Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, Woollahra Council and Bard On The Beach are collaborating for two weeks in April to bring you Shakespeare By The Bay — two weeks of stunning outdoor stage performances in Robertson Park, Watsons Bay. An annual event, this year you can see the classic love story Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet and the Shakespearean comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor underneath the stars, overlooking Sydney's sparkling harbour. You can grab a takeaway picnic from Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel (featuring roast chicken salads, artisan stuffed baguettes and spinach and feta frittatas among other menu items) and chow down on it while Bard On The Beach (a national outdoor performance company) bring Shakespeare to life. Performances will run over two weeks in April — from Thursday, April 13 to Sunday, April 16, and again from Thursday, April 20 to Sunday, April 23. Whether you're trying to impress a date or just looking for a way to fill an evening, we think this is the best way to make the most of the warmer nights that are about to leave. Visit the website for tickets and performance times.
Sydney’s only maker of small scale, non-bombastic opera, Sydney Chamber Opera, is kicking off its Carriageworks residency with a compact adaptation of David Malouf’s 1999 novella Fly Away Peter, with music by Elliott Gyger and libretto by the company’s artistic associate, Pierce Wilcox. Imara Savage directs the action on Elizabeth Gadsby’s impressive set of four white tiers, which transforms the large space at Carriageworks into the two worlds of Australian bush and the World War I battlefields of Europe. Fly Away Peter follows the story of Jim Saddler, a young man from country Queensland with a deep affinity for the bush and a love of birds. He finds a kindred spirit in fellow bird-watcher Imogen, an older photographer who lives nearby. As the world ‘tilts towards Europe’, Jim is swept along in the naive enthusiasm for war. Mitchell Riley’s performance as Jim is compelling and really takes off when he steps out of reality and into a hellish phantasmagoria predicting an endless continuation of industrialised war, consuming not only young men but eventually also the old and women and children. He is well supported by Brenton Spiteri playing Jim’s friend Ashley Crowther and fellow soldiers, and Jessica Aszodi as Imogen. A central motif in Malouf’s novella is that of digging in earth; a farmer plants seed during wartime, graves are dug, and an endless field of fallen soldiers digs into the earth in the afterlife. Gadsby meets this design challenge by using white clay in numerous navy blue buckets, which the cast of three dig into and cover themselves with. It’s an effective device. Verity Hampson’s lighting design seems to get lost in the large space, and while she makes some interesting demarcations on the stark white set, they don’t seem to signify much in particular. The opera is impressively concise, but the transitions from pre-war Australian idyll to the horrors of the Western Front and back to Imogen in Australia are not given the time they warrant and at times Savage’s direction seems rushed. In particular, Imogen’s moment of reflection watching a surfer in the waves is the novella’s final moment of hope that life will continue despite war, and yet this scene in the opera arrives unheralded musically or theatrically. It appears as a small comment following the previous scene. Despite this, the opera is original and captivating. Opera can be a real pain — dramatic, lengthy and loud — but thankfully the Australian Chamber Opera continues to produce snappy, sophisticated works. Read our feature on Sydney Chamber Opera and find out why they're into writing all-new operas in 2015.
On stage is an ambitious and faithful replica of a country pub, replete with old black-and-white photos of the Sligo weir (where the faeries live) and locals of yore, along with real, live beer pulling — a kind of thirsty torture to watch. The small-town kitsch of the set befits Conor McPherson's folkloric memory play The Weir, which leads us through the supernatural reflections of three older gentlemen trying to impress the younger newcomer in town, Valerie (Amanda Stephens Lee). She has sought solace in the country after her daughter's death and is still reeling at having received a phone call from beyond the grave. She takes comfort in this impromptu meeting of Mystics Anonymous. The 'other world' is treated with sincerity by McPherson and is not without its own humour: Finbar (Patrick Connolly) talks of communing with the dead via a 'Luigi board' and none can stand the German faerie tourists who invade the town during holiday season. The problem is that unless one has a proclivity for the mystical, there's not much else to pay attention to. This would be a lovely play to enjoy on a rainy day, coddled in a fleecy jumper with one's 50th birthday firmly in the past. The performances are uniformly honest and charming, with a particularly excellent performance from Barry French as the reclusive bachelor Jim, who sports what is clearly one of the finest examples of Ken Done-inspired, late-'90s Irish knitting. Alice Livingstone's direction is clear and strong but hindered by McPherson's dramatic structure, a sequence of monologues bridged together via comedic dialogue, which doesn't allow for a dramatic arc or any forward-moving tension. Peter McAllum's final monologue of romantic regret is up there with the best room-clearing drunken rambles, and indeed, it clears the bar and ends the play. The one possibility for drama, the nascent romance between barman Brendan (Lynden Jones) and Valerie, is left to our imaginations to fulfil (on a particularly cold night at the bar after one requisite 'small one' too many). The Weir is a ponderous retrospective piece with some endearing characters and much warmth but not a huge amount to ponder.
Darlinghurst's Japanese cafe Sandoitchi has a new addition to its katsu menu — and it's the most over-the-top sando we've seen yet. Co-Owner and Chef Pureephat "Bhass" Kraikangwan (Long Chim) has teamed up with Sydney's wagyu experts Osawa Enterprises to create the kobe katsu sando. And it'll set you back a casual $200 a pop. A high-end variety of wagyu, kobe beef is raised to strict standards in the Japanese prefecture of Hyōgo (its capital city is Kobe). The super-premium kobe used in Sandoitchi costs a whopping $400 per kilo. While the exact price of each sando will depend on portion size, expect around 200-grams of pink-centered kobe sandwiched between Japanese-style thick-cut white bread topped with tonkatsu mayo and mustard. These kobe katsu sandos are available by pre-order only, via DM on Sandoitchi's Instagram. The dish will be available for all of October — and potentially beyond if there's enough thirst for it in Sydney. [caption id="attachment_785328" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kobe katsu sando by @dangimhungry via Sandoitchi.[/caption] If dropping four pineapples on some meat and bread sounds extravagant to you, you can also opt for a few less OTT options. Those include a South Australian wagyu strip loin for $59 — it boasts a marble score of 9+, which is the highest score possible — and the regular wagyu sando with beef from NSW's Rangers Valley for $29 (marble score 4+). These sandos are also topped with tonkatsu mayo and mustard and served on pillowy white bread. This rather pricey sando is a departure for the cafe, which generally serves up reasonably priced eats — like the katsu-heavy dinner menu from July, which saw most dishes sit under $20. We're not sure who can afford this latest katsu offering, but we're sure it'll be a memorable bite for those who can. The kobe katsu sando will be available at Sandoitchi Cafe for the remainder of October. It must be pre-ordered via DM on Sandoitchi's Instagram here.
If you've been to Eggslut in the States, you'll understand the hype. Lines that snake around LA's Grand Central Market — or Las Vegas's Cosmopolitan — from the moment the stores start frying up eggy burgers and jars of 'slut' (coddled eggs with potato). Now, the hype is heading Down Under, with founder Alvin Cailan coming to Sydney for a one-day burger festival. Cailan (who also hosts The Burger Show) is teaming up with Aussie burger-finding app The Burger Collective for The Burger Expo, which will take over Moore Park's Entertainment Quarter on Sunday, August 11. Six of Australia's top burger makers will be collaborating with Cailan to make one-off meaty sangas — that'll only be available at the expo. Expect stacked creations from Loaded by BL, a possible fried chook option from Penrith's Burger Head and juicy a beef number from Mondaze in Brisbane. Sydney's Happy Ending Burger and Burger Point and Melbourne's Monroe's will also be plating up limited-edition numbers on the day. And if Cailan's penchant for eggs is anything to go by, expect to find many fried, scrambled and coddled ones between your burger buns on the day. As well as savoury burgers, there'll also be gelato-stuffed buns from Cremeria de Luca, barefoot lawn bowls, lots of chilli sauce from Tabasco, live music and burger masterclasses. And, best of all, tickets are just $12 — or $6 if you snag 'em early. The Burger Expo has two sessions: midday–4pm and 5–9pm. Images: Loaded by BL by Kimberley Low; Burger Head by Jason Denison.
The head chef stereotype (or so the movies would have us believe) falls somewhere between a tyrant and a god, but this is a far cry from the reality of most culinary professionals. A case in point is Ibrahim Kasif, who could reasonably justify an excess of ego given the soaring calibre of Stanbuli, his stylish mod-Turkish diner on Enmore Road, which closed in 2022. And yet, this accomplished chef is so humble, he almost turned down the opportunity to lead the kitchen at Esca Group's much-acclaimed and Hatted Middle Eastern restaurant Nour. "My last big venture was my own, so when that ended, after 20 years of cooking, I was ready to take a little bit of a break from it all. I'd been out of the kitchen for about a year and my first instinct was that I wasn't quite ready to get back into it," Kasif says of Esca Group Co-Founder Ibby Moubadder's first failed effort to recruit him. Convincing Kasif that he was the chef to usher Nour into a new era would take Moubadder two further attempts — as well as some soul searching. "I didn't know if I wanted to be typecast as a Middle Eastern chef who only cooks Middle Eastern food," Kasif shares. "But then I had a long, hard look at myself in the mirror and thought, 'You know what? This is my strong suit. This is something that I love and something I'm passionate about.' Why fight it? I may as well embrace it." With his decision made, Kasif was faced with the potentially daunting task of inheriting a kitchen firing on all cylinders. Far from being brought in to rescue a failing venue, Kasif would be stepping into the large and lauded shoes of Nour's celebrated outgoing Executive Chef Paul Farag. "This is something that I love and something I'm passionate about. Why fight it? I may as well embrace it" "Paul has a unique way of doing things which is really special. He's set such a great structure in his kitchen and you can see how he's put his own stamp on the menu," Kasif explains. "Seeing that was really helpful because I've also got my own take on Middle Eastern food, having a Turkish background. So it was reassuring to hear Ibby and [Paul] lay down that challenge for me — to be creative and put my own stamp on things. "It's the first time in my career I've inherited a kitchen from another head chef, but it's been really easy in lots of ways. I just had to come in and maintain everything Nour was already doing brilliantly, but gradually put my personal stamp on the menu as well." Our aforementioned stereotypical Head Chef would no doubt want to pack a new menu with all kinds of gourmet showboating. However, true to form, Kasif has taken a more sincere, quietly confident path. "When you think of something as humble as braised green beans, for example, which is such a common dish in the Middle East, there're lots of versions of it depending on where you grew up — whether you come from a Turkish or Lebanese or Greek background. My approach is not just about elevating that dish, it's also about giving it the same love that the mum or grandmother of the household would give it," Kasif explains. "When [Ibby] tried my version, he smiled, looked at me and said, 'You know what, my mum would be so proud of this.' That's really special for me." However, this isn't to say Kasif's food is in any way restrained or playing it safe. While underpinned by a sense of tradition and a profound understanding of food's power to bring people together, there are plenty of surprises on Kasif's plates. Standout dishes from his first Nour menu include woodfired stuffed mussels with pine nut rice and chicken fat butter; dry-aged half duck mishwee (a type of skewered kebab) with baharat spices and ottoman quince sauce; woodfired mushrooms with burnt leeks and a firey muhammara dip; and tabbouleh with horseradish cacik, sesame leaf and another surprising element. "Our tabouli has raw yellowfin tuna mixed through it. It tastes like a tabouli, it looks like a tabouli, the flavour is tabouli, but the genesis of the idea to add fish came from making the best version of a tabouli and then thinking, there's all this delicious lemony salad dressing at the bottom of the bowl that would be perfect for lightly marinating some raw fish, curing it in the style of crudo," Kasif says. "I just want every dish we serve to be the best version we can make it. There's nothing wrong with those recipes or condiments in their traditional form, but for me, the question is always, how do we elevate it? How do we create the best version of it? That's what drives me as a chef." With a seasoned team led by an accomplished head chef, a coveted spot on Crown Street in Surry Hills' hospitality heartland and a reputation that continues to go from strength to strength — including a recent 15.5 rating from Good Food, the highest score the restaurant has ever received — Kasif's philosophy in the kitchen isn't merely creating the best versions of his dishes, but also the best version of Nour. Find Nour at 3/490 Crown Street, Surry Hills. Head to the Nour website for booking details. Images: Jiwon Kim
Over the years, the Mary's empire has expanded from the original dimly lit Newtown establishment to a hospitality group spanning a variety of locations. Alongside a longstanding residency in The Lansdowne that's set to come to an end soon and a short stint in Melbourne, the burger-slinging crew now operates out of Castlereigh Street in the CBD and Circular Quay, where you'll find the restaurant above concert venue Mary's Underground. The latest addition to the Mary's family is a new outpost further west — northwest to be exact — in the Hills District's leafy Castle Hill. The latest Mary's is located in the old residence of another burger loving-restaurant, Plan B, which closed earlier this year. In fact, 250 Old Northern Road has a storied burger-based history, with In-N-Out-inspired chain Down N' Out calling the Hills shopfront home before closing after a long legal battle with the US burger chain. Head south down Old Northern Road past Castle Hill mainstays and local meeting points Castle Towers and Hillside Hotel and you'll find the restaurant, equipped with all of the fan-favourite menu items from the inner-city locations. The Mary's burger is here of course, alongside the crunchy golden fried chicken, spicy chicken burger, whole cauliflower, mash with gravy and a heap of vegan options. The Mary's team is still ramping things up at the new location, so you can expect more details in the future, but for now, any northwest Sydneysiders can head down and try the renowned burgers for themselves (make sure to get a side of Mary's sauce to dip your chips into). [caption id="attachment_745925" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To[/caption] Mary's Castle Hill is located at Shop 7, 250 Old Northern Road, Castle Hill. It's open 4pm–midnight Wednesday–Sunday, midday–midnight Saturdays and midday–10pm Sundays.
If you've found yourself eating your way around London at some stage in the past few years, you're probably familiar with legendary 24-hour Brick Lane bakery Beigel Bake. Now, you can get your hands on a close rendition of its signature house-made, carbo-loaded treats — without the 23-hour plane flight. Yes, a crew by the name of Salt Beef Beigel has hit Aussie shores and it's channelling the beloved Jewish-style 'beigels' (the word 'bagel' is thought to be an Americanisation of the word 'beigel', which is used throughout England). After popping up at Enmore's Sly Fox in 2019, the team is back for a new kitchen takeover at Stanley's in Darlinghurst. From Friday, June 19–Sunday, June 21, Salt Beef Beigel will be plating up two pillowy bagel creations: the OG Salt Beef Beigel ($10), with slow-cooked beef, mustard and pickles; and a cream cheese number ($5). Both will come on the team's signature boiled-then-baked beigel. To drink, you'll find a lineup of five different cocktails ($18–20) as colourful as Stanley's itself. Pick from the likes of the Flamingo Run (with watermelon, pomegranate and vodka), Popcorn Piña Colada (rum, popcorn and pineapple juice) and Everything's Peachy (Aperol, peach liqueur and prosecco). Salt Beef Beigel pop-up will be open from 5–8pm each night.
UPDATE: MAY 27, 2019 — Due to an overwhelming response, Matty Matheson's Sydney and Brisbane shows have been moved to bigger venues. The former will now take place at Marrickville's Factory Theatre (previously Oxford Art Factory) and the latter at Newstead's The Triffid (previously Brightside). All tickets already purchased will be valid for the new venues. New tickets for Sydney can be purchased here and Brisbane here. Chef Matty Matheson is stepping out of the kitchen and onto the stage, heading Down Under for an expletive-laden speaking tour next month. Known for his hit TV shows Dead Set On Life and It's Suppertime — and his new New York Times best-selling book, Matty Matheson: A Cookbook — the culinary star and award-winning author will hit up Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. A colourful character famed for his larger-than-life personality, Matheson will be dishing up a his cooking (and life) tips, with an audience Q&A and a meet-and-greet session, too. He's set to serve his home truths on topics like addiction and mental health, the #MeToo movement and its impact on the food industry, and a few of his own life's ups and downs, as well as talking about his new web series, Just A Dash. https://www.instagram.com/p/BjKhY6iHrRZ/ Audiences will be treated to a true taste of this foodie legend, as Matheson tweaks each show to best represent himself, even down to the soundtrack plucked straight from his own playlists. MATTY MATHESON 2019 DATES Perth — Rosemount Hotel, Saturday, June 22 Sydney — Factory Theatre (previously Oxford Art Factory), Sunday, June 23 Melbourne — Corner, Tuesday, June 25 Brisbane —The Triffid (previously Brightside), Thursday, June 27 Tickets are $49 and go on sale at 9am on Tuesday, May 21 via the Secret Sounds website.
At Rough and Bare they subscribe to a wholefood lifestyle, which means everything that comes out of the kitchen is organic, pasture-fed and caught wild. Founded by a health conscious chef and a naturopath, this isn't the place you go in search of that B&E hangover cure — but you shouldn't expect a menu limited to raw veggies and superfoods either. They do serve a breakfast salad ($18.90), but at the other end of the spectrum is the slow-cooked pork belly, poached eggs, baby kale, spiced sweet potato puree, kimchi and crackle crumb ($22.90). The same goes for lunch. If you're a purist you can opt for the raw vegetable platter with beetroot tahini, spiced sweet potato hummus, mackerel pâté and seed crackers ($19.90) or the bone broth with greens, kraut and quinoa toast ($14.90). For those less inclined to go raw, there's a naked beef burger with wild greens, tomato, avocado, fried egg, caramelised onion and pickles on roasted sweet potato and fermented relish ($19.90), or the slow-cooked lamb shoulder with roast vegetables and a red wine jus and salsa verde ($25.90). It may not be a glass of wine, but at least it's something.
Walk any street of Balmain and you're sure to be met by adorable puppies, always pamper-fresh and ready for a pat. As dogs are somewhat of a inner west-lifestyle must-have, so too is a trusted groomer. Head to Darling Street to find Dogue — a distinctly luxe puppy pampering palace. It offers grooming services plus signature spa treatments like mud baths and massages and aromatherapy salt mineral bath, so the crew knows how to treat pets like royalty. The store also offers puppy training and daycare facilities, plus an array of pet-related accessories — think collars, bedding and more toys than your puppy pal could ever need.
Aim high. Go low. That's the fitting credo of this cocktail bar-slash-eatery-slash-live music venue. And I can tell you, they don't miss the mark. Darlo bar hoppers may not be starved for their pick of small bars, but Low's got a little something the others don't. For one, this place is sexy. Dark leather lounges are set against draping red curtains, with a grand piano tucked in the corner - an open invitation for musos to hammer out a good tune, and for hammered rockers looking for extra stage room. Throw in some low lighting, incense, intimate side rooms and an outdoor sitting that opens out onto Crown Street, and you've got your night off to a very good start. The only thing that's as sophisticated as the digs is Low's bar menu. With things like Octopus Carpaccio ($15) and Twice Cooked Lemon Chicken Wings ($11) on offer, this ain't your usual pub fare. I'd suggest getting stuck into their Short Ribs and keeping an eye out for the weekly specials. Match it with a frosty can of Yebisu ($8.50) or Lord Nelson ($9). If we're talking cocktails, the skilled bartenders are adept at leading the most indecisive of patrons to their new favourite drink. Despite my doubts, I was talked into a classic New York Sour ($16). Unconvincing on paper (bourbon, red wine and lemon juice) but phenomenal in a glass. The wine list features drops from Oz, NZ and France and is reasonably priced, rarely pushing the $45 mark. Having said that, Low probably won't suit those on a shoestring budget. While the no-fuss Brighton Bar is close by, it's worth considering whether you can put a price on dignity. Lastly, don't rock up at Low around midnight and expect to cruise on in. The queue on Friday and Saturday nights is impressive and the bouncer cares little for name-droppers. If you're through the door before 9pm and nab yourself a table, you're laughing. One of the best nights to drop in is Sundays for Low's live music gigs, which have seen some local and international talent tear it up on regular occasions. Aim high, and go Low indeed. Images: Alex Relic [nggallery id=82]
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. THE LOST CITY Sometimes, they do still make 'em like they used to: action-adventure rom-coms in this case. Drive a DeLorean back to 1984, to the year before Robert Zemeckis made DeLoreans one of the most famous types of movie cars ever, and the director's Romancing the Stone did huge box-office business — and it's that hit that The Lost City keenly tries to emulate. This new Sandra Bullock- and Channing Tatum-starring romp doesn't hide that aim for a second, and even uses the same broad overall setup. Once again, a lonely romance novelist is swept up in a chaotic adventure involving treasure, a jungle-hopping jaunt and a stint of kidnapping, aka exactly what she writes about in her best-selling books. The one big change: the writer is held hostage, rather than her sister. But if you've seen Romancing the Stone, you know what you're in for. Movies that blandly and generically recreate/riff on/rip off others will never be gleaming cinematic jewels; the good news is that The Lost City is neither dull nor dispiritingly derivative. Cinema has literally been there and done this before, but directors Aaron and Adam Nee (Band of Robbers) are gleefully aware of that fact and don't even pretend to pretend otherwise. Rather, they wink, nod, serve up a knowing tribute to the 80s fare they're following, and repeatedly make it as blatant as can be that everything they're doing is by design. Their tone is light, bouncy and breezy. Their cast, which also spans Daniel Radcliffe and a delightfully scene-stealing Brad Pitt, is always on that wavelength. Indeed, swap out the vibe or The Lost City's four biggest on-screen names and the film would fall apart, especially without Bullock and Tatum's charisma and chemistry. With them all, it remains by the numbers but also terrifically likeable. As penned by the Nees, Oren Uziel (Mortal Kombat) and Dana Fox (Cruella) — based on a story by Baywatch director Seth Gordon — The Lost City's plot is ridiculously easy to spot. Also, it's often flat-out ridiculous. Anyone who has ever seen any kind of flick along the same lines, such as Jungle Cruise most recently, will quickly see that Loretta Sage (Bullock, The Unforgivable), this movie's protagonist, could've penned it herself. Once she finds herself living this type of narrative, that truth isn't lost on her, either. First, though, she's five years into a grief-stricken reclusive spell, and is only out in the world promoting her new release because her publisher Beth (Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The United States vs Billie Holiday) forces her to. She's also far from happy at being stuck once again with the man who has been sharing her limelight over the years, Fabio-style model Alan (Tatum, Dog), who has graced her book's covers and had women falling over themselves to lust-read their pages. Loretta is hardly thrilled about the whole spectacle that becomes her latest Q&A as a result, and that makes her a distracted easy mark for billionaire Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe, Guns Akimbo) afterwards. He's noticed her new work, spotted similarities to the ancient riches he's chasing IRL, and gets his underlings to swoop in and snatch her up. His plan: leaning on Loretta's past as a serious historian to help him find his holy grail on a remote Atlantic island. She's given zero choice, but once the puppy dog-like Alan notices she's missing, he calls in expert assistance from devilishly suave and competent mercenary Jack Trainer (Pitt, Ad Astra). Of course, it doesn't take long for Loretta and Alan to be fleeing as an odd-couple duo, attempting to find the treasure, and endeavouring to avoid Abigail and his minions — and stay alive, obviously. Read our full review. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE Imagine living in a universe where Michelle Yeoh isn't the wuxia superstar she is. No, no one should want to dwell in that reality. Now, envisage a world where everyone has hot dogs for fingers, including the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon icon. Next, picture another where Ratatouille is real, but with raccoons. Then, conjure up a sparse realm where life only exists in sentient rocks. An alternative to this onslaught of pondering: watching Everything Everywhere All At Once, which throws all of the above at the screen and a helluva lot more. Yes, its title is marvellously appropriate. Written and directed by the Daniels, aka Swiss Army Man's Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, this multiverse-hopping wonder is a funhouse of a film that just keeps spinning through wild and wacky ideas. Instead of asking "what if Daniel Radcliffe was a farting corpse that could be used as a jet ski?" as their also-surreal debut flick did, the pair now muses on Yeoh, her place in the universe, and everyone else's along with her. Although Yeoh doesn't play herself in Everything Everywhere All At Once, she is seen as herself; keep an eye out for red-carpet footage from her Crazy Rich Asians days. Such glitz and glamour isn't the norm for middle-aged Chinese American woman Evelyn Wang, her laundromat-owning character in the movie's main timeline, but it might've been if life had turned out differently. That's such a familiar train of thought — a resigned sigh we've all emitted, even if only when alone — and the Daniels use it as their foundation. This isn't a movie that stays static, however, or wants to. Both dizzying and dazzling in its ambitions, the way it brings those bold aims to fruition, the tender emotions it plays with and the sheer spectacle it flings around, Everything Everywhere All At Once is a magnificent dildo-slinging, glitter cannon-shooting, endlessly bobbing and weaving whirlwind. Everything Everywhere All At Once is the movie version of a matryoshka set, too. While Russian Doll nods that way as well, the possibilities are clearly endless when exploring stacked worlds. Multiverses are Hollywood's current big thing — the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Extended Universe, the Sony Spider-Man Universe and Star Trek have them, and Rick and Morty adores them — but the concept here is equally chaotic and clever. It starts with Evelyn, her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom's Short Round and The Goonies' Data) and a hectic time. Evelyn's dad (James Hong, Turning Red) is visiting from China, the Wangs' daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) brings her girlfriend Becky (Tallie Medel, The Carnivores) home, and IRS inspector Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis, Halloween Kills) is conducting a punishing audit. Then Evelyn learns she's the only one who can save, well, everything, everywhere and everyone. There's a great gag in that revelation, playing smartly yet savagely with perspective — because Everything Everywhere All At Once is all about how we choose to see things. Imagine trudging over to your local tax department, trolley full of receipts in hand and possible financial ruin in front of you, only to be told mid soul-crushing bureaucratic babble that it all means nothing since the very fate of the universe is at stake. But, at the same time, imagine realising that it's the simplest things that mean the most when space, time, existence and every emotion possible is all on the line. Although that isn't how a different version of Waymond puts it to Evelyn, it's what sparkles through as she's swiftly initiated into a battle against dimension-jumping villain Jobu Tapaki, discovers that she can access multiple other iterations of herself by eating chapsticks and purposefully slicing herself with paper cuts, and gets sucked into a reality-warping kaleidoscope. Read our full review. HAPPENING It's hard to pick which is more horrifying in Happening: the graphic scenes where 23-year-old literature student Anne Duchesne (Anamaria Vartolomei, How to Be a Good Wife) takes the only steps she can to try to regain control of her life, or the times she's repeatedly told by others, typically men, to accept a fate that only ever awaits her gender. Both hit like a punch, by design. Both are wrenching, heart and gut alike, and neither are surprising for a second. Also leaving a mark: that few care that Anne's future is now threatened in this 2021 Venice Film Festival Golden Lion-winner, because that's simply a consequence of having sex for women in France in 1963, the movie's setting. There's another truth that lingers over this adaptation of author Annie Ernaux's 2001 memoir of the same name, which uses her own experiences at the same age, time and in the same situation: that in parts of the world where pro-life perspectives are entrenched in law or regaining prominence, Happening's scenario isn't a relic of the past. Late in the movie, Anne describes her circumstances as "that illness that turns French women into housewives". It's a blunt turn of phrase, but it's accurate. It also speaks to how writer/director Audrey Diwan (Losing It) and co-scribe Marcia Romano (Bye Bye Morons) approach the film with the clearest of eyes, declining to indulge the idea that forcing unwanted motherhood upon young women is a gift or simply a duty, and likewise refusing to flinch from showing the reality when the personal freedom to choose is stripped away. This is a feature made with the fullest of hearts, too, compassion evident in every boxed-in Academy ratio frame that rarely leaves Anne's face. It spies the appalling options before her, and sees the society that's okay with stealing her choices. And, it stares deeply at both the pain and determination that've understandably taken up residence in Anne's gaze. The second of Ernaux's works to hit screens of late after the also candid and moving Simple Passion, Happening begins with hope, with Anne and her Angoulême college dormmates Hélène (Luàna Bajrami, The Hill Where Lionesses Roar) and Brigitte (Louise Orry-Diquéro, Occidental) getting ready for a dance. They're filled with the excitement that comes with believing anything could happen — there's fun to be had, men to meet and lives to be changed — but, once there, it's obvious that these kinds of nights always follow the same pattern. Their university's resident mean girls glare on in judgement when Anne even talks to a guy, but she doesn't let that stop her. She isn't one to weather their bullying, gossip and slut-shaming, including once she discovers she's expecting three weeks after a casual fling. The only thing that terrifies the ambitious and bright working-class student: losing the ability to live the life that she's been working towards. The alternative is highly illegal, so much so that securing help from medical professionals, friends and family is overwhelmingly difficult. Delivering the surprising pregnancy news, Anne's family doctor (Fabrizio Rongione, Azor) is sympathetic to the stark scenario facing his patient, knowing the stigma that'll come her way for being an unwed single mother, and that her dreams of teaching will be derailed. Still, given that prison is the punishment for illicit terminations, he shuts down any notion of lending a hand. Even chatting about abortion hypothetically with Hélène and Brigitte before they know she's with child earns the same dismissive response. The baby's father (Julien Frison, Lover for a Day), a visiting student, just wants the situation handled, and asking a flirtatious classmate (Kacey Mottet Klein, Farewell to the Night) for assistance just ends with him hitting on Anne; she's already pregnant so he figures she'll be up for it and there'll be no consequences. Read our full review. THE GOOD BOSS Despite being nominated for Best Actor for Being the Ricardos, Javier Bardem had zero chance of nabbing a shiny trophy at the 2022 Oscars. The movie he deserves his next nod for instead: savagely sharp workplace satire The Good Boss, which is home to a tour-de-force of a performance from the Spanish actor. Already an Academy Award-recipient for his powerhouse effort in No Country for Old Men — and a prior contender for Before Night Falls and Biutiful, too — Bardem does what he long has, playing a character who uses a set facade to mask his real self. Here, he's a seemingly kindly factory owner who makes a big fuss about treating his employees like family, but happily lets that ruse slip if they want more money, or have problems at home that disrupt their work, or happen to be an attractive intern. He still sports a smile though, naturally. In his latest Goya Award-winning part — his 12th to be nominated, too — Bardem becomes the outwardly friendly, inwardly slippery Básculas Blanco. Given the darkness that lingers in his self-serving, self-confident, self-satisfied true nature, the character's name is patently tongue-in-cheek. He presides over a company that makes professional-grade scales, which he inherited from his father, and tells his staff "don't treat me like a boss". But filmmakers who put the word 'good' in their movie's monikers rarely mean it literally, and writer/director Fernando León de Aranoa (who reteams with his lead after 2002's Mondays in the Sun and 2017's Loving Pablo) is one of them. As portrayed with quietly compelling magnetism by Bardem, The Good Boss' ostensibly respectable CEO finds his perfectly calibrated public persona cracking slowly, surely and devilishly, all thanks to the weight of his own ruthlessness. Awards aren't just coming Bardem's way off-screen for this exceptional turn; they're baked into the movie's plot as well. When The Good Boss begins, Blanco is determined to win a prestigious business prize — but he can't be called desperate, because appearing anything other than commanding, magnanimous and prosperous isn't in the grey-haired, sleekly attired manager's wheelhouse. Still, everyone around him knows how insistent he is about emerging victorious, including his clothing boutique-owning wife Adela (Sonia Almarcha, The Consequences). Their dutiful but hardly passionate marriage says plenty about Blanco, how he operates, and how careful he is about maintaining the illusion he wants the world to see. Indeed, when pretty young Liliana (Almudena Amor, The Grandmother) starts in his marketing department for a month-long stint, she instantly earns his attention, while he still outwardly flaunts committed family-man vibes. Liliana's arrival isn't without complications either professionally and personally. But in a film that skewers nine-to-five life and relationships alike, that's one of several troubles that upsets the company's balance. Just as Blanco's business is set to be inspected during the prize's judging process, his orderly world is pushed askew. There's the just-retrenched José (Óscar de la Fuente, The Cover), who won't accept his sacking, has set up outside the worksite's gate with a loudspeaker shouting out his woes and even has his school-aged children in tow. Then, there's underling and childhood friend Miralles (Manolo Solo, Official Competition), whose marital struggles are impacting day-to-day operations. And, trusted employee Fortuna (Celso Bugallo, The Paramedic) calls upon Blanco's sway for help with a domestic situation of his own. Read our full review. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on January 1, January 6, January 13, January 20 and January 27; February 3, February 10, February 17 and February 24; and March 3, March 10, March 17, March 24 and March 31; and April 7. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci, The King's Man, Red Rocket, Scream, The 355, Gold, King Richard, Limbo, Spencer, Nightmare Alley, Belle, Parallel Mothers, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Belfast, Here Out West, Jackass Forever, Benedetta, Drive My Car, Death on the Nile, C'mon C'mon, Flee, Uncharted, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Cyrano, Hive, Studio 666, The Batman, Blind Ambition, Bergman Island, Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, The Souvenir: Part II, Dog, Anonymous Club, X, River, Nowhere Special, RRR, Morbius, The Duke and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore, Ambulance and Memoria.
Architecture, film and dance all jostle for space underneath the ‘creative’ umbrella but rarely do they hold hands or play footsies. That was before cultural aphrodisiac SEAM 2009: Spatial Phrases entered the playing field and transformed Sydney’s arts and design scene into a commune of free love. A partnership between Critical Path and the University of Technology, Sydney’s Centre for Contemporary Design Practice, this inaugural event unites the ideologies of choreographers, architects, filmmakers and theorists in a glorious jamboree of creative merriment. Descending upon multiple venues across the city, SEAM 2009 includes a three-day Symposium, workshops, performances and commissioned installations all exploring ideas of movement across bodies and space.Internationally renowned philosopher, cultural theorist and social critic Brian Massumi will inspire audiences as one of the keynote speakers at the Symposia. Massumi is joined by Erin Manning, Andrew Benjamin and Pia Ednie-Brown in a stellar line-up of grey-matter hogs that will lure you into the gaps, the ‘seams’ between these creative fields, where new dialogues and shifting sands are the order of the day.
When the 2023 Oscars roll around, will Cate Blanchett end up with another shiny trophy for her mantle? Thanks to her performance in Tár, that's a firm possibility. The Australian actor already has two Academy Awards from seven nominations, winning for The Aviator and Blue Jasmine — and her latest portrayal has been earning the same kind of buzz, and already scored her the Best Actress award at this year's Venice Film Festival. No one should think about movies and performances solely in terms of accolades, of course. Still, it's hard not to picture statuettes glistening when Blanchett's work comes up because she's usually truly that phenomenal. Sydney audiences have to wait until 2023 for Tár to hit the big screen here, and to make our own minds up about her current efforts — unless you head to a special sneak-peek Q&A session with the actor herself in attendance this month, that is. On Sunday, November 13 at the glorious Hayden Orpheum — with doors opening at 2.45pm, the film playing from 3.30pm and the Q&A starting at 6.15pm — Blanchett will attend a screening of Tár, and answer all of your questions afterwards. The session is being held in conjunction with the Sydney Film Festival and Universal Pictures, complete with a red carpet and, clearly, a huge dose of star power. Expect tickets to get snapped up quickly — they cost $50, which includes a glass of sparkling upon arrival. As for the film itself, it hails from writer/producer/director Todd Field, marking his first since 2006's Little Children. Blanchett plays Lydia Tár, a conductor of a major German orchestra, with the movie starting at the height of her career. From there, it charts the chaos that ensues when her seemingly perfect life, complete with an impending book launch and a live performance of Mahler's Fifth Symphony, starts to crumble.
Both you and your four-legged friend can get in the Christmas spirit at this festive photo op. Popping up from Tuesday, November 24 till Wednesday, December 16 at Broadway Shopping Centre — so you can get your Christmas presents and cards sorted in one hit — Melting Moments is an Aussie twist on your usual Santa photos. Instead of being surrounded by trees, elves or reindeer, this Santa is surrounded by melting ice creams. The photoshoot is open to adults, kids and pets, too, which is a bonus if you're both a fur-parent and normal parent. And it's open from 5.30–8pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays — perfect for after-work (and after-doggo daycare) visits. Exactly how much the shoot costs depends on how many photos you want, with $23.95 the starting price (for two four-by-six photos) and $49.95 the most expensive, with the latter including everything from a calendar to Christmas cards and a magnet to bookmarks. Melting Moments with Santa is open for bookings from 5.30–8pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
A room filled with middle-aged karaoke enthusiasts belting out '70s and '80s classics has never been as fun as this; just make sure to show up in a big group later at night and with a couple of stiff drinks in you. Widely renowned as one of the more bizarre establishments in Sydney, the person with the microphone is king at the Pickled Possum, and drinks are frequently made by seniors wearing rubber gloves. There are no booths, so you have to be prepared to sing to a crowded room, but the eccentric collection of inebriated 'characters' are having so much fun and taking the karaoke enterprise so seriously you wouldn't want to be in a booth.
If the Oppenheimer side of 2023's Barbenheimer phenomenon has you wanting to find out more about the atomic age, this year's Jewish International Film Festival has your next viewing option: documentary A Compassionate Spy about physicist Theodore Hall. His tale didn't make the cut in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster, but he was part of the Manhattan Project team at Los Alamos, and also passed intelligence to the Soviet Union, as Hoop Dreams' filmmaker Steve James explores in one of JIFF's must-see efforts at its latest fest. When the Jewish International Film Festival returns for 2023, it'll hit up Sydney's Ritz Cinemas and Roseville Cinemas from Tuesday, October 24–Tuesday, November 28. On the full nationwide lineup is a hefty 55 Australian-premiere titles spanning both flicks and TV shows, including everything from box-office hits to new episodic efforts starring a big-name US talent. Israel's Matchmaking hits JIFF's opening night after success at home, following a Jewish Orthodox man's romantic ups and downs in a film that's been likened to Romeo and Juliet — but Haredi and a comedy. And that standout television series? Chanshi follows its namesake (Aleeza Chanowitz, Dismissed) in Brooklyn, with Barry's Australia-bound Henry Winkler as her father. Also on the 2023 program: Jack L Warner: The Last Mogul, a documentary focusing on one of Warner Bros' titular founders; The Engineer, about the manhunt for bombmaker Yahya Ayyash, as starring Emile Hirsch (Devil's Workshop); delightfully named black comedy Ducks, An Urban Legend; Tel Aviv-set rom-com Elik & Jimmy; and documentary Erica Jong – Breaking the Wall, about the Fear of Flying author. The complete Australia-wide program also includes gangster comedy Hummus Full Trailer, musicals Less Than Kosher and Victory, vino-fuelled doco Holy Wine and docudrama Munich '72 on its sizeable list. And, as is JIFF's custom, the program features a large contingent of movies that examine World War II, the Holocaust and their lingering impact. Expect to find Stella Goldschlag biopic Stella. A Life; the vengeance-laden The Jew; the Ukraine-shot, Yiddish-language SHTTL; Filip, which tells a tale of romantic pleasures amid the war; Delegation, about students visiting Poland's Holocaust sites and confronting their Jewish identity; and closing night's The Jewish Nazi?, a doco with Australian ties.
Due to the chilly weather, there are only some activities you truly feel like doing during the winter months. While cosying up by a fireplace and eating hot cheese are two of them, one involves actually going outside: ice skating. And this year Sydney has five top-notch ice skating rinks you can practise your best Nancy Kerrigan moves on. So don your warmest winter woollies, grab your bestie, date or fam, and head to your closest — or jump in a car, bus or train and visit all five. You'll find them by the beach and the harbour, decked out with stalls serving up mulled wine and gözlemes, and alongside giant ferris wheels and tobogganing ice slides.
UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 — Due to public gathering restrictions related to COVID-19, Surry Hills Library is temporarily closed for general access. However, you can reserve books online and collect via a contactless service between 11am–3pm, Monday to Friday. Surry Hills Library has quite a few things going for it. First: the collection, of course. Surry Hills Library has a huge selection of books, magazines, DVDs and CDs, with a special focus on fashion and design and LGBTQI titles. Second: the events. Owing to its broader role as a community centre, the library has a constant roster of workshops from cooking to coding. Its Late Night Library series — a program that includes evening debates, film screenings and readings of the more risque persuasion — has had popular growth over the years, inspiring a number of spin-offs. Third: the design. Whether architecture is your bag or not, the building is undoubtedly impressive. Following its construction in 2009, the site has won a slew of design awards particularly in relation to sustainability. The iconic timber panelling controls internal lighting, while the glass atrium draws in outside air to be filtered, cooled and distributed throughout the building. It makes for a welcoming space for many tasks: studying, reading, relaxing. Image: Leticia Almeida.
Baked Patisserie is one for the south Sydney folks. Nestled in the industrial area of Kirrawee, this family-run business is the type of cake shop every Sydney suburb wishes it had. Baked Patisserie was an early adopter of the 'cronut' craze. It occasionally sells them, including a lamington version for patriotic sugar fiends. Filled doughnuts are also on offer, and they are everything you want in a sweet treat: pillowy-soft dough with a creamy filling (in classic flavours like cookies 'n' cream, Nutella and vanilla bean custard) and covered in sugar. Bring on the sugar high and immediate crash. Baked Patisserie makes cakes to order, too, so next time your four-year-old nephew wants a Hulk-themed cake for his birthday, you know who to call.
Originally a travelling pop-up store, the high-end boutique Desordre has now firmly planted its designer heels into a lovely spot in Darlinghurst's fashion hub. Although small in size, the store is full of both up-and-coming and well established Australian and international designers. Its rails are filled with eye-catching jackets, elaborate dresses, shoes and accessories, so you can kit yourself out in its cool style from head to toe. On the lookout for a particular label? You'll find the likes of Dion Lee, Hellessy, Poster Girl and Nagnata here. Images: Cassandra Hannagan
Recently opening the Sydney Film Festival to great buzz, 20,000 Days on Earth is a documentary that's fiction. It imagines the 20,000th day on earth of singer and raconteur Nick Cave, and it's a day that includes him talking to his shrink, recording an album, helping archivists make sense of his historical record, lunching with his pals, driving Kylie Minogue around Brighton, and playing at the Sydney Opera House. A pretty great day, by any standards. Instead of clarity and chronology, what you get is a fragmented sense of biography that you have to put together yourself, or let wash over you as a series of impressions, sensations and enraptured moments. Artists-turned-directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard have basically conjured a new format here, made sweeter by the flair and flamboyance Cave brings. 20,000 Days on Earth is in cinemas on August 21, and thanks to Madman Entertainment, we have ten double in-season passes to give away in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. 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=a8vy-DO-I5E
From its picturesque spot at the foot of the Snowy Mountains, Three Blue Ducks Nimbo is getting ready to take diners on a paddock-to-plate journey through the many delicious regions of Italy this winter. This June, the acclaimed regional restaurant will launch Regioni d'Italia – Chef Frankie's Italian Food Tour, a monthly long lunch series that celebrates the diversity of the nation's culinary traditions. The first lunch takes place on Saturday, June 28, and they'll be happening until the end of October. At $69 per person, each edition includes a snack and three share-style courses, with each menu showcasing flavours from specific Italian regions. Wines will celebrate the best of both worlds, with each lunch featuring a specially curated wine list highlighting Australian producers of Italian varietals. [caption id="attachment_1008914" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cut Above Productions[/caption] The series begins with an ode to Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the alpine-meets-Adriatic region where Head Chef Frankie Mauro grew up. His deeply personal menu will feature dishes inspired by his family heritage and anchored with bold mountain flavours. Highlights include slow-cooked pork sausage with pickled turnip — which Mauro name-checks as "one of my favourite things in the world to eat" — house-made pumpkin gnocchi with cultured butter and sage, and gubana, a traditional northern Italian fruit-and-nut cake soaked in rum. "Friuli, where I'm from, has food that's rich, bold and shaped by the mountains," says Mauro. "My dad's side of the family were farmers, so we were raised around hunting, butchering, and curing meat. These dishes carry memories for me, and it's special to be able to share that with guests." The regional road trip won't stop at Friuli. Future events will spotlight the food of Emilia-Romagna, Trentino-Alto Adige, Tuscany and more, allowing diners to explore some of Italy's lesser-known culinary landscapes. "This series is a chance for me to show that Italian food is about so much more than pizza and pasta," says Mauro (pictured below). "Each region has its own identity, its own ingredients, its own soul." Three Blue Ducks Nimbo is located within Nimbo Fork Lodge, a boutique hotel near Tumut and a scenic four-hour drive from Sydney. The riverside property boasts luxe farmhouse-style cottages and suites, perfect for anyone wanting to turn their Italian dining journey into a full weekend escape. Regioni d'Italia – Chef Frankie's Italian Food Tour will take place on the last Saturday of each month from June to October 2025. The series takes place at Three Blue Ducks at Nimbo Fork Lodge, 330 Nimbo Road, Killimicat. For more information, head to the venue's website.
Tents at the ready: when 2023 ends and 2024 begins, there are few better ways to spend it than dancing and camping at southeast Queensland's Woodford Folk Festival. This isn't just a fest. It's a pop-up Moreton Bay village filled with live music, arts and culture. And it's returning for another year with a heap of well-known Australian — and Brisbane — names. Throwing back to the late 90s and early 00s, Regurgitator, Custard and Resin Dogs will all take to the Woodford stage between Wednesday, December 27, 2023–Monday, January 1, 2024 at Woodfordia on the Sunshine Coast. Also hailing from Brissie, along with plenty of the festival's attendees each year: Kate Miller-Heidke. Woodford 2023–24's roster of talent includes Ben Lee, Gretta Ray, Isaiah Firebrace and Kasey Chambers as well, on a list that spans more than 400 acts and 1834 shows. So, across the fest's 27 performance spaces, there'll be no shortage of things for the expected 120,000 people attending to see at Woodfordia's 500-acre parklands space (which now boasts a lake) — whether they're among the 25,000 folks who can stay onsite or just hitting up the event for the day. Accordingly, whoever piques your interest, or even if you're just keen on a Woodford experience — for the first time, tenth or 36th, because that's how many fests the event has notched up now — prepare to catch a heap of bands, wander between arts performances and get a little muddy, all around 90 minutes north of Brisbane. As always, the fest's lineup also features circus, cabaret, yoga, dance, comedy, spoken word, poetry, comedy, films, workshops, bars, cafes and restaurants. Keen to have a chat while your clothes was at The Blak Laundry? Learn to weave baskets with Kris Martin? Get giggling to talents curated by Sandeep Totlani? Hit up the Queer Ball's third year? They're some of the other standouts. Tickets are already on sale, with more highlights from the 2023–24 lineup below — and you can check out the full list of acts and activities on the Woodford website. WOODFORD 2023–24 LINEUP HIGHLIGHTS: Regurgitator Custard Resin Dogs Ben Lee Kate Miller-Heidke Isaiah Firebrace Kasey Chambers Mo'Ju Gretta Ra Odette Yirrmal A.Girl AFRO DIZZI ACT Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham The East Pointers Haiku Hands Leah Flanagan Borroloola Cultural Songwomen featuring Dr Shellie Morris AO Bumpy FourPlay String Quartet Yirinda Charlie Needs Braces Mitch King DancingWater ALPHAMAMA Jack Davies & the Bush Chooks Charm of Finches Dougie Maclean Assynt Ryan Young Hannah Rarity Dallahan Lisa O'Neill Andy Irvine Making Movies Rizo Božo Vrečo The 2023–24 Woodford Folk Festival runs from Wednesday, December 27, 2023–Monday, January 1, 2024 at Woodfordia on the Sunshine Coast. For more information, head to woodfordfolkfestival.com Images: Woodford Folk Festival via Flickr.
Fully functioning gents’ barber shop and warehouse style bar, named (wait for it) The Barber Shop, is bringing old school back to Sydney CBD this Thursday, and every Thursday thereafter, with the Barber Shop Sessions: a mixture of close shaves, cocktails and live jazz. Opened last year by ex-Merivale head honcho and award-winning mixologist Mike Enright, this seriously nifty bar is a literally hidden gem on York Street offering a bright, white front of house where you can relish in the aforementioned professional services before sliding back a stainless steel door to reveal a dimly lit playground housing 30+ gins (including one on tap), a brooding atmosphere and now live house-acid jazz fronted by talented vocalist Wallace Gollan. Get in early and book yourself a cut with the barber and you’ll receive a complimentary cocktail and shoe shine. Talk about cool.
Adam Long knows how to print. It's just that the things he prints don't stop at the second dimension. Adam is one third of the Sydney laser-cutting print-shop the Beehive, and as part of the Oxford Street Design Store's ongoing push to educate you about interesting things, the second instalment of their A Guide to... series brings you A Guide to... Lasercutting and 3D Printing. As well as deftly burning images and shapes onto two-dimensional things — evident in their Panda-loving Kickstarter project — the Beehive is also au-fait with the methodology of piling on more layers to print objects out into a third dimension. Adam's short, sharp explanation of the joys of printing along the third axis should leave you hungry for a future that seems to be coming quicker than planned. RSVP via the Facebook event. https://youtube.com/watch?v=5jTxJ1fBKbQ
It's a decades-old inner-west tradition: watching the Newtown Jets' home footy game from up on the hill at Henson Park, that is. But things have been dialled up a few notches over the years with the introduction of The Beer, Footy & Food Festival. After a two-year pandemic-related hiatus — and then multiple weather-related postponements — the beloved festival finally returned in 2022. And, the Jets and The Music and Booze Co even backed it up this year, introducing Welcome Day in collaboration with Heaps Gay, a day of footy, cocktails, food and music where everyone is welcome. The Beer, Footy & Food Festival is still returning, however, on Saturday, July 22. A good time for footy lovers, foodies and everyone in between, the event is set to dish up a huge afternoon of family-friendly fun. As well as the match-up between the beloved Newtown Jets and the Sea Eagles, you can expect a celebration of another Inner West triumph: craft beer. Keep that thirst in check with drops from 34 different brewers, including Grifter, Philter, Wayward, Curly Lewis, Freshwater Brewing Co, Batch, Yulli's Brews, Young Henrys, Hawke's, Frenchies, Better Beer and a heap more. The festival always serves up a top-notch selection of food vendors as well, with Inner West favourites like Baba's Place, Pepito's and Happy As Larry all appearing in the past. Plus, this year Heaps Normal and The Great Club are putting on a music-filled after-party in Marrickville. Sydney bands Mac the Knife, Jet City Sports Club and Mannequin Radio will all be performing at The Great Club, located just a few hundred metres from Henson Park. If you're heading down, make sure you pack your footy so you can take part in the post-match kick-around on the hallowed turf of Henson Park. Images: Tom Wilkinson.
The Chau Chak Wing Museum is all about bringing the past and present together. Not only does its collection range from ancient artefacts to contemporary art, but the exhibits themselves use advanced technology to bring historical stories to life. The museum's latest free exhibit is no exception, featuring an array of cultural objects presented alongside a stirring soundscape. On now, Tidal Kin: Stories from the Pacific explores an unfamiliar segment of history. The exhibit shares the stories of eight Pacific Islander visitors who arrived in Sydney during the 18th and 19th centuries against the backdrop of an evolving port city. From the arrival of Tahitian navigator Tupaia and the HMB Endeavour in 1770 to the introduction of the White Australia Policy in 1901, the period was rife with bustling commerce, tumultuous power struggles and changing policies. Learn about their journey through a special visual and auditory experience — explore objects like a ceremonial yam bag, conch trumpet or decorated cloth while immersed in audio recorded by the Pacific Islanders' descendants in their native language. Tidal Kin: Stories from the Pacific is on now. Get more details at the Chau Chak Wing Museum's website. All images: David James
No weekend away is complete without securing a dreamy spot to sleep. Book yourself a bed at the Little National Hotel Sydney to guarantee the luxury you seek is at your fingertips. Every one of the 230 rooms comes with a comfy king-sized bed pushed up against the window so you can stare out over Sydney's laneways. The rooms may be compact but they are filled with everything you need from super-king-sized beds and free movies to T2 Tea and fluffy robes. Plus, there are Nespresso machines, APPELLES products and free wifi. The Little National is centrally located in Sydney's CBD — it's just steps from Wynard Station and within easy walking distance of some of the city's best restaurants and bars in the YCK Laneways and Barangaroo precincts. If you want to stay in, there is a first-rate rooftop bar and lounge where you can while away an evening in front of the large open fireplace with a delicious cocktail in hand or you can order food from one of a nearby restaurant which hotel staff will deliver right to your room. The library offers unlimited wifi, USB and power ports and a printer, so you can have the most stylish working space in the city. There's also a state-of-the-art gym with free weights and exercise machines available for guests.
With all the time we're staring at our laptop screens and flicking through the TV, I think we can safely conclude that we live in a data driven age. One artist who has been continuously pushing the limits when it comes to questioning our existence in this 'whelm' of information has been Ryoji Ikeda. After the audio-visual assault of his last Carriageworks show, test pattern [no. 5], Ikeda makes his grand return to Australian shores with his new head-spinning work, superposition. superposition is an all-encompassing performance stretching across the barriers of sound, language, physical phenomena, mathematics and human behaviour. Inspired by the mechanics of quantum theory, Ikeda breaks down reality into electronic data. Glitched-samples of bleeps spliced with footage of real-time content feeds are displayed in synchronisation over a wall of video screens, while live performers feature as the 'operator' of the installation. If test pattern [no. 5] was anything to go by, Ikeda's superposition will be just as hypnotic: a telling reminder of technology's evolution to become a ubiquitous part of our lives. Image: Ryoji Ikeda, superposition (Kazuo Fukunaga, courtesy the artist and Kyoto Experiment). https://youtube.com/watch?v=0ivkmVDg4D0
Why would two young fine-dining chefs pack in their juliennes and quenelles for a pork bun on wheels? Perhaps looking around them at well-loved institutions such as Bilson’s, Montpellier Public House (formerly Balzac), Assiette and Manly Pavilion closing their doors, a more humble van seems positively sensible. Stuart Magill of Testsuya’s and Brenton Balicki of Quay certainly bring some posh credentials to their Eat Art Truck, but the food is frippery free - tasty, simple and lush. The truck features a back panel of changing street art, with Phibs as the inaugural artist. If street art makes you feel slightly odd (like you’ve somehow woken up in East Brunswick in a pair of burgundy chinos…) then stay around the front of the truck and focus on the delicious food, friendly staff and the shiny Electrolux induction kitchen. Because Sydney belongs to a rule-loving nation, the truck is restricted to specific trading locations including Queen’s Square, Customs House forecourt and Pitt Street Mall. So no, you may not have them pull up outside your house on a Saturday morning to tend to your hangover. If it were an option, however, you’d definitely be placing a bulk order for five smoky pulled pork buns with mustard cabbage ($12) followed promptly by equal quantities of the BBQ beef bun and hot sauce ($12). If in a slightly more civilised mood, you might opt for the delicate annindofu (almond curd) with toasted coconut and pineapple ($6). Fantasies aside, you’d be hard pressed to find food this good and fast in any bricks and mortar establishment in Sydney. They’re ambitiously aiming for a five minute turn around for each order – that’s up there with McDonald’s speed, minus the double coronary. Make the effort, get off the couch and get yourself some.
An essential part of the Bondi lifestyle is eating well and healthily. The Health Emporium, on Bondi Road, is one of the most long-loved grocery stores in the area. It has just about every type of organic product, from locally grown fruit and veg to a make-up line and vitamin dispensary. This grocer-cafe hybrid stacks its shelves with hard to get health-foods and uber-natural ingredients, including a 'make-your-own nut butter' area and a bookshelf filled with organic cookbooks for you to peruse over a coffee or super smoothie by the window.
The iconic Nobbys Headland boasts 360-degree views of Newcastle and the surrounding coast, offering the area's furthest views over the Pacific. The lighthouse grounds are only open Sundays from 10am till 4pm, but it's the perfect place not only for whale watching but also to catch a view of dolphins and seals. Watching so many majestic sea creatures migrate at once is truly a sight to behold. The simultaneous city and sea lookouts also allow for a unique viewing experience — so be sure to remember your binoculars for this one. Image: Destination NSW
It's worrying the way we deride films aimed at an older audiences as simply being a Best Exotic Marigold Hotel facsimile designed to snare seniors, given how we largely ignore the fact that the majority of mainstream cinema over the past 30 years has been made for 12-year-old boys. Philomena, with its poster depicting a smiling Judi Dench alongside a stoic Steve Coogan, will no doubt be dismissively lumped in with this crowd. It is, however, a million miles away from the likes of Best Exotic (which, for the record, was actually rather good). Based on a true story, Philomena follows ex-political spin doctor Martin Sixsmith (Coogan), who, in an attempt to revive his journalism career, chases the "human interest story" of Philomena (Dench) an elderly woman searching for her long-lost son. In flashbacks, we see the younger Philomena (Sophie Kennedy Clark) as she becomes pregnant out of wedlock, and is forcibly kept in servitude by nuns, who then sell her son to a wealthy couple. As the pair investigates, the truth behind the forced adoption becomes all the more shocking. Coogan, who not only portrays Sixsmith but also co-wrote the screenplay, strikes a perfect tone with such sensitive material. The revelations are powerful and honest without being gut-wrenching; the comedy is welcome and consistent without being inappropriate. It's a remarkable juggling act, directed beautifully by Stephen Frears, who atones for recent disasters Lay the Favorite and Tamara Drewe. Coogan's sardonic Northern charm makes Sixsmith a compelling lead, and his relationship with Dench's Philomena is wonderfully developed. It's Dench who is the real standout here. At this point in her career, she could easily get away with sleepwalking through roles, relying on her undeniable presence to carry her performances. But as in 2006's Notes on a Scandal, she creates a character unrecognisable from her previous roles. Philomena is pleasant, vague, forceful and compellingly well-rounded. Dench's energy and attention to detail elevates this film to something even more remarkable. The depiction of the Catholic structure both past and present is one of the most fascinating elements of Philomena. It's caused controversy, with many accusing the film of being anti-Catholic. To make such an accusation, however, fundamentally misses the point, and excuses the crimes committed in the name of the church. The film does not shy away from Philomena's piety or Sixsmith's atheism, and argues strongly in favour of both. Sixsmith is deeply compassionate without religion, whilst Philomena embodies the ideals of Christianity that the Church and its representatives so often and so demonstrably forget. Disinterested in a sanitised "I'm okay, you're okay" message, the film manages to extol the best elements of both atheism and Christianity whilst unrelentingly and unapologetically shining a light on the darker side of organised religion. It is truly impressive stuff. Be not fooled by the marketing materials, which make the film look like an aged-up version of The Trip with Judi Dench in place of Rob Brydon. (Although, thinking about it, that would be brilliant.) Philomena is a terrifically made, entertaining work that stands head and shoulders above many of the films being forced upon us this Christmas. See it. https://youtube.com/watch?v=rD8f9kn7D2U
"I find that it takes a while for people to return to themselves after the film." For anyone who's seen The Stranger, writer/director Thomas M Wright's observations might sound like an understatement. For those who haven't yet watched the actor-turned-filmmaker's second feature behind the lens, after 2018's Adam Cullen biopic Acute Misfortune, it may come across the same way. In Australia in particular, the fact that the Joel Edgerton- (Thirteen Lives) and Sean Harris (Spencer)-starring crime-thriller is based on the 2003 abduction and murder of Queensland schoolboy Daniel Morcombe has garnered attention. The Stranger takes its cues from that monstrous real-life case, adapting Kate Kyriacou's non-fiction book The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe's Killer; however, it doesn't recreate the crime. It also doesn't depict the victim, or refer to him by name. Everyone has been fictionalised, and there's no violence in the film. Instead, it tracks the enormous police effort to capture a culprit using a criminal gang as a ruse, in what's known as the 'Mr Big' technique. Edgerton plays the incognito cop tasked with befriending the suspect, while Harris is relentlessly perturbing in the latter part. It was Edgerton, also The Stranger's producer, who optioned Kyriacou's text, saw Acute Misfortune and proposed the feature to Wright. The director was initially reluctant, but sticking to the above stipulations was the only way that he could approach the picture, and was willing to. "Those decisions about a complete unwillingness to represent any violence, to represent the victim, to represent those that cared for them — and to centre the film on a fictionalised version of a police operation like the one used in that particular case — those aren't thin acknowledgements," Wright explains. "They're deeply layered considerations that've been placed at the centre of the entire film." In every second, The Stranger feels as carefully and meticulously constructed as Wright's framework suggests — and, by design, dictates. It also feels not just tense but tough, as it should given the story it's interrogating. Debuting at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, the feature received a seven-minute standing ovation. Now, it plays Aussie cinemas from October 6 before reaching audiences globally via Netflix on October 19. "It's an undeniably different experience," Wright notes of watching The Stranger at home versus on the big screen. "It's an intensely discomforting and very powerful film to invite into your home. For the two hours that the film lasts, I think it will take people into a completely different mindset, into a different psychological realm," he continues, while chatting us through making a movie that's both unshakeably potent and personal. ON WORKING OUT THE BEST APPROACH TO A HORRIFIC REAL-LIFE CASE "Kate Kyriacou's book The Sting, which Joel had optioned, is a non-fiction work of investigative journalism about that specific case. It goes into personal details about the victim, those affected, the other suspects — and I felt that I had no right to represent the victim, that any attempt to represent them would only diminish them and all of their infinite possibilities, and that I couldn't presume to know anything about what that family and those who cared for him went through. So early on, the initial terms for me were: there'll be no representation of the victim of any sort, there'll be no representation of the people who cared for them, there'll be no violence whatsoever in this film. There's an unconscionable way of making this film. There's a morally unforgivable way of making this film. It would not be difficult to create tension in a film about the physical vulnerability of a child, and I wasn't interested to use that space, which is sacred to those real people, for the ease of making a film. So I began to think about these strangers, and that stranger of the title could refer to the perpetrator and that archetypal fear of the stranger in our society — but actually we are a society of strangers. It could also refer to the victim, to their family. Or, to that central figure and all those undercover operatives in the film whose real names we never learn. Or, to all those nameless people, the detectives and searchers at the end of the film who provide resolution for those strangers for them, that family and the victims who've they've never met. It clearly became to me this idea of connection as a society, and of empathy, as the gravity that is going to bind film together. At the time that I was writing it, I live in the inner north in Melbourne, it's where I grew up, it's where my family lives, and there were a whole series of murders of women by strangers, by people they've never met. And it shook the entire foundation of the society — and every state and territory has their own version of these cases that totally shift our perception of safety and of the social contract. They make it feel like a lie or something weak, and it had such an effect on the community down there. It was an outpouring of empathy. And these are just the cases also that have created headlines and achieved large police commitments, and where there has been public recognition. There are so many people out there, and so many crimes that take place, where there is none of that. We still have a woman a week dying of incidences of domestic violence in Australia, and many of those victims go unacknowledged. Of course, I'm not setting out to make a public service announcement in this film, but there are individuals who have to be the first person there, and who give years of their lives, and their mental and physical health, to trying to resolve those incidences of violence." ON FINDING PERSONAL REASONS TO MAKE THE FILM "When we began work on the film, I told everybody that I worked with that I wanted them to find their own reason for making this film — and I wanted them to find a personal reason to make this film. I do think it was a very personal film for all of us who worked on it. Joel said the other day that it was the quietest set he has ever worked on. It was a very tense set because of the seriousness of the material that we're dealing with, and the moral responsibility we felt, and the focus it required of us. For me, it absorbed every waking and dreaming moment of my life for three years, and I felt a tremendous moral responsibility to get it right and make something that we could all stand behind — and that didn't let any of my collaborators down. I'm not talking about the Academy Award-winning producers. I'm talking about the sound recordist and production designer and assistant editors, and everyone with whom you make a film. And also because of the presence my son in the film, because I wrote it for my son to portray Joel's son in the film. In the process of filming, Joel found out that he was going to be a father. That made it intensely personal and emotional for him also, and I watched it change him and shift his entire being. Both Joel and Sean were transformed by the process of making this film. Sean's wife actually saw the film after we'd finished and said that there was nothing of him left in that character, that he was completely absent. She didn't recognise him, and I think she found that really overwhelming and very powerful. I can attest to that as the person that was there beside them the entire time — this was a tense, difficult film to make that just took those central cast, and I include here Jada Alberts in particular, into a place where they really weren't their selves anymore." ON MAKING THE FILM PERSONAL FOR AUDIENCES "Cinema has always been a collective experience, and when films really work, we're simultaneously aware that they're a shared experience but they're also deeply personal. This film, for people who respond to it — obviously not for everybody — gets itself into a very personal place. I think it does that by making itself physical and physically felt. That's why breath was such a key part of the film to me. I wanted to begin with something that made an audience active, even in the most subtle, underlying way, because every part of the film asks that the audience be active in that physical, subjective experience of what Mark [Joel Edgerton's character] is going through. You're trying to tune people to the frequency of the film, to the psyche of the people working on this kind of case. There's a hyper-alertness. It's a film partly about trauma more generally — a film about the fact that those of us who reach adulthood, we come into the world and at some point in time we become aware of the darkness and the unknowable things within it. We have to find a way to be able to reconcile that and continue to move forward and find meaning, because the thing about violence is that it threatens to strip things of their meaning. It renders things meaningless. So you're dealing with a hyper-alert psychology. It's certainly something that we were actively trying to encourage in the audience. When you set out to make a film, you are trying to show people something they haven't seen before, to get them to feel something they haven't seen before — and, to relate to the film in a different way while understanding it's part of an impossibly deep lineage of stories, and these kinds of modalities of storytelling that are well-established now in cinema." ON AUSTRALIA'S OBSESSION WITH CRIME STORIES — AND STANDING OUT "Even though the film is part of a strong lineage of Australian crime cinema, I just think it sits outside a lot of that work in its intentions. A lot of these kind of films are more realist depictions of people, and head toward a kind of final emphatic act of violence, which often takes place off-screen. That's certainly the case in Snowtown. It's the case in Nitram. It's the case in a film like The Boys. Even though the reason for The Stranger is violence, it's not its subject… It begins in the aftermath of that violence. It's an attempt to make meaning and to reconcile the after-effects of violence on individuals and by extension on society. I think there's a reason that that this genre and these ideas are so prevalent in Australian thinking. It's certainly not limited to Australian film. When you look at our most prominent authors — Richard Flanagan, Chloe Hooper, Helen Garner, Tim Winton, Patrick White — this is a subject that has been grappled with. And in our visual art, and in our music. We return to it over and over again. I think that has to do with an unreconciled relationship to violence in this country, a landscape that has been marked by violence, and that we know that. We can intuit it, but for the main, we don't have a way to unpack that — and it remains there, unresolved." The Stranger releases in Australian cinemas on October 6, then streams via Netflix from October 19. Read our full review.
Bubbly 25-year-old Louella Mathews isn't exactly your stereotypical sommelier. The self-confessed wine nerd worked her way up through waitressing gigs at Orange's Lolli Redini and Racine restaurants before landing a coveted role in the elite team of sommeliers at Neil Perry's Rockpool. Concrete Playground caught up with Mathews to find out just how a person ends up getting to play with wine for a living, and what it takes to become that rare authority, the Master Sommelier. Being a sommelier seems like one of those fantasy jobs that people dream about but nobody expects could actually happen. Like being an astronaut. Or Beyonce. Tell us a bit about how you got here. I grew up in Orange refusing to eat anything but macaroni and cheese, so it was a bit ironic that I landed up working in hospitality. I started out as a food runner and eventually wound up managing a great restaurant in Orange called Racine, where there was no sommelier so I got to work on the wine list. Orange is a really tiny wine area, so a lot of the restaurants carry the same wines. I really wanted to do something more unique and had a lot of fun trying to track down interesting bottles that our customers mightn't yet have come across. But then customers would ask me questions I couldn't answer, or winemakers would talk to me in terms I didn't understand, and I realised I needed some actual training in order to do it properly. I enrolled myself in the Wine Spirits and Education Trust (WSET) program at Ryde TAFE and sent my resume to every three-hatted restaurant in Sydney. I started at Rockpool on George as a section waiter and when an opportunity came up to work as a sommelier, I jumped at it. You work in a field that has traditionally been quite male-dominated. Have you ever experienced reluctance from diners to accept the advice of a young female sommelier? I'm the only female sommelier at Rockpool and people often assume I'm a waitress. I'll go to a table to ask if they need help with the wine list and they'll say "yeah, sure, but could I please speak to the sommelier?" On the whole, though, I think that the element of surprise actually works to my advantage; it lets me be more casual and approachable. I guess I'm a bit less intimidating than your stereotypical sommelier and that can make people feel more comfortable asking me questions about the wine. Once, though, I did feel annoyed when a customer asked if I found that my female palate impaired my work as a sommelier. Right. Those girly hormones interfering with your tastebuds and all. Exactly. To be fair, I guess it's scientifically possible that men and women have different palates, I don't know. In any case, I'm guided less by my own taste and more by the customer, the reason they've chosen to dine with us, what they're eating, and their price range, and I use all of those elements to work out what wine they'll really enjoy rather than necessarily giving them what I would enjoy, which is what a lot of other sommeliers would do. On the topic of palate, were you born with yours or did you develop it through training? Oh, it's definitely something you develop over time. I'm really sceptical about this idea that you have to be born with a super-palate in order to do this job. At the beginning, whether you admit it or not, you'll start out thinking "this honestly just smells like wine". And then it's "okay, this smells like Riesling". And gradually you learn to expand on that — if it's a Riesling, you know to expect lemon citrus, you know there will be something floral there; I can always reliably say there's white acacia, for example, in a Riesling. As you become more experienced you can pick up all sorts of characteristics in the wine, but to begin with it's more about learning the vocabulary and knowing what to expect in any given varietal. What do you think lies ahead for you, career-wise? My ultimate goal is to be a Master Sommelier. There are only two hundred in the world. There have been three in Australia: Michael Engelmann from Rockpool Bar & Grill who just moved to New York, Franck Moreau from the Merivale Group and Sebastian Crowther from the China Group. So no women. You might be the first. That's the dream. What will you have to do to get there? There are four levels of exams. In May next year I'll do level two, then I'll fly to New York or London to complete level three which is the Advanced Sommelier course, and then level four is the Master Sommelier level. It's very self-driven learning. You spend a year studying and tasting wine and then you have a three-day exam where you blind taste six wines and you're expected to identify exactly what they are, including the vintage. There's also a written exam and a service component where you serve wine to a panel of judges and they throw a barrage of questions at you and you have to impress them with what you know. Are there any particular places you'd like to work along the way? I'd love to work at Quay, which was the first three-hatted restaurant I ever experienced, and Eleven Madison Park in New York. Honestly, if I could get a job at Eleven Madison Park just polishing cutlery, I would be happy. There's been an explosion in celebrity chefs over the past few years. Are we about to enter the age of the celebrity sommelier? I hope so. I'd love to be a celebrity sommelier. There's something really sexy about wine, so I think it would work quite well. Maybe I'll be the Nigella Lawson of wine. And finally, for the punters at home, what wine should we all be drinking right now? If I could only drink one wine for the rest of my life it would be an Austrian Grüner Veltliner. It's like Riesling, which I love, but it's got texture to it and much more depth. You get herbs, flowers, fruit and texture; it's the complete package.
For most creative types, the dream is to create whatever one wants, whenever one wants and somehow make a living out of it. In reality, though, a professional creative career often involves some form of compromise — be that financial (i.e. I'll make the art I want to make and earn money some other way) or artistic (i.e I'll live off my art, but I accept that, every now and again, I'll have to accept commissions). This is true of architecture as of any other field. So, a bunch of high-flying designers are getting together at the Golden Age Cinema to discuss the matter. They include Domenic Alvaro (director, Woods Bagot's global studio), Kelvin Ho (founder, Akin Creative) and Isabelle Toland and Amelia Holliday (founders, Aileen Sage Architects — recent brains behind The Pool at Venice Biennale's Australian Exhibition). Their chats will cover balancing commercial demands with the drive to innovate, the characteristics of Australia's design identity and its impact internationally, the meaning of success and the latest changes in visual languages. The event is presented by The Office Space and is part of Sydney Architecture Festival.
This month the City of Parramatta is hosting Moon Markets to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (also known as the Mooncake Festival), an annual calendar holiday celebrated in many Asian countries. Head to Epping on Sunday, November 13 from 5 pm to 9 pm, to witness the transformation of the suburb's Town Centre into a bustling open-air hawker's market, complete with live lion dancers, food stall pop-ups and drool-worthy drinks. With Sydney street-food faves Firepop serving their signature sticky sizzling skewers, Yummy Time Dumpling delivering on the pork bun front and Tebu Sugarcane Juice on hand to keep you hydrated (alongside a few emerging vendors such as Churros La Flamenca, Egyptian Grillers and Natas & Co Portuguese tarts added to the mix) the traditional harvest festival will be a celebration of culture, cuisine and the kind of colourful #moonmarketmagic moments just begging to be captured for the 'gram. Keen to kick off your celebrations early? Pop into Epping Town Centre and check out the The Langston Weekender, which starts at 9 am on the same day. Moon Markets will take place from 5pm on Sunday, November 13. For more information, visit the website.
When Ana Lily Amirpour made her spectacular feature filmmaking debut in 2014, and made one of the best movies of that year in the process, she did so with a flick with a killer title: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. That moniker also summed up the picture's plot perfectly, even if the Persian-language horror western vampire film couldn't be easily categorised. Take note of that seven-word name, and that genre-bending approach. When Amirpour next made wrote and directed The Bad Batch, the 2016 dystopian cannibal romance started with a woman meandering solo, albeit in the Texan desert in daylight, and also heartily embraced a throw-it-all-in philosophy. Now arrives her third stint behind the lens, the hyper-saturated, gleefully sleazy, New Orleans-set blend of superheroes, scams and strippers that is Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon — which, yes, features a female protagonist (Jeon Jong-seo, Burning) strolling unescorted again, back under the cover of darkness this time. Mona initially walks out of a home instead of towards one, however. And Amirpour isn't really repeating herself; rather, she has a penchant for stories about the exploited fighting back. Here, Mona has been stuck in an institution for "mentally insane adolescents" for at least a decade — longer than its receptionist (Rosha Washington, Interview with the Vampire) can remember — and breaks out during the titular lunar event after gruesomely tussling with an uncaring nurse (Lauren Bowles, How to Get Away with Murder). The Big Easy's nocturnal chaos then awaits, and Bourbon Street's specifically, as does instantly intrigued drug dealer Fuzz (Ed Skrein, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) and a determined but decent cop (Craig Robinson, Killing It). With opportunistic pole-dancer Bonnie Belle (Kate Hudson, Music), Mona thinks she finds an ally. With her new pal's kind-hearted latchkey kid Charlie (Evan Whitten, Words on Bathroom Walls), she finds a genuine friend as well. Amirpour's movies sport a kinetic feel that's as natural to them as breathing is to watching audiences. Her love of movement shines through as brightly as moonlight, too — and Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon is another glowing example. Directed with style and boldness to spare, this is a garish, on-the-go, howling-at-the-sky kind of southern Gothic horror flick, purposefully and strikingly so. Slinking along with it is inescapable, whether Mona is unleashing her supernatural skills, navigating the French Quarter's hustle-and-bustle nighttime vibe, or wholesomely dreaming of a safer future. First, though, Mona has to break out of the bayou-adjacent facility she's been forced to call home, which happens in a grim, revenge-seeking, attention-grabbing fashion. The aforementioned nurse usually spits insults the straightjacketed, catatonic Korean detainee's way, including while clipping her toenails. Then the inmate snaps back into focus — maybe the moon that's stirred her? — and uses her gifts to wreak havoc. Without touching the nurse, or anyone else she imposes her will upon throughout the movie, Mona can take control of their bodies. There's no flesh-swapping (another spin on Freaky Friday, this isn't); here, via voodoo-esque physical manipulation, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon's main figure waves her hands or nods her head, then whoever's in her gaze does as she directs. That's a skill that comes in handy once she's out on her lonesome, meandering the city barefoot with threats lurking. It's also a talent that Bonnie observes during a fast-food store car park catfight, with Mona saving her bacon. Deciding that those telekinetic capabilities can be put to cunning, canny and profitable use — look out, strip-club patrons — Bonnie is swiftly offering up her companionship, and her home, although the metal-loving Charlie warns their new houseguest to be wary. Even if obvious nods to Alice in Wonderland weren't baked into the production design, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon would play like a fairy tale (a sweaty, seedy, go-where-the-night-takes-you fairy tale, but a type of fairy tale nonetheless). Its namesake wanders through an otherworldly realm, gets caught in perilous situations, learns lessons and benefits from something akin to magic — aka those just-awakened powers — to mosey forward. Thanks to the movie's moral code, she only deploys her paranormal prowess on folks who deserve it, or uses it to save herself, when the decision to bust out the mind control is hers alone. At its core, the film can be that straightforward. That said, it also stems from a director with a history with deceptive simplicity. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night was about exactly what its title describes, after all, and yet it was also filled with oh-so-much more. Starting with easy-to-spot scaffolding, then building a glisteningly distinctive, eagerly detailed flick that couldn't have been crafted by anyone else: that's one of Amirpour's own super skills. Plenty of that pivotal talent comes through visually here, with gloriously atmospheric and neon-soaked help from Hereditary and Midsommar cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski. Indeed, anyone who thinks that style can't also be substance, can't sweep viewers into a film's mood and can't anchor everyone watching in a character's headspace, should be motivated to rethink their position. Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon's manic dance through New Orleans after dark is that immersive — and that means something. As thrust across the screen with scuzzy yet giddy flair, and set to a mesmerising soundtrack as well, this spirited picture proves as keen as can be to skip along with people, survivors all of them, that society usually casts aside. Speaking of casts: Jeon's magnetic performance is worth erecting an entire movie around, so Amirpour has. Quietly spoken but infinitely expressive in every look and move — and brimming with mystique — the film's lead is hypnotic; understanding why Charlie and Fuzz are so drawn to Mona isn't hard for a second. Young Whitten helps give Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon its sweetness, and a loveable odd-couple buddy-flick centre. Robinson is unsurprisingly effective and engaging as a cop with compassion, and also part of an immensely amusing chase scene. And opposite almost anyone other than Jeon, the mesh singlet-wearing Hudson would steal the show, revelling in getting trashy but remaining savvy. She takes a dauntless swing and it pays off; so does Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon on both counts.
Ever found yourself mid-Netflix binge with no plans for dinner? Maybe you've skipped your weekly grocery shop and are scurrying the pantry for a thrown-together meal more appetising than canned tuna and rice? If you're already cosy in your PJs, then dragging yourself to the shops is off the cards and the possibility of ordering takeaway grows more likely with every minute. If you're a Sydneysider, we're betting one of your go-to orders is Asian food. After all, in a city that's bursting with multiculturalism, you're never that far away from an A-grade pad thai, a steaming bowl of laksa or a perfectly crisp batch of pork and chive dumplings. Whether you're in the mood for a piping hot noodle soup or super crispy fried chicken, your dinner is guaranteed to impress from the comfort of your couch with these Asian food deliveries.
The Australian sun ripens up some tasty talent and Carriageworks is serving it up in bulk in 2016. Premiering in April and running for three nights (April 20-23), Lake Disappointment is a distinctive new work by four of Australia's most exciting independent artists, collaborating for the first time on this exclusive project. Although the title doesn't quite flag it, Lake Disappointment is a comedy. This new Sydney play also explores a relatively unexplored topic: the oddly narcissistic life of a body double. Directed by Malthouse Theatre's exciting new Director in Residence, Janice Muller, with sound design by the always brilliant James Brown, Lake Disappointment comes from playwrights Luke Mullins (who also plays the lead) and Lachlan Philpott. The pair have written the story loosely around the life of Heath Ledger's body double (what an excellent job title) as a way to investigate themes of self and identity. The narrative itself is also intriguing: a famous movie star and his close friend (and body double) have to get through one more arthouse film shoot (for a film called, you guessed it, Lake Disappointment) before moving onto Hollywood blockbusters. When the body double arrives on set early, something about the location and content of the film seems off, and the arrival of the star keeps being postponed. Mystery, lols and primo Aussie talent all rolled into one? Yes, please and thank you.
That feeling you get when a decades-old band either reforms its classic lineup and hits the road, or tours your way with a huge history behind them, kickstarting all those nostalgic old memories? If you're blink-182 fan, you'll know the right words for that: well I guess this is growing up. Actually, if you're a blink-182 fan, you'll be feeling all of the above right now. The group's best-known lineup is indeed back together, with Tom DeLonge rejoining Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker to play together for the first time in nearly a decade. They're heading around the world on a massive tour, and yes, as part of that, they're coming to Australia and New Zealand. 'Coming' is the theme of the announcement video the band put together to reveal the news — so if you're already wondering "what's my age again?", there's another reason for that train of thought. In much of the world everybody will like seeing blink-182 live again in 2023; however, Down Under, that'll happen in February 2024. DeLonge, Hoppus and Barker — with Rise Against in support — will start their Australian run in Perth, then head to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. In NZ, they're playing two shows: Auckland and Christchurch. For three decades, blink-182 have been the voice inside punk and rock fans' heads, especially in the late 90s and early 00s thanks to albums Enema of the State and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. Now that they're back together after DeLonge left the band in 2015, blink-182 are also recording new music together, with single 'Edging' releasing on Friday, October 14. Expect to hear everything from 'Dammit', 'Josie' and 'What's My Age Again?' to 'All the Small Things' and 'I Miss You' live, though — and yes, the latter feels oh-so-apt right now. BLINK-182 2024 AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND TOUR: Friday, February 9 — RAC Arena, Perth Sunday, February 11 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Tuesday, February 13 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Friday, February 16 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Monday, February 19 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Friday, February 23 — Spark Arena, Auckland Monday, February 26 — Christchurch Arena, Christchurch Blink-182 will tour Australia and New Zealand in February 2024. Blink-182 fan club pre-sales start at 12pm on Thursday, October 13, with Live Nation and Spotify pre-sales from 1pm on Wednesday, October 19 — and general sales from 1pm on Thursday, October 20 (all local time). For more information, head to the Live Nation website. Top image: Jack Bridgland.
UPDATE: JUNE 26, 2020 — Since publication of the below, Coles has also reintroduced nationwide restrictions at all supermarkets, express stores and online. The new limits include one pack per customer of toilet paper and paper towel. Further limits are in place at Victorian supermarkets and those on the NSW border. Everyone remembers the great supermarket chaos of just a few months back, when stores looked like post-apocalyptic film sets, people were everywhere but shelves were bare. And, as a response to the huge onslaught of panic-buying when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit — with shoppers hoarding everything toilet paper and hand sanitiser to pasta and milk — we all remember the item limits put in place by Aussie chains. Two months after local supermarkets started to lift those caps (and after the great bog roll crisis of 2020 seemed like it was over), Woolworths is now reintroducing restrictions — on toilet paper and paper towel. It seems that whenever COVID-19 cases start to spike, Aussies just can't stop stocking up on absorbent paper. Indeed, announcing the news today, Friday, June 26, Woolies advised that the decision follows "a recent surge in demand across different parts of the country". Toilet paper and paper towel will now be limited to two packs per transaction, with the caps in place across the entire nation. On Wednesday, the supermarket chain reintroduced restrictions in Victoria on other everyday items such as flour, sugar, pasta, rice, mince, long-life milk and eggs, too, and Coles followed suit — however Woolies' bog roll and toilet paper rationing is now going country-wide. Explaining the national rollout, Woolworths Supermarkets Managing Director Claire Peters noted that Woolies has "regrettably started to see elevated demand for toilet roll move outside Victoria in the past 24 hours. While the demand is not at the same level as Victoria, we're taking preventative action now to get ahead of any excessive buying this weekend and help maintain social distancing in our stores." The key words: 'preventative action'. Woolies stresses that there's no current shortage, it has plenty of stock and it has just ordered 650,000 additional packs — increasing its usual order by more than 30 percent of its usual volumes. Given Australia's TP-buying frenzy back in March, though, you can understand why the supermarket is both stocking up and limiting customer purchases. No end date has been given, with the restrictions in place for the foreseeable future. "The sooner we see buying patterns return to normal levels, as was the case throughout May and most of June, the quicker we'll be able to wind back limits," said Peters. https://twitter.com/VicGovDHHS/status/1276037207174889472 Woolies' actions — and the renewed clamouring for the one item no Australian seems to be able to live without — comes in response to Victoria's recent spike in COVID-19 numbers over the past couple of weeks, with new cases on the rise in the state and community transmission levels increasing. As the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) noted in a statement on Sunday, June 21, 83 percent of Australia's newly confirmed COVID-19 cases over the week prior were in Victoria. Of those 116 new Victorian cases in total, 87 "are largely associated with community transmission". The rising Victorian case numbers have already sparked action at the state government level. Victoria's State of Emergency has been extended for four more weeks, and Premier Daniel Andrews also announced the tightening of some gathering restrictions — reintroducing smaller caps on at-home groups, gatherings out of the house and the numbers of patrons allowed in venues. The state has also singled out ten Melbourne suburbs as hotspots, and is implementing a testing blitz over the next ten days. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. For more information about Woolworths' reinstated limits on toilet paper and paper towel, head to the supermarket's website.
If you're just a hunk, a hunk of burning love for the one and only Elvis Presley, and you live in Australia, you've been having quite the few years. A massive exhibition dedicated to the king of rock 'n' roll came our way, Baz Luhrmann's AACTA-winning and Oscar-nominated biopic Elvis wowed fans, and Sofia Coppola's Cailee Spaeny-starring Priscilla has also hit the big screen. Also on offer: a new Presley-focused stage musical that debuted in Sydney last year — and is coming back from Sunday, February 4. Called Elvis: A Musical Revolution, this production features more than 40 of the singer's hits, because there's just that many songs to include. All of the expected favourites are worked into the biographical musical, which means everything from 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Hound Dog', 'That's All Right' and 'All Shook Up' through to 'Suspicious Minds', 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'Burning Love' and 'Blue Suede Shoes'. 'Good Rockin' Tonight', 'Earth Angel', 'Don't Be Cruel' and 'Are You Lonesome' get a whirl as well, as do 'Blue Moon of Kentucky', 'See See Rider', 'Can't Help Falling in Love' and 'A Little Less Conversation'. That's what the show's audience hears. As for what everyone sees — what makes the musical one for the money, naturally — the production's story tells Elvis' tale from his childhood in Tupelo, Mississippi through to his triumphant '68 Comeback Special. If you've seen the aforementioned Elvis, none of it will be new news, but Elvis: A Musical Revolution works its hip-swinging magic anyway. In Sydney, Elvis will be in the building at the State Theatre again. Starring Rob Mallett (House Husbands, Singin' in the Rain), Elvis: A Musical Revolution hails from David Venn Enterprises, which has also been behind Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical, The Wedding Singer and Bring It On: The Musical — and arrives via a partnership with Authentic Brands Group, the owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises. Also behind the scenes, the musical's book comes courtesy of David Abbinanti and Sean Cercone — who have Saturday Night Fever: The Musical and Ghost: The Musical on their resumes — with Abbinanti also composing the orchestrations, arrangements, and additional musical and lyrics. Images: Ken Leanfore / Daniel Boud.
9 to 5 and Working Girl hail from the genre. Everything from Office Space to The Assistant do, too. But films about working in offices, TPS reports and navigating the desk-based daily grind might eventually become a dying breed or a nostalgic retro curiosity. Because art always mirrors life, the gig economy may swoop in and draw the silver screen's focus instead. Sorry We Missed You already has in a resonant warts-and-all manner, and Lapsis now endeavours to do the same via a smart and searing sci-fi satire. There's much to ponder, probe and dissect about the mode of employment that's becoming the status quo, after all, and that isn't bound to change as it spreads and grows. Corporations don't just dictate workers' behaviour during office hours now, supplying a reliable wage and perks such as holiday and sick leave in return. Attempting to monopolise entire fields such as food and package delivery, transportation and caregiving, big companies (you know the ones) hire independent contractors, scrap the benefits, and keep them toiling on-demand or on-call just to earn the bare minimum. This new kind of technology-driven rat race has been normalised, and quickly — and what it means for the labour force, employment, capitalism, corporate greed, class structures and basic human rights demands to be interrogated in thousands of movies as sharp and scathing as this one. In Lapsis and its alternative vision of New York, quantum computing is the next big thing. It requires a network of giant metallic cubes connected via thick black wires, with stringing them together the gig economy's new growth area. It's such an in-demand field and so lucrative for workers, in fact, that cablers can earn thousands of dollars just for a weekend's work. They can also pay off their mortgages within months — if the advertisements spruiking the supposed new employment dream can be trusted, that is. Technology-phobic delivery driver Ray Tincelli (first-timer Dean Imperial) is sceptical, so much so that he won't even use a quantum computer himself, even though they're essential to viewing up-to-date websites and just generally existing in Lapsis' parallel world. But his unwell brother Jamie (fellow debutant Babe Howard) suffers from a pervasive form of exhaustion called omnia, and requires expensive medical treatment. After finding a way into the cabling industry via acquaintance Felix (James McDaniel, The Deuce), Ray's need to make a quick stash of hefty cash quickly overrides his misgivings. Ray doesn't drop his distrust of quantum computing and everything associated with it, of course. But, in trying to pay for medical care and just generally make enough money to get by, he's willing to compromise his ideals out of necessity — or he's forced to, really, given that he doesn't have any other options to take care of his brother and boost his finances. In choosing these motivations to drive his protagonist, writer/director Noah Hutton quickly taps into, caricatures and scratches away at the US today. Helming his first fictional feature after a decade of documentaries, including two about the oil industry, he keeps digging his claws into a society that treats health care as an optional extra for anyone who isn't wealthy, and thinks that basically working yourself to death is just how life should be if you haven't been successful enough in chasing the so-called American Dream. All of this pointed commentary exists in Lapsis' premise, and the deeper it dives into the cabling world, the more biting the film becomes. Hutton is playful, parodying the reality he's drawing upon, but he still sinks his teeth in — and hard. As Ray quickly learns, his new form of employment involves hiking through gorgeously leafy surroundings to get from cube to cube, all while wheeling a cart between his magnetic start and end points. While the terrain is bumpy, the job sounds straightforward and even leisurely and enjoyable, but it definitely isn't. Different routes pay more than others, getting lucrative gigs isn't easy unless you've been at it for years, and competition is fierce between cablers. Also complicating matters: robotic carts that scurry along day and night, and can steal routes from humans by overtaking them. By design, they push flesh-and-blood cablers to work harder — or risk expending all that effort for absolutely nothing. Then there's the fact that when Ray checks in on the trail, using the medallion he's been given, it flashes up the name 'Lapsis Beeftech'. That moniker instantly inspires scorn from his fellow workers, with only acerbic experienced cabler Anna (Madeline Wise, Crashing) willing to explain why. She also talks Ray through exactly what he's gotten himself into, how the companies behind the job treat their contractors, the pushback during past attempts at unionisation and the small ways that cablers can get the upper hand over their mechanical adversaries. Savaging both expensive and quack medical treatments as well — and the fact that they're the types that largely garner attention — Lapsis is undeniably dense in ideas. That said, it's never overstuffed or overcomplicated, and it doesn't spread its many insights and statements too thin. Indeed, as both a screenwriter and a visual storyteller, Hutton keeps striking a perfect balance. He layers his film with reflections upon much about work in the 21st century. He spins an involving dystopian tale, too. And, he doesn't let either the feature's loaded commentary or its involving world-building feel like it's dragging the other along with it, or dragging it down for that matter. Stepping into a high-tech world with a low-fi (and low-budget) approach, Lapsis' analogies might be clearcut, but they're meant to be. Like Sorry to Bother You, one of the other excellent movies of the past few years that tore strips off of so much that we've come to accept as standard, this is a shrewd film that's direct about its targets at every turn. It's also savvily crafted, stems from clear anger and overflows with surprises. The engaging cast, including the wily Imperial, is one such unexpected gem — and so is this astute, complex and compelling delight itself, including in its memorable final stretch.
Toastiesmith is the most recent addition to the Maker's Dozen food court within The Exchange building. It's a sanga-themed cafe offering up 12 different varieties, including roast beef, pork katsu and grilled fish, all topped with an egg omelette. Drinks include coffees, smoothies and house-made sodas. [caption id="attachment_782079" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kera Wong[/caption] Images: Kera Wong
Any inner west resident or proud culture vulture should be familiar with Camperdown Memorial Rest Park. The park regularly plays host to events, including the annual Newtown Festival. But outside of these events, the park is definitely worth a visit. The park acts as a microcosm of the eclectic Newtown community; students, families, and artists all take to the leaf-y reserve for some R&R, making it a veritable field day for curious people-watchers. If you're more into friends of the four-legged variety, Camperdown Memorial has got you covered. It also is one of the only parks in the area that allows of off-leash dog play - at any time during the week and early-morning and late-evening on weekends.
To get musicians back onstage after the pandemic, the New South Wales government and ARIA launched Great Southern Nights. Following two blockbuster years that saw thousands of gigs pop up across the state, including performances from everyone from Missy Higgins to Partiboi69, the series is returning in 2024 with another 300 shows over 17 nights. Live music will ring out throughout NSW between Friday, March 8–Sunday, March 24, with musicians big and small performing in Sydney live music institutions and regional hubs. While the lineup hasn't been unveiled yet, event organisers are dropping a taste of what's to come before the end of the year with a mini version of Great Southern Nights popping up in November. [caption id="attachment_918159" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Patrick Stevenson[/caption] The Great Southern Nights taster event will feature nine different gigs between Thursday, November 16–Saturday, November 25. This ten-day run of shows will feature some of the country's most beloved musicians popping up in intimate settings across Sydney. You'll be able to catch The Temper Trap at The Factory Theatre, Thelma Plum at Penrith's Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Jet at Penrith Panthers, Beccy Cole at Parramatta's Riverside Theatre and Alex the Astronaut upstairs at The Bank's gig room Waywards. Also on the program: Tasman Keith will be performing with special guests Nooky, Dallas Woods and Angus Field at A.C.E Parramatta; metal band Thy Art Is Murder will be taking over the Marrickville Bowling Club; Dami Im will be playing at Q Theatre in Penrith; and Isabella Manfredi will be coming to Marrickville's The Great Club. [caption id="attachment_818818" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] Once the official Great Southern Nights kicks off next autumn, you can expect gigs highlighting seven key music communities across NSW including Greater Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle and the Northern Rivers. "We know that the music industry requires greater support to revive live music venues across the state and support artists and workers in the industry, which is why our government is committed to bring back Great Southern Nights over the next four years," said Minister for Music and Night-Time Economy and Minister for Jobs and Tourism John Graham. "Globally, and particularly in the UK, markets are seeing a resurgence in the role of small to medium venues for breaking up-and-coming talent," said ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd. "Creating more of those same opportunities for our own recording artists to cut through and build new fanbases is critical at a time where content is increasingly saturated." Tickets for the taster series of gigs go on sale at 9am on Tuesday, September 19 — and, considering the smaller venues these acts are playing in, they're sure to be snapped up quickly. [caption id="attachment_918161" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brent Young[/caption] Great Southern Nights 2023 will run from Friday, March 8–Sunday, March 24, 2024 throughout New South Wales. The taster series featuring Thelma Plum, The Temper Trap, Jet and more will pop up from Thursday, November 16–Saturday, November 25, 2023. Top image: Georgia Griffiths.
After the apocalypse arrived from above in the form of extra-terrestrials that leap upon any and every sound, audiences have already seen what happened on day 89 and day 471–7. We've also caught a glimpse of the day that started it all. But A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II prequel A Quiet Place: Day One is going right back to the beginning properly, and not just via flashbacks. The third effort in the now-franchise is also headed to New York. On the way since 2021, and just dropping its first trailer ahead of its June 2024 release, the latest A Quiet Place film steps into the alien invasion's initial impact in the Big Apple with 12 Years a Slave Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) at its centre. As the initial sneak peek shows, she's walking happily with a cat in her arms when the sky starts falling — and she soon realises that noise is what sets off earth's unwanted new visitors. When A Quiet Place hit cinemas in 2018, did stellar things with its mostly dialogue-free premise and gave films about otherworldly attackers a creative spin, it quickly proved a big box office hit. That's hardly surprising; Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer) added another formidable role to her resume, John Krasinski (Jack Ryan) did great work both in front of and behind the camera, both Millicent Simmonds (Wonderstruck) and Noah Jupe (The Undoing) turned in excellent performances, and the entire movie made the absolute most of its silence-heavy approach and its niche in the horror genre. So, not only was a sequel always likely, but more in the saga after that, with Day One giving viewers more time in the franchise's eerie dystopian world. The trailer for the new film shows snippets of the first two movies' Abbott family for context, but it's Djimon Hounsou (Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story) who returns from A Quiet Place Part II among the cast. In the sneak peek, he pops up late to help stress why surviving requires keeping your lips zipped as tightly as possible. A Quiet Place: Day One also features Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn, who leaves Vecna behind for different monsters. Behind the lens, instead of Krasinski sitting in the director's chair, fellow filmmaker Michael Sarnoski helms — swapping Nicolas Cage on a vengeance mission over his beloved pet in Pig for tackling invading aliens. He wrote the screenplay, too, after coming up with the story with Krasinski. Originally Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special and Loving's Jeff Nichols was set to direct, but left due to creative differences. Check out the trailer for A Quiet Place: Day One below: A Quiet Place: Day One releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Read our reviews of A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II.
