Vivid Sydney's annual lineup might be synonymous with bright lights, performances around the city and interesting chats, but the Harbour City festival is just as much of a treat in the culinary space. Thanks to Vivid Food since 2023, it's heaven for your tastebuds, too — and it's why 2024 attendees can enjoy Manoella Buffara of Brazil's Manu Restaurant showing off her gastronomical prowess. This is the first time that 2022's Best Female Chef in Latin America is hopping into the kitchen Down Under, taking the Vivid Residence slot by teaming up with Kiln at Ace Hotel Sydney. On offer for three nights only from Tuesday, June 4–Thursday, June 6: Buffara showcasing her focus on local produce and sustainability 18 floors above Surry Hills, with Mitch Orr and the Kiln crew assisting. [caption id="attachment_959026" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption] As you peer out over the Sydney skyline — Sydney Opera House glimpses included — you'll tuck into a choice of two tasting menus. The first spans five courses and will set you back $195, while the second adds an extra two courses for total price of $245. Each also sports the option of paired wines for another $80 (with the five-course spread) or $130 (with the seven-course menu). If you've ever had Orr's Jatz snack and wondered what it might taste like Brazilian-style, you'll find out; as part of Buffara's visit, it comes with salt cod and green ants. Other bites range from sweet potato paired with mud crab salad and pasta to scallop accompanied by artichoke and wild mushroom consommé. Or, if you'd like to try coconut bacon, it's a feature of the tucupi, coconut cake and milk flower ice cream dish.
When Sunset Song opens, Chris Guthrie (Agyness Deyn) reclines in a field of wheat, her golden locks matching the crops around her. The young Scottish woman both stands out and blends in — and as her gentle narration tells of her heart beating in this land, it's clear that no other option is possible. Just as the ground around her will be plucked bare during the harvest and then grow another bounty, repeating the same cycle over and over again, so will her tale continue to wither and blossom. Chris is the daughter of a farmer, and as resilient as the rural patch of earth she can't tear herself away from. It's that concept of strength and endurance that sits at the heart of Terence Davies' latest feature, which the writer-director adapts from the 1932 Scottish novel of the same name. Time passes, as the filmmaker stresses in the changing colours of his nature-filled visuals, in circular shots that sweep around the property, and in elegant transitions between pivotal moments. And still, as both tragedy and happiness flavour Chris' days, she remains. Set in the early 1900s, the particulars of the plot test that notion, starting with Chris' cruel father (Peter Mullan). When he's not imposing his might upon Chris' brother (Jack Greenlees), he's forcing himself upon her mother (Daniela Nardini) and creating more mouths to feed as a result. After a series of tragedies, it's his shadow Chris tries to escape – not by giving up her home, but by bringing it back to prosperity. Then she starts to notice local lad Ewan (Kevin Guthrie). But just like everything around them in a time characterised by poverty and blighted by the Great War, their romance will change with the seasons. With the quiet, devastating The Deep Blue Sea the last listing on Davies' resume, the British filmmaker is no stranger to simmering stories that whisper their emotions. In fact, his 40-year career is full of them. Sunset Song doesn't shy away from its condemnation of the ways in which men shape Chris' existence, nor from celebrations of her determination to fight to make her own choices. Nevertheless, his approach remains as subtle and low-key as ever. Indeed, it's his masterly way of drawing strength from episodic events and understated sentiments that makes the sensitively crafted film seethe with such potency. The patient pace and painterly images mark the feature as one of Davies' best, but it's his perceptive casting choices that likewise prove pivotal. Better known as a model, Deyn brings a composed but never passive or impenetrable air to her protagonist that couldn't encapsulate the underlying narrative better. Guthrie's previous screen credits may be similarly sparse, but there's a sense of rawness simmering within his character's struggle to choose strength over weakness. Never dwarfed by Mullan's intensity, together their performances capture just the balance of harshness and beauty that this moving tale demands.
Sydney’s spiritual home of film appreciation is back for 2015. With weekly Monday night screenings at the Chauvel Cinema in Paddington, The Chauvel Cinematheque is the movie buff’s equivalent of a Michelin star restaurant, boasting a tantalising menu of rarely seen screen gems guaranteed to sit well on your palate. This season’s program was curated by Sydney Film School director Ben Ferris, and is focused primarily on movies made in Australia. It begins on March 2 with Nicolas Roeg’s quintessential Walkabout, the film that launched the career of actor David Gulpilil. Other Australian films in the lineup include Peter Weir’s The Last Wave, Oliver Howes’ On Sacred Ground and Sue Brooks’ Japanese Story. Titles from further afield include Andrei Tarkovsky’s eerie sci-fi classic Stalker, Akira Kurosawa’s genre-shaping adventure film The Hidden Fortress and Satyajit Ray’s baroque Begali drama Devi. Each screening will also be accompanied by a carefully paired short film. Think of them like celluloid hors d’oeuvres. Cinematheque memberships start from $17.50 and gain you access into four screenings of your choice. Single session tickets are also available for groups of two people or more. Image: The Last Wave.
While the sun is shining and the rain has stopped (for now), commuters hoping to get home via public transport this afternoon, Monday, February 10, should still prepare for some delays. Record-breaking rain over the weekend — which, thankfully, saw dam levels swell by more than 20 percent — has caused havoc for train and Sydney Metro services over the past 24 hours, with flooding, fallen trees, infrastructure damage and landslips leading to cancellations and major delays across the networks. Transport for NSW is telling commuters to allow for plenty of extra travel time with delays and service changes expected to continue through Monday peak hour. A landslip in Artarmon is causing delays on the T1 North Shoe & Western Line and T9 Northern Line, with trains running at a reduced frequency between Berowra and Hornsby. Buses may supplement some services. https://twitter.com/T1SydneyTrains/status/1226723387952656384 No trains are running in either direction on the T5 Cumberland Line, with TfNSW advising commuters to change at Granville to complete their journeys, and buses are replacing trains on the T7 Olympic Park Line between Lidcombe and Olympic Park due to flooding. https://twitter.com/T5SydneyTrains/status/1226735651325763586 Ongoing delays are happening across the T2 Inner West & Leppington Line, T3 Bankstown Line, T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line and T8 Airport & South Line, too. Sydney Metro hasn't gotten off scot-free, either, with buses replacing metro services between Chatswood and Macquarie University due to flooding at Chatswood Station. It's suggested commuters catch the T9 Northern Line to Epping, then change onto the Metro. https://twitter.com/SydneyMetro/status/1226719852846559234 Whatever line you're hoping to catch, it's suggested you allow for plenty of travel time, check alerts on the Transport for NSW website, keep and eye on real-time apps and check screens when at the station. To stay up-to-date with delays, check the Transport for NSW website and real-time apps. Top image: Quinn Connors
If the last nine months of COVID-19 restrictions have left a dance floor sized hole in your heart, you can now rejoice as restrictions surrounding dance floors have been rolled back, allowing, among other things, 50 people on an indoor dance floor at one time. To celebrate the momentous occasion, Sydney party collective Heaps Gay is throwing a dance party on the rooftop of the Coopers Hotel from 5–10pm today, Monday, December 7. Throughout the night, various DJs and artists will provide the tunes, soundtracking what's sure to be a joy-filled evening. If you need a break from dancing, the rest of the Coopers will be open for seated drinking with the pub's weekly drag bingo hosted by Ms Penny Tration on offer downstairs from 7pm. Access to the rooftop dance floor is free and registration is not required, so you can pop in for a quick celebratory boogie or stay and work up a sweat by showing off your dance moves. Drag bingo will cost you $10 with cash and vouchers to be won and $10 beef, chicken and veggie burgers available, so you can recharge from all the moving and shaking you'll be doing. For the Love of Dance runs from 5–10pm.
Even if you really, really can't stand films/TV/books about self-involved twenty-something-year-old white people trying to figure their lives out, Frances Ha is poised to charm. Its secret? That's not easy to pin down, although it almost certainly has to do with star Greta Gerwig, and the total her-ness that pervades the film. It's full of energy and optimism and is, for a black-and-white arthouse film, utterly devoid of pretentiousness. Gerwig wrote this script together with director (and love friend) Noah Baumbach (Greenberg). Though she didn't necessarily envision herself in the lead role, it fits her perfectly, serving as a vehicle for an actor who doesn't quite fit the Hollywood mould to show off her charms. Goofy, socially awkward and totally "undateable", Gerwig's Frances Halladay is one of the most loveable characters you'll meet this year. Her 28th year ends up being a difficult one, as her best friend Sophie (Mickey Sumner) drifts away and she misses out on a position at the dance company she's been training with. These two challenges — BFF break-ups and self-actualisation — are the ones that matter here, though there's also the peripheral distraction of boys: the one who leaves her when she won't move in with him (Michael Esper), and friends Lev (Girls' Adam Driver) and Benji (Michael Zegen), who end up her (sometimes awkwardly) platonic roomies. Frances Ha is a story about coming of age, the late way we tend to do it now. Our heroine is sorting through which parts of so-called maturity are sensible to leading a good life, and which parts are just bullshit. And she's doing it with a scrappy pluck we can all get behind. It's all wonderfully tangential, sweet and unerringly funny, and it will have you dancing to Bowie's 'Modern Love' for days and days. https://youtube.com/watch?v=cw1euaNtuXM
Have you ever needed to convey an important message to someone in a big way, but sweated to find the perfect gift to do so? Maybe you needed to say, 'sorry for being a jerk', 'thanks for being a great mate', or simply, 'I love you'. Well, perhaps not surprisingly, there’s a website to fix that problem. Sorry Thanks I Love You is an online store that’s working to reignite the culture of giving. By taking a short personalised shopping quiz based on the person in mind (with questions such as ‘What were they like a kid?’ or ‘What would they do with 24 hours in NYC?’), Sorry Thanks I Love You has everything you could ever need to help you say any of those five little words (you'd hope). The site features handmade accessories, homewares, gourmet foods, fresh flowers from boutique florists and craft beverages sourced from around the world. This holiday season, you’ll be able to see and try out all these goodies for yourself at Sorry Thanks I Love You's new pop-up store on Crown Street in Surry Hills. The store will features tons of products, including knives carved from Scandinavian reindeer antler, hand-woven Kashmiri scarves and traditional Japanese furoshiki wrapping cloths. Gourmet goodies include wheels of Bruny Island cheese and premium single malt whisky distilled in highland Tasmania, which you can taste test in the store. Sorry Thanks I Love You will also be featuring wares from the iconic Finnish design brand Marimekko. The shop will offer gift wrapping for gold coin donation, with proceeds donated to Motor Neuron Disease Australia as part of Sorry Thanks I Love You’s Random Acts of Kindness project. Shopping, tasting, free wrapping and supporting good causes? ‘Tis the season, indeed.
It's no mean feat getting DBC Pierre's epic black comedy, Vernon God Little onto the stage. The novel won the Booker prize for fiction and the Whitbread first novel award and also has something of a cult following. UK playwright Tanya Ronder has wrestled the story into a two-hour play that requires a large ensemble with a whole lot of energy. I haven't seen an independent show with such a large cast for a while, and it's certainly an ambitious undertaking. Director Louise Fischer has managed in turn to wrangle the tale into a solid night in the theatre. We're invited into the small Texan town of Martirio, where Vernon's best friend, Jesus Navarro, has just killed 16 of his classmates. When Vernon finds himself a suspect, he embarks on a thrills-and-spills adventure. The farce is a difficult form. Everybody likes a black comedy — if it's funny. This play asks a lot of the performers and most of them don't have the comic chops to quite deliver. Exceptions are Emma Harris playing Vernon's hysterical and useless mother, Julia Rorke playing the vicious young Ella, and actor and musician Cassady Maddox. No dialect coach is listed in the program notes, and it shows. Harris's grasp of the southern accent is spotless, but the rest have varying degrees of success. Luke Willing playing Vernon has a wonderful physical presence, but his accent needs work. Technical difficulties aside, the production offers an unsettling insight into the (very American) treatment of violence as spectacle. I was reminded of that excellent scene in Natural Born Killers where Oliver Stone goes a bit meta and suggests that we're all culpable when it comes to our appetite for violence as entertainment. The humanity beneath the spectacle is best evident in an intimate scene flashing back to Jesus Navarro's memory of his classroom bullying. He dresses alone in a spotlight, as disembodied voices taunt him from upstage. Stefan Gimenez's performance here is still and poised. There are certainly some excellent laughs in this show, and some standout moments of gravity. No doubt with a few more performances under their belt the ensemble will tighten up and find its feet.
The Art Gallery of NSW will be showing Australian-based composer David Chesworth's Richter/Meinhof-Opera for two nights only on June 8 and 9. Its base material is the life of German Red Army Faction terrorist Ulrike Meinhof and painter Gerhard Richter, whose 1988 set of paintings depicted scenes of the Baader/Meinhof Group, as they were also known. Meinhof (October 7, 1934 to May 9, 1976) has become a mythical figure in Germany, inspiring Elfriede Jelinek's outstanding play, Ulrike Maria Stuart as well as the less interesting Baader Meinhof Complex starring German hottie Moritz Bleibtreu. The RAF was active during a fascinating period in German history when some of the postwar generation responded to the capitalist recovery by committing violent atrocities in the name of revolution. It promises to be a short, sharp snapshot of this time.
Very briefly, Electra is the myth in which Clytemnestra (Cat Martin) kills Agamemnon so that she can continue sleeping with his cousin Aegisthus (Dominic McDonald), which doesn't make her daughter Electra (Amy Scott-Smith) very happy. Electra decides to stay outside the castle with the slaves and yell about the injustice. Her weak-willed sister, Chrysothemis (Nicole Wineberg), remains obedient to her mother and tries unsuccessfully to convince Electra to tone down her protestations. Electra’s only hope for revenge is her estranged brother, Orestes, who comes back and, well, does the thing. In this production at the TAP Gallery, the first thing we hear upon entering the upstairs theatre is Scott-Smith's powerful voice as she ululates Agamemnon's death, standing head bowed with her back to us in a corner. More singing from Scott-Smith throughout would be my request. She is attended by a chorus of three Women of Argos: Naomi Livingstone, Emily Elise and Rose Maher. Movement director Amanda Laing has helped them establish a tangible sense of ensemble as they breathe and move through the narrative together with disarming sincerity. Their use of physical theatre in depicting relayed stories such as Orestes's reported death are striking but would have greater impact if they were more sustained. In general the piece would benefit from stronger physical choices, as the tiny space makes any wandering extremely obvious and false exits hard to sell. Dominic McDonald makes an impressive, unrecognisable transformation from Orestes's messenger to Aegisthus and is a strong member of the cast along with Scott-Smith. The costumes will take you right back to high school drama, with a heavy reliance on the only sartorial choice for a Woman of Argos, the black legging. This simplicity is preferable, though, to Chrysothemis's over-the-top strapless number accessorised with the world's noisiest necklace. Richard Hilliar has a hands-off style of directing, letting the play speak for itself, but at times it seems too lenient, particularly in regard to the cast's tone and diction. Their breadth of accents ranges from Clytemnestra's arch Received Pronunciation to Chrysothemis's throw-another-shrimp-on-the-barbie twang. This is a clear, no-nonsense production from No White Elephant Productions. If you're feeling slightly matricidal, get your catharsis on and see this play. Society will thank you.
Nicholas Kazan's Blood Moon is a naturalistic play reaching for the poetic level of a Greek tragedy. We're told it's based on a true story, but this is more poetic myth than documentary theatre. Like Neil LaBute's Medea Redux or Tom Holloway's Love me Tender, Kazan marries myth and domesticity to create an epic tragedy set in the suffocating confines of the everyday. Manya, a 19-year-old college student played by Victoria Beck, is shown around town by her uncle, Gregory (Fabrizio Omodei), who betrays her trust by leaving her alone with businessman Alan (Ted Crosby). Newly formed theatre company Unpathed, led by director Christopher Stollery, has given the timeless topic of sexual violence strong cathartic form in this production at the TAP Gallery. Designer Tom Bannerman has created a sparse but functional set that doubles as Alan's high-security apartment where the inciting incident occurs and later as Manya's student apartment where the revenge takes place. Bannerman has placed a large work by photographer Mauro Palmieri on the back wall of a woman standing naked with a sack over her head. Titled Undisclosed, the piece evokes both Guantanamo-style torture and the fragile beauty of Botticelli's Venus. It's a silent witness to the drama and stands as a symbol of the violation of innocence. This artwork is the most mature element of the production. Kazan's text is generally overwritten and reveals plot points well before they're due. Revealing your plot early is fine if the writing is a poetic mediation on events, slowing down time to give the audience a moment for reflection, but Kazan's dialogue doesn't tell us anything particularly novel. Instead, it's a drawn-out build-up to something we saw coming 15 minutes ago. Revenge is only satisfying to watch if there's genuine retribution. Despite Beck displaying genuine satisfaction in the final scene, Crosby playing Alan remains as he has been. Kazan has written little into the denouement that would allow Crosby to transform, and Stollery has directed the final moment with Crosby's back to the audience, denying us the chance to imagine even a glimmer of suffering or reckoning in his face. Manya's revenge does not appear to touch Alan, leaving him in the same position of power he's been in from the start. I doubt that this was the desired effect of the piece. A welcome counter to his immobility is Beck's poised performance as Manya — she is clear and powerful.
Michael Gow really likes Bertolt Brecht. In Once in Royal David’s City, the protagonist Will, a theatre director, delivers an impassioned homily on political theatre and the tenets of Brecht’s Marxist project. Gow’s adaptation of Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, directed by Eamon Flack, is similarly reverential towards Brecht, staying faithful to the play, with the addition of original music composed by Stefan Gregory. Robyn Nevin is in fine form in the lead role of Mother Courage, belting out Gregory’s music with gusto and leading her family through the capitalist marketplace. She tows one of the more spruced-up wagons I’ve seen in a production of Mother Courage, more food truck than dinky cart. Designer Robert Cousins has opted for bright red with rainbow lights and shiny domestic cleaning products cover the walls inside. Paula Arundell playing the opportunist sex worker Yvette delivers an excellent comedic performance, and we’re reminded that she’s also a fantastic singer. Anthony Phelan as the chaplain is a calm, steady presence in among the rough and tumble of the action, as is Emele Ugavule, playing Mother Courage’s mute daughter, Kattrin. This is a great cast, doing great acting, in a slightly beige production. I’ve always found Mother Courage a bit stuffy and believe that didactic theatre is best consumed like a bitter pill — quickly. But much like Gow’s Once in Royal David’s City, his adaptation of Mother Courage is heavy with meaning and lengthy. Michael Gow’s adaptation and Eamon Flack’s direction are perfectly good, but the production’s relevance or novelty in 2015 is elusive. Flack purports that the play is timely because we live in a capitalist society with wars in Syria, Ukraine and Iraq, but that’s as much current-day commentary as we get. In Royal David’s City, Gow writes that the face of today’s capitalism has changed; that there “are no more men in top hats smoking cigars and driving the workers into their satanic mills” and yet Flack’s production of Mother Courage could easily be from 1970s East Germany. If the class war has indeed changed shape, its new identity is not to be found in this production.
Spring has officially sprung, which means it's time to pack away your slow cooker, unpack your picnic hamper and get ready for entertaining and dinner parties galore. Darlinghurst's Studio Enti wants to help you prepare for all this hosting — or just lots of fancy al fresco dinners for one — with its annuals seconds sale. The semi-hidden ceramics studio is offering up to 80 percent off a huge range of its tableware, lighting and accessories on Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20. Pop by and score yourself one-off, sample and seconds plates, cups, vases and fancy lighting without burning a hole in your wallet — saving a few coins here and there is always a good thing in the lead-up to the busy summer holiday season. Studio Enti's ceramics are all made to last from Australian porcelain, which means they have more chance of surviving an accidental knock after a couple of spritzes. As it goes with all sales, the good stuff often goes first, so make sure you head in early. The Studio Enti annual seconds sale runs from 10am–4pm. Image two: Steven Woodburn
Nick Enright's Daylight Saving knocks over the pedestal of professional bliss in Pittwater. It's a play that premiered in the late '80s, but remains relevant. Head to the Darlinghurst Theatre Company to see past the fine wine and grilled lobster of the northern beaches... these successful characters are actually confused and alone. The play pries into the tribulations of uber-successful Sydney couple, Felicity and Tom. Right from the start, many foreboding details indicate the drain down which their marriage is going. Tom (Christopher Stollery) is constantly on the move, has forgotten their anniversary and receives a phone call every time his wife needs to talk. Meanwhile, Felicity (Rachel Gordon) blushes at the word 'fidelity' and decides she'll have her anniversary dinner with her high school sweetheart Joshua (Ian Stenlake) instead. The watertight facade constructed by Gordon is quite heart-wrenching. She portrays the long-suffering wife who pleases everyone and is selfless till breaking point. She's utterly lonely, and willing to do anything to rediscover intimacy/sensation. This desperation is echoed by the supporting characters whose intrusions are equal parts hilarious and painful. Felicity's Mum Bunty (Belinda Giblin) needs to be needed, next-door neighbour Stephanie (Helen Dallimore) falls in love with all the wrong men, and tennis hotshot Jason Strutt (Jacob Warner) craves praise and paternal influence. All the technical elements of the production run seamlessly, and inconspicuously, in order to pull off this domestic Aussie drama. Quirky '80s nostalgia can be seen in Tom's unwieldy brick of a mobile phone and VHS recordings. The centrepiece of the set is the balcony window, where a brilliant sunset fades into night, almost in real time. The majority of the action, and Felicity's moral dilemma, take place on the evening before daylight saving. The diminishing rays of sunlight (of Gavin Swift's lighting design) tantalise Felicity to commit indiscretions during that 'extra hour'. Daylight Saving reveals some aspects of our society: ordinary men suffer sport-gasms over professional athletes, and everyone is too busy talking about themselves to listen to anyone else. The characters have no time for self-awareness or reflection; they employ clairvoyants for that. We learn to hate the presence of that obnoxious telephone — constantly ringing and making meaningful connection impossible. It's a well-timed re-staging of Nick Enright's play, made possible through the support of his family. It made me consider those couples you see out to dinner — each partner completely absorbed in a smart phone. Daylight Saving forces us to ask: how often are we really, properly listening to someone else? Will we prioritise the important people in our life before it's too late?
If Shakespeare were alive today, what would he be doing? According to the Q Brothers, the creators of Funk It Up About Nothin', with his love of rhythm, rhyme and wordplay, he'd be a hip hop MC. And of all his works, perhaps Much Ado…, already riddled with ribaldry is the most fitting for some funking up. In this production from Chicago Shakespeare Company, Don Pedro and his boys Claudio and Benedick have just returned victorious from their latest hip hop battle, and love is in the air. With a cast of six plus a DJ on the decks, the performers rap their way through this hilarious and high-tempo adaptation. The performances on the single-set stage are buzzing with energy, and with several quick costume changes required, the cast aren't afraid to camp it up or milk a slapstick moment. Claudio's rejection of Hero at the altar and the entrance of Sheriff Dingleberry were particular highlights. Staying largely true to Shakespeare's plot, the lines have been transformed into a rap just over an hour long, complete with smut, innuendo, and parody — just the way the bard would have wanted it. The production is drawing quite a varied audience: young and old, theatre and hip hop fans alike and all of them leave smiling, which is no mean feat. After all, when was the last time you actually laughed at a Shakespearian comedy? https://youtube.com/watch?v=yB3_OLaA56w
Brokenwood Wines has been a staple in the Hunter Valley for nearly four decades, and its cellar door has just undergone its first revamp since the modest building's construction way back in 1975 — and the redevelopment is a big one, worth a whopping $8 million. Opening this Saturday, December 8, the massive new digs span 1400 square-metres. Sydney-based architecture and design firm Villa + Villa are responsible for the striking timber structure, which took one year to complete and is now one of the largest cellar doors in the region. It's expected to accommodate over 250,000 guests per year. So what have they done with all this space? Well, apart from the circular tasting pods and two private tasting rooms, there are also two distinct restaurants, a large outdoor terrace and a lounge. Plus a wine museum that overlooks the Brokenwood barrel hall and will host tastings, blending masterclasses and one-off events. Chefs Andrew and Janet Wright are at the helm in both kitchens. The first, Cru Bar + Pantry, is the venue's casual offering. It's located in the lounge and is open for breakfast and lunch daily. Expect moreish snacks like homemade pies, cheese and charcuterie platters, toasties and woodfired pizza to accompany bottles of Brokenwood — alongside a self-service, by-the-glass dispenser that will pour some of the winery's rarest drops. The second dining option is the The Wood Restaurant, a 90-seat modern Australian offering that'll open for lunch daily and for dinner on Friday and Saturday. The menu is centred around fresh seafood. Starters like shucked oysters, sashimi, caviar and salt cod fritters sit alongside larger menu items like spanner crab linguini and market fish with clams, salumi, capers and anchovy butter. Located in Pokolbin, a two-hour drive from Sydney, the fancy new cellar door is worthy stop-off during a weekend getaway in region. For more wineries to hit up while you're there, check out our guide to cycling and drinking your way around the Hunter. Find Brokenwood Wines' cellar door at 401-427 McDonalds Road, Pokolbin, from Saturday, December 8. Images: Chris Elfes
With just a few weeks left of winter, you might have thought you'd survived the worst of it. But nope, the Bureau of Meteorology has announced a severe weather warning across Australia's southeast, saying the region looks set to cop the strongest weather system it's seen all season over the next few days. That means blustery winds, pouring rain and some very low temperatures, so you'd best start plotting a weekend of Netflix and couch time. SEVERE WEATHER UPDATE: strongest weather system this winter for SE Australia, with possible sleet/snow on #NSW #Qld border. Video current at 12 pm AEST, 7 August 2019. Check warnings at https://t.co/0iBm75CO79 & follow advice from emergency services pic.twitter.com/0rzydto2yC — Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) August 7, 2019 A severe weather warning for Victoria reveals the state's due for some damaging winds, with gusts of between 90 and 100 kilometres per hour developing across western regions today and moving into eastern parts by tonight. NSW is forecast to cop the same wild, windy conditions from this afternoon, with plenty of showers across the southern inland parts spreading further up the coast to Sydney tonight. https://twitter.com/BOM_Vic/status/1159081331378262016 A series of cold fronts are set to hit most of NSW through until Sunday, so you can expect blustery conditions for your weekend, with possible thunderstorms to match. Sydney's expected to dip to lows of 11 degrees tomorrow and to 8 degrees across the weekend, though that wind chill factor will make it feel a whole lot frostier. (It may be a little chilly at the City2Surf start line.) It's good news for snow bunnies, however, with solid snowfalls forecast for Thredbo and Perisher. https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1158583525051969537 Down south, Melbourne's in for even chillier conditions, with a temperature top of just 13 degrees today, 11 degrees on Friday and Saturday, and 12 degrees to round out the weekend. Rain is pretty much a given across all four days and there's a strong chance of thunderstorms. Alpine regions even look set to score blizzards tonight and again Friday morning, including snow fields Hotham, Falls Creek and Mt Buller. Between 50 centimetres–one metre of fresh snow is forecast to dump across those slopes. But even if you're not hitting the mountain, you could still see some of the white stuff — there's potential snow forecast for low lying areas across Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. Top image: Thredbo
Skip the airfares, hefty ticket spends and get-to-the-front crowd panic, you can stream Chicago's Lollapalooza festival right from your own snuggly warm bed. Thanks to the legends over at Red Bull TV, you'll be able to stream the entire three days worth of live shenanigans from their exclusive channel. Chicago's historic Grant Park will play host to some pretty big ol' must-streams this weekend. With the recently Splendour-victorious OutKast headlining alongside Lorde, Arctic Monkeys, Foster the People, CHVRCHES, Interpol, Childish Gambino, Calvin Harris, Kings of Leon, Glen Hansard, Chromeo, The 1975, Jenny Lewis, Courtney Barnett and a severe bucketload more (over 100 woah-inducing names) on the lineup, that's the best excuse for staying home and cleaning your house to tunes we've ever heard. With three channels of ridiculously solid programming over five stages, you'll be the worst remote pest ever (but warranted). There's over 200 hours of exclusive content as well as the sets, so you can duck backstage for some Lolla tomfoolery, artist interviews, unique POV angles and festival highlight throwbacks. It's a new era for Lolla. Since Perry Farrell started the whole thing in 1991, they've regularly rivaled Coachella for lineup steeze and have now extended to Lollapalooza Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. Now they're teaming up with Red Bull TV to take Lolla global, we're pretty stoked to feel all included in the 'palooza festivities (and we don't even have to buy a token inappropriate headdress to get involved). The livestream will kick off at 5am AEST tomorrow morning until 1pm AEST on Monday. Red Bull TV is accessible via the web at www.redbull.tv and its Android and iOS applications, as a pre-installed channel on Apple TV, and as a free, downloadable app on Samsung Smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV, Kindle Fire, Xbox 360, Chromecast, and iOS and Android devices.
John Doyle (aka Roy Slaven) may never top the artistic triumph that was his co-coverage with HG Nelson of the Sydney Olympics men’s gymnastics, but that doesn’t mean his second play, Vere, isn’t a good runner-up. The memorable terms ‘battered sav’, ‘hello boys’ and ‘crazy date’ have made the world a happier place. With Vere, Doyle has made the world a wiser place. It’s a sensible, heartfelt contribution to the necessary discussion of how to die well. Vere is a world apart from the tender testes of Russian gymnasts. It follows the mental decline of eminent physicist Vere (Paul Blackwell), after he learns he has a rapidly progressing form of dementia. You can almost smell the mustiness of boffins at their toil in the excellently drab office created by Pip Runciman. Vere celebrates the last day of semester with his physics colleagues as well as the lecherous vice chancellor, Ralph (Geoff Morrell), and an admiring, nubile female student, Gina (Matilda Bailey). He hands out advice, gifts and wine as he comes to terms with the prospect that he may not be able to travel to the Cern hadron collider to see if his beloved Higgs Boson, or ‘God’ particle, indeed exists. The second act sees the same cast take on mirror characters from the first act, as we travel to the family home of Vere’s son, Scott (Yalin Ozucelik), whose own son Michael (Matthew Gregan) has decided to marry into a family of religious buffoons. Rebecca Massey makes a particularly fantastic idiot as the wife of a minister. The double casting works well to show Vere’s slipping faculties and the cast takes the opportunity to show off some impressive transformations, each of them embodying very different characters in the two halves. For a play that cherishes rational humanism, sound designer Steve Francis’ treatment of Delibes’ Flower Duet is positively sentimental. The significance the duet holds as Vere’s late wife’s favourite song is diminished by the version’s closeness to pan-pipes and air freshener commercials. Similarly, Runciman’s multiple doors opening as a metaphor for mental clarity is a bit much. Doyle’s comedy is interspersed with intellectual tangents, which are mostly at home within the action, though the befuddled-man-of-the-cloth-versus-awe-inspired-scientist construct is not particularly sophisticated. Sarah Goodes has struck a good balance between comedy and intellectual argument with her direction. The father-son relationship played out so well by Blackman and Ozucelik is the ultimate defence of humanism and the reason the play has an impact. A fine man faces the void in the care of his son who loves and understands him; there’s no afterlife, just the deep respect they have for each other’s minds. It’s pretty great. Image by Matt Nettheim.
When cinemas are running as normal, getting a glimpse of the other side of the world is as easy as stepping into a darkened theatre. While lockdowns have impacted picture palaces around the country, and Australia's huge lineup of film festivals have moved online, that experience has shifted into our lounge rooms. The latest virtual film fest to make the leap to digital: the Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australia. In 2021, it's streaming a five-movie lineup via ACMI's online Cinema 3 platform — and it won't just evoke your travel yearnings for Central Europe, but for Antarctica as well. That look at frostier climes comes courtesy of the stunning Frem, with director and cinematographer Viera Čákanyová peering out over its icy expanse in a film that blends reality and fiction. No, you won't find sights this striking elsewhere on your normal streaming queue. Or, you can also watch book-to-screen adaptation Gump and its tale of canine companions; documentary Athanor: The Alchemical Furnace about acclaimed Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer; and 70s classics The Ear and Pacho, The Thief of Hybe. Top image: Hypermarket Film
The Sydney Portugal Community Club in Marrickville is set to host their second annual Festival de Sardinha and it's sounding undeniably tasty. Don't worry, you don't have to be as obsessed with sardines as we are to think so. Despite the name, sardines aren't the only item on the menu on February 4, though you can grab yourself a big ole plate of Portuguese-style sardinhas, served with roasted veggies, bread and salad for $15. Other savoury specialties include half a Portuguese chicken with chips and salad for $15 and a bifana (popular pork steak sandwich) and chips for just ten bucks. Alongside an array of Portuguese desserts, market favourite Dos Churros will also host a stand, turning out their Spanish-style treats, deep-fried to order and served with the classic dipping sauces. The drinks offering will go with the country theme as well, and will include Super Bock and passionfruit mojitos on tap, along with three flavours of Sumol (a Portuguese soft drink). To add to the festivities, local band Pop Orchestra will be rocking an unusual combo of tunes. The kids area sounds genuinely fun as well, with $10 giving youngsters all-day access to giant snakes and ladders, a giant velcro dart board, double-play basketball shootout, roaming farm animals, face paint and a jumping castle. Unfortunately 'kidults' are only allowed access while accompanying a child — so, if don't have any, this would be the ideal time to borrow your niece or nephew for the day. Limited parking is available for members only, but the venue is easily accessible from Sydenham Station. With 1500 in attendance last year, it's best to get in at noon to secure yourself the tastiest bites.
The inner west certainly has no shortage of breweries, but, in our opinion, you can't have too much of a good thing in one place. So, beer lovers will be happy to know that they'll soon be able to add another stop to their Marrickville brewery crawl, when Philter finally opens the doors to its very own brewbar along Sydenham Road come July. First launched back in 2017, the gypsy brewery has become well-recognised for its retro tinnie branding and sessionable styles. It's led by one of Australia's first female brewers (and former Young Henrys head brewer) Samara Füss — who is, fittingly, a bit of a legend in the local beer scene — and Marrickville neighbours and beer lovers Michael Neil and Stefan Constantoulas. Set in an old yoghurt factory opposite Wicks Park, the location is very well placed — it's just down the block from Batch and close walking distance to Sauce, Wildflower, Grifter and Willie The Boatman. Yeah, it has turned into one massive brewery crawl indeed. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBAgzy9Dtfh/ While the brewery and taproom are still a few weeks off, Philter has gifted craft beer fans with an early present in the form of a bottle shop. Opening in the new Marrickville site, it's selling cartons, four- and six-packs, squealers and growlers of the brand's signature brews, including its fan-favourite XPA, red ale, lager, IPA and seasonal stout. Punters can also expect heaps more limited and seasonal releases from the brand going forward, with a 25-hectolitre brewery pumping out more Philter than ever before. The Philter bottle shop is now open at 92–98 Sydenham Road, Marrickville. It's open from 3–7pm Friday, 12–6pm Saturday and 12–4pm Sunday. We'll let you know when the taproom and brewery open.
The warm weather can be such a tease. As soon as the season changes and ushers in day after day of blue skies and warm breezes, we start dreaming of swapping real life with beach days and road trips out of town. The reality may be a little different (thanks to work, uni or general life commitments) but, thankfully, Sydney is brimming with ways to soak up every last drop of springtime fun. To mark the commencement of its Spring Carnival, we've teamed up with Australian Turf Club to bring you five top-notch ways to celebrate the season this week. SNAG A BARGAIN AT THIS DESIGNER SALE When? Thursday, September 19 A new season doesn't always need to call for an entire wardrobe overhaul — but a few new pieces for all those fabulous spring events you've got coming up can't hurt, right? Especially when you're getting them for such a bargain. Across four days this week, Paddington Town Hall will be filled with thousands of luxury fashion items with whopping discounts of up to 80 percent off. We're talking designers like Romance Was Born, Isabel Marant and Alexander McQueen. With the opportunity to grab coveted labels for (relatively) low prices, you can expect this to get a little chaotic — we hope your reflexes are sharp. EAT AND DRINK YOUR WAY AROUND THIS HARBOURSIDE FESTIVAL When? Friday, September 20 Next Friday marks the kick-off of the annual Pyrmont Festival. For the second consecutive year, inner-city area's bars and restaurants will team up with winemakers and producers from regional NSW town Orange for a series of degustations and one-off events. Throughout the festival, you'll be able to sample drops from across the Orange wine region from Porter's Liquor Pyrmont daily and at local cafe Call Me Harris' sunset bar on Fridays from 5pm. Meanwhile, TAP Gallery will be open from 2pm each day to showcase works from local artists. Also be sure to make tracks down to Pirrama Park next weekend for the two-day festival for your chance to sample delightful regional produce and meet the makers. HEAD TO THE OPENING DAY OF THE EVEREST CARNIVAL When? Saturday, September 21 With arrival of spring, so too comes the commencement of Sydney's racing carnival season. And the Colgate Optic White Stakes Day will be kicking off the 2019 Everest Carnival in a big way. Head to Royal Randwick this Saturday, September 21 for a day of food, fashion and off-track entertainment. It will also see the launch of the Pony Palms, a new Palm Springs-inspired area featuring palm trees, a pool, private cabanas, cocktails and a roster of live performances. This weekend will include a DJ set by Set Mo, featuring Woodes, plus sets by Yolanda Be Cool and Sarah Roberts. EXPERIENCE NATURES INDOORS AT THIS NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION When? Any day Sometimes mother nature doesn't get the memo that winter is over. So, if the temperature gauge takes a bit of a dip this week, you can experience nature at the Powerhouse Museum's Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year exhibition. Until October 20, the museum is showcasing more than 100 captivating scenes of nature from across Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea. You'll be able to get eye to eye with crested-horn sharks, short-beaked echidnas and flying foxes — all while staying dry and warm. ENJOY A RECOVERY SUNDAY SESSION AT THE FERNERY When? Sunday, September 22 If your big week of spring activities have left you feeling a little weary, make tracks to The Fernery in Mosman for a laidback afternoon of eating, drinking and activities. To ring in the warmer weather, the greenhouse-inspired rooftop bar is hosting a series of retro-French events. You can pair a French rosé or champagne with a decadent loaded croissant filled with oozy brie and truffle or sweet chocolate cookie crumble. While you tuck into these OTT treats, you can play a few rounds of pétanque and watch the sunset. Everest Carnival runs from 21 September to 2 November at Rosehill Gardens and Royal Randwick. For more information, head this way. Top Image: Felipe Neves.
As filmgoers, it would seem that we have a unique fascination with anthropomorphised machines. From WALL-E to Blade Runner to Spike Jonze’s recent Her, movies are full of artificially intelligent creations who have captured the imagination of audiences, and in doing so blurred the line of what it truly means to be human. The most recent robot to achieve sentience on screen is the title character in Chappie, the latest film from writer-director Neill Blomkamp. A member of Johannesburg’s robotic police force, Chappie (voiced and motion captured by Sharlto Copley) is earmarked for decommission after being damaged during a drug raid. Instead, his designer Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) decides to use him as a guinea pig for a radical new form of AI, one that more closely resembles human consciousness. But Deon’s success is soured after Chappie is stolen by a group of gangsters (South African rap group Die Antwoord playing fictionalised versions of themselves), who plan on using the impressionable robot to execute a heist. Three films into his career, Blomkamp has proven himself as a storyteller with a lot on his mind. His hit debut District 9 used an outlandish sci-fi premise as an allegory for racial prejudice and discrimination, while his big-budget follow-up Elysium touched on notions of immigration and class divide. In Chappie his ideas get even bigger, hitting everything from police militarisation to the nature of consciousness, loss of faith and even alternate modes of parenting. If anything, Blomkamp maybe tackles too much, packing his movie with a litany of different concepts at the expense of covering any of them in depth. There’s an argument to be made for quality over quantity, yet it’s hard to fault the director for his ambition. Nor can you ignore the amount of food for thought the film provides — brains being an increasingly rare commodity in Hollywood blockbusters, after all. And to its credit, Chappie succeeds as more than just a think piece. Possessing the innocence and excitability of a child, Chappie makes for a wonderful protagonist, with Copley’s mo-cap and vocal performance comparable to the work of Andy Serkis. As Chappie slowly matures, viewers will find themselves caught up in his emotional journey; particularly moving is the dynamic between Chappie and his surrogate mother Yolandi, who helps the robot attune his moral compass. Chappie does unfortunately suffer from one major flaw, and it comes in the form of its villain. Sporting his natural accent in one of the most poorly written parts of his career, Hugh Jackman plays the brutish Vincent Moore, a former soldier who plans on sabotaging Deon’s police robots — including Chappie — so that the force might invest in his more heavily armoured, remotely piloted drones. Even if you can ignore his cringeworthy Australian slang and unintentionally hilarious Steve Irwin-style khakis, Moore’s motivations remain excruciatingly one-dimensional. His only purpose is to manufacture conflict, and he basically derails the movie whenever he appears on screen. Luckily, Chappie is always there to get the story back on track. And perhaps it’s only fitting that, in a story about artificial humanity, the most emotionally intricate character isn’t a human at all.
Lucas's Abela's Pinball Pianola is part of a group show at Firstdraft. It's an artwork that is what it says it’s about - no theoretical nods to Deleuze or artspeak catchwords like ‘trans-territorial’ in the description. Lucas Abela (with Keg de Souza and Kris Hades) has grafted what he calls a “Frankenstein” monster: an upright piano, gutted and repurposed as a pinball machine (check it out in this video). You pull the plunger and let a pinball loose into the guts of the instrument. The pianola’s keys are hooked up to flippers: play the keys and the pinball bounces up from the flippers to strike the instrument’s strings, creating haphazard, live sound art. A dashboard allows you to tinker with the machine’s output - more noise, less fuzz, higher pitch. It’s a certifiably bonkers piece of interactive art with a strong sense of creative freedom and childlike zeal. Abela is uber-creative, there are millions of visual and audio ideas going on and the complexity of the engineering is pretty impressive. The work goes beyond being a mere experiment in manufactured weirdness. With Pinball Pianola, Abela has crafted a machine that lets the audience play and create collectively, on the fly and in the moment. It’s all about music and art as accidental results of play, and forcing strangers to interact with each other in what’s often a sterile gallery environment. Play is an underrated quality in contemporary art, and Abela has created something really engaging and quite awe-inspiring - an intelligent crowdpleaser. There’s also a second creation - a pentagram-shaped pinball game for five players called “Balls for Cthulhu”. The walls are fashioned from guitar necks with the fret boards exposed to be struck by the pinballs, and audience members can sign up for when the game will be available to play during the course of the show. Multiple visits recommended. At launch, Balls for Cthulhu still had some technical issues and was expected to be operational for December 4.
The Sydney Fringe Festival has been feeding us drips and drabs of their massive 2017 program since back in May and have now finally announced the full lineup — over 300 productions worth, presented from September 1 through 30. The month-long cultural festival brings theatre, music and dance together with visual art, film and comedy, not to mention cabaret, spoken-word and even circus performances. The 42 partner venues span inner Sydney, with this year's opening weekend extravaganza taking the form of an enormous 'masqueerade' from the Heaps Gay team. It will take over the brand new festival hub at Sydney Park, rocking over two nights on September 2 and 3. The 7000 square-metre warehouse space will go on to house multiple performance and exhibition spaces, with shows that include immersive light, art and theatrical experiences, musical performances, installations and even a 200-seat vegan feast by the Alfie's Kitchen team. Chippendale's Kensington Street will take on the official launch party, with shops, bars, restaurants and footpaths alive with music curated by Sydney-based songstress Ngaiire. With a focus on new art and activations, over 50 percent of the productions are world premieres, including Silent Theatre — this immersive production invites participants to the Urban Newtown Hotel, where they will voyeuristically observe from the streets below, watching through hotel windows and listening to the story of four playwrights through headphones. Other highlights include a Wig Exhibition by hairdresser Shaun McGrath, a world first GIF-iti exhibition from UK artist INSA and Cirque Africa — a sellout circus show featuring 38 performers from six African countries, all backed by a live African band. Yup, it's going to be one massive month around town so grab tickets now and clear your schedule. Head to the Sydney Fringe website for the full 2017 festival program.
Is it that time again already? The Sydney Underground Film Festival is back, bigger and better than ever. If you thought Harmony Korine couldn't out-do Julien Donkey Boy and Gummo, you were wrong; Trash Humpers is here to rock your socks. It seems this American filmmaker is living up to the reputation forged for him by Werner Herzog. Gaspar Noe has also returned to the big screen, with his effort Enter The Void, after a seven year absence since Irreversible, and Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas present the life of the now-deceased comedian Bill Hicks, in American: The Bill Hicks Story. Notably, this film made a great impression at SXSW. Congratulations to whoever in the organisation of this event managed to schedule 89 films over a 54-hour period. Kudos, friend. Kudos. The three evenings of cinema commence with a screening of Un Chien Andalou, a film that many will recognise from the Pixies song 'Debaser'. The product of a partnership between Luis Brunel and Salvador Dali, the film's opening sequence is perhaps what made it famous. What will make this screening particularly interesting however, is the fact that Jay Katz and Miss Death have composed a live score to accompany the film. Get on down to the Factory Theatre, and help bring these films out of the underground. Image: Trash Humpers https://youtube.com/watch?v=BVbTEVfLksU
The great thing about casting impersonators in a film is that you get twenty actors for the price of two. Directed by Michael Winterbottom, The Trip features comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (24 Hour Party People, A Cock and Bull Story) starring alongside themselves as: Al Pacino, Michael Caine, Ian McKellan, Woody Allen, Richard Burton, all the James Bonds and a score of other celebrities whilst embarking upon a restaurant tour of northern England's finest eateries. The premise is charmingly simple: when Coogan's girlfriend suddenly backs out on their planned romantic getaway, he's forced to enlist the help of his old friend Brydon to avoid dining at the six restaurants alone. Since neither of them are particularly 'foodies', however (at one point Coogan describes his tomato soup as “tomato-y”), the trip quickly develops into a rollicking showdown of competing impersonations and improvised philosophising on love, fame and why old people are always cranky. Shot in and around England’s picturesque Lake District, The Trip offers up some of the most genuine laugh out loud moments of any film produced in the past five years, as well as some surprisingly tender scenes given its mockumentary style. Coogan and Brydon are perfectly matched as the leads, with their constant bickering and passive one-upmanship providing an almost unceasing series of sparking one-liners that you’ll want to write down and use on your own friends later.
As you might've heard, Misfits — Redfern's bar for mavericks and oddballs — is turning two this September. To celebrate, we're giving away a private dinner for you and nine mates. Yep, that's a pretty serious party. Whether you want to plan a birthday celebration of your own or just want to get the crew together, if you win this, you won't have to pay a dime. Go beyond the bar's secret bookcase and enter a 70s-style lounge room — this is where it will all go down. Dubbed 'Out of Bounds', this space is a private dining room, which you'll have all to yourselves, meaning you can wine and dine to your hearts' content (and get a little silly). It's also where Locals in the Lounge's free gigs take place, so you bet it'll be a good time in there. For two decadent hours, you'll be sipping on bottomless cocktail jugs, while tucking into a feast of share plates. Think delicious dishes such as crispy squid with jerk spice, burnt lime and aioli, followed by grilled flank steak with hand cut chips, caramelised onion butter and jus, plus spiced cauliflower with labne and pistachio puree, among many other delights. If you have any dietary requirements, you'll just have to let Misfits know 48 hours before your booking. If you win, you'll be able to have your private dinner any night between Monday and Thursday, until February 2020. Just head here to book. [competition]739163[/competition]
With design conference Semi Permanent set to hit Carriageworks later this month, the two entities are joining forces to present La Rosa Social Club. The space is the brainchild of LA-based filmmaker, curator and cultural icon Aaron Rose who's headed for Sydney following pop-ups in Berlin and at the LA Art Book Fair. The multifaceted project is part-exhibition hall, part-bar and part-performance space, and it will pop up at Carriageworks' Elston Room from Wednesday, May 24 to Thursday, June 1. La Rosa Social Club will serve as a gathering place for international creatives, serving up live performances and art exhibitions alongside food by Sammy's Burger Bar and a selection of local wine, beer, sangria and, most importantly, Negronis from Bondi's Corner House. Everything in the space is sourced from recycled material or thrift and vintage stores, then customised by Rose and his crew of artists — including the floral ceiling installation by Holly Hipwell, handpainted cushions by Madeline Simms and a suspended mural by Natalie Krim. The drinks menu, wine bottles and limited edition cocktail napkins will also be created by the group of artists. The pop-up will start with a launch party on the Wednesday and a private event for Semi Permanent ticket holders on the Thursday. Entry is free, but you should RSVP here ahead of time to ensure you get in. La Rosa Social Club will run from May 24–27 and on May 31 and June 1, from 5–10.30pm. For more information, visit the website.
If you're working from home during the COVID-19 crisis you've probably noticed that your productivity has gone through the roof. You're smashing through that to-do list in the time you'd usually spend on the bus, and live-streaming your bootcamp session after pens-down, but have you also noticed you're generally taking fewer breaks from 'the office' in the middle part of your day? A two-year study showed that when employees work from home, staff tend to take shorter breaks. Perhaps the WFH lifestyle you imagined — eating salads in the sunshine, reading more books at lunch, and having a less stressful transition into dinnertime — hasn't materialised in the way you'd hoped? Just because you're cutting out the travel time doesn't necessarily mean you have more time to prep healthy, appetising meals come 6pm. [caption id="attachment_766420" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Oodee's ten-minute meal packages[/caption] Oodee is a meal delivery service that brings you washed, cut and portioned ingredients for nutritious feeds that can be cooked in ten minutes. You don't even need a stocked pantry — every element of the cooking process has been taken care of, and you're sent easy-to-follow recipe cards for each meal. Instead of worrying over which can of soup to crack open next, you could be heating up a couple of plates of crispy salmon with soba noodles, chicken schnitzel with mash and gravy, barbecue chicken pizza, or thai green curry with jasmine rice — all before you sink into another episode of Tiger King on Netflix. Oodee's main focus is providing healthy, accessible meals to help you spend less time shopping and cooking. It works with local farmers to source RSPCA-approved chicken and Meat Standards Australia suppliers for other proteins, and it delivers daily so you don't have to go hungry when you've been typing till midnight and forgot to feed yourself between stimulants and Skype calls. [caption id="attachment_766461" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chicken schnitzel[/caption] Sydneysiders can order their meals by 11:59pm each night and you'll still receive free next-day delivery. The minimum order is three meal packs, and dishes like tofu stir fry with hokkien noodles work out at only $5 per serve. And if you are heading out to work right now, deliveries are dropped off between 4–8pm each evening in a chilled and insulated box so your meals will remain at the right temperature ready for when you get home. Find out more about Oodee's food delivery service and take advantage of its free next-day delivery offer while you can.
There's no doubt about it, it's cold. Sydney's wild weather has settled in — we've seen snow in the Blue Mountains, rain spitting down in the city and the Manly ferry line stopped due to severe swells in Sydney Harbour, plus destructive winds and damaging surf along a large portion of the NSW coast. Luckily, Japanese casual apparel retailer UNIQLO has got some super snug clothing to keep you warm throughout the chilly season. What's more, on Friday, June 14, UNIQLO is giving away free HEATTECH wear to make sure you're cosy to the core. Essentially thermals, the HEATTECH innerwear comes in three levels of warmth — warm, extra warm and ultra warm — in the form of singlets, shirts, turtle necks, pants, long johns and even leg warmers and socks. So, whatever this winter holds in store, UNIQLO will help you stay nice and toasty. Get down to Martin Place between 7am–7pm and find the large UNIQLO HEATTECH shirt installation to nab yourself some free winter wear. The process is pretty simple: at the OTT shirt installation, you'll get a thermal Polaroid taken, which will have a unique code on it. Then, take your code to the UNIQLO MidCity store on Pitt Street to redeem your free HEATTECH swag. To check out the full HEATTECH range, head to UNIQLO's website.
When was the last time you scrolled through someone else's social media feed, ogled their happy snaps, envied their existence and felt bad about your own life choices? However honestly you choose to answer that question, we know you know the feeling. You've been there and done that, and probably more than once. What we'll assume you haven't done is move across the country to stalk your Insta girl crush, and then changed your entire identity in order to become their BFF. In a nutshell, that's the story of Ingrid Goes West, a caustic yet relatable comedy that blends a portrait of today's #nofilter world with some Black Mirror-style social satire. It's a film that's all-too-aware that measuring self-worth through likes, follows and shares has become the norm, and is well and truly committed to probing and satirising that fact. If, like most of us, you live large parts of your life online, then you're likely to find this darkly comic tale insightful, amusing and unnerving — not to mention a little close to home. When we first meet Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza), she's trawling through a woman's wedding posts while driving to the reception. She wasn't invited, she's furious and the fact that she's only really an Instagram acquaintance of the bride doesn't matter to her one bit. A meltdown, a short stint in a psychiatric hospital and a modest inheritance later, and Ingrid finds herself alone, cashed up and looking for a new pal. Enter LA influencer Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen), who Ingrid spies in a magazine and reaches out to online, eventually abducting her dog in order to spark a connection. Remaking herself in her new bestie's image, Ingrid's efforts initially pay off. Soon she's having dinner with Taylor and her artist husband Ezra (Wyatt Russell), going to parties with the duo, enjoying girls-only road trips to Joshua Tree and filling her own social media feed with proof of her glamorous new life. But then Taylor's snarky, smarmy brother (Billy Magnussen) shows up, and quickly sees through Ingrid's Single White Female-esque obsession. In their first feature film, writer-director Matt Spicer and co-scribe David Branson Smith find plenty of material to work with, both in Ingrid's delusional deception and her inevitable unravelling. In the process, they contemplate and skewer a culture that enables her behaviour with the tap of a screen, and then judges, denigrates and condemns with the press of a few more buttons. It might all seem quite obvious to anyone with a smartphone, but that doesn't make it any less humorous, perceptive or effective. Spicer also deserves credit for finding the right stars for the job, particularly his leading lady. With her expressive eyes working overtime, Plaza flits between sincere, ironic, vulnerable and vapid in an instant, all while making viewers understand Ingrid when they might otherwise just feel derision or pity. Olsen, meanwhile, nails her role as a bohemian social media star, so much so that you'll think you're actually following her on Instagram yourself. Of course, that's the point: the most astute and accurate parodies are often only a step or two away from the real thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n83Za_7AiyY
Museums of History NSW has announced this year's annual art installation: Murmurations. Murmurations brings together the perspectives of First Nations peoples from Australia and the Pacific to explore the history of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Hyde Park Barracks. The digital art installation was created by acclaimed First Nations artist Tony Albert and Sāmoan–Australian artist Angela Tiatia with Lille Madden, Alina Olivares-Panucci and Corin Ileto. It offers viewers an opportunity to engage with the history and culture of Australia and the wider Pacific region. Rich cultural narratives are woven into the work, delving into the complex history of Hyde Park Barracks and its significance in shaping our understanding of migration and identity. Experience this thought-provoking installation on view daily in the Hyde Park Barracks courtyard from 10am–5pm until Sunday, June 4, completely free of charge. In addition to the artwork, there is a specially curated program of talks, workshops and performances that deepen understanding of the artwork and site including the Community Cultural Festival on Sunday, 28 May — the full program can be found on the Museums of History NSW website. Throughout May until June 4, visitors can create their own love token — handmade coins crafted by convicts which they gave to their loved ones before they were transported to begin their sentence — and engage in First Nations weaving traditions at the Weaving a Connection to Culture drop-in weaving workshop. The Murmurations art installation is on view daily at the Hyde Park Barracks courtyard from 10am–5pm until Sunday, June 4. Entry is free. Image credit: 1. Murmurations (still) by Tony Albert and Angela Tiatia, with Lille Madden, Alina Olivares-Panucci and Corin Ileto, 2023. Commissioned by MHNSW. 2. Photo Joshua Morris for MHNSW.
Meet Smokey LaBeef and Exercise Mike, two dapper gentlemen who were drawn together by their ridiculous names and shared misfortune at having been born in the wrong decade. Rather that spend the rest of their lives pining away for those earlier days of neater heir styles and better dance moves, they recently discovered a time travel device to transport their bodies to the decades their souls inhabit, and they call it Jingle Jangle. With the sweetest tunes from the 1920s - 1960s, this is your monthly dose of rock n roll, swing, jive, soul, R&B, exotica, garage, psych, beat and 50's/60's pop oddities - not to mention all the magicians, puppet shows, sideshow events, projected vintage cinema and civilized confabulation you could ever need to leave the 21st century far far behind.
In Beauty, Francois is self-contained, unhappily married, white, middle-aged. He's from another world — that of Apartheid South Africa — and has utterly failed to adjust to the post-Apartheid landscape where the privileges he was born with mean less. He quietly and unapologetically throws around racist and homophobic slander across the dinner table. But as the reality of Francois' identity is slowly revealed, we come to understand that he is the object of his own loathing: he's not just a closet racist, but a closet gay man. His unravelling begins when he meets Christian (Charlie Keegan), who is distinctly new-world South African: young, handsome, successful, loved, and genuinely charismatic. He is the symbol of everything that is unavailable to Francois (played subtly and menacingly by Deon Lotz). Beauty is not about politics per se, but it is deeply political: it delves into how matters of sexuality and race manifest in individuals. The last film that did this successfully was the Iranian A Separation, and so director Oliver Hermanus has a tough job cut out for him. As a drama, Beauty never achieves the devastating tension of A Separation, but as a character study of someone who is both shaped and impounded by his culture, it is quite effective. The film is not just about the tragic figure of Francois but about all people who fear the world as it turns and changes around them. Likewise, Beauty is not so much about desire and obsession, as some have reported, but repression and unrealised longing. The point is not semantic when discussing the complexities of internalised homophobia. Clearly the film is ambitious in scope, but it refuses to answer the many questions it throws at the audience so violently and distressingly about the nature of fear, sexuality, race, and social change. It is one thing to examine the plight of a self-hating gay man, but Hermanus risks overly humanising Francois' descent into inexcusable brutality. The director was a press photographer in his former life, and his fondness for very still, slowly edited shots often brings the pace of the film to a standstill, undermining his ability to gradually build suspense. Despite its shortcomings, its braveness was rewarded with the Queer Palm at Cannes Film Festival. Beauty frustrates and disturbs in equal measures. https://youtube.com/watch?v=8nkOSe9fBqs
Since first unleashing its festival fun back in 2014, Lost Paradise has become an end-of-year staple. But, just two weeks out from its 2019 event, the Glenworth Valley festival has had to cancel because of NSW's catastrophic bushfires. So far this fire season, bushfires have destroyed 724 homes and burnt 2.7 million hectares across the state. One of the most destructive blazes is the "mega-fire" in the Wollemi National Park — currently more than 344,000 hectares in size, but being controlled — which is right next to Lost Paradise's home. With hot and dry conditions predicted for the rest of summer, and some saying the worst is yet to come, the festival has made the decision to cancel the festival. A Lost Paradise spokesperson said the decision had been made after "extensive consultation with the Rural Fire Service, emergency personnel and other key stakeholders". "Our beautiful home in Sydney's Central Coast is facing intense and unpredictable fire conditions that are sadly expected to deteriorate," the spokesperson said in a statement. "We simply cannot put anyone's life at risk." While the festival considered possible options to relocate the festival, none of them had been possible within the short timeframe. https://www.facebook.com/LostParadiseAU/posts/2894075944005965?__xts__[0]=68.ARDWIgXxyu_kO0u_3EPyZmOec25Z9zu-r4p0qY89Ey2UdSMK5CcAsK2hWr91fGeoaxhRNYCHzrZ6tJ0kXk1CLIGCg9PdcPGoHlAFzMwsMPADX_1mVDn9WQure7jlgKxJcH65_XRotMUw3NaNg7wkclTDYbBNHt8QA7BWDCS6gw3M9-QBfuZNnfT0Fhzt4zB-lL2NYpzgCMhNyIr4DnzSULYDnvLP1CL6USP7aycyibx3_LvBTzfJm2j53mtMQ5kVGf37hgbajjOLWo4y86YShm3hM6EWFTzkIJthe3uZviBBQPSixeKzk8WFwX_ydy-kyZ9JhbGqKED4yrp4e4CYEA&__tn__=-R Lost Paradise was set to run from December 28–January 1, with Rüfüs Du Sol, Hilltop Hoods, Honey Dijon, The Jungle Giants and The Veronicas some of the artists scheduled to perform across the four stages. Talks, workshops and multiple types of yoga had all been locked in as part of the fest's Shambhala Fields program, too. Everyone with a ticket will be eligible for a refund, with individual ticketing providers set to provide details surrounding the refund process in the coming details. Top image: Boaz Nothham
Remember how one of the best things about being a kid was finding weird stuff like leftover food and your grandma’s spare teeth, and bringing it to school for show and tell? Well that sort of exercise can also be one of the best things about being a culturally discerning adult. If you still possess interesting ideas and an inquisitive mind, get down to Trampoline and put forth your discoveries — be they abstract, tangible or dental — to an audience that is up for cross-disciplinary discussion. Trampoline Day is a self-organising event that aims to address things that are appealing across a range of disciplines, with past topics ranging from intergenerational learning to wine tasting, 3D printers and, incidentally, the 1000-year-old human. Nothing is locked in on Trampoline and nothing is given priority, with the only requirement being that each session is 20 minutes long and focuses on sharing something that the presenter finds amazing. It also takes place out the back of the Oxford Street Design Store, so if you’re stuck for ideas you can pick up something fascinating for less than $20 on your way in. Image courtesy of Julia Hughan.
Got some extra coin you're keen to throw in the direction of the Australian art scene? Firstly, good on you. Secondly, you may as well get something (other than warm fuzzies) in return. As part of Art Month Sydney, the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) is organising The Sandpit, a big ticket ceramics workshop/fundraiser hosted by celebrated young artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran. Recognised for his unsettling sculptures that explore themes of gender, sexuality, politics and religion, the Sri-Lankan born, Sydney-based artist — who won the 2015 Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award — will lead a small hands-on class in the Ceramics Lab at UNSW Art + Design. There are just 15 spots available, so when we say small, we mean small. Tickets are on a first come, first serve basis, so make sure you get in quick. Of course at $560 a head, entry to The Sandpit isn't cheap. But you can at least rest assured that the money will be put to good use, with $450 of every ticket going to support NAVA's advocacy for the visual arts. Plus you get a free lunch... and who doesn't like a free lunch?
When it comes to prime spring drinking turf, Chiswick's sprawling green lawn is up there with the best. And you can bet it's set to get a solid workout this summer, as the Woollahra restaurant sets up a pop-up bar for outdoor drinks throughout February. Join in the al fresco fun from 5.30–7.30pm each Wednesday in February and make the most of those balmy pre-sunset temperatures with some hard-earned hump day knock-offs. The pop-up Bombay Sapphire bar will be slinging a selection of ice-cold gin cocktails, including a G&T ($10), a Passionfruit Collins ($14), and a Summer Twist with gin, peach bitters and mint ($12). There'll also be 4 Pines pale ales ($10) and house-made orange coconut soda ($5) — if gin isn't your thing. And, to cap it off, there'll be live acoustic tunes setting the mood, games of bocce, plus some free canapés making the rounds.
Mindfulness practice — achieving the mental state of focusing on the present moment — is gaining popularity as people attempt to regulate their stressful lives. People have turned to everything from meditation to colouring books to achieve mindfulness, but perhaps few people would think of doing a triathlon to achieve inner peace. Take three activities that promote mindfulness — specifically running, yoga and meditation — and you've got yourself a 'mindful triathlon'. Wanderlust 108 has been running these triathlon festivals since 2014, and the standard day has a few main components. First, there's the five kilometre run, although the site reassures you that you can walk instead of running — or even "prance, skip, stroll or strut" — as long as you reach the finish line. After that, theres 75 minutes of yoga accompanied by a DJ set, and finally 25 minutes of meditation to round out the whole-group activities. Once the structured section of the day has wrapped up, participants can also head to activities such as aerial yoga, acroyoga and hooping, or to lunch. Returning to Sydney on Saturday, October 26, it's part exercise, part dance party, part fest — and 100-percent focused on helping attendees feel great inside and out. Also on the agenda: workshops and markets, with the latter helping you take your new blissed-out state home with you afterwards.
This November, 32 of Australia's best chefs are set to converge on Barangaroo for the first-ever Taste of Sydney Collective. Run by IMG, the same crew who run the popular Taste Tuesdays series, this four-day food paradise will immerse you in a cornucopia of collaborations, experimentations and exclusive deliciousness. Taste Festivals happen all across the globe and are always a big drawcard for the best in the business to come down and cook up a storm — and Sydney's inaugural event will be no different. The lineup of Aussie chefs, handpicked by a team featuring the mighty Mark Best (ex-Marque and Pei Modern), includes LA-based Louis Tikaram (E.P. & L.P.) and London-based chef Skye Gyngell (Spring), as well as Sydney-based Clayton Wells (Automata), Mat Lindsay (Ester), Nelly Robinson (nel.) and Ben Sears and Eun Hee An (Paper Bird). It's safe to say we're pretty excited — and if you're a food lover, you should be too. To celebrate the occasion, we've got our hands on some top-notch food prizes to give away, like passes to Taste of Sydney Collective and free dinners at some of Sydney's top restaurants across the next year. To enter, see below. [competition]690205[/competition] Top image: Steven Woodburn.
Over the past five years, there's been an explosion in the number of brewing companies moving out of back sheds and into more permanent venues — and offering food and entertainment on site in the process. Heading up this trend is Cake Wines, Young Henrys and 4 Pines Brewing Company, who recently announced they would be opening up not one, but three new venues around Sydney in the next 12 months. Now, Endeavour Vintage Beer Co. is jumping on the bandwagon. Australia's dedicated vintage beer company is opening their own tap room venue in November, with not only a brewery but a bar and restaurant coming to their new space in The Rocks. Ben Carroll and Hamish Watts from Applejack Hospitality — aka the folks behind Della Hyde and The Botanist — will be joining up with the Endeavour team, so you know you can expect something impressive. "Having looked at sites in other metro areas of Sydney, this one came on the radar last year and sits really nicely with the direction we wanted to head," says Carroll. The announcement comes off the back of the NSW Government pledging $200 million to give Circular Quay a facelift. The Rocks will receive $15 million of this, which has seen a number of new retail and dining outlets join the area hoping to help make it more attractive to locals. Endeavour's setup will include eight taps on site, which will all pour brews selected in conjunction with the kitchen, ensuring the food and drinks offerings always complement each other. In terms of food, Carroll says, "we are left of centre when it comes to typical brew house fare. Keeping in sync with the beer side we will be using seasonal fresh produce, and will be working closely with the head brewer to create a great synergy between the beers and food. We will be offering a range of smoked produce from the land and sea, which will be served feast-style and accompanied with vibrant salads and house-made sauces. All done with the typical Applejack flair." We can't wait to see just what that means for the Endeavour space. And, according to the Endeavour Tap Rooms Sydney's Facebook page, more exciting developments are still to come. Find Endeavour Tap Rooms at 39-43 Argyle St, The Rocks from November. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for more information.
In 1997, Christmas changed. With a single episode of Seinfeld, the world became privy to a new form of holiday celebration that eschewed other traditions and denominations. Instead of a tree, an unadorned pole gets pride of place. Rather than share happy stories, everyone gathered airs their grievances. And, instead of settling down on the couch after a hearty meal, attendees compete in feats of strength. Okay, so maybe you still enjoy tinsel, turkey and street cricket with your family on December 25. Even so, The Glenmore is making sure you can have some Festivus fun as well. The pub's shindig takes place on the official Festivus date of Monday, December 23. The Glenmore's rooftop will have live music going from 3pm. In keeping with tradition, there'll be a grievances wall — so you can air yours and be infuriated by everyone else's — and a "these pretzels are making me thirsty" cocktail special (a salted caramel espresso martini). Not so Seinfeld are the $12 Aperol spritzes. Don't forget to dress up, too — there will be Festivus prizes. Image: Steven Woodburn
The newest, latest show at Roslyn Oxley9 sees Isaac Julien’s film, Ten Thousand Waves repackaged, from filmic to photographic form. The film, which is being shown (for the first time world-wide) at Cockatoo Island as part of the Biennale was inspired by the Morecambe Bay Tragedy of 2004, in which over 20 Chinese cockle-pickers died. Investigations revealed that all of the workers who drowned were illegal immigrants. The ground revealed in this work by Julien is fertile, especially in Australia. Ours is a country which has not fully come to terms with the multitude of cultures living within its borders and, more significantly, the motivations behind many emigrants’ desire to abandon their nation of origin. This show holds a number of resonances for me; I remember seeing Julien’s film Derek at the Sydney Film Festival two years ago. The director’s sense of narrative was commendable, but what stuck in my mind was his clinical stylisation and, once again, this is the highlight of the series. The other point of resonance resides in the fact that a few years ago, I spent four months living in Guangxi, the province where much of Julien’s film is set. His ability to capture exotic landscapes and interiors I recognise, in a Western visual format, is profound. These images effectively trace the movement of people and the transitioning state of the Chinese populace. A lot of my friends have been discussing sideshows of late: the benefits and drawbacks of these smaller, more intimate performances in comparison to the larger music festivals they may accompany. It seems that in the context of art, and especially Isaac Julien’s multidisciplinary practice, this show at Roslyn Oxley9 is the art-world answer to the 'sideshow'. In this case, Julien’s photographic series is the sideshow to his nine-channel video installation being shown at the Biennale. Neither is better nor more valid than the other, but together a deeper understanding and appreciation of the overall achievement and scope of the work can be reached.
Film fans — pack your picnics, pillows and insect repellent, and prepare to spend your summer evenings watching the big screen under the stars. From December 1, Moonlight Cinema returns for another season of great viewing, great weather (hopefully) and great food. Yep — here, all three go hand-in-hand. Kicking off in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide at the very start of the month, then heading to Perth from December 2 and Brisbane from December 7, the first part of this year's program — covering December and January — features 21 advanced screenings of movies yet to hit cinemas, 25 new releases and a heap of old favourites. The February and March lineup will be revealed early next year, but rest assured, there's something for all tastes on the current bill. If you're after an early glimpse at an exciting upcoming flick, then Guillermo del Toro's gorgeous monster romance The Shape of Water, the Greta Gerwig-directed Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the latest movie by In Bruges filmmaker Martin McDonagh, should all do nicely. Those who'd like to catch an openair session of efforts already screening in cinemas can pick from the likes of Justice League, Murder on the Orient Express, Detroit, Thor: Ragnarok, The Mountain Between Us and Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (once it's released on December 14). And, if you've got the urge for something retro, make a date with Love Actually, Dirty Dancing, The Breakfast Club or Back to the Future. Also featured are sneak peeks of everything from Pitch Perfect 3, to new Pixar animation Coco, to Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in Steven Spielberg's The Post. Or, if you're a fan of Australian cinema, check out Kylie Minogue and Guy Pearce reuniting post-Neighbours for Swinging Safari; the absolutely stunning new outback western Sweet Country; and what sounds like an Aussie-as comedy, The BBQ. Pairing your movie choice with something to eat and drink is all part of the fun, so BYO supplies (although bringing your own booze isn't allowed in Brisbane) or grab something tasty onsite. MOONLIGHT CINEMA 2017-18 DATES: Sydney: December 1 – April 1 (Belvedere Amphitheatre in Centennial Park) Melbourne: December 1 – April 1 (Central Lawn at Royal Botanic Gardens) Brisbane: December 7 – March 4 (New Farm Park at Brisbane Powerhouse) Adelaide: December 1 – February 18 (Botanic Park) Perth: December 2 – April 1 (Kings Park and Botanic Garden) Moonlight Cinema's 2017-18 season starts screening around the country from December 1. For more information and to buy tickets, visit moonlight.com.au.
A very ordinary couple buys a house with a pond. Despite the couple's attempts, they can't keep the tadpoles in the pond alive. And, yes, the pond is a metaphor. At Addison Road Community Centre in Marrickville, you'll find a small community theatre that battles with the sound of aircraft flying overhead. The aptly named Flight Path Theatre is where you'll find a short run of 60-minute play The Pond, starring Oliver Burton and Rosemary Ghazi. It's a full length development of an award-winning short play of the same name by writer Con Nats. What resonated with audiences in the shorter version is likely going to land with the same emotive punch in this version — it deals with issues of miscarriage, mental health and the stop/start of building a relationship. Though the story starts equally weighted across both his and her anxieties, hopes and dreams, the trauma of multiple pregnancy losses seems to cut the audience off from her journey and instead focuses on the experience through his attention on the pond. And, considering the heaviness of the topics, it's quite a lighthearted production. There's plenty of relief in moments of dance and (slightly hammed up) sex scenes. And, as the actors are working with minimal set or prop design, you're drawn into the rhythm of their relationship as it gradually bends and snaps over time. If you're unable to make it to the theatre in person, The Pond will also be available as an audio recording. The so-called 'In Spirit' tickets are available for $10 from Sunday, October 11.
With the government encouraging social distancing, and enforcing mandatory 14-day self-isolation periods for everyone arriving from overseas, in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19, plenty of us are staring down the barrel of a whole lot of time spent at home. By now, you're probably all stocked up on toilet paper, are armed with a banging Netflix queue and have sussed out all the best delivery options for decent food and booze. But, alongside the streaming services and board games, you're also going to need a pretty solid collection of reading material to keep you entertained. And luckily, some local bookstores are more than happy to help. If you're keen to support the little, local guys, there's a bunch of indie book retailers that are now offering free delivery services, to hook isolated readers up with some much-needed literature. In Melbourne, long-running North Carlton spot The Little Bookroom has kicked off free same-day delivery for its online orders, servicing Carlton, Fitzroy and a heap of surrounding suburbs. Sibling store Neighbourhood Books in Northcote is following suit, though with an even bigger delivery area. And if you're cooped up at home over on the westside, Yarraville's Sun Bookshop has you covered. It's offering free same-day book delivery (for online orders placed before 2pm) to readers in Kingsville, Seddon and Yarraville, and next-day delivery for those in Spotswood and Newport. They'll drop your book order in the letter box or at your front door, and shoot a text message to let you know it's arrived. https://www.instagram.com/p/B9n100rAhcz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Meanwhile, Sydneysiders can get books delivered for free by the likes of Avalon Beach's Bookoccino (if you live between Narrabeen and Palm Beach) and Glebe's Gleebooks, which has launched free book delivery across the inner west and City of Sydney council areas, and Australia-wide for orders over $50. Newtown favourite Better Read Than Dead has cast the net even wider, offering free shipping across the whole of Australia for the foreseeable future. And up in Brisbane, Wynnum cafe-bookstore Little Gnome is doing daily delivery runs of books, brownies and even coffee, from 8–10am this week (check its Instagram for updates and details on how to order), while Avid Reader Bookshop is swinging free delivery for select inner-city suburbs, and Australia-wide if your order's over $50.
December, 2005. Two cars circle the beachside Sydney suburb of Cronulla, each filled with hotheaded locals looking for a fight. In one vehicle, the aggressive Jason (Damon Herriman) and his Ned Kelly-worshipping pal Ditch (Justin Rosniak) take the well-meaning but not-so-bright Shit Stick (Alexander England) and his kind-hearted Down Syndrome cousin Evan (Chris Bunton) in search of folks of Middle Eastern descent to bash. In the other, Hassim (Lincoln Younes) tears himself away from his studies to scour the streets for his missing brother – though his pals Nick (Rahel Romahn) and D-Mac (Fayssal Bazzi) and his devout uncle Ibrahim (Michael Denkha) are all keen to cause some physical damage to the area's ocker residents along the way. It's a scenario inspired by reality, in a film filled with harsh truths. If you're feeling a little awkward or even confronted by a comic take on the Cronulla race riots, that's okay. You're supposed to be. Like British terrorism satire Four Lions before it, Down Under addresses a subject everyone is aware of but no one wants to talk about, in perhaps the only way that it can. Feeling like you shouldn't be laughing at what you're seeing is part of the point. Thinking about why you're laughing is as well. Accordingly, the plot of Down Under offers a peek at the ugly side of Australian life. Conflict, discrimination and violence is inescapable in this film, as is the sense of discomfort by those watching. In his polished, purposefully provocative return to feature filmmaking after 2003's Ned, writer-director Abe Forsythe revels in the controversial nature of a situation that no one in the country can claim is unrealistic. After all, we all saw the scenes that made the news just over a decade ago; in fact, that's the footage Down Under begins with. As the two groups spend a day and a night driving around searching for weapons and arguing amongst themselves, the film manages to find the delicate balance between making a statement and making you laugh. Gags that stress the similarities between both sides provide many of the film's funniest and most astute moments, while Forsythe's clearly committed cast ensures that the characters never feel like mere caricatures – even when they're spouting idiotic, bigoted crap. Ultimately, Down Under isn't simply attempting to get viewers cackling about an uncomfortable topic. Forsythe is primarily trying to highlight the nation's deep-seeded intolerance, as well as the pointlessness of spewing hate based on cultural differences. It's little wonder that the film that results isn't just a comedy, but a tragedy as well. And given the current political and media landscape, this movie and its message really couldn't be more timely.
