Attention, Australia's aspiring novelists, budding journalists and up-and-coming writers. The Emerging Writers' Festival returns to Melbourne from June 14–23, bringing together over 200 new and emerging writers in their biggest program yet. Developed by new artistic director Izzy Roberts-Orr in collaboration with former artistic director Michaela McGuire, the festival boasts parties, performances, poetry slams, panels and networking events that all aim to promote and nurture developing storytellers. The jam-packed ten days will begin with an opening night storytelling session — titled Our Invincible Summer — by some of the brightest voices in the literary community. The evening will also include announcements of the recipients of the Monash Undergraduate Prize for Creative Writing and the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript. Stick around for the afterparty, hosted by publication/blog/podcast Hot Chicks with Big Brains. Other key events include a Looking for Alibrandi-inspired formal, Tipping Points — a particularly topical play about climate change which was created in 24 hours — and Love Show, a collective performance by Quippings, a disability performance collective that showcases performers of a huge variety of bodies and minds. If you're looking for an after-dinner show, check out Lost The Plot, which sees lit nerds battle on stage in a night of wacky word games. If you can only commit to one event though, the annual, two-day National Writers' Conference is not to be missed. Held at the State Library of Victoria over the weekend of June 17-18, the event is curated to inspire writers through industry-focused talks, masterclasses and information sessions hosted by some of Australia's top literary talent. Additional masterclasses will be held throughout the festival and span everything from pitching to publishers and freelancing to young adult fiction writing, as well as podcasting, YouTubing and even spoken word. The Industry Insiders series will showcase some of Australia's top emerging editors and field discussions on self-publishing and marketing your work, while foodies can even enjoy a five-course meal in an evening with some of Australia's best food writers on Monday, June 19. The Emerging Writers' Festival 2017 will take place across Melbourne from June 14–23. For the full program of events, visit emergingwritersfestival.org.au.
For many years St Michaels Grammar School and Red Stitch Theatre have sat next to each other with little interaction other than the occasional use of a hall, or the odd class excursion. That is, until recently. Students from the performing arts-centric school will collaborate with actors from Red Stitch in the upcoming production of The Flock and the Nest. Twelve students from St Michaels are pairing up with four Red Stitch actors under the direction of Gary Abrahams to present The Flock and the Nest, a drama about youth, family, grief and loss. When Ebony's sister-in-law, Niamh, visits her and her family on their rural property, all hell breaks loose. The production is a combination of scripted drama and improvisation, written by Melbourne playwright (and the 2013 writer-in-residence at Red Stitch) Glyn Roberts. Taking the age-old tension of blood ties, land entitlement and grief, The Flock and the Nest promises to be a gripping family drama.
There are few things in life that are better than pizza. That's an indisputable fact — but, as fantastic as pizza in general is, free pizza has it beat. And that's just what Small Print Pizza Bar is handing out at its Pizza in the Park Party. Taking place in Windsor's Victoria Gardens between 3–6pm on Sunday, October 28, the event will include free sourdough pizzas — including both vegan-friendly and meat-topped options — plus free house-made soft drinks and free games. Get cosy on a picnic blanket, try your hand at Finska or bocce, and, of course, eat pizza. The event will launch the return of Small Print Pizza Bar's pizza in the park delivery service, which is really exactly what it sounds like. If you're keen on having a picnic in Victoria Gardens over summer, you can order a pizza and the store will deliver it to you. It'll also loan you games or a frisbee for some added fun. Image: Small Print Pizza Bar.
The couple at the centre of relationship dramedy Before Midnight is one we know oddly well, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy). In a typically Gen X act of slacker romanticism, they spent one night walking and talking around Vienna in 1995's Before Sunrise and were finally reunited for a further afternoon in Paris in 2004's Before Sunset. In the nine years since, it turns out they've stuck with each other, but the insouciance of those early encounters has gone now they're into their early forties. "When was the last time we just walked around bullshitting?" Jesse says in one beautifully self-aware moment, as they rediscover the pastime on holiday in Greece. With this series of films, dialogue is everything. In Before Midnight, it sparkles, dances and defies the bounds we expect of film. All three instalments are the product of a unique collaborative partnership between director Richard Linklater, Hawke and Delpy; from the start the actors have written parts of their own selves into the characters, and the possibility for honest exploration seems to have deepened with the passing of time. Before Midnight is in cinemas on Thursday, July 18, and thanks to Hopscotch Films, we have ten double in-season passes to give away to. To be in the running, sign up to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address. Read our full review of Before Midnight here.
Sometimes it takes a crisis to appreciate the little things in life — for example, what feels like to watch an acrobatic fly twizzle a matchstick with perplexing grace and accuracy. In 'normal times' we might have missed this moment of joy, but now, thanks to the Art Gallery of New South Wales' digital portal the three-minute archival film has lifted our spirits giving us an intriguing escape from 2020. "Optimism through art" is the aim of the new Together in Art digital space on the AGNSW website, says Art Gallery of NSW director Dr Michael Brand. It contains bite-sized art experiences that you didn't know you needed, but will capture your attention and give you something beautiful, inspiring, unsettling or unusual to hook onto — even for a short while. You can watch painter Ben Quilty and his daughter Livvy show you how to draw a face, artist Nell has an amusing and hopeful three-minute video on how to solve a problem (below), and there are clips of singers Sarah Belkner and Ngaiire performing in empty exhibition spaces. It's a digital gallery where you can actively learn, or simply tune into something more transportive than the latest Tik Tok track doing the rounds. The Art Gallery itself is closed to the public in line with the government's social distancing advice, and this means even the most regular visitors may have missed current exhibitions such as Shadow catchers or Under the stars, which opened just prior to the lockdown. You can explore the themes of these exhibitions in video interviews and tours. And, especially for Together in Art, there are Pocket Exhibitions put together by the Gallery's curators — such as Working from home: a Dog's perspective, a micro series of dog portraits and photographs compiled in a brief slideshow. Those looking for projects should make a beeline for the series of art-making classes from various artists in their studios. Though some of the videos are geared towards kids, there's a lot of accessible art tips that are just as appealing to adults. Our pick for a weekend project is learning how to turn your old magazine pile into a Dada poem with contemporary artist Tony Albert and his niece. The Gallery plans to add to its Together In Art series every day, and you can follow its program across social media pages, Youtube and on the Gallery's website. Images: 1. Musician Joji Malani performs in the Grand Courts at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. 2–3. Singer Sarah Belkner performs a vocal improvisation with herself in the exhibition 'Shadow catchers'. 4. Ngaiire performs in the Australian Galleries. All photography: Matt McGuigan, Hospital Hill.
For the first time since it launched in 2000, World Pride is heading to the Southern Hemisphere. And it's not just heading anywhere — the world's largest LGBTQI+ celebration is coming to Sydney. Taking over the city's streets, bars, clubs, galleries and theatres between February and March 2023, the World Pride event will coincide with the 45th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The decision to host the international pride celebration in Sydney was announced overnight with members of InterPride — the organisers of World Pride — voting between Sydney, Montreal (Canada) and Houston (Texas). The Aussie state capital came out on top with a whopping 60 percent of the votes. Of the host city, World Pride Committee Chair Robyn Kennedy said, "InterPride has recognised how far Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has come since 1978, and now the world will march with us down Oxford Street to celebrate our community and support our region." Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2018 and this year hosted over 100 parties, shows, and late-night shindigs for the annual event. The State Government usually relaxes the lockout laws in the surrounding areas for the local Mardi Gras, but in 2023 they could be gone altogether in the CBD and on Oxford Street. Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced plans to repeal the lockout laws in those areas by the end 2019 — they will, however, remain in place in Kings Cross for now. We'll keep our fingers crossed that they'll be wound back by 2023 there, too. https://www.instagram.com/p/B31TjkcD0qZ/?igshid=x6c9d4q0ay1w As the Sydney World Pride will be also be the first in the Asia Pacific, it's expected that the celebration will also have a focus on communities and cultures from across the region. In Sydney's bid for the event, organisers said: "it's an opportunity to focus the world's attention on LGBTQI rights, communities and culture in our Asia-Pacific Region. Many of our closest neighbouring countries do not have the same level of equality and human rights as we do." While Australia finally passed a marriage equality bill in late 2017, the same rights do not exist in many countries in the surrounding region — in fact, same-sex relations are still illegal in some Asia-Pacific countries. The 2023 World Pride will help raise awareness about these issues and help fight for equality for LGBTQI+ people across the region. For the Sydney event, expect, also, the biggest, most fabulous celebration of pride the city has ever seen, with parades, parties, and more to take over the city. It's expected 25–40 percent more than the usual 1.2 million Mardi Gras visitors will be heading to Sydney for the 2023 event — so it's going to be big, loud and colourful. World Pride 2023 will take place across Sydney in February and March. Top image: Jeffrey Feng
It's a great time to be a fan of movies and musicals, and of films that make the all-singing, all-dancing leap to the stage in particular. Think of a beloved flick and odds are that someone has turned it into a theatre production — including Cruel Intentions, Moulin Rouge!, Back to the Future, Frozen, 9 to 5, The Wedding Singer, Bring It On, Shrek and more. We could keep naming movies that've earned the musical treatment — Muriel's Wedding, An American in Paris and Hairspray, plus Round the Twist in the future, for instance — but we all know that it's a long list. Here's another one: Freaky Friday, the body-swap story that started out as a novel, has been brought to cinema screens multiple times, and is now heading to Melbourne as a musical in September. Whether you loved the 1972 book by Mary Rodgers as a kid, or you've watched and rewatched 2003's Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis-starring flick too many times — or the 1976 Jodie Foster-starring first movie adaptation, and the 1995 remake with Gaby Hoffman as well — you'll want to make a date to visit Chapel Off Chapel from Thursday, September 8–Sunday, September 18. That's when newly launched musical theatre company Theatrical is putting on the Victorian premiere of Freaky Friday in its musical form, based on the Disney stage version that first debuted in the US in 2016. Fans will already know the story. Here, a teenager and her mother get a bigger taste of each other's lives than they ever imagined possible when they find themselves not only in each other's shoes, literally, but bodies as well. Indeed, even if you've only seen the horror spin, Freaky, from a couple of years back, you'll also know the main two things: body swapping, and chaos afterwards. In this stage version, the tale has been updated to today, as set in Chicago — and this time the teen finding out what it's like to be her mum is called Ellie, not Annabel (in the book and first two movies) or Anna (in the Lohan-Curtis version). In its musical form, Freaky Friday features music and lyrics by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, aka the Pulitzer Prize-winning composers of If/THEN and Next to Normal. And, for its Melbourne run, Lyla Digrazia plays Ellie and Stephanie Powell plays Katherine, her mother. Need a refresher on the general story, and the vibe? Check out the trailer for the 2003 movie below: Freaky Friday will play Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel Street, Prahran, from Thursday, September 8–Sunday, September 18. For more information, or to buy tickets, head to the production's website. Images: Nicole Cleary.
If anyone can claim to be the voice of Melbourne’s soul, it is singer Paul Kelly. Like all great artists though, he knows how to stand on the shoulders of giants. In his concert for the Melbourne Festival, Conversations With Ghosts, Kelly will be paying tribute to past masters of the poetic art. From the canons of classical greats such as Yeats and Tennyson, and Australian icons Les Murray, Kenneth Slessor and Judith Wright, Kelly has taken poems that evoke a sense of loss and longing and, working with composer James Ledger, woven them into what promises to be a haunting musical experience. With accompaniment by Genevieve Lacey, a performer who can turn the simple recorder into an instrument of hypnotising beauty, and a ten piece orchestra of talented youth from the Australian National Academy of Music, this is a performance that will speak straight to your heart.
They're sticky, cinnamon scrolls, drenched in glaze and famous all across the USA. And at the end of last year, they finally became available Down Under when Seattle-born chain Cinnabon opened its first Australian store in Brisbane. Now, a second store is set to open next Friday, February 14. That store — sorry everyone else — is also in Brisbane. While the first one is located in Toombul Shopping Centre, this one will be on the other side of the city inside Westfield Garden City. So both north and south Brisbane will be in close proximity to the sticky baked goods. When it opens next week, Brisbanites will be able to grab a scroll from 8am seven days a week — but be prepared to queue. The Toombul store still regularly has a lengthy line, even two months after opening. Just like the Toombul store, this one will sling a trio of Cinnabon cult classics, including the classic cream cheese cinnamon roll, the popular chocolate-drizzled Chocobon and very extra Caramel Pecanbon. They're available in both mini and large sizes, along with packs featuring either four or nine 'minibons'. There's coffee and lots of sugary drinks to pair with your snacks, too, including a cinnamon bun frappe. [caption id="attachment_755764" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Cinnabon Toombul[/caption] If you're yet to get acquainted with the decadent dessert creations, prepare yourself for aromatic, cinnamon-spiked dough made to a long-held recipe, decked out with stacks of signature cream cheese frosting and loaded with extras. They're notoriously tough to replicate. The Australian launch was first announced in January 2019, when family-run Queensland company Bansal Foods scored the Aussie rights to Cinnabon. Cinnabon has been going strong in America since 1985, so it has already picked up plenty of Aussie fans along the way. But this is the first time that we're able to get our hands on those sticky, cinnamon-infused baked goods on home soil. And if you're not in Brisbane, you might just need to be patient. Since opening in December, Cinnabon has run multiple pop-ups around Brisbane and — according to Bansal Foods Group Director Gaurav Bansal — the group is "exploring opportunities to have more pop-ups around the country". In a statement, he also 'promised' to open more permanent bakeries in other cities soon. Cinnabon will open at 8am on Friday, February 14 on level two of Westfield Garden City, Kessels Road, Upper Mount Gravatt.
Leave a message for your family or roommate without having to scramble for a pen on your way out the door. Luc van Hoeckel's 'Record me' allows you to leave a personalised voice message as opposed to a haphazardly scribbled note. 'Record me' is wall-mountable and can save up to 12 messages at a time. To use, simply turn the dial to a free 'station', press the button, record your message, and press it once more. Messages may be deleted by holding down the same button. Leaving voice messages gives you the chance to be both fun and informative, allowing a quick 'I love you' to a significant other, or a reminder to your roommate get dinner started. 'Record me' ensures that you never have to ask "Did you get my note?" again. [via PSFK]
Anna Kendrick. Blake Lively. Paul Feig. A twisty thriller novel as source material. Combined, those four key ingredients helped make 2018's A Simple Favour a hit, a delight, and a deliciously engaging and entertaining mystery. It's no wonder that audiences have been keen on a sequel for years — and come May 2025, those dreams are becoming a straight-to-streaming reality. Kendrick (Woman of the Hour) is back as Stephanie Smothers. So is Lively (It Ends with Us) as Emily Nelson — and as the just-dropped first teaser trailer for Another Simple Favour shows, nothing is straightforward between the pair again. As the name of the movie also makes plain, Emily has something else to ask of Stephanie. Out of prison and about to get married to a wealthy businessman, the former crashes the latter's book reading to task her with being her maid of honour. But is this just a quest for revenge? Using the Italian island of Capri as a backdrop, Another Simple Favour boasts Feig (Jackpot!) back behind the lens, too — and also Andrew Rannells (Girls5eva), Bashir Salahuddin (How to Die Alone) and Henry Golding (The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare) back among the cast. Equally part of this big return: more secrets, as little is ever as it seems with Stephanie's glamorous and mysterious friend. While the first film released in cinemas, this seven-years-later sequel is heading to Prime Video, hitting streaming queues on Thursday, May 1, 2025. It does have a date with the silver screen first, however – but only at this year's SXSW in Austin, where it's the opening-night movie at the event's Film and TV Festival. If you missed the initial picture — which was adapted from Darcey Bell's 2017 novel of the same name — it followed a widowed mum who is also a vlogger and becomes friends with a fashion executive. Then Emily asks Stephanie to do her a simple favour, changing everything. Screenwriter Jessica Sharzer (Nine Perfect Strangers), who wrote the first film, is also among Another Simple Favour's returnees — this time penning the follow-up's script with Laeta Kalogridis (Altered Carbon). Check out the first teaser trailer for Another Simple Favour below: Another Simple Favour will stream via Prime Video from Thursday, May 1, 2025.
Pull out that old Discman, break out the cargo pants and start practising your smoothest 90s and early 00s dance moves — the pop tour of your wildest teenage dreams is hitting Aussie shores this summer and it's got more stars than a TV Hits sticker collection. Next February, the So Pop festival is set to deliver a huge serve of nostalgia to venues across the country, pulling together a juicy lineup of old-school icons, headlined by none other than Vengaboys — celebrating their 25th anniversary, too. Stages in Auckland, Cairns, Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth and will be transported back to the 90s and 00s for one glorious night each, playing host to the pop-drenched soundtrack of your youth. Heading up the show are Vengaboys, with Cowboy Donny, Captain Kim, PartyGirl D'Nice and SailorBoy Robin bringing their party-starting smash hits like 'Boom Boom Boom Boom!!' and 'We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)' from the Netherlands — and yes, you now have both tunes stuck in your head from reading this. They'll be joined by Danish artist and producer Whigfield, who'll break out 'Sexy Eyes'; the UK's N-Trance, which means hearing 'Set You Free', 'Stayin' Alive', 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy' and 'Forever'; and Reel 2 Real teaming up with The Mad Stuntman, which is where 'I Like To Move It' and 'Go On Move' come in. Dutch trance/pop outfit Alice DJ is also on the lineup in Australia only, so Aussies can get ready to hear 'Back in My Life', 'Will I Ever' and 'Better Off Alone'. And in both Australia and New Zealand, Nick Skitz is on DJing duties — after releasing Skitmix 59 (DJ Mix) in 2021. SO POP 2023 LINEUP: Vengaboys Whigfield Alice DJ (not performing in Auckland) N-Trance Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman Nick Skitz SO POP 2023 DATES: Saturday, February 4 — Spark Arena, Auckland Wednesday, February 8 — Gilligan's, Cairns Thursday, February 9 — The Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane Saturday, February 11 — Night Quarter, Sunshine Coast Sunday, February 12 — Forum Melbourne, Melbourne Thursday, February 16 — Big Top, Sydney Saturday, February 18 — Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide Sunday, February 19 — Metro City, Perth So Pop 2023 tours Australia and New Zealand in February 2023. Frontier Member pre-sale tickets are up for grabs for 24 hours from 12pm local time on Monday, October 31, while the rest are on sale from 12pm local time on Wednesday, November 2.
Infographics. So hot right now. It seems that facts don't count any more unless they're dressed up in just the right colour and an on-trend font. Having taken over mainstream media, the infographic is now coming after you. Vizualize.Me is a yet-to-be-launched site that will take your LinkedIn profile and turn it into an infographic. Given the dull and drab traditions of CV writing, something with a judicious use of colour and, of course, an appropriate font, could set your CV apart and help you land that job. Also, if you're a graphics or font nerd, no doubt it will allow for many more hours of CV writing procrastination as you try and get it looking just so. The site isn't infographicising anything yet — the image above is a prototype — but you can register for the invite list and hopefully score one of the free premium accounts being given out to the first 10,000 sign ups. [via PSFK]
The past couple of years have seen Aussies moving out of the cities in droves. The pandemic has undeniably played a part, particularly thanks to the flexibility for some that comes with working from home. It has also caused a lot of us to start re-evaluating our lifestyles, and it now seems everyone is considering a seachange — or a treechange. House prices in our major cities — especially Sydney and Melbourne — are skyrocketing, making big city living less appealing (and less achievable) for anyone trying to take a step onto the property ladder. And no, smashed avo is not to blame. Sure, we love the metropolitan buzz, the convenience of public transport and the proximity to our mates. But, if you're considering moving, indulge us. We've teamed up with Great Southern Bank to round up ten underrated gems that offer affordable house and unit prices (comparatively, anyway). Plus, these booming regional towns offer lifestyle shifts that won't make you feel like you've given your life up. Considering buying a place in one of these up-and-coming towns? Great Southern Bank has a range of clever tools to help you hit your savings goals faster — like The Vault which lets you hide your house deposit funds from sight, so you can't easily dip into them. If you're already there and are now at the serious point — the getting a home loan part — then check out Great Southern Bank's home loan options, which offer many ways to help manage your loan including unlimited fee-free extra repayments on all variable loans, free redraw to access any additional repayments and flexible repayment options to suit your budget. [caption id="attachment_831263" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Taste Orange[/caption] ORANGE, NEW SOUTH WALES When you think of Orange, you think wine. And, yes, that's a good enough reason to move there. But there's more to this picturesque town of 40,000-plus people than the nectar of the grapes. For one, Orange has a burgeoning food scene with a thriving community of growers, producers and restaurateurs. You can grab a coffee from the local roastery, sit down to lunch at one of the many restaurants and cafes, do your weekly shop at an artisanal grocer and call into a cellar door on your way home all in one day. There are also historic surrounding villages, countless beautiful walking tracks and a growing population of artists and musicians now calling Orange home. Less than a four-hour drive from Sydney, Orange is the ideal location for those seeking the sweet spot between rural idyll and having plenty to do — and eat. Median house price: $611,000 Median unit price: $391,250 [caption id="attachment_831340" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria/ Robert Blackburn[/caption] WARRNAMBOOL, VICTORIA Located at the western end of the Great Ocean Road, Warrnambool has long been known for its coastal views, whale watching tours and shipwrecks. As a place to call home, it's ideally positioned for day trips to tourist destinations like Port Fairy and the Twelve Apostles, but this family-friendly locale is more than just a base from which to explore. Warrnambool has a growing street art scene and an incredible laneway art trail, as well as tons of hikes, playgrounds, galleries and museums. And, of course, it's coastal, so surfers and beach bums will feel right at home. The local council has a grand plan to forge economic links with China, so get in now before Warrnambool becomes even more popular (and pricier). Median house price: $505,000 Median unit price: $375,000 [caption id="attachment_831266" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism & Events Queensland[/caption] CAIRNS, QUEENSLAND You'll most likely know it as a base for visits to the Great Barrier Reef, but Cairns has more going for it than just yacht cruises and coral (although these are great perks). The Tropical North Queensland city combines laidback everyday living with outdoor fun galore, plus top-notch restaurants and craft breweries for catch-ups with mates. You're only a short hop to the paradise that is Fitzroy Island, and you've got numerous adventures close by, such as swimming holes and stunning beaches. Thanks to its affordable living, crystal-clear waters, surrounding rainforest and tropical climate, Cairns will make every day feel like a holiday should you decide to live here. Median house price: $522,500 Median unit price: $260,000 [caption id="attachment_677921" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To[/caption] WOY WOY, NEW SOUTH WALES Sydneysiders will already know the appeal of the Central Coast for day trips and convenient weekends away. But, following months of COVID-enforced working from home, the area has seen an influx of people move here permanently. While the house prices have certainly gone up, the suburb of Woy Woy is still a whole lot cheaper than inner Sydney. It's also just a bit over a one-hour train ride (or drive) away from the bustling CBD, so you can easily commute. It's got a more laidback way of life than the Harbour City, but still has plenty going for it — enough so that you won't miss nights out or a quality cup of coffee. Plus, you've got Brisbane Waters and Bouddi National Parks on your doorstep, as well as pristine beaches and easy access to neighbouring towns. Median house price: $900,000 Median unit price: $620,000 [caption id="attachment_831323" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jason Charles Hill via Tourism Tasmania[/caption] LAUNCESTON, TASMANIA Tasmania's second-most-populous city, Lonnie is a real up-and-comer. Its location in the Tamar Valley means there's a wealth of incredible produce, and this is reflected in the city's foodie scene. Top eateries include Italian aperitivo bar and restaurant Geronimo and the award-winning Stillwater, which is housed in an old flour mill perched right on the water. There are also ample pubs, bars, breweries, distilleries and wineries to boot. More into nature? Almost half of Tasmania is national parkland, meaning the Apple Isle has some of the cleanest air in the world. So, it's no wonder Launceston residents take advantage of an outdoor lifestyle. Launceston is more affordable than Hobart but has a growing economy and plenty else to woo you, including decent transport links (there's even an airport). Median house price: $665,000 Median unit price: $495,000 [caption id="attachment_831273" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria / Robert Blackburn[/caption] BALLARAT, VICTORIA If you want the culture, art and food of Melbourne without the hustle and bustle (and for a lower price), then Ballarat could be just the ticket. The famous gold rush town is steeped in history and offers an ideal mix of galleries, restaurants and outdoor experiences, with beautiful bushwalking opportunities readily accessible. Small enough to feel like a community but large enough to have all the amenities you need, Ballarat also has some more obscure places such as Kryal Castle, a medieval theme park where you can watch re-enactments of knights jousting alongside court jester shows and a potion-making school. Yep, Ballarat practically has it all. Median house price: $691,000 Median unit price: $310,000 [caption id="attachment_831356" align="alignnone" width="1920"] RemyBrand195[/caption] PORT MACQUARIE, NEW SOUTH WALES If you're looking for an east coast town on the rise, then consider Port Macquarie. Long derided for its reputation as a haven for retirees, its welcoming climate and numerous beaches have attracted a younger demographic in recent years. For the outdoorsy people, there's surrounding hinterland and the ocean as your playground. For those still wanting a bit of buzz, Port — as it's known locally — boasts nightlife, a few breweries, a solid dining offering and plenty of family-friendly activities. It's also home to more esoteric attractions, such as beach camel rides, the world's first koala hospital and an offshore inflatable water obstacle course. While it's a fair way from Sydney, it's less than three hours north of Newcastle, and comparable as a more chilled version of the popular city. Median house price: $775,000 Median unit price: $515,000 [caption id="attachment_831260" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] CALOUNDRA, QUEENSLAND It may only have a population just over 50,000, but Caloundra's location in the Sunshine Coast region means it's an ideal place to lay down some roots — or even buy your first investment property. Less than 100 kilometres from Brisbane, the area is a beach lover's mecca. It was primarily known as a place for retirees before an influx of youngsters wised up and wanted in on the lifestyle. In Caloundra, you get the benefit of living a dreamy beach lifestyle without the eye-watering cost you'd find in other stretches along the coast. Median house price: $745,000 Median unit price: $599,000 [caption id="attachment_831268" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Australia[/caption] DUNSBOROUGH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA The remoteness of Western Australia can feel like another world entirely, and if you want to escape the grind, there's nowhere really like it. Situated 250 kilometres southwest of Perth lies Dunsborough, a small coastal town with a strong sense of community and a love for the outdoors. Like many places on this list, Dunsborough is your opportunity to live the beach lifestyle and have the ocean a stone's throw away — without breaking the bank. But here, you get the added bonus of having one of Australia's most-loved wine regions — the Margaret River — just down the road. Once more of a holiday-house town, Dunsborough is seeing more and more people settle there full time resulting in a surge of cafes, restaurants and shops. Median house price: $695,000 Median unit price: $540,000 [caption id="attachment_831352" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Fotovision[/caption] MOUNT BARKER, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Mount Barker may be the largest town in the Adelaide Hills region, but it's still a huge shift from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It's got a family-friendly vibe and an expanding infrastructure, but its real drawcard is its proximity to both a renowned wine region and the city — Adelaide is just a half-hour drive away. The beauty of living in the Adelaide Hills is you're never far from a great walking track, beautiful panoramic views or an array of local wildlife — and, of course, A-class vino. Of all the places on this list, Mount Barker is perhaps the best pick for those who want a quieter, more affordable life while still wishing to commute into the city. Median house price: $475,000 Median unit price: $363,000 Great Southern Bank is empowering Aussies to get clever with their banking. Whether you want to stick to your savings goals with The Boost or hide your house deposit fund from yourself with The Vault, Great Southern Bank helps you get there. For more information on savings tools and home loan options, head to the Great Southern Bank website. Top image: Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie, Lindsay Moller Productions *All median house and unit prices were sourced from realestate.com.au and were correct at time of publication.
The Sydney Dance Company has announced they'll be kicking off their 2013 season with a killer show, De Novo, which features costumes by Dion Lee and the music of Sarah Blasko and Nick Wales. The artists are collaborating on artistic director Rafael Bonachela's Emergence, one part of a trio of dance works that make up De Novo. It will be a testament to Bonachela's belief in the value of pop culture and other artistic practices to contribute to contemporary dance, with Blasko's vocals and Wales's soundscape providing the inspirational fuel for the piece. It's certainly piqued our interest, even more so because Lee's and Blasko's aesthetics don't suggest an immediate match. Will it be severely tailored, or adorably vintage? Adorably tailored? The start of a new cultural epoch? The only thing we know for certain is that it will be memorable. The other two works in De Novo have their own lure. Cacti is the product of renowned Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman, currently working with the Netherlands Dance Theatre, and features 16 dancers, a string quarter, and a dynamic set with the titular cacti. Meanwhile, the third dance, Fanatic, is about a fan outraged over the Alien vs Predator franchise — a choreographic theme as old as star-cross'd romance. De Novo opens in Sydney on March 1. Tickets are available from the SDC website.
In this world, nothing is what it seems. Bagels are not really a health food, dream boyfriends turn out to be players, and scooters are actually plants. This latter cunning deception has been wrought by the Dutch design firm Waarmakers and more specifically its resident geniuses Maarten Heijltjes and Simon Akkaya, who have fashioned an electric scooter from our chlorophyllous friends. Who knew compressed plants could be such a great way to get around? Created in collaboration with InHolland University of Applied Science and NPSP composites for Van.Eko, the Be.e scooter is both eco-friendly and stylish. Its frameless monocoque body trades metal, plastic and glass-fibre composites for NFCs (natural fibre-reinforced composites of flax, hemp and bio-resin). The trick is, the external skin of the scooter supports the load, without any need for a frame. The distinctive windscreen boasts a dirt and water-repelling nano-coating, prepping it for use in the wet and wild Netherlands, and its 48V 40AH battery powered with a 600 W charger provides 2 hours of carefree cruising. The Be.e can travel at up to 55km/hr and climb an incline of 15%. There are even USB charging ports in the dashboard for all your devices. It's no magic carpet, but with further models in development, this green machine may one day be a common way to travel. Via PSFK
"Darling it's better down where it's wetter" isn't just a line The Little Mermaid fans have had stuck in their head for the last two decades. Come April 2019, it's also the first thing likely to pop into the minds of anyone heading to one particular Norwegian restaurant. Set to open in the coastal village of Båly in the country's south, Under will plunge hungry patrons into watery surroundings, offering more than just the usual scenic vistas. At this eatery, diners will be tucking into their dishes underwater. To be specific, they'll be feasting 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 will be doing. If that sounds like your idea of a memorable meal, Under is now taking bookings from April 2019 onwards. Visitors will descend down three colour-coded levels to sip sparkling tipples in a champagne bar that boasts views of the shoreline, before enjoying their 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 is being 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 will include 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. Start planning your 2019 Scandinavian trip now. Images: Snohetta.
A team of London-based designers have come up with a solution to the information overload suffered by most of us in this digital age. It's called Little Printer, created by BERG. Saving its users from wading through the endless content in the online information jungle, this itty bitty printer navigates the web on their behalf. It turns select content from its partners Arup, foursquare, Google, the Guardian, and Nike into miniature newspapers, delivered multiple times each day and ready to be popped into a wallet and read on the go. The little guy operates with a zero-configuration wireless connection to the web, and produces inkless thermal prints. The printer is also configured to your phone, to produce customised to-do lists that are just the right size for your back pocket. It will also print your friends' check-ins, plus cross word puzzles and word games - just make sure there's a pen in your other pocket. While there are obviously much more practical ways to catch up on your reading, this itty bitty printer has a face. A face! If nothing else, the BERG design is bound for success based purely on the cuteness factor. And as more and more publications go digital, there's something special about getting your news in physical form. Pre-orders for Little Printer open in 2012, and you can sign up for the mailing list here.
If there's one person audiences should happily follow into a haunted house, it's Guillermo del Toro. He played with spooky spaces in the Oscar-winning Pan's Labyrinth and told ghost stories in The Devil's Backbone. Actually, the Mexican filmmaker has danced with all things dark and sinister across his career, including vampires in Cronos, Blade II and TV's The Strain; giant insects in Mimic; a demon defender in the Hellboy movies; and monsters versus robots in Pacific Rim. In Crimson Peak, del Toro dives into gothic horror territory, telling the tale of a young woman (Mia Wasikowska) seduced into confronting the secrets of the titular house. Add Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain and Charlie Hunnam to the stellar cast, as well as a haunting mood and stunningly spooky imagery, and this frightening effort looks like something truly special. Plus, Crimson Peak even earned the approval of iconic horror author Stephen King, who compared it to Evil Dead. Consider us excited — and a little scared, to be honest — in anticipation. Crimson Peak (© 2015 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.) is in cinemas nationally from October 15, and thanks to Universal Pictures Australia, we have 10 double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter and then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
Summer music festivals are all about embracing the best things in life — good vibes, great friends, and epic tunes. But Secret Garden Festival turned the happiness factor up to out-of-control joy by hosting an actual wedding ceremony at Brownlow Hill Farm. The nuptials were held as part of the annual festival's February 24 - 26 celebration of music, creativity, and disco-infused fun, all held for 48 hours against a lush forest backdrop, just one-and-a-half hours outside of Sydney. Though renowned for its stellar lineup, with The Jezabels, Japanese Wallpaper, Oliver Tank, Urthboy and more on this year's bill, the main stage became the site of a very different kind of celebration at 4pm on Saturday, February 25 — the joining in matrimony of Sydneysiders Alexis and Jimmy. Here's how it went down (and you'd best prepare to say "awwwww" quite a bit). The main stage area was set up with chairs for the wedding party, giving them the best position in the fest. Once the formalities got underway, Alexis and Jimmy swapped Peter Pan-themed vows, because that's how you make tying the knot at a festival even more magical. A brass band played 'Sexual Healing' as the newlyweds were raised over the crowd in a cherrypicker — with confetti cannons also thrown into the mix — while the crowd came together to form a "tunnel of love" for the just-hitched duo to run through. When the wedding was announced, festival director Clare Downes said her crew was pretty stoked to be taking on wedding planner duties, and promised one hell of a party for the lucky lovebirds, their friends and family, and all other festivalgoers who'd 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 knot-tying marked its first official wedding ceremony. If you managed to get an invite — aka a highly coveted ticket almost instantly sold-out even — it's certain to have been an event to remember. ❤️ 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 takes place on February 24-26, 2017. For more info on the festival, visit secretgarden.com.au. By Libby Curran and Sarah Ward.
If there’s one thing we’ve come to know about ourselves it’s that we love a good gimmick. Whether it’s a nautically-themed gastropub or an entire cafe built on Pantone colour palettes, we can’t get enough of the weird and the wonderful. And so it’s no surprise that we’re squee-ing in anticipation of the Brisbane Festival's bizarre food-meets-theatre offering Fear and Delight. Created by Strut & Fret, the theatrical culinary event has been making waves in the news for the last few days, mainly because of the inclusion of food artists Bompas and Parr's so-called G&T Cloud Experience, first opened in London last month. This, in layman’s terms, means 'a room filled with a cloud of humidified gin and tonic which is consumed through the skin and eyeballs'. Yep, breathable booze. As expected, some are delighted with the prospect and others are fearful, while some people are just downright ready to party. Health experts have been lining up around the block to offer their opinion on the phenomenon. Professor Jake Najman, of the University of Queensland’s Drug Research and Education Centre, told the Guardian that rapidly absorbing a carcinogenic chemical is a big no-no. To be fair to the Professor, downing six Jaeger bombs and a Big Mac every Saturday night could also be considered near to carcinogenic but that certainly doesn’t stop us. However Najman also admits that not too much is known about the effects of inhaling alcohol, so bottoms up! Or bottoms out or however it is you toast in this new landscape of possibility. Celebrated internationally for such foodie happenings as an anatomical whisky tasting, a DNA-matching cocktail bar and a huge pagan feast at this year's Dark Mofo, Bompas and Parr are no strangers to controversy. Parr told Bloomberg that humidified drinking is "a new way of experiencing drink, and it’s social because it’s an immersive shared environment. You all have the same flavour sensation. Alcohol tastes better, with more nuances. You can detect more subtle flavours when it is humidified". What a time to be alive! But don’t worry about overdoing it on the alcohol-infused vapour, as Fear and Delight director Scott Maidment says that patrons would have to stand in the cloud for 40 minutes to absorb the equivalent of a large gin and tonic. So even if you get naked and do laps of the room, you won’t end up too drunk to watch the show afterwards. It really adds a whole new layer of meaning to #vapelife. Brisbane Festival’s Fear and Delight runs 4-25 September at South Bank Culture Forecourt. Grab tickets here.
Three little letters. That's all it took back in the day, to kickstart a bonafide mad chat with a perfect stranger. And now you'll be able to dredge up those three simple little alphabet members again, wielding all the power and responsibility of sending those feelers into the cybersphere. We're talkin' A/S/L. Anonymous chatrooms are about to ignite the heyday flame once again in Australia, with the launch of Facebook's new anonymous chat app, Rooms. Having launched in the US in October, the stand alone app takes cues from the IRC-type chatrooms, message boards and forums of internet beginnings. Available only on Apple devices, users can create 'rooms' to chat with other users on any topic of their choice, from baking recipes to The Hunger Games (and probably everything sordid and el rauncho in between). "Pick a topic, customize the look and feel, choose a different nickname for each room you're in and share your room with others," says the app rundown. "Rooms is perfect for the things you love and interests that makes you unique." Don't worry, your Facebook profile isn't your user profile; you can use a pseudonym (you can even use different ones for each room). Invites go through direct message invitations or public recommendations. Once you download the app, you're prompted to screenshot a QR code to see your first room. After you let the app access your photos, you're prompted to join the 'recommended rooms' picked by the Rooms team: anything from Chihuahua Lovers to Cross Stitch Room, God Talk to Depression Support. Alongside the predictable anime, TV show and music rooms, you'll find rooms for people with diabetes, ceramics and pottery lovers, trailrunning enthusiasts, rabbit parents, electric car owners. Screenshot the invite (QR code) and post to be let into the room — you'll have to wait for a moderator to approve you. Most rooms are image based, kind of like an Instagram feed-based forum. The app could be seen as an attempt to nab traffic from Reddit, already well-known and established as the current platform for this type of niche discussion. But the key to Rooms (heh) seems to be the anonymity factor, one bound to be compromised by creepy idiots at one point or another. Few reviews have been posted since the app's October release, but some have been pretty negative — one reviewer called it a "social media Burn Book". "I'm sure the creators of this app have good intentions," wrote user KSully54. "I live in Washington where a room was made to allow naked pictures or screen grabs to be posted. Without consent of the poor people who are just ridiculed and bullied. By our peers no less. hysteria has begun in my gay community which is essentially a social media Burn Book. It's incredibly sad." Via SMH. Image: Chapendra via photopin cc.
Dwayne Johnson (aka 'The Rock') is an absolute Hollywood powerhouse. Just physically the guy's so strong he looks like he could bench press someone while they were bench-pressing. Yet there's so much more than brute force to this wrestler-turned-box office behemoth. In recent times he's had years (such as 2013) where his films have grossed more than US $1 billion combined. With more instalments of the unstoppable Fast and Furious franchise on the horizon, he's fast becoming the most bankable man in the business. No wonder, then, he's recently been hailed as the official heir-apparent to the king of action – Arnold Schwarzenegger. Then there's Kevin Hart, fast-becoming a movie-making powerhouse in his own right. Since just 2014 he's already churned out thirteen films, prompting Chris Rock to joke at the Oscars that not even porn stars make them as quickly as he does. Hart is increasingly being likened to Eddie Murphy for his style of comedy, his likability and his growing credentials as an action-comedy star. With all that said, the only thing surprising about Central Intelligence is how long it took to actually put Hart and Johnson together. And if you're wondering, yes, the film immediately went to no.1 on the US Box Office. Plot wise, there's very little to speak of. Johnson plays Bob Stone, an unflappable CIA operative who may or may not have gone rogue from the Agency, and who twenty years prior was the enormously fat kid subjected to relentless bullying by just about everyone other than Hart in his high school. On the eve of their school reunion, Stone reaches out to Hart's character, Calvin Joyner – the former class president and guy voted 'most likely to succeed'. Joyner is now a mid-level accountant in the throws of a mid-life crisis. Together, the pair quickly find themselves pursued by the CIA as they chase down some secret classified information. It's a classic odd-couple, buddy action comedy in the vein of the Schwarzenegger/DeVito movie Twins, only with far less class and only the most threadbare of storylines. Both Hart and Johnson throw themselves completely into their roles, without which the film would be a proper stinker. They're both terrifically funny actors, and Johnson's deadpan delivery of ridiculous lines is when the movie is at its strongest. It's just frustrating to see the current kings of action and comedy let down by a movie in which the action is entirely dull and derivative, and the comedy is so absent that the only real laughs come from the outtakes playing over the final credits. It all has a feeling of 'she'll be right, mate', relying far too heavily on the celebrity and charisma of its leading men instead of giving them a clever, considered script through which to showcase all that they're capable of. The film does also boast a handful of 'surprise cameos' that briefly recapture your attention, but they're not enough to cover up the gaping holes in plot or direction. Full of potential yet thin on substance, Central Intelligence is best seen as a challenge to the next writer-director to put this pair together. Imagine how brightly these two stars could shine if only they had a decent script. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxEw3elSJ8M
The Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash in Ukraine has reportedly claimed the lives of some of the world's top medical researchers, on their way to Melbourne for the high-profile 20th International AIDS Conference. Conference organisers have this morning released the following statement on their website: "The International AIDS Society (IAS) today expresses its sincere sadness at receiving news that a number of colleagues and friends en route to attend the 20th International AIDS Conference taking place in Melbourne, Australia, were on board the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight that has crashed over Ukraine earlier today. "At this incredibly sad and sensitive time the IAS stands with our international family and sends condolences to the loved ones of those who have been lost to this tragedy." One of those believed to have been on board is former president of the International AIDS Society Joep Lange. American academic and AIDS activist Gregg Gonsalves tweeted, "Joep Lange was a leading AIDS researcher and clinician and an activist at heart. Lost today too soon on Malaysian flight 019. RIP." Two hundred and ninety eight people have died in the tragedy, including 27 confirmed Australians. The plane crashed in Ukraine, in a separatist-controlled area near the Russian border, likely after being hit with a surface-to-air missile. It is unclear at this stage how the crash will affect AIDS 2014, which commences on Sunday and has now taken on an even more tragic tone. Former US president Bill Clinton, UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibé and musician and activist Sir Bob Geldof are also scheduled to speak at the conference, whose official airline partner is Emirates. Update 1.17pm: It now appears that as many as 100 of those killed were headed to the AIDS 2014 conference. Via Sky News and SMH.
Sorry, everyone who has written and sung a catchy and funny tune over the past 15 years or so. When it comes to getting hilarious songs instantly stuck in everyone's heads, Flight of the Conchords has all other candidates beat. And, when it comes to charting the exploits of two New Zealand shepherds-turned-folk musicians trying to make it in New York, too, the cult HBO series of the same name wins hands down as well. By now, everyone in Australia is well acquainted with FOTC — and with Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie's musical and comedic genius, of course. But, in addition to letting the talented duo play fictionalised versions of themselves and belt out their very amusing ditties, this sitcom introduced us all to the wonders of Rhys Darby as the pair's over-eager manager Murray, and to Kristen Schaal as their ultra-devoted (and only) fan Mel. And the Bowie episode, where the singer appears to Bret in a dream sequence (as played by Jemaine), is simply sublime.
Spotlight is a 'deep breath' movie. The kind that holds you in your seat long after the final frame and leaves you staring at the credits lost in deep, uncomfortable thoughts. You find yourself at once furious and disconsolate, avoiding others’ gaze when possible, and offering mutual half smiles when not. Others simply cry. This is a film about child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, told through the eyes of the Boston Globe journalists who uncovered and exposed it in 2002. The name, Spotlight, refers to the Globe's long-term investigative unit, a four person team whose secretive research and day-to-day operations existed largely outside the newspaper’s conventional structure – a sort of journalistic special forces if you will. Directed by Tom McCarthy (Win Win), Spotlight is, in almost every respect, a masterclass in restraint. From the performances, to the writing, to the direction and, most importantly, to the actions taken by the reporters themselves, it is the definitive anti-clickbait film; an ardent dedication to both an age and institution when the priority of media outlets was not 'first' but 'right'. For the Spotlight team, the mere selection of a story might take months and its final form not see the light of day for more than a year. If something couldn’t be substantiated, the story would be held for a few more months until it could. To imagine that level of patience (and budgetary freedom) in the modern era of twenty-four hour news is all but inconceivable. Of the film's six Academy Award nominations, two are for best supporting performances by Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo, though more could (and perhaps should) have easily been spread across the entire cast. Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Billy Crudup, John Slattery, Brian d’Arcy James and Stanley Tucci all contribute incredibly passionate and complex portrayals of the journalists and lawyers responsible for either exposing or protecting the church’s extraordinarily sordid past and practices. Indeed, there are no weak links in this confident, consummate picture, whose deft touch and understated approach neatly reflect the disciplined reserve of its characters. Powerful, absorbing and deeply moving, Spotlight is almost certainly the best film about journalism, and, specifically, print media, of at least the past decade. Probably more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg5zSVxx9JM
Built onto the disused Sandridge Rail Bridge, The Immersery is perhaps the most innovative festival hub the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival has ever seen. Tying into the theme of water, the multi-level temporary structure features a restaurant, bar and raingarden right on the banks of the Yarra. Open every night of the festival, food will be served by local chefs Florent Gerardin (Silo), Daniel Wilson (Huxtable and Huxtaburger) and Jesse Garner (Añada and Bomba), and the country's best bartenders will converge to create cocktails inspired by the three states of water — solid, liquid and gas. With the likes of Daniel Gregory from The Everleigh and Sydney's Shady Pines, the team from Lily Blacks, Eau de Vie and more, this is one bar you can't miss. This event was one of our top picks for the 2014 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. See the full list here.
Disneyland has so monopolised the 'happiest place on earth' tag, it seems Universal Orlando has been driven to try the opposite: They've announced they're building an immersive recreation of horror movie Cabin in the Woods. It's one of the scariest films released in the last few years, so this maze attraction is set to make grown-ups cry and children stare jealously from the gate, as their entry is, of course, strongly discouraged. It's also one of the cleverest movies of the last few years, and how often can you say you've gone on a ride based on a clever movie? (If it succeeds, our vote is for Primer: Hall of Mirrors next.) The Cabin in the Woods maze will be spoilery, with Universal Orlando Entertainment Team member Michael Aiello telling Zap2it, "We are building the cabin completely. You're going to walk through a forest to get there. You're going into the cabin. You're going to go into the cube cells. We're literally taking everything we can in the film and giving you a kind of best-of montage of the film with this kind of linking story." The film, by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, follows a party of five young people who go to stay at a stereotypically idyllic/deadly cabin in the woods. Every horror movie convention is then thrown at them, and twisted. Goddard is on board helping script the storyline for the maze, so you can rest assured your own little journey through hell will be thoughtfully integrated with the main plot. The Cabin in the Woods maze is part of Universal Orlando's 'Halloween Horror Nights', a program of scares that runs from from September 20 to November 2. It all fits into the US's seemingly unending appetite for extreme haunted houses, which feature Broadway-level production values and favour psychosexual torture over the fake cobwebs and peeled grape 'eyeballs' of so many Baby-sitters Club novels. Via io9.
Short film, animation and innovative video artwork will all come together at the open-plan Southgate Cinema in July. Presented by Project Quick and Dirty, Play Me highlights the works of some of the country's most talented filmmakers and artists. Best of all, it's absolutely free. Starting July 8, each Tuesday evening will feature a showcase of narrative shorts. This includes a one-off July 15 retrospective of the films of notable VCA alumni such as Adam Elliot (Harvey Krumpet) and Justin Kurzel (Snowtown). Tuesday night bookings are highly recommended to ensure that you don't miss out on a seat. Wednesday and Thursday nights, meanwhile, will be dedicated to works of a more experimental nature. The public can either pull up a deckchair or choose to wander through the atrium cinema, capturing glimpses of moving image artwork that might normally be restricted to play in galleries. For more information on the Play Me program, visit www.playmeprogram.squarespace.com Image: WTF Is Aussie Art? by Mimi Leung.
Hold onto your hats, kids. The 19th Biennale of Sydney has just announced its 2014 lineup and it's shaping up to be a cracker. Along with the usual slew of international art superstars — Tacita Dean OBE, Roni Horn and Ugo Rondinone — artistic director Juliana Engberg has focused on lesser-known, younger artists and special, one-of-a-kind works commissioned for the event. The list of artists slated to show works is impressive. Martin Boyce, the Scottish artist who made a big splash at the 2009 Venice Biennale is one to look out for, as is Australia's TV Moore and Susan Norrie. The Biennale will be staged in various venues across the city, and each locale will offer a different experience. Cockatoo Island will once again be overcome by larger, site-specific works, many of which will be targeted at families and children. The Art Gallery of NSW will host, among other pieces, a performative installation by Yingmei Duan, who will live, for the duration of the Biennale, in a 'forest' built inside the gallery. As part of Happy Yingmei, the artist will interact with visitors, before retreating back into the forest to retrieve little notes dispensing advice and observations to them, in what Engberg described as a nexus between the practices of Yoko Ono and Marina Abramovic. Another key venue, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, will feature works responding to its surroundings of 'air and water', and what those elements represent in the human psyche. Look out for the large-scale multimedia installation Phantom (2011), by Scottish artist Douglas Gordon (the first video artist to win the Turner Prize) and featuring the heartbreaking vocals of Rufus Wainwright. Meanwhile, Artspace in Woolloomooloo will display 'flights of fancy', presenting works from several artists including Maxime Rossi and Henna-Riikka Halonen. The recently renovated space at Carriageworks will also house works, including a large-scale installation Dutch artist Gabriel Lester, who will offer a piece which responds to the architecture of the building. This fascinating work will explore the idea of cinematic and multimedia art as the 'new readymade'. Engberg is a sensational choice to man the helm of the Biennale, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Her excitement is palpable as she reveals details of a "happy anarchy" to be released upon unsuspecting Sydneysiders on March 21, 2014. The Sydney Biennale is one of the world’s oldest and longest running biennial art fairs. It's also one of the few biennales offering free entry to visitors. Every edition of the event brings together some of the world's most exciting contemporary artists in a vibrant celebration of Australian and international visual art. Each year, the works are curated around a specific theme. In 2014, that will be 'You Imagine What You Desire'. This "optimistic" Biennale takes its cue from a George Bernard Shaw quote: "Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will." Images: Henna-Riikka Halonen, Moderate Manipulations, 2012 (video still) and Yael Bartana, Inferno, 2013 (production still).
Seven and a half years ago Twitter did not exist. If you put a hashtag before anything you wrote it most certainly would not trend; in fact, it would probably result in less people caring about what you thought. Fast forward to 2013 and social media depends on the little symbol — Twitter, Instagram and Facebook collate your literary masterpieces into easy-to-source conversation. Well, Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon have had enough. The hilarious duo took to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to perform a skit where they converse in hashtags. It sounds like two children playing an incredibly stupid and annoying game. Then you remember that this is an exaggeration of how we actually talk these days and realise you should probably spend less time on social media. Particularly enjoyable and satirical is how quickly and coherently Fallon goes from talking about Barney the Dinosaur (#purpleisthenewblack) to Everybody Loves Raymond (#deborah). The final straw, though, is when they hashtag each new line and sound from Missy Elliott's 'Work It', which prompts an intervention from Roots drummer Questlove. Whilst this is #superfunny, after watching it, I challenge you to try and avoid using a hashtag for the next 24 hours #youcandoit #savemekeifersutherland #heistheactorin24. via Gizmodo.
For 22 years, BIGSOUND has highlighted Australia's music industry, getting power players sharing their experience and advice, championing up-and-coming talents, fostering crucial connections, and celebrating live tunes and the folks that make them happen in general. Here's a few other handy numbers for the music conference-slash-festival's upcoming 2023 run: four days, 18 venues, 141 artists and 300-plus showcases. Brisbanites and music obsessives, take note: the Sunshine State capital will be Australia's music haven between Tuesday, September 5–Friday, September 8. Earlier this year, BIGSOUND announced its first speakers, headlined ROC Nation's Omar Grant — who was once the road manager for Destiny's Child and now shares the President role at Jay-Z's entertainment agency. Now, it has dropped the full list of musicians that'll be getting behind a microphone. More than 1300 applications to hit BIGSOUND's stages were received for the 2023 event, but it's the festival team's job to whittle them down to the standouts. Among those making the bill: Brisbane's own Full Flower Moon Band, Zheani, Felivand and Baby Prince; Sydney's Moss and Little Green; Melbourne's PANIA, Moaning Lisa and The Slingers; Perth's DICE and Siobhan Cotchin; and Adelaide's Aleksiah and The Empty Threats. From New Zealand comes Reb Fountain and SWIDT, while Casey Mowry and MF Tomlinson are heading to Queensland from the UK. The list goes on, complete with a significant focus on representation. Among 2023's talents, 27 percent identify as LGBTQIA+, 50 percent are female or gender non-conforming, and First Nations acts comprise 18 percent of the lineup. Indeed, 27 showcases will be devoted to Australia's Indigenous artists, including Miss Kaninna, Loren Ryan, Brady, The Merindas, J-MILLA, CLOE TERARE, Tjaka and Kobie Dee. Fancy checking out the most isolated heavy metal band in the world? That'd be Southeast Desert Metal, and they're also on the roster. As always, the huge music-fuelled shindig will do what it always does: showcase impressive acts, artists and bands while filling as many Brisbane spaces as possible with musos, industry folks and music-loving punters, all enjoying the latest and greatest tunes and talent the country has to offer. Past events have showcased everyone from Gang of Youths, Flume, Thelma Plum, Tash Sultana, Sampa the Great, Courtney Barnett and Cub Sport to San Cisco, Violent Soho, Baker Boy, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Methyl Ethel, Tones and I, Spacey Jane and The Jungle Giants, so BIGSOUND's program is usually a very reliable bellwether. "At its core, BIGSOUND needs to work for artists. It's a global music market and in 2023 we've gone far and wide to attract speakers and buyers from around the world to ensure international relationships are forged and deals are made," said BIGSOUND and QMusic CEO Kris Stewart, announcing 2023's talents. "Our definitive goal is to create a rising tide for everyone. At the end of the week, we want everyone to leave with something — someone new they've met, a deal they've made or new insight to grow their careers. We remain proactive in finding new ways to do this and can't wait for people to discover a whole stack of amazing artists from the showcase lineup." BIGSOUND 2023 ARTIST LINEUP: 1tbsp Ūla aleksiah Alf the Great Anieszka Ashli Aurateque Baby Prince Battlesnake BAYANG (tha Bushranger) Bec Stevens Beckah Amani Behind You bella amor Ben Swissa Boomchild Boox Kid CAMINO GOLD Casey Lowry Charbel Charm of Finches CHISEKO Chitra CLOE TERARE Coldwave Cult Shotta Dean Brady Delivery DENNI DICE Dr Sure's Unusual Practice Dyan Tai ECB Elizabeth Emma Volard FELIVAND FELONY. Foley Freight Train Foxes Friends of Friends Full Flower Moon Band GAUCI Georgia Llewellyn GIMMY Glenn Skuthorpe Band Good Pash Gut Health Hannah Cameron Haters Hevenshe Isaac Puerile Izy Jada Weazel J-MILLA Joan & The Giants Joey Leigh Wagtail Johnny Hunter Jujulipps JUNGAJI Kavi Khi'leb Kid Heron King Ivy Kitschen Boy Kobie Dee Komang Kristal West Kuzco Little Green Logan Lola Scott Loren Ryan MARLON X RULLA Mason Watts Matilda Pearl Mazbou Q Melody Moko MF Tomlinson Micah Heathwood Mikayla Pasterfield Miss June Miss Kaninna Moaning Lisa Moss mostly sleeping Mr Rhodes Nat Vazer Nathan May Nikodimos Oscar the Wild Otiuh PRICIE Platonic Sex POOKIE Porcelain Boy Porpoise Spit PRETTY BLEAK Proteins of Magic Ra Ra Viper RAAVE TAPES Radio Free Alice Radium Dolls REBEL YELL Riiki Reid Ruby Jackson Rum Jungle S.A.B Sachém SAHXL Siobhan Cotchin smol fish Sollyy Sophisticated Dingo Southeast Desert Metal Steph Strings STUMPS Suzi SWIDT Taitu'uga Tamara & the Dreams teddie The Empty Threats The Grogans The Merindas The Omnific The Slingers Thunder Fox Tjaka Too Birds Tori Forsyth Trophie Twine Valtozash Vixens of Fall WHO SHOT SCOTT Yawdoesitall YIRGJHILYA Yorke Zheani Zia Jade BIGSOUND 2023 will take place between Tuesday, September 5–Friday, September 8 in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. For more information, visit bigsound.org.au. Images: Dave Kan / Simone Gorman-Clark.
Adapted from a collection of semi-autobiographical short stories by Instagram-age Renaissance man James Franco, Palo Alto marks the directorial debut of 26-year-old Gia Coppola, the granddaughter and niece of filmmakers Francis Ford and Sofia, respectively. A portrait of teenage disaffection, it's a film that attempts to capture the aimlessness, the angst and the self-aggrandised melancholy of youth. Emma Robert and newcomer Jack Kilmer play April and Teddy, a pair of brooding high schoolers absorbed by personal drama. He's a delinquent skater who's actually an unappreciated artist; she's the neglected daughter of self-absorbed parents who begins an affair with her creepy soccer coach (Franco). Meanwhile, Teddy's best bud Fred (Nate Wolff) finds himself drawn to increasingly anti-social behaviour to hide his insecurities, while another classmate Emily (Zoe Levine) turns to sex in order to hide her own. Palo Alto is in cinemas on August 14, and thanks to Vendetta Films, we have ten double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Read our full review here. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=sTqMUu1iTIo
These days Twitter is known as two things: a medium on which to stalk Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, and a platform for #QandA Twitterati to descend into madness. With all the white noise out there it's easy to forget its true function — Twitter is a place for discussion. Thankfully this is a notion not lost on those fine folks at The Wheeler Centre. In their most recent project #discuss they're dragging Twitter philosophy into the real world, printing it on our city walls and starting important conversations nationwide. Thankfully it goes a lot deeper than catty #QandA tweets about Christopher Pyne's lizard face. The week-long project — which comes to an end tomorrow — has been launched in an effort to reignite a quality public discussion. From June 2, participants on Twitter were urged to put forward opinions or interesting thoughts on whatever topic they please. Paired with the hashtag #discuss, the initial thought was then open for exploration, disagreement, or extrapolation from the wider Twitter community. The best ten thoughts from each day have been printed on plaques and placed in fitting locations around Melbourne's CBD and inner suburbs. Right now Estelle Tang's culturally-weighted declaration that "Australians don't know how lucky they really are" lies knowingly outside Crown Casino. In what must be another blow for employees at The Age, a bleak assertion from writer Clementine Ford is currently plastered right out front of their city offices: "The old guard can fight as much as they like, but they can't stop the youth from one day taking over." Within a week of opening, Chris Lucas' latest venture Kong has already been hit with some Twitter truth: "Thanks to social media, place-dropping has become worse than name-dropping." It's a powerful concept, and one which gives abstract notions or debates an all-important physical weight. Arguments about boat people are no longer throwaway comments in cyberspace; they're staring you in the face on your way past the Immigration Department. An unsettling philosophical statement gives you some mind fodder on your way into Coles. Once again, this valued cultural institution is proving its intellectual importance. Disagree? Discuss! The project ends Sunday, June 8 so there's still a chance to get your words plastered on a city street. Even if you miss the deadline, don't worry, the discussion never really stops. @waouwwaouw at Crown Casino, Southbank. @clementine_ford at The Age offices on Spencer Street. @mattfitzy at Chris Lucas' new restaurant Kong on Church Street, Richmond. @uptosquat at Hosier Lane. @SophieMcAulay at Hungry Jacks on Russell Street. @MIFFofficial at The Classic Cinema in Elsternwick. @hamlwat at the Immigration Department. @Melbfoodandwine at Cumulus Inc. @tesslawley at Coles Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn. @AsherTreleaven at The Melbourne Club. Lead photo: @elissebaitz at Northside Records. All photos via The Wheeler Centre.
When you lick a scoop of gelato, do you take a moment to let the flavour settle onto your tastebuds? Do you stop to contemplate the creaminess, and ponder how it feels on your tongue? Perhaps you spend too long thinking not only about how your dessert tastes, but how it smells — or maybe you're obsessed with how it looks, because a good ice cream is a truly glorious sight. If we've just described your usual thought processes every time you step inside a gelato joint, then you might want to throw your name in the ring for Gelatissimo's newest gig. As part of a four-hour, once-off deal, the dessert chain will pay one ice cream-loving person $500 to taste-test its newest gelato flavours. Over the past year, Gelatissimo has been responsible for frosé sorbet, ginger beer gelato and even a gelato for dogs, so you won't be tasting your way through plain ol' vanilla or the usual mint choc-chip combination (not that there's anything wrong with those two stone cold classics). Just what flavours you'll be munching on hasn't yet been revealed, but you'll play a crucial part in evaluating them. As well as being delicious, this is serious business, requiring the utmost focus on the task at hand. That means first assessing the gelato's appearance, then enjoying a couple of scoops to get a feel for the flavour and texture. Then, after cleansing your palate with water, you'll do it all over again (and then again). If you're keen, as most people with tastebuds will be, just head to Airtasker to explain why you're the ideal candidate for the job. While the competition is open nationally, the winner will be required to get themselves to Gelatissimo's Sydney office in Rydalmere on Friday, September 27. For more information, or to apply for the Gelatissimo gelato-tasting gig, visit the Airtasker listing.
The COVID-19 situation in Australia is changing every day, with the federal government first implementing a ban on non-essential events with more than 500 people and then mandating that everyone arriving from overseas self-isolate for 14 days. In response to the first restriction, events and venues around the country are cancelling and postponing their 2020 plans. This is having devastating impacts on the local hospitality, arts and music industries, with I Lost My Gig Australia reporting that, as of midday on Monday, March 16, 20,000 events have been cancelled, which has impacted 190,000 Australians and equated to $47 million in lost income. And those numbers are continuing to climb. While going out might not be at the top of your to-do list right now, you can continue to support these industries and businesses by buying from artists who've had their shows cancelled, ordering gift cards and merch from venues that are struggling or just booking in a dinner for that birthday a few months away. To keep you abreast of what's been cancelled, postponed and suspended, here's our live list, updated as it happens. [caption id="attachment_710789" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sydney Royal Easter Show.[/caption] SYDNEY All ANZAC Day commemoration services across NSW (April 25): cancelled All City of Sydney aquatic and fitness centres: closed until at least April 3 All non-essential indoor venues, including casinos, gyms, cinemas, places of worship, clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes (can offer takeaway and delivery only): temporarily closed Alliance Francaise Film Festival (March 10–April 8): postponed from March 19 Art Gallery of NSW: temporarily closed Biennale of Sydney: cancelled Bluesfest (April 9–14): cancelled Carriageworks: temporarily closed (Saturday farmers markets will proceed) Comedy Steps Up for Bushfire Relief (March 16): cancelled Download Festival (March 21): cancelled Festival of Dangerous Ideas (April 3–5): cancelled Handa Opera (March 27–April 26): cancelled Happy Place (until May 3): postponed Momo Fest (April 18): postponed No Coal Zone (March 14): postponed Opera Australia's Carmen, Atilla and Great Opera Hits: cancelled until March 28 Palace Cinemas: all locations closed from March 19 Royal Easter Show (April 3–14): cancelled So Pop 2020 (April 25): cancelled Spanish Film Festival (April–May): postponed until August, with new dates TBC Splendour in the Grass (July 24–26): postponed until October 23–25 Sydney Film Festival (June 3–14): cancelled Sydney Writers' Festival (April 27–May 3): cancelled Sydney Opera House: all performances cancelled until June 17 Taronga Zoo: temporarily closed The Other Air Fair (March 20–23): postponed Vivid Sydney (May 22–June 13): cancelled [caption id="attachment_710610" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ability Fest by Alex Drewniak[/caption] MELBOURNE Ability Fest (April 4): cancelled All ANZAC Day Commemorative services across Victoria (April 25): public cannot attend All City of Melbourne libraries, recreation centres and cultural and arts centres: temporarily closed All non-essential indoor venues, including casinos, gyms, cinemas, places of worship, clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes (can offer takeaway and delivery only): temporarily closed Alliance Francaise Film Festival (March 11–April 8): postponed from March 19 Arts Centre Melbourne: closed until April 13 Cirque du Soleil Kurios: suspended until further notice Download Festival (March 21): cancelled Fromage a Trois (March 22): cancelled Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: suspended until April 12 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (March 19–29): postponed until spring Melbourne International Comedy Festival (March 25–April 19): cancelled Melbourne Queer Film Festival (March 12–23): postponed Melbourne Museum: closed until further notice Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: postponed until April 13 (but it is live-streaming select shows) Momo Fest (April 4–5): postponed National Gallery of Victoria: closed until April 13 Open Weekend (March 21–22): cancelled Palace Cinemas: all locations closed from March 19 So Pop 2020 (May 1): cancelled Spanish Film Festival (April–May): postponed until August, with new dates TBC State Library Victoria: closed until further notice Sweetstock (March 28–29): cancelled The Other Art Fair (May 21–24): postponed Wine Machine (March 28): postponed until October 31 World Tour Bushfire Relief (March 13): cancelled Wall to Wall Festival (April 3–5): postponed [caption id="attachment_764598" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Westpac OpenAir[/caption] BRISBANE All non-essential indoor venues, including casinos, gyms, cinemas, places of worship, clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes (can offer takeaway and delivery only): closed All ANZAC Day commemoration services across Qld (April 25): cancelled Alliance Francaise Film Festival (March 18–April 14): postponed The Big Pineapple Music Festival (May 30): postponed until early October — new date TBC Boho Luxe Market (April 17–19): postponed until September 25–27 Brisbane Comedy Festival: cancelled from March 16 onwards Brisbane Gin Festival (April 4): postponed until September 19 Brisbane Night Market (weekly on Fridays): closed until further notice, with all events cancelled Buddha Birthday Festival (May 1–3): cancelled Burgers and Beers (March 21+27): cancelled Cat Cuddle Twilight Market (March 27): postponed — new date TBC Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (March 18–April 19): cancelled Curiocity Brisbane (March 20–April 5): cancelled The Drop Festival Coolangatta (March 28): cancelled Eat Street Northshore: closed until further notice Fish Lane Festival (May 9): postponed until September 5 The Foundry: closed until further notice, with all events cancelled Gigs & Picnics (March 28, April 25, May 30): monthly events postponed until June 27 Gold Coast Film Festival (April 15–26): cancelled Greener Pastures (May 3): cancelled Green Jam Sessions (weekly on Fridays): all sessions cancelled until at least April 30 HOTA, Home of the Arts: closed until March 31 James St Up Late (March 26): cancelled Momo Fest (April 12): postponed — new date TBC Mould: A Cheese Festival (March 20–21): postponed — new date TBC Mov'In Bed Cinema (March 27–May 17): postponed until the last quarter of 2020 — new dates TBC Netherworld: closed from Wednesday, March 18 until at least the end of March, with all events cancelled Noosa Eat & Drink Festival (May 14–17): cancelled Not On Your Rider (March 26 and April 30): cancelled, with events likely to restart in October Palace Cinemas: all locations closed from March 19 The Planting Festival (May 1–3): cancelled The Plant Market (March 29): postponed — new date TBC Puppies and Pints (April 5): cancelled Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art: both galleries remain open, including GOMA's Australian Cinemathque, but all public programs, events and tours have been cancelled Queensland Performing Arts Centre: all theatres closed until at least April 30 Queensland Symphony Orchestra: all performances cancelled until April 30 Stones Corner Festival (May 3): cancelled Water Up Late (March 20–21): cancelled So Pop 2020 (April 24): cancelled Spanish Film Festival (April–May): postponed until August, with new dates TBC Westpac OpenAir (April 5–26): postponed — new date TBC World Science Festival Brisbane (March 25–29): cancelled The Village Markets Stones Corner (March 27): cancelled for March, with a decision about future markets due by March 27 Young Henrys Rock N Roll Circus (March 19): postponed — new date TBC 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. Top image: Vivid
In the next chapter of Australia's plastic bag saga, Coles has paused its ban. Six days after the supermarket giant implemented its nationwide single-use plastic bag ban, it has announced it will be giving out free reusable plastic bags until the close of business on Sunday, July 8. This brings the supermarket chain into line with Woolworths who, after implementing a nationwide ban on June 20, also reneged on the ban and announced it would be giving them out for free until July 8. The reusable bags that are currently being given out for free would usually cost shoppers 15c in both Coles and Woolworths. They're thicker, more durable and are made from 80 percent recycled plastic — and were meant to encourage shoppers to bring them back, again and again, rather than buying a new one each time. The temporary, complimentary bag offer for both supermarket giants is only valid in NSW, Vic, WA and Qld, as the other states and territories have already had single-use plastic bag bans in place for several years (SA leading the pack, introducing it back in 2009). Both moves came after backlash to the bans on social media and in store, with reports of some shoppers becoming aggressive, others stealing plastic baskets instead of paying for reusable bags, and many accusing the chains of using the ban as a profit making scheme. Both supermarkets are also offering cloth bag alternatives, with Woolworths' 99c Bag for Good, which the supermarket chain will replace for free if it gets damaged, and Coles' $1 Community Bags, which are designed by Australian school children and ten percent of sales are donated to charities. Both bags are designed to be used repeatedly. On a national level, NSW and Victoria are now the only states that haven't implemented state-wide bans, with Queensland introducing its ban earlier this month on July 1. Victoria is set to do so next year, but NSW is yet to announce whether it will join suit.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013 will go down as one of the most exhausting and absurd days in Australian parliament's history. There were retirements, there were bills proposed, and hijacking headlines and Twitter feeds across the country was the Labor Party's leadership spill, where the caucus sharpened their knives again to farewell Julia Gillard and give Kevin Rudd another chance to shake his sauce bottle all the way to election glory. The whole process played out like an elaborate film or TV plot, so we decided to take a look at the top five leadership battles the screen has offered and see how they compare. 1. Game of Thrones When the excellent #RuddWedding began trending, there was no way to look past the most popular show on television and its parallels with Australian politics. Whilst Red Wedding meme manipulators are casting Kevin as the murderous Lord Bolton, perhaps it would be more appropriate to stick Bill Shorten's head on his shoulders. Either way, we are down to a two-horse race for Australia's iron throne. 2. Rocky Whilst Rocky may have lost his first battle, professional fight against Apollo Creed, the Italian Stallion refused to go down, weathering the blows before rising to deliver a knockout blow and regain the prime ministership. Here is hoping that the plots continue to overlap and we witness a montage of Gillard training Rudd before they treat us to a Rocky III freeze frame ending. 3. Ron Burgundy vs. Veronica Corningstone Whilst Kevin Rudd may not sport Ron Burgundy's glorious moustache, he still held the leadership of his news team until Veronica Corningstone ambitiously took it from him. Ron fought to claim it back though, and whilst there will be no co-anchorship between Rudd and Gillard, we can still look forward to Anchorman 2. 4. Harry Potter vs. Lord Voldemort When ABC reporter Mark Simkin dipped into the pages of Harry Potter to cover the spill — stating "neither can live whilst the other survives" — he wasn't wrong. Gillard has remained true to her word and retired, making Kevin Potter the boy who lived, ready to take on his next nemesis. Whilst we wait for the battle, let us ponder on how much more enjoyable Question Time would be if everyone was wearing robes, clutching wands and shouting 'expelliarmus' at each other. 5. Sideshow Bob vs. Mayor Quimby In Springfield's political showdown of the century, Sideshow Bob rides to victory over Mayor Quimby on a wave of charisma and popularity. Rudd has the charisma and popularity; here's hoping he hasn't masterminded a rigged vote like Sideshow Bob did that would plunge Australian politics into an even larger comedic hole of errors. Bonus: Star Wars Filibuster Yesterday also saw a busy day on the international politics scene, as Democratic state senator Wendy Davis filibustered a package of laws that would restrict access to abortion in Texas. She was controversially cut short at ten hours on a technicality for speaking off topic, which earned her a third strike — at least we can say that the rules of baseball don't dictate Australian politics. Whilst her filibustering was far more topical than this offering, Patton Oswald's rant on Parks and Recreation certainly lightens the mood of defeat.
Now in its eight year, the Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards is looking to inspire passionate creatives across Australia by inviting them to submit their work for the chance to win the prize of a lifetime. In 2011, the SOYAs has expanded the categories of entry, with the roster now including fashion, interactive content and gaming, written word, visual design and communications, film and video, photography, visual arts, craft and object design, music, architecture and interior design, and animation. Australians under the age of 30 are encouraged to present their work in one of these categories, with the closing date of one category occurring each month until October 2012. Each winner will receive a handy $5000 cash prize. Furthermore, each category has a different one-year mentorship program which will allow the winner to work with some of the leading figures within their chosen industry. These include fashion icons Nicky and Simone Zimmermann, Legally Blonde director Robert Luketic, and music producer Lee Groves, whose portoflio includes the likes of Gwen Stefani, Marilyn Manson and Craig David. This will provide newcomers with invaluable experience from industry experts. If that wasn't enough, Qantas will also send the winners on a trip to an exclusive event within their field. These events are scattered all over the world, but are united by their prestige and widespread recognition. These include London Fashion Week, the Edinburgh Film Festival and Cannes Lions. Previous winners of the Spirit of Youth Awards have soared to new heights, such as fashion designers Romance Was Born (pictured), musicians Wolf & Cub and photographer Penny Lane. With the competition's expansion into unprecedented categories, there are now more opportunities for Australia's finest creative minds to showcase their work to the world. Furthermore, winners will be financially assisted and treated to experiences that will allow their talents to flourish.
Across nine initial seasons between 1993–2002, an additional two seasons that aired in 2016 and 2018, and two big-screen movies as well, FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigated all manner of weird and wonderful cases. They all involved the paranormal, supernatural and conspiracies, of course, spanning everything from aliens and psychic abilities to sewer-dwelling man-worm creatures and teenagers who could channel lightning — and they made The X-Files both a sci-fi hit while it was airing and a sci-fi classic ever since. Sometime in the near future, The X-Files will serve up a range of new cases. This time, though, expect them to be silly, funny and particularly preposterous. As reported by Variety, the show is coming back again, but as an all-new animated comedy spinoff that'll focus on a team covering investigations considered too ridiculous for Mulder and Scully. As fans of The X-Files will know, there's nothing too out-there for Mulder and Scully. The former's nickname was 'Spooky', after all. And, even though the latter was often highly skeptical of her partner's theories, she was also known to suggest some creative ideas of her own. But 'too wacky for Mulder and Scully' is the premise that 20th Television and Fox Entertainment seem to be sticking with for the new show — which sounds more than a bit like The X-Files meets Scooby-Doo. While few other specifics have been revealed as yet, the series will be called The X-Files: Albuquerque, and will focus on "an office full of misfit agents... they're basically the X-Files' B-team", as Variety notes. There's no word on when it'll reach screens, but neither Anderson nor Duchovny are currently involved — so don't go getting your hopes up for an animated Mulder and Scully (well, another one, after their appearance on The Simpsons back in 1997). Behind the lens, The X-Files creator Chris Carter is an executive producer, while Movie 43's Rocky Russo and Jeremy Sosenko will be writing the series. The X-Files: Albuquerque will mark The X-Files' franchise's fourth TV series, following the original; 1996–9's Lance Henriksen-starring Millennium, which was set in the same universe; and 2001's The Lone Gunmen, about three conspiracy-obsessed characters initially seen helping Mulder and Scully. If you need a reminder of what made The X-Files so great, check out the below trailer for the 2008 movie The X-Files: I Want to Believe. You can also stream all 11 series of The X-Files in Australia on Amazon Prime Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9KV4ESQ8HU Via Variety.
Cinematic conversation densely populates a significant proportion of the internet, and finding a site that addresses your interests can be exhausting. But brand-new website The Dissolve looks to provide a comprehensive and accessible online complex for discussion that cinephiles can enjoy liberally. The Dissolve is the newest cultural offspring of the team behind Pitchfork and is ready to talk anything and everything film related, in a way that is appealing to all film aficionados. "There's a lot of great film writing on the Internet," says Keith Phipps, editorial director of The Dissolve, in an interview with Mashable, "but there really wasn't anyone doing what Pitchfork has done for music, which is smart, opinion-driven, critic-driven, review-driven, and written for an audience that was passionate about film but not necessarily coming at it from an academic view." With the jargon out of the way, The Dissolve facilitates cinematic conversation between cinephiles — a discussion simplified by the broadcasting of their net. Not only will they discuss the latest films, but they will also explore where cinema has come from as well as the endless ephemera generated by the craft, right down to film-inspired board games. Where The Dissolve stands out from the crowd, though, is its appreciation of modern cinematic digestion. "With moviegoing changing (and continuing to change) in the 21st century, The Dissolve wants to account for the many different ways our readers experience movies, whether they’re at the multiplex, in their favorite New York City arthouse, or watching a new indie On Demand at home in Des Moines," says site editor Scott Tobias. The introspective and retrospective site is ambitious in its comprehensiveness, so whether you want to talk about the newest blockbuster or your favourite monster from that Japanese romance-horror, The Dissolve has got you covered. The feature we are anticipating most is their 'Short Cuts', a weekly selection of lunch-hour friendly films to fill the time whilst eating that chicken salad.
It’s been 50 years since “I have a dream”, but Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy lives on in the Australian premiere of The Mountaintop. Katori Hall’s award-winning play blew away London and New York, with Samuel L. Jackson making his Broadway debut. Hall’s play is a vision of King’s last night before his assassination, set in a claustrophobic Memphis hotel room, where Camae — the bold young woman who brings his room service — forces him to confront his own fears and desires. King might be one of the most famous figures of the past century, but the work offers a rare, if imagined, insight into the private character behind his martyrdom and soaring rhetoric. In the Melbourne Theatre Company’s production Bert La Bonte and Zarah Newman take on this taut two-hander under the direction of Alkinos Tsilimidos, best known for his work in indie Australian cinema.
Things are looking a little bit queer in Federation Square, with the return of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival to ACMI. The largest event of its kind anywhere in Australia, this year's festival features over 100 different features, documentaries and shorts, from searing dramas to crowd-pleasing comedies and everything in-between. Throw in special events ranging from speed dating to a virtual reality drag show, and film lovers will have their work cut out for them. Standout films on this year's program include the highly anticipated Australian documentary Remembering the Man, a retrospective screening of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant, and the local premiere of low key indie drama Boulevard featuring one of the final performances by the great Robin Williams. There's also a stellar selection of documentary, animated, gay and lesbian short films, plus industry workshops, public panels and more.
Maybe you like to slather it all over everything you're about to eat. Perhaps you like to get your doses in more restrained dips and dollops. Either way, if you're a mayonnaise fan, Japan's latest food trend has you covered. At a mayo cafe, two things are on offer: the condiment in the spotlight, of course, and the ability to indulge in its creamy goodness in your ideal fashion. Here's hoping that your preferences include mayo on pasta, salad, seafood dishes, with hot and cold eggs, turned into a custard pudding, and served as a variety of dips, because you'll find all of the above on the menu — and more. Don't just expect any old egg-and-vinegar concoction, though. The cult favourite that is kewpie is not only the variety everyone will be gorging on, but also the company behind the dedicated eateries. The first Kewpie mayo cafe opened its doors in Tokyo's busy Shibuya district on March 1 to mark NationalMayonnaise Day (yes, it's a thing), with a second due to follow in Nagoya in central Honshu from April 1. Both will shower eager customers with all the kewpie they could dream of (not literally, of course) for a full month; however, we're guessing this won't be the last time mayo-centric establishments pop up. Via Munchies. Image: Takeaway / Creative Commons.
When Percy Fawcett gazes upon the Amazon in The Lost City of Z, he does so with wonder blazing in his eyes. A real-life geographer, soldier and explorer played here by Charlie Hunnam, Fawcett is dispatched from Britain to South America to survey the border between Bolivia and Brazil, only to become beguiled by his new rainforest surroundings. Many movies would explain his reaction through dialogue alone, but James Gray's latest effort works in more than just words. The filmmaker behind The Immigrant and We Own The Night, Gray is known for crafting precise, painterly visuals. It's little wonder that his excursion through tropical greenery shares Fawcett's fondness in each and every frame. To watch The Lost City of Z is to stare deep into the splendour of untamed nature, and to appreciate the mystery and allure that comes simply from looking. The colour and movement; the locals and the wildlife; the sense of how different it is to early 20th century England — it's all there, in cinematographer Darius Khondji's striking images. It's an essential touch, given that examining the mindset that inspired Fawcett's repeated treks into the jungle is one of the movie's main aims. If there were ever any doubts that Gray would be able to jump from his urban-set back catalogue to the grandness of the Amazonian wilds, they're quickly dispelled. When we first meet Fawcett, he's a young army officer hunting stag for sport. He's considered talented, yet a shadow hangs over his family name thanks to his drunken father. Asked to do the Royal Geographic Society's bidding on the other side of the world, he soon leaves his wife Nina (Sienna Miller) and infant son for trampling through luscious growth, with Corporal Henry Costin (Robert Pattinson) and on-site guides for company. If he hadn't fallen for the Amazon's magnetism, as well as a story about a lost city teeming with gold, his jaunt might've ended with a happy return home. But Fawcett is haunted by his desire to find the fabled locale — and prove that advanced civilisation exists beyond western society — even if it costs him his life. As the film's existential adventures continue, Pattinson gets grimy, Tom Holland pops up, as does Italian acting legend Franco Nero. Ultimately though, The Lost City of Z belongs to Hunnam, who wipes King Arthur from our memory. Poised, passionate and persistent, with ample charm thrown in, he plays his protagonist as an imperfect but still decent man driven by a multitude of motivators. The character is also surprisingly progressive, breaking from the racist, sexist, classist, jingoistic and colonialist attitudes of his peers. In short, he's the sort of person you'd be willing to follow through dense foliage. Just as seeing is believing when it comes to Gray's mesmerising sights, Hunnam ensures viewers feel the calling coursing through Fawcett's veins. Accordingly, The Lost City of Z becomes more than just a dazzling account of a real-life trek through uncharted terrain. That's not to say that it doesn't impress as an intimate adventure flick, an exploration of fevered obsession, or as a textured and thoughtful biopic — in fact, it succeeds as all three. But what lingers most of all is an understanding of why people chase even the most challenging and unlikely of dreams, what they hope to find, and how such mysteries leave their mark on history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2RYbGgBQeM
Hearing Gurrumul perform live is one of those haunting yet rejuvenating experiences that will last with you for days. His surreal melodies and powerful voice have captivated audiences for years, and this one-off show at Sidney Myer Music Bowl is sure to show off all his highly-acclaimed talents. From his time with Yothu Yindi right up to his most recent album, Rrakala, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu has pioneered a unique style of indigenous Australian storytelling, and his solo work — all sung in his native Yolngu — is always heavy with the burdens of his people and his land. His performance at the Melbourne Festival is the first in a three-year series, and this year he will be accompanied by Philharmonia Australia and a filmed narration of his stories made by the musician's fellow clan members. In a surprising, but welcome move, Gurrumul will also be supported by indie songstress Sarah Blasko. Though their styles are undoubtedly different, it will be interesting to see how they complement one another on the night — one Australian voice to another. Gurrumul will be performing at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl as part of the Melbourne Festival on Saturday October 12. We have a double pass to give away for this one-off show. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
Everyone should see Henry Rollins on a stage. Luckily, audiences have had ample opportunities for more than four decades. The musician first came to fame singing behind the microphone in punk-rock band Black Flag and then Rollins Band, but is now just as renowned for his spoken-word shows, where he waxes lyrical (and candid and amusing) about his life, fame and the state of the world. Australians are no stranger to Rollins getting chatty; however, thanks to the pandemic, he hasn't taken to stages Down Under since 2016. That's about to change come winter, with the icon, actor, author and radio host heading around the country on an 18-show, 17-city tour. The place scoring a double dose of Rollins? Brisbane. Rollins' spoken-word gigs always sell out, and they're always an entertaining — and unflinchingly honest — night spent listening to the Sons of Anarchy, Lost Highway and Heat star. This time, he's visiting both capitals and regional centres, and notching up every Aussie state and territory, on a tour dubbed 'Good to See You'. Attendees can look forward to Rollins looking back over the past seven years since he last visited Australia, stepping through his life from 2016 until COVID-19 hit — and, of course, exploring what's happened since. Fingers crossed for more mullet insights, too. Rollins makes his way around Australia after a massive leg in Europe, where he's currently flitting from Croatia, Poland and Finland to Sweden, Germany, France and the United Kingdom — and more. And, his latest tour comes after he added two more books to his name in 2022: Sic, which draws upon the frustration of not knowing if his touring life would ever return; and Stay Fanatic!!! Vol. 3. [caption id="attachment_888225" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Morten Jensen via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] HENRY ROLLINS 'GOOD TO SEE YOU' TOUR 2023: Monday, June 5 — Perth Concert Hall, Perth Tuesday, June 6 — Margaret River HEART, Margaret River Thursday, June 8 — Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide Friday, June 9 — Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs Saturday, June 10 — Darwin Entertainment Centre, Darwin Tuesday, June 13 — Cairns Performing Arts Centre, Cairns Thursday, June 15–Friday, June 16 — The Tivoli, Brisbane Saturday, June 17 — The Events Centre Caloundra, Sunshine Coast Tuesday, June 20 — Llewellyn Hall ANU, Canberra Wednesday, June 21 — Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo Thursday, June 22 — Civic Hall, Ballarat Saturday, June 24 — Hamer Hall, Melbourne Tuesday, June 27 — Anita's Theatre, Thirroul Wednesday, June 28 — State Theatre, Sydney Friday, June 30 — Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle Sunday, July 2 — Princess Theatre, Launceston Monday, July 3 — Odeon Theatre, Hobart Henry Rollins tours Australia in June and July 2023, with ticket pre sales from 11am local time on Monday, February 13 and general sales from 11am local time on Wednesday, February 15. Head to the tour website for further information.
Each year the Melbourne Theatre Company presents a series of semi-staged readings of new plays by Australian writers — an opportunity for a fresh crop of five playwrights to develop their work, and a great chance for local audiences to experience new performance writing on the cheap (a mere $10, or $5 for under 30s). 2014 is no exception. As 'semi-staged readings' the actors often have scripts in hand, and the focus is on refining the writing in front of a live audience rather than expecting a perfect, polished performance. Make sure to check out Declan Greene’s thoroughly un-Googleable 8GB of Hardcore Pornography – it’s receiving its premiere in Sydney later this year but its Cybec outing will have to tide Melbourne audiences over for now. There are also plays by Kylie Trounson, S. Shakthidaran, Sue Smith, and Jane Harrison, whose work The Visitors is appearing as part of the Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival. For more details on each play check out the MTC website.
Handpicking some of the globe's best new artists for yet another glorious year (their sixth, to be exact), Sugar Mountain has revealed one heck of a 2017 lineup, with Dev Hynes/Blood Orange, homegrown duo Big Scary and British boss Little Simz headlining. Returning to Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts on Saturday, January 21, Sugar Mountain has again balanced international drawcards with local talent this year, from Perth avant-electronic bedroom producer KUČKA to German producer Pantha Du Prince. Other Aussies converging on Mebourne for the fest include Methyl Ethel, Dro Carey and The Belligerents. The Boiler Room stage will also return, live streaming around the world with a yet-to-be-announced lineup. As always though, music isn't the only thing on the menu for Sugar Mountain. There'll also be a load artists on the bill, including Chairlift vocalist Caroline Polacheck, Melbourne-based, Novocastrian sculptor Caleb Shea and New Orleans-based public space artist MOMO. Nosh-wise, don't just expect your regular festival fare — Sugar Mountain's immersive on-site restaurant Sensory will be back. Last year, it was a collaboration between Bomba, Tin & Ed and Cut Copy, so we can't wait to see what they put together this year. Enough chatskies, here's that lineup you're after. SUGAR MOUNTAIN 2017 LINEUP: ALTA Baba Stiltz (Sweden) Beppe Loda (Italy) Big Scary Black Cab Blood Orange (UK) CC:DISCO! Daydreams Dro Carey Jaala Jack River Jessy Lanza (Canada) Kelsey Lu (USA) Kornel Kovacs (Sweden) KUČKA Little Simz (UK) Methyl Ethel Mood II Swing (USA) Moses Sumney (USA) My Disco Palms Trax (UK) Pantha Du Prince (Germany) Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Slum Sociable Sui Zhen Suzanne Ciani x Kaityn Aurelia Smith (USA) The Belligerents Tornado Wallace Weyes Blood (USA) ARTISTS Caleb Shea Elliot Routledge Karan Singh (Japan) March Studio MOMO (USA) Myriam Bleau (Canada) Robyn Moody x Caroline Polacheck (USA) Supergroup London - Morag Myerscough x Luke Morgan (UK) Sugar Mountain Festival is happening at Victorian College Of The Arts, Melbourne on Saturday, January 21, 2017. Tickets are $99 each and are on sale now at sugarmountain.com. By Shannon Connellan and Lauren Vadnjal.
Getting your mind around the carbon statistics involved in keeping London warm is like trying to make sense of the figures that astronomers toss about when they’re talking about the size of the universe — pretty much impossible to do. According to a 2006 climate change report, the average Briton uses 1.49 tonnes of carbon every year in preventing death-by-freezing. Multiplying that by London’s population — 8.3 million — gives the staggering figure of 12.3 million. The good news is that Mayor Boris Johnson wants to do something about it. He's planning to reduce London's annual carbon usage by 3.5 million tonnes by 2025, through the increased use of secondary heat sources and decentralisation. So, in the search for solutions, renewable energy experts are getting creative. In May 2013, construction began on a 'fat plant', which will see the transformation of the fat balls, grease and oils found in London's sewers into heat. And as of late last year, the Underground is getting ready to do its bit. Johnson, the Islington Council, UK Power Networks and Transport for London have hatched a plan to transfer the heat generated by the tube and a local substation into at least 500 homes. The project, the first of its kind in Europe, will not only decrease the city's carbon footprint, it'll also reduce power bills for the households involved. At the same time, New York's Department of Sanitation is set to expand a pilot program that has seen 5,000 homes heated with the energy generated from food waste. The organic matter is collected from homes and schools and taken to the Newtown Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it is mixed with waste water and transformed into biogas. Via Springwise. Image by smaedli via photopin cc.
