Sometimes tour news is so huge and demand for tickets is so feverish that the details change before anyone has even snapped up a ticket. It happened with blink-182's upcoming 2024 tour. It was the same with Lizzo's visit this past winter, and also with The Weeknd's forthcoming trip Down Under from November. Now, it's also proven the case with Zach Bryan's first-ever Australian gig. A Melbourne exclusive, Bryan's Aussie debut was set for St Kilda's Catani Gardens; however, organisers have swiftly realised that that space won't be big enough. So, before tickets even go on sale — with pre sales from 12pm AEDT on Thursday, October 5 and general sales from 12pm AEDT on Friday, October 6 — Bryan's gig has been moved to Flemington Racecourse. The date of the show is still the same: Saturday, December 9. That's when the 'Something in the Orange' singer and Oologah, Oklahoma native will hit the Victorian capital for statewide music celebration Always Live, which runs for 17 days — and also features Christina Aguilera doing a one-off Down Under show, plus exclusive Eric Prydz and Jai Paul gigs as well. Expect the biggest name in country music right now to give his 2022 American Heartbreak album a hefty spin when he takes the stage in Melbourne. Although he released two records prior — 2019's DeAnn and 2020's Elisabeth — his third album marked his major-label debut, and also the reason that Bryan has become such a sensation. Among Bryan's recent feats, American Heartbreak premiered in the top spot on America's Billboard 200. 'Something in the Orange' has now stayed in the charts longer than any single by a male country artist. In Australia, Bryan has earned that same achievement in the ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart for all country artists. And his streaming numbers? In excess of 6.8 billion worldwide. As he's been taking his American Heartbreak tour around the US — including stops at Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits — Bryan has been smashing attendance records, too. So, the Melbourne change of venue isn't that surprising. In his first Australian stint, he'll also have tracks from his latest album to play, with the self-titled Zach Bryan releasing in August. Among the tunes: collaborations with Kacey Musgraves, The Lumineers, The War and Treaty, and Sierra Ferrell. Being brought Down Under by Untitled Group, which is also behind Beyond The Valley, Pitch Music & Arts, Grapevine Gathering, Wildlands and Ability Fest, Bryan's just-announced spot on the Always Live bill is his only currently scheduled gig in Australia. The statewide music celebration's full lineup includes more than 165 artists at 60-plus events — all, of course, in Victoria. Always Live 2023 runs from Friday, November 24–Sunday, December 10, with one pre-festival gig on Saturday, October 14. For more information, and to get tickets, head to the festival website. Zach Bryan will play Flemington Racecourse on Saturday, December 9, with pre sales from 12pm AEDT on Thursday, October 5 and general sales from 12pm AEDT on Friday, October 6.
Bondi and brunching go together like Hall and Oates — two classy things, both appreciative of a top notch, classy time. Lucky for beachbound brunchers, the ever-epic and exclusive Icebergs has opened their Dining Room and Bar for Sunday brunch from October 26. Looks like brunch king Bill Granger freaked out the neighbours. Every Sunday between 10am and 12pm — that tiny, tiny window is sure to drum up some hectic queues — you can brunch at Bondi’s postcard-perfect spot. There’ll be a selection of breads and pastries with Pepe Saya butter and marscapone, followed by two courses — frutti (organic blood orange, aromatic rhubarb, strawberries with whipped ricotta and fresh local honeycomb) and your selection of secondi (hot smoked Petuna ocean trout with beets, roe and crème fraiche; frittata with porcini, goats curd and crispy organic kale; or grilled piadina, prosciutto, organic hen egg, asparagus, mint and lemon). The whole fancy, fancy thing will set you back $55 with coffee and tea, or the more decadent can shell out $75 for bottomless Prosecco (worth it). If you did an especially big work week, $90 will top you up with Osetra caviar and champagne. Now that's brunching. Icebergs Sunday Brunch will be served between 10am and 12pm on Sundays from October 26. Top image: Gary Hayes.
Muogamarra Nature Reserve, a hidden oasis of native wildflowers located near Cowan, is closed to the public most of the year in order to protect its fragile ecosystem and its Aboriginal cultural heritage. But, every now and then, it opens for everyone to enjoy for a limited time. That time is about to arrive for 2023, with the reserve welcoming guests for six weeks in August and September this year. The reserve is a thing of beauty, playing home to more than 900 species of native wildflowers that fill the area with a sea of vibrant colours when they bloom. Waratahs, angophoras, old-man banksias, pink boronias and native orchids — they're all here among the site's expansive bushlands and rainforests. You can also catch a glimpse of Aboriginal rock engravings and take in expansive views of Hawkesbury River, Berowra Creek, Bar Island, Milson Island and Spectacle Island. If this all sounds right up your alley, you've got a couple of options when planning a trip to Muogamarra Nature Reserve. You can book one of four different guided tours led by experienced NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) volunteers, who will take you through the reserve, teaching you about the floral wonders surrounding you. The tours each cover different sections of the park, and range from three to ten kilometres of walking. Or, if you want to tackle the reserve by yourself, you can also reserve a time slot for a self-guided tour. Slots for both are limited, so the NPWS is encouraging anyone keen to explore the wildflower haven to get in quick. Each of the four guided tours and the self-guided tours are available to book at different dates and times between Saturday, August 12–Sunday, September 17. Head to the NSW National Parks website to see the selected dates and to make a booking. Muogamarra Nature Reserve is located three kilometres north of Cowan Station, on the western side of the Pacific Highway. It will reopen to the public for 2023 across selected dates between Saturday, August 12–Sunday, September 17.
Six weeks before Sydney Film Festival releases its full programme of 150-plus films and events, here's a look at the preview selection announced today. In its 59th year and under the direction of new-guy Nashen Moodley (who spoke to us today), the festival continues to take a side step away from the mainstream to present a collection of handpicked and diverse, new and upcoming films from across the world. Judging by the sneak peek of 25 films lined up for the event on June 6-17, 2012, the festival already looks set to include an inspiring, entertaining and thought-provoking choice of features and docos to satisfy even the most fanatic moviegoer. Of the 25 films announced, 22 will be Australian premieres, including the Sundance award-winning Beasts of the Southern Wild. Its story tells of six-year-old Hushpuppy, who — with the impending death of her father and the onslaught of an army of prehistoric creatures — takes off from her isolated community at the edge of the world to find her lost mother. Then there’s British zombie movie Harold's Going Stiff — quite different from its 21 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead predecessors. Director Keith Wright brings his horror-mockumentary to Australia for the first time. Or the next instalment from director Jack Perez, whose 2009 film Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus wasn’t exactly a box-office hit. With Some Guy Who Kills People, however, it looks like Perez's penchant for droll humour and blood, guts and gore has finally paid off. Starring Kevin Corrigan, who plays sensitive (fresh out of a mental institute) artist Kenny, it looks as though this comedy thriller is a step in a more mature direction for the filmmaker ... just a step. If you're after something more hard-hitting, the festival will be showcasing the Sundance-award winning documentary The Law In These Parts, a series of compelling interviews with Israel's military figures. And the feature film from recently imprisoned-then-released activist and filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, about a pregnant lawyer desperately trying to leave Iran. There will also be not-so-hard-hitting but probably enchanting documentaries such as Woody Allen: A Documentary, which includes interviews with actors, the man himself and even his 'Mom'. And the one that might just introduce a future leader in New Zealand, Maori Boy Genius, the story so far for charismatic 16-year-old Ngaa Rauuira Pumanawawhiti, a boy who, according to his community, has been destined for leadership since childhood. Screening at eight venues in the city this June, Sydney Film Festival will launch its full program on Wednesday, May 9. For a detailed look at all 25 films in the preview list, go to http://www.sff.org.au. Or you get more of the lowdown on the Sydney Film Festival from our interview with Nashen Moodley.
Maybe you're a Goop devotee. Perhaps you're fond of Gwyneth Paltrow as an Oscar-winning actor. Or, you could just be interested in stepping inside a star's guesthouse. Whether you're a wellness diehard, a movie fan or have always wanted to spend a night in the kind of place that only famous faces usually inhabit, Airbnb has a stay for you: Paltrow's Montecito guesthouse. The accommodation-sharing platform loves drumming up attention by offering unique places to slumber. Will this one come with a candle that smells like Paltrow's vagina or orgasm? Given that they're very real products that Goop sells, perhaps. Whatever scent wafts through the air at this Californian property, whoever scores the one-night-only booking will indeed be bunking down in the Seven, Shakespeare in Love and Iron Man star's home. And, she'll even be there to greet you. Airbnb adds this extremely short-term listing to its roster after also offering up Barbie's Malibu DreamHouse, the Ted Lasso pub and Japan's World Heritage-listed Suganuma Village this year. Before that, the service has featured Hobbiton, the Paris theatre that inspired The Phantom of the Opera, the Bluey house, the Moulin Rouge! windmill, the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine, The Godfather mansion, the South Korean estate where BTS filmed In the Soop and the Sanderson sisters' Hocus Pocus cottage. For its full Goop-style getaway, Airbnb has tasked Paltrow with curating the experience, which is open to up to two guests on Saturday, September 9— and also costs $0 (so, yes, it's free). The booking includes staying in the guesthouse, which comes with a kitchen and living room as well as a bedroom; a spa day using Paltrow-picked Goop beauty products; Goop-inspired meals and snacks; and a guided transcendental meditation session. Reservations open at 3am AEST / 5am NZST on Wednesday, August 16. If you nab the place and you'd like to take the Goop-iness home with you afterwards, you'll also be given Goop products "to continue your journey towards emotional health long after your stay". Those are Paltrow's own words. "My Montecito home is my sanctuary for respite and mental clarity. I go there to recharge, to daydream about what we're building at goop and to reconnect with my family and treasured friends," the surprise Airbnb host also noted. "Whether you're seeking a place for unexpected connection or for well-deserved solitude and reflection, when you come to stay, I hope you'll get as much joy out of the home as I do. Plus, I've loaded up your stay with some of my favourite Goop essentials to nourish your body, mind and soul." The usual caveat applies, of course: if you do get the reservation, the cost of getting to Montecito and back again is all on you. For more information about Airbnb's Goop-Inspired Stay with Gwyneth Paltrow on Saturday, September 9, or to apply to book at 3am AEST / 5am NZST on Wednesday, August 16, head to the Airbnb website. Images: Stephen Paul. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
If you just can't wait to spend more time in the photorealistic version of The Lion King's world, here comes a film about the lion that's king of the Pride Lands before Simba gets the job. Mufasa: The Lion King is again styled to look like reality, not animation — and, set to arrive in cinemas Down Under in December 2024, it gives 2019's The Lion King, a remake of the 90s animated hit, a prequel. It also just dropped its first teaser trailer. Call it the circle of cinema. Call it the movie that was always bound to happen once technology was rolled out to bring this beloved franchise back to the screen with visuals that make its animals appear as if they've walked out of a documentary (well, almost, as the last film demonstrated). Donald Glover (Mr & Mrs Smith), Beyoncé, Seth Rogen (Dumb Money), Billy Eichner (Bros) and John Kani (Murder Mystery 2) are all back from the past flick, reprising their roles as Simba, Nala, Pumbaa, Timon and Rafiki. But as the feature's moniker makes plain, this isn't any of those characters' tales. Mufasa, aka Simba's father, sits at the centre of a picture directed by Moonlight Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins. The movie is presented as a story told by Rafiki, Timon and Pumbaa to Kiara, the daughter of Simba and Nala, who is voiced by Blue Ivy Carter. So goes a narrative about an orphaned cub who is taken in by a lion with royal blood, then set on a path that leads to the events of The Lion King. Among the voice cast, Aaron Pierre (Foe) does the honours as Mufasa. Kelvin Harrison Jr is Taka (Chevalier), the lion prince who takes Mufasa in like a brother. Tiffany Boone (Hunters), Mads Mikkelsen (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), Thandiwe Newton (Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget), Lennie James (Genius), Anika Noni Rose (Pantheon), Keith David (Rick and Morty), Kagiso Lediga (The Umbrella Men) and Preston Nyman (A Small Light) also lend their vocals to the flick. As well as Jenkins, Mufasa: The Lion King boasts another huge off-screen name, with Hamilton great Lin-Manuel Miranda writing the movie's tunes. "Elton John. Tim Rice. Hans Zimmer. Lebo M. Mark Mancina. Beyoncé, Labrinth, Ilya Salmanzadeh. Beau Black, Ford Riley, the incredible music team on The Lion Guard, and so many musical contributors over the years. The Lion King has an incredible musical legacy with music from some of the greatest songwriters around, and I'm humbled and proud to be a part of it," said Miranda. "It's been a joy working alongside Barry Jenkins to bring Mufasa's story to life, and we can't wait for audiences to experience this film in theatres." Check out the first trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King below: Mufasa: The Lion King releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, December 19, 2024. Images: courtesy of Disney. © 2024 Disney Enterprises Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Your latest excuse to book a holiday is here, and your next reason to enjoy a getaway in Australia's Red Centre as well. As it does regularly throughout each year, Webjet has launched a new sale on flights to the Northern Territory — and they're going cheap. How cheap? From $18 one-way. Until 11.59pm AEDT on Saturday, June 24, the travel site has fares to Uluru on offer for $18 from Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, and for $21 from Sydney. It's also doing Adelaide to Alice Springs routes for $80, with each sale fare being discounted by a huge $175. [caption id="attachment_905927" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism NT and The Salty Travellers[/caption] Of course, those $18 and $21 prices are just the starting point, so you mightn't score such a cheap flight depending on which day you're planning to travel, and also where you're jetting off from — but there are still some mighty affordable prices available. The sale covers trips to Uluru and Alice Springs, for travel from now — yes, right now — through to Thursday, November 30 this year. Fancy a winter jaunt to the middle of the country? Making spring plans already? Always had the NT on your bucket list? Whichever fits, you can tick them off now. [caption id="attachment_905930" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism NT and Sean Scott[/caption] One key caveat: the discounted prices are available for inbound flights only, so you won't receive the same discount to come home. Wondering what to do once you get there? Uluru's incredible Field of Light installation by Bruce Munro remains a permanent recommendation, while Munro's just-opened Light-Towers at Kings Canyon and nightly drone show Wintjiri Wiru are must-see newcomers. You can also check out our guide to visiting the Red Centre, and our deep dives into Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa. [caption id="attachment_905929" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism NT and Tourism Australia[/caption] [caption id="attachment_905931" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism NT and Sean Scott[/caption] [caption id="attachment_905932" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Getty Images for Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia[/caption] Webjet's Red Centre sale runs until 11.59pm AEDT on Saturday, June 24. Top image: Tourism NT, Salty Travellers. Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that flights started at $15, Sydney flights from $20 and Adelaide-to-Alice Springs fights from $70; however, Webjet has changed these prices to $18, $21 and $80. This story has been amended to reflect that change. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Eastern Sydneysiders don't have to drive across the city for a little western magic. Opened in April 2015 on New South Head Road in Vaucluse, The Trail offers a unique blend of Little Marionette coffee and a creative brunch-happy menu, straight out of Marrickville or Redfern. And boy, does it get busy on the weekend. "I live on Addison Road in Marrickville and I love the cafe culture that's around there. We're spoiled for choice," says owner Nick Stubbs, who earned his barista stripes from years at Pyrmont's Cafe Morso. "But I've also been coming to Parsley Bay for a while. It's a really nice area, but there aren't a lot of cafes. From talking to locals, I found out that there's actually a bit of demand around here for quality and for something different." Drawing on advice from previous bosses, including Morso's Andy Webb, Stubbs decided to open his own cafe in The Trail; keeping things simple and as effective as possible. "The layout is minimal and sleek. I wanted people to feel welcome, so I didn't want clutter. I worked with a great carpenter who loves blackbutt, so we found some pieces with a natural finish — and it's come up really, really beautifully." The same minimalist principle is applied to the Trail menu, except that it's jazzed up with some fine dining finesse. The elegantly simple menu is all available all day. We're talking buckwheat porridge with brandied rhubarb, poached quinoa, pecan and honeycomb ($14); roasted pepper and Manchego omelette with jalapeno salsa rocket and pinenut salad ($16); and hot smoked trout with roast cauliflower, picked grapes, almonds, quinoa and kale salad, and celery and verjuice dressing ($16/20). For classic brunchers, there's also braised brisket on a brioche bun served with rosemary roast potatoes ($18), or the more breakfasty option of The Trail's jamon and egg roll with house pickles and chipotle aioli ($10). Kitchen closes at 3pm weekdays and 2pm weekends Images: Andy Fraser.
Maybe you're still planning your winter getaway. Perhaps you're already thinking about spring holidays. Or, you could just be keen to grasp any excuse to take a vacation. Whichever fits, as long as you're eager to spend your next break somewhere in Australia — which still gives you a heap of options — then Jetstar has the sale for you. On offer: domestic fares from $35, which spans trips from Sydney to Byron Bay. The rest of the prices are still cheap, however, and the list of destinations is sizeable. The Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, the Whitsunday Coast, Hamilton Island, Hobart, Launceston and Uluru are all covered, and all the usual capitals as well, with prices and routes varying depending on the departure point. Dubbed Jetstar's mates' rates sale, this batch of discounted fares includes $62 flights from Sydney to Melbourne, and $110 fares from the Harbour City to Cairns. From Victoria, prices kick off at $39 to Tasmania, and also cover $141 legs to Margaret River. Brisbanites can go to Mackay for $65 and Darwin for $106, too. From Adelaide, deals include $49 to Melbourne and $101 to the Sunshine Coast, while Perth's options start at $149 to Brisbane — and that's just the beginning of the sale's fares. You will need to be happy to head away from July 23–September 20 or October 11–December 12, though. Dates for sale flights also vary depending on the departure and arrival points. There are a few rules, as is always the case. All sale fares are one-way, and they don't include checked baggage — so you'll need to travel super light or pay extra to take a suitcase. Jetstar's mate's rates sale runs until 11.59pm AEST on Tuesday, June 20 — or until sold out, if snapped up earlier. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Want to never kill a pot plant again? Figure out which teeth you're not brushing? Print your own pizzas at home? Sure, we're moving swiftly toward the Simpsons-predicted Ultrahouse 3000, but 2015 is looking pretty bright for gadget-lovers wanting to make their lives that little bit better. With CES 2015 having wrapped up this week in Las Vegas, technological developments have been on everyone's lips, feed and minds. With self-driving cars, 4K televisions and virtual reality developments at the forefront of the convention's announcements, more domestic (and somewhat more accessible) inventions got us pretty psyched for the year to come. SMART TOOTHBRUSHES You skipped a brush. You know it. Your significant other probably knows it. Your coworkers bitch about it. But until now, you haven't been held accountable, really. Now, you'll have no excuses with the development of the smart toothbrush. Oral-B's bluetooth-enabled brush was revealed last October, but Vigilant newcomer the Rainbow made more waves at CES this week. Making a game out of the often tedious chore of brushing your teeth, the Vigilant Rainbow allows for interactive games while you brush. According to the makers, the toothbrush knows its location inside your mouth (somewhat terrifying, right?) and tells the brusher, via the app, which teeth still need attention. Your risk of developing cavities just plummeted, go team. SMART FLOWER POTS Never kill another pot plant again; some equally neglectful genius has created a smart flower pot for you. Showcased at CES, the Parrot Pot uses sensors to analyse your plant and track temperature, sunlight, moisture, fertiliser and growth, using an in-built watering system to make sure ol' ferny gets watered and fed when it's in need. Connected through bluetooth and managed by an app, you can keep an eye on your plant at all times — a good one for the perpetually holidaying or casually inept. FLOATING SPEAKERS Because when you're cranking Jamie XX in the office, you deserve the right to a little wizardry while you're at it. Floating speakers made a few appearances at CES this year, both levitating and water-friendly. Levitating speakers, while quite honestly not the best use of levitation, dropped a few jaws this week. The Air2 (pronounced Air Squared) uses strong magnets to create that creepy hovering effect — a feature that also allows the speaker to stick to magnetic surfaces. Water-wise, Monster have created a floating speaker promoted by legendary slam dunker Shaquille O’Neal — dubbed The SuperStar BackFloat (really). The speaker can be submerged underwater and floats on the surface, perfect for pool parties. FOOD PRINTERS While 3D printing and food printing has been around for quite a while now, several major players debuted their wares at CES this week. Most impressively, XYZprinting are geared up to release their at-home Da Vinci 3D printer later in 2015, a machine that was printing everything from dinosaur-shaped lollies to pepperoni-dotted pizzas over the week. According to Mashable, the food designs (technically, recipes) are approved by a 'foodie guru', stored in XYZPrinting’s cloud-based service and sent to the printer — connected via USB to Windows 7 and 8 and Mac OSX systems. Costing around $3000, this exxy little appliance is still in the upper rungs of accessibility but one step closer to widespread domestic use. SMARTER WIFI KETTLE Although it has one of the blandest taglines of a new product ever — 'It's more than just a kettle' — the Smarter kettle is truly simple and 100 percent awesome. Using an app (naturally), you can pre-boil your water from anywhere in the house using wifi. Apparently, the team have worked out this will save you up to two days a year of waiting around for the kettle to boil (five minutes at a time). You can set the kettle to 'Wake' and 'Home' mode, so it automatically starts boiling at times when you're in the need for caffeine, and you can adjust the boiling temperature (hardcore tea drinkers, you know what's up here). The stainless steel kettle sends you a message to tell you when your hot water is ready, and reminds you to refill. Super simple, but super useful. WOODEN TOUCH TABLETS Less a huge, jaw-dropping technological development, more a super, super pretty Thing. Aiming to unpack multifaceted devices and get things back to single purpose party times, Bang & Olufsen have created the BeoSound Moment, a device solely dedicated to playing music — we know, right, how 'old school' of them. As with any music playing device, the Beosound Moment nabs your music from the cloud and tries to tailor your playlists to your preferences; nothing new here. But the prettiest part of B & O's tablet is the fact that one side is completely covered in wood — something the company maintain has never been done before with a sensitive, touchable interface. There's a volume adjusting wheel set into the oak — yep, with a function reminiscent of the ol' iPod. So while this isn't anything groundbreaking in terms of music players, this is some seriously nice design. SMART BELT This has seen quite a bit of news already this year, but Emiota's smart belt is a classic first world development. Basically, the Belty (adorable) senses tension and adjusts accordingly — so if you've stuffed yourself silly at Christmas lunch, your belt will do the unbuckling for you. It's not just for big ol' pig-outs though, the belt will sense if you've put on weight — it's connected to smartphone app, which also monitors your activity during the day. THE MELOMIND HEADSET Stressing out gets the better of all of us, whatever walk of life you're careening down right now. Everyone has their brilliant strategies to de-stress, Zen out and find their centre again — watching Attenborough documentaries, cranking some Debussy, working out to Tay Tay; whatever your vice. But a new headset called Melomind could be the answer to your stressfest. Developed by the team at myBrain, the Melomind is a brand new gadget that uses contact points to measure your brain activity. Sending the results to a smartphone app, the Melomind then plays music to match your state of mind. And nope, we're not talking Enya or rain sounds; it's specially composed music engineered to train your brain to relax. Set for release in Europe by September 2015, the Melomind will set you back around US$300. HONORABLE MENTION: LG'S TWIN WASH Shout out to LG's new Twin Wash system, which allows you to put on both your darks and lights at the same time. For anyone interested in taking care of their clothes, but wanting to maximise time out of the laundry, this is a certifiable booyah. Cahmahn. Via Mashable, The Verge, TechCrunch and Gizmodo.
If there's one recycling exercise that's always fun to do, it's finding a new use for an old bottle. We've seen Jack Daniels flasks transformed into soap dispensers, bottle caps turned into garden sculptures and crates of beer metamorphose into Christmas trees. If summer holiday excesses have left your place overflowing with empty receptacles that once bore much seasonal cheer, here's one simple, ingenious way to take care of them: Bottle Lights. Supplied by quirky gifts company SUCK UK, they transform any bottle into a magical lantern. Priced at just £10 ($18), LED corks are a convenient alternative to candles, which might look enchanting but don't survive the outdoors should any gust of wind come their way. Plus, a host of clever features means particularly slick operation. These include an on/off twist mechanism and rechargeability via USB. One hour's worth of charges provides two-and-half-hours of illumination. So, not only are they pretty, they're also eco-friendly. SUCK recommends brightening up a series of vintage bottles for an unusual lighting effect or selecting a favourite empty and transforming it into a central table-piece. Via Gizmodo.
If technology has taught us anything, it's that there's no realm of everyday life that it won't intrude upon. No, we're not talking about a Matrix-style situation — but the latest product to be infused with artificial intelligence might get you wondering if absolutely everything needs a tech upgrade. When it comes to the humble toothbrush, you could be forgiven for thinking that electric versions were about as advanced as things were going to get (or that anyone needs, to be honest). Enter an AI-infused instrument for keeping your chompers clean. It's the first of its kind, and it sounds incredibly clever and helpful, as well as a bit like technology in overdrive. The Ara, a product made by oral care company Kolibree and launched at the 2017 Consumer Electronic Show, features 3D motion sensors, an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a magnetometer that all collect data about how you're brushing — and how you can do better. Like everything, there's app attached that collates the relevant information, including details of the date and time you attended to your dental hygiene, the duration, and the zones brushed. Expected to be available from March 2017 at a cost of US $129, The toothbrush will also capture data when it isn't connected to the app. With the Ara designed to help improve their oral health, users also receive a weekly update telling you "how well you've brushed over the last seven days," which I'm sure everyone will look forward to. To be honest, we shouldn't be all that surprised. If smart hair brushes can help you keep your locks in tip-top condition, of course a toothbrush was going to come along that did the dental version of the same thing. Via Dezeen.
Tenth birthdays are a big deal, especially when you're an Australian music festival that's been navigating a pandemic and the resulting difficult time for the industry for half of your run, and also grappling with the impact of La Niña. Yours and Owls has been on quite the rollercoaster ride across the past decade, clearly, so of course it's celebrating its milestone birthday with a massive lineup. Fontaines DC, Denzel Curry, The Kooks and Goo Goo Dolls lead the roster of talent taking to the stage in Wollongong across Saturday, March 1–Sunday, March 2, 2025. Orville Peck, Hockey Dad, The Jungle Giants, Peach PRC and The Veronicas are also on the bill, as are Elderbrook, Honey Dijon, JPEGMafia and Salute — and plenty more. [caption id="attachment_976058" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Theo Cottle[/caption] When Yours and Owls revealed that it wasn't going ahead in 2024, joining the long list of music festivals scrapping plans for this year, it thankfully only put its fun on hold for 2025. Returning in 2025 was always the intention — and this is a lineup worth waiting for. Yours and Owls didn't completely sit 2024 out, however. Earlier in October, it held a pre-party, aka the event you put on when you can't put on the full festival experience at your usual time of the year because it doesn't work for your headliners' calendars. So, a tunes-filled shindig still took over the University of Wollongong campus — complete with Golden Features, Peking Duk, Alice Ivy, Anna Lunoe and more — to keep things warm for next year. Affectionately labelled "Gong Christmas", Yours and Owls 2025 will feature four stages across its two-day run, plus a feast of local arts — and food and drinks — beyond the tunes. The lineup arrives just a week after the fest locked in its dates for next year. Confirmation that the event will be back next year follows locked-in details for the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 for a heap of fellow festivals, such as Laneway, Golden Plains, Bluesfest (for the last time), Wildlands, Good Things, Lost Paradise, Beyond The Valley and Meredith. Yours and Owls Lineup 2025 Fontaines DC Denzel Curry The Kooks Goo Goo Dolls Elderbrook Hockey Dad Honey Dijon JPEGMafia The Jungle Giants Orville Peck Peach PRC Salute The Veronicas Allday Babe Rainbow Coterie Cyril Dice The Dreggs Frankie Stew & Harvey Gunn Grentperez Isabel Larosa Magdalena Bay May A Mark Blair Pond Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners Sam Tompkins San Cisco Slowly Slowly Sycco Wunderhorse Battlesnake Bean Magazine Bodyjar The Belair Lip Bombs C.O.F.F.I.N Crocodylus Keli Holiday Kitschen Boy Le Shiv Miss Kaninna Nick Ward Ra Ra Viper Satin Cali Total Tommy Y.O.G.A [caption id="attachment_906428" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jess Gleeson[/caption] [caption id="attachment_906426" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ruby Bowland[/caption] [caption id="attachment_965220" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Ian Laidlaw[/caption] Yours and Owls returns to Wollongong on Saturday, March 1–Sunday, March 2, 2025. Presale tickets start at 9am AEDT on Tuesday, October 29 with general sales at 9am AEDT on Wednesday, October 30 — head to the festival website for more details. Top image: Ian Laidlaw.
The grassy headland fringing the delightful blue waters of Bronte, with tribes of surfers bobbing on the waves and tanned sunbathers lining the beach, is the perfect setting for Perrier mixologist Tomas Vikario to re-create summer’s best cocktail for sharing: The Perrier Summer Punch. It's the fourth delectable concoction in Perrier’s series of cocktails tailor made for Concrete Playground, and on a perfect Sydney summer day, it couldn't be more welcome. "Did you know that the origins of punch can be traced back to seventeenth century British sailors?" asks Tomas, explaining how citrus fruits were added to the sailors' ration of rum to prevent scurvy. It’s a quirky historical flashback, but Vitamin C deficiencies aside, today's punch comes with a 'Tomas' twist on the classic. By replacing the traditional rum with a smooth vodka and adding Perrier, Tomas has created a beverage that's as light and refreshing as a Sydney summer is sizzling and steamy. "This is the perfect no-fuss drink for casual summer get-togethers or when friends turn up unexpectedly,” says Tomas as he expertly dices fruit for the punch. “You don’t need any special equipment and you can also use whatever fruit you have on hand.” As Perrier’s beverage innovation manager, Tomas has his pulse on international trends and says there's a move towards lighter, cleaner flavours and drinks that have a bit of 'fizz'. With its long-lasting bubbles and low mineral content - which means it doesn’t inhibit other flavours - Perrier certainly injects this refreshingly delicious punch with a zingy edge, making it an invigorating treat on hot summer days. To re-create the Perrier Summer Punch you'll need: 700 ml vodka 500ml iced tea 200ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (roughly three lemons) 200ml freshly squeezed orange juice (roughly two oranges) 2 oranges 2 lemons 10 strawberries 750 ml Perrier Step 1 Prepare the fruit: take the oranges, limes, lemons, and strawberries and halve or quarter into bite-sized pieces. Combine in a glass punch bowl. Step 2 Add the freshly squeezed lemon and orange juices or substitute with bottled juice if you're out of the fresh stuff. Then add 500ml of iced tea — store-bought or a homemade brew, whichever is on hand. Tomas uses a peach iced tea but says you can try other flavours like mango or lemon. Step 3 Measure out 700ml of good-quality vodka — you can go heavier or lighter depending on your taste — and pour over the fruit. Belvedere is Tomas's vodka of choice on the day, but he adds that you can use others like Grey Goose. Want to mix it up a bit? Experiment with liqueurs like Grand Marnier or Cointreau in place of the vodka. A tip from Tomas: if you have the time (and the patience), start steps 1-3 the night before — or a few hours in advance — to allow the fruit to soak up the alcohol, intensifying its flavoursome goodness. Stir together slowly. Step 4 If you can get your hands on it, add a large chunk of ice. According to Tomas, a block of ice takes longer to melt than cubes and helps to prevent diluting the light, fruity flavours of the punch. Don’t have an ice maker nearby? Tomas suggests using a plastic container, like an old ice cream tub (make sure it’s clean first), to make your own ice blocks at home. Step 5 Finally, to add that extra fizz, slowly pour one 750ml bottle of chilled Perrier into the punch. Stir gently and serve in glass cups or demitasses, as Tomas has used in this recipe, with generous helpings of fruit. Variations Fancy some punch alternatives? Replace the strawberries with 20 fresh cherries and the vodka for 300ml of white rum, add in a bottle (750ml) of champagne (or sparkling wine) and some Perrier, and omit the lemon and orange juices for two tins of canned peaches or apricots (along with their juice) to create a chic white sangria Perrier punch.
In his latest project, Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?: An animated conversation with Noam Chomsky, the highly original French filmmaker Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The We and the I) ventures into a hybrid territory of animation film-meets-documentary-meets-conversation. Based around several intimidatingly intellectual chats Gondry had with the American philosopher, political activist and linguist, the film cuts between documentary-style footage of their conversations and surreal animations drawn by Gondry himself. The self-proclaimed outcast admits he felt "pretty stupid" in Chomsky's toweringly brilliant company, and the hand-drawn doodles serve to render more accessible the complicated concepts they covered, such as human cognition and the nature of communication. The animation springs from an admittedly out-of-his-depth Gondry's own instinctive, colourful and at times childlike responses to Chomsky's thoughts rather than a know-it-all smugness. Gondry recently told BuzzFeed, "I don't assume that the audience is sophisticated or not sophisticated because I'm not sure I'm smarter than them. I'm probably less smart than most people." The feature-length film premiered at the closing night of festival DOC NYC, and has had positive, if sometimes bemused reviews. It seems well worth a viewing for Chomsky fans and, seriously, it's a bit of a novelty seeing a cartoon-version of the ideas zooming around one of the world's leading intellectual minds, isnt it?
Just when you think you've conquered pretty much every coastal trail in Sydney, a brand new adventure opens up in the southeast. The Western Escarpment Walking Track in the Malabar Headland National Park is a 1.15-kilometre walkway that connects Pioneers Park in Malabar, with Arthur Byrne Reserve in South Maroubra. The track cuts through bushland and, at its highest point, affords some stunning views across the beach, the headland and Botany Bay. It runs along the western edge of the Malabar Headland Rifle Range — but outside it, rather than within it. So, you don't have to worry about shooting days spoiling your fun, and you can go sauntering seven days a week, 365 days a year. It's possible to complete the trail on its own or turn it into a much longer escapade. In fact, it forms part of Sydney's Great Coastal Walk, a seven-day hike starting at Palm Beach and finishing at Cronulla (or vice versa). If that sounds a bit overwhelming, another, far easier option is to add the adjacent, three-kilometre-long Boora Point Walking Track, thereby creating a loop, which allows you to circumnavigate Malabar Headland. Do note, however, that the Boora Point walk is on rifle range territory, so, when the guns are out, it's closed. You can get to the Malabar Headland Western Walking Track either via Arthur Byrne Reserve, Fitzgerald Avenue, South Maroubra or Pioneers Park, Anzac Parade, Malabar.
Carnivores, rejoice. Sweethearts Rooftop Barbecue is serving up a finger licking feast of meaty creations this New Year's Eve to satisfy even the hungriest of partyers. For two hours, the team at Sweethearts will be sizzling and smoking their way towards the New Year; with a huge barbecued feast soundtracked by DJs spinning all your go-to 2015 tracks all night long. Topped off with a four-hour drinking package featuring bubbly, beer and wine, you'll be sure to start 2015 on the right foot (or valiantly attempt to). Offering openair summer vibes and all-the-meat-you-can-eat, this is one New Year's Eve hootenanny that upgrades the ol' backyard snags on the barbie set-up. Book by buzzing (02) 8070 2424.
The recent trend of cinemas screening 'live' showings of stage production is a strange sort of phenomenon. An imperfect marriage of mediums, these shows seem on the one hand like a rather counterintuitive concept, possessing neither the immediacy of theatre nor the aesthetic craftsmanship of film. On the other, it’s a testament to the power of great art that these screenings have proven so popular with audiences, with the quality of the productions transcending the shortcomings of the exhibition. There’s also something nicely democratic about the idea that viewers in Australia can sit down and enjoy a show from the Bolshoi Ballet or the New York Metropolitan Opera — and all for little more than the price of a ticket to an Adam Sandler movie. The latest live show to hit screens around the country is the UK Donmar Warehouse’s production of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus. It's one of the Bard’s longer, grimmer and generally less well known works, although perhaps that’s changed in the wake of the recent film adaptation directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes, the play tells the story of Caius Marcius Coriolanus, a fierce Roman General whose prowess as a military man is matched only by his woefulness as a politician. Perhaps in acknowledgement of the cross-over nature of her international viewing audience, Josie Rourke, both director of the play and artistic director of the trendily stripped-back warehouse theatre where it’s being staged, casts Tom Hiddleston (Thor) in the lead. It’s a little stunty, maybe, but he’s a great actor either way, bringing both gravitas and humanity to the play’s proud and prickly protagonist. Coriolanus has nothing but contempt for the common man, who the script portrays as a fickle, easily led mob. If the notion of a righteous patrician class is rather outdated, the 400-year-old text’s depiction of the two-faced politicians who connive behind Coriolanus’ back still feels right on the money. Hiddleston’s co-stars include a few recognisable TV figures, including Birgitte Sørensen (Borgen) as Coriolanus’ wife and Mark Gatiss (Sherlock) as his sole political ally. The entire supporting cast acquits themselves well, with one huge exception: Emma Freud as herself, the inanely bubbly presenter, whose fawning, superficial interview with Rourke between the end of intermission and the beginning of act two could not be a bigger or more nauseating distraction. Nothing like hearing about how Tom Hiddleston was recently voted MTV’s sexist man alive to put you back in the headspace for a violent Shakespearean tragedy. Perhaps the producers felt they had to spice up their broadcast with supplements. They shouldn’t have. The production is strong enough on its own. Coriolanus will be on screens for a strictly limited season. For a list participating cinemas and screening dates, visit www.ntlive.com.
At any given moment, finding a movie to watch isn't difficult. But there's a difference between pressing play on any old film that your streaming service of choice is throwing your way — new releases and classics alike — and feeling like you're discovering something that's truly special. Online film festivals have been playing in the latter space during the pandemic, and letting cinephiles enjoy that electric feeling that comes with giving yourself over to a gem of a feature. And, for two years in a row now, Melbourne's annual film fest has been as well. The Melbourne International Film Festival didn't intend to run solely online two years in a row. In 2020, it made the jump to digital by necessity. This year, it worked towards a triumphant return to cinemas — yes, to physical screenings — while also continuing to embrace the greater accessibility that virtual sessions provide. But this year's fest always had to have contingency plans in case outbreaks and lockdowns bubbled up again, which is exactly what's happened. So, MIFF is unleashing its magic solely online once more. Making movie buffs feel like they're getting swept up in the latest and greatest in international cinema is still on the agenda, though. You might be sitting on your couch instead of in your favourite seat right at the back of the Forum or Hoyts Central — and you might be elsewhere in the country, too, instead of making the trip to Melbourne for some wintry cinema fun — but MIFF hasn't stopped giving film lovers what they adore. Already, we've watched, reviewed and recommended ten must-sees on the festival's MIFF Play streaming platform; however, this 18-day fest has plenty more where they came from before it wraps up on Sunday, August 22. So, we've done the same with another ten films. Streaming a couple won't just help you feel like you're getting a MIFF experience, either, but it'll also support the fest during an obviously challenging time. RIDERS OF JUSTICE Few things will ever be better than seeing Mads Mikkelsen get day drunk and dance around while swigging champagne in an Oscar-winning movie. Yes, that's one fantastic film experience that 2021 has already delivered. But the always-watchable Danish star is equally magnetic in Riders of Justice, a revenge-driven comedy that's all about tackling your problems in a different and far less boozy way. After a train explosion taints his life with tragedy, dedicated solider Markus (Mikkelsen, Chaos Walking) heads home to be with his traumatised daughter Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeberg, Pagten). Talking is her way of coping, but clamming up has always been his PTSD-afflicted modus operandi. Then statistician Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kaas, The Keeper of Lost Causes), his colleague Lennart (Lars Brygmann, The Professor and the Madman) and the computer-savvy Emmenthaler (Nicolas Bro, The Kingdom) arrive at the grieving family's door with a theory: that the accident was anything but because mathematically it's just so unlikely to have occurred otherwise. As written and directed by Anders Thomas Jensen (Men & Chicken) — and co-penned with Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair) — Riders of Justice takes a darkly comedic approach to its storyline, which is where its anarchic plot developments and witty dialogue come in. But this is also a film with a thoughtful and tender core, especially when it comes to men facing their troubles. It's set at the end of the year as well, so it counts as a screwball Christmas movie. ROSE: A LOVE STORY Less is more in survival thriller Rose: A Love Story — which is also a brooding horror movie, and yet doesn't feel the need to overplay its hand. This intimate British gem takes a familiar setup, bides its time building out its chosen world and revels in getting to know its two main characters, because their precarious relationship sits at the heart of the smartly written film. Living off the grid in a tree-lined patch of wilderness, the eponymous Rose (Sophie Rundle, Peaky Blinders) and her husband Sam (Matt Stokoe, Cursed) have clearly settled into their routine some time ago. They largely live off the land and pay one trusted acquaintance to bring them petrol for their generator, all so Rose can stay inside writing while Sam tends to chores outdoors. But she also needs his care, and needs the blood he collects via leeches — and when an injured teenager (Olive Gray, Save Me) literally stumbles upon their quiet abode, that part of their existence starts sparking questions. With its stripped-back way of unfurling its narrative, Rose: A Love Story leans heavily on Rundle and Stokoe's textured and compelling performances, which explore the stakes and sacrifices that come with love in every glance and gesture. Stokoe also wrote the script, but first-time feature filmmaker Jennifer Sheridan brings a canny eye to both warm and brutal moments alike, and to teasing out the complicated and fragile bond between this particular pair, as well as any duo in love. NIGHT OF THE KINGS Every movie aims to make its viewers feel as if they've stepped straight into its glistening frames. Rare is the film that genuinely manages that feat, though. Rarer still is a feature as vivid, immersive and engaging at every moment, and via every piece of sound and vision it thrusts at its audience, as Night of the Kings proves across its 93-minute running time. The second directorial effort from Ivorian filmmaker Philippe Lacôte (Run), this prison-set blend of drama, thrills and fantasy heads inside a Côte d'Ivoire jail surrounded by rainforest outside Abidjan. When a new inmate (debutant Bakary Koné) arrives, he's plunged straight into its chaotic depths; however, he also becomes a key player in its internal politics. Here, the inmates enforce their own order, including requiring their leader (Steve Tientcheu, Les Miserables) to take his own life if he can no longer fulfil his role. This incarcerated society also places great emphasis on one particular storyteller, a job that's soon bestowed upon its newest member. So, the fresh face dubbed the prison's 'Roman' spins a tale that jumps through the past, from 19th-century Africa to more recent bloodshed, with his words leaving his fellow detainees hanging — but if he can't make his yarn last all night, he too will meet his end. Night of the Kings sits right on the precipice of myth and grit, and of history and fantasy, and it's as inventive as it is gripping. And, even if the great Denis Lavant (Holy Motors) didn't pop up, it'd still be an imaginative and beguiling piece of cinema. COME BACK ANYTIME Craving the rich, noodle-laden flavour that only ramen can bring is an instant side effect of watching Come Back Anytime. Yearning to wander into a tiny Tokyo ramen bar, take a stool at the bar and watch a ramen master at work — while you leisurely slurp through his brothy bowls, pair them with pan-fried gyoza, enjoy a sake or several, and chat to his regular customers — is just as natural a consequence. Directed by John Daschbach (Brief Reunion), this year-in-the-life portrait of Chiyoda City's Bizentei and its owner and chef Masamoto Ueda is culinary documentary filmmaking at its finest, examining a beloved type of dish, one talented man who has made it his life's work, and the many other lives — and tastebuds — touched along the way. When the film hangs out in the ramen bar, watching Masamoto cook, his wife Kazuko assist, and Bizentei's devotees savour every sip, it captures a place and a mood with the same affection as Las Vegas bar doco Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets. When it explores Masamoto's technique and impact, it's the Jiro Dreams of Sushi of ramen movies. And when it cycles through the seasons, showing what different times of the year mean at the ramen joint in question, how its central figure's existence adapts and evolves, and also using its structure to prompt jumps back into both Bizentei's and Masamoto's history, it's never anything less than a deep, charming, soul-warming and all-round full cinematic meal. PREPARATIONS TO BE TOGETHER FOR AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time first introduces Hungarian neurosurgeon Márta (Natasa Stork, Jupiter's Moon) as she's unloading her romantic woes upon her therapist. What could've been a standard rom-com or romantic drama setup soon twists into something far more alluring and intriguing, however, with writer/director Lili Horvát (The Wednesday Child) pondering just how we can ever know how someone else really feels about us, and how long any romantic emotions can last — and if we can ever trust those intense memories of love that implant themselves inside our brains and refuse to leave. After working in the US, Márta has returned home to Budapest suddenly because of fellow doctor János (Viktor Bodó, Overnight). They met at a conference in New Jersey, and pledged to cross paths again a month later on a Budapest bridge, but he doesn't show up. Worse: when she tracks him down at work, he says he doesn't know her. Márta can't bring herself to return stateside, though, and can't get János out of her mind in general. This is a haunting and beautifully acted psychological drama that lays bare just how all-encompassing, obsessive, intoxicating and mind-melting love can feel, all as it toys with memory and its ability to shape our perspectives. The tone is loaded but uncanny — sweet but uncertain, too — and Horvát has fun getting both emotional and cerebral while having her characters cut open brains. In other words, there aren't many movies quite like this one. THE NOWHERE INN "From now on, I need more say in how people are going to act," says Annie Clark. "It's a documentary," replies Carrie Brownstein. Winking and nodding (and gleefully eager to show it again and again), The Nowhere Inn tasks the famous pair with playing versions of themselves — under the guise of the Sleater-Kinney muso and Portlandia actor shooting a doco about St Vincent as she goes on tour for her album Masseduction. This psychological thriller-meets-mockumentary finds plenty to parody within its premise, especially after Brownstein suggests to Clark that she might want to let her onstage persona bleed out into the behind-the-scenes footage, because talking about radishes isn't really setting the right vibe. Cue a satirical interrogation of authenticity and performance, creativity and fame, and the riding the rollercoaster that is putting yourself out there in the world. Clark goes from mildly playing Scrabble and chatting about vegetables to becoming an OTT rock diva 24/7 and staging an affair with Dakota Johnson, with the Suspiria star even aping the musician's hairstyle. Meanwhile, Brownstein segues from trying to convey the different facets and blurred boundaries within her subject to sometimes recoiling from and sometimes embracing the exaggeration and artifice that comes with Clark being St Vincent non-stop. The two central figures wrote the script themselves, mining fame's existential struggles for both insights and laughs, and their commitment to the concept shows. Behind the lens, first-time feature filmmaker Bill Benz also brings a sketch comedy feel from his time on Kroll Show and, like Brownstein, Portlandia. NEW ORDER If only one word could be used to describe New Order, that word would be relentless. If just two words could be deployed to sum up the purposefully provocative latest film by Michel Franco (April's Daughter), savage would get thrown in as well. Sharing zero in common with the band of the same name, this 2020 Venice Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-winner dreams up a dystopian future that's barely even one step removed from current reality — and in dissecting class clashes, and examining the growing discontent at the lavish lives indulged by the wealthy while so much of the world struggles, the mood and narrative are nothing less than brutal. The place: Mexico City. The setup: a wedding that goes wrong. As the ceremony gets underway at a compound-esque mansion jam-packed with the ultra-rich and ultra-corrupt, the chasm between the guests and the staff is glaring. Case in point: bride-to-be Marianne (Naian González Norvind, South Mountain) couldn't be more stressed when she's asked for money to help ex-employee Rolando's (Eligio Meléndez, La Civil) ailing wife, and plenty of her family members are flat-out rude about their former servant's plight. Then activists start making their presence known outside, and further afield in the city's streets. The military respond, sparing no one in their efforts to implement the movie's moniker. Franco doesn't want any second of New Order to be easy to watch, or for the parallels he's critiquing to go unnoticed — and while this definitely isn't a subtle film, it's a stylistically brash and bold, emotionally dynamic whirlwind that festers with palpable anger. STRAY In glorious 2016 documentary Kedi, Istanbul's stray cats received their moment in the cinematic spotlight, and also expressed much about the Turkish city and its human inhabitants in the process. The result was perfect — purrfect, even — regardless of whether you're normally a feline fan. With Stray, it's now their canine counterparts' time to shine. Istanbul has a 'no kill, no capture' law when it comes to the dogs roaming its streets, which is why there's more than 100,000 of them scampering around. And while documentarian Elizabeth Lo only spends time with a few of those tail-wagging woofers, including street veterans Zeytin and Nazar, as well as puppy Kartal, she stitches together a perceptive and textured portrait of their daily lives, of the city around them, and of the people who help and are helped by them. Making her first full-length film after a background in doco shorts, director/cinematographer/editor Lo lets her four-legged subjects be the stars, and lets her audience observe them. More than that, she frequently places the camera at canine height so that viewers feel as if they're seeing the world through a dog's eyes. Forget saccharine Hollywood flicks that use that idea as a gimmick (see: A Dog's Purpose and A Dog's Journey — or, better yet, don't see them because they're terrible). Here, immersion and insight are the key aims, and they're feats that the soulful and thoughtful Stray repeatedly, patiently and ruminatively delivers. THE GIRL AND THE SPIDER When spectacular choreography graces the screen, it's often via balletic feats of action or striking displays of movement and cinematography. The John Wick franchise and The Raid films demonstrate the first category, while movies with a hypnotic sense of physicality such as Climax and Ema sit in the second camp. The Girl and the Spider has little in common with any of these features, and yet it's still a stunningly choreographed film. Directors Ramon and Silvan Zürcher turn their attention to people going about their ordinary lives, as they did in their excellent 2013 debut The Strange Little Cat. Where that last delight almost solely remained inside one apartment, this movie flits between a few, as Lisa (Liliane Amuat, Those Who Are Fine) moves out of the flat she shares with fellow students Mara (Henriette Confurius, Golden Twenties) and Markus (Ivan Georgiev, Leipzig Homicide). As family members, neighbours, handymen and removalists all potter around, Mara only feigns to help. Really, she just hovers around as everyone else works, packs and moves, haunting the space and sometimes wilfully causing messes and scenes. The Zürcher brothers adore gazing at everyday domesticity and letting their characters' actions do plenty of talking. This is a chatty film, but the physical symphony of ordinary comings and goings says just as much. As it contemplates connections and absences, new starts and festering loneliness, and camaraderie and alienation — and isn't afraid to show its characters being awkward, petty and petulant — The Girl and the Spider also uses its enveloping sense of movement to embrace life's ambiguities. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD In 1970, at the age of 15, Swedish teen Björn Andrésen's life changed forever. He walked into a hotel room to audition for Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti, and only did so at his grandmother's urging — but, after the director was struck by his look and presence, the boy was quickly cast in the big-screen adaptation of Death in Venice. Soon, Andrésen would receive quite the compliment, too. When Visconti declared him "the most beautiful boy in the world" at the movie's premiere, the entire planet took notice. That statement had an impact and, while the experience would leave an imprint upon any shy adolescent who'd much rather be playing music than making movies but nonetheless finds himself becoming an international idol, it drastically altered Andrésen's entire future. That's the poignant story that The Most Beautiful Boy in the World tells with a perceptive eye; however, crucially, this isn't just a case of documentarians Kristina Lindström (Palme) and Kristian Petri (The Hotel) looking back, compiling archival footage — including Andrésen's initial audition video — and relaying all of the details from an outsiders' viewpoint. Their central figure is as much a part of the film now as he is in snippets from the past, and he's just as willing to interrogate how Death in Venice caused a major shift in everything he knew. His tale spans much further, too, covering several personal tragedies that he reflects upon with candour, next-level adoration in Japan and a pivotal role in Midsommar. The 2021 Melbourne International Film Festival runs until Sunday, August 22, screening online via the festival's streaming platform MIFF Play. For further details, visit the MIFF website. Looking for a few more MIFF movies to watch? Check out our first ten recommendations from this year's digital-only program.
The consequences of defying a brutal government is the focus of Justin Fleming's His Mother's Voice, set in China during the birth of the Cultural Revolution. Beginning in 1966 in Shanghai, a mother secretly teaches her young son how to play the piano. This comes in direct defiance of China's Communist Party and their ban of all western music, a ban that will not be lifted until 1976. The story spans 20 years, eventually landing at the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. The play examines the relationship between China and Australia, citizen and country, and mother and son. His Mother's Voice features a cast of 11 and is directed by Suzanne Millar. This is the second time Bakehouse Theatre Company has teamed up with ATYP, following their memorable 2012 production of Great Expectations.
This year alone, this fine country has seen Harry Potter brunches, dinners, movie marathons and trivia nights. And that's not to mention the Christmas feast that's happening in Sydney next month. But are you sick of it? No chance. If there's one thing we know, it's that the demand for Harry Potter will never die — and this latest pop-up, along with the fact that the next Fantastic Beasts film comes out this month, seems to prove that. The next piece of mainstream Harry Potter fandom to hit Sydney and Melbourne will be the Cauldron Bar. Inspired by the experiences that the gang had in potions class — and hopefully avoiding the botched polyjuice potion episode — the pop-up bar will mix magic and mixology. That's to say, there will be cocktails. Probably with some dry ice and bubbling substances. While details are vague for now, it sounds like it'll be sort of like a science class, except you'll wear robes and mix your drinks with a wand. And drink what you mix, too, of course. The 'experience' will take 90 minutes and be mostly self-guided. You may or may not have to take your O.W.L exam after. The Cauldron Bar will pop up in Sydney and Melbourne in April 2019. Tickets aren't on sale yet, but you can register here.
Prepare to stare at the moon in all of its glory — up close, without a telescope and without zooming into space. Measuring seven metres in diameter and featuring renderings of the celestial body's surface based on NASA imagery, the Museum of the Moon is a detailed installation by UK-based artist Luke Jerram. The giant sculpture has been touring the world since 2016, displaying in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai and plenty of spots around Europe. From June 29, 2019 it'll add Sydney to its orbit. The looming artwork recreates the moon at a scale of approximately 1:500,000, with each centimetre equating to five kilometres of the lunar surface. And if you're wondering just how intricate the 120dpi imagery is, the high-resolution NASA photograph that it uses is 21 metres wide, and was taken by by a satellite carrying the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. The spherical sculpture is lit from within, so it'll add a glow when it comes to the Powerhouse Museum. It also combines its imagery and light with a surround sound piece created by composer and sound designer Dan Jones, and just how each venue displays it is up to them. Basically, it's never the exact same installation twice. [caption id="attachment_716830" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Neil James.[/caption] Its stint at the Powerhouse Museum will mark the Museum of the Moon's third visit Australia, following 12-day showing on the Gold Coast and a five-month stint at Melbourne's Scienceworks. And the floating sculpture won't be the only celestial fun happening in Sydney either. The giant moon is heading to the Powerhouse Museum as part of a 200-item exhibition dubbed Apollo 11, marking the 50th anniversary of the famed moon landing. Other objects you'll find throughout the exhibition include parts of the original Redstone Rocket and Parkes Radio Telescope, as well as a computer used by NASA to calculate the launch and landing. There'll be more immersive and interactive events happening, too, including a virtual reality experience in which you watch the moon landing, an interactive arcade game, tours of the observatory and a heap of talks by astronauts and astronomers. Museum of the Moon comes to Sydney's Powerhouse Museum as part of Apollo 11 from June 29, 2019.
Look what Australia's massive demand for Eras Tour tickets made Taylor Swift do: add extra shows to her next trip Down Under. After two rounds of presales for the singer-songwriter's February 2024 concerts in Melbourne and Sydney, and before general sales even start, the 'We Are Never Getting Back Together', 'Shake It Off' and 'Bad Blood' musician has announced an extra gig in both cities. If you've been struggling to nab a seat so far, and also stressing about the next ticket release on Friday, June 30, this enchanted news — which comes due to "historically unprecedented demand" — means that there'll be a heap more on offer. Tickets for both new dates will also go on sale on Friday, June 30. Good luck in the queue, Swifties. [caption id="attachment_907314" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption] The additional shows come at the end of her stints in both cities, so Swift will now play MCG in Melbourne across Friday, February 16–Sunday, February 18, then head north to hit the stage across at Sydney's Accor Stadium from Friday, February 23–Monday, February 26. At all gigs, she'll have Sabrina Carpenter in support. That blank space in your calendar that you were hoping to fill with Swift working through her entire career so far, playing tracks from each of her studio albums in a three-hour, 44-song, ten-act spectacular? You now have more chances to do so. [caption id="attachment_906254" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Sadly, Swift hasn't added concerts in any other cities across Australia. And, this is apparently it, with Frontier, the touring company that's bringing the star our way, advising that "no further dates will be added for the Australian tour". The Eras Tour kicked off in March in the US, where it's still playing. Swift will also head to Mexico, Argentina and Brazil in 2023 — and Japan, Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Poland and Australia until August 2024. [caption id="attachment_906252" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption] This'll be Swift's first tour Down Under since 2018, when she brought her Reputation shows to not only Sydney and Melbourne, but Brisbane and Perth, too. Thanks to the extra dates now, she'll become the first artist since Madonna in 1993 to perform three concerts at the MCG — and the first-ever artist to play four concerts at Accor Stadium. It's no wonder that the Victorian Government declared her Melbourne stint a major event so that anti-scalping legislation would apply to tickets. TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR AUSTRALIAN DATES 2024: Friday, February 16–Sunday, February 18 — Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Friday, February 23–Monday, February 26 — Accor Stadium, Sydney Taylor Swift will bring The Eras Tour to Australia in February 2024. General ticket sales for the Melbourne shows start at 10am AEST on Friday, June 30, with the Sydney shows on sale at 2pm AEST on Friday, June 30. Head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons
One of Australia's largest and longest-running cultural events, the Greek Festival of Sydney is a bit of an institution. It's taken over Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour, with dancing, loukoumades and ouzo every year for almost four decades — and it shows little sign of slowing down. This year, the festivities start Saturday, February 29, with market stalls, live music, dance and cultural performances, and all of the delicious Greek food and drinks your stomach can handle. Sip an iced cold kafe kai frappe, enjoy a souvlaki wrap, load up on sugary loukoumades, and unwind with a few Mythos beers and an ouzo or two. The festivities continue on Sunday, with more food (and more ouzo) and a night performance from singer Giota Negka, who is performing in Australia for the first time. The Greek Festival of Sydney will run from 3–10pm on Saturday and 10am–10pm on Sunday. Images: Bronnie Barnett.
If you were at last year's Underbelly Arts festival you probably wandered in and around FraserStudios' brick halls. If you went this year, you saw some of the alumni from Fraser's sister space Queen Street Studio performing or showing off their art. The studios support local Sydneysiders with residencies, as they struggle to find a way to afford studio space on an artist's almost-zero budget. In return, they participate in an open day at the end of their residency. At the July Open Day, you can check out some of the people you might be seeing around the artistic traps this time next year. As the public is invited in to get a good look in at where they work and what they've been up to, you can get closer to artists' studios, watch the results of the performing artist residencies, or just relax with some nibbles or a beer. Current residents include photographer Cherine Fahd, sculpturer Marilyn Schneider, and real-life artistic alter-ego of FBi riddler Renny Kodgers, Mark Shorter. Their work will be on show in the Studio gallery, along with works from former studio residents like JD Reforma. Photo by Arunas Klupsas.
US rapper Lizzo has had a big year. A huge year. As well as releasing her extremely well received (and much played) album Cuz I Love You, she's been in Hustlers and is currently on the cover of British Vogue. If you've become as unstoppably obsessed with everything she does as the rest of the world has, then we have good news for you: the lady herself will be coming to Sydney and Melbourne next year to play shows at the Sydney Opera House's Concert Hall and Melbourne's The Forum. Lizzo (or Melissa Viviane Jefferson) will fill the venues with her catchy hits 'Juice' and 'Truth Hurts' — and have the crowd hollering, "turns out I'm 100 percent that bitch" — as well as other bangers off her hit 2019 album. This will be her first ever visit to Australia. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4ktT5yhq4k/ While she's in Australia, she'll also be heading to Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne with FOMO in early January. There are still tickets to those festivals if you can't make it to her solo shows. If you do want to go to her solo shows, though, you'll need to snap up tickets fast — Lizzo will only be taking to the stage once at the Sydney Opera House (on Monday, January 6) and once again at The Forum (Wednesday, January 8). Her Sydney show will be one of the last performances, alongside Solange's in late Jan, in the Concert Hall before it shuts for major renovations next year. Lizzo will perform at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on Monday, January 6, 2020 and at The Forum, Melbourne on Wednesday, January 8. For Sydney, general tickets go on sale at midday on Thursday, November 21, with pre-sale kicking off at midday on Wednesday, November 20 — you can sign-up for the latter here. Melbourne general tickets are available from 9am on Tuesday, November 19, with pre-sale from 9am on Monday, November 18 — sign-up for those here. Image: Luke Gilford
You don't need binoculars or a deerstalker cap to be a sleuth. If you're keen to investigate new cases at the press of a few buttons, all you really need is a stacked streaming queue. TV mysteries and dramas are full of whodunnits, after all. And, while they're filled with on-screen folks trying to get to the bottom of many a thorny predicament, they're also all perfect for letting viewers play armchair detective at home. Perhaps you're excellent at spotting tiny foreshadowing details? Maybe you have a great feel for television's twists and turns? Or, you could just love escaping into a series, lapping up all the minutiae and seeing if you can pick what's going to happen next? Whichever category fits, we've paired up with streaming platform Binge to take care of your next five viewing picks. They'll have you puzzling along as you're watching — including via a 14-day free trial for new customers.
Sydneysiders — and those planning a trip to the harbour city — can get their cultural kicks IRL again, with most major NSW cultural institutions back in action. And, with Sydney home to so many galleries, museums and art spaces, there's no shortage of arty events to add to your calendar. One to bookmark for the warmer months: A retrospective exhibition on multidisciplinary artist Lindy Lee that's taking over leading contemporary gallery MCA Australia. Titled Lindy Lee: Moon in a Dew Drop, it is the most comprehensive exhibition by the artist to date — and it's opening on Friday, October 2. The celebrated Australian Chinese artist has a practice spanning over four decades and works in everything from painting to sculpture. Her Chinese ancestry underpins much of her art; Lee's works are inspired by Daoism and Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism philosophies and she often examines the connection between humanity and nature. From flinging molten bronze and burning paper to allowing ink to spill and rain to transform surfaces, Lee's process is varied, experimental and inquisitive. Expect more than 70 works, including huge installations, vibrant wax paintings and metallic structures — and rarely seen works from the artist's personal collection. You'll also spy a few new commissions, one of which will be proudly exhibited on the museum's outdoor forecourt. To mark the exhibition's launch, Lee will be giving a talk on her art practice on Wednesday, October 7, which you can catch in person or live stream from home. [caption id="attachment_782750" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] MCA Australia's exhibition Lindy Lee: Moon in a Dew Drop launches on Friday, October 2. The gallery is currently open 10am–5pm Tuesday–Sunday, with COVID-19 measures in place. Entry is free and unticketed. Top images: Lindy Lee, 'No Up, No Down, I Am the Ten Thousand Things' (1995/2020), courtesy of the artist and Sutton Gallery, Melbourne; Lindy Lee, 'The Silence of Painters' (1989), Museum of Contemporary Art, gift of Loti Smorgon AO and Victor Smorgon AC; Lindy Lee, 'Exploding Suns' (2019), installation view, photography by Ng Wu Gang; Lindy Lee, 'Book of Kuan-yin' (2002), courtesy the artist and Sutton Gallery, Melbourne; and Lindy Lee, 'Untitled (After Jan Van Eyck)' (1988), collection of The University of Queensland, gift of Mary Dwyer in memory of Paul Dane Tilley. For the latest info on NSW border restrictions, head here. If travelling from Queensland or Victoria, check out Queensland Health and DHHS websites, respectively.
Best known for his strange modern fairytales, including Delicatessen, Micmacs and, of course, Amelie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet has a particular talent for finding whimsy and madness in the everyday corners of life. He continues that habit in his English-language debut, The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet. Mark Twain by way of Jimmy Neutron, this oddball family film lays the syrup on thick, only to cut through the sweetness with a biting critique of America's cultural foibles. Indeed, this flick is so loaded with tacky, tongue-in-cheek American iconography that it could have only been directed by a foreigner (and perhaps more specifically, a Frenchman). Cowboys, box-cars and the mighty Mississippi make up the landscape, as T.S. Spivet rides the rails from Montana to the nation's capital. There, he'll accept a prize from the Smithsonian institute for inventing a perpetual motion machine that could change the world as we know it. Not too shabby, given that he's only 10 years old. The film is an adaptation of Reif Larsen's popular children's novel, The Select Works of T.S. Spivet. It's a natural fit for the imaginative Jeunet, who, like T.S. himself, has often found himself swimming against the tide. Here, his fanciful world consists of impossibly saturated colours, the entire frame cluttered with weird and wonderful stuff. Maps, graphs and diagrams float magically from the screen in 3D, giving us a glimpse at the gears and levers of our hero's brilliant mind. Young Kyle Catlett does a marvellous job as the film's pint-sized protagonist, an undisputed prodigy but still very much a child. Much of the movie's humour is derived from his amusing, unfiltered observations of the colourful characters that inhabit his life — including his taciturn, bull-wrangling father (Callum Keith Rennie); distractible, entomologist mother (Helena Bonham Carter); and moody teenage sister (Niamh Wilson), who dreams of being a beauty queen. His thoughts linger, also, on his twin brother Layton, who died the previous year while the two of them were playing with a gun. It's a sombre recurring note, one that ever-so-slightly sours the images of America's perpetually sunny heartland. So too does a conversation with a trucker (Julian Richings), with whom T.S. hitches a ride. An Iraq war veteran, the man tells his young travelling companion he signed up to see the world. He just wishes he hadn't had to kill people in order to do so. It's only when the boy reaches D.C., however, that Jeunet launches into a full-blown comic satire. The arrival of the theretofore unknown child prodigy — and one with a tragically dead sibling to boot — sends the science world into a frenzy. Before long, trusting T.S. finds himself caught up in a press and public relations scrum, as grown men and women all try to exploit him for their own tawdry, selfish ambitions. Still, while Jeunet can't help but poke fun, the film's primary tone is one of sincerity, humour and good grace, with a late scene between T.S. and his parents striking more of an emotional chord than you expect it to. The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet is the sort of rare family film that finds just the right balance between smarts and sentimentality. Great if you have clever kids, or are just a clever kid at heart. https://youtube.com/watch?v=_Km4dZ_jBFE
We all know the drill. You've locked in your tickets, lined up your perfect outfit, and are counting down the days until the show. But there's one thing standing between you and that incredible moment when the lights go down and your favourite artist steps on stage: actually getting there. When it comes to concerts, Sydney Olympic Park is notorious for being a nightmare to navigate. If you've ever been caught in the gridlock, the crowded buses or the hour-long Uber waits, you'll know that getting to a show can kill the vibe before the night even begins. Sure, you could battle your way through it, or (hear us out) you could swap the commute for cocktails, city views, and a five-star floating pre-game on Sydney Harbour with Phoenix One. Moored in Sydney Harbour and presented by Yacht Society, Phoenix One is a 35-metre luxury yacht designed for groups of up to 46 people who want to travel in ultimate style. Forget the queues and chaos. This is how you start your night like a headliner. The two-hour Rockstar Champagne & Caviar Experience is about setting the tone from the first sip. Think of free-flowing champagne, freshly shucked oysters, and complimentary frozen margaritas, all against the backdrop of the Sydney skyline. Add in a curated playlist, sunset views, and an epic onboard sound system, and you've just turned pre-drinks into a main event. As the yacht glides west toward Sydney Olympic Park, you can kick back with premium cocktails, soak in the city lights, and arrive at the venue without the stress of getting there. Sydney's concert lineup is stacked this year, with a bunch of international heavyweights hitting town. And while thousands of people will be stuck in traffic or scrambling for a decent spot to pre-drink, you'll be floating in complete comfort. If you prefer your luxury on a trip outside Sydney, you can also charter the yacht for an overnight escape in the Whitsundays – the kind of escape from reality you've always dreamed about. Wake up to breathtaking views of Whitehaven Beach and Heart Reef, indulge in private chef dining, and soak up the sun on deck with nothing but crystal-clear water surrounding you. This is luxury on your terms, whether you're celebrating something big or just need an excuse to escape reality for a little while. Like any luxury experience, private hire spots are extremely limited for Phoenix One. If you're keen to take your pre-game to the next level, plan an exclusive 2-hour rockstar pre-gig experience on Sydney Harbour or take a well-deserved break to recover in the Whitsundays aboard Phoenix One, Yacht Society is here to elevate every moment to iconic status. For more information on bookings on Phoenix One, visit the website or contact info@yachtsociety.com.au By Jacque Kennedy
Before he’d even set foot in Australia, Tim Crouch’s work had played to rapturous audiences throughout the country, from Belvoir Street to the Perth and Melbourne Festivals. Crouch is an internationally acclaimed theatremaker based in the UK, where he creates his own work as well as directing for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and it’s Shakespeare that’s the subject of his show in the 2014 Sydney Festival. In his one-man piece at Carriageworks, I, Malvolio, Crouch drags the “notoriously wronged” steward from Twelfth Night out into the limelight. When I, Malvolio first opened in a Brighton school as part of that city’s festival, Crouch was also asked to make an “adult” version of the same work — now he adapts the piece on the fly in every show, depending on who’s in the house. “If there’s lots of adults the level of interaction becomes more mature and complex, with a younger audience the text changes slightly," he says. "There’s quite a lot of improvisation in this piece, but there’s also quite a lot of strictly scripted words, and it’s in the spaces where the improvisation exists that the piece changes depending on the audience.” His plays for older audiences typically have a strong ideological bent, pushing against the boundaries of theatre’s capabilities. But he’s found that younger audiences are often more attuned, present and receptive. In this respect, he characterises children and teenagers in a similar way to audiences at festivals, where most if not all of his international work is produced. “Festivals are melting pots,” says Crouch, “They are meeting points, because work from around the world gathers in those places. Everyone is much more porous — the audience come back at you more deeply.” I, Malvolio is the fourth in a sequence of five works that began in 2003 with I, Caliban, but Crouch never set out to make a “series”. In these pieces, he liberates characters like Caliban, Banquo and Cinna from the margins of Shakespeare’s plots, letting them take centre stage in their own fluid, transfigured adaptations. He’s keenly aware of the responsibility these works owe to their “host plays”, but each one is still a freestanding work in its own right. “It’s important that they don’t sit in the shadow of the Shakespeare play they come from; they have to be pieces with their own integrity.” Crouch believes that this kind of balance allows an Elizabethan playwright’s distinctive voice to resonate with a modern audience, invoking Harold Bloom’s belief in Shakespeare as the inventor of understanding of what it means to be human. “A character like Malvolio is still an archetype that exists in contemporary consciousness,” he says, “and it’s good for a young audience to understand there’s a continuum from that time to now, and how we think about ourselves as human beings. We can still trace our way back.” Check out our top ten picks of the Sydney Festival for more events. Want to see the adults-only showing of I, Malvolio? It's on January 18 at 10pm. The other shows are suitable for people of most ages (11+). Image by Matthew Andrews.
At the beginning of 2012, when the world discovered that Channing Tatum was starring in a movie about male strippers — and that it was based on his own experiences working in the field — everyone was a little sceptical. Which was understandable. Magic Mike boasts a great director in Steven Soderbergh, and a cast that also includes Matthew Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Olivia Munn, Riley Keough and peak McConnaissance-era Matthew McConaughey, but, on paper, it was hardly a sure thing. Of course, once the film hit the screens, it was a hit. More than that — it was a smart and sensitive look at men chasing the American Dream by taking off their clothes. Sequel Magic Mike XXL, which released in 2015, not only repeated the feat but added more depth, and Tatum successfully turned what could've been a forgettable chapter of his pre-fame life into a successful big-screen franchise. Actually, he's turned it into a stage and screen franchise. Yes, Magic Mike was always going to go back to where it all began. In Las Vegas, London and Berlin, Magic Mike Live has been letting real-life male dancers strip up a storm for eager audiences. Not to be confused with Magic Mike the Musical — because that's something that's also happening — the "immersive" dance show is coming to Australia in 2020. When its Aussie leg was first announced last year, the show was set to debut in Melbourne in May 2020; however, then the pandemic hit. After delaying those dates, Magic Mike Live will now unleash its stuff in Sydney from Thursday, December 17. It'll then head to Melbourne from Tuesday, June 8, 2021, with Brisbane and Perth seasons set to follow at yet-to-be-revealed dates. In each city, Magic Mike Live will steam up a 600-seat spiegeltent called The Arcadia. It's the world's largest spiegeltent, because clearly this kind of show has plenty of fans. This is the first time that the performance will be held in the pop-up two-storey spot, which comes with 360-degree views of the stage, a glass lobby, custom bars, a mini food hall, and a lounge area both inside and out. And while it's blazing a trail venue-wise, on the stage, the Aussie show will combine elements of the Magic Mike Live's three other international productions. While Tatum came up with the idea for Magic Mike Live and co-directs the show, the Step Up, 21 Jump Street, Logan Lucky and Kingsman: The Golden Circle star isn't actually one of the performers. Instead, a cast of 20 — including 15 male dancers — will showcase a combination of, dance, comedy and acrobatics. Continuing her role from the films, stage show co-director and choreographer Alison Faulk is behind the sultry moves, drawing upon a career spent working with Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Missy Elliott, P!NK, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin. It probably goes without saying, but if you're already thinking about buying Magic Mike Live tickets, expect to have plenty of hens parties for company. MAGIC MIKE LIVE AUSTRALIAN TOUR Sydney — Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park, from Thursday, December 17, 2020 Melbourne — Birrarung Mar, from Tuesday, June 8, 2021 Brisbane — TBC Perth — TBC Magic Mike Live tours Australia from Thursday, December 17, 2020, when it kicks off its shows in Sydney. It'll then hit Melbourne from Tuesday, June 8, 2021, with Brisbane and Perth seasons set to follow at yet-to-be-revealed dates. For more information, or to buy tickets for the Sydney leg, the website. Top image: Jerry Metellus.
If you find yourself thinking back on Law & Order re-runs, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs or Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker in The Dark Knight, you're probably thinking about one particular type of scene. There's an art to a good on-screen interrogation — to seeing characters verbally spar back and forth, as one probes for answers and the other tries to avoid their questions — that's riveting when it's done well. It's also hilarious when it's done comedically (see Brooklyn Nine-Nine); however, nothing beats a grim, serious, eyes-blazing, nostril-flaring confrontation between a suspected criminal and a savvy detective who are both confined to the same small room. Netflix, in its seemingly never-ending quest to turn every single possible idea into highly binge-able streaming content, is taking this concept and running with it in its new anthology crime series Criminal. Love interrogations, but not so fussed about all the stuff around them? Then you'll want to glue your peepers to this newcomer when it arrives later in the year, because it's all about heated chats in police interview suites. In fact, that's all it's about. The streaming platform is keeping most of the details quiet for now, although the show will tell a dozen different tales across just as many 45-minute episodes — spending three episodes each focusing on cases in France, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom. Criminal will also unfurl its tense arguments with some considerable star power, with David Tennant and Agent Carter's Hayley Atwell among the UK cast. You might also recognise Laurence Anyways' Nathalie Baye and The Unknown Girl's Jérémie Renier in the French instalments, plus Phoenix's Nina Hoss in the German episodes. Behind the scenes, the claustrophobic, cat-and-mouse-style program also boasts a heap of talent, which'll again vary from country to country. Killing Eve writer George Kay and She's Out Of My League director Jim Field Smith will oversee the whole thing, and take care of the British chapters, while The Returned and Spiral helmer Frederic Mermoud, Downfall's Oliver Hirschbiegel and Dark Impulse's Mariano Barroso will do the honours in France, Germany and Spain respectively. While Netflix hasn't released a proper teaser or trailer yet, it has unveiled a cast announcement video which doubles as a foreboding look at things to come: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L82Gx5wrPVs Criminal will drop on Netflix later this year — we'll update you with further details, including an exact release date, as they come to hand. Via Deadline.
Powderfinger may have crooned about sunsets over beaches, but they've got nothing on sunsets over the beautiful Snowy Mountains. That big yellow sphere setting behind snow-capped peaks is a sight to behold, and there's no better way to celebrate that golden hour than with a bev in hand and a band on stage. Corona Sunsets is a global music festival series celebrating sunsets in the world's most iconic mountains, beaches and city centres, and it's returning to Thredbo for 2018. The first event is on July 21, where keen beans can enjoy an icy cold Corona and DJs on the decks — all day, starting with Merritt's Midday Sessions from 12pm til 4pm. House DJs will serve up good tunes from 2pm til 3pm, and Magnifik will be bringing their own brand of deep house, disco and hip-hop soul from 3pm til 6.30pm. Then things will really kick off when certified party-starters Northeast Party House take to the stage, bringing its new-age alternative pop to the masses. The whole thing will happen again on August 18 with Running Touch closing out the bill, instead. To find out more about Thredbo's exciting winter program, head to thredbo.com.au.
It's the election promise Queenslanders fond of an evening out had been hoping wouldn't come true. When the state's Labor Government came to power in 2015, they vowed to combat alcohol-fuelled violence, and to change legislation surrounding the service of booze to do so. In the early hours of this morning — the time Brisbanites will no longer be able to order drinks or enter bars, fittingly — the amended laws were passed through. Most of us want to put an end to anti-social behaviour, but unless you're eager to cut your partying short long before you currently have to, the latest developments bear only bad news. From July 2016, last drinks will be served at 2am — or 3am, if you're hanging out in a designated entertainment precinct. Shots will be banned after midnight, regardless of what you're consuming. And, if you're knocking back a few beverages at home, you'd best grab your supplies before 10pm, because any new bottle-os won't be able to trade past then. That's just the beginning, with new lockout times coming into effect on February 1, 2017. Patrons won't be able to re-enter pubs and clubs after 1am, which is a whole two hours earlier than existing restrictions. Casinos will be exempt, so expect the Treasury — or the new Queens Wharf precinct, once it is up and running — to become the most popular place in the city for late-night revelry. Queensland's tough changes come at a time when the concept of alcohol-related curfews continues to be in the spotlight around the country. Sydneysiders keep coming out in force to show their opposition, with another Keep Sydney Open Rally planned for Sunday, February 21. In Melbourne, a trial of 2am lockouts proved unsuccessful back in 2008, causing Victoria to abandon the idea since. Looks like Brisbane residents now have yet another reason to flock down south.
What Maisie Knew is an adaptation of the classic Henry James novella of the same name. Set in modern-day New York, it tells the story of Maisie (Onata Aprile), a seven-year old girl caught in the middle of a game of custody one-upmanship between her divorced parents, rock star Susanna (Julianne Moore) and art dealer Beale (Steve Coogan). Through Maisie's point of view, we see her parents resort to increasingly immature measures for full custody, as Maisie somehow manages to stay calm amongst all the chaos going on around her. Some more positive parental influence comes via Susanna and Beale's new partners, Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgard) and Margo (Joanna Vanderham). (In fact, the True Blood hottie and child star Onata have such a genuine bond it will hit your ovaries hard.) Brought to you by the producers of The Kids Are All Right, What Maisie Knew is touted as "an enchanting drama that explores the tangled complexity and often humorous aspects of contemporary relationships and family life." To celebrate the release of What Maisie Knew on August 22, Madman Entertainment and Papillionaire are giving one lucky reader the chance to get in touch with their inner seven-year-old, on The Sommer, a stylish, fully custom, Boston red, single-speed bicycle with basket, valued at $553, as well as a double in-season pass to see What Maisie Knew. Ten runners up will also receive double passes to the film. To be in the running, all you need to do is email hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
While it's been a long time between drinks for international tours here in Australia, overseas artists are beginning to pencil in dates for Australian shows next year. With our vaccination rate on the rise, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison announcing a roadmap towards opening up our borders, 2022 tours are beginning to feel a little more possible. So far, Lorde has locked in February and March dates off the back of her just-dropped album Solar Power, and Splendour in the Grass is shooting for a return next July with three international headliners on the cards. One of those headliners is US hip-hop and fashion trailblazer Tyler, The Creator who has now revealed plans for his own headline tour around Australia and New Zealand in 2022. Tyler, The Creator has announced a set of tour dates alongside his appearance at Splendour's 20th-anniversary festival to support the release of his latest album Call Me If You Get Lost. Australian and New Zealand fans can catch the genre-bending album, which features collaborations with the likes of DJ Drama, Lil Wayne and Pharrell Williams, performed alongside back-catalogue hits from Tyler at four dates throughout July and August. The tour will kick off at Auckland's Spark Arena on Friday, July 22, before heading across the ditch to land at Perth's RAC Arena on Tuesday, July 26. This will be followed by performances at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena on Friday, July 29 and Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday, August 2. Accompanying the hip-hop favourite on tour will be R'n'B singer-songwriter and frequent Tyler, The Creator collaborator Kali Uchis. The last time Tyler graced Australian shores was for a series of festival appearances over New Years 2020/21, hitting up the likes of Beyond the Valley and Field Day. The upcoming 2022 arena tour will, however, mark Tyler, The Creator's first set of headline shows down under in over eight years. [caption id="attachment_823366" align="alignnone" width="2556"] Luis 'Panch' Perez[/caption] TYLER, THE CREATOR — CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST TOUR Friday, July 22 – Spark Arena, Auckland Tuesday, July 26 – RAC Arena, Perth Friday, July 29 – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Tuesday, August 2 – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Tickets for the Call Me If You Get Lost Tour will be available to Frontier Members from Tuesday, August 31. General public sales will open on Thursday, September 2. Find more details at Frontier Touring's website. Top image by demxx
Unless you are lucky enough to unearth a leaked draft of J.K. Rowling's 15th instalment, seldom do we, the public, have a chance to witness the work of the creative elite under construction. (Yes, even this article copped some re-working). Rarer still is to see a leaked draft of a contemporary performance, and so, artistic voyeurs, don't forget your binoculars this Saturday as you peer into the minds on display at STC's Rough Draft #6. The result of a week-long creative binge, five actors will workshop a single scene penned by playwright Rita Kalnejais. Other creative inner sanctums on display include Richard Cottrell (director), Stefan Gregory (sound designer and composer), Alice Osborne (puppeteer), Kate Revz (director) and Kate Champion (choreographer). For the audience, it is an opportunity to dive deep into the creative juices and come out firing in the post-performance Q&A. For the artists, the target is experimentation: to try new collaborations and ideas before a forgiving (cost-free tickets means heckle-free people) and receptive audience. Although tickets are free, you are advised to book ahead.
Time Stands Still does not stop. It does not rest, it does not halt, nor does it falter. It is an animal of its own kind with no respite. It writhes, winks, slinks and blinks in your mind's eye, well beyond the night you saw it. To bear witness is a difficult anomaly: to help the individual suffering in that moment or tell the world and perhaps change something? When injured photojournalist Sarah Goodwin (Rebecca Rocheford Davies) returns to Brooklyn from the Iraq war to her home shared with de facto James (Richard Sydenham), her clipped sentences and heavy sighs and his pandering readiness reveal an all-too-apparent tension. The couple skirt around "the accident" while Sarah grimaces in pain, her face ripped with grazes like 'Diamond Face' in the Bond film, Die Another Day (props to the make-up team). The visit of an old friend and photo editor, Richard Elrich (Noel Hodda) — not to mention the unannounced accompaniment of a sugar-coated twenty-something doll face, Mandy Bloom (Harriet Dyer) — has Sarah panicking. Mandy's hyper-conflated deliberations over why she bought both the 'Get Well Soon' and the Welcome Home' balloons because she couldn't decide between them leave Sarah's eyes simply burning. The meeting of their two worlds is like putting a chihuahua in front of a lion; it throws open the vast divide between the fluffy and trivial west and the pain and grit of the war-torn Middle East. However, time rolls on and people change. How can we help the child dying in the street or the baby elephant cut lost from his mother? If we care too much about fixing the world, can we ever find joy? We don't know the answers, but everyone devises their own truths. American actor Rebecca Rocheford Davies is also the producer who shared discussions of the Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies' scripts with a meet-up group of engaged actors and writers. Once she came across Time Stands Still, she knew it had to be staged. Her rather apt cast choices were informed through watching actors perform, rather than audition, in a more natural sense rather than under pressure. Time Stands Still is downright frank and complete. It resembles a film more than a play and has a way of engrossing you so that reducing it down to a 400-word abstraction proves problematic. The concerns raised are real, manifold and sprouting with questions upon questions. They don't stop.
Australia is no stranger to alcohol subscription services. Signing up to get some top-notch gin or vino delivered regularly to your door turned out to be a pretty popular move last year, after all. But none have taken the concept quite as far as booze retailer Craft Cartel Liquor, which has just unveiled a new subscription that'll send you out an actual craft beer vending machine, followed by a year's worth of refills. Yep, if you thought you had it bad for boutique beer, the El Patron subscription is here to put your obsession to shame. Members will first score themselves a customised vending machine, which'll be delivered to their door. Then, Craft Cartel will refill it with quality independent Aussie brews every three months during your annual subscription, including favourites from the likes of Brisbane's Ballistic Beer Co, Jetty Road on the Mornington Peninsula and Newcastle's Foghorn Brewing. Of course, with up to 400 beers delivered each quarter, this is much more than a solo mission — it's designed to, say, level-up your entire office's after-work drinks game, or offer a crafty addition to your local sports club's beer offering. Just as with the $499 monster-sized 100 Beer Case that Craft Cartel released before Christmas last year, this latest offering doesn't come cheap. In fact, you'll have to rustle up a cool $10,000 a year to afford the annual membership. We hope you have a decently sized work crew or group of beer-loving mates to split that cost with. There are also only four — yes, four — of the vending machine subscriptions on offer, so if you do have the dosh, you'll want to move quick. That $10,000 outlay will get you a few extra perks as well, including a beer pong table, private tastings and tours at a bunch of your local breweries, access to Craft Cartel's premium concierge service, various brewery bar tabs and ten membership welcome packs valued at $2000 a pop. If that all sounds a little much for the bank account, Craft Cartel is also releasing a trio of other new beer club memberships, starting from a far more manageable $20 per month. However, spots for these are very limited, too. Pre-sale for all four memberships — including El Patron — kicks off at 11am this Friday, April 16, with sales open to the general public at 11am on Monday, April 19. To learn more about Craft Cartel Liquor's new memberships — and to sign up for the pre-sale period — head to the company's website.
To celebrate a new addition to its menu, Enmore Road's Arepa eatery is serving up $1 empanadas for one night only on Tuesday, June 11. The street food experts will be selling only 150 of these cheap South American fried pastries, so you'll have to be quick if you want to get one. The empanadas on offer will be Arepa's signature cheese-filled pastries and, as with all of its food, they're gluten free, too. There's a limit of four $1 empanadas per person. If you're running late, you won't miss out completely, as the eatery's full menu will also be available with all of its classic arepas (stuffed corn pockets) — filled with the likes of black beans and pulled pork — and a lineup of local and international beers available. From Wednesday, you'll be able to come back to try the new empanada menu, which includes chicken ($5.50), plantain with cheese ($5) and a vegan option ($4). The $1 empanadas will be available from 5:15pm.
Go to the movies and feel good doing it. Now in its seventh year, The Human Rights Arts & Film Festival will once again shine a light on contemporary human rights issues through a carefully curated lineup of socially conscious films. Rich Hill takes place in the titular Missouri mining town and follows three young men struggling with poverty, mental illness and the turmoil of adolescence. Praised for its empathetic touch, the film won the Documentary Jury Prize at Sundance earlier this year. Everyday Rebellion has a somewhat broader subject, highlighting nonviolent protests happening all around the world. From Occupy Wall Street to the Iranian democracy movement to topless activists in the Ukraine, it's a truly global story about people united by courage. Another standout, Light Fly, Fly High offers a unique tale of female empowerment. A member of India's 'untouchable' class, Thulasi dreams of becoming of a professional boxer, only to find many of her toughest bouts being fought outside the ring. For the full Human Rights Arts & Films Festival program, visit www.hraff.org.au.
Ever wonder where beautiful art is created? These little behind-the-scenes peeks into the places in which classic artworks are born fascinate us, home to some of the most stunning and influential artworks of our time. Gustav Klimt's studio - Vienna, Austria Salvador Dali in Port Lligat, Spain. Francis Bacon's studio - London, England. Paul Cézanne in Aix-en-Provence, France Frida Kahlo's Studio - Mexico City, Mexico Norman Rockwell in Stockbridge, Massachusetts Andy Warhol in New York Pablo Picasso in the French Riviera. Joan Miró's studio in Palma de Mallorca, Spain Jackson Pollock's studio in East Hampton, New York.
As it did for the victims of the devastating earthquakes in Haiti, Chili and New Zealand, Google has developed Person Finder for Japan in the aftermath of the catastrophic tsunami and earthquake. Person Finder is an online search tool to help people locate the whereabouts of family members, loved ones and friends that have been caught in the natural disaster. The site has two options: "I'm looking for someone," or "I have information about someone." Those looking for an information on the status of another person can type in a name and receive updates once information about that person is logged in the system. Those who wish to let others know they are safe or have information about the safety of others can type that information into the system for searchers to access. Currently the database holds information on the status of almost 200,000 victims, but is still growing rapidly each day as people gain access to the internet and more people are located.
"This is something unusual for Australia," says EGYBOY. And he's right. Where else can you snack on tasty fried chicken, gulp down a slushie, shop exclusive works by one of Australia's top street culture artists and have him personalise new kicks bought on the night? We can only think of one spot, and it's at the EGYBOY x Butter pop up this week. From Thursday, March 30 to Saturday, April 1, the artist known for his monochromatic colour-block work sets up shop next to Butter in Surry Hills for three nights of finger-lickin', superstylin', beat-pumpin' good times. Every night will see live DJ sets and hip hop music ricocheting around the space, as guests peruse EGYBOY's exclusive works and apparel. Plus if you're early enough, any sneakers bought at the pop up will be customised by EGYBOY on the spot – but beware, space is limited, so if you want some EGYBOY customs you'll want to get in first. You'd be an April Fool to miss this one, especially the launch on Thursday when Butter will be passing round its signature fried chicken and slushies.
The names Sonny Day and Biddy Maroney sound more like superheroes than commercial illustrators, but with their forces joined they become webuyyourkids. Kirstie Sequitin talks to Sonny ahead of their appearance at Semi-Permanent Brisbane. Have you had any negative reactions to the name webuyyourkids? Um, a few. If we had thought more about this before we started we probably would have called our selves something else. I think we get more raised eyebrows and "Sorry, did you say webuyyourkids? " than anything. It's always funny calling up a company up and them asking where you are calling from. What would you call yourselves otherwise? "Fishfingers" could work? How do you come up with concepts for each piece? In particular, the Best Coast print with the skateboarding legs coming out of the head of a cat and Washington's 'Clementine' video... Good question, there's always an idea or something that comes to mind when we first start on an image. With Best Coast, we knew they loved cats so we started there. The skateboarding legs are female and that just seemed like a natural theme there. And we were just trying something new with composition. Most images come together quite naturally. Clementine was just a simple graphic that popped into my head listening to the song and we just filled it out and built it up with references to the dead miner's daughter from the traditional Clementine song. I guess we're lucky it never feels like we have to go looking to hard for ideas or concepts - they usually just reveal themselves when you are considering the band / music / product / company you're working for and the brief you've been given. Who or what's been inspiring you and Biddy lately and how does it come through in your work? Loads of people, I think we are really into a lot of Japanese psychedelic stuff from the 60s and 70s at the moment and I think that's showing up in the work we are making. Tadanori Yokoo, Keiichi Tanaami are probably the most well known. Peter Max and other designers from the late 60s as well. I think that we are trying to simplify the work that we make too - Enzo Mari is an Italian designer from the 50s Biddy recently stumbled across doing a Google and he's great. I think the influence of all these artists' colour palettes and their approach to simple shapes and strange compositions is very apparent in our work. Your work is so multi-faceted, what's your favourite and least favourite medium or aspect of each medium to work with? Sonny - I love drawing in pen and pencil - I only work in mediums I like so can't list any I don't. Biddy - I do everything on the computer, so - Photoshop! Gig posters and animations are the most fun jobs we do. You've got some pretty high-profile clients - Tourism Victoria, Qantas, St Jerome's Laneway Festival, amongst others - how did you catch your big break? Many jobs have come through our agency the Jacky Winter Group - they are constantly working to bring their illustrators work. And the rest is through someone seeing and liking a job we've already done, or us having worked previously with that client before. For example Laneway Festival came to us after seeing our Popfrenzy posters. The Qantas job came to us as we'd worked with the designer previously when we did the Dungog Film Festival poster. We got the Dungog job because the client wanted a picture of a cow and they liked the cow/bull we drew in the Clementine video.... You'll be sharing your pearls of wisdom at Semi-Permanent next Friday, but can you share the one imperative piece of information that every creative should know before they start their career? Do stuff for yourself, make work for yourself and try to have fun. Don't stay up too late. Drink lots of water. That's about six things isn't it? Finally, why is your Nine Lives exhibition called John Carpenter? I don't think I've even seen any of the Halloween movies... It's called John Carpenter because we've made a series of work that are based on some of his classic movies from the 70s and 80s. I wanted to make some images in reaction to those films, and this seemed like a good time to do it. Sonny and Biddy will be talking as part of the Semi-Permanent conference at the Brisbane Convention and Entertainment Centre this Friday. Image credit: Les Savy Fav screen print (2011) by webuyyourkids
Mr Pugh reads The Lives of Great Poisoners while glaring over the dinner table at Mrs Pugh. Upright schoolteacher Gossamer Beynon longs to fall into the swarthy arms of barman Sinbad Sailors. Music-obsessed Organ Morgan sees Bach lounging around the churchyard. Polly Garter thinks only of her dear departed Willy Wee while entertaining a parade of lovers who earn her the reprobation of the town. These are just some of the vividly named 60-plus characters you join for a day in the fishing village of Llareggub, which if you read it backwards, will tell you something about the plot. Not a lot happens in the course of one day, but you start it in these characters' dreams, and that means something when you see their trifling tragedies and victories by nightfall. This is Under Milk Wood by poet Dylan Thomas (of Do not go gentle into that good night fame). It's great poetry without the magniloquence, perfect for the salt-of-the-earth Welsh town its evoking, full of rugged language (stamping out in a "heavy beef-red huff") and intuitive neologisms that never quite took off (night is "neddying among the snuggeries of babies"). Originally written for radio and first performed in 1954, it is a 'play for voices', completely without heed for the technicalities of staging. Such plays are sometimes fun for the director but not for the audience, making a bumpy, obtuse ride. Fortunately, Under Milk Wood is fun for both. Director Kip Williams, the plucky young assistant director who stepped up to the plate when slated director Andrew Upton was called away on other business, has given it an amazingly magical staging that uses few accoutrements to create a lot of impact. As we careen from scene to scene, home to home, indistinct dreamspace to indistinct dreamspace, furniture and props roll in and out of view like waves. Their inbuilt tricks and trapdoors create beauty, surprise, and sight gags in spades. Similarly chameleon-like are the cast, a roll call of Australian talent spanning generations. It's woven together by Jack Thompson and Sandy Gore's narration, while Paula Arundell, Helen Thomson, Bruce Spence, Drew Forsythe, Cameron Goodall, Drew Livingston, Alan John and two alternating boys, Ky Baldwin and Alex Chorley, conjure full scenes in seconds. They all play outside gender and age; the kid makes a sweet 85-year-old woman. However, for all that, Under Milk Wood doesn't quite feel alive. It's hard to make it anything but a bit twee and old-timey, a nice treat for the set who yearn to be transported to a quaint Welsh past and the days when Jack Thompson was Cleo centrefold material. "He can read me a bedtime story anytime, if you know what I mean," is what I imagine your mother will say to you after you take her on this little lark.
For the uninitiated, Stickybeak is a festival of feasting which brings together some of the finest people, places and palates from Sydney's hospitality scenes for two days of joyous eating and drinking at the National Art School (NAS). After the raging success of hit-outs from previous years, we're going to go out on a limb and call the 2024 lineup the best yet. Curated by the gin lords from Archie Rose with a little help from their friends at P&V Wine and Liquor, the participating eateries include diverse favourites like Bar Copains, King Clarence and Raja, with drinks courtesy of Archie Rose (of course), P&V, PS40, Grifter and Double Deuce Lounge — among others. [caption id="attachment_933131" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Flavour-packed dish at Penelopes. Photo by Chad Konik.[/caption] As you may have figured, StickyBeak is the festival for you if food and booze are the passions/obsessions on which your personality is based. This is certainly the case for those of us who write for Concrete Playground. So, to give you an assist with navigating the epic lineup of food and drinks purveyors in attendance, peep our personal picks below. In the meantime, block out Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9 in your diary and buy your tickets now. And important note: the generous Archie Rose crew are supplying all ticket holders with gift bags including 3x 50ml bottles (Signature Dry Gin, Native Botanical Vodka and Rye Malt Whisky) along with two of their RTD canned cocktails. Nish Sharma, Editorial Assistant Vendor pick: Penelopes On the menu: Pork & Prawn Sausage Roll | Halal Snack Pack | Bakar Banh Mi | Strawberry Gum Delight According to Nish: "As someone who's grown up immersed in the rich culture of Sydney's Inner West, I have a particular appreciation for any dish that's reminiscent of its charm, and Penelopes delivers exactly that. From its elevated take on familiar favourites and its fusion of Asian, Australian and Mediterranean flavours to its mission to redefine 'Aussie' cuisine, I'm so here for it. Plus, I'll never say no to a cheeky-themed cocktail. Saltbush City Limits, anyone?" Jonathon "JV" Valenzuela, Senior Creative Vendor pick: Penelopes According to JV: "I'm probably going to bookend my StickyBeak experience with visits to Penelopes. As a long-time sausage roll aficionado, I'll beeline there when I arrive to try their pork & prawn take on the bakery classic while my palate is still fresh. And at the end of the day I'll stumble back for a halal snack pack, because is there anything better after a skinful of vin?" Ben Hansen, Sydney Editor Vendor pick: Raja On the menu: Lamb Seekh Kebab | Fried Ricotta Chanar Jilipi | Native Australian Spiced Chai According to Ben: "Raja was one of our favourite restaurant openings of 2023, bringing underrepresented Indian dishes to Potts Point with a former Firedoor chef in charge. This is a golden opportunity to taste the creativity and flavour-forward approach of the Raja kitchen in a more casual setting. The team's going to be serving up a lamb seekh kebab — sign me the hell up. Plus, there will be fried ricotta sweets for all the cheese girlies." [caption id="attachment_909677" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Raja[/caption] Alec Jones, Junior Writer Vendor pick: Fabbrica On the menu: Vego arancini | Spaghetti, cacio e pepe | Mafaldine with 'nduja & prawn | Bomboloni According to Alec: "Anyone who claims there's a more comforting food culture than Italian is lying through their teeth, so you'd better believe I'm beelining to Fabbrica. Anything that involves pasta, consider me interested, but if I can grab a serving of oozy cacio e pepe spaghetti and a cheeky glass of a natty wine, I'm well and truly set." [caption id="attachment_942195" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Fabbrica's mafaldine pasta. Photo by Dexter Kim.[/caption] Orlaith Costello, Content Editor Vendor pick: Redbird and Mapo On the menu: Pork and ginger wontons | Redbird "Sando" | Sichuan Tempura Fried Corn According to Orlaith: "With so many delicious vendors on hand, it's hard to pick favourites, but I would definitely head straight to Redbird for its succulent pork and ginger wontons — washed down with some natty orange or chilled red wine from P&V or a not-so-sneaky G&T. And I couldn't pass by Mapo without snagging a scoop of pistachio or stracciatella gelato." [caption id="attachment_738029" align="alignnone" width="1920"] P&V[/caption] Sally Gunawan, Social Media Lead Vendor pick: Mapo On the menu: Gelato According to Sal: "Mapo consistently delights my palate with its inventive taste combinations. Among them, the black sesame and Pepe Saya butter stand out as my personal favourites. These flavours are delicately balanced, never overly sweet. Mapo continually introduces innovative varieties that are worth waiting in line for. I am so confident in this that I would gladly participate in a blind taste test." Suz Tucker, Editorial Director Vendor pick: Porcine On the menu: Porcine Sausage Sizzle with homemade sausage | Beer Honey Ham According to Suz: "I am a simple gal with simple needs. Give me a sausage sizzle by those ingenious swine merchants from Porcine and two Grifter tinnies and I'm as close to achieving enlightenment as I'm going to get." StickyBeak 2024 is on Friday, March 8, 2024 - Saturday, March 9, 2024 at the National Art School on the Corner of Forbes and Burton Streets, Darlinghurst. Buy tickets here.
Still coming to terms with the fact that the Newtown Social Club's gig-hosting days are drawing to an end? Us too. But — for better for worse — when one door closes, another one opens. And after the live music venue shuts theirs in April, the same doors will swing into action — to reveal a mini-golf bar. Yes, the NSC's bandroom is s becoming an indoor mini-golf course. The new venue is called Holey Moley Golf Club, and it comes to Sydney after opening in Brisbane last September. Set to open in June, the bar will pair putt putt and pints across the two-storey King Street space. Just what each stop on the 27-hole course will entail is yet to be revealed; however Game of Thrones, Super Mario, Alice in Wonderland and clowns all feature up north. Yes, clowns. It's as batshit crazy as it sounds. Importantly, Holey Moley isn't just transporting its Brissie concept to Newtown — and, according to the team, it's not simply filling one of Sydney's many struggling live venues with a gimmick. Cognisant of the history of the site and the state of the industry, the powers that be at Holey Moley's parent company Funlab have advised that music will remain a feature. That'll include weekend gigs, DJ sets, championing local up-and-comers, and potentially even battle of the bands-style comps, all in a space that turns taking to the green into a boozy evening of revelry. Newtown isn't the only spot on Holey Moley's expansion trail either, with an Adelaide venture due to open in May, and a Melbourne joint listed as coming soon on their website. Find Holey Moley Golf Club at 387 King Street, Newtown from a to-be-announced date in June. Keep an eye on their website for more information.
