Sweethearts Rooftop Barbeque is the Cross' open-air diamond in the rough. For those seeking out a venue sans long lines, burly bouncers and more hipsters than you can poke a stick at, Sweethearts might just be the ticket. In the thick of Sydney's late-night partygoers' district on Darlinghurst Road, this place is drenched in "see where the night takes us" possibilities by redefining the way we engage 'entertainment' quarters. Atop Keystone's Sugarmill and Kit and Kaboodle sits this rooftop venue, lest we explain we've got the three-in-one deal going on here. Pub, nightclub and rooftop bar. After you've caught your breath after a heavy going four or five flights of stairs, kick back at one of Sweethearts' long bench tables, in amongst a mountain of trees, beneath some kitsch but redeeming pastel-coloured fairy lights. Reward yourself with a glass of King Valley Prosecco ($10). And don't be alarmed to see the charismatic barman pulling it as he would a coldie; the wines are on tap here. If you're after something that packs a bit more punch, opt for a wine spritzer like the East Coast Cooler ($10), a citric-fueled combo of sauvignon blanc, passionfruit syrup, sugar, lemon, soda, and orange bitters or a Mango Tree pitcher ($28) with mango liqueur, pineapple, rum, dry ginger and lemon. And who's knocking about the pans out back? That's a certain Robert Taylor (ex Manly Pavilion) whose menu focuses on fresh, grilled produce designed to share. Apparently it's all about skewers here with a range of meat, fish and vegetable on sticks ready to inhale. We recommend you go for the pork fillet ($14), salmon belly ($16) or chicken thigh ($13) of the skewer variety before indulging a Black Angus sirloin ($23 for 200g) or the soy braised brisket sandwich with pickled beetroot ($20). And get it right when you order, because you're the one accountable. The menus at Sweethearts are of the fill out yourself kind. With atmosphere aplenty and the place already packing out, we suggest you make Sweethearts top of your list. Get in early too, to watch the sun go down with spritzer in hand. See you there.
Inner west coffee haven Ashfield Apothecary is turning two and to celebrate, it's giving away free coffees all day on Saturday, November 13. The cafe has partnered with Single O who is also celebrating a birthday and will be serving up free cups of Single O's Freewheelin' 18th Birthday Blend. There will also be a sweet treat created by cake master and pop-up enthusiast Tokyo Lamington. The Strawberry Gum Espresso lamington is created with vanilla sponge, whipped espresso cream and strawberry gum before being coated in espresso white chocolate and toasted coconut. Head to Charlotte Street between 7am–3pm to score your free cup of joe, however if you want to make sure you get your hands one of the limited-edition lamingtons, get down early as they're in short supply. Ashfield Apothecary opened in November 2019 and has been a go-to spot for coffee lovers in the area ever since. The cafe prides itself on crafting its coffee with beans from a rotating roster of roasters, spotlighting different coffee-makers from near and afar including an international coffee supplier once every two months.
Some stories just can't stay away from the screen, and Cinderella is one of them. Filmmakers have been drawn to the fairy tale since the silent era, resulting in beloved animated flicks, playful takes on the tale such as Ever After and Ella Enchanted, and Disney's 2015 live-action adaptation. Arriving next: a new musical that combines glass slippers and pining for a better life with singing, dancing and a fairy godparent named Fab G — with the latter played by Pose's Billy Porter. This version of Cinderella stars singer Camila Cabello as the titular character, while The Craft: Legacy's Nicholas Galitzine plays Prince Robert. Also popping up: Idina Menzel (Frozen II) as Cinders' stepmother, Minnie Driver (Starstruck) and Pierce Brosnan (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) as the king and queen, and Romesh Ranganathan (Staged) and James Corden (The Prom) as both footmen and mice. The latter is a producer, too, and came up with the idea for the film, while Pitch Perfect writer and Blockers helmer Kay Cannon sits in the director's chair. Clearly, if a new version of Cinderella doesn't hit the screen every few years, Hollywood must turn into a pumpkin. While musical takes on the tale aren't new — see also: the stage version that's about to hit Australia — this one is set to feature pop songs. So, you'll be seeing Cabello, Menzel and company singing tracks you know, as well as crooning their own new original tunes. Just how that'll turn out will be revealed on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, September 3, with the film originally slated for a cinema release, but then snapped up by the streaming platform instead. In the just-dropped first trailer, there's plenty of songs, colour and also humour. "Do you want to go to that ball?" asks Fab G at the end of the clip, to which Cinders replies: "yes, I was just crying and singing about it like two minutes ago". Check out the Cinderella trailer below: Cinderella will be available to stream via Amazon Prime Video from Friday, September 3. Top image: Christopher Raphael
"It wasn't so much about antagonising Nicolas Cage, for me," Julian McMahon tells Concrete Playground. "It was more about getting him to face his demons — to truly look at himself and evaluate who he has been in life, who he is now and who does he truly want to become?" That's how the Australian actor describes his task in The Surfer, in which he stars opposite the inimitable Cage (Longlegs) in the latest film to ride the Ozploitation wave. The two portray men caught in a battle at a scenic Australian beach. Cage's eponymous figure is an Aussie expat returning home after living in the US since he was a teen, and is fixated upon purchasing his old childhood house as the ultimate existence-fixing dream. McMahon (The Residence) is Scally, the local Luna Bay surf guru who decrees who can and can't enjoy the sand and sea, complete with a band of dedicated disciples enforcing his decisions — and who doesn't give the besuited, Lexus-driving, phone-addicted blow-in a warm welcome. It was true when the trailer for The Surfer arrived and it remains that way after watching the full film: Wake in Fright-meets-Point Break parallels flow easily. Director Lorcan Finnegan (Nocebo) and screenwriter Thomas Martin (Prime Target), both Irish, are purposefully floating in the former's wash, adding a 2020s-era Ozploitation flick with an outsider perspective to the Aussie-set canon, just as Canada's Ted Kotcheff did with his 1971 masterpiece — and as British filmmaker Nicolas Roeg similarly achieved with Walkabout the same year (the two premiered within days of each other in competition at Cannes). With Point Break, though, if the OG version was instead about a middle-aged man returning home rather than an FBI agent chasing bankrobbers, and if that character found himself taunted by rather than accepted into the crew that rules its specific coastal turf, then that'd be The Surfer's starting point. Adding to a resume that's seen him use jiu-jitsu against alien invaders (Jiu-Jitsu), voice a prehistoric patriarch (The Croods: A New Age), battle demonic animatronics (Willy's Wonderland), hunt down the folks who kidnapped his porcine pet (Pig), step into his own IRL shoes (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent), get his gunslinger on (The Old Way), give Dracula a comic bite (Renfield), don Superman's cape (The Flash), pop up in people's dreams (Dream Scenario), face the end of the world (Arcadian) and turn serial killer (Longlegs) in the 2020s so far alone — alongside more roles — Cage begins The Surfer waxing lyrical about the pull and power of the waves, including their origins, plus the result when you attempt to conquer them. "You ever surf it or you get wiped out," the film's protagonist, solely credited as The Surfer, tells his high school-aged boy (Finn Little, Yellowstone) as they approach his preferred patch of oceanside paradise. "Locals only" is the response from Scally's gang, however, when the father-son duo head to the water, but that isn't a viewpoint that The Surfer can roll with. The Yallingup, Western Australia-shot movie, which itself debuted at Cannes in 2024, is then firmly a Finnegan flick as its namesake gets caught in a nightmare under the blazing sun courtesy of a few simple decisions, and equally thrust into an experience that questions reality. The director has made four features in nine years: 2016's Without Name, 2019's Vivarium, 2022's Nocebo and now The Surfer. In every one, the lead is plunged into a type of purgatory or hell. The first also sets its protagonist against the elements at times. Trying to buy a house equally turns surreal in the second. The past haunts, too, in the third. All four have more than a little time for peering at the trees as well. Asked what interests him about making psychological thrillers in this mould, Lorcan responds "good question: is there something wrong with me?". He continues: "I think it arrives, from a filmmaking point of view, because it allows a lot of creative freedom — because if you're delving into somebody's mind and their experience and their interpretation of events and reality from a very subjective point of view, it really allows a certain amount of elasticity in terms of visualising that and interpreting that for the audience, and for the audience to almost feel like the character feels entering into that world. Particularly with this film, because it's such a subjective experience for Nic Cage's character. And the audience goes on that journey with him and discovers what he discovers and feels what he feels — and starts tripping out when he's tripping out. So it's a weird experience." McMahon was familiar with Finnegan's output when he signed on for The Surfer. What appealed to him about this project? "I think, in this particular case, it was how well-written the entire piece was," he advises. "That, accompanied with Lorcan's previous films, is a recipe for a well-earned match; they fit each other perfectly. And regarding his approach to psychological thrillers, I was intrigued by his novel and unique vision of this piece. His movies are like something I've never seen before, and that is inspiring." Did Finnegan's penchant for toying with reality influence how McMahon tackled portraying Scally — a character who is so key in the feature's querying of what's genuine and what's all in The Surfer's head? " I think you leave that up to the filmmaker," he notes. "Play your part and allow him, Lorcan, to create the sense of reality." In 2025, audiences are witnessing McMahon at two different extremes when it comes to portraying Australian characters — first as the Aussie Prime Minister in Netflix murder-mystery dramedy The Residence, and now as Scally here, with The Surfer in local cinemas since Thursday, May 15 before heading to streaming via Stan from Sunday, June 15. "I'm looking for variety. I'm looking for characters that allow me to feel challenged, maybe even a little uncomfortable," he shares. Only The Surfer brings him back to Aussie films for the first time since 2018's Swinging Safari, though, after spending much of his career working internationally (see: Profiler, Charmed, Nip/Tuck, the two 00s Fantastic Four movies, the FBI franchise and plenty more). "I love working in Australia; however, it's more about the piece and the characters I'd like to play," McMahon reflects. An American star who couldn't be more unique on-screen, an Australian actor with decades of overseas success, two Irish friends and filmmakers layering an outsider vantage onto Aussie localism, nodding to Ozploitation classics, taking inspiration from 1968 American great The Swimmer, digging into masculinity and materialism alongside identity and belonging: it all adds up to mesmerising viewing. Somehow, as prolific and wide-ranging as Cage's filmography is, putting him in this beachside scenario wasn't already on his resume, but he gives it the full glorious Cage treatment. His energy is pivotal to the movie, as it was to McMahon and Finnegan as his co-star and director, respectively — which we also chatted to the pair about, plus everything from trapping characters and humanity's yearning to belong to quintessential Aussie beaches and recurring themes in Australian cinema. On Why Being Just One or Two Decisions Away From Getting Stuck in Your Own Purgatory, Losing Everything or Both Fascinates Finnegan Lorcan: "I suppose we're all like that, really. We're all a couple of steps away from losing it. And I think a lot of the time, the characters in my films are trapped in some way, whether that's in a physical place or mentally, or in their behaviours or relationships, whatever. It's something universal, though, that we all feel we're trapped in some way — whether that's with our routine or jobs or lives or physically inside, like a fleshy trap of meat and the only release is death. I suppose all of that is quite existential and fascinating. And in some ways, films are a reflection of our subconscious. Stories reflect our inner fears, and going crazy and all that kind of thing. So, to me, it's just fascinating to explore all that." On What Excited McMahon About Collaborating with Nicolas Cage — and About Stepping Into Scally's Shoes Julian: "I've been an admirer of Nicolas' since as long as I can remember. His work is always entertaining, inspiring and unique. I also really love the energy that he puts into everything that he does. And I was excited to develop a character that would fit well with his on-screen persona as The Surfer. There's a few things you need to accomplish in fulfilling the character of Scally. You need to fill the requirements of the movie itself, and what it is asking from your particular character, and as an entire piece. You need to develop the relationship between Nicolas' character, as well as all the other characters. And then you need to be sure that you are filling the requirements of who Scally truly is. With Scally, there was no room to waiver — the more definitive he was, the more strength he had. And I thought that was particularly important." On Why Taking Inspiration From The Swimmer and Ozploitation, Then Digging Into Ideas of Masculinity, Materialism, Belonging and Identity — in Australia, as an Irish Filmmaker with an Irish Screenwriter — Appealed to Finnegan Lorcan: "When I read the outline, what struck me was it was going to be about this man of a certain age, at a certain point in his life, where he'd amassed success, I suppose — what would be deemed success. He has a nice car. He has his suits. He's got some money. And he wants this one last thing, to buy back his family home, and then that will fix all of the problems that are manifesting over the years. So his relationship with his wife has fallen apart. His son has no interest spending any time with him. But he still thinks 'if I just have this one thing, if I can just buy this house, that will fix everything'. But then, of course, over the course of a few days he loses everything bit by bit — all his material wealth, his watch, his phone, his shoes, his suit, his car. And it's like he needed to shed all of that in order to actually, almost like therapy or something, to actually find what it is that he needs as opposed to what he believed he wanted. So that just fascinated me as a way into a story. And then both Tom and I have a love of New Wave Australian film. And then we were talking about the tradition of non-Australians, with Ted Kotcheff being Canadian and Nic Roeg being British, non-Australian filmmakers making a film in Australia as the outsider view — and this could be a continuation of that, because there hadn't been, from our point of view, there hasn't really been any of those kinds of films in a long time coming out of Australia. So we wanted to go and make one. And this was the perfect vehicle, basically." On Making a 2020s-Era Take on Exploitation with an Outsider Perspective, as 70s Greats Wake in Fright and Walkabout Did Half a Century Ago Julian: "This story could take place in many locations around the world. It could also be embedded in many different types of developed societal cultures. It could be California, could be Hawaii, could be the UK and places around Europe. I think what's interesting to note is that this particular surf culture can be found, almost identical, anywhere in the world." Lorcan: "All of the themes around identity linked to place — and also Cage's character being an outsider, that was sort of our way in, really, or my way in, particularly in terms of thinking about how to direct a film like this. Because he's an outsider returning to a place that he hasn't been in over 40 years. He's lost his accent, and he's got this weird, nostalgic, rose-tinted-glasses view of the place from his childhood. So it's almost like he remembers it from the 70s. So that was the way of making it, the look and feel of the place, that it's all from his weird point of view. Ozploitation films from that period, there would always be these very masculine men drinking beer, Broken Hill-style. So we were updating all of that, though, to show the surf community. But they're not just like Point Break surfers. These guys are all the doctors, hedge-fund managers, wealthy yuppies. Julian McMahon's character, he plays this guy Scally, who's almost like a weird shaman version of a Joe Rogan or Jordan Peterson kind of guy, who's lecturing these younger guys on masculinity — and they could be tribal and animalistic down below on the beach, but when you're up above, you behave differently. So all of that felt like perfect updates of previous themes around masculinity in these Australian films from the 60s and 70s, and even 80s — to update it now in a much more contemporary way, talking about masculinity, but it is still classic examination of it in a way." On Why Nicolas Cage Was The Surfer's Eponymous Figure to Finnegan — and Getting Him Onboard Lorcan: "I remember reading the script through from beginning to end before we offered it to him, imagining him in every scene. And I just thought he'd perfect, because there's not that many people who can play drama, action, comedy, all of these things, and have this physicality to the performance that Nic can do. So once he came onboard, it made The Surfer's character come to life, in a way. Also, as we were shooting it, we were finding that we were seeing the humour of these scenes bubbling up, too — which is good fun, because Nic's funny. He'd seen the previous film of mine, Vivarium, which he liked. And so when he got the script, he was already familiar with the filmmaker, which was helpful. And then he loved the title The Surfer, he told me recently — that was one of the things, because he grew up in California and he's familiar with surf culture, and thought that was intriguing. And he read the script and he just really liked the material. He thought it had a kind of Kafka-esque kind of vibe to it, and the character would be very challenging to play. And then he also loved the idea of going off to a little town Australia to make this film, the adventure that would bring." On McMahon Approaching Scally and His Offsiders in Terms of Them Trying to Find Their Way — and How Else He Built the Character On-Screen Julian: "I wanted to let Scally evolve in his own manner. And so while I was developing the character, I put no restrictions, thoughts or preconceived ideas that I might usually put into the development of a character, and let it come to me. It was an interesting approach, and what it allowed for was development right up until the end of shooting. Most of Scally was developed on set, in the environment, with all the other players present, your director and, of course, the largely influential location. I decided to not research anything, to just allow the character to speak to me from the written word on the page. I gave myself no limitations, no boundaries and the ability to feel comfortable with not really knowing exactly what I was doing all the time. I wanted to be more willing to allow the time and space of the moment to fill the development of the character." On the Energy That You Get From a Nicolas Cage Performance When You're Working with Him — Both as an Actor and as a Director Julian: "That is one of the reasons I looked at this as a great opportunity to challenge my own concept of performance. I love the energy that Nicolas brings to his work. And now the question is 'how do I contrast that energy, that delivery, that performance, so that when we see the two of them on screen, we know that we are dealing with two completely different individuals? And then let that play?'. Lorcan: "A lot of it is in conversation before shooting. We talk about scenes, we talk about what point he's going to — his character changes, his voice changes at certain points in the film, and he's hobbled at certain points of film, then his foot gets a little better, all those sort of things were tracked in prep. And then, when we're shooting, in terms of directing, a lot of the time it was just Nic — so we could do silent movie-style directing. The scene where he completely breaks down and he's crying, sobbing, and then that turns into rage — shooting that, we're shooting on the long lens, slowly zooming in on him. And then I'd be saying 'you've lost everything, you're crying, everything's falling apart, you're never going to get the house'. And you're like 'and now you're starting to get angry, you're getting angrier, you snap'. And he loves that actually, being directed off-camera, and he can just give that performance and time it to the movement of the camera then as well. So all that was really good fun. But I think there was an element of trust between us as well, that he trusted that I just use all the best pieces to put it together in the edit, which allowed him the freedom to give a few different types of performance throughout the film — that we would just use the best of." On Finding a Balance of Charisma and Menace for Scally — and Digging Into Humanity's Yearning to Belong, and the Rules and Hierarchies That We're Willing to Enforce and Abide to, Along the Way Julian: "There may not be a perfect balance — and I believe, quite definitively, that there is no real way to play charisma, and then perhaps menace. He is who he is and he does what he does, and it's up to the viewer's discretion as to how that should be interpreted. Being present to each moment would be my only way to find balance. Scally has his own discomforts, and he is very much still finding his way. Even though he would never expose that side of himself, he knows he's a work in progress. Scally's position is one of such that if he waivers, it is very likely that he will lose the love and devotion of those who see him as someone worth listening to, someone worthy of following." On Finding the Exact Right Quintessential Australian Beach for the One-Location Film Lorcan: "That was the biggest challenge. And actually, although it might seem like it — and I thought the same, 'oh yeah, there will there be loads of them' — it was really hard to find a car park that's raised quite high above the beach with a view down, and the beach being a certain scale, and all that kind of thing. We settled on Western Australia early on, which is obviously, as you know, it's gigantic — it's not exactly a small place. And we scouted north of Perth, as far as Kalbarri, I think. And then we scouted south of Perth. And, actually I think Yallingup was the last place we stopped when we were going south. And as soon as I saw it — I first saw the beach, and I thought it looked perfect, that kind of crystalline turquoise water which is very evocative of memories and dreams. And this golden sand. And then the car park above it was perfect size, and surrounded by bush. There's a national park area right behind it. And then it has a great vantage point, like a viewpoint down to the beach. So it has all the elements. So we're trying to match the staging of the script to the location. And then once we found the location that was perfect for the film, we tweaked the script to match it better as well. But it's harder than you think to find this sort of car park that is perched above a beautiful beach‚ with good surf as well. Nice breaks. And Western Australia, as well, has these amazing sunsets, that you get this really long twilight kind of lighting, which we took advantage of as well." On Why Localism, Plus the Manifestations of Masculinity and Aggression That Can Come with It, Are Common Themes in Australian Cinema Julian: "That's a tricky one to answer. I guess the simplest answer would be that Australian cinema is still challenged by those concepts, and is perhaps looking for a way to flush that out and understand it. That said, if you've read anything from Thomas Martin, he very specifically notes that his ideas and concepts were developed in many places. Californian surf culture was a heavy influence, as an example." Lorcan: "I suppose Western Australia, anyway, still has a very masculine kind of energy to it. I think it's because it's a lot of mining, a lot of very physical jobs that men perform there. And they can also make a lot of money very quickly, and then also lose it very quickly. It's one of the most-remote cities of the world — the most-remote city in the world — Perth, isn't it? And so I think although Australia has changed a lot since the 70s, in terms of becoming more liberal, I suppose, and less chaotic, there's still elements of that. And it was interesting to see the culture between, even from Perth down to Margaret River. Margaret River is a beautiful wine region and everyone was actually really welcoming — and there's a winery called Bacchus Family, who invited the entire crew up to their estate, their vineyard, and wined and dined us. And I suppose, this is similar to Ireland, in a way. Ireland has sort of grown in parallel with Australia, in terms of we used to be very Catholic, and there was a very kind of patriarchy in Ireland, that still exists but has evolved over the years. And I feel like it's the same with Australia. But there's still interesting things — like the way that masculinity has evolved over the years has almost come full-circle. Now there's these guys who are lost and looking for something, looking for belonging. And that whole male cult is forming around the world, I think, not even just Australia." The Surfer released in Australian cinemas on Thursday, May 15, 2025, then streams via Stan from Sunday, June 15, 2025. Images: David Dare Parker / Radek Ladczuk.
Not only is Troye Sivan one of Australia's brightest pop stars, he's also a Queer icon with a strong perspective on diversity and inclusion. At Town Hall, he'll be in conversation with Lillian Ahenkan — AKA Flex Mami, the multidisciplinary Sydney-based creative — to discuss "beauty, art and fluidity" as part of Vivid Sydney's Global Storytellers series. Despite being only 26 years old, Sivan has been in the eye of the public since his teens — performing on TV and online from 2006 — and has spoken out about his discomfort around being singled out while also wanting to be a voice for the Queer community. This layered experience forms a unique standpoint, with the creative force sure to have some fascinating insights to share in this intimate event.
Who says the weekend is the only time to do activities other than sitting at a desk? Not us. Don't underestimate the twilight hours of your weekdays — there's so much happening each night of the week so you should have no trouble making plans that aren't emailing clients outside of work hours. From gallery nights to boozy craft sessions to night markets, you can go out straight from work every night of the week if you so wish. So why not engage with something tangible, and see what your city has to offer after dark? In partnership with Hahn, we've compiled a list for when you've got restless feet and a soul hungry for some culture. [caption id="attachment_663766" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Art Gallery of NSW.[/caption] SNEAK INTO AN ART GALLERY AT NIGHT No longer do you need to contend with the Saturday morning crowds at your local art gallery, as more are staying open for longer hours and — in news particularly good for you — at night. After-dark sessions at galleries like the NGV in Melbourne or the MCA in Sydney are increasingly popular and have a different vibe to your headache-inducing Saturday morning experiences. There's a bar-like buzz, more like-minded people, little to no children running around, and often DJs and beers on offer. So why wouldn't you get your art fix at night? Saturday morning gallery drinking does tend to be frowned upon, after all. Where? In Melbourne, Buxton Contemporary is open late on Thursdays and often has free opening parties for exhibitions, and the NGV has a constant stream of special events on in the evenings, such as its Friday Nights series. Sydney side, both the Art Gallery of NSW and the MCA are open until 10pm and 9pm (respectively) on Wednesdays, with the latter holding its ARTBAR event on the last Friday night of each month. In Queensland, GOMA stays open late on Fridays when there's a big exhibition on, and the Institute of Modern Art holds a party on the first Thursday of every month. [caption id="attachment_610655" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Triffid.[/caption] SEE SOME FREE LIVE MUSIC If you're already headed somewhere for a pub feed, consider sticking around and letting some live music warm the cockles of your heart, too; 'Wonderwall' covers are few and far between now, and you can rest assured you'll probably find someone on the mic with some actual talent. There's a bounty of venues that provide free live music in all the major cities, and the only tricky bit is picking which one you want to give a crack. Getting a nice folky soundtrack to your parma and pint has never been so easy and you'll find yourself even praising the ukulele player because you're feeling so cosy and cultured. Where? To get you started, try The Yarra Hotel in Abbotsford in Melbourne, Different Drummer in Sydney's Glebe or The Triffid in Newstead, Brisbane. [caption id="attachment_653238" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud.[/caption] MAKE YOUR OWN MEAL AT A NIGHT MARKET Why have one thing for dinner when you can have five things instead? Albeit generally smaller bites, the best bit about night markets is that you can roll your way around having a very intense snacktime and, before you know it, all your little bites transform into one big meal and you're full. Nothing says 'culture' like a bellyful of hot sugary doughnut washed down with a few beers. Where? Hawker 88 Night Market at Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, Sydney's Chinatown Night Markets, and the Boundary Street Night Market in Brisbane. [caption id="attachment_571310" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Cork and Chroma.[/caption] BYO BEERS TO A PAINTING CLASS If you thought art was not for the likes of you to create, think again. Some of our best work comes out when we've had a drink or two, so consider combining both and giving a BYO painting session a go. An art class is long a very fruitful passage to creating mini masterpieces, and one where you can bring your own bottles of plonk to inspire greatness out of your paintbrush is very civilised indeed. But don't worry — there are instructions and an artist will take you through the actual painting class so it isn't all left up to your novice hands. You just have to organise what you'll be drinking. Where? Cork & Chroma has studios in Collingwood in Melbourne, Surry Hills in Sydney and South Brisbane. [caption id="attachment_529488" align="alignnone" width="1280"] The Astor by Charlie Kinross Photography.[/caption] WATCH A CLASSIC FILM Heading out after work to watch the latest blockbuster like Crazy Rich Asians is all well and good (because it's a cracker), but sometimes you want to put aside the Hollywood hits for something more subtle. At those times, try watching a classic film at one of the many cinemas that show them on the reg. Melbourne's Astor Theatre and Sydney's Golden Age are both famous for hosting throwback sessions of classic films and often marathons, too. Use those few precious hours after work to invest in your cultural movie capital by making yourself watch Ben-Hur — because when else are you going to do it? Reality TV be damned — these will make for much better chat around the coffee machine at work the next day. Where? The Astor Theatre in Melbourne, Golden Age Cinema and Bar in Sydney, or Metro Arts in Brisbane. Start planning your mid-week itinerary so you can fit some culture — and a Hahn or two — in before the weekend. Top image: MCA Artbar by Leslie Liu.
He's had his heart broken during a lusty Italian summer, romanced Saoirse Ronan in a Greta Gerwig film not once but twice, spiced up his life in a sci-fi saga and sported a taste for human flesh. The next addition to Timothée Chalamet's resume: a sweet time worshipping chocolate. Get ready for a big Timmy end of 2023, with Dune: Part Two hitting cinemas Down Under in November, then Wonka giving Roald Dahl's famous factory owner and candy man a Chalamet-starring origin story. First gracing the page almost six decades back, in 1964 when Charlie and the Chocolate Factory initially hit print, Willy Wonka has made the leap to cinemas with Gene Wilder playing the part in 1971, then Johnny Depp in 2005. The difference this time: not just Chalamet plunging into a world of pure imagination, but a film that swirls in the details of Wonka's life before the events that've already been laid out in books and filled two movies. As the just-dropped first trailer for Wonka shows, the picture's main man has a dream — and, after spending the past seven years travelling the world perfect his craft, he's willing to get inventive to make it come true. Starting a chocolate business isn't easy, especially when the chocolate cartel doesn't take kindly to newcomers. "You can't get a shop without selling chocolate, and you can't sell chocolate without a shop," the bright-eyed Willy is told early in the debut sneak peek. From there, brainwaves, optimism, determination and life-changing choices all spring, plus big vats of chocolate, chocolate that makes you fly — "nothing to see here, just a small group of people defying the laws of gravity," comments a police officer — and Willy's dedication to making "the greatest chocolate shop the world has ever seen". Also accounted for: a mood of wonder, and not just due to the umbrella-twirling dream sequences and cane-whirling dance scenes, or the leaps through fairy floss and chats with Hugh Grant (Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves) as an Ooompa-Loompa. Indeed, the magical tone doesn't just fit the tale; it's exactly what writer/director Paul King and his co-scribe Simon Farnaby have become known for on the Paddington films. King helmed and penned both, while Farnaby also did the latter on the second (and acted in each). The duo also worked together on wonderful and underseen 2009 film Bunny and the Bull, and on The Mighty Boosh, of which King directed 20 episodes. On-screen, Wonka's cast is as jam-packed as a lolly bag, with Chalamet and Grant joined by Farnaby (The Phantom of the Open), as well as Olivia Colman (Secret Invasion), Sally Hawkins (The Lost King), Keegan-Michael Key (The Super Mario Bros Movie), Rowan Atkinson (Man vs Bee), Jim Carter (Downton Abbey: A New Era) and Natasha Rothwell (Sonic the Hedgehog 2). Yes, you'll want a golden ticket to this. Check out the first trailer for Wonka below: Wonka releases in cinemas Down Under on December 14, 2023.
If your idea of a relaxing pastime involves moseying through Australia's picturesque landscape by foot, bike or horse, then add the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail to your must-visit list. Spanning 161 kilometres, it runs through southeast Queensland from Wulkuraka, west of Ipswich to Yarraman in the Great Dividing Range. And, with its final stage completed and opened this month, it's now Australia's longest continuous hiking, cycling and horse riding trail — exceeding the Great Victorian Rail Trail's 134 kilometres in length. Inaccessible to cars, the track follows the now-defunct Brisbane Valley railway line, which dates back to the 1880s. Upon closing to trains in 1991, it was converted to a recreational trail; however the final link between Toogoolawah and Moore has only just come to fruition through $3.354 million in funding from the federal, Queensland and local governments. Visitors can now make their way through an array of scenery — including farms, country towns and bushland — across the trail's entire expanse, with the track winding through the likes of Fernvale, Lowood, Esk, Toogoolawah, Moore, Linville, Blackbutt and Yarraman, and including both coffee stops and campsites along the way. Further work is planned along the trail, including a $4.5 million upgrade to the heritage-listed Lockyer Creek Railway Bridge. Image: Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Users Association Inc.
A few years ago the gin and tonic seemed like a basic drink order saved only for times of limited choice or hot days when there was no cold beer within reach. But the rise of Australia's own boutique gin production has changed that quite rapidly, with small-scale distillers — like Sydney's Archie Rose and Melbourne's Four Pillars, to name a few — creating some distinctive and downright delicious gins in our own backyard (Pinot Noir gin, anyone?). The latest weird and wonderful gin creation comes from South Australia's Applewood Distillery. They've just released a limited run of one-off Green Ant Gin, which is infused with — you guessed it — green ants. How does it work? Like all gin, it's made up of a selection of botanicals. But along with the usual juniper berries and orange peel, the essence of ants has also been thrown in. That's because ants release a pheromone during the distillation process, which produces a flavour that complements the other botanicals. According to Applewood, the green tree ants give the gin a "lime-licked burst of intense green flavour". While this is the first gin made with green ants we've heard of, Applewood's not the first people to use the tiny insects in gin — Copenhagen's Nordic Food Lab produces an Anty Gin that costs a bomb per bottle, and last year Victoria's Bass and Flinders Distillery released their Angry Ant Gin made with ants sourced from Western Australia. As a general rule we don't allow green ants anywhere near our mouths, but we'll probably make an exception for this one. Bottles are currently going for $120 on Applewood's online store. There's only 300 of them though, so you may have to snatch one up stat.
The Ironmen of Cooking are here. Here. Reppin' Australia's '90s love for the glorious, glorious competitive Japanese cooking show, two of the original Iron Chefs have landed in Melbourne for an epic cooking battle, one the public can eat for a cheeky $380 per person. Could be a publicity stunt for Iron Chef Australia, which was cancelled at the end of its first season in 2010. Could be (is) a KIRIN thing. Could just be a hair-brained jaunt from the Japanese TV crew. Either way, Kitchen Stadium has been left behind for Melbourne's RACV City Club this week. Over two nights on February 14 and 15, the mighty Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai (reppin' all things French cuisine, winner of 70 ICs) and Iron Chef Masahiko Kobe (the Don of Italian Iron Chef cooking, but winner of only 16 ICs) will take the stage with the son of Iron Chef Kenichi Chen (the once-master of IC Chinese cooking and winner of 66 ICs), banding together to cook up one monster of an Iron Chef feast. The theme ingredient? Australian local produce. Yep, it's more vague than river eel, summer corn or Alaskan king crab, but they're keeping it geographically-themed. Held over two sittings, the Iron Chefs will be chopping, mincing and frying up seven courses. According to Good Food, the menu's main focus will be pretty seafood heavy — spanner crab, ocean trout — alongside local duck. Paired with sake and Aussie wines by executive sommelier Masahiko Iga, the seven-course dinner is already well sold out — even with that $380pp price tag. It's not clear whether the legendary commentator Yukio Hattori (or his straight-up boss Canadian dub counterpart Scott Morris) will be in attendance to point out every last heroic detail, or whether the immortal, ever-dramatic host Takeshi Kaga will be there to kick off the proceedings. If you're wondering whether your face will end up on Japanese TV, it probably will — the Iron Chefs have brought an entire Japanese media entourage with them, as the battle will be televised. While tickets for the event have indeed sold out, you can peruse this list of every last Iron Chef ingredient ever featured or watch this SEA CUCUMBER BATTLE: Via Malay Mail and Good Food.
Kano — "a computer anyone can make" — will soon be a widespread reality, following a Kickstarter campaign that's raised more than US$1 million. London-based tech geniuses Alex and Jonathan came up with the concept about a year ago. They felt that, in comparison with the toys they had growing up, today’s technology is inaccessible. Alex’s seven-year-old cousin, Micah, clarified the issue — and set the challenge — when he asked why couldn’t computers be “as simple and fun as lego”? Over the following 12 months, Alex and Jonathan travelled the world, talking to children, parents, educators and artists. All the research led to the development of Kano. According to Alex, "It’s based on three principles — simple steps, storytelling, physical computing — and tying them all together, with a sense of play and exploration.” Kano arrives in the consumer’s hands as a kit. Starting from scratch, the user builds the computer, powered by Raspberry Pi, as well as a speaker, a wireless server, HD video, music, and a custom-designed case. A basic introduction to coding enables the step-by-step construction of simple games such as Pong and Snake, as well as the modification of more complex games like Minecraft. Beyond that, the possibilities are limited only by the user’s imagination. Kano is open source, so there’s access to an abundance of software. Back in May, Alex, Jonathan and their team released a run of 200 prototypes, which sold out quickly and inspired plenty of positive reviews. When it came to expanding their scope, they turned to Kickstarter. Upon going live last month, the campaign achieved its initial goal of US$100,000 within 18 hours. Since then, a stretch goal of US$1 million has been conquered. Open until December 19, the campaign is still accepting donations of $119, which buys a Kano kit.
Being seen is no longer fashion's biggest priority. Taking you right off the radar, Aussie label The Affair has created a line of 'post-Snowden' threads inspired by George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984 — a crowdfunded capsule collection that makes you invisible to Big Brother and lets you reclaim some ownlife using stealth technology. Taking cues right from the pages of Orwell's schoolroom required reading, the 'stealth fashion' capsule collection helps you reclaim privacy. Accordingly, the new line is dedicated to Edward Snowden, your modern Orwellian poster boy. "Edward Snowden proved that Big Brother is no longer fiction," says the team on their Kickstarter page. "The government is watching everyone via our smart phones: telescreens beyond Orwell’s wildest dreams. It's time to fight back and reclaim privacy with clothing that takes you off the surveillance grid and makes you invisible to Big Brother." Combining the colours and workwear styles described by Orwell himself, the garments all come embedded with UnPocket stealth technology. The 11 x 16 cm UnPockets are made from layers of stealth fabric that fit your phone, passport, bank cards — anything you'd like protected against wireless identity theft. Making sure the Thought Police can't get you down at a glance, The Affair's UnPockets are slipped into specially created sections of each garment: The Affair have created four different 'Party' garments (all embedded with the UnPocket) that are 'unhackable' and 'untraceable': Party Workshirt "Inspired by 6079 Smith W himself... Whether you’re rewriting history or creating smut for the proles, the relaxed workwear styling of the Party Workshirt makes this your new wardrobe essential." Party Chinos "Whether you are making love surreptitiously in the forest or being tortured in Room 101, you can be certain these Party Chinos will see you through the day in style." Outer Party Jacket "Created for the workers of Airstrip One, the Outer Party Jacket captures the eternal drive of IngSoc." Inner Party Blazer "O’Brien befriended Winston only to stab him in the back, take everything he loved and reduce him to a broken mess. So if you identity with the iron fist of the 1% then this fully-lined Inner Party Blazer is for you!" Boasting the tagline 'Make Literature Fashionable', The Affair have been using your favourite classic stories as inspiration for seven years, using the last 12 months to perfect the 1984 line. It's not the first time the label has used the celebrated novel for a design; their very very t-shirt was a shoutout to Miniluv. Giving a nod to the Orwellian spirit, the team are jumping on the Damn the Man distribution bandwagon and selling their wares through Kickstarter. Using the classic funded wares as perks set-up, the team have already raised over £2,813 of their £25,000 goal. Check out the entire 1984 collection at The Affair's Kickstarter page and check out the look book below.
Brooklyn artist Stephen Meierding has pulled bicycles apart to make his short film Bicycle Sounds. The video takes its soundtrack from noises made by bicycle wheels, spokes, chains, gears and bells. Each bike part creates a different sound, which combined create an interesting rhythm. The film's progression shows the wheels spinning faster, the sound and the visuals getting a little heavier and slightly more manic, while playing cards attached to the spokes with pegs create visual stimulation. Meidering premiered the film at the recent Bike Shorts film festival in New York, where it took out the top prize. [via Wired]
"You know you're like the tenth guy to try this, right? It never works out for the dipshit in the mask." So scolds TV reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox, Shining Vale) in the latest trailer for Scream VI, saying what everyone that's ever watched this slasher franchise has long known. But, if bad past outcomes for fellow Ghostfaces were going to stop the next killer in the horror-film saga from getting stabby, there wouldn't even be a new flick to begin with. If you like scary movies, then you've likely watched a Scream film or five over the last quarter of a century. And, across that period — ever since the OG feature became a box-office smash in 1996, then delivered 1997's Scream 2, 2000's Scream 3, 2011's Scream 4 and 2022's Scream, plus TV spinoff Scream: The TV Series — you've seen the saga's mask-wearing killer Ghostface slash his way through the fictional Californian town of Woodsboro multiple times, as well as a college in Ohio and then Hollywood. This time, however, he's following in The Muppets' footsteps and making a date with Manhattan. In both the initial Scream VI teaser trailer from back in 2022 and the just-dropped full sneak peek, New York City has an unwanted guest — and the current person donning a Ghostface mask is more than a little obsessed with their task. Early in the clip, there's even a shrine to the franchise so far, taking a trip down memory lane through the saga's history. There's also another familiar face: Hayden Panettiere (Nashville), returning to the fold as Kirby Reed following Scream 4. She joins Cox as Weathers, the last Scream's Melissa Barrera (In the Heights) and Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) as sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter, and Jasmin Savoy Brown (Yellowjackets) as the siblings' film-obsessed pal Mindy among the existing franchise players making a comeback to get stalked by Ghostface once again. Or, make that Ghostfaces. In the two trailers so far, it's clearly Halloween, and costumes abound on a NYC subway. Among all that spooky attire: more than one black-clad person in a Ghostface mask, making Sam, Tara and Mindy more than a little distressed. Ghostface also whips out a gun in a convenience store, slinks around New York's streets and gets Gale on the phone. Does the latter signal an end to one of the series' original characters? Amid references to other horror movies, and to the franchise's own past, that's how those kinds of scenes usually play out. Whatever's in store for Gale, Kirby and company — and whether Kirby might be the killer this time around, because this series does love links when it comes to Ghostface's identity — will be revealed in early March, when Scream VI hits cinemas. Ready or Not's Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett return to direct, as they did with 2021's Scream. Also involved, featuring on-screen: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and The Other Two's Josh Segarra, Servant and The Grand Budapest Hotel's Tony Revolori, and Australian Nine Perfect Strangers and Ready or Not star Samara Weaving, plus Dermot Mulroney (Umma) and Henry Czerny (another Ready or Not alum). Check out the full Scream VI trailer below: Scream VI releases in cinemas Down Under on March 9. Images: Philippe Bossé.
King Street, that gloriously bustling stretch from St Peters through Newtown and beyond, has long been where it's happening in the inner west. But, it's no secret the Newtown end attracts most of the attention. The End of King, almost hidden from view if not for a couple of unassuming tables outside, is another reason why we should be exploring the less trodden paths in life. First things first: this place isn't mind-blowingly amazing, but it's always great to see a venue reinvent itself. Surrounded by retro furniture shops on one side and St Peters Station to the other, The End of King used to be known as the Tram Stop Diner. But apart from a few positive reviews online, that's about all it was known for. As 2014 became 2015, however, so too came more change: we're talking new look, new menu and, of course, new name. Previously no stunner, in comparison the fresh, pale green/blue-painted, wood-heavy fit-out is a mighty fine improvement. It's also big; organised via share tables (one fat, one thin), bar seating, a line of tables towards the rear and one very cute window spot of potted greenery, a fat hanging brass light and lots of sunlight to watch the world go by. There's also free Wi-Fi and a long, easy-incline wheelchair ramp too, which is always very nice to see. While a little rough around the edges compared to similar-style places (think Three Williams), from the cool new logo, bright smiles of the staff (the kind of staff that brings you water, sets down the menu and asks if you need a coffee all in one — my favourite) and the family-influenced philosophy printed at the top of every menu, you can tell thought has gone into the relaunch. Sipping on our Toby's Estate coffee that arrived promptly and prettily, we learn owner and chef Sal, along with brother Naggy and wife Munu, have been serving up South Nepalese inspired food to Sydneysiders for 15 years. Naturally, we ordered their grandma's original recipe aloo chop (sauteed and spiced potato cakes, $15.90) and the shakshuka ($16.90). The former are described as "the best hangover cure this side of the Irrawaddy". Crispy, carby (although not stodgy) and packing just the right amount of punch via rich, runny yolks of chilli-fried eggs, let's just say it lives up to its description. The winner of the two, hands down, was the shakshuka. It took longer to arrive, but when it did we paused just a little more: the golden eggs ($2 extra per egg) still-cooking in their rich red tomato ragu and succulent lamb kofta bath, sprinkled with vibrant green coriander, looked almost too good to eat (almost). That and it was bloody hot (as it should be). Thank heavens for the two slices of sourdough to mop up the juices: always the perfect end. While The End of King may not be perfect, it's at least ticking all the boxes when it comes to food, service and atmosphere. And really, after a morning of exploring a new part of town, what more could you ask for?
Hatted restaurant Kuro Bar and Dining unites familiar Japanese flavours and techniques with high-quality Australian produce and native ingredients to create an exciting array of dishes. Led by co-owners Alan Wong and executive chef Taka Teramoto, Kuro is located in a heritage-listed building on Kent Street in Sydney's CBD — its sister venue Kahii is mere steps away. The venue is split into three parts: the 40-seater dining room, the eight-seater bar and an intimate chef's table experience. Chef Teramoto previously worked at Michelin-starred Restaurant Pages, Paris and Florilège, Tokyo — he draws on this culinary experience and his Japanese heritage to create the venue's signature dishes. Patrons can complement their dishes with a drop from the venue's 200-plus-strong wine list courtesy of sommelier Wanaka Teramoto (116 Pages, Paris). The focus is on boutique, minimal-intervention Australian producers. There are also Japanese beers and an extensive range of premium Japanese spirits, sake and umeshu (Japanese plum wine) on offer. Designed by Potts Point's Henderson & Co, the space is impressive — particularly the lighting. Fifty-six American oak light 'portals' spread across the walls create an ever-changing ambience throughout the day and into the night. Other design elements include a copper-tiled bar, sandstone and brick walls, polished stone and marble tables and a massive, blossom-shaped capiz chandelier. Cracks in the existing concrete floors have been filled with gold — a nod to the Japanese pottery-fixing technique of kintsugi — and soft fabric screens create semi-private dining spaces throughout. Kuro's eight-person omakase experience, Teramoto by Kuro, curated by chef Teramoto, is currently on hiatus but you can sign up on the website to ensure you're first in and best dressed. Images: Supplied, Kitti Gould
The weather outside may be frightful, but the banter with your mates is always delightful. It's well past time to invite your favourites over for a catch-up and a tipple. Want to impress your mates with your cocktail prowess? Check out these twists on classic cocktails — an ideal way to elevate your evening in. Pick your spirit and let's get mixing. TEQUILA — TEQUILA AND CHILL Instead of the classic paloma or tequila mockingbird, surprise your guests with a sophisticated spin on both with the addition of Chambord to your tequila of choice. Ingredients - 45ml Herradura Plata Tequila - 15ml Chambord - Cranberry juice - Lemonade/lemon soda - Mint leaves - Fresh lime Method Add Herradura Plata, Chambord, mint leaves and two squeezed lime wedges to a tall or highball glass. To increase the mint flavour, clap the leaves in your hands first — you might look silly, but it works. Fill the glass with ice and top with equal parts cranberry juice and lemonade. Stir to combine and garnish with a sprig of fresh mint, rosemary and lime wheel or go the extra mile with a dehydrated lime wheel. To make the dehydrated lime wheel, either use a dehydrator (obvious) or place lime wheels in a low-temperature oven for a few hours until all the juice has evaporated and you're left with a crisp garnish. GIN — EURO SUMMER Everyone seems to be jetting off for their European summer. Bring a taste of the Mediterranean to your chilly apartment with this cocktail. The secret is using a gin that is made with botanicals that evoke tastes of the Italian coastline. Gin Mare fits the bill as it uses olives, basil and other fresh herbs for its botanicals. Pair with some bruschetta and tiramisu and rug up with your blanket and imagine you're summering in Europe with your mates. Ingredients - 60ml Gin Mare - 30ml Lemon juice - 20ml Sugar syrup - Fresh basil and rosemary Method Grab your cocktail shaker and add all the ingredients. Shake and strain using a fine mesh strainer into a chilled glass filled with ice. Garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary and enjoy. RUM — WINTER SWIZZLE Rum is a dark spirit that showing up more and more on drinks lists in the city. It's a sweet alternative to peaty scotch or fragrant gin and is perfect for cooler nights. You could go for a classic dark 'n stormy or Moscow Mule, but if you want to elevate your evening, try this spin on a swizzle. Ingredients - 60ml Diplomático Rum - 10ml sugar syrup - Two dashes of aromatic bitters - 15ml cloudy apple juice Method Rum Swizzle recipes vary, but most have three ingredients in common: rum, fruit juice and a sweetener. To make this wintry version, add all ingredients to a chilled rocks glass, add ice and stir to combine. Top with fresh ice and a twist of orange peel or cinnamon stick. WHISKY — SCOTCH CITRUS SODA Sometimes the answer isn't a hot toddy, although they are always a good call when the winter chill sets in. If you have a scotch in your collection that you've been looking for a nice way to enjoy, why not opt for this citrusy take on a whisky soda? Perfect for cooler arvos on your (or your mate's balcony). Ingredients - 45ml Glendronach 12 yo - Fever Tree Clementine (orange tonic water) - Two dashes of aromatic bitters Method Get your highball glass and add ice. Pour in your scotch, orange tonic water and a couple of dashes of bitters. Stir to combine and garnish with a fresh orange slice. Go a step further and pair with baked brie with marmalade and walnuts. BOURBON — CANDY CANE Bourbon is a great cocktail base. Arguably some of the best and classic cocktails came from the States and so it isn't a surprise that their spirit is perfect for the practice with its smooth vanilla notes and slightly sweet characters. Instead of going down the savoury cocktail route, ramp up the sweetness and toast to your mates with this tasty, fruity and sweet spin on a whisky sour. Ingredients - 45ml Jack Daniel's Bonded - 15ml Chambord - 30ml lemon juice - 20ml sugar syrup - 15ml egg white or aquafaba (aka the juice from a can of chickpeas) - Two dashes of chocolate bitters Method Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker without ice and shake vigorously to get the egg white or aquafaba nice and foamy. Add ice and shake again. Strain through a fine strainer into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a dehydrated lemon wheel, or amp up the berry flavours of the Chambord with fresh raspberries. Top Image: Gin Mare.
With the Taronga Conservation Society recording 26 Australian shark attacks in 2016 alone, we don't blame you if you're starting to feel a little bit wary about jumping in the ocean. There have been countless attempts to keep surfers safe, from nets and drumlines to shark-deterrent wetsuits and, unfortunately, culling. But thanks to some innovative new shark-detection technology from the minds at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and The Little Ripper Group (the guys behind Westpac's Little Ripper rescue drones), beaches might be a tiny bit safer this summer. The SharkSpotter system — which has been years in the making and is ready to be implemented in the coming weeks — uses artificial intelligence to detect sharks in live video feed and images collected by Little Ripper's battery-operated drones. Working off UTS' algorithm and some state-of-the-art sensors, the unmanned aircraft can even tell the difference between sharks and other sea animals, boasting a 90 percent accuracy rate. Once a shark's been spotted, they'll be able to warn swimmers of the potential threat using an on-board megaphone and alert surf lifesavers and emergency services. According to Chief Executive Officer of Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver, Eddie Bennet, the shark-friendly system is a total game-changer. "This smart algorithm gives us yet another capability in patrolling beaches which we have been doing regularly for almost a year," he said, calling the technology "a major milestone in addressing shark attacks with very real ability to save a life". The SharkSpotter will be used to patrol beaches across Queensland and New South Wales from the start of the surf life saving season next month. Exactly where the drones will be deployed will change each week, with locations only confirmed on the Friday before the weekend. However, it's likely they'll be places around Byron and the north coast of NSW, and around the Sunshine and Gold Coasts in Queensland. Via news.com.au.
"For never was a story of more woe," said William Shakespeare of Romeo & Juliet. To be accurate, he had the iconic play announce that itself in its second-last line. In the four centuries since the famed tale was first penned, never was there a tragic romance that's better known, either. Few works have been adapted and performed as much as this story of the warring Montague and Capulet families, and the heartbreak that ensues when their children fall in love — but Benjamin Millepied's Romeo & Juliet suite still stands out. Australian audiences will be able to discover why for themselves when winter hits in 2024, when the world-famous choreographer's take on Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers will make its Aussie debut. Playing exclusively at the Sydney Opera House from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 9, the ballet will fill the Joan Sutherland Theatre and other spaces with a mix of dance, theatre and cinema that defies genres, as well as a modernisation of the narrative that sees love first, not gender. Three versions comprise the suite, each with a different couple. On the production's first night and its Saturday matinee, an all-male pairing will bring Romeo & Juliet to life. On the second evening and the Saturday night, two female dancers will play the lead parts. And on the Friday and Sunday, a male-female duo will take to the stage. Millepied's Romeo & Juliet hails from the LA Dance Project, which he co-founded and acts as its Artistic Director. The company's ensemble will perform on the opera house's stage and also throughout the building, which is then broadcast live back to the audience inside the Joan Sutherland Theatre. So, the Romeo & Juliet suite plays with form, too — and even if you think you've seen every iteration of R&J before, this one is unique. Bringing the ballet Down Under for the first time marks Millepied's latest project in Australia. His last: making his film directorial debut with Carmen, which starred Melissa Barrera (Scream) and Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers), reimagined Prosper Mérimée's novella and Georges Bizet's opera, and shot in the outback New South Wales town of Broken Hill. The dancer, choreographer and filmmaker's resume before that spans joining the New York Ballet as a teen, choreographing and co-starring in Black Swan, a stint as Paris Opera Ballet's Director of Dance and creating the sandwalk for Denis Villeneuve's versions of Dune. "I am deeply proud of LA Dance Project, the artistic journey I've embarked on over the past decade alongside my dedicated partner Lucinda Lent and our exceptional team. The opportunity for our company to grace the stage of the Sydney Opera House is a dream realised," said Millepied, announcing the Romeo & Juliet suite's Australian debut. "This moment holds profound significance, not only because the Sydney Opera House is an emblem of global culture, but also because Australia and its people hold a unique space in my heart. Sydney, I eagerly anticipate our reunion!" The Romeo & Juliet suite will take over the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 9, 2024. For more information and tickets, head to the venue's website — with presales from 9am on Tuesday, February 6 and general sales from 9am on Friday, February 9. Read our interview with Benjamin Millepied about Carmen. Images: Julien Benhamou, Paul Bourdrel and Josh Rose.
Whether you're avoiding the wet weather across Australia's east coast, still in lockdown in Auckland or in need of a quiet one before the festive season kicks into gear, a stint of couch time may be on your weekend agenda. And while there's never any shortage of things to watch, here's something that might tempt your eyeballs: extremely cheap Disney+ subscriptions, plus a lineup of new movies and TV shows to go with it. This month marks two years since the Mouse House first leapt into the streaming game, so it's celebrating with $1.99 subscriptions. That's the rate for one month, and it's available until 6.59pm AEDT on Monday, November 15 — as long as you're either a new subscriber or a returning subscriber who doesn't current have an active subscription to the service. Disney+ is also fleshing out its catalogue with a number of new big-name additions, effective today, Friday, November 12. So, from tonight, you can watch Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings at home — just two months after it hit cinemas — or get nostalgic and merry with new Home Alone franchise instalment Home Sweet Home Alone. Action-adventure comedy Jungle Cruise is also making the leap to the service as part of regular subscription fees (after simultaneously launching on the big screen and on digital back in July, but for an extra fee for the latter). And, so is new Michael Keaton-starring drama Dopesick, with the TV series exploring prescription drugs, Big Pharma and opioid addiction in America. The Mouse House is also going big on existing fan favourites, thanks to the Frozen-related Olaf Presents, new short The Simpsons in Plusaversary, the first episodes from the second season of The World According to Jeff Goldblum, and Star Wars-centric Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett special. Plus, you can check out two Marvel specials about the making of Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings and Hawkeye's best MCU moments — although Hawkeye, the show, doesn't actually premiere until Wednesday, November 24. And, there's also The Making of Happier than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles, which follows on from the platform's Billie Eilish concert experience — as well as the Disney+ debut of the 2007 Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey-starring fantasy rom-com Enchanted. Disney+'s $1.99 subscription deal is available until 6.59pm AEDT on Monday, November 15 for new and eligible returning subscribers. For more information, head to the streaming platform's website.
When it comes to design, there's minimalism and there's 'WTF-that-thing-defies-physics', and this is definitely the latter. Designer Peter Bristol's Cut Chair looks like an ordinary white chair that somebody sliced big diagonal chunks out of across the legs and back, leaving the seat seemingly unconnected to the front legs. Also, is it just us or is it weirdly cute that he made the cut parts red so it looks like the chair's bleeding? It probably would have been tempting to leave people scratching their heads, but Bristol decided to reveal the secret behind the illusion on his website — the answer lies underneath the rug that the chair's sitting on, and it's surprisingly simple. The rug conceals a metal plate that the legs are all welded to, cantilevering the chair so you can sit on it. And if big grey shaggy rugs aren't your style, the rug part is customisable — it basically just has to cover the plate to complete the illusion. The chair is available for purchase, but it'll set you back US$4000 — although if you had the money, seeing people's confused expressions when you offer them a seat would be priceless. Via Fast Company.
Holy Ghost are back with some ridiculously catchy music, The National have us swimming in a sea of love, and Sam Smith goes acoustic to show us the beauty of strings. Put down the iPod; these five tracks are your playlist for the weekend. 1. 'DUMB DISCO IDEAS' - HOLY GHOST Holy Ghost are back with their impending album Dynamics, and this week they treated us to the first delicious slice of audio pie from the record in 'Dumb Disco Ideas'. It is eight minutes of subtle hooks, groove and simplicity and the accompanying video is equally as fantastic, with a time lapse of the Manhattan skyline punctuated by cleverly synchronised disco lights. 2. 'SEA OF LOVE' - THE NATIONAL The National are experts at making music for all occasions. 'Sea of Love' is another one of those gems that you can listen to whilst jogging, brooding over a break-up or taking a road trip to the greatest festival of your life (at which they are probably playing). The track coasts along nicely until its final third when everything lets loose and the band just take it up a few thousand notches. The National are back to their very best. Also, the kid at the front of the video is incredible. 3. 'LATCH' - SAM SMITH Sam Smith provided the vocals for Disclosure's electro smash 'Latch'. This week he decided to strip that track back, take out all of the technologically created sounds and head in an acoustic direction and we should all be glad he has. Whilst the original is enjoyable in its own right, Sam's haunting voice and strong string accompaniment take it in a direction you never imagined the song could go. This is music as it was meant to be made. 4. 'FALL FOR YOU' - YOUNG GALAXY Canadian indie band Young Galaxy know how to have fun and thankfully they are kind enough to share what their fun creates. 'Fall For You' is from their new album Ultramarine and it creates all kinds of good feelings when you hear it. If you watch the video whilst listening you will never be sad again. 5. 'RUN AWAY' - SUNSTROKE PROJECT It's Eurovision weekend, which means its time to reflect on one of the greatest moments in recent competition history — epic sax man. When Moldova took to the stage in 2010 nobody expected much; how wrong we all were. Not only did we get a spinning violinist but we were also treated to the most epic saxophonist ever. Many have tried to replicate his hips, but none have succeeded and it is doubtful that anybody ever will.
It's time to get the word "Jellicle" stuck in your head again: to mark 40 years since it first hit the stage in Australia, Cats has locked in a new season Down Under. Back in July 1985, Aussie audiences initially experienced Andrew Lloyd Webber's acclaimed production, which turned a tale inspired by poems from T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats into an award-winning theatre hit. The place: Sydney, aka where Cats is heading again from June 2025. Four decades ago, the show pranced and prowled through Theatre Royal Sydney — and the new season will scamper across the boards there again, too. There's no word yet on whether the show's 2025 Australian run will make stops in any other cities, so if you're keen for some new Cats memories, booking a seat in the Harbour City is your only current way of guaranteeing them. "Cats is a legendary show that I've admired for over 40 years. A sparkling fusion of music, dance and verse, it was revolutionary when it first opened and enticed new audiences into the world of musical theatre," said producer John Frost for Crossroads Live about the new Aussie performances. "I can't wait to bring the original production of Cats back to Australia where it all began, at Theatre Royal Sydney, to celebrate its 40th anniversary in Australia." If you're new to Cats, it spends its time with the Jellicle cat tribe on the night of the Jellicle Ball. That's the evening each year when their leader Old Deuteronomy picks who'll be reborn into a new Jellicle life by making the Jellicle choice. And yes, "Jellicle" is uttered frequently. Of late, audiences might be more familiar with Cats as a movie. In 2019, the musical made the leap from stage to screen with a star-studded cast including Idris Elba (Hijack), Taylor Swift (Amsterdam), Judi Dench (Belfast), Ian McKellen, (The Critic) James Corden, (Mammals) Jennifer Hudson (Respect), Jason Derulo (Lethal Weapon), Ray Winstone (Damsel) and Rebel Wilson (The Almond and the Seahorse) playing singing, scurrying street mousers. If you ever wanted to see Swift pouring cat nip on a crowd of cats from a suspended gold moon, or were keen to soothe your disappointment over the fact that Elba hasn't yet been James Bond by spotting him with whiskers, fur and a tail, this was your chance. For its efforts, the Tom Hooper (The Danish Girl)-directed film picked up six Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture. But while the movie clearly didn't hit the mark, you can see why this feline-fancying musical has been such a huge theatre hit when it makes its Aussie stage comeback. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cats Australia (@catsthemusicalau) Cats will play Theatre Royal Sydney, 108 King Street, Sydney, from June 2025. Head to the musical's website to further details and to sign up for the ticket waitlist. Images: Alessandro Pinna.
Dog-sharing. Yep. Read it again. Dog-sharing. Services that allow pooch owners to connect with other pooch owners to help with everyday care, pupsit for holidays, do walks and so on. It's happening. Australian service Dogshare was initially launched for dog owners only, but it's now launched a pretty damn exciting feature — a 'borrowing' feature for dog loving people in the same neighbourhood. Yep, now Dogshare allows dogless humans to 'borrow' a pup. You can provide walks or day/night dog-sitting for time-poor dog owners in your local area. There's no money involved, just love (and trust dammit, take care of those pooches). Similar Aussie service BorrowMyPooch works on the same principle but has a subscription fee for owners and borrowers, while Pawshake is free to sign up as a sitter, but owners pay to host their pups. Dogshare founder Jessica Thomas, a busy working mum to two young children and Duke, an exuberant German Shorthaired Pointer, chose to add the free dog borrowing feature in response to a wave of emails she received from non-dog owners willing to offer non-reciprocal care at no charge. "I found that there are so many people out there who genuinely love dogs and have experience caring for them, but are unable to commit to owning one for a variety of reasons," says Thomas. "The borrower gets access to a dog and all the benefits that go with it, while the owner has someone to love and care for their pet when they can't." So, how does it work? Like an online dating service, 'borrowers' create a profile on Dogshare's website, list their previous experience with dogs and flag any services they're keen to volunteer for — there's dog walking, park playdates, overnight stays, vacation stays, taking pups to the vet and other appointments or even the tiniest task of checking on the pup while their owners are at work. Borrowers can then connect with Dogshare's dog owners, who can arrange a local park meet-up and see whether you're not a total weirdo or not. Want to give it a shot? Visit Dogshare's website to create a borrower profile and meet dem pups. Image: Veronika Homchis.
Over the past few years, Gelatissimo has whipped up a number of creative flavours, including frosé sorbet, gelato for dogs, and ginger beer, Weet-Bix. fairy bread, hot cross bun, cinnamon scroll and chocolate fudge gelato. Most recently, it made a bubble tea variety, too. For its latest offering, the Australian dessert chain is taking inspiration from another beloved foodstuff — in case you can't choose between slathering Belgium's Lotus Biscoff cookie butter spread over bread or licking your way through a few scoops of ice cream. Yes, that very combination is now on the menu, with Biscoff gelato earning the honours as Gelatissimo's August flavour of the month. Now on sale, it starts with buttery cinnamon biscuit gelato — which is then layered with slabs of cookie butter, then topped with crunchy biscuit pieces. If you're only just learning about Lotus Biscoff cookie butter spread, it's made from the crumbs of Lotus Biscoff caramelised biscuits, and is basically a cookie-flavoured version of peanut butter or chocolate spreads like Nutella. Understandably, it has picked up quite a following — and, in its spreadable form, comes in creamy and crunchy varieties. At Gelatissimo, the Biscoff gelato will only be available for the month of August at all stores Australia-wide — and only while stocks last. That includes via delivered take-home packs via services such as UberEats, Deliveroo and DoorDash. Gelatissimo's Biscoff gelato is available from all stores nationwide for the month of August.
"We’re putting sexy back into sherry," says beverage expert Brett Harris. "We want to change the misconception that it's only a drink to pour for your grandmother." On September 26, Harris (of El Topo and Hello Sailor) and cuisine creative Nelson Burgos (Mamasita and Foley Lane) will open the doors to Fino Par, a brand new Spanish-inspired restaurant/bar in the Sydney CBD. Harris, who's previously been responsible for tequila menus that would put Hunter S. Thompson under the table (think El Topo), is ready to reintroduce Sydneysiders to sherry — as we've never seen it before. "From the lighter Fino styles to dry Manzanillas and the surprisingly nutty-flavoured Amontillados, these fortified beauties are ready to be resurrected," Harris explains. The bar will also be home to what we're pretty sure is Sydney’s first-ever barrel-aged sangria. In the food department, we can expect a similar fusion of old and new. Burgos, whose creations you might have explored at Foley Lane or Mamasita, will be bringing his famous Montaditos to the table. Never one to settle for reruns, Burgos has given the tapas staples a makeover — think innovative new combos like pickled white anchovies and fennel. Other promised tasty morsels range from classics such as embutidos (cured meats) to adventures like octopus Carpaccio and smoked oysters with tomato granita. All dishes will be served up on Spanish tiles, handcrafted in bright colours. "The main focus behind the menu is to pair classic Spanish dishes with incredible local produce," says Burgos. "Creating simple modern dishes with big flavours, capturing the essence of Spain." Harris and Burgos have invited The Gentry to create an industrial chic interior — Spanish street art against cement walls and etched steel floors, with a bar patched together out of recycled timber. Soundtrack-wise, you can expect '70s soul, English mariachi and, of course, a steady stream of Spanish tunes. You'll find Fino Par on the corner of Elizabeth and Goulburn Streets. The tapas menu will be served from midday and from 7am there'll be a stand-alone breakfast and brunch menu, offering the likes of steamed milk buns with jamon, confit tomato and Murcia cheese. If you don't have time to stop, you'll be able to grab a coffee and Churros from the external cafe on wheels (or cafe sobre ruedas, as the Spanish would call it). Fino Par will keep things intimate with seating for just seventy — that’s forty-five in the restaurant and twenty-five in the bar — all dedicated to walk-ins. Bookings won't be an option. Fino Par opens September 26.
Work has kicked off on the Regent Theatre's first makeover since the building reopened to the public back in 1996. What's more, the Melbourne heritage site's new look will be making a rather dramatic debut, having landed a blockbuster show that'll help celebrate the revamp in fittingly huge style once complete. With upgrade works slated to wrap up next year, The Regent's confirmed that in 2021, its stage will play host to the Aussie debut of Moulin Rouge! The Musical — a new production based on Baz Luhrmann's award-winning musical film, which arrives Down Under hot off the back of a much-lauded launch season on Broadway. The show brings to life the famed Belle Époque tale of young composer Christian and his heady romance with Satine, actress and star of the legendary Moulin Rouge cabaret. Set in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, the film's known for its soundtrack, celebrating iconic tunes from across the past five decades. The stage show carries on the legacy, backing those favourites with even more hit songs that have been released in the 18 years since the movie premiered. [caption id="attachment_734113" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Regent Theatre by Josie Withers[/caption] The musical is heading to Melbourne in the hands of production company Global Creatures, along with the Victorian Government. The Government will also be a big player behind the Regent's upgrade works, having dropped a cool $14.5 million towards the $19.4 million project. It co-owns the site, along with the City of Melbourne. Once complete, the new-look theatre will be able to be set to three different configurations, from 1500 seats, to 1700 seats, to 2300 seats for the bigger shows. As well as upgrades to its façade, the building will enjoy improvements to the theatre seating, revamped bar and foyer areas, extra women's bathroom facilities, and an extension to the existing balcony. Having survived a fire, a flood and a twenty-year closure from 1970 to the mid-90s, as well as many threats of demolition, the Regent seems pretty well deserving of its coming makeover. The Regent Theatre, at 191 Collins Street, Melbourne, is set to be completed by early 2020. It'll host Moulin Rouge! The Musical in 2021. Moulin Rouge! The Musical image: Matthew Murphy.
Darlinghurst nightlife institution Club 77 will temporarily close in 2026 to undergo a major accessibility-focused redesign, made possible by Sound NSW's Venue Upgrade Grant. The venue will shut its doors on Monday, April 13, 2026, and aims to reopen on Thursday, June 4, 2026 with a completely reimagined space that prioritises inclusivity. "We believe inclusivity and accessibility are no longer just nice-to-haves, but essential components of any successful venue," the club said in a statement. The redesign will be led by Inochi Design Life, and will introduce a suite of new features: an accessible entrance with a wheelchair lift, upgraded bathrooms, an accessible bar with a lowered top, an inclusive DJ booth and live music area, accessible seating and 1.5 metres of wheelchair turning space throughout the venue. There'll also be a new dedicated sensory room, braille signage for blind and visually impaired patrons, and haptic vests available for deaf and hard of hearing guests to enhance their live music experience. Club 77's Music Director Dane Gorrel said, "It's been both a dream and mission of Club 77's long-term plan to make the venue accessible and truly inclusive. Thanks to Sound NSW, this dream is now becoming reality and we couldn't be more grateful. Everyone should be able to experience live music in an accessible, inclusive and safe environment." The upgrades have been developed with support from Accessible Arts, Electronic Music Conference, Night Time Industries Association, Green Music Australia, plus artists Aquenta of Crip Rave Theory and Transenergy director Sophie Forrest. [caption id="attachment_803921" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Club 77[/caption] A reopening party is already in the works in partnership with Crip Rave Theory, although details are yet to be announced. Images: Supplied.
New year, new list of huge events to look forward to — but only one will make LGBTQIA+ history. That'd be the first-ever WorldPride held in the Southern Hemisphere, which'll hit Sydney from Friday, February 17–Sunday, March 5. And, although Sydney WorldPride announced its massive 2023 lineup late in 2022, it's still adding big-name additions. Joining the program alongside everyone from Kylie Minogue and Charli XCX to Kelly Rowland and Nicole Scherzinger: German pop star Kim Petras. Fresh from nabbing a Grammy nomination for 'Unholy' with Sam Smith, the 'If Jesus Was a Rockstar', 'Heart to Break', 'Future Starts Now', 'Coconut' and 'Malibu' singer will headline Sydney WorldPride closing gig Rainbow Republic alongside the already-announced MUNA and G Flip. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sydney Mardi Gras (@sydneymardigras) "I'm so happy to be back in Sydney supporting WorldPride! Headlining Mardi Gras was a really inspiring moment back in 2019 and it was one of my favourite Pride events ever, so I'm really excited to see my Australian fans again and take everything to a whole new level," said Petras, announcing the news. She'll take to the stage in The Domain, where WorldPride is hosting both its opening and closing events, as part of a a seven-hour show filled with live music, DJs and dancing — a queer megamix, if you like. On hosting duties: Keiynan Lonsdale (Love, Simon, The Flash, Eden), who'll also perform. Peach PRC, Alter Boy, BVT and Vetta Borne have also been named on the bill. Sydney WorldPride has been announcing parts of its lineup since June last year, including the return of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade to Oxford Street after the 2021 and 2022 events were held at the Sydney Cricket Ground due to the pandemic. Among the other highlights: pride villages set up in sections of Crown Street and Riley Street, rainbows all around Greater Sydney, a Bondi beach party that'll turn the iconic sandy stretch into a club for 12,000 people, and a Blak & Deadly First Nations gala concert. RAINBOW REPUBLIC SYDNEY WORLDPRIDE CLOSING CONCERT LINEUP: Kim Petras MUNA G Flip Keiynan Lonsdale Peach PRC Alter Boy BVT Vetta Borne Sydney WorldPride will run from Friday, February 17–Sunday, March 5, 2023, with closing concert Rainbow Republic taking place at The Domain on Sunday, March 5. Tickets for Rainbow Republic are on sale now. For more information about Sydney WorldPride, or for general ticket sales, head to the event's website.
Close out the summer with a wild and wacky bang at Mona's annual festival of boundary-defying culture, music and art. The iconoclastic Hobart gallery, performance space, and purveyor of beer and wine, is known for subverting expectations so you can expect an eccentric and unforgettable few days down south at Mona Foma. Now in its 16th year, the 2024 incarnation of the festival runs from Thursday, February 15 to Sunday, February 25 in nipaluna/Hobart and from Thursday, February 29 to Saturday, March 2 in Launceston. There are morning meditations with cross-cultural musical collaborations and captivating art exhibits for those after a more reflective experience. On the flip side of fun, there are gigs galore and late-night bashes for those keen for a boogie. The program features everything from Taiwanese artist Yahon Chang painting with a human-sized brush and Emeka Ogboh's gin-centred exhibit to musical headliners Queens of the Stone Age, Courtney Barnett, Paul Kelly and cult favourites TISM in a rare live show. Check out our picks of the program below to kick-start your festival planning or get you inspired to book your Tassie getaway. Mona Sessions If you can only make it to one event, the quintessential Mona Foma experience can be found at the Mona Sessions. On the evenings of Friday, February 23 to Sunday, February 25, you can enjoy live music from international artists on the sprawling museum lawns. Suitable for all ages, Mona Sessions features performances by Scottish space-rock stalwarts Mogwai; Kutcha Edwards and The Australian Art Orchestra; Japanese punk-pop band Shonen Knife; Canadian quartet Holy Fuck; French-Korean siblings (both under the age of 15) Isaac et Nora; and Lonnie Holley with Moor Mother and Irreversible Entanglements. [caption id="attachment_939340" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Amniote Editions[/caption] Faux Mo Keep the grooves flowing after the Mona Sessions at Faux Mo. The Granada Tavern opposite Mona will become abuzz with late-night beats and boogies from 10.30pm until 2am on Friday, February 23 and Saturday, February 24, with a more chill afternoon sesh on Sunday, February 25. Catch sets from POOKIE, Soju Gang and m8riarchy, along with melodic beats by Mama Snake from Denmark, Afrobeats by Nigerian-born Emeka Ogboh, and mellow house by Kiwi brothers Chaos in the CBD. [caption id="attachment_939338" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Amber Haines[/caption] Wayfinder Queensland dance collective Dancenorth is known for compelling performances which weave together contemporary dance and powerful storytelling. Wayfinder is no exception. Viewers will be immersed in Dancenorth's spellbinding choreography, set to a score by Grammy award-nominated Hiatus Kaiyote with a stage and costumes designed by visual artist Hiromi Tango. The performance will only run for three nights from Thursday, February 22 to Saturday, February 24, so be sure to book in quick. [caption id="attachment_829589" align="alignnone" width="1920"] MONA and Jesse Hunniford[/caption] Boats (a gin and art experiment) Multifaceted artist Emeka Ogboh will not only be spinning a DJ set at Faux Mo, but has also developed an immersive exhibit. Boats explores themes of migration and belonging through a bespoke gin blended by the Nigerian-born creative. Festival-goers can sample the gin and snacks accompanied by a sound installation at Detached. If that's not enough, Ogboh is collaborating with Mona's executive chef to incorporate the gin and West African flavours at various Mona restaurants during the festival. [caption id="attachment_939336" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of Filastine & Nova[/caption] Arka Kinari It wouldn't be Mona Foma without show-stopping, thought-provoking works — and what's a bigger statement than a 70-tonne sailing ship moored at the waterfront to spread awareness about climate change? The boat, named Arka Kinari, is musical duo and married couple Filastine and Nova's home, creative work, transport and travelling stage. The pair are inviting visitors aboard to learn about the ship's sustainable resources — which include water desalination, solar power, wind travel and waste management — and will also be performing their music against a backdrop of cinematic visuals on the deck of the ship. Don't miss it. [caption id="attachment_939339" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gabriel Comerford[/caption] Dekoor In Launceston, gym and rave bros collide at the adults-only Dekoor. Local Tasmanian artists ROOKE will put on an exciting dance, theatre and circus performance in a working gym, where audience members can wander through the space throughout the show. For some added fun, consent tokens will be available if you're open to being touched, carried or led away by performers. These tokens can of course be removed or passed on if you change your mind during the event. After the show, stick around for a party with DJs and performances across three levels of the gym until 1am. The Shruti Sessions Journey across musical borders at The Shruti Sessions, where musicians from Hindustani and Rajasthani backgrounds collaborate and experiment with Australian instrumentalists. Experience something new at each performance, whether you drop in for a Morning Meditation or catch the action at the Mona Sessions. Performers include notable tabla player Bobby Singh, percussionist Benjamin Walsh, OAM recipient and saxophonist Sandy Evans, sarangi player Asin Khan Langa and renowned slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya. [caption id="attachment_831323" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jason Charles Hill via Tourism Tasmania[/caption] The Gorge How about a lazy day of lounging and swims followed by an evening concert at the spectacular Cataract Gorge? And what's more, this live show — featuring the elusive TISM, Mulga Bore Hard Rock, FFLORA x Grace Chia and Cash Savage and The Last Drinks — is completely free. If you'd like to level up your experience, you can opt for the Peacock Pass which grants you access to the Peacock Bar, a private entrance and a viewing area with seating. Find out more and book your tickets at the Mona Foma website.
Encouraging humanity to live reduce our impact on the planet, stylish and inventive architectural designs, the ability to make almost any place your backyard: yes, the tiny house movement has it all. And if you've been dreaming about leaving regular old bricks-and-mortar living behind for the freedom of a small, cute, mobile cottage, the latest model to hit the market isn't going to change that. Meet the Escape One and its upsized version, the Escape One XL — aka a two-storey wood cabin on wheels. You'll forget any caravan comparisons when you're walking through timber-clad interiors, gazing out multiple levels of large windows, making between 25 and 36 square metres of space your own. Throw in a multi-purpose first floor that can be used as a dining area, office, bedroom and living room, plus a second floor that's similarly flexible in function, and you'll be in pint-sized abode heaven. Like all the best miniature houses, living a compact life doesn't mean skimping on the essentials. Both models boast a tub and shower, designer sink and bathroom storage, plus optional flatscreen TVs and blu-ray players, while the XL comes with a maple cabinet-filled kitchen with appliances and an under-counter fridge/freezer. Alas, for those culling their belongings and packing their bags, these currently these tiny mobile homes are only available in the US, and they don't come cheap — starting at US$49,800. Via Dezeen. Image: Escape.
For anyone that grew up in a Nintendo household where the company's consoles reigned supreme, getting your Super Mario fix beyond mashing buttons has long been easy. You've been able hit up Google Maps and mobile phones, if you really can't tear yourself away from the games. Mario Kart made the leap to reality, too. There's also the Super Nintendo theme park in Japan, as well as the upcoming second site in Hollywood — and, since 1993, the live-action Super Mario Bros film. Come March 2023, watching the new animated The Super Mario Bros Movie will join that list, and it'll reach the screen bearing a hefty weight of expectations that don't actually cover whether it's any good or not. Yes, hopefully it's entertaining. But, does it look like a Mario game? Does it sound like one? Does it include tunnels and coin blocks, floating bricks and superpowered stars? Does it do the Mushroom Kingdom justice? These are the questions that every Mario fan has. For a couple of months now, The Super Mario Bros Movie has been dropping teasers and trailers giving viewers a glimpse at what's to come, and all of the above essentials look to be taken care of. Still, if you still have any doubts, the just-dropped latest sneak peek — a scene from the movie, with Mario getting a tour of the Mushroom Kingdom — ticks all of the above boxes and then some. The most recent trailer included a rainbow road, and racing along it Mario Kart-style, too — so the film is nodding to plenty of Mario games. Indeed, haunted houses have also featured in snippets so far; fingers crossed they also come with the appropriate music. The new The Super Mario Bros Movie has enlisted Chris Pratt (The Terminal List) to voice the Italian plumber, sees Bowser (Jack Black, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood) proclaim his desire to rule the world and casts Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) as the Mushroom Kingdom's comedic sidekick. Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Menu) is determined to take on the challenge, and dispense words of advice in general, while battling Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen, Pam & Tommy) also features. The Super Mario Bros Movie's voice cast also includes Keegan- Michael Key (Wendell & Wild) as Toad, plus Fred Armisen (Wednesday) as Cranky Kong. And, it hails from directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies), is penned by Matthew Fogel (Minions: The Rise of Gru) and is produced by Illumination Entertainment (aka the studio behind the Despicable Me and Minions flicks, and the Sing films). Check out the latest sneak peek below: The Super Mario Bros Movie releases in cinemas Down Under on March 30, 2023.
The Bay Run is one of Sydney's most idyllic stretches of tarmac, skirting the inner-west's waterfront through suburbs like Leichhardt, Drummoyne, Russell Lea and Rozelle. Yet a just-released announcement is set to make Callan Park in Lilyfield an even more popular destination along the route, thanks to a brand-new $3.8 million swimming spot — the Callan Park Tidal Baths. Whether you're rising early to beat your course record or taking a stroll with friends (keep to the left, please), you'll soon be welcome to cool off with a dip. Made possible by a partnership between the NSW Government and the Inner West Council, the project was first explored in 2018, with long-held plans for the Iron Cove foreshore finally getting the go-ahead. Included in the design, the future Callan Park Tidal Baths will feature an accessible pathway and ramp alongside a generous fixed jetty, pontoon and shark net. Closely integrated with the surrounding parkland, the aim is to deliver a family-oriented recreation facility ripe for safe and accessible swimming for the whole community. "The iconic Bay Run and surrounding parklands are already a community hub for family fun, sport, relaxation and exercise, so adding a swim spot where people can cool off in summer will be the perfect addition to an already thriving public space," says Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully. So, when can you slide into your togs? Once the final approvals are in place, construction on the Callan Park Tidal Baths is expected to take around six months. That means you should be able to enjoy a post-run swim by the time summer in 2026 comes around. In the meantime, Greater Sydney Parklands is preparing a Callan Park Foreshore Master Plan for community consultation in the coming months. "The Callan Park Tidal Baths will be a spectacular addition to the Bay Run, which is already one of the best-used recreation facilities in Sydney," says Inner West Council Mayor Darcy Byrne. "This swim site is the next step in the incredible rehabilitation of the Parramatta River and will attract swimmers and families from all over the Inner West to take a dip in Callan Park." The Callan Park Tidal Baths are expected to open by summer 2026. Head to the website for more information. Image: NSW Inner West Council
He made movies that no one else could've. He changed what the world, viewers and fellow filmmakers alike, thought was possible in cinematic storytelling. The greatest television show ever created sits on his resume, a label that would've applied even if it had only received a two-season run in the 90s, but was proven all-the-more accurate when he revisited it two and a half decades later to gift audiences an unforgettable 18-episode achievement. There has never been an artist like David Lynch, and won't be again. Anyone who has had the chance to explore his paintings, drawings and sculptures, too — which made a spectacular Australian showing at a dedicated exhibition at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art in 2015, with the man himself in attendance — can't shake them from their mind. Movies, TV, acting, animation, art, music, books, furniture, photography, advertising, music videos, transcendental meditation, comic strips, coffee, weather reports, cooking quinoa, gravity-defying hair: before his death on January 15, 2025, Lynch made an impact upon all of them. "He was in touch with something the rest of us wish we could get to," shared Kyle MacLachlan, Lynch's Special Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, Paul Atreides in 1984's Dune and Jeffrey Beaumont in Blue Velvet. "David was in tune with the universe and his own imagination on a level that seemed to be the best version of human," he continued. "Every moment together felt charged with a presence I've rarely seen or known. Probably because, yes, he seemed to live in an altered world, one that I feel beyond lucky to have been a small part of. And David invited all to glimpse into that world through his exquisite storytelling, which elevated cinema and inspired generations of filmmakers across the globe," said his Mulholland Drive lead Naomi Watts. For Wild at Heart's Nicolas Cage, Lynch "was a singular genius in cinema, one of the greatest artists of this or any time," he told Deadline. "He was brave, brilliant and a maverick with a joyful sense of humour. I never had more fun on a film set than working with David Lynch. He will always be solid gold." "The world is going to miss such an original and unique voice. His films have already stood the test of time and they always will," noted Steven Spielberg, who gave Lynch one of his last role sas an actor, casting his fellow helmer as another Hollywood great, John Ford, in the autobiographical The Fabelmans. For another filmmaking icon adoring a filmmaking icon, Martin Scorsese also provided his ode in a statement: "I hear and read the word 'visionary' a lot these days — it's become a kind of catch-all description, another piece of promotional language. But David Lynch really was a visionary — in fact, the word could have been invented to describe the man and the films, the series, the images and the sounds he left behind. He created forms that seemed like they were right on the edge of falling apart but somehow never did. He put images on the screen unlike anything that I or anybody else had ever seen — he made everything strange, uncanny, revelatory and new. And he was absolutely uncompromising, from start to finish." When Lynch committed his journey to paper with 2018's must-read Room to Dream, the talent that crafted the most-stunning debut feature there is with Eraserhead, earned a Best Director Oscar nomination for his second film The Elephant Man (and later for Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive), and has nine Emmy nods to his name for the first and third seasons of Twin Peaks, couldn't have chosen a better moniker for his memoir. When Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me advises that "we live inside a dream", it also couldn't have felt more apt. To watch Lynch's work is to fall into his dreams — surrealist visions filled with clashes and contrasts, such as his career-long fascination with the sublime and the terrifying sides of suburbia and domesticity — then be inspired to have your own, whichever places both wonderful and strange that they might take you. [caption id="attachment_987090" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Suzanne Tenner/SHOWTIME[/caption] For Lynch, where his output transports fans to has always been personal, including to them. Famously, he eschewed explanations, letting his creations speak for themselves, and giving everyone watching, viewing, listening and appreciating the room to draw their own interpretations. "It's the ideas that come. And many of the ideas that come are conjured by our world. And we all know that there's many mysteries. I always say that human beings are like detectives: we want to know what's going on and what the truth of a thing is, and we see our world, we feel it, we feel there's things going on," he said to David Stratton at a public in-conversation event during his trip to Brisbane. "I always say that the filmmaker has to understand the thing for himself or herself. But when things get abstract, or a little bit abstract, there's room for many interpretations, and each person should be able to make up his or her mind to feel what the things mean." To pay tribute to Lynch, damn fine cherry pie should be on the menu. So should a damn fine lineup of viewing, because there's no better way to honour a filmmaker like no other than to relish his on-screen dreams. When his family announced his passing at the age of 78, they noted that he'd remind everyone to "keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole". Take that advice by enjoying everything that's available to stream right now — and Lynch's version of a small-town-set TV murder-mystery, its big-screen prequel, a documentary about him, several acting roles and a monkey interrogation are just the beginning. (Sadly, Eraserhead, The Straight Story and Inland Empire aren't available at the time of writing, but they'd be on the list otherwise.) The Elephant Man David Lynch has never been shy about how unlikely it was for the director of Eraserhead to score a job making a Victorian era-set period drama in England with John Hurt (Jackie), Anne Bancroft (Keeping the Faith), John Gielgud (Elizabeth) and Anthony Hopkins (Those About to Die) — or how he thought that once Mel Brooks (Only Murders in the Building), who executive produced the film, saw his debut feature that he wouldn't get the gig. Thankfully Brooks was wowed, and so cinema gained an affecting movie from Lynch that's restrained compared to much of his other output, but also deeply compassionate and unflinching. With Hurt astonishing as its lead, the eight-time Oscar-nominated The Elephant Man tells of the IRL life of Joseph Merrick, whose physical deformities saw the movie's moniker slung his way. The Elephant Man streams via iTunes and Prime Video. Dune Before Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown) became cinema's ultimate spice boy — Paul Atreides, as he plays in 2021's Dune and 2024's Dune: Part Two for Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) — Kyle MacLachlan (Blink Twice) walked without rhythm first, in his debut collaboration with David Lynch. The latter disowned his adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel, his third feature, his only attempt at a blockbuster and a movie that wasn't met warmly when it released in the mid-80s; however, there's no mistaking the visual ambition that the director attempts to bring to the page-to-screen space opera. Everyone knows the film's narrative due to the two Chalamet-starring flicks, but those versions didn't also star Sting (playing Feyd-Rautha before The Bikeriders' Austin Butler) or Patrick Stewart (as Gurney before Outer Range's Josh Brolin). Dune streams via Netflix and Stan. Blue Velvet What lurks behind seeming perfection is a lifetime-long on-screen obsession for David Lynch, beginning with parenthood in Eraserhead and applying to white picket-fence life in every iteration of Twin Peaks, plus Blue Velvet. Returning home to Lumberton, North Carolina from college, Kyle MacLachlan's Jeffrey Beaumont is soon drawn into the nightmare lived by lounge singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini, Conclave) at the hands of gangster Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper, Crash) — all after he finds a severed human ear in a field near his house. The film's exploration of darkness lingering within also applies to its protagonist, with MacLachlan stellar in a movie that also marks Lynch's first collaboration with Laura Dern (Lonely Planet), features a haunting performance by Hopper and ensures that you'll never hear Roy Orbison the same way again. Blue Velvet streams via iTunes. Twin Peaks It's the mind-bending small-town mystery-drama that comes with its own menu — and with plenty of thrills, laughs and weirdness. Whether you're watching Twin Peaks for the first or 131st time, you'll want to do so with plenty of damn fine coffee, fresh-made cherry pie and cinnamon-covered doughnuts to fuel your journey. David Lynch and Mark Frost's seminal TV series doesn't just serve up 90s-era oddness with backwards talk, log-carrying ladies, couch-jumping monsters and fish in percolators, as centred around the murder of high-schooler Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee, Limetown), though. It returned for an astonishing third season in 2017 as well that's the finest thing to reach the small screen in the 21st century. There's never been anything on television like Twin Peaks. No one can play a kind and quirky FBI boss like Lynch either, or a dedicated agent like Kyle MacLachlan as Dale Cooper. Twin Peaks streams via Paramount+. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is a prequel to Twin Peaks, as well as the exceptional TV show's leap to cinemas. The film is also a masterpiece in tragedy, and the same in empathy. Before she's "dead, wrapped in plastic" in the program's debut instalment, David Lynch truly sees Laura Palmer and everything that she goes through. Set in the lead-up to her demise, the flick burrows deep into the menacing forces at play. It's a movie of sheer dread, even though viewers know what's going to happen. As only he can, Lynch steeps every frame in the brutal pain, terror and suffering of his doomed protagonist, ensuring that his audience walk in her shoes, feel what she's going through and see how ravenously that the world tears into her, all while baking in his adored surrealist touches. He also works David Bowie into the Twin Peaks cast, magnificently so. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me streams via YouTube Movies. Wild at Heart David Lynch directing Nicolas Cage: of course it had to happen, and thankfully did. That's one helluva filmmaker-actor combination — and when the unrivalled helmer had the incomparable star in front of his lens, the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival came his way. The movie that Lynch made between Twin Peaks' initial run and the series' big-screen prequel Fire Walk with Me, it features one of Cage's greatest performances. Cage playing one half of a couple on the run (opposite Laura Dern), singing Elvis tunes like he was born to and navigating a Lynchian crime-romance flick truly is what dreams are made of. Adapting the 1990 novel of the same name — by author Barry Gifford, who went on to co-write Lost Highway with Lynch — Wild at Heart is also as distinctive as crime road movies get. Wild at Heart streams via iTunes and Prime Video. Lost Highway It's thanks to Lost Highway that Nine Inch Nails' 'The Perfect Drug' exists; before he was composing Oscar-winning The Social Network and Golden Globe-winning Challengers scores, Trent Reznor also produced this 1997 film's soundtrack for David Lynch. Tunes by NIN, David Bowie, The Smashing Pumpkins and Lou Reed are just one of movie's highlights, however. Initially with Bill Pullman (Murdaugh Murders: The Movie) as a saxophonist, then with Balthazar Getty (Megalopolis) playing an auto mechanic — and with Patricia Arquette (Severance) acting opposite each, featuring in both of the flick's two parts — Lost Highway embraces its sinister tone from the get-go, with its guiding force strapping in for an eerie and audacious ride filled with mysterious VHS tapes, murder convictions and sudden swaps, and refusing to pump the brakes for a moment. Lost Highway streams via Stan. Mulholland Drive In dreams, Mulholland Drive lingers. In reality, the Los Angeles-set masterpiece has as well since 2001. Although the term naturally applies to his entire filmography, movies don't get much more Lynchian than this shimmering neo-noir and tribute to Tinseltown that started as a TV project, and stars Naomi Watts (Feud) as eager aspiring actor Betty Elms and struggling thespian Diane Selwyn. One is fresh from Deep River, Ontario and chasing her dreams. The other no longer has stars in her eyes. Reflections and doppelgängers, fantasies and alternate realities, accidents and surprises, hopes and failures, how Hollywood demands reinvention, the roles that people play for and without the cameras: they're all part of a mesmerising picture (as are Father of the Bride's Laura Harring and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice's Justin Theroux among the cast). Mulholland Drive streams via Binge, Stan and ABC iView. Duran Duran: Unstaged Inland Empire will always be David Lynch's last narrative feature, but it wasn't his last full-length film. Five years after the movie that he wanted Laura Dern to win an Oscar for so badly that he took to Sunset Boulevard with a cow by his side, he helmed Duran Duran: Unstaged. Before making his one and only concert flick, he'd directed music videos for Chris Isaak's 'Wicked Game' and Moby's 'Shot in the Back of the Head', among others. Afterwards, he'd do the same on Nine Inch Nails' 'Came Back Haunted' and several of his own tunes with Chrystabell, too. But just once, for two hours, he brought an entire live gig to the screen — as shot in Los Angeles on the British band's The All You Need Is Now tour, complete with 'Hungry Like the Wolf', 'Girls on Film', 'Notorious', 'Rio', 'A View to a Kill', 'Come Undone', 'Planet Earth', 'Ordinary World' and more on the setlist. Duran Duran: Unstaged streams via Docplay David Lynch: The Art Life Even when a David Lynch-directed project is diving into nightmares, which is often, the filmmaker's movies and TV shows get audiences yearning to spend time in their company, lapping up his unequalled vision of the world. That's the reason that documentary Lynch/Oz, about his obsession with The Wizard of Oz in his work, exists. Watch doco David Lynch: The Art Life and viewers can spend time in Lynch's company as well. For helmers Rick Barnes, Olivia Neergaard-Holm and Jon Nguyen — all directing their only feature so far — Lynch takes everyone on a tour of his upbringing, efforts to make Eraserhead in the 70s, and artistic and musical output. Of course, don't expect any answers. Again, Lynch wants to let his work speak for itself, rather than him speak about it. But do expect to spend an enjoyable time with the unparalleled master auteur. David Lynch: The Art Life streams via Docplay. What Did Jack Do? In a dimly lit room in a grimy train station, a capuchin monkey sits at a table. In walks a detective, who then starts smoking a cigarette and interrogating the animal in front of him. They chat, bantering back and forth as the cop asks questions and the primate answers. At one point, the monkey even sings. Queries range from "do you know anything about birds?" to "you ever ride the rodeo?", all in a quest to solve a murder. A chicken also pops up, and a waitress. If the above scenario sounds more than a little surreal, that's because it is — especially given that it's part of David Lynch's 17-minute short film What Did Jack Do?. The black-and-white piece also stars the inimitable Lynch as the detective. It's a unique, delightful and characteristically eccentric work by one of the most distinctive folks to ever stand behind a camera. What Did Jack Do? streams via Netflix. Lucky Six times throughout their careers, David Lynch directed Harry Dean Stanton. In the year that delivered their last collaboration in one of Lynch's projects — the third season of Twin Peaks, which followed Wild at Heart, miniseries Hotel Room, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, The Straight Story and Inland Empire — and sadly saw Stanton pass away at the age of 91 after 200-plus acting credits, they teamed up as fellow performers in the delightful Lucky. In the directorial debut of actor John Carroll Lynch (Babes), the veterans are thrust to the fore as Stanton plays a 90-year-old small-town loner who is forced to face his mortality. The landscape of his face pairs perfectly with the arid dessert surroundings, while his specific brand of cantankerous charm finds its match in Lynch as his monologue-spouting, tortoise-loving pal. Lucky streams via Brollie. Read our full review. The Fabelmans With The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg pays tribute to cinema in as many ways as he can fit into a single feature, all while relaying how he grew up as a movie-loving kid — and sharing the affection with his family, too, as he explores the complicated dynamics that shaped his childhood. The director behind everything from Jaws and Indiana Jones to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park and West Side Story also tips his hat to two other filmmaking forces in his coming-of-age affair: four-time Best Director Oscar-winner John Ford, who Spielberg met when he was starting out, and David Lynch. The latter fellow helmer plays the former, in an inspired stroke of casting. Although any acting performance by Lynch is a treat, this one, as he makes a point about interesting filmmaking using the horizon to Gabriel LaBelle (Saturday Night) as Spielberg's surrogate, couldn't be more perfect. The Fabelmans streams via Netflix and ABC iView. Read our full review.
Whether you want to eat out with mates without fighting over the menu, or you love challenging your PB when it comes to eating quickly, bottomless feasts are the answer. And right now, there's a bunch of them happening in Sydney — from endless bao at Easy Tiger in Bondi to infinite steak frites at Armorica in Surry Hills. The latest spot to join the bottomless bandwagon is Little Pearl on Manly Beach. Head along on any Wednesday from 5–8pm and you'll be treated to as many dumplings as you can take in 90 minutes for $39. Four delightful parcels are on the menu. Start with chicken, prawn and mushroom siumai, before moving onto prawn dumplings with laksa sauce and shallots. Then there's the barbecue pork gua bao and, for vegetarians, the shiitake mushroom spring rolls with house-made sweet chilli sauce. If you manage to look up from the plate for a minute (and we don't blame if you don't — what's the goal if not to get your money's worth?), you'll see some very pretty views of Manly Beach. Images: Anna Kucera.
It has been 11 art-filled years since Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art first opened its doors, and the creative riverside hub just keeps going from strength to strength. As unveiled on Friday, July 13, GOMA is now home to an illuminating new permanent work: Night Life, a brand light installation by artist James Turrell. You might be familiar with the Arizona-based artist's piees if you've been to Mona or the National Gallery of Australia (NGA). He's the one behind the sky-centred installations at both galleries — at Mona, the gazebo-like Armana lights up at sunrise and sunset each day, and at the NGA in Canberra, Within without acts as an outdoor viewing chamber to enhance your view of the sky. All up, Turrell has created 80 'skyspaces' like these around the world. Brisbane's Turrell piece isn't a standalone structure like these other two Australian works. Instead, Night Life lights up GOMA's eastern and southern white façades from within the building, using an 88-minute-long shifting pattern of vibrant coloured light developed by Turrell especially for the location. GOMA director Chris Saines describes it as "a permanent solid light installation that is a deeply immersive field of slowly changing colour." When illuminated — which it will be from sunset to midnight each and every night from this point onwards — the gallery is visible from across the river and around South Bank's cultural precinct. Commissioned for GOMA's tenth anniversary, while Night Life is a new addition, it actually ties into the gallery's history. As Saines explains, "during the development of GOMA, lead architects Kerry Clare, Lindsay Clare and James Jones envisaged an artist-illuminated 'white box' on the gallery's main pedestrian approaches. More than a decade on, Turrell's architectural light installation realises the potential of GOMA's white box façade, and completes a major aspect of the architects' original design intention." Images: James Turrell's architectural light installation at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art. Photograph: Natasha Harth, QAGOMA. By Lauren Vadnjal and Sarah Ward.
Trust Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan, Australia's favourite Kates and funniest double act, to make a killer TV show about chasing a killer that's the perfect sum of two excellent halves. Given their individual and shared backgrounds, including creating and starring in cooking show sendup The Katering Show and morning television spoof Get Krack!n, the pair unsurprisingly add another reason to get chuckling to their resumes; however, with Deadloch, they also turn their attention to crime procedurals. The Kates already know how to make viewers laugh. They've established their talents as brilliant satirists and lovers of the absurd in the process. Now, splashing around those skills in Deadloch's exceptional eight-episode first season — which streams via Prime Video from Friday, June 2 — they've also crafted a dead-set stellar murder-mystery series. Taking place in a sleepy small town, commencing with a body on a beach, and following both the local cop trying to solve the case and the gung-ho blow-in from a big city leading the enquiries, Deadloch has all the crime genre basics covered from the get-go. The spot scandalised by the death is a sitcom-esque quirky community, another television staple that McCartney and McLennan nail. Parody requires deep knowledge and understanding; you can't comically rip into and riff on something if you aren't familiar with its every in and out. That said, Deadloch isn't in the business of simply mining well-worn TV setups and their myriad of conventions for giggles, although it does that expertly. With whip-smart writing, the Australian series is intelligent, hilarious, and all-round cracking as a whodunnit-style noir drama and as a comedy alike — and one of the streaming highlights of the year. The place: Tasmania, in the fictional locale that gives Deadloch its name (that Deadloch Lake means 'dead lake lake' doesn't go unmentioned). That first body: a local gym owner and ProBro entrepreneur ("it's protein for bros," is the sales pitch), who'll soon have burning pubic hair, too ("holy shit, his dick's on fire," is the response). The key police duo: Senior Sergeant Dulcie Collins (Kate Box, Stateless), a by-the-book type who traded being a stressed Sydney homicide detective for a quieter life for her vet wife Cath (Alicia Gardiner, Wakefield); and Darwin Major Crimes division's Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami, The Breaker Upperers), who asks "how long has shrivel dick been dead for?" about the deceased, is as loud as her Hawaiian shirts and fluoro camouflage getup, and intends to catch the easy culprit ASAP so she can hightail it back north. That Deadloch's initial victim is male gives the standard dead-girl trope an instant a gender-switched twist — even the genre's best, from Twin Peaks and The Killing to True Detective and Top of the Lake, have leaned upon it — but that isn't the source of Deadloch's humour, nor should it be. As recent comedy hits Only Murders in the Building and The Afterparty also know, murder itself isn't amusing either. Rather, it's the chaos around it and the people who get caught up in it that can be comic, which is where Deadloch frequently tickles ribs — that, and lampooning everything from small-town gentrification and tourist-courting winter festivals to arrogant detective archetypes and the male-centric world order, plus the show's glorious way with dialogue and Aussie swearing. Again, the series isn't funny because heterosexual white men comprise its rising body count, or because women are doing the investigating. The way that Deadloch's blokes react, the pressure piled on from the top and the frenzy swirling around is pointedly sidesplitting, though. This is a whodunnit with something to say, because there's no escaping the vast difference between the urgent demands for action from its fictional males and the off-screen reality when women are killed. Who did it? As Eddie leaps to obvious conclusions amid spitting out a non-stop barrage of insults, Dulcie's detective muscle memory kicks in. Deadloch's odd couple have help from constables Abby Matsuda (Nina Oyama, Koala Man) and Sven Alderman (Tom Ballard, Fully Furnished) — one as eager as can be, especially with forensics; the other affable but seeing policing as just as job — and hear theories from almost everyone. That includes doctor and mayor Aleyna Rahme (Susie Youssef, Rosehaven), the driving force behind Deadloch's just-commenced Dark Mofo-influenced Winter Feastival, who is determined to keep the festivities going. And, as Eddie struggles with baggage from back home and Dulcie grapples with investigating her friends, their quest also leads them to Margaret Carruthers (Pamela Rabe, Wentworth), the town's most powerful figure, whose husband was Deadloch's previous mayor. Also adding thoughts and complications: new widow Vanessa Latham (Katie Robinson, Five Bedrooms); bakery owner Vic O'Dwyer (Kris McQuade, Irreverent) and her gastropub chef daughter Skye (Holly Austin, Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears); the rabble-rousing Phil McGangus (Shaun Martindale, Sissy); obnoxious pathologist James King (Nick Simpson-Deeks, Winners & Losers); and aspiring AFLW player Tammy Hampson (Leonie Whyman, Mystery Road: Origin) and her studious cousin Miranda Hoskins (Kartanya Maynard, The Messenger). The list goes on, with the pool of suspects similarly broad. Whether they're vocally vicious — Phil spews misogynist vitriol, particularly about Deadloch's influx of lesbian tree-changers — or seemingly oblivious, this cast of characters is also aware that the town's facade isn't as calm and cosy as it appears. Indeed, McCartney and McLennan examine Australia's horrific race-relations history as well as the country's gender politics, interrogating how both blighted the show's setting long before multiple murders upset its supposed idyll. If The Kates had penned Deadloch as a book, it'd be a can't-put-down page-turner. On streaming, as cinematographers Katie Milwright (The Clearing) and Simon Ozolins (Heartbreak High) revel in a Tasmanian gothic look, their tale is that propulsive and addictive. And, the show's deeply layered writing — with Sami, Kim Wilson (Wentworth), Christian White (Clickbait), Anchuli Felicia King (Class of '07) and Kirsty Fisher (Mustangs FC) scripting with McCartney and McLennan — couldn't have a better roster of actors bringing it to life under directors Ben Chessell (The Great), Gracie Otto (Seriously Red) and Beck Cole (Black Comedy). Playing it straight and giving the series its emotional centre, Box could've walked straight in from Broadchurch. Tasked with thundering in, Sami is a comic genius as Eddie, ensuring that the character's unflinching honesty couldn't be more pivotal, and that Eddie is never a one-note OTT outsider. Trust McCartney and McLennan to give TV another tremendous pairing, swapping their own The Katering Show and Get Krack!n dynamic for Box and Sami killing it. Trust them to leave viewers with the feeling that every The Kates' project leaves: wanting more right now. Their time as a food intolerant and an intolerable foodie ran over two seasons, then their breakfast television stint repeated the feat. Here's hoping that Deadloch at least matches them — while its creators don't grace the screen this time, this crime-comedy ranks among The Kates' best work in every other way. Check out the trailer for Deadloch below: Deadloch streams via Prime Video from Friday, June 2.
After a night of festivities there's nothing worse than waking up to an abode with chip-trodden carpet, questionable wall smears and a never-ending sea of empties ultimately destined to inhabit your (and your neighbour's) rubbish bins for the weeks following. Such a scene is what initiated Morning-After Maids, a new Auckland startup set to take the hassle out of the weekend clean-up by delivering "an exceptional 'post-party' cleaning service". As well as the lesson in hygiene, the maids will go the extra mile by cooking up a quintessential fresh breakfast too. They have two menus available: one clean and one greasy. The blessed hangover angels also offer fast food runs, coffee, chocolate milk and all those little extras you always wish you'd thought of stocking up on the night before (blue Powerade, fried chicken, Panadol, etc.). The service is only available in Auckland at the moment, and seems like a more niche version of Airtasker or Sydney's Whizz. Their prices seem ridiculously cheap, with two cleaners costing just $30 per hour along with a mileage fee. Do note that you'll have to shell out $10 extra for every pile of vomit they have to deal with, and if you need an emergency clean up, it'll be $50 on top of other cleaning charges. Also, their price list mentions they can provide puppy cuddles free of charge. Puppies.
It's ten years since Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio decided to fill a Melbourne alleyway with tunes in 2005. Since then, a relatively unknown Gotye played in a basement, Chk Chk Chk ran across the Sydney College of the Arts rooftop, Lorde happened and Laneway became the very first Australian festival to migrate overseas. This year, the once quiet achiever of the Australian festival scene, Laneway Festival blows out the candles with one of its biggest (but not necessarily commercial) lineups yet. Kicking off in Singapore on Saturday, January 24 in The Meadow, Gardens by the Bay, Laneway will run through seven dates, including Sydney's Sydney College of the Arts on February 1 and Melbourne's Footscray Community Arts Centre and River's Edge on February 7, finishing up at its new home in Fremantle's Esplanade Reserve and West End on Sunday, February 8. But where did Laneway all start (in case you're in the dark)? What did The Avalanches and a dare have to do with it? How did they manage to survive the festival circuit in the face of common Australian festival crash-and-burnery? Let's take a little saunter through the alleyways, warehouse lots and overseas ventures of Laneway — the Australian festival who settled into the country's infrastructure from the smallest of veins. Where it all hatched. St. Jerome's Laneway Festival was born in 2005, when Danny Rogers helped Jerome Borazio book music for his Melbourne laneway bar, St. Jerome's. The every-Sunday 'Summer Series' was born (where The Presets and Architecture in Helsinki played small sets) and the two decided to expand the idea into a Saturday night residency for their mates, The Avalanches. Said Avalanches challenged Rogers and Borazio to make a big ol' birthday shindig for St. Jerome's bar, which would have to close the whole lane. "We said ‘Why not throw a first birthday party for the bar?’ We got excited and then thought ‘Well why don’t we try and close this Laneway down?" recounts Borazio on the Laneway site. "After a few drinks with The Avalanches one night we asked, ‘If we closed this lane down would you guys play? They said ‘You won’t be able to close this lane. So if you do, we’ll play.’ About 1400 showed up and watched Architecture In Helsinki, Art of Fighting, Clare Bowditch and the Feeding Set, The Dears, Eskimo Joe, Gersey and Ground Components and those jokey dare-makers The Avalanches play the very first Laneway. Sydney's turn. Keeping the fire stoked in Melbourne, the Laneway crew decided to expand the concept to Sydney after a chance meeting with super promoter Michael Chugg. "I bumped into Michael Chugg at a health retreat and said to him, 'We have this festival in Melbourne. Check it out, see what you think. He called the next day and got us up to Sydney," says Jerome Borazio on the Laneway website. Thanks to Chugg and his team, Sydney got the green light. Snuggled amongst Circular Quay's Macquarie Square, Reiby Place and The Basement, Laneway saw a rainy but successful run in Sydney that year. Headliners Broken Social Scene were the squealworthy element of the time, alongside Art of Fighting, Augie March, Clare Bowditch and the Feeding Set, Cut Copy, Dane Tucquet, Darren Hanlon, Decoder Ring, Faker, Gersey, Jens Lekman, Les Savy Fav, Mercy Arms, Mountains in the Sky, New Buffalo, Pivot, Pretty Girls Make Graves, The Pop Frenzy Sound Unit, The Posies, The Raveonettes, The Temper Trap, Wolf & Cub and Youth Group over the two cities. Brisbane joins the crew. With Melbourne and Sydney's Laneway chapters under control, Brisbane's first Laneway was held in '07 behind the city's beloved venue, The Zoo. The lineup saw the likes of The Walkmen, Yo La Tengo, Camera Obscura, Peter Bjorn and John, Snowman, Archie Bronson Outfit, Bumblebeez, Casino Twilight Dogs, Dan Kelly, Dappled Cities Fly, Expatriate, Fionn Regan, Gerling, Gersey, Ground Components, Holly Throsby, Love Is All, Macromantics, Midnight Juggernauts, My Disco, The BellRays, The Crayon Fields, The Shaky Hands, The Sleepy Jackson, The Temper Trap and Youth Group play in the teeny laneway out the back — as well as Sydney and Melbourne's laneway set-ups. The Laneway Empire was growing. Oh hey, Adelaide. Heading south-west, Laneway 2008 saw Feist, Gotye, Dan Deacon, The Presets, Stars, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Panics, The Vasco Era and Okkervil River all smooshed themselves into Fowler's Live, all up in the North Terrace. They were joined by Violent Soho, The Cool Kids, The Holidays, Via Tania, Batrider, Bridezilla, Devastations, Little Red, Rudley Interrupted and The Brunettes. Meanwhile, the Melbourne festival expanded — out of Caledonian Lane to Drewery Lane and Londsdale Street. The times were a-changin'. Perth, you're up. Heading to Western Australia for the first time, Laneway 2009 found a new, additional home in the Perth Cultural Centre. Beats were the dominant force this year, with Girl Talk, Stereolab, Buraka Som Sistema, Pivot (with the vowels intact) and Four Tet sharing the stage with Tame Impala, Architecture In Helsinki, Born Ruffians, Canyons, Cut Off Your Hands, Daedelus, El Guincho, Holly Throsby, Jay Reatard, John Steel Singers, Mountains In The Sky, No Age, Port O’Brien, Still Flyin, Tame Impala, Tim Fite, The Drones, The Hold Steady and The Temper Trap. The Laneway crew talk of 2009 as the year of visible expansion in Perth of course, but particularly in the other citie. According to the Laneway website, "a rapidly expanded site, shifting regulations, wild hype and high temperatures contributed to the Melbourne show very suddenly (and publicly) outgrowing itself. Overcrowding and long queues soured an otherwise strong musical showing. And while a realignment of stages in Adelaide was deemed a success by the growing crowds, Sydney’s Macquarie Park location also began showing signs of its limitations." Woah, things got a little turbo-charged in 2010. With one of its biggest lineups yet, Laneway expanded their venues in several cities. Melbourne moved from its hallowed home to the riverside Footscray Community Arts Centre, while Sydney farewelled Circular Quay for Rozelle’s historic Sydney College of the Arts. With Mumford and Sons, Florence and the Machine, and The xx all making their Australian debut at Laneway (not too shabby), the venues were upsized to accommodate Bachelorette, Black Lips, Chris Knox and The Nothing, Cut Off Your Hands, Daniel Johnston, Dappled Cities, Dirty Three, Echo & the Bunnymen, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Hockey, Kid Sam, N.A.S.A., Midnight Juggernauts, Radioclit, Sarah Blasko, Street Chant, The 3Ds, The Middle East, The Naked and Famous, The Very Best, Warpaint, Whitley and Wild Beasts. But Laneway also made its first venture overseas, launching its first instalment in Auckland. According to Laneway, the crew teamed up with Chugg and New Zealand locals Ben Howe, Manolo Echave and Mark Kneebone to create the first Kiwi chapter of Laneway in Auckland's warehouse-dotted Britomart Quarter. And I mean, look at that bloody lineup, no wonder they had to find a bigger boat. Singapore, what's up. Held at Fort Canning Park, the first Singapore Laneway Festival was drenched in torrential rain — but that didn't douse the spirits of thousands of punters. Lineup-wise, goals were kicked yet again by the Laneway team: !!!, The Antlers, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Beach House, Bear in Heaven, Blonde Redhead, Cloud Control, Cut Copy, Deerhunter, Foals, Gotye, The Holidays, Holy Fuck, Jenny & Johnny, Les Savy Fav, Local Natives, Menomena, PVT, Rat Vs Possum, Stornoway, Two Door Cinema Club, Violent Soho, Warpaint, World's End Press and Yeasayer made their way to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Singapore and Auckland (who moved their camp from the Britomart Quarter to Aotea Square in 2011). Auckland finally bunkers down in Silo Park in the Wynard Quarter — its present home. This was a pretty big year for Laneway, steering the lineup toward top-of-the-alternative headliners: M83, SBTRKT live, John Talabot, Feist, Active Child and Jonti joined Anna Calvi, Austra, Bullion, Chairlift, Cults, The Drums, DZ Deathrays, EMA, Geoffrey O’Connor, Girls, Givers, Glasser, The Horrors, Husky, Laura Marling, Oneman, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Pajama Club, The Panics, Portugal. The Man, Toro y Moi, Total Control, Twin Shadow, Washed Out and Yuck. Detroit ahoy. Heading over to the US for their very first Detroit Laneway at Oakland University, the team capitalised on previously successful showcases as the likes of SXSW to bring in an American audience — making them the first Australian festival to migrate to the US. The likes of ADULT., AlunaGeorge, Beacon, Chet Faker, CHVRCHES, Deerhunter, The Dismemberment Plan, Flume, Frightened Rabbit, HAERTS, Heathered Pearls, Icona Pop, Matthew Dear, My Brightest Diamond, The National, Phosphorescent, Run the Jewels (El-P & Killer Mike), Savages, Shigeto, Sigur Ros, Solange, Warpaint, Washed Out and Youth Lagoon cranked out sets in Detroit — a huge undertaking for the Laneway crew. In Australalasia, the likes of alt-J, Flume, Jessie Ware, Chet Faker, Bat For Lashes, Divine Fits, El-P, Japandroids and Nicolas Jaar played alongside Alpine, Cloud Nothings, Henry Wagons & The Unwelcome Company, High Highs, Holy Other, Julia Holter, Kings of Convenience, MS MR, Nite Jewel, Of Monsters and Men, Perfume Genius, Poliça, Pond, Real Estate, Shlohmo, Snakadaktal, The Men, The Neighbourhood, The Rubens, Twerps and Yeasayer. A big ol' year. The year of our Lorde. Hitting #1 in the US, the NZ teenager cranked out memorable Pure Heroine sets at Laneway's most veering-toward-commercial year yet. The soon-to-be Grammy winner was joined by the likes of HAIM, Earl Sweatshirt, James Blake, King Krule, Warpaint, Run the Jewels (El-P & Killer Mike), Jaguar Ma and Vance Joy alongside Adalita, Autre Ne Veut, Cashmere Cat, Cass McCombs, CHVRCHES, Cloud Control, Danny Brown, Daughter, Dick Diver, Doprah, Drenge, Four Tet, Frightened Rabbit, GEMA, Ghost Wave, Jamie xx, Kirin J Callinan, Kurt Vile, Mount Kimbie, MT WARNING, Parquet Courts, PCP Eagles, Rackets, Savages, Scenic, The Growl, The Jezabels, The Observatory, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Vandetta, Watercolours, XXYYXX and Youth Lagoon. Epic. Here we are, ten years later and Laneway's making big moves to remain closer to the up-and-coming pulse than the superheadliners. As of this week, Laneway 2015 is upon us and the lineup is predictably kickass. Returning to the Australian touring circuit is UK on-repeat outfit Jungle, festival jaw-droppers Future Islands and Melbourne's lives-up-to-the-hype queen Courtney Barnett. Two of the biggest hypecards of the bunch, FKA Twigs and BANKS, will fight for the midnight hushed vocal crown. Then there's the ever-epic St. Vincent, punk-as-fuck UK band Eagulls, smooooooth king Flying Lotus, Harlem's top-of-the-game hip hop outfit Ratking and the triumphant returns of Rustie, Jon Hopkins, POND and crisp-as-blazes Caribou, alongside Andy Bull, Angel Olsen, Benjamin Booker, Caribou, Connan Mockasin, Dune Rats, Eves, Flight Facilities, Highasakite, Jesse Davidson, Jon Hopkins, Little Dragon, Mansionair, Perfect Pussy, Peter Bibby, Raury, Royal Blood, Seekae, Sohn, St Vincent and Vic Mensa. And last but not least, Mac DeMarco and his mum, Agnes. What a legend. Happy tenner, Laneway. Cheers to showing punters where the Good Music at, avoiding slapdash, off-brand superheadliners, keeping a finger on many overseas pulses and making onsite attention to detail a colossal priority. We're raising a plastic cup to another ten. Images: Laneway Festival - Simon Fergusson, Daniel Boud, Adrianna Polcyn, Alvin Ho, Nina Sandejas, Chris Schwegler, Annette Geneva, Yael Yaya Stempler.
Anyone who has tasted The Gidley's extraordinary burger will know it's something special. Now, thanks to the annual rankings compiled by the respected World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants judges, we know just how special it is. Ranked ninth on The World's Top Ten Burgers list, the upmarket CBD steakhouse was the only Australian restaurant to earn a nod this year, making its burger the best in the nation. The two carefully hand-crafted beef patties are sourced from hospitality group Liquid & Larder's in-house butchery, located at The Gidley's sister venue Alfie's in the CBD. Once cooked medium rare, they're topped with mature cheddar and a few judiciously placed slivers of dill pickle, all contained within a soft milk bun. [caption id="attachment_751377" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dominic Loneragan[/caption] While customers have the option of adding an egg or rashers of bacon to their sandwich, there are no additional condiments included on The Gidley's burger, and trust us, that's a good thing. When the meat is as tender and moist as this, the rich, beefy juices are more than sufficient to self-sauce every succulent mouthful, right down to the last bite. In other great news for Sydneysiders, The Gidley's award-worthy burger is now also available at Surry Hills whisky bar The Rover. The monster burger at Shoreditch barbecue joint Salt Shed in London took out the top spot on this year's rankings., leading an impressive showing for the British capital, including Bleecker in Bloomberg Arcade in third place, Black Bear Market in Exmouth Market in fifth position, and Burger & Beyond, also in Shoreditch, in seventh. Burgers from New York, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Miami and Valencia made up the rest of the top ten list. For the full list of the World's Best Burgers, head to the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants website. Images: Dominic Loneragan
2023 marks eight years since one of the greatest living American directors last released a film. While he did direct an episode of Tokyo Vice's first season in 2022, Michael Mann hasn't had a movie flicker across the big screen since 2015's Blackhat. Thankfully, that's changing with a picture that also gives the world Adam Driver as a race car driver-turned-sports car entrepreneur: Ferrari. Mann adds Ferrari to a resume that also includes 80s masterpiece Thief, The Last of the Mohicans and Heat in the 90s, plus Collateral, Miami Vice and more. For Driver, the film proves another case of living up to his name on-screen. He's played a bus driver in Paterson, and piloted a spaceship in the Star Wars sequel trilogy as well as 65. So, zipping through the Italian streets here fits easily. As both Ferrari's first teaser trailer and just-dropped new full sneak peek show, Driver is behind the wheel in a film that focuses on its namesake when he's an ex-racer. As adapted from Brock Yates' book Enzo Ferrari: The Man, The Cars, The Races, The Machine, Mann's movie hones in on specific chapter of Enzo Ferrari's life: 1957, as potential bankruptcy looms over his factory, his marriage is struggling after a heartbreaking loss and his drivers approach the Mille Miglia race. Accordingly, Ferrari promises to peer behind the Formula 1 facade, into Enzo's relationship with his wife Laura (Penélope Cruz, Official Competition), the death of their boy Dino, and the son Piero with Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley, Robots) that he doesn't want to acknowledge. If you know your racing history, you'll also know that 1957's Mille Miglia — which spanned 1000 miles across Italy — was its last due to multiple deaths during the event. So, that race won't be an insignificant part of the film. Set to release at Christmas in the US and on January 4, 2024 Down Under, Ferrari also stars Patrick Dempsey (Disenchanted), Jack O'Connell (Lady Chatterley's Lover), Sarah Gadon (Black Bear) and Gabriel Leone (Dom). Check out the trailer for Ferrari below: Ferrari releases in cinemas Down Under on January 4, 2024. Images: Lorenzo Sisti / Eros Hoagland.
Imagine if you could get a sneak peek of your next holiday destination before you arrived. No, looking at photos online and scrolling through Instagram doesn't count. Taking the concept of trying before you buy to the travel industry, a company called Navitaire has unveiled what they're calling "the world's first virtual reality travel search and booking experience". Their VR system places would-be jetsetters in a room with a globe, lets them spin away, pick a place somewhere on the planet and then dive right in. After wandering through their chosen location in a virtual sense — spying tourist attractions and seeing the general sights — users can then search for flights, walk through the plane to pick their seat, give a few rental cars a try and purchase their trip, all within the virtual reality realm. Down the track, Navitaire, which is owned by travel technology company Amadeus, hopes that touring and booking hotels, and sharing searching experiences via social media, will also be able to be incorporated into their VR platform. At the moment the project is still in development, with a patent pending. Plenty of other places have combined virtual reality with scoping out ace spots — Qantas has an app that lets you take a virtual tour of Australia, and the Sydney Opera House has their own that peers behind the scenes at the iconic venue — but doing all of that and then locking in a trip straight away might be the future.
It's been one of the top spots for New Year's Eve for an age, and this year it's turning itself into a big ol' beach party. Opera Bar, with its front row harbourside seat and recently tszujed fitout, has announced plans for one heck of a NYE party. Sitting front and centre for the multimillion-dollar fireworks, Opera Bar's NYE party involves palm trees, beach chairs and more canapes than you can poke a glow stick at. The whole party is beach-themed; think beach balls, beach huts, cabanas, umbrellas, kombi vans and an astroturf dancefloor. Yep, you read that correctly, an openair, astroturf dancefloor. While you're making halfhearted new year's resolutions over flutes of bubbly, you can enjoy a five-hour canape package — yep, five hours of canapes. Think you can tear yourself away from the nosh to throw a few shapes beside Sydney Harbour? There'll be live music from Sydney's unpindownable cover-lovin' crew Furnace & the Fundamentals, producer and R&B artist Alphamama and DJ Natural Selector. Plus, the party's beachy theme will see roaming entertainment in the form of random surf lifesavers, sharks (sharks?!), retro bathers, the whole shebang. Tickets are $390+BF per person and includes express VIP entry to Sydney Opera House (so you don't have to join that huge line with the public) and that hectic five-hour canape package. Importantly, drinks aren't included in the ticket price, so bring bubbly money. Doors open at 6pm and the event runs to 3am — now that's a solid party. New Year's Eve at Opera Bar is happening on December 31 from 6pm. Tickets ($390+BF) go on sale from 9am on Tuesday, October 6 from Opera Bar's website. Over 18s only, sorry kids.
Missoni, Desert Designs, Stella McCartney; not all of us can blow our allowance on these high fashion must-haves. But over the years, Target have made things a little easier with affordable capsule collections aplenty — and today they've announced their next big pull. Bringing things home with one of the industry's most sought after young guns, Target have announced a one-off women’s capsule collection by celebrated Australian designer Dion Lee . Available from July 2, 2015, the limited edition collection marks the latest 'Designer for Target' range; launching in 35 selected stores nationally and online — probably a better option if you're not one to wear mouthguards into stores (things can get hair-pully at these instore launches). Constantly pinned as a 'one-to-watch' young Australian designer, Lee's collections are sought after by cocktail dress-lovers and sharp jacket fiends alike. Lee's 35-piece Target collection marks his very first performance-wear range, with day-to-night clothing, loungewear, performance wear and accessories ranging between $25 and $119. Wanting to harness the brand's rapid expansion into this new performance-wear realm, Lee saw the pair-up as a no-brainer. "As our international business continues to grow, we were excited about the opportunity to create a collection that will give more women across Australia access to the Dion Lee brand,” says Lee. “The Dion Lee for Target collection is designed to reflect the lifestyle of the contemporary woman, mixing elements of tailoring, lounge and active wear, to create the ultimate modern wardrobe." “The active Australian lifestyle inspired me to create a range of stylish and effortless clothing for women to wear every day," says Lee. "The collection features signature tailored detailing, laser cut and technical fabrications, and a first- ever performance capsule... Even though the designs can be technical, I think style and function remain paramount." Dion Lee for Target will launch nationally and online on July 2.
Imagine simply waving a pen around in the air and creating real-life 3D objects while you do it. Well imagine no longer, because thanks to the development of the 3Doodler, the world's first and only 3D printing pen, this incredible feat has become a reality. The nifty gadget draws in the air or on surfaces, using heated PLA plastic which solidifies into a stable structure almost immediately after being released from the pen. The 3Doodler can be used to create anything from simple shapes and forms to more sophisticated jewellery items, decorative arts, or complex structures as intricate as a mini Eiffel Tower. It's an exciting tool for artists, jewellery makers, designers, or anyone who wants to let their imagination run wild. Requiring no batteries, extra software, or parts, the pen can be plugged into a power socket and open a whole world of creation (quite literally) at your fingertips. At this stage the 3Doodler is also significantly cheaper than any other 3D printer out there, so you can have endless hours of creative fun without breaking the bank. The founders, Max Bogue and Peter Dilworth, who both have a rich background in manufacturing and inventing, hoped to release the product on the market by December 2012. However, in order to ensure the model was functioning perfectly, which they guarantee it now is, they waited to happily announce its launch now. To back the project, visit their Kickstarter. With already over 20,000 backers, and US$1.8 million pledged, they must be doing something right. Via Hyperallergic.
Exploring art galleries can at times be a sterile and overwhelming experience. Sprawling layouts, visitors' lack of knowledge, sleep-inducing audio guides, and a dearth of viewer interactivity with the world of the artworks and artists can quickly turn a cultural adventure into more of a cultural chore. Yet arts organisations across the globe are transforming how tech-savvy visitors can experience their works, with the help of innovative, entertaining, and interactive apps. Using multimedia, geolocation, augmented reality, and dozens of other features of mobile technology, these apps have the capacity to transform even the most unengaged of armchair critics into bona fide art aficionados. Take a closer look at these 10 of the best current arts apps, from online exhibitions to DIY art and pocket-sized glossaries. 1. Magic Tate Ball It seemed to be a match made in pun-lovers heaven: combining London's beloved Tate galleries with the concept of the Magic 8-Ball to create perhaps the most entertaining art gallery app available. The process is simple: once you have opened the app, give your iDevice a good shake and the Magic Tate Ball will take the date, time-of-day, your GPS location, live weather data, and ambient noise levels and spurt out the piece of artwork from the Tate collection that most closely matches your surroundings. So a hot day may have the Tate Ball tempting you into a pool with Australian David Hockney's A Bigger Splash or a loud, bustling pub may give you Georg Baselitz's sculpture carved from a chainsaw, all of which comes with a smattering of interesting details about why your particular surroundings produced that artwork. The brilliance of this app lies in its ability to utilise a fun gimmick to draw in people who only have a passing or casual interest in art, providing a refreshingly unique way to discover some of the highlights of the Tate's massive collection. 2. MCA Publications The Museum of Contemporary Art has become renowned for pushing artistic boundaries and embracing new technology. It therefore should come as no surprise that their newly launched e-publication provides a fascinating and highly interactive insight into the breathtaking exhibition of the legendary Gangnam-styling British-Indian artist Anish Kapoor. The iPad app takes the user on a virtual tour of the exhibition complete with photographs, in-depth descriptions of the various works, videos from the curator and Kapoor himself, and even a behind-the-scenes look into the immense task of engineering and installing the immense artworks. Add to this the intuitive nature of the app and you have yourself a brilliant tool for getting under the skin of the artist and understanding the awe-inspiring collection now on show at the MCA. 3. Watercolours of Namatjira For those of us whose brushwork leaves a lot to be desired, this app provides an interactive insight into how iconic Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira is able to create his vibrant watercolour paintings of the Australian landscape. Developed by Big hART, it allows you to create virtual replicas and redesigns by filling in stencils of the artist's work with your own choice of colours and brush sizes, with the paint then soaking into the screen just like it would have on Namatjira's own canvas paper. The end results are both realistic and often surprisingly spectacular, allowing users to gain a firsthand understanding of the watercolour process and tempting them into a more detailed exploration of the Namatjira community development project, theatrical show, and vast array of beautiful landscapes. 4. Art Gallery of NSW: Contemporary and Australian Produced in association with The Nest, the Art Gallery of NSW's two companion apps for iPad do a couple of things really well: they provide richly detailed vision of the gallery's most celebrated works, and they do it in a really interesting interface that encourages browsing by feel and intuition. Once you focus on a work you like, you can also take in additional material, such as sketches, photos, and curator insights. 5. Frank Lloyd Wright - Fallingwater History's most celebrated architect and his most celebrated work have been given the app treatment to awesome effect. Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, described by the American Institute of Architecture as the "best all-time piece of American architecture", can now be explored in three-dimensional glory from the comfort of your iPad. By combining photographs, archival drawings, floor plans, and videos in a sumptuous multimedia feast, this app allows budding architects the ability to explore Fallingwater in a unique and comprehensive way that is not possible on any other media platform. With more than 275 photographs, 360-degrees panoramas, and 25 minutes of video footage, this app is possibly the most perfect marriage of content and form yet imagined for tablet technology. 6. Art Authority Art Authority seems so simple in its concept yet quite unbelievable in its execution: collect the most famous and beloved works of art from across history and put them all together in a single, virtual gallery. This remarkable app includes a database of nearly 60,000 artworks from over 1000 different artists, taken from Ancient times all the way up until the present day. Perhaps even more impressive is the way Art Authority displays and organises the 10GB worth of art. Paintings are presented in beautiful, intricate frames on textured wallpapers resembling a real gallery and can be viewed in almost any thematic form you desire from time period to artist to subject matter. You can even take your virtual art tourism into the real world with the Art Near Me function, which allows you to locate nearby galleries and artworks. 7. Muybridgizer The technological pioneers at the Tate galleries in London have done it again, this time creating an interactive app that allows iPhone users to step into the shoes of the experimental motion capture artist Eadweard Muybridge. Created to accompany the Tate Britain's Muybridge exhibition, this app allows you to take filtered photographs and then piece them together to create a frame-by-frame animation that you can speed up, slow down, or reverse simply by swiping your finger across the screen, cleverly and playfully pastiching Muybridge's iconic videos of flying horses, waltzing couples, and cantering bison. Add to this the fact that they have managed to turn Muybridge's quite unpronounceable name into a verb and you can see why the Tate can almost undoubtedly stake claim to the title of most linguistically canny and technologically savvy gallery in the world. 8. MoMA - Art Lab Emphatically disproving the myth that iPads can only function as a medium for media consumption, the Museum of Modern Art - Art Lab app allows users to create some truly awesome pieces of virtual artwork. By playing with shapes, lines, and colours, you can make everything from collages to sound compositions and shape poems. What separates this app from your regular Etch A Sketch, however, is the way it combines simple drawing functions with the techniques and artworks on display at MoMA. You can trace a Matisse or read how Van Gogh created his starry, starry night or, if your creative flair dries up, check out the ideas section for a bit of inspiration from the world's premiere modern art gallery. In this way the MoMA app brilliantly combines the user's individual creativity with an interactive tour of the MoMA's world-beating collection. 9. Pocket Art Gallery If you've ever dreamed of becoming an art curator — selecting and hanging some of the world's most incredible artworks in your own home — then who else but the Tate could make that dream a virtual reality. The Pocket Art Gallery app allows users to select from a hundred famous artworks and then position them wherever they may desire while looking through the phone's camera. Augmented reality enables you to 'hang' a Picasso above your fireplace, a Turner in your workplace, or a Jackson Pollock in your bathroom. With the app linked into Facebook and Twitter, you can impress your socially networked friends with all the awesome and ingenious images you produce. 10. Tate Guide to Modern Art Terms Thanks in equal part to the complexities of the artist's technique and to the linguistic pretentiousness of the art world, keeping abreast of the terminology used by artists can be a mystifying and mind-boggling exercise. The Tate (again) is hoping to make the beguiling vernacular of artists more accessible and understandable with their Guide to Modern Art Terms. The app includes over 300 art terms covering everything from styles to schools to movements, allowing the user to search via category or through the app's image gallery. So if you're struggling to get your head around fauvism or want to find the word for sculpting concrete, then check out this super-handy app.
For those considering a trip down to Sydney for Mardi Gras this year, Virgin Australia is sweetening the deal by offering a glitter-filled flight from Brisbane full of drinks, drag and DJs. The Pride Flight is a one-way flight from Brisbane to Sydney that will include bottomless beverages, DJs spinning classic pride tunes and mid-air drag performances hosted by Sydney drag queen Ms Penny Tration of Ru Paul's Drag Race. As you would expect, passengers will also be travelling on Virgin's most bright and colourful aircraft, decked out in glitter and rainbows. The flight will leave from Brisbane at midday on Friday, March 5, just in time for the final weekend of Mardi Gras which will include the 2021 parade, hosted in the SCG for the first time this year to abide by COVID-19 restrictions. An array of parties, talks, performances and an Oxford Street protest are all also scheduled for the first weekend of March. Check out Mardi Gras' full program at its website. Tickets for the 200-seat flight went on sale at 6am on Thursday, February 11 and are sure to be snatched up quickly. An economy seat on the flight will set you back $150 one-way or you can upgrade to business for $350. Passengers will have to organise their own less glitter-filled flight home following the weekend's celebrations. Of course, Sydneysiders wanting to experience the one-off flight can also head up to Brisbane prior to the Friday event. Virgin Australia is also currently waiving change and cancellation fees for bookings made before Friday, April 30, meaning you can book your Pride Flight ticket and your return ticket without the stress of hefty fees if a snap border closure or a change in your personal schedule ruins your Mardi Gras plans. Virgin Australia's Pride Flight will fly from Brisbane to Sydney at 12pm on Friday, March 5. Tickets are on sale now from the Virgin Australia website.
To live in the US right now must be to live with a constant question: am I in a Nathan Fielder show? There are more pressing queries troubling America, but viewers of the Canadian comedian's The Rehearsal can be forgiven for wondering if he or his disciples are lurking over their shoulder. In this brilliant HBO doco-comedy, studying ordinary folks is a key part of the premise — as much as rehearsing life, the promise that's right there in the series' name. One goes with the other; how do you prepare for every outcome that might occur in a tricky IRL situation if you don't also examine the people who play into it, and their traits? Forget simulation theory, which has caused plenty to wonder if life is a computer program (especially after The Matrix franchise's popularity; see also: documentary A Glitch in the Matrix). Instead, The Rehearsal gives rise to Fielder theory. That needs both unpacking and working up to, but never quite knowing if anything could be one of Fielder's scenarios is a side effect of watching. Early in The Rehearsal's first episode — with season one available to stream in full via Binge in Australia now, and via Neon in New Zealand from Saturday, August 27 — Fielder meets Kor Skeete. A Jeopardy!-watching, trivia-loving New Yorker, he has an issue he's seeking help with, answering an ad asking "is there something you're avoiding?". Skeete has been lying to his bar trivia team about his educational history, claiming he has a master's degree, and wants assistance in coming clean. His biggest worry: how his pal Tricia might react, and if it'll end their friendship. That's The Rehearsal's opening problem-of-the-week setup, because Fielder is a problem solver — or that's the persona he portrays in his on-screen guise. Puppet master; a Wizard of Oz-type impresario; investigator of the human condition; Willy Wonka, which Skeete calls him: they all fit as well. Before he assists Skeete, Fielder asks if he's ever seen his past work. Skeete says no, despite saying television is his favourite trivia subject — and his response to what Fielder explains next will likely mirror anyone who comes to this with the same fresh eyes. First, some background: until now, Fielder was best known for Nathan for You, in which he helped companies and people using his business school studies. Fielder played a version of himself, and the result is a reality comedy. It's something that has to be seen to be truly believed and understood, and it's both genius and absurd. In The Rehearsal, Fielder is back as himself using his skills to help others. He's also starring in/writing/directing a reality comedy, this time letting his subjects rehearse big moments. Skeete wants to bare all to a pal, Angela is keen to explore parenthood and Pat is trying to resolve a family feud over an inheritance, for instance. The show's crew even build elaborate sets, recreating the spots where these pivotal incidents will take place, such as the bar where Skeete will meet Tricia. Fielder hires actors to assist, too. And, adding yet another layer, Fielder also steps through the same routine himself, including rehearsing his initial encounter with Skeete with an actor. So when he's asking Skeete if he's seen his work, he's already done so in a replica of Skeete's apartment, with someone else playing the man he's now talking to — and he's cycled through every possible reaction. If you've ever thought life was a big performance, and every single thing about interacting with others — and even just being yourself — involves playing a role, you'll find much to think about in this gripping, funny, often unsettling, quickly addictive series. There's reality TV, and then there's the way that the deadpan Fielder plays with and probes reality. While both can induce cringing, nothing compares to this. But in a true Fielder touch, rehearsals like Skeete's are rehearsals themselves. You could call the first season a rehearsal for the already-greenlit second season of The Rehearsal, but Fielder also uses his time with Skeete and Pat as trial runs for the big trial run that runs through five of the season's six episodes. That parental pondering? It's too big a social experiment to conduct in just one chapter, and there's too much to it for Fielder to simply orchestrate the whole experience. The Rehearsal's faux family scenario comes courtesy of Angela, who wants to give motherhood a test. Her biological clock is ticking, so she's keen to see if she should pursue being a mum. Staunchly Christian and conservative, she'd want to be married. She also only sees herself living the homesteader life and being self-sufficient in the country. Fielder sets her up in a farmhouse in rural Oregon. To condense 18 years of parenthood down into mere weeks, he has Angela's fake child age in three-year increments, jumping from a baby to a toddler and so on. And to make the process seamless, he hires a lineup of child actors to play the part, swapping them out in shifts as required by labour laws. Later, after a failed attempt to locate a co-parent, he steps in himself. At its entry level, seeing the extremes that Fielder and his crew go to in arranging each rehearsal is mesmerising (a hefty HBO budget assists). So is spying the detail on display, the flowcharts plotting out every potential response, and the rehearsals behind each rehearsal — and watching how the show's subjects react. But it swiftly becomes apparent that The Rehearsal isn't even primarily about the people Fielder is helping and interacting with, including actors he puts through his own acting school (dubbed 'The Fielder Method') and a child who takes the pretend parenthood situation to heart. Fielder's series is always concerned with human nature, how it can be constructed and interpreted, and the role that screens play in telling and manipulating stories; however, it's also about Fielder himself, and the way everyone interacts with the world. Fielder is an awkward presence, but also both candid and calming (has unease ever been this easy?). He's frank about not really feeling emotions the way he thinks he should, and that others don't respond to him the way he'd like. ("I'm not good at meeting people for the first time. I've been told my personality can make people uncomfortable," he offers early on, like a self-aware Larry David who's intrigued to do better.) He's pulling his own strings, in what he himself describes as "puzzles of my own devising" — and he's determined to test his own assumptions, the character he plays as himself, and the way that others see him. He unpacks reality TV in the process, especially by laying bare the process. He tests and probes social conventions, questioning what's real and what we happily manufacture. He makes viewers query what they do themselves, and why, along with him. The Rehearsal is all of that and more, and unfurling its layers, games and insights is one of 2022's finest television experiences. Check out the trailer for The Rehearsal below: The Rehearsal streams via Binge in Australia now, and via Neon in New Zealand from Saturday, August 27. Images: courtesy of HBO.
If bliss to you means peering at infinite reflections in lit-up mirror rooms, wading through brightly coloured ball pits and having pillow fights — plus hanging out in digital forests, watching tales told via shadows and hopping over musical tiles, too — then prepare to beam with joy when Dopamine Land arrives Down Under. The latest multi-sensory experience that's hitting Australia, it's being pitched as an interactive museum. Inside, you'll find themed spaces that you can mosey through, engage with their contents and, ideally, bask in nothing but pure happiness. With a name like Dopamine Land, it's immediately clear that contentment, glee, merriment and exuberance is the aim of the game here. So is evoking those feel-good sensations through nostalgia, because this is another kidulting activity — it's all-ages-friendly as well — and it's making its Aussie debut in Brisbane from Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Brisbanites, and anyone keen for a Sunshine State trip to revel in more than the sun's glow, can look forward to wandering around Dopamine Land at Uptown in the River City's Queen Street Mall. Locals know that the site was previously the Myer Centre — and, decades back, was home to a dragon-themed rollercoaster. So, it's a fitting venue to get everyone channeling their inner child, unleashing their imagination and, yes, hitting each other with cushions. Heading this way direct from London, the experience combines optical illusions, engaging soundscapes and more across its ten themed rooms. The ball pit is self-explanatory, but also takes its cues from Miami in the 80s, complete with a pina colada scent, an electro soundtrack and LED lights that pulse to mirror waves. The pillow-fight space also doesn't need much explaining; however, the decor is inspired by marshmallows and boxes of lollies, Mexican wrestling is also an influence and you can win the pillow-fighting championship. Fancy seeing stories play out via shadows? There's a room for that featuring a big top-style roof. If you try your hand at the musical tiles — well, your feet, to be more accurate — you'll create a melody as you jump around, with the lights changing as you go as well. And if getting as serene as possible is your aim, head to the Keep Calm Forest, which artificially recreates a woodland via LED trees, mirrors and sounds to match. There's even a room dedicated to the autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR, which goes big on projections and animations by Australian digital artist Cassie Troughton.
There are many delightful tidbits and details about Sparks, aka "your favourite band's favourite band" as they're often described, including in Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver filmmaker Edgar Wright's exceptional documentary The Sparks Brothers. One of the latest: that siblings Russell and Ron Mael currently begin their live sets with 'So May We Start'. The song kicked off Annette first, the second of the two films that had everyone talking about the duo in 2021. In the Adam Driver (65)- and Marion Cotillard (Extrapolations)-starring movie, it ushers in as distinctive a big-screen musical as you'll ever see, marionette children and all, as helmed by Holy Motors' Leos Carax and penned by Sparks with the director. At the band's gigs since, it commences an onstage dance through more than 50 years of bouncily, giddily, deeply influential tunes, each one of them gloriously infectious classics. "All pop music is rearranged Sparks," offers Jack Antonoff in Wright's doco. He isn't wrong. Australian concertgoers can experience the truth behind that statement live this spring, when 'So May We Start' no doubt begins Sparks' first visit to Australia in more than two decades. As part of their biggest world tour ever — a feat aided by The Sparks Brothers and Annette introducing them to new fans — they're playing four Aussie dates: solo shows at the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne's Palais Theatre and Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane; and as part of the packed roster at Adelaide's Harvest Rock II festival alongside Beck, Jamiroquai, Nile Rodgers and Chic, and more. Beck was another of Wright's gushing interviewees, because the list of people singing Sparks' praises is as huge as their back catalogue. The Maels didn't write 'So May We Start' with that prestigious spot on their setlist in mind. "It just seemed like a really cool touch for the story to have something that was outside of the actual story that was about to happen, but with all the cast and characters, but not yet in their roles that they're going to assume," Russell tells Concrete Playground ahead of Sparks' arrival in Australia. "They were just mere actors assembling before the production starts. So we really like that as a conceit." "We like starting a set — I mean, it just seems perfect, obviously, lyrically — but also starting with a song that isn't even from a Sparks album, in a certain way, that it is from an outside source," adds Ron. "Even though it's a film that we wrote — and so it's really fun for us to do it." [caption id="attachment_818979" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Focus Features[/caption] Fun has always been an apt term for Sparks' genre-hopping songs and vibe from their late-60s beginnings through to their latest release, with 2023's The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte their 26th studio album. This is the art-pop duo with an album named Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins, an earworm of a song called 'Dick Around' and another track that largely repeats the words "my baby's taking me home", after all — and a band that once staged a 21-night spectacular to play their then 21-album discography in full as well. It's also the group that has worked with everyone from Giorgio Moroder to Faith No More and Franz Ferdinand. And, Sparks now have Cate Blanchett starring in the video for their newest record's eponymous single, fresh from earning her eighth Oscar nomination for Tár. How did that latest collaboration come about? After half a century of ace tunes, what has the renewed attention of the last few years, including their tunes soundtracking everything from Yellowjackets to Justified: City Primeval, been like? Where do they keep finding inspiration for such smart, witty tracks that are both ace as songs and cleverly amusing? Are more movies in their future? Who would they most like to collaborate with? Russell and Ron chatted with us about all of the above and more. [caption id="attachment_923022" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Shot for Dive In Magazine.[/caption] ON GAINING NEW FANS THANKS TO THE SPARKS BROTHERS AND ANNETTE — AND PLAYING BIGGER SHOWS AS A RESULT Russell: "In a certain way, it's just really pretty unique that a band with 26-album-long history is now finding this kind of new and diverse kind of audience after this long of a career. It's not the typical career path for someone to take, where a band that's had a long history now finds itself in the position where things are more on the upswing, and we're playing the bigger audiences. Australia will be the last stop on world tour that we've done through Europe and North America and Japan, and now Australia. And the shows have been bigger and bigger. We've played the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. We did a couple of nights at the Royal Albert Hall in in London, and Glastonbury. And now to be able to come to Australia and play places like the Sydney Opera House, for us it's really special, but it's also really kind of mind-boggling that, at this late stage in a career, to have this kind of acceptance and re-examination of what Sparks is." Ron: "Even the movie thing is strange because we've tried for decades to get a film musical made. Then to have two films, and they both, just by happenstance, came out around the same time — the Edgar Wright documentary, but also Annette, the musical. So it became a concentrated thing even with the films that we were involved in." ON AGREEING TO A SPARKS DOCUMENTARY Ron: "We were really thrilled because he isn't the first director that's approached us, it's happened from time to time earlier, but we were always really hesitant to do a documentary. We always felt that what we were doing as a band really spoke for how we wanted ourselves to be represented in a biographical way, and we felt that it was needless to have a documentary. But then Edgar came along, and part of it was just his enthusiasm, but also our respect for him as a director — and then the fact that within the documentary, he said that he felt personally that all of our different eras were equal in a creative sense, if not necessarily, obviously, in a commercial way. But it wasn't like there was a golden age. So we immediately said yes. We were hoping that the documentary wouldn't just be a dry 'and then this happened' kind of documentary. We wanted it to be like an Edgar Wright film, even though he had never really done a documentary before — and we were thrilled at how it turned out." [caption id="attachment_923021" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gavin Ross[/caption] ON SPARKS SONGS POPPING UP EVERYWHERE ON-SCREEN SINCE THE SPARKS BROTHERS AND ANNETTE Russell: "I think it has opened up the perception of the band, especially for people in television and in the film world — maybe they've been there all along, but now they've been given more permission to speak out and actually take a stance by putting a Sparks song in their TV series or films. It is really something that's opened up a lot more avenues for us, and even to the point that we're working on another movie musical now because we had such a great experience with Annette. For us, that's something that's really special, showing that Sparks songs aren't just for a certain niche audience — that they can be utilised in ways that are accessible if you want them to be accessible. Just by exposing them to more people, they become accessible. I think that's what Edgar helped to do with the documentary. He just said, 'well, what Sparks is doing needs to be heard by a bigger audience'. And he said, 'if no one else is going to do it, I'm going to be the one that's going to do that for the band'." ON MAKING ANNETTE WITH HOLY MOTORS DIRECTOR LEOS CARAX Ron: "We originally had thought of it as being our next album, and we were going to present it live on stage with just Russell and myself, and then a soprano — just the three of us on stage, and that would be the next Sparks project, and it would be an album. Then just by circumstance, we were at the Cannes Film Festival a little over ten years ago for other reasons, and we were introduced to Leos Carax. We were just chatting with him, and we got along with him really, really well, just in a general sort of way. So we got back to LA and Russell thought, 'why don't we just send Leos the Annette project?' — never having thought that this was a film. And so he read it and listened to all the music and all that was done. He said, 'let me think about this, I really think I might want to direct this'. We were stunned, because we have really great respect for him as a director, but we had never considered this to be a film project. Then couple weeks later, he said 'I would like to direct this'. So it did take eight years from that point to have the film made, but we were more than willing to go through that process because we felt so strongly about it. And to Leos' credit, he was totally committed to making that film. Hollywood directors always have ten, 20 other projects going along at the same time, but he doesn't work that way. It's only one thing, and so for him to focus on, and put just everything that he had, just taking a chance on that one project, it meant so much to us." ON MAKING ANOTHER MOVIE MUSICAL Russell: "Well, we can't really talk too much about the content of it. But the distribution company Focus Features, that released the documentary, approached us and asked if we had anything new that we were working on because they liked Annette a lot. So we told them we did have a new project, and they told to go away and do the screenplay, do all the music for it, and they'd be excited. It's not giving you too much of a clue, but they said that it's an epic musical. Whatever that elicits in in your mind, that's what they're saying it is. We're just really excited to have another project, because we think that the perception of the band, like we just talked about, is seen differently when Sparks music, for whatever reasons, we've had periods that have been commercially successful and less commercially successful. But then we found out that having these other ways of exposing what Sparks does, that it's really helped then to reflect back on Sparks music itself. Doing a movie musical, people that saw it that didn't know the band, then they were curious to examine what Sparks is. And the same with the documentary, the people that weren't aware of the band to that degree, then they went back and rediscovered our back catalogue of music. So it's a way for us to channel what we're doing musically, but in other ways — and then in turn, it helps to also put Sparks in a bigger picture." ON FINDING SONGWRITING INSPIRATION ACROSS HALF A CENTURY OF MAKING MUSIC Ron: "At the beginning, you get some inspiration from outside sources — not so much in a general way, but from musical outside sources. We were influenced by British bands that were the more flashy ones, like The Who and The Kinks, and The Move and all. That was really the source of the inspiration for us, even when we were in Los Angeles before moving to London in the middle 70s. But since that time, the inspiration is just hard to pinpoint where that comes from. I think we're just inspired knowing that we're doing things that we want to hear, and so we haven't kind of reached the point where we run out of those ideas. Things don't just come to us. You have to pursue them. So there has to be just that motivation to do things where there might not be a payoff that particular day, but that you have the faith that at some point it will." ON MAKING MUSIC THAT YOU CAN DANCE TO, AND ALSO LAUGH WITH Russell: "Obviously it's always a challenge, and the more the more albums you have, it becomes more of a challenge to come up with stuff that both excites you and that you think isn't kind of rehashing what you've done in the past. To have humour in a song, but where it's not the sole element of the lyrical slant, that it's just funny — we like to think that things can have humour, but also have a balance to them where there's another side to it that might be deeper or more emotional, too. Things don't have to be black or white, or 'ohh it's funny' or 'it's serious'. There could be some other shade to it. That for us is really exciting — to be able to come up with stuff that that is in that grey area." ON GETTING CATE BLANCHETT TO STAR IN VIDEO FOR 'THE GIRL IS CRYING IN HER LATTE' Russell: "We met her at the César Awards in Paris two years ago. We were there performing and nominated for a bunch of awards for Annette, and we performed 'So May We Start' at the César Awards as well. We were the only act doing a live song performance at the Césars, which was really exciting on its own. And then it turned out we also won for best music, and the film won a whole bunch of awards as well. Cate had come to our dressing room and introduced herself, and were floored that Cate Blanchett would even know who Sparks was, let alone say that she was a fan of the band since she was growing up in Australia. And we remained in touch, and we've become friends. So it came time to do the first video for this album, and so we thought 'let's call Cate' and 'surely Cate will have an idea' where we didn't know exactly where we wanted the video to be heading. Then she heard the song. She really responded to the song — really, really loved it, and said 'yes, I would like to be in the video'. We didn't even discuss what she would be doing. We just said just 'do what you want to do and we're sure it'll be great.' That's open-ended, but she came up with that dance that she does, and the thing of it, her just being immobile for a lot of it, and then all of a sudden kicking into her dance during the chorus parts of the song — that was all 100-percent Cate." [caption id="attachment_923020" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gavin Ross[/caption] ON THE DREAM COLLABORATION THAT SPARKS WOULD LOVE TO DO NEXT Ron: "We played a festival in Spain probably about eight years ago, and Public Enemy were playing there. We were bold enough to go up to Chuck D and then shyly drop the idea, 'you know, if you ever wanted to collaborate on anything, we're definitely open to it'. I'm not sure whether he was just being polite, but he seemed to show some interest and gave me the telephone sign. So we're hoping at some point that could happen. It might not be obvious from our music, but we're both huge fans of Public Enemy, and just their live show is in incredible, just the sound of their music and the intensity of it. So we're hoping at some point — I mean, that would be a dream collaboration for us." Sparks tour Australia in October and November 2023, playing solo shows at Melbourne's Palais Theatre (on Thursday, October 26), the Sydney Opera House (Tuesday, October 31), and Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane (Thursday, November 2) — and as part of the packed lineup at Adelaide's Harvest Rock II festival (on Sunday, October 29). For more information and tickets, visit the Harvest Rock website and the Secret Sounds website. Top image: Munachi Osegbu.
