Playing host to over 200 local and international artists' work, Ballarat has transformed from a sleepy little town into a busy hub of photography over the past few weeks. Running until September 15, the Ballarat International Foto Biennale (BIFB) is showcasing a vast selection of works — the core program is comprised of the best artists around and the Fringe exhibition encourages the general public to submit their own work to the festival. Over 73 venues and 206 events you can see anything from workshops on night photography to seminars on trends in traditional and alternative photography to guided tours that offer an insight to the history of the surroundings alongside the abundant artwork. The core program includes works from Erika Diettes, Elisabeth Zeilon, John Cato and Doc Ross. Showcasing many artists who might not be receiving the attention they deserve yet, this line up seems to offer an energizing and exciting combination of exhibitions that make it well worth the trip.
Theatre maker Roslyn Oades spent 18 months following the journey of a boxer from Bankstown as he prepared for a world-title fight. Armed with a tape recorder to document the boxer’s preparation, Oades also came across past legends, up-and-comers, and even a few failed contenders. I'm Your Man is a dramatic look at these people and how the sport shaped them. Oades' script is entirely constructed of word-for-word accounts from the people she met at the gyms, dressing rooms and ringside. The actors wear earpieces and recite lines directly from interviews she conducted during her research. This may require some suspension of belief on the audience's part, for example a young gruff-looking character plays the role of an 82 year old at one point. However, it is the authenticity of the tales of courage, failure, and the cost of success that makes the performance raw and convincing. I’m Your Man is set to challenge pre-conceived notions of a brutal, testosterone-filled sport, by offering up a lot of heart. Read our review of the Sydney run of this production here.
It’s time to shimmy, shake, be-bop and dance till you drop at Anna’s Go-Go Academy. You might already be familiar with Anna from her fabulous stints at the Falls Festival — she was the one with the swishy dresses and infectiously boppy enthusiasm. If not, get ready to have a damn fun time learning the most energetic and ridiculous dance crazes from sock hops to the silver screen. Dances you will cover in Anna’s classes include Charleston, Watusi, Hustle, Thriller, Gangnam Style and many other classics. Who knows when a dancefloor may beckon you to break out your best Uma and Travolta twist performance? Or when the opening bars of a Michael Jackson tune will burst forth from the speakers at your next wedding/50th birthday party/Blue Light Disco? Bottom line: Anna will have you prepared for when your moment arrives, and the spotlight will be on you, baby. Anna encourages fun clothing (think rhinestones and fringing) and big hair when attending her class. The only thing she thinks you should be wary of is your fancy footwear — runners are not recommended to twist in, and thongs (as in the flip-flop variety) were never made for the scuffed floorboards of Trades Hall. So gear up and get down to either Bella Union on Wednesdays or The Victoria Hotel on Thursdays to unleash the dance beast within.
After 2009's piss-poor X-Men Origins: Wolverine, this latest instalment (now the sixth for Hugh Jackman's indestructible mutant) really didn't have a whole lot to live up to. That meant director James Mangold (Walk the Line) could take the story wherever he wanted, and it turns out, he wanted Tokyo. The Wolverine hence takes its plot from one of the character's better known comic book series, 'Wolverine', written by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller all the way back in 1982. It opens with a surprisingly unsettling scene just minutes before the bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, with Logan (Jackman) trapped nearby inside a Japanese POW camp. As the blast-wave spreads, he manages to save his captor's life and sets in motion a chain of events that will see the pair reunited decades later. That surviving soldier — now an elderly billionaire obsessed with his legacy — summons Logan to his deathbed in Tokyo. He craves Logan's healing powers whilst promising in return the one thing Logan can never have: death. "This is my gift, my curse" said Tobey Maguire's Spiderman back in 2002, enunciating the most compelling theme that underscores all good superhero stories. For Logan, immortality is now his torment, but he is not alone in his suffering. His Harajuku-girl escort, Yukio (Rila Fukushima), possesses the ability to foretell a person's death; a mutation that imbues her with a truly haunted existence and makes her character both tragic and engaging. Sadly, she's under-utilised by Mangold, and the only other mutant of note in the film is a statuesque blond known as Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), whose reptilian mutation is as forgettable as her scenes. Perhaps it's Mangold's background in drama, but the action in The Wolverine was remarkably dull, save for one entertaining sequence on the roof of a bullet train. The problem is, so long as Logan is invincible, the stakes sit at zero, yet when he's vulnerable, he loses the one thing that makes him interesting. By contrast, the quiet, intimate scenes in The Wolverine were much more enjoyable, effectively taking the Wolverine out of the movie and focusing on the man, Logan. And that's what it all boils down to: the Wolverine is a classic loner, a gruff recluse favouring the company of his own haunted memories to that of any other humans, mutant or otherwise. Throughout this franchise he has actively rejected the 'team' and only ever begrudgingly formed unions when circumstances required it. And yet, he is almost certainly that franchise's most popular character. His charmlessness is, in effect, his charm; however, the problem with movies focusing just on him is that his loner persona plays best as part of a wider ensemble. He is never more appealing than when sparring with other X-Men because it gives his isolation context. The promotional material for The Wolverine describes it as "The Wolverine movie fans have been waiting for", and certainly that is factually accurate, since it is the only Wolverine movie currently in cinemas, and until it came out, fans had to wait for it. But was it the one they'd been hoping for? Doubtful; however, if they stay beyond the credits, they'll find good cause to be excited about the next one: X-Men: Days of Future Past. https://youtube.com/watch?v=WEbzZP-_Ssc
The Korean Film Festival In Australia (KOFFIA) is back for its fourth year in 2013, promising unmissable films and the brightest stars in their latest offerings for the screen. This is your opportunity to experience an alternative movie-going experience. You have the choice of 17 feature and various short films, with 50 screenings in total gracing Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne cinemas. It has been dubbed "a must for fans of Korean culture" although just about anyone is sure to enjoy the films, all of which are subtitled in English. On the bill are 9 Muses of Star Empire, which documents the K-Pop phenomenon from the inside, and Architecture 101, a romance-themed session, ideal for couples. There are also a host of other cultural activities — be sure to check them out when planning your KOFFIA experience. https://youtube.com/watch?v=s3dZhCnV7ik
The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art has always supported new talent, and their latest pop-up program opening this Thursday, 20 August, is no exception. Housed within a shipping container on the north forecourt of the gallery, this rotating exhibition will showcase the work of five young artists over the period of just five weeks. The artists featured will include Ander Rennick, Hanna Chatwin and the AFW, Meg Stoios, Cassandra Littlehands and Nick Chilvers. Monika Sosnowska’s Regional Modernities is currently showing in the main gallery too, so they’ll be in great company. Nestled between the international powerhouse that is the National Gallery of Victoria, and the bohemian wonderland that is the Victorian College of the Arts — seriously, I’ve never seen so many flower crowns in my life — ACCA is really proving itself to be a perfect resource for discovering local and emerging talent like this. Also, as much as I enjoy the tragic isolation of Ron Robertson-Swann’s Vault and the fact it’s now occasionally used as a skate ramp, it’ll be great to see the forecourt area being utilised. But honestly, when it comes down to it, nothing says ‘contemporary art’ quite like a pop-up gallery in a shipping container. Artwork: Ander Rennick
The end of the world is happening in Hollywood. This North American summer has already seen Tom Cruise meet Oblivion, Seth Rogen and co scream This Is the End and all of us embrace our wildest apocalyptic fears in our terrible movie heavens. Now with Elysium, the director of District 9, Neill Blomkamp, turns his sights from apartheid South Africa to the interplanetary concern of undocumented immigrants. In the 22nd century, Earth is overpopulated, polluted and diseased. The Third World is now the world, and the rich have fled and founded a new off-planet habitat, Elysium, a floating disc of palm trees and daiquiris where the idyll sun-bake in oblivion and 'medbays' cure all sickness in seconds. The ruined Earth is just in sight over the horizon, where Matt Damon toils away making the terrifying robot policemen that oppress him and the other proles. A cruelly unnecessary industrial accident exposes him to lethal radiation, and now he's the classic John Connor-style everyman hero with nothing to lose. He needs a medbay, and the only solution is to wage an all-out war on Elysium, opening it up to all Earthly "illegals". His war armour transforms him into a man-robot fighting machine — if Aldous Huxley rather than Marvel designed Ironman. Let's face it, Matt Damon is a boss. Not only is he the most bankable actor in Hollywood, he has not given one dud performance, ever. Think about it. The day he does will be the day I weep and quit movie reviewing with a heavy heart and wistful glance in Brad Pitt's direction. Jodie Foster is our steel eyed, fluorescent-toothed and impeccably tailored Bad Ass Neo-Con, Delacourt. Foster is in full-tilt Nicholas Cage mode here, dispensing with naturalism to give a presentation-style performance as a heartless Hawk whose sole job is to keep those pesky illegals at bay and the squeaky clean wealth of Elysium safe. Her henchman Kruger (Sharlto Copley) is a no less than a demented sadist, screeching outrageously abusive one-liners in a full-blooded South African accent. While his boss is the ostensibly civilised policymaker pushing the sleek buttons of war from afar, Kruger is the brutal, gloves-off and knives-out psycho, and together they form both sides of the conservative coin. This gleeful bastard must surely be one of the best baddies in recent movie history, and a hysterical one at that. He injects the film with a blood-red jab of dark humour, and that sense of humour is something that is sorely lacking from the surging majority of Hollywood blockbusters. His one-liners are wonderfully gruesome, real Old Testament stuff. Best of all, it's this Hannibal-style character that allows Blomkamp to really reach beyond the formulaic sameness that characterises most films of this hi-tech genre and deliver some proper twists in the final act. If you've wondered why recent big-shot Hollywood flicks like the $200 million-plus World War Z have been oddly bloodless, in a way that doesn't gel with their ADHD violence, it's because rocketing production budgets ensure that these films need to be rated PG to attract the largest possible spectrum of paying cinema-goers, and that has to mean high school-aged boys and their parents. Elysium has no such qualms — with an MA15+ stamp, it has gross blood to spare and it's all the more satisfying as a result. If there ever was going to be a contemporary director to hijack Hollywood, it's Blomkamp. He delivers blockbusters based in empathy and political smarts that actually aspire to be more than insulting filmic pollution. The state of Elysium suffers from a serious "political sickness, a moral tumour that must be removed". It's an especially crucial message in the weeks leading up to this country's joke of an election and the more open-ended atmosphere of unhooked xenophobic psychosis. Increasingly, being Australian is like having a totally obnoxious and embarrassing mother who's vocally and publicly racist. And homophobic. And sexist. And completely without social skills. The towering blockbusters of the literary realm have often been piercingly thoughtful and critical (here I'm thinking of Brave New World and The Road. It's more than time for movie blockbusters to be the same, to linger in an afterburn of ideas. Elysium is the blockbuster for me. And these mad times. https://youtube.com/watch?v=oIBtePb-dGY
Australian Dance Theatre, one of the longest running companies in the country, is known for its intelligent works and ability to engage audiences on many levels. Proximity, one of the current works is a collaboration between Garry Stewart (Artistic Director) and Paris-based video engineer Thomas Pachoud. The investigation into the body and the way it interacts with the world incorporates dance and video as the nine performers film each other throughout the performance and project and distort the product live on stage. The performance as a whole is said to question the notion of the body and our everyday comprehension of it.
Already scheduled to headline Listen Out 2013, dance music's brothers-of-the-moment have just announced that they'll be gracing us with sideshows in both Sydney and Melbourne. Over the past 12 months, the UK-born and raised siblings have emerged from their bedrooms to dominate the dance charts and sell out international tours. That's especially impressive given that the youngest of the two, Howard (18), is only just out of school uniform and his brother, Guy, recently celebrated his 21st. Not only have party-goers been keeping the boys on high rotation, they've also won a few critics' (often hardened) hearts. The ever-revered Pitchfork awarded Disclosure's debut album, Settle, with a whopping 9.1/10, while UK radio host Zane Lowe described it as his "favourite album of the year so far". Featuring a selection of guest vocalists (including Ed McFarlane of Friendly Fires, Jamie Woon, Jessie Ware and AlunaGeorge's Aluna Francis), Settle represents a move towards balancing the duo's two major stylistic influences: dance and pop. "The main thing we tried to do with it is get a mixture of the more clubbier sides of the music we do with the more sample based stuff that's made for the dance floor and then kinda the other side of it, which is the more pop structured songs with vocals," Howard told the Listen Out team in a recent interview. "We wanted to take a balance between those things." https://youtube.com/watch?v=4nsKDJlpUbA
Is this low-budget, low-key production Joss Whedon's post-Avengers campaign for cred as a Legit Indie Filmmaker? Much Ado About Nothing is Shakespeare's 1598 version of a rom-com, hauled mercilessly into 2013 with cocktails, cupcakes and a sensibility that's both verbose and slapstick. Our two lovers, Beatrice (Amy Acker) and Benedick (Alexis Denisof), are cluelessly star-crossed, blinded by their own pride and ego. Whether you find what plays out a tedious, self-financed pet project or an endearing contemporary translation will depend on your familiarity with the almost untouched original text and your appreciation/tolerance of Whedon universe in-jokes (like the Dollhouse set prop). The project was shot in 12 days at the end of Avengers production with a cast of usual Whedon suspects. It's a somewhat grinding change of gears from the Marvel machine, but in an age of relentless threequels, 3D fantasies and franchisable remakes, it's admirable to see a big-shot director get back to basics. Whedon does everything from writing the slightly cheesy score to staging the entire production in his LA mansion. It's shot in black and white, which seems to be an easy shorthand for self-declared serious independent directors lately, but Whedon makes it work. Just. Across all his various projects, this director's trademark is self-assuredness, and every frame of Much Ado About Nothing bounces with energy. It's as slick as you'd expect, if not a little forgettable, and definitely not daring. Then again, it's not meant to be: it's for Whedon's maniacal audience and for himself. The Elizabethan speech rarely totally flows, the modern setting jars and not all the actors convince. But the director's fondness for the typical Shakespearean preoccupations of hidden identity, destined love and thwarted revenge can't help but seep through. A frothy labour of love. https://youtube.com/watch?v=NZB5EBdKaMw
Music, great minds, food and wine are a nice pairing for art, especially exquisite art. Friday Nights at Monet's Garden is doing just that. Monet's Garden is an exhibition that celebrates a collection created from Claude Monet's garden in Giverny, something that was very dear to the man himself. His garden in the north of France was one of his greatest pleasures and he drew much inspiration from this in his work. To celebrate this unique exhibition, showing in Melbourne only, the National Galley of Victoria are making a party out of it with Friday Nights at Monet's Garden. Each Friday until September 6, different DJs, live bands and pop up talks will take place along side food and drink and of course the exhibition itself. Opening night on Friday, July 5, will see Laurie Benson, curator at NGV, and artist Fiona Hall giving talks while DJ Geoffrey O'Connor will be spinning until 8.30pm when musician Vance Joy will be taking over. Other people sharing artistic wisdom in pop-up talks will include Max Delany, senior curator of contemporary art; Jason Smith, director at Heide Museum of Modern Art; and Matt Wilkinson, chef from Pope Joan. Musical sets will see the likes of Robert Forster, blues and garage band rock and roll singer Courtney Barnett, three-piece Sydney band Good Heavens and DJ sets from Simon Winkler and Lauren Taylor. Food and drink will be served up in the Gallery Kitchen for a light dinner, The Tea Room will be serving up a two-course dinner with wine and coffee, and The Great Hall will be dishing up a French-inspired bar menu. So whatever you're in the mood for, they have got you covered. Friday Nights at Monet's Garden offers a rare opportunity to make an evening out of an exhibition.
To choose the life of an artist means choosing canned tuna dinners, free beer at openings across the city and what is often a constant battle between maintaining artistic integrity whilst trying to put those aforementioned cans of tuna and that free beer on the (dirty share house) table every night. Each year, in association with the philanthropic Balnaves Foundation, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art gives a handful of Australia’s most exciting emerging artists a massive leg up, inviting them to create site-specific pieces for the annual NEW exhibition. NEW 13 is curated by ACCA’s associate curator Charlotte Day and features the work of Benjamin Forster, Jess MacNeil, Alex Martinis Roe, Sanne Mestrom, Scott Mitchell, Joshua Petherick and Linda Tegg. The vastly divergent offerings include a sculpted weeping woman that cries actual tears, the ghosts of imaging technology captured and a piece that sheds sunlight on previously overlooked crevices of ACCA. Image — Alexis Martinis Roe, The Practice of Doing, 2013
What has happened to that once glorious Hollywood staple, the romantic comedy? Even at its most saccharine, it was a dependable genre, the type that left you in a kind of terrible movie heaven of enjoyably unlikely plot premises, clueslessly fated lovers, and fairytale endings. Trashy, sure, but reliably trashy — carefree and frothy and silly. Beautiful people, overcoming mindlessly familiar cinematic hurdles and falling in love — it's comforting stuff for hopeless romantics like myself who get most of their life philosophies from Michel Gondry films. But a genre that focuses more on seduction and courtship and the happily-ever-after, bridal magazine moments eventually leaves viewers craving something a little more substantial. After all, anyone who lives in the real world knows that the real work in relationships begins at the point where rom coms usually end: the kiss, the wedding, the honeymoon period, the beginning. The reality and ridiculousness and complexity of relationships and sex and romance — surely this is the kind of thing that mainstream film should finally start getting right. That's why I Give It a Year should work. British director Dan Mazer has styled it as a renovated, thinking-person's rom com, one that starts at the wedding and explores the difficulty of staying in love. It's a worthwhile project, and one that The Simpsons creative director James L. Brooks has made into a career. Broadcast News, Terms of Endearment, and even the cruelly critically maligned How Do You Know? all subtly inverted the rom com rules by showing more realistic characters with more realistic relationships. And they were funnier for their closer collision with real life. Mazer has his work cut out for him by Brooks. Rose Byrnes' highly strung Nat and Rafe Spall's man-boy Josh are not meant to be — they marry too quickly and are obviously more suited to the two supporting characters, played by Simon Baker (on charismatic autopilot) and Anna Faris (on tedious autopilot. Why is she a thing?). But ultimately the film refuses to bust out of the conventional rom com template. Its plot remains face-punchingly implausible, its characters straitjacketed by stereotype, and its humour terminally planted in Mazer's familiar ground of extreme awkwardness and feeble frat-boy crassness. This is, after all, the man who produced Borat and Sacha Baron Cohen's other cinematic mis/adventures. Oddly enough for a love story, I Give It a Year fails to get to any kind of genuine emotional core for the characters or their relationships. Perhaps the highlight of the film is Rose Byrnes' wardrobe, a procession of pastel cashmere sweaters and tailored designer clothing this reviewer will never, ever be able to afford. Yes, Byrnes and Baker are lovely to watch, but it is frankly demoralising to see them wasting their presence on such an eye-rollingly unfunny project. The Office's Stephen Merchant is particularly misused given his considerable comedic talents. Despite its admirable aims, I Give It A Year is a 102-minute exercise in endurance. https://youtube.com/watch?v=3UgPWKPDlvA
The 4th Brazil Film Festival runs in Melbourne from February 20 to March 3 and presents 10 of the most acclaimed recent Brazilian film productions as well as a selection of short films. Here's a preview of five movies that have us totally intrigued. 1. Heleno is a portrait of real-life 1940s soccer star Heleno de Freito's romantic and professional exploits. Shot entirely in black-and-white, this looks to be a glamorous chronicle of the 'Cursed Prince', complete with well-dressed busty ladies, fast cars, and snappy dialogue. 2. Mulatas. The first word that comes to mind when you think of Brazil is probably 'Carnival'. This doco interviews the women embodying Rio de Janeiro's exuberant Carnival samba culture, the mulatas. Delving beneath the surface of a national symbol, the film explores the stigmas associated with the provocative dance style and its impact on the mulatas' personal lives. 3. Hauling. Sao Paulo is home to a marginalised subculture of professional recyclers, including Claudines, a man who for many years has based his livelihood on carefully salvaging what others would view as junk. He's not the only one, either. This documentary offers a fascinating look at Brazil's recycling underworld, covering both its social and environmental aspects. 4. Highrise. What does life look like from the perspective of the Brazilian upper classes, dwelling high above street level in the penthouses of major cities? Highrise scrutinises the country's social and economic disparities by entering the lofty homes of some of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Recife's wealthiest denizens, interviewing them about their motives for choosing the high life. 5. Amazonia Eterna. The Amazon is the last great forest wilderness, and the balance of its ecosystem affects all life on Earth. This documentary examines the way local inhabitants view their home, its significance and its future. The film will be accompanied by a panel discussion chaired by Green Cross Australia, raising awareness of parallels between conservation issues in the Amazon and Australia. https://youtube.com/watch?v=nq7XsCyZRVI Top image from Hauling by Sean Walsh.
Watch out, it’s the October arts festival pile-up! With Fringe still kicking, the seriously big acts are already rolling into town for the Melbourne Festival and outgoing artistic director Brett Sheehy has made his last year one to remember. The program has everything from Dutch child actors playing out visions of their future adult lives inside a room of one-way mirrors, to Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo laying down live soundtracks to avant garde cinema, to an interactive art piece for babies. There’ll be an art-themed film program too this year, curated by former MIFF director Richard Moore, alongside cutting edge dance and experimental theatre plenty. With the guest list including impressive names like Thomas Ostermeier, back from Germany to remix Ibsen again, Antony and the Johnsons and even Billy Bragg, it’s one of the biggest festivals yet. Could this possibly be more art than even Melbourne can handle?
The Words, a story within a story within a story, hinges on a moment in time that changes the lives of its protagonists and connects them across time. The three stories that comprise the film are as follows: Clay Hammond (Dennis Quaid), a well-known author, reads from his new book, The Words, to an admiring New York audience. The book is about a young aspiring writer, Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), who, not for lack of talent, struggles to make it in the literary world — that is, until he finds a manuscript in an old briefcase bought for him in Paris by his new wife, Dora (Zoe Saldana). Back in New York after their honeymoon, Jansen makes the discovery and retypes the manuscript in one feverish night, not with the intention to steal it but because he wants to feel what it is like to write something so brilliant, something he, in reality, couldn't write. But the temptation overwhelms him after Dora reads the retyped manuscript and tells him how proud she is. The story is about a young American man (Ben Barnes) who settles in Paris after having met the love of his life there during the war. After experiencing tragedy, he too writes feverishly over a few days, completing a book about his life — about love, escape, and devastating loss. Much like how Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley, lost a manuscript of his on a train, the young man's wife loses his. And so he and Rory are tethered. Rory's life spirals out of control after he meets 'The Old Man', about whom I will reveal little here, and the pleasures of fame and fortune are drowned by the consequences of stealing another man's words. The Words is an interesting, if flawed, meditation on truth and fiction and a lushly shot film. https://youtube.com/watch?v=gjmrDDD9o_k
Gomorrah isn't your average crime thriller. Based on a book that cut so close to the bone of Naples' organised crime network that its author had to go into hiding, the film adaptation similarly pulls no punches. Naples' mafia, the Camorrah, is an enormous organisation whose power seems so entrenched that they have become an everyday part of life for the people living under it. Violence is commonplace, corruption rampant, the mob's presence inescapable. Gomorrah weaves a picture of crime in Naples, following multiple interweaving stories. While cocksure teenage boys play at being gangsters, the leaders of the Camorra are staging corporate crimes of mind boggling proportions. Not an easy watch, this brutal film, screening at ACMI, is nonetheless an impeccably made piece of modern Italian cinema that tells a story few are familiar with.
The English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian and actor, Stephen Merchant is in Melbourne for a series of stand-up performances. Although he is probably best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, he also has years of experience and his roots lie in stand-up comedy. Gervais and Merchant have worked together and appeared on hit television shows such as Life's Too Short and Extras. Merchant has also worked behind the scene's as a director on successful television shows such as The Office and An Idiot Abroad, which features the lovable simpleton, Karl Pilkington. Merchant is excited to meet his Australian fans, so much so that he stated “life can be lonely as a TV writer so this tour is a great opportunity for me to get out there and meet my fans. And make at least one of them my wife." Merchant has been the brains behind some of the UK's most successful and hilarious productions, catch him live and prepare yourself for a night of laughs.
Often credited as one of the founding fathers of indie music, Morrissey rose to prominence as lyricist and vocalist for influential 1980s band, The Smiths. He maintained success as a solo artist after the demise of the band, continually making musical strides and today regarded as an iconic musician, whose signature vocal style and dynamic live performances are today deemed unmissable for the avid music enthusiast. For the first time in over a decade, Morrissey is back in Australia with a string of highly anticipated shows. He will be supported by American singer/songwriter Kristeen Young, whose aggressive keyboard-playing style and four-octave vocal range make her as dynamic a performer as the legend she’s preceding. This is a show that has been eagerly awaited for quite some time, and now that it’s finally here it’s sure to sell out. Tickets are still available, however you are advised to not leave such an experience to chance – it may be your last opportunity to see Morrissey himself in his element.
Look at the header. Are those outfits enough to make you want to see this show before you’ve even read anything about it? Probably, but jazzy parachute pants are just one facet of this high-voltage streetdance spectacular. Blaze is a hip-hop musical from West End choreographer Anthony van Laast, the man behind the moves of Mamma Mia! and Sister Act. Imagine Britain’s Got Talent or So You Think You Can Dance if everyone had an extraordinary amount of talent and actually could dance. Then add dizzying set designs by Es Devlin (who has the London 2012 closing ceremony and Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball tour on his set design C.V.), strobe lighting and music by Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, David Guetta and Snoop Dogg. For Blaze's Australian tour the producers were looking to cast local talent to join the troupe. The show's Sydney leg will welcome Demi Sorano, self-taught b-girl and So You Think You Can Dance 2008 alumni.
Physical theatre is one of those things that has the timeless ability to move and entertain us. Something about its characters' lack of language is instantly relatable; Charlie Chaplin's tramp, and Jacques Tati's M. Hulot remain classic characters untarnished by time. Leo, by Berlin's Circle of Eleven, follows their footsteps into the theatre, in the form of an hour-long one-man show. The twist is, through ingeniously simple techniques, the show shifts gravity around the performer: on one half of the stage is the actor, in the flesh, and on the other half is a live projection whose perspective swaps wall for floor. Suddenly, a whole new physical dimension is opened up for the performer and character. But acrobatic feats and mute pratfalls do not a theatre show make. Making these tools work toward the expression of an idea (Beckettesque absurdity, in this case) or an emotion is what makes Leo promise to be a richly entertaining hour of theatre.
Libraries are traditionally quiet places of scholarly reflection and the passage of knowledge. Fun is not a word usually associated with them, beyond perhaps a stifled chuckle at the latest Terry Pratchett novel. Librarians in general are known for, if nothing else, being unwilling to let down their hair. But all this will all change on November 3, when libraries across the world open their arms to excitable young children, bored teenagers and adults looking for entertainment. International Library Games Day is a celebration of what libraries can and should be — an exciting hub of activity and engagement. The State Library of Victoria is inviting you to come and play games of all sorts, from chess and canasta to Call of Duty and Castlevania. Bring your own Magic cards or meet other adventurers in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. From 4-5pm the State Library is also hosting a Games Gameshow, hosted by Ben McKenzie from The OC and Australian comedian and public figure Lawrence Leung. Come and see cool people say funny things about awesome games.
Australia has an obsession with Mexican eateries and aesthetics at the moment. To battle the danger of trivialisation and stereotyping, how about getting involved with the real deal? Sugar-skull decorating, anyone? You are in safe hands at this Sugar Skull-making workshop at the Immigration Museum. A member of the Victorian Mexican community will tell you about the meanings behind this tradition as well as show you how to decorate your own (sugar) skull. Far from being morbid, the skulls are beautiful, even whimsical, and brightly coloured. Death is not something to be afraid of in Mexico. The national holiday, called the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), commemorates family and friends who have passed away. Homes have altars decorated with objects such as sugar skulls to encourage the souls of loved ones to visit. Whether you want to change how you view death, or just learn more about the real Mexico, this art workshop will have you thinking. There are two workshops, one at 10.30am and the other at 2pm. Bookings via 13 11 02. Image of Juarez memorial sugar skulls by Glen van Etten.
They are armed with just black paint, black markers, a blank white wall. This is the one and only Secret Walls and there are 90 minutes exactly to create something epic on stage and prove themselves worthy. No pressure. They range from graffiti artists with their spray cans to pro illustrators with their tablets, but step right up ‘cos this is the only place you’ll see them in action. You might recognise their work on the train tunnels, or in some of the best laneways in Melbourne, but the artists themselves barely get recognition. Now you got your chance to scream some applause now. Secret Walls (previously Secret Wars) was created in London in 2006 to give a platform to young and aspiring artists. It has now grown from the intimate battles spread through word-of-mouth to this global network that spans from New York to Tokyo, in over 25 countries. Secret Walls Australia Semi Finals 2 is between locals Jack Douglas and Eleven and is held in The Order of Melbourne. You’re lucky you heard about it here.
For a day of sheer fun, thrills and imagination head to the Melbourne showgrounds for a magical time at the Royal Melbourne Show. Organised by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria to promote and celebrate agriculture, the Royal Melbourne Show is the state’s largest annual community event, and has something for everyone. What kid doesn’t like animals? Over at the livestock pavilion they can get up close and personal with all kinds of furry critters for a feed and a cuddle with cows, goats, dogs, cats, alpacas and llamas. Watch sheep get sheared, be amazed as horses perform spectacular stunts and even experience the miracle of birth. There’s plenty for the unadventurous too, with food experiences, shopping and arts and crafts. The fun doesn’t stop at night either, with motocross teams, jetpacks and fireworks making a noise over at the Coca Cola arena.
Film-lovers, round up your friends; the fifteenth annual Manhattan Short Film Festival returns to the Astor in St Kilda, this October 3rd. Audiences here in Melbourne are invited to view and judge the ten international finalist films being shown, the results of which will be tallied along with the votes from other performances all around the world. Dutch offering A Curious Conjunction Of Coincidences, directed by Joost Reijimers, sees bad luck connect three men even though they all live in completely different centuries. Henrik M Dahlsbrakhan’s Norwegian short The Devil’s Ballroom takes viewers on a perilous arctic journey to the North Pole, as polar explorer makes a critical, life-changing decision. Inspired by the actions of his favourite comic book heroes, a young boy tries to save the day in director Tudor Giurgiu’s Romanian piece. Seven other finalist films from countries like the USA, Peru, Ireland and Russia will be shown too.
One great thing about the scorching summer is the music festival season. It is the time where Melbourne’s music lovers come out of winter hibernation and get ready to party – and this year is going to be no exception. Parklife is the first warm weather music festival to hit Melbourne's stages. The touring dance festival hits all major cities, with Melbourne set to dance the night away on Saturday, The line-up includes killer acts like The Presets (pictured), Passion Pit, Robyn and Chairlift, with a host of other international and national acts in support. Break out your summer clothes and your dancing shoes, summer music is here at last.
Hey Geronimo, the Frankenstein creation of Brisbane’s indie scene, is a mish-mash of assorted talents that have come together for the love of the catchy tune. The five-piece are assertively carving a name for themselves as an all-pop delight, one that demands to be sung along to in full voice. They will be taking their Special Best tour to The Workers Club for what is sure to be a wholly fun show that’s not to be missed. Along for the ride are special guests The Griswolds, who are equally as infectious with their dance-demanding beachy tunes. Together these bands will deliver a party packed with the unabashed enthusiasm their live shows are known for.
It might be a blazing stereotype of a nation and its people, but Italians are passionate. They know food, they know wine, they know love and, boy, do they know drama. For all of the above pictured on celluloid, head along to a Palace Cinemas late September and October for the Lavazza Italian Film Festival. This annual celebration of the creative talents of Italian filmmakers is always a sight to behold. Topping this year's fest is the comedy hit Welcome to the North (Benvenuti al nord), the sequel to Welcome to the South that won the Nastri d'Argento Award for Best Screenplay. Exclusive preview screenings of Woody Allen's new film, To Rome with Love, starring Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody himself (among a cast of other familiar faces) will also feature at the festival. Other standouts are Caesar Must Die (Cesare Deve Morire), which won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale, and the divorce comedy A Flat for Three (Posti in Piedi in Paradiso). Italian comedies are big and bawdy, dramas are dark and insular, and romances make you want to find the closest person and make sweet passionate love. Nothing is sedate; Italian films are always life on steroids in the best possible way, so make sure you don't miss this highlight of the international film calendar. Image from Welcome to the North.
So you've spent a week or so at the Festival of Live Art with your brian in overdrive. Artists are raising important issues and their work is embarking on new frontiers — time to forget about all of that and get your body involved in the process. This one-night event is exactly what it sounds like. Artists, DJs, and performers such as Ash Keating, Robin Fox, and Sisters Grimm will be cutting loose in the belly of the beast at Arts House with a sensory mash-up of art, lasers and good tunes. If you were looking for an opportunity to break out that sequinned leotard or acid green feather boa, this might well be it. This event was featured in our top ten things to see at the Festival of Live Art. See the full list here.
Like most FoLA events, Drift is less an artwork and more of an experience. Described as "a space for contemplation," the work itself is a dark room full of "twinkling single vessels" that offer audience members a space of tentative refuge. The work is then accompanied by music from Sydney-based creative Ashley Scott — a composition equal parts soothing and brooding that provides soundtrack to a work with obvious but important political undertones. This event was featured in our top ten things to see at the Festival of Live Art. See the full list here.
Good things are coming in big packages these days. White Night devoured the CBD whole last month, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is right around the corner, and in the meantime we've been offered up the very first Festival of Live Art — a behemoth of a thing bustling with new and exciting work that closes the increasingly ambiguous gap between art and theatre. In a joint venture between Arts House, Theatre Works and Footscray Community Arts Centre, the festival will take place at multiple venues over the two-week period, and better yet: most events are free. Take a look at the program and plan your full experience, or drift in and out of our top ten picks. If you're up for a challenge, get stuck into the whole list — a decathlon of sorts (for us artsy types). The Festival of Live Art runs from March 14 - 30. For more information including session times and ticketing, check the website.
There's something eternally interesting about Yoko Ono. It's got a little to do with her mind-bending artwork, a bit more to do with the fact that she's a raunchy eighty-one-year-old nutjob, and a lot to do with the fact that she may have single-handedly maybe kind of broken up The Beatles. The woman is so divisive her name can be used as a verb. 'Yo.ko (v) 1. to ruin a universally loved creative endeavour'. Awkward. Regardless, we can't get enough of her. Sydney had its fill earlier this year with the amazing War is Over! (If You Want It) exhibition at the MCA, and now Melbourne's getting their turn. From April 9 - 23, Mossgreen Gallery in Armadale will be hosting the Australian launch of her new book Infinite Universe at Dawn. Documenting her most important pieces of art and activism, the book will be available for purchase, and an accompanying exhibition of limited edition artworks will also be on show in the gallery. Of the new book, which documents her life of art and activism, Ono said: "Seeds of ideas, like pebbles, were raining through my life. Genesis Publications has captured those seeds and presented them to you here, for your observation, selection and experimentation, to make their destination entirely yours.” Okay Yoko, whatever you say. Various limited edition prints will also be available for purchase from the exhibition on show April 9 - 23. Check the Mossgreen website for more information.
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is one of those truly democratic moments in our city's cultural calendar. While the Melbourne Festival always seems a little high-end, and Melbourne Music Week is just a bit too hip, MICF is a place for all — from bogans watching Dave Hughes to hipsters hanging out at the Festival Club waiting to catch the latest show you totally haven't even heard about yet. This year's lineup is a strange one. Big international names have been replaced by a cast of familiar regulars and there's a much larger focus on local talent. This is a welcome move for an industry that doesn't get much love over the rest of the year, but a devastating blow for those of us who are still waiting for the likes of Louis CK to come down under. Regardless, check out our picks of the litter — from the most innovative internationals to the stuff that downright defies classification. See the MICF website for a full program and keep an eye on Concrete Playground for more coverage in the coming weeks.
It's not every day that you're invited to play squash in a gallery. But Nick Selenitsch's latest exhibition, Play, is not your average show. In a refreshing take on the traditional gallery setting, this Melbourne-based artist has created artworks that can be both played with and observed as abstract sculptures. From the minute you step into Shepparton Art Museum, you're invited to interact with the artworks, throw a squash ball around, limbo, and get all-round handsy. Using easily available materials, Play is an exciting series of commissioned sculptures that appear to be part game and part test. Guest-curated by Danny Lacy (ex-director of SAM and current director of Westspace), the exhibition consumes the ground floor of the gallery and the sculptural forms are reminiscent of sporting games, territories and demarcated spaces. To hear more about the works, you can hear Danny Lacy in conversation with Nick Selenitsch at the SAM Out Late! artists' talk on Wednesday, March 19. But if you like your exhibitions a bit more sporadic, just turn up any time and limbo in the name of contemporary art. Image: Nick Selenitsch, Hitting the Wall, 2006 (Installation view).
Think that voting is just about which political party you want in? Well 20 Questions is here to prove otherwise. The Wheeler Centre — known for its literary exploration, will take to the streets of Melbourne with polling booths asking Melbourne about the big issues that shape our shared experience. They will also delve into the more trivial. Think questions like 'If you had to choose, would you prefer non-fiction or fiction?'; 'Happy endings or sad ones?'; 'Are you a summer person or a winter person?'; 'Do you believe in individuality or community?'; 'Gratification or anticipation?'; 'Would you rather outlive your partner or be outlived?'; 'Which is worse: war or famine?'; 'Drowning at sea or indefinite detention?' You can follow online with the hashtag #20questions if you want a piece of the action. At the end of the day — just like election day — there will be an old-fashioned election party at Melbourne Town Hall to look at the results and invite us all to think about what this means for our society. Commentators George Negus, Sophie Black, Bernard Salt and Ray Martin will be on hand to discuss the many findings. It will be an evening of comedy, thought and of course, healthy debate.
Are you an excellent dinner host? Like, 'multiple forks by the plate' good? Well, consider this exhibition a little bit of decorative inspiration. To coincide with the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, the National Gallery of Victoria have searched far and wide for the most incredible tablewares from the past few hundred years. Including ceramics, glass, cutlery and silverware, organisers claim the most impressive feats are those between the sixteenth to eighteenth century. And of course, the French did it best. While speaking of the collection, curator Amanda Dunsmore even claimed a lot of the tablewares developed at the court of Louis XIV are still used on our tables today. As magical as that thought is, and how interesting the history may be, you'll no doubt feel a little inferior when you head home to your dinner table and cutlery a la Ikea.
Fun runs are often not that fun. Sure, they have events at the finish line, and a whole lot of people, but at the end of the day it’s just a run. Well, enter The Color Run. Founded as a way to promote happiness and health, this 5km run involves a serious amount of paint. The rules are simple. One: everyone is welcome; walkers, athletes and everything in between. Two: wear white. Three: get covered in different coloured paints along the way and return to the finish line a beautiful mismatch of colours. There will be a party at the beginning, one at the end and four colour zones. We dare you not to smile as you go. This year it will be a Grand Prix edition, taking place around the Albert Park lake. And to top off the good vibes, The Color Run gives back to charity, with over $1 million going to charities to date. Don a white t-shirt, and get the sneakers ready. It’s Colour Run time.
The Shadow Electric — your favourite providers of leisurely bliss — are stepping up their game on February 23 to bring you a Bill Cosby-themed table tennis tournament. Why Bill Cosby? Well, why not? Don't be a killjoy. The tournament will be for teams of two, and you can register here prior to the day. Alright, let's do this thing. For those not entirely sold on the premise of Cosby alone, there will also be live music from Matt Radovich, No Name Nath, Nam (The Operatives), Kuya (The Operatives) and Regan Tate. This is in addition to the regular presence of food trucks, nitrus oxide ice cream from Them Bones, and $15 jugs of Pimms — ingredients for the ultimate Sunday session. Entry to the tournament is just $5 per player and, aside from the obvious awards for winners, there will be also be prizes for 'Most Enthusiastic Player Entourage' and 'Best Dressed Team'. Our hot tip is the Cosby sweater — any and all of them, forever.
In past years it feels as if there's been a surge in the sub-genre of romantic comedies that revolve around the 20-something commitment-phobes. Generally they feature a host of characters more attractive than you, resisting relationships for the sake of engaging in meaningless sex. Or, the kind of films Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis did to flush the Oscar winning demons of Black Swan out of their psyches in 2011. Are We Officially Dating (released in the US as That Awkward Moment) can be lumped into this category, while also having a stab at bro comedy. The film follows Jason (Zac Efron), Daniel (Miles Teller), and Mikey (Michael B. Jordan), who after the failure of Mikey's marriage, make a pact to stay single as a gesture of solidarity. Unsurprisingly, all three violate the agreement. Whilst first-time filmmaker Tom Gormican has an admirable goal — to depict the clunky transition from dating to relationship from a male perspective — this film's insipid plot and unfunny jokes make it, dare I say, 94 minutes worth of 'awkward moments', It's essentially a male version of Sex in the City; they're snappy dressers and waltz around Manhattan, fuelling their crude humour with chai lattes. This brand of sex-positivism doesn't have the quite same punch when paired with stereotypical 'dudes' and such a flimsy premise. Venturing out of the PG13 paddle pool and into cinematic adolescence, Efron plays Jason, an apparently sharp-minded graphic designer working at a chic New York publishing house. In a feat of Don Draper-esque brilliance, he impresses a client by drawing an impromptu stiletto for a book cover. (Ah, of course. The essence of woman boils down to footwear. It's psychology 101, folks.) It's difficult to shirk the film's reductive and vacuous depiction of women. Aside from the trio 'rostering' girls to bone at appropriate intervals so they don't get attached, the female characters are poorly drawn. They merely function as narrative goalposts, as if to assure us that there is in fact, a point. Imogen Poots plays Ellie, Jason's humble, bookish and bohemian love interest. Whilst instinctively likeable, a scene in which she reveals her deepest desire — a ridiculously big house in the middle of Manhattan — feels like a contradiction of character. There's also a touch too many penis jokes. In fact, it feels as if scenes are set up specifically for the purpose of penis jokes. For example, when Jason misinterprets a dress-up party and arrives with a sex toy hanging from his fly, leading to much 'cock'tail punning. All in all, if you're planning on a Valentine's Day movie with your significant other, you may want to think about spending your money elsewhere. To impart the film's single slice of wisdom, "Relationships are about being there for the other person." https://youtube.com/watch?v=UrdI3zAnzno
Today, you might want to set aside some time to start plotting the quickest route from your work to Coburg, because Moreland Road's newly opened Stretched Pizza is dishing up free pizza from 5pm. From the same team behind foodie hot-spots like Pizza e Birra and Long Story Short (in Brunswick and Port Melbourne), Stretched has had locals salivating since opening its doors a few weeks ago, and today — Thursday, April 19 — it's celebrating by treating its first 100 customers to a few slices of pizza, on the house. This ain't your average pizza situation either. Here, expect fluffy hand-stretched bases, many carrying weird-yet-wonderful topping combinations and cheeky names to match. We're talking creations like The Hangover, with its burger-inspired mix of bacon, ground beef, ketchup, mustard and American cheddar, and The Un-Pho-Gettable, where Vietnamese soup meets pizza in a tasty explosion of steak, sprouts, Sriracha and Vietnamese basil. Other hits include the more traditional combo of mushroom, ham, artichokes and olives, and the Lobster With The Mobster, featuring garlic prawns and peas. Stretched is destined to win over the masses too, thanks to a hefty range of vegan and vegetarian options, and the gluten-free bases that come at no extra charge. A true pizza blessing. Stretched Pizza's opening party kicks off from 5–7pm on April 19, with one free pizza going to each of the first 100 customers through the door. After 7pm, all pizzas will be priced at $10 for the rest of the evening. Find it at 53 Moreland Road, Coburg. For more info, visit stretchedpizza.com.au.
In previous years, Queen Victoria Market's Winter Night Market has proved one of Melbourne's favourite midweek winter pastimes. But the long-running event unfortunately won't be entertaining anyone in 2021, with the event series getting the axe for the second year in a row. Yesterday, Wednesday, July 29, organisers announced that the Night Market's 2021 edition has been cancelled, citing the ongoing impact of COVID-19 restrictions. The move comes after the 2020 event was also canned due to the extended lockdown that shut Melbourne down for much of last winter. In a statement, the QVM team revealed that they had hoped to push ahead with this year's Night Market, but that the ongoing impacts of the state's two recent lockdowns had crushed those plans. "The current crowd limits and ongoing delays have made it too challenging to proceed at this time, a theme sadly seen right across the Melbourne events industry," the QVM crew explained. Organisers acknowledged the cancellation news would be a huge disappointment to the many people involved, but assured punters that the decision to pull the pin had not been made lightly. Prior to the pandemic, the event had become a firm fixture of Melbourne's winter calendar, running from June to August. It usually sees hordes of locals descending on the QVM's heritage sheds each week to cosy up with serves of mulled wine, listen to live tunes and eat their way through an array of global food stalls. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Queen Victoria Market (@vicmarket) While the Winter Night Market has been scratched, QVM organisers took to Instagram to hint they'll be making up for the loss with some other fun offerings later in the year. "We are working on some exciting new events and activations that will continue to celebrate the vibrancy and culture of Melbourne and our Market, and we look forward to sharing them with you all soon," the team explained. The Queen Victoria Market's Winter Night Market will no longer take place in 2021. For more details, see the QVM website.
Miley Cyrus has cancelled her trip to Australia, and her performance at this week's World Tour Bushfire Relief, due to health concerns surrounding COVID-19. The US pop star took to Twitter to make the announcement, saying the decision was made after recommendations from "local, state, federal and international authorities, including the Center for Disease Control". Cyrus also said she'll still be making a donation to help the victims of the bushfires, and that she'll be "back soon". https://twitter.com/MileyCyrus/status/1237210910835392512 As a result, the charity concert has itself been cancelled. All ticket holders will be contacted by Ticketek shortly and receive a full refund. World Tour Bushfire Relief was due to take over Lakeside Stadium on Friday, March 13, with country music star Lil Nas X (of 'Old Town Road' fame), Aussie pop duo The Veronicas and DJ Seb Fontaine also on the lineup. Money raised would've gone to the WWF Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund, and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal. Would Tour Bushfire Relief will no longer take place on Friday, March 13. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Flickr via Karina3094.
There's a chance your finances have gotten in the way of your love life before. Maybe you've just matched with a cutie on your dating app of choice, arranged a date then realised you're a little tight on cash, or maybe you've scheduled a night out with your partner before realising payday isn't for another week. Don't fret. Melbourne has an abundance of romantic date ideas that are bound to impress your date and your bank account at the same time. To help you out, we've rounded up some of the best free dates in Melbourne, while our friends at CommBank have gathered some handy money tips for when you're dating or coupled up. Here are five free activities to check out this spring — happy non-spending. Spender? Saver? See CommBank's tips on how to understand your and your date's financial similarities and differences. TAKE A BIKE RIDE ALONG THE MERRI CREEK Now you can be ride-or-die partners, literally. The Merri Creek runs from Clifton Hill to Reservoir and along it lies a cycling and walking trail, perfect for a mid-morning bike ride. Jump on the track wherever is convenient for you both, and head north towards Reservoir. It's around 20 kilometres from one end to the other, so decide how far you want to go (and how sweaty you want to get) then take off. Along the trail, you'll see all sorts of sites like wetlands, an amphitheatre, a velodrome, a drive-in cinema and, if you get all the way to Reservoir, unscathed native grasslands. Once you've done a loop, head back towards Fitzroy North and down through Yarra Bend park to come to the Abbotsford Convent. In spring, the convent gardens are heavy with the scent of flowers (which will help to cover up any BO issues) and are a wickedly romantic setting for a picnic. TEST YOUR POP CULTURE KNOWLEDGE TOGETHER Finally, all those nights spent binge watching Netflix are about to pay off. Book in a session of trivia at the Palace Hotel in Camberwell for you and your date on a Monday night. It's free to play, and the questions are based on all things TV and pop culture. You'll have to decide whether to bring friends and make it a group thing or go it alone, just the two of you against the world. If the latter, you'd better study up because the stakes are high. Every week there are prizes to be won, as well as a cash jackpot. So, if you can pull it off, you might even make a profit on this date and can treat yourselves to a decadent dinner feat. oysters. Now, wouldn't that be a story to tell your future grandkids? SPEND THE NIGHT SALSA DANCING Salsa isn't just a delicious topping for corn chips; it's also a delicious way to get up close and personal with your date. Every Wednesday and Thursday, you can book free salsa lessons with the Salsa Foundation and learn to dance together. You might not be any good, but it'll surely be memorable. Plus, it's a great way to see if there's physical chemistry between you and your date. The classes are for beginners — bumbling-two-left-feet-style beginners — so don't worry about looking silly. You only need to learn three or four moves before you can hit the floor and shake your groove thing. Classes are held on Little Collins Street in the CBD and you'll need to book ahead of time on the website. Remember to wear comfy shoes, bring a waterbottle and leave your inhibitions at the door. SMASH OUT 1000 STEPS You can learn a lot about your date by observing how they handle adversity, and conditions don't get more adverse than on the challenging 1000 steps. Drive out west to Ferntree Gully and head to the Picnic Ground to kick off this heart-racing date. It's exactly as advertised: 1000 steps upwards in a sharp 300-metre ascent. It's tough going (wear good shoes and take plenty of water) but the pay off is worth it. Firstly, all that huffing and puffing will get your feel-good endorphins flowing. Secondly, you know if your date is keen for this slog, they've got plenty of grit and determination. Third, and most importantly, the stunning rainforest views and sense of accomplishment you feel when you reach the summit will make sure it's a date you'll never forget. CATCH SOME FREE LIVE MUSIC The Old Bar is an iconic establishment on Johnson Street in Fitzroy. It's a musically agnostic place and has hosted every type of musician you can fathom; from intimate quiet gigs featuring solo crooners on guitar to fully kitted-out rock bands playing at high decibels and dancing on the bar, The Old Bar has seen it all. During the week, tickets range from $5 to $20 but, since we're all a little skint by the end of the week, Sundays are on the house. From 4pm every Sunday, you can catch a rotating selection of up-and-coming musicians for free. It's the perfect place to take a date, allowing you to talk as much or as little as you feel. And, while it's usually quite chill, if the band really gets going it can be the perfect place for an impromptu boogie together, too. Don't spend a cent on your next date with the above recommendations, or, even better, enter our comp and let us pick up the bill.
If you're loving what they've been dishing up at Frank Camorra's Bar Tini, you can now recreate some of the magic at home, with the addition of a new Spanish wine and produce shop inside the Hosier Lane tapas bar. It's a bricks-and-mortar version of the chef's online retail offering Alimentaria, which launched last year, stocked with a selection of his favourite Spanish wines and artisan products. While you'll still be able to browse the range online and have goodies delivered to your doorstep, visitors to Bar Tini will now have the option of picking up gourmet supplies on their way home from work, or after that lunchtime tapas session. The selection features plenty of products used throughout Bar Tini's own menu, including tinned sardines and anchovies — that are hard to find elsewhere in Australia — artisanal jamón, and a solid range of imported Spanish wines, from the Aguila Picaro tempranillo to the Cucu verdejo. Pop in for a montadito and sherry at the bar, and leave with a little piece of Spain in your shopping bag. Find Bar Tini and its new retail offering at 3-5 Hosier Lane, Melbourne.
After closing down its Daylesford location earlier this year and replacing it with the more casual Sakana, Kazuki's is opening the doors to its new restaurant — and bringing its Japanese fine dining from regional Victoria to Melbourne. Come Tuesday, November 20, Japanese born chef-patron Kazuki Tsuya and his wife and business partner Saori will launch Kazuki's in Carlton. It's a case of new surroundings, same approach for the flagship eatery, in a split-level site that'll seat 30 downstairs and 18 on the second floor. "Although the new restaurant will look very different, our team is focused on bringing the same soul of the original Kazuki's to its new home," says Kazuki. "The kitchen will be guided by the same philosophies and the same warm Japanese hospitality will be at the heart of everything that our guests experience when they visit." Design-wise, with a calm, serene feeling all part of the eatery's vibe, the interiors will feature timber screening, rich carpets and naturalistic lighting — and an overall colour palette that heroes grey with accents of Japanese elm, granite and leather. As for the menu, it continues the fusion of Japanese and European flavours that Kazuki's is known for, paying tribute to the chef's heritage as well as his French training. Kazuki himself steps into the role of executive chef, while Anthony Hammel (ex-Pei Modern, and a Daylesford Kazuki's alum) takes the position of the restaurant's head chef. Diners can expect dishes such as kingfish sashimi with buttermilk, finger lime, white soy and ginger, plus sea urchin with russet potato chips, beluga caviar and cultured cream. The Sher wagyu flank is cooked over coals, and comes with a smoked eel and port wine reduction — while desserts include a dark chocolate tart with gianduja ganache, hazelnuts and miso caramel, as well as yoghurt sorbet with yuzu and verbena curd, and Anzac biscuit crumbing. Five and seven course tasting menus with matched beverages are also available, as well as a four-course lunch on Sundays — and if you're heading by on a Friday and Saturday evenings, you won't be able to order a la carte. Japanese sake, whiskey and spirits feature on the drinks list, as does wine from Japan and Australia among a hefty international selection. Find Kazuki's at 121 Lygon Street, Carlton from Tuesday, November 20. It'll open for lunch from Friday–Sunday from 12pm and for dinner from Tuesday–Saturday from 6pm. Images: Peter Tarasiuk
Creativity comes in all shapes, sizes and colours, and South Yarra's new Creative Hub celebrates every last one of them. The brainchild of Melbourne creators Mads Francis and Sarah Darby, the space is a studio, library, gallery space and 'inspiration garden' all rolled into one and topped off with a pretty-in-pink fitout. The multi-faceted space is, however, only around for a short time, making its home within the Como Centre from September 8 to 28. Creative Hub is a visual feast, with its fairy floss colour palette and collection of interactive installations designed to work as a backdrop for some stellar Instagram content. Melbourne, prepare to see a whole lot of cascading pink balloons and unicorn heads on your feed over the next few weeks. It's also a place for upskilling, with a series of expert-led creative workshops — from classes in illustration or embellishing phone cases, to a session with social media guru Indianna Roehrich covering how to create the perfect Instagram feed. And to load up on yet more inspiration, see the gallery, decked out with Francis' and Darby's own illustrations, hit the creative library, or use the studio space to collaborate on something special with some fellow makers and shakers. Find Creative Hub at the Como Centre, Chapel Street, South Yarra from September 8–28.
If you fancy yourself a bit of a dumpling aficionado, then prepare to have your mind blown, as the Oriental Teahouse kitchen shows just how diverse these pillowy parcels of flavour can be. Join the South Yarra dumpling masters for dinner on Monday, April 3 as they unveil no less than 25 different dumpling creations — one for each year the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival's been kicking. Sample the gamut from classic to contemporary (chocolate dumplings, anyone?), with the option of matched drinks to wash them down.
The man behind two of the smartest, sweariest shows on television will come to Melbourne to speak about spin and satire in the world of modern day politics. Armando Iannucci is best known as the creator of two of the funniest political comedies in living memory: the BBC's The Thick of It and HBO's Veep. Both shows have been lauded for their uncomfortably accurate portrayal of contemporary politics. In fact, they're so accurate that Malcolm Turnbull even accidentally adopted one of Selina Myer's slogans during last year's federal election campaign. Whoops! Both shows also beloved among fans for having some of the most entertaining profanity ever uttered on television… and for very good reason. After opening the Sydney Writers' Festival, Iannucci will be at the Comedy Theatre on the evening of Wednesday, May 3 to speak in conversation with Tony Martin. Tickets are available now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUky4_A7Zw4
