Sydney lovers of slick contemporary design, listen up. Sydney is getting its very own Monocle Shop, albeit in pop-up form. Launching at The Stables in Surry Hills next weekend, it's the second time the impossibly dapper brand has taken up a temporary address in Australia; after a similar pop-up in Brisbane’s Scrumptious Reads last year. If that venture was anything to go by, put aside your money now. After beginning life as a global affairs and lifestyle magazine before spinning off into the world of radio, retail and even coffee, Monocle currently owns stores in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Toronto, Singapore and New York. Here, the brand sells must-have products designed to make you look roughly one thousand percent cooler — luxury travel luggage, designer furniture and high-end fashion. Basically, it’s where you want to direct all of your wealthiest friends about a week before your birthday. The Sydney pop-up appears to have been strategically timed to coincide with Vivid Sydney 2015, where Monocle founder and international man of mystery Tyler Brule will appear as part of the Vivid Ideas Game Changers series, which features talks by leaders in global creative industries. No word on exactly what items the Sydney store will be selling, although we’ve got a wish list that’s about three miles long. The pop-up opens on Sunday, May 24, and will run until Sunday, June 21. Image: Monocle, New York.
Australia's undying love of gin is set to be front-and-centre this December when the Christmas edition of the Sydney Gin Palooza returns. Hosted by the Australian Gin Distillers Association and headed to the International Convention Centre for the first time in 2020, the two-day festival will bring 41 craft gin distillers from around the country under one roof between Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5. Apart from gin tastings, punters will also have the chance to chat directly with the makers. Stallholders will be hawking over 200 gins, including Never Never, Distillery Botanica, Manly Spirits and Barossa Distilling Co, with many of them showing off their limited-edition Christmas gins. You can try your favourite gin(s) in a G&T, then head over to the gin shop, where you can purchase bottles for takeaway. Tickets cost $60, with three three-hour tasting sessions to choose from: 5.30pm on Friday, or 1pm and 5.30pm on Saturday. If you're short on time, or money, there's also a two-hour $40 session running from 2–4pm on Friday. With COVID-19 very much still a part of Sydney life, expect the Gin Palooza to run a little differently to normal, with limited capacities social-distancing.
It's rare that films about academics crop up, and when they do, they're often quick to reinvoke the old 'tenure or not tenure' narrative that apparently absorbs every minute of the lives of the US professoriate. But Joseph Cedar's Hearat Shulayim (Footnote) — a less-than-completely serious side glance at one man's luckless engagement with the Israeli academe — doesn't traipse the same hackneyed cloisters. Cedar's film zooms in on one of the many execrable episodes that seem to stalk the life of elder Talmud scholar, Eliezer 'I'm a philologist!' Shkolnik (played by Shlomo Bar Aba), episodes which seem to have combined to generate the inscrutably scornful and yet somewhat muted father figure to whom we are introduced in the first half-minute of the story. Eliezer, who regards as his most glorious career achievement the citation he received in a footnote of a late professor's major work, is a world-wearied and tortured soul, and it is actually his most damaging career defeat — rather than his beloved 'footnote' — that propels his tortured performances. As we learn, some time ago a colleague of Eliezer's, one Yehuda Grossman (Micah Lewensohn), discovered a sacred version of the Talmud, the very existence of which Eliezer had himself spent 30 years postulating in preparation for the publication of this great hypothesis. By publishing his findings before Eliezer, Grossman effectively hijacked Eliezer's own opportunity to stake a claim in the find. While Eleizer never recovered from this personal tragedy, the career of his professor son, Uriel Shkolnik (Lior Ashkenazi), is in full flight (much to the elder's envy). The plot bloats when, in an ironical error, the education ministry calls Eliezer and awards him with the venerable Israel Prize. The elder Shkolnik is elated and, quick to adopt a new attitude, the mute scholar becomes unblocked, talking down his son's work in interviews and aggrandising himself at every turn. Little does this newly lofty scholar know that the intended awardee was in fact the son he's just belittled. Nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film, and winning the Cannes Film Festival's Best Screenplay award, Footnote deftly echoes, in narrating the dynamics of a tense father-son dyad, the mode in which texts like the Talmud reveal their own historical wisdom. Understanding Uriel's and Eliezer's relationship and their different approaches to fatherhood and to the scholarly life entails weighing different ideas about justice, retribution and the importance of intellectual work. Cedar's film, heavy with comedic references to Jewish language — it's in Hebrew, and there's plenty of kvetching — as well as to Jewish scholarship (there's a great line about Emmanuel Levinas) is smart satire at its most thoughtful and persuasive. While it is at times a little overdetermined — there's a few too many cutesy, bombastic visual effects — the film remains a tasteful, attentive and original portrait of the austere and intensely vocational existences of those who seek special knowledge. More than this, though, Footnote tunes in to the often unacknowledged reverberations that structure the strikingly different ways in which different generations think about the same subjects, including family, wisdom, fortune and divinity. https://youtube.com/watch?v=mVWj-2JUHfU
Art vs Science - let's think about it. Science: noun: The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Art: noun: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. If the definitions don't seem to help all that much you might find solace in the synthy-crunchy-insistent-electro-pop of this Sydney three-piece. Recently ascending to platinum heights on the back of their self-titled debut EP, their second album The Experiment has also garnered wide appreciation and made ears happy both here and abroad. The first tour since their return from the US, Art vs Science will take to the stage at the Enmore, supported by the big-beats and high-flying vocals of Strange Talk. It's enough to make Galileo and Picasso friends. https://youtube.com/watch?v=roijtWmsCAM
Sydney is gearing up for another long, balmy summer, and the newly refurbished Manly Wharf precinct is ready to join the party, with two of its new second-storey venues set to open their doors next week. Launching at the wharf on Friday, November 9, are a couple of beloved Rockpool Dining Group eateries: a second outpost of Tex Mex hot-spot El Camino Cantina and a sixth iteration of Sake Restaurant and Bar. El Camino is opening in place of Fratelli Fresh, which was initially expected to launch there, too. El Camino promises to bring some definite party vibes to the Manly Wharf rooftop, with its giant cocktails, lively Tex-Mex fare and sprawling 365-seat dining space and terrace. At the big horseshoe-shaped bar, eight slushie machines signal fun times ahead for the silly season — El Camino's famed margaritas come in a swag of flavours and multiple sizes, including a group-friendly two-litre tower. Other options include a host of beers from near and far, and a collection of over 100 mezcals and tequilas. To match, the food lineup is equally vibrant. Think fiery buffalo wings, sizzling fajitas, plump burritos, soft shell tacos loaded with punchy flavour combinations and unlimited complimentary corn chips and salsas, It's all rounded out with rock 'n' roll jukebox tunes and a solid selection of daily specials, including $2 tacos on Tuesdays, 10-cent chicken wings on Wednesdays and a weekday happy hour (4-6pm) promising $7.50 drinks to suit every palate. Next door, is a very different vibe, as the newest Sake stays true to its own signature offering of chic, contemporary Japanese fare and crafty cocktails. The refined eatery's Melbourne CBD outpost recently offered $19 all-you-can-eat sushi, and we're keeping our fingers crossed for the same deal to make its way across to the northern beaches. El Camino Cantina and Sake Restaurant and Bar will both open at Manly Wharf on Friday, November 9. To head to El Camino's Manly launch night, you'll need to snag a ticket here.
Every woman I spoke to immediately after Machinal said some version of the same thing: "I related to it so much". This is mainly remarkable because Machinal is a play written in the 1920s about a woman given the electric chair after committing murder. But that gruesome end is not how we meet the nameless young woman, played with exquisite nervous energy by Harriet Dyer. She's working in an office, surrounded by the dizzying clicking of pens, chirping of phone voices and fake unanimity of crowds. But the VP of the company, true skeez Mr Jones (Brandon Burke), has become obsessed with her delicate hands and perceived innocence, and he proposes marriage. After some deliberation, she accepts, rationalising that it's what she's 'supposed to do'. What follows is an excruciating yet sickly funny wedding night scene in which he tries to coax her out of her clothes in their hotel room, while she wraps herself around the toilet bowl, gagging from his very touch. She goes on to give birth to a baby she can't fathom, and when she does eventually experience love and desire, it's both a blessing and a curse. Our young woman is clearly disturbed — her thoughts come out in a running, associative mess, and the ultimate leap of logic that leads her to kill her husband is not exactly solid. But the individual instances of feeling detached from what's expected from you, as if you've slipped off some path — Machinal bets that we've all been there, and it recoups massively. It's hard to believe Machinal was written in 1928, so contemporary does it often feel in voice, style and theme. It leaves the naturalism still prevalent at the time and explores an expressionistic inner world, preempting much of the playwriting of the 20th century. That it was written by a pioneering female journalist, Sophie Treadwell, covering the trial of murderer Ruth Snyder represents a profound act of empathy, and that it was found and chosen by director Imara Savage and the Sydney Theatre Company now is inspired and inspiring. This is not a very well-known work, but perhaps it should be. There's an impressive use of minimal staging to match the heightened emotion. A rod of fluorescents dominates the lighting and configures the space, from hotel room to dive bar, homestead to execution chamber. The few other set elements are strong and, morbidly, mostly various chairs, tumbling us toward the dark conclusion. It's simple and stunning work from Savage with designer David Fleischer and lighting designer Verity Hampson. Dyer's construction of a complicated woman on the brink is impeccable, and the supporting cast around her, slipping into various roles, never misses a beat. I know I'll remember this play years from now; secure your own seat post-haste at a rare theatrical experience with the power to disturb and comfort at once. Image by Brett Boardman.
Let's hope this extraordinary documentary doesn't become our final memory of the glorious Great Barrier Reef. (Given that, on April 3, the Queensland Government handed Adani mining company three licenses, permitting extraction from the Carmichael coal mine, we have good reason to be afraid. Very afraid). Now screening at the Australian Museum, this film allows you to join the indefatigable David Attenborough as he dives the reef. And, not only will you get to see what he's seen, you'll also be submerged in virtual reality. Yep, for 45 incredible minutes, you'll literally live through a 360-degree seascape, surrounded by multi-coloured coral, schools of fish and, gasp! Savage sharks. Sorry Nemo, but you ain't got nothing. If that leaves you wanting more, join Sir Attenborough on another journey with his First Life Virtual Reality. This 35-minute extravaganza takes you travelling 500 million years back in time, visiting ancient oceans and extinct creatures of the sea. You've got until May 5.
Gelato Messina first introduced its cookie pies to the world in 2020, and tastebuds across Australia thanked them. Then, it kept bringing the OTT dessert back when we all needed an extra dose of sweetness across the year. Now, it's releasing a new version of its OG chocolate chip flavour, but with an extra addition. This time around, you'll taste chocolate, of course; however, you'll also enjoy swirls of dulce de leche. Hang on, a cookie pie? Yes, it's a pie, but a pie made of cookie dough. And it serves two–six people — or just you. You bake it yourself, too, so you get to enjoy that oh-so-amazing smell of freshly baked cookies wafting through your kitchen. The new pies will be available for preorder from 10am on Monday, March 8 — so if you missed out last time, here's your chance to get yourself a piece of the pie. On its own, the indulgent dulce choc chip pie will cost $20. But to sweeten the deal, the cult ice creamery has created a few bundle options, should you want some of its famed gelato atop it. For $30, you'll get the pie and a 500-millilitre tub, while with a one-litre tub or a 1.5-litre tub, it'll cost $36 and $40 respectively. The catch? You'll have to peel yourself off the couch and head to your local Messina store to pick up your order. They'll be available for collection between Friday, March 12–Sunday, March 14. You can preorder a Messina dulce choc chip cookie pie pie from Monday, March 8, to pick up from March 12–14.
Join the celebration of Japan's Sakura Festival at Surry Hills' Goros. The Japanese restaurant/late-night venue is teaming up with Bombay Sapphire to bring you Cherry Bomb, a six-week sensory pop-up experience until Saturday, May 18. Coinciding with the cherry blossom season in Japan, Goros is putting together a cherry blossom-inspired menu. Think pink, as in pink sushi, pink drinks and pink mochi. Bombay Sapphire has a curated selection of delicious pink cocktails, including the Sapphire martini with wild strawberries and flowers. For food, you can opt for the all-you-can-eat skewers or the Moto package, with a 90-minute feast of food and cocktails for $89 per person. Or, head in on a Friday for $1 dumplings. Enjoy a whimsical pink installation adorned with neon cherry blossom lights, creating the perfect ambience on the always-lively dance floor, with live DJs playing every week. If you are looking for a more intimate celebration, be sure to book in a private karaoke room. Entry is free, but rally the crew and book a spot to avoid missing out.
The inner west officially gets all the Fringe fun. After hunkering down in Newtown last year, this year’s Sydney Fringe Festival has its sights set on Erskineville, with the suburb tapped as the home of this year’s official festival hub. This year they're calling it a Festival Village, so we expect big things from this home base for the month-long cultural marathon, the largest independent arts festival in NSW. "This September, we are leaving the safety of our underground spaces and taking over shopfronts, streets and any space we can find," says festival director Kerri Glasscock. "With pop-ups and activations, we are giving local artists the opportunity to explore new ideas, new spaces and meet new audiences. The 2015 festival will be our biggest yet." The news comes alongside our first glimpse at the 2015 program, which is set to include more than 300 performances across 50 different venues in five different main locales — Newtown, Erskineville, Marrickville, Redfern and Surry Hills. Erskineville's Festival Village will play host to the official opening night party, Fringe Ignite, on September 5, with a prohibition-themed gin bar run by Young Henrys and a 1920s-style speakeasy lounge. Throughout the festival, the suburb will also host a series of talks, performances, comedy shows and music presented by City of Sydney’s Late Night Libraries, with the Erskineville Town Hall playing home to a pair of performance spaces and the Coopers Festival Bar, from the folks at the Erskineville Hotel. The surrounding suburbs will get their Fringe fill as well. Other festival highlights include a day of Indigenous art, music and performance in Redfern; a silent dinner party hosted by internationally renowned artist Honi Ryan at Marrickville Town Hall; a masquerade horror installation (whatever that means) in a warehouse; and a two-week partnership with the Chaser's Giant Dwarf theatre. The latter venue will play host to a "mini-festival within the Festival", featuring cabaret, comedy and an array of performers from fringes around the world. See the full Sydney Fringe Festival program at the event website. Image: Left.
Lovers of art, music, live performance, quirky ideas and wild experiments, you have a brand new, rather roomy home. It's called Cement Fondu and you'll find it in a beautiful, 270-square-metre space in a leafy street in Paddo. Here, directors Megan Monte and Josephine Skinner are ready to surprise you, make you laugh and get you thinking. Drawing upon their two decades in the arts between them, they're planning out-of-the-box exhibitions, one-off performances and lively conversations. And that's just in the main gallery. There's also an Art Store, which will host artist takeovers, and The Project Space, to be dedicated to workshops, residencies and emerging artists. The frivolity will kick off on Saturday 10 March, with the opening of Cement Fondu's first exhibition, Suburbia. Between 6pm and 8pm, there'll be three live happenings: a cooking demo-storytelling show with Indian diva Radha La Bia (aka Shahmen Suku), a Miss Philippines-inspired Aerobics Oz performance by Caroline Garcia and The White Drummer, starring Tina Havelock Stevens (2017 Fisher's Ghost Award Winner). Open to the public from Thursday 15 March till Sunday 29 April, Suburbia will feature works by more than 15 local and international artists and collectives, spanning across art, music, cinema and performance, and exploring the concept of "looking beyond our own backyard". Expect paintings by Tangentyere artists Nerine Tilmouth, Louise Daniels and Elizabeth Nampitjinya; tapestries by Melbourne-based Paul Yore; audio works from the Sweatshop Western Sydney Literacy Movement; and stacks more. Meanwhile, Rosie Deacon, who's currently in residence at Parramatta Artist Studios, will take over the Art Store with her animal-inspired sculptures, jewellery and installations. And, in The Project Space, she'll be collaborating on a public workshop with a trio of artists from Studio A; look out for details. Find Cement Fondu is at 36 Gosbell Street, Paddington from March 10, or visit their website for further details. Image: Radha La Bia-Shahmen Suku, The Divine Game, 2017. Performance installation. Image credit: Tim da Rin.
The most talked-about band Sydney's seen in recent times since The Jezabels, The Preatures have unveiled their latest single 'Two-Tone Melody' and have announced their highly-anticipated upcoming debut album (with accompanying national tour). Sounding more like Jefferson Airplane than their usual Fleetwood Mac association, the new single is a chilled out ballad of sorts — a departure from the band's explosive debut single, 'Is This How You Feel?'. With just two EPs and four singles under their belt, The Preatures have seen huge applause (and national airplay) from a fairly limited catalogue until now. The Preatures have been hanging out in the US of late, playing SxSW and Coachella and recording with the dudes from Spoon in Austin — in particular Britt Daniel and Jim Eno. The fivesome told triple j's Doctor they recorded in Eno's garage-conversion studio, finishing the album taping in three weeks. Signing to Mercury Records in 2012 with a whopping five album deal, the Sydney fivesome's success snowballed in 2013 after the release of their second EP and ultra-catchy single 'Is This How You Feel?', prompting international touring and national high-fivery. The easily replayable single nabbed an ARIA nomination for Best Pop Release, number nine in the triple j Hottest 100 and just today nabbed a top five nomination for APRA|AMCOS Song of The Year. https://youtube.com/watch?v=M8XmoroZ3zo But it's not just fans interested in The Preatures — when the quintet played at New York's 2013 CMJ showcase, almost the entire audience was made up of industry representatives. Often compared to Fleetwood Mac and the Bee Gees, The Preatures' Isabella Manfredi, Gideon Bensen, Jack Moffitt, Thomas Champion and Luke Davison have garnered a significantly loyal fanbase in just a few short years. The Preatures will tour the US and Canada during June, make their way over to festivals in Europe and the UK before venturing back home for an Australian tour, stopping by Splendour In The Grass this July alongside fellow Sydneysiders RÜFÜS, The Jezabels and Sticky Fingers. The Preatures will be supported on their Australian tour by Adelaide's Bad//Dreems and Perth's Gunns. THE PREATURES AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES: Sat 12 July — Corner Hotel, Melbourne Sat 19 July — Metro Theatre, Sydney Fri 25, Sat 26 and Sun 27 July — Splendour in the Grass, North Byron Parklands Fri 1 August — Fowlers Adelaide Sat 2 August — The Bakery, Perth Tickets available from The Preatures website.
From August 19, Settlement Services International will be presenting a unique exhibition from a group of artists seeking asylum in Australia. On display at Bankstown Arts Centre, Home: Between Here and There will evoke unfinished journeys and the shared experience of asylum. The exhibition is the product of a 10-week course, which focused on professional development and assisting the artists' transition into the Australian cultural scene. The eight works created challenge understandings of ‘home’ and fixed identities. Each artist will share an intriguing and personal narrative through their work, reflecting on notions of place and belonging. The artists featured in the show include Babak Jahangirzadeh, Damon Amb, Farid Assadi, Hayder Shakir Al Bdairi, Mahdi Jahangirzadeh, Mohanad Al Ghezi, Mohammed Alanezi and Sefullah (Amir) Akbari. Join the opening reception on August 19, 6-7.30pm. Image: Hayder Shakir Al Bdairi, The Memories, 2015
At the beginning of 2020, the idea that visiting a restaurant or pub might mean you'd need to self-isolate afterwards would've seemed very strange indeed. But, that scenario is now a normal part of life during a pandemic — and one that New South Wales residents are getting used to during the state's response to COVID-19. Naming locations and venues that positive coronavirus cases have visited is key element of NSW's containment strategy, and this weekend, across Saturday, December 18–Sunday, December 19, it has announced the latest places Sydneysiders should be wary of due to the growing northern beaches cluster. The big ones: Nomad and the Strawberry Hills Hotel in Surry Hills. Anyone who went to the either for more than an hour at specific times on Wednesday, December 16 — to the former between 12.45–2pm and the latter from 3.30–6pm — is asked to get a test for COVID-19 immediately and self-isolate until Wednesday, December 30. If you were there during these times, but for less than an hour, you should monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if any appear. Also on the list is Sienna Marina in Woolloomooloo, with visitors for an hour or more between 12–2pm on Friday, December 11 days asked to get a test for COVID-19 immediately and self-isolate until Friday, December 25 — and, like the other venues, told to monitor for symptoms if you were there for less than an hour (and get tested immediately if any appear, too). Folks who frequented the Rose of Australia in Erskineville between 7–8.45pm on Tuesday, December 15 must also get tested asap and self-isolate for 14 days, while those who attended the venue after 8.45pm on the same day must get tested asap and self-isolate until they get a negative result. https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1340273419410001922 Over in Cronulla, anyone who was at the Pilgrims Vegetarian Cafe in Cronulla from 11.30am–2.30pm on Wednesday, December 16 is required to get immediately and self-isolate until Wednesday, December 30 — while those at the Cronulla RSL Club from 5pm till closing on Wednesday, December 16 must all also get tested asap and self-isolate until further notice. At the latter, close contacts of folks who went to the club must also self-isolate until Wednesday, December 30. The list goes on — with sites in Avalon Beach, Kirribilli, Lane Cove, Mona Vale, Narrabeen, Newport, Palm Beach, Penrith, St Peters and Turramurra also included. Unsurprisingly, more venues feature from the northern beaches area than elsewhere. There's also a hefty list of places that, if you visited them, you should monitor for symptoms and get tested if any arise. It includes places in Artarmon, Bondi Junction, Cronulla, Homebush, Newtown, Rosebery and Surry Hills, among other suburbs. As it has throughout the pandemic, NSW Health is maintaining an ongoing register of locations that have been visited by positive COVID-19 cases, and it's very lengthy at present — you can check out the entire list on its website. And, if you need a reminder, the symptoms to look out for are coughs, fever, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, or loss of smell or taste. You can find a rundown of testing clinic locations online as well. At the time of writing, NSW has reported 30 new COVID-19 cases in the northern beaches cluster in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday, December 19, from a pandemic-long total of 4559 across the state. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website. Top image: Strawberry Hills Hotel via Google Maps.
Beloved Chippendale pub the Lord Gladstone is changing its name once again. Last year, during Sydney's extended lockdown, the venue temporarily rebranded as The Lord Jabstone in a push to get Sydneysiders vaccinated and back to the pub. Now, the Gladdy is transforming again, this time into The Gladsong Hotel. The latest iteration of the inner-city pub is in response to the NSW Government's recent ban on singing and dancing in hospitality venues — restrictions that don't extend to places of worship. The tongue-in-cheek play on northwest Sydney's megachurch Hillsong looks to point out the hypocrisy in the current legislation, which targets the arts and hospitality after two incredibly tough years for both industries. The Gladsong Hotel's one-off Sunday Service is being billed as "a day of worship, schooners and good times" and will be happening on Sunday, January 23. On the day, there'll be DJs spinning tunes, plus $15 jugs of 'holy water' (The Gladstone's larger), $10 Bloody Lord cocktails and some lighthearted religious-themed shenanigans. And at midday, a pay-what-you-want keg will be tapped, with all proceeds going to Support Act. "It's been an absolutely frustrating period of time for all venue owners. Right now and over the past couple of years. Once again it feels like our leaders are leaving our poor struggling musicians and artists back in the darkness," venue owner Mitchell Crum said. "Live music venues, musicians, pubs and clubs all across the state have been the hardest hit without any support or closure. I can't say I'm terribly religious though I worship live music. Does that make us exempt?" Images: Jarrad Shaw
Sydney’s favourite almost-monthly/sometimes-weekly/often fort-nightly Crunk, Baltimore Club, Baile Funk, Hyphy & Dancehall party Wamp Wamp is back after taking a few months off to rest and refresh. The party features all the regulars (Sleater Brockman, Kato, Jimmy Sing) alongside Mad Decent fave and UK up-and-comer Mumdance on his first ever Australian tour. The fact that the party is going down in one of Sydney’s best kept nightclub secrets Goodgod Small Club only heightens my excitement! Wamp Wamp WHAT IT DO?!
More plays, more musicals, more festivals, more late-night trips to cultural institutions: now that Sydney has reopened after its nearly four-month lockdown, that's all back on the agenda. And, to give New South Wales' arts industry some much-needed assistance after an incredibly difficult year — which followed an already tough year in 2020 — the NSW Government has just announced a $86 million funding package. Set to be delivered by Create NSW, the big stash of cash is specifically earmarked to help artists, musicians, theatres, venues, festivals and cultural organisations as the state kicks back into gear. The full amount has been split into smaller figures, too, with different pots of money set aside for the performing arts, arts festivals, theatre and film, up-late cultural events and film fests. Accordingly, $50 million has been put into the performing arts relaunch package, which is designed to help the stage sector reopen; $25 million is earmarked for the festival relaunch package, with an aim of giving established commercial and not-for-profit festivals of all sizes some stability to move forward with 2022–23 programming; and $5 million will go towards the development of a film studio and theatre infrastructure strategy to bring more international movie productions and big theatre shows to NSW. Also, the $5 million for up-late cultural events will be used to help Sydney's museums, galleries and other cultural institutions keep hosting evening programs, while $1 million will go to film festivals across Sydney, Western Sydney and South Western Sydney — including fests in independent and commercial cinemas, with a big focus on outdoor screenings where possible. Because COVID-19 cancellations or postponements could keep getting in the way of major festivals and events, the NSW Government has also set up an event saver fund to provide support these shows if this occurs. Unveiling the new funding on Sunday, October 17, NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said that "we have all been champing at the bit to see films in cinemas, our local bands on stage and our favourite musicals in theatres. This funding commitment will allow the arts and cultural sector to relaunch with certainty and confidence to deliver works that audiences have missed over the past year." This new tranche of cast comes after other NSW Government funding for the industry both this year and last, including $75 million already announced in 2021 for the performing arts and live music, plus $50 million in 2020. For more information about the NSW Government's just-announced arts funding, head to the Create NSW website. Top image: Liam Cameron.
Grab your diary. Call your mates. Reserve your horse. Secret Garden has just announced its dates for 2019. And we're happy to tell you that Australia's beloved, grassroots, made-for-mates-by-mates festival will be taking place over 48 hours, across Friday, February 22 and Saturday, February 23. You have less time, however, to scrape your cash together. Ticket sales kick off at 9am on Wednesday, September 12. If you're a regular gardener, you'll know that they sell out pretty damn quickly, so don't dilly dally. Good news is, though, that you can sign up for pre-sale tickets here — if you're not already. As usual, we won't know anything about the lineup or festival program until tickets are sold out. But, we can tell you that, as always, Secret Garden will bring you an immersive experience, a long way out of the city, within a magical natural setting transformed into a wonderland. You'll find yourself wandering through a forest maze, getting lost in massive installations, discovering unexpected pop-up performances and coming across tucked-away parties in custom-made rave caves. Maybe even getting married. All we know for sure? As always, you're invited to wear your craziest, most dressed up fancy dress. Start planning. Secret Garden will run from February 22–23, 2019. Tickets on sale 9am Wednesday, September 12. More details on the festival's website. Image: Tim Da Rin & Jack Toohey
Surry Hills has long been one of Sydney's go-to spots for a quality Lebanese feed, from Fatima's — which has been taking care of nocturnal hunger pangs for more than 30 years — to Abdul's queue-inspiring feasts. More recently, Cubby's Kitchen has popped up in one half of the Crown Street Fish Shop space. But too much falafel is never enough. And so we're not upset at all that there's set to be yet another Lebanese kid on the block. It's called Nour and is coming to you from the folks behind Newtown's Cuckoo Callay. Unlike the neighbourhood's many hole-in-the-wall eateries, this one's a whopping 120-seater. So you can take your entire extended family and all your mates with you. You'll find Nour within a stone's throw of Cubby's, at 3/490 Crown Street, right between Toko and Maloneys Grocer. Restaurateurs Ibby Moubadder and Ella Harris — who opened the good Cuckoo back in 2013 — have long been planning on bringing a Lebanese restaurant to Sydney. Their hope is to reinvigorate the ancient cuisine, by giving long-standing traditions some fresh twists. In keeping with this vision, they've enlisted top contemporary interior designers DS17 to revamp the space. Once the shadowy, moody home of Tokonoma, it's been lightened and brightened. After all, Nour means 'light' in Arabic. If you've visited Alpha, Beta Bar or the newly opened The Resident, you're familiar with DS17's work. We're told it will look nothing like the Lebanese restaurants we're familiar with. You'll have to see for yourself when the restaurant opens later this month. Nour will open at 3/490 Crown Street, Surry Hills on Wednesday, 28 September. For more information, visit their Facebook page.
Magnum are hitting the streets of Sydney with a Red Velvet Singles Couch on February 18. It's in celebration of Valentine's Day and the new Red Velvet Magnum (chocolate and cream cheese ice cream, with an outside layer of cream cheese-flavoured white chocolate). Single people in Sydney are invited to be among the first to taste the new flavour and jump on the couch to take a photo, with a Magnum in hand, to go into the draw to win a spot at one of Sydney's most exciting and exclusive dining experiences, A Moveable Feast. A Moveable Feast is by the same team that bring you the beautiful Diner en Blanc every year. It's a themed pop-up dinner that takes place on Bondi Beach. This year, food will be by Luke Mangan. The 2017 dinner has already sold out, but if you're one of the Magnum competition winners you'll get to sit on the Magnum single's table alongside Cameron Cranley from the second season of The Bachelorette. All you have to do to win one of five double passes to A Moveable Feast is jump on the Red Velvet Singles Couch, take a photo and upload it to Instagram. The five most creative photos will win. The single's couch pop-up is open on Saturday February 18 at Coogee Beach from 11am - 3pm.
Mike Meyer has long been a legendary name in the sign business. But it was after his appearance on internationally acclaimed film Sign Painters that he started to receive stacks of calls asking for lessons, tips and advice. Given that there's only a few schools in the whole world teaching the traditional art of hand-painted lettering, he decided to set up a travelling workshop. And now he's set to leave his home in Mazeppa, Minnesota to visit us here down under. He'll be hosting two-day workshops in Newcastle, Melbourne and Sydney. Over two days of brushes and paint, you'll learn how to paint Gothic (Block), Casual and Script fonts, while Mike provides one-on-one critique (and no shortage of jokes). The workshop is suitable for both those totally new to sign-painting and to those who've made some progress and are ready to take their skills to the next level. Tickets are likely to be snapped up quick.
What's the deal with trivia nights based on pop culture commodities? They're great, that's what — and, even with everyone staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic, they're clearly a hit. Accordingly, Isolation Trivia is busting out another virtual session, and this time it's Seinfeld's turn in the quizmaster's spotlight. The show about nothing has inspired an evening about everything that made its nine-season, 180-episode run so great. The fun unravels online from 6.25 on Saturday, May 9. Playing along is free (just as George Costanza would like it), so all you need to do is head to the event Facebook page at the appropriate time. Lock in some mates who think they know every conceivable detail about the hit 90s sitcom — and about Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine — and you can all play along from your own homes. The quizmaster will put your affection to the test, potentially covering everything from soup to sponges, puffy shirts to Pez dispensers, and even the parade of famous faces that played Jerry's girlfriends. Yada, yada, yada — you get the picture. Best check your drinks supply first, in case those pretzels make you thirsty.
If you haven't yet had the chance to eat Macanese fare, fret not — you'll soon have an opportunity to try it for free. Macao Tourism has teamed up with with Eat Art Truck to bring Sydneysiders an authentic (and free) taste of the cuisine between September 1–7. Expect pork chop buns, traditional egg tarts and African peri-peri chicken (a Macanese national dish, as it turns out). It'll all starts at the Smooth Festival of Chocolate, taking place at Sydney Olympic Park from September 1–2. Now, this bit isn't actually free, as you need to first purchase tickets to the festival ($17-$23) in order to nab the giveaway. The rest of the week, however, will be free food with no strings attached. You'll find the Macanese truck on Monday, September 3, in East Circular Quay from noon–3pm; Tuesday, September 4, at Martin Place from noon–3pm; Wednesday, September 5, at Central Station's Henry Deane Plaza from noon–3pm; Thursday, September 6, at Parramatta's Centenary Square from noon–3pm; and Friday, September 7, at Chatswood's Spring Street from noon–3pm. The truck will then head to Melbourne from September 14–18. And, to add to the free food bonanza, Macao Tourism is also giving away a free trip for two to Macao — which you can enter to win here.
Women flouting society's expectations, men unsure about how to react, and trouble springing in response: Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd may have been published 141 years ago, but the text's gender politics certainly don't seem a century old. In adapting the Victorian novel for the modern movie-going masses, The Hunt director Thomas Vinterberg and One Day writer David Nicholls clearly agree. Their condensed take on the tale may find its basis in classic literature, but it feels undated. Given the headstrong heroine they're working with, it is far from surprising that the duo thinks that writings from times gone by will resound with audiences of today. Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) is a woman who acknowledges her disdain for her name at the outset, as well as the slim likelihood of her doing the done thing. She'd be happy being a bride but not a wife, she says. She values independence over affection, as her choices continually demonstrate. First, when assisting on her aunt's farm, Bathsheba attracts the attentions of a kindly shepherd, Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts), then rejects his marriage proposal. Next, after inheriting her own property, a reversal of fortune sees her acting as Gabriel's boss while coping with the competing advances of a wealthy landowner, William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), and a charming soldier, Sergeant Francis Troy (Tom Sturridge). A simple account of a woman trying to choose from a trio of men, this is not, though the film does focus on Bathesheba's flitting between the three. That her suitors don't quite know what to make of her gets to the heart of the story: she may be quick to tell others what she does and doesn't like, but she doesn't quite know what she really wants. Here, Far From the Madding Crowd doesn't just do what every movie today is expected to, i.e. subvert feminine stereotypes and champion a strong lady as its lead. In its portrait of a character who astonishes even herself, it does something better, showing a complex woman complete with flaws, and capable of both making mistakes and learning from them. It helps that Mulligan — adding to her recent spate of great work in Drive, Shame, The Great Gatsby and Inside Llewyn Davis — makes for an equally fragile and fearless protagonist. Whether her hands are trembling with uncertainty or her face can't quite conceal a wry smile, she's ever the enthralling picture of complication. The actress also sets a high bar for her co-stars, though the quietly commanding Schoenaerts and the stately yet adoring Sheen are each up to the task. That Sturridge doesn't fare as well is partly a reflection of his role, playing the least sympathetic of the bunch by far. Of course, the cast's to-ing and fro-ing is perfect fodder for Dogme co-founder Vinterberg. He might be helming his first period film, but he's already shown that he knows a thing or two about labyrinthine relationships and ambiguous motivations from his Danish movie output. His eye for the countryside and fondness for close-ups similarly get another outlet, with Far From the Madding Crowd as simultaneously pastoral and intimate as a feature can be. In fact, the blend of swelling sentiments and handsome scenery suits the director so completely, there's little wonder he has crafted an offering that's beautiful and timeless in both emotion and imagery.
Country music's ballsy blonde is now reading kid's books online and, in this time of uncertainty, it's pretty heartwarming. Through her charity Imagination Library, Dolly Parton is hosting a weekly bedtime story series: Goodnight with Dolly. So, if you've ever wanted Dolly to lull you to sleep, this is for you. Imagination Library is a book-gifting program for young children that runs in the US, Australia, the UK, Republic of Ireland and Canada. As of February this year, the charity has donated over 133 million books since its inception in 1990. Now, Goodnight with Dolly will see the 'Jolene' and '9 to 5' singer read books from the Imagination Library. Sure, it may be aimed at kids, but we're all in a bit of bedtime comfort right now. The ten-week series will feature books such as Watty Piper's classic The Little Engine that Could, Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama Red Pajama, Floyd Cooper's Max & The Tag-Along Moon and even Dolly's own titles Coat of Many Colors and I Am a Rainbow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ia-ozHDaLs&feature=youtu.be Goodnight with Dolly premieres at 10am AEDT (12pm NZDT) on Friday, April 3 and will take place at 10am AEST (12pm NZST) every week after for ten weeks. You can watch via YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
You spent 17 hours watching one of Australia's most famous trains as it travelled across the country, all as part of the slow TV trend. Now, you can splash out and spend seven-to-nine days leisurely riding the rails through the outback yourself. And while you're lapping up the scenery at a very relaxed pace, you'll be doing so on another historic vehicle — one of the nation's oldest passenger locomotives. The Spirit of Progress first went into operation back in 1937, travelling from Melbourne to Albury. Then, from 1962–1986, it made nightly journeys between Melbourne and Sydney. But it has been largely out of action since, other than commemorative trips to mark its 50th, 60th and 70th anniversaries. This year, however, it's powering up its engines again — first retracing its familiar Melbourne–Sydney leg overnight at the end of March; then heading from Melbourne to Sydney, on to Broken Hill, then back to Sydney, all in early- to mid-July. Tickets for the first one-night trip have all been snapped up, but you can still hop onboard the second, lengthier journey, which has been dubbed the Far West Express. Feeling like treating yo'self and seeing the countryside? If so, you'll travel 4100 kilometres if you depart from Melbourne, and 2300 kilometres if you jump on in Sydney. Run by tour operator Cruise Express, the trip includes an overnight stop in Orange on the way there and two nights in the same spot on the way back. In Broken Hill, you'll hang around for three nights — touring sights that include filming locations for both Mad Max 2 and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Passengers won't just be riding on a famed 83-year-old train, either, or simply exploring the country at a slow pace — they'll be part of the Spirit of Progress' longest-ever trip. That said, this isn't a cheap venture. Prices start at $5890 per person twin-share and $6490 for solo travellers out of Sydney, and cost $6390 per person twin-share and $7190 for solo travellers out of Melbourne. The Spirit of Progress' Far West Express trip departs Melbourne on Wednesday, July 8 and Sydney on Thursday, July 9 — visit the tour operator's website for bookings and further details.
If you can't make Bluesfest in Byron Bay this year, fear not. A slew of the most popular artists will be playing sideshows right here in Sydney. Be your thing blues, roots, funk, soul, rock or a good old singer-songwriter, there's a gig happening to sate your musical appetite. Among the headliners is Ray LaMontagne, who's returning to Australia for the first time in ten years, with bassist John Stirratt (Wilco), to play a series of intimate, acoustic shows. Singer-songwriter and rapper Meshell Ndegeocello, who has received ten Grammy nominations over her career, has also joined the lineup. If you're up for making shapes, then catch George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, who specialise in 70s grooves, roller skates and all-round good vibes, or The California Honeydrops, who've been touring the world with their soulful, New Orleans-influenced sounds for ten years. Also on the program are wandering troubadour Nahko Bear with Medicine For The People (US); English crooner David Gray ; and blues man Keb Mo', whose latest hit, 'Put A Woman In Charge', features Rosanne Cash, eldest daughter of Johnny Cash. Check out the full lineup of Bluesfest sideshows below: David Gray: Tuesday, April 16 at Enmore Theatre I'm With Her: Tuesday, April 16 at City Recital Hall Keb Mo': Tuesday, April 16 at Factory Theatre Allen Stone: Wednesday, April 17 at Factory Theatre Arlo Guthrie: Wednesday, April 17 at City Recital Hall Trevor Hall: Wednesday, April 17 at Oxford Art Factory Flogging Molly: Thursday, April 18 at The Metro Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real: Thursday, April 18 at Factory Theatre George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic: Saturday, April 20 at Enmore Theatre Meshell Ndegeocello: Saturday, April 20 at Factory Theatre Nahko and Medicine For The People: Saturday, April 20 at The Metro Snarky Puppy: Sunday, April 21 at Enmore Theatre Larkin Poe: Monday, April 22 at Oxford Art Factory Shakey Graves: Monday, April 22 at Factory Theatre Ray LaMontagne: Wednesday, April 24 and Thursday, April 25 at State Theatre Vintage Trouble: Wednesday, April 24 at Oxford Art Factory For more information and to book tickets, visit the Bluesfest website.
If your daily commute involves ferrying across Sydney Harbour, you may need to find an alternative way home tonight. Large swell has led to the cancellation of all ferries between Manly and Circular Quay. While there's no word yet on when the swell will subside — and when the ferries will start up again — replacement buses have been organised and will continue to run for the foreseeable future. Transport for NSW is telling commuters who plan on catching one of the replacement buses to allow for extra travel time and to listen to announcements. This is what conditions on the ferry were like before they were cancelled today: https://twitter.com/mosmancollectv/status/1135748259463323648 If your commute involves a ferry down Parramatta River, or across to Mosman, Double or Neutral Bay, you'll be happy to know those ferries are currently running on time. But we recommend keeping an eye on the Transport for NSW website just in case that changes. The large swell is just the latest crazy weather to hit Sydney today, with the Bureau of Meteorology releasing a severe weather warning for damaging, locally destructive winds and damaging surf along a large portion of the NSW coast and a road weather alert for Sydney's eastern suburbs. Overnight, the Blue Mountains copped a heap of snow and Katoomba train station was transformed into a veritable winter wonderland. Although it looked pretty, the snow caused a heap of delays and incidents along the Great Western Highway between Sydney and Katoomba. https://www.facebook.com/SydneyTrains/posts/2338571996463175 The wild weather is expected to continue tomorrow with a 90-percent-chance of rain and powerful surf conditions forecast in Sydney. But, the long weekend is expected to clear up with a partly cloudy 21 degrees predicted for all three days. For the latest updates on traffic and public transport delays, head to Live Traffic NSW and Transport for NSW's official Ferries Twitter account.
It's not like we need any real excuse to enjoy a lavish seafood feast, but a new celebration of ocean-fresh eats provides some extra encouragement. The inaugural Sydney Oyster Week descends on Darling Harbour from September 20 to 30, and is promising mollusc madness aplenty. Restaurants throughout the precinct will be dishing up special deals on oysters, wine and more from 5–7pm every day. At The Port, you'll score Sydney rock oysters for $1 a pop, with $10 glasses of Mumm to match, while Nick's Seafood Restaurant is shouting a complimentary flute of Chandon for every dozen of the mollusc you purchase. For $29 at The Watershed Hotel, you can get half a dozen Sydney rock oysters teamed with ponzu sauce and a glass of wine, bubbly or tap beer. Over at Fratelli Fresh, you'll find $1 oysters — with the purchase of a full-priced drink — all day, every day during the ten-day festival. Then, on Thursday, September 26, the oyster obsession switches into overdrive for Champagne Bar at Sofitel's Four Oysters & Wines event. Head along to enjoy helpings of oysters from four famed Aussie regions – Port Stephens, Merimbula, Tasmania and Coffin Bay – matched to a range of free-flowing local wines. Each two-hour session clocks in at $98 a head.
All The Feels are about to return to Sydney; German pianist and electronic mastermind Nils Frahm is heading back to the Opera House. Following his wildly talked-about, sold-out Vivid LIVE debut this year, the 31-year-old composer will play an intimate show in the Studio on Sunday, 12 October. The Opera House set is locked in after Frahm's Melbourne Festival stints in the Foxtel Festival Hub on October 10 and 11. "Nils Frahm was one of my highlights of Vivid LIVE this year and while we rarely present the same artist again so soon, I jumped at the chance to have him back in here," said Ben Marshall, head of contemporary music at Sydney Opera House. Frahm respects the keyboard like nothing else; the virtuoso has been likened to a Philip Glass-meets-Thelonious Monk style of piano-loving goodness. The Berlin-based serial collaborator has worked with the dreamy likes of Ólafur Arnalds and Arcade Fire's Sarah Neufeld, as well as Ludovico Einaudi, Anne Müller and Max Richter. His most recent album, the celebrated live LP Spaces, is a good place to start if you haven't delved into the Frahm before — an epic two year journey through his collected live performances. "His warmth, precision and utterly sublime music just can't be heard live too often," says Marshall. "Neoclassical is too alienating a description for what he does, he's taken in an enormous range of influences and fashioned them into something new and transportative. I'm thrilled he's coming back in October for this intimate show at the Opera House." Nils Frahm will play the Studio at Sydney Opera House on Sunday, October 12. Tickets from $50 + booking fee; available from 10am, Thursday, July 31 at SOH or 9250 7777. Now get amongst the Frahm Feels: https://youtube.com/watch?v=dIwwjy4slI8
Every once in a while a film comes along that makes us wish to be a school girl in 1960s London being romanced by a much-older man who, although guided by a skewed moral compass, is the perfect person with which to explore the best and worst of what adulthood can mean.Unfortunately, An Education is not that film.Psych! An Education is totally that film. In fact, you’ll find yourself identifying with so many contradictory characters that it will send you into spasms of recognition. All of us have been a Jenny (Carey Mulligan) â€" bored but not boring, fighting conservatism while on the path to good-on-paper success â€" and all of us have also been a David (Peter Sarsgaard), joyfully exploiting life’s shortcuts and in love with the idea of an escape. When the two meet by chance and fall into a relationship, all sorts of complications arise. Scriptwriter Nick Hornby is too clever to rely on a familiar exploited/exploiter dynamic for the schoolgirl and her fatherly lover. Jenny is loaded with a fierce integrity to offset her vulnerability, and Peter proves to be a seductive, shadow-type figure for both Jenny and her repressed father Jack (Alfred Molina).That the film’s Danish director, Lone Scherfig, is married to a psychologist is a very relevant side-note. The characters’ deep-seated complexities are next-level, but an uncomplicated plot and understated acting from nearly every cast member makes An Education something like a lesson in sweet, neat cinema. https://youtube.com/watch?v=oYkLgaQ27L8
Fashion show opera is the performing arts medium we didn't even know we wanted. Now we can't wait for Sydney Festival's Semele Walk to get here so we can gather around the runway for Handel's tragic Semele as told through the deconstructed opulence of Vivienne Westwood's costumes. Expect a sequinned kilt, diamond-studded socks, plenty of crinolines, and kabuki make-up. Westwood's punk roots aren't completely gone from the playlist, either, with Berlin ensemble Kaleidoskop mixing some sly pop music departures into their arrangement. Sydney's known to favour Semele's mythological son, Bacchus, god of wine, and this should be just the occasion to meet the family. Read our list of the 12 best things to see at the Sydney Festival in 2013. https://youtube.com/watch?v=FkrNJnL0MOc
Leichhardt's new small bar Golden Gully is swiftly becoming a neighbourhood haunt. Now, the plant-based kitchen is giving locals something else to love by launching a degustation series that heroes local Aussie producers. It'll kick off with Breakfast for Dinner on Tuesday, April 2 from 7pm. Joining the Gully's head chef Emma Evans in the kitchen is Brian Villahermosa (ex-MoVida) from Annandale's Trafalgar Street Espresso and Little Marionette coffee roasters. The team will combine forces to whip up a four-course breakfast feast with drinks to match. Expect sourdough crumpets with mushrooms, pecorino and porcini aioli, paired with a bourbon and blueberry shrub cocktail. Or avocado with burnt eggplant, zaatar and finger lime, matched with a cold drip espresso martini that uses Little Marionette coffee. For breakfast dessert, there will be a chia, black rice and black tahini pudding with persimmon and cocoa nibs — it's paired with a nightcap of Poor Toms Imbroglio amaro. The degustation will cost a pretty reasonable $80 all up. Breakfast for Dinner is the first of the Gully's Tuesday night dinner series, with a different theme and local chef joining the team each time. Keep an eye on the venue's Instagram for all upcoming events. Images: Trent can der Jagt.
Damask. Gravure. Florence Broadhurst. William Morris. Symmetry groups. Wallpaper is a world unto itself. Therefore justified is the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection (SCL&RC), which has hunted down and brought together fragments of the stuff from merchant's sample books, excess rolls and occasionally straight off walls. Selections from this incredible collection, dating back to around 1840, are currently available to take home in the form of a publication from the Historic Houses Trust titled Wallpaper — a holy grail for those obsessed with this old-timey form of design. Considering the rather large legacy of the wallpaper genre, it makes sense that the average Joe may require some further guidance — even with this take-home book for the coffee table. It is with this in mind that Michael Lech, Assistant Curator of the collection, will host an evening of exclusive wallpaper viewing. Featuring highlights from the book and more intimate offerings, this event is a must for anyone still dreaming about their great-grandmother's walls, or simply those who like to imagine. Image: 'Vinion' (a wallpaper roll with circle design), Australian Wallcovering Manufacturers, 1970s.
George Calombaris has confirmed the opening date and location of the first Jimmy Grants in Sydney, with the souvlaki bar set to start trading in Sydney Central Plaza on Wednesday, September 18. Calombaris opened the first Jimmy Grants in Melbourne's Fitzroy in 2013, and has since opened four other stores in Melbourne and one on the Gold Coast. His foray into Sydney was announced back in August, with four locations due to open within the next 12 months. Jimmy Grants Newtown was initially meant to be first cab off the rank, but is now due to open in the weeks following the CBD launch (exact date TBD). If you haven't been into a Jimmy Grants down south, it's a similar offering to that of Sydney's Zeus Street Greek. Souvas are stuffed with the likes of chicken, lamb, falafel, prawns and beef short-rib, chips come topped with feta and oregano and dessert is a baklava choc-top. Also on the menu is a selection of dips, meat plates, salads and Jimmy's famous steamed dimmys. The whole thing is pretty casual — they have room for diners to sit-in but do lots of take away and delivery through UberEATS — and the new Sydney stores will be fitted out with recycled or repurposed materials, graffiti murals and vintage photographs, and will feature the brand's signature neon blue. The remaining two locations are yet to be revealed, but expect them to open in at some point in 2018. Look for Sydney's first Jimmy Grants at Level 1, Sydney Central Plaza, Westfield Sydney, from Wednesday, October 18. Words by Lauren Vadnjal and Tom Clift
This review was written about the Melbourne run of this production in June 2014 at Red Stitch Actors Theatre. Now and then you see a piece of theatre which is so powerful it's like taking a bullet. Grounded is like taking two — one to the head and one to the heart. A haunting depiction of modern warfare, Grounded follows a character known simply as The Pilot, a woman working for the American airforce, flying combat missions over Iraq. She is taken off active duty after becoming pregnant but that’s only the beginning. When she returns to work, she finds herself posted to a different kind of job altogether: piloting drones, remotely, from a base in America. By day she controls killing machines in the skies of the Middle East, then she commutes home to her husband and daughter. This work was written by American playwright George Brant and has rocketed him to fame. Previously, Brant’s work had been played mostly in regional America but Grounded has had an explosion of interest both in his home country and abroad, notching up some serious accolades, including being listed on The Guardian’s top 10 plays of 2013. In this, the show’s Australian premiere, you can see why. In addition to being a well-researched piece on a compelling and uniquely modern issue, it uses the scenario of robotised warfare to make broader statements about contemporary life, work and relationships. You don’t need to be working with drones to empathise with Brant’s view on modern alienation. Kate Cole as The Pilot is magnificent. Both indomitable and vulnerable, passionate and disaffected, bursting with bravado and simmering with repressed sensitivities, her performance presents a complex and highly believable weave of contradictions. It’s only her on stage for 80 minutes and she owns the audience the entire time. Red Stitch has pulled no punches in staging the show either. The lighting is like a visual art piece in its own right, Matthew Adey’s design is starkly effective. A soundtrack by Elizabeth Drake, who scored films such as Japanese Story, works on your subconscious in subtle ways, heightening both the emotion and the growing sense of disconnection. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the play is that the central emotional relationship is not really between people but between the Pilot and the sky. Her love for the open air is palpable and from the moment she is taken off active duty you feel the pain of her separation from it keenly. However much she achieves in life and work, that sense of loss won’t leave her. Progress overshadowed by the sense of loss: if any sensation epitomises modern life it is that. Unsettling and heartbreaking, yet uplifting and amusing in all the right places too, Grounded is an absolute tour de force. Photo credit: Jodie Hutchinson.
When the protest against inaction against climate change saw thousands of Australian youths walk out of their classrooms earlier this year, it signalled an important turning point — the young people of today refused to be ignored any longer. For a lively panel discussion, any array of young activists and strikers, including the MCA Youth Committee, will come together on Saturday, June 1 to consider the overall opinions of Australian youths and, more specifically, how they demand climate justice. This conversation will explore the strategies these young leaders use to engage the government and work alongside their community. It'll also discuss the climate crisis and the roadblocks in the way of achieving a brighter future, giving a voice to our next generation of leaders who will move us into that future. Strikers! Youth leading change panel will take place on Saturday, June 1 from 10.30–11.30am. It's free to attend but booking is required. This event forms part of the Museum of Contemporary Art's Conversation Starters 2019: Temperature Rising program. To see the full program, head this way. Top image: Intothewoods7 via Wikimedia Commons.
Following the announcement of Nils Frahm's return to Sydney, electronic classical music fans have plenty to salivate over this week. Minimalist, ambient electro-acoustics will bring in 'The Four Seasons' this Spring, the legendary Max Richter is set to make play his first ever Australian show. One of the most influential composers in recent times, the German born, British neoclassical mastermind is set to present the Australian premiere of his celebrated reworking of Vivaldi's masterpiece, 'The Four Seasons', with New York City's 22-piece Wordless Music Orchestra. Following a sold-out Royal Albert Hall show showcasing his seminal 2002 album Memoryhouse, the 48-year-old composer is heading to Sydney on Sunday, November 23 to present both his recomposition of Vivaldi's masterwork and his own sparse 2010 album, Infra — an expansion of his poignant, ambient score composed for a Wayne McGregor ballet once staged at the Royal Opera House. Following piano and synthesiser studies under the great Luciano Berio and ten years with the neo-classical quintet the Piano Circus, Richter has been long-celebrated for countless projects including 2004's Tilda Swinton collaboration, the spoken word full-length album The Blue Notebooks, alongside reams of cinematic scoring to films like Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Clint Eastwood's I. Edgar. "Max is someone we've wanted to have perform here for a very long time and to be able to present this vivid, fresh, mesmerising and precise composer performing his Vivaldi The Four Seasons Recomposed with the vibrant restlessness of the Wordless Orchestra from NYC is something of a dream come true for us," said Ben Marshall, Head of Contemporary Music at Sydney Opera House. The pairing is a solid catch for the Opera House, with the Wordless Music Orchestra set to perform Jonny Greenwood's world premiere performance of his There Will Be Blood score in New York City in September. Originally premiered at London's Barbican Centre in 2012, Richter's Vivaldi, The Four Seasons Recomposed apparently discarded 75% of Vivaldi's original material, with Richter using the remainder to loop, phase and rework into a postmodern, minimalist triumph — one that topped the iTunes classic chart in the UK, US and Germany. The announcement comes at a time of exciting news for contemporary classical fans with a love for electronic innovation. "Every now and then when programming music it becomes clear that something new and significant is emerging. There is currently a strand of rigorous, talented and acclaimed contemporary classical composers who are as comfortable with electronics as they are with formal composition," said Ben Marshall, Head of Contemporary Music at Sydney Opera House. "The Opera House has been proud to present the Australian debuts of Nils Frahm and Ludovico Einaudi in this area and we are absolutely thrilled to now welcome Max Richter's first ever performance in this country." Max Richter plays The Four Seasons Recomposed and Infra with Wordless Music Orchestra in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on Sunday, November 23 at 8pm. Tickets start at $79 +BF and are on sale to the general public 9am, Friday 15 August via sydneyoperahouse.com or 9250 7777. Image credit: Yulia Mahr. https://youtube.com/watch?v=qTapNp-31rU
Short, smart and sharp as a tack, The Party flies in the face of one of modern-day cinema's worst instincts. When we say it's short, we mean it, with this hilarious social satire clocking in at just 71 minutes. As an argument in support of concise, compact filmmaking (and against protracted running times with pointless meandering and overdone special effects), the movie really couldn't be stronger. Who needs to spend two to three hours watching '80s nostalgia, giant robots or whatever other bloated spectacle keeps coming our way when you can laugh heartily and frequently through this brief, biting take on Britain's bourgeois? Of course, we're generalising. Not all lengthy blockbusters overstay their welcome, but few do exactly what they need to in the exact right amount of time like The Party. That said, the latest film from writer-director Sally Potter (Ginger & Rosa) doesn't just win over viewers with brevity and succinctness. Among its considerable charms, the movie also boasts scathing humour and a stellar lineup of talent. The fast-paced shenanigans start with Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas) opening the door to her London home, staring directly at the camera and looking incredibly unhappy. Jump back to earlier in the evening, when she's just been appointed Shadow Minister for Health and is preparing to host friends to celebrate. Her husband Bill (Timothy Spall) seems to be getting into the mood with a few drinks, although he's rather maudlin given the occasion. Entering at their own leisure, the guests are a motley crew of emotions and moods. The snarky April (Patricia Clarkson) fights with her soon-to-be-ex Gottfried (Bruno Ganz); expectant couple Martha (Cherry Jones) and Jinny (Emily Mortimer) bicker over their approaches to motherhood; while banker Tom (Cillian Murphy) bides his time by doing cocaine in the bathroom — and trying to find somewhere to hide his gun. With The Party confining its characters to Janet's house and charting their actions almost in real time, things get heated rather quickly. Secrets are spilled, tempers seesaw, relationships threaten to unravel and acidic one-liners fly thick and fast – with a few earnest confessions thrown in for good measure. The specific surprises and revelations are best discovered by watching, but Potter and co-writer Walter Donohue (a story editor on much of the filmmaker's work) do more than just thrust seven people into close quarters and wait for them to erupt. As the conversation flows, the movie covers everything from class clashes to gender roles to political instability, in a manner that very much feels like a product of its post-Brexit timing. In what is perhaps a surprise for such a dialogue-heavy piece, the arguing and antics are shot in crisp black-and-white, with gorgeous roaming imagery that isn't afraid to get up close and personal. As a result, the movie sparkles not only in its comedy but in its visuals, which also helps overcome an obvious issue. Yes, The Party can sometimes resemble a play, albeit a particularly brisk and snappy one. Still, if Potter had plonked the same scenario and actors onto the stage, it'd still be an utter delight to watch. As for her cast, there are no weak links among the high-profile bunch — although Clarkson gets all of the best lines and Murphy will make you wish he flexed his comic chops much more often. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb4FF6lCqFw
If you know your chim chim cher-ees from your chim chim cher-oos, this one's for you. This spring, over three consecutive performances, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra will play the entire score of Mary Poppins live, while the original film screens in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall. Released way back in 1964 and based on a series of books by Australian-born writer P.L. Travers, the Walt Disney film has been a childhood staple since. If you haven't spent at least one sleepless night trying to memorise the spelling of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, then, quite frankly, you haven't lived. Other unforgettable songs among the score include "A Spoonful of Sugar", "Feed the Birds" and "Let's Go Fly a Kite". They're all the work of the Sherman Brothers, who wrote more film scores than any other composing duo in history. Just some of the soundtracks in their oeuvre are Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Jungle Book, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Charlotte's Web and The Aristocrats. That's right, you have a lot to thank them for.
Reg Cribb, creator of the AACTA Award-winning Last Cab To Darwin, is back with a new play. Titled Thomas Murray and The Upside Down River, it's Griffin Theatre's first show for 2016. Protagonist Thomas Murray (played by Grant Cartwright) has never known a life outside his family's Darling River property. They've been farming there for five generations. Out of the blue, two childhood friends turn up, unearthing long-buried secrets. In the aftermath, Tom has no choice but to head down stream, in an attempt to reconcile past grievances and save his marriage. With this tense, personal drama at its centre, the play also explores wider social, cultural and environmental issues, including indigenous relations and climate change. Taking care of direction is Chris Brendall, CEO of Critical Stages and former artistic director at both Fremantle's Deckchair Theatre (2008-2012) and Melbourne's Theatre@Risk (2001-2007). He was a 2014 Tour of the Year Drover Award finalist for his direction of The Magic Hour.
Go on an out-of-this-world adventure with the new interactive theatre experience Hotel Bella Luna. Marrickville's Flight Path Theatre is hosting the world premiere of this immersive sci-fi comedy from Thursday, October 22 through Saturday, November 7. During the performance, audience members are encouraged to participate and assist staff of an intergalactic hotel as they try to uncover a mystery and save the hotel. As you move through three rooms of the Hotel Bella Luna, you can influence the performers by puzzle-solving and voting, creating a unique performance each night. While participation is encouraged, those looking for a more passive theatre-going experience can enjoy the production without directly getting involved. The performance has been designed around a COVID-safe plan in order to adhere to social-distancing guidelines and create a safe and comfortable environment for the attendees. Tickets are $23 for concession and $28 for general audience, with five percent of all total profits being donated directly to Pay The Rent, an organisation that financially supports First Nations people and communities.
UPDATE: MARCH 29, 2020 — Beyond Cinema's Alice Bar has been postponed until early June. The crew at Beyond Cinema have a knack for turning bedtime stories and big-screen flicks into immersive, larger-than-life adventures. Just look at 2018's Great Gatsby-inspired party, which took over a glam northern Sydney mansion — or the more recent Harry Potter-themed potions classes, which were so popular the season had to be extended. Now it's the much-loved tale of Alice in Wonderland that gets the Beyond Cinema treatment, by way of an all-new immersive pop-up experience inspired by the nonsensical Mad Hatter. Descending on a secret Kings Cross location between Sunday, May 10–Sunday, August 30 — running from 5.30pm Wednesdays-Fridays and from 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays — The Alice Bar invites punters to dive through the looking glass and into a fantasy world. Expect things to get curiouser and curiouser across your 90-minute visit, whether you're creating two of your own liquid concoctions under the guidance of The Mad Hatter, settling in for an indulgent tea party, or getting raucous with the likes of the March Hare and the Cheshire Cat. [caption id="attachment_740466" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Wizard's Cauldron[/caption] There'll be riddles, challenges, croquet with flamingos, roses to paint red and 'eat me' cakes to devour — but, other than that, Beyond Cinema is keeping most of the details scarce until attendees actually arrive. Of course, they're already old hands at bringing Alice In Wonderland to life. The team's earlier Mad Hatter's Tea Party events have proved a hit in both Sydney and Melbourne over the past couple of years. Tickets for Beyond Cinema's The Alice: A Mad Tea Party are now on sale for $45.
UPDATE: MARCH 11, 2019 — Due to the show on Tuesday, April 16 selling out, Enmore Theatre has announced a second David Gray show on Wednesday, April 17. Tickets start at $99.50. UK singer-songwriter David Gray has ticked off more than a few achievements in his 25-year career. His breakthrough album, White Ladder, became the biggest-selling record in Ireland of all time and he has gone on to receive BAFTA, Brit and Grammy nominations, plus a slate of other awards. Gray's seventh album, Life in Slow Motion, debuted at number eight on the Australian charts, establishing a firm fanbase Down Under ever since. And in good news for both new and existing fans, Gray is heading back our way in April to play Bluesfest, plus a handful of sideshows. His tour will be timed around the release of his eleventh album, Gold in a Brass Age — the first record of new material in four years. Head along to Enmore Theatre on Tuesday, April 16 to hear the entire record played live, including the new single 'The Sapling', plus an array of Gray's smash hits including 'Babylon', 'This Year's Love' and 'Sail Away'. To purchase tickets, head this way.
Following a huge ground-floor renovation, the Harbord Hotel reopened at the beginning of 2021 with a new-look terrace and main bar, a new head chef, and a commitment to surf culture and live music. The historic hotel is keeping to that focus with the launch of Froth Fest, a new 11-day festival centred around surfing and encompassing art, film, music, food and drink. Froth Fest will take over the Freshwater spot between Friday, April 16–Monday, April 26 to coincide with the the 2021 World Surfing League Rip Curl Narrabeen Classic. The stacked program is full of talks, demos, film screenings, exhibitions and gigs that celebrate the area's love of surfing and storied history with the ocean. "Sydney's Northern Beaches have been an incubator for surf culture for more than 60 years, producing some of the greatest heroes, larrikins and infamous characters in surfing and Australian counter-culture," said Harbord Hotel owner Glenn Piper. "Froth Fest is a celebration of their art, their films, their song, their history." The festival kicks off at 7am on Friday, April 16 with 45 minutes of yoga with Divine Flow Yoga founder Eliza Hayward — followed by coffee and breakfast in the Harbord courtyard to raise money for Waves of Wellness, an organisation that tackles mental health through surfing. And, in one of the program's big highlights, seven-time world champion surfer Layne Beachley will host a lunch-and-learn session accompanied by a three-course set menu in the Harbord Hotel's Balsa dining room on Thursday, April 22. Throughout the rest of the program, you'll find an exhibition about pro surfer Peter Crawford, another from designer Steve Gorrow, a screening of surf film Men of Wood & Foam, surfboard demos from multiple brands, a longboarding competition and an ANZAC Day dawn service. On Wednesday, April 21, Triple J favourite Ruby Fields will bring her unique brand of punk and indie rock to the hotel for an intimate set with support from Love Drunk Hearts — and on Monday, April 26, podcast hosts The Swellians are throwing an unofficial Surfing League afterparty to close out the festival. Events are both free and ticketed, with ticketed events ranging from $35–150 per person. Froth Fest will take place at the Harbord Hotel, 29 Moore Road, Freshwater, between Friday, April 16–Monday, April 26. For the full program and ticket information, head to the venue's website.
Cue prepubescent joy squeals — '90s R&B legends TLC are kicking off their first tour to Australia, hitting Enmore Theatre this June. In a time when 'Genie in a Bottle' and 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' dominated the charts, Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins, Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas and Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes taught a whole generation about girl power, cargo pants and combat boots. These were the ladiez who told me not to waste my time with scrubs (FYI: a scrub is a guy who can't get no love from me). Although nearly two decades have passed since their standout hits 'No Scrubs' and 'Waterfalls', TLC will be hitting up the Enmore Theatre on June 6. Of course, since the passing of Left Eye in a 2002 car crash, the band will be performing with just two of the original three members. Although TLC's reps have stated there will be some inclusion of Lopes through audiovisual means (though definitely not a hologram a la Tupac). Beaten only by the Spice Girls, TLC still stand as the second highest selling girl group of all time with a mammoth 65 million album sales recorded worldwide. The trio are also universally acknowledged as the number one iPod selection at both karaoke and horrifically late portions of house parties when everyone feels the need to rap terribly and grind on the d-floor like it's 1994. Although TLC have confirmed they are working on a new album set for release sometime this year, this is inevitably going to be a gig for pure nostalgia. Bonus points for anyone who rocks up in white diamantes or primary-coloured overalls, Converse trainers and condom badges. Also, if you don't know all the words and relevant sassy head bobs to 'No Scrubs', you're straight-up not allowed inside the Enmore foyer. Tickets available via Ticketek.
His resume includes a racially confused rapper, a Kazakh journalist, an Austrian fashion reporter and a fictional dictator. But Sacha Baron Cohen's cavalcade of colourful characters doesn't stop there. In Grimsby, the man also known as Ali G, Borat and Brüno becomes a welfare-receiving, soccer-mad, booze-guzzling father of nine from England's north, in the first of his films not to bear the name of its protagonist. Taking its title from a place rather than a person doesn't demonstrate the movie's broader range, though. Instead, it indicates the film's mostly muddled nature, with gross-out jokes Cohen's main concern. In the eponymous Lincolnshire town, Nobby Butcher (Baron Cohen) satisfies his sexually voracious girlfriend (Rebel Wilson), oversees his brood of kids, and parties at the local pub, all while pining for his long-lost brother. Discovering that his sibling has been spotted after a 28-year absence, he heads to London, but instead of a happy reunion with secret service agent Sebastian (Mark Strong), he foils a top-secret mission. When Sebastian is branded a rogue operative in the fallout, Nobby pledges to help him. First, they hide out in Grimsby, before hopping from South Africa to Chile to stop a terrorist attack. With Grimsby, Baron Cohen attempts once again to dissect ignorance and prejudice – in this case, his target is class and prevailing attitudes about the less wealthy. Yet the slyness that typically surrounds his silly satire has been dialled several notches down. While he's never laughing at the people he's depicting – even adding a blatant late celebration of so-called scum (his words) into the mix – he's more often focusing his attention on bodily functions and primal urges. Genitals, placing items in places they're not meant to go, fatal illnesses, and fornication of the human and animal kind all ramp up the crudeness, though the humour is hysterical one minute and stretched the next. Indeed, even when the chuckles flow freely, Grimsby struggles with consistency. As an actor, Baron Cohen is clearly committed to his well-meaning clown of a character, as is Strong playing the more serious side of their odd couple double. Sadly, fellow cast members including Wilson, Isla Fisher and Penélope Cruz are given little to do. As one of the film's co-writers, Cohen flits busily between topics, targets and pop culture references with a scattergun approach. The same chaos extends to the feature's action-comedy claims. Spy spoofs just keep coming to screens, making Grimsby's espionage genre parody fall flat in the wake of Spy and Kingsman: The Secret Service. The well-shot first-person-shooter-style segments are effective, but they're awkwardly shoehorned in. Dumped in the middle of the movie's exaggerated absurdity, they're enough to give you whiplash. Yes, you'll laugh during Grimsby, but you'll also spend much of its brief 83-minute running time adjusting to its patchiness.
Not for the first time, the eyes have it, but then they always have with Tammy Faye Bakker. Not one but two films called The Eyes of Tammy Faye have told the 70s and 80s televangelist's tale — first a 2000 documentary and now this new Jessica Chastain-starring dramatisation — and both take their monikers from one of the real-life American figure's best-known attributes. In the opening to the latest movie, the spidery eyelashes that adorn Tammy Faye's peepers are dubbed her trademark by the woman herself. They're given ample focus in this biopic, as OTT and instantly eye-grabbing as they they are, but their prominence isn't just about aesthetics and recognition. This version of The Eyes of Tammy Faye hones in on perspective, resolutely sticking to its namesake's, even when it'd be a better film if it pondered what she truly saw, or didn't. In the path leading to her celebrity heyday and the time she was a TV mainstay, Tammy Faye's life saw plenty. It began with an unhappy childhood stained by her stern mother Rachel's (Cherry Jones, Succession) refusal to be linked to her at church, lest it remind their god-fearing Minnesotan townsfolk about the latter's sinful divorce. But young Tammy Faye (Chandler Head, The Right Stuff) still finds solace in religion, the attention that speaking in tongues mid-service brings and also the puppets she starts using as a girl. Come 1960, at bible college, her fervour and quirkiness attract fellow student Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick… Boom!), with the pair soon married even though it gets them kicked out of school. Unperturbed, she keeps seeing their calling to the lord as their way forward, first with a travelling ministry — puppets included — and then with television shows and their own Praise the Lord network. From her mid 20s through until her late 40s, when multiple scandals spelled their downfall — involving Jim's alleged sexual assaults, as well as the misuse of funds donated to Praise the Lord by its loyal viewers — much of Tammy Faye's life was lived in the public eye, too. That gives both Chastain (The 355) and director Michael Showalter (The Big Sick) copious materials to draw upon beyond the original The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and also turns their film into a glossy recreation. There's no shortage of details to convey, but that's primarily what Abe Sylvia's (Dead to Me) script is content with. Depiction doesn't equal interrogation here, and does skew closer to endorsement; Tammy Faye's outsized appearance, her makeup and outfits getting gaudier as the Bakkers' fame keeps growing, can border on parody — it's camp at the very least — but that isn't the same as asking probing questions about the movie's central figure. Chastain serves up a performance that seems primed to delve deeper. With the exceptional Scenes From a Marriage star leading the show, the eyes don't just have it, or the hair that just keeps getting bigger, or the ostentatious clothing. In the twice Oscar-nominated actor's hands — with a third nod likely for this very portrayal — there's heart and soul behind Tammy Faye's larger-than-life persona, thoughtfully and sympathetically so. As she was with The 355, Chastain is also one of The Eyes of Tammy Faye's producers, and her investment in the part is apparent in every aspect of her portrayal. The film was clearly built around her work, which is excellent, but the picture plays like that's its whole point. Indeed, when it comes to seeing past the blatant, already-known and openly endorsed about its subject, and to genuinely unpacking her role in the prosperity gospel her husband promoted, the movie conspicuously stops short. The Eyes of Tammy Faye nonetheless gives its protagonist far more depth than decades of joking about her have afforded. It also keenly draws attention to the ways she masterminded her and Jim's success, pushed to be seen as an equal in male-dominated evangelical circles and broke with right-wing doctrine to promote god's love for all. In one of the feature's best scenes, the film shows her refusing to merely sit and gossip with the other wives as Jim hobnobs with religious media moguls Pat Robertson (Gabriel Olds, Amazing Stories) and Jerry Falwell (Vincent D'Onofrio, The Unforgivable). In another, it recreates Tammy Faye's emotional TV interview with AIDS-positive Christian pastor Steve Pieters (Randy Havens, The Suicide Squad). Still, it never escapes notice that Showalter and Sylvia choose not to connect more than a few dots, or to ponder if they should be. In their retelling, their point of focus is smart, astute and dedicated, but has the scantest of links with Praise the Lord's demise. As a result, there's too often a Wikipedia-meets-cinema air to The Eyes of Tammy Faye. While that's helpful for newcomers to the Bakkers, and there are fascinating titbits to cover — such as Heritage USA, their Christian theme park, which came third in patronage only to Disney World and Disneyland at its height — it's also the marker of a tame and standard film. Of course, the movie is unsurprisingly scathing towards Jim's clutched-to belief that god wants them to be wealthy, the tactics used to fleece his followers to put the idea into action and his preaching that faith is the path to riches, as it should be. (That's a line of thinking still trotted out in theology today, abhorrently so.) If only the rest of the feature had that bite, or more, as it luxuriates in its era-appropriate costuming and decor, and in its leading lady's compelling work. Early in the picture, in one of its displays of childhood dejection, Rachel demands that Tammy Faye "stop performing". Those words loom large over The Eyes of Tammy Faye, even with Chastain's performance its best element (and with Garfield turning in a fine effort as well). Frequently, the movie resembles as much of an act as Tammy Faye's take on femininity does — staging the minutiae for the world to see, but too rarely daring to peer past the caked-on surface. It ensures that its eponymous figure is embraced for more than her makeup, yet still stays skin-deep regarding the bulk of her complexities and contradictions. That doesn't make this a terrible movie, but it does spark a straightforward and simplistic biopic that prays for more gumption, bombast, pluck and verve.
There are few things in this world more appealing than the little creatures, epic adventures and magical universes created by the god of anime, Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle). His latest film follows the story of a young goldfish on her quest to become human, through the challenges of metamorphosis, morality, young love, a tsunami and a grumpy old woman.The childlike playfulness of Ponyo is reminiscent of Miyazaki’s earlier film My Neighbour Totoro, while this time he uses the sea, rather than the forest, as the mysterious world within which the story unfolds. The plot, characters and visuals also surprise with moments of unexpected humour and sophistication that will keep all ages in the audience hooked.The English version features the voices of Noah Cyrus (daughter of Billy Ray and sister to Miley), Frankie Jonas (younger brother to the Jonas Brothers) and Cate Blanchett, though purists may prefer to see the film in the subtitled format - which will also enjoy a limited release here. That said, the strength of Ponyo is in its stunning hand-drawn animation, making it a definite one to catch on the big screen.Email your name, number and address to hello@concreteplayground.com.au to win one of ten double passes.https://youtube.com/watch?v=5mE_UZ87jZ0
