Girls to the front — and to the stage, to the crowd and to the markets. At Sydney's annual Women in Music Empowerment Day, an all-female lineup will be showcasing rockin', creative and all-round kick-ass ladies across a feast of sounds, art and more. Taking over Newtown's Miss Peaches from 2pm on September 24, the event is the product of Deeper Than House, Stayfly Sydney, Yeah The Girls, Coven Presents and Honey's hard work, with the local crews curating quite the celebratory day for women, non-binary and minority peoples. First, tap your toes to the music of SCABZ, Clueless, Val York, SPORTS, Ines, Jannah Beth and more. Then, wander through stalls selling Mami Watta Collections, Haus of Dizzy, Karameleon and BadGirl Garden's wares. Finally, listen to a panel about gender-related industry challenges, with ALPHAMAMA, FlexMami, Poppy Reid, Rachel Maria Cox and Kailei Ginman among the smart cookies joining in. Live art by Lotte Smith and Sophieaye, and live performances by LUMI SPINNERS, Bella Fuego Entertainment and DES FLEURS are also on the agenda, in what promises to be a jam-packed, empowering Saturday. Tickets cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door, with all proceeds raised going to The Girls Refuge, who offer a supportive, home-like environment for young wom*n who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness due to a number of factors.
Warmer weather means sunny afternoons soaking up some rays with a refreshing beverage in hand. Long weekends too. All of the above combines at Opera Bar Sydney's newest event, aka the ideal way to spend three days off — plus the Friday evening before the fun really begins. From September 29 until October 2, the watering hole with a watery view will be thinking and drinking pink thanks to the Rosé All Day Festival. They'll also be encouraging patrons to wear their favourite hue, be it carnation, cerise, fuchsia, magenta or ruby, and handing out floral crowns to the first 50 guests each day. Drinks-wise, expect the wine of the moment, including frosé, rosé cocktails, rosé spritz, still and sparkling, with varieties such as Yangarra Pet Nat Sparkling, Craggy Range Rosé, AIX Rosé and Pink Claw Grenache Rosé on offer. The Opera Bar's Meat & Cheese Room will even become the Rosé Room for the occasion, while live music will provide a cheery, chilled-out soundtrack. Tickets cost $35 + booking fee in advance or $40 on the day, and include three rosé tipples of your choice. Further plonk, plus platters of oysters and cheese, will also be available to purchase.
Even if you're reading this on a device, it's probably about this point in the article (I don't take it personally) that you've started groping around absentmindedly for your secondary gadget – a mobile, tablet, whatever, as your attention span announces that it's finished grazing here and is ready to migrate to the next digital savannah. In part, this behaviour is driven by a glut of choice. But what if you were using it as a way to deal with your child disappearing? Darlinghurst Theatre's latest show tells the story of Theresa, CEO of the company responsible for creating the Drum, a device which is leaving the iPhone in the dust. When her daughter vanishes while they're on holiday, Theresa finds herself bereft of one of the only meaningful human connections she has. Initially, social media is purely a means for Theresa to find her daughter. But gradually she finds it becoming something more. Not a replacement, necessarily. A bridge, perhaps. But why am I telling you this? It seems ironic to not just give you the link.
Women, adventure and filmmaking go hand-in-hand, even if the world doesn't often recognise it. The best surfing and skydiving movie ever made — that is, the original Point Break — was directed by a pre-Oscar-winning Kathryn Bigelow, for example. At the Women's Adventure Film Tour, she has plenty of fantastic female company. Australia's first film festival dedicated to inspiring ladies doing exciting and extraordinary things, the cinema showcase launched in Sydney in May, and now it's doing a national tour. On its trek, attendees can expect a high-octane onslaught of documentary efforts from Telluride's Mountainfilm festival, all highlighting real stories about women. The fest's selection also draws from a variety of cultures, touches upon a range of sports from around the world, and shows ladies either going full daredevil or stepping beyond their comfort zones — because adventure means different things to different people. A collaboration between Mountainfilm and female-fronted collective She Went Wild, it stops by The Orpheum on September 5, with tickets $25 for adults.
It was true 20 years ago and it's still true today: if you're going to take a bright, bold and utterly outlandish trip into a futuristic vision of space, you really want to take it with Luc Besson. Two decades after the French filmmaker rode a multi-pass to sci-fi space opera infamy with The Fifth Element, he's back doing what he does best. And while Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets can't quite match its cult classic predecessor, it has a vivid, energetic and involving time trying to do so. This isn't just a case of same director, same tricks, however. While there's much that looks and feels familiar about this account of intergalactic cops on an interstellar adventure, Besson is adapting one of his strongest sources of inspiration rather than simply reliving past glories. That'd be '60s French-Belgian comic Valérian et Laureline, which the writer-director first discovered as a kid, and which clearly left an imprint on his aesthetic. It also reportedly influenced the original Star Wars, though George Lucas' flicks didn't feature Rihanna as an enslaved blue blob who shape-shifts while singing and pole-dancing. More's the pity. As great as a film about the scene-stealing pop star would be, she's not the main point of focus. Instead, the decidedly human Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and his partner-in-crime Laureline (Cara Delevingne) take centre stage. He's laid-back (but still law-abiding), while she's a feistily determined risk-taker. It's the 28th century, and they're enjoying a simulated stint at the beach while they hurtle towards their next mission. But Valerian's virtual sun and sand is interrupted by a vision of a similarly scenic planet in peril. When the duo is charged with recovering a highly coveted converter that can replicate any substance en masse, they discover the link between Valerian's dream, the task at hand, and the fact that colossal space station Alpha — a meeting place for all of the galaxy's inhabitants — is under threat from unknown enemies. With Clive Owen's megalomaniacal military chief, Ethan Hawke's slimy pimp, and a vast array of extra-terrestrial lifeforms all part of the action — to say nothing of inter-dimensional shopping, psychic jellyfish, genocide, government conspiracies and repeated marriage proposals — any description of Valerian's plot is going to sound over-the-top. And for the most part, that's how it plays out on screen. That said, just as this is a story about breaking the rules in the name of peace, love and understanding, Besson shows that he too is willing to break with convention behind the camera. "Style over substance" is the usual cry when a film pairs eye-popping visuals with a scant or silly plot. But Besson wears the label like a badge of honour, gleefully demonstrating that a barely convincing narrative and nearly two hours of sci-fi spectacle can still entertain. Of course, that's often the space opera's lot. Dune, John Carter, Jupiter Ascending — they've all been there and done that in engaging (albeit divisive) fashion. It's also a genre of film that's often more concerned with appearance and atmosphere than performance, though DeHaan does a great early '90s Keanu impression (whether knowingly or not), and Delevingne proves a beguiling presence, constantly rolling her eyes. Ultimately, they're like the people you meet on holiday. You won't mind spending time with them, but you're more interested in just taking in the sights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wbN9fPU_u0
Sample Food Festival is once again taking over the Bangalow Showground on September 2 for a day filled with the region's best producers. The festival is all about keeping it local, showcasing the creative cuisines of northern New South Wales. Set just outside of Byron Bay, over 200 stallholders will attract over 17,000 visitors each year. Since its debut in 2011, the festival has been dedicated to bringing together local restaurant owners, farmers and producers. Prior to the main event, there are four days of dinners and special events to get patrons excited. The region's top restaurants will also compete for the 'Gold Fork' awards and collaborate on special events. Expect to meet food lovers from all over the country who've come to share their passion in a meeting of the minds.
Got something on your chest? Feel like having a whinge? Do you have a grievance to air, criticism to offer or an objection to make? We all do, and whether it's as big as reacting to today's current political climate or as trivial as protesting the lack of 24-hour cheese shops (when you want cheese, you want cheese), the Complaint Department wants to hear from you. No, an official body hasn't been created to listen to the world's troubles — though, if you think one should be, you could always complain about that. Instead, the Complaint Department is an artwork being crafted by a six-musician collaboration calling themselves the Complaint Ensemble, who will turn a selection of your gripes into an orchestral performance. The end product will be unveiled at this year's Underbelly Arts Festival in October; however the call for complaints is open now, so prepare to unleash your pet peeves via their online form. Whatever your worries, huge or tiny, your words could become a specially created composition — be it a commentary, a consolation or even an optimistic gesture.
Talented pooches have been barking their way to big screen stardom since the birth of the medium, and Cannes Film Festival even gives out awards for ace pupper performances. Now, Australia has a new dog-themed cinema showcase. At the Top Dog Film Festival, doggos and puppers cement their status as humanity's favourite movie stars in a touring program of eight pooch-centric shorts. For two hours, dogs will leap across screens in a curated selection of heartwarming flicks about dog-powered sports, dogs in space, dogs hiking through the desert, senior dogs and more. The festival hits Sydney on August 15 and 16 as part of its national run, headed for one-night-only showings the Randwick Ritz and Hayden Orpheum respectively. Rushing after tickets the way your best four-legged friend rushes after a frisbee is recommended. Given how much we all love watching dog videos online, not to mention attending pupper-centric shindigs in general, this one-night-only event is certain to be popular.
Broken Heel Festival is back, taking over the historic mining town of Broken Hill for a weekend full of drag, divas and disco from Friday, September 8 through Sunday, September 10. Visitors are encouraged to immerse themselves in this annual tribute to the iconic Australian film, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, by celebrating the movie's 23rd anniversary with a blowout party that rocks for three days straight. Join festival hosts Philmah Bocks and Art Simone across the city's three most colourful locations — The Palace Hotel, The Silverton Hotel and the Silver City of Broken Hill. Drag queens and kings from around the country will come together for a lineup of entertainers, cabaret performers, comedy, opera and live music. Highlights include an opening night party featuring an ABBA cover band and a Priscilla-themed DJ set, plus a chicken and champagne breakfast to keep you in the party mood. Cast from the the movie will be in tow including actor June Bennett who played Shirl in the famous drinking scene, plus the Priscilla Bus from the million-dollar musical will be on display. On Saturday, join the locals along the main strip in the 'Lap of the Main Drag in Drag' street parade and competition. Everyone is welcome and glitter is encouraged.
Whether you've been to Wollongong before, or Wonderwalls' return tempts you there for the first time, you'd best expect the unexpected. That's what happens when a street art festival blows in, takes over the city's outdoor spaces and literally paints the town red — and every other colour imaginable. Going big for its latest outing, this year's fest won't just let local, national and international artists loose on a number of walls around town. As well as doing that, it'll unleash their talents on bigger walls than normal. From November 24 to 26, the likes of New York's Jason Woodside, Queensland's Ian McCallum and Kiama's Claire Foxton will be painting spaces reaching more than 10 metres in height and 20 metres in length, live and in front of your very eyes. To see all of their ace creations, just follow the Wonderwalls map. Other highlights include a virtual reality component, allowing visitors to don headsets and make their own digital murals, plus artist discussions and street parties. On the latter front, One Day Sundays will roll in for an afternoon and evening to remember, sending the fest out in hip hop style. It's free, it takes place from 1pm on November 26 on the Wollongong Central Rooftop, and DJs Raph Lauren, Klasik, Klue and Sir Robbo will be taking care of the tunes while the site gets a new mural.
If you're a film buff, then you're also a travel buff. Even if you don't venture further than your nearest cinema, you're often journeying to other countries when you sit down to watch a movie. Thanks to the Cine Latino Film Festival, the sights and sounds of Latin America await Australian filmgoers in November, taking them on a trip to Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, Cuba, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic. Australia's second Spanish-language film festival (after the Europe-centric Spanish Film Festival), the Cine Latino Film Festival will bring 26 titles from Central and South America to Aussie screens in November. The fun kicks off with You're Killing Me Susana, a marital comedy featuring Mexican star Gael García Bernal. Other highlights span a variety of genres and nations. Audiences can check out Inseparables, the Argentinian remake of French film The Intouchables, or get an authentic glimpse into prison romance in the Dominican Republic with Woodpeckers – about inmates from neighbouring jails communicating via their own form of sign language. Elsewhere, Cannes Critics' Week hit Gabriel and the Mountain combines documentary and drama to tell the true tale of a Brazilian traveller; Tales of Mexico asks eight filmmakers to spin stories about Mexican history; and Lost North tracks a man trying to find his girlfriend across the 900 miles between Santiago and the Bolivian border. Other notable titles include Peruvian musical-comedy Crazy in Love, Colombian paramilitary thriller Guilty Men, and Ecuador's submission to next year's foreign-language Oscar category Such is Life in the Tropics, about a battle between a land owner and squatters. The festival will also shine a particular spotlight on Argentinian and Mexican filmmaking in two specific program strands. The latter is a collaboration with the Hola Mexico Film Festival, while the former will thrill fans of familiar faces, with The Secret in Their Eyes star Ricardo Darín playing an Argentinian president in The Summit, and Gloria's Paulina García going soul searching in The Desert Bride.
Pizza dough. Even the most accomplished home cooks struggle to get it just right. But the expert pizzaiolos (and pizzaiolas) at Fratelli Fresh on Bridge Street want to change that. On the first Saturday of every month, the restaurant will host a pizza masterclass. The intensive two-hour class will start with the dough — you'll learn to make it, stretch it and toss it. Next, you'll get a rundown on the best toppings to use (just don't ask for pineapple). Finally, you'll cook your pizza in the restaurant's Neapolitan woodfired oven. You'll then be able to eat your masterpiece — with a complimentary glass of wine — at the end of the class. Want to recreate the Napoli-style pizzas for your friends and family? Fratelli will send you home with a ball of dough, so you can impress, without the stress.
After shining a spotlight on films that engage with social justice and human rights issues for the past decade, the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival is back for another packed lineup of topical titles for 2017. Screening in Melbourne before bringing a selection of highlights to Sydney from May 23–27, HRAFF's tenth anniversary program boasts four features and a selection of shorts. HRAFF 2017 will open with Constance on the Edge, a documentary filmed over ten years following Constance, a South Sudanese refugee who was resettled in Wagga Wagga in 2005. Other films showing include The Freedom to Marry, a doco that follows the landmark US Supreme Court ruling for marriage equality, the story of two Iranian DJs trying to produce techno music where it is forbidden, and Check It, a film about queer black youth fighting back against prejudice and violence in Washington DC.
Like cakes? Don't like animal products? Baked treat-eating vegans of Sydney, rejoice — the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale is upon us. The initiative takes place around the globe over the second half of April, and come the 22nd of the month, it's Brissie's turn. From 10am, Glebe's The Cruelty Free Shop will be selling an array of vegan cakes, cupcakes and just generally tasty baked goodies out the front of their Glebe Point Road store. It'll be run by the Vegan Society NSW, who'll receive all of the profits from your purchases. Yes, indulging your sweet tooth will help the vegan cause in several ways. If you needed any extra motivation, you've got it. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own container with them so that they can take their wares home, and you're encouraged to arrive early too — while the sale is due to run until 5pm, it'll close before then if all of those mouth-watering morsels have sold out.
With winter in full swing, taking time to smell the (few) flowers is a good way to cure the winter blues. Luckily, there's one flower that livens the streets in winter — cherry blossoms. Only in bloom for two weeks of the year, these pink floral pom poms garner praise around the globe. So, in celebration of the pink Japanese flora, Sydney's Auburn Botanic Gardens is throwing the largest cherry blossom festival in the state. Running from Saturday, August 17 to Sunday, August 25, the Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival will honour the flower and celebrate Japanese culture, with food, music, workshops, movies and even an anime-themed laser tag arena. Because these babies only blossom once a year, we're giving you the chance to enjoy the festivities in complete VIP style. If you get your lucky mitts on this prize, you'll be getting the royal treatment for the day. You can tuck into your choice of lunch, desserts and bevs. To sweeten the deal, you'll also skip the queues for any stall, show, activity or attraction, plus get a VIP tour of the gardens. All you have to do is pick the day — we'll sort the rest. If you're keen to get the VIP treatment at this year's Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival, enter your details below to be in the running. [competition]732214[/competition]
Lobster has long been the fancy champagne of the seafood world. For most of us, it's the kind of dish that you can only justify having when you really feel like going all out and treating yo'self — but, for the next few weeks, the indulgent crustacean-based meal is gracing Betty's Burgers' menu. Combining fresh lobster meat, the chain's special mayonnaise, shallots, chives, lemon and spice, Betty's new lobster roll is now on offer at all of its 22 Australian stores. If your stomach is already rumbling, you can tuck into one for $19 — or combine it with fries and a glass of wine for $29. You'll need to get in quickly, though, with the lobster roll only available for a limited time. Just how long you'll be able to nab one for hasn't been revealed, but it's expected to only last a few weeks. Known for its Shake Shack-style burgs and frozen custard desserts (called concretes), Betty's is making a foray into lobster to celebrate its beachy roots. While you can now grab a Betty's burger at six Sydney outlets, four Melbourne spots, four Brisbane outposts, one Toowoomba eatery and one location in Adelaide, the company first began in Noosa, and then expanded to the Gold Coast. Betty's Burgers' lobster roll is available at all 22 Australian stores for a limited time. For more information and to find your nearest store, visit Betty's Burgers' website.
No plans for Valentine's Day and no interest in making any? You're in luck. Go about your usual business this Wednesday — that is, as far as humanly possible away from red roses, schmultzy songs and pashing pairs — and you could still be in for a nice little surprise. That's because Penguin Random House is planning on helping you to escape — by setting you up with a book, instead of a person. After all, books can't talk back and, if they end up being not what you thought they were, you can always put them back on the shelf. Said books will be dropped in bundles on trains and at various sites all over Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane this Valentine's Day. There's no way of knowing where you'll find them and what you might find yourself reading. The idea is to do away with pre-conceived ideas, promoted by particular genres, authors and cover art. The publishing house is scattering the books in partnership with Street Library, Sydney, and Books on the Rail, which launched in Melbourne in early 2016 and regularly circulates books on Melbourne's public transport. If you find one, take it home and read it — just remember to pop it back on the train when you're done.
March might mark the beginning of autumn, at least according to the calendar, but Sydney's weather isn't playing along. More than halfway through a month that usually enjoys an average temperature of 25 degrees, the mercury is set to hit 40 in parts of the city today. That's the top temp listed by the Bureau of Meteorology — a forecast that has been rising over the past 24 hours after Saturday's temperature made it to a maximum of 32 degrees. If the thermometer does soar that high, or even up to 38, it'll put Sydney in historic territory. Weatherzone reports that it'd be the city's hottest day this late in the season for 78 years, with one of its meteorologists telling the Sydney Morning Herald that such levels have only been reached eight times in March in the past 159 years. https://twitter.com/weatherzone/status/974176218235912192 Accordingly, anyone looking forward to cooler temps after a particularly long, hot summer — one that saw the city experience its second hottest day ever, in fact — will need to wait a little longer. Indeed, finding somewhere frosty to spend the day, whether in air-conditioning or in a well-shaded pool, is recommended. Unsurprisingly, a total fire ban has been issued for greater Sydney and beyond. With 2017 ranking as Sydney's second hottest year on record, and 2018 proving a scorcher so far, sweltering temperatures are continuing to prove an ongoing trend. As for a reprieve, Monday is set to top out at 30 degrees, then drop to a maximum of 23 with showers from Wednesday to Friday. Via Weatherzone / Sydney Morning Herald.
Back in August last year, Merivale slipped the news that it'd be taking over much-loved northern beaches pub The Collaroy. It then closed the doors to the beachside boozer so it could undergo a revamp — and now, it's finally set to reopen. During the past few months, the Justin Hemmes-led team has been busy sprucing up The Collaroy — but it maintains that the pub's easy-going, community-friendly atmosphere will remain intact. Just like before, you'll feel comfortable taking a dip at the beach, before spending the rest of the day (and maybe night) drinking at your leisure. Downstairs, executive chef Jordan Toft has organised a menu that will change throughout the day. Kick into the morning with the ultimate post-surf feed: brekkie pizzas. They'll be accompanied by coffee, juice and house-made pastries. Lunch will see cafe-style fare come to the fore, with healthy bowls like muesli with dried fruits, nuts and coconut yoghurt, ortoasted faro with avocado, boiled egg, rocket, haloumi, olive oil and lemon. When darkness falls, the kitchen goes into gastropub mode, serving up things like anchovy toasts with pickled shallot and hearty pub meals, which will change daily. On Monday, you might be digging into lamb and eggplant moussaka, then, on Tuesday, pork and fennel sausages with roasted pumpkin and green garlic. Meanwhile, upstairs, where the beach views are uninterrupted, there'll be two bars and an open kitchen. Go for a woodfired pizza created by Italian chef Vincenzo Biondini or a burger from the bar menu. If you'e looking to get a bit fancier, take a seat in the restaurant, to linger over oysters, local seafood, charcoal grill and salad. Taking care of the drinks menu is a team of bartenders from Merivale's other venues; look out for plenty of crisp whites, roses and summery cocktails. The acquisition of The Collaroy is a sure sign that Merivale is planning to beef up its northern beaches portfolio — it already operates The Newport and Bert's in Newport and has just closed Papi Chulo in Manly to make way for a second Queen Chow. This is on top of the group's other recent buys: Woollahra's Hotel Centennial, Bondi's Royal Hotel, The Vic on the Park in Marrickville and The Tennyson on Botany Road. The Collaroy will open at 1064 Pittwater Road, Collaroy soon. It's taking bookings from 19 May here.
You might've tried O Tama Carey's Italian fare at Surry Hills' Berta back in 2013. You might've tried her Sri Lankan hoppers at Carriageworks Farmers Markets last year. You might've even caught her one-off appearance at Delfino Aperitivo. And now, you'll be able to catch Carey six days a week when she finally throws open the doors to Lankan Filling Station this Friday, July 27. The all-day hopper eatery, which has set up shop on 58 Riley Street, East Sydney, is one of the most highly anticipated openings of the year. Especially since Carey has kept fans on the edge of their seats since it was first announced back in January. But, now that it's here, what's on the menu? First up: hoppers. If you're not already acquainted, they're a bowl-shaped savoury Sri Lankan crepe made from fermented rice flour and coconut milk. They're meant to be eaten with your hands — torn, ripped and dunked into one of many curries or sambols. At Lankan Filling Station you can order them one of 12 ways, including plain, with a boiled egg and filled with dhal, fish or mutton curry. Carey suggests you start with hoppers as a base, then build up your meal by adding curries — a white potato curry with turmeric and green chilli, perhaps — sides and a range of sambols and pickles. You can also start your meal with one or two (or many) of the Sri Lankan 'short eats', featuring the likes of deep-fried crab balls and turmeric-battered cuttlefish. Sri Lankan fare can be notoriously spicy, and Carey hasn't held back on her new menu — cue, deep-fried chillies and the fiery prawn red curry with tamarind. Luckily, she's implemented a handy heat-factor legend, ranging from one to five chillies. Speaking of the legend, there's no gluten free symbol — everything is gluten free, bar two dishes . One of which (sorry coeliacs) is Carey's famed love cake. Spicy, sweet and syrupy, it's made using a traditional Sri Lankan recipe of semolina, cashews and rosewater. If you can't eat it, you have five other desserts to choose from, including watalappam, a baked jaggery custard with cashews and sesame seeds. Find Lankan Filling Station at 58 Riley Street, East Sydney, from Friday, July 27. Opening hours will be Tuesday–Friday 12pm–10pm, Saturday 10am–10pm and Sunday 10am–4pm.
In a time when old school Australian pubs are being bought up and renovated faster than Bob Hawke can down a schooner, it's nice to report that some Aussie institutions are really thriving. And North Sydney's Rag and Famish is no exception. Opened in 1860, The Rag and Famish is one of Sydney's oldest pubs. There are a few stories surrounding its name, some say it was chosen to reflect the owners disdain of the armed forces, as it was then a slang term for the Army and Navy Club, while another yarn is that it comes from the quote, "if you come here too often, you will waste all your substance and you will be in rags before you die." Thankfully, The Rag is no longer reducing its patrons to squalor — in fact, due to a recent revamp and new executive and head chefs coming on board, it's doing quite the opposite. While the decor still nods to the original fit-out, there is a new, modernised food and cocktail menu available in the restaurant upstairs, as well as a selection of craft beers, which is anything but traditional. Here are some top picks of the new and improved Rag and Famish menu to enjoy next time you find yourself in North Sydney. LEMON AND RICOTTA RAVIOLI WITH BALTER'S CAPTAIN SENSIBLE MID-STRENGTH Gone are the dire days of pub food being synonymous with the stodgy combo of overcooked meat and a lacklustre selection of vegetables on a plate. In stark contrast to its traditional fit=out and decor, the menu at the Rag and Famish restaurant is markedly modern and experimental. Celebrate the evolution of the Australian pub by ordering the lemon and ricotta ravioli served with squash and kale ($28). The delicate dish is the perfect balance of buttery goodness and fresh flavours, ideal for a revamped pub lunch, especially when paired with a cool glass of Balter's Captain Sensible mid-strength. PORK BELLY WITH THE HILLS COMPANY'S CLOUDY APPLE CIDER As the days get cooler, sometimes the only thing worth going outside for is a generous feed, especially of the slow-cooked variety. The Rag's glorious chunk of melt-in-your-mouth pork belly and crackling ($39), served alongside zucchini, fennel, scallop and yuzu, has got your back. Team the succulent pork number with a chilled glass of The Hills Company cloudy apple cider, because everyone knows there's nothing truer in this world than the unwavering friendship of pork and apples, right? CORN-FED CHICKEN WITH YULLI'S DOLLY ALDRIN GUAVA BERLINER WEISSE If you're after something on the lighter side of decadent, try the tender corn-fed chicken ($35) served with spiced cauliflower, goat's cheese, fig, almond and jus. And speaking of jus, make sure to pair that roasted chook with a juicy Yulli's Dolly Aldrin guava berliner weisse. The tart wheat ale will cut through the creamy cheese and sit nicely with the sweet fig and almond, making for a still decadent but refined chicken dinner. Winner winner. EYE FILLET WITH 4 PINES' AMERICAN AMBER ALE As the sun officially sets on spending long evenings dining al fresco, we can look forward to cosy nights by the fire tucking into heartier fare. For those after something a little more wholesome, the chefs at the Rag and Famish have you covered with their tender eye fillet ($42), served on a bed of potato boulangerie and coated with a robust jus, forgo the predictable red wine and red meat pairing, and opt for a 4 Pines American amber ale to accompany your fare. CHEESE WITH AKASHA'S MOSAIC IPA In days gone by, the humble cheese plate was always that conspicuous option on the dessert menu, nestled between flourless chocolate cake and the creme brulée. But these days, it's not uncommon for folk to embark on a multi-day pilgrimage for a well-crafted cheese board. If you've got a hankering for a dessert of the savoury kind, the cheese plate ($22) at The Rag is particularly handsome, consisting of an ample selection of locally and internationally sourced numbers which pair perfectly with an Akasha Mosaic IPA. Make your next pub feed one from the new Rag and Famish menu. And don't forget to pair it with a local brew.
UPDATE, APRIL 10: Big Poppa's temporary bottle shop has extended its hours and is slinging bottles from its Darlinghurst store from 2–6pm today, Friday, April 10. Its free cheese deal, with customers able to nab 300 grams of free cheese with a mixed or straight case of six wines, is still available, too. Before you head out of your house, have a look at the latest COVID-19 advice and social-distancing guidelines from the Department of Health. Darlinghurst's home of wine, cheese and hip hop Big Poppa's is currently closed to dine-in service, in line with the Australian Government's current regulations surrounding non-essential indoor venues, but thanks to new temporary liquor licensing laws, it's allowed to sell booze via takeaway and home-delivery. And it's doing so in true Big Poppa's fashion. The bar is currently selling a heap of its wines for "banging deals" (their words, not ours, but we tend to agree). The takeaway list features 14 pages of bangers, including plenty of wines in the low $20s, a fun pét-nat from Hunter Valley's Ari's Natural for $35, a $27 Konpira Maru skin-contact semillon, some fun chilled reds and a lush 2008 Dom Perignon for a casual $250. There are also heaps of fun packs starting at $150 and running all the way through to $1000, and Big Poppa's wine glasses going for $12 a pop. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lSqN7Dwt7/ The Big Poppa's label wines — a pinot grigio and shiraz — come down to a bargain $16 when a dozen is purchased, too. Oh and if you order a mixed or straight case of six wines or more you get 300 grams of free cheese. Yes, free cheese. Just let them know if you prefer soft, hard or blue and it'll be added to your pack. The wines are available to pick up from the store and free delivery is also available within five kilometres of the bar on certain days of the week, for orders of 12 bottles of more. Check Instagram for updates on when Big Poppa's is open and delivering. Big Poppa's is selling wine, available to pick up or delivery within five kilometres of the bar. Check Instagram for opening and delivery times. To pre-order, email cheese@bigpoppa.com.au. You can check out the full wine list over here. If you are going out to pickup wine, have a look at the latest COVID-19 advice and social-distancing guidelines from the Department of Health.
Just one month ago, Randwick City Council reopened its beaches as the state's COVID–19 restrictions began to ease. Today, Wednesday, May 27, the council has been forced to close them once again — but this time it's because of plastic debris. The Council announced in a Facebook video earlier today that council crews were working to clean up the flotsam and that "beaches will remain closed until further notice". "People are strongly encouraged not to enter the water due to the risk of larger submerged items still in the surf," a Council spokesperson said in the post. It's possible the beaches, which include Clovelly, Coogee and Maroubra, will remained closed for the rest of the week, too, with the Council saying it's expecting more material to wash up "over the coming days". https://www.facebook.com/randwickcitycouncil/videos/180172266662223/ While the Council didn't specify the type of debris, The Guardian reported that face masks and plastic containers were among the items washing up on shores after 40 shipping containers fell of the APL England, which was on en route from China to Melbourne, on the weekend. As well as Randwick's beaches, the ABC is reporting that the ship's debris has also washed ashore at Bondi and several beaches along the Central Coast. While no other beaches are closed due to debris at the moment, we'll let you know if this changes. Randwick City Council's beaches will remain closed until further notice. For updates, keep an eye on the Council's Facebook page. Top image: Randwick City Council
"I always think of myself not so much as a painter but as a medium for accident and change," said Francis Bacon, one of the most studied figures in post-war British art. A painter whose work meditates on sensations of a debilitating painful human condition, Bacon's work centralises an intensely emotive self. Francis Bacon: five decades is the first major retrospective in Australia of rare works including some 50 paintings drawn from 37 international collections, source material from Bacon's studio and documentary film. The retrospective surveys the life and work of Bacon to liberalise the way audiences understand the artist's deeply personal fascination with the human body and unwitting radicalisation of 20th-century art. In the 1940s most of Bacon's work stablised on the theme of entrapment: offering poignant renditions of power struggles between the self and violently intense human emotion. Embodied by visions of screaming figures in cubic and cage-like structures, the artist's might to immobilise viewers through sadistic undertones is immediately striking. A study for a figure at the base of a crucifixion is one work from an early Bacon triptych that resonates with the artist's interest in the sensation of feeling. A headless anthropomorphic figure whose mouth is gasping for air is projected against visceral orange-red, and instead of attempting to decode what the artist himself felt, viewers become increasingly preoccupied with their own emotional reaction to the disturbing work. Conquered by experimentation with subject matter and technique, the works produced by Bacon in the 1950s saw the figure become progressively isolated. Untitled – Half length figure in sea invites viewers to acknowledge human detachment from a modern world and epitomises Bacon's interest in isolation. The torso of a non-descript, but presumably male figure, is almost obliterated by the force of gestural waves that engulf him. Of particular interest to this work is the fact that themes of bathers and the ocean have strong reverberation in the art-historical cannon, but do not feature as key in Bacon's body of work. Both the position of the work across Bacon's career, and the subject matter within the work, represent isolation in the extreme. In the 1960s, Bacon's compositions became more daring, drawing on the circumstances of life, his lovers and close friends. The retrospective's most recognisable work from this decade is From Muybridge 'The human figure in motion: woman emptying a bowl of water/paralytic child walking on all fours'. Referenced in the work's title, Eadweard Muybridge was an English photographer known for pioneering motion series, and a figure whose photographic sequences repeatedly inspired Bacon's work. Ode to Bacon's obsession with collecting visual information, From Muybridge highlights the artist's fondness of working from photographic material over using live sitters. Many who know Bacon's work will know that the 1970s were a time where monumental triptychs reigned king, memorialising the artist's lover George Dwyer. The death of Dwyer, in a hotel room from an overdose, on the eve of Bacon's retrospective at Paris' Grand Palais is the subject of much of the artist's work from the '70s until his death. Moving forward into the '80s, Bacon's work seemed to pulsate around metrics of truth and honesty over idealised beauty. Interestingly, though, the artist's Portrait of John Edwards moves further beyond reality by rejecting the biology of human form. It is said that this portrait fuses the body of George Dwyer and head of John Edwards, the artist's closest friend in later life, in an effort to memorialise two of Bacon's most cherished companions. The chaos and drama found in Bacon's earlier work has been replaced by sober control realised by the sensual and tender treatment the artist has afforded his subject. "We are born and we die but in between we give this purposeless existence a meaning by our drives." And meaning he has given us. Francis Bacon was a prolific painter of people, of personal suffering and of his subject's existence in the depths of their own emotive holdings. Bacon's work is extraordinarily far reaching without any illusion of narrative; viewers must piece together the artist's distortion and fragmentation of human form themselves to make sense of his work. Unlike individual works, Francis Bacon: five decades connects the artist's private musings with their explosions into his art to offer a perfectly cohesive story about the sensations of the human condition. Image: Three Studies for a Self Portrait by Francis Bacon. © The Estate of Francis Bacon
Lockout laws got you down? Then make your way to Eleven Nightclub on Oxford Street for Sydney's new pop-up dancefloor. Launching on Friday April 22, the cheekily named Church promised to "put an end to nights in purgatory with a heaven for your senses." And now, they're making it a regular pilgrimage. Operating from 9am through to 3am on selected Friday nights, the pop-up will feature old school hip hop and R&B tracks, along with cocktails by Harbourside Coffee. Drinks will be available all night, and everyone who gets there before 11pm gets a free beverage for their troubles. Entry is $10 and is restricted to persons over the age of 21. Sorry young 'uns, but your time will come. The organisers are also touting additional surprises on the night. For more information about the Church pop-up dance floor, check out the event on Facebook. Image: Eleven Nightclub.
After a sold-out season at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in 2017, Muriel's Wedding The Musical is returning in 2019 for two short months at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. The return season follows the show winning a slew of awards at this month's Helpmann Awards, Australia's annual awards for live entertainment and performing arts. Muriel's Wedding The Musical picked up five gongs across the two nights of awards — July 15 and 16 — including Best Original Score, Best Music Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Design and Best Choreography in a Musical. Its awards made up half of Sydney Theatre Company's total of ten — which was more than any other company. A Global Creatures production (in association with Sydney Theatre Company), the musical adaptation of Muriel's Wedding is like a perfect high school reunion — maximum 80s nostalgia without having to tell any of your old friends you're in HR now. When Muriel Heslop realises that the small town of Porpoise Spit has nothing in store but grim futures, she decides to take off, with only her parents' chequebook, a couple of ABBA albums memorised note for note and a vague sense that the wider world has something that she is hungry for. PJ Hogan, who wrote and directed Muriel's cinematic adventure, has adapted and updated the script for the stage, while Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall have built the music around ABBA's towering back catalogue. There's a real buzz around Muriel. Sure, it's a chance to re-immerse yourself in the unadulterated joy of Muriel's hijinks, but it's also because Muriel hasn't stopped holding the mirror up to our desperate, fame-hungry society since she first hit the screen. As director Simon Phillips points out: "Muriel's governing delusion is becoming a celebrity and becoming famously married. The world has caught up with Muriel." Muriel's Wedding The Musical is running from Saturday, June 29–Sunday, September 8 at Sydney Lyric Theatre. If you're based in NZ, book your trip to Sydney now with Virgin Australia — the airline is offering one-way fares from Auckland and Wellington, starting from $202 (offer ends August 6, 2019). Image: Jeff Busby.
While old Dick Trois once spoke of the winter of our discontent, there is no doubt you'll be very satisfied when Kevin Spacey and Sam Mendes hit the Lyric Theatre this summer. It's been 12 years since the pair worked together, playing hide and seek amongst rose petals and suburban teens in American Beauty, and this time Spacey and Mendes are locking lips with the Bard's political thriller, Richard III. The arch-villain of royal machinations must be a delight for Spacey to play, given his talents as a shape-shifting actor. Richard III marks the final in a three-part international theatre series called The Bridge Project. Directed by Mendes, this series consists of three classical works (the first two being Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale) co-produced by BAM (New York), Old Vic Theatre (London) and Neal Street Productions, with the purpose of touring the large-scale productions to cities around the world. Richard III will be arriving in Sydney on the back of a sold-out London season for a very limited 11 performances. If you can't afford the ticket price, ask a relative. Throw them in the tower if they don't acquiesce. https://youtube.com/watch?v=TwtwnuSu9rA
Australia has an illustrious cinematic history. Indeed with The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) Australia arguably gave the world its first narrative feature. This and a dazzling collection of silent gems from around the world will be presented at the State Library this month as part of Australia’s Silent Film Festival. 
From Charlie Chaplin wreaking havoc in The Rink, to Buster Keaton’s The General; the fantastical mind of Georges Méliès and the awe-inspiring Fritz Lang, the greats from the silent era will be on display. And while every cinephile is familiar with the master of montage, Sergei Eisenstein, it is very exciting to see a contemporary Soviet filmmaker, Dziga Vertov push the boundaries in the Man with the Movie Camera (1929).Screenings will be introduced by a variety of local film critics and academics, and many will also include a live musical accompaniment. What a wonderful opportunity to step back in time and experience the very beginnings of cinema. https://youtube.com/watch?v=g8ibRrWYNJ8 https://youtube.com/watch?v=C5GWXQ8AZ7E https://youtube.com/watch?v=7rqmqvIKB-Y https://youtube.com/watch?v=brVO2l4bONc
This is the End might just be the biggest in-joke in Hollywood. Its writer, director and star, Seth Rogen, plays 'Seth Rogen', whilst Jonah Hill plays 'Jonah Hill', James Franco plays 'James Franco' and Emma Watson plays, well…you get the picture. Thankfully, though, you'll also get the jokes, and no matter how 'in' or self-referential they might be, the movie invites the audience to share in the laughter. Set in the Hollywood hills, Rogen and his friend Jay Baruchel (played by Jay Baruchel) head along to a party at James Franco's mansion, where — just a short while later — the biblical Rapture commences and, quite literally, all Hell breaks loose. As their friends and fans perish around them (the cameos are too numerous to count, though highlights include Michael Cera, Channing Tatum and Rihanna), the young celebrities hole themselves up inside and try to outlast the End of Days, rationing everything from a Milky Way bar to various types of weed. To their credit, no egos are too precious and everyone plays up to their reputations: Rogen's an amiable stoner, Hill is impossibly nice and Franco holds nothing back in portraying himself as a pretentious, egocentric wanker. They're joined in the house by Baruchel, Craig Robinson and Danny McBride, with the latter contributing to about half of the movie's funniest moments. Inevitably, as a Rogen film, This is the End features a significant amount of stoner humour, dick jokes and one inconceivably long scene involving Franco and McBride hurling imaginary semen at each other and everything else around them. It's the kind of comedy you feel guilty laughing at while it's happening, and then later can't remember why it made you laugh so much. But laugh you do all the same. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ILnE7dEhCcc
They're taking the hobbits to Isengard at the Hayden Orpheum this March and the Randwick Ritz this April, with one movie marathon to rule them all. Round up the Fellowship, stock up on lembas bread for sustenance and hide your finest pipe-weed from the Southfarthing for one sitting of all three of Peter Jackson's beloved OG Tolkien film adaptations. Kicking off with The Fellowship of the Ring and ending with The Return of the King, this cave troll of a marathon clocks in at over nine hours plus intermissions — with the journey starting at 11am on Sunday, March 14 at the Orpheum and 10.30am on Saturday, April 3 at the Ritz. If you make it through breakfast and second breakfast to the final handful of endings, you can pat yourself on the back and smash a ringwraith screech at the nearest person on your way home (note: do not actually screech at people). Tickets are the precious and come in at $25–30 for the whole ordeal. And, you'll be watching all three films in remastered 4K versions — so expect to see Middle Earth in more detail than you've seen in before. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_WZxJpHzEE
It is from a painting that Belle springs, inspired by the study of Dido Elizabeth Belle and her cousin Elizabeth Murray. When the canvas was commissioned in 18th-century England, Dido's placing on equal footing defied convention. Though bonded by blood and brought up in privilege, Dido's heritage as the illegitimate daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay and an enslaved African woman coloured her as inferior to her relatives. In bringing the fictionalised story behind this important image to the screen, director Amma Asante and writer Misan Sagay infer the details of their subject's rallying against inequality. Within lushly staged period confines, they tell a tale of a sidelined but never surrendering heroine, blessed with freedom yet intent on navigating discriminatory practices and engrained racism in a time in which slavery was considered crucial to the country's continued economic prosperity. Dido is introduced as a child (Lauren Julien-Box), taken by her father (Matthew Goode) to his uncle, William Murray, Chief Justice and 1st Earl of Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson), upon the death of her mother. William and his wife (Emily Watson) are apprehensive on account of Dido's interracial status but agree to raise her alongside Elizabeth (Cara Jenkins), the other grand-niece in their care. As a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, Dido (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) watches as Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon) navigates the necessary courtship formalities to find a husband, wanting her own romance even when warned of its impossibility. Asante and Sagay set the scene for a Jane Austen-style depiction of social mores and romantic dramas, the restrictions placed upon women of the time and their need to marry to secure their futures on display. Dido's unique standing, immersed in the intricacies but set apart from their necessities, adds a different perspective to the seen-before antics. Her own love triangle with the social-climbing Oliver Ashford (James Norton) and idealistic vicar's son John Davinier (Sam Reid) is couched in her quest for fair treatment. The interweaving of the landmark Zong massacre trial, requiring an assessment of the worth of the enchained by William, adds historical weight. With its protagonist straddling two worlds with uncertainty, and its content endeavouring to combine melodrama and commentary into a cohesive whole, it is unsurprising that the film wavers in balancing its layers of duality. Though competing components are filmed with a handsome eye, assembled in the service of an affecting outcome, and performed with elegance and importance by a talented cast, dissonance lingers. The ideas reach for something more; however, the execution remains handsome yet standard. That discord is a minor trifle in an effort shaded with style and substance – but, for all its striving and success, Belle simply filters politics into a pretty portrait. https://youtube.com/watch?v=OuIwa3a1KVw
The Taste of Coogee Food and Wine Festival has quickly become a prominent weekend on Sydney's culinary calendar. Last year, over 40,000 attendees gathered at Coogee Oval to enjoy a glass of wine and a bite to eat by the ocean. This year's festival will coincide with the Father's Day weekend, running over two days on September 1 and 2. Across the weekend attendees will savour nosh from a growing list of over 100 contributors, including Mr Bao, Sofrito Paella, Turkish Gözleme, Dust Bakery and Frencheese, the latter who'll be serving up gooey, melted raclette. Beer, wine and spirit tastings will be conducted throughout the festival, too, by the likes of Batch Brewing Co., Yulli's Brews, Peterson Champagne House, Aperol, Pokolbin Cider House and more. There'll also be live entertainment — and entry is only a gold coin donation. Taste of Coogee will run from 10am–8pm on Saturday, September 1 and from 10am–6pm on Sunday, September 2.
It's getting hard to remember a time in Sydney when Carriageworks was just a railyard and not the cool and cutting-edge arts powerhouse of today. The venue was in the spotlight this year when it hosted Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia and the Sydney Contemporary art fair, the latter of which saw it bust open a new wing, doubling the existing physical space to an intimidating 12,000 square metres. Attendance is up four-fold since 2011, and now you can start tallying up the number of times you'll be visiting in 2014 (answer: many, so many), since next year's program has just been announced. "In 2014, Carriageworks unveils an artistic program that is ambitious, risk taking, and above all is artist-led and unrelenting in its support of artists," says Carriageworks director Lisa Havilah. "We remain committed to delivering distinctive, high-quality urban cultural experiences to our audiences." Carriageworks opens the year with the Sydney Festival in January, for which its hosting Christian Boltanski's Chance. Taking up the public space last year filled by Waste Not, Chance is a work of a similar scale. To walk through it is to reflect on the thin barrier between life and death, and it also gives you a chance to win a prize. The epic art continues in March, when Carriageworks become a Biennale of Sydney major venue partner for the first time, hosting multimedia works by the likes of Tacita Dean. Later in the year, the space also hosts Taiwanese-American artist Tehching Hsieh's durational performance art work Time Clock Piece, for which the artist punched a time clock in his studio on the hour, every hour for one whole year. It sounds like the worst Julie & Julia-esque blog project ever, but as art, it's been hugely acclaimed. MBFWA returns to make fabulous use of the industrial Carriageworks caverns from April 7-11, showcasing the latest collections from the Asia-Pacific's finest designers. This year, one fashion house is going especially arty, with Romance Was Born presenting a special exhibition. Working with multidisciplinary artist Rebecca Baumann, they'll be exploring their bold and unmistakable wonderlands beyond the textile. Other major events to make landfall at Carriageworks are design talkfest Semi-Permanent and a new creative summit called REMIX, which sounds positively Vivid-esque. The event is global, however, and set to be held in five "creative hubs" worldwide in 2014 — London, New York, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Sydney. Prefer to do your thinking over a bottle of red? Sustainable food and wine festival Rootstock is happening at the venue in February. Eclectic performances — especially those that may fall in the gaps between traditional venues — are at the heart of Carriageworks, and there's plenty on throughout 2014. Ganesh Versus the Third Reich is making its Sydney debut after winning the Helpmann Award for Best Play last year, and the local Ever After Theatre Company are producing an uber-relevant work called Social Network Stories to premiere at the venue. A new wave of opera comes via Sydney Chamber Opera, composer Michael Smetanin and writer Alison Croggon, whose Mayakovsky redeems Stalin's favourite poet. Dance-inflected works are many and exciting, including Lemi Ponifasio's spiritual and ceremonial Stones in Her Mouth, French contemporary dancers Compagnie Didier Theron in their first visit to Australia and a new solo piece by Byron Perry that is performed within a real, large-scale camera obscura. An intriguing hybrid work is Rizzy Maharajah's 18th Birthday Party, a live concert and film experience by Carriageworks' inaugural associate artist, S. Shakthidharan. To see the full program and get more information, check out the Carriageworks website. https://youtube.com/watch?v=VKndizmSGI4
There are a staggering array of activities you can do at Strike Bowling Bar these days, aside from the company's namesake attraction. Sure, you can throw a heavy ball down an alley, over and over again — highly recommended if it's your birthday and you're turning ten. You can sing Christmas Karoleoke, a great way to meet like-minded individuals that also find this kind of behaviour acceptable. Or, you can be locked up in a murderer's dungeon with 50 minutes to make an escape. Way to up the ante, Strike. Escapism is an interactive real life game where you and your team need to find hidden objects and solve riddles to escape a locked room. There are three puzzle rooms to choose from: The Garden, Butcher’s Burrow and Forensic, depending on your age, interest and perceived skill level. Our team signs up for Butcher’s Burrow (difficulty 8) because we consider ourselves a pretty bright bunch, an assessment which later proves incorrect. Another Concrete Playground team went for Forensic — a Se7en-meets-Zodiac style of investigator set-up, where you're trying to identify a serial killer before they find you. Pitched at difficulty 9, if you're good at code-breaking you'll love this one; logic and ability with numbers will be your best allies. But we signed up for the Saw-like scenario, of course. Let's set the scene: For Butcher's Barrow, "You’ve been kidnapped and chained up. You can smell the fear in the room. How did this happen? Why did you end up here? There’s a severed hand on a plate. You might be next. Now is not the time to be afraid. Now is the time to make your escape." I’m personally feeling quite confident, I've broken into my house without keys a number of times, so I’ve got this guys. Before we go in, we're frisked with a metal detector and our mobile phones are confiscated and locked away in a box. We're then blindfolded and led to our creepy prison. When the blindfold is removed it’s still dark, we’re alone, there’s blood on the walls and the sound of our evil captor who's just next door. An intense 49 minutes later (we wouldn't spoil the whole thing would we?) and we're on the final puzzle, trying to figure out the passcode to unlock the door, secure our freedom and save our dignity. We fail our challenge; in fact we're told that 80 percent of teams fail, which is kind of consoling. Kind of. What happens if you don’t make it? Our creepy captor, who is also a Strike staff member, does decide to let us go after all — and we get to keep all our limbs too. He's also nice enough to let us know where we went wrong. That final clue! It was right in front of us! You’ll kill yourself for missing it. Choose your escape scenario: The Garden (Difficulty 7, players 2 - 8) Butcher’s Burrow (Difficulty 8, players 2-6) Forensic (Difficulty 9, players 2-6)
Are you a seasoned boatie who's happiest when the anchor's aweigh? Did you binge Below Deck and discover a thirst for the superyacht lifestyle? Or, do you just enjoy the finer things in life? Well, The Harbour Lounge at this year's Sydney International Boat Show is the event to add to your calendar, stat. The locale: a private VIP precinct aboard 60-metre superyacht The Jackson. The sips: bubbles at the Mumm Sparkling Bar, flights of Penfolds' best and cocktails laced with locally crafted spirits. To eat: Bites from the premium all-day grazing menu. Indulge in it all with your $399 ticket. How you enjoy the onboard experience is up to you. Lean in to the aquatic life and remain afloat, enjoying your vantage of Cockle Bay's luxe lineup of superyachts (some of which are making their international debut). Or, come and go as you explore the wider show — up your know-how at demos, check out the latest gear and enjoy live entertainment. It's time to grab your pool of pals for a lush day on the water, or invite your nicest clients and set your corporate catch-ups afloat. The Harbour Lounge moors in Darling Harbour from Thursday, July 18 till Sunday, July 31. Head to the website to book your ticket.
I will admit to not knowing any astronauts or showjumpers or firemen, or even any cops for that matter, but I have met my share of ballerinas and marine biologists, and also this one thoroughly demoralising dude who worked for the U.N "on the strategic planning staff in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General," and some models and some people well on their way to qualifying as surgeons. On these grounds, I feel like the 'When I Grow Up' predictions of childhood do have a reasonable chance of playing out. And you absolutely do find people who are working actors, directors, musicians, writers or artists too, it's just that they more often than not have another job or three to keep them going. So how do you find the space and time and money to sustain a creative practice in Sydney these days? As part of Vivid Creative Sydney's fringe program, Queen Street Studio is holding a panel discussion on this very topic. Hosted by QSS director and co-founder James Winter, the evening will bring tips and tales of survival and strategy in visual arts, performance and the wonderful world of the ARI. Panellists are Fran Barrett, a member of Brown Council and current director of Serial Space; artist/performer/writer/curator Rosie Dennis; Sian McIntyre, who is a director of The Paper Mill exhibition space; contemporary artist and intervenor into public space Sebastian Goldspink; and Michelle Kotevski, independent filmmaker and Executive Producer of Urban Theatre Projects. Image by Leah McGirr
Strolls around the city have been much brighter in recent weeks, all thanks to the addition of some unexpected blooms. The CBD's grey, concrete streets have had a makeover as a part of the City of Sydney's twice-yearly Living Colour floral display project, taking over places like Martin Place, Taylor Square, King Street, Hyde Park Barracks, Castlereagh Street, Queen Victoria Building and Kings Cross. But as the flowers have been blooming since January, these babies need a new home. Want some more snapdragons and geraniums in your life? On Sunday, March 11 from 8am, Sydney Park will be the spot to snag some cut-price botanical beauties. You'll be able to take home everything from petunias to curly parsley — for free.
You wouldn't expect much cohesion between pieces in an exhibition featuring 32 photographers put together by three curators, especially not one with as nebulous a theme as "the socio-cultural landscapes of Germany and Australia". But there is something drawing together a lot of the works in Hijacked 2. This is mostly Vice photo issue stuff, with a lot of slightly out-of-focus, snapshot-style photos eschewing technical virtuosity for (potential) immediacy, emotional connection or, at the very least, novelty. To be frank, that doesn't always work. Hijacked relies heavily on social networking and young photographers for its material, and the venue hails the show's resultant focus on "the young, the boundary-riding and the fringe dwelling". In more than a few places this devolves into some pretty grating portraiture of photographers friends' homemade tattoos, detached irony and comfort with partial nudity. Edgy. When the show does work, though — and more often than not it does — there's some rich, immediate work to see. Narelle Autio's lush, saturated overhead photos do some amazing things with shadows. Jackson Eaton's take on sex, casual eroticism and the confluence of intimacy and boredom is beautiful: a foreskin stretched between a girl's teeth, a TV remote held behind the same lover's back. A lot of the landscape photography, too, is very compelling. Joseph Schultz' prints of abandoned checkpoints/toll booths/guard posts are a standout. There's something to be said for the reaction brought on through juxtaposition of photos you love with those you hate. Given how subjective art 'n' stuff is, that may mean you'll love photos of leather jackets, panties and great parties while loathing another photographer's art that's actually good. Quite apart from the high quality of some of the shots, that makes Hijacked 2 worth seeing for the argument value alone.
The beloved Irish comedian and his Casio keyboard are back. The new show from David O'Doherty at the Sydney Comedy Festival is a bit of a mouthful, but then what else would you expect? Jumping back and forth between standup and original songs, the award winning comic's dorky, self-deprecating humour never ceases to entertain, whether he's coming up with app ideas or singing about Grand Designs. It's basically impossible to leave one of O'Doherty's shows without a giant grin plastered across your face.
You may have heard it whispered amongst art openings or at 3am when the last dregs refuse to leave your house party, intent on discussing the merits of various art theories and philosophies (well, it beats politics) but currently in the art world we have a little thing we like to bandy about in oh-so-upper-tones — relational aesthetics. Friendly name, huh? Contemporary art can do that. If it is good at one thing, it is good at excluding most of the non-art educated audience. Relational aesthetics though, put simply, is the attempt to make contemporary art friendly; to include and to explore who we are as people and how we relate to each other — community, audience engagement, participatory — it's all about getting us together to experience something. This is generally a rather fun and enlightening experience for those participating but can sometimes run into trouble once the artist attempts to translate it for the gallery space. Enter Angelica Mesiti, a truly wonderful image maker and member of the gender-bending, Sydney performance group The Kingpins. Mesiti has initiated a project with The Hurstville Council and C3West (the community engagement arm of the Museum of Contemporary Art) whereby she has sought out a large cross section of the Hurstville community to tell the story of their streets. Friday and Saturday night will see south west Sydney transform into a video landscape as performed by local residents and including hourly live performances of a Chinese New Year Dragon amongst a procession of customised cars (sex-specs for those in the know). Guaranteed to be visually sublime — Angelica knows how to frame a shot — and yet also tell you a little something special about your southern cousins. The Begin-Again is available for viewing both Friday and Saturday night from 7.30pm-12am. This self-directed walking tour includes five key destinations within Hurstville taking in numerous video installations and culminating in the live performances on the rooftop of the Westfield carpark. A map is available here. Image: Angelica Mesiti, The Begin-Again (still) 2011 single-screen video installation
First, the great news: in a year that has seen many events have had to cancel or postpone their plans — spanning gigs, festivals and even outdoor art exhibitions — Sydney's beloved Westpac Openair Cinema is definitely returning to take care of your summer viewing plans. Now, the even better news: it'll be doing so with a jam-packed, just-announced lineup of new, recent and classic movies, so get ready to stare at a 350-square-metre screen rising from the harbour. Thanks to its spot at Mrs Macquaries Point, Westpac Openair has spectacular panoramic views of the city, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, which is one big part of the attraction, of course. But so is feasting your eyes on the event's hefty program, which'll kick off this year on Tuesday, December 15 — earlier than usual, because capacity restrictions required to remain COVID-safe mean that it will only seat 900 movie-goers per night — with a big pre-release screening of Australian crime drama The Dry. From there, running through until Wednesday, February 24, Westpac Openair has plenty of films in store. In the brand new camp, Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan-starring period romance Ammonite is an absolute must-see, as is Australian frontier western High Ground. You can also head to space with George Clooney in Midnight Sky, check out women's surfing documentary Girls Can't Surf, see Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman in The Prom, and witness the cathartic power of befriending a magpie in Penguin Bloom. And, there's also the Gemma Arterton-starring Summerland, plus Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan in Wild Mountain Thyme. Fancy combining movies and music? American Utopia, David Byrne's latest — and magnificent — concert film, will give Westpac Openair quite the soundtrack. So will new documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, which steps through the eponymous band's full career and roster of hits. Other recent titles hitting the very, very big screen include rom-com Baby Done, horror-comedy Freaky, Liam Neeson's latest action flick Honest Thief and Aussie sheep farmer dramedy Rams. Kajillionaire, starring Evan Rachel Wood as the daughter of two lifelong con artists, is also on the bill — and so are a heap of retro titles such as Love Actually, Almost Famous, Thelma & Louise, The Devil Wears Prada, Grease and Pulp Fiction. Unsurprisingly, as well as the event's reduced capacity and its earlier start date, Westpac Openair will be implementing other COVID-safe measures — including physically distanced director and deck chair seating, rather than a grandstand. You'll also spot hand sanitiser stations around the place, and only online bookings will be taken. Food-wise, you'll be tucking into ready-to-collect gourmet picnic hampers by Kitchen by Mike and its chef Mike McEnearney. Especially given these adjustments, tickets are likely to go quick when they go on sale from 9am AEDT on Thursday, December 10. Across the summer of 2018–19, more than 40,000 tickets sold within the first two days of pre-sale — so put it in your diary ASAP. Westpac Openair 2020 runs from Tuesday, December 15–Wednesday, February 24. Tickets go on sale from 9am AEDT on Thursday, December 10 — for more details, head to the event's website. Image: Fiora Sacco
If your natural response to cold weather is to stay indoors, rug up, make friends with your couch and activate hibernation mode, you might want to slip into your usual frosty routine over the weekend of Friday, September 25, Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27. Yes, it's spring — but thanks to a strong cold front that's currently moving through New South Wales, the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting chilly and windy conditions across Sydney for the next few days. In fact, while tops of 19 and 18 degrees are forecast for the Saturday and Sunday, you can prepare to feel much, much frostier, with the wind chill factor making it feel colder than expected. Explaining that the cold front is bringing cool and wintry conditions — "quite classic spring conditions" with "a bit of winter reminding us that we're not that far away from those wintry conditions" — BOM's acting NSW/ACT manager Agata Imielska advises that temperatures will feel ten degrees cooler than they actually are. Tonight, for example, it's expected to feel like it is only between two and five degrees. And although tomorrow will look sunny, it'll also also be dry, windy and feel rather frosty — with a top of 18 degrees, but feeling more like eight or nine degrees. https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1309325700030230529 The cold front, and these conditions, are expected to remain into next week — which is when they'll then start to settle down. Elsewhere in the state over the weekend, damaging winds are forecast today and tonight in eastern areas such as the Hunter, while thunderstorms are possible around the state's south as well. In the alpine region, around 40 centimetres of snow could fall — and there's a risk of blizzards, too. To keep an eye on temperatures over the weekend, head to the Bureau of Meteorology website. Image: Jason Tong via Flickr.
Rewind five years and imagine Sydney’s gallery scene without White Rabbit. It’s tough. This tenth exhibition of the contemporary Chinese art gallery revolves around the idea of reformation — the succession of a new wave, the establishment of fresh ideas, a complete overhaul of the old ways of doing and thinking. White Rabbit’s shows rotate different parts of the Neilson family’s private collection, which includes Ai Weiwei’s huge mound of tiny ceramic sunflower seeds, and Shi Zhiying’s oil painting of an all-consuming, horizonless, grey-scale ocean, High Seas. The gallery consistently minimises the ‘shrug factor’ — that moment upon entering a gallery, glazed-eyed, when you have no idea how to engage with the work. White Rabbit doesn’t replace the shrug factor with shock factor, it just curates some of the most adventurous contemporary artists working in China and smashing together the political and the personal, history and present, today. White Rabbit's biannual opening parties are famous and a famously good time (as long as you don't mind a crush of people). Be prepared to queue, preferably well before 6pm. Reformation is one of the five blockbuster art shows we're most looking forward to this year. Check out the rest here.
From Thursday, August 29, to Sunday, September 8, you can support our green and gold legends and watch the nation's top Paralympians fight for their spot on the podium. Palm Grove in the Darling Harbour Precinct is offering complimentary viewings of the games with a party atmosphere. You can take a photo by the grid-worthy photo wall and enjoy special pop-ups and Darling Harbour's best eats. Running from 12pm–11pm daily, spectators can watch the latest triumphs from Paralympic Games on Palm Grove's huge screens, entirely for free. Neighbouring Darling Harbour venues will keep you fed while cheering on Team Aus. You could opt for Indonesian bites at Bintang Bro, boost yourself with coffee and a sweet treat from Cafe Alma, or if you're craving authentic Japanese street food, Dopa Darling Quarter has you sorted. Venture further afield and you'll find even more options scattered around the local area, from Barangaroo to Haymarket. The Paralympics Live screenings take place 5–11pm, Monday–Friday and midday–11pm, Saturday–Sunday.
"Whenever I go into great vintage stores," says British actor Thandie Newton, "I wonder why we ever buy new things ... Vintage clothing is not only glorious and stylish, it's also the way forward, in terms of recycling." Whether you're seeking gloriousness or sustainability, the Round She Goes Pre-loved Designer and Vintage Fashion Market is the place to find the best in second-hand clothes, accessories and jewellery. Run by Emma Morris, it travels around Australia, setting up in various cities for just one day before moving on. Morris says that Round She Goes brings together her passions for "vintage clothes, designer bargains, op shop treasures and getting crafty." At Sydney's next event, look out for preloved pieces from Chanel, Salvatore Ferragamo, YSL, Bally, Gucci, Lanvin, Dior, Coach, Kate Spade, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Karen Millen, sass & bide. Chloe, Alannah Hill, Pierre Cardin, Alice McCall, Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester, Camilla, Michael Kors, Gorman and more.
Cafe Freda's is bringing back the dancefloor this spooky season, combining Italian dance music, spritzes and Halloween for a huge free Sunday party fittingly titled Italoween. Jumping on the decks at the Taylor Square venue is ambient electronic producer Body Corp (renamed Body Corpse for the night), alongside the equally spookily-named Impale Jextra (Paul Jextra) and DJ Hot as Hell Salami all spinning exclusively Italo house, disco and pop. A special themed menu will be on offer to keep you energised between stints on the dancefloor, and $10 Aperol Spritzes will be available from 3–5pm. It also wouldn't be a Halloween party without fancy dress, so in order to ensure everyone comes in their best costume, Cafe Freda's is hosting a best-dressed comp with prizes for the winners. Entry is free but you can ensure you nab a table by making a reservation at Cafe Freda's website.
Film buffs and budding Tarantinos, ho! The 10th annual Bondi Short Film Festival is shaping up to be one helluva celebration to mark a decade of eclectic and wondrously first-rate local filmmaking. With last year’s winners including Cannes Jury Prize-winning film Jerrycan by Julius Avery and Best Script going to Tropfest winner Genevieve Clay’s Frances and Annie, this brilliant celebration of independent Sydney film making blends high caliber filmmaking with an undeniably delicious indie aesthetic, screened metres away from the seaside. The 10th anniversary of this striking little festival is sure to prove a tasty menu, abound with local delicacies. "The Bondi Short Film Festival is 100% Australian content," says Founder and Festival Director, Francis Coady. "We are also completely independent. And so 10 years on, having attracted over 3,000 quality entries and counting — 2010 is not only a great milestone for the Festival, but it also clearly shows the growing public support, for local films and the short film medium." This year's showcase will find itself blissfully lapping up late-Spring ambience with the addition of Bondi Pavilion’s outdoor Amphitheatre, as the sell-out event aims to embrace the inexplicable sensation of balmy evening picture viewing.
Have you ever wondered how some lucky punters nab a designer’s wares before they become the next big thing? They could have supernatural powers enabling them to spot vanguards-in-the-making or they may just make the most of opportunities to buy things directly from new designers.The Young Blood Designers Market falls into the latter category, allowing you to meet and purchase items directly from fresh, up-and-coming creative talent. The curated market will be held in the Powerhouse Museum’s main gallery on August 14 and 15. Items for sale include fashion, furniture, jewellery, graphics, landscape, lighting design and more.Also on offer will be limited edition pieces created for Eat Green Design, the Museum’s temporary sustainable restaurant.
