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.
Zach Braff is doing it, Amanda Palmer turned it into an art form, and now crowdfunding has landed on the Sydney hospitality scene with Stanley Street's IconPark. It's a simple enough genesis story: Spreets co-founder and former CEO Dean McEvoy bought a property, asked Paul Schell (formerly of Ruby Rabbit) to open a business, and got a potentially revolutionary concept instead. Happy accidents, hey? "People get great ideas in hospitality, but they don't have access to the capital, infrastructure and knowledge to make it a reality," explains McEvoy. "And we saw that dynamic from other industries where crowdfunding was working and by early indicators we are on the right track." And, with noise already coming from New York, California and London to launch the platform overseas, it sounds like he is underplaying his hand. "Our aim is to actually go big on this one ... it's going to be a global brand." Come Tuesday, March 25, the winner of the inaugural three-month residency will be announced, and a new tri-level hospitality concept will be born at 78 Stanley Street — albeit for a brief tenure before season two. One hundred and seventeen hands answered IconPark's premier cattle call. McEvoy, Schell and their team then shrunk that number to 24 before they teamed up with mentors Darren Robertson (Three Blue Ducks), Sudeep Gohil (Droga 5), Chris Morrison (Head Sommelier at the Guillaume group), Joel Meares (Time Out) and Claire Bradley (Inside Out Magazine) to pick the final six. The ball is now in our court. "The consumer decides and lets the IconPark platform know what is the product they want to experience," says Schell. "The main reasons why hospitality businesses fail is that they are not really hitting on something the market wants — you can go and spend millions on a lease and fitout and then open the doors and find out no one really wants what you've got," elaborates McEvoy. "So this mechanism lets the customer have early input into what will and won't work." Given the explosion of the small bar scene — and how Sydney's ever-growing appetite for new culinary destinations seems only surpassed by its appetite for opening them — it is astounding to think this platform has not surfaced earlier. Okay, let's meet your season one finalists (in order of most pledgers at the time of writing) and find out what a $50 pledge will get you: https://youtube.com/watch?v=htsQ34VJKlU Stanley St. Merchants An all-hours sustainable funhouse from the mind of West Wind Gin's Jeremy Spencer with rock 'n' roll chef Matt Stone, and coffee shop of the year St Ali (from Victoria). These boys will feed and caffeinate you; settle in for amaro and dominos or head upstairs to cocktail guru Bobby Carey (formerly of Shady Pines) for a mess hall-themed tipple. $50 pledge: $50 voucher redeemable throughout the building. Ruby's BBQ Husband-and-wife team and Bondi-ites Ruby and Eli Challenger promise a man-cave to bring the fabled flavours of US BBQ to Stanley Street; smoked meats, trivial pursuit, potential for a mini-golf set-up and cocktails courtesy of Fat Rupert's bar manager Sean Duncan. Condiments, competitions and meat by the gram. $50 pledge: A share platter and booze for two. Sedgwick Ave Street art. Hip Hop. Katz-style sandwiches. NYC cocktails and coffee. All that and internationally renowned chef Alejandra Saravia. Sedgwick Ave wants to bring a bit more Brooklyn to Stanley Street than it can handle. Oh, and check out the Mr Brainwash walk-through they pulled off to prove their networking skillz. $40 pledge: Sit yourself down for a cocktail class with Paul Flynn. https://youtube.com/watch?v=tVvrQaGKd2Q Min Joo Social K-Pop karaoke, cocktails, photo booths and Korean BBQ are looking for a home on Stanley Street under the guidance of Jamie Woolcott, David Wright and Phil Bracey. $50 pledge: $50 to spend in the building. British India Trading Co. A celebration of cultural cross-pollination centred around British India and heaped with chef Matt Taylor's Michelin star experience to bring you an exploration of flavours that keep vegos, meatheads and booze hounds satiated equally. $55 pledge: A Royal British India platter for two. https://youtube.com/watch?v=2bkahk4_WcU Blackcats Jazz, gin and wagyu beef. Jay Gray (formerly of Lobo Plantation), Pia Andersen (vintage songstress) and chef Phil Tsompansis have partnered with Victor Churchill Meats (that gallery-like Woollahra butcher that's been tempting vegetarians since 1876) to promise coffee, late-night tunes and choice cuts within a 19th-century gin palace decor. $50 pledge: Dinner and a show. https://youtube.com/watch?v=g4IQRENio20 All six finalists will be vying for your attention at Taste of Sydney (March 13-16) to ensure their spot in the top four. Applying next time? Ruby's BBQ got over the line by tempting the panelists back for seconds during the tasting session and Sedgwick Ave set the bar for branding. McEvoy recalls, "We walked down to work one morning down here and the whole front of our building had been tagged with the words Sedgwick Ave; it was a really nice piece … and they only revealed who they were on the last day of applications." Mind you, if Stanley St Merchants stays in top spot, you may not get the chance. "I intend to make the profit book strong enough that they don't want us to go," says Spencer when asked about a future past IconPark. But McEvoy has his own plans: "Our goal is to really create a hospitality icon for the future that people will look to in a couple of years and say, they really set a trend for the city."
When A League of Their Own hit cinemas back in 1992, it didn't just claim that there's no crying in baseball. More importantly, it told a spirited story about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League back in the 1940s — and it hit a home run with audiences in the process. It should come as no surprise, then, that it's getting the remake treatment, this time with Broad City's Abbi Jacobson leading the show. Jacobson also co-created and executive produced Prime Video's new version of A League of Their Own, which'll slide into your streaming queue on August 12. If you've seen the movie — which starred Geena Davis, Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell as members of a women's baseball team, plus Tom Hanks as their manager (and the person who famously decided that tears didn't have a part in the bat-swinging game) — you'll know the general gist of what's in store. As seen in the show's initial teaser trailer back in June, as well as the just-dropped full trailer, the series again jumps back to World War II to follow a group of women who dream of playing professional baseball. That said, it also promises to expand its story further that the film, charting a whole generation of baseball-loving ladies with that dream, including beyond the AAGPBL — and looking at both race and sexuality on and off the field in the process. Jacobson plays Carson, while Chanté Adams (Voyagers) plays Max — and they're joined by The Good Place's D'Arcy Carden among the players, plus Parks and Recreation favourite Nick Offerman as well. Also appearing on-screen: Gbemisola Ikumelo (The Power), Roberta Colindrez (Vida), Saidah Arrika Ekulona (Better Call Saul), Kate Berlant (Search Party), Kendall Johnson (Sexless), Kelly McCormack (George & Tammy), Alex Désert (Better Things), Priscilla Delgado (Julieta), Aaron Jennings (Grand Crew), Molly Ephraim (Perry Mason), Melanie Field (The Alienist) and Dale Dickey (Palm Springs). Charting its characters' efforts to make their way onto the field — and not only be part of a team, but also discover who they really are along the way — the new A League of Their Own marks Jacobson's first ongoing on-screen TV role since Broad City said goodbye. If you're in need of a weekend-long binge in August, all eight episodes of the show will drop at once, too. Check out the full trailer for A League of Their Own below: A League of Their Own will start streaming via Prime Video on August 12.
"We're not done with golf": in the just-dropped official teaser trailer for Happy Gilmore 2, they're Virginia Venit's (Julie Bowen, Hysteria!) words to the movie's main character; however, they clearly apply to Adam Sandler, too. Almost three decades after first getting tap, tap, tapping as a hockey player with an anger problem who makes the jump to golf — and after Happy Gilmore became one of the best-known comedies of the 90s, as well as one of Sandler's best-known films — he's back on the green on-screen. In the first film, Happy won the Tour Championship in 1996. As the just-dropped new sneak peek at Happy Gilmore 2 shows, he's repeated the feat several times over, and now has a bust of his head to honour five-time winners to show for. It's been years since he has picked up a club, though, and he's a little intimidated by today's golfers — but soon he's back in the swing again. Alongside Sandler (Spaceman) and Bowen, Ben Stiller (Nutcrackers) and Christopher McDonald (Hacks) return from the original Happy Gilmore. Joining them among the cast: Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (Cassandro) aka Bad Bunny; Sander's daughters Sadie (You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah) and Sunny (Kinda Pregnant); Travis Kelce; and Blake Clark (a regular Sandler collaborator, as seen in The Waterboy, Little Nicky, Mr Deeds, 50 First Dates, Click, Grown Ups and more). Then there's the lineup of IRL professional golfers, such as John Daly, Rory McIlroy, Paige Spiranac, Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris and Bryson DeChambeau. A new happy place, unexpected reunions, broken clubs, more than a few rounds of advice encouraging Gilmore to get back to the sport: they're all part of the new trailer, too, which follows a past teaser to start 2025. Just like with the original, Sandler co-wrote Happy Gilmore 2 with Tim Herlihy (who has also penned or co-penned Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy and eight other Sandler flicks through to Hubie Halloween), but Kyle Newacheck (Murder Mystery) steps into the director's chair instead of the initial film's Dennis Dugan (Grown Ups 2). Check out the official teaser for Happy Gilmore 2 below: Happy Gilmore 2 will stream via Netflix from Friday, July 25, 2025. Top image: Cr. Scott Yamano/Netflix © 2024.
As fans of whodunnits on the page, stage and screen know, anything can and often does go wrong in sleuthing tales. Usually, however, the antics remain in the story. That's not the case in The Play That Goes Wrong, as its title indicates — and as theatre audiences have enjoyed for over a decade, watching what happens when The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society endeavours to put on a murder-mystery, then chaos ensues. When the production premiered in 2012 in London, it not only proved a hit but won Best New Comedy at the Laurence Olivier Awards. It's also still treading the boards in the UK, making it West End's current longest-running comedy. For its first Broadway season, it also nabbed a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play. The Play That Goes Wrong has made its way Down Under before, too, but audiences will have another chance to catch it locally when it tours Australia again in 2025. Sydney Opera House is hosting the show's first — and longest — Aussie stop from Thursday, June 19–Sunday, August 3. After that, it'll play HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast from Wednesday, August 6–Sunday, August 10 and Empire Theatre in Toowoomba from Monday, August 11–Friday, August 15. Next, the production will head back to New South Wales with a stop from Tuesday, August 19–Sunday, August 31 at Civic Theatre in Newcastle, before hitting Victoria from Wednesday, September 3–Sunday, September 21 at Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne. The plot: when The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society give the whodunnit genre a spin, telling the tale of a murder at a country manor and the quest to find the perpetrator, making it through the show becomes an accident-filled challenge. Since its debut over a decade ago, The Play That Goes Wrong has been seen by more than 4.2-million people worldwide — in 49 countries — and given 3500-plus performances at West End's Duchess Theatre alone. Another tidbit: also in West End, members of The Drama Society have been hit more than 125,545 times, sometimes by objects and sometimes by each other. The Play That Goes Wrong 2025 Australian Dates: Thursday, June 19–Sunday, August 3 — Sydney Opera House, Sydney Wednesday, August 6–Sunday, August 10 — HOTA, Home of the Arts, Gold Coast Monday, August 11–Friday, August 15 — Empire Theatre, Toowoomba Tuesday, August 19–Sunday, August 31 — Civic Theatre, Newcastle Wednesday, September 3–Sunday, September 21 — Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne The Play That Goes Wrong is touring Australia from June 2025 — head to the production's website for tickets and further details. Images: original West End cast, Robert Day.
After introducing stage three stay-at-home restrictions for metro Melbourne and Mitchell Shire in early July and mandatory face masks for all of Victoria, the Victorian Government has today, Sunday, August 2, announced new restrictions for the entire state as the number of new COVID-19 continues to climb. As of 6pm tonight, Sunday, August 2, a State of Disaster will be declared across Victoria — on top of the current State of Emergency — which will give police additional powers to ensure Victorians are complying with public health directions. A State of Disaster was introduced during this summer's devastating bushfires, too. From 6pm tonight, metropolitan Melbourne will also move into stage four restrictions for six weeks, until at least Sunday, September 13. This will include an 8pm–5am curfew — from tonight — during which you can only leave home to get care, provide care and to go to and from work. Under stage four restrictions, Melburnians will also not be allowed to venture more than five kilometres from their home for exercise or to shop for essentials. Only one person per household will be allowed to go shopping for those essentials once a day. Daily exercise must be limited to one hour and groups must be no bigger than two, regardless of whether they're members of your household. Regional Victoria will move into stage three restrictions — what metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire are currently under — from 11.59pm on Wednesday, August 5. This means you'll only be able to leave home for one of the four reasons (shopping for food and essential items, care and caregiving, daily exercise, and work and study – if you can't do it from home), restaurants and cafes will be takeaway-only, beauty parlours and entertainment venues must close and community sport will need to stop. https://twitter.com/DanielAndrewsMP/status/1289784719215714305 The announcement comes as the state records 671 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, with 73 from known clusters and 598 under investigation. Premier Daniel Andrews says there are currently 760 'mystery cases' across the state and that is Victoria's "biggest challenge". "Those mysteries, that community transmission is in many respects our biggest challenge and the reason why we need to move to a different set of rules," the Premier said. "We must do more. We must go harder. It's the only way we'll get to the other side of this." The new rules won't stop here, either. The Premier says that more announcements will be made about businesses and working tomorrow, Monday, August 3. "Tomorrow, I will have more to say about different industries and there will be three categories," the Premier said. "Those that are business as usual. I want to ensure all Victorians supermarkets, the butcher, the baker, food, beverage, groceries, those types of settings, there will be no impact there. In terms of a number of other issues, they'll be reducing their total output. That will mean there are less people working less shifts... There will be a third category of business and they'll close and move exclusively to a work from home and if they can't work from home the work simply won't be done." Victoria's State of Disaster will begin at 6pm tonight, Sunday, August 2, as will metropolitan Melbourne stage four restrictions. Metro Melbourne's curfew will also begin from 8pm tonight. Regional Victoria will move into stage three restrictions from 11.59pm on Wednesday, August 5. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Victoria, head to the Department of Health and Human Services website.
Cheese is a wonderful thing. It can be decadent, it can be everyday, it can be simple, and it can be complex. It also goes perfectly with wine — our other favourite thing. Can you tell we really love cheese? Well, we all like cheese in some way or another, so we've found the 10 best places to get your cheese fix in our lovely city. Happy cheese dreams. Milk The Cow You know when it's 12am and you're craving cheese? We know it's not just us. Well, anyway, the team at Milk the Cow are there for you when you do. Milk the Cow in St Kilda is a licensed fromagerie. Yep, that means wine and cheese. They've got around 120 artisan cheeses on rotation for you to choose from. They also do flights of cheese matched to wine, beer, cider, sake, whiskey and dessert wine. They weren't kidding with the licensed part. They are of course on hand to teach you the ways of perfect combinations and take you through what you might like to try. 157 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, (03) 9537 2225, milkthecow.com.au Harper & Blohm Wine and cheese is a special paring, as we've already gushed about above. These guys know that all too well, placing themselves up close and personal with Essendon Prince Wine Store. Their resident cheese expert, Olivia Sutton, has collected a varied range of Australian and international cheeses. Think Bruny Island's raw milk cheeses, Holy Goat, Red Hill Blue, Fleur de Maquis, Epois, Prom Country white mould, and L'Artisan's washed-rind Mountain Man. Tivoli Road Bakery is being served up. on the side We think that's just a lovely accompaniment to cheese. Don't you? 80 Primrose Street, Essendon, (03) 9370 6428, harperandblohm.com Il Fornaio Another St Kilda haunt, Il Fornaio is primarily known for its cheese makers Sabrina and Katia Capodoccio, from Fossanova in Italy, who made the venue famous. During their time at Il Fornaio, they created a stunning cheese menu using biodynamic water buffalo milk from Milaa Milaa in Queensland, and cow's milk from Inglenook, Victoria. Guests can taste favourites, like the fior di latte, taleggio, buffalo mozzarella, stracchino, primo sale and scamorza, or try even less common varieties like caciottina ubriaca (wine-soaked caciottina) and ricotta con marmellata (ricotta with berry marmalade). The head chef has also created an all day menu that serves up something for any time of the day. This cheese haven opens at 7am and is open all day. Il Fornaio, 2C Acland Street, St Kilda, (03) 9534 2922, ilfornaio.com.au Spring Street Grocer Spring Street Grocer is kind of a jack-of-all-trades. They are of course known for their cheese, but they are also known for their gelato, cold pressed juices, take away sandwiches and their foodstore. A one-stop shop for Italian inspired indulgences, you could say. They also have Australia's first underground cheese maturation cellars kept under close watch by Anthony Femia. They serve up a cheese inspired menu downstairs and cheese workshops and pairing events for those who want to learn more. 157 Spring Street, Melbourne, (03) 9639 0335, springstreetgrocer.com.au Richmond Hill Café & Larder These cheese lovers have been kicking around for a while now. This cosy Richmond cafe also has a cheese room. Yes friends, a cheese room. Go in, taste your life away, and revel in the stinky goodness. You can also take away all you'll need for a perfect at-home cheese platter. Or, just stay in the cafe and have one there. It's a win win really. 48-50 Bridge Road, Richmond, (03) 9421 2808, rhcl.com.au La Formaggeria This one is a relatively new player in the Melbourne cheese scene. Again we see Sabrina and Katia Capodoccio, from Fossanova in Italy, who now have their own micro lab where they will be doing their thing with over 100 types of cheeses. The menu here flips from Italian indulgence to Melbourne clean-eating in a moment. Think just-baked panino with sliced-to-order San Daniele prosciutto and fresh buffalo mozzarella next to baked quinoa with cashew and kale pesto. Oh, and you can grab a cold pressed juice with that. Two great things. We approve. You can buy fresh mozzarella to take home, or leave with activated buckinis, raw vanilla protein isolate, organic heirloom veggies, free-range eggs and even certified organic skincare. 72 Acland Street, St Kilda, (03) 12 345 671, laformaggeria.com.au The Cheese Shop Deli Prahran Market is a place of greatness with the likes of health food shops, Sweet Greek serving up to die for Greek food, and The Cheese Shop Deli, who know a thing or two about cheese. This family has had the stall for 122 years and they have around 150 cheeses, including raw milk cheese. They also sell olives, smallgoods, and other things that will make you happy. We promise. Shop 703, Prahran Market, 163 Commercial Road, South Yarra, (03) 9826 8088 La Latteria This piece would seem incomplete without a mention of Melbourne's little Italy: Lygon Street. Enter La Latteria. People cross town for this stuff. Think fiore di burrata, buffalo mozzarella, ricotta, and diavoletti (a.k.a stuffed cheese goodness). This place gives artisan its true meaning, with the fresh cheeses hand-stretched and shaped here daily. They also help your other dairy cravings with milk, yoghurt, and cream. 104 Elgin Street, Carlton, (03) 9347 9009, lalatteria.com.au The Cheese Cave Toorak residents, don't fear — we've got you covered as well. The Cheese Cave serves up farmhouse and artisan cheeses from around the country. They also bring in some of the best raw milk cheeses, as well as European and American cheeses when they become available here. Their on-site cafe is a sweet little spot to enjoy a cheese platter and a glass of wine. Don't mind if we do. 429 Toorak Road, Toorak, (03) 9826 1105, thecheesecave.com.au Farmgate Cheese Okay okay, so this is an online mention. But for those who like to eat their cheese without having to worry about putting on pants, Farmgate Cheese is for you. You can even get $200 worth of the stuff delivered. Including cloth matured cheddar. Gippsland brie, Fourme d'Ambert, Meredith chevre (goat's cheese), Ossau-Iraty, crispbread, truffle oil, dried sour cherries, wild figs, pinot noir jelly, and a stainless steel cheese knife. Case = closed. Farmgae Cheese online store, 1300 267 673, farmgatecheese.com.au View all Melbourne Restaurants.
Having them take care of our more mundane tasks is one thing, but teaching them to make art? That's quite another. e-David, developed by computer scientists at the University of Konstanz (Baden-Wurttemburg), can create scarily detailed drawings and paintings from both photographs and real life. As extraordinary as his powers might seem, e-David is actually an every day kind of robot, of the 'welding' variety. They're the type that are used in automobile manufacturing. A combination of sensors, a camera and a control computer (which gives the drawing commands) enables him to roll it out like Rembrandt. In fact, e-David's 'style' is very much like that of the Dutch legend. He creates detail through the gradual build up of translucent layers, with each painting taking about ten hours to complete. Unsurprisingly, though, the end effect still tends towards the digitally-manipulated-photo-look, rather than that of the work of a genius. Art students, breathe a sigh of relief. Oh, and in case you're wondering (or concerned), e-David, as far as we know, isn't named after Michelangelo's masterpiece. It's an acronym for 'Drawing Apparatus for Vivid Image Display). e-David Robot Painting from eDavid on Vimeo. [via the creators project]
In 2011, in this very country and galaxy, a pop culture favourite gained a singing, stripping burlesque parody. It's the mash-up that was bound to happen. Who hasn't looked at George Lucas' space opera, its sprawling drama and ample spectacle, and wondered what a steamier, funnier version with more visible butt cheeks would look like? Russall S. Beattie clearly did, and had a good feeling that other people would give it a shot. The Empire Strips Back was the end result. It became a hit around Australia, then took itself overseas to much acclaim. Now it's returning home for a 2019 tour — once again showing local audiences that lightsabers aren't the hottest thing in the Star Wars galaxy. The saucy show promises "seriously sexy stormtroopers, a dangerously seductive Boba Fett, some tantalising Twi'leks, a delightfully lukewarm Taun Taun, a lady-like Skywalker [and] the droids you are looking for", according to its website. Apparently Yoda doesn't get the sexed-up treatment, but there is plenty of song, dance, acrobatics and — because it's burlesque — the removal of clothing. A dancing Chewie and Han is just the beginning of this cheeky take on Star Wars cosplay. Given that it's got an upbeat soundtrack, the costumes are extremely detailed and the show throws out lots of references to George Lucas' original plot, it's not surprising that local audiences — presumably the same ones that pack out Star Wars parties and large-scale screenings with a live orchestra — have latched onto the production. Heading to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, The Empire Strips Back sits alongside Dame of Thrones in Beattie's pop culture parody stable — so if you've already seen one of your fantastical screen obsessions get the burlesque treatment, then you know what you're in for. If you're super keen, you can also nab a Wookieerotica magazine online: a 116-page, 70s-style men's mag, just casually featuring all of your favourite jedis, siths, ewoks and other Star Wars characters. Either way, it could be a great introduction to burlesque or Star Wars, depending on which way you're coming at it. The Empire Strips Back tours Australia early 2019. It will be at Perth's Regal Theatre on January 11–12, Melbourne's Palais Theatre on January 18, Brisbane's The Tivoli from January 31 to February 2 and Sydney's Enmore Theatre on February 15–16. Ticket pre-sales commence at 9am on Thursday, September 13 — visit the show's website for further details. Images: Jon Bauer, Leslie Liu and Josh Groom.
What goes into the perfect gin and tonic? Quality gin, for one. Tonic water — ideally from a glass bottle. A fruit garnish (lime or cucumber, depending on the gin) and a tower of ice cubes. All necessary components in a balanced, four-part harmony. A plastic straw, placed triumphantly into the glass by your bartender? Or one you've fished out of a dusty pint glass on the corner of the bar? Not necessary. While the plastic straw has always seemed like the final puzzle piece, recent times have seen a move away from these often arbitrary additions to our drinks. And it's becoming ever more prevalent that this arbitrary addition is having a global impact. While there's no exact figure for Australia, it's estimated that 500 million plastic straws are used and discarded every day in the US — that's enough to fill 125 school buses. With this in mind, venues across Australia are beginning to acknowledge the impact this plastic waste is having on our oceans and ecosystems, and many have begun phasing out non-reusable straws and offering eco-friendly alternatives. Brisbane's Crowbar began phasing out single-use plastic straws in 2016, stating publicly on social media, "we are conscious of the environmental impact of plastic and are taking steps to reduce our footprint". Sydney's Dead Ringer announced late last year that it had eliminated plastic straws in favour of reusable metal straws and Pink Moon Saloon in Adelaide has a sign hanging above the bar stating, "save a turtle, don't use a plastic straw". The Last Straw, an initiative aiming to end the use of plastic straws in Australia, keeps an extensive list of venues committed to the cause. In Melbourne, many bars have followed suit, including Dr Morse in Abbotsford, which announced its intention to go plastic-straw free in the winter of 2017. Bar manager Jac Morgan says, "there was a bit of customer backlash when we decided to go completely straw free, but since we've brought in alternatives most customers don't even notice the difference". The bar replaced all plastic straws with paper straws (that are fully recyclable) and a bamboo resin alternative, which only takes three months to break down. To put this in perspective, the plastic straw you picked up on a whim winds up in a landfill site and takes up to 500 years to degrade (some scientists say it never fully degrades). If not in landfill, then the ocean — lodging itself in a turtle's nose or being ingested by an animal and steadily making its way up the food chain. It's understood that by 2050, plastic will outweigh fish in our oceans. Morgan says that the phasing out of plastic straws is a trend sweeping the hospitality industry, "there's definitely movement happening; a lot of venues have been trialling alternatives to plastics, even major venues and nightclubs". And customers are recognising and taking part in the shift, too. "We have a high turnover of clientele and we've noticed a lot of people saying no to straws altogether," says Morgan. "When we were using plastic straws, we'd easily get through 2500 a week. Nowadays, with the bamboo alternative positioned behind the bar, usage has dropped to around 2500 a month." Out of sight, out of mind. Countries around the world are acknowledging the threat of non-degradable plastics to our ecosystem. Canada and the UK have banned the use of microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products, with New Zealand and Ireland expected to follow suit. In 2016, France enacted a ban on plastic cups, plates and cutlery, which will come into effect in 2020. South Australia banned the use of single-use plastic bags back in 2009 — with ACT following suit in 2010, NT in 2011, Tasmania in 2012 and Queensland this year — establishing itself as a frontrunner in Australia's war against waste. It's clear that a small change can have a huge impact. So next time you're out and about, consider partying without the plastic. International Straw Free Day is on Saturday February 3, 2018. For more information on ways you can encourage venues to ditch the plastic, visit The Last Straw.
Tasmania, with its perfectly calibrated natural conditions for turning out brilliant produce, is a paradise for foodies, attracting some of Australia's best and brightest. The locals know it and it calls acclaimed chefs and writers to up sticks and chase their flavour bliss in the rugged south. We've got five tastemakers of the Tasmanian food industry that you should keep an eye on. Passionate advocates and entrepreneurs, their food spans north to south, from flavours of the wild to tastes of terroir and the finest produce the earth and sea can offer. Whether they're homegrown Tasmanian talent or keen mainland foodies who uprooted for a more delicious life, they all share a love for this land and all it produces. We've partnered with Tourism Tasmania to find out what inspires their culinary creations, and captures their hearts — and tastebuds. MASSIMO MELE "Keep it fresh, use the best ingredients and let the produce be the hero." It's a recipe for success and it has served Massimo Mele well. Tasmanian-born Massimo has cheffed his way through restaurants in the US, London and Italy. But he found his home turf was the best place on earth to make the most of this ethos. As Food Director at Grain of Silos in Launceston, he's created a fine dining experience that shows off rustic roots, from refined riffs on wholesome classics to naming local producers. As Culinary Director at Peppina, Mele's flagship restaurant at Hobart's famous Salamanca Place, he can offer 'Italian the Tasmanian way', staying true to core principles of seasonal, local and Nonna-inspired. That means championing artisans, handpicked produce, small-batch, single-vineyard wines, and the home comfort of a porchetta roast and tiramisu — all made for enjoying with others. KIM SEAGRAM Did you hear? Launceston is an official UNESCO City of Gastronomy. And culinary industry overachievers like Kim Seagram are one good reason why. Her passion has helped launch a multitude of exciting hospitality endeavours. One example is Black Cow Bistro, which serves up "Tasmania on a Plate" in its Launceston home. Black Cow's culinary approach is centred on the sacred power of the cow as a symbol of nourishment, abundance… and flavour. She is the co-founder of Launceston's Harvest Market and is also the Chair of Fermentasmania. Stillwater, the luxury accommodation and restaurant offering that was developed with the help of Kim's talent and expertise, has an unparalleled location — sitting right beside Cataract Gorge. With water sourced from Cape Grim, food from passionate local producers, sustainably harvested seafood and character-filled rooms filled with Tassie products, it's a true immersion. Finally, there's Abel Gin — Seagram's collaboration with distiller Natalie Fryar, capturing the tastes of the Tasmanian wilderness. And that's why we referred to her as a culinary overachiever. BEN MILBOURNE Influenced by his dad's seafood cooking, his grandmother's passion for great ingredients and his home in the unique landscape of Tasmania's north west coast, Ben Milbourne's life as a professional foodie was inevitable. He's grown up on some of the best produce in his own backyard. After his success on season four of MasterChef Australia, he continues his commitment to celebrating the people who farm, fish and make the incredible ingredients he has been lucky enough to have access to. His TV series Left Off The Map showcases the best of the best in Tassie, a grand tour every locavore should take notes from. Where to eat, where to stay — a true foodie's guide to exploring Tasmania. Plus he has recipes to do that produce justice. Fact is, travelling in Tasmania gives you access to the kind of ingredients chefs go absolutely wild for. Why not try it out, if you have the chance to cook with the best? [caption id="attachment_867641" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Adam Gibson[/caption] ANALIESE GREGORY What drives an acclaimed young chef from Michelin star restaurants of Paris and Sydney to leave it all behind with a dramatic tree change? The call of idyllic cottage life in one of the finest food and vino regions in the world. Analiese Gregory wrote her book, How Wild Things Are, to share her knowledge of farming, fishing, hunting, foraging and sourcing food from the farms and wilderness of Tasmania, and — of course — how to cook it beautifully. If you've watched her SBS series A Girl's Guide To Hunting, Fishing and Wild Cooking… you'll already know some of her favourite small-batch, local growers and makers of Tasmania. And if you're lucky, you might find her making culinary magic with this produce at events and pop-ups when you visit. MATTHEW EVANS Champion of sustainability, regeneration and learning farming by trial and error (and now great success), Matthew Evans is a writer, cook and farmer. Evans, together with his partner in life and in business, Sadie Chrestman, established Fat Pig Farm in the beautiful Huon Valley. He thinks Tasmanian producers are worth making noise about, and he's published numerous books on food, farming and even good soil. You can follow his journey from food critic to food producer on SBS series Gourmet Farmer, where he shares the spotlight with many local mates and collaborators, including Nick Haddow of Bruny Island Cheese and Glen Huon Dairy Farm. Sign up for a workshop in sustainable farming skills or try the food for yourself at a Fat Pig Farm Feast, a long afternoon celebration of sharing seasonal produce sourced as much from the farm as possible, with matched drinks and a guided tour, so you can see exactly where it all comes from. It doesn't get more farm-to-table than this ultra-locavore experience. Ready to plan a trip for your tastebuds around Tasmania? To discover more of what the island state has to offer, visit the website.
As anyone who has booked a flight, had to suddenly change their trip and been stuck paying handsomely knows, travel and flexibility haven't always gone hand in hand. But with the entire idea of making firm and definite plans undergoing quite the shift over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Virgin Australia responded to the uncertain period by scrapping its change fees until January 2021 — and it has just announced that it's extending that plan until the end of June. Make a booking before March 31 for travel between now and June 30 and, if life gets in your way and you need to rearrange your trip before your travel date, you'll be able to make unlimited changes to your booking without being charged extra. It's worth noting, however, that this only applies to the usual change fee — that is, the amount travellers can be slugged with just for the act of altering their itinerary. If changing your flights involves a difference in fare, you will still have to pay any shortfall amount. Need to cancel your airfare completely? You can also do that — before either your travel date or June 30, whichever is earlier — and now receive a credit without getting charged for doing so, too. The motivation for the idea, unsurprisingly, is to continue to encourage Australians to get booking — even knowing that little is certain when it comes to leaving the house, restrictions, interstate borders or just life in general in these coronavirus-afflicted times. "We've seen many travellers' plans impacted by domestic border restrictions and so we're here to give them comfort when booking a Virgin Australia flight that they'll be able to change their travel date if they need to," said a Virgin Australia Group spokesman. When it first announced the fee-free plan last year, Virgin called the move its 'Passenger Promise', which spans a number of other measures designed to make travellers feel safer and more confident about taking to the skies. Also included: contactless check-in, pre-flight health screening questionnaires for all travellers when checking in, staggered boarding as part of social-distancing measures, distancing between passengers onboard where possible and minimising movement during the flight. Passengers will also receive free face masks and hand sanitiser kits, and be asked to scan their own boarding passes to limit their contact with crew, while increased cleaning protocols are also in place. To find out more about Virgin Australia's new change fee policy, visit the airline's website.
What's better than one of the Attenborough siblings marvelling over our planet's ancient creatures? None other than David Attenborough following in his brother Richard Attenborough's footsteps, of course. While the latter showed dinos some love back in Jurassic Park — with the now-late actor and filmmaker even uttering the iconic words "welcome to Jurassic Park" — his broadcaster, biologist and natural historian sibling has largely surveyed the rest of the earth's living creatures in his iconic documentaries. In David's next series, however, he's solely focusing on prehistoric critters. That show is Prehistoric Planet, a five-part natural history doco that's coming to Apple TV+ — and yes, fittingly, it's arriving on the small screen just before new Jurassic Park franchise instalment Jurassic World Dominion reaches cinemas in June. Even better: after revealing a few sneak peeks earlier in the month, the streaming platform has just dropped the full Prehistoric Planet trailer. Here, you'll hear David Attenborough talk through everything you need to know about dinosaurs. And, while peering back at what the earth was like 66 million years ago, he'll give the fascinating creatures the same treatment he's rolled out in past shows The Living Planet, State of the Planet, The Blue Planet, Frozen Planet, Blue Planet II, Our Planet, Seven Worlds, One Planet, A Perfect Planet and Green Planet (as well as Planet Earth and Planet Earth II, plus documentary David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet). Basically, if you're always wanted to see a David Attenborough series about dinosaurs, life just found a way. And, it's clearly a must-see if you'd listen to him narrate anything and you're always awed by dinos (both of those apply to pretty much everyone). Get ready to discover little-known and surprising facts of dinosaur life, step through the environments of Cretaceous times, see how the Tyrannosaurus rex parented, and explore the ancient creatures of both the sea and sky. That's what Prehistoric Planet will cover across five episodes, which'll drop daily on Apple TV+ across Monday, May 23–Friday, May 27. Unsurprisingly, CGI will feature heavily in Prehistoric Planet — David Attenborough can do many things, but time travelling isn't one of them — but the show's special effects-created dinos will be combined with wildlife filmmaking and paleontology learnings. While the broadcaster's voice is always music to anyone's ears, Hans Zimmer will be adding rousing score to the show — fresh from winning his latest Oscar for Dune. And, if you're wondering about the photorealistic imagery that's bringing dinosaurs to life, filmmaker Jon Favreau is one of the Prehistoric Planet's executive producers. Also, the effects company behind his versions of The Jungle Book and The Lion King is doing the CGI honours. Check out Prehistoric Planet's full trailer below: Prehistoric Planet will hit Apple TV+ across Monday, May 23–Friday, May 27, with a new episode available to stream each day.
Gracing pages for almost a century — plus screens big and small for decades — Winnie-the-Pooh has done many things in his time. Ever since AA Milne first conjured up the honey-loving, walking-and-talking teddy bear back in the 1920s, Pooh has enjoyed plenty of adventures, usually involving Christopher Robin and his Hundred Acre Wood pals Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga and Roo. And, of course, the cuddly critter's efforts to eat as much of his favourite foodstuff as possible have also earned more than a little attention. We've all seen the cartoons — and the toys — and watched films such Goodbye Christopher Robin and Christopher Robin in recent years, too. So far, so adorable. That said, Winnie-the-Pooh's next outing is set to prove anything but. Called Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, it's a slasher film. Yes, really. And, it'll turn Pooh and Piglet into serial killers — and carve into everyone's childhoods in the process. No, the idea that Pooh might turn murderous hasn't ever crossed anyone's minds before — he's a honey-fiending teddy bear who doesn't wear pants, after all — but that's changing thanks to director Rhys Waterfield. And if you're wondering about the tone of the film, other than horror, the filmmaker's other upcoming titles include Firenado, Sky Monster and Rise of the Loch Ness. Yes, viewers will clearly be in B-movie territory here — as the premise makes plain as well. The setup: after seeing their food supplies dwindle as Christopher grew up, Pooh and Piglet have spent years feeling hungry. They've turned feral, in fact, even eating Eeyore to survive. So when Christopher returns, it sets the pair on a rampage, which leads to them a rural cabin where a group of university students are holidaying. We've all seen what usually happens from there, even if this is the first time that it'll involve an iconic kids character. The phrase you're looking for: "oh bother". Whether Winnie-the-Pooh exclaims those two words is yet to be revealed, but you could probably put money on them getting uttered at some point. Exactly when Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey will reach screens Down Under, and where, also hasn't yet been announced — and the film's release date in the US and UK is also yet to be set at this point. Wondering why something that's usually so sweet and innocent is being given the creepy, bloody, eerie horror treatment — turning Winnie-the-Pooh into a killer, no less? It's because the character has just entered the public domain in America. Disney no longer holds the copyright, and no one can now hold the exclusive intellectual property rights over the character, opening the door for wild interpretations like this slasher flick. Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey doesn't yet have a release date Down Under — we'll update you when further details are released. Images: Jagged Edge Productions.
What were you doing on 10/10/10? It appears that innumerable professional and amateur filmmakers from over 200 countries were filming the world around them as part of the One Day On Earth Project. The initiative aimed to collect the many and varied stories and images of that particular day - pregnant bellies, soccer games, guitar playing, arrests, little colourful fish and hair-washing to name but a few - and in the process became one of the biggest participatory events in history. The project was the brainchild of founder Kyle Ruddick who, in 2008, had the idea of using cinema to connect people from across the globe. Since then, with the support of non-government organisations and the United Nations Development Program, it has turned into a social networking phenomenon where not only films but stories and information are shared. A feature length film of the project will be released in the near future, but for now a trailer has been released to give a brief glimpse into this ambitious project.
It was a glorious day when, fresh from spending a decade working on Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey created her own sitcom about a late-night sketch comedy show. For seven stellar seasons and 138 hilarious episodes, 30 Rock charted the behind-the-scenes exploits on the fictional TGS with Tracy Jordan, with Fey starring as the show's head writer. The result: one of the standout TV comedies of the past 15 years, the source of the best holiday song there is and a great reason to love night cheese. It's the show that not only satirised the inner workings of live, televised sketch comedy, but made plenty of fun of its American network, NBC, and its parent company, General Electric — with Alec Baldwin note-perfect as the GE microwave division head suddenly also placed in charge of TV program. Fey and Baldwin had plenty of great company, with 30 Rock's main cast also boasting Jane Krakowski, Tracy Morgan, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit and Judah Friedlander. And, guest-wise, the list goes on. Everyone from Matt Damon, Jon Hamm, Julianne Moore and Tom Hanks popped up, as did Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, Jennifer Aniston, Peter Dinklage, the Beastie Boys and Elizabeth Banks. If you watched the series during its original 2006–13 run, then you'll already know all of the above — and now you can rediscover its delights. From Sunday, December 22, Stan is streaming 30 Rock's entire run, so you can live every week like it's 30 Rock week. And if you're new to the show, it's never too late to dive in. It's the Australian streaming platform's newest addition to its growing range of beloved series, following Buffy the Vampire Slayer, How I Met Your Mother, Sons of Anarchy, Grey's Anatomy and Family Guy. And, it's timed perfectly if you've been wondering what you'll be watching over the holidays or summer. A handy hint: 30 Rock has some fantastic Christmas episodes, should you be looking for some festive viewing. Merry Ludachrismas everyone. Check out a clip from the 30 Rock pilot below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYGbfKuBBBk All seven seasons of 30 Rock are now available to stream on Stan.
Prepare yourself for a night of whimsy, wonder and a weird, scaly, hermaphroditic fish man named Old Gregg. Noel Fielding, the androgynous co-lead of the surreal British comedy series The Mighty Boosh, is bringing his live show, An Evening with Noel Fielding, to a capital city near you. Combining stand-up comedy with animation and original music, as well as special appearances from some of Fielding's most beloved and baffling characters, including Fantasy Man and The Moon, the April 2015 show marks Fielding's first time in Australia since his sold-out tour in 2012. This time he'll also be joined by his younger brother Michael, best known for his recurring role on The Mighty Boosh as Naboo the Enigma, an alien shaman from the planet Xooberon. Fielding previously played the part of Richmond in The IT Crowd, appeared as a team captain on the music comedy panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and helped create the comedy sketch program Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy. He is also a member of the band Loose Tapestries along with Kasabian guitarist Sergio Pizzorno, whose music will be featured in the tour. Tickets to An Evening with Noel Fielding go on sale at 9am on Wednesday, December 17. The show begins in Auckland on Monday, April 6, following by Wellington on Friday, April 10, and Christchurch on Sunday April 12. Fielding then crosses the ditch, first to Melbourne on Wednesday April 15, then Adelaide on Friday April 17 and Canberra on Monday April 20. He'll be at the State Theatre in Sydney on Wednesday April 22, before finishing up with Perth on Friday April 24 and Brisbane on Monday April 27. For more information, head to the promoter website.
Next time you peer at the Sydney Harbour Bridge — whether you're a local who passes it daily, or just an occasional visitor to the city — you'll spot the Australian Aboriginal flag flying atop the iconic structure. The New South Wales Government has today, Monday, July 11, announced that the flag is now in place permanently on the landmark. The flag was already waving above the structure for NAIDOC Week which, historically, has been among the rare occasions that it has graced the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Indeed, before now, tje Aboriginal flag was only on display above the harbour for 19 days annually, including on Australia Day, Sorry Day and during Reconciliation Week. "From today, one of Australia's most recognisable landmarks will celebrate our Indigenous people and provide an everyday reminder of our nation's rich history," said NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, announcing the news. "Our nation's story is rich and enduring, and flying the Aboriginal flag permanently above the Sydney Harbour Bridge is a celebration and acknowledgment of that. Honouring this commitment is part of our ongoing commitment to recognise the history, culture, excellence and achievements of Aboriginal people, and is a fitting end to NAIDOC Week 2022." [caption id="attachment_858129" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Boyd159 via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] To fly atop the bridge permanently, the Aboriginal flag replaces the NSW State flag, which'll be relocated "to a place of prominence as part of the revitalisation of the Macquarie St East precinct redevelopment," the NSW Government advised. The move comes after an eventful few months involving the Aboriginal flag, after the NSW Premier originally pledged to give it a permanent berth atop the country's most famous man-made structure back in February, then announced in June that it'd become a reality by the end of 2022. Last month, when that last promise was made, it was also revealed that a third flagpole would be added to the bridge, allowing the Australian flag, NSW State flag and Aboriginal flags all to top the structure side by side. But, that was set to come with a hefty price tag, with $25 million committed in the 2022–23 NSW budget. Instead, those funds will now be allocated towards Indigenous initiatives. "This builds on the NSW Government's commitment to improve outcomes for Aboriginal people across NSW, following a $716 million investment in this year's budget to prioritise Closing the Gap initiatives," said NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Ben Franklin. "I am proud to be part of the government that will permanently fly the Aboriginal flag above the Sydney Harbour Bridge and I am happy that a further investment will be made to deliver real outcomes for Aboriginal people across NSW." VICTORY!!! A proud moment & a powerful ending. I want to extend appreciation for everyone fighting injustice. Don't stop until you're proud & stay persistent 👊🏽@MayorDarcy @IWCouncil @david4wyong @AIA_SydneyCBD Aboriginal flag to replace NSW flag https://t.co/A1q26dx3lR — Cheree Toka (@Chereetoka) July 10, 2022 The move to fly the Aboriginal flag permanently follows a five-year-long campaign by Kamilaroi woman Cheree Toka, who also launched a Change.org campaign in 2020 to continue to call on the NSW government to make this exact move. "The Aboriginal flag is a reminder that the country has a history before European arrival," Toka said two years ago. "I think it's really important to have a symbolic gesture on the bridge that identifies the true history of Australia, which is a starting point for conversation around greater issues affecting the Indigenous population." After the first three years of Toka's campaign, she had amassed more than 157,000 digital signatures and the required 10,000 paper-based signatures to bring the issue to NSW parliament. However, when it was debated in the final NSW parliamentary session of 2019, the result then was that it would cost too much to construct a third flagpole to see the Aboriginal flag flying daily — which was what sparked her crowdfunding campaign to raise the $300,000 quoted by the government to 'fund the flag'. Also in Aboriginal flag news this year, the Australian Government unveiled a copyright deal at the end of January with Luritja artist Harold Thomas, who designed the symbol, to make it freely available for public use. The Aboriginal flag is now flying permanently on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, effective Monday, July 11. Top image: Mary and Andrew via Flickr.
Lygon Street's Heartattack and Vine has become a firm favourite of Carlton's ever-evolving food scene, equally adored for its lunchtime sangas as for its cicchetti (Venetian-style snacks) and Euro-accented drinks offering. And now, the team behind it have unleashed another certain winner on this inner-city locale, today unveiling new venue Sunhands. Gracing the nearby corner site once home to IMA Project Cafe, this one takes the form of a cafe, wine bar, deli and grocer all rolled into one. It builds on the strong sense of support for local businesses and suppliers that co-owners Ishella Butler, Matt Roberts and Nathen Doyle honed while steering Heartattack and Vine through the pandemic. To that end, Sunhands promises to be not just a laidback local's haunt, but a staunch champion of local goodness; from the ingredients showcased through the menu to the products on the shelves. You'll even find commissioned artwork by Poppy Templeton (aka Duck Ragu) and many pieces by Melbourne ceramicist Kelly Grenhalgh featured throughout the venue. Currently open from 10am–3pm with plans to expand into a dinner service later in autumn, it's a relaxed spot for brunching, snacking and everything in between. A fuss-free fitout by Toby Hudson Carpentry and Sans-Arc works to keep the spotlight on the produce, while creating a light-filled space you'll be more than happy to settle into. Head Chef Pat Drapac (Bar Romantica, Old Palm Liquor) is behind the produce-driven menu, peppered with offerings from the likes of Day's Walk Farm, Chasney Estate, sustainable seafood supplier Two Hands and the ferment pioneers at Hobart's Rough Rice. It's an oft-changing lineup that might see you starting your day with a dippy egg and sourdough soldiers, or the loaded breakfast platter, while lunchbreakers will be lured by the daily range of salads and deli-style sandwiches. There's a rotating curation of cheese and charcuterie; drink-friendly snacks such as pickled octopus, baked ricotta and oysters with a mignonette; and an Afternoon Plate piled high with house pickles, ferments, bread and various goodies from the deli fridge. Of course, the same local love spreads throughout the drinks list, with a changing selection of vino to hero drops from the likes of Mise en Place, Patrick Sullivan, Jumping Juice and Doyle's own label, Upside Wine. Sit in over a glass or two, or grab a bottle for home. There's also coffee courtesy of Wide Open Road, a handful of considered non-alcoholic sips and a tidy crop of classic cocktails rounding out the fun. Find Sunhands at 169 Elgin Street, Carlton. It's currently open from 10am–3pm Tuesday to Sunday, with hours to be extended shortly. Images: Nicholas Wilkins
Nightlife just got brighter with Heineken's new glow-in-the-dark beer bottle. Combining the coolness of a can with the curves of a bottle, this stream-lined aluminium packaging lights up under a black light to reveal a shooting star design. It's all part of the company's packaging refreshment, which takes inspiration from the night-club scene and aims to heighten the beer drinking experience. Mark Van Iterson, Manager Global Heineken Design & Concept said "We have a history of progressive design that has had lasting influence and changed the way people enjoy beer – from being the first to introduce green beer bottles to bringing draught beer to the home through DraughtKeg. Design is at the core of the Heineken brand." Heineken has also launched an initiative, Open Design Explorations, to source other branding and experiential ideas around the theme 'light up the night' from young designers around the globe. https://youtube.com/watch?v=R5mT2mhaKY0 [Via Cool Hunting]
Popping up might be all the rage at the moment, but Londoners are on their way to developing an appetite for Popping Down. Soon, their city will see a new underground public space, with a disused tunnel being transformed into a subterranean walkway, lined with urban mushroom patches. Last year, the Landscape Institute, in conjunction with the Green Museum and the Mayor of London, ran the High Line for London Competition, an open call for ideas for green infrastructure. According to the contest guidelines, submissions did not need to "be constrained by any restrictions such as current planning law, land ownership, budgets or health and safety issues". Of the 170 entrants, Fletcher Priest Architects came out on top. The tunnel central to their plan is known as the 'mail rail' and runs under Oxford Street. Posties once used it to enable speedy delivery of letters and parcels between Paddington and Whitechapel, avoiding London's over-crowded streets. Pedestrians will enter and exit 'Pop Down' at street level. Above ground, a sequence of glass-fibre mushroom sculptures will delineate the passageway, simultaneously letting in controlled amounts of light, to be supplemented by interior fibre optics. What's more, there'll be a chance to sample some subterranean goodness, with pop-up 'fungi' cafes at the tunnel's entrances sourcing their produce from below. The competition was inspired by New York City's 'High Line', a public park constructed on an abandoned freight train railway elevated above Manhattan's West Side. In winning, Fletcher Priest beat a 20-strong shortlist of impressively creative rivals. The runner-up was Y/N Studio, with its 'Lido Line' plan, which would have seen the construction of a clean basin in the Regent's Canal, enabling water babies to swim to and from work.
In the trailer for Midsommar, a group of people trek through a forest, all saddled up with backpacks and sleeping bags. They're outside a Swedish town, with the locals putting on a mid-summer event. "It's like a crazy nine-day festival; it only happens every 90 years," visitor Dani (Florence Pugh) is told. As anyone who has ever seen a movie should know, this situation usually goes one of two ways: raucous festivities ensue, with friendships tested and lessons learned, or unnerving antics do instead. With Hereditary writer/director Ari Aster behind Midsommar, anyone who saw the 2018 horror hit will know that this flick is destined to fall into the latter category. The details are being kept scarce, even in the movie's just-released first trailer, with the film set to hit cinemas worldwide from early August this year. But if you're expecting another visibly dark and sinister flick from Aster, think again. Instead, Midsommar looks light, bright and filled with bohemian-looking folks — even as it seems to step firmly into creepy cult territory Story-wise, Dani is accompanied by her boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor), a whole heap of people wearing white await their arrival and things aren't quite what they seem when the duo gets to their destination. The Good Place's William Jackson Harper and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch's Will Poulter also feature among the cast, and what this first sneak peek offers in the way of idyllic natural surroundings and flower crowns, it counters with glimpses of chilling rituals. Check out the nightmarish first trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0UWIya-O0s Midsommar opens in Australian cinemas on August 8.
Melbourne isn't the only patch of Victoria that's gaining a new place to celebrate creativity in 2025, and adding something different and welcome to Australia's cultural scene in the process. While the state's capital city is set to become home to the Australian Museum of Performing Arts in December, championing the nation's contribution to music, theatre, opera, circus and dance in a city that's never short on any of those artforms, Halls Gap at the foothills of Gariwerd/Grampians National Park is gaining the National Centre for Environmental Art before winter is out. Again, the venue's focus and its location match perfectly. If you're going to open an Aussie-first gallery that's dedicated to works about the natural world, doing so in stunning surroundings is a must. The National Centre for Environmental Art is the brainchild of the Wama Foundation and, as it hones in on artistic narratives heroing the earth, will form part of the organisation's new art and environment precinct. When it begins ushering patrons through its doors — at a yet-to-be-revealed midyear 2025 date — the National Centre for Environmental Art will launch as stage one of the broader hub, alongside the Gariwerd/Grampians Endemic Botanic Garden, plus new artwork around the grounds. From there, immersing art within the landscape will continue to be a highlight of stage two, which will also boast a sculpture trail. So, you'll be enjoying the site's affection for both creativity and nature indoors and out. Inside, Western Australian artist Jacobus Capone will be in the spotlight at the centre's debut exhibition, with End & Being contemplating the planet's warming, the crisis as a result and the influence that humans have had upon the situation. The Fremantle-based artist creates everything from paintings and video installations to photos and performances — and will take visitors to Bossons Glacier at Mont Blanc in France without leaving Victoria, all by documenting a performance staged above and beneath the icefall. [caption id="attachment_1006306" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Astrid Muller[/caption] "Our program, encompassing new commissions, group exhibitions and nationally touring shows, will be rooted by a spirit of inquiry. Our take on the genre of environmental art is expansive, offering ample space for both playful exploration and deep contemplation," explains Wama Foundation CEO Pippa Mott of the National Centre for Environmental Art's aim. "Jacobus and I are deeply honoured to be part of Wama's inaugural exhibition and to present a project that, like Wama, seeks to foster a dialogue between art, humanity and the environment," added curator José Da Silva, who is also UNSW Galleries' Director and previously was part of the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art's team in Brisbane, including leading the Australian Cinémathèque. "Capone's work, with its profound sensitivity to environmental change and human vulnerability, speaks directly to that mission, and has guided our decisions to present this particular project." [caption id="attachment_1006309" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Astrid Muller[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1006310" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jacobus Capone and Moore Contemporary[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1006311" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jacobus Capone and Moore Contemporary[/caption] Find the Wama Foundation and The National Centre for Environmental Art at 4000 Ararat-Halls Gap Road, Halls Gap, Victoria, Australia sometime from winter 2025 — head to the Wama Foundation website for more details.
Situated in the beautiful Baja Peninsula, Los Cabos is often most recognised for its high-end luxury accommodation (check out Corazon Resort and Spa), the place the Laguna Beach kids visited for Spring Break, and endless sunshine (and food and drinks if you stay at an all-inclusive hotel like Breathless Resort). But there's so much more to experience to make your visit to Los Cabos a truly exciting adventure. Beyond the joys of sunny days, exceptional food and an excuse to drink margaritas at any time of day, Los Cabos has experiences for all types. From swimming with whale sharks to off-road expeditions through the desert to the finest in farm to table dining… let's take a spin through three must-do adventures when you visit Los Cabos. [caption id="attachment_950073" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image credit: Emma Li[/caption] Swimming with Whale Sharks These glorious creatures are the gentle giants of the sea. As plankton-eaters, their focus is on food and not on the (comparably) tiny humans who are snorkelling nearby desperate to get a close look. And a close look you can get! The team at Cabo Adventures picks you up from your accommodation, taking you to Bahia de La Paz where the whale sharks like to hang out and feed – about two hours drive from Cabo San Lucas. Ask your nerdy nature questions to your heart's content on the way, and by the time you get there, you'll be primed and ready to roll. After a quick stop to fit your wetsuit, fins and snorkel enjoy a glorious boat ride on the sparkling water off to the protected harbour and home to the whale sharks. Once your friendly guides find you your fish, it's go time. Slip into the water then snorkel alongside these magnificent, gentle, chilled creatures and observe them doing what we all love best: having a great feed. When to go: November to April is the peak, but they can be seen all year round. [caption id="attachment_950080" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Whale shark street art on a wall in Los Cabos. Image credit: Elizabeth Tucker[/caption] [caption id="attachment_950082" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Flora Farms[/caption] Fantastic Farm-to-Table Fare Known for beautiful fresh produce, Los Cabos has a thriving agricultural industry and growing farm-to-table offerings. In the foothills of the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains, you'll find three beautiful destinations for eating, exploring and playing. Well-known Flora Farms is a 25-acre farm with largely hand grown ingredients, and is a wonderful place to visit for a cooking class. Their neighbour down the road, Acre, also offers boutique accommodation and a globally inspired menu using their freshly farmed produce. Finally, Los Tamarindos is a glorious outdoor setting, representing a traditional Mexican hacienda. Looking out over the farm with picturesque mountain views, sip on a smoky mezcalita and enjoy the incredible tasting and shared plates toasting a gorgeous Mexican sunset. [caption id="attachment_950083" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Beautiful rustic dining at Tamarindos. Image credit: Elizabeth Tucker[/caption] Off-Road Desert and Dust Derby Get the full desert and oasis experience on an off-road adventure like you've never experienced before. Wear your darkest clothes (because they're bound to get dirty) as you hop aboard a an ATV designed to hoon through muddy terrain and dusty dirt trails in the Sierra de la Laguna UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Encounter the region's unique endemic flora and fauna, gaining insight into its ecological significance. And once you've worked up an appetite, sit back and much on an amazing local ranch lunch, savouring authentic flavours and tranquil surroundings. This is another of Cabo Adventures' amazing offerings and one not to miss. For places to stay, there are endless resort and boutique offerings to suit your tastes. To find exactly what you're looking for, Los Cabos Tourism has a perfectly curated selection of accommodation for all travel tastes and styles. Concrete Playground travelled as a guest of Visit Los Cabos. Top Image: Jules Clark via Pexels.
It's your saving grace when you're designated driver. The dash you can't do without in any manhattan or whisky sour. Yet, Angostura bitters has long been relegated to play the bittersweet supporting role. But, trust three ex-MasterChef contestants (and culinary champions) to look beyond the old fashioned and take bitters from cocktails to cooking. Far from bitter that they missed out on the top spot, MasterChef runners-up Ben Ungermann, Matt Sinclair and Georgia Barnes accepted the challenge to create three unique recipes featuring one unlikely ingredient — Angostura bitters. From entree through to dessert, the three chefs prove that bitters complements both sweet and savoury dishes that, luckily for us, you don't need to be a MasterChef to cook at home. ENTREE: ANGOSTURA-POACHED COD WITH FENNEL AND ORANGE SEGMENTS While bitters and fish may seem like an unlikely combo to us amateurs, Ben Ungermann found multiple ways to hero bitters in his Angostura-poached cod entree. First by using the ingredient in the marinade for the cod, and then as a bittersweet vinaigrette to match the tartness and zest of the accompanying orange and fennel salad. Angostura Marinated Poached Cod with Fennel and Orange Salad For the vinaigrette 1 tsp Angostura aromatic bitters 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp white wine vinegar Pinch of salt and pepper For the fennel and orange salad 1 handful shaved fennel 1 small handful of bean sprouts Orange segments from one orange For the Angostura-poached cod 150g cod 1 tbsp Angostura aromatic bitters 100g unsalted butter Zest from one orange Salt Pepper Method Vinaigrette Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside for serving. Fennel and Orange Salad With a mandolin, shave the fennel into thin strips. Take an orange and remove the skin. Cut the orange into segments, then vertically cut the segments to make small triangles. Toss the fennel and orange through bean sprouts and set aside. Angostura-Poached Cod Cut fish fillet into 4–6cm pieces. Place fish in foil along with butter broken into small pieces, Angostura aromatic bitters, orange zest and seasoning. Tightly wrap and place in oven at 120 degrees Celsius until steamed. Check fish every 10 minutes until cooked through. MAIN: ANGOSTURA BEEF SHORT RIBS WITH OLD FASHIONED GLAZE When a single ingredient added to an orange glaze helps to achieve what Matt Sinclair describes as "a liqueur-like intensity that complements the richness of short ribs", there's no questioning that bitters has found a new calling as the secret ingredient in your new favourite dish. Seeing bitterness as a "vital aspect of a balanced dish that's just as important as sweet, sour and salt", Matt brings all these elements together, turning an old favourite into new in his recipe for Angostura beef ribs with old fashioned glaze. Angostura Beef Short Ribs with Old Fashioned Glaze For the beef ribs 2kg beef ribs 1l master stock or chicken stock For the glaze 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup bourbon 6 tbsp Angostura orange bitters 4 tbsp vinegar Zest and juice of two oranges 1 cup sugar 2-inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced 6 cloves of garlic 4 star anise For the crystal cucumber 2 lebanese cucumbers 1 tsp sea salt 2 tsp caster sugar, plus extra 1 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar 2 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp soy sauce 1 tbsp olive oil 2–3 garlic cloves, finely grated 1–2 birdseye chillies, finely sliced 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds 1/2 cup fresh mint, leaves picked Method Ribs and Glaze Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Place ribs in a deep oven tray, bone-side up and cover with master stock or chicken stock. Cover with foil, and cook in the oven for 3.5 hours. Remove from oven, and transfer ribs to a wire rack over a roasting tray, bone-side down. Cover with foil. Increase oven temperature to 220 degrees Celsius. While ribs are cooking, in a medium saucepan add all glaze ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer glaze until a syrup-like consistency is reached. Pour 1/3 cup of the glaze over the ribs, and place them back in the oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove ribs from the oven and place onto a platter. Pour over any remaining glaze. Serve with steamed jasmine rice and crystal cucumber on the side. Crystal Cucumber Cut cucumber in quarters lengthways, and dice into 2-inch pieces. Place the cucumber in a colander, add a pinch of salt and sugar and toss to coat. Then place the colander over a bowl and allow to drain in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, add salt, sugar and rice wine vinegar and whisk to combine, until sugar and salt are dissolved. Add sesame oil and soy sauce and mix through to combine. To serve, remove cucumbers from the refrigerator and transfer to a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat before adding garlic, dressing, chilli and mint. Mix together well, garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately. DESSERT: ANGOSTURA LEMON, LIME AND BITTERS TART When it comes to bitters, it'd be remiss not to mention the sweet, refreshing flavour combination of a lemon, lime and bitters. So rather than break away completely from something that's already so damn good, Georgia Barnes opted to reinvent the iconic soft drink as an Angostura lemon, lime and bitters tart with a thick, buttery pastry base and sweet, creamy filling. Garnish the tart with edible flower petals and plate with precision, and you'll do a convincing job that you too could be a MasterChef contender. Angostura Lemon, Lime and Bitters Tart with Brown Sugar Shortcrust Pastry For the pastry 2 cups plain flour 4 tbsp brown sugar 1/2 tsp salt 150g unsalted butter, cold and chopped 3–4 tbsp ice cold water For the tart filling 100ml lemon juice 100ml lime juice 1 cup caster sugar 2 tbsp corn flour 4 free-range eggs 4 free-range egg yolks 100g butter, chopped 2 tbsp Angostura aromatic bitters To serve 100ml dollop cream Lemon zest Lime zest Edible flower petals (optional) Method Grease and line a 23cm springform tart tin. For the pastry, place flour, sugar, salt and butter into a food processor, and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Slowly add the iced water until mixture forms a soft ball of dough. Place a large piece of baking paper onto a clean, dry surface. Sprinkle baking paper with a little extra flour. Place dough onto baking paper and roll to 2–3mm thick using a floured rolling pin. Carefully turn the sheet of pastry onto the tart tin, pastry side down. Peel away the baking paper. Gently press pastry into the sides of the tart tin. Place tart shell into the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Remove tart shell from refrigerator. Using a sharp knife, trim excess pastry away from the edge of the tart tin. Using baking paper and pie weights or uncooked grains, place tart shell in the oven to blind bake for 20 minutes. Remove tart shell from oven. Carefully remove baking paper and weights and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes, or until the base of tart shell is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool. To make the filling, place lemon juice, lime juice, sugar, corn flour, eggs and egg yolks into a saucepan and whisk together well. Place saucepan over medium heat and continue to whisk until the mixture reaches boiling point and has thickened. Remove saucepan from heat. Strain hot filling through a fine sieve into a bowl to remove any lumps. Add butter to filling, and continue to stir until butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Add Angostura aromatic bitters and mix well. To assemble the tart, pour lemon, lime and bitters filling into the cooled tart shell. Place tart in the refrigerator to chill for 1–2 hours or overnight. To serve, carefully remove the tart from the springform tart tin and place onto a serving plate. Sprinkle tart with lemon and lime zest and drizzle with cream. Garnish with edible flower petals. Using a sharp knife, cut tart into even pieces. Best served chilled. Now that you've got this secret ingredient on your radar, move your bottle of Angostura bitters from the drinks cupboard to the pantry, and try your hand at cooking some of these deliciously bittersweet recipes.
Some neighbours suck, like the Constant Complainers. The Constant Complainer is never short of an excuse to knock on the wall your terraces share. Worse still are the Loud Guys. Do they really need to barbecue that loudly? Some of us have jobs? Some of us contribute to society? Some of us, maybe, secretly, hopefully not, are Constant Complainers ourselves. But for all of their flaws, the Constant Complainers and Loud Guys are nothing, really. The worst of them are the Zac Efrons of this world, the fraternities of 50 brothers that move in shortly after the birth of your baby. These neighbours go above and beyond Loud Guys. And although they might have hilarious Robert De Niro-themed frat parties, for genius Kimye impersonator Seth Rogan and Aussie actor Rose Byrne, resigning themselves to the roles of Constant Complainers is not an option. Titled Bad Neighbours, this new comedy is directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and is destined to give you more than a few lols. Representing something of a turning point for Efron, the film is sitting at 100 percent approval on Rotten Tomatoes. Bad Neighbours is in cinemas on Thursday, May 8, and thanks to Universal Pictures, we have ten double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=F8FKvhZLw9o
In Melbourne's southeast, you'll find a blend of Malaysian, Chinese and Japanese cuisine at The Potsticker. Don't let the idea of a mish-mash put you off — it simply means you can have roasted peking duck in pancakes with nasi goreng and, of course, beef potsticker dumplings with black vinegar. Unsure of where to start? Sign up for one of the banquets (starting at $39.50 per person), which will get you a selection of dishes from across the varied menu. There's a decent range of vegetarian and gluten-free options on the menu, too. The Caulfield North restaurant is open for lunch (12–3pm) from Wednesday to Sunday, so there are plenty of opportunities to get your whole team out of the office to enjoy a huge selection of dim sum. And a bottle of wine, of course — corkage is $8 per person. The Potsticker offers BYO wine.
They're famous for singing about an island in the sun. Come October, they'll be playing on one: Australia. Yes, add Weezer to the list of acts that first made it big decades ago that are hitting our shores again, and soon, with the Los Angeles-formed alt-rock band just announcing three big Aussie arena gigs for this spring. Expect the supremely cruisy, holiday vibe-heavy 'Island in the Sun' to get a spin, plus 'Undone — The Sweater Song', 'Buddy Holly', 'El Scorcho', 'Beverly Hills', 'Hash Pip', 'Pork and Beans' and more, all from across the group's three-decade career. Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Scott Shriner and Brian Bell will take to the stage in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on a whirlwind three-day, three-show trip between Friday, October 6–Sunday, October 8. [caption id="attachment_912637" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Murphy[/caption] Music lovers in Victoria and Queensland's capitals, you'll be catching Weezer play through its hefty discography as headliners, with the band picking up their instruments at John Cain Arena in the former and Brisbane Entertainment Centre in the latter. In support, Brissie legends Regurgitator will warm up the crowd in both cities — another favourite that began rocking the airwaves in the 90s. In Sydney, Weezer fans will need to see KISS, too, with Weezer's only Harbour City show in support of KISS in what's been dubbed the makeup-clad icons' last-ever Australian concert. Weezer love a bit of a nostalgia, at least where their Aussie tours are involved. Back in 2020, they were announced for the Hella Mega Tour's Down Under run, which was meant to hit the country that November with Green Day and Fall Out Boy also headlining. Then the pandemic hit, and the trio's successful worldwide combined gigs cancelled its Australian plans. WEEZER 2023 AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES: HEADLINE SHOWS: Friday, October 6 — John Cain Arena, Melbourne Sunday, October 8 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane KISS: THE FINAL CURTAIN WITH SPECIAL GUESTS WEEZER: Saturday, October 7 — Accord Stadium, Sydney Weezer will tour Australia in October 2023, with early-bird pre-sale tickets for their solo shows available from 9am AEST on Tuesday, August 15, and general sales from 9am AEST on Thursday, August 17. Head to the tour website for further details — and to Ticketek for KISS tickets now. Top image: Hunter Kahn via Wikimedia Commons.
With a distinctly Chinese club culture only emerging in relatively recent times, acclaimed Chinese photographer Chen Wei's first Australian solo exhibition captures the enigmatic scene. The end of the country's Cultural Revolution saw many western influences and pastimes begin to flow into China, with the 1980s and '90s seeing the rise of nightclubs and electronic music. This brought young artists and intellectuals together in a previously unknown expressive environment — one that, at the time, was considered to be rebellious and progressive. While nightclubs are commonplace in China nowadays, Chen Wei set out to document the unique subculture and comment on societal changes that are taking place across the country. As nightclubs have become widespread, through his photo series, Wei argues that nightclubs reflect a culture that has accepted western influence and is now unsure of what the future holds. Running until May 7, The Club is presented at Fitzroy's Centre for Contemporary Photography. Image: Chen Wei In The Waves #5 (2013).
New Zealand's South Island is home to some of the most beautiful sights one could ever imagine. There are some spectacular wineries, plus it's home to a burgeoning network of craft breweries and distilleries that are making beers and spirits to a remarkably high standard. So, where exactly are these innovators of imbibing located? Well, you can find them scattered all over the island — if you're planning a big trip around the whole South, we've found a spot for you. To help you on your drinking journey, we've crafted the ultimate brewpub itinerary. Let's start at the top and work our way south. BREW MOON BREWING COMPANY, AMBERLEY Established in 2002, the Brew Moon Brewing Company is a family-owned brewery and taproom in Amberley, North Canterbury. Brew Moon tinnies are available all over New Zealand, but visiting the Brew Moon site gives you the opportunity to try taproom-only seasonals and exclusives. The taproom holds 16 taps and pours beer straight from the brewery to your glass — doesn't get much fresher than that. The menu at Brew Moon only serves woodfired pizza to go with its craft beers, but really, it's a winning combination so there's no complaint here. THE FERMENIST, CHRISTCHURCH The Fermentist microbrewery in Christchurch is the newest craft kid on the block and aims to create great beer in a sustainable and environmentally friendly fashion. The brewery has implemented solar panels, composting, rainwater gathering, waste minimisation recycling and even tree-free toilet paper. The kitchen sources South Island hops and malt for brewing and local ingredients for the taproom kitchen. The Fermentist also has a female head brewer — which is not all that common in the craft beer community. The taproom is open daily and boasts an extensive menu of food and beer, as well as a fill-your-own station if you want to take home a growler of fermented delights. CARDRONA DISTILLERY, OTAGO A little further south in Otago, you'll find the Cardrona Distillery — a family-owned boutique distillery creating premium artisanal spirits. Situated within the remote Cardrona Valley, the distillery produces whisky, gin, vodka and liqueurs — all of which are handcrafted onsite. A tour of the facility costs $25 and takes 75 minutes, during which you'll learn about all aspects of spirit making — from grain to glass — and be treated to a guided tasting of each of the Cardrona spirits at the end. RHYME AND REASON, WANAKA While it's only been open for just over a year, Wanaka brewpub Rhyme and Reason is already a firm favourite in the region. Open daily from midday, it serves tasting paddles and pints from the ten taps, as well as 'hoppy' hour specials and cheese plates. The venue even allows BYO food if you're hankering for something specific to match with your beer. The team at Rhyme and Reason is all about creating a beer-loving community, best illustrated in the epic beer garden, which boasts everything from giant Jenga and foosball to the occasional food truck festival and even free community yoga on Sunday mornings. Tours are available but no set times exist, so just contact the brewery to book. WANAKA BEERWORKS, WANAKA Celebrating its 20th year brewing, Wanaka Beerworks knows how to please the people. Using the freshest ingredients and pure alpine water to create extremely tasty beer, this microbrewery produces small-batch brews under the brands Wanaka Beerworks and Jabberwocky with the flagship beers always available, alongside the occasional seasonal. Tours run Monday to Saturday, and take you through the entire beer-making process with, of course, the option to sample one or two at the end at the tasting room and bar. EMERSON'S BREWERY, DUNEDIN If there's a godfather of New Zealand craft beer it's Richard Emerson, who went from brewing beer in his parents' garage in Dunedin to owning his first brewery in 1993 and onto building Emerson's Brewery and Taproom in 2016. Emerson's boasts a restaurant, a bar with more than 20 beers (each matched to a menu item), and a 12-tap cellar door for your fill-your-own requirements. Tours of this state-of-the-art brewery run multiple times daily and include the opportunity to get your hands dirty in the workshop, a unique sensory experience and a guided tasting of six famous beers. Bookings are recommended. SPEIGHT'S, DUNEDIN So, it's not exactly a craft brewery, but no beer lover's trip to the South Island would be complete without visiting Speight's in Dunedin. Speight's is the epitome of the kiwi beer scene and has been brewing beer in the south since 1876 — this long and remarkable history is outlined during the tour which takes place at various times daily. The tour ends with not just beer tasting, but the opportunity to pour your own beer in the new tasting room and some great pub grub from the Speight's Ale House. The facility has just undergone a multimillion-dollar renovation to improve the visitor experience, so this South Island veteran is looking better than ever, even after 141 years. INVERCARGILL BREWERY As far south as possible lies the Invercargill Brewery, a place that's been applying new-world flavours to old-world beer styles since 1999. This brewery and taproom is dedicated to all things local, being sustainable and, most importantly, making amazing craft beers and ciders, both stalwarts and seasonals. The venue also has a newly opened events space called Asylum which hosts bands, comedy evenings and art exhibitions. Brewery tours are available on request. DANCING SANDS DISTILLERY, TAKAKA Run by husband and wife team Ben and Sarah Bonoma, Dancing Sands Distillery is situated in Takaka at the top of the South Island. The couple small-batch distil using a 150-litre copper still imported from Germany and age the spirits in a combination of French and American oak barrels. Dancing Sands' focus is on purity and sources its water from one of the clearest sources in the world, Pupu Springs. Ben and Sarah make vodka, gin and rum under the brands Dancing Sands, Sacred Spring and Murders Bay. And, the team is does some pretty innovative things, particularly under the Dancing Sands brand — wasabi gin, anyone? MCCASHIN'S BREWERY, NELSON Just down the road in Nelson, McCashin's Brewery has been brewing craft beer since the 1980s — long before it was trendy. McCashin's makes both beer and cider under brands Stoke and Rochdale, the latter of which is New Zealand's oldest cider. The onsite kitchen and bar serves food, coffee and, of course, beer and cider that can be enjoyed inside the brewery or sitting in the beer garden with that famous Nelson sunshine. Tours run daily, Monday to Friday, and cost $25 — that includes the guided tour, a post-tour beer and cider tasting and a souvenir glass which is yours to keep. Tour bookings are recommended. Start planning your trip to New Zealand's south with our guide to the South Island journeys to take here.
Friday, February 25, 2022 mightn't be the day of your daughter's wedding, but it is when that famous movie quote about offspring and nuptials will echo through cinemas once again. Delivered by Marlon Brando in one of his finest-ever performances — which won him a thoroughly deserved Oscar for Best Actor — the line has become one of the all-time great pieces of dialogue. Whether you know why or you've always been meaning to find out, here's your chance. Some films demand a big-screen viewing at least once, and The Godfather is high among them — and, 50 years after it first flickered through picture palaces, the Francis Ford Coppola-directed mafia masterpiece is getting another theatrical run to mark that huge milestone. This really is the gangster flick that has it all, including equally superb performances from Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and James Caan. It isn't considered one of the best movies ever made without good reason. Arriving a few weeks before the feature officially hits the big five-o — it premiered back in March 1972 and released in US cinemas later the same month — this season of The Godfather will also give movie-goers an offer they can't refuse: seeing the flick in a restored version overseen by Coppola's production company American Zoetrope and the film's distributor Paramount Pictures. All three Godfather features got the same treatment, as guided by the legendary filmmaker, who originally directed the movie when he was just 33; however, only the first film is returning to cinemas. Story-wise, if you really are new to it all, the trilogy follows the Corleones — with the first film focusing on Vito Corleone (Brando) and his youngest son Michael (Pacino) as the latter reluctantly (at first) joins the family business. All three movies, including 1974's The Godfather Part II and Coppola's recently re-edited version of 1990's The Godfather Part III, now called The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone and briefly released in cinemas back in 2020, will hit home entertainment on Wednesday, March 23, too. And yes, at home, that means you can see Lost in Translation and On the Rocks director Sofia Coppola as a baby in the OG flick and also play Michael's daughter Mary in the third film. Check out the trailer for the 50th-anniversary restoration of The Godfather below: The Godfather 50th-anniversary re-release will hit cinemas Down Under on February 25, 2022.
You may have heard that, this week, two Australian restaurants won some fierce kudos on the international stage, being named in the World's 50 Best Restaurants of 2017 list. Ben Shewry's Attica was placed at number 32 (as was predicted), but Dan Hunter's regional Victorian restaurant Brae pleasantly surprised everyone, moving up 19 spots to crack the top 50 at position 44. Following his win, Hunter has announced that he'll embark on an Australia-wide tour this May to promote his upcoming cookbook, Brae: Recipes and Stories from the Restaurant. The 256-page book, which was announced before his placing in the World's 50 Best and will no doubt be all the more in demand now, will illuminate some of the Birregurra restaurant's most famed recipes — think the burnt pretzel with treacle and pork. He'll be hitting up Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide to host events with some of Australia's best chefs to chat about his journey from small-time chef to world-famous restaurateur. At Melbourne's Cutler & Co, Brisbane's Urbane and the Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant in Adelaide they'll be serving high-end snacks with matched drinks. But in Sydney, Hunter and Quay's Peter Gilmore are pushing the boat out with a five-course meal event and matched drinks for $450. Brae: Recipes and Stories from the Restaurant ($75) is published by Phaidon and out on May 1. The A Taste of Brae events will coincide with the release date — you can book here. Image: Colin Page.
Bartenders are the new rockstars — if their touring habits are anything to go by, anyway. In the past few years, more and more cocktail bars and their helmsmen have joined musicians for fly-in, fly-out visits to Australia — but instead of touring records, they're touring killer drinks lists. Last year saw Asia's best bar 28 Hongkong Street and hidden New York City jaunt Attaboy both do a quick stops in Melbourne and Sydney, while Mace popped up at Sydney's PS40 just the other week and PDT was in town a little while back too. And now another NYC bar is making its way to our shores for a cheeky cocktail pop-up. The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog will come to Australia for three nights only, spreading its shaking skills across the east coast with one night at Melbourne's Black Pearl, one night at Sydney's Baxter Inn and one night at The Gresham in Brisbane. Dead Rabbit will be sending their finest drink makers to work in collaboration with the host bars to create a one-night-only menu that will showcase their skills and signature drinks and food items (like their Scotch egg). Their cocktail menu is pretty extensive, but we're hoping they bring their Hong Kong Phooey with them — it blends rum with Aquavit, grapefruit, pistachio and avocado. Although we've had a few bars pass through our major cities by now, this one's pretty special as Dead Rabbit, which is permanently located in lower Manhattan, took out the top spot on last year's World's 50 Best Bars list. So if you can't get to the Lower East Side anytime soon, this is your next best option. Tickets to the pop-up have already sold out in Melbourne for April 18, but are still available in Brisbane on April 19 and Sydney on April 23. Tickets are a little pricey at $40 (plus booking fee) — that includes a cocktail on arrival and one of Dead Rabbit's signature Scotch eggs. You'll then be able to purchase extra drinks on top of that.
If you're a wannabe wizard or witch looking for more Harry Potter magic in your life, the last few years have provided plenty of ways to accio up some enchanting fun. Harry Potter-themed potions bars have popped up across Australia and New Zealand, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child hit the stage in Melbourne, and screenings, parties, escape rooms, scavenger hunts and other HP-centric events have been common everywhere, really. You can also play Pokemon Go-style game Wizards Unite or browse your way through the online Harry Potter at Home portal whenever you like, too. Soon, all of above will pale in comparison to the kind of space HP fans can really lose themselves in — and one that, hopefully, visitors will need a Marauder's Map to get around. That'd be a dedicated Harry Potter theme park, which is set to open in Japan in the first half of 2023. Fingers (or wands) crossed that international travel is back to normal by then. As first reported earlier this year, the new park will take over part of the existing Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo's Nerima ward. That site has been up and running for 94 years, but will close at the end of August 2020 — so Warner Bros Studio Tours, Warner Bros Japan, Seibu Railway Co Ltd, ITOCHU Corporation and Fuyo General Lease Co Ltd are teaming up, waving a few magic wands about and turning a section of it into a Harry Potter-theme park. [caption id="attachment_761496" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Toshimaen. Image: Rsa via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Called Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo — The Making of Harry Potter, the new venture will take more than a few cues from the existing Harry Potter attraction in London, which spans costumes, props, exhibitions and special events. That means there'll be a focus on sets that fans can tour, rather than rides. If you were hoping to play quidditch, travel by portkey or ride the floo network, that doesn't seem to be on the agenda, sorry. Instead, visitors will be taken "on a fascinating behind the scenes tour of the Wizarding World series," according to the statement officially announcing the Tokyo park. Over a space of about 30,000 square metres that'll include a soundstage and backlot area, there'll be movie sets that were designed and built by the creators of the Harry Potter series, as well as original outfits and items from the films. Overall, it's expected to take patrons about half a day to wander through it all. [caption id="attachment_761499" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Warner Bros Studio Tour London[/caption] Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo — The Making of Harry Potter will be ticketed, unsurprisingly, but outside the entrance it'll also feature a landscaped area filled with sculptures of Harry Potter figures — and that'll be accessible to both park visitors and local residents. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will be turning the rest of Toshimaen Amusement Park's grounds into a public park, with the Harry Potter tour and the rest of site coordinating their development plans. Japan is already home to a Harry Potter theme park zone at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka — so diehard devotees just might have to visit two of the country's cities. When it comes to fruition, add the dedicated Harry Potter theme park to Japan's hefty range of pop culture-themed attractions. A Super Nintendo amusement park zone is due to open at the aforementioned Universal Studios Japan in Osaka this year, a forthcoming Godzilla attraction will let you zipline into the monster's mouth, and a Studio Ghibli theme park is in the works — and Tokyo already boasts huge Godzilla and Gundam statues, as well as the Studio Ghibli Museum just outside the city. Top image: Warner Bros Studio Tour London.
It's Friday night and you're in the mood to binge on pork dumplings, but before you reach for a cold beer or glass of wine to wash down those hot, juicy pockets of joy, consider cracking open a bottle of champagne. You may have noticed a rise in the number of pink champagnes in your local bottle shop, and that's because this bubbly booze is a surprisingly versatile drink, even with the most flavoursome dishes. We've partnered with the pioneers of rosé champagne, Moët & Chandon, to bring you a list of unusual dishes to try the next time you're popping open a bottle of pink — from delicate wagyu beef carpaccio to simpler summer-ready salads. As rosé champagne is crafted from three of Champagne's grape varieties — pinot noir, chardonnay and meunier — it's one of the best quality rosé champagnes to purchase for your next dinner party. Take some inspiration and go wild with your own menu pairings — this French fizz complements many a feast. [caption id="attachment_759771" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mariha Kitchen[/caption] WAGYU BEEF CARPACCIO WITH JUNIPER BERRIES For an unlikely but heavenly marriage of texture and flavour, try wagyu beef carpaccio dressed with juniper berries. The red meat will give you that boisterous protein hit and the slightly sweet, slightly spiced addition of juniper berries is a fantastic complement to the pinot noir notes of rosé champagne. And, as raw meat rarely has pronounced tannins, this is the perfect meal for when you're craving red meat but don't want to spoil the wild strawberry and raspberry notes in a good bottle of bubbly. [caption id="attachment_759773" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lilechka75[/caption] BEETROOT RISOTTO WITH TALEGGIO CHEESE AND PINK PEPPERCORNS This is one of those pairings that looks as good as it tastes — it's pink and purple with a glossy rich glow from the risotto. The subtle sweet character of the beetroot and the richness of the creamy Italian taleggio cheese are incredibly well-suited to a bottle of crisp rosé champagne as the vibrancy and the acid in the wine cuts through the creaminess. Plus, the addition of pink peppercorns gives the dish a gentle spice that can open up the flavours of any glass of wine. If it's true what they say — that anything with a little pink pigment is perfect for pink bubbly — then this dish is proof. [caption id="attachment_759782" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Martin Turzak[/caption] MOROCCAN LAMB STEW WITH ROAST SUMAC Slow cooking meat, such as lamb, tends to mellow out the tannins in the meat, giving you really tender, slightly sweet meat that's very welcoming to the crisper style of rosé. Try Moroccan lamb stew with roasted sumac for a hearty dish that's an unlikely, yet delicious, match with rosé champagne. The lamb pairs with the dry notes of the wine, plus the gentle spice of the sumac brings out the aromatic elements of the rosé champagne. It's sure to create a whole new flavour experience that's an impressive flex for your next dinner party. [caption id="attachment_749216" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Duck & Rice; Steven Woodburn[/caption] DIM SUM As a rule, any kind of pastry is an excellent companion to champagne, but fatty and salty snacks like dumplings and spring rolls aren't well known companions for pink fizz. Introduce a light rosé champagne to your next dim sum feast of pork or prawn dumplings and it'll open your mind to a world of underrated matches for your new favourite bubbly. Salty-sweet pork and buttery prawns wrapped in pillowy dough couldn't ask for a better partner than a crisp glass of rosé champagne to give a sensation of freshening the palate. [caption id="attachment_617490" align="alignnone" width="1920"] NOLA Smokehouse[/caption] KINGFISH CEVICHE WITH PINK GRAPEFRUIT Seafood is a longtime friend of sparkling wine, and while champagne might go great with smoked salmon, rosé champagne is destined for top-end ceviche. The fattiness of kingfish ceviche with the fruity acidity of pink grapefruit makes for a party dish well matched to a robust rosé champagne, such as Moët & Chandon's Rosé Impérial, which has gooseberry, raspberry and wild strawberry notes. For a little kick, add a chilli dressing to really brighten the whole experience. Much like the rosé champagne itself, this pairing packs a big punch but always finishes with a fresh taste in your mouth. [caption id="attachment_759780" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Z Kruger[/caption] MORETON BAY BUGS WITH GARLIC BUTTER This is one of those dishes that is difficult to pair with wine, simply because it's so good on its own. With a buttery sweetness, Moreton Bay bugs need the strength and complexity of a wine big enough to really match it in richness without ruining the lobster-like flavour. Rosé champagne is that complementary partner. The creaminess of the garlic butter is mellowed by the acidity in the rosé, and the dry notes of the champagne go well with the soft-sweet juiciness of the bugs. [caption id="attachment_759786" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sarsmis[/caption] WATERMELON AND FETA SALAD For a super-simple summer salad, we suggest marrying a subtly sweet watermelon to a briny feta cheese. Try building your salad at a picnic location to keep the flavours as fresh as possible, and remember to bring an ice bucket for the pink champagne. The fresh and healthy salad is an effortless match for a crisp glass of rosé champagne, as the wine's natural fruit characters, minerality and acidity pairs well with light fruit-based dishes. Moët & Chandon's Rosé Impérial is a fruity and elegant champagne with gooseberry, raspberry and wild strawberry notes. Find out more here. Top image: Oriental Teahouse.
The Mulberry Group made its impact on Melbourne's cafe scene when it opened smash-hit brunch spots including The Kettle Black, Top Paddock and Higher Ground. And just six months after selling those original venues, the group was at it again with a new CBD venture, Liminal. Unlike the group's previous venues, this one isn't just a cafe — it's also a wine store, events space and marketplace that caters more to a business crowd. It's also located in the foyer of an office building. You'll find it in the T&G Building on the corner of Collins and Russell streets, which was recently refurbished and now houses a heap of new retail and dining spots, including Lune's CBD outpost. Design studio The Stella Collective has worked wonders on the space, creating a space of comfortable curves, olive-green banquettes and light timber accents to help you forget you're a stone's throw from your desk and emails. In the kitchen, Executive Chef Martin Webster — who has previously headed up kitchens at Jackalope and Montalto on the Mornington Peninsula — has devised a nice and simple offering of breakfast and lunch fare. The lunchtime lineup of salads and sandwiches is set to revolve around each day's market haul, a rotisserie will be busy turning out hot chickens and porchetta, and a raft of daily specials is sure to tempt local office-bound regulars. We're told there'll be plenty of takeaway options for office workers who don't have time to spare, too. Meanwhile, a private boardroom offers something a little extra for corporate lunches, product launches and meetings. And, come knock-off time, the Liminal wine store promises yet more fun, showcasing a selection of almost 200 different drops, from largely local small-scale producers. Pick up a bottle on your way home, or settle in for a quick after-work tipple — the bar will be open and pouring until 6pm, Monday to Friday. Images: Carmen Zammit.
For TV fans, 2022 was the year of finally. After a couple of years of hefty pandemic delays, so many stellar television shows finally returned. In 2023 so far, it's been the year of farewells. Again, plenty of ace programs have added extra episodes — but some of them, such as Succession, Barry, The Other Two, Servant and The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, dropped back in for their final runs, then said goodbye. Revelling in the last glimpses of feuding families, actors-turned-hitmen, stardom-chasing siblings, eerie nannies and comedians — and maybe AFC Richmond, too — has only been part of the viewing landscape among returning TV shows this year, though. Thankfully, when our screens delivered more time with high schoolers lost in the woods, for instance, it did so with the promise of more to follow. Elsewhere, the lineup of already-great series offering more instalments spanned everything from decade-plus comebacks to ridiculously brilliant sketches — plus shows about comebacks, dinosaurs, twisted technology, being trapped in a musical and more. Now that 2023 has passed its halfway point, we've rounded up the 15 best TV series that released another season between January and June. Binge them now if you haven't already. SUCCESSION Endings have always been a part of Succession. Since it premiered in 2018, the bulk of the HBO drama's feuding figures have been waiting for a big farewell. The reason is right there in the title, because for any of the Roy clan's adult children to scale the family company's greatest heights and remain there — be it initial heir apparent Kendall (Jeremy Strong, Armageddon Time), his inappropriate photo-sending brother Roman (Kieran Culkin, No Sudden Move), their political-fixer sister Siobhan (Sarah Snook, Pieces of a Woman), or eldest sibling and now-presidential candidate Connor (Alan Ruck, The Dropout) — their father Logan's (Brian Cox, Remember Me) tenure needed to wrap up. The latter was always stubborn. Proud, too, of what he'd achieved and the power it's brought. And whenever Logan seemed nearly ready to leave the business behind, he held on. If he's challenged or threatened, as happened again and again in the Emmy-winning series, he fixed his grasp even tighter. Succession was always been waiting for Logan's last stint at global media outfit Waystar RoyCo, but it had never been about finales quite the way it was in its stunning fourth season. This time, there was ticking clock not just for the show's characters, but for the stellar series itself, given that this is its last go-around — and didn't it make the most of it. Nothing can last forever, not even widely acclaimed hit shows that are a rarity in today's TV climate: genuine appointment-viewing. So, this went out at the height of its greatness, complete with unhappy birthday parties, big business deals, plenty of scheming and backstabbing, and both Shiv's husband Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen, Operation Mincemeat) and family cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun, Zola) in vintage form — plus an early shock, at least two of the best episodes of any show that've ever aired on television, one of the worst drinks, a phenomenal acting masterclass, a The Sopranos-level final shot and the reality that money really can't buy happiness. Succession streams via Binge. Read our full review. BARRY Since HBO first introduced the world to Barry Berkman, the contract killer played and co-created by Saturday Night Live great Bill Hader wanted to be something other than a gun for hire. An ex-military sniper, he was always skilled at his highly illicit post-service line of work; however, moving on from that past was a bubbling dream even before he found his way to a Los Angeles acting class while on a job. Barry laid bare its namesake's biggest wish in its 2018 premiere episode. Then, it kept unpacking his pursuit of a life less lethal across the show's Emmy-winning first and second seasons, plus its even-more-astounding third season in 2022. Season four, the series' final outing, was no anomaly, but it also realised that wanting to be someone different and genuinely overcoming your worst impulses aren't the same. Barry grappled with this fact since the beginning, of course, with the grim truth beating at the show's heart whether it's at its most darkly comedic, action-packed or dramatic — and, given that its namesake was surrounded by people who similarly yearn for an alternative to their current lot in life, yet also can't shake their most damaging behaviour, it did so beyond its antihero protagonist. Are Barry, his girlfriend Sally Reid (Sarah Goldberg, The Night House), acting teacher Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler, Black Adam), handler Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root, Succession) and Chechen gangster NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan, Bill & Ted Face the Music) all that different from who they were when Barry started? Have they processed their troubles? Have they stopped taking out their struggles not just on themselves, but on those around them? Hader and his fellow Barry co-creator Alec Berg (Silicon Valley, Curb Your Enthusiasm) kept asking those questions in season four to marvellous results, including after making a massive jump, and right up to the jaw-dropping yet pitch-perfect finale. Barry being Barry, posing such queries and seeing its central figures for who they are was an ambitious, thrilling and risk-taking ride. When season three ended, it was with Barry behind bars, which is where he was when the show's new go-around kicked off. He wasn't coping, unsurprisingly, hallucinating Sally running lines in the prison yard and rejecting a guard's attempt to tell him that he's not a bad person. With the latter, there's a moment of clarity about what he's done and who he is, but Barry's key players have rarely been that honest with themselves for long. Barry streams via Binge. Read our full review. THE OTHER TWO Swapping Saturday Night Live for an entertainment-parodying sitcom worked swimmingly for Tina Fey. Since 2019, it also went hilariously for Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. Not just former SNL writers but the veteran sketch comedy's ex-head writers, Kelly and Schneider gave the world their own 30 Rock with the sharp, smart and sidesplitting The Other Two. Their angle: focusing on the adult siblings of a Justin Bieber-style teen popstar who've always had their own showbiz aspirations — he's an actor, she was a ballerina — who then find themselves the overlooked children of a momager-turned-daytime television host as well. Cary (Drew Tarver, History of the World: Part II) and Brooke (Heléne York, Katy Keene) Dubek were happy for Chase (Case Walker, Monster High: The Movie). And when their mother Pat (Molly Shannon, I Love That for You) gets her own time in the spotlight, becoming Oprah-level famous, they were equally thrilled for her. But ChaseDreams, their little brother's stage name, was always a constant reminder that their own ambitions keep being outshone. In a first season that proved one of the best new shows of 2019, a second season in 2021 that was just as much of a delight and now a stellar third go-around, Cary and Brooke were never above getting petty and messy about being the titular pair. In season three, however, they didn't just hang around with stars in their eyes and resentment in their hearts. How did they cope? They spent the past few years constantly comparing themselves to Chase, then to Pat, but then they were successful on their own — and still chaotic, and completely unable to change their engrained thinking. Forget the whole "the grass is always greener" adage. No matter if they were faking it or making it, nothing was ever perfectly verdant for this pair or anyone in their orbit. Still, as Brooke wondered whether her dream manager gig is trivial after living through a pandemic, she started contemplating if she should be doing more meaningful work like her fashion designer-turned-nurse boyfriend Lance (Josh Segarra, The Big Door Prize). And with Cary's big breaks never quite panning out as planned, he got envious of his fellow-actor BFF Curtis (Brandon Scott Jones, Ghosts). The Other Two streams via Binge. Read our full review. PARTY DOWN Sometimes, dreams do come true. More often than not, they don't. The bulk of life is what dwells in-between, as we all cope with the inescapable truth that we won't get everything that we've ever fantasised about, and we mightn't even score more than just a few things we want. This is the space that Party Down has always made its own, asking "are we having fun yet?" about life's disappointments while focusing on Los Angeles-based hopefuls played by Adam Scott (Severance), Ken Marino (The Other Two), Ryan Hansen (A Million Little Things), Martin Starr (Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities) and more. They'd all rather be doing something other than being cater waiters at an array of California functions, and most have stars in their eyes. In the cult comedy's first two seasons back in 2009–10, the majority of its characters had their sights set on show business, slinging hors d'oeuvres while trying to make acting, screenwriting or comedy happen. Bringing most of the original gang back together — including Jane Lynch (Only Murders in the Building) and Megan Mullally (Reservation Dogs) — Party Down keeps its shindig-by-shindig setup in its 13-years-later third season. Across its first 20 instalments as well as its new six, each episode sends the titular crew to a different soirée. This time, setting the scene for what's still one of the all-time comedy greats in its latest go-around, the opening get-together is thrown by one of their own. Kyle Bradway (Hansen) has just scored the lead part in a massive superhero franchise, and he's celebrating. Ex-actor Henry Pollard (Scott) is among the attendees, as are now-heiress Constance Carmell (Lynch) and perennial stage mum Lydia Dunfree (Mullally). Hard sci-fi obsessive Roman DeBeers (Starr) and the eager-to-please Ron Donald (Marino) are present as well, in a catering capacity. By the time episode two hits, then the rest of the season, more of the above will be donning pastel pink bow ties, the series keeps unpacking what it means to dream but never succeed, and the cast — especially Scott and the ever-committed Marino — are in their element. Party Down streams via Stan. Read our full review of season three. YELLOWJACKETS For Shauna (Melanie Lynskey, The Last of Us), Natalie (Juliette Lewis, Welcome to Chippendales), Taissa (Tawny Cypress, Billions), Misty (Christina Ricci, Wednesday), Lottie (Simone Kessell, Muru) and Van (Lauren Ambrose, Servant), 1996 will always be the year that their plane plunged into the Canadian wilderness, stranding them for 19 tough months — as season one of 2021–2022 standout Yellowjackets grippingly established. As teenagers (as played by The Kid Detective's Sophie Nélisse, The Boogeyman's Sophie Thatcher, Scream VI's Jasmin Savoy, Shameless' Samantha Hanratty, Mad Max: Fury Road's Courtney Eaton and Santa Clarita Diet's Liv Hewson), they were members of the show's titular high-school soccer squad, travelling from their New Jersey home town to Seattle for a national tournament, when the worst eventuated. Cue Lost-meets-Lord of the Flies with an Alive twist, as that first season was understandably pegged. All isn't always what it seems as Shauna and company endeavour to endure in the elements. Also, tearing into each other occurs more than just metaphorically. Plus, literally sinking one's teeth in was teased and flirted with since episode one, too. But Yellowjackets will always be about what it means to face something so difficult that it forever colours and changes who you are — and constantly leaves a reminder of who you might've been. So, when Yellowjackets ended its first season, it was with as many questions as answers. Naturally, it tore into season two in the same way. In the present, mere days have elapsed — and Shauna and her husband Jeff (Warren Kole, Shades of Blue) are trying to avoid drawing any attention over the disappearance of Shauna's artist lover Adam (Peter Gadiot, Queen of the South). Tai has been elected as a state senator, but her nocturnal activities have seen her wife Simone (Rukiya Bernard, Van Helsing) move out with their son Sammy (Aiden Stoxx, Supergirl). Thanks to purple-wearing kidnappers, Nat has been spirited off, leaving Misty desperate to find her — even enlisting fellow citizen detective Walter (Elijah Wood, Come to Daddy) to help. And, in the past, winter is setting in, making searching for food and staying warm an immense feat. Yellowjackets streams via Paramount+. Read our full review. I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE WITH TIM ROBINSON Eat-the-rich stories are delicious, and also everywhere; however, Succession, Triangle of Sadness and the like aren't the only on-screen sources of terrible but terribly entertaining people. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson has been filling streaming queues with assholes since 2019, as usually played by the eponymous Detroiters star, and long may it continue. In season three, the show takes its premise literally in the most ridiculous and unexpected way, so much so that no one could ever dream of predicting what happens. That's still the sketch comedy's not-so-secret power. Each of its skits is about someone being the worst in some way, doubling down on being the worst and refusing to admit that they're the worst (or that they're wrong) — and while everyone around them might wish they'd leave, they're never going to, and nothing ever ends smoothly. In a show that's previously worked in hot dog costumes and reality TV series about bodies dropping out of coffins to hilarious effect, anything can genuinely happen to its gallery of the insufferable. In fact, the more absurd and chaotic I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson gets, the better. No description can do I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson's sketches justice, and almost every one is a comedic marvel, as again delivered in six 15-minute episodes in the series' third run. The usual complaint applies: for a show about people overstaying their welcome, the program itself flies by too quickly, always leaving viewers wanting more. Everything from dog doors and designated drivers to HR training and street parking is in Robinson's sights this time, and people who won't stop talking about their kids, wedding photos and group-think party behaviour as well. Game shows get parodied again and again, an I Think You Should Leave staple, and gloriously. More often than in past seasons, Robinson lets his guest stars play the asshole, too, including the returning Will Forte (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), regular Sam Richardson (The Afterparty), and perennial pop-ups Fred Armisen (Barry) and Tim Meadows (Poker Face). And when Jason Schwartzman (I Love That for You) and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) drop in, they're also on the pitch-perfect wavelength. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson streams via Netflix. Read our full review. I HATE SUZIE TOO Watching I Hate Suzie Too isn't easy. Watching I Hate Suzie, the show's first season, wasn't either back in 2020. A warts-and-all dance through the chaotic life, emotions and mind of a celebrity, both instalments of this compelling British series have spun as far away from the glitz and glamour of being famous as possible. Capturing carefully constructed social-media content to sell the fiction of stardom's perfection is part of the story, as it has to be three decades into the 21st century; however, consider this show from Succession writer Lucy Prebble and actor/singer/co-creator Billie Piper, and its blood pressure-raising tension and stress, the anti-Instagram. The unfiltered focus: teen pop sensation-turned-actor Suzie Pickles, as played with a canny sense of knowing by Piper given that the 'Honey to the Bee' and Penny Dreadful talent has charted the same course. That said, the show's IRL star hasn't been the subject of a traumatic phone hack that exposed sensitive photos from an extramarital affair to the public, turning her existence and career upside down, as Suzie was in season one. Forget The Idol — this is the best show about being a famous singer that you can watch right now. In I Hate Suzie Too, plenty has changed for the series' namesake over a six-month period. She's no longer with her professor husband Cob (Daniel Ings, Sex Education), and is battling for custody of their young son Frank (debutant Matthew Jordan-Caws), who is deaf — and her manager and lifelong friend Naomi (Leila Farzad, Avenue 5) is off the books, replaced by the no-nonsense Sian (Anastasia Hille, A Spy Among Friends). Also, in a new chance to win back fans, Suzie has returned to reality TV after it helped thrust her into the spotlight as a child star to begin with. Dance Crazee Xmas is exactly what it sounds like, and sees her compete against soccer heroes (Blake Harrison, The Inbetweeners), musicians (Douglas Hodge, The Great) and more. But when I Hate Suzie Too kicks off with a ferocious, clearly cathartic solo dance in sad-clown getup, the viewers aren't charmed. Well, Dance Crazee Xmas' audience, that is — because anyone watching I Hate Suzie Too is in for another stunner that's fearless, audacious, honest, dripping with anxiety, staggering in its intensity, absolutely heart-wrenching and always unflinching. I Hate Suzie Too streams via Stan. Read our full review. THE GREAT Television perfection is watching Elle Fanning (The Girl From Plainville) and Nicholas Hoult (Renfield) trying to run 18th-century Russia while scheming, fighting and heatedly reuniting in a historical period comedy The Great. Since 2020, they've each been in career-best form — her as the series' ambitious namesake, him as the emperor who loses his throne to his wife — while turning in two of the best performances on streaming in one of the medium's most hilarious shows. Both former child actors now enjoying excellent careers as adults, they make such a marvellous pair that it's easy to imagine this series being built around them. It wasn't and, now three seasons, The Great has never thrived on their casting alone. Still, shouting "huzzah!" at the duo's bickering, burning passion and bloodshed-sparking feuding flows as freely as all the vodka downed in the Emmy-winner's frames under Australian creator Tony McNamara's watch (and after he initially unleashed its winning havoc upon Sydney Theatre Company in 2008, then adapted it for television following a BAFTA and an Oscar nomination for co-penning The Favourite). In this latest batch of instalments, all either written or co-written by McNamara, Catherine (Fanning) and Peter (Hoult) begin the third season sure about their love for each other, but just as flummoxed as ever about making their nuptials work. She's attempting to reform the nation, he's the primary caregiver to their infant son Paul, her efforts are meeting resistance, he's doting but also bored playing stay-out-of-politics dad, and couples counselling is called for. There's also the matter of the royal court's most prominent members, many of whom were rounded up and arrested under Catherine's orders at the end of season two. From Sweden, exiled King Hugo (Freddie Fox, House of the Dragon) and Queen Agnes (Grace Molony, Mary, Queen of Scots) are hanging around after being run out of their own country due to democracy's arrival. And, Peter's lookalike Pugachev (also Hoult) is agitating for a serf-powered revolution. The Great streams via Stan. Read our full review. PREHISTORIC PLANET When it initially arrived in 2022, becoming one of the year's best new shows and giving nature doco fans the five-episode series they didn't know they'd always wanted — and simultaneously couldn't believe hadn't been made until now — Prehistoric Planet followed the David Attenborough nature documentary formula perfectly. And it is a formula. In a genre that's frequently spying the wealth of patterns at the heart of the animal realm, docos such as The Living Planet, State of the Planet, Frozen Planet, Our Planet, Seven Worlds, One Planet, A Perfect Planet, Green Planet and the like all build from the same basic elements. Jumping back 66 million years, capitalising upon advancements in special effects but committing to making a program just like anything that peers at the earth today was never going to feel like the easy product of a template, though. Indeed, Prehistoric Planet's first season was stunning, and its second is just as staggering. The catch, in both season one and this return trip backwards: while breathtaking landscape footage brings the planet's terrain to the Prehistoric Planet series, the critters stalking, swimming, flying and tumbling across it are purely pixels. Filmmaker Jon Favreau remains among the show's executive producers, and the technology that brought his photorealistic versions of The Jungle Book and The Lion King to cinemas couldn't be more pivotal. Seeing needs to be believing while watching, because the big-screen gloss of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World sagas, the puppets of 90s sitcom Dinosaurs, and the animatronics of Walking with Dinosaurs — or anything in-between — were never going to suit a program with Attenborough as a guide. Accordingly, to sit down to Prehistoric Planet is to experience cognitive dissonance: viewers are well-aware that what they're spying isn't real because the animals seen no longer exist, but it truly looks that authentic. Prehistoric Planet season streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. SERVANT When M Night Shyamalan (Knock at the Cabin) earned global attention and two Oscar nominations back in 1999 for The Sixth Sense, it was with a film about a boy who sees dead people. After ten more features that include highs (the trilogy that is Unbreakable, Split and Glass) and lows (Lady in the Water and The Happening), in 2019 he turned his attention to a TV tale of a nanny who revives a dead baby. Or did he? That's how Servant commenced its first instantly eerie, anxious and dread-filled season, a storyline it has followed in its second season in 2021, third in 2022, and then fourth and final batch of episodes in 2023. But as with all Shyamalan works, this meticulously made series bubbles with the clear feeling that all isn't as it seems. What happens if a caregiver sweeps in exactly when needed and changes a family's life, Mary Poppins-style, but she's a teenager rather than a woman, disquieting instead of comforting, and accompanied by strange events, forceful cults and unsettlingly conspiracies rather than sweet songs, breezy winds and spoonfuls of sugar? That's Servant's basic premise. Set in Shyamalan's beloved Philadelphia, and created by Tony Basgallop (The Consultant), the puzzle-box series spends most of its time in a lavish brownstone inhabited by TV news reporter Dorothy Turner (Lauren Ambrose, Yellowjackets), her celebrity-chef husband Sean (Toby Kebbell, Bloodshot), their baby Jericho and 18-year-old nanny Leanne Grayson (Nell Tiger Free, Too Old to Die Young) — and where Dorothy's recovering-alcoholic brother Julian (Grint, Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities) is a frequent visitor. That's still the dynamic in season four, which slowly and powerfully moves towards its big farewell. Dorothy is more determined than ever to be rid of Leanne, Leanne is more sure of herself and her abilities than she's ever been — in childminding, and all the other spooky occurrences that've been haunting the family — and Sean and Julian are again caught in the middle. Wrapping up with one helluva ending, Servant has gifted viewers four seasons of spectacular duelling caregivers and gripping domestic tension, and one of streaming's horror greats. Servant streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review of season four. THE MARVELOUS MRS MAISEL Here's how The Marvelous Mrs Maisel started: in New York City in 1958, Miriam 'Midge' Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan, I'm Your Woman) had become accustomed to waiting in the wings while her husband Joel (Michael Zegen, The Stand In) tried his hand at stand-up comedy. Then she took to the stage herself, and this blend of comedy and drama followed the revolutionary aftermath. Sometimes, that's brought highlights, including having her talent recognised by Gaslight Cafe manager Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein, Family Guy), taking her sets on the road and working her way up the comedy ladder. Sometimes, there have been costs, especially in her relationships. And always, right up to the show's fifth and final season that featured jumps forward to the 21st century, there was a battle that still sadly remains oh-so-relevant IRL: for women in comedy to be treated and seen equally. Hailing from Gilmore Girls and Bunheads mastermind Amy Sherman-Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel's cast has always proven a dream — Tony Shalhoub (Flamin' Hot), Marin Hinkle (Jumanji: The Next Level), Kevin Pollak (Willow) and Caroline Aaron (Ghosts) also feature, and Jane Lynch (Party Down), Luke Kirby (Boston Strangler) and Stephanie Hsu (Joy Ride) as well — and, unsurprisingly, its writing, too. Indeed, there's nothing quite like Sherman-Palladino-penned dialogue, which Brosnahan especially is a natural at nailing its rhythms. The period detail has consistently been impeccable, but this wouldn't be the hit it is (or have Golden Globes and Emmys to its name) if it didn't also mean something. It should come as no astonishment that Joan Rivers was one of the inspirations for the series, and that it is equally hilarious, heartfelt and finely observed, with its guiding writer, director and producer's charms in abundance. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel streams via Prime Video. TED LASSO It wasn't simply debuting during the pandemic's first year, in a life-changing period when everyone was doing it tough, that made Ted Lasso's first season a hit in 2020. It wasn't just the Apple TV+ sitcom's unshakeable warmth, giving its characters and viewers alike a big warm hug episode after episode, either. Both play a key part, however, because this Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live)-starring soccer series is about everyone pitching in and playing a part. It's a team endeavour that champions team endeavours — hailing from a quartet of creators (Sudeikis, co-star Brendan Hunt, Detroiters' Joe Kelly and Scrubs' Bill Lawrence), boasting a killer cast in both major and supporting roles, and understanding how important it is to support one another on- and off-screen (plus in the fictional world that the show has created, and while making that realm so beloved with audiences). Ted Lasso has always believed in the individual players as well as the team they're in, though. It is named after its eponymous American football coach-turned-inexperienced soccer manager, after all. But in building an entire sitcom around a character that started as a sketch in two popular US television ads for NBC's Premier League coverage — around two characters, because Hunt's (Bless This Mess) laconic Coach Beard began in those commercials as well — Ted Lasso has always understood that everyone is only a fraction of who they can be when they're alone. That's an idea that kept gathering momentum in the show's long-awaited third season, which gave much to engagingly dive into. It starts with Ted left solo when he desperately doesn't want to be, with AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham, Hocus Pocus 2) desperate to beat her ex Rupert Mannion (Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Anthony Stewart Head) new team, and with the Greyhounds' former assistant Nathan 'Nate' Shelley (Nick Mohammed, Intelligence) now coaching said opposition — and with changes galore around the club. It ends with more big moves after another astute look at the game of life, whether or not it returns for season four. Ted Lasso streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. SCHMIGADOON! For fans of Key & Peele, the fact that Keegan-Michael Key can do anything won't come as a surprise. In 2023, proving that statement true has seen the comedian and actor voice Toad in The Super Mario Bros Movie, and also return to the realm of singing and dancing in Schmigadoon!. What would it be like to live in a musical? That's been this Apple TV+'s central question since it first premiered in 2021. Key stars opposite the also ever-versatile Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live) as a couple, Josh Skinner and Melissa Gimble, who are simply backpacking when they suddenly find themselves in the wondrous titular town. The duo were hoping to fix their struggling relationship with a stint in nature, but instead step into a 24/7 Golden Age-style show — a parody of Brigadoon, clearly — that helps them work through their feelings, discover what they truly want and see a different side of life. That was season one. In season two, Josh and Melissa start back in the real world, married, in their medical jobs and going through the motions. In their malaise, a return trip to Schmigadoon! beckons; however, when they stumble upon it again, the place isn't quite the same. Instead, they're now in Schmicago. And, instead of 40s and 50s musicals, 60s and 70s shows are in the spotlight — including the razzle dazzle of Chicago, obviously. What a ball this series has, including with a jam-packed cast that includes Dove Cameron (Vengeance), Kristin Chenoweth (Bros), Alan Cumming (The Good Fight), Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Jane Krakowski (Dickinson), Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building) and Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) — and with ample thanks to creators Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (the Despicable Me films). Schmigadoon! streams via Apple TV+. BLACK MIRROR When Ron Swanson discovered digital music, the tech-phobic Parks and Recreation favourite was uncharacteristically full of praise. Played by Nick Offerman (The Last of Us) at his most giddily exuberant, he badged the iPod filled with his favourite records an "excellent rectangle". In Black Mirror, the same shape is everywhere. The Netflix series' moniker even stems from the screens and gadgets that we all now filter life through daily and unthinkingly. In Charlie Brooker's (Cunk on Earth) eyes since 2011, however, those ever-present boxes and the technology behind them are far from ace. Instead, befitting a dystopian anthology show that has dripped with existential dread from episode one, and continues to do so in its long-awaited sixth season, those rectangles keep reflecting humanity at its bleakest. Black Mirror as a title has always been devastatingly astute: when we stare at a TV, smartphone, computer or tablet, we access the world yet also reveal ourselves. It might've taken four years to return after 2019's season five, but Brooker's hit still smartly and sharply focuses on the same concern. Indeed, this new must-binge batch of nightmares begins with exactly the satirical hellscape that today's times were bound to inspire. Opening chapter Joan Is Awful, with its AI- and deepfake-fuelled mining of everyday existence for content, almost feels too prescient — a charge a show that's dived into digital resurrections, social scoring systems, killer VR and constant surveillance knows well. Brooker isn't afraid to think bigger and probe deeper in season six, though; to eschew obvious targets like ChatGPT and the pandemic; and to see clearly and unflinchingly that our worst impulses aren't tied to the latest widgets. Black Mirror streams via Netflix. Read our full review. HUNTERS Call it a conspiracy thriller. Call it an alternative history. Call it a revenge fantasy. Call it another savage exploration of race relations with Jordan Peele's fingerprints all over it. When it comes to Hunters, they all fit. This 70s-set Nazi-slaying series first arrived in 2020, following a ragtag group determined to do two things: avenge the Holocaust, with many among their number Jewish survivors or relatives of survivors; and stop escaped Third Reich figures who've secretly slipped into the US from their plan of starting a Fourth Reich. The cast was stellar — Al Pacino (House of Gucci), Logan Lerman (Bullet Train), Tiffany Boone (Nine Perfect Strangers), Jeannie Berlin (Succession), Carol Kane (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Lena Olin (Mindhunter) and Australia's own Kate Mulvany (The Clearing) among them — and Get Out and Us filmmaker Peele executive produced a gem as he also did that same year with Lovecraft Country. And, when it wrapped up its first season, it did so with one mighty massive cliffhanger: the fact that Adolf Hitler (Udo Kier, Swan Song) was still alive in 1977. Returning for its second and final batch of episodes three years later, but largely moving its action to 1979, season two of Hunters sees its central gang initially doing their own things — but unsurprisingly reteaming to go after the obvious target. Jonah Heidelbaum (Lerman) is living a double life, with his new fiancee Clara (Emily Rudd, Fear Street) in the dark about his Nazi-hunting ways, but crossing paths with the ruthless and determined Chava Apfelbaum (Jennifer Jason Leigh, Possessor) ramps up his and the crew's efforts. Knowing this is the final go-around, the stylishly shot series wasn't afraid of embracing its OTT leanings, tonal jumps and frenetic camerawork, and always proved entertaining as it hurtles towards its last hurrah. The best episode of the season, however, is one that jumps back to World War II, doesn't focus on any of its main stars and is as clever, moving and well-executed as Hunters has ever been. If the show ever gets revived in the future, which it easily could, more of that would make a great series even better. Hunters streams via Prime Video. Looking for more viewing highlights? We picked the 15 best new TV shows of 2023, too. We also keep a running list of must-stream TV from across the year so far, complete with full reviews. And, you can check out our list of film and TV streaming recommendations, which is updated monthly.
Maybe you just like hanging out in Byron Bay. Perhaps you can't get enough of every music festival there is. Or, you could love seeing music legends take to the stage. The experience that is Bluesfest ticks all of the above boxes — and more — and will notch up its 35th anniversary with a couple of stone-cold icons behind the microphone: Tom Jones and Elvis Costello. Jones is no stranger to the event, last playing in 2016. What's new pussycat? Not the Welsh 'It's Not Unusual', 'Delilah' and 'Sex Bomb' singer spending Easter performing to a crowd of thousands in Australia. Costello and his band The Imposters were on the fest's 2023 bill, but had to drop out. So, they'll make the trip in 2024 instead. If you're now making long weekend plans, Bluesfest will take over Byron Events Farm in Tyagarah from Thursday, March 28–Monday, April 1. So far, the festival has named 23 acts and events on its lineup, ranging from Peter Garrett & The Alter Egos through to RocKwiz Live. Among the big names, Jack Johnson will play an Australian-exclusive set, in what's set to be his only Aussie show in 2024. Johnson has a history with the fest as well, first taking to its stages in 2001 when his career was just starting — long before he was a household name. [caption id="attachment_913223" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kizzy O'Neal[/caption] Also heading to northern New South Wales as part of the five-day lineup: The Teskey Brothers, Matt Corby, L.A.B, Tommy Emmanuel, The Dead South and The Paper Kites. Although the list already goes on, this is just the first 2024 announcement. The last few years have been tumultuous for the Byron Bay mainstay. 2023's fest lost a number of acts, including King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Sampa the Great, after Sticky Fingers were added to the bill. The fest ultimately dropped the controversial band. And while the fest went ahead in 2022 after two years of pandemic cancellations (and a thwarted temporary move to October for the same reason), it showcased a primarily Australian and New Zealand lineup. BLUESFEST 2024 LINEUP — FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT: Jack Johnson Tom Jones The Teskey Brothers Matt Corby L.A.B Elvis Costello & The Imposters Peter Garrett & The Alter Egos Tommy Emmanuel The Dead South The Paper Kites Drive-by Truckers Newton Faulkner Steve Poltz 19-Twenty Taj Farrant Erja Lyytinen Harry Manx Here Come The Mummies Clayton Doley's Bayou Billabong Little Quirks Hussy Hicks Blues Arcadia RocKwiz Live Bluesfest 2024 will run from Thursday, March 28–Monday, April 1 at Byron Events Farm, Tyagarah. Season passes are on sale now — for further information, head to the Bluesfest website.
UPDATE, January 15, 2021: John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is available to stream via Netflix, Binge, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Cinematic beauty comes in many forms, and the John Wick franchise perfects one of them. The term 'balletic' couldn't better describe the series' hypnotic action sequences, with its array of frenetic fights and carnage-dripping set pieces all meticulously choreographed like complex dance routines. In fact, when ballerinas actually pirouette across the screen in John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, they seem bland in comparison. As 2014's John Wick and 2017's John Wick: Chapter 2 proved, murderous mayhem has rarely looked as stunning as it does in this ultra-violent saga. Whether its eponymous assassin is unleashing his fury with fists, firearms or knives (or, in the latest flick, killing one enemy with a book and dispatching others by wielding a horse as a weapon) the result is simply exhilarating to watch. As played with the steely stoicism that Keanu Reeves wears oh-so-well, John Wick finds many other ways to eradicate his adversaries in Parabellum. Motorcycles aren't just for riding, belts don't only hold up pants, and attack dogs, swords and axes all come in handy. With the movie energetically picking up where the last film left off (mere moments afterwards, to be exact), the retired triggerman isn't short on opportunities to unleash his deadly flair. In the first flick, he was lured back to the hitman life after his car was stolen and his puppy killed, while the second chapter chronicled the savage fallout not only from his vengeance, but from his determination to stay retired. Now, after breaking the assassin code, there's a $14 million bounty on his head — and dear Jonathan, as his friend and hotelier Winston (Ian McShane) calls him, has been cut off from the slick facilities and tools of his underworld profession. With its name meaning 'prepare for war' in Latin, Parabellum follows John's kill-or-be-killed quest, pitting the supremely skilled hitman against the rest of the world's contract murderers. To the surprise of no one, copious amounts of bloodshed results. The story ponders loyalty, purpose and honour, however the details don't overly matter, with returning screenwriter Derek Kolstad and his three co-writers throwing everything they can at their anti-hero. That includes old acquaintances (Anjelica Huston and Halle Berry), difficult head honchos (Jerome Flynn and Saïd Taghmaoui), a fanboy foe (Mark Dacascos) and an adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) tasked with punishing John's misdeeds — as well as the return of Reeves' Matrix co-star Laurence Fishburne as the king of New York's gun-toting homeless population. They're all grist for the mill; with more characters and conflicts comes more excuses for the franchise's trademark visual displays. Every actor should hope that their former stunt double becomes a director, because it's turning out swimmingly for Reeves and Chad Stahelski. Like its predecessors, Parabellum blends a martial arts movie's dizzying moves with a shoot 'em up thriller's murky mood, and the ex-Matrix stuntman turned filmmaker delivers both superbly. The climactic showdown throws a few blows too many, as does the 132-minute flick itself, but that's a minor complaint after such an enjoyable onslaught of brutal brawls mixed with brooding glares. Set in dazzling glass surroundings, the film's final confrontation also demonstrates something that the John Wick series doesn't always get enough credit for: its sumptuous production design. Battles that unfurl like performances, placed in spaces that look like art — it's still a winning combination, with Stahelski expertly assisted by two-time franchise cinematographer Dan Laustsen and production designer Kevin Kavanaugh, as well as three-time stunt coordinator Jonathan Eusebio. John Wick's commitment to fleshing out the rules and requirements of the assassin life has always gone hand-in-hand with its action and aesthetics, too, building an involving world that's both sleekly stylised and lived-in. Of course, all of that sheen and fury would mean nothing without the right person at its centre. Gifted a role that ranks alongside Theodore 'Ted' Logan, Johnny Utah and Neo in the iconic stakes, Reeves continues to be the series' not-at-all-secret weapon. Parabellum's painstakingly staged frays are a sight to behold, but they prove all the more powerful when paired with its star's piercing stare and calm demeanour. It's a part that Reeves could play forever; here's hoping that he does. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BULB0aX4lA
Doughnut Time, Damien Griffiths' cult-like doughnut franchise, has conquered he final frontier of the culinary world: the vegan market. As of right now, they're offering a vegan doughnut named Vegan Las Vegas for $6 dollarydoos a pop — so no one with dietary restrictions may go without doughnuts, not even for even a second. That's the kind of world we want for our children. Their vegan doughnut creation has a coconut and raspberry glaze and is topped by a pistachio crumb. It’s also gluten-free (the second gluten free doughnut on the menu at this point), which begs the question: what is this thing made of? Well, we have no idea. Don't ask, just devour. This vegan news is a double edged sword, though; it's delightful for those who’ve taken up veganism in 2k16 and don’t want to miss out on delicious doughnuts, and terrible for pre-existing vegans who, like the rest of us, struggle to resist the onslaught of gourmet doughnuts coming at you all day long via social media (not really though, we're leaning in to the craze and bleeding the country dry of Nutella). Doughnut Time has been so successful in its home state of Queensland that it now has multiple stores in Sydney and one in Melbourne, with another on the way soon. So prepare your phone cameras and insulin shots — it's about to get sweet up in hurr. For locations and opening hours across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, visit doughnuttime.com.au.
Over the past few years, Melbourne's famed floating bar has become a summer staple — because soaking in the warm weather and partying on the Yarra clearly go hand-in-hand. That wont't change in 2019, with Arbory Afloat set to return once more. This time, it's coming back even sooner. Arbory Afloat, which made its debut in 2015, will reclaim its prime position in front of on-shore sister venue Arbory Bar & Eatery on the Yarra from mid-September. While the exact launch date hasn't yet been revealed, it will hit the water earlier than last year, which already marked a significant extension to its season. That's not the only change in store, either. As part of its annual revamp, the temporary bar and restaurant is taking inspiration from Miami — which means palm trees, pastel blue and pink hues, art-deco touches and a 70s vibe. To complete the picture, the floating bar has extended its upper deck to feature more dining and lounging space, plus private cabanas. And, if that's not enough, there'll also be an onboard swimming pool. Chef Nick Bennett has again designed the menu, which is inspired by all things Latin American, including the Caribbean, Cuba and Mexico. A woodfired pizza oven will once more take pride of place in the open kitchen, pumping out American-style pizzas.You'll also be able to tuck into grilled meats, empanadas and lots of seafood — think oysters, ceviche and anchovies. Would it be a visit to Miami without cocktails? We think not. Luckily, there'll be plenty. Patrons will also be able to sip their way through an extended rum menu, peruse a curated gin offering or opt for one of the many spritzes on offer. Find Arbory Afloat at Flinders Landing from mid-September. We'll update you with exact dates when they come to hand. Images: Simon Shiff
What do the Australian comedy scene, YouTube, international festivals, Netflix, wine and picture books all have in common? Aunty Donna have conquered them all. Here's another thing to add to that list: Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves. The Chris Pine (Don't Worry Darling)-, Regé-Jean Page (The Gray Man)-, Michelle Rodriguez (Fast & Furious 9) -and Hugh Grant (Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre)-starring film doesn't just bring of Stranger Things' favourite role-playing game back to cinemas — it does so in Australia with Aunty Donna among the cast. Since forming over a decade ago, the Aussie comedy troupe led by Zachary Ruane, Broden Kelly and Mark Samual Bonanno hasn't stopped making audiences laugh — in-person in Australia, online and around the world; while watching the side-splitting Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun; over a $30 bottle of wine literally called '$30 Bottle of Wine' and while flicking through Always Room for Christmas Pud. Later this year, they'll get folks giggling over their upcoming ABC sitcom Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe, too. But for now, playing corpses revived by Pine, awakening from their eternal slumbers to talk about century-old battles and cats, does the trick first. Aunty Donna are no strangers to Dungeons & Dragons. Back in 2017, on YouTube Channel Insert Coin, they gave D&D an Aunty Donna twist in a now-classic sketch — one that did for owlbears what 'Morning Brown' has for calling your wake-up cup of caffeine "morning brown". And, a couple of years back, they also endeavoured to create their own D&D monsters. How did those comic ties to Dungeons & Dragons lead to Aunty Donna playing undead in Hollywood's latest D&D flick, and the latest movie based on Hasbro's toys and games after the Transformers series, the GI Joe films, Battleship, Power Rangers and more? We chatted to Ruane, Kelly and Bonanno about their new on-screen stint, comedy goals, D&D podcasts, missing out on the first Fast and the Furious movie, visiting cemeteries, flatlining and getting buried alive. So, just a normal Aunty Donna chat, then. ON LIVING THE DUNGEONS & DRAGONS DREAM Zachary Ruane: "We'd talked about it at length. So, when we first got together as a comedy group, we made a list of goals. This was at a Starbucks in…" Broden Kelly: "Melbourne." Mark Samual Bonanno: "Southern Cross Station." Zachary: "We sat down and we had a list of goals. One of them was a comedy festival show. And on that list was 'if Hollywood ever moves towards a more IP-dependent business structure and Paramount teams up with Hasbro to reboot the Dungeons & Dragons franchise, we' — and this is on the list — 'we would like to do voice work for the Australian release of that film'. We didn't think it was going to happen. I'd pretty much given up on that dream. And then, when we got the call from Paramount, I wept." Mark: "You wept for days." Zachary: "I wept for days." Mark: "It was too much." Zachary: "It was a very emotional experience for me, because that was the final thing to cross off the list, you know — so a really big moment for me and for all of us in our careers." ON COMEDY'S FONDNESS FOR DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Broden: "When I started, I'd never played Dungeons & Dragons before. I only knew it as a board game from the 80s. But being in comedy, Dungeons & Dragons is constantly just adjacent to it. There's so many funny people doing podcasts about it. So if you're in the comedy world — I'd never played it but I've been on every podcast about Dungeons & Dragons. And what it is, it seems to be just a community of people who are very warm and welcoming, and it's a world where you can do everything and nothing's wrong, which is just really fun and cool. It nurtures creativity. It nurtures imagination. Even just from doing this, we've seen how warm that community is." Zachary: "I should say, the film isn't just for those fans. It's really for everyone. It's a romp, it's an adventure." Mark: "Well, it's not about people playing D&D, is it? It's a fun…" Zachary: "It's a romp." Mark: "It's a fun romp set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Owlbears..." Broden: "I didn't know an owlbear until I did that sketch, and now I feel ashamed that I didn't know an owlbear before." Mark: "Don't be ashamed!" Zachary: "We watched the film with a big Dungeons & Dragons fan, and she was telling us all the little references. She was saying 'oh, they got perfect and that right'. And then I was like 'that's so crazy' because that was her experience, but then for me who hasn't played it that much, I just had a great time. It's really funny and fun." ON HOW AUNTY DONNA CAME TO BE IN A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS MOVIE Broden: "Well." Zachary: "Well." Mark: "Well, they just kept knocking at our door until we said yes. [To Zachary and Broden] How many times did we turn them down?" Zachary: "We were initially offered the part of — Broden was offered the part that Chris Pine plays in the film, I was offered the Michelle Rodriguez part. Which is funny because I was also offered that part in the first Fast and the Furious film, and I turned it down. And if I had known what franchise would become — oh my goodness!" Mark: "Sometimes you just miss your shot with those kinds of things." Zachary: "Yeah, absolutely. [To Mark] And then you were up for which part?" Mark: "For every other part in the film." Zachary: "So it was going to be a three-hander." Mark: "Originally it was going to be a vehicle for Aunty Donna to promote our YouTube channel — and we were just like, 'we're so busy'. We were so busy. [To Zachary and Broden] What did we have on?" Broden: "A birthday party or something." Mark: "Yeah, we had a party, and we were going to do half a run at Edinburgh Fringe. A two-week run at Edinburgh Fringe." Zachary: "And then when they folded in the Dungeons & Dragons layer to it, because originally it was just a sketch series of ours, it just became a little too big for us. And we said 'you know what, I'm going to handball this to the real professionals over at Hollywood'. And you'll see the film, you'll see — you're going to have a great time." ON PREPARING TO PLAY CORPSES REVIVED BY CHRIS PINE Broden: "I went to a lot of cemeteries, and it didn't do the trick. So I went back with a shovel, and someone stopped me — but I was going to get in there and really…" Mark: "That was me. I was like 'Broden, if you start digging up corpses to play this role, for this role, even though I know that's under false pretences...'. [To Broden] Because you love robbing graves, don't you?" Broden: "Yeah. Yeah. You can't go back from that." Zachary: "We call him da Vinci. He loves robbing graves and drawing really intricate drawings of the bodies." Mark: "Oh and of flight machines." Zachary: "Like Leonardo da Vinci. Me, I flatlined. I did some flatlining, like the movie Flatliners starring Kiefer Sutherland. So I stopped my heart until I was through the tunnel, and then I was reanimated. So I was able to experience death and coming out of it. And I think you'll see that with the corpse when I go [groans and gasps loudly]. That's from a real place." Mark: "Perfectly recreated." Zachary: "Yeah." Mark: "Broden and I ended up — I just buried myself in my backyard, Broden came and dug me up. It was kind of like a role play." Zachary: "How apropos." Mark: "How apropos! [To Broden] And then did you get enough out of that Broden, that experience?" Broden: "Yeah, so we do that every Saturday morning now, where we…" Mark: "Chuck on Cheez TV." Broden: "Yeah, I'll bury Mark in a garden with a little straw out for air." Mark: "Yeah." Broden: "And then I'll dig him up." Mark: "It's just for lunch." Broden: "And then we'll go have lunch at a cafe, or…" Mark: "That's what Hollywood is so great for: bringing friends closer together." Zachary: "I don't flatline anymore. I discovered that there's a darkness in the other realm and I realised that I had to stop." Sarah Ward: "Just like the movie." Aunty Donna [in unison]: "Just like the movie." Check out the new Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves trailer below: Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves opens in cinemas Down Under on March 30.
On Bram Stoker's pages, as penned into gothic horror history 128 years ago, Count Dracula travels to the UK. It's fitting, then, that Sydney Theatre Company's cine-theatre take on the all-time classic vampire novel is following the same voyage. While pop culture's most-famous bloodsucker ventured from the Carpathian Mountains to London, Kip Williams' inventive interpretation of Dracula is making the trip from Australia — as the theatre-maker's fellow one-actor horror adaptation The Picture of Dorian Gray similarly did. Also shared by Williams' iterations of Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Gray: a big-name actor with international clout stepping into the production's sole role. Sarah Snook (Memoir of a Snail) did the honours for the director's Oscar Wilde adaptation, won an Olivier Award for it, then moved to Broadway with the show and is now nominated for a Tony. Taking the lead for Sydney Theatre Company's dance with the undead: Cynthia Erivo (Poker Face). [caption id="attachment_1004199" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mark Seliger[/caption] Erivo's West End stint in Dracula will start on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, playing the Noël Coward Theatre — and if you're wondering whether she'll add to her trophy cabinet for the production, any awards for her efforts here will join the stacked lineup of accolades that she's already collected. For 2016's The Colour Purple, she won a Tony. For that musical's album, she won a Grammy. And for performing from it on America's Today Show, she won an Emmy. This year, Erivo was also an Oscar-nominee thanks to Wicked, joining her two past nominations for Harriet. Dracula marks her return to the stage, premiering in London after Wicked: For Good hits cinemas globally in November 2025. Erivo will portray all 23 characters in Stoker's story. Yes, that means Count Dracula, obviously, but also spans vampire hunter Van Helsing, solicitor Jonathan Harker, his fiancée Mina Murray and her friend Lucy Westenra, among other figures. "Returning to the stage feels like a homecoming, one that I've been craving for a long time. To do so with a story as rich, complex and haunting as Dracula offers a beautiful opportunity to delve into character, into myth and into the heart of what makes us human," said Erivo. "From the moment I was asked, I could not get the role out of my mind. Kip's vision is thrilling, terrifying and deeply resonant, offering a chance to sit with not only the darkness in the world, but also the light we fight to hold onto. It's a rare gift for an actor to inhabit so many voices and perspectives in one piece, and I'm honoured to do it for West End audiences in this extraordinary production. The prospect of doing this show scares me and I know it will be a huge challenge. This show will ask everything of me — and I'm ready to give it." Added Williams: "I am thrilled to be returning to the West End to direct my adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula and to collaborate with the extraordinary Cynthia Erivo, as she brings to life the many iconic characters of this much-adored tale." "Our production expands upon Stoker's exploration of the tension between fear and desire, offering a contemporary perspective on the vampire as a monster that lurks not beyond, but within. I am excited to reunite with many of my Dorian Gray collaborators on this project, and it is an immense privilege to have such a singularly gifted artist as Cynthia at the heart of it. I can't wait to share this piece with London audiences, especially in the West End, a place where Bram spent so much of his creative life." Dracula is the third instalment in Williams' trilogy for Sydney Theatre Company, following not only The Picture of Dorian Gray but also The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In Australia, Zahra Newman portrayed every part in this bite of spectacular theatre. Given how popular its namesake, or versions of him, is in cinemas (see: Nosferatu, Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield just in the past two years), don't be surprised if Williams' Dracula also gets picked to make a stage-to-screen leap, as The Picture of Dorian Gray has. Dracula will play the Noël Coward Theatre, 85–88 St Martin's Lane, London, from Wednesday, February 4, 2026 — for more information and tickets, head to the production's website. Dracula images: Zahra Newman and camera operator Lucy Parakhina in Sydney Theatre Company's Dracula, 2024, Daniel Boud ©.
