Kevin Rudd can rest easy in his political grave (at least, for one thing), because the Asian-Australian connections continue to be cultivated. Amidst the Chinese New Year celebrations comes Crossing Boundaries, an exhibition that applauds the artistic exchange between Asian and Australian worlds. Everything from sculpture, installation, ceramics, performance and forums will be on offer as the unique cultural works of more than 20 Asian-Australian artists are presented. Curated by Catherine Croll, Crossing Boundaries includes renowned artists Hu Ming, Guan Wei, Lindy Lee, William Yang, High Tea with Mrs Woo and more at the Town Hall event that'll run from January 22 until February 9. Gotta zip.
Miranda Devine. Yeah, you've heard of her. Maybe you connect her with the profile shot that gazes smugly at you from the pages of the Telegraph somebody's discarded on the seat of the bus, or then again, maybe you're picturing the scenes of speechless, apoplectic rage with which your friends and loved ones are occasionally wont to speak of her. But make no mistake, there's nothing wrong with Miranda Devine's opinions per se. She just likes things clean, white, middle-class, conservative and heterosexual. Nothing wrong with that, she's entitled to her opinion. In fact, she's so entitled to it that she is the "leading columnist" with the Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun, who gift her an entire page in Australia's most popular tabloids in which to exercise her right to free speech. Which is all well and good until you get crazy-eyed hysterics ringing up talk-back radio and using her articles to back up what are often reactionary and evidence-free arguments. On Sunday, August 14, The Daily Telegraph published her column entitled 'It's a Myth Conception: The problem of a fatherless society.' While ostensibly about the pregnancy announced last week of Senator Penny Wong and her partner Sophie Allouache, Devine manages to complete some truly spectacular logical acrobatics to take us from a pregnant lesbian couple to the seemingly connected statement, "You only had to see the burning streets of London last week to see the manifestation of a fatherless society." Makes sense, right? To a lot of people it doesn't, and one of the people it rubbed up the wrong way was Tom Ballard, Triple J breakfast presenter, comedian and self-described "professional homosexual". Check out Tom's measured, yet whimsical, response below. https://youtube.com/watch?v=KkMv_GzhETk
If your NYE fantasy involves avoiding raging crowds and having lots of food and wine delivered to where you're sitting while you sit back and do absolutely nothing, then dinner at the Bentley crew's newest restaurant Cirrus is the go. What's more, Barangaroo Reserve is just a stumble away, so you have the option of checking out the fireworks from a killer spot (as long as you buy a ticket for $33.30). Cirrus will be serving its usual sustainably-caught, super fresh seafood-heavy menu. Star dishes include Moreton Bay bugs with house-made XO and mud crab from the Northern Territory with green garlic and tarragon. You're welcome to dine any way you like — be that a la carte or via a multi-course, share-style menu. To nab one of the 40 waterfront seats, we suggest booking as soon as possible. That said, wherever you are, you'll be luxuriating in plenty of personal space among the marble-dashed Pascale Gomes-McNabb-designed interior.
Film festivals love milestones. Queer Screen Film Fest notches up 12 years in 2025, which is no minor feat; however, it's celebrating a number of other anniversaries with one key screening. This year marks a decade since Holding the Man first reached cinemas, and also 30 years since Timothy Conigrave's memoir was initially published. A session of the Ryan Corr (Sting)- and Craig Stott (Barrier)-starring instant Australian classic is indeed on the event's lineup, then — at Sydney Opera House, and also to commemorate the 40th anniversary of New South Wales LGBTQ+ health organisation ACON. One of two film festivals run by Queer Screen, which also organises the Mardi Gras Film Festival during the first half of each year, Queer Screen Film Fest is otherwise taking over Event Cinemas George Street across Wednesday, August 27–Sunday, August 31 for its 2025 edition. The program is solely in cinemas this year, opening with romantic thriller Plainclothes. So, it's, starting with Russell Tovey (Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes) and Tom Blyth (Billy the Kid) in a tale about a closeted undercover police officer. Plainclothes is also part of something brand-new for Queer Screen Film Fest: its own Emerging Narrative Feature Competition. Six titles on the bill are in contention for a jury-decided $2500 prize. While the competition is designed to recognise filmmakers directing either their first or second narrative feature, all of 2025's entrants are from first-timers. As well as Carmen Emmi's Plainclothes, Rohan Parashuram Kanawade's Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Jury Prize-winnering romance Cactus Pears, the Cannes Critics' Week-selected Love Letters from Alice Douard and South Korea's Lucky, Apartment by Kangyu Ga-ram are up for the inaugural gong, as are Elena Oxman's Outerlands with Billions' Asia Kate Dillon and Superman's Louisa Krause, plus Sauna, the first Danish feature with a trans actor and character in a lead role. Fellow highlights across the full Queer Screen Film Fest program — a lineup with 14 Australian premieres — include the Dylan O'Brien (Saturday Night)-led Twinless, a two-time Sundance award-winner, including for both its star and for writer/director James Sweeney (Straight Up); the Western Sydney-set From All Sides, the feature directorial debut of Bina Bhattacharya (a writer on Here Out West); and closing night's Really Happy Someday, which picked up the Best Canadian Feature Award at 2025's Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival.
Just for Laughs is back for its third Sydney incarnation, ready to trend Twitter hashtags #lol, #rofl and #mousetraps. That's right, mousetraps. Whilst that may seem like an odd item to associate with a comedy festival, this year will see Whose Line Is It Anyway? favourites Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood arriving harbourside and performing hilarious improvisation formed from your suggestions every night of the festival. One of their favourite acts is improvising blindfolded on a stage littered with mousetraps. Painful? Yes. Hilarious? Also yes. They will be joined at the five-day laughfest by British comedian Mark Watson (October 16 and 19), who will also be helping out Colin and Brad; the excellent Kathy Griffin of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List fame (October 18); Rob 'you can do it' Schneider (19 October); Irish joke wizard Tommy Tiernan (October 20); and local favourites Peter Helliar and Rove McManus, who will be hosting the International Comedy Gala on October 19. If you miss all the other shows, then the Gala is the one to attend, as it will feature a host of the comedy talent on show throughout the festival. So put on your laughing pants and head on down to the Opera House this October for the funniest week of 2013.
Before Taco Bell used Brisbane as a testing ground, another overseas fast food giant got there first. That'd be Japan's MOS Burger, who've been slinging its wagyu, teriyaki chicken and crispy fish burgers in Queensland since 2011. And, just like its US counterpart, it is now planning to expand across the rest of the country. The brand is set to make its Australian presence known in a big way, with 100 stores slated around Australia in the next five years, according to The Courier-Mail. Presently, it has just six outlets in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, after initially launching in Sunnybank eight years ago. For those new to MOS Burger — which stands for "mountain, ocean and sun" — the chain started in 1972, and is littered not only across Japan, but in much of Asia. It currently boasts 1335 stores in its homeland, 258 in Taiwan, 33 in Singapore, 20 in Hong Kong, 16 on South Korea, 14 in China, eight in Thailand and two in Indonesia, with its Australian eateries the company's first venture out of the region. Menu-wise, MOS Burger serves up a style of burg that's familiar, but with Japanese flavours. Think gourmet cheeseburgers with wasabi and patties of wagyu doused in horseradish — plus more standard fare with regular American-style ketchup and mustard. They also do sushi burgers, which involve seafood tempura, smoked salmon or barbecue beef stuffed between a steamed quinoa rice bun with seaweed. Or there's the low-carb 'tomami', featuring the usual burger ingredients inside (you guessed it) a tomato. Via The Courier-Mail. Image: Hunter Nield via Flickr.
Belvoir has taken up its mantle as Sydney's 'other' major theatre company with gusto, announcing a 2015 season featuring elderly luminaries playing 17-year-olds, a clickbaity double bill of rom-coms themed around The Dog / The Cat and more cheeky, bold theatrical adventures. In particular, there's plenty of the collaboratively developed adaptations and exciting new Indigenous works the company has become known for. It's artistic director Ralph Myers' fifth and final season with the company, and one that shows Belvoir has really come into its own. "I have been enormously proud of the burst of creative energy that has accompanied my time here as artistic director," says Myers. "I feel a new generation of artists has really blossomed and that we’ll be seeing the fruits of that labour for many years to come on stages here and around the world." Here are 12 reasons to get into Belvoir in 2015 (i.e. it's the 12 shows they've programmed for us.) There's a mini Sapphires reunion in Radiance (3 January – 8 February, Upstairs Theatre) This classic of Australian cinema actually had its premiere at Belvoir in 1993. Now its kickstarting 2015, with Leah Purcell directing and starring and The Sapphires' Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell joining her on stage as three sisters reuniting for their mother's funeral in the heat of far north Queensland. Inimitable playwright Nakkiah Lui will play herself in Kill the Messenger (14 February – 8 March, Upstairs Theatre) Director Anthea Williams just couldn't imagine anyone else in the role. We loved Lui's debut full-length play and are waiting for the sharp stab of heartache and anger sure to come with this one, a very personal story of institutionalised racism. Nick Coyle's gay alien Blue Wizard goes (nearly) main-stage (19 February – 15 March, Downstairs Theatre) Everyone who saw Blue Wizard at last year's Tiny Stadiums festival has this sweet, lonely, earth-visiting, jizz-and-diamonds-eating character burned into their brains. Perfectly, the show is on at Mardi Gras time. Elektra / Orestes could be Belvoir's ultimate epic adaptation (14 March – 26 April, Upstairs Theatre) Mundane life becomes Greek tragedy in the hands of Anne-Louise Sarks, who did child-murder tale Medea from the point of view of the kids in 2013. In 2015 she teams up with Jada Alberts (Brothers Wreck) to take on the whole House of Atreus schemozzle. Not the wonderful Wizard of Oz (2 May – 31 May, Upstairs Theatre) When you think about it, L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz is the story of a young girl dealing with having just killed a person. Director Adena Jacobs (Hedda Gabler) explores this darker, visual-driven version of the familiar tale with a dream team including THE RABBLE's Kate Davis and Emma Valente on costume and lights. Puberty Blues' Ashleigh Cummings in coming-of-age story Samson (7 – 31 May, Downstairs Theatre) To be honest, Samson and its writer, first-timer Julia-Rose Lewis, are something of an unknown quantity. But the Belvoir team love it, so we're all ears. Robyn Nevin is Mother Courage (6 June – 26 July, Upstairs Theatre) Holy moly. It's like the Sydney Theatre Company and Belvoir are having a competition over who can most spectacularly cast Robyn Nevin. Here she's got a notoriously difficult role as a wily woman surviving and profiting from war. Angels in America's Eamon Flack directs and Michael Gow translates this new adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s masterpiece. There's a play about a dog and a play about a cat, what else do you need? (18 June – 12 July, Downstairs Theatre) Animals are better than people, so this double header is as good as sold out. Brendan Cowell has written The Dog, about the love triangle created when two men share a dog, and Lally Katz has created The Cat, about sharing a talking, smart-arse cat with your ex. Two plays, one night, funny, furry. Book it. Five Australian leading lights are 17 again in Seventeen (1 August – 13 September, Upstairs Theatre) Writer Matthew Whittet has drawn on the memories of actors Barry Otto, John Gaden, Peter Carroll, Maggie Dence and Judi Farr to capture all the joys and pains of coming of age as a group of friends prepares to move on from high school. The bit where they fumble through their 'first kiss' will be something to see. The trash-tastic Sisters Grimm celebrate and skewer La Traviata (27 August – 20 September, Downstairs Theatre) Yes, you can do both at once, as Sisters Grimm's Ash Flanders and Declan Greene have shown in so-wrong-it's-right Summertime in the Garden of Eden. Who knows if there'll be singing here, but so far this is described as "part opera, part protest, part drag show — a freewheeling satire that shadows Verdi's plot via the sweatshops of Mumbai". Another possible best adaptation in the form of Chekhov's Ivanov (19 September – 1 November, Upstairs Theatre) Ewen Leslie will play Nikolai Ivanov, a man stranded moneyless but rich in distractions on his old family farm. Eamon Flack directs (and will hopefully take great liberties with) this classic, as they aim "to put Australia on stage". Angela Betzien and Leticia Cáceres reunite for Mortido and we're scared already (7 November – 23 December, Upstairs Theatre) The last time this writer and director worked together at Belvoir, it was enough to make us quietly cry in fear and anxiety. This time they're presenting a world-travelling thriller connected by cocaine, with Colin Friels in the grizzled detective role. To explore the program and book subscription packages, visit the Belvoir website.
Swimming, snorkelling and diving on the Great Barrier Reef all rank right up there on everyone's bucket list, but splashing around away from the shore isn't without its perils. If you've been scared off by stories of tourists being left behind in the water — or watched too many ocean-based horror films, given it's a growing genre — then an Australian-developed new tracking system might appease your fears. In a world first, it allows tour operators to know where everyone is when they're in the water. And, of course, it helps them ensure that everyone has hopped back onboard. Called the Tourist Onboard Management System, or TOMS, the system works in two ways. Firstly, everyone on the tour has their palm prints scanned upon boarding and disembarking the vessel. Secondly, while in the water, swimmers wear a waterproof wristband with an in-built GPS tracker. Back on deck, their movements can be charted in real time — so, as you're paddling around — with the system boasting one-metre accuracy. Currently at the prototype stage, TOMS underwent its first test in Cairns this week, the ABC reports. And while it might sound like a fancier, more expensive way to do something that people have been doing unaided for years — that is, count folks — the system helps tackle the issue of human error. If the trials prove successful, it's hoped that it'll be rolled out among commercial operators in around 12 months time. Via ABC / Cairns Post.
The Australian film world has a striking new talent. Scooping up a best director gong at the Sundance Film Festival in January and winning the prestigious Crystal Bear in Berlin the following month, Adelaide's Sophie Hyde has with her debut feature, 52 Tuesdays, produced a powerful and progressive piece of cinema that defies formal, social and narrative expectations. With memorable characters and exceptional performances helping to shore up an intriguing structural gimmick, it's a bold and original coming-of-age drama that discerning local audiences should hurry to the cinema to see. Newcomer Tilda Cobham-Hervey plays Billie, a 16-year-old high-school girl struggling to find her footing after her lesbian mother Jane (Del Herbert-Jane) announces her intention to become a man. The transition, which involves a regimen of testosterone along with surgery, will take a year, during which time Jane — now going by James — requests that Billie go and live with her father (Beau Travis Williams). Billie agrees, on the condition that she can still visit every Tuesday after school. Honest, insightful and bravely against the grain, 52 Tuesdays is a magnificent debut for cast and filmmaker alike. Expect big things going forward. Read our full review of 52 Tuesdays here. 52 Tuesdays is in cinemas on Thursday, May 1, and thanks to Vendetta Films, we have ten double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y5WcMzEYRGU
A crotchety old man gets a new lease of life when he becomes the reluctant babysitter to the 12-year-old kid next door. Sounds pretty unbearable, until you factor in that the old man is played by Bill Murray. Pushing 65, the star of Ghostbusters, Stripes and Groundhog Day is looking a little on the tired side but soon proves he's lost none of his caustic charm. In St Vincent he's vinegar, adding just enough acidity to a screenplay that without him would have been sickeningly sweet. Vincent MacKenna (Murray) is a classic movie curmudgeon. He drinks like a fish, smokes like a chimney, and gambles like a man who has nothing left to lose. The closest thing he has to a friend, aside from his Persian cat Felix, is a foul-mouthed Russian prostitute (Naomi Watts), who may or may not be pregnant with his child. He's an unfeeling bastard, and the last person in the world you'd want taking care of your impressionable primary school-aged son. Unfortunately for his new next door neighbour Maggie (Melissa McCarthy), he's literally the only choice she has. St Vincent isn't what you'd call a groundbreaking holiday comedy. First-time writer-director Theodore Melfi has no shortage of funny dialogue but shows little interesting in straying away from his conventional narrative formula. Friendships are made. Lessons are learnt. Obvious set-ups lead to unsurprising payoffs, and everyone gets home in time for dinner. What sets the movie apart, primarily, is the quality of its cast. After years of retreading her Bridesmaids shtick, McCarthy finally gets the chance to play an actual human being; her turn as Maggie helps keep the film grounded, sympathetic but still genuinely funny. Chris O'Dowd, meanwhile, gets some great lines as a glib Catholic priest — and although Watts' Russian accent is pretty unconvincing, it's always fun to see her trying her hand at a comedy. Unsurprisingly, however, the highlight of the film is Murray. While this is a character the actor could comfortably play in his sleep, there's never the slightest indication that Murray is phoning it in. His dynamic with newcomer Jaeden Lieberher makes for one of the most enjoyable on-screen pairings of 2014; frankly, what kid wouldn't want Bill Murray for a babysitter? Yet despite first appearances, this is not a purely comedic performance. There's a loneliness to Vincent that Murray absolutely nails; a pair of scenes in which he visits his dementia-afflicted wife may very well bring audiences to tears. So too the ending, which although incredibly predictable, is so damn well executed that it's difficult not to forgive. And really, that's this movie in a nutshell. Like Vincent himself, you love it in spite of its obvious flaws.
First, Australia got a Harry Potter-themed brunch and dinner. Now, we're getting a wizarding beer festival. If the boy who lived's flicks were still gracing cinemas, exploring his adult life, we're certain he'd be keen on this magical festival. Whether you're still not over Harry or you just wish you'd had the chance to attend Hogwarts because you know you're destined to be in Gryffindor (and to be seeker on the quidditch team, obviously), you'll want to make a date with this event. You'll sip brews in a wizarding wonderland, while making your way between wand-making classes, DJs and tarot card readers. There's no word yet on exactly what beers you'll be drinking — local numbers? international favourites? alcoholic butterbeer? — but your ticket does include a 12-ounce (355-millilitre) brew on entry, and five tokens you can use on beers and the aforementioned activities. The Wizard's Beer Festival is set to hit Sydney at a soon-to-be announced location on March 1, 2020, then do the same in Melbourne on March 8, 2020, before heading to Brisbane on March 15, 2020. Folks in costumes pretending to be Hermione, Dumbledore and others isn't really our idea of a magical HP experience, but perhaps a few boozy butterbeers will get you in the right mood. And if not, you can organise a trip to see the Cursed Child stage show in Melbourne, if you haven't already. The Wizard's Beer Festival will hit Sydney on March 1, 2020, then Melbourne on March 8, 2020 and finally Brisbane on March 15, 2020. You can sign-up via the website to be notified when tickets go on sale. Top image: Wizard's Brunch UPDATE, NOVEMBER 16: This article was updated to include details of The Wizard's Beer Festival's planned events in Melbourne and Brisbane.
Despite its oceanic name, lower north shore eatery Johnny Lobster, which opened in 2015, spent more time serving up poultry than seafood. Consequently, the owners decided to listen to the people and metamorphosise. Since February, Johnny Lobster has been known as Johnny Bird and its menu has been dedicated to free-range fried chicken. "In the restaurant biz, you don't get to choose your signature dish. Your diners do that for you," says co-owner Tom Baker. "Over 50-percent of the food we sold at Johnny Lobster was fried chicken. So rather than continue to airfreight crustaceans from the North Atlantic, we decided to just go with it." The menu's centrepiece is fried chicken, which is served with sauce — such as Sticky Sichuan or Nashville Hot — and sides, including fried pickles, sweet potato fries and mac'n'cheese. On top of that, there are burgers — the staple being the Johnny, packed with fried chicken, pickles, coleslaw, tomato relish and chipotle mayo. "Each cut of chicken at Johnny Bird is treated differently. It's a time-consuming process but you can taste it," says head chef Jason Hall. "The wings are cooked sous vide at a low temperature for three hours before frying. Tenderloins are wet-brined in heavily seasoned buttermilk to increase moisture in the final cut and our boneless thighs are soaked in seasoned natural yoghurt for 48 hours." To match such carefully prepared offerings, there's a handpicked selection of craft beers from Young Henrys and Moon Dog, plus a bunch of signature cocktails, including the Waist Not (gin, watermelon-rind vermouth, soda) and the Cold Fashioned (Mr Black Cold Brew Liquor, rye whiskey, orange bitters). Johnny Bird is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30am-10pm at 48 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest.
What will food look like in the future? Will it come in the form of a pyramid-friendly pill dispensed from your microwave? Will calories be an optional extra? Will Michelin-starred restaurants serve eye fillet in mason jars. For the latest episode in their 'Plate Project' series, Food & Wine asked some of the most original-thinking epicures of our time to imagine what we'll be eating 35 years from now. As you'd expect, the results are varied and not altogether that appetising. Some of the thinkers saw the humour in the challenge. Anthony Bourdain will be serving 1%-ers a giant bug, though perhaps that's more telling of his fetish for watching people devour splindly creatures whole than of any cynicism founded in unjust distribution of money. The architects and designers at AvroKO played on food as addiction with a plate serving everything form marinated white anchovies to a 2006 pinot noir in syringes (“Don’t forget to eat your garnish!”) On the more serious side, ethically sourced produce and fish farms ranked high as a topic of conversation. Vibrant garden-picked veggies are pitted against their factory-produced counterparts on the sculpture by ceramicist Jono Pandolfi, while author Paul Greenberg's plate substitutes salmon for farmed shellfish (cleans waterways), kelp (clears coasts of harmful nitrogen) and Peruvian anchoveta (high in omega-3s). And it's not just the food that raises issues, with chef Jose Andres taking a stab at people who still eat off paper plates. Though perhaps throwing them in the bin after eating suggests a very narrow frame of thought — anyone for a deep-fried plate? Via Fast Company. Anthony Bourdain, chef, author and TV host - Food of the Future for the 1% Jose Andres, chef - No More Waste Jono Pandolfi, product designer and ceramicist - Gardens vs. Factories Paul Greenberg, author - Improved Fisherman AvroKO, architects and designers - Pharm to Table Dave Arnold, instructor and inventor - Fried Plate Via Food & Wine.
There's nothing quite like ringing in the end of a short work week with a crisp craft beer. The Inner West Brewery Association is giving you and your mates an excuse to explore some of Sydney's outstanding breweries, just in time for your day off on Thursday, April 25. Joining forces to commemorate Australia's annual hop harvest, ten breweries across Newtown, Marrickville, Camperdown and Rozelle are offering a farm-to-glass experience from Wednesday, April 24 to Sunday, April 28. These breweries will create limited-edition bevs using fresh hops sourced from Victoria, which can be sampled in their taprooms. Participating venues are Philter Brewing; The Grifter Brewing Co.; Wayward Brewing Co.; Wildflower Brewing & Blending; Batch Brewing Company Marrickville; Kicks Brewing; Mixtape Brewing & Bar; Sauce Brewing Co.; White Bay Beer Co.; and Young Henrys. If you're serious about the crawl, beer enthusiasts can pick up a passport from any brewery and receive a stamp for each beer they sample. Once you've collected a stamp from all ten breweries, you can trade in the passport for a T-shirt designed by Sindy Sinn. [caption id="attachment_781131" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cassandra Hannagan[/caption]
At Queen Margherita of Savoy, the magic is in the dough prep that results in a base that's thin, the right amount of chewy, and delicately flavoursome. Certified by the Associazone Verace Pizza Napoletana, this place is as authentically Italian as it gets. Here, the toppings are minimal so as not to distract from those perfect bases. Think eggplant ragu and basil, as in the Siciliana, or leg ham, artichokes, and mushroom atop the Capricciosa. The impeccable pizzas are well-complemented by the cozy, timber-accented surrounds that feel a lot like the kind of place you'd find in a charming Roman alleyway.
When you're taking your pet pooch to the pub, park, cinema, opera, for brunch or to any other dog-friendly event, you want your four-legged friend to look its best. Yes, all puppers are adorable anyway, because just comes with the territory. But your furry little woofer is certain to dial up its natural cuteness in a piece from The Iconic's new pet range. Whether your dachshund would look dapper in a fleece-lined denim vest, your jack russell terrier needs a Christmas-patterned jumper or your shih tzu could do with a cable-knit or fringed sweater, you'll find it on offer in this new line. Brands such as Paul Smith, Filson, Sebastian Says and Pethaus are all part of the retailer's pet-focused range — as are Driza-Bone oilskin dog coats and RM Williams leather leashes. More than 60 items are currently available (including various sizes and colours), spanning collars, harnesses and leads, as well as hoodies, pullovers and coats. Elf-themed jumpers, vests embroidered with the words 'girl gang', macrame leashes, gold collars — they're all covered. The fashion and accessory line will add further items throughout the year, too, because even your doggo's wardrobe can change with the seasons. While The Iconic has dubbed the line its 'pet-friendly edit', so far it's all for dogs. That said, if you can somehow manage to get your cat into a vest or sweater, then you're well-equipped to slip them into something from this range. The Iconic's Pet-Friendly Edit is currently available to purchase online, with further items due to be added to the range later this year.
With a title that speaks of next generations, The Son is a film about second efforts, including off-screen. For writer/director Florian Zeller, it marks the French novelist and playwright's sophomore stint behind the camera, and notches the list of movies he's helmed based on his own stage works up to two as well. After dual Oscar-winner The Father, which earned Zeller and co-scribe Christopher Hampton the Best Adapted Screenplay award and Anthony Hopkins the much-deserved Best Actor prize, it's also his second feature with a family member in its title. And, it's his second largely confined to interior settings, focusing on mental illness, exploring complicated father-child relationships within that intimate domestic space and driven by intense dialogue spouted by a committed cast. Hopkins pops up once more in another psychodrama, too, as a dad again. Within its frames, The Son follows New York lawyer Peter Miller (Hugh Jackman, Reminiscence) as he's happily starting over with his second wife Beth (Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman) and their newborn Theo, his second son. Here's the thing about second chances, though: sometimes your first shots can't simply be forgotten, no matter how eager you are to move on. Peter confronts this truth when his ex-spouse Kate (Laura Dern, Jurassic World Dominion) unexpectedly knocks at his door one day, distraught about learning that their 17-year-old Nicholas (Zen McGrath, Red Dog: True Blue) has been ditching school long-term. The teen hasn't been a contented presence around her home since his dad left, either, with depression setting in after such a big upheaval to his status quo. So, Peter and Kate agree to a parental rekindling, with Peter giving being an active dad to Nicholas — having him come to live with him, Beth and Theo, in fact — a second go. Can lightning strike twice, for Zeller and for Peter? Once again co-writing with Hampton (who nabbed his first Oscar for adapting 1988's Dangerous Liaisons, and another nomination for his work on Atonement), The Son's creative force wants that to be a complicated question — and it is. In his layered narrative, Zeller keeps playing up doubles and playing with duality, including the varying ways that Peter treats his two boys, the push and pull of work and home as a new career opportunity arises, Nicholas' mood and attitude with two differing maternal figures, and the impact of Peter's own fraught relationship with his hard-nosed father (Hopkins, Armageddon Time). The latter is a dynamic that Peter doesn't have fond feelings about and is desperate not to reprise, but we all know what they say about history repeating. Accordingly, for The Son's increasingly exasperated patriarch, lightning striking twice is a double-edged sword. In all of the above, from the moment that it begins with Peter, Beth and Theo at home, then talks about Nicholas, his troubles and mental state before introducing him, The Son is firmly aligned with Peter. Consequently, it's also stressed by a big struggle: truly comprehending Nicholas. The Father, whose shadow the often-clinical The Son will always be under — yes, the connection between Zeller's first two movies mimics the connection between the characters in his second flick — was the masterpiece it was by bringing its namesake's mindset to the screen. Zeller surrounded Hopkins' brilliant performance with immersive cinematography that plunged his audience into the confusion, disruption and distress of experiencing dementia. With The Son, teen anxiety, truancy and the scarred arms that indicate suicidal ideation are things to talk about, brood over and saddle with Chekhovian logic rather than attempt to deeply understand. Set to a solemn score by Hans Zimmer (Prehistoric Planet), Zeller's latest film is filled with pain, hurt and devastation, clearly, but also distance from the person who's meant to be so pivotal that the picture is literally named after him. That said, the movie's moniker is revealing — because it's barely interested in fleshing out Nicholas as a person beyond being a son that Peter has to deal with due to the bonds of blood and the weight of regret. One of the feature's big emotional arcs charts Peter's growing realisation that being a parent is about genuinely seeing and accepting your child for who they are, and working to help them be the best version of themselves that they want to be instead of who you envision. It culminates in a stunning payoff sequence, but if only The Son paid more attention more often to who Nicholas is beyond his cutting anger, physical cuts, and Peter, Beth and Kate's reactions to him. If only The Son also spent more time showing rather than telling — indeed, with its talk-heavy screenplay always betraying the story's stage origins, it devotes almost all of its efforts to telling. Again, even with cinematographer Ben Smithard lensing both here and for The Father, his current work for Zeller peers on rather than dives in. It's a testament to Jackman and McGrath's performances that The Son is as engaging as it is, however, and as dripping with raw emotion. Both Australian talents, one famous for decades at home and abroad, the other an impressive up-and-comer to watch, their duel of words, heartache, expectations and internalised dismay is finely tuned and gripping. Alongside Jackman's one-scene face-off with Hopkins, their still-stagey but compelling one-on-ones are the film's showpieces. On the stage, The Father and The Son are the two parts of a thematic trilogy, completed by Zeller's The Mother — which, in its off-Broadway run in 2019, starred incomparable French icon Isabelle Huppert (an Oscar-nominee herself for 2016's Elle). Whether it too will make it to the movies is yet to be seen, but the two mums of The Son are sadly pushed aside. The always-great Dern and Kirby make the most they can of thin parts, though always deserving better, the two actors conveying a mother's and a stepmother's fears, anguish and hopes, respectively. They also share one of the film's key tussles: appreciating and unpacking its characters, Peter, Beth and Kate alike, and Nicholas especially, as more than their familial labels.
Tongue in a mousetrap? Breathing fire? Spinning on aerial acrobatic ropes? Roll up, Roll up: The circus is here! No, not that crappy one up the street where the fairy floss machine is about all on offer, pitched to a warbled music-box soundtrack; this is an amazing long weekend full of silly, silly antics, mind-boggling acrobatics, circus stunts that make you check your vision, awe-inspiring aerial acts, jaw-dropping jugglers, sickening sword-swallowers, comedy to thaw your heart and more. The one and only Hoopla — Australia's biggest annual circus, sideshow and street theatre festival — is coming to Darling Harbour and dazzling Sydney for five days over the Easter long weekend. This year's festival features three sensational international artists plus some pretty freaky Australian acrobats. The Chipolatas (UK) present Gentlemen of the Road: These guys will wow audiences with their unique and high-energy performance presenting unparalleled physical feats and buzzing circus skills backed with live squeezebox and break beats. Leandre and La Tal (Spain) present Demodes: Gotta love clowns. Who on Earth is afraid of clowns? Especially not those wound up in a tragicomedy about three of them being lost, cast out by a changing world and ... told in classic clown language. Becky Hoops (Canada): Hula-hoops are ubiquitous, but still, few can perfect this art. Becky Hoops will not only have her audience feeling like inadequate hoopists but in stitches with her absurd characters and her many crazy anecdotes. The Little Red Trapeze Company present Ready for Takeoff: Soaring high above the ground, these daring acrobats will fly, flip and float through the air with incredible precision and timing. Beautiful acrobatic balancing, hilarious slapstick comedy and truly heart-stopping stunts. As dusk approaches, get your ticket to one of the hottest shows in the performing arts scene with sexy vaudeville and freakazoid sideshow acts in the Big Top. So go run, play and frolic all day and night at Hoopla. Daytime performances go from noon-5pm everyday of the long weekend, and after-dark shows from 6-10pm. All outdoor entertainment is free, and this year indoor events can be pre-booked online. Woot!
For every popular film franchise, there must be an origin story — or that's how it frequently feels. The latest beloved series to step back into its past to provide an insight into how one of its characters became who they are: Pixar's adored Toy Story saga, which is now diving into Buzz Lightyear's history (and has a trailer to prove it). First, to answer the obvious question, this isn't a film about how the talking toy was manufactured. If anyone could make that delight, it'd be Pixar, though. Instead, Lightyear focuses on the flesh-and-blood Buzz in Toy Story's world, aka the space ranger who inspired the plaything that's been such a pivotal part of four films so far. So if you've ever wondered why there even was a Buzz figurine, now you'll find out. "My Lightyear pitch was, 'what was the movie that Andy saw that made him want a Buzz Lightyear toy?' I wanted to see that movie," explains filmmaker Angus MacLane, who previously co-directed Finding Dory, and also worked as an animator on both Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3. To tell that tale, MacLane's film follows Buzz on an intergalactic adventure — a trip that, as the just-dropped trailer for Lightyear shows, he's mighty excited about. Chris Evans swaps from wearing Captain America's spandex to voicing the spacesuit-wearing Buzz, and he's joined by a cast that includes Keke Palmer (Hustlers), Dale Soules (Orange is the New Black) and Taika Waititi (Free Guy) as new space ranger recruits. The film hits cinemas in June — reaching the big screen, unlike Pixar's past two releases Soul and Luca, as well as its soon-to-stream Turning Red — but the most adorable part of the Lightyear trailer right now belongs to Buzz's new robot cat companion Sox. Yes, you can already see how many toys that mechanical feline is certain to inspire. Check out the Lightyear trailer below: Lightyear will release in cinemas Down Under on June 16, 2022. Top image: © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
As the global phenomenon that is Game of Thrones draws towards it's inevitable, nail-biting, appendage-removing climax, fans of the series may begin to despair. To those preparing for the long night to come, do not fear; a blood-soaked parody of the beloved show will grace the stage of the Sydney Opera House in June. Oh, and did we mention it's a musical? From the creative team behind 50 Shades: A Musical Parody, this new venture sets the bar high for die-hard fans and newcomers alike. Not only did director Al Samuels distil the most important bits of the eight-season series into one stage show, but he also gave himself an even harder task of appealing to those who have never seen the show. How? "We created a cypher for that [uninitiated] audience member," explains Samuels. "A main character in our show admits the worst: she's never seen GoT before. Her friends are horrified, but they take it upon themselves to recreate all eight seasons for her in roughly 90 minutes. This conceit allowed us to not only appeal to a non-viewer...but also call out the greater meaning of the TV show. We [want] our show to make a social commentary about GoT." To get the full lowdown, we sat down with Samuels to nerd out about adaptation, parody and the five key scenes that truly capture the essence of the show. Read on to discover which of your favourite scenes will hit the stage this winter, but beware, the night is dark and full of spoilers. [caption id="attachment_673951" align="alignnone" width="1920"] HBO.[/caption] SEASON 3, EPISODE 9: THE RED WEDDING Now if you're reading this we will assume you're up to date and have watched (and rewatched) this heart-wrenching, throat-slitting and game-changing moment before. (But if not, turn back. We're serious about the whole spoilers thing.) This tragically subversive moment is perhaps the best indication of the brilliant unpredictability that makes GoT so compelling. As you can imagine, the musical version is a lot more light of heart, yet doesn't lose the sense of adventure and suspense. In Samuels' own words, "we become so invested in these well-drawn characters and their struggles and become addicted to the terror of worrying about whether they will fall in love, become queen or king, live or die." The Red Wedding scene typifies this kind of storytelling, so we're very much looking forward to seeing such a shocking scene retold via song and dance. [caption id="attachment_720947" align="alignnone" width="1920"] HBO.[/caption] SEASON 6, EPISODE 5: HOLD THE DOOR "When I wrote some stuff for the show," explains Samuels, "I would look for those moments that when I saw them, they were emotional gut punches." And nothing was more gut-punching or heart-wrenching than discovering the backstory of our beloved Hodor. Everybody's favourite monophrasing gentle giant met a grim, yet heroic death, which offered an important insight into the history of Westeros and its characters. Originally introduced as a simple-minded stable boy and, basically, Bran's servant and mode of transportation, the loveable giant won hearts all across the land (Westeros and Earth) simply by saying his own name 'Hodor'. After making it through five whole seasons (a rare feat in GoT), poor old Hodor makes the ultimate sacrifice (albeit being controlled by a warging Bran). This scene is sure to be one that leaves not a dry eye in the house. It's hard to see how any amount of song and dance could lighten the mood, but we're hoping they'll find a way, and in turn, honour the life of the series' most loved character. [caption id="attachment_720948" align="alignnone" width="1920"] HBO.[/caption] SEASON 5, EPISODE 10: CERSEI'S WALK OF ATONEMENT In a tale so vast as A Song of Ice and Fire, the moments that shock or stay with us the most aren't always limited to deaths. Enter Cersei. She's one of the longest survivors. She coined the term 'Game of Thrones'. And she's our favourite villain and anti-hero, who can somehow be behind the deaths of multiple well-loved characters, but still have us rooting for her and (somehow) sympathising with her. But such is the nature of GoT. "Nearly all characters are flawed," offers Samuels. "[But] all the characters have something we can sympathise with. Except Joffrey. And Ramsay. Those guys are pricks." (Ain't that the truth.) But, back to Cersei. When she takes the walk of ultimate shame — where she's stripped naked and those long golden locks are sheared off — it's the humiliation and punishment that viewers have been craving for the character since season one. While watching it all unfold, however, it feels like somewhat of a hollow victory. The viewer is instead made to feel the fear, uncertainty and 'shame' of someone the story vilifies. [caption id="attachment_721122" align="alignnone" width="1920"] HBO.[/caption] SEASON 6, EPISODE 9: DANY UNLEASHES HER DRAGONS ON THE SLAVERS' SHIPS GoT isn't all doom and gloom; for a story that delights in the macabre, there are moments where the 'good guys' serve justice for both fans and characters. After inching towards power slowly throughout the first five seasons, we see Daenerys and her dragons grow, offering a glimpse into a world of magic initially only hinted at. We waited a long time for Dany to go full blown killer kween, and she does it in a literal blaze of glory, slaying the evil slave masters and gaining a dedicated army at the same time. Moments of pure triumph are rare in GoT, almost always marred by a last-minute derailing or fractured feelings of who you want to come out on top. But this particular moment allows for one of the most victimised characters to assert her power in a truly epic fashion. Here's hoping the stage adaptation has as much glorious flame. [caption id="attachment_721121" align="alignnone" width="1920"] HBO.[/caption] SEASON 7, EPISODE 1: ARYA AVENGES THE RED WEDDING Character development is key in GoT and what makes people so invested in the series. And no character's growth and development has been as intriguing as young Arya's. She's become synonymous with vengeance ever since she witnessed the beheading of her father all the way in season one. And it was with her revenge upon the wicked Freys that her full wrath and dangerous potential is revealed. This moment allows fans to finally feel that justice for the Red Wedding has been served, yet it also represented one of the darkest moments for one of the youngest characters. Adding up to one of the biggest body counts for a single character, there's a morbidly Shakespearean quality to this moment — something that will undoubtedly translate to the stage in a satisfyingly gory fashion. See these five scenes reworked in Thrones! The Musical Parody and more at the Opera House from June 5–30. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased via the website. Top image: Thrones! The Musical Parody.
There's nothing quite like seeing a movie at the State Theatre during the Sydney Film Festival. The grand site doesn't operate as a cinema year-round, which makes the experience extra special — and then there's the decor, the history, the three tiers of seating, the knowledge that you're surrounded by a hefty crowd of people and just the general buzzing atmosphere. Of course, given that SFF had to go virtual in 2020 due to the pandemic, Sydney cinephiles didn't get a stint at the State this year. And you won't before 2021; however, you will be able to watch five movies there in January. For the first time ever, SFF is teaming up with Sydney Festival to screen a summer season — over one weekend, between Friday, January 15–Sunday, January 17, and all at the State. You can pick one or two flicks to go to, or book in for the entire five. And it'll be socially distanced, of course, but the venue is mighty cavernous as it is. The lineup might be compact, but it's powerful. Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra is a compelling and moving documentary about the dance theatre that provides its name, particularly focusing on the Page brothers. Also on the homegrown front, outback western High Ground has had audiences talking — and rightfully so — since it premiered at the Berlinale. And then there's Aussie doco Girls Can't Surf, about the female surfers who made their mark on the sport. Rounding out the lineup are two festival faves from other parts of the globe. Minari stars Steven Yeun as the patriarch of a Korean American family, while Another Round features the great Mads Mikkelsen as a teacher who, with his pals, decides to test the theory that humans actually need more alcohol in their blood. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40X5EX6Us7c
At most, I expected to tolerate I'm Your Man. It is, after all, about boxing, for which I (and, let's generalise, most theatregoing folk) care not. So it came as a surprise when I loved I'm Your Man, and if you allow yourself to be transported through the doors of Belvoir Downstairs into a so-real-seeming boxing gym, creator/director Roslyn Oades and her multitalented, impressively athletic cast ensure you will, too. My (self-appointed) job is to convince you to take that first step and turn up. I'm Your Man spends time with the fighters, trainers and aspirants at a Sydney gym, and one in particular, Billy Dib, as he gears up for his world title fight. Oades spent 18 months observing and gathering interviews with these athletes, scratching at the psychology and culture that makes them. Her little bit journalistic, little bit anthropological documentation is distilled through a technique she's pioneered called headphone-verbatim, last seen in her Stories of Love and Hate. Rather than memorising the lines, the actors have the recorded audio from these interviews fed to them onstage through headsets and focus on wholly and accurately replicating the subtleties of speech. It might sound awkward, but it really works. We're used to theatre speech being worlds removed from everyday speech, and there are some great verbal quirks — fast-talking, stumbling, on-the-run grammar — that would normally never survive the flattening of the rehearsal process. These rediscovered idiosyncrasies of voice prove totally bewitching, and it's a neat antidote to theatrey declamation. (Plus, no complaints about dodgy accents here.) But more than just document, I'm Your Man immerses you in its characters' world. Even before you see your seats, the walk down the corridor carries you into another, intoxicating world — one where whitewashed walls brandish fight posters, articles, autographs and inspirational quotes; one that sounds of fists hitting vinyl and sneakers squealing against the lino. It smells thankfully not of sweat but of Deep Heat. It's powerful. You soon get a sense for just how this milieu might become a clubhouse, and a comfort. The sharp observation extends to the gym-bright but cleverly flexible fluorescent lighting (Neil Simpson), evocatively ringside sound (Bob Scott), and host of behaviours, exercises and rituals enacted by the performers (Mohammed Ahmad, Billy McPherson, Katia Molino, Justin Rosniak and John Shrimpton). The wrapping of wrists is hypnotic. In place of the usual dramatic climaxes, you want to clap feats of core strength and skipping. These actors may not have memorised lines, but they've been doing some hardcore practice. Often Billy Dib and his team seem to make boxing bear the weight of dreams and ideals bigger than it could possibly contain. Their stories of struggle, migration, self-improvement and community admiration come together to produce insight into the motivations of people who pursue something that most of us don't understand, and in some cases, can't abide. I'm Your Man acknowledges that real-life violence and the competitive violence of sport are not wholly disentwined; it just won't let the violence be the whole story. After earning their trust over many months, Oades clearly had her subjects open up to her, and she's honoured that trust by using their words with warmth, empathy and unflinching honesty.
If you're a true-blue Aussie KFC fan, you've probably felt a little miffed by the fried chicken empire's decision to completely overlook us when doling out its unique merch. Our mates in New Zealand got KFC candles, the USA scored chicken-scented sunscreen and Japan lucked out with fried chook-inspired bath bombs. Well, now it's finally our turn for a piece of the finger lickin' action, as KFC launches what might just be the most Aussie merchandise collection ever. Dropping as part of a month-long fundraising initiative by the KFC Youth Foundation the limited edition goodies will be up for grabs online from noon tomorrow, Thursday, August 16. All profits from merch sales will go towards supporting local youth-focused charities, including Youngcare, StreetWork and ReachOut. The unique haul includes cotton trackies in that famous KFC print, racy red KFC-inspired budgie smugglers, printed socks, a necklace and a '100% Original Recipe' tee. You'll also be able to get your mitts on the world's first-ever KFC-scented surfboard wax and — if you're extra quick and willing to part with $3000 — the single-edition 'Harland' surfboard, emblazoned with the Colonel's face. If subtlety's more your style, nip into any KFC restaurant across the country to show your love with one of their limited run enamel badges. The five-strong collection features a mini nuglife box, the Colonel's iconic black tie, an Original Recipe bucket, a tie-wearing chicken, and a tiny homage to the KFC drumstick. Catch the collection from 12pm, Thursday August 16, right here.
In need of aesthetic inspiration? Fear not, dear friend, for the creative extravaganza that is Semi-Permanent is heading to Sydney this autumn - and you’re invited. The design festival is fresh from blowing minds in Los Angeles and Portland, and will make a sneaky stop in Sydney from May 24-25 as part of its world tour. Featuring a smorgasbord of visionary thinkers and exhilarating speakers, Semi-Permanent combines presentation, exhibition and party into an artful orgy of visual delights. It’s a must-iCal event for any artist whose heart longs for authentic creative community. Or for those whose hearts love free tote bags. Attendees will be able to rub shoulders with the likes of Brian Roettinger, Saturdays NYC, Finbarr O’Reilly and Aaron Rose, while concurrently soaking up the Darling Harbour sun. Highlights from previous years include behind-the-visuals insights into Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, fiery expositions from crazed photographer Charlie White and onstage rail sliding from artist/pro-skater Ed Templeton. When inspired thinkers collide, good stuff happens. Tickets are on sale right now from the Semi-Permanent website - but dive in quick because early bird prices end on April 26 (this Friday).
Last year saw the inaugural event for Hashtag Burgers' Burgerpalooza festival, with a sold-out Manning Bar completely at capacity, full of hungry folks sizing up each $10 burger. Akin to Superman, the Mummy, and the Jedi, Burgerpalooza is returning for round two, and they've raised the stakes. After selling out incredibly quickly last year, the festival will take place over two days, April 1 and 2, in Marrickville's Fraser Park. The added space means they'll be able to fit more vendors and activities in, notably featuring bespoke burgers from Sydney burger favourites BL Burgers, Burger Head, Down 'N' Out, Mister Gee, and Superior Burger, with more to be announced. Hashtag Burgers have teamed up with Menulog to kick things into overdrive, with each ticket coming with $10 credit for the site. The chilli eating competition will rear its head again, hosted by Daniel Muggleton, and there'll be a mix of live music and vinyl DJs to help you digest your wares. There'll be fun and games from The Burger Collective, plus booze by the official partner, Coors, and there's still a whole bunch more to be announced. Image: Burger Head.
Get Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Frances McDormand and more exceptional women in a room, point a camera their way, let the talk flow: Sarah Polley's Women Talking does just that, and the Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar-nominee is phenomenal. The actor-turned-filmmaker's fourth effort behind the lens after 2006's Away From Her, 2011's Take This Waltz and 2012's Stories We Tell does plenty more, but its basic setup is as straightforward as its title states. Adapted from Miriam Toews' 2018 novel of the same name, this isn't a simple or easy film, however. That book and this feature draw on events in a Bolivian Mennonite colony from 2005–9, where a spate of mass druggings and rapes of women and girls were reported at the hands of some of the group's men. In a patriarchal faith and society, women talking about their experiences is a rebellious, revolutionary act anyway — and talking about what comes next is just as charged. "The elders told us that it was the work of ghosts, or Satan, or that we were lying to get attention, or that it was an act of wild female imagination." That's teenage narrator Autje's (debutant Kate Hallett) explanation for how such assaults could occur and continue, as offered in Women Talking's sombre opening voiceover. Writing and helming, Polley declares her feature "an act of female imagination" as well, as Toews did on the page, but the truth in the movie's words is both lingering and haunting. While the film anchors its dramas in a specific year, 2010, it's purposefully vague on any details that could ground it in one place. Set within a community where modern technology is banned and horse-drawn buggies are the only form of transport, it's a work of fiction inspired by reality, rather than a recreation. Whether you're aware of the true tale behind the book going in or not, this deeply powerful and affecting picture speaks to how women have long been treated in a male-dominated world at large — and what's so often left unsaid, too. Stay and do nothing. Stay and fight. Leave the only home they've ever had behind, be excommunicated from their faith and forgo their spot in heaven. When the Mennonite women catch one of their attackers, he names more, arrests follow and the men are sent to the city — the culprits imprisoned, the rest there to bail them out — those three choices face the ladies of Women Talking. To decide which path to take, they hold a secret vote while the colony's males are away. When the results are tied, a cohort within the cohort chat it out in the barn. From elders to mothers and teens, everyone has a different perspective across three generations, or a different reason for their perspective, but the hurt, pain, dismay and distress simmering among the stern gazes, carefully braided hair and surrounding hay is shared. The women's religious beliefs dictate one solution only: absolution. That's the outcome demanded by the scarred Janz (The Tragedy of Macbeth's McDormand, also a co-producer here), so much so that she won't entertain alternatives. But her peers Agata (Judith Ivey, The Accidental Wolf) and Greta (Sheila McCarthy, The Broken Hearts Gallery) see shades of grey in their predicament — shades that Polley and her returning Away From Her and Take This Waltz cinematographer Luc Montpellier highlight in Women Talking's colour palette, even though their viewers will scream internally for the women to immediately leave. While dialogue-driven by necessity, the film also spies the country idyll that sits outside the barn doors, where the kids play contentedly in the crops. This isn't an aesthetically sunny movie — its tones are muted, as its women have long been required to be — but it still sees what departing means on multiple levels with clear eyes. As the debate rages against Hildur Guðnadóttir's (Tár) score of yearning — The Monkees' 'Daydream Believer' also gets a spin, surreally so — Agata's daughter Salome (Foy, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain) furiously advocates for battling. Her toddler daughter was among those attacked, which is understandably something she can't forgive, forget and keep living submissively beside the perpetrators, in a culture that allowed it to happen, afterwards. For Greta's just-as-irate daughter Mariche (Buckley, Men), who is abused by her husband openly aside from the widespread attacks, nothing good can come from running — including with their god. And for Salome's sister Ona (Mara, Nightmare Alley), who is pregnant from being raped, her ideals keep her going. As pros and cons about fighting or fleeing are thrown around, she speaks calmly but passionately about wanting a better community where the Mennonite women have agency and educations, as well as being safe and free. Indeed, because the group cannot read or write, formerly ex-communicated teacher August (Ben Whishaw, No Time to Die) is the lone male permitted to their meeting, taking minutes. More than a decade has passed between Polley's third film and Women Talking, and cinema has been all the poorer for it. How rich and resonant — how raw, sensitive and potent at the same time — her latest directorial effort proves. Compassionate and thoughtful in every frame, it scorches as a based-on-a-true-tale drama and as a state-of-the-world allegory, and says just as much beneath all the feverish utterances. Even with the Mennonite order's rules and conformity, costuming and hairstyles convey plenty about varying personalities. Letting colour seep into the movie's characters as the sun sets parallels the vibrant personalities these ladies are not expected to possess. And when Women Talking peers at the boys of the collective, it does so softly, asking what it takes to turn those innocent faces into men who'd subdue Salome, Mariche, Ona and company with cow tranquillisers to violate them. Such a complex and empathetic feature that's also intense, gripping and wide-ranging — pondering gender inequality, what community truly means and should stand for, religious devotion and the sins permitted in its name, unthinking compliance to any societal order and more — is unsurprisingly packed with performances to match. Women Talking's cast are deservedly up for the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards ensemble prize, while Buckley and Whishaw earned Gotham Awards nominations as well; there's no weak link in this troupe, including with all the rhythmic chatter. Each in their own way, Foy, Mara, McDormand and their co-stars radiate heartbreak, determination, vulnerability and anger. Whishaw is similarly excellent, but also never the film's focus. These portrayals are talking, too, in a movie that wouldn't fantasise about offering easy answers — but dreams of the possibilities spirited conversations and no longer staying silent can and do bring.
The 4th Brazil Film Festival runs in Sydney from February 19 to March 1 and presents 10 of the most acclaimed recent Brazilian film productions as well as a selection of short films. Here's a preview of five movies that have us totally intrigued. 1. Heleno is a portrait of real-life 1940s soccer star Heleno de Freito's romantic and professional exploits. Shot entirely in black-and-white, this looks to be a glamorous chronicle of the 'Cursed Prince', complete with well-dressed busty ladies, fast cars, and snappy dialogue. 2. Mulatas. The first word that comes to mind when you think of Brazil is probably 'Carnival'. This doco interviews the women embodying Rio de Janeiro's exuberant Carnival samba culture, the mulatas. Delving beneath the surface of a national symbol, the film explores the stigmas associated with the provocative dance style and its impact on the mulatas' personal lives. 3. Hauling. Sao Paulo is home to a marginalised subculture of professional recyclers, including Claudines, a man who for many years has based his livelihood on carefully salvaging what others would view as junk. He's not the only one, either. This documentary offers a fascinating look at Brazil's recycling underworld, covering both its social and environmental aspects. 4. Highrise. What does life look like from the perspective of the Brazilian upper classes, dwelling high above street level in the penthouses of major cities? Highrise scrutinises the country's social and economic disparities by entering the lofty homes of some of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Recife's wealthiest denizens, interviewing them about their motives for choosing the high life. 5. Amazonia Eterna. The Amazon is the last great forest wilderness, and the balance of its ecosystem affects all life on Earth. This documentary examines the way local inhabitants view their home, its significance and its future. The film will be accompanied by a panel discussion chaired by Green Cross Australia, raising awareness of parallels between conservation issues in the Amazon and Australia. https://youtube.com/watch?v=nq7XsCyZRVI Top image from Hauling by Sean Walsh.
Postponed from last summer, Australia's new touring pride festival has finally delivered the news that music fans and festival-goers have been waiting for: new 2022 dates. Mark November in your diary, because that's when Summer Camp will finally make its debut. And yes, while the fest is no longer taking place during the season that shares its name, the weather is still bound to show up for the occasion. Thanks to the pandemic, it's felt like years and years since Australia scored itself a huge new music festival featuring overseas headliners that took its lineup around the country. Summer Camp is closing that big gap, and giving the nation its newest pride festival — and only touring pride fest, in fact. Obviously, the fact that Years & Years will lead the bill really couldn't be more fitting. Years & Years, aka British singer and actor Olly Alexander (It's a Sin), will headline the new fest's stopovers in Sydney and Melbourne, all as part of Summer Camp's two-city tour of the country. Also on the lineup: New Orleans' Big Freedia, plus The Veronicas, Cub Sport, Ladyhawke, Jess B, Kinder, Art Simone and Stereogamous, with more set to be revealed. Summer Camp will tick a big first, too: it's set to be the biggest ticketed LGBTQIA+ music festival in the southern hemisphere as well. In addition to live tunes from all of the above across two stages, the festival will feature dance, performance art and art installations, as well as food and beverage offerings. More than 200 artists will be involved all up, including over 150 DJs, drag queens, dancers and performance artists in each city. Given the name, it's clear what kind of vibe that festival founders Kat Dopper (creator of Heaps Gay) and Grant Gillies and David Gillett (creators of Red Mgmt, and former Sydney Mardi Gras marketing and international talent managers) are going for. So, expect a cruisy summer camp-meets-arts and music playground-type atmosphere that's also all about inclusivity and supporting young diverse artists. Originally, the fest also had Perth and Darwin dates on its schedule; however, they're not currently part of the just-revealed new plans. But further city and artist announcements are in the works — so cross your fingers. [caption id="attachment_831849" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Years and Years, Theatrepeople via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] SUMMER CAMP FESTIVAL 2022 AUSTRALIAN DATES: Saturday, November 5 — Centennial Parklands, Sydney Saturday, November 12 — Reunion Park, Melbourne SUMMER CAMP FESTIVAL 2022 LINEUP — FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT: Years & Years Big Freedia The Veronicas Cub Sport Ladyhawke Jess B Kinder Art Simone Stereogamous Summer Camp head to Sydney and Melbourne in November 2022. For further details or to nab tickets, head to the festival's website.
For fans of Adam Driver, 2019 was a movie-watching delight. When he wasn't tackling zombies in Jim Jarmusch's The Dead Don't Die, he was investigating CIA-sanctioned torture in The Report. He scored an Oscar nomination for his relationship struggles with Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story, and fought the force in Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker, too. Alas, after that welcome onslaught of Driver-starring flicks in such short succession — The Man Who Killed Don Quixote also released Down Under the same year, in fact — he didn't appear on our screens in 2020. But this year, he'll be back in cinemas in one of his most-anticipated films yet. In the works for half a decade — and reportedly initially delayed in part due to Driver's busy schedule — Annette tells the tale of stand-up comedian Henry (Driver) and his soprano opera singer wife Ann (Marion Cotillard). He's funny, she's famous, and their lives are happy and glamorous; however, when their daughter Annette is born, they're changed forever. Few other narrative details have been revealed, but their story plays out in a musical — and if the just-dropped first trailer gives any indication, viewers can expect a brooding, dreamy, sweeping and immensely gorgeous film to dance across the screen. Actually, movie buffs can expect all of the above simply based on Annette's director. It has now been nine years since Leos Carax's Holy Motors hit cinema screens, becoming one of the most memorable films of both the decade and the 21st century in the process, so his next project has been eagerly awaited for quite some time. Annette will also mark the French filmmaker's English-language debut. And, after being shot late in 2019 and initially expected in 2020, it'll open this year's Cannes Film Festival in July. Exactly when viewers elsewhere will get to see the film hasn't been announced, but whenever it surfaces locally, it'll be a certain big-screen event. Every director wishes that they made movies that no one else could even dream of, but Carax is genuinely one of those filmmakers. Here's hoping that we soon get to see what Carax's inventive mind has put together next. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=068aFF8fOIA&feature=emb_logo Annette will open the Cannes Film Festival on July 6. Details for the film's release Down Under are yet to be revealed — we'll update you with further details when they're announced.
Melbourne Fringe Festival is set to return this month (November 12–29), and with it comes one helluva opening night party. But, this year, the party will take place in your lounge room. Club Fringe will broadcast into homes all over Australia from 9.30pm on Thursday, November 12. For this year's festivities, Fringe has joined forces with the folks behind Yirramboi Festival as part of NAIDOC Week. They've curated an all-First Nations lineup including some of Melbourne's best independent talent. The night will kick off with a Boonwurrung Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country. Then, rapper Deejai with vocalist Breanna Lee, Arrernte drag artist Stone Motherless Cold and electro-tribal pop duo The Merindas will all take to the virtual stage. DJ Soju Gang will keep the party vibes going until midnight. Don't forget to nab your tickets, which are choose what you pay (with a $10 suggested donation). Then prep your dance floor (aka living room), deck yourself out in glitter and get ready to party like its 2020. Top image: The Merindas
After a weekend packed with Halloween themed gatherings, do you really want to wait another year to get those spooky juices flowing again? Or perhaps you tend the bar, pulled the short straw on the roster this week and missed out on the revelries? Worry not, because there is always the option of pushing on through Sunday with help from Tasmanian death metal legends Psycroptic and their state bros Moo Brew at Frankie's. Frankie's get super psyched for Halloween, and this year won't be any different. Doors open at 4pm, which is when they'll crack Moo Brew's barrel-aged Scotch Ale, then DJs hit the decks from 7pm. After the band tear it up, the DJs come back on until 3am. Whatever your reason for wanting to get down this Halloween Sunday night, Frankie's has you covered.
Arguably the biggest pop sensation to emerge in the last five years, Billie Eilish has just announced a run of Australian and New Zealand tour dates throughout September 2022. The tour marks the first time Eilish has graced the shores of either country since 2019. In the two years since her last tour, Eilish has released her latest chart-topping album Happier Than Ever, a documentary and visual book, taken out the Hottest 100 and swept the Grammys, taking home all four of the major categories at the 2020 ceremony. The announcement of this run on dates also comes days after the announcement that Billie Eilish is set to become the youngest-ever performer to headline the UKs Glastonbury Festival in 2022. The Happier Than Ever Tour will kick off at Auckland's Spark Arena on Thursday, September 8 before moving to Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena on Tuesday, September 13. It'll then move on to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and Perth's RAC Arena throughout the remainder of September. The tour follows previous tour announcements from international artists Tyler, the Creator, Gorillaz and Guns N' Roses, marking the expected return of international touring for the first time in more than two years. Tickets to the Happier Than Ever Tour start at $99 and are available as part of Telstra Plus and Vodafone pre-sales on Monday, October 11, plus Frontier and Live Nation pre-sales on Wednesday, October 13 before they go on sale to the general public on Friday, October 15. BILLIE EILISH — HAPPIER THAN EVER TOUR Thursday, September 8 – Spark Arena, Auckland Tuesday, September 13 – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Saturday, September 17 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Thursday, September 22 – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Thursday, September 29 – RAC Arena, Perth You can find all the details on Billie Eilish's Happier Than Ever Australia and New Zealand tour at the tour's website. Top Image: Crommelincklars
Sydney Fringe Festival has unveiled its tenth anniversary program, which promises over 342 shows (including 120 world premieres) across 21 postcodes. Running from September 1–30, the festival includes a few major firsts, too, such as a precinct in The Rocks, a touring hub sponsored by Innocent Bystander, a comedy on a vintage bus and an Archie Rose Cabaret Club. There are also a whole heap of immersive and interactive events going down this year, including an eerie theatre show inspired by Wolf Creek, intimate long-table dinners and talks, a Kevin Bacon-themed flashmob and a night of eats, drinks and music that'll transport you to Babylon. All of this is going down at five hubs located across the city. To help you sift through it all, we've broken down the program by what's happening at each — so, open your calendar and start planning. CITY TATTS HUB As announced in June, Sydney Fringe Festival will be taking over the CBD's 124-year-old City Tattersalls Club this year. As well as playing host to the aforementioned Archie Rose Cabaret Club (complete with lots of gin cocktails, of course), City Tatts will be home to 30 events, a Young Henrys bar, a diner, a Heaps Gay 'RSL extravaganza', a tongue-in-cheek interactive seminar on How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse and a 1920s-inspired speakeasy, which will be open every Friday night with a lineup of female musicians playing jazz and soul. To round out the festivities, City Tatts will host the official Fringe closing party: a giant, four-level Dance All Night party that'll feature everything from an 80s prom to a 'Kevin Bacon in Footloose'-inspired flashmob. THE ROCKS HUB Also in the city will be the festival's first-ever precinct in The Rocks. The harbourside area's many laneways will fill with market stalls, shows, interactive installations and a free program of events every Friday–Sunday. The latter will include a communal trash-to-treasure sculpture, pub sing-alongs and story telling. In terms of interactive experiences (there are a lot of them happening this year) there's the aforementioned comedy on a vintage bus that will let you relive the movie Speed — fittingly dubbed Speed: The Movie, The Play — and a choose-your-own adventure theatre show that places you in the first day of a job at a start up, called By The Water Cooler. PADDINGTON HUB Wander up Oxford Street and you'll find everything from yoga to dinner parties going down at the Paddington Hub. The latter will take the form of three long-table suppers and conversations held underneath Verona Cinemas. Each intimate dinner will have a different topic of conversation — the art of social change making, the art of listening and the art of a campaigning contemporary artist — a different guest speaker and the food will be curated by a different artist. They're one part of Yoke Magazine's pop-up — called Fringe Unyoked — dedicated to talks, exhibitions, yoga classes and workshops about creation and change. [caption id="attachment_735460" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hillbilly Thriller[/caption] LEGS HUB Physical theatre company Legs on the Wall will once again transform Lilyfield's The Red Box into a buzzing hub of performance, complete with an outdoor bar and lots of live music. The highlight of this hub is Legs' latest intimate, interactive, immersive and (slightly) terrifying new performance piece: Hillbilly Thriller. Shown to just ten people at a time, the show is pitched as "Picnic At Hanging Rock meets Wolf Creek meets Jedda" and combines film, performance, sounds and installation. We don't think this is for the faint hearted. Also happening here are Adelaide Fringe Award-winning show Yuck Circus and a dark and poetic show called La Vide. [caption id="attachment_735470" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Ballad of the Apathetic Son and His Narcissistic Mother by Niall Walker[/caption] INNOCENT BYSTANDER TOURING HUB & NEWTOWN PRECINCT On the western side of the city, the Newtown Precinct will return with a whopping 192 events taking over 22 different venues. One of those will be the festival's opening party, Fringe Ignite. The Fringe Festival organisers have teamed up with the crew behind King Street Crawl to fill the street with performances from over 150 different artists. Over at the Emerging Artist Sharehouse, you'll find World's Best/Worst House Party — an immersive theatre experience that's part show, part party. Newtown's Old 505 Theatre will be the home of the Innocent Bystander Touring Hub: a program of award-winning shows from around the globe. Among them are modern (and award-winning) retellings of Orpheus and Eurydice, a high-energy show about a real mother and son who are obsessed with Sia (expect swinging from chandeliers), a part-comedy, part-game show called Love/Hate Actually and Matriarch, a one-woman show that highlights the strength of four generations of Gumbaynggirr women. Innocent Bystander has set up a wine bar here, too, so you can sip on vino before, after or between shows. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE... While not officially hubs, you'll also find the three-night Fringeville in Hurstville — with pop-up food trucks, light installations and shows — and an immersive Babylon-inspired world at Chippendale's Kensington Street. The inner-city food destination will transform with live music, snacks, drinks and soundscapes for one decadent evening. Of course, the program keeps going (and going). To check out all the events, head to the Sydney Fringe Festival website. Sydney Fringe Festival 2019 will run from September 1–30 at venues across Sydney. For more information and to buy tickets, head to sydneyfringe.com.
Lenin wrote secret letters with milk when he was in prison in Siberia. Not many people experiment with such strange pigments, and even less out of need than curiosity. For some artists held in Australian detention centres, working on the Refugee Art Project, paint and other art supplies became hard to get a hold of, so they made art with what they had at hand. Which led victoriana-like, delicate watercolour drawings done with instant coffee, among other ingenious ideas. These and other results of the Project will be on display at the Mori Gallery as part of Refugee Week, featuring work by artists originally from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Iraq and further afield. Detention centres are essentially prisons. Artworks at the Mori exhibition are by people stuck there, children and adults; a few released into the community, but most of them still behind bars. They get money from sales, but it doesn't do much to get them out of such places and into a life. Nonetheless, bearing witness to them is of no small importance. And once you're there, maybe you can think of something more useful to do. Image by All Fadhel.
Marius von Mayenburg's The Ugly One is all kinds of satirical, and while it tends to be the convention to call satires 'searing' or maybe 'biting', let's bypass those particular clichés in order to say that the play moves on at an, er, 'cracking' pace. It is, at roughly an hour, quite short and a lot happens onstage. Like engineering, office politics, extramarital affairs, a lot of fruit getting eaten, and a bunch of surgeries rendered (especially the first) with ingenious and brutal sound effects that really justify the 'cracking' thing. "We'll start with the nose," the surgeon explains at the start of each, "because it sticks out furthest from the face." Onomatopoeia ensues. Faces are the big thing of the play, with the central characters transformation from having an "unacceptable" face to one that is perfect, precipitating a new age of personal and professional success that turns weird when his plastic surgeon starts replicating the procedure all over town. The subsequent confusion and upset is absurd enough that you don't feel bad about it, but hits close enough to home that feeling bad about not feeling worse comes into effect. The simple production design and sensitive performances keep the play poised between allegory and relatability, ending up at a point where you know you're not that shallow, but may be left wondering if you're not-shallow enough.
"Painting, like art, attempts to fill holes in hearts and minds wrought by life, work, politics and culture." Okay? So, yeah, the basis of this show is a bit, um, 'hol[e]y shit'. Forgive me for that, but honestly? A concept that presumes that painting has been "repeatedly killed by the middle of the 20th century" sounds a little bit risible. But this is actually a legit, serious issue given that it is striking at the basis of what painting is, is about, and might be for. The works in Extended Painting, by artists Tom Loveday, Mark Titmarsh, Sean Lowry, Mark Shorter and Andre Brodyk, collectively consider the act of painting itself by way of works of which some are paintings and some are not. The issues at stake are of the purpose and function of painting as techne rather than how a painting manifests a technique. What did Minimalism do to painting? What about Abstract Expressionism? How does appropriation as a thing change the status of the art object and how does the difference in the way we can represent and experience duration via newer media impact upon what it is to look at a painted work? Again: holey shit. Image: Tom Loveday, Video Stills "Polar Bear 002," 2011
To help slow and stop the spread of COVID-19, a number of hygiene measures are recommended. We all know them by now. They include frequently washing our hands and using hand sanitiser, maintaining 1.5-metre social distancing and staying home if you've experiencing even the slightest of symptoms. Wearing masks is another tactic, but the approach within Australia has varied state by state throughout the pandemic. They were first mandated in Melbourne back in mid-July, and were made compulsory in some indoor situations in Greater Sydney at the beginning of 2021. In Queensland, they'll be required for the three days that the Greater Brisbane area is in lockdown from Friday, January 6–Monday, January 11, in response to the first community case of the new, more contagious COVID-19 strain in the country. When it comes to flying, because social distancing can be difficult and you're sat in close quarters in a confined space with other people for a period of time, mask usage has long been recommended — but it'll now be mandatory, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced today, Friday, January 8. The new rule was adopted by the first Australian national cabinet meeting for 2021, alongside a number of other changes made in reaction to the new COVID-19 strain. The mask mandate applies to all domestic flights within the country, and to international flights to and from our shores as well. For domestic flights, only children under 12 won't have to don a face covering. Folks will have to wear masks for not only for the duration of their flights, but at airports as well, including airports overseas for those about to hop on flights to Australia. The rules cover international air crews, too, who will now be required to undergo a COVID-19 test in Australia every seven days or upon arrival, with the exact requirement to be determined by each state. Compulsory pre-flight testing for international travellers coming to Australia has also been adopted by the national cabinet, as part of "a set of improved measures to tighten the end-to-end process of international arrivals in Australia," said the Prime Minister. "Travellers to Australia must return a negative COVID-19 test result prior to departure to Australia," he advised; however, there "will be exemptions in extenuating circumstances. This could include for seasonal workers from amber-risk countries where there is limited access to testing, with mitigation of testing on arrival in Australia". Australia is reducing caps on international arrivals in some states as well — in New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland — by 50 percent until February 15. In NSW, a weekly cap of 1505 will be in place, while WA's will be 512 and Queensland's will be 500. Quarantine workers will also be subject to changed requirements, moving nationally to daily testing. National cabinet is taking an expansive view of the term 'quarantine worker', and the Prime Minister said that "states are encouraged to take as broad a definition of that as they can, as is done in many states — that would extend to transport workers for people going to quarantine, not just those who are the cleaners or others directly involved in that process, medical staff and so on." As for when this'll all come into effect, the Prime Minister advised that the changes will be implemented "over the course of the next week — and the compliance arrangements that sit around that will be put in place by the Commonwealth and the state governments". For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Australia, visit the Australian Government Department of Health website.
This Is Not Art is the dream that keeps us trudging through winter each year, looking towards that October long weekend when Newcastle transforms into some wild, uncontrollable and utterly miscellaneous beast of the arts. Except that, for a moment there, it looked like this year's festival wouldn't happen. In early July, with less than three months left until the festival, TINA were notified by Newcastle City Council that their triennial funding had been canned. This meant an $18 000 deficit in the budget: a nightmare for any small arts organisation. The event, which annually offers over two hundred and fifty free events, featuring the work of more than four hundred Australian artists, and typically attracting over five thousand participants, was in serious doubt. Thanks to an assertive campaign by Festival Coordinator Eliza Adam, this week TINA have confirmed that the show is back on the road. Phew! Incredibly, supporters of TINA raised a huge $8 750 over only two weeks. What's more, the Copyright Agency Limited jumped on board to offer a huge $9 000 and a Newcastle-based web company, Izilla Web Solutions, pledged $2 000. In the wake of popular outrage, Newcastle Council flipped to offer TINA increased financial support, plus additional provisions for planning and assistance into the future. This year's festival is once again looking good. Keen to see TINA be all it can be? You can still help! Donations are being accepted at TINA's Pozible site until 7 August - and let's face it, it's a small fee to pay for an amazing, five day festival that's already free. TINA is also heavily reliant on volunteers, and there's a huge range of things to be done which you can check out here.
If you live in Adelaide, you probably already think your city is the best place in Australia. For two days this spring, music fans across the country will share that view, too. Come November, the South Australian capital will play host to a brand-new — and huge — music festival called Harvest Rock, and it boasts one helluva lineup. Headlining the bill is Jack White, with The White Stripes frontman playing his only Australian show — and, at Rymill Park and King Rodney Park across Saturday, November 19–Sunday, November 20, he'll be joined by plenty of international talent. The Black Crowes, Khruangbin and Groove Armada are all on the roster, as are The Lumineers and Hot Chip. Yes, that's a lineup worth planning a weekend in Adelaide for. From the local contingent, Crowded House will bring a hefty dose of nostalgia — don't dream it's over indeed. The Avalanches sit among the other big drawcards, as do Courtney Barnett, You Am I and Tones And I. [caption id="attachment_865436" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mia Mala McDonald[/caption] Hailing from Secret Sounds, the crew behind Splendour in the Grass, Harvest Rock's two-day run will also place a big focus on the other part of its moniker: food. That'll include a dedicated stage for chef and bar stars to showcase their skills, a clear marquee serving up curated bites by chef Jake Kellie (arkhé, Burnt Ends), and a food truck park. Plus, the bar lineup is being curated by Australian wine critic Nick Stock, and features Archie Rose Distilling Co pouring spirits, wine tastings at a cellar door pop-up, a beer hall and a champagne bar. One watering hole will be a LGBTQI+ space, too, and there'll also be a booze-free bar for anyone keen on avoiding a post-fest hangover. HARVEST ROCK 2022 LINEUP: Jack White Crowded House The Black Crowes Khruangbin Groove Armada Sam Fender The Lumineers Tones And I The Avalanches Courtney Barnett Kurt Vile Angus & Julia Stone The Teskey Brothers Hot Chip Goanna Genesis Owusu The Living End Cat Power You Am I Meg Mac Marlon Williams Holy Holy Alex Cameron Ruby Fields Allen Stone Electric Fields TOWNS Slowmango Harvest Rock will take over Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka and King Rodney Park / Ityamai-itpina, Adelaide, on Saturday, November 19–Sunday, November 20, with tickets on sale from 9am AEST on Wednesday, August 24. Top image: Paige Sara.
Good news has been in short supply in 2020, so when something positive comes along, it's worth celebrating. In Victoria, after two tough periods of lockdown this year, the state has just hit an impressive milestone — with no active COVID-19 cases present. That figure comes as the state also hits 25 consecutive days without any new COVID-19 cases or deaths, which is obviously also fantastic news. To put those achievements in context, when Victoria announced on October 26 that it had zero new cases or deaths that day, it was the first time it had celebrated that feat since early June — and that mid-year news was the first time since the start of the pandemic. By mid-August, the states cases had climbed to 687. That was the peak of the second wave, thankfully, and since then, the numbers have slowly been decreasing. The Victorian Government Department of Health and Human Services has sent out its daily Tweet with yesterday's numbers and it's what we all want to see: a big fat zero in all four crucial fields. So there are no new cases, no deaths, no active cases and no cases from an unknown source across the past fortnight, either. https://twitter.com/VicGovDHHS/status/1330996503817703430 Of course, this doesn't mean the war is over, but it is great to hear as Victoria continues to open back up. It's also the first time that cases have hit zero in the state since February. Today's zero new cases places Victoria's total at 20,345, which includes 19,525 people who have recovered from the coronavirus, as per the state's last reported numbers on Monday, November 23. So far, Victoria has conducted more than 3.5 million tests for COVID-19. While restrictions have been easing across the state, the Victorian Government has continued to encourage the state's residents to get tested and respect the rules. The last round of eased restrictions came into effect on midnight this past Sunday, with Victorians no longer required to wear masks outside (as long as you can maintain social distancing) and venue and gathering limits increasing. At-home gathering sizes are set to increase again on Sunday, December 13 — just in time for Christmas. The state has been slowly progressing through a five-step roadmap to COVID-normal since mid-September. For more information about the status of COVID-19 and the current restrictions, head over to the Department of Health and Human Services website — and for further details about Victoria's steps for reopening, head to the roadmap itself.
One of the many casualties of last year's pandemic fallout was Melbourne Museum's much-anticipated Treasures of the Natural World exhibition, which is set to feature a monumental collection of rare, ancient and fascinating artefacts curated by London's iconic Natural History Museum. The blockbuster installation was originally slated to make its debut Down Under in May 2020, but was instead postponed as COVID-19 restrictions swept in. Now, the wait is almost over, with news of a new opening date — Saturday, June 12. Come winter, Melbourne Museum will finally play host to this Australia exclusive, showcasing more than 200 groundbreaking items that have each helped change the course of scientific history. The exhibition is once-in-a-lifetime stuff, packed full of artworks, specimens and other objects that give insight into the mysteries of the natural world, and also mark the biggest moments in human discovery. Visitors will have the chance to see the 400,000-year-old hand axe that was discovered next to the bones of a woolly mammoth, check out the 200 million-year-old Ichthyosaurus fossil that Mary Anning unearthed at the tender age of eleven (as mentioned in the recent film Ammonite), and even explore some of the pieces from Charles Darwin's personal collection that were seminal to informing his theory of evolution. Among its many stories, the exhibition also has a strong focus on sharing First Peoples' narratives from across the globe, taking an important deep dive into the histories and relationships that Indigenous people have with the natural world. London's Natural History Museum is one of the world's top five most visited museums, and is renowned as a global leader in the areas of taxonomy and biodiversity. This is your chance to get up close and personal with some of its coolest scientific finds — all without having to wait for those international borders to reopen. Tickets that were purchased for the original dates of the Treasures of the Natural World exhibition automatically remain valid for the new run — you'll just need to show them at the Museum's ticketing desk. Treasures of the Natural World will launch at Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton, from Saturday, June 12. To find out more and grab tickets, check out the website. Images: Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Butterfly, the Latrobe Nugget and the Cursed-Amethyst — all via Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.
In 2023, Queensland made history when it became the first Australian state to commit to pill-testing services not just ad hoc or at festivals, but on an ongoing and permanent basis. The Sunshine State's strategy is now being put into place, starting over 2024's Easter long weekend. Accordingly, festivalgoers at 2024's Rabbits Eat Lettuce will be able to use Queensland's first event-based pill testing service onsite. The aim, at fests and in general, is to ensure that Queenslanders heading for a night out and to big music events can check their illicit substances for dangerous ingredients — and do so for free, voluntarily and confidentially. The state-funded sites are being established as a harm-reduction strategy, to minimise overdoses and other adverse effects resulting from party drugs. Exactly where in southeast Queensland the permanent locations will pop up hasn't been revealed as yet, but there'll be two venues. As well as winning the tender for the initial pair of fixed-site spots, Queensland Injectors Health Network, The Loop Australia, and the Queensland Injectors Voice for Advocacy and Action will also provide at least one festival-based service this year. Harm Reduction Australia, which operates as Pill Testing Australia, will take care of several other pill-testing services at festivals in 2024 and 2025, capitalising upon its experience in Canberra at fests and at a fixed-site spot. Indeed, Queensland's move comes after trials in Canberra, which has included Groovin' the Moo in 2018 and 2019. The Australian Capital Territory also launched the country's first fixed testing site as part of a six-month trial. Drug checking has been used overseas since the 90s, but remains a controversial topic in Australia. Indeed, when Groovin the Moo conducted its first trial in 2018, calls to offer pill testing had been circulating for the prior two years, after a 15-year-old collapsed from an overdose at the fest's Maitland event in 2016. Rabbits Eat Lettuce, which takes place just outside of Warwick in Elbow Valley, experienced two deaths at its 2019 festival. "In 2021, there were 2231 drug-induced deaths in Australia — the equivalent of five deaths a day. That's 2231 deaths too many, and we know this number will continue to grow if we don't act now," said Queensland Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Service Shannon Fentiman. "I want to be clear that these services are all about harm minimisation; we don't want people ending up in our emergency departments — or worse, losing their life. They aim to make people aware of the dangers of taking illicit substances, influence behaviour and, ideally, reduce their use of substances," Fentiman continued. [caption id="attachment_809941" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dave Byrne[/caption] For more information about pill testing in Queensland, head to the Queensland Government website.
What could be better than small plates and cocktails on a Sunday arvo? Rum Cha Sundays have launched at Luis Tans. With two sittings at 12pm and 2pm every week, Venezuelan head chef Alejandro Franco Lancini is bringing you his South American flare in bite size dishes. Described as the "unforeseen love child of traditional Chinese yum cha and Latin American flavour", the menu is more tapas than yum cha. Beef dumplings ($10.50) smothered in chimichurri and black turtle beans sit on the menu next to carne mechada spring rolls ($13.50) of pulled beef and whipped guasacaca sauce. Since a lazy afternoon on Bondi's Campbell Parade isn't complete without summery cocktails, Luis Tans has you covered with a fruity list of Bloody Marys and rum cocktails. It's a Sunday session you won't mind getting stuck in for.
For much of his career, Ryan Gosling has perfected on-screen smouldering. He's the kind of actor who can utter few words and still convey everything, as movies such as Drive and Only God Forgives demonstrated so well. But Gosling is also exceptional at comedy, which Barbie reminded the world in 2023 with glorious ballad-crooning, beach-loving Kenergy. Next, cinema's baby goose is getting into action-comedy mode in the Sydney-shot The Fall Guy. Based on the 80s TV series of the same name, the film follows stuntman Colt Seavers (Gosling), whose career isn't what it used to be. After taking time off, he's back at work getting set on fire for a living — but the fact that his ex Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer) is directing brings chaos. That's just the first dose of the movie's mayhem. Also complicating matters: that megastar actor Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bullet Train), who Seavers is meant to be doubling for in Moreno's flick, has gone missing. So, the stunt professional now has another task: work out what's going on by solving a conspiracy. If you're thinking "wasn't Gosling in the stunt game in Drive?", you're correct; however, The Fall Guy couldn't be in more different territory tonally. That said, when Ted Lasso's Hannah Waddingham tells Gosling "you're a stuntman — nobody's going to notice you, that's your job", in The Fall Guy's just-dropped first trailer, you'll already know that his casting means that's never going to prove true. As well as finding a missing actor, getting immersed in action intrigue to unravel a criminal plot, saving his latest movie and doing his regular job, Seavers is on a mission to win back Moreno — but IRL stuntman-turned-filmmaker David Leitch, who also helmed Bullet Train, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2 and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, puts stunts to the fore as much as rom-com banter in the initial sneak peek. Written by Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw scribe Drew Pearce, The Fall Guy co-stars Everything Everywhere All At Once Oscar-nominee Stephanie Hsu, plus Winston Duke (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). Also a big feature in the trailer: its Sydney shooting location, including the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Everyone in Australia knows that Gosling was in the country to make the movie — and we all know that any flick shot here will show off that fact in its footage, as seen in the trailer for the also Sydney-made Anyone But You recently as well. On the small screen, The Fall Guy ran for 113 episodes from 1981–86, starring Lee Majors after his best-known role in The Six Million Dollar Man. Check out the trailer for The Fall Guy below: The Fall Guy releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, February 29, 2024.
The Red Rattler is hoping for an extra-special birthday present this May; after five years, the alternative arts space, currently facing an uncertain future, is looking to the community for support. 'The Rat' was founded in 2008 by a quintet of queer artists and activists dedicated to independent arts and grassroots activism. They "hocked everything that they could" to create a space that is not only accessible but also legal, and able to survive the market vicissitudes threatening so many live performance venues. All too often, Sydney's exorbitant rent levels get in the way of the arts underground. Two of the five original founders are now departing to take on other projects, so the Rat has decided to adopt a new model, which will see a shift towards becoming a collective-owned, self-sufficient entity. The catch is that this will only be achievable if the venue can find the $40,000 needed to purchase a 40 percent share in the warehouse that it calls home. Enter crowd funding. Audience members, artists and patrons are being asked to donate to the Rat's Pozible campaign, which, at the time of publication, ends in 46 days and has reached 50 percent of its goal. A failure to meet the target amount may mean closure. Given the growing list of venues that have kicked the bucket recently, losing the Rat would seem a rather tough blow. The space occupies a particularly important position, in terms of its focus on community. "The Red Rattler prides itself on accessibility in terms of both affordability and a non-discriminatory mode of operation," says Jamie Ferguson, a member of the volunteer advisory management committee. "[It] was set up as a space where racism, homophobia, transphobia and sexism are not welcome on stage, in the audience, at the door or at the bar. The Rat has and continues to be a space where everyone feels welcome and part of a family, and able to be oneself and also be experimental. There is no judgment, which is a great thing for artists, and performers who want to push boundaries or simply try new things." Anyone wanting to become part of the Save the Rat campaign can make a contribution or offer their services as a volunteer. They're also invited to the venue's fifth birthday celebrations, which will take the form of a fundraiser on Friday, May 3. The line-up includes DJs Seymour Butz and Adonis, Mojo Juju, Wife, Venus Vamp, and "loads of cake".
Deep-voiced Sydneysider Kirin J Callinan preludes a massive Europe tour with a few stops on local turf, i.e. a national tour. He and his '80s cricketer hairdo will be rocking Oxford Art Factory this Sunday, October 4 30. Callinan kicked of his music career as guitarist for Mercy Arms, before going solo with his own unique genre of chaos. His live shows have become infamous, with constant streams of stories from his gigs appearing online. In the words of Clash's Joe Zadah, "these unhinged and confessional sermons are made of savage riffs, self-deprecation and loop pedals." Between his hectic string of live gigs, he's made time to release his album Embracism (out now on XL/Terrible Records), perfect a flamboyant fashionably/unfashionable style and team up with Mark Ronson and Tame Impala as they covered 'I Sat by the Ocean' for Like a Version. Now, Callinan embraces his home city. His Sunday night show will be supported by Molly Lewis and Donny Benet.
Having dominated Australian dining for decades with the likes of Bondi's Icebergs Dining Room, Da Orazio and The Dolphin Hotel, restaurateur Maurice Terzini is now taking his talents to Asia. And his first stop is Seminyak, Bali, where his new restaurant Da Maria will be opening on Saturday, November 5. As the name suggests, the venue will be bringing a splash of Italy to the tropical Indonesian island. Roman architects Lazzarini Pickering took care of the design and, walking into the courtyard, you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd landed on the Amalfi Coast. The cool whites and blues, bold shapes, fountains and feature ceiling are a contemporary take on 1960s aesthetics, including that of Giò Ponti's famous Sorrento hotel Parco dei Principi. "Da Maria is our portrait of Maurice Terzini in Bali," said Carl Pickering. "'Bali Style' wouldn't have worked for the ideas Maurice had for this restaurant." That said, there is evidence of Balinese influence in the rubber trees, cacti and passionfruit vines. Plus, you'll notice a dash of French fer forgé style in the tables and chairs. As far as the food goes, Terzini has gone for a modern take on simple, traditional Italian dishes. A cool 24 hours of fermentation goes into the pizza dough, which is made using Neapolitan techniques and cooked in lava stone ovens. You'll also find porchetta (whole pig) which has proved a big hit at Bondi's Da Orazio. Among the lighter dishes, there's asparagus with anchovy butter and parmesan, snapper crudo with tomato, chilli and marjoram, and octopus with overnight beans, red wine vinegar and parsley. If you're up for a long feast, then order 'La Panarda', which will get you a selection of sharing plates. "We are offering traditional Italian food, done correctly, in a modern environment without trying to reinvent the wheel," said chef Steven Skelly. "It's accessible, fresh and fun and we really enjoy cooking it." Meanwhile, in the Americano-influenced bar, expect Italian classics, like the Negroni and the Spritz, as well as house-made liqueurs, including vermouth, and a contemporary wine list. As at any Terzini establishment, special events will pepper the calendar, to be curated with help from Motel Mexicola's Adrian Reed. DJs will be popping in every night from 10.30pm onwards and, before then, you'll be kicking back to playlists put together by Sydney DJ Kali (Picnic). Last but not least, there's an onsite boutique, Da Maria Shop by Ten Pieces. Ten Pieces is Terzini's fashion label, launched in partnership with Lucy Hinkfuss in 2011. Find Da Maria at Jalan Pettinenget 170 Badung, Bali, Indonesia, open daily from 5pm–2am and on Sunday for brunch from 11am–3pm.
If you're looking to shop locally for your swimwear this summer, look no further than Active Truth, which is offering 20 percent off its Australian-made, sustainable swimsuits. Plus, you'll receive free express shipping, so even though we're already one week into February, you'll have your new swimsuit at your doorstep before summer ends. Active Truth is accessible to beachgoers of all shapes and sizes, with a wide range of swimwear from XS to 3XL. The brand is also committed to sustainability, supporting the Healthy Seas initiative and making its swimwear from reconstructed recycled fibres, such as discarded fishing nets. If you're keen to snag some new togs, have a look through the catalogue of one and two-piece swimsuits and order before the sale ends on Tuesday, February 9. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Stepping back to its titular year, 1985 is filled with signs of its time — from Walkmans playing Madonna, to bars pulsating with synth, to fashion choices that couldn't come from any other period. And yet, for all of the exacting music choices, production design decisions and costuming touches, it's the film's cinematography that grounds it so firmly in the past. With director of photography Hutch shooting on grainy 16mm, Yen Tan's third stint as a director feels like it was made in the era it depicts, then subsequently unearthed now. That couldn't be a higher compliment. This is how many low-budget movies looked three decades ago, with 1985 not only meticulously recreating the same aesthetic, but quietly nodding to the wealth of queer cinema that came before it. Framed with precision, those speckled monochrome images serve another purpose, too. A film's style can say as much as its story, which is never in doubt here. 1985's black-and-white visuals overflow not only with visible texture, but with meaning and emotion — as seen in its loaded shadows, inky contrasts and jittery flecks. How better to convey a world where so much is left unsaid than to cloak it in grey? How better to express existential turmoil than to strand its protagonist between light and dark? And how better to show someone striving to soak in every last detail than to make each grain jostle for attention? Every inch of 1985 looks and feels as it should — like Adrian Lester (Cory Michael Smith) has returned to his Texan hometown at the height of Reagan's America not just for Christmas, but with much more serious matters on his mind. The 20-something hasn't been back to Fort Worth since he left for New York, where he can express his sexuality openly, and his family haven't forgiven his absence. While Adrian's homemaker mother Eileen (Virginia Madsen) understands more than she'll ever utter, his Vietnam veteran father Dale (Michael Chiklis) openly seethes with hurt and hostility, and his pre-teen younger brother Andrew (Aidan Langford) clearly wishes he'd had a role model over the past few years. Awkward is one way to characterise this stilted reunion; caught between the conservative religious rhetoric spouted by the Lesters' favourite radio station and the reality of Adrian's new life is another. Conceiving the narrative with co-editor Hutch, but penning the screenplay solo, Tan treads delicately around the obvious. Given that his protagonist is a gay man in the mid-80s, and that a climate of fear is evident from the outset, it's hardly surprising that AIDS leaves an imprint on this tale. Given the historical context, it's not difficult to guess where the film is headed either, however the movie's slow reveal is as much about reflecting Adrian's experience as it is about both storytelling and chronicling a pivotal period in the past. When a person is faced with tragedy, their perspective changes forever, and yet the minutiae of everyday life cruelly and relentlessly goes on. 1985's power and poignancy stems from this fundamental truth, as Adrian goes home, sleeps in his childhood bed, spends time with his family and hangs out with his high-school girlfriend (Jamie Chung), all while knowing what no one else does: although he steadfastly wishes otherwise, nothing can ever really be the same again. In taking such an internalised journey — even one so astutely made tangible via stylistic flourishes — 1985 is fond of lingering in certain moments. This patient approach is noticeable, even in such a concise 85-minute movie, but it also has another function. As led by Gotham's Smith and ably supported by Madsen, Chiklis, Langford and Chung, this is a film anchored by exceptional performances that live and breathe when they're given the room to do just that. (Often, visually, Tan literally gives them space by peering at his actors in long and medium shots.) What comes to the fore, too, is the complexity of these characters, who never adhere to one-note archetypes despite initially appearing otherwise. That's another essential truth that 1985 conveys perfectly: no matter how transparent a person's facade may seem, you can never truly know just how they're afflicted by pain and heartbreak underneath. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw5LfaKTKoI
In an attempt to boost audiences, an independent theatre in Barcelona has introduced Pay As You Go to the comedy circuit. Rather than risking an advance ticket purchase and (for better or worse) taking the show as it comes, you're charged per laugh. That's right, the sorer your face muscles are when the curtain falls, the bigger your bill. The scheme is a response to plummeting theatre attendance. Mid-last year, Spain's arts scene took one of its hardest hits ever when the government increased the tax on drama performances from 8% to 21%. Consequently, ticket sales dropped by a whopping 30% in just twelve months. Rather than surrendering to despair or closing down altogether, Teatreneu, which boasts eight stages, looked for solutions. That's when they teamed up with ad agency the Cyranos McCann to invent 'Pay Per Laugh'. Facial recognition technology, attached to each seat, records every smile or laugh — and you pay €0.30 per expression recorded. If you're in a bad mood, hard to impress or incredibly self-controlled, you walk away with your bank account intact. If, however, you’re more easily amused, you're charged up to a maximum of €24. The new scheme is truly great news for the performers. According to the promo video, the initiative saw most spectators pay €6 more than they normally would, and led to a 35% increase in crowds. They're contemplating expanding their emotional palette to include dramatic theatre 'Pay Per Cry' fees and our favourite idea, 'Pay Per WTF' — naturally, for performance art. Via Springwise.
