Bavarian Bier Cafe is lightening up. The legendary beer house has long been associated with the biggest and tastiest of traditional dishes — from Klaus’s Gulaschsuppe (spicy beef goulash soup) to the mighty German sausage tasting platter, crowded with bratwurst, kransky and frankfurter. But now, those who don’t have the heart for the hearty are being catered to, too. The Cafe has added a page to its menu, introducing a range of what’s been dubbed ‘new modern favourites’. So rather than having to commit to a serious, meaty feast, you can eat as light and as fresh as you like. All nine of Bavarian Bier’s Australian venues are making the addition, with exact options varying from place to place. What all dishes have in common, though, is that they’re inspired by Bavarian flavours and dashed with creative, modern twists. Depending on which BBC is your local, keep a look out for light and fluffy steamed prawn dumplings ($16) and popcorn shrimp ‘dampfnudel’ steamed buns ($19) on the sharing menu. Meanwhile, for salads, expect the likes of spicy sesame chicken ($16), crispy calamari ($18) and grilled pork and Asian vegetables ($15). As far as mains go, dishes include pan-roasted salmon with lentils, root vegetables, beet pickled red onions and dill ($23); crisp roasted wild New Zealand hapuka with sweet and sour red capsicums, lemon puree and roasted garlic ($25); and lemon and herb marinated chicken breast with pesto scented orzo and shaved vegetable salad ($25). Whatever you choose, there’s no doubt that one of the Bavarian Bier Cafe’s pure biers, made with just four natural ingredients (malt, hops, yeast and water), will chase it down without any argument.
As far as global creative hubs go, Brooklyn and Sydney are indisputably two of the big guns. Locals will vouch for their turf's supremacy; the grungy, bustling hip hop-saturated streets of NYC's most populous borough against Australia's thriving cultural hub brewing arguably some of the best coffee and beer around. Needless to say, heated discussion usually ensues with such a comparison. But M2's latest exhibition Brooklyn vs. Sydney puts all this competitive quarrelling aside, finding common ground through the medium of collage. Pieced together by New York-based curator Kara Brooks, artists from the Brooklyn Collage Collective (BCC) along with a few handpicked Sydneysiders showcase the brilliance of this underground and often overlooked art form. Calling back to the long forgotten days of the humble scissors and glue, these collage-based artists like to push the boundaries of orthodox techniques. In an era of information overload, these collages put the magic back into the crafty medium — proving it as dynamic as its creator's communities.
Any mention of Joanna Murray-Smith tends to elicit the same kind of wince as would David Williamson. Like Williamson, she's an expert at portraying the Australian bourgeoisie engaged in the national pastime of cringing. But this is a trap she steers well clear of in her latest offering, Switzerland; a fictional account of American author Patricia Highsmith's late in life retreat to the Swiss Alps. Sarah Peirse playing the straight-shooting curmudgeon makes old age look like a hoot. Peirse appeared last year in Murray-Smith's Fury playing a mild mannered, upper middle class intellectual mother. Here she shows off her acting chops by transforming into the nasty, charismatic Highsmith. We're introduced to Highsmith hiding away from her fame and literary adversaries in the US in a cosy, naturalistic interior designed by Michael Scott-Mitchell with a spiral staircase, fireplace and writing desk. Apart from an offensively kitsch Highsmith portrait hanging to the right of the fireplace, the space works well. The action begins when a timid junior assistant from her publishing house visits, ostensibly to persuade her to sign a contract for a final installment of The Talented Mr Ripley. The opening exchange between Eamon Farren playing Edward and Peirse shows off Murray-Smith's comic competence and received plenty of laughter on opening night. The witty repartee only loses its shine when we reach the tenth false exit in as many minutes. As entertaining as the play is, it's hard to see its relevance. Whereas Fury spoke to a specific tension between radicalism and racial vilification, Switzerland only gets as far as generalised chats about the universality of human evil and cliched psychoanalysis suggesting that Highsmith is protecting herself behind her racism. It's all fine, and Peirse and Farren's performances are even mighty fine, but I couldn't help feeling that if director Sarah Goodes had focused more on Highsmith's obsession with snails or her collection of guns, we might have been in for a more interesting night of theatre. For a character study of a woman obsessed with murder, Switzerland displays a conspicuous lack of danger.
During 2021's COVID-19 lockdown, Dan Pepperell's boundary-pushing French restaurant Bistrot 916 mixed things up with a special takeaway menu featuring one hit item: cheeseburgers. From Restaurant Hubert's famous burger to Charcoal Fish's Murray cod patties, Sydneysiders love a fancy burger — and these Bistrot 916 buns were a certified hit. After removing them from the menu post-lockdown, these cheesy delights are finally back alongside a killer oyster deal three days a week at the Potts Point haunt. The deal is running all the way through October and November, with patrons able to drop in for burgers and oysters for lunch Friday–Sunday. Diners are able to get their hands on one of these much-hyped burgers for $29. While this is quite a hefty price tag, Bistrot 916 isn't exactly your cheap and cheerful local burger shop. Plus, it's not quite Sydney's most expensive burger. That honour may sit with Circular Quay's 6Head, which has a $33 dry-aged beef burger on the menu — or, if you're counting sandwiches, Sandoitchi's Wagyu Katsu Sando with MB9+ tajima wagyu tenderloin, which will set you back $49. As for the oysters, they're on offer for just $1 during the promotion. That means that you can drop in for a few shucked beauties and your choice from the 916 wine list, or combine the two deals to treat yourself to half-a-dozen oysters and the burger for just $35. Top image: Steven Woodburn
Eight months after Australian same-sex couples could first formally and legally tie the knot, Brisbane Festival is celebrating the occasion in an appropriate fashion — by throwing a free wedding for eight LGBTIQ pairs. While Sydney Festival put together a huge reception earlier in the year, Brisbane's equivalent is going one better by hosting the actual nuptials. And, if you're a LGBTIQ couple looking to get hitched, you might just be able to take part. Called Qweens on King, the Saturday, September 8 event is one of the three-week-long fest's opening celebrations for 2018, turning Bowen Hills' King Street precinct into a garden party filled with merriment and real-life matrimony. Entries are now open for all interested parties, with winners saying 'I do' on stage before a celebrant named Gai Lemon, scoring a wedding party filled with Brisbane's queer performers, nabbing free wedding bands and receiving a $500 voucher towards holding their reception at adjacent food truck hangout Welcome to Bowen Hills. Everything from the music to the flowers to the photographer has been arranged, with couples simply needing to register, make sure they're available on the date and pick their own outfits. Of course, if that sounds like your ideal way to spend your big day, you'll also need to be willing to share your happy moment with a considerable crowd. "I'm hoping that the eight couples we find will represent a broad spectrum of personal experiences, from those who have been through the Bjelke-Petersen time when homosexual acts were still illegal, to newcomers and the multitude of various cultures within all those letters: L-G-B-T-I-Q-plus," says Brisbane Festival artistic director David Berthold. The ceremony will also launch the 29th annual Brisbane Pride Festival, with Brisbane Pride vice president Michael James dubbing the event "a gathering of rainbow sophistication and flair". Entries close at midnight on Sunday, July 22, with Qweens on King taking place on Saturday, September 8. To register, or for more information, check out the online application
The last of Red Rock Deli's Secret Suppers in Melbourne has been and gone, with Ms. Frankie's head chef Giorgio Distefano cooking up a feast on a CBD rooftop. The exclusive supper series saw some of Australia's most talented chefs whipping up mouth-watering, three-course feasts inspired by Red Rock Deli's new limited-edition range. And when we say exclusive, we mean it — only 20 lucky guests got to tuck into each lavish dinner. On Thursday, October 17, top Melbourne chef Distefano put up a feast inspired by Rock Deli's new Chilli, Roast Garlic and Lemon Oil Deluxe Crisp flavour. The theme of the evening was 'Elevation of the Senses', so the menu featured simple dishes masking intense flavours. To start, there was a charcuterie board with oven-baked ricotta, pumpkin, chilli and parmesan arancini and house-made bread. And to finish, guests tucked into lemon pannacotta with mixed berries. But it was the main course of tortellini filled with ricotta and lemon zest and slathered with chilli, garlic and lemon-infused oil that really had us salivating. Sounds like a meal that shouldn't have been missed but, if you did — or you went and want to recreate the magic at home — check out Distefano's tortellini recipe here. Images: Parker Blain.
Jamaican-born, Sydney-based artist Robin Clare’s work riffs on the colour, rhythm and repetition of dancehall music and the popular culture of her native country. Expect a heady culture clash of blaring hand-drawn typography, bold large-scale paintings, screen prints and a jungle of pop art, comic book, cinematic and advertising influences. The conceptual underpinning beneath this criss-cross of influences is the nature of cross-cultural exchange between Jamaica and the United States, particularly a 1950s publication, Bulls Eye, by comic artist team Simon and Kirby. Clare has exhibited across London and Sydney and works at the edge of the map between contemporary art and graphic design, producing zines and illustrations for t-shirts. Her latest show Badda dan dem star is on for a few short days only at at China Heights in Surry Hills, a gallery that ties the design and art worlds together. Badda dan dem star is on 6-9 for Friday opening and 12-5 on Saturday and Sunday.
The returning Fantastic Film Festival Australia isn't just about celebrating cult-classic movies. This cinema showcase is one of several in Australia that wears its love for the weird, wild and wonderful — the strange and surreal, too — on its screens, and that means going heavy on the latest flicks that fit that description. But when the Sydney and Melbourne event includes beloved retro titles on its lineup, it usually does something special with them. So, in 2023, as part of its just-announced program, it has particularly attention-grabbing plans for Zoolander and the OG Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live-action movie. Ben Stiller's comedy about the world of modelling might be all about donning clothes, but FFFA's session of the film is going in the opposite direction, joining the fest's growing spate of nude screenings. The event debuted the concept in 2021, then brought it back in 2022 for the 25th anniversary of The Full Monty. Now, patrons are asked to wear nothing but their best blue steel look — or magnum if they prefer — while watching a really, really, really, ridiculously good-looking movie. Clothes are required at FFFA's showings of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but don't worry about eating pizza beforehand — you'll be able to smell it during the session. The fest is going with a scratch-and-sniff experience, in what it's calling Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Stink-O-Vision and will be a world-premiere. As you watch Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael (and Sam Rockwell in a blink-or-you'll-miss-it part), you'll be told to scratch a card at certain moments to get smelling. Some scents will be tasty. Some definitely won't. Running from Friday, April 14–Sunday, April 30 at Ritz Cinema in Randwick and Lido Cinemas in Hawthorn, FFFA's 2023 bill also features a 2K restoration of Takashi Miike's Audition, but mostly it's serving today's fresh flicks that'll be tomorrow's cult favourites. Opening the fest is Polite Society, about a martial artist-in-training endeavouring to save her sister from an arranged marriage — and a hit at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Closing it: LION-GIRL, a futuristic, post-apocalyptic sci-fi film about saving humanity (aren't they all?) that boasts character design by manga artist Go Nagai. Elsewhere on its 2023 program, Fantastic Film Festival Australia will screen the 1997-set Zillion, the highest-grossing film in Belgium in 2022, which tells of a computer whiz who creates the biggest discotheque in the world; Evil Dead Rise, the latest title in the ongoing zombie franchise, and prime fodder for a midnight slot; and Holy Shit!, which is completely set in a portaloo rigged with explosives. Or, there's a movie that FFFA is calling An Untitled and Perfectly-Legal Coming-Of-Age Parody Film — it isn't naming it because it was surrounded by controversy at its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, but you can easily work out by a quick online search, especially if you're fond of comic-book characters. It'll screen with the director in attendance, in what'll be one of its rare public showings so far. A number of Australian efforts are also on the lineup, starting with Rolf de Heer's The Survival of Kindness, which recently proved a hit at the Berlin International Film Festival. There's also Beaten to Death, a new-wave Ozploitation thriller set in remote Tasmania; the giallo-style Blur, about an investigation into a strange entity; and The End of History, about Australian techno producers Darcy and Pat as they chase their creative dreams in Berlin. Back to the international flicks, Belgium's H4Z4RD has been compared to Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Estonia and Finland provide crime-caper comedy Hit Big, Spain's Manticore contemplates evil and French standout The Five Devils is about an eight-year-old with an inhuman sense of smell. Plus, Germany's The Ordinaries dives into a three-class society where a 'supporting character' wants to be a 'main character' — and Quantum Cowboys features Scream alum David Arquette and is designed to start a trilogy. Also, on the events bill, FFFA is bringing back Music Video Blind Date, to connect Melbourne musos with filmmakers in the hopes of making music video magic. Fantastic Film Festival Australia runs from Friday, April 14–Sunday, April 30 at Ritz Cinema, Randwick in Sydney and Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn in Melbourne. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the FFFA website.
Thirteen years ago, Korea's cinema standouts scored their own showcase Down Under, with the inaugural Korean Film Festival in Australia debuting in 2010. Since then, the festival has grown from a one-city event to a four-stop tour celebrating both the latest and greatest flicks that South Korea has to offer. It was playing Bong Joon-ho films before Parasite swept the Oscars. It was revelling in Korean thrillers prior to Squid Game becoming an international success, too. It loved Korean genre fare before Train to Busan as well. And, in its just-dropped 2023 lineup, KOFFIA keeps heroing the nation's must-see titles — this time via a 13-film program that'll hit Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane. 2023's KOFFIA has a date with Event Cinemas George Street from Thursday, August 24–Tuesday, August 29, before heading to Palace Electric from Friday, September 1–Sunday, September 3. Then, it's time for an ACMI stop across Thursday, September 7–Monday, September 11, before wrapping up at the Elizabeth Picture Theatre from Thursday, September 14–Sunday, September 17. In each location, it'll endeavour to give audiences a new Korean favourite, or several, from a selection that spans everything from murder-mysteries and detective dramas to revenge thrillers and musicals. There's no such thing as a standard Korean film, which is true of every country's movie output; however, this national cinema is mighty fond of twisty tales. Accordingly, it should come as no surprise that Confession and Gentleman are both on the 2023 bill. The first is a locked-room mystery with an IT company CEO suddenly finding himself the prime suspect, while the second involves a private detective agency's head honcho being falsely accused of a crime. Also on the lineup: The Devil's Deal, which sees a political candidate disqualified, then out for revenge; and The Night Owl, about an acupuncturist who is blind in daylight, can see clearly at night, and witnesses a tragic event one evening. The latter opens the festival, and the directors of both films — The Devil's Deal's Lee Won-tae and The Night Owl's An Tae-jin — are coming to Australia for KOFFIA. Elsewhere, comedy 6/45 hits the Korean Film Festival after proving a box-office smash at home, focusing on soldiers from both North and South Korea finding a windfall; Hero heads back to 1900s Korea to hone in on independence activist Ahn Jung-geun's plight battling Japanese colonial rule; musical drama Life Is Beautiful sees a husband trying to locate his wife's childhood sweetheart; and Next Sohee, which played Cannes 2022, is all about an exploitative work situation. Or, the standouts also include Switch, where a celebrity wakes up one morning to discover that he's living a completely different life — and romance Nothing Serious, about an aspiring novelist who writes a sex column. If it seems like a diverse lineup, that's wholly the aim. "Our 2023 festival program is designed to appeal to a broad audience, offering something for everyone — be they casual viewers or diehard film enthusiasts, promising a vivid and enriching journey through the multi-faceted realm of human experiences," said KOFFIA Programmer Francis Lee. "We hope that KOFFIA continues to facilitate the appreciation of Korean film artistry and culture in Australia, bringing audiences closer to the unique blend of storytelling, cinematography, and performances that have garnered global recognition." KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL IN AUSTRALIA 2023 DATES: Thursday, August 24–Tuesday, August 29: Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney Friday, September 1–Sunday, September 3: Palace Electric, Canberra Thursday, September 7–Monday, September 11: ACMI, Melbourne Thursday, September 14–Sunday, September 17: Elizabeth Picture Theatre, Brisbane The Korean Film Festival in Australia 2023 runs across August and September, touring to Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the KOFFIA website.
Since back in 2019, Sydneysiders have been able to use contactless card payments to cover public transport fares, letting you ride the Opal network without an Opal card. A digital Opal card is also being trialled, too, and the New South Wales Government is slated to test out a handy feature: using it to pay for Ubers, Ingogo taxis and Lime bikes as well. Being able to use the digital Opal card across other forms of transport — so, not just the Opal network — was initially floated back in 2019, but now the test run is finally going ahead. Up to 10,000 Sydneysiders will be granted access to the feature via the digital Opal card trial, which is expected to start in mid-2021. The new technology will also encourage mixing modes of transportation for people who live further from public transport, with credit awarded to user's accounts if they transfer from an Uber, Ingogo taxi or Lime bike onto public transport within 60 minutes. In a statement, NSW Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said if the initial trial is a success, the NSW Government will look to roll out the program across the transport network and will invite other transport providers to get involved. "We know how convenient using one card is, and this is just the beginning," said Constance. Participants in the trial will receive up to $3 worth of credit each time they transfer from an Uber, Ingogo or Lime service to public transport within an hour window. My Fast Ferry customers participating in the trial will also receive a ten percent discount on their peak hour ferry trips and 25 percent off during off-peak hours, all to help encourage people traveling between Manly and Circular Quay to pair multiple forms of public transport during their journey. The NSW Government has already run one intake for digital Opal trial participants, and is set to open for a second round of applicants sometime this year, too. The overall test run is expected to last for 12 months, with Transport for NSW teaming up with Mastercard, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and EML Payments Limited. One form of transport that Sydneysiders almost certainly won't be able to transfer to or pay for with a digital Opal card during the trial is electric scooters. Back in February, Minister Constance said he was "not in the mood" to run e-scooter trials in NSW, and that they would remain illegal despite the success of organisations like Lime Bike in the city and a growth in e-scooter retailers. The Opal digital trial is set to begin in mid-2021. For further details, head to the Transport for NSW website.
The Chippendale Creative Precinct is on a mission. What Chelsea did for Manhattan, they want Chippendale to do for Sydney. In other words, transform the kind of no man's land between Broadway, City Road and Cleveland Street into the city's creative heart. The area certainly has the kind of rambling, gambling history that compels romanticising. The Beams Arts Festival, now in its second incarnation, is central to the CCP's plan. On the evening of Saturday 21 September, 350 creatives will converge on Chippendale, bringing with them live music, dance, performance, light, video, animation and sculpture. Artists will be working on the spot, creating site-specific works, from enormous inflatables, to guerrilla knitting to street art. Dramatic light shows promise to illuminate Chippendale's nooks, crannies and hidden laneways from previously unseen perspectives. While your eyes and ears are rediscovering their sensory potential, you'll be able to widen your gastronomic horizon with an array of offerings from local chefs, temporary eateries, food vans, boutique beers and top-shelf wines.
414 Bourke Street might be bidding a sad farewell to Colin Fassnidge's hatted restaurant 4Fourteen, but we're banking on plenty more culinary goodness to come, with Jessi Singh confirmed as the venue's next high-profile tenant. The Surry Hills space will be reborn as "inauthentic Indian" eatery Don't Tell Aunty, which is slated to open its doors in early October. For the uninitiated, Singh is the master of modern Indian fare who, along with wife and business partner Jennifer Singh, gifted Melbourne with culinary hits Dhaba at the Mill, Horn Please and Babu Ji. He has spent the last few years stateside, first launching Babu Ji NYC, and most recently opening Bibi Ji wine bar and bottle shop in California, in collaboration with world-renowned wine guy Rajat Parr. Don't Tell Aunty marks Singh's first foray into the Sydney food scene, and is a slight departure from his usual approach. Fun, non-traditional Indian fare is still the game plan, though here, it'll be served alongside a playful cocktail list, heavy on gin and mezcal, and a thoughtful wine list, all headed up by Parr. "I'm really excited to be joining the dynamic and vibrant Sydney hospitality scene," said Singh. "It's been a longtime dream. Let the good times roll!" Colin Fassnidge's 4Fourteen, which has been on the market since the start of the year, will close its doors on Saturday, August 25. Don't Tell Aunty is slated to open at 414 Bourke St, Surry Hills in early October.
While Messina's main jam is crafting supremely scoffable varieties of gelato, the brand's love of food extends far beyond the freezer — as it has proven plenty of times over the past few years. Sometimes, it likes to team up with other culinary hotshots. Sometimes, it just likes to whip out a creative dessert. Either way, your tastebuds always benefit. From 12pm on Friday, June 18 and Saturday, June 19, Messina is busting out one of its specials. If you've had its famous mango pancakes before, including at its yum cha sessions, you'll already be hungry. The crepes come stuffed with mango sorbet and whipped cream, and they've proven immensely popular every other time they've popped up. So, it's no wonder that Messina is turning the tasty occasion into a mango pancake party. The reason: the cult gelato chain has just gotten its hands on a new pancake machine. Even if that wasn't why, desserts like these don't need any justification. The whole thing will go down in the carpark at Messina's Rosebery HQ, until sold out each day — so getting in early is recommended.
Rallies and marches take place every January 26, not only addressing concerns about the date of Australia's national celebration, but also protesting the ongoing discrimination that Indigenous Australians have faced since white settlement. This year, the Indigenous Social Justice Association has organised an Invasion Day, Day of Mourning and Survival Day march that will meet at Town Hall at 10am on Wednesday. The rally will be pushing for Indigenous land rights, reparatory justice, climate justice and the ending of deaths in custody and child removal. It will also mark the 50th anniversary since the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was set up in Canberra. Following speeches at Town Hall, a silent and commemorative march will take place to the historic Day of Mourning site at Australia Hall on Elizabeth Street. After the march, the rally will move onto Victoria Park where attendees can take part in Yabun Festival, the largest one-day celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in Australia. Yabun Festival 2022 will mark 20-years of the festival and will feature talks, discussions, markets and performances from musicians including Kobie Dee and Vic Simms. The rally has been organised with COVID-safety in mind. Mask and social distancing will be required. If you cannot attend, you can tune into Yabun Festival online at the festival website or via Koori Radio 93.7FM.
If you're in need of a few chuckles in the face of the state of the world, then Sydney has you covered across April and May. The Sydney Comedy Festival has a bumper edition on offer in 2023, delivering non-stop laughs from an impressive lineup of local and international comedic talent. From Monday, April 24–Sunday, May 21, venues across the city will play host to a program of sidesplitting stand-up, improv, theatre, magic and more. Returning favourites include the always huge Sydney Comedy Festival Gala, which hits the Sydney Opera House, Pac Pavilion Sutherland, Riverside Theatre, the Enmore Theatre and The Concourse to kick things off from Monday, April 24–Wednesday, April 26. Whichever date and venue you choose, expect an outrageous night of onstage antics from a star-studded cast of festival greats and emerging stars. Across the month-long fest, you'll also be able to catch solo shows from the likes of Dylan Moran, Ed Gamble, Bert Krescher, Mark Watson, Jordan Raskopoulos, Josie Long, Arj Barker, Gabbi Bolt, Sam Campbell, Ray O'Leary, Thalia Joan and stacks more. Elsewhere, Lucinda Price — commonly known as Froomes — is bringing her Besties slumber party to the Factory Theatre with Louis Hanson, the internet's patron jar-sauce hater Nat's What I Reckon will be bringing his show Yeah Righto to the festival and the UK''s Sh!itfaced Shakespeare will be performing Romeo and Juliet at the Manning Bar and The Concourse. You can catch Osher Günsberg's satirical news show NTNNNNN (read our chat with Günsberg about the show) and Richard Glover will be popping up with a special live broadcast of Thank God It's Friday! featuring live music from The Soul Movers. Images: Ben Sanford.
It's Mardi Gras time again, Sydney — and the annual celebration comes not just one festival, but two. When you're not partying, heading to performances and hitting up the parade, you can spend time in a darkened cinema watching the latest and greatest queer movies. Returning for its huge 26th year, and running between Wednesday, February 13 and Thursday, February 28, the Mardi Gras Film Festival is going big in 2019. A lineup that boasts 54 features, 66 shorts, 70 sessions and 75 Australian premieres isn't small by any means. It's also making a sizeable footprint, using Event George Street Cinemas as a base but spreading its screenings around the city too. After opening with the Kyle MacLachlan and Maria Bello-starring Giant Little Ones, MGFF's program includes a little bit of everything. There's the werewolf thrills of Good Manners, plus an award-winning drama about toxic masculinity and sexuality in the form of Slovenian film Consequences — as well as a Paris Is Burning and Rize-style dance doco courtesy of When the Beat Drops, and a restored version of the 1987 Merchant Ivory classic Maurice. Famous figures are in the spotlight thanks to biopics Mapplethorpe, The Happy Prince and Wild Nights with Emily, focusing on photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, playwright Oscar Wilde and poet Emily Dickinson respectively. And when the fest comes to a close, it'll do so with the tender, luminous and important Rafiki, a lesbian love story that was initially banned in its native Kenya.
The team behind some of Sydney's recent major pub revamps is at it again. Just a few months after relaunching Waterloo's George Hotel and the Duke on Enmore Road, James Wirth, Michael Delany and Joel Amos are doing the same to Woolloomooloo's Old Fitz. The Dowling Street stalwart reopened late last week with a fresh coat of paint, British pub eats by a star chef and natural wines aplenty. But, as Wirth is quick to point out, it's still the same old pub at heart. "We wanted to keep the spirit of the place alive," says Wirth. "So we kept the front bar as is, apart from replacing the carpet and updating the furniture." Elsewhere, the upstairs dining room now has a "drinking den meets old man study" vibe and the courtyard has been transformed into a leafy oasis with plenty of group seating. [caption id="attachment_729165" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tanya Saint James[/caption] In the kitchen, Head Chef Nicholas Hill (who's previously worked at Sydney fine diners Sepia and Quay, as well as the lauded Ledbury in London) is dishing up the city's best take on traditional pub food, with a strong focus on nose-to-tail cooking. The succinct menu, which varies slightly at lunch and dinner, includes a scotch egg with pickles, a rissole sandwich with beetroot and cheddar and — Wirth's personal favourite — the raw beef on dripping toast. Pub stables, including schnitzels, steak, and fish and chips (with mushy peas) make the cut, too. Then there are the blackboard specials, which change daily. When Concrete Playground visited, highlights included a pig trotter schnitzel sandwich and a terrine of the day made with chicken liver and pine mushroom. A daily pie for two, most recently with veal neck and pig trotter, has been making the rounds on Instagram, too. Another new and popular Old Fitz dish that's already made its mark on the 'gram is the hot chip butty. It's a DIY sandwich with white bread, golden chips, lots of butter and optional sauce, including the aforementioned drippings or curry. [caption id="attachment_729169" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daily pie for two by Tanya Saint James[/caption] On the drinks side of things, Amos (founder of online and now-IRL wine retailer Drnks) has, of course, brought a natural-wine spin to the pub, but it's not strictly so. "We have a regularly changing wine specials board, that'll focus on two or three bottles from independent producers," says Wirth. "But you can still come in for a sauv blanc before the theatre, too." Speaking of the venue's attached Old Fitz Theatre, that hasn't changed one bit, but now you can get a bottle of orange wine and a really good feed before or after. As well as the wine, there's a brand new cocktail menu, featuring the bars signature Pimm's cup and a black velvet, which is an unusual combo of a stout and sparkling wine. Other concoctions on the list include the Blackberry Bramble (gin, blackberry liqueur and lemon juice), the Penicillin (two types of scotch, honey and ginger syrups and lemon juice) and a G&T with earl grey syrup. Beer is also in the limelight with the bar's 21 taps offering a mix of Aussie pub standards alongside local craft from the likes of Grifter and Yulli's Brews. The Old Fitz is now open at 129 Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo. Opening hours are Monday through Saturday from 11am–midnight and Sunday 11am-10pm. Images: Tanya Saint James
Is your aesthetic still stuck in the greys and blues of winter? Well, you should hotfoot it to Precinct 75 — its upcoming design market will help you transition into spring. On Saturday, September 14, the market takes over the St Peters creative precinct to celebrate local independent labels. Both Precinct 75 tenants and guests will be there, including jewellery maker Alana Douvros, Taste Kaleidoscope Teas and natural skincare label Oleu Life. The event is pairing up with the local foodies and farmers markets to keep you fed — including Pepita's Ice Cream Van and its vegan, dairy free frozen treats — while St Peter stalwarts Rice Pantry, Sample Roasters and Willie the Boatman Brewery will be serving up their wares as well. And, if you want to take something green home with you, plenty of plants will also be for sale — which can help brighten up your home. Plus, with free entry for you, your mates and the pooch — yes, pets are welcome — you'll have plenty of money to spend on some new wares. While entry is free, you will need to register over here. The Spring Design Market runs from 9am–4pm. Images: Lucy Alcorn
Artist Nalini Malani's Mother India: transactions in the construction of pain tackles the violence during the partition of India into India and Pakistan in 1947. Rape and violence by both sides laid the groundwork for a lot of current tensions and traumatised or killed a lot of ordinary people along the way. Mother India is especially interested in what happened to the women of both sides, both before and after the violence. Paid for by money from the Gallery's Contempo program, this video installation consists of five oversize video panels along the back wall. Black and white street scenes pass as voices speak in the background. One voice reassures us, a woman screams "Get off me! Get off me!" Meanwhile we see images of the everyday: everyday men and women on street, everyday protest, everyday blue cows. The violence of partition was horrific, but for an audience neither raised nor schooled with this history, Mother India doesn't suggest enough of everyday life before the violence, which makes it hard for the peace to dissolve into the horror of what had been normal being broken in two. Also in the exhibition is a wall-spanning work by Hema Upadhyay, the fantastic Mute Migration. This work is a giant city map hung sideways on five black panels. It is Dharavi, a Mumbai slum and one of the world's largest slum districts. The houses are picked out as three dimensional tiny models topped with real aluminium rooves in yellow, blue, brown, and bare metal. The minarets of green mosques are dotted everywhere, among tiered apartment blocks and white-roofed official buildings. Another section of the slum has shanties built on shanties built on shanties. Black paint snakes between these low-rise blocks like streets or a river. Like their real life counterparts, these slums are ramshackle, vivacious and seething. Where Mother India alludes at the depravities of nation building, Upadhyay demonstrates. Image: Mother India: transactions in the construction of pain 2005 by Nalini Malani.
When you can't venture to a crowded pub to watch your favourite sport on the big screen, recreate the best parts of game day in your own home instead. Whether you're into the AFL or NRL, you can take inspiration from these five suggestions to amp up the at-home viewing party to suit your code. We've partnered with leading bourbon brand Jim Beam to bring you tips on entertaining your mates without missing any of the highlights. [caption id="attachment_786097" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cassandra Hannagan[/caption] COOK UP YOUR FAVOURITE PUB CLASSICS First thing's first: food. Any good party host knows you need to plan ahead when it comes to feeding your guests, but that doesn't mean you need to spend heaps of cash or lean on the same-old chips and dips combo. Give yourself a theme and opt for handheld, small bites. For example, buffalo wings with blue cheese dipping sauce and loaded potato skins with bacon and sour cream for easy-to-serve snacks that you can prep in advance and your friends can graze on throughout the game. Make a classic hot dog more grown-up with fresh lettuce, jalapeños and mustard, or create a nacho topping station so everyone can serve themselves when they're peckish. [embed]https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7pS5D5MnYe11rtrRcjeMTk?si=d6yoaggsQnaTvog48eh0IA[/embed] CREATE A PUB PLAYLIST Channel the mood of your local, wherever that may be. If yours usually busts out Powderfinger, Crowded House and Paul Kelly, lean into the theme and create your own playlist that's two parts nostalgia and one part fresh Aussie hits. Or, if you want to pretend you're at the Gabba for this year's AFL Grand Final, pull together a playlist that honours the local acts taking to the stage come Saturday, October 24. Brisbane bands Sheppard and Cub Sport will be performing, along with singer-songwriter Thelma Plum and Rockhampton's blues duo Busby Marou. Plus, Sydney's DMA's and Adelaide-based duo Electric Fields. If you're short on time, head to one of the act's own selections, like DMA's Radio above. More of an Amy Shark fan? The indie-pop star is headlining this year's NRL grand final and the Gold Coast artist has a sweet playlist of equally cool Aussie acts like East, Lime Cordiale and Wafia that you can find here. [caption id="attachment_786936" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dan Burton[/caption] PULL OUT THE LAWN GAMES When you're drinking at the pub there's often time for playing games and getting competitive — whether that's around the pool table or facing the dart board. Bring a sense of playful competition into your get-together with bocce, giant Jenga, Finska, Twister — or whatever games you might have stored away at home. Create a break-out zone away from the TV so your friends can dive into an active game whenever the mood takes hold. Don't have any games at home? You'll find a good selection of outdoor games at Opus, which has free delivery if you spend over $75, and at Sunnylife, which has a $12 flat rate for delivery. [caption id="attachment_787026" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kaleidico[/caption] PLAN A SURPRISE PUB QUIZ FOR HALF TIME No one wants to listen to the game analysis come half time, so bring all your sports fanatics together over some brain teasing. Can you name the date of the very first AFL match? What's Daniel Ricciardo's driver number? How many times has Dylan Alcott represented Australia at the Paralympics? Who is Australia's fastest female bowler? No matter what sport you're celebrating on the big screen, you can test your collective knowledge in a quick quiz to lighten the mood. Create one of your own, or hit up the sports quiz of the week from The Guardian, or the ABC's news quiz for a mix of sport and general knowledge. Or, if you want to play along live, Jay's Virtual Pub Quiz runs weekly quiz sessions on YouTube. [caption id="attachment_784939" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption] STOCK UP YOUR BAR Rather than making sure there are enough glasses in the house, or having to fight over space in the fridge for cold drinks, make things easier on you and your guests by filling up your bath or a bucket with ice and stocking it with premixed drinks. That way everyone can dip into the bathroom or kitchen for a fresh bevvy when they like, and you don't have to worry about chopping citrus for cocktails, or smashing glasses you don't have time to replace. Jim Beam has a range of premixed drinks to suit all your mates' tastes. You can pick up a pack of seven Jim Beam & Cola cans for $29 at BWS stores. Or go one better and enter Jim Beam's competition to win your own Tiny Stillhouse, which comes decked out with bluetooth speakers, a mini fridge, four bar stools, an esky, bar mats, a Jenga set, a case of Jim Beam and Cola and a bottle of Jim Beam White Label to really up the ante for your next get-together. Top image: Cassandra Hannagan
This article is sponsored by our partners the City of Sydney. This summer, the City of Sydney's City Art program will light up the William Street side of the Australian Museum with projections of larger-than-life Aboriginal women draped in cloth. These sepia-drenched, architectural bodies speak of the need to reconnect with, and revitalise, Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity. born in darkness before dawn (2013), by Sydney-based Wiradjuri artist Nicole Foreshew, will be launched as part of the City of Sydney's Eora Journey: Recognition in the Public Domain, which recognises and celebrates the ‘living culture of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in Sydney’ under the guidance of curatorial advisor Hetti Perkins. The work is also part of the inaugural Corroboree Sydney, a new festival celebrating Indigenous culture. Cast upon the William Street facade of the building opposite Cook and Phillip Park, the projections will be approximately three hours in duration, combining slow movement and still imagery. In elaborating on the significance of the cloth, which is imbued with traces of mineral and plant specimens, Foreshew explains this is to "emphasise the transition of space, as it is always moving between social relationships which are generated within the logic of place: revolving around people, occupying, owning, seizing, losing or transforming a space". Hence, the translucence and fluidity of cloth can be perceived as evoking the fluctuating historical moments of possession, dispossession and repossession, and their deeply felt social repercussions. Foreshew also states that, "the body is used to perform the absence of place". In this way, she is addressing the subjugated women of colonial Australia and reinscribing them into history. There is a sense of architectural power and stateliness evoked by the textured folds of the women's cloth-garments, as if rivalling the aesthetics of ancient civilisations. The siting of the work is significant as the Australian Museum houses a rich collection of Aboriginal artefacts that complements Corroboree's central theme of 'place' and 'living culture'. The work will engage with personal histories and negotiate a sense of community and belonging. The work responds to Indigenous usurpation, bespeaking the robbery of their status as the original inhabitants of the land. By etching a contemporary and bodily Aboriginal presence into the facade of one of Sydney's iconic landmarks, Foreshew challenges Australia's colonial narrative and promotes the historical and cultural significance of the site for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For more information, visit the City Art website.
Grab your most colourful beach floatie and your most surf-friendly out-there fancy dress — the 15th annual Manly Inflatable Boat Race returns to delight kidults on Sunday, February 23. The charity event will see participants take their makeshift boats and paddles through a one-kilometre course, starting off at Shelly Beach and ending back at shore. You must be at least 12 years old to participate and, of course, be able to swim. Following the race, there'll be a sausage sizzle while token prizes are awarded. The day isn't just for laughs, though, with all proceeds going to Tour de Cure, an Aussie-based fundraiser that benefits cancer research. Even the booking fee will be donated thanks to Humanitix, Australia's first not-for-profit ticketing platform. Early bird tickets have already sold out, but you can still nab $55 tickets online, or pay $60 on the day. The race starts at Shelley Beach at 10.30am — but you'll need to leave enough time to check in and inflate your vessel on South Steyne Promenade (just opposite Royal Far West) beforehand. Here's a chance to enjoy yourself silly while doing some good. May the best floatie win.
Sydney is home to some serious local distillers, as well as the event to prove it. Returning for its third year, Indie Tasting exclusively features independently-made spirits, and plenty of them. On September 16, Restaurant Hubert will host both local and international makers of craft spirits in a day of talking, learning and, of course, boozing. The event will see 150 boutique spirits on offer from more than 40 suppliers, so you'd best arrive thirsty. It's the type of event that whiskey, gin, rum, vodka and tequila-lover's dreams are made of. We'd keep listing different kinds of spirits, but we're getting thirsty. Each ticket will include a burger and fries, plus three free masterclasses, which include a myth-busting session, a chat about sustainability, and a class called 'Here's a crazy idea — let's open a distillery'. Indie Spirits Tasting is being held as part of Sydney Bar Week 2017, so this tasting is just a highlight of what drinks may come mid-September.
Sample 500 wines sourced from 120 Australian vineyards, try 100 cheeses and catch your favourite chefs in the flesh when the Good Food and Wine Show comes to Sydney Showground from June 27-29. Whether your passion is wine, coffee, local produce, cooking or travel, there'll be displays, tables, talks and masterclasses to get you working up an appetite. Good Food Theatre will see a bunch of celebrity chefs, including Matt Stone, Sammy and Bella, and Bill Granger whip up a three-course meal right in front of your eyes, revealing some of their secret tips along the way. Paddock to Plate will host a series of presentations, with Matt Moran popping in to chat about various food and wine regions and talk up his favourite producers. Plus, there'll be a grazing garden offering food truck feasts, a creative kitchen from Laucke, wine theatre presented by Riedel, a farmers' market lane and a cheese alley by Tucker's Natural.
You can never have too many occasions to eat cheese, but this returning Sydney cheese festival isn't just keen to shower cheese fiends with creamy goodness. A collaboration between Bruny Island Cheese Co. cheesemaker Nick Haddow and the organisers of Pinot Palooza, Mould wants dairy lovers to explore and devour the mild, hard and soft bites that Australia's best cheese wizards have to offer. Returning for a third year in 2021, after a postponed 2020 festival thanks to COVID-19, the cheesy event will paint Carriageworks yellow between Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22. Alongside unlimited tastings of Australia's best cheeses — with the lineup yet to be announced — it'll feature flavoursome fare from cheese specialists too. Think of it as a cheese tasting trip around Australia without leaving Wilson Street. Of course, snacking on samples and purchasing slices and slabs to take home with you are just two ways to enjoy cheese. The fest will have cooking demonstrations, masterclasses and talks so you can stretch your cheese knowledge as well as your cheese stomach. And it wouldn't be a cheese festival without beverages to wash it all down with, so expect a bar serving Aussie wines, whisky, beer and sake — all of which match nicely to a bit of cheese. Tickets cost $45, and there'll be three sessions: 4.30–8.30pm on Friday night, 11am–3pm on Saturday morning and 4–8pm on Saturday afternoon. Of course, the event is running at a COVID-safe capacity, so tickets are limited.
Barangaroo's expansive sandstone event space The Cutaway — on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation — is set to host an immersive mash-up of music, spoken word and sound design for two nights this September. Long-standing Bankstown creative company Utp presents Blak Box: Precarities, an electrifying exploration of exactly that — precarity. Defined, precarity is a state of unpredictability. Uncertainty and doubt mixing in with our day-to-day. On Friday, September 2 and Saturday, September 3, these transient fluctuations will be explored via Blakfella-style cabaret, bespoke music compositions and spoken word. Sound artist and journo Daniel Browning has curated a hard-hitting lineup of performers. There's poet and activist Lorna Munro spitting quick-fire spoken word, DOBBY and his superb musical talents and the violin mastery of Eric Avery. Plus, Ancestress will be bringing her creatively charged determination for change and star of ABC's Black Comedy Steven Oliver expanding his creative repertoire. Backdropping the live performances is lighting design from Karen Norris of Bangarra Dance. Not sure what to expect? Think a 60-minute, boundary-pushing, First Nations-driven artistic exploration of where we all sit as we lurch towards the unknown. Blak Box: Precarities is a project commissioned by the NSW Government. To find out more and secure your tickets, head to the website. Image: Rhett Hammerton
It wasn't long ago that the MCA wore no clothes at all. But for the duration of the Biennale, with Lee Mingwei's Mending Project in-house, it's taking a closer interest in the stitched article. And one of its approaches is to take on what was a new idea not too long ago but is now standard: find a group of like-minded fashion-lovers, bone them up on the value of recycling over consumption and get them together for an orgy of swapping stuff they have already. For the Biennale, the MCA is throwing its hat in the ring. To swap for said hat, you're encouraged to bring up to 10 nice-enough and no-longer-loved articles of clothing for the MCA Clothing Exchange, for swapping with other like-minded cohabiters of art and fashion. Will you find the cast-offs of swish fashionistas, or will art lovers' choice of clothes be the strangest cut of all? Read the rest of Concrete Playground's Top Ten Things to See and Do at the 2012 Sydney Biennale.
In his first stripped-back solo shows since 2005, singer-songwriter CW Stoneking will be touring his much-loved old-timey blues for Heavenly Sounds in June. The short tour — which sees him playing in the grand cathedrals of Melbourne and Sydney — will definitely make for a unique experience. While Stoneking's music is already rooted in soulful storytelling, giving it an intimate reception in a church will no doubt add an extra bit of depth and meaning. For someone who has only two albums to his name, Stoneking has an incredibly dedicated following. Debuting with banjo-heavy blues album King Hokum in 2005, this Australian oddball set himself apart from the local talent by flawlessly delving into the music of America's deep south. Then, his 2008 release of Jungle Blues expanded into the 1920s realms of calypso, hillbilly and jungle jazz. These two shows for Heavenly Sounds will see him preview music from a yet unreleased album. Your guess of the genre is as good as mine. For this tour, Stoneking will be joined by soulful Novacastrian Kira Puru — the former vocalist for The Bruises — who has collaborated with the likes of Illy, The Preatures and Paul Kelly. Inevitably, though, all eyes will be on on the main act. Not only is it rare to see a blues artist take the stage, but Stoneking will be one of the only men on a tour which has so far hosted talented but similar songstresses such as Laura Marling, Sarah Blasko, Julia Stone and Lisa Mitchell. Tour dates: Sydney: Wednesday June 11, St Stephen's Uniting Church, 197 Macquarie Street Melbourne: Friday June 13, St Michael's Church, 120 Collins Street Tickets are available through Ticketek from Monday, April 14, for $62.50 + transaction fees. Members of the Heavenly Sounds mailing list can access pre-sale at 9am on Friday, April 11. Sign up at www.heavenlysounds.com
Sydneysiders venturing outdoors this morning could find the whole breathing thing a little less fun than usual — as you may have noticed, it's pretty smoky out there. As the result of bushfires burning on the north coast and northern NSW, a layer of smoke has made its way across the city and is expected to stick around for the rest of the day. Needless to say, it's affecting air quality, with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage labelling areas in Sydney's east, northwest and southeast as "very poor" and "hazardous" on the morning of Thursday, October 31. Those further out of the city are affected, too, with the Lower Hunter and Central Coast currently experiencing "hazardous" air quality and areas in the Illawarra "poor" to "very poor". https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1189412830618869762 When the Air Quality Index reaches these levels, NSW Health suggests that everyone cut back on strenuous outdoor activities and those with chronic respiratory or heart conditions avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors where possible. It's also advised that you carry your inhaler, follow your Asthma Action Plan and seek medical advice if you start experiencing symptoms. This follows a smoky Wednesday, too, and the haze is unlikely to lift completely for another 24 hours, with the NSW Rural Fire Service continuing to battle numerous blazes across the state and northeasterly winds bringing smoke down towards the city. https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1189418802590695424 As of 5pm yesterday, the NSW RFS was fighting 72 fires across the state, with 38 yet to be contained. A blaze near Port Macquarie had burnt more than 2500 hectares and one to the northwest, near Coffs Harbour, over 100,000 hectares. Both are being controlled. https://twitter.com/NSWRFS/status/1189637843783581696 You can keep an eye on the fires burning across the state at the NSW RFS website. For more tips on staying safe during smoky conditions, head to the NSW Health website.
If humanity ever managed to cure or circumvent death — or even just stop being despairingly afraid of our own mortality — the horror genre would immediately feel the difference. Lives are frequently in peril in films that are meant to spook and frighten. Fears of dying underscore everything from serial killer thrillers and body horror flicks to stories of zombies, ghosts and vampires, too. Indeed, if a scary movie isn't pondering the fact that our days are inescapably finite, it's often contemplating our easily damaged and destroyed anatomy. Or, it's recognising that our species' darkest urges can bring about brutal and fatal repercussions, or noting that the desperation to avoid our expiration dates can even spark our demise. Accordingly, Saint Maud's obsession with death isn't a rarity in an ever-growing genre that routinely serves it up, muses on it and makes audiences do the same whether they always realise it or not. In an immensely crowded realm, this striking, instantly unsettling feature debut by British writer/director Rose Glass definitely stands out, though. Bumps, jumps, shocks and scares come in all manner of shapes and sizes, as do worries and anxieties about the end that awaits us all. In Saint Maud, they're a matter of faith. The eponymous in-home nurse (Dracula and His Dark Materials' Morfydd Clark) has it. She has enough to share, actually, which she's keen to do daily. Maud is devoted to three things: Christianity, helping those in her care physically and saving them spiritually. Alas, her latest cancer-stricken patient doesn't hold the same convictions, or appreciate them. Amanda (Jennifer Ehle, Vox Lux) isn't fond of Maud's fixation on her salvation or her strict judgements about her lifestyle. She knows her time is waning, her body is failing and that she needs Maud's help, but the celebrated ex-dancer and choreographer does not want to go gently or faithfully in that good night. Instead, she'd much prefer the solace that sex and alcohol brings over her palliative care nurse's intensely devout zeal. Playing out in a hilltop house near the British seaside that could host any number of gothic horror tales, Saint Maud directs plenty of attention towards the push and pull between its two central characters. But Glass isn't solely interested in an adversarial relationship between a pious young woman with her whole life seemingly ahead of her and the ailing hedonist who'll soon have hers cut far too short. The ideological, psychological and emotional dance that Maud forces Amanda into is gripping to watch — and shrewdly and potently handled — but that's just one of the movie's two key clashes. The other: the war raging within Maud herself. Despite her fervour, as well as the stern but feverish way in which she pushes her devotion to her faith upon others, her own story isn't straightforward. Flashes to her past, and to her previous job in a hospital, make it plain that pain, trauma and tragedy all linger in her recent history. That Maud has changed her name from Kate in the aftermath also colours her backstory, as does her alarm when she's approached by a former colleague, and the fact that her sanity just might be fraying. Set to star in the upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series, Clark also has Love & Friendship, Crawl and The Personal History of David Copperfield on her resume; however, her performance in Saint Maud is career-defining. It's one of the best of recent years by any actor, and it isn't easily forgotten. She's subtle but also severe, two traits that can co-exist in a portrayal this exceptional. She wears Maud's devoutness like a second skin, but also conveys how it itches when anything conflicts with the character's forceful but also fragile status quo. Ehle, who is perhaps presently best-known for Contagion despite boasting three decades of credits to her name, is similarly stellar in a vastly dissimilar way. Amanda isn't an object of pity, or meant to get audiences weeping for her misfortune. Her personality, warts and all, remains steadfastly intact even as illness visibly takes its toll. And, she isn't willing to simply nod, smile and acquiesce to Maud's religious zest out of gratitude, either. Most filmmakers can only dream of guiding such powerful and delicately layered performances out of their two stars — and in their very first stint as a writer and director — but again, Glass isn't willing to rest easy. In its narrative, Saint Maud is about control on several levels, as its titular figure attempts to use her faith to keep her own life and her patient's impending death in check. Behind the lens, Glass has crafted a work of supreme mastery, including in its vivid imagery and sinister mood. Whether the film is sinking into realism, embracing horror or getting surreal, the cinematography (by The End of the F***ing World's Ben Fordesman) and production design can't be faulted. As the movie steps further inside Maud's precarious existence, nor can the score, which conjures up as much unease as the overall feature. They each contribute to a swirling sea of tension, culminating in a thunderous final shot that really couldn't be more fitting, affecting, astonishing or memorable. Part of being a horror fan is spotting the genre's webs and threads, and seeing how the best and the worst examples — and everything in-between — build upon all that's come before. Glass evokes Hereditary and Midsommar-esque levels of dread as her anti-heroine is slowly forced to reckon with her beliefs spiritually, emotionally and physically. Focusing on a young woman seen differently by the world around her, her feature recalls The Witch, too. Both as a character study and as a part-religious thriller, part-body horror flick, it also feels like the product of a 70s binge. That said, Saint Maud is firmly its own movie. Awful and average films make you wish you were watching their influences, while excellent pictures leave you ecstatic that their sources of inspiration have given rise to something so stirring — and, as it haunts from start to finish, demanding viewers' reverence, this revelatory feature falls into the latter category. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP2MlPwflX4
On November 3, the Chauvel Cinema will become the most magical place in Sydney, as all nine films grace the Paddington cinema's screens for 20 hours of wizarding wonder. BYO time-turner if you don't think you'll be able to stay awake. Nine films, you say? Yep, this really is a celebration of every Potter-related flick there is, which means the eight movie versions of J.K. Rowling's original seven books, plus the film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as well. Watch Harry, Hermione, Ron and co. spend their first day at Hogwarts, play quidditch, search for the deathly hallows and battle He Who Must Not Be Named. And, then jump back several decades earlier to explore the exploits behind one of their textbooks — as presented in glorious 70mm, too. The marathon will be a nice little catch-up before the Fantastic Beasts sequel (The Crimes of Grindelwald) comes out later in the month. Kicking off at 11am on Saturday and screening through until the following morning, Potterfest will also include plenty of other Potter nerdery, with dressing up in costume as highly recommended as a pint of butterbeer.
Watching educational film series such as Back to the Future and Bill and Ted taught me a valuable lesson about the future - it's shiny, flashy and full of danger.Now the boffins at the Live Futures 2020 festival are trying to spread the rumour that the future is actually a wonderful place (time?) in which to live. This year's theme is "A World of Convergences", and its aims are to highlight the tomorrow-building potential generated through interdisciplinary collaboration. The result is a schedule that threatens to tempt everyone in your tribe: presentations from noted futurists, documentary screenings and interactive artworks are on offer for the princely sum of your attention span. Definitely try to get involved in this one, as it's not often that you can tell people you've spent the day acting like a gene, or that you led your own impromptu unconference presentation.Check out 2009's Live Futures 2020 festival and take part in building a better world...for Biff Tanner.
I never thought I would say this, but there’s a serious issue with the programming and funding of independent theatre. Or at the very least, that’s the depressing conclusion I came to when leaving the performance of SEETHrough at the Malthouse. Through the eyes of two young Australian men — one white, one indigenous — the play fails to decide whether it wants to tell a story of cultural disparity or gender expectations. It follows the two as they grow up to face the world in a small town somewhere presumably in the middle of nowhere. They apparently share a strong bond, which is at breaking point when one character, with distractingly strange facial hair, decides to leave for the big smoke. Cue city lights and confusion. There is a forcibly painful push to explore what it means to be a man, with almost no depth to the monologues or abrupt wrestling scenes. This, combined with clichéd culture contrasts (“I was born an Emu”/“I’m an Aquarius”) sets the pace for a confusing and ultimately clunky show. Between lines about water and blood, the stars, and city lights, the script forces a rather obscure and outdated motif in our face. Over and over again. While it is important to explore ideas of masculinity in theatre, the structure of this show was so convoluted that it was almost impossible to redeem any actual meaning beyond 'It’s hard being a guy in a small town, but sometimes we go to the barber'. What the production lacked was solid direction. As a devised piece, both performers (Gavin Walters and Colin Kinchela) were not given any substance to their performances and the blocking was awkward and static. The language was full of flowery hyperbole that made it difficult to access exactly what the motivation or meaning behind the dialogue was. The stage was drab, and though there were moments of well-designed lighting, the overall production design was underwhelming. I was disappointed by the show, and frustrated that it hadn't had further development. What can only be described as a theatrical hot mess, does not bode well for the rest of the Malthouse’s Helium season. This show is part of Next Wave 2014. For more on the festival, check out our top ten picks.
Watching television and subscribing to a streaming platform are both cheaper than going to the cinema. Should watching Netflix on your phone be even cheaper still? That's something that the international streaming behemoth is testing out, offering cut-price mobile-only plans — in Malaysia at present, although it has also flagged lower-price subscription options throughout Asia. Malaysia's The Star reports that the mobile-only option is currently available for 17 Malaysian ringgit (approximately AU$5.58) per month, offering unlimited viewing on one handheld device only — be it a phone or a tablet. The content is only available in standard definition, which is good news for anyone with a low data plan but bad news for anyone who loves high-definition viewing. Malaysian residents can only access the new plan by signing up via the Netflix mobile app, or by accessing the Netflix website on a smartphone. Still, it's cheaper than Australia's three tiers, with the basic $9.99 per month package allowing viewing on one screen at a time, including a laptop, tablet or mobile; the standard $13.99 tier upping the simultaneous screens to two and including HD; and the premium $17.99 option including ultra-HD and four screens. Variety notes that the tests are designed to appeal to smartphone-centric users in Asia — so if you do all of your film and television viewing on the smallest of screens (that is, your mobile), then you'll be hoping that Netflix expands its trial Down Under. The company hasn't given any indication that that's the case, but it does love to toy with new options — including, at the other end of the scale, possibly getting into the bricks-and-mortar cinema game. Via The Star / Variety.
Has anyone checked if the team over at Gelato Messina HQ is, in fact, sleeping? Not only has it been whipping up sell-out cookies pies — with new flavours almost every month — it's been dropping specials so frequently you'd think its mantra was a chorus by Snoop Dogg. We've had an Iced VoVo gelato, a super-fancy Viennetta and, now, a collab with long-time friends Hoy Pinoy. Messina has previously teamed up with with the Filipino barbecue and street food experts for Messina Eats events and they're both frequent stallholders at the always-popular Night Noodle Markets. Whether or not the markets will go ahead this spring — with many restrictions on gatherings still in place — is up in the air, but the two food experts are letting you recreate a small part of it at home this winter. They're releasing Messina X Hoy Pinoy dinner packs for $65, which come filled with a heap of sweet and savoury snacks. Inside, you'll find two sticky pork skewers, chicken adobo and sticky rice and popular Messina dessert Coco Phangan. The latter comes with coconut and pandan sticky rice, mango sherbet, salted coconut sauce and toasted coconut flakes, and looks like this: You will need to finish off each dish at home, but there's nothing more difficult than a little boiling, a little baking and a little creative plating. The packs are available to pre-order from 10am on Wednesday, August 12 to pick up from select Melbourne and Sydney stores between Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15. The packs are available from Newtown, Parramatta, Penrith, Rosebery, Tramsheds and Bondi in NSW — and from Richmond, Windsor, Fitzroy and East Brunswick (Deliveroo only) in Victoria. If you're in Melbourne, keep in mind you are only allowed to travel five kilometres from your home. Gelato Messina X Hoy Pinoy dinner packs will be available to pre-order from 10am on Wednesday, August 12, for pick up between Friday, August 14–Saturday, August 15 — keep an eye on the Messina website for further details.
You can stay up to date with the developing COVID-19 situation in Sydney, as well as current restrictions, at NSW Health. Truffle lovers are in for a treat this winter with Bondi restaurant Rocker serving a monthly set menu that celebrates the fancy fungus. Chef Darren Robertson's (Three Blue Ducks, Tetsuya) North Bondi spot is serving a truffle-heavy five-course meal with the option of paired wine across three Thursdays this winter. Kicking off on Thursday, June 17 and popping back up on July 15 and August 12, diners can enjoy five expertly crafted dishes ranging from spanner crab to cheesecake. Expect the likes of spanner crab tartlets with parmesan custard, wagyu tartare vol-au-vent, truffled garlic and thyme focaccia, truffle risotto, kipfler potatoes with truffle butter and basque cheesecake paired with truffle honey and rhubarb. The whole affair will set you back $110 per person, with a vegetarian option available for $90. For an extra $65 you can combine your truffle feast with a selection of wines including a glass of 2006 Pommery champagne. The full menu is available online and reservations are essential. [caption id="attachment_635514" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Katje Ford[/caption]
As culture, technology and entrepreneurial spirit intertwine ever tighter, REMIX Summit's Sydney edition is on hand to present the world's most forward-thinking industry leaders and creative minds. From December 7–8, over 100 visionaries will discuss the future of the creative economy, cities and the arts, offering up insight into the companies and individuals shaping the future. Burning Man CEO Marian Goodell headlines REMIX Sydney Summit 2017; the much-loved hedonistic festival that has gone from strength-to-strength as a cultural keystone with more than 70,000 partygoers attending in 2017. There will be too many gifted folks present to name, but to spotlight a few special speakers, you'll hear from Lonely Planet Global CEO Daniel Houghton, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab's Dan Goods and Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Disney Australia Kylie Watson-Wheeler. Plus representatives from the likes of Airbnb, the Royal Shakespeare Company and London's National Theatre will all be in attendance. To celebrate the return of REMIX Sydney Summit 2017, we're giving away a pass valued at $695. We're also offering up a special discount for Concrete Playground readers — head to remixsummits.com/syd/and enter 'concrete25' to save 25 percent on this year's event.
Thirty-six oysters are lined up in front of you. You've got to make those babies disappear quicker than any of the ravenous-looking individuals in the room can. At best, you want to take home the Grand Prix: a night's accommodation at Watson's Bay Boutique Hotel and a dinner for two at The Morrison. At worst, you don't want to end up like Lard Ass in Stand By Me — even if your worst enemy is at hand. How you gonna come out of the Morrison's Oyster Eating Competition with your dignity intact? With these five tips, that's how. Oh, and skip the castor oil/raw egg combo. GO FOR THE FOUR-IN-ONE This might sound kind of scary, but it works. We know because The Morrison chef Sean Connolly — who, really, should be given an honorary PhD in oysters — told us so. Don't even think about swallowing till you've got four molluscs in your mouth. Then, without chewing, send them all down your oesophagus in one gigantic gulp, as though you were a Great Blue Whale going nuts on krill. Whatever you do, don't think about the Walrus and the Carpenter scene in Alice in Wonderland — and keep three oysters in your hand so you don't waste time between acts. TEETOTAL ON THE DAY If you've learnt anything from Mad Men's Roger Sterling and Don Draper's three martini, multiple dozen oyster and 21-storey stair climb lunch, keep off the booze. We know it sounds a bit prim and proper of us, but the fact is that alcohol and oysters, like singing karaoke and approaching your crush for the first time, don't mix. So, take our advice, and save your carousing for your victory party. FORGET ALL THE MANNERS YOUR MAMA TAUGHT YOU Let's face it, things are going to get a little bit ugly. This is not the time to demurely reach for your half-shell with your miniature fork, dilly-dally over sauces and keep up your Bondi beautiful. Throw your oyster etiquette right out the window. Forget the fact that everybody in the room is watching you and focus on the task at hand. That means getting your hands — and face — dirty. TAKE A TIP FROM THE BLACK WIDOW AND JUMP ON THE TREADMILL Sonya Thomas, aka The Black Widow, weighs less than 45 kilograms and is just 5' 2" tall, and yet she's broken more than 12 World Eating Records. On June 1, she won the Acme World Oyster Eating Championship when she consumed 40 dozen oysters in just eight minutes. What's her secret? In a 2013 interview, she said that she spends about two hours a day on the treadmill, keeping her stomach lean so that there's room for it to stretch. She also hangs out at all-you-can-eat buffets whenever she gets the chance. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Winning an eating contest isn't unlike winning any other event. To maximise your chances of taking home the title, you need to put in some serious practise. In other words, you officially have the best excuse ever to treat yourself to loads of oysters between today and The Morrison comp. Every now and again, set your watch and measure how quickly you can down a dozen or so. Don't overdo it, though, especially the night before — otherwise, you'll be all seafood-ed out. The Morrison's Oyster Eating Competition is on Tuesday, August 19, and the fee is just $30 if you want to compete. It's part of the Morrison's Oyster Festival, which runs throughout August. It also includes $1 oyster happy hour daily in the champagne bar and an additional oyster menu in the restaurant with dishes such as carpetbag steak (that's steak, stuffed with oysters).
Western Sydney could score a thriving new creative and cultural hub, under an ambitious new plan to develop the existing Parramatta North Heritage Precinct. The historic site, which is home to a number of buildings that have remained shut and off-limits to the public for years, would be totally revamped, becoming a precinct for start-ups, artist spaces, museums and cafes. Dubbed the Western Sydney Cultural and Creative Industries Hub, the concept was suggested by Sydney Business Chamber, and would work in with the NSW Government's $310 million Parramatta North urban renewal project. The proposed reinvigoration would open to precinct up to the community, respecting its past — some of the buildings previously housed asylums, orphanages and female factories — while giving a much-needed boost to the area's arts and cultural landscape. Ideas include the addition of a cultural and creative industries hub (with a similar vibe to Eveleigh's Carriageworks) that would host a mix of established and up-and-coming organisations, with the likes of Urban Theatre Projects, CuriousWorks, Cultural Arts Collective and Diversity Arts Australia suggested as potential tenants. These would operate alongside a carefully curated retail and cafe offering, in a similar set-up to Melbourne's Abbotsford Convent. The site would also be home to a range of co-working spaces, as well as a 'test space incubator', providing emerging creatives with a space for working, exhibiting and development. There's also scope for the revamped precinct and surrounds to host events and festivals. Renders courtesy of UrbanGrowth NSW.
Enjoy a bespoke cocktail at Sydney’s latest pop-up bar, where it's Happy Hour all night long. The new outdoor appendage of The Governor’s Table in the CBD will serve premium bevs at markdown prices, making it the perfect place to unwind after a busy week at work. Launching today and open Thursdays and Fridays from 5pm to 8pm, The Governor’s Shout! is located on the corners of Bridge Street and Phillip Street, right outside The Governor’s Table, opposite the commemorative metal bust of Governor Arthur Phillip. And really, what better way to celebrate Sydney's colonial founding father than with cheap beverages right beside the Museum of Sydney? Each week, the pop-up will showcase a new bespoke cocktail, for the terribly reasonable price of $10 each. This week, it's The Forgotten Bridge, a blend of passionfruit, fresh lime, vanilla and a healthy dose of Pampero rum. The pop-up's drinks menu also features a wide selection of wines, including The Lane 'Lois' Blanc de Blanc, La Prova Pinot Grigio, Mt Macleod Pinot Noir, Voyager Cabernet Malbec and Laughing Jack Shiraz, all at just $6 a glass. Yep, that's $6 after-work wines. It gets better. Asahi and Sydney Cider will be available for just $5, and they’ll be serving an array of bar food and snacks to keep you tied over until your inevitable dinner at The Governor's Table. This is a very, very smart move from the Governor's team, timing-wise. Once the pop-up shuts its doors for the evening at 8pm, patrons have the option of heading indoors, where they can peruse the Governor’s Table dinner menu at their leisure. The bar has just announced the launch of their monthly Winemaker Dinner series, which pairs a selection of local wines with a five-course degustation. The first takes place on Thursday, March 4, with wines from Ross Hill in Orange and a dinner by Chef Marco Adler. Find The Governor's Shout! outside The Governor's Table on the corners of Bridge and Phillip Street, next to the Museum of Sydney in the CBD.
Prepare to be plunged into an unsettling world in Partisan, but prepare to be unable to look away, too. A charismatic man charms struggling single mothers into his thrall, and the film casts the same spell on its viewers. The magnetic figure at the centre of the movie is Gregori (Vincent Cassel), who wields his influence over Susanna (Florence Mezzara) when her son is born. Eleven years later, Alexander (Jeremy Chabriel) is the eldest child in Gregori's commune, secreted away on the outskirts of a rundown city and sheltered from the rest of the civilisation. His days, like those of the other kids living there, are filled with lessons and attempts to win gold stars for good behaviour. They're taught about gardening and trust, and play violent games with paintball guns — which Alexander then relives, outside the compound's walls, with a real weapon. Much of Partisan beguiles, early on, by remaining ambiguous and refusing to make plain its story — and by the time some of the pieces start to come together, you'll probably realise that you're already hooked. Just what Gregori is up to isn't the real point, nor why. Instead, the film pulls apart the bonds that a parent holds over his progeny, with Alexander's questioning nature kicking into gear when a new boy, Leo (Alex Balaganskiy), joins the fold but refuses to do what he's told. First-time director Ariel Kleiman, who also co-wrote the script with his partner Sarah Cyngler, was inspired by actual accounts of child assassins; however, their movie doesn't even pretend to reflect reality. It's not a typical killer kid flick either, for those familiar with The Professional and Hanna. Partisan toys with recognisable components such as cults and crime, but makes everything in its frames its own. That includes an ambient score that will echo around your head as it sets an eerie, uneasy tone, and lingering images that do what so many films try to: find glimpses of beauty in gritty, grimy brutality. While the narrative demands attention, doling out its details in fits and spurts, it's the way that Kleiman creates an unnerving atmosphere with both sound and vision that intrigues the most, and proves completely immersive. Well, that and the performances, particularly Cassel and newcomer Chabriel. Oscar Isaac was originally set to play the part of Gregori, and though there's no doubt he would've fit the bill (as his mesmerising menace in Ex Machina proves), Cassel is never anything less than hypnotic. There's something especially savvy about using the actor, who is so often seen as a more blatant threat, as someone with such power and allure. Plus, his rapport with his inexperienced but all-round excellent co-star is simultaneously natural and on-edge, as a father-son bond threatened by rebellion should. Watching Partisan, you'll swiftly become invested in their efforts, and in a moody, tug-of-war-like thriller that both creeps up on the audience and slaps them in the face.
As part of the flurry of new streaming services competing for our eyeballs, FanForce TV joined the online viewing fold during the COVID-19 pandemic. That's great news all year round, but the service is also going the extra mile for NAIDOC Week, which is when it's bringing back the Virtual Indigenous Film Festival. VIFF has already popped up once in 2022, for National Reconciliation Week in May — but this is obviously a fest that's welcome to hit screens to celebrate Indigenous stories and voices as often as it likes. For its second run this year, the event is hosting films between Monday, July 4–Friday, July 8, with four titles on the bill. Screening solely online, this returning festival boasts Araatika: Rise Up, Off Country, Where the Water Starts and Wash My Soul in the River's Flow on its lineup, showcasing First Nations talent both in front of and behind the lens. That means you can watch your way through an array of Aussie content focused on Indigenous stories, with each title showing twice on its allocated day — at 1pm and 7pm AEST. And, viewers can tune in on a film-by-film basis, or buy an all-access pass to tune into everything. Top image: Sandy Scheltema.
Have you always wanted to reenact the Office Space printer smashing scene? Well, your chance has finally come. Melbourne got The Break Room way back in 2016, and now it's Sydney's turn. Smash Brothers is popping up in Kogarah for three months, starting Saturday, April 21. A clear nod to the 90s video game franchise of the same name, the concept is a new kind of stress and anger management workout geared towards millennials. It's taking the workplace term 'break room' to a very literal sense — water coolers will only be of the smashable variety. You actually can smash printers here, along with plates, bottles, blenders, toasters and even televisions, fridges and — the most satisfying of all — computer monitors. So how does it work? Choose your weapon of choice and you'll be escorted to a break room filled with a crate of smashable goodies (plus a few 'mystery items') to break to bits. You'll be outfitted with overalls, gloves and a face shield, so you can go at it without the machines taking their revenge. Waste is the obvious eyebrow-raiser here. But while the items up for destruction are either donated or purchased, according to the venue, all the smashed stuff will be recycled. This may sound like a team sport, but for safety reasons you can only smash solo. Plus, you're only allowed ten minutes to break your batch, so best let that rage fly in rapid fire. It's not the cheapest ten minutes, either — solo smashing costs $40, or bring a buddy for $70. The break room is open on weekends only and by appointment only (no walk-ins will be accepted). To book a session, head over here and kiss those TPS reports goodbye.
The not-for-profit Head On Foundation brings the (wait for it) Head On Photo Festival to town this month. Yep, they’re going to get right up in your face with photos based on that whole ‘merit’ thing rather than just famous peeps (subject or photographer). Apart from just being a festival of photos in its fifth year, it’s also about all the corners of the land of photography, ranging from commercial to reportage. The stats are: 100 venues with 200 events and goings-on spreading like a spider web in all directions across Sydney. And the events? Most won’t cost you a dime and some are in cafes, pubs or artists' studio. The main event is the Head On Portrait Prize, which is a big deal if clicking is your thing. It aims to showcase the old and the new when it comes to portrait photography, Some of the exhibitions not to miss are D-Mo Zajac’s, who wants you to “destroy part of the exhibition, whilst you swallow the images into your consciousness”. Nudes on TAP Photographic prize is another one worth checking out. They’re not naked; they’re nude. Take in all the classic and contemporary expressions of the unclothed human form. Then it’s time to get into the good ol’ Aussie landscape. And we’re not talking gumtrees. We mean the suburban landscape. Celebrate the Hills Hoist and fashion your parents would be proud of with Rhiannon Tully’s exhibition at Queen St Gallery. If they don’t appeal, there’s iPhone Photography with Benjamin Lowy, various workshops, discussions like Putting The Passion Back Into Photography and more. And if you’re wanting to get into the medium but haven’t quite got everything together, you can get portfolio tips that teach you to treat your portfolio like your ‘baby’. Whether you’re shutterbug or merely a voyeur, there’s something worth checking out. Image by D-Mo Zajac.
Thanks to the soothing tones of waves lapping against the shore, a trip to Burleigh Heads always comes a soundtrack. But if you're a fan of Japanese cuisine, it now also features slurping noises aplenty. The reason: RaRa Ramen, which has opened its doors on James Street. It's the Sydney-based chain's first outpost in the Sunshine State, adding the Gold Coast site as a sibling venue to its four New South Wales stores. On the menu: creamy, brothy, stomach-warming tonkotsu ramen, which has proven quite the hit at RaRa Redfern, RaRa Randwick and RaRa Chan in Eveleigh. Taking its cues from the chain's vegan offshoot Lonely Mouth, RaRa Burleigh Heads does three-types of meat-free bowls, too — so you can choose between a soy shio with grilled tomato and housemade chilli grind, a miso version that features grilled tofu, and the vegan tantanmen with its plant-based mince. For snacks, both chicken karaage and cauliflower karaage are on offer, the latter with vegan mayonnaise. Or, there's also corn tempura, pork gyoza, Japanese pickles and vegan kimchi. While a great bowl of broth and noodles is always a drawcard, RaRa Burleigh Heads boasts another reason to drop by, all thanks to its neon-lit cocktail bar. Glowing hues are a feature of the company's other sites, too; however, in this case, the vivid lights nod to the area's history. When on the Gold Coast and all that. Drinks-wise, sours are a highlight, alongside a lineup of beers that includes Japanese brews. And, the venue's decor reflects its beachy setting in other ways, including in the curved lines featured in the fitout. View this post on Instagram A post shared by RaRa Ramen (@rara__ramen) Burleigh Heads locals and visitors can find RaRa's new store at the back of an arcade on James Street. If you're wondering why owners Scott Gault and Katie Shortland have decided to make the leap, Gault is originally from Brisbane — and, on a trip this way to see family after navigating border closures and restrictions during the peak of the pandemic, the pair spotted the property. "We let it percolate in our heads, and thought it could be a good opportunity to bring RaRa to the Gold Coast," Gault tells Concrete Playground. "Initially, we didn't have any plans to expand interstate, or to open a new store at the time." Like most Brisbanites, Gault has fond childhood memories of spending ample time on the coast, and identified Burleigh as an exciting food hub. Also a factor in the decision: the Gold Coast's existing culinary range. Gault notes that the city has boasted "great options for Japanese food over the years, which have informed everyone's palate." RaRa Ramen is now open at 21A/50 James Street, Burleigh Heads — open 1130am–10pm Friday–Saturday and 1130am–9pm Sunday. Images: Kitti Gould.
In a season two episode of the iconic Flight of the Conchords, Jemaine asks his comedic comrade Bret, "What expression is on your face?" To which a deadpan Bret answers, "Um. Guilty expression. What expression is on your face?" Now Two Little Boys sees Bret McKenzie as Nige: mullet-haired, potty-mouthed and totally guilt-ridden upon accidentally killing a backpacker while cruising the bleak streets of Invercargill. Those used to the pokerfaced prankster on FotC take note: this is a blacker, bitterer Bret — plagued with demons and incessantly panicky — but, like toasted sandwiches and beer, it works. Two Little Boys is a deliciously dark screwball comedy about "what it means to really be dead" and, in turn, what it means to be alive. Nige has had a falling out with his best friend since childhood, Deano (Hamish Blake), with whom he'd shared beers, boner jokes, and a bedroom since adolescence. Nige, on sensing there might be more to life than mischief and piss-ups, moved in with his new mate Gav (Maaka Pohatu), who is fond of poetry, pot, and piety. It all goes pakaru when Nige hits the Norwegian tourist in the wee hours one night and finds himself with a hot meat pie in his lap and a corpse on his hands. He turns to the jilted Deano, whose manic-eyed monstrousness quickly becomes apparent when he steps in to help his beloved buddy get out of trouble. The bromance-gone-bad elements are all, devilishly, in place: the well-adjusted new mate, the angry ex-girlfriend, the strewn-about reminders of their goodtime past. Blake is brilliant as the obscene Deano, bringing a crazy-eyed sanguinariness to Deano's unwavering loyalty. Set against the magnificence of New Zealand's South Island, the duo's road-trip to discreetly dump the deceased in the Catlins is as disturbing as it is cartoonishly comical. Blake and McKenzie are a dangerously funny pair; their Anzac-like brethren is a fine motif of our two southerly countries' camaraderie. Expect lots of trackpants, swear words, and toasted sandwiches. Folks from the South Island might recognise a face or two, with 100 extras chosen from around the area. Enjoy the immature giggle you get out of telling the cinema teller you would like to see 'two little boys' — this is a flick about the joy of juvenility and the occasional freakishness of undying fidelity.
Michael Bay movies, Michael Bay movies, whatcha gonna do? Since the action-film director leapt from commercials and music videos to his big-screen debut Bad Boys more than a quarter-century back, there's only been two options. Slickly and unsubtly dripping with gleeful excess, his high-concept flicks embrace explosions, chases, heists, shootouts, jittery chaos and perpetual golden-hour hues with such OTT passion that you surrender or roll your eyes — having a blast or being bored by the bombast, basically. Too often, the latter strikes. That proved true of all five of his Transformers films, which are responsible for more cinematic tedium than any filmmaker should legally be allowed to crash onto screens. That his pictures are lensed and spliced as if lingering on one still for more than a split second is a heinous crime usually doesn't help, but it's what Bay is known for — and yet when Bayhem sparkles like it mostly does in Ambulance, it's its own kind of thrilling experience. Following a high-stakes Los Angeles bank robbery that goes south swiftly, forcing two perpetrators to hijack an EMT vehicle — while a paramedic tries to save a shot cop's life as the van flees the LAPD and the FBI, too — Ambulance is characteristically ridiculous. Although based on the 2005 Danish film Ambulancen, it's Bay from go to whoa; screenwriter and feature newcomer Chris Fedak (TV's Chuck, Prodigal Son) even references past Bay movies in the dialogue. The first time, when The Rock is mentioned, it's done in a matter-of-fact way that as brazen as anything Bay has ever achieved when his flicks defy the laws of physics. In the second instance mere minutes later, it's perhaps the most hilarious thing he's put in his movies. It's worth remembering that Divinyls' 'I Touch Myself' was one of his music-clip jobs; Bay sure does love what only he can thrust onto screens, and he wants audiences to know it while adoring it as well. Ambulance's key duo, brothers Will (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, The Matrix Resurrections) and Danny Sharp (Jake Gyllenhaal, The Guilty), are a former Marine and ostensible luxury-car dealer/actual career criminal with hugely different reasons for attempting to pilfer a $32-million payday. For the unemployed Will, it's about the cash needed to pay for his wife Amy's (Moses Ingram, The Tragedy of Macbeth) experimental surgery, which his veteran's health insurance won't cover — but his sibling just wants money. Will is reluctant but desperate, Danny couldn't be more eager, and both race through a mess of a day. Naturally, it gets more hectic when they're hurtling along as the hotshot Cam (Eiza González, Godzilla vs Kong) works on wounded rookie police officer Zach (Jackson White, The Space Between), arm-deep in his guts at one point, while Captain Monroe (Garrett Dillahunt, Army of the Dead), Agent Anson Clark (Keir O'Donnell, The Dry) and their forces are in hot pursuit. Everything from Armageddon, Pearl Harbour and The Island to 2019's Netflix flick 6 Underground has trained viewers in what to expect from Ambulance — plus the movies name-checked in Ambulance's frames, obviously — but Bay is also the filmmaker who gave cinema 2013's exceptional Pain & Gain. His latest doesn't reach the same savvy heights, and it's both boosted by its hearty embrace of Bayhem and occasionally a victim to it, but it's rarely less than wildly entertaining. As the director's best efforts have long shown, he boasts a knack for heist-style films. Capers about break-ins of various sorts, even into Alcatraz, suit Bay because they're typically about chasing hefty scores no matter the cost. Ambulance was made for only $40 million, which is a fifth of most Transformers movies and somehow around half of non-Bay-directed recent release Morbius' budget, but bold moves with eyes on a big prize aren't just fiction in Bay's orbit. When Ambulance works, it enthrals with its shameless hug of classic Bay trademarks — putting them to fitting use, rather than simply splashing them around because that's his familiar schtick. Drone shots (yes, Bay has discovered drones) are frequently a bane of modern filmmaking, trotted out just because they can be, but they careen and prowl here to add urgency, capture the on-the-road frenzy and plot out LA. Bay's fondness for constantly circling camerawork, as seen when director of photography Roberto De Angelis (Faces Places) can't even shoot Will asking Danny for cash without revolving around Abdul-Mateen and Gyllenhaal, also conveys the many non-stop onslaughts crucial to the movie. In that specific scene, the relentless motion expresses the toll of Will's ongoing struggle for funds, the heady excitement of Danny's lifelong grifting and also the continually spinning dynamic between the two brothers. Of course, Ambulance's pièce de résistance is all that time spent in its key mode of transport, intensely zipping and zooming around the City of Angels like Bay is making Point Break-meets-Mad Max: Fury Road (and after attempting to riff on Heat first). His commitment to kinetic and frenetic practical effects and stunts instantly makes the movie's stellar midsection stand out — and yes, that Bay's overall aesthetic and approach now looks worlds away from the franchise action fare that monopolises blockbuster cinema at present is part of what makes Ambulance feel like such a treat. Given this was never going to be a flick with clever dialogue, as those nods to The Rock and company make plain, Abdul-Mateen, Gyllenhaal and González all get their finest moments to shine while speeding along as well. All three turn in charismatic performances that invest one-note parts with flair and as much depth as they can in the circumstances, but it's Gyllenhaal in villainous mode who's always utterly mesmerising. Just like Bay, he's having a ball, it shows and it's infectious. Absent, thankfully, is the filmmaker's past fondness for leering at women (see: the first two Bad Boys movies and anytime Megan Fox appears in the Transformers flicks for especially egregious examples). Instead, that's swapped for ogling LA, its skyscrapers and landmarks, and the chases that blow past them — but Ambulance is still noticeably a sausage fest. It also can't resist overextending its running time at 136 minutes, resulting in a dragging finale. And, it throws in law enforcement- and military-worshipping patriotism that comes as no surprise from the helmer of the dire 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, and clumsily leans on stereotypes with queer and Latino characters. Ambulance's rough patches are eclipsed by its rush, rollicking, dash and dazzle, though, inherent absurdity and all — even if welcoming Bayhem as the current pinnacle of action cinema sounds as preposterous as, well, hijacking an ambulance.
Can you think of a better way to spend a muggy, summer night than with an outdoor movie and quality food in Bondi? From January 24 to March 3, American Express is bringing its outdoor cinema to Sydney's coastline. Bondi hosted the original American Express Openair Cinema 15 years ago, and now it's getting an upgrade. It has moved into a new — shaded from the wind — location at the Bondi Pavilion. And this year, it'll sport two screens. Movies on these big screens will include just-released hits like Bad Times at the El Royale, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born, the Jason Momoa-led Aquaman and a beefed up Christian Bale as former Vice President Dick Cheney in Vice. Salt Meats Cheese will be supplying the movie bites, with a daily menu of antipasti and woodfired pizza, and drinks will be on offer from 4Pines, Pimm's, Giesen Wines and Black Devil Cider. In addition, there will be more than 40 events across the installation, including live music performances, DJs and trivia Oh, and it's a dog-friendly space with special picnic platter for the pooch, so you don't need to leave part of your family at home. Plus if you're an Amex user you'll get 15% off selected tickets, plus a blanket.
The NSW Government will introduce tighter restrictions for gatherings from next Friday, July 24, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian saying the state is on "high alert". This morning, Friday, July 17, new restrictions came into place for NSW pubs and hotels and these same restrictions will be applied to "all indoor hospitality venues" from next week. Group bookings will now be reduced from 20 to ten at clubs, restaurants and cafes, and larger venues will be capped at 300 people (compared to the previous one person per four-square-metre rule). All venues will also be required to have a registered COVIDSafe Plan and a COVIDSafe Hygiene Marshall. Weddings and corporate events will also be limited to 150, and funerals and places of worship 100. Everyone must be seated and there must be "no dancing, no singing, no mingling", according to the Premier. The move comes as 42 cases, as of today, are linked to the Crossroads Hotel in Sydney's southwest and Queensland declares two NSW city council areas — Liverpool and Campbelltown — hotspots. Eight new cases were recorded in NSW in the 24 hours leading up to 8pm last night, two of which were in hotel quarantine. https://www.facebook.com/NewSouthWalesHealth/photos/a.232420926957256/1347007965498541/?type=3&theater "We need to make sure we've contained this virus, we need to make sure we get on top of any potential hot spots or any potential community transmission that might be bubbling away under the surface," the Premier said. "All of us need to limit our activity, all of us need to think about what we're doing, all of us need to think about how are keeping ourselves safe, our family safe and our loved ones safe." The Premier also said that "indoor activities are the greatest threat in spreading the disease", which is why the new rules were limited to indoor gatherings. "We absolutely need everybody seated when they are in a venue... We do not want any sort of mingling, that spreads the disease." The NSW Government says it will not yet change the current 20-person limit on gatherings in homes, but it could be on the cards for the near future. "Dr [Kerry] Chant and her team have recommended that ten is a safe number," the Premier said. "We're not going to change the at this stage, but in the next little while we ask people to be thoughtful about who they welcome, how many they welcome and especially protect those most vulnerable." The new restrictions for indoor hospitality venues and limits on weddings and funerals will be introduced on Friday, July 24. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and to download a COVIDSafe Plan, head to the NSW Government website. Top image: Kitti Gould
Flowers aren't the only things that bloom in Sydney each September. The first month of spring also means a vibrant lineup of theatre, cabaret, music, dance, art and whatever else that Sydney Fringe Festival can fit within its program, all blossoming around the Harbour City. It's as diverse as flora, too, so you might start your 2024 fest experience making shapes to house music's history, then take an audio guided tour with a stranger, then get your ABBA fix. In-between, a collaboration between Ngaiire and Anna Polyviou awaits, then a parody of The Hunger Games. This year's Sydney Fringe will have the entire month flourishing — so, from Sunday, September 1–Monday, September 30 — and it has the numbers to prove it. The festival will feature four precincts, making its presence known in the Inner West, central Sydney, the city's east and at a Greater Sydney precinct. It'll span 12 hubs, including its first-ever Queer Hub. And ensuring that there's no shortage of things to see, 400-plus events will fill all of the above. From the aforementioned highlights, the Soweto Gospel Choir is doing double duty. Its first spot on the roster is with Groove Terminator, teaming up for a History of House session to commemorate dance music through the decades. For its second Sydney Fringe show, the choir is performing new concert Hope, a celebration of the music of protest and freedom. If you're keen on potentially making a new friend, that's where Two Strangers Walk Into a Bar... , the brainchild of Australian actor Tilda Cobham-Hervey (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), comes in. ABBA fans can get excited about Abbey Paige Williams' ABBAsolutely Abbey, while the odds will forever be in your favour to laugh at Definitely Not a Hungry Game: A Parody Musical. As for Ngaiire and Anna Polyviou — and ACID FLWRS — they're joining forces for songs, florals, a dessert bar and Maker's Mark cocktails at Just Desserts. [caption id="attachment_917117" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Helen Page[/caption] Plus, Qtopia Sydney is the new Queer Hub's location, hosting shows such as MONSTER by Florian Wild, and one-man musical A Shark Ate My Penis: A History of Boys Like Me from trans musician and actor Laser Webber. Another new hub: the First Nations Hub at PACT Centre for Emerging Artists, where Coloured Stone will provide a one-night-only soundtrack, the Yalgali Markets will showcase First Nations artisans and makers, and the Koori-oke Open Mic & Scratch Night will feature everything from tunes to poems in ten-minute bites. Over the entire lineup, attendees should also make a date with Anna Dooley's endometriosis-focused one-woman show ENDHOE, Plate It Forward and The Ethics Centre collaborating on food and conversations about Sydney's cultural scene, and Joan of Arc retelling Voices of Joan. Or, there's two evenings of hip-hop battles, Bay 43 becoming a piano bar, a hub for multicultural comedy and pop-ups across The Rocks. Racing through Romeo and Juliet in ten minutes, dancing to Asian pop, sipping your way through POOF DOOF's drag brunch, seeing The Simpsons given the adults-only burlesque and drag parody treatment, dancing again to a Daft Punk tribute, a comedy gig that's also a ghost tour, an unscripted riff on Jane Austen, a drag satire of Kath & Kim: if you don't already have enough on your agenda, there's clearly more to add. Festivalgoers can also show some affection to the musicians sadly lost at the age of 27 — Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix among them — and, in a separate show, to Charlie Chaplin. [caption id="attachment_966764" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Belinda Rolland © 2022[/caption] Sydney Fringe Festival 2024 will take place from Sunday, September 1–Monday, September 30. For further information and tickets, head to the fest's website. Top image: Helen Page.
