Melbourne's one-to-watch designers will be hawking their wares on Sunday, November 6 at the latest edition of the much-loved Melbourne Design Market. A major event on the Melbourne design calendar since it launched back in 2004, this twice-yearly showcase of intelligent design is the perfect destination for savvy shoppers, or anyone just looking to drop some hard-earned cash. Hosted once again on level three of the Federation Square carpark from 10am till 5pm, this year's market will welcome 50 handpicked local merchants selling everything from clothing and fashions accessories to high-end stationery and furniture. We've got our eye on the Japanese homewares from Kocent, the predictably stylish items from Swedish Interiors, and these super nifty A6 memobottles that fit in your pocket. On the off chance that you have any money left over after your shopping spree, there'll be coffee and food available from The Bean Alliance.
Let's face it, when life gives you lemons, you don't always feel like lemonade. For some of us, a bad day at work, an unexpected bill or the total wet blanket that is lockdown can see you reaching for something a little more heavy duty than citrus juice. If the standard Netflix and takeout self-soothing strategy has worn thin, we get it. And that's why we've put together a few strategies to try next time life tosses you a curveball. PRIORITISE YOUR SLEEP How many days of the week do you wake up and feel like you've actually had enough sleep? For us, it's minus three. So when everything hits the fan, one thing we like to focus on is getting a good night's sleep. If you have a hard time falling asleep, there are a few habits you can incorporate into your nightly routine to wind down more easily. NSW Health recommends doing an activity that you find relaxing for an hour or so before bed like reading or taking a bath. Or, you could try incorporating a sleep supplement into your routine to assist in de-stressing from the day and to help you hit the hay at a reasonable hour. TAKE A SOCIAL MEDIA BREAK When things have gone awry it can be easy to distract yourself with mindless activities to escape. One way you might do that is by spending hours doomscrolling on social media platforms. And while social media definitely has its positives, it's not like you can control what other people post. Typically, people use social media to make public declarations of wins they've had, and that's great. We love celebrating our friends. But, if you've just had a loss, no matter how big or small, seeing someone nailing life can send you into a tailspin. That's not to say you can't be happy for people in those moments — you absolutely can. But before you login after a tough day, consider checking in with yourself and figure out whether or not you're emotionally prepared to deal with the feelings that may arise while being online. TAKE YOUR VITAMINS When you're not feeling 100 percent, taking active steps to look after your physical health is a great way to lift yourself out of your slump. Getting on top of the basics like good sleep, a balanced diet and drinking plenty of water is key. And, if you want to go even further, we recommend stocking up on vitamins from JSHealth, too. Whether you need something to help with skin health, hormone balance, sleep or stress, JSHealth has an extensive selection of supplements to choose from to help you take care of yourself. Plus, you'll get access to the JSHealth app for free with any order of vitamins — just use your order ID to access recipes, workouts, meditations and more, so you can get yourself back on track. TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FINANCES When you've had a doozy of a day, it can be useful to shift your focus to things that you actually have control over. One of those things is your cash. And while at times it may feel like your money controls you more than you control it, taking time to sort out your finances (and actually following through with your plan) is possible. It can be useful to think of your money like other parts of your wellbeing. For example, if you want to start running, signing up for a marathon may not be the best place to start. The same applies to your dollarydoos. If you need to pay off some debt, want to bolster your savings or have a desire to start investing, you've gotta make time for it. And like running, if you stick to your plan, you'll get closer to your goal every day. Check out the Australian Government's moneysmart website for free tips on how to make your cash make sense (and cents). GET TRIPLE CLEAN We're all fans of freshly washed sheets, right? Crisp, warm and straight of the line on a sunny day are the top-tier kind. But to boost your mood on a less-than-average day, you've got to step things up a notch and get yourself triple clean. Let us talk you through what we mean. Step one is to strip your bed sheets and give your mattress a makeover with a fresh set of threads. Step two is to strip yourself and get squeaky clean in the shower. Then, it's time for step three — fresh PJs. Yep, time to swap out last night's pizza-stained pants for a fresh pair and soon after you'll be feeling like a million-dollar triple-clean queen. DIY PAMPER NIGHT We've never had a bath that we later regretted — ever. So next time things feel like they're spiraling out of control, consider taking a moment to slow yourself down with an at-home pamper session. One of the great things about a DIY pamper sesh is you get to decide how extra you want it to be. If you feel like going all out, pick up a new face mask, bath salts, a candle and a cheeky bottle of something to take to the tub. Or, if you're more the spontaneous type, dig out that gift pack your Secret Santa gave you last year and actually use it. Whether you want to go all out with a foot scrub and at-home microdermabrasion or are stoked by the idea of a classic bubble bath, the whole point is for it to be relaxing — so don't stress over the set up. You can do a lot with dim lighting, a calming soundtrack and warm water. GET SOME FRESH AIR If you spend a lot of time working indoors, a quick whip around the block can do wonders to your mood after a wonky day. There's no need to rush your walk or worry about getting hardcore exercise in while you enjoy the outdoors, either. It's all about getting a change of scenery and a lil fresh air to take you far away from your desk for a moment. To heighten the experience, you can add your favourite podcast to soundtrack the stroll. Or, if you want to get really in touch with nature, go sans headphones and soak up the natural sounds of your surroundings. MAKE A CONNECTION When we're feeling down in the dumps, it can be hard to reach out to loved ones. It's easy to feel like you'll be terrible company and no-one wants to feel like the party pooper in the pack. But think about how many times you've gladly sat with a friend after a breakup. They weren't exactly the life of the party on those occasions but you still happily made yourself available in their time of need. And guess what? Your friends will absolutely want to do that in return. But, if being around people is a no-go for you in those moments of distress, consider making a connection with yourself, instead. You could do this by by journalling, meditating or engaging mindfully in one of your hobbies. CROSS SOMETHING OFF YOUR LIFE ADMIN LIST We all have a list of tasks we've been meaning to get to but for one reason or another it keeps getting put on the backburner. And even more unfortunately, as time goes on, the list keeps getting longer, too. Whether it's returning an online shopping purchase, consolidating your superannuation funds or finally booking your car in for a service — we've all got a thing or two we could cross off our lists. So next time you're feeling like you're in a funk, consult your mental to-do list and tackle one of its tasks for a lil pick me up. SET A BOUNDARY With work from home now a reality for a lot of us, the boundary between work and play has become increasingly blurry — which makes sense considering a lot of dining tables now double as work desks. With physical spaces melding together like this, it's more important than ever to create a healthy set of boundaries, and stick to them. One way to do that is to set times for when you'll respond to work questions (hot tip: try and stick to your regular work hours). Another boundary you may need to implement is knowing when to say no to social occasions so that you can schedule in essential alone time to recharge. Just remember, if your boundaries impact others (and they often do) it's a good idea to communicate what they are so that others can understand your limitations and respect them without trying to read your mind. CP readers can take advantage of a 15% discount on all JSHealth products by using the code: CPLAYGROUND. Learn more about JSHealth by visiting the website here. Images: Unsplash.
South Melbourne Market is bringing the heat for ten days this April with A Chilli Affair. In a spectacular showcase of our fiery friends, vendors will be incorporating chillies from Australia and abroad into special dishes exclusively available to try in a self-guided food tour. Starting off in the expert hands of Georgie Dragwidge, of Georgie's Harvest, you'll learn of the nuances between chilli species and the historic origins of the fruit — as well as receive your map and stamp card. After consolidating your knowledge, make your spicy pilgrimage however leisurely you like (stopping for massages, retail breaks or to simply enjoy the wonder of the flavour-filled space). You'll be stamping off each stop as you go. At Bambu, the resident masters of Asian street eats, you can slurp delicate chilli prawn dumplings with ginger and soy; and at Simply Spanish, where curbside paella reigns champion, there will be chilli con carne empanadas. Ensuring you sip the spice too, a Habanero Mule (which can be made sans-booze if you fancy) is on offer from the plant-powered kingdom of Marko. And for sweet offerings, there's boundary-pushing scoops of chilli chocolate gelato from Fritz, and dark chocolate and chilli cannoli from That's Amore Cheese's Cannoleria. Not a fan of the fire? No fear, the exciting eats have been made to suit all tastebuds. This is the foodie tour that's sure to ignite newfound pepper-appreciation — and at-home recipe experimenting — in all who attend. There's plenty more eats included in your $70 ticket too, plus a goodie bag stocked up with recipes, chillies and a jar of Melbourne hot sauce from the South Melbourne Market Grocer. A Chilli Affair will run from Friday, April 22 to Sunday, May 1, with an 11am and 2pm time slot each day. To kick start your chilli expedition, head to the website.
"The mormons are coming", posters popping up in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane promised in the 2010s. If you start spotting something similar now, they might feature the words "the mormons are back" instead. After breaking records on its first Australian run, The Book of Mormon is returning Down Under, with the smash-hit musical's suitcases are packed for Sydney. Written by South Park and Team America's notoriously puerile creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, together with Robert Lopez of genius grown-up muppet show Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon is probably one of the most-lauded comedies ever to have centred on the Church of Latter Day Saints and African missions — and to approached both with Parker and Stone's usual humour. If it wasn't so smart and so funny, few would forgive it. But since it is, The Book of Morman has picked up nine Tonys, four Olivier Awards and a Grammy since it debuted in the US in 2011, when it was called "one of the most joyously acidic bundles Broadway has unwrapped in years". Australia's OG date with The Book of Mormon also earned accolades, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical at the 2017 Helpmann Awards. When the show premiered in the Victorian capital in 2015, it enjoyed the highest-selling on-sale period for a show at Melbourne's Princess Theatre. When it first went to Sydney, it also set a record for the highest-grossing musical in the city's history. A decade ago, Parker and Stone's hilariously irreverent hit production spent a year in Melbourne, then did the same in Sydney, then made two trips to Brisbane — because one wasn't enough. This time, debuting from July 2025, The Book of Mormon is hitting Sydney's Capitol Theatre first up. Exact dates haven't yet been revealed, however, and neither has any planned stops in other Aussie cities. If missed it then or you're keen to see it again, you'll be plenty excited that you're getting a new chance to go learn all the idiosyncratic details of Mormonism, meet war criminal General Butt-Fucking Naked and know the true meaning of the hakuna matata-like saying 'Hasa Diga Eebowai'. The waitlist is open now for the Sydney season, with no word yet as to when tickets will go on sale — or about who'll be taking to the stage in the cast, either. The Book of Mormon will play Sydney's Capitol Theatre from July 2025 — we'll update you when exact dates are announced. To sign up for the ticket waitlist, head to the musical's website. Images: Paul Coltas, London Company.
Despite the many different varieties of margarita available, only one is the undisputed best — no matter which tequila-soaked flavour it actually is. That type of marg: a free marg. And for three weeks from Wednesday, February 15–Tuesday, March 7, 10,000 of them are up for grabs around New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. International Margarita Day is upon us for another year, hitting on Wednesday, February 22, and tequila brand Altos is celebrating. That's where the hefty giveaway comes in, but starting early and running for a couple of weeks after the date itself. Days commemorating different foods are really just an excuse to sell more dishes, drinks and/or ingredients, but this is an occasion — and stack of freebies — worth saying cheers to. Exactly how many bars are pouring free 'ritas across the three-week period varies per state, but Sydneysiders can head to Employees Only, Watsons EQ, Coogee Beach Club, Marrickville Bowling Club, Club 77, Chula, Mejico, Kid Kyoto, Applejack Group's venues and more. For Melburnians, you'll want to make a date with places like Maeve Fox, Death or Glory, Fitzroy Beer Garden, Fable, Mejico, Public House and Common Man. Brisbanites, pop Emporium, Southbeach Social, Victoria Park, Brooklyn Standard, Pig 'n' Whistle West End and others on your list — and Adelaide residents, you're heading to Republic. [caption id="attachment_698575" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Employees Only[/caption] There are a few caveats, as always comes with these types of giveaways. You do need to sign up online first, which'll get you a voucher for that free marg and entry into a competition to win a trip to Mexico. Altos is calling the promo a Mexican wave, because if you get a friend to sign up as well, you'll score an extra entry in that contest. That — and those free cocktails — is excuse enough to get clicking and sipping. [caption id="attachment_869703" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mejico[/caption] Altos Tequila's margarita giveaway runs from Wednesday, February 15–Tuesday, March 7. For more information, to register for your free drink and to find your nearest venue, head to the brand's website.
UPDATE, December 4, 2020: Carol is available to stream via Stan, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Telling a slow-building tale of forbidden romance, Carol is a study in clashes, contrasts and control. Within its story and sumptuous sights, everything bristles against something else, is challenged by a counterpart, and has to find a way either to work within, or burst beyond, orderly confines. That's true of the character (Cate Blanchett) that gives the movie its name, and the shopgirl, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), who becomes infatuated with her. It's equally true of their attempts to connect in the conservative 1950s, and of the way the film brings their efforts to life. Actually, in making his latest feature — following the likes of Velvet Goldmine and I'm Not There — director Todd Haynes hits the jackpot when it comes to matching his style to the story. An adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel The Price of Salt, Carol doesn't just recount a narrative considered groundbreaking at the time of publication, though writer Phyllis Nagy does a stellar job of translating the content for the screen. More than that, Haynes and company take every ounce of emotion within the book, then carefully infuse it into every aspect of the film, from its warm colour palette and fondness for lingering shots to its sweeping score and elegant performances. Think of every moment, be it an image framed through a car window or a long look at gloves left behind, as an expression of the feelings the movie's characters can't always convey, or the words they can't always say. There's plenty left unspoken between Carol and Therese after they cross paths in a department store toy section just before Christmas. A friendship blossoms, and then something more, during dinners, visits and a road trip. Yet everything seems to conspire against them, thwarting them from embracing their love freely. Carol's pal Abby (Sarah Paulson) is cautious, her estranged husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) and Therese's boyfriend Richard (Jake Lacy) disapprove, and society is far from accepting. The combination of restraint and passion that Haynes perfected in 2002's Far From Heaven bubbles up again here, with the filmmaker once more showing his prowess for probing sentiments forced to simmer below the surface. Watching the way he makes the material his own — continuing his fascination with complex stories of identity and repression, as well as his ability to ensure every frame seethes with beauty and meaning — it's almost impossible to believe that any other director could've done the material justice. Haynes isn't the picture's only source of radiance, of course, with his technical team — particularly cinematographer Edward Lachman (Howl) and composer Carter Burwell (Fargo) — helping the exquisite-looking feature come together. And then there's Blanchett and Mara, both sharing the spotlight despite the film's title seeming to indicate otherwise. Believing their pain and desire is easy, and the pair more than earn the award nominations that keep coming their way. Sure, you've seen on-screen love stories before, but cinema romances this aching and consuming are all-too rare.
Whether played by Julie Andrews in the original 1964 musical film or Emily Blunt in its 2018 sequel, Mary Poppins has always been a quintessentially English character. The beloved nanny is as well-known for being British as for her magical abilities and winning ways with an umbrella, after all. However the famous fictional figure also boasts a link to regional Australia — and now there's an Aussie museum dedicated to that fact. While Maryborough in Queensland's Fraser Coast region may seem worlds away from London, let alone Cherry Tree Lane, it's where author PL Travers was born. She also lived there until she was five, when her family relocated to Allora on the Darling Downs, as the 2013 movie Saving Mr Banks explored. Later, in her twenties, she moved to the UK, where she penned the eight Mary Poppins books that she's best known for. Because claiming any and every possible connection to fame is a thoroughly Aussie trait, Maryborough has long marked its link to Travers — the city hosts an annual Mary Poppins Festival, has been home to a bronze statue of the writer since 2005, and even has Poppins-shaped pedestrian crossing symbols on its traffic lights. With that in mind, the opening of The Story Bank of Maryborough is just the latest step in the town's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious celebrations, forming part of a hub focused on the Aussie-born writer. [caption id="attachment_732352" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Where Imagination Lays in Wait in Maryborough / Gerard via Flickr[/caption] Inside The Story Bank, which is located in the heritage-listed Australian Joint Stock Bank building where Travers actually entered the world, visitors will find a whole showcase about Maryborough's ties with Travers. The museum steps through her life story, her family and the influences on her work — and, as well as featuring plenty of Poppins-themed items (yes, expect umbrellas), it includes images and documents from Travers' estate. If you've ever wanted to Mary Poppins figurines everywhere (including sliding down bannisters, obviously), feast your eyes on book and film memorabilia, or pretend you're in Cherry Tree Lane, here's your chance. The site also features a theatrette, gallery and workshop space, all as part of a $1.5 million restoration project. As well as Travers and Mary Poppins, The Story Bank highlights other talented local artists, as well as the art of storytelling in general. Find The Story Bank of Maryborough on the corner Kent and Richmond Streets, Maryborough, Queensland — and head to the museum's website and Facebook page for further details.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest through to old and recent favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from August's haul. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL NOW HEARTSTOPPER Whether they attend Truham Grammar School or the neighbouring Higgs Girls School, most of Heartstopper's teenagers have much to say, often via text. But perhaps the most apt line of the entire Netflix series so far is uttered by Isaac Henderson (first-timer Tobie Donovan), the quiet bibliophile among the show's main friendship group. "I read all these books where people fall in love and I still have absolutely no idea," Isaac advises in the web-to-page-to-screen hit's second season. As a webcomic, a graphic novel and also a TV series that proved an instant smash when it debuted in 2022, Alice Oseman's creation couldn't better embody this reflection. Heartstopper is Isaac's yearning and confusion turned into art, even as the series remains sweet and joyous in every episode. Isaac gets his own storyline in season two, exploring what that lament means to him as he unpacks his own identity, and it's among the show's weighty narrative threads. But everyone in Heartstopper, from central couple Charlie Spring (fellow debutant Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor, Little Joe) to their maybe-more-than-friends pals Tao Xu (newcomer William Gao) and Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney), plus classmates Tara Jones (Corinna Brown, Daphne) and Darcy Olsson (Kizzy Edgell), live his telling statement in their own ways. Tales about getting swept away by first love adore conveying the rush, buzz and head-over-heels effervescence evoked by the pivotal experience. Awkwardness often factors in, but rarely the reality that no one ever truly knows what they're doing when it comes to romance. A chronicle of coming of age and also coming out, Heartstopper makes the truth that every teen is just doing their best and following their heart one of the show's core guiding concepts. And mostly, usually with each other's help as they traverse the full onslaught of adolescent emotions, this supremely likeable, relatable crew of high schoolers knows that they don't, can't and won't ever have all the answers. Brought to the screen by Oseman as the series' creator and writer, plus director Euros Lyn (Dream Horse) behind the lens — together, they've respectively penned and helmed all 16 episodes, eight in season one and that amount again in season two — Heartstopper spent its debut offering watching Charlie and Nick gravitate into each other's orbits. When the pair were sat next to each other in form class at the beginning of a new term, a friendship and then more swelled. Season two finds them officially and happily boyfriends, and with Nick's mother Sarah (Olivia Colman, Secret Invasion) supportive about Nick's bisexuality. Telling the rest of the world when he chooses to is part of his latest journey, always with the protective Charlie by his side. Heartstopper streams via Netflix. Read our full review. TELEMARKETERS No one likes it when their phone rings from an unknown number, whether "no caller ID" or digits that you don't recognise flash up on your mobile's screen. Telemarketers isn't going to change that response. It won't dampen the collective ire that the world holds towards the pushy people on the other end of the line, either. HBO's thrilling three-part docuseries doesn't just reinforce what viewers already feel about the nuisance industry that thinks it can interrupt your day and life with a spiel that no one wants, and impact your bank balance in the process. In addition, it spins a true tale that demonstrates why a deep-seated dislike of telemarketing is so well-founded, and also why cold-calling operations can be so insidious. This true-crime story about the New Jersey-based Civic Development Group surpasses even the most call centre-despising audience member's low expectations of the field — and it's gripping, can't-look-away, has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed stuff. In fact, it's also an account of a tenacious duo revealing a billion-dollar fraud, and bringing this stunning whistleblower documentary to the masses. "Every other telemarketer who drives you crazy in the whole world is because of CDG," advises one of the series' interviewees. That might seem like a big claim, but co-directors Sam Lipman-Stern (Live From the Streets) and Adam Bhala Lough (The New Radical) step through its truth. The former knows the outfit's approach from experience, working there for seven years from the age of 14 after dropping out of high school, while the latter is the filmmaker cousin he wasn't aware of. Lipman-Stern is Telemarketers' on-screen guiding hand, too, but his ex-colleague Patrick J Pespas is its heart and soul. As seen early, Pespas is called a "telemarketing legend". Although he's happy snorting heroin on-camera in 2000s-era footage, he's switched on to CDG's shonkiness; more than that, he's determined to expose it even if it takes two decades. Everywhere that Lipman-Stern and Pespas look from there, this tale gets worse. It's no wonder that Uncut Gems and Good Time filmmakers Benny and Josh Safdie are among Telemarketers' executive producers, plus Eastbound & Down's Danny McBride, Jody Hill and David Gordon Green. Telemarketers streams via Binge. Read our full review. JUSTIFIED: CITY PRIMEVAL The man knows how to rock a hat: Timothy Olyphant (Full Circle), that is. He knows how to play a determined lawman with a piercing stare and an unassailable sense of honour, too, and television has been all the better for it for nearing two decades. Pop culture's revival culture has benefited as well — first with HBO's 2004–06 western masterpiece Deadwood returning as 2019's Deadwood: The Movie, and now with 2010–15's US Marshal drama Justified making a comeback as miniseries Justified: City Primeval. Olyphant was perfect in both the first time around, and proves the same the second. Indeed, Deadwood: The Movie's only problem was that it was just a made-for-TV film, not a another season; Justified: City Primeval's sole issue is that it spans only eight episodes, and that a next date with the Stetson-wearing Raylan Givens hasn't yet been locked in. This continuation of Justified's initial six seasons arrives eight years after the show ended for viewers, but also finds Raylan with a 15-year-old daughter. And it's with Willa (Vivian Olyphant, Timothy Olyphant's real-life offspring) that he's hitting the road when a couple of criminals reroute their plans. Now based in Miami, Florida rather than Justified's Harlan, Kentucky, Raylan is meant to be taking Willa to camp, only to be forced to detour to Detroit, Michigan to testify. It isn't a brief stop, after the Deputy US Marshal makes the wrong impression on Judge Alvin Guy (Keith David, Nope), then is personally requested to investigate an assassination attempt against the same jurist — teaming up with local detectives who are adamant about Detroit's particular ways, including Maureen Downey (Marin Ireland, The Boogeyman), Norbert Beryl (Norbert Leo Butz, The Girl From Plainville) and Wendell Robinson (Victor Williams, The Righteous Gemstones). You can take Raylan out of rural America and into the Motor City, as Justified: City Primeval does, but even with silver hair atop his calm glare he's still Raylan. So, he'll always stride around like a lone gunslinger who has seen it all, will confront anything, and is perennially valiant and resolute — and silently exasperated about humanity's worst impulses, too — as Justified: City Primeval welcomes. New location, passing years, the responsibilities of fatherhood, more and more lowlife crooks (including Boyd Holbrook, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny): they haven't changed this character, and audiences wouldn't have wanted that to happen. Justified: City Primeval streams via Disney+. Read our full review. KILLING IT Craig Robinson slays snakes. If Killing It was initially pitched with those four words and those four words alone, it still would've been easy to greenlight. When the latest comedy from Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-creator Dan Goor and executive producer Luke Del Tredici first arrived in 2022, it leaned in, too, with terminating serpents the whole point of the contest at the centre of the comedy's debut season. The place: Florida, home to the python-teeming Everglades. The year: 2016, in the lead up to the US election. The reason for vanquishing vipers: a $20,000 payday, which Craig — also the name of Robinson's character — needed to enact his vision of becoming a saw palmetto farmer. Killing It served up far more than just Robinson, a B99 guest and The Office star, polishing off reptiles, however, and not simply because Claudia O'Doherty (Our Flag Means Death) joined in as the hammer-swinging Jillian. As a satire of the type of society that has people resorting to seeking a better future by offing animals competitively, and a nation that celebrates the American dream as the pinnacle of existence without recognising how unachievable that notion is, this series has always sunk its fangs in. Getting Killing It's characters bludgeoning wildlife was a savvy signifier of a horribly broken system in season one. In season two, slaughtering serpents is old news, but venomous foes definitely aren't. They're the uncaring bureaucracy, the shameless corporations, the shaking-down gangs, the car thieves, the cruel insurance bodies, the nation's entire health scheme, the manipulative bosses, the rude customers and the cash-splashing rich. They're absolutely everyone with a solely in-it-for-themselves perspective, which is almost everyone. When Killing It's latest eight-episode go-around kicks off, its central pair have followed through on the saw palmetto plan — albeit at a cost, with Craig's low-level criminal brother Isaiah (Rell Battle, Superior Donuts) now on the lam and posing as a doctor in Phoenix. Their farm is up and running, and perennial-optimist Jillian isn't is the only one who's hopeful. The two business partners even have a buyer for their berries — and, while their margins are thin, they're getting by. Alas, whether they're dealing with a possible giant snail problem, being blackmailed into taking on new colleagues or becoming the subject of a hostile takeover, Craig and Jillian swiftly realise that snakes still lurk everywhere. Killing It streams via Stan. Read our full review. IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA No one should start watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's 16th season with its eighth and last episode (last for this season, that is; the already record-breaking TV comedy, which became the longest-running live-action American sitcom ever with its 15th season, has been renewed for a 17th and 18th go-around). Still, the final instalment from this current batch, called 'Dennis Takes a Mental Health Day', is one the show's best-ever chapters. As a character study of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's most arrogant and abrasive member of its main quintet, aka Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton, Blackberry) — and yes, given his company, that's some feat — it's phenomenal in stepping through how his twisted mind works. A whopping 170 episodes in, it's also a prime example of the series' constant eagerness to push and stretch itself. Season 16 also features It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia instalments that are so classic that they could've aired years ago, not that the program ever repeats itself, but this run also keeps challenging how It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia tells its tale, unpacks Dennis and company, and satirises Pennsylvania's worst Irish bar owners. Howerton remains mesmerising as one of the show's Reynolds twins throughout season 16; however, so does Kaitlin Olson (Hacks) as his sister Dee. This far in, Charlie Day (Bupkis), Rob McElhenney (Mythic Quest) and Danny DeVito (Haunted Mansion) could all play Charlie Kelly, Mac and Frank Reynolds in their sleep, too — but there's no coasting here, only going deeper into what makes the Paddy's Pub crew who they are. Their responses to any given outlandish situation, aka It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's bread and butter, might seem predictable on the surface. Even what proves true, though, nothing is ever straightforward. Amid the scheming, plotting, conning, fighting, revenge plans and more, this bunch constantly unpack and parody America at its most problematic, and western attitudes overall as well. They're as sharp and ridiculous and hilarious now as they were in 2005. In their sights this time: inflation, gun violence, reality TV, chess, celebrity endorsements (complete with a spectacular couple of guest stars), child-friendly food and amusement joints, bowling and, of course, mental health. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia streams via Disney+. VESPER Some films make their audience feel like they could reach out and touch their on-screen worlds, and French-Lithuanian-Belgian movie Vesper is one such picture. Here, that sensation springs from a key element: first-rate world-building efforts on writer/director duo Kristina Buožytė and Bruno Samper's (ABCs of Death 2) parts. This isn't a sci-fi blockbuster with a massive budget and seemingly thousands upon thousands of companies working on special effects. Rather, Vesper is far more modest in scale, as was its big-screen run, including film-festival berths and no general release Down Under. But without megabucks behind it, Vesper spins a dystopian tale that seems tangible — that, as you watch, feels like you could walk straight into, too — as it focuses on its titular teenager (Raffiella Chapman, His Dark Materials). Her quest: surviving after an ecological crisis while looking after her bedridden father Darius (Richard Brake, Barbarian). In this vision of what might come, the planet's plants and animals have become the victims of viruses that ravaged the globe, leaving insects and bacteria as humanity's main diet. Buožytė and Samper, scripting with Brian Clark (Compulsion), work in English with Vesper. That said, on their latest sci-fi feature after Vanishing Waves, they also frequently work in the space between what's uttered aloud. The narrative sticks with Vesper as she keeps attempting to scrounge up food and electricity, usually with Darius' consciousness floating in a drone by her side — a machine that looks like an old-school TV, but with a face drawn on. The film also charts its namesake's determination to avoid her nefarious uncle Jonas (Eddie Marsan, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre), who trades in the blood of children to obtain seeds, which are used as currency and highly protected by towering bases called citadels. And, as it muses on what it truly means to endure and persist, and why, doing so amid grey-toned imagery, a fierce lead performance, meticulous attention to visual detail and expressive silences, it observes what occurs when Vesper finds Camellia (Rosy McEwen, The Alienist) after a crash, then has her perception of an already-tough life challenged. Vesper streams via Paramount+ and Prime Video. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING Corpses and killings don't normally herald joy on-screen, even in pop culture's current murder-mystery comedy wave, but Only Murders in the Building isn't just another amusing whodunnit. There's a particular warmth to this series. In each of its three seasons to-date, the New York-set show has unleashed amateur gumshoes upon a shock death, with its key trio sifting through clues and podcasting the details. Along the way, it has also kept telling a winning story about second chances and finding the folks who understand you. Only Murders in the Building's ten-episode third season relays that tale again, expanding its portraits of artist Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez, The Dead Don't Die), theatre director Oliver Putnam (Martin Short, Schmigadoon!) and veteran actor Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin, It's Complicated) — and of their friendship. Once more, it embraces the power of chemistry, both within its narrative and for audiences. That isn't new; when the show debuted in 2021, it felt like the murder-mystery comedy genre's version of a cosy embrace because its three leads were so perfectly cast and their odd-throuple characters so full of sparks. While Mabel, Oliver and Charles wouldn't be a trio if it wasn't for a building evacuation, a murder and a love of true-crime podcasts, their connection isn't merely fuelled by chatting about the murders in their building, with crossing each other's paths changing their respective lives. There's a death in season three's initial episode — it first occurred in season two's dying moments, to be precise — and, of course, ample sleuthing and talking about it follows. The victim: Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), a silver-screen star best-known for playing a zoologist who fights crime by turning into a snake in the blockbuster CoBro franchise. (Yes, if those movies weren't just Only Murders in the Building's Ant-Man gag, existed IRL and starred Rudd, they'd be a hit.) But Only Murders in the Building's latest run also opens with Mabel, Oliver and Charles in places that they wouldn't be if they were solo. Largely, that applies emotionally: Mabel is more grounded and open, and now thinking about the future more than the past; Oliver has faced his career fears, resurrecting his showbiz bug with a new show; and Charles is less misanthropic and more willing to take new chances. They're also frequently in a different location physically thanks to Oliver's comeback production Death Rattle (which is where Meryl Streep fits in). No, the series isn't now called Only Murders in the Building and on Broadway. Only Murders in the Building streams via Star on Disney+. Read our full review. THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART In The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, blooms are rarely out of sight and petals never evade attention. Adapted from Holly Ringland's 2018 novel, the seven-part Australian miniseries is set on a farm that cultivates native flora. It dubs the women who tend to them, an ensemble from various backgrounds largely seeking refuge from abusive pasts, "flowers" as well. Whether stem by stem or in bunches, its characters use florets as their own secret language. And yet, as much as bouquets linger, getting all things floral on the mind, star Sigourney Weaver burns rather than blossoms. Fire is another of the show's strong recurring motifs, so it's still fitting that its biggest name is as all-consuming as a blaze. She needs to be that scorching: this is a story about endeavouring to survive while weathering woes that ignite everything in their path. Weaver also draws upon almost five decades of thriving before the camera, often playing steely, smart and sometimes-raging women. Her on-screen career began sparking with Alien, the film that made her an instant icon. Since then, everyone has heard her performances scream — and, in The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, she's again dazzling. Flowers frequently surround Weaver's June Hart far and wide. With a carefully selected cutting, the shotgun-toting matriarch of Thornfield Flower Farm can say all she needs to. That's what the eponymous Alice (Ayla Browne, Nine Perfect Strangers) quickly learns about her grandmother when she arrives at the property following a tragedy, becoming one of the farm's flowers after losing her pregnant mother Agnes (Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Hotel Mumbai) and violent father Clem (Charlie Vickers, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power). The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is a tale about traumas, secrets and lies that lurk as deeply as the earth — about the choices and cycles that take root in such fraught soil, too. When nine-year-old Alice relocates fresh from hospital, the determined June, her doting partner Twig (Leah Purcell, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson) and their adopted daughter Candy Blue (Frankie Adams, The Expanse) aim to shower the girl with sunlight to blaze away her horrors. You can't just bury problems, however, then hope that something vivid and colourful will grow over the top. Dedicating its first half to Alice's childhood and its second to 14 years later, when she's in her early twenties (Alycia Debnam-Carey, Fear the Walking Dead), The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart understands this immutable fact in its core. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart streams via Prime Video. Read our full review. RESERVATION DOGS There's only one thing wrong with the third season of Reservation Dogs: this batch of episodes is the show's last. There's a skill in knowing when something's time has come, but this teen-centric comedy about restless Indigenous North American adolescents is so rich in stories, perspectives and minutiae — and so resonant as well — that it feels like more and more could (and should) just keep following. Ending Reservation Dogs when this ten-episode run wraps up is also an example of the show taking its own message to heart, however. As co-created, executive produced and written by Sterlin Harjo (Mekko) and Taika Waititi (Thor: Love and Thunder) — the former its guiding force — Reservation Dogs knows that little lasts. It hangs out with its characters as they learn about life's transience at every moment, whether they're chasing their dreams of leaving the reservation that they've always called home or they're grappling with loss. So, of course the series is moving on. In the process, its farewell season is proving even more moving and thoughtful than ever, even after its debut year delivered one of the best new TV shows of 2021 and its second spin served up one of the best returning shows of 2022. The last time that viewers saw the Rez Dogs — the OG quartet of Bear (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Beans), Elora (Devery Jacobs, Rutherford Falls), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis, Ghostbusters: Afterlife) and Cheese (Lane Factor, The Fabelmans), plus Jackie (Elva Guerra, Dark Winds), the somewhat-reluctant newcomer to the group — they had finally made the trip to California that they'd been working towards their entire lives. Season three picks up with the group still far away from home, and still journeying even when they do return. Elora considers both her past and her future. Bear goes wandering on his own, including through several revelatory encounters. Harjo still isn't afraid to veer away from his leads along the way, whether sliding into history to explore myths, traditions or horrors inflicted upon Indigenous children. Reservation Dogs finds a story, be it big or small, for everyone within its frames. Bear, Elora, Willie Jack and Cheese especially will be deeply missed, but Woon-A-Tai, Jacobs, Alexis and Factor shouldn't ever be far from screens after this exceptional breakthrough. Reservation Dogs streams via Binge. PHYSICAL Rose Byrne made her acting debut in the 90s, with Echo Point, Wildside, the OG Heartbreak High and Two Hands among her earliest credits. Physical sends the Australian star a decade further back, and the results have kept proving insightful and astute across three seasons. Created by Annie Weisman after the writer and producer previously pondered domesticity in Desperate Housewives and Suburgatory, the series bends and stretches with Byrne (Insidious: The Red Door) as Sheila Rubin, a San Diego housewife when the first episode dropped in 2021 — and an aerobics star not long afterwards. Slipping into a leotard, then getting the blood pumping, isn't just exercise for Physical's protagonist. The late, great Olivia Newton-John mightn't have sung "let's work through our troubles while working up a sweat" (unsurprisingly; it isn't catchy), but that's the thrust here. Among those struggles: Sheila's opinion of herself, including of her body; her relationship with food as a result; the self-critical voice in her head; and her marriage to Danny (Rory Scovel, Babylon) and its impact on her self-esteem. Physical takes the darkly comedic approach to Sheila's ups and downs, including the self-loathing, the lack of fulfilment, the catharsis that aerobics brings and the professional path that it sets her on. In the show's ten-episode third and final season — three being the magic number, just like with Reservation Dogs — its central figure is doing well but wants more, including national exposure and fame. Sheila has also learned to be kinder to herself, at least as herself. When Hollywood actor Kelly Kilmartin (Zooey Deschanel, Dreamin' Wild) encroaches into her territory, she's the new scolding tone in Sheila's brain. Physical has always boasted a stellar cast that can flip between laughs and drama as swiftly as the show does, which is often, and Deschanel is no exception as a newcomer in this swansong run. That said, Byrne's comic chops keep proving a dream (see also: this year's Platonic), while Dierdre Friel (Second Act) is a constant scene-stealer as Sheila's friend and business partner Greta. Physical packs an emotional punch, too, as it embraces Sheila's imperfect journey and her imperfections in general. Physical streams via Apple TV+. AHSOKA In this or any other galaxy, whether here, near or far, far away and a long time ago, Star Wars streaming shows can't all be Andor. In cinemas, the franchise's movies can't all be Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, either. So, in both formats, they aren't always the weightiest and most grounded instalments that the series has ever delivered, all while demonstrating about as much interest in nostalgia as Jar Jar Binks has in not being annoying. The latest TV effort in the George Lucas-started space-opera saga, Ahsoka doesn't want to follow exactly in the last new Star Wars small-screen entry's footsteps, however, even if it's another sidestep tale about battling evil that champions folks who are rarely at the fore. Instead, it has intertwined aims: serving up a female-led chapter and drawing upon the franchise's animated realm. So, as it tells of eponymous ex-Jedi padawan Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson, Clerks III), it links to streaming's three seasons of The Mandalorian and 2021–22's The Book of Boba Fett, and also springs from animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the TV series it spawned, plus fellow animated shows Star Wars Rebels and Tales of the Jedi. Ahsoka's inter-franchise Star Wars links are strong, then, but it isn't just for fans who've watched every frame that the saga has ever sent hurtling across screens. Cue diving deeper beyond the obvious Star Wars fodder while still engaging more-casual franchise viewers. Cue another tale of mentors and students, too, with Ahsoka once a pupil to Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen, Obi-Wan Kenobi) before he went to the dark side. Then, she passed on knowledge herself to rebellious, flame-haired Mandalorian Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Guns Akimbo). Thanks to the man who became Darth Vader, Ahsoka is wary about the Jedi order and cautious in general. Via her prior time with Sabine, she knows the difficulties of being a guide to a headstrong protégée. While the series gives its central figure nefarious foes to battle, it also has her grappling with her past traumas, mistakes and regrets. She's guarded there, too; when rebel crew member and now-New Republic general Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)) suggests that the way forward might involve enlisting Sabine's help, Ahsoka is uncertain. But only the youngest of the main trio can unlock a pivotal orb that holds a map that could lead to exiled Imperial officer Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen, The Kingdom) and Ahsoka's fellow one-time padawan Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi, The Inspection). Ahsoka streams via Disney+. Read our full review. A STONE-COLD CLASSIC FILM TO WATCH (OR REWATCH) IMMEDIATELY OLDBOY Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods) remaking your movie is a massive compliment, but Park Chan-wook's magnificent Oldboy didn't ever need that tick of approval. The former's US-set and English-language version of the latter's stone-cold Korean classic is great as its own film — albeit maligned when it released ten years ago, so much so that it skipped a cinema date Down Under as a result — but the latter's original is a work of brutal, powerful and astonishing art for the ages. That's Park's wheelhouse, of course. When it arrived in 2003, his Oldboy was the middle chapter in the acclaimed auteur's Vengeance Trilogy, after all, following 2002's Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and preceded by 2005's Lady Vengeance. Joint Security Area, Thirst, Stoker, The Handmaiden, TV's The Little Drummer Girl, 2022's very-best film Decision to Leave: Park's resume is filled with remarkable efforts; however, that he'll always be synonymous with Oldboy, as well as its hammer and live octopus, isn't because nothing else on his filmography beats it. Every Park movie is its own gem in its own way — again, Decision to Leave was the finest film of 2022 — but this one is 100-percent designed to hit hard. The story: it's 1988, Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik, Big Bet) gets drunk and misses his daughter's fourth birthday, then needs a pal to collect him from the police station. But the sloshed businessman doesn't make it home. Instead, he's forced to spend 15 long years in a hotel room that he can't leave, all while being imprisoned by kidnappers that are committed to keeping him alive, too. Of course a quest for revenge springs from there. Adapted loosely from a Japanese manga of the same name, Oldboy's narrative throws up surprise after surprise before, during and after its protagonist's captivity, though. Every element of the plot makes a statement. Every decision that Park makes as a filmmaker does, too. This is a raw, dark exploration at human nature, as helmed with incisiveness, anchored by a stunner of a lead performance and featuring a corridor-set action scene to end all action scenes — and it's always worth watching, be it on a screen big or small, for the first time or as a revisit. Right now, a date with Oldboy also means celebrating its 20th anniversary. Oldboy streams via Shudder and AMC+. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June and July this year. You can also check out our running list of standout must-stream shows from this year as well — and our best 15 new shows of 2023's first six months, top 15 returning shows over the same period and best 15 straight-to-streaming movies from January–June 2023, too.
You wouldn't think a comedian who bases his act around shire horses, cheese, and the etiquette of eating cake would find a big audience in Australia. But Paul Foot, one of Britain's quirkiest, and most loyally followed comedians, is on his way down to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for his fourth consecutive year. With his distinctive haircut, frenetic stage presence and impressive collection of neckties, there's definitely a madness to Foot's style of comedy. We had a chat to him ahead of his MICF show, Words, to see if there's a method to it. He loves 'the madness' Anyone who has seen Paul Foot either in his own show or for skits in the Gala knows that things can get weird pretty quickly. And, though it may seem random, Paul's comedy is actually very carefully constructed. "One of the reasons I write 'the madness' — when I say all of these strange phrases that don't make sense but are amusing and no one knows why — is that I think it creates a different quality of laughter," he says. "I find it very interesting when people are laughing, but they're not sure why they're laughing." This 'madness' also ignores the traditional structure used by most comedians. Audience members will often laugh at the same words at the same time, but for totally different reasons. "You see, it's interesting to have different types of laughter, because you have to question why are there comedians in the first place," Foot says. "People laugh all the time in their real lives. If someone trips over a step or something people laugh, so why do we need comedians if we laugh all the time anyway? I think we need comedians because they make people laugh in a different way and think about things differently." He doesn't watch comedy Foot spends a significant amount of time performing in festivals all over the world. While he gets along well with other comedians, he's not particularly interested in watching them perform in his time off. "If I wasn't a comedian I don't think I'd go to comedy." Foot says. "There are different types of comedians. There are the ones that watch a lot of comedy and have all of the DVDs and know all of the comedians. Some of whom are very original. Then you have the ones who don't watch any comedy and I'm that type." It's also important for Foot to generate his material without external influence. "On stage I do the type of comedy I would want to hear if I was an audience member, and I'm lucky that I've found people who have the same sense of humour as me." He loves murder mysteries and politics So what does he do in his downtime? "I watch murder mysteries and I go swimming and I walk," he says. He recommends Columbo and Inspector Morse if you were wondering. Another thing that intrigues him is politics. "I like watching all the different politicians, I find it like a soap opera, how they all rise and fall." When questioned about Australian politics Paul lights up. "Oh yes I love Australian politics. When I was here before there was all this thing with Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. Now there's all this going on with Tony Abbott, it's all fascinating. I love it." He's never considered himself fashionable, until now Paul Foot has been in the comedy game for 17 years now, but he feels he has only recently found his feet. "When I started I was about 14 years ahead of my time. No one was interested, but I just carried on doing it until I became fashionable, until the zeitgeist was in my favour. It's an imperceptible thing, an intangible thing, the zeitgeist. No one can explain it, but suddenly people wanted it." When questioned about what has changed with his comedy over the years he indicated it was more a shift within the audience than his own alteration. "I never changed. Well I changed a little bit. I did get better. I just carried on doing the same thing and I never deviated, and eventually I think people warmed to that." He doesn't have fans; he has a 'guild of connoisseurs' There are not too many comedians out there today with such a loyal following as Paul Foot and his Guild of Connoisseurs. Foot has conversations with his connoisseurs via Twitter, and they are invited to attend secret shows. Importantly, the connoisseurs are quite influential in his comedy. "They suggest things through the polls on the website. I like it to be a conversation, but I go into different modes. Sometimes I am very conversational and chatty with all of my connoisseurs, and I combine that with being extremely reclusive." Although Paul Foot is unaware of any stalkers amidst the connoisseurs, he does get a pleasant surprise when fans have seen him before. "I've been to some tiny little town up in the north of England and then someone will come up and say 'Oh yes I've seen you in Adelaide'. There are people who have seen me in all different parts of the world and it's quite nice." Luckily, this top secret society is currently taking members. Paul Foot will be performing his latest MICF show, Words, at the Hi-Fi from March 27 - April 20. Buy tickets here.
The spirit of cabaret is alive and well in Melbourne, with one of the world's most celebrated chanteuses lighting up Queen Victoria Market's Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent for the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Her particular mix of debauchery, dark humour and biting social commentary make this one of the festival's must-see shows. German kabarett superstar Bernie Dieter — described as "an electrifying cross between Lady Gaga, Marlene Dietrich and Frank-N-Futer in sequins" — will bring her infamous gin-soaked haus band and her troupe of bombastic bohemians back to Melbourne throughout October. Gather your fellow deviants for this one. [caption id="attachment_841679" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Johannes Reinhart[/caption] The show encapsulates the spirit of the notorious kabarett clubs of Weimar Germany, and features a vibrant lineup of international talent. The billing includes the dangerous art of hair hanging (we're getting split ends just from the mere mention of this one), flame breathers, gender bending aerial performances and plenty of strip teasing and pole dancing. The colourful show celebrates freedom and diversity in all its forms — Dieter herself describes it as "the ultimate party at the end of the world". Just as spectacular as the performance is its iconic — and all too appropriate — setting. Bernie Dieter's Club Kabarett will take place in Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent at Queen Vic Market. The venue is one of the country's largest and most spectacular spiegeltents and an ideal setting for such a spellbinding cabaret show.
When the new Hilton hotel opened in Melbourne's heritage 1930s Equity Chambers last year, it needed a swanky destination eatery to seal the deal. You can't open a luxury hotel these days without a big-name chef downstairs cooking eggs. That restaurant turned out to be Luci: a contemporary Australian fine diner with an Italian-Euro twist, named after the Roman leader and famous gourmet, Lucias Lucullus. The chef is Sam Moore (Pier in Rose Bay, Becasse, No.35 at Sofitel Melbourne), who has just released a sharp new menu across three services – brekkie, lunch and dinner. [caption id="attachment_845602" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kristoffer Paulsen[/caption] "Striking a balance between classic and modern sensibilities, my produce-driven food highlights quality ingredients prepared with an elegant simplicity at the fore. From ocean-fresh seafood, or vegetables just out of the soil, I am proud to deliver this menu to our diners," says Moore. Luci isn't really trying to appeal to the W Melbourne or QT crowd. This isn't where you come for DJs and pool parties. Set inside the vaulted ceilings of the Equity Chambers, and positioned in the heart of Melbourne's legal district, it's a deliberately old-world set-up. Think, original wood panelling, restored heritage elevators, timber banisters and stonework galore. The menu is upscale too. There's a wicked crab benedict for breakfast, topped with umami-packed bonito hollandaise; Hiramasa kingfish crudo for lunch, with celery, horseradish and orchard apples; or maybe Wimmera duck breast for dinner, served with radicchio and creamy celeriac. The wine list is fully stocked, as you'd expect, with a broad mix of local Victorian drops and low-intervention stuff. Plenty of options to keep things interesting. [caption id="attachment_845598" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kristoffer Paulsen[/caption] Speaking of drinks, if you want a cocktail before dinner, check out the 1930s-style Douglas Club bar, just next door to Luci. It's in the fully-restored front bit of the Equity Building, and Hilton have even snagged bar manager Gee Shanmugam (from Windsor's Galah Bar and Mya Tiger at The Espy). Our tip: try the mini parmesan donuts from the bar menu. As part of their takeover-refurbishment of the Equity Chambers, Hilton has also installed some pretty eye-catching new suites upstairs. The entire building has had a massive glow-up. If you're looking for a romantic night away in the CBD, with killer food and a 1930s cocktail bar downstairs, the Hilton on Little Queen Street is now a serious contender. Find Luci within the Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street (entry via 472 Bourke Street, Melbourne). Images: Food and interiors by Kristoffer Paulsen; Hilton entrance by Paul Gosney
For years, you've probably sat at pubs or parties, listened to your pals tell boozy stories and found yourself laughing heartily. In fact, you've likely spun a few tales in a liquored-up state yourself — because we've all been there. And, since 2008, you've might've chuckled along to the US TV show based on that very idea, too. Indeed, it's easy to understand exactly how Drunk History came about, because the entire concept is just so relatable. While, in America, the show's run has just come to an end, Australian television is now hopping on the Drunk History bandwagon. It shouldn't escape anyone's attention that, at a time when we're all spending less time hanging out in bars talking with our mates for hours and hours over several rounds of drinks, Aussie TV has decided to deliver the next best thing. Called Drunk History Australia, the local version spans a six-episode first season, with each instalment tackling a couple of chapters of Aussie history. If you've ever wanted to watch James Mathison and Osher Günsberg reenact Burke and Wills' expedition, listen to Matt Okine explore the history of 'Waltzing Matilda', or hear Becky Lucas tell the tale of the country's first female detective — all with beverages involved — well, here's your chance. Also getting the Drunk History Australia treatment are Don Bradman, Dame Nellie Melba, Dawn Fraser and Gough Whitlam, in case you want to relive your primary school history lessons in a far boozier manner. And, the show also touches upon cannibal convicts, a war with emus and the first female bushranger, among other topics. The cast is similarly lengthy, featuring everyone from Anne Edmonds, Nikki Osborne, Em Rusciano and Tex Perkins to Stephen Curry, Joel Creasey, Steph Tisdell and Brendan Fevola. Drunk History Australia will start screening on Network 10 at 9.30pm on Monday, September 14; however, if you're keen to stream the whole thing right now, it's also already available via 10Play. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4iMnOEGI7c Drunk History Australia is now available to stream via 10Play, and will start airing on Network 10 at 9.30pm on Monday, September 14.
If Dad's got a thing for charred meats and crafty brews, we reckon he'd be pretty stoked to join you at Grazeland's weekend-long food fest. The Spotswood food precinct is getting into the Father's Day spirit with its third annual BBQ Beer Festival, running from Friday, August 30–Sunday, September 1. The weekend's food lineup is a meat-lover's dream, with lots of Grazeland's vendors set to serve up special barbecue-inspired eats for the occasion. Expect a plethora of smoked meats, along with a globe-trotting array of grilled goodies from the likes of Zuya African BBQ, El Gaucho Argentinean BBQ, Smokeworks BBQ, BratBoy, Flame Skewers, Mr. Toum, Tandoori Land, Colombo and The Burgie Barare. To wash it down, there'll be a dedicated beer zone pouring drops from hyped local breweries including Little Creatures, Brooklyn Fixation and James Squire. And as always, there'll be plenty of live tunes and DJs across the weekend, ranging from soft rock, to classic backyard barbecue tracks.
Initially, even getting just one COVID-19 vaccination was a struggle, after Australia's inoculation rollout took its time in its early months. Then, we all started focusing on those crucial second jabs, especially with roadmaps out of lockdowns and towards international travel highlighting double-dose thresholds. Now, with vax rates climbing quickly — as of Friday, October 8, 60.2 percent of Australians are fully vaccinated — third COVID-19 jabs have started gaining attention. Also called booster shots, they're designed to prolong the effectiveness of the coronavirus vax. And, they've just been given the go-ahead for Australians with severely compromised immune systems. For most Aussies, that means that third jabs aren't on the cards at the moment; however, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has now recommended booster shots for severely immunocompromised folks. Also, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has advised that they'll start being rolled out from Monday, October 11. "This is for the severely immunocompromised — a group of up to 500,000," said Hunt. "It's about providing additional protection." We're expecting to receive advice on booster doses for the general population in the coming weeks. With over 151 million Pfizer, Novavax & Moderna vaccines secured for supply into the future, Australia is prepared to provide booster doses if recommended by the medical experts. — Greg Hunt (@GregHuntMP) October 8, 2021 ATAGI has outlined exactly who falls into the severely immunocompromised category, and why it's making this recommendation. The group spans people with cancer, or who've had stem cell transplants or organ transplants; folks undertaking immunosuppressive therapies for cancer such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or hormone therapy; others taking immunosuppressive therapies and some certain steroids; and those born with immunodeficiencies. If you're an Aussie who fits any of these descriptions, you might not be as protected by the regular two jabs. It's also recommended that an mRNA vaccine (so either Pfizer or Moderna) is used instead of AstraZeneca's jab (which is now called Vaxzevria) for the third dose. That said, the latter can be used if you had the AZ vax for your first two shots and you didn't have a reaction, or you've had a reaction to either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccinations. Timing-wise, ATAGI recommends waiting between two and six months after you've had your second dose, although a four-week minimum interval will be considered if it's likely your immunosuppression is about to get worse or there's a big COVID-19 outbreak. Severely immunocompromised Aussies can talk to their doctors about getting the third jab, with ATAGI's recommendations and guidelines now being sent to GP surgeries, pharmacies and aged care disability care settings. For all other Aussies who aren't eligible for booster shots yet, Hunt said that news is on the way. "The next stage, the general population stage, of the booster program, we're expecting advice from ATAGI before the end of October," he advised. For more information about booster COVID-19 vaccinations for severely immunocompromised Australians, visit the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation website.
Making its home within a former garage on High Street, this art nouveau theatre and adjoining bar are the brainchild of Gus Berger, whose name you might remember as the one behind St Kilda's George Revival Cinema back in 2013 and 2014. For his latest project, Berger has created a moviegoer's dream: a 57-seat cinema rocking a big six-metre screen, a top-notch Krix 5.1 sound system and an expertly curated program of big screen gems. The venue showcases a diverse mix of documentaries, cult classics, festival favourites and international titles. Thornbury Picture House will be giving plenty of screen-time to local filmmakers. The site's interiors pay homage to the building's art nouveau origins, sprinkled with historic film gear and classic movie posters. The bar, too, is a nod to the good old days, with the original garage features brought to life alongside recycled wooden furniture and pops of green foliage. Here, you can chase a film with Aussie spirits, local beers from the likes of Stomping Ground and Hawkers, a tidy selection of independent wines and batch brew coffee by Padre. Of course, there's plenty of homemade popcorn to round out the moviegoing experience. Find Thornbury Picture House at 802 High Street, Thornbury, or visit thornburypicturehouse.com.au for session times and further details.
Forget about packing up the car and organising a designated driver for that weekend trek out to wine country – one of the Mornington Peninsula's best-loved wineries is heading to the city. On Saturday, September 7 and Sunday, September 8, the award-winning Crittenden Estate is bringing a taste of its regional cellar door to the big smoke, popping up at Collingwood's Project Forty Nine. Winemaking sibling duo Rollo and Zoe Crittenden will be hosting guided tastings, wine sipping and charcuterie snacking... all right here on your doorstep. Pop in and sit down for an expert-led tasting session, showcasing a selection of the label's renowned cool-climate drops, including its chardonnay and Cri de Cœur pinot noir. For $20, you'll get to sample up to 12 different Crittenden wines, while enjoying some expert guidance from the winemakers themselves and an antipasto plate courtesy of the Project 49 kitchen. While you can just walk in, bookings are recommended. Crittenden Estate Cellar Door Pop-Up will be open from midday–5pm.
It’s difficult not to see Betrayal as playwright Harold Pinter’s justification for his own affair with Joan Bakewell. At its core is a message similar to the existentialist theatre of Albert Camus: who can judge these characters in a world where there is no judge, where no-one is innocent? Emma (Alison Bell) meets her former lover Jerry (Nathan O’Keefe) in a pub, and tells him she’s finally going to leave her husband, Jerry’s best friend. Plagued by guilt, Jerry confesses to Robert (Mark Saturno), only to discover he has known for years, and had affairs of his own. The play’s structure has a kind of reverse chronology — ending with the beginning of the couple’s affair and interspersed with scenes that move forward in time, and director Geordie Brookman draws on the artifice a revolving set and costume-lined stage to emphasise these shifts. Saturno takes on a gift of a part with relish as her cuckolded (and cuckolding) husband Robert, his delivery steeped in arch, brittle bite. It’s a performance that skates dangerously close to the edge of something like caricature but instead manages to ride the rhythms of subtext and rhythms of Pinter’s text to deeply satisfying effect. The only flaw in this otherwise excellent State Theatre Company of South Australia production is Jordan Sweeney’s sound design. Even if the advent of digital technology makes the possible choices on offer endless, ironically it seems like the fondness Australian theatre 'composers' have for Logic bundles of glitchy scratches and sub-heavy bass is having a depressing, flattening effect upon our contemporary theatre. The one upside to the appearance of this well-worn modern palette here, in a production that otherwise hews so closely to the play’s original setting in costume and style, is that it forces us — however bluntly — to reflect upon our modern context’s relationship with the idea of infidelity. This is especially potent at a time when we’ve got access to the kinds of tools that would facilitate the characters various 'betrayals' — whether websites like Ashley Madison, or dating apps like Tinder.
At a train station in India, a young girl begins to sing while a man watches, rapt. He is a tea seller, but no one seems to notice the small stall where he brews chai. He begins to tell a story — an Indian fairytale. The station is crowded, but the stage contains only one performer. Guru of Chai is the latest work by New Zealand theatre company Indian Ink. Jacob Rajan performs the show solo, adopting 17 different characters and a good deal of shadow puppetry to tell the tale of seven daughters plotted against by their stepmother. This one's been doing the rounds for a few years now and picking up glowing reviews all along the way. Diving through layers of truth narrative and style, Guru of Chai is pure storytelling and by all accounts a completely transporting experience. Image: Robert Catto.
A culinary collaboration is making its debut for one weekend only this month. Black Star Pastry and Hugo's Deli have teamed up to create a limited-edition watermelon combo, which will be available at the sandwich deli's location in Richmond. The combo features a watermelon katsu sandwich curated by Hugo's Deli. This sandwich includes a thick slice of watermelon marinated in soy, mirin, molasses and ponzu, paired with negi miso and charred cabbage yuzu slaw, all nestled between two pieces of shokupan bread. For dessert, customers can refresh their palette with Black Star Pastry's popular strawberry watermelon cake made of almond dacquoise, rose-scented cream, watermelon, strawberries, pistachios and dried rose petals. The famed patisserie will also unveil its new strawberry matcha latte, blending colours and flavours for a velvety refreshment. For those craving something extra, their latest carrot cake creation – made with walnuts, crushed pineapple, warm spices and cream cheese frosting – and yuzu streaks will be served at the event. The Black Star Pastry x Hugo's Deli Watermelon Combo will only be available from Saturday, April 6–Sunday, April 7, starting from 10.30am.
It's been four years since Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water turned a creature feature into a love story, and won the filmmaker the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars in the process. That's four years that movie fans have had to wait for his next dance with horror — because the director behind everything from vampire flick Cronos and dark fantasy Pan's Labyrinth to kaiju-versus-machine effort Pacific Rim and gothic haunted house feature Crimson Peak sure does love twisting genre staples in his own ways. Viewers love his work for doing just that, too, and del Toro's long-awaited next film looks set to continue the trend. With Nightmare Alley, he's forgoing Mimic's bugs, The Devil's Backbone's ghosts and Blade II's bloodsuckers in favour of spinning up psychological thrills in a carnival — and, as seen in the just-dropped first teaser trailer for the film, doing so with quite the impressive cast. Here, Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) plays carnival worker Stan Carlisle, who has a gift for using the right words to get people to do what he wants. That's a savvy — and manipulative, obviously — skill, and it proves even more so after he teams up with psychiatrist Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett, Where'd You Go, Bernadette). Adapting William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 novel of the same name — which was already turned into a movie back in 1947 — Nightmare Alley also features Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse), Rooney Mara (Mary Magdalene), Toni Collette (Dream Horse), del Toro regular Ron Perlman (who starred in the director's original Hellboy movies) and The Shape of Water's Richard Jenkins. And, as the trailer shows, it's embracing its setting in a big way. Throughout his almost three-decade filmmaking career, del Toro has always given his features quite the entrancing look (see: everything mentioned above), and that doesn't seem to be changing here. Expect things to get dark, story-wise, when the movie hits cinemas Down Under in January 2022. Expect big tops, carnival rides, Dafoe spruiking attractions, blindfolds, blood, fire and plenty of brooding looks, too, based on the trailer alone. Check out the Nightmare Alley trailer below: Nightmare Alley releases in Australian cinemas on January 20, 2022.
In Mark Wahlberg's performances, men are patriotic heroes and fun-loving dads. With his Funky Bunch and Boogie Nights days long behind him, that's the image he's been cultivating on-screen of late. The actor's resume has become littered with gung-ho action and family-friendly comedies — Patriot's Day, Mile 22 and Transformers sequels on one side; a pair of Daddy's Home movies and now Instant Family on the other. As different as the two might seem, both types of film basically allow him to play the same character. He doesn't disappear into his roles or make every part feel distinctive, but simply adds to his particular portrait of masculinity. While Wahlberg might hunt down terrorists in one flick, battle shape-shifting robots in another and then face the challenges of being a father in the next, he's really just painting the same picture one movie at a time. Instant Family, Wahlberg's latest all-ages affair, slides seamlessly into his recent filmography. As for the actor, he steps into the shoes of Pete Wagner, a take-charge kind of guy who renovates and sells houses for a profit with his wife Ellie (Rose Byrne). The couple's life is comfortable and happy, but they've fallen into a rut. So, being at the age where everyone comments about their lack of kids, they start thinking about helping children in need. Approaching becoming foster parents like they're remodelling a rundown home, the pair considers their new task a spiritual and emotional revamp. And the arrival of teenager Lizzy (Isabela Moner) and her siblings Juan (Gustavo Quiroz) and Lita (Julianna Gamiz) goes smoothly at first; in fact, Pete and Ellie are initially pretty pleased with themselves. It's easy to see why Instant Family appealed to Wahlberg, who gets to play another tough but tender everyman facing a challenge, looking out for his family and doing what his type of guy does. That said, there's more to this specific story, with the film inspired by the life of director and foster parent Sean Anders. There's an evident ring of truth to many of the movie's scenes — the awkwardness of adoption fairs, where potential caregivers browse for kids like they might a new pet, coo over cute tykes and steer clear of teenagers, provides just one example. Anders hasn't come up with an offbeat scenario solely for laughs, and it shows in the script penned with his regular co-writer John Morris. Certainly, the authentic side of Instant Family shines through on occasion. It definitely shines brighter than the picture's unremarkable imagery. But Anders also wrote and directed the broad, formulaic Daddy's Home and its equally grating follow-up, and he's not giving up his by-the-numbers ways yet. As a result, Instant Family is a movie with its heart firmly in the right spot, yet it doesn't trust that audiences will buy in without the expected array of physical mishaps, kids saying the darnedest things and adults getting frustrated in the usual cliched manner. It's a film that feels caught between what it wants to say and what it needs to be — and while supporting actors Octavia Spencer and Tig Notaro bring genuine comedic chops to the more overt comic moments, the movie just can't reconcile its various parts. Think the Bad Neighbours flicks, but pitting new parents against actual children in a kid-friendly fashion. Think the aforementioned Daddy's Home duo, too, but much less stale and more sincere. Instant Family is never as entertaining as the first set of films or as excruciating as the second, and if you prefer the former to the latter, Byrne is obviously here to help. Like her co-lead, she's doing something that she's done before, however the Aussie actor never makes her character feel like a stock-standard part. That she manages such a feat while being saddled with some of the movie's most routine material — playing a thirty-something woman who suddenly gets maternal and regrets her life decisions, namely — confirms why she's one of today's great, often underrated comedic performers. When it comes to enlivening an otherwise run-of-the-mill role, Wahlberg might want to take note. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCWHr6AUxwI
Boaz Yakin's 'Safe' follows the two-headed mission of former special forces operative Luke Wright (Jason Stratham) as he sets out to outwit Chinese Triads and the Russian Mafia. 12-year old Mei (Catherine Chan) is Wright's unlikely sidekick: a girl who holds potentially deadly knowledge. Mei has been gifted with mathematical genius, a skill which enables her to memorise the code to a coveted safe containing $30 million. Her secret cannot remain under wraps for long, however. Once word gets out that Mei is the only person who knows the safe's code, the underbelly of the crime world comes clamouring. Wright must protect Mei as together they attempt to outwit the Triads, corrupt NYC officials, and Russian Mafia. From the producer of 'Kill Bill' and 'Inglourious Bastards', this breakneck-speed crime thriller will keep you on-edge, hoping that Wright can successfully complete his trickiest and most important mission yet: to keep Mei safe. To win one of ten double passes to see Safe, just make sure you are subscribed to Concrete Playground then email your name and postal address through to hello@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=Mv2VZi5RD6c
Since opening its first outpost back in 2016, Sandra Foti's Piccolina has become one of Melbourne's best-known gelato brands, quickly growing to encompass six stores. Now, the family is growing again, with plans to launch a spacious new gelateria in Hawthorn this November. Foti will be making the bittersweet move from her original Hawthorn shop to this roomier corner site just 100 metres down Glenferrie Road, serving up a subtly refreshed spin on the Piccolina concept. It's a beautiful building the founder has had her eye on since the very beginning, too: "When we first opened, I wanted THAT space. If you know that Hawthorn strip, that's THE store." While she has mixed emotions about closing the door to Piccolina's first-ever store and the memories that go with it, there was one clear choice when the long-adored space became available. "We just went with it, it was just timing," Foti told Concrete Playground. "The thing that I'm most excited about is giving back to an amazing community that supported us back when we were nothing — when we were the new kids on the block. This is sort of like a journey we're taking together." [caption id="attachment_825791" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sandra Foti[/caption] Boasting an expanded footprint behind its heritage facade, the new outpost will be scooping the brand's full range of all-natural gelato creations. Expect crowd favourites like peanut butter, honeycomb, fior di latte, plus dairy-free options including pistachio, dark chocolate, and even a doughnut flavour crafted with Smith & Deli's iconic cardamom and cinnamon pastry. All the limited-edition gelato varieties will be getting a spin here, as will a new series of special releases launched to coincide with the opening. With recent specials including hits like the Hedgehog — chocolate gelato with toasted coconut, butter biscuit and fudge — and the marshmallow-spiked S'mores, you're in for some very good times, indeed. As with its siblings, the shop's aesthetic comes courtesy of a collaboration with renowned design studio Hecker Guthrie and creative agency Projects of Imagination. This time, however, you can expect a few considered tweaks to the chain's signature stylings, with custom-made communal tables, new materials heroed throughout the fitout and a handful of surprises, too. "I love to mix it up and make sure that we're always giving the customer something new and exciting," Foti explains. "We're bringing the gelateria to life in a new way, but that still feels very much like Piccolina." To that end, there'll be a tap pouring Piccolina's legendary, warm homemade Better Than Nutella sauce to drizzle atop your scoops, a machine churning out freshly whipped cream, a giant double-doored freezer to house the signature gelato cakes, and a menu of Italian-style milkshakes and thickshakes. And yes, it's all landing this November, just in time for the start of summer. Find Piccolina's new store at 731 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, from mid-November.
Are you the type of person who buys sneakers just to never take them out of the box? Have you queued for hours to get your mitts on a particular pair? Do you have a collection of kicks rivalling Carrie Bradshaw's stilettos? We've got good news: eBay's Museum of Authentics, a three-day extravaganza dedicated to the world's rarest sneaks, is headed for Melbourne this weekend. Running for three days at Neon Parc in Brunswick, the exhibition will give sneakerheads a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see some of the most coveted sneakers in the world — as well as mingle with like-minded fans, of course. You'll be able to get up close and personal with the very Air Jordans worn by Michael Jordan during games in the 80s. Don't get any ideas about walking away in them — a similar pair supposedly sold for about AU$745,000 last year. If you're still holding onto being a Kanye fan even after recent events, you'll want to see the College Dropout Bapestas that West designed in 2007 before Yeezys were even a thing, as well as the 2009 Air Yeezy's 1 Zen — the sneakers worn during his 2008 Grammys performance. Also on the lineup are an extremely limited edition Back to the Future-themed pair signed by the late Kobe Bryant, as well as a sneaker collab between Pharrel, Chanel and NMDs from 2017. Only 500 pairs of the latter were ever created and they're priced at about AU$18,000. And if you're a sucker for that 'just out of the box' smell, you'll want to be one of the first 100 visitors in line. That will see you gifted a candle developed to smell like brand new sneakers (supposedly), with notes of "soft leather" and "a touch of glue". Yum, we guess. The eBay Museum of Authentics is running from Friday, April 29 until Sunday, May 1 and can be found at Neon Parc, 15 Tinning Street, Brunswick. Entry is free and doors are open from 10am-5pm each day.
I’m watching Oscar Wilde eat what may be his last meal before police drag him away on charges of sodomy and I’m wondering if he has the right cutlery for lobster. This probably shouldn’t be what’s on my mind at this point. The first act of David Hare’s The Judas Kiss is a set up that should be bursting at the seams with tension. Wilde (Chris Baldock), having failed to quash accusations of sodomy with a defamation case against his male lover’s outraged father, faces imminent arrest. His friends are urging him to flee the country. Wilde however has holed himself up in a hotel room, paralysed with despair and the desire to be near his beloved, the dissolute Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas (Nigel Langley). Yet, as the first act comes to its finale, with a mob outside the hotel and fear running high, I’m thinking about table settings. Somewhere here the drama’s not doing it’s job. The Judas Kiss is a play with a somewhat chequered history. It was reportedly a flop when first performed in England in 1998, while its Australian debut the following year drew sell-out crowds, protest and police attention for its onstage nudity and simulated sex. This production by Mockingbird Theatre doesn’t seem set to be as explosive. After the initial (and to be fair to the prudes of the '90s, really quite gratuitous) cunnilingus scene, the first act falls into a kind of surly drawing room drama groove. Baldock’s Wilde is blustery and pompous and his friends all fret and shout a lot, mostly about action happening off stage involving characters you won’t meet. It doesn’t feel very Wilde at all, even as a depiction of the man in extremis. While Hare’s script does a decent job of mimicking the poet’s acid tongue, emotional nuance is lacking in the performances, which oscillate from twee to raging with no shades between. Bosie’s odiousness is so transparent he is hard to credit as a plot-driving love interest and it all becomes a bit of a slog. The second act, which takes place after Wilde’s imprisonment, when he and Bosie are living in impoverished exile in Italy, is substantially better. The drama is more immediate and personal, being driven by onstage action rather than events off stage, the characters are shown in a more complex light and the nudity, while even more louche this act, is at least justified by the story. While a certain lack of chemistry between the leads remains a problem, Baldock works much better as the broken man Wilde is by this stage and the act builds to a satisfying emotional climax. At two and a half hours, the show is pretty long, especially as it tends to revisit the same emotional territory. You’ll also probably get more out of it if you brush up on Wilde’s biography beforehand, as it does somewhat rely on assumed knowledge. Both the script and the delivery could be tighter but it is still an interesting work which offers a novel and poignant view of the man himself.
Standing in a bar, being forced to make small talk with a stranger: we've all been there. Hearing from your parents more frequently than you have time for, despite your best intentions: many of us have experienced that as well. In Toni Erdmann, both scenarios combine in a way that might well give you nightmares. Just imagine if the person accosting you while you try to enjoy a drink turned out to be your dad in a bad wig and false teeth. At its simplest, that's the idea behind writer-director Maren Ade's 162-minute comedy, which has been garnering acclaim since it premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, and remains the favourite to win his year's Oscar for best foreign-language film. A German consultant living in Bucharest, Ines (Sandra Hüller) is irritated when her practical joke-loving, divorced and lonely father Winfried (Peter Simonischek) arrives for an unexpected visit. But that soon gives way to unbridled horror when his alter ego Toni starts following her around. Once is odd, twice is annoying, and three times… well, that's something else. Then again, one of the basic elements of life is repetition, which Toni Erdmann demonstrates disarmingly well. First, you'll cringe. Then you'll laugh. Before long, you may find yourself crying. Those are the stages audiences cycle through while watching Ade's film, and it's no accident. The mastery evident in ensuring that every detail of the movie imitates life can't be underestimated. The naturalistic camerawork and astute commentary on the importance of humour is not unlike Toni's ridiculous headpiece: it's just what's visible on the surface. With all the buzz around the film in the lead up to the Oscars, it's hardly surprising to learn that we'll soon be getting an American remake (starring Jack Nicholson and Kristen Wiig). Why the world needs an English-language version is a question Hollywood is happily ignoring, but its high-profile cast certainly have huge shoes (and wigs, and false teeth) to fill. As Toni keeps ramping up his antics and Ines keeps struggling to contain her reactions, Hüller and Simonischek prove the film's most important pieces, ensuring their characters are not just likeable, but thoroughly believable as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0uwi5EPnpA
After making his fortune at the card tables as a professional gambler, David Walsh launched MONA as something to give back to the community. Three years later it's become a national icon, boosted Tasmania's economy and given rise to one of Australia's best festivals. Now, despite labelling gambling as "mostly immoral", Walsh has plans in the works to build a mini-casino at his much-loved Tasmanian gallery. Yes, this is confusing. In its defence, Walsh's vision for the space goes far beyond the sad state of affairs you see on an average night at Star City or Crown. Designed for the more refined gambler, the space would be "a little high-roller, tourist-only, no-pokie casino". The entire operation would consist of nothing more than 12 cards tables. Basically, it'd be the perfect place for Bond villains to hang out should they ever find themselves in Australia. To add to this eye-patch wearing, cigar-puffing, international art smuggling cartel theme, Walsh has stated he would call the casino Monaco. While a cute play on the gallery name, the choice could also be a knowing wink at the ritzy Monte Carlo casino the nation is known for — a site coincidentally used in many Bond movies. Regardless, these plans have a long hard road to becoming a reality. At present, the Federal Group (owners of Wrest Point Casino) have an exclusive license on casino operations in Tasmania and Walsh's plans would require an overturning of the license by the state government. Walsh has reportedly made initial contact but is sceptical about his chances. At one point, the MONA owner was banned from Wrest Point for card counting. If the plans were to go through, the gallery would undoubtedly enjoy a large boost in funds. At the very least it would be an un unconventional solution to the impending cuts to Australia's arts industries and a welcome salvation for Walsh himself who has bankrolled the gallery since its inception. But honestly, the outlook doesn't look great. You can't blame an eccentric, art-loving millionaire for chasing the dream. Via The Guardian and The Mercury.
After exhibiting in Sydney earlier this year, Chinese artist Chen Qiulin brings her first Australian solo show to the Shepparton Art Museum. Her practice draws upon her experience growing up in Wanzhou City in Western China and the confluence of natural and urban landscapes. In recent years, the rapid urbanisation of China has becoming central to her work, which explores the intricacies of city planning, architectural hierarchies as well as tensions between tradition and technology. The centrepiece and namesake of the show is the impressive One Hundred Names, consisting of the most common Chinese family names, carefully carved out of tofu. This edible artwork is designed to gradually decay over time, symbolising the material transformation that inevitably follows intensive labour. The exhibition will also feature a range of photographic, video and performance works. As part of the exhibition, SAM will also hold a one-off tofu banquet with the artist on Saturday, June 4 to coincide with the launch. You can book tickets here. Image: Chen Qiulin, Ellisis Series No.1 2001 58×86cm Photograph, Giclee Print, Ed.8 Courtesy the artist and A Thousand Plateaus Art Space, Chengdu © the artist.
Forget the idea that you can only be a dog person or a cat person. Kedi puts that theory to rest once and for all. Even if you wouldn't be willing to share your home with a purring companion, there's no chance you won't fall in love with the feisty felines in this Turkish documentary and the contemplative take on life their happy existence provides. That's the beauty of Ceyda Torun's film: its meowing mousers don't come from YouTube, but from the streets of Istanbul, where cats have roamed for thousands of years. They're pets to no one but beloved by all; strays stalking the pavements in a place refreshingly hospitable to their free-wandering lifestyle. As opening narration from one of the city's two-legged residents describes, here, "the cat is more than just a cat. The cat embodies the indescribable chaos, the culture and the uniqueness that is the essence of Istanbul." That may sound like a bold claim, but it soon proves right on the money. Graceful cinematography gets up close and personal with the film's adorable protagonists, while at the same time offering a sweeping view of how they're positioned within the hustle and bustle of their surroundings. Sari searches for food for her new kittens, often successfully begging for scraps at cafes. Bengü has her own hungry mouths to feed, and gets jealous when her favoured humans give their attention to others. Deniz flits around a marketplace making friends with customers, while Duman pursues his refined taste for delicatessen food. Aslan Parçasi is often found by the seashore, soaking up the view near a famous local fish restaurant. Gamsiz hops between apartments. As for Psikopat, she rules her neighbourhood, enforcing her will upon animals and people alike. If they all sound like distinctive characters with their own stories, personalities and behaviours, then it's no less than they deserve. Indeed, that's part of the point of Kedi, which fittingly means 'cat' in Turkish. Boosted by interviews with the humans who know and love these kitties best, Torun treats each animal's journey as she would a person's. In fact, her care and dedication truly lays bare life at street level, her film flitting from bustling eateries to overcrowded areas just like her subjects. Their travels around the city provide a portrait of Istanbul in a microcosm. Finding the ordinary in the extraordinary is a common aim in documentary filmmaking, with the best non-fiction efforts making viewers reassess everything they thought they knew about something regular and routine. With the aid of deft editing and a whimsy tinged soundtrack, the observational and enlightening Kedi couldn't provide a finer example. It wears its affection on its sleeves — or, perhaps its collar — but pairs that obvious love with thoughtful insights. After watching this film, you'll never come across a cat (or watch a cute cat video on the internet) without wondering what stories it might have to tell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKq7UqplcL8
If you've had a big night out in Melbourne over the last five years, there's a good chance it was at a Good Company Bar Group (GCBG) venue. Launched in 2020, the group is now behind a plethora of high-energy bars, clubs and eateries, like Electric Bar, Rossi, The Emerson, Circus Bar and Holy Grail. Now, with their fifth anniversary just around the corner, GCBG is celebrating with a few landmark announcements. Growing its portfolio to 11 venues over the next six months, perhaps the most significant development is the revival of The Lounge on Swanston Street. Closed over a decade ago after almost 30 years of late-night debauchery inside and on the balcony, GCBG will break new ground on the relaunched venue soon, with a new home and complete renovation on the agenda. Planned for a spring launch, expect non-stop fun happening seven nights a week. Looking to Richmond, the group has also partnered with local hospo gurus Andy Ryan and Dave Abela on two exciting Swan Street venues. Guided by local drinks experts Jon Minihan, Matt Ambler and Laurent Rospars, The Ugly Duckling will spread its wings with a rejuvenated cocktail and wine list alongside an Italian-inspired bar menu. Meanwhile, the venue's fit-out has received a spruce up by renowned interior design studio, Brahman Perera. Just next door, the former Untitled site welcomes a brand-new restaurant concept. Details are still forthcoming, but a new name, chef and menu are locked and loaded. "What started as a small-bar vision has grown into a collection of restaurants, nightclubs, late-night bars, and incredible function spaces. Melbourne's nightlife scene is in our DNA, and this expansion is just the beginning," says Nick Young, Co-Founder and Director of Good Company Bar Group. An announcement this big – not to mention a birthday to celebrate – requires a party like no other. On Friday, May 2, GCBG will mark its fifth anniversary with a city-wide celebration, with eight of its venues hosting exclusive activations and entertainment. To help get you in the mood, guests enjoy 50% off drinks until midnight at most venues, with each location featuring special promotions and music events bound to set the city alight. Get down to Holy Grail for a Gentlemen's Lair pop-up featuring haircuts and beard trims, as well as tarot readings and cocktail-making competitions. La La Land Windsor has flash tattoos and a Red Bull Truck DJ set, while the CBD alternative brings a free photo booth, live jazz and neo-soul tunes. At Rossi on Greville Street, feast on 50 free pizzas, then head to Circus to catch UK dancefloor duo In Parallel. With GCBG offering free tuk-tuks for transport, getting amongst the action is made easy. Good Company Bar Group's 5th anniversary celebration is happening on Friday, May 2, at various venues across Melbourne. Head to the website for more information.
Melburnians now have another excuse to hit the water, with GoBoat splashing into town. The Denmark-born company has been busy launching its eco-friendly picnic boats in cities all over Europe and, in our patch of the world, it's now up and running in Melbourne, giving punters a fun new way to cruise the Yarra. Aimed at making the whole boating caper more accessible for everyday folk, the Scandinavian-designed vessels are slow-moving, a breeze to operate and don't require a boating licence, making for some fun, fuss-free sailing sessions. In a win for the planet, they also run on silent, pollution-free, electric engines, and are crafted from a mix of reclaimed timber and recycled PET bottles. Each of the contemporary GoBoats clocks in at 18-feet long, boasting a central picnic table with room for eight people (and all the necessary snacks and booze). And despite what you might be thinking, they're even affordable enough to fit your post-holiday budget — simply BYO food and drinks, find enough eager sailors to jump aboard and a GoBoat session will cost you less than $15 per person, per hour. That's $109 hourly in total, or $189 for two hours, $279 for three hours, $349 for four hours, $429 for five hours and $509 for six hours. Yes, you can really make a whole day of it. Bookings are available for the service's first stint until the end of May, with timeslots available in 15-minute increments from 9am. The boats required to be returned by sunset (8pm at present, 7.30pm until mid-March, and then decreasing down to 6pm at the end of the season). GoBoats' fleet of four Melbourne vessels is now setting sail out of Docklands, with six more to come. Oh, and did we mention they're pet-friendly? Surely you've got a very good boy who deserves a river jaunt. For more information about GoBoat, or to make a booking, visit the service's website. Images: Lean Timms.
In 1977, Robyn Davidson decided she would walk west from Alice Springs until she hit the Indian Ocean, taking with her only her beloved dog and four camels. She was determined to do this alone, but, finding herself in need of money, was forced to allow National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan to document her journey. Davidson was told the trek would be suicide, but, undeterred, she set out anyway on her perilous, eventful journey. Filmmakers have been trying to adapt Tracks, the book she wrote about her experience, since the early 1980s, with even Julia Roberts attached in 1993. This is the sixth (and, clearly, the only successful) attempt to bring Davidson's story to the screen. Mia Wasikowska stars and is impressive as Davidson, imbuing her with a determination required to sell the character. Adam Driver, best known from Lena Dunham's Girls, is equally superb as Smolan. Driver is a compelling presence, and though his character is an irritant to Davidson, he is a welcome presence to us whenever he appears. Read our full review of Tracks here. Tracks is in cinemas on Thursday, March 6, and thanks to Transmission Films, we have five 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. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=RyDCfuYTX_U
It's the 32nd year for Australia's largest folk art and music festival. And like a vintage wine, the artistic line up gets more and more complex and impressive as the years go by. This year there'll be over 2000 artists in 400 acts across visual, performance and spoken word formats. Catch folk, rock and pop musicians including John Butler, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Beautiful Girls, Husky, Holy Holy, Canadian band The East Pointers, Timberwolf and Montaigne. Personalities such as Dr Karl, Tracey Spicer and Noel Pearson are among an exhaustive selection of speakers, presenters and comedians doing what they do best and you'll be mesmerised by at least 20 dance and performance acts. You can also try your hand at artisan crafts from pottery to tattoo art to Maori basket weaving — or even just go on a bush walk with a professional nature enthusiast through Woodford's beautiful surrounds. And as usual, you'll welcome in the new year alongside thousands of others with an epic fire display. The crowd is expected to reach over 132,000 this edition, so get your name on a ticket before they become scarce.
Looking for an excuse to skip the city this weekend? You could dissolve in mineral springs in Daylesford, get back to nature in Gippsland, or head to Broken Hill for art, stars and country pubs. But, for something totally different, you might consider Jackalope Weekend. From Friday, June 13-Sunday, June 15, the Mornington Peninsula's highly luxe Jackalope Hotel is offering all kinds of adventures — from a whisky tasting by a roaring bonfire to a dinner collaboration with Yugen Dining. And the finale is a long lunch with ALT Pasta Bar in Jackalope's Doot Doot Doot restaurant. The menu promises a collision of Korean brilliance and Italian decadence. Start with snacks of chestnut agnolotti, truffle and duck tea, and wagyu tartare with duck fat kataifi and charcoal mayo. Next up is a scallop crudo entrée with preserved persimmon and dash pearls. Mains include squid ink spaghetti with spanner crab, bisque and pastrami powder, as well as porchetta with Jerusalem artichoke puree, cime di papa and salsa verde. And dessert? Tiramisu with chestnut crème, mascarpone and tonka bean. Tickets for lunch are $130 per person, with matching wines on offer for $85. If you're pretty sure one lunch won't be enough, stay all weekend with an all-inclusive package. They start at $3,099.
Back in the 2000s, if you weren't listing to Interpol and Bloc Party, were you really in the 2000s? No, no you weren't. The former arrived out of Manhattan in the late 90s, then helped define the city's turn-of-the-century indie music scene with The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio and The National. Hailing from Britain and also coming together just before Y2K, the latter initially scored some hefty approval in 2003 via Franz Ferdinand's lead singer Alex Kaprano. From those beginnings, both bands became indie rock greats. Next, they're heading to Australia to remind music lovers why. Busting out everything from 'Slow Hands' to 'She's Hearing Voices', the two groups will share the same bill on a co-headlining tour of the country's east coast in November, including a show at Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Thursday, November 16. For Interpol, it'll be their first visit Down Under since 2019, plus their debut chance to play 2022 album The Other Side of Make-Believe in Australia. Tracks from past records such as Turn on the Bright Lights, Antics and El Pintor will also feature. Bloc Party are making the trip after last rocking Aussie stages in 2018, and will perform songs from Silent Alarm, A Weekend in the City, Intimacy and 2022 LP Alpha Games. Bloc Party images: James Kellegher. Interpol image: Ebru Yildiz.
Mirik Milan knows what it takes to keep the pulse of a city racing long into the night. For the past few years he's held the office of the Night Mayor of Amsterdam, a title given to the head of an advisory NGO tasked with building bridges between various stakeholders, including business owners, residents and government officials, to ensure the hours between sundown and sunup can be enjoyed by one and all. Sounds nice huh? Incidentally, if you're in Sydney right now, sobbing softly into your keyboard, please trust us when we tell you: we feel your pain — especially one day after the NSW Government has decided to 'relax' the lockout times by a mere 30 minutes. For the record, Milan feels your pain too. The former club promoter turned after-dark crusader was in the Harbour City last week as a guest of the annual Electronic Music Conference — and yes, he had plenty to say about the lockouts. [caption id="attachment_578891" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Night Mayor, Mirik Milan[/caption] "The lockouts are a symptom of an undereducated State Government," Milan tells Concrete Playground. "If you want to create behavioural change it needs to come from the grassroots up. If the idea is that you'll create behavioural change by imposing stricter laws on operators, you're blaming operators for a societal problem." "In my opinion, the reason why governments find it easier to clamp down on nightlife and just blame the operators is because that's the cheapest way to deal with it," he continues. "Starting a bunch of initiatives to inform people how to behave and to encourage people to drink less is much more expensive, and the risk of failing is much higher." Nevertheless, Milan believes the rewards of a bustling nightlife are well worth the effort. "Why is it important to have a vibrant nightlife?" asks Milan. "Because it will attract a lot of young, creative people. When you have a lot of young, creative people in a city, you have a lot of creative industries, and this is an engine for economic growth." So what would it take for Sydney to turn its nocturnal fortunes around? Below, Milan shares his tips on how to create a safe, prosperous and energetic nightlife. Let's just hope Mike Baird subscribes to our newsletter. TAKE CUES FROM INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES THAT HAVE ACTUALLY WORKED Both the NSW and Queensland lockouts were introduced to stamp down on alcohol-related violence. But wouldn't it be nice if there was some way to do this without punishing those of us who can have a drink without throwing a punch? In Amsterdam's bar-filled Rembrandtplein district, the answer came in the form of so-called 'square hosts', whose job it is stop confrontations before they start. "They walk the street every Friday and Saturday night in the nightlife area and they try to de-escalate situations when there's something going on," explains Milan. "Unfortunately, when people have something to drink and they see the police, they see [them] as an aggressor. These square hosts are non-aggressive." Meanwhile, the City of Amsterdam has also developed an app that allows people to report antisocial behaviour to nearby community officers. "It means that complaints are dealt with really effectively," says Milan. "We understand that it can be super frustrating for residents that live around the nightlife square, and every weekend you have the same complaints and problems. With this system, you can [be in] direct contact with the community officer… and [it] really gives the residents the feeling that their problem is being listened to." But according to Milan, the biggest accomplishment of the project has been the introduction of 24-hour licenses. "What was really radical about this process was that for the first time in Amsterdam, licenses were given out not on the basis of whether you had four walls, a roof and a bouncer in front of the door, but on the basis of content," he says. "And when you focus on content you get a different kind of audience. These venues are all multidisciplinary. They have a bar, restaurant, live music, gallery space, some venues even run kindergartens." [caption id="attachment_602520" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Night Mayor Summit, nachtburgemeester.amsterdam[/caption] WORK WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS When it comes to making positive changes, Milan understands that collaboration is key, having discussed countless stakeholder viewpoints in community meetings, one-on-one talks and even at a dedicated Night Mayor Summit, the first of its kind, held in Amsterdam in April 2016. "Bring all the stakeholders together and try to come up with a solution and find a middle ground where everyone can benefit," he says. "Bridge the gap between the municipality, policy makers, small business owners and city residents. We always say by having a dialogue you can change the rules of the game." Milan also recommends fighting opposition with evidence instead of emotion. "We deal with [opposition] by making people aware that the baby steps that we make are reasonable," he tells us. "We like to run pilots, to see if [an initiative] works, to see if it doesn't have too much of an impact on residents, and then [we can make] an educated decision. Often these [initiatives] are tailor made for a certain area, because cities are becoming more and more complex… it's really about working together, and bringing operators and residents together, and seeing what works for your area." Ultimately, it helps that the economic incentive is there. "The value of the nighttime economy has become much more important for cities around the world over the last 10 to 15 years," says Milan. "I've never heard of mayors or city councils who want to kill jobs." [caption id="attachment_560788" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Kimberley Low.[/caption] GIVE PEOPLE THE RESPECT THEY DESERVE While you're never going to be able to get rid of every dickhead, in Milan's experience most people who go out at night want to do the right thing — especially when you treat them like grown-ups. "Send out a positive message," he suggests. "[Tell people] you can go out later, but you have to take care of your community." "For example, the Amsterdam Dance Event attracts 375,000 people to the city in five days," says Milan. "When people come into the airport, the first thing they see [are signs] saying, 'Welcome to ADE, be safe and have a great time.' And I get so many good responses from people saying, 'Wow, I feel so respected, I feel so welcome here, I will take care.''" "Give people the responsibility to take care of themselves," asserts Milan. "Of course, you have to have good legislation in place as well, but give them the right to take care of their community. This is a community that is open minded and willing to listen to these kinds of messages." Top image: Bodhi Liggett.
If there's one thing that a film about Adam Driver fighting dinosaurs shouldn't be, it's average. Only ridiculously entertaining or ridiculously terrible will do, and those two outcomes needn't be mutually exclusive. The appeal of 65 is right there in that four-word premise, as it was always going to be, because getting the intense White Noise, House of Gucci, Annette and Star Wars actor (and BlacKkKlansman and Marriage Story Oscar-nominee) battling prehistoric creatures is that roaringly ace an idea. He should brood, and his dino foes should stalk, snap and snarl. That is indeed what happens thanks to writer/directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who penned the first A Quiet Place, plus have horror movies Nightlight and Haunt on their past helming resumes. But for a flick that isn't required to offer anything else and knows it — well, other than laser guns to shoot at said dinosaurs, because not even the man who plays Kylo Ren can confront a Tyrannosaurus rex or pack of raptors barehanded — 65 doesn't possess enough B-movie energy. Beck and Woods have taken the very B-movie path story-wise, though. As 65's trailer made plain, this is a Frankenstein's monster of a film mashup, stitching together limbs from a stacked pile of other sources to fuel its narrative. The Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchise, the Predator series, the Alien and Prometheus saga, Logan, The Last of Us, The Man Who Fell to Earth and, yes, A Quiet Place: they each earn more than a few nods, and never with subtlety. So too does Planet of the Apes, but the fact that 65 is set on earth all along isn't a late-picture twist. What else would the title refer to? That said, Beck and Woods begin their movie elsewhere, taking time-travel 65 million years backward out of the equation. Instead, Driver's pilot Mills ends up on our pale blue dot from a civilisation out there in space, and one more advanced during earth's Cretaceous period than humankind is today. Again, these aren't surprises. Text on-screen points all of this out from the get-go or close enough. When the title card arrives bearing the number-slash-moniker 65, that the film takes place all those years ago, and that Mills is now on the third rock from the Milky Way's sun, is written out on-screen as well. Kudos to the filmmakers for not focusing their movie on the tease; a lesser flick, and not in the so-bad-it's-good way, would've been fine with wholesale ripping off Planet of the Apes but just journeying in the opposite temporal direction. Rather, even with the Rod Serling-esque concept — The Twilight Zone creator and presenter also penned the OG Apes' screenplay, as loosely adapted from the page — 65 is about what happens next with full knowledge of where it's set. The narrative from there is obvious, with or without any other context. Whatever you think will happen in 65 sight unseen, or from the trailer, does. Mills tries three things: to survive, to fend off those pesky dinosaurs and to get home. But, he isn't alone. He's transporting others as part of a long-range mission when his ship crashes on what's to him an unknown planet, and young Koa (Ariana Greenblatt, In the Heights) also lives post-impact — after their vessel is hit by an undocumented asteroid, sending them plummeting in the first place, and then after it smashes into earth, tearing apart and scattering its two halves 12 kilometres apart. The piece that Mills and Koa are in can't blast off, of course, and the planet's most frightening-ever residents are keen on a meal as the duo of interlopers attempt to use their wits and weaponry while walking from one section to the other. If you know earth's basic history and how things turned out for the dinosaurs, as we all do, there's no prizes for guessing what else occurs in 65. With startling its audience off the cards, ample pressure falls on the film's ability to engage through character, chaos or both — too much pressure, it proves. Everything is passable. Everything is firmly by the numbers. Nothing is wild, weird or wonderful. That applies to the family thread that runs through the film, after Beck and Woods showed their fondness for the ties of blood, monsters and the end of the world with A Quiet Place. Mills' well-paying gigs have long spirited him away from his wife (Nika King, Euphoria) and daughter (Chloe Coleman, Avatar: The Way of Water), the latter of whom has serious health conditions, making 65's protagonist a Star Wars-esque absent dad. So, when he's tasked with caring for Koa out of proximity and necessity, that job sparks an emotional reaction and connection. Movies about crashing somewhere strange and scary, being ushered into new worlds filled with threats and endeavouring to adapt all work as birth metaphors — we've all been there — an idea that lingers in 65's quiet moments. What does it mean to be thrust into an unfamiliar realm, learn of its ever-present perils and try to endure? How do we learn resilience, resourcefulness, who we are and what's truly important? These questions aren't unrelated, and they're also at the core of this feature. 65 doesn't dig fossil-level deep, however. It's always a dinos-versus-people sci-fi thriller. Actually, make that dinos-versus-humanoid aliens, given that Mills and Koa hark from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (no, not the George Lucas-started ones) as they're grappling with beasts brought to the screen with standard-at-best (and never Prehistoric Planet-standard) CGI. 65 would be a far worse film without Driver; switching out its star wouldn't make it an extinction-level event, but the whole 'Adam Driver fights dinosaurs' concept is alluring for a reason. Since singing "please don't shoot me into outer space" in Inside Llewyn Davis, he keeps being shot there, or from there, on-screen — and approaches each instance, as he has everything from Girls and Frances Ha to Paterson and The Last Duel, with blistering commitment. If this was a grander, gorier or sillier movie with Driver's performance at its centre, it might've been something special. There's glimmers here, glistening like a dinosaur's teeth. The version that treads forth is watchable, but also the most basic version of what it is, what viewers want and why it exists: yes, Adam Driver fighting dinosaurs.
If you need a little dose of cuteness in your life, stop scrolling through animal videos and venture down to Yarra's Edge, where you'll now find 20 adorable baby endangered animals. Ok, so they're not real, but the bronze sculptures, by renowned Aussie artist duo Gillie and Marc, are pretty darn lifelike and bound to give you some warm fuzzy feelings. And they're there for a great cause, too. Unveiled on Friday, May 20, the works are part of a new conservation-focused public art project titled Wild About Babies, created in collaboration with property group Mirvac. The fauna-filled installation was designed to raise awareness about the plight of endangered species and will help raise funds for charity partner the World Wide Fund for Nature Australia (WWF Australia). [caption id="attachment_855219" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The artists posing with their mountain gorilla creation.[/caption] Spread along the riverside stretch at Yarra's Edge, the artwork features the likenesses of 20 different baby endangered species, watched over by a giant adult mountain gorilla. Among the lineup, you'll spy elephant calves, a Bengal tiger cub, a frolicking zebra foal and even a rock wallaby joey. Gillie and Marc's detailed sculptures were created based on sketches and photos from the couples' own overseas travels. Not only are you allowed to touch this art, but visitors are encouraged to give the animals a cuddle and can even scan each of the attached QR codes for more information about the creatures in their native habitat. The artists will also be running a naming competition this winter, inviting the public to submit potential monikers for their favourite animal sculptures. One lucky winner will get naming rights, as well as a name plaque on the sculpture, a Gillie and Marc print and a $100 donation to WWF Australia. Stay tuned to Gillie and Marc's socials for details. You can find the Wild About Babies sculptures located along the river at Yarra's Edge.
A staple of Melbourne's cultural calendar for 80 years and counting, the Sidney Myer Free Concerts are back for another year. Held at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, the latest of this long-standing favourite will, as always, feature a trio of performances from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Whether you're a classical music buff or just want to stretch out with a picnic on the grass, there's a good reason these concerts have become a summertime tradition. After kicking off on Friday, February 8, and keeping the fun going on Saturday, February 16, Melburnians can enjoy the last evening in the series on Wednesday, February 20. The first night will feature a series of famous songs by American composer George Gershwin, while Tchaikovsky and Debussy will star on the Saturday. A Symphonic Celebration will round out the free performances with fantasy-themed pieces, such as Dukas' 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice'. Drinks and snacks will be available to purchase, but you can also BYO — just make sure you pack plastic cups. Performances begin at 7:30pm; however, gates are open at 4:30pm so be sure to arrive promptly with your picnic basket in hand.
Life has been a cabaret for one of the world's inimitable designers since 2018, when Jean Paul Gaultier's Fashion Freak Show first premiered in Paris. Couture, colour, flair, excess, passion, a larger-than-life attitude: they're all channelled into this fashion show-meets-musical revue that steps through its namesake's career and promises a time at the theatre like nothing else. More than 200 original Gaultier pieces feature. His 50 years making threads are in the spotlight. Unsurprisingly, the whole thing also plays out like a party. So far, London, Tokyo, Munich, Porto, Lisbon, Milan, Barcelona and Osaka have also revelled in the Jean Paul Gaultier's Fashion Freak Show experience. Next, it's Brisbane's turn. The River City will welcome the Australian debut of the show — and the Aussie-exclusive season, too — during Brisbane Festival 2024. Donning attire that Gaultier would approve of isn't a prerequisite of attending the production, but you know that you want to dress the part if you're heading along. Jean Paul Gaultier's Fashion Freak Show will kick off with Brisbane Festival itself, starting on Friday, August 30. The Australian season runs until Sunday, September 15, taking over the South Bank Piazza — which forms part of the Festival Garden for the duration of Brisbane Festival. Of course Jean Paul Gaultier's Fashion Freak Show emphasises its titular figure's boundary-pushing work, his focus on individual expression, and his championing of queer aesthetics and LGBTQIA+ causes. Alongside the hefty range of outfits, it also features a suitable genre-defying soundtrack of disco, funk, pop, rock, new wave and punk tunes as actors and dancers — plus circus artists as well — take to the stage. The diverse cast of faces bringing the show to life spans even further, too, with celebrities and other special guests filming cameos that play during the production.
Declan Greene’s I Am a Miracle is a searing assault on injustice throughout the ages. It’s a risky and at-times unwieldy combination of three separate strands of story: the impending execution of African-American inmate Marvin Lee Wilson, the 18th century Dutch colony of Suriname, and the claustrophobic world of a modern home. It’s a small ensemble cast, with actors Bert LaBonté and Melita Jurisic joined onstage by singer Hana Lee Crisp. Once Labonte addresses the death-row inmate Wilson only minutes before his death the focus quickly shifts towards Jurisic, who performs the story of a young Dutch soldier on a doomed expedition upriver to subdue rebel slaves. This long stretch of the play could easily stagnate in the hands of a lesser performer but Jurisic is in utter control as she navigates the extended, prosaic narrative. Director Matt Lutton’s program notes indicate that Jurisic’s character is “rehearsing” this story but any aspect of that intriguing metatheatrical interpretation is unsupported in performance, beyond the upturned chairs and tables on the set, which could resemble the broken furniture of an abandoned rehearsal room. One obvious question is why use this story – are Australian audiences so inured to the horrors of their own colonial history that they need to apprehend them fresh, through the exotic lens of the brutal occupation of Suriname? I don’t think so: the choice provokes us into seeing these acts of brutality as part of a systemic constellation, not as isolated incidents. Later in a surprising shift towards naturalism, the characters inhabit a time and place that could easily be modern Melbourne. Greene’s writing lets out measured revelations until the full horror of the couple’s situation becomes clear. This feels like the most compelling part of the play – it’s so gripping that it risks making the rest of the work feel like a less interesting carapace by contrast, even if it’s one that holds it in place. Jung wrote of the Roman Empire’s embrace of Christianity that “whenever some social or psychological monstrosity is created, a compensation comes along in defiance of all legislation and all expectation.” Where I Am a Miracle succeeds most is as an expression of enduring desire for the same kind of rebooted society, and in its interrogation of the cyclical, enduring nature of systemic oppression. It’s not the role of theatre to lay out blueprints and solutions; instead, plays like this give a voice to our need for enduring hope if those changes are going to succeed. Image by Pia Johnson.
Head into Sydney's Odd Culture in Newtown, or its new accompanying bottle shop and small bar SPON, and you'll be greeted with a stack of tasty wine and snack pairings. The venue's chicken liver pâté with potato chips and fish sauce caramel is one of the Harbour City's best bar snacks. The same can be said down in Melbourne, where Odd Culture's Fitzroy digs boasts the same addictive trio on its snack menu. And, all three offer charcuterie from LP's Quality Meats — all of which can be paired with a white, red, skin-contact, rosé or pét-nat. But, sometimes you're not on the hunt for something as extravagant as pâté and instead are hankering for a snack with a bit more nostalgic familiarity. Well, not to worry — we've asked Odd Culture Group's Beverage Manager Jordan Blackman (Odd Culture, The Duke of Enmore, The Old Fitz) for suggestions for the best wines to pair with schoolyard snacks, all of which are available in-store or online at SPON. (And, yes, SPON ships beyond New South Wales.) If you've ever craved a natty wine with a full box of cheese and bacon Shapes, or wondered what drop would partner well with a berry Roll-Up, we've got you covered. ROLL-UPS Jordan: "If we're talking Roll-Ups, then we simply can't go past grenache. Candied fruit with a lick of spice — a match made in heaven. Grab a bottle of 2021 Les Fruits Gonzo made from a blend of grenache and cinsault. Bright and crunchy with juicy red fruits (think strawberry, raspberry and cherry) and gentle tannin. Great chilled, great at room temp. It goes without saying we're talking about the best flavour of Roll-Ups here — and that's strawberry." OVALTEENIES Jordan: "Why do they call it Ovaltine? The mug is round. The jar is round. They should call it Roundtine. Anyway. Steering away from anything too hectic that might overwhelm the sweet, delicate chocolate malt of our precious Ovalteenies, I'd crack into some Ngeringa Altus from Mount Barker. Inspired by Vin Santo by way of Tuscany, it's sweet yet oxidative and insanely complex — crème caramel, Turkish delight, hazelnut and dried fruits drenched in honey." CHEESE AND BACON SHAPES Jordan: "My mind immediately gravitated towards Bandol rosé from the south of France — weighty, powerful and made from mourvèdre, often said to be quite 'meaty'. In the spirit of keeping things homegrown, I've gone with a longstanding favourite: 2022 Poppelvej Dead Ohio Sky Rosé which clearly draws inspiration from the Bandol. Organically grown Mourvèdre from McLaren Vale with texture turned up to eleven, it's serious, savoury and spicy all the while refreshing and moreish — kind of like cheese and bacon Shapes?" LE SNAK Jordan: "Cheese and crackers, but not just any ordinary cheese and/or cracker — elevate your lunchbox with Le Snak and a bottle of 2021 Harkham Aziza's Chardonnay. Hands down, one of my favourite cuvées — zero adds, clean as a whistle, alive! Naturally fermented and rested in seasoned French oak, these two play almost too well together coaxing out notes of fresh sourdough, vanilla biscuits and whipped cream while racy acidity keeps everything in check." JUMPY'S Jordan: "Apparently there are other flavours of Jumpy's than chicken? 2022 Trutta Pétillant Naturel Blanc is the obvious choice here. A blend of chardonnay and riesling, this organic fizz is brimming with energy, bright acidity and reminds us of another nostalgic Australian snack — oh, glorious Splice! Saline, zippy and ultimately refreshing — a perfect match for couch snacks of the kangaroo-shaped kind. We love salty snacks with our bubbles." Head to SPON's website — or in-store if you're in Sydney — if you want to get your hands on any of the mentioned wines. SPON is open at 256 King Street, Newtown 12pm–10pm Monday–Thursday, 12pm–12am Friday and 11am–12am Saturday.
Picking something to watch is about to get harder, and Australian viewers are set to get even more spoilt for choice. The list of streaming services available Down Under is already hefty, but there'll be at least 50 more channels to choose from once the end of August hits. The reason: the launch of Pluto TV on our shores, which is coming via Network Ten's 10 Play platform. Up and running in the US for almost a decade, Pluto TV is completely free to watch. The catch: it's a FAST service, aka free ad-supported streaming television. So, just like in the days before anyone had even dreamed up Netflix and the like, or pay TV, you won't pay a cent to watch — but you will have to see commercials. Pluto TV's big drawcard is delivering its smorgasbord of content via channels, rather than just having audiences scroll through hundreds or thousands of shows and movies to decide what to watch. Basically, it replicates the linear TV experience on free-to-air, but via streaming. You'll still need to do some choosing, though, given that there's a lengthy roster of themed channels to choose from. And to watch, you'll be headed to the new Pluto TV area on 10 Play, rather than to a specific standalone service. Paramount, which owns and operates Pluto TV and also Network Ten, hasn't revealed the exact number of channels that'll arrive in Australia from Thursday, August 31 — other than it'll be 50-plus. And, while it also hasn't unveiled the full list of what each will show, it has named some specific options. Fancy only viewing South Park? I Love Lucy? Happy Days? Dynasty? MTV's reality shows? Nickelodeon classics? They'll all have their own channels. Whatever else Pluto TV adds to its Aussie offering — Hawaii Five-O, an MTV channel focused on Shores shows, and Nick Toons have also been announced so far — it'll be drawing from the Los Angeles-based company's partnerships with 400-plus international media outfits. And, it'll be expanding the service in yet another location, with Pluto TV already up in running in more than 35 markets. "These 50 Pluto TV channels represent our first step to engage with Australian audiences and we are happy to mark this milestone by partnering with 10 Play, demonstrating once more the strength of our Paramount ecosystem," said Olivier Jollet, Executive Vice President and International General Manager for Pluto TV. "As pioneers in the FAST industry, we are bringing a new and unique user experience through curated channels dedicated to this market. Our mix of local and international content which matches the needs of our local audiences is what makes Pluto TV so valuable for viewers, clients, and partners across the world," Jollet continued. August is clearly a great month for Nickelodeon fans — Network Ten also just added a free-to-air channel devoted to the brand, the first in Australia outside of pay TV, separate to the upcoming Pluto TV options. Pluto TV's channels will be available via 10 Play from Thursday, August 31.
When Keith Haring visited Australia for the first and only time in 1984, he left a mark in more ways than one. Among a slew of works he created at the likes of the Collingwood Technical College and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the renowned US artist also painted a temporary mural on the NGV's famed Water Wall, becoming the first to ever do so. Now, the gallery is bringing back this famed, but fleeting work, for its upcoming exhibition, Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines. To accompany the world-first exhibition, which runs from December 1, 2019, to April 13, 2020, the NGV will recreate Haring's Water Wall mural at the same site, 35 years on. It'll see the original piece reimagined in the form of an eye-catching vinyl graphic, unveiled on November 22 and sticking around for the exhibition's duration. [caption id="attachment_750049" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Keith Haring preparing an artwork on the Water Wall at the NGV. Photo: Geoffrey Burke.[/caption] Haring's 1984 work was crafted over two days and featured an interwoven drawing in white, red and black paint. Staying true to the artist's distinctive signature style, it incorporated a snake, a crawling baby, a mushroom cloud and a dolphin, among other simplified figures. Haring himself said of the mural: "It's a series of images about life and things which threaten life. Maybe it's a kind of play on good and evil, but I prefer people to read it however they want to." The Crossing Lines exhibition is set to showcase over 200 works from across both Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat's careers, reflecting on the many similarities that can be drawn between their lives, practices and ideas. Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines runs from December 1, 2019, to April 13, 2020, at the National Gallery of Victoria International, Melbourne. The mural recreation will be on display from November 22, 2019, to April 13, 2020. Top images: Keith Haring preparing an artwork on the Water Wall at the NGV. Photos: Geoffrey Burke.
Taking a hard shift away from the minimalist aesthetic of so many Melbourne bars, The Shady Lady's decor is lush and fun, mirroring the kind of night you're bound to have inside. Tasseled lampshades, leather upholstery, NSFW artwork from local creatives, shimmering gold curtains and disco balls make this dive bar feel a little bit like your over-the-top great aunt's pool room. Plus there's a similarly decorated, astroturfed and blue-walled courtyard out the back. If that all sounds a little bit trashy, it's because it is — in the best possible way. There's no space for pretentious attitudes at The Shady Lady, which serves up a pretty short and sweet drinks list including a few local beers in tinnies (including dive bar Mexican staple Tecate), a couple of wines by the glass, your usual selection of spirits and, the real hero, alcoholic slushies capped off with little umbrellas. There are also a few snacks, like $5 nachos, most of which can be done vegan if you say the word. The LGBTQI+ friendly venue hosts a bunch of different events throughout the week, like YouTube karaoke, drink and draw nights, porno bingo and psychic aura readings. Get down early every second Saturday for Bacon Fat, a "greasy 'n' sleazy" rhythm and blues party, complete with gogo dancers from 11pm. The Shady Lady is open until 1am every night except Sunday, and most weekends there'll be someone on the decks spinning everything from 'I'm Coming Out' by Diana Ross, to the latest track from Lizzo. There's no strict genre at The Shady Lady, anything that fits with the 70s-inspired vibe — and you can shake your booty to — is on the cards.
Given the hefty backlash copped by Lost Picnic's 2017 edition in Sydney, you'd be forgiven for thinking the boutique festival might not live to see another day. But organisers have announced the event will return this October, promising to address last year's raft of issues and even throwing a debut Melbourne date into the mix. Taking over the Nursery at Flemington Racecourse on October 7, Lost Picnic 2018 is out to dish up a family-friendly serve of live entertainment and top local eats. Taking the stage this year will be legendary young-gun Tash Sultana, off the back of releasing her debut album, joined by Meg Mac, New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams, Sydney's Odette and brass ten-piece Hot Potato Band. A finely-tuned food offering will include Burn City Smokers and Pho Nom. Lost Picnic's last outing suffered more than a few hiccups, with punters complaining of lengthy wait times, food and drink stalls running out of stock early, and a somewhat disastrous forced recycling system. But this time around, Simon Beckingham — co-founder of Finely Tuned, the group that organises both Lost Picnic and NYE bash Lost Paradise — says festival goers can expect a much smoother affair. "Since last year's event wrapped up, we have been working hard to vastly improve the customer experience for 2018," he told Concrete Playground. After taking "all feedback on board", Beckingham had confirmed that there will be double the food stalls and an increased number of toilets, bar staff and tills — and those keen to skip the food queues altogether will be able to bring in their own picnic snacks. It's unclear if the capacity of the festival has been reduced or not. And instead of last year's compulsory recycling system, which forced punters to put down a $1 deposit for cups and then line up again to get a refund, there'll be a more user-friendly $10 cash-back incentive for those recycling their empty wine bottles. Tickets are going for the same price — $89 a pop — so here's hoping all the changes make the ticket price worth it.
After three years of envelope-pushing dishes and rule-breaking dinner degustations, Carlton's small-but-mighty Nora is gearing up for its last-ever service. Owners Sarin Rojanametin and Jean Thamthanakorn have announced they'll shut the doors to their Elgin Street eatery in three weeks, drawing the curtains on one of Melbourne's most innovative food offerings of recent years. 2018 will find the pair venturing back to their roots, tapping into new inspirations and setting their sights on fresh challenges. Nora first opened its doors as an experimental, Thai-inspired cafe back in 2014, hitting reset in 2016 to reopen as degustation restaurant, giving the owners more scope to flex their creative muscles. We hope to see a new venture from them in the near future. Nora will open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday up until the end of December, 2017. Book now and head in for a final farewell at noramelbourne.com.au.
Everyone remembers the great supermarket frenzy of just a few months back, when stores looked like post-apocalyptic film sets, people were everywhere but shelves were bare. And, as a response to the huge onslaught of panic-buying when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit — with shoppers hoarding everything toilet paper and hand sanitiser to pasta and milk — we all remember the item limits put in place by Aussie chains. Two months after local supermarkets started to lift those caps (and after the great bog roll crisis of 2020 seemed like it was over), Woolworths is now reintroducing restrictions — on some everyday staples, and across all of its Victorian stores. Announcing the news today, Wednesday, June 24, the company said it was a "preventative move in response to significantly elevated demand seen over the past 24 hours in certain parts of Melbourne". It also advised that the limits "will support social distancing in stores and ensure more customers have access to the products they need". On the restricted list: toilet paper, hand sanitiser and paper towel, as well as flour, sugar, pasta, rice, mince, long-life milk and eggs. They were all subject to previous item caps, too — and, from today onwards, Victorians will only be able to purchase two of each in one transaction for the foreseeable future. That applies to both in-person and online orders. Explaining the return of item limits, Woolworths Supermarkets Managing Director Claire Peters noted that, while Woolworths still has plenty of stock, it's "taking this precautionary step to help prevent excessive buying and support appropriate social distancing in our Victorian stores". She continued: "we'll closely monitor demand across Victoria in the coming days and look to wind back the limits as soon as we can". https://twitter.com/VicGovDHHS/status/1275648148229283843 The move comes in response to Victoria's recent spike in COVID-19 numbers over the past couple of weeks, with new cases on the rise in the state and community transmission levels increasing. Since Wednesday, June 17, new case numbers have hovered around 20 per day, including exactly 20 new cases reported in the past 24 hours. In fact, as the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) noted in a statement on Sunday, June 21, 83 percent of Australia's newly confirmed COVID-19 cases over the week prior were in Victoria. Of those 116 new Victorian cases in total, 87 "are largely associated with community transmission". Victoria's current increase in cases is focused around six local government areas: Hume, Casey, Brimbank, Moreland, Cardinia and Darebin. As a result, "the AHPPC strongly discourages travel to and from those areas until control of community transmission has been confirmed". The rising Victorian case numbers have already sparked action at the state government level. Victoria's State of Emergency has been extended for four more weeks, and Premier Daniel Andrews also announced the tightening of some gathering restrictions — reintroducing smaller caps on at-home groups, gatherings out of the house and the numbers of patrons allowed in venues. At the time of writing, Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services advises that there have been 241 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Victoria that have been acquired through unknown transmission — and there are currently 141 active cases in Victoria. For more information about the state of COVID-19 in Victoria, head to the Department of Health and Human Services website. For more information about Woolworths' reinstated item limits, head to the supermarket's website.
It's not like you ever need much of an excuse to flee the city for a couple of days filled with top-notch wine, regional eats and entertainment. But hey, that's exactly what's calling you to jump in the car and head a few hours northwest of the city this weekend. Long-running flavour fest Grampians Grape Escape returns to Halls Gap Recreation Reserve from Friday, May 5–Sunday, May 7, dishing up yet another jam-packed program to mark its 30th instalment. Your tastebuds are certainly in for a treat as you spend your days sampling hundreds of local craft beers, ciders and wines, and sinking your teeth into a huge array of food stalls slinging everything from wood-fired pizza to paella. [caption id="attachment_711262" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tony Evans[/caption] You can pick up some new skills at one of the weekend's many masterclasses, and learn culinary secrets at cooking demos led by the likes of Miguel Maestre, Khanh Ong and toastie king Tim Bone. Vino-obsessed comic Merrick Watts will also be hitting the stage for a wine-tasting-meets-comedy-gig. There'll be loads of live tunes to groove to across all three days, plus market stalls brimming with artisan wares. You can even round up some mates and dig your toes in at a grape-stomping competition for the chance to win a helicopter picnic flight or wine tour. Admission costs vary depending on which day(s) you'd like to visit, starting from $50 online. Bus transfers and local glamping options are also available. Making a weekend of it? Here's a lineup of gorgeous Airbnbs you can book in the Grampians region right now.
