If you're familiar with Supernormal in Melbourne, yes, the New England lobster rolls had made the jump north now that Supernormal Brisbane is open. So has the 150-seater restaurant's focus on Asian-influenced dishes, as influenced by Andrew McConnell's time in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul. But the aim is to both give the OG Supernormal a sibling and Supernormal Brisbane its own vibe — including by embracing the place it calls home. Accordingly, from its riverside site next to Customs House — between the Queen Street Mall and Howard Smith Wharves, complete with water and Story Bridge views — Supernormal Brisbane is pairing signature dishes with newcomers, all while paying tribute to Queensland ingredients. You'll spot the former as you tuck into the restaurant's half crispy duck, which comes cured in salt and cooked twice, for instance. From a lineup that spans appetisers, a raw bar, dumplings, dishes to share and more, other menu highlights include claypot sticky pork rib dumplings, baked abalone pastries, and Szechuan and yellow chilli-poached Moreton Bay bugs. This is the type of spread that you'll want several visits to feast your way through, also featuring mussel and kimchi flatbread, smoked beef with mustard leaf and clam mayonnaise, squid and spring onion skewers, and sour and salty crispy lamb. The same sentiment applies to the four-strong dessert range, where milk gelato with shiso oil, plus apple and sorrel gelato, sit alongside a mix of Valrhona chocolate, caramelised miso, peanuts and sesame; the strawberry, yuzu and pineapple sage meringue; and fresh mangosteen on ice. Saying cheers to a hefty wine list with almost 400 options is equally a multi-trip quest, with the vino selection favouring family-owned producers both emerging and established. If you prefer cocktails, the libation are taking their cues from Brisbane's subtropical climate. For those with an occasion worth celebrating, Supernormal Brisbane also features private dining in The Bridge Room, catering to up to 50 people surrounded by sandstone walls. Vince Alafaci and Caroline Choker of Sydney's ACME have been on design duties for Supernormal Brisbane since it was announced. With creating a sensory experience from the moment that patrons step inside the guiding principle, they've decked out the eatery with an emerald marble maître' d station, green terrazzo floor, carved timber bar that's meant to resemble growth rings on tropical trees, giant columns, bamboo pendant lights, and timber and rattan aplenty. Those vistas? You can peer at them through floor-to-ceiling glass, giving your meal — lunch, dinner, and whatever suits you across Supernormal Brisbane's daily midday–11pm operating hours — quite the backdrop. Mirrors also feature prominently to ensure that you can see the view, even as a reflection, no matter where you sit. Images: Earl Carter.
There's a good chance you've heard about spice bags by now, with this culinary masterpiece popping up on menus across town. Emerging in the mid-2000s, its greasy, spicy, salty combination emerged from Dublin's Chinese restaurants and has increasingly gained a cult following on our shores in recent times. Yet to discover its charms? Archive Beer Boutique in the West End is now serving an Irish Spice Bag for your dining pleasure. Loaded with crispy chicken bites, golden chips, stacks of spices, and fresh capsicum and onion, this steaming bag of goodness goes down a treat with the venue's wide selection of craft beers. Priced at $23, it's available on Archive Beer's specials board throughout the week before moving to the late-night-only menu after 9.30pm. Meanwhile, if you're keen to add even more kick to each bite, the kitchen recommends slathering the whole thing in their sweet-and-spicy Thai sauce. Archive's buzzing late-night atmosphere is ripe for a spice bag, usually best paired with a big night out and a few too many drinks. Once the hangover is really starting to kick in, you might even find yourself going for a second round the next day.
For a few winter weeks in 2025, Middle-earth is coming to the Gold Coast, but not exactly as everyone knows it. What happens when one of the most-beloved fantasy tales adds singing and dancing? Prepare to find out at The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale. The stage production layers tunes into JRR Tolkien's iconic story, including as its hobbits go on perilous adventures, and it has just locked in the only Queensland stop on its upcoming Australian tour. A Sydney season was announced back in August, with news arriving in October that Melbourne and Perth will also be enjoying a musical LoTR journey. Now comes confirmation of southeast Queensland's turn — only at HOTA, Home of the Arts from Friday, July 4–Sunday, July 20. On screens big and small for decades so far (and into the future, with more TV episodes and movies on the way), hobbits have trekked, ate second breakfasts and attempted to project precious jewellery. Onstage Down Under in 2025, they'll also be marking an eleventy-first birthday, receiving a gold ring, taking a quest to Mordor and attempting to fight evil in The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale. The Harbour City season at the State Theatre comes first, followed by a stop at Crown Theatre in Western Australia from March, then a Victorian stint at Comedy Theatre that starts in April — before the Sunshine State joins in. Dating back to 2006, just after the original live-action movie trilogy, this stage musical was revived in the UK in 2023, opened in the US in July 2024 and will hit New Zealand this November before crossing the ditch. Your guides for the show are the hobbits, of course, as Frodo and company celebrate Bilbo Baggins, then depart The Shire upon a life-changing journey. Thanks to Tolkien, what occurs from there has enthralled audiences for 70 years now, with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers initially hitting bookshelves in 1954. There's been no shortage of ways to indulge your Lord of the Rings love since Peter Jackson's features — including his Hobbit trilogy — helped fan the flames of pop culture's affection for Frodo, Samwise, Pippin, Merry and the franchise's many non-underground-dwelling characters. Cinema marathons, visiting the Hobbiton movie set, staying there overnight, hitting up pop-up hobbit houses, sipping hobbit-themed beer: they've all been on the agenda. Only The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale is combining all things LoTR with tunes and dancing, however, in a show that sports a book and lyrics by from Shaun McKenna (Maddie, La Cava) and Matthew Warchus (Matilda the Musical, Groundhog Day the Musical), plus original music by Slumdog Millionaire Oscar-winner AR Rahman, folk band Värttinä from Finland and Matilda the Musical alum Christopher Nightingale. The Australian cast has also been announced, including Rarmian Newton as Frodo Baggins, Wern Mak as Samwise Gamgee, Jeremi Campese as Merry and Hannah Buckley as Pippin. Laurence Boxhall is playing Gollum, Andrew Broadbent steps into Elrond's shoes and Terence Crawford is Gandalf — with Rohan Campbell as Boromir, Stefanie Caccamo as Arwen, Rob Mallett as Strider, Connor Morel as Gimli, Conor Neylon as Legolas, Jemma Rix as Galadriel, Ian Stenlake as Saruman and Ruby Clark as Rosie, too. The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale Australian Dates 2025 From Tuesday, January 7 — State Theatre, Sydney From Wednesday, March 19 — Crown Theatre, Perth From Monday, April 21 — Comedy Theatre, Melbourne From Friday, July 4–Sunday, July 20 — HOTA, Home of the Arts, Gold Coast The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale is touring Australia from January 2025. Head to the production's website for further details and to sign up for the ticket waitlist. Images: Liz Lauren.
Vietnam's light and bright flavours are the ideal match for Noosa's subtropical warmth, making Misschu's Queensland debut an attention-grabbing affair. Founded in Sydney in 2009 by Nahji Chu, a Vietnamese-Laotian refugee, the crowd-pleasing brand soon expanded to Melbourne and beyond. Now guided by Gabi and Heike Machado, the original Asian street food tuckshop is ready to serve up its "healthy hawker" cuisine in Bay Village. Focused on signature dishes like warm vermicelli salad with lemongrass beef, organic berry rice and quinoa with seared XO salmon, and Shanghai pork dumplings, almost every dish on the menu is under $20. Inspired by the best of Vietnamese cuisine, Misschu has found success by reimagining traditional recipes into fast, nourishing and delicious dishes. Elevated by the kitchen's use of pure coconut oil and palm sugar for sweetness, the menu also offers plenty of gluten- and dairy-free options that resonate with wholesome goodness. Meanwhile, the prime location takes things to the next level. Just around the corner from Noosa Heads Main Beach, the airy upstairs venue seamlessly connects three outdoor terraces flanked by leafy trees. Pull up a bar stool on the balcony when the sun is shining, perfect for a healthy meal or even an indulgent cocktail. Inside, there's a dynamic mix of seating, from small tables ideal for casual one-on-one catch-ups to comfy booths for larger gatherings. Plus, locals or holidaymakers heading along with the little ones will find a convenient kids' menu with tempting options that satisfy even the fussiest eaters. Finding a stellar home amid the culinary strip of Hastings Street, Misschu Noosa is set to become a bustling spot for lunchtime feasts and after-dark drinks. After all, it's not hard to imagine hitting up one of Australia's most popular beaches, then heading for a health-conscious feast that doesn't sacrifice flavour.
In the age of streaming, DVD commentary tracks are no longer as much a part of the home-viewing process. If you're keen to hear insider details about the making of Sydney-shot 1999 sci-fi great The Matrix and 2025's Melbourne-made horror hit Together, however, SXSW Sydney has you covered. 2025's event has unveiled more details of its Screen Festival program for this year, with the return of its Screen Commentary sessions among the highlights. Costume designer Kym Barrett, who has also worked on everything from Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, The Nice Guys, The Shallows, Aquaman and Us to Charlie's Angels, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Three Thousand Years of Longing — and on The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, plus the Wachowskis' Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas and Jupiter Ascending — will talk through her efforts on The Matrix as the film plays. For Together, writer/director Michael Shanks will dig into his debut feature, which also opened 2025's Sydney Film Festival. SXSW Sydney has also announced Screen conference sessions as part of its roster of seminars, workshops and more, with Whitney Fuller, the Development Executive of Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions, one of the big names. Fittingly, Fuller will be part of the festival's Women in Genre panel. Also, producer Liz Watts (The Royal Hotel) and filmmaker Tony Ayres (The Survivors) are teaming up for the What Is an Australian Story? session, while Fantastic Festival Director Lisa Dreyer, Rachel Watt from Watt Social, Yellow Veil Pictures' Joe Yanick and Oscilloscope's Alexandra Fredericks are set to get chatting as well. The panel lineup also spans Jill Kingston from Pacific Shadow Pictures, Enzo Tedeschi and Helen Tuck from Deadhouse Films, and Lake Martin Films' Kate Separovich unpacking all things indie horror from a filmmaking perspective, as well as Invention Studios' Carmen Knox and actor Remy Hii (Arcane) on deciding whether to make the leap to LA. SXSW Sydney's latest screen-centric additions join Paul Feig (Another Simple Favour) hitting the Harbour City as the Screen Festival keynote speaker and its first recipient of the new SXSW Sydney Screen Pioneer Award — and also a 14-hour Freaks and Geeks marathon, plus sessions of Bridesmaids and The Heat, to go along with his time at the fest. There's more to come; however, as similarly announced earlier, viewers will also be able to catch By Design, $POSITIONS, Dead Lover, Zodiac Killer Project, The Last Sacrifice and Bokshi. Among that group, body-swap effort By Design features Juliette Lewis (The Thicket), Mamoudou Athie (Kinds of Kindness) and Robin Tunney (Dear Edward); horror-comedy Dead Lover is a SXSW Austin award-winner; Charlie Shackleton (The Afterlight) digs into a famed serial killer; and everything from comedy to folk horror features. [caption id="attachment_967878" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jaimi Joy[/caption] [caption id="attachment_923287" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney[/caption] [caption id="attachment_923317" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney[/caption] SXSW Sydney 2025, including the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival, runs from Monday, October 13–Sunday, October 19 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details and tickets. The Matrix image: Ronald Siemoneit/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images. Together image: Ben King, Neon.
In 2012, Imogen Heap appeared on a Wired stage wearing what seemed to be magical gloves. Every time she moved, the music responded. One sweeping gesture would incite a dramatic crescendo; one wiggle of the index finger would provoke a shift from major to minor; one flick of the wrist would mute an entire string section. Liberated from laptops and mixing decks, Heap was transformed into a wizard/conductor/interpretive dancer who seemed to have every sound in the universe at her command. She liked it so much that she wants to pass her superpowers onto the world. She and a team of tech-experts have been hard at work creating a set of electronic gloves that anyone can use. Having come up with a prototype, they’re now looking for Kickstarter support to raise the £200,000 necessary to facilitating a first production run. The gloves, dubbed Mi.Mu, allow the user to interact with their computer through gestures. A series of sensors measure the hand’s position, direction and force of movement and this data is transported wirelessly, then transformed into musical elements. Heap has been developing the technology for four years, initially motivated by a desire to inject more expression into her live performances. "In order to free myself up on the stage from my various bits of technology and to bridge the gap between what’s going on on stage and the audience, I wanted to create something where I could manipulate my computer on the move wirelessly so that music becomes more like a dance rather than a robotic act like pressing a button or moving a fader," she told Dezeen. Early versions of the gloves were connected to a pack worn on the upper body and required elaborate set-up procedures. But the latest are much more accessible. The inclusion of an x-IMU board containing an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer and wifi has rendered the pack unnecessary. "It's really simple," Heap explains. "It just sees this exoskeleton as a device and then it comes up on your computer as a wifi device and you're ready to go. It's super simple and it's great." It’s expected that Mi.Mu’s uses will expand beyond music, to include design, sign language and, um, driving a vehicle. "I suppose as long as you can access your computer inside your car, there's no reason why you couldn't just sit in the back of your car and indicate right or left," Heap muses. "It's a remote control. It feels like an expressive musical instrument sometimes but it's essentially a remote control and anything that you could potentially do with your hands, you could do with your gloves." With Heap at the wheel, that could be one interesting ride. [via Dezeen]
Are Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally comedy's funniest couple? Both together and apart, their resumes make a strong case for it. Here's another way to make that call: catching them live onstage together in Australia in their first-ever shared in-conversation session. It's a one-night-only date for the Parks and Recreation co-stars, happening to close out Vivid Sydney 2025. If you're as obsessed with one of the best American sitcoms of the 21st century as everyone should be, you will have spotted a trend at Vivid in the past two years. At 2024's festival, Amy Poehler was on the lineup, also getting chatting. Fingers crossed for Adam Scott or Rob Lowe in 2026. Yes, you should get the bacon and whisky ready for Offerman and Mullally. You should also prepare your ears for some high-pitched laughter. Making your own canoe? If you can, that's an appropriate way to celebrate, too. Taking place on Saturday, June 14, 2025 at the International Convention Centre Sydney, Offerman and Mullally's exclusive Vivid show is called Unscripted & Unfiltered with Nick Offerman & Megan Mullally, and falls into the Harbour City event's Global Storyteller series — which is also bringing Martha Stewart to the New South Wales capital in 2025, was why Poehler was on 2024's lineup, and has also seen The White Lotus' Jennifer Coolidge and Mike White, filmmakers Baz Luhrmann (Elvis) and Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods), and Australia singer Troye Sivan get talking in past years. Parks and Recreation's on-screen Ron and Tammy Swanson were meant to tour to Australia together in 2016, but Mullally had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict, so Offerman came solo. When they finally make the trip by each other's side, the husband-and-wife duo have everything from their multi-hyphenate individual careers to collaborating as creative and real-life partners to dig into, alongside their LGBTQIA+ and environmental activism. "Megan and I are powerfully chuffed to get back to town for Vivid Sydney, but also to reprise our lovemaking session atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Once we have recharged those particular batteries, we'll be thrilled to transfer our slatternly energies to the Vivid Sydney audience," said Offerman, announcing Unscripted & Unfiltered with Nick Offerman & Megan Mullally. "Come for the anecdotes and the burlesque lust in our every turn of phrase, then get stretched out before you get home, because there's gonna be some canoodlin'." "We couldn't let Vivid Sydney take place this year without treating visitors to a masterclass in comedy. Nick and Megan are one of the funniest couples alive, and this conversation is set to be equal parts unpredictable and hilarious. Bolstering Vivid Sydney 2025's lineup alongside lifestyle icon Martha Stewart and the formidable Nigella Lawson, there really is something for everyone," added Vivid Sydney Festival Director Gill Minervini. Offerman and Mullally have also appeared on Will & Grace, Childrens Hospital, Smashed, Somebody Up There Likes Me, The Kings of Summer, Bob's Burgers, The Great North and Party Down together, to name just a few of their shared credits. The Last of Us, Civil War and the upcoming Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning are some of Offerman's recent other projects, while Dicks: The Musical, The Righteous Gemstones and Reservation Dogs are among Mullally's. Unscripted & Unfiltered with Nick Offerman & Megan Mullally takes place on Saturday, June 14, 2025 at the International Convention Centre Sydney, with tickets on sale on sale at 9am on Friday, May 9 via the festival website — and presales from 9am on Thursday, May 8 for Stan subscribers Vivid Sydney 2025 runs from Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14 across Sydney. Head to the festival website for further information. Top image: Emily Schur.
Get cracking, southsiders: Brisbane now has not one but two Claw BBQ crab shacks serving up shellfish feasts and boozy slushies over sports and arcade games, with the second opening in Carindale. The suburb's shopping centre dining precinct underneath Event Cinema is fresh from a revamp, and this red- and white-hued, American-inspired joint is one of the big new additions. There's bibs, seafood, screens aplenty and a 4.5-metre boat built into the ceiling. It was back in August 2023 that Claw BBQ first launched on King Street — a move that's clearly gone well enough to inspire an expansion to another part of town. The chain announced in July that it was doubling its local footprint come spring, and also that that boat would give the new venue quite a point of difference. Food-wise, this is a place with a bucket list. One chilled option comes packed with bugs, prawns and crab. Another is all prawns, whether you're keen on a half kilo or the full thing. From the hot buckets, you can go with prawns, crawfish, sand crab and Moreton Bay bugs alone, all in kilo servings with corn and potato — or for two different mixes, including one with lobster tails. Louisiana-style crab claws are on the appetisers lineup, too, as are everything from cheeseburger spring rolls to fried calamari. The rest of the menu extends to fried chicken, whole grilled chooks, barbecue ribs, striploins, seven types of burgers and more. In a space with those large-screen televisions broadcasting sport, and consoles for you to mash buttons at, the brand's eating challenges have also made the jump. Adventurous (and hungry) patrons can attempt to wolf down a one-kilogram burg with a side of fries in just half an hour or half a kilogram of hot wings in 20 minutes. The new crustacean-slinging eatery boasts ice cream shakes (in banoffee pie, rocky road and chocolate peanut butter) and mocktails among its drinks range, sitting alongside a hefty number of tap beers, a small wine list, and cocktail choices such as cactus apple margaritas, strawberry and kiwi mojitos, frozen cola with rum and lime, mango macadamia piña coladas and sangria towers.
For many, gelato has assumed ice cream's mantle as the height of iced indulgence. Lower fat content, less air incorporated during the churning process and a lower serving temperature all contribute to its smooth, elastic allure. And plenty of folks argue that these differences — especially in the preparation process — give gelato a more intense flavour. But ice cream will always have its diehard fans. It's frosty, creamy and sweet — how could it not? So, if you prefer its rich dairy goodness and light consistency, many old-school ice cream vendors also await you. Indeed, in the gelato, ice cream and sorbet game, there's variety out there. Feeling spoiled for choice? Below are our favourite purveyors of chilled confectionery in the River City — Brisbane's best ice cream and gelato, in fact — whether you like it in a cone, in a cup, on a stick, in a sandwich or as part of a decadent sundae. Recommended reads: The Best Beaches in and Around Brisbane The Best Waterfront Bars and Restaurants in Brisbane The Best Beer Gardens in Brisbane Goodtimes Gelateria, Howard Smith Wharves If pastel colours make you think of gelato — and make your stomach rumble — then prepare to indulge at Goodtimes. The Howard Smith Wharves dessert spot serves its scoops from a pink counter that'll make you crave ice cream aplenty. And that's exactly what you'll get here, with a 22 flavours to choose from at any given time. A few of our top picks include the cassata (candied citrus fruit), the apple pie (freshly baked pie folded through cinnamon gelato), and the plum and yoghurt. Given that you'll be enjoying this frosty treat by the water, you can't really go wrong. If you want even more Goodtimes in your life, the shop also hires out a gelato cart for private events. Gelato Messina, South Brisbane and Fortitude Valley Remember that feeling you had as a kid when Christmas finally rolled around? That mix of excitement, enthusiasm and an inability to decide just what you should do first? That's what walking into Gelato Messina's two Brisbane stores feels like. Inside the chain's South Brisbane and Fortitude Valley shops, you'll find display cases filled with flavours of Messina's finest. Flavour-wise, the range spans popular best-sellers like salted caramel and white chocolate, the tasty pandan and coconut sorbet, and a mint choc-chip so distinctive, the staff will ask you if you've had it before. Yes, it's okay to want to try everything. You're only human, after all. Happy Pops, South Bank Already a hit in Noosa, Happy Pops made the jump to South Bank in 2019 — and tastebuds around Brisbane were pleased. Instead of in a cup or cone, these artisanal gelato creations come on a stick and are available in a heap of flavours. Specials have included rum and raisin, rocky road and white chocolate, cookie dough and macadamia. If you like to get creative, you can also design your own gelato pop in store. Yep, just think of the possibilities. Apart from all that gelato, Happy Pops also offers warm brownies and choc-chip cookies on a stick, plus gelato shakes. [caption id="attachment_703343" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Milani Caffé e Gelato[/caption] Milani House of Gelato, Hamilton A Hamilton mainstay, Milani House of Gelato is one of Racecourse Road's must-visit spots, whether you're heading by after dinner or making gelato your main meal. The Brisbane gelato spot has picked up a host of awards over the years, nabbing honours at the Australian Dairy Awards, the Australia Dairy Product Competition and the Queensland Royal Food and Wine Show. The panna cotta ranks among its most decorated creations, though you can't go wrong with dolce latte, pistachio or one of its many chocolate bar-inspired varieties (think: Snickers, Mars Bar, Bounty and Crunchie gelato). Milani also dishes up lavish (and customisable) sundaes, if that's your thing. But given the store's prime location, prepare to have plenty of company. Lick! Ice Cream, Petrie Terrace and Graceville After 11 years as a dessert company, Lick! Ice Cream took the next step in 2015 and opened its own Graceville store — and it also boasts an outpost in Petrie Terrace. The Lick! claim-to-fame is its Ekka-style strawberry ice cream, available all year round. In case anyone is after something different, the Brisbane ice cream store's rotating range spans an array of signature creations. Must-tries include peanut butter chocolate chip, cookies and cream, and bubblegum and marshmallow, as well as Nutella. For summer, tuck into one of the refreshing sorbets, with flavours such as green apple and ginger, mandarin and mint, and passionfruit and lime. La Macelleria, Teneriffe, West End and Woolloongabba Simply eating gelato is obviously a delight, but what if you learnt how to make your own? As well as serving up delicious scoops, La Macelleria Gelateria in West End hosts regular workshops in the art of gelato. Roll up your sleeves, listen up and become your own gelato-maestro. Best of all, you get to take home the fruits of your labour, which means you'll have gelato for the week (or as long as it lasts). La Macelleria also has Brisbane ice creameries in Teneriffe and Woolloongabba. Yep, these authentic Italian-style desserts have plenty of fans all over the city. Head to its OG site, however, if you're keen to order and pickup one of its ace gelato cakes. Nom Nom Natural Gelato, Bulimba If you're fond of sweet, frozen dairy treats, head to Bulimba, where an array of top-notch flavours await. Combining Maleny dairy milk and cream with the best ingredients, Nom Nom Natural Gelato's nom-worthy range includes all the usual suspects, plus heaps of specialties. Think salted pistachio, cookies and cream, caramelised macadamia and fresh mint chocolate. There's also vegan gelato on offer — including the soy-based crème brûlée and dark chocolate — plus a wide range of fresh and fruity sorbets to tuck into. Gelateria Cremona, Rosalie A long-term Rosalie favourite, Gelateria Cremona is Brisbane's home of Christmas pudding gelato at the right time of year. But you can also grab everything from cappuccino and liquorice to durian and bush lemon flavours, too. Plus, granitas are on offer each summer — think: watermelon and chocolate flavours — and refreshing sorbets like mango and blood orange rotate seasonally. In fact, the highly regarded Baroona Road gelato cafe serves up a constant rotation of out-of-the-box options, so you'll find something different on each visit. The scoops here are silky and delicious and, as for the place itself, it has a charming ice cream parlour vibe. Sugo IT, Bulimba Dine in at Bulimba's Sugo IT, and you can follow up your pizza or pasta with a bowl of gelato. Keen to simply drop by for a few scoops? You can do that as well. At the back of the restaurant, down a hidden side alleyway, you'll find a deli and ice creamery that's all about gelato and sorbet made the traditional way. Nab a cone of peanut butter and chocolate or a cup toasted marshmallow — or opt for a tasting bowl of four small scoops if you just can't decide on one flavour. Some flavours stick around, others rotate, and take-home packs are also on offer. It doesn't purely specialise in the frozen stuff, but it is still home to some of the best ice cream and gelato in Brisbane. Anita Gelato, West End When West Village revamped its chosen patch of West End, it took over a site of significance. From 1928–1996, the Boundary Street spot was home to the Peters Ice Cream Factory, which churned out frosty dairy desserts for seven decades. That's why, to mark the precinct's past, West Village has also hosted an ice cream festival — and it's also home to Anita Gelato. The international chain already had stores in Barcelona, New York, San Juan, Tel Aviv and Sydney, but its West Village spot marks its first Queensland shop. Its specialty: boutique handmade gelato, with more than 150 flavours in its range. That hefty lineup includes yogurt and sorbets, too, as well as its organic, sugar-free, fat-free, soy-based and real cream-based gelato. Top image: Happy Pops.
The dots are stunning. The pumpkins, too. Her use of bold colours and shapes is also dazzling. There's another reason that Yayoi Kusama's art is so beloved, however: whether via mirrored infinity rooms, oversized tentacles or getting exhibition attendees putting stickers everywhere, she wholeheartedly embraces immersing her audience. It's true of Dancing Pumpkin, one of her famous gourd sculptures, which is on display in Melbourne right now — and when NGV International's massive Yayoi Kusama exhibition opens in December, it'll prove true again and again, breaking a world record in the process. Since April, the NGV has ben promising that its summer blockbuster exhibition — an Australian-exclusive as well — will be big. Across Sunday, December 15, 2024–Monday, April 21, 2025, it will feature 180-plus works from the acclaimed Japanese artist, in the largest Kusama retrospective that the country has ever seen. Now, the gallery has also revealed that it'll boast ten of the talent's immersive installations, which is the most that has ever been assembled in a single location before. [caption id="attachment_950475" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of Yayoi Kusama's Chandelier of Grief 2016/18, Tate Modern, London. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts and Victoria Miro. © YAYOI KUSAMA.[/caption] One is a brand-new piece that's world-premiering in Melbourne, so when visitors enter Infinity Mirrored Room–My Heart is Filled to the Brim with Sparkling Light, they'll be among the first people on the planet to experience the work. Inside, the space appears to open into an infinite celestial universe. Kusama's latest creation adds to her ongoing fascination with infinity mirror rooms, which she has been creating since the 60s. See also: 2016's Chandelier of Grief, which features baroque-style chandelier spinning within a hexagon of mirrors; 2013's Love Is Calling, where tentacles in different colours spring from both the floor and the ceiling; and 2017's The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens, which gets viewers peering at glowing pumpkins as far as the eye can see through a small peephole. [caption id="attachment_981012" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of Yayoi Kusama's Dots Obsession 1996/2015 at Kusama's solo exhibition YAYOI KUSAMA: IN INFINITY, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark. YAYOI KUSAMA Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts © YAYOI KUSAMA.[/caption] Also relying upon mirrors heavily: the newest version of Dots Obsession, a room where the walls are reflective and biomorphic inflatables lurk. And yes, it's meant to inspire existential thoughts — and also feel as if the space goes on forever. Then, in Invisible Life, convex mirrors line a twisting and multi-hued corridor. With its six-metre-tall tendrils — which are covered in polka dots, naturally — the yellow-and-black The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe from 2019 is striking without using a looking glass (or several), and will make its Australian premiere. Prefer flowers instead? Set within a dotted space, All My Love for the Tulips, I Pray Forever from 2013 sees a trio of giant tulips loom over audiences. [caption id="attachment_950473" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yayoi Kusama's The Obliteration Room 2002–present. Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art © YAYOI KUSAMA. Photo: N Harth, QAGOMA.[/caption] If you went to the comprehensive Kusama showcase at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art back in 2017–18, or to the same site when it has also hosted the artist's The Obliteration Room at other times, then you'll know all about this sticker-fuelled experience. Even if you haven't taken part before, you've likely seen photos of it on social media. In Melbourne as in the other places that it has popped up, this artwork gets you popping coloured dots everywhere — 'obliterating' it, as Kusama calls it — to cover an apartment interior that's completely white otherwise. The idea is to fill every single millimetre with stickers over time. It's an all-ages (and free) part of the exhibition, displaying in the NGV's children's gallery, but expect as many adults there as kids. Flower Obsession is another participatory piece, returning from the 2017 NGV Triennial. Again, you're asked to add to the work. This time, though, red flowers are applied to a domestic space — and again, obliterating it is the mission. [caption id="attachment_950474" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of Yayoi Kusama's Flower Obsession 2017 on display in NGV Triennial from 15 December 2017 – 15 April 2018 at NGV International Melbourne. © YAYOI KUSAMA Image courtesy of NGVImage courtesy of NGV.[/caption] Alongside the ten immersive installations — plus the five-metre-tall Dancing Pumpkin in NGV International's Federation Court — Yayoi Kusama will step through the 95-year-old artist's eight decades of making art via a thematic chronology. Some pieces hail from her childhood. Some are recent. Her output in her hometown of Matsumoto from the late 30s–50s; the results of relocating to America in 1957; archival materials covering her performances and activities in her studios, especially with a political charge, in the 60s and 70s: they'll all appear. Half of the exhibition is devoted to the past four decades — so, pumpkins galore, giant paintings and more. Again, this is a hefty exhibition overall, complete with a new version of Narcissus Garden made of 1400 30-centimetre-diameter stainless silver balls, a Kusama artwork specific to NGV's Waterwall, over 20 experimental fashion designs by the artist, Infinity Net paintings from the 50s and 60s, Accumulation sculptures and textiles from the 60s and 70s, and a recreation of her New York studio. It's one of the most-comprehensive Kusama retrospectives ever staged globally, in fact — and the closest that you'll get to experiencing her Tokyo museum without leaving Australia. [caption id="attachment_979066" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yayoi Kusama's Dancing Pumpkin 2020 now on display for the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at NGV International, Melbourne until 21 April 2025. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Photo: Sean Fennessy.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_950480" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yayoi Kusama, 2022 © YAYOI KUSAMA[/caption] [caption id="attachment_979065" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yayoi Kusama's Dancing Pumpkin 2020 now on display for the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at NGV International, Melbourne until 21 April 2025. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Photo: Sean Fennessy.[/caption] Yayoi Kusama displays at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne from Sunday, December 15, 2024–Monday, April 21, 2025. Head to the NGV website for more details and tickets. Top image: Yayoi Kusama, The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe 2019 at Kusama's solo exhibition Yayoi Kusama: All About Love Speaks Forever at Fosun Foundation, Shanghai. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts © YAYOI KUSAMA.
Since 2019, IKEA shoppers have been able to offload their no-longer-needed furniture and do the environment a solid, all thanks to the Swedish retailer's buy-back service. And, if you've been keen to add some pre-loved wares to your home in return, you've been able to purchase other folks' unwanted goods in-person at the chain's As-Is sections. Been spending too much of the last couple of years at home, browsing online for new pieces to deck out your digs — because we've all filled plenty of time in our houses, staring at our same-old couches and rugs, during the pandemic? Still keen to opt for secondhand furniture, rather than new? From Monday, July 11, IKEA has launched its new As-Is Online Australian marketplace, letting you buy its discontinued, ex-display and pre-loved items from home. The platform has been trialled in Queensland since April, and now reaches stores nationwide. And yes, it's still linked to individual IKEA outposts, because that's where you'll need to head to collect whichever secondhand pieces you decide to buy. Here's how it works: shoppers hit up the As-Is Online platform, then scroll their way through the list of discontinued items, used wares, ex-showroom displays and products returned via IKEA's buy-back service. Once you've found something you like at a reduced amount — between 20–75 percent off the original product price — you can reserve it with a few clicks. After that, you just need to head to your selected store to complete the purchase, including picking up your new-to-you items from the brand's As-Is area. That's located just before the checkouts, which probably does mean you'll still wander the length of IKEA anyway — but at least the things you've made the trip for already have your name on them. IKEA is promoting the service as a way to save cash — which is rather handy right now thanks to inflation — and also as part of its efforts to become climate positive by 2030. Back when the buy-back regime was implemented, it was initially inspired by IKEA's findings that Aussies threw away up to 13.5 million pieces of furniture that could have been recycled, reused or repaired. To check out IKEA's new As-Is Online marketplace from Monday, July 11, head to the chain's website.
Four decades back, concert film history was made. In December 1983, David Byrne walked out onto a Hollywood stage with a tape deck, pressed play and, while standing there solo, began to sing 'Psycho Killer'. Then-future The Silence of the Lambs Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme directed cameras towards the legendary Talking Heads' frontman, recording the results for Stop Making Sense. The best way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the event behind the greatest concert film ever made arrived in 2024, and in cinemas. That'd be watching it on the big screen, of course, with cult-favourite independent film and TV company A24 — and Madman Down Under — releasing a complete restoration of Stop Making Sense. What's the second-best way to celebrate the occasion and the movie? Catching that new 4K version at home now that it's on Madman's documentary streaming service DocPlay from Thursday, June 13. Wearing big suits is optional. Now able to burn down your house — not literally, naturally — the 4K restoration premiered at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, and also had a date with SXSW Sydney's Screen Festival in 2023. So, no it isn't the same as it ever was: Stop Making Sense is now even better. The film isn't just iconic for how it starts, which definitely isn't how concerts usually kick off. From there, as captured at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre in December 1983, David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison put on one helluva show in support of their previous year's album Speaking in Tongues. Expect a lineup of hits, a playful approach, Byrne's famous oversized attire and even heftier stage presence, and the feeling that you're virtually in the room. Indeed, everything about this energetic and precisely executed documentary, which records the set from start to finish, couldn't be further from the standard concert flick. As 'Once in a Lifetime', 'Heaven', 'Burning Down the House', Life During Wartime', 'This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)', 'Genius of Love' and more get a whirl, each element of the movie is that fine-tuned, and every aspect of the band's performance, too. And if it feels like Byrne was on-screen not that long ago, that's because his Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods)-directed solo concert flick American Utopia did the rounds of Aussie cinemas back in 2020 — and proved one of that year's absolute best films. Check out the trailer for Stop Making Sense's 4K restoration below: Stop Making Sense is available to stream via DocPlay from Thursday, June 13, 2024. Images: Jordan Cronenweth, Courtesy of A24.
Lately Tasmania has been at the top of our list of destinations where food, wine, spirits and scenery are at the heart of the holiday. It is, after all, home to many of Australia's finest producers and makers. In fact, we've been so inspired that we've curated a special travel package to Hobart that's dedicated to culinary indulgence — and you can snap it up now at Concrete Playground Trips. Alternatively, you can just win your way there. All you need to do is enter below right now. We're giving away this fantastic holiday for two in beautiful south Tassie and its many wineries, distilleries and farms (flights excluded). The itinerary includes a tasting experience at Ewenique Tasting House, a signature wine, cider, beer and whiskey tour of the Huon and Coal River Valleys, and a full-day tour sampling your way around Bruny Island, known for producing world-class seafood, cheese, honey and spectacular views. You'll also score four nights' accommodation at the impressive Vibe Hotel Hobart, as well as all-inclusive car rental to make getting around a breeze. Want to win a holiday in Tasmania for you and your best mate, partner or parent? Enter below. [competition]873504[/competition]
If you're going to open an arcade bar that nods to all things circus and sideshows in Brisbane — and gives away prizes — then Bowen Hills is the obvious place for it. That's where Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq now calls home, although that wasn't always the case. The venue has made the move to King Street from Toombul, where it launched back in 2019, then had to close due to the 2022 floods (the precinct is now officially being torn down). Fun and games in a suburb known for the Ekka, but all throughout the year? That's what's on offer at Archie Brothers' 340-person space in Bowen Hills — aka arcade antics, drinks, bowling and more. The games span everything from Mario Kart to Dance Dance Revolution, the sips are of the OTT variety, and a six-lane ten-pin alley and karaoke rooms are also onsite. Archie Brothers Bowen Hills also features Hungry Hungry Hippos, Connect 4 Hoops, The QUBE virtual reality experiences and party rooms. Need more? Air hockey, basketball hoops and VR are all included, too, in a place that definitely doesn't want you to get bored. On the drinks list: alcoholic concoctions like the Pop Till you Drop (made with fireball, butterscotch, apple juice, maple popcorn, bitters and whipped cream) and the Candy Stand (a strawberry shake featuring white rum, Frangelico, a vanilla candy frosted rim and a giant lollipop, plus whipped cream and sprinkles). Archie Bros' food menu focuses on over-the-top novelty American diner grub, fitting right in with the circus decor. So, expect to tuck into dishes such as three-meat burgers, giant pretzels, and potato gems with garlic aioli that's served in a syringe. The kidulting venture is just one of many for Funlab, which also boasts boozy mini-golf chain Holey Moley, Strike Bowling, the also games-related B. Lucky & Sons and challenge-room venue Hijinx Hotel in its stable — and opened a new Holey Moley and Hijnx Hotel in Chermside in 2022.
Enter one of Yayoi Kusama's infinity rooms, including the Japanese icon's brand-new Infinity Mirrored Room–My Heart is Filled to the Brim with Sparkling Light at the National Gallery of Victoria, and it appears as if the artist's work goes on forever. A great exhibition dedicated to Kusama evokes the same sensation. Accordingly, when you're not staring at a seemingly endless celestial universe while enjoying a world-premiere piece from the talent that's been unveiled for the first time ever in Melbourne, you'll still feel as if Kusama's touches are everywhere around you. Simply titled Yayoi Kusama, NGV International's big summer 2024–25 showcase features 200 works, so there really is enough Kusama art to envelop attendees in dots, mirrors, balls, tentacles, pumpkins, flowers, rainbow hues and her other beloved flourishes. With ten immersive installations, the exhibition breaks the world record for the number of such pieces by the artist assembled in one spot. The showcase is also the largest-ever Kusama retrospective that Australia has ever seen. Open since Sunday, December 15, 2024 and running until Monday, April 21, 2025, Yayoi Kusama has taken over the St Kilda Road gallery's entire ground floor with a childhood-to-now survey of its subject's creative output. With the artist reaching 95 years of age in March 2024, there's eight decades of art on display. Some pieces have never been seen Down Under until now. Some are sourced from private collections, and others from Kusama's own personal stash. In advance of the exhibition's launch, Melbourne welcomed Kusama's five-metre-tall dot-covered Dancing Pumpkin sculpture in NGV International's Federation Court. Outside the gallery, Kusama's Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees wrapped the trunks of more than 60 trees in pink-and-white polka-dotted material before Yayoi Kusama opened its doors, too. Now comes the chance to explore the complete showcase, which is also one of the most-comprehensive retrospectives devoted to the artist to be staged globally. Forget booking in a trip to Kusama's Tokyo museum for the next few months, then — all that Melburnians need to do is stay local, and Australians elsewhere just need to head to the Victorian capital. Other highlights include NGV International's glass waterwall going pink, but with black rather than white dots; Kusama's new version of Narcissus Garden, which dates back to 1966 and features 1400 30-centimetre-diameter silver balls this time around, sitting in front of the waterwall and in parts of Federation Court; and the yellow-and-black spheres of Dots Obsession hanging over the Great Hall. Then there's the artist's sticker-fuelled, all-ages-friendly The Obliteration Room, where audiences young and old pop coloured dots everywhere — 'obliterating', as Kusama calls it — to cover an apartment interior that's completely white otherwise. Flower Obsession is another participatory piece, returning from the 2017 NGV Triennial. Again, you're asked to add to the work. Here, red flowers are applied to a domestic space — and again, obliterating it is the mission. If you adore the artist's way with mirrors, you'll want to see 2016's Chandelier of Grief, which features baroque-style chandelier spinning within a hexagon of mirrors; 2013's Love Is Calling, where tentacles in different colours spring from both the floor and the ceiling; and 2017's The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens, which gets viewers peering at glowing pumpkins as far as the eye can see through a small peephole. In Invisible Life, convex mirrors line a twisting and multi-hued corridor. With its six-metre-tall tendrils — which are covered in polka dots, naturally — the yellow-and-black The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe from 2019 is striking without using a looking glass (or several), and makes its Australian premiere. Prefer flowers instead? Set within a dotted space, All My Love for the Tulips, I Pray Forever from 2013 sees a trio of giant tulips loom over audiences. Overall, Yayoi Kusama steps through the artist's 80-plus years of making art via a thematic chronology. While a number of pieces hail from her childhood, others are far more recent. Her output in her hometown of Matsumoto from the late 30s–50s; the results of relocating to America in 1957; archival materials covering her performances and activities in her studios, especially with a political charge, in the 60s and 70s; plenty from the past four decades: they all appear. Any chance to see Yayoi Kusama's work in Australia is huge news, and reason to make a date — including travel plans, if needed. Here's another drawcard: the NGV has also added Friday-night parties to the mix, kicking off on Friday, December 20, 2024 for some pre-Christmas fun, then running for 18 weeks until Friday, April 18, 2025. Yayoi Kusama displays at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne until Monday, April 21, 2025 — and NGV Friday Nights: Yayoi Kusama runs each Friday night from 6–10pm between Friday, December 20, 2024–Friday, April 18, 2025. Head to the NGV website for more details and tickets. Images: Visitors and artworks in the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at NGV International, Melbourne until 21 April 2025. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Photos: Danielle Castano, Sean Fennessy, Tobias Titz and Kate Shannassy.
If ever there was a time to treat yourself to a vacation, it's now, and you'll still find scores of memorable holiday destinations located in New Zealand. No long-haul flight required. What's more, if you're after a true break from reality, New Zealand is brimming with unique stays that'll transport you blissfully far from your everyday. Indulge in a few nights in a leafy treehouse, a beautifully restored truck perched right on the bay, or even a mountaintop cabin with views for days. Here, we've taken care of the hard bit and pulled together 15 of the most unique stays you can book in New Zealand. Pick your favourite, pack those bags and embark on a holiday that's worth writing home about. Recommended reads: The Best Places to Go Glamping in New Zealand The Best Places to Go Glamping in Australia Ten of the Most Luxurious Waterfront Stays You Can Book in Auckland The Most Unique Stays with Breathtaking Views of New Zealand's South Island Glamcamping, Whananaki A secluded waterfront cabin and campsite set among untouched wilderness, with hiking trails, clear blue ocean and private sandy beaches right on its doorstep. From $148 a night, sleeps six. The Grove Farm Stay, Thornton With features like a hot tub and king size bed, this comfy yurt makes for an idyllic farm stay. All just metres from the beach. From $276 a night, sleeps four. Mud Hut at Welcome Rock Trails, Garston Dose up on serenity at this rustic high-country hikers' hut, kitted out with a cosy fireplace, outdoor tub and some of the best views going around. From $125 a night, sleeps four. Fairytale Treehouse, Whangarei Your own magical treehouse escape, complete with cosy interiors, leafy wraparound deck and 28 lush acres to explore at your leisure. From $290 a night, sleeps two. The Amazing House Truck, Wainui Bay This former truck has been transformed into a comfy bayside getaway, complete with a woodfire and outdoor bath. Spend your days swimming, hiking or soaking up those views. From $237 a night, sleeps four. The Mudcastle, Nelson Fancy holidaying like royalty? Try this picturesque castle retreat, complete with fairytale features, a private pool and sweeping countryside views. From $1336 a night, sleeps 16. Alpine Cube, Ben Ohau Check out of reality and into this architecturally designed nature cabin, featuring zero wi-fi, a luxe open air spa and all the tranquility you could dream of. From $498 a night, sleeps two. Blackpool House, Auckland This contemporary couples' retreat boasts a lush, leafy setting, with stunning architecture, a cosy mezzanine library nook and a sun-drenched deck that's primed for relaxing. From $390 a night, sleeps two. Warm Cosy Yurt, Motueka Valley Al fresco drinks among the treetops and stargazing through the rooftop skylight — enjoy it all at this kitted-out yurt overlooking the Motueka River. From $122 a night, sleeps three. Rocky Point Hut, Pepin Island A tranquil hideaway for two with an outdoor tub offering epic panoramas, this clifftop hut is the stuff of holiday dreams. From $219 a night, sleeps two. The Treehouse, Waiheke Island Hidden among the treetops, this contemporary cabin will charm you with its romantic loft bedroom, leafy gardens and blissful outdoor spa. From $292 a night, sleeps four. Woodpecker Bay Bach, Punakaiki Wake to the sound of crashing waves at this quaint beachfront stay. It's rocking a charmingly kitsch style and a bathtub with views to swoon over. From $226 a night, sleeps two. Away Treehouse, Auckland Blissful treehouse vibes abound at this secluded forest retreat. Unplug and recharge, while enjoying the cosy wood fire, outdoor spa and peaceful treetop setting. From $438 a night, sleeps two. Kauri Forest Chalet, Auckland In the heart of the bush, this secluded chalet makes for a tranquil couples' escape. Hiking trails abound and the beach is just a short drive away. From $180 a night, sleeps two. Te Kouma Heights Glamping, Manaia Find luxury off the grid in this tent for two with endless ocean and farmland views. Enjoy fully equipped solar power, a king bed and two claw-foot outdoor tubs facing the glittering Coromandel Harbour. From $332 a night, sleeps two. 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. Images: courtesy of Airbnb.
Australia has more than 47,000 kilometres of coastline and 11,761 beaches, according to those who've somehow managed to count them all. And there's no better way to get to know them than an adventure with your mates and a night within the thin walls of a tent. With the waves just a stumble away and surrounded by kangaroos, wombats and echidnas, beach camping is a great way to immerse yourselves in all the best Australia has to offer, the kind of serenity that's best enjoyed together. To get you started, we teamed up with Jim Beam to find the spots where we reckon you'll get some of the nation's optimum beach camping conditions. Recommended reads: The Best Beach Camping Spots in Victoria The Best Beach Camping Spots in Queensland The Best Beach Camping Spots in NSW The Best Glamping Sites in Australia [caption id="attachment_807772" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] Noah Beach, Daintree National Park, Queensland Sir David Attenborough called the Daintree Rainforest "the most extraordinary place on earth" and Noah Beach sits right among it. Found about 80 kilometres north of Port Douglas, there are few places in the world where you can camp between a reef and a World Heritage-listed rainforest. Here in the Daintree, you'll find never-ending treetop canopies and animals found nowhere else in the world. The campground is just 50 metres from the beach, and facilities are basic, limited to tap water and composting toilets. With no mobile coverage, it's the perfect place to disconnect from the world. Advance bookings are essential for this beach campsite. [caption id="attachment_807796" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Discover Jervis Bay[/caption] Jervis Bay, Booderee National Park, NSW Residents of Lucky Bay, WA, might tell you that their sand is the whitest in Australia (if not the world), but Jervis Bay's locals will argue otherwise. Found 200 kilometres south of Sydney, Jervis Bay is home to bottlenose dolphins, fur seals, penguins and 20 kilometres of unspoilt shoreline, protected for the most part by Booderee National Park. There are three beachside campsites to choose from — and for still water, go for Green Patch; if you're taking your surfboard, opt for Caves Beach. Bookings, available online, are essential. And for things to do and places to eat (and, most importantly, drink), check out our weekender's guide to Jervis Bay. [caption id="attachment_807799" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Western Australia[/caption] Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grand National Park, Western Australia Forty minutes southeast of Esperance, in Le Grand National Park, sits five kilometres of sparkling shoreline known as Lucky Bay. And, with tent in hand, you can sleep just metres from its pristine, white sand. When you're done with sunbathing alongside kangaroos, conquer the 15-kilometre coastal track, which takes you to Rossiter Bay via Hellfire Bay — or the three-kilometre Frenchman Peak trail, which gives you epic panoramas. The campsite has 56 spots, as well as a camp kitchen, toilets and hot showers, but make sure to pack your own fresh water. Bookings are essential. [caption id="attachment_807803" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mark Watson[/caption] Tidal River, Wilsons Promontory, Victoria Wilsons Promontory National Park covers more than 50,000 hectares of rugged mountains, empty beaches and rainforest at the southernmost point of the Australian mainland. One of the best campsites here is Tidal River, which puts you on the edge of both Norman Beach and the river, among wallabies, echidnas and wombats. The massive campground has nearly 500 campsites, toilets, hot showers and an open air cinema, which has been showing flicks since the 1960s. Campsites are divvied up via a ballot in the summertime, with advance bookings essential at all other times. [caption id="attachment_714492" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Robert Blackburn/Visit Victoria[/caption] Johanna Beach, Great Otway National Park, Victoria This is a popular one for hikers along the Great Ocean Walk, a 100-kilometre journey from Apollo Bay to Port Campbell. The site is nestled among sand dunes, behind spectacular Johanna Beach. Spend your days surfing, strolling and relaxing on the sand, and use your tent as a launching pad for day trips into Great Otway National Park. Its 103,000 hectares are home to lots of walks, koalas, pretty bays and spots for whale watching. Johanna Beach campsite has room for 25 tents and dogs on leads are permitted. [caption id="attachment_807805" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brad Griffin Photography[/caption] Memory Cove, Lincoln National Park, South Australia You'll find this precious piece of wilderness about 50 kilometres southwest of Port Lincoln (across the Spencer and St Vincent Gulfs from Adelaide). The campsite looks directly over the white sand and turquoise water of Memory Cove, from the shade of coastal mallees, and is limited to 15 cars per day to maintain the wilderness. When you're not lazing about, go adventuring in Lincoln National Park, where you'll experience some of South Australia's most beautiful coastline. There's a bunch of lovely walks, from the 2.7-kilometre Stamford Hill hike, which gives you excellent views, to the 12-hour Investigator Trail, which takes in many bays and beaches on its way to Cape Donington. Bookings at Memory Cove campsite are crucial — you can't get in without a key. [caption id="attachment_807807" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Tasmania and Peter Bellingham[/caption] Richardsons Beach, Freycinet National Park, Tasmania Freycinet National Park, which covers a peninsula on Tassie's East Coast, is famous for its striking, pink granite and numerous tranquil beaches, including Instagram star Wineglass Bay. The campground stretches along a stunning coastal strip, behind Richardsons Beach and overlooking Honeymoon Bay. If you're heading during the summer season, a ballot is drawn in mid-August in order to nab on of the 52 spots, or else you can book through the visitor centre. If you find yourself feeling social or thirsty, there's a brewery and shops just up the road. Alternatively, if you want to experience this part of Tasmania in pure luxury — taking a break from the tent — then check out Saffire Freycinet. [caption id="attachment_807810" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] Crayfish Beach, Hook Island, Whitsunday Islands National Park, Queensland If your idea of idyllic beach camping doesn't involve crowds, then pitch at Crayfish Beach, on Hook Island's eastern shore. The pocket-sized campground has space for only 12 people, the only way you can get there is by boat, and there's no mobile coverage. So, there'll be no way of telling the world you're surrounded by forest-covered mountains and snorkelling among some of The Whitsundays' best-looking underwater communities. Facilities are limited to composting toilets. Be prepared to carry in everything with you, including drinking water. [caption id="attachment_807811" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jess Bonde[/caption] Cloudy Bay, Bruny Island, Tasmania Bruny Island is just a 40-minute drive and 15-minute ferry ride from Hobart, yet it feels like it's a million miles away. There are loads of camping spots (including many free ones) all over the island, but one of the loveliest is Cloudy Corner, in the eastern corner of Cloudy Bay in South Bruny National Park. Getting there involves a three-kilometre drive along the beach at low tide. No bookings are taken, with campsites being allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Make sure to bring cash with you, too, as payment is taken via self-registration deposit boxes. While you're on the island, find the best whisky, oysters and outdoor activities via our 48 Hours on Bruny Island guide. [caption id="attachment_874853" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sal Salis in Western Australia - the best glamping in Australia.[/caption] Ningaloo Reef, Cape Range National Park, Western Australia There are a few road trip-worthy campsites scattered around Cape Range National Park for those looking for access to Australia's lesser-known yet nonetheless extraordinary reef, Ningaloo. The UNESCO Heritage-listed wonder hugs the Western Australian coast 1200 kilometres north of Perth and contains hundreds of fish and coral species. Ned's Camp is tucked away behind dunes, right next to a calm, white-sanded beach, which is lovely for swimming, snorkelling and paddling — and is an affordable spot with just ten non-powered campsites. If you're looking to take your holiday up a notch, you could also head to Sal Salis' eco-luxe cabins. Just 15 minutes down the road from Ned's, they're not cheap, but they're located just by the reef and come with meals and drinks, as well as kayaking, paddleboarding and snorkelling gear. Like Jim Beam, surfing and other outdoor adventures are all about bringing people together, so get out there this summer and find your tribe in the great outdoors. Top image: Lucky Bay, Tourism Western Australia
Is Brisbane's northside becoming the River City's relaxation zone? Not content with scoring a new bathhouse in Lutwyche, this part of town is getting another before mid-2024 hits: The Bathhouse Albion. The European-inspired wellness haven is setting up shop on Nariel Street as part the Albion Fine Trades precinct, with everyone that's keen for a soak, float, plunge and steam able to make its acquaintance from June. The vibe here is indulgent, opulent and luxurious — all in an architecturally designed space that boasts Hogg & Lamb's fingerprints, as Brisbane restaurants Babylon and Gemelli Italian already do. Travertine stone is a key element, giving the venue not just a Euro look and feel, but an old-school one as well. Moody lighting and high ceilings also feature. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Bathhouse Albion (@thebathhousealbion) Within the atmospheric bathhouse, patrons will be able to take a dip in both hot and cold pools (the latter gets down to 12 degrees), then get sweaty in traditional and infrared saunas — and in a Finnish sauna with a fireplace. The six-degree ice bath will cool you down. The tiered steam room will heat you back up. If you just want to drift, there's the float room. And, in-between treatments, the relaxation lounge awaits. Turning chasing bliss into a multi-sensory experience, The Bathhouse Albion will also feature calming fragrances and sounds — and there's no phones allowed, and no alcohol as well. It'll also have a cap on guest numbers for each session, so you won't have too much company. Vanderbilt Wellness is behind the wellness spot, which Managing Director James Walsh — an experienced long-distance and ultra-marathon runner — explains aims to "create a space where our guests can re-energise and restore, as part of a balanced lifestyle in an unmatched setting". He's dubbing it "one of the most luxurious bathhouses in the world", too. "I've had the opportunity to run ultra marathons all over the world and the privilege of experiencing some of the world's most well-regarded and award-winning wellness and recovery centres." "Our aim is to transcend the standard of service and experience available in the Australian market." The Bathhouse Albion will open at 64 Nariel Street, Albion in June — head to the venue's website for more details in the interim.
When you've been sipping on blue milk, how ready will you be to battle the Galactic Empire? Will tucking into green burgers and dessert space stations get you fuelled to rebel against oppression? There's only one way to find out the answers to these questions: by visiting the brand-new Star Wars Galactic Cafe, an Australian-first eatery that's now open at Melbourne Museum. After the Victorian venue became the top spot right now, in this very galaxy, to see Star Wars come to life via Lego courtesy of the world-premiering Lego Star Wars: The Exhibition — and the only place to check out life-sized recreations of the space saga's locations, characters, duels and moments as made out of eight-million-plus plastic bricks, in fact — the same site has welcomed another Aussie debut. As first announced back in May, never before has an official Star Wars cafe popped up Down Under. This one is only here for a limited season. Yes, blue milk is definitely on offer, because it wouldn't be a Star Wars-themed spot for a snack and a sip without it. You can enjoy it chilled or as part of a slushie. And the source of that all-important hue? Butterfly pea flower powder. The cafe's full food and drink range features other dishes and selections inspired by the franchise — and while there's no green milk or fish eggs, green-hued burgs and a Death Star by chocolate sweet treat are ready to tempt your tastebuds. Fittingly, the bites and drinks have names like Canto Bight Burger, Naboo Garden Vermicelli, Outer Rim Chicken Katsu and Tatooine Sunset. Also on offer: a Chewie gingerbread cookie that adorably resembles its namesake. A range of kids meal packs are available, too, with monikers such as Endo Explorer (featuring chicken nuggets) and Padawan Power (with a hummus and salad sandwich). Open since Saturday, June 7, 2025 and set to run until January 2026, the Star Wars Galactic Cafe is the result of Australian-first collaboration between Museums Victoria, Disney and Lucasfilm. The decor matches the menu, with the pop-up delivering an immersive eating and drinking experience beyond what you're consuming by taking you to a Corellian Star Cruiser to get feasting. If this sounds like the kind of spot that'll be popular, that's because it already is — so bookings are encouraged, with walk-in availability limited. Images: Carmen Zammit, courtesy of Museums Victoria.
Hospitality workers are the backbone of our cities' night-time economies. After serving us behind the bar or recommending the chef's special that'll have you coming back for more, hospitality workers also keep the city open and thriving post-shift. From the quiet corners to the go-to bars and late-night venues that look after the people who look after everyone else, we tapped a couple of hospitality legends on the shoulder to learn where they head once the kitchen closes. After all, the night-time economy is a significant part of the Australian lifestyle. The Visa Vibe Economy report, commissioned by Visa and conducted by McCrindle, explores spending habits related to Australia's night-time economy, 32 percent of Australians consider going out "extremely" or "very important" to their lifestyle. It also found that nearly half of Australians go out after dark at least once a week, on average. Here's where the industry insiders in your city are heading. [caption id="attachment_810673" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Grana, Jiwon Kim[/caption] Alex Wong, Executive Chef at Hinchcliff House, Sydney: Lana, Grana, Apollonia, Bar Mammoni, Grana Privato CP: What do you love about the hospitality industry? Alex: I love this industry for the people and the lifestyle. I love being busy, being able to express myself through food, and working alongside like-minded people — there's a real sense of camaraderie and adrenaline that comes with it. You meet so many different people from all walks of life. It's given me confidence, taught me how to stand up for myself, and to grab every opportunity that comes my way. CP: Where do you head after a long shift? Alex: After a long shift or a big Saturday night, I love heading to Mamas on Pitt Street for some soju and supper — their fishcake soup hits perfectly in winter with a few bottles of soju. Super Bowl is another great late-night spot; their Hong Kong–style curry fish balls, noodles, and BBQ meats really slap. If there's time (and energy), a sneaky karaoke session after never hurts. CP: What's your favourite thing about your city after dark? Alex: I've always been a night owl. I love the calm that comes with night — and the little bit of chaos, too. Sydney after dark has so much to offer: great bars for a drink or nightcap, incredible restaurants and wine bars, or just soaking up the city lights. The Friday night Chinatown markets are a classic foodie stop, and walking across the Harbour Bridge at night never gets old. [caption id="attachment_1006447" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Baptist Street, Alana Dimou[/caption] Mahbub Hasan, CBD Precinct Bars Leader for House Made Hospitality, Sydney CP: What do you love about the hospitality industry? Mahbub: The chance to create moments that actually mean something to people. It's noticing small details, picking up on what someone needs without them having to ask, and making them feel looked after. I love that a bit of genuine care can turn a random interaction into a memory. There's something special about watching someone walk in tired and stressed from their day, and leave softer, lighter, and happier. That little shift, that connection, is the reason I keep showing up. CP: Where do you head after a long shift? Mahbub: After a late shift in the city, I love decompressing somewhere with soul. Often, that means making my way to Baptist Street Rec. Club in Redfern — great energy, familiar faces, and the perfect spot to shake off work mode. If I'm in the mood for a proper vibe shift, Disco Pantera hits the spot. It has music loud enough to reset your brain and cocktails good enough to make you forget how tired you are. When I want to stay closer to home, I keep it local. Sometimes it's The Vic on the Park, nothing fancy, just comfort and that Inner West feeling. Other nights I'll drift down Enmore Road. And there are nights where I just want to be home-adjacent, so I'll end up in Newtown. Bar Planet for a martini, or Silvers Motel for something slower. Those places remind me that there's a world outside of work. Real people, real community. CP: What's your favourite thing about your city after dark? Mahbub: Sydney at night feels like a different city. No suits, chaos drops away, and everything slows down. You start to notice things, little conversations, laughter spilling out of small bars, chefs and bartenders having their first breath of freedom outside the venue. It feels like a secret world that only exists after everyone else goes home, a world for the night people, hospitality people, and wanderers. [caption id="attachment_795639" align="alignleft" width="1920"] The Gresham, Millie Tang[/caption] Jaeden Ogston, Bartender, The Gresham, Brisbane CP: What do you love about the hospitality industry? Jaeden: I love hearing people's stories and enjoy the little moments of sonder. Hospitality, and especially working at The Gresham, allows me to meet and engage with such a diverse range of people that I would otherwise never meet. Whether they're regulars or just passing through, it's something really special to be able to connect and create memorable moments for people. CP: Where do you head after a long shift? Jaeden: Straight to Frogs Hollow. It's an authentic Country Saloon Bar that does good times perfectly. It's somewhere I know I can go to see familiar faces, and round out a long day with a 'hell yeah'. The bartenders provide some of the best hospitality in Brisbane and are among the most beautiful people I know. Frogs Hollow also has a rad bourbon selection and Brisbane's best XXXX Gold on tap. Other than that, it'd be Savile Row in Fortitude Valley (just look for the orange door). It's an awesome London-esque speakeasy-style bar that has a back-bar for days. It's cosy yet uptempo, and once again, the staff are not only legends of their trade but also wonderful people themselves. Whilst you're on that side of town, also check out Barry Parade Public House, which just celebrated its first anniversary. The owner, Dan, used to be my boss at The Gresham, and he's taken his love of vintage spirits, classic cocktails and soul food, and he and co-owner Brennan have made it into a beautiful, neighbourhood bar. [caption id="attachment_946892" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Frogs Hollow[/caption] CP: What's your favourite thing about your city after dark? Jaeden: Brisbane, in the grand scheme of things, is still a small city. What's beautiful about this is that if I ever just feel like going out and exploring and seeing where the night takes me, I know I'll bump into a familiar face on either side of the bar. Also, you can walk to almost everything... and whatever vibe you're looking for, whether it's a dive, speakeasy, jazz club or brewery, it's right at your fingertips. [caption id="attachment_932926" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Dear Saint Eloise[/caption] Frankie Stanley, Events and Marketing Manager at The London Hotel, Sydney CP: What do you love about the hospitality industry? Frankie: I love that hospitality is all about people! Meeting people, connecting with them, and being part of their day or night. It's fast, unpredictable and addictive in the best way. Unlike many office jobs, you might be running up 48 flights of stairs on a random Monday, but there is nothing more satisfying than the energy when a room is full of happy people and everything is running smoothly. CP: Where do you head after a long shift? Frankie: After a long shift, I love going to Potts Point or Darlinghurst to their many small wine bars. There's so much love in what they offer, and the vibes are always on point. Caravin and Dear Saint Eloise, both in Potts Point and The Waratah in Darlinghurst, are favourites! Gorgeous food, sexy drinks, and incredible staff. CP: What's your favourite thing about your city after dark? Frankie: I love Sydney after dark, especially as we move into summer. Longer days, warm nights, and everyone wanting to be out and about. With more councils approving outdoor seating, the city finally feels like it's leaning into that European, sit-out-and-soak-it-in vibe. The London just got its parklet approved after nine months and it has completely lifted the vibe. It's brought so much life to the street. I hope we see more of this across Sydney to keep nightlife thriving. Emma Sheahan, Front of House Manager, Lumen People, Melbourne CP: What do you love about the hospitality industry? Emma: Having guests sit at my table and connecting with them. I love meeting so many interesting people and working side by side with them. CP: Where do you head after a long shift? Emma: Brico or Lulie Tavern. Brico's food and wine are exceptional. What brings me back time and time again is their hospitality. I always walk in and feel immediate relief. I'm home. I'm cared for, no matter who I bring or why I'm there, they'll take care of us. Lulie is the champion of Melbourne music and community. It's been a huge part of my social life. Engagements, special birthdays, celebrations and sad times: Lulie always has a seat for you! The burgers are also really good. [caption id="attachment_868486" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Jake Roden[/caption] CP: What's your favourite thing about your city after dark? Emma: Melbourne's live music. I love living in a city big enough to support so many incredibly talented artists. Discover the vibe near you. Lead image credit: Bar Planet
Back in 2015, when word arrived that the Flinders Street Station Ballroom would be brought back to life after three decades of sitting dormant, no one could've imagined the wonders that it has gone on to hold. Skywhale artist Patricia Piccinini filled it with twisted flowers and otherworldly creatures. Street-art legend Rone decked it out with a new immersive artwork. For RISING 2025, now an art exhibition that's also a nine-hole mini-golf course is temporarily moving in. When it takes over Melbourne each winter, RISING is always all about giving the Victorian capital — and Australia — brand-new experiences. As popular as putt putt is around the country, Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf is definitely a unique addition to the major annual arts festival's 2025 lineup. The event has enlisted female-identifying and gender-diverse artists to design mini-golf holes at the Flinders Street Station Ballroom, and is inviting RISING attendees — plus anyone in Melbourne for a couple of months after the festival — to get swinging at the three-month-long pop-up. While RISING itself will run from Wednesday, June 4–Sunday, June 15 in 2025, Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf will kick off on the fest's opening day but keep letting folks get putting until Sunday, August 31. When you're tap, tap, tapping, you'll be navigating greens designed by Kajillionaire filmmaker and All Fours writer Miranda July, Australian artists Kaylene Whiskey and Nabilah Nordin, Japan's Saeborg, the United Kingdom's Delaine Le Bas, and Indonesia's Natasha Tontey. Expect surreal, mindbending creations — whether July is riffing on her latest book's name with an 'all fores' setup, Whiskey is merging pop culture and Anangu traditions, latex creatures are a feature courtesy of Saeborg or Le Bas is working in embroidery, to name just a few of the details set to star. Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf is RISING 2025's first program announcement — and if you're keen to find out what else is in store, the full roster arrives in March. For this certain highlight of the fest, as well as a mini golf-meets-art mashup, there'll also be a Swingers Clubhouse, aka a pop-up Archie Rose Distilling Co bar, for when you're done swinging. As for what inspired the piece, "the history of mini golf is surprisingly subversive and sits at the heart of this project," explains RISING Senior Curator Grace Herbert, who developed Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf. "It's been incredible to see how each artist has taken this on. Alongside playing mini golf and experiencing the artworks, you might have your fortune told, travel to desert country, become a human-animal hybrid or even find yourself singing along to Dolly Parton." "RISING is about creating collective experiences and Swingers continues that tradition. Bringing such unique artistic minds into the creation of a nine-hole course is a literal game-changer. I can't wait to see audiences step up and take their shot," added RISING Co-Artistic Directors Hannah Fox and Gideon Obarzanek. RISING 2025 runs from Wednesday, June 4–Sunday, June 15 across Melbourne — and Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf will run from Wednesday, June 4–Sunday, August 31, extending past the festival. Head to the event's website for further information. Images: Eugene Hyland.
Spanning from South Brisbane to West End, the stretch of eateries nestled between the parallel roadways of Fish Lane and Melbourne Street are fast becoming one of the city's best places to grab a bite. Throw a stone, and you'll find a French wine bar, a rippin' rib shack, a shipping container Vietnamese eatery and Gelato Messina, just to name a few places that have set up shop in the area. Chu the Phat joined them on May 5, serving up Hong Kong, Korean and Taiwanese-style street food inspired by hawker stalls. Dubbed a younger sibling to the CBD's Madame Wu — the two are both run by the same company, rawGROUP, who also boast Beach House Bar & Grill among their culinary stable — Chu the Phat aims to offer a more casual version of its predecessor's Eagle Street nosh in its new multi-level digs. Downstairs provides a place for casual drinks around the bar or dropping in to pick up a takeaway lunch. Upstairs, it's all about sitting down in a more intimate space around the open-plan kitchen, whether you're munching through snacks, starters, stir fries and more, or settling in for a tasting banquet. Doing double duty at Madame Wu and Chu the Phat, executive chef Brendon Barker aims to conjure up a feast of Asian flavours, as his menu demonstrates. Kick things off with pork and kimchi spring rolls or crispy red fried pigs' tails, indulge in some potato bread with smoked brisket and duck egg gribiche, opt for diamond shell crabs wok-tossed with bull head sauce and rice cakes, or enjoy twice-cooked black onyx beef kalbi (that is, Korean barbecued beef short ribs). Then, wash it all down with a selection from the wine, spirits and cocktail-heavy drinks list, with the latter a veritable pun wonderland — The Chudriver, How Chu Doing, Phat Chance, Phat Boy Slim, Chu Bacca and Manphattan all feature. Find Chu the Phat at 111 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane. Head to the eatery's website and Facebook page for more information.
Sometimes in The Whitsundays, sometimes outside the Sydney Opera House, sometimes in the rooftop carpark of a Melbourne Woolworths, thousands of people have disrobed for Spencer Tunick. The New York-based artist stages naked installations in public places that also become nude photography works. He's filled Bondi beach, Federation Square, Munich's Bavarian State Opera, a patch of the Nevada desert and many more places with folks sans clothes, too — and, in both 2023 and 2024, he's turned his attention to Brisbane as well. Tunick first hit the Sunshine State last November for a piece called TIDE by the Brisbane River, which formed part of 2023's queer arts and culture-focused Melt Festival. On a spring Saturday, more than 100 participants shed their attire for the camera by the water. Before that installation even took place, it was revealed that he'd back in 2024 for an installation now called RISING TIDE. It too is part of the same fest, and it also involves another Brisbane landmark: the Story Bridge. On Sunday, October 27, 2024, the famous river crossing will welcome thousands of naked volunteers. Accordingly, it isn't just traffic that will bring the structure to a standstill this spring. For the shoot, the stretch across the water is closing to cars. If you're keen to get your kit off for the camera — and be part of history — there's no limit to the number of people who can take part. RISING TIDE is just one way to engage with Tunick's art in Brisbane this year, however. The other: TIDE Exhibition, featuring images from his debut in the River City. It's displaying at Brisbane Powerhouse from Saturday, September 28–Sunday, November 10, also falling into Melt, featuring projected video from the installation. The TIDE Exhibition marks a few firsts for Tunick as he celebrates 30 years of making his style of art, over which period he's staged more than 100 installations. This is his first-ever Australian exhibition, and it's the first time that his work will be on display for the public. The single-channel video at the heart of the TIDE Exhibition not only includes imagery from the shoot by the Brisbane River, but also stories from participants. Images: Spencer Tunick.
The Upside Down has arrived in Australia, specifically Sydney, again. When season four of Stranger Things dropped in 2022, a rift to the show's netherworld popped up in Bondi. Three years later, as everyone waits for the Netflix favourite's fifth and final season to stream sometime before 2025 is out, Stranger Things: The Experience has brought a whole host of Stranger Things nods this way — and entering its eerie realm is indeed one of them. Stranger Things: The Experience is making its Aussie debut at Luna Park Sydney courtesy of Vivid Sydney's 2025 program. Between Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14, wandering into the venue's Crystal Palace means visiting 1986 — and also Hawkins, Indiana, of course — in an interactive stint of Stranger Things-loving fun. Locations from the show are part of the setup, as is a supernatural mystery. And yes, you can expect to feel nostalgic, even if you don't have your own memories of the 80s because you hadn't been born yet. Stranger Things: The Experience isn't just about exploring recreations of settings that you've seen while watching Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, The Electric State) and the gang, however. The installation features its own storyline, where playing along means trying to save Hawkins from yet another threat, alongside making a date with the Upside Down. Christmas lights in the Byers' living room? Tick. Vecna? Tick again. Scoops Ahoy serving up banana splits and Surfer Boy Pizza offering slices? Keep ticking. The latter pair are found at Mix-Tape, an 80s-themed mall experience — as is the Palace Arcade, where MADMAX's high score begs to be bested, plus the themed cocktail-slinging Upside Bar. It's also where you can grab limited-edition merchandise. This trip into the TV series created by the Duffer Brothers was designed and developed with the duo. In its first-ever journey to Australia — after initially opening in New York in 2022, then enjoying stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Seattle, Toronto, London, Paris and São Paulo since — it falls into the Ideas portion of Vivid's lineup. Luna Park Sydney and immersive experiences based on Netflix shows keep going hand in hand of late; since the end of 2024, the Harbour City tourist attraction has been hosting Squid Game: The Experience, letting small-screen fans dive into another streaming smash. At the time of writing, playing Red Light, Green Light with Young-hee in Luna Park's big top is on the agenda until late June, which is also when the South Korean show's third and final season premieres. Stranger Things: The Experience runs at Luna Park Sydney, 1 Olympic Drive, Milsons Point, Sydney from Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14,2025. For more information, head to the Luna Park Sydney website. Vivid Sydney 2025 runs from Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14 across Sydney. Head to the festival website for further information.
Is there anything more intimate than wandering around someone's home when they're not there, gently rifling through their things, and — literally or not, your choice — spending a few minutes standing in their shoes? Yes, but there's still an intoxicating sense of closeness that comes with the territory; moseying curiously in another's house without their company, after they've entrusted their most personal space to you alone, will understandably do that. In Mothering Sunday, Jane Fairchild (Odessa Young, The Staircase) finds herself in this very situation. She's naked, and as comfortable as she's ever been anywhere. After her lover Paul Sheringham (Josh O'Connor, Emma) leaves her in a state of postcoital bliss, she makes the most of his family's large abode in the English countryside, the paintings and books that fill its walls and shelves, and the pie and beer tempting her tastebuds in the kitchen. The result: some of this 1920s-set British drama's most evocative and remarkable moments. Jane is used to such lofty spaces, but rarely as a carefree resident. She's an aspiring writer, an orphan and the help; he's firmly from money. She works as a maid for the Sheringhams' neighbours, the also-wealthy Godfrey (Colin Firth, Operation Mincemeat) and Clarrie Niven (Olivia Colman, Heartstopper), and she's ventured next door while everyone except Paul is out. This rare day off is the occasion that gives the stately but still highly moving film its name as well — Mother's Day, but initially designed to honour mother churches, aka where one was baptised — and the well-to-do crowd are all lunching to celebrate Paul's impending nuptials to fiancée Emma Hobday (Emma D'Arcy, Misbehaviour). He made excuses to arrive late, though, in order to steal some time with Jane, as they've both been doing for years. Of course, he can't completely shirk his own party. Mothering Sunday does more than luxuriate in Jane's languid stroll around a sprawling manor, or the happiness that precedes it — much, much more — but these scenes stand out for a reason. They're a showcase for Australian actor Young, who has graduated from playing troubled daughters (see: 2015's The Daughter and the unrelated Looking for Grace) to searching young women cementing their place in the world (see also: 2020's Shirley). With her quietly potent and radiant help, they say oh-so-much about Jane that wouldn't have sported the same power if conveyed via dialogue. They're also exactly the kind of sequences that screenwriter Alice Birch (Lady Macbeth) knows well, although she isn't merely repeating herself. Helping pen the page-to-screen adaptations of Sally Rooney's Normal People and Conversations with Friends, she's inherently at home revealing everything she can about her characters just by observing what they do when no one's watching. The broader story in Mothering Sunday also springs from a book, this time from Graham Swift's 2016 novel, with French filmmaker Eva Husson (Girls of the Sun) making her English-language debut in the director's chair. Swift didn't choose an annual occasion at random, with the day cloaked in sadness in the Sheringham and Niven households — and across Britain — in the shadow of the First World War and all the young men lost to the conflict. Indeed, marking Paul's engagement is the best way to spend the date because his brothers, and the Nivens' boys too, will never have the same chance. The need to don a stiff upper lip, to keep calm and carry on, and to embody every other grin-and-bear-it cliche about English stoicism is deeply rooted in grief here, and more will come in this touching feature before the sunny March day that sits at its centre is over. In lesser hands than Swift's, Husson's and Birch's, Jane might've been a peripheral player — or one part in a straightforward upstairs-downstairs setup that could've stepped directly out of Downton Abbey. Thankfully, that isn't Mothering Sunday either as a book or a movie. While class clashes are inescapable within the film's frames, it's how the eponymous date shapes Jane, and how moments both big and small change anyone, that dwells at its core. The picture also flits forward to its protagonist as a writer, where she's drawn back to that past idyll and heartbreak while navigating a relationship with Oxford philosopher Donald (Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù, Gangs of London). And, it jumps further into the future still, where the even-older Jane (Glenda Jackson, making her first movie since 1990's King of the Wind) has spent decades reflecting on that one Mothering Sunday, plus the other joys and losses life has brought her way, in her head, heart and through her work. It's easy to think you know what to expect with Mothering Sunday. Within its 104-minute running time, its pace is as leisurely as British dramas come. Whether roving around the Sheringhams' mansion, the garden party or less lavish places, Jamie Ramsay's (Moffie) cinematography is the epitome of handsome. Also, reteaming The Crown's O'Connor and Colman signals its emphasis on performances (Young and Firth pair up again, too, but the film actually pre-dates their work on HBO miniseries The Staircase). And yet, Mothering Sunday is also never that formulaic, and it isn't merely the movie that could've been constructed simply by connecting the obvious dots. Husson's and Birch's touches give it a gloriously sensual feel, and not only in the lingering sex scenes, their thrusting bodies and even the stains that a tumble in the sheets can cause. Clearly, the two women who've turned Mothering Sunday into a yearning, sultry and textured splash of celluloid have taken the narrative's message to heart: that leaping in, lapping up whatever delights come your way, and also facing the pain if and when it comes, is always better than holding back to avoid the scantest trace of woe. There's nothing overtly forceful about Young and O'Connor's performances, but the same can be said of the wonderful duo, who could fuel several movies with their chemistry alone. That Firth and Colman don't have quite the same presence fits with their characters, though, who nonetheless prove an affecting portrait of post-war mourning. And while there's little that's left unsaid in Morgan Kibby's emotive score, her third for Husson — or in three-time Oscar-winner Sandy Powell's (The Young Victoria, The Aviator, Shakespeare in Love) eye-catching, period-appropriate costuming, either — that too couldn't be more apt, with the film revelling in what it can when it can.
Beach culture is such an integral part of Australian life, but so many of our nation's most iconic and celebrated coastal areas aren't really at their best during the cooler months. Luckily, Brisbane doesn't suffer such issues, particularly the suburb of Manly, located just half an hour from the CBD. Here, there are plenty of attractions to keep you entertained, from The Manly Hotel (fresh off a multimillion renovation) to the group of performers making a song and dance on a tiny island. Intrigued? Keep reading to find out the best Manly has to offer. Where To Eat: The Manly Hotel, Frankie's Coffee Bar, The Arsonist Just a stone's throw from the Royal Esplanade and Manly Boat Harbour, The Manly Hotel has everything you could want from a modern pub, dishing out elevated classics and local produce by the plate. The Brisbane institution has been serving schooners and schnitties since 1960 and has three areas that each offer a slightly different vibe, all recently refreshed with a $7 million renovation to elevate the offering to any diner. The restaurant has all the trappings of a sit-down meal — think chilled Moreton Bay bugs, Coffin Bay oysters and prawn spring rolls to start and pub classics for mains. The courtyard is filled with light and atmosphere to soak up as you sip local brews (like a glass of Green Beacon) and specialty cocktails — take the Lavender Collins; made with Bombay Sapphire gin, Husk Ink gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup and lavender syrup garnished with lavender sticks. For a third option, the inner terrace has three giant screens playing a live sport, ideal for cheering on the Maroons during State of Origin season. You'll probably want to start your day with a coffee, though, and a short hop north of Manly is the suburb of Wynnum, where you'll find Frankie's Coffee Bar. This cosy oasis offers single-origin pours, cold brew on tap, and beetroot, turmeric or matcha lattes alongside the more traditional offerings you'd expect. There's also a range of pastries, toasties and muffins if you're feeling peckish. Who is Frankie, you might wonder? Well, Frankie is the cafe dog — an American staffy cross rescued from the pound by cafe owners Ross and Sarah. Unsurprisingly, your own four-legged friend is also more than welcome. Caffeine in the morning and casual beers in the late arvo are pretty much the cornerstones of Aussie culture, but if you want to take it up a notch, then Manly has you covered. Slightly intimidatingly named, The Arsonist is a fine-dining experience unlike anything you've experienced before. All food is cooked over a custom-made fire pit (hence the restaurant name), meaning you're hit with the comforting aroma of smoky flames as soon as you walk into the restaurant. There's a smoke-themed cocktail menu where you can sample delights such as a short rib old fashioned with smoked honey, and the food options are just as inventive. Even the most cursory glance at the menu reveals mouth-watering treats like rye sourdough with smoked brisket butter, coal-roasted lamb rump with smoked eggplant, and suckling pig with fig relish and celeriac rémoulade. As you'd expect, bookings are essential. [caption id="attachment_957691" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] SaintM Photos via iStock[/caption] What To Do: Markets by the Sea Aside from the formidable sand and surf, where Manly really excels is its markets and there are two must-sees on the beachfront: the Jan Powers Farmers Markets and the Manly Creative Markets. Queensland food icon Jan Powers founded Brisbane's first farmers markets at the tail-end of the 20th century, and they can now be found in three separate locations across Brisbane. The Manly iteration takes place year-round on the first and third Saturday morning of the month and fulfils Powers' passion for connecting local people to local produce. Manly Creative Markets has called Manly's Esplanade home since it first opened in the 90s. Running every Sunday morning, the markets offer you the chance to browse art, fashion, and artisanal products locally made by talented creators. There's also live music and kids' attractions to add to the feel-good ambience, as well as a range of pop-up food stalls to ensure you're well-fed. [caption id="attachment_957692" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Saint Helena Island — Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] What To See: Wynnum Manly Yacht Club, St Helena Island At Wynnum Manly Yacht Club, there's far more on offer than just sailing. Yes, as the name suggests, you can certainly engage in yacht racing on the big blue if that's your bag, and there's arguably nowhere better to do it in Brisbane. But for the more casual day-tripper who might not know their starboard from their port, there are activities with a slightly lower barrier to entry. Fishing, kayaking and dragon boats are all possible from the marina and that's before you even mention the purest and best form of recreation there is: a good, old-fashioned dip in the ocean. If you're feeling ambitious on your visit and want to venture slightly further afield, then St Helena Island is the place for you. Just a 30-minute ferry ride from Manly, St Helena Island has a museum on the site of the former 19th-century penal colony and Queensland's first passenger tramcar service. There are also beautiful areas to relax, picnic and enjoy the sea views. There are guided tours to give you the full and fascinating history of the island, but what's not quite so expected is the theatre troupe that provides a dramatic retelling of island history for a truly unique and immersive experience. The Manly Hotel is open for dining every day from 11.30am. Accommodation is currently undergoing renovations but will reopen for bookings in late 2024. For more information, visit the website. Top image: The Manly Hotel
If your wildest dreams right now are all about getting in on Taylor Swift's Eras tour, then the pop superstar comes bearing gorgeous and enchanted news. The singer will play Melbourne and Sydney in early 2024, but she's splashing her massive show across cinema screens first, confirming that Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film will show Down Under when it rolls out worldwide this spring. Look what the world made Swift do: turn her current smash-hit tour into a movie that's hitting picture palaces and sharing all things Eras with the globe. The film was first announced a few weeks back, when it dropped a trailer, but only North American screenings were locked in at the time — and, it was feared that the flick mightn't play Australia and New Zealand until Swift visited this part of the world in February. Thankfully, Swift isn't making Aussie and NZ cinemagoers wait for this big-screen view of her huge show. "The tour isn't the only thing we're taking worldwide," the singer announced via social media. Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film will roll out across more than 100 countries, most on Friday, October 13 — including Australia and Aotearoa — and some in early November. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) Fans are in for a money-can't-buy view of the 'Shake It Off', 'We Are Never Getting Back Together' and 'Bad Blood' musician's gig — working through her entire career so far, playing tracks from each of her studio albums in a three-hour, 44-song, ten-act spectacular. The Eras Tour kicked off in March in the US, ending that run in August. Swift also headed to Mexico in August as well. Brazil is her last stop in 2023, before playing Japan, Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Poland, Austria and Australia until August 2024. She'll then return to the US, and then visit Canada next November. Check out the trailer for Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film below: Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film will hit cinemas worldwide, including in Australia and New Zealand, from Friday, October 13 — head to the film's website for further details and bookings.
You can see Oprah, and you can see Oprah, and you can see Oprah: Oprah Winfrey has announced a December 2025 trip Down Under, bringing in-conversation events to five cities across Australia and New Zealand. If you're in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Auckland, you'll be able to see the famed talk-show host get chatting — in intimate sessions rather than on TV, where The Oprah Winfrey Show ran for 25 years. This is Winfrey's first jaunt this way in a decade — and that tour sold out, so expect this one to be popular as well. Authenticity and resilience will be among the topics of conversation, in what's designed to be a series of inspirational sessions. "One of the things I have always enjoyed is sitting down for real, honest, enlightening conversations, and this experience is all about that," said Winfrey, announcing the tour. "The energy, warmth and spirit I feel in Australia and New Zealand have stayed with me, and returning will be an opportunity to reconnect, reflect, and be reinspired — together. I look forward to sharing stories, ideas, and meaningful connection about what's possible in our lives moving forward." Added Paul Dainty of tour promoter DAINTY: "Oprah Winfrey is a cultural icon whose influence spans generations. Her ability to engage, uplift and empower audiences is unparalleled. We're honoured to bring this extraordinary event to Australia and New Zealand — it's not just a conversation, it's a moment that will resonate with people from all walks of life." The media figure, actor, author, producer and philanthropist's visit Down Under will kick off at the ICC Sydney Theatre, then head to Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and Spark Arena. Oprah in Conversation Australia and New Zealand 2025 Dates Thursday, December 4 — ICC Sydney Theatre, Sydney Saturday, December 6 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Monday, December 8 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Thursday, December 11 — Plenary, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne Sunday, December 14 — Spark Arena, Auckland Oprah Winfrey in Conversation is touring Australia and New Zealand in December 2025, with ticket presales from 10am on Wednesday, August 6 in New Zealand and from 10am on Friday, August 8 in Australia — and general ticket sales from Friday, August 8 in NZ and Tuesday, August 12 in Australia. Head to the tour website for more details. Top image: Disney/Eric McCandless.
One moment, you're watching Diego Luna sit down two rows in front of you in a cinema that seats 1600 people. The next, you're spotting Maggie Gyllenhaal and Patrick Stewart on the street. That's life at the Berlinale, or Berlin International Film Festival, which took place from February 9 to 19 — and it matches all of that star power with a massive, jam-packed program of movies. In its 67th year, Berlinale had everything in its 400-title-plus program, and we mean everything. Want big, mainstream efforts such as T2 Transpotting and Logan? Indie Aussie flicks like Emo the Musical and Monsieur Mayonnaise? A sci-fi retrospective and the world premiere of the 3D version of that other T2 — that is, Terminator 2, not the Aussie tea company or Trainspotting sequel? Geoffrey Rush getting an award? Charlie Hunnam traipsing around the jungle? Two movies filled with famous faces arguing over a meal? A flick about utopian world without men? A 1993-set Spanish coming-of-age effort that makes an impact? Another great entry in Romania's new wave? Yes, the festival delivered on all of the above and then some. Yes, you already know that the list goes on. Of course, not everyone can be there to experience films galore, below freezing temperatures, mulled wine aplenty and a newfound pretzel addiction. Don't worry, that's where we come in. We went, we watched, and we're excited about all of the movies that'll hopefully make their way to Australia at festivals or in general release. In fact, we can't wait to watch these ten again. CALL ME BY YOUR NAME If this film sounds more than a little familiar, that's because we were already mighty excited about it when it screened at Sundance. Oh boy, did Luca Guadagnino's (A Bigger Splash) latest and best feature to date more than deliver. Let us put it this way: when you're watching a 17-year-old become infatuated with his father's handsome research assistant, played by Armie Hammer, you're feeling every single emotion he's feeling. And, you're falling head over heels for everything about this masterpiece as well. Call Me By Your Name is the kind of effort that couldn't be more seductive, from the sumptuous sights of its scenic Italian setting to the summertime heat — and sizzling sentiments to match — that radiate from the screen. Keep an eye on Timothée Chalamet, too, who plays the teenager in question. If this movie is any guide, he should become one of cinema's next big things. A FANTASTIC WOMAN A Fantastic Woman? Yes, this sensitive drama and Berlinale best screenplay winner places one front and centre. A fantastic film? You bet. After using a compassionate gaze to explore the world of an older lady trying to find happiness in Gloria, Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio turns his attention to Marina (Daniela Vega), a waitress and singer whose life is thrown into disarray when tragedy strikes. The family of her much older lover are horrified, judging her transgender status rather than daring to let her into their lives — or let her mourn. The movie doesn't make the same mistake, in an effort that proves empathetic and engaging from start to finish, complete with an exceptional lead performance and one perfect song cue. THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE No one makes films like Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki. Sure, that's true of many directors, however the balance of deadpan humour and heartfelt drama he cultivates time and again isn't an easy one, even if he makes it seem otherwise. In this year's Berlinale Best Director winner The Other Side of Hope, Kaurismäki tackles the subject of refugees in Europe as Syrian Khaled (Sherwan Haji) finds himself in Helsinki, applies to stay and is forced to pursue other options when he's hardly given a hearty welcome. The tale of an unhappy salesman turned unlikely restaurant owner intersects with Khaled's plight, and so does absurdity, but in the filmmaker's warm but insightful way. THE PARTY It all seems so simple: gather a group of excellent actors together, stick them in a few rooms, give their characters plenty to argue about and watch what happens. At its most basic, that's what The Party does over 71 entertaining, black-and-white-shot minutes — of course, it does more than that as well. The scenario sees Kristin Scott Thomas' Janet securing a plum political appointment, with her friends and family — played by Timothy Spall, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy and more — all gathering around to celebrate. As something other than joy starts seeping through their get-together, writer/director Sally Potter crafts a lively and hilarious comedy filled with sparkling dialogue and intent on unpacking the political climate in Britain. ON BODY AND SOUL When On Body and Soul took home Berlinale's top award, the Golden Bear for Best Film, the Hungarian feature caught everyone by surprise. That's the beauty of film festivals, though — little turns out as expected, including a contemplative, surreal romantic drama set in a Budapest slaughterhouse. Writer/director Ildikó Enyedi takes her time to spin a tale of austere lives and vivid dreams, letting the emotion build at a slow and steady pace, as well as glimmers of humour. While it won't be for everyone, two things other than its accolade and its filmmaker make it stand out: just how it brings its absurd yet ultimately still relatable story to a close, and its corresponding performances. CASTING JONBENET Good news and bad news, everyone keen to watch the second full-length effort from Australian filmmaker Kitty Green. On the one hand, it's headed to Netflix in April. On the other, the film really does provide an astonishing viewing experience if you ever get the chance to see it in a cinema. As the name gives away, murdered six-year-old beauty pageant queen JonBenet Ramsay sits at the centre of this documentary — however, a regular true crime offering, this most certainly isn't. Instead, in an approach that results in disarmingly revealing insights about how we filter the events of the world through our own experiences, Green asks the people of Ramsay's home town of Boulder, Colorado to audition for a film about her case, then captures their responses. SPOOR Even if you don't know it, you're already familiar with the work of Polish filmmaking great Agnieszka Holland. Over the past decade or so, she has helmed episodes of everything from The Wire to The Killing to House of Cards — and while we can say that the flavour of all three can be glimpsed in her latest feature, Berlinale Silver Bear winner Spoor, don't go expecting something as straightforward or obvious as that may sound. A series of deaths, an investigation in an insular community and the political fallout provide the storyline for this moody and sometimes amusing feature that flits between mystery, thriller, black comedy and even fairy tale elements. Another Agnieszka also deserves acclaim, this time lead actress Agnieszka Mandat who puts in a more than memorable performance. I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO In I Am Not Your Negro, Samuel L. Jackson lends his voice to the words of American essayist James Baldwin. He does an outstanding job at capturing the tone and passion required, but it's the text itself, rather than the star uttering it, that's truly remarkable. Stepping through the state of race relations in the U.S. by focusing on the lives and deaths of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., every syllable spoken couldn't be more perceptive — or, even though they were written decades ago, still relevant today. It's little wonder that the film was nominated for best documentary at this year's Oscars, with director Raoul Peck matching the verbal content with an illuminating compilation of footage from the '50s and '60s. ON THE BEACH AT NIGHT ALONE Last year, South Korean director Hong Sang-soo's two most recent films (Right Now, Wrong Then and Yourself and Yours) played at various Australian film festivals. Yes, he's prolific. Expect his latest, On the Beach at Night Alone, to pop up this year — and, amazingly, he has two other features due out in 2017. That might mean that he returns to the same themes of love, identity and fulfilment again and again, and plays with the same kinds of structural devices, but every one of his efforts has their delights. Here, one of them is the fact that he riffs on his own rumoured real-life circumstances, relaying a narrative about the fallout of an affair between an actress and a director. Another is the leading lady herself, Kim Min-hee, who both sits at the centre of his own scandal and puts in a revelatory, Berlinale best actress-winning turn. GOD'S OWN COUNTRY The words "Yorkshire-set Brokeback Mountain" have been bandied about with frequency regarding God's Own Country; however, thankfully they're accurate in the very best way. Set on a struggling farm, it's a film of sprawling landscapes and surging urges — with both weathering hardships but proving rich and resonant. Forced to take care of everything due to his father's ailing health, to say that scowling, constantly booze-soaked Johnny (Josh O'Connor) is frustrated is an understatement, but, slowly and tentatively, the arrival of handsome Romanian farm-hand Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu) helps brighten his unhappy days. First-time writer/director Francis Lee takes a raw, realistic approach to everything from the animals scenes to the feature's underlying emotions, with heart-swelling results.
Drop everything, it's time to book a holiday for next year. At this time of year, every dollar counts, and when else can you book a return flight (domestic and international) and only pay for half the fee? Jetstar — ever the patron saint of affordable getaways — has just announced its latest special offer: three days of deals that offer essentially two flights for the price of one. From midnight tonight (or midday today if you're a Club Jetstar member), customers who purchase an outbound starter fare on select flights will get their return flight completely free, until 11.59pm on Sunday, November 30, or until the 90,000 available fares sell out. As mentioned, the offer is available across both domestic and international trips. Sydneysiders could skip the eight-hour drive to Byron and instead book a flight to Ballina from $42, or to Cairns from $102. Brisbane travellers can book a Whitsundays flight from $63, and Perth locals looking to go cross-country can fly to Melbourne from $199. If you're going out of the country, you're spoilt for choice. Sydneysiders looking for a quick and easy trip to Bali can do so from $249, Melbournians can immersive themselves in the cultural melting pot that is Singapore from $209, and if you're part of the Aussies that have yet to visit the 'it' destination of 2025: you can fly from Brisbane to Tokyo from $373 and Sydney to Osaka for the same price. Just next door is South Korea, which has gone underappreciated for too long — but Brisbanites can fly to Seoul from $309 in 2026. In terms of dates, the availability varies per route, but the offer is open for domestic flights between early February and late October 2026, and for international flights between early February and mid-September 2026. The Jetstar Return for FREE Black Friday sale runs from 12pm AEDT on Thursday, November 27 for Club Jetstar members, and from 12am AEDT for the general public. The sale will run until 11.59pm AEDT on Sunday, November 30, or until fares sell out. Visit the Jetstar website for more information.
Musicals don't get much bigger than Les Misérables. That's been evident on the stage for more than four decades. When the production has been adapted for the screen, too, it's also been clear. In Australia, next comes Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular, which will put on a show set in 19th-century France on a three-city tour from April 2025. Do you hear the people sing? Audiences in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane definitely will when the production gets the music of the people, plus the songs of angry men, echoing. A stacked cast and a 65-plus-piece orchestra will bring Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular to life at ICC Theatre, Rod Laver Arena and the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, with the format heading Down Under after playing the UK and across Europe. Starting on Wednesday, April 30 in the Harbour City, Australia is getting a five-week-only run, before the show travels through Asia — including Japan, Taiwan and China — and then returns to Europe, with American and Canadian seasons also planned. What makes this an arena spectacular, other than the venues that it's playing? The production isn't just taking the stage iteration of Les Misérables as is to sizeable sites — as a concert, it has been specifically created and designed for such locations. Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular was born to celebrate a hefty milestone for the song-filled theatre take on Victor Hugo's famous 1862 novel: the London production of Les Misérables reaching its 40th year in 2025. Yes, it's West End's longest-running musical. But the arena spectacular's origins hail back earlier, to not long after Les Mis debuted on the stage in 1980 — and also have ties to Australia. "I have long dreamt of taking an Arena Tour of Les Misérables around the world, but I am especially thrilled to be bringing it back to Australia where the outrageous of idea of doing Les Mis as a concert began," explains producer Cameron Mackintosh. "When I first did the stage production of Les Misérables in Sydney in 1987 — with the wonderous Marina Prior as Cosette (only two years after its London opening) — we were invited to do a concert in Sydney's Domain in January 1989 as part of the Sydney Festival. It was very early in the life of Les Misérables, so we had no idea if anyone would turn up, let alone know the music, as the show had only been playing for a year in the 1000-seat Theatre Royal. But, to our astonishment, 135,000 people turned up and embraced the show with a mighty roar — it was a night I will never forget, and the concert was born." On its three Aussie stops, Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular will star Tony-winner Alfie Boe and British talent Killian Donnelly sharing the role of Jean Valjean, while Michael Ball — who featured in the original London 1985 production — plus Bradley Jaden are doing the same with Javert. Prior is back as Madame Thénardier, as part of an international cast that also includes Little Britain's Matt Lucas as Thénardier, Rachelle Ann Go as Fantine, Jac Yarrow as Marius and Beatrice Penny-Touré as Cosette. Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular Australian Dates 2025 From Wednesday, April 30 — ICC Theatre, Sydney From Wednesday, May 14 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne From Wednesday, May 28 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular is touring Australia from April–June 2025. Ticket presales start at 1pm local time on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, with general sales from 1pm local time on Friday, November 29, 2024. Head to the production's website for more details and to sign up for the waitlist. Images: Danny Kaan.
These days, working out extends far beyond the gym floor. Housed in spaces that have their own personalities, boutique studios offer a type of workout for specific goals – whether that's endurance, strength, flexibility, or simply bragging rights. BFT and F45 offer high-intensity group training via circuits, while Barry's Bootcamp's sleek interiors are a luxe spin on the same sweat. If zen is more your speed, traditional mat-based yoga classes now sit alongside hammock-draped aerial yoga spaces where familiar poses are performed in the air. [caption id="attachment_1002460" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Commons[/caption] Boutique fitness classes have become so popular that studio memberships are now a standard monthly expense – and it's not a tiny one. A recent study by health insurer iSelect reveals that a year of group fitness in Australia costs around $3,343.92. The price tag on group classes might be edging into luxury expense territory, but there's a reason it's hard to give up. Ever so often, a fitness trend explodes: indoor cycling, bouldering and Zumba have all had their moments in the past decade – and the current obsession is reformer Pilates. A recent study from health insurer iSelect has confirmed what your bank account already suspected: reformer pilates is officially Australia's most expensive workout. Reformer pilates studios typically have a range of membership tiers, but unlimited access is usually the best value for frequent attendees. These passes tend to be the priciest – Canberra's studios top the charts with an average of $82.20 a week. Sydney isn't far behind at $77, then Melbourne ($75.20), Perth ($74.30), Brisbane ($70.60) and Tassie ($64). Staying fit doesn't always have to break the bank. Some gyms and health clubs include reformer pilates classes in their offering, while boutique studios are getting savvy with costs. At Melbourne's Reformer Space, classes are led via a screen without an instructor present, and the savings trickle down to a weekly fee of under $30. For those seasoned with the carriage springs, explore free-and-easy formats like Pilates 24/7 and Revo Fitness, where reformer machines are readily available for self-guided workouts. It's not just group fitness that can dent your wallet. Training for sold-out endurance events requires an immense amount of time and grit, but it also takes a toll on your wallet. It costs a whopping $630 to complete the gruelling 226-kilometre Ironman triathlon, while you can show your strength at Hyrox, a hardcore hybrid competition, for $250. There's a pattern: the bigger the spectacle, the higher the price. Following its addition to the Abbott World Marathon Major series, the Sydney Marathon now costs $330 per participant – an increase of over $100 from last year's edition. In contrast, the Gold Coast marathon offers a more affordable option at $235 per runner. For those seeking a muddy challenge, Tough Mudder's obstacle courses are priced below $200. While high-end classes and prestigious triathlons dominate the conversation today, accessible options like fringe events endure. Every Saturday, parkrun organises free 5K runs and walks across the country. Who knows? It might just deliver the same sweaty satisfaction. Images: The Commons, Strong Pilates, Iron Man
As Sydneysiders, we're lucky to be situated so close to so many of Australia's most celebrated wine regions — Orange, Mudgee, Hunter Valley et al. Whether you're looking for organically-produced, family-operated, or even inner city-located, wine lovers have got it all at a stone's throw away. If you're a fan of the plonk and you're not taking advantage of NSW's seriously kickass vineyards, it's time to get those engines revving. Here are ten top notch vineyards in your own backyard, from the best wine regions in NSW. Take a few pro tips before you head along though. Cellar doors and tastings are, for the most part, free. FREE. Some you'll have to book in advance, but most just let you rock up on the day. You're not obliged to buy anything, but you do have to be polite and respectful (don't guzzle yourself into oblivion on someone's hard work). Have a chat, talk to the winemakers, taste as many wines as you like, and you'll probably buy a bottle of something — and prices are usually wholesale, so cheaper than buying it later at the bottle shop. Also, do not drive home. Have a plan. The rest? These winemakers will take you through the tasting process (novice winos are always welcome). You just have to get there. ORANGE The Orange region is known for its sophisticated winemaking and cool climate which creates wines with bright fruit and deep, balanced flavours. [caption id="attachment_565814" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: Andy Fraser.[/caption] PHILLIP SHAW Lead by Orange wine pioneer Phillip Shaw himself, this family-owned and operated vineyard has been kicking goals since 1988 and they take wine very seriously — award-winning seriously. The wines are 100 percent sourced from the 47-hectare vineyard and their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are both life-changing. Believe us, this is a Chardy not to be missed. A trip to the cellar door is more akin to visiting a wealthy friend's country house; the building is distinguished by a stone exterior and interior, with large share tables for tastings and stunning mountain views. You might even meet the famous Big renovations are planned for this site, and could change the game for Orange cellar doors across the board. 100 Shiralee Road, Orange; Cellar Door Hours: Mon – Sun 11am – 5pm [caption id="attachment_565815" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: Andy Fraser.[/caption] SASSY WINES This single vineyard winery is family-owned and operated by husband and wife duo Rob and Felicia 'Fliss' Coles. Their signature wine, the Arneis, is an ancient Italian white varietal that dates back to the 15th century. Their newish cellar door is simple and modern, with glass walls showcasing their vineyard views. The head winemaker, none other than Peter Logan of Logan Wines, is a big part of the process; the two vineyards share grapes and techniques, the Coles taking over the process in barrel phase. 569 Emu Swamp Rd, Emu Swamp; Cellar Door Hours: Sat 10am – 5pm; Sun 10am – 4pm KANGAROO VALLEY The Kangaroo Valley region is distinguished by its rich volcanic soil which is ideal for viticulture — aka growing grapes. YARRAWA ESTATE The winding pathway to the remote Yarrawa Estate is not an easy one to follow, but you'll be pleasantly surprise as the path opens to this lakeside vineyard. If the golden retrievers and frolicking children remind you of a visit to your family country home, well, it should — the cellar door is quite literally set in the Foster family dining room, where strangers momentarily become relatives. Apart from the incredible wine, they also offer a range of nuts, jams and pickles made from homegrown produce. Be sure to taste their homemade walnut liquor wine, a combination of both passions. 43B Scotts Rd, Upper Kangaroo River; Cellar Door Hours: Sat 10.30am – 5.30pm; Sun 12.30pm – 5.30pm HUNTER VALLEY Hunter Valley is known for their Semillon and Shiraz and is easily the most popular of the NSW wine regions. BROKENWOOD This vineyard was established in 1970 and they've been turning out impressive, award-winning wines for decades. In this small barn of a cellar door, you'll find a fun and relaxed staff who are clearly passionate about winemaking, giving the place an infectious energy. It's a snob-free atmosphere where you can taste some great wines without being pushed to buy. Their Semillon is a must try, having just won best varietal of the year from the Halliday Wine Companion Awards 2016, and the Cricket Pitch blends are ever-popular. Overall, the bright, airy atmosphere of the place makes it one of the more fun tastings to be had. 401-427 McDonalds Rd, Pokolbin; Cellar Door Hours: Mon – Sat 9.30am – 5pm and Sun 10am – 5pm TEMPUS TWO Tempus Two is one of the more famous Hunter Valley vineyards for good reason — the wine here is a high-end, classy affair and the staff are extremely knowledgeable. Founded by the well-known McGuigan family, this slick, contemporary cellar door is a modern take on a country shed. The best part is that they'll let you taste the most expensive, vintage wines with no fee. The wine to try right now is their Uno Series Shiraz (2013), a cellar door exclusive. Feeling especially lavish? Set up a private tasting for up to 30 of your nearest and dearest. Corner of Broke & McDonalds Roads, Pokolbin; Cellar Door Hours: Mon – Sun 10am – 5pm SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS The Southern Highlands are characterised by the long, slow ripening period and high natural acidity which gives the wines a clean finish and noticeable fruit character. TERTINI WINES A relatively young vineyard, Tertini Wines has received much acclaim since establishing itself in 2000. Their award-winning Reserve Pinot Noir is worth the trek alone and their Riesling is especially tasty with honeysuckle and green apple notes. They hand-prune and handpick their grapes, with little cropping involved. The cellar door is a simple barn attached to the vineyard, amplifying the country feel of this notable winery. Kells Creek Road, Mittagong; Cellar Door Hours: Mon – Sun 10am – 5pm MUDGEE Mudgee styles are known for their diversity, from organic to international varietals, and turn out some seriously impressive wine for a small region. LOWE WINES For some ungodly reason, organic wine has gotten a bad rap over the years. Thankfully, Lowe Wines disproves this fallacy time and again. Owner David Lowe is extremely passionate and specialises in small-batch winemaking, his most popular varietal being the Zinfandel. The vineyard is untrellised, unirrigated and certified organic. Their wine is distributed mainly to independent bottle shops and restaurant and Lowe is truly a no-intervention grower that we'd love to see more of. Tinja Lane, Mudgee; Cellar Door Hours: Mon – Sun 10am – 5pm HILLTOPS The Hilltops region sits atop a large granite rock, creating deep soils that are well drained and ideal for grapevines. FREEMAN VINEYARDS Freeman Vineyards uses this unique region to their advantage, providing Australia's only plantings of two northern Italian origin grape varieties – Rondinella and Corvina – which are the source of their flagship and award-winning Freeman 'Secco' wine. Their winemaking process is also unique; the grapes are dried in a neighbour's solar-powered prune dehydrator and then aged for 12 months in a combination of French and American oak barrels. All this work is worth it: the wine just received the Red 5-Star rating in the Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2016. 101 Prunevale Road, Prunevale; Tastings by Appointment SYDNEY CITY For the lazy Sydneysider who deserves great wine anyway. NOMAD Nomad champions the little guys in the winemaking business; they sell wine solely from local growers, giving the small producers out there the time to shine. Their cellar door offers wines that are generally not sold commercially, many of which you can also taste at their celebrated adjoining restaurant. Stop in for some charcuterie and a glass or two, or stay for the full shebang with the chef's premium share menu ($85 per person). If you're too lazy to make such a short trek, go for online delivery of these exclusive wines. 16 Foster Street, Surry Hills; Cellar Door/Restaurant Hours: Mon – Tues 6pm – 12am; Weds – Fri 12pm –2.30pm; 6pm – 12am; Sat 12pm – 2.30pm; 5.30pm – 11.30pm CAKE WINES Just opened on March 10, Cake Wines is shaping up to be Sydney's new go-to city winery. Set in a restored warehouse, the space pays homage to its industrial roots with recycled wooden furniture, barrel wall and exposed brick interior. You won't just be getting simple wine tastings here — head winemaker Sarah Burvill is running masterclasses, blending sessions and workshops. Apart from their own award-winning wines, they'll be stocking small-batch wine, craft beer, cider and spirits, all Sydney local. Add live music and late nights to the mix and you've got one out-of-the-box cellar door on your hands. 16 Eveleigh St, Redfern; Cellar Door Hours: Wed – Fri 5pm – 11pm; Sat 12pm – 11pm; Sun 12pm – 10pm. Honourable CBD mentions: Handpicked Cellar Door Urban Winery Sydney Top image: Nomad.
In 2019, after opening 90 bars over the prior eight years and 94 worldwide, Scottish brewery BrewDog finally set up shop in Australia. And, sprawling across a hefty parcel of land by the banks of the Brisbane River, it arrived with a splash. That said, while a brand-new jetty was built right next to the company's Murarrie site, aka DogTap Brisbane, opened, don't go planning on pairing your brew with a dip in the ol' Brown Snake. Brisbanites, you really do know better than that. Acting as the brand's Australian base, the Brisbane brewery is pumping out beer that gets shipped around the country. It also has a huge taproom with food and plenty of opportunities to learn more about craft beer. Brewery tours are available, and eager drinkers can also enrol in Beer School — aka guided tasting sessions where one of BrewDog's Cicerone-certified staff talk you through the BrewDog and craft beer basics. First announced in 2018, and only the company's fourth taproom directly attached to one of its breweries, BrewDog's $30-million street art-covered Brisbane site boasts a range of other reasons to drop by. Heading to the end of a Murarrie industrial estate hasn't ever been high on locals' to-do lists, but making the journey to sip freshly poured cold ones on a 485-square-metre riverside patio should be. The sizeable outdoor area comes with views towards Hamilton and the Gateway Bridge, as well as ample seating. There's also a selection of games, such as giant Jenga, giant chess and giant Connect Four. And, both the public and staff car parks are licensed too, so they can host beer festivals and other events. If you're coming by for the beer, BrewDog's headliners (its famed Punk IPA among them) sit alongside a heap of small-batch brews, including options that nod to the local and Australian craft beer scenes. Should you want something other than beer, choices span wine, spirits and soft drinks. Food-wise, it's a lineup of familiar bar favourites. Think: various burgers, tacos and pizzas, plus a 300-gram rib-eye, truffle cheese fries, chicken parmigiana, and fish and chips. Head by on Mondays and you can tuck into two-for-one vegan dishes, while Wednesdays are all about all-you-can eat wings — chicken and cauliflower. In addition to 16 blue leather booths and high-top tables, DogTap's industrial indoor area also has arcade games. Really love BrewDog? There's a merchandise stall. Want a few brews to take home? Stop by the takeaway area on the way out the door. Images: Pandora Photography
Every time you enter a darkened cinema to spend a few hours gazing at the silver screen, you pay tribute to French movies. More than a century ago, the European nation was at the forefront of the medium — its filmmakers are not only responsible for the oldest surviving film in existence, but also the 46-second piece considered the first true film ever made, as well as many influential early efforts. They're still helping shower audiences in movie delights today, of course, with Australia's Alliance Francaise French Film Festival providing an annual snapshot of just how busy and bustling the French film industry remains. When you're selling more than 212 million cinema tickets to eager audiences in a single a year, as the country did in 2016, you need plenty of great flicks to show them. As far as our slice of Gallic cinema in Australia is concerned, the numbers keep coming: reaching its 28th year, the 2017 festival will screen 45 films in nine different cities and towns, and will try to exceed its 168,000 admissions from its last outing. That all adds up to a great problem for a cinema lover to have: being spoiled for choice. Should you opt for watching many a French movie star? Exploring many an intriguing tale? Or try to combine both? Let us help steer you in the right direction with our ten must-see picks of the fest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ-y_3mquoc THE ODYSSEY When The Odyssey starts relating the tale of Jacques Cousteau, you can be forgiven for expecting to see Billy Murray's face, hear Brazilian versions of Bowie tracks and laugh at Wes Anderson's sense of humour. We all love The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which comically paid homage to Cousteau — but, taking to the seas for a biopic of the famous French oceanographer, director Jérôme Salle favours a much more traditional approach. With Lambert Wilson playing the man in question and Audrey Tautou co-starring as his wife, expect more than a few waves to result as the film examines Cousteau's professional and personal lives. The Odyssey opens this year's Alliance Francaise French Film Festival with a splash, which is exactly how you want things to kick off. View sessions here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu3OdZ8RJd4 BEING 17 It's okay if Being 17 sounds familiar — it has been doing the rounds of Australia's major film festivals over the past year. However, one of the great things about the AFFFF is the opportunity to catch up with movies you might've missed elsewhere. And, if you haven't put this vibrant coming-of-age flick in front of your eyeballs just yet, make sure you rectify the situation. The story itself makes a certain impact as it charts two teenage boys exploring their feelings for each other, then grappling with the uncertainty that follows, as told with sensitivity and insight by Girlhood director-turned-Being 17 screenwriter Céline Sciamma. View sessions here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAOVBV670XM DAGUERROTYPE Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is well known for dwelling in horror territory — in fact, his last movie screened at the Japanese Film Festival late last year. Here, he makes the jump to France to tell a Gothic ghost tale, enlisting the help of actors Tahar Rahim and Mathieu Amalric. At the centre of the film sits the titular form of photography, which involves capturing images on a silver surface, and requires those getting snapped to sit still for hours on end. The film moves similarly slowly; however, it doesn't take long for its Gothic charms to work their magic. View sessions here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnp0f9xoAfM IN BED WITH VICTORIA When it premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival, In Bed With Victoria earned comparisons to Trainwreck. So if that's your kind of film, get excited. Yes, that means you should expect an account of a woman's quest for romantic success, relayed in both a frank and funny fashion. It also means you'll be falling for an engaging lead performance, with Up for Love's Virginie Efira more than handling the task of playing a Parisian lawyer and single mother trying to navigate the ups and downs of life, dating and finding happiness. View sessions here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5dh7UWbSZI IT'S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD Prepare to question your life choices. In the last nine years, French-Canadian writer/director Xavier Dolan has made six films, five of which have screened at Cannes. He'll turn 28 this month, and he's currently working on his seventh effort, his English-language debut starring Kit Harington, Jessica Chastain, Natalie Portman, Thandie Newton, Kathy Bates, Susan Sarandon and Room's Jacob Tremblay. That's quite the accomplishment — and while his most recent movie, It's Only the End of the World, has received mixed reviews, there's still plenty of emotion-dripping French family drama and eye-catching visuals to enjoy. Gaspard Ulliel, Nathalie Baye, Léa Seydoux, Vincent Cassel and Marion Cotillard star, with the film taking out Cannes' 2016 Grand Jury Prize. View sessions here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H96Qxp-3ssc A JOURNEY THROUGH FRENCH CINEMA We've already told you that France and cinema go hand-in-hand, but there's no need to simply take our word for it. Trust the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival to screen just the movie that'll teach you everything you ever needed to know about French filmmaking, with veteran writer/director Bertrand Tavernier's A Journey Through French Cinema an informative and engaging guide. Be warned: because there's plenty to cover, you can expect to get comfy for more than three hours. And remember to clear your schedule for months afterwards, because you're going to want to spend every waking moment delving into as much French movie history as possible. View sessions here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmPTQdW79Tg PLANETARIUM With a title like Planetarium, writer/director Rebecca Zlotowski will have you thinking about stars — and seeing them as well. Expect to be dazzled not by the shining lights above or a place dedicated to them, but by the talents of Natalie Portman and Lily-Rose Depp (yes, Johnny's daughter). The two combine to bring a pair of American sisters to life on a stylish journey through pre-war Europe, complete with seances and other paranormal phenomena, as well as the process of bringing supernatural magic to the movies. View sessions here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elM9HxIlDnQ THINGS TO COME Come on, admit it: we were all hoping that Isabelle Huppert's name would be read out at the Oscars this year. Alas, there was no envelope mix-up in the best actress category. Elle wasn't the only astonishing performance that the French actress gave in 2016 though, with her work in Things to Come just as moving and revelatory. Under the affectionate direction of Eden's Mia Hansen-Løve, Huppert is once again at her best as a philosophy professor forced to reassess her life. And, if you can't get enough of all things Isabelle, she also pops up in fellow festival effort Souvenir. Double feature, anyone? View sessions here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRgjsnadqOA THE INNOCENTS Cinema has made a habit of following those in habits, pondering faith and exploring the space where religious beliefs and the realities of life meet. Add The Innocents to the contemplative pile, as a young French doctor visits a Benedictine convent to tackle the one scenario that's not supposed to happen: several pregnancies. Set at the end of the Second World War, Anne Fontaine's film proves all the more compelling by taking its tale from a true story. No wonder it got audiences talking when it screened at last year's Sundance, and no doubt it'll do the same again at the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival. View sessions here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=FWaf830692s TOMORROW After wowing audiences as one of film's most memorable cinema owners in Inglourious Basterds, Mélanie Laurent hasn't just continued to pop up on-screen — she has stepped behind the lens as well. In fact, the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival gifted Australian audiences with the chance to see her last fictional feature, Breathe, and they're coming through again. This time, Laurent turns documentarian with co-director Cyril Dion to dive into today's environmental issues, and just what they might mean for tomorrow. If that sounds powerful, it should. It also won the duo the Cesar award for best documentary at France's top film awards. View sessions here. The Alliance Française French Film Festival will visit Sydney from March 7 to 30; Melbourne from March 8 to 30, and Brisbane from March 16 to April 9.
Whether you come home to a lush oasis of greenery or have killed so many plants that the High Plant Council would jail you for life without parole, gardeners run the gamut of experience. And just like caring for plants, buying them is a skill in itself. As you master the art of keeping hardier plants alive (hello, devil's ivy), you may feel the challenging trumpet of an orchid or banana plant and sweep the city in a hunt for green babies to add to your growing family. Eschew Bunnings with a firm hand and head on down to the best Brisbane nurseries and plant shops for solid advice, rare finds and an abundance of crazy plant-lovin' folk. THE SOUL PANTRY, STAFFORD Plants, classes and a cafe. That's the garden shop trifecta, and it's exactly what The Soul Pantry offers. A visit to the Stafford spot will help you deck your halls with plenty of greenery, make sure you really know what you're doing, and keep your hunger and thirst at bay. As well as a range of indoor beauties — plus pots to put them in — you'll also find flowers of both the fresh and dried variety (for those who love nature, but know that keeping something alive is beyond their capabilities). Workshop-wise, you can learn about everything from table styling and terrariums to making succulent living wreaths at this Brisbane plant shop. OXLEY NURSERY, OXLEY Oxley Nursery is more like the nurseries your parents dragged you to as a child — a huge, rambling, humid place that sells everything you could ever want. As well as a wide range of cacti, succulents, palms, and endless fiddle leaf figs, you'll also find carnivorous plants, blooming aloes, man-sized lobster claws (Heliconias), Teddy Bear magnolias, Casuarina glauca (a Cousin It-like plant), pencil pines and voodoo lilies — basically, if you can imagine it, this Brisbane nursery has probably got it in stock. The family-run spot also dabbles in landscape and garden design, so when you visit you'll always find advice and garden gravel aplenty. MAPPINS NURSERY + AQUARIUM, WEST END Nestled among a row of warehouses in West End, Mappins is the kind of place you might simply walk right past you didn't know it was there. The low-key Brisbane nursery specialises in imposing cacti and lush indoor plants, as well as all your potential aquarium needs. Inside, you'll find fluffy maidenhair ferns, long and lush devil's ivy, rigid philodendrons and monstera, as well as all the other darlings of the indoor plant world. The staff are passionate, knowledgeable and will make sure you leave knowing just how to keep your new green babies thrivin'. Plus, it's just over the way from the West End Markets, and the perfect chaser to a Saturday morning spent eating lángos and petting other people's dogs. No matter how experienced your green thumb may be, this is one of the best places to buy plants in Brisbane. ALL THE GREEN THINGS, HIGHGATE HILL Plants aren't the only attraction at All the Green Things, although it does stock a sizeable range of gorgeous houseplants. While you're wandering around the Brisbane nursery's Vulture Street spot, perusing the shelves and looking at everything from hardy favourites to rare varieties, you may also spy the shop's resident dog, Ruby. In fact, if you're as fond of four-legged friends as you are plants, you'll be able to stock up on pet-friendly greenery. Animal-shaped and -adorned planters and pots are also a highlight, which'll help you combine your love of both — or make you feel better if the leafy new addition to your home is the closest you're going to get to expanding to your household at the moment. CITY FARM NURSERY, WINDSOR Fancy something green, alive and edible? Then you'll want to make a visit to City Farm Nursery. Given that this Brisbane nursery is part of Northey Street City Farm, aka Windsor's permaculture haven, the focus on plants that produce vegetables, fruit, herbs and bush tucker shouldn't come as a surprise. Consider it a two-for-one type of scenario: pick up some greenery to brighten up your balcony, and score yourself a treasure trove of ingredients that you can use in the kitchen at the same time. From cucumber, cherry tomato and beetroot seedlings right through to fruit trees, you'll find plenty here that'll make you hungry. You will also find other plants, particularly succulents; however if you've always wanted to use your green thumb to be a little more self-sufficient, this is your spot. BROOKFIELD GARDENS, BROOKFIELD One of Brisbane's long-term greenery go-tos, Brookfield Gardens may have changed its name from Brookfield Garden Centre, but it's still the same beloved spot that's been around for more than a decade. It's also well worth making the trip out to the western suburbs to visit. Outside in the nursery, a host of outdoor plants await. Back inside in the greenhouse, it's time to feast your eyes on indoor plants. If that's not enough, you can also mosey around areas specifically dedicated to pots, homewares, and edible flowers and herbs. And, while you're out at this Brisbane nursery and plant shop, you can also grab a plant-focused breakfast or lunch from onsite bistro Wild Canary. SATURDAY FRESH MARKET, ROCKLEA The weekend markets at Rocklea are for serious plant buyers. We recommend you squad up with your green thumb friends, make a dedicated trip to the Saturday Fresh Market between 6am–12pm and back that car straight up to the loading zone. The plants on sale are cheap as chips, often half the price of your average Brisbane nursery (though it's not the place to hunt for weird or exotic species, as sellers will offer everything else in bulk). However, it's the perfect spot to pick up big indoor and outdoor plants, pots of colour, natives and smaller succulents and cacti. Remember to take cash (as well as coins for entry and parking, $6 per car and $2 per person) and be strategic: do a sweep of the plant sellers before settling on purchases and going back, otherwise you might be disappointed to find a better deal elsewhere. If you're looking for a bargain, it's the best place to buy plants in Brisbane.
Shelves of board games. Rows of arcade games. A wall of old-school consoles with retro televisions to match. Daytona given pride of place. The sound of The Simpsons' theme filtering through the playing space. Welcome to Netherworld, which earned the honour of being Brisbane's first arcade game bar when it opened in 2017. If you like hitting flippers, smashing buttons and passing go, all while drinking brews and eating burgers, you'll like it here. Trust us. Don't go thinking that this is a nerd dungeon, however. The Fortitude Valley venue is accessible for everyone that's keen on pairing their beverage with something fun. Like Holey Moley Golf Club just a few blocks away, having a good time is the name of the game here (and yes, shuffling between the two is one of Brisbane's best pub crawls). From the moment that you walk into Netherworld, you'll notice a laidback vibe — and games a plenty, unsurprisingly. If cards, counters, dice and decks all form part of your preferred kind of gaming, you're in luck. Everything from a Fallout-themed edition of Monopoly to Settlers of Catan to Balderdash can be or have been found on Netherworld's shelves. They're all be free to play for patrons — and if there's a better thing to do while knocking back one of the bar's craft beers, with a focus on local brewers, we can't think of one. [caption id="attachment_622335" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sarah Ward[/caption] Okay, maybe we can: roaming between the venue's rooms pumping shiny Netherworld tokens or coins into pinball and arcade machines, the main attraction. Mosey past the heritage-listed bar itself — which has been given a nice touch-up, but still boasts the requisite retro feel for anyone feeling nostalgic — and you might NBA Jam, Space Invaders, Frogger, Centipede, Double Dragon, Street Fighter, Pac Man, Donkey Kong and more, with the range changing and rotating. Pinball-wise, tables devoted to Ghostbusters, The Addams Family, Metallica, The Twilight Zone, Batman, Tales from the Crypt and Flash Gordon could await. There's more, namely Nintendo, Sega and Atari video game consoles hooked up to classic TVs (because you can't go OG with one and not the other), plus bright, lively murals pushing Netherworld's monster theme, and a few spooky characters if you look up in the right spot. A stage, projector and pull-down screen sit at the end of the space, with live gigs and film screenings also on the hangout's agenda. For a place named after somewhere hellish or hidden, it's all rather inviting, which also fits the food and drink lineup. At the Hellmouth Diner, American and Japanese influences infiltrate a selection of bar fare that aims higher than the greasy usual bites to eat. All standard items such as burgers, karaage and bowls are also vegan-friendly, though meat and dairy can be added. Images: Cole Bennetts / Sarah Ward.
Music and sport will collide again this summer as AO Live returns to John Cain Arena for its biggest edition yet. The only music series held at a Grand Slam, AO Live has grown into a major drawcard of the Australian Open calendar — and for 2026, it's getting even bigger. Running from Wednesday, January 28 to Sunday, February 1, the series will stretch across five nights of live performances, with a lineup that blends local favourites and global heavyweights. Headlining acts include The Kid LAROI, Spacey Jane, Peggy Gou, The Veronicas and Sofi Tukker, with additional artists still to be announced in the lead-up to summer. [caption id="attachment_1031979" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sofi Tukker[/caption] The expansion follows record attendance at previous editions of AO Live, which transforms Melbourne Park into a festival-style precinct after the day's matches wrap up. Alongside the main stage at John Cain Arena, fans can expect live music and DJ sets scattered across the grounds — from laidback acoustic sessions in Garden Square to high-energy local talent spinning on Grand Slam Oval. According to organisers, every ticket "unlocks more than just epic music", offering access to both the AO's tennis action and the wider event atmosphere — including premium food, drinks and summer entertainment. It's an experience that continues to blur the line between sport and festival, delivering one of the city's biggest multi-night celebrations each January. Tickets start from $99 and go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, October 14. AO Live 2026 runs January 28–February 1 at John Cain Arena, Melbourne. You can view the full lineup and ticket details via AO Live. Images: Supplied
With Spit, one of the best Australian films of the past quarter-century gets a sequel — and so does one of the finest and funniest scenes in an Aussie movie. A crime comedy set on the Gold Coast, 2003's Gettin' Square earned well-deserved affection for its tale of a just-out-of-jail ex-con trying to rebuild his life but being pulled back to the wrong side of the law for a last big job. It also scored David Wenham (Fake) his second Australian Film Institute Award, and first for his big-screen work. Sam Worthington (Horizon: An American Saga) played the paroled Barry Wirth, but Wenham's turn as the mullet-topped, tight jeans-wearing, thongs-adorned Johnny Spitieri stole every sequence that he was in. One such specific moment: when Johnny, aka Spit, is forced to front court. Thanks also to director Jonathan Teplitzky (Churchill, The Railway Man) and Gold Coast lawyer-turned-novellist and screenwriter Chris Nyst (Crooked Business), movie comedy masterclasses are made of this. Wenham's filmography is immense across both the silver and small screens, and in Australian and international fare alike. Name an Aussie TV show of the 80s and 90s and he probably popped up in it, before he became known as Diver Dan in SeaChange. In 1998, the same year that that series started, he was haunting in Aussie cinema masterpiece The Boys. Then in 2000, he initially teamed up with Teplitzky for intimate rom-com Better Than Sex, before reuniting on Gettin' Square and now Spit two decades later. Around that collaboration, plus everything else mentioned above, Wenham has jumped between Moulin Rouge!, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, two Lord of the Rings films, Van Helsing, The Proposition, 300, Goldstone, Lion, a Pirates of the Caribbean flick, The Furnace and Elvis, and also Killing Time, The Code, Iron Fist, Top of the Lake, the TV versions of Wake in Fright and Romper Stomper, Les Norton and Pieces of Her — and more. There's one part that has long stood out among that lengthy list of on-screen credits, though, especially for audiences. "It's strange even now, that much time later, nearly every day of my life I have somebody approach me — and out of all the characters that I've played, that's the one that most of them want to talk about. And they quote lines from that film from 20-something years ago, which is extraordinary considering it didn't do very well at the box office originally," Wenham tells Concrete Playground. He's talking about Johnny Spitieri, as distinctive a figure as he'll ever play, and as distinctively Australian, but one that viewers keep seeing their loved ones in. "Oh my god, my uncle, my uncle, my whatever, he's Johnny Spitieri," folks tell him, Wenham advises. "Talk to people all around the country, 'oh yeah, I went to school with Johnny Spitieri'. He seems to exist in so many communities all around Australia. There's an ownership of Johnny Spitieri, which is great." Exploring more of Johnny's story — and bringing him back to the Gold Coast, too — wasn't originally the plan, or something that either Teplitzky or Wenham even dreamed might happen when they were making Gettin' Square. "Far from it, far from it. You so often do these things and as soon as they're finished, you put them out into the world and you move onto other things. And it probably took ten or 15 years before we even started thinking about it again, but the power of Spitieri was something that drew us all back in eventually," notes Teplitzky. "People found that film originally on VHS and then DVD. It developed this cult classic-type status," adds Wenham. "It's amazing. So the fact that that character still resonates was probably the little ember that fanned the flame in the beginning of the discussions for this film, which began probably about ten years ago." In Spit, two decades have passed for the movie's namesake as well, time that he's spent on the run overseas. Although Spit remains another comedy with the small-time ex-criminal at its heart, Wenham, Teplitzky and Nyst haven't just brought Johnny back home for a repeat of Gettin' Square's antics. This is as much a character piece, and it also thoughtfully surveys Australia today. When Spitieri's return Down Under draws attention, his first stop is an Immigration Detention Centre, where the film starts digging into the nation as a multicultural country and what being an Aussie means, complete with Johnny teaching his fellow detainees local terms. As fans of the first film will remember, Johnny had fled abroad for a reason, which is where plenty of other familiar characters also pop up. David Field (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga), Helen Thomson (Colin From Accounts), David Roberts (Territory) and Gary Sweet (A Savage Christmas) are all back, for instance, while Bob Franklin (Bay of Fires) steps in for the late Richard Carter (Mad Max: Fury Road), and Arlo Green (Bump) and Pallavi Sharda (The Office) also join the ensemble. Is there yet another potential future for Johnny, after trying to avoid retaliation for 20 years ago from crims and dirty cops alike, giving prosectors grief again, finding a new friend in Green's asylum-seeker Jihad and reforging family connections in Spit? Another big-screen outing, even if it takes 20 more years or so to make it happen? "There's no plans for it," Wenham says. But "never say never", he also notes. "Twenty-two years to the time, maybe Johnny might be in an aged-care facility somewhere. I think that'd be it. That'd be an interesting movie." Among other subjects, we also chatted with Wenham and Teplitzky about why Johnny strikes such a chord with audiences, not just trying to remake Gettin' Square, how Wenham gets into character as Spitieri, balancing humour with deep emotional resonance and making Gold Coast movies. On Whether Wenham and Teplitzky Predicted That Johnny Spitieri Would Be So Beloved by Audiences Jonathan: "When we were making it, you're so in the moment of that experience of making the film, but I always knew that it was a beautifully written character and full of laughs. But there's so many elements — we could be here for hours going through them all — elements within that, taking it off the page and turning it into comedy/drama, that created unexpected classic moments. And the strength of Chris' screenplay allowed David and I, it was like a perfect playground, to be able to just play and find different spontaneous things that very much came out of the situations that he created. But the success or the iconic status, for example, of the courtroom and what have you, I always knew that was an amazing scene — but there was probably more talk about 'is it too long? Is it too this? Is it too that?' at the time, when now, you go look at it and you go 'if it was twice as long, you'd be happy'. So I think that's something that develops. I don't think you can ever say you knew that it was going to be fantastic. It's something — because at that stage, the audience weren't involved, and that's what the relationship is, it's between a film and an audience, not between the filmmakers and the audience. We're just the people who hopefully provide something for them to have that incredible cinematic experience." David: "The audiences, it was interesting — after the very first screening [of Spit] on the Gold Coast, which is Johnny's spiritual home, to have audience members from the general public come up and chat, and I thought 'okay, this is interesting'. The level of conversation that they wanted to engage with about the character, about the film, and about surprising moments in the film and the surprising narrative alleys that it takes you down, was really, really intriguing. And it's happening, I don't know how many screenings we've done now, and it's been embraced in a similar way by each audience. Hilarious, much laughter, but much connection emotionally to the film as well, in a really fascinating way." Jonathan: "I think Johnny is a very universal-type character. And I think when you, as an audience, you get access to — yes, it's brilliant when you laugh out loud, but also there's something very rich about being able to connect with a character in a film, whereby you have access to their dramatic emotional life. And the combination of the two really endears in many ways, even more so than [Gettin' Square], because it's different, it's much more of a character piece, this film, than what Gettin' Square was." On Not Trying to Remake Gettin' Square with Spit — and the Importance of It Being a Character Piece as Much as a Comedy David: "We both, and Chris as well, had exactly the same thought. We were not interested in making, remaking or making Gettin' Square 2. There had to be a really unique, really solid reason for us to come together and do this again. And Chris found it, quite some time ago actually. Just the kernel of the idea came from — he was thinking about, he was just sort of cogitating on all the hoo-ha that was occurring, and it pops up every now and again, about migration in this country. And he thought 'this is a bit ridiculous, really', because we're all migrants. All of us are migrants. We're products of migrants and today's migrants are tomorrow's excellent, wonderful Australian citizens. And he just came up with an idea of 'I wonder what would happen if we throw Johnny Spitieri into this question?'. And that's the beginning of his exploration. From there, he just started to explore the history of Johnny as well, and why Johnny ended up the man he is and where he came from. So the first time I read the very first draft, I thought 'oh my god, this film is inspired'. Yes, it's got the same texture and flavour of Gettin' Square — there's nods to wonderful memories from that film — but it's definitely its own special entity. And people can come and see this film without knowing anything about Gettin' Square and be able to embrace it, laugh along with it and come out of the cinema bouncing with good vibes." Jonathan: "I think, also, Chris' script for Gettin' Square, it played out that story. There's nothing else to tell about that story. It was a done story, and so the only time sequels really work is when the story still has something to explore — and I think we did that with Gettin' Square, or certainly enough of it, that, as David says, we really wanted to find the next level. And for us as filmmakers and what have you, it's over 20 years and we didn't want to revisit the same thing — we wanted to challenge ourselves and explore something deeper and more interesting." On How Wenham Stepped Back into Johnny's Shoes After So Much Time — and If It's the Distinctive Wardrobe David: "It is, actually. It is one of those characters that — my approach to characters and films changes depending on, obviously, the type of film, the role, the character, all that sort of stuff, but for me, this one I work from the outside in. It's physical, how I find him. As soon as I read the script the very first time, 20, how many years ago, I could hear that character. I knew the way he spoke. Tonality, I knew where it should sit in face. The rhythm, I knew the character's rhythm. I could see him physically. And all this came about by, I lived near King's Cross for 30 years of my life. I knew Johnny Spitieri. I've met many, many, many of them. So the character originally, as soon as I got the right wardrobe, it came to me relatively effortlessly. I don't mean to say that it was easy because it's not, but it's a character I knew so so well. So in order for me to come back — and I've never played another character twice, any other character twice, and especially 20-something years. I haven't worn thongs in 20-something years. As soon as I step my feet into those thongs, instantly it took me back to Johnny Spitieri. It's as though that character lays within me at all times, it just needs something for me to tap and I'm back there. And then when we step into the courthouse after 20-something years, it was the most surreal moment for Jonathan, myself, Gary Phillips who shot it. And you can feel it. We all felt exactly the same thing. We looked around and went 'oh my god'. It felt as though time had been condensed, and it felt as though we only there last week. The oddest thing. And it was as though we were literally, we all had, we all knew each others', we had a shorthand for how all of us work together as a team, and it just comes back and it knitted together so seamlessly." Jonathan: "Things like the courtroom, because you then, you create a great scene out of it and the experience of it — even watching or listening to the dialogue in that courtroom scene today, it's still hilarious, and I'm still astounded at how clever the writing is at times. And it's a big, big part of our working lives, those sort of moments and those kind of scenes, because you invest so much in them. When they work, it's a little miracle." On Making a Film That's Both Very Funny and Has Deep Emotional Resonance Jonathan: "It's definitely one of the challenges. But at the same time, I really believe that that the deeper the emotional, dramatic life of the characters in whatever type of film it is, the flip side of that and in contrast to it, the comedic elements of it, if you can find that balance, it provides such a rich experience for an audience. And I think the more dramatic and the more emotional elements that we've got in the film, it also embraces universal themes. Everyone in the film is trying to start a new life in some form, looking for a second chance. And that's a very day to day — everybody's involved in that sort of thing. People, I think, can really identify." David: "In terms of the balance between comedy and drama, it's real life, it's what happens. We all have had moments that change so dramatically. I can remember when my mother was dying and she was literally on her deathbed, and around the bed were seven children — me being the youngest. And the moment was very tender and delicate, because she was literally just about to take her last breath. We're all there and there was just a sense of calm and stillness, and then literally a nurse pulled open the curtain and said 'dinner: the chicken or the vegetable?'. Seriously. You couldn't write that." Jonathan: "That's just genius." David: "It's like 'oh my god, oh my god'. I thought 'I will always remember that moment'." Jonathan: "I completely agree. It's so key to life. And often, you talk about it in often-cliche ways and I don't even totally understand it, really, but the idea that you search for some kind of truth regardless of how comedic or how dramatic a film might be in the characters, the more that you have the essence of that, the more I think an audience can easily identify and find a place for themselves within the experience of watching it. I think our job is to bring the elements, yes, to balance some of them and to try things — and that's what the editing is about. It's not just about putting the story together. That's one element of it. The other is to really find the nuance. And in a sense, it's like when someone talks about reading a novel. It's about what's not written. And the richer films are the ones that give you something that is not just at face value." David: "It has been very rewarding to actually sit in the cinema and watch that instant transition between comedy and pathos that occurs within the audience, and then talking to people afterwards and they're saying 'it was unexpected, it was a surprise' — and the fact that the kleenexes did come out. People, it was a very, unexpected added bonus for them, that made the film all the more richer than they'd even anticipated." Jonathan: "And going to the cinema is about surprises. Film is about surprises. It's about revelation. That's what you're trying to do. If the audience is ahead of you and knows what's happening — you hear it all the time, 'I knew', 'I could see the end coming a mile off' and all those sort of comments. When you sit in a cinema and have things revealed to you as you go along — so with a film like this, the expectation is and the hope is that they're going to have a good laugh, which, our belief is that you will. But then if we can also provide unexpected pleasures along the way, both emotional and dramatic, it only makes the experience better." On Reuniting with So Much of Gettin' Square's Cast and Crew for Spit David: "In terms of getting them back together, it was probably one of the easiest things we've both ever done in our lives. As soon as the possibility of this film became a reality, and the fact that the characters, Helen Thomson's character, David Field, Gary Sweet, their characters were there, it was an instant yes. It's like 'whenever it is, yes, I'm there'. And there was bugger all money for wages, but it doesn't matter. Same thing happened with the crew, actually. We've got Gary Phillips, who shot the film. We've got the same production designer, Nicholas McCallum. My makeup artist and hair artist Tess Natoli. A whole heap of key crew members. Tess is a really interesting one. This film got pushed back time and time again, and she kept getting offers to do really, really big Hollywood films, and she would turn them down in order just to work on this film. And a lot of the crew members who we shot with on the Gold Coast, they did the same thing. They wanted to work on it because they read the script and they thought this is a little treasure that we've got here. And they want to tell an Australian story that they believe that they'd have a great time working on. But it's a film that they know, they thought that they would be proud of and wanted to be part of it. So people were jumping over themselves to come onboard for the film, and that's so pleasing." Jonathan: "It was really pleasing, that. And a lot of them are bringing really positive baggage from having worked on Gettin' Square — that was an experience. And they bask in where Gettin' Square has gone. To have worked on Gettin' Square is something that they've taken ownership of and it is really important to them, because so often you don't get to make a film about your life experience, which, if you live here or just being any Australian, it's very particular. And so they love it. They love it." On Gettin Square and Spit Being Gold Coast Films, But Also Quintessentially Australian Films David: "The Goldie is a really unique place. I have got such a warm affection for the Gold Coast. And the fact that, look, Chris Nyst, he knows the place so well. He is an identity. He's like the king of the Gold Coast, really. No one doesn't have a relationship with Chris Nyst on the Gold Coast. He's probably represented half the people there. He knows the Gold Coast better than anybody else, and the characters that he writes — and he writes them so beautifully as well, he's got such a wonderful ear for character and dialogue — and it's a very particular thing. And he knows, Jonathan could talk to this as well, geographically, it's very, very distinctive, the Gold Coast — and he writes the characters up against that landscape in a really, really fascinating way. And that obviously gives Jonathan a wonderful springboard to leap off, to be able to think about how he's going to actually shoot the film in such a wonderful way that he does." Jonathan: "And also what's interesting about your question, in a way — because this film is set on the Gold Coast, has something to say about the Gold Coast, Gettin' Square is very identifiable as the Gold Coast, but at the same time, we have one tiny little scene on the beach in this. In many ways, it's an Australian community rather than the Gold Coast, but it carries the DNA of the Gold Coast and it carries within the characters, in their behaviour and what have you. And so it's great that you feel that and it's a good question, because it's great that if we can be — it's not just about the physicality of the Gold Coast, it's about the environment, what it is to live in the sunlight all the time, all those elements that are not necessarily obvious. The Gold Coast is very identified physically, but there's a whole lot of stuff underneath the surface that it's great to imbue characters with." On How Wenham and Teplitzky's Working Relationship Has Evolved Not Just Between Gettin' Square and Spit, But 25 Years After First Collaborating on Better Than Sex Jonathan: "Well, we did that first film together. It was my first film. I just loved the experience of it, and I found working with David really just collaborative but also really creative. And I feel we created a bond, we had a good communication, and then when we did, quite soon afterwards, Gettin' Square together, it cemented it. Because you trust the person, you don't feel like you have to control the person — you want to be able to have a general conversation. We don't always agree, but it's always a really rich conversation and that's what you want it to be. You want to challenge each other for the betterment of the film, the betterment of the character, because always exploring it, you're always trying to find something, another hidden dark little area of the character, another light moment. So much comes out of that almost-loose relationship." David: "It's a great working relationship. I love it. Working on this, the shooting period was one of the most-fertile creative periods of my working life. Jonathan creates an amazing atmosphere on set and it's an ease of communication. We understand each other. We're open and honest, and it's like we can just be allowed to deliver our best work. It's wonderful. It's a relationship with great respect." Jonathan: "Completely. And when you're dealing with a character like John Spitieri, we have these conversations about 'I wonder what Johnny would do, what Johnny would think in this situation, what he would do in this situation?' — and try, in a sense, to push each other and challenge each other, and laterally think about it, because that's where some certain gold is found. I remember on Gettin' Square, when I'd seen David doing that thing with the chair and started talking about it. We were just waiting for the lighting to happen or whatever. And that's where that evolved from, and it ended up this brilliant sequence. Part of the mythology of that film are those little moments that come out of just purely the relationship and exploring the character." Spit opened in Australian cinemas on Thursday, March 6, 2025.
UPDATE, September 21, 2022: Red Rocket is available to stream via Prime Video, Binge, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. It might sound crazy, but it ain't no lie: Red Rocket's *NSYNC needle drops, the cost of which likely almost eclipsed the rest of the film's budget, provide a sensational mix of movie music moments in an all-round sensational picture. A portrait of an ex-porn star's knotty homecoming to the oil-and-gas hub that is Texas City, the feature only actually includes one song by the Justin Timberlake-fronted late-90s/early-00s boyband, but it makes the most of it. That tune is 'Bye Bye Bye', and it's a doozy. With its instantly recognisable blend of synth and violins, it first kicks in as the film itself does, and as the bruised face of Mikey Saber (Simon Rex, Scary Movie 3, 4 and 5) peers out of a bus window en route from Los Angeles. Its lyrics — "I'm doing this tonight, you're probably gonna start a fight, I know this can't be right" — couldn't fit the situation better. The infectiously catchy vibe couldn't be more perfect as well, and nor could the contrast that all those upbeat sounds have always had with the track's words. As he demonstrates with every film, Red Rocket writer/director/editor Sean Baker is one of the best and shrewdest filmmakers working today — one of the most perceptive helmers taking slice-of-life looks at American existence on the margins, too. His latest movie joins Starlet, Tangerine and The Florida Project on a resume that just keeps impressing, but there's an edge here born of open recognition that Mikey is no one's hero. He's a narcissist, sociopath and self-aggrandiser who knows how to talk his way into anything, claim success from anyone else's wins and blame the world for all his own woes. He's someone that everyone in his orbit can't take no more and wants to see out that door, as if *NSYNC's now-22-year-old lyrics were specifically penned about him. He's also a charismatic charmer who draws people in like a whirlwind. He's the beat and the words of 'Bye Bye Bye' come to life, in fact, even if the song wasn't originally in Red Rocket's script. Mikey's return after decades away isn't greeted with smiles or cheers; his estranged wife Lexi (Bree Elrod, Shutter Island), also his ex on-screen partner, is horrified when he arrives on her doorstep unannounced with $22 to his name. It takes him mere minutes to convince her and her mother Lil (Brenda Deiss) to let him crash on their couch, though — and just days to work his way back into Lexi's bed. The begrudging inevitability of their reunion echoes as firmly as Red Rocket's chosen anthem, and both keep repeating throughout the film. Unable to get a job despite his glee when explaining the big gap in his resume ("Google me," he exclaims, revealing his porn past to prospective employers), he's reluctantly given back his old weed-dealing gig by local dealer Leondra (Judy Hill), who clearly isn't thrilled. The two new connections Mikey makes — with a neighbour and a 17-year-old doughnut store cashier — also smack of the same feeling. Both relationships leave as much of an imprint upon Mikey's life as anything can — although, no matter what he contends about every bad turn he's endured, all the chaos plaguing his every waking moment is his own doing. With Lonnie (Ethan Darbone), he gets an adoring sidekick who thinks he can do no wrong and, most importantly, a driver to taxi him around town. With Strawberry (Suzanna Son, chief among the film's many first-timers), he hopes to turn his lust into a way back into the adult film industry, grooming her to make her own thrusts into porn. Both naive and aware of Mikey's brimming bullshit, Strawberry isn't quite as taken in with his promises as he imagines her to be, however. Still, she might quote "it ain't no lie, bye bye bye" about him, but she's also willing enough to go along for the ride. Played with spark and ambition by Son, Strawberry also sings 'Bye Bye Bye' herself, delivering a post-coital keyboard rendition — because, in soundtracking uninhibited jaunts into careening lives, Red Rocket, like Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, enlists new versions of decades-old pop hits by former Mouseketeers. The film's stripped-down take speaks volumes about the movie it's in, too, because Baker's feature is as much about the sweet melodies we sing to ourselves about ourselves as it is about the clash between an alluring mood and the stark truth. Mikey has the spin down pat — in porn, he's proudest about winning awards for being pleasured orally, and doesn't waver when it's pointed out that he's not really doing anything by being on the receiving end — but Red Rocket exposes the reality behind his incessant chatter and swagger. Writing with three-time collaborator Chris Bergoch, Baker peppers the film's screenplay with devastatingly telling lines and comedic inclusions alike. When Mikey insists that "the universe is on my side", it smashes both targets. But even as Baker weaves in broader commentary about the US today — Red Rocket is set in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election, with snippets of campaign speeches heard and parallels between two different self-assured grifters easily spied — his smartest move is saying hi, hi, hi to Rex. It's a loaded choice, given the latter's own porn history as a solo player in the early 90s. Rex was then an MTV VJ, so he's also used to talking the glossy talk. Acting followed, plus rapping under the moniker Dirt Nasty, but it's safe to say that his career didn't pan out as planned until Red Rocket drew upon that history to cast him as its magnetic middle-aged dirtbag. Rex is so awards-worthily commanding — so seductive and sleazy in tandem, all while playing a livewire of a thorny character with so little self-awareness — that it's plain to see why the film was scripted with him in mind. Baker fills other key parts with non-professionals, as he has a history of doing, and there's zero weak links in what proves a riotous character study of an entrancing yet toxic and deluded hustler, and also a freewheeling snapshot of small industrial town lives that's fuelled by authenticity on several levels. It's little wonder, then, that cinematographer Drew Daniels (Waves) lenses the picture like it's caught between magic hour-hued fantasies and scrappy social realism. That's Baker's favourite aesthetic, and straddling juxtapositions is baked into his latest movie everywhere it can be. Perhaps that's why Red Rocket also feels like exactly what Baker was destined to do after the similarly phenomenal The Florida Project, but also firmly its own glorious journey. That ain't no lie, either.
One of the most famous artworks in the world is coming to your home, ready for you to peer at whenever you want. Even better: you don't need a hefty bank balance or to be a Glass Onion-style tech mogul to afford it. You will have to build the iconic piece yourself, however, and it will be fashioned out of plastic bricks — all thanks to the latest addition to Lego's art range. That masterwork: The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai, aka the woodblock print that dates back to 1831, is part of the artist's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series and is instantly recognisable. Depicting a stormy sea with Mount Fuji in the background, the piece might just be the best-known Japanese artwork ever, with original versions on display everywhere from the Tokyo National Museum to the British Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Great Wave is certainly one of the most reproduced in history, but making the leap to Lego is a first. How many bricks does it take to turn such a beloved nearly 200-year-old print into a Lego creation? That'd be 1810, including tiny circle blocks for intricate detail. Indeed, this layered 3D set doesn't just recreate just the design of Hokusai's original, or the overall image, but its lines and depth as well. The Lego Art Hokusai: The Great Wave kit has started hitting stores worldwide, and will be available Down Under from Wednesday, February 1. Genuinely big enough to hang on your wall, The Great Wave set is unsurprisingly aimed at adults — a group that Lego has been courting for years, including with succulents, orchids, bouquets and bonsai fashioned out of bricks, because the toy brand knows that you don't ever really grow out of its interconnecting blocks. Lego's latest artistic reimagining follows in the footsteps of the company's The Starry Night set in 2021, which gave Vincent van Gogh's masterpiece the same treatment. Also included in The Great Wave kit, which'll cost AU$169.99 / NZ $179.99 when it goes on sale: a decorative tile with Hokusai's signature. Plus, Lego has created a soundtrack to go with it, so you can listen along as you build, as part of its ongoing focus on adults using its bricks to relax. For more information about Lego's new 'The Great Wave' kit, which goes on sale on Down Under on Wednesday, February 1, head to the company's website.
