be the tamest response. You'll probably say those words — well, Holey Moley, to be specific — at least once just by signing up for this putting contest, however. Meet the Holey Moley Open, as hosted by the venues that first launched in Brisbane in 2016. At seven Queensland locations, nine spots in New South Wales, seven more in Victoria, four in Western Australia, and one apiece in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, Holey Moley welcomes in mini-golf lovers to get tap, tap, tapping their way through pop culture-themed courses — including over cocktails if that's what takes your fancy. That's been the setup for almost a decade now. With the Holey Moley Open, the same is still on the agenda, but in a tournament that'll whittle down the contenders to 25 teams in each state, and then send one from each to hit the national finals. Here's how it works: first, you need a team of four, and also you all need to be over the age of 18. Then, you're required to register online between Saturday, February 1–Wednesday, February 12, 2025. The Holey Moley crew will select the best entries for the state finals, which'll take place at the OG Holey Moley in Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, Alexandria in Sydney, Crown Casino in Melbourne, Northbridge in Perth, and at the Adelaide and Canberra venues on Tuesday, February 25. If you win on home soil by achieving the lowest combined score, you're then off to Darlinghurst, Sydney on Tuesday, March 11 to vie for the $20,000. And yes, your flights and accommodation there from outside of the Harbour City will be covered by Holey Moley. Seasoned Holey Moley patrons knows that hitting the greens here means playing your way around everything from windmills and clowns to whatever other theming that the venues have dreamed up — usually inspired by movies and TV shows. At the grand final, there'll also be a string quartet providing tunes, champagne to drink, caddies helping the players, live commentary, and a food spread featuring mud cake, sausage rolls and party pies. If you want in on the fun without entering the contest, that's also on option across February — including a nine-hole round for $10 all month with the code TEEOFF. To enter the Holey Moley Open, register a team of four between Saturday, February 1–Wednesday, February 12, 2025 — with state finals set to be held on Tuesday, February 25 and the grand final taking place in Darlinghurst, Sydney on Tuesday, March 11. Head to the event's website for more details.
In Australia's ongoing war on waste, different states have been implementing different bans and schemes at different times. That includes scrapping single-use plastic bags, bringing in container deposit schemes, and ditching straws, plastic cutlery and other disposable items — with the details and timing changing depending on where in the country you live. Single-use plastic bags were banned in Queensland in 2018 and Victoria in 2019, for instance, with NSW signalling its intention to do the same in the future. When it comes to container deposit schemes, NSW brought one in 2017, Queensland did in 2018 and Victoria's is set to start in 2023. And, after South Australia became Australia's first state to ban single-use plastics earlier this year, Queensland will follow in its footsteps from this September, while Victoria has set a launch date of 2023 there as well. At the national level, the Federal Government pledged back in 2018 that it'd ensure that 100 percent of the country's packaging is recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025. Earlier in 2021, it launched the National Plastics Plan, which brings forward that timeline in many instances to 2022. Now, at a meeting of the nation's environment ministers held yesterday, Thursday, April 15, agreement was reached regarding phasing out a range of single-use plastic items nationally. Set to be banned countrywide: lightweight plastic bags, and plastic straws, utensils and stirrers. The states have agreed to phase out eight "problematic and unnecessary" plastic product types under the National Waste Policy Action Plan, with expanded polystyrene food containers (such as cups and clamshells), expanded polystyrene loose fill and moulded packaging, and microbeads used in personal health care products also on the list. Other than coming to an agreement about the types of products to be banned and setting a 2025 deadline, no other firm details were released. In some cases, though — such as where individual states act earlier, or where the NPP has set an earlier date — a number of these items might be out of circulation sooner. Australia's states will also look to bring their respective container deposit schemes into line with each other, also by 2025. That'll include harmonisation regarding the size and types of containers that can be recycled, refund amounts and labelling standards. For more information about the Federal Government's National Plastics Plan, head to the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment website. Further details about the recent Environment Ministers Meeting discussion can also be found on the same department site.
Tasmania has long been a pilgrimage for nature lovers, cold-weather chasers and anyone who thinks a weekend away should always involve at least one decent bakery. In recent years, it's also become a destination for whisky lovers. Given Australia's tropical to subtropical climate, whisky distilling has often been left to the pros in the Scottish Highlands. There was a brief flirtation with distilling spirits in the cooler climate of Tasmania during the 1800s, before Governor John Franklin outlawed the practice. But in 1992, the Lark family created the first Australian distillery to produce single malt whisky in 154 years, firmly rekindling Tasmania's love affair with the spirit. Now, Tasmania is the home of Australia's new whisky scene, and LARK Distillery is leading the charge. Whether you're heading to Hobart for a laidback long weekend or are island hopping for a while longer, LARK's whisky-fuelled experiences should be added to any itinerary. Here's what you can expect when visiting the home of Tasmania's thriving whisky scene. [caption id="attachment_1046083" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Still[/caption] The Still, Hobart Located in the heart of the city on Argyle Street, The Still is LARK's modern whisky bar. By day, the sleek yet warm flagship store is used as a retail space and tasting room for travellers wanting to learn more about Tasmania's whisky industry. During the 45-minute tasting experience, guests learn the story of LARK (from the fishing trip that began it all to its latest releases), and can enjoy a curated tasting of LARK's single malt whiskies. Guests will also receive a 10 percent discount on any bottles, so you can enjoy a taste of Tassie once you get home. If gin is more to your taste, The Still also offers a two-hour gin-making masterclass. Guests will receive a first-hand look behind the process of crafting native gin under the guidance of LARK's professors, who have created the award-winning Forty Spotted gin. During the booking, guests can explore the world of botanicals, try a refreshing native gin and tonic, learn about the history of the spirit, and even create their own Tasmanian gin as a souvenir. [caption id="attachment_1049089" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Still[/caption] Once the sun begins to set, The Still turns into a cocktail lounge and bustling bar. With its cosy booths, elevated food menu, and knowledgeable staff, even those less into whisky will be able to get out of their comfort zones and enjoy the spirit. Whether it's a tasting flight of impressive local whiskies from across the state, or a LARK whisky and soda, it's easy to spend a whole evening lapping up the atmosphere of The Still. You can try your luck at a walk-in or make a reservation to avoid missing out on a bucket list whisky experience. [caption id="attachment_1046084" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pontville Distillery[/caption] Pontville Distillery Thirty minutes' drive north of The Still, you'll find LARK's Pontville Distillery. Set amongst historical buildings, the Pontville Distillery is Tasmania's only working whisky village and offers visitors the chance to explore how LARK crafts its award-winning spirits. Its production and site tour is the closest you'll get to stepping inside Tasmania's whisky origin story. During the 45-minute tour, guests are guided through the distillery to learn how the spirit is made, as well as discover the secrets behind single malt whisky and the story of LARK's beginnings. Enjoy four tastings along the way, and take in the atmospheric surrounds of the historic estate. The tours run every day at both 12pm and 2pm, so be sure to book in a spot on your next Tasmanian trip. [caption id="attachment_1050645" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pontville Distillery[/caption] Between the sleek, design-driven interiors of The Still in Hobart and the rustic, historic beauty of Pontville Distillery, LARK's venues offer two quintessentially Tasmanian whisky experiences. Whether you're a tourist on a long weekend or are looking for a local team bonding experience, you'll be planning your next trip before you've polished off your last dram. Book a table for you, your team, family or friends for dinner, drinks or a guided tasting experience at The Still. Book a spot for you, your team, family or friends on a guided whisky tour at LARK's Pontville Distillery. Lead image credit: Lark Distillery
If you've had the words "bring on the Deadpool and Rob McElhеnney" stuck in your head since 2022, or "we've got Mullin, super Paul Mullin" instead — or as well — then you're either a fan of Welcome to Wrexham or Wrexham AFC, or both. It was back in 2020 that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Mythic Quest's McElhenney bought the Welsh football club with Deadpool & Wolverine's Ryan Reynolds. Two years later, a documentary series about that huge move dropped its first season on Disney+. Success has followed both on the field and on the screen, including a run of promotions for the club and three more seasons of the series — the latest of which, the fourth, arrives on Friday, May 16, 2025. Thanks to a show that's not too far from an IRL Ted Lasso, Wrexham's fanbase has gone global. Hollywood's involvement will do that — but, as the series has chronicled to touching effect, Reynolds and McElhenney have always put revitalising the club, its stadium, and the town and community around it first. In 2025, Wrexham are heading Down Under, too, in a literal sense. The club has announced three games across Australia and New Zealand in July, visiting the two countries on its pre-season tour. "From the very beginning, we wanted to help make Wrexham a globally recognised team, town and brand," said McElhenney and Reynolds, announcing the Down Under trip, which will see the team play in Melbourne, Sydney and Wellington. "We could not be more excited to bring the Red Dragons to Australia and New Zealand, and we are particularly proud that this announcement features neither a Men at Work or Hugh Jackman joke. The latter of which took maturity and tremendous restraint. We're proud of Ryan. Of course, we make no promises going forward." Wrexham will face off against a trio of local squads: lining up against Melbourne Victory at Marvel Stadium on Friday, July 11; taking on Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Tuesday, July 15; and competing against Wellington Phoenix at Sky Stadium on Saturday, July 19. For their past two pre-season tours, Wrexham have unsurprisingly journeyed to the US, including playing games against fellow UK sides Manchester United and Chelsea. Now, they're hitting Australia and Aotearoa as part of their plans to ideally be in the same league as both of those powerhouse English teams come the 2026–27 season. Since the 2022–23 season, Wrexham has been promoted every year under manager Phil Parkinson, first from the National League to League Two, then from the latter to League One — and next, in the 2025–26 season, they'll play in the Championship League, aiming to get promoted to the top-tier Premier League from there. If you can't make it to Wrexham's two Australian matches or one NZ game, they're being streamed via Paramount+. And for something to watch in the interim, check out trailer for Welcome to Wrexham season four below: Wrexham Down Under 2025 Fixtures Friday, July 11 — Melbourne Victory vs Wrexham AFC at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, from 7.30pm AEST Tuesday, July 15 — Sydney FC vs Wrexham AFC at Allianz Stadium, Melbourne, from 7.30pm AEST Saturday, July 19 — Wellington Phoenix vs Wrexham AFC at Sky Stadium, Wellington, from 5pm NZST [caption id="attachment_1003973" align="alignnone" width="1920"] John Lord via Flickr[/caption] Wrexham's Down Under tour is taking place in July 2025. For more information, head to the Wrexham website — and for tickets, visit Ticketek in Australia and New Zealand. Welcome to Wrexham streams via Disney+, with season four arriving from Friday, May 16, 2025.
Barossa Valley has a new winemaker in town and they're classing up the humble goon sack. Tote Wines is taking a distinct turn from the cheap plonk receptacles we're used to and introducing premium bagged wines into the Australian market — picked, produced and packaged in the Barossa Valley, no less. Developed for "active Australians", Tote Wines is geared toward those who love to bring a bit of wine on an outdoor adventure, but don't want to bring glass bottles along for the ride. Their lightweight and break-proof packaging acts as a practical alternative to accompany a hiking, camping or boating trip. Each 1.5L pouch comes complete with a tap (not of the lay-back variety), has a shelf life of up to twelve months prior to opening and remains fresh for four weeks once opened. Positioning themselves as an eco-friendly, high quality alternative, the recyclable pouches also produce one fifth the carbon footprint during the manufacturing process than glass bottles. For now, they're only producing a Barossa Valley Shiraz and Eden Valley Sauvignon Blanc out of their brand new facility in the heart of the Barossa Valley. Their wine specialists are focused on sourcing the best grapes for each wine, so drinkers should be getting a much tastier experience than one would usually associate with drinking wine from a bag. All Tote Wines are available purchase the on their website, but only by the carton of six ($179.70) — so some commitment to the idea is a must. Tote Wines are supremely confident though and promise a 100 percent discount (minus shipping) for any unsatisfied customers. While drinking wine from a plastic tap still brings back some fond and somewhat deplorable uni memories for us, it will be interesting to see how these wines hold up in a market of such world-class winemakers and to see if the goon bag mentality can be replaced by this classed-up affair.
Ladies and gentlemen, now the moment you've all been waiting for — and yes, it includes the world famous Jack Rabbit Slims twist contest. When Chuck Berry's 'You Never Can Tell' starts pumping through 2023's Wynnum Fringe, you know what kind of dance moves you're going to bust out. It's been almost 30 years since Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction first hit the big screen, and just as long since fans first caught its stellar soundtrack, which includes everything from surf rock to Dusty Springfield's 'Son of a Preacher Man'. If the record has been one of your go-to listening staples over the past three decades, then you'll want to celebrate it with Cheap Fakes. Even better — the band will be performing the album live as an eight-piece (while you dance like Uma Thurman to 'Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon', obviously). The smooth sounds of Al Green's 'Let's Stay Together', the funk of Kool & the Gang's 'Jungle Boogie' and the upbeat country twang of The Statler Brothers' 'Flowers on the Wall' will all get a whirl, too. To complete the experience, a big screen will be set up, playing themed visuals. It all goes down like a $5 shake on Friday, November 24 at the Wynnum Opera House that's part of the George Clayton Park hub for the fest — and because Tarantino's skill with soundtracks isn't just limited to one film, expect tunes from his other movies, too.
Meltemi Mediterrania lands in Broachbeach, bringing the bold and diverse flavours of countries from Spain to Morocco, Sardinia to Lebanon and Turkey to Greece with it. With three distinct spaces, including a main dining room, a bar and an expansive al fresco area centred around an olive tree, it's sure to be a bustling spot come summer. This is the latest venture from Dino and Kate Georgakopouls, who own the lively Xenia Grill venues in Main Beach and Coolangatta. Dino, who was an engineer before becoming a chef, says he wants diners to feel they have been transported from the Gold Coast to the European Coast, "We want people to feel like they're sitting overlooking the Mediterranean, as a gentle breeze blows over them." To achieve this vision, Space Cubed Design Studio has created a space featuring curved fixtures, a concrete wrap-around bar, cut-out wall arches, and signature light fittings. A large mural of a coastal European town adorns the main dining area, and a copper mirror in the bar glows with a golden hue, reminiscent of a Mediterranean sunset. In the kitchen, hatted chef Tapos Singha mans a rotisserie that showcases ingredients from lobster to lamb skewers, which guests can observe from their seats. Dino has two spits in his own backyard, and says rotisseries "play such a special role [in Greek and other Mediterranean cultures], and we want to expand people's minds — and tastebuds — to show how many variations there are." Each section of the menu features a dish from a different country. Greek saganaki sits alongside Sardinian coral trout crudo, Turkish sesame-crusted bread rings, next to Spanish octopus with pimentón and romesco. To drink, try a Nick the Greek cocktail, with rosemary-infused ouzo, lemon, star anise and lemonade, a Negroni Scalas with Campari, Greek vermouth and Beefeater gin or work your way through the Mediterranean-inspired wine list. Dino says that the Greek philosophy of filoxenia, or love of the stranger, underpins the ethos of the restaurant. "Each of the cultures we've brought together all has something in common: connection through food. By having the flavours of these countries on the table at the same time, we're redefining share-style dining and showing that they can all be enjoyed side-by-side." Images: Dan Peled.
Think the Gold Coast is just beaches? Think again. Just over an hour's drive from Brisbane, you'll find a freshwater mountain creek in the Currumbin Valley. The pools are a network of connected waters, winding around bushland and rocks to form mini-swimming holes that vary from wadeable to 'my feet can't touch the bottom'. You could spend all afternoon exploring the nooks and curves of this creek and scrambling around rocks and waterfalls. Or, just pick your ideal spot for floating around and stay there. There's lots of space to share — which is a good thing because this is a popular spot. Refuel with a barbecue or picnic on the lawn under the lush, tropical slopes of the forest. Image: Tourism and Events Queensland
For decades in Brisbane, the Queen Street Mall and one fast-food joint have basically been synonymous. If you haven't met someone outside Hungry Jack's, regardless of whether you're actually grabbing a burger, can you really call yourself a Brisbanite? No, no you can't. Now, however, there's another chain that you can use as a landmark — and also grab a quite bite to eat from — with KFC setting up shop in the busy CBD spot. KFC fans will know that this is time-saving news, given that tucking into the Colonel's finger-lickin'-good chicken in the inner city has long involved a trip downstairs in the Myer Centre, or venturing over to the MacArthur food court past Edward Street. Even better: the new store isn't just giving Brisbane fried chicken fiends a more convenient location to get their chook fix, but is also doing the community a solid via its food recovery program. The Queen Street Mall KFC, which opened on Thursday, September 1, is the first in Brisbane to team up with a charity to donate its excess food to those in need. Wesley Mission Queensland will receive the shop's surplus chicken, and then deliver it to folks doing it tough. "KFC Queen Street Mall is our first location in Brisbane to partner with food recovery agency Wesley Mission Queensland to bring restaurant-prepared cooked surplus chicken to those in need," said a KFC spokesperson, announcing the news. "In partnership with Foodbank Australia, their community partners and OzHarvest, KFC has over 30 restaurants nationally involved in the program to support local communities. We're delighted to continue our ongoing partnerships with these food rescue agencies, working closely with them to expand our Food Recovery Program across Australia." For customers heading in-store, the new addition to the mall also sports locally sourced finishings, furniture and booth seating, plus a mural by Brisbane-based art-collective MCRT Studio. And, recycled glass benchtops and brick slips are a big feature. Obviously, if you're reading an article about KFC, you already know what's on the menu. Find KFC at 130A Queen Street, Brisbane — open 9am–10pm Sunday–Thursday and 9am–12am Friday–Saturday.
Visitors to Howard Smith Wharves have been able to tuck Louis Tikaram's cooking for a couple of years, all thanks to his post as head chef at Cantonese restaurant Stanley. But if you'd like to see what kind of Mexican meals he can come up with — and stay in the same riverside precinct — you can now do that as well at the just-launched La Mexicana. A pop-up currently taking up residence in HSW's Citrus House, La Mexicana is serving up street food dishes, with the menu inspired by his time travelling in Mexico — obviously — and Los Angeles. Expect to start with spiced tortilla chips ($6), snack on chips with guacamole ($12), and tuck into grilled street corn with queso fresco, chilli, cilantro and lime ($12). The menu also includes kingfish aguachiles with jalapeño, cucumber and red onion ($16), and lamb barbacoa paired with Spanish rice and salsa de árbol ($19). For something sweet, watermelon with tajin and fresh lime ($6) is the only dessert option. Drinks-wise, margaritas are in the spotlight, unsurprisingly. You can also choose from the lineup of tequilas and mezcals, or sip Coronas or Jarritos soft drinks. You'll need to make a weekend date with La Mexicana, though — and for dinner — as it only trades from 5pm between Friday–Sunday.
When it comes to buzzy capital cities, Australia has no shortage of options — but Sydney really does have it all. From cutting-edge underground bars and classic pub fare to historic sights and iconic performances, Sydney is a rich tapestry of creativity, culture, and natural splendour. It's hard to go wrong here, but a little insider intel can help you get it just right. If you're planning a weekend in the Harbour City, Marriott Bonvoy is offering 10% off your stay across six hotels—all you need to do is sign up to become a member (for free). It's also the perfect excuse to extend your stay. To play the role of your well-informed mate on the ground, we've curated a short list of reasons why Sydney is always worth checking into. Descend Into Sydney's Awesome Subterranean Bars When it comes to vibey watering holes, Sydney's list just keeps growing. But when the lights dim and the city starts to wind down, the real magic begins underground. Scattered across the CBD and its surrounding boroughs, these hidden gems require a little insider knowledge — knowing which alley to turn down and which door to knock on. From Mucho Group's Herbs Taverne and Swillhouse's swanky new Caterpillar Club, to The Gidley and Double Deuce Lounge, Sydney's subterranean bar scene is constantly evolving. Check out our full guide here. Check Into a Cosy Hotel Choosing the right hotel can make or break your Sydney stay. While there are plenty of options, it's the city centre's stunning skyline, harbour backdrop, and expansive parklands that set it apart—so you'll want a base that captures all that charm. Marriott Bonvoy's collection of premium hotels promises a memorable stay, plus, with 10% off it's the perfect time to plan a quick trip or extended getaway. From luxury stays like The W Sydney, Pier One Sydney Harbour and the Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park to stylish, family-friendly options like the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel Circular Quay and Four Points By Sheraton Sydney in Central Park, you're spoilt for choice. Watch a Performance at The Sydney Opera House Sure, visiting the Opera House for a quick picture is a Sydney bucket list moment for locals and travellers alike — but catching a show inside? That's when the magic really takes place. Beyond the grandeur of the Concert Hall, this cultural icon also houses intimate spaces that host everything from indie gigs and theatre to symphonies and ballet. Visit in the coming months and you can expect atmospheric sets by the likes of early-thousands throwback Bachelor Girl, Lime Cordiale with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and The Australian Ballet — plus a post-show drink with a view that's hard to top. If you're looking to stay within walking distance of the Sydney Opera House, check into the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel Circular Quay for a stylish slice of convenience. Devour an Award-Winning Steak at Bistecca When it comes to must-try meals, few live up to the hype — but Bistecca delivers. Tucked down a CBD laneway, this moody, Tuscan-inspired spot has earned international acclaim, and a place on our list of Sydney's best steaks, for its signature bistecca alla Fiorentina, a thick-cut T-bone, prepared over ironbark and charcoal. You'll surrender your phone at the door, leaving you to focus solely on your steak, vino, and conversation. Equal parts speakeasy and Italian fine dining steakhouse, it's a must for meat lovers and experiential diners. Catch a Film at Sydney's Revamped IMAX Theatre After a seven-year hiatus, Sydney's IMAX theatre has roared back to life — and it's bigger and bolder than ever. Now home to the world's third-largest screen (a jaw-dropping 693 square metres), the high-tech space is tucked beneath the W Sydney and reserved for only the biggest blockbusters. Whether you're seeing Superman, F1 The Movie, or Fantastic Four, expect next-level visuals via a 4K laser projection, crystal-clear surround sound, and custom-designed lenses that'll make every explosion, car chase and close-up feel massive. Tickets are limited, so get in quick. Oh, and be sure to grab a pre-blockbuster cocktail at the W Sydney's rooftop bar, 29/30. Hook Into a Sunday Roast at The Lord Dudley When it comes to winter pub fare, few places are as beloved as The Lord Dudley in Woollahra. Established in 1895, this old-school charmer channels the ambience of a British country manor, with its open fireplaces, dark wooden interiors, and traditional English ales. The main event? It's legendary Sunday roast — chicken or pork — served with crispy roast potatoes, steamed greens, rich gravy, and a golden Yorkshire pudding. Just be warned: if it's cold outside, or there's a good game on, you might be fighting for a patch of carpet, let alone a table. Wander The Halls Of Sydney's Art Institutions Art galleries say a lot about a city — and if Sydney's gallery walls could talk, they'd speak of multiculturalism, a complex past and an enduring thirst for artistic ingenuity. The city is home to a broad stroke of galleries, and wandering through them on a chilly winter's day is the perfect antidote to a deep chill. From intimate spaces like China Heights, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, and White Rabbit Gallery to internationally revered institutions like the Art Gallery of NSW and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, there's something to suit every creative appetite. Hot tip: The Art Gallery of NSW stays open late every Wednesday for Art After Hours, an enticing lineup of talks, art, and music, while White Rabbit Gallery is just a stone's throw from Four Points By Sheraton Central Park. Rug Up And Cheer On Your Team At Accor Stadium Another true Sydney bucket list moment? Watching your ride-or-die team go head-to-head at one of the country's largest and loudest stadiums. Whether you're into rugby league, rugby union, AFL, soccer or cricket, Accor Stadium creates an electrifying atmosphere—especially when 83,000 fellow fans surround you. This winter, the stadium will host a string of rugby league finals, plus the third and final State of Origin showdown. It's an easy trip by public transport, but if you're feeling fancy, split a limo with a few mates—it can cost about the same as a cab. Or better yet, check into the Moxy Sydney Airport Hotel and stay in style just a short drive from the action. Book your Sydney escape before September 30 to access 10% off your stay and dining with Marriott Bonvoy. All you have to do is sign up as a member—and it's completely free. Book 10% off your stay and rediscover Sydney. T&C's apply and vary by participating hotels including blackout dates, cancellation restrictions and more. Offer may not apply in properties not participating in the award and redemption of Marriott Bonvoy. By Elise Cullen
When your relationship kicks off with a flashed nipple and an injured dog, it clearly doesn't start smoothly. When Colin From Accounts returns for its second season, the romance between Ashley (Harriet Dyer, The Invisible Man) and Gordon (Patrick Brammall, Evil) is set to continue as it began. The titular canine is still a key part of their connection — and they're trying to get him back — but so is couple banter about each others' past, and just the general kind of chaos that rom-coms can bring. It was back in 2022 that Colin From Accounts won audiences over as quickly as a cute pooch, and became one of that year's best new TV shows. When it debuted, Colin From Accounts had everyone bingeing their way through a tale of an awkward but memorable meet-cute, which began when a medical student and a microbrewery owner crossed paths in Sydney, then went from strangers to pet co-owners almost instantly. The series starts dropping its second season from Thursday, May 30 — but this time, however, it will be releasing its episodes weekly on Binge instead of in one batch. If you're new to Colin From Accounts, which won Best Narrative Comedy Series at the 2024 AACTAs and a trio of Logies — Most Outstanding Comedy Program, Most Outstanding Actor and Most Outstanding Actress — in 2023, it's the latest collaboration between real-life couple and No Activity stars Dyer and Brammall. Story-wise, the first season of Colin From Accounts charted what happened after Gordon was distracted by Ashley one otherwise ordinary morning, then accidentally hit a stray dog with his car. The pair took the pooch to receive veterinary treatment, then committed to look after him — and, yes, named him Colin From Accounts — causing their lives to intertwine. In season two, Ashley and Gordon are now living together, which brings its own mess — including the quest to get Colin From Accounts back from his new owners. A heap of fresh faces are joining the series for its second date, such as Celeste Barber (Wellmania), Virginia Gay (Mother and Son), Justin Rosniak (Wolf Like Me), Lynne Porteous (Frayed), John Howard (Bump) and Aunty Donna's Broden Kelly (Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe). Check out the trailer for season two of Colin From Accounts below: Colin From Accounts season two will stream via Binge from Thursday, May 30, 2024. Read our review of season one. Images: Lisa Tomasetti.
Not everyone is a sports fan, but if you like live tunes, the Australian Open should still be on your radar even if you care little about on-the-court action. Only one music event in the world takes place as part of a Grand Slam, and that's AO Live. On the lineup for 2025's iteration: none other than Kesha, Armand Van Helden, Kaytranada and Benson Boone. Game, set, match, music: that's what's on offer when the Australian Open returns in January 2025 with two jam-packed weeks of tennis, plus a few aces for music lovers in the form of its three-day festival. It was back in 2023 that the annual Melbourne sports event launched the AO Finals Festival, getting a heap of talents taking to the stage. Unsurprisingly proving a hit, the fest returned in 2024, and will now be back again in 2025 under a new name. The venue: John Cain Arena, where AO Live will run from Thursday, January 23–Saturday, January 25. 2025's version features the event's biggest lineup so far — complete with Bag Raiders, Bella Amor, Channel Tres, Dijok, Kah-Lo and Jade Zoe. The fest kicks off with Boone on the Thursday, followed by Kaytranada on the Friday. Both days will span 5–9pm. Come Saturday, coinciding with the women's finals, Kesha will make her first visit to Australia in seven years, joined by Van Helden. Wrapping up AO Live, the day will kick off at 2pm and finish at 7pm. Expect plenty of company, with the 2023 fest selling out, then 2024's moving venues to John Cain Arena to take advantage of its 10,000-person capacity. AO Live ticketholders will also get a ground pass to the Australian Open, so you can watch the tennis as well as catching live tunes. As always, there'll be scores of food and drink pop-ups scattered throughout Melbourne Park, as well as big screens showing all the on-court action. [caption id="attachment_975223" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brendan Walter[/caption] AO Live 2024 Lineup Thursday, January 23: Benson Boone Bella Amor Friday, January 24: Kaytranada Channel Tres Dijok Saturday, January 25: Kesha Armand Van Helden Bag Raiders Kah-Lo Jade Zoe AO Finals Festival images: Ashlea Caygill.
One of the best directors to ever step behind the camera. Two of the absolute top living actors. An unnerving true tale. A Cannes-premiering film. That's a helluva combination — aka Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, events in the 1920s in Osage County in Oklahoma and Killers of the Flower Moon. And, if you're not already excited, a third trailer for the soon-to-release movie has just been unveiled. Every Scorsese film is worth waiting for, but Killers of the Flower Moon has been decades in the making. The nonfiction book that the acclaimed director's latest film adapts also steps a century back, detailing a time when members of the Osage Nation became wealthy through oil, then targets for white interlopers. To bring this real-life story to the screen, the filmmaker has finally united DiCaprio and De Niro in one of his full-length flicks, too, after spending decades working with both separately. The end result, and Scorsese's first feature since 2019's The Irishman, premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in May. Next, it's headed to cinemas Down Under in October and then Apple TV+ after that. De Niro and DiCaprio have been in so many of the legendary director's movies that it's rare for any of his titles to not include one or the other. The former's run gave viewers gangster masterpieces such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Casino; also spans the iconic Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The King of Comedy; and covers musical New York, New York and thriller remake Cape Fear, too — and, of course The Irishman. The latter began leading Scorsese's films in the early 2000s, kicking off with Gangs of New York, then starring in The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island and The Wolf of Wall Street. That's a mighty impressive resume for both actors, and for their favourite helmer. Killers of the Flower Moon is actually the second time that De Niro and DiCaprio have joined forces for Scorsese, but the first time in one of his features, with the pair playing themselves in the director's 2015 comedy short The Audition. The actors also have a past on-screen beyond that thanks to the non-Marty helmed This Boy's Life in 1993, back when DiCaprio was still a teen. Its main talents aside, Killers of the Flower Moon has looking backwards on its mind as well. As seen in the initial teaser in May, then the first full trailer and now this just-dropped next sneak peek, the film jumps into a series of real-life of murders. DiCaprio (Don't Look Up) and Certain Women standout Lily Gladstone play Ernest Burkhart and Mollie Kyle, a couple that gets caught up in the investigations surrounding the mounting killings — with Burkhart facing off against his scheming uncle William Hale (De Niro, Amsterdam). The deaths start when oil turns the Osage Nation into some of the richest folks on the planet, and quickly, which attracts the wrong kind of notice — attention fuelled by greed and envy, and resulting in manipulation, extortion and homicide. Killers of the Flower Moon surveys that story through Burkhart, Kyle and their romance, while also taking in the bitter resentment (and worse) expressed by Hale. Scorsese also co-wrote the screenplay with Eric Roth (Dune, and an Oscar-winner for Forest Gump), adapting David Gann's 2017 non-fiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. And, movie co-stars Jesse Plemons (Love & Death), John Lithgow (Sharper) and newly minted Best Actor Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser (The Whale). Oh, and Scorsese himself, albeit in a small part. Check out the latest trailer for Killers of the Flower Moon below: Killers of the Flower Moon releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 19, and will then stream via Apple TV+ at a later date — we'll update you with streaming details when they're announced.
Fancy soaking in Sydney's expansive coastal surroundings while putting one foot in front of the other? Then head to the city's newest attraction. Stretching between the two titular beaches, the just-launched Bondi to Manly Walk spans 80 kilometres along the east coast and harbour foreshore — connecting the existing tracks in the area into one epic, super-scenic seaside trek. First announced in November 2018 and now open for Sydneysiders to stroll along, B2MW meanders past all of the expected highlights; think secluded coves, spectacular views, bushland, clifftops, and landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. As the name makes plain, it starts and ends at Bondi and Manly beaches, but there's plenty to see in-between. You'll also wander everywhere from the Hornby Lighthouse and Mrs Macquarie's Chair to the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and Curlew Camp. Specifically winding through Bondi, Watsons Bay, Rose Bay, Darling Point and Kirribilli, past Taronga Zoo, over to Spit Bridge, then through Manly Wharf to Manly Beach, the track combines a host of already-popular trails. Stroll along the South Head Heritage Trail, Green Point Walking Track, Hermitage Foreshore Track, Bradleys Head Walk and Georges Heights Walk, then head through the Manly Scenic Walkway, North Head Sanctuary, Australian Memorial Walk and Fairfax Track. Emphasising the people of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the land through which the B2MW travels, the trail also journeys past significant Indigenous sites such as an Aboriginal People's midden between Fisher Bay and Sandy Bay, Aboriginal engravings at Grotto Point, and the ancestral reburial site and rock art at Reef Beach. Plus, while you're moseying, you'll follow 350 Aboriginal Whale Symbol signs along the mega trail's lengthy expanse — with an app also available to help you plan and track your walk. Sixty kilometres of the massive track runs over public land, including bushwalking paths, while the other 20 kilometres takes walkers along footpaths — with the trek coming about after considerable co-operation between the relevant local, state and federal government bodies. And if you're wondering how long it takes, suggested itineraries split the walk into four, five and seven-day routes, although you can obviously make the journey however you see fit. The Bondi to Manly Walk is now open. For more information, visit the walk's website. Images: Destination NSW.
What happens when two cousins played by Kieran Culkin (Succession) and Jesse Eisenberg (Fleishman Is in Trouble) honour their grandmother and explore their family's past by heading to Poland? Eisenberg himself asked that question, then turned the answer into the Sundance-premiering and now Jewish International Film Festival-bound A Real Pain. The actor not only co-stars but writes and directs the dramedy, his second feature behind the lens — and Australian audiences can see the results when JIFF returns for 2024. This year's festival is back to finish out the year, screening in seven cities — Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Canberra — across various dates between Sunday, October 27–Sunday, December 22. Just like its fellow major cultural film fests, such as its French, Spanish, Italian, Scandinavian and Japanese counterparts, JIFF's 2024 slate is jam-packed. Movie lovers can choose between 41 features, two TV shows and a showcase of short films, with the festival's titles hailing from 17 countries. Eisenberg and Culkin aren't the only big names on the lineup. Closing night's Berlin-set The Performance, which is adapted from an Arthur Miller short story and tells of a Jewish American tap dancer, stars Jeremy Piven (Sweetwater). The fest's centrepiece pick Between the Temples features Jason Schwartzman (Megalopolis) as a cantor and Carol Kane (Dinner with Parents) as his former elementary school music teacher. And in White Bird, which hails from a book by the author of fellow page-to-screen effort Wonder, Helen Mirren (Barbie) and Gillian Anderson (Scoop) pop up. In Sydney and Melbourne only — it's playing the Brisbane International Film Festival in the Queensland capital instead — The Brutalist is on the JIFF bill as well. It shows Down Under after winning Venice's Silver Lion-winner for Best Director for actor-turned-filmmaker Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader, Vox Lux). Starring on-screen: Adrien Brody (Asteroid City), Felicity Jones (Dead Shot) and Guy Pearce (Inside), in a flick that follows architect László Toth and his wife Erzsébet to America from Europe after the Second World War. Well-known folks are also in the spotlight in documentaries Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, Diane Warren: Relentless and How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer — and acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People, The Trip movies) is on the lineup via British Mandatory Palestine-set historical thriller Shoshana. Then, there's TV series Kafka, arriving a century after the death of its namesake. Highlights across the rest of the program include documentary The Commandant's Shadow, about The Zone of Interest-featured Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss' son Hans Jürgen Höss meeting with survivor Anita Lasker-Wallfisch; Tatami, following a female Iranian judo athlete played by Arienne Mandi (The L Word: Generation Q), with Guy Nattiv (Golda) and Zar Amir Ebrahimi (last seen on-screen in Shayda, and also co-starring here) co-directing; television's Auckland-set Kid Sister; and Aussie doco Pita with Vegemite: An Israeli Australian Story. "Our 2024 program showcases stars and change makers, offering audiences a rich tapestry of stories that explore the depth and diversity of Jewish life," explains JIFF Artistic Director Eddie Tamir. "We are excited to present films that span thousands of years of history and culture, reflecting on both the ancient traditions that have shaped our world and the contemporary challenges we face today." Jewish International Film Festival 2024 Dates and Locations Sunday, October 27–Wednesday, December 4 — Classic Cinemas (full dates), Lido Cinemas (Monday, October 28–Tuesday, December 3) and Cameo Cinemas (Saturday, November 9–Wednesday, November 13), Melbourne Monday, October 28–Thursday, December 5 — Ritz Cinemas (full dates) and Roseville Cinemas (Thursday, November 7–Wednesday, November 20), Sydney Thursday, November 7–Sunday, November 17 — New Farm Cinemas, Brisbane Thursday, November 7–Sunday, November 17 — The Piccadilly, Adelaide Thursday, November 7–Sunday, November 17 — State Cinema, Hobart Saturday, December 7–Sunday, December 8 — Dendy Cinemas, Canberra Saturday, December 14–Sunday, December 22 — Luna Leederville, Perth The 2024 Jewish International Film Festival runs from October–December. For more information, or to buy tickets, head to the festival's website.
You've just sat down on the couch with Aunty Donna's new $30 bottle of wine. You're done reading the Always Room for Christmas Pud picture book, however, and you've already watched Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun — aka one of 2020's best new shows — more times than you can count. What's a comedy fan left to do while they sip their $30 vino, other talk about it a heap? From sometime early in 2023, you can feast your eyes on new ABC sitcom Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe. Morning brown, morning brown, this bit of news is better than a cup of morning brown — because Aunty Donna is heading back to your TV, and to the ABC, as initially announced earlier in 2022. Yes, Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane are heading to Aunty, in a return of what just might be Aussie television's most fitting pairing. This isn't the first time that the two have joined forces, after all, with Aunty Donna's Fresh Blood hitting iView back in 2014. This time, though, Bonanno, Kelly and Ruane are starring in a Melbourne-set comedy. The premise: three best mates run a cafe in one of Melbourne's laneways. Their coffee-slinging establishment is trendy, but the stretch of pavement it's in on isn't. You can expect cups of morning brown to be served, clearly. Hopefully, the song about them will get a whirl. Will the cafe be open on Christmas and serve up a little bit of pud, too? You'll have to watch to find out. From the just-dropped sneak peek, which sees Bonanno, Kelly and Ruane chat through what's in store and also includes snippets of footage, Aunty Donna's absurd sense of humour is firmly intact. Sniffing pastries, wearing Batman costumes, donning crowns, jumping on counters, cults, and guest appearances by Miranda Tapsell (Christmas Ransom), Pia Miranda (Mustangs FC) and Richard Roxburgh (Elvis) — they're all included. "This is a heightened, ridiculous sitcom about three friends who are trying to run a cafe. They get up to bizarre adventures, and we really hope it's going to be the latest, greatest addition to Australia's incredible history or ridiculous, stupid comedies," Bonanno says in the clip. "We cannot wait to make you laugh on ABC and ABC iView early next year" adds Ruane, before cutting a clip of him in-character asking "how is this going to sit on a Wednesday night on ABC"? Exactly when the show hits hasn't been revealed, other than that early 2023 timeframe, but you can check out the first teaser for Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe below: Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe will hit ABC and ABC iView sometime in early 2023 — we'll update you when an exact release date is announced.
While gifts are a splendid way to spoil mum this Mother's Day, the most meaningful gesture is clearing your calendar and spending quality time together. Throw in a share-worthy feast and a glass (or bottle) of bubbles, and you have yourself a memorable Mother's Day. Whether you're celebrating your mum, you're a new mum yourself, or you're looking for a way to treat the incredible women in your life this May, we've teamed up with G.H. Mumm, Perrier-Jouët, and Mumm Terroirs to round up eight of the best champagne-fuelled specials in Brisbane. Bacchus If your mum prefers a high tea over a hearty lunch, Bacchus in South Bank is an opulent way to show your appreciation this Mother's Day. Toast to your mum with a crisp glass of Mumm champagne on arrival before diving into an exquisite array of handcrafted savoury bites, like squid ink salami tart with fig jam and buffalo curd, classic smoked chicken sandwiches with celery and mustard, and delectable sweet treats, including framboise pistachio, macarons, and fluffy scones with cream and jam. For an extra touch of luxury, Bacchus' Mother's Day high tea is priced from $89 per person on Saturday, May 10 and $99 per person on Sunday, May 11. Not luxurious enough yet? You'd best make use of the optional upgrade to a one-and-a-half-hour bottomless pour. Secure a table here. Como Blending contemporary Italian flair with the world-famous elegance of Lake Como, Como Restaurant in Brisbane's south offers an ideal setting to spoil your mum. This Mother's Day, across both Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11, you can order a flute of Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut and enjoy two complimentary freshly shucked Pacific oysters with mignonette—arguably the perfect way to kick off a long and slow Italian lunch. Secure your table together here. Emporium Step away from a standard lunch and surprise mum with a Mother's Day high tea at Emporium Hotel in South Bank. Across a handful of Emporium's boutique dining venues, there's a range of glamorous high teas to suit your mum's style. Choose between a Parisian-style high tea at Belle Époque for $99 with a glass of Mumm Grand Cordon NV on arrival, The Reserve Wine Bar for $95 including a glass of Maison Saint AIX Rose, or an elevated Italian feast at Firma Italian for $109 including a glass of Mumm Grand Cordon NV. And if little ones are in tow, a children's high tea is available for just $45. Secure your booking here. Gusto da Gianni For a touch of portside Italian indulgence this Mother's Day weekend, treat your mum to some of Brisbane's freshest oysters paired with the finest champagne at Gusto da Gianni. Set to a glistening Brisbane River backdrop, you can devour two complimentary freshly shucked Coffin Bay oysters with mignonette and lemon for every flute of Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut purchased. Secure a table here. Hervé's With a nostalgic nod to hearty home-style French-Australian cooking, Hervé's can be considered one of Brisbane's leading French restaurants and bars—and the perfect setting for an intimate Mother's Day celebration. For lunch on either Saturday, May 10 or Sunday, May 11, treat your mum and the incredible women in your life to a carefully curated four-course feast inspired by Hervé's à la carte menu. The feast features dishes like steak frites, cuisse de canard confit aux lentilles braisées, and crème brûlée, paired with a flute of Perrier-Jouët on arrival for $140 per person. Reserve your table here. HOTA If your mum is based on the Gold Coast or might fancy a short road trip, HOTA, Home of the Arts, is transforming its outdoor terrace into a glamorous Perrier-Jouet X Palette Garden that's well worth the drive for a bit of Mother's Day indulgence. Showcasing how art naturally blends with fine dining, the HOTA team is delivering a stunning sweet and savoury high tea for $80 per person. You can spoil your mum even further by elevating it with a glass of Mumm Tasmania Sparkling Wine on arrival for $95 or a glass of Perrier-Jouët Champagne for $110. Secure a booking here. Cloudland Cloudland in Fortitude Valley is offering a Mother's Day buffet feast, perfect for celebrating your mum in style this May. Head up to The Rose Room on the top floor for a lavish array of gourmet buffet stations including charcuterie and antipasto, a hot carvery featuring delectable dishes like roasted porchetta, slow-cooked beef sirloin, and steamed barramundi, a salad bar with the freshest ingredients, and a roaming dessert cart with miniature desserts and petit fours. All accompanied by a flute of Mumm Prestige, for $89. Secure a booking here. Brisbane Marriott Hotel Nestled in the heart of Brisbane's CBD, overlooking the city's iconic Story Bridge, the Brisbane Marriott Hotel oozes sophistication and charm, making it an ideal spot for a city staycation. This Mother's Day, invite your mum to experience this urban oasis with a spectacular high tea framed by a captivating river backdrop, and a flute of Mumm Cordon Rouge on arrival for just $99 per person. Conveniently located near Brisbane hot spots, like Howard Smith Wharves, New Farm and James Street, there are plenty of reasons to check in, stay a little longer, and make it a Mother's Day to remember. Reserve your spot here. SkyPoint Take your Mother's Day high tea to literal new heights with SkyPoint's decadent, panoramic 'High Tea To Share With Mumm'. Treat your mum to a glass of Mumm Cordon Rouge or Mumm Grand Cordon Rosé before devouring a glamorous high tea surrounded by sweeping Gold Coast city vistas. Think tasty sweets like petite mango and coconut slice, macarons, and homemade tiramisu, and savoury sandwiches featuring smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers and roquette, and prosciutto with caramelised onion, Swiss cheese, and gem lettuce. This special high tea offering is available from Sunday, May 11 until Tuesday, May 20. High tea for two with a glass of G.H. Mumm is $89 per person, while high tea for two with a bottle to share is $159 per person. Book your spot here. Mother's Day is just around the corner. Be sure to indulge your mum this May by treating her to a glass of G.H. Mumm, Perrier-Jouët, and Mumm Terroirs at any of these Brisbane restaurants and bars. By Elise Cullen.
Back in 2021, news arrived that Round the Twist was joining The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Muriel's Wedding, Strictly Ballroom, Starstruck and Moulin Rouge! in making the leap from Australia's screens to its theatres as a stage musical. If you've ever, ever felt like you needed to see the classic 90s and early 00s Aussie children's TV series with singing and dancing, the end result finally has a debut date. Your destination if you want to catch it first: Brisbane, with Round the Twist The Musical making its world premiere as part of Queensland Theatre's 2024 season. The homegrown gem is going the screen-to-stage route in a production that hasn't yet unveiled its cast, but already has the entire country well-acquainted with its characters. It'll hit QPAC's Playhouse from Tuesday, November 12–Sunday, December 1, closing out Queensland Theatre's 2024 run. We bet you're now more excited right now than a Twist family member in a lighthouse. Airing for two seasons between 1990–93, then another two from 2000–01, Round the Twist adapted Paul Jennings' popular books into an offbeat fantasy series. If you were the right age, it was must-see TV — and now it's your next must-see musical. Here's hoping that the new stage production not only does justice to the show that absolutely every Aussie kid watched in the 90s and 00s, and more than once, but that it taps into its balance of humour, strangeness and scares. There's definitely a big lighthouse involved, because of course there is. Obviously, we all know which song absolutely has to be included — and multiple times, ideally. Yes, it's the theme tune by Andrew Duffield that you've now got stuck in your head and will keep singing to yourself for the rest of the week. (And no, we're not sorry for putting it there.) Writer/composer Paul Hodge and director Simon Phillips (Muriel's Wedding: The Musical, Ladies in Black) are guiding the show, which will focus on single father Tony Twist; his children Pete, Linda and Bronson; and their efforts to save their home from the Gribble family while also attempting to solve a 200-year-old mystery. Expect haunted spaces, ghosts, smelly feet and a crystal ball as well, and songs. "Round The Twist The Musical is iconically Australian and it is our absolute pleasure to bring these characters, these stories and these songs to the stage for the first time ever," said Queensland Theatre Artistic Director Lee Lewis, announcing the 2024 program. "This has been a giddy labour of love for all of us here at Queensland Theatre for years now, and we're beyond excited to finally see this production come to life." Where Round The Twist The Musical will play after its Brisbane debut hasn't yet been announced, if you're hoping to see the production elsewhere around the country. Back in the Queensland capital, Queensland Theatre will also stage versions of Gaslight and Medea in 2024, the latter by Kate Mulvany and Anne-Louise Sarks. Football drama 37 will enjoy its world premiere, while Pulitzer Prize-winner Cost of Living and the Veep-style POTUS, Or Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive will make their Australian debuts. If you need something Round the Twist-related to watch until November 2024 hits, all four seasons of the show are streaming on Netflix. You can also check out the trailer for Round the Twist's first season below: Round the Twist The Musical will premiere at the QPAC Playhouse, South Bank, Brisbane from Tuesday, November 12–Sunday, December 1, 2024 as part of Queensland Theatre's 2024 season — head to Queensland Theatre's website for further details. Top image: Round the Twist filming location Split Point lighthouse, Natalie Maguire via Wikimedia Commons.
Childhood snaps aplenty are filled with Australia's big things, including pictures with The Big Pineapple as a backdrop if you've ever visited the Sunshine Coast. As an adult, there's another way to make memories at the famous Woombye site: hitting up The Big Pineapple Festival, which is finally returning in 2024 after a three-year absence and has just dropped its jam-packed lineup. The Queensland fest announced its comeback earlier this year, and also its 2024 date: Saturday, October 19. Now comes who'll be taking to the stage while you dance in the shadow of a giant piece of tropical fruit. The Amity Affliction, Bliss n Eso and Peking Duk lead the bill, alongside Tones and I, Golden Features, Vera Blue, Thornhill and Dune Rats doing a DJ set. There's a heap more acts where they came from, too, on what's set to be a massive spring day in the Sunshine State. [caption id="attachment_964826" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Tom Barnes[/caption] 2024's event will also add a World Eats and Beats precinct, which is where you can grab a bite and listen to global tunes; the Lantern Parade lighting up the site, aka pineapple fields; the Skate Jam, where top Aussie skaters will on their decks; and Burlesque L'amour doing a festival stint. Or, you can enter the Best Dressed at the Fest contest, with prizes for both solo and team attire — and likely a range of pineapple-inspired outfits getting a workout — or try your stuff at The Great Australian Pineapple Toss competition. On the nation's list of big things, The Big Pineapple is among the most famous. It's big. It's a pineapple. It's heritage-listed Queensland icon. It's surrounded by those pineapple fields. It now has a new cafe and viewing platform. Basically, what's not to love? Since 2013, however, it's no longer merely a reason to go to Nambour to gawk at over-sized fruit — because that's when it also became home to a music festival, which ran annually until its current three-year break. As well as live music, the fest includes two days of camping. Accordingly, if you hadn't already, start looking forward to an event that'll take over its iconic location's natural amphitheatres, get folks pitching a tent at the 4000-person campground, and also span workshops and art installations in a relaxed setting, too. The Big Pineapple Festival's return is welcome news at a time when the Australian music scene has been seeing cancellations, rather than comebacks. Tasmania's Mona Foma said farewell forever after its 2024 event, both Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo scrapped their 2024 festivals mere weeks after announcing their lineups, Falls Festival took summer 2023–24 off, Summergrounds Music Festival at Sydney Festival was cancelled and This That hasn't gone ahead for a couple of years now. The Big Pineapple Festival 2024 Lineup: The Amity Affliction Tones and I Bliss n Eso Golden Features Peking Duk Vera Blue Thornhill Dune Rats (DJ set) The Dreggs Drax Project SLUMBERJACK Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers Ocean Grove Kinder South Summit No Money Enterprise Day We Ran Betty Taylor Toby Hobart Hellcat Speedracer Raw Ordio Ishan Larynx Karlou Rhino Tess Fapani Earth Sign Unearthed winner [caption id="attachment_964825" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Billy Zammit[/caption] [caption id="attachment_944026" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Big Pineapple, Alpha via Flickr[/caption] The Big Pineapple Festival will return on Saturday, October 19, 2024. Ticket presale signups start from 8am on Monday, July 8, with presales beginning at 8am on Wednesday, July 10 and general sales from 8am on Thursday, July 11 — head to the fest's website for more information. Images: Claudia Ciapocha / Charlie Hardy.
When it opens in May 2023, SEA SEA looks set to be much more than your usual coastal hotel in New South Wales. Co-owners George Gorrow (co-founder of Ksubi fashion label and creator of The Slow hotel in Bali) and Cisco Tschurtschenthaler (a model, keen surfer, raw food chef, yoga teacher and founder of Cisco & The Sun Home) will use this new Crescent Head site to host art exhibitions, a fashion line and a homewares collection. And yeah, you can spend a few nights there as well. In terms of design and functionality, the 25-room hotel will take inspiration from Australia's 70s surf culture. Each room will be filled with bespoke, artisan-produced furniture and crafts paired with bold pieces of artwork. If it's anything like The Slow in Bali, it will be a visually stunning space where patrons can really relax. The food and drinks offerings will be a big part of the experience, too. The venue is teaming up with Sydney's much-loved P&V Wine & Liquor Merchants and mixologist Antonello Arzedi (who has previously worked at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar) to level up the drinks menu. Food will be looked after by Daniel Medcalf of Cabarita's No 35 Kitchen and Bar and, previously, The Dolphin Hotel and The Slow Kitchen and Bar in Bali. Guests and visitors can also make their way over to Room 13, where Gorrow's passion for art and design will keep taking centre stage. This 90-square-metre project space will house a rolling series of art exhibitions, changing every six weeks, and also play host to musical performances curated by Wesley Heron, the hotel's Music Director. You can even tune into the venue's in-house radio station from your room — curated by Reverberation. [caption id="attachment_878246" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wesley Heron, SEA SEA's Music Director.[/caption] Also a feature: Gorrow's new fashion label Non-Type, which will be sold at the hotel. That venture sees him team up with another Ksubi co-founder, Gareth Moody — keep an eye out for the label's tailored pants, board shorts, wetsuits and leather blazers. Cisco Tschurtschenthaler's aforementioned homewares range Cisco & The Sun Home will be sold at the hotel as well, with the owners clearly putting a lot of themselves into this venture. And, of course, the new boutique hotel will be right by the beach. In fact, SEA SEA will be just 400 metres away from a must-surf Crescent Head point break. So, grab your surfboard (or boogie board) and prepare for an epic seaside vacay down in this laidback town. SEA SEA will open in Crescent Head, New South Wales on May 1, 2023, and will start taking bookings from the beginning of December. Head to the hotel's website for further information. Now you can book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips, and discover inspiring deals on flights, stays and experiences.
My my, how can you resist this? MAMMA MIA! The Musical is bringing its Greek-set onstage party back to Australia in 2023 — and if you're a musical fan, an ABBA devotee or perennially keen to indulge in 70s nostalgia, you'll want to be there. By now, the hit production is well-known around the world, including from previous Aussie runs. It has spawned not one but two movies, too. And, its tale of a young bride-to-be's quest to find her father before her wedding will liven up Sydney Lyric from next autumn. So far, only a Sydney season has been locked in for MAMMA MIA! The Musical's Australian return, starting in May 2023. For folks outside the Harbour City, cross your fingers that this restaging of the popular 2017 production will also take its romantic chaos and 22 ABBA tracks around the country — or, you'll need to take a chance on a Sydney trip. Here we go again with one of the biggest jukebox musical hits of the past quarter-century, as seen by over 65 million people worldwide so far. The story, as theatre audiences have enjoyed since 1999, follows 20-year-old Sophie, who is about to marry her fiancé Sky on the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi. It's her dream for her dad to walk her down the aisle, but courtesy of her mother Donna's old diary, she learns that her father could be one of three men: Sam Carmichael, Bill Austin or Harry Bright. Calling all dancing queens, obviously — with that track, the titular number, and everything from 'Money, Money, Money', 'Thank You for the Music', 'Super Trouper' and 'The Name of the Game' to 'SOS', 'Does Your Mother Know', 'Waterloo' and 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' featuring (and 'Take a Chance on Me', 'The Winner Takes It All' and, of course, 'I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do', too). The new Australian run hails from producers Michael Coppel, Louise Withers and Linda Bewick, plus Helpmann Award-winning director Gary Young, choreographer Tom Hodgson and musical supervisor Stephen Amos. Exactly who'll be playing Sophie, Donna, Sam, Bill and Harry hasn't yet been revealed — but if you already know and love the show and the soundtrack, that won't matter. MAMMA MIA! The Musical plays Sydney Lyric from May 2023, with tickets on sale from Thursday, November 24. For further details or to join the waitlist, head to the production's website. Images: James D Morgan.
Does your version of celebrating the festive season involve eating more of the things you love? Do pork belly, chicken schnitzels, chicken wings and German sausages fall into that category? If so, The Bavarian has an all-you-can-eat special that'll tempt your tastebuds — because a bottomless feast is on the menu. On Thursdays between November 18–December 23, the German-themed chain is serving up all-you-can-eat meat platters. They come stacked with all of the aforementioned meats — and yes, the pork belly includes crackling — plus mashed potato, sauerkraut and red cabbage as sides. And, once you've finished your board, you'll get a whole new serving. There's no time limit to your eating, so you can pace yourself — and it'll cost you $35 per person. There is a two-person minimum, however, so you'll need to take at least one meat-loving pal along with you. You'll find The Bavarian at Eagle Street Pier, Chermside, The Barracks, Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast, Robina, Broadbeach, Coomera, Mackay and Rockhampton in Queensland. And if you want to all that meat with German brews — which is understandable — you'll pay extra for the drinks.
You should never be too far away from German beer, huge plates of pork and salty pretzels — or that seems to be Brisbane's new motto, at least. Just weeks after Munich Brauhaus opened its doors in South Bank, and a year after The Bavarian set up shop in Chermside, the city has now welcomed another huge Deutsch-themed haunt: the Bavarian Beerhaüs in the King Street precinct. Along with Bavarian Bier Cafe at Eagle Street Pier, the whole lot are run by Rockpool Dining Group, if you're wondering who's responsible for this tasty German onslaught. For the company's latest effort, it has set up a 350-seat beer hall that takes inspiration from its RNA Showgrounds setting, all within the old Royal Snack Bar. Yes, that means brews paired with carnival-style food — as well as the expected pork overload, of course. The Bavarian Beerhaüs boasts 40 beer taps pumping out a range of German draught beers, which the venue claims is the largest selection in Queensland. A selection of Australian craft beers is also on offer for those sipping brews in the 150-seat beer garden — or thirsty patrons can opt for a sizeable range of schnapps, espresso martinis on tap or frozen margaritas. Food-wise, there are two components to the menu. Firstly, German-style dishes such as pork knuckle, pork belly, schnitzels, sausages and shared meat platters feature heavily, alongside barbecue fare like coffee-spice rubbed pork ribs and spice-rubbed wagyu. If it's something Ekka-style that you're after, however, then tuck into dagwood dogs, chicken wings, hot dogs, loaded fries and even a strawberry sundae. Even better — complimentary snacks, including mini loaded fries, dagwood dogs and chicken wings, are available with drinks between 4-6pm daily. The entire place blends its brewhouse vibe with modern touches — think concrete, brick walls, an exposed ceiling and vintage decor — and throws in plenty of activities to keep the fairground theme going. Weekly ping pong tournaments, trivia nights, comedy and games afternoons are all part of Bavarian Beerhaüs' regular entertainment lineup, with two days of partying getting things started across May 26-27. That includes a two-day beer carnival, plus two days of 10-cent chicken wings and $2 hot dogs as well.
On the first Tuesday in November back in 2015, history was made. When Michelle Payne rode Prince of Penzance to victory at the Melbourne Cup, she became the first female jockey to win the race that stops the nation since it was first held back in 1861. That she beat 100-to-one odds made the story even sweeter. Payne's post-race statement, telling the world to "get stuffed if they think women aren't strong enough", rightfully became an empowering soundbite as well. Among not only track-goers and punters, but also folks who couldn't care less for the sport, hers instantly became a household name. Payne's win was a universal feel-good moment — a rare feat at an event and in an industry that are both saddled with multiple controversies. She didn't just fulfil her own wildest dreams, of course, with her victory having an aspirational effect. In addition to sending an uplifting message to girls, reminding them that they can do anything, the trailblazing achievement captured the broader public imagination. And, as usually happens whenever that's the case, cameras started rolling in response. While a schmaltzy Hollywood flick wouldn't have felt out of place, it was the wheels of the Australian cinema that started moving — helped by funding from several racing-affiliated bodies, plus a gambling agency. Whether made for television or playing in cinemas, a movie about Payne's success was always going to happen. Alas, while Ride Like a Girl is now racing across the big screen, it'd also suit a smaller canvas. The directorial debut of actor-turned-filmmaker Rachel Griffiths, it spins a well-known true tale in an overly familiar and straightforward fashion, including visually. Its aim: to simply warm hearts and spark cheers as it champions its real-life inspiration. If you've seen one rousing underdog movie, however — the kind where characters overcome rocky beginnings, suffer and toil, then follow their passions in a difficult field — then you've basically already seen this. Screenwriters Andrew Knight (Ali's Wedding) and Elise McCredie (Jack Irish) couldn't have come up with a more film-friendly story, not only spanning Payne's big moment but her background. Her family name was synonymous with horse racing long before she won the Melbourne Cup, with her father Paddy a veteran trainer, and eight of her nine older siblings all also working in the industry. But, despite her burning desire to race and her formidable work ethic, she was continually told that she'd never claim the sport's most glittering prize — or get the opportunity to try. Convincing her dad to support her dream was hard enough, let alone earning a decent run on the track or being treated fairly by her male colleagues. The fact she lost her mother as baby, the death of her sister during a race and her own bout of serious injuries all complicated matters, too. As nice as it might be to live a life that resembles a fantasy — or, not to downplay Payne's struggles, to navigate the kind of upward path that's usually the domain of crowd-pleasing fiction — where biopics are involved, it can make for flat viewing. Detail, texture and chaos all help a story resonate, as do intimate moments that feel inescapably specific to the real events at hand. Unsurprisingly, a broad overview doesn't have the same impact, especially one that seems as if it could apply to any number of similar tales. That's among Ride Like a Girl's chief troubles. Even when it serves up tidbits that could've only come from Payne's life, it takes such a light and breezy touch that it all still comes across as simplistic and routine. Indeed, if this was a book, it wouldn't be the mass of pages filled with meaty minutiae — it'd be the generic synopsis, designed to sweep readers in, on the back cover. Payne's feat will always echo throughout history, and so will the fortitude it took to get there, but Ride Like a Girl doesn't quite do her justice. That's not a criticism of Teresa Palmer, though, who puts in a performance not quite on par with her excellent work in Berlin Syndrome, but one filled with depths that the script doesn't match. As Payne's dad, a suitably stoic Sam Neill falls in step with with movie rather than his co-star; however the jockey's real-life brother Stevie, who plays himself, is an engaging delight. His casting feels real, a sensation that's missing from Ride Like a Girl elsewhere — for an inspiring true tale, it generally just feels manufactured. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLn7UOw-tF8
Is there any such thing as bad gyoza? Wrapping tasty fillings in pastry is a rather straightforward concept, after all. Australia's Japanese chain Harajuku Gyoza does the basics well, as you'd expect with its dumpling-celebrating name — but it also knows that this simple dish is teeming with possibilities. Home to Nutella gyoza and salted caramel gyoza, Harajuku Gyoza clearly likes getting creative with its sweet treats. The brand is fond of trying out new things with its savouring dumpling range, too, as its experiment with mac 'n' cheese and pepperoni pizza versions showed. But, it obviously has a soft spot for the kind of desserts you won't find on any old menu — already whipping up lemon meringue gyoza and marshmallow gyoza so far in 2022, and now going with a Ferrero Rocher version. Don't like, can't eat or are allergic to hazelnuts? You'll already know that Ferrero Rocher aren't for you, and neither are these Ferrero Rocher dumplings, sadly. Otherwise, expect exactly what this food mashup sounds like. They come dipped in chocolate and topped with crushed hazelnuts, with an actual Ferrero Rocher inside. The home of raindrop cakes and Japanese air cheesecakes is doing three Ferrero Rocher gyoza for $12, if your stomach is already rumbling. And if you fancy tucking into the new dumplings after devouring two old favourites — cheeseburger gyoza, which is stuffed with burger pieces, aged cheddar, onion, pickles, mustard and tomato sauce; and mozzarella gyoza, which is filled with the obvious, then deep-fried and sprinkled with Twisties salt — that's up to you. Harajuku Gyoza's Ferrero Rocher gyoza are available at all Australian stores — at Darling Harbour in Sydney; at South Bank and the CBD in Brisbane; and in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast — from Tuesday, November 1.
Immersive and Instagrammable art has been all the rage in Australia for a few years now. Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Room has taken up permanent residence in Canberra, Sugar Republic's "dessert museum" keeps popping up, both multi-sensory playground Imaginaria and Van Gogh Alive have been touring the country in 2021, and Melbourne now has its own permanent digital art museum. And, after first hitting our shores in Sydney in 2020, Happy Place is about to jump back on the must-photograph list. Dubbed the "world's most Instagrammable exhibit", the multi-room installation had already travelled across the US and Canada before its first Aussie stop, and now it's heading to Crown Melbourne from Thursday, December 2–Sunday, January 30. Once inside the exhibition, you'll find many OTT rooms to explore, including a rubber ducky bathtub room, a cookie room that actually smells like freshly baked cookies, a room filled with 40,000 golden handmade flowers and a giant rainbow with a golden ball pit (no leprechauns though, sorry). If that doesn't have you reaching for your smartphone, there's also a mind-bending upside-down room and the "world's largest indoor confetti dome". When it was on display in the northern hemisphere, more than one million snap-happy folks visited Happy Place — including, supposedly, celebs such as Adele, Hilary Duff, Kerry Washington, Olivia Wilde and Sarah Michelle Gellar — and we're guessing it's going to be equally popular during its return Down Under. While the exhibition is "on a mission to spread happiness around the world", thankfully it isn't actually like The Good Place. Obviously, it's likely to sell out — and fast. Happy Place will be operating under COVID-safe guidelines in Melbourne, which means that all patrons over the age of 16 will need to be double-vaccinated — and there'll be contact tracing in effect, as well as increased sanitisation measures. Find Happy Place at Crown Melbourne, Level 1 Metropol Precinct, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank from Thursday, December 2–Sunday, January 30. Adult tickets start at $24.99 and are on sale now.
There’s action films, and then there’s action films — and the TILT Film Festival presents the latter. This isn’t a celebration of the beat-'em-up and knock-'em-down type, but of the fast and furious kind. Only the most extreme and daring feats grace its silver screens. The seven-film program showcases work from some of the world’s most renowned and acclaimed sports and adventure filmmakers, and stars daring and revered Motocross riders, climbers, skiers, snowboarders, karate masters, surfers and athletes. There are no half measures here; this is about living life to the fullest and testing all conceivable limits. Australian Martial Arts documentary 100 Man Fight kicks off the program, with a different source of adrenalin in the spotlight each night. Scale to Patagonian heights with Cerro Tore – A Snowball’s Chance in Hell, or surf the psychedelic seas with Strange Rumblings. If sliding down the slopes is your thing, check out the double bill of legendary snowboarding filmmaker Jeremy Jones’ Higher and free ski film Almost Ablaze. The cultural phenomenon that is the Crusty Demons celebrate the 20th anniversary of their daredevil antics, while On Any Sunday – The Next Chapter provides a star-studded modern-day homage to the art of motorcycle riding.
What music goes best with turning eight-million Lego bricks into the largest collection of life-sized Lego Star Wars models ever assembled? 'Luke's Theme', aka the franchise's main tune? 'The Imperial March' when things get tricky? 'Parade of the Ewoks', just because? That's a question for Ryan McNaught aka Brickman, who has been spending time turning plastic rectangles, squares and other shapes into a recreation of a galaxy far, far away. The end result: Lego Star Wars: The Exhibition, which is a world-first showcase of Lego models based on the George Lucas-created space saga. It'll arrive in Australia in 2025, making its global premiere — and it sparks another question for attendees: which tracks will pair well with walking through this Lego Star Wars wonderland? The force is strong with this one — the Lego-building force, that is. Exactly where all of those millions of Lego bricks will display hasn't been revealed as yet, and neither have exact exhibition dates, but you can start getting as excited as a Skywalker learning how to first use a lightsaber. The full list of models that'll feature also hasn't been unveiled so far, but battle scenes between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader will be on display, plus Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul duelling, and also Emperor Palpatine's throne flanked by two Royal Guards. If you're in Melbourne and Sydney, you can also get a sneak peek right now — with the first two at Westfield Doncaster from Wednesday, May 1–Monday, May 6, and the third at Sydney Arcade's huge Lego store (the world's largest, in fact) for the month of May. As it constructs an immersive experience and follows in the footsteps of the Jurassic World franchise, which has also scored the Lego treatment from Brickman, Star Wars: The Exhibition has plenty of material to draw upon. On-screen, the series spans the initial film trilogy that released from 1977–83, then the prequels from 1999–2005, then the sequels — including The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker — from 2015–2019. Rogue One, Solo, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Ahsoka: the list goes on across the big and small screens. There's also TV's The Acolyte, which arrives in June 2024, plus the wealth of animated efforts in the saga. "Building real people and characters is one of the hardest things you can possibly make out of Lego bricks. Each model not only has to represent who it is in incredible detail, but also needs to capture the moment, the emotion, the struggle, the tension," said McNaught about Lego Star Wars: The Exhibition. "Translating those epic scenes, iconic characters and spacecraft from Star Wars into little bricks is really hard and that's why they are rarely done, and even more so on this scale. Nobody has ever recreated these fight scenes at this scale out of Lego before — and I'm excited to be able to help premiere this in Australia for the first time in 2025." Lego Star Wars: The Exhibition will hit Australia in 2025, with when and where still to be revealed — we'll let you know more when it is announced. Head to the exhibition's website to sign up for updates in the interim.
It only took one song for The Spice Girls to become a hit — and what a hit they became. Since you started reading this article, one of their songs has become stuck in your head, hasn't it? If you wannabe our lover, you'll admit it. In fact, we're guessing that your toes still tap whenever you hear a Spice Girls tune. And they went into overdrive when the group reformed and teased a potential Australian tour, too. There's no need to contain your Spice love at Black Bear Lodge's latest event. It is an appreciation evening celebrating all things spice all night — and playing all of their perky, catchy pop tunes. The only response to news of such a Spice-tastic shindig? Say you'll be there, of course. Dressing like Posh, Baby, Sporty, Scary or Ginger isn't required, but you know plenty of folks probably will anyway. Head along from 8pm on Thursday, June 27. Entry is free.
Think about the satisfaction of an epic growing out of the tiniest, most humble of origins. Whether it's the highbrow whiff of Proust's madeleine or the spunk'n'egg cocktail of human history, the romantic notion of 'from little things great things grow' is an appealing motif. In the case of Life and Times, the current mega work by New York-based theatre company Nature Theater of Oklahoma, the starting point was a phone conversation between co-artistic director Pavol Liska and company member Kristin Worrall. Worrall's brief was simple — tell her life story — and yet in the years since that first request in 2007, the verbatim results of her conversations with Liska have expanded into 15 hours worth of theatrical performance out of an anticipated 24. The art of conversation The casual language of phone conversations has formed the basis of two previous NTOK productions, No Dice (2008) and Romeo and Juliet (2009), and Liska and his partner, co-artistic director Kelly Copper, regularly chat with an impressive cohort of international artists in their podcast, OK Radio. The art of conversation it seems is, for now at least, a recurring principle of the company's process. "My education comes from my encounters with all different types of people," says Liska. "As a child you grow up and you meet this person and this person and this person, and I don't want to shut that process down. I know that I can't talk to everybody, so the people I do choose to talk to, I try to talk with them as deeply as possible. I use conversation as a springboard to unbalance myself, to derail myself. Ultimately, I could just lock myself in the closet and talk to myself, but there would be no resistance. So I use the other person to question my own ideas, to unbalance me and derail my own train of thought, and I do that to them as well." It is this deep process of conversation that provides the wealth of material for NTOK's Life and Times, of which Episodes 1–4 (out of an eventual ten) will be performed at this year's Melbourne Festival. Worrall's life story is not a chronologically linear autobiography, but rather a stream of recollection that fabricates a self-aware state of cause-and-effect as she links events through talking with Liska. The result is, for Liska, a kind of language that "does not belong in the theatre", and one that requires transformation before it is fit for an audience. Bringing theatre to the everyday "The more loose the text is, if it's a meandering conversation about something, the harder we have to work in the opposite direction [to formalise it], otherwise it's invisible," says Liska. A clear example of NTOK's approach to adapting conversational brain-dumping for the stage can be found in the earlier work Romeo and Juliet, which emerged from Liska and Copper calling friends and recording their attempts to recount the plot of Shakespeare's famous tragedy. "In order to make [these recordings] pop and to open them up, we felt like we needed to use a really formal mode of presentation, that over-the-top, cliched Shakespearean performance style," recounts Liska. As a contrast, after the show's curtain call the company then performed Shakespeare's original version of the balcony scene — in the dark, and understated, as the language was already so theatrical. “It just wouldn't be enough to present a phone conversation,” says Liska, “maybe some people who work with documentary theatre are okay with that, but ultimately I sit in rehearsal and I go to every performance and I have to find that it's opening something up for myself. It's not a purely humanistic effort — we're not just presenting the conversation and saying, hey, look at how wonderful people are — it's an aesthetic manifesto and an exploration.” Audiences and the clap Liska is genuine when he talks about the company exploring language through experimentation with aesthetics, and Life and Times already features a manic diversity in its presentation styles from episode to episode, including a couple that depart from traditional audience-actor theatre experiences altogether. "Obviously the audience doesn't talk back," says Liska, "but I want the exchange in the room to be a conversation, and my goal is never to allow the audience to forget that they are playing a role in the event. That's why it's so long — so that all these preconceived notions fall away. Something else happens." While Melbourne audiences will be able to see individual episodes separately, the ideal experience is to front up for the ten-hour marathon and in some way merge meaningfully with Liska, Copper and the gang. “If I have a conversation with you, I don't want you to clap for me at the end,” says Liska. Although there will be a curtain call at the end of the Melbourne marathon session, it's more because the actors end the fourth episode onstage and to not have applause would just feel weird. However, in between each episode, the cast can be found serving food in the foyer. “People can actually talk to them,” says Liska, “rather than do this — CLAP.” The Great Nature Theater of Oklahoma is calling you! There is poetic resonance in this idea of Liska's, given that the Nature Theater of Oklahoma first appeared in Franz Kafka's unfinished novel Amerika as a theatre company that had a place for absolutely anyone who came along. It also rings true with Liska's experience of Eastern European theatre-makers taking action for their community — not simply making art to be consumed. For Liska the important thing is to "stay open and playful and flexible. I wouldn't say that I'd never do a Chekhov play again, or a Greek tragedy — there just has to be a really strong reason to do something, I think that's what the audience finds inspiring.” For now such inspiration may dwell in a humble, late-night phone conversation, but it's anyone's guess under which pebble NTOK's next epic may be found. Life and Times is on at the Arts Centre Melbourne from October 22-26. Tickets are available from the Melbourne Festival website.
Welcome to the world of wild speculation surrounding the destination for The White Lotus season three. According to Variety, the next season will be set somewhere in Thailand. HBO hasn't confirmed this news, but it does seem to be the likely home of Mike White's next murder mystery. But the predictions don't end there. Variety has sourced — from multiple folks close to the publication — that The White Lotus team might also stick with filming at Four Seasons resorts. They have doubled as the titular fictional hotel chain for two seasons so far, meaning it isn't a stretch to think they'll be used again. That puts four possible Thailand spots on the list: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and the Golden Triangle. And we've done some digging around our own travel booking website, Concrete Playground Trips, to come up with an even juicier theory. As it stands, you can book three of these lavish hotels and resorts through Concrete Playground Trips, but one of them is unavailable for many months. Has Mike White already placed his reservation? Or are we simply grasping at straws? Read on to get a closer look at each of the Four Seasons hotels we think might be the next filming location for The White Lotus — three of which can be booked with us right now. FOUR SEASONS HOTEL BANGKOK This opulent Four Seasons hotel is located within Thailand's bustling capital city. You can enjoy views over the Chai Phraya River and of the surrounding cityscape from one of the 299 rooms, the three outdoor pools or the six restaurants and bars. Within the hotel, there are clearly heaps of luxe filming locations where guests could meet their untimely end. The local galleries, boutique stores, restaurants and cafes would certainly need to make an appearance — as well as many of Bangkok's other superb travel destinations. This would be the first city location for The White Lotus, which may be an interesting change of pace for the show, too. FOUR SEASONS TENTED CAMP — GOLDEN TRIANGLE (CHIANG SAEN) A series of luxury treehouses and lodges scattered around the jungle in Chiang Saen — in the north of Thailand, right near Myanmar and Laos — would be a pretty epic setting for the next series. We can already hear the ominous The White Lotus music playing now, as guests wander around the remote landscape in designer clothes. Want to visit? You'll wake up in your own glamping tent fitted out with bamboo furniture, free-standing bathtubs and large private balconies overlooking the nearby river and lush rainforest before exploring more of the area. FOUR SEASONS RESORT KOH SAMUI Thailand's island of Koh Samui is an incredibly popular tourist destination. People flock here all year long, exploring the gorgeous beaches backed by tropical vegetation and some of the nearby islands where you can either party or totally escape from the rest of the world. The Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui offers up access to all of this, with ridiculous levels of comfort — expect bespoke travel experiences, a glamorous spa, pools aplenty and a long list of places to eat and drink within the property's grounds. FOUR SEASONS RESORT CHIANG MAI This Four Seasons is currently unavailable to book, so we're wildly speculating that Mike White has something to do with it. White hinted about the next series of The White Lotus focusing on traditional Eastern culture and religion, making this remote location absolutely perfect. At Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, several villas and residences are spread out amongst rice fields and wild countryside. Guests can play tennis, join yoga classes, walk to hidden waterfalls, learn local crafts or simply swim about their private pools overlooking the property. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world. Top images: Four Seasons Tented Camp — Golden Triangle
It's called a cabinet of curiosities and, once you walk inside The Inchcolm by Ovolo in Spring Hill, the L-shaped glass counter filled with all kinds of knickknacks will definitely pique your interest. Maybe your eyes will be drawn to the Etch A Sketch, the plate with John Lennon's face on it, the bowling pin and the cassette tape. Or, you could instantly scope out the mannequin head, the Polaroid camera or the Elvis Presley box set. Either way, the cabinet is quite the centrepiece — and conversation piece, too. The gleaming piece of furniture has been part of the The Inchcolm since 2018, when the now century plus-old site was first taken over by the Ovolo hotel chain. Now, it remains after the venue's latest revamp. Visually, not too much has changed, but Ovolo has altered a few names here and there, and also shifted the focus of its entryway bar setup. The Inchcolm by Ovolo is actually the hotel's new moniker, and it's the first 'by Ovolo' site in Australia. As for the bar, the space formerly known as Salon de Co is now called The Inchcolm Bar. If you're not staying on the premises, it's the latter that's the main drawcard — and it has ditched its sit-down restaurant in favour of a boutique bar and bistro vibe. Its inspiration: Bar Marmont at Los Angeles' Chateau Marmont. In other words, the theme here is retro glamour, all in keeping with the buildings old-school heritage. Or, as Dave Baswal, Ovolo Group Managing Director ANZ, explains, "think a 1920s Paris salon where Gertrude, Ernest and Pablo would comfortably rub shoulders while sharing trailblazing ideas." Yes, he's talking about Stein, Hemingway and Picasso. If you visited The Inchcolm before the change of focus, you'll still recognise the velvet furnishings, dark-hued colour scheme, mood lighting and eye-catching floral wallpaper. Now it all adorns a space that's both a bar and a bistro in one. So, you can sit back and sip martinis — there's 11 different types on the menu, and the five signature versions cost just $12 during the daily martini hour from 5.30–6.30pm — or you can choose from an all-day dining lineup between Tuesday–Saturday. Food options include cheeseboards, charcuterie, escargot, steak tartare, caviar and oysters to nibble on — plus steak frites, gnocchi, southern fried chicken and burgers for something more substantial. Three kinds of toasties, including one with three cheeses, are also on offer, as is tiramisu, mud cake and creme caramel for dessert. If you're after something to drink other than martinis, the wine list spans seven pages, while the spirits offering runs over five. And, if you'd like to combine your visit with an overnight stay, The Inchcolm by Ovolo is dog-friendly, and features a complimentary sweets bar.
UPDATE, August 24, 2020: American Animals is available to stream via SBS On Demand, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. For most people, a pile of DVDs provides a good night's viewing. For Spencer Reinhard (Barry Keoghan) and Warren Lipka (Evan Peters) in American Animals, it's a how-to guide. Hiring out The Usual Suspects, The Thomas Crown Affair, The Italian Job and more back in 2003, the pair aren't just indulging their love of heist films — they're planning their very own robbery. Alongside Eric Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson) and Chas Allen (Blake Jenner), the Kentucky college students set their sights on the Transylvania University library's rare collection, where specific volumes kept behind lock and key are worth millions. And while watching The Sting and giving each other codenames straight out of Reservoir Dogs mightn't seem like the smartest way to prepare, it illustrates the group's entire handling of their pilfering operation. Motivated by the thrill of disrupting their daily routine, the lure of easy money and the yearning to feel as though they're not simply average, Spencer and his fellow middle-class pals treat their caper like it's a movie. If they realise that the likes of Butch Cassidy and Point Break don't end well for the thieves, they're choosing to ignore it. Astonishingly, theirs is a true story. That said, it proves even more astonishing in Bart Layton's hands. Drawn to another strange slice of reality after 2012's similarly twisty and thrilling The Imposter, the writer-director literally turns the quartet's hijinks into the kind of slick Hollywood flick that they'd love to watch. Incorporating interviews with the actual men behind the larceny as well, Layton also crafts a spectacularly playful and entertaining film that blurs the line between documentary and drama. When Spencer discovers the treasure trove of books sitting within his college library, stealing them just seems so straightforward. Or at least it does to Warren. While art student Spencer is apprehensive, the more outgoing and carefree Warren latches onto the idea like there's no other alternative. And from that moment on, there isn't. Soon the two friends are sketching blueprints, flying to Amsterdam to meet with art dealers, rustling up disguises, and recruiting the apprehensive Eric and Chas. But then the big day arrives, they come face-to-face with the kindly archivist (Ann Dowd) charged with keeping the valuable texts safe, and the group's brush with crime is hardly the glossy heist that they've imagined. If only American Animals could've sat in Spencer and Warren's to-watch pile, showing them what lay ahead. It doesn't, of course, although the notion isn't that far removed from Layton's perceptive and inventive approach. In a supremely clever blend of fact, fiction, fantasy and memory — and a superb display of editing as well — the filmmaker inserts the real-life perpetrators into the proceedings. Along with their parents and teachers, they relay their version of events to the camera, often conflicting with each other. Layton rewinds his recreations in response, unfurling new takes and changing details. More than that, he lets the actual Spencer and Warren step into the drama and interact with their counterparts, stopping the actors playing them when questions arise about what exactly happened, and how, and why. There are heist movies, and then there are heist movies. Despite the many examples viewed by American Animals' protagonists, there's never been one quite like this. It's the product of a filmmaker who's determined to probe and ponder in a savvy and dazzling manner — and it's not only his thoroughly relevant and timely queries that grab attention, but the way he's doing the asking. In an endlessly fascinating film that wonders why four young men from comfortable backgrounds would risk their futures just to prove that they're special, and what that says about society as a whole, Layton lets his stylistic choices offer some of the answers. It's not by accident that American Animals begins with talking heads and naturalistic hues, then becomes fast and sleek when Spencer and company start chasing their fantasy, only to opt for grit and grimness when reality strikes. Serving up resounding proof that The Imposter wasn't a one-off, Layton is at the top of his game — but he also has help. Or, perhaps his nose for a stunning story and his astute ability to spin it in exactly the right way are matched by his knack for casting. Acting opposite the real figures, Keoghan (The Killing of a Sacred Deer) and Peters (X-Men: Days of Future Past) couldn't better convey Spencer and Warren's essence. When the actual Warren proudly shows off his comic tattoo of a tyrannosaurus rex trying to switch off a ceiling fan, Peters instantly matches his wild yet assured vibe. When Spencer shows himself to be a ball of quiet nerves, Keoghan lets the feeling seep out of his pores. Still, the greatest trick that American Animals pulls is turning truth into a yarn and vice-versa, all while demonstrating how flimsy the boundary between the two truly is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlSxrxMYn8A
If you need proof that a lot can change in a decade, look no further than DMA's. From writing indie tunes in a rundown Newtown flat to conquering the world's biggest stages, the band is officially returning home for a nostalgic one-off Sydney show. Held at The Metro Theatre on Friday, March 27, this special 10th anniversary performance celebrates where bandmates Johnny Took, Matt Mason and Tommy O'Dell's journey really began — the release of their debut album, Hills End. Performing the album in full, DMA's are also making this show an unforgettable experience for diehard fans. That means you can expect tracks they've never previously played live, alongside a selection of fan favourites from across their acclaimed catalogue. Coinciding with the release of the Hills End 10th Anniversary Edition, featuring previously unreleased original demos, you have the perfect excuse to jam to 'Delete', 'Lay Down' and 'Step Up The Morphine' while reminiscing about where you were and what you were doing ten years ago. Pre-sale tickets are available from 10am on Wednesday, February 4 to 9am on Thursday, February 5, or until allocation is exhausted. If you miss out, general public tickets are on sale from 10am on Thursday, February 5. Head to the website for more information. Top image: Mclean Stephenson.
Four decades back, and three as well, Clown in a Cornfield would've stood out on a video store's shelves. It would've proven an instant hot rental, in fact. The slasher film just has that kind of title. The immediately evocative name comes from the page, where this tale of a killer jester sparking bloody mayhem rather than big laughs in a rural Missouri community initially appeared courtesy of author Adam Cesare. Not just for its moniker, the book won the 2020 Bram Stoker Award for Best Young Adult Novel. Eli Craig, the director of Clown in a Cornfield as a film — and its and co-screenwriter with Carter Blanchard (G vs E) — is no stranger to terrific titles himself. He was initially interested in this as his third feature due to its name, because who wouldn't be? That tracks across his career, however; his first two movies also had marvellous monikers. Fifteen years ago, Craig's Tucker and Dale vs Evil started earning horror- and comedy-loving devotees, and now is deservedly considered a 21st-century classic. When Little Evil arrived in 2017, it also had a title that stood out. How much stock does Craig put in a great name for a movie? "I think a great title is what gets people's attention more than almost any marketing. And it's very fun to me to mashup a title in a way that feels provocative — like you say, and unique. And feels like it tells the story," he tells Concrete Playground. "But then when you go see the movie, it actually has a lot more depth and complexity than the title gives you. So for Tucker and Dale vs Evil, it seems kind of silly and goofy — and, of course, it is a very heightened comedy. But it also has these layers of things it's about, and that is much deeper than you would think." "And it's the same with Clown in a Cornfield," Craig continues. "I think once people see it, they'll be like 'oh, this is actually saying a lot of things. It's not just a goofy movie about a clown and a cornfield'." Clown in a Cornfield is definitely a flick about a clown and a cornfield. It makes good on that promise. It also pushes horror further to the fore than Craig's past features did. This is equally a slasher that uses that high-concept premise to dig into generational divides, economic uncertainty, and both capitalism and the American dream gone wrong, though. As it follows high schooler Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas, Ginny & Georgia) and her widower father (Aaron Abrams, Children Ruin Everything) to Kettle Springs, where the latter is about to be the new town doctor — and where the existing resident adults, such as Sheriff Dunne (Will Sasso, George & Mandy's First Marriage) and Mayor Arthur Hill (Kevin Durand, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), yearn for the locale's past, while teens such as Arthur's son Cole (Carson MacCormac, Shazam! Fury of the Gods) are looking forward instead — it has societal bite to go along with its blood and gore. In Clown in a Cornfield, the character that lives up to the movie's moniker is Frendo, the mascot for the local Baypen Factory, which once kept much of the town employed. Since the corn outfit closed down, its harlequin has become a symbol of happiness and prosperity corrupted, embodying everything that Kettle Springs has lost — and sparking that chasm between its authority figures and everyone of their age with the next generation. In both the picture's 90s-set opening and its present-day bulk, a slicing-and-dicing Frendo is hardly a pal, then. It's positively homicidal, with dispensing with Quinn and her peers its aim. Craig himself has a phobia of them — "I'm terrified of clowns," he shares — but these makeup-adorned figures have long been both jovial and creepy characters in pop culture. His isn't the first feature to play up their eerie side, of course, including in the last decade. IT and IT: Chapter Two became huge box-office hits in 2017 and 2019, and a TV prequel is on the way to HBO. The currently three-strong Terrifier franchise has been getting gruesome on-screen since 2018, with a fourth flick in development. Is making a movie about a murderous clown cathartic when you're already afraid of them? Our chat with Craig started there. Also covered: Clown in a Cornfield's clear love for other slasher and horror films, what goes into a great scary-flick kill, and how the gulf between the film's younger and older characters also provides inspiration for some of its humour, including a pitch-perfect moment with a rotary phone — plus why Douglas was the right choice for Quinn, and fleshing out Sasso and Durand's parts. What does the affection now held by horror-movie lovers for Tucker and Dale vs Evil 15 years on, even if it wasn't the success that Craig was expecting when it released, mean to him, too? That was part of our discussion as well. On Being Afraid of Clowns While Making a Movie About Murderous Jesters — and No, It Isn't Cathartic "I've always found them to be very duplicitous and very not-trustworthy. And I always thought it was kind of funny that clowns would go to kids' birthday parties. I find magicians kind of scary, too. And we once had a magician to my son's birthday, but we elected not to have a clown. But in my last film Little Evil, I had a scene with a clown that spontaneously combusted on fire, because the kid had superpowers — and I really was thinking 'I have to do more with these clowns because they are just naturally disconcerting'. You'd think that maybe I'd have less fear of clowns now, but it's actually the opposite. I think Frendo has surprised me at various publicity events already, where he sneaks up behind me — and I'm always the one that's like 'aah'. So I haven't gotten over my fear of clowns, but there is something quite magical and fun about them, too. So it's that mixture of fear and loathing." On Clown in a Cornfield's Societal Bite — aka Making a Killer Clown Flick About Generational Chasms, Capitalism Gone Wrong and Economic Uncertainty "That was in the book, and that's why I wanted to make the movie, because I was really surprised at what Adam Cesare was able to get at about this generational anger, I think — and this divide between a younger generation that's more progressive and maybe cares about the earth and cares about their future, and maybe an older generation that just feels like they're just harvesting the earth for their own greed. And I thought that frustration is just really apropos to our time. And also, I would say the thing that's so interesting about using a clown to tell that story is that originally clowns were like court jesters, and they were the only ones that were kind of allowed to tell truth to power and to tell the king what maybe was really up — but they had to do it with a sense of humour and satire. So this movie, in a way, it's fun because it has these layers of truth underneath it, and it's a clown telling that story to people. That isn't necessary to love the movie. You could love the movie and not really care about anything deeper. But I think through humour and entertainment is a lot of the ways we get some of our ideas that break through the walls to meet us. So that was quite fun to play with." On Balancing the Film's Evident Love for Slasher and Horror Greats That've Gone Before with Being Its Own Addition to the Genre "I just want to embrace all the movies I saw as a kid. I grew up in the 80s and early 90s, and watched everything from the Halloween movies, Friday the 13th, all of Freddy Krueger stuff — and I also loved the comedy-horror movies like Evil Dead 2. And so a lot of it, to me, just lives in like this bouillabaisse inside my brain, and I don't necessarily know when I'm picking a trope from this movie or that, but they kind of live there. And it's funny to watch other people pick them out and say 'oh, you did this here and this here'. I just kind of feel the tropes and I start writing them, and I don't necessarily pick them all out. The one thing is Jaws, I did play directly to Jaws in this movie, because that is probably my favourite horror movie that goes under the radar as not really being a horror movie — but it definitely is. It scared the pants off me." On What Makes a Memorable Slasher-Movie Kill for Craig — and How Easy or Difficult That Is to Achieve "Well, I think a lot about how to heighten it, how to make it just a little bit more than say — I always love the Scream movies, but I find that Ghostface with this knife gets a little repetitive, so I'm trying to come up with a new way for each kill to be just slightly different. And what are the tools this farmer-type Frendo the clown might use? And so you come up with pitchforks and chainsaws and axes and sledgehammers and all kinds of tools, and then you just try to heighten that and make it something people will grin at and laugh and cheer, and also be freaked out about, all at the same time." On Skewing More on the Horror Side of the Scale Than Comedy Compared to Craig's Previous Features "I did a real comedy-first horror with Tucker and Dale, and then I did almost just a comedy with horror elements with Little Evil. And I really wanted to dive back into horror and do kind of a hard-R, gritty in some ways, horror film — but with some levity because that's just the way I am. I'm not a really dark person — and I like humour in my stories. And I think there's just humour in the darkest parts of life." On Layering the Film with Comic Touches That Also Get to the Heart of Its Generational Clash "When you have the opportunity to nail a joke that also is just inherent in the theme, it really makes me smile. It makes me really excited when I'm sitting there writing and I go 'oh, oh, this is going to be really good' — because you're not breaking out of the story to make a joke. It's just very much within the context of the film. So it's really exciting when those present themselves. I don't feel like I'm making a joke. I feel like comes to me out of the ether. And it just presents itself to me, and then that's the opportunity to do it. There's a few points in this movie that grabbed the theme and make a joke out of it." On Knowing That Katie Douglas Was Clown in a Cornfield's Lead "You'd be surprised — I wanted to cast her before even auditioning her. I had watched a ton of her work. I saw that she had been working since she was about six years old, and she actually has a ton of work under her belt — and all of the stuff I saw from her from, like Ginny & Georgia and also this show called Pretty Hard Cases, and she did some Lifetime movies and she did some short films, and I literally went in and I watched them all. And I just always saw this sort of grounded, natural performance with the toughness and an edge to her, and sort of a sarcasm to her, that I felt just was Quinn. She auditioned for it, and completely nailed the audition. And I couldn't have been more blessed to have somebody that was so ready for being number one on the call sheet. She was so ready to lead this film. And she carried the film — and she does a fantastic job." On the Kind of Guidance That You Give Actors Like Will Sasso and Kevin Durand When They're Tasked with Fleshing Out Horror-Movie Characters That Could Be Cartoonish in Other Hands "I tell them kind of exactly what you just said. I wanted this character to be deeper, and we talk about what their motivations are. So usually they're not thinking about the characters being a villain — they're thinking about them being justified. So every good actor is always justifying their hatred or villainy for their character, and it make has to make sense to them. So anytime it doesn't make sense, we have to work on it. But those guys are so talented. They brought so much of themselves to the role. Will Sasso, as the sheriff, was just fantastic because he's threatening and creepy, but he's also just funny. He just brings a sense of humour and life to everything he does. And Kevin Durand, I don't think I could get an actor that could be this role without playing into something that we've seen before. He really created a new character. And that was really important that we weren't like the Joker or something. He was really, really his own — and very grounded and more gritty and real — character." On the Response to Tucker and Dale vs Evil 15 Years on — and What It Means for It to Be So Beloved as a Horror-Comedy Cult Classic "It actually means I'm not crazy. So when I first made that film, I just believed in it naively, like with all of my heart. And I thought 'well, this is just going to be the biggest hit since Evil Dead 2'. And it wasn't that way. It didn't come out as a big hit. I thought I was making the next Shaun of the Dead or Evil Dead 2 — and it went to some great film festivals, but then once we came out, it kind of disappeared for a while. And then over the years, people discovered it, and it truly became what I always believed it would be by now. And it's kind of validated my own feeling of art and my feeling of 'what entertains me should entertain other people'. Because I'm just ultimately trying to make a film that that I want to go see. And if people start telling me they don't like what I would want to go see, it becomes much harder to make a movie. And now I feel like 'wait a minute, maybe, maybe my sensibility is a sensibility a lot of other people share'. So that means a lot." Clown in a Cornfield released in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
With so much to see, do and eat around Singapore, you might be feeling a little lost on how to best navigate the city. While Singapore's streets are renowned for being spotless, the humidity sometimes makes it difficult to wander long distances on foot. Get around by hopping on the efficient — and air-conditioned — Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system instead, which runs from Changi Airport in the east to Tuas Link in the west and through major stops such as Marina Bay, HarbourFront, Chinatown and Little India. The trains operate every 2–8 minutes from 5.30am–12.30am each day and are often conveniently connected to large shopping malls, hawker centres or other attractions through covered passageways. Simply use your existing contactless card or Apple Pay to tap on, or purchase a Singapore Tourist Pass (if you're staying for less than 3-5 days) or EZ-Link Card (if you're staying for longer). With the help of Singapore Tourism, we're spotlighting five MRT stops worth hopping off for along your commute, and what to do near each station. [caption id="attachment_981017" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Afur Wong[/caption] Maxwell Located in the heart of Chinatown, Maxwell is a stop along the Thomson–East Coast line. Jump off here to explore Chinatown and some of the city's top hawker centres as you're travelling from Gardens by the Bay towards Orchard Road. You'll find the famed Maxwell Food Centre right next to the station, which boasts over 100 stalls, including the renowned Tian Tian Chicken Rice. If you're still feeling peckish, the Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre, which is the largest hawker centre in Singapore with 260-plus stalls, and the renovated Lau Pa Sat are both a short walk away. After lunch, take a stroll through historic Chinatown with a self-guided walking tour to see sights such as the Sri Mariamman Temple, Masjid Jamae mosque and Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, with breaks for sweet treats and coffee in between. Marine Parade Further along the Thomson–East Coast line is Marine Parade, where you can walk or cycle through East Coast Park, refuel at Marine Parade Central Market and Food Centre, shop at Parkway Parade, and discover Peranakan culture at Katong-Joo Chiat. East Coast Park offers a range of activities for the whole family, from walking and cycling trails to windsurfing, paddleboarding and skateboarding, as well as a plethora of dining options. Katong-Joo Chiat dates back to the early 19th century and was a hub for Eurasian and Peranakan communities. Step back in time and learn about the neighbourhood's rich history at The Intan (a home-turned-museum), Eurasian Heritage Gallery and Katong Antique House, before snapping some photos at the iconic pastel-hued shophouses along Koon Seng Road. Finish up your day of discovery with Peranakan cuisine at Kim Choo Kueh Chang, 328 Katong Laksa or Old Bibik's Peranakan Kitchen. Bayfront You can't go to Singapore without visiting the iconic Marina Bay area. Stop at Bayfront on the Circle or Downtown lines to explore the whole precinct. At Marina Bay Sands, you can sip a sky-high drink at CÉ LA VI, enjoy a free light and water show at the Event Plaza and dance the night away at MARQUEE nightclub. For a more laidback night, take an evening stroll around Marina Bay to snap a photo at the Here is SG sculpture and explore Merlion Park, which is adjacent to the buzzing Fullerton precinct. While you're in the area, make sure to check out other unmissable attractions, such as the sprawling Gardens by the Bay and innovative ArtScience Museum. [caption id="attachment_980376" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Danny Santos[/caption] Little India From ornate temples to vibrant street art and plentiful shopping and food options, Little India is an energetic cultural hub that's worth a stop on the North East or Downtown lines. Follow the self-guided map and visit landmarks such as the Indian Heritage Centre, Tan Teng Niah House and Sri Veerakaliamman Temple. Along the way, you'll be able to browse for Indian homewares, ornaments, jewellery and textiles. If you're really ready to shop, head to Mustafa Centre, which is open 24/7 and sells everything from home appliances and electronics to camping goods, perfume, vintage collectibles and snacks across six levels. Once you've worked up an appetite, sample some local fare at Tekka Centre, which is Singapore's largest indoor wet market and a hawker centre. Other notable eateries in the area are Podi and Poriyal for cocktails and contemporary takes; The Banana Leaf Apolo, which has been serving North and South Indian cuisine since 1974; and Bismillah Biryani, which has been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand for eight years straight. [caption id="attachment_980381" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paris Chia[/caption] HarbourFront If you continue on the North East or Circle lines until the final stop, you'll end up at HarbourFront. Alight here for outdoor expeditions to Sentosa or Mount Faber Park, with a break for bites at Seah Im Food Centre. Mount Faber Park is one of the oldest parks in the city and looks out across the southern coast of Singapore. With well-paved pathways, you can easily hike or cycle up to the highest peak at Faber Point. Other sites in the park include a rainbow-coloured stairway, two restaurants, cable car rides to Sentosa, a mini Merlion and even a famous public bathroom with views across the harbour. If heights aren't your thing and you'd rather not take a cable car to reach Sentosa, not to worry — you can also reach the island via car, bus, bike, monorail, or even on foot. You're in for an action-packed day once you're there, with attractions ranging from beaches and an aquarium to a waterpark, go-kart track, adventure park, Universal Studios Singapore, WWII fort and role-playing city for kids. Book your Singapore holiday now with Flight Centre. Top image: Paris Chia Photography. All images courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.
Cosmo's Midnight is the playful moniker for the much-adored Sydney-based production duo made up of twins Cosmo and Patrick Liney. The pair have been writing and producing feel-good jams since 2012, with their ever-evolving sound and clear natural talent seeing them only continue to rise in popularity across the globe. For the uninitiated, their songs are eclectic and yet instantly recognisable: dance tracks heavy on the instrumentals, floaty lyrics and sky-high vibes. After a 2022 chock-full of buzzing festival crowds and tours here and abroad, Cosmo's Midnight are getting ready to take to the For The Love stage on the Gold Coast (Saturday, February 25) followed by legs in Wollongong (Sunday, February 26), Melbourne (Saturday, March 4) and Perth (Sunday, March 5) — along with a stacked lineup. Joining them are legendary pop and dance icons Charli XCX and Duke Dumont, plus Budjerah, Sonny Fodera and Snakehips to name a few. Ahead of their tour with For The Love (curated by renowned party-throwers from Untitled Group), we caught up with Cosmo and Patrick to chat about their summer highs, creative influences and how they're feeling ahead of the waterside gigs. First up, how are you both? Enjoying summer? You've spent the warmer months hitting festival stages here and abroad — there must be some exhaustion in there! "Doing very well, it's nice to finally have a summer where we aren't dodging flood waters. After pretty extensive touring for the last half of 2022, it's been so good to recoup and hit the beach in between writing sessions. We're currently writing some of the best music we've ever put together and can't wait to show some of the stuff Pat and I have been working on." On and off the stage, what have been your summer highs? "Hitting Hobbiton in New Zealand was a massive highlight, we've been massive fans of LOTR and Tolkien as a whole our entire lives. It was so magical walking through the set and having the opportunity to get turpsed at The Green Dragon, the pub from The Shire. Also just touring with our band is so fun, they've been good mates of ours since before we started doing shows together and we spent one torrential day in Auckland go-karting in inch-deep water. No one else was on the track so the people running it just let us have free reign, trying to destroy each other and doing our best to recreate Tokyo Drift." Amazing! What's it like touring with your sibling? "It's really easy despite the fact we have little sibling tiffs every now and then — they're always quickly resolved and never spiral into something sinister. Luckily we both enjoy the same general things outside of music, so there's no massive vote required to figure out what the band is going to do when we're not on stage." You both exude such a positive energy when performing, how does it feel to be on stage? "We both love performing, as far as music goes it's the biggest payoff of writing and developing a live show. Seeing how people respond to your music is the truest review you can get in this age of music streaming, where it's hard to tell what people think immediately — where we more so just watch the play counts rack up." For The Love is about to kick off its run of music events to see out Australia's summer, how are you both feeling ahead of taking the stage? "Really excited, we're keen to debut some new music and renditions of old songs to up the ante even further. It's been a while since we've hit a national tour in Australia so it will be great to see some familiar spaces and faces!" How do you prep for a gig? Any non-negotiables in the lead up? "Always rehearse really close to show day. Despite all the touring we did last year, we made sure to go through everything again with the band before we hit a tour. We all got so familiar with our live set last year after touring through Europe, UK, USA that I think we got a bit cocky and thought it might be okay to skip it... luckily we decided against it. Always gotta break out the WD-40 even when nothing sounds rusty." Whose set on the For The Love lineup are you most excited to catch? "I'm so excited to see Charli perform, we've been big fans of hers throughout her career and the ebbs and flows she's had as she explores different genres and styles. Unfortunately we've never caught her live, so it's going to be a massive highlight to see her at FTL — I hope we get to meet her!" I have everything crossed for you! Do you have a favourite track to perform? "It changes as time goes on but currently we have a really fun extended version of CUDI that is just so satisfying and exciting to play. I feel like if your song doesn't give you tingles when you're performing it, you've got to work on it until it does and we've reached that sweet spot with CUDI." You've got a unique and recognisable sound — inherently upbeat with a little eighties-disco edge. What are you influenced by creatively? "You're entirely right, we do listen to a lot of disco for inspiration. Before every new musical endeavour we do a massive amount of listening to kind of figure out the palette and sound for our next project. These last two years, we've extended our listening into more recent decades like the nineties and two-thousands to see both how the natural progression of disco leaned to house and pop — and what we can take from those eras that is so timeless and exciting." I've had a good old internet dig, and gleaned that your third album is well on its way to ears — how are you feeling about it? What can we expect from Cosmo's Midnight in the near-ish future? "Solid investigative work you've done there! It's well on the way, some would even say its getting wrapped up soon! We're feeling really excited and confident for the new project, it's some of the most upbeat and fluid writing we've done to date and we're really looking forward to dripping them out so everyone can get across them all." Are you taking any time off after the For The Love run? "We're going to take some time off to plan the rest of the year music and touring-wise. We're also going to use some downtime to work on other artists' projects, maybe do some writing camps and holidaying! It's always a good time mid-year to see what is happening up in the northern hemisphere." And finally, what are your three favourite places to eat and drink in Sydney? "Shameless plugs for friends: I love visiting my mates over at Baba's Place in Marrickville for a bite to eat! Then Naija Jollof has really good West African food just up the street from me, which is really hearty and spicy. Cafe Nho in Marrickville has the coffee with the closest taste to that in Vietnam, if you've travelled there and miss the coffee I'd strongly recommend trying it out!" Cosmo's Midnight are set to take the For The Love stage on the Gold Coast (Saturday, February 25) and in Wollongong (Sunday, February 26), Melbourne (Saturday, March 4) and Perth (Sunday, March 5). For more info and to nab your tickets, head to the website.
It seems to be a Brisbane condition to close down any establishment that actually has any value in the community – the Elizabeth Street Printery, The Monastery (kidding), The Troubadour, to name a few. Luckily enough, from the ashes of The Troub rises an establishment to breathe a little life back into ‘the scene’ – Black Bear Lodge. Their opening date was pushed back a couple of times, but now it’s for real – the Bears are open for business. To prove it, they’re holding a three-day celebration from Friday to Sunday. Feast your ears on Ben Salter (The Gin Club) and Kellie Lloyd & Tim Steward (Screamfeeder) on Friday, Dominic Miller (Rocketsmiths) and Andrew Morris (Wilson Pickers) on Saturday, and Timothy Carroll on Sunday. What’s the cost of a musical buffet like this? Absolutely nothing – Black Bear Lodge is a free entry establishment. Celebrate new beginnings in the Brisbane entertainment scene for cheaps – make sure you buy a drink to say thanks!
When Wine Machine and Snow Machine first popped up, pairing vineyards and alpine settings with live tunes, one of each event's big drawcards was right there in their names. Dream Machine's moniker isn't quite as descriptive; however, it still sets the scene. Fancy hitting up a music festival in a tropical setting? That's on the bill at this dream event — including in 2023. Dream Machine first took place early in 2022, at a secluded beachside resort in The Whitsundays, after initially planning to go ahead in 2021 but getting waylaid by the pandemic. For its next event from Thursday, June 8–Monday, June 12, it's still going tropical, this time in Nusa Dua in Bali. If you've been longing to hear your favourite tunes while surrounded by your friends and while taking a trip to a beachside resort in Indonesia, this fest has you covered. 2023's dest will take place over a five-day, four-night run again, too, and bring together a hefty lineup of must-see talent. On up the party-forward bill: 1300, Boy & Bear, Client Liaison, Girl Talk, San Cisco, Spacey Jane, Sycco and Vera Blue, as well as Harvey Sutherland and Peking Duk hitting the decks for DJ sets. Yes, the list goes on. If the simple activity of grooving to tunes in tropical surroundings, including by the pool and ocean, isn't enough motivation for you, festival-goers will have a range of resorts to choose from in the fest's ticket package options. Keen to treat yo'self to a beachfront stay? You can add that to your itinerary. At the 2022 event, you could also enjoy other activities, such as kayaking, paddle boarding, jet skiing and waterside cocktails — fingers crossed they're on the roster as well. [caption id="attachment_873059" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sam Hendel[/caption] Unsurprisingly, this isn't a cheap festival to attend, but accommodation, transfers and festival tickets are all included in the fest packages. Folks feeling particularly flush can also upgrade their tickets to gain VIP access to the festival's compound to watch the main stage shows, where there'll be a cocktail bar, chill zone, table service, fancy toilets and sit-down dinner options. And, you'll score luxury airport transfer upgrades and access to an exclusive pool party at Manarai Beach Club, complete with special guest DJs. DREAM MACHINE 2023 LINEUP: 1300 Boy & Bear Client Liaison Girl Talk (USA) Groove City Harvey Sutherland (DJ Set) Holy Holy Hot Dub Time Machine Illy Jimi The Kween Ldru Mell Hall Northeast Party House Peking Duk (DJ Set) San Cisco Sideboob Spacey Jane Stace Cadet Sycco Tori Levett Tyson O'brien Vera Blue Winston Surfshirt Dream Machine takes place from Thursday, June 8–Monday, June 12 at Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, with pre-sales from 6pm AEDT on Tuesday, October 18 and general sales from 12pm AEST on Wednesday, October 19 via the festival's website. Dream Machine images: Brittany Long / Pat Stevenson. 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. That includes a Bali escape surrounded by nature, if you're keen to extend your stay around Dream Machine,
