Maroubra locals who have been looking at the inner west with envy at the area's range of markets are about to be blessed with a monthly market of their own. After two false starts due to extreme weather, the market maestros at Cambridge Markets launched this monthly market at Maroubra Beach in partnership with Randwick City Council on Saturday, November 2, which runs from 8am–2pm. Dozens of vendors will dish out hot food, cool drinks, and all sorts of homemade goodies, so you'll want to bring plenty of shopping bags with you. There will also be water bottle refill stations so you can stay hydrated as you explore. Expect also to find fashion, homewares, toys, fresh produce, art, craft, gifting, vintage clothing, plants, and plenty more. Plus, there'll also be live music, along with activities to partake in and some fun rides for the kids. Held down at Broadarrow Reserve, mere steps from the beach, the Maroubra Beach Markets will be held on the first Saturday of each month from 8am–2pm. The Maroubra Beach Markets are taking place on the first Saturday of every month from Saturday, November 2, from 8am–2pm. For more information on Cambridge Markets or any of its events or markets across Sydney, visit the website.
Wherever your suitcases are currently stashed, dig them out: spring is almost here, Jetstar has dropped an end-of-winter flight sale, and a range of Australian and international destinations await. There's no better motivation for a getaway than cheap fares, whether you're keen to soak up the sunshine away from home, book your next big overseas trip, lock in a pre-Christmas vacation or plan your first holiday of 2025. All of the above scenarios are covered by the Australian carrier's latest batch of discounted flights, which start at $34. As always, that price spans trips from Sydney to Byron Bay. From there, the Gold Coast, Hamilton Island, Uluru, Bali, Tokyo, Hawaii, Bangkok, Seoul and Vanuatu are among the options, and the list goes on from there. Some specific highlights include Sydney to Hamilton Island from $79 and Melbourne to Hamilton Island from $109, Brisbane to Cairns from $69 and Brisbane to Tokyo from $335 — plus Honolulu flights from $280 out of Sydney, $285 from Melbourne and $359 departing from Brisbane. Domestically, other destinations span Newcastle, Darwin, Mackay, Busselton, Sunshine Coast, Whitsunday Coast, Hobart, Launceston and Hervey Bay. And from the overseas bargains, you also have Osaka, Queenstown, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Fiji, Singapore, Manila, Phuket, Krabi and Ho Chi Minh City to pick from. Travel periods vary, starting as early as September 2024 and ranging as late as July 2025, if that helps you to decide where — and when — to go. You've got until 11.59pm AEST on Monday, August 26, 2024 to nab your flights, or until sold out if they're snapped up by other travellers before then. There are a few rules, as is always the case. All sale fares are one-way, and they don't include checked baggage — so you'll need to travel super light or pay extra to take a suitcase. Jetstar's Just Plane Good Sale runs until 11.59pm AEST on Monday, August 26, 2024 — or until sold out, if snapped up earlier. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
No one makes neon-lit, red-hued, emotion-dripping tales of yearning and loneliness like Wong Kar-Wai, as everyone who has seen 2000's In the Mood for Love knows. It isn't the Chungking Express, Happy Together, 2046, Ashes of Time: Redux and The Grandmaster filmmaker's only masterpiece, but the 1960s Hong Kong-set romantic drama is utterly unforgettable as it unfolds its love story against a backdrop of festering societal tension. Viewers have fallen for the film for almost a quarter of a century now. Sydney Opera House clearly feels the same way. Back in 2020, it hosted and livestreamed dreamy song cycle In the Mood — A Love Letter to Wong Kar-Wai & Hong Kong, which delivered exactly what its title promised. At 2pm and 7pm on Saturday, March 22, 2025, the venue will also welcome in the Australian premiere of In the Mood for Love in Concert. As everything from Batman, Back to the Future, Home Alone and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to The Lion King, The Princess Bride, Black Panther and Star Wars films has in the past — and plenty more — the iconic movie will return to the big screen while an orchestra brings its score to life. In this case, the film will flicker across Sydney Opera House's HD silver screen as conductor Guy Rundle leads a 39-piece group of musicians playing live. The BAFTA-nominated and César-winning film — which also picked up two awards at Cannes, including Best Actor — stars the great Tony Leung (Hidden Blade) and Maggie Chen (Better Life) as Chow Mo-wan and Su Li-zhen. In a complicated time and place, the two neighbours are drawn together when they begin to suspect that their partners are not only being unfaithful, but that they're having an affair with each other. While In the Mood for Love is rightly acclaimed for its affecting performances and evocative direction, as well as its gorgeously lush cinematography, its score is just as exceptional. Indeed, the filmmaker has called it "a poem itself". This is a stellar opportunity to find out why — and to discover why this movie, and Wong Kar-Wai, keep proving so influential.
It's the page-to-streaming YA series that turned into a smash hit, made Lola Tung a star in her first-ever screen role and gave a second Jenny Han franchise a successful leap to the screen. It's also the show that's earned such passion and obsession that free tickets to a live book club event featuring Tung, fellow actor Rain Spencer (Test Screening) and Han in Sydney were snapped up instantly. The series in question is The Summer I Turned Pretty, of course, aka Prime Video's adaptation of Han's 2009 novel of the same name, as well as 2010's It's Not Summer Without You and 2011's We'll Always Have Summer. The show's third season is streaming now — and with it, the flower crown-loving, often Taylor Swift-soundtracked small-screen sensation is coming to an end. 2025 marks a mere three years since the world was first introduced to Tung as Isabel 'Belly' Conklin, then an about-to-turn-16 teen living her summer dream. Whenever the weather turns warm, the coastal Massachusetts town of Cousins Beach has always beckoned her family, who vacation at the luxe house owned by her mother Laurel's (Jackie Chung, Coming Home Again) best friend Susannah Fisher (Rachel Blanchard, Uno). Belly is the youngest among the next generation, thanks to her elder brother Steven (Sean Kaufman, Walker), plus Susannah's two children Conrad (Christopher Briney, Mean Girls) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno, Queen of the Ring). She's also been in love with Conrad since she can remember. In the initial sunny season charted in The Summer I Turned Pretty, neither of the Fisher siblings see Belly as a kid anymore. Enter the Team Conrad-versus-Team Jeremiah clash — and a hard choice for the show's protagonist between her lifelong dream and her forever best friend. Which of the duo that Belly's heart is swooning for at any given moment has changed more than once as season two and now season three have arrived, but can you ever truly get over your first love, or move past the person that's always known you better than anyone else? Audiences will soon find out for the character that turns 21 in the series' final run, and is so established in a long-term relationship with Jeremiah that the pair are making big plunges. Although Conrad is at Stanford chasing a medical career, he's clearly still deeply affected by how his time by Belly's side faded in the previous season. A coming-of-age story and a summer-romance tale all in one — several summer romances, in fact, thanks to Belly's love triangles, catching up with its characters summer after summer, and other relationships surrounding Belly, Conrad and Jeremiah — The Summer I Turned Pretty was always destined to follow Han's To All The Boys I've Loved Before trilogy to the screen. It was published first, but made its way to streaming after 2018's To All the Boys I've Loved Before, 2020's To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and 2021's To All the Boys: Always and Forever films, all on Netflix, where that saga's spinoff series XO, Kitty debuted in 2023 and dropped its second season in early 2025. One of the key reasons that Han's work keeps finding a home on the small screen, as well as in the hearts and minds of fans — both those familiar with the source material and others brand-new through the adaptations — is an approach that's pivotal to the author. Han also created both The Summer I Turned Pretty and XO, Kitty in their streaming guises, and is a showrunner on both. That crucial factor: allowing the teenage girls and young women that are her protagonists to experience the entire and full spectrum of their feelings, and genuinely appreciating that with all sincerity and earnestness, which can't always be said about the depiction of characters in that demographic. Such an approach is essential to Han — and also to Tung and Spencer, who've grown up with their starring roles on The Summer I Turned Pretty. As Taylor Jewel, Belly's ride-or-die best friend, who has her own complicated romantic situation with Steven, Spencer has also been navigating a storyline that expands well beyond the novels, charting new territory even for avid readers. That said, whether book diehards actually know who Belly will end up with when the show says goodbye after its 11-episode third season isn't assured. Han, Tung and Spencer are all feeling good about where The Summer I Turned Pretty wraps up, though, they tell Concrete Playground. "I feel great," says Han, accompanied by smiles and nods from Tung and Spencer. "I feel excited for people to see it. The last episode is one of my favourites of the whole series," she continues. "I think — I hope — people feel satisfied, but I think I feel satisfied as a storyteller with the work that we did." What's in store will keep being revealed weekly until Wednesday, September 17, 2025; however, we also chatted with Tung, Spencer and Han about the viewer response to the series and what it means to them; the importance of the show valuing young women's emotions; the fact that The Summer I Turned Pretty has always been Team Belly first and foremost, regardless of what's happening amorously between her and Conrad or Jeremiah or anyone else; Tung and Spencer's experience with Belly and Taylor's journeys; and more. On What the Viewer Response to The Summer I Turned Pretty, Including Events Like Prime Book Club LIVE and Fans Obsessing Over the Show's Love Triangles, Means to Tung, Spencer and Han Lola: "It makes me so excited. I feel cool." Rain: "It's so cool." Jenny: "It's an honour. I think as an author of books, it makes me excited anytime I see people reading or being passionate about stories. So it's really cool for us." Lola: "We were walking around Sydney the other day, and it was just cool to see how many people watched the show." Jenny: "I was like 'whoa'. I was very surprised. Because I think you often just think about who's watching it in the US. We live in the US and people come up to us. So it's very exciting to leave the country and be like 'you've heard of us?'. It's so cool." On the Importance of The Summer I Turned Pretty Allowing Its Teenage Girls and Young Women to Experience the Entire Range of Their Emotions — and Appreciating That with Sincerity Jenny: "To me, it's essential. As somebody who writes stories about young people, I've always approached it in that way — with, I hope, respect — where every experience is meaningful and valid. And I think a lot of times adults can minimise a young person's point of view, because they're like 'oh, puppy love' or 'oh, they're just kids'. But I think It's all relative. It's kind of what you were saying earlier, Rain — that's always been my ethos, is that your experience is your experience, and it's relative to what you've already experienced." Rain: "Yeah." Jenny: "So as a teenager, if I have a really bad fight with my mum, that can be really destabilising and really horrible, right? And so I think people look back on it and laugh, but you forget how big that was in the moment — to not have someone to eat lunch with at school or to be dumped publicly." Rain: "Yes, it's the heightened emotion, the different definitions of love as you get older. But the first love that you experience, it might not be your experience when you get older, but it is absolutely real and true in that moment. That is what love means." Jenny: "And in some ways, that's more real than anything, because that's the first time and everything is magnified." Lola: "It's so special, yeah." On the Series Always Being Team Belly First, No Matter Her Romantic Status with Conrad or Jeremiah Lola: "I think that's more credit to Jenny, because that's always been a huge conversation, and that's always been a priority as a writer and as the creator — to protect Belly and to make sure that her story is fulfilling to her as a person on her own. And I love getting to explore all of that. The relationship with the boys, absolutely — and the relationship with Taylor, the relationship with her mum and her dad, and with Susannah. It's been so cool to get to feel like she has a proper story, and that Jenny is really fighting for that always." On How Tung and Spencer Feel About the Journey They've Taken with Belly and Taylor Over the Show's Three Seasons — Not Just What the Characters Have Gone Through, But Going on That Ride with Them Lola: "It's been so special. I mean, we really did grow up with them. And this was one of — this was one of our first, like my first project, her second project. So we've learned so much about this world and what it's like to be on a TV set. And also had a lot of time to really form this relationship, this friendship, that Taylor and Belly have together, and what it looks like as time goes on. And they're not kids anymore — and they spend a lot of time together even when their lives take them in different directions. And how they continue to be best friends. I think it's been really lovely." Rain: "It has been really lovely. Like Lola said, we grew up with these characters. I think something that's so beautiful about acting is there is a part of Taylor that will always be with me, because she taught me so many things. I've spoken before about the level of confidence that she had, I didn't have when I started playing her. And so she sort of taught me what confidence feels like in my body. And so I'll have that forever." On Taylor's Storyling Expanding Well Beyond the Books, Charting New Territory Even for Readers Rain: "I think I just feel so grateful to Jenny for the ability to explore the character and go deeper with her. It's been just one of the joys of my life thus far, is getting to know this character and having the opportunity to do so." Jenny: "But you also bring so much of yourself into it, which I think suits the character so much. So it's really, I think, special. I've loved being able to expand the character out and see more of her as a character. I think now, Rain, the way that you've brought Taylor to life, it's to me in some ways it's its own thing, which is really fun." The Summer I Turned Pretty streams via Prime Video. The Summer I Turned Pretty images: Erika Doss © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC.
Looking to start your day with something a little different? Head to the southern end of King Street where you'll find fresh and unexpected ingredients being piled onto Brickfields bread or between soft, fluffy milk buns at Rolling Penny. Following a short shutdown in 2022, the bustling Newtown cafe is here to stay, announcing it would reopen just three weeks after it closed its doors with an Instagram post that read: "I guess you don't know what you've got until it's finally gone…" Rolling Penny has built a cult following over the years through its commitment to local produce and interesting takes on breakfast classics, including its stellar brekky rolls that go far beyond your standard bacon and egg affair. While the menu is forever changing, some of the highlights Rolling Penny has served up include grilled artichoke toast; anchovy, caeser dressing, egg and charred broccolini sambos; smoked cheddar rarebit with house pickles; and loaded thick-cut speck and seared scallop burgers. More traditional breakfast items like portobello mushroom or halloumi burgers on milk buns ($14–21) stay consistent on the menu alongside lighter options like Brickfields croissants ($6.50) and housemade quiches ($6.50). Drinks-wise, you'll find Little Marionette Coffee for a caffeine kick start — but it's also a great spot to get a little boozy with your brunch. Pull some friends together and enjoy a mimosa ($12) or a bloody mary ($15) with your mushroom burger in the cafe's sunny terrace courtyard. Plus, Rolling Penny has continually bolstered its love within the community through a range of events and pop-ups throughout its seven years on King Street, even acting as the initial home to Baba's Place prior to opening its Marrickville warehouse restaurant. Appears in: The Best Cafes in Sydney Where to Find the Best Breakfast in Sydney
How will Sex Education climax? That's the big streaming question for September, when the hit Netflix series returns for its fourth season and also says farewell. How will Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield, Flux Gourmet) and his friends fare at a new school? What happens when he has a fellow teen sex therapist also giving his peers advice? How stressed is Eric (Ncuti Gatwa, the next Doctor Who) about making a good first impression among his new classmates? What will university in the US bring for Maeve (Emma Mackey, Barbie)? Add those to the queries that'll be answered on Thursday, September 21. Back in July, Netflix announced two things: that Sex Education would finally drop new episodes this spring, but that this'd be its big finish. Following a teaser trailer at the same time, the platform has now revealed a full sneak peek at how the show will wrap up its roll in streaming's sheets. As always, a whole lot of teen drama and chaos is on its way. Since 2019, Netflix has taken viewers to the fictional Moordale Secondary School, where Otis followed his sex-therapist mum Jean's (Gillian Anderson, The Great) lead and started helping his schoolmates with their romantic and sexual struggles — as he himself tussled with his own troubles, and also with his feelings for Maeve. When Sex Education unveils its last run, the series will move the action over to Cavendish Sixth Form College. Queue plenty of the trains of thought outlined above, as well as big changes, new beginnings and new challenges. When Sex Education creator, lead writer and executive producer Laurie Nunn announced that the show was saying goodbye, she said that the series' team "wanted to make a show that would answer some of the questions we all used to have about love, sex, friendship and our bodies. Something that would have helped our inner teenagers feel a little less alone. It's been overwhelming seeing how the show has connected with people around the world, and we hope it's made some of you feel a little less alone, too." "This was not an easy decision to make, but as the themes and the stories of the new season crystallised, it became clear that it was the right time to graduate," Nunn continued about bringing Sex Education to an end. As well as Butterfield, Anderson, plus Barbie co-stars Gatwa, Mackey and Connor Swindells, Sex Education will also see Aimee-Lou Wood (Living) back as Aimee and Kedar Williams-Stirling (Small Axe) as Jackson — among other familiar faces. Helping them say cheerio: Schitt's Creek favourite Dan Levy, Thaddea Graham (Doctor Who), Lisa McGrillis (Last Night in Soho), Marie Reuther (The Kingdom), Jodie Turner Smith (White Noise) and Eshaan Akbar (Spitting Image). Check out the full trailer for Sex Education season four below: Sex Education season four will stream via Netflix from Thursday, September 21. Images: Samuel Taylor / Netflix.
If you're a fan of Mariah Carey, then this is a vision of love and also a sweet, sweet fantasy come true, baby: 11 years after she last toured Australia, the iconic singer is returning in 2025 to headline Fridayz Live. First, the festival announced its big comeback this year, plus its dates and venues. Now comes the lineup, led by the music megastar. If all you wanted for an early Christmas is this, it's quite the gift. Mariah is celebrating 20 years since her 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi released — and based on recent set lists, get ready to hear everything from 'Emotions', 'Dreamlover' and 'Hero' to 'Without You', 'Always Be My Baby', 'Honey' and 'Heartbreaker'. She'll have company on the Fridayz Live bill, because this event's blend of R&B, hip hop and nostalgia always brings a heap of big names our way. For 2025, Pitbull, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Jon, Eve, Tinie Tempah and Jordin Sparks are also on the lineup. 'Give Me Everything', 'Timber', 'Fireball', 'Black and Yellow', 'See You Again', 'Young, Wild and Free', 'Get Low', 'Turn Down for What', 'Let Me Blow Ya Mind', 'Who's That Girl', 'Girls Like', 'Miami 2 Ibiza', 'No Air', 'One Step at a Time': expect to hear them all too, then. Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are on the fest's itinerary in 2025. This year's Fridayz Live run will kick off on Friday, October 17 at Brisbane Showgrounds, then head to Sydney's ENGIE Stadium on Saturday, October 18. The following weekend, Perth's Langley Park will welcome the fest on Friday, October 24. The final stop: Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on Saturday, October 25. The last time that Fridayz Live was on the concert calendar Down Under, it also went to Adelaide; however, a visit to the South Australian capital hasn't been announced for 2025. [caption id="attachment_1005605" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Kelly[/caption] Fridayz Live 2025 Lineup Mariah Carey Pitbull Wiz Khalifa Lil Jon Eve Tinie Tempah Jordin Sparks Fridayz Live 2025 Dates Friday, October 17 — Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane Saturday, October 18 — ENGIE Stadium, Sydney Friday, October 24 — Langley Park, Perth Saturday, October 25 — Marvel Stadium, Melbourne Fridayz Live is touring Australia in October 2025, with ticket presales from Monday, May 26 and general sales from Monday, June 2. Head to the festival's website for more information. Mariah Carey images: Raph_PH via Flickr.
A little further north in Narrabeen, Mexicano head chef Sean Prenter and his team showcase their fresh take on modern and street-style Mexican. Sean takes pride in sourcing fresh, quality and local produce so you can take comfort in your food being some of the tastiest and most authentic around. All the tortillas are traditionally hand rolled and pressed daily using wheat and corn masa flours. Must-try tacos are the Mexican fish taco, with battered local fish of the day and a spicy chipotle mayo ($16 for three) and the chipotle beef brisket ($16 for three) or for a hearty vegetarian option, go the roasted winter taco (pumpkin, eggplant, zucchini and local cheese, $13 for three). We also hear a little whisper that the owners are opening up a new taqueria-style venue, MX, in Mona Vale soon.
It's the little things that make the difference. And no one knows it better than The Little Guy, the most recent watering hole to join the Glebe Point road strip. Boysenberry cider, (free!) popcorn, a homely upstairs lounge-room and a 16-strong beer list are just some of the things that make this place stand out from the ever-expanding universe of small bars. The insanely friendly owners Anna and Dynn – formerly of The Clock in Surry and World Bar in the Cross - have somehow managed to retain their love for bar-goers, welcoming every patron through the door as if they were a best bud. They even admitted that the inspiration for the venue's name came from a drunken night out in Melbourne (a 'research trip'), which makes this joint all the more likeable. The beer selection is pretty astounding, featuring mostly local, lesser-known brews like Port Mac's 'Wicked Elf' and 'The Hangman' pale ale from Sydney. The wine list too stays largely within Oz, but features the odd Albarino from Spain and Nero D'Avola from Italy. The Old Mout Boysenberry Cider ($9) is tart and refreshing, and is worth a try if you can get past the fact it looks like pink lemonade. Byron Bay's Stone & Wood Pacific Ale ($8) is very light and approachable but if you're after something a little more robust, hand your car keys over to the bartender and go for the 2-in-1 Sierra Nevada (8.5%). Their short and sweet cocktail list is also worth a gander. The Passion of Ryest ($14) makes for a perfectly balanced rye whisky sour with fresh passionfruit, rounded off with Wild Turkey American Honey. The eats list is brief, but sophisticated and well-crafted. Cheeses, dips, cured meats and seafood (courtesy of Australia On APlate) come separately ($8) or together on a tasting board ($20). The Black Peppercorn Pâté, coupled with Jamon Serrano and pungent Woodside Edith Ashed Goats Cheese (warning: it's a pash-killer) is top-notch. The Little Guy has only a small team of staff, so to get the most out of your visit head down early evening and nab yourself a spot up at the bar. Otherwise you'll be competing with a heaving Friday night crowd. It'll be exciting to see this Little Guy grow over the coming year. Dedicated to supporting local sellers, it's run by the little guys, for the little guys, and it's setting the standard for the rest of the small bars in the inner west. Put this one on your to-do list for 2012.
Last week, Robert Pattinson popped up on our screens in the trailer for upcoming Netflix movie The Devil All the Time. At present, he's also starring in cinemas in Tenet, which is finally earning a release. And, right this instant, he's stepping into a very well-known character's shoes (and cape and mask) — as seen in the just-dropped first trailer for The Batman. Yes, as well as featuring in a Christopher Nolan-helmed movie, Pattinson is playing a character that Nolan helped bring back to cinemas 15 years ago. This time around, Cloverfield, Let Me In, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes filmmaker Matt Reeves is in the director's chair, overseeing a new take on Batman that actually stands completely apart from the most recent Ben Affleck-starring DC Extended Universe version of the character. Basically, what DC Films and Warner Bros. Pictures did with Joker in 2019 — serving up a grimmer, grittier iteration of the infamous figure that has absolutely nothing to do with the rightfully hated Jared Leto version — they're doing for Batman now, too. Also following the same playbook: enlisting a top-notch star in the lead role. Remember, it was only earlier this year that Joaquin Phoenix won an Oscar for playing the clown prince of crime. The Batman isn't slated to hit cinemas until more than 12 months away — at the end of September 2021 in Australia — however, as this first sneak peek shows, it's shaping up to be a suitably dark and brooding affair. And, as well as Pattison as the titular character and his alter-ego Bruce Wayne, it stars Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon and Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth. For those keeping count, Pattinson is the third actor to play the Dark Knight on the big screen in the 21st century, after Christian Bale and Ben Affleck. He also joins a long list of actors who've donned the outfit, including Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney. Check out The Batman trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLOp_6uPccQ The Batman is currently due to release in Australian cinemas on September 30, 2021.
Everyone loves a good chat, and who wouldn’t love a chat about life’s big questions with charming director Wesley Enoch? But a chat in front of a packed main stage theatre under a glaring spotlight? This is a tete-a-tete for a special kind of performer. 20 Questions is the handiwork of Enoch and Eamon Flack. A surprise Indigenous guest will brave the upstairs theatre to answer Enoch’s questions every Monday night until mid-August. The performer has been briefed that they are to answer questions but has no idea what the questions will be. The questions range from “are you happy?” to “do you get sick of white guilt”, with a range of fun and reflective questions in between. iPad in hand, Enoch sets the example as a generous host, requesting our full support of the guest at the top of the show. Twenty-five-year-old Casey Donovan steps through the gold curtains onto the stage in stilettos. The crowd applauds. She’s nervous, we’re nervous. The questioning begins. If you've ever seen Donovan sing, or were lucky enough to see her in the 2010 production of The Sapphires (directed by Enoch), you’ll know she is comedic, soulful gold on stage, but we don’t get the best of her in this setting. Enoch’s structure relies heavily on the guest’s improvisation skills, which Donovan doesn't quite bring to the floor, answering many questions with coy evasion. When Enoch invites her up to the mic to sing, it’s a relief and a pleasure to hear the phenomenal voice that launched her into the public domain at age 16 on Australian Idol. Her singing is the highlight of the evening. This talk show/counselling session is probably better suited to a cabaret setting than the main stage and would also suit cabaret prices. It feels odd that an unrehearsed Q&A with a minimal set would warrant full-price tickets. At bare minimum, the show is a nice chance to reflect on what your own answers to Enoch’s questions would be. It’s always nice to think about death, for example. It’s difficult to assess the merits of the show given the guest will be different each Monday. Enoch has certainly undertaken a high-risk enterprise with so much relying on the individual guest. No doubt with a more seasoned performer up in the spotlight, it could make for a wild, heartfelt ride.
Maybe you like magical movie experiences. Perhaps you're a Timothée Chalamet obsessive. Or, you could love nothing more than catching an old-school flick on the big screen again. Whether one, two or all three of the above applies to you, there's a reason to head to Moonlight Cinema in January 2025. And if you're a fan of romances, horror, animal-led tales and biopics, there's even more where they came from. This Australian summer tradition unveils its lineup in batches — and has just dropped the program of flicks that will start the year. Wicked will be defying gravity, A Complete Unknown has your Timmy C (Dune: Part Two) fix covered and the OG Freaky Friday will give you a blast from the past before the sequel arrives later in 2025. Plus, We Live in Time, Heretic, Mufasa: The Lion King and Maria will also play under the stars. With seasons in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth, Moonlight Cinema mostly screens the same movies in each location; however, there are some differences. In January, 2024 Palme d'Or-winner Anora and crime thriller-meets-musical Emilia Perez are only heading to Sydney and Melbourne, for instance, but the bulk of the lineup will play across all five cities. Other highlights include Gladiator II, Moana 2, Paddington in Peru and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, giving franchises plenty of love; Better Man joining the music-fuelled picks; the Jesse Eisenberg (Sasquatch Sunset)-starring, -written and -directed A Real Pain; and Conclave's tension in the Vatican. Among the retro fare, Bridget Jones's Diary, Shrek and The Princess Diaries will get you looking backwards. Brisbane's season is on until Sunday, February 16 in Roma Street Parklands, while Adelaide's runs till the same date in Botanic Park. Moonlight Cinema's stints at Centennial Parklands in Sydney, Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, and Kings Park and Botanic Garden in Perth all extend through to Sunday, March 30. As always, the films and the setting are just two parts of the cinema's experience. Also a drawcard: the Aperol spritz bar. Nosh-wise, the event is again letting you BYO movie snacks and drinks (no alcohol in Brisbane, though), but the unorganised can enjoy a plethora of bites to eat onsite while reclining on bean beds. There's two VIP sections for an extra-luxe openair movie experience, too, as well as a platinum package with waiter service in Sydney and Melbourne only, and a beauty cart handing out samples. Plus, dogs are welcome at all sites except Perth — there's even special doggo bean beds. Moonlight Cinema 2024–25 Dates Brisbane: Thursday, November 21, 2024–Sunday, February 16, 2025 in Roma Street Parklands Sydney: Friday, November 22, 2024–Sunday, March 30, 2025 in Centennial Parklands Adelaide: Thursday, November 28, 2024–Sunday, February 16, 2025, 2024 in Botanic Park Melbourne: Friday, November 29, 2024–Sunday, March 30, 2025 in Royal Botanic Gardens Perth: Thursday, December 5, 2024–Sunday, March 30, 2025 in Kings Park and Botanic Garden Moonlight Cinema runs until February 2025 in Brisbane and Adelaide, and until March 2025 in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the cinema's website — and we'll update you with further program details when they're announced.
It's been more than 18 months since the world first got a glimpse of Dev Patel going medieval, all thanks to the initial sneak peek at The Green Knight. The action/fantasy-thriller sees him mess with Arthurian legend, swing around a mighty sword and giant axe, and head somewhere completely different after filming two of his last four movies in Australia (Lion and Hotel Mumbai) — and also stepping into a Dickens classic set in Victorian England (The Personal History of David Copperfield). A second trailer for The Green Knight dropped earlier this year, and the movie released in the US in July; however, if you're an Aussie fan of Patel, medieval thrillers or both, you're currently still waiting to see the dark and ominous-looking film. Thankfully, that delay is about to come to an end, with the movie set to stream locally via Amazon Prime Video from Thursday, October 28. Based on the 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the film casts Patel as Sir Gawain. Nephew to King Arthur (Sean Harris, Mission: Impossible — Fallout), he's a knight of the Round Table and fearsome warrior. The character has popped up in plenty of tales, but here, he's forced to confront the giant green-skinned titular figure in an eerie showdown. As the poem explains, the Green Knight dares any other knight to strike him with an axe, but only if they'll then receive a return blow exactly one year and one day later. Based on all of the movie's trailers so far, this adaptation looks to be sticking to that story rather closely — and the end result also looks more than a little moody, brooding and creepy. Patel is in great company, too, with The Green Knight also starring Alicia Vikander (Earthquake Bird), Joel Edgerton (Boy Erased) and Barry Keoghan (Calm with Horses). Games of Thrones' Kate Dickie pops up as Guinevere, while her co-star Ralph Ineson — who is also known from the Harry Potter flicks, The Witch, Gunpowder Milkshake and the UK version of The Office — plays the Green Knight. Originally set to release in 2020 until the pandemic hit, The Green Knight is the latest movie by impressive and always eclectic writer/director David Lowery. His filmography spans everything from Ain't Them Bodies Saints and Pete's Dragon to A Ghost Story and The Old Man and the Gun — and The Green Knight isn't like anything on his resume so far. Check out the trailer below: The Green Knight will be available to stream in Australia via Amazon Prime Video from Thursday, October 28.
More than three decades since it was first published, the Watchmen series of comics is still considered one of the all-time greats of the medium. Brought to the page by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, the premise says plenty: in an alternative version of the world we all live in, superheroes definitely exist — but their presence has drastically altered history. Here, the Cold War turned out differently, caped crusaders largely work for the government and anyone else enforcing law and order while wearing a costume has been outlawed. Now, imagine that tale told with a satirical edge that deconstructs the superhero phenomenon, and you can see why it has hordes of devotees. Back in 2009 when comic book flicks were just starting to pick up steam — and when 23-film franchises were a mere dream — Watchmen was turned into a movie by Zack Snyder (who was fresh from 300, but hadn't made the jump to Batman v Superman or Justice League yet). Sequels clearly didn't follow; however, HBO is now hoping that the story will flourish on the small screen, enlisting Lost and The Leftovers co-creator Damon Lindelof to make it happen. Obviously, with Game of Thrones all done and dusted (at least until its prequels start hitting the screen), the network is in the market for a new pop culture phenomenon. This isn't just a straight adaptation. Apparently the ten-part series "embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name while attempting to break new ground of its own," according to HBO. If you're wondering just how that'll play out, the program's trailers might help. Building on the first teaser from a few months back, the latest trailer serves up murky mysteries, complicated heroes and villains, and a fine line between the two — plus "a vast and insidious conspiracy". To help bring the above to the small screen, Watchmen boasts quite the stacked cast, which includes Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, this year's Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Regina King, Hong Chau, Louis Gossett Jr and Aussie actress Adelaide Clemens. The big names don't stop there, with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross providing the score. Check out the new trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-33JCGEGzwU Watchmen launches on October 21, Australian and New Zealand time — with the series airing weekly from that date on Foxtel in Australia. Image: Mark Hill/HBO
Come October, the $20 notes you'll be stuffing in your wallet will look a little different — a new design for the lobster has just been release, and it's hitting tills around the country in just eight months. Australia's banknotes have been getting a makeover since September 2016, when a different $5 note started doing the rounds. It was followed by a revamped $10 in 2017, then $50 in 2018 — and now a sparkling fresh $20, which will hit the streets in October 2019. The upgraded design will celebrate Mary Reibey, an Australian convict-turned-merchant, shipowner and philanthropist, as well as John Flynn, the founder of what is now known as the Royal Flying Doctor Service. They're both recognised in several ways on the new notes, with not only their portraits displayed prominently, but with images one of Reibey's Port Jackson schooners and Flynn's aircraft leaving a Broken Hill homestead, as well as microprint featuring an excerpt from Flynn's book The Bushman's Companion. As well as changed artwork (albeit keeping the same colour scheme and same celebrated Australians as old notes), the new $20 boasts the same improved security features as the new $5, $10 and $50 notes, which are largely aimed to stop counterfeiting. A clear window running from top to bottom is the most obvious, and contains a number of features such as a reversing number and flying kookaburra. And, in great news for the vision-impaired, the new series of legal tender has a tactile feature to help distinguish between different denominations. As happened with the other denominations, the rollout will happen gradually, as will the withdrawal of old $20s — which you can obviously still keep using. And as for the final Aussie banknote yet to receive a revamp, the new $100 is due to be released in 2020.
Two excellent TV comedies about show business hardly makes a trend, let alone heralds a golden age, but it's currently a fantastic time for smart, astute and extremely funny series about standing behind microphones. In 2021, Girls5eva and Hacks premiered in America within a week of each other, deservedly winning fans immediately. In 2022, they've both returned for their second seasons in the US and Down Under (via Stan and TVNZ On Demand) with the same timing. Accordingly, if you only want to watch shows about talented ladies chasing their starry dreams right now, that's firmly on the cards. If you're keen to dive deep into what makes something funny — how comedy evolves, shifts and swings; the differences between easy and well-earned laughs; the courage it takes to truly lay yourself bare during a standup set; and how comedy is received when it's coming from women rather than men, too — that's Hacks' remit. As the goofier and sillier but still wonderfully savvy Girls5eva does, it carves into the entertainment industry's treatment of women, and doesn't hold back from depicting the bleak reality. It's scathing, in fact. This Emmy- and Golden Globe-winner's specific target, though: the world of comedy. In season one, Hacks pushed Deborah Vance (Jean Smart, Mare of Easttown) and Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder, North Hollywood) together. The former is a veteran comic with a long-running Las Vegas residency, while the twentysomething latter reluctantly took a job as Deborah's assistant after thinking she was going to make it big in Los Angeles, then getting herself into trouble via an ill-thought-out tweet. The end result could've been cliched from start to finish. The series does indeed focus on a chalk-and-cheese pair who don't get along, slowly discover that they have more in common than either will admit, and try to navigate the unwelcoming realm that is comedy for women with each other's help. But, crucially, that whole concept is the premise, not the joke. Hacks doesn't laugh at its mismatched, wittily spiky central duo, but at everything they're stuck facing. The series' first season quickly cemented itself as one of 2021's best new TV shows — one of two knockout newbies starring Jean Smart last year, thanks to the aforementioned Mare of Easttown — and it's just as ace the second time around. It's still searingly funny, nailing that often-elusive blend of insight, intelligence and hilarity. It retains its observational, wry tone, and remains devastatingly relatable even if you've never been a woman trying to make it in comedy. And it's happy to linger where it needs to to truly understand its characters, but never simply dwells in the same place as its last batch of episodes. Season two is literally about hitting the road, so covering fresh territory is baked into the story; however, Hacks' trio of key behind-the-scenes creatives aren't content to merely repeat themselves with a different backdrop. Those guiding hands — writer Jen Statsky (The Good Place), writer/director Lucia Aniello (Rough Night) and writer/director/co-star Paul W Downs (The Other Two) — started Hacks after helping to make Broad City a hit. Clearly, they all know a thing or two about moving on from the past. That's the decision both Deborah and Ava had to make themselves in season one, with the show's second season now charting the fallout. So, Deborah has farewelled her residency and the dependable gags that kept pulling in crowds, opting to test out new and far-more-personal material on a cross-country tour instead. Ava has accepted her role by Deborah's side, and is willing to see it as a valid career move rather than an embarrassing stopgap. That said, last year's episodes also left the series with a potential wrecking ball: an email Ava wrote about Deborah while drunk, high, and upset about being slapped and insulted. Penned in anger and filled with extremely personal details about the comedian, it was sent to LA producers who wanted to hire Ava to mine Deborah's life for a new show about an insufferable woman in power. That destructive stream of text isn't season two's entire focus, but it's also inescapable, as much as Ava wants it to just disappear — as does Jimmy (Downs), Ava and Deborah's shared manager. But Hacks has always been willing to see that actions have consequences, not only for an industry that repeatedly marginalises women, but for its imperfect leading ladies. The brilliantly biting Smart continues to turn in awards-worthy work in Hacks' second season, and Einbinder still wears Ava's entitled chaos like a second skin. But there's one added bonus: now Deborah and Ava are lived-in characters, rather than newcomers to audiences. It's a pleasure to see both actors dive deep into what makes their on-screen alter egos tick, clash and occasionally get along; indeed, many of season two's best moments explore the whirlwind that ensues when Deborah and Ava fight but still clearly care about each other. Also upping the ante: being stuck on a tour bus on the road, decked out with a luxe bedroom for Deborah but condensing Ava's bunk to the tiny space above the onboard tanning bed. There, with fellow assistant Damien (Mark Indelicato, With Love) and new tour manager Weed (Laurie Metcalf, The Dropout) in tow, everyone's feelings bubble and boil in the resulting pressure cooker. Those supporting players — Deborah's daughter DJ (Katlin Olson, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), business manager Marcus (Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Candyman) and personal blackjack dealer Kiki (Poppy Liu, The Afterparty) included, as well as Jimmy and his high-maintenance assistant Kayla (Megan Salter) — don't get as much time to shine this time, though. That's the one difficulty that Hacks' sophomore batch of episodes have, but it's also the best kind of problem. There's still so much depth to Deborah and Ava's stories and their dynamic, and so much to unpack about them separately, together and in the world of comedy, that pushing the spotlight elsewhere is always going to prove tricky. The only solution: renewing Hacks for a third season, and hopefully more beyond that. Check out the trailer for Hacks season two below: Hacks' second season starts streaming via Stan in Australia from Friday, May 13, beginning with two episodes, then dropping further instalments weekly — and on TVNZ On Demand in New Zealand. Read our full review of season one. Images: Karen Ballard/HBO Max.
Spoiler warning: this interview incudes spoilers for Yellowjackets season three if you're not up to date with the series at the time of publication. It was meant to be a simple sports trip, with a high school girls' soccer team travelling from New Jersey to Seattle to compete in a tournament. That's where the plot of Yellowjackets begins in a linear sense — with American teenagers, their coaches and one of the latter's two children all flying across the US in 1996, and with the promise of on-field glory awaiting. But after the plane carrying the titular team is diverted over Canada, it plunges to the ground en route. What immediately happens next for young women who should be living normal teen lives, not doing whatever it takes to survive, is one half of the series. What's occurring a quarter of a century afterwards also fills Yellowjackets' frames, as the hit survivalist thriller has spent three must-see seasons so far exploring the impact of a wild dance with the wilderness, and with the trauma such an experience sparks, plus the vulnerability of being stranded then scarred by it. New Jersey, Seattle, Canada: that trio of locations is pivotal to Yellowjackets, even if no one has yet made it to the middle spot on the list. In the show's third season, New York proves crucial as well, but New Zealand and Australia have also long left their own imprint. The series began with Aotearoa's Melanie Lynskey (The Tattooist of Auschwitz's) leading the present-day cast as the adult Shauna, nee Shipman and now Sadecki, one of the team members to make it back from the plane crash alive. Also since the first season, Australians Courtney Eaton (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Liv Hewson (Party Down) have helped dig into what enduring in the forest really entails, the first as Charlotte "Lottie" Matthews and the second as Vanessa "Van" Palmer. In season two, New Zealander Simone Kessell (Muru) joined Lynskey among the survivors — and joined Eaton in portraying Lottie. Alongside a killer premise, an unflinching embrace of the darkness and devastation that was always going to spring from such an ordeal, a glorious array of 90s nods and a spectacular cast — Christina Ricci (Wednesday), Juliette Lewis (I'm a Virgo), Tawny Cypress (Law & Order) and Lauren Ambrose (Servant) also play the 2020s-era crew; Sophie Thatcher (Companion), Sophie Nélisse (No Return), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Scream VI) and Samantha Hanratty (Atlas) are among the talents bringing the squad's younger guises to life — characterisation has always been one of Yellowjackets' strengths. There's no doubting that these are complex women, both as teens and decades later. Its cast may portray a team, but the show sees its main figures as individuals, surveying their respective wants, needs, desires and fears. In Lottie's case, Yellowjackets spies someone yearning to be loved and accepted, so much so that she tries to grasp it in her faith in her new surroundings. No high schooler is prepared for suddenly living in the wilderness for months and months awaiting rescue, but Lottie's moneyed upbringing — her dad financed the fateful private plane to Seattle — leaves her seesawing between confidence and fragility. She's so assured in her beliefs in the forest that her fellow survivors start following her lead. She's also troubled, including from her family life, and despite how she projects herself to the world. The adult Lottie is introduced as a wellness guru-slash-cult leader, complete with purple-wearing disciples, but she's still weathering the same internal struggles. Following a stint staying at Shauna's and bonding with the teenage Callie Sadecki (Sarah Desjardins, The Night Agent), season three takes Lottie's story to an end that the character avoids in the woods, as the world discovered at the end of the latest run's fourth episode. How is Kessell feeling now that the character's fate is out there in the world? "I've got to say the fans of Yellowjackets are everything," she tells Concrete Playground. When the episode aired, an influx of messages came her way. "It's so lovely and so kind and generous, and I think I'll read them all," she advises. "I didn't quite expect such an outpouring of love and support." "And also because season two starts on Netflix soon, I was cautious not to — and for people who haven't watched that episode yet — put a spoiler on social media and things like that. But I'm overwhelmed. And it's amazing that you can play these characters that touch so many people." [caption id="attachment_995131" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jesse Grant[/caption] Kessell came to Yellowjackets more than three decades into her career. Like her compatriot Lynskey, she was starting out as an actor when she was a 90s teen herself. NZ TV series Homeward Bound gave Kessell her first role — and from there, her resume has spanned everything from Xena: Warrior Princess, the OG Heartbreak High, CSI: Miami, Underbelly and Terra Nova through to 1%, Pine Gap, Our Flag Means Death, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Wellmania, Critical Incident and plenty of others. Next, she'll be seen in The Last Frontier, a new American thriller series that also sees her keep a Down Under connection courtesy of Aussie Jason Clarke (Oppenheimer). Kessell is coy about whether Lottie could possibly return to Yellowjackets in some form, spirit or otherwise, in the future. "Oh my goodness, how would I play ghost Lottie? My god, I don't even know," she laughs. But she's deeply grateful for the chance to have stepped into her shoes, she also shares, in a chat that covers the balancing act that is portraying such a complicated character, plus how she approached taking on a figure that'd already been established in a younger guise, the Australian and NZ-heavy roster of talent, why the show has earned such a devoted following and more. On Saying Goodbye to Lottie — and What It Has Meant to Play Her "I've had so many people say 'is Lottie really dead? Please come back. Diva down. I miss you mother. I'm an orphan'" — all these great social media comments, which crack me up. But I think when I found out that Lottie was going to die in the season, of course I was disappointed because I just loved playing her. If I'm really honest, I just love playing Lottie. So unpredictable. And she's so vital. And you don't know whether she's going to analyse you or laugh at you — or laugh with you. And I think that getting the opportunity as an actress in my late 40s, playing those characters, they don't come along very often. So when you get them, you grab them with both hands. And I got to really, really play in the world of Lottie, which was incredible. So, when they told me she was no longer, I just went 'okay'. It's that kind of show, right? It's Yellowjackets. So it's the kind of show, if you're going to die — and let me just say, I'm not the only main character that dies this season — so, I went with it. And it was just so great to film, and it was such amazing cast — and I just had the time of my life working on the show." On Juggling Lottie's Confidence and Her Vulnerabilities — Her Faith in the Wilderness, Too, and Her Desperate Need to Be Loved and Accepted "The first season was a lot tougher, because she was really unravelling — and we saw that through the flashbacks. Also, you don't know what's happened in the wilderness till you read the script or watch the episode for the younger characters. So you've got to really go with your gut instinct, because you get these new scripts and you're like 'oh my god, I did that?. Huh. Maybe I would have played that other scene differently had I known I did that'. I think as an actress, you have to have a well where you can tap, or a part of me that I can tap and go there, and there was some really vulnerable, fragile scenes this season — but mostly last season, too, where she was just haunted by her past and I really had to go there emotionally. I was away from my family — living in Vancouver, and hadn't seen my family for a long time. My two boys, because they're at school here, and my husband and everything. So I was able to really tap into the loneliness in myself. And the unknown. As an actress, you find the things that really resonate truthfully for yourself and then put it through the character's words, and that's where I go. And then you have to take it off. You go for a run, or you go and do a hot pilates class, or you drink some white wine. You just throw it at the wall and see what sticks. And she was vulnerable. Thank you for saying that, because that was something I really wanted to find in her this season — just lost, a bit out at sea." [caption id="attachment_995127" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jesse Grant[/caption] On How Kessell Approached Stepping Into Lottie's Shoes When Courtney Eaton Had Already Established the Character as a Teen "First of all, Courtney's a lot taller than me — so literally stepping into shoes that were a lot higher. And also I wanted to do Courtney justice as a young actress on the verge of her career, and a character that she had done such a beautiful job with setting up. I wanted to make sure I did it well out of respect for her craft and her work. But those are high stakes, and there's a lot of pressure. I mirrored a few of her mannerisms, and then I decided that 25 years ago — I don't know about you, but 25 years ago, I was very different to who I am today, so that gives you a lot of room to play. And Lottie was the queen of reinventing herself. In this season, yet again she reinvents herself. Yet another mask is put on Lottie. She's gone from spiritual guru cult leader to now sort of like a bit of a vagabond, a bit of a lost soul, finding shelter at Shauna's house, at the Sadeckis', when really she has a penthouse in New York. She's shoplifting even though she's probably worth $100 million. Things like that. So you just roll with it on the show, and you never know what the writers are going to throw at you, so you have to be open to all of those storylines. But yeah, it was big shoes — literally high shoes — to fill." [caption id="attachment_995129" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jesse Grant[/caption] On the Down Under Origins of Plenty of the Cast "Unfortunately I never got to work with Liv and Courtney, because they're in the different timeline. So it was often Melanie and I. And Melanie, even though she's been out of New Zealand maybe 25 years, has got a stronger accent than ever. And, because I'm me, I still fall on the ground — even though I when I get drunk, I speak like that. So she's got a great Kiwi accent and the two of us just chat, chat, chat, chat, chat away — and I can tell that the American and Canadian crew are like 'what are they saying? What are they talking about?'. And often, Melanie and I, I'd be like 'babe, how do I say this word?'. She's like 'oh, well, I think you say it like this'. And I was like 'okay, great, great, great'. And then occasionally our accents would drop and we'd laugh. But it's just lovely having someone, when you're so far away and you're working with such heightened characters, to have a confidant and have a best friend like I had with Melanie. She's not only an incredible actress, extraordinary talent, she's actually a really beautiful person. And that was that was a joy." On Why Kessell Thinks Yellowjackets Has Earned Such a Dedicated Following "I think the two timeframes make it — if you're not into the older timeline, then you've got the younger timeline. I think the fact that it twists and turns the way it does. I think the fact that it's set in the 90s, so for older audiences, they're like 'oh my god, I remember this song, I remember this time, I remember this'. So you can reminisce. And then it's also, I think, there's the part that you go 'oh my god, how would I be if my plane had crashed?'. And what we did to survive — that's kind of intriguing, because it could have happened to any one of us, right? And then it goes to a whole different level. So I think there is a part of us that's intrigued with the actual storyline and what happens to these girls, and do they get rescued or do they all go fucking crazy? And I guess the answer is the latter, and then we get to see it as older versions. I think the casting on the show is brilliant. I think everyone is like their younger selves, and I think there's a part of it that makes you go 'that really could have happened to me and what would I have done?' And 'if you're that hungry, what would you have done?'." [caption id="attachment_995130" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jesse Grant[/caption] On What Gets Kessell Excited About a New Role More Than Three Decades Into Her Career "I think the writing. And I think speaking to you, a journalist, you get that — when you read something that pops off the page and you can't stop reading it, as an actress that's everything to me. And then my mind starts going. I love picking up bits of people in my life, like a characteristic or a way someone tilts their head or eats their food or walks, all of those wonderful things that we instinctively do as human beings. So if I feel I can paint that into a character, then I get really excited. Then I'm like 'ooooh, this is a challenge. Oh my god, what's her voice? Where's she from? What's happened to her? Why is she doing what she's doing? Why is she behaving badly or why is she behaving this way?'. That's what gets me going. [caption id="attachment_894498" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lorenzo Agius/SHOWTIME.[/caption] And that's, I think, why I'm so sad to see the end of Lottie in Yellowjackets, because I got to do that — I got to play in that world for a long time. And there were no restrictions on me as an actress. I got to really dive deep and nothing was a no. When I asked them, I was like 'what if I tried this?'. And it's like 'yeah, go for it'. I think that's why that show is so successful, because we were given so much rope to play with and then, I guess, eventually, she hung himself with it, right? She didn't. That's not a spoiler." Yellowjackets season three streams via Paramount+ in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. Read our review of season one and review of season two, plus our interview with Melanie Lynskey. Yellowjackets stills: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.
From dead characters to killer plants, M Night Shyamalan's films are known for veering off in out-there directions, as everything from The Sixth Sense and The Village to The Happening and Split has shown. So, when a trailer for one of his movies drops, you can expect that it'll tease a strange twist. That's what the first sneak peek at Old did back in February, with the feature's new full trailer now fleshing out a few more details. As already established in the first 30-second clip, Old follows a family led by Gael García Bernal (Ema) and Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) as they head off on a beachside holiday. Finding a particularly secluded spot online, they lap up their scenic surroundings — even when a few more people show up. But then a dead body is spotted floating in the water, putting everyone on edge. Next, the couple's kids disappear behind a few rocks, only to return looking much older than they did mere seconds ago. There's an eerie tone to both the initial sneak peek and the new trailer, unsurprisingly. If you're wondering where Shyamalan will take the concept from there, you'll have to wait until the thriller releases in cinemas in July. The filmmaker has penned the movie's script, too; however, he's based it all Pierre Oscar Lévy and Frederik Peeters' graphic novel Sandcastle. Hoping that it turns out more like Unbreakable and less like The Visit is understandable. As well as Bernal and Krieps, Old has amassed a hefty cast, including Rufus Sewell (The Father), Alex Wolff (Hereditary), Australian actors Abbey Lee (Lovecraft Country) and Eliza Scanlen (Babyteeth), and New Zealand's Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) — the latter of whom will be hitting our screens a few times this year, given that she also stars in Last Night in Soho. If you're already getting big Lost vibes, Ken Leung (Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens) also features. And no, neither him nor any of his co-stars say "I see old people" in the new trailer. Hopefully that'll remain the same in the movie itself. Check out the new trailer below: Old opens in Australian cinemas on July 22. Top image: Universal Pictures.
The Office is reopening — in America, and in the same universe as the Steve Carell (Asteroid City)-led series dwelled in from 2005–13. It was back in 2023 that news dropped of a potential US reboot of the beloved sitcom, and now the project has been given the green light; however, the as-yet-untitled show isn't simply walking into Dunder Mifflin with new staff. Instead, US streaming service Peacock is staying in the same world as the Scranton-set show that itself was a remake — of the original UK version that arrived in 2001 — by moving the mockumentary format to a new workplace. This time, the same documentary crew who spent time with Michael Scott and company will focus on a dying newspaper office in America's midwest, where the publisher is trying to keep the business going with help from volunteer reporters. [caption id="attachment_765735" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Run, HBO[/caption] Leading the cast: Domhnall Gleeson, who co-starred with Carell on 2022's The Patient, plus Sabrina Impacciatore from The White Lotus season two. Who they're playing hasn't been revealed as yet. There's no character details at all so far, or anything more on the plot or fellow actors, but Greg Daniels — who created the US version of The Office to begin with, and has also been behind Space Force and Upload — is steering the project behind the camera with Nathan for You co-creator Michael Koman. "It's been more than ten years since the final episode of The Office aired on NBC, and the acclaimed comedy series continues to gain popularity and build new generations of fans on Peacock," said NBCUniversal Entertainment President Lisa Katz about the new series. "In partnership with Universal Television and led by the creative team of Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, this new series set in the universe of Dunder Mifflin introduces a new cast of characters in a fresh setting ripe for comedic storytelling: a daily newspaper." [caption id="attachment_870908" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The White Lotus, HBO[/caption] For everyone who has ever had a cringeworthy boss, annoying co-worker or soul-crushing office job, a truth remains apparent, then: this situation, which The Office franchise has understood for more than two decades now, shows no signs of fading away. As well as the UK and US versions so far, other international takes on the show have followed, including an in-the-works Australian series that'll mark the 13th iteration beyond Britain to-date. On its first go-around, the American The Office proved one of the rare instances where a TV remake is better than the original. It was also immensely easy to just keep rewatching, as fans have known for over a decade. Of course, that's what you get when you round up Carell, John Krasinski (Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan), Jenna Fischer (Splitting Up Together), Rainn Wilson (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), Mindy Kaling (Velma), Ed Helms (Rutherford Falls), Ellie Kemper (Happiness for Beginners), Craig Robinson (Killing It) and more in the same show, and let all of them break out their comedic best. There's no sneak peek at the new The Office spinoff so far — it doesn't start production until July — but, in the interim, you can check out a couple clips from the US version below: The new spinoff of the US version of The Office doesn't have a release date yet — we'll update you with more information when it is announced. The Office Australia will stream via Prime Video sometime in 2024 — we'll update you with an exact launch date when one is announced.
There are 8222 islands within Australia's watery borders. You could spend your entire life hopping from one to another and never quite make them all (well, unless you're very, very quick). So, we thought we'd save you some time and handpick ten of the best. They should at least get you started. Next time you start imagining yourself on a white-sanded beach with quokkas close by, sea lions in the distance and your desk a few hundred kilometres away, these are the spots to catch a boat/plane/ferry to. Remember: when you leave the mainland, you leave all your worries there, too. From pristine beaches and bountiful wine regions to alpine hideaways and bustling country towns, Australia has a wealth of places to explore at any time of year. We've put together a list of some of our favourite island escapes — no passport or immense jet lag required. [caption id="attachment_688571" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul Ewart/Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] NORTH STRADBROKE ISLAND, QLD Located 25 minutes by ferry off the Queensland coast, Stradbroke Island is an easy day trip from Brisbane. It's the second biggest sand island in the world after Fraser Island (more on that later). For swimming in gentle waves, head to idyllic Cylinder Beach; for wilder surf, make your destination 38-kilometre-long Main Beach. Overnight stays include beach camping, as well as an array of cottages, hotels and B&Bs. Just north of Straddie is Moreton Island, a wonderland of long beaches, clear lakes and a national park. And, consider sleeping over at Tangalooma, an eco-friendly resort where you can hand-feed wild dolphins and swim around a shipwreck. [caption id="attachment_688550" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trevor King/Destination NSW[/caption] LORD HOWE ISLAND, NSW Just 11 kilometres long and two kilometres wide, Lord Howe, a two-hour flight east of Sydney, is explorable within a few days. Whenever you travel, you won't have to fear tourist crowds: only 400 visitors are permitted at any one time and the population was just 382 at last count back in 2016. Prepare to have pretty beaches, spectacular diving sites and rugged terrain all to yourself. Among the best adventures are the Mount Gower Trail, a steep, eight-hour trek that carries you 875 metres above sea level, and Erscott's Hole, a natural wonder where you can snorkel among staghorn coral, bluefish and double-headed wrasse. [caption id="attachment_688568" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Khy Orchard/Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] MAGNETIC ISLAND, QLD There are hundreds of islands in the Great Barrier Reef area, offering everything from secluded campsites to five-star luxury resorts. But, for convenience, outdoor adventures and, most importantly, koala spotting, Magnetic Island is hard to go past. You'll find it just 20 minutes from Townsville. Get active with sea kayaking tours and yoga classes, get artsy at beachside markets and galleries or relax at stunning beaches like Horseshoe Bay. If you're keen to venture further, jump aboard a Great Barrier Reef snorkelling, diving or sightseeing tour. [caption id="attachment_688400" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Isaac Forman/SA Tourism Commission[/caption] KANGAROO ISLAND, SA With a whopping 509 kilometres of coastline, Kangaroo Island could have you exploring for weeks. The island was pretty badly affected by bushfires back in 2020, but this guide will help you navigate — including which businesses to support. To get there, take a 45-minute ferry ride from Cape Jervis, on the Fleurieu Peninsula, around 100 kilometres south of Adelaide. Then gear up to share your holiday with sea lions, fur seals, little penguins, echidnas, koalas and, you guessed it, kangaroos. The island is a haven for creatures who've struggled to survive elsewhere, especially Australian sea lions, who were hunted to the brink of extinction in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are numerous national parks and conservation areas, and the over 4000-strong population is big on food and wine. ROTTNEST ISLAND, WA This island is a 90-minute ferry ride from Barrack Street Jetty, Perth, or 25 minutes from Fremantle. Like Kangaroo Island, Rottnest has given a big dose of much-needed love to our wild creatures, particularly quokkas, which now number 12,000 or so. Dedicate some time to spotting them (though please don't go touching, patting or feeding), before visiting pristine beaches — such as The Basin, where you'll find an underwater playground, and Little Parakeet Bay, backdropped by striking rock formations. [caption id="attachment_724590" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria[/caption] PHILLIP ISLAND, VIC Phillip Island's biggest drawcard is its penguin parade. Every night, at sunset, the island's resident little penguins return to their terrestrial homes, having spent the day out and about fishing. Beyond wildlife watching, go wine and craft beer tasting, bliss out with a massage or spa treatment, or conquer a trail on foot — such as the Cape Woolamai Walk, which traverses dramatic clifftops along Phillip's southernmost point. Find suggestions on where to eat, drink and stay in our guide. Unlike all the other islands on this list, you can reach this one by road: it's around 90 minutes south of Melbourne. [caption id="attachment_770035" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Australia[/caption] BRUNY ISLAND, TAS Bruny feels completely remote, yet it's just a 20-minute ferry ride from the coast and, with driving time added, 50 minutes from Hobart. The beauty of this proximity to the city is that, despite all the wilderness, you can find some top nosh: for fish and chips head to Jetty Cafe; for pub grub swing by Hotel Bruny; for cheese visit Bruny Island Cheese Company; and for a tipple, there's the Bruny Island House of Whisky. Meanwhile, nature lovers will find white wallabies at Inala Nature Reserve, windswept headlands at Cape Bruny Lighthouse and head-clearing watery views at Cloudy Bay. [caption id="attachment_688565" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Matt Raimondo/Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] K'GARI (FRASER ISLAND), QLD World Heritage-listed K'gari (Fraser Island) is the biggest sand island in the world. There are 184,000 hectares of the stuff, comprising of 72 different colours and mostly in the form of magnificent dunes, many of which are covered in rainforest. If you've time on your hands, take on the Great Walk, an eight-day epic that visits many of Fraser's 100 freshwater lakes. If not, jump aboard a 4WD and cruise along 75 Mile Beach, take a dip at Champagne Pools along the way and pay a visit to awe-inspiring Boorangoora(Lake McKenzie), a perched lake made up of rainwater and soft silica sand. [caption id="attachment_688583" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andrew Wilson/Tourism Tasmania[/caption] KING ISLAND, TASMANIA You might have no idea where this island is, but you've no doubt seen its cheese at your local supermarket. King Island Dairy's decadent triple cream brie is an Aussie gourmet staple. But it's far from the only treat you'll be sampling in this lush place, which lies in the Bass Strait, halfway between Victoria and Tassie. Count, too, on super-fresh seafood, flavourful beef and a cornucopia of produce from local growers. When you're finished feasting, stroll along the white sands of Disappointment Bay, visit a 7000-year-old calcified forest and go horse riding by the sea. [caption id="attachment_688591" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Coral Coast Tourism[/caption] ABROLHOS ISLANDS, WA The Houtman Abrolhos isn't just an island, it's an archipelago. There are 122 isles that make up the marvel, more or less clustered in three groups, across 100 kilometres. They lie around 60 kilometres off the Coral Coast, west of Geraldton, which is four hours' drive north of Perth. Lose yourself snorkelling or diving among colourful coral, spotting Australian sea lions and looking out for more than 90 species of seabirds, including majestic white-breasted sea eagles. For mind-blowing views, jump aboard a scenic flight. Top image: Lord Howe Island, tom-archer.com via Destination NSW
Visit the Chau Chak Wing Museum for an expedition back to one of the world's oldest civilisations. The Egyptian Galleries brings ancient Egypt to life with two imaginative (and free) exhibits that explore the culture's lasting legacy. The Mummy Room weaves together archaeological artefacts and modern science to showcase the lives of four different Egyptians. The exhibit features the coffins and mummified bodies of Meruah, Padiashaikhet, Horus and Mer-Neith-it-es, who lived in Egypt between 1200 BCE and 100 CE, and uses innovative CT technology to uncover previously indiscernible details about their health and lifestyles. Accompanying the captivating exhibit is Pharaonic Obsessions, which highlights the Egyptomania that swept Australia in the 19th century. On display are a range of ancient Egyptian artefacts collected by different Australians, such as ornate funerary objects and decorative tiles and columns. While you're there, check out the museum's other art, science and history exhibits — all of which you can explore for free. Get more details on The Egyptian Galleries and other exhibits at the Chau Chak Wing Museum's website.
In 2020, the Melbourne International Film Festival hosted its largest festival to-date — when it came to the size of its audience, that is. Taking place last August when the city was in lockdown, the fest attracted plenty of eyeballs to its online-only lineup. This year, however, Melburnian movie buffs will also be able to head to a cinema to get their film fix. MIFF isn't ditching digital in 2021, though. Instead, it's going hybrid — so watching at home from wherever you happen to be around the country and attending in-person in Victoria will both be options. Just what will be available virtually and what you'll need to see in a theatre hasn't been revealed, but the fest has just announced 32 titles that it'll be showing one way or another between Thursday, August 5–Sunday, August 22. Also, this year's MIFF will be expanding its physical footprint, hitting up not only the usual CBD venues but also suburban and regional spots as well. As for what you'll be seeing, so far the festival has named a hefty number of homegrown movies. Topping the list: the supremely powerful opening night pick The Drover's Wife The Legend Of Molly Johnson, which'll become the first movie by a female Indigenous filmmaker to ever open the fest. Directed by and starring Leah Purcell (Wentworth), the film will launch MIFF 2021 in quite the potent fashion, with this exceptional reimagining of Henry Lawson's 1892 short story making its Aussie premiere after initially debuting at SXSW back in March. Purcell first turned The Drover's Wife into a play and then a book, and thankfully she isn't done forcing audiences to reckon with the country's colonial history and its impact upon First Nations peoples and women just yet. Another big Australian name, and one that'll bow at MIFF after playing at the Cannes Film Festival: the already-controversial Nitram. Read the movie's title backwards and you'll know why it has sparked a reaction long before it even hits the screen. Here, Snowtown and True Story of the Kelly Gang filmmaker Justin Kurzel and screenwriter Shaun Grant reunite on a drama about the lead up to the events in Port Arthur 25 years ago — with Caleb Landry Jones (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) playing the titular figure. [caption id="attachment_815946" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Nitram[/caption] Other notable local titles include Anonymous Club, a Courtney Barnett-centric documentary about creativity; political thriller Lone Wolf, which stars Tilda Cobham-Hervey (Hotel Mumbai), Stephen Curry (June Again) and Hugo Weaving (Hearts and Bones); and Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, which chronicles Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter's performance with Paul Grabowsky's Australian Art Orchestra, and comes to MIFF at around the same time as it'll screen at this year's Sydney Film Festival. This year, the two events overlap — SFF is being held two months later than usual — so cinephiles can expect the fests to share more a few more movies in common than usual. From MIFF's international slate, Petit Mamam leads the bill — and, given that it's the latest film from Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Céline Sciamma, it's an instant must-see. Other standouts include tweet-to-screen comedy Zola, Oscar-nominee Quo Vadis, Aida?, Japanese relationship drama Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy and documentary Hopper/Welles, which charts a boozy 70s conversation between Dennis Hopper and Orson Welles. MIFF will also screen Pedro Almodóvar's (Pain and Glory) latest, a short called The Human Voice that stars Tilda Swinton, and also marks the Spanish auteur's English-language debut. And, it'll host a Hear My Eyes session as the fest often does, this time screening Aussie great Two Hands. The full festival lineup will be revealed on Tuesday, July 13, which is when you'll be able to start planning out your August viewing schedule — and your trips between the fest's 2021 venues, which include Comedy Theatre, the Forum, RMIT Capitol Theatre, ACMI, Kino Cinemas, Hoyts Melbourne Central, Coburg Drive-In, The Astor, Palace Cinemas Pentridge, The Sun Theatre and Lido Cinemas. The 2021 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 5 to Sunday, August 22 at a variety of venues around Melbourne. For further details, including the full program from Tuesday, July 13, visit the MIFF website.
Parties, art, music, performances, food, stripping bare for a swim to celebrate the winter solstice: that's the Dark Mofo way, and so is weaving its anything-can-happen vibe, its beloved regular highlights, and its array of expectation-exploding shows and events into a ritual as much as a festival. The Tasmanian winter arts fest is a place to commune, with attendees and with its boundary-pushing program alike. Challenge, confrontation, evoking a strong response: Dark Mofo is a place for that, too. The festival sat out 2024, spending the time to regroup for the future ahead instead. Late that year, it announced its return for 2025, however. The full program will be unveiled at the beginning of April, but organisers have already announced the first new work. When attendees look at Nathan Maynard's We threw them down the rocks where they had thrown the sheep, they won't forget it. Set to premiere at Dark Mofo 2025 — which runs from Thursday, June 5–Sunday, June 15, 2025, except for the Nude Solstice Swim on Saturday, June 21 — the new commission by the multidisciplinary Trawlwoolway artist will take over a Hobart CBD basement. Inside, expect a commentary on cultural theft and erasure via Maynard's mass installation, using sheep heads to make a statement. "Languishing in museums and their storerooms are the remains of ancestors of First Nations people from all around our globe. They have been stripped of identity and, without consent, treated like specimens for study and scientific inquiry," explains the artist. "We threw them down the rocks where they had thrown the sheep speaks to the sadistic power white institutions flex when they deny First Nations people the humanity of putting our ancestor's remains to rest in the physical and the spiritual." When Dark Mofo's 2025 comeback was first revealed, so were the returns of a number of its beloved festivities: the aforementioned Nude Solstice Swim; Night Mass, which fills downtown Hobart with art and music; culinary highlight Winter Feast, which popped up in 2024 despite the festival around it taking a break; and the Ogoh-Ogoh. If you're wondering if the world missed Dark Mofo, the response to Night Mass alone so far says it all. When 6000 pre-release tickets were made available late in 2024, they were snapped up in less than four hours. "Taking the year off in 2024 was a difficult decision, but Dark Mofo is back with renewed energy and focus, ready to deliver an enormous program spanning two packed weeks this June," notes Dark Mofo's new Artistic Director Chris Twite. "It was encouraging to sell over 6000 Night Mass tickets in less than four hours during our pre-release late last year, indicating that demand for the festival remains strong. We are hoping for a similar response when we release the full program on the 4th April." Back in November, Twite gave a few more hints at what's in store this year. "Dark Mofo is back. For our 11th chapter, once more we'll bathe the city in red and deliver two weeks of inspiring art, music and ritual," he advised when announcing the event's 2025 dates. "Night Mass is a beast, and this year it will evolve once more — worming its way through the city with new spaces, performances and experiences to dance, explore or crawl your way through." Dark Mofo returns from Thursday, June 5–Sunday, June 15, 2025 and for the Nude Solstice Swim on Saturday, June 21. Head to the festival's website for further details — and check back here on Friday, April 4, 2025 for the full lineup. We threw them down the rocks where they had thrown the sheep images: Jesse Hunniford, 2025. Image courtesy of Dark Mofo 2025. Night Mass images: Jesse Hunniford and Andy Hatton, 2023, courtesy of Dark Mofo 2023. Winter Feast images: Jesse Hunniford, 2023, courtesy of Dark Mofo 2023. Nude Solstice Swim images: Rémi Chauvin, 2023, courtesy of Dark Mofo 2023.
Mega precinct Darling Square just keeps on expanding, with another three retailers now open and two more to follow later this month. The most exciting of these is the long-awaited opening of Kuon Omakase, an 11-seat Japanese restaurant. Here Head Chef Fukada San serves up a 20-course ($180) menu of sushi and sashimi, while patrons sit at the kitchen counter and watch the chef in action. The seasonal menu changes daily and an optional wine or sake pairing can be added, too. Bookings here are a must, with only one lunch sitting (12–2pm) and two dinner sittings (6pm and 8pm) each day. Then, there's Spago, an Italian restaurant that hails from The Hill and is headed by Chef Eddie Leung. It's now open within the Maker's Dozen food court inside The Exchange building. Expect freshly made pasta dishes, with the majority under $20. Build-your-own bowls — with sauces including boscaiola, salsiccia, amatriciana and carbonara — are also on the docket. [caption id="attachment_780910" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Toastiesmith[/caption] Meanwhile, Tumbalong Boulevard now boasts Jackpot Hotpot, a casino-themed, Macau-style hotpot restaurant. It offers seven different broths — including lobster and veggie varieties — made in-house daily. Build your bowl with dozens of premium ingredients, including lobster, abalone, wagyu, lamb and kurobuta pork, plus heaps of vegetables. There's also an extensive booze list featuring wine, sake and whisky, too. And Steam Mill Lane is also now home to Hachi, a dog spa, boutique and cafe. Get your pet professionally groomed, then pick up some clothing and accessories and head to the photo studio. With your fresh snaps in tow, grab your pooch a special treat from the cafe. Opening later this month within Maker's Dozen is Toastiesmith, a sanga-themed cafe offering up 12 different varieties, including roast beef, pork katsu and grilled fish, all topped with an egg omelette. Drinks include coffees, smoothies and house-made sodas. Joining Toastiesmith in late-August is another outpost of stalwart Pancakes on The Rocks, and it'll serve up an all-day menu of diner favourites. To check the new venues' opening hours, head over to the Darling Square website. Top images: Hachi and Jackpot Hotpot.
Some museums are filled with art. Others are dedicated to interesting pieces of history. The National Communication Museum in Melbourne, Australia's latest, falls into the second category. It's also a museum with a hyper-specific focus, celebrating the technology that's allowed humanity to interact and, in the process, shaped how we engage with each other. Rotary phones, cyber cafes, MSN Messenger: they all get a nod here. Opening to the public on Saturday, September 21, 2024, and marking the first new major museum in Melbourne for more than two decades — since the Melbourne Museum launched — the National Communication Museum lives and breathes nostalgia, then. Phone boxes, burger phones, the speaking clock that you could call to get the time and only shut down in Australia in 2019: they receive some love as well. But this space isn't solely about looking backwards, with peering forwards also part of its remit. Yes, that means grappling with what artificial intelligence might mean for communication in the future. Emily Siddon, NCM's Co-Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director, calls the two-level Hawthorn site "a trip down memory lane", but also notes how it looks at the present and what might come. "The technologies featured in NCM were developed in response to the innate human need to communicate and connect — yesterday, today and tomorrow," she explains. "It also answers the pressing questions about communication technology today. Things like: how far away are we from uploading our consciousness? How am I tracked and where does my data go? And how can I tell real from fake or human from machine?". Across an array of rooms featuring both permanent and temporary exhibitions — located in an old 1930s telephone exchange building, which includes a working historical telephone exchange — visitors can dive into First Nations storytelling, celebrate the speaking clock, explore a 90s-era internet cafe and check out an interactive display that takes its cues from regional Australia's phone booths. There's also a section dedicated to research, spanning both successful and unsuccessful ideas, plus launch exhibitions dedicated to surveillance, the human-made satellites sent into space to circle the earth and the infrastructure underpinning digital communication. Find the National Communication Museum at 375 Burwood Road, Hawthorn, from Saturday, September 21, 2024 — open 10am–5pm Wednesday–Sunday. Head to the venue's website for more details. Images: Casey Horsfield.
Earlier this morning we reported that the NSW government was set to announce some pretty big reforms to the taxi industry, namely ones that would see Uber legalised throughout the state. Originally reported by The Daily Telegraph late last night, the news that the NSW government was stepping up to meet the ride sharing service halfway so soon after the New South Wales Road and Maritime Services effectively put the company on notice was surprising — and, it seems, not entirely accurate. As brought to our attention by ABC News, NSW Premier Mike Baird was quick to shoot down any claims that a final decision on Uber's legal-ness has been made. Speaking to Sydney radio station 2UE this morning, Baird said that the claims — which were picked up by The Guardian, 9 News and us — jumped the gun a little. "What we've agreed to do is to have this issue looked at, and Gary Sturgess, who's obviously well respected in public policy, has looked at this issue for us and prepared a report and made some recommendations," Baird told 2UE. "That report will be considered as part of the due process of government and it will go to Cabinet in good time, and when that is done we’ll have much more to say about it." Until then, Uber. Via ABC News.
Already in 2023, streaming viewers have watched Sam Richardson get spiteful in one of the most kindhearted sitcoms in recent years, and get nominated for his second Emmy for it. They've witnessed him host oh-so-silly game shows, too. It isn't just Ted Lasso and I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson that've been keeping him on-screen, but also rom-com Somebody I Used to Know and voicing Shaggy in new Scooby Doo take Velma. Only The Afterparty, which returned to Apple TV+ for season two on Wednesday, July 12, has him playing buddy cop with Tiffany Haddish, however. Actually, The Afterparty has the ever-busy Richardson playing a wealth of roles, but only stepping into one character's shoes. Aniq Adjaye is a wedding guest, doting boyfriend and eager-to-please potential future son-in-law. He's the guy who finally made good on his high-school crush at his reunion in season one, after getting accused of murder when a classmate would up dead at, yes, the afterparty. And, he's whatever his fellow revellers see — because this murder-mystery comedy from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street, and The Lego Movie's Christopher Miller is a whodunnit about perspective. The clever, inventive and entertaining twist? Every episode not only takes a different character's viewpoint, but filters their recollections through a parody of a different genre. Sometimes, then, Richardson dives into a romantic comedy within the ensemble murder-mystery comedy. That's what the show's two Aniq-centric episodes — the opening chapters of both 2022's season one and now 2023's season two — have delivered, and delightfully. Richardson is the series' lead no matter which on-screen figure's memories guide each instalment, though, teaming up with Haddish's (The Card Counter) Danner to interrogate his fellow partygoers. So, sometimes Richardson is also plunged into the world of action. Or, he's whisked into a musical, a teen drama or police procedural. In season two, the list includes a Jane Austen-style period romance, both Hitchcockian and erotic thrillers, Wes Anderson's aesthetic and film noir. The Afterparty's second go-around takes Aniq and his other half Zoe (Zoe Chao, Party Down) to her younger sister Grace's (Poppy Liu, Dead Ringers) nuptials to the wealthy-but-awkward Edgar (Zach Woods, Avenue 5). After the ceremony, then the reception, then the post-proceedings, there's a body, a winery full of suspects and questions to ask. There's also Richardson proving as versatile as ever, a skill that's served him exceptionally on everything from underseen Tim Robinson-costarring comedy Detroiters to stealing scenes upon scenes as Veep's Richard Splett — plus a six-episode run on The Office, cinema stints as varied as Spy and Promising Young Woman; and Werewolves Within and Hocus Pocus 2 as well. With The Afterparty season two now streaming, Richardson chatted us through the joy of the show's comedic layers, his odd-couple dynamic with Haddish, living the murder-mystery dream as a big fan of the genre, how he'd respond if one of the series' situations crossed over to his real life, I Think You Should Leave's unhinged reactions and more. ON MAKING A MURDER-MYSTERY COMEDY THAT'S ALSO A ROM-COM, AN ENSEMBLE COMEDY AND A SPOOF OF EVERY GENRE IT CAN FIT IN "There's so much that I love about all these things. I'm a big fan of a murder-mystery — Sam Richardson is. I'm a big fan of a rom-com. And I'm a big fan of an ensemble comedy. So the show is all three of those things. So I got to do that the first season, and then the second season we get to heighten all of that. Now Aniq is investigating not just to protect himself, but to try to figure out actually who the murderer is with him outside the gaze of suspicion. He's now trying to solve this mystery, and also his retelling of the story is a rom-com sequel. So now everything's all heightened when he's telling the story — big setpieces and big physical-comedy bits. That's a really fun thing for me to do, and to get to work with the new cast — everybody's so funny —and all these new genres." ON MAKING A BUDDY-COP COMEDY WITH TIFFANY HADDISH, TOO "They're an unlikely pair [Aniq and Danner], but it turns out they're good partners. One balances the other. And getting to perform with Tiffany — she's so funny. So it's good to play off of that dynamic and that energy. It was such a great thing to do and to get to play with. The two of them — her methods are unorthodox at first, and then his methods are maybe a little sloppy. So together they're able to get through this thing, but [make] an unlikely pair." ON TICKING MURDER-MYSTERY OFF THE ACTING BUCKET LIST "There's nothing more fun than being the one to get to put the pieces together at the end of the mystery — that sort of monologue that Sherlock Holmes has where he explains all the pieces that he's seen, that you've seen as the audience, but now I'm giving you the grand thing, the Colombo sort of speech, the "one more thing, you thought I didn't know this, but ha!". Getting to be in that role is a dream come true for me." ON THE CHALLENGES AND FUN OF JUMPING BETWEEN GENRES FROM EPISODE TO EPISODE "It's definitely both, because you are getting pulled in a bunch of different ways. But that is the fun of it, because you get to explore your character and these genres from all these different perspectives. As an acting exercise, and as a challenge to an actor, you get to say not only 'what is the perspective of this character whose story I'm in, the person who's telling the story, what's their perspective on me?' but also 'what is the trope of this genre?'. 'What is this character in a film noir? And who who is the person within that trope? Who is this person in this Jane Austen story? What is that person in this trope?' But then also at the same time, 'what does the character telling the story think of me? Does this person think I'm untrustworthy? Do they think that I'm a weak person? Do they think that I'm more maybe more bold than I am? Do they think that I'm behaving surreptitiously?'. So that's a fun thing to explore in a show like this." ON THE BEST GENRE TO DIVE INTO SO FAR — AND A DREAM PICK FOR THE FUTURE "I really do love the the big rom-com sequel that I got to do this season — big set pieces and physical comedy. I also really enjoyed the Wes Anderson-style episode, the costumes of the Jane Austen [episode]. Each one has it's [merits] — it's so hard to pick one. But if there was another genre that I would want to do, it'd would be a kung-fu movie. That would be so much fun." ON PLAYING OLD HIGH-SCHOOL BUDDIES WITH SEASON ONE'S CAST — THEN STRANGERS AT A WEDDING WITH SEASON TWO'S "The first season, the cast, and getting to play with that cast, was terrific. And then also the idea that you have this shared history and so you're looking back on these relationships that you've had — but what's the dynamic now? — was such a great thing to get to do. So in this season, there are some dynamics that have existed before. But for Aniq especially, he's meeting so many people for the first time. And so getting to be introduced to these characters, and then to get to work with some of these actors for the first time as well, it was such a great fertile playground for reactions. You're absorbing these people for the first time — whereas on the other side of the coin, you get to fall back on 'oh, this guy behaves like this and I know they do'; this time, you get to be like 'this guy behaves like this, what are they doing?'. So it's two sides of the coin, but the coin is still 25 cents." ON HOW RICHARDSON WOULD REACT IF HE WAS LIVING A MURDER-MYSTERY IRL "I fear that day happening greatly. But I do wonder how I would react, because you want to hope that you'd be bold and be like 'no, it has to have been this'. And you'd answer all the things. I myself, I do like to solve things. So I really would be trying to look at things objectively and be like 'well, no it couldn't have been this because these three people were here at this time, that person was there, and I know they were, and they said that before'. That's kind of how I approach things anyway, so I think if somebody got murdered in my high school, I'd figure out who it was." [caption id="attachment_903580" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Netflix © 2023[/caption] ON WHAT RICHARDSON LOOKS FOR IN A ROLE "Good money. I look for, you know, does it pay my insurance? I am entirely joking — but also not. I really just like characters who have very fun wants, and characters who are able to react to things. So for I Think You Should Leave — I Think You Should Leave is its own sort of thing. That's my best friend's show, and it's sketch, and I very much love sketch and I love playing these characters who have wants that are a little bit unrealistic, and then the reaction to not getting those wants is also unhinged. That's a fun thing to get to do. But then with with shows like Detroiters, the wants there are to spend time with your best friend and represent your city in the best way. I think it ultimately comes down to wants — the interestingness of what characters want, and getting to see how these characters go about trying to achieve them, is what I look for most." Season two of The Afterparty streams via Apple TV+ from Wednesday, July 12. Read our full review of season two.
If it's true that the things that don't kill you only serve to make you stronger, we can all expect Melbourne's Rising festival to come out fighting fit for its long-awaited premiere run this year. After COVID-19 unravelled its planned 2020 debut, then returned to cancel all but opening night of its 2021 program, the blockbuster citywide multi-arts festival will this year, finally, get its moment. As announced today, Rising is set to descend on Melbourne from Wednesday, June 1–Sunday, June 12. Determined to make this third time a charm, the festival is delivering a hefty, carefully-honed program of art, music and performance. "Overall, we're expecting one million people to experience Rising across 225 events, with over 800 artists involved," festival co-director Gideon Obarzanek tells Concrete Playground. Over 12 days and nights, those artists will transform the streets and spaces of Melbourne into their canvases and stages, serving up a diverse, supersized culture fix to kickstart winter. With borders reopened, a stack more international names have been able to join the bill, too. [caption id="attachment_846653" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Wilds, 2021[/caption] While the program has evolved and morphed since last year, some of its key experiences are built on return concepts. "The Wilds and Golden Square are the two big pillar pieces," explains co-director Hannah Fox. "But a lot of the content within those projects is new." The Wilds will return to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, this time dishing up a fluorescent-tinged fusion of art, sound and flavour courtesy of renowned New York-based Aussie artists Tin & Ed. It'll play host to performances, quirky large-scale structures, and an ice-skating rink beating to the sound of 80s and 90s bangers. Exceptional eats here include snacks from the likes of 1800 Lasagne and Smith & Daughters, and a 'glowing glasshouse bistro' manned by celebrated chefs David Moyle, Jo Barrett and Matt Stone. [caption id="attachment_846649" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul Yore's 2018 work 'It's All Wrong But It's Alright'. Credit Rémi Chauvin.[/caption] Golden Square will again transform a multi-storey Chinatown carpark into a vibrant, sensorial art park, featuring parades, rooftop bars and a compelling site-wide exhibition from artists like Paul Yore, Scotty So, Atong Atem and Jason Phu. Patricia Piccinini's otherworldy exhibition A Miracle Constantly Repeated will continue its popular run, gracing the Flinders Street Ballroom until the festival's end on June 12. Leading audio-visual artist Robin Fox is also creating a mesmerising laser and sound work, Monochord, that will beam one kilometre along the Yarra each night. And, thanks to Keith Courtney, one of the folks behind House of Mirrors and 1000 Doors, a 20-metre-long kaleidoscopic labyrinth will invite attendees to immerse themselves in a playground of mazes and light. [caption id="attachment_846648" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Robin Fox's work MONOCHORD[/caption] Gig-starved music-lovers can expect a smorgasbord of sonic delights throughout the fest, as international names like Moses Sumney, Welsh electro star Kelly Lee Owens and the multi-talented Andy Shauf join homegrown talent including renowned drummer Jim White, Tkay Maidza, Harvey Sutherland and the legendary Sampa the Great. Meanwhile, a diverse program of dance performances will share stories from around the world, with unmissable works from the likes of Stephanie Lake Company, Denmark's Mette Ingvartsen, Indonesian choreographer Rianto and Uruguay's Tamara Cubas. Legendary text-based artist Jenny Holzer will transform a 19th-century building facade with her six-storey projection work I CONJURE, too — and for The Invisible Opera, the constant buzz of Federation Square will be mapped in real-time, creating an immersive multi-disciplinary performance piece. [caption id="attachment_846654" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tkay Maidza[/caption] Jurrungu ngan-ga (meaning 'straight talk') explores refugee detention and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in custody via a captivating, culture-bridging dance performance by the Marrugeku crew. Plus, the return of the famed Melbourne Art Trams will showcase six trams emblazoned with designs by First Peoples artists, alongside a reproduction of the 1991 tram work by acclaimed artist, painter and sculptor Lin Onus. And, nodding to one of the city's greatest sporting loves, there's the work that has Hannah Fox most excited, Still Lives. "It's a performance we commissioned back in 2020, which is now going to take place in the NGV, in the Great Hall," the festival director explains. "It's essentially two artists, Luke George and Daniel Kok, who are working with five retired AFL players to suspend them in rope bondage from the ceiling… in the form of an iconic mark from the AFL's history. Yeah, I'm very excited for that." Rising will run from Wednesday, June 1–Sunday, June 12 at venues and public spaces across Melbourne. Presale tickets are available from 12pm on Monday, March 21, with regular tickets selling from 12pm on Friday, March 25.
Small wine bars might be all the rage in Sydney right now, but Mudgee’s had it covered since 1923. Back when we were cruising around in Ford Model Ts, a 22-year-old by the name of Robert Roth bought a terrace on Market Street. He turned it into a general store, selling the odd tipple on-the-sly to a particularly parched farmer or two. But the authorities pressed him to go legal and NSW welcomed one of its first-ever wine bars. He must’ve known what he was doing. Ninety-one years later, I’m here on a Saturday evening, and Roth’s Wine Bar (30 Market St, Mudgee; (02) 6372 1222) is buzzing. It’s part Sydney-sass and part Melbourne-funky. Think candles, couches, live music and an easy-to-chat-to crowd. You can buy beverages with genuinely country names like 1080 (yes, it’s also a fox bait) and Lucjet, plus there’s an extensive, 80 percent local wine list. ORGANIC AND LOCAVORE In fact, drinking and eating locavore-style is what this town is all about. Just ask David Lowe. Not only is he a sixth-generation Mudgeean, he’s also a passionate advocate of intelligent farming and regionalism — and the man behind Lowe Wines (Tinja Lane, Mudgee; (02) 6372 0800). They’re certified organic and biodynamic. “I’ve only ever wanted to be a winemaker,” he says. “It’s what gets me up in the morning.” When David was just 14, he started digging out the cellar by hand. A visit is not merely a tasting; it’s an immersive experience. The spacious cellar door offers views over the vineyards and a 40-minute self-guided walking trail incorporating a biodynamic compost, rescue donkeys and a recycled ‘chook palace’. The events menu, coordinated by David’s partner and food legend Kim Currie varies from ten-course vintage birthdays (the next one’s coming up on April 12) to monthly, often sold-out winemakers tables to Iron Chef-inspired comps. THE GRAPE PIONEERS Lowe Wines is but one of 40 wineries in the Mudgee locale, where winemaking’s been going on for 150 years. That’s more variety than most mortals can handle over the course of a boozy weekend — but without the crowds, bucks’ parties and mini-buses that tend to frequent bigger regions like the Hunter. Most winemakers still have time to chat at the cellar door. At Vinifera (194 Henry Lawson Drive, Mudgee; (02) 6372 2461), where Spanish wines are the specialty, Debbie McKendry tells me that she and her husband Tony planted the vineyards in 1994. “Our first grapes were tempranillo, chardonnay and cabernet,” she recalls. “At that stage nobody knew what tempranillo was. There were only about four people with it. We decided that Mudgee had a similar climate to the Rioja region in northern Spain and that it would be something different.” I try a dark, tangy, spicy Gran Tinto (a combination of ganarcha, graciano, tempicynillo and cabernet sauvignon) and an excellent, marmalade-y, apricot-y dessert wine dubbed ‘Easter Semillon’. Outside, the sunny lawns tempt a lazy afternoon of badminton, croquet and Jenga. There are more drops to sample, however, so move on I must. In fact, the Vinifera property is also home to Mudgee’s first boutique distillery, Baker Williams ((02) 6373 9332). Distiller Nathan Williams and his partner Helen developed a “fascination” for high-quality spirits and liqueurs while travelling in the US. They set up Baker Williams in December 2012 and, in a short time, have developed a well-balanced yet fittingly indulgent butterscotch schnapps, a refreshing coffee liqueur sourced from local beans and a rouge vert jus. The “first ferment of whiskey is out the back,” Nathan tells me. “We’ll be starting distillation next week.” Vinifera’s Mediterranean focus is also shared at Di Lusso (Eurunderee Lane, Mudgee; (02) 6373 3125) and Mansfield (Eurunderee Lane, Mudgee; (02) 6373 3871). The former is a specialist in all-things Italian. Think a seasonal menu, woodfired pizzas and impeccably landscaped grounds. Plus, they've recently released an exceptional vermentino reserve. The latter presents a complex tasting list visiting a diverse array of grapes and crossing the entire Mediterranean. Current standout is the 2010 touriga nacional, a Portugese drop. For further wine adventures, there’s Moothi Estate (85 Rocky Waterhole Road, Mudgee; (02) 6372 2925), which lies southeast of the town and is one of Mudgee’s highest vineyards. The food platters are generous and the pinot grigio particularly drinkable. Just off the Castlereagh Highway, stop into Optimiste (Horseflat Lane, Mullamuddy; 0428 640 800), where an entire homestead is dedicated to tasting. So you can kick back on a couch in the loungeroom, or on the shady verandah, trying up to 11 different grape varieties. Potentially dangerous if you’re on the way home to Sydney. CUTE CAFES WITHOUT THE QUEUES Having had a coffee in three different cafes, I’m wondering if the barista police deal out especially harsh penalties around here. Standards are astoundingly high. A local blend from Yarrabin Road Roasters is on the menu at intimate, French-style cafe-by-day, wine-bar-by-night Alby + Esthers (61 Market St, Mudgee; (02) 6372 1555). It’s chocolatey, spicy and has its origins in Brazil, Ethiopia, Columbia and Sumatra. The bigger, eclectically outfitted Butcher Shop Cafe (49 Church St, Mudgee; (02) 6372 7373) (yes, it was once a butcher’s), bustling with locals, offers a less intense experience but it’s still a fine Saturday morning starter. For breakfast, a suitably creamy eggs Benedict is to be found at the roomy, white-painted, French-farmhouse spirited Market Street Cafe (Market Street pedestrian crossing, Mudgee; (02) 6372 0052). The menu is keep it simple; do it well. For dinner, I head to the Wineglass Bar and Grill inside the Cobb and Co. Boutique Hotel (97 Market St, Mudgee; (02) 6372 7245), where I discover a long local wine list and an especially good fractured chocolate meringue and raspberry dessert. EVERYWHERE AN ART SHOW "We have a very strong, active art community here," Helen Harwood tells me. I'm standing in the Fairview Artspace (6 Henry Lawson Drive, Mudgee; (02) 6372 2850). It's a cosy cafe/gallery. After or before caffeinating and snacking, you can wander through several rooms where permanent and temporary works are on show. This month, Lewisham-based artist Filippa Buttitta's Lost Child in the Bush is the centrepiece. It's a contemporary reimagining of the images imprinted in the Australian consciousness by works like Frederick McCubbin's Lost (1907) and Joan Lindsay's Picnic at Hanging Rock. For Indigenous art (as well as a host of natively sourced foods and products), there's the Indigiearth Showroom (1/55 Market St, Mudgee; (02) 6372 1878). It's a 100 percent Aboriginal-owned and -operated business, powered by Sharon Winsor. SALTWATER SLEEP SPOT About 7 kilometres north of the township, a winding, climbing dirt road leads to Wombadah Guesthouse (44 Tierney Lane, Mudgee; (02) 6373 3176). Henry Lawson’s schoolteacher, Mr John Tierney, was the original property owner. His homestead was lost in a fire, but the new building features four truly king-sized rooms (with beds to match) offering ridiculously beautiful views over the Mudgee Valley. An idyllic organic olive grove makes up the foreground. “We’ve been here for ten years,” Ray Whitfield, who runs Wombadah with his wife, Kaye, tells me. “It’s what we always wanted to do.” You can tell. Every detail is taken care of, from the luxurious linen to the handmade toiletries to the ample, home-cooked breakfast. Behind the house, there’s a shimmering in-ground saltwater pool and spa, backdropped by forest. If only there weren't another 34 wineries to investigate.
In Osaka and Hollywood, it's now possible to live out your wildest Super Mario Bros dreams, all thanks to Super Nintendo theme parks that look like the plumber-filled games come to life — and even include IRL Mario Kart. Without heading out of Australia, you can also slip into pop culture's favourite speedy vehicles, albeit just for a few days at 2023's Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. With The Super Mario Bros Movie about to hit cinemas, the flick has teamed up with the racing event to display a life-sized — and very real — Mario Kart in the F1's family zone. That area is named after the film, too, so setting up the only actual Mario Kart in the country was always going to be as pivotal as avoiding banana peels on any track. We believe that Mario said it best: let's go! [caption id="attachment_895402" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mario Kart at the Grand Prix Albert Park Melbourne. Wednesday, March 29, 2023.[/caption] On display from Thursday, March 30–Sunday, April 2, ready for Mario Kart lovers to sit in and take snaps in aplenty, the vehicle does come with one big caveat: it doesn't race. So, you won't be putting pedal to the metal while you're in it. And no, there's no rainbow road to slide along. But everyone who has ever played the racing game in its many guises — on the many various Nintendo devices that the game has popped up on over the years, not to mention Google Maps, mobile phones and reality elsewhere — is well-versed at pretending. The retro-fitted kart is for kidults and kids alike, and part of the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit's feast of family-friendly activities alongside a ferris wheel, bungee trampolines, Assistance Dogs Australia's puppy races and pooch belly rubs, and an AFL Auskick clinic. Live tunes, food trucks and screens showing the F1 action are also on offer within the precinct. [caption id="attachment_895404" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mario Kart at the Grand Prix Albert Park Melbourne. Wednesday, March 29, 2023.[/caption] The Super Mario Bros Movie Family Zone is ticketed, and scoring a park pass is recommended as the best way to head along. If you choose to wear overalls, or don a red or green cap, that's entirely up to you As for The Super Mario Bros Movie itself, it hits cinemas on Wednesday, April 5. Chris Pratt (The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special) voices the Italian plumber, Jack Black (Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood) does the same with Bowser, while Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) plays Luigi — alongside Anya Taylor-Joy (The Menu) as Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Menu), Seth Rogen (The Fabelmans) as Donkey Kong, Keegan- Michael Key (Wendell & Wild) as Toad, plus Fred Armisen (Wednesday) as Cranky Kong. Check out the trailer for The Super Mario Bros Movie below: Find the IRL Mario Kart at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, in The Super Mario Bros Movie Family Zone, from Thursday, March 30–Sunday, April 2. Top image: © 2023 Nintendo and Universal Studios.
Well-known for his visual distinctive style and fondness for symmetry across films such as The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Isle of Dogs, Wes Anderson is now playing museum curator. Alongside his partner, set designer and illustrator Juman Malouf, he's put together an exhibition for Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum: Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin and Other Treasures. The creative couple were given a task that plenty would envy: trawling through the Kunsthistorisches Museum's more than four million objects, and selecting their favourites from the incredibly broad collection of in-house artifacts. The end result includes items from all 14 of the museum's collections, which span old master paintings, Greek and Roman antiquities, Imperial coins and more. Think pieces like historical musical instruments, suits of armour, foreign antiques, carriages and sleighs, plus a fully illustrated catalogue. If you're wondering what inspired Anderson, he explains in the exhibition catalogue that, with Malouf, he harbours "the humble aspiration that the unconventional groupings and arrangement of the works on display may influence the study of art and antiquity in minor, even trivial, but nevertheless detectable ways for many future generations to come". And if you're not planning to be in Austria before April 28, 2019 — or in Italy afterwards, with the exhibition set to travel to the Fondazione Prada in Milan at a yet-to-be-announced date — here's a look at what's on offer. [caption id="attachment_703302" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Exhibition view. © KHM-Museumsverband[/caption] Exhibition view. © KHM-Museumsverband [caption id="attachment_703299" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Exhibition view. © KHM-Museumsverband[/caption] Exhibition view. © KHM-Museumsverband Exhibition view. © KHM-Museumsverband Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin and Other Treasures exhibits at Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum until April 28, 2019. Images: © KHM-Museumsverband.
The Love Tilly Group is bringing the Fabbrica Pasta Shop experience across the ANZAC Bridge to Balmain, opening a new pasta and wine bar within a historic Inner West hotel. Starting life as a majority provisions store in 2020, Fabbrica has been slowly evolving its dine-in options including fun experiments like Saturday pasta dinners, aperitivo hours and weekend bake sales. Next stop: this pop-up. The team will explore an entirely dine-in version of the carb haven at The Exchange Hotel — the only catch, however, is that it is only sticking around for the rest of the year. The limited-time bar will open on the ground floor of the century-old hotel later in February, arriving with the flavour-packed dishes and carefully curated drinks lists that the hospitality group is known for across its beloved venues Ragazzi, Dear Sainte Eloise, La Salut and Love Tilly Devine. Favourites from Fabbrica and Ragazzi alongside new pasta creations will all be on offer at the 40-seat bar, from simple comfort food staples like spaghetti cacio e pepe to more boundary-pushing dishes like tonnarelli with sea urchin or conchiglie with spanner crab and corn. [caption id="attachment_888590" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To[/caption] That said, it's not all pasta. Cured meats will be sliced to order, tuna crudo and focaccia with anchovies will be available for snacking, and Love Tilly Group's Scott McComas-Williams has created a loving Italian ode to the pub schnitzel in the form of the cotoletta alla Milanese. While there will be a big focus on the food, the acclaimed hospitality group is never one to skimp on the drinks menu. The wine menu focuses on Italian and Australian-grown Italian varieties, specifically minimal intervention and biodynamic drops. And the bar will be making use of the pub's stunning copper taps, pouring pints of local and international brews. The team has again enlisted the help of Studio Vista's Sarah Watt, who previously masterminded the fitouts for the CBD pasta shop, La Salut and Ragazzi. This time, Watt has maintained the core elements of the 100-year-old pub, while adding beige and timber details and Bentwood chairs to give it the warmth and welcoming atmosphere of a Love Tilly venue. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fabbrica (@ciaofabbrica) Fabbrica Pasta Bar Balmain is set to open on the ground floor of The Exchange Hotel, 94 Beattie Street, Balmain later this month — keep an eye on Fabbrica's Instagram for further details.
This year, Melbourne and Australia got its first not-for-profit bar Shebeen on Manchester Lane. With every drink sold going towards developing projects in its country of origin, it is changing the way we think about charity and sipping a tipple. We have Simon Griffiths to thank for this. Concrete Playground got hold of Simon to talk about his philanthropic work, Shebeen, toilet paper and his cat. What drove you to philanthropic work? I started working in the corporate world but quickly realised that I wanted to use my skills to solve social problems, not just business problems. After a lot of research I found that the number one problem faced by development aid organisations was a lack of funding, so I decided to create a new channel for funding, moving away from the donation market, and instead creating an avenue for consumer dollars to create social impact. After you came up with the concept for Shebeen with Zanna McComish, what was it that made you think, this really might work? The basic concept was actually 100 percent Zanna's, but it has snowballed into something much larger and more sustainable over the years. When Zanna first mentioned the idea to me, I was so excited that I knew a lot of people would dig it as well ... we just had to figure out how to make the business model work. How was it getting partners and suppliers on board? The really tricky part was raising the capital to get the venue open. We ended up raising social capital, i.e. without any financial return, from 20-25 different investors, then pieced together product partnerships with Brown-Forman, Schweppes and Silver Chef to fill the remaining cash shortage. We did everything on a tiny budget, so had to garner pro bono support from anyone and everyone, including Foolscap Studio (interior architecture), Swear Words (graphic design), Run Forrest (PR and communications), McCorkells Construction (building), Alpha 60 (uniforms), Tin & Ed (murals and uniform graphics), and so on. It has been a long but amazing ride! What is one of the projects you are most excited about contributing to in the developing world? I really get off on KickStart, who we work with in Ethiopia. Around 80 percent of the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa are small-scale farmers who depend on unreliable rain to grow crops. KickStart figured out that irrigation would allow many of them to move from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture, so they developed the MoneyMaker pump to allow farmers to draw water from rivers, ponds and wells to irrigate large areas of land year-round. Basically their pumps create a substantial and sustainable increase in household income — and they're really great at measuring their impact. We know that every $1 we give them turns into $12 of profits and wages for one of their farmers. That's a pretty exciting return-on-investment — or return-on-drinking-an-Ethiopian-beer. For you, how does Shebeen's support to the developing world differ from other charitable organisations? Basically we give consumers an opportunity to put their purchasing power to work. Now that we're open we're 100 percent self sustaining — we're already profitable and will start donating funds in the next four months or so. We'll only seek to raise additional capital to open new venues. What do you want people to take away from Shebeen? We want them to start thinking a little differently about what it means to be a consumer, and where their money ends up. After five years in the making. What does it feel like to walk into the bar and see it as a reality? It's still quite surreal to see people in there! But we've been so busy it's also been difficult to stop and celebrate. I'm taking my first weekend off for the year this weekend — it's going to be great! Where do you see Shebeen in five years? In five years we're hoping to have venues in five or more locations and will hopefully be looking at our own retail range of products as well. What is your favourite drink on the menu? I've really gotten into our cocktails. I really like the Ginger Kaffir Limeade, which is made with Kaffir Lime infused Finlandia vodka, and our warhead-sour lemon frozen margaritas, which we're making with El Jimador tequila. We're just about to start experimenting with cocktails on tap, too. What gets you out of bed in the morning? Usually my alarm, or my cat biting my foot. Occasionally it's a hangover. What's next for Simon Griffiths? Getting Shebeen doing a great takeaway lunchtime trade, opening the second Shebeen venue, and selling more toilet paper — I also run whogivesacrap.org. Images by Clever Deer.
The greatest trick that Late Night with the Devil pulls could be a trick on future viewers. In a decade or so, perhaps less, someone will likely come across the film on a streaming platform and think that the year that's listed next to its name is a typo. The illusion would be stronger if video stores still existed, where the Australian-made horror marvel that's had audiences talking since its 2023 SXSW premiere could sit on a shelf beaming its 70s-era look and artwork at perusers searching for their next watch. Everything about the movie, which is presented as a found-footage documentary showing a Halloween episode of a late-night talk show in full, wants everyone to make that misinterpretation. The year is 1977 in Cameron and Colin Cairnes' latest feature, which joins the writer-director siblings' resume after 100 Bloody Acres and Scare Campaign. The date is indeed October 31. The show: Night Owls with Jack Delroy, which has been slipping in the ratings. The week is Sweeps Week, the key ratings period in the US, in fact. Host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian, Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter) has been struggling himself, following the death of his wife (Georgina Haig, NCIS Sydney) 12 months prior. In his efforts to pick himself and his show back up, he commits to a special live spooky instalment featuring a skeptic (Ian Bliss, Safe Home), psychic (Fayssal Bazzi, Prosper), parapsychologist (Laura Gordon, Foe) and a girl (Ingrid Torelli, Force of Nature: The Dry 2) who is reportedly possessed — and being willing to do whatever it takes to succeed gets a demonic spin. The experience of watching Late Night with the Devil is like stepping into whichever type of time machine takes your fancy; the attention to period detail is that exact, as is the Cairnes' commitment to practical effects when things get eerie. The same can be said of Dastmalchian's stunning lead performance, playing a character styled after Australian TV's Don Lane alongside American television's Dick Cavett and Johnny Carson. When future viewers add Late Night with the Devil to their queue, the can't-look-away portrayal from the picture's star is bound to get them thinking that this truly is an unearthed treasure from the 20th century. Aptly, Dastmalchian is a big fan of horror TV hosts, even penning an article for Fangoria about them. So, take a childhood in the 80s spent watching late-night talk shows, a love of horror from that decade and the one prior, a keen awareness of the period's flicks about television such as Network and The King of Comedy, experience working in studios themselves, an exceptionally well-cast lead and a killer concept — plus that dedication to authenticity — and the next Aussie horror hit is the end result. "It's our twisted love letter to talk shows and the horror movies of that era," Colin tells Concrete Playground during a chat with both brothers. "I think it was really was a golden age for horror movies in the States, but also in Australia to some degree. We made some pretty cool stuff back then." A wild horror ride, a helluva character study, and an unpacking of the way that sensationalist media haunts and possesses as much as literal spirits, too, Late Night with the Devil is "pretty cool stuff" itself, deservedly earning a reputation far and wide. Iconic horror author Stephen King called it "absolutely brilliant" and said that he couldn't take his eyes off it". Mere days before we spoke with Colin and Cameron, they had run into one of their influences IRL, who also adored it. "Definitely all the great films by David Cronenberg and John Carpenter, the Wes Cravens," Colin cites as inspiration. "Joe Dante, who we were lucky enough to bump into two days ago in LA walking out of the screening of our film, which was really cool. Mind blown — it was just a wonderful chance encounter. And we've since exchanged emails. Yeah, he's a fan of the film. So that was really, really special to us. As kids growing up watching Gremlins or The Howling or Innerspace, all these great 80s horror hybrids, fun horrors that he made, it was just such an honour to bump into the man who had just seen our film, which was crazy." After it popped up on the festival circuit in 2023, viewers Down Under have been able to discover why Late Night with the Devil has been wowing King, Dante and more since it hit local cinemas on Thursday, April 11. We chatted with Colin and Cameron about their inspirations, specifically picking 1977 as the year to set the film in, the work that goes into making the movie look and feel so authentic, their take on Delroy and getting Dastmalchian to play him, and more. On Taking Inspiration From Watching Late-Night Talk Shows as Kids in the 80s in Australia Cameron: "I think TV was just a bit looser back then, and felt a little more dangerous. It was late night, and for a kid staying up late to watch those shows, it just felt a little taboo. So, what we love about that period in those shows — and we're talking not just our Australian icons, but the American ones as well — is just they all felt unscripted and dangerous, and like anything could happen or anything could go wrong at any minute. So that felt like fertile ground for us to to play in. And those experiences, they stuck with us. I think when you're young and you're watching stuff, you're very impressionable. So we're watching lots of horror movies on VHS, and we were watching lots of TV at home, lots of American stuff. It was all feeding into the script and to the story. We drew on those experiences quite a lot." On Setting the Film Not Just in the 70s, But Specifically in 1977 Cameron: "It really came down to our date, didn't it? Like 77, we wanted to set it on Halloween night, but it also needed to be Sweeps Week, if that means anything." Colin: "The ratings period." Cameron: "So in our research, we discovered that in 77 on Halloween week, it was actually Sweeps Week. So we tried to be as authentic as we could with every detail." Colin: "What's not to like about 77? We always knew it was somewhere in that range, but 77 felt like that was that was peak 70s, really." Cameron: "It was kind of the peak in-between time, too. The Exorcist, I think was released in 73, and then we were at the dawn of the Satanic panic. So I think, between 73–80, that period felt right. And also, we wanted to suggest that Night Owls, the show Jack Delroy hosts, had been on the air for a while and was struggling. So it just made sense that it maybe started around early 70s." Colin: "And going back to the movies, that's when that cycle of great films — I mean, there'd been Texas Chain Saw, probably that was 73, 74 maybe, that's when all those directors that we admire and are paying some homage to, I think, started to do their work. Halloween, I think was released 78, just a bit later. Network, I think, was released beginning of 77. So all that wonderful stuff was happening at that time, so that felt right — and yes, fortunately, Halloween fell on a Monday night at the beginning of Sweeps Week." On the Movie's Commitment to Period Detail and the Work That Went Into It Cameron: "Being as authentic as we could was just key to the whole movie. If no one's buying it, then they're checking out and it's not going to be worth your time. So we took all that stuff really, really seriously — just immersed ourselves in that world. I think having grown up a little bit in the period, and certainly through the 80s, we felt a little bit more connected to it, to that period." Colin: "We knew if something was a bit phony. I think a lot of the audience has been actually a younger crowd, but we are finding people in their early 20s talking to us after screenings, saying ' you know, I'm going bring my mum and dad to this. I reckon they'll really like it'. So people are sensing the authenticity of it, and like Cam's saying, I don't think the scares are going to work, the humour won't work — and, importantly, the drama isn't going to work — if it doesn't feel of a very specific time and place." Cameron: "Going into the production of it, it was just 'let's just commit to the idea that we're making this show in 1977'. So all the costumes, the lighting, the way we shot it, everything was pretty much of the period apart from the cameras we shot on — we obviously had to do some treatment on that in post. But we just tried to shoot it exactly like a late-70s Tonight Show. That meant three cameras were rolling the same at the same time, and the lighting looks a bit hot and harsh. But you just have to embrace all that stuff." On Drawing Upon Their Own Experiences Working in TV Studios Colin: "I directed, in a past life going back 20-plus, 25 years, I actually worked in television in Singapore. I got a job fresh out of uni directing sitcoms, English-language sitcoms, which were really big, huge successes in that part of the world. It was a lot of fun. That was a three-camera set up where we rehearsed through the week, and then we bring in an audience, so we would shoot it as if it were live. We would get a second go if something didn't work out, but we also didn't want to keep the audience there too late, because they'd stop laughing after the second or third take. And Cam's done some work in TV, too. So we had a sense of how adrenaline-fuelled that environment is, and how it's very stressful and has lots of anxiety, but it's also seat-of-your-pants stuff — it's exciting, it's fun. So we thought taking that as the foundation for an already very tense environment, and then bring in the supernatural element, we thought that that could go places. Ten years later, ten years of writing, we got there — so it helped a lot." On How the Film Evolved Over the Ten-Year Writing Period Cameron: "It went through lots of different iterations. In fact, I think the first draft it was centred around a seance. It was going to be a seance live on TV. But we kind of blew our wad early on that, because the seance was happening sort of at the 25-minute mark and we found we had nowhere to go after that. So it was constantly sort of rethinking the conceit and also finding the characters…" Colin: "That were going to warrant 90 minutes of your time." Cameron: "Exactly." Colin: "A character that could host legitimately host the talk show, but has his own baggage, his own issues. Plot's important, story is important, but for us, the characters are key. You want people walking away saying 'I hated that guy. I love that guy. I wanted to know more about that person'. And that's the stuff that really needs to succeed for any movie to work, regardless of genre." On What Inspired Jack Delroy — and the Cairnes' Take on Him Cameron: "Jack's a little bit desperate at this point in his career. He's been at it for a little while, but he's…" Colin: "Ruthlessly ambitious." Cameron: "But, his background is, he's this Midwesterner, worked in radio. He's kind of a sweet guy with good intentions." Colin: "He may have made one or two poor choices over the course of his career. A victim of some of those choices, I think. But he's a man who's experiencing some grief as well. I mean, his wife has passed away a year prior to the taping of this show. And, we explained early on — I don't think it's a spoiler to say that — his most-successful episode to date was the episode where his dying wife came on as his special guest. So there are some ethical concerns, I think, about his character. But the audience loves him. He's got his hardcore fans, and he's a showman through and through, who believes the show must go on. But that, of course, becomes harder and harder as some very strange events occur over the course of evening." Cameron: "When we first set out, we were referring a lot to Dick Cavett, Johnny Carson, I guess in our heads. He was almost an amalgam of those two. But then, we started drawing a lot on our own experiences, watching our homegrown talent. When I say homegrown…" Colin: "Bronx-born Australian Don Lane." Cameron: "Who people of a certain age will remember. We obviously grew up in the early 80s and watched a lot of Don Lane. Don and Bert, and Mike Walsh, and saw a little bit of Graham Kennedy as well. So they were definitely there in our heads as we are writing the character, but I think we were thinking more the urbane kind of American TV host." Colin: "We watched a lot of Dick Cavett. A lot of Dick Cavett. There's a bit of a blend." Cameron: "But when the American producers got on board and David got on board, we pointed them in the direction of Don Lane. We just thought as a curious thing they might be interested to see our own talent. And the producers, Steven Schneider [Insidious: The Red Door, Knock at the Cabin] in particular, and then David, our main actor, really took to Don. And he was like 'he's great'." Colin: "Yeah, 'what a character'. Because there's layers. He's not the slick showman that Carson is. Cavett's a bit more the slightly, there's a hint sarcasm, cynicism, but quite the intellectual — very happy to be talking to some novelist as he is to some pop singer. But Don was a bit less polished and a lot more, well, basically into the supernatural. He would have these lengthy specials where he'd have the Warrens [the inspiration for The Conjuring films] or whichever psychic happened to be visiting Australia. He would dedicate entire episodes, sometimes several episodes to these characters, which made him really different from the American version of that host." On Casting David Dastmalchian Colin: "We knew what a fan of the genre he was. He writes for Fangoria. His love of regional TV horror hosts." Cameron: "He writes comic books, he has written graphic novels" Colin: "He has Count Crowley. So we knew how embedded he was in the horror scene back in the States. And add to which he's just a really, really great character actor. And he has this look about him that also screams 70s, I think. So when we floated his name with all the producers, it was probably the first time everyone said yes at the same time. We were out to him a couple of weeks later through one of our American producers, the great Roy Lee [Don't Worry Darling, Barbarian], and weeks later we're talking to him and then a bit later he's signed on. We've got him. It just felt like was meant to be, and now you watch it and you cannot imagine anyone else being that character." Cameron: "It just wouldn't have worked if we'd had a big A-list star in there, you know, if Ryan Gosling — he's a great actor, but…" Colin: "You'd spend 90 minutes trying to look past the star. He's going to go on to bigger, possibly better — he's already working on a big show for Apple. Plus, the world is his oyster, and it has been for ages. We're just fortunate that we're a small part of his journey to international stardom." On Making the Connection Between the Film's Literal Possession and the Ravenous Urges that Sensationalist TV Sparks Colin: "Obviously, it was an important consideration in the scripting and the shooting, because we have the studio audience there and they're complicit in that. They're not — no one's leaving their seats. What would we do if we were there and shit started to go down like that? The logical thing would be to run to the door, but the fact is they know that the weirder and stranger and darker things get, the better the ratings are." Cameron: "I mean, we all love a bit of car crash TV, where we just can't turn away. And I think, yeah, definitely playing into that idea." Colin: "We're a little complicit, almost, and responsible to some degree for shows going where they go. And that hasn't changed — that was there before 77, and it's gotten even worse in many ways since. So if there's some little commentary or critique going — no, maybe not a critique — it definitely has fed into it. It was a serious consideration, because at what point would the audience just say 'this is stupid, I'm going home' or switch off? Or would the network just shut down the broadcast? So the fact that no one does had a lot to do with how we pace the thing, and how we reveal information, and where the scares come and all that sort of stuff. That's a more technical consideration, but it plays into what you're saying." Late Night with the Devil opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Read our review.
The first sip of an oat flat white from your local cafe tells you everything you need to know. On a good day, it's smooth, balanced and creamy — on a bad day, it's flat, split or watery. So what makes the difference between a great (or not so great) dairy-free coffee? According to Anthony Douglas, World Barista Champion, long-time team member at Melbourne's Axil Coffee Roasters, and MILKLAB Global Brand Ambassador, it all comes down to the milk. Anthony knows a thing or two about making great coffee. And he's spent more hours than most perfecting the relationship between espresso and milk. "When I first touched a coffee machine I had no idea there were even competitions let alone that I would be up there myself on stage," he tells Concrete Playground, when asked how he became one of the world's best baristas. "About five years into my career, that was my first exposure to competition. I decided to give it a go, and realised how much I could learn and grow through competition. That's what kept me going until I finally won." Now, his approach is all about the fundamentals. In fact, he believes a great cup of coffee should be simple. "I've always found the best results by keeping the process simple, focusing on the basics and executing them well," he says. For Anthony, a good coffee using plant-based MILKLAB comes down to three things: temperature, texture and integration. "[It's about] being really present as you're steaming the milk and breaking down those bubbles. [Also] being conscious of how you're integrating the milk with the espresso so you preserve the flavour, while still ensuring it's integrated properly from top to bottom," he says. It's something most people have tried at home, but it seems easier said than done. That is, until you've got a few of Anthony's go-to techniques up your sleeve to help achieve the perfect jug of silky milk. "I think it's important to achieve an even whirlpool and really maximise the power of the steam wand," he recommends. "Tilting the wand to the side enough so it spins, but not too close to the side, and ensuring it's angled low enough to really break down any bubbles on top." If you really want to level up your milk game, he suggests introducing the air quickly so you have more time to texturise the bubbles into that delicious, creamy microfoam. And his final tip is temperature. "Too hot and the quality of the milk degrades, is more dilute (due to the extra time spent introducing steam). Too cool and the milk can overpower the flavour of the coffee due to the lack of dilution." "Drinking temperature also has a massive impact on the types of flavours we experience and is one of the first things most customers notice when drinking a milk-based coffee." [caption id="attachment_1014856" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anthony Douglas, World Barista Champion[/caption] When it comes to plant-based options, Anthony has a clear favourite — but rates them all. "Each milk does have its own unique flavour and texture based on the ingredient it's centred around," he says. "I think my favourite would be MILKLAB Oat as it is the most versatile and works well to showcase any coffee it's paired with. MILKLAB Almond has a beautiful natural sweetness from the almond and is quite easy drinking. MILKLAB Soy I find has a great rich sweetness and body. MILKLAB Macadamia has this beautiful lush texture. And MILKLAB coconut once again has an amazing texture and tropical flavour that really works well with coffee." It turns out, not every milk behaves the same way with every coffee and there's quite a bit of science behind making sure things go smoothly. "The key is understanding how they interact with different coffee. Coffee that is highly acidic, very fresh, or roasted darker often doesn't integrate as smoothly and can cause separation or curdling," he says. If you're running into this issue, Anthony has one simple trick. "[You can] add a small splash of cold plant-based milk to the espresso before steaming and pouring. Cold milk has a higher tolerance for acidity and heat, and this step can help neutralise the compounds in the coffee that might otherwise cause a negative reaction." So, there you have it. To get a plant-based coffee worthy of a world champion, go back to basics, perfect your steam wand technique and don't forget the power of temperature. With a little intention and the right milk, you can get cafe-level results at home. Discover the full barista-approved MILKLAB range on the website.
When a big tour is announced, it's always worth paying attention to the dates around the shows in your city. Has whoever is taking to the stage spread out their gigs? Is there room to add more concerts? If you're worried about a huge demand for tickets, that's handy information to notice. When Drake announced his next trip Down Under for early 2025, for instance, the gaps between his visits to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane stood out — handily so, it proves, with more shows now added to the tour. Here's the latest headlines: Drake has added an extra gig in each of the New South Wales, Victorian and Queensland capitals, and before general ticket sales even kick off. It'll be his first trip this way since 2017 — and yes, you're still going to have 'Hotline Bling', 'Too Good', 'Passionfruit', 'Nice for What', 'In My Feelings', 'One Dance' and 'Laugh Now Cry Later' stuck in your head, as you have since the tour was first revealed. The Canadian artist is bringing his Anita Max Win tour Down Under, and is now playing ten shows in four cities across Australia and New Zealand. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland, this is what's next. The five-time Grammy-winner will head this way in February and March, kicking off at Rod Laver Arena in the Victorian capital for three nights. The following week, it's the Harbour City's turn at Qudos Bank Arena, again for a trio of gigs. After that, Drake will play two nights at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, then another two at Spark Arena in Auckland. The Degrassi: The Next Generation star last hit the stage in this neck of the woods on his Boy Meets World tour, and eight years will have passed between those shows and his 2025 visit. The platinum-selling singer is fresh off his 2023–24 It's All A Blur Tour, which saw him chalk up over 80 soldout shows in North America. On that last visit, Drake had four studio albums to his name: 2010's Thank Me Later, 2011's Take Care, 2013's Nothing Was the Same and 2016's Views. He's doubled that since, so expect tunes from 2018's Scorpion, 2021's Certified Lover Boy, 2022's Honestly, Nevermind and 2023's For All the Dogs, too. The Anita Max Win tour's announcement wasn't new news if you've been paying attention to Drake's social media, where he's been teasing details — but now consider it all officially locked in and even bigger. Drake's 'Anita Max Win' Tour 2025 Australian and New Zealand Dates Sunday, February 9–Monday, February 10 + Wednesday, February 12 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Sunday, February 16–Monday, February 17 + Wednesday, February 19 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Monday, February 24–Tuesday, February 25 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Friday, February 28–Saturday, March 1 — Spark Arena, Auckland Drake is touring Australia and New Zealand in February 2025, with various ticket presales from Tuesday, December 2, 2024 at various times — and general sales from 12pm local time on Friday, December 6, 2024. Head to the tour website for more details. Images: The Come Up Show via Flickr.
Long-running music festivals aren't just events. They become more than just beloved dates on everyone's calendars, too. Attending a fest like Golden Plains is a ritual and a pilgrimage for devotees, and it unfolds in steps. Here's the first for 2025's three-day takeover of the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre: the launch of the Golden Plains ticket ballot. Come Saturday, March 8–Monday, March 10, 2025, it'll be time to dance among the autumn leaves in regional Victoria again, in the same place that Meredith Music Festival also calls home. While the lineup isn't here yet, you can now put your name down for the chance to nab tickets. This round of Golden Plains will mark the fest's 17th year. Your best clue as to what's to come is, as always, the brief description offered by the festival team while announcing the opening of the ballot. "A premium long weekend of music and nature, sense and non-sense, in the supernatural-est habitat on earth," starts the latest word from the Aunty team. "Party largesse at the one and only Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre. Right size, right shape, with no commercial sponsors, free range camping, BYO, the No D---head Policy, and One Stage Fits All," it continues. The online ballot for Golden Plains 2025 remains open until 10.17pm AEDT on Monday, October 14, 2024, which means that clicking ASAP is recommended. Once the ballot is drawn, the lineup will be announced. Catering to 12,000 punters each year across three days and two nights, the fest has long proven a favourite for its one-stage setup, which skips the need for frantic timetabling. And, like Meredith Music Festival, its sibling, Golden Plains is also known for the Aunty crew's star-studded bills. If you're wondering how the roster of talent has shaped up in past years, 2023's fest boasted Bikini Kill, Carly Rae Jepsen, Soul II Soul and Four Tet, while 2024's featured The Streets, Yussef Dayes, King Stingray and Black Country, New Road — and plenty more. Golden Plains will return to the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre from Saturday, March 8–Monday, March 10, 2025. Head to the festival's website for further details, or to enter the ballot before 10.17pm AEDT on Monday, October 14, 2024. Images: Chip Mooney and Ben Fletcher.
Haute couture. Murder. Disco tunes and Studio 54. Throw in one of the biggest names in fashion — and a tale that's filled with both glam and grim strands, too — and that's House of Gucci. Ranking highly among the most anticipated movies set to hit the big screen across the rest of 2021, this Ridley Scott (All the Money in the World)-directed drama steps inside the Gucci family fashion dynasty, charting its successes and shocking moments over the course of three tumultuous decades. If you've read the book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed, which this new film is based on, then you'll know the details. If you've seen news coverage about or can remember the events that rocked the Italian family back in 1995, you will as well. The focus: Maurizio Gucci, grandson of company founder Guccio Gucci, and the head of the fashion house throughout the 80s and early 90s — until he was assassinated by a hitman in 1995. Adam Driver steps into also Maurizio's unsurprisingly stylish shoes, in what's proving a big year for him in cinemas. He'll also grace the big screen in Scott's next film The Last Duel, which is due to release in October — a month before House of Gucci arrives in November. In the latter flick, he's joined by Lady Gaga in her first big-screen role since A Star Is Born, this time playing Maurizio's wife Patrizia. Obviously, there's quite the tale to tell — and, as the just-dropped first trailer for House of Gucci shows, Scott is going big on striking threads, 70s and 80s tunes and vibes, indulgence and luxury dripping through in every frame, and also an unavoidable air of melodrama. To help, the star-studded cast also includes Jared Leto (The Little Things) sporting plenty of prosthetics and makeup, as well as Al Pacino (The Irishman), Jeremy Irons (Love, Weddings and Other Disasters) and Salma Hayek (The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard). As the trailer reminds us, that's a whole lot of Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated talent in one flick. Check out the trailer below: House of Gucci will release in Australian cinemas on November 25.
Those fortunate enough to have spent a night or two at Capella Sydney – a five-star stay immersed in art and heritage – will probably know all about its luxury dining offering, Brasserie 1930. Having just celebrated its second birthday, operator Bentley Restaurant Group saw this moment as the perfect time to shake things up. Entering its next era, Brasserie 1930 has got a new head chef, a new Australian brasserie menu and an exciting culinary experience linking sophisticated food with art and culture. Leading this evolution is Executive Chef Brent Savage and newly appointed Head Chef Troy Spencer (Pomme, Bistro Thierry, L'Etoile Restaurant & Bar). Working closely together, the duo have married Savage's passion for incredible local produce with Spencer's impressive career working in European brasseries. Bringing an elevated Australian-inspired approach to French late-night cuisine, expect dishes featuring native flavours and ingredients that honour tradition without foregoing innovation. Adorning the new menu are highlights such as David Blackmore wagyu tartare with mustard cream, rye cracker and sorrel; Aquna Murray cod, smoked clam with roasted onion butter and paperbark oil; and Kinross Station lamb saddle with eggplant, macadamia and saltbush. There's also a selection of curated cocktails, including a macadamia martini, lemon myrtle sidecar and wattleseed highball. "Brasserie 1930 celebrates the incredible variety of native Australian ingredients, blending the country's unique culinary heritage," says Savage. "It's about highlighting the best of what Australia has to offer in a warm and inviting setting where guests can enjoy exceptional food with attentive, yet relaxed, Australian hospitality. It's about good and honest flavours in a space that feels elegant, yet approachable." Adding to this perspective is the hotel's new monthly series, The Art of Dining, starting from Thursday, May 29. Curated by international art and design consultancy, The Artling, this exclusive experience sees restaurant guests receive a private tour of the hotel's landmark art collection, guided by renowned advisor Fiona McIntosh. Those taking up the tour will also receive a complimentary glass of champagne and a double pass to the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA). With over 1,400 pieces on display, Capella Sydney's art collection is one of the largest in any Australian luxury hotel. That's a fitting status for one of Sydney's heritage icons. Built in 1915 amid what's now called 'the sandstone precinct', the hotel's storied building is best known as the former home of the Department of Education. After the department moved to new digs in 2018, the developer behind Capaella Sydney snapped up the property with incredible results. Brasserie 1930 is situated inside Capella Sydney at 24 Loftus Street, Sydney. Head to the website for more information. Images: Ethan Smart.
Turning hit movie franchises into TV shows is one of Warner Bros' current strategies, as HBO's recent and upcoming slate demonstrates. The Batman sparked The Penguin, the recent Dune movies are giving rise to Dune: Prophecy, and IT and Harry Potter are also getting the same small-screen treatment. With Game of Thrones, however, it looks like the company is set to take the opposite path. First came George RR Martin's books. Then Game of Thrones reached television, became a monstrous hit and, when it ended in 2019, sparked more TV. Prequel series House of the Dragon premiered in 2022, returned for season two in 2024 and has confirmed that it has two more runs to go before wrapping up with season four. The third Westeros-set series, called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, will arrive in 2025. More have been floated, but a stint on the big screen might also be in the works. As per The Hollywood Reporter, apparently a Game of Thrones movie is coming. The publication reports that the film is in its very early stages, and that there isn't any other details so far — "but the company is keen on exploring the idea of Westeros invading cinemas". Accordingly, what the film will be about, who will star, if any familiar characters will return, where it fits in the franchise's timeline, who'll direct and when it might reach viewers are all still unknown for now. But audiences have always known that all things Game of Thrones were never going to simply fade away. Given the saga's love of battles and dragons, and the special effects to bring them to life, making the move to silver screens is also far from a surprise. The latest development in the franchise's fortunes follows news earlier this year that the Jon Snow-focused sequel series that HBO was potentially producing is no longer happening, as confirmed by none other than Kit Harington himself. That show was set to explore Jon Snow's story after the events of Game of Thrones' eighth and final season. You might recall that that last batch of episodes were rather eventful for the character, even more than normal. He found out that he was born Aegon Targaryen, and that he has a claim to the Iron Throne. He also ditched Westeros — after being exiled — to head North of the Wall. Among the other Game of Thrones spinoff rumours, a second new series to the Targaryens has also been mentioned. And as for the forthcoming Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, it is based on the novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg, as has been rumoured for a few years now. The story follows knight Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg as they wander Westeros a century before the events of GoT, when the Targaryens remain on the Iron Throne and everyone still remembers dragons. There's obviously no trailer for the Game of Thrones movie yet, but check out HBO's most recent sneak peek of its upcoming releases, including a glimpse at A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, below: The Game of Thrones movie doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you with more details when they're announced. Via: The Hollywood Reporter. Images: Helen Sloan/HBO.
Australia will soon get to see The Wind Rises (Kaze tachinu), the supposedly final work from Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro), who based the film on his own manga comic of the same name. Set in Japan pre-WWII, the critically acclaimed animated drama follows the life of a young flight-obsessed engineer who designs Japanese fighter planes, a plot inspired by the real-life creator of the Mitsubishi A5M and A6M Zero, Jiro Horikoshi. As the highest grossing Japanese film of 2013, The Wind Rises also took out the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. It sounds like a must-see for Studio Ghibli fans and aviation nerds, plus those keen to experience what sounds like the last film from a truly legendary animator. The film will play in Japanese and English, with respective subtitles. Its English language cast includes Joseph Gordon Levitt, Elijah Wood and Emily Blunt. The Wind Rises is in cinemas on Thursday, February 27, and thanks to Madman Films, we have ten double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. DRIVE MY CAR More than four decades have passed since Haruki Murakami's debut novel reached shelves, and since the first film adaptation of his work followed, too; however, the two best page-to-screen versions of the author's prose have arrived in the past four years. It's easy to think about South Korean drama Burning while watching Drive My Car, because the two features — one Oscar-shortlisted, the other now the first Japanese movie to be nominated for Best Picture — spin the writer's words into astonishing, intricately observed portraits of human relationships. Both films are also exceptional. In the pair, Murakami's text is only a starting point, with his tales hitting the screen filtered through each picture's respective director. For Drive My Car, Japanese filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi does the honours, taking audiences riding through another of the Happy Hour, Asako I & II and with Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy helmer's layered, thoughtful and probing reflections on connection. Using Murakami's short story from 2014 collection Men Without Women as its basis, Drive My Car's setup is simple. Yes, the film's title is descriptive. Two years after a personal tragedy, actor/director Yūsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima, Silent Tokyo) agrees to bring Chekhov's Uncle Vanya to the stage in Hiroshima, and the company behind it insists on giving him a chauffeur for his stay. He declines— he'd asked to stay an hour away from the theatre so he could listen to recorded tapes of the play on his drive — yet his new employers contend that it's mandatory for insurance and liability reasons. Enter 23-year-old Misaki Watari (Tôko Miura, Spaghetti Code Love), who becomes a regular part of Yūsuke's working stint in the city. Drive My Car doesn't hurry to its narrative destination, clocking in at a minute shy of three hours. It doesn't rush to get to its basic premise, either. Before the film's opening credits arrive 40 minutes in, it steps through Yūsuke's existence back when he was appearing in a version of Uncle Vanya himself, married to television scriptwriter Oto (Reika Kirishima, Japanese TV's Sherlock) and grappling with an earlier heartbreak. His wife is also sleeping with younger actor Takatsuki (Masaki Okada, Arc), which Yūsuke discovers, says nothing about but works towards discussing until fate intervenes. Then, when he sits in his red 1987 Saab 900 Turbo just as the movie's titles finally display, he's a man still wracked by grief. It's also swiftly clear that he's using his two-month Hiroshima residency as a distraction, even while knowing that this exact play — and Oto's voice on the tapes he keeps listening to — will always be deeply tied to his life-shattering loss. This prologue does more than set the scene; there's a reason that Hamaguchi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Takamasa Oe (The Naked Director), directs so much time its way. Where tales of tragedy and mourning often plunge into happy lives suddenly unsettled by something catastrophic or the process of picking up the pieces in the aftermath — typically making a concerted choice between one or the other — Drive My Car sees the two as the forever-linked halves of a complicated journey, as they are. The film isn't interested in the events that've forever altered the plot of Yūsuke's life, but in who he is, how he copes, and what ripples that inescapable hurt causes. It's just as fascinated with another fact: that so many of us have these stories. Just as losing someone and soldiering on afterwards are unshakeably connected, so are we all by sharing these cruel constants of life. Read our full review. BENEDETTA What do two nuns in the throes of sexual ecstasy gasp? "My god" and "sweet Jesus", of course. No other filmmaker could've made those divine orgasmic exclamations work quite like Paul Verhoeven does in Benedetta, with the Dutch filmmaker adding another lusty, steamy, go-for-broke picture to his resume three decades after Basic Instinct and more than a quarter-century since Showgirls. His latest erotic romp has something that his 90s dives into plentiful on-screen sex didn't, however: a true tale, courtesy of the life of the movie's 17th-century namesake, whose story the writer/director and his co-scribe David Birke (Slender Man) adapt from Judith Brown's 1986 non-fiction book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy. For anyone that's ever wondered how a religious biopic and nunsploitation might combine, this is the answer you've been praying for. Frequently a playful filmmaker — the theories that Showgirls is in on its own joke keep bubbling for a reason — Verhoeven starts his first film since 2016's Elle with that feature's more serious tone. The screen is back, the words "inspired by real events" appear and the score is gloomy. When Benedetta's titular figure appears as a girl (played by Elena Plonka, Don't Worry About the Kids), she's the picture of youth and innocence, and she's also so devoted to her faith that she's overjoyed about joining a convent in the Tuscan village of Pescia. But then villains interrupt her trip, and this pious child demonstrates her favour with the almighty by seemingly getting a bird to shit in a man's eye. It isn't quite as marvellous as turning water into wine, but it's its own kind of miracle. As an adult (Virginie Efira, Bye Bye Morons), she'll talk to strapping hallucinations of Jesus (Jonathan Couzinié, Heroes Don't Die), too, and use her beloved childhood statuette of the Virgin Mary as a dildo. There is no line between the sacred and the profane in Benedetta: things can be both here, and frequently are. Case in point: on her first night at the convent, after a bartering session between her father (David Clavel, French Dolls) and the abbess (Charlotte Rampling, Dune) over the girl's dowry for becoming a bride of christ, a statue of the Virgin Mary collapses upon Benedetta, and she shows her sanctity by licking the sculpture's exposed breast. So, 18 years later, when she's both seeing Jesus and attracted to abused newcomer Sister Bartolomea (Daphné Patakia, Versailles), they're the most natural things that could happen. To Benedetta, they're gifts from god, too. She does try to deny her chemistry with the convent's fresh novice at first, but the lord wants what he wants for her. Unsurprisingly, not everyone in the convent — the abbess' daughter Sister Christina (Louise Chevillotte, Synonyms) chief among them — agrees, approves or in believes in her visions. Verhoeven puts his own faith in crafting a witty, sexy, no-holds-barred satire. That said, he doesn't ever play Benedetta as a one-note, over-the-top joke that's outrageous for the sake of it. His protagonist believes, he just-as-devoutly believes in her — whether she's a prophet, a heretic or both, he doesn't especially care — and he also trusts her faith in her primal desires. His allegiance is always with Benedetta, but that doesn't mean that he can't find ample humour in the film or firm targets to skewer. The hypocrisy of religion — "a convent is not a place of charity, child; you must pay to come here," the abbess advises — gets his full comic attention. Having the always-great Rampling on-hand to personify the Catholic Church at its most judgemental and least benevolent (at its money-hungry worst, too) helps considerably. Indeed, what the veteran English actor can do with a withering glare and snarky delivery is a movie miracle. Read our full review. DEATH ON THE NILE Some folks just know how to rock a moustache. When Kenneth Branagh (Tenet) stepped into super-sleuth Hercule Poirot's shoes in 2017's Murder on the Orient Express, he clearly considered himself to be one of them. The actor and filmmaker didn't simply play Agatha Christie's famously moustachioed Belgian detective, but also directed the movie — and he didn't miss a chance to showcase his own performance, as well as that hair adorning his top lip. You don't need to be a world-renowned investigator to deduce that Branagh was always going to repeat the same tricks with sequel Death on the Nile, or to pick that stressing the character's distinctive look and accompanying bundle of personality quirks would again take centre stage. But giving Poirot's 'stache its own black-and-white origin story to start the new movie truly is the height of indulgence. Branagh has previously covered a superhero's beginnings in the initial Thor flick, and also stepped into his own childhood in Belfast, so explaining why Poirot sports his elaborately styled mo — how it came to be, and what it means to him emotionally, too — is just another example of the director doing something he obviously loves. That early hirsute focus sets the tone for Death on the Nile, though, and not as Branagh and returning screenwriter Michael Green (Jungle Cruise) must've intended. Viewers are supposed to get a glimpse at what lies beneath Poirot's smarts and deductive savvy by literally peering beneath his brush-like under-nostril bristles, but all that emerges is routine and formulaic filler. That's the film from its hairy opening to its entire trip through Egypt. At least the moustache looks more convincing than the sets and CGI that are passed off as the pyramids, Abu Simbel and cruising the titular waterway. It's 1937, three years after the events of Murder on the Orient Express, and Poirot is holidaying in Egypt. While drinking tea with a vantage out over the country's unconvincingly computer-generated towering wonders, he chances across his old pal Bouc (Tom Bateman, Behind Her Eyes) and his mother Euphemia (Annette Bening, Hope Gap), who invite him to join their own trip — which doubles as a honeymoon for just-married heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot, Red Notice) and her new husband Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer, Crisis). Poirot obliges, but he's also surprised by the happy couple. Six weeks earlier, he saw them get introduced by Linnet's now-former friend and Simon's now ex-fiancée Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey, Sex Education). That awkward history isn't easily forgotten by the central duo, either, given that Jackie has followed them with a view to winning Simon back. Boating down the Nile is initially an escape plan, whisking the newlyweds away from their obsessive stalker. But even as the group — which includes jazz singer Salome Otterbourne (Sophie Okonedo, Wild Rose), her niece and Linnet's school friend Rosalie (Letitia Wright, Black Panther), the bride's own ex-fiancé Linus Windlesham (Russell Brand, Four Kids and It), her lawyer Andrew Katchadourian (Ali Fazal, Victoria and Abdul), her assistant Louise Bourget (Rose Leslie, Game of Thrones), her godmother Marie Van Schuyler (Jennifer Saunders, Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie) and the latter's nurse Mrs Bowers (Dawn French, The Vicar of Dibley) — adjust to the change of schedule, two things were always going to happen. The pouty Jacqueline can't be thwarted that easily, of course. Also, the fact that there'll soon be a murder for Poirot to solve is right there in the movie's moniker. Read our full review. MARRY ME Romantic comedies are all about timing. Whoever pairs up in whichever film, they share moments: meeting-cute at just the right time, going on life-changing dates, coming to big realisations in tandem and such. Marry Me lives for those kinds of incidents, but the film's timing itself is also unfortunate. Based on Bobby Crosby's webcomic and subsequent graphic novel of the same name — with the former dating back to 2006 — it arrives on the big screen at a time when Starstruck has already delightfully riffed on Notting Hill's tale about an everyday person falling for someone super famous, and when reality TV's Married at First Sight has been making people who've just met get hitched since 2013 (and in versions made in multiple countries), too. If Marry Me managed to transcend its Starstruck/Notting Hill-meets-MAFS premise, it could reach cinemas whenever and it wouldn't matter; however, even Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson's charms can't make that happen. Releasing a rom-com starring Lopez and Wilson in 2022 does toy with time a little, though. Its source material doesn't date back 25 years, to when its stars were both in Anaconda, but its broad strokes could've still fuelled a late-90s addition to the romantic-comedy genre. That's how creaky it feels; of course, that timing would've meant spinning a story without livestreamed concerts — and livestreamed lives, outside of films such as The Truman Show and EdTV — but it also would've rid the movie of one of its biggest crutches. Marry Me finds it too easy to blame too many character choices on the always-online, always-performing, always-oversharing mentality that's now the status quo. It too lazily uses the divide between constantly broadcasting one's every move via social media and happily living life offline to fuel its opposites-attract setup as well. It's no wonder that the movie always feels shallow, even for an obvious fairytale, and even as the script attempts to layer in knowing nods to how women like its central popstar are treated by the world whether or not they record and share every moment they're awake. That singing celebrity is Kat Valdez, aka Lopez playing a part that could've easily been originally penned with her in mind. Kat is a global superstar who, to her dismay, is known as much for her hits as for her personal life. That said, she also willingly combines the two in the track 'Marry Me', a duet with her fiancé Bastian (Colombian singer Maluma) that the pair plan to get married to during a show livestreamed to 20 million people. But moments before Kat ascends to the on-stage altar, news that Bastian has been unfaithful spreads across the internet. Sick of being unlucky in love — and just as fed up with being publicly ridiculed for her romantic misfortunes — she picks out Owen's middle-school maths teacher Charlie Gilbert from the crowd and weds him instead. He's just holding a banner with the movie's title on it for his pal and fellow educator Parker Debbs (Sarah Silverman, Don't Look Up), and he's accompanied by his daughter Lou (Claudia Coleman, Gunpowder Milkshake), but he still says yes. Director Kat Coiro (A Case of You) knows the kind of glossy, crowd-pleasing, comfort-viewing fare she's making and has a feel for that exact niche, but no one is served well by John Rogers (The Librarians), Tami Sagher (Inside Amy Schumer) and Harper Dill's (The Mick) paper-thin script. Worlds away from their last respective big-screen roles in Hustlers and The French Dispatch, Lopez and Wilson do what they can with the fluffy, frothy material, but make viewers wish they had something better to work with. Charismatic casting can keep formulaic rom-coms afloat, and this pairing frequently does, but it can't hide Marry Me's surface-level skimming of anything that could've given it depth. What's expected of women, especially in the public eye; the struggle to keep believing in love when past relationships have silenced your hope; the chasm between the dream of fame and the reality: fleshed out, they all could've helped make Marry Me sing something more than the same old romantic-comedy tune. SIMPLE PASSION To watch Laetitia Dosch in Simple Passion is to watch a woman flipped and flung about by the forces of love and lust, sometimes literally, while proving steadfastly willing to flail and even flounder in the pursuit of her desires. After appearing in films such as 4 Days in France, Gaspard at the Wedding and Of Love and Lies, the French Swiss actor plays Hélène Auguste, a Parisian university lecturer caught in the throes of her most profound sexual relationship yet. Alas, Russian diplomat Aleksandr Svitsin (ballet star Sergei Polunin, The White Crow), the man she can't get enough, has a wife and another life in a different country. He also alternates between showing up unannounced for marathon lovemaking sessions, ghosting her texts and standing Hélène up on hotel rendezvous, a dynamic that leaves her as tussled and tumbled as their rumbles between the sheets. Passion is the perfect word for what she feels, as the movie's moniker proclaims — but the other term in its title couldn't be more loaded. Hélène's attraction to and obsession with Aleksandr is simple in its most primal form. Whenever the couple are in bed — or on whatever other surface fits the task in her sunny home, as writer/director Danielle Arbid (Parisienne) eagerly depicts — everything just clicks. But when more than flesh against flesh is involved, it isn't merely complicated; the infatuated Hélène may as well be an errant rose petal caught in a gusty breeze on a glorious day. The passion that she holds so dear, that makes her feel like something other than a single mother with a straightforward life, and that seems so perfect when coloured by post-coital bliss, is also a whirlwind that can thrust her in any direction at any time without notice. She wants to bask in the glow that her affair with Aleksandr ignites, not just internally and emotionally but in the way it makes everything about her existence seem brighter, and yet that happiness is always at his mercy. Arbid adapts Annie Ernaux's novel of the same name with a key, calm and clear-eyed aim: steeping her film deep within Hélène's mindset so that every frame reflects her longing and desire, and her passion at its most simple and complex alike. As its lengthy sex scenes linger on Polunin's body, the feature firmly sports a female gaze — the yearning that Hélène feels for Aleksandr filters through every image, whether the couple is getting physical, she's peering at the stoic face that so infrequently betrays what he's thinking, or she's taking her time cataloguing his tattooed torso. Simple Passion is explicit, and often, including with Hélène's ecstatic moans as its soundtrack. It's sensual, soulful and emotional, though, traits that equally apply in the dead space between the dates that its protagonist anticipates breathlessly. Indeed, Arbid and cinematographer Pascale Granel (The Wild Boys) capture the way that she stares around her house as she keenly awaits any sign from Aleksandr with the same intimacy and delicacy. That's a pivotal touch; stylistically, Hélène is never defined by Aleksandr, but by her own feelings. Dosch is remarkable as Hélène, turning in a rich and subtle performance that's both physically expressive and deeply internalised, and usually at the same time. Her body speaks its own language when she's with Aleksandr, while her face coveys everything that bubbles inside — sometimes hope and joy, sometimes despair and listlessness — whether she's revelling in his presence or rueing his absence. In fact, she so sensational that she helps the film patch over easy choices that, in hands less meticulous and careful than Arbid's, would threaten to put Simple Passion in the 50 Shades of Grey and After franchises' company. Of course Hélène is a literature professor, because female-focused features about thorny affairs that spring from the page to the screen love the field. Of course the movie's pop-music cues are heavy-handed. Of course Polunin operates in one register, even if his off-screen infamy lends more texture to his character. Nonetheless, when Simple Passion rises to its seductive and astute peaks, it showers the screen in sparks. WYRMWOOD: APOCALYPSE Add The Castle to the list of influences flavouring Australian zombie franchise Wyrmwood: here, as in the beloved homegrown comedy, it's the vibe of the thing. Starting with 2014's low-budget labour of love Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead and now continuing with Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, this bushland-set saga has atmosphere to spare. Free-flowing gore, a crash-and-bash urgency and a can-do attitude splatter across the screen in abundance, too. They're key factors in all movies about a dystopian future ravaged by the undead, but filmmaking siblings Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner ask that mood and tone to do much of their series' heavy lifting. The Wyrmwood films blast away with affection for all of the zombie flicks that've preceded them, and all of the outback thrillers, Ozploitation fare and mad scientist-fuelled tales as well — and they couldn't be more blatant about it — but, even with that teeming passion and prominent energy, they still prove less than the sum of their evident sources of inspiration. As its predecessor did, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse nonetheless makes a smart move or two within its sea of well-worn concepts and overt nods. The strongest and savviest here: casting Shantae Barnes-Cowan and Tasia Zalar, and pointing the camera at them at every chance possible. The former takes on the shuffling, brain-munching masses fresh from battling vampires in the outback in Aussie TV series Firebite, and turns in another fierce and formidable performance. The latter arrives with The Straits, Mystery Road and Streamline on her resume and, while playing a character who needs rescuing — a half-human, half-zombie at that — she could never be described as a damsel in distress. Indeed, Barnes-Cowan and Zalar help set this sequel's ferocious tone as much as the gritty, go-for-broke aesthetics that the Roache-Turner brothers and their returning cinematographer Tim Nagle gleefully and eagerly covet. Writer/director/editor Kiah and writer/producer Tristan still stick with the most obvious protagonist, however: Rhys (Luke McKenzie, Wentworth), a special forces soldier who also happens to be the twin of a crucial figure from the prior film. He weathers dystopian life by holing up in a fenced-in compound where he uses a pen full of zombies to his advantage — aided by various contraptions, plenty of chains and shackles, plus blood-dripping carcasses as incentives — and by driving a Mad Max-style vehicle to round up undead test subjects for The Surgeon (Nicholas Boshier, The Moth Effect). In fact, after crossing paths with Zalar's Grace, he delivers her for military-approved experiments, but Barnes-Cowan's Maxi soon demands that he help set her free. Rhys has been operating under the assumption that The Surgeon and his armed pals had humanity's best interests in mind, despite all glaring appearances otherwise, a misguided belief that Maxi quickly vanquishes. Wyrmwood: Apocalypse also weaves in ex-mechanic Barry (Jay Gallagher, Nekrotronic) and his sister Brooke (Bianca Bradey, The Pet Killer), survivors of the first film, and toys with zombies controlled by virtual reality, too. Just like its heaving pile of influences, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse doesn't lack in moving parts — although that isn't the same as telling an engaging story, which the sequel doesn't ever muster up. Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead already echoed too loudly with been-there, done-that touches; this follow-up positively screams, especially for fans of both horror and science fiction who've seen all the same movies that the Roache-Turners clearly have. Unsurprisingly, while Bosher steals scenes by pure force in his attempt to one-up even the craziest of past on-screen mad scientists, everything around Barnes-Cowan and Zalar — McKenzie's supremely standard leading role included — frequently feels like filler in an familiar wasteland. BLACKLIGHT In most movies, Liam Neeson's Blacklight character wouldn't be the protagonist. Secret FBI fixer Travis Block likely wouldn't even be given a name. Instead, he'd merely be a brief presence who popped up to help other on-screen figures — the federal agents he gets out of tricky situations, for instance — as they went about their business and connected the script's necessary plot points. Turning someone who'd usually be seen as disposable into its lead is this action-thriller's one good idea, but the flattened henchman scene in Austin Powers gave the notion more thought than the entirety of Blacklight demonstrates. There's a difference between thrusting a character to the fore and fleshing them out, especially when a film is happy to define them solely by the actor in their shoes. Here, Travis Block is another prosaic entry on Neeson's action resume first and foremost. When Blacklight begins, Block has spent his career doing whatever FBI Director Gabriel Robinson (Aidan Quinn, Elementary) has asked. Typically, that's assisting on-the-books operatives struggling with off-the-books missions — and Block is great at his job. But when he's tasked with aiding the suddenly erratic Dusty Crane (Taylor John Smith, Shadow in the Cloud), he begins to see more in the rogue agent's story than his old Vietnam War pal Robinson wants to share. Crane has quite the wild tale to tell, tied to the assassination of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-style politician Sofia Flores (Mel Jarnson, Mortal Kombat) and filled with dark government secrets, and he's eager to share it with scoop-chasing reporter Mira Jones (Emmy Raver-Lampman, The Umbrella Academy). That's exactly what Block is supposed to stop, with his new crisis of conscience putting his daughter Amanda (Claire van der Bloom, Palm Beach) and granddaughter Natalie (debutant Gabriella Sengos) in peril. Spotting similarities between Blacklight and Neeson's other recent work isn't just a sign of spending too much time watching the Irish actor's features of late. His latest release shares a filmmaker with Honest Thief, which reached cinemas less than 18 months ago — and writer/director Mark Williams doesn't stretch himself or his star in their second collaboration. Another flick that's solely about getting Neeson to deploy the no-longer-special set of action skills he's been trotting out since the Taken films became such hits, Blacklight is dispiritingly bland and by the numbers, even within the growing pile of movies that fit the same description (see also: The Marksman and The Ice Road in the past year). It isn't just that first-time co-scribe Nick May's formulaic script ticks every expected box, and that Williams' every directorial choice sticks to the easy and obvious as well. Flatter than the weary gaze emanating from Neeson at every turn, the film persistently suffers from a lack of life and energy. Melbourne dubiously stands in for Washington DC, and the conspiracy-fuelled action that takes over its streets and buildings is even less convincing; whether tracking foot chases or crashing along roadways, the movie's set pieces are perfunctory at best. And while the subplot involving Travis' yearning to spend more time with Amanda and Natalie is meant to add depth amid the routine blows, it's as flimsy and implausible as everything else in the narrative (especially when Amanda can't fathom why her dad, whose personality is solely defined by his work, family and having OCD, has a paranoia problem). The twists surrounding Robinson prove just as laboured, and Neeson and Quinn's long-standing on-screen rapport — dating back to 1986's The Mission — can't bolster the dialogue or the dynamic between their. Indeed, when Neeson utters resigned lines about making poor career choices, it rings with truth for all of the wrong reasons. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on October 7, October 14, October 21 and October 28; November 4, November 11, November 18 and November 25; December 2, December 9, December 16 and December 26; January 1, January 6, January 13, January 20 and January 27; and February 3. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Alpinist, A Fire Inside, Lamb, The Last Duel, Malignant, The Harder They Fall, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, Halloween Kills, Passing, Eternals, The Many Saints of Newark, Julia, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Zola, Last Night in Soho, Blue Bayou, The Rescue, Titane, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Dune, Encanto, The Card Counter, The Lost Leonardo, The French Dispatch, Don't Look Up, Dear Evan Hansen, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Lost Daughter, The Scary of Sixty-First, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza, The Matrix Resurrections, The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Worst Person in the World, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci, The King's Man, Red Rocket, Scream, The 355, Gold, King Richard, Limbo, Spencer, Nightmare Alley, Belle, Parallel Mothers, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Belfast, Here Out West and Jackass Forever.
It's true of every great arts festival lineup: pick three highlights from the program at random and a clear snapshot of the event's diverse array of experiences emerges. For a trio of picks from Sydney Festival's just-announced 2025 bill that does exactly that, turning the Harbour City's Town Hall into the wild west, exploring a true-crime case in an IRL courthouse, then getting Avatar, Titanic, The Terminator and Aliens filmmaker James Cameron chatting about shipwrecks all paint a clear picture. As it has done for 49 years now, this fest adores having something for everyone on offer. Just two years after Sydney Town Hall became an indoor beach complete with 26 tonnes of sand for the festival, the venue will transform into a pioneer settlement for Dark Noon, which builds its setting in real time as the audience watches on. A hit at Edinburgh Fringe, playing Australia exclusive to Sydney Festival and heading Down Under after a run in New York, the production from Danish director Tue Biering explores the power dynamics, race relations and colonial impacts inherent in its chosen chapter of history, all by subverting the wild west tropes established by cinema over the years — and with a South African cast. [caption id="attachment_977489" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Teddy Wolff[/caption] Also a standout on the full program, which'll pack Sydney with more than 130 shows and events from Saturday, January 4–Sunday, January 26, 2025: A Model Murder at the Darlinghurst Courthouse. Playwright Melanie Tait (The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race) and director Sheridan Harbridge (44 Sex Acts in One Week) aren't just recreating model Shirley Beiger's trial for shooting her cheating boyfriend — they're staging it at the same spot where it took place seven decades ago. For something completely different, one of the biggest names in blockbuster cinema is also on the Sydney Festival lineup, with James Cameron's experience in the water — including diving to earth's deepest point — the topic of conversation on the talks section of the bill. Or, still thinking about the sea, a giant whale is popping up in Bondi, courtesy of Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. The fest's 23-day run has a date with 43 different locations around town, ensuring that every corner of Sydney gets in on the action. One such location: Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, where The Thirsty Mile is returning as a hub featuring much to see by day and night. Think: free live music across 12 evenings, yoga classes, a heap of productions, public art and, for a beverage, the Moonshine Bar, where artist Telly Tuita is decking out the joint — as he's also doing with the SS John Oxley and via ten-room 'Tongpop' installation Colour Maze. Blak Out joins the favourites making a comeback, this time with Sydney Festival's Creative Artist in Residence Jake Nash curating the program. With Barangaroo Reserve as its base, this pivotal part of the fest includes Belvoir Theatre's Jacky, album launches for DOBBY and Radical Son, a woven canopy that'll host conversations, a celebration of Redfern's 70s-era National Black Theatre and more. [caption id="attachment_977492" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tashi Hall[/caption] From there, the world premiere of Siegfried & Roy: The Unauthorised Opera, Sophocles' Antigone reimagined on the edge of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and a twist on Shakespeare via Cliff Cardinal's As You Like It or The Land Acknowledgement should get your eyes glued to the stage. Also in the same category: Back to Back Theatre's Multiple Bad Things at Sydney Opera House, Opera Australia taking on Cendrillon (Cinderella), Christie Whelan Browne exploring her childhood. First Nations drag performer Miss Ellaneous honouring a simply-the-best icon with Tina — A Tropical Love Story and Greek mythology-inspired dance piece AFTERWORLD. Elsewhere on the bill, Rufus Wainwright is heading to town, William Yang's Milestone marks his 80th birthday, Katie Noonan is paying tribute to Jeff Buckley's Grace for its 30th anniversary, Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden is hosting five gigs, the Future Frequencies bill is all about music up and comers such as Yaya Bey and Cash Savage and The Last Drinks, Sydney Symphony Under the Stars is back and audiences can take part in interactive dance piece Cowboy. [caption id="attachment_977485" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dahlia Katz[/caption] "Sydney Festival has long held summer's cultural pulse and this year is quite the heartbeat. Stories of Oceania, destiny and what we leave behind through to bold explorations of utopia and dystopia, Sydney Festival 2025 promises an exhilarating and thought-provoking journey through the arts with exceptional talent at the reins," said Festival Director Olivia Ansell, announcing her fourth — and final — program. "This January, immerse yourself in a summer of unforgettable performances, groundbreaking new works, and exclusive experiences that reimagine the world around us." There's clearly a wealth of reasons to head along, whether you're a Sydneysider making the most of your own town or you're planning an interstate trip to kick off 2025 — and the fact that the fest is also doing $49 early-bird tickets across the entire program until early December is yet another. [caption id="attachment_977488" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ben Lindberg[/caption] [caption id="attachment_977486" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jeff Busby[/caption] [caption id="attachment_977487" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bill Cooper / Royal Opera House / ArenaPAL[/caption] Sydney Festival 2025 runs from Saturday, January 4–Sunday, January 26 at venues across the city. For further details and to buy tickets from 9am AEDT on Wednesday, October 30, visit the Sydney Festival website.
Say hello to my little friend, Australia. Academy Award winning Director Oliver Stone, the maestro behind such influential films as Scarface, Midnight Express, Platoon, Wall Street, Natural Born Killers, JFK, Nixon, and The Doors, is coming to Australia, appearing exclusively at Vivid Sydney. The highly respected director will join the Vivid Ideas Game-Changer talks series (already featuring street art icon Shepard Fairey), and join the Semi Permanent lineup while he's at it. Not one to veer away from controversial subjects, Stone will be joining equally no-bullshit Australian legend Margaret Pomeranz AM on stage at City Recital Hall on Sunday, May 28 for a rare, behind-the-scenes insight into Stone's career and his polarising films. "Interviewing Oliver Stone?" says Pomeranz. "One of the most significant filmmakers of the past 40 years to trawl through our political and cultural history! It's intimidating, exciting and absolutely unmissable. If I weren't on the stage with him I would be in the audience." Stone will also be speaking 'in conversation' at Semi Permanent at Carriageworks on Friday, May 26 — you'll need a full-day festival pass for that. "Semi Permanent is excited to welcome iconic filmmaker and storyteller Oliver Stone to our extraordinary line up for 2017 in Sydney," said Semi Permanent founder and director Murray Bell said. "The Academy Award winning writer and director is one of the most prolific of our time, making films that profoundly capture pivotal moments in our recent history – a lifetime spent creating entertaining and provocative works." Semi Permanent's 2017 event will take over Carriageworks from Thursday, May 25 to Saturday, May 27 and features a cast of players so influential in the modern design game that while this event's in motion, the world will become a very desolate and tacky place. Speakers include Museum of Contemporary Art Australia director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, Katherine Keating publisher VICE Impact, Nike design director Meirion Pritchard and Nike EMEA brand director Gary Horton, Jacqueline Bourke from Getty Images, animation studio Moth Collective, Design Studio's Paul Stafford, Frog Design and Australian designers David Caon, Henry Wilson and architect Kelvin Ho. In the meantime, we'll be playing Smokey Robinson all day: Oliver Stone will appear at Semi Permanent at Carriageworks on Friday, May 26 and The Vivid Ideas Game-Changer talk will be held on Sunday, May 28 at City Recital Hall. Tickets are on sale now at vividsydney.com and semipermanent.com. Image: Getty Images.
Nerds and drinks? Don't mind if I do. The secret's out and Tokyo Sing Song's a treat. The vibe at the late-night bar is part Mai Tai jelly square, part Asahi schooner, and the gorgeous guys in bubble wrap skirts — one of whom I swear was dressed as a game of Tetris — clashed swimmingly with the Tokyo decor, black-and-white film projections and pop rock candy conversation. There's a strong aesthetic of darkness and intrigue: a stage draped in foil and flickered with red, blue and white lights is smooshed in between cosy old-school vinyl booths with silver-topped tables scattered with sweets in shiny wrappers, plates of beans, and bright cans of Mount Fuji and Giddy Geisha — tasty "poptails" in soft drink fancy dress, with a sprig of mint or a handful of candy and a "shot 'n' a half" of booze. Each month sees a new curator tizzy up the joint and the debut month has been designed by Melbourne based artist and lighting designer, Duckpond. "I'm thrilled with the way it looks and feels," he said at the midnight launch party on October 10. "I like to explore the dark crevices, the nooks and crannies." With his mop of grey hair, dark-rimmed glasses frosted with the silver glitter covering his eyebrows and sporting a bright purple pair of soft cotton pyjamas, Duckpond hardly stood out on launch night amidst the gowned and glowing. He's an advocate of sleepwear at any time of day — "'at any given moment you can have either just stepped out of bed or be perfectly ready to go back to bed" — and Tokyo Sing Song is just the venue to tout such activism. Christa Hughes as Fanny Warhol tooted off proceedings at the launch party with a breathless rendition of Celine Dion and later on in the eve See More Butts and local icons Matt Format and Aaron Manahan kept the eve on the wide and windy. Poptails go for $12 a can and the Sumo Sour — plum wine, lime, Suntory CC Lemon Soda and sour candy is a winner. Cocktails are $16 and the sashimi platter — a trio of alcoholic jelly cocktails served with Midori 'wasabi' — is delish. There's zilch in the way of food, although complimentary edamame beans are served all night.
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.
Inner-city hospitality hub 25 Martin Place has quickly cemented a reputation as one of the most reliable dining go-tos in the CBD, but for the past few months, one-half of this multi-venue complex has been conspicuously dormant. New Zealand steakhouse chain Botswana Butchery, which occupied the expansive three-storey east wing of the site, announced in April that it was entering voluntary administration and given the economic uncertainties that have forced a rash of similar closures across Sydney in recent months, it was unclear if or when a new tenant would be able to take up residence. Now, one of the city's most successful hospitality companies, Point Group, who also operate the ever-popular Shell House, has announced ambitious plans to launch not one but three venues in the former Botswana Butchery digs, creating a new hospitality hub within a hospitality hub. The International will feature a wine bar, a fine diner and a rooftop watering hole showcasing a worldly array of culinary experiences that celebrate the cultural diversity that is so essential to Sydney's identity. [caption id="attachment_974166" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jonny Valiant[/caption] "We're excited for The International to become the cultural cornerstone of this lively and engaged part of the city," Point Group CEO Brett Robinson said. "Our approach will be simple: if it's fun, delicious and exciting, it's on the menu. Our team has had the opportunity to pull together this new project with total creative freedom and without limitations to define a new standard of big-city dining. The International is not just a restaurant; it will be a social and culinary destination where the only rule is that the food, the wine and the hand-crafted beverages must be delicious and of exceptional quality and the service dedicated, inspired and authentic." Sydney already has an excellent pedigree when it comes to pyro-powered cuisine, championed by the likes of Neil Perry at Rockpool, Lennox Hastie at Firedoor and Corey Costelloe at 20 Chapel. The Grill will join this impressive list of woodfired fine diners with culinary director Joel Bickford delivering a menu driven by provenance, high-quality produce, seasonality and simplicity. [caption id="attachment_974167" align="alignnone" width="2560"] The Grill[/caption] Custom mid-century furniture and bespoke joinery will create an atmosphere that is both luxurious and comfortable. Guests will enter through a glossy walnut bar where they can enjoy artisanal martinis or a flute of chilled champagne. The dining room will feature striking geometric marble flooring and a cold bar showcasing local seafood, complemented by an open kitchen where licks of open flame will catch the attention of diners. Bickford envisions The Grill as a destination for celebrating special moments while also being somewhere guests can enjoy everyday pleasures through exceptional food and wine. "Ultimately, it's about the food; provenance, best-in-class produce, seasonality and simplicity with absolutely no cutting corners, delivered by the very best chefs in the city working to deliver a unique perspective on classic traditions, internationally renowned preparations and worldly perspectives," he said. [caption id="attachment_974168" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Wine Bar[/caption] The Wine Bar will deliver a more casual (yet no less refined) offering, with a menu by Executive Chef Danny Corbett leaning on small plates inspired by worldwide cuisines. The venue will comprise three distinct spaces: a 60-seat piazza-style courtyard restaurant with an outdoor bar, perfect for all-day dining and socialising; an intimate 40-seat wine bar with a terrace overlooking Martin Place and an open kitchen featuring a Marana Forni pizza oven; and a 60-seat circular dining room with plush decor, ideal for special occasions and wine tastings. In addition to the food offering, there will, of course, be an extensive wine list, including generous by-the-glass options, curated by sommelier Alex Kirkwood. Finally, The Panorama Bar on the top floor of The International will be a vibrant social hub, made for sun-soaked lunches, golden hour drinks, and after-dark get-togethers. The bar will offer all-day dining and late-night drinking. Culinary Director Joel Bickford and Executive Chef Danny Corbett have created a menu of sharing plates and bar snacks, including cold bar options and Japanese bites prepared over Hibachi grills. Guests can enjoy a seasonal drinks list curated by award-winning bartender Josh Reynolds, including signature cocktails and an extensive champagne and chablis selection, perfect for a summer thirst-quencher. With views of the art deco architectural masterpieces of Martin Place and the bustling courtyard at the foot of Harry Siedler's iconic skyscraper, the outdoor terrace of the aptly named The Panorama Bar will channel a glamorous yet playful vibe. Fire pits, comfortable loungers and leafy planting will set an enticing tone while live DJ sets in the evening will pump up the party atmosphere. [caption id="attachment_974169" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Panorama Bar[/caption] The International will open at 25 Martin Place in the CBD in November.
Dress in your best 60s get-up and step back in time at the only permanent drive-in left in Sydney. With a Happy Days-esque diner offering classic snacks like hot chips, choc tops and burgers, you better not do anything more than hold hands with your sweetheart otherwise you'll ruin the schmaltz of the experience. There are two opposing screens which show double features nightly. As well as all the latest hits, the drive-in cinema screens retro favourites and seasonal specials. So, expect lots of slasher flicks around October, The Grinch in December and The Notebook on February 14. Like most drive-in cinemas, you'll pay by the car load here, which includes up to six people for $35 a pop. Some special events may set you back a little more.
Heading down vaguely eerie Sydenham Road, you may fear you've missed a turn somewhere along the way as airplanes swoop directly overhead. Just when you're sure the street is a tad too quiet, around the bend — marked with a giant painting of a lumberjack-like brewer in overalls — you'll find Batch Brewing Co inside one of Marrickville's roller-doored spaces. The warmth of the space, lit by strings of fairy lights, radiates onto the footpath as locals catch up over a few fresh glasses from the brewing team — American expats Andrew Fineran and Chris Sidwa. Long, high tables lined with bar stools fill the front of the ex-industrial building, making plenty of room for their usual bustling crowds, eager to get a pint from this week's offerings. Father back into the venue, Batch makes little attempt to hide the giant steel fermenting tanks, with plush leather booths lining the walls directly facing stacks of canned brews and machinery. And should they have to? Sydneysiders today are keen to know exactly where their products come from — and these boys aren't hiding a thing. Batch was the first of the now numerous craft breweries to open in the area, paving the way for Marrickville to become — as Fineran puts it — "the craft beer capital of Australia." Since opening in 2013, the pair have faced legal difficulties, treading a path no one had walked before, but with City Council support Batch Brewing Co. opened, and Marrickville is all the better for it, gaining a vibrant and diverse community built from the ground up. And with the addition of the new Sydney Metro at the Sydenham train station just a five-minute walk away, traveling to this suburb staple has never been easier. With a consistently stellar core range — a standout being their nitrogenated Milk Stout — these Marrickville veterans would already be worth a visit. However, on average the brewers produce a brand new beer every five days, meaning taps rotate out consistently. "For us, it's really just about just keep the variety coming in, making something that we're interested in," says Fineran. "That way, people know they're most likely going to get something different every time they come in... there's a good chance there's a beer they've never tried." Be sure to check their website regularly for what's on tap that week, and stop in Tuesday through Sunday for a bite from local food trucks — best enjoyed with a cold glass. "Our thing is to live our name Batch," Fineran says. "Do new and different beers all the time." Appears in: The Best Sydney Brewery Bars for 2023
