When the end of the year hits, do you get 'Christmas is All Around', as sung by Bill Nighy, stuck in your head? Have you ever held up a piece of cardboard to tell the object of your affection that, to you, they're perfect? Does your idea of getting festive involve watching Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Rowan Atkinson and Martin Freeman, all in the same movie? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you clearly adore everyone's favourite Christmas-themed British rom-com, its high-profile cast and its seasonal humour. And, you've probably watched the beloved flick every December since it was first released in cinemas back in 2003. That's a perfectly acceptable routine, and one that's shared by many. But this year, you can do one better. A huge success during its past tours of the UK and Australia (to the surprise of absolutely no one), Love Actually in Concert is returning in 2022 to make this festive season extra merry. It's exactly what it sounds like: a screening of the film accompanied by a live orchestra performing the soundtrack as the movie plays. And, to the jolly delight of Aussies around the country, it's heading to Brisbane, Hobart, Wollongong, the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Dates and times vary per city — and not all places have a venue locked in as yet — but obviously you'll be getting your Love Actually fix in the lead up to Christmas. Here, you'll revisit the Richard Curtis-written and -directed film that you already know and treasure, step through its interweaved Yuletide stories of romance, and hear a live orchestra play the movie's soundtrack. And, yes, Christmas (and love) will be all around you. Ticket on-sale dates vary per city, too, starting on Wednesday, September 28 in some places — but you can join the waitlist now no matter where you are. LOVE ACTUALLY IN CONCERT 2022 DATES: Saturday, December 10 — 4pm, Great Hall, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre Saturday, December 10 — time and venue TBC, Hobart Wednesday, December 14 — 7.30pm, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong Thursday, December 15 — 7.30pm, The Star Gold Coast Friday, December 16 — time and venue TBC, Adelaide Saturday, December 17 — 4pm, Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC Sydney Saturday, December 17 — 4pm, Plenary, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre Saturday, December 17 — 4pm, Perth Convention and Entertainment Centre Love Actually in Concert will tour Australia this December — head to the event's website for further details, and to join the waitlist, with tickets in some cities going on sale on Wednesday, September 28.
Have something to say? Make your word heard during this two-day zine-making masterclass. Under the guidance of experienced zine-maker Vanessa Berry, you can cut, paste, and scribble your way to your own, unique, handmade zine. Whether you are simply intrigued by the underground world of zines or seeking to satisfy your creative itch, this intensive tutorial may just be the perfect opportunity for you. Materials are included in the workshop fee, but feel free to come armed with your own things and inspiration from home as well.
Yass, a small NSW town near Canberra received the signature Queer Eye makeover when the Fab Five descended on the town earlier in June. Well, the whole town didn't, but George — a cattle farmer and former rodeo cowboy — did. As did the local pub. A rundown of the show, for the uninitiated, the original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy show hit screens a whopping 15 years ago — running from 2003 to 2007 — and the reboot Queer Eye returned to Netflix this year. The general premise is that the Fab Five give less-fashion-savvy men (and it seems, establishments) much-needed makeovers. In Yass, while three of the Fab Five, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France and Karamo Brown, were looking after George the cattle farmer, the remaining two — Antoni Porowsi and Bobby Berk — renovated the local pub's bistro and introduced a new signature dish to the menu. Fittingly, the five were also crowned — by Yass Mayor Rowena Abbey — Yass Queens. Yas, queen. If this reference is lost on you, it's a term said to have originated in the 80s ballroom community, but recently surged to popularity thanks to this YouTube video. The Australian mini-episode of Queer Eye will is now available to watch, with Queer Eye's second season also streaming on Netflix since June 15. Check out Yass, Australia! below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM2zD5FtrkQ&feature=youtu.be
Given the hefty backlash copped by Lost Picnic's 2017 edition, you'd be forgiven for thinking the boutique Sydney festival might not live to see another day. But organisers have announced the event will return this October, promising to address last year's raft of issues and even throwing a debut Melbourne date into the mix. Taking over The Domain on October 13, Lost Picnic 2018 is out to dish up a family-friendly serve of live entertainment and top local eats. Taking the stage this year will be legendary young-gun Tash Sultana, off the back of releasing her debut album, joined by Meg Mac, New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams, Sydney's Odette and brass ten-piece Hot Potato Band. A finely-tuned food offering will include Milky Lane and The Dolphin. Lost Picnic's last outing suffered more than a few hiccups, with punters complaining of lengthy wait times, food and drink stalls running out of stock early, and a somewhat disastrous forced recycling system. But this time around, Simon Beckingham — co-founder of Finely Tuned, the group that organises both Lost Picnic and NYE bash Lost Paradise — says festival goers can expect a much smoother affair. "Since last year's event wrapped up, we have been working hard to vastly improve the customer experience for 2018," he told Concrete Playground. After taking "all feedback on board", Beckingham had confirmed that there will be double the food stalls and an increased number of toilets, bar staff and tills — and those keen to skip the food queues altogether will be able to bring in their own picnic snacks. It's unclear if the capacity of the festival has been reduced or not. And instead of last year's compulsory recycling system, which forced punters to put down a $1 deposit for cups and then line up again to get a refund, there'll be a more user-friendly $10 cash-back incentive for those recycling their empty wine bottles. Tickets are going for the same price — $89 a pop — so here's hoping all the changes make the ticket price worth it.
Imagine flying through the air on a plane fuelled by mustard seeds. It might sound somewhat futuristic, but it's Qantas' real-life plan for its Los Angeles to Melbourne Dreamliner route and it's set to happen as early as next year. It'll mark the world's first biofuel flight between the USA and Australia, with the aircraft powered by an oil derived from an industrial kind of mustard seed, called Brassica Carinata. Qantas has also teamed up with the seed's developers — Canada-based Agrisoma Biosciences — and will work with local farmers to have Australia's first commercial aviation biofuel seed crop grown by the year 2020. If the Australian program follows in the footsteps of large-scale overseas operations, it could see up to an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions. The plan is to soon be growing 400,000 hectares of carinata locally, which would equate to over 200 million litres of the bio jet fuel each year. Not only would use of this kind of fuel see a hefty reduction in carbon emissions, current field trials in Queensland and South Australia have shown the crushed seed is a viable non-genetically modified food for livestock. It's not the first time Qantas has dabbled in biofuel — back in 2012, the airline conducted trial flights between Sydney and Adelaide, and Melbourne and Hobart, using fuel derived from cooking oil.
How many times have you walked through Federation Square, whether rushing to Flinders Street Station, hopping on or off a tram, checking out a sporting event on the site's big screen or hitting up a nearby venue? How well do you know the public space in your mind, then? It's up there with the MCG as one of the first places that anyone thinks of when they think about Melbourne, but both locals and visitors alike will see it as they've never seen it before when June hits and RISING 2024 arrives. The Victorian capital's annual winter arts festival — because Vivid Sydney doesn't have a monopoly on citywide cultural celebrations at this time of year — will run from Saturday, June 1–Sunday, June 16. One of its centrepieces is a spot that everyone is bound to go to anyway, but turning Fed Square into a showcase of First Peoples' art and politics. The free exhibition and public program is called The Blak Infinite, and will boast Richard Bell's EMBASSY as its centrepiece. Inside the work, which is inspired by the original Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra in the 70s, talks will be held every Saturday, while films will screen daily. Make sure that you spend time looking up at Fed Square during RISING 2024, too; each evening, projections will take to the heavens, telling tales of Sky Country and the cosmos. On the site's big screen, Ellen Van Neerven's speculative fiction will feature. And keep an eye out for Kait James and Tony Albert's contributions, with one digging into and subverting souvenirs via collage, and the other going big and colourful with large-scale installations. The Blak Infinite leads the highlights on RISING's full program for this year, which has been unveiled after a couple of past announcements for the June fest. So, audiences should already be excited about Counting and Cracking and Communitas. The first brings the acclaimed Sri Lankan-Australian stage saga to Melbourne finally, and the second involves 'Love Tonight' talents SHOUSE throwing a music party that'll fill Melbourne's St Paul's Cathedral with hundreds of people making tunes as part of a choir. There's 105 events featuring 480-plus artists all up — including 23 newly commissioned works, plus six that are making their world premiere — with tunes also at the heart of the newly revealed Day Tripper, a festival within the broader festival over the King's Birthday long weekend. Melbourne Town Hall will be its hub, but the event will take over an entire block, including the Capitol Theatre and Max Watt's. And, you'll only need one ticket to hit it all up. Music-wise, Yasiin Bey, who was formerly known as Mos Def, leads the Day Tripper bill with a tribute to MF Doom. The rest of the lineup includes almost every genre that you can think of from hip hop and disco to post-punk and acid house. There'll be dance works, video pieces and brass bands as well — and Bar Italia, Asha Puthli, HTRK, Richard Youngs and more taking part. Love music films? Make a date with 24 Hour Rock Show, which British Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller first staged in Finland in 2015. It'll play rock documentaries back to back for a whole day and night, and for free. If you're up for it, catching the full 24 hours will be a wild cinema endurance test. Bey isn't only appearing at Day Tripper, but also at PICA to perform his 2009 album The Ecstatic. On the rest of RISING's music roster, ONEFOUR, Fever Ray, The Dirty Three playing their home town for the first time in 14 years, Sky Ferreira, Tirzah, Blonde Redhead, Snoh Aalegra and Moktar also pop up. For trance fans, UK producer Evian Christ has an exclusive show for the festival — and, for something complete different, Deller's Acid Brass is staging free public concerts. Once more linking tunes with the big screen, Hear My Eyes is back with a screening of Hellraiser. Hieroglyphic Being aka Jamal Moss is doing an all-new score for the horror classic, while visual artist Robin Fox will add a live laser performance. RISING attendees will also be able to enjoy The First Bad Man by Ireland's Pan Pan Theatre, which is based around Miranda July's novel and described as "a performative book club" — and ILBIJERRI Theatre Company's Big Name No Blankets, which dives into the Warumpi Band's history. Or, there's the first chapter of The Cadela Força Trilogy, examining sexual violence in art history; First Peoples' futuristic drag show ECLIPSE; inclusive club night CRIP RAVE THEORY; and eight hours of 8/8/8: REST, the second part in a triptych that began at RISING 2022 with 8/8/8: WORK. At a festival that's all about showing folks something that they won't see every day, SONG HISTOIRE(S) DU THÉ TRE IV certainly fits, too: as conjured up by Flemish artist Miet Warlop, it involves musicians playing just one song over and over, all while partaking in an obstacle course featuring trampolines, treadmills and balance beams. So does FOOD, which is set at an illusionist's dinner party, and has audiences sat around the stage-sized table to dive into the history of its namesake. Also on the program: the return of The Rivers Sing, the Melbourne Art Trams unveiling their latest First Peoples' works, Bell's Pay the Rent making a Melbourne comeback over a decade since debuting in the city, plus nightly social club Night Trade. [caption id="attachment_945445" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brett Boardman[/caption] RISING 2024 runs from Saturday, June 1–Sunday, June 16 across Melbourne. Head to the festival's website for further information and tickets, with latter on sale from 12pm on Tuesday, March 12 for subscribers and 12pm on Thursday, March 14 otherwise. Top image: Damian Raggatt.
There are wine tastings – and then there's the Penfolds immersive wine experience. This extraordinary event, which is making a comeback to Sydney in May, brings together tastings with visuals, lighting, sounds and storytelling. Your 45-minute adventure will give you the chance to sample drops from Australia, the USA and France, soundtracked by the voice of senior winemaker Steph Dutton. And the finale? As you might have guessed, it's a rare chance to try Penfolds Grange. But before you try the coveted bottle, you'll be thoroughly prepared, with a palate cleanser created by Magill Estate Restaurant Director and Chef Scott Huggins, in collaboration with Penfolds' Chief Winemaker Peter Gago. We can't ruin the surprise by giving you the exact details, but we do know it draws inspiration from Penfolds and Thiénot Rosé Champagne. All this will take place in Sydney Arcade at 400 George Street from Friday, May 2 to Sunday, May 11. Multiple sessions will happen daily and tickets – at $150 – are available online.
It's been one year since Loulou opened in Milsons Point, bringing a three-in-one all-day French restaurant, cafe and deli to the North Shore. To celebrate the first 12 months of coffee, champagne, crab souffle, steak tartare and caviar service at the restaurant, the Loulou team is slashing the prices on its croissants down to $1 on Thursday, December 22. Each croissant at Loulou is a three-day process, beginning with Head Baker Brendon Woodward's personal starter dough. Once it's been removed from the oven it's then finished with the restaurant's creamy French butter. There are only 500 of these buttery pastries available on the day so you better get down early if you want to start your Thursday with one. Loulou's boulangerie is open from 7am, but the croissants will be on offer from 7.30am until they are sold out. If you do miss out, you can always head in later to celebrate with the Loulou team over a French lunch or dinner. [caption id="attachment_841014" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Steve Woodburn[/caption]
When your nine-to-five plays out like a well-oiled machine, it can sometimes feel like each week is a little same-same. But Sydney is brimming with a fine bounty of things to experience and explore each and every day. So aside from casual laziness and a little lack of inspiration, there's really nothing stopping you from squeezing some adventure and spontaneity into your schedule. We've teamed up with Mazda3 to celebrate the landmark 40th anniversary of their iconic small cars, and in turn, help you celebrate the little things that bring that sense of adventure to life. Shake things up, as we give you seven different detours to take each week in Sydney. From Monday to Sunday, enrich your everyday with one completely achievable activity that inspires you to take the scenic route as you go about your daily routine. This week, chuckle over some live comedy for only $10, seek out authentic Vietnamese food in Cabramatta and practice sun salutations on a farm. Plus, we've got your future detours sorted for the next few weeks here. All require no more effort than a tiny break from the norm — what's your excuse for not trying them all?
Facebook is swiftly becoming the radar of global activity, now obtaining the power to track not only people's social networking patterns but also their travel paths, their ages and even their political inclinations. With over 800 million active users the social networking site is rampant, with immense data processing required for the constant stream of check-ins, status updates and photo uploads. Data scientist at Facebook, Justin Moore, created these global maps as a captivating visual indicator of where and who the world's Facebook users are to make sense of some of the unique data. SEASONED TRAVELLERS WHO WANT TO MAKE IT KNOWN Forget the old maps of showing aeroplane's routes across the globe because we can now follow travel patterns through Facebook users' check-ins. This map uses check-ins at two far off locations as a way of tracing globe-trotting journeys. NYC HUSTLE AND BUSTLE Check-ins over several days in New York City alone reveal the heavier users are situated around more heavily trafficked commercial and tourist areas. Shouldn't you guys be working or studying or something? NEW VS. OLD The colour ranges of this dazzling map represent the ages of users, again through their check-ins on Facebook. The green zones constitute the older and more established Facebookers whilst the blue are the younger rookies. PRETTY POLITICAL Although what may look like some sort of beautiful and rare star constellation, this last image actually maps American users' political affiliation. Democrats are shown as blue and the Republicans are red. Better pick up your game Obama, the social world has spoken.
Few Australian actors just starting out — not even half a decade into their resumes, in fact — have enjoyed the jump into the spotlight that Eliza Scanlen did between 2018–2020. After a 15-episode run on Home and Away in 2016, Scanlen made her international debut on HBO's Sharp Objects, so in a miniseries based on a novel by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, and starring Amy Adams (Nightbitch) and Patricia Clarkson (She Said). Her initial role in a US film came next as one of the March sisters, Beth, in Greta Gerwig's (Barbie) adaptation of Little Women, with Scanlen starring alongside Saoirse Ronan (Blitz), Florence Pugh (We Live in Time), Emma Watson (The Circle), Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Laura Dern (Lonely Planet) and Meryl Streep (Only Murders in the Building). Then, for her first Aussie movie, she earned a well-deserved AACTA Best Actress Award for Babyteeth, where she played a 16-year-old navigating a cancer diagnosis; Essie Davis (Apple Cider Vinegar) and Ben Mendelsohn (The New Look) portrayed her parents. Amid those impressive television and film parts, Scanlen also hit the stage at home, featuring in Sydney Theatre Company's 2019 production of Lord of the Flies with Mia Wasikowska (Blueback), Yerin Ha (Dune: Prophecy, and soon to be seen in Bridgerton's fourth season) and Daniel Monks (Kaos). On Broadway that very year, she did the same, but in To Kill a Mockingbird with Ed Harris (Love Lies Bleeding) and Nick Robinson (Damsel). 2025 sees the screen and stage sides of Scanlen's career collide. After past movies The Devil All the Time, Old, The Starling Girl and Caddo Lake, plus TV's Fires, The First Lady and Dope Girls, Scanlen is back in Australian cinemas thanks to her theatre work. From late November 2024–late January this year, the Aussie actor trod the boards in London in National Theatre's glorious new staging of The Importance of Being Earnest. Down Under, viewers can now watch Scanlen as Cecily Cardew in the Oscar Wilde-penned farce via NT Live. The British theatre company's love of recording its productions and beaming them around the world has long been an initiative to celebrate, and the reason that stunning works such as Danny Boyle's (Yesterday) version of Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch (Eric) and Jonny Lee Miller (Guy Ritchie's The Covenant) alternating between Victor Frankenstein and his monster, the Carey Mulligan (Spaceman)- and Bill Nighy (That Christmas)-starring Skylight, and Jodie Comer (The Bikeriders) in Prima Facie have been accessible to audiences who couldn't attend the live shows in the UK. Add The Importance of Being Earnest to NT Live's must-sees and sparkling gems, with Scanlen joined by Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who) as Algernon Moncrieff, Hugh Skinner (Wicked Little Letters) as Jack Worthing, Sharon D Clarke (Wicked) as Lady Bracknell and Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ (Alex Rider) as Gwendolen Fairfax. Director Max Webster — who also helmed National Theatre's Macbeth, Life of Pi and Henry V, all of which enjoyed the NT Live treatment — couldn't be having more fun with Wilde's now 130-year-old work. Neither could Scanlen and her co-stars, visibly so from the moment that this iteration opens with Gatwa in a hot pink dress. The last play by its author, premiering mere months before his imprisonment for homosexual acts and clearly drawing upon Wilde's own experiences as it tells of living double lives, The Importance of Being Earnest has always possessed queer subtext. Webster pushes that further forward, alongside the search for identity, plus what it means to be your own person and break free of expectations. This is still "a trivial comedy", as its originator himself dubbed it. It remains a story about impersonation and romance, too. No one has brought it to the stage like this before, however. Of course, the narrative still charts Jack's attempts to be an upstanding custodian to his ward Cecily in his country existence, only to live it up in town under a different name with his friend Algernon — and the latter's own similar scheme, aka "Bunburying", aka making up a fictitious ailing friend that often needs his attention as an excuse to ditch the city. And, this The Importance of Being Earnest remains the tale of two young women, Cecily and Gwendolen, with their sights set on married futures, but the reality of their hopes and dreams impacted by Jack and Algernon's duplicity. What's Scanlen's take on Cecily's journey? When the character falls in love with Jack's made-up brother Ernest, "I think she knows that deep down that he might not exist, but she's so invested in this imaginary world that she's built for herself to escape the boredom of her life in the country that she's willing to do anything to will this person into existence," she tells Concrete Playground. "And so when Algernon shows up at her home, she assumes him to be Ernest, her fiancé. I guess he represents to her freedom, an escape from the boredom of her life, and a promise of wealth and fun. I think she's a kindred spirit with Algernon in the play." Asked if her path to here, to acting on the London stage in a famous farce that's now screening in cinemas afterwards, was something that she could've imagined when she booked her stint in Summer Bay almost a decade ago now, and Scanlen notes that "never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd be onstage playing Cecily at the National Theatre. I think that is pretty special". She continues: "I don't think I was looking that far ahead. I knew that my heart was in films and television, and I knew that I wanted to make films, too. But I did find acting through theatre originally, so theatre has always had a special place in my heart — and I returned to theatre when I was 19, I think, at Sydney Theatre Company." "I guess with this career, it's not really something that you can plan. You just have to give yourself up to whatever happens, and I'm really lucky to find myself here," Scanlen also advises. "I can't see myself doing anything else. I've been doing it for so long now that the idea of pivoting careers seems crazy to me. I can't really see my life without acting and film and TV and theatre. I've just followed my curiosity along the way, and I don't really know exactly where I'm going, but I think that's how it works. You just have to stay inspired and stay curious. And I've been lucky enough that it's taken me to some just some wonderful places and I've met some wonderful people along the way." One of those people: Gerwig. Taking inspiration from her Little Women director is part of the reason that Scanlen is in The Importance of Being Earnest at all — and Gerwig came to see her in the production during its London stage season. The actor-turned-filmmaker's influence on Scanlen's career; the excitement of playing Cecily; Webster's vision for the play; being part of such a phenomenal cast; what she looks for in roles; the experience of that whirlwind Sharp Objects, Little Women and Babyteeth run: we also dug into them all with Scanlen, among other topics. On What Excited Scanlen About Being Part of The Importance of Being Earnest Onstage "It didn't take much — it didn't take anything for me to audition for this. When I heard that the National Theatre was putting on The Importance of Being Earnest, I was so excited to take a crack at it. And I auditioned and it was quite daunting, because it's such a well-known play and the language is quite challenging. And physically, too — the physical comedy is quite specific. So going into the audition, there was a lot I was thinking about. And I think also this play can be interpreted in a number of different ways, depending on what lens you're looking at it through, so I didn't really know what Max, the director, wanted to do with it at that point. So I was just taking a shot and I just gave it my best, and it worked out." On Getting Into Cecily's Mindset in Webster's Version of the Play "I guess Oscar Wilde wrote Cecily as this farcical character. Cecily is based on this farcical character of the time, which was this bloomer-wearing, cigarette-smoking, bicycle-riding, independent woman. And I guess in this play, all the characters in the play are based on tropes and stereotypes of characters at the time, and he sets them up to subvert them. So Cecily is illustrated as this young, innocent woman, but she's actually very much in charge of her own destiny and makes all the decisions. To get into character, it felt like to get into the head of Cecily, I had to do a lot of mental gymnastics — because Cecily, she doesn't feel real sometimes. And her way of seeing the world is quite convoluted because of her diary. I think Cecily is usually seen as a fantasist, but I don't think that's the most-helpful way for an actor to access the character. So I did a lot of mental gymnastics trying to understand what Cecily wanted, and why she is so attached to her diary. And she spent so much time with her diary that now her diary is the compass for truth and reality, so anything that diverges from what she's written in her diary is false. She's got a very specific worldview, I suppose. I think a lot of getting into character for this play, though, was just having fun and enjoying the surface-level nature of the play. And also interacting with the audience. The audience is really important for this play and we had very direct contact with them whilst we were performing. So just getting comfortable acknowledging the audience and getting the audience onside. It was a huge learning experience for me." On Working with the Rest of The Importance of Being Earnest's Cast "It was such a joy to come in every day and be onstage with this group of people. It's a very special time that I know I won't get back. And I think that the beauty of theatre is that it's all so temporary, but what we created together was beautiful. Honestly, I don't really know any other way to describe it other than pure joy. It was just a joy to be onstage with the company every day. Obviously, there's days where you're tired and maybe you didn't sleep well or someone's sick, but you can't really do this play without having fun. So even if you rocked up in a bad mood, you're bound to come out of it in a good mood." On NT Live Bringing the Production Beyond London and Broadening the Show's Audience "I think it's incredible. I think it's the closest thing to being there and the technology has improved so much that what NT Live is bringing out to the world is incredible and hugely impactful, too. I think theatre can feel inaccessible at times, and what NT Live does is make it really accessible, and people from all around the world can watch this play. I also think that this play has a really important message to share about being yourself and expressing yourself. And queer pride, queer joy, all of those things, I think are really important for younger audiences, and it makes me really excited to know that this play can be seen by so many school kids around the world, too. This play, it's been done many, many times before, but it's for a reason, and I'm really happy that it's been immortalised. It's really cool." On Digging Into the Play's Interrogation of Identity and Breaking Free of Expectations "I think that was a really important theme to our interpretation of the play. In the past, other versions of this play feel quite stuffy, and it is more about the snobbery of high society than it is about identity and expression and queerness. And we wanted to make it feel fresh and use the queer lens more than anything. This play is about young people inventing themselves in virtuosic expression.The opening of the play, too, the dance sequence that we put in the opening of the play, I think really represents that. It's the dream. We wanted it to be feel like an empowering play rather than weighed down by the satire of it." On the Experience of Starring in Sharp Objects, Little Women and Babyteeth in Such Short Succession at the Start of Scanlen's Career "It was pretty overwhelming. I'm aware that most people, it doesn't happen in such quick succession, usually. And I did find it quite overwhelming and felt the urge to withdraw from it all, but knew that I couldn't — and was very aware that the opportunities I was getting were really special and it would be silly not to ride the wave. But I was very young, and I think I handled it as well as I could've. But now that I'm older and I have a bit more experience and am probably a bit more mature, I can look back on that time and think to myself 'how did I do that?'. I would say that now I feel a bit more robust and in control. I think I'd be more prepared if something like that happened again. But I wouldn't change it for the world, though." On Scanlen's Trend of Starring in Adaptations, Screen and Stage, of Classic Works "It's not something that's intentional, but I feel really honoured that I'm a part of these incredible classic texts. I did To Kill a Mockingbird onstage as well, and I studied To Kill a Mockingbird in high school, so it's really cool to be able to return to these texts as an actor — and there's still so much to be learnt from these texts. I guess I'm really lucky." On What Being Cast in Little Women Meant to Scanlen — and the Influence It Still Has "It was pretty life-changing being a part of that film. Looking back now, I realise that getting roles like that are few and far between, and to be that excited about a role is pretty rare. And to get no-brainer roles as well, it's very rare. Again, I was so young, and spent a lot of time watching other people and learning. And obviously that's a text that most young women have read and have a relationship with. I think Greta, in particular, was a huge inspiration for me, because I really am inspired by the way she's moved into writing and directing, and that's something I want to keep exploring. I remember being on set on that film and thinking about going into theatre, and she was super encouraging. And so I went on to do that. I think she had a huge part to play in how I made decisions on my career and made decisions on what I wanted to do. And she actually came and saw The Importance of Being Earnest, and it felt like a really special full-circle moment." [caption id="attachment_997124" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Max[/caption] On What Else Inspires Scanlen's Choice of Roles — Other Than Gerwig "My choices on roles are informed by a few different things, but usually the question I ask myself 'is have I done this before?'. I think that's a question that most actors ask themselves. And I know I'm in a privileged position to be able to ask myself that question and not have to take every job, but I think that I'm at a stage in my career where I feel like I'm having to resist, a bit, falling into stereotypes or falling into typecasting. And I'm constantly looking for things that push myself as an actor. I felt like, for example, The Importance of Being Earnest was a huge challenge for me. I'd never done a comedy before. And I had never been entrusted with a character as substantial as Cecily and as iconic as Cecily onstage. So I felt like I was really stretched as an actor in the rehearsal room, and I guess that's the kind of thing that I'm looking for. But it's hard. It's really hard, especially in film and TV. There's so many things that need to fall into place for a film or a show to happen, and it's really hard for all of those things to be right. But I guess that's how I see things." On the Joy of Making Babyteeth in Scanlen's Home Town, and What She Looks for in Australian Projects "I love making things at home. It's an incredibly special experience. And what I loved about Babyteeth was that we shot it in my home town, so it was an incredible experience seeing a city I know so well become a set for a film. And there's parts of Sydney that I now look at in a completely different way because of it — and I just think that's really amazing. But I'm not looking for anything in particular. I think the script is obviously incredibly important, and I would love to make a film here next. But I guess I'm just waiting for the right thing to come along — but I'm desperate to work in Australia again." NT Live's The Importance of Being Earnest opened in Australian cinemas on Thursday, March 27, 2025. The Importance of Being Earnest images: Marc Brenner.
North Sydney's latest cafe has opened its doors this week, and it's hoping to become the suburb's new go-to for great coffee and quality lunchtime meals. Glory Days is the first hospitality opening within the towering, glass-walled Dexus development and it's run by hospo guru Aaron Crinis — who is also responsible for two much-loved Wollongong venues, Diggies Cafe and Dagwood Bar + Kitchen. The fit-out is pretty typical of what you'd expect from a lobby cafe — similar to the CBD's Cross Eatery and South by Dukes — with hotel lounge-like seating, timber accents, polished floors and (incredibly) high ceilings. But the menu is a far cry from most basic lobby-side eateries (bar the above, of course). Alexandria's Mecca has even roasted a special coffee blend just for the cafe. [caption id="attachment_724907" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trent Van Der Jagt for Buffet Digital[/caption] Similarly to his previous venues, Crinis saw a gap in the market that he could fill — in the case of Glory Days, he saw that North Sydney's working masses needed fresher, more wholesome eats. To this end, the cafe's menu consists of coffee, snacks and quick brekkie options for takeaway, with a focus on health-conscious bites and sustainably minded local suppliers. Apart from the coffees and cold-pressed juices, there are Tea Craft teas, Prana chai, Kombu kombucha (in ginger and lemon myrtle or raspberry and thyme flavours) and hot chocolates by Melbourne's Mörk — including one made with cacao, cayenne pepper and almond milk. [caption id="attachment_724904" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trent Van Der Jagt for Buffet Digital[/caption] For food, there's Brickfields sourdough toast (with both gluten-free and charcoal options), topped with your usual selection of spreads, along with smashed avo and fresh tomato. Then there are Brooklyn Boy Bagels with schmear — at the moment, choose between cream cheese, chilli flakes and chives or smoked salmon with tomato and capers. And, because everyone deserves to live a little, Brickfields is also providing a tasty selection of pastries. Come September, upstairs sister restaurant and bar Glorietta will open and the cafe's menu will be expanded. Details are sparse for now, but we'll update you when the time comes. Find Glory Days at 100 Mount Street, North Sydney. Opening hours are Monday through Friday from 7am–3pm. Images: Trent Van Der Jagt for Buffet Digital.
Home to raindrop cakes, Nutella gyoza and salted caramel gyoza, Harajuku Gyoza clearly likes getting creative with its sweet treats. The chain is fond of trying out new things with its savouring dumpling range, too, as its experiment with mac 'n' cheese and pepperoni pizza versions showed — but it obviously has a soft spot for the kind of desserts you won't find on any old menu. Right now, the Australian gyoza brand is serving up a new menu item that turns lemon meringue into gyoza. You'll find lemon curd stuffed inside each dumpling, and mini meringues perched on top. And, if your stomach isn't already rumbling, they come crispy fried and dusted with icing sugar. Just like the chain's marshmallow gyoza from earlier this year, the lemon meringue dumplings are joining the chain's dessert lineup in plates of five, which'll cost you $10. And if you fancy tucking into the new gyoza after devouring two old favourites — cheeseburger gyoza, which is stuffed with burger pieces, aged cheddar, onion, pickles, mustard and tomato sauce; and mozzarella gyoza, which is filled with the obvious, then deep-fried and sprinkled with Twisties salt — that's up to you. Harajuku Gyoza's lemon meringue gyoza are now available at all Australian stores — at Darling Harbour in Sydney; at South Bank and the CBD in Brisbane; and in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast.
What do Euphoria, Yellowjackets, Wednesday, Atlanta, Mr & Mrs Smith, Dark Matter, The Umbrella Academy, The Penguin, Overcompensating and Sirens all have in common, other than being TV shows? Next, what do they also share with Beyoncé's online footprint? Music supervisor Jen Malone is the connection between all of the aforementioned television series, with the four-time Emmy-nominee working on each of them. Then, SXSW Sydney 2025 links Malone with Dr Marcus Collins, Beyoncé's former Digital Strategy Director — because the two have just been announced on the event's Music Festival speaker lineup. When April was coming to a close, SXSW Sydney started dropping its first music acts for this year's fest. A month later as May winds down, it has now revealed the initial list of folks who'll be getting chatting as part of the conference side of SXSW Sydney 2025's Music Festival. How do you stack TV and streaming hits — and movies, too — with the exact-right songs? Malone will take to the stage to spill the details. How should you approach marketing strategy in the music business, and what can you learn from doing just that for megastars ? That's where marketing professor, For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be author and ex-Beyoncé team member Collins will come in. Both Malone and Collins are on the bill when SXSW Sydney returns for its third year between Monday, October 13–Sunday, October 19, 2025. As it tends to each year, the festival has been unveiling its latest lineup in bits and pieces, after also revealing that there'll be more free programming and an initial look at the overall speaker lineup in recent months. "SXSW Sydney is about big ideas, bold conversations and unexpected connections. It's a chance to hear directly from the people who open doors — the buyers, curators and deal-makers — and to better understand how to cut through, stay independent or scale globally. Whether you're building a team, exploring how AI can support your creative and business goals, or just looking for inspiration from other creative industries, this is where the conversations start," said SXSW Sydney's Head of Music Claire Collins about the first round of Music Festival speakers. "We're proud to bring this talent to Sydney, and to connect them with the broader SXSW Sydney community. It's a week packed with fun, discovery, and opportunities to connect, collaborate and imagine what's next for music in our region and around the world." Malone and Collins will have company from a wide array of other SXSW Sydney Music Festival guests, such as Brian Hobbs, SXSW in Austin's Director of Music Festival Programming; Patrick Daniel from Reeperbahn Festival in Germany; Airing Your Dirty Laundry podcast host Daphne Berry; Alex Berenson, the All Flowers international label group's Senior Director of A&R; and Justin Sweeting, the founder of Hong Kong's Clockenflap Festival. Also among the names on the program so far: Hallie Anderson, who co-founded Rareform marketing team, Ode strategic agency's Jashima Wadehra, Mardi Caught from marketing and artist services outfit The Annex, music networking platform GigLifePro's Priya Dewan and Pal Norte Festival's Macarena González. If you missed it, the roster to date of musicians that'll be showing off their talents spans both international and local acts. In the first camp: Jasmine 4.t, Freak Slug and Ristband + Pivots from the UK; Slowwves from Thailand; Japan's Suichu Spica 水中スピカ; New Zealand's Serebii and Tusekah; and Cardinals from Ireland. Flying the flag for Aussie acts to begin with: Jamaica Moana, JJ4K, RICEWINE, Sacred Hearts, Swapmeet and BADASSMUTHA. In total, this year's fest is due to feature more than 300 music performances. And, that's just the live tunes side of the event. Across its 1600-plus sessions, SXSW Sydney 2025 will also boast over 550 conference and professional development sessions, 90-plus movie screenings and over 150 games. [caption id="attachment_984093" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nina Franova/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney[/caption] [caption id="attachment_965208" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Jaimi Joy[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953711" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jaimi Joy[/caption] SXSW Sydney 2025 runs from Monday, October 13–Sunday, October 19 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Top image: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW.
Parisian label Kitsune is coming back to hang. As cool and sharp as a post-toothpaste drink of lemonade, the record and fashion label know what's up well before it's up. Specialising in eclectic electronic and minimalist dance music as clean and tailored as a French cuff, the label have been taking their Kitsune Club Nights worldwide to dance lovers in Tokyo, Berlin and London. The crew cranked some serious parties in Australia last year, with the likes of Jerry Bouthier, Clubfeet, RUFUS and Softwar. Returning for the second edition this May, Kitsune are heading back to Australia to throw down a whole lot of excellent beats, fronted by one of their favourite dudes, Pyramid. One heck of a laptop wizard, the French producer won his way into Kitsune hearts and compilations after winning a remix contest. The 22-year-old DJ will be promoting his new EP, The Phoenix, out now through the label itself. He'll be joined by Aussie electronic alt-popster Chela, who linked arms with Melbourne outfit Clubfeet for the Kitsune club series last year. There'll be five stops on the Kitsune Australian tour, creating a ruckus in Fitzroy's Laundry Bar, Fortitude Valley's Chinese Whispers, The Bakery in Northbridge and Sydney's Civic Underground before heading on to Warehouse 82 in Seminyak, Bali. So if you're fan of disjointed nu-disco (which, everybody clearly is), get amongst it in May. Tour dates: Fri 9 May - Laundry Bar, Fitzroy Sat 10 May - Chinese Whispers, Fortitude Valley Fri 16 May - The Bakery, Northbridge Sat 17 May - Civic Underground, Sydney Image by BAM.
Viewing overload may be a thoroughly modern dilemma, but it's one that we can all relate to. And, it doesn't just apply to the sheer volume of options these days — across cinema releases, film festivals, regular television, pay TV and the growing number of streaming platforms, for example — but also to the types of stories told. If you're feeling a little like you've seen every superhero flick, upbeat rom-com tale, cop procedural and bromance buddy comedy ever made, then the SBS Short Film Festival is here to deliver a huge dose of diversity. The new three-day event's main aim: to showcase not only different subjects, topics and formats, but work made by creators who are typically underrepresented in the screen industry. Dropping on SBS On Demand across Friday, September 13 and Sunday, September 15, the festival will feature 14 shorts, all from Australian talents — including folks from multicultural and Indigenous backgrounds, members of the LGBTIQ+ community and those living with disabilities. Different shorts will hit the free platform each day, recreating the real-world film festival experience. Of course, to enjoy this event, you just need a TV, laptop or smartphone. Highlights include the Aaron Pedersen-starring Out of Range, which sees the acclaimed actor plays a father trying to reconnect with his estranged son on the road; Amar, about the groom-less wedding of a Muslim woman with Down syndrome; and Bananas and Flavour Swap, each exploring the bonds of food and culture. On the documentary front, Limited Surrender focuses on an artist's plight after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, while Lost Daylight examines the stolen generation from a personal perspective, through the tale of a woman who was placed in the Sisters of Mercy convent at Brisbane's All Hallows' school in 1950s and 60s. Other titles include The Loop, hailing from Lorcan Hopper, a first-time television director with Down syndrome; Deafinition, which crafts its sights and sounds through the perspective of someone who is profoundly deaf; and the three-part Monsters of Many Worlds, a combination of live-action and animation on the topic of mythical creatures. The SBS Short Film Festival stems from the Short-Form Content Initiative, which is committed to increasing opportunities for Australian creatives from diverse communities. The 14 films were shot across Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania, with funding assistance from Film Victoria, Screen Queensland, Screenwest, South Australian Film Corporation and Screen Tasmania. Check out the festival trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ex32L9dC9k The SBS Short Film Festival hits SBS On Demand between Friday, September 13 and Sunday, September 15. Images: The Small Town Drifter, Michael O'Neill, Blur Films / Out of Range, Ryan Alexander Lloyd / Amar, Zahra Habibullah / Deafinition / Flavour Swap, Amy Brown / Lives In Action, Jurban Botany.
Chocoholics and fans of Sydney's resident macaroon maestro Adriano Zumbo will no doubt be titillated to learn that the popular patissier has created three limited edition Tim Tam flavours about to hit stores. The collaboration celebrates the 50th birthday of Australia's iconic biscuit (which, incidentally, we as a nation consume over 45 million packets of annually). The new Tim Tam flavour combinations are pretty tame for Zumbo, but they're exciting in supermarket-aisle terms: salted caramel, choc brownie and raspberry white choc. Coles, Woolies and selected independent grocers will start selling "treat packs" of them in March. For those who just can't wait till then, Zumbo will be holding two preview tasting events in Sydney and Melbourne. It's a first-in, best-dressed kind of thing, so get in early if you want the chance to sample the new Tim Tams and try some Tim Tam-inspired treats (Tim Tam Zonut?) “It was an honour to personally develop my own range of Tim Tam biscuits. I grew up on the iconic Aussie bikkie and it’s a joy to be able to put my own twist on it,” said Zumbo. Sydney preview tasting: Wednesday, February 19, 4-8pm, Shop 1, Cafe Court, The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont Melbourne preview tasting: Thursday, February 20, 7am- 7pm, Zumbo Patisserie, 14 Claremont Street, South Yarra
The new Edmondson Square Town Centre in southwest Sydney officially opened to the public today, featuring over 40 speciality retailers and a dedicated 'Eat Street' showcasing over 20 different cuisines. The sprawling $1.5 billion urban space is the second stage of the development by Frasers Property Australia, who also built the Central Park precinct in Chippendale. Ed Square's Eat Street will showcase the likes of Kitchai, Burger Point, Baby Bao, Loaded (from the Bar Luca crew) and cult-favourite Gami Chicken. The dedicated dining precinct is designed as an open-air, alfresco space with options for brunch through to late-night dining. Tim Casaje, owner of Burger Point says, "Ed.Square will be the first Burger Point in southwest Sydney and we can't wait to showcase our brand in a new region. We've had many customers asking when we'd be expanding into this area and we're excited to be coming to them soon." [caption id="attachment_810106" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ed Square[/caption] iPlay will house over 80 vintage and newly-released arcade games, plus a bowling alley and bar across their 1,600 sqm space, while the newest Event Cinemas features six screens. There's a water play fun park to keep the kids entertained as well as a 24-hour gym. The shopping, dining and entertainment precinct is designed by HDR, GroupGSA and HASSELL in collaboration with Frasers. The hub forms a part of a wider development by Frasers, which includes more than 1,800 new apartments, terraces and townhomes. To celebrate the launch, Ed Square will host an array pop-up activations including mini golf, and live music by the likes of local artist Asahi and singer Emily Hanks from Friday, April 30–Sunday, May 2. You can check out the range of activities on the Ed Square Facebook page. Image: Joshua Morris
In late 2015, after a $10.5 million makeover, the Albury Regional Gallery reopened as the Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA), with a 14-metre-high curved wall and a visionary director named Jacqui Hemsley, who's passionate about getting people excited and engaged. To that end, MAMA is currently hosting its first blockbuster: Marilyn: Celebrating an American Icon. The exhibition, which has come via the USA and Brazil, features a survey of more than 100 works by 50 leading contemporary artists who have celebrated Marilyn Monroe over the last two decades. Being the enduring cultural phenomenon she is, the works span both privately and publicly owned paintings, photos and video from artists such as Andy Warhol, Cecil Beaton, Henri Cartier-Bresson and more. As well as the artworks — which will be on display until Sunday, May 8 — MAMA will be hosting a whole heap of events, including lectures, bus tours, drinks and even a Marilyn lookalike competition. Marilyn: Celebrating an American Icon was organised by Sairally Fine Arts & Consulting, Hamburg, Germany and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC. Image: Cecil Beaton, Marilyn Monroe (1956/2005), Silver gelatin print, © Cecil Beaton Archive / Sothebys.
It's one of the most famous lines in cinema history, and it just keeps proving true. When Arnold Schwarzenegger said "I'll be back" in 1984's The Terminator, he clearly meant it — and so did James Cameron's franchise. Like Skynet-controlled robot killing machines trying to exterminate humanity and take over the world, this series just keeps coming, with 1991's Terminator 2: Judgement Day, 2003's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, 2009's Terminator Salvation, 2015's Terminator Genisys, TV's short-lived Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and animated show Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series to its name. The saga's fortunes have been varied, to say the least, with the last few films hardly leaving anyone clamouring for more. But, no matter how Terminator: Dark Fate turns out, it does have one big trick up its sleeves. While Arnie has been a part of every Terminator movie except Salvation, which was made while he was the Governor of California, Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor hasn't had a significant part in the franchise since T2. The character has still popped up on-screen, played by everyone's favourite duelling Game of Thrones queens — that is, by Lena Headey in The Sarah Connor Chronicles and by Emilia Clarke in Genisys — but now the kick-ass Hamilton is making a proper comeback. Timeline-wise, Dark Fate actually takes place after T2, ignoring all of the other sequels. If it's a success, it'll start a new trilogy, although the same was expected of Salvation and Genisys, too. As well as the return of Hamilton as Connor — and Arnie as the T-800, of course — the movie stars Halt and Catch Fire's Mackenzie Davis as a new terminator-human hybrid sent from the future. She's charged with protecting Birds of Passage's Natalia Reyes from the deadly ways of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Gabriel Luna, who plays their not-so-kindly cyborg assassin foe. After writing and directing the series' first two flicks, Cameron returns as a producer, while Deadpool's Tim Miller is in the director's chair. Catch the trailer below — yes, the saga is back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCyEX6u-Yhs Terminator: Dark Fate releases in Australian cinemas on October 31, 2019.
If a luxury getaway is on the cards this summer, NSW has a stunning new outback accommodation option to add to your wish-list. Set on a 9000-acre family-run, third generation beef and sheep property near Warialda in the state's north (about seven hours from Sydney and five from Brisbane), the newly launched Faraway Domes promises a luxury secluded escape, with the added bonus of a minimal carbon footprint thanks to an off-grid power supply. Designed to be able to create its own natural heating and cooling, the self-contained geodesic dome structure fits two and is kitted out in style. You're sure to feel right at home with the luxury four-poster king size bed, a proper bathroom, open-plan living area with TV and, if you choose, a full kitchen stocked with your choice of gourmet eats and ingredients. Meanwhile, a surrounding elevated deck (complete with an outdoor bath) takes full advantage of those sweeping rural views, ideal for nights spent sipping wine under the stars. When you're not living it up in your gorgeous temporary home, you'll find plenty nearby to keep you entertained — Macintyre Falls, Copeton Dam, Cranky Rock Nature Reserve and the Ceramic Break Sculpture Park are located all within an hour's drive of the dome. Faraway Domes currently just has one dome on the property, with plans to construct more in the future. Faraway Domes opens for bookings today with a one-night stay priced at $372. You'll find it at 405 Munsies Road, Warialda, NSW.
Saint Peter has always been a Paddington restaurant. Josh and Julie Niland's seafood restaurant is on the move, but that fact won't change. Come winter, you'll just be heading to Underwood Street's Grand National Hotel instead as part of the pair's takeover of the venue. It was back in 2022 that the Nilands announced that they were adding a bar to their nose-to-tail seafood favourite, and also a boutique hotel. Now, you can mark your diary: you'll be checking out Saint Peter's new digs from July 2024. There's no exact opening date so far, but reservations are open for August and September bookings in the spot that dates back to 1896 — and we're betting that they won't remain available for long. The shift comes eight years after Saint Peter launched at 362 Oxford Street, and will see it sit on the ground floor of The Grand National. When it starts letting patrons into its spaces — it'll be able to seat 40 in its main area, 30 in the bar and 15 in its private dining room — the restaurant's opening will herald the launch of the first phase of the refurbished site's new lease on life. Eventually, you'll be able to stay on the premises thanks to 14 hotel rooms, although when that'll be on the agenda also hasn't yet been revealed. There's plenty to get excited about just with Saint Peter 2.0, though. Expect a light-filled experience thanks to the skylight above the main dining room and open kitchen, and to get cosy in either booth and banquette seats while you're tucking in. The best spot in the house just might be the chef's table, which is custom-made, can seat six and gives you a front-row view of the kitchen action. If you're celebrating an occasion in the private room, it'll sport a restored heritage fireplace, plus its own entrance via Elizabeth Street. Before settling in for a meal, the bar will await — still at the front of the venue, and with a menu that heroes Australian rock oysters as curated by Josh and the Fish Butchery team. Once you've had pre-drinks and cocktails, you'll be greeted at the kitchen counter, then escorted to your table. Or, if you head by during the day, à la carte lunches will be on offer, serving up a menu that'll change daily. Obviously, no matter what time you make a visit, you'll be eating in a restaurant that's as committed to whole-fish cooking as any restaurant can be — and, using a charcoal grill and rotisserie, to cooking fish in the same way as meat. Saint Peter's seafood will still be processed at Waterloo's Fish Butchery. The new restaurant will also include a pastry kitchen, which'll come in particularly handy for breakfasts for guests staying onsite. Drinks-wise, sommelier Houston Barakat is overseeing the beverage options, which includes an international wine list that goes big on drops from vineyards located by the ocean — and on premium Australian spirits as well. "I don't want to lose what makes Saint Peter a special place, not only to eat and enjoy as a guest but also for me and our team to work," said Josh about the move. "We are excited about the challenge ahead of not just moving into a beautiful home for Saint Peter but also expanding our expression of hospitality to a wonderful bar and boutique hotel," added Julie. "We are working with some incredibly talented people to develop a world-class wine and cocktail offering. The luxury accommodation has been so beautifully designed that you will think you are in Paris — until you see the quintessentially Paddington rooftops and beautiful gum trees out your window," Julie continued. With Studio Aquilo on design duties, the new Saint Peter is taking its look from juxtapositions, as inspired by the restaurant's culinary combinations. Think: stone and timber, brass hoods in the kitchen and a hanging gantry filled with season produce, and the skylight's natural light featuring the silhouette of greenery from the rooftop garden, for instance. Art from Aussie talents will fill the walls, and an aged-brass pendant light that'll have pride of place should remind you of a fish's backbone — fittingly. [caption id="attachment_855329" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Newtown Grafitti via Flickr[/caption] [caption id="attachment_811440" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The interior of Saint Peter, by Nikki To.[/caption] Saint Peter will move from 362 Oxford Street, Paddington to The Grand National Hotel, 161 Underwood Street, Paddington, in July 2024 — we'll update you with an exact date when one is announced. Images: Christopher Pearce.
For the first time in history, Sydney Film Festival's Official Competition and the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or have been won by the same film: Bong Joon-ho's Parasite. The final feature to screen as part of this year's SFF competition — and the recipient of rapturous audience applause after its first session in the State Theatre — the twisty family thriller took out 2019's $60,000 prize. Visiting Sydney for the second time in three years, after presenting Okja as the festival's closing night film back in 2017, Bong was on hand to receive the award. "This festival is really amazing, especially the audience… really special and extraordinary," the South Korean filmmaker said in his response to the accolade. "This is the most meaningful prize for me — in this beautiful city and beautiful theatre, and one of the most beautiful audiences in the world." A dark, devious, devastatingly smart and deceptively hilarious movie about two South Korean families — one struggling to get by, the other living in the lap of luxury — Parasite couldn't be a more deserving winner. From its slippery narrative that plays with several genres, to its exceptional performances from a cast led by Bong regular Song Kang-ho (The Host, Snowpiercer), to its scathing statement on class and its exquisite and astute production design, this tense, urgent and constantly surprising piece of cinema is one of the best films of the year so far. Also, as Bong told the Sydney audience, it was inspired by the time the director spotted a smudge on his pants. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEUXfv87Wpk Selected by a jury consisting of Australian producer John Maynard (Jirga), Australian director Ana Kokkinos (Head On), Brazilian actor and filmmaker Wagner Moura (Marighella), New Zealand director Gaylene Preston (My Year with Helen), and Indian artist and filmmaker Ritu Sarin (The Sweet Requiem), Parasite emerged victorious in a hotly contested field — competing against Berlinale Golden Bear winner Synonyms, Oscar nominee Never Look Away, Pedro Almodovar's sumptuous Pain and Glory, the Tilda Swinton-starring The Souvenir, gentle New Zealand drama Bellbird and the Australian duo of Judy & Punch and Hearts and Bones, among others. It joins an impressive list of previous SFF prizewinners, including The Heiresses (2018), On Body and Soul (2017), Aquarius (2016), Arabian Nights (2015), Two Days, One Night (2014), Only God Forgives (2013), Alps (2012), A Separation (2011), Heartbeats (2010), Bronson (2009) and Hunger (2008). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtLKQ09ikBg Also receiving a gong at SFF's closing night was She Who Must Be Loved, a documentary about pioneering Indigenous figure Alfreda Glynn, which took out the Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Australian Documentary (a $10,000 prize). It's slated to hit NITV on Sunday, July 14 at 8.30pm. Short film All These Creatures also nabbed the Dendy Live Action Short Award and the Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director, while fellow shorts Sohrab and Rustum and Ties That Bind picked up the Yoram Gross Animation Award and the Event Cinemas Australian Short Screenplay Award, respectively. The 2019 Sydney Film Festival ran from June 5–16. If you missed Parasite at the festival, you'll be able to catch it at Australian cinemas from Thursday, June 27.
There's no such thing as an ordinary dish to chef Nelly Robinson, namesake of and driving force behind Sydney restaurant NEL, as his degustation menus keep demonstrating. KFC? Lamingtons? French onion soup? Pots of honey? They can all be given a fine-dining twist, and have. And if it can work for Moulin Rouge! and Paddington Bear, it can work for Christmas. Nel is no stranger to Christmas spreads, but it is celebrating 2023's jolliest time of year with a specific range of treats. The new menu takes its cues from the traditional story of Christmas. It's also filled with festive culinary traditions, but not as you know them — from roast spuds to Christmas Day seafood. Nel's chef and namesake Nelly Robinson has found 11 ways to interpret Christmas food staples from around the world while still giving them his usual creative spin. Available from Tuesday, November 14–Saturday, December 23, the Surry Hills institution's new Christmas degustation features a Nel take on seafood blinis featuring crab salad and flowers on mini crumpets, a black charcoal crumbed sausage in the shape of a star that's paired with curry sauce, and a delicate rendition of silly season carbs called Nanna's Potatoes. There are also dishes named after Love Actually, 'O Christmas Tree' and 'Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer' — we can all imagine what that one might be. Rounding out the menu is a reinvention of the traditional Danish Christmas dessert risalamande. In Denmark, a whole almond is often hidden in rice pudding, with anyone who finds it given a prize. In Robinson's version, there's just big flavours instead, with the dessert starring a vanilla rice pudding foam, amaretto ice cream, and an almond, cinnamon and wild rice granola. There are plenty more surprises to be discovered across the 11 courses, plus diners can also opt for a selection of wines meticulously paired with the dishes by the restaurant's head sommelier. Sydneysiders can tuck in for $185 per person, with another $155 each on top for the classic wine pairing or an additional $185 for the premium wine journey. Or, there's a non-alcoholic matching drinks selection for $85 per head. Nel will also be opening for lunch on Saturdays in November, and Friday and Saturdays in December, to give diners extra options. Nel's 2023 Christmas degustation is on offer from Tuesday, November 14–Saturday, December 23 at 75 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney. For more information or to book, head to the Nel website.
Australian art-inspired surf brand Mambo is venturing into the food scene, in a way that we probably should've expected. It's opening a pop-up canteen reminiscent of your primary school tuckshop. Making the most of the long summer days (and just before school goes back, too) the Mambo Tuckshop will pop up for just four days, rolling open the shutters from January 25–28 in North Bondi. Mike Eggert and Jemma Whiteman of Pinbone (known for their recent Mr Liquor's Dirty Italian Disco and Good Luck Pinbone pop-ups) have directed the menu, and they've collaborated with some of Sydney's best restaurants to create the food. Korean fried chicken experts Paper Bird, cured meat maestros LP's Quality Meats, pastry chef Yu-ching Lee (known on Instagram as Lemonpiy) and Aussie ice-block brand Pure Pops are some of the names taking part. With your hard-earned pocket money you'll be able to purchase devon sandwiches, warrigal greens and ricotta rolls, beef and 'Mambomite' pies, wattleseed vanilla slices, and, importantly, $1 apple and lemon sour straps. Just like your school days, it'll be a grab-and-go situation — no word yet about whether you'll be able to put in a lunch order for later. And, in case you're wondering, the Mambo brand is still alive. While standalone Mambo stores no longer exist (RIP) you can buy Mambo clothing and accessories from Big W.
A quick scroll through Instagram is likely to uncover greenery decorating pretty much every home, with potted plants beloved for making apartments and courtyards feel leafy and peaceful, adding extra zen and helping to purify the air around you. Mona Vale's The Pot Warehouse is your one-stop shop on the northern beaches for adding some garden vibes to your home, offering every size imaginable when it comes to pots, indoor and outdoor plants and accessories. The shop is located in a very chic, dark grey warehouse on Harkeith Street, making it super easy to pick up a couple of new plant babies if you find yourself in the centre of town. Images: Trent van der Jagt.
Just in time for end-of-year drinks, Bondi Beach has brand new pub. And the folks behind it are no strangers — at the helm is Maurice Terzini, king of Icebergs and Surry Hills' Dolphin Hotel, in this latest venture after just launching his own gin. But, unlike his other projects, the Bondi Beach Public Bar (BBPB) doesn't have a dedicated dining room. Instead, the venue is going for a casual, old-school feel, inspired by Aussie pub culture of the 70s and 80s, when rock reigned supreme and the likes of AC/DC and Midnight Oil dominated the charts. As a soundtrack, expect a steady stream of rowdy tunes, reeling from rock and roll to surf rock to proto-punk. The drinks list, taken care of by wine director James Hird, has its origins in the same decades — albeit with some modern polishing. Forget anything remotely post-mixed and keep a look out for Terzini signatures, including the negroni spritz and the No. 8. New creations will include the Harvey Wallbanger and the White Russian, with the latter landing in your hand in a can. As you might've guessed, there's be an Italian bent to the food offerings, with dashes of Australiana. Leading the feast is a flat, crispy Romanesque pizza and a double patty 'squish' burger that's been flattened for ease of eating. Bella's fried chicken — which is an homage to Belles Hot Chicken chef Morgan McGlone — also features, as do gelato and waffle bowls created by Jaclyn Koludrovic, who is responsible for Icebergs' desserts. According to Terzini, the design brief, as implemented by designer George Livissianis, went like this: "I told him to think [American fashion designer] Rick Owens goes to Palm Springs via Bondi". Get ready a raw, punk-influenced interior, featuring loads of concrete. BPPB is now open seven days a week, at 203/180 Campbell Parade, Bondi. For more info visit bbpb.com.au. Images: Kitti Smallbone.
Famous for its 55-minute workouts and worldwide following, Barry's Bootcamp has become a fitness heavyweight since first setting up shop in West Hollywood back in 1998 — and now it's bringing its studios to Australia. From tomorrow, September 15, Sydneysiders will be able to put themselves through Barry's high-intensity interval training sessions in Surry Hills. It'll be the company's first Aussie studio, but not its last — Barry's will launch its flagship Martin Place studio this October, and in early 2019 it will launch another yet-to-be-revealed Sydney CBD spot and its first Melbourne location. If you're a gym junkie, celebrity obsessive or just familiar with the term "Barry's body", then you'll have heard of Barry's. Already active in 18 cities around the globe — including Los Angeles, New York, Milan, London and Dubai — it's claimed that the studio's sessions burn over 4000 kilojoules. That's thanks to a regimented program that incorporates 25 minutes of treadmill work, 25 minutes of strength and conditioning with free weights and resistance bands, and then a five-minute cool-down. The focus of each class changes daily across Barry's weekly schedule, with each session targeting a different muscle group. As extra motivation, Barry's classes are held in high-energy red rooms, complete with mood lighting and the kind of music you're more likely to hear in a nightclub. Adding to the vibe, each location features its own bar serving up locally designed shakes and smoothies — and patrons will also be able to buy workout outfits onsite. As expected, the world-renowned bootcamp class comes with hefty price tag — $36 a pop. You could, alternatively, purchase a 50-class pack for $1550, which works out at $31 a class. Find Barry's Bootcamp at 66-72 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills from Saturday, September 15. Open 5am–8pm Mon–Fri, 7am–3pm Sat and 8am–3pm Sun.
The Amalfi Coast might seem a world away from Pyrmont, but a new neighbourhood pasta bar with an affordable concept is bringing the region's cuisine to you. Founded by brother-sister duo Ben and Emily Calabro, Rosa offers handmade pasta and laid-back dining with a stellar price to match – no dish on the menu is over $30. When you consider some of the prices in tourist hotspots like Positano and Sorrento, Rosa starts to look better and better. With the Calabros also behind the beloved Pyrmont cafe Quick Brown Fox, lending their hand to simple and authentic Italian cuisine doesn't seem like much of a stretch. In the Rosa kitchen, chefs Daniel Grey and Kira Sherry serve guests handmade takes on classic pasta dishes like linguine prawn alla busara; penne pesto with basil, pork sausage, fried garlic and pine nuts; and pan-fried gnocchi with roast pumpkin, sage, burnt butter and hazelnut. Launching with a Euro-summer vibe in mind, Rosa is also set to become a go-to spot for sunset apéritivo snacks. Choose from freshly baked focaccia from neighbours Pioik Bakery, paired with burrata and heirloom tomato salad, tarragon and black cherry vinaigrette. Another stellar option is artichokes with lemon rind, garlic, chilli flakes, fennel seeds and oregano. Meanwhile, if you feel like an Italian feast at home, every dish is available for takeaway too. The drinks menu is similarly summery, with apéritifs like limoncello, Campari and Aperol spritzes presented alongside the complex sweet-bitter taste of a negroni sbagliato. There's also a selection of local Australian and Italian wines, along with a host of classic martinis and sours to complement your pasta dish. "We wanted to capture the spirit of the Amalfi Coast – fresh, warm, and welcoming – and bring that to Pyrmont," said Ben Calabro. "Rosa is all about creating a sense of home with our delicious pasta, our hospitality, and surroundings. We grew up eating pasta with our family around the table, and we wanted to create a space that feels like home, from our family to yours." Local interior designer Nicola Stillone was brought on board to give this laid-back eatery a sun-drenched makeover befitting the Amalfi's luxurious scenery. Throughout the restaurant, several spaces deliver the ideal ambience for your next gathering, with intimate indoor seating, a private upstairs dining area primed for celebrations, cosy romantic date-night spots on the balcony, and a leafy street-side al fresco spot. Rosa is open Tuesday–Sunday from 11.30am–9.30pm at 182 Harris St, Pyrmont. Head to the website for more information.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Rekorderlig. Christmas in July first took hold in Australia back in 1980. An otherwise cheery group of Irish travellers hanging about in the Blue Mountains got teary when they saw snowflakes falling outside their window and, instead of moaning about it, decided to throw themselves a Christmas dinner six months early. Ever since, Australians, especially in mountainous regions, have turned July into an excuse to indulge in Yulefest feasts, knock back an eggnog or three and generally get festive. If there's one place where the celebration takes on an especially Northern Hemispher-ean flavour, it's Thredbo. Between July 20 and 26, the resort will be transformed into a winter wonderland, complete with overloaded Christmas trees, glittering tinsel, fairy lights, baubles, toasty log fires and gallons of mulled warm Winter cider from Rekorderlig. Various eateries will be hosting epic, multi-course feasts, serving up all the European goodies that our ridiculously hot December Christmases often make unpalatable. Think stuffed turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, mince pies, plum pudding and mulled wine. Plus, there'll be a steady stream of live entertainment and, of course, a visit or several from Santa Claus, who, according to rumour, has been waxing his skis in preparation.
Cavalier started as a hole-in-the-wall espresso bar. Now, it's a greenery-filled, 40-seat cafe pairing laid-back vibes with fine-dining flavours that's quickly become a go-to for lower north shore locals and workers alike. Cavalier 2.0 — as the latter has been dubbed — comes four years after husband and wife duo Sara and Harry Kolotas first opened the smaller Cavalier in St Leonards around the corner. Whether or not you're one of the cafe's many regulars, you'll feel like you are when you head in. "My staff and I love to have a chat and to have personal relationships with our customers." says Sara. "That's what people remember the most about a visit to Cavalier." [caption id="attachment_742950" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trent van der Jagt[/caption] Designed by Sydney's Decor Project, the fit-out evokes a 'modern Australian' theme — as does the food, to an extent — with earthy tones, sunburnt red walls, Tasmanian oak furniture, red gum-coloured benches and a stone counter top. The bigger location has allowed for a bigger kitchen, too, from which Harry is whipping up cafe classics like toasties and salads, as well as some more creative dishes. He's using skills from his fine-dining background and fresh produce to elevate the menu beyond standard cafe fare. The chicken in the salad ($19) is house-brined and sous-vide, comes atop a bed of fresh sprouts (sourced daily), sweet potatoes and house-roasted nuts, and is tossed in Harry's secret french dressing. Another signature dish is the thickly sliced, macadamia-encrusted french toast ($21), which is doused in caramel sauce and topped with whipped mascarpone. As seasonality implies, the menu changes regularly. Recent specials have included sticky glazed short rib ($39) with truffle cauliflower cream; pork neck toasties ($25) topped with a poached egg and bechamel sauce; and a mushroom carbonara ($26) made with orecchiette and XO sauce. This can all be paired with a range of coffees — cold brew, white, batch and even tasting flights — chai and tea. [caption id="attachment_742956" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trent van der Jagt[/caption] While Cavalier 2.0 is a daytime cafe first and foremost, it's also hosting a series of invite-only dinners. "We opened Cavalier 2.0 not only to accommodate more people, but also to start offering special dinners," says Sara. Those dinners will be held every Friday and Saturday from October 18 through December 20 — the nine-course feast set to cost around $95 a head — and the only way to get an invite is to head into Cavalier 2.0 beforehand and have a chat. "The reason for this isn't for exclusivity," explains Sara. "It's really just reinforcing us wanting to have a personal relationship with all of our customers — it's like you're coming to dinner at my house." For fans of Cavalier 1.0, the neighbouring cafe will continue to serve up its much loved jaffles and takeaway Sample coffees every Sunday and Monday. Cavalier 2.0 is located at 545 Pacific Highway, St Leonards. Opening hours are Monday through Friday from 7am–2.30pm and Saturday from 7am–2pm, with invite-onlydinners happening every Friday and Saturday from October 18 through December 20. Cavalier 1.0 is located at 34 Oxley Street. Images: Trent van der Jagt
Many Sydney bars and restaurants are doing their best to brighten up lockdown a little — whether they're offering free meals to hospo workers or new takeaway options. The New Britannia is doing its part too, by offering locals tap beer at the wildly low price of $1 per 100 millilitres. The promotion is simple: bring any clear plastic or glass container, no matter what the size (within reason), to the inner city venue and you can fill it up with the bar's range of tap beers for $1 per 100 millilitres. The vessels must be able to be sealed once they're filled, but other than that — the sky is the limit. Round up your milk cartons or mason jars and swing by. The promotion will run until New Britannia's kegs run dry and on tap you'll find your pub standards and a selection of craft beers including Young Henry's, VB, Philter, Stockade Brew Co, Carlton Draught and vaccination kings Hawke's. The pub is also offering 20 percent off its natural and organic wines if you're not a beer drinker and is home to Angry Tony's Pizza which boasts a 25-strong list of pizzas available for pickup or delivery.
Huge birthday, huge program, huge list of reasons to spend an entire year at the Sydney Opera House. Come October 2023, the iconic Australian venue will reach its 50th birthday, and it's doing what everyone does when it hits a massive milestone: celebrating for as long as possible. In fact, the Opera House is dedicating 12 whole months to its 50th-anniversary shenanigans, starting a year in advance. From October 2022, the acclaimed Sydney Harbour venue will kick off the festivities in the most fitting way — with From the Sails: Light Years, a nightly projection series featuring new art by Sam Doust and Art Processors, which'll adorn the structure's famous sails from Wednesday, October 19–Sunday, 30. Obviously, that's just the beginning of a hefty program, with the already-announced Amadeus starring Michael Sheen taking over the site's newly revamped Concert Hall from Tuesday, December 27, 2022–Saturday, January 21, 2023, too. Also on the bill: a full lineup that spans 230-plus performances, events and experiences, covering outdoor concerts, community events, First Nations storytelling, tours, public art, exhibitions and more, and happening in the venue's theatres, on its forecourt and online. From Thursday, October 20–Sunday, 30, that includes From the Steps: Voices at Dusk, which'll see local community choirs — as curated by resident company Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Artistic Director Brett Weymark OAM — sing free open-air choral performances on the Opera House steps. Also outdoors, this time running from Thursday, November 10–Saturday, November 19, is a concert series at the Opera House's forecourt featuring Tim Minchin, New Zealand's Fat Freddy's Drop and two shows by Vance Joy. There'll be two free gigs, too — one dedicated to Yolŋu music and culture with Djakapurra Munyarryun, Dhapanbal Yunupingu, the Andrew Gurruwiwi Band and more on the lineup, and another that'll see Ngaiire and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra join forces. [caption id="attachment_871449" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ngaiire[/caption] While Sydney Opera House hasn't unveiled the full program yet, with further events set to be announced in the coming months, the rest of the lineup so far features two big festivals: Inside/Out at the House and Open House Festival. The first will arrive at the beginning of May 2023, heroing performances by the London Symphony Orchestra, Australian Ballet, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Australian Chamber Orchestra. Each show will take place inside either the Concert Hall or the Joan Sutherland Theatre, but you'll also be able to watch in the forecourt, where they'll be broadcast to an openair cinema setup. At the second, Open House Festival will live up to its name across the entire month of October 2023. That means hosting performances, events and activities in every part of the Opera House, and also holding an open day where attendees can go exploring. [caption id="attachment_871446" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ken Leanfore[/caption] Plus, Bangarra Dance Theatre will unveil the world premiere of a new production in June 2023, under incoming Artistic Director Frances Rings. Sydney Theatre Award-winning play The Visitors will receive a new staging, directed by Quandamooka man Wesley Enoch — and the Opera House will present Blak & Deadly: The First Nations Gala Concert in conjunction with Sydney WorldPride 2023. Also, the Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir (CAAWC) — which hails from six remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory — will unleash their vocals in the Concert Hall, German operatic tenor Jonas Kaufmann and an international cast will perform La Gioconda, and Mad Scenes by Jessica Pratt will showcase the Australian talent. [caption id="attachment_871445" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] Marking a full-circle moment given that it was part of the Opera House's opening in 1973, Sydney Dance Company will stage three works. And, there'll be a revamped Opera House tour that highlights past performances and historic moments. Clearly, this year-long party is going to be massive — it's supported by the NSW Government's Blockbuster Funding initiative, and 'blockbuster' is the right word for it. [caption id="attachment_871453" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] Sydney Opera House's 50th anniversary program kicks off in October 2022 and runs for a year. For more information, head to the Sydney Opera House website. Top images: Prudence Upton / Keith Saunders / Anna Kacera.
Shaun Gladwell reference? Okay, Shaun Gladwell reference: they are represented by the same gallery and sometimes pop up in the same place and they both make video art that deals with the human body and its navigation of the world and experience of time. That being covered, and the "Where do I recognise that name and style from?" feeling being narrowed down to "Oh, probably the Marking Time show at the MCA!" let's get to the important part: is it any good, and does it look cool? This warrants a yes and a yes, in my opinion, for both the video works covering one side of the gallery and the photomedia portraits that occupy the other and the back wall. But yeses of differing emphases. Oh and that one graphic print in the entryway is nice too, but while I don't object, per se, to its presence there and can see its relation to the show, it felt a little superfluous. First up, the portraits, taken using a process that involves a video camera mounted on a robot following a Hamiltonian path within a pre-defined frame (I paraphrase this from the admirably detailed information the gallery provides in the catalogue). There are seven in 130 x 130cm format, each given first names presumably of their subjects, and a 400 x 400cm self-portrait looms at one end of the cavernous gallery space, with its line of sight surveying at once the others and the room at large. This encompassing gaze is effected not just by size but the diffracted composition of the images, wherein the heads of the subjects are made up of excerpts from different shots the camera has taken during its 20 minute observation of each subject. The effect is of a sort of Cubism for the era of the retina scan. It's interesting because it's clever and because faces always are. But to me — and this is no doubt partially a result of my immense technological ignorance — there was also somehow the feeling that this is more something that fits in a slideshow on a tech website than an art gallery. The scale and physical presence of the works as tangible objects made the consciousness of the complexity of their creation feel more like a design experiment than an investigation into ways of seeing. Almost the opposite is true of the video works, the sheer beauty of which almost prevent appreciation of the virtuosity of the means with which they've been captured. Crooks' videos are progress with hypnotic cyclicality at micro and macro level. Each movement, whether of a body captured by the still camera or the camera moving through the world, unfolds in a way that measures the passage of time in increments of that particular movement, creating a meditative sense of inevitability that is underscored by the presentation of each work on loop. From viewpoints of a crowded station, from the back of a train, pointed at the sky, and panning across spliced-together street views, these videos are - it is kind of gross to say it but I am going to - poetic invocations of the beauty of the experience of time. So, worth a look.
A few years back, prior to starting Concrete Playground, I worked at a creative agency in New York. The oversized SoHo loft it was housed in was an exciting place to find yourself working each day, and things got fun when I was transferred to work on the Converse account. One of the first big projects I was a part of in 2007-08 was a campaign called '3 Artists, 1 Song', created to celebrate the brand's centenary around the world. Pharrell Williams worked with his band, N.E.R.D, as well as The Strokes' Julian Casablancas and Santogold, on a brief to make a song as a group of artists. 'My Drive Thru' was the result. More than four years on and the project is still going strong. LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy was the person whose involvement was most coveted (on our end at least) on the original project, and now he has teamed up with Gorillaz and Andre 3000 from Outkast to create 'DoYaThing'. It's a good track, and it's free. You can get the download here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=yNeF30RverQ
It's that time of year when your phone buzzes incessantly with calls from your parents asking when you'll be back for the holidays. If you're anything like everyone, you've put off booking these flights because, while you theoretically like the idea of seeing your family, the thought of sleeping on the floor, drunk and full to bursting with Christmas ham, sandwiched between two distant cousins is enough to put you off dropping money on Christmas-time flights just yet. Google know this and they sympathise…sort of. Along with a whole swag of products (including their new Google Pixel phone and their own VR headset, the Daydream) and the recently launched Google Trips, they've also announced that their flight search engine is getting a cool new feature. Google Flights is the tech company's online airfare search tool (not unlike Skyscanner et al.). Up until now it's been effective at finding the most convenient and cheapest flights for the dates you want to travel, but its latest update will also tell you when the price of said flights is predicted to go up or down. Using their magical algorithm, Google will be able to predict when flight prices will increase — so they'll let you know if you need to book that baby before it doubles in price, or if you can afford to sit on it for a few days. It'll also make recommendations on the cheapest dates and times to book and even give you tips on which airports and routes will be cheaper for you. And if you're still not ready to fully commit to the idea of heading home, you can track flights and the progression of prices and get email updates when prices fluctuate or expire. They're also integrating a decent hotel search feature into the whole shebang if you're going somewhere more exciting than your family home for Christmas. The new Google Flights feature will roll out over the next few weeks. You can use the tool at google.com/flights. Image: Ross Parmly.
Next time that someone hands you a $50 note, you can be forgiven for thinking that it looks a little different — a new range of pineapples have just been released into circulation. Australia's banknotes have been getting a makeover since September 2016, when a different $5 note started doing the rounds. It was followed by a revamped $10 in 2017 and now a sparkling fresh $50, which hit the streets on Thursday, October 18. The upgraded design celebrates inventor David Unaipon, who was also the country's first published Aboriginal author, as well as Edith Cowan, Australia's first female member of parliament. They're both recognised in several ways on the new notes, with not only their portraits displayed prominently, but with microprint featuring excerpts of Unaipon's book Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines, plus Cowan's maiden speech to the Western Australian Parliament. [caption id="attachment_694389" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Reserve Bank of Australia via Flickr[/caption] As well as changed artwork (albeit keeping the same colour scheme as old notes), the new $50 boast the same improved security features as the new $5 and $10 notes, which are largely aimed to stop counterfeiting. A clear window running from top to bottom is the most obvious, and contains a number of features such as a reversing number and flying bird. The note also includes microprint, as well as a patch with rolling colour. And, in great news for the vision-impaired, the new series of legal tender has a tactile feature to help distinguish between different denominations. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the $50 is the most widely circulated Aussie note, so expect to see quite a bit of this shiny pineapple. As happened with the other denominations, the rollout will happen gradually, as will the withdrawal of old $50s — which you can obviously still keep using. While some issues occurred when the new $5 and $10 note hit, particularly with cash-handling machines like ATMs, the RBA has consulted with banknote equipment manufacturers, retail organisations and financial institutions to minimise problems. And as for the other two values of Aussie banknotes, the revamped $20 is due in 2019 and then the new $100 in 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci9SMlO3Sow
Want yet another excuse to make hay while the sun still shines this spring? The 2019 Everest Carnival is wrapping up in a big way this weekend. Taking place at western Sydney's Rosehill Gardens, Golden Eagle Day will send off the carnival with plenty of buzz. So, head on down this Saturday, November 2 for a day of live gigs, fashion and outdoor fun. First up, make tracks to Golden Palms — a leafy Palm Springs-inspired pop-up bar — where you'll catch DJs Charles Oliver and Ms Steve spinning tunes, plus plenty of champagne and cocktails. You can also kick back to some acoustic tunes or gussy up at the onsite pamper lounge. And, to keep you fuelled and well-soused, there'll be plenty of food trucks and pop-up bars around the course. At the end of the day, you'll be dancing your way through the decades with much-loved travelling dance party Hot Dub Time Machine performing live on the main stage. Then, keep the energy levels high and continue on to the afterparty at Rosehill Bowling Club.
The Shangri-La is no stranger to high tea. Whether it's a weekly sky-high affair or an OTT festive high tea with a gingerbread carousel, the luxurious Sydney hotel is a fan of impressive daytime spreads. Come July, it's pulling out all the stops for the most magical iteration yet with the Wizardry High Tea Buffet. The Shangri-La Grand Ballroom will be fitted out to resemble a wizard's lair with gilded thrones, candelabras, magical spell books, potion jars, broomsticks and wands scattered throughout to create an immersive space for the high tea. Both the sweet and savoury treats on offer will also be themed. Expect raspberry and chocolate eclairs; chocolate cups with blueberry mousse; and sandwiches filled with turkey and brie, broccolini and pesto, or ham and Swiss cheese — all decked out to look straight out of an enchanted tavern. The spellbinding tea is on offer on the first three weekends in July, with two seating times available on each of the applicable days — 11am–1pm and 2.30–4.30pm. Tickets are $79 or $59 for kids aged 4–11. If you want to really take the experience up a notch, you can book the Magical Wizardry Escape which bundles together a stay at the Shangri-La Sydney with two tickets for the high tea.
When it was announced in April last year that German supermarket giant Kaufland was expanding to Australia, it was surprising news. Now, almost a year later, the chain has made an announcement that's even more surprising: it's not expanding to Australia. In a total 180, Kaufland today revealed to the public and its 200 local employees that it would make an "orderly withdrawal" from the Australian market. The reasons for why it has decided to pull the plug on Australia are still a bit vague, with a short statement merely saying that the company wants to concentrate on its "European core markets in the foreseeable future". The withdraw won't be so simple, either. With plans to open a slew of stores across Australian — including 14 in Victoria and three in Queensland — Kaufland has already purchased numerous properties and even, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, started construction on a store in Adelaide and a huge 115,000-square-metre distribution centre in Melbourne. The Australian reports that the company has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars here. In the statement, acting CEO Frank Schumann apologised for the "disruption" the decision will cause. Launched in 1984 and now with 1200 European stores to its name, Kaufland is owned by the Schwarz Group — the world's fourth largest retailer. The chain is big in Germany and parts of Eastern Europe, but this was set to be its first foray into a Pacific market as an alternative to Aldi. The withdrawal has shocked the retail sector — and while it might be good news to Woolworths and Coles, it certainly doesn't reflect well on the current state of the Australian retail market.
If getting caught in the rain, not doing yoga and making love at midnight are the sort of things you like, then surely you must like piña coladas. All cheesy late-70s songs aside, there's nothing quite like this icy coconut, pineapple and rum drink to get you straight into holiday mode. Meaning 'strained pineapple' and originating from Puerto Rico where it's the national drink, the piña colada has been a steadfast favourite for all those on island time since at least the mid-1950s. The classic version of this tropical cocktail can vary, but for the most part, the drink consists of pineapple juice, coconut cream or coconut milk and rum and can be shaken or blended with plenty of ice. While messing with a classic can sometimes be a lost cause, when you enlist someone like Charlie Ainsbury, ex-This Must Be The Place bartender and Dan Murphy's Spirit Ambassador, to create a twist on the traditional, you end up with some delicious results. And while it's always nice having someone behind the bar pouring, shaking and blending your drinks, it's even better when you can be that person at home and really impress your guests. In the video above, Charlie Ainsbury teaches you the tips and tricks to making a classic piña colada and one with a twist. Study these recipes, stock up on some quality rum and tropical juices, and start wowing your friends with your newly learned piña colada knowledge. And if having your cocktails made for you is more your thing, head to Dan Murphy's House of Discovery, direction Tiki Bar, to immerse yourself further in the world of piña coladas. THE CLASSIC — 50 ml white rum — 50 ml pineapple juice — 50 ml coconut cream — A squeeze of lime juice — A slice of fresh pineapple Combine the rum, pineapple juice, coconut cream and lime juice in a shaker with ice, and give the mix a few good shakes. Pour over ice, and top it off with a fresh slice of pineapple. Charlie's tip: Feel free to add some sugar syrup to this recipe as coconut creams and pineapples vary in sweetness. THE SWIM-UP POOL BAR — 50 ml white rum — 30 ml pineapple juice — 15 ml lime juice — 10 ml orgeat syrup like Crawley's — Nutmeg Shake the rum, pineapple juice, lime juice and orgeat syrup together with glass, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. Charlie's tip: While white rum is classically used for the piña colada, have fun experimenting with gold and dark rums, too. Sip, savour and boost your cocktail savoir-faire at Dan Murphy's House of Discovery from March 8–10. Get your tickets here.
UPDATE, November 6, 2020: Sonic the Hedgehog is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. First up, some good news: the Sonic the Hedgehog film could've been a whole lot worse. Mostly because, as you might've seen in the movie's nightmarish first trailer, it initially was. But while Sonic thankfully no longer looks like a toothy blue Matt Dillon from There's Something About Mary, the rushed cosmetic changes carried out by Paramount only run skin-deep. Sonic the Hedgehog might now look pretty great, but the film is a hot mess just about everywhere else. To begin with, it's a mystery why this movie even exists. Not only is the Sega game it's based on almost 30 years old, but films based on video games are like white whales for studios — strangely irresistible yet doomed to cause ruin. It's appropriate that one of the first (and undoubtedly one of the worst) examples was Super Mario Bros back in 1993, since it was that game franchise that led to Sonic's creation. Did Hollywood learn nothing? The appeal of gaming lies squarely in the user's participation — "play, don't watch" should be scrawled on every movie executive's cheque book — and these films do not work. Following Sonic's adventures on earth as he accidentally attracts the US government's attention, then tries to escape them, the other big problem with Sonic the Hedgehog is the pacing. Specifically, Sonic's. His whole reason for existing is to go fast — super fast. He's like the Flash, Road Runner and X-Men's Quicksilver combined. And while there are some genuinely fun sequences where viewers get to see that play out, he spends a full third of the film cruising around in a sensibly-priced sedan. Worse — he's not even driving. Live-action is very much in vogue at the moment (see: Beauty and the Beast, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu), but this feels like an instance where a completely animated film would've been the superior option. The movie's opening five minutes take place on Sonic's home planet, and it's a tantalising glimpse of what might have been had first-time feature director Jeff Fowler gone down that road. Ah well. Cast-wise, there's a clear standout. Jim Carrey is back in full force, dropping the most endearingly over-the-top performance audiences have seen from him in ages. As villain Dr Robotnik, he's somehow even more cartoonish than the CGI Sonic — and it's spectacular. Like Sonic's running, however, there's far too little of it throughout. Instead, the lion's share of screen time is reserved for Sonic (voiced by Parks and Recreation's Ben Schwartz) and his new pal Tom Wachowski (James Marsden), the local sheriff who's helping him avoid capture. Giving credit where credit's due, Marsden delivers the goods, charming his way through scenes that ought to have tanked hard. Schwartz, too, makes the inspired choice of keeping Sonic low-key instead of manic, resulting in a far more likeable hero. As a kid-friendly family film, Sonic the Hedgehog ticks all the boxes, including the apparent must-have of a central character doing the floss (twice, in this instance). Query, though, how many kids even know who Sonic is. The same question applies to writers Patrick Casey and Josh Miller (YouTube series 12 Deadly Days), who not only relegate the eponymous character to scant speediness, but have also crowbarred in a ton of woeful pop culture references that will date this film far too quickly. Since his creation in 1991, Sonic the side-scrolling bundle of blue fluff has earned over $5 billion. That's some legacy, and one this middling film will neither damage nor improve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szby7ZHLnkA
Not knowing where your bag is when you disembark from a plane is a downright travel nightmare, and also now hopefully a thing of the past if you're flying with Virgin Australia. In 2023, the carrier rolled out a free baggage-tracking tool to fix this much-hated situation, starting with a heap of domestic routes. Now, it's available across its whole network. Flying to Japan? Bali, Fiji, Samoa or Vanuatu? Queenstown? The bag-tracking app covers those destinations. Wherever you're heading, you'll get notifications when your luggage is ready to fly, then when it's on the plane and again once it is at the baggage carousel. Virgin started testing the new technology in May 2023, then launched it in August domestically on almost 70-percent of flights before January's full rollout. Unsurprisingly, the feature has been popular. Since last year, the app has been used around 1.3-million times by Aussie travellers. Obviously, this feature covers checked luggage only. If you're carrying your bags into the cabin with you, you'll know where they are. For those stowing their suitcases in cargo, however, you'll be able to see where they are across your entire journey. Here's how it works: you'll need that aforementioned app, and to check your bag. You'll also want to enable push notifications. From there, expect to be buzzed with all the relevant info — the app will tell you which baggage carousel to head to as well, solving another airport annoyance. "Australians find comfort in the ability to track food deliveries, postal deliveries, technology, even their heart rate, all via apps, and it made sense for travellers to be able to do the same thing when flying Virgin Australia," said Virgin Australia Group Chief Customer and Digital Officer Paul Jones. Virgin Australia's baggage-tracking tool is now available across all flights. Find out more via the airline's website, and download the app online as well.
The other week my partner and I were watching a doco about the Lord Our Righteousness Church and its leader, Wayne Bent, who was facing trial for some extremely questionable activity. After the creepiness and righteous rage subsided, we got to thinking about other aspects of cult-culture. You know, really academic stuff like: if there were a hipster cult, who would be its leader? The answer we came up with to this very important question was, of course, Devendra Banhart. Firstly, there is his religious leader inspired visage. Just do a Google image search and tell me that the guy hasn’t just jumped out of some freaky time machine, straight from the 1960s, the golden era of bizarre religious cults and far-out communes. Also, he talks to animals, just like this guy. Of course, I am not at all suggesting that Banhart would get up to the sort of nefarious activity that I segued into this preview with. If anything, a cult run by Banhart would be a wonderful affair. Think 1960s-style love ins, guitar strumming and tambourines before a roaring fire, open fields covered in daisies, spinning around with your arms spread out - that sort of thing. On further reflection, when you combine all of the above with the apparent fanaticism that his music inspires, he’s pretty much already there. He just hasn’t bought the acreage yet. The good word for all Sydney based Banhart devotees (confirmed and potential alike) is that he is on his way back, bringing his freak-folk gospel to the Metro Theatre on Wednesday 27 July. Rejoice friends, for the consummation is at hand.
In Never Did Me Any Harm, Sydney Theatre Company has collaborated with Force Majeure dance company to create a challenging conversation piece about contemporary family life. Director Kate Champion combines contemporary dance, spoken word, physical theatre and the common vernacular to challenge the idea that parents instinctively know best, or that parenting is simply a natural instinct. Taking Christos Tsiolkas’ controversial novel The Slap as its inspiration, Never Did Me Any Harm uses the stage at Wharf 1 to recreate a 'typical' suburban backyard. Through theatricalised gestures, seven performers transform the audio text recorded over 90 interviews into a feat of physicality that is fiercely immediate and confronting. Does it sound a bit heavy? Rest assured, it isn't. Kate Champion deftly offsets the more depressing vignettes with domestic slapstick and cleverly avoids taking sides by having all the performers play both children and parents. Each disconnected narrative is drawn together by the familiar thread of domestic experience, making you wonder if middle-class Australia will forever be wound up about the 'correct' way to raise children. The diverse stories are alternately painful and amusing, infuriating and touching. One of the performers is heavily pregnant, and it's hard not to wince when she dives into a break-dance tumble routine; however, she's fine, and the fact that she's so conspicuously 'with child' merely adds to the authenticity of the performance and its insistent faithfulness to real-life experience. It's hard to describe something like Never Did Me Any Harm without sounding over-earnest, because the subject matter itself is so intense. But this is candid, controversial and very clever theatre. It explores corporal punishment, the pros and cons of breastfeeding, teenage girls gone feral and the realities of raising a child with a disability, and, unlike the TV mini series of The Slap, doesn’t star Melissa George. Go and see it this week — it certainly won't do you any harm.
Get ready to boogie: JAM Record Bar is here to shake up Sydney's CBD with a lively space filled with epic tunes. Merivale is behind the venue, with CEO Justin Hemmes and his Bettina driving a passion project that's aptly named after their parents John and Merivale. Residing in George Street digs, this newcomer opens its doors on Friday, April 19 with 15,000 vinyl records and an enticing Japanese snack menu created by Sushi e's Head Chef Michael Fox. Plus, there's cocktails that draw inspiration from Japanese favourites, as well as the classics, curated by Merivale's Creative Cocktail Lead James Irvine. The music-focused outpost's history is rooted in the legacy of its namesake, with the family, including John and Merivale, launching an array of JAM-titled projects from the 50s up until 2003. They ranged from JAM Jeans and its adjacent clothing store through to record label JAM Recordings, which founded national music festival Good Vibrations. While the venue may be small, the hits are anything but. Merivale's Head of Music and Entertainment Nick van Tiel has taken on the task of ensuring that the record bar's vinyl collection — which spins on a custom vintage JBL sound system — is wide-spanning. Thanks to the diverse selection of tunes chosen by the JAM Record Bar team, you'll walk into a different set of songs each time. This intimate spot takes cues from Tokyo's popular listening bars, putting its own spin on the concept. Justin and Bettina both worked with Akin Atelier and Merivale's in-house teams to bring the space to life. JAM Record Bar features pink plywood, cork and 'pink batt' insulation to create a surround-sound experience that emulates sitting inside a speaker box pumping out bangers. As for eats, expect snacks like Japanese-style sandos, spring rolls and grilled skewers starring ingredients like furikake and yuzu tartare. The drinks list highlights the iconic highball and plenty of sake, alongside margaritas and a stiff old fashioned. Find JAM Record Bar at 320 George Street, the Ivy Precinct, Sydney from Friday, April 19 — open 12pm–12am Monday–Saturday and 12pm–10pm Sunday. Images: Mattia Panunzio.
Quirky giftware store Octopus Design is the younger sibling of Paddington's Opus. While the Newtown venue is smaller, it makes up for it in heart (and cheekiness). Octopus Design is an absolute goldmine for those last-minute gift shopping moments — from books and games to eclectic homewares and gadgets, you'll be able to find something for absolutely everyone. The store is always changing and the ever-revolving stock means that Octopus is a totally different shop every time you visit. Plus it's pet-friendly, so you can stop in when you're walking your darling pooch around the streets of Newtown. Images: Arvin Prem Kumar
Ooh this festival is automatic, it's systematic, it's hydromatic. No, it's not Greased Lightning, it's ChromeFest. But it wouldn't be a surprise to see Danny Zuko with the sleek Greased Lightning car at this festival of vintage vehicles and nostalgia for the good ol' days. It is taking over The Entrance from Friday, October 25 to Sunday, October 27 for three days of cars and chrome. There will be 450 show cars from across the Central Coast with vehicles that can be traced back to between 1950 and 1979. The immersive nostalgia extends to the tunes, too, as rock and roll and rockabilly bands will play live on five stages throughout the festival precinct. Beyond that, the festival will feature retro market stalls, themed food, vintage fashion parades and pinup pageants. Be sure to attend the opening night of Chrome After Dark, a free night of live music in Memorial Park, to get your best boogie on and kick off the weekend with a bang.
