Attic Erratic have just wrapped their first show of this year’s Melbourne Fringe, with The City They Burned playing to packed-out houses (and bulging waiting lists) for the last three weeks. Tripped looks like a slightly more light-hearted offering than Fleur Kilpatrick’s searing update of Sodom and Gomorrah, but it’s a comedy with the same kind of darkness at its core. Directed by the company’s joint Artistic Director Celeste Cody, Nick Musgrove’s Tripped sets an ambitious target — a darkly-humoured treatment of racial prejudice that sees its two protagonists, Norm and Ahmed, thrash out their differences (and similarities) in a minefield. We’re hanging out to see whether Cody and Musgrove can walk the tightrope between the work’s heavy material and its mordant, comic sensibilities. But, now that the company have well and truly established themselves as one of the city’s leading independent companies, we’re sure they can pull it off. After all, what better time for a play that navigates the monstrous waters of diversity and suspicion to arrive in Melbourne? Image: Sarah Walker
Before he was a key member of Euphoria's cast, stepping into Elvis Presley's blue-suede shoes in Priscilla and proving a drawcard in Saltburn, Australia's own Jacob Elordi scored his first on-screen acting credit beyond short films in Aussie movie Swinging Safari. From there, once the three Kissing Booth films also helped boost his career, the Brisbane-born talent has largely focused on working overseas — but he's returning home to star in a new five-part streaming drama series. Elordi leads the just-announced cast for The Narrow Road to the Deep North, which will make the leap to Prime Video from the page, adapting Richard Flanagan's Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name. Also set to feature among the show's starry lineup of talent: Olivia DeJonge, fresh from playing Priscilla Presley in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis; her The Staircase co-star Odessa Young; Limbo's Simon Baker; Heartbreak High's Thomas Weatherall; Love Me's Heather Mitchell; and Belfast's Ciarán Hinds. [caption id="attachment_919075" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jacob Elordi in Saltburn[/caption] The project's impressive names extend behind the camera, with The Narrow Road to the Deep North hailing from Snowtown, True History of the Kelly Gang and Nitram collaborators Justin Kurzel and Shaun Grant. Kurzel will direct, while Grant is on adaptation duties — and both are also executive producing. Exactly when the series will hit your streaming queue hasn't yet been announced, but production has just started on Prime Video's latest Australian original. No matter when it drops, it'll join 2023's Deadloch and Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles among the platform's Australian fare. [caption id="attachment_856508" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Odessa Young in Mothering Sunday[/caption] Elordi shares the role of Dorrigo Evans with Hinds, playing the younger version of the character in a tale that jumps between different time periods. The Narrow Road to the Deep North's protagonist is a Lieutenant who becomes a prisoner of war on the Thailand-Burma Railway. His story will encompasses becoming a surgeon and war hero, and a life-changing stint of falling in love with Amy Mulvaney (Young). DeJonge and Baker will also feature with Elordi and Young in the show's 40s-set segments, where World War II obviously casts a shadow. Hinds hops in when the series gets to the 80s, which is where Mitchell, Weatherall, Show Kasamatsu (Tokyo Vice) and Charles An (Last King of the Cross) will also pop up. [caption id="attachment_927128" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Olivia DeJonge in The Staircase.[/caption] "With talents like Jacob Elordi, Ciarán Hinds and Odessa Young at the helm, The Narrow Road to the Deep North promises to be a cinematic, visceral, and undeniable contemporary love story, which explores the power of mateship and the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity," said Sarah Christie, senior development executive at Amazon MGM Studios, announcing the series. "We just know that this series is going to resonate with customers in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and are proud to be partnering with Curio Pictures' Jo Porter and Rachel Gardner, who will bring this incredible story to life alongside the award-winning director and executive producer Justin Kurzel, and award-winning writer and executive producer Shaun Grant." [caption id="attachment_869120" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Thomas Weatherall in Heartbreak High.[/caption] The Narrow Road to the Deep North doesn't yet have a release date, but will stream via Prime Video — we'll update you with more details when they're announced. Top image: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic for HBO via Getty Images, supplied by Prime Video.
Call it a cost-of-living-crisis miracle: Australia has a new streaming platform vying for your eyeballs, but this one won't cost you anything to watch. There's no sign-up fee, no monthly or annual subscription, and no pay-per-view purchases with Brollie. Instead, there's ads — but also 300-plus films and TV shows to enjoy for free. First announced earlier in November and now streaming as at Thursday, November 23, Brollie hails from independent Australian and New Zealand distributor Umbrella Entertainment. Accordingly, its focus is on homegrown fare. Whether you're after an early Nicole Kidman (Special Ops: Lioness)-starring movie such as BMX Bandits or Bush Christmas, the scares of The Babadook, Kylie Minogue in Cut, or documentaries such as Servant or Slave and Ablaze, you'll find them here. Other Aussie highlights include Rose Byrne (Physical) featuring opposite Heath Ledger in Two Hands, Hugh Jackman (The Son) in Erskineville Kings, and the David Gulpilil-starring like Walkabout and Storm Boy. Or, there's also a young Claudia Karvan (The Clearing) and Ben Mendelsohn (Secret Invasion) in The Big Steal — and Karvan and Jackman in Dating the Enemy. The Furnace, Girl Asleep, Head On, the Daniel Radcliffe (Miracle Workers)-led Jungle, The Last Wave, Mad Dog Morgan, Love Serenade, Puberty Blues, Sirens, Tanna, The Tracker: add them to your queue as well. An Angel at My Table, one of Oscar-winner Jane Campion's (The Power of the Dog) early films, is also available. So is fellow New Zealand effort Coming Home in the Dark. Brollie's lineup clearly isn't just about Aussie efforts, then. So, get excited about Nicolas Cage milking an alpaca in Color Out of Space, Joaquin Phoenix (Beau Is Afraid)-led masterpiece You Were Never Really Here, the live-action OG Super Mario Bros, 80s favourite Heathers, and mind-bender Vivarium with Jesse Eisenberg (Fleishman Is in Trouble) and Imogen Poots (Outer Range) among the international titles. Even 2023's Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey is there. You can say cheers to Mads Mikkelsen (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) in both Another Round and Arctic, too, or give fantasy space western After Blue (Dirty Paradise) a whirl. Takashi Miike's (First Love) Audition, the Brian Cox (Succession)-starring The Autopsy of Jane Doe, South Korean standout A Bittersweet Life, George A Romero's Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Dead, and absurdist comedy Deerskin also pop up. So do sci-fi mind-bender The Endless, LA noir Under the Silver Lake, supernatural comedy Extra Ordinary, several Re-Animator and Hellraiser flicks, and the original Suspiria. And, for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans, the three live-action 90s movies are all on offer. The list goes on, complete with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale) in Her Smell, Japanese animation In This Corner of the World, a number of Bruce Lee titles, and Harry Dean Stanton (Twin Peaks) turning in one of his best performances in Lucky with David Lynch also acting by his side. Speaking of exceptional on-screen efforts, the David Bowie-led Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence also falls into that category. Everyone needs to have seen once-forgotten film Miami Connection once, but because it's an out-there martial arts movie that really has to be seen to be believed — and definitely not due to its acting. From the docos, You Don't Nomi pairs perfectly with Showgirls, which is also on the platform; We Were Once Kids explores the making of Kids, which again is similarly available to watch; and Zappa, The Go-Betweens: Right Here and Buena Vista Social Club all put their subjects in their names. Not Quite Hollywood's dive through Ozploitation history is obviously a perfect fit for the streamer, while the vastly dissimilar Honeyland was nominated for two Academy Awards. The television selection is currently small, with 15 titles. More Ledger in TV series Sweat, a small-screen version of Dune, the first season of Skippy and sitcom All Together Now all feature. Viewers can watch along via Apple TV, Google TV, Android TV, Chromecast with Google TV and on your browser. Whichever you pick, just don't forget that ads will appear while you're viewing — aka the tradeoff for Brollie not bothering your bank account. To help viewers sort through the Brollie collection, the service's team is highlighting its best-of picks twice monthly, and also heroing Aussie horror via an Australian Nightmares collection. At present, the latter includes The Babadook (of course), as well as Lake Mungo, The Tunnel, Razorback, Dark Age, the original Patrick and 1989 must-see Celia, among others. Brollie launched on Thursday, November 23 — head to the streaming platform's website to subscribe and for further details.
Anyone with kids knows that they grow up fast but you’ve probably never seen them grow up quite this fast. Before Your Very Eyes, one of the more intriguing acts at this year’s Melbourne Festival, shows a group of children aging through their entire lives within the space of an hour. The cast of child actors play out their possible futures – as teenagers, as adults, as elderly – on a stage walled by two-way mirrors, so they play in private to each other and their own reflections, while the audience watch through the glass. Devised in collaboration between Belgian theatre company CAMPO, which has done a series of plays for adults using child performers, and convention-defying Anglo-German troupe Gob Squad, it will be as thought provoking and innovative as theatre gets. Book fast, because its brief season at the Malthouse will be gone before you know it.
When acclaimed Australian playwright Michael Gow was approached by Four Letter Word Theatre about the rights to his already-debauched Live Acts on Stage, he insisted on rewriting the script; dialing up the filth to the level demanded by the company’s established fondness for provocation. The play’s a roller-coaster ride through Greek mythology, with the actors from a company on the rise juggling 45 characters in Gow’s savagely funny text. Read the rest of our top ten picks of the Melbourne Fringe Festival here.
Your art and culture fix has likely looked a little different than usual the past few months, as Aussies sank deep into #stayathome mode, and institutions like galleries and museums shut their doors to the public in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines. With crowds and gatherings off the menu, a slew of large-scale art events and exhibitions were forced to cancel, postpone or switch to the digital realm. But as of June 1, the Victorian Government has given the green light for museums and galleries to reopen to a limited number of visitors. Yep — along with regional road-trips and restaurant dinners, real-life gallery-hopping is back on the cards. From this month, you can catch a much-anticipated solo show dedicated to modernist icon Joy Hester, check out a pandemic-inspired group exhibition and delight in decades of trailblazing threads by Japanese fashion label Comme des Garçons at the NGV. Here are our top picks of Melbourne art exhibitions you can visit IRL this winter. From 11.59pm on Wednesday, July 1, until at least Wednesday, July 29, stay-at-home orders have been reintroduced in ten Melbourne postcodes, which means their residents can only leave for one of four reasons: work or school, care or care giving, daily exercise or food and other essentials. For more information, head to the DHHS website.
Arts House are about to round out a year of compelling theatre with a production of The Hanging of Jean Lee, an "underbelly song cycle" that traces the life (and death) of the last woman to be hanged in Australia. The work premiered at the Sydney Opera House in 2006 to massive acclaim and was hailed as a uniquely Australian piece of music theatre. Lee's story plays out in the form of vivid projections combined with lurid, visceral text, written by Jordie Albiston and Abe Pogos. The score verges into gritty territory, straddling the border between jazz, pop and improvisation, with some of the Bad Seeds (Max Sharam and Hugo Race) adding their post-punk credentials to the mix. The performers are backed by a band of musos who've played with the likes of Gotye and Deborah Conway, as well as jazz maestro Lachlan Davidson.
What would you bring to a Kurt Cobain-themed exhibition? Maybe you come from a live art background, and think an installation performance piece could go down nicely — one that explores the intersection between this joke Simon Amstell makes about Courtney Love on Buzzcocks and grunge culture's DIY ethos, as embodied in this chiptune cover of Teen Spirit? Thankfully, none of those things will be happening in Don’t Kurt Cobain, an exhibition co-curated by Rosemary Forde and Lisa Fadford that brings together a bunch of Kurt-related artwork into one simmering Cobain-marie to mark the 20th anniversary of his death. The exhibition at Collingwood gallery Slopes takes its name from a piece by Matthew Griffin (pictured above), who's joined by other individual artists and collectives, including Simon Zoric, Lyndal Walker, Blair Trethowan, Masato Takasaka, Kati Rule, Dan Price, Sue Dodd, Colleen Ahern and Greatest Hits. Unfortunately, Don't Kurt Cobain will be the final exhibition hosted by Slopes. But never mind, Nirvana is without a doubt the perfect way to say goodbye.
It takes just over 50 seconds for the Cat Person trailer to get Margot (Emilia Jones, CODA) uttering nine glaringly accurate words: "this is the worst life decision I've ever made". She's talking about dating Robert (Nicholas Braun, Succession), a regular at the cinema where the 20-year-old college student works — and she's speaking a line that everyone read in 2017, in the viral short story to end all viral short stories from the past decade. Six years back, when the December issue of The New Yorker arrived, Kristen Roupenian's tale of a nightmare relationship instantly went viral. That's where the world first met Margot and Robert, and stepped into this wild story. Cat Person was then printed as a book, and of course Hollywood came calling as well. The movie that's resulted debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier in 2023, has locked in an October 26 release in Australia and also just dropped its trailer. There are bad dates, and then there's this bad date, as Jones and Braun bring to the screen in the film's first sneak peek. "Listen, concession stand girl, why don't you give me your number?" Robert asks while Margot is slinging popcorn. From there, a flurry of texts springs, then terrible kissing, then massive discrepancies that become evident the more time that the pair spend together IRL. And, when Margot decides to break things off, in comes a change in his behaviour. As Cat Person sinks its claws into modern dating, the role that technology now plays and the gender divide, Susanna Fogel (the director of The Spy Who Dumped Me and one of Booksmart's writers) helms, Michelle Ashford (Operation Mincemeat) and adapts Roupenian's text. Featuring on-screen alongside Jones and Braun: Geraldine Viswanathan (Miracle Workers), Isabella Rossellini (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On), Hope Davis (Asteroid City), Fred Melamed (Barry), Liza Koshy (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Michael Gandolfini (Beau Is Afraid). "Like the short story that stirred so much controversy, Cat Person will call upon you to reflect on romantic encounters you've had in the past, and to question the role (or multiple roles) you may have played," said Fogel about the film. "We've all been the victim in some narratives and the villain in others, and I hope you'll walk out of this film with a strong opinion, ready to debate." Check out the trailer for Cat Person below: Cat Person will release on October 26, 2023 Down Under.
If the way to your mum's heart is through gin, then here's a Mother's Day idea that's sure to win her over. Pint-sized CBD distillery Little Lon is marking the occasion with a gin-centric afternoon of cocktails and high tea on Sunday, May 14. It all kicks off at 3pm with freshly-shucked oysters and bubbly, which you'll enjoy while diving into some of the history behind this little pocket of the city — as told by Barbara Minchinton (historian and author of The Women of Little Lon). [caption id="attachment_677721" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Julia Sansone[/caption] After that, you'll move onto a feast of canapés by chef Travis McAuley and his team at Curtis Stone Events, with each of the three courses matched to a different tea-infused cocktail. The sips are crafted on Little Lon's award-winning Miss Yoko gin and a range of Dilmah specialty teas. The distillery's own Lynden Barnes and Dilmah's Anton Goss will chat guests through some of the history behind the two drops, too. Tickets to the high tea experience come in at $150, which includes a goodie bag to take home. Top image: Julia Sansone.
After playing more than his fair share of stoners, Seth Rogen co-writes and lends his voice to a film that was probably thought up in a pot-toking, munchies-craving state. What if our food was sentient, aware of everything around it, and had feelings, thoughts, hopes and dreams? What if each edible item interacted with others, and their exchanges mimicked humanity's issues with sex, religion, race and class? That's the world Sausage Party brings to the cinema, from its opening sing-a-long to its climatic display of a very different kind of food porn. As far as Rogen and co-writers Evan Goldberg, Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir are concerned, talking grocery products just want to get laid. Otherwise, they're generally happy conforming to cultural stereotypes and being kept in their place via a placating ideology. Turns out food isn't so different from the people who eat it. In case it's not clear, this film is for adults only, with directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan — best known for helming Madagascar 3 and episodes of Thomas & Friends, respectively — operating in much ruder, cruder territory than they're used to. A sausage by the name of Frank (Rogen) serves as the film's protagonist, whose primary goal in life is to consummate his relationship with his hot dog bun girlfriend Brenda (Kristen Wiig). As the Fourth of July approaches, they're both eager to leave the Shopwell's store they call home and move into the utopia of The Great Beyond. But things change after a jar of Honey Mustard (Danny McBride) returns from the supposed paradise outside, screaming that everything they thought they knew is a lie. Working his way around a shop also inhabited by a Jewish bagel (Edward Norton), an Arabic flatbread (David Krumholtz), an affectionate taco (Salma Hayek) and more, Frank sets out to discover the truth — all while an obnoxious, juiced-up douche (Nick Kroll) stalks the aisles. In waxing philosophical about the nature of belief systems, Sausage Party's premise proves surprisingly smart and thoughtful, with its characters forced to face the fact that their ultimate fate involves being eaten by the humans they consider gods. Unfortunately, the anti-Pixar flick also feels decidedly over-stuffed, bogged down by everything from endless food puns and hit-and-miss gags propped up by Scorsese-level swearing, to an over-reliance on bodily functions, drug use and pop-culture references to generate a laugh. Thankfully, a stacked cast of Rogen's male regulars, including Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd and James Franco, helps keep Sausage Party bouncing merrily along. Everyone's clearly having fun spouting their inappropriate dialogue, even if their glee isn't always contagious. In that way, the film quickly becomes the movie equivalent of a tripped-out dinner party, one that boasts plenty of quality ingredients, but can't quite deliver a satisfying meal.
Imagine a fully immersive theatre experience with a choose-your-own-adventure twist and lots of macabre nods to Edgar Allan Poe, and you'll have some idea of what to expect when A Midnight Visit takes over an abandoned Melbourne warehouse this winter. Unlike any theatre offering the city has seen before, this captivating experience is part performance, part playground and part film set. And it's being brought to life across 36 rooms of an eerie North Melbourne warehouse. Audiences will find themselves transported into a dream world that takes its cues from those notoriously macabre works of Edgar Allan Poe, as imagined by a team of local actors, circus performances and burlesque dancers and a crew of innovative sound, film-set and costume designers. Expect an air of David Lynch and some Stanley Kubrick vibes, with a spot of steam-punk thrown in for good measure. [caption id="attachment_690993" align="alignnone" width="1920"] A Midnight Visit, Sydney by Anna Kucera.[/caption] "We wanted to create an experience that explores themes of madness, guilt, death, impermanence and memory — just the small things in life," explains director and co-creator Danielle Harvey. "It's sometimes funny, sometimes sexy, sometimes wistful, and yes, sometimes a bit scary." It won't be for the faint-hearted, with hints to uneven floors, suffocatingly small spaced and many 'troubled characters'. The one-of-a-kind experience took over a Newtown warehouse late last year, before heading to Perth. A Midnight Visit will run from July 30 to November 3, at an undisclosed address in North Melbourne. Tickets cost between $44–79 and are on sale now. Images: A Midnight Visit, Sydney by Anna Kucera and Tim Da-Rin. UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 — Due to overwhelming demand, A Midnight Visit has extended its Melbourne season from September 15 to November 17. The above article has been updated to reflect this.
Two years ago, Pappa Rich gave tastebuds across Australia the culinary hybrid they didn't know they were craving: a nasi lemak burger. They were originally sneakily trialled in Sydney stores in 2018, then rolled out for a limited time in 2019. Now, they're back. The burger takes the typical accompaniments in this Malaysian rice dish and sandwiches them all between two toasted burger buns. There are layers of crispy Malay fried chicken, spicy sambal, peanuts and anchovies, all topped with cucumber, lettuce and a fried egg. As a side? Expect Pappa Rich's deep-fried chicken skin, of course. You can also opt for chips if you prefer. The Malaysian hawker chain is returning the nasi lemak burger to its menu — at all of its 31 stores countrywide, but only until Sunday, May 30. If you're instantly hungry, you'll want to pop into one of Pappa Rich's outlets, which includes Chadstone, Southern Cross and QV in Melbourne.
Originally scheduled to run in April as part of the now postponed Wominjeka Festival's tenth anniversary edition, this thought-provoking exhibition will instead kick off from Tuesday, August 4. As with all of the festival's parties, workshops and events, Blak to the Future III is a project helmed by First Nations peoples — this one's been put together by artist and curator Rosie Kalina. Showing for free at the Footscray Community Arts Centre's Roslyn Smorgon Gallery, the exhibition features works from a dynamic group of young creatives, offering a collective peek at a decolonised Aussie future. Emerging Indigenous talent including Soju Gang, Kyle Taylor, Caleb Thaiday, Tre Turner and Kalina herself deliver a broad mix of visual art works and textile pieces designed to get you thinking. And don't miss the sprawling collaborative mural, which is set to take pride of place within the exhibition space. Image: Gianna Rizzo
It’s only January, but already 2016 is shaping up to be a really good year for art in Australia. Melbourne's NGV is currently showing the epic Andy Warhol | Ai Wei Wei exhibition and a collection of Australian surrealist works with Lurid Beauty, with a tight line-up of Degas, surrealist works and Whistler’s Mother coming to the gallery later this year (not the original of course, we all know Mr Bean has that). Sydney is currently being graced by The Greats, Grayson Perry and will soon get to enjoy a more contemporary exhibition by Tatsuo Miyajima. Known for his immersive and dramatic tech-inspired pieces, the Japanese installation artist will be bringing his work to the Museum of Contemporary Art this November as part of the 2016-17 Sydney International Art Series (pencil it in, guys). It's his first solo exhibition in Australia, and it will include all of his significant pieces as well as some video and performance works. While Miyajima's work may appear slick and futuristic, his philosophy incorporates some really profound ideas about life and death. As he summarises it: "Keep changing, connect with everything, continue forever". His installations largely feature LED lights and counters that countdown from one to nine. However, they never reach zero as Miyajima believes zero is a meaningless, Western concept. As he told Frieze back in 1992, there is no physical zero. Buddhist philosophy is also a major influence on his art, as well as his ideas about zero and nothingness. "In Buddhist philosophy we have the word ku, which means emptiness — which is very different from zero," he says. "The word ku is realistic emptiness, physical emptiness…ku contains the cycle of life and death." His work is best consumed as a spiritual experience, and we've got plenty of time to prepare for it. The MCA's 2016-2017 International Art Series featuring Tatsuo Miyajima will run from November 3, 2016 – March 5, 2017. FOr more info, visit the MCA website.
Generations of Australian artists and comedians have spun parochial gold out of Queensland’s reputation as our country’s 'Deep North'. Queensland’s sub-tropical atmosphere might have suited a state with fertile ground for corruption, but Brisbane also played host to a thrilling punk music scene, which flourished in spite of the conservative repression presided over by Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen from 1968-1987. During that time the city gave birth to one of the world’s first punk anthems, The Saints' '(I’m) Stranded', as well as scores of iconic Aussie artists like The Go-Betweens and Xero. In Prehistoric, produced by Elbow Room and written by Marcel Dorney, four actors are taking up unfamiliar instruments in an ambitious attempt to recreate the raw vitality of Brisbane’s punk scene. The work premiered to rave reviews at Brisbane’s Metro last year and is now heading down south. Melbourne audiences might think that the play’s material sounds unfamiliar — a world away from the Glorious Socialist Republic that is our city’s inner north. But as the Coalition Government makes Australia a whiter shade of Joh each week, there’s no escaping the lessons that the era has to offer Australia in 2014. Together with Elbow Room’s enviable position as one of the country’s leading indie outfits, Prehistoric looks like an unmissable offering in this year’s Fringe. For more works at the 2014 Melbourne Fringe Festival, check out our top ten picks.
They're the masters of immersive thrills, such as smash-hit shipping container installations Seance, Coma and Flight — also known as the Darkfield series. But not even the folks at Realscape Productions are immune to the realities of pandemic life. After spending much of the year locked down with the rest of Melbourne, the team put their nerve-jangling real-life projects on hiatus and whipped up a series of brand-new audio experiences. All of Realscape's recent collaborations with UK creators Darkfield have been designed for fans to enjoy from the comfort of their own homes, such as Double and Visitors — and they've been geared to be every bit as creepy and unsettling as their IRL predecessors. But the next addition to the series, Eternal, promises something extra special. It is inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula, aka one of the best horror novels ever written (and certainly the best vampire novel), after all. Available until Sunday, January 31, Eternal is presented via the producers' new digital project Darkfield Radio. Like its siblings, it plunges participants deep into an immersive experience by perplexing the senses — with the use of a 360-degree binaural sound, played through your own headphones. But while this year's other shows were aimed at groups of two, this one is made for listening to solo, at home, while you're alone in bed. Originally commissioned by Ireland's Bram Stoker Festival, the 20-minute-long Eternal explores the allure of living forever — and will get you pondering what you'd willingly do to avoid death. The uneasiness everyone feels when they hear something go bump in the night also plays a part, because that's just the kind of sensation the production aims to conjure up. To listen along, you'll need an $11.40 ticket, and to book a spot a late-night spot — with the show available at select times Thursday–Sunday (with exact slots depending on the day, but 9.30pm, 10pm, 12.30am and 1am times, all ADST, on offer). And if you haven't yet given Double and Visitors a listen, they're still available as well. Yep, you can make it a triple feature if you'd like to get especially eerie one night.
Smith Street is a constantly evolving entity. From grungy pub times to classy dinners at hip dining rooms to all-in brawls over gelato — it's one of those uber-gentrified areas that makes cynics roll their eyes and excitable hipsters rub their hands together in feverish anticipation. Now that evolution seems to have reached tipping point. The Underground Experiment, the latest addition to Collingwood's small suburban metropolis, opens next week as an experimental cocktail bar with a constantly changing theme. Riding the turbulent wave of global cocktail trends, the first form this bar takes is a strangely alluring mixture of '80s flamboyancy and Prohibition cool. The drinks are odd and outlandish, the tunes are strictly '80s or '90s, and the crowd is sure to be a little confused — but we feel like we need to go there immediately. In the bar's first form, the cocktail list is characterised by old classics with unexpected twists. The much-loved Sex on the Beach is accompanied by edible sand and Chambord caviar — what even? There's a Pina Colada, a Fluffy Duck, and a Blue Lagoon featuring "a swimming fish". Do they mean a live fish?! Who knows. I'm willing to give in to the magic of it and drink some dirty fish water if you are. The team behind this mayhem are Daniel and Kristin Lemura — the same people who launched The Noble Experiment Prohibition-style bar and restaurant just six weeks ago. This latest project sees them utilising the bar's downstairs space. The Underground Experiment is just that, really — a basement space with big and exciting plans. Whatever new themes and trends that are to follow, you can tell the bar's going to be a whole lot of fun. Where you might expect experimental cocktail bars to serve you whiskey in the form of a hand lotion or vodka as a flash of light, this one embraces the novelty of it all and slings you a fishbowl with a rubber ducky instead. The Underground Experiment is at 284 Smith Street, Collingwood and will open Friday and Saturday evenings from June 13.
Famous for its 55-minute workouts and worldwide following, Barry's Bootcamp has become a fitness heavyweight since first setting up shop in West Hollywood back in 1998 — and now it has brought its studios to Melbourne. Fans of high-intensity interval training can now put themselves through Barry's sessions in both South Yarra, with the gym setting up shop in the Como Centre on Toorak Road. While it isn't the company's first Aussie studio — it has three already in Sydney — the new site does mark its first in Victoria, after initially announcing its Melbourne plans back in 2019. A second Victorian venue, in Flinders Lane in the CBD, is also slated to open later this year. If you're a gym junkie, celebrity obsessive or just familiar with the term "Barry's body", then you'll have heard of Barry's. Already active in 23 cities around the globe — including in Los Angeles, New York, Milan, London and Dubai — it's claimed that the studio's sessions burn over 4000 kilojoules. That's thanks to a regimented program that incorporates 25 minutes of treadmill work, 25 minutes of strength and conditioning with free weights and resistance bands, and then a five-minute cool-down. The focus of each class changes daily across Barry's weekly schedule, with each session targeting a different muscle group. As extra motivation, Barry's classes are held in high-energy red rooms, complete with mood lighting and the kind of music you're more likely to hear in a nightclub. Adding to the vibe, each location features its own bar serving up shakes and smoothies — and patrons can also buy workout outfits onsite. As expected, the world-renowned bootcamp class comes with hefty price tag — $36 a pop. You could, alternatively, purchase a 50-class pack for $1400, which works out at $28 a class, or pay a $89 weekly fee. Barry's Bootcamp is now open at Level 2, Como Centre, 299 Toorak Road, South Yarra — open 5.30am–8pm Monday–Friday and 6.45am–1pm Saturday–Sunday. Top image: Georgia Mort.
Some think summer arrives when the mercury finally soars past 30 degrees, others are convinced it's the day you muster the courage to throw yourself in the ocean but, if you ask us, summer starts the moment you know Rooftop Cinema is cranking back into gear. Gather your sunnies and start dreaming of twilight Pimms — the new Rooftop program has finally arrived. As always, there's plenty to look forward to. The cinema programmers have perfectly nailed the balance between big new releases, old classics and super relevant tie-ins with other events. They'll even be screening Nas' new music doco to coincide with his totally unprecedented appearance at Sugar Mountain next January. The first instalment of the program will kick off on Saturday, December 6 with David Fincher's controversial conversation starter Gone Girl. Continuing along with the theme of much-hyped blockbusters they'll also be screening Guardians of the Galaxy, Interstellar and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. If big action flicks just ain't your thing, feel free to regress into your childhood instead. Not only are Rooftop offering the usual Christmas fare of Home Alone and Elf, they're also giving you the rare chance to see Labyrinth, Hook and the late great Rik Mayal's gross-out cult legacy Drop Dead Fred. Indie fare will get its usual run too with co-presented sessions run with Speakeasy and Deja View Cinema — the latter are even hosting a Christopher Walken Appreciation Night (probably the highlight of the whole thing). In what may be a program first, there doesn't seem to be any Bill Murray lined up! But don't fret just yet — we're sure they'll be throwing the iconic Ghostbuster's new film St Vincent in for the program's second instalment. If you can't wait until December, Rooftop will also be holding some advance screenings as part of Melbourne Music Week. If you ask us, there's no better way to spend a hot summer's night than hanging out with Nick Cave and The National on a rooftop. For more information about Rooftop Cinema including the full December-January program, see here. The February-April program will be announced at the end of January. Grab your tickets here.
In the ultimate girl-power move, Australia has just scored a new contemporary art gallery dedicated entirely to female and female-identifying artists. The groundbreaking Finkelstein Gallery has made its home in Windsor The brainchild of renowned art consultant and advocate Lisa Fehily, the gallery is set to showcase works from a broad bill of emerging and established artists, including the likes of Cigdem Aydemir, Louise Paramor, Deborah Kelly, Coady, Lisa Roet and Kate Baker. On the international lineup, you'll find names such as South Africa's Kim Lieberman and London-based visual artist Sonal Kantaria. Its creation was spurred by the underrepresentation of women across Australia's art collections. According to recent figures released by The Countess Report, a project and online resource on gender equality in the Australian art sector, show that national commercial galleries show just 40 percent women artists, while state museums are at an even lower 34 percent. It'll debut with all-woman exhibition Finkelstein Gallery presents, running from Thursday, August 29 until Saturday, September 28. "I have selected an exclusive group of talented female artists, whose unique voices combine their incredible insight into contemporary society, life as a female, cultural and historical understanding, together with extraordinary skills with concepts and mediums as artists," explained Fehily in a statement. Finkelstein Gallery is set to deliver a broad range of talent, from an array of disciplines. Catch playful pop culture from emerging artist Coady, some socially and politically engaging performance art pieces from the award-winning Cigdem Aydemir, and Lisa Roet's stunning visual exploration of the relationships between humans and primates, to name just a few. The gallery is only the second of its kind in Australia, and the only existing one, with Canberra's Australian Girls Own Gallery representing exclusively women artists from 1989 until it closed in 1998. Find Finkelstein Gallery at Basement 2, 1 Victoria Street, Windsor. Finkelstein Gallery presents will run from Thursday, August 29–Thursday, September 26.
When Meredith celebrates its 31st festival in 2023, it'll do so with a live set more than half a century in the making. Doing the headlining honours: none other than German electro pioneers Kraftwerk, who have not only announced a solo tour of Australia this December, but also locked in a key slot in Meredith's Supernatural Amphitheatre. Aunty Meredith comes bearing two big pieces of news, with Kraftwerk leading the bill — aka the only artist that's been revealed for 2023's fest so far — and the ticket ballot opening. Book that long weekend now, pop your name in the running and cross your fingers that you'll be spending Friday, December 8–Sunday, December 10 at The Sup. "Kraftwerk, quite simply, are the reason music sounds like it does today. Progenitors of pop. Of music as we know it," the Meredith team advised, announcing the Düsseldorf-formed group as the event's first big name for 2023. They're not wrong. "Specks of Kraftwerk DNA hurtle through the space-time continuum, embedding themselves into Bowie, Spacemen 3, Afrika Bambaataa, Prince, Daft Punk, New Order, Radiohead, Missy Elliott and every Meredith Music Festival for the last three decades." [caption id="attachment_847588" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ben Fletcher[/caption] As for who else will join Kraftwerk, watch this space. In 2022, Meredith's first festival since 2019 due to the pandemic, the Caribou-, Yothu Yindi- and Courtney Barnett-led lineup dropped in mid-August. To nab tickets to the beloved three-day BYO camping festival, you've got until 10.31pm AEST on Monday, August 14 to enter the ballot. [caption id="attachment_865642" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chelsea King[/caption] MEREDITH 2023 LINEUP: Kraftwerk and more to come Meredith Music Festival will return to Meredith on Friday, December 8–Sunday, December 10, 2023. To put your name in the ballot to get your hands on tickets, head to the festival's website before 10.31pm AEST on Monday, August 14. Top image: Steve Benn.
If you're feeling in the need for a refreshing, summer-friendly art experience, head along to the Monash Art Gallery for a squiz at their new exhibition, Life Aquatic. Taking the fact that a whole lot of a) the earth, and b) our bodies are made up of water as a starting point, the exhibition will explore the omnipotence of water through photography as a meeting of science and art. Showcasing a number of underwater landscapes from three different photographers — Narelle Autio, Ruth Maddison and Catherine Nelson — Life Aquatic will remind you that there is life below sea level — and lots of it. Check out the photos, then go for a wander in the Underwater Garden installation at the gallery by Poppies For Grace. Image: Red Nails, Narelle Autio (2006).
It's one of the most recognisable spots in Melbourne — and, until December this year at least, Federation Square has been granted temporary heritage protection. If the interim move is extended, it also could thwart one of the city's most controversial new projects: Apple's plans to build its first Australian flagship store. Courtesy of an interim protection order issued on August 21, no work can take place on the site until December 21 without Heritage Victoria's approval. Given that construction on the Apple store wasn't slated to start until next year, the move won't have a significant impact at present. That said, The Age reports that the order is being taken as a sign that permanent heritage protection could be sought for the inner-city space, despite the fact that it's only 16 years old. Giving Fed Square ongoing heritage status would obviously have wider-reaching consequences — including when it comes to pulling down existing buildings. After being announced late last year, Apple's proposed Fed Square store has received considerable community backlash, with new designs revealed in July in response. The opposition to the store isn't just about how it looks, though, but the fact that it'll tear down and replace the existing Yarra Building, and also displace the Koorie Heritage Trust in the process. Contentiously, it'll also see public land sold off to a commercial retailer. Regardless of how Fed Square's permanent heritage status pans out — and if indeed it has any impact upon the Apple store — the current temporary order could slightly stall the other big change taking place in the vicinity, the Metro Tunnel. Fed Square's visitor centre is set to be demolished to build an entry to the tunnel, with work due to begin next month. To proceed according to schedule, contractor Cross Yarra Partnership will need to apply for a permit or exemption to go ahead — something it is expected to do this week, according to the Herald Sun. Via The Age / Herald Sun.
Maybe you think there's too many superhero movies and TV shows monopolising screens these days. Perhaps you just can't get enough. You could adore the sight of spandex everywhere, or you could feel like you're doing pop-culture homework with each new flick, franchise and series. Wherever you land on caped crusaders, there's one glaring issue with their live-action domination: they're bound by whatever flesh, blood and special effects are able to come up with. Special effects can conjure up plenty, of course, but when 2018's stunning — and Oscar-winning — Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse arrived, it showed how inventive, imaginative and creative a superhero film can be when it can do whatever it likes thanks to the wonders of animation. Five years later, it's finally getting a sequel in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — and the movie's just-dropped new trailer, its third after a first sneak peek in 2021 and a second in 2022, does whatever a Spider-Verse trailer can. Initially set to release in 2022, but now arriving in June 2023, Across the Spider-Verse is the first of two follow-ups in the Miles Morales (Shameik Moore, Wu-Tang: An American Saga)-focused franchise. And, it isn't holding back on its spider-people. How many spider-men is the optimal amount of spider-men? All the spider-men, clearly. Sure, 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home messed with multiverse madness, complete with Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland's versions of the titular character — but Spider-Verse not only got there first, but topped that first. Now, Across the Spider-Verse is here to up the ante again. Where the initial film gave us a spider-woman, spider-robot and spider-pig, as well as Nicolas Cage as a 30s-era spider-vigilante, this one has another whole onslaught of Spideys heading Miles' way. The new trailer makes that plain in a heap of ways, including in its latest staging of the pointing Spider-Man meme — and, like everything in the previous film proved, it's glorious. This time around, the movie's Brooklyn-based friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man is slightly older, and also faced with a spider-team who are keen to protect the multiverse's existence. When there's that many Spideys, agreeing on how to handle things — including a new threat — isn't easy. That's how the clash between Miles and his fellow spider-folk comes about, as animated in the series' usual dazzling onslaught of colour and movement. Also included amid all the spider-alternatives: Miles reuniting with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld, Hawkeye). And, there's Spider-Woman (Issa Rae, Insecure), the Spider-Verse version of The Vulture (Jorma Taccone, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) and the return of Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac, Moon Knight). (If you're wondering about Isaac's character, he first turned up in the post-credits section of Into the Spider-Verse, and he's an alternate version of Spidey from a specific Marvel Comics imprint.) The voice cast spans Daniel Kaluuya (Nope) as Spider-Punk and Jason Schwartzman (I Love That for You) as The Spot as well, and Jake Johnson (Minx) is also back as Peter B Parker — alongside Brian Tyree Henry (Bullet Train) as Miles' dad and Luna Lauren Velez (Power Book II: Ghost). Expect to see Miles head into other Spidey realms, too, in a franchise that made every single live-action Spidey film pale in comparison to its initial instalment. Once again produced by The Afterparty's Phil Lord and Christopher Miller — and this time co-written — Across the Spider-Verse will be followed by third film Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse in 2024. There's also a female-focused spinoff in the works as well. Check out the latest Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer below: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will release in cinemas Down Under on June 1, 2023.
A Docklands landmark is the latest casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic, with news the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel has gone for its final spin. At almost 13 years old, the waterfront attraction is now permanently grounded, according to a Facebook post published on Monday, September 6. "It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce that our beloved wheel has closed," the post revealed. "We thank Victorians, our staff, partners, suppliers, and supporters for enabling the Melbourne Star to provide a world-class experience for millions of people from around Australia and the world." Another statement posted to the website revealed the reason behind the shutdown, with operator MB Star Properties Pty Ltd announcing the wheel would be closing permanently with the company placed into liquidation. "Unfortunately, the global COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions and sustained shutdowns, adding to pre-existing challenges of operating amid increased high-rise development and changes in the Docklands area, has made it impossible to sustain the business," the statement reads. [caption id="attachment_766323" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Melbourne Star turns out its lights for Earth Hour 2018.[/caption] Considered one of the largest observation wheels in the world, the Melbourne Star featured 21 revolving cabins offering sweeping 360-degree views across the city and its surroundings. It was first opened in late 2008, though its launch wasn't all smooth sailing — just over a month after opening, the 120-metre-tall landmark had its operations temporarily halted by WorkSafe after sizeable cracks were found in the structure. Once that hiccup was sorted, the wheel would go on to become a mainstay of Melbourne's skyline, spinning 300,000 visitors through the air each year and regularly changing the colour of its lights in support of different causes such as Autistic Pride Day and Fight MND. The Melbourne Star's cabins have also hosted various themed pop-ups and events over the years, including a sky-high stretch session for International Yoga Day and a unique revolving gig as part of Melbourne Music Week 2018. For more details on the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel's closure, see the website.
Each year we vow to be better gift-givers, but when the office secret santa rolls around, and Christmas parties start to ramp up, we're left with limited time to find a truly good present, one that says we genuinely care. Well, not this year; this time we're prepared. In partnership with Square, we've searched through Australia's independent shops to bring you a gift guide to match all the colleagues you might be assigned this present-giving season. If you are a small business owner, Square has the tools you need to take payments and maximise your sales, including an ebook with tips to help you get started this holiday season. FOR THE WORK PARENT Plant and self-watering planter from The Plant Society, $30 Melbourne plant hunters Jason Chongue and Nathan Smith set up The Plant Society in 2016 and now the small business ships its green shoots, ceramics, homewares and planter kits to people across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. When you're looking for a gift that says thank you to the office parent — the one that mops up the spills, has painkillers when you need them and a shoulder to cry on — we suggest giving a little love back. Buy them an indoor plant already potted in a self-watering planter. You can choose the pot colour and plants, which range from tropical philodendron super atoms to the popular monstera deliciosa. FOR THE BIG CHEESE Gift card from Mould Cheese Collective, $25–85 No matter how much you love your boss, when you've drawn the big cheese of your workplace for this year's gift exchange there's a lot of pressure to get it right. Choose a dud: everyone feels awkward. Pick something special: early marks all round. We say, send them a box of cheesy delights from The Mould Cheese Collective, a Victoria-based club for cheese lovers. You can shop for gooey goodness on its website, but for the safest bet, there's a trusty gift voucher of either $25, $50 or $85. The bonus: it's an instant gift, so no need to wait for shipping. The downside: not suitable for lactose intolerant leaders. FOR THE WANNABE DJ Dolly Parton's Blue Smoke from Cottonmouth Records, $55 Sydney's Cottonmouth Records has a loyal local following for its record store and bar in Enmore, but you don't need to live nearby to take advantage of owner Zachery Williams' eclectic vinyl collection. Its online store has black gold in all shades of nostalgia, from Beastie Boys and Mariah Carey to Pearl Jam and The Prodigy. It's not all about the throwbacks — there are plenty of recent releases available on vinyl here — but, when shopping for the coworker who controls the playlist, we think there's a lot of joy in Dolly Parton's back catalogue. We've picked Blue Smoke, but you can also order Jolene for $39, which is an absolute steal. Shipping is $15, or free for orders over $100. FOR THE ETHICAL ONE Face mask from Second Stitch, $18 Melbourne-based not-for-profit Second Stitch is a social enterprise that employs refugees, migrants and people seeking asylum. It beat lockdown in Victoria by making cute reusable cloth masks in uplifting patterns and colours. When your kris kringle recipient is that work mate who likes to support charities and ethical businesses, this practical gift will go a long way. Not only are the two-layer cotton masks an environmental solution to an ongoing pandemic, but also your purchase directly provides meaningful employment for some of the most disadvantaged members in the community. Now that's what the spirit of Christmas is all about. FOR THE SALAD-FOR-LUNCH ONE Citrus Trio from Mount Zero Olives, $25 If the only thing you know about Nic from HR is that they like to bring their own meals to work every day, be the teammate who celebrates their forward planning and discipline by getting them something that'll bring them a little joy every lunchtime. This trio of extra virgin olive oils from Mount Zero Olives is better than your supermarket drizzles, as they're pressed with citrus fruits rather than infused with synthetic flavours. The family-owned Victorian company says the lime, mandarin and lemon oils pair well with seafood, egg brekkies and roast veggies, so they're versatile too. Shipping is $12, or free for orders over $100. FOR THE CAFFEINE GEEK How to Buy It, Brew It from Market Lane, $25 If you've got a work buddy who places coffee high on their daily to-do lists, look to Melbourne roaster Market Lane for a gift to match their beverage of choice. Market Lane ships beans, coffee making equipment and literature across Australia. And, for a present that'll last longer than a bag of freshly ground coffee, you should pick the in-depth guide to a good brew How to Buy It, Brew It, written by Market Lane's co-founder Jason Scheltus. You can ask for it to be wrapped in paper designed by artist Julia Stewart for no extra cost and shipping is just $8. FOR THE IT'S-5PM-SOMEWHERE ONE Four-pack of Peach Sauce from Sauce Brewing Co, $20 We've all got a coworker who's a bit of a craft beer nerd. The one who plans their weekends around brewery crawls, goes out of their way to order the most obscure ales on tap, and loves to share their knowledge of local drops. Lean into the passions of this person and get them a four-pack of tart, tangy, crowd-pleasing Peach Sauce. The berliner weisse is one of many creative brews from Sydney microbrewery Sauce. There's also hazy pale ale Caribbean Fog, New England-style IPA Bubble & Squeak and a tropical Frisson Raspberry, ready for the summer of seltzers. FOR THE SNACK QUEEN Bubble O Bill cookies from Dough Re Mi, $18 Wagga-based bakery Dough Re Mi specialises in custom-made cookies designed to brighten someone's day. And we couldn't think of anyone more deserving of a treat than the snack kings and queens of your office. They're always ready with a bag of chippies or choccies when deadlines are tight and everyone needs a mood booster. You could go all out and order ones with a motivational message, but for us the winning choice is Bubble O Bill's face on a butter biscuit, complete with a bubble gum nose. You can order a single cookie for $5.50, or a gift box for $18. And Dough Re Mi ships Australia-wide. FOR THE NEW PERSON Notebook from Studio A, $15 Thrown right in the deep end, just before the festive season, the workplace newbie has to be one of the toughest people to buy for when it comes to secret santa time. However, it couldn't be worse than actually being the newest person to join the team. Think of all the catching up they've got to do — and that's just on the office goss. Pick them something they'll be proud to use every day, like a notebook designed by one of Studio A's talented artists. The Sydney-based studio supports artists with disability, providing a workspace and materials for artists to realise their aspirations. We like these ones by Lisa Scott, left, and Thom Roberts, right. Shipping is an additional $10, so order one for yourself while you're at it. FOR THE FASHION ICON Sturt's Desert Pea Socks from Julie White, $30 Adelaide-based designer Julie White creates bold and colourful designs inspired by Australian flora and fauna. She draws all the designs by hand, including ones of lorikeets, midnight orchids and Sturt's desert peas. Her head and neck scarves are 100-percent silk, and the silky-feel knee-high socks are nylon. If your secret santa budget is $30, order a set of statement socks for the most fashionable person in your workplace. They'll feel seen. And, as a treat for you, shipping is free within Australia for orders over $30. Find out how Square is supporting small businesses with the tools they need to grow, here. If you are a small business owner, Square has guidance on how best to maximise sales in the run up to the Christmas holiday period in its ebook, found here.
With hard-hitting dramas, imaginative comedies and a retrospective tribute to one of the all-time greats, the latest edition of the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival doesn't disappoint. Lighting up the screen from March 2-24 in Melbourne, the 2016 program features a diverse mix of titles showcasing the very best the French film industry has to offer. Cannes winners are set to be a highlight, with Rust and Bone director Jacques Audiard tackling the issue of asylum seekers in his new offering Dheepan, and Philippe Garrel's masterful romantic drama In the Shadow of Women. Legendary French filmmaker Michel Gondry's new film Microbe & Gasoline will also feature in the festival — which will be closed by Jean Luc-Godard's 1963 film Contempt.
For most of us, bringing the outdoors inside is interior decorating speak for putting a few plants around your apartment. For artist Doug Wheeler, it has been a life-long ambition. Growing up in Arizona and spending time standing in the US state's vast desert landscape, he conceived of an idea for a group of installations that would mimic that experience — and, almost five decades after he put his plans down on paper, one has finally become a reality. Inside New York's Guggenheim Museum, Wheeler has transformed the gallery into an abstract synthetic dessert. Don't just take our word for it — PSAD Synthetic Desert III is the name of the piece. After moving through a number of chambers that can only be unlocked by staff, visitors walk into a room filled with sound-absorbing foam pyramids as far as the eye can see. A platform sits in the middle, ensuring everyone who enters is surrounded by the eye-catching structure, with lighting and sound design also crafted to make the space as immersive as possible. Indeed, because Synthetic Desert "is best experienced with as few extraneous sounds and distractions as possible," according to the Guggenheim website, only five people can enter the free exhibition at any one time. Visits are limited to either ten or twenty minutes of gazing into the sea of white shapes and ponder space, landscape and whatever else pops into your mind when you're sitting in silence in a room filled with foam spikes. After first turning his vision into sketches back in 1968, and spending much of his career contemplating light and space, Wheeler piece aims to "produce a hermetic environment based on a radical reduction of optical and acoustical sensation" in order to "heighten our understanding of perceptual experience." Anyone that happens to be in New York between now and August 2 is advised to book in advance, with entry free with museum admission, because this unique and beautiful installation is certain to be popular. Via Artnet. Image: David Heald
If you commute to work by train, you're looking at having a frustrating winter. Well, at least a frustrating July. The Victorian Government has announced that sections of eight Melbourne train lines will be closed from July 5–28 to complete more work on the Metro Tunnel — most significantly, building its entrance — and remove some dangerous level crossings on other lines. What does that mean? Replacement buses. If you travel on any of the lines that service the southeast suburbs, you'll most likely have to switch from the train to a bus at some point on your commute. Plus, in the north, part of the Mernda line will be closed at the same time for a level crossing removal. If you were impacted by the train closures back in January and April, it's likely that'll you'll probably have your commute stuffed around again this autumn. https://twitter.com/ptv_official/status/1136120715286126593 The lines that'll be impacted across the month — and the winter school holidays — are Frankston, Stony Point, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Sandringham and Mernda, as well as the Gippsland and Ballarat V/Lines. Here's what we know so far about what's happening on each of the affected lines. Frankston: Buses will replace trains between Flinders Street and Caulfield stations between July 6–12, between Flinders Street and Moorabbin stations from July 13–14, and between Mordialloc and Frankston stations from July 19–28. Carrum Station will also be closed from July 5 until early 2020. Stony Point: Buses will replace trains between Frankston and Stony Point stations from July 6–14 and between Mordialloc and Stony Point stations from July 19–28. Cranbourne and Pakenham: Buses will replace trains between Flinders Street and Caulfield stations from July 6–12, and between Flinders Street and Westall stations from July 13–14. Sandringham: Buses will replace trains between Flinders Street and Sandringham stations from July 6–7 and July 13–14 Mernda: Buses will replace trains between Thornbury and Epping stations from July 19–25, July 29–30 and August 2–4, and between Thornbury and Mernda stations from July 26–28. Reservoir Station will also be closed from July 19–August 4. Plus, V/Line services will be affected as well. Coaches will replace trains on the Ballarat line until July 7. Something to keep in mind if you're travelling home or heading out to the Ballarat Winter Festival this weekend. The Gippsland line is also expected to be affected until July 14, but passengers will, once again, receive free travel. You can find the full details on line closures here. The State Government is advising commuters to leave an extra travel time in the case of delays, so it's advisable that you plan your trip carefully. For up-to-date info, your best bet is to check the disruptions map on the government's Big Build website.
There's never been a better time to be a political comedian, and the UK's Andy Zaltzman is one of the sharpest in the business. Best known as the voice of the satirical news podcast The Bugle — which he used to co-host with Last Week Tonight's John Oliver — Zaltzman will put despots and dictators to the sword with the help of some alternate facts and a few well-placed puns. Actually, it'll probably be a lot of well-placed puns. He'll also record the first ever live Bugle, featuring "live guests, people on screens, freshly-hewn satire, lies, puns and high-grade bullshit" as far of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Melbourne, if a big juicy steak is your ideal way of kissing goodbye to hump day, you're spoilt for choice. On a Wednesday evening, you can head to Dolly at Le Meridien Melbourne for budget-friendly steak frites; Bonny in Fitzroy for a $30 wagyu; and now, to Three Blue Ducks in Tullamarine for your pick of three cuts. There's a 250-gram rump for $25, a 200-gram Porterhouse for $35 and, for anyone who's ravenous (or willing to share), an 800-gram Tomahawk for $89. All three have this in common: they're sourced from 100% Black Angus, which is grass fed on Josdale Farm in Gippsland. On top of that, they all come with Three Blue Ducks' house-made mustard and a big serving of chips. Plus, for a few extra dollars, you can add sauces, sides and snacks. For any non-steak loving friends, the rest of the à la carte menu is available. Steak night kicks off every Wednesday at 5pm. Bookings can be made online.
Interactive detective game CluedUpp has taken over Australia's streets before — and if you like the idea of true crime and Cluedo colliding while you run around town, then it's the pastime for you. Its next Melbourne event on Saturday, December 11 will bring the classic board game to life throughout the city once again, with a slight twist. The outdoor adventure will have you tracking a Jack the Ripper copycat — and while the serial killer was very real, everything else about this murder-mystery game will be fictional. Forget Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the study — this event will bring you and your friends closer to reality and out onto the streets to solve the case. The game will kick off at a secret location, and you can choose to start whenever you like between 9am–2pm. Then, how long it takes depends on how good of a detective you are. The best news of all, however, is that the event is dog friendly — and there are prizes to be won by both human and canine detectives. All you need to play is some friends and your phone. Dressing up as a detective is encouraged, so you can really get yourself into character. A ticket will set you back $65 per team of six, but you only need two humans to play. With only 100 teams available, get in quick for your chance to solve the mystery.
The program for this year’s Melbourne Festival is looking a little gender bendy, with international guests including “sissy bounce” MC Big Freedia and legendary transgender singer Antony Hegarty. Local avant gardesters The Rabble are getting in on the androgyny act with their take on literature’s definitive gender warp, Orlando. The story of a young rake who suddenly, without explanation or much fuss, becomes a woman has been doing people’s heads in since Virginia Woolf penned it in 1928. The Rabbles’ staging looks like it will be less a direct adaptation and more a spring-boarding from Woolf’s text into a surreal and confronting world all of its own. Emma Valente and Kate Davis, artistic directors of The Rabble, are building a reputation for twisting classic texts into bizarre new shapes, and one can expect this to be as divisive and in-your-face as theatre gets. Just as Orlando him/herself would like it.
It's not often that feminism in mainstream media and art makes us laugh. But with a large proportion of feminist opinion vocalised in response to the very serious issues of misogyny, oppressive inequality and violent crimes against women, perhaps it’s solemnity is understandable. Despite allusions to the contrary, feminism's foundations lie within irony and humour and feminist artists have long employed laughter as a tool within their work. BACKFLIP: Feminism and Humour in Contemporary Art aims to subvert ingrained stereotypes of feminism as dry, dull and run by angry women. Embracing feminism's rich (and perhaps largely unknown) legacy of wit, satire and playfulness, the exhibition is a collection of reworked and contemporary feminist art. It’s ironic, it’s absurd, and, yes, it’s funny. Curated by Laura Castagnini, along with Margaret Lawrence Gallery’s director Vikki McInnes, the exhibition aims to give feminist art largely by female artists the platform it deserves. As you enter the gallery space picket signs by New York’s Guerrilla Girls (Museums Cave into Radical Feminists, Museums Unfair to Men) highlight an amusing, but inextricable gender inequality within the art world. This harks back to Louise Lawler’s 1972/81 text and audio work, Birdcalls, also featured within the exhibition. Through parody these works combat the institutional bias that continues to inhibit the success of female artists. A convergence of artistic mediums within BACKFLIP means that something is always grasping for your attention, demanding to be looked at and considered. Single channel video provides a captivating platform for female performative work, as with Patty Chang’s 1998 Melons (At A Loss) and the more contemporary video work from Melbourne artist Hannah Raisin. The exhibition is constantly backflipping to older generations, cultures and nations. Humour that was employed by pioneering feminist artists has been reworked and reappropriated to explore the presence and experience of feminism in contemporary Australian culture. The collection sees Alice Lang’s text-based works represent feminist conversation through Gen-Y slang and Melanie Bonajo re-enact VALIE EXPORT’s iconic 1968 Genital Panic for contemporary audiences. BACKFLIP also features digital video from renowned artists such as Tracey Moffat, Mika Rottenberg and Pipilotti Rist. The representation of female relationships is played up by cultural stereotypes — be enchanted (or repulsed) by the idealisation of female friendship with a live installation of nat&ali’s Friendship Is and witness a ridiculous rivalry in the form of two robotic vacuum cleaners. Perhaps one of the most absurd works in the exhibition is the Hotham Street Ladies’ use of icing to create a large bleeding uterus in the gallery’s male toilets — crude, funny and undeniably sweet at the same time. Humour is a patriarchal game, but one that BACKFLIP uses to subvert the stereotypes of feminism to allow female voices to be heard — and laughed at. Image via Brown Council
Whenever Easter arrives, be it in March or April depending on the year, sweet treat-loving tastebuds across Melbourne and Brisbane are thankful. In 2023, the annual excuse to devour chocolate is delivering plenty of tasty options, including from Lune Croissanterie — but Kate Reid's cult-famous pastry chain has plenty more in store across the whole month. The beloved bakery celebrates all 12 parts of the year with a different lineup of treats, even when Easter is here. On Lune's April menu: the return of its twice-baked finger bun croissants, plus choc-orange pains au chocolat. If you like popular desserts that have been turned into other sweet treats — or mashups, food hybrids and the Frankenstein's monsters of baked goods, all those labels fit — prepare to be in culinary heaven. If you adore the sublime flavour combination that is chocolate and orange, get just as excited. Both specials are exactly what they sound like, which is delicious, and you can only get them until Sunday, April 30. If the finger bun croissants have your tastebuds in a tizzy, they're an old Lune highlight that's making yet another comeback in-store at all locations — aka Fitzroy, Armadale and the CBD in Melbourne, plus South Brisbane and Burnett Lane in Brisbane — and also online. Made with traditional croissants that are brushed with strawberry syrup, they're then filled with a coconut milk frangipane and house-made strawberry jam. On top: a whipped coconut icing, because a finger bun isn't a finger bun without the icing. And yes, they're also dipped in desiccated coconut. Feel like celebrating the second month of autumn with those choc-orange pains au chocolat? These ones are on offer in-store only from Fitzroy, Armadale and South Brisbane. Lune has taken its usual pain au chocolat, then filled it with orange cake frangipane and dark chocolate custard. Next, it has topped it with candied orange slices and shards of tempered chocolate. The word you're looking for, as always, is "yum". The April specials list also boasts a cardamom bun at all stores, with Lune giving the Scandinavian fave its own spin — so they're made with laminated pastry, filled with cardamom butter, twisted into a knot, then dusted with raw sugar before being popped in the oven. And, just Fitzroy, Armadale and South Brisbane are doing harissa and goats' cheese escargots, plus kaya cruffins rolled in desiccated coconut and sugar, filled with kaya custard and topped with toasted coconut chips. Also, all three have added rhubarb and vanilla danishes to their menu as well, and you can nab them online from South Brisbane, too. If you're on snacks duty for April — in the office or at home — your job just got easier and tastier. Lune's April specials menu runs until Sunday, April 30, with different specials on offer at Fitzroy, Armadale and the CBD in Melbourne, and South Brisbane and Burnett Lane in Brisbane. From the South Brisbane store only, you can also order them online. Images: Pete Dillon.
Girl Asleep, by director Rosemary Myers, has been touted as an Australian version of Napoleon Dynamite. It's an obvious comparison, but while there are many similarities, Girl Asleep will leave you feeling something much deeper than mild amusement and confusion (sorry Napoleon, but it's true). For a start, it's a coming of age film starring actual teenagers, and that awkwardness translates beautifully to the screen. Greta (Bethany Whitmore) is 14, very shy and starting life at a new school. On her first day there she meets the geeky Elliot (Harrison Feldman) and they develop an unlikely friendship. Her life and all its inherent confusion stays private until her parents (played so very well by Amber McMahon and screenwriter Matthew Whittet) throw her a massive 15th birthday party and all her internal chaos spills over. The narrative is well-paced and comfortingly predictable, until the third act when Greta is plunged into a surreal, sexy world of Abject Men, Frozen Women, vaguely sinister forest creatures and lessons about sisterhood. It's a brusque transition but not unexpected, since the whole film has a touch of the surreal about it. There's an air of awkwardness that at times that goes beyond the script, although thankfully the two young leads are supported by a fluid and confident supporting cast, who lend the whole production a professional veneer that keeps your faith intact. Myers originally developed and executed the story as a stage play, and you can see fragments of the stage in the two-dimensional composition and the all-singing, all-dancing dramatics that give the film its signature look. And what a look! Girl Asleep is worth the ticket price alone just for the attention to detail in the props, costumes and sets. It's all so glamorous, so coordinated, so excessive and so 70s – a visual smorgasbord of big hair, tight shorts, flares and loud patterned wallpaper. And yet, behind the glamour and theatrics, viewers will find a remarkably relatable protagonist. Greta deals with her questions of identity, gender, sexuality and feminism in a way that will catch you by surprise, right in the feels. The writing hits a subtle emotional frequency that offsets and works well with the zany visual antics, helping to set Girl Asleep apart from the pack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lJSjVbTvDs
Quentin Tarantino's latest star-studded masterpiece, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, is one of the most anticipated films of 2019 — and it hits Australian cinemas imminently. To celebrate, we're giving eight lucky Playgrounders (and their mates) free Palace Platinum tickets to see it on the big screen — and treat them to dinner and drinks beforehand, too. It's called Culture Club. We've teamed up with Palace Cinemas to curate a (free!) evening of food, drinks, film and conversation — and the inaugural club meeting will take place this month, on Wednesday, August 21. Kicking off at 6pm, you'll be treated to dinner at Chapel Street's moody cocktail bar and restaurant Lover. Expect a cocktail on arrival followed by a four-course feast and endless pours of wine. Geeky film chat with your fellow VIPs is encouraged. Once you've finished wining and dining, you'll be picked up and whisked away to South Yarra's Palace Cinema Como to watch the movie at 8pm. Plus, movie snacks (a drink and a platinum choctop platter) will be provided — if you're not too full from dinner, that is. These aren't just any ordinary tickets though, you'll be living it up with Palace Platinum in a fully reclining leather seat (footrest included) and with service just a call-button away. Then just kick back, relax and enjoy the film. That's two hours and 45 minutes of Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie. If you're keen to nab free tickets to Culture Club, enter your details below to be in the running. [competition]736079[/competition]
Biannual art and design market The Finders Keepers is returning to the Royal Exhibition Building for its winter iteration, bringing shoppers the latest and greatest from its stellar lineup of Australia's most creative makers. From Friday, July 12–Sunday, July 14, the 270+ stalls, including 50 debut sellers, will be joined by a tasty range of food and beverage offerings as well as DJs playing throughout — all the makings of a prime opportunity to get out, chat with local artisans and support the creative industry. At the core of the conscious shopping space is a focus on helping you discover and connect with the next wave of independent and emerging artisans — specifically, local designers. So, you can expect to find everything from jewellery, fashion and ceramics to leather goods and body products. This seasons's Indigenous Program recipient is Bangerang Country-based Ochre Dough, which will be showcasing its natural playdough made from native bush tucker. Six other First Nations creative small businesses — including Narrm-based social enterprise Clothing The Gaps and contemporary artists Luruk-In and Alejandro Lauren — will also be showcasing their wares. Consider this a reminder that the market is completely cashless, so check (then check again) that you've got your digital (or plastic) payment methods at the ready — it would be a travesty to leave empty-handed.
We don't recommend taking regularly life advice from cartoon characters, but ever since an animated crab sang about the joys of living under the sea, it's an idea that's been lodged in everyone's minds. Nearly three decades after The Little Mermaid told us "darling it's better down where it's wetter", we'll soon be able to see for ourselves like we've never been able to before. If you've ever wanted to make like Ariel and slumber surrounded by sea life, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is making that dream a reality — yes, they're building a lavish underwater hotel suite. Due to open in late 2018, the US$15 million space is being called the world's "first undersea residence" — and while a series of submerged villas in Dubai and a room at an African hotel might beg to differ, this still looks and sounds mighty impressive. Named The Muraka, which means coral in Dhivehi, the Maldives' local language, it's a two-level apartment that comes complete with sleeping and living quarters both above and five metres below the waterline. While the top floor boasts two bedrooms and bathrooms, including one with an ocean-facing tub; a powder room, gym, living room, kitchen, bar and dining area; two separate decks facing directly towards the sunrise and sunset; an infinity pool; and even butler's and private security quarters, it's the lower level that's the main attraction. Let's face it – you know that's exactly where everyone will head first. Down a spiral staircase, guests will find a king size bedroom, living area and bathroom, all surrounded by 180-degree panoramic views of the Indian Ocean's marine inhabitants. In total, the suite sleeps nine, making it a luxe destination for travelling groups with plenty of cash. Just how much it'll set you back hasn't yet been revealed, though you'd expect this latest underwater adventure won't come cheap. For the past 13 years, the resort has also been home to an undersea restaurant, so you can eat beneath the ocean's surface as well. Images: Conrad Hotels & Resorts.
If there was ever a year to see if you could stream every film and television show ever, it's the one that we've just lived through. We've all heard the jokes about 'finishing Netflix', which have felt particularly accurate in 2020. But, en masse, Australians have been gravitating to the same movies and TV programs over the past 12 months — and Netflix has just revealed the 17 most popular titles. The streaming platform hasn't detailed them in order, so no one flick or series tops the list. But it has broken down 2020's huge hits by genre, naming a film and show in each — except in the reality TV field, for self-explanatory reasons. The big trends: stars and twists. Famous faces and thorny stories feature prominently, as you probably noticed all year based on Netflix's in-platform top ten feature. So, what were we all watching? In the action genre, Aussies feasted their eyeballs on Chris Hemsworth vehicle Extraction and Karate Kid spinoff Cobra Kai. We went light and fluffy in the comedy category, thanks to Holidate and Emily in Paris. In the horror realm, IT: Chapter Two and The Haunting of Bly Manor emerged victorious — and if you're wondering about the former, which first hit cinemas in 2019, Netflix counts anything that debuted on the platform across 2020. When it came to drama, Aussies couldn't get enough of Enola Holmes and The Queen's Gambit (if you've been scoping out chess sets for Christmas, you know that's true). Spenser Confidential and The Sinner: Jamie were the top thrillers, The Kissing Booth 2 and Dash & Lily the most popular romances, and Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous the kid-friendly hits. Too Hot to Handle took the reality TV crown, while, doco-wise, everyone watched American Murder: The Family Next Door. And Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, of course, because no one can now remember a time when we didn't know who Joe Exotic was. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acTdxsoa428 Netflix didn't announce any figures to go with this list, so we don't know just how many people watched any of the above. And, obviously, popularity isn't the same as quality. Some of the above hits are great, and some are downright terrible. If Extraction and the Mark Wahlberg-starring Spenser Confidential didn't release in March and April, when the world was going into lockdown, maybe they wouldn't have attracted so many eyeballs, for instance. Australian-made shows and movies didn't score their own category, but the streaming platform did note that Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun spent almost two weeks in the local top ten. In other trends, Aussies watched 60 percent more flicks and series in languages other than English compared to 2019, doubled our viewing of Korean dramas and checked out more than twice as much anime as well. For more information about Netflix, or to stream any of the above shows and films, head to the streaming platform's website. Top image: Phil Bray/Netflix.
After a stellar season at London’s iconic Bush Theatre last year, Straight is having its Australian premiere at Melbourne institution, Red Stitch. After years of marriage, Lewis and his wife Morgan are confined to their claustrophobic apartment and dreaming of starting a family. But when Lewis’ effortlessly cool friend Waldorf comes to stay, he turns the couple’s cosy life upside down, and awakens their fear of commitment. Over the course of a play punctuated by explosive one-liners, the characters push the boundaries of good taste, common sense, and intimacy. And on a drunken night out, Waldorf and Lewis make a bet — one which pushes this flirtatious romp to breaking point. Adapted by writer DC Moore from the feature film Humpday, and featuring the onstage talent of Red Stitch’s resident actors, Straight is a comedy that looks equal parts hilarious and humane — a sticky cocktail of fragile tenderness and amateur pornography.
Another major up-and-comer on the local comedy circuit is Steph Tisdell — she won Deadly Funny in 2014, earning her the mantle of Funniest Aboriginal Woman in Australia. Her show Identity Steft draws on her Indigenous heritage, and will tackle racism, identity and mental health. In addition to her own show, Tisdell will perform as part of the Aboriginal Comedy All Stars showcase alongside Kevin Kropinyeri, Sean Choolburra and Andy Saunders.
Welcome to Thornbury will accommodate both your stomach and your flaming sinuses in a three-day event that is the Hot Sauce and Chilli Festival. If spice is your mate and you think you can handle some of the hottest chilli situations Melbourne can throw at you, now's your time to prove your mettle. Some you'll even have to sign a waiver to taste, so you know they'll be life-affirming. There'll be sauce offerings from Melbourne Hot Sauce, Soul Sauce and Little Brixton. If you've come for the actual food side of things, you're in luck, too — Belles Hot Chicken, Mr Burger. Bluebonnet Barbecue, Nem N Nem and Happy Camper Pizza will set up shop over the weekend, among others. And drinks? Well, the bar team will be serving 'hot pocket' shots. That's what you'll need a waiver for (and maybe some milk, too).
