Plastics, specifically single-use plastics, have been in the spotlight a lot this year. State governments and supermarket chains have banned single-use plastic bags and plenty of bars and eateries across Australia have introduced plastic straw bans. And now, fast food giant McDonald's is taking a stand against single-use plastic straws, announcing it'll start phasing plastic straws across Australia next month. Australia is not the first country in which the fast food chain has introduced this — it started phasing them out in the UK in April this year. But back in Australia, McDonald's will begin trialling paper straws at two restaurants in August, before banning them completely by 2020. There's no exact figure for Australia, but it's estimated that 500 million plastic straws are used and discarded every day in the US — that's enough to fill 125 school buses. Plastic straws are also part of a wider plastics and general waste being experienced globally, with experts estimating that by 2050 there'll be more plastic in the ocean than fish. While the most recent push to ban plastic straws across Australia has been welcomed by many environmental groups, it also has unwelcome consequences for many disabled Australians. As reported by the ABC, many disabled Australians rely on straws to eat and drink, with reusable options not being suitable because of their inability to bend or to be used in beverages above a certain temperature. Users on both sides of the debate have voiced their opinions on Twitter, with some saying the ban is a no-brainer, while others saying it just further marginalises the disabled members of our community. Some users suggest a straws-on-demand policy could be the answer. It has not yet been announced which Australian restaurants will be trialling the paper straws, or when a wider ban will be implemented, but we'll continue to update as more information is released.
New King, new cast of The Crown. The latter isn't a result of the former; however, change has come to the monarchy IRL, and is also clearly on its way in season five of Netflix's hit regal drama. Chaos and scandal is in the air on-screen, in fact, with the series jumping to the early to mid-1990s — aka the era of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's marriage breakdown. In The Crown's just-dropped trailer for its fifth season, things are tense in the House of Windsor. Actually, that's an understatement. As the relationship between the now-current off-screen King and his first wife stretches, strains and snaps, media interest heats up, Queen Elizabeth II has plenty of worries and Diana refuses to simply toe the family line. None of this will be new news to anyone aware of history, just like almost everything in The Crown since 2016, when it started bringing the British royal family's ups and downs from newspaper headlines to Netflix. And, yes, the film Spencer did cover some of the same territory as The Crown season five, just on the big screen, earlier this year — but come Wednesday, November 9, streaming viewers will be able to see how this award-winning series handles it. Also part of The Crown's fifth season: approaching the 40th anniversary of the Queen's reign, the public questioning the role of the royal family and changes on the international landscape. But it seems that the bulk of the new episodes' focus will sit with Charles, Diana, divorce requests, press scrutiny, explosive books and interviews, and the rest of the fallout. This time around, Downton Abbey, Maleficent and Paddington star Imelda Staunton dons the titular headwear, while Game of Thrones and Tales from the Loop's Jonathan Pryce steps into Prince Philip's shoes — and Princess Margaret is played by Staunton's Maleficent co-star and Phantom Thread Oscar-nominee Lesley Manville. Also, Australian Tenet, The Burnt Orange Heresy and Widows star Elizabeth Debicki takes over the role of Princess Diana, with The Wire and The Pursuit of Love's Dominic West as Prince Charles. The Crown shakes up its cast every couple of seasons. After starting out with Claire Foy (The Electrical Life of Louis Wain) as Queen Elizabeth II, Matt Smith (House of the Dragon) as Prince Philip and Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret (Pieces of a Woman) in its first two seasons, which aired in 2016 and 2017, the series returned in 2019 with Olivia Colman (Heartstopper), Tobias Menzies (This Way Up) and Helena Bonham Carter (Enola Holmes) in those roles. Plus, it added Josh O'Connor (Mothering Sunday) as Prince Charles — and, in season four in 2020, Emma Corrin (Misbehaviour) and The X-Files icon Gillian Anderson joined the cast as Lady Diana Spencer and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, respectively. Netflix's full trailer for season five comes after a first sneak peek back in September, which also honed in on Charles and Diana. Season five arrives two months after Queen Elizabeth II's death in early September, and following a pause in the show's production afterwards. News around the show's fifth and sixth seasons, with the latter following the monarch into the 2000s, has changed a few times over the past few years. At the beginning of 2020, Netflix announced that it would end the royal drama after its fifth season. Then, the streaming platform had a change of heart, revealing it would continue the series for a sixth season after all. Check out the trailer for The Crown season five below: The Crown's fifth season will hit Netflix on Wednesday, November 9. Images: Keith Bernstein / Netflix
If you wouldn't trust Gumtree, Domain or Craigslist to find you a new roommate, you're not alone. You're probably pretty smart, as well. To help you avoid the slob, the creep, or the no-concept-of-personal-space roommate, Friends With Rooms has created a Facebook roomie-finding app. The app utilises Facebook's social graph to match you up with other people whose profiles contain similar information and interests. Users answer a series of general questions designed to get a more in-depth concept of what type of roommate he or she might be (Do you prefer to stay out late or to rise early?). If you do happen to find a 'match', you can even have a mutual friend vouch for the other person. So rest assured that, thanks to this app, not every roommate has to be like your infamous first-year uni roommate. [via Mashable]
Cannes may be the world's most prestigious film festival, but it sure can be predictable. First of all, you can guarantee there will be a host of big name auteurs strutting around with A-list celebrities, you know the films will largely be about war or poverty — and yes, the critics will of course go crazy for them. With all the glitz and the glamour that comes with such prestige, you can't help but yearn for a little more intrigue. So, to combat all the glowing end-of-festival reports written by the world's best critics, here's a list of the festival's oddities — the things we didn't really see coming. Jean-Luc Godard is still alive, and he's messing with our minds Okay, this may sound insensitive but we just had no idea this guy was still around. It's not totally unreasonable either. Now at age 83, this legendary auteur of the French New Wave has officially reached the time usually reserved for shuffleboard and cryptic crosswords. If he was still making films, we'd kind of expect them to be dawdling black and white tales of an elderly intellectual's battle against his noisy young neighbours. Instead Godard's offering to this year's festival, Goodbye to Language, was a daring formal experiment. In terms of plot, the film is unsurprisingly lacking. In fact Indiewire summarised it simply as a film about a couple and a dog: "She wears clothes only very rarely ... he likes to talk about shit while taking a shit, and the dog is drawn to [some] water." But the buzz around the film came from its unexpected use of 3D technology. At one point in the film, the audience was presented with what reviewers described as "a headache-inducing blur". However, when viewed with one eye closed a clear picture comes into focus. When opening the other eye, a different picture comes to the fore. Who would have thought Godard would be the one to bring Magic Eye books into cinematic reality? Films can basically be shot with Instagram now Another noted formal innovation was by the 25-year-old Canadian wunderkind, Xavier Dolan. His prize-winning film Mommy was shot in an unprecedented 1:1 ratio — the same square size as your average Instagram video. Following the story of a single mother and her 15-year-old son who suffers from ADHD, the film coincidentally shared the Grand Jury Prize with Jean-Luc Godard's Goodbye to Language. The move has created an understandable buzz in the filmmaking industry and has been given incredibly positive reviews by critics and audiences alike. It's been reported that this tight field of vision intensifies the action of the film and gives an effective lens to the character's struggle with ADHD. Not to give anything away, but the screen ratio does however change to full-screen in moments of happiness during the film. It sounds a little corny, but with such a huge prize and stacks of audience approval, Dolan must pull it off pretty well. Ryan Gosling made a film and it sucked I know it seems impossible. Ryan Gosling is supposed to be some kind of superhuman specimen capable of anything except eating cereal, but apparently he's not that great at directing either. Lost River was his very first foray into the director's chair. At first it seemed promising — he recruited his buddies Eva Mendes and Christina Hendricks onto the cast, and the film made its way to Cannes. But after being universally panned by both audiences and critics, it's officially being labelled a flop. Following a single mother's struggles in a new city, the film has harshly been described as both "a student film with an A list cast" and "a cacophony of meaningless motifs stumbling round in service of a plot best summed up by 'woman decides to move house'". Yikes, sorry RyRy. Cinema is dead (according to Quentin Tarantino) We really should have seen this one coming. Between throwing whole scripts away and making films that are basically one giant in-joke, Quentin Tarantino does have a reputation for being a bit of a diva. But before entering a screening of his cult hit Pulp Fiction, the legendary director threw a bit of a hissy fit about digital film. "The fact that most films now are not presented in 35mm means that the war is lost," said Tarantino. He complained that screening films in a digital format is basically the same as watching television in public. "What I knew as cinema is dead," he said. Soon after, Tarantino announced new plans to create a TV miniseries from the unused footage of Django Unchained and did a little dance on the red carpet. So, who knows what this guy will do next. Sometimes sex scenes with Robert Pattinson pay off We know that's an unfair way to put it, but it's true all the same. This year Julianne Moore has won a Best Actress award for her role in David Cronenberg's Maps the the Stars — a satirical filmic look at Hollywood in which Moore has sweaty car sex with Pattinson. Obviously she also entirely deserves the award for her unflinching portrayal of an ageing Hollywood starlet, but seriously... who thought some vehicular good times with RPattz could get you a top gong at Cannes? Better luck next time, KStew.
Over seven years in the making, Bondi Pavilion's massive transformation is finally set to be complete this spring. First announced way back in 2015, the pavilion's multimillion-dollar revamp has been a long-running project of the Waverley Council, which has revealed that the historic building will finally reopen later this year with a host of new food, drink and cultural tenants. "There is such growing excitement in the community about the reopening as more and more of the building and our world-class restoration works are revealed," Mayor of Waverley Paula Masselos said. The rejuvenated space will feature an art gallery, cultural spaces, a new area called the Bondi Story Room, a pottery studio, new amenities and an expansive public courtyard, plus the previously announced food and drink tenants. Late last year, it was revealed the team behind Circular Quay's new multi-level venue Hinchcliff House would be at the helm of an all-day cafe, bakery and bistro called Bondi Promenade at the pavilion. The cultural spaces will be available for a multitude of uses by the community including art exhibitions, theatre, workshops and classes, while the Bondi Story Room will offer visitors the chance to look back on Bondi's history via an interactive digital exhibition. The council is taking submissions for the exhibition via the Bondi Pavilion website. During the renovations, the council has also been working with the Gujaga Foundation to ensure that Indigenous cultural heritage is reflected in the Bondi Pavilion, including naming new spaces in the building in the local Dharawal language. The nearly century-old building was first built in the 1920s, replacing the Bondi Surf Sheds with the Turkish and Hot Sea Water Baths in 1929. The current renovations have uncovered the bathhouse's original signage, which has been restored ready for the pavilion opening. While an exact date in spring hasn't been provided for the reopening, expressions of interest to hire the pavilion's Community and Cultural Centre are now open for the dates Monday, October 10 through until the end of the year. Bondi Pavilion is located at Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi Beach and is set to reopen in spring. You can stay up to date with the building's refurbishment at the Waverley Council's website. Images: Tonkin Zulaikha Greer.
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia wrapped up last Friday after showcasing the best of local fashion design against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour. Noticeably absent this year were big names Lover, Josh Goot and Dion Lee, as well all as our well-shod friends from across the ditch like Kate Sylvester and Stolen Girlfriends Club, but often it's the emerging designers who put on the most impressive shows. To celebrate five days of more laser lights and short shorts than you could poke a complimentary bottle of San Pellegrino Aranciata at, here are five exciting local labels to familiarise yourself with immediately. 1. MICHAEL LO SORDO To say rising cool kid Michael Lo Sordo’s show at The Apollo was highly anticipated would be a sweeping understatement. Sydney-based Lo Sordo recently took out the Qantas Spirit of Youth Award for his prodigious grasp of construction, and lived up to the hype with a meticulously tailored collection of soft white shirting, coloured metallic tees and knockout party dresses with graphic prints and gladiator detailing. Buy his pieces at Maubourg, Roots & Wings Design or Adelaide’s Chasing Nel. 2. KAYLENE MILNER Among the six talented graduates showing at the highly anticipated TAFE show was Kaylene Milner. Milner has just been selected for an internship with Diane von Furstenberg, and it's thanks to this patchwork-luxe collection juxtaposing earthy furs with vibrant colours. The young designer also has a gutsy back story — she was flipping through a 2007 Vogue during a uni lecture when she decided to ditch musicology in favour of whipping up a portfolio to submit to the prestigious TAFE. Previous designers to have made their runway debut at the Innovators show include Dion Lee and Emma Mulholland, so expectations are justifiably high. 3. AJE Design duo Edwina Robinson and Adrian Norris staged a confident runway debut which mixed sequins, mesh, fishtail skirts and scalloped micro hemlines — sometimes all at once — without sacrificing the label’s nonchalant elegance. Among the many standout pieces was a heavily sequinned mermaid-inspired gown, fittingly anchored by beaten leather boots with the tongue hanging out. Aje is stocked in Desordre in Sydney and Strada in Noosa. 4. CHRISTOPHER ESBER Most 23-year-olds are navigating life one mistake at a time, but Christopher Esber is not most 23-year-olds. The young Sydney designer was one of the standout newcomers at Rosemount Australia Fashion Week last year, consistently proving himself worthy of the hype that has surrounded his collections since he debuted alongside Dion Lee in 2008. Esber’s clothing is characterised by minimalist design, meticulous tailoring and luxurious fabrics, and this season he's all about clinical whites offset by delicate sheer fabric. 5. AN ODE TO NO ONE Few things kick of a runway show like a holographic laser light display, but you don't want the theatrics to outshine the clothing. Luckily An Ode To No One designer Adi Setiadi is a sartorial genius. Last year he penetrated a market saturated with digital prints by rendering his own in trippy 3D, and this time he paraded an army of sci-fi bombshells in Tron-esque geometric dresses, sharply tailored pantsuits and silks that rippled like water. Setiadi cut his teeth working for iconic Aussie designers Akira and Nicola Finetti before starting An Ode To No One in 2008, but his futuristic aesthetic is all his own.
Step into the light and embrace your own mortality at the unsettlingly-named Festival of Death and Dying. Curated by artist and scholar Peter Banki along with festival dramaturge Victoria Spence, this two-day event will feature a mixture of workshops, talks and performances in order to examine the western fear of death while celebrating all that life has to offer. Standout events on the program include Share My Coffin, a role-playing workshop in which participants will be cast in the role of both mourners and the deceased and End of Life Dreams, a discussion with palliative care physician Dr. Michael Barbato about the experiences of dying patients. Mortality Performance Night will see an evening of long and short performance works from artists including Alice Cummins, Alan Schacher and WeiZen Ho. The Festival of Death and Dying will be held at The Drill Hall in Rushcutters Bay on October 7–8. Image: 'Free falling No.1' from the series Death Suits Me Fine by Paula Mahoney.
The onset of those searing summer rays should remind us that skin cancer is Australia's biggest killer. But national awareness doesn't seem to mirror the scary statistics. In an attempt to rectify this, Pretty Shady is injecting some style into the skin cancer awareness campaign, with sun protection gear you can get your hands on for free — some of it rather covetable and limited edition. Included is a beautifully designed Basil Bangs beach umbrella (there are 50 of those) and a rad Lister-designed tee (just 40). There's also a stack of reversible bucket hats (800), some handcrafted sunnies (800), and a few hundred litres of sunscreen up for grabs. These items ought to help you kick the habit of poolside tanning. Pretty Shady is aiming to be the generation that stops the spread of skin cancer, one summer at a time. With high-profile ambassadors such as Nicole Warne, Anthony Lister and Gossling, they're packing a pretty powerful cool factor. Enter the competition to win Pretty Shady gear and you'll automatically go into the draw to win even more. The five limited edition items will be released one by one. So jump on in as soon as possible to increase your chances of securing a piece of the shady action. And even if you don't win, we encourage you to find a way to, in the words of a much daggier campaign, slip slop slap.
You've read the books, watched the TV series and seen the concert experience. You're looking forward to all of the television spinoffs that are currently in the works and, once international travel resumes, you're keen to take a tour of its sets, costumes and props. Now, Game of Thrones fans, you can add something else to your list: watching George RR Martin's fantasy world on the stage. Yes, Westeros is heading to the theatre, thanks to a new stage adaptation that'll be set at an important moment in the history of the series. And, with a 2023 target premiere date and seasons on Broadway, in the West End and in Australia mooted, it's set to arrive sooner than you might've expected — and closer to home, too. Martin is involved, working alongside playwright Duncan Macmillan (Lungs, Every Brilliant Thing, 1984), who'll be adapting the author's works and writing the play. Overseeing the production is director Dominic Cooke (On Chesil Beach, The Courier), while Simon Painter and Tim Lawson (The Illusionists) are producing the show. If you're wondering exactly what the as yet unnamed theatre production will cover, few details have been revealed — but, unlike Jon Snow, we do know something. Familiar and well-known characters will definitely feature, as will a story centred around "love, vengeance, madness and the dangers of dealing in prophecy, in the process revealing secrets and lies that have only been hinted at until now" according to the press release announcing the play. Martin himself has offered further information. "The seeds of war are often planted in times of peace. Few in Westeros knew the carnage to come when highborn and smallfolk alike gathered at Harrenhal to watch the finest knights of the realm compete in a great tourney, during the Year of the False Spring," he explained. "It is a tourney oft referred during HBO's Game of Thrones, and in my novels, A Song of Ice and Fire... and now, at last, we can tell the whole story... on the stage." Obviously, it's far too early for cast announcements — so just who'll be bringing these dramas to life, and whether any of the TV show's cast members will be involved, is yet to be revealed. If you're wondering whether there'll be dragons, White Walkers or direwolves, that's also yet to be unveiled. Exactly when in 2023 the play will debut also hasn't been advised as yet, or details of the proposed US, UK and Australian seasons. But, thanks to all of those television prequels and spinoffs set to hit the small screen and now this theatre production, you can safely expect to spend plenty more time in Westeros over the coming years. The as yet unnamed Game of Thrones stage production is set to premiere in 2023, with producers aiming for seasons on Broadway, in the West End and in Australia to start. We'll keep you updated when more information comes to hand.
Uniting a handful of the Darlinghurst street's vendors, Nightmare on Stanley Street is the pre-Halloween party for the foodie. Nightmarees can explore both tricks and treats at a haunted mental institution (Kubrick's), the Addams Family mansion (Rupert & Ruby) and a scene from 'Return of the Titanic' (Hazy Rose), with live music from 9.30pm. Tickets include your choice of a Halloween-themed drink or dish at each of the venues. Nightmare on Stanley Street is one of the picks from our Halloween party guide. Check out the rest here.
When The Haunting of Hill House hit Netflix back in 2018, it left a strong impression. The horror show clearly had that effect not just on audiences, but on the streaming platform, even though it stepped through a once-off storyline. So, anthology series-style, the service is bringing viewers a follow-up — in the form of The Haunting of Bly Manor. As the name makes plain, an eerie abode definitely plays a very prominent part once again. Created and co-directed by filmmaker Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep), just like its predecessor, The Haunting of Bly Manor adapts Henry James' 1898 horror novella The Turn of the Screw. That means that it heads into gothic chiller and even romance territory; however, given that it's set in 1980s England, you can expect a few tweaks to that story. As both the initial teaser and the just-dropped full trailer demonstrate, the show's narrative kicks off when Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas, Stargirl) hires an American nanny (Victoria Pedretti, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) to look after his orphaned niece Flora (Amelie Bea Smith) and nephew Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth). Her employment follows the death of an au pair, and her arrival at Bly Manor exposes the estate's centuries of secrets. If you're a fan of The Haunting of Hill House, you will have spotted that both Thomas and Pedretti return from that series, as do The Invisible Man's Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Gerald's Game's Kate Siegel — all playing different characters this time around. And, if you'd been wondering what you'll be watching to celebrate the spookiest month of the year — October, obviously — The Haunting of Bly Manor has you covered, as it'll drop on Friday, October 9. A word of warning: if you're not too fond of creepy dolls (are there any other kind in horror movies and TV shows?), expect to feel extra unsettled. Check out the full trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tykS7QfTWMQ The Haunting of Bly Manor will hit Netflix on Friday, October 9.
Trust Young Henrys to come up with an afternoon of beer, music and brewery-related sports. Come along and watch some of your favourite brewers try to best each other at the Brewers Olympics. There's a bonus – all the competing breweries will have a tap pouring as well. Clear out your Saturday, grab a pint of your favourite beer and watch the shenanigans. This event is one of our top ten picks of Sydney Craft Beer Week. Check out the other nine. Image: Young Henrys.
Dust off your sombreros, amigos. The latest international excuse for a good time to reach our shores is Cinco de Mayo — a celebration of all things Mexican (which, if we’re being nit-picky, is really more of an Americanisation than anything but shh, let us party). In celebration, the folks at Corona and Beach Burrito Company West End are putting together a fiesta, complete with face painting by local street artists and the first ever Taco Time Trials Eating Contest. For the less competitively inclined but equally taco-happy, Cinco de Mayo falls conveniently on a Tuesday, and Beach Burrito Co’s regular $3 taco deal applies, so your pesos’ll stretch further. With what you’ve got left, you can sip salt-rimmed margaritas, down trays of tequila shots (not recommended) or share a bucket of ice-cold Coronas. And, of course, come prepared to smash and whack your way to glory, because they wouldn’t be doing Mexico right without pinatas.
When you've already announced that you're turning 31 with Kraftwerk, what comes next? Adding an impressive list of other acts. Back in July, Meredith advised that 2023's fest would feature the German electro pioneers. Now, the beloved Victorian event has unveiled who else will be taking to its Supernatural Amphitheatre. Also leading the bill: Caroline Polachek making her first trip Down Under, plus Alvvays and Alex G. Eris Drew & Octo Octa, Flowdan and Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs join the roster, too, as well as Sneaky Sound System, No Fixed Address and Souls of Mischief — and there's more where they came from. 2023's list of talent continues to demonstrate Meredith's knack for curating its lineup to perfection. Australia boasts no shortage of music festivals, but no one puts together a bill like the Aunty crew. "From deep discovery to elementary enjoyment. Subterranean treasures to searing virtuosos, from sunlit essentials to late-nite blasts. Never-thought-it-would-happens amidst hometown heroes. A bellow of resonant revelations." That's Meredith's own suitably evocative description of everyone taking to its single stage from Friday, December 8–Sunday, December 10. There's still a few more names to come — "a handful", the festival notes — for what's set to be a massive long weekend. To nab tickets to the beloved three-day BYO camping festival, you'll need to enter the ballot, which is up and running now until 10.31pm AEST on Tuesday, August 22. And if you'd like to head along by volunteering instead, applications are currently open as well. MEREDITH 2023 LINEUP: Kraftwerk Caroline Polachek Alvvays Alex G Eris Drew & Octo Octa Flowdan Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Sneaky Sound System No Fixed Address Souls of Mischief Cable Ties Blawan Floodlights moktar Telenova They Hate Change C.O.F.F.I.N. dameeeela Bumpy Kuniyuki Meninyan Miss Kaninna Gut Health Ali Milo Eastwood Watty Thompson Mary Lattimore Pachyman City of Ballarat Municipal Brass Band Meredith Music Festival will return to Meredith on Friday, December 8–Sunday, December 10, 2023. To put your name in the ballot to get your hands on tickets, head to the festival's website before 10.31pm AEST on Tuesday, August 22. Top images: Michael Ridley, Adam Ricco, Chelsea King, Steve Benn and Ben Fletcher.
Hendrick's Gin and The Adventurists have teamed up with Concrete Playground to offer CP readers 2 x double passes to a quintessentially British occasion taking place at the Justice & Police Museum at Circular Quay on Saturday – Afternoon Tea with a Legend of Adventure. A group of fellow intrepid explorers and the premium gin brand have joined forces to host a most curious and adventuresome event featuring Jon Muir, one of Australia's greatest adventurers, as a speaker. The very epitome of legend, Jon Muir will tell his esteemed tales of exploration and adventure. For more details about the Afternoon Tea, the 'Legend of Adventure' headline speaker Jon Muir and info on nabbing your tickets, please visit www.afternoontea.theadventurists.com. To enter, just make sure you're subscribed to Concrete Playground then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and phone number. Entries close at midday, November 11, 2011.
We're not big fans of food celebration days, but we are big fans of doughnuts. Especially free ones. And this Friday, June 1 — 'International Doughnut Day', if you will — Butter is giving away a few hundred doughnuts to mark the occasion. Yep, as well as being a shrine to fried chicken and Champagne, Butter also pumps out hot fluffy cinnamon numbers on the reg. Haven't tried them? This is a good chance — the team will be handing out 100 free doughnuts at both its Surry Hills and Parramatta stores from 11.30am. You don't have to buy anything else to nab one, but, as is custom, there will only be one freebie per person. A word of warning: you'll need to get in early. Nothing draws a crowd like free doughnuts.
Last week, it was announced that community sport for under 18s would be allowed to recommence from July 1. Now, NSW Sports Minister Geoff Lee has revealed in an interview on 2GB, that adults will be able to return to the sports fields, too. Netball, basketball, Aussie rules, rugby and indoor soccer are all back on the cards, with Lee telling 2GB, "all community sports will return July 1 this year and everybody can play, it's game on for the whole community." At the moment, teams can train in groups of up to ten only, but Lee says limits on group sizes for sport will also be relaxed from the first of next month, which is particularly helpful for sports, like AFL, where you have more than ten a side. The NSW Government is currently developing a COVIDSafe checklist for community sport, which will include guidelines on hygiene, social distancing and — a much debated topic — spectators. From this weekend, up to 50 people, with one person per four square metres, will be allowed in corporate boxes at NRL stadiums. But Lee says the Government is currently working on other spectator limits, for both professional and community sport. While Australian Rugby League Commission Chairman Peter V'landys is calling for full stadiums by August 1 and NSW's Deputy Premier John Barilaro wants fans in stadium stands as early as this weekend, Premier Gladys Berejiklian told The Today Show that fans will not be permitted to return to the footy this weekend. "No, not this weekend, no," the Premier said. "However, as we've said, the use of corporate boxes and the like is the first stage." https://twitter.com/TheTodayShow/status/1270473242977996801 This Saturday, June 13, gyms, fitness centres and yoga and dance studios will all be allowed to reopen with class sizes restricted to ten people and a maximum of 100 people per venue. Indoor pools and saunas will be able to reopen with restrictions, too, following the reopening of outdoor pools and ocean pools back on May 15. For more information about what you can and can't currently do in NSW under COVID–19 restrictions, have a look here and at the NSW Government website.
While we Southern hemisphere-bound folk have been digging out our cosy coats and clinging to our winter warmers, Fremantle's San Cisco have been blitzing the UK and the US, inspiring sun-kissed comparisons from the critics. The Guardian's Paul Lester introduced them as the 'New Band of the Day' on November 1, 2012, with "meet the new beach boys and girl." And if you've haven't heard, they've been signed. As in, to a major label. Fat Possum has picked them up in the US and they're with Columbia in the UK. 'Awkward's domination of the Aussie pop charts and 4 million+ YouTube hits may have had something to do with that. The good news is that San Cisco is home, to spend May and June on their nationwide The Beach Tour. Their first Sydney gig (May 31) is already sold out, but tickets are still up for grabs for a second show on June 9. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ukNOaKeUEQY
Gathering up a heap of fellow Aussie talent, actor and singer John Waters (no, not that one) is putting on a huge day-long bushfire benefit concert for the Southern Highlands. Hosted by Julia Zemiro, FireAid2020 will raise money for the fire-ravaged community — where Waters lives and where many have lost their homes. On the bill: Waters himself, plus Daryl Braithwaite, John Paul Young, Megan Washington, Jack Jones, Margaret Urlich and Leo Sayer. Expect to hear classic tracks such as 'Horses' and 'Love Is in the Air', as well as a heap of Leonard Cohen — with the latter coming courtesy of Stewart D'Arrietta. It all takes place on Friday, January 24 at the Bong Bong Picnic Racecourse in Bowral, with gates opening at 2pm. And your $65 ticket will go to a good — and local — cause, with net proceeds being donated to the Red Cross Bushfire Relief, specifically directed to the Southern Highland division. If you're road tripping down south for the night (or weekend), it's a good chance to visit and support some local businesses affected by the fires — the Spend With Them Instagram account is helping to call out many of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnigc08J6FI
Sydney Film Festival went out with a bang last night, naming Aquarius as the official winner of the 2016 Sydney Film Prize at their closing night gala. It is director Kleber Mendonça Filho's second feature film, and the second to have won him international acclaim. The filmmaker won out against eleven other knockout films to take home the SFF Official Competition trophy and a $63,000 cash prize. Following on from his first film Neighbouring Sounds — which was a finalist in the 2012 SFF Official Competition, and has since won over 100 awards, as well as being Brazil's submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars — Aquarius follows 65-year-old protagonist Clara, played by the brilliant Sonia Braga (Kiss of the Spider Woman). Clara is a fiercely independent music critic who goes head-to-head with the firm that is trying to buy her seaside apartment. This 'last woman standing' drama is well suited as a sophomore film to Neighbouring Sounds, which examined race, class and fear in the same setting of Recife, Brazil. Despite its power and a nomination for the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival this year, Aquarius has not yet aired in Brazil. Aquarius went up against some stellar films this year, including Goldstone and It's Only the End of the World, both of which were on our top ten films to see at the festival. The Festival's Official Competition was established in 2008 and looks for films that are audacious, cutting edge and courageous. Previous Sydney Film Prize winners include Arabian Nights (2015), Two Days, One Night (2014), Only God Forgives (2013) and Alps (2012).
It's a year since Chuck Hahn, the legendary brewer who founded Hahn, opened a brewery in St Peters with his son, Scott. The duo has already won a bunch of awards, including Man of Many's Beer of the Year and Open Table's Best Venue for Dining, determined by vote. To celebrate, Chuck and Son's Brewing Co. is throwing a massive one-day party. There'll be live music, craft and face painting for kids, and, most importantly, free tastings on the hour, every hour. Get there at midday to start off easy with a Lo-Cal Lager, before popping back to the bar at 1pm to sip the Touring Radler, then at 2pm for an Original Pilsner. The samples will continue until 9pm, which means it's an excellent opportunity to try all the beers you've never tried before. Chuck, who's been brewing for 50 years, reckons these drops are the best he's ever made. As they head into their second year, Chuck and Sons will launch a supper club in June. Every Friday and Saturday, the venue will transform into a lounge bar, with a roaming cart providing table service and late night snacks, accompanied by live jazz.
Already home to the best beach in the world for 2024, Palm Cove in Queensland's north now also boasts the best hotel in the South Pacific — and also Australia — for this year. The first accolade arrived back in March, when the Sunshine State locale near Cairns topped Condé Nast Traveller's beach list. The second has just dropped via Tripadvisor, as part of its Best of the Best Hotels ranking in its 2024 Travellers' Choice Awards. The celebrated hotel: The Reef House Adults Retreat Palm Cove, which takes over the top spot on both the South Pacific and Aussie Tripadvisor lists after coming second to Pinetrees Lodge on Lord Howe Island in 2023. That said, while it earned plenty of local love, it didn't make the global 25, which Pinetrees Lodge managed last year. [caption id="attachment_901977" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Reef House Adults Retreat Palm Cove[/caption] The Reef House was applauded for its beach access, onsite pools, calming atmosphere and well-appointed rooms, if you're now thinking of heading north for your next getaway. Queensland is also home to the second-best hotel in both the South Pacific and Australia, with that honour going to Emporium Hotel South Bank in Brisbane. It's been a big year or so for showering the Sunshine State with affection, with Brisbane named one of the best places to go in 2024 by The New York Times, travel guide Frommer's also selecting the city as one of 2024's best spots to visit, TIME putting it on its world's greatest places list for 2023, and the World's Best 50 Hotels picking The Calile as its only Australian and Oceanic entry in its inaugural countdown in 2023. [caption id="attachment_952781" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Emporium Hotel South Bank[/caption] On Tripadvisor's South Pacific rankings for 2024, Australian hotels scored six of the top ten spots, including MACq 01 Hotel in Hobart in third place, Next Hotel Melbourne in fifth, Quest Orange in sixth and Zagame's House in Melbourne at tenth. They had company from two Fijian places to stay — Tokoriki Island Resort in fourth place and Six Senses Fiji at ninth — as well as the seventh-ranked Le Bora Bora by Pearl Resorts and eighth-placed Sojourn Apartment Hotel Riddiford in Wellington in New Zealand. The Aussie-only list filled its top six positions with the local hotels named above, then found a spot for Pinetrees Lodge this year, plus Element on Coolum Beach, Terminus Apartment Hotel in Newcastle and The Tasman in Hobart to round out the top ten. The full top 25 spans accommodation in Tamworth, Sydney, South Perth, Adelaide, Echuca and Canberra, too. [caption id="attachment_866700" align="alignnone" width="1920"] MACq 01 Hotel[/caption] Globally, the best place to stay is Hotel Colline de France in Gramado, Brazil — with OBLU SELECT Lobigili in Malé, Maldives coming in second; La Siesta Hoi An Resort & Spa in Hoi An, Vietnam sitting in third; Adiwana Suweta in Bali, Indonesia taking out fourth; and Iberostar Grand Packard in La Habana, Cuba notching up fifth spot. From there, it's back to the Maldives via Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa on Fasmendhoo Island, then to La Siesta Classic Ma May in Hanoi in Vietnam, Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya in Mexico, Padma Resort Ubud in Bali and finally Sofitel Mexico City Reforma back in Mexico. Next time that you're planning a vacation or a staycation, you've clearly got options. Tripadvisor's rankings are based on reviews on its platform, with its hotel lists joining its beach picks for 2024, which were announced in February. Manly Beach in Sydney was the only Aussie spot in the top ten, coming in seventh place. [caption id="attachment_952780" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hotel Colline de France in Brazil[/caption] Top Ten Hotels in the World 2024: 1. Hotel Colline de France — Gramado, Brazil 2. OBLU SELECT Lobigili — Malé, Maldives 3. La Siesta Hoi An Resort & Spa — Hoi An, Vietnam 4. Adiwana Suweta — Bali, Indonesia 5. Iberostar Grand Packard — La Habana, Cuba 6. Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa — Fasmendhoo Island, Maldives 7. La Siesta Classic Ma May — Hanoi, Vietnam 8. Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya — Akumal, Mexico 9. Padma Resort Ubud — Bali, Indonesia 10. Sofitel Mexico City Reforma — Mexico City, Mexico [caption id="attachment_952783" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Reef House Adults Retreat Palm Cove[/caption] Top Ten Hotels in the South Pacific 2024: 1. The Reef House Adults Retreat Palm Cove — Palm Cove, Australia 2. Emporium Hotel South Bank — Brisbane, Australia 3. MACq 01 Hotel — Hobart, Australia 4. Tokoriki Island Resort — Tokoriki Island, Fiji 5. Next Hotel Melbourne — Melbourne, Australia 6. Quest Orange — Orange, Australia 7. Le Bora Bora by Pearl Resorts — Bora Bora, French Polynesia 8. Sojourn Apartment Hotel Riddiford — Wellington, New Zealand 9. Six Senses Fiji — Malolo Island, Fiji 10. Zagame's House — Melbourne, Australia [caption id="attachment_952782" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Emporium Hotel South Bank[/caption] Top 25 Hotels in Australia 2024: 1. The Reef House Adults Retreat Palm Cove — Palm Cove, Qld 2. Emporium Hotel South Bank — Brisbane, NSW 3. MACq 01 Hotel — Hobart, Tas 4. Next Hotel Melbourne — Melbourne, Vic 5. Quest Orange — Orange, NSW 6. Zagame's House — Melbourne, Vic 7. Pinetrees Lodge — Lord Howe Island, NSW 8. Element on Coolum Beach — Coolum Beach, Qld 9. Terminus Apartment Hotel — Newcastle, NSW 10. The Tasman, a Luxury Collection Hotel — Hobart, Tas 11. Goonoo Goonoo Station — Tamworth, NSW 12. Adina Apartment Hotel Sydney Chippendale — Sydney, NSW 13. The Henry Jones Art Hotel — Hobart, Tas 14. Treasury On Collins — Melbourne, Vic 15. Quest South Perth Foreshore — South Perth, WA 16. Majestic M Suites — North Adelaide, SA 17. Quest Echuca — Echuca, Vic 18. Adina Apartment Hotel Adelaide Treasury — Adelaide, SA 19. Alcyone Hotel Residences — Brisbane, Qld 20. Vibe Hotel Hobart — Hobart, Tas 21. Little National Hotel Sydney — Sydney, NSW 22. Lancemore Crossley St — Melbourne, Vic 23. East Hotel — Canberra, ACT 24. Deco Hotel Canberra — Canberra, ACT 25. Park Hyatt Melbourne — Melbourne, Vic [caption id="attachment_901978" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tokoriki Island Resort[/caption] For more information about Tripadvisor's 2024 Travellers' Choice Awards, head to the service's website. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Now you're spending a little more time in your home, you may as well pick up a new skill. Always wanted to know how to shake a martini that would impress James Bond? What about learning some handy tricks in the kitchen for the dinner party you're planning when this is all over? Well, Sydney bar and vegetarian diner Golden Gully is letting you level-up from the comfort of your living room. If you're keen to take your boozy drinks from the humble G&T to a whiskey sour or manhattan, join bartenders Rachael and Danny over video chat for a one-hour class, which will show you how to mix up whatever you've got lying in your liquor cabinet. So, you can put that shot of Midori down now. Prefer to learn how to be a whiz in the kitchen? Golden Gully's chef Emma Evans (ex-Alibi) will help you turn water into wine — well more like mi goreng into pad see ew, which is still a mean feat. You'll join her for an hour via video chat to go through a recipe and cook up something tasty, even using the most mundane ingredients in your panty. Each class costs $60 and will not only see you through self-isolation, but also are life skills you should probably have under your belt anyway. To purchase a class, head here. And once that's done, message Golden Gully on Instagram to arrange a time and date. Images: Trent van der Jagt
Take a trip to America's East Coast this Easter Sunday with an epic hip hop and R&B jam, happening at The Soda Factory. New York City's biggest names will be in your ears from 6pm till late and you're invited to get into their beats in whatever way makes you happy — be that dancin', rappin', sittin' or chowin' down. While you're getting comfy to Biggie Smalls, Tupac, TLC, Jay-Z and Lil' Kim, the Soda Factory's usual goodies will be on the menu — from housemade burgers to juicy, crunchy, southern fried chicken to those famous gourmet hot dogs. Entry is free, but you can book yourself a table by emailing hello@sodafactory.com.au.
If you're a bit wary of technology's ever-growing influence in humanity's daily lives — be it artificial intelligence, streaming algorithms, social media, drones, augmented reality or online dating, to name just a few examples — then Charlie Brooker and Black Mirror might be one of the reasons. Since 2011, they've been spinning dystopian nightmares about what might happen as tech evolves. In plenty of cases, they've been satirising and interrogating innovations we use today, and what their next step might be. Yes, that makes Brooker the perfect speaker to get chatting at SXSW Sydney. Just days after the tech, innovation, screen, music, games and culture festival added Chance The Rapper to its list of headliners at its first-ever event outside of the US — celebrating 50 years of hip hop — it has now announced that Black Mirror creator Brooker is on his way to Australia as well. He'll hit Sydney during Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22 as part as a stacked lineup that also includes Coachella CEO Paul Tollett, Queer Eye star Tan France and Future Today Institute founder and CEO Amy Webb among its big names. [caption id="attachment_917939" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Netflix[/caption] "Having to quickly provide a personal quote for a press release about how excited I am to join the inaugural Sydney-flavoured SXSW event is exactly the sort of thing ChatGPT is for, but I've written this one myself because I still care about our species, dammit," said Charlie Brooker in a statement announcing his trip Down Under. "Although I initially misspelt 'inaugural' just then until I got corrected by a machine, so actually maybe we're just rubbish." "This tense love-hate relationship with technology is what Black Mirror is all about. That and stories about Prime Ministers and pigs. Anyway, I can't wait to attend and get so cowed by all the creativity and innovation on display that I go home feeling depressed and inadequate. I'm genuinely looking forward to it," Brooker continued. [caption id="attachment_917938" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Netflix[/caption] "SXSW Sydney seeks to offer unique perspectives of the future, making Charlie Brooker an ideal speaker for our event," added SXSW Sydney Managing Director Colin Daniels. "Black Mirror consistently leads the cultural conversation on what we face in the now or may confront in our future, offering a chance for reflection and change. Charlie embodies what attendees can expect from SXSW Sydney: creativity and innovation." Also on the SXSW Sydney lineup so far: a 700-plus strong bill of talent, covering over 300 sessions. The event will feature more than 300 gigs across 25 venues, too, and has been dropping its music highlights and must-attend parties since earlier in 2023. Its dedicated gaming strand will include a tabletop game expo. And, the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival will open with The Royal Hotel, and host the world premiere of Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles. The entire event — the festivals within the bigger fest, exhibitions, talks, networking opportunities and streetside activations — will happen within a walkable precinct in the Sydney CBD, Haymarket, Darling Harbour, Ultimo, Chippendale and more, with the SXSW Sydney's footprint operating as a huge hub. Venues named so far include Powerhouse Museum, ICC Sydney, UTS, Central Park Mall, the Goods Line Walk, The Abercrombie and Lansdowne Hotel. [caption id="attachment_911084" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jane Greer[/caption] SXSW Sydney will run from Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22 at various Sydney venues, with the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival running from Sunday, October 15–Saturday, October 21 at The ICC's Darling Theatre, Palace Cinemas Central and more venues to be announced. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Charlie Brooker images: Michael Wharley. If you're keen to make the most of Australia's first SXSW, take advantage of our special reader offer. Purchase your SXSW Sydney 2023 Official Badge via Concrete Playground Trips and you'll score a $150 credit to use on your choice of Sydney accommodation. Book now via the website.
Summer has had a blistering start, with the country yesterday clocking its hottest ever day on record. Australia's average maximum temperature soared to a whopping 40.9 degrees, barrelling past the previous record of 40.3 set back on January 7, 2013. But, things are looking much more bearable for December 25, as Christmas Day promises some balmy mid-20 conditions for Australia's barbecuing, beach-going and festive-feasting adventures. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne's the big day is set to hit a maximum of 28 degrees, with partly cloudy skies and only a ten-percent chance of any rain. It'll not only be cracking beach weather, but a welcome change of pace, after this coming Friday's expected top of 43. It's also a jump above Melbourne's December average, which clocks in at 24.2 degrees. [caption id="attachment_651722" align="alignnone" width="1920"] St Kilda Beach by Josie Withers for Visit Victoria[/caption] Sydney is on track to enjoy similar conditions, with an overall maximum of 27 degrees and a 40-percent chance of showers on the cards for Christmas Day. However, if you're venturing west, you'll probably want to line up a swim (or air-conditioning) of some sort, as Penrith hits an expected top of 32 degrees. It comes after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a seven-day State of Emergency on December 19, handing over executive powers to the RFS Commissioner, because of predicted worsening bushfire conditions. It's the second State of Emergency declared this fire season, too, which has been particularly devastating, with 768 homes lost and more than 2.7 million hectares burnt at last count. Those travelling over the festive period are being told to prepare for possible road closures, diversions and delays as a result. And before you head out of town, it's suggested you check Fires Near Me and heed any instructions and warnings. Further north in Brisbane, things are looking especially balmy with a sweaty forecast max of 33 degrees. It's just another in a long string of mid-30 days the city's been through this month, though Christmas Day is bucking the trend with a forecast 40-percent chance of rain. You might want to have a contingency plan for that outdoor barbie. [caption id="attachment_703464" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bunya River Crossing[/caption] Perth's set to unwrap a sticky top of 36 degrees for Christmas, way beyond the average December maximum of 29.1. With zero chance of rain forecast, it'll likely be the hottest day locals will have had all week, rounding out a string of high-20s and low-30s. Darwin is in for a similarly steamy maximum of 35 degrees with the added bonus of potential thunderstorms — pretty much the exact conditions it'll see every day in the lead-up. Meanwhile, Adelaide folk will be ringing in Christmas Day with a festive top of 32 degrees and Canberra is wrapping up a week of low-40s and mid-30s with a partly cloudy 33. As usual, Tasmania's playing things a little cooler, with Hobart in for a partly cloudy, potentially drizzly maximum of 23 degrees.
With the spectacle of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, it can be easy to forget that Vivid's delights extend further than the CBD. But there's plenty to see and do up north, too. As part of the festival's tenth anniversary, the Chatswood precinct will present Lightscape, a free outdoor installation that combines art and light exhibitions with fashion and food — the latter of which includes the Light Market. The market will pop up each night of the festival (May 25 through June 16) from 5.30pm. The central square will host 20 food stalls that have been built from recycled materials and arranged to resemble a makeshift town. Built by event producer Victoria Harbutt and Sydney-based scaffold sculpture artist Alejandro Rolandi, with the help of Randwick's Bluebottle art studio, the scaffold structure of opposing lines and shapes is complete with a dynamic light design. The stalls will feature some Sydney food favourites, including Mary's burgers, cakes from Black Star Pastry, Agape Organic's hearty dishes, and some scoops of gelato from Enmore's Cow & the Moon.
When the Sydney Fringe Festival rolls around, you know you're in for experiences that are both weird and wonderful, with an abundance of extravagance found all across town. A wonderful experience is exactly what you can expect from History of House, an electrifying event that will be held inside Sydney Spiegeltent in the Entertainment Quarter from Friday, August 30 to Sunday, September 29 as part of Sydney Fringe Festival's Spiegeltent Festival Garden program. History of House is a collaborative exploration of the history of dance music led by ARIA-nominated DJ Groove Terminator and the three-time Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, a world-famous South African choir that has performed with the likes of Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. Throughout the course of the evening, they'll take you on a trip through the best tunes of the 70s right up to the 00s, from CHIC's 'Le Freak' to Eurythmics' 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)' and Whitney Houston's 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)'. Staying still in your seat will be a challenge. Shows will run every Thursday through to Sunday. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Soweto Gospel Choir will perform Hope, an all-new concert featuring music penned during Nelson Mandela's South African freedom movement and Martin Luther King's 1950s American Civil Rights Movement. It includes the works of James Brown, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin. History of House will run Thursday through Sunday at Sydney Spiegeltent from August 30–September 29. Visit the website for more information or to book tickets.
In 2020, the inaugural Great Southern Nights saw more than 1000 gigs take place across 300 NSW venues. This year it's coming back throughout March and April with a heap of live shows from artists both emerging and bonafide iconic. That first iteration of the initiative saw more than 75,000 tickets sold across the 1100 gigs. "Great Southern Nights was designed with COVID-safety in mind, supporting shows of all sizes, in all kinds of live music venues, and giving the industry a leg up to get back to work," Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said. Last year we were treated to the first six acts of the lineup including indie-pop sensation Amy Shark, Yolngu rapper Baker Boy and DJ duo Peking Duk joining Australian music royalty Jimmy Barnes, Missy Higgins and Jessica Mauboy. Now, we've been treated to the full program featuring nearly 100 established and up-and-coming performers taking to stages across the state. Some of the beloved local acts, musical legends and festival favourites heading up the lineup include Archie Rose, Ball Park Music, Violent Soho, Hoodoo Gurus, Courtney Barnett, The Whitlams, Confidence Man, Youngn Lipz, Mallrat and Sneaky Sound System. Elsewhere on the lineup you'll find First Nations trailblazers Briggs and Nooky coming together with special guests, a Moree Block Party thrown by Kobie Dee, drill sensation Hooligan Heffs, viral hitmaker Masked Wolf, meme-heavy DJ Partiboi69 and throwback queens The Veronicas. "The live music scene makes a significant contribution to our social and economic wellbeing. As part of our roadmap to recovery it is vital that we get it back on its feet," said Ayres. "This will create jobs for artists and crew, revenue for venues and drive visitation to large parts of regional NSW that have done it tough over the past few years." Head to the Great Southern Nights website to check out the full lineup and all the details for when you can catch all your favourite acts performing. [caption id="attachment_636228" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Bec Taylor.[/caption]
If there are two things that are helping us through this latest stretch of lockdown, it's good food and good tunes. So, it's an extra win that the two are coming together for one exclusive virtual knees-up on Saturday, September 12. Attica's renowned culinary maestro Ben Shewry is teaming up with local electronic legends The Avalanches to host A Party for Melbourne, streamed live and loud, straight to your living room. They're aiming to send fans a big 'thank you', while blasting away a few of those dreary iso blues. The celebrations kick off early with a series of online 'How To Party' videos released in the week leading up, which'll see Shewry sharing his tips and tricks for whipping up the ultimate shindig. He'll guide you through everything from transforming your house into a disco den to creating game-changing prawn cocktails and sausage rolls. They'll be free to watch over on the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival (MFWF) website, as well as Shewry's and MFWF's social channels. On the big night, things will fire up with a set from DJ Soju Gang, before The Avalanches grace your screens with a show of their own, streamed via YouTube. Best make sure you've cleared plenty of room for dancing the night away. Tickets to this house party are free, but you'll need to register over at the MFWF website.
Anyone that's done time in the service industry will understand what we mean when we say it can be intoxicating — and not just because of how many free bevs you consume. ACT-based photographer Lucy Pallett-Jones has been on a mission to capture the good, the bad and the dirty of the hospitality life in a series she's dubbed Silk and Grit. The exhibition will take over Bulletin Place on Sunday, March 22, giving you one night only to explore the world of Australia's bartenders in a gallery space fitting for the topic at hand. Images in the exhibition were captured on film over a year — from behind, in front and on top of some of Australia's most beloved bars. Sydney's Cantina OK!, PS40 and Ramblin' Rascal feature, as do Melbourne's Heartbreaker and Brisbane laneway bar Death and Taxes. Award-winning bartender Alex Gondzioulis will create a special menu for the night, too, exploring themes from the exhibition. The event runs from 6–9pm and is free to poke your head into, but it's recommended you RSVP here. Images: Lucy Pallett-Jones.
Heralded as a scathing indictment of contemporary Russian society, Declan Donnellan takes Shakespeare to Moscow in this collaboration between Moscow's Pushkin Theatre and UK-based Cheek By Jowl, examining of the very nature of the society we live in, and the relationships we build. Shakespeare's classic focuses on the characters of an inept ruler, a corrupt official and a novice nun, demonstrating the inequalities and shortcomings of society. Donnellan's version is performed entirely in Russian (with subtitles, don't fret), transposing this idea onto the cultural canvas that is modern Russia. Plus, we can't wait to hear someone say, I'll pray a thousand prayers for your death in Russian. This is one of 15 next-level events to see at Sydney Festival. Check out the whole list.
The new metro stations planned for Sydney's CBD are set to become destinations in themselves, inspired by developments like New York's Hudson Yards and Paddington Station in London. Rather than functioning just as public transport stations, the Sydney stations will be developed to include retail, residential and commercial offerings, as Sydney Metro looks to create destinations that integrate with their surroundings. Plans for the design of Pitt Street and Victoria Cross in North Sydney are the first to be revealed. As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, Pitt Street's design includes a 65-storey residential building and a 47-storey mixed-use development which could potentially be a hotel. Meanwhile, a 40-storey commercial and retail building has been proposed for Victoria Cross station. According to Sydney Metro Program Director Rodd Staples, the new stations will help shape the city's future. "Sydney Metro is more than just a world-scale public transport project, it's a defining city-building opportunity," he said. Last year, the NSW Government announced plans to build new stations at Central, Victoria Cross, Waterloo, Martin Place, Crows Nest, Pitt Street and Barangaroo as part of the $20 billion Sydney Metro rail project. Sydney Metro services are expected to begin in the first half of 2019. Via The Sydney Morning Herald.
It's no surprise that many of us are looking to upgrade our home comfort level at the moment. Aussie furniture brand Koala is keen to help you do just that with its cyber sale where you can nab up to 20 percent off mattresses, sheets, sofas, desks and armchairs to help you upgrade your pad or improve your night's sleep. A heap of products from across the brand's range are on sale from Monday, November 23 to Monday, November 30, including the popular Koala mattress, which you can score for up to $250 less than the usual price. Plus, if you order a bed today, you will be sleeping pretty tonight as Koala offers a free four-hour delivery service. Also on offer in the sale is the WFH desk, which is made in Ballarat from hand-sanded timber, easy to assemble and designed with home office use in mind. If you've found yourself working from home a lot more this year, you can pick up the desk for a sweet 15 percent off. Comfy Koala sofa beds, TV units, pillows, bed bases and more are going with a 20 percent discount, too, so you can give your whole house a makeover. And everything comes with a 120-night trial — though, it might be hard to give any of these up after four-months of comfort. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Word Travel's literary laboratory Story-Fest is set to return to Sydney this month. Between October 19–21, the Sydney Opera House, The Rocks and other venues around the harbour will host wordsmiths from across the globe as they take the stage to share their vocal art. The annual festival celebrates eclectic creatives with three jam-packed days of provocative poetry slams, talks, live literature and monologues. Artists expected to make the journey include celebrated Canadian poet and novelist Kaie Kellough, who will host both a discussion and an experimental language workshop, and Singapore's Deborah Emmanuel. Emmanuel will take to the stage at Customs House to perform her new solo work Alien Flower in Fundamentalist Fields for the first time. She will also join ABC Radio National audio documentary maker Belinda Lopez and Laurie May for the multilingual performance, Leaving Home, Coming Home, which explores the concept of what is, well, home. Those wanting to stretch their creative muscles can take part in poetry zine making and haiku workshops, the latter of which ends in a precariously named 'Death Match' — don't worry, it's just a battle of the spoken word. This expansive line-up culminates in the festival's main event: the Australia Poetry Slam National Final, taking place at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday evening. Kellough will start the night with a unique vocal performance, then the comp will kick off. During the slam, members of the crowd will be randomly chosen to play the role of judge. Last year's winners Solli Raphael and Jesse Oliver will also perform before handing over their (figurative) crowns. The winner will get a golden ticket to literary festivals around the globe, from Singapore to Montreal. Whether you're a hidden poet, like to experiment with a haiku or two, or just want to sit back and watch some damn emotive speech, this event will be sure to unleash some real feels from within. Tickets vary from show to show and range between $10–58. Or, if you get in quick, you can snap up a Festival Pass for just $35 (there's only 35 of these available — so poetic). If you're strapped for cash, the event is also running a free Performing Writers Forum, where you can still experience the best of this dynamic community.
The spectacularly dark and epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan's Batman series, which opens in cinemas on July 19, is one of the most anticipated films of the year (and there have been big contenders for that title with super-sized superhero flicks coming out of Hollywood faster than Comic-Con-goers can fasten their utility belts). Eight years since Batman took the flack for crimes he didn't commit, our hero-turned-fugitive is forced to emerge from hiding as the city is thrust into anarchy with the arrival of villain Bane (Tom Hardy). All that, plus Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. What in Gotham are you waiting for? If you haven't already booked your tickets to see a bulked up Christian Bale deliver the superhero's famous words, fear not as Concrete Playground has 10 double passes to give away. See The Dark Knight Rises, which was filmed using IMAX cameras, at the world's largest screen in Sydney's Darling Harbour. To be in for a chance to win two tickets to The Dark Knight Rises at Sydney's IMAX, make sure you're subscribed to Concrete Playground then email your name and address to hello@concreteplayground.com.au.
They're famous for singing about an island in the sun. Come October, they'll be playing on one: Australia. Yes, add Weezer to the list of acts that first made it big decades ago that are hitting our shores again, and soon, with the Los Angeles-formed alt-rock band just announcing three big Aussie arena gigs for this spring. Expect the supremely cruisy, holiday vibe-heavy 'Island in the Sun' to get a spin, plus 'Undone — The Sweater Song', 'Buddy Holly', 'El Scorcho', 'Beverly Hills', 'Hash Pip', 'Pork and Beans' and more, all from across the group's three-decade career. Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Scott Shriner and Brian Bell will take to the stage in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on a whirlwind three-day, three-show trip between Friday, October 6–Sunday, October 8. [caption id="attachment_912637" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Murphy[/caption] Music lovers in Victoria and Queensland's capitals, you'll be catching Weezer play through its hefty discography as headliners, with the band picking up their instruments at John Cain Arena in the former and Brisbane Entertainment Centre in the latter. In support, Brissie legends Regurgitator will warm up the crowd in both cities — another favourite that began rocking the airwaves in the 90s. In Sydney, Weezer fans will need to see KISS, too, with Weezer's only Harbour City show in support of KISS in what's been dubbed the makeup-clad icons' last-ever Australian concert. Weezer love a bit of a nostalgia, at least where their Aussie tours are involved. Back in 2020, they were announced for the Hella Mega Tour's Down Under run, which was meant to hit the country that November with Green Day and Fall Out Boy also headlining. Then the pandemic hit, and the trio's successful worldwide combined gigs cancelled its Australian plans. WEEZER 2023 AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES: HEADLINE SHOWS: Friday, October 6 — John Cain Arena, Melbourne Sunday, October 8 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane KISS: THE FINAL CURTAIN WITH SPECIAL GUESTS WEEZER: Saturday, October 7 — Accord Stadium, Sydney Weezer will tour Australia in October 2023, with early-bird pre-sale tickets for their solo shows available from 9am AEST on Tuesday, August 15, and general sales from 9am AEST on Thursday, August 17. Head to the tour website for further details — and to Ticketek for KISS tickets now. Top image: Hunter Kahn via Wikimedia Commons.
Dripping ice creams are just one of the unavoidable realities of a scorching summer day. Until now. Some geniuses at the Biotherapy Development Research Center in Kanazawa, Japan have invented a popsicle that doesn't melt, keeping its cool even when temperatures are skyrocketing. The frosty treats, called Kanazawa Ice were released earlier this year, according to Japan's Asahi Shimbun. They're made using polyphenol, which is extracted from strawberries. Developer Tomihisa Ota told the paper that the ingredient's properties "make it difficult for water and oil to separate, so that a popsicle containing it will be able to retain the original shape of the cream for a longer time than usual and be hard to melt". The company stumbled upon this discovery while trying to create a new kind of confectionary using strawberries that weren't good enough quality to be sold. What they ended up making instead was a frozen snack that stays in perfect drip-free condition, even after a five minute stint in 28-degree heat. A post shared by 金座和アイス (@kanazawaice) on Nov 18, 2017 at 12:45am PST They're currently available in a range of flavours and designs at stores across Kanazawa, Osaka and Tokyo. But we're hoping this icy technology makes its way down under — with sweltering days approaching and our Frosty Fruits in extreme peril, it's a matter of national importance that we ship some here, stat. Via The Asahi Shimbun.
The Way, Way Back is the newest piece of cinematic excellence put forth by Oscar winners Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, writers of the acclaimed The Descendants, and is sure to challenge for silverware come award season. The film tells the heartwarmingly awkward tale of Duncan (Liam James) as he struggles to express himself in a world he doesn't feel comfortable in. This is made all the more complex when his recently divorced mother, Pam (Toni Collette), takes him away on a "spring break for adults" vacation with her obnoxious new boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell). Thankfully he befriends Water Wizz water park employee Owen (Sam Rockwell) and finally begins to feel like he belongs — but not without a few hiccups along the way. The comedy is beautifully simple and the all-star cast promises to take us on an emotional roller-coaster as we contemplate the awkward moments of our teenage years and the simple acts of kindness it takes to make someone feel wanted. The Way, Way Back is in cinemas August 1, and to celebrate we have ten double in-season passes — as well as one major prize pack containing a The Way, Way Back drawstring beach bag, towel, sunscreen and a Slip n Slide — to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to our newsletter (if you haven't already) and then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address. https://youtube.com/watch?v=GiH5wmuexZY
Let there be rock indeed: when AC/DC announced their first Australian tour in a decade, it was always going to be popular. It should come as no surprise, then, that extra gigs have been added now that tickets have gone on sale. Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne have all scored additional shows, with the band now playing two concerts in each of the New South Wales, Queensland and Victorian capitals. Since 2015, it's been a long wait for Aussie fans if you want to rock 'n' roll with AC/DC live, but the group's Power Up tour will see Brian Johnson, Angus Young and company performing at local stadiums in November and December 2025. With the just-announced extra gigs, Melbourne is getting thunderstruck at the MCG on Wednesday, November 12 and Sunday, November 16; Sydney at Accor Stadium on Friday, November 21 and Tuesday, November 25; Adelaide at the bp Adelaide Grand Final on Sunday, November 30; Perth at Optus Stadium on Thursday, December 4; and Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday, December 14 and Thursday, December 18. For this run of dates, Amyl and The Sniffers are onboard in support to make these massive Aussie concerts even more so, and to give attendees a taste of two different generations of Aussie rockstars. Playing Sydney isn't just part of a fitting homecoming for AC/DC, but comes more than half a century since the band played their first-ever show in the Harbour City. Their 2025 gig will be just over a month and a half short of 52 years since that 1973 debut. Power Up is also the name of the group's 2020 album, their most-recent record — which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, made multiple best-of lists for that year and scored Grammy nominations. For those about to rock, AC/DC's high-voltage current set list spans their entire career, however, including everything from 'If You Want Blood (You've Got It)', 'Back in Black' and 'Hells Bells' to 'Highway to Hell', 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' and 'You Shook Me All Night Long'. So far, the Power Up tour has played Europe and North America, selling more than two-million tickets across 24 shows in the former and notching up ten soldout gigs in the latter. AC/DC will be back in Europe, hitting the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, France and Scotland, before their Aussie dates. AC/DC Power Up 2025 Australian Tour Wednesday, November 12 + Sunday, November 16 — Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Friday, November 21 + Tuesday, November 25 — Accor Stadium, Sydney Sunday, November 30 — bp Adelaide Grand Final, Adelaide Thursday, December 4 — Optus Stadium, Perth Sunday, December 14 + Thursday, December 18 — Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane AC/DC are touring Australia in November and December 2025, with tickets on sale from Thursday, June 26, 2025. Head to the tour website for further details. Images: Christie Goodwin.
Economic uncertainty and vast urban sprawl have made the dream of owning a home less likely for many citizens. Thankfully, architects and designers around the globe are fusing creativity with the latest technology to build unique homes at a fraction of the price. Pre-fabricated houses are gaining more relevance in today's society as homes that are affordable for most prospective owners. These houses are manufactured in factories and then transported and assembled at a location of your choosing. With a strong emphasis on sustainability, simplicity and a reduced impact on the environment, pre-fabricated houses are a solution that people are looking to with greater interest. Here we have collected some of the most innovative pre-fabricated houses. With the diverse range of materials and designs used in the examples below, pre-fabricated homes have also become one of the primary avenues for creative minds to flaunt their imaginations. Have a look below and consider a pre-fabricated home to make your own. MCube by MDesigns Superb-A House by mnm.MOD PLACE Houses mkLotus by Michelle Kauffman The Crib by Broadhurst Architects Haus Bold by Thomas Bendel House Arc by Bellomo Architects Loftcube Origin by Blu Homes zeroHouse
For Sydneysiders, the remainder of 2021 is about emerging from our homes and attempting to readjust to normal life. Happily, our city's incredible collection of galleries has long been preparing for our return and a stellar program of events for the upcoming season has been put together. From the paintings of French masters to contemporary pieces from modern-day artists at the forefront of their scenes, we've teamed up with M Live to select a handful of exhibitions that you'll want to be at the head of the queue for this summer.
The OED defines a larrikin as "a boisterous, often badly behaved young man" or, more positively, "a person with apparent disregard for convention; a maverick". Upcoming exhibition Larrikins at Redfern's 107 Projects embraces the latter definition whilst liberating the word from its exclusively blokey origins (though Bob Hawke still gets a look-in, naturally). It celebrates the Aussie larrikin — male or female, young or old — as a kind of heroic figure with the ability to resist the ugliness of political and social conservatism, thanks to their cheeky wit, egalitarian attitude and breezy rejection of conformity. You'll see work across a range of mediums, from sculpture to video installation to live performance. According to exhibition curator Kate Britton, larrikinism is a quality to be found and considered in all featured artists, including Beth Dillon, Ramesh Mario, Myles Prangnell, performance collective Applespiel and experimental musician Fieldings. In a show that promises to be amusing yet sharply insightful, you'll hopefully walk away with a fresh perspective on Australian-ness and how different things might look if we all embraced our inner larrikin. Thursdays-Sundays, noon-5pm.
Landlocked surfers of Melbourne, rejoice — Australia's first surf park has finally announced its opening date. And it's a whole lot closer to the city than Torquay or the Peninsula. Urbnsurf Melbourne will officially open in Tullamarine, near the airport, just 16-kilometres north of the CBD, on Monday, January 6. Plans for the park first surfaced way back in 2016 and, while the team was initially hoping for a spring opening, Urbnsurf is finally opening its doors this summer. The two-hectare space is powering up to 1000 waves per hour — day and night — with the waves coming from an 85-metre pier running down the centre of the lagoon. A series of pistons located on the pier push the water to the left, then to the right, to create the waves. Being ability to create waves means that the park is built for both pros who are looking for steep, barrelling waves and novices looking for a safe place to get their start in the surf. [caption id="attachment_756496" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of Urbnsurf and Ed Sloane[/caption] The waves are split into three sections: The Bays (beginner) with gentle rolling waves; The Point (intermediate) with 1-1.5 metre, mid-range turn waves; and The Point (advanced) with steep, long, barrelling waves up to two-metres-high with high-octane turns. At Urbnsurf, founder Andrew Ross predicts most novices will stand on their board within an hour and ride across the green face within two. And not only will you get guaranteed waves — you won't be fighting for them. The park holds a maximum of 24 riders in The Bays and 18 on each side of The Point. [caption id="attachment_756495" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy Urbnsurf and Stu Gibson[/caption] You'll be able to experience all of these waves for a very reasonable price, too, with one-hour sessions starting at just $25 for adults and lessons from $69. If you see yourself becoming an Urbnsurf regular, you can also splash out on a discounted ten-pack of sessions ($620 for beginners, $700 for pros) and monthly memberships, which start at $100 a month. More of a watch-and-cheer than a tumble-around-in-the-water person? All-day spectator passes are also available for just $5 — and they get you access to the day beds, cabanas and hot tubs (when they open in autumn). If you need a break between sessions on the water, Urbnsurf will also be home to a new two-storey restaurant by the owners of Sydney's Three Blue Ducks, which is set to open in early autumn. Until then, pop-ups by a heap of Melbourne's favourite food trucks, bars and eateries will look after the food and drinks. If you're not in Melbourne, you'll be happy to know that a second Urbnsurf is set to open at Sydney Olympic Park in 2021. Find Urbnsurf from Monday, January 6, near Melbourne Airport. It's open from 6am–10pm in summer and 9am–6pm in winter. You can now book in for surf sessions, surf lessons and spectator passes on the website. Images: Courtesy Urbnsurf, Ed Sloane and Stu Gibson.
While we were lazing around in sun-drenched parks and sneaking in end-of-autumn ocean swims this past weekend, we didn't think that Sydney would ever turn cold. But today it has — and quite quickly. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the temperature in the city dropped six degrees between noon and 1.30pm — the result of the first of a couple of cold fronts expected to cross over NSW in the next few days. If you haven't been outside since your morning coffee run, you might be in for a bit of a shock. It's currently a crisp 12.7 degrees outside, which the BOM says 'feels like' around four degrees. A fair cry from Saturday's top of 27.1 degrees, at any rate. Winds have also picked up considerably — so much so that, as of 5pm, the BOM has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds. It predicts that winds could pick up to 50–70 kilometres per hour — and get as gusty as 90 kilometres per hour — this evening before easing off later tonight. Sydney is within the warning zone, as is Newcastle, Wollongong and the Illawarra, Bowral, Nowra and parts of the Blue Mountains. https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1132903900468699136 Speaking of the Blue Mountains, lower towns like Katoomba and Blackheath have today copped their first dustings of snow for the season. And Thredbo has recorded a whopping 20 centimetres of snow. https://twitter.com/ThredboResort/status/1132901393377910784 So, yeah, it's gonna be a chilly one tonight. Time to pull out your second doona. And stay safe. The State Emergency Service recommends that you move your car away from trees (if possible) and secure any furniture you might have in your backyard or balcony. There have already been power outages in the Ryde area today — so keep an eye on Ausgrid's Twitter for any updates. The winds are expected to die down later tonight but are likely to pick up again tomorrow afternoon.
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=Pr4PW3coyhM&feature=emb_logo BLACK WATER: ABYSS It's a small detail, but a noticeable one: when Black Water: Abyss starts with a prelude that leaves two tourists (Louis Toshio Okada and Rumi Kikuchi) to the mercy of a snapping source of horror, it tells the audience that it's set in 'northern Australia'. That kind of description may be broadly accurate, and also intended with international audiences in mind (aka folks who mightn't have heard of Queensland or the Northern Territory), but it's also oh-so generic. Unsurprisingly, that's not the only by-the-numbers element of this 13-years-later sequel to Andrew Traucki's 2007 killer croc flick Black Water — even with the established creature feature director (see also: The Reef and The Jungle) returning for another bite of both the franchise and the subgenre. Alas, that screenwriters John Ridley and Sarah Smith have a hefty list of episodic TV credits to their names (including Stingers, Blue Heelers, All Saints, Sea Patrol, McLeod's Daughters, Rescue Special Ops, Wanted, Neighbours and Wentworth) definitely shows. After that scene-setting opening, another five people venture into the path of the film's ravenous reptile. This time around, the sharp-toothed critter dwells in a cave system rather than an outback swamp, hence the Abyss part of the movie's moniker. Teaming up with local Cash (Anthony J Sharpe), the adventurous Eric (Luke Mitchell) and Yolanda (Amali Golden) are eager to descend into the underground depths; however their respective partners Jennifer (Jessica McNamee) and Viktor (Benjamin Hoetjes) aren't as excited. Naturally, even before this immensely disposable and predictable flick unleashes its splashing beastie, the audience knows that the former should've listened to the latter. While one-note backstories involving cancer, pregnancy and infidelity are introduced to try to ramp up the non-croc drama, Black Water: Abyss really only cares about letting a crocodile in a cave do exactly what a crocodile in a cave is going to do. Traucki is a fine director of horror-themed, animal-based action and suspense, and the movie's effectively tense creature scenes are by far its best — crocs are innately terrifying, after all — but this film still remains content to tread water in an already busy genre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_u4YDiGH3k DEERSKIN How far would you go for the perfect piece of clothing? And can one ideal fashion item completely change your life? They're two completely relatable questions that Oscar-winning The Artist star Jean Dujardin faces in Deerskin, after his character Georges — an aspiring filmmaker — takes a strong liking to a fringed deerskin jacket that he just can't live without. And, we mean strong. Obsessed, fanatical and passionate, even. In the way that anyone can, but that vain, middle-aged, just-divorced men are stereotypically known to, Georges is certain that this one luxurious object is perfect for him. It doesn't matter that said coat costs nearly €8000, a price tag that most would stumble over. Similarly irrelevant: that the jacket looks just a tad too small while he's wearing it. Instead, how it makes Georges feel is far more important than any logical drawbacks — to him, at least. Also pivotal is the fact that it catches the attention of a small-town barmaid (Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Àdele Haenel). The latest film by the inimitable Quentin Dupieux (also known, in his electronic music guise, as Mr Oizo), Deerskin is the writer/director's latest movie to fixate on an inanimate object. If you saw the French filmmaker's 2010 cult hit Rubber, then you'll know just what kind of weirdness, ridiculousness and just all-round offbeat antics you're in for. That said, a few things particularly stand out in this, which might be his most accessible film. The deadpan performances, including from a fantastic Dujardin, are a delight. The commentary about consumerism and male egos proves as funny as it is astute — and even though it's also rather obvious, it's always entertaining. Indeed, the fact that the movie well and truly knows that it's stretching a thin basic idea to an absurdist extent means that everything is a joke, and the film is all the better for it. And then there's the visual symbolism and the editing, which both follow their own rhythm as much as anything Dupieux has ever made. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5EWLgk9kyg&feature=emb_logo WE'LL END UP TOGETHER In We'll End Up Together's best section, a group of mostly forty-something French friends go dancing at a nightclub in Cap Ferret on the Atlantic coast. They drink, naturally. They let loose verbally and physically. Worries are shed, if only for one night; strained friendships are repaired, even if cracks will resurface the next day; and long-held and -denied feelings bob up again and again. With neon lights flashing, a retro pop soundtrack thumping, and stars Marion Cotillard and Pascal Arbillot both proving lively and dynamic, the scenes provide a loose, energetic yet still emotion-riddled and thoughtful portrait of this posse of pals. Watching it, it's easy to see why actor-turned-filmmaker Guillaume Canet wanted to return to the group — the same characters and actors, with an addition here and an absence there, who also sat at the centre of his The Big Chill-style hit 2010 drama Little White Lies. Time has passed on-screen as well as off-, of course, with this glossily shot sequel exploring how the years have taken their toll on the gang and their relationships with each other. Restaurateur Max (François Cluzet) hasn't really heard from everyone else after both a falling out and the end of his marriage, so he's surprised when they all turn up as his sprawling holiday home for his 60th birthday — and his shock sets an awkward tone that takes time to overcome. In a screenplay that is rather fond of both mid-life cliches and tension-sparking theatrics, narrative developments keep piling up as the group (which also includes folks played by Gilles Lellouche, Laurent Lafitte, Benoit Magimel and Clementine Beart) while away sunny but not summery days drinking wine, interrogating their bonds, sifting through their troubles and reminiscing by the sea. Indeed, Canet and his co-screenwriter Rodolphe Lauga go too heavy on plot twists, especially in the movie's second half. They also lean firmly into its characters' visibly privileged lives, which, while filled with problems, still scream of a certain level of comfort. But when We'll End Up Together lets its cast bounce off each other and flesh out its characters in the process, it's a far more palatable affair. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas, check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23 and July 30 — and our full reviews of The Personal History of David Copperfield, Waves, The King of Staten Island and Babyteeth.
January 2025 brought the return of Severance. February has been all about The White Lotus and Yellowjackets making a comeback, both for their third seasons. March will see Daredevil: Born Again hit streaming queues, then April has new episodes of The Handmaid's Tale and The Last of Us — and HBO has just confirmed exactly when the latter will hit the small screen. Mark Monday, April 14 in your diary — and yes, the wait for the Pedro Pascal (The Wild Robot)- and Bella Ramsey (Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget)-starring game-to-TV hit's seven-episode second season is almost over. How does humanity endure in the aftermath of the Cordyceps virus, and the global devastation caused by it? What does it mean to persist? Also, who do we become in the process? Audiences will find out again in mid-autumn. Viewers have known roughly when The Last of Us would return for a while now, but not the exact date. At the end of 2024, the US network confirmed that the series would kick off its second season sometime in autumn Down Under. Then, it locked in the month. Also revealed along the way before now: sneak peeks at the hit TV show that's based on the hugely popular gaming series, including as images, in promos for the network's full upcoming slate and via teaser trailers. Prepare for a time jump. Prepare for a guitar. Prepare for hordes of infected. Prepare for a haunting feeling, too. Also, prepare for sirens, flares and a stern warning: "there are just some things everyone agrees are just wrong", one of the teasers advises. In season two, it's been five years since the events of season one. And while there has been peace, it clearly isn't here to stay. Yes, Joel and Ellie are back — and, in their shoes, so are Pascal and Ramsey. This time, however, part of the conflict comes from each other. The show's main duo also have company from both familiar faces and a heap of newcomers in its second season. Rutina Wesley (Monster High) and Gabriel Luna (Fubar) return as Maria and Tommy, while Kaitlyn Dever (Apple Cider Vinegar), Isabela Merced (Alien: Romulus), Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction), Young Mazino (Beef), Ariela Barer (How to Blow Up a Pipeline), Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope), Spencer Lord (Family Law), Danny Ramirez (Black Mirror) and Catherine O'Hara (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) are the season's additions. The Last of Us made the leap from video games to TV in 2023, and was swiftly renewed after proving a massive smash instantly. The series gave HBO its most-watched debut season of a show ever — and its first episode was also the network's second-largest debut of all time. Locking in a second season was also hardly surprising because the 2013 game inspired a 2014 expansion pack and 2020 sequel. For first-timers to the franchise on consoles and as a TV series, The Last of Us kicked off 20 years after modern civilisation as we know it has been toppled by a parasitic fungal infection that turns the afflicted into shuffling hordes. Pascal plays Joel, who gets saddled with smuggling 14-year-old Ellie (his Game of Thrones co-star Ramsey) out of a strict quarantine zone to help possibly save humanity's last remnants. There wouldn't be a game, let alone a television version, if that was an easy task, of course — and if the pair didn't need to weather quite the brutal journey. As a television series, The Last of Us hails from co-creator, executive producer, writer and director Craig Mazin, who already brought a hellscape to HBO (and to everyone's must-watch list) thanks to the haunting and horrifying Chernobyl. He teams up here with Neil Druckmann from Naughty Dog, who also penned and directed The Last of Us games. One question remaining for Australian audiences is where The Last of Us season two will be available. Season one arrived via Binge, but HBO is set to launch its Max streaming platform locally in the first half of 2025 — and doing so with one of its huge recent successes would be a logical move. Check out the latest teaser trailer for The Last of Us season two below: The Last of Us season two will arrive on Monday, April 14, 2025 Down Under. Season one is available to stream via Binge in Australia and on Neon in New Zealand. Read our review of the first season. Images: Liane Hentscher/HBO.
Jack White of the White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather will celebrate the release of his first solo album with a live streamed New York concert. The show, to be held April 27 at NY's Webster Hall, will be directed by Gary Oldman and will come three days after White's album 'Blunderbuss' (Third Man Records/Colombia) hits retailers. The event, the first instalment in the third season of American Express's 'Unstaged' series, will be available to view via YouTube, and mobile devices via VEVO and YouTube apps for iPhone, iPad, iTouch, and Android. 'Unstaged' is an artistic endeavour which pairs major musical acts with renowned filmmakers. Past collaborations have included an Anton Corbijn-directed Coldplay video, which drew over 19 million YouTube streams. Other participating musical artists have included John Legend, Mary J. Blige and the Roots. The show will air on April 27 at 9 pm ET (11am on the 28th for Sydneysiders). 'Blunderbuss' is also currently available for download on iTunes. https://youtube.com/watch?v=DsixWMdScUI
Tickets are now on sale for the sixth annual March Into Merivale Food and Wine Festival. The eight-week feast will include over 60 gourmet events across Sydney, offering everything from pastry classes to wine tastings to mafia-themed Italian feasts. This year's theme is 'Born to Cook', with Merivale's super chefs concocting culinary delights based on their earliest and fondest food memories. You can celebrate the festival's kick off on Wednesday, February 12, by heading along to the 3000 guest-strong launch party at Ivy. There's live entertainment and the chance to meet and sample the wares of Merivale's favourite chefs, sommeliers and bartenders. Pricing is actually pretty reasonable, with a $35 ticket getting you entry, plus eight food and drink tokens to redeem at the various stalls. During the festival you might be tempted by 'Things on Sticks' at Ms G's — an eight-course banquet of food on sticks with a cocktail thrown in for good measure. Or the urban barbecue party at Ivy presided over by Manly's Papi Chulo. Palmer & Co will be running several mixology classes (canapes and cocktails included) and the Beresford's doing a beer tasting. Those fortunate enough to still be able to stomach tequila can experience El Loco's tequila tasting and Mexican snack event, whilst fancier folk can take high tea and champagne at Est. There's also $33 meal deals across all 11 Merivale restaurants to take advantage of. The festival runs from February 12 to April 11. Tickets can be purchased at the Merivale website, and booking in advance is a must. You can check out the full events listing here.
