Killing It starts with a pitch. It's the first of many because that's just life these days, the show posits. Adding another sitcom to his resume after The Office, Ghosted and his beloved Brooklyn Nine-Nine guest spots, Craig Robinson keeps his first name as a Miami bank security guard with big aspirations — if he can rustle up some startup funds. His vision: owning a saw palmetto farm and living the American dream, because he believed his dad back when he was told as a kid that hard work and perseverance always pay off in the USA. For $20,000, he plans to buy land in the Everglades, then sell the fruit to pharmaceutical companies, who'll use it in prostate medicines for the lucrative health market. First, Craig needs to convince his branch manager to give him a loan. So, when this new satirical series from B99 co-creator Dan Goor and executive producer Luke Del Tredici kicks off its ten-part first season, its lead is honing his spiel, certain he'll soon be rewarded for his efforts. But rejection comes quickly, bluntly and amid racist comments, all while someone who thwarts the rules waltzes in and nabs a rich payday. That's a contrast that Killing It repeats over and over, just like its slick speeches from ordinary people attempting to seize opportunities. The dreams seen are modest — not having to work nine different jobs is another — but there's always someone above them scheming or stealing their way to success, and being celebrated for it. Striving for a better life, styling yourself to meet society's expectations, getting brutally trampled down: that's Killing It. It's a perceptive and savvily funny series about aiming for a shiny future to escape the swampy present, but getting stuck slithering in a circle no matter what you try. Or, as Craig's low-level criminal brother Isaiah (Rell Battle, Superior Donuts) puts it after seeing his sibling's legitimate endeavours flail again and again, it's about how the world is "nothing but snakes all the way down". Capitalism breeds serpents eating each other's tales if they're lucky, and devouring their own if they're not, the show suggests. That said, Killing It is still very much a comedy, and sees kindness and camaraderie as the antidote to the reptilian status quo. If The Good Place was wholly set in Florida and followed down-on-their luck folks chasing glory by slaying pythons, this'd be the end result. What it takes to be a good person — and what the point of even trying is in a world that stacks the odds against most — is a question that working on B99 has inspired twice now, given that The Good Place also sprang from one of the cop-focused sitcom's co-creators. That shouldn't be surprising when the power afforded law enforcement in America has become a key subject of debate recently. For eight seasons, Goor helped conjure up warm-hearted laughs via the antics of likeable characters who belong to a highly privileged profession. Now, he's unfurling US society's stratifications by honing in on everyday people who sometimes find themselves on the other side of the line, and rarely by choice. Killing It's snakes are indeed literal, too, and a ladder to cash. After getting knocked back for the loan, Craig winds up in an Uber driven by Jillian (Claudia O'Doherty, Our Flag Means Death), a chatty Australian who makes a pitstop to casually swing a hammer at a python. It's a profitable business, she reveals. Also, there's a contest awarding $20,000 to whoever kills the most. Craig is reluctant to join in, but as more misfortune slinks his way, he soon has few other choices. Giving up on his dream isn't an option — and he's also desperate to show his ex-wife Camille (Stephanie Nogueras, Switched at Birth) and daughter Vanessa (Jet Miller, Young Dylan) that he's someone they can count on and be proud of. Clubbing critters and cutting into class inequalities mightn't seem an intuitive duo, but Killing It proves otherwise. Another of the series' crucial questions: what drives someone to spend their days wielding a nail gun at reptiles, or earning pittance for helping the ultra-rich avoid tax, or filming their snake-hunting exploits? The latter comes courtesy of fellow competition entrant Brock (Scott MacArthur, The Mick), who makes videos with his teen son Corby (Wyatt Walter, NCIS: New Orleans), has amassed a YouTube following of 150,000 viewers, and yearns for social-media stardom. He's Killing It's most cartoonish underdog, but also distills its essence perfectly. In a world where one-percenters and influencers reign supreme — getting away with their grifts scot-free, fetishising manual labour without dreaming of doing it, and treating the less financial as jokes, marks or pets — he's unashamed about diving in head first, but he's also constantly battling. Of course, Killing It doesn't offer up any insights that haven't been covered in other 'eat the rich' fare of late, such as The White Lotus, Squid Game and Succession. But staring clear-eyed at the divides that have become an accepted part of western existence, recognising the struggle for anyone who wasn't born wealthy or faked it till they made it, and giving the whole situation an astutely comic spin works devilishly well here nonetheless. It helps that the series knows when to lean into absurdity, when to let its tender heart beat loudly, and how much cynicism to wind into its tale. There's ludicrousness, kindness and bleakness in each and every episode, even if setting the show around the 2016 US election feels unnecessary. Robinson was bound to thrive in a comedy like this, and unpacks the swagger that's long been baked into his on-screen persona in the process. Always a delight to watch, Aussie comedian O'Doherty (Love, Sarah's Channel) is just as well-cast as the tireless but beleaguered Jillian, and gets most of the show's best lines and deepest moments along the way. They're an odd-couple duo, because Killing It eagerly draws upon a familiar formula, but their performances have plenty to say — and skewer — about simply trying to get by in unforgiving climes. It's no wonder, then, that it's easy to slide through and laugh along with the sitcom's snake-filled first season in one sitting, and to buy everything it's pitching. Check out the trailer for Killing It below: Killing It's first season is available to stream in Australia via Stan. Images: Alan Markfield/Skip Bolen/Peacock.
Yarraville's status as a well-kept secret might be largely done and dusted, but that doesn't mean the area has lost the charm or community vibe that made it so special in the first place. Once you've grown tired of the same old spots on Brunswick or Chapel streets, head west and check out Yarraville's slew of cafes, boutiques and design stores, which will offer you something new during your next shopping trip. To showcase the must-visit independent and family-run establishments making the west an area that can't be ignored, we've teamed up with American Express to bring you this handy guide so you can shop small in Yarraville. Making it even easier, all these small businesses will accept your American Express Card.
As Glen Huntly residents have long been aware, local café Workshop Brothers Specialty Coffee is a rare hybrid of both substance and style. The minimalist, super Instagram-worthy space belies some serious coffee know-how and the enterprise has been so successful — nestled out in the 'burbs as it is — that, in 2016, the team opened a second outpost in the heart of the CBD. You'll find its house blend, single origin and filter here. Along with excellent cups of joe, the cafe also sells its own beans, bottled cold coffees, a selection of pastries and doughnuts. Appears in: The Best Coffee Shops in Melbourne's CBD
We all know that video piracy is a crime and that we should pay for the music we are listening, too, but just how far we have come from 20th-century entertainment is not always present in our minds. Enter photographer Julia Solis and her new book Stages of Decay — a feat that took her across Europe and the US over a period of years to document over 100 disused and dilapidated theatres that once housed The Who, witnessed the cinematic events of their eras and were symbols of popular culture, cultural hubs and signifiers of Western affluence. The images tiptoe along that enticing line between nostalgia, beauty, decay — actually it is all very Tintern Abbey — and all those butterfly feelings that come up when we dream of days long gone. Solis sees the images as more experiential, as she told Flavorwire: "You want a one-on-one encounter with it, to open secret closets and fondle plaster and play with rusted machinery without your parents' interference. In a society that's increasingly controlled, monitored and publicised, a wild space like that can't help but have an incredible allure." Be sure to note the cars parked underneath the ornate ceiling of the old Michigan Theatre, and for the trivia buffs, it is now the parking lot for the new cinema. Circle of life?
If there's a question that no employee wants to hear from the person setting company agendas, pulling strings and signing paycheques, it's "what do we do?". In The Consultant, Regus Patoff (Christoph Waltz, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio) asks a variation of it early — "what do we make?" he queries at CompWare after he arrives amid grim circumstances. The mobile gaming outfit came to fame under wunderkind Sang (TV first-timer Brian Yoon), so much so that school groups tour the firm's office. Then, during the visit that opens this eight-part Prime Video thriller, a kid shoots and kills the company's founder. That doesn't stop Regus from showing up afterwards clutching a signed contract from Sang and spouting a mandate to do whatever it takes to maximise his legacy. Regus is as stern yet eccentric as Waltz has become known for — a suit- and tie-wearing kindred spirit to Inglourious Basterds' Hans Landa, plus Spectre and No Time to Die's Ernst Stavro Blofield. He first darkens CompWare's door in the thick of night, when only ambitious assistant Elaine Hayman (Brittany O'Grady, The White Lotus) and stoner coder Craig Horne (Nat Wolff, Joe vs Carole) are onsite, and he won't take no for an answer. There's no consultant job for him to have, Elaine tells him. There's no business to whip into shape, she stresses. By the next morning, he's corralling employees for an all-hands meeting and telling remote workers they'll be fired if they don't show up in-person within an hour, even if he proudly doesn't know what CompWare does — or care. Giving the small screen its latest moody and mysterious workplace nightmare, The Consultant adapts horror author Bentley Little's 2016 novel of the same name, but plays like Severance filtered through Servant. Similarities with the former come with the setting, tone and keep-'em-guessing setup, while commonalities with the latter arise from sharing creator Tony Basgallop. Both series kick off with a blow-in, unsettle a group already coping with tragedy and reorder their status quo with severe methods. Both lace the chaos that follows with nods towards the supernatural, and both ask what bargains we're willing to make — or not — to live the lives we're striving for. The Consultant hinges upon two ideas: the disdain all workers have for head honchos who slash and restructure without knowing the daily grind, bothering to understand it or even pretending to get to know their staff; and the lengths someone might be willing to go to, including what they may accept and overlook, to advance their own careers. Regus doesn't waste any time earning ire, whether through arbitrary firings — he claims one worker smells of "putrid fruit" — or by pitting his employees against each other to fight for a management office. But, as he sits in the top-floor suite still splattered with Sang's blood, he also accepts Elaine's self-given title bump to Creative Liaison and rushes Craig's new game into production. There's still plenty getting Elaine and Craig questioning, such as Regus' around-the-clock calls, the basement records room filled with invasive personal files that no one previously knew about, his sudden rule changes — one day, shoes are verboten — and how he whisks off Sang's visiting mother (Gloria John, Shifter), who actually now owns the company, but doesn't take her to her hotel or anywhere else she can be found. Elaine and Craig also have a romantic past to deal with, The Consultant's most obligatory narrative detail. Plus, Craig is preparing to marry the Catholic Patti (Aimee Carrero, Spirited), who isn't fond of his slacker vibe or his at-work friendships. And, there's a helluva mid-series night that involves a sky-high nightclub, a Russian model (Gena Heylock, Chicago Med) with prosthetic limbs and a wild car ride. The heavy splashes of red that colour The Consultant's opening titles and much of CompWare's office lighting aren't subtle. Neither is the "devil made me do it" excuse offered by Sang's boy killer or the soundtrack's use of Elvis Presley's '(You're the) Devil in Disguise'. But Basgallop excels at keeping viewers guessing about whether the diabolical events that come his characters' way have nefarious sources, or if they're as easily explainable via everyday details. His two currently streaming series are also masterclasses in using their confined settings — The Consultant steps beyond CompWare HQ rarely, like Servant and its Philadelphia brownstone — to bubble with unease. The Severance comparisons kick in again here, too, weaponising and satirising a tech company's look and feel, as well as its attitude and atmosphere. While O'Grady backs up her stellar turn opposite Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney in The White Lotus with another astute performance — and character — and Wolff conveys disaffected but driven with ease, The Consultant wouldn't be as quick a binge without Waltz. Quentin Tarantino has built two films around him, with both Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained winning the actor Oscars, and he's perfectly cast here. There's also a slipperiness to Waltz's involvement that matches Basgallop's fondness for the same trait. Viewers know exactly how the series' biggest-name star will play Regus and he doesn't disappoint, but that alone doesn't explain everything about the sinister character. As Waltz gets menacing and malevolent, and O'Grady and Wolff flit from shock to acquiescence and back again and again, The Consultant makes expected points about corporate culture, its cut-throat dynamics and increasingly 24/7 demands; the 21st-century employment landscape and its ruthlessness towards employees; and the engrained mindset that has everyone dutifully complying with authority. Familiar but still topical, sly, smart and shrewd: that's the thematic terrain the series traverses, and well. Try not to think of recent social-media moves when Regus starts throwing his weight around, for instance. Try not to ponder your own horrible bosses — yes, Waltz has played one before in Horrible Bosses 2 — and career pressure points, too. There's no point trying not to get drawn into this tense, suspenseful and slickly made series, however, which boasts Destroyer and Yellowjackets' Karyn Kusama among its directors, and lures in viewers as easily as addictive mobile games. Check out the trailer for The Consultant below: The Consultant streams via Prime Video.
Bluesfest experts already know that Iron & Wine will be folkify-ing Byron Bay come Easter 2014. But what they don't know (or haven't, until today, at least) is that the Texan singer-songwriter formally known as Sam Beam will be making headline appearances in Sydney and Melbourne. Since his last Australia tour, Iron & Wine has released two albums: the slick and poppy Kiss Each Other Clean (2011), which entered the US Billboard Chart at Number 2, and now, Ghost on Ghost. Representing yet another extension of Beam's creative repertoire, it combines '60s soul influences with dashes of '70s rock. Beam's idiosyncratic voice meets a punchy horn section, string flourishes and retro-style female harmonies. "As an artist, I think you should be exploring all the time," he told American Songwriter recently. "It's a transition in the way you think about your work. If your work is more about the process of working, then you are still in pursuit of good results, but the result is not where you get your satisfaction. It's the process — the process of exploring and doing." Iron & Wine will play the Sydney Opera House on April 22 and Melbourne's Forum Theatre on April 23. Tickets are available via Handsome Tours' website. Photo by Craig Kief.
Could 2011 be the year of the infographic? They're all over the internet: eye-popping visuals which make sense of complex data sets through bright colours and great typography choices. In a world where information bombardment is enough to make your head spin, infographics are bringing order to the chaos of endless facts and figures. Perhaps the logic of the infographic could be applied to the design of nutrition labels, another daily dose of confusing percentages, milligrams, serving sizes and calorie counters. US magazine Good has teamed up with the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism's News21 project, inviting designers to rethink food labelling. Their instructions? "Redesign the food label. Incorporate the existing nutrition facts and calorie counts. Or reimagine a label entirely based on food quality, food justice, or lesser-known chemosensory characteristics. Consider a food's carbon footprint or its cultural significance. Above all, make the redesigned label informative, instructive, and memorable." Enter the competition before July 1 and use your design skills to inspire better food and nutrition literacy. [Via Good]
As the arts and entertainment industry continues to climb back to its previous heights following the devastation brought by COVID-19, a welcome addition of $125 million is set to be injected into the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) fund. The extra funding was announced today, Thursday, March 25, and is aimed at supporting "around 230 projects and up to 90,000 jobs". While a further $10 million will be added to the charity Support Act, aimed at providing crisis support to artists and other workers across the creative sector. The $125 million will be available until Friday, December 31, 2021, and will effectively triple the size of the original commitment of $75 million from the government, raising the total amount of funding available to $200 million. The initial funding has already been put to good use, with Sydney's Hamilton, Melbourne's Harry Potter stage show, Tasmania's Dark Mofo and Byron's Bluesfest all scoring $1 million each. RISE has also helped fund a slew of COVID-safe music events including Next Exit, Fresh Produce and Summer Sounds. [caption id="attachment_789711" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hamilton. Image: Joan Marcus via Destination NSW[/caption] Federal Arts Minister Paul Fletcher names RISE as a driving force behind the creative industry's economic resurgence as venues re-open and shows are booked in. "Our focus has turned to stimulating activity so the work opportunities can flow," Minister Fletcher said in a statement. "This new funding comes at an important stage in the resurgence of Australia's arts and entertainment sector. The purpose of the RISE program is to get shows put on, bringing employment to performers, crews and front-of-house staff." The government has also updated RISE's program guidelines to make it easier for businesses and organisations to access the funding, and to encourage projects from as low as $25,000 to apply (the bar was previously set at a minimum of $75,000 for funding applications). Find out more about the RISE fund here. Top image: Frankies by Katje Ford.
Carnegie, your Instagram brunch prayers have officially been answered. Major Mitchell Café has opened its doors on Grange Road, and it's very, very pink. Long-time locals will recognise this place as the old 1950s Glen Huntly post office, which has been given the traditional influencer décor makeover: bright pink door, pink-flecked terrazzo bar, pink floral arrangements, blushing pink walls and pink cocktails flying off the pass. This is the latest venture from sister duo Katie Devic and Melissa Glentis, who started their wholesale brand, Daly St Coffee Roasters, during Melbourne's lockdown (or one of Melbourne's lockdowns, anyway). No prizes for guessing which beans are running through the white San Remo espresso machine. In fact, you can taste your way through the whole Daly St range at Major Mitchell, including the girls' signature 'Candy Shop' blend, aka "the coffee version of a strawberry milkshake." Food-wise, head chef Daniel Ricardo Reyes Diaz is pulling influences from pretty much everywhere: polenta and truffled mushrooms from northern Italy, smoked lamb shoulder with celeriac skordalia from Greece, Pina Colada ice-cream on waffles from, well, our daydreams. The general theme is bright, eye-catching plates and big, rock-em sock-em flavours. Anything that pairs well with a boozy Orange Garden Spritz. Claudia Bradar from The Renovate Avenue has done a cracking job with the interiors here, and Major Mitchell should draw a steady stream of young families, southside foodies and Brighton influencers. There's even a private Champagne Room that seats up to 15 people. Find Major Mitchell at 122 Grange Road, Carnegie. It's open 7:30am-3pm Monday to Friday, and 8am-3pm on weekends.
Ever since the Mulberry Group (Hazel, Dessous, Lilac Wine, Liminal, Common Ground Project and Heidi Kitchen) announced it was opening two new venues in Abbotsford, we've been impatiently waiting to try them both out. That's because the team behind the new spots — named Molli and Little Molli — are absolute pros who've been at the forefront of Melbourne's hospo scene for decades. Even though he doesn't own them now, The Mulberry Group's founder Nathan Toleman started up Three Bags Full, Top Paddock, The Kettle Black and Higher Ground. These were and continue to be some of Melbourne's best brunch spots. Hazel also makes our list of the best restaurants in Melbourne, Dessous is one of the city's top bars, and Lilac Wine makes a strong case for our favourite Melbourne wine bar. With such impeccable credentials, the expectations for Molli and Little Molli are incredibly high. And the Mulberry Group seems to have absolutely delivered with both. Little Molli is a neighbourhood deli and cafe, open from 8am–5pm every day of the week and serving a regularly rotating selection of loaded sandwiches on To Be Frank focaccia and ciabatta, fresh pastries from Backhaus Bakery, as well as coffee from Square One Coffee Roasters. Cured meats, cheeses and a huge spread of antipasto goodies fill the deli cabinet, for you to take home or have in — either on one of the tables inside or out on the tree-lined street. Mini martinis and wines will be even available for those seeking to fashion their own aperitivo sessions. Right next door, Molli serves bigger bistro-style meals alongside a stacked drinks menu. Former Hazel Head Chef and Abbotsford resident Aleksis Kalnins is running the kitchen here, plating up contemporary Australian fare. Plenty of produce is sourced from the building's own rooftop garden, as well as the group's regenerative farm in Freshwater Creek. The menu heavily features snacking plates like pork neck skewers with date pûrée, potato rosti with sour cream, smoked eggplant with chickpea miso and seaweed crackers with mushroom ketchup. You can come in for a little sip and snack session with these or dive into the more substantial dishes. Two pastas — made fresh on-site every morning — will always feature on the menu, plus there'll be wagyu rump steak, whole alpine trout with horseradish and pork crackling, spatchcock with preserved lemon and Portarlington mussels with nduja. Kalnins is big on technique but is keeping deceptively simple at Molli. Instead of overloading a dish with ingredients, only a few thoughtfully selected ingredients will feature in each playful but approachable dish. Kayla Saito — the brains behind Hazel's and Dessous' ever-changing beverage lineup — has designed a drinks list that's described as "relaxed but thoughtful", with a deep sustainability ethos. Saito collaborates closely with the kitchen when formulating the funky tipples, which celebrate small-batch, local spirits. The cocktail menu includes a rotating offer of seven cocktails in core styles — such as a spritz, a sour and a house martini — as well as seven zero-proof alternatives like water kefir and kombucha. Punches served in vintage bowls are also available for groups. The wine list, which comes courtesy of Andre Magneklint (ex-Bahama Gold and Old Palm Liquor), showcases a broad yet accessible selection of vinos. You'll find familiar varietals from well-known regions as well as plenty of hidden gems that you're unlikely to have tired before. Craft spirits and draught beer from Clayton's Two Rupees round out the stacked drinks lineup at Molli. And to set the vibe within the bistro and bar, the team has enlisted the help of local record store Dutch Vinyl to curate a monthly-changing vinyl soundtrack. But cue the steak knives, because that's not all. Between the two venues sits a private dining room, plus there's a large rooftop space that can also be booked for private events. The rooftop has its own bar and kitchen, making it primed for summertime parties in Abbotsford. Abbotsford locals should be rejoicing now that they've scored Molli and Little Molli, and everyone else should rightfully be jealous. You'll find Little Molli at 66 Nicholson Street, Abbotsford, open from 8am–5pm every day of the week. And Molli is located next door at 20 Mollison Street, Abbotsford, open 5–11pm on Wednesdays, 12–11pm from Thursday–Saturday, and 11.30am–5pm on Sundays. For more information, visit the venues' website. Images: Tim Harris and Kristoffer Paulsen.
If you haven't been to Barrington Tops, a lush NSW getaway spot four hours north of Sydney, then lose no time in making it your next vacay spot. Verdant greenery, intrepid trails to explore, beautiful native flora and fauna, and plenty of adventurous activities make Barrington Tops the ultimate underrated getaway spot, whether you're going with your significant other, your whole family or a big group of mates. Okay, so we know we're spoiling it a bit by writing about it, but we just couldn't keep this one to ourselves. To help streamline the plethora of awesome things to see and do in the region, we've teamed up with Wild Turkey to bring you a few of our faves. [caption id="attachment_843191" align="alignnone" width="1920"] MidCoast Water (Flickr)[/caption] TAKE A BUSH WALK THROUGH THE WORLD HERITAGE-LISTED BARRINGTON TOPS NATIONAL PARK You simply cannot go to this part of the world without checking out the massive national park for which it is perhaps best known. There's a lot of ground to cover — literally — so we recommend doing an overnight hike to explore this diverse terrain. The best way to see as much as you can is to start on the Gloucester River walking track, where you'll see the majestic namesake river (pictured above), gullies and impressive views as well as all manner of native wildlife. Make sure you pack lunch and something to swim in, as you'll have access to idyllic spots for riverside picnics and river swims along the way, too. Spend the night surrounded by ancient rainforest in the Gloucester River campground and set off the next morning on the Sharpes Creek walking track, where you can spot platypus and eastern water dragons. If you're pressed for time (or don't love the idea of camping overnight in the bush), then there are a number of tracks you can easily complete in the space of a day or less. [caption id="attachment_843945" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Elliot Kramer[/caption] CHALLENGE YOURSELF ON THE CORKER TRAIL If you fancy yourself a bit more of an adventurer, tackle the Corker trail, a challenging walking track recommended for experienced bushwalkers only that runs all the way from the Lagoon Pinch picnic area right across to Careys Peak on the Barrington Plateau. Be warned, it's not called the Corker for nothing, so expect a pretty tough slog through challenging terrain. It's well worth it at the end, though, as you'll be rewarded with a scenic lookout over the snow gums, swamps and wide open grass plains of the Barrington Plateau for a view that will leave you as breathless as the hike did, if not more. The hike will also take you by Wombat Creek campground, a perfect spot to set up camp and spend a night under the stars. [caption id="attachment_843943" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Elliot Kramer[/caption] TAKE A 4WD TRIP TO THE REMOTE GUMMI FALLS CAMPGROUND High in the sub-alpine region you'll find the remote Gummi Falls Campground, which is well and truly out there in the wild. You'll need to take a 4WD to access this untamed, natural bit of country, but don't worry, there are barbecue facilities and toilets once you're there. Spend your day mountain biking or horse riding through the many trails that surround the bewitchingly beautiful region, and try to spot elusive native fauna like the long-nosed potoroo, spotted-tail quoll and powerful owl. If you fancy a different angle, drop a line in the crystal clear Manning River, known for its abundant supply of freshwater bass. [caption id="attachment_843187" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Doug Beckers (Flickr)[/caption] MOUNTAIN BIKE ALONG THE BARRINGTON TRAIL If you've read this far, you may have already surmised that Barrington Tops is a great spot for mountain biking — and the vast array of rugged terrain and beautiful scenery are arguably even better experienced on two wheels. While you're spoilt for choice in terms of which path to take, we recommend starting with the Barrington trail, a well traversed dirt and gravel road spanning nearly 15 kilometres and, running from Mount Barrington past Brumlow Top and on to Polblue Mountain. On this trail, you'll have access to incredible views, a diverse spread of forest habitats and perfect mountain air. [caption id="attachment_843949" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Elliot Kramer[/caption] TACKLE THE BLUE GUM LOOP TRAIL, AND COOL OFF WITH A DIP IN A SECLUDED RIVER AFTERWARDS The idyllic Blue Gum Loop trail runs alongside a pristine river and showcases some of the region's finest plant life — the trail is named for the towering blue gum trees that dominate the landscape here and bestow this place with an ethereal beauty. Immerse yourself in their majesty on a leisurely 3.5-kilometre looped trail, which will give you a bird's-eye view of the cascades of the stunning Williamson River from a high steel span bridge, easily accessible from the walk. There's a great spot to stop for a picnic at Fern Creek cascades, and, if you're feeling a bit hot after all that walking, wander down one of the many short detours to find a secluded spot by the riverbank to cool off with a refreshing dip. [caption id="attachment_843198" align="alignnone" width="1920"] MidCoast Water (Flickr)[/caption] GO WHITE WATER KAYAKING ON THE BARRINGTON RIVER RAPIDS If you're chasing more of a thrill from nature, check out the white water kayaking along the surging rapids of the mighty Barrington River. Fed by the pristine, fresh waters that run from Barrington Tops, these rapids rush after periods of heavy rainfall, when the river swells to cover ground it ordinarily wouldn't. Kayaking and rafting tours are readily available, but are subject to rainfall prior, so keep an eye on the weather and get booking when the rain falls. [caption id="attachment_843189" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Russell Street (Flickr)[/caption] TAKE IT ALL IN FROM ONE OF THE REGION'S MANY LOOKOUTS With all of this natural beauty surrounding you, it can be hard to get a sense of the region as a whole. So it's definitely worth your while to check out one, if not several, of the many scenic lookouts that offer an all-encompassing view of this stunning landscape. Devils Hole lookout sits at an altitude of 1400 metres and offers breathtaking views of the dense forestry and undulating mountains beyond. The nearby, and epically titled, Thunderbolts lookout showcases the gorgeous plateau region between Scone and Gloucester, dense with Antarctic beech trees and moss-covered forest floors. Elsewhere, Careys Peak is at the end of an invigorating walking track that will take you through heavily wooded country before giving way to a peak in the Williams Range, where you can survey the ground you've just traversed from a cracking lookout spot. Find out more about Wild Turkey's Discovery Series at the website. Top image: Russell Street (Flickr)
Thirty-four-metres long, more than twice as big as a regular hot air balloon and ripped straight from Patricia Piccinini's inimitable mind, Skywhale might just be one of Australia's most recognisable recent pieces of art. It's a sight to see, and the largest-scale example of the artist's fascination with the thin line that separates nature and technology — and it's about to meet its match. In 2020, the National Gallery of Australia will unveil Piccinini's new Skywhalepapa, which is designed to form a family with Skywhale. They'll both float through the Canberra skies from March, with the second bulbous sculpture commissioned as part of the gallery's Balnaves Contemporary Series. In total, the pair will take flight from a site near the NGA eight times during the nearly three-month Skywhales: Every Heart Sings exhibition, with the exact launch dates yet to be revealed. [caption id="attachment_751759" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Skywhalepapa, 2019/20 (artist's sketch), Patricia Piccinini. Courtesy of the artist.[/caption] Just how big Skywhalepapa will be is also yet to be announced, but given the impressive size of its companion, expect it to be hefty. If you can't make it to Canberra to see the growing Skywhale clan, they will also tour the country for an NGA touring exhibition, with locations and dates to be confirmed at a later date. While both Skywhalepapa and the Skywhales: Every Heart Sings exhibition will be big Canberra drawcards for the NGA next year, that's not all that the gallery has in store. In fact, it'll also welcome another incredibly famous artwork before the year is out: Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers. The 231-year-old piece will arrive in November 2020, displaying during the four-month-long Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London exhibition. In total, more than 60 works from European masters will line the NGA's walls, including Rembrandt's Self-portrait at the age of 34 from 1640 and Johannes Vermeer's A young woman seated at a virginal from 1670 — and most of them have never before travelled to Australia. [caption id="attachment_751757" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sunflowers, 1888, Vincent van Gogh. National Gallery London; Bought, Courtauld Fund, 1924.[/caption] Art lovers can also look forward to Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now, which'll shine a spotlight on the nation's female creatives across more than 150 works; Belonging: Stories of Australian Art, a major collection of 19th-century Aussie pieces; a six-month focus on Chinese artist and activist Xu Zhen; and The Body Electric, a showcase of works by female-identifying creatives that are all about sex, pleasure and desire. Or, you can ponder the evolution of contemporary art with The Shock of the New and see a large-scale installation by the Tjanpi Desert Weavers. Skywhales: Every Heart Sings runs from March 7–May 30, 2020 at the National Gallery of Australia, Parkes Place East, Parkes, ACT. For further information about the NGA's 2020 lineup, visit the gallery's website. Top image: Skywhale, 2013, Patricia Piccinini. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Gift of anonymous donor 2019, Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
When New Zealand comedy Nude Tuesday hits screens Down Under this winter, it'll be business time. Despite what star Jemaine Clement has sung in Flight of the Conchords, however, few folks on-screen will still be wearing their socks. Birthday suits are the preferred attire here, as made plain in the new movie's name. It does follow an unhappy couple who are gifted a trip to a remote couples' retreat to help save their marriage — a spot where getting in the buff often is recommended — after all. Playing that duo: fellow NZ treasure Jackie van Beek, who co-starred with Clement in What We Do in the Shadows, and Australian The Tourist actor Damon Herriman. And no, the latter isn't portraying Charles Manson, as he did in both Mindhunter and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Laura and Bruno, the pair's characters, find scenic sights awaiting at their mountainside getaway — and also Clement as Bjorg Rassmussen. Laughter workshops, tantric dance, sexual liberation and emotional animals all pop up, too, as does baring all to truly work out how they are. See: the just-dropped and very funny trailer. All that flesh, and that cast, is one reason that Nude Tuesday stands out. The other: it's entirely spoken in a made-up language. The cast improvised gibberish as they filmed, and British comedian and writer Julia Davis (Camping) then came up with the subtitles for the movie afterwards. There was a script behind the narrative, though — penned by van Beek, who also co-wrote and co-directed fellow NZ comedy The Breaker Upperers. Here, van Beek came up with the story with filmmaker Armağan Ballantyne (The Strength of Water), who is on helming duties. New Zealanders will be able to see how it all turns out in cinemas on June 16, while Nude Tuesday hits Australian cinemas on June 23 — and will also stream in the latter via Stan from July 7. In Australia, multiple versions of the movie will make their way to streaming, including one subtitled by Aussie comedians Celia Pacquola and Ronny Chieng. Check out the Nude Tuesday trailer below: Nude Tuesday opens in New Zealand cinemas on June 16, in Australian cinemas on June 23, and will stream via Stan in Australia from July 7.
Mozzie repellent really puts a dampener on any summer BBQ. Literally. It's potent and poisonous stench clings to your clothing and gives your skin a sickly sticky glow. It's helpful, sure. We'd much rather have this slight inconvenience than let evil little bugs suck our blood and keep us up all night itching. But now someone has given us the best of both worlds. This new beer carton, a staple at any summer fun you were already having, also functions as a mosquito repellent. Conceived by Australian creative company GPY&R, this cardboard beer carton is currently on a limited run in Papua New Guinea. Made for SP Lager, a brand owned by Heineken, the cardboard casing is laced with eucalyptus oil to keep mozzies at bay. To unleash the full effect, the box must be burned — an easy feat for the PNG locals who often drink around bonfires. For them, mozzie repellent is much more than an annoying afterthought. Malaria is an enormous problem in the area and there are up to 1.8 million suspected cases reported each year. "If we're honest, we're not going to solve malaria with cartons of beer but we are going to raise awareness of the issue," said GPY&R manager Phil McDonald. Though the boxes have been launched as a limited edition item in PNG, those behind the project say they haven't ruled out the possibility to launching the product in Australia. "We're not as liberal with the burning of fires as our friends in PNG. We'd have to get the innovation hat on and think of something different, but it's not out of the realms of possibility," McDonald said. I think we speak for the rest of Australia when we say, yes please absolutely do that. Summer is sneaking up on us, we're staying out later and drinking a few more beers. Our concerns are absolutely first-world problems (especially when compared to those facing the very real threat of malaria) but we'd really like our skin to remain unbitten this year. Plus, it's always nice to have a valid excuse to buy a slab. Via Good Food.
Finding a drink to match the place you're in hasn't been too hard in recent years. For folks in Sydney, two different types of gin have paid tribute to the Sydney Opera House. For people in Melbourne, there's a juniper spirit that nods to St Kilda live music institution The Espy. And Brisbane scored its own themed gin, too. They're just some examples — and now Jetstar, of all companies, is serving up four more. Having a tipple to celebrate turning 18 is the done thing, after all. Yes, the discounted Australian airline has come of age, and it's hosting a two-day birthday flight sale to mark the occasion. But, once you've bought cheap fares, you can also say cheers to your trip — or just in general — by knocking back a few sips from Jetstar's new hard seltzer range. The boozy beverage line is a collaboration with 'Ray, the Hop Nation crew's hard seltzer side hustle. Obviously, a Melbourne-themed seltzer is on the menu — and it somehow tastes like a deconstructed cafe latte. If you're not so fond of the idea of coffee-flavoured seltzer, the other options include a coconut, fairy floss and sea salt number for the Gold Coast; mulled wine, cloves and cinnamon for Queenstown; and rambutan, soursop and hibiscus for Bali. The four tipples are also meant to exude a particular vibe that reflects their cities of inspiration — so urban vibes for Melbourne, good times for the GC, adventure for NZ and balmy nights for Bali. Or, maybe take that as advice on where and when to knock back said drinks, since who knows what "urban vibes" taste like. If you're keen to give the seltzers a sip, you'll have to nab some online via the 'Ray website. They'll be available from Tuesday, May 17 — and because they're a limited-edition affair, getting in quickly is recommended. Jetstar's Bali, Gold Coast, Melbourne and Queenstown seltzers will be available to purchase online from Tuesday, May 17.
If you're a bit wary of technology's ever-growing influence in humanity's daily lives — be it artificial intelligence, streaming algorithms, social media, drones, augmented reality or online dating, to name just a few examples — then Charlie Brooker and Black Mirror might be one of the reasons. Since 2011, they've been spinning dystopian nightmares about what might happen as tech evolves. In plenty of cases, they've been satirising and interrogating innovations we use today, and what their next step might be. Yes, that makes Brooker the perfect speaker to get chatting at SXSW Sydney. Just days after the tech, innovation, screen, music, games and culture festival added Chance The Rapper to its list of headliners at its first-ever event outside of the US — celebrating 50 years of hip hop — it has now announced that Black Mirror creator Brooker is on his way to Australia as well. He'll hit Sydney during Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22 as part as a stacked lineup that also includes Coachella CEO Paul Tollett, Queer Eye star Tan France and Future Today Institute founder and CEO Amy Webb among its big names. [caption id="attachment_917939" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Netflix[/caption] "Having to quickly provide a personal quote for a press release about how excited I am to join the inaugural Sydney-flavoured SXSW event is exactly the sort of thing ChatGPT is for, but I've written this one myself because I still care about our species, dammit," said Charlie Brooker in a statement announcing his trip Down Under. "Although I initially misspelt 'inaugural' just then until I got corrected by a machine, so actually maybe we're just rubbish." "This tense love-hate relationship with technology is what Black Mirror is all about. That and stories about Prime Ministers and pigs. Anyway, I can't wait to attend and get so cowed by all the creativity and innovation on display that I go home feeling depressed and inadequate. I'm genuinely looking forward to it," Brooker continued. [caption id="attachment_917938" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Netflix[/caption] "SXSW Sydney seeks to offer unique perspectives of the future, making Charlie Brooker an ideal speaker for our event," added SXSW Sydney Managing Director Colin Daniels. "Black Mirror consistently leads the cultural conversation on what we face in the now or may confront in our future, offering a chance for reflection and change. Charlie embodies what attendees can expect from SXSW Sydney: creativity and innovation." Also on the SXSW Sydney lineup so far: a 700-plus strong bill of talent, covering over 300 sessions. The event will feature more than 300 gigs across 25 venues, too, and has been dropping its music highlights and must-attend parties since earlier in 2023. Its dedicated gaming strand will include a tabletop game expo. And, the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival will open with The Royal Hotel, and host the world premiere of Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles. The entire event — the festivals within the bigger fest, exhibitions, talks, networking opportunities and streetside activations — will happen within a walkable precinct in the Sydney CBD, Haymarket, Darling Harbour, Ultimo, Chippendale and more, with the SXSW Sydney's footprint operating as a huge hub. Venues named so far include Powerhouse Museum, ICC Sydney, UTS, Central Park Mall, the Goods Line Walk, The Abercrombie and Lansdowne Hotel. [caption id="attachment_911084" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jane Greer[/caption] SXSW Sydney will run from Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22 at various Sydney venues, with the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival running from Sunday, October 15–Saturday, October 21 at The ICC's Darling Theatre, Palace Cinemas Central and more venues to be announced. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Charlie Brooker images: Michael Wharley. If you're keen to make the most of Australia's first SXSW, take advantage of our special reader offer. Purchase your SXSW Sydney 2023 Official Badge via Concrete Playground Trips and you'll score a $150 credit to use on your choice of Sydney accommodation. Book now via the website.
"Didn't seem fair on the young lad. That suit at the funeral. With the braces on his teeth, the supreme discomfort of the adolescent." That's how what just might be your favourite new novel of 2024 starts. The book in question? Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. The acclaimed Irish author, who previously penned Conversations with Friends, Normal People and Beautiful World, Where Are You, will release her fourth tome on Tuesday, September 24, 2024. It arrives three years after her last, which also hit three years after Normal People. And if you're already wondering if it will get the TV treatment, as Normal People did first — and made everyone obsessed with Paul Mescal in the process — then Conversations with Friends, it's obviously too early to answer that. Cross your fingers, though. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Faber Books (@faberbooks) Intermezzo will follow two brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek, as they're grieving the loss of their father's death. The former is in his 30s and a successful Dublin lawyer, but turns to medication to sleep to cope with his loss. The latter is 22 and plays chess competitively. Peter also has complicated bonds with two women, his first love Sylvia and college student Naomi — which will sound familiar to Rooney fans — while Ivan meets the older Margaret not long after his dad's passing. "For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude — a period of desire, despair and possibility — a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking," says the official blurb for the book. "Intermezzo is a story of brothers and lovers, of familial and romantic intimacies, of relationships that don't quite fit the conventional structures," explains Alex Bowler, the book's publisher at Faber & Faber in the UK. "After three miraculous books, Sally Rooney's millions of readers will recognise the beauty and insight, the pain and hope that radiates from this new novel. But it marks an exquisite advance, too, in the work of a writer who seems so attuned to our lives, our hearts and our times." [caption id="attachment_842444" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Enda Bowe/Hulu[/caption] Intermezzo will be published on Tuesday, September 24, 2024. For further details, head to publisher Faber & Faber's website. Images: Normal People / Conversations with Friends.
For eight years now, being in the room where it happens has been the only thing that's mattered in musical theatre. Back in February 2015, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton officially opened off-Broadway. By July the same year, it was previewing on Broadway itself. The rest is Tony-, Grammy-, Olivier-, Drama Desk- and Pulitzer Prize-winning history — including a stint in Australia since March 2021, starting in Sydney, then playing Melbourne and now treading the boards in Brisbane. Anyone lucky enough to be in the room where Hamilton has been happening — and everyone who has watched the smash-hit show in its filmed form, too, courtesy of a recording from 2016 that's been streaming on Disney+ since 2020 — has experienced a phenomenon. They've also enjoyed a crash course in American history, no matter where they're from or where the musical is playing. That's always been part of the excitement for Miranda, who made the trip to Australia over the weekend of Saturday, March 4–Sunday, March 5 to be in the room where the Aussie production's Brisbane leg is happening, much to the delight of Sunshine State audiences. "My kind of dirty secret answer is we don't know much about American history in America," Miranda advised at a press conference to discuss the show. "I didn't learn any of this. All I knew about Hamilton when I picked up that book was that the dude was on the $10 bill. I knew his son died in a duel because I wrote a report about him in my junior year. I knew his son died in a duel and that he died in a duel in nearly the same spot three years later." Miranda is talking about American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, of course, and about the Ron Chernow-penned 2004 non-fiction book about him that Hamilton is based on. After finally seeing the Australian show, which features Jason Arrow as Alexander Hamilton — the role Miranda originated — the acclaimed talent chatted through the musical's beginnings, its commitment to diversity, his songwriting process and more at a Brisbane press conference. STEPPING BEYOND WELL-KNOWN US HISTORY — AND CHALLENGING WHOSE STORIES GET TOLD Most folks don't take someone they've vaguely heard of at school and turn their tale into the biggest musical of the 21st century. Miranda isn't most folks, clearly. Armed with exactly that amount of knowledge, Miranda began to adapt Chernow's book, a process that took seven years. At its centre: the Caribbean-born "bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman", with Miranda's musical charting Hamilton's impact upon America from his arrival in New York in the early 1770s. As the show's opening number explains, Hamilton went on to become "the ten-dollar Founding Father without a father" — and also "got a lot farther by working a lot harder, by being a lot smarter and by being a self-starter". Bringing that tale to the stage wasn't just about picking a figure from US history and unpacking their tale, though, but also about exploring whose stories get told. "One of the secret ingredients in the recipe is my excitement in the fact that not a lot of people knew this story — at least, this is not a story I learned. We got a few highlights, but we didn't learn this story in our AP history classes. And so, I think that the story is just a compelling one, and I think one of the central themes in it is which stories get told and which don't depending on who survives us," Miranda noted at his Brisbane press conference. "And their reputations rise and they fall because people are complicated. There are no heroes or villains in this piece, there's just really flawed people making a really flawed country." "It's funny, the emails I would get when we first opened were always 3am emails. They weren't like 'thank you, I like your show, thank you for inviting me'. They were like 'what am I doing with my life?'. Because when you have a show that documents several lives over the course of many years, it makes you ask your own questions. And I think that's the secret also — it starts as being this very specific history piece, but it really invites you to think about what kind of legacy you'll leave." CREATING OPPORTUNITIES AND CHAMPIONING DIVERSITY Hamilton doesn't just question who gets immortalised in history, who becomes a mere footnote, who is forgotten and why. It also confronts and challenges how representation and diversity have typically been handled in theatre, in the tales told in general and in who's telling them. "It's my prerequisite for being in the room talking to you," said Miranda at the press conference about Hamilton's diverse casting, including in Australia. "I began writing musicals because I didn't see roles for myself in musicals." "I was in love with this art form, and at the same time I knew I don't dance well enough to play Bernardo or one of the Sharks [in West Side Story], and that's kind of all there is for Puerto Rican guys in musical theatre — it's just what there was, what existed," he continued. "So I really began writing the first show, In the Heights, out of this desire to write what was missing, and also represent my neighbourhood in a way that I didn't see it portrayed in mainstream media, to speak nothing of musical theatre." [caption id="attachment_846530" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] "An amazing side effect of that, and with Hamilton, I realised that I'm trying to create opportunities in my shows. The concept of this piece is that we are living 200 somewhat years past when this story was told and the country looks very different than it did then, and so we get to tell this story with all its messiness — we get to tell it, too." "It also just gets us new stories. That's the other exciting part of it — to invite more people into the room means to invite new stories and to invite new narratives." [caption id="attachment_774807" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hamilton filmed version courtesy Disney+.[/caption] FINDING HAMILTON'S SONGS ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE Hamilton's meaningful and essential aims will always remain crucial to its success. As anyone who has had 'My Shot', 'You'll Be Back' or 'The Room Where It Happens' stuck in their head knows, however — so, anyone who has ever seen Hamilton in any form, or even just heard its soundtrack — the show's songs are also pivotal. "I'm really egalitarian," Miranda explained about his songwriting process. "I'll take it whatever way it wants to show up. I do believe they show up, and different songwriters have different theories about it. There's the famous story of Michael Jackson's insomnia, and someone said 'Michael, why don't you get some sleep?'. And he said 'if I go to sleep, god will give the song to Prince'. I love that story." "Hamilton is a fantastic example where every kind of song got written in every kind of way," Miranda continued in Brisbane, giving examples. "'My Shot' took over a year, and it was six months before I even sat at a piano. It was very much a lyrics-first song, because I knew that my thesis was [that] Hamilton's the best writer of that circle, [so] his bars better be good. And I just worked on his bars because I wanted his bars to be good over this beat and this beat before I even put my hands on the keys." "'You'll Be Back' showed up on my honeymoon, without a piano anywhere in sight. The 'ya-da da-da da' got stuck in my head, and I think the reason it's so catchy is because I had to remember it for the two weeks I was in Bora Bora with my wife until I could get back to piano in the real world — because I was in a cabana." FINALLY MAKING THE TRIP DOWN UNDER TO SEE THE AUSTRALIAN CAST When Hamilton wraps up its Brisbane season at QPAC's Lyric Theatre on Sunday, April 23, the show will leave the country for a New Zealand run. Miranda acknowledges that he's left it late in the musical's Australian tour to make a visit — two years to the month it premiered Down Under, in fact — but, given the events of the past few years, there's a good reason for that. "Honestly, the timing was as soon as I could make it work," Miranda told the Brisbane press conference. "I think you guys know there was a moment during the global pandemic when Australia was the only company of Hamilton running in the world. That was a real beacon of hope to our actors and other companies that theatre would come back, and they'd hopefully be able to one day put on the show again." "But it was also harder to visit. You had a 14-day quarantine, and you had to really — that was the kind of time I didn't get to have, because I was writing, making and editing Tick, Tick… Boom!. So this has really been the soonest that I could see it. I made a promise to see the Australian company while it's still in Australia, and they're leaving soon, so I came as soon as I could." As every Aussie fan of Hamilton already knows, getting to see the musical is always worth the wait. "I mean, they're so fantastic," Miranda noted of the local cast, who he helped assemble virtually. "I remember seeing Jason Arrow's audition — it had to have been April or May of 2020, and it was around the time that we were watching and editing Hamilton for [the Disney+] release. So they were really stacking up against the originals in a very tangible way, and so we were really proud of the incredible company that we were able to put together from there locally." "Every original cast is like a four-minute mile," Miranda continued. "They said scientists proved you couldn't run the mile in under four minutes, and then someone did it, and then suddenly everybody's running it — and I feel like original casts are like that. It's impossible to find that first cast, and then it attracts the people who know they can do it." "So it's been wonderful to meet OG cast members last night, and also members who joined it in Melbourne or joined it in Sydney — they're really wonderful. I mean, I saw it last night, they're wonderful." Hamilton's Brisbane season runs until Sunday, April 23 at QPAC's Lyric Theatre, South Bank, with tickets available via the musical's website.
No adult should actually want to head back in time to their schoolyard days, but sending your chocolate-loving tastebuds there is a different matter. Some flavours and snacks just transport you into your memories, offering up a blast from the past with every bite, and KitKat is making them its business — alongside releasing oh-so-many wild and delightful flavours in Japan, of course. (Cough drop KitKats, anyone?) In 2022, KitKat teamed up with Aussie favourite Milo on the chocolate bars of your childhood dreams. Now, it's giving that concept a second go — this time with Milkybars. Sure, you mightn't have had a Milkybar since you carried around a lunchbox in a backpack, but come April and May, you'll be able to get your fix via three options. The Milkybars are on this new range of KitKats, and literally — in a way that 90s TV ads never imagined. Leading the pack is a regular four-finger KitKat covered with Milkybar white chocolate, which'll hit 7-Elevens first from April. But, it has company. If you're keen to share — or save some for yourself for later — there's a big KitKat block also covered in white chocolate which arrives at other supermarkets and convenience stores from Wednesday, May 3. Or, there's a sharepack filled with small pieces which you'll only find at Coles from the same May date. No, you don't have to eat this collab with milk. Also, you don't have to enjoy them in a milk bar, if you can find one around the place. And no, you don't have to call yourself the Milkybar Kid, either — even if the character was a staple of Nestlé's Milkybar advertisements from the 60s onwards. To really ramp up the nostalgia, check out one of those old ads below: KitKat's Milkybar chocolates will hit store shelves from April and May, retailing at $2 per bar, $5 per share pack and $5.50 per block.
Joining vinyl records and 8-track tapes on the dusty shelf of obsoleteness, CDs have fallen by the wayside. In 2011, the number of people in the US who downloaded their music had far surpassed that of people who bought physical albums. In an era when our grandchildren won't know what a Walkman is, what are we to do with our now-digitised CD collections? As it turns out, Amazon wants them. Beginning last week, Amazon launched alterations to its Trade-in Program, which allows customers to swap their old stuff for Amazon store credit. Amazon has previously accepted pre-loved items such as Kindles, textbooks, and DVDs in exchange for credit but hasn't accepted used CDs until now. The store credit can be used to buy new, downloadable albums, or any product from the site. We can't decide which we are more excited about: an extra buck or two, or forever banishing our questionable '90s music decisions.
Learning the ins and outs of wine isn't for everyone — some people simply don't care to know their syrah from their shiraz. But if you're the kind of drinker willing to decode numerous bottles' terroir, vintage and tasting notes to arrive at the perfect choice, Circl's Wine Masterclass Series might be tailor-made for you. On the back of big news — the venue just won the Wine List of the Year award for 2025 — this fortnightly series takes place on Friday evenings from 4–5.30pm, with each event on the schedule exploring different grapes, regions and producers. Plus, guests can expect sharp pairings with artisanal cheeses. Guided by Xavier Vigier, two-time winner of the Judy Hirst Award, awarded to the sommelier who curated Australia's Wine List of the Year, attendees will be learning from one of the best in the business. So, before long, you'll know how to identify standout wines and maybe even impress your pals (just don't overdo it). The next session in the series kicks off on Friday, October 17, with the magical white wines of the Loire Valley. Then, on Friday, October 31, you'll discover ever-diverse chardonnays from all over the globe. Looking ahead, the series wraps with unexpected yet outstanding burgundy varieties on Friday, December 5.
After nearly a decade of Westerosi power struggles, obsessed fans and soaring ratings, HBO found itself with a Game of Thrones-sized gap to fill last year. The network isn't completely saying goodbye to the world created by George RR Martin, with at least one spinoff in the works — but it's also eager for something else to help pick up where GoT left off, fantasy-wise. First debuting late in 2019, and due to return for a second season in the next few months. His Dark Materials is one of the US network's prime candidates. It's based on Philip Pullman's award-winning young adult trilogy of books of the same name: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. And if it sounds familiar — and not just because you watched the initial batch of episodes — that's because one of the tomes, The Golden Compass, was already turned into a movie back in 2007. HBO is keeping things simple with their adaptation by sticking with the franchise name, other than individual book monikers — hence the His Dark Materials title. They've also bet big on star power, with the series boasting a hefty cast. James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda, Da 5 Bloods' Clarke Peters and Logan's Dafne Keen all star, while Fleabag's Andrew Scott and Phoebe Waller-Bridge will also pop up in the second season. Yes, it'll be a reunion for the two series newcomers, although you'll be seeing Scott on-screen as Colonel John Parry and hearing Waller-Bridge's voice as Parry's daemon. What's a daemon? It's one of the key parts of His Dark Materials. Here, Keen plays an orphan by the name of Lyra Belacqua — who seems just like everyone else, but hails from an alternate universe where a person's soul manifests as a shape-shifting animal called a daemon. In the show's first season, as Lyra looks for a kidnapped friend in the Arctic, she discovers a church-run stolen children ring, learns about mysterious particles known as Dust and ventures through different worlds, including the one we all know. McAvoy pops up as a powerful aristocrat, Wilson is his ex, and Miranda plays a balloonist and adventurer. If you're eager for the next season, HBO has just dropped the first sneak peek, releasing a trailer as part of this year's Comic-Con at Home. An exact release date for the season hasn't been revealed yet, but it'll hit the US in the country's autumn — so spring Down Under, where it airs in Australia on Foxtel. Check out the full trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnFsU7SY0Gk His Dark Materials' second season will arrive sometime later in 2020 — we'll update you with an exact date when it is announced. Images: Simon Ridgway/HBO.
When someone says the word 'desk', it usually conjures up images of uninspired objects with a flat top and four legs. We have stumbled on some innovative and quirky desks that could change those mundane conceptions for good. Bring life to your desk and ensure your working day is never average again with these fun and unorthodox desk designs. 1. The Abstract Desk Having boxes at odd angles all over your desk is bound to get the creative juices flowing. Store your documents in fun ways with this abstract and unique desk, called the Overdose Desk by Bulo. Because straight and neatly stacked is overrated. 2. The Wave Desk The marvellous woodwork of this stunning piece by Robert Brou is a compact and handy design, and the desk surface looks so incredibly smooth that it could lull you into trance-like state of pure productivity. 3. The Purple Desk Why waste floor space in your room, when you can simply stack your desks up on the wall? The peculiar Storyteller desk by Isabel Quiroga very effectively creates storage and shelf space, and is the perfect little enclave for a quirky student or work-from-home business person. 4. The Star Wars Desk Although this style of desk may not suit everyone, Star Wars fanatics are sure to love this creation by Tom Spina Designs. This desk houses a frozen Han Solo beneath a quarter inch thick solid sheet of glass. 5. The Pod Desk The Rewrite desk by GamFratesi allows you to dive completely into your own little world - or at least your own little pod. Say goodbye to procrastination. 6. The Suitcase Desk This desk by Maarten De Ceulaer is perfectly suited for lovers of travel, lovers of suitcases, or lovers of all things out of the ordinary. The eccentric and colourful style will be sure to stimulate the mind. 7. The Wall-Art Desk The K Workstation by Miso Soup Design is a modern take, appearing to climb along the wall at odd angles as it simultaneously acts as shelf space and wall art. 8. The Bike Desk The old saying 'kill two birds with one stone' takes on new meaning with the Pit In desk, which doubles as a bike rack. Not only can you skip the hassle of having to tie up your bike, but also ensure your posture remains upright throughout the day. 9. The Briefcase Desk Remove the difficulty of having to rummage through drawers of papers and files when trying to find documents for your suitcase by combining the two. All you need to do with these innovative suitcase-drawers is pull them out of the desk, by Jung-Ah Kim, and you're good to go. 10. The Car Desk Rev up the engine that is your mind and set off on an exciting journey, all from the comfort of your Mini Cooper office desk.
How does Jon Snow's future pan out? Sorry Game of Thrones fan, you're going to keep knowing nothing. Back in 2022, it was announced that HBO was potentially making a Jon Snow-focused sequel series, but those plans have now hit a wall according to none other than Kit Harington himself. If you're a fan of the series and you've been mourning the show's end back ever since 2019, you'll know that the US network has floated no shortage of options for extending everyone's time in Westeros. Prequel series House of the Dragon premiered in 2022, and will return for season two in 2024. Another series set before Game of Thrones itself, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, will arrive in 2025. Among the rumours, a second new series to the Targaryens has also been mentioned. But this is the end of the line for the Jon Snow spinoff at the moment. In an interview with Screen Rant, Harington (Eternals) advised that "currently, it's off the table, because we all couldn't find the right story to tell that we were all excited about enough". "So, we decided to lay down tools with it for the time being. There may be a time in the future where we return to it, but at the moment, no. It's firmly on the shelf," he continued. The series was set to explore Jon Snow's story after the events of Game of Thrones' eighth and final season. You might recall that that last batch of episodes were rather eventful for the character, even more than normal. He found out that he was born Aegon Targaryen, and that he has a claim to the Iron Throne. He also ditched Westeros — after being exiled — to head North of the Wall. So, for now, you'll just have to look forward to the return of House of the Dragon this winter Down Under (when else?), starting on Monday, June 17, 2024. And as for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, it is based on the novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg, as has been rumoured for a few years now. The story follows knight Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg as they wander Westeros a century before the events of GoT, when the Targaryens remain on the Iron Throne and everyone still remembers dragons. Check out the latest House of the Dragon season two trailer below: HBO's Jon Snow Game of Thrones spinoff is no longer happening. House of the Dragon streams Down Under via Foxtel and Binge in Australia, and SoHo, Sky Go and Neon in New Zealand, with season two arriving on Monday, June 17, 2024. Read our full review of season one. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is set to premiere in 2025 — we'll update you with exact details when they're announced. Via: Screen Rant. Images: Helen Sloan/HBO.
The Social Network offered a chilling prophesy of the impact of social networking sites, foreseeing the fracturing of friendships and a disturbing shift in human interaction. But a new study by the University of Milan reveals that the cyber world is a much cosier place than we thought. According to the study, the 6 degrees of separation that lie between the Earth’s inhabitants is, by social networking standards, as intimate as the dismal attempts at on-screen chemistry between an expressionless Robert Pattinson and his wooden Kristen Stewart. For us friendly Facebookers, however, there are only 4.74 degrees separating us from any other user around the globe. Zuckerberg ain’t lying when he tells us he’s ‘connecting people’. In layman’s terms, the rather precise 4.74 degrees translates to 5 ‘hops’ between users. As Facebok continues to grow this figure has steadily diminished, first measured at 5.28 in 2008. When you limit the measurement to a single nation, which tends to contain the majority of our friendships, the world shrinks even more; most citizens of the same country are separated by only 3 degrees. But does a tight knit cyber community translate to an increase in real, flesh and blood friends with whom we communicate beyond the ‘Wall’? It could be that the smaller the degrees in the cyber world, the greater they grow in reality, as increased Facebook interaction dilutes the quality of our face-to-face relationships. Either way, Facebook has proven that it really is a small world after all. [Via Wired]
Every now and then the opportunity comes your way that you just simply can't say no to. You find yourself coming up with all the excuses in the world into why you shouldn't take it, only to get slapped across the face and kicked in the shins by your mates asking how stupid you actually are. All the facts and figures point towards the only option. Pick up your nuts and go for it. The opportunity? I've been nominated as one of five international bloggers undertaking one of the latest regional tourism engagement campaigns, this time from Destination NSW. The campaign is called The Unmapped Roadtrip. The locals are asked to recommend where we should be going in NSW, who we should see and what we should do throughout the entire month of March. Someone has recommended already that we dive with sharks. Sceptic Kiwi right there. Anyway, I'll be on a bus, with 4 other strangers who will no doubt become good friends, travelling around the great state. This is all I know at this point. I leave on Thursday 1 March at 6am for Sydney and I believe we're heading along to the infamous Mardi Gras for our first weekend, with none other than Kylie Minogue headling. Stop it! I should be so lucky alright. https://youtube.com/watch?v=haoCgGzS0wY To be clear, I'm not really a sceptic Kiwi, but in light of the recent Air New Zealand campaign, I thought I would take this approach in order to lay down the challenge to all New South Welsh Men and Women, and say "come on, show us what you got". I arrive back on Sunday 1 April, where I will ultimately arrive at my conclusion of the Ten Best Things to do in New South Wales. In the meantime, you can follow me on our Twitter page (@PLAYGROUNDNZ) and for those that are that way inclined, I'll also be regularly posting via the Concrete Playground Instagram account. I promise to be entertaining and represent New Zealand responsibly. Is that possible? I guess you will have to find out.
Master sommelier Madeline Triffon describes pinot noir as 'sex in a glass'. Winemaker Randy Ullom calls it 'the ultimate nirvana'. Broadway wannabe Titus Andromedon loved it so much he compares it to 'caviar, Myanmar, mid-size car' (see below). No wonder the good folk at Revel — who bring Malbec Day and Mould our way, too — created Pinot Palooza, an epic travelling wine festival celebrating all things peeeno noir. The event usually hits up Aussie capitals each year and lets wine connoisseurs sample more than 200 drops, direct from Australia and New Zealand's best producers. But in 2020, like many things, it's going virtual. Whether you're a newbie who likes something light and inviting, or a pinot pro fond of the biggest, most complex drops there are, prepare to get sipping at Pinot Palooza Side B. From 4pm on Saturday, November 21, you'll simply be tuning in digitally. As part of the stream, there'll be winemakers talking about the business and guest DJs spinning tracks — turning the whole event into a party in your dining room. Drinks-wise, you have a couple of options. If you know exactly what type of pinot you like, you can nab a free event-only ticket, grab your own vino and get pouring. Or, you can order a '12-track pinot pack' for $85 — which includes a dozen 150-millilitre cans of wine from regions such as Gippsland, Northern Tasmania and Central Otago that you can taste while you're streaming the shindig. https://youtu.be/A6yttOfIvOw
Coachella 2019 is upon us. While most of the world can't head to the huge music festival, there are still plenty of ways to play along at home. Expect the Coachella livestream to be busy across its three YouTube channels, and expect plenty of eyeballs to head Amazon Prime's way too — all thanks to Childish Gambino's new movie. The artist also known as Donald Glover has teamed up with his Atlanta director Hiro Murai, his screenwriter brother Stephen Glover, Black Panther's Letitia Wright, Game of Thrones' Nonso Anozie and, oh, none other than Rihanna, for a new film called Guava Island. It's premiering in a specially built theatre at Coachella this weekend, to tie in with Childish Gambino's headlining set, and it'll also be available to stream for an 18-hour window via Amazon's streaming platform. If you're keen to watch, you'll need to head to Prime Video between 5pm on Saturday, April 13 to 11am on Sunday, April 14, Australian time. It'll be available for free, which is excellent news if you're not a subscriber. And, it'll also stream on Twitch at 10am on Sunday, April 14, should you need another viewing option. Shot over four weeks in Cuba according to the New York Times, and dubbed a "tropical thriller" by Amazon, the film follows musician Deni (Glover), who wants to throw a festival on an island — with Rihanna playing his girlfriend and muse Kofi. In case Fyre Festival has popped into your mind, Vanity Fair described Guava Island as a "music-driven, hour-long film" that's "inspired by Brazilian crime drama City of God and Prince's Purple Rain". If you're eager for a sneak peek before the film hits later today, Amazon Prime posted a teaser to its Instagram feed: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwF9J-NhOQ8/ Guava Island will be available to stream on Amazon Prime from 5pm on Saturday, April 13 to 11am on Sunday, April 14, Australian time — and also via Twitch from 10am on Sunday, April 14.
Tokyo Tower's stunning views, Studio Ghibli's theme park, various Godzilla statues, Mount Fuji, ramen everywhere, all of the temples, taking the shinkansen, karaoke on a ferris wheel, the Rainbow Bridge, cherry blossom season, the best sushi you'll ever eat, becoming addicted to Pocky: these are some of the highlights of a trip to Japan. In fact, when it comes to dream vacation itineraries, they're just the beginning. Something else that should be on your list: Suganuma Village. The World Heritage-listed site sits on the Shō River, and is known not only for its stunning scenery — think: spectacular mountains and forests — but for its Gasshō-style thatched-roof houses. Usually, visitors to the town can only appreciate them by looking, not staying within them, with the village normally only open to residents after dark. Indeed, that's been the case for decades, and it's the reason that the locale is considered a hidden spot; however, via Airbnb, that's changing for two lucky travellers for a two-night stay. Add a once-in-a-lifetime getaway to this nine-home spot to the list of unique experiences that the accommodation platform has offered up in recent years, alongside the Ted Lasso pub, Hobbiton, the Paris theatre that inspired The Phantom of the Opera, the Bluey house, the Moulin Rouge! windmill, the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine, The Godfather mansion, the South Korean estate where BTS filmed In the Soop and the Sanderson sisters' Hocus Pocus cottage, to name just a few. The Suganuma stay boasts something else special, though: it's free. As with all Airbnb specials, the service's price — here, $0 — only covers accommodation and the specific inclusions listed. Travelling there and back isn't part of the deal, so you'll be paying to fly to Japan and home. Still, this is the type of experience that doesn't come up often (or, before now, ever). And, you'll be hosted by the Nakashima family, who are fifth-generation locals, under their 170-year-old thatched roof. During your two-evening trip, you'll be immersed in the area's cultural traditions while marvelling at those distinctive buildings, which boast the style they do to last — as the Nakashimas' home clearly has — and because of winter's heavy snow. "I am delighted to open my family's home for a unique stay that will enable guests to enjoy the traditional life of our beautiful village of Suganuma. Through our collaboration with Airbnb, my family and I look forward to providing guests with unique experiences that have been part of our village for centuries," commented Mr Shinichi Nakashima. "We are honoured to offer a truly unique experience in Suganuma village, a World Heritage Site, through our collaboration with Airbnb. The rich history and vibrant culture of this charming small town, coupled with the warm hearts of the people who live there, will make for a fascinating and restorative stay. We hope this campaign brings attention to this beautiful destination for both Japanese residents and guests from around the world," stated Mr Mikio Tanaka, Mayor of Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture. If you're keen, you'll want to try to score the only booking at 10am AEST / 12pm NZST on Friday, June 30 — and if you're successful, you'll be having a money-can't-buy stay across Monday, July 17–Wednesday, July 19 this year. The reservation includes a welcome tea, plus Gokayama tofu, mountain vegetables and fish caught from the local river, as prepared by Mr Nakashima; a guided bike tour around the village and its surroundings; a hands-on workshop to learn about crafting thatched roofs; and also finding our more about the town's traditions such as making washi and sasara, a paper made of local fibre and a traditional instrument, respectively. And, you'll also be treated to a light show with folk songs one night, Suganuma Village's residents illuminating their homes. For more information about the Nakashima family's Gasshō home listing on Airbnb, or to apply to book at 10am AEST / 12pm NZST on Friday, June 30, head to the Airbnb website. Images: Satoshi Nagare. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
When Michael Shanks began writing Together over half a decade ago, he didn't start casting in his mind at the time. He didn't pen it thinking that a real-life married couple would play Tim and Millie, his debut feature's protagonists, either. To fuel the Australian filmmaker's leap from YouTube, shorts and TV — including Time Trap, The Wizards of Aus, The Slot, Parked and Rebooted, as well as visual effects on 2019 miniseries Lambs of God— to becoming the talk of Sundance 2025, scoring the first major sale of this year's fest, then playing SXSW in Austin and opening the Sydney Film Festival, however, Shanks was thinking about long-term relationships. They couldn't be more at the heart of his delightfully wild and smart body-horror must-see. So, enlisting two leads who've been together since 2012 and wed since 2017 is indeed perfect. Those stars, and also producers of Together: Alison Brie (Apples Never Fall) and Dave Franco (The Studio), adding another joint project to a shared list that already featured the latter's directorial efforts The Rental and Somebody I Used to Know, as well as the likes of The Little Hours, The Disaster Artist, BoJack Horseman and Krapopolis. Initially, though, Shanks drew upon his own romantic situation — one that owes a debt to the Aussie end-of-school rite-of-passage that is Schoolies. When an Australian thinks of that week of typically Gold Coast-set revelry playing a part in a horror film, a picture about falling for someone, sharing a life with them, commitment and co-dependency isn't a concept that naturally springs to mind. But that's Together, which is also a movie about love sticking. It takes that concept literally. Franco's Tim and Brie's Millie kick off Together as enmeshed in each other's existence as a couple generally, usually, normally can be. A big move, also literal, is their next step by each other's side: relocating for Millie's job as an elementary school teacher. But their going-away party turns awkward when a marriage proposal doesn't quite go as it should — and as aspiring musician Tim begins gleaning how shifting out of the city for Millie will practically impact his ability to play gigs and keep chasing his dreams. Tension accompanies the pair to their leafy new regional surroundings, then, where greenery-lined hiking tracks beckon, Shanks' key duo fall into a cave and the two find themselves even more linked, and unable to be apart, than ever. What if bonding with your other half had a physical dimension beyond cohabiting, sex, other displays of affection and the standard couple details? What if deciding to always be one of a pair was a corporeal connection right down to your flesh? Of the two big 80s music classics with "tear us apart" in their title, think INXS' Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs-topping 'Never Tear Us Apart' over Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' — and not just because Together was shot Down Under, in Melbourne where Shanks is based. How love can change you, the anxieties that it can cause and the resentments that it can spark, and what it truly means to join your existence with someone else's: these are the ideas that Together ponders as it explores transformations inspired by fluttering hearts in its own distinctive and compelling way. Confronting painful real-life situations, while never being afraid to carve its own path into horror tropes such as unsettling new locales, creepy trips into bushland, eerie isolated houses and more: Together does this, too, as it spins a tale that favours life over the horror staple that is death, grief and loss. And in a picture that's firmly a body-horror flick with searing-into-your-brain setpieces to prove it, but is as much a romantic drama as well — and that always anchors its spectacle in the story, never getting gory purely for the sake of it — Franco and Brie are firmly "a dream cast", as Shanks describes them to Concrete Playground. The word "dream" earns a few mentions in our chat. "It's really, really insane," he tells us of Together's journey so far this year, even before reaching cinemas in general release on Thursday, July 31, 2025 Down Under and the day prior in the US. "Getting the film made just alone was a dream coming true, and then it getting into Sundance was a dream come true. And then it playing Sundance and selling to Neon was a dream. So it's kind of hokey to say, but it's sort of this dream that just keeps coming true. It's what every filmmaker dreams of." "When we played at Sundance for the first time, we'd spent months in post-production, just basically myself and an editor [Sean Lahiff, Territory] and an editing assistant, working on the film. We didn't do test screenings. It was just us in a little room. And then we thought it was maybe pretty good — like, we were pretty happy with the movie. And then at Sundance, we were in this theatre of 1000–2000 people, and it's like 'this is literally the first audience that's going to see it. We've got no idea. It's a midnight screening. It's a packed house. Here we go'," Shanks continues. "Five minutes in, there's a little scare, and we could feel the audience gasp — and we went 'oh'. And a few minutes after that, there's this little joke and the audience laughed, and we just felt like 'oh wow, this is going well, I think'. And fortunately it did. And now it's played SXSW and it played a couple of festivals in Italy, and it played in Mexico. And I'm traveling the world in a way I never thought I'd be able to just off the back of a film. It's an incredible privilege. It's been an amazing year," he advises. With the filmmaker that's given Australia another example of YouTube-to-worldwide horror feature success after Talk to Me and Bring Her Back's Danny and Michael Philippou — and whose script for HOTEL HOTEL HOTEL HOTEL featured on the Blacklist — we also contemplated that Schoolies link, dug into Brie and Franco's pivotal involvement, examined why making Together without an IRL couple as its stars might've been a nightmare and discussed the movie's vivid body-horror imagery, among other subjects. On How Schoolies Played a Part in Inspiring a Horror Film About Falling in Love, Commitment and Codependency — and When the Idea for Together Came to Shanks During His Long-Term Relationship "Oh, it was many years in. Because yeah, we met at Schoolies. I would have been 17, I think. And then we didn't start dating until a few months — we became friends, and we started dating a few months after. And then we've been together now — that was 16–17 years ago, so we've been together that long. I'm 34 now, I was writing the script in my late 20s. And that was about when we were moving into our second home together, and we were really beginning to amalgamate our lives, I guess. It really became true that we've been together for so long, we only had the same friends. The Venn diagram of our friendships was just a circle. And we went to all the same events, we listen to the same music, ate the same food, breathed the same air. And now we were living in a second house together. We had a cat. And I was like 'there is no part of my life that's separate from this person'. And likewise. And I started to, I think, confront something that a lot of people go through, of realising 'oh, do I still have independence while I'm committing to this forever-monogamous relationship' — and 'our lives are so intertwined, do I really know where I end and she begins?'. The Radiohead song 'Where I End and You Begin' probably helped dislodge that idea as well. And that was where this jumping off point was — where you already are committing to sharing a life with somebody in such totality, what if you took that even further into a physical, flesh-bound sharing, to take a real relationship and intertwine it in a physical way. That just felt like such an over the top and interesting, operatic exploration of those themes, that also would satisfy the kind of genre-filmmaker obsessive that I am." On Making a Horror Film About Love Instead of Genre Staples Like Grief, Loss and Death "It just felt really natural to me. I mean, the jumping off point to me was honestly just the idea of 'oh, what if people sharing a life started to get so close that they started to share flesh?'. That was sort of that simple. And then it was when I started to fill in the details of that story, and realising that I was putting so many specifics from my own life and the observations I've made of the couples around me in my friendship circles, that I realised that 'oh, this really is a love story' — and a dark, twisted love story. When the actors, Dave and Alison, came onboard, they paid me a great compliment — which was that they said 'reading the script, if you would pull out all the horror, it would still work as a relationship drama'. Which I was really pleased to hear that, despite all the crazy scenes of nastiness and body horror and stickiness and puppets and practical effects and insanity, it's all bound to a character journey and these two people that start in these very different emotional places. And where, like in most romantic movies, rom-coms or rom-dramas, we're basically there to see 'can they can they put this aside and realise that they love each other?'. Or, 'do they realise that they don't love each other and they need to extricate themselves from what has become perhaps a toxic relationship?'." On Casting Real-Life Partners — But Not Actually Penning the Film with That in Mind "No, I kind of wrote it just generically, just set in Australia, because why not? I think it was originally sent Trentham, because I have a friend who makes wine out there — and I was like 'aah, that's my kind of rural in Victoria'. But then I had a chance meeting with Dave, because I had another script of mine that was being passed around Hollywood people in LA. And off the basis of that, I got a meeting with Dave, and we just connected. So I already had the script, and I was like 'hey, maybe have a look at this — maybe you'll like it'. And he read it and loved it and gave it to Alison. And then within a couple of days, we were on a Zoom, the three of us, and kind of figured it out. So that was amazing. Them separately, just as actors and performers, were a dream cast. But them together as an actual married couple, it adds so much to the performances, to the metatextual elements of the film, as well as just an ease of working with them. We needed them to be so physically and emotionally intimate across this film, and the fact that they have such comfort being vulnerable with each other, it created an ease of work as well as an emotional truth that I don't think we could have done with any other actors." On How Pivotal Casting an IRL Couple Proved to Be to the Film "It would have been, especially if they didn't get on, it would have been a nightmare. There was a day on set where they basically had to be fully nude the whole day in front of each other. It's like 'okay, well that's easier to do when they're a husband and wife'. There were days on set where they had to be physically joined via a prosthetic appendage that we didn't have the budget to make a second of — so we couldn't remove it. So if they needed to go to the bathroom, they weren't allowed to separate. We needed them to go to the bathroom together. And of course, you could never impose that on actors, but because they were producers on the film and they're married, they would just be like 'oh, yeah, no worries. Definitely, definitely. We'll just do that'. It was so great. Dave said something in some interviews that I think is really sweet — is that he also said that working with Alison, he feels like it makes him give the best performance, because she knows him so well that he can't be fake in front of her. So he really has to go for it or she'll call him out. Which is — not that I witnessed any calling out, but they worked so well together and it was a huge honour to work with them." On What Brie and Franco Brought to Their Performances — and Shanks Being Able to Benefit From Not Just Their Relationship But Also Their Experience "Thankfully, because they were onboard as producers, I had a lot of time with them even before they arrived in Australia to do the shoot. We had lots of sessions over Zoom, really going through, going over the script and going over the character journeys, and tweaking little things here and there — even intellectually rather than performing it, just kind of speaking it out. And then in pre-production, we had a few days of rehearsal, which were just more read-throughs. And when you're on set, time is money like crazy, particularly for an independent, low-budget film like this. So thankfully when we were on set, it's kind of like — our cinematographer, Germain McMicking [Ellis Park], was amazing, and you tell him what you want and he'll do it. And then he doesn't require much direction because he's a pro. He's so good at it. And same with Dave and Alison, as they're just such pros and they understood the material so well that my job as a director, in terms of their performances, was just ever-so-slightly giving them notes just to tweak. They were always, always in the right area because of the amount of prep that we'd done and the professionalism. And that was great to lean on as well, because I've been working in this industry since I was 17, but this is by far the biggest, longest and most-dramatic thing that I've ever worked on. So having these people that have been doing it for just as long on a much grander scale really, really helped." On Always Anchoring the Film's Body-Horror Setpieces in the Story "I think it was that I just know from being a genre filmmaker. I was really confident in all the horror and all the setpieces. That's what I'm most practised as. And so when I was breaking out the script, I was breaking it out not in terms of the horror, but just in terms of an emotional journey. And just dotting out in character arcs and knowing, because of the nature of the story, that it would be so easy for me to have this journey be interrupted by or enhanced by the horror setpieces. And also, I think something that some people are being surprised by when they walk out of the movie is how much fun it is and that it's quite funny — because again, when I sat down to write it, I was thinking I was writing romantic drama/horror. Scary, you know, serious. I've got this comedy background, but as the situation gets more and more out of hand, it was just impossible to resist — 'well, this is what would actually happen in that scenario' — and lean into something that's fun. So hopefully you'll laugh, you'll cry, it will change your life." On Crafting Horror Imagery That Leaves an Imprint "Well, I get frustrated sometimes with horror films — or with any films in general — when there's not unique images that come out of it, when there's no setpieces that stick with you, when things are just a bit generic. And I also thought the specificity of this concept meant you can only do this once. And I don't know if as a filmmaker, if I'll ever make a horror film again — if I'll ever make body-horror film again. I'd like to. But I certainly could never make this premise again. So if this is the premise, I really was thinking to myself 'you've got to squeeze as much juice out of this as possible'. And so, 'if this is the premise, great, what are ten setpieces that you can only do with this premise' — and just making sure that that's the case. And just really wanting to — really wanting to — leave the audience with something memorable. I hope people, when they leave the cinema, will say that they had a good time and that they've never seen a film quite like this." Together opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, July 31, 2025. Images: Germain McMicking / Ben King.
With almost every new Kristen Stewart-starring movie that has reached screens since her Twilight days, a distinctive feeling radiates. It was true with Clouds of Sils Maria, Certain Women and Personal Shopper, and then with Happiest Season, her Oscar-nominated role in Spencer and also Crimes of the Future as well: each of these films are exactly the types of flicks that one of the most-fascinating actors working today should be making. Then arrived Love Lies Bleeding, which partly sprang from that very idea and couldn't perfect it better. This revenge-driven, blood-splattered, 80s-set romantic thriller about a gym manager and a bodybuilder who fall in love, then into a whirlwind of sex, vengeance and violence, was written with Stewart in mind. As Saint Maud writer/director Rose Glass must've imagined while putting pen to paper, she's stunning in it. Love Lies Bleeding casts KStew as Lou, whose days overseeing the local iron-pumping haven — well, unclogging its toilets and scowling at meathead customers from beneath her shaggy mullet — are shaken up when female bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O'Brian, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) enters her remote New Mexico hometown. This is a girl-meets-girl tale, but it's also about the chaos of finding the person who best understands you, dealing with a lifetime's worth of baggage and trying to start anew. Here, amid neon hues and synth tunes, that means navigating Lou's gun-running dad (Ed Harris, Top Gun: Maverick) and abusive brother-in-law (Dave Franco, Day Shift), trying to protect her sister Beth (Jena Malone, Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire), chasing Jackie's competitive dreams and attempting to leave complicated pasts in the rearview mirror. Co-writing with Weronika Tofilska (a director on His Dark Materials and Hanna), Glass didn't just conjure up Lou with Stewart as her ideal lead; she also leapt into a helluva sophomore project that follows quite the experience with Saint Maud. The 2019 movie, Glass' feature directorial debut, marked her as one of the next exciting filmmakers out of Britain. But little about getting the psychological thriller to audiences, and to adoring acclaim, was straightforward. Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival as all very well and good. So was A24 coming onboard afterwards. The timing of Saint Maud's original April 2020 US release date says everything, though. The early days of the pandemic might've derailed getting the picture to viewers, but it didn't stop it becoming one of the standouts of the past five years. "The release was very odd, because we went down well at festivals, and then 24 picked us up," Glass tells Concrete Playground. "And they'd been planning on doing this whole wide cinematic release in America, and everyone kept saying to me 'oh my god, this never happens with a debut, this is incredible'. And I said, 'oh wow, okay, amazing'. It didn't quite feel real anyway, and then we're literally days away from getting on a plane to come out to America to do a whole fancy press tour, which felt so surreal in and of itself, and then lockdown. Obviously, we all know what happened next." "I'd been nervous about bringing the film out into the world, and people's reactions, but I think a global pandemic certainly helps put things in perspective. It certainly helped to not take it too seriously, I think," Glass continues. Before that, writing Saint Maud was "very stressful and got very unpleasant, because you're plagued by so much uncertainty about whether it's actually going to happen," she shares. Then, "making it was wonderful and just very collaborative — it was just a massive relief that it was actually happening". Consider Glass' Saint Maud journey fuel for Love Lies Bleeding; the filmmaker herself does. The latter veers in an array of vastly different directions from its predecessor; compare Saint Maud's claustrophobic focus on a highly religious carer who becomes obsessed with saving her latest patient's soul versus Love Lies Bleeding's frantic lovers-on-the-run antics. And yet, as much as Love Lies Bleeding can play like a heel-turn response to Saint Maud, they also boast more than a few things in common, such as a fascination with transformation, a deep willingness to push boundaries and, of course, an uncompromising vision. We chatted with Glass about being motivated to make Love Lies Bleeding after her Saint Maud experience, how the idea for her second feature came about, the difference between writing a part for KStew and getting her to actually play it, finding IRL bodybuilder and former cop-turned- The Mandalorian and Westworld actor O'Brian as Jackie, the film's wild ride and more. [caption id="attachment_804112" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Saint Maud[/caption] On Glass' Approach to Love Lies Bleeding After the Response to (and Chaotic Release for) Saint Maud "I'm sure it lights a fire under the arse, or whatever the expression is. I mean, it's wonderful. It definitely exceeded anything any of us were expecting or hoping to happen on the film, so that was very cool. And I think maybe because also it happened during lockdown, so I was getting a sense that people were responding to it well, and it was going down well, but because it was all basically just through [online] — I wasn't used to doing everything over Zoom at that point — it all felt very removed. I was just in my house with my flatmates in lockdown like everyone else, so it sort of felt like it wasn't happening. [caption id="attachment_804111" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Saint Maud[/caption] But, in a way, because we didn't get to do the proper release then with the film, it did mean there was a pent-up frustration, which probably spilled over into making this next one, I think. It definitely gives you a confidence and a fearlessness, which I hadn't really felt before. And definitely there's this feeling of 'oh, wow, I get to make another one — I don't know if I'll get to do another one again after that', so you treat it as if it's the last one. I think maybe also Saint Maud's kind of uptight, obviously, and quite insular and claustrophobic — so I think maybe that combined with lockdown, probably this when I was like 'let's do something bombastic and a bit more extroverted, and try something risky and irresponsible and see what we can get away with'." On Coming Up with the Idea and Story for Love Lies Bleeding "Initially, it was just wanting to do something about a a female bodybuilder. That seemed psychologically and visually exciting territory. And I guess I feel like I'm probably the polar opposite of a bodybuilder — and the obsessive level of discipline is something I can only be fascinated by and aspire to myself, but never quite achieve. So maybe, maybe that's how it became a two-hander between a bodybuilder and a woman who's basically just 'oh, my god, you're amazing'. But I decided that I wanted to try co-writing. I had this initial germ of an idea about a bodybuilder who kind of loses her mind while she's training for a competition. And then I teamed up with my co-writer Weronika Tofilska, who I've been friends with for years. Then, so the rest of the story, all the twisty-turny rest of it, we basically came up with together just bouncing back and forth." On Having Kristen Stewart in Mind While Writing "She's just, I think, a very natural fit for the character. I guess it was just a quite instinctual thing. I like the idea of her playing a moody heartthrob in loose, boyish way — like she's playing someone who's kind of an asshole but you kind of really like her as well. Kristen, she's actually, in person, she's very twinkly and energetic and stuff, but there's I think a more famous version of her which is much more held back and a bit aloof, all this kind of thing, which I think is really what the character needs. She's kind of an enigma, like a mystery — she keeps a lot held back, and then hopefully throughout the film you pick her apart a bit. I just thought she'd be a really hot, moody heartthrob." On Getting Kristen Stewart Onboard as Lou "I couldn't believe it. I met her for the first time — we had an awkward blind date kind of thing, and it was the morning after they'd released Spencer in the UK, I think, so she'd had a late night. I was basically suddenly very starstruck and quite nervous, and just as far as I saw it, I just waffled at her incoherently for an hour, and she went 'mmmm'. But then, luckily, afterwards she sent me a really lovely message, and then I sent her the script. It's weird and awkward having a meeting where you don't actually have something specific — because I hadn't shared the script with her then, it was this awkward thing where I was told that I wasn't actually allowed to, even though I wanted to offer the her the role outright. It was more of like a temperature check. So it's much nicer to have a conversation when you're actually talking about a specific script, and she's agreed, and there's none of this weird awkwardness. Anyways, she basically said she really likes Saint Maud. She's said in interviews since then that she was up for doing whatever I wanted to do next — which is very obviously a very lovely feeling and takes the pressure off a little bit, because I thought I did a really bad job of pitching it to her. But anyway, she was all in." On Finding Katy O'Brian to Play Love Lies Bleeding's Pivotal Female Bodybuilder "Katy's just — I think both her and Kristen, just on a basic level, they're just incredibly charismatic and incredible to look at. They're two people that I'm like 'I would love to watch these two people falling in love with each other'. A lot of the film just has to play on you being like 'oh, these people are amazing'. But with Katy specifically, it's the duality. On the surface, she's obviously got this incredible physicality and a very imposing physical presence, or can be. And so this more steely action-hero stuff comes very easily to her. But actually naturally, in terms of how she is and as a person, you scratch just underneath that and she's incredibly warm and soft. She's described herself as like a snuggle bear. And also, her character goes on a pretty tumultuous up and down, and does some pretty terrible things, but ultimately is still the innocent of the film. There's a naivety to her. Katy is just so incredibly empathetic, I think, which the character needs — because otherwise she'd just lose her and it'd just be 'oh, it's just this crazy woman doing crazy things'. But Katy just makes you so care for her so much. Given it was her first big lead dramatic performance — she's acted before, but more as supporting roles, normally previously in roles which have mostly been requiring her just to do the physical kind of stuff — she jumped into this. We cast like two weeks before we started shooting, and then a few weeks later she's doing all these quite tricky scenes with Kristen. I immediately would just completely forget that it's the first time she's doing a role like this." On Making a Film That Feels Like It Can Go Anywhere and Everywhere, Even While Building in Familiar Elements "In terms of the surrealism, and some of the weird combinations of things, I think it's what comes naturally. Me and Weronika, when we were writing it, we were playing with a lot narrative and character tropes. There's quite a few formulaic elements in the story, which probably are quite familiar to people, which hopefully we then take off course into somewhere a bit more surprising. There's definitely a framework in this. I think there's a lot of elements in the film which are very recognisable and which will probably feel familiar in some way. So hopefully it's setting up an expectation of something to happen — and then, because you know what the expectation is, it's easy to go 'let's go the other way'." On Taking Love Lies Bleeding in the Opposite Direction to Saint Maud in So Many Ways, But Still Finding Connections Between Them "It's kind of intentional. I mean, I think there are quite a lot of things which do connect the films. But each film, you spend a few years of your life just obsessively thinking about that — so I think after several years of just thinking about one particular tone and style of story, it's definitely, I think, a natural instinct to want to mix things up a bit. So yeah, the idea of wanting to do something which was more extroverted and bombastic than Saint Maud was definitely a deliberate, instinctual kind of thing. And I guess also Saint Maud was kind of about loneliness, so in a way this one was like 'oh, if you think being lonely is hard, try being in a relationship'." Love Lies Bleeding released in Australian cinemas on Thursday, March 14, 2024, and opens in New Zealand cinemas on Thursday, April 4, 2024. Read our review. Images: Anna Kooris.
Glamping has been having a renaissance in recent times. For too long, your fussy friend was always the one to kill the vibe on every camping trip. You know the kind — the one fumbling with expensive battery packs and car adaptors for their hair straightener while the rest of the group settle into full Bear Grylls-style wildling life. But now, the tables have turned. Now, the glamper has an awesome arsenal of James Bond-level gadgets at their disposal and, if you laugh at them, they won't let you into their amazing impromptu hot tub. The latest invention to set glampers' hearts aflutter, the Nomad Collapsible Hot Tub is exactly what it sounds like. Delivered to you in what must seem like the most infuriating IKEA-style flat pack ever, the tub is easily transportable within a regular-sized duffle bag. When fully assembled, this vinyl-coated slice of heaven transforms to a structure 1.5m wide and 60cm tall. It holds 850 litres of water and approximately four or five super-chilled adults. As idyllic as this concept sounds, it obviously hinges on a few important things. For instance, unless you carry 850 litres of water with you wherever you go, you really need to be camping somewhere with easy water access. The tub needs to be filled with the help of a pretty hardcore water pump, and it has to be heated with a nifty little water heater coil. This means two things: you really have to be prepared — this isn't the $2 shop blow-up pool you fill up with the hose on Australia Day — and you have to willing to pay for it. In a special sale offer, Nomad are selling both the tub itself and the water heater coil for US$990. But that's not taking into account the water pump you'll need to fill it or the inevitable postage you'll rack up in shipping both to Australia. All in all, you'd surely be looking at around $1500 for a dip in the spa. Plus whatever exorbitant costs you and your glamping buddies are already paying for a tent with a king size bed in it. All things considered, it still has a crazy amount of pulling power. Even if you can't assemble an IKEA flat pack to save your life, even if you consider a ticket to the hot springs a splurge in the budget, even if you get pruny fingers immediately after jumping into any form of hot water, you really can't deny how much better your camping trip will be with a gadget like this.
Ever considered a quick jaunt to Sydney to experience Vivid? Now's the time to take the plunge. The epic light festival is back for its tenth birthday, and there's more to see and do this year than ever. With so much to fit in, it's often hard to know where to start and how to get off the well-beaten track. As always, there are the big lights dotting the harbour, but there are also heaps of hidden gems worth seeking out — down alleyways, against the water and even up in the air. With the help of our mates at Samsung, we've pulled together a list of some of the best works tucked away in and around The Rocks and Circular Quay. And once you find them, it'd be remiss not to snap a shot or two so you can take them home with you — especially if you have Samsung's new Galaxy S9 and S9+ phones, which allow you to take beautiful photos in the dark with its Super Low Light camera. Check out our Galaxy S9+ snaps taken by photographer Cole Bennetts, take note of his tips and make tracks to these hidden Vivid gems. CHRYSALIS — REIBY PLACE Just as a caterpillar in a cocoon needs the right conditions to emerge, so too does the butterfly within each of the illuminated shells in Chrysalis. The sound of the audience approaching causes the butterflies to stir, and as people get closer and their collective noise grows louder, the butterflies awaken. Finally, they spread their wings within their five neon homes and flit and flutter with the crowd's presence. Cole's tip: Avoid contributing to a newsfeed clogged with identical Vivid snaps by changing your perspective. Get down low or shoot from up high to make the picture more interesting. OASIS — ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN Oasis is a shimmering, bioluminescent-inspired sea of light. Set in a corner of the Botanic Garden devoted to "lonely, frightened, lost and abused children who never knew the joy of a loving family", the work is dedicated to Australia's forgotten children — those raised in orphanages, children's homes and institutions. Playing on the relationship between light and water, courage and vulnerability, the seemingly floating lights move with nature but are always steadied by their underlying strength, returning them to their upright position. PARROT PARTY — ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN Is it a flock of birds in the gardens? Or a clandestine party among the flora? Well, it's a bit of both, actually. The festive Parrot Party in the Botanic Garden bursts with colour and sound, that grows brighter and more jovial as people join in. Perched in a pavilion, the birds' song is modulated by the crowds who come and go. Made up of Kiwi kea parrots and Australian rainbow lorikeets — a nod to the close relationship between our two countries — the flock's song grows louder as the crowd draws in, bursting with a display of sweet calls and chatter. Cole's tip: Vivid has excitement at every turn. You don't want to miss the money shot, so keep your S9 at the ready. When you stumble across a hidden gem worth snapping, double-tap the power button to bring up the camera quickly. 555 NANOMETERS — KENDALL LANE Hanging above a historic laneway in The Rocks, 555 Nanometers' sheets of green light and integrated soundscape also draw people in with the sound and sights of Australian flora and fauna. Follow the noise of cicadas calling into the night, pulling you toward this canopy of light. The name of the installation is a reference to its yellow-green hue that specifically sits at colour spectrum 555 nanometers. The human eye is most sensitive to the colour and feels most at ease when looking at it. As you look up at the illuminated perforated sheets, you'll find yourself reminded of looking at light streaming through leaves on a bright summer's day. FUGU — THE ROCKS If watching David Attenborough's Blue Planet has taught us anything, it is that the goings-on in our oceans are both compelling and crucially important. Artists Amigo and Amigo depict this in their installation Fugu. It's a kinetic light sculpture in the form of a pufferfish, a peculiar critter that changes form for protection against predators. As audiences surround the spiky creature it comes to life, expanding, contracting and pulsating in glowing multi-colour. The piece represents the fragility of life under the surface and highlights the importance of conservation. As you explore and uncover the hidden gems of Vivid, get the best snap on the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, designed especially for low light. Images: Cole Bennetts.
783 million people in the world still lack access to clean water. Nearly 2.5 billion live without adequate sanitation. And it’s only going to get worse with continued climate change. So an Italian designer by the name of Arturo Vittori has come up with part of a solution: the WarkaWater tower. By harvesting water from the air, the 9 metre-high construction can collect more than 94 litres per day. Like many ingenious devices, it works incredibly simply. Stalks of bamboo or juncus are bound together to create a semi-rigid shell. Inside, a nylon and polypropylene mesh traps moisture. These form dewdrops and travel downwards, settling in a basin at the tower’s base. The design is inspired by the Warka tree, an Ethiopian native that bears figs and serves as a site for local meetings. Vittori invented the WarkaWater tower after a visit to north-eastern Ethiopia. “There, people live in a beautiful natural environment but often without running water, electricity, a toilet or a shower,” he tells Wired. Women and children walk for hours to collect water from ponds contaminated with human waste and full of worms. Not only does this mean serious exposure to disease and hard labour, it also means that children are kept from school. “WarkaWater is designed to provide clean water as well as ensure long-term environmental, financial and social sustainability,” Vittori explains. “Once locals have the necessary know-how, they will be able to teach other villages and communities to build the WarkaWater towers.” Four people can build one in a few days at a cost of US$550. All necessary materials are available locally. Vittori is intending on having two towers built in Ethiopia by 2015. In the meantime, he’s seeking out financial support for their expansion. Another water-harvesting invention was launched in Lima last year. Via Inhabitat.
It's always tough saying goodbye to old friends, especially when you've shared countless sweaty hours on the dance floor, bonding over epic tunes and pre-dawn parties. So it's with misty eyes that Melbourne bids farewell to iconic music destination The Mercat Basement, which this week shuts its doors to make way for the Queen Victoria Market's grand redevelopment plans. But after almost ten years, there's no way this underground institution is going out without a bang. Punters are invited to enjoy The Mercat's warm, bass-heavy embrace one last time, for its grand exit this Saturday, February 11. Kicking off at 10pm, expect appearances by some long-time Mercat mates, including Tornado Wallace, Francis Inferno Orchestra and Otologic. Unfortunately, there are zero pre-sale tickets on offer for this one, so if you're hoping for a final Mercat dance floor session, we recommend you start lining up early. Image: The Mercat / REUP.
You may have caught Zoe Coombs Marr on ABC2's Dirty Laundry Live or in post's bloody riff on death scenes, Oedipus Schmoedipus. Separate to her work with post, Coombs Marr's thing tends to be the timely topic of gender, and bending it. The "awkward sapphic high priestess of cool" (that's a description worth milking) confirms she's been dressing up as a dude (intermittently) all her life — like when she skipped schoolies to put on a drag musical. She's also won a Phillip Parsons Playwright Award and FBi SMAC Best on Stage in her time, which is pretty much as close as you get to having a quality guarantee. Catch her in Dave this week at Sydney's 107 Projects. There are lots of comedians named Dave, but none are quite like this one. Or maybe they all are. Ahead of the show, Zoe gave us the lowdown on dressing in drag (just like Anne Hathaway, Kristen Stewart and Brie Larsen have been perfecting). START EARLY Drag is a skill like any other. Just like violin, tennis, and passive aggression, the earlier you start, the more honed it'll be! Due to a natural aptitude*, I was lucky enough to get a headstart in childhood and the evidence is strewn through our family photo albums. While my sisters played it safe, as fairies, princesses and fairy princesses, I used these formative years to progress from standard beginner 'genie' 'magician' and 'groom' (to my sister), into more challenging impersonations of The BFG and The Hunchback of Notre Dame before graduating to experimental drag looks including 'Box of Sultanas with a moustache' and 'Tim Shore from the Demtel infomercials, but dead'. If you feel the chance has passed you by, why not take a leaf out of the Dance Moms handbook and live vicariously through your kids? This is particularly easy as all babies look like genderless potatoes. You can easily confuse everyone with the simplest acts, like dressing little Sally in blue or adorning baby Jake's head with one of those weird elastic bows that anxious heteros put on their bald infant girls to make sure that no one mistakes her for a boy. *lesbianism Images: Zoe's baby drag looks. BREASTS See also: Boozies, boobs, melons, honkers, jugs, bazookas, norks… I could go on. Once you move out of your genderless potato phase you're going to have to deal with these guys. If you're Hilary Swank or Gwyneth Paltrow, you'll just need a single crepe bandage, or to stand facing into a strong breeze. If you've got big knockers, like me, you'll probably try a number of uncomfortable and complicated methods involving: Tape - Gaffa tape can work in a pinch, but you need to wear a shirt under it and the shirt will be ruined. Bandages - Don't really work, because they either (a) move apart, creating a 'sausage coming out of its casing' effect or (b) crush your ribs, restrict your breathing and make you feel a little panicky. This is my theory as to why Gwyneth got so emotional at the Oscars. Sports bras - One forward, one back. never worked for me. Thanks for nothing wikihow. Glad wrap - Which works so well at first. Until the sweat comes… and more sweat… and then the rash. And other household items. Then, after all of the sore ribs, bruises, breathlessness and rashes, you'll give in and buy a binder online. Why didn't you do this ages ago, you idiot? And a tip: You will need a helper. As awkward as this may seem, it is nowhere near as awkward as trying to do this on your own in a dressing room. Especially if, like me, you tend to do this at all-male comedy nights where the dressing room is just a small gap behind a curtain next to the pub’s coolroom. FACIAL HAIR You have a couple of options here. If you’re planning on maintaining some sort of attractive aesthetic, or getting laid after your gig, you can just google 'Drag King Makeup' and follow their tips to creating a sexy contoured look. Think sharp edged eyebrows and pencil thin sculptured beards (aka "chinstrap" or "douche beard") that will make you look like a member of Backstreet Boys, circa 1998. However, I personally prefer to take the less popular route and glue hair clippings to my face, giving the effect of a lolly that's fallen on the floor. Glue them on with spirit glue. (Don’t make my mistakes. Remember water-soluble is easiest to get off unless you have the removal fluid. I once had to wash my face with nail polish remover.) You can source the clippings from a friend, partner, pet, or your own ponytail. The darker and coarser the better. Secretly I’ve always thought that pubic hair would be the best route, but have never been game enough to try. We all have to draw the line somewhere. Actually, now that I think of it, an actual beard would be the best, so if you know any hipster dudes whose Newtown microbrewery has failed and they have to shave to get a job in a bank, let me know. HEAD HAIR This is easy. If you have short hair, you're set! If you have long hair, you're also set: just sweep it into a low pony and you'll look like you work at Harvey Norman and sell stolen microphones on the side. Done. GENITALIA So now that you're covered in tape and hair, you'll need a penis too. I read somewhere that a small plastic bag of birdseed in the undies makes a great prosthe-dick. Or you can just go the tried and tested rolled-up sock route, which is what I do. Mainly because I generally forget this step until the last minute and as a result I perform about half my shows in only one sock. But whatever you use, you'll be tempted to make it too big. Rookie mistake. Hold back! One sock is fine. In fact, I like to imagine that Dave's penis is slightly smaller than average. The lack of confidence has to be made up in bravado and results in a far more realistic performance. After all that just whack on a graphic tee, a flannie, a pair of Rip Curl jeans and off you go. Remember, your guy is complex, if beer ads are anything to go by, he could be into football or cricket or larrikinism. Dave is on July 25-26 at 107 Projects before heading to Edinburgh. More info here.
Australia has a long and illustrious history of banning, restricting or causing an almighty fuss over perfectly reasonable things. The newest incident is the banning of American director Travis Mathews' film I Want Your Love, which was brought to national attention this week when James Franco filmed himself sitting on a sofa in a Hawaiian shirt, declared the banning as "really silly" and posted it to YouTube. I Want Your Love, which was due to screen at both Brisbane and Melbourne's Queer Film Festivals was rubber stamped with the letters RC — Refused Classification — by the Australian Classification Board. The reasons for the board's decision were the film's depictions of explicit gay male sex. But the film is not pornographic, or extreme. Mathews explains that he "sought to capture honest and intimate depictions of modern gay life with everyday men". A film gets given an RC rating if it depicts scenes "in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults". Yet the Australian Classification Board can be wildly inconsistent in what they see as morally offensive. Last year, a documentary called Donkey Love screened at Sydney and Melbourne's Underground Film Festivals about the special love between Colombian men and their donkeys. Within the first five minutes, a man was having sex with a donkey. It wasn't refused classification. The board maintains that they don't censor, they classify. While this is true, it remains a fact that when the board gives a film, publication, or game an RC rating it cannot be distributed in Australia, effectively censoring it. In what follows, we walk you through some of the most infamous incidences of head-shaking and pearl-clutching in Australia's censorship history. Ern Malley In the 1940s, Sydney poets James McAuley and Harold Stewart wrote a series of poems and submitted them to the journal Angry Penguins under the name Ern Malley. The poems were written to embarrass the journal and 'prove' that modernist poetry was nonsensical. But in the meantime, the police had impounded editions of Angry Penguins and the poems, on the grounds that they were obscene. So commenced the most ridiculous obscenity trials Australia has ever seen. The police took issue with the poem Night Piece, for instance, because "apparently someone is shining a torch in the dark, visiting through the park gates. To my mind they were going there for some disapproved motive ... I have found that people who go into parks at night go there for immoral purposes." Lady Chatterley's Lover Many of the best pieces of 20th-century literature were banned in Australia, including — but by no means limited to — Ulysses, Portnoy's Complaint, Lolita, and everything ever written by Henry Miller, Jean Genet, and William S. Burroughs. One of the most infamous banned books was D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover, which describes scenes of explicit sex and delights in its use of the word 'cunt', seen as likely to cause the good ladies of Mosman and Toorak to collapse in a faint. In fact, not only was Lady Chatterley's Lover banned, but the book about censoring the book, The Trial of Lady Chatterley's Lover, was also banned. Salò, or The 120 Days of Sodom In 1975 Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini released Salò, a film inspired by the Marquis de Sade. Due to scenes of extreme sexual violence and sadism, the film was immediately banned in Australia, as well as many other countries. The cult arthouse film became a cause celebre for Australia's anti-censorship campaigners and was eventually deemed suitable for screening in 1993. Then, five years later, in the early years of the Howard government, the ban was reinstituted. It was only in 2010 that Salòwas given an R18+ classification and made available on DVD. Grand Theft Auto It was only at the start of 2013 that video games could be given an R18+ classification in Australia. Before, anything that exceeded MA15+ was automatically banned. Grand Theft Auto was continually subject to this problem. In 2002, Grand Theft Auto III was withdrawn because it allowed players to have virtual sex with virtual prostitutes, and then violently murder them. It was re-released when the ability to solicit sex was removed, but players were still perfectly free to violently murder prostitutes if they so wished. Explicit sex also caused the Vice City and San Andreas editions of the series to be withdrawn. Ken Park In 2003, Ken Park, an American arthouse film, was refused classification by the board. The film, which had been due to screen at that year's Sydney Film Festival, was banned because it portrayed real-life sex scenes involving characters that were supposed to be minors (the actors weren't actually minors). In defiance of the ban, Ken Park was given a public screening at Balmain Town Hall, but it was shut down by the police. Among those arrested was Margaret Pomeranz. They arrested Margaret Pomeranz. Need anything more be said? The Peaceful Pill Handbook In 2007 pro-euthanasia campaigners Philip Nitschke and Fiona Stewart published The Peaceful Pill Handbook, intended to give the elderly and seriously ill information about the legal and moral aspects of suicide as well as how-to instructions for painless and non-violent suicide methods. After an appeal by Right to Life, the book was pulled from the shelves. While The Peaceful Pill Handbook is available in other countries, there remains a ban on both importing and distributing the book in Australia. Bill Henson While Bill Henson's photography wasn't banned, the mainstream media gave it a red-hot go in 2008. The scandal occurred when the police shut down an exhibition at Sydney's Roslyn Oxley9 gallery after accusations that the images of young girls displayed in the exhibit were pornographic. Henson was cast as a paedophile by the likes of Miranda Devine and had Kevin Rudd declare the photographs "absolutely revolting". Despite the uproar, the Department of Public Prosecutions dropped the case after Henson's images were declared "mild and justified" and given a PG rating by the board, in one of the most sensible decisions they ever made. https://youtube.com/watch?v=-3rbDIsT4f0
One of the ideas at the heart of Squid Game — and fellow battle-to-the-death fare like The Hunger Games and The Running Man, too — is that people like to watch others risk their lives, and sometimes give them, while striving to survive deadly contests. While the competitions at the heart of shows and movies with these storylines are purely fictional, folks IRL do indeed love viewing them. Indeed, with its final season, Squid Game notched up a few big firsts for Netflix. If you couldn't wait to discover Seong Gi-hun's (Lee Jung-jae, The Acolyte) fate when the South Korean hit dropped its third and last batch of episodes on Friday, June 27, 2025, you had company. Netflix reports that the six-instalment season notched up 60.1-million views in just three days, breaking the record for such a short period. [caption id="attachment_1011923" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Squid Game S3 Cr. No Ju-han/Netflix © 2025[/caption] Squid Game season three also became the first Netflix show to reach number one in all countries that the streaming platform ranks in the week it premiered, and the only series to hit the service's most-popular list in its debut week. Less than seven days out from releasing, season three is placed ninth among Netflix's most-watched shows ever in languages other than English as well. While the series' final run served up surprises on-screen, its success among audiences isn't one of them. The exploits of Player 456 in a secret tournament that turns childhood games fatal with 45.6-billion won up for grabs has been a must-see, and embraced as such, since its beginnings. Season one proved such a smash that more episodes were locked in, as was IRL competition series Squid Game: The Challenge (without the death, of course). The latter has been picked up for a second season. The next question: will there be more on the fictional side of the franchise? It has been rumoured that David Fincher (The Killer) is keen on an English-language remake — although he is working on directing a different return, stepping into Once Upon a Time in Hollywood's realm to helm the Brad Pitt (F1)-starring follow-up to Quentin Tarantino's Oscar-winning picture, at present. Also, the season-three finale swiftly sparked thoughts of Squid Game finding a way to continue. With Entertainment Weekly, series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk recently mentioned a spinoff idea set between seasons one and two — and has floated similar concepts before — but nothing beyond a new round of Squid Game: The Challenge has been confirmed in in the Squid Game universe so far. Watch the trailer for Squid Game season three below: Squid Game streams via Netflix. Images: Netflix.
Coming via London's Victoria and Albert Museum, a new exhibition of garments by groundbreaking fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga has made its way to Australia. As well as being one of the most well-known fashion designers of the 20th century, the Basque-born couturier was also one of the most influential in changing and shaping modern fashion and haute couture. He was even once called "the master of us all" by Christian Dior. Showing exclusively in Victoria's Bendigo Art Gallery, Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion features more than 100 iconic pieces from the 50s and 60s as well as works by his protégés and contemporary designers continuing his legacy. It's a must-see if you're interested in not only the craftsmanship of fashion, but the history of it and how it can change societal standards and trends. Here, we've picked out five pieces you should seek out at the regional exhibition. [caption id="attachment_739079" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Imagine Pictures[/caption] DEFINING THE CLASSICS: THE TULIP DRESS Balenciaga retired unexpectedly in 1968 at age 74. In an interview with The Times in 1971, he's reported to have said: "When I was a young man I was told by a specialist that I could never pursue my chosen métier of couturier because I was far too delicate. Nobody knows what a tough métier it is, how gruelling the work is. Underneath all this luxury and glamour, the truth is, it's a dog's life!" This dress shows Balenciaga at the height of his craft. Playing with gravity and weightlessness, the tulip dress is one of the classic pieces of the collection. It also shows to using texture, light, structure and form to create the striking silhouettes for which the couturier is known. [caption id="attachment_739090" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nick Veasey[/caption] MAKING FASHION PRACTICAL: AN X-RAY OF A DRESS The meticulous structural work undertaken for garments like those made by Balenciaga again highlights the work involved to produce his gowns. Balenciaga worked carefully to reduce the number of fastenings so women could dress easily and without assistance, making his gowns both beautiful and comfortable to wear. As Bendigo Art Gallery Curator Jessica Bridgfoot puts it, "the garment did the work for you." New forensic investigations reveal the couturier's hidden workings and processes. This includes a series of x-ray images by British photographer Nick Veasey. Veasey's x-ray photographs are presented in the exhibition alongside works made during a digital pattern making project with the London College of Fashion. [caption id="attachment_739092" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn wearing coat by Cristóbal Balenciaga, Paris, 1950. Photograph by Irving Penn © Condé Nast,Irving Penn Foundation[/caption] DITCHING THE WAISTLINE: THE COAT Balenciaga is credited as the designer who took women's fashion beyond an obsession with a tiny waistline. His sculptural contributions to fashion include the sack dress, babydoll and shirt-dress which all remain staples today. This influence can be seen in the work of contemporary designers like Comme des Garçons and Hussein Chalayan. Here, model Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn sits for photographer Irving Penn in a Balenciaga coat. Irvin Penn was Balenciaga's favoured photographer, and one of the only people the famously private designer allowed in to his workrooms and studios to document his collections. [caption id="attachment_719353" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dovima with Sacha, cloche and suit by Balenciaga, Cafe des Deux Magots, Paris 1955 © The Richard Avedon Foundation[/caption] STICKING TO STRUCTURE AND TEXTURE: DOVIMA IN PARIS When Richard Avedon photographed Dovima in Paris in 1955, she was one of the world's most famous models. This photograph shows her in a cloche and suit by Balenciaga. Striking contrasts in colour and texture are complemented by the couturier's hallmark minimalist shapes, fastidious attention to colour, and structured outlines – the aesthetic that made him one of the most influential designers on modern fashion. [caption id="attachment_739103" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Imagine Pictures[/caption] A FASHION LEGACY: GHESQUIÈRE'S GREY CAPE An important part of the show examines the legacy that Balenciaga made on fashion — both in his own house and others. Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion includes works by other designers who worked to carry the Balenciaga label forward after its founder's retirement, including Nicolas Ghesquière. Ghesquière designed the grey cape — which was features in Vogue in 2006 — and was known for pairing voluminous, billowing shapes with tightly cut suits and pants. He is now creative director of the house of Louis Vuitton — so you may notice some similarities in the two labels' pieces. Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion is exclusive to Bendigo Art Gallery in Australia, and runs until November 10, 2019. Bendigo is a two-hour drive from Melbourne. Top image: Imagine Pictures.
In Zola, the swooshes and whistles have it: when a character utters a line of dialogue taken directly from the movie's famous 148-tweet source material, filmmaker Janicza Bravo pairs it with the right noise. That's one way that the second-time filmmaker tackles the formidable task that is adapting a lengthy social media thread into a feature. And she wasn't working with any old tweetstorm; when Aziah 'Zola' King let her fingers do the talking back in October 2015, it trended under the hashtag #TheStory. Charting a gal-pal getaway to Florida that swerved from exotic dancing to sex trafficking, crime and violence, King's Twitter thread had social media users hanging on its every word. Six years later, it remains an iconic piece of internet history — King deleted it swiftly, but nothing ever truly disappears in the online world. The challenge for Bravo in turning those posts into Zola: remaining true not only to King's rollercoaster ride of a tale, but also to the entire reason that everyone knows about it. Cue those telltale sounds, which keep Zola's origins firmly in viewers' minds. Cue a big swerve away from text on-screen, too, because a story this wild deserves an in-the-moment approach that plastering a phone screen across the big screen just can't evoke. And, cue a brilliant urination scene that instantly tells the world everything it needs to about the titular Detroit waitress (played by Taylour Paige, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) and the fellow dancer, named Stefani here (Riley Keough, The Lodge), who invites her on the road trip to end all road trips. When it debuted at Sundance in 2020, Zola became one of the buzziest premieres of the festival. Due to the pandemic, it has taken more than 18 months for the movie to make it to Australian cinemas, but its candy-hued, neon-lit, dreamy-meets-dazzling glow hasn't dimmed. With Zola now showing locally, we chatted to Bravo about those tweets, getting the gig over James Franco and, yes, that glorious pissing scene. "YOU WANNA HEAR A STORY? IT'S KIND OF LONG, BUT IT'S FULL OF SUSPENSE." One tweet, 22 words, one helluva impact: that's how King's Twitter thread started. Its first two sentences couldn't set the scene better: "You wanna hear a story about how me and this bitch fell out? It's kind of long, but it's full of suspense." Bravo didn't read those words as they were tweeted but, when she did, she knew that she had to turn them into a film. "At this point, I hadn't even made a first movie, but I've decided this will be my second movie — and I'm glad I was right," she explains. "I'm not Twitter and I wasn't on Twitter — lucky me. It's just not for me. I think it's super valuable and there's a lot of deliciousness that I've gotten from that space, but overall it's not a vibe for me," Bravo notes. "So I read it on Twitter at the end of that day. It was up for about 24 hours before she deleted it. I didn't get to participate in the live experience, meaning I didn't get to see her writing and responding and the sort of subtweet thing that happens inside of it or the reposts. I didn't get to see all that. But I got to sit with it right after, and it was radical. I knew right away that it was going to be my second movie." THE TWEETSTORM THAT HAD HOLLYWOOD TALKING When a Twitter thread gets this much attention, everyone wants in. Bravo wasn't originally the only filmmaker inspired to bring King's story to the screen — didn't originally get the job. "I go after it right then. I'm nodding when I'm reading it, and I'm sending it to both my agent and my manager and saying that I want this," she says. "I don't know how Twitter IP works, but I really want to make this. They get back to me three days later and say there is a Rolling Stone article, and then there's her life rights, and that's an entry point into being able to have access to the story." "And so I go 'yes, put me in!'. To which they reply that of the five people going after it, three of them are studios and two of them are independently wealthy. And I was like, 'well, I have no cash, so I'm not making the shortlist'. Clearly, that isn't the end of the story. "I find out a year later, though, that Killer Films — that I'd made Lemon [Bravo's first feature] and a short film with — were one of the producers were on it. And, James Franco was directing it," Bravo advises. "So I just wrote them and was like, 'hey' — because I understand how things work, and sometimes a director is no longer on a project. I was like 'if for some reason James is not directing this, remember me, think of me'. Then I found out in the spring of 2017 from an actress who was friendly with him that he was no longer directing it, so I reached out to my reps again and was like 'I want this'. And then I got it." THE BIG QUESTION: HOW TO ADAPT 148 TWEETS INTO A MOVIE? Peppered with emojis and all-caps, King's tweets don't simply describe a wild ride — they take readers on one. Bringing them to the screen put Bravo in uncharted territory but, writing Zola's script with playwright Jeremy O Harris, she didn't see it that way. "A lot of people did. My producers did. It was like, 'how do you adapt this?'," she explains. "But I'm a child of theatre, and I saw it as adapting a long poem. It was adapting a short story. It was adapting a sonnet and making a whole world out of it." "And this, for me, I felt it had so much more in some ways. I printed the tweets, cut them out, put them into a first act, a second act, a third act… and not only was there the outline, but the dialogue was in the outline," Bravo notes. "For me. it felt pretty seamless." "I think the thing that becomes curious, that allowed myself some room to explore, is okay, so there's a road trip to Detroit to Florida, from home to Florida, that is a 19–20-hour drive. That's only one tweet. Now does that become one scene, or three scenes, or five scenes, and how do you tell the story of that drive? Multiple tweets can be in a scene, or some can just be standalone, or one can be five — and figuring out the math on that, that's a part of writing, that's part of drafting." ADDING DETAIL — AND THAT KILLER BATHROOM SCENE As evocative as #TheStory is to read — as gripping and addictive, too — it didn't cover everything that Bravo envisaged for the film. Enter the bathroom scene. "I would happily talk about it forever. It's one of my favourites in the film," Bravo says. "When I was auditioning for the movie, I had come to the table with a handful of things I wanted to try that were not in the film. And then when it came to writing, once I get it and I'm writing with Jeremy, one of our first assignments is what are the five things you definitely want to make sure arrive in this script, and what are these three ideas outside of the world that you want to bring to this?" "And for me, one of those ideas, I just really want this piss scene. I've been thinking about wanting to put something like this in my work for a while. And this is a film about this love story between these two women — this seduction that happens between these two women — how they fall in love and out of love, and I couldn't recall being able to have a window into a character like this without there being a good deal of dialogue to tell me who they were. So I had this idea about a bathroom scene in which you got to see the interior of each of those characters," Bravo explains. "The audience can always go back to that as to who is reliable or not reliable — or who's hydrated or not hydrated, basically. It's meant to be so much about who they are. How they treat themselves in the bathroom is how they move through the world. And I know it seems kind of small, but I thought it did that." Zola is now screening in Australian cinemas. Read our full review. Images: A24 Films.
The first WorldPride to ever be held in the southern hemisphere is upon us, boasting more than 300 shows, gigs, exhibitions and parties, and taking over Sydney across 17 days from Friday, February 17–Sunday, March 5. On the program: everything from art exhibitions and film festivals to dance parties and big-name international headliners, in one helluva jam-packed festival. We've pulled together a list of ten events popping up throughout the festival that feature once-in-a-lifetime lineups or celebrate LGBTQIA+ pride in their own unique way. From the long-awaited return of the annual Mardi Gras parade to its spiritual home through to multi-day party programs, these are the cream of the crop that will have you considering last-minute flights to Sydney. Explore our picks for the best WorldPride events this massive program has to offer. LIVE AND PROUD: SYDNEY WORLDPRIDE OPENING CONCERT Who else to open the Southern Hemisphere's first WorldPride than Australia's pop princess Kylie Minogue? Sydney shall be so lucky, with the iconic hitmaker taking to The Domain for a blockbuster concert kicking off the festivities on Friday, February 24. But, it doesn't end with Kylie. Live and Proud will also feature appearances from Charli XCX and Jessica Mauboy, with local legends Casey Donovan and Courtney Act on hosting duties. If you can't be there in person, the performance will be broadcast live nationwide on the ABC as well. [caption id="attachment_749877" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jeffrey Feng[/caption] MARDI GRAS PARADE One of Sydney's biggest nights of the year is returning in a massive way in 2023. Not only is this Mardi Gras parade the event's 45th anniversary, as well as its return to Oxford Street, but it's also part of WorldPride. It's all happening on the streets of Darlinghurst on Saturday, February 25. The theme: gather, dream, amplify. All of the colourful floats and community groups the parade is known for will begin to march from 6pm, with the parade continuing until 11pm. Expect more than 12,500 marchers and 200 floats throughout the five-hour celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community. DOMAIN DANCE PARTY Two days after Kylie takes to The Domain, another megastar will arrive, with Kelly Rowland headlining DJ Dan Slater's Domain Dance Party. DJ Suri and DJ Isis Muretech will also be on the decks, but the big star is clearly the former Destiny's Child member, who'll work through tracks from across her career. Fancy getting sweaty on the dance floor with 10,000 people? That's what's on offer on Sunday, February 26, with Rowland, the DJ lineup, onstage dancers and surprise acts all providing good times. MARDI GRAS FAIR DAY Fair Day is traditionally one of the first events of Mardi Gras each year, but in 2023 it's going one better: happening on Sunday, February 19, it's also the first major event of WorldPride. Get ready for a family-friendly, pup-friendly, eco-glitter-friendly day in Camperdown's Victoria Park that's inclusive, relaxed and free. This year's Fair Day will feature a fancy dress competition for dogs, over 300 market stalls, pop-up bars, a main stage with leading queer performers in Australian music, plus the chance to shine brightly with your nearest and dearest chosen family. Highlights from the performance lineup include Eurovision champion Conchita Wurst, a Sissy Ball vogue showcase, The Buoys, Nana Miss Koori, Carla Wehbe, Jamaica Moana and Latifa Tee — plus pop-up bars from the likes of Archie Rose and Squealing Pig. RAINBOW REPUBLIC: SYDNEY WORLDPRIDE CLOSING CONCERT While we'd love the celebrations to continue year-round, nothing lasts forever, and WorldPride will be coming to an end on Sunday, March 5 — but not before one last pop-filled party. Wrapping things up will be Rainbow Republic, another hit parade in The Domain featuring German pop star Kim Petras. Joining the 'Unholy' and 'Coconuts' hitmaker is MUNA, G Flip, Peach PRC, Alter Boy, BVT and Vetta Borne. Keiynan Lonsdale (Love, Simon, The Flash, Eden) will also be performing and taking to the stage between acts on hosting duties. MARDI GRAS FILM FESTIVAL The annual Mardi Gras Film Festival returns with a bumper edition celebrating both WorldPride and its own 30th anniversary. Fans of queer cinema, rejoice: this annual Sydney film fest is screening 166 films at eight venues around the city, running from Wednesday, February 15–Thursday, March 2. MGFF highlights include All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, 2022's Venice Film Festival Golden Lion-winning documentary about queer artist Nan Goldin, her life and career, and her battle against the billionaire Sackler family — plus closing night's The Venus Effect, with the Danish movie about two young women in love enjoying its Aussie premiere. The full fest program includes 100-plus sessions in cinema, outdoors and on-demand, alongside panel discussions, workshops, networking events and parties. Plus, there's an online component showing 21 movies nationwide. [caption id="attachment_887917" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alex Davies[/caption] DAY FOR NIGHT: THE PLEASURE ARC Festivalgoers should prepare their endurance for The Pleasure Arc, a 24-hour party packed with incredible talent set to immerse attendees in an extravagant queer utopia. Enjoy some of Australasia's best queer artists including House of Sle, House of Silky, Marcus Whale, Basjia Almaan and imbi during the opening weekend of the festival across Saturday, February 18–Sunday, February 19 at Carriageworks. In charge of keeping the tunes rolling during the overnight extravaganza will also be the Your Pleasure DJs, meaning there won't be a dull moment across the non-stop party. [caption id="attachment_887907" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] MARRI MADUNG BUTBUT Also at Carriageworks is Marri Madung Butbut (Many Brave Hearts): Sydney WorldPride First Nations Gathering Space. This six-day program from Thursday, February 23–Tuesday, February 28 celebrates Indigenous LGBTQIA+ artists and communities. Kicking off the festivities is a free-to-attend opening night party, the Djarraba Disco, featuring some of Eora and Naarm's best performance artists lighting up the dance floor. From there, you can head along to 11 different free events and several ticketed pop-ups ranging from variety shows to heartfelt plays. "Marri Madung Butbut is a place where everyone is welcome to experience the rainbow heart of the oldest surviving culture on the planet," explains Festival Creative Director Ben Graetz. ALL THE SEX I'VE EVER HAD We've all heard of the saying "the older you are, the wiser you are" — and in this case it stands true. It is common knowledge that we can glean so much from our elders with their breadth of experience. So when it comes time to learn about experiences pertaining to love, romance and sex, who better to ask than the ones with the most expertise? Strap in — or on — for a wild ride, as All The Sex I've Ever Had returns to Sydney completely revamped for WorldPride. The Darlinghurst Production Company has teamed up with Canada's Mammalian Diving to bring an LGBTQIA+ edition of the hugely successful, 90-minute tell-all production back to Sydney. From Tuesday, February 21–Friday, February 24, plus a 5pm show on Sunday, February 26, you can draw upon the wisdom of queer local senior citizens at the Eternity Playhouse Theatre. You'll also experience the climaxes of truly raw storytelling as these generous elders recount some of the highest highs and lowest lows when it comes to dating, relationships and sexuality. THE ABERCROMBIE WORLDPRIDE PROGRAM Following years of lockouts and lockdowns, the dance floor has finally made an emphatic comeback in Sydney. Part of this return is the reopening of storied nightclub The Abercrombie, which is making full use of its 24-hour license and multiple dance floors for WorldPride by rolling out a stacked program of parties. Curated by DJ Kate Monroe and party-starter Xander Khoury, the program runs from Friday, February 17–Sunday, March 5, and enlists the help of party crews like Heaps Gay, Kerfew, Fur Ball and the Queer House Collective to bring together three weeks of packed dance floors, thumping bass and joyous energy. From full-venue takeovers and post-parade kick-ons raging until 8am to rooftop recovery brunches, this lineup has packed in as much dance music and good times to WorldPride as possible. The entire program features plenty of free events as well as a few ticketed nights — and all events are free for drag performers and First Nations attendees. Sydney WorldPride runs from Friday, February 17–Sunday, March 5 — for information, or for tickets, head to the event's website.
So you think your Prius is green? How about a car made from bamboo and rattan for a set of sustainable wheels? The Phoenix, unveiled at the "Imagination and Innovation" exhibition in Milan is an experimental vehicle from furniture designer Kenneth Cabonpue. The car borrows heavily from his furniture designs, which highlight natural materials, flowing lines and quality craftsmanship. The end product is a thing of bird-like beauty, with little resemblance to a vehicle churned out of a factory. An experimental design, the Phoenix is unlikely to make it on to the streets. Although it does use steel and carbon fibre in the frame, the display model has no engine although there is space for one. Perhaps putting a combustion engine in a largely wooden vehicle could end up with the Phoenix living up to its name. [via habitusliving]
The Murray River flows right through the heart of Tocumwal, and 24 riverside beaches within close proximity to town ensure you can make the most of every sunny day. With this stretch of Australia's longest river lined with shady red gums and native bushland, there's a quiet patch of shoreline with your name on it. Just a short drive from other stellar river beaches — like Tocumwal Beach, Apex Beach and Finley Beach — sits Bouchiers Beach. It's the perfect spot for swimming, kayaking and camping. Image: Emily Godfrey, Visit Victoria
Whether you're in full lockdown mode, are only leaving the house to buy groceries or still have to venture out regularly because you can't work from home, no one is moseying far in these COVID-19 times. Everyone wants to, though. That's just human nature. Even if you're a homebody whose idea of a perfect vacation is getting cosy on the couch with your partner and your streaming queue, we're betting you're currently craving something — anything — to look at beyond your own four walls. Being cooped up in the house and experiencing a hefty dose of wanderlust go hand-in-hand, unsurprisingly — and you can cope in two ways. If you're itching to travel the globe the second you're able to, you can spend all your new spare time planning the trips you'll take when you can finally leave isolation behind. Or, if you're happy to simply pretend that you're somewhere far, far away, you can enter the world of travel live streams. You've virtually toured museums, galleries and landmarks already. Now it's time to while away as many minutes, hours or days as you like staring at a live webcam feed that's capturing life in another country right at this moment. Maybe you want to see what's going on in some of the places you've already been to. Perhaps you're keen to view stunning sights that you've always wanted to visit. Either way, here are seven travel live streams that you can watch from your couch at this very instant. A hint: pop one on in the background while you're working from home, and your day will instantly seem brighter. Also, a word of warning: they're rather addictive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwriDd8STdI&feature=emb_logo THE NORTHERN LIGHTS, CHURCHILL, CANADA The northern lights, aka aurora borealis, are one of the world's great natural wonders — the type of phenomenon that you need to see with your own eyes to truly appreciate. Caused by solar winds, the lights beam an array of colours across the evening sky, emitting a show that luminous events like Vivid only wish they could emulate. And, for everyone who needs that kind of magic in their lives at the moment, they're being live-streamed via Explore.org's dedicated webcam. You'll obviously need to tune in at the right time; however the middle of the night in Churchill, Canada (where the camera is stationed) coincides with late afternoon Down Under. And, even when you can't glimpse the main attraction, you can still peer at a scenic sky above an expanse of snow, all on the other side of the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpZAez2oYsA CANAL OF CANNAREGIO AND PONTE DELLE GUGLIE, VENICE, ITALY Perhaps it's the centuries-old architecture. Maybe it's the glistening water. Or, it could be the entire idea of a city built on a group of 118 small islands, all separated by canals and linked by bridges. Whichever one fits, Venice boasts a particular kind of magic — and, in good news, that remains the case if you're watching on via live stream. Peering at the Ponte delle Guglie over the Canal of Cannaregio, the webcam setup at Hotel Filù is one of the best. Also, while you're viewing, you'll be doing so from a camera inside a building that dates back to the 800s. Those interested in more of Venice's distinctive sights can choose from a range of other cams, too, including a rolling live feed that switches between various scenic vantages. SHIBUYA SCRAMBLE CROSSING, TOKYO, JAPAN It has been featured in everything from Lost in Translation to Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift — and, during normal circumstances, it's one of the busiest places in one of the busiest cities in the world. That'd be Shibuya's famous scramble crossing, where hordes of people usually cross the intersection all day, everyday. Whether you've been to Tokyo plenty of times or you've always wanted to take a trip, this bustling site is on everyone's must-visit list. For now, though, you can simply watch. Shibuya Community News' web cam peers down at the four-way crossing non-stop, as the few folks who are still out and about in Tokyo go about their business. If you've ever walked across the road yourself, the sparse sight is quite surreal. If you haven't yet had the chance, get ready to start people-watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnNrd-VjLsQ WAIMEA BAY, HAWAII, USA Who doesn't wish that, right about now, they were sunbathing on a beach with nothing but sunscreen, sand and the crash of the waves to worry about? We all know the feeling — and while Australia's beaches have been closing over the past few weeks, all in an effort to enforce the country's current social-distancing requirements, you can check out Hawaii's Waimea Bay instead. If you find looking at the surf and listening to the roar of the ocean soothing at the best of times, you'll undoubtedly feel the same in today's far-from-usual predicament. This is a live stream you'll want to turn the volume up for, too, so you can make the very most of every sound from the scenic O'ahu spot. THE EIFFEL TOWER, PARIS, FRANCE Live stream network Earthcam.com has access to cameras in a huge number of places; however there's nothing quite like staring at one of the world's most famous tourist attractions while you're sat on your couch. If you time your peek just right — aka, you have a look when it's evening in Paris but daytime Down Under — you'll see the Eiffel Tower lit up against the night sky, perhaps even with the moon in the background, too. And, if you'd like to see how the iconic structure looks at various times of the day and under different conditions, you can scroll through the site's extensive image gallery, checking out how the tower appeared over the past hours, days, weeks and months. YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA, USA There's no shortage of magnificent natural land formations to see in California's Yosemite National Park. While no one can lock their peepers on them in person at present, anyone eager to get a glimpse can still do so online. And, thanks to Yosemite Conservancy and the US National Park Service, there are multiple options — peering at multiple sights, too. If it's a live webcam feed you're after, then take a gander at Yosemite Falls, one of the world's tallest waterfalls. Watching water stream down from almost 740 metres up is quite the vision to behold. For those who'd rather peer at the Yosemite High Sierra, the Badger Ski Pass Area or Half Dome, or vicariously live out their Free Solo dreams at El Capitan, you can do so via static live images that refresh every 60 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zUmDtZAd28&feature=emb_logo LOCH NESS, SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS, SCOTLAND You could spend your days in isolation learning a few new skills, catching up on a heap of movies, watching everything from theatre to opera, getting your sweat on and cooking up a storm. Or, you could keep your eyes peeled for a famous critter: the Loch Ness Monster. Thanks to the Nessie on the Net live stream, a webcam is trained at the body of water in the Scottish Highlands all day and night. If anyone is ever going to spot the creature — if it does even exist — now seems like the perfect time for it. You'll want to check out the stream when it's daytime in Scotland, otherwise you'll just see darkness. And, monster or no monster, the lake and the surrounding countryside still looks idyllic either way. Top image: Shibuya scramble crossing, Benh Lieu Song via Wikimedia Commons.
Feel like you're in a weekend activity rut? Run out of ideas for your next mini break? While we adore lazy brunches and home movie nights, sometimes you need an injection of leisure time adrenaline to break into new worlds of fun. Happily, there are plenty of unusual adventure avenues to explore in New South Wales. Whether you're looking to ride camels into the sunset or fling yourself from extraordinary heights, we've found a bunch of NSW activities that will redefine your comfort zone.
Last week, Australia had its first ever drive-in concert. It took place in Sydney's Robyn Webster Sports Centre in Tempe on Thursday, May 21, with Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan as the headline act. It was free and — despite the midday time slot and the slightly off-kilter artist choice — it garnered a crowd. Drive-In Entertainment Australia's first concert was an example of how it plans to run its (many) future events. From July, the company hopes to host live music concerts for up to 600 people, in 300 cars, with plans to launch eight drive-in venues across NSW and Victoria. Depending on how successful the events are, more states may follow. So, how does it work? Much like a scene out of hit 70s film Grease — or any drive-in cinema, really — you drive in, park up and watch from your car. The sound will be broadcast by an FM radio to your car, with the option for the spectacle to be live streamed via Zoom, too. You won't be able to get out of your vehicle though, unless going to the bathroom. All ticketing will be contactless, as will any snack purchases, which will be delivered to your car from onsite food trucks. It's no secret Australia's music industry has been hit hard during the pandemic, with website I Lost My Gig reporting about $340 million in lost income since COVID-19 saw the cancellation and postponement of festivals and gigs nationwide. With Australia's proposed roadmap out of COVID-19 lockdown, mass gatherings of up to 100 will be permissible from July, which isn't a sustainable outlook for all facets of the industry. Despite Falls Festival 2020 announcing its plans to go ahead, a public health expert predicts music festivals may not be able to restart until September 2021. At least with drive-in concerts, larger live music events will be able to have a small revival — even if it means you must cut shapes in your car. Australia is not the first country to trial drive-in gigs, with one of the first happening in an LA carpark back in March and another in Aarhus, Denmark last month, which sold out in minutes according to Forbes. Drive-In Entertainment Australia plans to launch eight venues across NSW and Victoria, with other states to potentially follow. Entertainers, producers, agents and managers can register for a gig from Saturday, July 18 onwards. More information and contact details can be found on the website.
WOMADelaide is returning to Adelaide's Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla from Friday, March 6 to Monday, March 9, 2026 — and the festival's first lineup announcement has landed, featuring 49 artists from around the globe. Headlining the 29th edition are Yothu Yindi, Obongjayar and Marlon Williams, with a program that will span from Bhutan to the Kimberleys, Cuba to Ukraine, and far beyond. View this post on Instagram A post shared by WOMADelaide (@womadelaide) Yothu Yindi will celebrate 35 years of Tribal Voice, while London-based Nigerian artist Obongjayar — known for his feature on Fred again..'s hit 'adore u' — will bring his blend of Afro-funk to Adelaide. Marlon Williams will perform alongside Kapa Haka group Ngā Mātai Pūrua, and Indian-American artist Ganavya will showcase her fusion of spiritual jazz and South Asian classical music. Other highlights include 82-year-old First Nations gospel singer Kankawa Nagarra, Cuban Grammy-nominee and Buena Vista Social Club alumnus Roberto Fonseca, Palestinian DJ Sama' Abdulhadi (returning after seven years), and soul sensation Jalen Ngonda, fresh from his Glastonbury debut. The festival will also feature Australian exclusives, including Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker's groundbreaking Rosas danst Rosas, Ukrainian-Canadian project Daughters of Donbas, French electronic act Orange Blossom, and Bhutan's first-ever representatives, the Bhutan Balladeers. They join previously announced acts including Yolngu rapper and dancer Baker Boy, US singer-songwriter Iron & Wine, Irish folk group Beoga and Pacific Break winner Mantis from Vanuatu. Since its debut in 1992, WOMADelaide has become one of Australia's most beloved festivals, celebrating music, arts and dance from across the world. The 2026 event will also see the return of Taste the World, WoMarkets, KidZone, Planet Talks and The Sanctuary Restaurant, alongside Around the Park performances scattered throughout the site. "Few festivals in the world are able to showcase the breadth and diversity of music, arts and dance on such a large scale while appealing to all ages and tastes," says WOMADelaide Director Ian Scobie. "It's a glorious opportunity to discover new sounds and embrace artists you love." WOMADelaide 2026 will run from Friday, March 6 to Monday, March 9 at Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla in Adelaide. Head to the WOMADelaide website for tickets and the full lineup. Images: Supplied
You've had a bad day, you're feeling tense and stressed, you've received some news you wish you hadn't, or things just aren't looking as rosy as you'd hoped. We've all been there. In fact, we're all cycling through these exact scenarios at the moment — and being glued to your social media feed, TV or go-to news site 24/7 is probably taking its toll. As the old cliche goes, laughter is the best medicine. Really, actual medicine is always the best medicine. In response to COVID-19, preventative actions such as social-distancing also rank high on the list. But there's nothing wrong with needing an amusing, rib-tickling, gut-busting distraction from all the seemingly non-stop coronavirus updates at present — and we're here to help with ten sources of hilarity that'll help brighten your day, even if only momentarily. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e-TYLdOIss LADY DYNAMITE With BoJack Horseman and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on its slate, Netflix has become home to a number of episodic comedies that tackle mental health in a smart and thoughtful way — but Lady Dynamite just might be the most bizarre and playful of the bunch. Created by South Park alumni Pam Brady and Arrested Development's Mitch Hurwitz, it stars Maria Bamford as a version of herself, following her ups and downs as she endeavours to get her career back on track. That might sound like a standard sitcom setup, but Maria has just spent six months in treatment for bipolar disorder, and no one around her quite knows how to handle her return. Also featuring a standout performance by veteran comedian Fred Melamed as Maria's agent, and boasting appearances by everyone from Jenny Slate, Tig Notaro and Patton Oswalt to Judd Apatow, Andy Samberg and 'Weird Al' Yankovich, this is a comedy that swings big, dives deep, and knows how to be both delightfully loopy and astutely candid at the same time. Lady Dynamite's two seasons are both available to stream on Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9veOumGnuU GARTH MARENGHI'S DARKPLACE Matt Berry crooning a slick 80s-style tune about romantic woes, complete with an awkward rap segment by Richard Ayoade. A TV medical drama where one of the doctors is an ex-warlock (Matthew Holness), another is occasionally psychic (Alice Lowe), and worrying about a hellmouth, mysterious cats, flying objects and extraterrestrial broccoli infections is all in a day's work. Behind-the-scenes commentary about said ultra low-budget series, with "author, dreamweaver, visionary, plus actor" Garth Marenghi (also Holness) and his publisher and publicist Dean Learner (also Ayoade) among the folks providing their thoughts. That's all part of six-part 2004 sitcom Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, which serves up the best three hours of TV comedy made this century. Filled with sublimely offbeat scenarios, off-kilter gags, witty wordplay and purposefully over-the-top performances, the weird and wonderful show has a cult following for a reason — and not just because The Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt also show up. All six episodes of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace are available to stream on iTunes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhdrA9qz79o HOT ROD Sometimes, if you're Kevin Bacon, you're struggling with a dancing ban in a small town and you're starring in 1984's Footloose, you just need to punch-dance out some rage. And sometimes, if you're Andy Samberg in 2007 comedy Hot Rod, you just need to gallop into a wooded glen and do the same in a stellar parody of the 80s flick. Gleefully ridiculous even when it's not satirising decades-old dance flicks, Hot Rod has plenty of other highlights. Samberg's pre-Brooklyn Nine-Nine stint as the eponymous wannabe stuntman is one of them, as is the great supporting cast that also includes Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Isla Fisher and Deadwood's Ian McShane. Overall, though, it's the surreal and silly vibe of the whole film that shines brightest — which won't come as a surprise given that The Lonely Island, Samberg's comedy trio with Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone (and the driving force behind Saturday Night Live's 'Dick in a Box', 'Lazy Sunday' and 'I'm On a Boat') are behind it. Oh, and the rousing scene soundtracked by John Farnham's 'You're the Voice' helps, too. Hot Rod is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Foxtel Now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrYB8hgyq4s MONSIEUR HULOT'S HOLIDAY, MON ONCLE AND PLAYTIME French filmmaker Jacques Tati only directed six feature-length films — all of which he wrote and starred in, too — but his body of work left an enormous imprint on comedic cinema. Offering a wry, subtle, irony-laced brand of physical comedy, he's rightfully considered one of the genre's best both in front of and behind the lens. In his breakout 1953 film Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, in which he introduces his eponymous (and clumsy) on-screen alter-ego, he takes visual satire to sublime lengths while pondering class differences. In his 1958 Best Foreign-language Film Oscar winner Mon Oncle, he unleashes his prowess while tasking his in-film surrogate with contemplating the rise of consumerism. And in his masterpiece Playtime, which took three years to make and features one of the most stunning sets ever seen on screen, he tackles a futuristic, highly industrialised Paris. All three are currently available to stream — and, once you've caught the Tati bug, so are his other three features Jour De Fete, Traffic and Parade. Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, Mon Oncle and Playtime are all available to stream on SBS On Demand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IZWeAwdJ-s PARKS AND RECREATION She's the government worker we all wish could be in charge of, well, absolutely everything — and she's the Indiana city of Pawnee's most devoted employee and biggest fan. We're talking, of course, about Leslie Knope, Amy Poehler's super passionate waffle-loving character in iconic sitcom Parks and Recreation. Willing to work hard in any situation and always ready to lean upon her friends and co-workers, Leslie knows how to handle almost anything. In one particular fifth-season episode of the Nick Offerman, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, Adam Scott and Rob Lowe-costarring series, that also includes grappling with a pandemic. Created by The Office's Greg Daniels and Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Michael Schur, Parks and Recreation may have only come to the end of its seven-season run back in 2015, but the sitcom has been an instant classic from the get-go for one reason: focusing on relatable characters, the minutiae of their lives and the time working in local government, workplace-based comedy has never felt more kind-hearted, or — thanks to the show's penchant for letting its main players talk directly to the camera — so inclusive. All seven seasons of Parks and Recreation are available to stream on Stan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuCCtBleq6w THE MUPPET MOVIE AND THE MUPPETS It's impossible to watch The Muppets, Jim Henson's most famous creations, and not have a smile plastered across your face. Seeing the late, great puppeteer's furry characters talk, joke and get up to all kinds of sketch-style antics — witnessing Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy's melodramatic romantic back-and-forth, Gonzo's zany stunts and the Swedish Chef's mumbling cooking segments, to name just a few — is warm, joyous and often absurdist fun, pure and simple. You can't really go wrong with whichever Muppets film or TV series you pick, and there's plenty to choose from; however two stand out from the crowd. Go old school with 1979's The Muppet Movie, where Kermit and the crew follow the stars in their eyes by trying to chase their Hollywood dreams. Or, join Jason Segel, Amy Adams and the usual felt-covered suspects as they attempt to save Muppet Theatre in 2011's delightful big-screen comedy-musical The Muppets. The Muppet Movie and The Muppets are available to stream on Disney+. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYzFieit8dI THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED) Before Noah Baumbach charted the end of a couple's wedded bliss in Netflix's heartbreaking Marriage Story, and before Adam Sandler tried dealing diamonds in the streaming platform's tense and glorious Uncut Gems, they paired up for another of the service's other great films in recent years. That'd be The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), one of Baumbach's perceptive comedy-dramas about the ties, woes and dysfunctions that bind people together — in this case, a family of adult siblings (Sandler, Ben Stiller and Elizabeth Marvel), as well as the sculptor father (Dustin Hoffman) who still proves a considerable presence in their lives. As seen in the likes of Frances Ha, While We're Young and Mistress America, too, Baumbach's sense of humour is bittersweet, honest and insightful. It's also simultaneously loose and sharp, never feeling too tightly wound but never letting a clever moment pass by either. All of that is on display here, as are a winning range of performances, especially from Sandler, Stiller and Hoffman. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is available to stream on Netflix. Images: Lady Dynamite, Doug Hyun/Netflix. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix. 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.
Bringing together some of the region's finest fare, the Margaret River Gourmet Escape presents a tantalising four-day festival of food, drink and merriment, all set in one of the most naturally beautiful areas imaginable. It's a packed program with over 100 boutique producers involved and highlights, including a star-studded chef's table, cooking masterclasses, coffee workshops and a buzzing village green featuring an array of local produce. Margaret River is often seen as a wine region. While that's not wrong, seeing it as just a destination for vineyard-hopping would massively underplay the charms of this picturesque spot for a multi-faceted summer holiday. Few regions of Australia are as rich in natural beauty and densely populated with world-class dining options. We've teamed up with Mazda3 to help you make the most of your trip to Gourmet Escape. Here are the best options for what to eat, what to do and where to stay during the feasting fest. [caption id="attachment_632002" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Elements Margaret River.[/caption] EAT AND DRINK If you're looking to make the most of Gourmet Escape, be sure to plan ahead — you'll find there are more than just a few fringe events and degustations you'll want to find. This year's all-star program corrals top chefs like Andrew McConnell (Supernormal, Supernormal Canteen, Cumulus Inc.), David Thompson (Long Chim), Guillaume Brahimi (Bistro Guillaume), Clayton Wells (Automata) and Paul Carmichael (Momofuku Seiobo). There is also the option to simply kick back in idyllic surrounds and sip some local tipples. Outside of the festival, Saturday mornings in Margaret River see the buzzing Margaret River Farmers' Market set up with dozens of stalls offering all kinds of local baked goods, fruits, vegetables, flowers, chocolates and wines. It's an ideal spot to stock up on supplies for a beach picnic, as is the gourmet deli located at Smiths Beach at Lamont's winery. This coastal favourite is also a great spot for a laidback brunch with an all-day menu split in two — offering brekkie eats like buttermilk pancakes and shakshuka or lunchtime bites like pork rillette and spaghettini with walnut sauce. [caption id="attachment_642075" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Margaret River Farmers' Market.[/caption] An iconic restaurant of the region, the acclaimed Cape Lodge's menu revolving around local produce attracts many to the area — everyone from Bill Clinton to Katy Perry has stopped off at this famed lakeside restaurant. On any given visit, you might find Western Australian options like marron from Donnybrook, mussels from Safety Bay or Exmouth prawns. And if you're after a more casual option, White Elephant Beach Café — who'll also be among the many local dining options in attendance at Gourmet Escape — is located ideally overlooking the boat ramp at Gnarabup beach and pumps out great coffee and classic all-day breakfast options like bircher muesli and smashed pumpkin on sourdough. [caption id="attachment_642073" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Peta Hopkins via Flickr.[/caption] DO Along with great eats, there's also plenty of entertainment on offer at Gourmet Escape. Matt Okine will do his food and comedy thing, DJ sets from the likes of Hugo Gruzman (Flight Facilities) and Triple J's Tom Tilley will be held throughout and locals San Cisco will headline the closing night party. So plan to have a boogie or two during your visit. Spending some time in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park is also an absolute must. Named as a world biodiversity hotspot by the World Wildlife Foundation, the region's unusual climate and soil profile means it's home to a dazzling variety of colourful wildflowers, many of which are rarely seen elsewhere. Look out for the likes of blue grass lilies, spider orchids and crimson one-sided bottle brush. The very keen hikers may want to tackle the famous Cape to Cape Track, a 135-kilometre walk which hugs the coastline. For everyone else, there are many options to drop in on the track for much shorter walks. [caption id="attachment_642066" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mammoth Cave.[/caption] The area is also notable for its limestone cliff and crystal caves. You can enter a network of caves at CaveWorks, just south of Margaret River. A narrow staircase leads you down into the most spectacular of the underground hollows, the giant Lake Cave, which includes an ethereal sunken forest. A rare example of an 'actively dripping' cave, it's like something taken from the pages of a fairytale. Further natural beauty is found in the region's string of stunning beaches, which include Hamelin's Bay, a photogenic stretch of white sand and blue-green water where stingrays weave their way through bathers. The popular Smiths Beach is another gorgeous part of the coastline, while Prevelly Beach, where Margaret River meets the ocean, is home to professional surfing events. STAY Riverglen Chalets offers a range of boutique accommodation options, with everything from studios to larger chalets for up to eight people. Best of all, it's set amongst seven acres of lush, green natural surrounds with a picturesque pond and towering gum trees. In a seemingly secluded location, the chalets are only a few minutes from town proper. Grab a breakfast hamper from the festival and head back to the chalets and start the day with an al fresco feast. Old Dairy Cottage is a quirky, character-filled option, proudly wearing its heritage as a pioneering district farm, but also including all the modern amenities. The light, airy accommodation is designed to make the most of the summer sun. Hilltop Studios also splits the difference between pastoral living and pure luxury; their designed accommodation comes with an award-winning chef on site and views of rolling hills and rugged countryside from your bathtub. For something entirely different, Conto offers a range of camping options alongside the winding coastline and peppermint woodland. Whether you're looking for a cheaper option or just like the idea of waking up to the sound of roaring waves, it's perfect a way to experience a truly spectacular part of the country. Margaret River Gourmet Escape 2017 takes place in the Margaret River region from November 16 to 19. Top image: Elements Margaret River. Personalise your next adventure via The Playmaker, driven by Mazda3.
