Sydney Opera House has furiously backpedalled after yesterday's Festival of Dangerous Ideas program release. Amongst the announcements of squeal-inducing names like Salman Rushdie and Pussy Riot, the announcement of a presentation playing devil's advocate to 'honour killings' was instead met with a collective WTF. Led by Sydney-based activist, writer and member of Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, Uthman Badar, the speech titled 'Honour Killings Are Morally Justified' was scrapped by the Opera House last night. In a screenshot of Badar's abstract (nabbed by Pedestrian before the Opera House could sweep it under the rug) the speech was explained as an unpacking of Western bias, that 'honour killings' (when usually men kill their usually female family members for bringing shame on the family, most often for adultery, refusing an arranged marriage or finding themselves rape victims) could be seen as the West having a big ol' fist shake at cultures they don't understand. Yep. What. After angry social media posts, talkback radio rants and FODI boycotts were called, the cancellation was quietly announced on Facebook by the SOH last night. The team explained the speech was meant as a balance-finder — one that clearly missed the mark. "The Festival of Dangerous Ideas is intended to be a provocation to thought and discussion, rather than simply a provocation," said SOH's Facebook post. "It is always a matter of balance and judgement, and in this case a line has been crossed. Accordingly, we have decided not to proceed with the scheduled session with Uthman Badar. "It is clear from the public reaction that the title has given the wrong impression of what Mr Badar intended to discuss. Neither Mr Badar, the St James Ethics Centre, nor Sydney Opera House in any way advocates 'honour killings' or condones any form of violence against women." Find more information about the remaining FODI lineup over here. Via ABC, Pedestrian and SMH.
As filmgoers, it would seem that we have a unique fascination with anthropomorphised machines. From WALL-E to Blade Runner to Spike Jonze’s recent Her, movies are full of artificially intelligent creations who have captured the imagination of audiences, and in doing so blurred the line of what it truly means to be human. The most recent robot to achieve sentience on screen is the title character in Chappie, the latest film from writer-director Neill Blomkamp. A member of Johannesburg’s robotic police force, Chappie (voiced and motion captured by Sharlto Copley) is earmarked for decommission after being damaged during a drug raid. Instead, his designer Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) decides to use him as a guinea pig for a radical new form of AI, one that more closely resembles human consciousness. But Deon’s success is soured after Chappie is stolen by a group of gangsters (South African rap group Die Antwoord playing fictionalised versions of themselves), who plan on using the impressionable robot to execute a heist. Three films into his career, Blomkamp has proven himself as a storyteller with a lot on his mind. His hit debut District 9 used an outlandish sci-fi premise as an allegory for racial prejudice and discrimination, while his big-budget follow-up Elysium touched on notions of immigration and class divide. In Chappie his ideas get even bigger, hitting everything from police militarisation to the nature of consciousness, loss of faith and even alternate modes of parenting. If anything, Blomkamp maybe tackles too much, packing his movie with a litany of different concepts at the expense of covering any of them in depth. There’s an argument to be made for quality over quantity, yet it’s hard to fault the director for his ambition. Nor can you ignore the amount of food for thought the film provides — brains being an increasingly rare commodity in Hollywood blockbusters, after all. And to its credit, Chappie succeeds as more than just a think piece. Possessing the innocence and excitability of a child, Chappie makes for a wonderful protagonist, with Copley’s mo-cap and vocal performance comparable to the work of Andy Serkis. As Chappie slowly matures, viewers will find themselves caught up in his emotional journey; particularly moving is the dynamic between Chappie and his surrogate mother Yolandi, who helps the robot attune his moral compass. Chappie does unfortunately suffer from one major flaw, and it comes in the form of its villain. Sporting his natural accent in one of the most poorly written parts of his career, Hugh Jackman plays the brutish Vincent Moore, a former soldier who plans on sabotaging Deon’s police robots — including Chappie — so that the force might invest in his more heavily armoured, remotely piloted drones. Even if you can ignore his cringeworthy Australian slang and unintentionally hilarious Steve Irwin-style khakis, Moore’s motivations remain excruciatingly one-dimensional. His only purpose is to manufacture conflict, and he basically derails the movie whenever he appears on screen. Luckily, Chappie is always there to get the story back on track. And perhaps it’s only fitting that, in a story about artificial humanity, the most emotionally intricate character isn’t a human at all.
Lucas's Abela's Pinball Pianola is part of a group show at Firstdraft. It's an artwork that is what it says it’s about - no theoretical nods to Deleuze or artspeak catchwords like ‘trans-territorial’ in the description. Lucas Abela (with Keg de Souza and Kris Hades) has grafted what he calls a “Frankenstein” monster: an upright piano, gutted and repurposed as a pinball machine (check it out in this video). You pull the plunger and let a pinball loose into the guts of the instrument. The pianola’s keys are hooked up to flippers: play the keys and the pinball bounces up from the flippers to strike the instrument’s strings, creating haphazard, live sound art. A dashboard allows you to tinker with the machine’s output - more noise, less fuzz, higher pitch. It’s a certifiably bonkers piece of interactive art with a strong sense of creative freedom and childlike zeal. Abela is uber-creative, there are millions of visual and audio ideas going on and the complexity of the engineering is pretty impressive. The work goes beyond being a mere experiment in manufactured weirdness. With Pinball Pianola, Abela has crafted a machine that lets the audience play and create collectively, on the fly and in the moment. It’s all about music and art as accidental results of play, and forcing strangers to interact with each other in what’s often a sterile gallery environment. Play is an underrated quality in contemporary art, and Abela has created something really engaging and quite awe-inspiring - an intelligent crowdpleaser. There’s also a second creation - a pentagram-shaped pinball game for five players called “Balls for Cthulhu”. The walls are fashioned from guitar necks with the fret boards exposed to be struck by the pinballs, and audience members can sign up for when the game will be available to play during the course of the show. Multiple visits recommended. At launch, Balls for Cthulhu still had some technical issues and was expected to be operational for December 4.
The Sydney Fringe Festival has been feeding us drips and drabs of their massive 2017 program since back in May and have now finally announced the full lineup — over 300 productions worth, presented from September 1 through 30. The month-long cultural festival brings theatre, music and dance together with visual art, film and comedy, not to mention cabaret, spoken-word and even circus performances. The 42 partner venues span inner Sydney, with this year's opening weekend extravaganza taking the form of an enormous 'masqueerade' from the Heaps Gay team. It will take over the brand new festival hub at Sydney Park, rocking over two nights on September 2 and 3. The 7000 square-metre warehouse space will go on to house multiple performance and exhibition spaces, with shows that include immersive light, art and theatrical experiences, musical performances, installations and even a 200-seat vegan feast by the Alfie's Kitchen team. Chippendale's Kensington Street will take on the official launch party, with shops, bars, restaurants and footpaths alive with music curated by Sydney-based songstress Ngaiire. With a focus on new art and activations, over 50 percent of the productions are world premieres, including Silent Theatre — this immersive production invites participants to the Urban Newtown Hotel, where they will voyeuristically observe from the streets below, watching through hotel windows and listening to the story of four playwrights through headphones. Other highlights include a Wig Exhibition by hairdresser Shaun McGrath, a world first GIF-iti exhibition from UK artist INSA and Cirque Africa — a sellout circus show featuring 38 performers from six African countries, all backed by a live African band. Yup, it's going to be one massive month around town so grab tickets now and clear your schedule. Head to the Sydney Fringe website for the full 2017 festival program.
It's been a long time in the making, but the first stage of the glitzy Arc by Crown development on Kent Street is finally up and running, and it seems to have made good on most of the developer's lofty, early stage promises. Making its public debut today is the 25-storey, Skye Suites Sydney multi-residential tower, designed by world-renowned architect Koichi Takada and boasting 73 luxury serviced apartments. The boutique studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites — designed for both short- and long-term stays — are geared towards those with cash to splash, each kitted out with their own Vittoria coffee machine, Kevin Murphy bathroom products and even a bespoke bedding firmness menu. But perhaps most exciting is the ice cave-themed pool and lobby, with stunning curved ceilings to match the arched metal fins soaring across the top of the tower, and the building's rounded balconies. The hotel also boasts a swanky lounge and state-of-the-art gymnasium. It doesn't stop there, either. As part of the hotel's second-stage launch, slated for next month, it will score a stunning rooftop bar, and its own retail and hospitality precinct. Crown is helping to bring new life to Skittle Lane, at the building's rear. It'll play host to Reflect — a 12-metre-long public artwork by Ramus Illumination, with an ever-shifting form, brightened with thousands of LED lights. The historic laneway, which scored its name after being used as a bowling alley by soldiers and sailors in the 1880s, will be transformed into a pedestrian thoroughfare linking Kent and Clarence Streets, complete with a diverse food and retail offering. Some of the eateries set to open later this year include an izakaya and ramen bar, a multi-level restaurant dubbed Meu Jardim, a tapas spot and a new Ministry of Coffee. SKYE Suites Sydney at Arc by Crown is now open at 300 Kent Street, Sydney. Images of Skittle Lane are renders.
Is it that time again already? The Sydney Underground Film Festival is back, bigger and better than ever. If you thought Harmony Korine couldn't out-do Julien Donkey Boy and Gummo, you were wrong; Trash Humpers is here to rock your socks. It seems this American filmmaker is living up to the reputation forged for him by Werner Herzog. Gaspar Noe has also returned to the big screen, with his effort Enter The Void, after a seven year absence since Irreversible, and Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas present the life of the now-deceased comedian Bill Hicks, in American: The Bill Hicks Story. Notably, this film made a great impression at SXSW. Congratulations to whoever in the organisation of this event managed to schedule 89 films over a 54-hour period. Kudos, friend. Kudos. The three evenings of cinema commence with a screening of Un Chien Andalou, a film that many will recognise from the Pixies song 'Debaser'. The product of a partnership between Luis Brunel and Salvador Dali, the film's opening sequence is perhaps what made it famous. What will make this screening particularly interesting however, is the fact that Jay Katz and Miss Death have composed a live score to accompany the film. Get on down to the Factory Theatre, and help bring these films out of the underground. Image: Trash Humpers https://youtube.com/watch?v=BVbTEVfLksU
The great thing about casting impersonators in a film is that you get twenty actors for the price of two. Directed by Michael Winterbottom, The Trip features comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (24 Hour Party People, A Cock and Bull Story) starring alongside themselves as: Al Pacino, Michael Caine, Ian McKellan, Woody Allen, Richard Burton, all the James Bonds and a score of other celebrities whilst embarking upon a restaurant tour of northern England's finest eateries. The premise is charmingly simple: when Coogan's girlfriend suddenly backs out on their planned romantic getaway, he's forced to enlist the help of his old friend Brydon to avoid dining at the six restaurants alone. Since neither of them are particularly 'foodies', however (at one point Coogan describes his tomato soup as “tomato-y”), the trip quickly develops into a rollicking showdown of competing impersonations and improvised philosophising on love, fame and why old people are always cranky. Shot in and around England’s picturesque Lake District, The Trip offers up some of the most genuine laugh out loud moments of any film produced in the past five years, as well as some surprisingly tender scenes given its mockumentary style. Coogan and Brydon are perfectly matched as the leads, with their constant bickering and passive one-upmanship providing an almost unceasing series of sparking one-liners that you’ll want to write down and use on your own friends later.
For more than a decade, Roomies Arts has supported artists with disability and mental health concerns — helping these artists to overcome the barriers presented by society and the arts world, and to achieve their goals and develop their creative skills. During the pandemic and Australia's transitions in and out of lockdown, the organisation decided to expand its workshops, creating sessions that would help reach more of the general public while people were experiencing increased mental health challenges. One way that the organisation is doing exactly that is through a series of online creative workshops. There are currently four workshops up on the Roomies Arts website — so, you can participate in a still-life drawing session with artist Anne Kwasner, make paper sculptures with visual and performing artist Jeff McCann, upcycle clothing with designer Holly-Jane Cohle, and create air-dry clay figures with mixed-media painter and sculptor Michelle Connolly. The sessions are designed to help you slow down and focus on something relaxing and mediative for a short period, which is something we could all benefit from this year. Each workshop is free to participate in, and comes with a list of materials and items needed to take part. Generally, those lists include household arts and craft items, so they can be easily purchased if you don't have them. To stay up to date with everything Roomies Arts does, follow along at the organisation's Facebook page. That's where you'll also find a live-streamed art class on Saturday, October 16.
Keen to escape the cold weather in a cinema, but your wallet doesn't want to play ball? Call Dendy's latest special a case of great timing, then. For the weekend spanning Friday, June 14 to Monday, June 17, its Newtown cinema is offering up discount tickets that'll solve your problem — as long as you purchase tickets to one of three flicks, you'll only pay $6. The three flicks you have to choose from are: Keanu Reeves' latest action-packed assassin thriller, John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum; the director of That Sugar Film's hopeful new climate change doco 2040; and Brightburn, a subversive and sinister take on Superman. You can score the cheap tickets in person at the cinema or online (although the latter will cost you an extra $1.50 booking fee). The deal is valid for all sessions of all three films across all four days.
As you might've heard, Misfits — Redfern's bar for mavericks and oddballs — is turning two this September. To celebrate, we're giving away a private dinner for you and nine mates. Yep, that's a pretty serious party. Whether you want to plan a birthday celebration of your own or just want to get the crew together, if you win this, you won't have to pay a dime. Go beyond the bar's secret bookcase and enter a 70s-style lounge room — this is where it will all go down. Dubbed 'Out of Bounds', this space is a private dining room, which you'll have all to yourselves, meaning you can wine and dine to your hearts' content (and get a little silly). It's also where Locals in the Lounge's free gigs take place, so you bet it'll be a good time in there. For two decadent hours, you'll be sipping on bottomless cocktail jugs, while tucking into a feast of share plates. Think delicious dishes such as crispy squid with jerk spice, burnt lime and aioli, followed by grilled flank steak with hand cut chips, caramelised onion butter and jus, plus spiced cauliflower with labne and pistachio puree, among many other delights. If you have any dietary requirements, you'll just have to let Misfits know 48 hours before your booking. If you win, you'll be able to have your private dinner any night between Monday and Thursday, until February 2020. Just head here to book. [competition]739163[/competition]
It's been a bit of a wild ride lately and you deserve a break. Yep, with all the Zoom meetings, new puppies and cancelled plans, it's important to take some time for you. And what better way to do so than by booking a vacay in your own city? You know, one that's not dependent on border restrictions? And, what if we told you it wouldn't cost you a penny? We've partnered up with City of Sydney and Destination NSW to give one lucky Sydneysider (and their mate or date) the ultimate two-day staycation in the CBD. Should you win this prize, not only will you be put up for two nights in the four-star Crowne Plaza in Darling Harbour, but you'll also get to wine and dine on us. You'll get brekkie and dinner at the Crowne, as well as brunch at new CBD cafe Picco Leo and lunch at the Ragazzi crew's new pasta bar Fabbrica, plus get to take home a couple of its pasta packs. Then, you'll be treated to drinks and snacks at the award-winning Maybe Sammy down in The Rocks, followed by a nightcap at Vini Divini Wine Lab. And the fun doesn't stop there. We're also throwing in two tickets to a night at pop-up outdoor gig space Sunset Piazza and tickets for a behind-the-scenes architecture tour at Sydney Opera House for you culture vultures out there. Sound too good to be true? Enter details below to go in the running. [competition]799857[/competition] For further Sydney city centre inspiration visit whatson.sydney/rediscover. For further Sydney inspiration, visit sydney.com. Images: Destination NSW
Way too often, Sydney intersections regress into a kind of chaotic, pedestrian-versus-automobile battlefield. Tired of being road-raged at by drivers, when all you're doing is crossing the road? Tired of out-of-nowhere pedestrians taking a running chance on a flashing red man? The rules of engagement are about to become a whole lot clearer. You can now plan your movements with the precision you would the cooking of a perfectly boiled egg. Yellow digital timers have arrived at six of Sydney’s busy crossroads. It's a move that puts power into the pedestrian's hands. Countdown timers are already part of the landscape in major cities around the world, including New York, Tokyo, Singapore and Los Angeles. Western Australian cities are also trialling the timers, which have already been a success in Brisbane. Knowing how many seconds you have means that you can decide just how and when you want to execute your crossing, which is stress-reducing for everyone, particularly for those managing limited mobility. "The timers appear after the green signal phase and display the number of seconds pedestrians have to cross a road before the red 'don’t walk' signal appears," Minister for Roads and Freight Duncan Gay explained in a media statement. "By providing time information to pedestrians, it will reduce the number of people trying to cross the road too late and risking their lives." The Sydney timers are on trial for two months, during which walkers' behaviour will be monitored. "Pedestrians are also reminded they need to play their part by obeying the signals and getting their hand off their mobile phone when crossing the road,” Gay said. To prove what a responsible crosser you are, now that you're empowered, head to Pitt and Goulburn Streets (Sydney CBD), Park and Pitt Streets (Sydney CBD), Elizabeth and Market Streets (Sydney CBD), Victoria Avenue and Archer Street (Chatswood), Campbell and Marsden Streets (Parramatta) and Parkes and Station Streets (Parramatta).
With design conference Semi Permanent set to hit Carriageworks later this month, the two entities are joining forces to present La Rosa Social Club. The space is the brainchild of LA-based filmmaker, curator and cultural icon Aaron Rose who's headed for Sydney following pop-ups in Berlin and at the LA Art Book Fair. The multifaceted project is part-exhibition hall, part-bar and part-performance space, and it will pop up at Carriageworks' Elston Room from Wednesday, May 24 to Thursday, June 1. La Rosa Social Club will serve as a gathering place for international creatives, serving up live performances and art exhibitions alongside food by Sammy's Burger Bar and a selection of local wine, beer, sangria and, most importantly, Negronis from Bondi's Corner House. Everything in the space is sourced from recycled material or thrift and vintage stores, then customised by Rose and his crew of artists — including the floral ceiling installation by Holly Hipwell, handpainted cushions by Madeline Simms and a suspended mural by Natalie Krim. The drinks menu, wine bottles and limited edition cocktail napkins will also be created by the group of artists. The pop-up will start with a launch party on the Wednesday and a private event for Semi Permanent ticket holders on the Thursday. Entry is free, but you should RSVP here ahead of time to ensure you get in. La Rosa Social Club will run from May 24–27 and on May 31 and June 1, from 5–10.30pm. For more information, visit the website.
If you're a dog person, being surrounded by wagging tails and beaming pooch faces is one of the happiest feelings in the world. Here's another: doing your part to assist animals in need. Each year — a pandemic hiatus aside — the RSPCA's Million Paws Walk combines the two, asking Sydneysiders and their puppers to go for a stroll to help raise funds for an obviously extremely worth cause. Come Sunday, May 26, this endorphin-sparking mosey returns for 2024, taking over Cathy Freeman Park within Sydney Olympic Park. Whether you're keen to dress up for the occasion — in a matching outfit to your four-legged bestie, of course — or just pop on your sneakers and usual workout attire, you can choose between a two- and four-kilometre walk from 10am. Tickets costs $15 for adults and $7.50 for concessions, with the money raised going towards RSPCA NSW's work rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals. In addition to the exercise, you and Rover can browse a heap stalls afterwards, and enter raffles, shop for RSPCA merch, listen to live tunes and score prizes. Can't make it to Sydney Olympic Park? Check out the full list of venues around NSW. Images: Call of the Wild Pet Photography.
If you're working from home during the COVID-19 crisis you've probably noticed that your productivity has gone through the roof. You're smashing through that to-do list in the time you'd usually spend on the bus, and live-streaming your bootcamp session after pens-down, but have you also noticed you're generally taking fewer breaks from 'the office' in the middle part of your day? A two-year study showed that when employees work from home, staff tend to take shorter breaks. Perhaps the WFH lifestyle you imagined — eating salads in the sunshine, reading more books at lunch, and having a less stressful transition into dinnertime — hasn't materialised in the way you'd hoped? Just because you're cutting out the travel time doesn't necessarily mean you have more time to prep healthy, appetising meals come 6pm. [caption id="attachment_766420" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Oodee's ten-minute meal packages[/caption] Oodee is a meal delivery service that brings you washed, cut and portioned ingredients for nutritious feeds that can be cooked in ten minutes. You don't even need a stocked pantry — every element of the cooking process has been taken care of, and you're sent easy-to-follow recipe cards for each meal. Instead of worrying over which can of soup to crack open next, you could be heating up a couple of plates of crispy salmon with soba noodles, chicken schnitzel with mash and gravy, barbecue chicken pizza, or thai green curry with jasmine rice — all before you sink into another episode of Tiger King on Netflix. Oodee's main focus is providing healthy, accessible meals to help you spend less time shopping and cooking. It works with local farmers to source RSPCA-approved chicken and Meat Standards Australia suppliers for other proteins, and it delivers daily so you don't have to go hungry when you've been typing till midnight and forgot to feed yourself between stimulants and Skype calls. [caption id="attachment_766461" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chicken schnitzel[/caption] Sydneysiders can order their meals by 11:59pm each night and you'll still receive free next-day delivery. The minimum order is three meal packs, and dishes like tofu stir fry with hokkien noodles work out at only $5 per serve. And if you are heading out to work right now, deliveries are dropped off between 4–8pm each evening in a chilled and insulated box so your meals will remain at the right temperature ready for when you get home. Find out more about Oodee's food delivery service and take advantage of its free next-day delivery offer while you can.
There's no doubt about it, it's cold. Sydney's wild weather has settled in — we've seen snow in the Blue Mountains, rain spitting down in the city and the Manly ferry line stopped due to severe swells in Sydney Harbour, plus destructive winds and damaging surf along a large portion of the NSW coast. Luckily, Japanese casual apparel retailer UNIQLO has got some super snug clothing to keep you warm throughout the chilly season. What's more, on Friday, June 14, UNIQLO is giving away free HEATTECH wear to make sure you're cosy to the core. Essentially thermals, the HEATTECH innerwear comes in three levels of warmth — warm, extra warm and ultra warm — in the form of singlets, shirts, turtle necks, pants, long johns and even leg warmers and socks. So, whatever this winter holds in store, UNIQLO will help you stay nice and toasty. Get down to Martin Place between 7am–7pm and find the large UNIQLO HEATTECH shirt installation to nab yourself some free winter wear. The process is pretty simple: at the OTT shirt installation, you'll get a thermal Polaroid taken, which will have a unique code on it. Then, take your code to the UNIQLO MidCity store on Pitt Street to redeem your free HEATTECH swag. To check out the full HEATTECH range, head to UNIQLO's website.
What do you want for your birthday, never mind Christmas? Consider this: tickets to a cool indie send-up of modern military ruthlessness that easily checks in as one of the best plays of 2011. Can’t bear the idea of another heavy-handed hostage drama that bludgeons you over the head with a “war-is-baaad” sledgehammer? Relax, The Birthday Boys is surprisingly hilarious: placing $100 bets about who will piss their pants first, pledging eternal devotion to the pursuit of post-war pussy, and parodying Braveheart’s cry of “FREEDOM!” is the only thing keeping these U.S. Marines together. There are three of them, blindfolded and bound. Sprawled on the floor of a supply warehouse, they brace themselves for imminent interrogation and torture by their Iraqi captors. All lowly Privates without the brains, ambition or balls to rank any higher, the three Marines have little in common beyond shared experience of sentry duty. Lance is an unabashed playboy who gets all the best one-liners, Carney is an annoying sci-fi nerd who thinks they’re only stuck in this mess because the U.S. military hasn’t yet implanted computer chips inside troops to track them via satellite, and Guillette plays reluctant big brother to the two younger men whilst pining for his heavily pregnant wife. Following a few failed escape attempts and some competitively crude banter, we meet their captors: big, menacing, brutal-booted men headed by a shark-smiled leader who explains to the captives that they must make filmed messages calling for the unilateral withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. When they refuse to cooperate, both the terrorists and the audience begin the countdown to their executions. Who will go first? What’s most interesting here is how Lance, Carney and Guillette react to stress; extreme stress, like having AK-47s jammed inside their mouths and electrodes attached to their nipples. Ion Nibiru, a consciously experimental production company, has delivered here a definitive dark comedy about the warped role that honour, dignity and desensitisation play at a military base in the modern age. Director Darren Gilshenan contrasts the locker room humour with lots of cringeworthy scenes of coercion and abuse, then tops it all off with a cleverly-crafted twist. It’s one you’ll wish you had a $100 bet riding on. This play is called “The Birthday Boys” for a bloody good reason, but you won’t hear it from me. Go treat yourself like it’s your own birthday.
When was the last time you scrolled through someone else's social media feed, ogled their happy snaps, envied their existence and felt bad about your own life choices? However honestly you choose to answer that question, we know you know the feeling. You've been there and done that, and probably more than once. What we'll assume you haven't done is move across the country to stalk your Insta girl crush, and then changed your entire identity in order to become their BFF. In a nutshell, that's the story of Ingrid Goes West, a caustic yet relatable comedy that blends a portrait of today's #nofilter world with some Black Mirror-style social satire. It's a film that's all-too-aware that measuring self-worth through likes, follows and shares has become the norm, and is well and truly committed to probing and satirising that fact. If, like most of us, you live large parts of your life online, then you're likely to find this darkly comic tale insightful, amusing and unnerving — not to mention a little close to home. When we first meet Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza), she's trawling through a woman's wedding posts while driving to the reception. She wasn't invited, she's furious and the fact that she's only really an Instagram acquaintance of the bride doesn't matter to her one bit. A meltdown, a short stint in a psychiatric hospital and a modest inheritance later, and Ingrid finds herself alone, cashed up and looking for a new pal. Enter LA influencer Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen), who Ingrid spies in a magazine and reaches out to online, eventually abducting her dog in order to spark a connection. Remaking herself in her new bestie's image, Ingrid's efforts initially pay off. Soon she's having dinner with Taylor and her artist husband Ezra (Wyatt Russell), going to parties with the duo, enjoying girls-only road trips to Joshua Tree and filling her own social media feed with proof of her glamorous new life. But then Taylor's snarky, smarmy brother (Billy Magnussen) shows up, and quickly sees through Ingrid's Single White Female-esque obsession. In their first feature film, writer-director Matt Spicer and co-scribe David Branson Smith find plenty of material to work with, both in Ingrid's delusional deception and her inevitable unravelling. In the process, they contemplate and skewer a culture that enables her behaviour with the tap of a screen, and then judges, denigrates and condemns with the press of a few more buttons. It might all seem quite obvious to anyone with a smartphone, but that doesn't make it any less humorous, perceptive or effective. Spicer also deserves credit for finding the right stars for the job, particularly his leading lady. With her expressive eyes working overtime, Plaza flits between sincere, ironic, vulnerable and vapid in an instant, all while making viewers understand Ingrid when they might otherwise just feel derision or pity. Olsen, meanwhile, nails her role as a bohemian social media star, so much so that you'll think you're actually following her on Instagram yourself. Of course, that's the point: the most astute and accurate parodies are often only a step or two away from the real thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n83Za_7AiyY
Residents of Parramatta, it's time to add some more greenery to your house, apartment or backyard. For one morning only, the city council is giving away thousands of plants — so if you live in the Local Government Area, you can head by and collect up to four per person. Both trees and shrubs will be on offer during Free Plant Day, all as part of a plan to make the city greener and more liveable. Over the past five years, the City of Parramatta has planted more than 500,000 trees, native shrubs and ground covers around the area, in fact. To nab your new green babies, head on down to the nursery in Cowells Lane Reserve, near the corner of Cowells Lane and Monroe Street in Ermington, between 8.30am–12.30pm on Saturday, March 6. As well as perusing the freebies, you can chat to clued-up staff and choose which ones to adopt. You will need to bring proof of residency with you, so don't leave home without something that lists your address.
Museums of History NSW has announced this year's annual art installation: Murmurations. Murmurations brings together the perspectives of First Nations peoples from Australia and the Pacific to explore the history of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Hyde Park Barracks. The digital art installation was created by acclaimed First Nations artist Tony Albert and Sāmoan–Australian artist Angela Tiatia with Lille Madden, Alina Olivares-Panucci and Corin Ileto. It offers viewers an opportunity to engage with the history and culture of Australia and the wider Pacific region. Rich cultural narratives are woven into the work, delving into the complex history of Hyde Park Barracks and its significance in shaping our understanding of migration and identity. Experience this thought-provoking installation on view daily in the Hyde Park Barracks courtyard from 10am–5pm until Sunday, June 4, completely free of charge. In addition to the artwork, there is a specially curated program of talks, workshops and performances that deepen understanding of the artwork and site including the Community Cultural Festival on Sunday, 28 May — the full program can be found on the Museums of History NSW website. Throughout May until June 4, visitors can create their own love token — handmade coins crafted by convicts which they gave to their loved ones before they were transported to begin their sentence — and engage in First Nations weaving traditions at the Weaving a Connection to Culture drop-in weaving workshop. The Murmurations art installation is on view daily at the Hyde Park Barracks courtyard from 10am–5pm until Sunday, June 4. Entry is free. Image credit: 1. Murmurations (still) by Tony Albert and Angela Tiatia, with Lille Madden, Alina Olivares-Panucci and Corin Ileto, 2023. Commissioned by MHNSW. 2. Photo Joshua Morris for MHNSW.
Meet Smokey LaBeef and Exercise Mike, two dapper gentlemen who were drawn together by their ridiculous names and shared misfortune at having been born in the wrong decade. Rather that spend the rest of their lives pining away for those earlier days of neater heir styles and better dance moves, they recently discovered a time travel device to transport their bodies to the decades their souls inhabit, and they call it Jingle Jangle. With the sweetest tunes from the 1920s - 1960s, this is your monthly dose of rock n roll, swing, jive, soul, R&B, exotica, garage, psych, beat and 50's/60's pop oddities - not to mention all the magicians, puppet shows, sideshow events, projected vintage cinema and civilized confabulation you could ever need to leave the 21st century far far behind.
In Beauty, Francois is self-contained, unhappily married, white, middle-aged. He's from another world — that of Apartheid South Africa — and has utterly failed to adjust to the post-Apartheid landscape where the privileges he was born with mean less. He quietly and unapologetically throws around racist and homophobic slander across the dinner table. But as the reality of Francois' identity is slowly revealed, we come to understand that he is the object of his own loathing: he's not just a closet racist, but a closet gay man. His unravelling begins when he meets Christian (Charlie Keegan), who is distinctly new-world South African: young, handsome, successful, loved, and genuinely charismatic. He is the symbol of everything that is unavailable to Francois (played subtly and menacingly by Deon Lotz). Beauty is not about politics per se, but it is deeply political: it delves into how matters of sexuality and race manifest in individuals. The last film that did this successfully was the Iranian A Separation, and so director Oliver Hermanus has a tough job cut out for him. As a drama, Beauty never achieves the devastating tension of A Separation, but as a character study of someone who is both shaped and impounded by his culture, it is quite effective. The film is not just about the tragic figure of Francois but about all people who fear the world as it turns and changes around them. Likewise, Beauty is not so much about desire and obsession, as some have reported, but repression and unrealised longing. The point is not semantic when discussing the complexities of internalised homophobia. Clearly the film is ambitious in scope, but it refuses to answer the many questions it throws at the audience so violently and distressingly about the nature of fear, sexuality, race, and social change. It is one thing to examine the plight of a self-hating gay man, but Hermanus risks overly humanising Francois' descent into inexcusable brutality. The director was a press photographer in his former life, and his fondness for very still, slowly edited shots often brings the pace of the film to a standstill, undermining his ability to gradually build suspense. Despite its shortcomings, its braveness was rewarded with the Queer Palm at Cannes Film Festival. Beauty frustrates and disturbs in equal measures. https://youtube.com/watch?v=8nkOSe9fBqs
Since first unleashing its festival fun back in 2014, Lost Paradise has become an end-of-year staple. But, just two weeks out from its 2019 event, the Glenworth Valley festival has had to cancel because of NSW's catastrophic bushfires. So far this fire season, bushfires have destroyed 724 homes and burnt 2.7 million hectares across the state. One of the most destructive blazes is the "mega-fire" in the Wollemi National Park — currently more than 344,000 hectares in size, but being controlled — which is right next to Lost Paradise's home. With hot and dry conditions predicted for the rest of summer, and some saying the worst is yet to come, the festival has made the decision to cancel the festival. A Lost Paradise spokesperson said the decision had been made after "extensive consultation with the Rural Fire Service, emergency personnel and other key stakeholders". "Our beautiful home in Sydney's Central Coast is facing intense and unpredictable fire conditions that are sadly expected to deteriorate," the spokesperson said in a statement. "We simply cannot put anyone's life at risk." While the festival considered possible options to relocate the festival, none of them had been possible within the short timeframe. https://www.facebook.com/LostParadiseAU/posts/2894075944005965?__xts__[0]=68.ARDWIgXxyu_kO0u_3EPyZmOec25Z9zu-r4p0qY89Ey2UdSMK5CcAsK2hWr91fGeoaxhRNYCHzrZ6tJ0kXk1CLIGCg9PdcPGoHlAFzMwsMPADX_1mVDn9WQure7jlgKxJcH65_XRotMUw3NaNg7wkclTDYbBNHt8QA7BWDCS6gw3M9-QBfuZNnfT0Fhzt4zB-lL2NYpzgCMhNyIr4DnzSULYDnvLP1CL6USP7aycyibx3_LvBTzfJm2j53mtMQ5kVGf37hgbajjOLWo4y86YShm3hM6EWFTzkIJthe3uZviBBQPSixeKzk8WFwX_ydy-kyZ9JhbGqKED4yrp4e4CYEA&__tn__=-R Lost Paradise was set to run from December 28–January 1, with Rüfüs Du Sol, Hilltop Hoods, Honey Dijon, The Jungle Giants and The Veronicas some of the artists scheduled to perform across the four stages. Talks, workshops and multiple types of yoga had all been locked in as part of the fest's Shambhala Fields program, too. Everyone with a ticket will be eligible for a refund, with individual ticketing providers set to provide details surrounding the refund process in the coming details. Top image: Boaz Nothham
Rising sea levels, floods, fires, droughts, deforestation, wars, persecution — there are many, many reasons why hundreds of millions of people around the world have been forced to flee their homes during the past 15 years. And EXIT, a digital installation commissioned by the Foundation Cartier, Paris, now showing at UNSW Galleries as part of Sydney Festival, makes sure you can't ignore them. For 45 minutes, this immersive work surrounds you with 360 degrees of frankly terrifying statistics, presented as mesmerising images, text and sound. Prepare to leave wondering how on earth the Earth will possibly cope, yet compelled to do something — anything — about it. That said, the work is in no way didactic. Rather than telling what to think or laying any blame, it simply provides hard, cold facts. Since 2008, natural disasters have displaced one person every second — an average of 26 million per year. Of the 6700 languages spoken today, 50 percent are in danger of extinction by 2100 — one of EXIT's most moving moments is the playing of recordings of 16 endangered languages. For the first time in history, there are as many people living in cities as there are in rural areas, and cities create about 70 percent of the planet's greenhouse gasses. "I think it's a bit of a wake-up call, really," says Felicity Fenner, director of UNSW Galleries. "I love that the work isn't political. It isn't telling us what to do. It's just data, just numbers ... but they're incredible designers. It's presented in such an elegant way that it's really hard to stop looking at. So, it's overwhelming, yet engaging." EXIT was a group effort. Based on an idea of French philosopher Paul Virilio, the work was created by NYC-based designers Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Laura Kurgan, Mark Hansen and Ben Rubin, in collaboration with Robert Gerard Pietrusko and Stewart Smith.
Now that summer’s kicked in (sort of), it’s time to go somewhere you can listen to the low shush-shushing of the ocean and watch the sun dip behind the horizon. Coogee? Too far! Cronulla? Still controversial! You and I both know that Bondi Beach is the place to be this summer. Whether you’ve spent the day getting suntanned and sandy-toed, braved sweaty public transport or successfully battled for a parking spot, treat yourself this summer to the hottest films screening under the stars. Bondi Openair Cinema is back with a vengeance — they’ve even got Ben & Jerry’s offering Sundae Sessions, Sonoma Bakery on board and a brand spanking new location on the Dolphin Lawn. This year the programme is packed like a beloved shiny bucket with quirky comedies, cult classics, indie flicks, new Aussie releases and sneak previews. Gear up with live bands and solo artists and grab some lemonade, chairs and booze from the fully licenced Festival Bar before settling into a sweet balmy night of big screen entertainment. The drive-in’s not dead, it’s just been given a re-jig — shimmy on down to Bondi for a perfect summery evening.
Remember how one of the best things about being a kid was finding weird stuff like leftover food and your grandma’s spare teeth, and bringing it to school for show and tell? Well that sort of exercise can also be one of the best things about being a culturally discerning adult. If you still possess interesting ideas and an inquisitive mind, get down to Trampoline and put forth your discoveries — be they abstract, tangible or dental — to an audience that is up for cross-disciplinary discussion. Trampoline Day is a self-organising event that aims to address things that are appealing across a range of disciplines, with past topics ranging from intergenerational learning to wine tasting, 3D printers and, incidentally, the 1000-year-old human. Nothing is locked in on Trampoline and nothing is given priority, with the only requirement being that each session is 20 minutes long and focuses on sharing something that the presenter finds amazing. It also takes place out the back of the Oxford Street Design Store, so if you’re stuck for ideas you can pick up something fascinating for less than $20 on your way in. Image courtesy of Julia Hughan.
Got some extra coin you're keen to throw in the direction of the Australian art scene? Firstly, good on you. Secondly, you may as well get something (other than warm fuzzies) in return. As part of Art Month Sydney, the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) is organising The Sandpit, a big ticket ceramics workshop/fundraiser hosted by celebrated young artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran. Recognised for his unsettling sculptures that explore themes of gender, sexuality, politics and religion, the Sri-Lankan born, Sydney-based artist — who won the 2015 Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award — will lead a small hands-on class in the Ceramics Lab at UNSW Art + Design. There are just 15 spots available, so when we say small, we mean small. Tickets are on a first come, first serve basis, so make sure you get in quick. Of course at $560 a head, entry to The Sandpit isn't cheap. But you can at least rest assured that the money will be put to good use, with $450 of every ticket going to support NAVA's advocacy for the visual arts. Plus you get a free lunch... and who doesn't like a free lunch?
The past month of wet weather — it rained 23 out of 31 days in March — has been a real buzzkill (nay, disaster) for outdoor events in Sydney. But we've got a good feeling about April, and so do the folks at Luna Park as they prepare to launch their brand new rooftop cinema. Launching an outdoor cinema in April is ambitious, but it's sure to be one worth braving questionable weather for; from the rooftop of Luna Park you'll have an unobstructed view of a lit-up Sydney Harbour. Plus, they'll provide blankets to keep you cosy and noise-cancelling headphones so you can hear the film over the clamour of the Wild Mouse. Over the course of three weeks (which coincides with school holidays), the cinema will show a mix of new releases, family-friendly films and the requisite Dirty Dancing. Full program is below. LUNA PARK ROOFTOP CINEMA 2017 PROGRAM Friday, April 7 — Fantastic Beasts (2016) Saturday, April 8 — Passengers (2016) Monday, April 10 — Trolls (2016) Tuesday, April 11 — The Edge of Seventeen (2017) Wednesday, April 12 — Dirty Dancing (1987) Thursday, April 13 — Hidden Figures (2016) Friday, April 14 — Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Saturday, April 15 — Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) Monday, April 17 — Sing (2016) Tuesday, April 18 — The Space Between Us (2017) Wednesday, April 19 — The Notebook (2004) Thursday, April 20 — Logan (2017) Friday, April 21 — Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) Saturday, April 22 — Ghostbusters (2016) Monday, April 24 — Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017) Tuesday, April 25 — Dance Academy (2017) Wednesday, April 26 — TBC Thursday, April 27 — La La Land (2016)
When it comes to prime spring drinking turf, Chiswick's sprawling green lawn is up there with the best. And you can bet it's set to get a solid workout this summer, as the Woollahra restaurant sets up a pop-up bar for outdoor drinks throughout February. Join in the al fresco fun from 5.30–7.30pm each Wednesday in February and make the most of those balmy pre-sunset temperatures with some hard-earned hump day knock-offs. The pop-up Bombay Sapphire bar will be slinging a selection of ice-cold gin cocktails, including a G&T ($10), a Passionfruit Collins ($14), and a Summer Twist with gin, peach bitters and mint ($12). There'll also be 4 Pines pale ales ($10) and house-made orange coconut soda ($5) — if gin isn't your thing. And, to cap it off, there'll be live acoustic tunes setting the mood, games of bocce, plus some free canapés making the rounds.
If there's one thing Sydneysiders like more than food (and that's a big 'if'), it's food with a view. A new rooftop bar opens nearly every week, but few could compete with this. To celebrate Chinese New Year, local favourite One Tea Lounge & Grill is opening a 'Sky High Bao Bar' in the Observation Deck of the Sydney Tower Eye. The Observation Deck, of course, is at the top of Sydney Tower — Sydney's tallest building by about 50 metres — and provides unparalleled views of the city. One Tea Lounge have become famous mostly for their ramen burgers, but the pop-up bar will be serving their (also popular) 'baogers' instead — specifically, matcha baogers with braised pork rib. Dessert will be cookie shots filled with creamy matcha white chocolate in both green tea and 'Red Fortune' flavours. On top of your standard Observation Deck views, the pop-up also includes a photobooth and a Wishing Wall for people to send well wishes to their loved ones. The pop-up will be open from 12–3pm Monday to Thursday and 12–5pm Friday and Saturday.
Sydney's home of perfect-for-every-occasion artisanal gifts Sorry Thanks I Love You (STILY) has been hosting free in-store yoga classes for the past four years. Now, with the closure of gyms across the country and increased social distancing, it's bringing them online. And, yes, they'll still be free. Running every Monday night at 6pm AEDT (for the foreseeable future), the Instagram live classes will be streamed on STILY's Instagram page and hosted by Misch Gomez. They'll run for an hour and give you a chance to wind down and get out of that Twitter hole (at least temporarily). If you don't have a mat, you can even roll out a towel — and get ready to get bendy. A benefit of doing the class at home, as STILY has pointed out, is that there's "no one noticing if you pause to take a sip of your gin and tonic". Well, except your cat, dog or green baby. [caption id="attachment_739127" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Joey Clark[/caption] Top image: Rita Ince
If you're a culture vulture that's looking to up the party at your next museum trip, listen up. Together with Vivid Sydney, the Australian Museum is answering your calls with Jurassic Lounge: Heroes. Once again, the Sydney venue's grand halls and hidden corners are being transformed into a stage set for thrilling live performances, disco dancing and after-dark antics. On Saturday, June 18, a stellar lineup of DJs, drag queens, dancers and dinosaurs await. Partygoers can boogie down to Soul of Sydney DJs or get their groove on with Sydney drag royalty at a silent disco. There'll be drop-in art classes with scientific illustrator Celia Curtis (where you'll get the chance to artistically discover nocturnal beasts) and the opportunity to get gory at the autopsy of a T-rex (from the talents at Improv Theatre Sydney). Gramophone Man will be joining his unique musicalities with The Space Cowboy's Mutant Barnyard (which is, yes, a curious collection of taxidermy animals including a two-headed calf) and critters from Deep Sea Astronauts will be roving the museum's halls. [caption id="attachment_856643" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Diabolique Photography[/caption] All that the Australian Museum asks is that you dress up as your hero. Whether that means your don a cape or a lab coat, grab Ash Barty's racket or a health worker's scrubs — pay tribute to the champion in your eyes and get yourself ready for a night of out-there excitement. Sip a cocktail mixed by the gin-lords at Archie Rose and enjoy entry to all permanent collections, too — the museum will be all yours for after-hours wandering. With face-painting, sideshows and the people-pleasing Jurassic World by Brickman, it's gearing up to be the party of the season. Still have a Discover NSW voucher handy? Head to the museum in person to redeem and grab your (free) ticket — then get ready to party on the Government's dime. Jurassic Lounge: Heroes will take place from 6.30–10pm on Saturday, June 18. For more information and to book tickets, head to the website. Please note, it's an 18+ event and all weapons (real or fake) are strictly prohibited. Top images: Sarah Wilson (first); Diabolique Photography
2019 represents one giant milestone for humanity's space exploits, marking half a century since astronauts first walked on the moon. That's just one of the achievements that the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, aka NASA, is known for — and it's just one of the events that'll feature in a new exhibition chronicling the organisation's jaunts beyond the earth's surface, which heads to Australia this year NASA – A Human Adventure will display at the Queensland Museum in not only its first trip to our shores, but its only Aussie season. It's set to be huge in a number of ways. The exclusive showcase will bring more than 250 historically significant items to Brisbane, and it'll run for a whopping seven months. It'll also be the largest exhibition ever hosted by the newly refurbished South Bank spot, taking over two levels. Gracing QM's walls and halls between March 15 and October 9, NASA – A Human Adventure will feature everything from objects that actually have flown through space, to high-fidelity models, to both small-size and full-scale replicas. Think real rocket engines, space food, space suits, lunar cameras and moon boots, plus miniature versions of NASA's Space Shuttle, Lunar Rover, and Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space crafts. Touching on the Soviet contribution to space travel as well, it'll also display a replica of the robotic lunar rover Lunokhod. Australia is the latest stop in the exhibition's tour, which aims to showcase the story of space travel, as well as the history of rocket science and space flight. It comes to Brisbane after previously venturing to Milan, Singapore, Taipei, Seoul, Bangkok, Tokyo, Istanbul, Madrid, Utrecht, and both Stockholm and Norrkoping in Sweden. NASA – A Human Adventure displays at the Queensland Museum, corner of Grey and Melbourne Streets, South Brisbane from March 15 to October 9, 2019, with tickets on sale now.
Mindfulness practice — achieving the mental state of focusing on the present moment — is gaining popularity as people attempt to regulate their stressful lives. People have turned to everything from meditation to colouring books to achieve mindfulness, but perhaps few people would think of doing a triathlon to achieve inner peace. Take three activities that promote mindfulness — specifically running, yoga and meditation — and you've got yourself a 'mindful triathlon'. Wanderlust 108 has been running these triathlon festivals since 2014, and the standard day has a few main components. First, there's the five kilometre run, although the site reassures you that you can walk instead of running — or even "prance, skip, stroll or strut" — as long as you reach the finish line. After that, theres 75 minutes of yoga accompanied by a DJ set, and finally 25 minutes of meditation to round out the whole-group activities. Once the structured section of the day has wrapped up, participants can also head to activities such as aerial yoga, acroyoga and hooping, or to lunch. Returning to Sydney on Saturday, October 26, it's part exercise, part dance party, part fest — and 100-percent focused on helping attendees feel great inside and out. Also on the agenda: workshops and markets, with the latter helping you take your new blissed-out state home with you afterwards.
This November, 32 of Australia's best chefs are set to converge on Barangaroo for the first-ever Taste of Sydney Collective. Run by IMG, the same crew who run the popular Taste Tuesdays series, this four-day food paradise will immerse you in a cornucopia of collaborations, experimentations and exclusive deliciousness. Taste Festivals happen all across the globe and are always a big drawcard for the best in the business to come down and cook up a storm — and Sydney's inaugural event will be no different. The lineup of Aussie chefs, handpicked by a team featuring the mighty Mark Best (ex-Marque and Pei Modern), includes LA-based Louis Tikaram (E.P. & L.P.) and London-based chef Skye Gyngell (Spring), as well as Sydney-based Clayton Wells (Automata), Mat Lindsay (Ester), Nelly Robinson (nel.) and Ben Sears and Eun Hee An (Paper Bird). It's safe to say we're pretty excited — and if you're a food lover, you should be too. To celebrate the occasion, we've got our hands on some top-notch food prizes to give away, like passes to Taste of Sydney Collective and free dinners at some of Sydney's top restaurants across the next year. To enter, see below. [competition]690205[/competition] Top image: Steven Woodburn.
Sydney's love affair with the negroni may be a relatively new phenomenon, but the cocktail has actually been around for a full century. Legend has it that it originated in Florence's Cafe Casoni, when Count Camillo Negroni requested the concoction for the first time — that's one part gin, one part vermouth and one part Campari, garnished with an orange peel. For the cocktail's 100th anniversary, Campari is doing up its annual Negroni Week celebrations in style and venues all over the city are once again getting involved. Apart from all the negronis, the week doubles as a huge fundraiser, with most participating venues donating proceeds to a charity of their choice. It'll all go down from June 24–30, with some spots keeping the party going all month long. Here are our picks for the best ways to get your negroni fix this year. There's a negroni luge, pop-up bars, live art demonstrations and a whole heap of specialty negronis on offer — created by the best bartenders in the city, of course. And if you can't choose between them, our negroni finder will pick a place for you.
Over the past five years, there's been an explosion in the number of brewing companies moving out of back sheds and into more permanent venues — and offering food and entertainment on site in the process. Heading up this trend is Cake Wines, Young Henrys and 4 Pines Brewing Company, who recently announced they would be opening up not one, but three new venues around Sydney in the next 12 months. Now, Endeavour Vintage Beer Co. is jumping on the bandwagon. Australia's dedicated vintage beer company is opening their own tap room venue in November, with not only a brewery but a bar and restaurant coming to their new space in The Rocks. Ben Carroll and Hamish Watts from Applejack Hospitality — aka the folks behind Della Hyde and The Botanist — will be joining up with the Endeavour team, so you know you can expect something impressive. "Having looked at sites in other metro areas of Sydney, this one came on the radar last year and sits really nicely with the direction we wanted to head," says Carroll. The announcement comes off the back of the NSW Government pledging $200 million to give Circular Quay a facelift. The Rocks will receive $15 million of this, which has seen a number of new retail and dining outlets join the area hoping to help make it more attractive to locals. Endeavour's setup will include eight taps on site, which will all pour brews selected in conjunction with the kitchen, ensuring the food and drinks offerings always complement each other. In terms of food, Carroll says, "we are left of centre when it comes to typical brew house fare. Keeping in sync with the beer side we will be using seasonal fresh produce, and will be working closely with the head brewer to create a great synergy between the beers and food. We will be offering a range of smoked produce from the land and sea, which will be served feast-style and accompanied with vibrant salads and house-made sauces. All done with the typical Applejack flair." We can't wait to see just what that means for the Endeavour space. And, according to the Endeavour Tap Rooms Sydney's Facebook page, more exciting developments are still to come. Find Endeavour Tap Rooms at 39-43 Argyle St, The Rocks from November. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for more information.
In 1997, Christmas changed. With a single episode of Seinfeld, the world became privy to a new form of holiday celebration that eschewed other traditions and denominations. Instead of a tree, an unadorned pole gets pride of place. Rather than share happy stories, everyone gathered airs their grievances. And, instead of settling down on the couch after a hearty meal, attendees compete in feats of strength. Okay, so maybe you still enjoy tinsel, turkey and street cricket with your family on December 25. Even so, The Glenmore is making sure you can have some Festivus fun as well. The pub's shindig takes place on the official Festivus date of Monday, December 23. The Glenmore's rooftop will have live music going from 3pm. In keeping with tradition, there'll be a grievances wall — so you can air yours and be infuriated by everyone else's — and a "these pretzels are making me thirsty" cocktail special (a salted caramel espresso martini). Not so Seinfeld are the $12 Aperol spritzes. Don't forget to dress up, too — there will be Festivus prizes. Image: Steven Woodburn
The newest, latest show at Roslyn Oxley9 sees Isaac Julien’s film, Ten Thousand Waves repackaged, from filmic to photographic form. The film, which is being shown (for the first time world-wide) at Cockatoo Island as part of the Biennale was inspired by the Morecambe Bay Tragedy of 2004, in which over 20 Chinese cockle-pickers died. Investigations revealed that all of the workers who drowned were illegal immigrants. The ground revealed in this work by Julien is fertile, especially in Australia. Ours is a country which has not fully come to terms with the multitude of cultures living within its borders and, more significantly, the motivations behind many emigrants’ desire to abandon their nation of origin. This show holds a number of resonances for me; I remember seeing Julien’s film Derek at the Sydney Film Festival two years ago. The director’s sense of narrative was commendable, but what stuck in my mind was his clinical stylisation and, once again, this is the highlight of the series. The other point of resonance resides in the fact that a few years ago, I spent four months living in Guangxi, the province where much of Julien’s film is set. His ability to capture exotic landscapes and interiors I recognise, in a Western visual format, is profound. These images effectively trace the movement of people and the transitioning state of the Chinese populace. A lot of my friends have been discussing sideshows of late: the benefits and drawbacks of these smaller, more intimate performances in comparison to the larger music festivals they may accompany. It seems that in the context of art, and especially Isaac Julien’s multidisciplinary practice, this show at Roslyn Oxley9 is the art-world answer to the 'sideshow'. In this case, Julien’s photographic series is the sideshow to his nine-channel video installation being shown at the Biennale. Neither is better nor more valid than the other, but together a deeper understanding and appreciation of the overall achievement and scope of the work can be reached.
Commuters heading into work by train this morning should prepare for their trip to take a bit longer than usual, with a train derailment at Circular Quay causing major delays across the network. The maintenance train derailed around 5.30am on Tuesday, March 3, between Circular Quay and Wynyard stations, and repair crews are currently on site. The three main lines impacted are the T2 Inner West and Leppington, T3 Bankstown, and T8 Airport and South Lines, which are all battling major delays. Services are only running one way on the City Circle, first stop Town Hall, and a limited number of buses are supplementing trains between Circular Quay and Central. The T8 Line also starts and terminates at Central and will not run around the City Circle. Commuters are being advised to allow plenty of extra travel time, especially if they're travelling to the airport, and to consider using local buses and the light rail as alternatives. https://twitter.com/T3SydneyTrains/status/1234570448228081664 The T1 North Shore is also experiencing delays because of a trespasser at Central Station earlier. https://twitter.com/T1SydneyTrains/status/1234566332659560448 Due to the flow-on effects of the derailment, the rest of the train network is also experiencing delays, with all passengers told to allow for extra travel time and to check their real-time apps as some services have altered their stopping patterns. To stay up-to-date with delays, check the Transport for NSW website and real-time apps.
Film fans — pack your picnics, pillows and insect repellent, and prepare to spend your summer evenings watching the big screen under the stars. From December 1, Moonlight Cinema returns for another season of great viewing, great weather (hopefully) and great food. Yep — here, all three go hand-in-hand. Kicking off in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide at the very start of the month, then heading to Perth from December 2 and Brisbane from December 7, the first part of this year's program — covering December and January — features 21 advanced screenings of movies yet to hit cinemas, 25 new releases and a heap of old favourites. The February and March lineup will be revealed early next year, but rest assured, there's something for all tastes on the current bill. If you're after an early glimpse at an exciting upcoming flick, then Guillermo del Toro's gorgeous monster romance The Shape of Water, the Greta Gerwig-directed Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the latest movie by In Bruges filmmaker Martin McDonagh, should all do nicely. Those who'd like to catch an openair session of efforts already screening in cinemas can pick from the likes of Justice League, Murder on the Orient Express, Detroit, Thor: Ragnarok, The Mountain Between Us and Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (once it's released on December 14). And, if you've got the urge for something retro, make a date with Love Actually, Dirty Dancing, The Breakfast Club or Back to the Future. Also featured are sneak peeks of everything from Pitch Perfect 3, to new Pixar animation Coco, to Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in Steven Spielberg's The Post. Or, if you're a fan of Australian cinema, check out Kylie Minogue and Guy Pearce reuniting post-Neighbours for Swinging Safari; the absolutely stunning new outback western Sweet Country; and what sounds like an Aussie-as comedy, The BBQ. Pairing your movie choice with something to eat and drink is all part of the fun, so BYO supplies (although bringing your own booze isn't allowed in Brisbane) or grab something tasty onsite. MOONLIGHT CINEMA 2017-18 DATES: Sydney: December 1 – April 1 (Belvedere Amphitheatre in Centennial Park) Melbourne: December 1 – April 1 (Central Lawn at Royal Botanic Gardens) Brisbane: December 7 – March 4 (New Farm Park at Brisbane Powerhouse) Adelaide: December 1 – February 18 (Botanic Park) Perth: December 2 – April 1 (Kings Park and Botanic Garden) Moonlight Cinema's 2017-18 season starts screening around the country from December 1. For more information and to buy tickets, visit moonlight.com.au.
Customs House Square will be going back to nature, thanks to Art & About. From September 18 – October 11, passers-by will find themselves wandering through a 21-metre-high forest, made of more than 400 bamboo poles. They’ll be encouraged to imagine the wilderness that once covered Sydney Cove, while contemplating current destruction of the natural environment. Titled Near Kin Kin, the artwork is the creation of Cave Urban, a Sydney-based design collective dedicated to bamboo. Their previous projects include Hot House (Dark Mofo 2015), Save Our Souls (Sculpture By the Sea 2014) and Woven Cloud (Woodford Folk Festival 2014-15). “It's a privilege to be part of Art & About Sydney and to recreate a piece of another world in a place of such poignancy,” says Nici Long, principal at Cave Urban. “It's a chance for people to see the sheer scale and beauty of bamboo and its potential as a sustainable building material.” Fifteen people will labour for a total of 500 hours to bring Near Kin Kin into being. The bamboo is being harvested from a hillside farm in Queensland after which the sculpture is named, and will be recycled afterwards. “Near Kin Kin is a rare chance to reflect on the many layers of Sydney Cove’s history,” says Lord Mayor Clover Moore. “The enormous beams of bamboo will invoke awe in anyone who stands beneath them. By bringing the forest back into the heart of the city, the project will allow visitors to step back in time to a much earlier Sydney.” Image by Juan Pablo Pinto (artist's impression).
A very ordinary couple buys a house with a pond. Despite the couple's attempts, they can't keep the tadpoles in the pond alive. And, yes, the pond is a metaphor. At Addison Road Community Centre in Marrickville, you'll find a small community theatre that battles with the sound of aircraft flying overhead. The aptly named Flight Path Theatre is where you'll find a short run of 60-minute play The Pond, starring Oliver Burton and Rosemary Ghazi. It's a full length development of an award-winning short play of the same name by writer Con Nats. What resonated with audiences in the shorter version is likely going to land with the same emotive punch in this version — it deals with issues of miscarriage, mental health and the stop/start of building a relationship. Though the story starts equally weighted across both his and her anxieties, hopes and dreams, the trauma of multiple pregnancy losses seems to cut the audience off from her journey and instead focuses on the experience through his attention on the pond. And, considering the heaviness of the topics, it's quite a lighthearted production. There's plenty of relief in moments of dance and (slightly hammed up) sex scenes. And, as the actors are working with minimal set or prop design, you're drawn into the rhythm of their relationship as it gradually bends and snaps over time. If you're unable to make it to the theatre in person, The Pond will also be available as an audio recording. The so-called 'In Spirit' tickets are available for $10 from Sunday, October 11.
With the government encouraging social distancing, and enforcing mandatory 14-day self-isolation periods for everyone arriving from overseas, in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19, plenty of us are staring down the barrel of a whole lot of time spent at home. By now, you're probably all stocked up on toilet paper, are armed with a banging Netflix queue and have sussed out all the best delivery options for decent food and booze. But, alongside the streaming services and board games, you're also going to need a pretty solid collection of reading material to keep you entertained. And luckily, some local bookstores are more than happy to help. If you're keen to support the little, local guys, there's a bunch of indie book retailers that are now offering free delivery services, to hook isolated readers up with some much-needed literature. In Melbourne, long-running North Carlton spot The Little Bookroom has kicked off free same-day delivery for its online orders, servicing Carlton, Fitzroy and a heap of surrounding suburbs. Sibling store Neighbourhood Books in Northcote is following suit, though with an even bigger delivery area. And if you're cooped up at home over on the westside, Yarraville's Sun Bookshop has you covered. It's offering free same-day book delivery (for online orders placed before 2pm) to readers in Kingsville, Seddon and Yarraville, and next-day delivery for those in Spotswood and Newport. They'll drop your book order in the letter box or at your front door, and shoot a text message to let you know it's arrived. https://www.instagram.com/p/B9n100rAhcz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Meanwhile, Sydneysiders can get books delivered for free by the likes of Avalon Beach's Bookoccino (if you live between Narrabeen and Palm Beach) and Glebe's Gleebooks, which has launched free book delivery across the inner west and City of Sydney council areas, and Australia-wide for orders over $50. Newtown favourite Better Read Than Dead has cast the net even wider, offering free shipping across the whole of Australia for the foreseeable future. And up in Brisbane, Wynnum cafe-bookstore Little Gnome is doing daily delivery runs of books, brownies and even coffee, from 8–10am this week (check its Instagram for updates and details on how to order), while Avid Reader Bookshop is swinging free delivery for select inner-city suburbs, and Australia-wide if your order's over $50.
December, 2005. Two cars circle the beachside Sydney suburb of Cronulla, each filled with hotheaded locals looking for a fight. In one vehicle, the aggressive Jason (Damon Herriman) and his Ned Kelly-worshipping pal Ditch (Justin Rosniak) take the well-meaning but not-so-bright Shit Stick (Alexander England) and his kind-hearted Down Syndrome cousin Evan (Chris Bunton) in search of folks of Middle Eastern descent to bash. In the other, Hassim (Lincoln Younes) tears himself away from his studies to scour the streets for his missing brother – though his pals Nick (Rahel Romahn) and D-Mac (Fayssal Bazzi) and his devout uncle Ibrahim (Michael Denkha) are all keen to cause some physical damage to the area's ocker residents along the way. It's a scenario inspired by reality, in a film filled with harsh truths. If you're feeling a little awkward or even confronted by a comic take on the Cronulla race riots, that's okay. You're supposed to be. Like British terrorism satire Four Lions before it, Down Under addresses a subject everyone is aware of but no one wants to talk about, in perhaps the only way that it can. Feeling like you shouldn't be laughing at what you're seeing is part of the point. Thinking about why you're laughing is as well. Accordingly, the plot of Down Under offers a peek at the ugly side of Australian life. Conflict, discrimination and violence is inescapable in this film, as is the sense of discomfort by those watching. In his polished, purposefully provocative return to feature filmmaking after 2003's Ned, writer-director Abe Forsythe revels in the controversial nature of a situation that no one in the country can claim is unrealistic. After all, we all saw the scenes that made the news just over a decade ago; in fact, that's the footage Down Under begins with. As the two groups spend a day and a night driving around searching for weapons and arguing amongst themselves, the film manages to find the delicate balance between making a statement and making you laugh. Gags that stress the similarities between both sides provide many of the film's funniest and most astute moments, while Forsythe's clearly committed cast ensures that the characters never feel like mere caricatures – even when they're spouting idiotic, bigoted crap. Ultimately, Down Under isn't simply attempting to get viewers cackling about an uncomfortable topic. Forsythe is primarily trying to highlight the nation's deep-seeded intolerance, as well as the pointlessness of spewing hate based on cultural differences. It's little wonder that the film that results isn't just a comedy, but a tragedy as well. And given the current political and media landscape, this movie and its message really couldn't be more timely.
Drop everything. Nothing is as important as this Game of Thrones-themed wine tasting. Are you still, still recovering from The Red Viper versus The Mountain? Are you feeling a little nostalgic for the days when Tyrion could lay around boozing on vino? Perhaps you should be drinking your sorrows away with some like-minded Thrones fanatics. Confused? We’ll lay it down for you. Game of Rhones is a wine-tasting event touring that's been touring Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne since 2014. Now it's expanding the empire to Sydney and Auckland, stopping by our fair city on Sunday, June 21 at Carriageworks. Featuring over 40 producers and 100 wines, it's a one-day, all-out trial by combat to determine the best offering of the grape varieties from the Rhone Valley in France — Shiraz, Grenache, and Viognier among others. There'll also be local wines, ciders and beers from every corner of Kings Landing/Australia/New Zealand all of which have been confirmed to contain no poison and you, the humble commoner, will be entrusted to pick the victor. But this isn't just a run-of-the-mill wine tasting set-up. To keep that theme solid, the Rhone Bar is where you can taste wines from ‘Beyond the Wall’ (ie: the Rhone Valley). Then, you can sign up for a blindfolded tasting in the 'torture chamber' (a highlight of previous Game of Rhones events). Suffice to say, after a few of these Rhone Valley wines, we'd probably confess to a secret or two. Of course, it wouldn't be Thrones-worthy if there weren't a few extra kickers. To accompany your wine, there will be a selection of feast-able treats available such as suckling pig and venison pie — if you’re a vego or a vegan, you've probably already guessed this is a highly meaty affair — and there's also the option to come in costume. In previous Rhone events, it appears that patrons have either gone all out, or rocked up in jeans. Obviously we suggest the former, because quite frankly it would be amazing to see a hoard of drunken Daenarys' walking the streets of Auckland. Game of Rhones is coming to Sydney on Sunday, June 21 from 1-6pm at Blacksmiths Workshop, Carriageworks. Your $50 ticket includes a special take-home Riedel Ouverture Magnum wine glass and all tastings from 1pm-6pm, however food prices are not included. For more information see the Game of Rhones website.
Salt Meats Cheese do Italian food in of all its stages — we're talking providing the produce for it, cooking it, selling it and, of course, eating it. Their Bondi Junction digs are where all of the kitchen magic happens, and they'll be running a series of gluten-free cooking classes in July for those who can't stomach gluten. No longer just the wheat-filled territory of those who can glute, the two classes in the Gluten Free Series will focus on pizza and pasta respectively. Learn how to make gluten-free Italian goodness from scratch over two hours, then sit back with a glass of wine and feast on your hard work. The gluten-free classes are on Saturdays: July 14, July 21, August 24 and September 8. If wheat isn't your weakness, there's also a whole host of other cooking class options that involve gluteny flour as well.
Everybody, try to remain calm. The celebration of everybody's favourite sweet, the Festival of Chocolate, is back. Want to see demonstrations by some of pastry's most respected faces? The Callebaut Test Kitchen will be showing off the talents of Adriano Zumbo and Anna Polyviou, among others. The Chocolatier's Quarters will be home to a Zumbo chocolate showpiece and the stage for award-winning chocolatier Jodie Van De Velden to create a chocolate sculpture over the two-day festival. There will also be a pop-up Garden Bar and Arnott's Tim Tam Temptation Tent (try saying that five times quickly), where you'll be able to enjoy one of Australia's favourite treats. Not convinced by chocolate alone? How about the chance to win a $20,000 two carat chocolate-inspired diamond ring? Then you can be reminded of chocolate every time you look at your hands, and live happily ever after.
As part of the flurry of new streaming services competing for our eyeballs, FanForce TV joined the online viewing fold during the COVID-19 pandemic — with the pay-per-view platform not only screening movies, but pairing them with virtual Q&A sessions as well. Now, between Thursday, May 27–Monday, May 31 it's also hosting an online film fest: its third Virtual Indigenous Film Festival. The returning event coincides with National Reconciliation Week, and will showcase five films: High Ground, After the Apology, The Skin of Others, The Xrossing and Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra. That means you can watch your way through an array of Aussie movies focused on Indigenous stories, spanning both dramas and documentaries — and exploring race relations in the process. Sessions will also feature guest speakers, with just who'll be chatting yet to be revealed. And, viewers can tune in on a film-by-film basis, or buy an all-access pass to tune into everything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3REMs9I9Tg Top image: High Ground.
