The NSW Government will introduce tighter restrictions for gatherings from next Friday, July 24, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian saying the state is on "high alert". This morning, Friday, July 17, new restrictions came into place for NSW pubs and hotels and these same restrictions will be applied to "all indoor hospitality venues" from next week. Group bookings will now be reduced from 20 to ten at clubs, restaurants and cafes, and larger venues will be capped at 300 people (compared to the previous one person per four-square-metre rule). All venues will also be required to have a registered COVIDSafe Plan and a COVIDSafe Hygiene Marshall. Weddings and corporate events will also be limited to 150, and funerals and places of worship 100. Everyone must be seated and there must be "no dancing, no singing, no mingling", according to the Premier. The move comes as 42 cases, as of today, are linked to the Crossroads Hotel in Sydney's southwest and Queensland declares two NSW city council areas — Liverpool and Campbelltown — hotspots. Eight new cases were recorded in NSW in the 24 hours leading up to 8pm last night, two of which were in hotel quarantine. https://www.facebook.com/NewSouthWalesHealth/photos/a.232420926957256/1347007965498541/?type=3&theater "We need to make sure we've contained this virus, we need to make sure we get on top of any potential hot spots or any potential community transmission that might be bubbling away under the surface," the Premier said. "All of us need to limit our activity, all of us need to think about what we're doing, all of us need to think about how are keeping ourselves safe, our family safe and our loved ones safe." The Premier also said that "indoor activities are the greatest threat in spreading the disease", which is why the new rules were limited to indoor gatherings. "We absolutely need everybody seated when they are in a venue... We do not want any sort of mingling, that spreads the disease." The NSW Government says it will not yet change the current 20-person limit on gatherings in homes, but it could be on the cards for the near future. "Dr [Kerry] Chant and her team have recommended that ten is a safe number," the Premier said. "We're not going to change the at this stage, but in the next little while we ask people to be thoughtful about who they welcome, how many they welcome and especially protect those most vulnerable." The new restrictions for indoor hospitality venues and limits on weddings and funerals will be introduced on Friday, July 24. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and to download a COVIDSafe Plan, head to the NSW Government website. Top image: Kitti Gould
Flowers aren't the only things that bloom in Sydney each September. The first month of spring also means a vibrant lineup of theatre, cabaret, music, dance, art and whatever else that Sydney Fringe Festival can fit within its program, all blossoming around the Harbour City. It's as diverse as flora, too, so you might start your 2024 fest experience making shapes to house music's history, then take an audio guided tour with a stranger, then get your ABBA fix. In-between, a collaboration between Ngaiire and Anna Polyviou awaits, then a parody of The Hunger Games. This year's Sydney Fringe will have the entire month flourishing — so, from Sunday, September 1–Monday, September 30 — and it has the numbers to prove it. The festival will feature four precincts, making its presence known in the Inner West, central Sydney, the city's east and at a Greater Sydney precinct. It'll span 12 hubs, including its first-ever Queer Hub. And ensuring that there's no shortage of things to see, 400-plus events will fill all of the above. From the aforementioned highlights, the Soweto Gospel Choir is doing double duty. Its first spot on the roster is with Groove Terminator, teaming up for a History of House session to commemorate dance music through the decades. For its second Sydney Fringe show, the choir is performing new concert Hope, a celebration of the music of protest and freedom. If you're keen on potentially making a new friend, that's where Two Strangers Walk Into a Bar... , the brainchild of Australian actor Tilda Cobham-Hervey (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), comes in. ABBA fans can get excited about Abbey Paige Williams' ABBAsolutely Abbey, while the odds will forever be in your favour to laugh at Definitely Not a Hungry Game: A Parody Musical. As for Ngaiire and Anna Polyviou — and ACID FLWRS — they're joining forces for songs, florals, a dessert bar and Maker's Mark cocktails at Just Desserts. [caption id="attachment_917117" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Helen Page[/caption] Plus, Qtopia Sydney is the new Queer Hub's location, hosting shows such as MONSTER by Florian Wild, and one-man musical A Shark Ate My Penis: A History of Boys Like Me from trans musician and actor Laser Webber. Another new hub: the First Nations Hub at PACT Centre for Emerging Artists, where Coloured Stone will provide a one-night-only soundtrack, the Yalgali Markets will showcase First Nations artisans and makers, and the Koori-oke Open Mic & Scratch Night will feature everything from tunes to poems in ten-minute bites. Over the entire lineup, attendees should also make a date with Anna Dooley's endometriosis-focused one-woman show ENDHOE, Plate It Forward and The Ethics Centre collaborating on food and conversations about Sydney's cultural scene, and Joan of Arc retelling Voices of Joan. Or, there's two evenings of hip-hop battles, Bay 43 becoming a piano bar, a hub for multicultural comedy and pop-ups across The Rocks. Racing through Romeo and Juliet in ten minutes, dancing to Asian pop, sipping your way through POOF DOOF's drag brunch, seeing The Simpsons given the adults-only burlesque and drag parody treatment, dancing again to a Daft Punk tribute, a comedy gig that's also a ghost tour, an unscripted riff on Jane Austen, a drag satire of Kath & Kim: if you don't already have enough on your agenda, there's clearly more to add. Festivalgoers can also show some affection to the musicians sadly lost at the age of 27 — Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix among them — and, in a separate show, to Charlie Chaplin. [caption id="attachment_966764" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Belinda Rolland © 2022[/caption] Sydney Fringe Festival 2024 will take place from Sunday, September 1–Monday, September 30. For further information and tickets, head to the fest's website. Top image: Helen Page.
Attention all Future Beat, Broken Beat and Beat Beat heads, this one is for you: Tokimonster (aka Jennifer Lee) will be arriving in Sydney for a one night only show, to be supported by Nosaj Thing and IG Culture. If you're yet to be baptised, Tokimonster is the leading lady from LA label Brainfeeder. She's got more unsteady snares, jittery electronic swirls and inquiring bass lines than you'll need to get off. I promise. She's recently released her debut EP Creature Dreams to much acclaim, so if you're looking for an excuse to throw yourself into a pulse here it is. Tickets selling fast.
Martin del Amo's performances are like secret gifts, curious pieces placed out of the way that thrill with their mix of play and thoughtfulness. Originally from Germany, del Amo's choreography has been informed from an eclectic itinerary of dance forms - German modern dance, Japanese Butoh and Australian-style Bodyweather - which combine with his sense of humour and gift for storytelling to create engaging performances. Originally commissioned by the Campbelltown Arts Centre, It's a Jungle Out There drops del Amo into the heart of the city, a leviathan wonderland that is just as beautiful and deadly as the objects of David Attenborough's affection. Audiences are invited to journey with del Amo, as his body and voice contort, pop, rock and whirl through multilayered urban dreamscapes. Image by Heidrun Lohr, from Unsealed (2004) It's a Jungle Out There (Trailer) from Martin del Amo on Vimeo.
In Jack White’s eyes, “Vinyl is the real deal. I’ve always felt like, until you buy the vinyl record, you don’t really own the album. And it’s not just me or a little pet thing or some kind of retro romantic thing from the past. It is still alive.” UNDR ctrl thinks so too. That’s why they’ll be ushering in the Queen’s Birthday in style, with Strictly Vinyl 002, the B-Side to the inaugural event, held at Easter. From 9pm on Sunday June 8, crowds at The Cliff Dive, Darlinghurst, will be treated to six hours of vinyl spinning — not a CD, laptop, USB or touch screen in sight. Leading the lineup will be Touch Sensitive (aka Michael Di Francesco), owner of no fewer than 5,000 records and the man behind ‘Pizza Guy’. He’ll be spinning the funk, disco and Italo tracks that inspire his sound. Next up, there’ll be John Fuzzy, producer of epic festivals Parklife, Listen Out, Harbourlife and Field Day, whose collection exceeds 20,000 vinyls. He’s promised to play “some super rare ‘80s disco that [he’s] never heard out before, plus some Balearic and UK soul from ’89-’92.” And rounding the night off will be Ariane, resident at Goodgod, Flinders and beyond, and expert in all things late ‘90s and early 2000s house.
You asked — and Cadbury has gone and delivered. The confectionary giant has responded to hordes of eager fans and brought one of its most beloved creations back onto Aussie shelves: the humble but widely worshipped Caramilk. Cadbury has confirmed the rumours that its former fan favourite, with that golden-hued concoction of caramel and white chocolate, will indeed be making a comeback, returning to local supermarkets across the country from tomorrow, Wednesday, October 2. And, if you fancy being one of the first to get your mitts on the relaunched Caramilk, you can even nab a freebie this Wednesday, October 2. Cadbury will be handing out 1000 free Caramilk blocks at Melbourne Central Station from 7am, and then at Flinders Street Station from 11am. Understandably, there are plenty of sweet-toothed Aussies who are salivating at the prospect — not least of all, those in the Facebook groups dedicated to requesting its return — and the blocks are expected to move quickly. The first 500 sold on eBay last week in just 28 minutes, so you better get to Woolies early tomorrow. They'll be available to buy for $4.80.
There's been a lot of experiment across Sydney lately in the short, sharp talk. TEDx and its many local varieties do it for ideas, Bright Club did it for science and Pecha Kucha has some fast words as well. Everyone wants in, now with the focus on younger speakers. The MCA already has regular unfurling of the art ideas of teenagers and the Art Gallery of NSW has had its focus on young polemics. For the Biennale, its drawing out the easily digested ideas of Sydney's older art students at Sydney Students Speak. Each will deliver a spiel a bare two minutes longer than a regular TED talk, honing in on why you should care about their favourite Biennale artwork. And down in Casula, other young Sydney art students will have frenzied work on display in Casula for 8x8 as well. Students speak at the Art Gallery Wednesdays between August 1 and September 12. 8x8 is at Casula from July 21 to August 26. If you're an art student interested in your chance to speak, auditioning starts here. Image of Small Business: Karaoke by Jin Shi courtesy White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney. Read the rest of Concrete Playground's Top Ten Things to See and Do at the 2012 Sydney Biennale.
After a killer July bash — which mixed Tilda Swinton's signature perfume, international denim and coffee cupping workshops — Brewtown Newtown is bringing back their Attic Party for August. This time it will be held over both Saturday and Sunday upstairs at O'Connell Street Merchants. The party will be a way to mark the start of (what will probably be) a beautiful working relationship between Brewtown and Wooloomooloo's Smoking Gun Bagels. The two Sydney cafe powerhouses have collaborated to create the two-day party pop-up, which will be selling Smoking Gun's signature Montreal-style wood-fired bagels and Brewtown's great brews. It will all kick-off on 10am on both Saturday, August 12 and Sunday, August 13, and run until 4pm each day. Local clothing brand Sydney Romantics will also be running a pop-up in the attic and if you're keen to evolve your coffee palate, join Brewtown's master roaster Chris Bonney for a free cupping workshop, which'll have you tasting your way around the world with a curated selection of single origin brews. DJ Josh Leenaars of newly launched Network Connection Records will be spinning live tunes as well. By Lauren Vadnjal and Jasmine Crittenden.
With fully vaccinated Sydneysiders able to have picnics in groups of five right now, local businesses are offering luxe picnic hampers to make your first park session with your friends even better. Potts Point restaurant Dear Sainte Eloise is one local favourite that's jumped on board the picnic train, offering a hamper filled with a range of goodies perfect for a sunny day at your local patch of green. There are two picnic packs available — a $60 option and a $125 option. The $60 option is ideal for a two-person picnic, but order the $125 pack if you're meeting up with four of your closest. Depending on which pack you choose, you'll find the likes of thinly sliced mortadella, capocollo and bresaola, Dear Sainte Eloise's pork rillettes, marinated olives and a selection of cheese including buffalo brie and Bay of Fires cheddar. Topping things off is a handful of Aperol spritzes to accompany your picnic snacks. If you're looking to really take things up a notch, opt to add in a selection of wines like Wine Farm's rosé, Gentle Folk's Rainbow juice or any number of reds, white or sparkling from the Dear Saint Eloise online store. The packs must be picked up from Dear Sainte Eloise between 11am and 1pm Thursday–Sunday and can be pre-ordered online. Top image: Dexter Kim
In a flurry of metallic temporary tattoos, fuzzy bass drops and Santa Cruz singlets, Field Day made facing 2015 that little bit more danceable for Sydneysiders yesterday. And while a cheeky 214 people have been arrested for drugs — a record number for the festival, top work y'all — the high calibre of the one-day festival lineup makes Field Day a genuine reason to not completely smash the Prosecco on New Year's Eve. Sharing is caring in this day and age of festival production, with high freight and travel costs making it difficult for bigger international artists to top multiple festival bills throughout the year. Joining forces with the teams behind Falls Festival and Beyond the Valley, Fuzzy shared many artists from the Falls/BTV lineups to play their New Year's Day festival in Sydney — Danny Brown, Todd Terje, Jamie XX, SBTRKT et al — meaning the best bits of faraway camping festivals came right to The Domain. This year's Field Day kicked off 2015 with every last beat in the arsenal. Danny Brown's frenetic set sent the crowd into various states of undress, punters who remained free and breezy for Peking Duk's spontaneous blasting of Darude's 'Sandstorm' to a kneeling crowd. Gaining furious arm raising from a modest but dedicated crowd, Sydney's rap supergroup One Day hit home with the Field Day front-rowers by spinning rhymes about the HSC, while Kaytranada's set reminded us all what it means to have seriously good taste in beats hunting. Continuing said excellence in crate digging, the ever babyfaced Jamie XX generated an awkward, jolty excuse for a dancing crowd, with most newcomers to the Man of XX unsure of the Brit's unconventional beats. As the last skerricks of light left The Domain for 2015's first Friday, things went bassy. Rufus straight-up nailed it, with big lights, big sounds and one epic drum solo from drummer James Hunt. On The Island stage, UK foursome Bastille gave a few sneak previews into their upcoming second album (take a peek at our interview with bassist Will Farquarson for more), while Hamburg's Tensnake cranked out one of the crispiest, most danceworthy sets of the festival amongst the trees. Proving smaller stages are made for experimental electronica, no matter how big the artist, SBTRKT's set came up a little wanting, with the bass quiet, vocals strained and crowd mostly unfamiliar with the Brit's second, more experimental album Wonder Where We Land. Predictably hitting it out of the ballpark were Leeds's alt-J, with watertight harmonies, crisp sound, killer lighting and crowd singalongs aplenty. While this reviewer still maintains the band are secretly Furbies in human bodies, there ain't nothing like hearing Joe Newman's adorable voice growl about wanting to "turn you inside out and lick you like a crisp packet." Wowzer. Todd Terje crammed as many slick beats into one session to wrap up the night on the Left Field stage, epic British producer Dillon Francis brought huge sounds and frenetic rainbow visuals to the Centre Stage — even stopping to scull beer from a shoe. Nice. With one of its best lineups yet, Field Day remains one of Sydney's best ways to ring in the new year — even if you have to step over the odd used condom and scowl at several inappropriate headdresses throughout the day. Win some, lose some.
According to Jewish tradition, the day of rest — known as Shabbat — begins at sunset on Friday and continues until Saturday evening. To mark its arrival, families all over the world sit down at their dinner tables to relax, eat and make merry. It's to one such table that Australian playwright Jessica Bellamy transports audiences to when Shabbat Dinner comes to Griffin Theatre from September 10 to 15. You're invited to join her family (along with their fanciest glassware), watch traditional rituals in action and strap in for the ride, as family stories of all kinds unravel. Along the way, expect poetry, live music and feasting. Shabbat Dinner first appeared in Sydney in 2015 as part of Bondi Feast, before travelling to Checkpoint Theatre, Singapore. Earlier this year, Bellamy was back in Singapore, producing and performing in Thick Beats for Good Girls, which she co-wrote with Pooja Nansi. In 2011, she took home the 2011 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award 2011 for Sprout (Playlab Press).
One of the most exciting and strange musical announcements of 2012 was that Blondie would headline Homebake for their first ever Global Edition. An equally exciting but less unexpected announcement is that she's playing a string of sideshows, one of them taking place at Sydney's Enmore Theatre on Thursday, 6 December. At 66 years of age Debbie Harry is on such top form that she was recently mistaken for a 25-year-old (okay so that 25-year-old was Lindsey Lohan but hey, Harry's almost 70). Her presence on stage is equally well preserved, with new wave classics such as "Heart of Glass" and "Call Me" continuing to transport fans 30 years after they were first written. For their Enmore Theatre show Blondie will be accompanied by The Stranglers (UK) and our own Machinations. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, 9 October. https://youtube.com/watch?v=sxTP4WLA_ig
As I settled down in Event Cinemas to see Once Chance, I didn't realise I'd also be seeing my mother's cinematic debut. But more on that later. A British film directed by David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) and written by Justin Zackham (The Bucket List), One Chance is based on the true story of Paul Potts, a shop assistant and amateur opera singer who won Britain's Got Talent in 2007. It's a kind of hero's journey meets love story, with Potts' marriage to wife Julie-Ann (Alexandra Roach) at the core. Her patience and loyalty sustains him through a seemingly unending amount of bad luck. As does his love of opera. The film opens with Potts' troubled childhood and ends with his first audition for Britain's Got Talent, now a YouTube favourite, where he sang Nessun Dorma so beautifully he received a standing ovation, judges cried and even Simon Cowell beamed. Before we get to the happy ending, things get pretty dark. There's his bully-ridden childhood. Then there's his dysfunctional relationship with his father, his financial struggles, his chronic self-doubt (enforced by no less than Pavarotti in one of the film's most painful scenes) and his ill health, from bicycle accidents to appendicitis to cancer. Even the setting of Port Talbot is depressing. But without depicting the struggle, the film's final scenes wouldn't be quite as moving. We wouldn't appreciate how glorious a victory this was for Potts, the eternal underdog. I just wish we could have had a bit longer to bask in it before the credits started rolling. James Corden was an unusual casting choice. He's known for his cheeky, brash confidence, and at times you can almost feel him holding back. But for the most part he succeeded in giving a believable performance as the shy, self-effacing Potts. (And before you ask, no that's not him singing; he is lip-synching to Potts' voice.) Sometimes the plot and dialogue feel a tad schmaltzy, a bit 'Hollywood', potentially because it's a British story with British actors but in the hands of American filmmakers. The film could use a splash more irreverence, but there are real moments of humour, often thanks to the comedic timing of Corden, Julie Walters (as Potts' mum) and Mackenzie Crook (as his friend and inefficient manager at the Carphone Warehouse). One Chance is entertaining and tells a genuinely inspiring story. It's not the most well-written script, but if you like stories about self-belief and pursuing your dreams no matter how many obstacles life throws at you, then you should see it. Or if you want to see my mum's unwitting extra-work. She's the tourist in the white trousers in the final scene, standing in the middle of Piazza San Marco and staring straight at the camera. Hi mum. https://youtube.com/watch?v=1wtq5hN2eOE
Whether you haven't picked up a paintbrush since high school or you live and breathe art, now is a great opportunity to stretch your creative muscles in Sydney. This month marks the return of Art Month Sydney, which will take over studios, galleries, museums and community centres across the city. The program of exhibitions, workshops, panel discussions and parties is aimed at celebrating Sydney's contemporary art scene. And, of course, Pine Street Creative Arts Centre is getting involved. On Saturday, March 23, the Chippendale studio is running a full day of art workshops, free talks and demonstrations. You can make your own sterling silver jewellery ($45), try your hand at printmaking with fabric stamping and block printing classes (both $35), or learn to paint portraits ($204). You can also design your own fabric in this all-day workshop led by Goldberg Aberline studio ($260). If you've ever thought you'd like to learn more about art and make some of your own, this is a friendly and welcoming space to start exploring. Try out some different disciplines and see if one (or more) sticks — you'll know. And if it does, you can then look into some of Pine Street's longer courses — from one- or two-day workshops to longer courses that run between six and eight weeks. To check out the full Pine Street Art Month program and purchase tickets, head this way.
Think that meditation retreats are all about early wake-up calls and lots of serious silences? Well, not anymore. Say hello to Soundscape, a three-day sensory experience to be held in NSW's Southern Highlands this August. A wellness getaway that breaks with tradition, this one's focused on music, food and great company. It's the brainchild of the team at Surry Hills mindfulness studio The Indigo Project, a progressive practice that runs naptime and mindful pasta making classes, and relatable courses like Get Your Shit Together. And for its third iteration, it's being helmed by a trio that describes itself as "an experimental chef, a rebel psychologist and an electronic music producer". Over one weekend at Highball House, The Indigo Project founder and head psychologist Mary Hoang, music producer Rich Lucano and chef Harry Bourne will guide guests through an exploration of sound, designed to help recharge, connect and unravel all that stress. Here, you'll take meditative walks through the forest, feel inspired during guided creativity sessions and experience fun sound immersion sessions based around The Indigo Project's popular Listen Up workshops. And with Love Supreme chef Bourne helping to run the show, boring food is definitely not part of the agenda. Instead, enjoy gourmet snacks and a few mindblowing woodfired feasts. There are still a few spots available if you're willing to part with around $900 for the weekend. If this sounds like your bag, you'll probably be interested in Yoga Cucina, a yoga, wine and pasta-filled retreat that takes place a couple of times a year also in the Southern Highlands.
Once again, German DJ legend Claptone is preparing to hit Aussie shores, returning to deliver the latest edition of his international smash-hit soirée, The Masquerade. Popping up in Melbourne for the third time, and returning Sydney for round two, the mysterious, multi-sensory event is being presented in collaboration with Untitled Group — the creative minds behind the likes of Ability Fest, Pitch Music & Arts and Beyond the Valley. Having toured a selection of cities worldwide over the past few years, The Masquerade's next stop is The Warehouse Collective in Sydney's Australian Technology Park on Saturday, April 6, followed by the Burnley Circus Park in Melbourne on Saturday, April 13. It's set to transform each space into a den of revelry for one afternoon, featuring a heady mix of performances, acrobats, sounds and quirky characters you won't forget in a hurry. Promising to ramp up the intensity levels, all guests will be given masquerade face wear as they enter the event — a reference to Claptone's own signature golden mask. The Masquerade is heading to Sydney's The Warehouse Collective on Saturday, April 6 and to Melbourne's Burnley Circus Park on Saturday, April 13. Tickets go on sale this Thursday, January 24, at 12pm AEDT. Melburnians can sign-up for pre-sale access here, and Sydneysiders here. CORRECTION: TUESDAY, JANUARY 22 — This article previously stated that Claptone's The Masquerade would be debuting in Sydney in 2019. It actually debuted in Sydney last year. The article has been updated to reflect.
The actual Olympics might have been postponed, but we've found a much cuter display of sportsmanship to fill the void this July. Namely, footage of four adorable guide-dogs-to-be participating in their very own paw-lympics. Yep, that's a thing and we're here for it. The folks at Seeing Eye Dogs have teamed up The Petbarn Foundation to host the inaugural Puppy Games, streaming on a device near you this Thursday, July 23. The event will see young trainee guide dogs Yaris, Meadows, Unique and Norris tackle a series of skill-testing challenges, with their every move captured on camera. Watch the pups hurtle through a time trial, take on a 'food bowl challenge' and battle it out for glory in the 'dogstacle distraction course'. The project aims to support fundraising efforts for the annual Seeing Eye Dogs Appeal, but also promises a much-needed boost of dopamine and general happy feels all round. Viewers can donate to the cause by hitting the link when they register to view The Puppy Games here. The appeal is shooting for a goal of $500,000 to help cover the costs of breeding, training and caring for at least ten Seeing Eye Dogs. Can't make Thursday's viewing? Fear not, the full event will be up on YouTube to rewatch any time you need a mood boost.
Sit in a chair. Embrace the otherworldly. Whether you're ready for it or not — physically and emotionally alike — bear witness to the dead being summoned. Speak to those who are no longer in the land of the living. Perhaps, while you're chatting, get caught in a dialogue with something nefarious as well. Talk to Me used this setup to audience-wowing and award-winning effect. Now comes Baghead, which stems from a short film that pre-dates 2023's big Australian-made horror hit, and was shot before Michael and Danny Philippou's A24-distributed flick played cinemas, but still brings it to mind instantly. Audiences can be haunted by what they've seen before, especially in a busy, ever-growing genre where almost everything is haunted anyway and few pictures feel genuinely new. Here, there's no shaking how Talk to Me gnaws at Baghead. First-time feature filmmaker Alberto Corredor adapts his own applauded short, which picked up gongs at film festivals around the globe. Both of his movies — abridged and full-length — possess the same moniker as a mumblecore effort starring Greta Gerwig before she was directing Lady Bird, Little Women and Barbie. That's where the similarities between 2008's Baghead and 2024's end, but the new Baghead doesn't stop conjuring up thoughts of other flicks. The director and screenwriters Christina Pamies (another debutant) and Bryce McGuire (Night Swim) make grief their theme, and with commitment; the pain of loss colours the movie as much as its shadowy imagery. But, despite boasting two dedicated performances, Corredor's Baghead is routine again and again. At The Queen's Head in Berlin, Owen Lark (Peter Mullan, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) oversees a ramshackle four-centuries-old pub where customers aren't there for the drinks. The basement is the big drawcard for those in the know, with the being that resides in it, in a hole in a brick wall, luring punters in the door. Everyone who arrives with cash and a plea for help is in mourning. When Neil (Jeremy Irvine, Benediction) makes an entrance, he knows exactly what he wants. Baghead begins not with Owen letting his latest patron meet the entity that shares the movie's title, though, but with him endeavouring to vanquish it. If he was successful, there'd be no film from there. Because he isn't, his estranged daughter Iris (Freya Allan, The Witcher) is summoned to the German city by a solicitor (Ned Dennehy, The Peripheral), becoming the watering hole's next owner. It's thanks to Neil that Iris discovers Baghead's namesake. In addition to being determined to talk to his deceased wife, he's persistent. And yes, the witchy being does sport a sack, which is removed when it is spends 120 seconds transforming into another soul. Also, the $2000 that Neil is offering is more than a little helpful for the twentysomething who grew up in the foster system after her mother's (Saffron Burrows, White Widow) death, just had her landlord change the locks on her and only can only lean on her best friend Katie (Ruby Barker, Bridgerton). Potential financial benefits, plus a roof over her head, are why she agrees to sign up for taking over the bar to start with. No amount of money could compensate for becoming saddled with a necromancer that doesn't want to be holed up underground and has a bag of tricks to mess with anyone willing to use its eerie skills, however. A VHS tape from Iris' dad detailing instructions can't stop Baghead, either. As Scream satirised three decades back in the slasher realm but horror loves in general, there are rules. There's also consequences for not abiding by them. Exceed the time limit with Baghead and the malevolent creature could spirit up anyone. Going into the cavern beneath the tavern is also forbidden — and so is Iris trying to snatch time with her own lost loved ones now that she's the entity's guardian. With the basics laid out, and viewers knowing that all of the above will happen, the predictable plot's expected beats become a matter of if rather than when. There's no subtlety to the storytelling, nor to the tension-courting score or gloomy visuals. Luckily, Baghead does have both Allan and Mullan, even if the latter isn't around for long (but longer than getting bumped off in the introduction would mean if this wasn't a flick about conversing with the fallen). In her first lead film role, as well as just her ninth screen credit — The Third Day and Gunpowder Milkshake are among the others; Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth flick in the current Planet of the Apes franchise, will become the tenth within months — Allan takes convincingly to being a horror heroine. Iris is also a horror-movie character who has clearly never seen a horror movie in her life given her choices, but emotion anchors Allan's performance. The star best-known as Crown Princess Cirilla of Cintra to-date tries to help the film overcome its many cliches; that it can't is never on her shoulders. Mullan, one of Scotland's great acting talents since the 90s, is also crucial, particularly for getting audiences paying attention at the outset. Baghead doesn't match his intensity, but it's better for having him brooding within its Cale Finot (Leopard Skin)-lensed frames. If viewers only had two minutes to choose a recent back-from-the-dead feature to watch, Baghead isn't the pick. That said, although it hardly dives deep or does much with it, it understands grief. That the picture's protagonist is another of Baghead's characters with unresolved emotions tied to losing someone might sound too neat, yet thankfully it isn't. Setting up a sequel proves clunky. Attempting to add a feminist spin plays too conveniently. Facing loss: that resonates. Corredor, Pamies and McGuire know how pervasive that mourning is, and how universal that grappling with mortality is, too. In fact, if Iris didn't have her own brush with loss, as everyone has, that'd stand out. If only Baghead's creative forces knew how to build a film that wasn't so by the numbers around its premise — and for 94 minutes.
Beer lovers, this one's for you. Sydney hospitality giant Merivale is dedicating all of September to frosty cans and perfect pours of everyone's favourite golden ale, beer. The month of beer-centric celebrations will span a heap of Merivale venues, popping up with different events and activations. The flagship event is the Hop & Dreams craft beer festival at Vic on the Park. This two-day spotlight on independent brewers will take over The Vic's beer garden on Saturday, September 3 and Sunday, September 4. Brewers including Stone & Wood, Malt Shovel, Panhead, Balter, Coopers, Young Henrys, Grifter, Philter, Heaps Normal, and Yulli's will all be in attendance, pouring beers alongside live entertainment, top-notch eats and rounds of basketball. Over at sushi e, Dan Hong and Michael Fox will be hosting the Biru & Yakitori Party on Saturday, September 17. This ticketed event will feature a four-hour deep dive into Japanese beer, accompanied by sake, yakitori and Japanese hip hop. Every Tuesday in September, The Beresford is getting involved in the festivities by turning its first-floor room into the Barrel O Laughs comedy club. For $20, comedy fans will be treated to comedy sets from the likes of Dave Hughes, Matt Okine and Al Del Bene as well as a Hahn Super Dry schooner. Elsewhere, a beer-based game of shuffleboard will be touring Merivale venues, the founders of Balter will be hosting a dinner at The Collaroy and ivy's Pool Club will become the Bella Birra Pool Party with beer, pizza and Italo-disco tunes. Plus, Merivale has created its own beer with Camperdown's Malt Shovel. The Good Tap will be served across Vic on the Park, The Newport, The Royal, The DOG, Excelsior and Queens Hotel with money from the beer going to charity. [caption id="attachment_708571" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Beresford[/caption]
In Frances Ha, Greta Gerwig became the on-screen embodiment of a predicament most twenty-somethings can relate to: knowing what you don't want out of life, rather than what you do. In Mistress America, she offered a different side of failing to achieve your dreams, this time from a slightly older perspective. Now, in Maggie's Plan, she grapples with the fact that you can't control everything, no matter how hard you try. Consider it the next phase in her ongoing examination of the idiosyncrasies of quarter-life malaise. Written and directed by Rebecca Miller (The Private Lives of Pippa Lee) based on an unpublished novel by Karen Rinaldi, the film explores two schemes hatched by the eponymous Maggie (Gerwig), a college careers advisor whose life is...well...a bit of a mess. When the film opens, she's telling her married best pal Tony (Bill Hader) about her intention to become a mother using sperm donated by their high school classmate turned pickle entrepreneur Guy (Travis Fimmel). Cut forward three years and she instead has a daughter with John (Ethan Hawke), an anthropology professor and aspiring novelist who's struggling to cut ties with his imposing ex-wife Georgette (Julianne Moore). Although it may certainly sound like one, to simply call Maggie's Plan a romantic comedy doesn't quite do the film justice. While the situations the characters find themselves in are by no means unique, there's a level of intricacy to all the major players that ensures Miller's screenplay feels as authentic as it does amusing. When Maggie tries to muster a polite response to Guy's offer to help her get pregnant "the old-fashioned way", for example, her awkwardness feels ripped from reality. That's the gift that both Gerwig and Miller bring — an understanding of how to convey life's ups and downs in a way that's equally playful and relatable. The two prove as an apt a pair as Gerwig and Frances Ha filmmaker Noah Baumbach, — yet they're not the feature's only standouts. Adopting a severe Danish accent that she takes time to settle into, Moore proves both hilarious and surprisingly sympathetic. Of course, with its jaunty jazz score and New York setting, Maggie's Plan can't escape the shadow of other, similar films gone by. It's not only Baumbach that springs to mind, but Woody Allen — though any resemblance is likely by design. Miller has crafted a movie knowingly comprised of familiar parts, but cleverly filled with astute reflections that tell the tale from a fresh perspective. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAoEoWrOe8g
If George Clooney can float around in space in Gravity and Matt Damon can get stranded on Mars in The Martian, then Brad Pitt can race buggies on the moon in Ad Astra. Another Ocean's 11 star, another intergalactic movie — and another big-screen sci-fi spectacle, obviously. Pitt plays Roy McBride, an Army Corps engineer who is determined to soar into the stars and beyond, all to follow in his father's (Tommy Lee Jones) footsteps. His dear old dad went missing on his own space mission in mysterious circumstances, and if Christopher Nolan's Interstellar taught us anything a few years ago, it's that searching for family and blasting out of this world seem to go hand-in-hand. Donald Sutherland, Liv Tyler and Loving's Ruth Negga also feature, with Ad Astra marking the latest release from The Immigrant and The Lost City of Z filmmaker. The latter is definitely cause for celebration, with the director's previous movies proving thoughtful, detailed, exquisitely performed dramas. Take all that to space — in a film that's been delayed a few times due to the extensive visual effects work required — and hopefully it'll soar. For a while, it's been a good time to watch great movies about big-name stars in space; just this month, Robert Pattinson blasts off in High Life, too. But if you're a Pitt fan, the next few months are shaping up to be particularly exciting — before he rockets to the outer edges of the solar system in Ad Astra, he'll be stepping back to the 60s in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Watch the first trailer for Ad Astra below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm3h6iWmIEw Ad Astra releases in Australian cinemas on September 19.
On the surface, it may seem like food culture and gaming culture are literally worlds apart. But, dig a little deeper and you'll quickly see that they boast no shortage of similarities. Both inspire connection, both can offer a truly immersive experience, and both can instantly transport you to another place or time. And it's these very crossovers being celebrated this month for PlayStation to Plate — an innovative new dining concept that sees much-loved Aussie chefs bring virtual food from the PlayStation universe to life. From Friday, December 3–Sunday, December 12, three Aussie eateries will each create a limited-edition menu item that reimagines an iconic video game dish IRL. The restaurants are serving up their signature creations across all ten days of the pop-up, but you can also have any of the dishes dropped to your door courtesy of Deliveroo. Morgan Hipworth, the young gun baker behind Melbourne's Bistro Morgan, is no stranger to whipping up eye-popping, otherworldly desserts. His Windsor bakehouse is famed for its vibrant rotation of inventive doughnuts, cookies and sweet treats. And this month, Hipworth is unleashing that creative flair on the gaming world, to deliver an IRL recreation of Chef Tulio's Sirangian Honey Mousse from Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart. The game is a high-impact, dimension-hopping adventure through multi-coloured worlds, the energy of which the young chef has translated into an eye-catching dessert layered into a jar. "Ratchet & Clank is full of heaps of different dimensions, so I've created a multi-layered taste experience," Hipworth explains to Concrete Playground. "We start off with a layer of strawberry jelly and then top it with a house-made vanilla bean custard, a layer of strawberries and chocolate sponge cake, and then that all-important Sirangian honey mousse," he describes. "And it's green, because it's from another dimension!" [caption id="attachment_835418" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Morgan Hipworth, of Bistro Morgan[/caption] It was a fitting choice for Hipworth, who dubbed the virtual dessert 'a perfect match'. "This dish really brought out the fun of the Ratchet & Clank world, as well as the creativity of why I fell in love with baking," he adds. As for how he reworked an animated dish into an edible off-screen creation? "I wanted to channel the fun and spirit of the game, and bring the colourful world to life," Hipworth says. The chef selected flavours that he knew worked well together and then cleverly rejigged them in the form of a classic Aussie treat. "Trifle is such an iconic dessert," the baker explains. "Bringing a fun twist to it with some Sirangian honey seemed like the best choice." As with all of Bistro Morgan's dessert creations, this one aims to also deliver a serve of escapism. "I want my customers to be transported to another dimension, and you can do this with flavours, smells and colours," he shares. After all, for this dessert king, the leap between the worlds of hospitality and gaming is often not that huge. "One of my favourite things about food is how immersive it is — and the exact same thing could be said for gaming," Hipworth explains. "Both have the ability to connect and bring people together. Both have an innate ability to instantly transport you to another place or time." Catch PlayStation to Plate from December 3–12, in Sydney and Melbourne. You'll find each dish featured on the menu at its respective venue, as well as being available for takeaway via Deliveroo.
While Messina's main jam is crafting supremely scoffable varieties of gelato, the brand's love of food extends far beyond the freezer, as proven through a series of pop-ups it's dubbed Messina Eats. Every couple of months, the cult gelateria teams up with a savoury-focused culinary hero and throws a big ol' food party in the carpark at its Rosebery headquarters. On February 1 and 2, it's teaming up with Melbourne's Wonderbao to create a special Chinese New Year menu as dreamy as the soft, doughy pillows themselves. As we're celebrating the Year of the Pig, the Wonderbao team will be serving its cult gua bao stuffed with roast pork, traditional bao filled with barbecue pork and fries loaded with XO sauce and pork floss. Those who aren't fans of pork will also find plenty to enjoy in the gua bao stuffed with beer battered fried chicken or tofu with okonomiyaki sauce, and the traditional vegan bao filled with shiitake mushrooms. And for dessert? Sweet egg custard buns and Messina's famed mango pancakes: thin pancakes filled with mango sorbet and whipped cream. There'll be two new drinks to try, but there's no word on what they'll be just yet — last year it was slushies, so expect something equally sweet and refreshing. The whole thing will go down over Friday and Saturday in the carpark at Messina's Rosebery HQ. They'll be open from noon for lunch and dinner until sold out.
Inspired by Eurovision — that all-singing, all-dancing, over-the-top, glittery European extravaganza — is Sydney's version, the Sydneyvision Song Contest. One of the main differences between the two (apart from massive geographical distance), is that Sydney's take is all about the music video rather than live performances like its European older sister. This might explain the venue, which is a cinema. With strict guidelines for contestants to up the cheese factor while singing lyrics that include a Sydney suburb, expect both those who can and can't sing to be in it. Organised by the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, (with the support of Dendy Newtown), Sydneyvision suggests that you be prepared for some, quite frankly, bizarre music videos (and some musical satire), such as last year's Bollywood entry about Harris Park. So, go and cheer on your suburb, and fingers crossed there's some fine dancing that takes a leaf from Moldova's book.
Guillermo Del Toro's original Pacific Rim knew exactly what it was: a modern day creature feature starring giant robots beating the living crap out of even bigger monsters. Everything the movie did, from the characters' backstories to the wacky scientists and even the burgeoning romance, was all there to serve a sole purpose: get us to the next massive monster bash. The entire exercise was big, silly and frequently confusing, but in the end it was all forgivable because Pacific Rim delivered the film it said it would. The sequel, by contrast, made the fatal error of having hardly any robot vs. monster fisticuffs, and – to put things bluntly – it sucked. Sadly, cinemas latest creature feature, The Meg, makes a similar mistake, proving about as big a disappointment as the shark you barely get to see. The setup, as far as sharksploitation films go, is actually pretty solid. A deep sea research project named Mana One discovers the Mariana Trench is actually deeper than first thought, with a dense cloud of hydrogen-sulfide masking a deeper world that's remained untouched since the Jurassic period. It's here the scientists both discover and then accidentally release the proverbial Meg (short for Megalodon), setting the giant shark upon a course of murderous destruction as it explores the oceans above. And wouldn't that have been great to watch! Sadly the film chooses to tell rather than show, mostly sending its cast to survey the aftermath of the Meg's mayhem rather than really showing the toothy beast in action. Much of the fault lies in decision to go for a family (and censor) friendly rating that strips the movie of almost all its gore. Truly, there's more bloody violence in a lamb ad then The Meg, robbing it of any sense of gruesome fun. In the lead human role, action man and former professional diver Jason Statham plays a deep sea rescue expert reluctantly drawn back into the world that abandoned him after a deadly incident some years prior. He's grizzled, cynical and a heavy beer drinker, yet still somehow more ripped than a carcass after a shark attack – not that The Meg would show that kind of thing. Statham, like Dwayne Johnson, is a delight to watch on screen, at once committed to his performance yet unmistakably aware of how ridiculous this movie is. Even he, though, feels underutilised in this film, relegated to delivering bad cliches in even more derivative scenarios. His co-stars don't fare much better, with the likes of Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson and Chinese superstar Li Bingbing all trudging their way through this cheesy affair. In all, there's just not enough Meg in The Meg to justify the price of admission, let alone the title. It's not good enough to be a good film, but also not bad enough to be so bad it's good. Frankly, if it's schlock you're after, you'd be far better served by genuine B-movies like Sharknado. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGYXExfKhmo
Sydney's latest culinary collaboration comes from the minds behind two homegrown favourites: cosy Kings Cross cafe Room 10 and the pokè masters at Fishbowl. Aptly dubbed Side Room, this newcomer has settled into the tiny Campbell Parade space once home to the original Fishbowl, before it upgraded to bigger digs next door. Now, the 20-seater is rocking a sleek, minimalist look, complete with stainless steel wall and custom-made powder-coated furniture, as the owners bring to life their long-held plans for a new-school smoothie and salad bar. The schtick here is fast, fresh and flavour-packed food, with an emphasis on Aussie ingredients and elements crafted in-house. All smoothie options star at least one native addition, from the Fireball — blending quangdong with banana, mango, coconut meat, turmeric and cayenne — to the Bondi favourite Green Fairy, featuring lemon myrtle. Try yours as a standard smoothie, or in a bowl, decked out with toppings like fresh fruit, house-made macadamia butter and granola. Even heartier are the savoury 'whole bowls', crafted around Side Room's own native herb mix and your choice of protein — perhaps the punchy chilli chicken with shredded apple and walnut, or the eight-hour slow-cooked beef in master stock. And for a carb infusion, get any of these same combinations sandwiched between Brickfields' soy linseed, or Noni's seriously good gluten-free bread. Don't forget to help yourself to a generous slug of the house-made fermented chilli, before you eat in, or take away. A careful curation of Mecca coffee, pressed juices and PS40 sodas round out the offering, which should make for a good post-swim pit-stop or a healthy take away lunch by the beach. Side Room is now open daily form 7am–5pm at 180–186 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach. For more info, visit the Facebook page.
There once was a time when being vegan meant kissing farewell to anything even closely resembling true-blue, full-fat ice cream. But fast forward to spring 2018, when plant-based eateries abound, and Sydney is about to welcome another all-vegan ice cream van, this time serving luscious, soft serve-style treats, loaded with extras. Newest member of the city's I-can't-believe-it's-actually-vegan club, Whip Van Sprinkle is already up and rolling, dishing up Coco Whip creations with a creaminess factor high enough to tempt even the most avid of dairy lovers. A vegan-friendly, more virtuous take on the Mr Whippy vans of old, this one's doing soft serve crafted from coconut water, infused with a gut-loving probiotic and jazzed up with all sorts of fun toppings. You'll find variations like the Bananarama, loaded with gluten-free banana bread, salted caramel sauce and fresh banana, the Original Breakkie Bowl rocking fresh fruit and muesli, and the decadent Ferrero, topped with a nutty raw slice and chocolate sauce. They're available in both cup and cone, and you can customise your own dessert with your favourite topping combinations. And if a pick-me-up is in order, Whip Van Sprinkle's not only doing top-notch Maestros coffee, but also a Cocowhip Affogato, teaming that signature soft serve with a hit of espresso. Whip Van Sprinkle will be cruising all over Sydney – jump over to the Facebook page to keep an eye on where it'll be next.
Whether you like your eggs at breakfast, atop your steaming bowl of ramen or in your Nan's famous chocolate cake, eggs make great meals. So, to celebrate all things eggs, the Eggsellence Awards is on the hunt for the best Aussie egg dish. On Thursday, October 10, Kensington Street's event space, The Private Kitchen, will be turned into a pop-up restaurant, slinging dishes from the awards' top four finalists — and we're giving five lucky winners the chance to pop along with a date (or a mate). If you get your mitts on this prize, you'll be tasting the nation's best egg dishes — for zero dollars. Plus, to sweeten the deal, we're giving you $100 to spend at any of the finalist restaurants after the event. The four finalist dishes span from brekkie to dinner. And they've been plucked from all over Australia — including two hailing from Sydney —so expect some real winners. If you like your eggs breakfast-style, you can tuck into Turkish poached eggs from Mount Street Breakfast Bar all the way from Perth or Sydney's The Bosphorus Benedict from Rustic Pearl. Or, if you're keen for a more unconventional egg, there'll be beef carpaccio with fried truffle egg, rocket, pecorino from Tassie's Grain of the Silos or Yum Yum Bakery Guildford's lamb confit and egg pizza, too. Should you win, you'll be heading to the pop-up at dinnertime. There are two sittings — 6pm and 7.30pm — which you can opt for. After your egg feast, you'll also get to vote for your favourite dish. The winner will be announced by French chef and TV personality, Manu Feildel, on World Egg Day (October 11). Does this sound too good to miss out on? Enter your details below to be in the running. [competition]744040[/competition]
If it works for KFC and Moulin Rouge!, it can work for Christmas: that's Sydney fine-diner nel's approach in 2022. Earlier in the year, it served up a luxe 11-course degustation that riffed on the Colonel's finest. And, when Moulin Rouge! The Musical first arrived in town, it also went with a decadent nine-course array of dishes dripping with French nostalgia. Now, with the festive season upon us, the restaurant is getting merry. Nel is no stranger to Christmas spreads — or to themed degustations in general; see also: its Disney offerings — but it is celebrating 2022's jolliest time of year with a specific range of treats. The new menu takes its cues from the traditional story behind Christmas. It's also filled with festive culinary traditions, like roasts and gingerbread, but not as you know them. Available from Wednesday, November 9–Friday, December 23, the CBD institution's new Christmas menu features a turkey dinner in miniature stack form, for instance, plus a savoury gingerbread house and a spin on the Aussie favourite that is the shrimp cocktail. There's also a dish featuring lamb rolled in gold, leek hay, myrrh oil and smoked pea puree that nods to the nativity story — yes, it comes with gifts from three wise men — plus a flaming 'Santa's Beard' and a snowy 'Walking in the Air' scene. Nel's chef and namesake Nelly Robinson has found 11 ways to interpret Christmas food staples from around the world, while still giving them his usual creative spin. His menu heroes seasonal and sustainable produce, as always, and there's a matching wine journey with vino from nel's cellar to go along with it. Sydneysiders can tuck in for $165 per person, with another $165 each on top for the booze. Or, there's a non-alcoholic matching drinks selection for $85 per head. Nel will also be opening for lunch on Saturdays in November, and Friday and Saturdays in December, to give diners extra options. Nel's 2022 Christmas degustation is on offer on from Wednesday, November 9–Friday, December 23 at 75 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney. For more information or to book, head to the Nel website.
All too often the staggering numbers behind global atrocities render them abstract and untouchable — a regrettable yet perhaps unavoidable reduction of human suffering into statistics. We know this of war, famine and poverty, and sadly now the scale of human sex trafficking places it squarely on that same list. Recent UN estimates place the number of women and children being trafficked every year for the purposes of forced prostitution, labour and other forms of exploitation at anything between 700,000 and 4 million. Human trafficking has been identified as the fastest growing and second-most lucrative form of organised crime in the world (after drug trafficking), with annual profits for the illegal activity now exceeding $9 billion. It is a terrifying, escalating and global violation that undoubtedly merits greater awareness than is currently being afforded. So enters director Larysa Kondracki and her confronting debut film, The Whistleblower. The movie tells the 'based on true events' tale of Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz), an American police officer who moved to Bosnia following the war in 1999 as a UN peacekeeper. Bolkovac's intelligence and determination quickly saw her promoted to Head of the UN's Gender Office, where she learned not only of the rampant sex trafficking trade around her but also of the shocking involvement by her fellow peacekeepers, UN workers and international police under the veil of diplomatic immunity. What follows are Bolkovac's dogged attempts to rescue as many of these victims as possible while exposing the UN's involvement and bringing those responsible to bear. Interwoven with Bolkovac's story is the tale of a hapless Ukrainian teenager named Raya (Roxana Condurache), whose horrific experiences remind us of the uncomfortable humanity within this most inhumane practice. Much like the girl in the red coat from Schindler's List, Kondracki uses Raya as a singular device to symbolise the wider plight of the faceless masses for both Weisz's character and the audience in a terrifying and tragic fashion. Together they encounter widespread corruption, corporate indifference, intimidation and unspeakable violence in the midst of a disturbing and baffling moral vacuum. Ultimately, The Whistleblower falls short of the standard one might expect from such a powerful true story and talented cast, though thankfully its subject matter (and Weisz's performance) will ensure it finds an audience. The screenplay in particular, which Kondracki also wrote, periodically stumbles under structural flaws, and the film's title rather clumsily negates the overall narrative suspense. Weisz, however, is at once fearless and impressive in her portrayal of Bolkovac, and she's capably (if not far too briefly) assisted by Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn and Monica Bellucci in supporting roles. If nothing else (and there's definitely 'else'), The Whistleblower offers an uncompromising look into the disturbing world of human trafficking and demonstrates the entirely preventable side to it, if only people are prepared to stand up and act. If you're interested in learning more about the problem, along with ways to become involved, check out the amazing Aussie not-for-profit Project Futures and their terrific Stella Fella campaign. https://youtube.com/watch?v=DSc3An5YYMQ
Women of the workforce, here’s your chance to network with Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs, taste-makers, writers and media personalities. And, while you’re at it, you can indulge in a turf-side champagne, a blow-dry, a croquet match or a T2 session. This is all happening thanks to 9 to Thrive: the first-ever Business Chicks experience, taking place at Australian Technology Park on Friday and Saturday October 23–24. Over two days, more than sixty exhibitors will showcase their wares across the food, beverage, health, wellness, fashion, lifestyle, beauty and business sectors. Meanwhile, an action-packed program of keynote speeches, panel discussions and workshops will feature the likes of glamorous fashion blogger Nadia Bartel, interior design pro Shaynna Blaze, fitness legend Michelle Bridges, I Quit Sugar author Sarah Wilson, bestselling author Zoe Foster-Blake, TV presenter Jules Sebastian, Business Chicks CEO Emma Isaacs, nutrition expert Dr Libby Weaver and many others. But it’s not all about listening and talking. In between chats, hang out in the King Living Lounge, check out Royal Randwick’s champagne-fuelled 'mini-races' experience or grab a tea. Alternatively, if you feel like freshening up, book yourself a touch-up with Benefit Cosmetics or a face-map with Dermalogica. Or get active at Chambord’s flamingo croquet bar, Body Pass’s pilates classes and Virgin Active’s shape-up sessions.
UPDATE, August 30, 2020: Mary Shelley is available to stream via SBS On Demand, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. It has been exactly 200 years since Frankenstein's monster first shuffled through the pages of Mary Shelley's now-classic story, completely reshaping the gothic horror landscape in the process. At the time, no one anticipated the impact that the novel or the woman behind it would have. No one realised that Mary was responsible for the greatest horror novel ever written, either, a title it still holds today. In fact, only 500 copies of Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus were initially printed back in 1818. It was also published anonymously, with Mary's poet husband Percy Bysshe Shelley penning the introduction and originally thought by many to be the text's author. Today, the beast conceived by the teenage Mary has carved a path not only through the literary world, but across cinema screens for more than a century — but, as the movie's title suggests, Mary Shelley doesn't replay Frankenstein's familiar narrative. Instead, Haifaa Al-Mansour's follow-up to 2012's Wadjda subscribes to a different filmmaking trend. Like everything from James Whale's iconic 1930s adaptations, to Tim Burton's gorgeous Frankenweenie, Mary Shelley obviously owes its existence to Frankenstein. But this origin story is more concerned with the early life of its author than with an obsessed young scientist and his resurrected creature. It's not the first time that Mary has earned the biopic treatment, with 1980s flicks Gothic, Haunted Summer and Rowing with the Wind all exploring the woman behind the classic tale. Still, where that trio honed in on the Lake Geneva getaway that sparked Frankenstein into being (the novel originated from a holiday wager among friends to see who could write the scariest ghost story), this movie focuses on Mary's tumultuous adolescence, her relationship with Percy, and the influence of both upon her famous work. Before images even reach the screen, the sound of writing echoes from Mary Shelley. Before Mary (Elle Fanning) has even dreamed of Frankenstein, the film deploys her lyrical prose to set a distinctive mood and tone. Stylistically, that's Al-Mansour's vivid and evocative approach, infusing every moment of the movie with the same passion and poetry that drives its heroine. A willowy yet strong-willed teen, from the outset Mary is either spinning her own tales or reading others in her father's (Stephen Dillane) bookshop. In-between, she fights with her stepmother (Joanne Froggatt) and finds solace with her stepsister Claire (Bel Powley) — until Percy (Douglas Booth) comes along. Although Mary is just 16, and despite the fact that Percy already has a wife and child, the couple is determined to be together. In her debut feature-length script, Australian screenwriter Emma Jensen endeavours to examine a side of Mary's tale that hasn't previously received as much on-screen attention, championing her protagonist's achievements as well as the considerable obstacles that she faced. Neither can be downplayed and nor are they. That said, sometimes the scandalous love story that accompanies them is given a little too much prominence. Indeed, parts of the film feel like a stock-standard period romance that just happens to involve one of the most influential writers who ever lived. When Mary Shelley connects the dots between Mary's experiences and the book she'll forever be associated with, it's a much more satisfying, moving and involving picture. Likewise, when it delves into Mary's tussles with sexist, dismissive men who can't even conceive of a woman writing such dark, smart and terrifying things, the film comes much closer to doing justice to its subject, her struggles and her continuing importance. Thanks to Fanning's lively and spirited portrayal, there's no doubting the fire that burned inside Mary, even when the film does favour her amorous affairs. Whether surrounded by towers of tomes, scribbling by her mother's grave, or swooning over Percy, Fanning's take on the real-life figure always stands out — from the movie's sumptuous backdrops, which constantly catch the eye, as well as from the romantic plot. It's a performance worthy of the woman it depicts, and it leaves audiences wanting more. The same is true of Mary Shelley, although in a different way. You'll want to keep watching Fanning as she brings the fiercely independent and thoroughly fascinating Mary to life. But you'll also want the movie to flesh out the aspects of Mary's trailblazing existence that it sometimes rushes over. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zFFs6BHsS0
Deciding what to do with your spare time can be a difficult task. And it only gets more challenging when you're deciding between live music, incredible food, luminous lanterns and vibrant art activations — like at the upcoming Sydney Lunar Festival. Luckily for you, we consider ourselves experts in having a good time and have pored over the the festival program to bring you our top picks. Whether you want to master the art of dumpling making or to go on a self-guided treasure hunt around Haymarket, there are plenty of excellent ways to celebrate the Year of the Tiger in the CBD. So, if you're wondering what should be at the top of your list, read on to find our favourites from the festival. NIK ADDAMS: Branded Content Manager Did you ever think you had the chops to win The Amazing Race but the idea of your private disagreements with a loved one being televised was too embarrassing to actually apply? Well, for Lunar New Year in 2022, you can go on your very treasure hunt — sans broadcast rights — at the Chinatown Bites and Culture treasure hunt experience. To get involved in the self-guided treasure hunt, you'll need to download the app. Then, simply follow the clues, decipher the riddles and complete the tasks along the trail to unlock the hidden treasure. It'll make a fun addition to your next date night and a great way to reacquaint yourself with city. COURTNEY AMMENHAUSER: Branded Content Manager When it comes to selecting an excellent festival event to attend, I look for variety. And, if you head to Lunar Lanes, that's exactly what you'll find. On Saturday, January 29, the bustling streets of Haymarket will be filled with live music, DJs, roving performances, art activations and delicious food, of course. There'll even be a luminous, ten-metre-long LED dragon on the loose, winding its way through the streets to add to the lively street festivities. You'll be spoilt for choice when it comes to dinner options, too. For me, I'll be heading to Ho Jiak for a feast followed by a cocktail at Bancho Bar. MELANIE COLWELL: Branded Content Editor I set myself quite a few cooking challenges in the depths of lockdown to evade boredom in last year — I rolled pasta, I fed my sourdough starter, I baked way too many cookies. But I never managed to perfect the art of dumplings. I tried. Oh, how I tried. But those tiny little morsels of joy are trickier to master than they may appear. But master them I will, with help from the legends at The Gardens by Lotus. The two-hour dumpling masterclass sees you making mushroom spring rolls, chicken sui mai and a surprise LNY-inspired dumpling in the glorious heritage-listed teahouse in the Chinese Garden of Friendship. There'll be libations throughout (read: bottomless rosé) and a take-home kit so you can impress your mates with your newfound skills. BEN HANSEN: Staff Writer Chat Thai is an iconic takeaway spot that I often turn to when in need of some next-level Thai food. The Sydney chain is celebrating the Year of the Tiger with a special lucky Lunar New Year menu available across all five of its standout venues. Whether you're dining at Neutral Bay or Chatswood, you'll find a selection of dishes designed to promote happiness throughout the new year. The menu will be split into four sections — wealth, longevity, prosperity and fortune — each featuring tasty dishes pulled from the Chat Thai handbook. Highlights include the crab fried spring rolls on the wealth menu, fried garlic pork belly to promote prosperity, fried snapper stir-fry promoting fortune and an array of noodle dishes on the longevity menu. SUZ TUCKER: Editorial Director Hello Kitty might be my favourite media franchise (apologies to Star Wars!). With her benevolent low-affect, pinafore 'fit and comforting inability to age, hers is an empire where cult and mass collide. I am very much looking forward to getting fully immersed in dead-eyed cuteness when Darling Square gets taken over as Hello Kitty Town. There will be art works. There will be products. There will be cosplay. There will be Hello Kitty branded food specials in the restaurants. And it's running until the end of April. Slap a bow on me and call me kawaii, this is going to be good. For more information on Sydney Lunar New Year, visit the website. COVID-19 safety plans are in place for all City of Sydney Lunar New Year events and all NSW Health regulations will be followed. The City of Sydney strongly encourages all visitors to be vaccinated and to wear masks. If you're feeling unwell, please stay home.
Grab your diary. Call your mates. Reserve your horse. Secret Garden has just announced its tenth anniversary dates for 2018. And we're happy to tell you that Australia's beloved, grassroots, made-for-mates-by-mates festival will be taking place over 48 hours, across Friday, February 23 and Saturday, February 24. You have less time, however, to scrape your cash together. Ticket sales kick off at 9am on Thursday, September 28. If you're a regular gardener, you'll know that they sell out pretty damn quickly, so don't dilly dally. Good news is, though, that, were you at the festival in 2015, 2016 or 2017, you're in for a sweet surprise in the form of pre-sales. To find out exactly what that involves and when it'll be occurring, keep a close eye on your inbox. As usual, we won't know anything about the lineup or festival program until tickets are sold out. But, we can tell you that, as always, Secret Garden will bring you an immersive experience, a long way out of the city, within a magical natural setting transformed into a wonderland. You'll find yourself wandering through a forest maze, getting lost in massive installations, discovering unexpected pop-up performances and coming across tucked-away parties in custom-made rave caves. Maybe even getting married. All we know for sure? As always, you're invited to wear your craziest, most dressed up fancy dress. Start planning. Secret Garden will run from February 23–24, 2018. Tickets on sale 9am Thursday, September 28. More details on the festival's (insanely awesome) website. Image: Tim Da Rin.
Who doesn't love being treated like a VIP? No matter your reason, getting to enjoy the finer things in life is always a treat. With an exclusive menu planned, Coogee Bay Hotel is giving you an excuse to treat yourself to its VIP lunch as it celebrates the Melbourne Cup Day on Tuesday, November 5. Get ready to relax with a glass of bubbly in hand and enjoy the views of Coogee Beach as you settle in for three courses of top nosh. To start off, you'll tuck into an entree of manuka smoked monkfish or lamb shoulder and pistachio terrine. Following on, you can expect a choice of stuffed chicken or beef and smoked eggplant. If you're vego or vegan, Coogee Bay has got you sorted, too. For a starter, you can request smoked eggplant zucchini boats, then tuck into a main of truffled porcini mushroom risotto-stuffed tomato with (even more) veggies. To round out the meal, indulge your sweet tooth with some Corsican mousse and almond wafers. Once you've worked your way through lunch, you can head out into the Garden and enjoy the rest of the festivities. You can take part in 'fashions on the field' by donning your showiest outfit and celebrate all things spring. Or, if fashion isn't really your thing, there'll be live music all day, so you can bust out some moves or settle back and enjoy the tunes. While entry to the Garden — and the other festivities — is free, you'll need to nab your ticket for lunch here. At $120 a head, it's the perfect excuse to bring a date or plan the next big get together.
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.
If more good music and more delicious food are among your New Year's resolutions, then the CBD's Restaurant Hubert is ready to give you a helping hand. Nightly throughout January, the French eatery will be serving up a three-course dinner, soundtracked by live jazz. But, if you're not that hungry, you can go a la carte. Put together by Hubert's resident jazz man Stefan, the program will bring you jazz of all kinds — from vocalists and duos to hard-swinging bands. If you're into singers, be sure to catch jazz-soul powerhouse Virna Sanzone on January 16, singer-songwriter Emma May (who you might've seen on Love Child) on January 22 and Nic Jeffries (who you might've seen on The Voice in 2016) on February 1. Among the offerings on the three-course menu are stracciatella with stretched cow's curd, tomato and dill; chicken fricassée (a deeply comforting French-style stew); and the Floating Island: meringue with creme anglaise and seasonal fruit. Reservations are required, and Le Jazz January runs from 7–11pm each evening. Image: Daniel Boud.
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?
