Sydney's favourite craft breweries are coming together on Saturday, May 25 for a celebration of all things hops at Frenchies Bistro and Brewery in Rosebery. The Fresh Harvest Beer Festival will feature a cracking lineup that includes 2Halfs, One Drop Brewing Co, Rocks Brewing Co., Seeker Brewing, The Social Brewers, and Frenchies Brewery, all pouring their best brews for Sydney beer enthusiasts. A new addition to the event will be Hop Olympics featuring a hop matching challenge where guests can pair select hops with accompanying beers, sack racing, and hopscotch. Educational panels spotlighting hop trends, releases and usages will also be a part of the occasion. Tickets start from $25 and includes access to the event, games and panels, while for $59 you can score all of that as well as lunch from a dedicated beer food menu and a 30-minute brewery tour.
When planning a stay in the heart of Sydney, it's all too easy to stick to the CBD with its high-rise luxury hotels. But look a little further past the towering skyscrapers, and you'll notice accommodation options a little further out with just as much to offer. One such spot is Mrs Banks Hotel, a boutique stay on the Paddington end of the legendary Oxford Street. Once upon a time, this building was a bank originally constructed in 1914 and reconstructed as a design-first accommodation worthy of the 21st century. The aesthetics are modern but homages to the previous century can be found if you go looking for them. In terms of rooms, get comfy in one of the several queen rooms stocked with all the essentials, or book one of the more spacious Paddo twin/twin plus rooms with the same offering plus a bit more bed for your buck. Should you feel stately, opt for one of the three suite rooms (deluxe heritage, junior heritage or king heritage), each believed to be a component of the bank manager's residence in the building's past life. What Mrs Banks lacks in on-site amenities, it makes up for with an absolutely perfect location. With a central spot on Oxford Street, you couldn't ask for a better base to explore Sydney than this. Turn out the front, left or right, and you'll be walking distance from the finest sights, bites and sips of the Harbour City. Images: Byron Martin for PADDO(Collective)
The corner of Swanston and Lonsdale Street seems to have been a permanent construction zone for the past few years. Any attempt to shortcut through the cosmetics section of Myer or run to catch a train from Melbourne Central was always met with a hoard of men in high-vis vests yelling at us; directing us through makeshift walkways like some kind of metropolitan cattle. Now we know why. Emporium Melbourne is the CBD's newest shopping destination. With 225 stores (175 of which are currently open) spread over seven levels, this mall is a goliath. Though open less than a week, it's already making a name for itself in the realms of architecture and design, high fashion, and gourmet food courts. And, while other retailers shut up shop for a lazy Easter weekend, this dark horse utilised the break as its opening weekend. For those that wisely chose not to brave the crowds, here's the lowdown on the mysterious giant: eight things we now know about Emporium Melbourne. It's come from outer space to enslave us all The future is usually a thing that creeps up on you. For instance, no one remembers the exact moment Sony Walkmans became obsolete. One day it just became normal to own a tiny futuristic magic pod, wear fedoras, and pull stupid poses. Upon stepping inside the holy archways of Emporium Melbourne there will be no mistake you have just been transported to the future. In fact, with its clean minimalist sheen and intricate near op-art fittings, we're inclined to go one step further. This super mall of tomorrow has been sent down from the cosmic ether by retail-loving extraterrestrials to hold us all hostage. Within its confines you will feel inexplicably compelled to throw your money at Australian designers and serenely glide towards the sky on a blissful wave of metal (what you Earthlings once called escalators). It's the anti-Chadstone With no K-Mart, McDonalds or KFC, Emporium Melbourne is a mall that even anti-mall people can get behind. Centre manager Steve Edgerton told Broadsheet the retail space was developed as something uniquely "Melbourne", and on that they do not disappoint. With raw timber complementing a clear and sparse aesthetic, the space has been expertly designed by renowned architects The Buchan Group. The stores, which have a large focus on quality independent designers, ensure there is no Supre or Big W in sight. And the food court is a carefully curated selection of local favourites including I Love Pho and South Melbourne Market Dim Sims. If Chadstone is for the embarrassing bogans of the outer suburbs, Emporium Melbourne is Fitzroy latte sippers HQ. There are clothing stores with baristas frothing Bonsoy next to terrariums, for God's sake. There's no way out and no one can hear you scream However, there is one very crucial way in which it is similar to Chadstone — there is basically no way out. By entering its doors you unconsciously surrender to its whims and, if you ever want to get out, it's best to commit an hour or two to your escape. Of course this is somewhat due to the sheer size of this beast. Not only does Emporium Melbourne cover seven levels, it spans the length of six football fields and travels all the way from Bourke Street to LaTrobe. But it also corners you in with pedestrian footbridges seamlessly connecting you to both Myer and David Jones. During my visit on opening weekend, I gave up on conventional means, joined the queue to enter Uniqlo (yep, there was a queue) went up a level in store, then made good my escape via a manned fire exit. Good luck. You can't fault the fashion The recent opening of Swedish retailer H&M at the GPO has kicked the Melbourne fashion stakes into hyperdrive, but Emporium Melbourne has hit back hard. Most notable of their many fashionable findings is the Japanese clothing giant Uniqlo. Over two packed levels, this neatly ordered world of quality budget pieces (think decent wool knits for $29) will no doubt change the way many of us shop this season. Other stores open ahead of the full launch in August include Gorman, Zimmerman, Manning Cartell, Karen Millen, Calvin Klein and Sass & Bide. You can't go wrong with any of the offerings, but we recommend you listen to this while strutting around the endless shopfronts. It's really really really ridiculously good looking With its constantly reiterated branding, 'Emporium Melbourne: Reimagined' it's clear to see this retail giant is trying to reignite the often tired space of the mall. This is done not only by the futuristic and well-executed architectural design, but also the shops themselves. There will be no heaps of discount clothing or messy, unattended counters in these stores — everything is so tightly curated it feels like a pop-up. In what must be a painstaking process for shop attendants, there are two of each magazine on display in MagNation; each separated by perfectly even spaces on the timber shelves. The new Aesop store, though always beautiful in both its Fitzroy and CBD locations, offers free samples of its luxurious body balm to Emporium shoppers walking by. Your trip to the mall will quickly turn into a mission to become as beautiful as your surroundings. Even the food court is pretty Food courts are usually a terrible insight into humanity. Sweating middle-aged men are hunched over super-sized meals in neon packaging. There's usually an exhausted single mother screaming at her caffeinated child to calm down. You watch all of this while shamefully demolishing some oil-drenched faux-Asian cuisine or ironically named Happy Meal while trying to avoid eye contact from your fellow man. Emporium Melbourne is different. In what they're trying to coin a 'cafe court', the top floor of the structure houses the likes of Pho Nom, EARL, Ramen Ya and The Tea Salon. Asian street food plays a big role in the re-imagined food court, and its moves towards health and quality have been praised by none other than Masterchef's own George Colombaris. It's a little cocky Of course, this all comes with a certain amount of ego. It takes a lot of gusto to open a super mall in an economy where consumers are turning more and more towards online shopping. And its takes even more gall to announce yourself 'A Melbourne Icon' after being open only a matter of days. It's like when someone tries to give themselves a nickname — just let it happen naturally, bro. Confidence, of course, isn't a bad thing and we give credit where credit's due. But if it truly wants to be a 'Melbourne' destination, it could at least muster a humblebrag. We're going to give it all our money anyway It's just that winter's coming, you know? It's hard to say no to beautiful retail shrines that are willing to give us quality Japanese jumpers, locally designed leather boots and South Melbourne Market dim sims for $2 a pop. You know it's true. Emporium Melbourne is located at 286 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. It is open 10am-9pm on Thursday and Friday, and 10am-7pm all other days. Images: Meg Watson
Luxury Australian hotel chain Crystalbrook has opened its flagship rooftop restaurant on top of its Newcastle outpost, Crystalbrook Kingsley. Roundhouse is the new sky-high eatery perched above the harbour city with a strong focus on hyper-local produce. The newly opened restaurant boasts a modern Australian menu with 80-percent of its produce sourced from within a three-hour drive of the hotel. Local farmers, fisherman and artisans all make up the kitchen's bank of suppliers that come together to form dishes that celebrate the region's great produce. Drop in for a meal and enjoy the panoramic views of Newcastle and its surroundings, with local landmarks like Nobby's Head and the vast wineries of the Hunter Valley visible from the restaurant. Heading up the kitchen is chef Natalie Bolt who has previously worked in United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Thailand. "We have created a menu that celebrates native Australian ingredients and the world-class produce grown in our region," Bolt said. "It's an exciting new chapter for Newcastle and I'm loving working on the ground with incredible producers and providers." On the menu you'll find highlights like lamb rack from Pukura Estate served with smoked eggplant and wattleseed pickle, or sustainably caught Paperback market fish, baked whole and served with harissa duck fat potatoes. If you come for breakfast, you'll be treated to a tower of early morning treats and selections from the la carte menu like house-made waffles and breakfast bruschetta. Accompanying the dishes is an extensive wine list that is, of course, hyper-local. The wine on offer showcases the breadth of different wines currently being produced a stone's throw from Newcastle in the Hunter Valley. The Newcastle hotel is one of six locations owned by Crystalbrook Collection around Australia, with a seventh appearing in Brisbane next July. Earlier this year, the boutique hotel chain offered free hotel upgrades to fully vaccinated guests in a push to help encourage Australians to get out and get the jab. Bookings for Roundhouse can be made online and are recommended as the restaurant is known to book out. Roundhouse is located at Level Nine, 282 King Street, Newcastle. It's open for breakfast 7–10am Saturday and Sunday, and dinner 6–10pm Thursday–Saturday.
Never been game enough to set foot inside The Gaelic Club, the Surry Hills drinking hole of questionable repute opposite Central? Neither had we — that is, until Green Lights Comedy set up shop on the top-floor of the Irish pub on the last Friday of every month. Run by long-time friends and self-proclaimed 'adorable as ever MCs' Alexei Toliopoulos and Nikko Malyon, Green Lights has one of the best set-ups of any room in Sydney. To the right of the pokie-strewn façade, up some anonymous-looking stairs decorated with rugby league paraphernalia from a bygone era, past a table of possibly the last remaining (or certainly the oldest) card-carrying communists in Sydney, and through the green door, you'll find yourself in the little-known top bar of The Gaelic Club. Green Lights feels like stepping into someone's living room, and the hosts emulate this warmth perfectly. If you feel like seeing decent comedy in a friendly, homey setting over a dirt-cheap pint of Kilkenny, look no further. Image: Green Lights Comedy.
The State Theatre has an illustrious history. Originally opening in the 1930s as a magnificent setting for live shows and the best movies in town, it went on to become the home to the epic Sydney Film Festival in the 1970s. Then, in the 90s, live performances started to take centre stage once again. Today? The State Theatre is a grand, art deco space that hosts a varied program of live music and theatre performances under its glittering chandeliers, from enchanting ballets to musicals and even the exhilarating tunes of the best tribute artists around. Oh, and it still plays host to some Sydney Film Festival screenings, too. Basically, expect this grandeur theatre to level up any event that takes within its walls. Image: Flickr
The fact that Powerhouse Museum Ultimo is about to look a whole lot different isn't new news. But everyone knows that a makeover of this scale — initially to the tune of $500-million makeover, now budgeted at $250 million — evolves along the way. The transformation was revealed in 2021, then the plan for the revamp was unveiled in 2022, followed by the new design being approved in 2023. The site closed for the renovation in February 2024, for up to three years. Now, the design has been updated. The winning approach for Powerhouse Museum Ultimo 2.0 has always been about celebrating the current strengths of the building while providing it with a major makeover, with the concept hailing Australian team Architectus, Durbach Block Jaggers Architects, Tyrrell Studio, Youssofzay + Hart, Akira Isogawa, Yerrabingin, Finding Infinity and Arup. This team's design was unanimously selected by the jury following a competition. Included in the transformation are expanded exhibition spaces, a new urban space connected to the neighbouring Goods Line that will work as a public square, revitalised creative studios at the Harris Street end of the building and increased outdoor spaces throughout the museum. Powerhouse Museum Ultimo's new guise will feature four exhibition halls, as configured from the heritage-listed Boiler House, Turbine Hall, Switch House and Ultimo Post Office buildings. The key: creating flexible spaces that can host huge exhibitions. The Wran building will be refurbished, and the entire revamp will mean that more items from the Powerhouse Collection — which spans 500,000-plus objects — will be able to be displayed. The site's new public spaces will hero a 2000-square-metre courtyard at the northern end of The Goods Line, alongside Harris Street's Post Office Courtyard and an internal courtyard that can be accessed via Macarthur Street. As previously revealed, the new Powerhouse Museum Ultimo entrance will face The Goods Line, linking in with the new square, with a new facade on Harris Street. "The new and improved plans bring the museum into the 21st century, and make good on our commitment to retain and improve the focus of the museum on applied arts and sciences," said New South Wales Minister for the Arts John Graham. "Importantly, in this modest revitalisation we are honouring the history of the museum by revealing the heritage elements of the original Ultimo Power Station buildings and refurbishing the Wran building to achieve greater museum functionality." "The design addresses specific community and stakeholder feedback through extending the lifespan of the built form, acknowledging and celebrating the social significance of the Wran Building, addressing circulation and legibility and improving sustainability," added Powerhouse Museum Ultimo Chief Executive Lisa Havilah. 'The revitalised Powerhouse Museum Ultimo will reopen with more and increased quality exhibition spaces. This will be achieved by decluttering the spaces — removing mezzanines allows full use of the spaces. This will restore and reveal the original heritage in the buildings and create high-quality flexible exhibition spaces." If you'd like to have your say about the latest design, you can head online before Thursday, May 30, 2024 during the current plan's exhibition period. The Powerhouse Museum Ultimo project has undergone a rocky history to get to this point. Back in 2015, Powerhouse Museum Ultimo was earmarked for closure as part of a move to shift the entire facility to Parramatta. Then, when that idea didn't prove popular, the New South Wales Government committed to revamping and revitalising the existing site, allocating $480–500 million to the makeover. That figure has since been reduced to $250 million, with the Powerhouse Museum Ultimo also adopting a $50-million philanthropy target. The other Powerhouse Museum location will still be established in Parramatta and is under construction at the moment. Powerhouse Museum Ultimo closed on Monday, February 5, 2024 for the site's transformation, and is expected to remain shut for three years — head to the Powerhouse Museum Ultimo's website and New South Wales Government website for further information. Images: DBJ.
Arguably the best weekly comedy room in Sydney, The Comedy Lounge at Surry Hills' Cafe Lounge is fast becoming a comedy institution. Having recently rung in their fourth birthday, Monday nights at The Comedy Lounge are always enjoyable, and for just $10 – or $8 if you're a penny-pinching student – we can see why. However, despite the consistent funnies being served up every Monday, it's Sunday nights that have recently been making a splash. On the Sabbath, Barry Award-nominated (that is, nominated for the best show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival) comedian John Conway hosts John Conway Tonight, an absurd deconstruction of a late-night TV show done live. Joined by regular collaborators and comedy young guns, Sam Campbell, Aaron Chen and Will Erimya, and boasting guests like The Chaser's Craig Reucassel, there truly is no other show like it in Sydney. Oh, and best of all — it's free. If eccentric live pseudo-chat shows aren't your thing, stick to Mondays and you never know who might 'drop in'. Recent surprise appearances by Wil Anderson and Stephen K. Amos show that The Comedy Lounge is always worth checking out.
Sydneysiders are lucky enough to live in a city with a thriving gallery scene, and every two years, things turn up a notch — when several of the city's major cultural institutions band together for a free citywide program of art. Titled The National, this biennial celebration of Australian art kicked off back in 2017, before returning for a blockbuster run in 2019 and then again for a much-need post-lockdown dose of art in 2021. Now, it's back with its latest iteration, The National 4: Australian Art Now. This time around, there are four participating galleries — the Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW), Carriageworks, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) and Campbelltown Arts Centre (C-A-C), marking the first time the program has expanded outside of the inner city and into the west. [caption id="attachment_895428" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Elizabeth Day, 'The Flow of Form: There's a Reason Beyond a Reason. Beyond That There's a Reason' (1797 Parramatta Gaol), Carriageworks, Redfern, 2023. Installation view, 'The National 4 : Australian Art Now', Carriageworks. Photo: Zan Wimberley[/caption] All four exhibitions are officially open as of today, Friday, March 31, and will run until Sunday, June 25 at both C-A-C and Carriageworks, Sunday, July 9 at the MCA and Sunday, July 23 at AGNSW. 48 new artistic projects will appear across the four distinct spaces. Some of the highlights include an immersive exploration of migration through the lens of artist Allison Chhorn's Cambodian-Australian family; The Circadian Cul-de-sac, an otherworldly mess of discarded items like fish tanks, Tampax instructions and empty photo frames from Erika Scott; a massive ceramic piece made from over 600 hand-formed tiles by Gerry Wedd; and Nabilah Nordin's colourful and immensely textured new sculpture Corinthian Clump. [caption id="attachment_895418" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Heather Koowootha, 'The Bush people's walking pathways of Country site's and story places', 2023. Installation view, 'The National 4: Australian Art Now', Carriageworks. Photo: Zan Wimberley[/caption] For the first time, The National will also be activating the Brett Whiteley Studio in Surry Hills, with Archibald Prize-nominee Natasha Walsh presenting her new body of work Hysteria, where she reinterprets famous paintings of women painted by men. In a joint statement, the program's five curators Beatrice Gralton (AGNSW), Freja Carmichael and Aarna Fitzgerald Hanley (Carriageworks), Emily Rolfe (C-A-C) and Jane Devery (MCA) said: "The National 4 is a dynamic collaboration resulting in four distinct exhibitions that unfold across our respective organisations. It brings together diverse works by more than 80 artists reflecting the multiplicity of perspectives informing the art being made in Australia today." [caption id="attachment_895419" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Erika Scott, 'The Circadian Cul-de-sac', 2023. Installation view, 'The National 4: Australian Art Now', Carriageworks. Photo: Zan Wimberley[/caption] "Collectively the artists in The National 4 contribute to broader conversations across a range of critical ideas, including intergenerational learning, community and social interconnectedness, the role of language, and personal narratives that acknowledge broader social and political issues." To kick things off, the galleries are hosting a series of free events including performances, film screenings, talks and workshops across the first full weekend of The National, from Friday, March 31–Sunday, April 2. Head to the exhibition's website for the list of events and the full program of art that you can catch over the next three months. [caption id="attachment_895430" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of Nabilah Nordin's 'Corinthian Clump', 2023, presented as part of 'The National 4: Australian Art Now' at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Photo, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Mim Stirling[/caption] 'The National 4: Australian Art Now' is running from Sunday, March 31–Sunday, July 23 across the Art Gallery of NSW, Carriageworks, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and Campbeltown Arts Centre. Top image: Installation view of Nabilah Nordin's 'Corinthian Clump', 2023, presented as part of 'The National 4: Australian Art Now' at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Photo, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Mim Stirling.
You know that feeling of unsurpassed joy you experience when you are eating at a restaurant and you see the waiter approaching your table with your dish? Good Food Month is that feeling. Spread out over a whole month. Spanning all October, Good Food Month celebrates the joy of food over many diverse platforms — ranging from markets to workshops, talks, tastings and completely unusual, unexpected, food-skewed events. It's also the time when restaurants that we probably couldn't afford open their doors with breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert specials. This year, Good Food month will feature Israeli food maestro Yotam Ottolenghi, who'll be doing an exclusive dinner, lunch and talk. The list of things to see (and, most importantly, eat) feels endless, so, as usual, we've handpicked the ten best events that you cannot miss if the thought of food makes you feel giddy with excitement. Night Noodle Markets You know it's Good Food Month when Hyde Park is transformed into a fairy-lit backyard, dotted with stalls featuring the best Asian food that Sydney has to offer. This year, there will be 50 stalls showcasing these goodies, including the likes of China Republic, Harajuku Gyoza and popular Melbourne eatery Wonderbao, alongside old favourites such as Mamak, Longrain and Din Tai Fung. For the first time in its 16-year operation, the Night Noodle Markets will be operating on Sunday evenings as well. If you're hankering for Asian street food but can't bear the Noodle Market crush, try China Town's Asia on Your Doorstep Festival, which will feature an authentic-as-can-be Little Eat Street on October 25. October 10 – 26, Hyde Park North. Hours: Mon – Tue 5pm – 9pm, Wed 5pm – 10pm, Thu - Fri 5pm – 11pm, Saturday 4pm - 10pm, Sunday 4pm – 9pm. Free entry. Momofuku Ssäm Bar 2007 By now, everyone should know what the big deal is with superstar chef David Chang. To those unfamiliar, only two words are necessary: pork buns. We in Sydney have had a chance to experience Chang's Momofuku empire thanks to Momofuku Seiobo opening a while back, but the rest of his restaurants overseas sadly still evade us. Now Momofuku Seiobo is stepping back in time to bring us a taste of New York's Momofuku Ssäm Bar's 2007 menu, some of which is now iconic — like Chang's signature pork belly buns with hoisin, cucumber and spring onions. Best of all, you won't have to fight for a reservation, just for a spot in the queue; no bookings are being taken for Ssäm Bar 2007. All dishes are $10-40, and you get a Tanqueray G&T on arrival. October 13-18, 6.30pm - 10pm, at Momofuku Seiobo, Level G, The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street. Journey to the Forbidden Kingdom What little we know about North Korea ranges from the surprising to the downright bizarre. Something that we know even less about is North Korean fare. The chefs at one of our faves, Kim Restaurant in Potts Point, will open those doors for us, giving us a peek into the cuisine styles of a land not many people get to visit. October 10, 5 - 10pm, at Kim Restaurant, 7/24-30 Springfield Avenue, via Llankelly Place, Potts Point. $80pp for a five-course banquet matched to Korean spirits. Reservations kimrestaurant7@gmail.com Foraged Feast at Hill Eatery Bondi Beach institution Hill Eatery is dedicated to creating the freshest meals from local produce. It is fitting that their contribution to Good Food Month encompasses this passion: guests are invited to forage for their food around Bondi's beach parks and backyards, before the chefs transform it into a delicious and hearty meal. Forage Feast is $98pp for a three-course meal including wine and beer. While you eat, the chefs will explain where ingredients were sourced and the inspiration behind each dish. October 30, 7pm – 11.30pm at Hill Eatery, 5/39 Campbell Parade North Bondi. Reservations info@thehilleatery.com.au. Foraged Feast is a part of the Down to Earth program of events. Asia Town street food festival The best (worst?) thing about Good Food Month is that we're almost too spoiled for choice when it comes to picking out the best experience for our tastebuds, making it all the harder. Asia Town fixes this dilemma for you, bringing some of Australia's best chefs to a giant one-off marketplace of tastings, drinks, music and demonstrations. Dishes will be prepared by chefs like founder of Sailers' Thai David Thompson; the man behind Ms G's, Dan Hong; founder of Red Lantern, Luke Nguyen; and Chui Lee Luk, who opened Surry Hills' Chow Bar and Eating House last year. Oh, and not to forget the talented folk from Sokyo, Golden Century, Moon Park, Cho Cho San, and Melburnian restaurants Kong and Chin Chin. That's, like, everyone. This is one of the rare times we recommend going to the Star. Sunday, October 19, from noon - 8pm, at Star Terrace, Pirrama Road, Pyrmont. $125pp, including tastings, drinks and demonstration sessions. Book at the Good Food Month website. Halloween Harajuku Pop Up Bar at Sake For the dressed-up characters walking the streets of Tokyo's famed district of Harajuku, practically every day is Halloween. Now, we can have our own little twist on Japanese style, with Sake Restaurant and Bar resurrecting their Harajuku-themed pop-up bar for Halloween — which means you get to dress up too. There will be themed cocktails and izakaya-style canapes, including skewers, grilled fish, sashimi salad, sushi rolls and — wait for it — deep-fried cheeseburger gyozas. Chill with some spooky tunes thanks to Sake's DJs and you've got a seriously good night sorted. October 31, 7pm – 12am, at Sake Restaurant and Bar, 12 Argyle Street, The Rocks. $45pp including three cocktails and matching canapes. Reservations reservations@sakerestaurant.com.au. The Growers' Market, Pyrmont Heading to the markets could possibly be one of the nicest ways to spend a day: wandering through mazes of stalls, consuming the sly tester and, in the case of the Growers' Market, enjoying a wonderful view. During its 16 years in operation, the Growers' Market Pyrmont has become one of Sydney's most loved morning markets. As the title suggests, the Growers' Market is all about fresh produce, with 70 stalls presenting freshly harvested food in the shape of cheese, meats, fruit and veggies. The Growers' Market runs on the first Saturday of each month; however, during Good Food Month it will also include cooking demonstrations from Australian food personalities and a fine-food sausage sizzle as a nod to the 'Barbecue Madness' segment of Good Food Month. October 4, 7am - noon, at Pyrmont Bay Park, Pirrama Road. Free. Omnivore The Omnivore world tour is a determined shift away from stuffy exclusive restaurants and close-minded chefs. Adopting the title 'la jeune cuisine' (young chefs, new ideas) the Omnivore movement is based in Paris and unites chefs from all over the world. The Australian four-day event will feature masterclasses, dinners and an 'Omnivorous Party' on October 4, the latter including bouchees pastries, music and drinks with a backdrop of the harbour. Hear, learn from, dine with and eat the food of chefs from eateries such as Nomad, Pinbone, The Bentley and Papi Chulo. October 2-5. Masterclasses $45 half day/$80 full day), Omnivorious party $45. Reservations via the Omnivore website. Sip & Savour: A Craft Beer Experience Beer and cider lovers, rejoice. As part of Sydney Craft Beer Week, festival-within-a-festival Sip & Savour are promising two full days of tastings, dining and entertainment, featuring over 250 brews and cider. Some of our most loved Australian microbreweries — including Young Henrys, Six String and Hawthorn Brewing Company — will be pouring throughout the weekend. For those looking for a bit of Beer 101, there's also going to be seminars and workshops teaching you how to start your own brewery and how to successfully match beer with food. But don't conk out too early. Live music acts including 2011 Triple J Unearthed winner Husky, local indie-rock five-piece Castlecomer, electronic indie-pop songstress Lupa J and young singer-songwriter Gordi will be providing tunes all Sunday night. October 25 from 11.30am - 1pm) and October 26 from noon - 6pm at Carriageworks, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh. Prices vary from $44 - $78. Book tickets at the Sip & Savour website. StreetFest Food Trucks United Food trucks tick all the right boxes — cheap, fulfilling, fast and guaranteed to be made fresh on the spot — so it's a wonder why they aren't more easily seen around town. One popular solution to that is Streetfest Food Trucks United, which is returning to fill the void now that long summer nights are on their way. Vendors like Cantina Mobil, Eat Art Truck and a crowd of others will fill the space of Belmore Park, along with stages for live art, music and some fun entertainment like rap-battles and street performances. October 10, 5pm - 10pm, at Pyrmont Bay Park, Pirrama Road. Pyrmont. Free entry. By the Concrete Playground team.
It looks like the NSW Government's lofty plans for its Sydney Metro rail project won't come cheap, with the makeover of Central Station alone estimated to cost a whopping $3 billion. As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, the information's been revealed in leaked documents from Transport for NSW, suggesting that even increased revenue from the station's proposed retail precinct, five-star boutique hotel and high-rise offices won't ever be enough to cover the costs of the ambitious project. The government's expected to drop an estimated $750 million just on incorporating the city's new train line into the station, which is Australia's busiest and clocks in at a huge 20 hectares. The leaked documents show other extensive plans for the project include a $120 million hotel development to transform the main terminal's upper levels, a colonnade and retail arcade on Pitt Street, three commercial towers in the space currently home to YHA's Railway Square hostel and a plaza on Eddy Avenue. While the plans would take place over the next 20 years, a Transport for NSW spokeswoman confirmed with SMH that nothing would be given the go-ahead until after extensive public consultation and approval. "Any decision to proceed with development at the station will have to be subject to rigorous economic appraisal and Cabinet consideration," she said. Via The Sydney Morning Herald.
Please note: This article contains descriptions of sexual misconduct. A shocking ABC investigation, published on September 4, revealed a culture of sexual exploitation, misogyny and failures of management at venues operated by hospitality heavyweight Merivale. Now, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Good Food have uncovered yet more troubling revelations about the hospo giant. A bombshell exposé, published on October 29, alleges that staff working at Merivale's exclusive members-only club, Level 6, located at the business' sprawling Ivy precinct in the CBD, were expected to "accommodate [the] advances" of wealthy patrons. In return, staff — who were often aged between 18 and 21 — could expect gifts of luxury goods such as designer handbags and hundreds of dollars in tips. "It was like a strip club with no one taking off their clothes," one former Level 6 staff member told The SMH, with another describing the venue as "One step away from being a brothel". [caption id="attachment_704747" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Level 6[/caption] Former staff alleged that this sexual quid pro quo intensified in 2013 when a pole-dancing pole was installed at Level 6. Around the same time, according to The SMH report, drug use by patrons became increasingly normalised and tolerated. Journalists Eryk Bagshaw and Bianca Hrovat claim they spoke to dozens of former Merivale employees during their investigation, but the vast majority of them only agreed to do so anonymously as they feared repercussions from the hugely influential hospitality employer. "They hire people very, very young. There are thousands of 18- to 21-year-old girls out there who are young, naive and sucked in by Merivale," one former manager told The SMH. "[They are] ushered into the cult and then … bad things start happening, and they feel like they can't say anything." The report alleges that on occasions when police attended Ivy, a "blue lights" warning would be shared to a staff WhatsApp group or via internal radio comms. A Merivale statement asserted that alerting staff to the presence of police was "standard industry practice", adding: "Every team member and especially our managers have duties under the law to assist police. They cannot do so if they are unaware of their presence on site." [caption id="attachment_814113" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ivy[/caption] One former host from Level 6 anonymously shared their experience of sexual assault in the workplace, saying a male patron "would grab you and throw you on the couch and put his hand up your skirt… He went underneath my clothes and grabbed my underwear." The same host said of her experiences working for Merivale, "I was disgusted. I couldn't believe it. This is my place of work and this is happening. You certainly didn't feel like you could do anything about it." The extensive reporting also detailed unsafe and abusive activities — including sexual misconduct and drug use — at several other Merivale venues, including cocktail bar Hemmesphere, Level 5 (the event space directly beneath Level 6 at Ivy), Felix and the Bondi outpost of Totti's. However, the report conceded that some former Merivale employees and guests who were interviewed for the article believed their access to drugs, exclusive venues and wealthy patrons were unofficial perks. [caption id="attachment_702661" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Totti's Bondi[/caption] While Merivale denies the allegations in the report, the company has engaged leading human rights and discrimination lawyer Kate Eastman, SC, to lead an investigation. A statement from Merivale added that if any of the allegations are found to be true, the company "regrets any distress caused." This latest reporting on Merivale echoes the seismic allegations The Sydney Morning Herald and Good Food published about Swillhouse Group, published on August 21. Anton Forte, the founder of Swillhouse Group, stepped down as the company's CEO on Friday, October 25, following months of attempted rehab, including hiring Justine Baker, a hospitality veteran and former CEO of Solotel, as well as two independent consultants, to oversee cultural reforms across the company. If you need to speak to someone about an experience you have had or are seeking information, please contact 1800Respect on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800respect.org.au.
A quarter-million people have signed a petition calling for the NSW Government to reverse its decision to allow a horse race to be advertised on the sails of the Sydney Opera House. Premier Gladys Berejiklian told the arts institution that its sails must be lit up with colours, numbers and a trophy to promote the upcoming $13 million Everest horse race — the world's richest race on turf — after a controversial 2BG radio interview between Opera House CEO Louise Herron, Racing NSW CEO Peter V'landys and radio presenter Alan Jones. During the interview, Herron rejected plans to use the World Heritage-listed building to promote the race, saying "it's not a billboard". While she had agreed to V'landys' request of projecting jockeys' colours on the sales, Herron said they would not "put text or videos of horses running or horses' numbers of names or the Everest logo on the Opera House". Jones responded by calling for Herron's resignation, saying that he could be "speaking to Gladys Berejiklian". While Herron did not lose her job, her decision to not project the Everest advertising was overturned by Ms Berejiklian later that day. Concerns have been raised by both Herron and the National Trust that this decision could be in breach of the Heritage Act, and could possibly jeopardise the iconic building's heritage status. It also sets a dangerous precedent for other brands to pay — or pressure the government into allowing — advertising on the Opera House. This morning, Ms Berejiklian did not show up to accept the Change.org petition after being invited to do so by Change.org Executive Director Sally Rugg and Mike Woodcock, who started the petition. Instead the petition was accepted by NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong, who said she would deliver it to Ms Berejiklian. At this stage, the promotional light projection will still be going ahead at 8pm tonight, but a light-based protest — dubbed, Defend the Sydney Opera House — has also been organised. It is expected to see over 3000 protesters using torches and camera lights to disrupt the projection. The event organiser has suggested against the use of drones and laser pointers. We'll update if any changes are made during the day. Images: Cole Bennetts
Owner Rod Jones divulges on Revolver's website that he is fascinated with all things revolving, and the cogs motif is ever-present inside this charismatic café — from the carved-wood divider to the mural behind the counter. But Revolver is hardly reinventing the wheel, delivering simple, well-executed fare with a focus on freshness and friendliness. Get in early on a weekend to snare a cosy, leathery nook, or be prepared to wait. Staff are ever-polite and pleasant and will offer you a coffee ($3.20 and respectably creamy) while you loiter about the threshold. With its leisurely location, steampunk-style fit-out and organic free-range menu, it's little wonder Revolver has become the (delightfully poorly-kept) secret haunt of locals. The mismatched china and barbershop music highlight the old-world charm of the building. Glass cake stands showcase glorious homemade treats. And it is this balance of classic comfort food with a contemporary edge which sets Revolver apart from the other cogs in the café-scene machine. The big brekkie comes in an iron pan, stuffed with still-bubbling homemade beans, pork fennel sausages, mushrooms, two eggs and honey-cured bacon ($16.50). It is good and greed-gratifying, and despite its reminiscence to the hangover fry-up one might do at home, the salty-sweetness and perfectly-cooked eggs elevate it to excellent. The vegie option ($16.5o) is resplendent with freshly-made hummus and generous slabs of avocado. The ricotta hotcakes are impossibly fluffy and arrive drenched in compote and maple-scented ricotta ($14.50). If your late-morning wait for a table lingers toward lunchtime, you could do worse than grab the cheeseburger; it comes with smoked mozzarella, pickles and rosemary-salted lemon chat potatoes ($14.5). It is unfussy and luscious and up there with the best burgers in Sydney. Revolver is a well-oiled machine, celebrating great coffee, generous food and a homely milieu.
Don't mess with Vin Diesel's on-screen family. Since 2001, that's been a basic cinema rule, holding hard and fast — and furiously, of course — in the Fast & Furious franchise. Back then, it didn't seem like a high-octane take on Point Break with a heap of extra Coronas and 100-percent more street racing would span ten sequels and a spinoff, and also become one of the biggest movie series there is. But here we now are awaiting the arrival of Fast X, and knowing that there's another flick to come after that. The saga's penultimate ride (well, supposedly) races into cinemas on May 18 and, after dropping a first trailer a few months back, it has just given audiences another sneak peek. All the essentials are covered, which really means Diesel (The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special) glaring at everyone who threatens that brood, an ever-growing list of other famous faces, speedy-driving vehicles everywhere, ridiculous dialogue, OTT action setpieces and more than a few explosions. In Fast X, Dom's grandmother (Rita Moreno, West Side Story) joins the series — and so does his new nemesis Dante (Jason Momoa, Dune). The latter is going after the usual F&F crew to avenge his own blood, another franchise staple. He's on that quest because he's the son of Fast Five's drug kingpin Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida, Warrior Nun), which is a handy way go get him threatening Dom and company for slights against his own family. Seasoned viewers will remember that that's how Jason Statham's (Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre) Deckard Shaw originally came into these films. Accordingly, this new stint of ride-or-die, quarter-mile-at-a-time chaos can only be resolved by high-action stunts and ties back to past movies, as Dom faces off against Dante. Statham does indeed make an appearance, as he's done since Fast & Furious 6 and in spinoff Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. Also featured are a whole heap of franchise regulars, such as Michelle Rodriguez (Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves), Jordana Brewster (Who Invited Charlie?), Ludacris (End of the Road), Tyrese Gibson (Morbius) and Sung Kang (Obi-Wan Kenobi) as Dom's wife Lottie, sister Mia, and pals Tej, Roman and Han. And, Nathalie Emmanuel (The Invitation) returns as Ramsey, Scott Eastwood (I Want You Back) as government operative Little Nobody, John Cena (Peacemaker) as Dom's brother Jakob (see: Fast and Furious 9), Helen Mirren (Shazam! Fury of the Gods) as Deckard's mother Queenie and Charlize Theron (The School for Good and Evil) as criminal mastermind Cypher. Every F&F flick also throws new famous folks onto its road — and while sadly Keanu Reeves has yet to grace its frames to cement the Point Break ties, or Channing Tatum in a Magic Mike/F&F mashup that'd be a ridiculous dream, Fast X adds Momoa, Moreno and Brie Larson (Just Mercy). Also, while not a household name by any means, Leo Abelo Perry (Cheaper by the Dozen) joins the series as Brian Marcos, Dom's young son. As for how it'll all turn out when Fast X unfurls its wonders — in what's meant to be the first film in a two-part finale for the franchise, and what feels like it'll have to be a five-hour movie itself just to fit the entire cast in — the two previews so far are filled with chases and aerial feats, ample mentions of family, twist reveals and glorious F&F vehicular mayhem in general. Now You See Me and Grimsby filmmaker Louis Leterrier directs, fresh from helping make TV series Lupin such a hit, and also reteaming with Statham after The Transporter and The Transporter 2 back in the 00s. Yes, we'll count that as another F&F instance of family ties. Check out the latest Fast X trailer below: Fast X releases in cinemas Down Under on May 18, 2023.
Bringing a contemporary touch to the historic Finger Wharf, Bellevue Woolloomooloo presents forward-thinking French cuisine with a delicate Japanese influence. Guided by the team behind Glebe's Bellevue Cottage, with Executive Chef and co-owner Antoine Moscovitz at the helm, this latest venture sees the restaurateurs combine exceptional food with warm hospitality and inspired storytelling. Paris-born Moscovitz is no stranger to top-notch dining experiences. Having cooked under Alain Ducasse — one of only two chefs to hold 21 or more Michelin stars — he's also served as the private chef to the House of Roederer and honed his skills at Salt with Luke Mangan and Bathers' Pavilion with Serge Dansereau. Now, Moscovitz and his crew, including Executive Chef Keith Murray, are heading up Bellevue Woolloomooloo, bringing an outstanding resume to this innovative concept. "We always dreamt of having a space on the wharf," says Moscovitz. "It's surreal to be back where I once stood dreaming as a young chef, and now, we're here serving our own vision of modern French dining, made lighter and brighter through a Japanese lens." Shaped by Moscovitz and Murray, Bellevue Woolloomooloo's menu features an array of high-end dishes where time-tested French techniques are elevated with Japanese culinary sophistication. Standout small plates include spanner crab with dark miso bouillabaisse and shaved foie gras, and the Bellevue-Kyoto tartar, featuring Angus fillet, daikon, pickled mustard, and coriander shallot dressing. For mains, the Canon of Lamb sees the headline ingredient grilled then confit, served alongside glazed green beans and shallots. Then, for dessert, highlights include a fresh take on a crème brûlée, with pure Tahitian vanilla bean and acidic pomegranate, and the Paris caramelised pear open cheesecake, adorned with sesame cream. Refined but relaxed in ambience, the venue offers the ideal spot to explore these cohesive fusions. Likewise, the design is a meeting of cultures, with Astoria Design Co's Gabriela Mastroianni merging classic French elegance with chic Japanese minimalism. Opening onto the wharf, a distinct wine bar adds another dimension to the restaurant. Created in collaboration with Champagne Pommery, a show-stopping wine cellar makes this space perfect for a pre-dinner or casual drink overlooking the waterfront. Bellevue Woolloomooloo is now open Wednesday–Sunday from 11.30am–11pm at Unit 2/6F Cowper Wharf Roadway, Woolloomooloo. Head to the website for more information.
Merivale will be embracing the Queen's Birthday this long weekend with parties fit for royalty across two of its venues, to celebrate the exclusive launch of Beefeater PINK in Australia. Head to Enmore, Friday, June 8 through Monday, June 11 to indulge in Beefeater PINK cocktails at Queens Hotel. There's the Royal Fizz, a blend of Beefeater PINK, Lillet Rosé and tonic, and the Beefeater Marteani, served in a teacup (just as Queenie likes it) and garnished with rosemary. Next, settle in for on-site Cantonese restaurant Queen Chow's Her Royal High Tea, where you can feast on pink lobster dumplings with tobiko and gold flakes and red rice rolls with prawn and crispy beancurd. There's also The Peking and The Queen, a signature take on the classic roast dinner, featuring Imperial Peking Duck. Providing the soundtrack while you tuck in will be DJs Polographia and Shantan Wantan Ichiban. The Vic on The Park will also be getting involved in the festivities serving up the Beefeater PINK cocktails alongside a more traditional British menu including roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, Devonshire tea soft serve and Vic Lane snacks (the Vic's take on the subcontinental food of London's famous Brick Lane). DJ sets by Luen Jacobs and World Champion DJs plus live graffiti art on classic British cars will provide the entertainment while you feast. Find more information on the long weekend celebrations and make a booking here.
Following the decline of Trumps Tavern and Noble Canteen, hospitality wizard Justin Hemmes is next in line to have a crack at 50 King Street in the CBD. And, for a while at least, his Merivale group are putting the focus on art. The company recently acquired the space and is working on long-term plans for a refit. In the meantime, however, we're to be treated to a pop-up bar, opening May 2. Rather than the usual drinks and dinner, the temporary space will be home to a constantly changing art studio. The project, knowingly called A Work In Progress, will be the progressive work of two stalwarts of the Australian art community. Curated by Glenn Barkley, formerly of the MCA, it will play host to the pop art stylings of Darwin-based Franck Gohier. It will be up to the two of them to transform the former bar into an evolving and interactive art space. It wouldn’t be a Merivale establishment, though, without a little something to eat and a lot of something to drink. Joining the experiment are ex-Sailor's Thai chef Air Jantrakool and group bar manager Paul Mant, cooking up traditional Thai street food paired with a rotating menu of cocktails, both with a focus on local produce. Apart from the potential disaster of spilling a plate of pad thai on a developing (and potentially valuable) canvas, the combination of art and boozing is a promising new turn from Merivale. A Work in Progress opens at 50 King Street, Sydney, on May 2.
Looking for an affordable way to break up the working week? Believe it or not, it's still possible in Sydney. From Tuesdays to Thursdays, you can now indulge in a plate of a pasta and perfectly matched red or white wine at PIER Dining for just $25. Go for a trusted classic like bolognese or experiment with a chef's special. Either way, you'll be tucking into fresh, seasonal ingredients while overlooking sparkling Sydney Harbour – every booking gets you a one-hour seating beside the water. This is exactly the excuse you need to linger in the city after work for a much-needed catch-up with mates, without breaking your (or their) budget for the week. Fair warning: once you're settled in, you might be tempted to stay on for another glass (and dessert). PIER Dining is open for $25 pasta and wine on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5pm till late. The deal is running till the end of April, so you'll need to get in quick.
Venture down to the southernmost point of King Street and you'll find hot pinsa romana emerging five days a week from Newtown's newest Italian restaurant, Casa Mia Osteria. Pinsa romana is a contemporary reinvention of ancient Roman pizza that is growing in popularity across Italy — the fluffy oval-shaped pizzas have a distinctly different appearance from their circular Naples-style cousins, but that's not the most important distinguishing factor. That would be the flour and dough. Dough at Casa Mia combines three different types of flour, including rice and soy flour, and the team uses a ratio of 900 millilitres of water per one kilogram of flour. It means that the dough rises more when cooking compared to the Naples-style pizza base Sydneysiders are familiar with, and results in the pinsa romana's signature light and crunchy bases. Casa Mia Osteria comes from duo Andrea Nazzari and Valerio Boncompagni, who are passionate about bringing a fresh take on traditional Italian flavours to Sydney's inner west. The pair worked at Michelin star restaurants in their hometowns of Rome and Milan before moving to Sydney and meeting while working at Baccomatto in Surry Hills. From there, a friendship blossomed which would eventually give birth to Casa Mia Osteria. "It's our baby," Boncompagni tells Concrete Playground. "That's why it's called Casa Mia. Casa Mia means my home and this is going to be our home." When it comes to what's on top of the dough, the restaurant will have a new seasonal menu every few months. Currently, you can find a four-cheese and pear combo, a puttanesca pinsa with cetara anchovies, olives, capers and stracciatella on a tomato base, or a chickpea, black cabbage and sundried tomato vegetarian option. "When you go to an Italian restaurant you always find almost the same thing. You always find the caprese, the carbonara, the cacio pepe," says Boncompagni. "When we decided to open this restaurant, we decided to offer to our customers a different type of real Italian cuisine." "We're obviously doing something different from the rest of the pizza places," Nazzari adds. And the fun doesn't stop with the pinsa. An exciting mix of antipasti including salted cod croquettes, braised baby octopus in soft polenta and a reserved pasta list featuring fettuccine with lamb ragu and black olives is accompanied by a collection of Italian and Australian wines. "We believe in a small wine list with good quality," says Nazzari, explaining that he is excited to introduce Sydneysiders to unique Italian wines. "Like the food, I want to give the people something different. Always try to surprise the customer." As well as its dinnertime menu, Casa Mia also offers lunch specials on Saturdays and Sundays. Swing by during the day and you'll find a spread of Italian treats ready to brighten what might otherwise be a gloomy lockdown weekend. You'll find a selection of baked goods including bomboloni, cakes and cannoli, plus fresh bread, cook-at-home lasagnas, bottled cocktails and mini lunch pizzas. Casa Mia Osteria is open at 9/605 King Street, Newtown from 5–9.30pm Wednesday and Thursday, midday–9.30pm Friday and Saturday, and midday–9pm Sunday. Casa Mia Osteria is open throughout Sydney's lockdown. Images: Kitti Gould
If there are two things that are helping us through this latest stretch of lockdown, it's good food and good tunes. So, it's an extra win that the two are coming together for one exclusive virtual knees-up on Saturday, September 12. Attica's renowned culinary maestro Ben Shewry is teaming up with local electronic legends The Avalanches to host A Party for Melbourne, streamed live and loud, straight to your living room. They're aiming to send fans a big 'thank you', while blasting away a few of those dreary iso blues. The celebrations kick off early with a series of online 'How To Party' videos released in the week leading up, which'll see Shewry sharing his tips and tricks for whipping up the ultimate shindig. He'll guide you through everything from transforming your house into a disco den to creating game-changing prawn cocktails and sausage rolls. They'll be free to watch over on the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival (MFWF) website, as well as Shewry's and MFWF's social channels. On the big night, things will fire up with a set from DJ Soju Gang, before The Avalanches grace your screens with a show of their own, streamed via YouTube. Best make sure you've cleared plenty of room for dancing the night away. Tickets to this house party are free, but you'll need to register over at the MFWF website.
Confirming one of our predicted food trends for 2015, it seems chefs and restaurateurs worldwide want to get out of their own kitchens and test their wares in another. Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck flew over to Melbourne last year, the Rook and Black Pearl exchanged places last year, and now Denmark's Noma has popped up in Tokyo. Open for five weeks at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo, the pop-up Noma restaurant will be run off its feet until February 14. Heralded the world's number one restaurant for four years running, Rene Redzepi's Noma obviously isn't the cheapest pop-up you've ever heard of — $420 per person for lunch or dinner. But as Good Food pointed out, 6500 tickets were sold out within hours of release and there are no less than 60,000 people on the waiting list. Yep, 60,000 individual people. Taking over the space usually housing the Mandarin Oriental's 37th-floor Signature Restaurant, Noma has gutted and refitted the space with elegant, natural (and considerably more permanent-looking than your usual pop-up) designs by Danish firm Carl Hansen & Son. We're talking super exxy oak tables and serving crockery embellished by local Japanese artisans. But it's not just Noma bells and whistles in the space — the whole Noma team has been flown in, a whole 77 people including Coffs Harbour-raised souf chef Beau Clugston, Adelaide restaurant manager James Spreadbury and Sydney team leader Katherine Bont, and Noma's long-suffering and mysterious dishwasher. So, the living-vicariously details you've been waiting for — what's on the menu? Redzepi told GF he'd be straying from the usual Noma menu. Having visited Japan multiple times on reconnaissance over the last year, Redzepi and research and development chefs Lars Williams and Thomas Frebel have devised 16 dishes to be served over three hours. Not for the faint-hearted (or squeamish vegetarian), the degustation even features a whole roasted wild duck dissected at the table and served with a matsubusa berry sauce. Here's a menu sampler: Assorted Japanese citrus and long pepper Shaved monkfish liver Just-steamed tofu with wild walnuts Sea urchin, maitake mushroom and cabbage Scallop dried for two days, beech nuts and kelp Hyokkori pumpkin, cherrywood oil, salted cherry blossom Garlic flower origami Sweet potato simmered in raw sugar all day Fermented shiitake mushroom in dark chocolate Noma pops up in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo until February 14. Tickets are unbelievably, undeniably, don't-even-think-about-it sold out. But we can dream. Via Good Food. Images: cyclonebill cc.
In one of Galveston's revealing scenes, hitman Roy (Ben Foster) is told a bleak truth: "you're not as handsome as I remember". The statement comes from an ex-lover (Heidi Lewandowski) who hasn't seen the on-the-run criminal for more than a decade, and it's designed to wound. Uttered in a grimy crime drama that sends its characters hiding from their complicated lives in the titular Texas island city, the unflattering words also cut to the heart of this grim yet gripping film. Nothing is quite as beautiful, peaceful or comforting as anyone hopes in Galveston. Nothing goes smoothly, happens easily, or lives up to anyone's hopes, dreams or expectations. All of the above proves true in New Orleans in 1988, when the hard-boozing, possibly terminally ill Roy is sent on a routine job by his shady boss (Beau Bridges). It remains true when the hit goes south, and when Roy rescues 19-year-old escort Rocky (Elle Fanning) in the aftermath. Following a quick stop to pick up toddler Tiffany (Anniston Price and Tinsley Price), it's still true when the trio check into a coastal motel and take stock of their difficult and dangerous situation. The tired, troubled assassin; the young sex worker with a good heart and a bad past; the scenic hideout that can't solve a world of problems: like much of Galveston's recognisable plot, all of these elements have long been noir and crime tropes. But again, nothing is exactly as it seems in this movie — be it memories, supposedly easy gigs or genre staples. In her fourth stint behind the lens and in her English-language directorial debut, actor-turned-filmmaker Mélanie Laurent crafts a film out of familiar parts. Given that the script was written by True Detective's Nic Pizzolatto (under a pseudonym, and based on his own novel as well), that really does prove the case. And yet, while it's hardly overflowing with surprises, Galveston still feels like its own distinctive creation. Maybe it's the narrative, which refuses to completely stick to the standard formula, hewing close but happily branching out in interesting directions. Maybe it's the dynamic between Roy and Rocky, which avoids the most obvious, highly cliched path and feels all the more real and resonant for it. Or, perhaps it's the darkness that infuses every second, even when the movie's main players are enjoying their sunny surroundings or daring to believe that something could change. Roy's conversation with his ex-girlfriend proves relevant again in encapsulating the film's permanent brooding mood — when he tells her that he's dying, her casual response is "aren't we all?". Definitely having an impact are Foster and Fanning, two consistently impressive talents who add to their stellar resumes. The more that Galveston's running time ticks by, the more the film becomes a two-handed character study, with its leads shouldering their heavy burdens with ease. Perhaps that's another reason that the movie never becomes the run-of-the-mill flick it could've been: its protagonists might seem thin on paper, but these struggling lost souls are teeming with complexity on screen. The quiet sorrow that Foster exuded in Leave No Trace also infects his work here, and the inner pluck that made Fanning such a highlight in The Neon Demon is evident as well. But neither actor could be accused of retracing their own footsteps, and Laurent certainly doesn't ask them to. Instead, Galveston serves up layers — layered performances, layer upon layer of gloomy themes for its characters to wade through, and a layered approach to its visuals. As she demonstrated in one of her earlier filmmaking gigs, the teen-focused French drama Breathe, Laurent is a skilled director who always finds the perfect approach for each scene. Sometimes she lets the camera hang back, giving Foster and Fanning space to bounce off each other. Sometimes she peers intimately, whether the film is cosying up as Roy, Rocky and Tiffany form a makeshift family, or getting almost uncomfortably close when Roy and Rocky share their life's traumas. Often, this deceptively affecting picture says more with less, including in its climactic moments. If only all seemingly by-the-book crime flicks could do the same. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAad6w1pYrM
It might be a movie about a faux romance, but Anyone But You hasn't faked its setting. In the upcoming rom-com, which has a date with cinemas on Boxing Day, Sydney Sweeney (Reality) and Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) play a couple pretending that they're in love — but as most of the just-dropped full trailer shows, there's no shams about the Sydney location. When Sweeney was in Sydney at a Sydney Swans game earlier in 2023, it wasn't just because she was playing the Sydney version of Pokémon and catching them all. Rather, the Euphoria and The White Lotus star was filming this movie. And, from both the first teaser and the latest sneak peek, this film clearly falls into a specific category of Aussie-made flicks: pictures shot Down Under that can't stop reminding viewers that they were made Down Under (see also: fellow future release The Fall Guy, which will arrive in 2024). [caption id="attachment_926799" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney star in ANYONE BUT YOU.[/caption] Multiple shots of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House feature heavily amid the banter-heavy glimpses at Anyone But You's stars. In fact, the Opera House even shows up in the background as Bea and Ben are having a Titanic moment on a boat. Anyone But You's setup: Sweeney's Bea had a great first date with Powell's Ben; however, then everything turned sour. Now they're at the same destination wedding and pretence becomes their solution. Anyone But You is directed and co-written by Will Gluck, who has both Easy A and Friends with Benefits on his resume, then the vastly dissimilar Annie and the two Peter Rabbit movies. On-screen, as well as Sweeney, Powell and a whole lot of Sydney — the city — Alexandra Shipp (Barbie), GaTa (Dave), Dermot Mulroney (Secret Invasion), Bryan Brown (C*A*U*G*H*T) and Rachel Griffiths (Total Control) also feature. Check out the full trailer for Anyone But You below: Anyone But You opens in cinemas Down Under on December 26, 2023.
Whenever Dr Jane Goodall takes to the stage to look back on her career, fascinating tales follow. In Australia and New Zealand, that'll prove the case in 2024, when the English ethologist, activist and chimpanzee expert will return Down Under for her latest speaking tour. On her first visit this way since 2019 due to the pandemic, she's not only reflecting upon her work, however — she also has good news stories to share. It's been 63 years since Goodall volunteered to live among chimpanzees in Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park, and since newspaper headlines were dismissive. Now, she's a pioneering primatologist who is world-renowned for her groundbreaking research, highlighting how closely connected humans are to our closest living relatives. Having dedicated the bulk of her life to her ongoing study, animal welfare in general and conservation, Goodall has lived a vastly fascinating existence, which she'll be speaking about in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland. "I love Australia and New Zealand with its rich biodiversity and proud First Nations heritage", she said. "It will be tremendous to catch up with old friends and meet some of the young leaders making a difference through Roots & Shoots," said Goodall. Goodall's Reasons for Hope tour heads to Curtin Stadium in Peth on Tuesday, May 28; Adelaide Town Hall on Friday, May 31; Melbourne's Palais Theatre on Tuesday, June 4; Sydney Town Hall on Thursday, June 6; and SkyCity Theatre in Auckland on Monday, June 10. The session will feature a presentation and lecture by Goodall about her work, followed by a conversation between Goodall and a host, plus a Q&A. Topics certain to get a mention include just how revolutionary her findings were at the time — and the impact they still have now — as well as her connection with the resident primates of Gombe. You can also expect Goodall to discuss her subsequent efforts to fight against threats to African chimpanzee populations, such as deforestation, illegal trade and unethical mining operations. Indeed, wildlife and environmental conservation is the main aim of the Jane Goodall Institute, which she founded in 1977. The Jane Goodall Institute Australia and TEG Dainty are behind her 2024 Down Under trip. DR JANE GOODALL: REASONS FOR HOPE TOUR 2024 DATES: Tuesday, May 28 — Curtin Stadium, Perth Friday, May 31 — Adelaide Town Hall, Adelaide Tuesday, June 4 — Palais Theatre, Melbourne Thursday, June 6 — Sydney Town Hall, Sydney Monday, June 10 — SkyCity Theatre, Auckland Dr Jane Goodall's Reasons for Hope tour visits Australia and New Zealand in May–June 2024. Head to the tour website for further information, and for pre-sales from 10am local time on Tuesday, December 5, then general sales from 11am local time on Friday, December 8. Images: Michael Neugebauer / Tony Burrows / The Jane Goodall Institute.
Venom was a mixed bag. Venom: Let There Be Carnage was only entertaining when Tom Hardy was arguing with himself. And Morbius made it clear that its titular vampire wasn't the only thing that sucked. But there's no stopping Sony's Spider-Man Universe, aka the studio's rival to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Because the webslinger actually belongs to the MCU, this film franchise is all about Spidey's foes — and Kraven the Hunter is next, arriving in cinemas in October in the flick that shares his name. Expect another supervillain origin story, this time telling Marvel's nefarious big-game hunter's tale. Kraven the Hunter is set to step through the character's childhood, how he scored his skills and why he's so feared — and take place well before any beef with Spider-Man. "I stared death in the face, and for the first time I saw my true self," says the Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bullet Train) after being attacked by a lion as a teen in Kraven the Hunter's just-dropped first trailer. "They say he uses a connection with animals to track his prey," the debut sneak peek at the film, which hits cinemas in October, helpfully notes as well. Also on offer in this initial glimpse: Russell Crowe (The Pope's Exorcist) with a Russian accent as Kraven's father, who the feature's namesake keeps rebelling against; a hefty body count, and zero fear of getting bloody; and West Side Story Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose as voodoo priestess Calypso. Kraven the Hunter's cast features Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus), Alessandro Nivola (Amsterdam) and Christopher Abbott (On the Count of Three), too, while JC Chandor (Triple Frontier, A Most Violent Year) directs. And if you're wondering what else is in store for the SSU, it's planning to keep hunting down box office glory, with Kraven the Hunter set to be followed by the Bad Bunny-starring El Muerto, then the Dakota Johnson (Cha Cha Real Smooth)- and Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria)-led Madame Web, plus a third Venom movie — all currently slated to arrive in 2024. Check out the trailer for Kraven the Hunter below: Kraven the Hunter releases in cinemas Down Under on October 5.
Do you remember the first time you complained, "I hate Christmas?" If you've never said it, can you pinpoint precisely when the build-up and family politics began to give you mild panic attacks? At the very least, carol fatigue syndrome? Chances are you weren't 10 years old. When you're 10, you're still in love with the Day itself (as well as counting down the days leading up to it). You've started to suspect that Santa Claus isn't really the red-suited sky ranger that you once thought, and realised that there are undeniable logistical problems with flying reindeer, pixies and elves. You may vaguely comprehend that the magic isn't in the man who drinks milk and eats cookies, it's in the spirit of togetherness. But you're still stubbornly clinging to the childish certainty that on the 25th of December, nobody fights, nothing goes wrong, and everyone is happy. For 10-year old Freya (an effervescent Holly Austin), her dad's casual announcement that he may spend Christmas working on an offshore oil rig is devastating. It steels her determination that the limited number of days they do have together be extra perfect. Freya's family is pretty fractured — her Mum is dead, her widowed Nan is sweet but totally out of tune with the needs of a young girl, and her best friend Poppy is just a tad unadventurous. Life gets pretty boring in the Tasmanian seaside town of Rainwood for Freya — it's no wonder Christmas is a big deal. She even feigns joy when her dad gives her a vintage air rifle. But then her Dad and Nan start fighting, and a body washes up on the shore. The set design of Boxing Day is simple and the stage is beautifully used. Co-presented by the Tamarama Rock Surfers, it is the first major work by Sydney-based Tin Shed Theatre Company, which writer Phil Spencer formed with the director, Scarlet McGlynn. It's hard to say too much about this coming-of-age story without giving away the ending. Suffice to say, there's a reason that it's called Boxing Day. Freya has a Christmas to remember — just not in the picture-perfect way she planned. This is a review of the September 2011 production at the Old Fitzroy Theatre. Boxing Day comes to the Bondi Pavilion for two nights only before going on a regional tour. https://youtube.com/watch?v=s2u0XDzL5ks
If there's one place we're gagging to get to right now, its the pub. There's nothing quite like that first sip of a freshly poured froth monster on a warm day with your mates. But, since we're bunkering down at home for a little while longer yet, our pals at Bridge Road Brewers are bringing the beer to your house, instead. On Thursday, September 23, you can take part in Sour Times, a one-hour virtual sour beer tasting session with Bridge Road Brewers founder Ben Kraus and head brewer James Dittko. These two beer brainiacs will take you on an exploration of the sour beer style, highlighting brewing techniques, recipe development and sampling some of Bridge Road Brewers delicious sours, of course. To make sure you're all kitted out for this sampling session, the folks at Bridge Road Brewers will send you a sour beer tasing pack filled with tasty treats. Inside the pack you'll find a Belgium table beer named Hoppy Sour, a raspberry sour with passionfruit for extra tang and a tropical sour that'll take your palate poolside. Want to make your next virtual work drinks a little more brew-tiful? You can. Sour Times Virtual Tasting with Bridge Road Brewers will kick off at 6pm on Thursday, September 23. For more information and to book, visit the website.
Maybe you're the kind of film lover who wouldn't dream of navigating Oscar season without seeing every movie that you possibly can as the accolades approach. Perhaps you wait to find out who wins big before deciding what to watch that you haven't caught already. Either way, the 2024 Academy Awards have now happened, taking place on Monday, March 11, Down Under — and a new batch of pictures, and the folks behind them, now have Hollywood's most-coveted cinema trophy to their names. We've been along for the ride since these pictures hit the big and small screen. So, if you need the full rundown, we have the list of winners, the nominees before that, our picks for who we predicted would and should win, exactly where you can see 2024's nominees in Australia and a drinking game designed to go with with this year's ceremony. Now, we also have all the details on nine films that have just been anointed Oscar-winners at the 96th Academy Awards that you can check out right now. Watch them. Rewatch them. Either way, you're in for some stellar viewing. And if you're wondering where The Boy and the Heron and Godzilla Minus One are — aka two of the very best recipients of the night — they sadly aren't currently in cinemas or streaming Down Under, but keep an eye out for them when they hit digital. Oppenheimer Cast Cillian Murphy and a filmmaker falls in love. Danny Boyle did with 28 Days Later and Sunshine, then Christopher Nolan followed with Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception and Dunkirk. There's an arresting, haunting, seeps-under-your-skin soulfulness about the Irish actor, never more so than when he was wandering solo through the empty zombie-ravaged streets in his big-screen big break, then hurtling towards the sun in an underrated sci-fi gem, both for Boyle, and now playing "the father of atomic bomb" in Nolan's epic biopic Oppenheimer. Flirting with the end of the world, or just one person's end, clearly suits Murphy. Here he is in a mind-blower as the destroyer of worlds — almost, perhaps actually — and so much of this can't-look-away three-hour stunner dwells in his expressive eyes. As J Robert Oppenheimer, those peepers see purpose and possibility. They spot quantum mechanics' promise, and the whole universe lurking within that branch of physics. They ultimately spy the consequences, too, of bringing the Manhattan Project successfully to fruition during World War II. Dr Strangelove's full title could never apply to Oppenheimer, nor to its eponymous figure; neither learn to stop worrying and love the bomb. The theoretical physicist responsible for the creation of nuclear weapons did enjoy building it in Nolan's account, Murphy's telltale eyes gleaming as Oppy watches research become reality — but then darkening as he gleans what that reality means. Directing, writing and adapting the 2005 biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin, Nolan charts the before and after. He probes the fission and fusion of the situation in intercut parts, the first in colour, the second in black and white. In the former, all paths lead to the history-changing Trinity test on July 16, 1945 in the New Mexico desert. In the latter, a mushroom cloud balloons through Oppenheimer's life as he perceives what the gadget, as it's called in its development stages, has unleashed. Oscars: Won: Best Picture, Best Director (Christopher Nolan), Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr), Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score Nominations: Best Supporting Actress (Emily Blunt), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design, Best Sound Where to watch: Streaming via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Poor Things Richly striking feats of cinema by Yorgos Lanthimos aren't scarce. Sublime performances by Emma Stone are hardly infrequent. Screen takes on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein couldn't be more constant. For Lanthimos, see: Dogtooth and Alps in the Greek Weird Wave filmmaker's native language, plus The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer and The Favourite since he started helming movies in English. With Stone, examples abound in her Best Actress Oscar for La La Land, supporting nominations before and after for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and Lanthimos' aforementioned regal satire, and twin 2024 Golden Globe nods for their latest collaboration as well as TV's The Curse. And as for the best gothic-horror story there is, not to mention one of the most influential sci-fi stories ever, the evidence is everywhere from traditional adaptations to debts owed as widely as The Rocky Horror Show and M3GAN. Combining the three results in a rarity, however: a jewel of a pastel-, jewel- and bodily fluid-toned feminist Frankenstein-esque fairy tale that's a stunning creation, as zapped to life with Lanthimos' inimitable flair, a mischievous air, Stone at her most extraordinary and empowerment blazing like a lightning bolt. With cascading black hair, an inquisitive stare, incessant frankness and jolting physical mannerisms, Poor Things' star is Bella Baxter in this adaptation of Alasdair Grey's award-winning 1992 novel by Australian screenwriter Tony McNamara (The Great). Among the reasons that the movie and its lead portrayal are so singular: as a character with a woman's body revived with a baby's brain, Stone plays someone from infancy to adulthood, all with the astonishingly exact mindset and mannerisms to match, and while making every move, choice and feeling as organic as birth, living and death. In this fantastical steampunk vision of Victorian-era Europe, London-based Scottish doctor Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe, Asteroid City) is Bella's maker. Even if she didn't call him God, he's been playing it. But curiosity, the quest for agency and independence, horniness and a lust for adventure all beckon his creation on a radical, rebellious, gorgeously rendered, gloriously funny and generously insightful odyssey. So, Godwin tries to marry Bella off to medical student Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef, Ramy), only for her to discover masturbation and sex, and run off to the continent with caddish lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law). Oscars: Won: Best Actress (Emma Stone), Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Yorgos Lanthimos), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score Where to watch: In Australian cinemas, and streaming via Disney+, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Anatomy of a Fall A calypso instrumental cover of 50 Cent's 'P.I.M.P.' isn't the only thing that Anatomy of a Fall's audience won't be able to dislodge from their heads after watching 2023's deserving Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or-winner. A film that's thorny, knotty and defiantly unwilling to give any easy answers, this legal, psychological and emotional thriller about a woman on trial for her husband's death is unshakeable in as many ways as someone can have doubts about another person: so, a myriad. The scenario conjured up by writer/director Justine Triet (Sibyl) is haunting, asking not only if her protagonist committed murder, as the on-screen investigation and courtroom proceedings interrogate, but digging into what it means to be forced to choose between whether someone did the worst or is innocent — or if either matters. While the Gallic legal system provides the backdrop for much of the movie, the real person doing the real picking isn't there in a professional capacity, or on a jury. Rather, it's the 11-year-old boy who loved his dad, finds him lying in the snow with a head injury outside their French Alps home on an otherwise ordinary day, then becomes the key witness in his mum's case. Also impossible to forget: the performances that are so crucial in telling this tale of marital and parental bonds, especially from one of German's current best actors and the up-and-coming French talent playing her son. With her similarly astonishing portrayal in The Zone of Interest, Toni Erdmann and I'm Your Man's Sandra Hüller is two for two in movies that initially debuted in 2023; here, she steps into the icy and complicated Sandra Voyter's shoes with the same kind of surgical precision that Triet applies to unpacking the character's home life. As Daniel, who couldn't be more conflicted about the nightmare situation he's been thrust into, Milo Machado Graner (Alex Hugo) is a revelation — frequently via his expressive face and posture alone. If Scenes From a Marriage met Kramer vs Kramer, plus 1959's Anatomy of a Murder that patently influences Anatomy of a Fall's name, this would be the gripping end result — as fittingly written by Triet with her IRL partner Arthur Harari (Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle). Oscars: Won: Best Original Screenplay Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Justine Triet), Best Actress (Sandra Hüller), Best Film Editing Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. The Holdovers Melancholy, cantankerousness, angst, hurt and snow: all five blanket Barton Academy in Alexander Payne's The Holdovers. It's Christmas in the New England-set latest film from the Election, About Schmidt and Nebraska director, but festive cheer is in short supply among the students and staff that give the movie its moniker. The five pupils all want to be anywhere but stuck at their exclusive boarding school over the yuletide break, with going home off the cards for an array of reasons. Then four get their wish, leaving just Angus Tully (debutant Dominic Sessa), who thought he'd be holidaying in Saint Kitts until his mother told him not to come so that she could have more time alone with his new stepdad. His sole company among the faculty: curmudgeonly classics professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti, Billions), who's being punished for failing the son of a wealthy donor, but would be hanging around campus anyway; plus grieving head cook Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Only Murders in the Building), who is weathering her first Christmas after losing her son — a Barton alum — in the Vietnam War. The year is 1970 in Payne's long-awaited return behind the lens after 2017's Downsizing, as the film reinforces from its opening seconds with retro studio credits. The Holdovers continues that period-appropriate look in every frame afterwards — with kudos to cinematographer Eigil Bryld (No Hard Feelings), who perfects not only the hues and grain but the light and softness in his imagery — and matches it with the same mood and air, as if it's a lost feature unearthed from the era. Cat Stevens on the soundtrack, a focus on character and emotional truths, zero ties to franchises, a thoughtful story given room to breathe and build: that's this moving and funny dramedy. Christmas flicks regularly come trimmed with empty, easy nostalgia, but The Holdovers earns its wistfulness from a filmmaker who's no stranger to making movies that feel like throwbacks to the decade when he was a teen. Oscars: Won: Best Supporting Actress (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) Nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Paul Giamatti), Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing Where to watch: In Australian cinemas, and streaming via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. American Fiction Here's Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison's (Jeffrey Wright, Rustin) predicament when American Fiction begins: on the page, his talents aren't selling books. Praise comes the Los Angeles-based professor's way for his novels, but not sales, nor attendees when he's part of writers' festival panels. And even then, publishers aren't fond of his latest manuscript. Sick of hearing that his work isn't "Black enough", and also incensed over the attention that fellow scribe Sintara Golden (Issa Rae, Barbie) is receiving for her book We's Lives in Da Ghetto, he gets a-typing, pumping out the kind of text that he vehemently hates — but 100-percent fits the stereotype of what the world keeps telling him that Black literature should be. It attracts interest, even more so when Monk takes his agent Arthur's (John Ortiz, Better Things) advice and adopts a new persona to go with it. Soon fugitive convict Stagg R Leigh and his book Fuck are a huge hit that no one can get enough of. Because of the story spun around who wrote the bestseller, too, the FBI even wants to know the author's whereabouts. Deservedly nominated for five 2024 Oscars — including for Best Picture, Best Actor for Wright and Best Supporting Actor for Sterling K Brown (Biosphere) as Monk's brother Clifford — American Fiction itself hails from the page, with filmmaker Cord Jefferson adapting Percival Everett's 2001 novel Erasure. Wright is indeed exceptional in this savvy satire of authenticity, US race relations and class chasms, and earns his awards contention for his reactions alone. Seeing how Monk adjusts himself to a world that keeps proving anything but his dream is an utter acting masterclass, in big and small moments alike. As the film dives into the character's personal chaos, that's where Brown's also-fantastic, often-tender performance comes in, plus Leslie Uggams (Extrapolations) as Monk's mother and Tracee Ellis Ross (Candy Cane Lane) as his sister, and also Erika Alexander (Run the World) as a neighbour who is a fan of his — not just Stagg R Leigh's — work. Don't discount how excellent American Fiction is beyond its literary hoax setup, in fact; as a character study, it's equally astute. Oscars: Won: Best Adapted Screenplay Nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Jeffrey Wright), Best Supporting Actor (Sterling K Brown), Best Original Score Where to watch: Streaming via Prime Video. Read our full review. The Zone of Interest Quotes and observations about evil being mundane, as well as the result when people look the other way, will never stop being relevant. A gripping, unsettling masterpiece, The Zone of Interest is a window into why. The first film by Sexy Beast, Birth and Under the Skin director Jonathan Glazer in more than a decade, the Holocaust-set feature peers on as the unthinkable happens literally just over the fence, but a family goes about its ordinary life. If it seems abhorrent that anything can occur in the shadow of any concentration camp or site of World War II atrocities, that's part of the movie's point. It dwells in the Interessengebiet, the 40-square-kilometre-plus titular area that comprised and surrounded the Auschwitz complex, to interrogate how banal genocide was to those in power; commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel, Babylon Berlin), even gloats that his name will be remembered and celebrated for its connection to mass extermination. Höss was a real person, and the real Nazi SS officer overseeing Auschwitz from 1940–43. His wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall) and five children are similarly drawn from truth. But The Zone of Interest finds its way to the screen via Martin Amis' fiction novel of the same name, then hones its interest down from the book's three narrators to the Höss family; a biopic, it isn't, even as it switches its character monikers back to reflect actuality. This is a work of deep probing and contemplation — a piece that demands that its viewers confront the daily reality witnessed and face how the lives of those in power, and benefiting from it, thrived with death not only as a neighbour but an enabler. Camp prisoners tend the Höss' garden. Ashes are strewn over the soil for horticultural effect. Being turned into the same is a threat used to keep the household's staff in line. All three of these details, as with almost everything in the feature, are presented with as matter-of-fact an air as cinema is capable of. Oscars: Won: Best International Feature, Best Sound Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Jonathan Glazer), Best Adapted Screenplay Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. 20 Days in Mariupol Incompatible with life. No one should ever want to hear those three devastating words. No one who is told one of the most distressing phrases there is ever has them uttered their way in positive circumstances, either. Accordingly, when they're spoken by a doctor in 20 Days in Mariupol, they're deeply shattering. So is everything in this on-the-ground portrait of the first 20 days in the Ukrainian port city as Russia began its invasion, with the bleak reality of living in a war zone documented in harrowing detail. Located less than 60 kilometres from the border, Mariupol quickly segues from ordinary life to an apocalyptic scene — and this film refuses to look away. Much of its time is spent in and around hospitals, which see an influx of patients injured and killed by the combat, and also become targets as well. Many of in 20 Days in Mariupol's faces are the afflicted, the medics tending to them in horrendous circumstances, and the loves ones that are understandably inconsolable. Too many of the carnage's victims are children and babies, with their parents crushed and heartbroken in the aftermath; sometimes, they're pregnant women. Directed by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mstyslav Chernov, and narrated by him with the grimness and soberness that can be this movie's only tone, 20 Days in Mariupol even existing is an achievement. What it depicts — what it immerses viewers in with urgency, from shelled hospitals, basements-turned-bomb shelters and more of the city destroyed day after day to families torn apart, looting, struggling to find food and bodies of the dead taken to mass graves — needs to be viewed as widely as possible, and constantly. His footage has also featured in news reports, but it can and must never be forgotten. Doctors mid-surgery demand that Chernov's camera is pointed their way, and that he shows the world the travesties taking place. The Ukrainian reporter, who has also covered Donbas, flight MH17, Syria and the Battle of Mosul for the Associated Press, does exactly that. He's doing more than ensuring that everyone bears witness, though; he makes certain that there's no way to watch 20 Days in Mariupol, which shows the vast civilian impact and casualties, and see anything but ordinary people suffering, or to feel anything other than shock, anger and horror. Oscars: Won: Best Documentary Feature Where to watch: Streaming via DocPlay. Barbie No one plays with a Barbie too hard when the Mattel product is fresh out of the box. As that new doll smell lingers, and the toy's synthetic limbs gleam and locks glisten, so does a child's sense of wonder. The more that the world-famous mass-produced figurine is trotted through DreamHouses, slipped into convertibles and decked out in different outfits, though — then given non-standard makeovers — the more that playing with the plastic fashion model becomes fantastical. Like globally beloved item, like live-action movie bearing its name. Barbie, the film, starts with glowing aesthetic perfection. It's almost instantly a pink-hued paradise for the eyes, and it's also a cleverly funny flick from its 2001: A Space Odyssey-riffing outset. The longer that it continues, however, the harder and wilder that Lady Bird and Little Women director Greta Gerwig goes, as does her Babylon and Amsterdam star lead-slash-producer Margot Robbie as Barbie. In Barbie's Barbie Land, life is utopian. Robbie's Stereotypical Barbie and her fellow dolls (including The Gray Man's Ryan Gosling as Stereotypical Ken) genuinely believe that their rosy beachside suburban excellence is infectious, too. And, they're certain that this female-championing realm — and the Barbies being female champions of all skills, talents and appearances — has changed the real world inhabited by humans. But there's a Weird Barbie living in a misshapen abode. While she isn't Barbie's villain, not for a second, her nonconformist look and attitude says everything about Barbie at its most delightful. Sporting cropped hair, a scribbled-on face and legs akimbo, she's brought to life by Saturday Night Live great Kate McKinnon having a blast, and explained as the outcome of a kid somewhere playing too eagerly. Meet Gerwig's spirit animal; when she lets Weird Barbie's vibe rain down like a shower of glitter, covering everything and everyone in sight both in Barbie Land and in reality, the always-intelligent, amusing and dazzling Barbie is at its brightest and most brilliant. Oscars: Won: Best Original Song ('What Was I Made For?', Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell) Nominations: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Ryan Gosling), Best Supporting Actress (America Ferrera), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song ('I'm Just Ken', Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt), Best Costume Design, Best Production Design Where to watch: Streaming via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar After stepping into a play as a live production in a TV show in Asteroid City, and also flicking through a magazine's various articles in The French Dispatch before that, Wes Anderson gets an author sharing his writing in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. The 39-minute short film features Ralph Fiennes (The Menu) as Roald Dahl, who did indeed pen the tale that gives this suitably symmetrically shot affair its name — the book it's in, too — with the account that he's spilling one of several in a film that enthusiastically makes Anderson's love of layers known in its playful structure as much as its faux set. So, Dahl chats. The eponymous Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) does as well. And, Dr Chatterjee (Dev Patel, The Green Knight) and his patient Imdad Khan (Ben Kingsley, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) also have a natter. The stories within stories within stories (within stories) share the fact that Khan has learned to see without his eyes, Chatterjee couldn't be more fascinated and Sugar wants to learn the trick for himself — to help with his gambling pastime. In his three decades as a filmmaker, Anderson has only ever made both features and shorts with one of two people responsible for their ideas: himself, sometimes with Owen Wilson (Haunted Mansion), Noah Baumbach (White Noise), Jason Schwartzman (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) and/or Roman Coppola (Mozart in the Jungle) contributing; and Dahl. With the latter, first came Anderson's magnificent stop-motion Fantastic Mr Fox adaptation — and now The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar sits among a series of four new shorts, all of which released in September 2023, that are based on the author's work. This is still a dream match, with the director's beloved jewel and pastel colours, dollhouse-esque visuals, moving sets, love of centred framing and dialogue rhythm all proving a treat in this account of personal and spiritual growth. The cast is as divine on-screen as it sounds on paper, too, especially Cumberbatch and Patel. The next in the set, the 17-minute The Swan, pushes Rupert Friend (High Desert) to the fore in a darker tale about a bully. With The Ratcatcher and Poison, too, the only quibble is with the decision to release all four shorts separately, rather than package them together as an anthology film. Oscars: Won: Best Live-Action Short Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. Read our full review. Looking for more Oscar-nominees to watch? You can also check out our full rundown of where almost all of this year's contenders are screening or streaming in Australia.
The dulcet, knowledgeable voice embodying the soundtrack to a generation of nature docos is returning to our fair shores, with Sir David Attenborough set to roll through town in February. He'll be taking the stage for Sir David Attenborough – A Quest For Life, a series of live talks hosted by our own Ray Martin. The esteemed writer, filmmaker, producer, and host will give audiences a unique glimpse into his jam-packed, six-decade career. Sir David will give some insight into the changes he's witnessed along the way, as well as delving into some of the world's current environmental challenges — all delivered in that charming, distinguished voice we know and love so well. The tour kicks off in Auckland on February 2, followed by shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH – A QUEST FOR LIFE DATES AUCKLAND 8pm Thursday, February 2 — The Civic BRISBANE 7.30pm Saturday February 4, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre SYDNEY 7.30pm Wednesday, February 8 and Thursday, February 9, State Theatre MELBOURNE 7.30pm Saturday, February 11, and (new date) Monday, February 13, Plenary, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre ADELAIDE 7.30pm Tuesday February 14, Festival Theatre PERTH 7.30pm Thursday, February 16, Riverside Theatre, Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre
In Brisbane, back in 2017, a simple idea was born: gathering a heap of beer and music-loving folks in a pub, teaching them the lyrics to a well-known song over the course of one night, and then communally crooning the tune in question the same evening. It's karaoke, but in a group. It's your school choir, but boozy. And it's little wonder that Pub Choir soon became not just a local but a national and international success. Of course, as Australia responds to COVID-19, mass groups of folks can't all spend time together in one room — even if they are drinking and singing a tune. So, Pub Choir has evolved into Couch Choir. It's the same basic concept, except everyone is giving their vocal cords a workout from their own homes. Running across Tuesday, March 19–Thursday, March 21, here's how it works. Firstly, at 7pm AEST on Tuesday, three videos will be released on the event's Facebook page. They'll show Pub Choir's organisers singing three different harmonies, and then hand things over to you at home. Next, you'll have two days to watch, listen and learn everything you need to know about your chosen part — or all three if you want — and record yourself singing it. Submit your video by 7pm on Thursday, and they'll all be mixed into one big compilation that'll be released for everyone to enjoy. Beer is usually a big part of Pub Choir so if you need a dash of liquid courage at home, prepare accordingly.
Japanese minimalist homeware wizards Muji are moving into the architecture game with a series of new flat-pack houses that are giving us some serious FOMO and YOLO and all manner of acronym envy and inspiration. The best part? They’re economical in both price and space, giving hope to the current generation that perhaps we won’t always have to deal with landlords. Praise be to Muji! Unfortunately, for now, they’re only available in Japan. However, Muji have recently opened stores in Melbourne and Sydney, so surely it’s only a matter of time before they ship em’ into our waiting arms. The houses are incredibly cute and, in classic Muji style, effortlessly minimalist. There are three designs to choose from, starting at US$150,000 for the ‘Wooden House’, US$160,000 for the ‘Window House’, and US$215,000 for the tall, Tokyo-inspired ‘Vertical House’. Incredibly reasonable. The finishes are all white and blonde wood with elegant staircases and cosy nooks. And hey, it may be a bit cookie cutter but moving to Japan is surely better than selling all your internal organs to afford a house in Toorak or Double Bay right? The real estate game is a-changin’ though and other retailers are starting to cater for the penny-saving generation (i.e. us ;_; ). Ikea are experimenting with movable walls (not set to hit the market for a few years but keep at it Ikea) and there are many innovative Aussie architecture firms experimenting with non-traditional and environmentally friendly ways to bring down the cost of building a new home. Firms like iBuild (punny) and the slightly more upmarket modscape design, construct and deliver modular homes and extensions which cost much less than a contractor. And of course, there’s the shipping container community who do some spectacular things with discarded shipping containers. Then there's the slightly earthy young buyers and the Earthship movement, slowly but surely making its way through all the red tape into the Australian construction landscape. Earthship structures use passive heating and cooling techniques, are constructed from indigenous or local materials (including old tyres and glass bottles) and feature an in-house sewerage treatment system, making them somewhat off the grid and cheap to run in the long term. So have faith guys, there are houses in our future, don’t you worry. They just might not be the classic two-windows-one-door type most of us drew in preschool. Via Domain.
If you can pair wine with food, who says you can't swap vino for whisky? Not Toko Restaurant, as they've teamed up with Japanese icon Suntory to present modern izakaya cuisine across a five-course feast and whisky pairing. This isn't the first time Suntory has presented this special event — it was previously held for the brand's 100th anniversary in 2023. And because it was such a hit, they've decided to bring it back for one night only. Held on Wednesday, June 4, each course presents a myriad of fascinating flavour combos. Kicking off the night with canapes, a Baerii vintage caviar salmon cone is served with wasabi miso alongside a Toki highball. Then it's time for kingfish sashimi, signature nigiri and sashimi, paired with a Yamazaki 12-year-old single malt. Moving through the courses, both food and drink get even more luxe, with seafood chawanmushi, shiso scallop mousse and wagyu striploin matched with ultra-exclusive Suntory whiskies, including the herbal notes of the 12-year-old Hakushu and the crème de la crème, the 18-year-old Yamazaki Mizunara 100th Anniversary Edition. A bottle of this usually sets you back about $4,000. Rounding out this bountiful affair is, of course, dessert. Here, tofu panna cotta with strawberry, missile apple and gold leaf is elegantly coupled with a glass of 21-year-old Hibiki, a wonderfully sweet and caramelised way to conclude the evening. Book your spot for $495 per person at the website.
Along with delivering quintessential Southern hospitality, Memphis is the destination that allows you to walk the brick-lined streets that witnessed the astronomical talent — and unprecedented ascent to fame — of Elvis Presley. The birthplace of rock 'n' roll, and home of blues and soul, is all electrifying energy and originality. This June, Baz Luhrmann is bringing the bright lights, creative flair and distinct directorial prowess he's known for to the euphonious history of Memphis with Elvis. The energetic and emotionally charged film charts the rise (and rise) of Elvis Presley (Austin Butler), celebrating the inimitable musician's music and life against the backdrop of an evolving cultural climate in 1950s and 60s America. Using the lens of Presley's relationship with his enigmatic manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), the bold picture tells a story of musical self-expression and monumental stardom — and the coinciding loss of innocence that was broadcast on a global stage. As hips shook, money was made and a rock 'n' roll icon immortalised. https://youtu.be/xSbQ_ERfmFQ To celebrate the release of Elvis in cinemas Thursday, June 23, Memphis Tourism is giving you the chance to win two tickets to the Australian premiere on the Gold Coast — which is where the feature was shot — on Saturday, June 4. To be in the running to rock and roll your way to the red-carpet experience, enter below. [competition]851551[/competition] Top images: Hugh Stewart (first two); Courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures (third) © 2022 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved.
Returning for the first time since 2019, Falls Festival has one clear thing to say about its 2022 events: it bets you'll look good on the fest's dance floors. It wants you to get on your dancing shoes, too, and make the most of spending a couple of days immersed in live tunes — from Arctic Monkeys, for starters, as well as from fellow big-name acts Lil Nas X, Peggy Gou, Chvrches and Jamie xx. Your destinations this time around: Pennyroyal Plains, Colac in Victoria from Thursday, December 29–Saturday, December 31; North Byron Parklands, Yelgun in New South Wales from Saturday, December 31–Monday, January 2; and Fremantle Park, Fremantle in Western Australia from Saturday, January 7–Sunday, January 8. That's where and when the fest will hit to either see out 2022, kickstart 2023 or both — after revealing back in 2021 that it was saying goodbye to its usual Tasmanian leg in Marion Bay after 17 years, and also moving from Lorne in Victoria after a 27-year stint. As always, Falls has delivered one helluva lineup — one that's exciting, broad, hops between international stars and homegrown hits, and is certain to draw crowds. Also making appearances: Aminé, Ocean Alley, Camelphat and Spacey Jane, plus DMA's, G Flip, Pinkpantheress, Rico Nasty, Amyl and the Sniffers, Mall Grab and Ben Böhmer. And yes, that's just a taste of the bill. The tunes will be backed by a colourful curation of art events, performances, pop-ups, markets, wellness sessions and gourmet eats — because that's the Falls Festival way. Think: morning yoga, hammocks, swimming pools, three-legged races, backyard cricket, non-alcoholic beer pong and pinot-and-paint sessions, plus burgers, Korean chicken, woodfired pizza and ramen on the food lineup. Drinks-wise, everything from margaritas to hard seltzers (and beers and bubbles) will be on offer. Camping options include renting a tent or glamping in both NSW and Victoria. And yes, if it feels a little early for a Falls lineup, there's a reason for that. Pre-pandemic, the fest usually unveiled its bill in August; however, we all know how the world has changed in the past couple of years — and that we're all planning much further ahead than usual. Anyway, here's what you're here for — the lineup as it currently stands, with more to be announced. FALLS FESTIVAL 2022 LINEUP: Arctic Monkeys Lil Nas X Peggy Gou Chvrches Jamie xx Aminé Ocean Alley Camelphat Spacey Jane DMA's G Flip Pinkpantheress Rico Nasty Amyl and the Sniffers Mall Grab Ben Böhmer DJ Seinfeld Genesis Owusu TSHA CC:DISCO! Young Franco Anna Lunoe Luude Lastlings MAY-A Choomba The Vanns King Stingray Peach PRC Beddy Rays Jean Dawson Telenovela Biscits Barry Can't Swim Elkka Floodlights Wongo Yng Martyr 1300 Moktar Magdalena Bay Dameeeela Ebony Boadu Rona. Elsy Wamayo Juno Mamba and more FALLS FESTIVAL 2022 DATES: Pennyroyal Plains, Colac, VIC — Thursday, December 29–Saturday, December 31 North Byron Parklands, Yelgun, NSW — Saturday, December 31–Monday, January 2 Fremantle Park, Fremantle, WA — Saturday, January 7–Sunday, January 8 Falls Festival 2022 will take place in December 2022 and January 2023 in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. Pre-sale tickets are available from 9am (local time) on Monday, May 9, with general sales kicking off at 9am on Thursday, May 12. For more info and to buy tickets, visit the festival's website.
Among the wealth of new content that Netflix drops on viewers each and every year, Dead to Me proved one of the streamer's 2019 hits. Taking a few cues from 2018 film A Simple Favour, the show's ten-episode first season told the tale of two women who meet, become friends despite seemingly having very little in common, and help each other with their daily lives — then find themselves immersed in more than a little murky business. Back in May this year, the twisty dark comedy returned for a second season — with stars Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini coming back as well. The former plays a just-widowed woman trying to cope with losing her husband in a hit-and-run incident, while the latter pops up as a positive-thinking free spirit. Initially they crossed paths at a grief counselling session, sparking a definite odd-couple situation — which has evolved to feature secrets, lies, complications, cliffhangers and more than one murder cover-up over the show's two seasons to-date. If you've become a fan of Applegate's Jen Harding, Cardellini's Judy Hale and their antics — and fellow series co-star James Marsden, too — Netflix has revealed some good news: after the show's latest big ending, it's coming back once more. And we do mean once. The streaming platform has renewed the series for a third and final season, The Hollywood Reporter notes, which'll wrap up the program's story. Created by 2 Broke Girls writer Liz Feldman, the series marks Applegate's first lead TV role since 2011-12 sitcom Up All Night. For Cardellini, it's a return to Netflix after starring on the streaming platform's drama Bloodline — and she also featured in A Simple Favour, too. If you haven't watched it yet, check out the full trailer for Dead to Me's second season below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmU7ylnmn_M Dead to Me's third season will hit Netflix at a yet-to-be revealed date — we'll update you with exact details when they come to hand. The show's first and second seasons are available to stream now. Via The Hollywood Reporter. Images: Saeed Adyani / Netflix.
Mikkel Borg Bjergsø is an ex-high school physics teacher who has become one of the most prominent gypsy brewers in the world with his well-loved Mikkeller beer. He's basically a legal, Danish version of Walter White. While chemists may naturally turn to meth labs, physicists seem to turn to beer. Sydney University physicists Scott Brownless and Chad Husko have followed Bjergso's lead in starting up their own, teeny tiny Angstrom Brewery, which is not a microbrewery and not even a nano-brewery; it’s an Angstrom brewery. For those of you who skipped physics class, “Angstrom is 1.0 × 10-10 metres, which is roughly the size of an atom”, Scott explains. Chad arrived in Sydney four years ago from Chicago and says he could tell the microbrewery scene was about to “blow up”. And Sydney seems well and truly ready for what they’re selling, if their launch at Kingston Public three weeks ago is anything to go by. They came prepared with three kegs of beer, which were consumed in three hours. Scott is delighted to tell me, “We’ve got the metrics and that’s a beer being poured, at this very small bar, every 30 seconds for three hours straight.” The Scientific Method "Dude, I actually think I have a Maxwell's in the fridge upstairs!" This is the kind of hospitality I was met with at 7.30am in the Physics lab at Sydney Uni, where the pair work on super-resolution and microstructures in optics. They tried to set me straight on their science, but I’m pretty sure what they're actually doing is making an invisibility cloak so they can drink their beer in peace. They are young and smart, bona fide geeks but gregarious enough that you’d want to have a beer with them (just maybe not before 8am). And they’re not alone in the Physics Department in their love of brewing. Chad estimates he could find at least ten home brewers on his floor alone. He explains it’s not isolated to Sydney and that at his lab in New York they used to hold a regular home brew happy hour. Why the link between physics and beer? Chad has two words for me: “parameter space!” Scott kindly elaborates, “What physics brings to the table is the scientific method. There’s a huge parameter space in beer and we need to figure out a way of exploring that. Every small aspect of the beer has to be controlled — temperature controlled, pH controlled, you have an infinite set of creations of malts and hops that you could be using here.” While an artisan baker may spend decades 'getting a feel for' natural yeast and learning to love its unpredictability, these guys do not get a feel for the European Saison yeast they use in their craft; they get a metric. “That’s what we do well, we try to map the optimum beers; how-you-move-uphill-in-your-tastes kind of metric,” says Scott. “I have a record of every recipe I’ve made since 2002,” adds Chad. And when he says ‘record’ he means long spreadsheets full of data, not a scribbled note in a Moleskin diary under his bed. A lesson in a bottle Scott and Chad are well aware that people may not want a science class thrown at them while they consume a cleansing ale, but if they do, each of the bottles will don a label explaining the scientific principle behind the name (once they graduate from delivering kegs out of the back of a car to bottle distribution). For example, their Maxwell’s Demon Farmhouse Ale is named after a thermodynamics thought experiment where you imagine that entropy is in fact not always expanding but instead decreasing. "And the reason that works so well with our beer is that ... you hear Maxwell’s Demon and you think kind of dark and smoky and that’s what that beer is, but if you know the reference, you know that it’s a thermodynamics principle, which connects in very well with these farmhouse yeasts, which are very temperature controlled”, explains Scott. And while the Manhattan Project American Pale Ale may need no explanation, Chad is from New York's Columbia University, where the Manhattan project began before they all upped and left to New Mexico to work on the atomic bomb. The project was "the best scientists of the time working together. They all stopped their normal research and worked like crazy to end the war as it were. It was the birth of nuclear science, essentially," Chad explains. No doubt if all of today’s best physicists stopped work and started brewing beer tomorrow, we would be living in a hop-filled utopia within five years. Thankfully for Sydney, two of the brightest are already working steadily on their very own 'hop bomb'. Images by Annabel Campbell.
"Well, Kriv got talking to me, you see. At a certain point late in the filming of The Correspondent, he mentioned in passing that he wanted to talk to me about another thing. And when he told me about the idea, I had some initial reluctance, because I guess playing another important Australian political figure wasn't the first thing that would come to mind on my list of most-desired projects," Richard Roxburgh tells Concrete Playground. The Australian actor is chatting about director Kriv Stenders, who he worked with on 2019's Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan, then on 2025 cinema release The Correspondent and now on Joh: Last King of Queensland as well. "And I guess the way that he talked about it, the way that he pitched it to me, I just thought it was such a kind of crazy, excellent idea that I thought I had to go for." In Roxburgh and Stenders' aforementioned movie collaborations so far, the former has continued a trend that's popped up repeatedly across his career: portraying real-life Australian figures. Danger Close tasked him with stepping into Brigadier David Jackson's shoes. In The Correspondent, he helped bring journalist Peter Greste's ordeal after being arrested in Egypt, then put on trial, found guilty and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, to the screen. Now, however, Roxburgh is playing former Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen — and doing so not in a drama, but in a documentary. Joh: Last King of Queensland initially premiered at the 2025 Sydney Film Festival, then made its way to streaming via Stan. While Stenders has compiled a wealth of archival footage to fill its frames, as well as contemporary interviews with the politician's family members and friends, plus journalists, historians and more, Roxburgh couldn't have a more pivotal part. In recreations of the final days that the conservative figure at the doco's centre spent in office in 1987 after years leading the Sunshine State — when he refused to leave, in fact — the acclaimed actor delivers Bjelke-Petersen's speeches. Stenders grew up in Queensland, and has crafted a cautionary portrait of Bjelke-Petersen's time in charge of the state. The prolific filmmaker, who has kept jumping between fiction and fact, and the big and small screens, via everything from The Illustrated Family Doctor, Lucky Country, Red Dog and its sequel, Kill Me Three Times, the Wake in Fright miniseries, Jack Irish, Bump and Last Days of the Space Age to The Go-Betweens: Right Here, Brock: Over the Top and Slim & I, has also made another timely film with Roxburgh after The Correspondent also proved exactly that. Watching Joh: Last King of Queensland's survey of one man's authoritarian-style power, a regime filled with corruption and the vast suppression of dissent, for instance, means seeing blatant parallels to global politics today. [caption id="attachment_1015675" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images[/caption] Despite his initial hesitation, Roxburgh felt that this was a unique opportunity. "It really did. It felt really quite odd, and I was still unreally unsure about it when we started shooting it — but Kriv was so determined about it and was loving what he was seeing so much, he kept reassuring me that it was just going to slot into what he was doing. So, I trusted him," he advises. He was aware of the type of material that would surround his performance in the documentary, too. "I picked Kriv's brains about a lot of it, so I did know quite a bit of what was going on. I knew the people he'd interviewed, what the general thrust of their interviews were. I was across quite a bit of that stuff." Portraying Bjelke-Petersen doesn't just follow Roxburgh's time as Greste and as Jackson for Stenders. He has played former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke twice, in both Hawke and The Crown. His performance as corrupt police office Roger Rogerson in Blue Murder won him his first Australian Film Institute Award — the accolades that are now the AACTAs — and Logie. Then there's Roxburgh's efforts as pianist Percy Grainger in Passion; as Ronald Ryan, the last person legally executed in Australia, in The Last of the Ryans; and in Bali 2002 as Graham Ashton, the Australian police's operational commander in the investigation into the bombings. That parts as real-life Australian figures keep coming his way, alongside interrogations of power and how it impacts those in prominent positions — streaming series Prosper and The Dry sequel Force of Nature equally fit the latter bill — were also topics of discussion in our second chat for 2025 with Roxburgh. Among other subjects, we spoke with him about putting in another performance for Stenders that places him in one space alone, as portraying Greste largely did; not growing up in Queensland under Bjelke-Petersen like Joh: Last King of Queensland's director; if there's a real-life Aussie that he's keen to take on next; and the diversity he's enjoyed beyond his stints inhabiting IRL names, with Thank God He Met Lizzie, Oscar and Lucinda, Mission: Impossible II, Moulin Rouge, Van Helsing, Rake, Sanctum, Looking for Grace, Go!, Elvis, Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe and Lesbian Space Princess just some of his other projects. On the Theatre Feel to Roxburgh's Solo Scenes in Joh: Last King of Queensland — and the Process of Stepping Into Bjelke-Petersen's Shoes "It was a weird little moment in time, obviously. Because it felt after a couple of days, I said to Kriv, like a stage production that no one would see about the life and times and great strangeness of this powerful Australian political presence. So it was odd. But I think the more I settled into it, into the rhythms of that character, and tried to burrow into what he was doing in those last three days when he was alone, the more settled I felt. I thought it was going to be easier than it ended up being — because I thought, the way that Kriv talked about it, we weren't going to do makeup, we weren't going to do any of the lookalike stuff, in particular. But there were some elements that were so key to his personality, and so key to the way that he crafted sentences — the way that he conveyed information. And then there were other things, like the fact that he had polio as a child. There were so many things that went into the physical and vocal life of the character that ended up being so important and, in a way, they were sine qua non. I had to at least find the song of it. I had to find that cadence, that particular gift for clouding argument, for obfuscation, for changing sentences midstream. And you couldn't do that in the end without actually doing it. So it ended up being quite a lot of work — a lot of pre-work." On Getting Into the Mindset of a Leader That Everyone Wants Out of Office But Is Refusing to Leave "There's quite a bit of really excellent footage of Joh strongly inhabiting his argument, whatever the argument is. And so that was really useful to see how he commanded the space in those times. There was a lot less of his cloudiness, his wooliness, his diversion, obfuscation, when he was speaking like that — and a lot more control and determination, incredible determination, that he was absolutely right. Joh was an absolutist. He believed in his authority, and the fact that it was a kind of gift to Queensland from god, as it were, because he felt like he was obeying divine instruction. He was always serving his version of his lord. And so there's, to my mind, a really salient warning in that as well." On Whether There's Anything That's Key to Roxburgh in Inhabiting, Rather Than Merely Impersonating, a Real-Life Figure "I guess it's not more than it is for any other character you do. It's just a different landscape, because it's a landscape that everybody's seen before. So the difference is that an audience is going to watch it with a precondition and pre-understanding of what that character is meant to look like or how they were. It's not really different in the sense that you always have to find yourself in the in the centre, in the makeup of — and I don't mean makeup as in hair and makeup, I mean in the cellular energy of that individual, which doesn't change whether the character is fictitious or was somebody who lived and was very much in the public eye. But the difference is that everybody knows that landscape. So the people watching this documentary, at least 90 percent of them will be enormously familiar with the personality and personage of Joh. And so they'll be coming in with a pre-understanding or a preconditioning to what that character is like. So that's the thing. The risk is to do the comedic version of the character, because there were so many great versions of that and I didn't want to fall into that." On If Having an Outsider's Eye, Not Growing Up in Queensland, Helped with Roxburgh's Task in Joh: Last King of Queensland "Interesting thought. I don't know the answer to that. I feel like probably my work would be the same no matter what. Because your work, when you're inhabiting that character, is going to be always the same — and in a sense, it's to not judge it. Because Joh, whatever we think of him, he had his own incredibly powerful reasons for doing what he did — and incredibly powerful self-justifications for doing them." On What Interests Roxburgh About Interrogating the Nature and Influence of Power On-Screen "I think it's definitely something that interests me, because it's so front and centre in the human experience — because we're either living it, aiming for it ourselves, or we're suffering at the hands of it. And so it's always there. And it's such a rich and compelling part of what it is to be a human being, as evidenced in everything that Shakespeare ever wrote. There's no drama, in a sense, without it, without the mechanics of it in one way or another." On Why Portraying Prominent Real-Life Australian Figures Keeps Coming His Way "No clue why I get offered these things because I obviously don't look a thing like Bob Hawke. I don't look at thing like Joh Bjelke-Petersen, either. I don't know why this happens. And as I said, I did have really strong tendrils of reluctance when Kriv was first talking to me about this. And he said 'look, I understand if you don't want to do this, having played Bob and various others — Peter Greste and other Australian famous figures'. But then I think I just really love the audacity of this project. I love the audacious way that Kriv was finding to tell this story. I just thought 'it's a great, really ballsy, wonderful piece of cinematic thinking that I loved I really'. I just really dug it. And I trust his opinion." On the Parallels That Joh: Last King of Queensland Draws Between Joh-Era Queensland and the US in 2025 — and If It Felt Like This Would Be a Timely Film While Making It "Yeah, it did. I think it's really fascinating because I have spoken to 30-year-olds in Australia who didn't know the name Joh Bjelke-Petersen, and I thought 'holy crap, come on, everybody should know that name'. These people need to be known about. As the famous saying goes about history repeating, I just think there's so many shots across the bow in that administration of Joh Bjelke-Petersen. There's so many warnings about untrammelled power and where it can lead — that one tiny rollback of something here then leads to a bigger rollback of democracy there, which just keeps leading democracy further and further afield, until you end up with, I think, a kind of deeply embedded, corrupt, pretty rotten administration where there is so much fear, so much resentment, so much anxiety. And where anybody with a slight sense of sitting outside the paradigm had to escape to safety. And I don't think that's a great place to be, and so I would love Australians to know about what happened under the administration of Joh Bjelke-Petersen." On How Roxburgh and Stenders' Working Relationship Has Evolved Over Multiple Films Now "A lot of trust in it. I really do. And a lot of the time, not having to say too much to each other. I'll still pick his brains and he'll obviously give me direction and talk about stuff. We will do that. But I think I just know what he's after. I can assess what he's after at any given moment, I think. And sometimes, we just scratch our heads after a scene and say 'I don't know if that? Did we get that right? Or do we — fuck it, let's do another one'. So there's a really great, very relaxed, trusting shorthand, I would say. And I think Kriv is an artist who is at his peak of his powers. I think he's doing such really, really interesting, strong work." On How Roxburgh Sees His Almost Four-Decade On-Screen Journey So Far "I think I've been really lucky because I've had a working life in the thing that I love. And I do still love it. I love the hell out of it. I love doing what I do so much. I love the various shapes of it. So I also like the idea of producing, of directing, of creating material, as well. I love being able to step between theatre and film and television. I like the gradation of difference that exists between film and television. I like all of it. I love all of it. So I feel really lucky and I feel privileged in the matter that I have had a life in it, and been able to make life in it. Because it's not always the case, and it can be a tough life at times. But I feel incredibly fortunate." On the Diversity That Roxburgh Has Enjoyed Across His Career — Even If Recurring Trends and Themes Pop Up "I love it. I love the kind of weird, wacky, family-photo-album madness of that particular curriculum vitae, I guess. I think, again, I'm lucky. I'm lucky to have experienced things that were ridiculous comedies. I love my time on Rake so much, because it was familial because I was deeply involved creatively — and it was so meaningful to me on lots of levels. But I think it's just a really madcap photo album that is kind of fascinating to thumb through, not that I ever do. But I guess one day in my dotage I'll be siting around, thumbing through: 'my god, I did this thing called Go!. I did this thing called — can anybody remember Lesbian Space Princess? I mean what did I do in that?'. I think it's fascinating. It's crazy." On Whether There's Any Other Key Australian Figure That Roxburgh Is Keen to Portray "No — I can say in all honesty there's not particularly. That person does not exist particularly at the moment. Generally what happens more is that you get offered something and your first thought is 'well, that's insane. That's ridiculous. Why would they? I don't. I'm not. I couldn't play that person'. And it goes from there so. No, I would say this — it's not like I would ever sit around thinking 'I'd love to have a crack at that character'." Joh: Last King of Queensland streams via Stan.
In news that will probably not surprise anybody, the ill-fated oBikes of Melbourne are set to vanish off the streets for good. Confirmed by Port Phillip Mayor Bernadene Voss and Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp, the move is a reaction to new guidelines imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency, in which abandoned bikes blocking streets for more than two hours would prompt $3000 fines. According to reports, the Singapore-based bike sharing service would rather move out of Melbourne than risk having to cough up the hefty fines. These fines are on top of earlier restrictions Melbourne councils imposed on oBike back in late 2017. oBike was introduced to Melbourne a mere year ago, a station-less bike service which in theory is convenient — as users don't have to dock them at the end of a ride — but in practice resulted in abandoned oBikes being strewn all over the place, including many in the Yarra. The past year has also been rough waters for oBike in the media, with reports about violence being carried out with the bikes emerging (luckily, the target was just a train; unluckily, the damage totalled $300,000). The abandoned bikes on the streets of Melbourne, of which there are many, are currently being rounded up, and the oBike storage facility in Nunawading has been cleared. It's the next troubled chapter for bike sharing companies in Australia. Earlier this year in Sydney, oBike — and three other major bike rental operators Reddy Go, Ofo and Mobike — all had to comply with a new set of guidelines designed to target bike dumping and vandalism. Six Sydney councils developed the guidelines, focusing on the distribution and redistribution of the bikes post-ride, as well as timeframes for removal of faulty bikes on behalf of the bike company. Mobike has its sights set on Melbourne next, so we can only hope that it's able to comply with council restrictions — and less of them end up as river pollution. Via The Age
Aussie icons like the Big Banana, the Big Crab and the Big Pineapple will forever loom large in your childhood memories. But they might be soon overshadowed by the country's next giant side-of-the-highway landmark: the Big Milo Tin. After a social media callout last month saw 80,000 Milo fans scramble to throw their support behind the idea, the proposition has snowballed, and Australia is actually going to get its own super-sized homage to the homegrown choccy malt powder. If you're thinking, 'we don't need that' — well, of course we don't. The whole thing is a big publicity stunt to celebrate Milo's upcoming 85th birthday. The structure is set to be erected by Nestlé itself somewhere in and around Smithtown on the mid-north NSW coast, where Nestlé's factory is located. Milo has the go-ahead from the local area, and is currently taking suggestions for the structure's location. The town is just off the Pacific Highway between Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour — it's no doubt hoping to become a prime road trip pit-stop on the way up the coast. Although both Milo and Big Things are both integral to understanding Australian culture, we're not too sure about how we feel about having a big commercial product taking up space on the side of the highway. At least the Big Banana has a water park. If you really, really care about the Big Milo Tin's future, you can jump on Milo's Facebook page to throw your own suggestions into the ring. It's slated for completion in 2019, to coincide with the brand's 85th birthday.
It's hard not to fall in love with Excelsior Jones. The friendly cafe sits in what used to be an old corner store in the inner west suburb of Ashfield and is a welcome addition to a quiet neighbourhood that was, before Excelsior, devoid of a local haunt. Having to compete with popular neighbouring Marrickville and its drawcards of Cornersmith and Coffee Alchemy, Excelsior Jones is no doubt something the locals here will want to keep secret, especially with such a top-notch crew on board. Co-owners Anthony Svilicich and James Naylor are both ex Le Monde, so too is the barista, Julian Beresford, who is steaming out their own custom blend of Five Senses coffee to perfection. Also on board to bring a touch of brilliance to the modest menu is Adrian Borg, who previously held stints at Assiette and District Dining. The compact menu is a cracker. House-cured salmon hash with pearl shallots, fried buckwheat, poached egg, and fresh herbs ($16) is nourishing and tasty to say the least, while the bacon and egg sandwich with capsicum relish and aioli ($10) will please any fan of this staple. For those who love a crunchy granola, go for the house-made version with roasted seeds, nuts, and creamy yoghurt ($10), and if you're around for lunch, try the chicken salad with black sesame, avocado, and bean shoots ($15) or a slow-roasted lamb sandwich with salsa verde ($14). Feeling nostalgic? Your undoing could be a malted milkshake ($6.50) or a spider ($6), a real tribute to the classic milk bar days. But it's the cheeseburger that will win over the famished ($16). The tomato relish could be the crucial component, or perhaps it's the fried spuds that accompany this time-honoured favourite. Either way, it'll be hard to wipe a smile off your face afterwards. The open space uses white wooden furniture with raw textures, and big windows help to highlight the abundance of air and space. Both James and Anthony are incredibly enthusiastic about providing a place where locals and people from all walks of life are welcome and feel comfortable, and the atmosphere definitely reflects this. They're so passionate, in fact, that the name 'Excelsior Jones' came from historical research Anthony did into the area. Formerly the name for the street, before the current Queen Street, Anthony thought the pairing of the two words had a nice ring to it and slight mystique. Moreover, in Latin, 'excelsior' translates to 'ever upward'. You get the point.
Warwick Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis: name a better Australian quintet. The director of Samson & Delilah and Sweet Country, the two-time Oscar-winner and recent Tár tour de force, the local screen mainstay, and the Bad Seeds bandmates and seasoned film composers all combine not for the ultimate Aussie dinner party, but for The New Boy. None are debuting in their jobs. All are exceptional. They're each made better, however, by the luminous and entrancing Aswan Reid. As well as playing the titular part, the 11-year-old first-time actor lives it among such a wealth of acclaimed and experienced talent — and he's such a find in such excellent company, while saying little in words but everything in every other way, that Thornton's third fictional feature owes him as much of a debt as its applauded and awarded household names. There's a spark to Reid from the moment that he's first spied grappling with outback law enforcement under blazing rays as Cave and Ellis' (This Much I Know to Be True) latest rousing score plays. His sun-bleached hair couldn't be more fitting, or symbolic, but it's the confident way in which he holds himself as New Boy, plus the determined look on his face, that sears. Wily and wiry, the feature's eponymous figure is toppled by a boomerang, then bagged up and transported to the remote Catholic orphanage doted on by Sister Eileen (Blanchett, Nightmare Alley) in the 1940s. The cop doing the escorting notes that the kid is a bolter, but the nun is just as fast in her kindness. She sees what Thornton wants his audience to see: a boy that beams with his presence and through his sense of self, even though he's been snatched up, taken from his Country and forced into a Christian institution against his will. Sister Eileen is as drawn to him as the movie, but — and not just due to the red wine she likes sipping and the subterfuge she's keeping up about the resident father's absence — she isn't as certain about what to do. The path that any new arrival at the monastery is supposed to follow is preordained: uniforms, a dorm bed, porridge, helping in the fields, obedience and church. New Boy barely subscribes, donning only shorts, sleeping on the floor and cutting in front in the food line, which Sister Eileen permits. The abbey's two other adults, the nurturing Sister Mum (Mailman, Total Control) and farmhand George (Wayne Blair, Seriously Red), are welcoming yet know the reality that's facing all of the boys in their care, particularly the First Nations kids. In the priest's name, Sister Eileen might write letters to the government urging them not to send her charges away when they're considered old enough to work — the endgame to the state, especially with the Second World War impacting labour — but Sister Mum and George are lived proof that acquiescing and assimilating is the only outcome that will be accepted. There's a spark to the new boy, too, and literally. He's meant to pray away his Indigenous spirituality in the name of dutiful conformity, and in favour of Christianity, but the faith and culture that's as old as Australia's Traditional Owners glows. He's curious, though, including about the ornate, life-sized wooden cross that's sent from France for safekeeping during the war. He wants to undo its nails, free Jesus from crucifixion and give it the property's snakes as gifts. As Thornton peppers in religious imagery, New Boy displays more in common with its carved figurine than Sister Eileen knows how to handle. This is a tale of survival and, while always its namesake's story first and foremost, it also sees two sides to it: the First Nations lad ripped away from all he knows, as well as the nun that's gone renegade within a system that sees her as lesser because she's a woman. Writing and directing — as he did with Samson & Delilah, but not Sweet Country — Kaytetye man Thornton takes inspiration from his own experience as a child sent to a missionary boarding school ran by Spanish monks. In the process, he makes a moving and needfully blunt statement about the clash that's too often been enforced upon the country's First Peoples since colonisation. Indeed, simmering with anger but also hope, The New Boy is a clear, unshakeable rebuttal of the perennially ridiculous idea that only one faith, culture or way of life can exist. And, crucially, it feels as personal as Thornton's work gets; he isn't in front of the lens as he was with the also-remarkable The Beach, where he charted his own escape away from the incessant hustle and bustle of modern life, but the sensation that emanates from the screen is overwhelmingly the same. Thornton works as his own cinematographer on The New Boy, another trademark touch — see also: anthology film The Darkside, documentary We Don't Need a Map, plus the episodic Mystery Road and Firebite — which allows him to load every inch of every immaculate frame with deep and blistering emotion. There's no such thing as a passive image anywhere in any film by any director, but Thornton's beautifully shot movies ensure that his viewers can't evade the landscape that's been forever changed by white settlement. Here, he roves over the plains outside of South Australia's Burra, where every structure for the feature was erected from scratch, and where shimmering yellow fields of wheat grow atop the ochre earth that's been inhabited by Indigenous Australians for thousands of years. He sees how the terrain has been reshaped, but never forgets who was there first. With his oh-so-perceptive eye, Thornton's visuals stunningly do what New Boy does: expresses everything with little speaking necessary. In her first on-screen role in a solely Australian film since 2013's The Turning, Blanchett talks, of course. Where much of the picture around her bubbles with loaded patience, and Reid's innate naturalism, The New Boy's biggest star is the storm amid the deceiving calm. Consumed by her struggles with her own faith while tasked with instilling it into her charges, and also now challenged by the new boy that defies her sense of logic, Sister Eileen rarely stops moving, fretting, surveying, asserting, preaching and confessing — and Blanchett is magnetic to behold. That said, it's a performance with a needed counterbalance. Without Reid's serenity, Blanchett might've come on too strong. Without Reid, too, the fact that the eponymous character's quest to endure is tinged with hard-won optimism amid its palpable fury mightn't have shone through. No matter what happens, or how rarely he's accepted for who he is, New Boy always persists.
Secret Gardeners, get your diaries out: the festival has officially announced its 2015 return. On Friday, February 27, and Saturday, February 28, just as summer is packing its bags, the most clandestine event on the music calendar will arrive at its once secret, now regular destination known as 'The Farm', a 3000 acre property on the city's fringes. As usual, we won’t know the lineup until well after the ticket allocation is exhausted. We can tell you, however, that tickets will go on sale at 9am on November 14, with the supporters’ ballot happening on November 7. Admission for both days is $185, while for Saturday only it’s $125. If previous experience is anything to go by, tickets are likely to be snapped up within a few hours. Since last year, the Secret Garden crew has been busy, in their own words, “making improvements, watching bands in dark rooms, and dreaming up the wildest, grandest playground that the farm has ever seen”. We can expect new spaces and increased weather readiness. Numbers, meanwhile, will remain at their comfortable and intimate limited capacity, despite the fact that the program is promising to deliver “the best Secret Garden yet”. There’ll be a handpicked selection of “memorable” previous acts, combined with a bunch of new favourites. Last year, the crowd was treated to appearances from Worlds End Press, Bloods, Elizabeth Rose, Donny Benet and numerous other artists. All in all, the festival will continue to uphold its two founding aspirations: to be the best, most unusual weekend music event around and to raise plenty of funds for charity. Last year, $100,000 in proceeds were donated to an array of charities, including Oxfam, Sarah Hilt Foundation and Girls and Boys Brigade. On the 'unusual' front, the first day of the festival has typically been themed and elaborately costumed, and this year looks to carry on that tradition, with organisers instructing you to "Get your sewing kits ready".
Some visit Bali seeking romantic places to stay, where they can treat themselves to pamper packages within wild natural surroundings. Others want a tropical adventure — hiking up volcano craters, riding quad bikes through the jungle or swimming beneath hidden waterfalls. And, of course, there's the party atmosphere, from group day trips to places to dance the night away. To help any kind of traveller have the best time in Bali, we curated a selection of local trips and tours that can be booked through Concrete Playground Trips. Read on to find a few of our favourites. [caption id="attachment_892435" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Juan Cruz Mountford (Unsplash)[/caption] SUNRISE VOLCANO HIKE WITH THERMAL SPRINGS SWIM This trek could quite easily become the highlight of your trip to Bali. You'll get up early to hike to the summit of volcanic Mount Batur to catch the sunrise and enjoy breakfast cooked over volcanic steam. It's not a difficult climb, but the natural hot springs waiting for you at the bottom are a magical treat. Enjoy the view of the volcano and the surrounding mountains while you soothe your muscles in the natural springs. Not a morning person? Book a midnight hike or a private jeep ride up to the volcano and into the crater instead. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_892433" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rob M Visuals (Unsplash)[/caption] RICE TERRACE CYCLING TOUR When visiting Bali, go beyond the island's famous beaches and head inland to explore the untamed jungle and thousands of miles of rice terraces. While you can drive to many of them, the best way to see a bunch is by going on a cycling tour. This particular one focuses on the Bangli region. It is a less commercialised area, boasting some of the world's most beautiful rice fields with views of Mount Batur in the distance. Alight from your bike to walk between the terraces, little huts, tumbling waterfalls and quaint temples before sitting down to a big lunch overlooking the stunning scenery. We could think of worse ways to spend a day. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_892434" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jared Rice (Unsplash)[/caption] FIVE-DAY HOLISTIC RETREAT Bali abounds with wellness retreats, and Y Retreats is one of the best budget-friendly options. That's why we teamed up with Y Retreats to sell some of the spots available on its upcoming Reset and Recharge retreat. Over the course of five days, you'll be immersed in a carefully curated combination of breathwork, cold exposure, yoga, self-development sessions, leadership and resilience workshops, physical adventuring and so much more. It's held at a secluded beachfront property in Tabanan and includes all your meals. It's the perfect place to relax and work on yourself. BOOK IT NOW. BALI SEA WALKER This is a really random travel experience. But it's heaps of fun. You pop on a glass helmet that's fed oxygen via a long tube and walk along the sea floor spotting tropical fish swimming about coral reefs. It's much easier than proper scuba diving (no training is required for sea walking). Add this little activity to a day spent at the beach. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_892436" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nick Fewings (Unsplash)[/caption] UBUD DAY TRIP The Ubud region has become increasingly popular these days, but remains quieter than most parts of Bali. It has many picturesque temples, coffee plantations, rice fields, museums and small villages filled with markets and great places to eat. But seeing all its best bits can be tough without a guide. So, we teamed up with Candidasa Taxi to offer this unique private tour of Ubud that also includes a trip to Tegenungan Waterfall and Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_892432" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tandya Rachmat (Unsplash)[/caption] THREE-DAY GILI ISLANDS AND LOMBOK TOUR The Gili Islands is one of our favourite places to go in Indonesia. These six small islets are all located by Bali's neighbour sister Lombok and offer up exceptional experiences. You can swim with turtles, explore small fishing villages, relax on long white sand beaches and simply escape the crowds of Bali. And if you book this Gili Island and Lombok tour, you'll get to take your time seeing all the best bits over three days — you'll really want to spend more than just a day in these parts. The tour will also pick you up from Padang, so it's a great addition to any Bali holiday. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_892439" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Florian Giorgio (Unsplash)[/caption] REGIONAL BALI TOURS Bali is a diverse place when it comes to culture, food and natural sites. That's why you shouldn't spend your entire holiday in just one place. But packing up all your things to stay in several different areas can also be tiring. The solution? Get on the day trip bandwagon. We have a bunch to help you see it all. Spend a day in the north, south, east or west of the island with each of these unique trips that take you to all the most popular parts — as well as a few hidden gems only locals know about. [caption id="attachment_892438" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nattu Adnan (Unsplash)[/caption] NUSA PENIDA DAY TRIP Nusa Penida is an absolutely stunning island located just off the shores of Bali. It's a beach lover's paradise, with countless hidden coves located all over. A great way to see them is by joining a day tour. This particular one takes you to Broken Beach, Angel's Billabong, Kelingking Beach and Crystal Bay. You can even book a really affordable private boat tour of Nusa Penida to see it all from the water. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_892441" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bali Surgawi Tour Travels (Unsplash)[/caption] QUAD BIKE ADVENTURE As an ATV rider, you will be challenged to conquer some of Bali's rugged off-road terrain and muddy rock formations for 90 to 120 minutes. You'll see some great scenery, rice fields, rivers and beaches while zooming about with some mates. This will be followed by a two-hour snorkel trip that will take you to two different swimming spots. It's a two-in-one. BOOK IT NOW. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips to destinations all over the world. Top image: Jamie Fenn (Unsplash)
The World's 50 Best Restaurants for 2013 have just been announced, and it seems the trend towards all things natural and sustainable is here to stay, along with a speckling of Australian culinary talent working here and abroad. The Acqua de Panna award for Australasia's best went to Attica in Melbourne, a Ripponlea gem helmed by Patrick Shewry. The New Zealand-born chef has brought a certain sensitivity to his kitchen and earned a reputation for sustainable practice that showcases natural flavours and textures. Breaking into the list at no. 21, Attica was also honoured with the highest placed new entry. Peter Gilmore's usual suspect, Quay, came in at no. 48 to secure its fifth consecutive year on the list and rounded out our national presence. The result of 900 food journalist, restaurateurs, gastronomes and chefs working across the planet, the World's 50 Best Restaurants named Catalonia's El Celler de Can Roca as this year's premier international culinary destination. Run by the three Roca brothers — Joan (chef), Jordi (pastry chef) and Josep (sommelier), pictured — it has sat at no.2 for the last two years behind Denmark's Noma, which left the number one ranking for the first time in three years to slip to no.2. The United States and France confirmed their ascendancy with six restaurants in the top 50 each, including the celebrity-magnet Per Se in New York. Homegrown talent working abroad also nabbed a few spots, with Brett Graham's Notting Hill restaurant, The Ledbury, finishing at no. 13 and ex-Sydneysider David Thompson coming in at no.32 with Nahm in Bangkok. Thompson became the Sydney authority on Thai cuisine during the '90s with his well-remembered Darley Street Thai.
Not once, not twice, but nine times, Australia's most-dazzling Indigenous arts festival has lit up the Northern Territory. 2025 will make ten. Parrtjima — A Festival in Light has so firmly established itself as a highlight of Alice Springs, the Red Centre and Australia's cultural scene that it's hard to imagine a time before it. Expect luminous sights again this year, including the reliable star of the show: getting a 2.5-kilometre stretch of 300-million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges glowing every evening. The MacDonnell Ranges Light Show is one of two favourites returning to Parrtjima in 2025, again pairing its eye-catching display with classical music and Arrernte language. The other: Grounded, asking attendees to look down instead of up. A festival of lights in the NT was always going to incorporate the red earth, too, which is where large-scale projections turn the soil into a canvas. This year's version features six artworks. If Parrtjima only boasted those two pieces across Friday, April 4–Sunday, April 13, it'd still be worth heading to the Red Centre to enjoy — but there's far, far more in store across the event's ten days. Four other installations, all new and focusing on the 2025 festival theme 'timelessness', are among the standouts of a lineup that sports contributions from 20-plus First Nations artists, plus more than 100 performers and special guests. At The Gateway at Parrtjima's entrance, towering poles by artists from Antulye, Irlpme, and Mparntwe groups will greet guests. Also, Balanggarra and Yolŋu artist Molly Hunt's Three Generations of Station Women is making an animated comic strip that honours Aboriginal stockwomen, with actor Mark Coles Smith (Apple Cider Vinegar) on soundtrack duties. Then there's Bobby West Tjupurrula's Hypnotic Reverberations, creating a moving dreamscape out of beams of light, mist and reflections on a shallow pool. From Lyall Giles, Transforming Light & Country isn't just about sand dune patterns — it gets festivalgoers to play with them, using drums to create rings of light. Troy Cassar-Daley is headlining the festival's roster of nightly performances, putting on a free show on opening weekend. On the rest of the bill: the Darwin Symphony Orchestra, in what'll be Parrtjima's first-ever orchestral performance, plus gigs by Bumpy, Dem Mob, and Warren H Williams & Western Wind. This year will also feature the fest's debut comedy night, with Andy Saunders and Sean Choolburra sparking laughs. The Blak Markets are back, again showcasing First Nations paintings, jewellery, prints, baskets, sculptures and more — and Cassar-Daley, filmmaker Rachel Perkins (Jasper Jones), Michael Liddle, Armani Francois and Rudi Bremer are among the guests and speakers at the event's in-conversation sessions. If you're keen to learn by doing, the workshops itinerary spans art centre Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands getting participants doing watercolour paintings in the style of Albert Namatjira, Chef Mark Olive and Kungkas Can Cook's Rayleen Brown exploring bushfoods and traditional recipes, Parrtjima Curator Rhoda Roberts leading a weaving workshop, drumming with Dobby, and using native plants in Aboriginal healing with language holder and ecologist Veronica Perrule Dobson. Parrtjima – A Festival in Light will return from Friday, April 4–Sunday, April 13, 2025, at venues around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. For more information, visit the festival website. Images: Parrtjima – A Festival in Light. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
It was one of the biggest celebrity scandals of the 90s, and it's now heading back to screens. When a sex tape featuring Baywatch star Pamela Anderson and her then-husband Tommy Lee was stolen from their home in 1995, then leaked on online, it fuelled tabloid headlines (and internet downloads) for years and years. Now, the whole saga has been turned into a drama called Pam & Tommy — starring Lily James (The Pursuit of Love) as Anderson and Sebastian Stan (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as the Mötley Crüe drummer. Even better: US streaming platform Hulu, which is behind the eight-part show, has just dropped the first teaser trailer for the series. James obviously dons the red swimsuit that Anderson was so famous for wearing for 76 episodes of everyone's favourite 90s lifeguard drama — you really couldn't make a series about Anderson without it — and, given that the focus is squarely on the couple's intimate recording, how it became public, and the impact it had on Anderson and Lee, things clearly get chaotic rather quickly. In the sneak peek, a mullet-wearing duo played by Seth Rogen (An American Pickle) and Nick Offerman (Devs) can't quite believe what they've stumbled across. That's the focus of the trailer; however, the clip does also show Anderson and Lee's reaction when the tape makes its way out into the world. Pam & Tommy's stars firmly look the part — calling James' appearance a transformation definitely fits — and the trailer sports an expectedly hectic vibe. Australian-born director Craig Gillespie has jumped into larger-than-life true tales before with I, Tonya, so he's in somewhat familiar territory. He also keeps being drawn to decades gone by: the 90s here and in I, Tonya, the 80s in aerobics-focused dark comedy series Physical, and the 70s in this year's live-action Cruella as well. Hulu has set a February 2 release date for Pam & Tommy in America, dropping the first three episodes on that date and then streaming the rest week-to-week afterwards. At the moment, where and when it'll surface Down Under hasn't yet been revealed, but hopefully that'll happen around the same time. Check out the Pam & Tommy teaser trailer below: Pam & Tommy will start screening via Hulu in the US on February 2. A release date Down Under hasn't yet been revealed — we'll update you when one is announced.
You don't need binoculars or a deerstalker cap to be a sleuth. If you're keen to investigate new cases at the press of a few buttons, all you really need is a stacked streaming queue. TV mysteries and dramas are full of whodunnits, after all. And, while they're filled with on-screen folks trying to get to the bottom of many a thorny predicament, they're also all perfect for letting viewers play armchair detective at home. Perhaps you're excellent at spotting tiny foreshadowing details? Maybe you have a great feel for television's twists and turns? Or, you could just love escaping into a series, lapping up all the minutiae and seeing if you can pick what's going to happen next? Whichever category fits, we've paired up with streaming platform Binge to take care of your next five viewing picks. They'll have you puzzling along as you're watching — including via a 14-day free trial for new customers.
Heading overseas from Australia is about to become a reality again, with the Federal Government recently announcing that international travel will be allowed to restart on a state-by-state basis from November. When each state or territory hits the 80-percent fully vaccinated mark set out in the National Plan to transition Australia's National COVID Response, that part of the country will be able to resume international flights — and Qantas has announced which routes will be operating first. Back in August, the airline revealed that it was planning to begin flying overseas again in December this year, based on when it forecast that Australia's international borders would reopen again. It has since started selling tickets for a number of overseas routes and, now that a firm plan has been put in place to open the nation back up to the rest of the world, it's bringing forward the start date for its flights to London and Los Angeles. Both legs will operate out of Sydney, and recommence operations from Sunday, November 14. To begin with, there'll be three weekly return flights to each city on Qantas' Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. And if you're wondering why the carrier picked these two routes, it's because they've been the most searched options for the past few weeks. Pack your bags, flights from Sydney to LA and London take-off from mid-November ✈️ https://t.co/reJshnEF0U pic.twitter.com/KsxjrsBfGC — Qantas (@Qantas) October 1, 2021 The airline advises that it'll add more flights if it needs to, as per demand, and that the dates may shift once the exact border reopening date is announced (or, if anything changes with the Australian Government's current plan). So, if travel can recommence out of Sydney earlier, Qantas will move things forward — and it it gets pushed back, so will the flights, obviously. If you're keen to get booking anyway, ticketholders for these flights will be able to make changes without paying a fee for travel up until the end of 2022, although you will need to pay a difference in fare if that applies. Fares for the two routes are open to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families and some visa holders, and start at $1662 return for the Sydney–Los Angeles trip and $1869 return for Sydney–London. At present, Qantas is sticking with its plans to restart other international flights from Saturday, December 18. Previously, Qantas had revealed its intention to recommence flights to destinations with high vaccination rates from December 2021, including Singapore, Japan, the US, the UK, Canada and Fiji, before adding Hong Kong flights in February, and then trips to Bali, Jakarta, Manila, Bangkok, Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City and Johannesburg in April 2022. When overseas flights do resume, Qantas will use digital health passes to verify vaccination and testing status. And, as Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has previously stated, the airline will only allow fully vaccinated passengers to travel on international flights. Passengers will also need to have returned a negative PCR COVID-19 test 72 hours before departure. It's expected that travellers on these international flights will need to go into home quarantine for seven days when they return, which Prime Minister Scott Morrison mentioned when he announced that the international border will reopen in November; however, the exact details of how that'll work hasn't yet been revealed. As part of its efforts to encourage vaccinations — and to help speed up the return to its normal operations — the airline is also currently giving away discounts and frequent flyer points to vaxxed Aussies. Qantas will restart Sydney–Los Angeles and Sydney–London flights from Sunday, November 14. For more information or to book, visit the Qantas website.
Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? At Sydney Film Festival's 2024 closing night, that'll be the question of the evening. The query sits at the heart of The Substance, which premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival, got the movie world talking instantly and now has a date with the Harbour City on Sunday, June 16 to wrap up SFF with a dose of body horror. If you've being seeing Demi Moore's name pop up a heap lately and were wondering why, this film is the reason. After recently adding Feud, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Please Baby Please and Brave New World to her resume, the actor leads The Substance as celebrity Elizabeth Sparkle. When the character uses a black-market drug in an effort to cling on to her image and fame, it creates a younger version. "More beautiful" and "more perfect" is also how the first official clip from the film describes the temporary clone. If everything went swimmingly, however, there wouldn't be much of a movie. The Substance is also the long-awaited second feature from writer/director Coralie Fargeat, who made a spectacular debut with 2017's Revenge, and just picked up the Best Screenplay award on the Croisette for her sophomore effort. And, alongside Moore, Margaret Qualley (Drive-Away Dolls) and Dennis Quaid (Lawman: Bass Reeves) also star. "We are thrilled to close this year's Sydney Film Festival with the Australian Premiere of The Substance. Coralie Fargeat's film, featuring an outstanding performance by Demi Moore, promises to leave a lasting impression," said Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley. While the festival announced its full lineup in early May, the event always keeps adding to the program afterwards. Elvis' Austin Butler also joined the bill, coming to Sydney for a screening of his new film The Bikeriders. Plus, normally before the fest kicks off, it reveals a few more straight-from-Cannes titles. Accordingly, keep watching this space. Check out the teaser trailer for The Substance below: Sydney Film Festival 2024 takes place from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16 at various cinemas and venues around Sydney. For more information and tickets, head to the festival's website.
