One Friday morning, as the Washington Redskins fell to the Dallas Cowboys, The 19th Club was alive with coffee, muesli and morning meetings. A few hours later, breakfast gave way to lunch, and the bar was heaving with the CBD crowd, chowing down on crunchy chicken tenders, taking the edge off the work week with a crisp beer, and watching the Pittsburgh Steelers slowly demolish the Indianapolis Colts. A growing number of patrons aren't just once-off visitors — they're actually members here. By joining up, they can take advantage of access to discounts and freebies, as well as the ability to control what's on screen, what they eat, and pretty much every other aspect of their experience at the club. All too common throughout the United States, membership to bars hasn't really kicked off in Australia, but that's looking to change, with bars like The 19th Club leading the charge by offering an individually tailored guest experience. In order to grasp how the concept is looking to revolutionise the way we approach going out for a drink, I really put the hard yards in and met up with the club's Head of Member Services and all-round renaissance man Tom Glasson to drink beer, eat incredible food, and talk about sports. The 19th Club is built on the American idea of membership to bars and clubs, something that is definitely lacking in Australia. "Everyone's a member of everything," Glasson advises in regards to the US approach to bars. It's this idea that The 19th Club are trying to transpose to our fair shores, and part of this is the importance that sport plays in the way we think about pubs and bars. Sports bring people together with a shared experience, regardless of differences. "You don't have to have a CEO's income to share that dialogue," says Glasson. The old (and highly debatable) adage that the customer is always right runs deep at The 19th Club, even to the point where the members have an active say in how the bar runs. Opening hours can change depending on what members want to watch, for example. Members have access to a private messaging platform on Slack, where they can communicate directly with staff, even to the point of ordering food before they arrive. When I asked about some fairly obvious demographic barriers, Glasson is quick offer reassurance. "It's not in any way a boy's club." What if, then, someone wanted to watch the netball? "If the members want the netball on, we put the netball on!" Glasson offers. It was then agreed that netball is an awesome and underrated sport. It's evident that the ideal behind The 19th Club is that it's driven by its members, and run for its members, but in a way that doesn't alienate the public. It's a sports bar for the people, by the people. Despite the strong emphasis on American sports at The 19th Club, Glasson is adamant that this isn't the endgame for the bar. "It's American focused right now, but that's only because this is the right time to do it," he says. With the Australian summer of cricket well underway and the football season peeking its head around the corner, there's a whole other dimension coming to the bar. Given that it has only been open since September, it would be easy for the head honchos behind The 19th Club to rest on their laurels and simply continue with the business model they're currently offering, but this isn't the case at all. Rather than keep on keeping on, the aim is to progress to the point where membership to The 19th Club grants you access to future incarnations of the bar around the globe. The goal is, according to Glasson, to be able to "watch what you want, when you want, anywhere in the world." The 19th Club provides something new, something unique to the Sydney scene. It's a sports bar with a refined décor that offers breakfast, beers, a burger that tastes exactly like a stadium burger but really, really good, and a unique experience for each and every member. It's easy to see how this model works so well in America, and it's not too much of a stretch to see it working here, as well. What a time to be alive. Find The 19th Club on the ground floor at 19 Bridge Street, Sydney. For more information, visit their website.
What do The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Muriel's Wedding, Strictly Ballroom, Starstruck and Moulin Rouge! all have in common? Other than being ace Australian films, they've all made the leap from cinemas to theatres — and to stage musicals, to be specific. They're about to have company, too, with another Aussie gem set to follow the screen-to-stage route. This time, classic 90s and early 00s children's TV series Round the Twist is getting the musical treatment. If you've ever, ever felt like seeing the beloved show on a stage with everyone belting out tunes about strange things happening, this dream is about to become a reality. Exactly when Round the Twist the Musical will debut, and where, and who'll star in it hasn't yet been revealed, however. Still, we're bet you're now more excited right now than a Twist family member in a lighthouse. Airing for two seasons between 1990–93, then another two from 2000–01, Round the Twist adapted Paul Jennings' popular books into an offbeat fantasy series. If you were the right age, it was must-see TV — and now it's your next must-see musical. Here's hoping that the new stage production not only does justice to the show that absolutely every Aussie kid watched in the 90s and 00s, and more than once, but that it taps into its balance of humour, strangeness and scares. Oh, and that there's a big lighthouse involved, of course. Obviously, we all know which song definitely has to be included — and multiple times, ideally. Yes, it's the theme tune by Andrew Duffield that you've now got stuck in your head and will keep singing to yourself for the rest of the week. (And no, we're not sorry for putting it there.) RGM Productions is thrilled to announce development & production of ROUND THE TWIST THE MUSICAL after a successful RISE application in Australia. Based on the short stories by Paul Jennings, the cult TV series aired on the BBC in 70 countries over 30 years and is now on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/8Z2nfutBkX — RGM Productions (@RGMProd) September 6, 2021 RGM Productions, which also has the Priscilla and Starstruck musicals to its name, is behind the all-singing, all-dancing version of Round the Twist — and announced that it is in development and production after receiving funding from the Australian Government's Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) scheme. Writer/composer Paul Hodge, director Simon Phillips and producer Garry McQuinn will be guiding the show, with the latter advising that "RGM came on board to develop Round the Twist the Musical buoyed by the immense energy and enthusiasm of Paul Hodge and Simon Phillips" in a statement on Facebook. He continued: "we are thrilled that RISE has seen fit to award this great new Australian work with funding, enabling us to give everyone a great night in the theatre, enjoying the antics of the Twist family." If you need something to watch until the stage production comes to the fruition, all four seasons of Round the Twist are streaming on Netflix. And you can also check out the trailer for Round the Twist's first season below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjuXTD0m9Lc Round the Twist the Musical is now in development — we'll update you with further details, including about its premiere season, when additional information is announced.
There's only one thing that's wrong with The Soul Trembles, the Chiharu Shiota exhibition that's now sprawling across the entire ground floor of Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art until Monday, October 3: it isn't happening in Tokyo, at an art museum towering 53 levels above the busy streets, and against the inimitable backdrop that is the Japanese capital's twinkling skyline. That isn't a criticism of GOMA, its South Bank berth next to the Brisbane River, or the otherworldly display now gracing its halls and walls. But when this enchanting and entrancing Shiota showcase first debuted back in 2019, it did so in quite the striking Tokyo spot. The background now differs, but the art itself remains just as impressive — and as eager to live up to the exhibition's name. Japan-born, Berlin-based artist Shiota crafts works that force everyone who sees them to take in their place in the world, all while musing on their own inner worlds in the process. Her art skews existential in both a big and an intimate sense. The macro and micro alike lingers piece by piece, and through The Soul Trembles as a whole. That's all there in the masses of string, the wall of miniatures and the detached body parts. It also dwells in the dangling suitcases and the compilation of window frames, and in the paper cascading upwards — aka the GOMA exhibition's major new commission. [caption id="attachment_859135" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chloë Callistemon[/caption] Indeed, when you peer at Shiota's mazes of inky-black wool, including when they're woven around chairs and pianos, it's impossible not to think about infinity, mortality, obliteration, the darkness that awaits us all, the fragility of life and the fact that all things eventually turn to ash. When you take in her labyrinths of blood-red yarn instead, it's equally difficult not to ponder the crimson stuff pumping through our veins, all that makes our bodies work and function, and the reality that being alive is so physically complex, emotionally tangled and tangibly fragile. Also inescapable: that, just as one exhibition after the next proves in any gallery's ongoing calendar, humanity's very existence is oh-so-fleeting. Comprised of over 100 works from across 25 years of Shiota's career, and marking her largest exhibition to-date, The Soul Trembles is unsurprisingly a deeply gorgeous and wondrous showcase — and a deeply contemplative one. It's a ruminative artistic landscape to get lost in, and to think about who you really are and what you want out of life while you're standing within it. For Brisbanites now eager to do exactly that — plus interstate art-lovers keen to make the trip north to see the Australian-exclusive exhibition — here are eight pieces to look out for. [caption id="attachment_859136" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chloë Callistemon[/caption] UNCERTAIN JOURNEY Every exhibition that settles into GOMA makes a splash in its main gallery hallway. The venue's presentations fill plenty of its other spaces, but the South Bank spot loves a bold entrance. When Patricia Piccinini: Curious Affection was on display, a Skywhale-like balloon did the honours. During David Lynch: Between Two Worlds, a mini cinema inside a cube sat in the foyer, offering attendees a complication of music clips from his movies. Yayoi Kusama: Life Is the Heart of a Rainbow boasted yellow polka-dotted orbs, while Water featured suspended rings that you could climb through. At The Soul Trembles, Shiota's Uncertain Journey is no less spectacular — or memorable. Dating back to 2016, it features a series of metallic frames shaped like boats, all strung together by red thread. They're linked in a giant woven mass that spreads from wall to wall, making a wool canopy for a ceiling, and includes cavernous tunnels within the flame-hued strands. As far as welcoming you into Shiota's mindset, and making sure you're in the right headspace yourself, it's a perfect opening piece. Wanting to simply stand and stare comes with the territory. [caption id="attachment_859137" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chloë Callistemon[/caption] WHERE ARE WE GOING? Much about The Soul Trembles deals in contrasts: life and death, big and small, red and black, and beginnings and endings. But this is also an exhibition about the here and now, as well as the journeys that life takes us on from one extreme to another. That idea is plain in many of the artwork names, such as the aforementioned Uncertain Journey and now Where Are We Going?. And, in both, it's evident in Shiota's frequent use of vessel-shaped structures — all either encased in or hanging via threads. Dangling its wire boats from the ceiling, Where Are We Going? uses a monochrome colour scheme — letting the white wool of the ships' bodies clash with the black rope suspending them in mid-air. The installation sits just inside a doorway, but expect that passage to be clogged; just try not to stop immediately as soon as you lock eyes on the piece. That's a fitting reaction that speaks volumes about what strikes us in life, and where existence's bottlenecks reside. Still, thanks to its size and scale, you'll also want to take a minute to walk around Where Are We Going? as well. [caption id="attachment_859138" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Natasha Harth[/caption] IN SILENCE When Shiota was nine years old, the house next door to her home burned down. The following morning, a piano remained — scorched black, and drawing Shiota in with both its appearance and its quiet. In Silence responds to that event, and to the memory of it that still lingers. It muses on the things that tangibly remain, as well as those that haunt without a physical presence. It's also one of The Soul Trembles' most vivid sights. Visitors to GOMA have to walk through a few rooms to get to In Silence, which dates back to 2008. In the process, you'll take in installations, photos, paintings and videos first. But when this piece appears, filling a room with black thread — and wrapping up a piano, as well as chairs ready for an invisible audience, within all those fibres — it's as arresting as the exhibition gets. While it screams with physicality, it's also a ghostly vision. And, among everything else, its interplay of light and shadows is ethereal. [caption id="attachment_859134" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chloë Callistemon[/caption] REFLECTION OF SPACE AND TIME The Soul Trembles isn't focused on fashion, but it does feature two eye-catching dresses in one black cube. Like much within the exhibition, they're trapped within Shiota's beloved black yarn. A mirror also sits in the centre of the steel frame, dividing the space. Accordingly, as well as the items themselves, viewers also spy their reflections — and the setup is designed to make you merge the real and the illusory in your mind. It isn't by accident that, with her ever-present threads, Shiota covers an object that's already designed as a covering. With her mirrors, she also muddies the lines between what exists to touch — not that GOMA visitors can — and what only exists to the eye. A piece about skins and illusions, Reflection of Space and Time thinks big, as its name makes clear. It's a compact work compared to Shiota's installations, confined as it is to its cube, but it's also both stunning and weighty. [caption id="attachment_859140" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Natasha Harth[/caption] INSIDE — OUTSIDE Eyes may be the windows to the soul — one that trembles, or not — but windows themselves are revelatory in Inside — Outside. This installation nods to Shiota's adopted home of Berlin, which she moved to in 1996. Attached together to form a barrier that fences off one corner, this piece takes inspiration from one of the German capital's most infamous structures: the Berlin Wall, obviously. Shiota has crafted Inside — Outside out of discarded Berlin windows, in fact, all gathered from construction sites in the mid-2000s when the city was being redeveloped extensively. The structure sits adjacent to images of the city, with the combination sparking thoughts about separation, destruction and renewal, boundaries, and open and closed-off spaces. It's another work that makes gorgeous use of light, too. [caption id="attachment_859139" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Natasha Harth[/caption] CONNECTING SMALL MEMORIES When wool stretches across vast hallways and fills rooms, The Soul Trembles is immense. It can be tiny, too, though. That said, the feeling that emanates when you see Connecting Small Memories and its array of miniatures is definitely voluminous. Big things can make an impact and leave an imprint, as plenty of Shiota's works do — and their minuscule counterparts can as well, including when arranged together along an entire wall. It features items you won't see elsewhere in GOMA — ironing boards, rocking horses, tables, beds, chests of drawers, curtains, cupboards and more, all looking like something out of Honey I Shrunk the Kids — but Connecting Small Memories also resembles The Soul Trembles made pocket-sized. Red threads link its pieces, doing what the artwork's moniker promises. [caption id="attachment_859132" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chloë Callistemon[/caption] A QUESTION OF SPACE AND TIME The Soul Trembles comes to Brisbane from Japan, where Shiota was born. It features a piece made about Berlin, where she has lived for decades. The exhibition also has a strong and vivid link to Australia, too, in the form of newly commissioned work A Question of Space and Time. Shiota spent part of the 90s Down Under, studying at the Canberra School of Art from 1993–94 and travelling — including visit Uluru, which this installation contemplates. Yes, string is once again a feature. Strands of black rope hang from the ceiling, taking up an entire room. Within it, items of found furniture sit within the middle. A Question of Space and Time then tops that desk and chair with hundreds of suspended pieces of ordinary 80gsm paper, all leaping upwards like someone has just thrown an entire ream into the air. The result: a work that's mysterious and mesmerising, and another piece that's worth viewing from multiple angles. [caption id="attachment_859141" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Natasha Harth[/caption] ACCUMULATION — SEARCHING FOR A DESTINATION If you're a frequent GOMA attendee, you'll remember what once filled the gallery where Accumulation — Searching for a Destination now hangs. Over the summer of 2019–20, the room was piled with 100 tonnes of rocks, recreating an Icelandic stream. That Olafur Eliasson piece was phenomenal. So is the unrelated installation that now calls the same space home. They feel like mirror images: Accumulation slopes from left to right, affixed to the roof, where Riverbed reached right to left from the floor up. Experiencing both, even three years apart, is something special. Accumulation suspends hundreds of suitcases on red thread, all jostling in the air. This isn't a new work, and it wasn't a response to the pandemic and the barriers to travel it sparked, but it's easy to muse on both while standing in front of it. This is another of The Soul Trembles' pieces about journeys, of course, and also about valuing minutiae. What is a suitcase if not a receptacle for all we see fit to keep with us when we venture away from home, and a physical item to which we attach our fondest travel memories? Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles displays at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art, Stanley Place, South Brisbane from Saturday, June 18–Monday, October 3, 2022. For further details, visit the GOMA website. Images: installation views: Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2022 © Chiharu Shiota. Photography: Natasha Harth / Chloë Callistemon, QAGOMA.
Despite years of public rallies, crowdfunding efforts and court action, Sydney's Brutalist, box-like Sirius building is officially up for sale. Although the New South Wales government first announced that the 70s-era structure was on the market back in December, expressions of interest just opened yesterday, Friday, May 25, with Savills Australia now actively seeking buyers for the iconic location. While it's a blow for the vocal Save Our Sirius campaign, the 2-60 Cumberland Street address will apparently be subject to some restrictions. The government "will maintain interest in the site, ensuring any future developments are sympathetic to the surrounding area," according to Savills Australia. And, a proposed State Environmental Planning Policy amendment will apply, imposing new controls regarding the zoning, height, maximum gross floor area, active street frontages and design of the site. It has been a particularly eventful year for the 79-unit tower, which stands tall by the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Final public tours took place in January, a farewell party for the structure's last remaining resident — 91-year-old Myra Demetriou — was held the same month and Save Our Sirius revealed they'd be lodging their own purchase bid. In response to the official launch of expressions of interest, Save Our Sirius restated their quest to retain the building in its current form, ensure it is used as affordable inner-city housing for workers in the area, and to have its historical significance officially recognised. "We again call on the NSW Government to stop the sale, deploy Sirius for key worker accommodation, and list Sirius on the State Heritage Register," the group advised in a statement. Even with the government restrictions, if Sirius is bought by developers, the 79-unit tower is highly likely to be demolished to make room for new apartments. As well as wiping out a crucial part of '70s architectural history, it'll also mean saying goodbye to an important public housing initiative, allowing people on low incomes to live in the centre of this expensive city and enjoy harbour views. With the situation certain to keep developing over the coming months, take a look through our gallery of the building as it currently stands. Images: Katherine Lu / Kimberley Low.
If you're staring at that blank space on your bedroom wall and feeling uninspired, fret not. The Other Art Fair returns this March. The celebrated global event returns to Sydney for the seventh time from March 18–21. The fair will showcase a lively collection of emerging artists in the stimulating surrounds of The Cutaway in Barangaroo. Presented by Saatchi Art, this year's fair is a highly anticipated one, with the 2020 event's cancellation. The creative works of more than 110 carefully chosen artists, each selected by a prominent panel of art industry experts, will be up for sale. From the ornate to the inexpensive, The Other Art Fair 2021 offers thousands of artworks starting from as little as $100. Plus, the artists will be on-site, so you can chat with them and hear the stories behind your chosen piece. The vast four-day event is complemented by art activations, hand-poked tattooing, workshops and immersive performances, plus street food and DJ sets. Make a party of it by attending on opening night ($35–50), or stop by for a general browse between Friday to Sunday — general entry tickets cost $20 online or $30 on the door. The Other Art Fair is happening from March 18–21. Book tickets here.
For almost 18 months, there's been no time for No Time to Die. Originally slated to hit cinemas worldwide back in April 2020, the 25th official film featuring Bond, James Bond has suffered from more than a few delays due to the pandemic — and was one of the first movies to initially move its release date, in fact. Yes, you could say the feature's plans have been both shaken and stirred, and multiple times. In Australia, they've just been given another push. In most of the world, lovers of both martinis and spy films will finally get their latest fix of suave secret agents, sinister plots to destroy the world and big-screen espionage thrills from the end of September; however, that's no longer the case in Australia. With cinemas in New South Wales and Victoria closed for the foreseeable future due to lockdowns in both states, and reopening dates not yet announced, No Time to Die's Aussie debut has been shifted from Thursday, September 30 to Thursday, November 11. Movie buffs can expect this to keep happening — although, unlike in 2020 and earlier in 2021 when film release dates kept being swapped around due to COVID-19, now it's just occurring in Australia. And yes, No Time to Die is delaying its release countrywide, even though cinemas in Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory currently remain open. Need a reminder of what to look forward to, Bond-wise? A new trailer for No Time to Die has also just dropped, following a first sneak peek all the way back in 2019 and a more recent trailer in 2020. Obviously, all the franchise staples are covered in the clips so far, including world-in-peril action, savvy ladies, plenty of gadgets, eye-popping stunts and spectacles, and an Aston Martin. And, because no Bond movie would be complete without a formidable villain, this flick serves up two: an unhinged, mask-wearing new adversary called Safin (Bohemian Rhapsody Oscar-winner Rami Malek), plus imprisoned ex-opponent Blofeld (Christoph Waltz, Alita: Battle Angel). Daniel Craig returns as 007, marking not only his fifth stint as the spy since 2006's Casino Royale, but his last — and he has company in the 00 stakes. Following the events of 2015's Spectre, Bond has left active service and started a new life in Jamaica, causing MI6 to recruit someone else to cover his turf. That'd be new agent Nomi (Captain Marvel's Lashana Lynch), and you can obviously expect the pair to cross paths. Bond being Bond, he was never going to be able to escape his line of work easily, after all. Here, he's brought back in by CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright, Westworld) to help with a mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective, Maniac) and penned by a team that includes Fukunaga, The Report director Scott Z Burns and Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge, this Bond instalment also brings back all the usual offsiders. Ralph Fiennes (The Dig) returns as M, alongside Naomie Harris (The Third Day) as Eve Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw (Little Joe) as Q and Rory Kinnear (Peterloo) as MI6 head Bill Tanner. Lea Seydoux (Kursk) is back as psychiatrist Dr Madeleine Swan, too — and, reuniting with Craig after co-starring in the fabulously entertaining Knives Out, Ana de Armas also joins the cast. Watch the final No Time to Die trailer below: No Time to Die will release in Australian cinemas on November 11, 2021.
If you heard a rumbling in the air on the eve of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, it wasn't coming from Carriageworks. It was the noise from an epic Saturday night basketball tournament. Granted, this wasn't just any old bball game — it was probably the most stylish the courts at Sydney Boys High has ever seen. Riding on the fashion week wave, Sydney streetwear label ZANEROBE took the idea of a catwalk show and ran with it (quite literally), hosting the inaugural Street Classic Basketball tournament to launch their new ZANEROBE REC brand. They got NBL legend Steve Carfino in to host, and pit teams from UTS, ZANEROBE, General Pants Co. against each other, decked out some of NSW's top players in gear from the new collection and got Butter to cater the thing. Baller. ZANEROBE REC is a new street sportswear collection from local label ZANEROBE. It's designed to work with you when you're exercising, training or just doing All The Activities. It's available exclusively at General Pants. Find out more at zanerobe.com.
Do you sometimes find yourself resenting Chet Faker for his award-winning whisker-wearing*? Do you refuse to listen to Mumford & Sons, not only for their blatant commercial success but also their rugged yet luxurious face forests? Well, you're not alone. Men in the US have been dealing with similar beard-related anxieties and have undergone facial hair transplants to compensate. Using similar techniques to that of Shane Warne and the Advanced Hair Studio, facial hair transplants take hair from the patient's head, make micro-incisions on a bare patch of face, and insert the roots into empty follicles. Even when the hair falls out, the implanted roots begin to grow new hair. All in all, it's a process that ranges from US$3,000 - $7,000. And, for that money, here's hoping it's worth the pain. Though plastics surgeons have reported an increase in "hip" and "fashionable" young men from Brooklyn seeking the procedure, it also has roots in more substantial causes. Many who seek the transplant are the victims of facial scars, women seeking gender reassignment, or Hasidic Jews trying to achieve a denser payot. (Now you feel bad about laughing, right?) Though it may be easy to make fun of those seeking the procedure for the wrong reasons, it's also pretty concerning. Are men developing body image problems about their bare chin in the same way some women are about their flat chests? So what if you don't look like a homeless lumberjack? It doesn't make you less of a man. If anything, it takes you one step away from the likes of Zach Galifianakis and Shia LaBeouf. And, if you ask us, that's surely something to be thankful for. *Can neither confirm nor deny his ARIA win was beard-related. Via DNAinfo. Image by Juan Luis.
When Vivid rolls around, there aren't many square metres of the city that aren't covered in illuminated installations. This year, we've already been promised a 'robot spaceland' in Darling Harbour, 300 large-scale animal sculptures in Taronga Zoo, and an immersive field of 500 fireflies in the Royal Botanic Garden. But you'll have to find time in your winter schedule to sneak in a visit to the big neon playground that's set to pop-up in Circular Quay throughout the festival. If Vivid lets you indulge your inner child, The Samsung Electric Playground will let you unleash it. The glowing all-ages play pen — which will pop up in First Fleet Park next to the MCA — will feature a range of light, sound and physical interactions for you to ogle, climb on and interact with. Inside, you'll find an interactive 'field' of 320 light poles, a reactive LED dance floor, a neon hula-hooping station and a custom-built 'sky walk' that will let you take selfies with the sweeping Vivid views. And that's not to mention the 6.5-metre-tall slide that you can launch yourself down if you so desire. If it sounds like this is shamelessly made for Instagram, it is. Samsung will have a heap of its Galaxy S10s roaming around and staff will apparently be on-hand to snap pics of you interacting with the installations. Nonetheless, it sounds like it could be a fun stop on your Vivid itinerary. The brand will also set up a second studio-style installation inside the MCA, which will include Instagram workshops alongside with two custom-built interactive installations: one that creates an installation out of your heartbeat, and another creates a "kaleidoscopic experience" from the details in your eyes. Both installations will be open throughout Vivid and 100 percent free to attend. The Samsung Electric Playground will pop up at First Fleet Park (next to the MCA) for the duration of Vivid Sydney 2019, from May 24 until June 15. It will be open from 6–11pm each night and entry will be free.
Following the massive success of its Hokusai exhibition in 2017, the NGV will once again look to the cultural influence of Japan with an exploration of the country's widespread impact on Western modern art. Running from May 25 to October 28, Japonisme: Japan and the Birth of Modern Art considers the crucial period of time following the reopening of international trade from Japan in 1854. As artworks began to flow from Japan into Europe and America, a cultural revolution of sorts was set in motion as Western artists became exposed to the artworks and visual language of Japan for the first time. Influencing artists like Vincent van Gogh and other legends of the day, this moment in history is considered one of the crucial events that lay the foundations of Western modern art. Japonisme (which will be free to attend) delves into the NGV's huge Asian arts collection, showcasing examples that demonstrate Japan's influence of much of the world's art throughout the last 150 years. Western decorative arts, paper works, paintings, fashion and textiles, photography, as well as Japanese art will be on display. Specific highlights include Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's much-loved Divan Japonais poster, examples from the 1866 Bracquemond-Rousseau dinner service, and an undulating art nouveau cabinet designed by Louis Majorelle, demonstrating the influence of Japanese styling on French furniture. Japonisme will show just how the Japanese respect for the environment influenced European artists, and you'll notice just how many examples of European art highlight the reworked organic forms, rich colours and gentle textures typically associated with Japanese aesthetics. Japonisme: Japan and the Birth of Modern Art will run from May 25 to October 28 at the NGV International. Find more info at ngv.vic.gov.au. Image: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Divan Japonais (1893).
Acclaimed internationally by the likes of the Rolling Stone, Billboard and Nylon, Los Angeles darlings Electric Guest will be stopping off at Oxford Art Factory during the peak of their world tour. Released earlier this year in April, Electric Guest's debut album Mondo has been described as a seamless fusion of Motown, '70s daytime radio funk lite, indie rock and '60s French pop, with comparisons made to the likes of Hall & Oates, Gnarls Barkley, Danger Mouse and Scissor Sisters. Separate from the feel of the album, the duo's live show has an enormity to it, easily contradicting the "shoegaze" label that has, in the past, been put upon them. Electric Guest's soulfully electric hooks are bound to make the girls swoon, and their R&B inspired grooves will get even the stiffest of guys moving. Electric Guest will be supported by YesYou, a dance-pop two-piece from Brisbane. https://youtube.com/watch?v=nVSiwMVaKe4
No one loves long-haul flights. If you don't have the cash to upgrade your seat, no one loves trying to get some sleep when you're soaring through the air for nine, 13 or even 17-plus hours. But thanks to Air New Zealand's new economy skynest, getting some shuteye midair is about to get a whole lot easier — come 2024, when the airline's new Dreamliners will take to the skies. First announced back in 2020, and now confirmed to come into operation in just two more years, Air NZ's economy skynest is a first-of-its-kind option that'll feature six lie-flat pods. Yes, they look like bunk beds on a plane, and you'll be able to slumber in them while zooming to your destination. If it sounds like a game changer, that's because it is. Back in 2020, Air NZ announced the pods as part of filing patent and trademark applications, and noted that it'd make a final decision on whether they'd come into effect within a year. That go-ahead might've arrived a bit later — aka now, not in 2021 — but that doesn't make it any less exciting. "New Zealand's location puts us in a unique position to lead on the ultra-longhaul travel experience. We have zeroed in on sleep, comfort and wellness because we know how important it is for our customers to arrive well-rested. Whether they are heading straight into a meeting or to their first holiday hotspot — they want to hit the ground running," said Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran. "It's a proud moment to finally unveil five years of hard mahi, in what truly is a cabin of possibility. One that will provide customers with options to get some shut eye wherever they're sitting." While the full details are yet to be revealed, when they were first announced, the pods were intended to include a full-size pillow, sheets, a blanket, ear plugs, privacy curtains and lighting designed for sleep. The airline also said it was exploring other features such as separate reading light, personal device USB outlet and ventilation outlet. Also on the way: new business premier luxe suites and business premier seats, if you are flush with cash. The former will include a door that closes, plus a space to dine; the latter will let you share your nest with a friend if you're in the middle row. The new Dreamliners will also feature premium economy seats, with more protected space to recline without annoying the person behind you; economy skycouch, so you can spread out, lie down and sleep; and economy stretch, with more leg room than a regular seat. And, those usual seats will get more storage space, a 50-percent bigger entertainment screen, and bluetooth audio and pairing. Also, the aircrafts will feature care stations in the premium economy and economy cabins, letting travellers stretch their legs, grab a bite to eat and get a drink whenever they wish. Design-wise, the planes' interiors will take cues from Aotearoa in a number of ways, too — such as carpet inspired by the forest, and nodding to the tūī in the seats. Air New Zealand's Economy Skynest will be available from 2024. For more information in the interim, visit the airline's website.
There is nothing, nothing more purely joyous as hurtling down an epic plastic lane covered in soap bubbles and hose water. Slip 'N' Slides have pride of place in some of our Paddle Pop-dotted, sunburn-ridden backyard memories, but all is not lost to the slippery realms of memory. This year, a giant Slide 'N' Slide is coming to your city, with Nova's Slidestreet confirmed for Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne this summer. Created by the team behind Perth's ice skating pop-up, Winterland, the Slidestreet is inspired by the urban slide created by UK artist Luke Jerram. With its successful Perth run under its belt, the 315 metre-long Slidestreet is heading to Melbourne's Fitzroy Gardens on January 24 and Sydney’s Centennial Park on Australia Day, January 26. Melburnians, you lucky, lucky bunch, you could also be casually getting the world's longest slide in February — permit permitting. At $15 +BF a slide, it's a teeny bit exxy for something you could DIY with a little help from Bunnings, but sometimes you just have to hand over the cashola for novelty bragging rights. And if you thought an entire event could be created around the humble Slip 'N' Slide, you're bang on. The whole day will feature food trucks, icy summer treats, DJs, pop-up bars — yep, the whole bloody works. We're guessing this is to give the sad, sad, slideless spectators something to do while their ticket-holding friends have All The Fun. Importantly, according to the Slidestreet rules, Go Pro selfie poles are NOT allowed on the slide. Slidestreet is heading to Melbourne's Fitzroy Gardens on January 24 and Sydney’s Centennial Park on Australia Day, January 26. Tickets start at $15 +BF a slide, available here.
For the inner bookworm in all of us, French designer and inventor Oscar Lhermitte has come up with a way to make torn, dog-eared pages a thing of the past. By rethinking the traditional bookmark, the Albatros is a simple yet functional product which will help keep your novel in pristine condition. Made from polyester and long lasting adhesive, the nifty structure and shape of Lhermitte’s invention follows your reading without the hassle of fumbling around with pages. The days of frustratingly forgetting your page number in a novel may be over. Currently available on IndieGoGo, you can pre-order a set of 6 for $10.
Mona Foma is making the huge move from Hobart to Launceston in serious style — by giving away free airfares and three-day festival tickets to an entire Air Mofo plane worth of lucky, lucky festivalgoers. The 'private airline', a collaboration between Mona Foma and Tourism Tasmania, will exclusively service competition winners for MONA's summer festival. Seats will be given away in rows of six, so your five closest mates will be given the deluxe treatment, too. The airline will fly from Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, with winners arriving in Launceston for the start of the festival — around noon on Friday, January 18. Expect more than just your average plane ride on board Air Mofo. "It's going to be like the festival — it'll be weird, there'll be good food, great booze, and some confronting in-flight entertainment that probably can't be unseen," says Mona Foma curator Brian Ritchie. Mona's summer festival will take over Launceston from January 18–20 and the lineup boasts everything from real human body parts on display to a onesie exhibition, with free tickets offered to the local Amish community. Music highlights include Swedish star Neneh Cherry, Welsh electronic music icons Underworld and Tassie's own Courtney Barnett, plus a Mona Foma exclusive: a four-part performance by producer and composer Oneohtrix Point Never and the MYRIAD ensemble, framed from the perspective of an alien intelligence in an unlovely combination of medieval folk, dance music, R&B, and sci-fi imagery. You can check out more festival highlights over here. Head here to enter the competition. The otherwise standard form includes the question, "tell us in 25 words or less why you and your five fellow Mofos need to party at Mona Foma in Launceston". Needless to say, it's best to nail that answer if you want those tickets. Three-day festival passes are also on sale now — this year priced at $99 for the weekend. And, if you're looking for other ways to enjoy the festival's new surrounds, check out our weekender's guide to Launceston during Mona Foma. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jS4uZtMaJk&feature=youtu.be Mona Foma 2019 will take over Launceston, Tasmania from January 18–20. To enter the free airfare and festival passes competition, head over here.
This year has seen a lot of us spending a whole heap more time at home, and we can't think of a better excuse for a little domestic spruce up. Or, at the very least, a neat new rug to adorn your living room floor. If it is time for a rug refresh, expect to find some winning options among Miss Amara's huge three-week sale. The online rug retailer is dishing out deals with 15 percent off each of its three best-selling rug styles across three weeks. First up, its boho rugs, with designs like the luxe wool Camilla, are on sale from October 11–18. Then, you can nab 15 percent off minimal rugs from October 21–29, and score savings across the whole collection of tribal rugs from November 1–8. Having trouble choosing? Answer a few questions online about your space and your preferences, and Miss Amara's virtual stylist will help you find your ideal rug match. What's more, you can take your favourites for a visual test drive, thanks to the virtual room simulator. Just click the button that says 'See This In My Room' below any product, snap a photo of your space and see how well they pair. And to get even more of a taste, Miss Amara will even let you try a rug at home, with free refunds and returns if it doesn't tick the right boxes. As an added bonus, Miss Amara offers free delivery across Australia, too. https://www.instagram.com/p/CFrT2KLn0gt/ FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
With so much time on our hands during lockdown, many have turned to their kitchens in order to expand their cooking skills. Among the most popular isolation cooking projects is taking on homemade pasta, and who better to guide you through the process than two grandmas with a over 100 years' of combined pasta making experience, all the way in Italy? Nonna Live offers private and group pasta making lessons online. Classes usually go for $100 USD ($157 AUD/$166 NZD), but have been marked down to $60 USD ($94 AUD/$99 NZD). They take about two hours, and will take you through the entire pasta making process, with a delicious dish as your end reward. Nonna Live classes are led by two Italian grandmothers: 84-year-old Nonna Nerina, who has become well-known for her pasta making through her AirBnB experiences and lessons in Italy; and Nonna Giuseppa, owner of Pasta Cuomo, a pastaficio in the Amalfi Coast that has been in her family for 150 years. You'll get a list of ingredients and cooking equipment you need to make a delicious meal in their classes, a week out. https://www.facebook.com/nonnas.it/photos/a.864756793704541/1475787695934778/?type=3&theater
It's the frostiest of Australia's annual film festivals for two reasons — the time of year it arrives, and the region it showcases — and it's back for 2022 with another round of recent and retro flicks. That'd be the Scandinavian Film Festival, which naturally hits cinemas around the country each winter. Well, winter Down Under, that is. This year's fest will play 19 titles, primarily hailing from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, with the program touring the nation between Tuesday, July 12–Wednesday, August 10. That gives film buffs in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Byron Bay around a month — three weeks in some places — to get their Nordic movie fix, whether you're keen on a historical epic or a dive into Scandi cinema history. Yes, blasts from the pasts are a feature of the 2022 lineup — starting with opening night's Margrete — Queen of the North. Starring Trine Dyrholm (The Commune) and directed by Charlotte Sieling (Lovecraft Country, Homeland), the historical drama is set in 1402, and hones in on Denmark's Queen Margrete, who oversaw the Kalmar Union that brought together Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Also peering backwards: the Scandi Screen Sirens selection, which celebrates leading ladies from times gone by — all in classics. So, you'll catch Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, Greta Garbo in Queen Christina and Britt Ekland in The Wicker Man. There's also two Liv Ullmann films: The Serpent's Egg, directed by iconic Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman; plus The New Land, the 1972 gem in the festival's closing night slot. Elsewhere, the program includes Dyrholm again in A Matter of Trust, which heads to Australia straight from premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival; Finnish effort The Woodcutter's Story, which played the 2022 Cannes Film Festival Critics' Week; and The Emigrants, a new adaptation of Vilhelm Moberg's novels. The latter first hit the screen in 1971, in a film of the same name — to which the aforementioned The New Land was a sequel. From a selection of 19 flicks all up, there's also the Danish boarding school-set Pretty Young Thing, which will have its world premiere at the fest; psychological drama Quake from Iceland; Berlinale Crystal Bear Award-winner Comedy Queen, about a 13-year-old girl who wants to be a stand-up comedian; and documentary Nordic by Nature, which was filmed in the Faroe Islands, including in its seafood industry, and also covers two-star Michelin restaurant KOKS. And if Scandinavian talent has you thinking of Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, he's accounted for A Taste of Hunger from Denmark. It's about the quest for a Michelin star, actually, with the drama following a couple determined to get one for their restaurant. SCANDINAVIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2022 DATES: July 12–August 7: Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Palace Central and Chauvel Cinema, Sydney July 13–August 7: Palace Electric, Canberra July 14–August 7: The Astor Theatre, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, Palace Balwyn and Pentridge Cinema, Melbourne July 19–August 10: Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Adelaide July 20–August 10: Palace Raine Square Cinemas, Luna Leederville and Luna on SX, Perth July 20–August 10: Palace Barracks and Palace James Street, Brisbane July 22–August 10: Palace Byron Bay, Byron Bay The Scandinavian Film Festival tours Australia from Tuesday, July 12–Wednesday, August 10. For more information or to buy tickets, visit the festival's website.
Since Australian cinemas started reopening more than 12 months ago, following the country's first nationwide lockdown, new films have been hitting the big screen each and every week. But, depending on whether another round of stay-at-home conditions happen to be in place, or even just restrictions, heading to the flicks hasn't been as straightforward a pastime as it was before we'd all ever heard of COVID-19. Even if you're the biggest movie buff there is, that means that you probably haven't been to the cinema as much as you normally would've. If you're the kind of film-goer who is happy to just head along every now and then, you might've been more selective with your viewing choices. Or, juggling your schedule to fit in a trip to the pictures mightn't have been your biggest priority. Thankfully, a heap of the past year's cinema gems have now made their way to various streaming platforms, so you can catch up on plenty of great movies at home. Here's 12 that'll keep you busy right this moment — whether you're in lockdown, the weather is average or you just feel like some extended couch time. AMERICAN UTOPIA There may be no catchier lyric in music history than "same as it ever was", the five words repeated in Talking Heads' 1981 single 'Once in a Lifetime'. As uttered again and again by the band's inimitable frontman David Byrne, it's a looping phrase that burrows into your skull and never leaves. So when American Utopia opens with the musician sat at a table holding a brain and talking about what its various parts do, it feels as if Byrne is acknowledging what everyone already knows in the deepest recesses of their consciousness: that Byrne long ago got cosy in our craniums and has been nattering away to us ever since. As he stares at grey matter while wearing a grey suit — a perfectly fitting one, unlike the famed big number he wore in iconic 1984 Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense — he has something else on his mind, however. American Utopia starts with the part of our bodies where we all mentally reside, but slowly and smartly evolves from the cerebral to the communal. It segues from one man alone on a stage lost in his own thoughts to 12 people singing, dancing, playing instruments and connecting, and also pondering the state of the world and how to better it in the process. And it takes its titular concept seriously along the way, confronting America's political and social divisions in Byrne's witty, wise and impassioned between-song chats, but never satirising the idea that the US could be improved to the benefit of everyone. American Utopia is a concert film like its predecessor but, as that masterpiece proved, the whole notion means more to Byrne than merely standing in front of a camera and busting out well-known hits.From the sublimely soothing 'This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)' to the punchier 'Burning Down the House', plenty of Byrne's best-known songs do grace American Utopia. 'Once in a Lifetime' is among them, of course, as are 'Road to Nowhere' and 'Everybody's Coming to My House', with the film's playlist spanning his career with Talking Heads and solo. Across a range of styles and tempos, each track is a wonder, and not just in the way that fans already know. As should be obvious from the way in which Byrne has conceptualised this stage performance — which he toured in 2018, then adapted for Broadway in 2019, and has now turned into this standout movie directed by Spike Lee — this is a meticulously crafted work. Basking in the glory of Byrne and his band is inevitable and would happen regardless, but soaking in everything that American Utopia does is another marvel entirely. Before the film forces you to do so, you probably won't have realised how enlivening, wondrous and cathartic it is to see the act of connecting so firmly thrust to the fore. It takes an incredible amount of work to make something so tightly constructed seem so loose and natural, and that's just one of the reasons that American Utopia is yet another of the star's masterpieces. American Utopia is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video and Binge. Read our full review. BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC When it comes to goofy and sweet movie concepts handled with sincerity, the Bill & Ted franchise has always proven most triumphant. In 1989's Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, the big-screen comedy series introduced the world to Californian high schoolers Bill S Preston, Esq (Alex Winter) and Ted 'Theodore' Logan (Keanu Reeves), who are apparently destined to write the rock song that unites the universe — if they can first pass their history exam by travelling back in time in a phone booth to recruit famed past figures like Beethoven and Socrates to help, that is. The idea that Bill & Ted's affable, air guitar-playing slackers would become the world's salvation was a joke that the film itself was in on, and the movie struck the right balance of silliness, earnestness and affection as a result. So, the end product was joyous. And, it inspired two follow-ups: 1991's even loopier but still entertaining Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, and now Bill & Ted Face the Music's affectionate dose of warm-hearted lunacy almost three decades later. Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves) are back, obviously. They're older, definitely not wiser, and yet again take a few leaps through time. The fate of life as everyone knows it is still at stake. And, as always, the loveable pair's motto — "be excellent to each other" — is pivotal. Combine all of the above with marital malaise, chip-off-the-old-block daughters Theadora (Ready or Not's Samara Weaving) and Wilhelmina (Atypical's Brigette Lundy-Paine), multiple Bills and Teds, and a 77-minute deadline to write the tune the changes the future, and Face the Music saunters casually forward with a purposeful sense of familiarity. Thankfully, though, this film isn't merely trying to relive past glories. In fact, the very notion that some dreams don't come true sits at the core of this tender and loving movie. Naturally, it's a delight to see Winter and Reeves reprise their roles. They step back into Bill and Ted's shoes with ease, expertly conveying the characters' lingering immaturity, middle-aged malaise and ever-present kindness. They're also clearly having a blast as different versions of the duo, and their enthusiasm is infectious. But when Face the Music finds a plethora of ways to illustrate the merits of their characters' optimistic and warm mindset, it's at its best. Far from bogus, the heartfelt happiness it brings is 100-percent excellent. Bill & Ted Face the Music is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. KAJILLIONAIRE When Evan Rachel Wood played a troubled teen in 2003's Thirteen, the then 16-year-old received a Golden Globe nomination. For her work in Westworld since 2016, she has nabbed multiple Emmy nods. So when we say that the actor puts in her best performance yet in Kajillionaire — the type of portrayal that deserves several shiny trophies — that observation isn't made lightly. Playing a 26-year-old con artist called Old Dolio Dyne, Wood is anxious but yearning, closed-off yet vulnerable, and forceful as well as unsure all at once. Her character has spent her entire life being schooled in pulling off quick scams by her eccentric parents Robert (Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water) and Theresa (Debra Winger, The Lovers), who she still lives with, and she's stuck navigating her own street-wise brand of arrested development. Old Dolio knows how to blend in, with her baggy clothes, curtain of long hair and low-toned voice. She also knows how to avoid security cameras in physical feats that wouldn't look out of place in a slapstick comedy, and how to charm kindly folks out of reward money. But she has never been allowed to truly be her own person — and, from the moment that Wood is seen on-screen, that mournful truth is immediately evident. Kajillionaire introduces Old Dolio, Robert and Theresa as they're falling back on one of their most reliable swindles: stealing packages from post office boxes. But two developments drive its narrative, and make Old Dolio realise that she's far more than just the third part of a trio. Firstly, to make a quick $20 to help cover overdue rent, she agrees to attend a parenting class for someone she meets on the street, and is struck by how far removed its teachings are from her own experiences. Secondly, on a return flight back to Los Angeles from New York as part of a travel insurance grift, her parents meet and befriend outgoing optometrist's assistant Melanie (Gina Rodriguez, Annihilation). So accustomed to playing the role dictated to her by Robert and Theresa, and never deviating from it, Old Dolio isn't prepared for the emotions stirred up by both changes to her status quo. But July's poignant and perceptive movie — a film that's a quirky heist flick, a playful but shrewd exploration of family bonds, and a sweet love story — is perfectly, mesmerisingly equipped to navigate her protagonist's efforts to reach beyond the only loved ones and the only type of life she has ever known. In fact, the result is one of the most distinctive, empathetic and engaging movies of the year. Kajillionaire is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video and Binge. Read our full review. THE PAINTER AND THE THIEF Asked why he broke into Oslo's Gallery Nobel in 2015 and stole two large oil paintings in broad daylight, Karl-Bertil Nordland gives perhaps the most honest answer anyone could: "because they were beautiful". He isn't responding to the police or providing an excuse during his court appearance, but speaking to Czech artist Barbora Kysilkova, who wanted answers about the theft of her work. Captured on camera, the pilfering of Kysilkova's Swan Song and Chloe & Emma initially appeared to be a professional job. As the two pieces were removed from their frames in such an exacting manner, it was presumed that experts were behind the crime. But Nordland and his accomplice didn't plan their brazen heist, or have a background in purloining art. Thanks to the effect of illicit substances, Nordland can't even remember much about it, let alone recall what happened to the stolen works that Kysilkova desperately wants back. That said, as the thief tells the painter when she first talks with him, he does know that he walked past Gallery Nobel often. He's aware that he saw her photorealistic pieces — the first of a dead swan lying in reeds, the second of two girls sat side by side on a couch — many times, too. And, he's candid about the fact that he marvelled at and was moved by the two canvases long before he absconded with them. As a result, he doesn't seem surprised that his life led him to that juncture, and to snatching Kysilkova's creations. A victim confronts a perpetrator: that's The Painter and the Thief's five-word summary, and it's 100-percent accurate. But such a brief description can't convey how fascinating, thoughtful, moving and astonishing this documentary is as it unfurls a tale so layered and wild that it can only be true — a story that stretches far beyond what anyone could feasibly anticipate of such an altercation and its aftermath, in fact. Nordland was arrested and charged for his crime, with Kysilkova initially making contact with him at his trial. From there, the skilled carpenter and heavily tattooed addict unexpectedly gained a friend in the woman whose works he took. Kysilkova first asked to paint Nordland as part of her attempts to understand him, and he then became her muse. As all relationships do, especially ones forged under such unusual circumstances, their connection evolved, adapted and changed from there. As Norwegian filmmaker Benjamin Ree (Magnus) pointed a camera in their direction for three years, the duo weathered their own ups, downs, twists and turns, as did their friendship. If Nordland's reply to Kysilkova feels disarmingly frank and unguarded, that's because it is. The same tone remains throughout The Painter and the Thief's entire duration. Absent the usual tropes and stylistic markers that true-crime documentaries are known for, the film eschews the standard mix of talking heads, re-enactments and explanatory narration in favour of truly observing and stepping inside its subjects' unique bond. The Painter and the Thief is available to stream via Docplay. Read our full review. BABY DONE A relic of a time when women were considered wives, mothers and little else, the public need to comment on whether someone has a baby or is planning to have a baby is flat-out garbage behaviour. In your twenties or thirties, and in a couple? Yet to procreate? If so, the world at large apparently thinks that it's completely acceptable to ask questions, make its judgement known and demand answers. Baby Done offers a great take on this kind of situation. Surrounded by proud new parents and parents-to-be at a baby shower, Zoe (Rose Matafeo) refuses to smile and nod along with all the polite cooing over infants — existing and yet to make their way into the world — and smug discussions about the joys of creating life. An arborist more interested in scaling trees at both the national and world championships than starting a family, she simply refuses to temper who she is to fit society's cookie-cutter expectations. Her partner Tim (the Harry Potter franchise's Matthew Lewis, worlds away from his time as Neville Longbottom) is on the same wavelength, and they visibly have more fun than everyone else at the party. With a title such as Baby Done, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise when this New Zealand comedy soon upsets Zoe and Tim's status quo. She discovers that she's expecting and, while he starts dutifully preparing to an almost unnervingly sensible extent, she also struggles to face the change that's coming their way. Comedies about the trials and tribulations of parenthood, and of the journey to become parents, are almost as common as people asking "when are you two having kids?" without prompting at parties. But this addition to the genre from director Curtis Vowell and screenwriter Sophie Henderson (both veterans of 2013 film Fantail) approaches a well-worn topic from a savvy angle. Zoe clearly isn't a stereotypical mother-to-be, and doesn't experience the stereotypical feelings women have been told they're supposed to feel about having children — and Baby Done leans into that fact. Also pivotal in her first big-screen lead role is comedian Matafeo. Indeed, it's easy to wonder whether the movie would've worked so engagingly and thoughtfully with someone else as its star. Brightly shot and breezily toned, there's still much about Baby Done that's familiar; however, charting one woman's pregnancy experience, and her backlash to the widely accepted notion that motherhood is the be all and end all of a woman's life, proves poignant and charming more often than not here. Baby Done is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. COLLECTIVE We can only hope that one day, likely in a far distant future, documentaries will stop doubling as horror films. That time hasn't arrived yet — and as Collective demonstrates, cinema's factual genre can chill viewers to the bone more effectively than most jump- and bump-based fare. Nominated for Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature at the 2021 Academy Awards (only the second time that's ever happened, after last year's Honeyland), this gripping and gut-wrenching Romanian doco starts with a terrible tragedy. On October 30, 2015, a fire broke out at a metal gig in Bucharest, at a club called Colectiv. Twenty-seven people died in the blaze, and 180 people were injured as they tried to escape via the site's lone exit; however, that's just the beginning of the movie's tale. In the four months afterwards, as burn victims were treated in the country's public hospitals, 37 more passed away. When journalist Cătălin Tolontan and his team at The Sports Gazette started investigating the fire's aftermath and the mounting casualty list, they uncovered not only widespread failures throughout Romania's health system, but also engrained corruption as well. This truly is nightmare fuel; if people can't trust hospitals to act in their patients' best interest after such a sizeable disaster, one of the fundamental tenets of modern society completely collapses. Early in Collective, director, writer, cinematographer and editor Alexander Nanau (Toto and His Sisters) shows the flames, as seen from inside the club. When the blaze sparks from the show's pyrotechnics, hardcore band Goodbye to Gravity has just finished singing about corruption. "Fuck all your wicked corruption! It's been there since our inception but we couldn't see," the group's singer growls — and no, you can't make this up. It's a difficult moment to watch, but this is a film filled with unflinching sights, and with a viscerally unsettling story that demands attention. Nanau occasionally spends time with the bereaved and angry parents of victims of the fire, even bookending the documentary with one man's distress over the "communication error" that contributed to his son's death. The filmmaker charts a photo shoot with Tedy Ursuleanu, a survivor visibly scarred by her ordeal, too. And yet, taking an observational approach free from narration and interviews, and with only the scantest use of text on-screen, Collective's filmmaker lets much of what's said rustle up the majority of the movie's ghastliest inclusions. Collective available to stream via Docplay. Read our full review. NOMADLAND Frances McDormand is a gift of an actor. Point a camera her way, and a performance so rich that it feels not just believable but tangible floats across the screen. That's true whether she's playing overt or understated characters, or balancing those two extremes. In Fargo, the first film that earned her an Oscar, McDormand is distinctive but grounded, spouting midwestern phrases like "you betcha" but inhabiting her part with texture and sincerity. In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, her next Academy Award-winning role, she's an impassioned mother crusading for justice and vengeance, and she ripples with deep-seated sorrow mixed with anger so fiery that it may as well be burning away her insides. Now, in Nomadland, McDormand feels stripped bare and still a commanding force to be reckoned with. She's tasked with a plucky but struggling part — defiant and determined, too; knocked around by life's ups and downs, noticeably; and, crucially, cognisant that valuing the small pleasures is the hardest but most rewarding feat. It'll earned her another shiny Oscar just three years after her last, in fact. Along with the attention the movie received at the Golden Globes as well, this is highly deserved outcome, because hers is an exceptional performance and this was easily 2020's best film. Here, leading a cast that also includes real people experiencing the existence that's fictionalised within the narrative, she plays the widowed, van-dwelling Fern — a woman who takes to the road, and to the nomad life, after the small middle-America spot where she spent her married years turns into a ghost town when the local mine is shuttered due to the global financial crisis. A slab of on-screen text explains her predicament, with the film then jumping into the aftermath. Following her travels over the course of more than a year, this humanist drama serves up an observational portrait of those that society happily overlooks. It's both deeply intimate and almost disarmingly empathetic in the process, as every movie made by Chloe Zhao is. This is only the writer/director's third, slotting in after 2015's Songs My Brothers Taught Me and 2017's The Rider but before 2021's Marvel flick Eternals, but it's a feature of contemplative and authentic insights into the concepts of home, identity and community. Meticulously crafted, shot and performed, it truly sees everyone in its frames, be they fictional or real. Nomandland understands their plights, and ensures its audience understands them as well. It's exquisitely layered, because its protagonist, those around her and their lives earn the same term — and Zhao never forgets that, or lets her viewers either. Nomadland is available to stream via Disney+. Read our full review. FIRESTARTER — THE STORY OF BANGARRA More than three decades since it was first formed, Bangarra Dance Theatre is still going strong. In just the last ten years alone, the Sydney-based organisation has unleashed the beauty and potency of works such as Blak, Patyegarang, Lore, OUR land people stories, Bennelong and Dark Emu across Australia's stages, and repeatedly confronted the nation's colonial history head-on in the process. As an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts outfit, it can't avoid it. It similarly can't ignore the impact that the country's past has had upon Indigenous culture, and the trauma that's rippled across generations as a result. And so, as excellent new documentary Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra tells the company's tale, these struggles are firmly part of the narrative. Co-directors Wayne Blair (The Sapphires, Top End Wedding) and Nel Minchin (Matilda & Me, Making Muriel) know their power. Indeed, the two filmmakers are well aware that they can't step through Bangarra's history without placing the acclaimed dance theatre in its rightful social, political and cultural context. What audiences have seen on stage over the years is stunning, astonishing and important, of course, but all of those exceptional performances haven't ever existed in a vacuum. For those unacquainted with the details of Bangarra's origins, evolution, aims and achievements, Firestarter recounts them, starting with its leap out of the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association and the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre. Actually, it jumps back further, not only stepping through Bangarra's predecessors, but also charting how Stephen, David and Russell Page became its most famous names. Just as it's impossible to examine the dance company's accomplishments and influence without also interrogating and chronicling Australia's history, it's simply unthinkable to do so without focusing as heavily on the Page brothers as Blair and Minchin choose to. Stephen would become Bangarra's artistic director, a role he still holds. David was its music director, while Russell was one of its best dancers — and their path from growing up in Brisbane in the 60s, 70s and 80s to helping shape and guide an Aussie arts powerhouse is a pivotal component of Bangarra's overall journey thus far. If it sounds as if Firestarter has been set a hefty task — doing triple duty as a celebration, a record of Australia's past and a portrait of three siblings with dreams as big as their talents — that's because it has. But this dense and yet also deft documentary is up to the immense feat, and dances through its massive array of material, topics and themes as skilfully as any of Bangarra's performers ever have. Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra is available to stream via ABC iView. Read our full review. WAVES The sight of streaming sunlight, South Florida's scenery and a blissful young couple shouldn't hit like a gut punch, but in Waves, it does. When this magnificently moving film opens, it does so with high-schooler Tyler Williams (Kelvin Harrison Jr) and his girlfriend Alexis Lopez (Alexa Demie). They sing and drive with carefree exuberance — buoyed by both youth and first love — with their happiness not only captured by fluid, enticing camerawork that circles around and around, but mirrored by the use of Animal Collective's upbeat, energetic 'FloriDada' on the soundtrack. Waves continues its sinuous cinematography and alluring tunes as it follows Tyler through a snapshot of his teenage existence, too. Viewers meet his upper middle-class family, who dote on his every word. We witness his prowess on the school wrestling team, where he's a star. We see how infatuated he is with Alexis, and vice versa. But, as intoxicatingly sensory as all of this is — and as expertly calibrated by writer/director Trey Edward Shults to convey exactly how Tyler is feeling — its glow fades quickly when the agonised glimmer in Tyler's eye becomes evident. It's only there when he's alone, looking in the mirror, but it's a picture of heartbreak. As played with a complicated mix of charm, arrogance, sadness, anger and vulnerability by the excellent Harrison, Tyler navigates his seemingly content life with an outward smile, while balancing on a knife's edge. He doesn't completely know it, though, although he can clearly feel the pressure mounting. Forceful in reminding him that African Americans are "not afforded the luxury of being average", his father Ronald (Sterling K Brown) is well-intentioned, but also stern and domineering. He pushes Tyler to be better at every turn and, when they train together for the teen's wrestling matches, even gets competitive. Stepmother Catherine (Hamilton's Renée Elise Goldsberry) is far more gentle; however the focus placed on Tyler compared to his younger sister Emily (Taylor Russell) is always obvious in her household. And so, when an injury threatens to undo his sporting future and his romance with Alexis breaks down, Tyler makes a series of self-sabotaging decisions. One leads to tragedy — and the fact that this isn't a joyful movie becomes devastatingly apparent. Waves is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video and Binge. Read our full review. ASSASSINS On February 13, 2017, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, a man was assassinated in broad daylight. While standing by the self check-in kiosks at around 9am, he was approached from behind by two women. After they each rubbed their hands across his face, he was dead within the hour. For a plethora of reasons, the attack garnered global news headlines. Such a brazen murder, carried out not only in public but also in full view of the Malaysian airport's security cameras, was always going to receive worldwide attention. The use of extremely deadly chemical weapon VX obviously demanded scrutiny — and so did the fact that the victim was Kim Jong-nam, the estranged elder half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. But, despite the onslaught of newsprint, pixels and airtime devoted to the incident when it happened, the full details behind it took time to unfurl. As Assassins explores, those facts are fascinating, gripping and distressing in equal measure. Indeed, if a Hollywood screenwriter had cooked up the story at the centre of Ryan White's (The Keepers) meticulously documentary, they would've been told that it's too far-fetched. Not that the world needs any additional reminders, but real life really is far stranger than fiction here. Across 104 minutes that relay an unmistakably and inescapably wild tale in an edge-of-the-seat yet never sensationalistic fashion, White asks the question that was on everyone's lips four years ago: why? That query has many layers. It starts with wondering why two women in their 20s — one from Indonesia, the other from Vietnam — with no clear political affiliations would kill an exiled North Korean who was once expected to lead his nation. From there, it expands to contemplate why Malaysian law enforcement officers and prosecutors were so content to believe that culprits Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong acted without any involvement from North Korea, and why a number of the latter country's citizens were interviewed, but then released and allowed to return home without facing any legal repercussions. Aisyah and Huong certainly weren't afforded the same treatment. Charged with Kim Jong-nam's murder, they were put through a long trial, and faced the death penalty if convicted. The pair, who didn't know each other beforehand, pled their innocence from the outset. Both women were adamant that they had each been hired to make prank videos for a YouTube show and, as far as they knew, their efforts in Kuala Lumpur were part of their latest production. Assassins is available to stream via Docplay. Read our full review. RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON Featuring a vibrant animated spectacle that heroes vivid green and blue hues, a rousing central figure who is never a stock-standard Disney princess and lively voice work from an all-star cast, Raya and the Last Dragon boasts plenty of highlights. Directed by Don Hall (Big Hero 6) and Carlos López Estrada (Blindspotting), co-directed by Paul Briggs and John Ripa (both Disney art and animation department veterans), and penned by Qui Nguyen (Dispatches From Elsewhere) and Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians), the Mouse House's new all-ages-friendly release also embraces southeast Asian culture with the same warm hug that Moana gave Polynesia and Pixar's Coco sent Mexico's way — and it's always detailed, organic, inclusive and thoughtful, and never tokenistic. But perhaps its biggest strength, other than the pitch-perfect vocal stylings of Awkwafina as the playful, mystical half of the film's title, is its timing. Disney first announced the feature back in August 2019, so the company can't have known what the world would suffer through from early 2020 onwards, of course. But a hopeful movie about a planet ravaged by a destructive plague and blighted by tribalism — and a feature that champions the importance of banding together to make things right, too — really couldn't arrive at a more opportune moment. COVID-19 has no place in Raya and the Last Dragon; however, as the picture's introductory preamble explains, a virus-like wave of critters called the Druun has wreaked havoc. Five hundred years earlier, the world of Kumandra was filled with humans and dragons living together in harmony, until the sinister force hit. Now, only the realm's two-legged inhabitants remain — after their furry friends used their magic to create the dragon gem, which saved everyone except themselves. That's the only status quo that Raya (voiced by Star Wars' Kelly Marie Tran) has ever known. Her entire existence has also been lived out in a divided Kumandra, with different groups staking a claim to various areas. With her father Benja (Daniel Dae Kim, Always Be My Maybe), she hails from the most prosperous region, Heart, and the duo hold out hope that they can reunite the warring lands. Alas, when they bring together their fellow leaders for a peaceful summit, Raya's eagerness to trust Namaari (Gemma Chan, Captain Marvel), the daughter of a rival chief, ends with the Druun on the rampage once again. A movie about believing not just in yourself, but in others, Raya and the Last Dragon doesn't shy away from the reality that putting faith in anyone comes with the chance of peril and pain — especially in fraught times where the world has taken on an every-person-for-themselves mentality and folks are dying (or being turned to stone, which is the Druun's modus operandi). If the narrative hadn't been willing to make this plain again and again, including when it picks up six years later as Raya tries to reverse the devastation caused by Namaari's actions, Raya and the Last Dragon wouldn't feel as genuinely affecting Raya and the Last Dragon is available to stream via Disney+. Read our full review. MAX RICHTER'S SLEEP Since first opening its doors back in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has played host to a wealth of performances, spanning far further in genre than just the art form that gives the venue its name. But it was only during Vivid Live 2016 that the iconic locale serenaded visitors into an evening-long slumber, all as part of Max Richter's live recital of his eight-and-a-half hour work Sleep. Across 31 tracks comprised of 204 movements, the German-born British composer's concept album unfurls music based on the neuroscience of getting some shuteye. In its intonation, the ambitious yet soothing piece favours the range that can be heard in the womb for much of its duration. When performed for an audience, it is played overnight, with beds set up — and doing as the work's title suggests is highly encouraged. Attendees recline, listen and let Richter's blend of strings, synthesisers and soprano vocals lull them into the land of nod. If they'd prefer to stay awake, that's fine as well, but soaking in Sleep's ambient sounds while you're snatching 40 winks is all very much part of the experience. In its live version, Sleep has echoed through spaces in London, Berlin and Paris, too; however, it's the first openair performance in Los Angeles' Grand Park in 2018 that takes pride of place in the documentary Max Richter's Sleep. A filmmaker was always bound to be so fascinated with the concept that they'd turn their lens Richter's way, and that director is Natalie Johns (an Emmy nominee for Annie Lennox: Nostalgia Live in Concert), who endeavours to capture the experience for those who haven't had the pleasure themselves. The resulting film doesn't run for more than eight hours, or anywhere close — but those watching and listening will quickly wish that it did. As a feature, Max Richter's Sleep isn't designed to advertise its namesake. Rather, it documents, explores and tries to understand it. Still, the movie so easily draws viewers into the music, and so deeply, that making its audience want to snooze in public while Richter and his band plays is a guaranteed side effect. Max Richter's Sleep is available to stream via Docplay. Read our full review.
In its first move to get Australians to Europe faster and with fewer stopovers, and vice versa, Qantas launched direct flights from Perth to London. Then came straight-to-Rome routes as well. Next on the agenda are flights from Perth to Paris — which will be perfect for Euro summer getaways, hitting up Europe in general all year round and also for the 2024 Paris Olympics. If you've been watching the Matildas endeavour to quality to play next year's big sporting contest in qualifiers in Perth, this news might feel particularly timely. Even if you don't fall into that category, it's still a welcome development. Sitting on one plane for almost an entire day isn't for everyone; however, if you can handle looking at the same aircraft walls, screens and fellow travellers for 17 hours, that'll be on the agenda to Paris from July next year. Expect to spend three hours less in transit from Perth to Paris as a result, which is three hours more that you get to spend in the City of Light pretending you're in Lupin or Emily in Paris. Expect to fly on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, too. When they start soaring on Friday, July 12, 2024, the flights will run four days a week to begin with, moving to three days per week in mid-August 2024 after peak season. "This route has been on our wish list for a while and we think customers will be as pleased as we are to see it go on sale," said Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson, with tickets available now. "Our direct flights to London and Rome have been hugely popular, and Paris is the next most-requested destination, so we know the demand for this service will be strong as well." "Some of the first customers on these flights will be Australian athletes heading to Paris to compete at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games." Qantas is the only airline doing direct Perth-to-Paris flights, with the new service adding 75,000-plus new seats from Australia to Europe annually. Fares currently start at $1899, as a launch special that's available until Thursday, November 2. Fancy jetting into Paris direct, then coming home from London or Rome — but still non-stop from those cities? The airline is also doing 'circle fares', which operate between the three European places that it flies direct to and from. Of course, if you hail from another part of the country other than Perth, you will have to make your way to the Western Australian capital first. Still, that flight from Perth to Paris won't make a layover — getting you from Down Under to France quicker, plus without switching planes, worrying about connecting legs and navigating other airports. Wondering about the possibility of travelling non-stop to Europe from Australia's east coast, which Qantas has been looking into for years now? The carrier announced that in 2022 that direct Sydney-to-London flights (and direct Sydney-to-New York routes as well) would start in late 2025. Fingers crossed for departure dates from Melbourne and Brisbane as well, and adding a direct leg to Berlin among the non-stop Euro destinations, too. Qantas' new Perth–Paris direct flights will start flying from Friday, July 12, 2024. For more information, or to book tickets, head to the airline's website. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
The only resort on the Whitsundays' Daydream Island is finally set to reopen after being devastated by Cyclone Debbie back in March 2018. Following a $100 million redevelopment, Daydream Island Resort is making its return in serious fashion — with a 200-metre living reef, three restaurants, a poolside bar and an outdoor cinema to boot. The exclusive resort will reopen on April 10 with 277 fully refurbished suites that span ocean, garden and pool views. Those aren't any ordinary ocean views, either, with crystal clear turquoise waters surrounding every corner of this tiny oasis. And the massive, newly landscaped pool wraps throughout the resort's tropical gardens and links to its coral beaches, offering views of the Great Barrier Reef beyond. The resort's living reef has also been revitalised — it's a coral lagoon that spans 200 metres and surrounds the central building, with its 1.5 million litres of water housing over 100 species of fish, coral and invertebrates. Guests can learn from local marine biologists while helping to feed baby stingrays and explore the new underwater observatory that lies four metres below sea level. Daydream Island will also boast three distinct restaurants, all of which feature seasonal and local produce. Fine-dining restaurant Infinity offers panoramic ocean views and a menu of Asian-fusion eats, along with a teppanyaki private dining room. Then there's Inkstone Kitchen and Bar, a modern Australian restaurant using native ingredients. Think crispy skin coral trout sourced from Bowen, served over squid ink linguine, and surrounded by thin slices of smoked crocodile and Australian caviar, too. The third dining option, Graze Interactive Dining, better resembles a greenhouse — it's contained in a lush space with hanging greenery and large glass windows that look out over the Living Reef. The dining room is run as a marketplace, with live cooking stations and a buffet breakfast on offer. There's three bars as well, including the poolside Barefoot Bar that'll serve up gourmet-style bar bites, including burgers, pork ribs and chicken wings, along with fresh smoothies and the requisite island cocktails. An outdoor cinema and gym facilities don't hurt the appeal, either. Those keen to explore the Whitsundays further can book snorkelling, helicopter tours, sailing, jet-skiing and island-hopping experiences through the resort, too. While you're in the region, don't miss the chance to check out the nearby Whitehaven Beach, which is listed as one of the best beaches in the world. Daydream Island Resort will reopen on April 10. Room rates start at $492 per night for a standard room, and bookings are open now. For more to see and do in the region, check out our Outside Guide to the Whitsundays.
What's better than watching a heap of top Australian talent sit around and talk about music? Watching them do all of the above while answering questions, competing for points and just generally being funny, too. That's the concept behind ABC TV show Spicks and Specks, which took a few cues from the UK's Never Mind the Buzzcocks, pit Aussie musos and comedians against each other, and has proven a hit several times over. It was a weekly favourite when it first aired between 2005–2011 — and it will be again in 2021. As fans will know, Spicks and Specks just keeps coming back; however, that has meant different things over the years. When the program was first revived back in 2014, it did so with a new host and team captains, for instance. And when it started to make a return with its original lineup of Adam Hills, Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough, it first did so via a one-off reunion special. That 2018 comeback proved more than a little popular. It became the ABC's most-watched show of that year, in fact. So, the broadcaster then decided to drop four new Spicks and Specks specials across 2019–20, which you've probably been watching your way through over thee past year. When 2021 hits, the Spicks and Specks story will take another turn by bringing back the program in its regular format — and for a full season, too. Just when it'll kick off hasn't been announced, and neither has any of the show's new guests, but you can add playing along from your couch to your plans for next year. https://twitter.com/MyfWarhurst/status/1331444351625433088 In the interim, the program will drop the last of its recent batch of specials on at 7.40pm AEST on Sunday, December 20 — focusing on all the tracks, bangers, one hit wonders and more that released between 2010–2019. Spicks and Specks will return to ABC TV at a yet-to-be-revealed 2021 date, and for a regular full season. The show's 10s Special will air on ABC TV on Sunday, December 20 at 7.40pm — and its Ausmusic Special, 90s Special and 00s Special are all currently available to stream via ABC iView.
"Sitting on a bench in Wicks Park in Marrickville, reading a field report by The Lifted Brow's Sam Cooney, I madly looked around for a caramel door described in the text. There it was! As if the writer had put the doorway there himself! Of course, I knew he hadn't, but it was perfect — the exact kind of dark magic that all good writers and artists and musicians perform when their work seems to lift up walls behind walls behind walls and reveal something new and unexpected with great clarity. This is what digital literature can do and be! It's a revelation — experiential and immersive and immediate." This eerie literary experience, as described by Concrete Playground writer Lauren Carroll Harris, was made possible through the award-winning digital project The Silent History. A science-fiction novel that takes the form of an app, The Silent History tells the tale of a dystopian future where a mysterious epidemic has robbed children of the ability to develop language. From 2011 to 2043, readers watch on as these mute children — dubbed 'silents' — tear families apart, unnerve entire government sectors and generally freak people out. Part sci-fi thriller, part-real-life scavenger hunt, the app has been called "entirely revolutionary" by Wired magazine, while the LA Times declared it "a landmark project that illuminates a possible future for e-book novels." We spoke to its creator, ex-McSweeney's managing editor and publisher Eli Horowitz, in Australia for the Sydney Writers' Festival, about what it means to read an app and what writers are doing differently to entertain a digital audience. The Writer as a Prime Mover "The first thing I wanted was it to be a story that you could explore," says Horowitz, "because I have this thing, which I bet that a lot of people have, when you read a book you love or see a movie you love or whatever, you almost then want to keep on existing in that world. You want to see what's just off the page or off the screen, and keep on exploring and living in it." The tablet platform, with its promise of interactivity and updatability, was a natural fit. An app like The Silent History combines the familiar pleasures of a page-turning narrative with the gaming world's mechanics of exploration and investigation. "Once I had that then the plot needed to be kind of global and sprawling, the kind of essential premise that could play itself out a lot of different ways, so that's why it became kind of like a medical story, an epidemic story almost, that lends itself well to that." But that's just the beginning. Around this main story arc float hundreds of 'field reports', site-specific side narratives that readers can only access when they travel to the physical location where the report is set. These reports can be written by anyone, anywhere — in fact, there are already a bunch tucked away around Australia. And if you're feeling inspired, you are free to pen your own and submit it for approval from The Silent History's US editing team. The Writer as a team player Horowitz, begotten of a librarian and originally a carpenter ("not a very good one"), claims that the whole process featured very little in the way of creative genius and a whole lot of good ol' problem solving. He admits that the communal approach of the project — which is what has brought The Silent History so much attention — wasn't even originally part of the blueprint. "The collaborative aspect was not so much any kind of ideological belief about crowd-sourcing or wikis or whatever but more that I wanted these things to be all over the place and I couldn't put them all over the place," he explains, "The more people we had [writing] the more of a geographic spread we could have." It sounds simple enough. But creative genius or problem solver, Horowitz has been hailed as a literary revolutionary. He and his team, Ying, Horowitz & Quinn LLC, are considered trailblazers in e-storytelling, crafting a digital experience unlike any other. While e-books have been popping up on the App Store since the release of the iPad in 2010, none has received this level of fanfare. The Writer as a Coder "A lot of times [with] these projects, the downfall is that they're essentially a technology project and they find some writing to cram into it or it's essentially a literary project and then at the end they add the technological aspect and it's still kind of unsatisfied or clunky or buggy," says Horowitz, "so having it all work together was really important." For all the praise coming his way, though, the San Franciscan remains humble. During his eight years at Californian publishing house McSweeney's, he operated under the mantra that anything he printed had to "earn the page it's on". He says that he brought this same approach over to the app world, trying to create something that "earns the screen it's on". "I approach this in very much the same way that I would approach a book with McSweeney's or whatever else," he says. "Just to think about how form and content both can affect each other, and to think about the total experience of the project. I don't see this as a move away from print or anything, I see this as just another tool in our toolbox." Eli Horowitz will be appearing at the The Sydney Writer's Festival from May 24 to 26 at the events Reading in the E-Future, Festival Club Friday, The Silent History and Tales From the Editorial Front Line. He'll also pop into the Sydney Apple Store on May 28 as part of Vivid Sydney.
The biggest event on the horticultural calendar is almost upon us. And no, we're not talking about the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show, although that did kick off today. What we're talking about is the second ever ShitGardens Exhibition, a green gathering at the Lulu Café and Gallery in North Melbourne celebrating the most disastrous gardens the world has to offer. Running from Friday, March 31 until Sunday, April 2, the exhibition has been organised by the guys behind the ShitGardens Instagram account. If you're not already familiar with their work, know that they've racked up more than 18,000 followers cataloging the most ill-advised, outrageous and downright shitty landscaping choices to spring forth from the fertile ground. The show will feature some of their best (read: worst) Instagram submissions along with "a selection of original works". There'll also be a pop-up bar, and a menu of "garden-esque" tapas plates to snack on. Best of all, all proceeds from the exhibition will be donated to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. Harrowing hedge creature spotted in the Swedish village of Molle. A post shared by Shit Gardens (@shitgardens) on Mar 22, 2017 at 4:37pm PDT Number four- the clipped form of a hedonist A post shared by Shit Gardens (@shitgardens) on Mar 14, 2017 at 11:32pm PDT Answer me these questions three... A post shared by Shit Gardens (@shitgardens) on Mar 12, 2017 at 4:46pm PDT Happy Valentines Day 😏 A post shared by Shit Gardens (@shitgardens) on Feb 13, 2017 at 7:13pm PST When the garden stares right back at you. A post shared by Shit Gardens (@shitgardens) on Jan 21, 2017 at 12:54pm PST Image via Wikimedia.
He first caught the film world's attention with zom-rom-com Shaun of the Dead, and also toyed with both horror and comedy in Hot Fuzz. But Scott Pilgrim vs the World, The World's End and Baby Driver filmmaker Edgar Wright hasn't ever dived headfirst into mind-bending psychological thriller territory — until his next flick hits cinemas later this year, that is. In Last Night in Soho, no one is set to kill the undead to Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now'. That said, Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit) does play a singer in 60s-era London who appears to be a ghost. In the movie's just-dropped first trailer, her character Sandy pops up when aspiring fashion designer Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie, Jojo Rabbit) manages to venture back in time. Mysteriously travelling six decades into the past, Eloise looks in the mirror and sees Sandy's reflection, rather than her own. In a sneak peek filled with neon hues, things only get trippier from there — and, in a feature that takes plenty of cues from horror and thriller flicks from the time, more lurid as well. Impeccable period-appropriate set and costume design, vibrant pink lighting aplenty and an all-round dreamy feel are also part of the trailer, as Eloise finds herself coming face to face with her idol while plunged into a ghost story. Similarly playing a pivotal part: The Crown and Doctor Who's Matt Smith, who pops up alongside Taylor-Joy in the film's eerie 60s-set scenes. Whether following small-town cops in Hot Fuzz or jumping into the heist genre with Baby Driver — or directing late 90s/early 00s sitcom Spaced, too — Wright's work always stands out visually, and Last Night in Soho clearly promises to continue the trend. It's also the second of two Wright-helmed flicks headed to our screens this year, following documentary The Sparks Brothers, about the pop duo that also happens to be providing the tunes for this year's Adam Driver-starring musical Annette. Check out the trailer for Last Night in Soho below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ppe1YYATQY Last Night in Soho is set to release in Australian cinemas on October 21. Images: Parisa Taghizadeh / Focus Features.
When it comes to kicking back and relaxing, some people swear by a nice warm bath. Others prefer tapping their toes to their favourite tunes, having a boozy beverage or just switching off from their always-vibrating phone. And, for another group, there's nothing that induces bliss better than listening to the one and only Keanu Reeves. Actually, that last category should really apply to everyone. If you're someone who finds the actor behind John Wick, Neo, Johnny Utah and Ted "Theodore" Logan particularly soothing, then you'll want to make a date with HBO's new series A World of Calm. It doesn't yet have a release date but, when it does hit the channel's HBO Max streaming service in the US and hopefully make its way to audiences Down Under as well, it'll give the world exactly what we want: Keanu's voice reading a narrative that has been scientifically-engineered to induce a feeling of tranquility, as paired with music and footage that's also designed to do the same. Ideally he'll say "whoa!" more than once. In HBO's first leap into health and wellness-style content, the ten-episode series is based on the popular Calm sleep, meditation and relaxation app, with the US TV network pairing up with the folks behind the latter. Specifically, the two companies are aiming to bring Calm's Sleep Stories to the screen — which have been called "bedtime stories for grown ups", have notched up more than 250 million listens, and are all about calming and soothing listeners. Keanu will only be doing the honours on one of A World of Calm's half-hour episodes; however the rest of the series definitely doesn't slouch in the star-power stakes. Joining him is a cast that'd do any movie proud, spanning not only Idris Elba, Oscar Isaac, Nicole Kidman, Zoë Kravitz, Lucy Liu and Cillian Murphy, but also two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali. As for what you'll be looking at while your ears soak in the dulcet tones of all of the above A-list stars — who'll basically be guiding you through a televised relaxation session — HBO advises that it'll be serving up "mesmeric imagery". Created with Nutopia, the folks behind National Geographic's One Strange Rock and Disney+'s The World According to Jeff Goldblum, that'll also include visuals from the company's global network of cinematographers and filmmakers. Intrigued? While you're waiting for A World of Calm, you can check out one of the audio-only Calm Sleep Stories — as read by Game of Thrones' Jerome Flynn — below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4x9ssJ0jfM A World of Calm doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you with further details when they come to hand.
Although it's tempting to live in your swim shorts all season, it's not socially acceptable unless you live on the beach. But with warmer days and nights, we don’t blame you for wanting to keep things cool and casual. This summer, there are plenty of modern styles that can be easily added to any wardrobe. We've also got a style guide for women. Here it is over here. Classic For the style-conscious man who knows what he likes: this season, be on the lookout for well-tailored and timeless pieces. Tailored shorts, short-sleeved shirts and anything in beige, white or tan are your signature summer go-to's. But classic doesn't have to mean boring, so don't be afraid to roll up your (pant) cuffs and get a little creative. Blue Suits Have to wear a suit for work? You don't have to stick to your banal black and greys. Nobody wants to be caught sweltering in the sun on their lunch break. Instead, opt for lighter-coloured suites in tans and blues. The spring and summer has seen all fifty shades of cool, from nautical navies to pale pigeons. Wear a crisp white or striped collared shirt underneath, throw on a fedora and voila: instant update. Images: Milan street style by Lee Oliveira Look from Shipley & Halmos’ SS 14 collection shot by Yannis Vlamos for GoRunway.com Suit from Dolce & Gabbana’s SS 14 men’s collection Nautical Stripes Ah, sailor stripes, a pattern that faithfully returns every season. When worn outside of the summer months, you look like a Frenchman. But once the season begins those black/navy and white stripes become the universal flag of leisure time. Whether you own a sailboat, yacht or (k)not, these laidback lines give the appearance that you know your way around a dock. Pair a tee with some Nantucket Red chinos and deck shoes, and you're ready to go. Or, if you're not exactly on holiday, throw one of those equally stylish blue blazers over for a smarter look. Striped shorts are also popping up this season, but please, limit the lines to one piece. You’re going for the seaman look, not inmate. Images: Jumper from J.Crew shot by Yannis Vlamos Jumper from Burberry Prorsum's SS 14 men’s collection Sydney Streetsyle shot by Carolina Falk for Style Creeper Cuffed Hem and No Socks Ok, this look might seem a little trendy, but if you think about it, those Italians have been doing it for years. Envision the mod Roman gentleman, propped up against a wall in a perfectly tailored suit, smoking his cigarette. Yep, his cuffs are rolled. Socks? No way. It's summer, too hot for that. The look is a no-brainer to pull off, and it's definitely not limited to suits or any type of shoe. Keep it casual by rolling up anything you like, from khakis to jeans. (Extra bonus points if you're wearing a striped tee and navy sport coat.) Images from Pinterest. Trendy When it comes to staying with-it, the trendy guy knows what's up. He's probably been rolling his pants and going sockless for years. Mixing prints and and implementing bright colours are standard. There is, however, a sexy simplicity in going monochromatic. Whichever look you prefer, you're not afraid to mix things up. Florals Once restricted to Mediterranean and Polynesian holidays, the floral print is taking spring and summerwear to the next level. Blooms are sprouting up everywhere on shirts, suit detailing, hats, jackets, shoes and, for those brave enough, pants. Think of this as the new 'real men wear pink'. Mixing other small prints such as polka dots or stripes with florals is being popularised by those who are extra adventurous. But if that's literally too bold for you, pair your piece of choice with something basic like a chambray button-up or chino shorts. We swear, you'll feel like every day is Friday. Images: Shirt from Burberry Prorsum’s SS 14 men’s collection Shorts by D’Marge Look from Marcs’ SS14 mens collection Denim on Denim (aka the Canadian Tuxedo) This has been a look sported by our North American friends for a while. Traditionally worn with flannels and work boots, the quintessential lumberjack vibe is a favourite of hipsters. Pair this tux with the three Bs (Beanie, Beard and cheap Beer), and you're pretty for the party. But the Canadian tuxedo is a little too cosy for an Aussie summer. More realistically, you'd ditch the jacket and wear a chambray over jeans or jorts. Beer is still an appreciated accessory. Images: Street style snap by Romeo Style Denim look from Calvin Klein’s SS 13 collection at men’s Fashion Week in New York Sydney street style snap by Carolina Falk for Style Creeper Neon There is nothing new about neon. Everyone has a bright thing or two, but it's probably limited to sports wear. Nike and other companies have been incorporating electric colours into their shoes and clothes for ages. Now, neon has spread outside the gym for men. Making its way onto chinos, shoes, windbreakers and even suits, neon is a huge trend for men this season. We're not expecting the execs of the CBDs to start running around in hot pink suits; rather, the gym junkies, beach bums and trendily bold will enjoy this craze. It's most sensible to limit your exposure to a pair of shorts, tee shirt or light windbreaker. You don't want to go about blinding anyone. Images: Shorts from Ben Sherman Suit from Salvatore Ferragamo’s SS 13/14 collection Milan Vukmirovic at Men’s Fashion Week 2013 in Milan shot by Lee Oliveira Maverick The true maverick isn’t afraid of to go out on a limb. You probably already own a neon suit and are about to buy ones in floral and camo prints after seeing the spring/summer runway photos. You’re also not afraid to steal ideas from the girls. Hey, they adopt men’s looks all the time (hello, blue suits), so why shouldn’t you? Hot items such as studded slipper/loafers and clutches are being revamped on such a masculine level, you'd think they'd been yours all along. The true maverick knows how to own even the craziest trends. The Man Clutch Although a man carrying a bag has been a stigmatic subject in the past, I think we can all agree that the times are a-changin'. In an age where men have increasingly more things to lug around — tech devices, work papers, gym essentials, etc — a guy needs a place to stash his stuff. If you think satchels and messenger bags are overdone, then consider this your new and lighter briefcase. But fear not, for the male clutch is nothing like its female counterpart. Depending on the size, they look more like document holders, tablet covers or big leather/suede pouches than the feminine envelope-styles. Tucked under your arm as you dash about town, an oversized pouch will make you look like man on a mission. Images: Look from Paul Joe’s SS 14 collection shot by Yannis Vlamos for GoRunway.com MBFWA street style by Style Creeper Parisian street style shot by Lee Oliveira Camouflage Suits Camouflage print was one of the biggest trends for men this past European summer. Popping up on clothes, shoes and accessories (clutch included), the print is best limited to one item per outfit. However, with the monochrome/print sensation taking off for both women and men this season, it's only natural that camo pieces have grown together to create the ultimate organic ensemble. And this G.I. Joe-inspired look is a very real thing. Directly interpreted from the New York runways by the likes of American designer Mark McNairy (who is infamous for his crazy combos), the camo combination has been seen on carpets both concrete and red. Lucky for you, it's been modified for warmer weather with shorts options. So if you're feeling like a real rebel, feel free to try out this oxymoron of army-inspired fashion. Images: Camo street style by The Sartorialist Look from Mark McNairy’s SS 14 collection shot by Yannis Vlamos Singer Pharrell Williams in a Moncler Bleu Camo Tux at the 60th Art Basel Miami Party by Getty Images Studded Loafers Leave it to the rappers and basketball players to take a female trend and make it rock star-worthy. Stars like Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Dwyane Wade have been seen sporting spiked slippers at fashion shows and NBA finals. Somehow the trend has made it all the way down here, with sightings of the studded loafers at this year's MBFWA and on the streets of Melbourne. It's a bold look, since these kicks quite literally have an edge to them. They take any outfit, from a tux to a tee and jeans, to the next level. Images from Pinterest
Instead of glumly clicking through your friends’ Facebook photos of their amazing holidays as you sit at home (that they clearly put up just to make you feel bad), plan your own dream holiday, old-school style. The YOUniverse do-it-yourself kits allow you to customise your own vintage globe with different travel routes, photos, banners and travel stickers. All you need is a little old-fashioned imagination and you can plan journeys that defy logic and financial restraints. Make it your resolution to tick one off the list by 2013.
The Dialug, a 2011 iF concept design entry, is a beautifully designed plug and socket that has an integrated timer so that it knows when to turn itself off, meaning you no longer need to wonder whether or not you've unplugged all necessary electronic devices as your bus trundles into work. After all, no one wants to come home to a blown fuse or fire because they left their hair straightener plugged in and on their bed. From designers DanBee Lee, JangSoo Kim, KyoYeon Kim and WooRi Kim, the Dialug not only saves power but also charges your devices for the right amount of time, which is handy because overcharging damages the life span of lithium charged electronic devices. [via Technobob]
We get it. Everyone loves an espresso 'tini. Melbourne's got a bar that even does them on tap — and Sydney has a whole venue dedicated to that God-sent concoction of chilled coffee and vodka. After Melbourne nabbed the country's very first espresso martini festival last year, Sydney's getting in on the action with its own dedicated event in The Rocks this May. Sleep, who needs it? The festival, to be held in the Overseas Passenger Terminal on May 26 and 27, is being gifted to our espresso-loving, cocktail-filled city by the caffeinated folks at Mr Black, a NSW-based cold-pressed (and damn fine) coffee liqueur. In short, they know how to capitalise on our weaknesses and we're not even mad about it. The affair will involve some of Australia's best coffee suppliers, cafes and bars, and will come together to create a beautiful array of alcoholic caffeinated beverages. As with any festival of this kind, there will be plenty of optional food and drink from Mary's, Loving Earth Chocolate, Young Henrys and Byron Bay Cookie Co. The festival will run during the first weekend of Vivid Sydney, so you can pair your Darling Harbour light-chasing with a 'tini or two. Tickets will set you back $30 (plus booking fee) a pop, with the first 200 tickets sold including a complimentary espresso martini. Can't argue with that. Image: Nikki To.
Director Leticia Cáceras writes that when Belvoir approached her to direct a version of August Strindberg's Miss Julie, she was in two minds: "As a director I was thrilled, as a feminist I was not so sure." Strindberg, often credited as the father of naturalism, had a misogynistic bent to his plays, and his Miss Julie, for all its good qualities, does seem to punish its main character for daring to being sexual. Not so in the hands of Cáceras and writer Simon Stone, and their changes in this regard are a blessed relief. Too often we see classics contemporised in setting, costume or language but are supposed to accept their weird plot points about a woman's purity untouched. If only the approach here was the standard. That said, 'Miss Julie' (Taylor Ferguson), does not escape lightly; she is subject to the many pressures our society puts on women. As the 16-year-old daughter (revised down from 25) of a prominent politician, every sext, flirt and short skirt is under scrutiny. But she also thinks she's found a new power: to make her father's security guard, Jean (Brendan Cowell), stare at her rather intensely. This circumstance shoots through the first act of the play, a mansion-set domestic drama in which the ingenue and employee spar, converse, eat a pizza and then, awkwardly, kiss. In the second act, their relationship gets rather more destructive. The enduring appeal of this play is that as well as being rich with sexual tension, it's a potent exploration of how class, gender and generation shape people and their interactions with others. Jean, a 30-something former sommelier, harbours admiration for the elite classes he works for. Julie, meanwhile, fetishises a more 'authentic' life with room to err and fail and be in danger. In drawing their ages even further apart, Stone is pushing the boundaries of our comfort, and it's a welcome addition. The power exercised between the pair is complex, but we're never in doubt about who is responsible. Perhaps this Miss Julie doesn't quite live up to its promise. It was exciting to see what would happen when Stone (Thyestes, Death of a Salesman), one of the most talked-about theatre makers of the moment and known for developing his works in the rehearsal room, wrote a traditional, printed-on-paper script and handed it over to Cáceras, whose chilling The Dark Room was one of the standouts of 2012. Their finished piece is spirited, smart and involving — it's well written and well directed — but it doesn't make a searing impression. Props must go to the formidable lead actors, who are not only convincing but seem to have a rare level of comfort in their roles. Blazey Best, as Julie's housekeeper and Jean's fiance, Christine, also stuns in her limited time on stage. With the high-contrast sound design of The Sweats (Pete Goodwin) rising, the final, tragic tableau is a poignant sight.
J-horror devotees, rejoice: Australia's Japanese Film Festival is back for 2023, and it boasts a couple of highlights for lovers of scary cinema. If you're a fan of Japan's contribution to frightening flicks, then The Forbidden Play is your first must-see. Behind the lens is Hideo Nakata, the director of 1998's iconic Ringu, aka the movie that helped spark a global obsession (and the American spinoffs, too). This time, the filmmaker tells of a son wanting to bring his mother back to life, so much so that he keeps chanting a resurrection spell that awakens something evil. This year's JFF isn't just about unsettling titles, but it does also feature Immersion, which hails from Ju-On: The Grudge director Takashi Shimizu (who also helmed the first US remake starring Sarah Michelle Gellar). In his latest effort, he's playing with grudges again, as well as traditional Japanese superstitions, virtual reality and a secluded island — which is never a good setting for a horror film. That's the unnerving contingent for JFF 2023, which is focusing on films that explore connections between the past and the present when it tours the country across spring. Of course, it will also serve another function: letting audiences head to Japan from their cinema seats. Everyone has a favourite place in the world to visit. If you love travelling vicariously through movies when you can't do the real thing — in-between trips, or when your budget or just life in general doesn't have room for big holidays — then you likely have a favourite country-focused cinema event as well. JFF is one such event, surveying the latest and greatest in the nation's filmography. 2023 marks its 27th year, in fact, complete with a packed program. Among the delightful aspects of this film festival is its two-pronged approach in most cities, giving both recent and retrospective titles their own time to shine. One part of the event heroes latest releases, the other goes big on classics, and each has their own run of dates. You'll find that setup in Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney from September–November, with Perth the only location solely focusing on new movies. Officially opening the fest for 2023: We're Broke, My Lord!, a character-driven story about an unexpected inheritance from director Tetsu Maeda (And So the Baton Is Passed). From there, audiences can also look forward to the aforementioned to J-horror pictures; the animated Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom; Citizen Kitano's tribute to actor, comedian and filmmaker Takeshi Kitano (Outrage Coda); and Yokaipedia, which is about three boys on a monster-filled quest. Fellow standouts include Yudo: The Way of the Bath, a comedy about bathhouse rituals; romance We Made a Beautiful Bouquet; Natchan's Little Secret, where three drag queens head to a funeral; and Single8, with director Kazuya Konaka's paying tribute to filmmaking before the digital era. And, in the special series — aka the fest's retrospective thread — post-war Japanese cinema figure Kо̄ Nakahira is in the spotlight. JFF will screen 1956's Juvenile Jungle and Milkman Frankie, 1957's Temptation, 1962's Danger's Where The Money Is!, and 1963's Mud Spattered Purity, as well as Flora on the Sand, Only on Mondays and The Hunter's Diary from 1964, plus 1965's The Black Gambler. JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL 2023 DATES: Canberra: Special series: Saturday, September 30–Monday, October 2 at NFSA Latest releases: Wednesday, October 11–Sunday, October 15 at Palace Electric Perth: Latest releases: Monday, October 16–Sunday, October 22 at Palace Raine Square Brisbane: Special series: Friday, October 6–Sunday, October 8 and Wednesday, October 11 at QAGOMA Latest releases: Wednesday, October 18–Sunday, October 22 at Palace Barracks Melbourne: Latest releases: Monday, October 23–Sunday, October 29 at The Kino and Palace Balwyn Special series: Thursday, November 2–Sunday, November 5 at ACMI Sydney: Special series: Monday, October 23–Wednesday, October 25 at The Chauvel Latest releases: Thursday, October 26–Tuesday, October 31 at Palace Central, Palace Norton Street and Palace Verona The 2023 Japanese Film Festival tours Australia from September–November. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the festival website. Top images: ©2023 The Forbidden Play Film Partners, © 2023 IMMERSION Production Committee.
Storyteller, photographer and Sydney arts scene mainstay William Yang remembers that, at the age of six, he was made to feel that "being Chinese was a terrible curse". Many times over he's turned these painful memories — as well as joyful and often tantalisingly debauched ones — into "warm, humorous and very honest" performances. Now he directs a group of six Asian Australians to tell their own stories, which they have developed together with writer and media personality Annette Shun Wah and composer Nicholas Ng. Using words and images from personal collections, Stories Then and Now drifts from a fishing boat journey to a decadent cruise and from labour farm to Shanghai burlesque club. The past and present overlap in the intoxicating stories, woven on stage by Ien Ang, Jenevieve Chang, Michael CS Park, Sheila Pham, Paul van Reyk and Willa Zheng. How does an individual reconcile a traumatic past to inhabit the present? How do we, as a nation, come to terms with the collective memory of our history of institutionalised racism? What is life really like for immigrants and refugees attempting to establish themselves in Australian society? It all starts to come out as these individuals navigate memories of heartbreak, cultural displacement and the destruction of war. Stories Then and Now plays from May 22-25 under the umbrella of the Sydney Writers' Festival. Thanks to Carriageworks, we have two double passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to Concrete Playground (if you haven't already) then email us with your name and postal address at hello@concreteplayground.com.au.
The days are longer. The nights are getting balmy. Yep, that's right — we are in the depths of Aperol season. And we don't doubt that you've seen Sydney's pubs and bars flooded with rounds of that most summery of drinks: the Aperol Spritz. That's why we thought it appropriate to create a list of some of our favourite places to go for a sunset spritz this season in partnership with Aperol. First and foremost, these places all make a good Aperol Spritz — that's essential. But, beyond that, each spot offers a great way to experience sunset in Sydney — whether you're soaking it up from high up on a rooftop bar or enjoying it down by the water. THE NEWPORT, NEWPORT Few waterside drinking spots compare to The Newport. This huge waterside venue has been landscaped to the nines, with each outdoor drinking and dining area given its own unique style. It's perfect for group hangs with your mates and family nights out — and it's also very dog-friendly. So, there's no leaving your four-legged friend at home for the night while you're out sipping on spritzes, eating pizza and watching the sunset by the water. Dreamy. KASBAH, DARLINGHURST This is one of the newest additions to Sydney's rooftop bar scene, having opened just before summer 2023. And it's quickly shot up to be one of our favourites. From the top of the newly renovated The Strand, you feel as if you're sitting along the Mediterranean within the city's skyline as the sun sets over the surrounding apartments and office towers. DJs and live entertainment are also up on this sun-soaked rooftop on Fridays and Saturdays until midnight and on Sundays until 10pm, so you won't have any issues stretching out your evening up here as you lounge on the comfy sofas and sip on spritzes. THE COURTHOUSE, NEWTOWN The Courty is a Newtown favourite for so many reasons. The large and welcoming pub has a bunch of different rooms for drinking and playing weekly trivia — but the massive beer garden is arguably the greatest drawcard of this Australia Street institution. Wrapping around almost the whole pub, the expansive outdoor space is a super laidback spot where many an afternoon has stretched out to nighttime. There's also a heap of coverage, too, so if the weather takes a turn, you won't have to make a dash for the nearest exit. BONDI PAV, BONDI If an Aperol Spritz is what you're after this summer, then you'd be a fool to miss out on a visit to the revamped Bondi Pavilion. The ocean-facing promenade of the legendary beach has been transformed into the new Sydney HQ for all things spritz. Several hospitality venues line the walls of the Pav for any hungry passerby. During daylight hours, you can grab a meal at Glory Days (and Surfish cafe, which is due to open soon), and after-dark diners can get their fix at Promenade Bondi Beach or Upstairs by Glory Days a few floors above. [caption id="attachment_840752" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption] BACKYARD AT THE ALEX, ALEXANDRIA This Alexandria watering hole has been given a total makeover by the Merivale team, who've made this a proper drinking and dining destination. But despite the dress-up, the bones of this historic pub remain the same, helping The Alex maintain the feel of an old-school boozer. And what they've done with the beer garden is masterful. There's an outdoor bar in an old shipping container, stacks of large communal tables, a basketball court for anyone wanting to shoot some hoops and an ever-changing selection of food trucks that rocks up each night. Perfect, in other words, for an afternoon sesh with mates. MANLY GREENHOUSE, MANLY Head right from the beach to the verdant sun-filled rooftop at Manly Greenhouse to get some epic sunset views. (Well, maybe wash off the sand and throw a top on first. We aren't savages.) Once you make yourself decent, grab a spritz from the central bar and enjoy uninterrupted views of Manly Beach while DJs set the mood. Don't skip the food while you're up here, either — share a plate of fresh ceviche and a round of freshly shucked oysters or get around a proper serve of fish and chips. You can even go down a level to the wine room for a slightly more sophisticated sunset viewing. For more ways to elevate your summer with Aperol, head to the website.
UPDATE: MAY 15, 2018 — Because you can't really enjoy a cheese board without a glass of time, The Cheese Riot has this week launched a series of cheese and wine hampers. They range from $119–159, feature some top Australian wines, and can be ordered here. Australian farmers put out some seriously delicious cheese, but, if you live in the city, the best stuff isn't necessarily easy to find. Most are made on country farms, several hours' drive away, and don't often make it to major supermarkets. The good news is that a cheese lover by the name of Anna Perejma wants to change all that. She's the founder of The Cheese Riot, a brand new service brings boutique Aussie cheeses to your doorstep. The Cheese Riot is the result of Perejma travels around the country, sampling all the cheese she could get her hands on. Picking the tastiest and boldest varieties, she's now connecting directly with the cheesemakers and producers where possible, then popping their wares into boxes and sending them to subscribers all over Australia. As well as 600 - 800 grams of cheese per box, each shipment also includes a changing range of Aussie-made accompaniments, such as chutney, pastes, honey and matching teas. Two subscription options are available: the Give Me Cheese box for $89, and the Give Me Premium Cheese box for $129, which features harder-to-find cheeses or special batches. They're sent to most places in Australia, with Sydney metro residents receiving same-day delivery "It's like the Dollar Shave Club, but for cheese," explains Perejma. "Every month, you'll get a selection of cheeses delivered to your house, most made by small producers who live in the middle of nowhere. The idea is to unlock products people want but can't get." It's a venture driven by Perejma's love of Australian wares, and her eagerness to share our delicious dairy products. "Our products are just as good as anything you'll find internationally, but don't get enough recognition." And before you start wondering about Perejma's credentials, her resume includes events officer at the Australian Specialist Cheesemakers' Association — yes, the ASCA really exists — where she recently organised the & Cheese event series that included a Young Henrys beer and cheese pairing and a Four Pillars gin cocktails and cheese pairing at Moya's Juniper Lounge. We're pretty confident you can trust her palate. In addition, Perejma wants to "take the wank out of cheese" and encourage a sense of community around sharing it. "You can enjoy cheese any way you like, be that on your own with Netflix and a glass of wine or with a bunch of friends at a picnic in the park." The Cheese Riot will also be hosting artisan cheese appreciation classes in Sydney, through AirBnb Experiences. For more information about The Cheese Riot, visit their website. By Jasmine Crittenden and Sarah Ward.
After years of performing complex procedures, Dutch surgeon Lex Van Stekelenburg was suffering from enough neck, shoulder and back pain to compete with Quasimodo. But rather than retire to a bell-tower, Stekelenburg decided to take to cycling. The only problem is that, over a long period, conventional bicycles tend to exacerbate upper body problems, rather than alleviate them. Figuring out that it's natural to want to move our arms in harmony with our legs, Stekelenburg decided to design a bicycle that mobilises all four of our limbs. A patented mechanism on the handle bar enables both pedalling and steering, placing the rider in the position that a quadruped might adopt. Our shoulders and pelvis are better aligned, plus we gain speed and strength from increased power. The 4 Strike Bike requires the use of 78 muscle groups, as opposed to the 50 set in motion by a regular two-wheeler. Stekelenburg, who has spent five years experimenting with various prototypes, is convinced of the efficacy of his final model. He says it's 'healthier for heart, better for aerating the lungs and prevents undercooling of the upper body in rain and cold. You'll have more fun on this revolutionary new bike.' [Via Inhabitat]
The Vic is always a great place to spend a public holiday, this Australia Day in particular for all those Dappled Cities lovers out there. With Big White and Flowertruck rounding out the lineup, it's a day of free live music conducive to a long, boozy hang with your mates — the party's on from 10am till 1am. Expect a tonne of tinnies, a special sponsored drink and bar on the day (TBA) and, of course, the Triple J Hottest 100 playing all day. (This is a family-friendly event, so please don't hesitate to get your kids educated early on in the way of incredible indie live music.)
With a debut album described as a “modern classic” by the NME and "a giant cohesive dance party with songs crafted for hand-clapping and feet-stomping" by others behind them, East-London psychedelic quartet Django Django are coming to Australia for the first time. The three-date, two-venue tour will see the quirky foursome joined by Dublin math-rockers the Cast of Cheers as they pump out their left-field sound with plenty of synthy goodness and twee pop, all wrapped up in positive vibes and low-budget, artistic visual effects. Django Django's sound is startlingly electric — a stripped-down, spaced-out myriad of muses and stellar experimentation. With an album released on the 23rd of this month entitled Family, support the Cast of Cheers from Ireland have become a favourite among fans and critics since their formation and look set to rise at a blistering pace.
Following yesterday's indefinite, effective ban on all international travel, in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19 across Australia, Qantas and Jetstar have announced they will suspend all scheduled international flights from late March until the end of May 2020. As a result, the airlines will temporarily step down two-thirds of their 30,000-person staff until at least the end of May. In a statement, the Qantas Group says the decision was made "in order to preserve as many jobs as possible longer term". Employees will be able to draw on "annual and long service leave" and additional support will be introduced, including leave at half pay and early access to long service leave. Qantas says it is also talking to Woolworths about temporary jobs for its stood-down staff. The decision comes after Qantas and Jetstar earlier this week announced they'd be cutting back international flights by 90 percent and domestic flights by 60 percent. For now, domestic flights will continue running at a 40 percent capacity, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying "domestic air travel is low risk". We could see domestic flights cut further in the near future, however, with Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein this morning announcing that from midnight this Friday, March 20 only essential travellers will be allowed into Tasmania without quarantine. Non-essential travellers, including Tasmanian residents returning to the island from mainland Australia, will be required to self-isolate for 14 days. Essential travellers include health care workers, emergency workers, defence personnel and air and ship crew. These measures are similar to those currently in place for international travellers arriving into Australia, which mandates compulsory 14-day isolation periods for everyone arriving from overseas. Virgin Australia will also suspend all international flights from March 30, and will cut domestic flights by 50 percent, too. For further details about Qantas and Jetstar's plans, visit the company's website. For more information about Virgin Australia's reductions, visit its website. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
In a surprising move that contradicts their usually pricey products, German sporting giant Adidas are set to launch a US$1 shoe under their subsidiary brand, Reebok. A similar project was undertaken by Adidas in 2010 in Bangladesh, but was abandoned after an initial run of 5000 pairs. This was due to production and import costs of US$6.50 exceeding the shoe's low price point. Adidas has now looked to neighbouring India as its new major growth market. With its booming population and high levels of poverty, the nation is an ideal market for durable and affordable clothing. Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer said that Adidas' surprisingly high sales have allowed them to undertake this venture. Furthermore, he told German newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag that "the shoe will be sold in villages through a distribution network... We want the product to be self-funding." Standing at US$1, or 52 rupees, this is a hard offer to turn down. [Via PSFK]
When the Queensland Government reported a new community case of COVID-19 in Brisbane last week, other Australian states were quick to change their health advice and border requirements. Now that the Greater Brisbane region is heading into a new three-day lockdown from today, Monday, March 29 — and now that the area has seven local cases — authorities across the rest of the country are responding again. Brisbanites (which includes residents of the Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redlands and Logan local government areas) can't travel anywhere until at least 5pm AEST on Thursday, April 1. But, if you were thinking of heading elsewhere after that — presuming that lockdown ends when it's slated to — you might need to change your plans. If you're located in another part of Australia and you'll soon be travelling to the Sunshine State, you might need to adjust as well — or prepare to quarantine upon your return. https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1376416282526949383 New South Wales hasn't changed its border rules, but it does have testing and quarantine requirements for anyone who visited specified Byron Bay venues over the weekend — as they were also attended by two of Queensland's new COVID-19 cases. NSW also requires anyone who has been in Greater Brisbane since Saturday, March 20 but returned south to comply with Brisbane's lockdown conditions for the next three days. In terms of travel, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian advises that the state's residents don't go north. "We are not shutting down our border. We recommend people who were considering going to Greater Brisbane: change your plans. And, also consider changing your plans if you were travelling anywhere in Queensland, because we understand there have been some cases or potential cases outside of Greater Brisbane and throughout broader Queensland," the Premier said. In Victoria, under its traffic light system, Greater Brisbane has been declared a red zone. That change will come into effect at 6pm AEDT today, Monday, March 29. Accordingly, non-Victorian residents will not be allowed to enter Victoria without an exception, specified worker permit, transit permit, freight worker permit or exemption. Victorian residents who are currently in or have been in a red zone can apply for a red zone permit to make their way back home, but you'll then have to self-quarantine for 14 days from the day you return. https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1376391478109343745 Over in Western Australia, the state is putting its hard border back in place with the entirety of Queensland, effective 12.01am on Tuesday, March 30. The state will be designated a medium risk zone under WA's categorisation system, which means travel from Queensland will no longer be allowed if you've been in Queensland since Saturday, March 27 — unless you're deemed an exempt traveller (which applies to a very small list), then self-quarantine for 14 days and submit to testing multiple times. South Australia is implementing a hard border, too, but just with Greater Brisbane. Effective 4pm SA time today, Monday, March 29, only South Australians, essential workers or people genuinely relocating are allowed to enter the state from Greater Brisbane, and they'll need to quarantine for 14 days and get tested. The ACT has declared Greater Brisbane a hotspot, effective 6pm AEDT today, Monday, March 29. For non-ACT residents wishing to travel down from Brisbane, you'll now need an approved exemption from ACT Health. For residents coming back from Brisbane, you'll need to complete an online declaration form before leaving, and then quarantine for 14 days and get tested once you return. Tasmania won't allow entry from folks who've been to the Greater Brisbane area within 14 days of their arrival, except for people deemed essential travellers — and then you'll need to quarantine for 14 days. The Northern Territory now requires testing and quarantining under a number of circumstances, including anyone who has been in Brisbane or Moreton Bay since Saturday, March 20 (and from Friday, March 12 if you have any COVID-19 symptoms). If you've been in Ipswich, Logan, Redland City or Gladstone since Thursday, March 25 — or Toowoomba since Friday, March 26, or Byron Bay since Saturday, March 27 — the same applies. And, you'll need to quarantine until you receive a negative result. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
Opera on a regular stage is one thing, but opera performed on a floating openair theatre atop Sydney Harbour, under the stars? Well, that's some unforgettable stuff. Especially when it's Giuseppe Verdi's famed classic La Traviata that's being given the overwater treatment. The glamorous three-act show is the latest production announced as part of Opera Australia's Handa Opera series, set to return to this unique stage in March and April 2020. Handa Opera has pulled over 400,000 guests since debuting with La Traviata back in 2012, its mix of drinking and dining options, breathtaking views and nightly fireworks making it one of Sydney's must-try cultural offerings. It's also considered one of the world's best openair opera venues. [caption id="attachment_714402" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Handa Opera's 'West Side Story' by Prudence Upton[/caption] The upcoming season will see director Constantine Costi heading up a bold new production of La Traviata based on celebrated director Francesca Zambello's original. It tells the famously heartbreaking tale of a free-spirited Parisian courtesan and her tragic love affair with a nobleman. Expect to be wowed by a glittering nine-metre-high chandelier decked out with 10,000 crystals on stage, while world-class performers deliver soaring renditions of legendary tunes like 'Sempre Libera' and 'Brindisi'. Carmen, Aida and La Bohème are just some of the hits to grace the Handa Opera stage in recent years, with 2019's production of West Side Story selling a huge 62,000 tickets. La Traviata on Handa Opera will run from Friday, March 27 to Sunday, April 26. Tickets are on sale from the Opera Australia Box Office from Tuesday, July 16. Handa Opera's 2012 'La Traviata' by Lightbox Photography
The largest-ever showcase of living Australian artists will casually drop by Ballarat this spring, with the inaugural Biennale of Australian Art (BOAA) in town from September 21 until November 6. It's big news for the small city, with the six-week event set to be a major drawcard for the Central Highlands region of Victoria. There'll be 150 artists coming from all reaches of Australia, making up 65 curated solo exhibitions, as the Biennale aims to have equal representation of artists from every state and territory. Taking place in over 14 different venues across Ballarat, its art points will certainly be amped up several notches by the array of visual arts and live music set to take over the town. With the event boasting a strong focus on Indigenous talent, art from the Numina sisters, Abdul Abdullah, Kim Anderson, David Jensz and Peggy Griffiths will be on display, among work from over a hundred others. Music-wise, the BOAA Band Wagon will be doing the rounds: a specially built music truck that'll provide the sound staging for the event's outdoor gigs at Lake Wendouree and St Andrews Grounds, as well as concerts held at Ballarat's other music venues. In special events, there'll be a living sculpture fashion parade, an evening program called BOAA Dark and a lake sculpture walk, which turns Lake Wendouree into an outdoor gallery featuring 26 sculptures. Free mini buses, bikes and rickshaws will transport attendees around the art path, pausing at pit stops providing food and local beers and wines for your hungry, thirsty and very well-arted selves. With the Biennale expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors, Ballarat looks set to be a pretty busy little place over the six weeks. Two-day or six-week (festival) passes are available at $25 and $100 respectively, so start planning your road trips. The Biennale of Australian Art runs from September 21 until November 6 in Ballarat. For more information, visit the BOAA website.
Yoko Luscher-Mostert and Andries Mostert of Brave New Wine are taking over Love, Tilly Devine on Tuesday, November 8. Experience wine like never before as the husband-and-wife winemaker duo presents a list of colourful, naturally-fermented offerings. Known for sourcing sustainably grown grapes, the Mosterts have curated a unique selection of bottles that are dressed in artworks by Yoko herself. A total of eleven of their new wines will be offered at the event, including four different pét-nats, chardonnays and juicy reds. On top of the booze, guests can also opt for Tilly's $65 shared menu – that way, you won't leave with empty stomachs. Walk-ins are welcome, but you can make a booking ahead of time on Love, Tilly Devine's website. [caption id="attachment_876546" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bruno Stefani[/caption] Top images: Bruno Stefani
The merits of her ethics and her music are subjective, but the amount of power Amanda Palmer wields in the music industry is conclusive. Even those who found it most difficult to stomach her Kickstarter campaign would probably have little trouble swallowing her claims about the current state of the music business and the appropriateness of asking fans for financial aid, which she recently compiled into one persuasive TED talk titled 'The Art of Asking'. But Amanda Palmer isn't the only industry luminary with a penchant for both lyrics and discourse. Here are nine other thought-provoking, though slightly less controversial, TED talks by famous musicians. 1. AMANDA PALMER: THE ART OF ASKING Start googling 'Amanda Palmer Kickstarter' and it's not long before you're prompted to search 'Amanda Palmer Kickstarter shitstorm'. When the musician took to crowdsourcing last year to raise money for her solo album, people wasted no time in branding her as selfish. 'The Art of Asking' is Palmer's side of the story and raises some interesting points about the difference between 'asking' and 'making' fans pay for music. Palmer is master of the anecdote, and one of the most memorable here is the guy who gave her $10 after a show because he had burned her CD off a friend. 2. DAVID BYRNE: HOW ARCHITECTURE HELPED MUSIC EVOLVE Artists have always had a grand old time of blaming sound systems for poor performance, but the irrepressible David Byrne puts forth quite a different argument for the venue shaping the music. For examples he turns to everything from bird calls and African drumming to Mozart and iconic New York punk venue CBGB — even tying in voting — and by the end of it you're convinced that we make nearly everything with a specific venue or context in mind. 3. BENJAMIN ZANDER: THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF CLASSICAL MUSIC In a TED talk that could equally be called 'The Transformative Power of Benjamin Zander', the magnetic conductor attempts to make every listener realise his or her untapped love for classical music. And after 20 minutes of interesting facts interspersed with heart-melting anecdotes and piano playing that you just don't want to stop, you're pretty sure he's succeeded. 4. ITAY TALGAM: LEAD LIKE THE GREAT CONDUCTORS Conductor of both music and business Itay Talgam leads a talk on how to create harmony without saying a word. He explores the unique styles of six 20th-century conductors and shows what we can learn from each, and in doing so makes some compelling points about control: how to retain it, when to loosen it and how not to lose it. 5. TOD MACHOVER AND DAN ELLSEY PLAY NEW MUSIC Tod Machover of MIT's Media Lab often incorporates new technologies into his works as part of his commitment to bringing musical expression to everyone. Here he presents a talk with Dan Ellsey, a composer with cerebral palsy, to demonstrate how a piece of software called Hyperscore allows people to write music by humming or wielding a mouse. It's a beautiful testimony to music's powers of healing and communication and also features some epic Guitar Hero battles. 6. ANNIE LENNOX: WHY I AM AN HIV/AIDS ACTIVIST Annie Lennox is the founder of SING, a voice for women and children living with AIDS/HIV that raises money to prevent the spread of the disease and support those currently living with it. In this TED talk she shares some of the experiences that inspired her to raise awareness of the AIDs/HIV crisis and explains the meaning behind the 'HIV Positive' T-shirt that sent the rumour mill spinning when she wore it on American Idol three years ago. 7. EMMANUEL JAL: THE MUSIC OF A WAR CHILD "When the rest of the children were learning how to read and write / I was learning how fight". Here Emmanuel Jal reveals the incredible story about his journey from child soldier in the Sudan to world recognised hip hop star and humanitarian. He bounces between speech and lyrics in broadcasting his message about the power, both spiritual and intellectual, of music. 8. ROBERT GUPTA: MUSIC IS MEDICINE, MUSIC IS SANITY Robert Gupta had just completed his undergrate and was studying Parkinson's disease at Harvard when he came to a crossroads at his life, caught between choosing to continue studying neuroscience or to pursue his other love — the violin. He chose the violin, but when a violinist friends suffering from schizophrenia ended up living on the street, he found musical therapy can be a powerful medical instrument itself. 9. EVELYN GLENNIE: HOW TO TRULY LISTEN In this illustration of how listening to music involves more than letting sound waves hit your eardrums, award-winning deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie makes the argument that listening to music is about being aware of how your whole body takes in and reacts to sound. A decade after this talk was filmed, in the light of Spotify, Rdio, SoundCloud and iTunes, her points about the difference between hearing and listening are more relevant than ever. 10. ADAM SADOWSKY ENGINEERS A VIRAL MUSIC VIDEO The reason Adam Sadowsky doesn't look like a member of an alternative rock band is because he isn't, but he is the guy behind the amazing video for OK Go's 2010 single 'This Too Shall Pass', which has been watched almost 40 million times on YouTube. The video is 3 minutes and 54 seconds of Rube Goldberg machine action, painstakingly constructed by smashing two pianos and four televisions and making over 100 trips to Home Depot. There are no magic tricks involved, but the physics will blow your mind.
So, you've binged on The Jinx and Making a Murderer, and now you need another outlet for your factual film and television fix. Well, we predict you're about to get excited about the newest addition to Australia's film festival circuit: Hot Docs. Hot Docs isn't just your small-scale local documentary festival. Screening more than 200 films, it's North America’s largest doco-focused showcase, and has been running for 23 years. Given that it's also known as the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it is limited to the borders of the nation in its name; however, when it makes the leap to Australia in June this year, that'll no longer be the case. Thanks to the folks at Palace Cinemas — including the artistic director of the Australian offshoot, Richard Moore — this brand new doco onslaught will be shown on Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra screens this June and July. Indeed, Palace just keeps building their annual calendar of events, with this revelation following the announcement of a new festival dedicated to American independent cinema, which will kick off in May. The move is certainly timely, and is just the latest link between the festival's main Toronto base and our sunny shores. This year, the Canadian run has selected Australia as its special country of focus. And for its Aussie debut, it will screen a curated selection of festival hits and audience favourites, spanning premieres of both local and international content. Hot Docs will screen at Sydney's Chauvel Cinema from June 21 to July 3, Melbourne's Palace Westgarth from June 14 to 26, and Canberra's Palace Electric from June 15 to 26. For more information, keep an eye on the Palace Cinemas website and Hot Docs Oz Facebook page.
We're just about ready to fast forward through this winter. Let's skip the low temperatures and head straight for warmer days and colder drinks. While we wish it could be that easy, we all just need to accept the situation and wait out the chill. Embrace the weather and all the winter-exclusive activities it brings — skiing, snowboarding, camping where you'll actually want to sit by the fire, and not to mention warming up in some pretty amazing hot pools. This season you can create your very own cold weather holiday with Teva's winter escape competition, which could win you $1000 to go towards planning your ideal adventure and $250 to shop Teva's shoes and match whichever destination you choose. Slip into a steaming, natural mineral water pool to rid your mind and body of any chilly winter blues. Gaze out at snow-capped mountains instead of the usual view from your desk. Escape the city's hustle and bustle and set up in a treehouse surrounded by nothing but wintry flora and fauna. The opportunities are great when you've got $1000 to splash on a bespoke escape. Grab your Teva shoes — with options good for zipping straight from your cabin into a thermal bath, or for hiking those snowy mountains — and you're good to go. To go in the running to win $1000 towards a winter escape, plus a $250 Teva gift card, enter your details below. [competition]629606[/competition]
Like Netflix, but for actually going to the movies. That's the premise of CinemaClub Australia, a new subscription service offering punters access to bucketloads of movie tickets for a monthly fee. Due to launch in late 2017, CinemaClub aims to cut the cost of going to the pictures. Rather than paying $20 or more every time they head to the cinema, film buffs will instead be able to sign up for a CinemaClub membership that gets them access to a movie ticket every weekday of the month. Concrete Playground reached out to co-founder James Farrell, who said that CinemaClub would be partnering with a number of major cinema chains — as well as various independent cinemas — right around the country. Memberships are expected to cost between $40 and $60 a month — so if you're the kind of person who sees three or more movies a month, you could be about to save yourself a whole heap of money. "Millennials today are avoiding the cinema for cheaper alternatives due to high prices and inflexible offerings," said Farrell. "What we do is make cinema an easy-to-reach and regular activity again. Our members get incredible value and we hope this is something that can really propel the Australian cinema industry." CinemaClub isn't the first start-up attempting to alter the rigid cinema industry, either. It's extremely similar to US subscription service MoviePass, which has come under fire from the States' largest cinema chain AMC for their insanely low fee of just $9.95 USD per month. While this isn't profitable for MoviePass at the moment, it seems the company — of which data firm Helios and Matheson Analytics have majority ownership — will look to swap consumer data for discounts with AMC down the track. Earlier this year, Melbourne couple Sonya Stephen and Shane Thatcher launched Choovie, an on-demand movie ticket app that offers fluid ticket price based on the time of the screening and the popularity of the film. While the success of the membership will rely on participating cinemas, stakeholders and the confirmed monthly fee, we're still interested to see where this goes. You can register your interest via the CinemaClub website to receive more information about when memberships go on sale.
