Meta is so hot right now. Everywhere you look, the indie theatre scene is blossoming with shows that let ‘real life’ or ‘rehearsals’ creep onto the stage and taint the audience’s experience. The Unspoken Word is ‘Joe’ is one such meta show to dive into, offering some new tweaks on the trend. Produced by MKA: Theatre of New Writing and Griffin Independent, this play written by Zoey Dawson (one third of I'm Trying to Kiss You) and directed by Declan Greene (one half of Sisters Grimm) is at once clever and childish. It’s unrestrained and impetuous — much like the 'Zoey Dawson' character on the stage. We admire the child prodigy who by day discusses peace and conflict but still loses her shit when she doesn’t get a Fanta. The Unspoken Word Is 'Joe' chronicles the loves and losses of Zoey Dawson herself, but explodes her experience to touch the hearts of everyone. Joe is an 80-minute surprise-party-nightmare; the content is best left unspoiled, but you will leave feeling incredulous at the transformation of ‘Zoey’ (played by Nikki Shiels). Shiels gives a harrowing portrait of female demolishment — both received and delivered. As writer-creator, the figure of Dawson reconstructs her stage world to suit her desires, and has no mushy emotions when it comes to sacking/recasting her ‘Man 1’. If Dawson hasn’t put herself into the script, she’s put a few damn interesting females onstage nevertheless. Shiels as ‘Zoey’ reveals her jealous self-obsession then realises she must seduce us back. She sweetly blushes at her own success, then violently lashes out at her co-stars (Matt Hickey, Annie Last and Aaron Orzech dedicatedly play the nameless minor characters in her story). Natasha Herbert is MC for the evening and is by turns hilarious, heartwarming and a total sell-out. The typical meta gags are there, explaining what the set/lighting will look like at some unspecified date in the future, etcetera. The writing pokes fun at the ‘staging a reading’ culture that actors may buy into when they’re so fab and important. It walks scarily close to the ‘too far’ line, until you realise that line’s been pushed further back the whole time. Joe's creative team calls it one of the worst plays ever written, and it definitely delivers a cringe fest as Zoey belts down her path of destruction. You’ll like this if you can cope with the dark fact that love in the Tindersphere might be messed up and fruitless.
There's a crumbling, dinky old pub on Parramatta Road that you've probably driven past a hundred times. It's not on a corner, it's not particularly flash, and it's wedged between Ray's Outdoors and Istanbul on Broadway. Camperdown residents, in about two months, it's going to become your go-to local — the lord mayor of Chippendale's The Lord Gladstone is about to revamp one of the suburb's legitimately hidden gems: The Hampshire. Playing partner pub to the Lord Gladstone, the soon to be opened Lady Hampshire (get it?) is the latest project from prolific Sydney publican Paddy Coughlan. Co-founder and ex-CEO of the Riversdale Group (The Vic on the Park, The Marly, Kinselas) and now founder of boutique Sydney pub company Bourke Street (The Glad), Paddy specialises in taking an underperforming pub and giving it new life, rather than building a brand newie. This time, it's Camperdown's long lost Hampshire, sitting quietly closed for two years on Parramatta Road. "I knew this pub was here, because I'd driven past it a hundred times and always wondered why it was closed," says Paddy. "I could see what was happening in Camperdown — to me Camperdown feels like Newtown now, whereas when I was growing up, Camperdown was a bit of a No Man's Land — it was like a thoroughfare to get to the city." Paddy tracked down the Hampshire's owner and snapped the pub up. The biggest win? No one, especially the public, had looked at the pub for years. "Often times, ironically, it's easier to take a really bad pub or a pub that's closed because you don't have that worry about protecting any existing trade. You can really just go in with a clean slate," he says. "When you take over a pub that's trading, you know, there's a certain amount of customers that you want to remain customers. You end up trying to please everyone and you can't." Design-wise, the Hampshire will undergo the same treatment as many of Paddy's pubs. "We just strip everything back and then try and find any features that are worth keeping." As it stands right now, to say the Hampshire's an eclectic old pub is an understatement. Currently, the pub features pressed metal ceilings, a broad timber bar in surprisingly good nick, indoor street art drawn over with texta heralding "Trivia on Tuesdays", Frankie-like murals with Red Riding Hood-like figures, dead pokie machines, porcelain hippos, weirdly pristine magazine collages dedicated to dogs, and old pun-filled chalkboard menus. Bourke Street's a fan of the classic front bar so will keep the Hampshire's initial room as is, with plans for framed old Newtown Jets prints, vintage NRL paraphernalia and old live music posters on the walls. Walking through to the second room in the pub, featuring two old fireplaces, Paddy plans to bring in some local street art to the space (and running the Glad and the Vic, he knows a Sydney street artist or two). "As all my mates are fucking sick of me talking about, I'm a big lover of graffiti and street art because I grew up with it." Out back, the Hampshire boasts a great openair beer garden, with a big screen already existing, primed for AFL grand finals and Rabbitohs matches — something pubs like The Vic have become known for. Alongside a custom smoker for smoked meats on the weekends, Paddy plans to lower the shed roof to create a hanging kitchen garden. Food-wise, the Hampshire will follow the lead of its predecessors, with classic pub grub done bloody well. Paddy's looking at featuring the Gladstone's signature schnitties and burgers on the menu — we suggested doing a Lady Burger a la Lord Burger, and we're claiming it if it ends up on the menu, Paddy. They'll go heavier on the tacos than the Gladstone, who feature three on the menu — Hampshire will feature possibly ten. But how will the Hampshire stand out in a renaissance of pub grub? "My theory on that, and I say this to all our managers, is you can go to most pubs in Sydney who have a pub-style menu, if you just read the menu they all read exactly the same — they've all got a schnitzel, a burger, a steak, a couple of other things right? But it's how it's cooked is the difference." His main piece of pub grub advice? "Beware the heart-shaped schnitzel... No two schnitties should look the same." Music lovers will be stoked to hear the Hampshire focus on live music, — Paddy's thinking Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights. Hopefully neighbours don't treat the Hampshire the same way they treated the Annandale Hotel, right up Parramatta Road. Importantly, Camperdown's outside the lockout zone, something that can't be ignored when you're opening a new pub in Sydney with a focus on live music. "Sydney's in a weird time at the moment, socially, I think, you know, this whole lockout thing, with the State Government that we have," he says. "I really think we'll be looking back in ten years time and go, "Jesus, what the fuck was going on then? How did we let this government change the city culturally? I think it's a shame. But I think as a city we'll regenerate ourselves." "I think there is so much unintended consequence from it, which happens when a decision's made in a kneejerk way, without being thought through ... But I think that makes it more important for venues to support art and support music, to give creative people an outlet, give them spaces to use, give them places to come and perform and just to hang out late at night." The Lady Hampshire will open in about two months at 91 Parramatta Road, Camperdown. Watch this space. Images: Steven Woodburn.
Martin Place is set to score more outdoor dining, more trees and epic landscaping, thanks to plans proposed by the City of Sydney. For the first time, seating will be allowed between Pitt and George Streets, in the section dedicated to the Cenotaph, a World War I memorial. A group of Martin Place property owners, now formally known as the Martin Place Owners Group, hatched the idea back in 2013. They approached the Council, who worked in consultation with Gehl Architects and Hassell Architects (both have worked on projects in the surrounding CBD), not to mention the hugely important RSL, to come up with a solution. Restaurant owners will soon be able to apply for permits to place outdoor chairs and tables in the memorial section of Martin Place, with red tape cut to make it easier for these owners to get permits more quickly. “We would like to see Martin Place become a more enticing environment, one that attracts people day and night, encourages a 24/7 economy and reinforces it as the civil and civic heart of this city, and this plan very much aligns with our vision,” said Andrea Roberts, chairwoman of the Martin Place Owners Group. The changes will coincide with the commencement of work on the light rail. And there’ll also be upgrades in and around the streets leading to Circular Quay. “Martin Place is Sydney’s most popular public plaza, with some of the city’s finest buildings," said Lord Mayor Clover Moore. "These changes will make Martin Place and the area around the Quay more appealing for the thousands of people who enjoy these busy areas each day.” The plans for Martin Place are on display at the City of Sydney for four weeks and members of the public are invited to give feedback.
Sydney's Archie Rose Distilling Co. may be a fairly fresh name in the spirits game, but with a well-regarded brand, a popular bar and solid range of gin, vodka and whisky, you wouldn't know it. Especially now that it's opening a second distillery in Sydney. Founder Will Edwards and his team of ginmakers have begun construction on a new distillery in Botany, which is set to be completed mid-2019. An additional space will allow Archie Rose to further its focus on progression, research and development in distilling and brewing, as well as increasing overall capacity for all the spirits they produce. Once completed, it'll move all of its whisky stock under the one roof in Botany to better monitor maturation. According to Edwards, the new site will also be specifically designed for Archie Rose's methods of production. "It provides us with the opportunity to re-conceive and design every aspect of the distillery specifically to suit our unique production methods," he says. That includes customising their mill, handling speciality roasted malts and individually distilled gin botanicals. A focus of the new space will also be sustainability, aiming to use less water, power and gas in the production equipment and processes. The original Rosebery site will then be dedicated solely to research and development projects, becoming less distillery and more science lab. Turns out the recipe for gin isn't so simple or static, so you can expect to see some limited release spirits and "weirder innovation projects" from the brand in the near future. Importantly, nothing will change in the bar — you can still go have a tipple, snack on a charcuterie situation and blend your own whisky or gin. Archie Rose Distilling Co.'s second distillery will open in Botany in mid-2019. We'll keep you updated on any developments.
Sydney's developed some kind of primal need for burgers in their lives, in their Instagram feeds, in their mouths at all times. And some of the biggest fiends in the burger biz, Pub Life Kitchen, have been enabling, nay, fuelling our insatiable, passionate love for burgers since 2010, when owner Jovan Curic opened the first PLK under the guise Bill & Toni's Pub Life. Moving to Ultimo's Lord Wolseley Hotel three years later, Curic continued to stack magic on our plates. Now, Pub Life Kitchen — like our belt — has expanded. Pub Life Kitchen has opened a brand new venue in Rozelle, open for lunch and dinner seven days a week at Ruby L'otel. Championing the gloriously hearty realms of pub food, PLK's menu includes both its insanely popular burgers and pub classics. There'll be three burgers on the Rozelle menu, including The O.G (salt aged patty, American cheese, McClures pickles, lettuce, tomato and PLK aioli); and The Bird (buttermilk fried chicken, McClures pickles, American cheese, lettuce, tomato and green sriracha mayo). Rozelle will have an exclusive burger, the Don Ruby (salt aged patty, American cheese, McClures pickles, black garlic and truffle aioli), which was created earlier this month for Burgerpalooza. As for those pub classics? Think braised beef cheeks with truffled potato purée and Serrano ham; pumpkin and walnut tortellini with sage and burnt butter, and the pubtastic Pie of the Day with house pastry, peas and gravy. PLK Rozelle is also doing rotating specials, seven nights a week. Monday does half price mains, Tuesday is cheap steak night, Wednesday kids eat free, and Thursday is 'Chicken Dinners' (whole charcoal chickens and unlimited $4 sides). Fridays are being called 'Burger Experiment' night, which is where you'll see those insane PLK creations Instagram loves, Saturday is pub brunch day and Sundays will see a regular event called ParkMeats (whole animals roasted on spits, BYO picnic blankets). Find PLK Rozelle at The Ruby L'otel, 68 Victoria Road, Rozelle, Open Monday to Sunday 12pm – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm. Want more burgs? We like this joint.
Keep it on the down low, but Sydney's got a brand new bar (well, technically new). Located in the basement beneath Riley St Garage in Woolloomooloo, in a subterranean space previously occupied by a mechanics workshop, Busby Under the Garage is officially open to the public from today (it quietly, sort of opened in December, but it's all systems go now). With champagne, cocktails and sophisticated bar food to accompany the classy surroundings, it seems like the perfect spot to wind up your evening after a big jaunt out on the town. That being said, you'll have to pick your nights carefully. While Busby will be open to the public on Friday and Saturday evenings, from Monday to Thursday it'll operate as a private functions space. Riley St Garage co-owner Liesel Peterson told Good Food in December that he initially planned to keep the new venue a secret from the public, utilising it as a hidden hangout for regulars and celebrities. Thankfully, he opted against that idea, and now it can be enjoyed by one and all. The drinks list at Busby promises wine, champagne and cocktails, while the food menu includes fish and chips as well as plates of cured meats and cheeses. The space itself, replete with luxe leather and industrial-style lighting, was designed by Alexander & Co, the same team behind the fit outs at Surly's, The Morrison, Daniel San and The Print Room. Busby Under the Garage can be found beneath Riley St Garage at 55 Riley St, Woolloomooloo. For more information, check them out on Facebook.
First there was camping, but nature is icky and the hard ground is no Posturepedic. Then there was glamping, which is certainly a step up but still requires you to be outside with only a thin velour track pant and tasteful white canopy between you and the bugs. But now, thankfully, there's a way to get the best parts of camping (good company and fire-cooked food) without having to leave the city or wear ugly hiking shoes and unflattering shorts. Hunter and Barrel is the new dining concept hitting Sydney and Melbourne. With a menu focused on coal-roasted meats and seasonal vegetables, big barbecued skewers, sharing boards, stews, soups, pies, and generally hearty fare, H&B delivers the sensory experience of camping without the inconvenience of actually, y'know, camping. Think warm, hearty dishes such as slow-roasted beef rib, seafood and pork belly cooked over the restaurant's coal grill (hot tip: order The Hunter's Feast), washed down with your classic craft beer or barrel-aged wine. Although contemporary horror films have taught us to fear the foreboding idea of a remote cabin (thanks Evil Dead and Cabin in the Woods), the primal part of our psyche still longs to get back to nature. Bradley Michael, the CEO of Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group who own Hunter and Barrel, told Good Food the venue had a “sexy camping, hunter’s cabin feel.” The décor at Hunter and Barrel, designed by ODO, features big rocks and rustic pipes — and your drink comes delivered by a suspended wall covered with barrels. Hunter and Barrel is now open at 303 Cockle Bay Wharf, Sydney. Via Good Food.
Darlington's gone and got itself a cosy new neighbourhood restaurant and we can't wait to give it a try. Located on Cleveland Street, Kindred is the brainchild of chef Matt Pollock, who spent more than a year renovating the 45-seat space before starting service late last week. If the food is halfway as good as it sounds, it'll have been time well spent. "The food is based in Italian, but it's not strictly Italian," says restaurant manager Jen Burley. The resulting menu is small but appealing. Starters such as warm country terrine with onion relish, green lentil and black garlic, and smoked chicken liver parfait served on sourdough with peach chutney, precede heartier mains like ricotta and chard ravioli with pangrattato, and braised lamb with pappardelle and green olives. Just make sure you leave room for chocolate tart with poached quince and crème fraiche, or fig and walnut sourdough pudding with banana gelato and caramel. We focus on #homemade products. Striving to make everything #inhouse and #ethical A photo posted by Kindred 🌿 (@kindred_restaurant) on May 8, 2016 at 12:16am PDT Another tick is that everything, from the pasta to the bread to the cultured butter, is made on site, while produce is sourced from local suppliers. The wine list, meanwhile, is "about 95 per cent organic, bio or natural," and is bolstered by a selection of spirits overleaf. Kindred can be found at 137 Cleveland Street, Darlington. They're open from 5pm Tuesday through Sunday. For more information visit Kindred's website.
The Belvoir folk were so impressed with The Tribe's premiere at Sydney Festival 2015, they decided to host it themselves. But, this time around, the play will appear in backyards all over Surry Hills. Yes, real, actual backyards — as in, you'll be watching the action among barbecues and Hills Hoists, framed by rambling jasmine vines and frangipani trees. Produced by Urban Theatre Projects and performed by Hazem Shammas (Mother Courage and Her Children, Scorched) The Tribe is based on Michael Mohammad Ahmad's novella of the same name. It tells the story of a young boy named Bani, who lives in Australia, but has a Lebanese background. In trying to make sense of how to live, he draws wisdom from his grandmother, who fled to Australia from Lebanon as part of a Muslim sect known as 'The Tribe'. Expect an captivating night of storytelling, drawing on ancient tales and truths. "The Tribe is my attempt to counteract the limited and simplistic representation that the Arab-Australian Muslim community of Western Sydney has received to date, and to offer a broader, more intimate understanding," said Ahmad of his novella. "It is also an act of self-determination — a declaration of the right to reclaim and tell our own stories in our own way."
That giant cloud arch isn't the only plan for George Street. Bold new proposals for the future of the Sydney CBD have been unveiled today. With construction on the George Street light rail and pedestrian zone about to get underway, the ULI Urban Innovation Initiative have revealed the finalists of their Global Ideas Competition, wherein young architects under the age of 35 were asked to reimagine the bustling thoroughfare as an innovative urban space in the year 2020. Here's what they came up with. https://youtu.be/npVnxagYhQY Nicola Balch, a landscape architect at McGregor Coxall and Alberto Quizon, an Architect at CHROFI, call their idea 'The George St Living Room'. Designed to engage people of all age groups, the centrepiece of their plan is a ‘services carpet’ of infrastructure that allows a variety of elements to plug in including fixed exercise equipment and digitally interactive benchtops with built-in phone chargers, as well as flexible open spaces for markets, events and festivals. https://youtu.be/wlY1El4HOPQ Krystal Pua, an architectural grad at Tropman and Tropman, led a team whose design is titled Moving Space and Staying Place. Their idea would split the street into 'moving spaces', meant to ease human congestion, and 'staying spaces', where people can take in street performances and public artwork and dine in streetside eateries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0H5ZtlhQGw&feature=youtu.be Finally there's Christian Vitulli, a landscape architect at Site Image, whose team envisions a colourful, multicultural streetscape which they've named Urban Street Craft. Their plans would focus on the southern end of the pedestrian zone between Park Street and Bathurst, and incorporate outdoor dining, indigenous art and illuminated digital projections. The three shortlisted finalists will spend the next month being mentored by property and design specialists in order to help fine-tune their proposals, before a final winner is announced in early November. That person will then present their ideas at the ULI 2016 Asia Pacific Summit. When completed, the George Street light rail will connect Circular Quay with Central Station, while the 1km pedestrian zone will stretch from Hunters Street and Bathurst. Which George Street would you like to see? Leave your two cents below. Image: The Living Room.
Seems Melbourne's Americana-centric festival didn't float with as many Sydneysiders as hoped — the Sydney chapter of the Out on the Weekend festival has been cancelled. Pointing to poor ticket sales, the OOTW organisers have pulled the plug on the event just a few days before it was due to take over Bella Vista Farm. Planned for this Saturday, October 24, the festival would have seen headliners like Kasey Chambers, Dawes, Sam Outlaw, Jonny Fritz, Ruby Boots and Jamestown Revival, food stalls from the likes of Porteno and Mary's, and a heck of a lot of harmonica solos. The festival organisers posted a statement on their Facebook page this afternoon: "We regret to advise that due to less than anticipated ticket sales, we are no longer proceeding with Out On The Weekend at Bella Vista Farm on October 24. While our expectations were not huge, we are greatly surprised at the lack of sales and cannot proceed both financially or logistically with the number of tickets sold." Ticketholders for the Sydney event will indeed receive refunds. Oztix will automatically refund the ticket price directly back to the credit card on which the order was purchased, within five to ten working days. But in a move of good faith, Out on the Weekend is offering Sydney ticketholders a free ticket to a couple of the billed artists locked in for sideshows: Jamestown Revival on October 22 and Sam Outlaw, Jonny Fritz and Shelly Colvin on October 25 at Newtown Social Club. In order to nab a free ticket, all ticketholders have to do is reply to an special Oztix email by 5pm AEST Wednesday, October 25 (obviously only ticketholders will have this email). Poor ticket sales have squashed another Sydney music festival of late, with Soulfest cancelling its 2015 instalment for the same reason. Sad stuff. Pop over to the Out on the Weekend website for more info.
If you haven't seen Starz's pirate drama Black Sails, make haste and stick that bad boy on the top of your to-do list. The action-packed, adventure television series follows the life of Captain Flint, decades before he became the swashbuckler who drew up the treasure map in R.L Stevenson's classic tale Treasure Island. From executive producer Michael Bay, Black Sails is set around the Caribbean island of New Providence, where pirates live outside the rule of law. The series' first three seasons have been a thrilling ride through daring raids, politics and blackmail, as well as salacious encounters with other on-screen pirates. As the law closes in on their home, the ruthless raiders fight for their autonomy, and (of course) go hunting for the legendary treasure. The show is midway through its fourth season, which will also be the last. In order to celebrate the last hurrah of Black Sails, we're giving two of our readers and a pal of their choice the chance to win a cruise through the harbour on a replica pirate ship, thanks to Sydney Harbour Tall Ships. Enjoy dinner and drinks, as well as a view of Vivid Sydney, while cruising the harbour on the most badass ship ever. Winners will receive the complete Black Sails Seasons 1 through 4 on DVD, and a handful of runners up will also snag copies of the final season. All you have to do is head here and tell us what you would name your pirate ship. Entries close on May 19, so get in quick. Break a peg-leg, m'hearties! Top image: Bodhi Liggett.
On the back of a series of culinary pop-ups including Rene Redzepi's NOMA Australia, the Barangaroo waterside development has welcomed its very first permanent restaurant. Opening this week on Wulugul Walk, Anason is the brainchild of acclaimed chef Somer Sivrioglu, whose Turkish restaurant Efendy has been a stalwart of the Balmain dining scene for almost a decade. Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, Sivrioglu's new venture is inspired by the meyhanes of Istanbul, serving traditional Anatolian morsels along with a healthy array of Turkish, Australian and European wines. Standout items on the summer menu include lamb fillet with eggplant; heirloom tomatoes with crumbed fetta and simit chips; purple cauliflower bake with walnut tarator; and veal kofte with quail eggs and white bean and tahina piyaz. Assuming you've still got room, dessert options include buffalo milk yogurt with honeycomb and pistachio; and rose and sour cherry muhallebi. They also offer a Bosphorus Feast for eight people or more, which includes saj bread, atom, pumpkin humus, beetroot kisir, salmon pastirma, tamarind sherbet, veal kofte and tulumba. That'll run you up a bill of $55 per head, or $85 if you want matching Turkish wines. They even have a cart, imported from Turkey, selling authentic sesame ring simits. Anason is located at 5/23 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo. For more information visit www.anason.com.au.
Two of Sydney's top chefs and several local crustaceans meet in a secret spot. To find out what happens next, you'll need to buy a ticket to Shellfishness. On Thursday, February 25, est.'s Peter Doyle and Coogee Pavilion's Jordan Toft will work their magic on a whole bunch of fresh local oysters and lobster. And you're invited to see what they come up with. While gorging on their creations, you'll be sippin' on champagne, alongside a handpicked selection of wine and beer. The event's clandestine location won't be revealed for some time yet, but Merivale is promising something pretty swanky. If you're familiar with Doyle or Toft, you might know that this is far from their first collaboration. Back in 2000, they worked together at Celsius and, more recently, Toft helped out when Doyle took over Merivale's est. Good things happen when these two team up.
For every kidult born in the late '80s/early '90s, an hour and a half of Cheez TV in the mornings was a healthy staple of our cultural diet. Hosts Ryan Lappin and Jade Gatt, now 38 and 36 respectively, are back in Pog form, a wee bit dustier than the fresh-faced teenagers we once knew and valiantly clawing their way back to relevance with a Cheez TV party. The event is being held at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville and the boys (now men) themselves will be there, bringing the nostalgia and reminding us all of the never-ending trudge of time. Expect '90s DJs sets (by the appropriately named DJ duo Team Rocket), big screen gaming and no doubt at least one story about Aerobics Oz Style awakening someone's sexuality. Check out the recently revived Cheez TV Facebook page where Ryan and Jade have been sharing throw back clips of your fave Cheez TV moments (with a meme-y 2016 spin) and it is glorious.
The two biggest problems faced by the food industry are painfully oppositional. On one hand, huge swathes of the planet don’t have enough to eat and on the other hand, Australians with plenty on the table are wasting up to 25 percent of fresh food that passes through our stores. We all want the best produce, the perfectly ripe avocado, the Instagrammable baby carrot bunch and the juiciest prime cut steak, but in the search for photoworthy food we pass over 'uglier' specimens. Last year, Harris Farm Markets sought to address this and launched ‘Imperfect Picks’, a range of 'ugly' but perfectly edible fruit and veg sold at half price in an attempt to reduce their food waste. This year, the legends are Harris Farm are back at it again, only this time they’re addressing meat waste with a range called ‘Curious Cuts’. Rolled out over the course of five weeks, the range include a selection of cheap, non-traditional cuts that are generally unavailable in Australia supermarkets. Weekly meats will include beef brisket, beef chuck ribs, beef bavette and beef tri tip plus a pork oyster shoulder. Meat prices are on the rise in Australia, sneaking up over 30 per cent in the last six months. 'Curious Cuts' looks like a solid option to save money and encourage sustainable practice while you're at it — something the industry is actually embracing. "It’s essential we start driving Australian demand for cuts of meat that are not as popular as the traditional eye fillet or sirloin steak," says Doug Piper from Meat and Livestock Australia. "Curious Cuts will help strengthen the local meat industry by encouraging the consumption of the whole beast on-shore, increasing its value while reducing the amount of production resources wasted." We know cooking with strange cow bits is a little intimidating, but some of the biggest names in the culinary circuit swear by said bits and they’ll guide you through. Plus you’ll save a bit of money and be able to brag about how to ethical it is to eat every part of the animal. Everybody wins. To start you off, here are some pretty top notch recipes that use non-traditional beef cuts. Try Curtis Stone’s tri-tip with green bean and red onion (via ABC’s The Chew): Luke Nyugen’s slow-braised beef ribs (via cooked): Or Jamie Oliver’s 'Perfect Roast Brisket' (via nourish magazine). To find out more about 'Curious Cuts' and to check which weekly meat is going for cheap at a Harris Farm near your place, head over here.
Carriageworks won't have seen this many costume changes since Fashion Week. Legendary fashion icon, unforgettable Bond villain and music superstar Grace Jones is returning to Australia, headlining Vivid Sydney's Modulations mini-festival at Carriageworks. Locked in for two already-announced performances on Sunday, May 31 and Monday, June 1, Jones has now added an extra date to her Sydney stay — Tuesday, June 2. Modulations marks the 66-year-old's first Sydney appearance since her jaw-dropper of a show at the Enmore in 2011 (there were costume changes every two or three songs, we swear) and is set to be one dramatic, high fashion affair. “A truly iconic singer, songwriter, model, actor and all round enigma,” said Modulations creative director Stephen Pavlovic. “[Jones’s] live sets are duly renowned as nothing short of incredible, segueing from disco to funk, from pop to punk, all presented within a visual spectacular as stunning as the musical artistry.” Vivid will also be Jones' only Australian performance for this tour, not unlike last year's Modulations headliners, the Pet Shop Boys. Jones marks the top of the bill for Vivid's six-day Modulations festival-within-a-festival. After a hugely successful weekend pairing music, food and ideas at Carriageworks last year, Modulations returns with an expanded program set across two weekends — we're talking a brand new pop-up called Italo Dining and Disco Club, living jazz legend saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, a huge Pelvis/Motorik/Kooky dance club team-up party and one of music and art's most provocative personalities Bill Drummond, who'll deliver a keynote address and unveil a new artwork especially for Modulations. Grace Jones will perform at Modulations on May 31, June 1 and 2 at Carriageworks. Tickets from $127, available here. Modulations runs over two weekends starting Sunday, May 31 during Vivid Sydney (22 May to 8 June). For more information and tickets, head to Carriageworks' website. Image: Andrea Klarin.
It's not every festival feels like a country weekend fete that just happens to be headlined by say, Courtney Barnett. Fairgrounds, Australia's country boutique camping festival descends on the small NSW town of Berry each December. Taking over the local Berry Showgrounds, Fairgrounds boasts all the trimmings of a major music festival with the essence of a local fair. And this December, it's back for another two-day round. Running over November 30 and December 1, the two-day festival is making a triumphant return. In a huge coup for the small festival in its third year, it's secured big-time festival favourites Courtney Barnett and Vance Joy to headline, alongside local legends Pond, Winston Surfshirt and more. Oh, and British punk poet Billy Bragg, US alternative rock band The Breeders and Zambian hip hop singer Sampa the Great will also join the lineup from across the globe. With a strong focus on the local NSW South Coast area, Fairgrounds isn't just about the tunes. Last year local nosh, market stalls and the local swimming pool played equally starring roles at this multifaceted festival — something we're sure made Berry residents pretty happy. Between dips in Berry's local pool (within the festival grounds), punters feasted on local delights, including fresh rock oysters harvested less than half an hour from the festival site. The festival's super-popular long-table dinners will return, too, which take place overlooking the live music. FAIRGROUNDS 2018 LINEUP Vance Joy Pond Rolling Blackouts C.F. Saba Body Type Oh Pep! Tia Gostelow Courtney Barnett Billy Bragg Winston Surfshirt The Breeders Sampa the Great The Teskey Brothers Waxahatchee Kevin Morby Maddy Jane Carla Geneve Image: Ian Laidlaw and Gabriel Vallido
Throw on a trench coat and your finest tinfoil hat for an evening of paranoid hilarity at Giant Dwarf. Hosted by Sydney comedians Cyrus Bezyan (RAW Comedy National Finalist, ABC Fresh Blood) and Jack Gow (Sydney Comedy Festival, Break Out Comedy Showcase 2015, two-time The Moth StorySLAM winner), Conspiracy Theories will peel back the facade of your workaday world and reveal the puppet-masters pulling the strings. From lizard people to the man on the grassy knoll, no rock will remain unturned, no matter how unsuspicious it may seem. Make it a priority to catch this one-night-only show during the run of the Sydney Comedy Festival. You'll never look at footage of the moon landing the same way again.
Art lovers, welcome to perpetual bliss. The formerly three-week shindig Art & About will now last an entire year. Come spring, summer, autumn or winter, there’ll no longer be any need to hibernate at home in an art-less depression. In keeping with the event’s 13-year-long tradition, Art & About 2015 will kick into action in mid-September. But this time, the installations, experiments and surprises won’t stop popping up until the 2016 edition is about to start. “Art & About Sydney brings Sydneysiders together with local and international artists in a fantastic celebration of the city’s creative spirit,” says Lord Mayor Clover Moore. “As major infrastructure works commence in the city, the time is right to move from a festival format to a model that continually enables creativity in the public domain ... Events like these are critical to Sydney’s economy and important in ensuring we remain a globally competitive city.” Here are nine creative encounters to add to your diary right now. The Terrace (18–27 September) On September 18, Town Hall’s Marconi Terrace will open as a temporary live music venue and bar, inspired by the rooftop garden renewals that have been happening of late in New York City. Get down there for nine nightly shows, featuring the best of local acts, including Dave and Joji (Gang of Youths), Emma Pask, Microwave Jenny, and Paul Capsis with Cafe of the Gate of Salvation. Near Kin Kin (18 September – 11 October) Customs House Square will get back to nature when it plays host to a 21-metre high bamboo forest, created by Cave Urban design collective. Visitors are invited to immerse themselves, while contemplating the pristine wilderness that covered Sydney Cove before European invasion. Australian Life and Little Sydney Lives (18 September – 11 October) One of Art & About’s staples returns to Hyde Park. For three weeks, the park will function as an outdoor art gallery, displaying 42 large-scale photographs across two exhibitions. Australian Life features the final works in its titular $10,000 prize, while Little Sydney Lives features images from Sydney’s young photographers (aged 3-11). Games + Actions (for a Quiet City) (17 October – 1 November) Keep your ears and eyes peeled for unexpected, unannounced musical performances while Games + Actions (for a Quiet City), created by Super Critical Mass, is in motion. Up to 100 community volunteers playing identical 'instruments' will appear at Martin Place on 17 and 18 October, Mitchell Library on 24 and 25 October, and Hyde Park on 31 October and 1 November. Car park and poolside cinema with Golden Age (21 November, 29–30 January) Don’t just watch films, live them, with Golden Age’s immersive cinema antics. On 20 February (that's a new, postponed date), Goulburn Street car park will be turned into an apocalyptic playground for a screening of Bladerunner. Then, on 29 and 30 January, book yourself a floating seat at Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool for Jaws. Watch those dangling feet. H20 Water Bar (2–21 February) This installation is a tasting bar created by Sydney-based artist Janet Laurence. But, rather than offering you wine or whisky, it’ll be serving up water sourced from all over Australia. Calling attention to issues of climate change, pollution and scarcity, H20 Water Bar will be located at one of our favourite Sydney spots, the Paddington Reservoir Gardens. Tut by Shaun Parker & Company (7–22 April) If you know all the moves to Tay Tay’s ‘Shake It Off’, you’re ready for Tut. One hundred dancers, selected from Shaun Parker & Company’s community workshops and online callouts, will bring the dance form, which was inspired by Egyptian hieroglyphics on King Tut’s pyramids, to the city streets. Scratching the Surface by Vhils (20–30 June) Portuguese artist Vhils flips the lid on street art by carving into surfaces, rather than building on them with spray paint or paper. For ten days, Sydneysiders will be able to watch him at work at a yet-to-be-disclosed location. The Blue Trees (4–11 March) Have a habit of taking trees for granted? To make sure you take notice of the impact we humans can have on the natural environment, artist Konstantin Dimopoulos will be turning the trees of Pyrmont’s Pirrama Road into a surreal, bright blue forest using a biologically safe, water-based colourant. Top image by Henrique Fanti, ‘Floatie’, 2015 (detail) from Australian Life. Second image Cave Urban's Near Kin Kin image by Juan Pablo Pinto (artist's impression). Third image Jones Jnr.
In January next year Noma will open in Sydney for ten weeks. For that time it will likely be the only restaurant in Sydney entirely inspired by Australia’s native ingredients, landscape and climate. When he was here in 2010, Noma’s visionary chef Rene Redzepi said this: "I think this is the essence of great cuisine. I think that in any city they should have all the ethnic and multicultural cuisines, but I think that it's a poor culture if it doesn't have its own true, unique expression that can only be represented right there at the place." He was making a comparison between the restaurant food he’d eaten in Sydney and Melbourne and the indigenous feast he'd had in the Flinders Ranges. Redzepi was surprised that, given the incredible variety of native produce we have, no one outside of indigenous communities (and a tiny pocket of restaurants) were using them. A lot has changed since then. "After listening to Rene Redzepi's keynote address at the Sydney Opera House, I was completely inspired and left that night on a mission to track down Australian native produce which I could weave into my Cantonese cooking," says Kylie Kwong, owner and head-chef at Billy Kwong — the only restaurant in the world making traditional Cantonese food with Australian ingredients. At the moment, their latest menu includes wallaby cakes with Kakadu plum, crispy saltbush parcels and stir-fried spanner crab with a trio of native greens. Elsewhere, Adelaide's Orana has a dish of emu, plum pine and mountain pepper, while at Attica in Melbourne you'll find salted red kangaroo with pepperberries and bunya bunya, a starchy Queensland nut roughly comparable to a chestnut. With the exception of the above restaurants and a handful of others though, the use of native ingredients is rarely more than an occasional flourish — a few wattle seeds here and there, a lemon myrtle infusion or maybe a sight of warrigal greens. Finding a native vegetable, fruit or meat is an extreme rarity. You get the impression that Australia's portfolio of native ingredients is simply a short list of easily substitutable herbs and greens. [caption id="attachment_552283" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Billy Kwong[/caption] REVOLUTIONISING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NATIVE FOODS John Newton's been researching native ingredients for his book The Oldest Foods on Earth. The history of native Australian food, with recipes. Australia has around 6000 unique edible plants and, in South East Queensland alone, there are more than 1500 different fruiting trees, he says. "We have the most fantastic native game birds. I've tasted the magpie goose — I love duck, and it's ten times better than duck. There's the bustard, there's scrub turkey, which tastes like pheasant. Beautiful." Even if only a tenth of our native ingredients tasted any good, it would be more than enough to completely revolutionise a green grocer’s shelves or an entire restaurant menu. But that particular revolution will have to wait, as there's not nearly enough farms or even knowledge of how to farm the vast majority of those ingredients. A lot of that information was lost after Europeans first arrived and started terraforming Australia for the production of beef, wheat and wool. [caption id="attachment_552284" align="alignnone" width="960"] Quay[/caption] FARMING NATIVE FOODS Picture this: you're an enterprising land owner who wants to start a farm. Given the resources and knowledge out there, you're more likely to start growing blueberries, cabbage or some common vegetable, rather than spend several years fiddling with native ingredients that have little to no backlog of info on how to actually cultivate or propagate them. Well, this has been the life of Mike and Gayle Quarmby. The owners of native food farming and distribution initiative Outback Pride have dedicated the best part of two decades to figuring out how to grow various native ingredients on a commercial scale. "We've done an enormous amount of research, development and horticultural work to actually domesticate these native food plants to get them to perform in a sustainable way," says Mike Quarmby. When they started, the majority of native produce farming consisted of simple wild harvesting, now their business is the biggest general supplier in the native food industry. Their clients include some of Australia's most innovative restaurants, chefs and grocers — and in January they'll be supplying almost their entire range of 65 ingredients to Noma Australia. [caption id="attachment_552289" align="alignnone" width="960"] Scallops with beach succulents at Orana.[/caption] SO, WHY THE STIGMA? It’s been a tough slog for the Quarmbys to get here. Aside from their trials in horticultural adventure, Quarmby says the duo has had to battle against an entrenched negativity against indigenous produce. "Australians have an inferiority complex about everything and anything related to food. ‘If it comes from overseas it must be good’. That has had a major effect,” he says. When we talked to John Newton about this, he mentioned the experience of three of Australia's early native produce pioneers: Jean-Paul Bruneteau and his restaurant Rowntrees, and Jennice and Raymond Kersh with Edna's Table. Interestingly, this first wave of restaurateurs made a big noise about using Australian native ingredients. Newton, who was working as a food critic in the '80s when the restaurants were operating, says the restauranteurs regularly faced criticism from customers solely due to the fact that they sold indigenous ingredients. "I don't know why. You could explore that in terms of racism all that you like," he says. But Newton says the worst thing to happen to the industry was a TV show called Bush Tucker Man. "Every time he puts something in his mouth he screws up. He hated it." Quarmby gave a similar review: "All due respects to Les Hidden, but he gave the impression that you only ate bush tucker if you were starving, and it tasted like shit." Quarmby says Redzepi has proven so influential because, as a Dane, he didn't come to Australia attached to any cultural prejudice or inferiority complex around Australian ingredients and the idea of a national cuisine. And now, despite a rough past, both Quarmby and his competitors in the native food industry are witnessing rapid growth. "We can't believe the number of new restaurants — we have nine exclusive distributors around Australia and our phone is running hot. They're saying things like 'this is the easiest thing we've sold all our lives'." WHERE TO EAT NATIVE INGREDIENTS Orana 1/285 Rundle Street, Adelaide, South Australia Attica 74 Glen Eira Road, Ripponlea, Victoria Vue de Monde 55, Rialto Towers, 525 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria Billy Kwong 1/28 Macleay Street, Elizabeth Bay, NSW Quay Upper Level, Overseas Passenger Terminal, George & Argyle Streets, The Rocks, NSW Bennelong Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney, NSW Top image: Salt cured red kangaroo with bunya bunya at Attica.
Kensington Street has dedicated itself to bringing the world's best food to Chippendale's newly paved laneways. The mission began with Spice Alley and Automata, and now continues with the introduction of The Private Kitchen. A bespoke pop-up housed on the third level of the Old Rum Store, the restaurant will play host to a rotating cast of the world's top chefs. First up is the multi-Michelin-starred Stanley Wong. He'll set up in the revamped industrial surrounds of the recently renovated Carlton United brewery and dish out a menu that encompasses kingfish sashimi, cornish hen, New York striploin and blistered shishito peppers. Wong's time working in France, America and Hong Kong is abundantly clear in the menu — it seems to traverse the entire globe in a single meal. Wong currently resides in Hong Kong where he runs his own kitchen studio Culinart. Similar to The Private Kitchen, it caters only for private group bookings and offers up a menu of food from around the globe with a slight Asian influence. The Old Rum Store is a four-levelled event space currently home to traditional French joint Bistrot Gavroche. Early next year it will house the restaurant Stanley Wong will launch when his Private Kitchen residency ends. Eastside Grill will be his first Australian restaurant and will focus on American grill — still maintaining that Asian influence however, by cooking with Japanese Binchotan charcoals. Bookings are already open for Stanley Wong's time at The Private Kitchen, which will open from December this year until February 2017. After that, a new culinary genius will take over the reins. The full program of chefs is to be released early next year. Image: Lauren Commens.
Residents of Marrickville are in for a treat (again). In a move that gives local street artists a legal blank canvas, and property owners a say in what ends up on their walls, brand new street artworks are popping up over the inner west as we speak. It's all part of a council initiative called Perfect Match (running August 5-7) that pairs artists with residents and business owners to transform once-boring walls (the kind that tend to lure in spray can-toting taggers) into works of art. Owners were matched with artists and collaborated to commission the works. "With Perfect Match we're tackling unwanted graffiti by fostering collaboration and creative expression in our public places," says Marrickville mayor Mark Gardiner. Now in its third year, Perfect Match has attracted internationally renowned artists including Sid Tapia, Fintan Magee, Ears and Capiche. This year, Tapia and Capiche are back, along with Mulga The Artist, Jumboist, Mandy Schöne-Salter, Akisiew, Alex Lehours, Steven Nuttall, Tiera Boo, Camo, Nitsua, HA HA, Thomas Jackson. If you've been wandering the streets of the inner west in the past week, you might have stumbled upon them at work. If not, the council has organised a series of tours (by bike, bus or foot) this Saturday, August 6 and Sunday, August 7, showcasing the work. Alternatively, just download the Perfect Match program and map and take to the pavement. Free events will be happening over the weekend including the Stencil Art Prize on Saturday, August 6 at Marrickville Bowling Club, an afternoon of live art and music, artists applying large scale paste-ups, and an art market on Faversham Street. On Sunday, August 7 August, it's all eyes on Camperdown, with free events will be taking place at Camperdown Park, Camperdown Commons, and local artist Sarah Harvie is holding collaborative workshops for her giant inflatable project Roll With It in Camperdown Park. It's all a proudly local, site-specific way to pretty up our streets. What a way to play Cupid. Tours run by bike, bus or foot this Saturday, August 1 in Marrickville. Head to the website for more info. Image: Askiew, Elixir Photography/Perfect Match.
Hate the lockouts? We're with you. Keen to really, actually, physically do something to show your discontent with the Sydney lockout laws? Lobby group Keep Sydney Open are holding a huge rally on February 21 to protest the State Government's controversial laws and the affect they're having on Sydney. Starting at Belmore Park in Central at 12.30pm, the rally will then make its way into the CBD. The crowd will stop by the soon-to-close George Street staple Bar Century for a mock funeral for all businesses and venues closed, and jobs lost since the lockouts were instated. Legendary Sydneysiders and nightlife supporters will be joining the rally for speeches, including Dave Faulkner (Hoodoo Gurus), Isabella Manfredi (The Preatures), Bernard Keane (political editor of Crikey and author of A Short History of Stupid) and Keep Sydney Open founder Tyson Koh. There'll also be performances from Sydney favourites Royal Headache — who wore Keep Sydney Open shirts at their Flaming Lips support set for Sydney Festival — and Art vs Science — who recently released a song in protest of the lockouts. More speakers will be announced during the week. There will be t-shirts on sale at Belmore Park before the rally proceeds on. The Keep Sydney Open rally is pushing certain actions on the Sunday, including: - lockout exemptions for licensed premises that are predominantly live music venues - an end to the new licence freeze for predominantly live music venues and small bars - the lifting of restrictions on retail hours - late-night public transport, like in Melbourne - the introduction of a Night Mayor, like in Amsterdam and Berlin - an invitation from government to discuss next steps in partnership with those whose livelihoods depend on the music and cultural industries thriving in Sydney - police to work with not against the responsible venues who provide safe nights out in a global city Keep Sydney Open's rally starts at 12.30pm at Belmore Park, Central on February 21. Head to the Facebook event page for more info. Image: Andy Fraser, Laneway Festival (who support Keep Sydney Open).
Legendary gloomsayer and friend to the animals Morrissey has been announced as the headliner of this year's Vivid LIVE. Set to play four exclusive shows at the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday May 26, Wednesday May 27, Saturday May 30 and Sunday May 31, the former Smiths frontman is one epic pull for the Vivid team. But there's one big proviso. In classic Morrissey stylin', the famously vegetarian Meat is Murder singer has requested a ban on meat at the Opera House on performance nights — both in backstage catering and at any food and beverage outlet within the venue. Does this include Bennelong and Opera Bar? Probably. This isn't the first time Morrissey has banned meat at one of his appearances. The outspoken PETA supporter had Belgian festival Lokerse Feesten ban meat in 2011, everything from snails to horse meat sausages. Two years earlier, Morrissey abandoned his Coachella set because he said he could "smell burning flesh," before adding, "and I hope to God it’s human." The Mancunian legend marks a significant booking high-five for Ben Marshall, the Opera House’s head of contemporary music and recently appointed as the curator of Vivid LIVE, replacing the long lauded Fergus Linehan. Having previously booked The National, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Flying Lotus for the Opera House, Marshall's booking of Morrissey is the start of one predictably applaudable Vivid LIVE lineup announcement, set for this month. “I’m thrilled that the first announcement for Vivid LIVE 2015 is a Sydney-only residency by the uniquely gifted and inimitably stylish Morrissey," says Marshall. "I have vivid teenage memories of his face all over our lever-arch files in high school. So it’s amazing to now showcase his artistry on the Concert Hall stage. These four vital, intimate concerts will be a very special occasion for all those like-minded souls who’ve been affected by Morrissey." An Evening With Morrissey will be the artist’s only Australian appearances. With high demand expected, tickets (from $109 +BF each) will be allocated through a ballot. The full program for Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House will be announced during the Vivid Sydney program launch next month. Ballot open between Monday 2 March (midday AEDT) – Friday 6 March (midnight AEDT). To apply, head to sydneyoperahouse.com/morrissey.
This month, the Art Gallery of NSW is throwing open the doors on the most comprehensive Marcel Duchamp exhibition to ever reach the Asia Pacific. Fans of the iconic and, at times controversial, French artist should hightail it over to The Essential Duchamp to soak up 125 works and documentary materials encompassing the 60 years of Duchamp's ground-breaking, convention-defying career. It's hard to believe Duchamp died over a half-century ago this year — we're talking about the maverick that decided a urinal could be art way back in 1917. Even if you don't know his name, you'll definitely recognise his iconic ready-made sculpture Fountain, the original of which, for fans of spicy art trivia, is lost — so you'll be seeing the 1950 reproduction here. Also keep your eyes peeled for significant works drawn from the Philadelphia Museum of Art's definitive collection, including Portrait of Dr. Dumouchel (1910), Sonata (1911), and Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) (1912), which was a career-definer for the artist back in the day following its showing at the 1913 Armory Show in New York City. From that point onward, he moved away from painting and towards the ready-made works that established his legacy as an artist who broke down the barriers between art and objects of everyday use. Now, Duchamp is considered a driving force in how modern art was analysed and appreciated, making this landmark exhibition a must-see this season. "The Gallery is delighted to introduce to Australian audiences for the first time, the full creative accomplishment of this maverick artist who changed the way we look at art," Dr Michael Brand, director of the Art Gallery of NSW, said. The Essential Duchamp will run from Saturday, April 27 to Sunday, August 11. You can purchase tickets now from the Art Gallery of NSW website. We've also got ten double passes to the exhibition to give away. Enter your details below for a chance to win. [competition]715960[/competition]
Rosebery's new foodie precinct Saporium is attempting to bridge the gap between creator and consumer with their marketplace concept, providing a home for artisan butchers, greengrocers, bakers — everyone shy of the candlestick makers, really — and from November 26, they're opening their arms to The Drink Hive, an artisanal bottle shop. The brainchild of Grégoire Bertaud, Mal Higgs and Angus Farrell, The Drink Hive has a clear, noble aim (other than the obvious selling of booze) to bring quality craft and artisanal products to the thirsty punters in a sustainable manner, and at a decent price. Higgs and Bertaud, the official co-owners of the shop, will be working closely with various producers to ensure that this goal is met. Sustainability is key for Higgs and Bertaud, who will have the option of a refillable beer and wine station. While refillable growlers for beers have been around for a while, the rotating variety of beers available for refill will be strong, and it's the first time that wine will be offered to the punter in this way. However, word on the street is that, no, the refills are not free. The vibe at Saporium is one of a local produce-focused marketplace that brings sustainable eating, organic ingredients and local business together in one place. Together with their weekly markets, Saporium also offer masterclasses with VIVE Cooking School, which focus on the core principles of the market. The Drink Hive slots right into this niche, as Bertaud says that he's "excited to offer Sydney a local and sustainable approach to craft alcohol products at a price affordable to everyone." The move towards sustainable food production has been gathering intense momentum in the past few years, with consumers becoming more and more conscious of how their being alive affects the planet. With the opening of The Drink Hive, punters are now able to enjoy booze that is both tasty and sustainable, which really is the dream. Find The Drink Hive inside Saporium, 61 Mentmore Ave, Rosebery from November 26.
Recently the Vic on the Park Hotel made the shock announcement that beloved monthly event One Day Sundays was cancelled in reaction to complaints from local residents. This isn’t entirely true, or entirely isn’t true, or both. One Day Entertainment will be proudly presenting their biggest party ever, featuring Halfway Crooks and Nina Las Vegas, at its new home, The Factory Theatre, on January 25. Monthly ODS parties at The Vic have become an institution to the local music scene, and the organisers are saddened to be moving on from the establishment at which the party was born. ODS organiser and Jackie Onassis producer Raph admits that after sharing such a loyal relationship with The Vic, he was upset with how the management team dealt with the event's cancellation, informing the ODS crew via email and taking it upon themselves to cancel the event on social media. Attempts at negotiation went nowhere. “People keep asking me, why are you moving?" says Raph. "We didn’t just bail on you. It wasn’t our choice.” Raph explains that the move to The Factory Theatre was a last-minute decision, but one that's ultimately for the best. “One Day Sundays requires a very specific venue criteria — an outdoor area, a convenient Marrickville location and a space to paint. The Factory Theatre is allowing the ODS crew to eventually redecorate the whole outside area with murals, authorising us to put our stamp on the venue permanently.” The space will feature illustrations from some “fairly prominent street artists” whose names will remain a secret for now. Raph continued to mention a list of other positive outcomes that have eventuated from the relocation of the party. “Four bars is better than two, and at ODS we have heaps of girls that come to our parties. We don’t want girls not coming because there were only two toilets. There are more toilets at The Factory Theatre. So that’s a thing now.” One of the most important improvements that the new location provides is space. There are more rooms that can be opened as required and capacity is an extra 500 people above The Vic. “Last ODS we had a line of 400 people out the front, and we don’t want to turn people away," says Raph. "We want to party with all of y'all. We want you to spend less time lining up and more time turning up.” “The response we have had from the community has been really supportive, and as long as our long-term people who come every month understand, we are happy. It will be the same party, but The Vic finished at 9pm. We can move inside at The Factory and party as late as we want.” As always, One Day Sundays on February 25 will be free entry and will feature One Day DJs, Halfway Crooks and Nina Las Vegas, with more to be announced. Raph told us exclusively that we can look forward to Blue Mountains-based Elefant Traks legends Hermitude being involved with the ODS party in February. The Vic is still a beautiful place that we love lots. Images by Cole Bennetts.
Sydney cinephiles, we now know just what you'll be viewing across a certain 12-day block in June. After releasing a sneak peek last month, Sydney Film Festival has unveiled its massive lineup in full for its 64th year, and it comes with 288 films from 59 countries, including 37 world premieres. Oh, it features Aussie legend Ben Mendelsohn chatting about his career too. In exciting news for fans of the ace local actor and his recent rise through Hollywood's ranks (The Dark Knight Rises, Girls, Bloodline, Rogue One — the list goes on), Mendo will be in town for an in conversation session, as well as a screening of his latest flick Una. The latter also features Rooney Mara and his Star Wars co-star Riz Ahmed, and marks the filmmaking debut of Australian theatre director Benedict Andrews. Staying on the homegrown front, festival director Nashen Moodley is once again opening SFF with a locally-relevant title for the sixth time in a row. This year, the new effort from Samson and Delilah's Warwick Thornton is doing the honours. Enjoying its world premiere at the fest, We Don't Need a Map explores the significance of the Southern Cross as a symbol within Australian culture. Other Aussie fare includes two films from Red Dog filmmaker Kriv Stenders: a look at our diverse society in the Bryan Brown-starring Australia Day, and a chronicle the career of one of Brisbane's greatest bands in The Go-Betweens: Right Here. Actor David Wenham turns director for the first time with Ellipsis, which is being called a Sydney-set Before Sunrise. Ali's Wedding offers up the country's first Muslim rom-com, while ecological doco Blue examines the destruction of marine life happening off of our coastline, and Otherlife serves up some sci-fi from the director of Wasted on the Young. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRKXyeoWfco&feature=youtu.be Given that one of SFF's main attractions is its official competition, it's hardly surprising that the festival has stacked the lineup of titles vying for its $60,000 prize with must-see flicks. We Don't Need a Map and Una are in the running, and they have plenty of company. Coming fresh from Cannes is Sofia Coppola's American Civil War thriller The Beguiled, starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning, as well as the long-awaited return of Austrian auteur Michael Haneke courtesy of his Isabelle Huppert-led Happy End. Berlinale's Golden Bear winner On Body and Soul, and other trophy recipients Félicité and The Other Side of Hope also feature. Those looking for familiar faces can catch Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman and Mara again in Terrence Malick's Austin music scene-set love story Song to Song, plus Aubrey Plaza being hilarious in both social media satire Ingrid Goes West and nun comedy The Little Hours, and Armie Hammer smouldering up the screen in the swoon-worthy Call Me By Your Name, too. Or, get some starry monster action with closing night's Okja, with The Host and Snowpiercer helmer Bong Joon-ho taking Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton and Paul Dano into creature feature territory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgDhpy9Z-NM Other general standouts include gripping transgender drama A Fantastic Woman, vintage clothing store horror flick Fashionista, and rap-focused Sundance hit Patti Cake$, as well as Julian Assange doco Risk, Johnny Rotten profile The Public Image is Rotten, and a look inside the world of competitive poultry breeding — yes, really — in Chicken People. Horror fans can get scared when a board game goes wrong in Game of Death, and see some slasher action in the Portuguese woods in The Forest of Lost Souls. Plus, SFF will shine the spotlight on female filmmakers in Europe for the second year. Scouring through the greats of the past as well as the ace flicks of today, restorations of Aussie classics The Year My Voice Broke and The Well, erotic French drama Belle de Jour and Abbas Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry will also grace SFF's screens, alongside an already-announced retrospective of Japanese master Akira Kurosawa's works. Sydney female filmmakers from the '70s and '80s get their own sidebar, as does a showcase of modern Canadian cinema and a celebration of essential punk rock cinema. The 2017 Sydney Film Festival will run from June 7 to 18. To check out the complete program and book tickets, visit the festival website.
As if Bridge Street wasn't already delicious enough — what with the new Rockpool-turned-Eleven Bridge, Fratelli Fresh, The Bridge Room, Mr Wong and Tokonoma all residing there — it's just accrued another top-notch resident. Ex-Rockpool chef Harry Stockdale-Powell has recruited Bulletin Place bartender Matt Linklater for to open a brand new European-style restaurant and basement bar. Opening for lunch today, Tuesday, September 20, Bouche on Bridge will showcase the English-born chef's passion for local produce and sustainable practices in the context of a relaxed fine dining environment. The menu is broken down into sea, land and farm, with Stockdale-Powell's rare breed suckling pig with unripe fermented strawberries (that come from the same Tassie farm the pig is reared at) taking pride of place. Also on the menu is an onion tarte Tatin with parmesan ice cream, and a whole hay-smoked chicken with white soy bread sauce. In order to keep things as sustainable as possible, the kitchen will make use of lesser-known cuts of meat, while bread, cultured butter, cold-pressed olive oil and cured meats will all be made on-site. But we're equally excited for what's happening downstairs. Dubbed The Cellar, the restaurant's subterranean 60-seat basement bar will no doubt prove popular with the after work drinks crowd and serious cocktail fiends. Linklater will be whipping up concoctions like the oddly-named Crustbuster, made with brandy, fennel, strega and served with a liquorice rim, and the White Whale, which is a take on a White Russian with vodka, fernet, crème fraïche and coffee bitters. The bar will also boast a 300-strong wine list, courtesy of sommelier Seamus Brandt. Bouche opens at midday on Tuesday, September 20 at 6 Bridge Street, Sydney. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Monday to Friday and dinner on Saturday. The bar is open from 4pm till midnight Monday to Saturday. For more information visit boucheonbridge.com. Images: Alana Dimou.
Astral People, V Movement and the team at the National Art School are joining forces for a series of epic parties across four Sundays in January, February and March. Returning for its second year, the Summer Dance series will see the National Art School campus in the Old Darlinghurst Gaol transformed into a massive outdoor dancefloor, thumping to the tunes of killer house, techno and electronic artists from at home and abroad. The season kicks off on January 24 with sets by bigwig UK house producer Julio Bashmore and German drum machine specialist Florian Kupfer, as well as hometown heroes Andy Garvey and the EK Collective. Spend Valentine's Day with house veteran Nightmares on Wax, who'll take to the stage along with Belgian mixmaster Lefto and Sydney's own Mike Who. The following week will see The Netherlands' Hunee and the UK's Mark E take the stage along with local favourites Touch Sensitive, Love Bombs and Adi Toohey. Last but not least, pioneering Parisian house musician Jeremy Underground will join American DJ Sadar Bahar, Sydney's Ariane and Melbourne's Andras on March 6 to bring summer to a close. Clear your calendar. Tickets to Summer Dance are available through Moshtix for $40-45, although diehards may want to pick up a season pass for $140. To check out the program yourself, visit Summer Dance's website. Image: Sam Whiteside.
The team behind inner-city, two-hatted restaurant Bentley have announced their new, unnamed project, and it's taking over quite the coveted space at Barangaroo — currently occupied by none other than the epic Noma pop-up. No pressure, guys. Noma will inevitably be a hard act to follow (after all, they were voted third best restaurant in the world in 2015) but Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt hope to differentiate themselves from the culinary giants with their seafood-focused menu (including a few meat and veggie dishes thrown in for those of you who are so inclined). The pair told Good Food they originally proposed the idea of a wine bar but they couldn’t overlook the appeal of a seafood restaurant right on the water (real original… no we kid, it literally sounds like heaven and we want to go to there). The project is a fresh break from Bentley, however, and the new venue will have a new name and identity entirely. So while you can expect chef-hat quality, don’t expect a Bentley clone. They’ll be joined at Barangaroo's massive new precinct by Aria chef Matt Moran’s new project and by the time the dust has settled and all doors thrown wide open, the precinct will boast around 90 retailers, mostly specialising in fancy eats. Bentley's new restaurant will open at Barangaroo in September 2016. Via Good Food.
Bangarra Dance Theatre's name comes from the Wiradjuri word meaning 'to make fire', and the company has been performing for over three decades. After spending most of 2020 away from the stage, the group is returning to the spotlight at Sydney Festival with a work that revisits some of the most important pieces from its repertoire to celebrate and acknowledge Aboriginal Australia's unbroken connections to the land. Djakapurra Munyarryun, a Yolŋu songman from Northeast Arnhem Land, who has been a cultural consultant for Bangarra throughout its life, provides traditional music and choreography, complementing the choreography of Bernadette Walong-Sene and Artistic Director Stephen Page. [caption id="attachment_795403" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lisa Tomasetti[/caption] Images: Lisa Tomasetti
It’s lunchtime, and the outlook is depressing. You’ve exhausted nearby cafes, and the office fridge is a horror in dire need of defrosting that you dare not go near. Enter My Little Panda Kitchen. For this new kid in town, ethically sourced produce and cultural awareness are the agendas of the day. Indonesian-inspired food is prepared on a flavour-first basis (and just happens to be cruelty-free), meals are packaged up into lunchboxes with names that riff on indie music and classic works of theatre, and it's all pedalled through the streets of the inner west and personally delivered to your home or work by the cook, on a bike. Creator/cook/vegan mastermind Annabelle McMillan launched the whole thing about a month ago. "I wanted it to be a boutique service that's a little bit different, a little bit kitsch, with elements of sustainability and culture and making more ethical choices," she says. And when Surry Hills' Arthur Street Kitchen packed up shop (and fixies) to try their luck in Brooklyn, they left a definite gap in the market for a home-cooked, hand-delivered meal service in the area. My Little Panda Kitchen emerged as an amalgamation of things McMillan loves and is passionate about: cooking, "biking everywhere" and puns. She gives her lunchboxes names, like Waiting for Gadot (featuring a vegan take on the ever-popular gado gado) and U Rap with Mie — which included mie goreng and urap, "a Javanese salad covered in a sauce made with big chunks of fresh coconut shredded through it and fresh chillies". (Insider tip: that's one of her personal favourites.) Each weekend, she posts that week's menu on her social media. Customers choose from two lunchboxes (more like three-course meals than those other brightly coloured plastic things they share a name with, domain of Dunkaroos and soggy sandwiches), and come Wednesday McMillan straps it all to her bike and does the delivery rounds, in a specific three suburbs that change every week. "A lot of people dig the spicy food," she says, "and the really popular Indonesian things, like nasi goreng and gado gado. But some of my favourite dishes I haven’t attempted to veganise. Not yet. Martabak is one of those; it's what I’d eat drunk on the side of the road when I was a teenager in Jakarta. It's sort of like a pancake but they put cheese and chocolate and condensed milk inside. It’s ridiculous." Demand's been strong, from vegans and omnivores alike. If it keeps up, McMillan envisions a MLPK fleet moving out into Sydney. Fingers crossed they've got that vegan martabak in tow. Words by Jessica Surman. Photography by Bodhi Liggett.
It's unbelievably satisfying to see a jazz vocalist received as a brilliant pop artist. Porter, who made the change from a potential career in American football to sultry jazz after a shoulder injury in college, has been sharing the product of his near-perfect pipes around the world since his first release Water in 2010. Porter's style is incredibly versatile, leaping between smooth jazz and a frenetic Motown energy with apparent ease. His vocal range is exceptional, sliding through the octaves like it ain't no thing, maintaining an incredibly deep and resonant timbre that keeps the sound bound together. The versatility isn't lost on the music elite, as Porter appeared alongside Jools Holland, in their 2012 song Sweet Country Love Song. Since 2010, Porter has released four albums, and the most recent two have both taken out Best Jazz Vocal Album awards at the Grammys. It's not surprising, as Porter's sound, which slows down into soulful ballads at points throughout the records, appeals to a huge variety of audiences, especially anyone who has a soul—just give him half a chance and Gregory Porter will deliver a knock out punch straight into the feelings. Catch Gregory Porter at Bluesfest 2017 in Byron Bay, or at his Sydney Enmore Theatre sideshow on Wednesday April 12.
French choreographer and dancer Francois Chaignaud has never played it safe. His first work, produced in 2005, delved into the long relationship between dance and prostitution — territory that most choreographers prefer to ignore. Since then, he's organised mammoth dance parties inside The Kitchen in New York City, transformed the Tate Modern into a live performance museum and presented the history of grime music at London's Sadler Wells Theatre. Now, he's arrived in Australia for the first time, bringing with him his first-ever solo show. Dumi Moyi, which he is performing 11 times over four days at Carriageworks, is inspired by traditional Indian religious performing art and features music from all over the world, across hundreds of years of history — from 12th-century Sephardic melodies to Ukrainian rhythms to Spanish folk songs. Francois took a quick break from his hectic performance schedule to chat with us. For a long time, you have been bringing together different genres and breaking down barriers between formality and informality. Why has this been so important to your work? First, it is to free myself — to not feel locked into a narrow field of practice. But it also comes from the seminal work we have been doing with Cecilia Bengolea. Paquerette (2004-2008), our first piece, was made from the perspective that the work of dance is not so different to the work of sex workers. It was a way to connect to the long history of the relationship between dance and prostitution — a relationship that, in contemporary dance, has been ignored. Working on that piece raised my awareness of the hierarchies between practices: why some body work, like ballet, is considered of high value, while other body work, which is just as virtuosic, is considered to be nothing artistic at all. These hierarchies exist within the dance world itself, between, for instance, ballet and urban dances, where there’s a lot of institutional support for certain gestures and not for others. I think this reflects on how the world is constructed on a long history of inequalities and domination. It’s interesting, as dancers, to be aware of it, and to see if it’s possible, through our bodies, to create connection and sisterhood and brotherhood, and learn from other practices, while remembering where they come from. Why do you like performing in unusual spaces? I like the intimacy and the proximity. I find it hard to look at dance in big- or medium-sized theatres, because, depending on the piece, it can be hard to get empathy for dancers, or to reach the perfect gazing situation for the audience, depending on the steepness of the tribune, or the architecture of the theatre. I hope that, by going out of the black box and creating a more intimate frame, we can change the relationship between the dancers and the audience. The proximity allows us to be aware of so many more details of the work. Speeds, tensions, efforts, weaknesses, smells, vulnerability ... become much more perceptible. And for me, as a performer, the properties of each space are very informative, and transform the dance and its imagining. Dumi Moyi is partly inspired by traditional religious performances from Malabar, India. How did you come across these performances? It’s a religious form of performance art called theyyam. I travelled to India twice — firstly, just to see it, and secondly, to watch it day and night for a week. It’s very different to other traditional Indian art forms because it doesn’t happen on a stage but in shrines, temples or private houses. The performers don’t represent the gods, they actually become the gods and goddesses. They are even transformed visually, wearing extreme costumes — five or six metres high — and extreme make-up. But at the same time, the audiences are very near to them, so it’s possible to talk and interact and ask questions. It’s a whole different paradigm to the one from Western theatre, where there’s a distance between performers and viewers, and it’s about illusion and presentation. Instead it’s about realness and becoming something else. To me, that is very intriguing and beautiful and questioning. But Dumi Moyi is not a replica or mimicking or even a quotation of what I saw in India. It was just a starting point to question my practice. What other influences have gone into Dumi Moyi? I wanted to dance and sing at the same time. Like a child dream. So, I chose seven or eight songs from different times and different regions of the world. I’m very interested in the power of singing, in that it makes it easy to travel through time and space. With language and music, it’s maybe easier than with movement, where it’s harder to get stories and information through. So, the singing brings a lot of varied influences to the work — Ukrainian song, 12th-century Sephardic melody, Italian tarantella, Baroque, Spanish folk, Tchaikovsky. But all the songs are confessions or songs where the singer is using the pronoun 'I', saying something personal and trying to affect the listeners, putting a spell on them. Now for some word association. I'm going to say a few dance-related words. Could you please tell me what each means to you in a sentence or two. Twerking. Very ancient, spiritual, empowering practice of ass poetry. We studied some of it for Altered Natives' Say Yes To Another Excess — Twerk (2012), with Cecilia Bengolea. Voguing. It’s an art form I admire a lot, because of the amazing movement that’s been invented and because it’s proof that, within certain contexts, dance can really change one's life. Hula hooping. Hula hooping is also a very ancient game, based on the perfect and essential shape of the circle. It’s a great meditation practice for me. We made a thirty-five-minute naked hula hoop piece with Marie-Caroline Hominal [Duchesses, 2008]. Ballet. I love ballet as I love many dance forms; I don't despise or reject ballet like some of my older colleagues may have found the need to do. It's an incredible technique, very complete. Meanwhile, I believe it's crucial to be aware of ballet’s history, of what it is the expression of. With ballet, it is so obvious that dance styles emanate from a social context, political project and specific values. Tutting. I haven’t worked with tutting. But what I’ve seen fascinates me: I love to witness the extraordinary invention and involvement within such a limited starting point. Grime music. Cecilia Bengolea introduced me to grime music. I've been amazed by this genre, how it connects so many different musical sources, making so much sense in the contemporary, urban, post-colonial, capitalistic context of today's London. Francois Chaignaud's Dumi Moyi is at Carriageworks' Elston Room until October 3, with only 40 tickets per show. To book, head to the Carriageworks website.
Just when you thought Sydney might've run out spectacular spaces for screening films, another outdoor cinema series hits it out of the park. This time, it's IMB Sunset Cinema, making a return to the North Sydney Oval. For two magnificent months — between Thursday, January 21 and Saturday, March 19 — northside dwellers will be watching their fave flicks under the stars, backdropped by the North Sydney skyline. This year's program is dominated by an impressive pack of blockbusters and new releases, from SPECTRE, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 and Bridge of Spies to Carol, The Dressmaker, Joy and Trainwreck. Meanwhile, your hard-earned thirst and hunger will be taken care of, courtesy of a fully-licensed onsite bar and The Nighthawk Diner, the Sydney-based food truck that describes itself as an "American diner on wheels". Prepare to tuck into no-nonsense, hunger-busting versions of classics: from hearty burgers — for goodness sake, try the mac 'n' cheese burger if they're cooking it — and fried chicken, to egg and bacon rolls and Philly cheesesteak.
The hands can say so much. Think of all the gestures of welcome, surrender and (perhaps most memorably) offence we use when words fail us. Yet what we didn't expect to see is a stage show entirely starring two hands, communicating that complexity we all know so achingly well: love. An old woman reflects back on the encounters that shaped her life in this poetic ballet, puppet show and live film experience, performed in a miniature set. Presented by Belgium's Charleroi Danses, Kiss & Cry comes from the bonafide talents of choreographer Michele Anne De Mey (a founding member of Rosas dance company) and filmmaker Jaco Van Dormael, director of 2009 sci-fi film Mr Nobody. Kiss & Cry is one of our top ten picks of the Sydney Festival. Check out our other favourite events over here.
Dark and debaucherous banquets from Bompas and Parr, immersive art sleepovers at Cradle Mountain and all the demon purging and ceremonial death dances you could want in a festival. Dark Mofo has announced its 2015 program. Centred around the winter solstice and running June 12-22, MONA's annual June festival celebrates the Neolithic-started tradition over ten days of weird and wonderful art, performance, music and happenings around Hobart. Last year's festival attracted more than 130,000 Mofos, and with this year's lineup, they're looking at a lot more pilgrims. Coinciding with MONA's huge Marina Abramovic retrospective Private Archaeology, this year's Dark Mofo is deeper, creepier and darker than ever before — with art, food, music and performance pioneered by 250 artists from around the world. For one of the biggest events of the festival, the brave and adventurous at heart will want to lock in June 15-17 for a two-night immersive art experience sleepover within Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. That's right. Immersive art sleepover. It's called Wild At Heart and is curated by the Unconscious Collective (Motel Dreaming). British jellymongers and universally applauded food artists Bompas and Parr are hosting a full-on, debaucherous banquet. Huge. And Melbourne contemporary artist Ash Keating will open an exhibition called Remote Nature Response as part of the whole WAH shebang. Music-wise, Dark Mofo is as brooding and gloomy as ever at Hobart's historic Odeon Theatre, with already-leaked, heartbreaking headliners Antony and the Johnsons leading the charge with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. British art-pop collective The Irrepressibles are also locked in, alongside Arkansas experts in doom metal Pallbearer. Seattle's 'horror-country' rocker King Dude will be there, as well as German industrial dance outfit Oake. There's plenty of Australians in the bunch too, from The Drones' brooding folkster Gareth Liddiard to Melbourne's '60s-inspired crooner Brous and performance vocalist Kusum Normoyle, modern day Divinyls-like Sydneysiders The Preatures, Hobart's eclectic pop group Tiger Choir and Melburnian chillwave must-see Klo. Also hailing from Melbourne, gloomy electronica artist Jake Blood and frenetic rock outfit My Disco. Then there’s Japan's electro-conducting EYE, who will be premiering new work CIRCOM, especially for Dark Mofo, presented by Red Bull Music Academy. Immersive art and experimental theatre fans, you'rve got plenty to look forward to. Dark Mofo set to unveil a brand new festival precinct dubbed 'Dark Park' at Hobart's Macquarie Point. Huge public artworks will invade the park, from a high-octane Fire Organ by German chemo-acoustic engineer Bastiaan Maris with producer Duckpond, to a Night Ship cruising around the river, and a full-body sonic massage immersion of Bass Bath by Melbourne’s Byron J. Scullin in collaboration with Supple Fox. Virginia Woolf’s Orlando will be performed by Victoria’s THE RABBLE theatre company at the Theatre Royal (Australia’s oldest theatre) and you'll find a dark take on Roald Dahl's The Witches at Salamanca Arts Centre’s Peacock Theatre. Plus, you won't want to miss Dark Mofo's new late-night ceremonial death dance Blacklist curated by Supple Fox. We don't even know what that means. Those keen to lose themself in a dark, dark cinema have plenty of Nordic dark folkloric films to sink their teeth into. North Hobart’s century-old State Cinema is presenting a super niche series featuring A Second Chance, A Spell to Ward off the Darkness, Down Terrace, A Field in England, Partisan, Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America, Valhalla Rising and more, curated Nick Batzias and James Hewison. Dark Mofo Films will also see the red carpet world premiere of Tasmanian-filmed Foxtel adult drama series The Kettering Incident at the Odeon. Last but not least, we feast. Dark Mofo's annual bacchinalian food festival returns to Princes Wharf Shed 1 — the ever-anticipated Winter Feast. Guest chefs Jake Kellie, Martin Boetz, Sean Moran, Mike McEnearney and O Tama Carey and the Mona Source restaurant team head five nights of feasting and performance, culminating in a Balinese ogoh-ogoh parade to purge all those demons and burn all those fears. Really. Then there's the annual Nude Solstice Swim — nothing like an early morning swim in Tasmanian water to cure your Mofo hangover. Dark Mofo runs June 12-22 in various locations across Hobart, Tasmania. Tickets are on sale from 10am Monday, April 20 from here. Registration for tickets for Antony and the Johnsons with the TSO over here. Images: Beth Evans, Matt Glastonbury.
See the film that many have tipped to clean up big at this year's Oscars, at one of a handful of gala previews on New Year's Eve. Set in New York City during the early 1950s, Carol follows two women — played by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara — who embark on a forbidden romance with drastic consequences for them both. The film is due to release in mid-January, however Palace Cinemas are hosting early NYE screenings at Palace Verona and Norton Street. Attendees with receive a glass of Brown Brothers Prosecco on arrival, as well as a complimentary ticket to see Brooklyn – another potential awards contender – when it hits cinemas on February 11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4z7Px68ywk Session times vary cinema to cinema. You can check the times here.
Sydney's Mardi Gras is one of the city's biggest festivals, and one of the country's most important celebrations of diversity and equality. In 2017, it's taking the party to a whole new level, with more stars, guests and performers than ever before helping to highlight the theme of "Creating Equality". Mardi Gras kicks off on February 17 and will run until March 5, hosting more than eighty events. For two fun-filled weeks, expect everything from the now iconic Little Black Dress Run to the Papa Party and Queer Art After Hours, plus anything you can think of in between. The festival culminates, of course, in the epic annual parade on Saturday, March 4. As part of the 2017 lineup, Koori Gras @ 107 makes its Mardi Gras debut. The week-long festival within a festival is a joint effort between Moogahlin Performing Arts and Redfern's 107 Projects, celebrating Australia's First People's part in the LGBTQI community, and telling the stories and the history of members that fit into both groups. Expect an evening of drag, cabaret and DJs, as well as a feed and open mic night on February 25. Before hitting up the parties that form the backbone in the festival's night life, there'll be plenty of history and culture to soak up. From In Difference, a choreographed story that explores the debate on marriage equality, to the traditional Mardi Gras Film Festival, there's plenty of ways to discover and learn the stories of struggle faced by the community throughout history. The theme of the 2017 festival, "Creating Equality", is a loud and clear message that resonates with everyone — and continues Mardi Gras' four-decade endeavour to offer a peaceful protest in the form of a celebration of people and culture. "As we continue to push our federal politicians to represent the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Australians — by legislating equality through a free vote in Parliament — celebrations like Mardi Gras are as important as ever," says Sydney Mayor Clover Moore. So, whether you're a member of the LGBTQI community or not, get ready to get dressed up (or undressed, for those attending Extra Dirty) and party for equality.
No longer just the realms of Monica Trapaga yazz residencies and kiddie-aimed pantomimes, the after-hours Twilight at Taronga series took it up a huge, cred-worthy notch last year. This summer, they'll be aiming even higher, returning with a new, eclectic lineup every weekend from Thursday, January 28 through Saturday, March 12. And this year's ARIA frontrunner, spinner of yarns and general face-melter Courtney Barnett is opening the whole thing. Bringing drawlin' ditties from her widely celebrated debut album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit to the zoo, Barnett kicks off one heck of a lineup for Twilight at Taronga 2016. Taking over the lawns of Taronga Zoo's fully-licensed natural amphitheater, this year's series is more locally-focused than last year's, with the likes of Violent Femmes, John Butler Trio, Birds of Tokyo, Josh Pyke, C.W. Stoneking and finishing up with Lady Black Mambazo. Plus, you can dag it up with ABBA tribute act Bjorn Again, returning for two nights due to popular demand after last year. After one of the most contemporary changes the Twilight at Taronga series has seen in its 20 years running, the feathered, furred and finned have plenty to choose from this summer. Picnic-bringing is encouraged, but there'll also be incredibly delicious hampers available onsite — we tasted them, they're extremely generous and genuinely great. There's a bar onsite, and general nosh available from the canteen. Either way, it's actually the one of the best dates in Sydney — lock those tickets down. TWILIGHT AT TARONGA 2016 LINEUP January 28 — COURTNEY BARNETT, supported by Jep and Dep January 29 — JOSH PYKE, supported by Winterbourne January 30 — FAR FROM FOLSOM featuring TEX PERKINS AND THE TENNESSEE FOUR February 4 — JOHN BUTLER TRIO, supported by Tinpan Orange - NEW SHOW ADDED February 5 — JOHN BUTLER TRIO, supported by Tinpan Orange - SOLD OUT February 6 — THE WAIFS, supported by Ruby Boots February 12 — BIRDS OF TOKYO, supported by Fractures February 13 — MISSY HIGGINS, supported by Paul Dempsey - SOLD OUT February 14 — MISSY HIGGINS, Special Guests TBA - VALENTINES SHOW ADDED February 19 – MARK SEYMOUR & THE UNDERTOW, supported by Ben Salter February 20 – JAMES MORRISON BIG BAND February 26 & 27 — BJÖRN AGAIN March 4 — VIOLENT FEMMES, supported by Xylouris White March 5 — COLIN HAY March 11 — C.W. STONEKING, supported by Marlon Williams March 12 — LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO Twilight at Taronga 2016 is happening January 28 to March 12. Tickets available from the website from Thursday, October 29. Image: Maclay Heriot.
Lovers of all things small or nocturnal, or small and nocturnal, steady yourself. Goodgod Small Club’s owners, Jimmy Sing and Hana Shimada, have just announced that they’re in need of more daylight. So they’re moving on. Yep, after five years, they’re preparing to leave their beloved patch of fun, creativity and eccentricity in the Sydney CBD behind. We know! WE KNOW! But before you start panicking, the good news is, it’s not entirely catastrophic. Goodgod won’t necessarily be shutting down for good. This afternoon, Jimmy and Hana put a call out on Facebook, looking for parties who might be interested in filling their rather enormous boots. Their post reads, “In this call out we’re seeking entrepreneurs with vision who believe they have the knowhow, passion and resources to acquire the venue and evolve the legacy of this great place. We’re asking, who’s next?” What’s more, unlike numerous other venues to have closed recently due to the lockout laws and sundry regulatory bother, Goodgod feels well supported. “Despite the challenging terrain that Sydney’s nightlife finds itself in with these lockout laws, our reason to move on thankfully is not to do with regulatory challenges or any financial ones,” they wrote. “Over the last 18 months we’ve definitely needed to make adjustments to the club’s programming, but have never been lacking in support from you guys. Goodgod’s foundations in a diverse music formula and open-minded vibe have endured and kept the place buzzing. Our recent months have in fact been some of our biggest ever — a testament to Goodgod and its community, and for that we have you to thank.” It also won’t be the last you see of Jimmy and Hana. They have plans “to explore other creative projects”. And, until Goodgod’s fate is decided, they’ll be staying open and maintaining the regular schedule, complete with Belly Bao. The venue’s fifth birthday will be happening next month. If you think you might be the next master of Goodgod, send an email to Jerry Leis at Metro Commercial, who’s helping Jimmy and Hana with their move, at jleis@metrocommercial.com.au.
The legendary, controversial performance artist who does 'nothing' is finally making her way to Australia, set to perform a brand new artwork. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the beloved and equally criticised 67-year-old artist, Marina Abramovic, has been invited by arts heavyweight John Kaldor to Sydney to perform a yet-to-be-revealed, shiny new work in June 2015. Famous (and the topic of furious debate) for her iconic 2010 work at NYC's Museum of Modern Art, The Artist is Present, Abramovic's work was last seen in Australia for Kaldor Public Art Project's applauded group exhibition 13 Rooms at Pier 2/3 — the work, Luminosity, which saw a naked artist wall-mounted on a bicycle seat for long periods of time (and didn't star Abramovic herself). For her mysterious new Sydney work, Abramovic will use the Pier 2/3 space herself, in one of the most squealworthy announcements for performance art lovers this side of the equator. But this isn't the first time Abramovic has been to Australia; before presenting Gold found by the artists with partner in crime Ulay at the 1979 Biennale of Sydney, the artist spent a cheeky five months with an Aboriginal community in central Australia in the '80s (and raised a baby kangaroo and cuddled this sheep). According to Fairfax Media, there's also a whole Abramovic exhibition planned for David Walsh's Museum of Old and New Art next year — quite honestly, why she hasn't made MONA's acquaintance baffles us. To be fair, she's been pretty busy doing zilch for a total of 512 Hours at London's Serpentine Gallery, hangin' with Jay-Z and backing a new online school for girls with Sia, Pussy Riot, Kim Gordon, Yayoi Kusama and Yoko Ono. The artist is busy. Via SMH. Images: Complex.
The doors to QT Melbourne have been thrown open. You've seen it by now – it's an artisan playground. There's an interior filled with quirky spaces, lots of colourful lighting, mountains of creative furniture and loads of confronting wallpaper. As always, the most exciting thing about anything is the food. All the restaurants are now open for business, and here's what you can, and should, be eating. Pascale Bar and Grill (on the first floor) is designed to pay homage to the 'Paris-end' of Collins St. That means it's industrial chic, with a French-inspired all day bistro menu courtesy of QT Melbourne's creative food director Rob Marchetti and chef Paul Easson. Easson used to work at Rockpool, so you know the food will be good, and you'll be able to see him utilising his very own wood-fire oven courtesy of Pascale's open kitchen. Cocktails at Pascale's are inspired by the French Quarter of New Orleans – our favourite option for a cheeky drink is the Spiced Pear, made with pear-infused cognac. Pastries in The Cake Shop on the ground floor are made fresh, and served alongside 5 Senses Coffee, Tippity Teas, Mork Hot Chocolate and bottled cocktails. They're colourful and pretty as you would expect, especially because QT say that The Cake shop is made for a modern day Marie Antoinette. Finally, the cosy Hot Sauce laneway bar seats 60 people and serves Korean and Japanese inspired dishes and drinks (try the fried chicken bao). Background music will be hip hop, and you can expect rare Japanese liquors and artistic, Asian-inspired cocktails. Neighbouring Hot Sauce is Tanto, a Japanese knife store that sells expertly crafted knives made by 10th generation sword makers, and will skilfully sharpen your knives should you choose to bring them with you. Visit QT Melbourne at 133 Russell Street, Melbourne, 3000. Words: Kat Hayes and Kelly Pigram. Images: Alexandra Anderson.
In 1820, Charles Samuel Stewart referred to Australia as “a nation of drunkards and gamblers”. In 2015, it seems like our bloated state governments see this description as something we should aspire to. In a nation that wastes $20 billion a year on gambling and the like, our out-of-touch baby boomer legislators decide instead to come after the musicians, creatives and events of the late night party scene. In spite of this targeted crusade, we feel like One Day Sundays has played a role the shift towards day parties, one that has come about in the wake of lockouts strangling many venues and club nights. In a sense, the lockouts have probably helped our parties, like One Day Only happening this Saturday, November 21, as they’re predominantly day parties (and finish before lockout). But with the lockouts still steadfast in our city, it’s difficult to think of a less effective approach to the issues that the laws aim to address. The lockouts have been culturally and economically destructive and, as widely predicted, simply shifted the issues to a different late night area. Newtown has seen an 18 percent increase of violence. Violent crime in the CBD has decreased by 24 percent since the lockouts — which on the surface sounds effective until you couple it with venues reporting a 25 percent decrease in gross revenue. Many nights and multiple venues have shut down due to a lack of patronage. In other words, there is less violence because there are less people around. Despite less people being out and about in the lockout zone of an evening, police have reported amphetamine use charges have increased by 33 percent. It doesn't add up. Meaningful, lasting solutions to the very real problems of alcohol-fuelled violence are required if real change is to take place, but the lockouts were a largely political exercise; a knee-jerk reaction to moral panic that set in in the wake of a handful of tragic, unnecessary deaths. As Sydneysiders who enjoy having a good time and believes individual responsibility should trump the nanny-state mentality when it comes to civil liberties, we think the lockouts are an embarrassment for a city that likes to consider itself world-class. When you think of progressive and innovative creative hubs, you think of places like Berlin with their late night culture and limited alcohol regulation, or London’s all-night rave scene that has birthed so many genres and trends. Australia is fair way off these places in this regard — but we are catching up quickly. Through the 2000s, Australian club and live music culture really started to get an global identity, with acts like The Presets and Cut Copy exposing the world to the movement that was happening here at home. Modular was an internationally respected record label. Recently we have had acts like Flume/What So Not, Taku and Wave Racer emerging from local club land to cross the oceans, Future Classic and Laneway are international tastemakers, and increasingly Australia is looked to as an innovative and celebrated global player in the electronic music world. Putting a leash on the events, artists, DJs and promoters where these scenes grow and flourish starves innovation and stifles creativity. It's an action that screams, "Stop what you’re doing and go home." One Day Only is all about taking back control of the ability to enjoy one’s self from the various authorities who are utterly out of touch. In a practical sense, One Day Only picks up where One Day Sundays left off by giving the middle finger to the venue lockouts by starting the party earlier. We’re borrowing from the revolutionary themes of 18th century Europe as a means of expressing our frustration at being told when and where we can have a good time. Despite it sometime seeming like it’s increasingly difficult to have a good time in Sydney in the wake of lockouts and countless venue closures, all hope is not lost. By Nick Lupi and Raph of One Day. One Day Only is happening on Saturday, November 21 at Manning Bar, University of Sydney. More details over here. Images: One Day, Paul McCarthy (Wikimedia Commons), Felix Berlin.
Performance Space has just announced the program for 2016's Liveworks Festival and if you weren't already, be prepared — audiences don't just sit quietly in the dark any more. Liveworks is a mental crash-tackle of new and experimental artworks that runs from October 27 to November 6. Artistic director Jeff Khan says this year's goal is to cut through the numbness audiences have developed towards news and ever-present, ever-louder advertising. Ranging over a course of topics and genres, he says the selected works not only challenge audiences, but also establish deep artistic connections and "become a mirror of our own fears and desires." But you don't cut through numbness by watching Lady Gwendolen pass the cucumber sandwiches. Taiwanese artist River Lin will perform for a single person at a time, one on one, with the unnerving Cleansing Service. The work begins with each audience member being asked to identify a body part they consider physically or emotionally 'unclean'. In the ensuing performance, Lin will attempt to 'cleanse' it for them. Continuing the program's love for uncomfortable situations, Mish Grigor's The Talk invites anyone and everyone to relive some of the most excruciating discussions she's had with her family about sex. And when we say relive, we mean audience members are given a script, a glass of lukewarm champagne and the role of a family member. There's plenty more to the program this year, available at Liveworks' website. So saddle up the awkward horse and get going. Art doesn't have time to worry about how comfortable you are any more. Early Bird tickets for major events go on sale August 29 from Liveworks' website.
Taking things to a whole new level of bizarre at the Biennale of Sydney, Mella Jaarsma is putting on a fashion show like no other. Alright, 'fashion' might be the wrong term to use here. But with costumes as elaborate as these, it's tempting to believe you've stumbled into some twisted couture show. From 6.30pm every Wednesday evening until June 1 head along to Jaarsma's installation Dogwalk at the Art Gallery of NSW, a 60-minute dog-walking performance filled some seriously creepy animal-skin costumes. Picking a part the bond between humans and animals, this show is definitely one to get you talking. This is just one artwork you shouldn't miss at the Biennale of Sydney. Tick off the whole list.
The Alliance Francaise French Film Festival is back for its 26th year and with 49 feature films to be screened at cinemas across eight cities, you'd best prepare yourself for everything from the flirting, whimsy, mishaps and misunderstandings that come with French comedy to the passion, ennui, coming-of-age rebellion, thrilling crime and non-conformist romance that come with French drama. Highlights include: gala opening night feature Gemma Bovery, an endearing comedy starring Gemma Arterton that drops the characters of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary into a small Normandy town; the Saint Laurent biopic exploring the inspirations and struggles of the acclaimed designer Yves Saint Laurent at the height of his career; and Samba, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and star of The Intouchables Omar Sy in a cross-cultural romance that looks at the hardships faced by French immigrants. See more of our highlights in this list of top five films to see at the French Film Festival. The Alliance Francaise French Film Festival is on around Australia in March. Catch it in Sydney from March 3-22, Melbourne from March 4-22 and Brisbane from March 13 – April 1. Thanks to the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival, we have ten double passes to give away in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The passes are valid for one festival session of your choice (excluding opening/closing nights, special events and public holidays). To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter and 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
