Everyone's 2022 streaming obsession is mere months away from making our comeback, bringing all those beef sandwich cravings along with it. After proving one of the best new shows of 2022, and also increasing the amount of times that "yes chef!" is yelled by approximately 75,000 percent, The Bear will return this winter. To whet appetites, it has just served up its first teaser trailer for its second season, too. When season two arrives, don't expect to slide back into The Bear's kitchen chaos like no time has passed, though. As this debut sneak peek shows, things have changed at the show's central sandwich shop. That won't come as a surprise if you've watched season one, of course — and where the Golden Globe-winning series is going from here hasn't yet been revealed. The Bear was renewed for season two before the show even made its way Down Under, after debuting in the US last June, then reaching Australia and New Zealand via Disney+ at the end of August. Given that it's now a huge hit, here's hoping that audiences here won't experience a delay again this time around when it hits the US in June again. This go-around will span ten episodes, giving viewers two extra servings of chaos surrounding Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White, Shameless) and his culinary endeavours. While season one already saddled him more than his fair share of troubles and struggles, there's no way that season two is going to a cruisy dream for the kitchen ace. If you missed the first season, it jumped into the mayhem after Carmy took over The Original Beef of Chicagoland, his family's business, after his brother Mikey's (Jon Bernthal, We Own This City) suicide. Before returning home, the chef's resume spanned Noma and The French Laundry, as well as awards and acclaim. Accordingly, trying to bring that fine-dining level of meticulous to a neighbourhood sandwich shop didn't go smoothly. That's just the beginning of the story, in a series that truly conveyed what it's like to work in the hospitality industry — including navigating a restaurant kitchen's non-stop intensity. Yes, the mood is anxious from the outset, with The Bear's creator Christopher Storer (who also has Ramy, Dickinson and Bo Burnham: Make Happy on his resume) starting the series as he definitely meant to go on, but still expertly managing to balance drama and comedy. Also a crucial part of the show: the rest of the impressive cast, such as Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Dropout) as Richie, aka Cousin, aka Carmy's brother's best friend; Ayo Edebiri (Dickinson) as new sous chef Sydney; Abby Elliott (Indebted) as Carmy's sister Natalie, aka Sugar; and Lionel Boyce (Hap and Leonard), Liza Colón-Zayas (In Treatment) and Edwin Lee Gibson (Fargo) among the other Original Beef staff. Check out the first teaser trailer for The Bear season two below: The Bear streams via Disney+, with season two set to return in June — we'll update you with an exact season two release date when one is announced. Read our full review of season one. Top image: Matt Dinerstein/FX.
One of the greats of the Aussie comedy industry, Josh Thomas, has graced our eyes and ears with his two television series Please Like Me and Everything's Gonna Be Okay, his podcast Josh Thomas and Friend and his standout standup career. Said standup career is returning to our lives with his newly announced 2024 national tour Let's Tidy Up. In this show, Josh tidies up, which isn't usually particularly gripping entertainment. Unless it's difficult, and for Josh, it's supposedly impossible, akin to defying gravity and reversing the tides. But he also promises more topics — like gardening, gophers and a love story. The tour starts in Sydney at the Sydney Opera House from Wednesday, January 31 to Sunday, February 18. Then Josh will move on to visit Canberra, Hobart and Newcastle for one-night-only shows in late February. He'll set up shop at Adelaide Fringe Festival from March 5—10, then hit Cairns and Perth for one-night-only shows in March and April. There'll be several shows at Melbourne Comedy Festival from April 9—21, a one-night-only show in Toowoomba on Wednesday, May 1 and finally the Brisbane Comedy Festival from May 2—5. And as a special offer for you, dear reader, you can get 20% off your tickets with this limited time offer to select shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. 'Let's Tidy Up' is playing at the Sydney Opera House from Wednesday, January 31 to Sunday, February 18. For more information or to get tickets, visit the website.
Winter is coming, and while there aren't any white walkers to fear in Tasmania (that we know of), it does get pretty darn cold. But don't get ahead of yourself. There's something incredibly magical about the cooler months in Tassie. While us northerners get chilly, rainy grey days once winter settles in, this southern state becomes a glittering wonderland that looks like it's straight out of a fairytale. Plus, along with the dustings of snow prettying up the place, the season brings a calendar of epic events. You really have no reason to hibernate this year. From 5000-strong singalongs around massive bonfires to dressing up in costumes to scare away evil spirits in the apple orchards, partaking in Tasmania's winter events is much more enjoyable than hibernation. To help you start planning, we've compiled a list of the best, most interesting experiences the island state has to offer. So, pack your warmest winter woollies, grab some mates and prepare yourself for a jam-packed Tasmanian winter adventure. [caption id="attachment_619512" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rosie Hastie.[/caption] SWIM NAKED WITH A THOUSAND PEOPLE DURING THE WINTER SOLSTICE You haven't swum, till you've swum stark naked — in the company of a thousand people and in really, really, really cold water. This chilling event happens every year as part of Dark Mofo, MONA's midwinter festival that delves into ancient rituals and mythologies to uncover all things dark — and light. The swim always takes place at sunrise on the winter solstice (set this year on Saturday, June 22 at 7.42am), with swimmers lining the shores of the River Derwent in the dark, before donning red bathing caps and diving in simultaneously. Oh, and the water temperature? It's usually at a cosy seven degrees celsius, give or take. [caption id="attachment_719539" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Festival of Voices by Phil Kitt.[/caption] SING ALONG AT THE FESTIVAL OF VOICES If you were one of those kids at camp that actually enjoyed sitting around the campfire and singing 'Kum Ba Yah', then you're going to love the Festival of Voices. First held as a way for the community of Tasmania to stay active and warm over the island state's famously chilly winter, the event now attracts thousands of people each year to come and sing together around a huge bonfire in Hobart's Salamanca. It's a pretty raucous affair, unsurprisingly. Plus, now that the festival is so popular, there are also plenty of professional performances all over Hobart and its surrounds that you can catch while it's on. [caption id="attachment_719533" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Enchanted Walk by Paul Fleming.[/caption] WANDER ALONG CRADLE MOUNTAIN'S ENCHANTED WALK The Lord of the Rings movies might've been shot in New Zealand, but Tasmania could have easily been a secondary location choice. Nowhere is this truer than Cradle Mountain, where the landscape is an utterly stunning combination of misty rivers, ancient trees and rugged peaks. One of the best ways to experience this beauty is the Enchanted Walk. Beginning at Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge, this short, one-kilometre trek winds its way around Pencil Pine River, a lovely waterfall and a whole host of magical looking snow-dusted vegetation, before finally ending at Ronny Creek. If you're lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of some wombats grazing among the buttongrass. [caption id="attachment_719537" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sarah Island, courtesy of RACT Destinations.[/caption] TAKE TO THE WATER ON THE GORDON RIVER CRUISE Speaking of misty rivers and ancient trees, you'll find both deep within the heart of Tasmania's Wilderness World Heritage Area, where the Gordon River is setting the bar high when it comes to mystical landscapes. If you're keen to experience that magic in all its glory, jump on a Gordon River Cruise and set sail past some of Tasmania's most historic landmarks and wild wonders. From Hells Gates at Macquarie Harbour to rare white-breasted sea eagles and ancient rainforests filled with Huon pine (Australia's oldest tree), you'll have a chance to learn all about Tasmania's convict history while also taking in some of the most incredible scenery you'll ever lay eyes on. [caption id="attachment_719541" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival by Natalie Mendham Photography.[/caption] PARTY AT THE HUON VALLEY MID-WINTER FESTIVAL Known in some circles as the Apple Isle, it's not surprising that Tasmania and its locals are pretty keen on the crispy red fruit — and that's exactly why the Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival has become so popular in recent years. Luring people in with the promise of apple cider, huge feasts, dancing and a big ol' bonfire, it's the wassailing event that's the festival's most famous. Performed to bring on a good apple harvest, the ancient English tradition involves dressing up in all sorts of strange, sometimes animal-like costumes to scare away evil spirits from the apple orchard. But if ceremonies aren't your thing, there's still plenty of live music, Willie Smith's Organic Apple Cider and locally sourced food to enjoy. Top image: Huon Valley Mid-Winter Fest by Lusy Productions.
Huskisson, a quiet coastal town set on picturesque Jervis Bay — the perfect place for a relaxing holiday or, you know, a gruelling triathlon. The Ultimate Husky Triathlon Festival has grown to become one of Australia's most-loved long course events, so if you've been saying to yourself that 2018 is going to be the year you conquer the swim-bike-run, then get yourself to Huskisson. The triathlon involves a two-kilometre swim through the crystal clear waters of Jervis Bay, followed by a breezy 83-kilometre bike ride then a cool 20-kilometre run. If you're a water baby, there's also the one-kilometre ocean swim, or if you're more of a get in, get out kind of person, there's the Super Sprint (Enticer) which involves a 200-metre swim, eight-kilometre bike ride and two-kilometre run. PSA: You can totally wear flippers in this one — but not if you're after a podium finish. And for those keen to unwind after the ultimate workout, we hear the post-event celebrations at the Husky Pub go off.
The rising cost of living is already a struggle for many Sydneysiders. Still, from July 1, public transport users are set to cop another financial hit following the announcement on Wednesday, June 26, that fares across the city's PT network will increase from Monday, July 1. Opal prices will, on average, increase by 3.6 percent, which is in line with the annual Consumer Price Index, according to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal which sets the new rates. However, the weekly travel cap price of $50 for adults and $25 for children and youth concession card holders will remain the same, meaning regular commuters will be less affected by the fare hike. Travelling by train or on the Sydney metro network will increase by a maximum of 49 cents, while ferry journeys will go up by a maximum of 43 cents, and bus and rail journeys by a maximum of 27 cents. Comparable increases will also affect child and youth concession card holders, with train and metro fares increasing by a maximum of 24 cents, ferry journeys by 22 cents, and bus and light rail journeys by 14 cents at most. Travellers using public transport to reach Sydney Airport will also pay more. The Station Access Fee, which the Airport Link Company sets, will rise to $17.34 for adults and $15.50 for children disembarking at either the Domestic or International terminals. While the news of any essential service increasing in price is cause for concern, the added burden on public transport users should be relatively negligible. According to Transport for New South Wales, most commuters using Opal discounts and caps will be hit by a weekly increase of less than $1, with regular public transport users benefiting from unchanged weekly travel caps, reduced fares on Fridays and transfer discounts. Fares for short journeys on buses and trains, up to three kilometres, will also remain unchanged. "Public and active transport remain some of the most affordable ways to get around," said Transport for NSW Secretary Josh Murray. "These increases will ensure Transport for NSW can continue to invest in delivering reliable services for passengers." However, as small as the public transport price increases are, there are already worrying signs across Sydney that consumers are buckling under financial pressures. An unusually high number of hospitality venues have closed in the Harbour City in recent months. At the same time, Darlinghurst Theatre Company has been forced to announce voluntary administration and the iconic Luna Park has been put up for sale, revealing similar financial challenges impacting the entertainment sector. [caption id="attachment_963591" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Matthew Michael Aogki[/caption] Opal fare increases go into effect across NSW from Monday, July 1. Visit the Transport for NSW website for more details.
First he brought the entirety of his Berkshire restaurant The Fat Duck to Melbourne for a residency, in which seats went for $525 each (plus wine). Then it was Dinner by Heston, which, while not as exorbitant, still costs a pretty penny (a starter of savoury porridge goes for $36). But now, in UK celeb chef Heston Blumenthal's latest Melbourne project, he'll be opening a series of one-night-only pop-up restaurants for a considerably affordable price — that is, $0. Yes, free. As in, no money will be changing hands, and no credit card details are required. The Hidden Heston pop-ups are part of MasterChef machine's Heston Week — and while they will no doubt involve nervous contestants fumbling over intricate and ridiculous dishes, they'll nonetheless be extremely exclusive events. So be prepared to earn yourself a place at the table. There will be four pop-ups in total, each running for one service only in a "top-secret" location in Melbourne that will only be announced before the doors open. Punters will have to keep an eye on MasterChef's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts for clues, and enter online to receive an invitation. According to MasterChef, each restaurant will offer a "completely different dining experience", and the lucky winners will get "an experience they will remember forever". So, fingers at the ready — this is your chance to get a slice of the meat fruit pie without forking out a whole month's rent. The Hidden Heston pop-ups will be coming to Melbourne in March. For more info, keep checking the MasterChef Facebook page.
UPDATE, Monday, April 15, 2024: The Pandemonium Rocks lineup has changed with Placebo, Deep Purple, Dead Kennedys, Gang of Four, Gyroscope and Fetch no longer on the bill. The details below have been updated to reflect that change. Some music festivals introduce you to your future favourites and today's biggest names. Others are all about enjoying yesterday's greats. Australia has no shortage of both kinds of events, but it's adding one more nostalgic-driven fest: the brand-new Pandemonium Rocks, which will debut on the country's east coast in April. Blondie and Alice Cooper lead the lineup, meaning that 70s hits 'Heart of Glass' and 'School's Out' will echo through the fest. The familiar tunes won't stop there, either, with Wheatus sure to bust out 'Teenage Dirtbag', and Wolfmother certain to give 'Woman' and 'Joker and the Thief' a whirl. [caption id="attachment_938063" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Psychedelic Furs and Cosmic Psychos round out the bill, as headed to Cathy Freeman Park in Sydney on Thursday, April 25. A point of difference with Pandemonium Rocks: the fact that you can bring low-rise beach-style chairs that are smaller than 70 centimetres tall to the outdoor gigs. Top image: Biha via Wikimedia Commons.
Rosebery's foodie precinct, The Cannery, is about to add some Parisian flare to its ever-expanding repertoire. Frenchies Bistro and Brewery will launch this August by head brewer Vincent De Soyres and head chef Thomas Cauquil. The craft-obsessed, French-born duo will join a roster of heavyweight neighbours, including Saporium wholefoods market, Archie Rose Distillery, Black Star Pastry and Kingsmore artisan butcher. Inspiration for the space came from (of all things) the team's time spent trekking Eastern Siberia. "We spent two months hungry, talking about food and beer", says De Soyres. The 'French-industrial' fitout promises warm bistro lighting that will compliment the dark beams of the Rosebery warehouse, along with lots of personal touches — including the venue's hand-crafted wooden tables, made by De Soyres' dad at his farm in France. The brewery, kitchen and bar sit on the ground floor, while the upstairs mezzanine houses the bistro where Cauquil will show off his world-class repertoire — he's cooked in Michelin-starred restaurants around the globe, including Paris restaurants Le Miroir and Le Violon d'Ingres, Madrid's El Chaflan and Sydney's Moxhe. "It's food that is affordable, with a lot of work behind it," says De Soyres. The menu will adapt on a daily basis, depending on the seasonal and regional produce available. "We will not be serving asparagus in winter," says De Soyres. Despite being local as, the bistro menu features dishes not commonly found in Sydney, much less at a brewery — think veal tongue carpaccio, quail and pig trotters pie and bone marrow stew. But the menu doesn't only appeal to more adventurous types, either, with a North African-style confit lamb and traditional Toulouse sausage with rosemary jus also present on the menu. For takeaway, Frenchies will sell Cauquil's specialty terrines, pâtés and meat parfaits, recipes he learnt while training under world renowned charcutier Arnaud Nicholas. The brewery side also focuses on seasonality, with the beer produced on site and meant to pair with the menu. De Soyres flexes his international brewer's muscles with the Biere de Garde range, which he describes as "a bit like white wine, refreshing while complex and interesting." De Soyres takes a very organic approach to brewing, and finds it important to convey each beer's terroir, or sense of place — a term ordinarily only used to refer to wines. The Frenchies core range also includes their Comet Pale Ale, made with wild American Comet hops, along with a German Kölsch, French IPA and an Aussie Red Rye. Whether you're a Francophile, craft beer lover or both, keep an eye on this space. Frenchie's Bistro and Brewery is set to open this August at 61-71 Mentmore Avenue, Rosebery.
It's a rare treat to see classical favourites performed by world-class musicians in a beautiful setting. And it's even rarer for that experience to be completely free, but that's exactly what's provided by Sydney Symphony Under the Stars. Each year, the renowned orchestra brings its rapturous performances to Parramatta Park, with the park's rolling green hills acting as a backdrop to a free program. Appearing free of charge and unticketed as part of Sydney Festival, the symphony is taking on a Lunar New Year twist in 2023, featuring a concerto from Tan Dun and both Chinese and Vietnamese folk favourites alongside big-hitting tunes of the classical world and classic film scores. [caption id="attachment_832879" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Victor Frankowski[/caption] Pack a picnic basket and your favourite rug before heading down early to nab a comfy spot in front of the huge stage located at Parramatta Park's The Crescent. You'll then be treated to a world-renowned performance from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Northey that will build to a grand finale of the night: a thunderous firework display lighting up the night's sky. Starting at 8pm on Saturday, January 21, the event is family-friendly — and spots are first-come-first-serve, with no online registrations. Top images: Jamie Williams
Breaking TV viewing records, progressing further into the World Cup than any Australian soccer team before, smashing their way into the 2024 Paris Olympics: the Matildas are having a helluva 12 months. They're also getting a Brisbane statue, and inspired 'Matilda' to be chosen as 2023's word of the year. Add featuring in their second documentary in a year to the squad's achievements, too, with Trailblazers headed to Stan. In 2023, docuseries Matildas: The World at Our Feet chronicled the current team's path to the 2023 Women's World Cup. In 2024, Trailblazers will take a broader look at the Tillies' story, and also at women's football in Australia. Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Mary Fowler, Ellie Carpenter, Katrina Gorry and Teagan Micah all feature as interviewees — but chronicling the Matildas' journey before their current success is also the doco's aim. If your obsession with the Tillies started in July 2023, this is your chance to dive into the first FIFA-recognised game in 1979, the team's 2015 strike for equal pay and its fortunes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics — and to reflect upon the the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, and the squad's qualification for Paris. So, you'll hear from and about earlier players, such as first-ever Matildas captain Julie Dolan, alongside Kerr and company. The Matildas' first Indigenous female player Karen Menzies also features among the discussions, as do fellow past players Melissa Barbieri, Kate Gill and Moya Dodd. Tommy Sermanni, who coached the Tillies from 1994–97 and 2005–12, also gets chatting. And, so does ex-Socceroos captain-turned-commentator Craig Foster. Stan will stream Trailblazers sometime in the lead up to the Paris Olympics, with an exact release date not yet announced. Behind the scenes, Maggie Miles (Dare to Be Different) and Maggie Eudes produce, write and direct the documentary — aka your next chance to revel in all things Tillies. If you want to wear green and gold while watching, or the newly released (and soldout) purple Mackenzie Arnold goalkeeper kit if you got your hands on one, that's up to you. Trailblazers is set to stream via Stan before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, which take place from Friday, July 16–Sunday, August 11. We'll update you when an exact release date for the documentary is announced.
Calling all French film fans: for the whopping 34th year, Australia's Alliance Française French Film Festival is screening a feast of flicks from the other side of the world. Hitting Palace Central, Palace Verona, Palace Norton St, Chauvel Cinema and Hayden Orpheum Cremorne in Sydney from Tuesday, March 7–Wednesday, April 5, this year's cinematic celebration will screen 39 movies throughout March and April — and the full program is something special. AFFFF's 2023 opening-night pick: Masquerade, spinning a tale of glitz, glamour and the Côte d'Azur's far-less-glossy underbelly under La Belle Époque's director Nicolas Bedos' guidance — and with Pierre Niney (Yves Saint Laurent) and Isabelle Adjani (The World Is Yours) among his stars. As a bookend on closing night, it's joined by Freestyle, which takes to the road with Benjamin Voisin (Lost Illusions) and Marina Foïs (Stella in Love), and promises to end the fest as memorably as it begins. In-between, must-sees include Saint Omer, with documentarian Alice Diop drawing from true events to craft a drama about a young Parisian journalist and novelist attending murder trial, then wading through the complexities it surfaces within her own family history; One Fine Morning, the latest film by Bergman Island's Mia Hansen-Løve, this time a family drama starring Léa Seydoux (Crimes of the Future); and The Innocent, as written by, directed by and starring Louis Garrel (A Faithful Man), based on his own experiences, and also featuring Noémie Merlant (Tár). There's also Final Cut, a French remake of Japanese cult hit One Cut of the Dead from The Artist director Michel Hazanavicius, starring Romain Duris (Eiffel); Winter Boy, the new film from Sorry Angel's Christophe Honoré, an autobiographical drama focusing on 17-year-old Lucas (newcomer Paul Kircher); Brother and Sister, with Marion Cotillard (Annette) playing a stage actor and sibling to Melvil Poupaud (Summer of 85); and Other People's Children, a Virginie Efira (Benedetta)-led effort about being a stepmother that's also inspired by director Rebecca Zlotowski's (Planetarium) own life. Two Quentin Dupieux films sit on the program, too, with the director of Rubber and Deerskin adding both Incredible but True and Smoking Causes Coughing to the lineup — and a sense of humour that only he possesses. Plus, there's award-winner Playground, which focuses on a seven-year-old girl; On the Wandering Paths, which brings Sylvain Tesson's novel to the screen so swiftly after The Velvet Queen also turned his work into cinema (including at AFFFF 2022); and The Origin of Evil, an account of a dysfunctional family that's one of three AFFFF 2023 movies to star Full Time's Laure Calamy. This year's focus is firmly on the new over the classic, but when it comes to looking backwards, 1988 French box-office smash The Big Blue does the honours. The full list of 2023 AFFFF titles goes on, as cinephiles have come to not just expect but thoroughly enjoy from a fest that's the largest celebration of French film outside of France.
Ricos Tacos is coming to Redfern. Owner Toby Wilson's storied career has seen him whipping up tasty morsels at The George, Gelato Messina, Grifter Brewery, a sleepy corner of Chippendale and even the world porridge-making championship. Now, his most ambitious project to date will swing open its doors before September is out. After leaving Chippendale earlier in 2023, Ricos Tacos will reemerge as a two-story restaurant and bar at The Norfolk Hotel on Saturday, September 23. The huge 200-person taqueria is opening with help from the hospitality group behind The Strand Hotel, The Lady Hampshire, Oxford House and Maybe Sammy — and will feature two distinct areas: an expanded version of the original Ricos on the bottom level, and a late-night disco den and sports bar called Club Ricos up above. "We never intended to have a 20-seater venue," Wilson told Concrete Playground when the Chippendale outpost closed down. "Ricos was always meant to be something a bit bigger than that." Down in the main restaurant, quirky food-based characters and Mike Delaney murals will litter the bright yellow walls, and neon lights will surround the rotating al pastor. Looking to pair your lunch with a dose of vitamin D? There's a sunlit beer garden filled with plants and boasting a charcoal barbecue for Sunday sessions. At the heart of the menu will, of course, be tacos — with the hero dish topped with the likes of barbacoa, al pastor, fish or chicken with almond coffee mole. You can also expect to discover a taco of the week each time you head in, giving Wilson the opportunity to flex his creative muscles. Elsewhere on the menu, there are hamburgers, half a roast chicken with house-made hot sauce, Ricos' famous hash browns, white fish tostadas, zucchini flower quesadillas and ice cream sandwiches for dessert. Maybe Sammy's El Primo Sanchez has delivered on the cocktails with a lemongrass paloma and a pavlova colada, which can be paired with the flavour-packed eats alongside beers from Young Henrys, Grifter and Tecate. Up in Club Ricos you'll find red vinyl seating, 60s-inspired paraphernalia and DJs spinning tunes until late. If you find yourself hungry after many trips to the dance floor, there will be an upstairs snack menu dedicated to late-night feeds. "Between design, food, drinks and long-time friends, we've built Ricos Tacos with some of the original puzzle pieces of The Norfolk while keeping the Ricos customer in mind," says Wilson. "It's the blueprint of The Norflok with a Ricos overhaul. I envisioned late nights upstairs, sunny barbecues and fun, experimental food throughout the build process, and the opening weekend will be the first of many momentous days and nights." To celebrate the opening, Ricos Tacos Redfern is throwing a weekend-long party across Saturday, September 23–Sunday, September 24 with DJs on the decks and an asada barbecue on the Sunday. Ricos Tacos will open in The Norfolk Hotel at 305 Cleveland Street, Redfern on Saturday, September 23. It'll be open 12–10pm Wednesday–Thursday, 12pm-12am Friday –Saturday and 12–10pm Sunday. Images: Alana Dimou.
Before trio Daniel Blakemore, Connor Keighran and Jake de Varine-Bohan opened Tooth and Nail in Marrickville in early 2017, it'd been on the cards for a while. Blakemore and Keighran worked at Surry Hills hairdressing parlour Sterling for a collective ten years before they struck out on their own. Don't expect a cookie-cutter, hipster barbershop. In fact, don't even mention the word rockabilly. "There's no theme to [Tooth and Nail]," Connor says. "We hate the word rockabilly. We don't even like the word barbershop. We're trained hairdressers so we do women's hair, men's hair, kids hair, long, short — everything." Haircuts are priced based on time required so a 40-minute barber's cut is $65, while a long-style cut is $105 for 60 minutes — both include a wash and style. It also does colour work, including tints, highlights and balayage, and a full wet shave service with a cut throat razor. The latter takes 40 minutes and will involve three hot towels and is finished with moisturiser and luxurious oils. The team are passionate about other local small businesses so, depending on your appointment time, you'll be able to enjoy a batch coffee from nearby Matinee Coffee or a craft beer from the likes of The Grifter or Philter. Oh, and many, many pats of resident pup Brando.
Believe. That's Ted Lasso's (Jason Sudeikis, Saturday Night Live) standard advice, and it's going to come in handy in the hit Apple TV+ sitcom that shares his name's upcoming third season. On-screen, the American coach and his AFC Richmond team need to believe in themselves after their promotion to the Premier League, especially when everyone around them thinks they'll be relegated before the year is out. Off-screen, fans of this award-winner can simply believe that the show will finally be back, returning mid-March almost two years after its second season. Believing has played a part in both of Ted Lasso's season-three trailers so far, too, the latest of which has just hit the pitch. The choice of song accompanying the new sneak peek is telling, and just the kind of advice that Ted would give his squad: 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'. The new trailer is filled with glimpses of ups, downs and showdowns to come set to The Rolling Stones' tune, with AFC Richmond battling that lack of belief from outside, and also clashing with the club's former assistant coach Nathan 'Nate' Shelley (Nick Mohammed, Intelligence). He walked out on the team, and on his perennially optimistic mentor Ted, for rivals West Ham United. So, get ready for a hefty rivalry — but is Ted facing off against an adversary still going to be the usual Ted? Viewers will find out across 12 episodes, which will start streaming from Wednesday, March 15. Also, Ted has both work and personal struggles to deal with, Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein, Uncle) leans into his assistant coach role, Keeley Jones (Juno Temple, The Offer) is managing her own PR firm, and AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham, Hocus Pocus 2) is all about defeating West Ham United (and her ex Rupert Mannion, played by Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Anthony Stewart Head, who owns it). While Ted Lasso has felt like streaming's biggest warm hug across its first and second seasons, it wasn't afraid to skew darker in the latter, including as Nate felt pushed aside, ignored and unloved by Ted. Viewers will know that the last batch of episodes culminated with Nate's defection — but as seen in the first teaser trailer for season three, the rest of the AFC Richmond crew still has plenty to believe in, taking one of Ted's favourite words to heart. Also part of the team, whether on or off the field: recent hotshot player Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster, The Devil's Hour), his teammates Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh, The French Dispatch) and Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernandez, Spider-Man: No Way Home), Ted's laconic second-in-charge and long-time friend Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt, Bless This Mess), and AFC Richmond Director of Football Operations Leslie Higgins (Jeffrey Swift, Housebound). As the sitcom's first two seasons have shown, viewers definitely don't need to love soccer or even sport to fall for this series' ongoing charms — although if you obsessed over the 2022 World Cup, it might help fill the gap until the 2026 version arrives. Kind-hearted in the way that Parks and Recreation, Wellington Paranormal, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Abbott Elementary have also proven, Ted Lasso will be in for a significant obstacle in 2023, thanks to Ted and Nate's battle. Usually, this series celebrates people who support each other, are always there for each other and form close bonds as a result. Indeed, that's what has made it so instantly likeable. But with Nate now working for the competition, change is afoot — don't expect to see the show mess too much with its winning formula, though. Check out the trailer for Ted Lasso's third season below: Season three of Ted Lasso will stream via Apple TV+ from Wednesday, March 15. Read our full review of season two.
After opening five Queensland locations in the past two years and announcing plans to launch one in Melbourne this summer, Taco Bell has finally unveiled plans to open not one, but two stores in NSW. While details are scarce for now, the Tex-Mex giant has revealed it's opening stores in Blacktown and Newcastle in late spring. The US chain has been teasing the interstate openings on its Facebook page, with lots of locals hoping for a Sydney store. Their prayers have finally been answered. https://www.facebook.com/tacobellaus/photos/a.1461510760603853/2421549971266589/?type=3&theater Menu-wise, the usual Taco Bell range will be on offer, complete with burritos, quesadillas, nachos and, of course, tacos. For those dining in, frozen margaritas and a range of craft beers will also be available. Taco Bell's Australian arm currently includes stores in Annerley, Cleveland, North Lakes, Robina and Southport, but with promises of more than 50 across the country, we can expect a few more to open in Sydney in the upcoming months and years. This is, however, Taco Bell's third attempted foray into the Australian market. The chain tried to launch here in 1981 (and was then taken to court by Sydney store Taco Bell's Casa) and again in 1997 — but both attempts were unsuccessful and the brand withdrew. Taco Bell is slated to open in Blacktown and Newcastle this spring. We'll let you know when more info drops. Top image: Taco Bell Annerley
Italian chain Fratelli Fresh is bringing an unbeatable seafood and cocktail deal to its five Sydney stores. Head to one of the restaurant group's outposts any time between Saturday, April 29–Friday, June 9 to nab an affordable oyster and spritz package. The deal entitles you to a half-dozen shucked oysters paired with a spritz made with Bombay Saphire's Citron Pressé lemon gin for just $19. The gin is flavoured with handpicked Mediterranean lemons and combined with St Germain Elderflower Liqueur, cucumber cordial, lemon and prosecco to create the spritz. For those that are still hungry once they've enjoyed your oysters, you can tackle the standard Fratelli Fresh selection of antipasto, pizza, pasta and Italian mains. If you want to make the most of this six-week deal, you'll find Fratelli Fresh spots in Darling Harbour, Entertainment Quarter, Miranda, Manly and the CBD. Plus, to kick off the partnership with Bombay Saphire, the Darling Harbour restaurant is hosting an Amalfi Coast Long Lunch on Saturday, April 29 where you can nab seven highlights from the Fratelli Fresh menu and free-flowing cocktails for $99. Images: Anna Kucera
When John Wick burst its way into cinemas in 2014 with a flurry of bullets, it was the action flick no one knew they needed. Keanu Reeves was at his blank-faced best as an unstoppable assassin, shooting first and never asking questions — because he didn't have to. Watching the mayhem that resulted: that was an audiences' joy through and through. Can such a formidable force hit the target twice, though? The answer is obvious: John Wick never misses. Chronicling Wick's efforts to once again stride back into seclusion — a plan foiled by Italian mobsters with a case of sibling rivalry — the reunited team of stuntman turned director Chad Stahelski and screenwriter Derek Kolstad stay true to their winning premise and up the stakes. John Wick still gets to show off his lethal skills, but he's not just seeking vengeance. He's repaying the debt that helped him get out of the assassin business in the first place, and then trying to survive the deadly fallout. Oh, and he's got a new dog. As familiar as that might sound, John Wick: Chapter 2 turns sticking with what works into an action opera that knows when to dazzle with a symphony of shoot-outs, but also knows when enjoying Keanu's menacing presence is enough. The film's impeccably choreographed action scenes in Roman catacombs and New York City streets prove exhilarating, but so too do the steely glares directed by Keanu at his myriad foes – including Common and Australia's own Ruby Rose. The fact that the end result may be a little predictable isn't a problem when it's executed with such precision and flair. When Stahelski does sprinkle a few fresh inclusions into the mix, he goes big. Suave Italian icon Franco Nero — aka the original Django — pops up as the Roman counterpart to Ian McShane's returning hotelier, while Laurence Fishburne gives movie nerds the reunion they've been waiting for. Smartly, though, neither overpowers the main attraction. Cinema-goers want to see Keanu being the legendary bad guy that even bad guys fear, dispensing with his enemies with a pencil and just generally blazing his way through the criminal underworld. On that front, you'd better believe that John Wick: Chapter 2 delivers. Indeed, Keanu and his former Matrix stunt double are the movie's not-so-secret weapons. Stahelski ramps up the action to dizzying heights, while his leading man lets his physicality and stoic charisma do the talking. More than a quarter of a century since he first showed off his action hero skills in Point Break, Keanu's still got it. The genre wouldn't be the same without him – and if we can make a request for the inevitable John Wick: Chapter 3, it's for more of the same with some of Johnny Utah's surfing thrown in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdkhQsy9fU4
2021 was a tough year, but one thing that managed to make it better was seeing Sydney's creative and hospitality communities come together to try make lockdown a little more bearable. During the four-plus months Sydneysiders were under stay-at-home conditions, many local businesses went above and beyond to help those that were struggling. And, a heap of our favourite spots came up with new and creative ways to keep their staff in work and keep locked-down patrons well-fed, entertained and feeling hopeful. We've complied a list of eight fresh ideas that emerged during 2021's lockdown to help both us and the greater community through a difficult period. From tasty tacos and next-level home meals to virtual festivals and a throwback to the video stores of the past, these pivots made their mark.
Can a taxi driver change the world? Should we be able to inspect our future lovers before investing in them, in much the same way we do our cars? What would happen, were a long-repressed and rather unpleasant memory to have a sudden reawakening in your brain? These are just a sprinkling of the stories to be brought to the big screen at this year's Tropfest. In responding to the 2013 signature item, 'Change', the 16 finalists found themselves thinking about death, addiction, immigration, growing old and love, amongst other preoccupations. Short-film fanatics heading to new venue Centennial Park on December 8 for the world's biggest short film festival can expect an eclectic mix of documentaries, mockumentaries, comedies, thrillers and dramas. "We are thrilled by the strength, creativity and originality of the films submitted," said Tropfest founder and director John Polson. "The ideas, influences and filmmaking approaches are never the same — and that's been no different this time around." Gates open at 11am, with the films commencing at 8pm. The Trop Jnr screening and musical guests Lenka, Busby Marou, Illy and Tina Arena will fill the intervening hours of picnicking. Look for food and drink offerings from Miss Peaches, Lo-Fi, Johnny Wong’s Dumpling Bar and The Vic in Enmore.
As bushfires have ravaged Australia this summer, much of the country's wildlife has been caught in the blaze, with an estimated one billion creatures killed and significant numbers injured. Photographs and footage of fire-affected animals have become a common and heartbreaking sight, with organisations such as the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) working to assist these critters in need — and your next coffee-flavoured boozy beverage can help them. To raise money for WIRES, homegrown coffee liqueur company Mr Black has released a limited-edition version of its cold-brew tipple. Buy a bottle, and 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the wildlife rescue organisation. Each one costs $100, with Mr Black aiming to raise $10,000 for the incredibly worthy cause. As well as getting 700ml of the brand's very popular alcoholic caffeinated beverage, you'll receive it in an adorable bottle, as made in collaboration with creative studio The Young Jerks. A koala adorns the label, clinging to a branch as part of a stylised and striking — and immensely cute — design. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7aDMi0B2KM/ Orders are open now, with bottles expected to ship in six–eight weeks. And, that shipping cost will be covered by Mr Black, meaning that every dollar you spend on the Bushfire Relief Limited Edition will be donated — and won't need to cover the cost of getting the booze to you. Mr Black's Bushfire Relief Limited Edition cold brew coffee liqueur is currently available to purchase from the brand's website, with orders expected to be shipped in six–eight weeks.
See this writeup? It's pale nimbus with raised lettering. The font? Something called Silian Rail. Now let's see Paul Allen's. No time — Huey Lewis and the News just came on. *dances around, throwing blood into the crowd* The last few years have been so replete with wildly improbably events that it's getting hard to find anything worth raising an eyebrow for. But the news that American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis' subversive and initially banned novel of bankers and blood rages in the 80s, has been adapted into a musical, has had us trying to wrestle our brows down from our hairlines for days now. That's right, Les Miserables and Ellis' protagonist, Patrick Bateman, now have more in common than a passing interest in decapitation. But while the former has had its fair share of Australian seasons, the latter is gearing up for his second under award-winning director Alexander Berlage. [caption id="attachment_759950" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Clare Hawley[/caption] After hitting Potts Point's Hayes Theatre Co in 2019, and bloody seasons on Broadway and at the West End, the blood-spattered musical will head to the Sydney Opera House in June this year to unleash Bateman (Ben Gerrard), a detached, murderous businessman, onto Australian audiences once again. It was initially set to carve its way across the Playhouse in 2020, but we all know how last year turned out. The show is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, has music and lyrics by Tony Award-winner Duncan Sheik, and features 80s hits from the likes of Phil Collins, Tears for Fears and New Order — and its 2019 season saw it pick up nine Sydney Theatre Awards. American Psycho — The Musical may have the same disdain for excess that you do, but it has a slightly better haircut. Make sure you return those video tapes before booking. Pre-sale tickets are available from 9am on Tuesday, February 9 with general sale kicking off at 9am on Friday, February 12 via the Sydney Opera House website. Top images Clare Hawley
Don't Tell Uncle brings an exciting take on Indian street food to Cammeray courtesy of co-owners Varan Deep and Jai Singh, the talented team behind Surry Hills mainstay Don't Tell Aunty. The North Sydney venue carries over many of the beloved elements of Don't Tell Aunty: Tso's cauliflower, spiced Indian fried chicken, blue cheese naan and tandoori lamb chops all grace both menus. These playful creations are paired with standards that Singh has perfected across his years at both Don't Tell Aunty and Annandale favourite Surjit's Indian Restaurant. Chutney platters, channa chaat, lamb rogan josh, Kerala prawn masala and Makhni-style butter chicken are all on hand to round out the offerings. For those with a proclivity for feasting, Don't Tell Uncle is here to deliver the goods via a pair of set menus, each providing a delicious sample of everything you want from the array of entrees and curries. And, you can book in for a boozy weekend trip to Don't Tell Uncle with its bottomless brunch. For just $79, you and your buds can enjoy free-flowing wines and beers as you sample selections from the menu — and for an extra $20 a head you can add two hours of margaritas. North Sydney has really stepped up its food game and Don't Tell Uncle is certainly playing its part.
Whenever anyone utters the words "Wakanda forever" in a Black Panther movie, they resonate, rippling with pride and power in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's franchise-within-a-franchise about the titular hero and their homeland. Expect those words, every other piece of dialogue and the rousing score behind them to echo with extra force at every Sydney Marvel fan's new must-attend event, however. That's bound to happen at a Black Panther in Concert performance, which'll pair the original film with a live orchestral score. Sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in cinemas right now, but this huge gig will screen the initial 2018 feature. That means getting emotional over the now-late Chadwick Boseman's excellent performance as T'Challa, watching the character cope with the passing of his father, and seeing him face off against old adversary Killmonger (Michael B Jordan, Just Mercy) over the future of Wakanda — and revelling in the rest of triple Oscar-winner's many other delights. One of those shiny Academy Awards went to Ludwig Göransson for the film's score, which will make the most of Sydney Opera House's renovated and relaunched Concert Hall across three performances from Thursday, July 27–Saturday, July 29, 2023. It'll be played by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, as conducted by Anthony Parnther and with percussion by tama player Massamba Diop, in what'll be Black Panther in Concert's Australian-premiere performance. SSO loves busting out big-screen classics and pairing them with its instruments of late, with The Princess Bride also getting the same treatment in 2023, and everything from Bond to Harry Potter and Star Wars doing the same in the past. Still, given the potent storyline, Boseman's passing in 2020, Ryan Coogler's (Creed) energetic and expressive direction, and the stacked cast that also includes Angela Bassett (Gunpowder Milkshake), Letitia Wright (Death on the Nile), Winston Duke (Nine Days), Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead), Lupita Nyong'o (The 355) and Martin Freeman (Breeders), this movie-and-music combination promises something extra special. Check out the trailer for Black Panther below: Black Panther in Concert takes place from Thursday, July 27–Saturday, July 29, 2023 at the Sydney Opera House's Concert Hall. The ticket pre-sale is open now, with general sales from 10am on Tuesday, November 29 — head to the Sydney Opera House website for further details. Images: Marvel Studios.
Sydneysiders, your love of day parties is about to get massively rewarded. Eamon Harkin and Justin Carter, the DJ duo behind New York's Mister Saturday Night parties and record label, are bringing their famed daytime dance party to our city. Mister Sunday is all about good vibes, cool people and, most importantly, solid tunes. It will all go down starting at 1pm on Sunday, February 25, when they'll set up a four-point sound system at a secret outdoor location in the inner city. This is only the second time the party has left New York City in ten years — with the last time being London back in 2015 — so we can count ourselves very, very lucky. It's hard not to wonder if the Aussie party animal reputation, and our appreciation of great music, has something to do with it. They'll be rocking the day just like they do back in Brooklyn, with a little help from local partners Astral People and beloved winemakers Cake Wines, along with eats by Eat Art Truck — so you can expect the bar to be well stocked and the food to be top-notch. Apart from the dance floor, where Eamon and Justin will run the DJ booth, there will be plenty of space to relax with drink in hand. Tickets are on sale now and go for $45 a pop. Before you rock up, make sure you go through the twelve house rules — which include no cameras, phones or smoking on the dance floor and no song requests/distracting the DJs at work. Basically, they're in place to make sure everyone has a good time, respects one another and is really there to dance, not just to Instagram other people dancing.
First, Boy Swallows Universe was a must-read book by Trent Dalton, spinning a tale about a young boy, his prophetic brother and his jailbreaking best friend as they navigate the heroin-filled underworld of 80s Queensland. Then, the Brisbane-set story became one of 2021's stage hits, earning admirers new and old while treading the boards. Next, it's about to become your next must-binge homegrown show, with Netflix announcing a streaming adaptation of the award-winning book earlier in 2022. If you've been wondering since how the latter might turn out, the platform has just dropped more details — and some behind-the-scenes photos. You can stop your fan casting, because unveiling which famous faces are taking on the novel's characters is Netflix's new news. It's a hefty list, with the eight-part limited series set to star Travis Fimmel (Raised by Wolves) as Lyle Orlik, Simon Baker (Blaze) as Robert Bell and Phoebe Tonkin (Bloom) as Frances Bell — as well as Felix Cameron (Penguin Bloom) as Eli Bell, plus Lee Tiger Halley (The Heights) as Gus Bell. Also nabbing parts: Bryan Brown (Hungry Ghosts) as Slim Halliday, Anthony LaPaglia (Nitram) as Tytus Broz, and Sophie Wilde (Eden) as Caitlyn Spies, plus Christopher James Baker (Ozark) as Ivan Kroll, HaiHa Le (Back to the Rafters) as Bich Dang and Deborah Mailman (Total Control) as Poppy Birkbeck. And, you'll see Ben O'Toole (Barons) as Teddy, Zachary Wan (Never Too Late) as Darren Dang, and Millie Donaldson and Eloise Rothfield as Shelley Huffman (aged 17 and 13, respectively). Exactly when the series will hit your queue still hasn't yet been revealed, but it's scripted by screenwriter John Collee (Master and Commander, Happy Feet, Hotel Mumbai), and the show's executive producers include Troy Lum (The Water Diviner, Saving Mr Banks, Mao's Last Dancer), Andrew Mason (The Matrix, The Water Diviner), Sophie Gardiner (Howard's End, Chimerica), Kerry Roberts (Foe, Boy Erased), and Aussie actor and filmmaker Joel Edgerton (The Underground Railroad, The Green Knight). On directing duties: Bharat Nalluri (The Man Who Invented Christmas), Jocelyn Moorhouse (The Dressmaker) and Kim Mordaunt (The Rocket). On the page, Boy Swallows Universe has snagged a slew of local awards, including Book of the Year, Literary Book of the Year and Audio Book of the Year at the 2019 Australian Book Industry Awards. The novel, which has sold a hefty amount of copies in Australia alone — 160,000 in 2019, when the play was announced — was also longlisted for Australia's most prestigious literature prize, the Miles Franklin Award. And, while bringing Boy Swallows Universe to the screen has been in the works for some time — with Harper Collins selling the television rights to the novel back in 2019, and Edgerton set to produce the show since then — if you've been waiting to actually lock your eyes on a Boy Swallows Universe series, now it's finally happening. Boy Swallows Universe will hit Netflix as an eight-part series sometime in the near future. We'll update you with further information, including a release date, when it's announced. Images: Netflix.
Native is quite possibly the healthiest cafe on the south coast — and also one of the tastiest. Perched on Ulladulla's pretty harbour, this eatery serves up dishes loaded with superfoods and veggies grown by neighbours. If you're an early riser, you're in luck. Brekkie begins at 6.30am, which means it comes with incredible coastal sunrises. Spice up your morning with fried eggs, corn, chilli, guacamole, turtle beans, coriander and house-made flatbread. Or start sweetly with a mango chia pot, packed with passionfruit, coconut milk and roasted macadamias. Like a sleep in? You can also count on being looked after. Brekkie goes on all day, plus there's an additional menu. For a major health boost, tuck into the Red Salad, a mountain of mushies, radicchio, broccolini, freekeh, quinoa, pumpkin hummus and pomegranate dressing. Carnivores can swap the mushies for braised lamb. The coffee is Will & Co's Eight-O-Eight house blend, plus there are Mayde organic teas, turmeric lattes and a 'rosetta' latte: local milk infused with beetroot, hibiscus, ginger and maca.
The Australian premiere of a Tony-winning musical is gracing the Sydney stage, with the Darlinghurst Theatre Company presenting Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812. The show is playing for a limited season until Sunday, August 27. Be sure to secure your tickets now to avoid missing out. The production, from composer and lyricist Dave Malloy, takes inspiration from Tolstoy's War and Peace. It focuses on the scandalous story of young, impulsive Natasha and her affair with her lover, Anatole, alongside the journey of her lonely friend, Pierre, and his ongoing search for his life's purpose. This is the first show produced under Suzanne Pereira, the Darlinghurst Theatre Company's new executive director, working with artistic director Amylia Harris. An exceptional back-of-house team includes Dean Drieberg (Hamilton, resident director), Claire Healy (SIX, musical director) and Brendan Yeates (Hamilton, resident dance supervisor). All bring their exciting pedigree to this Australia-first production. Costumes play an important part of the story. Demi-couture designers Nicol & Ford have adapted their renowned 'Comet' collection, which debuted at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week. Nicol & Ford have tailored their designs to represent each character, so expect ethereal high-fashion with a touch of the avant-garde. The cast includes Grace Driscoll as Natasha, Zoy Frangos as Pierre and Jules Pendrith taking on the role of Anatole. This quadruple-threat ensemble effortlessly doubles as an on-stage orchestra, playing an array of instruments from bass clarinet to the keytar. All celebrate the musical's diverse mix of sonic inspiration, covering folk, indie-rock, electro-pop and techno. This is one show you won't want to miss. Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 is currently taking up residence at Eternity Playhouse until Sunday, August 27, on Tuesdays through Sundays. For more information and to get tickets, visit the website. (Photo credit: Brett Boardman and Robert Catto.)
UPDATE: 4PM, APRIL 5, 2019 — Nimble has had a huge turnout to its sale so far, and has just announced that it will sell out today and not reopen on Saturday. The sale will be open until 7pm tonight unless it sells out prior. There's nothing like a fresh haul of shiny new workout gear to inspire a little fitness kick. Especially when that workout gear takes the form of some high-performance threads from sustainability focused label Nimble Activewear. Well, this April, you're in for a treat, as the local brand pulls together a swag of great pieces for its huge Sydney warehouse sale. Taking over 419 Crown Street, Surry Hills, from April 4–5, the sale will be packed full of bargains, offering a hefty range of outerwear, tights, sports bras, sweats, shorts and more. Some designs will be going as cheap as $20, with savings of up to 80 percent across the racks. And nothing will cost you more than $40. You'll even catch pieces from the label's core CompressLite line, which is cleverly crafted from recycled plastic bottles. Nab one of these and you'll really have something to feel good about — Nimble's saved over 300,000 plastic bottles from heading to landfill in the past year alone. Nimble Warehouse Sale will be open from 7am–7pm on Thursday and Friday.
This article is sponsored by our partners, the Sydney Festival. The Sydney Festival crew knows better than anyone else that seeing the world's most amazing shows, losing yourself in monumental artworks and dancing into the wee hours can make for hungry and thirsty work. So they've partnered with a handpicked selection of the city's most popular and adventurous eateries to present 'Fast Festival Feasts'. From January 9-26, you'll be able to sample gourmet cuisine at festival prices, including $30 and $55 two-course extravaganzas and specially designed a la carte menus. Some restaurants do require reservations, so we recommend making contact in advance to avoid disappointment. Near Paradiso at Town Hall Like the Village, Paradiso will be providing some light, hot catering of its own via the Terrace Bar. But if you want to rest your feet and stock up your energy before dancing the night away at one of the venue's free post-11.30pm music fests, try the Chef's Gallery where you'll score five Chinese Tapas (or Chapas) and a drink for $30, or the Glass Brasserie for a Luke Mangan-designed main and a beverage for the same amount. Sydney Opera House and The Rocks No fewer than 14 restaurants around the Sydney Opera House and The Rocks have struck deals with the festival folk. At Ananas Bar & Brasserie, indulge in two courses of One-Hatted French Mediterranean excellence for $55, including a glass of Marc Initale Brut. Equally adored by the critics, but Japanese in style, is the nearby Sake Restaurant & Bar, where you'll be able to exchange $55 for kingfish jalapeno and kombu trout paired with sake. Up on George Street, The Morrison Bar and Oyster Room will be selling a $30 special — duck fat fish and chips with mushy peas and homemade tartare sauce, accompanied by a glass of red or white. The Star Whether you're seeking out a feast to match your much-anticipated Dido & Aeneas experience or dropping by Darling Harbour to check out Merchants Store, you'll find a few options at The Star. Spend $55 at the undeniably elegant (even in a casino) Sokyo and receive two courses of your choice from the vast menu, or at the striking Balla for some Stefano Manfredi brilliance. Top image: Dining Room at the Park Hyatt.
In the lead-up to new Hollywood-set satire The Studio premiering its first season on Apple TV+, the streaming platform kept doing something that's a well-established element of the entertainment industry: name-dropping. This is the latest project from long-time collaborators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg after Superbad, Pineapple Express, This Is the End, Bad Neighbours and its sequel, The Interview, The Night Before and plenty more, with the pair co-creating, co-writing, co-directing and executive producing the series. Rogen (Mufasa: The Lion King) stars, with Catherine O'Hara (The Wild Robot), Ike Barinholtz (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Kathryn Hahn (Agatha All Along) and Chase Sui Wonders (City on Fire) rounding out the main cast. That's a starry group already. Across two trailers, however, a heap of guest parts and cameos were revealed — including for Bryan Cranston (Argylle), Zoë Kravitz (Blink Twice), Paul Dano (Fantasmas), Olivia Wilde (Don't Worry Darling), Charlize Theron (Fast X), Anthony Mackie (Captain America: Brave New World), Zac Efron (A Family Affair), Sarah Polley (Women Talking) Greta Lee (Past Lives), Ice Cube (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem), Rebecca Hall (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire), Adam Scott (Severance), Ron Howard (Jim Henson Idea Man) and Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon). A few days before the show's Wednesday, March 26, 2025 debut Down Under, the full list of well-known talents appearing on-screen arrived. Dave Franco (Love Lies Bleeding), Jean Smart (Hacks), Johnny Knoxville (The Luckiest Man in America), Josh Hutcherson (The Beekeeper), Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Ramy Youssef (Poor Things), Steve Buscemi (Transformers One), Zack Snyder (Rebel Moon), Aaron Sorkin (Being the Ricardos) and Parker Finn (Smile and Smile 2) are among them, too. It's clear through the roster of names, in The Studio's ten-part initial season itself, and from talking with a number of the show's cast and guiding forces: this is a series with the utmost of love for the art of making pictures, even as it savvily pokes fun at the whole business around movies. The task that Rogen and Goldberg have set themselves, and achieve winningly, is anchoring the act of parodying Tinseltown with details drawn from real-life experiences, assistance from that enviable lineup of Hollywood folks joining in and a celebratory insider spirit. Rogen plays Matt Remick, a film executive who has only ever wanted one job: to run the fictional Continental Studios. It doesn't take long for that dream to come true, or for the character to realise what being a studio head truly means. "I got into this because I love movies. But now I have this fear that my job is to ruin them," he tells his mentor and predecessor Patty Leigh (O'Hara). That line is indicative of The Studio's knack for turning reality into astute, acerbic but affectionate viewing — Rogen and Goldberg once heard it themselves, uttered by an IRL executive. "They're all really close to our experience in some way, shape or form," James Weaver — who co-runs Point Grey Pictures, the production company behind The Studio, with Rogen and Goldberg — tells Concrete Playground about the link between the series' characters and scenarios and actuality. That said, the team's own interactions across their careers were just the beginning. "We met with a lot of people in the industry who are friends of ours, who had run studios, et cetera, and tried to mine their experience for when we're not around. What do they say behind closed doors? And so I think we tried to have an understanding of what those conversations were like." Personal inspiration remains key across the show, though. "Giving a note to a filmmaker that you really respect, and a note that you know is not going to be popular, is something we've definitely had to do," Weaver continues. That 'been there, felt that' vibe is also crucial to the search for validation at the heart of The Studio. Everyone wants it, executives and megastars alike, whether by getting a gig, having their ideas heard, making a hit, leaving a legacy, winning awards, being thanked in public or being seen to have a worthy job. "Wanting to be thanked at an award show because that's the only evidence that you did anything on it is something that we've seen as well," Weaver advises. "I think we're hoping that that's coming through, that the authenticity of our experience is in the show, and that's partially, I think, what people seem to be liking." In Matt's Continental team, three fellow studio employees are rarely far from his side: Barinholtz's Sal Seperstein, another seasoned executive; Hahn's Maya Mason, the company's marketing head; and Wonders' Quinn Hackett, an up-and-comer. From their respective time in the business, each is familiar with the types of characters that they're portraying — and that knowledge played a part in their performances, sometimes directly and sometimes in a more general sense. "A lot of studio executives I've worked with over the years, some great, some not so great, but I pulled little moments from a lot of them and put them into Sal," Barinholtz notes. "I have not one specific person. What they wrote was what I basically followed. But as I was putting the costumes on, there's definitely some humans, one could say," Hahn says. For Wonders, "my best friend is an assistant to a director, and she is someone who's very precocious, very ready to take over the world, but definitely has to earn her stripes and bide her time, and I think lots of young, ambitious people can relate to that. So that's one person I had in mind." As Continental's execs weather everything from endeavouring to capitalise upon the intellectual property-driven movie trend by making a Kool-Aid flick to attempting to capture an expensive golden-hour one-take shot — plus missing footage, casting conundrums, trailer scandals, the Golden Globes and annual US movie theatre-owner convention CinemaCon — chaos is their baseline. Still, Wonders also sees the series as having "a big sense that if you love what you do and you do it with integrity, as sappy as that is, there is going to be something in it for you, some sort of goodwill that comes your way. I feel like these characters find they have sad lives where they just are so dedicated to this one thing, and at the end of the day they kind of find their family. So that's a nice universal message". [caption id="attachment_997078" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty Images.[/caption] And that oner? It isn't just a focus of a storyline within the show; long takes are also part of its own style. "It felt like every scene was a play, like you're doing a different play every scene — and just once you got dialled in, once we rehearsed and you knew what you were doing, it was really exhilarating to be in that zone," Barinholtz shares. "It's definitely more challenging, but then it's amazing how much you can accomplish," adds Hahn. "There's something heightened about doing it as a oner that I really, really love." We also chatted with Goldberg, Weaver, Barinholtz, Hahn and Wonders about the love that's baked into The Studio, that search for recognition that drives its characters, ensuring that the series is relatable far beyond Hollywood insiders, its visual approach, those cameos and more — including how Barinholtz and Hahn's past TV comedy roles on recent greats such as The Mindy Project, Parks and Recreation and The Afterparty came in handy. On How Everything in the Series, Jokes and Cameos Included, Filters Through the Show's Love for the Film Industry James: "At the beginning of the show, we really knew that this was going to be about having a show about how we love making movies. So I think it comes through the lens of that, everything that happens. So in terms of making jokes about A24 or some of the other companies that are in there, we've made movies with A24. They're great people. They do incredible work. And so I think the entire show is about our experience in Hollywood for the last 15 years, and I think we're trying to bring some truth and some sense of 'this is how it is', but also all through the lens of humour and fun. As far as the cameos, each of them came about in different ways. Some of them are people we've worked with in the past. Some people like Martin Scorsese or Zoë Kravitz, we met for the first time — and either through the script that Seth and Evan had written or through meetings, we talked to them about how we wanted to portray them in the show. And they were really excited and game. There is a history, whether it be The Player or The Larry Sanders Show, of Hollywood satirising itself. And so that was something that people understood, what we were going for, and people were really trusting and excited to be there. I think that we're not necessarily worried that people are going to see the show as some sort of takedown of Hollywood, because we love Hollywood and we love the fact that we get to make movies. It really is more of a presentation of our experience through the comedic lens than it is any takedown of the industry." On Barinholtz, Hahn and Wonders' First Impressions When The Studio Came Their Way Kathryn: "I mean, just to hear that these humans were involved. And I've never really worked with Seth and Evan together. And just the writing of it was just hilarious. And to think of these humans in those parts was really exciting. I couldn't wait to jump in." Chase: "They're telling very risky jokes, and I remember reading them on the page and thinking 'this is something I've heard behind closed doors, but never on television for all eternity'. So it's always good when you feel like you're doing something that's pushing boundaries." Ike: "I remember Seth called me and said 'hey, we're writing ...'. And I said 'I'm in'. And he said 'it's a show about Hollywood'. I said 'I'm in'. And he said 'Catherine O'Hara is going to be in it'. I said 'I'm in. I'm already in.'. It was the world's easiest 'yes'. It was just literally the world and the writing, and having them and Catherine — and Bryan Cranston, who is in really good physical shape. Beautiful body. It was the world's fastest and easiest 'yes'." On the Search for Validation That's at the Heart of the Show Evan: "I would say the nice thing about that element of the series is we set out not to make an aspirational version of Hollywood, but to make a real version of Hollywood. And that is the real version of Hollywood. People are very cynical and all that in the world today, but Hollywood is mostly people who are wildly passionate, care deeply and would rather do this than anything else in the world — no matter how high or low they are on the totem pole of success. People just are passionate in a way that most industries aren't. And so we get to tap into those hopes and dreams in making the show, merely by trying to replicate the real experiences we've had. And, of course, it doesn't always work out for people, and sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't, but the passion is the thing that bleeds through it all." On the Importance of Balancing Satire and Affection for the Cast — and the Fact That The Studio Takes the Art of Filmmaking Very Seriously Chase: "I think it's important. And one thing Seth and Evan really tried to hit is the realism of the comedy, and comedy born of situations where people are just trying their hardest and it's just these doofuses who can't quite get it right. It also helps when our production design is impeccable, the way we filmed it is so high-level and it just naturally lends itself to a more elevated, smart type of comedy than just a slapstick sort of thing." Kathryn: "Because everything is so elevated, you really feel a certain responsibility to uphold the world around you and the filmmaking around you. And there is less opportunity for hamming around. So everything feels very focused in a way that keeps the energy legit and high and focused." Ike: "Could not say it better than they just did, so I won't." [caption id="attachment_997090" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty Images.[/caption] On How Barinholtz and Hahn's Past Work on Fellow TV Comedies Such as The Mindy Project, Parks and Recreation and The Afterparty Helped Them on the Path to The Studio Kathryn: "All good ensembles." Ike: "Yes, yes." Kathryn: "Great ensembles." Ike: "Great showrunners." Kathryn: "Yes." Ike: "Great writing." Kathryn: "Great writing." Ike: "We're lucky to have been through a lot of those and seen how they all work. And this was different than all those, just because they went about it a different way. But I think you learn every time you do a show, every time you do an episode of a show or whatever, you learn something, you learn a new trick. So it definitely makes it easier." On the Elements of the Series That Most Felt Real for the Cast and Crew James: "It all feels real to us. I mean, I think we day to day are in these conversations about what kind thing to get behind in terms of a movie or TV show — or who's a filmmaker or a performer that we really believe in. Then we have to have those conversations about 'how is this thing going to make people money?'. It's really this idea of art versus commerce that I think is at the centre of what the show is. But as Evan was just saying, I think then you put overlay that with characters who care deeply about doing something artistic, but also care deeply about not getting fired. And so I think those two ideas are butting up against each other at all times. And that feels very real. The executives that we've been working with for 15 years are friends of ours. We've watched them get married to each other and there's a lot of like, a lot of community, in terms of the people that this show is portraying. And so it all feels very real to us when it goes through that lens. Seth and Evan are also just very, very funny people. So when it comes to making the jokes and the scenarios out of the real thing, they're just very talented at making that funny and entertaining. But it comes from a real place, and I think that's why hopefully people like respond to the show." Ike: "I'm friends with a lot of people who are studio executives, and I think they like to drink a lot. And so I stole that, and I drink a lot in the show. In real life, moderation — but in the show, I have a problem." Kathryn: "Always moderation." Ike: "Always moderation. That's the takeaway." Chase: "I think also studio execs are people who wield a lot of power, but when they're put in front of actors, who are these big personalities, they can be very shy and kind of cower away. And that's something that's both really fun to play the comedy of and also show the humanity of these characters." Ike: "That's a good answer." Kathryn: "I definitely have been in things in which I've seen the mockups for the posters or the possible trailers, and clearly no one has seen the show or the movie. They're so wildly not what the movie's about." Ike: "Yes, yes, yes." On Making the Series Relatable Outside of Hollywood Ike: "I think that the guys, Seth and Evan, did a very good job — even though the show is undeniably set in this world of movies and studios and executives, I think a lot of the situations in each of these episodes are things that everyone has dealt with. We've all had a boss who's gotten too drunk. We've all wanted credit for something and we are afraid we're not going to get credit for it. We've all been jealous of a coworker at some point. So I think a lot of the themes that they deal with in the episodes are universal, and whether you are someone who works in entertainment or around entertainment, or you have nothing to do with entertainment, you'll recognise a lot of those themes and scenarios, and hopefully they'll make you laugh." Kathryn: "Chances are people watch entertainment, so they'll get an idea of what the situations are. But also it's made with love, and so I think that's a different thing, too. There's such care for these characters and there's such love for this business of making movies, and nobody's really tearing down anybody. And I think that that also feels fun for an audience, too." On the Visual Approach When You're Making a TV Series About Filmmaking Evan: "For our show, the method we filmed it came from two different sources. One was, directorially Seth and I have done a lot of improv comedy feature films where we do a wide shot, medium and we get cross coverage of closeups, and then in editing we mess with all the improv we did. And we just wanted to do something very different, so we thought long extended takes would be a great way to do that and to make it more directorial as opposed to written and edited. Then through that conversation, we talked about how it could impact the actual storytelling — and the thing we wanted to embrace was the panic that a lot of these people experience in these jobs. These studio heads, even though they're very powerful and very passionate and very intelligent, they're often panicking because they can just lose their job for one big disaster. One flop and their whole job, maybe even their career, could be done or messed up for a long time. So we thought it would good to anchor people in that mania, and in that intensity, and let them feel the panic — and the best way to do that is make it feel like you are a person, like you are the cameraman, like there's an individual there. So we used one lens with long takes, and it whips back and forth just like your own head would if you were in that room experiencing the scenario that our characters are." On Working with Seth Rogen in His Many Roles on the Series: Star, Co-Creator, Co-Director, Co-Writer and Executive Producer Ike: "Oh man, I'd worked with him a couple times but never as a director. And he's really incredible, I think, at acting and being present in the scene — but he's watching everything. So if there's a slight little problem in a take, if the camera operator accidentally bumps into someone and the camera shakes for half a second, Seth has seen it. And he will just start laughing and go 'let's go again'. But he's just very tuned in. I'm very impressed at how much. You would think, that for who he is and what he ingests, he would be just not — but he is so freaking tuned in. And he's also just an incredibly good-natured guy. I think a lot of times, if something goes wrong, I've seen directors or producers blow their stack and get mad — and I don't know, it's just they're nice Canadian boys who just don't get that upset." [caption id="attachment_997093" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty Images.[/caption] Chase: "Doesn't yell, doesn't get mad." Ike: "They don't yell." Kathryn: "You could see sometimes when you screwed up and you're trying to find a word, and then you see him, you see him basically shake his head and look at you." Chase: "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Kathryn: "And you're like 'well, save me'." On the Securing The Studio's Many, Many Cameos James: "Martin Scorsese was someone that we all admire and never thought we would have a chance to meet. Seth and Evan wrote a script with him as that character, and we sent it to him and he read it, and he was like 'yeah, I'd love to do it'. And then all of our heads exploded, basically. But then people like Charlize Theron or Zac Efron, they're all people that we have worked with in the past, so they were people that we could talk to directly and say 'hey, we have this idea for a character for you in our show'. And then there were some new people we got to meet, like Zoë Kravitz or Olivia Wilde. They were characters that we wrote for the show, and we just had to meet with them and get their ideas on that character. Seth and Evan were on a lot of zooms with each of them before they signed on. But it was nice, because I think once Martin Scorsese said yes, there were several phone calls that I started with 'so Martin Scorsese's doing the show — so can you do the show?'. And that was really nice, because people would generally say 'yeah, sure'." The Studio streams via Apple TV+.
If a mysterious night away from the world you currently inhabit is what you're after, it's one you'll get with Underground Cinema. Known for throwing its participants terrifyingly head first into a live immersive experience, the purveyors of immersive cinema have 40 different temporary worlds under their belts. And their latest effort is themed 'Delirium'. Hints and rumours are all you'll get before you go, with the actual film screening always kept a secret – participants are meant to figure it out as they go, taking part in the interactive experience and collating all the clues. But what we do know is that Delirium will involve stepping back in time to the 1950s, into a mystery-thriller, and — as always — being taken to a location that remains secret until just before the event. In the past, Underground Cinema has put its audiences through a zombie apocalypse (28 Days Later), a medieval court (The Princess Bride) and a WWII throwback (Casablanca). What exactly you'll be doing in the 1950s remains to be seen but if past events are anything to judge by, you'll be fully plunged into the world from the get-go. As with all its events, there'll be hot food available and a full bar, so don't worry about getting stranded and hungry. You might just need that drink, too. The night will be sinister, judging by the description: "Walk the path of the condemned. Face the hidden insanity. Strive for the unspeakable truth, because when you see a monster you must stop it." Wear some sensible shoes and you'd better keep your wits about you as best you can — looks like there'll be a fight to be fought. The cinema will run over three nights at a secret Sydney location, from May 10–12.
Nevada's epic desert-based arts festival, Burning Man, is currently postponed due to nasty, nasty desert rain. The festival organisers, who have been keeping festivalgoers updated on Twitter, have officially shut down the main entrance after severe rain. With 70,000 'burners' expected to attend this year, holding up traffic much longer could prove a problem for the BM team. Rain continuing. Please do not come to Burning Man until you hear otherwise from official channels. — Burning Man Traffic (@bmantraffic) August 25, 2014 If you're not across it, Black Rock Desert's awaited annual festival hinges around the establishment of a temporary, trade-based community in the desert, sees the building of countless, epic art installations and outdoor live sets over the course of a week — not the ideal itinerary for bucketing rain. A long way from its humble San Francisco beginnings in 1986, founder Larry Harvey's desert bacchanal now has over 50 permanent staff, an army of volunteers and a seriously million-dollar budget, so the team won't be taking any willy nilly chances on this unexpected storm. The standing water has created a muddy mess, Bureau of Land Management dispatcher Mike Wilke told the Reno Gazette-Journal, so countless vehicles are being turned around on State Highway 447. Burning Man's tweets suggest the doors won't open until Tuesday midday at this point: BRC is closed until midday Tuesday due to rain and standing water. At the request of organizers, law enforcement is turning cars back. — Burning Man Traffic (@bmantraffic) August 25, 2014 With a fair bit of backlash this year surrounding the attendance of too many cashed-up techies (read: Sillicon valley billionaires), Burning Man punters are hoping the posers get disheartened by wet feet and Actually Camping. Via San Francisco Chronicle. Image: Reuters/Jim Urquhart.
When French stage actor Sarah Bernhardt performed in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, posters helped spread the word. The art that featured is as famous as the star herself. Responsible for the designs: Czech-born painter and illustrator Alphonse Mucha, who is virtually synonymous with Paris in the art nouveau period as a result. He's also the subject of the Art Gallery of New South Wales' huge 2024 winter showcase. AGNSW has unveiled its program for the year ahead, and its biggest-name exhibition is impressive. It'll also be exclusive to Sydney. Running from Saturday, June 15–Sunday, September 22, Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau will be the most-comprehensive showcase of the artist's work that Australia has ever seen, in fact. Posters for Bernhardt and others will feature, alongside illustrations, photographs, jewellery and interior decoration. Surveying Mucha's five-decade career, created in collaboration with the Mucha Foundation in Prague and featuring pieces from the Mucha Family Collection, Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau will also include a digital component. There, his painting cycle The Slav Epic from 1912–26 will get the immersive treatment. [caption id="attachment_942045" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alphonse Mucha 'Reverie' 1898, colour lithograph, 72.7 x 55.2 cm © Mucha Trust 2024 // Alphonse Mucha 'The Seasons: Summer' 1896, colour lithograph, 103 x 54 cm © Mucha Trust 2024. // Alphonse Mucha 'Princess Hyacinth' 1911, colour lithograph 125.5 x 83.5 cm © Mucha Trust 2024[/caption] "Thanks to the close and generous collaboration with the Mucha Foundation in Prague, this extensive exhibition brings many of Alphonse Mucha's exceptionally important works to Sydney, revealing an artist and designer whose powerful influence remains with us today, some 85 years after his death," said Art Gallery of New South Wales Director Michael Brand, announcing the exhibition. "Mucha was a prolific and versatile artist whose work spanned many areas of design, from the iconic theatrical posters that made his name, to design and advertising, to jewellery, sculpture and interior design, book illustration and, of course, painting." "As an artist, activist and philosopher, Mucha moved beyond art nouveau in his search for an art to elevate the human spirit, coming to focus attention on the socio-historical issues affecting the Slavic peoples then under the domination of the Austro-Hungarian Empire," Brand continued. [caption id="attachment_942047" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lesley Dumbrell 'Solstice' 1974, Liquitex on canvas, 173 x 296 cm, Art Gallery of New South Wales, purchased with funds provided by the Patrick White Bequest 2019 © Lesley Dumbrell.[/caption] Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau sits on AGNSW's 2024 lineup alongside a wealth of other reasons to hit the Sydney gallery. The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes will be back, of course, displaying across winter as well. The Volume festival, which debuted in 2023, will also return — albeit with dates and details to be confirmed. And the site is a venue for the 24th Biennale of Sydney from March–June, too. The abstract art of Australian talent Lesley Dumbrell, paintings and sculptures by South Korea's Lee Ufan and stepping into Wendy Sharpe's creative process are among the other highlights, from a list that goes on. One particular must-see: What Does the Jukebox Dream Of?, where the gallery will go big on defunct media — complete with Susan Hiller's large-scale installation Die gedanken sind frei (Thoughts are free), a customised Wurlitzer jukebox, which will hit Australia for the first time and play 100-plus anthems spanning centuries. [caption id="attachment_942046" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Susan Hiller 'Die gedanken sind frei (Thoughts are free)' 2012, 102 songs on customised Wurlitzer walnut jukebox, vinyl lettering, books, benches, sound, overall display dimensions variable, Art Gallery of New South Wales, gift of Geoff Ainsworth AM and Johanna Featherstone 2017 © Estate of Susan Hiller, courtesy Lisson Gallery, photo: Jack Hems.[/caption] Art Gallery of New South Wales' 2024 Exhibitions and Events: Until Sunday, March 10 — Kandinsky and Georgiana Houghton: Invisible Friends Until Sunday, April 28 — Louise Bourgeois: Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day? Until Sunday, April 21 — ARTEXPRESS 2024 Saturday, March 9–Monday, June 10 — 24th Biennale of Sydney: Ten Thousand Suns Saturday, March 9–Sunday, September 22 — What Does the Jukebox Dream Of? Saturday, March 9–Sunday, June 2 — Jelena Telecki: Mothers, Fathers Saturday, May 25–Sunday, August 11 — Wendy Sharpe: Spellbound Saturday, June 8–Sunday, September 8 — Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes 2024 Saturday, June 15–Sunday, September 22 — Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau Saturday, June 22–Monday, October 7 — Emily Hunt Saturday, July 30–Sunday, October 24 — Lesley Dumbrell: Thrum Saturday, August 31–September 2024 — Lee Ufan Saturday, September 14–Sunday, January 12 — Dobell Australian Drawing Biennial 2024 Saturday, September 21–mid 2025 — Angelica Mesiti: The Rites of When Saturday, November 2–Sunday, February 16 — Leyla Stevens Saturday, November 9–Sunday, February 9 — Nusra Latif Qureshi TBC — Volume 2024 [caption id="attachment_942048" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sampa the Great performing at the 2023 Volume Festival at the Art Gallery of NSW, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Daniel Boud.[/caption] For more information about the Art Gallery of New South Wales' 2024 exhibitions — all of which will occur at The Domain, Sydney — visit the venue's website. Top image: excerpt of Alphonse Mucha 'Reverie' 1898, colour lithograph, 72.7 x 55.2 cm © Mucha Trust 2024 // Alphonse Mucha 'The Seasons: Summer' 1896, colour lithograph, 103 x 54 cm © Mucha Trust 2024. // Alphonse Mucha 'Princess Hyacinth' 1911, colour lithograph 125.5 x 83.5 cm © Mucha Trust 2024
Go big by going small. That’s the philosophy of a group of local artists, who’ll next month launch a brand new exhibition space of truly pint-sized proportions. No larger than a breadbox, Sydney’s Smallest Gallery will showcase works the size of thimbles. Who’d have guessed that one of the biggest highlights of Sydney Art Month would require a magnifying glass in order to view it? The diminutive free gallery is the brainchild of Natalie Cheney and Stephen Clement, and will be housed inside the (regular sized) Nauti Studios in Stanmore. Only one person will be permitted to view the tiny gallery at the time, although it will be populated by several equally minuscule patrons. Contributors will include artists Cheney, Chris Kellan and Loni Thompson, as well as community science lab BioFoundry, who have produced a replica of the Mona Lisa made out of bacteria. Members of public can even submit pieces of their own, as long as they're less than 3cm x 3cm x 3cm. Sydney's Smallest Gallery is one of many must-see exhibitions on at this year's Sydney Art Month, which kicks off on Friday March 6 and runs until Sunday March 29. Another big standout on the program is the return of the Collector's Space, an annual exhibit displaying pieces from private collections. This year will showcase the collection of restaurateur Kylie Kwong and her partner, multidisciplinary artist Nell, as well as Max and Gabrielle Germanos’ extensive collection of work by Australian and indigenous artists. Further highlights include Art at Night — featuring after-dark openings of galleries all around the city — as well as ARTcycle tours, in which patrons bike from one art hotspot to another (although the less athletically-inclined might prefer an air conditioned bus). The Art Month program also includes a wide array of public talks, on topics ranging from video art to ceramics to art in the public space. All in all, this year's Art Month Sydney will include more than 100 participating galleries, from the big to the very, very small. For the full program, visit www.artmonthsydney.com.au. Image: Chicquero — Little People Project.
On a weeknight at the beginning of July, Bush very quietly opened its doors. Still learning the ropes of the business, Head Chef Grant Lawn and his team didn't want to overwhelm themselves. Despite their best efforts (or because of them), the George Street hole-in-the-wall quickly became a hit, and now regularly sells out of its burgers, pies and pud on the weekend. The brains behind the concept, Lawn saw the restaurant as an opportunity to bring the Australian bush back to the forefront of Sydney's dining landscape — by opening Bush right in the middle of Redfern. "I wanted to make a positive difference in the community," says Lawn. "Start a place that could bring people together and start conversations, while eating food inspired by the Australian outback." [caption id="attachment_735541" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kitti Gould[/caption] The menu is small (really small), but there isn't an item that doesn't look appealing. Curry 'roo party pies, cheeseburgers, fairy bread and butter pudding — it's as if the menu from your sixth birthday party got a revamp. While it seems like a fairly simple food lineup, Lawn says each dish aims to achieve something. The kangaroo pies, for example, help to emphasise the importance of kangaroo consumption. "There's an over-population of 'roos and it's good for the environment if we eat more," explains Lawn. "And there's nothing more familiar to the Australian audience than a pie — so what better way to consume it?'' You'll also find a (very good) American-style cheeseburger at Bush. It's certainly not Australian, but Lawn said they had to put it on the menu because "that's what Aussies want". For the meat-free folk, there's also a mean mushroom burger. There is one item on the menu that confuses us, however: the notoriously un-Australian bloomin' onion. "Yes", laughs Lawn, "but we're taking it back and reinventing it!". [caption id="attachment_735544" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kitti Gould[/caption] Born and raised in Sydney, Lawn briefly studied landscape architecture before turning his focus to cooking. While he was playing around with the idea of opening his own restaurant, he realised he could combine the two by landscaping a restaurant to resemble the Australian bush he grew up in. Which is exactly what he did. The space is filled with roughly cut stools and long wooden tables, native Australian plants adorn the tables and you'll spot stuffed toy versions of native Australian fauna hidden around, too. Bush started as a pop-up in popular Sydney establishments like Young Henrys, before Lawn found the perfect spot in Redfern to set up shop permanently. In the future, Lawn plans to host live acoustic shows, 'locals nights' and workshops. To get to the front of the line, you can join the Bush Club for first dibs on future live shows and degustation nights. Find Bush at 55 George Street, Redfern. It's open from Tuesday–Saturday midday–10pm. Images: Kitti Gould
Wolgan Valley sits between Gardens of Stone National Park and Newnes Plateau. Somewhere in the middle is Donkey Mountain. Reaching its summit involves weaving your way through an adventurer's paradise — in and out of canyons, pagodas and caves splashed with rock orchids, ferns and natural vertical gardens. The trails are largely unmarked and difficult to navigate, so it's best to come prepared for a challenge and take a compass/GPS or an experienced climber. We recommend staying the night before at the nearby Newnes campground to allow plenty of time to explore the region. Image: Destination NSW
While you should always be aiming to make your mum feel like your number one lady, fast-approaching is the one day of the year when you must pull out all stops for the lady who made you. This year, Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel is paying a grand homage to the women without whom we wouldn't be here, with both a decadent brunch, and a lunchtime feast on Mother's Day. Brunch ($55 per person) kicks off with sparkling on arrival, and a seasonal spread of fruit and yoghurt to start. After that, delights on offer include baked turkish eggs, a crab and leek frittata and the slightly more lavish ricotta hotcakes with toffee banana, whipped maple syrup butter and hazelnuts. If your mum has decided she deserves a sleep in (which she does), there's a three-course lunch option for $80 that kicks off with a glass of sparkling rosé. A decadent seafood tasting plate to start is followed by roasted picanha (sirloin) beef, crispy pork belly, hot smoked king salmon and a delicate tiramisu for dessert. As we were all so often reminded when we were young, every day is Kid's Day, so when Sunday, May 14 rolls around, treat your ma to a seaside meal to let her know she's the best there could possibly be. Bookings are essential — make sure you call Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel to reserve a spot.
Memory plays are often tedious, for the simple reason that nothing much happens. It takes a skilled writer to set plot lines, past and present, on courses that dramatically impact each other. Moving Parts, currently playing at NIDA's Parade Theatre, is ad man David Nobay's first play and he has not avoided the pitfalls of the form. The play is set in a luxury watch store on London's Bond Street. A man (Josh McConville) enters, ostensibly to buy a £20,000 watch from the cranky old salesman (Colin Friels), only to reveal himself as the salesman's estranged son, seeking reconciliation. This, and each dramatic turn thereafter, is so predictable that Nobay seems to be playing double bluff with us. He's not. His use of the watch as a poetic symbol is quaint to start off with and then becomes tedious. The salesman's eloquent descriptions of time and precision are incongruous with his otherwise rough character — a reformed, racist alcoholic. Nobay may not be winning with his text but he has surrounded himself with a great creative team. What the text lacks in structure and originality, the production makes up for with quality. Sound designer Jack Ladder gives us beautiful, melancholy piano music; set designer Steven Jones-Evans has created a sumptuous, carpeted set with sage tiled walls and glowing pink display cabinets; and Russell Boyd's lighting design sheds a dusky warmth over the space. Steve Rogers' direction is clean and simple, using stillness to good effect in a number of scenes. The father and son combo of Friels and McConville is very easy to watch — their pace and connection is upbeat and together they make light work of some grotesquely poetic lines. Friels is returning to familiar, washed up salesman territory here after his portrayal of Willie Loman in Simon Stone's production of Death of a Salesman. In Moving Parts he displays that same wonderful fragility, but here Loman's idealism is replaced with bitterness. Friels' wandering London accent is inoffensive until McConville mimics him for a few lines with a superior accent. McConville matches Friels' performance and the power play over his father as a paying customer is fun to watch, especially when he orders him to "do your fucking job and seduce me". It may be a pertinent imperative for the production in general — a bit more theatrical wooing from these advertising pros could be in order. It's a pleasant show, but no seduction.
Griffin Theatre Company's 2019 swan song — First Love is the Revolution by Rita Kalnejais — delivers another riff on the tale of doomed lovers Romeo and Juliet, with one very obvious difference: an inter-species pairing. Director Lee Lewis says it's the perfect play to lead into the Christmas season, even though it's gory as hell. In other words, it's a classic tale of adolescent love, just a little harder to see through all the flying blood and viscera. Actually, it's more complicated than that. Rdeca (Sarah Meacham) is a fox, and her mum thinks it's time Rdeca started ticking the 'kills other living creatures' box on her fox resume. With the pressure mounting for her to disembowel a mole, Rdeca finds herself the captive of Basti (Bardiya McKinnon), a boy who is bullied at school and largely ignored at home. It's no small surprise to either of them when they begin to develop intense feelings for each other. Is it animal instinct? Or human empathy? One thing's for sure — a lot of characters' insides are going to be on the outside by the time these star-crossed lovers are through. First Love is the Revolution will run from Friday, November 1 through to Saturday, December 14 every day except Sundays.
We can all agree that the annual racing carnival should just be renamed the Season of Bubbles. It's a great occasion to splash out, pop Champagne and eat cheese like it's going out of fashion. And the good people at Mumm — purveyors of fine Champagne, fun times and free holidays — want to take you there. They're giving away a luxe Melbourne Cup Emirates Stakes Day experience and, trust us, you don't want to miss this. The winner — and their luckiest friend — will win a killer race-day adventure. Fly to Melbourne (from Brisbane or Sydney) and prepare to be chauffeured around by a private car (to and from your five-star hotel, mind you). You'll have access to the Mumm Marquee, too, where you'll enjoy flutes of Mumm Champagne, delicious canapes and a big screen to take it all in. And because Mumm knows how to take care of you, they've set up a luxurious (and greasy) breakfast at your hotel the next day, before your private car whisks you back to the airport. Now that's race day glamour. To enter, see details below. If you're a Sydneysider and don't win the comp, fret not. You can head down to the Cup Day Festival at Barangaroo — there'll be pop-up eateries, live music and, of course, plenty of Mumm to go around. Entry into the event is free and Barangaroo's restaurants and bars will be serving up race-day specials (many of which include complimentary Champagne). Splash out on seafood at Cirrus, a Shanghai feast at Lotus or a nine-course Turkish banquet at Anason. We'll tip our hats to that. [competition]642528[/competition]
Darling Harbour nightclub Home the Venue is swapping the sticky dance floor for sticky sheets. It's making its triumphant post-COVID-19 comeback this March, but instead of letting revellers dance on vodka cranberry-covered floors, it's letting them party in queen-sized beds. Launching on Friday, March 5 in time for this year's Mardi Gras celebrations, In Bed @ Home will see the harbourside venue transformed into a left-of-centre entertainment experience. The entire nightclub's dance floor has been filled with beds , in which you're offered a 'bedside' drinks service and you can watch two different shows. There's the Cirkus Bizurkus, with comedy, cabaret, burlesque and magic; and Pretty Masc, which is being pitched as a "gender-bending underground performance". A nightclub with beds isn't an entirely new concept, however. In fact, visiting a fictional club with beds is the theme of an episode of Sex in the City and several very real clubs with queen-sized comfort opened in the US and the UK in the late 90s and early 2000s. But, it's still a novel concept here in Sydney — and reflective of the times, where limits and restrictions on dancing exist because of a certain pandemic. That said, while nightclub experiences are still few and far between, tickets are getting snapped up quick. If you'd like to try out the new slumber party-cum-nightclub, you can already snap up tickets for $50 a pop. In Bed @ Home launches at Home the Venue, 101/1–5 Wheat Road, Darling Harbour on Friday, March 5. Tickets are available to purchase via homesydney.com.
Something delightful is happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are starting to reopen — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney and Brisbane (and, until the newly reinstated stay-at-home orders, Melbourne as well). During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made over the past three months, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtVe_8CS6vU RADIOACTIVE Even without sourcing and quoting an exact number, it's obvious that an immense amount of people owe their lives to Marie and Pierre Curie's research on radioactivity. Without their work — Marie's passion project, which she reluctantly agreed to collaborate on with Pierre after they first crossed paths in Paris — cancer treatment would've likely been vastly different over the past century. The results for scores of cancer patients would've been as well. But the pair's discovery of two new elements, radium and polonium, also led to disturbing side effects and cataclysmic events that changed the course of history in other ways. Radioactive touches upon both, from life-saving oncology usage and the ability to conduct x-rays on World War I battlefields to the bombing of Hiroshima and Chernobyl's nuclear reactor meltdown. Via the inclusion of clips in a 50s hospital, in Japan, in the Ukraine and at a nuclear bomb test in Nevada in 1961, this becomes a far more thoughtful feature than its usual biopic trappings often indicate (and make no mistake, much of the script reads from the biopic-101 playbook). It might seem strange for a film about Marie to leap forward at different moments, jumping to years and decades past her death in 1934, all to show how the physicist and chemist's work made and continues to make a colossal impact upon the world. But that's the most interesting thing about Radioactive: its willingness to contemplate both the significant benefits and proven dangers of Marie (Rosamund Pike, an Oscar-nominee for Gone Girl) and Pierre's (Sam Riley, Rebecca) pioneering discoveries. The latter is tasked with vocalising this battle in his acceptance speech for their shared 1903 Nobel Prize in physics, acknowledging the struggle but opining that "mankind will derive more good than harm". As directed by Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) and adapted from Lauren Redniss' graphic novel about the Curies, Radioactive film doesn't simply take Pierre at his word, however. It shows his radiation sickness, and Marie's. It touches upon the backlash when news of radioactivity's health effects started becoming widely known. And those aforementioned flash-forwards to both positive and negative applications of the Curies' research keep the same conversation going, because Radioactive doesn't try to offer a right or wrong answer. Something can be two things at once, after all, as this often-probing movie shows in a variety of ways. Read our full review. https://vimeo.com/451401547#at=17 BRAZEN HUSSIES Chatting to activists involved in Australia's women's liberation movement during the 60s and 70s, Brazen Hussies doesn't lack in witty and wise ladies making pivotal points. But it's filmmaker Margot Nash (The Silences) who offers one of this documentary's most telling observations, and the one that crystallises exactly why this movie had to be made. "History has to be told over and over again," she advises. She's a talking head in the film, rather than the writer or director behind it — those roles fall to first-timer Catherine Dwyer — but she couldn't encapsulate Brazen Hussies' purpose any better if she was the doco's driving force. As the feature explains, it's easy for people to overlook this chapter of history, and the fact that it all happened so recently. It's easy to forget that women's lives were drastically different, as was the way they were regarded by the world around them. Brazen Hussies surveys pay inequality, legal abortion, funding for childcare, the way both queer women and Indigenous Australian women are treated, society's abhorrence of female sexuality and the first Advisor on Women's Affairs to a head of government anywhere in the world — plus everything from tackling domestic violence and the victim-blaming that can go along with it, to the simple struggle to survive that single mothers faced as well. But this happens in tandem with a historical recounting of Australia's actual fight for women's liberation, with Dwyer inspired by working on 2014 documentary She's Beautiful When She's Angry (which did the same from a US perspective). She examines what drove the more than 25 women she counts among her eponymous group to act and what they achieved, of course. At every moment, however, she's just as interested in how they battled for that change. Having access to a treasure trove of materials helps considerably in this engaging, informative and impassioned film. If the doco's talking-head lineup is impressive, it's bested only by the immense range of archival images and footage that Dwyer and editor Rosie Jones (director of The Family) splice together. With the rest of the filmmaking team, the pair sifted through more than 4000 photographs, journals, artworks and posters, and 800-plus news clips, documentaries and dramatic movies — and, unsurprisingly, Brazen Hussies is all the more detailed for it. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roo8p8sDX24&feature=emb_logo A LION RETURNS Following the clandestine return of a radicalised Muslim man to Sydney to see his dying mother, A Lion Returns is a film about extreme actions and the consequences they bring. And yet, as written and directed by Serhat Caradee — marking his second feature after 2009's Cedar Boys — it's a movie driven primarily by talk about those actions. Indeed, its opening third takes place in a car outside the Alamein family residence, where brothers Omar (Danny Elacci, Trust) and Jamal (Tyler De Nawi, On the Ropes) reunite in secret while their relatives gather inside. Before academic Omar can work out how to usher Jamal inside without anyone else seeing, especially their father Yusef (Taffy Hany, East West 101) who is likely to call the police, the siblings discuss everything that has led them to this juncture. Omar outlines the grim health predicament their ailing mother Manal (Helen Chebatte, Alex & Eve) faces, with hospice her next step. He also demands answers from Jamal about why he left his own wife (Jacqui Purvis, Neighbours) and young son to fight in Syria, makes his brother explain exactly what he did during his time with the Islamic State and tries to ascertain what he hopes to achieve by making a comeback. A Lion Returns is so dialogue-heavy — and so driven by two- and three-way conversations about bonds of family, faith, the lengths one will go to for both and the repercussions that follow — that it could've easily graced the stage instead of the big screen. But there's an intimacy to this independent, low-budget, shot-in-ten-days Australian drama about ripped-from-the-headline matters that's cinematic. Set in an ordinary vehicle and a just-as-standard suburban home, and unfurling in real time, its visuals mightn't provide an overt spectacle; however, the connection that Caradee evokes with his complicated characters, and with the complex ideas and themes they discuss and sift through, benefits from the film's ability to get literally close to the animated chatter happening within its frames. This is a feature that makes every move possible to place its audience in the heat of the moment with its arguing family members, to share their tension and to confront the same thorny issues with them, and does so with precision. There are few surprises, narrative-wise, as not only Jamal's abandoned loved ones but the defector himself grapple with his choices and the shadows they've left overseas and at home, but A Lion Returns excavates a difficult situation with assurance and poise, as well as with passionate performances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPie_hKO6pM IP MAN: KUNG FU MASTER It's unlikely that filmmakers will ever get sick of making movies about Ip Man, much in the same way that they never seem to tire of bringing the likes of Sherlock Holmes and Dracula to the screen. Ip Man was a real person, though. A martial arts grandmaster in the kung fu style known as Wing Chun, his life spanned fascinating chapters in both mainland China and Hong Kong, including a stint with the police force and training Bruce Lee — and it has also spawned many a film over the past couple of decades as a result. Ip Man features in movies about Lee, naturally. He has been the driving force behind the Donnie Yen-starring Ip Man, Ip Man 2, Ip Man 3 and Ip Man 4: The Finale, too, and Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmaster as well. And, first in The Legend Is Born – Ip Man, then in Kung Fu League and now in Ip Man: Kung Fu Master, he has been played by wushu champion-turned-actor Dennis To (who actually had a minor role in Ip Man and Ip Man 2). In Ip Man: Kung Fu Master, To steps into the famed figure's shoes during his law enforcement stint in Foshan. First, he's the subject of a revenge scheme by the daughter of a mobster who is killed in police custody despite Ip Man's best efforts to ensure otherwise. Then, he's targeted by the Japanese army as they make their presence known in the period between the first and second Sino-Japanese wars. Both elements of the story intertwine — as does the birth of Ip Man's first son, and his need to protect his family as multiple parties endeavour to hunt him down — but writer/director Li Liming is far more interested in the movie's frenetically choreographed martial arts scenes than its narrative. Indeed, anything that doesn't involve fighting often feels like filler. There's no doubting the impact of Ip Man: Kung Fu Master's balletic displays of flying fists, though, or how stylishly they're shot. They can't substantially lift a film that'll never be the go-to Ip Man movie, or even one of the best flicks about him either, but they're the standout elements of an otherwise average movie. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23 and July 30; August 6, August 13, August 20 and August 27; September 3, September 10, September 17 and September 24; and October 1, October 8, October 15, October 22 and October 29. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Personal History of David Copperfield, Waves, The King of Staten Island, Babyteeth, Deerskin, Peninsula, Tenet, Les Misérables, The New Mutants, Bill & Ted Face the Music, The Translators, An American Pickle. The High Note, On the Rocks, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Antebellum, Miss Juneteenth, Savage, I Am Greta, Rebecca, Kajillionaire, Baby Done, Corpus Christi, Never Rarely Sometimes Always and The Craft: Legacy. Top image: A Lion Returns via Bonafide Pictures.
Ever wanted to experience an American 1950s nightclub? For three nights only, Little Egypt's Speakeasy at Camelot Lounge's Django Bar might just be the closest you'll get to the real thing. Inspired by a real character from the era, exotic dancer Little Egypt, Little Egypt's Speakeasy is a "rhythm and blues burlesque concert drama" and tells the story of Little Egypt and her gang as they try to save their beloved Phoenix club from redevelopment. The show's predecessor, Little Egypt's Burlesque featured at Sydney Festival in the Spiegeltent in 2012 and then had a follow up run at The Basement the year after. And with a cast covering '50s classics from Fats Domino, Big Mama Thornton, Ray Charles and The Coasters, as well as some original compositions, you know you're in good hands. For burlesque with a side of soul, look no further.
Skip the hassle of flights, long airport queues and overcrowded tourist traps, and embark on a Euro-inspired adventure in the renowned food and wine region of Orange, NSW, instead. With world-class wineries and notable restaurants dotted across rolling hills and endless vineyards, Orange combines a European bon vivant lifestyle with the easygoing, laidback charm of Australia. Its spectacular views, superb eateries and top-notch wineries will have you feeling like you've crossed continents, without having to leave the country. Want to know where to start? Here's how to soak up those Euro-summer feels in Orange and its surroundings. Scenic Views First, you'll need to set the scene so you can really kickstart your cross-continental holiday. Channel the serene beauty and rustic magic of the European countryside at one of Orange's scenic landscapes. Situated below Mount Canobolas, Lake Canobolas is an idyllic spot for swimming, hiking, cycling or just basking in the sun with a picnic. Spice up your Euro-inspired adventure with some uniquely Australian flora and fauna — you are still home after all — as you make your way up to Pinnacle Lookout or Federal Falls for panoramic views across Towac Valley, Canobolas and beyond. For those seeking an expedition with a Euro twist, hop on a bike and pedal through the picturesque countryside of Orange and its surrounding villages. There are numerous trails to choose from in the region, no matter your skill level. With endless scenic routes, you'll be stopping every few kilometres just to take in the views. Delightful Dining Now that you've worked up an appetite, it's time to settle in for a leisurely long meal with indulgent dishes, flowing wine and good company. Transport yourself to Italy at Lucetta Dining or Fiorini's, which both offer authentic Italian fare in the heart of the region. Hidden in an unassuming barn, Fiorini's serves a selection of traditional dishes — think rigatoni alla carbonara, spaghetti alla vongole, saltimbocca alla Romana — in a warm, homey space that feels like a family-run restaurant in the Italian countryside. Lucetta Dining is a touch more glamorous, dishing out contemporary plates in an intimate, industrial space. The menu includes pesce crudo with yuzu; burrata with fermented chilli oil and bottarga; pappardelle with mixed mushroom ragu, mascarpone and truffle pecorino; and lamb rump with leek, bronze fennel and rosemary caramel. For dining with a view akin to feasting under the Tuscan sun, head to Rowlee Dining & Bar for family-style, farm-to-table plates amidst the winery's sprawling rows of vines. If you're just after a quick bite, you can also nibble on snacks and smaller plates at the Garden Bar. With a restaurant, outdoor courtyard and bar, The Union Bank will see you through from day to night with aperitifs, wines and modern-European plates. Housed in a historic bank dating back over 165 years, the spacious venue slings dishes such as crudo with blood orange, bone marrow with salsa roja, and sirloin with miso bagna cauda, along with additional options for an express lunch and set menus for groups. Sun-drenched Sips You don't need to jet off to sip world-class wines amid breathtaking scenery — Orange's 40-plus cool-climate vineyards bring a slice of Europe to you. Start your journey at celebrated local winery Nashdale Lane, where you can savour local drops as you take in sweeping views across the vineyard. In fact, Nashdale Lane Wines was dreamt up while the team were visiting a vineyard in Radda in Chianti, so you can expect strong European influences. Continue your taste of Italy at See Saw Wines, where you can sit al fresco and sip the only locally produced prosecco in the region. Next up on your vineyard tour is a stop-in at Tamburlaine Organic Wines. Sample Tamburlaine's range of organic, vegan-friendly and low-sulphur wines at its cosy cellar door in nearby Millthorpe. While you're there, discover the village's charming assortment of boutiques, cafes, wineries and bed-and-breakfasts. Head to Mayfield Vineyard or Logan Wines for more impressive vistas and unconventional wines. At Mayfield Vineyard, you'll be able to taste elegant minimal-intervention wines in rustic, French-inspired surrounds, before kicking back with a vino in the airy and sun-filled cellar door at Logan Wines' new Orange location. If you're overwhelmed by the sheer amount of wineries to choose from, let someone else handle the decisions (and the driving) with Orange Private Tours or Orange Trike Tours. Plan your trip now to the Orange Region at the Orange360 website. Additional author: Orlaith Costello Images: courtesy of Destination NSW and Orange360.
Winter is here, the gloves and beanies are out of storage, and it's time to start loading up on sweets and carbs. That's how every June starts — and, this year, Krispy Kreme wants to help with the latter. How? By giving away an extremely excessive number of doughnuts. You're probably now wondering what constitutes an excessive amount of doughnuts. Polishing off a packet by yourself doesn't count, at least in this instance. Krispy Kreme's giveaway is going big, with the chain slinging 100,000 doughnuts in conjunction with National Doughnut Day. Whether or not you're a big fan of food 'days', we're guessing you are quite fond of free doughnuts. To snag yourself a signature glazed freebie, head to your closest store in Sydney, Brisbane or Perth on Friday, June 4. Sydneysiders have 11 stores — stretching from Penrith to the CBD — to choose from, while Queenslanders can pick from seven different doughnut shops, with the most central in Albert Street in the CBD. And, in Perth, you can head to one of four Krispy Kreme stores. The deal isn't available at BP outlets, 7-Eleven stores, Jesters or Woolworths, or in states other than New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Because of stay-at-home restrictions in Victoria, National Doughnut Day won't be celebrated in the state just yet. Krispy Kreme plans to in the future, though — we'll keep you updated when something eventuates. The 100,000 doughnuts will be spread across the participating stores, so you'll want to get in relatively early if you want to kick off your Friday with a free sweet and doughy treat. Krispy Kreme's free doughnut giveaway is happening in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth on Friday, June 4. To find your closest store and check its opening hours, head to the Krispy Kreme website.
Degustation menus are an art and an experience, taking diners' tastebuds on a delicately curated journey, as Sydney restaurant NEL lives and breathes all year round. Chef and namesake Nelly Robinson likes pushing the concept further, however, as visitors to the Wentworth Avenue venue know. Maybe you tucked into his KFC-inspired spread in 2022. Perhaps you enjoyed nel's Moulin Rouge!-themed and Christmas degustations, too. Either way, you should now be adding the eatery's latest menu to your must-try list: an 11-course lineup dedicated to native Australian ingredients. On offer from Tuesday, January 17–Saturday, March 25, NEL's current degustation is a collaboration between Robinson and a guest Indigenous chef, with sustainably sourced ingredients from outback Australia at its heart. It's also a concept that's been in the works for some time, and marks NEL's first-ever degustation to hero native Aussie fare. "We are very lucky to have a forager who sources the Indigenous ingredients for us, as well as our suppliers," says Robinson, who notes that the latter work closely with local Indigenous communities. "Being from the UK, discovering these ingredients has been a real learning process. We honour the culinary stories behind them whilst pushing boundaries to continue to be at the forefront of innovation and creativity with all of our dishes," Robinson continues. On the menu: 11 dishes featuring wild barramundi, kangaroo, lemon myrtle, pepper berries, bush tomatoes and more. Some courses include native dill, others bunya nuts — and Kakadu plums get a showing as well. Accordingly, diners can look forward to saltbush mussels in a native curry sauce, scallops with warrigal green salsa and Kakadu lamingtons. Plus, there's also lemon myrtle meringue, wildfire barramundi and bush bread on offer, all immaculately plated as always. Sydneysiders can tuck in for $185 per person, with another $165 each on top for matched beverages. Or, you can sip paired non-boozy drinks for $85 instead. NEL's native Australian degustation is on offer on from Tuesday, January 17–Saturday, March 25 at 75 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney. For more information or to book, head to the NEL website.
April Fools Day. It's been a week now and still there are stories circulating the internet which are, in actual fact, hoaxes and jokeses. Have the amazing leaps forward in technology of late turned us all into gullible fools? Personally, I think it's nice there are so many people out there who still believe that almost anything is possible. Here's Concrete Playground's top 3 picks of "technological innovation" suspiciously released on April 1: The Typescreen Oh, but the author in me wishes this was true! It's a typewriting mechanism that integrates with Apple's iPad and it's ever so trendy. Perfect for those who live for the clacking of keys when composing prose. But it's easy to see through it all when you read the fine print of the press release: "Every generation creates a few items that change the way we live forever and help us reinterpret who we are as a society. We are proud of the new Spinning Hat Typescreen™ and are excited to watch its trajectory towards greatness. You're welcome world!" Digital Film Cartridge for Analog Cameras If you're a lover of Leica but craving to go digital, these fake film canisters released by design company Rogge & Pott could be the solution. Purporting to incorporate a pull-out sensor that records images in the cartridge's built-in memory, it connects to your computer via USB to allow for image transfer and charging. The site where you'll find all the details now features an April Fools disclaimer. Turns out heaps of peeps believed the gimmick and are now disappointed that the product doesn't actually exist. The company did discover, however, that with such a widespread interest in the product it might be worth researching the possibility of actually developing it. Henny Rogge says "...there is a gigantic community of photographers with analog equipment out there that is desperately waiting for a product like this to come along." https://youtube.com/watch?v=Bu927_ul_X0 Gmail Motion Try to keep a straight face when watching the model demonstrate gmailing by body movements. In Gmail Motion, the equivalent of pressing "Send" is to make a movement inspired by licking a stamp and whacking it on your knee. It claims easy to learn, simple and intuitive gestures. Plus the opinions of seemingly knowledgeable persons are added into the video for good measure. Amazingly, though, development of technology similar to Gmail Motion is underway at the University of Southern California. Using some of the gestures suggested by Gmail Motion, one of the students demonstrates how it works. In my mind, April Fools Day isn't just for a bit of a laugh. Like science fiction, it inspires inventors to get cracking on the next big thing, which could very well "reinterpret who we are as a society."
With the days growing shorter and the nights growing colder, comfort food is coming into its own and nothing is more comforting than a traditional Sunday roast. Perhaps previously associated with stodgy British pub fare, or laborious home cooking, the Sunday roast is becoming more of a gourmet affair in Sydney pubs, with great care taken to recreate and reimagine the classic British meal. The following is a list of our pick of the finest pub roasts in Sydney, sure to chase away the winter blues and provide a hearty feed.
