Sampha started out writing killer tunes for some of the biggest names in hip hop, from Drake and Solange to Kanye and Frank Ocean — and a whole heap more in between. His solo debut came out earlier this year, and is already being touted as the album to beat in this year's UK Mercury Prize. It's not an easy sound to categorise, and maybe that's what makes Sampha's smooth vocals laid over eclectic synths, pads, and drums so darn appealing. The London native is making the trek over for two intimate nights at the Opera House as part of Vivid Sydney 2017. These tickets are bound to be some of the most sought-after at the festival this year.
There was a big, fat question mark hanging over the future of The Midnight Shift after its closure in 2017, but the beloved gay bar has been bought by Sydney group Universal Hotels and resurrected. Things are a little different, though. For one, the new venue is now called Universal, with the new owners leaving the name to rest in peace. "Universal [is] an evolution of the Midnight Shift, rather than a revolution," explained owner Jim Kospetas. He also confirmed that the group — which conducted an online survey to gauge what the community wanted them to do with the venue — plans to respect the "special role that it has played for the LGBTIQA+ community" and continue its long-held legacy of inclusivity. The venue launched with a huge three-day opening party, and is continuing to host late-night dance sessions every Friday and Saturday night. Running till 4am, the parties change weekly, with ones like FAB, featuring live performances, DJs and drag shows; Satori, with a healthy dose of creativity in all forms; and a disco-, funk- and house-filled Midnight Discotheque making regular appearances. The venue also partnered with Heaps Gay for its big launch party, so you may see them pop up a few more times in the future, too.
When The Kid LAROI was named as SXSW Sydney 2024's music keynote speaker, simply chatting about his career was never going to be his only contribution to the festival. Upon dropping that news, it was also revealed that the globally famous star would develop professional development workshops and performance opportunities for Waterloo and Redfern's First Nations communities as part of this year's event. Here's something related on the list: presenting and introducing a showcase of First Nations talent in Tumbalong Park's free program. With SXSW Sydney's 2024 dates fast approaching — this year's fest runs from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 — the event's team is still expanding the music lineup. The First Nations show will take place on Saturday, October 19 after The Kid LAROI's conference chat. Triple J Unearthed and Blak Out are behind the gig as well. Music lovers can also now look forward to catching the UK's ENNY, O. and The Lottery Winners; South Africa's Moonchild Sanelly; Buffalo Hunt and Walker Lukens from the US; homegrown talents Ngaiire, Anieszka, Devaura, Dyan Tai, Ella Ion, Jude York, Keelan Mak, Sex Mask and Wet Kiss. They've all been added to a roster of acts that'll take over 25 stages over seven days, and that's been announcing names for months now. Similarly new to the bill: that KRSNA, KAVYA, Yung Raja and Mali from India, plus Manara from the UK, will get behind the mic at +91 Calling, also in Tumbalong Park. The gig focuses on tunes from talents out of India and from the Indian diaspora. [caption id="attachment_974070" align="alignnone" width="1920"] ChantelleKP[/caption] If you're keen to attend the opening party for the SXSW Sydney Music Festival, it's locked in for Tuesday, October 15 with Voice of Baceprot and 2Touch at The Underground. And if you're eager for parties and showcases presented by Laneway Presents, Astral People, fbi.radio and more, they're now on the lineup, too. SXSW Sydney 2024 started revealing its program details back in May, and has kept growing it since. A further announcement arrived in June, then not one, not two, but three more in July — and also another, focusing on the free hub at Tumbalong Park, at the beginning of August. Since then, more music acts, more speakers, The Kid LAROI's involvement, and two rounds of Screen Festival titles have also been added. Accordingly, no one can say that they don't have anything to see when SXSW Sydney makes its eagerly awaited comeback. SXSW Sydney 2024 will run from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. SXSW Sydney images: Peter McMillan, Jordan Kirk, Jess Gleeson and Ian Laidlaw.
Sorry, supermarket desserts. When Gelato Messina serves up one of its special treats, no one's hitting the local ice cream aisle. 2023's limited-edition wares have included everything from red velvet gelato, cake and fudge mixes to a mango gelato spin on Iced Vovos — plus a Neapolitan version of its super-fancy Viennetta, too — and are now gifting folks with a sweet tooth a tub of gianduia gelato topped with hazelnut rocher crack. If your ultimate chocolate is round, covered in gold wrapping and has a crunchy hazelnut centre — yes, we're talking about Ferrero Rocher — then we expect that you'll be keen for this Messina special, dubbed the Get Cracking hot tub. Clearly taking its cues from the famed Italian chocolate, the tubs feature layers of gianduia (chocolate-hazelnut) gelato, cone crunch and hazelnut mousse. Then, on top: that hazelnut rocher crack. The end result mightn't look exactly like the chocolates that you know and love, just in a scoopable form, but it's an ode all the same. Available as part of Messina's 'Hot Tub' series, the Get Cracking gelato can only be ordered online on Monday, August 7, in one-litre tubs. You can then go into your chosen Messina store to pick up your tub between Friday, August 11–Sunday, August 13. A note re ordering: because Messina's specials always attract plenty of gelato lovers, the chain now staggers its on-sale times depending on the state — and, in Sydney, also the part of town you're in. Accordingly, pre-orders commence in Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory at 9am, then hit Victoria at 9.15am, before spreading its New South Wales stores over three slots between 9.30–10am. Gelato Messina's Get Cracking hot tub will be available to order on Monday, August 7, for pick up between Friday, August 11–Sunday, August 13 — head to the Messina website for further details.
As you're (hopefully) well aware, the season of celebrating all things Mum is mere days away. If you've got a mother in your life who can be a bit trickier to book for on Mother's Day, how about a fried chicken feed that's a hot bucket of finger-licking fun? That opportunity doesn't come around often, but it just so happens to be the occasion taking over the Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel on the big day (Sunday, May 11, if you're yet to mark your calendars). This is the world's first KFC Habanero High Tea. It's the time and place to give back to mums who love a bit of spice and childlike fun. Mums are the guests of honour, and their cliques are welcome too. A DJ will play Mum's favourites all afternoon long, while a crispy menu of fried chicken and the like occupies the tables. Drinks will be flowing to wash down KFC's Popcorn Chicken, nuggets, chips, and the new limited-time Habanero Hot & Crispy, with plenty of other delicious treats available. Tickets are on sale now for $50 per person, and must be purchased in pairs. Who would dare send their mum to a Mother's Day lunch alone? All ticket proceeds will go towards Aussie youth's mental health and wellbeing, through the KFC Youth Foundation, Black Dog Institute and ReachOut Australia.
Thanks to social distancing restrictions, we're having to take a break from some of our favourite food experiences right now, from mimosa-matched bottomless brunches, to sit-down dinners at actual restaurants. But at least in the meantime, you can get your culinary fix delivered via soundwave, by tuning into one of the many podcasts dedicated to life's tastiest of pleasures — food. Whether you're hungry for some fun food history facts, or fancy tucking into an interview with one of Australia's hospitality legends, we've pulled together a menu of food podcasts to satisfy all your culinary cravings. And, unlike a visit to your favourite fine diner, these won't require you to change out of your trackies. Get downloading and whet your appetite with a few of these audio gems. DEEP IN THE WEEDS For an especially timely, locally focused food fix, try this new podcast headed up by restaurant critic and food journalist Anthony Huckstep. A real no-holds-barred look at the impact COVID-19's had on the Australian hospitality industry, Deep In The Weeds is dishing up honest conversations with a range of chefs, restaurateurs, producers and other hospo folk who are riding the storm. You'll get insight into the many issues currently facing our venues and their staff, and learn about the creative plays being made in an effort to help keep things afloat, sitting down with names like Jacqui Challinor (Nomad), Rockpool's Neil Perry, Attila Yilmaz (Pazar Food Collective) and Colin Fassnidge (4Fourteen, Banksia). HOME COOKING WITH SAMIN NOSRAT Born in response to the world's newfound passion for kitchen projects — thanks, COVID-19 — Home Cooking is the new podcast from chef Samin Nosrat (star of Netflix's Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat) and producer Hrishikesh Hirway (Song Exploder). As the name suggests, it's designed to be the ultimate companion to your home cooking adventures, no matter where your skill levels are (or aren't) at. These affable hosts will help you whip up culinary success with whatever random ingredients you've got lying in the pantry, turning the everyday basics into inspired food creations. You might learn how to transform those tinned beans into something fab, or find an unexpected use for that less-than-fresh loaf. Best of all, Nosrat and Hirway are even taking audience requests for upcoming episode topics. THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING HUNGRY Aussie food journalist Lee Tran Lam hosts this largely Sydney-centric podcast, where each episode features a sit-down with a different local food legend, the program ranging from star chefs to renowned restaurateurs. You'll hear tales from the industry frontline, behind-the-scenes goss and plenty of colourful personal back stories, interspersed with hot tips on all the city's (and Melbourne's) best spots for eating and drinking. Seafood maestro Josh Niland (Saint Peter), celebrated chef Monty Koludrovic (Icebergs Dining Room, The Dolphin) and croissant queen Kate Reid of Lune are just some of the high-profile names to be found among this rich back catalogue. A worthy antidote for anyone who's missing dining out. RADIO CHERRY BOMBE A big ol' celebration of the boss ladies that have helped make our food scene what it is. Radio Cherry Bombe is an audio spin-off of the US magazine of the same name, now with over 270 episodes under its belt. That juicy back catalogue is brimming with inspiring stories about the industry's clever, creative female talent, starring guests ranging from chefs and cookbook authors, to food stylists and gutsy entrepreneurs. Get up close and personal with the likes of best-selling writer and activist Yasmin Khan, Canadian cake queen Lyndsay Sung (Coko Cake Land), cereal artist Jessica Siskin (aka Misterkrisp) and loads more. And if you tune in to recent episodes, you'll get the low-down on how some of our female hospo heroes are handling the global pandemic. GASTROPOD What kind of food crops might we one day be able to grow in outer space? How did liquorice become England's first branded candy? What the heck are blue raspberries and where did they come from? They're the kind of quirky questions you'll find answers to over at long-running podcast Gastropod, which aims to sate your inner foodie, history buff and science nerd, all at once. Co-hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley take listeners on a series of fun, investigative journeys, with each of the fortnightly episodes diving into the often surprising science and history behind a different food-related topic. Listen in for a treasure trove of cool facts you can throw around at your next dinner party. THE SPLENDID TABLE A spin-off of the acclaimed debut book from food writer and cooking teacher Lynne Rossetto Kasper, The Splendid Table began life as a public radio show way back in the 90s. These days, it's a weekly podcast hosted by renowned food writer Francis Lam, continuing the same mission of celebrating the countless ideas and stories of our global food culture. Sharpen your skills with expert cooking tips, catch sit-downs with top international food heroes, explore the history of your favourite ingredients and dishes, and get acquainted with a smorgasbord of cuisines from all across the globe. One week, you might find yourself hearing René Redzepi chat all things fermentation, while the next, you're reigniting your passion for dairy with tales from a team of international cheese experts. RACIST SANDWICH A food podcast served up within a slightly different context, Racist Sandwich dives into the politics behind what you're eating, and why. It's hosted by a pair of American writers, with (mostly) fortnightly episodes that explore the various ways in which concepts like race, gender and class intersect with the big wide world of food. Prepare to catch a diverse spread of insightful investigations and guests, from one food justice advocate's mission to preserve Salvadoran culture through its recipes, to an interview with a French prisoner and Instagram food star who's whipping up culinary magic behind bars. Make yourself a cuppa and settle in to score some fresh perspectives. EATER'S DIGEST Famed food publication Eater backs up its online feed with this weekly podcast serving up all the tastiest news morsels from the culinary world, both across the USA and further abroad. Join Amanda Kludt and Daniel Geneen as they dissect food trends, unearth new hot-ticket dining destinations, celebrate favourite cuisines and touch base with a swag of big-name hospitality heroes. You could tune in to a discussion about the world's new obsession with food TV, learn some unexpected secrets from a top restaurant critic, or get taken through a definitive list of all the very worst dining-out habits, as revealed by New York hospo staff. Right now, Eater's Digest is also dishing up plenty of honest insight into how COVID-19 is affecting the restaurant game as we know it.
It was a sad day in the history of Sydney live music when the Lansdowne Hotel announced that they were shutting their doors for a final time. After years of giving a leg up to the lesser-known local acts and providing a stage for massive home grown artists like The Living End or You Am I, the Lansdowne Hotel called it quits for good. And then two years later, the team behind Mary's swooped in to resurrect the iconic pub. In some of the best news all year, the Lansdowne has thrown its doors open again and stretched its welcoming arms to draw everyone in for a warm hug of pub grub, cheap beer and good music. Image: Jack Steel.
Kent Street is set to gain a new Japanese fine diner this September when Kuro opens its doors. Here, guests can enjoy a casual meal or book into a ten-person-only degustation that's served by a chef who's worked at Michelin-starred restaurants. The latter offering, dubbed Teramoto by Kuro, will be run by Executive Chef and Co-Owner Taka Teramoto, who has spent time in the kitchens at Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris and Tokyo — Restaurant Pages and Florilège, respectively. Each night, ten lucky diners will be seated at a kitchen-side counter for the degustation, so they can watch the action while they feast. Teramoto will personally serve each tasting menu alongside sommelier Wanaka Teramoto (116 Pages, Paris), the offering changing regularly, based on seasonality and availability. While menus are still in the works, you can expect the likes of wagyu tartare seared over binchotan (white charcoal), then crumbed in charcoal panko and sprinkled with Tasmanian pepper (pictured below); fresh stracciatella topped with warm peas and lovage oil; and one-week-aged squid sashimi in a broth of lemon myrtle, tomato dashi and sliced taro stem. [caption id="attachment_729358" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Megann Evans[/caption] For more casual fare, Kuro Bar & Dining will offer seasonal share plates in a 40-seat, à la carte setting. Here, the food will be created by Head Chef Nobu Maruyama of Surry Hills' now-closed Bar H. This menu is still under wraps at the moment. In this space, there'll also be a bar with a drinks list featuring cocktails using Japanese produce and flavours, plus heaps of Japanese spirits — including whisky, gin, shochu and sake — and draught beer. All of these can be enjoyed alongside bar snacks, too. And, if you come by in the morning, the espresso bar will offer coffees, teas and brekkie. Potts Point's Henderson & Co architects will be looking after the fit-out, which will transform the heritage-listing building into a space inspired by Japanese architecture and craftsmanship. A major element of the space will be the dynamic lighting, which will create an ever-changing ambiance throughout the day and into the night. Kuro will open in September at 364–368 Kent Street, Sydney. It'll be open six days per week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Images: Megann Evans
In 1999, two new releases posed the same question: what would happen if a member of the mafia went to see a psychiatrist about his many woes? The first, The Sopranos, changed TV forever. Indeed, it's the show that many people instantly think of whenever they see HBO's famed logo sequence on the small screen. And it also ensured the comedy movie with the same premise, aka Analyse This, would always be seen as the lesser of the two projects. Focusing on New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), and spanning both his professional and personal lives, The Sopranos is the gangster series that all subsequent gangster series want to be — and the weighty, nuanced, compelling and thoughtful drama that paved the way for everything from Six Feet Under and The Shield to Mad Men. The now-late Gandolfini is an absolute powerhouse in the lead role, imbuing Tony with both volatility and vulnerability, as he's paired perfectly with Edie Falco as his wife Carmela
UPDATE: DECEMBER 6, 2019 — Here's a 12 days of Christmas gift of a different kind. From December 13–24, Bund will be doing two-for-one dumpling baskets. The baskets will include the Lotus Dining group's signature dim sum, including mixed vegetable dumplings, pork xiao long bao, and siu mai . Not bad. If you can't make it to Bund, this same offer is available at its other venues, which include Lotus Dumpling Bar, Lotus at The Galeries, The Gardens by Lotus, Madame Shanghai, Lotus Barangaroo and Bings. After just over one year in operation, the Lotus Dining Group's Fujisaki in Barangaroo shut up shop back in February. But, now open in its place is the group's brand new concept, Bund: a Chinese eatery and bar serving up Shanghai-style street food. Hong Kong-born head chef Kennedy Wong and sous chef Chris Chen have created a menu of chargrilled barbecue dishes, share plates and bar snacks, which they're serving up from an open kitchen. Chinese staples have been given a modern spin, like in the kung pao chicken schnitzel topped with peanuts, shallots and chopped chilli; tofu, mustard green and sweetcorn arancini served with chilli dipping sauce; and pork belly bao with slaw and coriander, drizzled with honey mustard sauce. As is the group's signature, there are also plenty of dumplings on the menu, including the (especially tasty sounding) xiao long bao stuffed with Singaporean chilli crab. To match the eats, the group's bar manager Charles Cheng has created an Asian-inspired cocktail menu, which is accompanied by a varied wine list by Annette Lacey (director of wine and beverage). There's also an affordable lunch banquet — with kimchi arancini and crispy eggplant — for just $45. The revamped fit-out is courtesy of Sydney's Studio Hiyaku and features neon lighting and street art-style murals by local artist Alex Lehours — along with lots of deep blue, red and golden hues. It's all meant to emulate the waterfront Bund area of Shanghai, a popular tourist destination jam-packed with historical buildings of various architectural styles. The 100-seat restaurant also boasts a central bar and bench seating, both meant to entice after-work drinkers. Fujisaki's swift closure was a bit of an anomaly for the Lotus Dining Group, which is responsible for plenty of successful venues — including the longstanding Walsh Bay favourite Lotus Dumpling Bar, along with newer iterations in The Gardens by Lotus and Madame Shanghai. So, here's hoping its newest spot sticks around for a bit longer.
What does a perfect Sydney summer afternoon look like to you? An icy bottle of sauv blanc at the Opera Bar? A picnic table abundant with the kale and quinoa spoils of Maloneys? Or maybe a wild sunset boat party on the harbour with three of the world's most amazing DJs pumping inimitable summer beats into the earholes of you, a special +1 and 700 fellow revellers? There are approximately 90 days each year when the nights are warmish and superfoods actually taste good, but only one evening where you can party on a boat with Rudimental, Flight Facilities and producer/tastemaker/international party icon Steve Aoki. Riding the floating festival wave scheduled to hit the northern hemisphere later this year, You+1 marks an exciting first for the local dance scene, mixing the buzz of big-name international acts with homegrown talent and a quintessentially Sydney harbour setting. The line-up is also pretty diverse sonically, with the three headliners all falling under one sweepingly broad genre. Aoki climbs aboard having just been named the highest grossing dance artist in North America, renowned for delivering a cornucopia of electro house hits via an insane live performance. Investing the festival with a dash of feelgood Hackney soul are youth workers-turned-electro quartet Rudimental, who have already made waves in their native UK with this addictive track, while our own Flight Facilities put a halcyon spin on the genre as they return to their home city. An extremely limited number of tickets will be up for grabs via Durex's Facebook page from 3 September, so mark that date in your iCal to get 'em while they're not only hot but free. Date: Sunday 14 October, 2012 Time: 5pm – 9pm (boarding from 4.45pm) Location: The Starship, Wharf 4, King Street Wharf, Darling Harbour (adjacent to Cargo Bar) Tickets: facebook.com/Durex.Australia https://youtube.com/watch?v=JI6fDb6IBmU
While Sydney may be best-known for its sparkling beaches and rooftop bars, it is most magical in winter. And this year, it'll be even more spectacular thanks to the launch of Sydney Solstice. The new two-week event is taking over more than 200 bars, restaurants, art galleries and live music venues across multiple suburbs for a series of pop-ups, gigs and light shows that'll convince even the sleepiest of bears to skip hibernation. Running from Tuesday, June 8 till Sunday, June 20, Sydney Solstice's calendar is large — very large. So, to save you scrolling for hours, we've teamed up with NSW Government via Destination NSW to round up ten highlights, which you should add to your calendar ASAP. Dust off your winter woollies and prepare for a winter of debaucherous feasts, nightclubs inside aquariums and music-filled stargazing sessions.
Sydney cinephiles, we now know just what you'll be viewing across a certain 12-day block in June. After releasing a sneak peek last month, Sydney Film Festival has unveiled its massive lineup in full for its 64th year, and it comes with 288 films from 59 countries, including 37 world premieres. Oh, it features Aussie legend Ben Mendelsohn chatting about his career too. In exciting news for fans of the ace local actor and his recent rise through Hollywood's ranks (The Dark Knight Rises, Girls, Bloodline, Rogue One — the list goes on), Mendo will be in town for an in conversation session, as well as a screening of his latest flick Una. The latter also features Rooney Mara and his Star Wars co-star Riz Ahmed, and marks the filmmaking debut of Australian theatre director Benedict Andrews. Staying on the homegrown front, festival director Nashen Moodley is once again opening SFF with a locally-relevant title for the sixth time in a row. This year, the new effort from Samson and Delilah's Warwick Thornton is doing the honours. Enjoying its world premiere at the fest, We Don't Need a Map explores the significance of the Southern Cross as a symbol within Australian culture. Other Aussie fare includes two films from Red Dog filmmaker Kriv Stenders: a look at our diverse society in the Bryan Brown-starring Australia Day, and a chronicle the career of one of Brisbane's greatest bands in The Go-Betweens: Right Here. Actor David Wenham turns director for the first time with Ellipsis, which is being called a Sydney-set Before Sunrise. Ali's Wedding offers up the country's first Muslim rom-com, while ecological doco Blue examines the destruction of marine life happening off of our coastline, and Otherlife serves up some sci-fi from the director of Wasted on the Young. Given that one of SFF's main attractions is its official competition, it's hardly surprising that the festival has stacked the lineup of titles vying for its $60,000 prize with must-see flicks. We Don't Need a Map and Una are in the running, and they have plenty of company. Coming fresh from Cannes is Sofia Coppola's American Civil War thriller The Beguiled, starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning, as well as the long-awaited return of Austrian auteur Michael Haneke courtesy of his Isabelle Huppert-led Happy End. Berlinale's Golden Bear winner On Body and Soul, and other trophy recipients Félicité and The Other Side of Hope also feature. Those looking for familiar faces can catch Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman and Mara again in Terrence Malick's Austin music scene-set love story Song to Song, plus Aubrey Plaza being hilarious in both social media satire Ingrid Goes West and nun comedy The Little Hours, and Armie Hammer smouldering up the screen in the swoon-worthy Call Me By Your Name, too. Or, get some starry monster action with closing night's Okja, with The Host and Snowpiercer helmer Bong Joon-ho taking Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton and Paul Dano into creature feature territory. Other general standouts include gripping transgender drama A Fantastic Woman, vintage clothing store horror flick Fashionista, and rap-focused Sundance hit Patti Cake$, as well as Julian Assange doco Risk, Johnny Rotten profile The Public Image is Rotten, and a look inside the world of competitive poultry breeding — yes, really — in Chicken People. Horror fans can get scared when a board game goes wrong in Game of Death, and see some slasher action in the Portuguese woods in The Forest of Lost Souls. Plus, SFF will shine the spotlight on female filmmakers in Europe for the second year. Scouring through the greats of the past as well as the ace flicks of today, restorations of Aussie classics The Year My Voice Broke and The Well, erotic French drama Belle de Jour and Abbas Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry will also grace SFF's screens, alongside an already-announced retrospective of Japanese master Akira Kurosawa's works. Sydney female filmmakers from the '70s and '80s get their own sidebar, as does a showcase of modern Canadian cinema and a celebration of essential punk rock cinema.
The hospo-geniuses behind two of Sydney's cosiest bars (The Duke of Clarence, The Barber Shop) are bringing you a brand new watering hole by the harbour: Hickson House. The newest hybrid venue featuring a distillery, bar and dining room is set to open today, Tuesday, December 7. Part working distillery and part destination cocktail bar, Hickson House is set in the soaring brickwork and girders of the former Saatchi & Saatchi garage (the location of many infamous warehouse parties). The towering space boasts an extensive back bar with over 600 spirits and a menu crafted with locally-sourced ingredients. Founders Mikey Enright and Julian Train are no strangers to the Sydney bar scene either, with over eight years of experience as co-directors of the Barrelhouse Group. "Weaving the needs of a full production distillery and significant bar space into what is a unique heritage warehouse has been a challenge that we have embraced wholeheartedly," says Train. The boys aren't holding back any punches and have brought ex-Manly Spirits legend Tim Stones on board. The bespoke range of Hickson Road Gin is the star of the show, but Stones will also be slinging out vats of housemade whisky, aperitifs, brandies and other speciality spirits. To sample the creations, take a seat at the main bar — the interior is lined with dark polished timber and dotted with French blue bar stools, a reflection of the venue's harbour location. For a more intimate experience, the mezzanine High & Dry Bar overlooks the entire dining space and is the perfect spot for a cocktail and bite to eat. Intimate distillery experiences, tours and private dining experiences are also all on the cards, so keep an eye on Hickson House's socials for any upcoming events. Highlights of the botanically-inspired menu include slow-roasted lamb porchetta with juniper jus and mint gremolata. For dessert, indulge in a decadent piece of whisky chocolate lamington. After you've found a drop you like following dinner, you can also shop at the off-license spirits store and bring a bottle (or two) home to enjoy. Hickson House opens on Tuesday, December 7 at 6 Hickson Road, The Rocks. Bookings are now open for December via the website. Top image: Steven Woodburn
While much of the country usually goes into holiday mode over the Christmas and New Year period, that hasn't been the case in Australia's bushfire-affected communities. Many regional areas that rely on tourism at this time of year have been battling blazes instead. But, as the flames subside in some spots, rural businesses are eager to welcome back visitors. One such place is Eden Farm Escape, which is located in the fire-ravaged Blue Mountains town of Bilpin just off the Bells Line of Road. As part of an area-wide #BacktoBilpin campaign, the farmstay 90 minutes from Sydney is offering holidaymakers a significant discount. Book a visit for January or February and, by entering the code '50OFF' online, you can receive 50 percent off the price of your accommodation. If you were already thinking about an early-2020 getaway, you can nab yourself a considerable bargain — all while supporting a business that sustained bushfire damage during December. And, you'll be able to become acquainted with Eden Farm Escape's animal residents. Onsite, there are 12 horses and ponies, three miniature donkeys, a pig, a few alpacas, three goats, and some cows and sheep. Thankfully, all of the above escaped the fires unscathed. Surrounded by Blue Mountains National Park, Eden Farm Escape sprawls over 90 acres, with five self-contained cabins located among its green paddocks. You can opt for a one-level abode with one or two bedrooms ($300–500 per night normally; $150–250 with the discount) or two-storey digs ($650 per night normally; $325 at 50 percent off) that sleep up to eight. And, because your doggo deserves a country holiday too, you can bring them along as well. Run by Michael Cthurmer and Deborah Goodman, who are also behind The Grumpy Baker, Eden Farm Escape's cabins feature polished concrete and wooden floors, timber-panelled walls, touches of leather and outdoor timber decks. In the kitchen, you'll find stainless steel benchtops, gas cooking, a microwave and Nespresso coffee machines. Bring some groceries with you, and you will be able to get cosy for the duration of your stay. You'll want to venture outside while you're there, of course. With Eden Farm Escape also a working equine-assisted therapy farm, there are also barns, stables and a riding area onsite. Nature and bushwalking trails weave around the property, and you can also take a dip in the dam. And make sure you visit as many local businesses as you can along the way. Nearby, The Potager at Mount Tomah — the cafe with those incredible mountain views — has reopened for business, as has the Bilpin Cider Co's cellar door. Find Eden Farm Escape at 13 Hanlons Road South, Bilpin. To receive 50 percent off your booking for accommodation in January and February, visit the farm stay's website and enter the code '50OFF'.
Art lovers, amateur gazers and veteran collectors, rejoice. Sydney's lauded Art Month Sydney has returned for its tenth year running, with artistic director Kate Britton claiming it to be the "biggest and most ambitious program yet". The city-wide celebration of contemporary art and artists kicks off March 7, bringing together art appreciators from all walks of life to attend free exhibitions, talks, workshops, panel discussions, studio visits, precinct nights and parties."It's about engaging and celebrating our city's whole arts ecology," says Britton. And with galleries and creative spaces across the city participating, you'll have no problem diving into it all — except for maybe deciding where to start. That's where we come in. To help you start planning your arty excursions, we've teamed up with Art Month Sydney to track down the must-sees and must-dos from the creative program. From private art collections and French cinema screenings to free parties, talks and performances, here we've chosen our six top picks to add to your calendar this month. ART AT NIGHT Every Thursday during the month, the beloved Art at Night series will take place, exploring a different precinct each week and giving punters the chance to visit local galleries after hours. Kicking off on March 7 for the official launch of Art Month Sydney, Art at Night will take over Paddington and Woollahra galleries such as Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Wagner Contemporary, KORBAN/FLAUBERT, Sabbia Gallery and Saint Cloche among others. And to celebrate further, a free afterparty will be held at the National Art School from 8pm–10pm with performances by artists Brian Fuata and Megan Hanson, alongside an installation by Brian Van Hek. Then on March 14, Waterloo and Green Square will come to life with the opening of The Other Art Fair. The next week, you'll get a double dose of art nights with both East Sydney and St Leonards precincts becoming the focus on Thursday, March 21 and Friday, March 22 respectively. And to round out the festivities, on March 28, Chippendale and Redfern galleries will throw open their doors till late, with a party to follow at The Lansdowne featuring performances, DJs and more arty happenings to be announced. COLLECTORS' SPACE For those who love a sticky beak, the CBD's 541 Art Space is hosting festival highlight Collectors' Space, giving us curious cats a chance to peer into the private collections of some of Sydney's most creative duos. Located in an enormous, beautiful space in the city, the exhibition hopes to inspire one's own art collection — aspirational or not — and is the perfect lunch break or after-work cultural pitstop. "There is a voyeuristic element to the Collectors' Space that people really get into. It's very intimate, and it's not an experience you get in many exhibitions, that blurring between public and private space," says Britton. "People can come along and find out a bit more about how people build a collection, find out you can start small, find out that passion and desire are all you really need, and hear about how people fall in love with a particular work or a particular artist." [caption id="attachment_710671" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Blake Lawrence: Dead Reckoning, 2018. Image by Lou Dietz-Henderson.[/caption] SATURATED TERRAIN Giving a platform to commercially unrepresented artists, Saturated Terrain at Willoughby's Incinerator Art Space is an exhibition curated by Kate Britton and a centrepiece of this year's program. As Art Month Sydney's second unrepresented artist exhibition and with works by Tom Blake, Kieran Bryant, Ethel-Anne Gundy, Shivanjani Lal and Blake Lawrence, the show pushes to engage with all aspects of Sydney's art scene and celebrate its breadth and diversity. "The Incinerator Art Space has such a unique history and architecture, it's hard not to respond to it when you're thinking about occupying that space," notes Britton. With water as the central theme of Saturated Terrain, it paradoxically plays off the history and function of the incinerator's space and showcases a variety of works, making for a multifaceted and dynamic exhibition. Here, water becomes a metaphor of passive resistance, quiet power, a surface that hides great depths. [caption id="attachment_710672" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Wild Boys.[/caption] THE ART OF FILM Partnering up with Alliance Française French Film Festival, Art Month Sydney introduces a new segment this year: The Art of Film — a series of three films shown across the festival. A rare chance to view films that highlight where art and film intersect, The Art of Film includes Jean-Luc Goddard's The Image Book, Virgil Vernier's Sophia Antipolis and Bertrand Mandico's The Wild Boys, with each session hosting a discussion post-screening. "We chose three films that are really driven by an artistic sensibility," notes Britton. "They all experiment in different ways with their medium, are very ambitious and painterly in their use of colour and image." The Image Book will screen at Palace Chauvel on Sunday, March 10 at 3pm, Sophia Antipolis at Palace Verona on Saturday, March 23 at 4.30pm and The Wild Boys at Palace Central on Friday, March 29 at 6pm. Tickets are available here. [caption id="attachment_612819" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Galerie Pompom.[/caption] TALKS PROGRAM Brush up on your art knowledge with insightful talks and panel discussions with some of the industry's most acclaimed local talents. Topics range from wearable light art as discussed by Japanese artist Erina Kashihara at The Japan Foundation to a retrospective look at the Michael Hobbs Collection with panellists Tony Albert (artist and collector), Peter Braithwaite (collector), Michael Brand (Director of AGNSW), Alex Seton (artist) and Beatrice Spence (publisher). Along with its perennial talks program, Art Month Sydney 2019 is welcoming a new talks-on-the-go series, aptly named 'Walkie-Talkies'. Every Saturday at 11am, local creatives will host curated walking tours, with artist Alex Gawronski kicking things off in Rozelle on March 9 at Artereal Gallery and Sydney College of the Arts. On March, 16, Cultural Capital's studio manager, Bethan Donnelly, will guide attendees through Chippendale, visiting three of the area's key spaces: Woodburn Creatives, Nanda\Hobbs and Galerie Pompom. Lastly, on March 23, art writer and curator Mariam Arcilla and artist Mason Kimber will lead a Walkie-Talkie through Paddington, visiting stockrooms and galleries along the way. THE STUDIO OPEN Celebrating explorative, creative and unconventional ceramics, The Studio Open champions a medium that's often overlooked as a 'functional' artform. Taking place at The Other Art Fair at Australian Technology Park, the event will offer a sneak peek into some of Sydney's most boundary-pushing artist studios from March 14–17. In collaboration with kil.n.it experimental ceramic studio and the Little Orange Open Studio from Campbelltown Arts Centre, the event will see artists bring their studio to the fair and share their practices onsite. You'll also be able to watch artists such as EJ Son, Vivien Hill, Joseph Turrin and Angela Bishop at their craft and pick up some freshly made pieces from their studios. Art Month Sydney runs from March 7–30, 2019 at various venues Sydney-wide. For the full program and more information visit their website here. Lead image: Art at Night at The Lansdowne by Document Photography. Courtesy of Art Month Sydney.
Sisters Grimm do not make theatre the way you might usually think of theatre. The trashtastic Melbourne satirists (also known as Ash Flanders and Declan Green) staged their DIY 2010 theatre piece Little Mercy in a car park and 2012's Summertime in the Garden of Eden in a suburban garage — and got rave reviews for both. So much so that the anti-establishmentarians have gone establishment, in the nicest possible way, as the Sydney Theatre Company is bringing them out to reimagine Little Mercy, a high-camp ode to 'evil child' movies, for their Wharf 2 stage. (Summertime in the Garden on Eden, meanwhile, will get a run at Griffin Theatre in November). Marcus Costello caught-up with Ash, who as well as writing and directing is playing the mother character Virginia, on his first day treading the boards at the Wharf. Here's what he had to say on stepping up to the main stage, the joys of the low-brow, and how they're adapting their "aesthetic of failure". First day of rehearsals, how's it going? We haven't stopped laughing that we’re actually here at STC. Well it's a long way from where you gave birth to Little Mercy in a Melbourne car park all those years ago. How has the show changed since then? Oh, you know, just little tweaks — like rewriting the whole show. Our shows are always staged in response to the space we're working in and the resources we have available, which is usually next to nothing. Our work ends up being an exercise in the aesthetic of failure, which is where much of the comedy comes from. Of course, being here [at STC] we can't just pretend we have no money so we're responding to the idea and construction of conventional theatre. In a way it's not that radical a departure because we're all about the interrogation of genre — finding the cracks, tearing it apart, and putting it back together. We like to see how much pressure something can take before it's completely unintelligible. Stepping up to the main stage... I like to think of it as STC stepping down [laughs]. Good call. In any case it's a collision of worlds. If you like it here and want to stick around, how is that going to affect your anti-establishment practice? If we can get paid to do shows on big stages, great, but it was never really our aim to make it to this point at settle-in. I think we'll always do scratch shows because mixing up where we perform is really important to us. I mean, we'll ride this out and have fun along the way, but we won't get so big-headed that we'll stop performing in living rooms and backyard sheds, or car parks, even. By the same token, if performing in car parks to a bunch of our adoring friends was all we ever did, it wouldn't amount to much. We don't plan to play it safe. A character at the centre of your play, Rodger, is a wealthy theatre director. Should we take that as a dig at the establishment? Um, [laughs] oh I don't know how meta we want to get about that! I mean, yeah, his job, his taste comes across as increasingly ridiculous throughout the show. We needed a job where the husband/father could become totally engrossed in what he does. As we both know, directors can get way too involved with their own projects and stop seeing the world around them — maybe even fail to see their own child is a psychotic killer. You say that the goal of your theatre is to make the audience laugh. I reckon your gritty-camp shtick might rankle with some of the more conservative STC season subscribers, don't you think? We don't intend to shock them too much. I mean, we won't be flopping our dicks out. In a way, our comedy is kind of old-fashioned. A man in a dress isn't new, but what we do with it hopefully is new and interesting and funny. At least we hope so because we think laughter in the theatre is vital. If you go to the theatre to take your medicine, to eat something that's good for you, then you've killed a lot of the joy. I don't like to go to the theatre to be educated. Dialectical, polemical, preachy theatre, theatre where the performers blast their politics at you, that doesn't inspire me. At least, if I learn something I want it to be incidental to the laughs. And if it's not making me laugh, it should make be gasp. Whatever is does, it needs to make me feel something. There are a number of Australian theatre-makers at the moment who set out to hurt feelings and sensibilities. How do you feel about that? Oy vey! That's not something we would deliberately set out to do. Our kind of humour can be quite hoary and hokey but I think if anything was going to offend, especially the STC audience, it would be the stupid jokes — because we would offend their intelligence [laughs]. I'm not playing Virginia for a joke, but every time I get on stage there will be laughter for a good five seconds. That's interesting because you're not unknown to the Melbourne drag scene. How does it feel having an audience laughing at you not with you? I'm totally fine with it. It’s not my job to know why people are laughing, it's really not. I'm happy with laughs wherever they’re derived from. I'm just not that precious; I'm aware of the grenade that I am. Little Mercy is on at the Sydney Theatre Company's Wharf 2 from March 7 to 24. Tickets are available from their website.
They said Dead Europe would be unfilmable. As a novel, Dead Europe, written by Christos Tsiolkas in 2005, is dense, sprawling, and frequently horrifying. Yet a film version has been made, however challenging that may have been. Dead Europe is the second feature film from Tony Krawitz, whose previous work includes Jewboy and the 2011 documentary The Tall Man, with a team of producers behind it whose resumes boast films such as Shame and Animal Kingdom. What is remarkable about it is that very few films deliver the same kind of visceral impact as Dead Europe, and even fewer deal with the generally abstract themes of memory, history, and commodity capitalism in a way that leaves you shaking when you leave the theatre. There have been few Australian films made like this one. The film addresses the sins of the past, and the way in which we continue to be haunted by apocryphal stories we frequently refuse to acknowledge. The story sees Isaac (Ewen Leslie), the son of Greek migrant parents, return to Greece to scatter his father's ashes. He gets wasted, he has sex, and he observes the underbelly of Europe, a place haunted by the atrocities of the 20th century to such an extent that Isaac's own family's past slowly begins to torment him in the spectral form of Josef, a young boy played by The Road's Kodi Smit-McPhee. The film is in part a psychological thriller — something akin to the heathen child of Rosemary's Baby and Lilya 4-Ever — with the audience never sure whether the presence haunting Isaac is real or simply a figment of his imagination. Yet it is also an unflinching view of Europe, and the ways in which people simply are not good to each other. The problems with the film emerge if you've read the book. An adaptation of a novel is a tricky thing, because there is always some expectation that the filmmakers will attempt to maintain the integrity of the book. Yet the cinematic adaptation of Dead Europe is so far removed from the novel — in the changes to the plot, the setting, and the ending of the film — that it seems almost misleading to give it the same title. It says something very different to Tsiolkas's novel, and in that respect it would be best to think of the works as companion pieces. But as a stand-alone film, Dead Europe is beautiful, visceral, and utterly remarkable. It is arguably one of the best Australian films we've seen in recent years. Read our interview with director Tony Krawitz here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=XrNnofw8CQw
Sculpture by the Sea didn't grace the Bondi-Tamarama coastal walk last year, and isn't set to until October this year. But if you're eager to go for a wander, check out large-scale pieces of art and enjoy the great outdoors, you can head to The Rocks this May and June for a new free exhibition called Sculpture Rocks. Set to display from Thursday, May 20–Wednesday, June 3, Sculpture Rocks will feature 18 works from 14 sculptors, with Japanese artists in the spotlight. You'll be peering at pieces by Keizo Ushio, Takeshi Tanabe, Mitsuo Takeuchi, Ayako Saito and Akira Kamada, among others — and from artists who currently hail from both Japan and Australia. As for what you'll be seeing, expect plenty of stone. "Each of these artworks in thought and practice stems directly from the ancient rock gardens of Japan," explains Sculpture by the Sea Founding Director David Handley. As well as linking in with Japanese cultural traditions, the exhibition will also feature "kinetic and abstract sculptures to provide a cross section of Japanese sculpture today," Handley advises. [caption id="attachment_808636" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Hiroyuki Kita, aguidepostforthewind (2010)[/caption] Presented by the Sculpture by the Sea team alongside Place Management NSW and the Port Authority of NSW, the exhibition will ape one of the most stunning — and most popular — things about its sibling event, too: the waterside view. You'll be moseying along the Sydney Harbour foreshore area, including between the Overseas Passenger Terminal, along Campbells Cove and up to Hickson Reserve next to the Park Hyatt Hotel. Basically, think of it as a smaller version, in a similarly striking spot, and with a specific focus. A smaller indoor exhibition, called Sculpture Inside Rocks, will also take place at the same time at Campbell's Stores. Sculpture Rocks will display from Thursday, May 20–Wednesday, June 3 at various locations around The Rocks. Head to the exhibition website for further details.
Though technically taking its inspiration from The Hamptons, The Pines in Cronulla, with its chic, neutral palette, pops of greenery and meat-heavy menu (though it's got a vegan one, too) would fit right in in the south of France. The beachfront eatery, which opened November 2020, has James Metcalfe as its exec chef and former Rockpool and Merivale sommelier Chris Hoy heading its beverage list. The menu is extensive and features everything from four-week dry-aged steaks ($38) and koji cured-flank ($38) to smoked ham and pineapple pizza ($29). For a real treat, order the seafood bouillabaisse ($110), which feeds two and comes with a whole baguette. Images: Rachel Kara
In The Guest Edit we hand the reins over to some of Sydney's most interesting, tasteful and entertaining people. For this instalment we have enlisted the guidance of Claire Perini, an interior architect who is founder and curator of the beautiful Avalon-based interiors studio and store Composition. Here, Claire divulges some of her favourite spots in her pocket of the Northern Beaches, a suburb once primarily known as a haven for surfers that is now home to a burgeoning creative community and growing food and drink scene. [caption id="attachment_812163" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bar Elvina interior, photographed by Steven Woodburn[/caption] Dining & Drinking Bar Elvina "Whether mid-week or mid-weekend, Elvina is always serving up good times. Specialising in Mediterranean food with seafood expertly cooked on charcoal and a focus on pasta and grains — my personal favourite being their vongole which I could eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. They also boast a beautiful outdoor terrace nestled in an edible kitchen garden that is available for hire and makes the perfect backdrop for any celebration. On the weekends Elvina also has a bottomless banquet, tantalising menu and includes open wine and Aperol spritz's (I'll have 3 please). Menu designed and beautifully executed by Andy Emerson (formerly of Acme)." Find it at: Level 1, 50 Old Barrenjoey Road Book here. Randy's "A casual street bar you'd expect to find hidden within the streets of New York. With a focus on delicious snacks designed to be shared and daily oyster happy hour (serving only the best Australian rock oysters) Randy's is a keeper. Weekends are lively and you're bound to find a local to dine with on a Friday afternoon. Chef Zac serves up a series of different pickled foods that I frequently request jars of to take home." Find it at: 50 Old Barrenjoey Road Text or call to book: +61474 945 431 Graze n' Cakes "Mine and most of Avalon's favourite hole-in-the-wall dining spot, this patisserie/Vietnamese haven is undoubtedly my favourite lunch spot. When you can get a banh mi and the best chocolate chip cookie in one spot, why would you go anywhere else? Sandy who runs it, is also one of the nicest people on earth which is an added bonus when visiting!" Find it at: 3/38 Burrawong Road Call: (02) 8919 0058 Other local dining spots that Claire recommends: Pocket Pizza, Oceana Traders and La Banette patisserie. [caption id="attachment_944544" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The collection at Composition, photographed by Sage Hammond[/caption] Shopping Composition Naturally this guide needs to include Claire Perini's own studio, showroom and store which we have previously described as "achingly tasteful". Her meticulously curated selection of Modern-period antiques and contemporary brands all fall within one of three categories: Artefact (unique vintage), Object (new product) and Print (design literature both vintage and new, and lithographic works). The latest collection dubbed 'La Dolce Villa' has a focus on smaller items and little moments to admire that bring sweetness and connection into interior spaces. Find it at: 45a Avalon Parade Browse the website here. Bassike "The prominent Australian brand that needs no introduction has their stunning flagship store (designed by Akin Atelier) within the heart of Avalon. With not only their stunning own range of designs, but I love the way the brand threads through beautiful Australian brands that compliment the company's ethos." Find it at: 41 Avalon Parade Browse the website here. Lee Matthews "A new addition to the offerings in Avalon is the introduction of Lee Mathews' beautiful showroom." Find it at: 4o Avalon Parade Browse the website here. Peggy Concept Store "Named after Peggy Guggenheim, this store does not disappoint. Offering a curated collection of Australian and international ready-to-wear brands including some of my favourites: Matteau, Silk Laundry, Oséree and Muma World." Find it at: 62 Old Barrenjoey Road Browse the website here. Lifestyle Sauna Amalfi "A new addition to Avalon is this modern take on a Swedish sauna, Sauna Amalfi. Services include state of the art clear light infrared saunas, a traditional sauna, and a UV-Filtered and temperature controlled cold plunge." Find it at: 62 Old Barrenjoey Road Browse the website here. Feels Pilates "When you're done eating and drinking your way through Avalon, nothing like a little reformer session to sweat away the guilt. The Feels Pilates instructors will leave you feeling like every muscle has been activated with their dynamic classes that focus on form." Find it at: Rear shop at 46 Old Barrenjoey Road Learn more here. [caption id="attachment_536619" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Avalon Beach[/caption] Nature "My absolute favourite part of living in the Northern Beaches, and specifically 'past the bends', is the nature. The proximity to the national park, the views of the Pittwater, the sounds of wildlife and the community constantly activating the different elements... A few of my favourite spots would be, Paradise Beach a little beach on the Pittwater side; Angophora Reserve a little hour's walk through the bushland but nestled just behind the village shops and for some more dramatic scenery; Bangalley Head walk which boasts views of the ocean and the natural sandstone cliffs." Discover more spots in and around Avalon Beach here.
Standing in a bar, being forced to make small talk with a stranger: we've all been there. Hearing from your parents more frequently than you have time for, despite your best intentions: many of us have experienced that as well. In Toni Erdmann, both scenarios combine in a way that might well give you nightmares. Just imagine if the person accosting you while you try to enjoy a drink turned out to be your dad in a bad wig and false teeth. At its simplest, that's the idea behind writer-director Maren Ade's 162-minute comedy, which has been garnering acclaim since it premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, and remains the favourite to win his year's Oscar for best foreign-language film. A German consultant living in Bucharest, Ines (Sandra Hüller) is irritated when her practical joke-loving, divorced and lonely father Winfried (Peter Simonischek) arrives for an unexpected visit. But that soon gives way to unbridled horror when his alter ego Toni starts following her around. Once is odd, twice is annoying, and three times… well, that's something else. Then again, one of the basic elements of life is repetition, which Toni Erdmann demonstrates disarmingly well. First, you'll cringe. Then you'll laugh. Before long, you may find yourself crying. Those are the stages audiences cycle through while watching Ade's film, and it's no accident. The mastery evident in ensuring that every detail of the movie imitates life can't be underestimated. The naturalistic camerawork and astute commentary on the importance of humour is not unlike Toni's ridiculous headpiece: it's just what's visible on the surface. With all the buzz around the film in the lead up to the Oscars, it's hardly surprising to learn that we'll soon be getting an American remake (starring Jack Nicholson and Kristen Wiig). Why the world needs an English-language version is a question Hollywood is happily ignoring, but its high-profile cast certainly have huge shoes (and wigs, and false teeth) to fill. As Toni keeps ramping up his antics and Ines keeps struggling to contain her reactions, Hüller and Simonischek prove the film's most important pieces, ensuring their characters are not just likeable, but thoroughly believable as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0uwi5EPnpA
If Neil Buchanan taught us anything on Art Attack it was that a toilet paper roll can be used to design an array of artistic works. Whilst the word 'intricate' may never be used to describe the toilet roll castles he helped us build, it perfectly describes the artworks created by artist Anastassia Elias using only toilet rolls and a scalpel. Since 2009, the French artist has sculpted 67 works from these rolls, with each as spectacular and beautiful as the next. She carves the detail of each scene from other rolls and then delicately inserts them through a slit cut into the roll that frames each individual piece. Her works include dancing ballerinas, a busy construction site, an incredibly detailed science laboratory and an amusement park spanning two toilet rolls. Rouleaux, the title of the series and the accompanying book, is available here. In the meantime, you can check out our favourites below. Via Huffington Post.
The Little BIG Foundation, an organisation committed to tackling loneliness, is throwing a series of free gigs at the Flour Mill of Summer Hill. Across the four Fridays in October, the foundation will be encouraging Summer Hills locals and all Sydneysiders to gather at the community park for a post-work dose of live music. On October 7, 14 and 21, the music will kick off at 5.30pm and attendees are encouraged to pack their own BYO picnics to enjoy some snacks or a homecooked dinner under the stars during the free gigs. On Friday, October 28, the catering has been taken care of, with the team behind the Flour Mill Markets pulling together a lineup of food trucks and vendors from 4–8pm. Street parking is available, however it's encouraged that visitors utilise the Lewisham West light rail station just beside the park, or either of the Summer Hill or Lewisham train stations that sit roughly a five-minute walk away. The event will be subject to weather, so if you're heading along, make sure to check the Summer Hill Little BIG House Instagram to stay up to date.
Holy Basil is the perfect pre-theatre stop for a quick bite that'll get you out the door in time for your show. With three venues across Sydney, the popular restaurant's Parramatta outpost is conveniently located just a two-minute stroll across the river from Riverside Theatres. On the menu, classic Thai and Lao noodles and curries live next to signature offerings such as the crispy snapper and mango salad ($59.90), roast duck in Holy Basil's homemade plum sauce ($29.90) and the surf and turf platter ($47.90). Don't walk out the door until you've had the fried ice cream with salted caramel and coconut ($20.90), which has been a menu staple for over a decade. Top Images: Nikki To
Mary's monthly Monday night party is back. Jump in the Fire sees Australia's best chefs and sommeliers put their mark on the Mary's brand with one-off food and wine feasts. And the next one features a local favourite. From 5pm on Monday, August 26, award-winning chef Mat Lindsay of Chippendale's Ester will takeover the Mary's Newtown kitchen. He'll be serving up his spin on Mary's signatures, including a herbed falafel burger with tahini and harissa, fried dukkah chicken with garlic sauce and halal snack pack-style loaded fries. Alongside the eats, sommelier Nick Stewart will be pouring a range of natural wines — with blends created for Ester by the likes of Basket Range Wines, Commune of Buttons and Manon. Sydney's Wildflower Brewing and Blending and Gippsland's Memento Mori have also brewed special beers for the night, made using Ester's woodfired sourdough. And, of course, there will be raucous tunes blasting, curated by local musicians and Mary's mates. Entry to the monthly event remains free, but remember it's a small joint, so get in early to nab a table for your crew.
Suckers for good selvage will dig this one. Denim fans and jeans enthusiasts should squeeze into their skinnes and get to The Grounds of Alexandria on Saturday, July 12 for a one-off exhibition of jeans owned by famous peeps. Check out Anthony Kiedis' painted pants, the baggy straight-legs of Adam Sandler and the unfathomably tight pants of the now presumably pantsless James Franco. Strutting into The Grounds as part of Jeans for Genes Day (Friday, August 1), the exhibition will also include the denim favourites of Eric Bana, Gene Simmons, Maroon 5 and the previously paraded pants of those wonderfully abominable Kardashians. Keeping on the yearly tradition of donating a dollar and donning your denim, the Jeans for Genes Denim Exhibition is raising some sweet moolah for Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) — dedicated to finding out why one in 20 children worldwide is born with a birth defect or genetic disease. Kiedis' jeans mark the cornerstone of the exhibition, donated by the Red Hot Chilli Pepper himself and glorified by Australian artist Kathrin Longhurst. “What an absolute treat to be given Anthony Kiedis jeans to paint this year. My artwork is really a collaborative effort — part of it is not mine. The man himself creates the portrait on the right leg of the jeans," says Longhurst. "Anthony is a great philanthropist himself, giving charity concerts and donating time and money to many good causes." Jeans for Genes will auction off celebrity jeans at a big ol' gala event later this year, where the denim delights are expected to fetch up to $25,000. Not bad for a pair of jeans.
Print is dead, or so we've been told for the past few years. Newspaper sales are down, Borders and Angus & Robertson stores are closing their doors and our attention shifts more and more to computer monitors. But is it a full stop or just another stage in the cycle? The nature of books is changing. They are moving online but aren't remaining stagnant in their form. A more discerning palette for information is leading readers to different forms of consumption. The same person might skim through the paper online, read a Kindle Single (a digital book a seventh the size of a regular book) during their lunch-break, flick through a broadsheet on the train home and indulge in a traditional hardcover before bed. The prophecies that people aren't reading anymore are unfounded. Readers are just diversifying their source. With traditional bookstores feeling the backlash from this new plethora of information outlets, unconventional ventures could prove the way forward. Ed's Martian Book is the creation of author Andrew Kessler, and sells over three thousand books. Well three thousand copies of the one book. His book. Although not the most financially sound move, Kessler freely admitting "I'm not a very good businessperson." He has sold a few hundred copies but at least his book is getting some attention in this store. Instead of ruthlessly vying for the attention of customers with displays and discounts, in his store he is guaranteed an audience. The current state of affairs in publishing has been reached through the advance of technology but it wasn't a march towards an ideal, but rather a winding road of adaptation. Visual Loop recently teamed up with Brazilian designer, Flavia Marinho, to cover the history of printing. What it reveals is the rise of the book, the rise of the newspaper, the fall of the book, the rise of the novel, the collapse of newspapers, the rise of the magazine, the resurrection of the newspaper and so on. Overall it shows a trend of peaks and troughs, it has happened before, it is happening now and it is going to happen again. Whether tablet PCs will destroy print media is yet to be seen, but there's something to be said about the smell of a new book, the feel of paper between your fingers and the satisfaction from a finished book on the nightstand that can't be mimicked by a computer. Well not yet at least.
A new food/art installation in Tokyo is offering a multi-sensory eating experience that combines delicate Japanese cuisine with stunning projections and sound. Located inside Sagaya, a Saga beef restaurant in the city's Ginza district, the permanent installation, titled Worlds Unleashed and then Connecting, was created by art collective teamlab and serves just eight guests each day. Projections depicting Japanese scenery and wildlife illuminate the walls and table, and react different to each artfully presented dish on the rotating monthly menu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLYxixvQ_hw "When a dish is placed on the table, the world contained within the dish is unleashed, unfolding onto the table and into the surrounding space," explains the collective. "A bird released from one dish can perch on the branch of a tree unleashed from another. The trees that grow from each dish are not identical; their sizes and shapes are affected by the worlds unleashed by the other dishes on the table. These unleashed worlds are also affected by your behaviour. If you stand still, a tiny bird might alight on your hand; if you move suddenly, it might fly away." Pretty lofty, but we're never opposed to ambitious creativity on our plates. Via Designboom.
When JK Rowling dropped those last terrible three words on us at the close of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, all was not well. It would never be well without Harry, Ron, Hermione fighting the Dark Lord in a series of fantastical and wholly engrossing scenarios. But little did we know, this would not be the end of the Age of Harry Potter. Thanks to the internet and the sheer demand for all things HP, Harry has lived on through new books, fan website Pottermore, film spinoff trilogy Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a series of film screenings accompanied by a live orchestra and all manner of pop-ups around the world. But one of the biggest things to come of the post-Harry Potter era has been Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, JK Rowling's West End play that's essentially the eighth book in the series. And now — are you ready for it, muggles? — producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender have announced that the acclaimed play will be making its way to Australia in early 2019. Harry Potter fandom aside, it's something all theatre-goers can get excited about. Since debuting in July 2016 the production has won 22 awards and has repeatedly sold out at London's Palace Theatre. It will head to Broadway next year, before gracing Melbourne's Princess Theatre in early 2019. So what exactly is The Cursed Child about? Well, it picks up 19 years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and that abominably cheery epilogue on Platform 9 3/4. Harry is now an overworked Ministry of Magic employee, and the play focuses on both him and his youngest son Albus Severus Potter as they grapple with the past and future. The production is presented in two parts, so you'll have to book into two performances, either on the same day (matinee and evening) or on consecutive evenings. Update, June 27, 2018: It was announced this morning that tickets for the Australian premiere of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will go on sale at 9am (AEST) on Monday, August 6, 2018 via harrypottertheplay.com. Muggles can also follow that link to join the mailing list and receive priority booking access. The dates for the show, which will be shown exclusively in Melbourne at the Princess Theatre, have also been released, with preview performances running from January 16, 2019 to February 22, 2019 and regular performances running from February 25, 2019. Ticket prices will range between $65–175, with 40 seats priced at $40 released for every performance, too. For more information about the cheap ticket initiative, full dates and cast announcement keep an eye on the website. Image: Manuel Harlan. By Lauren Vadnjal and Nita Fredricks.
It's back, it's big and it's heading around Australia in February 2023: St Jerome's Laneway Festival and its impressive lineup, that is. Returning for the first time since 2020 — since celebrating 15 years since Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio first decided to fill a Melbourne alleyway with tunes — the beloved fest boasts a phenomenal list of talent taking to its stages for its huge and eagerly awaited comeback tour. Here are three names to get you started: HAIM, Joji and Phoebe Bridgers. Laneway has been teasing its 2023 return since early 2021, then locked in dates and venues — and come Sunday, February 5, 2023, it'll hit up Sydney Showground. Also on the bill: Finneas, Fontaines DC, Fred again..., Girl in Red, slowthai and Turnstile, as well as 100 Gecs, Chaos in the CBD, Knucks and Mallrat. Yes, the lineup goes on from there. Clearly, there's a whole heap of reasons to be excited — from HAIM's first Australian tour since 2017 (and definitely the first since Alana killed it on the big screen in Licorice Pizza) to Bridgers' return after a huge few years, just to name a couple. Also on the list: just Laneway being back and livening up late summer in general. General ticket sales start at 9am on Thursday, September 29 via the festival's website. ST JEROME'S LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2023 LINEUP: Haim Joii Phoebe Bridgers Finneas Fontaines DC Fred again... Girl in Red slowthai Turnstile 100 Gecs Chaos in the CBD Knucks Mallrat Ross From Friends The Beths Yard Act Adam Newling The Backseat Lovers Harvey Sutherland Jacoténe Jamesjamesjames Logic1000 Sycco Tasman Keith The Lazy Eyes Top image: BCS Imaging.
Your mates have flocked to the Mediterranean coast. Your boss is sailing around Croatia. Heck, even your parents have jetted off for a week of sun, sand and piña coladas in Hawaii. And here in Sydney, we're sloshing and shivering our way through another winter season But, there's plenty of reason to rug up, get out and explore our sparkling harbourside hometown. Even if it's chilly outside. As the mercury plummets, there's no better time to cosy up, glass of wine in hand, and let someone else do the cooking. Or perhaps you're looking for a dose of arts and culture or even something to get the blood pumping? Whatever you're craving, Sydney has a whole stack of blues-busting events, festivals and activities all winter long. To get you started, we've teamed up with InterContinental Sydney to bring you a staycation itinerary that'll make your winter a little bit warmer. Base yourself at the hotel's CBD location and hop from exhibitions and pop-up events to must-see dining spots. We've done the hard work you; all you have to do is get exploring. INDULGE IN A LAND TO SEA BUFFET A staycation isn't really a staycation unless you treat yourself to the finer things. At InterContinental Sydney's Cafe Opera, you'll find a 'land to sea' buffet packed with fresh seafood, locally sourced meats and a new Asian cuisine station. Enjoy Sydney Rock oysters, prawns, green-lipped mussels and a selection of sushi, then fill up on roast meats sourced from the Southern Highlands like lamb shoulder, pork belly and beef rump. You can choose to go for lunch from Wednesday to Friday or enjoy the 'deluxe experience' over the weekend. Our tip? Stop by from Friday night to Sunday (all day) for a luxe seafood offering of Balmain bugs, blue swimmer crab, salmon sashimi and grilled whole salmon available lunch and dinner. Plus, if you choose to lunch on the weekend, you'll also get free-flowing sparkling wine and soft drinks with your meal. The Land to Sea Buffet is available from Wednesday 12pm to Friday 2.30pm for $69 per person and from Friday 5.30pm to Sunday 10pm for $99 per person. Kids ten and under eat free. InterContinental Sydney is also offering 20% off food till October 13, 2019. WATCH AN OPERATIC MASTERPIECE AT THE OPERA HOUSE It's a Sydney icon that welcomes 8.2 million visitors every year. Some would say it's the most popular house in the country. But, for Sydneysiders, it's often the most overlooked of attractions. Rediscover the striking Sydney Opera House with one of the world's most famous love stories. Madama Butterfly is the bold new production by choreographer Graeme Murphy, bringing new life to Italian composer Giacomo Puccini's original work. This digital production uses 12 huge high-definition LED panels to showcase animations and film content, telling the tragic tale of a young Japanese girl's marriage with an American naval officer. Make sure to bring plenty of tissues for this one. Madama Butterfly runs from Friday, June 28 to Saturday, August 10, 2019, and tickets start at $47. [caption id="attachment_679482" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Madeye Photography[/caption] HAVE A CUPPA AT A FESTIVAL DEDICATED TO TEA Blending and brewing are terms typically associated with craft breweries. But, the specialty tea market is just as complex, and you can learn all about it at the Sydney Tea Festival. This one-day event brings dozens of tea specialists and lovers to Carriageworks for workshops, tastings and a bustling tea market. Sample specialty loose leaf tea, relax in the Brew Lounge and immerse yourself in a world of flavour with educational tastings, demonstrations and hands-on workshops. Once you've worked up an appetite, stop by the on-site food trucks for a sweet or savoury bite to eat. Sydney Tea Festival takes place on August 18, 2019, and tickets start at $16.95. DO YOUR BRAIN SOME GOOD AND LEARN SOMETHING NEW There's much more to science than lab coats and Bunsen burners. And Sydney's annual science festival proves just that. Showcasing some of the globe's leading thinkers, Sydney Science Festival brings researchers, museums, universities and communities together for a week of discovery, discussion and scientific debate. Even if science class was not your thing at school, you'll still find something that intrigues within the festival's lineup of talks, workshops and exhibitions. Picnic beneath the stars (and with reduced light pollution) explore activism in the age of climate change, challenge how you perceive reality at A Night of Illusions and celebrate the female tech visionaries who've played an important role in the history of technology but have been overlooked — until now. Sydney Science Festival runs August 6–18. Find the full lineup here. SEE THE ARCHIBALD AT THE AGNSW You know the year is going by quickly when all of a sudden it's Archibald time. Don't let the annual exhibition pass you by this year. This year, you can expect to see the likes of actor David Wenham, three-time Paralympic gold medallist Dylan Alcott plus Sydney-based author, broadcaster and journalist Benjamin Law. The best bit? For just $20 you'll also get to explore the Wynne and Sulman Prize exhibitions, showcasing the best landscape paintings of Australian scenery as well as the best subject, genre or mural painting. The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prize 2019 runs till September 8, 2019, and tickets cost $20. And while you're there, opt to catch a double exhibition with tickets to The Essential Duchamp for an additional $16, running till August 11, 2019. Treat yourself to a staycation this winter at InterContinental Sydney. Enjoy up to 30 percent off your stay if you book before August 5, 2019 and check-in before September 30, 2019. To book, visit the website here. Top image: Madeye Photography. Updated: July 22, 2019.
All across New South Wales, stages are being swept, setlists are being finalised, speakers are being stress tested, and crowds are gearing up — what for? It's time for the long-awaited 2025 return of Great Southern Nights. This massive festival series will see over 300 gigs take place in cities and regional hubs across NSW — from Byron Bay to Broken Hill and beyond. To the south of Sydney, one hell of a lineup is setting up shop in Wollongong. Already worth visiting year-round with its beautiful beaches and buzzing communities, the capital of the Illawarra will play host to gigs great and small from Friday, March 21 to Sunday, April 6. We've teamed up with Great Southern Nights to tell you when and where the hottest gigs are taking place and the spots to catch your breath between them. [caption id="attachment_939244" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Georgia Griffiths[/caption] The Great Southern Nights Lineup Over 17 nights all across NSW, Great Southern Nights will be putting on a good time and bringing the noise. In Wollongong, you'll have your pick of 15 gigs across the festival, from Thirroul down to the middle of town. Some of the heaviest hitters (including Missy Higgins and The Cat Empire) have already sold out, so if any of the artists interest you, you'd best get tickets sorted. On the lineup, there's the famously raucous Northeast Party House, rising stars Waax and ARIA-nominated Emily Wurramara. Additionally, acclaimed jazz vocalist Emma Pask, six-piece alt ensemble Gut Health, 80's Aussie rock legends Noiseworks, dance duo The Presets, local grunge rock group Satin Cali and indie pop group Sesame Girl stand out as must-see shows. [caption id="attachment_809031" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Jasmine Low[/caption] Local Eats and Treats As one of NSW's great seaside cities, it's no surprise that Wollongong has a busy hospitality scene. Let's start at sunrise, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, after all. One of the top spots is Diggies, a cafe by the beach in North Wollongong that serves up breakfast and brunch delights like salmon croquettes with poached eggs and buttermilk pancakes with fresh fruit and honeycomb butter. If you're seeking a nightcap or an ideal pre-game spot ahead of the GSN gigs, Wollongong's got quite the small bar scene. If a cold schooner is what you need, make tracks to Five Barrel Brewing. With seven core brews and a colourful roster of limited releases, you'll find a brew for you. If you prefer a drink with a bit more bite, then head to Howlin Wolf Whiskey Bar for a nip of the 350+ options on the strong whisky (and whiskey) list. Can't decide? Don't stress. Head to Humber for a drink and meal of your choice in the laneway, cocktail lounge or rooftop. Things to Do and Places to See Wollongong is a regional melting pot of experiences, where the history, culture and entertainment offerings from across the Illawarra come to a head all in one place. If you prefer to keep your itinerary simple and focus on the scenery, the legendary Sea Cliff Bridge is arguably one of the most scenic roads in the country and is just half an hour out of Wollongong. Otherwise, hit the Illawarra Escarpment on foot to get out of the hustle and bustle and into a 30-million-year-old rainforest. If you're in need of some zen (no shame in taking a breather between gigs), Wollongong just so happens to be home to one of the largest Buddhist temples in the southern hemisphere and a beautiful botanical garden park in the northwest corner of the city. If you'd rather raise your heart rate — try skydiving from an almighty 15,000 feet (4572 metres), the highest altitude skydive you can do in the country and half the cruising altitude of a 747 airliner. Otherwise, keep things simple and hit the beach. You're spoilt for choice down here, with 17 patrolled beaches within the borders of the City of Wollongong. North Wollongong Beach or Wollongong City Beach are your closest picks, or the expansive Windang Beach just south of the city lies in wait for those keen to go further afield. Where to Spend the Night Of course, a packed itinerary like this will leave you in dire need of a hot shower and a comfy mattress on which to rest your weary bones. There are plenty of budget options scattered throughout the city if all you need is a bed for the night post-gig before the drive home, but some standout options are available as well. If you're planning on spending your free time by the beach, you'd benefit from a booking at the small but beloved Surfside 22 Motel. This Palm Springs-style property has been open since the 60s, with 16 rooms fitted out with all the modern fixings in a retro style. You'll be mere steps from Wollongong City Beach, and amenities like a plunge pool, sauna, outdoor shower and garden wrapped in a contactless self-check-in-and-out system for a smooth stay. [caption id="attachment_882177" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Courtesy of Novotel Wollongong Northbeach[/caption] If you prefer a large-scale stay, Novotel Wollongong Northbeach is the place for you. This four-and-a-half star stay sets you up a stone's throw from North Beach — with city or seaside views to boot. Get all the modern amenities your heart desires (including four on-site venues serving food and drinks), all within walking distance of the gigs you'll be hitting up for Great Southern Nights. And if you're after something really different… why not book a stay in that aforementioned Buddhist temple? The Nan Tien temple offers rooms in the Pilgrim Lodge for any would-be traveller and gig-goer. With views of the temple's scenic gardens and an option to partake in any of the on-site ceremonies and wellness activities, it's perfect for anyone seeking some peace and quiet without leaving the city. Just be aware that since it's a functioning Buddhist temple, all guests are expected to respect the dress code and etiquette requirements. Great Southern Nights is set to take over venues across NSW between Friday, March 21 and Sunday, April 6. Check out our gig guides for Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle or visit the website for more information.
The close ties between Italy and Australian can't be ignored. Italians love pasta and wine, and we also love pasta and wine, after all. Accordingly, what better way to celebrate this joyful union than to head along to an Italian street festival on your Sunday. Returning for 2019, Ferragosto will bring a solid dose of Italian culture, food and general entertainment to Sydney's Five Dock on Sunday, August 18, with over 150 food stalls hawking street eats and handmade goodness (including Pasticceria Papa's famed ricotta cheesecake), as well as dance and music across five stages. Aussie singer and former Home and Away star Johnny Ruffo will headline alongside comedian Joe Avati — and if you've ever wished you were cruising across Florence on a vespa, there'll be a bunch of fancy Italian vehicles on display. Last year's event drew more than 100,000 people, so it seems that the people of Sydney enjoy Italian culture a fair amount: and with this being Ferragosto's 22nd birthday, the obsession doesn't seem to be fading. What's to argue with when it comes to pizza and cannoli, really? Ferragosto runs from 10am–4pm. Image: Ann-Marie Calihann
Forget ocker comedies and downbeat dramas — when it comes to Aussie cinema, there's a new trend in down. Sure, plenty of titles have made the leap from theatre to film during the country's movie-making history, but with Ruben Guthrie, Holding the Man, Last Cab to Darwin and Spear all hitting cinemas within the last year, the nation appears to be in the middle of a stage-to-screen renaissance. Next comes The Daughter, with actor and playwright turned filmmaker Simon Stone leading the charge. After treading the boards with his own take on Henrik Ibsen's 1884 work The Wild Duck, he now turns the tale into an Australian-set feature film. When Christian (Paul Schneider) returns to the mountainous outskirts of New South Wales after years spent in the US, his homecoming stirs up mixed emotions. His father Henry (Geoffrey Rush), is pleased to see him, but Christian has more than a few reservations about his dad's impending marriage to the much younger Anna (Anna Torv). And while his reunion with childhood best mate Oliver (Ewen Leslie) proves happy, the more time Christian spends with his pal, his wife Charlotte (Miranda Otto) and teenage daughter Hedvig (Odessa Young), the more troubles start to emerge. Some characters know things they shouldn't, others are hiding details they're trying to forget, and everyone gets caught up in the chaos when certain truths are exposed, making secrets and lies The Daughter's primary currency. There's more than a little bit of melodrama at play, though there's not much in the narrative that's unexpected. Even if you're not familiar with the source material or Stone's previous theatre version, it's not hard to see where the soapy story is going. That's disappointing in terms of delivering real twists, turns and mysteries, but it does showcase the movie's true focus: its characters and performances. Corralling an impressive, mostly Australian cast — a scene-stealing Sam Neill among them — Stone hones in on the actions and emotions of a close-knit group struggling with the weight of past and present deeds. Accordingly, the tension that bubbles throughout the feature stems from their reactions, rather than the many not-so-surprising revelations. Whether frozen with shock, arguing with anger or crying in pain, their response to the situation always feels real. Take the figure of Hedvig, the titular daughter, for example. She seethes with a blend of confidence and vulnerability not often seen in teens on screen, with Young giving her second great performance, behind Looking For Grace, of the year so far. It certainly helps that Stone, as a director rather than a writer, favours an empathetic, subjective approach in his stylistic choices. With a colour scheme that reflects the characters' moods, and camera angles that mirror their perspectives, he crafts a movie that looks as intimate as the age-old issues it trifles with. The end result may be obvious and histrionic, story-wise, yet it's still for the most part engrossing. As such, The Daughter doesn't just bring the stage to the screen, but the messy nature of life as well.
Twenty-two kilometres east of Bega is a wilderness camp surrounded by spotted gum trees, overlooking Tanja Lagoon. Expect to be greeted by kangaroos before being shown to a luxury safari tent, one of only four, on the edge of Mimosa Rocks National Park. For active types, there is a chance to go paddling and bushwalking to secluded beaches. For lazy bones, options include lolling about in the handcrafted bed followed by moonlit soaks in a giant bathtub, which looks out to the surrounding trees through a big picture window. Expect to pay upwards of $600 per two-night stay, and plan your trip well in advance as this place tends to book out quickly.
Now a decade and a half in — and 28 films, too, plus seven new TV series that've hit queues in the last 18 months — the Marvel Cinematic Universe is an ever-expanding pop-culture behemoth. Sometimes it can be spectacular, as with Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok. Sometimes it's dispiritingly routine, as seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The MCU keeps shining bright popularity-wise, though, so much so that it's now telling its own tales about how it's so popular. In Ms Marvel, it even focuses on a Marvel superfan, heads to a Marvel fan convention and revels in worshipping at its own altar. Yes, we've reached the point in the biggest current franchise there is where the MCU is overtly and openly celebrating itself within its own on-screen stories — and celebrating the people who celebrate the MCU. Here, Marvel also shows its characters frothing over the very saga they're appearing in, homemade costumes whipped up for cosplay contests and all. That sounds like something out of the supremely non-Marvel superhero satire The Boys, but it's now an IRL status quo. And yet, with new streaming series Ms Marvel — which started its six-episode run on Disney+ on Wednesday, June 8 — all this Marvel self-fandom thankfully doesn't just feel like a massive corporation patting itself on the back in an expensive splash of self-congratulations. One of the reasons that Ms Marvel works: it's a series about a Marvel devotee because it's a coming-of-age series. Today's teens have grown up with the MCU, so a show about a 16-year-old finding her place in the world — with and without powers — can easily acknowledge that fact. The comic-book company isn't being meta or reflective. Rather, as non-Marvel fellow Disney+ release Turning Red was, Ms Marvel is about a teenage girl working out who she is and what she wants to be, and also how that process is shaped by what she loves. Pakistani American Kamala Khan (debutant Iman Vellani) happens to be obsessed with Marvel, and with Captain Marvel (Brie Larson, Just Mercy). Ms Marvel's first two episodes largely set the scene, establishing the MCU's second new-to-screens character in as many Disney+ programs after Moon Knight. Kamala lives in Jersey City with her parents Yusuf (Mohan Kapur, Bullets) and Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff, The Affair) — one friendly, the other strict — plus her elder brother Aamir (Saagar Shaikh, Unfair & Ugly). As well as palling around with her mates Bruno (Matt Lintz, The Walking Dead) and Nakia (Yasmeen Fletcher, Let Us In), often while talking about the Avengers, Kamala makes stop-motion videos fuelled by her Marvel mania. She also wants to do more than her mother allows, such as attending an Avengers convention dressed up as her hero, which Muneeba deems inappropriate. Deepening this tale about a teen desperate to follow her heart — a story that's hardly unique — is how wonderfully culturally specific Ms Marvel proves. The titular character is Marvel's first Muslim superhero, and this TV series embraces Kamala's heritage, as well as the stresses that come with being the American-born child of immigrant parents who want her to take advantage of their adopted home while remaining steadfastly true to their culture. Yes, Bend It Like Beckham did something similar first, just with soccer in Britain rather than superhero devotion in the US. That doesn't make Ms Marvel any less astute and affecting, however, including when it examines Kamala's layered relationship with her family and their expectations, and balancing caped-crusader fandom with tradition, religion and Pakistani pop culture. Of course, if Kamala's on-screen debut was only about a Marvel-loving high schooler with recognisable adolescent woes — even welcomely culturally apt ones — it wouldn't exist. Amid the yearning and rebellion, and just being a Pakistani American teen, arrives superpowers that are a literal dream come true for such a MCU stan. But Kamala doesn't know why she can suddenly create floating energy fields, shooting them a bit like Spider-Man slings webs, or where her abilities stem from. While that setup isn't unique either, creator and head writer Bisha K Ali (Loki, Four Weddings and a Funeral) ties Kamala's tussle with her new skills to everything that makes her who she is. The broader embrace and exploration of her culture doesn't subside; indeed, thanks to family whisperings about the perils of indulging in fantasies, her heritage might be linked to her future path. The MCU has spun coming-of-age tales before, with not one, not two, but three Tom Holland-starring Spider-Man movies within the franchise. There's a touch of the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to Ms Marvel, though, in its infectiously joyous vibe. If the series wasn't as sincere as it is — and as charming, warm and fun as well — it could've easily felt too calculating. Marvel does like to try other genres on for size, often moulding them to fit the house style, and Ms Marvel might've done the same with teen dreams and high-school hijinks. Indeed, it still may have played out that way if its lead casting wasn't so spot-on. Surprisingly given how much of a natural she is in front of the camera, and in the role, Vellani is an on-screen newcomer — and an utter delight. Just as the unrelated Conversations with Friends benefited from casting a new talent without any past credits, Ms Marvel is all the better for having its lead come to the part without any film and TV baggage. But being a fresh face navigating such a sprawling realm isn't why Vellani is so engaging. She's at home selling the show's comedy and drama alike, and its diehard Marvel devotion and adolescent angst as well, and making it all feel as lived in and genuine as the MCU has ever managed. That this miniseries is a lead up to 2023 big-screen release The Marvels, where Vellani will return as Kamala, is gloriously great news as a result. It'll team her up with Larson as Carol Danvers, plus WandaVision's Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau — and, if Ms Marvel is any indication, it's hopefully poised to be much better than the lacklustre Captain Marvel. Check out the trailer for Ms Marvel below: Ms Marvel streams via Disney+ from Wednesday, June 8, with episodes dropping weekly. Images: ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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.
A year filled with catastrophic bushfires, seemingly never-ending Brexit negotiations and a US President that Tweets this, 2019 doesn't particularly inspire the phrase "dependable and stable". But Pantone is hoping 2020 will. Its colour experts have just announced the 2020 Colour of the Year and they're saying (or hoping) it'll signal a "new era" that's a little less shaky. Classic Blue (Pantone 19-4052) is the elegant, simple and enduring colour Pantone has chosen for the turn of the decade. As well as highlighting "our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era", the cooling shade makes us think of summer — well, all those beaches, ocean pools and rivers we'll be jumping into during the warmer months. Speaking of water, hopefully Classic Blue also inspires some more of it to fall down on Australia, parts of which are pushing through a two-year drought. [caption id="attachment_663542" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bilgola Beach by Paros Huckstepp[/caption] According to the Pantone experts, Classic Blue can also do a lot for you mentally — including bringing "a sense of peace and tranquility" and helping concentration, clarity and reflection. So paint your room in it, cover your body in it or just buy some snazzy blue socks — it might help you get through this crazy messed up world in 2020. You can check out all the previous Colours of the Year, head to the Pantone website.
There's been a gradual takeover in the inner west cafe scene over the last few years of smaller, well designed cafes that focus primarily on coffee. Which, of course, a good cafe should. Not all of them however get the rest of the mix right, so it was a delight for locals that the newly opened the Counter in Petersham has managed to include all the right eggs in its basket. Complete with interesting design that includes pallet tables outside, bench seating inside and interesting interior touches such as distressed metal chairs hanging from the wall, this cafe has made the inhabitants of Petersham wake up and smell the coffee. And that's Single Origin or Coffee Alchemy coffee, with a house blend also from Australian Independent Roasters. Breakfast options are simple but with added tasty flares such as sourdough bread or homemade mayonnaise. The Smith's Sister ($14) is a classic option of slow poached eggs and bacon on sourdough, but with the added herb side salad, though a little wilted, and delicious cuts of bacon, it was a satisfying choice. To spice it up a bit, you could choose the Mr Smith Sambo ($9.50) which mixes a soft egg, bacon, tomato relish and mayonnaise between toasted sourdough; this sambo is a well-balanced combination with the right mix of flavours. The smashed avocado with Danish feta and two slow poached eggs on toast ($14) also looked like a good option if you want to mix up the traditional eggs on toast, or you could try the piled high roasted mixed mushrooms on toast with crispy prosciutto and a poached egg, topped with tarragon hollandaise ($15). If you can, save room for breakfast or lunch dessert as the collection of mostly in-store made cakes, muffins and baked treats looked mouth watering. While there is limited space and you might find yourself having a bit of a wait for a table, the delightful staff and fast service means you won't be frustrated by this smaller cafe. Overall it's lovely to see an addition like this just off Petersham's main drag that offers something pleasing, simple and tasty. Photo: Aidan Corrigan
“You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge”. So begins both the film and the song ‘Straight Outta Compton’, and it’s equal parts preview and warning. The ‘street knowledge’ of NWA’s leading trio — Dr Dre (played by Corey Hawkins), Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr, playing his real-life father) and Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) — was an affront to the establishment, a threat, even, but also helped facilitate the group's rapid rise from neighbourhood group to musical ascendancy. Acquired over two decades of daily exposure to gang violence, racial vilification and police persecution, it instilled in them a bravado, passion and unyielding determination that permitted neither retreat nor weakness. It also came at a price, however, because not all streets are the same, and when Crenshaw Boulevard became Rodeo Drive, the blinders and shortcomings of that knowledge became all too apparent. Straight Outta Compton, then, is not just an NWA biopic but a cautionary tale about loyalty, friendship and the corrosive effects of celebrity. Directed by F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job), this is a slick, provocative and timely film that absolutely warrants your viewing. Straight Outta Compton (© 2015 Universal Studios) is in cinemas nationally from September 3, and thanks to Universal Pictures Australia, we have 10 double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter and then email us with your name and address. Read our full Straight Outta Compton review here. Follow the movie via its website or Facebook page. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
Sydneysiders venturing outdoors this morning could find the whole breathing thing a little less fun than usual — as you may have noticed, it's pretty smoky out there. As the result of a controlled burn in the Blue Mountains, a layer of smoke has made its way across the city and is expected to stick around throughout the morning. Needless to say, it's affecting air quality, with the Office of Environment and Heritage labelling it as "very poor" in the Sydney CBD and "hazardous" in southwest Sydney this morning. It's also prompted an alert from NSW Health. While haze from reduction burns is often unpredictable, NSW Health Director of Environmental Health Dr Richard Broome explained the smoke was likely to affect a number of places across Sydney while it's here, and that locals should simply be aware. "For most people, smoke will be no more than an irritation," he said. "However, I recommend that people with existing heart and lung conditions should avoid outdoor physical activity when there's smoke around." https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1130930049220317190 This follows a smoky Tuesday, too. While the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed a slight improvement to air quality yesterday afternoon, the smoke haze is back and laying it on strong today. The NSW Rural Fire Service tweeted that this particular smoke was from a controlled burn in the Blue Mountains, which started on Sunday. It's now postponed all other reduction burns in the Sydney area for a 24-hour period. https://twitter.com/NSWRFS/status/1130732398872711168 The haze is unlikely to lift until around lunchtime. If you suffer from asthma or any other heart or lung conditions, just be mindful that the change in air conditions could affect you. NSW Health advises that you carry your inhaler or any other medical relief.
Imagine if beach party preparations were as easy as pushing a button. Well with the new folding recreational island, they just might be. Originally designed as a luxury yachting accessory, the Recreational Island may either be docked at the back of a yacht, or stabilised in the water by four anchors. The island unfolds using a pressurised hydraulic system, measures 10 by 8 meters when opened, and can be easily stowed in a ship's garage when out of use. Designed by Henry Ward and currently under development by BMT Nigel Gee, the island may also be suitable for purposes other than swimming and dining. Concepts in the works include use as a rental room for hotels, an emergency helicopter landing platform and close-up seating for water sport judges. [via Designboom]
Mark Ruffalo has always been a stellar actor, and he has the resume to prove it. But he's in particularly excellent form in I Know This Much Is True. It isn't just because he's as reliably great as ever in the six-part HBO miniseries, which is adapted from the book of the same name. He is, of course; however he's also playing two roles. While identical twins Dominick and Thomas Birdsey look alike, they have their own struggles — including, in the latter's case, paranoid schizophrenia. Set in the 90s in Three Rivers, Connecticut, the series charts the intricacies of their intertwined lives as past and present troubles collide. It's no slouch behind the lens, either, with Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines filmmaker Derek Cianfrance directing and co-writing the entire thing.
They say the world is your oyster, and the folk on the New South Wales South Coast take it very seriously. So much so that they're putting on a festival to celebrate and showcase that salty, slippery, seafood delicacy. The Narooma Oyster Festival, set in the heart of Australia's 'Oyster Coast' will take place on a glorious Saturday, May 4. Head to the Big Oyster Bar where you will be able to feast on delicious oysters from eight south coast estuaries on the banks of the stunning Wagonga Inlet. If you're after a cool $500 in pocket money, the oyster shucking competition could be up your alley, but if you're new to the whole game, there are shucking demonstrations as well. For the most committed of oyster lovers out there, there is The Ultimate Oyster Experience, where you'll enjoy an exclusive master class guide by a local grower and sample Angasi, Pacific and Sydney Rock Oysters with complementary wines.
The Chinese Zodiac assigns an animal to each year in a rotating cycle of 12 years, with this coming year the year of the horse. We're still slogging through the year of the snake, but the year of the horse is almost upon us. And as the calendar ticks over, Sydney's 2014 Chinese New Year celebrations are happy to kick in a little early, with the City throwing in an equine component on top of its usual mix of street march, food and culture. It can take time to unfold the full breadth of leisure and show behind the City's annual lunar new year celebrations. Handily, we've narrowed this complex calendar down to a few highlights to help you get the best out of this year's festivities. Twilight Parade A firm favourite on the Chinese New Year activity calendar, this year’s Twilight Parade promises the same visual spectacle of vibrant dancers, rainbow-hued floats, and vivid fireworks that have characterised each year's bedazzling parade offering. All manner of horse-themed acts will be entertaining the crowds from 7pm until an eye-dotting ceremony at 8pm to 'bless' the Chinese New Year lions, then the parade kicks off at 8.15pm from Sydney Town Hall on George St. Sydney CBD buildings also get into the new year action with enchanting projections illuminating their facades whilst post-parade fireworks at Cockle Bay wharf will round off the night and help to scare away any back luck from the previous year. Free. February 2, from 7pm. Sydney Town Hall to Chinatown. Fireworks at Cockle Bay Wharf. Download a parade map here. Dragon Ball The Star Event Centre will be transformed into a glamorous, chandelier-swinging, big-band-grooving event with the return of the Dragon Ball, a fixture on the Australian Chinese social calendar from the 1930s to the 1970s when the event saw young debutantes presented to the Chinese Consul General with their families looking on. After a 40-year hiatus, this modern reincarnation of the Dragon Ball band returns for its second year of cranking out contemporary tunes and bringing to life the heady days of swing — think double bass and drums, trumpets and trombones, with a lilting, swing rhythm. This is a night to dust off your glam frocks and sashay out onto the dance floor for a cha-cha or a samba. February 8, 7.30pm to midnight, the Star, Pyrmont, $72pp + booking fee. Lunar Feasts Want to try something other than your beef and blackbean Friday night special? Sydney saddles up its chefs for the Year of the Horse with a rash of Lunar Feasts. There are banquets from as little as $20 at dumpling powerhouse Din Tai Fung in World Square, or try keeping up as Chow Bar and Eating House banquets you through some of its greatest hits for $60pp. Spice I Am's House Shop offers up some budget papaya salad at $20pp and Azuma Japanese Restaurant throws together a hotpot at $50pp. Still undecided? Check out the Lunar Feasts site for a full listing of eateries. Cinema Alley at Golden Age Cinema and Bar The 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art's Cinema Alley has been a stalwart over the last few Chinese New Years, taking over the laneway outside its Hay Street headquarters. This year, the Centre's celebration moves to Surry Hills' newly SMAC-approved Golden Age Cinema to screen two of Jia Zhang-Ke's films exploring modern China. At 6.30, Still Life follows people looking for their partners in the shadow of the gargantuan three gorges dam, while at 9pm, four desperate stories diverge in the multi-threaded A Touch of Sin. Outside in the bar and foyer, art by Chen Qiulin and Adrian Wong keep on with a theme of changing China. Cinema Alley at Golden Age Cinema and Bar is ticketed, free for the art and paid for the movies. Details here. Horses With the horse standing at the centre of this year's shift of the zodiac, the new year celebrations has no shortage of horse-themed events. There are equine exhibitions, like Woman Horse and the Macleay Museum's sideline in equine history, and NSW Evergreen Taoist Church is opening its doors to the public for a weekend of tours of its church on the site of the former barracks of the NSW Mounted Police. Meanwhile, at their current headquarters, the NSW Mounted Police are also giving you the chance to tour their stable and hang out with their horses. It's a tour that books out pretty early in its more regular incarnation, so it might be worth booking ahead. Chinese New Year Markets There'll be bamboo baskets piled high with steaming dumplings, bowls of soy-covered noodles waiting to be slurped, and Hong Kong/Australian break dance collaborations care of Compartmentalized at the Chinese New Year Markets in Belmore Park. There's live entertainment on the main market stage with a film screenings, martial arts performances and a wee bit of demonstration cooking. Want to belt out a tune? Battle it out at the karaoke competition, and if you're the crowd's favourite, you might end up taking home a swag of prizes. The official festival launch kicks off Friday night with an evening of fireworks to scare last year's baddies away. Free. February 24-26, Belmore Park, Eddy Avenue, Sydney. Beijing Silvermine Beijing Silvermine is a rare and unique collection of photographs capturing everyday life in China during the decades following the Cultural Revolution. Dug out of family archives, the anonymous subjects of these photographs become unknowing participants in mapping a period of immense social change. Beijing-based collector Thomas Sauvin struck up a deal to buy this 'silvermine' of abandoned memories, which were destined for destruction. From moments of exquisite intimacy between lovers through to the static poses of holiday-makers, Sauvin injects the photographs with a retrospective significance by re-casting the subjects as forgers of modern China. The exhibition also features two video animations produced by Beijing-based animator Lei Lei in collaboration with Sauvin, compiling the collection into a surreal imagescape. Until February 22, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. Mahjong Playlunch There's the thud of solid bakelite tiles as they're slid across the felt-lined table. whilst players drink cups of steaming Jasmine tea or nibble delicately on tasty dim sums. Suddenly someone calls 'mahjong' and the table erupts into chatter. It's a busy afternoon at the MahJong Room in Surry Hills, and the atmosphere is electric. Celebrate Chinese New Year with your friends at Mahjong Playlunch by learning this thousand-year-old game of skill and chance at Surry Hills' answer to the traditional mahjong houses of old Shanghai. Furnished with a mahjong playing set, a belly full of dim sums, and personal lessons from the staff, it's a cool way to while away an afternoon. $39/pp including dim sum and tea. Mahjong Room, 312 Crown Street, Surry Hills. Book via info@mahjongroom.com.au Dragon Boat Races Fast and furious, wet and wild — no it's not an ad for a summer roller-coaster ride, it's the frantic dash in a 12m-long painted boat known as Dragon Boat Races. Dating back 2000 years, the race was traditionally held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month of the Chinese Calendar to encourage rains for prosperity — the dragon, the symbol of water, was the object of worship for the ancient Chinese. Today, it's a heart-thumping sport boasting crews of roughly 20 rowers. Grab a waterside seat and watch some of Sydney's best dragon boat teams battle it out in this highly competitive, thrilling sport. Free. February 8-9. Cockle Bay, Darling Harbour, Sydney. Chinese History Tours So the current Chinatown is actually's Sydney's third. The first was in The Rocks, the second around the Haymarket, and the current one followed Sydney's markets to the top of Darling Harbour. It's a complicated and interesting history that, like most migrant communities (including the English), is a grab bag of culture shock, social clubs, a bit of crime, a bit of poverty and a lot of social mobility. This year, the Chinatown Historical Tours returns to take through the history of this third Chinatown by foot ending up with some optional Yum Cha. For a grander tour, Our Chinese Past by Bike takes you on a two-wheeled tour between all three incarnations of this cultural hub. Beijing Silvermine section by Annie Murney. Horses, Cinema Alley and History Tours by Zacha Rosen.
Aussie brick enthusiasts, get excited. Sydney will join the likes of New York, London, Hong Kong and Copenhagen on the list of cities boasting a flagship LEGO store very, very soon. The Harbour City is set to welcome the world's largest official LEGO store to Sydney Arcade, overlooking Pitt Street Mall, on Saturday, November 11. Announced earlier this year, the massive two-storey, 900-square-metre Sydney LEGO store will officially swing open its doors at 9.30am next Saturday morning and promises to be your one-stop shop for all things colourful plastic bricks. "Every new store contributes to the LEGO Group's global mission of inspiring and developing the builders of tomorrow," Vice President and General Manager of LEGO Australia and New Zealand Troy Taylor says. LEGO fans can expect an interactive storytelling table that will give them behind-the-scenes looks at their favourite sets and designs; Australia's first Minifigure Factory, where visitors can create LEGO versions of themselves or their loved ones; and a pick-and-build wall boasting an enormous catalogue of different pieces. Official Brick Specialists will be on hand to help guide you through everything the superstore has to offer — and if you're after a challenge to get your creativity flowing, there will be in-store builds and monthly events. Basically, you'll have everything you could need to bring your wildest imagination to life. There will also be Australia-specific elements of the store with large-format sculptures of Australian and Sydney cultural touchstones decorating the new Sydney LEGO store's space. "The world's largest LEGO Store will stand as a must-see destination for LEGO fans across the globe whilst bringing a world-class retail experience to Australia," says Executive Chairman of the store's retail partner Alquemie Group Richard Facioni. The flagship Sydney LEGO store will open at Sydney Arcade, Pitt Street, Sydney on Saturday, November 11.
UPDATE: January 12, 2021 — The Rocks Picnic has been postponed until further notice. We'll be sure to keep you updated with further information and dates. With the weather looking up, the sun setting later and vibrancy returning to the city, there's never been a better time to plan a full day out in The Rocks, especially on a Sunday. The historic precinct is well known for its sandstone terraces and bustling markets, but there's so much more to do in this slice of old (and new) Sydney when you know where to look. We've partnered with The Rocks to help you plan a bumper day out in the area, packed with art, music, good food and excellent views. [caption id="attachment_790083" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna Kucera[/caption] 9.30AM – STRETCH IT OUT IN THE PARK Kick off the day with a salute to the sun or two at one of the free Yoga in the Park sessions. Every Sunday, you can move through an energising-yet-relaxing stretch and flow class, all with views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. You'll need to BYO mat and book ahead to secure your spot. As a bonus, each free class includes a voucher for a free coffee from one of the nearby cafes. 10.30AM – GET YOUR CAFFEINE FIX After your stretch session, we recommend hitting up one of The Rocks' best laneway cafes. The Fine Food Store has been tapping out beautiful brews and hearty brekkies since 2004 and, if you're dining in, you can take advantage of its bottomless batch filter for $8.50. Or, head to ASLAN Coffee Roasters, which offers up its own St Peters-roasted beans, including single origin and on-tap nitro coffee. 11AM – STOCK UP ON PICNIC ITEMS It's now time to hunt down everything you need for an easy-going Sunday arvo picnic. Brooklyn Boy Bagels has a market stall in The Rocks every Sunday, so make a beeline for its boiled bagels and try not to eat them all before lunch. Keep an eye out for the tasty cured meats by Backa Sydney, also at the markets, as well as fresh organic pickles from Rita's Farm. More of a sweet tooth? Make sure you check out the new store from Tokyo Lamington, where the classic Aussie sponge cake gets an upgrade in flavours like thai milk tea, yuzu meringue and black sesame. [caption id="attachment_790085" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna Kucera[/caption] MIDDAY – HEAD TO THE PARK Now you've stocked up on snacks, it's time to take a seat in First Fleet Park, where you'll find live music every Sunday afternoon. Local musicians serenade park-goers with acoustic sounds, and there are park games, too, like an oversized snakes and ladder game, so you can channel your inner kid and challenge your friends to a battle while enjoying the ambient tunes. [caption id="attachment_785523" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Installation view of 'Lindy Lee: Moon in a Dew Drop' by Anna Kucera[/caption] 2PM – DIVE INTO THE MCA Now you're fed and feeling good, take in some culture. The Museum of Contemporary Art's three current exhibitions offer respite from the city and insights to the exhibiting artists' unique practices. Lindy Lee: Moon in a Dew Drop is a major survey of the Australian Chinese artist's career and it's free to check out. Anywhere but here: MCA Primavera Acquisitions draws on the gallery's collection of works by young Australian artists who've previously participated the annual exhibition Primavera, while Connections is a snapshot of First Nations art centred around the ways we interpret and interact with the world and each other. [caption id="attachment_786806" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna Kucera[/caption] 3PM – GET SOME RETAIL THERAPY It goes without saying that The Rocks Markets should be your first port of call. The long-running markets brings together unique makers, craftsman, artists and collectors showcasing their goods from 10am–5pm every Saturday and Sunday. Afterwards, browse the standalone boutiques, such as Aesop for beautifully made skincare products and the Eloise Panetta pop-up for botanically dyed garments and accessories. [caption id="attachment_761767" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alana Dimou[/caption] 4PM – HEAD TO THIS ROOFTOP The Glenmore is a favourite with locals and visitors alike for its top-notch views of Sydney Harbour, including the Opera House. As there are almost no tourists in town, you'll have an even better chance of snaring a prime rooftop position for some afternoon brews. There's plenty of local and craft beers on tap, and a full menu of pub classics like chicken parmigiana and beer battered fish and chips. [caption id="attachment_660843" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alana Dimou[/caption] 6PM – FINISH WITH A COCKTAIL Cap off the day with a cocktail at Doss House. The cocktail bar is one of 19 bars and restaurants participating in The Rocks' new al fresco dining pilot, which allows venues to sprawl out into the streets, activating laneways and allowing punters plenty of room to enjoy a drink or a bite to eat (or both). The Doss House's extended outdoor area makes the most of Unwins Courtyard. Here, you can enjoy charcuterie platters complete with smoked wallaby, Bay of Fires cheddar, local honey and the wild boar salami, alongside an old-fashioned or a glass on wine, all amongst the historic sandstone buildings. The Rocks Picnic runs from 10am–3pm every Sunday over summer. Find more details, here. Top image: Anna Kucera
If you've ever needed a positive example of how one night can change everything, just chat to Nema Adel. He had no intention of becoming an artist. In fact, he had just completed a university degree in a completely unrelated field when he went to a Flying Lotus performance at the Sydney Opera House that sparked a new passion for real-time digital art. Four and a half years on, Adel is now a sought-after digital artist who has created activations for festivals such as Liveworks and Vivid. He is also one of the visionary artists to team up with Miller Design Lab in 2020 to celebrate our nightlife and its impact on culture to deliver exceptional moments to you and your home. Deciding to forge a career in a relatively new — and quite niche — artistic field has meant Adel's path has been anything but traditional, so Concrete Playground sat down with the artist to discuss his creative process. Read on to discover how he seeks inspiration and the importance of nightlife to his art, then check out the video above to see him in action. In addition to the Flying Lotus gig, Adel pinpoints one other serendipitous moment that propelled his career. At his first ever event in 2016, which involved digital projections on a bank of trees over a river, Adel met an artist from Germany who liked his work. What followed was a six-month stint touring Germany and Austria doing shows. "And that was my education," he says. Adel explains that because digital art is such a new and ever-evolving art form he is mostly self-taught. "If I go on Google, I won't get any answers to the things I want to know, because nobody has really done it before," he says. Instead, Adel relies on connecting with others around the world who work in similar artistic spaces, particularly through Instagram, to share ideas, new techniques and advice. In particular, he notes San Francisco-based company All Of It Now and its Creative Director Kev Zhu, who shares tutorials online and has worked with Drake on custom projections for arena tours, as a key source of inspiration and knowledge sharing. But mostly, "it's just loads of experimentation. Unlike fine arts and classical arts, where [there is a] technique that we've perfected over hundreds of years." Customisation is present throughout Adel's entire process. "The design mainly happens on the computer, but I don't know how that actually looks unless I set up the projection and understand it in reality. Then, I'll take it back to the computer, then back to reality, and keep ping-ponging back and forth." For that reason, Adel doesn't really have a traditional workspace. He has a studio at Marrickville's Create Or Die, a creative hub filled with artists that he loves to bounce ideas off or collaborate with, including graffiti artist Iro Kitamura. "He might be painting murals and I'll be projecting onto the mural painting. I really enjoy it as I don't have those fine art skills," he says. Adel also likes that his work takes him out and about. "I love my style of work so much because the space changes — different venues and different galleries — and that'll always inform how you're going to work." And he mostly works at night. "On the most basic level, I cannot do my craft in the middle of the day… the natural light will wash out my projection light. Without the nighttime, I don't have a craft." Beyond that, he acknowledges the symbiotic relationship art and nightlife have: "I work in a lot of events and I was able to keep practising through the nightlife that we have — whether it's working with musical artists or exhibitions. If you have an extensive nightlife, [artists] can keep rolling and keep becoming better". Of course, much of that has changed in the past few months due to restrictions on public gatherings. Adel has had many jobs cancelled and has made the decision to temporarily move out of his Marrickville studio for safety reasons. Though he knows many other creatives are trying to keep up the collaboration and creativity in this time, he isn't. For someone who believes that "creativity is a mirror" and will reflect the artist's mood or current situation, it makes sense that he'd prefer to pause on creating for now. "I've consciously decided to use this as a bit more of a rest period, and that's partly due to the fact that there is a lot less inspiration in my life at the moment," he explains. Instead, he is viewing this time as a "study period" by doing some online tutorials, perfecting techniques and keeping up to date on the software tools he relies on. But when normal life resumes and he is ready to boost what he calls his creativity "metre" again, Adel has a few tried and tested techniques for seeking inspiration. "Travelling or seeing a new place and taking photos — that'll always bring new ideas to me," he says. He also mentions going out to see live music as a huge influence, naming Freda's in Chippendale and Camelot Lounge in Marrickville as his go-tos. "When there are events on with artists from other countries, I love it. I have no idea what to expect… but their art has been formed in a different way. You want to get as many perspectives as you possibly can under your belt. "I'm also very inspired by the Studio Ghibli films…. They've managed to create rich stories from imagery, and I think for me that is the ultimate goal: not just creating things that look nice, but things which convey meaning. That's hopefully what I aim for in the next ten years." For more, check out Nema's collaboration with Miller Genuine Draft here. For more ways to celebrate your city's nightlife and recreate its energy in your own space, head this way. Images: Reuben Gibbes
