Subscriptions aren't just for magazines, wine, cheese, cars, ramen, booze and streaming platforms. Thanks to Botanic Box, they're also for plants. Created by Brisbanite Rhiannon Campbell, and launching up north last year, the service brings a new bundle of greenery to your door each and every month — and it's now delivering in Sydney and Melbourne as well. It's the type of service that seems tailor-made for folks with green thumbs but lazy feet — that is, anyone who'd love to get a heap of new plants, but can never make it to a market or nursery to buy one themselves. More than that, Botanic Box doesn't just feature the kinds of greenery that you could just pick up on your travels. Rather, your plants — maybe a fiddle leaf fig, a succulent or a eucalyptus — will arrive with handmade pots, art cards, key rings and more accompanying each delivery. As well as teaming up with a range of local growers, Botanic Box highlights a different artist and maker each month, with previous partnerships including Lush Succulents, studio Nikulinsky, Kojo Kokedamas, Lazer Unicorn and McKenzie House. This is all about one-off collaborations that showcase local talent and add a nice dash of nature to your home. If you're eager to start welcoming new green babies on the regular, here's how it works. Customers sign up on ongoing basis, with Botanic Box packages ranging from three to six to twelve months. For the duration of your subscription, you'll receive a different plant and a handmade item around the 15th of each of every month, all for $49.95 per month. You can join Botanic Box yourself, or sign someone else up as a gift — and if you're feeling less than financial, you can drop hints to everyone you know. One to keep in mind when shopping for birthday or Christmas presents. For more details, visit botanicbox.com.au. Top image: Botanic Box / McKenzie House / Alle Grace Photography.
"Darling it's better down where it's wetter" isn't just a line that The Little Mermaid fans have had stuck in their head for the last two decades. It's also the first thing likely to pop into the minds of anyone heading to one particular Norwegian restaurant. Now open in the coastal village of Båly in the country's south, Under plunges hungry patrons into watery surroundings, offering more than just the usual scenic vistas. At this eatery, diners tuck into their dishes underwater. As first announced in 2017, patrons feast on seafood under the sea. If you're going to open a space underneath the ocean, you have to serve up the fish, which is just what head chef Nicolai Ellitsgaard is doing. There's just one food option, with a seasonal set menu serving up 18 courses and taking around four hours to get through — with optional wine or juice pairings. Here, however, the surroundings are as much of a drawcard as the cuisine. Visitors descend down three colour-coded levels to sip sparkling tipples in a champagne bar that boasts views of the shoreline, then enjoy dinner in the completely submerged dining room. The latter sits five metres below the water's surface, and is surrounded by panoramic acrylic windows for quite the aquatic view. For those wondering about pressure and safety, metre-thick concrete walls will keep everyone nice and dry, in a structure designed by architecture firm Snøhetta. Describing the space as "a sunken periscope", the building was constructed not only to wow those stepping foot inside, but to fit in with its surroundings. The grey exterior colour scheme is designed to blend in with the rocky coastline, with coarse surfacing that encourages molluscs to cling on. Indeed, over time it's hoped that Under will become an artificial mussel reef. As well as offering quite the place to eat, the project also aims to champion biodiversity, functioning as a research centre for marine life. This includes informational plaques educating visitors about the area, helping to expand not only the list of places you've tucked into a meal, but your knowledge. Bookings are open — start planning your next Scandinavian trip now. Images: Snohetta.
Filling your house with Swedish furniture is already a wallet-friendly affair, much to the joy of anyone who likes nice homewares but also likes sticking to a budget. Come 2020, however, it'll also be an environmentally-friendly choice, with IKEA announcing plans to ramp up its sustainability measures. Over the next two years, the furniture retailer will phase out all single-use plastic products from both its range and its restaurants all around the globe. That's right — you won't find all those Allen keys in tiny plastic bags taped to your Billy bookshelves, or whatever other flat-packed wares you're fond of. And you won't be taking any frozen meatballs home in throwaway plastic bags either. IKEA has also pledged to only use renewable and recycled materials in all of its products by 2030, alongside a range of other initiatives — upping its plant-based menu items from this year, reducing its home delivery emissions to zero by 2025 and expanding its range of solar offerings to more countries by the same year. It's all part of the company's goal to abide by 'circular principles'. As IKEA's Sustainability Manager Lena Pripp-Kovac explains, "becoming truly circular means meeting people's changing lifestyles, prolonging the life of products and materials and using resources in a smarter way." Accordingly, they'll be designing "all products from the very beginning to be repurposed, repaired, reused, resold and recycled." It's not IKEA's first attempt to shake off its 'fast furniture' reputation, with the brand unveiling a non-disposable collection with Danish designers HAY last year. Still, the announcement brings the company into line with the growing movement towards ecologically conscious packaging and products, as seen in supermarkets and other businesses around both Australia and the globe — eradicating singe-use plastic bags, straws, takeaway containers and more, and working towards banning non-recyclable packaging outright.
As the source of those bright green hotdog buns and pancake stacks dominating your Instagram feed, entrepreneur Sarah Holloway knows a few things about how to spot (and start) a food trend. In 2014, she went from corporate lawyer to professional foodie when she started her own business, tea company Matcha Maiden, and then expanded it to vegetarian cafe Matcha Mylkbar (purveyor of said buns and stacks). A big part of her life (which she documents as @spoonful_of_sarah) involves swotting up on Melbourne's best food, drink and wellbeing offerings, so if total nourishment is what you aspire to on your upcoming visit to the city, she's an ideal guide. In partnership with Pullman Hotels and Resorts, we're helping you explore more on your next holiday and make sure you get those experiences that the area's most switched-on residents wouldn't want their visitors to miss. In Melbourne, we've called in Sarah, whose favourite spots range from Burnley's happiness-promoting Serotonin Eatery to Windsor's degustation-sporting Morris Jones. A stay in one of Pullman's two locations in Melbourne — Albert Park or On the Park in East Melbourne — will not only put you in the thick of all this action, it will let you rest and digest in five-star luxury at the end of the day. Read on for Sarah's top Melbourne food hot spots in her own words, and check out the rest of our Explore More content series to hone your itinerary for some of Australia's best holiday destinations. BREAKFAST AT MATCHA MYLKBAR My (completely non-biased, of course) Melbourne favourite is Matcha Mylkbar. It has everything I love in one spot (by no coincidence). Breakfast outings are my favourite way to start the day, food innovation and creativity are my great passions and healthy living is my philosophy. Our menu unites clean eating with satiation and excitement — plus it's a stone's throw from the beautiful beach in St Kilda. The "vegan egg" is a must-try! It's made from coconut, sweet potato and turmeric, but the texture and protein content is almost like the real thing. BRUNCH AT SEROTONIN EATERY Happiness + cafe go together in my world, so eating at a "happiness cafe" speaks to my heart. Serotonin Eatery has beautiful, colourful, nourishing bowls, served in a happiness-promoting environment complete with swings, tucked away in leafy Burnley. Don't miss the Positive Pancakes! Dehydrated organic bananas are ground into banana flour to make the pancakes, which are topped with banana nice-cream, coconut yoghurt and berries. ELIXIRS AT GREENE STREET JUICE I visit this stunning elixir bar filled with soul-replenishing goodness most days. Greene Street Juice's flagship "elixir bar" has the best juices in town, as well as smoothies, broths, tonics and even crystals. If you make one stop for your wellbeing from inside to out, make it here. The New Yorker smoothie — a twist on banana — is my favourite, but their concoctions range from alkaline activated charcoal and lemon water (Gotham City) to an energising carrot and beetroot juice with burdock root extract (The Bronx). MINDFUL MORNINGS AT GREENFIELDS This beautiful new venue on Albert Park Lake mainly caters to events, but it also hosts a monthly "Mindful Morning" with meditation, yoga, tunes and a delicious healthy breakfast from their eatery. A truly nourishing experience for mind, body and soul! Greenfields focuses on which local, raw, organic and fermented ingredients, and if you miss the Mindful Morning, you can grab a la carte eats from Wednesday to Sunday instead. BITES OF ALL SIZES AT LBSS Literally the place where you can get a bite that's little, big, sweet or salty, LBSS (Little Big Sugar Salt) in Abbotsford is another favourite for breakfast or lunch with something to suit every palate. The seasonally changing Plate of Health is my favourite for something healthy, filling and delicious. The cafe is also known for offering "Eggs with Friends" — a spread of breakfast dishes for sharing selected by the chef. LUNCH AT URBAN PROJUICE Tucked away in a converted terrace house, Urban Projuice is the home of health. Run by a beautiful family who glow with vitality, the menu here is absolutely delicious, with lots of takeaway options too. I love to grab a snack then go for a walk around Albert Park Lake nearby. The Smoothie Bowls here include a Snickers-inspired option with cacao powder, natural peanut butter, banana, soy milk, dates and fresh seasonal fruit and nuts. QUICK CUPPA AT MAGIC ON FERRARS Not far away from Urban Projuice is the Melburnian coffee lover's best-kept secret, Magic on Ferrars. It's known for its amazing St Ali coffees and very cosy setting (its few seats are almost always occupied), but it also does a mean breakfast and a solid matcha latte using Matcha Maiden. I love popping by for meetings. AFTERNOON DELIGHTS AT PANA CHOCOLATE Even though I don't have a sweet tooth, there is nothing quite like a dessert experience at Pana Chocolate. Perfect for a guilt-free afternoon snack indulgence, the store on Church Street in Richmond not only stocks the range of Pana's beautiful organic, raw vegan chocolates but also offers a range of delectable dessert creations. I can't go past the cookie dough caramel slice, which features layers of crunchy activated buckwheat, chocolate cheesecake and cashew nuts, and is sweetened with agave and coconut nectar. DEGUSTATION DINNERS AT MORRIS JONES Morris Jones on Chapel Street, Windsor is one of our favourites for a night out. Head chef Matthew Butcher brings a wealth of experience and culinary flair to the degustation menu, which always keeps us entertained and infinitely satisfied. His Nitro Violet Crumble dessert is next level! It combines the flavours of violet ice cream, chocolate soil and frozen honeycomb, and the plating is finished at the table from a pot of liquid nitrogen. SEAFOOD SENSATIONS AT NOBU Our first foodie tradition ever was date night at Nobu, and eight years later, nothing has changed. This Melbourne outpost of the famous New York Japanese restaurant has been open at the Crowne since 2007, and overlooks the Yarra River. The miso cod keeps us coming back every time, along with some of the most exquisitely prepared seafood around town. Plus, don't miss the green tea dessert bento box! Explore more with Pullman. Book your next hotel stay with Pullman and enjoy a great breakfast for just $1.
The kind of place where 18 degrees is considered freezing, Brisbane is hardly a snowman's natural habitat. But that'll change come summer, when South Bank's Gallery of Modern Art welcomes its own icy figure — and, yes, it'll be made out of real snow. GOMA's latest high-profile acquisition, Snowman is the work of artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss, and dates back to 1987. First conceived as part of a site-specific work at a German thermic power plant, the fairly typical-looking snowman is made from three balls of snow, with the top one boasting hand-drawn eyes and a mouth. What's not typical of this well-travelled snowman, however, is its ability to survive full summers. To protect Snowman from Brisbane's subtropical climate, it'll sit encased in a glass and metal industrial freezer — so, while GOMA visitors will be able to see the frosty sculpture, you definitely won't be able to touch it. But, lucky gallery staff members will be given the task of retracing its eyes and smile every few days, with the artwork's enigmatic expression expected to shift subtly over time from happy to quizzical to maybe even diabolical as a result. When Snowman brings its literal chill to Brissie, it'll mark the piece's first visit to the Southern Hemisphere. Understandably, it's usually exhibited in locations where it's much, much older — including a hit season at New York's Museum of Modern Art. [caption id="attachment_743010" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Snowman (1987/2017-19). Copyright: Peter Fischli David Weiss, Zurich 2019. Courtesy Spruth Magers, Matthew Marks New York and Los Angeles, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich.[/caption] The icy work will first go on display on December 7 as part of GOMA's huge summer showcase, which is completely dedicated to the theme of water. As well as marvelling at Snowman — because a snowman in Brisbane is definitely something worth marvelling at — visitors will also be able to walk across a massive indoor riverbed, with Olafur Eliasson's Riverbed installation another of Water's centrepieces. More than 40 works by international and Australian artists will be featured across the entire exhibition. Geraldine Kirrihi Barlow, Curatorial Manager of International Art at GOMA, hopes the sculpture will help inspire visitors to contemplate topical environmental issues. "In the context of Water, Snowman prompts us to think about issues such as global warming and climate change," Barlow said in a statement. While Water runs until April 26, 2020, Snowman will become a permanent feature at GOMA. The piece isn't just on loan to the gallery, but has been acquired thanks to philanthropic support — and, according to The Courier-Mail, may even eventually tour the state in its freezer. Snowman will display at the Gallery of Modern Art, Stanley Place, South Brisbane as part of GOMA's forthcoming Water exhibition, which runs from December 7, 2019 to April 26, 2020. Top image: Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Snowman (1987/2016). Installation view: SFMOMA. Copyright the artists. Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery. Photograph: Mary Ellen Hawkins.
Cities are brilliant. They facilitate things like coffee, sex and conversation. You can get a pizza at two in the morning, you can stumble into washed-up models at the pub, and you can ask your local drag queen where they got their fabulous dress while you stand in line for an ATM. But for all of that, our cities have problems, and increasingly we are realising that the spaces we live in have an unparalleled impact on human health and happiness. There are 7 billion people alive today. By the end of this century there will be 10 billion. And it's estimated that 80 percent of those people will live in cities. "We have to deal with a doubling of urban dwellers in the next forty years. How are we going to make life in these places sustainable?" This is the question asked by Danish filmmaker Andreas Dalsgaard, whose documentary The Human Scale made its Australian premiere at the Sydney Film Festival last week and will screen at Melbourne's ACMI in June and July. The Problem with Building Cities as Machines In centuries past, cities were built at human walking pace, with the street and the square the fundamental elements of urban life. Think Rome. But things changed radically in the 20th century. Under the influence of modernist architects like Le Corbusier, cities were reconceived as machines for living, with the central functions of work, home and play separated for maximum efficiency. The most important element was the car. Buildings were meant to be glimpsed momentarily as you sped past on the freeway. Think Los Angeles. This has led to perfume bottle cities like Dubai, every building built to impress. They are places that look fantastic from the perspective of a helicopter. But they look rubbish from eye-level. Moreover, they aren't good for people. The cities we are building right now are making people ill. We build out, fostering social isolation and financial hardship. And we build up, when taller buildings inhibit fresh air, exercise and meeting other people. They are, in short, bad for your health. "In the Western world, we created this way of life, and we're now learning that there are huge problems connected with it," says Dalsgaard. "A lot of Western cities look towards Copenhagen and ask 'Why is it that 37 percent of people bike, why is it that you have this wonderful public domain and public life, can we get some of that?' And at the same time we have countries like China, which are developing so fast and copying a way of life which isn't sustainable, both on a human level and environmentally. Then we have the third world, represented by Dhaka — 3 billion people worldwide knocking on the door, about to make the same mistakes." The Human Scale is asking us to consider the ways a human-centred approach to urban planning, design and architecture could address these issues. "There are so many things we struggle with in human society," says Dalsgaard. "We have obesity, we have diabetes, we have depression and anxiety, and a lot of these things are connected with how we live." How to Reclaim Cities for People The central figure of The Human Scale is Jan Gehl, a Danish architect and urban designer who has inspired something of an international movement in urban planning. In the 1960s, Gehl began mapping pedestrian behaviour in Copenhagen. What he saw was that if you make more public space, there will be more public life. The best example of Gehl's vision is Copenhagen. The streets are for people, not cars. Small bars and cafes proliferate, public life thrives, and bicycles and walkers control the pace of life. These measures are more sustainable, not only financially but also environmentally and psychologically. People are healthier, they interact with each other, and they feel a sense of ownership over their own city. "It is so cheap to be sweet to people in city planning," explains Gehl. Because one of the central points of The Human Scale is that the way we are developing now — more cars, more high rise buildings, more energy consumption — is more expensive and dangerous than we can perhaps conceive of. Gehl's approach instead recognises that we can't halt the pace of growth. We have to look at what we have and consider how we do more with less. The Human Scale shows how Gehl's ideas have been adapted successfully in New York and Melbourne. One of the loveliest moments of the documentary is a scene showing a spontaneous snowball fight which broke out in New York's Times Square after it had been pedestrianised according to Gehl's recommendations. It demonstrates a wildness and passion which can only emerge in a city if you have a critical mass of people reclaiming public space. But these changes clash with the short-term interests of industry. "It's a constant struggle," notes Dalsgaard, "and the only way you can struggle is through the public domain. Citizens need to raise their voices saying 'we want this', or 'we don't want this.' If you don't have people doing that, then the poor measure of profit that huge high-rise developments make, they will prevail. And it's not that I'm against profit, I just believe in smart profit and long-term profit. And we have to find ways to fight for that." Why does this matter in Australia? In 2007, The Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, commissioned Jan Gehl to create a plan to put life back into Sydney. It aimed to create more public spaces; to encourage small businesses, bars and cafes; to create a vibrant night-time economy; and to introduce cycleways and pedestrianise areas of the CBD, as had been done in Melbourne decades before. "Melbourne understood this thirty years ago," says Dalsgaard. "And that has meant that Melbourne today is a very attractive city, which has out-competed Sydney in many ways." Some of Gehl's proposals have worked in Sydney — it's seen an explosion in small bars due to reformed licensing laws, and events like Vivid encourage people into the streets. But peak industry groups sit at odds with public interest. We see this in the development of Central Park at Broadway, with the looming high-rises gradually blocking out the sunlight. And we see it in the proposed development of Barangaroo, where prime waterfront land which could be used as public space is likely to become Sydney's second casino. When asked about this conflict, Dalsgaard points to the success of Copenhagen's Meatpacking District, a former industrial section of the city (much like Barangaroo), which could have generated a vast amount of money for the government. But instead of selling off the district to developers, Copenhagen decided to keep the Meatpacking District as a place with low rents to encourage creative communities. This has transformed the Meatpacking Distract into the most exciting and innovative part of Copenhagen. "The thing about industry," notes Dalsgaard, "is that it's profit driven, but we have very poor measurements when it comes to long-term profit. It's a huge short-term cost for Copenhagen to decide to do that. But because there's this creative hub, people all over the world now are talking about the Meatpacking District. How do you measure that value?" What The Human Scale demonstrates is that it's dangerous to build just because you can. It shows that governments, industry bodies and architects the world over need to stop creating cities like a self-important child sat at a table with a Lego set, looking down from above. What matters is making cities good for people, making sure they are places that keep us healthy and happy, and which we want to wander, rest and linger in. The Human Scale is screening at ACMI from June 14 to July 4. The Sydney Film Festival continues until June 16.
Autumn might be in full swing across Australia — whatever autumn looks like in your part of the country — but an endless summer now awaits. Fancy spending a year flying around the country, and the world, to various beach spots? Win Jetstar's latest giveaway and that's on your agenda. The Aussie airline is handing out a golden ticket — and, because it isn't Willy Wonka, there's no free chocolate involved. Instead, the carrier is gifting the lucky recipient a year's worth of free flights, although there is a limit to how much you can get soaring over a 12-month period. One person will receive up to $24,000 in Jetstar flights, which'll come in the form of 12 return flights to any beach within Australia, plus six international return flights — both for two people. So, if you win, your other half / bestie / sibling is going to want to start making holiday plans, too. Before you can go in the running for the contest, which is only open to over 18s, you need to start how Jetstar wants you to continue: by hitting up a local beach. Until Thursday, March 16, the airline is asking for your snaps — but where you'll need to head, when and what you'll need to do for your picture varies. On Saturday, March 11 in Melbourne, for instance, you'll need to head to Catani Gardens Beach in St Kilda between 10am–12pm. On Sunday, March 12 in Sydney, the same applies at Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club from 10am–12pm, too. At both spots, folks will find a pair of 14-karat gold trunks. And yes, that's what you'll need to take a photo of — a selfie, in fact — then upload it to Instagram Stories while tagging @JetstarAustralia #TheGoldenTicketTogs. Those shimmering swimmers won't be heading elsewhere, but residents of Canberra will still want to hit up Lake Burley Griffin from 9am–5pm on Monday, March 13 — and Adelaide inhabitants should make their way to Adelaide Oval from 9am–5pm on Tuesday, March 14. In Perth, you're going to City Beach from 9am–5pm on Wednesday, March 15. And southeast Queenslanders, including Brisbanites, have a date with the Pelican Beach boat ramp on the Gold Coast in their future from 9am–5pm on Thursday, March 16. Visit those togs-free spots in the ACT, SA, WA and Queensland, and you'll be looking for Golden Ticket Togs posters and billboards. Again, you'll need to take a pic, then upload to Instagram Stories while tagging @JetstarAustralia #TheGoldenTicketTogs. Jetstar advises that the most creative golden snap will win, so interpret that however you like. It'll then pick one per state/territory, and open up the ultimate winner to a public vote. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jetstar Australia (@jetstaraustralia) Jetstar's Golden Ticket Togs promotion runs on different dates in different states, closing with its Queensland leg on Thursday, March 16. Head to Jetstar's Instagram for further details, and the airline's website for terms and conditions. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
The days are long and drenched with sunlight, and you've got time on your hands to lie on the sand or in the grass and while it away with a book into the late summer hours. But you want the hours to be worthwhile, and sometimes it's really difficult to make a decision or to know where to start. Moreover, you want something enjoyable and easy to read that isn't going to turn your brain to marshmallow. So to help you out, Concrete Playground has come up with some suggestions for the best books to read over your summer. We've got new stuff and old stuff. Books you've never heard of and books everybody's heard of. Romances, mysteries, high quality smut, and stories both sweet and weird and wonderful. Compiled lovingly by somebody who's found the first legitimate use for her English major, we hope that these books delight you and make summer all the more wonderful. 1. 1Q84 by Haruki MurakamiJapanese author Haruki Murakami has a cult following and a legion of literary groupies so devoted that when the English translation of 1Q84 was published in October, bookstores stayed open late to cope with a demand not seen since the world was hit by the latest escapades of a certain Harry Potter. And upon publication, the word 'genius' was merrily tossed around by a legion of doe-eyed bookish types, as well as mutterings about Nobel Prizes. Quite deservedly too. 1Q84 is set in Tokyo in a fictionalised 1984 and follows the parallel story-lines of Tengo, a solitary maths teacher and ghost writer, and Aomame, a lady who works a sideline in ridding the world of abusive men. Over the course of a year their lives intertwine around religious cults, eccentric geniuses, reclusive dowagers and unexplained coincidences and mysteries. At roughly nine hundred pages long it isn't the slimmest book to carry around, but 1Q84, and everything by Murakami in general, is unlike anything else out there. It's beautiful and it's complex and you get completely lost inside the labyrinthine worlds he creates. 1Q84 on Amazon 2. A Visit From The Goon Squad – Jennifer EganA Visit From The Goon Squad is a series of thirteen interlocking stories centered around aging music executive and a once-talented musician, Bennie Salazar. The book opens with Salazar's former assistant, Sasha, a kleptomaniac trying desperately not to steal her date's wallet, and shuttles back and forth in time to the 1970s San Francisco punk scene, a tortuous African safari and a New York of the not too distant future. A Visit From The Goon Squad won the Pulitzer Prize this year, and it's insanely fun to read, moving so quickly you can easily eat up a day reading it. All the stories centre around the music industry and rock and roll, but ultimately it's more about what it means to grow up and how that often translates into a loss of innocence. According to Google, trusted research tool, HBO is turning the book into a television series next year, but I can pretty much guarantee the book will be better, because at the end of the day it's going to be hard to translate a chapter formatted like a Powerpoint presentation, amongst others, into entertaining television. A Visit from the Goon Squad on Amazon 3. The White Album – Joan DidionIn the sixties Joan Didion was a journalist and writer who described herself as anxious, confused, rotten at interviewing people and only ever got decent stories out of people because she was so tiny and neurotically inarticulate in front of others that she tended to blend into the background. And as somebody who's anxious and neurotically inarticulate myself, Joan Didion has endeared herself to me ever since this book occupied me for the entire abominable flight between Sydney and London without me ever having to resort to watching a Judd Apatow movie. The White Album is a collection of essays put together at the end of the seventies which, very broadly, cover the disintegration of the sixties and everything the sixties had hoped to achieve. If I was a proper literary critic I would say it wove together fragmented narratives of sixties cultural phenomena, like the Black Panthers and the Manson Family, with the author's own personal experiences and problems, lending the work a compelling quality of tenderness and loss which seems to express something integral to the contemporary human condition. But I'm not going to say that, cause that would ruin it, right? Seriously though, read this book. It is excellent. The White Album on Amazon 4. The Raw Shark Texts – Steven HallThe Raw Shark Texts is what I imagine would be produced if Michel Gondry and David Lynch got together one night, got plastered and decided they quite fancied writing a thriller. The Raw Shark Texts is Steven Hall's debut novel, published in 2007. The story opens with the narrator waking up in a room and having absolutely no idea who he is. Gradually he learns that he is the Second Eric Sanderson, the first having been destroyed by virtue of being the prime target of vicious conceptual creatures who linger in thought and text. After the death of his girlfriend several years earlier, Eric, working with the Un-Space committee, tried to preserve his memories of her inside a conceptual creature, which unintentionally lead to the release of a Ludovician, the most dangerous of conceptual fish, which feeds on human memories and the sense of self. The novel follows the journey of the Second Eric Sanderson as he tries to track down the people who'll explain and help him eventually defeat the Ludovician. It sounds complex, but like anything by the likes of Michel Gondry or David Lynch, it's surprisingly lucid and massively engrossing, and makes for one of the most compelling books you could read about language, memory and the devastating power of love. The Raw Shark Texts on Amazon 5. On The Road – Jack KerouacFamously typed in three weeks on a continuous 120-foot roll of teletype paper, On The Road is the hallmark work of the beat generation, and the work that inspired generations of young people to take off, get out of the city and find themselves. The novel centers around jazz, drugs and poetry and follows the adventures of narrator Sal and the iconic maverick Dean Moriarty, based in real life on Neal Cassady, as they hitchhike across America. Bob Dylan once described On The Road as having changed his life, and it taught a whole generation of people the world over that revelation is to be found in the streets, in the destitute, in the bums and the dark places. Incidentally, On The Road is being turned into a movie, probably to be released in the coming year, featuring Sam Riley and Kristen Stewart. Make of that what you will. Either way, On The Road is iconic, and it's here because if you haven't read it, you probably should, particularly during the summer when it feels as though you could pack up any minute and re-claim your freedom. Plus it's published in the Popular Penguins series, so it'll save you monies and earn you a modicum of hipster cred when you read it on the bus. On the Road on Amazon 6. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Diaz The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao reads like Childish Gambino and David Foster Wallace got together to narrate the life of a second-generation Dominican high school geek who's mastered writing in Elvish, knows more about the Marvel universe than Stan Lee and couldn't pass for normal even if he tried. Oscar is a fat, Tolkien-loving kid with a bad case of self-hatred, and makes the mistake of using words like 'indefatigable' too many times, scaring off the ladies and inviting blows to the head. The book is narrated in turns by Lola, Oscar's tough-talking punk sister, and Yunior, his one-time room mate. The language is one of the best things about the book, an easy to follow Spanglish giving the words body-language, or 'swag'. Weaving in Dominican history, family tragedy and and curses passed down through the generations, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao essentially proves that if you want to know what it feels like to be an X-Man, you just need to be a smart, bookish, ethnically marginalised kid living in a contemporary U.S. ghetto. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao on Amazon 7. Ask The Dust – John FanteAsk The Dust almost missed becoming a classic, and if it weren't for Charles Bukowski hailing him as a genius the book might not have been in print today. But it is, making Bukowski a blessed legend (more on that below). Arturo Bandini is twenty. He's moved alone to Los Angeles in the '30s to try and be a writer. But he's failing at the writing, he's hungry as hell and he's a miserable virgin tortured by beautiful women and the Californian sun. Moreover, he's obsessed with a Mexican waitress wearing broken shoes who he can't stop treating like shit. I read Ask The Dust two summers ago, and spent a whole day at Maroubra beach obsessively quoting dog-eared passages of it to my long-suffering and ever indulgent friend. In that instance, I'm pretty sure my fierce enthusiasm scared her off, so I'll try and tone down just how awesome I believe this book to be, but I encourage you to imagine me shaking you furiously by the lapels if you decide not to read it. Ask the Dust on Amazon 8. You'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead – Marieke HardyMarieke Hardy is wildly entertaining, even though I know she can occasionally rub people the wrong way (although, given that Google suggests 'Marieke Hardy + breasts' as one of the most popular search options you've got to think more than a couple of people are keen). The former Triple J Breakfast host and writer of ABC TV series Laid is opinionated, acerbic and sometimes a little controversial. You'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead is her first book, a collection of personal essays which are hilarious but also heart wrenching in their honesty and attention to detail. She details her penchant for drinking to excess, childhood ambitions of growing up to be a prostitute, how football broke her heart, and having her first kiss with a Young Talent Time 'idol'. Grandiose, passionate and often hilarious, this series of mini-memoirs is engrossing and oddly relatable, particularly when you finish an unflinching story about an ex-boyfriend or Bob Ellis and then get to read their frank opinion about what she had to say. You'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead on Allen & Unwin 9. Women – Charles BukowskiBukowski is the poet laureate of seedy bars, gamblers, drunks, womanisers and dirty old men. He was a man who had no time for adjectives, who was bored with most literature because it had no guts or dance or moxy and believed the writer had no responsibility "except to jack off in bed alone and to type a good page." If that quote puts you off, read something else, but remember there's a reason why Bukowski is beloved by so many. All of Bukowski's novels (barring one) follow the trials and tribulations of his fictional alter-ego Henry Chinaski. Ugly, misanthropic and an appalling drunk, Bukowski wrote like a madman for decades, but didn't start getting much recognition until the 1970s. Women is Bukowski at his drunken, raw essence, written in his fifties, when he was making up for lost time with all the women who wouldn't notice him when he was young and poor and hideous. Women on Amazon 10. Middlesex – Jeffrey EugenidesSo Jeffrey Eugenides has a new book out at the moment, The Marriage Plot. But I've read it, and, um...Middlesex is better. Moreover, Middlesex won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003. Middlesex could in many ways be construed as your average inter-generational family drama with a hint of multiculturalism thrown into the mix. But it's much more than that. Middlesex is the history of a single gene through a century of tumultuous history, lyrical and strange and incredibly hard to put down. The narrator was born twice, first as a girl and then again as a teenager on an operating table, emerging as a young man, an eventuality which can be attributed to the revelation that his grandparents were actually brother and sister who escaped the stigma they would have received in Greece by immigrating to Detroit in the U.S. There's history and political drama, heartbreaking stories of first love and medical incompetence. But it's not a tragedy - it's heartfelt and terribly funny. Middlesex on Amazon
There you are just standing around minding your own business, going about your day as usual, when you see a tyrannosaurus rex towering over you. Given that the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchise doesn't depict reality, that's the kind of incident that requires either fossils or a bit of creative magic to make happen in the year 2023. Dinos Alive: An Immersive Experience opts for the latter, thanks to animatronic dinosaur replicas that are life-sized, and also move — as Australians can see for themselves when the exhibition heads Down Under from September. Welcome to... your next date with prehistoric creatures after watching Prehistoric Planet, hitting up Brisbane's Dinosaurs of Patagonia museum showcase, exploring the Lego Jurassic World exhibition a few years back and soaking in every other excuse to scope out the earth's always-fascinating ancient inhabitants. This one will debut locally in Melbourne, kicking off on Friday, September 29. It makes its way to our shores with help from entertainment platform Fever, which is also currently touring a Banksy showcase. At Dinos Alive, you'll peer up at not only a T-rex, but also stegosaurus, ankylosaurus, gorgosaurus, velociraptors and other critters that roamed the planet all those millions of years back. (No, everyone's dad's favourite, aka doyouthinkhesaurus, won't be there.) The exhibition's creatures are designed to look as realistic as possible, with more than 80 specimens covered. Because this is an all-ages affair — kids love dinosaurs, and adults never grow out of loving dinosaurs — there'll also be an educational side if you're keen to up your dino knowledge. As the latest season of the David Attenborough-hosted Prehistoric Planet devoted some time to, the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous eras weren't just about giants on land. Accordingly, Dinos Alive will also feature a virtual aquarium to showcase the creatures that dwelled under the sea. Virtual reality will also help make parts of the exhibition as lifelike as possible, as part of an experience that'll take attendees between 60–75 minutes to wander through. While Melbourne is Dinos Alive's first Australian stop after proving a hit in the US, there's also a waitlist for a yet-to-be-announced Sydney season. Fingers crossed that these dinosaurs will also rampage elsewhere around the rest of country once they've brought their giant footprints to the Victorian and New South Wales capitals. Dinos Alive: An Immersive Experience will open at Fever Exhibition Hall, 62 Dawson Street, Brunswick, Melbourne from Friday, September 29, 2023, with tickets available now. You can also join the waitlist for the yet-to-be-announced Sydney season. We'll update you with future dates and cities when they're announced.
A black comedy about neighbours fighting over a tree. A harrowing recreation of the worst incident on Norwegian soil since World War II. A gothic interpretation of a well-known folk tale. A film about an infatuated college student who discovers she has unusual abilities. These are just some of the Nordic films headed to Australia as part of the 2018 Scandinavian Film Festival — and yes, it's shaping up to be a great year for movies hailing from the colder parts of Europe. All of the above titles — the opening night's Under the Tree, Berlinale hit U – July 22, the gorgeously shot Valley of Shadows and the empathetic thriller Thelma — head to the festival after amassing quite the buzz at overseas events, and they have plenty of company. Across the Scandinavian Film Festival's almost month-long tour of the country, between July 10 and August 5, 21 features will grace Australian screens, showcasing everything from the latest award-winners to the career output of one of the region's late master filmmakers. In the first camp falls Border, which is based on a short story by author John Ajvide Lindqvist and just won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes; high-school comedy Amateurs, the recipient of the best Nordic film award at this year's Goteburg Film Festival; and Winter Brothers, a flick about siblings living in a remote region that nabbed nine Danish Academy Awards. In the latter category, viewers can celebrate the life and career of renowned Swedish director Ingmar Bergman in the 100th anniversary of his birth, with six Swedish figures — including Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy's Tomas Alfredson — making shorts inspired by the influential filmmaker for compilation effort Bergman Revisited. Other highlights include a semi-scripted cross-cultural comedy about two Danish men trying to set up a dog breeding business in China, aka The Saint Bernard Syndicate, SXSW-standout Heavy Trip, a film about a heavy metal muso spearheading a music festival in a small Finnish town, and The Real Estate, which attacks the chasm between the rich and the not-so in an unflinching fashion. In short: if it hails from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland and it popped up over the past year, it's probably on the lineup. The Scandinavian Film Festival tours the country between July 10 and August 5, screening at Sydney's Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona and Palace Central from July 10–29; Melbourne's Palace Cinema Como, Palace Brighton Bay and Palace Westgarth from July 12–29; and Brisbane's Palace Barracks from July 19 to August 5. For the full program, visit the festival website.
Few Melbourne venues have been reinvented as much in one short year as 2 Duke Street, Windsor. The space, once home to Saigon Sally, was transformed into bustling Thai eatery BKK in October 2017, but after just a few months became modern Australian restaurant Alter Dining. Now, just twelve weeks later, owner The Commune Group has announced yet another shake-up, closing the doors on the casual fine diner over the weekend. The venue will now be used to host functions and events for the next year, though Commune Group director Simon Blacher hints there'll be greater things to come. "We've seen firsthand the evolution of Chapel Street over the past six years, and firmly believe in the 2 Duke Street site," says Blacher. "We've made the decision to pause on the space to focus on exciting upcoming projects which we'll unveil later this year." Alter Dining's last service was on Saturday, July 28. Image: Gareth Sobey
Brad Pitt (Babylon) and Angelina Jolie's (Eternals) time as pop culture's only Mr and Mrs Smith in something called Mr & Mrs Smith is going the way of their IRL relationship, all thanks to a new TV spin on the 2005 movie. Now, it's Donald Glover (Atlanta) and Maya Erskine's (PEN15) turn to combine espionage and matrimony, with the upcoming eight-part Prime Video streaming series just unveiling its debut teaser trailer. Almost two decades back, an action-comedy cast Brangelina as a bored married duo who didn't know that they were actually both assassins, let alone that they'd each been tasked with killing the other. While Pitt and Jolie's off-screen relationship afterwards was more memorable than the flick itself in general, the concept struck enough of a chord to be brought back for another whirl. So, in 2024, Mr & Mrs Smith is now taking the path from the big to the small screen that everything from Dead Ringers and Irma Vep to A League of Their Own and Interview with the Vampire also has of late. There's a twist, however, with Glover and Erskine playing strangers who have to pretend to be wed as part of their job. So, that's how one becomes John Smith and the other takes on the identity of Jane Smith — and how the two embark upon a high-risk spy life together. The tradeoff for faking a romance: the lucrative gig, money, travelling the world, a dream Manhattan brownstone and, in this take on the premise, these strangers actually falling for each other. Pretending to be a couple but seeing sparks fly is one of Hollywood's current obsessions, with rom-com Anyone But You taking the idea to the big screen — without espionage or anything to do with Mr & Mrs Smith, though. Adding another TV show to his resume, Glover co-created the new Mr & Mrs Smith with Francesca Sloane (also Atlanta), with the end result set to drop in full on Friday, February 2, 2024. If you have vague memories of Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) being involved, she was initially slated to play Jane until Erskine took over her role. The series does feature a heap of other well-known names, with Alexander Skarsgård (Infinity Pool), Sarah Paulson (The Bear), Eiza González (Ambulance), Michaela Coel (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and Paul Dano (Dumb Money) all popping up — and Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters), Ron Perlman (Poker Face), Billy Campbell (Troll), Úrsula Corberó (Money Heist), John Turturro (Severance), Parker Posey (Beau Is Afraid) and Wagner Moura (The Gray Man) as well. Check out the first teaser trailer for the Mr & Mrs Smith TV series below: Mr & Mrs Smith will stream via Prime Video from Friday, February 2, 2024.
The National Gallery of Victoria's blockbuster Triennial 2020 exhibition is still in full swing, but, already, the gallery has announced the next fresh dose of artistic goodness heading our way. Today, Monday, March 1, it revealed a jam-packed lineup of exhibitions and programs for 2021. Among them, the international exclusive French Impressionism, featuring more than 100 French impressionist masterpieces on loan from Boston's renowned Museum of Fine Arts. Yep, overseas trips might still be on hold, but come June 2021, you'll be able to catch iconic works from the likes of Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt and more, when they hit the NGV for this huge showcase, as part of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition series. French Impressionism is set to feature 79 works never before shown in Australia, and will wrap up with a groundbreaking presentation of 16 Monet pieces displayed on curved walls — a nod to the oval gallery at Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris that the artist helped design for his famed Water Lilies paintings. [caption id="attachment_801662" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Camille Henrot, The Pale Fox (2014) installation view. Copyright courtesy of the artist and kamel mennour, Paris/London; König Galerie, Berlin; Metro Pictures, New York. Photographer: Anders Sune Berg.[/caption] Turning the lens closer to home, large-scale exhibition She-Oak and Sunlight: Australian Impressionism will feature a huge 270 artworks plucked from major public and private collections across the country. It aims to explore Australia's own position within the impressionist movement, showcasing both recognised and lesser-known works from names like Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin, Jane Sutherland, Jane Price, Clara Southern and John Russell. Elsewhere in the program, catch an Aussie-first survey of works by celebrated French-born, New York-based contemporary artist Camille Henrot, showcasing a diverse spread of media created across the last decade. NGV Collection exhibition Big Weather shares a new appreciation for our weather systems, as told through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, while Bark Ladies features two decades of stunning works on bark by masterful Yolngu women artists from Northeast Arnhem Land. And in groundbreaking show Queer, more than 300 works displayed across five different gallery spaces will mark the most historically expansive thematic presentation of artworks relating to queer stories ever shown in an Australian gallery. For more details about the just-announced NGV 2021 Season, jump over to the website. Image one: Claude Monet, Water Lilies (1905). Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Edward Jackson Holmes. Photography copyright Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Image two: Alfred Sisley, Waterworks at Marly (1876). Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Miss Olive Simes Photography copyright Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Image three: Tom Roberts, Shearing the rams (1890). Courtesy of National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Felton Bequest, 1932.
It's set in Canada. It pays tribute to iconic Iranian filmmaking. It took home Cannes Directors' Fortnight's inaugural Audience Award. It's now the recipient of the Melbourne International Film Festival's Bright Horizons accolade, too. The movie to put on your must-see list if you haven't already caught it at MIFF 2024: Matthew Rankin's Universal Language, the picture chosen by the event's 2024 jury as the pick of the fest's competition titles. It was back in 2022 that the Victorian film festival, which is Australia's oldest, revealed that it was introducing a prize for standout new filmmaking talents. The Bright Horizons Award heroes both first-time and sophomore directors — and gives each year's winner a cool $140,000 for their troubles. Nabbed by Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost in its initial year and Senegalese-French love story Banel & Adama in 2023, that hefty amount of prize money makes the gong one of the richest film fest awards in the world. Debuting at Cannes, and also set to make its North American premiere on home soil at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, Universal Language explores a vision of Winnipeg that resembles Iran in the 80s — and where Farsi as well as French are the official tongues. Alongside helming his second feature after 2019's The Twentieth Century, Rankin also appears in one of the movie's stories, as he spins absurdist tales about two kids on an adventure started by a random banknote, an unhappy teacher and a filmmaker. "Our task as jury was joyful, invigorating and inspiring. It was also incredibly arduous, heartbreaking and some might even say cruel, because how could anyone choose a favourite or pick a winner from such an incredible lineup of films, all worthy of accolades in their own ways, all testaments to the fact that the future of cinema is bright indeed?" said 2024's MIFF Bright Horizons jury, which was led by Australian filmmaker Ivan Sen (Limbo). "One movie represented all of the facets of the Bright Horizons Award: a film whose cultural specificity transcends borders; whose cinematic playfulness is matched equally by its sensitivity; and whose very form is in conversation with cinema past, present and future. This is why the Bright Horizons Award goes to Universal Language by Matthew Rankin," continued the group's statement, with director David Lowery (Peter Pan & Wendy), producer Yulia Evina Bhara (Tiger Stripes), costume designer Deborah L Scott (Avatar: The Way of Water) and actor Jillian Nguyen (White Fever) joining Sen. The quintet also gave a Special Jury Award to Flow, an animation about animals on a boat, when selecting Universal Language from a packed pool of contenders. Other films in the running included Janet Planet, the debut movie from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker; Inside, a prison drama with Guy Pearce (The Clearing), Cosmo Jarvis (Shōgun) and Toby Wallace (The Bikeriders) that's directed by Charles Williams, who won the 2018 short film Palme d'Or for All These Creatures; and The Village Next to Paradise, the first-ever Somali film play Cannes. Also since 2022, MIFF's lineup of prizes spans the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award as well, which recognises an outstanding Australian creative from one of the festival's movies. 2024's recipient to the tune of $70,000: Jaydon Martin for Flathead. "We were captivated and affected by Jaydon Martin's visually arresting and very moving portrait of individuals often forgotten about in society — in this case, the real people of small town Bundaberg," advised the jury. "Flathead's seamless merging of realities and fiction, both so raw yet so cinematic, had a profound effect on our jury. We hope all of you have a chance to watch this brilliant, sensitive examination of survival, of humanity and of mortality, which will stay with you for days to come." In 2023, MIFF launched its First Nations Film Creative Award, which is now named the Uncle Jack Charles Award — with April Phillips winning for XR piece kajoo yannaga (come on let's walk together) in 2024. As chosen by festival attendees having their say as they're spending all of their spare time in a cinema, 2024's MIFF Audience Award went to two Australian movies: documentaries Voice and Left Write Hook, with the first about seeking support across the country for the Indigenous Voice referendum, and the second stepping into a boxing and creative writing program for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 8–Sunday, August 25. For more information, visit the MIFF website.
Terms like #BlackLivesMatter and alt-right didn't exist in 1967. As such, they're not mentioned in Detroit, a film based on the infamous race riots that gripped the titular town 50 years ago. Instead, we hear other telling words and phrases. Words like "you people". Words like "them". When a racist cop compares the city to 'Nam, when offensive slurs flow freely, and when scared black men openly pray for their lives in front of white police officers, there's no mistaking the climate of hatred and fear they're all inhabiting — or the parallels with the United States today. In a film of talk as much as action, these moments shudder with significance. Often, they make the audience shudder as well. Director Kathryn Bigelow, who remains the only woman to win an Oscar for direction, wants the violence, the slurs and the sense of anxiety to stand out. At the same time, she demonstrates just how commonplace it all was — and still is. As they did with The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, Bigelow and writer Mark Boal serve up an eye opening account of how America operates. Only this time, as they delve into racial, societal and institutionalised conflicts, they're working on home soil. Accordingly, Detroit pieces together a picture of a city and a nation seething with disharmony, weaving seemingly disparate stories together to recreate one specific incident. On the night of July 25, 1967, cops respond to reports of a sniper at the Algiers Motel, but can't locate the culprit or a weapon once they arrive. Already full of bluster from an earlier altercation, Officer Krauss (Will Poulter) and his colleagues (Jack Reynor and Ben O'Toole) aren't prepared to leave empty-handed. So the trio interrogate and intimidate a group of black men, plus two young white women, determined to put somebody in handcuffs. Among their detainees: The Dramatics singer Larry (Algee Smith) and his pal Fred (Jacob Latimore), who are staying the night en route home from their cancelled gig, and happen to cross paths with the attractive Julie Ann (Hannah Murray) and Karen (Kaitlyn Never). They're in the vicinity of the shots simply because they've followed the girls into their friend Carl's (Jason Mitchell) room. He's hanging out with a few mates, while returned soldier Greene (Anthony Mackie) is also down the hall. Arriving with the national guard, part-time security guard Melvin Dismukes (John Boyega) tries to assist in the aftermath. Detroit lets viewers get to know these characters — and to know them well. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they react when times get tough, and everyone here is swimming in pressure. After backstories are laid out in the film's first quarter, the movie spends its terse, tense mid-section in the hotel, watching the various figures face off. The camerawork is jumpy, intimate and urgent, as are the performances. Poulter is unnerving in his venomous conviction, while Smith is heartbreaking as the aspiring talent seeing his dreams fade away. Boyega, meanwhile, is a ball of internalised turmoil as the man caught in the middle. With the aforementioned war films as well as Point Break and Strange Days on her resume, Bigelow has consistently proven herself to be one of the best action directors working today, and Detroit only solidifies that status. Just as the film initially bounces around the riots to establish Detroit's volatile intensity, it also gets up close and personal with its main players, crafting a brutal snapshot not only of the events in question, but the city at the time and America as a whole. In the process, it serves as both an immersive picture of history and a horrific cautionary tale. Archival footage is used to amplify the grim mood, but it isn't really needed. Detroit would be a stunning piece of cinema either way. https://youtu.be/yv74LqiumXE
The Commune Group has proved it's got the goods when it comes to contemporary Vietnamese and Japanese flavours, having gifted Melbourne with Tokyo Tina, the Hanoi Hannah stable and Windsor's flame-driven Firebird. But for its latest trick, the team's crossing the continent, embracing a modern Chinese angle to deliver its latest venture, Balaclava's Moonhouse. Opening Wednesday, June 1, in the heritage-listed art deco corner building formerly home to Ilona Staller, the two-storey restaurant is wearing a sophisticated new look steered by renowned studio Ewert Leaf. Heritage features have been carefully refurbished — or repurposed — across the 110-seat space, now complemented by colourful onyx marble counters, custom vinyl tabletops and pendant lights hung like tiny lunar spheres in a nod to the venue's name. [caption id="attachment_856125" align="alignnone" width="1920"] by Parker Blain[/caption] Climb the stairs to the upper level and you'll discover a 30-seat private dining room, alongside a separate cocktail bar complete with roaring fireplace and covetable window booth seating. The kitchen's playing to Melbourne culinary nostalgia by dishing up a contemporary reworking of some classic Chinese flavours. Come snack time, that means bites like the Hainanese chicken club sandwich, a Sichuan-spiced steak tartare and an addictive take on the familiar prawn toast served with a prawn bisque dip. You'll find dan dan noodles with mushroom and sesame, a crispy-skinned half chook paired with lemon pepper and sweet chilli, and grilled Murray cod in a shaoxing broth. Order the 'Duck Ceremony' and you'll get half a roast duck, with pancakes, plum salt, hoisin, confit duck leg ssam and everything else needed for a DIY peking duck feast. [caption id="attachment_856126" align="alignnone" width="1920"] by Parker Blain[/caption] And with Group Pastry Chef Enza Soto (Brae, Baker D. Chirico, Bibelot) heading up the dessert offering, expect to finish your meal on a high note — perhaps with five spice doughnuts and black pepper ice cream, or the coconut soy pudding matched with mandarin sorbet. The all-Aussie wine list is also a standout, pouring a mindfully-sourced selection of drops made with a conscience, and sitting familiar labels alongside newer, innovative finds. You'll also spy craft brews from the likes of Hop Nation and Stomping Ground; the latter's even teamed up with the venue for a collaboration Czech-style pilsner. Find Moonhouse at 282 Carlisle Street, Balaclava, from Wednesday, June 2. It'll open from 5pm–late Wednesday to Sunday, and for lunch from 2–4pm Saturdays and Sundays. Images: Parker Blain, Jana Langhorst and Leah Traecey.
When it was announced back in 2016 that Moulin Rouge! was being turned into a stage musical, fans around the world thought the same thing in unison: the show must go on. Since then, the lavish production premiered in the US in 2018, then hit Broadway in 2019, and also announced that it'd head Down Under in 2021 — and if you're an Aussie wondering when the latter would actually happen after all the chaos of the past two years, the same mantra thankfully applies to its upcoming Melbourne season. Originally set to debut in August — a date that was obviously delayed due to lockdown — Moulin Rouge! The Musical will now make its Australian debut at Melbourne's revamped Regent Theatre on Friday, November 12. It'll do so as a newly minted Tony-winner, too, after picking up ten awards earlier in October, and also becoming the first-ever Aussie-produced show to win the Tony for Best Musical. Based on Baz Luhrmann's award-winning, Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor-starring movie — which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year — the stage musical brings to life the famed Belle Époque tale of young composer Christian and his heady romance with Satine, actress and star of the legendary Moulin Rouge cabaret. Set in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, the film is known for its soundtrack, celebrating iconic tunes from across the past five decades. The stage version carries on the legacy, backing those favourites with even more hit songs that have been released in the two decades since the movie premiered. The musical is heading to Melbourne in the hands of production company Global Creatures, along with the Victorian Government. The Government is also a big player behind the Regent's upgrade works, having dropped a cool $14.5 million towards the $19.4 million project. It co-owns the site, along with the City of Melbourne. Moulin Rouge! The Musical's spectacular spectacular Melbourne season is set to stick around for a while, with tickets currently on sale until April 29. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihH1VttqMzc&feature=emb_logo Updated October 26, 2021. Moulin Rouge! The Musical image: Matthew Murphy.
Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer keeps exploding through awards season, making a big impact at the 2024 Golden Globes and now leading the just-announced Oscar nominations. The Cillian Murphy-starring biopic of Robert Oppenheimer has picked up 13 nods from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, leading this year's contenders for Hollywood's night of nights. And yes, its Barbenheimer partner Barbie also earned a swag of recognition — but not in two pivotal categories. The Margot Robbie-led, Greta Gerwig-directed spin on the famous doll collected eight nominations; however, Robbie is absent in the Best Actress field, as is Gerwig among the helmers. As one of the movie's producers, Robbie is in the running for a Best Picture gong, though, while Gerwig and Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story) received a Best Adapted Screenplay nod. Barbie's other nominations include Best Supporting Actor for Ryan Gosling and Best Supporting Actress for America Ferrara, as well as two entries for Best Original Song. Falling in-between Oppenheimer and Barbie numbers-wise: Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon, the two films with the two most-likely Best Actress contenders. For the former, a glorious riff on Frankenstein that earned 11 nominations, Emma Stone could win her second Oscar after La La Land. For the latter, aka Martin Scorsese's latest masterpiece with ten nominations, Lily Gladstone is the first Indigenous American to be recognised in the field. Oppenheimer, Barbie, Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon are also among the ten movies competing for Best Motion Picture. Their company: American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers and Maestro, as well as Poor Things and The Zone of Interest. History was made in this category, too, with three female-directed films in contention for the first time ever. That said, only one woman is among the Best Director nominees, with Justine Triet following up her Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or win with an Oscar nomination — competing against Nolan, Scorsese, Poor Things' Yorgos Lanthimos and The Zone of Interest's Jonathan Glazer. While deserving movies miss out among every list of awards nominations, 2024's Oscar highlights include both Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest earning so much attention beyond the Best International Feature Film field — which Anatomy of a Fall wasn't submitted for — complete with their shared star Sandra Hüller receiving a Best Actress nomination for the first. The Boy and the Heron's Best Animated Feature nod, El Conde's for Best Cinematography, Godzilla Minus One's for Best Visual Effects and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar in the Best Live-Action Short Film all also stand out. Among the notable omissions, Saltburn, Ferrari, Priscilla, All of Us Strangers and The Iron Claw didn't receive any love, May December missed all of the acting categories and Leonard DiCaprio wasn't included among Killers of the Flower Moon's picks. Who'll ultimately emerge victorious will be revealed on Monday, March 11, Australian and New Zealand time, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting. Here's the full list of nominations: Oscar Nominees 2024: Best Motion Picture American Fiction Anatomy of a Fall Barbie The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Past Lives Poor Things The Zone of Interest Best Director Anatomy of a Fall, Justine Triet Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Annette Bening, Nyad Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall Carey Mulligan, Maestro Emma Stone, Poor Things Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Bradley Cooper, Maestro Colman Domingo, Rustin Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple America Ferrera, Barbie Jodie Foster, Nyad Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Sterling K Brown, American Fiction Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon Robert Downey Jr, Oppenheimer Ryan Gosling, Barbie Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things Best Original Screenplay Anatomy of a Fall, Justine Triet and Arthur Harari The Holdovers, David Hemingson Maestro, Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer May December, Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik Past Lives, Celine Song Best Adapted Screenplay American Fiction, Cord Jefferson Barbie, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan Poor Things, Tony McNamara The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer Best International Feature Film Io Capitano, Italy Perfect Days, Japan Society of the Snow, Spain The Teachers' Lounge, Germany The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom Best Animated Feature The Boy and the Heron Elemental Nimona Robot Dreams Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Best Documentary Feature Bobi Wine: The People's President The Eternal Memory Four Daughters To Kill a Tiger 20 Days in Mariupol Best Original Score American Fiction, Laura Karpman Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, John Williams Killers of the Flower Moon, Robbie Robertson Oppenheimer, Ludwig Göransson Poor Things, Jerskin Fendrix Best Original Song 'The Fire Inside', Flamin' Hot, Diane Warren 'I'm Just Ken', Barbie, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt 'It Never Went Away', American Symphony, Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson 'Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)', Killers of the Flower Moon, Scott George 'What Was I Made For?', Barbie, Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell Best Cinematography El Conde, Edward Lachman Killers of the Flower Moon, Rodrigo Prieto Maestro, Matthew Libatique Oppenheimer, Hoyte van Hoytema Poor Things, Robbie Ryan Best Film Editing Anatomy of a Fall, Laurent Sénéchal The Holdovers, Kevin Tent Killers of the Flower Moon, Thelma Schoonmaker Oppenheimer, Jennifer Lame Poor Things, Yorgos Mavropsaridis Best Production Design Barbie Killers of the Flower Moon Napoleon Oppenheimer Poor Things Best Visual Effects The Creator Godzilla Minus One Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One Napoleon Best Costume Design Barbie, Jacqueline Durran Killers of the Flower Moon, Jacqueline West Napoleon, Janty Yates and Dave Crossman Oppenheimer, Ellen Mirojnick Poor Things, Holly Waddington Best Makeup and Hairstyling Golda Maestro Oppenheimer Poor Things Society of the Snow Best Sound The Creator Maestro Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One Oppenheimer The Zone of Interest Best Documentary Short Subject The ABCs of Book Banning The Barber of Little Rock Island in Between The Last Repair Shop Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó Best Animated Short Film Letter to a Pig Ninety-Five Senses Our Uniform Pachyderme WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko Best Live-Action Short Film The After Invincible Knight of Fortune Red, White and Blue The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar The 2024 Oscars will be announced on Monday, March 11, Australian and New Zealand time. For further details, head to the awards' website.
Another Emmys year has rolled around, Breaking Bad and Modern Family dominated yet again, Matthew McConaughey missed out on his expected golden accolade for True Detective and everyone was mean about Lena Dunham's dress. Between Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman nabbing matching Sherlockian trophies, American Horror Story popping up in every last category and Australian audiences scrawling down lists of shows they'll be pirating soon, there were a few big ol' magic moments that caught our attention this year — for the high-fivably better and WTF-inducing worse. HIT: Brian Cranston and JLD Had a Big Ol' Pash Dentist Tim Whatley and Elaine Benes reunited in a big fat smooch. Multi Emmy-winning Brian Cranston (who once played Elaine's dentist boyfriend on Seinfeld back in the day) proved he truly is The Danger by planting a big ol' pash on Julia Louis-Dreyfus after she was announced Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Veep. On her way to the stage, Cranston intercepted Louis-Dreyfus for a big wet snog after exclaiming, "You were on Seinfeld!" Mackin' legends. MISS: Sofia Vergara Was Objectified on a Rotating Pedestal During a Speech About Diversity Seriously, what were they actually thinking? Maybe, just maybe, if you're the president of the Academy about to give a speech about diversity on globally-watched television, do not deliver said speech with Modern Family's Sofia Vergara on a rotating pedestal beside you, blatantly revolving like a piece of meat. As Huffington Post points out, only 26 percent of the nominees this year are women, not to mention the fact that the Emmys have only twice awarded a Latina actress with an award. Leave the rotating pedestals out and let Vergara stand on her own two feet huh? HIT: Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey Looked Like a Night at the Roxbury Donning suits akin to Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell in their 1998 comedy, the True Detective bros offered up an offensive amount of swagger in their matching promworthy tuxes. Even Kattan noticed. HIT: Billy Crystal Made the Only Speech that Could Be Made for Robin Williams "He was the greatest friend you could ever imagine... It's very hard to talk about him in the past, because he was so present in our lives," Crystal said, inviting a minute's silence for the recently-passed legend, following the Emmys' 'In Memoriam' segment. "He was the brightest star in the comedy galaxy," he said of his super close friend, before closing with an outstanding last line: "Robin Williams, what a concept." https://youtube.com/watch?v=hYv7qSDIRRY MISS: Julia Roberts Didn't Miss an Opportunity to Make Everything About Julia Roberts Mere seconds before awarding Bryan Cranston with his straight-up deserved Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, presenter Julia Roberts took a moment to remind everyone about number one. "Apologies to anyone who doesn't get to hug me in the next ten seconds," she said, before reading out Cranston's winning spot. Top marks, Roberts. HIT: Everyone Realised the Director of True Detective is a Stone Cold Fox As if we all pictured Cary Joji Fukunaga as a Tom Waits-like, porch-dwelling, gravel-voiced cowboy, the True Detective director got more applause on Twitter for being smokin' hot than he did for his award-winning series. Kind of like every Emmy-winning actress ever. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ygcHfkOoAeQ HIT? Sarah Silverman Might Have Been Stoned "We're just molecules and we're hurling through space right now." We're not sure, Silverman rules anyway. Check out the entire list of Emmy winners and nominees right here.
Dig out those once-a-year novelty gumboots, Groovin the Moo has unveiled its 2019 lineup. Taking the large-scale music festival out of the city and into regional centres for another year, GTM will kick things off on Friday, April 26 in South Australia and travel through Maitland, Canberra, Bendigo and Townsville before finishing up in Bunbury on Saturday, May 11. This year sees local talent new and established taking the stage, with the lineup spanning up-and-comers like Jack River, G Flip and Haiku Hands right through to recent Hottest 100 top tenner Billie Eilish, Aussie favourites Nick Murphy and Thelma Plum, Australian hip hop legends Hilltop Hoods and rockers Regurgitator. International talent like Coolio — who'll you'll most likely recognise from his hit track 'Gangsta's Paradise' — Danish pop singer MØ and American rapper A$AP Twelvyy will make their way to the Moo, too. After hosting Australia's first ever pill testing trial in Canberra last year, Groovin the Moo is moving its ACT festival to Exhibition Park for the first time. Pill testing is still a much-debated topic around the country with five people recently dying from suspected overdoses in as many months. Here's the full lineup. GROOVIN THE MOO 2019 LINEUP A$AP Twelvyy (USA) Angie McMahon Aurora (Nor) Billie Eilish Carmouflage Rose Coolio (USA) Crooked Colours DMA's Duckwrth Fisher Flosstradamus (USA) G Flip Haiku Hands Hermitude Hilltop Hoods Holy Holy Jack River Just a Gent MØ (Dnk) Nick Murphy Nicole Millar Regurgitator Rejjie Snow (Irl) Sofi Tukker Spinderella Thelma Plum TOKiMONSTA (USA) Trophy Eyes GROOVIN THE MOO 2019 DATES & VENUES Friday, April 26 — Wayville (SA) Saturday, April 27 – Maitland (NSW) Sunday, April 28 — Canberra (ACT) Saturday, May 4 — Bendigo (VIC) Sunday, May 5 – Townsville (QLD) Saturday, May 11 — Bunbury (WA) Tickets for GTM in Wayville, Maitland and Canberra will go on sale at 8am on Thursday, January 31, and Bendigo, Bunbury and Townsville will be released the day after at 8am on Friday, February 1. For more info, go to gtm.net.au. Images: Jack Toohey.
Man, these guys are slaying alternative rock in Australia right now — and for all the right reasons. After a bout of intense national touring with Groovin The Moo and an unforgettable One Night Stand set earlier this year, it's clear that Australian audiences can't seem to get enough of these four guys from Mansfield, Queensland. Violent Soho's latest album, Hungry Ghost, was welcomed with open arms last year by those looking to thrash around in damp mosh pits. With anthemic tracks such as 'Covered in Chrome', 'In the Aisle' and 'Saramona Said', this headliner gig is sure to be an epic evening of sweaty enthusiasm. Over a whopping 14-date national tour (plus Splendour), Violent Soho will be joined by brothers-in-arms The Smith Street Band and Luca Brasi for various shows — either way, it's going to be well worth rocking up for the support band ahead of the main event. Just don't wear precious threads and make sure you come to the Hi-Fi ready to burl out a gravelly singalong. https://youtube.com/watch?v=RN9NC4iQcsA
Juliette Binoche stars as an actress adapting to the expectations of her age, Kristen Stewart argues the merits of mainstream entertainment, and Chloë Grace Moretz arrives as the next big thing. In Clouds of Sils Maria, art may appear to imitate life — and it does, and it knows it — but there's more to Olivier Assayas' film than that. Much more. Binoche plays Maria Enders, a screen veteran who first came to fame in the play Maloja Snake by Wilhelm Melchior. Twenty years later, she's poised to pay tribute to the writer and director at an event in Zurich; however, mid trip, news arrives of his death. Supported by her assistant, Valentine (Stewart), she reluctantly agrees to participate in a new staging of Melchior's production, co-starring rising starlet Jo-Ann Ellis (Moretz). Once Maria was the hot young ingénue of the piece; now she's the obsessed older woman. The film may spend much of its time in the titular region — one known, yes, for cloud formations that weave through the mountains like a serpent — yet where Clouds of Sils Maria clearly resides is in the space between then and now in the abstract sense. The past and the present clash furiously before Maria's eyes, as she copes not only with her friend's passing but with saying goodbye to her youth. In scenes between Binoche and Stewart, this couldn't be more apparent, even though the latter is her employee rather than her rival. As Valentine helps Maria run her lines, as they argue over whether Maria should do the play, and as they debate the state of modern filmmaking, they're discussing the gap between the old and the new over and over again. Their interplay also mirrors the tension at the heart of Maloja Snake in its power struggles, its flitting between closeness and distance, and its undercurrent of yearning. Clouds of Sils Maria is a conversation-heavy movie, and not all of that conversation works, particularly anything that stems from the play (the dissections of the material within the material are much more effective). Instead, it is savvy casting that helps Assayas' point come across, and not just in reflecting Binoche, Stewart and Moretz's off-screen realities, but in their talents. The savviest stroke of casting, and the film's best performance, belongs to Stewart. She won a César Award for her role — and became the first American actress to do so in the process. It's not that the Twilight star is a revelation, more that her skills are just so perfectly suited to the part. When the camera isn't focusing on the film's three leading ladies, it has plenty of location eye candy to rove over, and rove it does. Assayas creeps and sweeps through the setting just like the clouds lingering above, the frame — and the feature — always seeming like it is floating. Perhaps that's why Clouds of Sils Maria feels like it washes over the viewer, instead of just being watched. As it uses nature to comment on authenticity and well-known stars to comment on celebrity, perhaps that's why it also feels immersive yet just out of reach, as well.
Australia's longest running exhibition and art prize of its kind, the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA) was established in the early 1980s when the commercial popularity of Aboriginal art was just starting to develop. The coveted award not only offers one of the biggest prizes for First Nations artists in the country, but it also aims to highlight the diversity and evolution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and its various forms. This year, there are 65 artists who have been selected as finalists for the seven awards, which have a total prize value of $80,000. So we've partnered with Telstra to give you a rundown on seven impressive artists that we think you should get to know better — and support — as they share their artistry with the world. Make sure you visit the NATSIAA website on Friday August 7, from 6pm, to watch the Awards presented live by host Brooke Boney. VICTORIA'S MULTI-TALENTED ARTIST CASSIE LEATHAM Inspired by walking the country near her two-acre property in Central Gippsland, Taungurung woman Cassie Leatham, from the Kulin Nation, is a true slashie. She's an artist, designer, weaver, dancer and educator. Leatham is hoping her second entry in the Telstra NATSIAA — a woven artwork that tells the creation stories passed to her by her elders — connects with the Award's judging panel. 'Nugal-ik Liwik Bundjil (My Ancestors Creation Story)' features a mix of pipe clay, emu fat, wattle sap, stringy bark, mud, ochre, sand crystals and wedge-tailed eagle feathers. The artist says her goal is to maintain cultural practices, with her dream being to create a teaching centre on her property to keep her culture alive. WESTERN AUSTRALIA'S KNIFE WELDING ILLIAM NARGOODAH Emerging artist Illiam Nargoodah is gaining acclaim for continuing an ancient tradition. Based out of Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley region, the 23 year old uses his skills to create knives by hand from found objects, crafting every part of the knife from handle to blade. Upholding knowledge that runs in the family, the young artist has been learning alongside his father — a leatherworker — since he was a young boy. The artist's first Telstra NATSIAA entry consists of several special knives that were crafted out of metal objects and artefacts collected on community station properties near his home. QUEENSLAND'S VISUAL ARTIST RYAN PRESLEY Using the iconographic traditions of Christian art as his launchpad, Marri Ngarr man Ryan Presley has his second entry in the Telstra NATSIAA this year. It's a political work that depicts the "beauty, resistance and everyday heroism of Aboriginal people today", he says. 'Crown Land (till the ends of the earth)' mixes oil, synthetic polymer and 23 karat gold on canvas. Presley, who was born in Alice Springs and now lives in Brisbane, is known for creating works that reference the impacts of colonisation on First Nations people, and the devastation of country and wellbeing from industries such as mining. CANBERRA-BASED SHELL ARTIST KRYSTAL HURST Proud Worimi woman Krystal Hurst brings the strength of the women in her family, and her ancestors before her, to her art. Working with banded kelp shells, bitjagang (pipis), fishing line and seaweed, Hurst has created a layered necklace for this year's Telstra NATSIAA. This is her second time entering the Awards, and the jewellery maker's artwork references an enduring connection to the sea and the continuation of knowledge passed on through generations. Hurst grew up on the Mid-North Coast and she continues to tell the stories of her people through her jewellery, and via weaving workshops that she runs at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. SOUTH AUSTRALIA MOTHER-DAUGHTER PAINTERS BETTY AND MARINA PUMANI Winner of the Telstra NATSIAA 2016 Telstra General Painting of the Year, Betty Kuntiwa Pumani enters the awards again this year — but this time in collaboration with her daughter Marina Pumani. Based in Mimili, a remote community in the APY Lands of South Australia, the mother-daughter duo has made two paintings that celebrate matriarchal knowledge. Painting Antara, a special site for the women in their community, Marina adds her knowledge to this particular diptych, referencing Maku Tjukurpa (the witchetty grub songline), which is central to all of Betty's paintings, marked by her signature use of vibrant reds. NEW SOUTH WALES DISRUPTOR AMALA GROOM Mixed media artist Amala Groom is the only New South Wales-based artist to make the finalist list of this year's Awards. Based out of Bathurst, the Wiradjuri artist has re-appropriated a beaten up print of a famed painting by Frederick McCubbin — a prominent member of the Heidelberg School movement — found discarded in a parking lot during the bushfire crisis, earlier this year. Groom's piece 'The Fifth Element' is a "conceptual intervention into the Australian canon of art history", she says. It comments on the uncertainty of our current times and remind us of ngumbaay-dyil — that 'all are one'. ARNHEM LAND TEXTILE ARTIST DEBORAH WURRKIDJ A previous Telstra NATSIAA finalist, Maningrida-based artist Deborah Wurrkidj has this year created a woven sculpture that reflects a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Paris taken in 2019. Alongside four other artists from the Bábbarra Women's Centre, Wurrkidj was asked to exhibit her artwork at the Australian Embassy in Paris, which was then profiled in Vogue. This new work, woven from memory, is inspired by the Eiffel Tower. Wurrkidj says, "I saw that tower and I thought I'll go back to Maningrida and I'll make her. Yes, I can weave that tower in our way, our Aboriginal way, not balanda [a white/European] way. And I did it." Find out more about the upcoming Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. Top image: Krystal Hurst
If a comet was hurtling towards earth on a collision course that'd wipe out all life as we currently know it, you'd think that humanity would react — and fast. But in the trailer for Netflix's new disaster comedy Don't Look Up, only two people really care: astronomy professor Dr Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and his grad student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence, X-Men: Dark Phoenix). To everyone else, the impending end of the world isn't really something to worry about. The President (Meryl Streep, The Prom) and her son and Chief of Staff (Jonah Hill, The Beach Bum) barely seem to mind, the media definitely doesn't, and neither does the general public. Instead, Kate goes viral for screaming about the apocalypse as she and Randall embark on a media tour to try to convince the planet that being obliterated — in less than six months, and by a Mount Everest-sized comet that's orbiting our solar system — really is kind of a big deal. Forget Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck endeavouring to save the world from an asteroid, because that's so 1998. The former "king of the world" and Katniss Everdeen teaming up to stop a comet from eradicating earth is the firmly 2021 version. And, after first being announced at the beginning of the year — as part of Netflix's lengthy list of new flicks heading its way before 2022 hits — and then dropping a teaser trailer back in September, Don't Look Up now has a full trailer so you can catch a glimpse of how that'll all play out. The film thankfully isn't a sequel to the aforementioned Armageddon. Instead, it's the latest movie from The Big Short and Vice director Adam McKay — and it's set to hit both cinemas and the streaming platform in December. As well as its two high-profile leads, Don't Look Up also stars basically every other actor you can think of, including Timothée Chalamet (Little Women), Cate Blanchett (Where'd You Go, Bernadette), Mark Rylance (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Tyler Perry (Those Who Wish Me Dead), Ron Perlman (Monster Hunter), Himesh Patel (Tenet), Melanie Lynskey (Mrs America), Kid Cudi (Bill & Ted Face the Music) and Ariana Grande. The film will hit Netflix just in time for your Christmas break, dropping on Friday, December 24. It'll also screen in some cinemas from Thursday, December 9, if you'd like to see it on the big screen. And if you're wondering how Don't Look Up will fare tonally, McKay looks like he's in The Big Short and Succession mode, rather than harking back to his Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Step Brothers days. That said, Blanchett does play a TV host, so maybe the filmmaker will have audiences thinking about Anchorman as well. Check out the full trailer for Don't Look Up below: Don't Look Up will be release in select Australian cinemas on Thursday, December 9, and will be available to stream via Netflix on Friday, December 24. Images: Nico Tavernise/Netflix.
After a couple of years spent staring at screens our brains are pretty thirsty for some lush green scenery. We are in the mood for tumbling waterfalls, secluded swimming spots and remote rainforest hikes that make us feel like we're living in an endless summer. Luckily for us, Tropical North Queensland fits the bill nicely — and you won't have to renew your passport to get there. In this part of the world, summer lives on a little longer with refreshing tropical rains and warm autumn days. The national parks are a little quieter and the waterways run a little deeper during this time of year, making it the ultimate time to explore the rainforest from top to bottom. From canopy walks, to castles and kayaking — there are plenty of ways to experience the rainforest this autumn.
Enter the enchanting speakeasy-style cocktail lounge adjacent to Naught's gin distillery, and you'd be forgiven for assuming you're deep within the inner-city reaches. But in fact, the moodily-lit bar, with its elegant sense of drama and standout cocktails, makes its home around 25 kilometres northeast of the CBD, in the leafy suburb of Eltham. The brainchild of former teacher Chris Cameron, Naught has been quick to make a splash in the gin world, having scooped a swag of local and international awards since its first gin release in 2020. In December, the Australian Dry Gin scored both the Champion New World/Contemporary Gin and Champion Victorian Gin trophies at the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards. Now, the label is proving itself as a serious player in Melbourne's cocktail bar scene, with this sultry drinking den kitted out by Studio Y (Lumé, Nick & Nora's and Pearl Diver). Designed to transport you well beyond its pocket of suburbia, the space is a glamorous one, featuring striking wallpaper, touches of velvet and an imposing sculptural work of dried native botanicals suspended from the ceiling. Pull up a seat at the bar or in one of the deep leather booths, and admire the gleaming copper of the attached distillery while you sample Naught's creations at play. The bar's signature cocktails are crafted on either Naught's Australian Dry, Sangiovese or Overproof Gin, with the much-hyped Classic Dry also set to join the menu upon its release. Here, there's a focus on the classics, backed by a lineup of subtle reworkings and clever signature sips. Take a trip back in time with an Aviation or a raspberry-spiked Clover Club, or re-energise with Naught's take on the espresso martini; made with macadamia and toasted wattleseed liqueur, and coffee by Eltham's Craftwork Roasting. Also earning buzz is the HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUA'A — a blend of the Australian Dry Gin, orgeat, fresh pineapple and bitters, named after the state fish of Hawaii. Elsewhere, you'll find a three-gin tasting flight, a couple of house G&T's and a top-notch martini offering. A tight crop of hyper-local beers and wines also make an appearance. Meanwhile, the share-friendly food menu will see you matching your sips with the likes of a loaded grazing board; the chicken, leek and truffle terrine; buffalo mozzarella with Pedro Ximénez balsamic and red-gum-smoked sea salt; and tins of caviar paired with crème fraîche and crisps. Find Naught Cocktail Bar & Distillery at 2/32 Peel Street, Eltham. It's open 5–10pm Thursday, 5pm–12am Friday and Saturday, and 2–10pm Sunday.
Everyone loves travelling overseas. No one loves the actual travel part. From airport queues to uncomfortable plane seats to lost baggage, getting from A to B is the ordeal you have to endure before the fun begins. Enter Elon Musk, and a plan to change that. In Adelaide for the International Astronautical Conference, the South African entrepreneur advised that he foresees next-generation spacecraft not only ferrying people beyond the earth, but across it as well. With his SpaceX company currently readying a rocket-powered trip around the moon in 2018, and preparing to head to Mars in 2022 and 2024, he wants to be able to use the same types of vessels to journey between continents. It all hinges upon the BFR — or "Big Fucking Rocket" — that's currently in development, and is being designed for multiple uses. Musk said that he envisions the system taking both crew and cargo into space, and then helping folks hop around the globe at 27,000 kilometres per hour. In an Instagram post after his speech, he explained that it would take 30 minutes to fly to most places and 60 minutes at most — all for the same full-fare price as current economy airline tickets. https://www.instagram.com/p/BZnVfWxgdLe/?hl=en&taken-by=elonmusk As futuristic as it might sound now, if anyone can make it a reality, it's probably Musk. He has already promised to revolutionise journeying between cities and across continents thanks to his Hyperloop system, a high-speed vacuum transport setup that'll never stop sounding like a sci-fi movie come to life. And, in preparation for SpaceX's rocket jaunts, he has also sent a zero gravity espresso machine to space. Travel and caffeine go hand-in-hand, after all. Via the ABC / Dezeen. Image: SpaceX.
UPDATE, March 25, 2022: The Worst Person in the World is currently screening in Australian cinemas, and is also available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. When Frances Ha splashed a gorgeous portrait of quarter-life malaise across the screen nearly a decade back — proving neither the first nor last film to do so, of course — its titular New Yorker was frequently running. As played by Greta Gerwig, she sprinted and stumbled to David Bowie's intoxicating 'Modern Love' and just in general, while navigating the constantly-in-motion reality of being in her 20s. It takes place in a different city, another country and on the other side of the globe, but The Worst Person in the World's eponymous figure (Renate Reinsve, Phoenix) is often racing, too. (Sometimes, in the movie's most stylised touch, she's even flitting around while the whole world stops around her.) Norwegian writer/director Joachim Trier (Thelma) firmly understands the easy shorthand of watching someone rush — around Oslo here, but also through life overall — especially while they're grappling with a blatant case arrested development. Capturing the relentlessly on-the-go sensation that comes with adulthood, as well as the inertia of feeling like you're never quite getting anywhere that you're meant to be, these running scenes paint a wonderfully evocative and relatable image. Those are apt terms for The Worst Person in the World overall, actually, which meets Julie as she's pinballing through the shambles of her millennial life. She doesn't ever truly earn the film's title, or come close, but she still coins the description and spits it her own way — making the type of self-deprecating, comically self-aware comment we all do when we're trying to own our own chaos because anything else would be a lie. The Worst Person in the World's moniker feels so telling because it's uttered by Julie herself, conveying how we're all our own harshest critics. In her existence, even within the mere four years that the film focuses on, mess is a constant. Indeed, across the movie's 12 chapters, plus its prologue and epilogue, almost everything about Julie's life changes and evolves. That includes not just dreams, goals, fields of study and careers, but also loved ones, boyfriends, apartments, friends and ideas of what the future should look like — and, crucially, also Julie's perception of herself. As the ever-observant Trier and his regular co-screenwriter Eskil Vogt track their protagonist through these ups and downs, using whatever means they can to put his audience in her mindset — freezing time around her among them — The Worst Person in the World also proves a raw ode to self-acceptance, and to forgiving yourself for not having it all together. They're the broad strokes of this wonderfully perceptive film; the specifics are just as insightful and recognisable. Julie jumps from medicine to psychology to photography, and between relationships — with 44-year-old comic book artist Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie, Bergman Island), who's soon thinking about all the serious things in life; and then with the far more carefree Eivind (Herbert Nordrum, ZombieLars), who she meets after crashing a wedding. Expressing not only how Julie changes with each shift in focus, job and partner, but how she copes with that change within herself, is another of The Worst Person in the World's sharp touches. At one point, on a getaway with friends more than a decade older than her, Julie is laden with broad and trite generalisations about being her age — which Trier humorously and knowingly counters frame by frame with lived-in minutiae. A place, a person, the chaos that is being an adult (and, with the latter, the truth rather than the stereotypes): across three thematically connected films, spanning 2006's Reprise, 2011's Oslo, August 31st and now The Worst Person in the World, that's been Trier's formula. Calling it a pattern or recipe does the trio an injustice, though, because each feature is as individual as any person. Here, Trier is clearly aware of how romantic dramedies like this typically turn out, and ensures that his movie never simply parrots the obvious — unless it's unpacking the chasm between the standard big-screen story we've all seen too many times and the tangled reality. This isn't the usual cliche-riddled affair, and that commitment to transcend tropes, and to truly contemplate what growing up, being an adult and forging a life is really like (including at both the sunniest and the most heartbreaking extremes), both feeds and enables Reinsve's astonishing work. Sometimes, a performance just flat-out shakes and startles you — and Reinsve's falls into that category. That's meant in the greatest of ways; she won the 2021 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award for her efforts, and turns in a complex, layered and no-holds-barred portrayal that's one of the finest of the year. She could've waltzed into the film straight out of any twentysomething's circle of friends. She plays her part with exactly that air, and she's magnificent. In a movie that proves a discerning and disarming character study above all else, and a masterpiece of one, her performance soars with heart and soul when Julie is at her best, sparkles with chemistry with both Danielsen Lie and Nordrum — both of whom are terrific, too — and seethes with both pain and growth in the character's hardest moments. It shouldn't come as a surprise given how much bobbing around it does — between chapters and the parts of Julie's life they cover, between all the things earning her attention at any given moment, and within Reinsve's multifaceted performance — but The Worst Person in the World is also a tonal rollercoaster. Again, that's a positive thing. As a snapshot of an age and life stage, Trier helms a film that's canny and incisive, also perfects the sensation of constantly zipping onwards even when it seems as if you're stuck, and knows how to find both joy and darkness in tandem. That kind of duality also graces the screen visually, in a feature that can be both slick and naturalistic, which is another deft touch. There's an enormous difference between telling viewers what it's like to be Julie and showing them — and The Worst Person in the World makes sure its audience not only feels it, but feels like they're running through it with Julie as well.
When M Night Shyamalan earned global attention and two Oscar nominations back in 1999 for The Sixth Sense, it was with a film about a boy who sees dead people. After ten more features that include highs (the trilogy that is Unbreakable, Split and Glass) and lows (Lady in the Water and The Happening), in 2019 he turned his attention to a TV tale of a nanny who revives a dead baby. Or did he? That's how Apple TV+'s Servant commenced its first instantly eerie, anxious and dread-filled season, a storyline it has followed in its second season in 2021, third in 2022, and now fourth and final batch of episodes currently streaming. But as with all Shyamalan works, this meticulously made series bubbles with the clear feeling that all isn't as it seems. The director's Knock at the Cabin, another highlight to his name, isn't his only project worth spending time with in 2023. It isn't the only intriguing use of former Harry Potter star Rupert Grint on his resume, either, in a part that's the actor's best post-Wizarding World role. With Servant's latest go-around, Shyamalan is in producer mode, after popping in and out as a helmer across past ten-episode seasons. He's also still in his adored thriller territory, still paying homage to Alfred Hitchcock and still playing with twists, this time in a show that resembles a dark take on Mary Poppins. What happens if a caregiver sweeps in exactly when needed and changes a family's life, but she's a teenager rather than a woman, disquieting instead of comforting, and accompanied by strange events, forceful cults and unsettlingly conspiracies rather than sweet songs, breezy winds and spoonfuls of sugar? That's Servant's basic premise. Set in Shyamalan's beloved Philadelphia, the puzzle-box series spends most of its time in a lavish brownstone inhabited by TV news reporter Dorothy Turner (Lauren Ambrose, The X-Files) and her celebrity-chef husband Sean (Toby Kebbell, Bloodshot). Living well-to-do lives, the wealthy pair appear the picture of happiness, complete with a newborn son to fulfil their perfect family portrait. But as 18-year-old nanny Leanne Grayson (Nell Tiger Free, Too Old to Die Young) quickly learned in Servant's first season, there's nothing normal about baby Jericho. After the tot tragically passed away, he's been replaced by a lookalike doll to calm the otherwise-catatonic Dorothy's grief. Leanne's job: selling that well-meaning deception. Just as Knock at the Cabin unveils its first big twist early, so did Servant when it began. Before its debut episode was over, writer/producer Tony Basgallop (Berlin Station) revealed that the reborn doll filling Jericho's place has come alive after Leanne's arrival. So arises questions that are still being explored and mysteries that keep deepening in season four, including the young nanny's role in it all and the true meaning of her ties to the Turners. As the increasingly suspicious Dorothy, more-accepting Sean and Dorothy's recovering-alcoholic brother Julian (Grint, Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities) start discovering early, Leanne springs from an unconventional background with heavy religious ties — from a disturbing group intent on bringing her back and willing to stop at nothing to do so — and her happiness appears closely linked to the state of affairs in her new household. As Servant's seasons have inched by, Basgallop, Shyamalan and an impressive array of filmmakers — Raw and Titane's Julia Ducournau, Casting JonBenét and The Assistant's Kitty Green, Goodnight Mommy and The Lodge's Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, Holiday's Isabella Eklöf and Predators' Nimród Antal among them, plus Shyamalan's daughter Ishana — have kept the series focused on grief, belief and how they each feed into each other. Whatever the reason behind Jericho's comeback, having faith in him being back has kept Dorothy and the Turners' townhouse functioning. Sean and Julian are willing to accept the unusual turn of events to maintain a facade of normality, but have the family unwittingly made a bargain with severe consequences? Since Leanne crossed their doorstep, decay has also blighted their home. Jericho returned, but Sean's taste and smell disappeared, splinters started showing up everywhere and that gorgeous home began to crumble. Termites, maggots, bed bugs: they've all plagued Servant's covetable abode, which sprawls up and down but also ripples with a claustrophobic air. Cinematographer Mike Gioulakis — a veteran of Shyamalan's Old, Jordan Peele's Us and 2014 horror hit It Follows — winds through its main setting's halls, floors, nooks and crannies like he's creeping through a festering haunted house. His lensing is ghostly in its movements, elegantly but emphatically disrupting the sense of balance visually in every way it can. Sometimes, it pivots suddenly. Sometimes, it peers on from afar when a moment screams for a closeup, and vice versa. Often, it flits from focused to unfocused — and, in telling its off-kilter tale, the show's framing has little use for symmetry. Servant isn't just impeccably shot — see: season four's debut episode, an unease-dripping spin on The Birds that sees Leanne swarmed in the street by cult members — but also unnervingly scored. The childlike plinking of the opening theme, with composer Trevor Gureckis (Voyagers) doing the honours, is unshakeably haunting from the get-go. In its music box-esque notes, bursts of playfulness and innocence echo, and also the feeling of sweetness turned sour. That's the mood lingering in the latest deliberately paced, insidiously atmospheric episodes, as Dorothy returns home after season three's big finale and fall, Sean attempts to balance his TV success with his family commitments, and Leanne and Julian become the de facto parents of the house. Leanne demands domestic bliss, but Dorothy is more certain than ever that the Turners would be far better off without the teen, even hiring nurses Bev (Denny Dillon, The Outsider) and Bobbie (Barbara Kingsley, The Flight Attendant) as a buffer. In Servant's last hurrah, there's still no such thing as a cosy status quo — and doesn't the series have the spellbinding performances to show it. Alongside a never-better Grint at his most gruff, begrudging and scattered, Kebbell is mesmerising as a man pinballing back and forth between work and home, Dorothy and Leanne, and what he knows and believes. That said, as Dorothy and Leanne keep doing battle as rival matriarchs — including with a Misery-style situation thanks to Dorothy's injuries, with the nanny segueing from Mary Poppins to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest's Nurse Ratched as well — Ambrose and Free are nothing short of phenomenal. However Shyamalan and Basgallop wrap up this discomforting tale, and whether or not they stick the landing, Servant has gifted viewers four seasons of spectacular duelling caregivers and gripping domestic tension, and one of streaming's horror greats. Check out the trailer for Servant season four below: Servant streams via Apple TV+.
No matter when your birthday is, you're getting a present this week — as long as you're keen on booking a getaway and you get in quick. Jetstar turns 21 this year, and the Australian airline is celebrating. First, it announced a LARPing tournament in Melbourne with $50,000 in flights up for grabs. Next comes the latest return of its always-popular return-for-free sale. Your dream vacation plans can now include jetting off to Tokyo, Seoul, Phuket, Bali, Singapore and more, then flying home for free — or holidaying in Australia while scoring the same deal for getaways to Cairns, the Gold Coast, Byron Bay and other locations. Here's how it works, if you're new to the concept: you buy a ticket to your chosen destination across more than 80 routes, with 95,000-plus fares available, then the carrier covers the cost of you coming home. For free flights back to Australia from international spots, Osaka and Vanuatu are also on the list. Sticking with Down Under destinations, so are Hobart, Margaret River, Adelaide and Perth. Wherever you'd like to venture, the key part of this sale is making your way back without paying for the return flight, which'll also make your holiday oh-so-much cheaper. The special runs from 12am AEST on Wednesday, May 7–11.59pm AEST on Thursday, May 8, 2025 or until sold out if that happens earlier — with Jetstar members getting an extra 12 hours to access the sale from 12pm AEST on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. And yes, it really is as straightforward as it sounds. Whatever flights you opt for as part of the sale, you'll get the return fare for nothing. Prices obviously vary depending on where you're flying from and to, but some include Brisbane to Tokyo from $373, Cairns to Osaka from $285, Melbourne to Singapore from $209, Perth to Bali from $154, Sydney to Port Vila from $209, Sydney to Phuket from $299 and Brisbane to Seoul from $309. Domestic fares span deals such as Sydney to Ballina/Byron from $38, Newcastle to the Gold Coast from $59, Melbourne to Hobart from $69 and Cairns to Brisbane from $89. You'll be travelling within Australia from September 2025–March 2026, and from late-May 2025 to late-March 2026 if you're going global. The caveats that are always in place with this Jetstar deal remain this around. So, you need to book an outbound fare, then you'll get the return fare for free — and the deal only applies to Starter fares, and only on selected flights. Also, checked baggage is not included, so you'll want to travel super light or pay extra to take a suitcase. Plus, you have to use the same arrival and departure ports for your flights — which means that you can go from Brisbane to Tokyo and back, for instance, but can't return via another place or to another city. Jetstar's 21st birthday 'return for free' sale runs from 12am AEST on Wednesday, May 7–11.59pm AEST on Thursday, May 8, 2025 — or until sold out if prior. Jetstar members get an extra 12 hours access to the sale from 12pm AEST on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
"Hey Garth, I really think you should read this book." Audiences have those ten words, as sent to Australian filmmaker Garth Davis in an email, to thank for Foe. When the director behind Lion and Mary Magdalene received that recommendation, it was from someone in the film industry that he didn't know — "it was just random," Davis tells Concrete Playground — and it led to his third feature. It also gave the world the outstanding pairing of Irish actors Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal, aka two of today's best talents, playing a married couple in the year 2065 when the climate crisis has made the earth nearly unliveable. The novel: Canadian author Ian Reid's text that gives Foe its name. The plot: in that time to come, Junior (Mescal, Carmen) and Hen (Ronan, See How They Run) are etching out what life they still can on his family's wilting American midwest farm when government consultant Terrance (Aaron Pierre, Old) arrives in the night to change everything. On the page and on the screen, this tale enlists Junior on a two-year space mission to help build an installation that's part of the plan to sustain humanity away from its ravaged home planet. It also reassures the couple that Hen will have familiar company: a duplicate that'll look exactly like her husband, as designed to slide seamlessly into his place. "I bought the book pretty much straight away, and then I read it in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down. Then I went back and read it again a second time," Davis explains. He also stresses the "obvious reasons" for that instant revisit, as anyone who has also devoured Reid's book will know — and viewers, too, once they've seen the movie that the filmmaker and writer teamed up to pen the script for. "When I was reading the book, I didn't have any expectations to turn it into a film. But as I was reading it, the first thing I was struck with was that kind of Hitchcockian feel in the setup. The stranger arriving in the night, this couple living on an isolated farm — it just felt I was seeing the movie in my mind," Davis continues. "But then what really interested me was it just went against all my expectations. Suddenly I became fascinated by this relationship, this marriage on-screen, and very curious why the wife was behaving in strange ways, this hot and cold quality to her behaviour. This deep meditation on their relationship started to unfold, and I found that fascinating." "Then it goes down this glorious, feverish rabbit hole, and all of these things are revealed, which I found an amazing experience. All that aside, after going through the whole journey, what I felt in my heart was Hen, and I really aligned with what she was fighting for in her marriage and in her life. She had that curiosity for life. She had that hunger to live. She understood the preciousness of time and to not take things for granted, and I found that something I could really align with," Davis notes. Largely a three-hander that's primarily shot in Victoria's Winton Wetlands — doubling for the US as Ronan and Mescal sport the appropriate accents — Foe marks a change of big-screen pace for Davis. When the Brisbane-born filmmaker made his feature debut with Lion after directing episodes of Love My Way and Top of the Lake, he jumped between India and Australia to helm a movie that'd earn six Oscar nominations and win two BAFTAs, and starred a hefty cast including Dev Patel (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar), Nicole Kidman (Special Ops: Lioness), Rooney Mara (Women Talking) and David Wenham (Elvis). Next, with biblical drama Mary Magdalene, shooting in Italy beckoned, also with ample on-screen names such as Mara again, Joaquin Phoenix (Beau Is Afraid) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Man Who Fell to Earth). The calibre of talents remains for Foe, clearly, but making something more intimate was firmly Davis' desire. Our wide-ranging conversation with the director about Foe, which is now in Australian cinemas, also spans that purposeful shift, the film's AI and environmental themes, humanity's approach to artificial intelligence, making a marriage drama first and foremost, the movie's stellar cast and Davis' learnings after Lion's huge success. ON FOE JOINING THE GROWING RANKS OF AI FILMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCI-FI "When we were looking at the book, it wasn't really in the vernacular at that point. It just wasn't happening. It wasn't in the zeitgeist. It wasn't until we started, at the end of the shooting, getting to editing where suddenly Starlink was in the sky, suddenly AI was — well, AI came quite late, but suddenly everything was coming alive. I just feel like we slipped right into the zeitgeist. I mean, I would think twice about doing it now because it is so saturated, but at the time, it just wasn't around. For me, this is not a film about that. This is a film about a relationship and that was my main interest. But what I did like about the AI and sci-fi device, it just created this super-exciting way to explore that human relationship in ways that you ordinarily couldn't. For Hen to be able to have a relationship with the version of her husband like when she first met him — I just love that proposition. I think that's really interesting. And how to navigate that in a believable way and a performance, I found even more challenging and interesting." ON FOE'S VISION OF THE FUTURE "I think this movie is very timely — and what I have witnessed is a lot of young people, maybe 16–25, in audiences really loving this movie and being alarmed by this movie for lots of reasons. They see it as their future, and they do identify with Hen because they feel they've been let down by my generation, who have basically not changed or done anything when the writing's on the wall. I guess what I love about the themes of this story is that it really explores stasis and our complacency — and when you take something for granted, you truly lose it, not just in ourselves but in the planet. I love all those aspects of the story, and it's something that I really felt we should be reminded of as we navigate into this technological future. I still think this question of what makes us feel fulfilled and how do we find a meaningful life, I think it's just going to get harder as we go along. And I guess the film is just reminding us not to keep looking outwards, to look inwards, and that we do have the power to make changes — we can stand up and say 'we don't want this' or 'I want to live my life and find my agency'. In a way, it's a kind of a wake-up call, this movie. It's a little bit of a call to arms — a call to arms to protect yourself and to fight for that, because that's what's precious and it's very vulnerable at the moment. I've got kids as well and they're all really pissed about the environment, and we've done nothing about it, and they're really annoyed. So when they when they see Saoirse Ronan, which is a human being that they all look up to as a good person, to see her playing a character that is frustrated by those very things and to want to have a justice for humanity, it's inspiring to these kids. They really love it." ON EXPLORING AI AS SOMETHING OTHER THAN AN ON-SCREEN VILLAIN "It's ironic that, in a way, the AI brought context and meaning to Hen's journey and helped her process a lot of things. So, yeah, you can definitely see the benefits of it. This is another way to look at: everyone talks about what AI's going do for them or take away from them, but have we ever thought for a moment about the ethics around creating sentient beings? Where do our ethics lie there? Because a lot of this artificial intelligence is being created to serve us — I guess it's a form of slavery in a way — and what happens when they do become sentient? What do we do then? Are they going to have rights or are they going be just used for our pleasure? So I don't know. I can see why people create it and I can see the positive aspects, but we do have responsibility, surely. We have responsibility in nature too, and we've fucked that up, so we're probably going to do the same with this." ON MAKING A MARRIAGE DRAMA FIRST AND FOREMOST "I think this couple is very relatable. I think everyone can attest to taking someone for granted over time, not even knowing so and finding you're in a very different point in the relationship. The actors bring their own understanding of that to the choices they make. Paul would have his own personal understanding of that, as would Saoirse — and that brings the richness through those choices. With this film, there's the story you think you're watching and the story that's really happening. And there's these delicious stakes, and all these wonderful riches to explore in the performance. The stakes change and build for all of the characters in different ways. We just have to drill down with all the actors in terms of preparation. We just made sure that we understood the real stakes of the characters at each of those points, so that we could bring something very believable through in the performances." ON CASTING SAOIRSE RONAN, PAUL MESCAL AND AARON PIERRE "You obviously look at a big list of people when you are working on the script — well for me anyway — and she was the person that I could feel the most in the room. I could almost feel her personality beside me and I could feel this curious human being, someone that had this inner light — I could really feel her. I took that feeling into the casting process and Saoirse was definitely right at the top of the list for that. She is an extraordinary actress, but she's just got this great personality that shines through all of her work. That's what I desperately wanted in the movie. It's what's precious. So we decided to start with her, and once she agreed to do it, then it's alchemy — it's like an emotional alchemy from there. You try to find people that you think could have a great chemistry with her and that led me to Paul Mescal. And what I loved about him, too, is that he had both alpha quality and that feminine quality. I thought he had emotional range to play the versions of himself that he needed to play, and he had such a deep love and respect for Saoirse — and their Irish heritage, of course. Then we did actually have Lakeith Stanfield cast as as Terence. We actually sold the movie with Saoirse, Paul and Lakeith Stanfield. That's what we took to the market. Then Lakeith Stanfield exited the project very, very late in the game, which was very distressing for me. But sometimes the universe intervenes in the right way — so it led me to Aaron Pierre. And I think we've been graced with this extraordinary performance from him. It it's so gorgeously nuanced and surprising and disorientating. So it was lucky — and it is so important that the film lives and dies on these actors because we've got nowhere to go. It's all about the psychology and the relationships on-screen, and I can't imagine it being anyone else really." ON AUSTRALIA STANDING IN FOR AMERICA'S MIDWEST "When I show the movie in America, they have no idea it's Australia. They actually go 'wow, that's a really haunting but scarily believable version of midwest'. So I think we did our job properly — I just had to avoid all the Australian tropes. It was really important for me that I wanted everyone to feel the earth dying and feel its distress, and its call for help. I really wanted to find landscapes that were real and I could put in camera, and Australia just delivered that feeling to me — and that was what was very exciting. The Winton Wetlands is where we built the set of the house, and it's haunting because there's a lot of death, obviously, with these dead trees, but you can really imagine what it would have been like when it was alive. It would have been the most beautiful farm. So I love all of that. I love that there's always beauty in our movie no matter how hard it gets — there's always a beauty in it and and I guess there's hope in that in a way. There's love in that. So I understand why he holds on to the farm. It would have been something that was loved and cherished, even though it may feel uninhabitable at this point. I can understand why we attach ourselves to these things. Everything was very deeply considered and chosen on a gut level to what we're trying to do on the story." ON MAKING A ONE-LOCATION FILM AFTER LION AND MARY MAGDALENE "It was actually a wish that I had. I've always done these super-ambitious, sprawling stories wrangling lots of cast, locations, traffic, chaos, extras. And I love all of that, don't get me wrong. But my absolute joy is when I when the camera's on that little boy's face and he does a performance that takes me away [in Lion], or Nicole Kidman in that scene with Dev, or Top of the Lake with Elisabeth Moss revealing this child that she has and the emotions. That's when I go 'I just want a whole movie full of that, how do that?'. So I guess I've always had this wish, like if there was the right material, I'd love to just just have a couple of actors in a room and go down that rabbit hole so. I guess this movie is partly serving that appetite for something more intimate". ON WHAT LION'S SUCCESS TAUGHT DAVIS ABOUT HIS CAREER "Lion, in a way, proved to me that you've just got to follow your instinct with what you want to make. Lion, I just fell in love with the story. I was passionate about it. I was very involved with with the script in many ways structurally, and in how we're going to tell the story. It just confirmed that I can follow my instinct and it can work out, and that was really exciting. I knew it was a story that people were going to love, and I would say that to my producers 'I think this is going be a really amazing movie' And of course [they'd reply] 'we hope so, we hope it works'. That was just a really great feeling to make something in such a pure way and for it to be accepted on such a scale. I approach all my projects like that now. I haven't changed. I have to feel it. I have to be excited about it, challenged by it. And I can be making things at any point, but I wouldn't be in alignment with my with myself. So I'm taking maybe a longer road or a different road, and just trying to just trying to make films that I care about. That's really, really what I'm doing." Foe opened in Australian cinemas on November 2. Read our review.
If you're a fictional movie or TV character facing a towering kaiju, any amount of Godzilla is usually too much Godzilla. If you're a creature-feature fan, however, there's no such thing as too much Godzilla. And, with Japanese film Godzilla Minus One and American streaming series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters both on their way, screens big and small are embracing that idea right now. There's no such thing as too many Godzilla-related trailers at the moment, too, with the first Japanese Godzilla feature in seven years dropping its sneak peek and now Monsterverse series following in its giant footsteps. The latter ties in with 2014's Godzilla, 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters and 2021's Godzilla vs Kong, plus 2024's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, a sequel to the latter. Expect Monarch: Legacy of Monsters to stampede onto Apple TV+ from Friday, November 17. Yes, everything is a pop-culture universe these days. Yes, spreading from cinemas to television is all part of the process (see: Star Wars and Marvel, and also upcoming The Conjuring and Harry Potter shows). In this case, the Monsterverse is going the episodic route via a story set across generations and 50 years, and also with Kurt Russell (Fast and Furious 9) and Wyatt Russell (Under the Banner of Heaven) playing older and younger versions of the same figure. The father-son pair take on the role of army officer Lee Shaw, who is drawn into the series by a couple of siblings attempting to keep up their dad's work after events between Godzilla and the Titans in San Francisco in the aforementioned 2014 film. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters also involves unpacking family links to clandestine outfit Monarch, events back in the 50s and how what Shaw knows threatens the organisation. So, there'll be monsters and rampages, and also secrets, lies and revelations. Giving audiences two Russells in one series is dream casting, as the just-dropped first teaser shows. Also appearing on-screen: Anna Sawai (Pachinko), Kiersey Clemons (The Flash), Ren Watabe (461 Days of Bento), Mari Yamamoto (also Pachinko), Anders Holm (Inventing Anna), Joe Tippett (The Morning Show), Elisa Lasowski (Hill of Vision) and John Goodman (The Righteous Gemstones). Behind the scenes, Chris Black (Severance) and Matt Fraction (Da Vinci's Demons) have co-developed Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, while Matt Shakman (The Consultant, Welcome to Chippendales) helms the opening pair of episodes — and all three are among the series' executive producers. Check out the first trailer for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters below: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters will start streaming via Apple TV+ from Friday, November 17, 2023.
This year, Australia's leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing company, Bangarra Dance Theatre, is inviting audiences to experience a connection to Country in a whole new way. The company's newest stage production, Illume, will tour nationally from June to September 2025, bringing Bard-Bardi Jawi culture and storytelling to the stage. Developed by Mirning woman and Bangarra Artistic Director and Co-CEO Frances Rings, the show is an exciting kaleidoscope of images, music and movement. It explores light as a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds, the impacts of light pollution, and puts forward the question: 'Is the deep wisdom passed down from elders enough to illuminate a path forward from the shadows of a dark future?'. [caption id="attachment_1007624" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] It's also the first time a Bangarra mainstage production has been created in partnership with a First Nations visual artist – Goolarrgon Bard man, Darrell Sibosado. Sibosado is known for his pearl shell carvings and large-scale geometric installations, with works shown at the Biennale of Sydney and QAGOMA, and held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria and Art Gallery of South Australia. In Illume, his visual language shapes the entire production, from costume and set design to lighting patterns that ripple across the stage, creating a shimmering world that draws directly from his Bard-Bardi Jawi heritage. "I think [Frances' work] and my work will work very well together, there is a similar energy," Sibosado says. "It's always about the rhythm and everything of my own Country." [caption id="attachment_1002105" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Cass Eipper[/caption] On top of Sibosado's artistic influence, what makes the production special is the way it came to life through Bangarra's Cultural Creation Lifecycle, a process that involves years of community engagement, transfers of knowledge, and on-Country visits. This unique Cultural Creation Lifecycle is the foundation of all Bangarra's work and can take anywhere from 3 to 4 years from start to finish. With each production, the process begins with people, place and story, then involves multiple stages of research, development and input from cultural leaders. [caption id="attachment_1002103" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Cass Eipper[/caption] For Illume, the Bangarra creative team made multiple trips to draw inspiration, including travelling to Lombadina on the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia. There, they met with local cultural consultants, spent time listening and observing, and sought permission to bring elements of their stories into the work. Rings and her collaborators consider the Cultural Creation Lifecycle an essential part of the creative process. Rather than drawing from archives or second-hand sources, the company builds work through lived experience. By being on Country, surrounded by the landscape and people who shape the story, they're able to create something that's authentic and respectful. [caption id="attachment_1002106" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] In Illume, that deep connection to Country is felt in every moment, from the stunning set details to the choreography led by Rings, and the score by Brendon Boney, an Wiradjuri/Gamilaroi man and longtime Bangarra collaborator. The end result is a performance that's immersive, powerful and grounded in place. It promises to bring audiences closer to the stories of Bard-Bardi Jawi Country in a way that's creative and entirely original. Bangarra will tour Illume nationally from June to September 2025, with stops in Sydney, Perth, Albany, Canberra, Brisbane, Darwin and Melbourne. Whether you've followed Bangarra's work for years or you're seeing the company for the first time, Illume is a chance to experience a unique creative collaboration that brings Country to the stage in your city. Illume tour dates: Gadigal Country Sydney Opera House – Wednesday, June 4 to Saturday, June 14 Whadjuk Noongar Boodja Heath Ledger Theatre, Perth – Tuesday, July 10 to Sunday, July 13 Kinjarling Albany Entertainment Centre – Friday, July 18 Ngunnawal Country Canberra Theatre Centre – Friday, July 25 to Saturday, July 26 Meanjin QPAC, Brisbane – Friday, August 1 to Saturday, August 9 Garramilla Darwin Entertainment Centre – Friday, August 15 to Saturday, August 16 Wurundjeri Country Arts Centre Melbourne – Thursday, September 4 to Saturday, September 13 Bangarra's 'Illume' tours nationally from June to September 2025. Head to the website for more information or to book your tickets. Images courtesy of Bangarra Dance Theatre By Jacque Kennedy
When you've already announced Bad Feminist author Roxane Gay as one of your keynote speakers, what comes next? At the 2024 Festival of Dangerous Ideas, the conversation will flow from being a serial dissenter to the smartphone backlash, propaganda and censorship, giving kids the right to vote and taking on the one percent, then also cover tackling inequality, the myths surrounding women's health and humanity's need to find meaning through god-like figures. The just-dropped program for the Sydney fest, which will take over Carriageworks for two days from Saturday, August 24–Sunday, August 25, is filled with exactly what an event dedicated to crucial and complex topics demands: a wide-ranging lineup of boundary-pushing talks where hopping from one session from the next means jumping between a vast array of subject matter. [caption id="attachment_962706" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Reginald Cunningham[/caption] Under Festival Director Danielle Harvey, FODI has curated its 2024 roster around the theme of 'sanctuary'. For Harvey, this also means giving attendees a place to dig into sometimes-weighty, sometimes-provocative matters. "At a time when we are surrounded by bad ideas and bad faith, where information is cheap and shallow, we need a place people can come and be curious together and be inspired. A space safe from hype. Safe to listen and ask questions. A space with real experts from all disciplines," Harvey said, announcing the event's 2024 program. "Festival of Dangerous Ideas is here to be that space. The lineup won't please everybody (it never does!) and nor does it aim to. But it will be good for everyone. What FODI offers is a precious moment in real time with 87 thought leaders and creatives who will bring you next-level discussion, likely some disagreement and definitely some hope. Learning more about the world we are making and unmaking is a thrill, and I can't wait for you to discover new ideas and thinkers over one massive weekend of danger." [caption id="attachment_963054" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Damon Winter/ The New York Times[/caption] Joining Gay among the 16 international guests presenting keynotes are US psychologist Jean Twenge, which is where diving into the impact of handheld devices comes in; journalist and writer Masha Gessen, who'll explore the ways that narratives about conflicts are controlled; and David Runciman to give the Christopher Hitchens Oration on the topic "votes for six-year-olds". Plus, Megan Phelps-Roper of Unfollow fame will team up with Andy Mills from The New York Times' The Daily and Rabbit Hole to dig into the impact of their podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling — and Jen Gunter has her sights set on the poor medical care women can be subjected to. Elsewhere, academic Saree Makdis will examine the west's response to the conflict in the Middle East, economists John N Friedman and Richard Holden will chat through ideas for increasing upward social mobility, The Next Frontier academic Todd Fernando will hone in on Indigenous excellence and The End of Race Politics' Coleman Hughes will be a guest on Josh Szeps' Uncomfortable Conversations. Attendees can also hear sustainability professor Jem Bendell step through how civilisation is already collapsing, philosopher David Benatar dive into the ethics of having children and comedian David Baddiel deliver the first John Caldon Provocation on how the need for god to give life substance disproves the deity's existence. [caption id="attachment_963055" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times[/caption] The lineup goes on, whether you're keen for a session featuring Jordan van den Berg, aka renter advocate Purple Pingers, on why the one percent should be afraid — or chats about the new breed of world leaders, the price of democracy, public forgiveness, artificial and transplanted wombs, positive masculinity, peer pressure making us sick or individualism. If you can't attend or won't be in Sydney, some sessions will be livestreamed. For those heading along in person, perhaps you'd like to hear from Talk to Me's Danny Philippou about his favourite horror film and why we're all fascinated with fear, then crawl through a tape installation by Austrian and Croatian artists and designers Numen / For Use, then watch a jailbreak experiment by performance collective re:group, too? Yes, across what promises to be a busy weekend, they're all also on the program as well. The 2024 Festival of Dangerous Ideas runs from Saturday, August 24–Sunday, August 25 at Carriageworks, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh, with select sessions livestreamed. To peruse the full program, and to buy in-person festival tickets from 7am on Wednesday, June 26 — with livestream tickets available in August — visit the festival website. Festival of Dangerous Ideas images: Jodie Barker, Ken Leanfore and Yaya Stempler.
UK group The xx have announced the launch of their sophomore album, Coexist, which will be released in Australia on September 7. In more exciting news for fans, the band also confirmed via their Facebook page that they will be touring Australia in July. There is not yet any information on whether they will also be jumping across the ditch to New Zealand. Kicking off their tour in Melbourne, the band will play at The Forum on July 18 and then The Metro in Sydney on July 20. A ballot that started at 10am this morning has been set up for tickets - to see their Sydney show click here and for their Melbourne show click here.
If you went to The Warehouse Project's first-ever Australian dates in 2024, then you experienced a slice of history, as one of the dance-music world's favourite events finally made the leap Down Under. The Manchester rave scene mainstay's Aussie debut clearly went well — so much so that dates have just dropped for a return visit in 2025. The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Fred again.., Skrillex and Happy Mondays have played it. De La Soul, Aphex Twin, Carl Cox and deadmau5, too. For dance music fans, and just music fans in general, The Warehouse Project's fame extends far past its UK home. For its second Australian trip, the event is again hitting up Sydney and Melbourne, this time across Thursday, April 24–Friday, April 25. [caption id="attachment_943879" align="alignnone" width="1920"] © Photography by Rob Jones for Khroma Collective[/caption] Melbourne's PICA will welcome The Warehouse Project for the second time; however, Sydney's event is taking place at Hordern Pavilion in 2025, after setting up shop at Munro Warehouse in Sydney Olympic Park in 2024. This year's events are one-day affairs in each city, too, rather than two nights apiece as happened last year. This remains a two-city tour, though, so if you're keen on hitting up The Warehouse Project in Australia and you live somewhere other than Sydney or Melbourne, you'll need to plan an interstate trip. The Manchester institution's Aussie debut in 2024 came after initially going international in 2023 in Rotterdam and Antwerp. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Warehouse Project (@whp_mcr) As for who'll be on the lineup this time, that's still to be revealed — but whoever does the honours, they'll follow on from Mall Grab, Bonobo, HAAi, Kelly Lee Owens, Paula Tape, dj pgz, Krysko, Effy, Jennifer Loveless and DJ Dameeeela in 2024. It was back in 2006 that The Warehouse Project first unleashed its club nights on its birthplace, kicking off in a disused brewery and then moving underneath Manchester's Piccadilly station, in a space that's also been an air-raid shelter — and also to a warehouse that dates back to the 1920s. Now, it calls former railway station Depot Mayfield home when it's on in its home city. The Warehouse Project Australia 2025 Thursday, April 24 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Friday, April 25 — PICA, Melbourne [caption id="attachment_943890" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mayfield Depot, Rcsprinter123 via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The Warehouse Project returns to Australia across Thursday, April 24–Friday, April 25, 2025, with presale tickets from 12pm AEDT on Wednesday, January 22 and general sales from 11am AEDT on Wednesday, February 5 Head to the event's website for further details. Top image: Rob Jones for Khroma Collective.
St Kilda's Local Taphouse is a Carlisle Street institution and must-visit location for draught lovers — its 19 rotating taps go through more than 400 different beers a year. And it's no surprise, considering its owners are Stomping Ground Brewing Co.'s Steve Jeffares and Guy Greenstone, who are also the creators of the GABS craft beer festival. Whatever it's tapping, there's no better place to enjoy it than by the outdoor log fire, which warms up the Taphouse's spacious rooftop beer garden in winter. There's also a second indoor fireplace downstairs for when the weather turns sour. And, to top it off, regular comedy nights and plenty of top-notch pub eats are also on the docket at this European-style tavern. Appears in: The Best Pubs in Melbourne for 2023
Port Macquarie is best known for its idyllic climate and its many pristine beaches. But, over the past few years, this town on the mid-north coast of NSW has developed quite the foodie scene. That's partly thanks to the Hastings River, which runs along Port's northern border, creating fertile land for growing crops and raising cattle, sheep and chooks. It's also thanks to the numerous chefs and baristas who've travelled the world, working in top-notch restaurants and cafes, before settling down in Port Macquarie. Whether you're on the hunt for a good coffee, a tasty burger, some local seafood, a hatted feast or an epic wine list, you'll get it. And if you're contemplating a springtime visit, try to time it with October's Tastings on Hastings festival to experience the full spectrum of regional foods. [caption id="attachment_678289" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Stunned Mullet[/caption] EAT The food at The Stunned Mullet is worth the drive alone. The pale-timber accents, sea-green booths and concertina windows make the most of the breezy beachside location and sweeping ocean views. Among the hatted dishes are creamy oysters ($27 for six, $54 for 12) and Glacier 51 Toothfish ($49): a rarely served species that lives 2000 metres below sea level off Heard Island in the sub-Antarctic. Here, it comes with a shiitake-infused clear soup and black rice wafer. Let sommelier and co-owner Lou Perri choose you a wine from his extremely quaffable list. Another restaurant that puts you right on the water is the Whalebone Wharf. Perched on the Hastings River, this airy space has been serving up premium seafood since 1971. Every fish on the menu is described according to its source, so you know if you're getting mulloway from Yamba (300 kilometres north); dusky flathead from Wallace Lake (750 kilometres south); or mud crab from Forster (100 kilometres south). There's also a light all-day menu; for anyone short on time, a plate of oysters ($4 each) straight out of the Hastings should do the trick. [caption id="attachment_678288" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Whalebone Wharf[/caption] Whalebone WharfGo rural at Cassegrain Wines, where the Seasons Restaurant overlooks the rose garden and vineyard. The menu combines French cuisine with local produce. Think terrine made of Macleay Valley rabbit or bouillabaisse crowded with black mussels and local fish. Match your picks with a Cassegrain drop – the French family first made wine in 1643 and, in 1980, descendant John and his wife, Eva, planted Port Macquarie's first vineyards. If you're looking for a more casual feed, then head to the Burger Rebellion for classic burgers or Zebu for pizza made with 72-hour dough. There are also plenty of excellent cafes in Port Macquarie. Drury Lane, located in a shady courtyard outside Glasshouse Theatre, utilises the local produce to create contemporary dishes, such as Wauchope zucchini with feta and olive-strawberry tapenade. Another champion of local produce is Milkbar, which is the spot for an early brekkie. Grab a seat on the outdoor patio and watch the surf roll in, while digging into house-made beans and baked eggs. Right near the river mouth is LV's on Clarence, it takes the whole locavore thing so seriously it's even established its own mini-farm. Every egg on every plate comes from one of 500 pet chickens, while all ham and pork started out as a free-range pig. The produce is turned into all kinds of tasty treats, such as char sui sandwiches and pork belly sliders ($17). [caption id="attachment_668369" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Black Duck[/caption] DRINK First things first, coffee. One of the best brews in town is at Social Grounds. Since July 2014, this graffiti-covered hideaway has been bringing some seriously good beans to Port Macquarie. The house blend, known as The Story, is a complex journey across several continents, containing beans from Ethiopia, Sumatra, Colombia and Rwanda. Another good option is Blackfish: a welcoming espresso bar, laden with natural timber forms, that looks as though it's been transplanted from the streets of Melbourne. The fruity and caramelly house blend, Cheeky Monkey, comes from Flying West: a roastery based on the Sunshine Coast. About four kilometres southwest of downtown is Peak Coffee, which is not just a cafe but a retail space and roaster, too. To see the process in motion, jump on a tour. Otherwise, go straight to surfer-barista Kenichiro Seno, to choose from two or three single origins. Peak buys most of its beans directly from a man called Uncle Ravi — who inherited his father's coffee plantation in Southern India, where he now oversees a community of farmers. To add a baked treat, try Murray Street Bakery which peddles artisanal goodies from Coffs Harbour's K'pane, or Urban Grain Bakery for goodies made by ex-Zumbo chefs — such as lemon myrtle, caramel and chocolate cronuts. For a bagel fix, head to Blackmarket, where bagels are made according to a well-tested 17th century recipe. [caption id="attachment_668362" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Botanic Wine Garden[/caption] Cocktail hour should begin at Bar Florian. This 1960s Italian-inspired bar offers an impressive drinks list, from a luxury dry gin martini to wines sourced from all over Australia and Europe. Let your boozy adventures continue at Botanic Wine Garden: a friendly bar with bright murals and creative cocktails. Also worth sampling are the efforts of local brewers. A name that you're likely to notice frequently on taps around the North Coast is Black Duck — its headquarters are in Port Macquarie. Work your way through a tasting paddle or take a tour with head brewer Al Owen and meet Murphy, an extremely lovable Great Dane. Another local brewer with wide reach is Little Brewing — it's responsible for Wicked Elf beers and winner of more than 150 awards. [caption id="attachment_668360" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Macquarie Waters Hotel[/caption] SLEEP In between all your eating and drinking, you'll need a cosy place to sleep. For that, check into Macquarie Waters. It's in town, so there are cafes, restaurants and plenty of bars nearby. And, when you're hiding out in your room — or self-contained apartment — you'll be treated to a comfy bed, oodles of space and free wifi and, if you so choose, a spa and/or ocean views. Communal facilities include a heated outdoor pool and jacuzzi, a drive-in movie theatre and, on the rooftop, a hot tub overlooking the sea. For brekkie, The Corner Restaurant on ground level does a mean pulled beef benedict ($19) and Campos coffee. If you're looking for other things to do in Port Macquarie, then check out our weekender's guide.
Summer music festivals are all about embracing the best things in life — good vibes, great friends, and epic tunes. But Secret Garden Festival is about to turn the happiness factor up to out of control joy, announcing it'll host an actual wedding ceremony when it returns to Brownlow Hill Farm next February. Held from February 24-26, the annual festival is a 48-hour celebration of music, creativity, and disco-infused fun, held against a lush forest backdrop, just one-and-a-half hours outside of Sydney. It's renowned for its stellar lineup, with Gang of Youths, Montaigne, and Parquet Courts just some of the acts to have graced its stages in the past. But at 4pm on Saturday, February 25, the main stage will host a very different kind of celebration — the nuptials between Sydneysiders Alexis and Jimmy. Festival director Clare Downes says her crew is pretty stoked to be taking on wedding planner duties, promising one hell of a party for the lucky lovebirds, their friends and family, and all other festivalgoers who'll be getting in on the loved-up fun. "Alexis and Jimmy sent us an email a couple of months ago and I had to rewrite my response about nine times because I was way too overexcited," she told Concrete Playground. "They had already locked in the February 25 for their wedding, but they were just really struggling to find a venue and a celebrant etc — so it was a no brainer. I'm just so stoked they are letting us organise their wedding." While past years have seen Secret Garden host kissing booths, faux weddings, and plenty of dance floor pashes, Alexis and Jimmy's February knot-tying will mark its first official wedding ceremony. We just hope you've got your invite — tickets to the festival is already sold out. ❤️ Secret Garden's first ever REAL wedding... and they have asked us to plan it 😏💥🎉 A video posted by Secret Garden (@secretgardenfestival) on Dec 12, 2016 at 1:25pm PST Secret Garden Festival will take place on February 24-26, 2017 with Alexis and Jimmy's wedding taking place at 4pm on the Saturday on main stage. For more info on the festival, visit secretgarden.com.au.
Melbourne's already home to a couple of floating bars, including the seasonal Arbory Afloat and year-round drinks spot Yarra Botanica — but we've never had a floating openair nightclub. Well, that's all set to change, and very soon, with the news that ambitious over-water club and events space ATET will be mooring in Docklands this spring. The brainchild of local architect and DJ Jake Hughes, ATET is geared to become a primo destination for electronic tunes, playing host to a bumper lineup of local and international artists. Inspired by the great day clubs of Europe, it takes its moniker from ancient Egyptian mythology, named after the solar barge of the sun god Ra. Built atop a repurposed barge and initially making its home at North Wharf, the 570-square-metre club will boast space for 550 partygoers across its two levels. The openair venue is decked out with high-tech sound and visual elements, including fully programmable pixel strip LED lighting, and will even feature clear PVC roof and wall panels that can be rolled out when Melbourne's sketchy weather sets in. And of course, the views will be something else. ATET's a versatile beast, too, with two bars, a commercial kitchen, and modular furniture that's easily rearranged to suit whatever party or event is gracing the decks on any given day. Handy, because according to Hughes, there's already been loads of interest from festival promoters and event planners keen to make use of the unprecedented floating venue. ATET will call Docklands home from spring and through this coming summer, though since it's relocatable, you'll likely see it travel to other locations down the track. ATET is set to moor at Shed 2, North Wharf Road, Docklands, from spring.
Abbotsford is a little pocket of awesome sometimes and, with the arrival of Admiral Cheng Ho, it just got that little bit better. For those playing at home, Admiral Cheng Ho was an explorer during the Ming Dynasty who, under instruction from the Emperor of China, embarked on naval expeditions where he offered new lands gifts. These gifts were often some of China's finest teas. See the clever connection? While Abbotsford's Admiral doesn't do all that much exploring, he does have some fine teas — and coffee blends, for that matter. From the people behind Monk Bodhi Dharma in Balaclava — owner Marwin Shaw, to be exact — Admiral Cheng Ho serves up fair-trade teas and single estate coffee with an overwhelming six grinders filled with their own single origin coffee beans. Order what you drink, and they will happily pick the roast for you. The menu is similar to that found at Monk, with a few of their signature dishes thrown in there amongst the consistent theme of food that is both health and allergy conscious, whilst still being damn tasty. Virtuous and delicious. We're sold. For something vegan, gluten free and raw, try the Cheng's Granola topped with seasonal fruit and house made organic hazelnut milk ($14.50), or the Banoffee Pie, a mix of banana cream, Ethiopian Nekisse coffee mousse served with marinated banana, macadamia nut crumble and raw white chocolate ($14.50). How they make these creations, we are none the wiser, but colour us impressed. For those who like their breakfasts cooked and hot, the Avoca Ho of avocado tossed with feta, mint and lemon served on sourdough ($15.50) rivals some of Melbourne's best, while The Admiral — zucchini fritters served on sauteed kale, seasonal vegetables, tangy beetroot relish, basil cashew cream and local fennel ($18.50) — is a crowd favourite. The pancakes are also gathering a cult following. The Northside Quinoa Pancakes are served up with candied orange, coffee soil, raw vanilla cream and butterscotch sauce ($18.50). Is it possible to fan girl a dish? This is a go now and go often situation folks. We're serious.
We all know that fast fashion is gross. And yet, with the hectic holiday season just passed, we're all familiar with the need to buy cute stocking stuffers in a time crunch — often overwhelming our need to not pollute the planet beyond repair. We really don't do well by Mother Earth here in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, every year 500,000 tonnes of fashion ends up in landfill and each Aussie consumes 27 kilograms of textiles. Rhianna Knight believes we can do better, so the 26-year-old started an apparel business that won't leave you feeling shamefaced. The result is Mister Timbuktu, and it's in the early stages of kicking ass. Mister Timbuktu's outdoor apparel is made from recycled plastics. The first round is being crowdfunded now through Indiegogo, reaching more than half of its target with 16 days left to go (at the time of writing). At the moment, the range is all about quality leggings, raincoats and sports bras, but they'll soon branch into all things outdoorsy, including tents, sleeping bags and puffer jackets. The designs are gorgeous and bright because outdoor activities don't have to be completed in drab natural colours (apologies, Kathmandu, you serve a purpose but there's a new queen on the block). According to Knight, eleven plastic bottles are recycled in each pair of leggings they create. How in the name of activewear is that possible? Well, recycled plastics are collected, shredded into chips, washed, melted into liquid form and then spun into thread that goes on to become your new favourite comfy pants. Science, bitches! The company has also pledged to put 20 percent of profits back into helping the planet in other ways: by partnering with both a mental health charity (Waves of Wellness) and the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife. But wait, there's more. Okay, we probably shouldn't get so excited about this part because the rest of the initiative is so phenomenal, but check out the leggings: they have a pocket in the waistband which is the best and most practical thing ever. Thank you for listening to our secret wishes and delivering. For more information, visit Mister Timbuktu's campaign.
Back in 2019, when The Boys first hit streaming, suffers of superhero fatigue understandably rejoiced. Yes, it focuses on a group of caped crusaders just like seemingly every second blockbuster movie (and, these days, every third TV show or so as well). But, in a world where viewers have been conditioned to lap up narratives about powerful folks who are supposedly better than most, this series both satirises and questions that very idea. Here, superheroes work for a corporation called Vought International. They're still the main form of entertainment, but they're real, the most famous celebrities there are and inescapable in daily life, too. The absolute top talent is known as The Seven; however, when the public isn't looking, most — especially leader Homelander (Antony Starr, Banshee) — are hardly role models. That made quite the change from the usual cinematic universes, both in the Prime Video show's initial season and its 2020 second effort — all of which came to the small screen after being adapted from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic book series of the same name. In fact, The Boys is one of the most entertaining caped crusader tales currently being made, as long as you're fond of a gleefully darker-than-dark tone, a pervasive bleakness that refuses to be shaken, plus oh-so-much blood, gore and guts. All of the above is set to return in the series' third season, which starts hitting Prime Video on Friday, June 3 — with the first three episodes arriving at once, then the remaining five releasing week to week — and has also just dropped its full trailer. The charismatic but ridiculously sinister Homelander still isn't quite right, but the public keep showering him with love. And determined, no-nonsense Brit Billy Butcher (Karl Urban, Thor: Ragnarok) is still intent on bringing Vought, The Seven and especially Homelander down with his own ragtag team, aka The Boys of the title. More evil superheroes, more crusading vigilantes, more of the complicated bond between The Boys' newcomer Hugh (Jack Quaid, Scream) and The Seven's Starlight (Erin Moriarty, Captain Fantastic), more dirty corporate shenanigans in an attempt to control the masses by lulling them into a false sense of caped crusader-fuelled security: that's all on the bill again as well, as the first sneak peek makes plain. That, and more exploding heads and laser eyes, with the latter gracing an unexpected character. Also returning: Dominique McElligott (House of Cards), Jessie T Usher (The Banker), Laz Alonso (Wrath of Man), Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl), Tomer Capone (One on One), Karen Fukuhara (Suicide Squad), Nathan Mitchell (Ginny & Georgia), Colby Minifie (I'm Thinking of Ending Things) and Claudia Doumit (Where'd You Go, Bernadette) — spanning the good, the bad and the in-between, from conflicted and egotistical supes to average folks downright sick of the sight of spandex. And, as glimpsed in the trailer, Supernatural's Jensen Ackles joins the cast this time around. Check out the trailer for The Boys season three below: The third season of The Boys starts streaming via Prime Video from Friday, June 3.
A film so light on its feet, yet so insightful in every frame, Let the Sunshine In could only be the work of one filmmaker. Never one to avoid trying new things, the great French writer-director Claire Denis makes her first romantic-comedy, but it's also an anti-romantic comedy of sorts. Love may be the movie's subject, and a long line of lusty encounters might await its lonely protagonist, however Denis understands one thing that upbeat on-screen amorous affairs tend to ignore. While connecting intimately with someone can feel like the most fulfilling thing in the world (even when it only lasts mere moments), everything involved with chasing that sensation — and it's always a constant chase — rarely inspires the same emotions. Giving a straightforward story more heft and depth than most labyrinthine plots, Denis' sophisticated and soulful take on love follows the romantic escapades of Parisian artist Isabelle (Juliette Binoche). In her 50s and freshly divorced, she has no shortage of suitors — from the banker (Xavier Beauvois) she's in bed with when the film starts, to an actor (Nicolas Duvauchelle) who crosses her path, to the ex (Laurent Grévill) that she's not quite done with. The list goes on, with Isabelle's affairs of the heart sharing much in common with the movie's sex scenes, and with sex in general. Limbs tangle and so do lives, as each of her rendezvous veers back and forth between the messy and the sublime. Conversation helps fill in the gaps, in a film overflowing with honest and authentic dialogue. In fact, candour proves Let the Sunshine In's driving force as it dissects the ups and downs of dating and desire. Co-writing the screenplay with novelist Christine Angot, and loosely taking inspiration from Roland Barthes' A Lover's Discourse: Fragments, Denis lets her movie move with the moment. It glows with the story's disarming delights in one scene, then fades with Isabelle's devastating lows in the next. But this isn't a portrait of yearning. It's not about searching for 'the one', or only feeling complete in someone else's arms. It's a frank account of a mature woman trying to find someone she's truly happy to share her time, heart, body and mind with, and working out what she really wants out of life in the process. Both defiant and vulnerable, there's no one better to play Isabelle than Binoche. The acclaimed actor is as vivid, magnetic and complex as she's ever been on screen, willingly embracing the many conflicts and contradictions evident in a character who always feels like flesh and blood. Astonishingly, Let the Sunshine In marks Binoche's first collaboration with Denis. It went so well that they quickly paired up again for a film that's just as stellar yet couldn't be more different: the soon-to-be-released dystopian sci-fi picture High Life. Binoche's performance in the latter movie is something else entirely, but there's a potency and freedom to her work with Denis in general, as if they're opening the floodgates to a world of women at once. Perhaps surprisingly for a romantically inclined film, though not for Denis' oeuvre, Let the Sunshine In is also visually striking. Always one for showing as much as telling — even in a movie with plenty of chatter — the director ensures her frames are as multifaceted as the protagonist within them. Indeed, it's possible to sense Isabelle's internal state just by soaking in the distinctive auteur's stylistic choices, as lensed with intimacy and empathy by her regular cinematographer Agnès Godard. Across a filmography that includes military exploits in Beau Travail, erotic horror with Trouble Every Day and immigration drama courtesy of 35 Shots of Rum, Denis has seared many an image onto the retinas of her viewers. The rich and resonant Let the Sunshine In is no different. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w_thDNw8Ww
Mark Twain once said: "Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough." This seems to be true of Starward Whisky who, after six years distilling out of a former aeroplane maintenance hangar in Essendon Fields, have packed up shop and moved to a warehouse in Port Melbourne. Their new home — which is close to four times the size of their previous distillery — has allowed founder David Vitale and his New World Distillery to bring in new equipment from Europe and amp up the production of his award-winning amber spirit. Working with Australian barley, old wine barrels and Melbourne's four-seasons-in-one-day climate has paid off for the passionate team of distillers. Last year they received the Best Craft Distiller Whisky prize and Double Gold medal at the San Francisco Global Spirits Competition. Considering that a few short decades ago Australian whisky was basically unheard of, this is a pretty remarkable turnaround. The venue is a working distillery and is only open on the weekends to the general public. With a comfy tasting room and large open bar, it's little wonder that crowds of weekend whisky lovers have already begun pouring in. The bar, which, due to its colossal size could have felt quite cavernous and impersonal, has been designed with lots care to make the space approachable and friendly. A large indoor tree takes pride of place, while raw and polished timber, shiny bronze distilling equipment and an impressive bottle display behind the bar bring the space to life. Try some Starward, neat, or get the bartender to whip up a whisky cocktail with it. They also do cheese and charcuterie boards, and there is even space for food trucks should the right event come up. Ever wondered how whisky is made and why it tastes so damn good? Public tours of the distillery are held at 7pm on Fridays and 2pm over weekends. The tour is designed for both whisky enthusiasts and beginners alike — over the course of an hour, the distillers walk small groups through their production methods including mashing in, fermentation, distillation and ageing their special single malt spirit. Tours can be booked online for a cheeky $10 per person.
For most of us, Pizza Hut visits have been happily locked away — or banished, if you ever ate one of those Four'n Twenty meat pie-stuffed crust pizzas — in the childhood memory bank for good. Since then, we've swapped our ten-year-old desires for more grown-up gourmet pies, preferring real pizzas with high-quality ingredients that are made lovingly by an Italian family, served with nice wine and maybe even come with the option of vegan cheese. But if you want to renege on all that pizza progress and go back to where it all began with a chewy, cheesy large Hawaiian, Pizza Hut will welcome you back with open arms. The restaurant chain this week opens its doors to a new dine-in 'concept store' in Sydney. If you haven't already, forget what a 90s-style Pizza Hut looks like. In the vein of McDonald's — which opened a concept cafe called The Corner in Sydney in 2014 — Pizza Hut's latest venture is giving a red-hot crack at being cool by distancing itself from its usual branding. The fit-out sits awkwardly between clean white-tiled minimal cafe (with neon signage!) and a small suburban pizza place circa 1992. As well as its pizzas, the restaurant menu has adapted modern food trends for a selection of 'tapas-style' entrees and a dedicated dessert bar, featuring free-flowing 'real' ice cream and frozen custard. The chain is also bringing back the vice of greedy 90s kids that is the all-you-can-eat model, in the form of unlimited pizza by the slice on Tuesday nights and Saturday afternoons. You'll be able to get a medium pizza and a soft drink for the bargain basement price of $8 and the kitchen will be open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The Waterloo restaurant will also become the brand's new 'innovation lab', where it will create and trial new (no doubt, questionable) creations. It launches today — and while there are so many other places we'd recommend you eat pizza in Sydney, if you're looking for an excuse to check it out, the store is giving out free pizza all day today from 11am. Find Pizza Hut's new Waterloo store at 7 Archibald Avenue, Waterloo. For more info, visit pizzahut.com.au.
Gin has come a long way in the past few years. Once relegated to the back of your nana's pantry, reserved for particularly rough nights on the bingo circuit, this infamous clear spirit is now front and centre in Australia's bars. With tonic and citrus, it's your ideal summer refreshment, and in its various other forms it's the perfect winter warmer. Though Australia doesn't have a huge part to play in today's World Gin Day celebrations — c'mon it's still the most British thing around since bangers and mash — we do sure love to drink it all the same. So, in honour of this spirit that's known less as a drink and more of a mascara thinner, we've compiled our favourite creations. Swing by the bottle-o on your way home, roll up your sleeves and get a little classy — here are five perfect ways to toast World Gin Day (or any other day for that matter). Negroni This Italian classic is not for the faint-hearted. A more alcoholic version of the Americano, this hard-core aperetif is perfect for a luxurious nightcap or after-dinner punch in the mouth. While the other spirits definitely dwarf the flavour of the gin, it's also a stereotypically gin-drinker's beverage — no nonsense, no fuss, and no prisoners. 30 ml gin 30 ml Campari 30 ml sweet vermouth orange rind Method: Stir and pour over ice in short glass. Drink: In the comfort of a leather armchair in the smoking room of a swanky Italian restaurant. Gin Fizz This is a fun, summery drink with a bunch of variations. Though each cocktail bar likes to put their own spin on this versatile hit, anything with St Germain or elderflower liqueur is guaranteed to be a winner. With the rich flavour of rosemary thrust among the citrus tang of the lemon, this is a drink any cocktail pro will rave about (and happily sit on all night). 30ml gin 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 30ml elderflower liqueur 1 lemon slice 1 rosemary sprig soda Method: Shake alcohol and lemon juice, then strain over ice into highball and add garnishes. Drink: Under the sun with a smug, satisfied look on your face. Southside Though its history is widely contested, it's widely established that this mint and lemon concoction dates back to the 1920s. Yet another gin cocktail with no mixers, the Southside is definitely for those with class. With a single sip it's guaranteed to transport you back to the late-night cafes of Hemingway's Paris or the dingy clubs of 1920s Chicago (depending on your historical biases). 60 ml gin the juice of 1 lemon 15 ml sugar syrup a decent handful of mint leaves Method: Shake all ingredients until the mint is pulped, and finely strain into a coupe glass. Drink: With an outstretched pinky and a 1920s cigarette holder. Tom Collins Are you sick of gin and tonics? Does the thought of one more Gordon's London Dry and home brand tonic make you cringe? It's probably time to spice it up a bit (or alternatively, stop drinking). The Tom Collins is a classic cocktail that doesn't vary too much from the well-trodden G&T terrain. Swap that tonic for soda, sweeten the deal with some cherries and sugar, and away you go — a convenient twist on a summer classic. 30 ml gin 30 ml sugar syrup 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 2 lemon slices 1 glazes cherry soda Method: Stir and pour over ice in a highball glass. Drink: At your next picnic or beach getaway. Martini While a vodka martini may be the standard (for James Bond fans at least), gin martinis are undoubtedly for the more refined palette. And either way, the martini is a drink for the purist. This is a cocktail with no junk in it — it lives and dies on the quality of its spirits. Of course, there are a million types of variations out there (Espresso, Apple, Marshmallow etc) but really those are all amateur hour. To raise a drink to World Gin Day, it has to be the real thing. 60 ml gin 30 ml dry vermouth olives or a twist of lemon for garnish Method: Shake gin and vermouth with ice, stir for 30 seconds, then strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish. Drink: In a morose fashion while at a bar you feel slightly intimated by. Photo credits: Oriol Lladó, sushiesque, and Isabelle @ Crumb, Clint Gardner, and RenaudPhoto via photopin cc.
Casual face-melter Courtney Barnett is finally about to have a debut album under her already trophy-laden belt. So naturally, the Melbourne-based shredder has announced her Australian debut album tour for May 2015. This one's going to sell fast. Marking the release of her first ever LP, Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit (out Friday, March 20 via Barnett's own Milk! Records and Remote Control), this tour follows Barnett's epic performances at Laneway festival around the country over the last few weeks. Having already proved herself one of Australia's brightest sparks over the last few years with her 2013 EP release The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, Barnett's spins one hell of a live show — having nailed sets at Lollapalooza, South by Southwest and New York City's CMJ. Supported by Teeth & Tongue, Barnett will cruise from Adelaide's The Gov on Friday, May 1 to Perth's Bakery on Saturday, May 2. Then it's over to Sydney's The Metro on Friday, May 8 and Brisbane's Hi-Fi on Saturday, May 9. In classic Australian artist form, Barnett will wrap things up in her hometown of Melbourne on Friday, May 15 at The Forum. COURTNEY BARNETT AUSTRALIAN ALBUM TOUR 2015 SUPPORTED BY TEETH & TONGUE FRIDAY MAY 1 The Gov, Adelaide, SA TICKETS SATURDAY MAY 2 The Bakery, Perth, WA TICKETS FRIDAY MAY 8 The Metro, Sydney, NSW TICKETS SATURDAY MAY 9 The Hifi, Brisbane, QLD TICKETS FRIDAY MAY 15 The Forum, Melbourne, VIC TICKETS
After promising a return to Australian shores earlier this year, Coldplay have announced the details of their November tour. The band will be playing four stadium shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane plus Auckland in New Zealand from November 10-21. Australian talent The Temper Trap and US-based sister act, The Pierces, will be supporting. Coldplay are currently touring the world to celebrate the release of their fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto. In March, the band cancelled two corporate shows in Sydney due to personal reasons. Their last visit down under was in 2011 to headline Splendour in the Grass. “We can’t wait to get back to Australia and New Zealand this November. They’re such special places for us. These venues are pretty huge, the Aussie and New Zealand crowds are always incredible and we’ll be bringing everything we’ve got. It’s going to be big,” lead singer Chris Martin said on the band’s official website. Pre-sale tickets for Visa Credit, Debit and Prepaid cardholders will be released this Thursday, May 17. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, May 25.
Mention bubbles these days, and you're no longer just talking about baths, sparkling wine, gum or tea. For the past 15 months or so, the term has been on every hopeful holidaymaker's lips, referring to arrangements between countries that allow COVID-safe overseas travel in these pandemic-afflicted times. Discussed since mid-2020 and in effect since April 2021, Australia currently has a quarantine-free travel bubble in place with New Zealand — allowing Aussies and New Zealanders to fly back and forth between the two countries for holidays, even while Australia's international border remains shut to the rest of the world. As first floated back in March, that arrangement might soon be joined by another, this time between Australia and Singapore. Initially, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack advised that Aussies might be able to fly to the island city-state for a holiday by July. That's only a month away, and it doesn't look like it'll happen then. However, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has just met with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, with the pair releasing a joint statement affirming that they're working towards the travel arrangement. "We discussed how two-way travel between Singapore and Australia can eventually resume, in a safe and calibrated manner, when both sides are ready," said Lee following the two leaders' joint press conference. "Before COVID-19, many Singaporeans travelled to Australia for business, for holidays and to pursue their education, and vice versa. We need to resume these people-to-people flows to maintain our close and excellent bilateral relationship," he continued. Although no timeframe was given, Lee also said that the two countries "need to prepare the infrastructure and processes to get ready to do this" — and named "mutual recognition of health and vaccination certificates, possibly in the digital form" as one of the first steps. "When all the preparations are ready, we can start small with an air travel bubble to build confidence on both sides," he advised. At the press conference, Morrison also addressed the proposed travel bubble, noting that it's a target "sooner rather than later". He continued: "I welcome the fact that we will now work together to put the infrastructure in place and the systems in place to enable us to open up in a similar way that we've been able to open up to New Zealand from Australia when we are both in a position to do so." If you're after more details, that's all that was discussed; however, when the Australia–Singapore bubble was first suggested a few months back, it was reported that Aussies would be permitted to go to Singapore for work or leisure. Getting permission from the Department of Home Affairs — which is the only way you can go overseas at present while the nation's international border restrictions are in place — wouldn't be necessary under the arrangement. That said, according to those initial reports, the bubble might only apply to folks who've been vaccinated against COVID-19. Singaporeans who've been vaccinated would also be able to travel to Australia without undergoing the currently mandatory 14-day quarantine period. While the details are clearly yet to be finalised, if the Australia–Singapore travel bubble does come into effect, it'll be great news for everyone that's been dreaming of overseas holidays since the pandemic began — or, at present, for those dreaming of heading further than New Zealand. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
