Dubbed as the biggest night of the year for Sydney, the Mardi Gras Parade usually fills the streets of Darlinghurst and Surry Hills. In 2021, however, the celebration of LGBTQIA+ culture and communities — and its colourful array of hundreds of floats and performers — will actually take place in the Sydney Cricket Ground. Announced back in November, the parade has been moved to the SCG to help ensure social distancing is maintained. The 23,000-capacity event has been sold out for a while; however, a final release of tickets will go on sale from 2pm on Wednesday, February 17. If you're in need of some motivation to nab a seat, the parade's lineup should help. Rita Ora leads the bill, alongside Electric Fields, Montaigne and G Flip. Before the parade, DJs Kitty Glitter and Dan Murphy will hit the decks, with hosts Bob Downe and Julie McCrossin helping to get the crowd excited. When the floats start, however — after a Welcome to Country ceremony at 6pm — Nell Schofield and Kyle Olsen will be on voiceover duties. The full Mardi Gras festival runs from Friday, February 19 until Sunday, March 7, should you be wondering what else is in store around the main festivities. You can view all currently announced programming and events and stay up to date with all the news at Mardi Gras website. And, if you can't make it to the parade, it'll be broadcast live on SBS. Updated February 17. Images: Jeffrey Feng
It's one thing to admire the Sydney skyline from afar (or from high up), but it's a whole new experience to be able to pick the brains of the kind of people responsible for it. On Friday, August 11 and Saturday, August 12, some of biggest names from the architecture and design industry come together at Sydney Indesign to celebrate how far this city has come design-wise. Across the city, there will be pop-up showrooms featuring speakers and talks with topics ranging from cohabitation among different generations, to the different design identities of Australia and how city developers cope with growing populations. Connected by design trails and a hop-on-hop-off shuttle system, you'll be racing around the city surrounded by innovated designs and talking to innovative designers. Not only that, the showrooms will be interactive — little pieces of unique design in their own right. To skip the lines on the day-of, preregister here. Participating venues will open on Friday, August 11 from 12pm - 6pm and on Saturday, August 12 from 10am - 6pm.
If you're a fan of Ted Lasso, The Afterparty, Bad Sisters, Slow Horses, Hijack or Lessons in Chemistry, then you'll be more than accustomed to getting your streaming fix from Apple TV+. Across the first half of 2024, the platform has a heap more new shows vying for your eyeballs, plus a few returning series. And as Netflix just recently did, it has announced all the details, as well as a sneak peek of what's to come. To get your must-watch small-screen list started, new shows starring Ben Mendelsohn, Jonathan Banks, Noel Fielding, Kristen Wiig, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton and Jake Gyllenhaal are all on their way. Mendelsohn (Secret Invasion) will be gracing your television first, playing Christian Dior opposite Juliette Binoche (Both Sides of the Blade) as Coco Chanel in ten-part drama The New Look, which arrives from Wednesday, February 14. Also among the cast: Maisie Williams (Pistol), John Malkovich (Billions), Emily Mortimer (The Pursuit of Love), Claes Bang (Bad Sisters) and Glenn Close (Tehran). Noomi Rapace (You Won't Be Alone) and Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul great Banks star in Constellation, which also drops from February, about astronauts grappling with the reality of returning home. As for The Mighty Boosh's Fielding, he leads comedy The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, which has more than a bit of Our Flag Means Death about it. The series riffs on a real-life figure, a British highwayman, with Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey: A New Era) playing the lawman on his trail. March will bring the Tobias Menzies (You Hurt My Feelings)-led true-crime effort Manhunt, about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth following Abraham Lincoln's assassination — and also Palm Royale, with Wiig (MacGruber) playing a woman trying to find a way into Palm Beach high society, and Laura Dern (The Son), Allison Janney (The Creator) and singer Ricky Martin also featuring. Sugar hits in April, enlisting Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin) as a private detective looking into a Hollywood case. So does Franklin, with Michael Douglas (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) as Benjamin Franklin. Then in May, page-to-screen sci-fi thriller Dark Matter features Edgerton (The Boys in the Boat) and Jennifer Connelly (Bad Behaviour), while June has Presumed Innocent with Gyllenhaal (Guy Ritchie's The Covenant) as a Chicago chief deputy prosecutor mixed up in a complicated casw. Also, sometime midyear, dramedy Land of Women boasts Eva Longoria (Tell It Like a Woman). Among the returning slate, Apple TV+ has second seasons of The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy, Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, Maya Rudolph (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem)-starring billionaire satire Loot and The Big Door Prize on the way as well. And, the full lineup for 2024's first half also spans four-part documentary Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend, Acapulco season three and Trying season four. Check out Apple TV+'s trailer for its slate for the first half of 2024 below: New TV shows will hit Apple TV+ throughout 2024 — head to the streaming platform for its current catalogue.
Queenslanders are preparing to say goodbye to plastic bags and hello to a heap of change as the Queensland Government last night passed a bill to clear everyone's cupboards of both single-use plastic carriers and plastic containers — via a ban on the former and a refund-fuelled recycling scheme for the latter. Come July 1, 2018, all stores in Queensland will be ditching lightweight single-use plastic bags, including degradable and biodegradable options. The move brings the state into line with South Australia, the ACT, the Northern Territory and Tasmania, and follows the news that Woolworths and Coles will also be doing the same nationwide. And while it might seem like a long time coming...well, better late than never. Introducing a container refund scheme might also seem as though Queensland is playing catch-up, with SA and the NT already operating similar systems, and New South Wales bringing their own in from December this year. Hobart is aiming to completely ban the things by 2020. Applicable containers — which include cans and bottles of sizes between 150ml and three litres, though not any that hold plain milk, wine and pure juice — will each attract a ten-cent refund. Which can only be good for your overflowing recycling bin and piggy bank. To facilitate the scheme, designated collection points will be set up across the state, with reverse vending machines also likely to be part of the rollout. The receptacles will collect your containers and spit out refunds, (rather than vice versa) and will probably put an end to every conversation you've ever had about filling up your car with cans, driving to SA and filling your wallet. Let's hope Victoria and NSW follow suit.
Why spend just over a week worshipping the silver screen, as most film festivals do, when you can stretch the in-cinema celebration out to more than a fortnight, and throw in over a week of online viewings as well? That's Melbourne International Film Festival's approach. In 2023, now that the event's full lineup is newly here, it's also asking another question: why just have Tilda Swinton star in a film as one character when she can play two, and a mother and daughter at that? The movie in question is The Eternal Daughter, Swinton's latest collaboration with filmmaker Joanna Hogg after the sublime The Souvenir and The Souvenir: Part II, and it's one of MIFF's big 2023 highlights. Yes, there's more — much, much more. This year's fest will screen 267 films to Melbourne and Victorian movie buffs, in fact, plus a selection of picks virtually and nationally via the returning MIFF Play. 2023's festival footprint mimics the setup that worked so well for the film feast in 2022, which was its first proper year back after the pandemic began. So, it's gracing cinemas in Melbourne from Thursday, August 3–Sunday, August 20; hitting the big screen in regional Victorian locations from Friday, August 11–Sunday, August 13 and Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 20; and also going digital from Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 27. Shayda, a Melbourne-set drama that won an Audience Award at Sundance, was revealed as MIFF's 2023 opening-night flick back in May. The world premiere of Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story, paying tribute to the Australian record executive and promoter with help from Kylie Minogue, Dave Grohl, Sting, Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Jimmy Barnes, was also announced then, taking the fest's centrepiece slot. Now, they're joined by Theatre Camp among MIFF's high-profile sessions, with closing night scoring the Aussie debut of a crowd-pleasing comedy about loving the stage, as starring and co-written and co-directed by Booksmart and The Bear's Molly Gordon. Other standouts include Anatomy of a Fall, a drama about an author (Sandra Hüller, Toni Erdmann) accused of her husband's murder, which won French director Justine Triet (Sibyl) the French festival's top prize back in May; May December, which hails from Carol director Todd Haynes, is led by Natalie Portman (Thor: Love and Thunder) and Julianne Moore (Sharper), and dives into a scandal; Certain Women's Kelly Reichardt reteaming with Michelle Williams again with Showing Up; and Biosphere, about the last two men on earth, with star and co-writer Mark Duplass (The Morning Show) coming to Melbourne in-person with the film. Or, there's the Josh O'Connor (Mothering Sunday)-led La Chimera from Happy as Lazzaro's Alice Rohrwacher, Catherine Breillat's (Abuse of Weakness) return with Last Summer, Paul Schrader's (The Card Counter) Master Gardener starring Joel Edgerton (The Stranger), and Hirokazu Kore-eda's Monster — the prolific helmer's latest on a lengthy resume that also includes Shoplifters and Broker. Keen to settle in for the long haul? Still on big-name filmmakers, Nuri Bilge Ceylan's (The Wild Pear Tree) latest About Dry Grasses clocks in at 197 minutes. In 2022, MIFF launched Bright Horizons, its official competition — and the titles vying for glory in 2023, all from either first- or second-time filmmakers, are impressive for the second year running. Among 11 films, Shayda fits the bill, as does Cannes Un Certain Regard Prize-winner How to Have Sex, about three British teen girls on a boozy getaway; Earth Mama, an A24 release by Grammy-nominated music video veteran Savanah Leaf; and Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, which follows a musical journey across the Vietnamese countryside. Also, the star-cross'd lovers-focused Banel & Adama plays direct from Cannes, Disco Boy stars German talent Franz Rogowski (Great Freedom) and Animalia explores an alien invasion in Morocco. Elsewhere, Cobweb stars Parasite's Song Kang-ho and is helmed by I Saw the Devil director Kim Jee-woon, the prolific Hong Sang-soo (The Novelist's Film) returns with Walk Up, and four-time British Independent Film Award-winner Blue Jean focuses on a lesbian teacher in Thatcher's England. Oscar-winning Amy and Senna filmmaker Asif Kapadia takes cues from Woyzeck and Frankenstein with the expressionistic dance-filled Creature; 2023 Sydney Film Prize-winner The Mother of All Lies heads south; You Can Call Me Bill pays tribute to the inimitable William Shatner; and Soda Jerk's first film since Terror Nullius, Hello Dankness, offers a chaotic yet cutting survey of US politics from 2016 onwards. MIFF 2023 will also feature eerie fare in the form of Sleep, by Bong Joon-ho protégé Jason Yu; birth/rebirth, which also riffs on Frankenstein; Perpetrator with Clueless favourite Alicia Silverstone; and Australia's own Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism. And, no strangers to showcasing giallo, including running a retrospective on Italian horror before, the fest is going all in on Suspiria, Tenebrae and Deep Red director Dario Argento. Among MIFF's shorts are Pedro Almodóvar's (Parallel Mothers) queer western Strange Way of Life starring Ethan Hawke (Moon Knight) and Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), and also Trailer of the Film That Will Never Exist: 'Phony Wars', the last film by iconic French director Jean-Luc Godard before his passing. All of the above — and a whole lot more — joins previously announced titles such as The Rooster, starring Hugo Weaving (Love Me) and Phoenix Raei (The Night Agent); Celine Song's debut feature Past Lives, a bittersweet romance about two childhood friends (Russian Doll's Greta Lee and Decision to Leave's Teo Yoo) who briefly reunite after decades apart; Bad Behaviour, the feature directorial debut of actor-turned-filmmaker Alice Englert (You Won't Be Alone) starring Jennifer Connelly (Top Gun: Maverick); BlackBerry, which delves into the smartphone's rise and fall — and satirises it — with Jay Baruchel (FUBAR) and Glenn Howerton (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) among the cast; and The Kingdom Exodus, Lars von Trier's latest followup to 1994's miniseries The Kingdom and its 1997 second season. The 2023 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 3–Sunday, August 20 at a variety of venues around Melbourne; from Friday, August 11–Sunday, August 13 and Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 20 in regional Victoria; and online nationwide with MIFF Play from Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 27. For further details, including tickets from Friday, July 14, visit the MIFF website.
International Women's Day (IWD) celebrates the achievements of those who identify as female and how far we have come in the fight for gender equality for everyone. Plus, it's just a great excuse to thank the womxn in your life for being wonderful. Get together with your loved ones and think about what still needs to be done, particularly for those who are less privileged than ourselves. It feels like every year, more and more people get behind IWD, and there's always something new happening around town to get involved in. Together with Cancer Council NSW and its Girls' Night In campaign, we've come up with a few suggestions on how you can mark the day — Sunday, March 8 — in 2020. HAVE ALL YOUR MATES AROUND FOR A NIGHT IN TO CELEBRATE WOMXN Invite your friends and family around (no matter how they identify) for a dinner party, movie night, book swap or whatever takes your fancy — and give what you'd normally spend on a night out to Cancer Council NSW for women's cancer research, prevention and support. The Girls' Night In campaign is running through February — also Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month — until IWD at the beginning of March, making it the perfect excuse to gush over films about inspiring women or share your favourite feminist books. Fire up Netflix and queue documentaries Feminists: What Were We Thinking?, Knock Down The House, Period. End of Sentence and Reversing Roe. Docos aren't your thing? Try some films with powerhouse female casts like Someone Great, Nappily Ever After, Lady Bird and, obviously, Legally Blonde. For more house party ideas, head over here. SPEND SOME TIME GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY It's not enough to talk about the good stuff on International Women's Day. It's important to acknowledge the difficulties of women in communities that are disproportionately affected by issues like domestic violence and homelessness. IWD is all about women empowering women, lifting each other up and helping those that are doing it tough. If you've got the time, consider volunteering at a women's shelter — most are run almost exclusively through the generosity of the community. To get you started, Bayside Women's Shelter and Women's Community Shelters are always looking for volunteers or goods donations. [caption id="attachment_753370" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] GO TO AN IDEAS FESTIVAL THAT'S ALL ABOUT WOMEN In its eighth year, the Sydney Opera House's All About Women festival will address a broad range of topics about gender, justice and equality. Held on IWD, the jam-packed series of panels, talks and workshops will cover everything from body positivity and gendered violence to women in tech and astrophysics. Highlights include Blak Matriarchies (a cross-generational panel of strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women discussing the survival of matriarchal society) and Know My Name with Chanel Miller, an artist, writer and survivor of sexual assault. Don't miss the rotating three-hour Conversations with Feminists or the interactive audiovisual experience My Mother's Kitchen — both of which are free. SHARE A MEAL WITH YOUR MATES Sometimes you just need to share a good meal, a chat and a cuppa tea — maybe that's why IWD breakfast and lunch events have become so popular. You can always throw your own brunch party as a riff on Girls' Night In, or check out some of the events around town. Many are hosted by local councils, restaurants or organisations, so there's sure to be one that's right for, and near, you. Join Greens Senator Dr Mehreen Faruqi for breakfast at The Tea Room in the Queen Victoria Building, or sit down to high tea at the Museum of Contemporary Art with Compassion Australia. Otherwise, business-minded folks might gravitate towards this breakfast hosted by Future of Leadership or this Business Chicks lunch. [caption id="attachment_622123" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kimberly Low[/caption] EMBRACE ART MADE BY WOMEN It's not all political — women contribute hugely to creative industries and that deserves to be celebrated. The Sydney Theatre Company's No Pay? No Way! will be playing at the Sydney Opera House from February 10–March 20, adapted by Marieke Hardy and directed by Sarah Giles. Meanwhile, New Zealand gothic folk artist Aldous Harding is playing at the Enmore Theatre on Wednesday, March 4, and the Ritz Cinema in Randwick is hosting a one-off IWD screening of the Women's Adventure Film Tour, which features award-winning short films about thrill-seeking women. You can also go to a big poetry reading in honour of IWD or take in some jazz music at The Newsagency. Gather your crew together for a Girls' Night In and donate what you would've spent on a night out to Cancer Council to help those affected by cancer. To register as a Girls' Night In party host, visit the website.
Imagine a room filled with pinot noir, with red drops after red drops from wineries around the country poured for your sipping pleasure for hours. If that's your preferred type of vino, it likely sounds like your idea of boozy heaven. There's no need to just dream up the concept, however. Thanks to Pinot Palooza, it already exists, has been doing the rounds in Australia for more than a decade, and has locked in its return for 2024. A guiding principle here: that being spoilt for choice can be overrated when it comes to deciding which wine varieties you feel like at any given moment. So, let this event do the picking for you. Pinot Palooza celebrates exactly the type of vino that's in its name, and makes the sound of a light- to medium-bodied red wine sloshing around a glass its standard soundtrack, including in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne come spring. Expect to hear that noise a whole heap — before the pandemic, the Melbourne-born wine-tasting festival had notched up an estimated 65,000 tickets sold globally. In 2024, Pinot Palooza is hitting up its three east coast stops for a two-day stint in each. While that was first announced back in March, now venues have been confirmed. Across Friday, October 4–Saturday, October 5, Sydneysiders will be clinking glasses at Carriageworks. From Friday, November 15–Saturday, November 16, Brisbanites will get their pinot fix at the Exhibition Building at Brisbane Showgrounds. Then, come Friday, November 22–Saturday, November 23, the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton is the go-to destination in Melbourne. The Pinot Palooza team has also revealed that up to 100 wineries will be taking part in 2024, up from more than 50 winemakers last year, and surveying everything from organic and vegan to biodynamic and low-intervention drops. The full list of producers hasn't been unveiled, but Tasmania's Meadowbank, Oakdene from Geelong, Murdoch Hill and Vinteloper from the Adelaide Hills and New South Wales' M&J Becker are among the names that'll be involved from Australia. New Zealand tipples will be showcased by Two Paddocks, Burn Cottage, Mt Difficulty, Te Whare Ra, Greystone and others. As always, attendees will spend their session swirling and sampling that huge array of pinot noir, and making the most of up pop-up bars and food stalls between drinks. In Brisbane, though, a cheesy time also awaits. While dairy fest Mould has already taken place in the River City in 2024, it's teaming up with Pinot Palooza in October to give the Queensland capital a hybrid Pinot Palooza x Mould fest. Pinot Palooza 2024 Dates and Venues: Friday, October 4–Saturday, October 5: Carriageworks, Eveleigh, Sydney Friday, November 15–Saturday, November 16: Exhibition Building, Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane Friday, November 22–Saturday, November 23: Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton, Melbourne Pinot Palooza will tour Australia's east coast in October–November 2024. For more information, and for tickets, head to the event's website.
Pushing ladies to the front has always been All About Women's focus, ever since the Sydney Opera House's key feminist festival first took to the stage back in 2013. In 2023, however, it's doing just that with an in-conversation event that couldn't be more perfect: Bikini Kill Speaks, featuring the seminal riot grrrl pioneers — aka Kathleen Hanna, Tobi Vail and Kathi Wilcox — chatting through their music, activism and why their message remains as relevant as ever after three decades. Hanna, Vail and Wilcox's session comes while Bikini Kill are in the country for their first Australian shows in more than 25 years, including stops at Mona Foma and Golden Plains, plus other solo dates around the country — Sydney Opera House among them. In fact, in addition to the in-conversation session, that gig will close out All About Women's 2023 event. [caption id="attachment_875442" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Debi Del Grande[/caption] When All About Women takes place in March, it'll run over three days — from Saturday, March 11—Monday, March 13 — growing again after it only just expanded to two days in 2022. In another big change, it'll be guided by four festival co-curators for the first time ever. Doing the honours: author, podcast presenter and gender equality advocate Jamila Rizvi; Gamilaroi academic and Tell Me Again author Dr Amy Thunig; feminist social commentator, novelist and writer Jane Caro AM; and Sydney Opera House's Head of Talks and Ideas Chip Rolley. The rest of All About Women's 2023 lineup hasn't yet been unveiled, but audiences can expect a range of international and Australian artists, thinkers and storytellers on the bill — exploring a broad variety of topics relevant to gender, justice and equality via panels, conversations, workshops and performances — when the full details drop on Tuesday, January 17, 2023. [caption id="attachment_837695" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] "All About Women is unparalleled in its ability to attract audiences from across the country, with a passion for debates and discussions about gender. The festival always delivers a healthy dose of levity alongside its signature significant local and international conversations," said All About Women festival co-curator Jamila Rizvi. "Striking that balance between impact and frivolity is what my programming style is all about. To say that it is a privilege to co-curate the festival in 2023 is an understatement!" [caption id="attachment_837698" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jacquie Manning[/caption] In 2022, while the festival went ahead in-person for Sydneysiders, it also live-streamed to viewers both around Australia and worldwide. Whether that'll be the case again in 2023 hasn't yet been revealed, but if you live outside of the Harbour City, cross your fingers. All About Women 2023 will take place from Saturday, March 11—Monday, March 13 at the Sydney Opera House. The full program will release on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 — check back here then for further details. Tickets for Bikini Kill Speaks go on sale at 9am AEDT on Friday, December 2, with Sydney Opera House Insiders presales from 9am AEDT on Tuesday, November 29 and What's on presales from 9am AEDT on Wednesday, November 30. Top image: Debi Del Grande.
Rhythm of the Night, Goodgod's '90s dance night and the best excuse to dress up in your finest Hot Tuna ensemble, is turning one this Easter Sunday, giving you just another reason to celebrate this long weekend. For the birthday bash DJs Levins, Ariane and Radge will be blasting '90s dance hits in the Danceteria, with '90s RnB taking over the front bar from G Coo, babygirl, Nacho Pop, Leon Smith and Flossy from Laprats. Head to the Facebook event to get in requests for your favourite jams. Don't dally on the night either; last Easter they hit capacity before 10pm.
After blowing Sydneysiders away with her singing, dancing and towering cosmic structures at the Sydney Opera House last year for Vivid Live, Solange is heading Down Under once more. The Grammy Award-winning singer — composer, choreographer, actress, filmmaker, fashion icon — is coming back to the Opera House for four shows in January 2020. Mark it in your calendars, friends. If you were one of the lucky ones to score tickets the sold out show last year, you'll know what to expect come January: a stunning 360-degree stage, a live band, a team of incredibly choreographed dancers. Although this time, instead of singing and dancing to A Seat at the Table under a giant moon-like sphere, Solange will be performing her new album When I Get Home in Australia for the first time. Featuring hits such as 'Way to the Show', 'Dreams' and 'Binz' — and collaborators such as Pharrell, Sampha, Gucci Mane and Tyler, the Creator — the album is an ode to Solange's hometown of Houston, Texas. It was released alongside a 33-minute art film of the same name, which you can watch on YouTube while you're waiting for her Aussie return. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv_bpnIFr5g/?utm_source=ig_embed While the stage will look a little different to the one above, we're told to expect something similarly impressive. You can get a glimpse of what to expect from the new choreography, too, by checking out Solange's Instagram. The Sydney Opera House performances will be Solange's only Aussie shows, so, if you're interstate we suggest you start keeping an eye on cheap flights. Solange will perform four shows in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on January 27, 28, 30 and 31. Pre-sale tickets are available from 9am on Wednesday, August 21 with general sale starting at 9am on Friday, August 23 via the Sydney Opera House website. Images: Max Hirschberger
Father's Day is just around the corner, and — considering it's been one helluva year so far — you may be thinking about getting your dad something a little special. Melbourne travel brand July wants to help you go the extra mile this year and is throwing in a bunch of extras. July offers up premium luggage, backpacks, suitcases and overnight bags — and you'll nab a whole heap of freebies when you order your dad a gift through the online shop this year. First up, you'll be able to add custom-printed, personalised lettering to your luggage of choice — for free. Your gift will also come with a complimentary Orbitkey leather key organiser (worth $45). All shipping to Australia and New Zealand is absolutely free, too, which is especially useful if you don't live near dad. Simply shop the Father's Day gift edit to get started. On the list are the Carry All backpack and weekender bags, along with Carry On and Checked wheeled luggage. All of the travel bags are custom embroidered too. And each one comes in heaps of colours, including black, blue, green and beige. July luggage comes with a lifetime warranty (plus five-year warranties for all travel bags) to boot. While dad might not be going on any overseas jaunts just yet, we're sure he's planning a road trip, beachside escape or mountainous adventure in Australia for sometime in the near future. And a fresh set of luggage will be just the ticket when he finally gets to jet off. To shop the Father's Day gift edit, head to the July website. 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.
Space, the final frontier. An infinite continuum capable of sapping morale and robbing voyaging crews of both purpose and progress since, by its very definition, there can never be an end in sight. Such is the existential crisis facing Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) at the beginning of this third instalment in the revised Star Trek franchise – a notably low-key opening compared to its bombastic predecessors. Three years into their five-year deep space mission, Kirk and his crew are homesick, questioning their commitment to the cause and bored of their 'episodic' existence. An urgent rescue mission changes all of that, however, and when that rescue goes awry, Kirk and the team from the Enterprise find themselves stranded on a forbidding planet, unable to contact Star Fleet and being hunted down by a villainous character named Krall (Idris Elba). As it happens, the story scarcely stretches beyond that point, resting instead in the comfortable zone of 'crew in peril requiring brazen rescue attempt' – which is not to say that it's a bad film because of it. Co-written by Simon Pegg (who also plays Scotty) and directed by Justin Lin of the Fast & Furious franchise, Star Trek Beyond feels much more like an episode from the original TV series, where each member of the ensemble is afforded considerable and equal screen time. Spock, Bones, Uhura, Chekov and Sulu all feature prominently in Beyond, along with newcomer Sofia Boutella as Jaylah, a fearsome warrior castaway from another, earlier shipwreck. And while the laughs are fewer than might be expected for a script penned by Pegg, the action absolutely delivers, most notably in the film's dazzling climax, complete with fist-pumpingly-spectacular callback to the Beastie Boys moment from the 2009 original. Star Trek Beyond has featured prominently in the news ahead of its release, both on account of the sudden accidental death of one of its stars (Anton Yelchin as Chekov), and its decision to reveal long-time character and fan-favourite Sulu as gay. The latter issue is handled perfectly by Lin and actor John Cho, in that it attracts neither fanfare or spotlight since, at least in the world of the movie, nobody cares either way. As for Yelchin, it's another fine performance from the talented actor whose abilities far outweighed the requirements of his character. The dual dedications at the end of the film – 'In loving memory of Leonard Nimoy', and, then '...For Anton' – feel particularly tender and respectful, capping off a movie in which subtle nods to both the earlier movies and television series are everywhere. This is, as they say, 'one for the fans.' Still, newcomers will find more than enough to enjoy about Star Trek Beyond in their own right, too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRVD32rnzOw
The first of Red Rock Deli's Secret Suppers in Melbourne has been and gone, with Lover's head chef Paul Turner creating a feast in a rustic Richmond warehouse. The exclusive supper series — running until October at secret locations across Sydney and Melbourne — sees some of Australia's most talented chefs whipping up mouth-watering, three-course feasts inspired by Red Rock Deli's range of Premium Crisps. And when we say exclusive, we mean it — only 20 lucky guests get to tuck into each lavish dinner. On Thursday, September 19, top Melbourne chef Paul Turner put up a feast. After guests were picked up from Richmond Station and whisked away to a mystery location, Turner dished up plates inspired by Red Rock Deli's Deluxe Crisps flavour: parmesan and truffle oil. Across all three courses, Turner incorporated native Australian and seasonal ingredients — the entree featured burrata with maple-glazed pumpkin, buttermilk and saltbush and the main of braised short rib featured fresh truffle, nettle, goats curd and parmesan crisp. Meanwhile, the dessert featured roast white chocolate parfait, grilled pear and wood sorrel. Sounds like a meal that shouldn't have been missed but, if you did — or you went and want to recreate the magic at home — check out Turner's recipe for the braised short rib here. If Turner's dinner is anything to go by, the final Melbourne supper will be quite something. Giorgio Stefano from Cremorne's celebrated Ms. Frankie is up next. The dinner will take place on Thursday, October 19 and will be inspired by Red Rock Deli's Deluxe Crisp's chilli, roast garlic and lemon oil flavour. To nab tickets for Melbourne's upcoming Red Rock Deli supper, enter the ballot here to be given the chance to purchase tickets. Images: Kate Shanasy.
Kicking off a new side hustle or small biz idea can be a challenging quest, but with the right connections and resources it doesn't have to be. In partnership with Fiverr, we're spotlighting budding entrepreneurs who are getting their businesses off the ground in style. Ask most beer drinkers what they love about their favourite brew, and few would say it's the complex molecular structure that gets them craving a cold one. But Daniel Rojas, Gina Pacheco and Shivam Tandon aren't your run-of-the-mill beer enthusiasts. While the trio of chemical engineers are, like the rest of us, partial to knocking back a few brews at their local, they took things up a notch by making their own tipples. Together, they created The Zythologist, a new, science-based Aussie brewery founded at Monash University, where the three met. "We just love to learn how things work. We also love beer," Rojas told Concrete Playground. "For us, it's about understanding what's happening at a molecular level, [along with] how to bring [out] flavours and unique aromas." So, how do three chemical engineers end up making A-class brews? The three co-founders set out to understand the science of brewing and got hooked on the challenging process of making beer. It began with Rojas and Pacheco, who founded Monash Brewlab, Australia's first student-led nano-brewery, with Tandon joining shortly after. It has since become an educational lab, where students can apply the scientific principles learned in lectures and tutorials to create a product loved by uni students the world over: beer. Riding on the success of the uni-based brewery, the trio launched a commercial spin-off. Initially, they created Scholars Ink (a nod to the mates' tertiary achievements), which produced two debut brews — a mango lassi sour and a sessionable 4.2-percent dark ale. Both sold out in less than two months. Fast-forward to 2021 and they now have The Zythologist — and it's got big plans. [caption id="attachment_818393" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Melanie Desa[/caption] Not prepared to rest on their laurels, Rojas, Pacheco and Tandon brought The Zythologist back to where it all began. Their entrepreneurial idea was validated through the Monash University's central startup hub, The Generator, where they won a $5000 grant from Fiverr to help evolve their unique business proposition. For the uninitiated, Fiverr is a freelance marketplace that connects small business owners — or anyone with a burgeoning side hustle — with freelancers across a range of disciplines, including social media marketing, SEO services, illustration, and video and animation. Its easy-to-use design and global database of freelance experts makes it simple-as to get started and give your side hustle a leg up. So, what does all this have to do with The Zythologist? Well, first on the three mates' to-do list is to put some of that cash towards rebranding from Scholars Ink to the new-and-improved The Zythologist — with the help of Fiverr freelancers, naturally. "'Zythologist' comes from [the term] 'zythology', which is the study of beer and brewing, Rojas told CP. "We want to create this persona of The Zythologist [as] the connoisseur of everything related to beer." It goes without saying that their plans for The Zythologist don't stop at a new brand identity and shiny website. Rojas says he and his co-founders are keen to leverage their expertise to launch a consultancy and analytics service, while also making new brews and ensuring their product and production processes are kinder to the planet. The ultimate goal? To move the brewing industry in a more sustainable and efficient direction, with better beer across the board as a result. [caption id="attachment_818388" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Melanie Desa[/caption] If you weren't lucky enough to snap up a six-pack of the trio's maiden brews, don't worry — there are more on the boil (yes, pun intended). First up, The Zythologist is working on a big, dessert-like imperial pastry stout, brewed in collaboration with Burnley Brewing. And, not ones to do things by halves, Rojas, Pacheco and Tandon are also working on a non-alcoholic beer to tap into the growing no- and low- alcohol trend. "The science behind brewing can be quite complex, and every time you add another ingredient or treat it differently, the dimensions increase by an order of magnitude," Rojas told CP. "For non-alcoholic [beer], I think it's even more difficult, because what we want to do is emulate the [same] sensation you would have from a normal beer. Accomplishing that — and having [an ABV of] less than 0.5 percent, which is the threshold for a non-alcoholic beer — is actually quite hard." While Rojas, Pacheco and Tandon will likely dabble in more traditional brews like pale ales and IPAs eventually, it's pretty clear that these three mates are enjoying pushing the boundaries and making unconventional brews. As for the rest of us, there's really no better motivation to crack a cold one — alcoholic or otherwise — than knowing it's for science. Bottoms up. Have your own booming side hustle — or need a hand getting it off the ground? Check out the Fiverr website and connect with freelancers around the world, all just a click away. Lead image: Shivam Tandon, Gina Pacheco and Daniel Rojas. All photography by Melanie Desa.
For decades, Australians have been told that a hard-earned thirst needs a big, cold beer. In Iceland, a well-deserved soak also needs just that — and a whole tub full of brews. Helping keep the Scandinavian nation on the top of everyone's travel bucket list, it now boasts its first ever beer spa. Yes, that involves sitting in yeasty goodness while drinking it. Just opened in Árskógssandur in the country's north, Bjórböðin features nine tubs just waiting for beer lovers to take a dip in their favourite beverage. Seven two-person baths, made from Kambala wood, can be found inside, while two larger hot tubs capable of seating 8 to 10 people take the brew-soaking action outside. Each is filled with beer, water, hops and yeast, and don't worry — while you can knock back a few draughts while they're there, drinking the bathwater isn't on the agenda. Visitors steep themselves in the warm brew for 25 minutes at a time, then head for a 25-minute spell in a relaxation room. To get the most out of the soak (because bathing in beer is all about boosting your skin and hair, not just sitting in the tasty amber liquid), showering for a few hours isn't recommended. For those keen on making the trek, there's also a restaurant on site, helping everyone pair their drinking with a meal. And if you're eager to bathe in brews in more than one place, plan an Iceland-US round trip, with a beer hotel planned in Columbus, Ohio. Image: Bjórböðin.
Radical, revolutionary and just downright ridiculous, the annual Burning Man festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert (or "the playa" as it is called) is one of the most mysterious and mind-bending festival experiences anywhere in the world. For one week over the Labor Day weekend in August/September tens of thousands of curious backpackers and new age hippies come together to create the temporary metropolis of Black Rock City, a psychedelic celebration of alternative art, community, self-expression and the creativity of the human spirit. Beginning in 1986 on San Francisco's Baker Beach where a few mates burnt a wooden effigy of a man, Burning Man is now a cultural phenomenon like no other with the eclectic mix of body art, DIY sculptures and revelrous bicycle-riders fused together only by a deep sense of mutual respect and this year's deliberately ambiguous theme of "Fertility 2.0". While the yearly ritual of burning a giant wooden effigy remains a constant, the festival otherwise seems to defy any simple definition or explanation and, until you have experienced it for yourself, attempting to describe Burning Man is "like trying to explain what a particular color looks like to someone who is blind" according to the event organisers. So as long as language remains insufficient, here is a photographic tour through the intoxicating world of Burning Man 2012. The 60,000 person metropolis of Black Rock City The famous bicycle-riding culture of Burning Man includes bikes of all sizes Personal expression is not just encouraged but a mandatory component of Burning Man The otherworldly Cloud 9 A laser light show The sky is literally the limit for Burning Man participants Dreamtime Circus light up the stage with their fire twirling performance As the sun goes down, the festival goers get ready to fire up Aerialist Indi-Lou stuns the Crowd with her lyra act This spiralling art installation really gets the party blazing The only thing Burning here is Indigo's throat after the infamous drinking games
Sydney's often thought of as a summer city, but its quieter, wintry side is every bit as beautiful. There's something pretty magical about rugging up and strolling along the harbour on a clear, starry evening — or spending a night hopping from one fireside wine to another. In case that's not inspiration enough, there's a stack of winter events on the calendar as well, from Vivid transforming the city into a wonderland of multi-coloured lights to night markets peddling mulled drinks, spicy dishes and handcrafted creations — all of which will look ace captured via the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+'s low light camera. Rather than letting the next few months pass by in a haze of Netflix and UberEats, get yourself out and about. Here are five happenings to tempt you away from the couch. CHINATOWN NIGHT MARKET Every Friday evening, Chinatown's Dixon Street turns into a buzzing night market filled with street food stalls, knick-knacks and clothing. Take yourself on a culinary odyssey through Asia, sampling yum cha from China, deep-fried seafood balls from Japan and roti canai from Malaysia, before finishing up with a sweet hit — be it piping hot, custard-filled Emperor's Puffs or salty-sweet dragon's beard candy. While you're in Chinatown, look out for local street art too, including Lindy Lee's The Cloud Gate on Thomas Street and Jason Wing's In Between Two Worlds spanning Factory Street, Hay Street and Kimber Lane. VIVID For three glorious weeks from Friday, May 25, Sydney marks the coming of winter with Vivid, an annual festival dedicated to light, music and ideas. Travel into the city between 6–11pm any night of the week to immerse yourself in dramatic illuminations throughout The Rocks, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kings Cross, Darling Harbour, Chatswood and, for the first time in 2018, Luna Park — where you'll be able to project your own emoji face over the Luna Park face from Samsung's Galaxy S9 installation near the Opera House. Leading the program is a depiction of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie journeying through the Australian bush at Customs House and Aqueous, which has just recently been spotted at Burning Man. Other highlights include The Bloom, a giant flower with mirrored petals in the Botanic Gardens that features your face at its centre, and Phantasos, which will turn Luna Park's Ferris wheel into a stunning spectacle you can ride. Camera Tip: A longer exposure will capture the light at night and create a dynamic motion effect. Adjust your settings by swiping your S9 into Pro Mode. Lower the ISO, increase the shutter speed and keep very still as you take your shot. CHRISTMAS IN JULY MARKET Hankering for a visit to Europe this year, but don't have the cash? Skip the plane trip and head along to The Rocks' French-inspired Christmas in July Markets, set to coincide with Circular Quay's Bastille Festival. To make it feel as authentic as possible, twelve wooden chalets will be shipped in from France, taking over Argyle Street for four days and nights. From Thursday, July 12 until Sunday, July 15, these little shacks will hold vendors serving up heart-warming snacks, mulled wine and Christmasy creations. Though the markets will open at 11am each day, it isn't until sundown that things will really get magical — cameras at the ready. With the obvious absence of snow, the markets will get European with a blanket of fairy lights and a soundtrack of English and French Christmas carols. NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE Winter is the ideal time to hone some creative skills, and this course lets you do just that — especially if you've just upped your smartphone game with a new Samsung Galaxy S9. Join photographer Andrew Thomasson for a three-hour session, shooting Sydney's outdoors by evening. He'll teach you how to control the ISO, aperture and white balance settings and help you with mastering composition and balancing ambient light — all while you look out at the bright lights of Vivid. Thomasson has been running photography classes around Sydney for over 35 years, so you know you'll be in capable hands. His classes also involve a stop off at the pub, so you'll be able to swap shooting in low light tips with fellow students (or show off how your Galaxy S9 helps you already master low light). Book your spot over here. TUNES AND TINNIES AT SILY On Thursday nights, skip peak hour by going straight to SILY (Since I Left You). This music loving bar sits right in the heart of the CBD — tucked away at 338 Kent Street — and doesn't let up, regardless of how cold the weather gets. Grab a table in the courtyard from 6.30pm to check out a bunch of local artists performing live, followed by DJs. Keeping you well hydrated are tinnies at just six bucks a pop and classic cocktails at $12 — plus you'll be well-fed with their waffle and toastie menu featuring the 'waffalafel' and a cheeseburger toastie. Things can get busy, so it's a good idea to book your spot, especially if you're travelling with a crew. Instead of spending your winter nights on the couch, discover all the after-dark happenings in your city here — and don't forget to document it all on the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, designed especially for low light so you can capture your best moments no matter what. Images: Cole Bennetts.
At the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, the St Kilda Road venue's indoor spaces are gearing up to host an array of breathtaking garments as part of its soon-to-launch blockbuster Alexander McQueen exhibition. But its grounds have already scored a fresh injection of colour for the summer, and that's thanks to the winning NGV 2022 Architecture Commission, Temple of Boom, which has now made its home in the site's Grollo Equiset Garden. The boldly coloured replica of Greece's famed Parthenon is parking itself in the Melbourne spot until August 2023, and is set to be continually refreshed with large-scale works by various local artists during its stay. The structure itself is the work of Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang, celebrating The Parthenon as a symbol of Western civilisation, democracy and enduring beauty — and built to reflect on the impact time has on architecture. The latter is what'll also drive Temple of Boom's ever-shifting look, the first of which features vibrant optical illusions and floral elements by contemporary artists Manda Lane, Drez and David Lee Pereira. Lane's work centres around relationships between the man-made and the natural; Pereira is known for his explorations of gender and identity fluidity; and Drez's murals challenge perspective using colour and form. While the structure will be transformed with different artworks across three phases of its stay, it'll also work as a community meeting spot and play host to an extended program of events. That includes a calendar of talks, performances and VR experiences held in collaboration with the Hellenic Museum Melbourne; and a lineup of Friday evening DJ sets as announced for the new NGV Friday Nights summer season. Catch 'Temple of Boom' in the Grollo Equiset Garden, NGV International, 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, until August 2023. Images: Installation view of the 2022 NGV Architecture Commission 'Temple of Boom', designed by Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang, at NGV International from 22 November 2022–August 2023. Photo by Sean Fennessy.
In news that will enrage haters of performance art, legendary provocateur Marina Abramovic just announced her next artwork: "nothing". Yup. The woman who once cut a star into her stomach then lay naked on a block of ice and invited audience members to point a loaded gun at her head — this artist is going to be doing absolutely nothing for eight hours a day, six days a week, for 65 days. No tricks. For those more familiar with Abramovic's work, this new project at London's Serpentine Gallery sounds eerily similar to her most famous piece, The Artist Is Present. This 2010 performance work — which inspired its own documentary — involved Abramovic sitting in silence at the Museum of Modern Art staring at whoever sat opposite her. Dealing with intimacy and catharsis, the artwork became famous for its effect on audience members and spawned the fan blog Marina Abramovic Made Me Cry. From the pictures we can conclude that James Franco and Alan Rickman didn't shed a tear, but Jessa from Girls was bawling. So, if your last work consisted of silently sitting in a chair and staring at people for 736 hours, how can your next piece be "nothing"? It's like when you tell a smartarse friend you're doing 'nothing' and they point out you're breathing, standing or looking. What will she be doing? The real game changer here will be the audience. Stripped of all bags, jackets, watches, phones and cameras, each participant will enter the space where Abramovic has been completely disconnected from the outside world. The piece will be "unscripted and improvised", entirely dependent on audience behaviour and action. "There is not any work. It's just me," said the artist on BBC Radio. "The public is my live material. It is the most radical, the most pure I can do." Take a good look, people. At this point Marina Abramovic basically is art. Via Huffpost Arts & Culture.
In one of the saddest announcements for Sydney hot dawg lovers in recent times, Goodgod Small Club's beloved eatery and absolute Sydney institution, The Dip, will close in just four weeks. Head chef and co-founder of the go-to late night nomfest, Andrew Levins, announced the news on his website as "the end of an era". One half of the brains behind the 2012 SMAC Award winner for Best Sydney Eats, Levins explained that he and his partner in crime Bianca would like some time with their tiniest new family member. "At the beginning of this year our son Archie was born. You’ve probably seen him all over Instagram. Having a kid changes your life – mostly it meant that Bianca needed to be at home with him almost every day, keeping her from The Dip. We have been blessed with incredible staff who were more than capable of running The Dip without B — even without me — but The Dip was something that B and I started together, and the idea of it existing without both of us just didn’t seem right. "So rather than The Dip morphing into something less like the restaurant we opened together three years ago (potentially better, potentially worse, we’ll never know!) we’re gonna go out on a high note," says Levins. "It’s hard to believe that we even got The Dip up and running. Between Bianca and myself we had a total of zero years experience in the restaurant industry, but with a bit of help The Dip opened for business in May 2011 and since then we have enjoyed three awesome years of serving the food we love to eat to thousands of happy faces. We’ve worked with a few of our food heroes and have been honoured to be a part of the amazing funhouse that is Goodgod Small Club." Levins plans to focus on his baller rap party Halfway Crooks, his top notch arts organisation Heaps Decent and being a "kool dad." Lovers of a few Lev Dawgs and Young Cheezys before gigging in the backroom are mopping up the tears Sydneywide. The Dip’s last night of trade will be Saturday, July 12. We're not crying, no way, that's just hot sauce in our eyes, yeah that's it.
When it comes to fashioning a successful rom-com, finding the right blend of romance and raunchiness is a delicate balancing act. If too much of the former is present, the film can wallow in cliché and sappiness. If too much of the latter rears its head, the physical side of things can overtake the emotional aspects. Sleeping With Other People might boast a title seemingly aligned more with one of these camps than the other; however this amusing, endearing look at the lives and loves of reunited college classmates happily finds the middle ground. Sexually candid dialogue combines with sweetness, yet never of the syrupy variety. The movie's characters want a happy ending, but they want to earn it — and they want it in all its forms. In 2002, Lainey (Alison Brie) and Jake (Jason Sudeikis) meet during a dorm room altercation, start chatting about matters of the heart and body, and then lose their virginity to each other on the same night. Twelve years later, they cross paths at a sex addiction group, with both harbouring intimacy and commitment issues that plague their dating encounters. Sparks fly, though given their respective romantic troubles, they agree they'd be better off remaining as pals. That decision starts to haunt them as they realise that their bond has all the hallmarks of a relationship, other than the slipping between the sheets part. There's never any doubt that both Lainey and Jake are frequently thinking about being more than friends — and while the course the largely brightly-shot Sleeping With Other People bounces along isn't difficult to foresee, the film is primarily concerned with them fighting that urge. For the central duo, they're trying to flee from their past problems and approach romance with maturity for a change. For writer/director Leslye Headland (Bachelorette), she's attempting to explore the non-bump-and-grind aspects of falling in love. That means that a scenario that seems ripped from the familiar actually becomes much more thoughtful, stripping away the schmaltz and adding an ample dose of authenticity. It's also ripe for comedy, whether flinging fast-paced, filthy dialogue between the protagonists (or fellow cast members Natasha Lyonne, Jason Mantzoukas, Amanda Peet and Marc Blucas as various friends and lovers), joyously enjoying Brie getting her groove back by dancing to David Bowie's 'Modern Love', or finding humorous truths in darker, more reflective moments. Of course, banter infused with wit, wisdom and warmth is only part of the rom-com package, however relatable it proves. As the genre has demonstrated time and again, getting audiences to actually believe the connection between the characters is a large part of the hard work. Here, Sleeping With Other People benefits from excellent casting, as fans of Community and Saturday Night Live will already know. Brie and Sudeikis dial up the chemistry that the film so crucially relies upon, yet never at the expense of fleshing out their roles. That mix of the expected and textured is the movie's ultimate balancing act, and serves it as well as it does it stars. Sleeping With Other People knows you know what's going to happen, but filters it through frankness, upbeat realism and an engaging double act, resulting in a rom-com delight that feels as genuine as it does honest.
What goes into the perfect gin and tonic? Quality gin, for one. Tonic water — ideally from a glass bottle. A fruit garnish (lime or cucumber, depending on the gin) and a tower of ice cubes. All necessary components in a balanced, four-part harmony. A plastic straw, placed triumphantly into the glass by your bartender? Or one you've fished out of a dusty pint glass on the corner of the bar? Not necessary. While the plastic straw has always seemed like the final puzzle piece, recent times have seen a move away from these often arbitrary additions to our drinks. And it's becoming ever more prevalent that this arbitrary addition is having a global impact. While there's no exact figure for Australia, it's estimated that 500 million plastic straws are used and discarded every day in the US — that's enough to fill 125 school buses. With this in mind, venues across Australia are beginning to acknowledge the impact this plastic waste is having on our oceans and ecosystems, and many have begun phasing out non-reusable straws and offering eco-friendly alternatives. Brisbane's Crowbar began phasing out single-use plastic straws in 2016, stating publicly on social media, "we are conscious of the environmental impact of plastic and are taking steps to reduce our footprint". Sydney's Dead Ringer announced late last year that it had eliminated plastic straws in favour of reusable metal straws and Pink Moon Saloon in Adelaide has a sign hanging above the bar stating, "save a turtle, don't use a plastic straw". The Last Straw, an initiative aiming to end the use of plastic straws in Australia, keeps an extensive list of venues committed to the cause. In Melbourne, many bars have followed suit, including Dr Morse in Abbotsford, which announced its intention to go plastic-straw free in the winter of 2017. Bar manager Jac Morgan says, "there was a bit of customer backlash when we decided to go completely straw free, but since we've brought in alternatives most customers don't even notice the difference". The bar replaced all plastic straws with paper straws (that are fully recyclable) and a bamboo resin alternative, which only takes three months to break down. To put this in perspective, the plastic straw you picked up on a whim winds up in a landfill site and takes up to 500 years to degrade (some scientists say it never fully degrades). If not in landfill, then the ocean — lodging itself in a turtle's nose or being ingested by an animal and steadily making its way up the food chain. It's understood that by 2050, plastic will outweigh fish in our oceans. Morgan says that the phasing out of plastic straws is a trend sweeping the hospitality industry, "there's definitely movement happening; a lot of venues have been trialling alternatives to plastics, even major venues and nightclubs". And customers are recognising and taking part in the shift, too. "We have a high turnover of clientele and we've noticed a lot of people saying no to straws altogether," says Morgan. "When we were using plastic straws, we'd easily get through 2500 a week. Nowadays, with the bamboo alternative positioned behind the bar, usage has dropped to around 2500 a month." Out of sight, out of mind. Countries around the world are acknowledging the threat of non-degradable plastics to our ecosystem. Canada and the UK have banned the use of microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products, with New Zealand and Ireland expected to follow suit. In 2016, France enacted a ban on plastic cups, plates and cutlery, which will come into effect in 2020. South Australia banned the use of single-use plastic bags back in 2009 — with ACT following suit in 2010, NT in 2011, Tasmania in 2012 and Queensland this year — establishing itself as a frontrunner in Australia's war against waste. It's clear that a small change can have a huge impact. So next time you're out and about, consider partying without the plastic. International Straw Free Day is on Saturday February 3, 2018. For more information on ways you can encourage venues to ditch the plastic, visit The Last Straw.
If your wine of choice is a riesling — or you're just as partial to a chilled drop on a hot summer day — this event will get your tastebuds going. Riesling Downunder, the triennial festival dedicated to one of the world's most diverse white wines, returns in 2018 — and this time it is bringing its Riesling Riot event to Sydney. Winemakers and lovers will gather at Sydney Town Hall on Wednesday, February 7 to sample the best, newest and most unique rieslings on the market. The event is presented by leading Australian Riesling makers Frankland Estate, Jim Barry Wines and Pike Wines. It will feature over 70 producers from around the world with winemakers from New Zealand, Germany, Austria and the US due to make the journey. The versatility of riesling is to thank for its surge in popularity Down Under; Australia now sits behind only Germany in plantings. Due to in part to innovations made by modern winemakers, the flavour profiles of a riesling-based drop range from crisp and citrusy to something sweeter. So in the eclectic mix of cuisines that make up the Australian food scene, pairing options are aplenty with this grape and Riesling Riot will give you the know-how to nail it every time. Tickets are available from for $60 (plus booking fee).
Summer is undoubtedly Sydney's best season, and part of the reason for that is the wealth of arts and culture that floods the city when Sydney Festival kicks off from January 6–26. We held our breath for a hot minute, not knowing if it would return in 2021, but it's here and we're ready to get out to see the best of what Australia's performers and creators have in store. Together with Sydney Festival, we've picked out nine shows and experiences you can have at the fest that won't break the bank. You can hurl paint at the cleaners, work together to 'keep the peace' and stride for a mile in another person's shoes — literally. There really is something for everyone.
Situated smack-bang in the middle of the city, Post Office Square boasts many things, including lunchtime eateries, a patch of grass amidst towering office buildings and a busy thoroughfare to Central Station. And now, it also features Brisbane's newest micropub, Isles Lane. Slotting into the parkside space, the 400-person venue comes courtesy of Trent Meade and Matt Blyth, the current team behind Fortitude Valley's The Met and GPO Hotel. For their foray into the CBD, they've whipped up a casual watering hole that segues from daytime eating to afternoon drinks seamlessly. Or, as Meade explains it, the venue takes cues from "classic big city eating houses, from New York to Barcelona", while adding its own modern Australian twist. While the beverage selection includes familiar brews and special rotational beers, plus a curated array of riesling, rose, prosecco and Champagne, Isles Lane places a heavy emphasis on the food side of the gastropub equation. With head chef Lucie Woods overseeing the kitchen, diners can expect the likes of chicken and waffles, lobster rolls, whole suckling pigs and spicy barbecue beer can chicken, along with sides of haloumi chips and spicy fried school prawns with burnt lemon aioli. Decor-wise, the space takes inspiration from its surroundings; think natural light and greenery aplenty. And, it also spreads the fun outside as well as part of its lineup of open-air events.
The biggest horror movie of 2018 kept things muted. We're talking about A Quiet Place, of course, and we mean that in a very literal sense. The blockbuster monster flick tasked a young family with staying soundless, lest they be heard and then killed by giant spider-like creatures — and their efforts to survive became a huge box office hit. A Quiet Place's hushed tones were so successful, they had a flow-on effect. When you watched the film in a cinema, you probably glared whenever someone near you crunched popcorn, crinkled a packet of chips or started talking. Your ears keenly listened out for any noise that could put Lee (John Krasinski, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan), Evelyn (Emily Blunt, Wild Mountain Thyme), Regan (Millicent Simmonds, Wonderstruck) and Marcus (Noah Jupe, Honey Boy) Abbott in jeopardy, and you didn't want some loud person in the next row ruining that viewing experience. The frightful aliens, the hushed tones and Emily Blunt in kick-ass mode — it's all back thanks to sequel A Quiet Place Part II, which hits cinemas Down Under on May 27 more than a year later than originally planned due to pandemic delays. Also returning: hoping that your fellow cinema-goers don't make a sound while you soak in every second of expertly calibrated stillness. Like the first film, this follow-up is directed and written by Krasinski, with Blunt, Simmons and Jupe all returning on-screen. The sequel's cast also welcomes franchise newcomers Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders) and Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy). And while Krasinski is due to pop up among the actors as well, going back and watching the original movie again will remind you of the type of role he'll be playing this time around. As the initial trailer way back in January 2020 showed, and the just-dropped latest sneak peek does as well, A Quiet Place Part II picks up where its predecessor left off. Both suitably unsettling glimpses start with a flashback to the day the monsters initially made their presence known, before jumping to Evelyn, Regan and Marcus' latest attempts to avoid the fearsome creatures. Expect plenty of bumps, jumps and — naturally — silence. Check out the new trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id00Eq1j8M4&feature=youtu.be After being delayed from its original 2020 release date, A Quiet Place Part II will open in Australian cinemas on May 27. Image: © 2019 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved
Nostalgia alert: The Wiggles are coming to your streaming queue and you won't need to tune into children's programming to watch along. As announced in 2022, the famous Australian entertainers, skivvy fans, Hottest 100 winners, Big Red Car drivers, and Mardi Gras and Falls Festival performers are getting the documentary treatment. Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles arrives on Prime Video in October — and it now has a trailer. This behind-the-scenes look at the globally famous group will tell exactly the tale you think it will, following The Wiggles' career over more than three decades, including the new levels of fame and popularity that 2022 sent their way. Sure, Dorothy the Dinosaur mightn't need an origin story, but OG Wiggles Anthony Field, Murray Cook, Greg Page and Jeff Fatt are getting one, with Sally Aitken (Valerie Taylor: Playing with Sharks, David Stratton: A Cinematic Life) directing. How did four friends become one of the biggest names in Aussie music and TV? This is the tale that Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles tells. First, they met while studying early childhood teaching. Then, they turned their learnings there into a one-off album in the early 90s. After that, they made blue-, red-, yellow- and purple-wearing history, but not without getting rejections aplenty first. Also covered, including via lively to-camera chats as teased in the film's sneak peeks: the decisions and the reactions when four of the original group decided that it was time to wear clothing with looser-fitting necks and step away from being Wiggles. And, the doco covers Page's onstage cardiac arrest — with a crowd of adult fans watching — as well as The Wiggles' evolution over the decades, including now delighting both the young and the young at heart. Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles will arrive on Prime Video on Tuesday, October 24; however, that isn't the film's first stop. Before that, it'll enjoy its world premiere at the first-ever SXSW Sydney, showing as part of the event's Screen Festival. At the fest, The Wiggles in attendance for this trip down memory lane — their own, and everyone in Australia's as well — including for Q&As and performances. Check out the trailer for Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles below. Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles will stream via Prime Video from Tuesday, October 24.
If you like sipping Four Pillars' bloody gin, the distillery doubled your drinking options when winter 2023 rolled around. Last year, it didn't just make its bloody excellent Bloody Shiraz Gin, as it has annually since 2015. In addition, it also debuted a brand-new Bloody Pinot Noir Gin. Yes, the drop gives another grape variety the bloody treatment. Yes, it was popular. When winter 2024 started approaching, Four Pillars announced the return of its shiraz option; however, there was no sign of its other bloody tasty limited-edition wine-infused concoction for another vintage. Until now, that is, with the brand waiting until the thick of the cold weather to reveal that this too is a Bloody Pinot Noir Gin year. How much of a hit was the first vintage? It sold out in less than a week. So, if you're keen to add 2024's to your gin shrine, you'd best mark a few dates in your diary. It goes on sale around the country on Tuesday, August 13 — via the Four Pillars website, plus Four Pillars Distillery at Healesville in Victoria and the Four Pillars Lab in Surry Hills in Sydney — but you can get your hands on some from Wednesday, August 7 if you're a Four Pillars subscriber. 2024's tipple wasn't always a certainty. "When we had some early rain in the season, we weren't quite sure we'd be able to pull it off," explains Four Pillars Co-founder and Head Distiller Cameron Mackenzie. "But lo and behold, 2024 is pretty bloody good pinot. It also helps we don't just get grapes from one place. We source from a couple of vineyards and use multiple clones to get a more complex gin at the end. The only downside is we can only get so much of it." Like its shiraz sibling, the Bloody Pinot Noir Gin sources its fruit from Yarra Valley again, from Yarra Station and Upper Ngumby. The end result is lighter, brighter in colour, and with rhubarb, strawberry and rose petal notes. This vintage underwent a new process, soaking entire pinot bunches in Four Pillars' high-proof Rare Dry Gin for seven weeks, then pressing them and blending in more Rare Dry Gin. The best way to drink it? Four Pillars recommends using it in gin and soda, with just a squeeze of lemon and a lemon slice as a garnish. Head to the distillery's website for a few other cocktail ideas, too, including the Pinot Colada and the Pinot Blush. The 2024 Four Pillars Bloody Pinot Noir Gin will go on sale around the country on Tuesday, August 13, or on Wednesday, August 7 if you're a Four Pillars subscriber. Head to the Four Pillars website to make a purchase — or hit up the Four Pillars Distillery at Healesville, Victoria and the Four Pillars Lab in Surry Hills, Sydney.
Clouds are already pretty magical. They float around the sky above us, giving us shade (the good kind) and provide perfect material to gaze at while lying in the grass. Spotting shapes in clouds is a familiar childhood pastime for most of us — you see a monster, then your mum's face, then a flower. It's like an inkblot test for primary schoolers. Now the grownups have had their turn, and the results are kind of amazing. Argentinian artist Martin Feijoo bases his work on these moving blobs of cotton wool (or gas? — we're not great at science). From staring up and the sky and using his imagination, Feijoo has produced a gorgeous body of work from what he terms 'Shaping Clouds'. After taking a photo of the sky, the artist pencils in the full image he sees in his mind. This of course leads to some outlandish images. Giant sea turtles dive down to the earth below and a platypus with a giant neck attempts to walk on its hind legs. "When I was a child I was told that clouds’ shapes were created by expert balloon twister clowns who live in the sky," says the artist. "I imagine someone made [these clouds] for me." Now that the dreary skies of winter are gone, we can't wait to do some sky-gazing of our own. Check out the artist's Tumblr to see the full drawing process. Via Lost at E Minor and Daily Mail.
If you think Sydney Contemporary — a biennial international art fair held at Carriageworks — is only for art lovers with Chanel suits and investors with hedge funds, think again. Sure, 90 respected galleries from all over the world will be exhibiting (and selling) some of the best contemporary art money can buy, but you will also find an entire program of more affordable (and just as impressive) art on offer. It's made even more accessible by the presence of Art Money, an art loans program for works priced between $750 and $20,000. And if you want to leave commerce out of it entirely, look to addendum program Sydney Art Week, which is scattering art happenings throughout Carriageworks and its surrounding suburbs. Look out for art-infused bar crawls, monolithic art installations, a special edition of the Redfern Night Market, and the food pop-up Local Palette. But where you really want to be is Sydney Contemporary's official opening night on Thursday, September 10, from 5pm–9pm. The event includes performances by Sarsha Simone, Jake Meadows, The Alaska Orchestra, Hissy Fit, Matt Format and Bhenji Ra. Kick on after 8.30pm with a trail of performance art starting at Sydney Contemporary and continuing on through Redfern to the Bearded Tit. Tickets to Sydney Contemporary opening night are $50 from the event website, but thanks to Sydney Contemporary, we have five double passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter and then email win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
Thanks to your long-suffering folks, beach umbrellas were one of those childhood perks you enjoyed without any effort on your own part, like an endless supply of free snacks or piggybacks on demand. It meant you could spend the whole day at the beach in comfort rather than leaving, red and blistery, after two or three hours when endless dips in the ocean are no longer effective. Basil Bangs' beautifully designed beach umbrellas will allow you to spend a sensible day at the beach while still looking hip. The ‘Calypso’ and ‘Princess and the Pea’ umbrellas have pretty white fringing, or if you want yours a little more masculine, the ‘Chaplin Stripe’ is a classic black and white. If you're struggling to find something for Christmas for that fashionable friend with discerning taste, the umbrella that Missoni designed in collaboration with Basil Bangs will be sure to win brownie points. Concrete Playground caught up with Lauren Boyce and Mike Durante, the two talented halves of Basil Bangs, to find out what makes them and their business tick. Tell us about the name, Basil Bangs. We’re always being asked, “Who is this Basil Bangs character!??”. Well, Basil Bangs is the mysterious dude behind our loud and proud range of premium sun umbrellas. We joke that he’s related to James Boags (they’re cousins). We’re often revealing little clues to our Facebook fans about Basil’s world & who he is with his favourite gigs, dining experiences and of course his favourite places to hang out poolside or with sandy toes. What would be Basil’s perfect day in Sydney? Basil starts his perfect day in salt water. He rides his cruiser to the beach for a surf check. If the surf’s on, he’s out there. If it’s really perfect, no wetsuit’s required, it’s offshore & no-one’s out!! Basil loves the farmers markets at Bondi so he’ll often pick up some breakfast ingredients. Then it’s brunch and coffee time with papers and a picnic rug at the park, sharing the shade cast by a BB Mr Huckabee with his lady and his border collie. After that, there might be a BBQ with mates on the cards, or a cruise into town to check out the latest books, or pop into an exhibition at Object. A snack at Bourke Street Bakery is always on the cards if he’s in the neighbourhood (he’s got a sweet tooth that one!), otherwise a favourite spot to shoot the breeze or have a relaxed meal with mates is The Commons in Darlinghurst. For evening entertainment he’d catch The National playing at The Enmore or an emerging act at The Basement, or perhaps the end of the Bicycle Film Festival down at Bondi. Basil’s arm can always be twisted for a nightcap somewhere cosy…he’s currently enjoying a nice Cognac. Where do you get your inspiration from? We’re passionate travellers and really admire how Europeans do beach. So chic. We love the Slim Aarons’ work, how he captured the incredible summers in the 1960s and 70s is truly inspirational. That period was a time of such optimism and risk taking. Our friends and family are a happy and very funny bunch who always give us new ideas. It’s awesome to see the little-ies start to enjoy the shade these brollies offer. The sandcastles are going to get epic. It’s a much easier way to be sun smart than the beach tents – and let’s face it, far more beautiful! Our goal is to surpass the beach tent as the shade of choice this summer. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when starting out? Hmm, well, you can easily underestimate how long it takes to do things, especially when you’re doing everything yourself and sometimes learning from scratch. We also launched during the GFC, which was interesting timing! It made us really work hard to ensure value and quality so in the end it was a good thing. Basil Bangs isn’t about being the cheapest thing around. What we do want is to be long lasting, to be easy to use, and to wear with you. Everyone loves the vintage brollies you see at markets or the back of garages that have such personality. In 30 years we hope our brollies are a collector’s item too. We are really passionate about what Basil Bangs is and stands for, so when we see one of our brollies being used on the beach, or hanging out in a park, it makes all the hard slog worthwhile. How do you choose your materials? We choose our materials for durability, quality, the job they’re meant to do, and equally important, how great they look. How did the collaboration with Missoni come about? As massive fans of Missoni, we bandied around the idea of doing something with them when we first started. In the end we just approached them, and here we are. I think that having a high quality, design-led product that they don’t currently have in their range already was the trick. And how gorgeous is it? They make all the fabric in Italy in their own mills. We would love to keep on revealing a different Missoni Brolly each summer but we’ll see…. Can your umbrellas be used in places apart from the beach? Yes absolutely, anywhere you need some shade. We’ve seen them being used on little balconies above a small table and 2 chairs, in backyards, on patios and decks. They’re ideal for people in apartments because they’re not too big and can be easily stored away. We take ours pretty much everywhere we go; it’s always in the car for 'just in case'. The Chaplin Stripe has even been used for daytime weddings where some chic shade was required but they didn’t want a marquee. So many options : ) Any words of wisdom for people thinking of starting their own brand? Do your research, do your sums, make sure you have clear goals, and most importantly: HAVE FUN! How will you spending your summer? Morning swims and surfs, twilight dinners, on our bikes, at the markets, enjoying all the amazing exhibitions that come to town, eating…lots, seeing some of the many great gigs, cruising around Sydney Festival First Night… and of course we’ll be reading Concrete Playground for any ideas! What is the best thing about summer in Sydney? What a question! Hmm the best thing about summer is Sydney! It’s…that the ocean stays brisk…eating gelato from Messina or Pompei’s on a steamy evening… smiley, happy people around town…drinking shandies…the fireworks…barbeques…holidays… What’s your favourite Sydney beach? Well, we’re based in Bondi so of course we think North Bondi is pretty great. That said, we can’t narrow it down to just one beach. Our pick for harbour side swims are Parsley Bay Reserve and Redleaf, and for beaches it’s Bronte, Freshwater, and Palm Beach. Honestly though, there are just too many stunning spots to choose from. We’re pretty blessed here in Sydney!
A good night's sleep is one of life's pure joys — and what better way is there to enhance your year than with a new set of bed sheets or a new mattress. Melbourne-designed Eva Mattress is here to help up your comfort level with its Easter sale. It's doing $50 off sheets and more than $100 off mattresses — and that's just the start. Up until 10am on Tuesday, April 6, the local Aussie retailer is offering big discounts so you can ensure you're nice and cosy each night before winter rolls around. Expect $125 off its Eva mattress, $50 off the Eva pillow, $50 off Eva hemp linen and $50 off timber bed frames. The brand's award-winning mattress-in-a-box has been engineered as a hybrid, which means it combines the comfort of memory foam with the support of pocket springs. The memory foam pillow uses activated charcoal to keep you cool and dry throughout the night. The timber bed frame, winner of a 2020 Good Design Award, has been certified by the Forrest Stewardship Council, meaning it's made from sustainably sourced timber. If you do spring for the mattress, sheets, pillow or bed frame, they come with a 120-night free trial, so you can be sure they'll help you get a good night sleep before you commit. Also, all mattress orders come with a 12-year warranty, ensuring you'll be sleeping pretty for years to come. Browse the store and pick up a discount. 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.
If you think a Craft Beerlympics sounds lame, you're very wrong. Picture events like a tableless ping pong rally, a paper plane distance competition and an egg and spoon and beer race. Now picture it again except all the competitors have to be holding a schooner at all times. It just got a lot funnier, didn't it? If viewing isn't your thing, join in a game of Beer Wheel of Death and reminisce on your uni days. This event is one of our top ten picks of Sydney Craft Beer Week. Check out the other nine.
Australia's most sinister festival, Dark Mofo, is back for its seventh year and is set to be as boundary-pushing as ever, with its initial lineup announced today. As always, the festival will take place in the lead up to the winter solstice, exploring connections between old and contemporary mythology through art installations, performance, talks and music — all taking place in the darkness of Tasmanian winter. Hosted by the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), Dark Mofo will takeover most of Hobart between June 3–23, showcasing a melting pot of artists, creatives and thinkers who dwell in the shadows of mainstream culture. Kicking things off is the festival's ideas symposium Dark + Dangerous Thoughts, running from June 6 to 9, which will present varied perspectives on issues of identity and politics from writers, commentators and thinkers such as homegrown talent Stan Grant, Yumi Stynes, Nakkiah Lui and Ginger Gorman alongside international guests Jennifer Boylan, Frederic Martel, and Coleman Hughes, among many others. Talks will navigate controversial topics such as Australia Day, average sex and priests in the closet. On site at MONA, installations by Ai Weiwei, Alfredo Jaar, Oliver Beer and Chris Townsend will be exhibited as well as MONA's own Kirsha Kaechele, who'll bring her book Eat the Problem to life with a series of immersive feasts (expect cane toads, starfish and camel), and an exhibition featuring one of the world's largest glockenspiels. Sharon Van Etten – the American musician and composer, who's appeared in David Lynch's Twin Peaks: The Return and Netflix's OA – is set to perform a night of disjointed, wistful and at times menacing folk-rock-pop with her new album Remind Me Tomorrow at the Odean on Sunday, June 9. [caption id="attachment_619495" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dark Mofo's Winter Feast, shot by Rémi Chauvin.[/caption] And back again for another extravagant performance is Mike Parr with Towards a Black Square – a lengthy blindfolded performance in an undisclosed location, shown through live video feed – while over at DarkLab's deconsecrated church, controversial Australian artist Paul Yore will transform the space into a technicolour shrine for Dolly Parton, Justin Bieber and other icons of sex, love and the excessive with It's All Wrong But It's Alright. The full lineup is yet to be announced, but we're expecting all the regular winter feasts, nude swims and warehouse parties will return, too. We'll update you when it drops on Friday, April 12. Dark Mofo returns to Hobart from June 6 and 23. The full lineup will be announced Friday April 12. Pre-sale tickets are available from 6pm on Monday, April 15 with general tickets on sale from 11pm on Tuesday, April 16. For more information, visit the festival website.
If you're a wannabe wizard or witch looking for more Harry Potter magic in your life, the last few years have provided plenty of ways to accio up some enchanting fun. Harry Potter-themed potions bars have popped up across Australia and New Zealand, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child hit the stage in Melbourne, and screenings, parties, escape rooms, scavenger hunts and other HP-centric events have been common everywhere, really. You can also play Pokemon Go-style game Wizards Unite or browse your way through the online Harry Potter at Home portal whenever you like, too. Soon, all of above will pale in comparison to the kind of space HP fans can really lose themselves in — and one that, hopefully, visitors will need a Marauder's Map to get around. That'd be a dedicated Harry Potter theme park, which is set to open in Japan in the first half of 2023. Fingers (or wands) crossed that international travel is back to normal by then. As first reported earlier this year, the new park will take over part of the existing Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo's Nerima ward. That site has been up and running for 94 years, but will close at the end of August 2020 — so Warner Bros Studio Tours, Warner Bros Japan, Seibu Railway Co Ltd, ITOCHU Corporation and Fuyo General Lease Co Ltd are teaming up, waving a few magic wands about and turning a section of it into a Harry Potter-theme park. [caption id="attachment_761496" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Toshimaen. Image: Rsa via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Called Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo — The Making of Harry Potter, the new venture will take more than a few cues from the existing Harry Potter attraction in London, which spans costumes, props, exhibitions and special events. That means there'll be a focus on sets that fans can tour, rather than rides. If you were hoping to play quidditch, travel by portkey or ride the floo network, that doesn't seem to be on the agenda, sorry. Instead, visitors will be taken "on a fascinating behind the scenes tour of the Wizarding World series," according to the statement officially announcing the Tokyo park. Over a space of about 30,000 square metres that'll include a soundstage and backlot area, there'll be movie sets that were designed and built by the creators of the Harry Potter series, as well as original outfits and items from the films. Overall, it's expected to take patrons about half a day to wander through it all. [caption id="attachment_761499" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Warner Bros Studio Tour London[/caption] Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo — The Making of Harry Potter will be ticketed, unsurprisingly, but outside the entrance it'll also feature a landscaped area filled with sculptures of Harry Potter figures — and that'll be accessible to both park visitors and local residents. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will be turning the rest of Toshimaen Amusement Park's grounds into a public park, with the Harry Potter tour and the rest of site coordinating their development plans. Japan is already home to a Harry Potter theme park zone at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka — so diehard devotees just might have to visit two of the country's cities. When it comes to fruition, add the dedicated Harry Potter theme park to Japan's hefty range of pop culture-themed attractions. A Super Nintendo amusement park zone is due to open at the aforementioned Universal Studios Japan in Osaka this year, a forthcoming Godzilla attraction will let you zipline into the monster's mouth, and a Studio Ghibli theme park is in the works — and Tokyo already boasts huge Godzilla and Gundam statues, as well as the Studio Ghibli Museum just outside the city. Top image: Warner Bros Studio Tour London.
As every horror fan knows, some things just won't die. In countless scary movie sagas, that statement applies to determined heroes and heroines facing off against insidious killers and creepy forces, to those fear-inducing evil-doers, and to plenty of ominous entities lingering around and wreaking havoc well after their time has expired. As many a long-running series has also shown (think: Halloween, Saw, The Grudge, The Ring and Child's Play, just to name a few), it also proves accurate when it comes to the franchises themselves. Add Scream to the pile of horror series that just keep kicking on — including, come January 2022, with a fifth film. An instant classic ever since the first movie smartly blended slasher scares and self-aware laughs back in 1996, the franchise has served up three sequels so far, as well as a TV spinoff. Now, it's returning with a flick that's being badged a 'relaunch', but will also include a heap of familiar faces. As 2018's excellent Halloween demonstrated, bringing back original cast members can turn out rather nicely for horror sagas — so the new Scream has enlisted Courteney Cox, David Arquette and none other than Neve Campbell. They'll all reprise their roles as reporter Gale Weathers, deputy-turned-sheriff Dewey Riley, and initial Ghostface target Sidney Prescott, respectively. Yes, this series has always had a thing for Sid, and it still does. Cox, Arquette and Campbell will co-star alongside The Boys' Jack Quaid, In the Heights' Melissa Barrera and You's Jenna Ortea. Behind the lens, with filmmaker Wes Craven — who directed all four original Scream films — passing away in 2015, Ready or Not's Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett will take the helm. And, story-wise, expect everyone to head back to the original setting of Woodsboro, California — where more scream-inducing incidents are clearly going to take place. If you're keen to rewatch your way through the franchise to-date, Scream, 1997's Scream 2 and 2000's Scream 3 are all available to stream in Australia on Stan (with 1 and 3 on Amazon Prime Video, too), with Scream 4 on Google Play and YouTube Movies, and Scream: The TV Series on Netflix. In New Zealand, Scream and Scream 3 are available on Amazon Prime Video, Scream 2 is on Google Play and YouTube Movies, Scream 4 is on Neon and Scream: The TV Series is on Netflix. Or, you can revisit the original Scream's trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWm_mkbdpCA The new Scream movie will hit cinemas Down Under on January 13, 2020.
Since 2018, television has had an Atlanta-shaped hole where one of the best shows of the past decade should've sat. The Donald Glover-created, -starring, -co-written and -sometimes-directed series made a huge splash when it first arrived in 2016, then followed up its stellar first season with a phenomenal second batch of episodes — but, as fans have seen happen for Earnest 'Earn' Marks on-screen, too, life got in the way of the program's third season. Glover has been busy over the past four years, of course. Since we've last seen him play Earn, he's cancelled and rescheduled Australian tours, played Coachella, voiced Simba in the photorealistic remake of The Lion King, dropped albums and made Guava Island with Rihanna, and that was all before the pandemic. Thankfully, making more Atlanta also found its way onto his to-do list — and Australians will be able to start watching the results via SBS and SBS On Demand from Friday, March 25. To tide you over until then, the full trailer for Atlanta's third season has just dropped — and Earn and his pals are busy here, too. His cousin Alfred (Brian Tyree Henry, Godzilla vs Kong), aka Paper Boi, is touring Europe, with Earn along for the ride alongside Alfred's righthand man Darius (Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah). As this latest sneak peek shows, eerie Santas, gushing fans and strange parties are all involved, in a trailer that sports a surreal vibe from start to finish. If you're new to the show, it dropped into Earn's life after he'd quit Princeton, returned home to the titular city, then began managing his Alfred's rap career — but little has ever gone as planned for him since. The 30-something also has an on-again-off-again relationship with Van (Zazie Beetz, The Harder They Fall), with the pair sharing a daughter, which throws up complications on a regular basis. Tackling the ins and outs of Earn and co's lives — including the daily reality of being Black in America today — while examining race, money, relationships, parenthood, art, music and simply trying to get by: that's Atlanta on paper, and it hits all of those marks devastatingly well. But, as the marvel that was season two's Teddy Perkins episode demonstrated, this series always bobs and weaves in its own unexpected directions. And yes, as well as being one of the best things on TV, it boasts one of the best casts on television, too. Atlanta will end after its fourth season, which is set to also air in 2022, arriving sometime during spring Down Under — but for now, season three's March 25 premiere date can't come soon enough. Check out the full trailer for Atlanta's third season below: Atlanta season three will start screening via SBS and streaming via SBS On Demand from Friday, March 25.
Since 2011, DJ Tom Loud's travelling dance party Hot Dub Time Machine has ripped up stages the world over, offering a rolling crossfade of the last six decades of pop-music. But seeing as you can't go out and party at a club or even a vineyard at the moment due to the Government's ban on mass gatherings, Hot Dub is bringing the good times to your living room instead. Expect everything from 50s rock 'n' roll tunes to disco hits like ABBA's 'Gimme Gimme Gimme' and Donna Summer's sultry 'I Feel Love'; ballads and some glam rock from the 80s; Alex Dyson cutting aerobics-style moves to 90s hit 'Steal My Sunshine'; Darude's epic 'Sandstorm'; and Britney's 'Toxic' — you get the idea. Sure enough, this online dance party will have you pushing your furniture aside and heating up a makeshift at-home dance floor in no time. To add to the vibe, there'll be disco lights and a live chat going so you can socialise with other partygoers, plus Loud's family dancing in the background, keeping things wholesome. Hot Dub at Home occurs every second Saturday, kicking off a 6pm, and can be viewed on Twitch. Hot Dub has also launched podcast Decades by Hot Dub Time Machine which will keep you grooving till the next online boogie fest rolls around. Top image: Pat Stevenson
With the pervasiveness of downloads and streaming these days, it's easy for the full extent of your movie viewing to end up taking place on the couch. So it's nice to be reminded every now and again of what it's like for cinema to be a special and communal experience through events such as World Movies Secret Cinema. The film, genre, and location are all kept secret until the last moment in these events, which tap into an international trend to package cinema as an active experience rather than a passive diversion, immersing the audience through elaborate venue theming. The first instalment of the event, held in May, got us so excited that it sold out within an hour of tickets going on sale. The next will take things up a notch further with a mystery form of transport involved in getting to the venue. The last World Movies Secret Cinema transformed the Standard on Taylor Square into an illicit nightclub where a bride in white wedding dress loitered portentously and young partygoers were hounded by gruff cops. It truly got you in the mood for Circumstance, a punchy new Iranian film by Maryam Keshavarz most of us would otherwise have missed and which also largely took place at squashy clubs as young people grappled with sexuality and drugs. In a typically Sydney touch, the theatre was eclipsed by the food, which included every type of Persian canape imaginable as we sat in the bar and baklava to munch on during the movie. (Though the addition of the ever-popular Festivalists to the team should up the immersiveness of the production details this time around.) Tickets to World Movies Secret Cinema go on sale on Monday, October 8, at 9am. https://youtube.com/watch?v=CwaId0j5E_E
There's plenty to look at in Yves Saint Laurent, a new biopic of the legendary fashion designer. As well as giving the world the iconic Le Smoking women's tuxedo, he is credited with making ready-to-wear reputable in world of haute couture. His fashion journey — and personal one — is brought to life by director Jalil Lespert and gangly actor Pierre Niney in this French-language biopic. This film opens in 1953, as the 18-year-old Laurent wins a major fashion prize, which leads him to take over the Christian Dior legacy. Here he meets Pierre Berge, patron of the arts, future business partner and the love of his life. Three years later, they create the Yves Saint Laurent company and revolutionise the world of fashion. The film was made with the support of the Foundation of Yves Saint Laurent. The upshot of this is that the filmmakers were able to use all the original YSL designs. Get ready to feast your eyes. Read our full review here. Yves Saint Laurent is in cinemas on June 26, and thanks to Entertainment One, we have ten double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=-ec-DQ_7EUM
Sweat, stretch and sip at Handpicked Wines on a Saturday. The Kensington Street cellar door will get you out of bed on Saturday morning with a one-hour yoga session followed by a wine tasting. Think of it as a post-practice reward. Or don't, because we all know you don't need a reason to drink Riesling. It's the ultimate combo for yogis and wine-lovers — either way, it'll teach wine lovers how to love yoga, and vice-versa. Lead by a Handpicked sommelier, this event will leave you feeling both stretched and slightly buzzed. It's happening every Saturday until August 19 from 11.30am to 1pm. Handpicked is also running Raclette Tuesdays at the moment if you want to back up your session with gooey cheese.
What happens when two cousins played by Kieran Culkin (Succession) and Jesse Eisenberg (Fleishman Is in Trouble) honour their grandmother and explore their family's past by heading to Poland? Eisenberg himself asked that question, then turned the answer into the Sundance-premiering and now Jewish International Film Festival-bound A Real Pain. The actor not only co-stars but writes and directs the dramedy, his second feature behind the lens — and Australian audiences can see the results when JIFF returns for 2024. This year's festival is back to finish out the year, screening in seven cities — Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Canberra — across various dates between Sunday, October 27–Sunday, December 22. Just like its fellow major cultural film fests, such as its French, Spanish, Italian, Scandinavian and Japanese counterparts, JIFF's 2024 slate is jam-packed. Movie lovers can choose between 41 features, two TV shows and a showcase of short films, with the festival's titles hailing from 17 countries. Eisenberg and Culkin aren't the only big names on the lineup. Closing night's Berlin-set The Performance, which is adapted from an Arthur Miller short story and tells of a Jewish American tap dancer, stars Jeremy Piven (Sweetwater). The fest's centrepiece pick Between the Temples features Jason Schwartzman (Megalopolis) as a cantor and Carol Kane (Dinner with Parents) as his former elementary school music teacher. And in White Bird, which hails from a book by the author of fellow page-to-screen effort Wonder, Helen Mirren (Barbie) and Gillian Anderson (Scoop) pop up. In Sydney and Melbourne only — it's playing the Brisbane International Film Festival in the Queensland capital instead — The Brutalist is on the JIFF bill as well. It shows Down Under after winning Venice's Silver Lion-winner for Best Director for actor-turned-filmmaker Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader, Vox Lux). Starring on-screen: Adrien Brody (Asteroid City), Felicity Jones (Dead Shot) and Guy Pearce (Inside), in a flick that follows architect László Toth and his wife Erzsébet to America from Europe after the Second World War. Well-known folks are also in the spotlight in documentaries Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, Diane Warren: Relentless and How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer — and acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People, The Trip movies) is on the lineup via British Mandatory Palestine-set historical thriller Shoshana. Then, there's TV series Kafka, arriving a century after the death of its namesake. Highlights across the rest of the program include documentary The Commandant's Shadow, about The Zone of Interest-featured Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss' son Hans Jürgen Höss meeting with survivor Anita Lasker-Wallfisch; Tatami, following a female Iranian judo athlete played by Arienne Mandi (The L Word: Generation Q), with Guy Nattiv (Golda) and Zar Amir Ebrahimi (last seen on-screen in Shayda, and also co-starring here) co-directing; television's Auckland-set Kid Sister; and Aussie doco Pita with Vegemite: An Israeli Australian Story. "Our 2024 program showcases stars and change makers, offering audiences a rich tapestry of stories that explore the depth and diversity of Jewish life," explains JIFF Artistic Director Eddie Tamir. "We are excited to present films that span thousands of years of history and culture, reflecting on both the ancient traditions that have shaped our world and the contemporary challenges we face today." Jewish International Film Festival 2024 Dates and Locations Sunday, October 27–Wednesday, December 4 — Classic Cinemas (full dates), Lido Cinemas (Monday, October 28–Tuesday, December 3) and Cameo Cinemas (Saturday, November 9–Wednesday, November 13), Melbourne Monday, October 28–Thursday, December 5 — Ritz Cinemas (full dates) and Roseville Cinemas (Thursday, November 7–Wednesday, November 20), Sydney Thursday, November 7–Sunday, November 17 — New Farm Cinemas, Brisbane Thursday, November 7–Sunday, November 17 — The Piccadilly, Adelaide Thursday, November 7–Sunday, November 17 — State Cinema, Hobart Saturday, December 7–Sunday, December 8 — Dendy Cinemas, Canberra Saturday, December 14–Sunday, December 22 — Luna Leederville, Perth The 2024 Jewish International Film Festival runs from October–December. For more information, or to buy tickets, head to the festival's website.
Christmas lunch is arguably the most important meal of the year. Get it right, with a beautiful ham as the centrepiece, and it is almost guaranteed that the day will run smoothly, ending with everyone in food comas whilst watching Miracle on 34th Street. Get it wrong, though, and it is likely that you will have a host of cranky family members ready to divulge some vindictive secrets and burn down the Christmas tree. Ensure that this year's festivities populate the family albums for all the right reasons by purchasing a Christmas ham of the highest quality from Victor Churchill and marinading it in the ham glaze you'll get as a gift when paying with your MasterCard® card. Victor Churchill's Christmas ham legs range from $95 for a half leg to $185 for a full leg. The delicious deal with complimentary glaze is all thanks to MasterCard's Priceless Sydney program and should be taken advantage of given the cut the butcher is using this season. Their Kurobuta Christmas hams are some of the most delicious and succulent cuts ever tasted, combining the very best European haute cuisine and Aussie character. So if you want to be the toast of the family and make this Christmas one to remember, head down to 132 Queen Street, Woollahra and order your Victor Churchill ham as soon as possible. This offer is strictly subject to availability while stocks last, so pay now and save Christmas Eve for that last-minute gift shopping instead. Visit the Priceless Sydney website to see more locally famous offers.
Already an enormous success on Broadway, in London's West End and in Melbourne, Tony and Olivier award-winning musical Come From Away is bringing its remarkable true tale to Sydney — again. Based on real post-September 11 events, the acclaimed production will return to the city to resume its story of kind-hearted charm, after initially opening back in June. And, it'll only be welcoming in vaccinated patrons. Like everything in the city, Come From Away was forced to close when lockdown hit. So, it knows the impact the pandemic has been having on theatre productions from firsthand experience. Actually, this'll be the show's second Sydney comeback, after it was first due to head up from Melbourne in 2020, but was then postponed for obvious reasons. The show will restart its Sydney season on Wednesday, October 20, with tickets now on sale for performances up until Sunday, November 28. Proof of full COVID-19 vaccination will be required to attend a Come From Away performance, and the production also has a mandatory vax policy for its cast and crew. The planned reopening is in line with the New South Wales Government's roadmap for transitioning out of lockdown, which sees theatre shows start again when 70-percent of eligible NSW residents have had both jabs — which is expected in mid-October. And, the production will be able to welcome in a 75-percent capacity audience. If you aren't familiar with the musical's plot or the actual events that inspired it, it's quite the exceptional story. In the week after the September 11 attacks in 2001, 38 planes were unexpectedly ordered to land in the small Canadian town of Gander, in the province of Newfoundland. Part of Operation Yellow Ribbon — which diverted civilian air traffic to Canada en masse following the attacks — the move saw around 7000 air travellers grounded in the tiny spot, almost doubling its population. Usually, the town is home to just under 12,000 residents. To create Come From Away, writers and composers Irene Sankoff and David Hein spent hundreds of hours interviewing thousands of locals and passengers, using their experiences to drive the narrative — and, in many cases, using their real names in the show as well. The result is a musical not just about people coming from away (the term that Newfoundlanders use to refer to folks not born on the island), but coming together, all at a time when tensions were running high worldwide. Since being workshopped in 2012, having a run in Ontario in 2013, then officially premiering in San Diego in 2015, Come From Away has become a global smash hit. After opening on Broadway in 2017, it was still running before the theatre district closed due to COVID-19. The musical wowed crowds in the West End, too — and, when it first opened in Melbourne in July 2019, it became the Comedy Theatre's most successful musical in the venue's 91-year history. Along the way, the show has picked up a Tony Award for best direction of a musical, six other nominations, and four Olivier Awards out of nine nominations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zmvy1p2FOE&feature=emb_title Come From Away will return to Sydney's Capitol Theatre from Wednesday, October 20 for vaccinated patrons only. For further information — or to buy tickets for performances up until Sunday, November 28 — visit the musical's website. Images: Jeff Busby.
Mezcal has been infiltrating margaritas for a little while now, so you have probably heard of it, but chances are you haven’t been enjoying it to its full capacity. Touted as the 'other agave', this elegant spirit has more in common with wine or whiskey than big brother tequila, and has a fair dash of mystery surrounding it. Oh, you’ve heard of the worm? Okay. But, how about the five magical moments of mezcal? Regina Bueno Ros of Mr Moustache fills us in on how each glass works: 1. Heats the soul and we start to sweat. 2. Feeds our sprit; raises the mood and is a magical moment. 3. Feeds our heart; we all start to laugh; the one that doesn’t talk starts to talk. 4. We connect with our senses we cry, we laugh, we tell stories. It is the liberation of the soul; eternal peace. 5. The world is ours; we all hug and forgive each other. I trust I have your attention. Settle in as Bueno Ros and Phil Bayly of Cafe Pacifico and Post Scoob Productions (an agave training company) offer up the secrets of Mexico’s artisanal agave spirit. What agave is that? In tequila versus mezcal terms, the big one is agave varieties. “You’ve got some two to three hundred varieties of agave between the south of the US and Panama, and the majority of them are in Mexico," explains Bayly. "Out of them there’s only one they can use for making tequila … There’s about twenty-five different species of agave they use to make mezcal. Now the most commonly used one is espadín and that’s a bit like — in fact, they believe that could be — the mother of tequila [agave]." How do they make mezcal? The process of mezcal production reads a bit like Benedectine monks making cheese during the 12th century — which is pretty damn cool, but it also takes a very long time to detail. So it you’re keen follow this link or set yourself up with a Post Scoob training session. The short version is they forage wild agaves, cook them over hot coals, ferment them and then distill the spirit. Peppered through the story are sustainable practices (before they were cool), a lot of donkeys, a few crosses for good luck, and the odd turkey carcass involvement. The mezcal master The key word with mezcal is artisan; products made traditionally by palenqueros (distillers) are worlds apart from the cheaply churned-out industrialised mezcals. The master palenqueros almost outdo their product in the mystical stakes — Bayly recalls the Del Maguey head distiller sucking mezcal through a straw to reliably discern the alcohol content, and Bueno Ros pulls no punches in stressing the importance of keeping mezcal in the hands of people who are literally raised to make it. “Now mezcal is becoming very famous in Mexico as well, so people with money are starting to make brands," she says. "It's just people with money who want to go into the business because it is trendy. The thing about mezcal is that whoever buys it or makes it, they always have to be in contact with the indigenous. If a brand is not paying the indigenous or treating them correctly, people who actually respect mezcal will not support them … If we ruin the indigenous we are not going to get this product back so it is in our interests to support them.” How to drink mezcal Treat mezcal with the same respect you treat whiskey, and I mean $25-a-shot whiskey, not shots-at-Shady's whiskey — even though you should drink your mezcal from a shot glass. First you have to smell it. Unlike wine, you want to take a sniff (not too deep though; it's a pure spirit) from three different points over the glass, and if it is quality product, you should get three distinct notes. Starting at the lip closest to your mouth take a whiff at the lip, the middle and the far lip— make sure you come up for air between inhales. Now take your first sip, turn your head to the side and swallow. You won’t have to do it forever, but when you’re starting out this will help you pick up on the subtleties. Am I drinking the good stuff? Mezcal has a bit of a bad name because a lot of inferior spirits hit our shores before the good stuff, but you can outsmart even the most adept marketing campaigns with a few failsafes. Firstly, you want something pure, so that means a high alcohol content. More than 45 percent is a good number to have in mind, but if you are keen, just pour a small amount into your hands and rub them together; if they feel clean and smell green, you are in the clear. Likewise, have a read of the bottle and look for "wild agave", or probe your bartender for specifics on how it is made (keep an ear out for terms like 'artisanal mezcal'). My first mezcal Don’t worry about breaking the bank with your first mezcal, or your second for that matter; just remember the tips above and start out with a straight joven (aged under six months) espadín. The El Jolgorio range is a great way to make sure you are drinking quality mezcal (try out their Espadín, $12.50 at Mr Moustache). Or, for the one winning awards, try Sangremal. Whiskey drinkers looking for something new(ish) can try out Agave de Cortes Extra Anejo for some big vanilla and caramel flavours with a dash of that familiar smoke. Or, take Bayly's recommendation: “I really like Minero from Del Maguey, actually even Ilegal, the Joven, for mixing.” Food matching your agave “Rather than a particular food, I’d say mezcal can be a really good aperitif, because it has high acid that really opens and prepares your pallet," says Bayly. "Have a little mezcal before dinner and it gets you ready. There’s also such a wide variety that it will obviously go with meats. They eat it with everything in Mexico.” Working mezcal into your cocktail hour Buenos Ros is launching a new cocktail menu this week at Mr Moustache, courtesy of bar geek Mike Tomasic, so head down there, or make your own Phil Bayly favourite, "Magroni". "Two shots of Piedre [Almas], one shot Antica Formula [vermouth] and one shot of Campari and serve with a big ice ball and it's really, man, it is beautiful," he opines. "Or a smokey margarita. But you’re chilling it, and if you want to drink a quality mezcal you really should be drinking it at room temperature." Best places to get a good one You probably saw this coming, but Mr Moustache is number one — according to Bayly, too, not just me. After that, try out El Topo. To finish, a quote from El Jolgorio’s master distiller, courtesy of Buenos Ros: “Mezcal is the blessed water of the gods; the fire that heats us; the fifth element from the heart of Mexico to the world; the most perfect alcohol for human consumption.”
DesignEx is Australia's leading design exhibition, and this year the Office for Good Design has curated a unique seminar series called 7 Kinds of Happiness to open an otherwise industry-focused event to the general, design-loving public. Seven seminars with major industry heavyweights explore how happiness impacts the practice of leading local and international designers. Each seminar is held within the 'Happy Place', an area created specifically for this seminar series constructed entirely of doonas. Sounds like our sort of lecture. Concrete Playground has a double pass to giveaway to each of the seven seminars. To win, just make sure you're subscribed to Concrete Playground then email us at hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your preference of seminar from the list below. Happiness 1: Alice Rawsthorn, Monday 14th 12.30pm Happiness 2: Ilse Crawford (UK), Monday 14th 5pm (digital) Happiness 3: Stefan Sagmeister (USA), Tuesday 15th 10am (digital) Happiness 4: Broached Commissions, Tuesday 15th 12.30pm Happiness 5: Rotor (Brussels), Tuesday 15th May 5pm (digital) Happiness 6: Work AC (USA), Wed 16th 10am (digital) Happiness 7: Australian Creative Directors of the Venice Architecture Biennale Anthony Burke and Gerard Reinmuth with TOKO (Panel Discussion) Wed 16th 12.30pm
Fleabag fans, rejoice — because Phoebe Waller-Bridge is back on our screens, and back working with playwright and screenwriter Vicky Jones, too. The latter is the driving force behind comedy-thriller Run, and Waller-Bridge only plays a supporting part, but that's more than enough reason to binge your way through its seven instantly moreish episodes. The setup: college sweethearts Ruby (Merritt Wever) and Billy (Domhnall Gleeson) always promised each other that, if one of them texted the word 'run' to the other and received the same back in reply, they'd drop everything, hightail it to New York's Grand Central Station and catch a train across America together. And, that's exactly what happens. As for why, and what this means to the two central characters, that's all part of the fun of watching. So is enjoying the rapport between the always-great Wever and Gleeson.
We're not saying you should drink in the morning, but doesn't beers with breakfast sound like a fun idea? It's brunch with a twist – eight breweries are bringing their beers to Rocks Brewing for you to sample along with a six-course breakfast. Yes, you heard right. Bring us all the beers, all the bacon and all the eggs. (We hope) our bodies are ready. This event is one of our top ten picks of Sydney Craft Beer Week. Check out the other nine. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
So you want to attend Fashion Week Australia but still haven't thought of a good enough way to sneak into the exclusive, closed-to-the-public shows? You can stop drawing up your plans now, as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia is introducing Weekend Edition — an event that is accessible to anyone who purchases a ticket. It's on at Carriageworks throughout the weekend so all fashionistas can experience the best of Fashion Week. Some of the best looks featured on the runway during Fashion Week Australia will make an appearance at the Weekend Edition. This is your chance to see the latest collections from Alex Perry, We Are Handsome, Serpent and the Swan and more. In addition to the Best of Fashion Week Australia, tickets to the Weekend Edition include access to Sunday Style sessions where you'll learn how to turn off-the-runway pieces into everyday looks from industry professionals, bloggers and stylists. Select runway styles will also be available for Weekend Edition attendants to buy. There will be seminars and workshops throughout the weekend, including talks from street-style star Margaret Zhang and Maybelline New York's makeup director Nigel Stanislaus, who will share secrets about the looks he created for the runway at Fashion Week Australia.
