Did you know that Will Ferrell is white? And that Kevin Hart is small? Do you think it would be funny if each pretended that they weren't? The minds behind Get Hard certainly do, explaining the odd couple meets fish-out-of-water comedy that results. Apparently laughs will flow freely if Ferrell tries to act like a gangsta being schooled by Hart punching above his weight. The key word is apparently. Things are going pretty well for stockmarket whiz James King (Ferrell), with a happy boss slash soon-to-be father-in-law, Martin (Craig T. Nelson), and an attractive fiancee, Alissa (Alison Brie), to prove it. Then, his engagement party is crashed and his dreams crushed by FBI agents waving around fraud and embezzlement charges. An unsuccessful attempt to prove his innocence later, and he's destined for 10 years of hard time. Afraid he won't be able to take it, he enlists Darnell Lewis (Hart), an aspiring carwash entrepreneur and family man mistaken for an ex-con, to teach him how to survive on the inside. Yes, he asks for help getting hard, hence the movie's title and many of its gags. Did you know that the phrase doesn't just refer to acting tough? Of course you do — but based on the amount of genitalia jokes in the screenplay, writer/director Etan Cohen (scribe of Tropic Thunder) and his co-writers Jay Martel and Ian Roberts (TV's Key and Peele) are really afraid that you don't. That also explains the frequent reminders that jail isn't a nice place and constant mentions of rape and violence, as well as the overt tone of panicked homophobia. Add rampant racism as well as the dismissal of Brie as a money-hungry sex object, and the end result is questionable at best and offensive at worst. Satire can't be used as an excuse, though the few moments that work — Ferrell dressed up like Lil Wayne while telling Hart that he's not trying to appropriate his culture, for example — indicate that was the aim. It takes more than simply pointing something out and then repeating it for the film to avoid stereotypes, but it just doesn't invest the time and effort. Get Hard even misses the mark on the easiest target here, and the one that actually makes sense: the ridiculously wealthy perpetrators of white-collar crimes that fleece the little guys for a big payday. Amid all the poorly judged humour, everything plays out as expected, the duo bumbling and bonding, and the film trying to coast by on star power alone. Ferrell and Hart both do what they can with the material, showing plenty of effort for little reward; however, even their innate talents can't save the show. This isn't the comedy vehicle either could've hoped for, nor a showcase for what might have been a great double act. Looking flatter and blander than any Hollywood effort should, it's not the movie anyone could've hoped for, either. The only thing getting hard here is the audience's patience.
King Street staple Kammadhenu boasts delicious, aromatic dishes in south Indian, Sri Lankan and Malay styles. Whether you crave sweet or spicy, there's something to suit all palates. Go hard with fiery Malaysian-style fish sambal and mop it up with buttery roti, or opt for Sri Lankan-style kothu roti with egg, chicken, lamb and prawn mixed through. Keen to try a bit of everything? Order a thali, a south Indian-style platter that comes loaded with chana curry, dhal, papadum, rice and sides. The snack game is strong here, too, with vadai (a savoury doughnut), egg bonda (a South Indian delicacy of hard-boiled eggs coated with chickpea batter and deep-fried) and pani puri all gracing the menu. Nasi goreng, a Malaysian classic, is the go-to if you're feeling for something a little less curry-fuelled, but that still packs a punch when it comes to flavour. Images: Cassandra Hannagan
Don't be fooled by its name: Student Biryani's dishes stand the test of time and are enjoyable years after graduation. We may no longer have the stamina — or the alcohol tolerance — we once had as students, but on those days when you long for an eight-hour seminar instead of being knee-deep in deadlines and client meetings, you can seek solace here. This low-key eatery, which has another outpost in Surry Hills, is part of a hugely popular global chain that began in Pakistan way back in 1969. Unsurprisingly, the signature dish here is the biryani, which you can get with a can of drink for just $12, or you can add raita and a salad for an extra $4. If you're feeding a flock, you can also get a bucket of the stuff to serve ten, plus zarda (sweet rice), two salads, two raita and two 1.25-litre soft drinks, for $90. Elsewhere on the menu, you'll find traditional Pakistani-style curries — again with serving sizes up to a whopping 2.5 kilograms — alongside whole deep-fried fish and chargha (marinated chicken that is steamed and deep-fried).
Borambola Wines is a winery with history. Located in the Gundagai wine-growing region, it dates back 25 years to 1995, and it wraps around a homestead that was built in the late 19th century. Its paddocks were also once home to 1947 Melbourne Cup winner Hiraji, who was raised there, trained there and also spent its post-race life there as well. Given the latter fact, it's no wonder that one of Borambola's top drops is the Hiraji's Spell shiraz. Fruity in flavour, and with firm but light tannins, it's a flavoursome yet smooth wine. And, it's just one of the 100-percent estate-grown vinos on the company's list, with its range extending to chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, rosé, cabernet sauvignon and sparkling brut (and, to beer and cider as well). Wine lovers can make the trip to Borambola's picturesque site for tastings by appointment, with sips on offer seven days a week — and for tours as well. The venue also hosts events, functions and weddings.
Jaw-dropping ocean views and the stylish Hamptons-esque pool aren't the only reason Sydneysiders and Brisbanites flock to Halcyon House — a luxury boutique hotel on the Tweed Coast. It also boasts hatted restaurant, Paper Daisy, with executive chef Jason Barratt taking the helm from his previous post at Rae's on Wategos. During the North Coast Festival of Flavour, Paper Daisy will be hosting the Halcyon House Lunch, — a four-course share menu for $125 per person. There'll be a wine pairing option and an extensive list of cocktails available, too. Be warned — it'll be hard to resist a visit to the luxe hotel spa or retreating to one of the eclectically styled suites for a night or two during your visit.
Let's just call it here and now: Robert Duvall will be nominated for Best Supporting Actor at next year's Academy Awards. It'll be his seventh nomination, and it'll be entirely deserved. The Man. Can. Act, and in his latest film — The Judge — you get the privilege of seeing that ability up close and incredibly personal. As the title suggests, Duvall is 'the Judge' — an elderly statesman of the justice system who's presided over the legal affairs of a small town in Indiana for over 40 years. When his wife passes away, the judge dutifully farewells his sweetheart only to then find himself accused of a hit-and-run that very same night. Thankfully, his high-flying, big-city lawyer son Hank (Robert Downey Jr) is in town for the funeral. Hank is, at least publicly, master of his domain, king of the jungle, pisser on the pants of his opponents. Privately, however, his marriage is crumbling, his daughter pines for more attention and the death of his mother has done nothing to assuage the chasm of estrangement between him and his father. They can scarcely look each other in the eye, let alone share any form of actual dialogue or physical contact, which makes establishing any form of legal defence markedly challenging. Throw in the attentions of the ex-girlfriend (Vera Farmiga), the grumpy brother (Vincent D'Onofrio), the mentally challenged brother (Jeremy Strong) and the unrelenting prosecutor (Billy Bob Thornton), and Hank's already reluctant return home fast becomes an almost unliveable nightmare. The Judge was directed by David Dobkin, whose previous films have largely fallen into the comedy/action arena (most notably: Wedding Crashers and Shanghai Knights). Here, he wields the direction with a split personality: sometimes hitting home runs, other times swinging and missing with wildly misfiring scenes. When the latter happens (and, regrettably, it's probably more than the former), The Judge descends into by-the-numbers schmaltz and dials up the cheese. Surprisingly this is often in the courtroom scenes where, traditionally, drama is most at home. The revelations are either too insignificant or heavily flagged, meaning the jurors' gasps and gallery's sighs are more comical than convincing. Downey Jr is well-cast as Hank, bringing the swagger of Iron Man without the bells and whistles to protect him. His scenes with Duvall carry the movie entirely, and whether by design or misstep, every other character becomes little more than background noise. It's not a film with a lot to offer by way of innovation, but it knows how to jerk the tears on more than a few occasions and (despite its unjustifiable length) keeps you engaged enough right through to the end. Most of that engagement, though, comes via Duvall, whose layered and moving performance is right up there with the best of the year. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZBvK6ni97W8
"I don't gravitate towards records that keep me in one mood," said Kimbra in a recent Guardian interview, explaining new LP The Golden Echo. "I like to be taken on a journey and that's what I wanted to do with the album." She can say that again. Shifting away from the quirky yet somehow unified jazz-inspired pop sound of Vows, the Kiwi singer's sophomore offering is an ambitious, kaleidoscopic, one-hour long extravaganza through, it seems, every influence that's ever possibly influenced her and every feeling she's ever possibly felt. Rock, R&B, funk, electronica, bizarre sound effects: you name it, you'll find it on there. Perhaps the input of a huge cast of collaborators has something to do with such immense sonic variety. Along the way, Kimbra worked with Daniel Johns, Thundercat, Matt Bellamy of Muse, Van Dyke Parks and John Legend, among many others. To find how it all manifests live, catch Kimbra at one of her three upcoming Antipodean shows, happening in late November, in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. https://youtube.com/watch?v=4K1hoMlxQmg
The title of John Patrick Shanley’s Four Dogs and a Bone (directed by Kate Gaul for Brief Candle Productions) should say it all. A short, savage affair which the losers will be lucky to walk away from. But instead of a bloody one-act scrap, what’s offered up is a series of lacklustre scenes largely devoid of the play’s titular animalism. The play is a satire of the American film industry and concerns itself with the machinations of four people — a producer, Bradley (Sonny Vrebac); Victor, a writer (Paul Gerrard) and two female leads, Collette (Amanda Collins) and Brenda (Melinda Dransfield) — attempting to negotiate the brutal labyrinth of commercial filmmaking. With the budget ceiling of his latest movie fast approaching, Bradley is looking to cut material and open to ideas about how this might be accomplished. The two actresses know the writing is on the wall, but not for whom. With the director nowhere in sight, all three descend on the writer (whose mother has just passed away, incidentally), angling to further their own cause with little care for the way it affects their colleagues or the quality of the film itself. Though adorned liberally with witticisms, Shanley’s plot is pretty basic and best served, I think, at a brisk clip. No time for reflection. Time is money and never more so than in Hollywood. This is the play’s first problem. It feels strange to say this about a 70-minute production, but it could have easily lost 15 or 20 minutes. Most of this dead space seems comprised of the time it takes the actors just to say the lines. Affecting an American accent was clearly a task for everyone in the cast, and much of the humour in the play’s one-liners and back-and-forth suffers from painstaking enunciation. Another factor which deadens the play considerably is its comedic execution. The actors appear to have wrung relatively little humanity from Shanley’s characters and, possibly as the result of some odd direction, there was a definite tendency towards playing the laugh rather than the scene. Instead of trying to spark off each other, the cast deliver their lines almost as interrupted monologues, confiding their schemes and dreams to the distant horizon of the fourth wall, but very rarely to the person sitting opposite them. For a script with no shortage of meat, Four Dogs and a Bone fails to satisfy.
Scoring three triple j Hottest 100 tracks from just one album is no mean feat. But Leeds-based band alt-J made it happen after releasing their debut LP, An Awesome Wave, back in May 2012. The Brits loved it, too, awarding it the prestigious Mercury Prize — just casually. And now, on the heels of launching sophomore record This is All Yours, the boys are coming back to woo their sizeable Aussie fan base. Spooky single 'Hunger of the Pine' (and its suitably creepy video) has clocked up more than three million hits, while the more fun and eccentric 'Left Hand Free' has already hit high rotation on many a spring playlist. But you can be sure Enmore crowds will be waiting for that epic 'Breezeblocks' singalong. Alt-J will play just two shows in Melbourne and Sydney ahead of their Falls Festival appearance alongside SBTRKT, Royksopp and Robyn and Big Freedia. Stunning Perth-based singer Grace (Grace Woodroofe) is joining the lads for their two Australian performances, one of the most wanted support slots around. https://youtube.com/watch?v=dCCXq9QB-dQ
If you haven't spent much time in Kings Cross lately, this year’s Kings Cross Festival is the perfect reunion. On Sunday, October 12, Macleay Street will be transformed into an eating/walking/exploring pedestrian artery with a Long Table Lunch as the centrepiece. You’ll be able to try dishes from 20 local renowned restaurants — including Jimmy Liks, Barrio Chino and Popolo — without hurting the hip pocket, and get the inside scoop on Kazbah Souk, opening officially in late October. Stalls of artisanal delights, juice and coffee from local baristas will keep you hydrated for the whole weekend, and those after more of a kick can head to the pop-up wine bar or a number of tasting stalls showcasing wines from NSW makers. Headlining the artistic side of the festival is Tim Denoodle, whose ‘Somewhere City’ will be showing at Gallery Mercure. Those overwhelmed by the neighbourhood galleries can meet art advisor James Dorahy for an Art Walk starting at Michael Reid Elizabeth Bay and finishing up in the inner east's most popular car park, Alaska Projects. Get a further dose of Alaska at Sunday Studio Sessions and chat to the artists making work there. You can get in on the fun by hastagging #kingscrossfestival on your best Insta pic of the ‘hood until October 10 for a chance to have your art projected on the Australian Institute of Architects on the Saturday night, October 11. With the Cross still being contested ground in the wake of the lockout laws and evolving nightlife culture, this festival is the perfect time to come together and show the old stomping ground some love.
If you love black humour, subversive ideas and being a little bit terrified, The God of Hell at the Old Fitz is for you. Director Rodney Fisher brings the work of prolific American playwright Sam Shepard to this intimate stage in Woolloomooloo. He keeps the accents, Wisconsin setting and American flag paraphernalia, yet the universal themes of Shepard’s script, along with Fisher’s rationale, make this unsettling psychological thriller equally relevant to a Sydney audience. On first entry into the cosy farmhouse set — with its warm, winter sunlight and cluttered greenery — you are transported to the slow-paced, small-minded world of humble, hardworking farmers Frank (Tony Poli) and Emma (Vanessa Downing). In this world, time moves slowly, as it surely would when your ageing spouse is the only other human for miles around. The unhurried silence is punctuated only by the refilling of Emma’s watering can. As much as we are lulled by the rural midwest accents, naive characterisation and willed ignorance of Frank and Emma, we feel a constant uneasiness about how long their serenity and happiness can last. And, sure enough, a super slick salesman barges in the front door, wielding an American-flag cookie like a gun. You must see the show in order to believe how total and menacing each character’s complete transformation may be, perhaps most of all Poli's. Ben McIvor is horrifying as Mr Welch, a businessman who would cut throats in the name of progress and do it all with a Colgate smile. All actors give immensely strong performances: Downing provides a great energy for Emma, who cannot ignore the capitalist claws scratching at the front door but maintains her conviction and fight. Meanwhile, Jake Lyall plays the mysterious Haynes, whose outbursts make us wonder if he is friend or foe. Accent coach Linda Nicholls-Gidley should take credit for the embodied, natural and non-distracting American dialogue. The blocking and physicality is also exceptional. The director’s note in the program alerts us to local examples of environmental exploitation, and, subtly, the whole show asks us to wake up and take interest in just who we’re handing power over to, and at what cost. Although we don’t fully identify with the star-spangled banners, the suspicious whispers about ‘foreigners’ seem all too familiar. With key monologues delivered out towards the audience and instances of actors piercing the fourth wall with their gaze, The God of Hell does more than offer passive entertainment. It asks whether those in power can do anything they want, while satisfying and silencing us with Krispy Kremes.
If you think 'the quarter acre block' and 'Sydney' are about as laughable a pairing as 'affordable housing' and 'the inner west', then think again. Art & About is upon us, and to kick off the three-week festival of public art is the Quarter Acre Block Party in Martin Place, a new incarnation of launch event Friday Night Live. This year's program for Art & About focuses on things that are 'at risk' or endangered. And what better way to reminisce about the surely extinct Australian dream of the quarter-acre block than to spend an afternoon soaking up the ole fashioned neighbourhood barbecue vibe as you drink up thanks to Cake Wines and dig into a spread by Barrel and Beast owner and sustainable chef extraordinaire Jared Ingersoll. With free entry, it all takes place in one of the CBD's most stunning acreages, Martin Place. Shaun Parker & Company's brilliant new work Trolleys will keep BBQ-goers entertained with performances at 5.30pm and 7pm. Expect breezy tunes from The Morrisons, Bustamento and Hot Potato Band. Even Double J is helping a neighbour out with a special mixtape — cue the awwws. And when the smell of slightly burnt-but-still-good sausages is no more, art can be your dessert, with the City of Sydney providing free 'vintage' shuttle buses from Martin Places to various galleries, who are also staying up past their bedtime. You can duck into the Art Gallery of NSW to finally check out the Archibald Prize, buy some locally crafted knick-knacks at the Artists Market at the State Library of NSW or drop in to the Late Night Library at Customs House for some tactile, architectural learning. The Quarter Acre Block Party is on Friday, September 19, from 5pm - 10pm. The festival continues in Sydney's public spaces until October 12.
Summer is nearly upon us. Days are getting longer and the sun is shining near unwaveringly. To celebrate, the good folks at the Watson's Bay Boutique Hotel are throwing a festival dedicated to our favourite crisp fruit beverage — cider. Perched on the Watsons Bay foreshore, this establishment knows a thing or two about hosting chilled summer events, even in spring. Their Cider Festival will span the long weekend October 4-6 and feature a variety of local and imported ciders. Making good use of the fact that cider rhymes with slider, snacks in slider form will be available all day (as will non-rhyming paella). Live music will be plentiful, and for the go-getters among us, there's an apple bobbing competition. But things get real on Sunday, October 5, when you're invited to go on a 'cider trail' along Military Road. This is the kind of walking trail we can all firmly get behind. All you need is a Cider Festival Passport, available from the venue on the day (or from here). The cider trail will culminate at the hotel's breezy chic Beach Club, come over all pop-up cider bar. The ticket allows a tasting from each of the 11 stalls there, as well as a whole bottle of whichever's your favourite.
Celebrated for their cheerleading of Sydney artists on their bottles, Redfern locals Cake Wines are hosting their adorably named Archibottle Prize exhibition tonight. Along with the announcement of five new Cake wines, one of thirty entrants will feature on the label for Cake's 2013 McLaren Vale Shiraz, set to hit shelves in October. Celebrating its third year running, the Archibottle is a pretty top prize for local artists — Ears and Sean Edward Whelan topped 2012 and 2013 respectively and have enjoyed spots on the wine rack since then. But tonight's not all about art, there's plenty of booze news afoot as well. The event will also double as Cake's new vintage launch, with the team set to release five new wines — all yet to be revealed. After three years of winemaking and showing up to Sydney parties left, right and centre, Cake are taking things next level with this new batch of vinos. "We’ve evolved as a business and as guys who love making great wines, the result is still an approachable, easy drinking range but we've really tried to push things with this release," say the Cake team. "We’ve tried to capture the real essence of the Adelaide Hills to showcase the relationship between individual grape varieties and their immediate surroundings. We wanted each wine to be highly aromatic with a mix of varietal fruit flavours on the palate." You'll be able to taste Cake's 2013 whites and 2014 reds tonight, toasting the successes of the Archibottle winner and commiserating the runners up. See the full versions of the finalists at Cake's website. Image: Cake Wines.
Marking the first exhibition of the year for Sydney’s beloved White Rabbit Gallery, State of Play will see all four levels of the gallery transformed into a different environment, each exploring facets of play in contemporary Chinese culture: playground, campsite, bedroom and funhouse. Guest curated by Barbara Flynn (curatorial advisor to the City of Sydney and Barangaroo), the exhibition features over 45 artworks, including Shyu Ruey-Shiann’s One Kind of Behaviour, a hermit crab-inspired mechanical installation. Sounds fun! Image from Yang Fudong’s Ms Huang at M Last Night series.
This time last year Tkay Maidza received a bunch of international attention for her release of 'Brontosaurus' (ft. Badcop). But to us, she sounded just like any another artist making miscellaneous party noises reminiscent of that act who plays those festivals we try to avoid. That being said, within the year she's developed into something special. Her latest EP Switch Tape offers '90s inspired breaks, with interesting production and confident vocal performances throughout. Adelaide's answer to Azealia Banks, Maidza brings so much energy to her recordings and we can't wait to see her on stage. After touring the UK and US, she's now returning home and hitting the road with a national tour for the new EP. Hitting up Sydeny's Chinese Laundry, Melbourne's Can't Say and Brisbane's Alhambra Lounge, Maidza's sure to bring a pretty big party. Even Adelaide is getting some love — this local kid definitely has definitely done good.
The best of recent Japanese cinema is making the long trip south. With more than 45 films across a bunch of cities including Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and now, for the first time, Auckland, the Japanese Film Festival is the single largest event of its kind outside of Japan itself. This year's program is as diverse as ever, showcasing comedies, dramas, horror films, anime, and a rap-battle Yakuza musical showdown. Unfortunately for film buffs in Brisbane and Auckland, that last title, Sion Sono's utterly bonkers Tokyo Tribe, will only screen in Sydney and Melbourne. But there's plenty on the program for everyone to enjoy, including last year's smash hit time travel comedy Thermae Romae, along with its recently released sequel, Thermae Romae II. J-horror fans can check out Ju-On: The Beginning of the End, the seventh entry in the hair-raising franchise better known in English as The Grudge. A live-action adaptation of Kiki's Delivery Service, meanwhile, is the hot tip for lovers of Studio Ghibli's animated original. For the full JFF program, visit their website.
The release of a shiny new album, Strange But Nice, was a good time as any for Sydney trio Step-Panther to take their show back on the road. Collaborating with long-time buds, Bearhug, the lads will be embarking on an East Coast album launch for the so-called New Arrivals tour. For those of you playing at home, Step-Panther are a homegrown garage-pop-rock outfit, with a sound described as 'slacker-pop'. Indeed, Step-Panther's lo-fi sound makes the perfect soundtrack for a lazy afternoon at a mate's house, preferably paired with an inflatable pool filled with ice and tinnies. Bearhug have a dreamier sound, sporting the unavoidably-dubbed 'indie' vibe without being douchey. Also hailing from Sydney, the band are also celebrating an album released — their recently-dropped second album, So Gone. Guitar-heavy with infectious melodies — these guys are onto something good. Also supported by Point Being. https://youtube.com/watch?v=2y4goxKYj7M
It's a family affair at Rupert and Ruby; during its stint on Stanley Street, the IconPark's season two winner has become a home away from home for ex-pats and Aussies alike. Staying true to their American roots, the team is kicking off their first Thanksgiving celebration, bringing unwitting Sydneysiders a foodfest frenzy, USA style. Prompted by head chef Eli Challenger's nostalgia for the big family Thanksgivings of his youth, the meal will include all the standard trimmings — think turkey, cranberry sauce and stuffing — but "made fancier" in typical Rupert and Ruby fashion. Eli's spin on the classics will include smoked and roasted turkey, candied yams, and roasted Brussels sprouts. The most important rule of thumb for any Thanksgiving banquet is to save room for dessert: Eli's twist will be his spiced pumpkin cheesecake. The holiday, of course, is about more than just good food. "This year I finally have friends and family here," Eli jokes, a clear nod to his wife Ruby and pal/Fat Rupert's business partner Aaron Pearce. The feast will be a kind of culmination event for the restaurant as they enter their last month with IconPark, but patrons can sleep easy as this dynamic trio is already on the search for a permanent space we can all call home. This grand celebration of family, friends and food is selling out fast, so get your tickets here. For those who stuffed up, a few walk-in tables will also be reserved. Image credit: The Vault DFW via photopin cc.
Sydney trio Little May could be Australia's answer to folk warblers First Aid Kit. They've certainly been compared to the Swedish duo, and to New Zealand's Tiny Ruins, but at the moment they are carving out their own path. They've recently put out their debut, self-titled EP and just wrapped up an Australian tour with the legendary Rodriguez. But there's no rest for the wicked (or the wickedly charming, in this case). Little May are about to embark on a 12-date national headline tour to promote the EP. They'll be spreading the good vibes around Newtown Social Club on both November 27 and 278 supported by Winterbourne. To find out more, check out our interview. We asked them for their best tips for summer road trips.
Meet George and Annie Steeper. He is an ex-premier. She is his brilliant wife. Together, with their two handsome sons (Sam Boneham and Matt Morrow), they present a picture of domestic bliss that has been winning George votes for years. Delve a bit deeper and dysfunction becomes an inadequate descriptor — George is sleeping with his son's girlfriend (Lauren Pegus) and Annie likes to yell at her husband. A lot. The feuding couple is played by real-life husband and wife, Sonia Todd (McLeod's Daughters) and Rhett Walton. The Worst Kept Secrets is an original Australian play, written and directed by the young and talented Thomas De Angelis (Jack Killed Jack), and is brought to the Seymour Centre by Bontom Productions, a collaboration between De Angelis and actor Sam Boneham, that aims to bring clever, fresh works to life. These guys are only doing six performances of the show, so if Aussie politics and family scandal is your thing (those things obviously go hand in hand, right?) get in quick.
Good news for Sydneysiders of a wordy bent: the Emerging Writers' Festival Roadshow is returning, and they're bringing with them one of their always winning programs of engaging writing, thought-provoking panels and talented peeps. As usual, the main event is a full-day affair at the NSW Writers' Centre with a line-up featuring a whole bunch of cool people who do good things with words. Benjamin Law and Delia Falconer give you writing advice in a segment called The 5 X 5 Rules of Writing, members of the SWEATSHOP writing group share their workshopping process, and emerging indigenous writers tell stories in the garden. Fuel your mind with Mexican food from Mobile Cantina, and then join everyone for drinks on the verandah and bask in your inspired end-of-the-day buzz. There are also a handful of events happening either side of the Saturday festival — the sadly sold-out Inside the Publishing House, a seminar on writing digital literature, and the hit Melbourne event celebrating great ladies, Amazing Babes. The EWF Roadshow is all about connecting writers and forming communities. So go ahead: connect, form, do amazing things!
Ahead of Abbott and Putin's showdown at the G20 summit in Brisbane, get your fix of Russian entertainment at the 2014 Russian Resurrection Film Festival. Although not exactly the most popular of global citizens right now, Russia is still a superpower when it comes to the world of movie-making, as the lineup at this year's festival can attest. The program begins with Vasilia, a sweeping historical drama set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic invasion circa early 1800s. In a similarly epic vein comes the WWII movie Stalingrad, about the bloody urban battle between Germany and Russia that marked a major turning point in the war. Dialogue-free arthouse film Test depicts the country's first successful atom bomb detonation, and was a big winner at the Sochi Open Film Festival earlier in the year. Perhaps a little more accessible, not to mention family friendly, is the animated kids film Space Dogs 2. Of course, it's entirely possible that without having seen the original Space Dogs you won't be able to make heads nor tails of the story... although somehow, we suspect you'll be okay.
In December, Stills Gallery displays a selection of their artists in a group exhibition — and being Stills, it's some group. The 12 artists, each using photography as their main medium, come together in Season 14, which is themed around "continuity and divergence" and tracks developments in photography over the last 20 years. Take a trip down memory lane with Steven Lojewski's black-and-white street photography, and segue into the work of Garry Trinh — Lojewski's contemporary counterpart — with his vibrant shots of New York. Focus in on the ghostly white images of fictitious plant forms that feature in Beverley Veasey's work, and switch your camera settings to 'record' with Kawita Vatanajyankur's modern video loops featuring a young woman in unlikely predicaments. Sure to teach you a thing or two about the many facets of photography, the exhibition also features seasoned Stills exhibitors Megan Jenkinson, Justine Varga, Deb Mansfield, Trent Parke, Narelle Autio, Polixeni Papapetrou and Michael Light. Attend the opening night on Wednesday, December 3, from 6-8pm. Image: The Ice Shaver [video still], 2013, by Kawita Vatanajyankur.
No longer does the perfect sausage roll need to be a morning-after debacle. During Sydney Craft Beer Week, the two will unite in perfect harmony. The entire week will see special baked treats creatively fused with The Grifter Brewing Co.’s Inner West brews. And on the first Saturday of SCBW, the brew team will also make a special guest appearance pouring a few of their favourite non-baked treats. So pair your beer with a pastry filled with beer. It’s the perfect carb-to-carb ratio. Beer Street Bakery is one of our top ten picks for Sydney Craft Beer Week. Check out our other nine favourite events.
Cam Knight gives new meaning to the phrase 'giving 100%', in that he does everything to the fullest. His aptly titled new comedy show, 100 percenter, discusses his goal of saying yes to anything, trying to live in the now and experiencing absolutely everything the world has to offer. Knight is a fixture in the Australian comedy scene, making appearances on Foxtel and The Comedy Channel programs. He has previously hosted two seasons of Stand Up Australia. Knight also performs with Sydney-based band ManChoir. His performance will be in conjunction with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The 25-day festival features some of the best and brightest international and homegrown comedic talent. With venues throughout the city and beyond, MICF is accessible easily accessible to Melbournites that need a little laughter in their life. https://youtube.com/watch?v=vl_nMq_Tt1Q
Sydney ambient electro darlings Seekae dropped news of their third album and a national August tour earlier this year. Luckily they didn't do it so silently. They've also gifted us with a new single, 'Test & Recognise'. Picking up the tempo and embracing the power of the synth, it could signal a new direction for the group — from classic chillout sessions to the dancefloor. With past releases, The Sounds of Trees Falling on People and +DOME, Seekae have made a name for themselves in the past few years, playing local festivals like Harvest and Golden Plains. Known for hypnotic electro-pop such as 'Void', 'Crooks' and 'Blood Bank', their name is synonymous with late night drives through the city or relaxed midnight hangs with friends. In the bigger picture, their debut was named one of the albums of the decade by FBi Radio, and their follow-up earned them four nominations at the Australian Independent Music Awards. Since then they've been touring internationally and even took to the stage at this year's SxSW. Seekae's third album, The Worry, is openly described as their most ambitious work to date. Bringing vocals to the fore and losing some of that distinctive ambient haze, it definitely marks a departure from their past sound that may not win over all fans. However, the shift will make for an entertaining live gig. Caught somewhere between blissful oblivion and classic electro these new tracks are sure to get people awkwardly shuffling around the dance floor nationwide. https://youtube.com/watch?v=S78pfy37SN8
'Straya. The only thing we love more than a good beer is a good barbie (obviously featuring a good beer). And on August 23 Freda's in Chippendale has joined forces with Many Hands Events to bring us The All Aussie Arvo Banquet, with a side of Aussie tunes. Yep, it’s a celebration of all things Aussie: the golden tunes, the warm climate and the unique wildlife, which may or may not be trying to kill you (platypus, we're looking at you). The banquet will kick off at 12.30pm on Saturday, August 23 and will set you back $80 (drinks included). Then brace yourself for three courses of the most Australianness you can handle. There's an entree of Chinese-inspired eggplant stuffed with crocodile meat and served with puffed rice and pickled cucumber and a main of bush tomato marinated kangaroo loin kebab on wattleseed roti with pumpkin hummus, warrigal greens pesto and davidson plums. For dessert, it's deconstructed sponge trifle with fingerlimes, lemon myrtle custard, and lime jelly. The feast will be followed by the musical extravaganza The Bush Olympics. From 4pm Wild Sunset, Smokey La Beef and Bad Jeep DJs have prepared a whole night of the greatest pub tunes to come out of the Southern Hemisphere — we're talking John Farnham, INXS, AC/DC, Savage Garden and so, so many more of the Aussie greats. All for the low low price of free. Knifey spooney skills at the ready. Tickets to the banquet can be purchased through Eventbrite. Seating is allocated, so organisers have advised you book in groups.
In Fred Schepisi's new rom-com, the unimaginatively titled Words and Pictures, two antagonistic high school teachers argue the merits of images versus prose. It's a flimsy and vaguely pretentious premise for a movie, but one that, at the very least, feels well-suited to the medium. After all, what is cinema if not the marriage of sight and sound? The unfortunate irony of Schepisi's film is that it fails to make a very good case for either. Clive Owen plays Jack Marcus, an English teacher at the expensive Croydon Academy. A burnt-out poet with a puffed-up ego and a drinking problem, Marcus openly bemoans the ability of his students, despite it having been years since he wrote anything of significance himself. A few of Marcus's colleagues find his attempts at roughish charm amusing. The rest treat him with barely concealed contempt. One faculty member well and truly in the latter category is Juliette Binoche's art instructor, the icy Dina Delsanto. Like Marcus, she was once an in-demand artist, although rather than a pen, her tools were paint and canvas. But rheumatoid arthritis has stripped her of her dexterity and forced her to take up teaching. The pair could hardly be more different. So naturally, they're destined to fall in love. The catalyst for their romantic conflagration is a remark made by a student, that pictures are more powerful than words. Delsanto, being an art teacher, agrees, prompting Marcus to strike back in his own class. Soon the debate embroils the entire school — because after all, nothing gets young minds firing than the surly sexual tension between their professors. It's difficult to think of a supposed romantic comedy with two less sympathetic protagonists. That being said, Marcus is so actively unlikable that the humourless Delsanto seems positively charming by comparison. Rejoinders that are meant to be witty instead play as painfully smug, while his smarmy attempts at wooing cross well into the realm of harassment. As a teacher he's even more unbearable, dropping truth bombs on his students by explaining that haikus are, like, the original tweets. Say whaaaaaat? Schepisi's direction is uncharacteristically flat, the director putting up as poor a case for pictures as screenwriter Gerald Di Pego does for words. At least the contest is even that way, although frankly both mediums deserve better. For that matter, so do we. https://youtube.com/watch?v=1JX6NScig7M
A woman enters a theatre, damp from wild weather and flustered from running late. The man she sees is polite but clearly put out from waiting, as his complaints make clear. She is actress Vanda (Emmanuelle Seigner); he is playwright Thomas (Mathieu Amalric); their shared purpose, an audition. From their meeting, Roman Polanski's Venus in Fur lays bare their dramatic tryout. But is a budding stage star simply showing her wares to the person who could make her dreams come true, or are their respective gender positions — sexual, societal and otherwise — on trial? That question and the film's complicated power dynamic stems from a complex, comprehensive history, most plainly its adaptation of David Ives' Tony Award-winning production. Ives took inspiration from author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's semiautobiographical novella, Venus In Furs, the 1870 work credited for coining the term masochism and making it stick. His book is the starting point for Thomas's material within the movie too, the characters attempting to interpret the text on stage in a feature based on a play that does the very same. The sensual themes of the source may shine through as the duelling duo of leads quite literally circle around each other, treading the boards, flitting through the aisles and weaving in and around the backstage ephemera; however, it is the second phase of its evolution that proves most influential to Polanski's film. Blatant describes the setting, and the structure as a dialogue-heavy two-hander more so. In the filmmaker's second effort in a row based on a stage property following 2011's Carnage, and third overall after 1994's Death and the Maiden, only a flurry of camera angles and flashes of visual trickery distinguish the tale as cinematic. Seigner and Amalric generate commandingly clashing energy worlds away from their last pairing in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, endeavouring to overcome the inherently staged nature of the content with their vivid verbal sparring. Fire burns between them in impassioned performances, but the spotlight truly belongs to the erratic wannabe turned formidable temptress, as the narrative demands. Whether the strength of her portrayal stems from a husband offering his wife an exceptional opportunity, or from her flowering under his loving gaze, the married team of Polanski and Seigner make a fine pair. By design, Amalric is cast into the shadows, a suitable everyman foil. In a work teeming with comedy, carnality and cleverness, what threatens to strip Venus in Fur of its potency is its repetitive persistence and overt theatricality. Though the point is entertainingly made, it is done so continually and without subtlety. Intrigue and inertia are the opposing results, contemplating the battle of the sexes in careening fashion yet cobbled by embrace of indulgence. https://youtube.com/watch?v=-gluI5-GLZLw
Three studio albums in and tUnE-yArDs (real name Merrill Garbus) is still showing no signs of creative predictability. She might have proclaimed to have become "bored with herself" following the 2011 release of breakthrough record Whokill, but listening to new full-length Nikki Nack (released in May) you'd never guess it. Rousing tribal beats and vocal gymnastics of Olympic proportions rub shoulders with lazy Sunday afternoon reggae grooves and no-holds-barred, politicised lyrics. "I don't want to just say, 'Let's dance all night', as if there's nothing wrong with the world," Garbus told The Guardian in a recent interview. "Because that's a big old lie." She certainly doesn't preach, but she does write about things that matter: Western culpability in developing world poverty, racism and disintegrating American neighbourhoods. At the same time, she's all about seeing some serious "arse shaking" at her shows. Winging our way to play Splendour, she'll also treat us to two servings on the side: one at Melbourne's Howler on July 24 and the other at Sydney's OAF on July 28. https://youtube.com/watch?v=jbiFcPhccu8
Under stark lighting and to the beat of a throbbing soundtrack, a dancer and a bodybuilder come together in an unlikely pas de deux that tests the boundaries of physical endurance. This is MAXIMUM, the aptly named piece by Australian choreographer and dancer Natalie Abbott, recently returned from the Festival d’Avignon in France to showcase her performance in Sydney as part of Score season by Performance Space. The unique dance work developed when Abbott began collaborating with bodybuilder Donny Henderson-Smith. "I originally wanted to be lifted off the ground for a 45-minute show and thought it would be a strong contrast to work with a bodybuilder," explains Abbott. "When I began to work with Donny, though, I realised how much more information and personality he could bring to the work. We still include a pretty long and devastating lift; however, the piece is really more about us working together to find unity and a common language for performance. Given such an unexpected collaboration, the differences between dancing and bodybuilding are hard to ignore. Initially, MAXIMUM appears to be a performance of contrasts: light and heavy, small and large, grace and grunt. Despite this, the two performers find a unique harmony through mental focus and physical strength. The challenging choreography tests dancer and bodybuilder equally, and the whole idea of what happens to the human body at physical extremes is what fascinates Abbott. "My training as a dancer was quite intense and I really had to push my body to get through that," she says. "I know that the training is probably even more intense for a bodybuilder and this is why I was interested in exploring the relationship between both practices. Both forms are so intense and focused, yet yield such dissimilar results. I was super interested in exploring the dynamics of placing both bodies next to each other. The connotations of a massive male next to a smaller female, the traditional context of a man partnering a woman and what these images automatically imply for a viewer. My vision was then to override these assumptions and reveal us as humans, rather than performers, a bodybuilder and a dancer." You’d expect the performers to have endured intense physical training to prepare for such a gruelling performance. Not so, says Abbott, who points out “we need to be challenged during the [show]”, and so while the two prepared by tuning their bodies into sync, they avoided additional fitness training. That means the exhaustion we see on stage is real; the charade of a performance is stripped away to reveal the humans behind the choreography, lending the show its raw physicality that has both challenged and captivated audiences. ("Beautifully achieved, exhilarating work," wrote ABC Arts after the premiere at Next Wave.) Maximum plays as part of Performance Space's Score season of works driven by dance, movement, music and noise. Abbott is particularly “curious and excited” to see One Thing Follows Another... by Gail Priest and Jane McKernan, a performance inspired by the 1960s avant-garde that plays on ideas of independence and collaboration between music and dance. Other highlights include the genre-defying fusion piece Keep Everything by critically acclaimed dance company Chunky Move, as well as Psychic Synth, a digital work by Pia Van Gelder that will read your mind. Score is on from August 1 to September 7 at Carriageworks. See MAXIMUM from August 27-30. Single tickets are $25 adult/$15 concession, or you go all out and buy a season pass for $130. See the website for details.
Interesting individuals and modern historical settings are just what the doctor has ordered for Australia's opera industry — Sydney Chamber Opera (Owen Wingrave, Exil) are dutifully doing their bit to inject some oxygen back into the cultural form. Sydney composer Michael Smetanin and librettist Alison Croggon combine brainpowers for Mayakovsky, their third opera together. Staying true to their taste for tales with an artistic protagonist (previous figures under the duo's microscope have included Franz Kafka and Paul Gauguin), Mayakovsky tells the turbulent but brief life of Russian revolutionary and poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. Mayakovsky, dubbed Stalin's favourite poet, will be played by English National Opera regular Simon Lobelson, as part of an all-Australian cast. This world premiere is Sydney Chamber Opera's main production for 2014 and is the only new opera by a living composer that you'll be able to catch in Sydney all year. With the versatile walls of Carriageworks as a backdrop, there's no better time than now to dip your toes into Australian opera.
Much-loved Sydney and Melbourne store Incu is holding its annual warehouse sale from 9am on Friday, July 25, running until 4pm Sunday, July 27. The multi-brand boutique is know for its array of Australian and international designers, including Karen Walker, Vanishing Elephant and Alexander Wang. The sale will include previous sale stock, samples and seconds from all Incu labels, with nothing over $120. The location is Paramount House in Surry Hills, so there's also the enticing option of popping downstairs to Paramount Coffee Project — odds are that you will need to refuel after an hour of furiously sorting through clothes. The Incu warehouse sale will be held in the mezzanine of Paramount House. Credit card is accepted. Opening hours are: Friday July – 9AM-7PM Saturday July – 9AM-5PM Sunday July – 10AM-4PM
It was inevitable. They've done Seinfeld, Friends, Harry Potter and The Simpsons, and now Goodgod, specialists in esoteric pop culture trivia nights, are inviting you to brush up on your already highly detailed knowledge of the ladies of Litchfield for their first Orange Is the New Black trivia event. (If that means rewatching the whole series, so be it.) You knew all those intimate days in bed with your laptop spent hating on Vee, wringing your hands in exasperation waiting for Pornstache to get what was coming to him and crying over Poussey (don't click the link if you haven't seen season two — though if that's the case, get on it) would be put to good use one day. Hosted by Goodgod trivia regular Elisha May, it's free, it kicks off at 8pm and there are no bookings. If you're well acquainted with all the intricacies of the chicken plotline, and know why you should never, ever call Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes' after season two, this is your chance at a glory akin to being voted into WAC (and food and drinks, no mouldy bologna in sight).
Keep Everything is dance theatre for people who can appreciate the absurdity of human social behaviour and love hearing a beat drop. This new offering from Chunky Move continues the company’s mission to playfully redefine the limits of contemporary dance. It's charming, entrancing and fun. It begins dramatically: human bodies barely visible through surging projections and thick smog. We are transported to a post-apocalyptic landscape — made magical by the music of Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes (of The Presets fame). Yet, just as soon as we’re accustomed to the electronic rhythms and droning atmosphere of this sci-fi wasteland, all the lights are up and the performers are over-exposed. The scene transitions through the piece are carefully thought-out and a joy to experience. Lighting, music and projection all work together to hurtle us along the evolutionary journey of humans — from morphing jellyfish-masses to haute-couture models. The choreography by Antony Hamilton never takes itself too seriously. It is clear to see that improvisation and repeated physical and verbal phrases have formed the basis of the work, which seems to respond to gibberish emitting from the mouths of the dancers and to laugh out loud at the direct audience address, “How are ya?” The trio of dancers (Benjamin Hancock, Lauren Langlois, Alisdair Macindoe) speak in grunts and abstract sounds and dance in digital code. They push the boundaries of their human spines and structures to create part-machine, part-animal bodies that offend our civility. They tell us the human body is simply a series of circles and angles then prove this point with a prolonged unison dance sequence so precise I dubbed it the ‘robot rebirthing’... only moments before it deteriorated into a night-club rave. At the heart of Keep Everything is an exploration of how humans connect and communicate, and the audience is forced to reflect and critique our own speech. Aren’t we all just speaking gibberish that we somehow collectively understand? “Ye-ah”, comes the dancers’ answer, as they learn onstage to make meaning out of random patterns. The set is a clean white floor, covered on one side with what appears to be pastel building-blocks, and on the other with industrial waste: from order and progress to pollution and disrepair. This bittersweet view of human evolution is maintained throughout, from the seamless switches of organic, fluid movements into robotic body isolations to the rogue 'lap dog' (brought brilliantly to life by Langlois), who refuses to submit to human control any longer. The work claims to keep everything, but is neither too long nor indulgent. It casts a questioning eye on our human behaviour and makes us laugh at how far we’ll go to try to connect. Keep Everything plays as part of Performance Space's Score season of works driven by dance, movement, music and noise. Highlights include the bodybuilding/dance mash-up that is Natalie Abbott's acclaimed MAXIMUM, Force Majeure's boundary-pushing dance lab Culminate and Psychic Synth, a digital work by Pia Van Gelder that will read your mind.
107 Projects is a proud supporter of arts and culture in Sydney, through their multidisciplinary arts space in the heart of Redfern. From July 31, the artist-run initiative will be presenting a fundraiser of the best kind: the 50/50 Festival, which is raising money for a new sound system for performers and the local community to enjoy. The 50/50 title implies just that — 50 percent of profits will go to participating artists, the other 50 percent will contribute to a new sound system. The lineup includes an eclectic mix of Sydney's music outfits, with music styles tending towards the experimental and electronic. Participating collectives include the NOW now, CDR, Tin Shed Spots and Pretty Gritty, who will each curate an evening of sounds. So go along, listen to some cutting-edge tunes, grab a drink from the bar and enjoy the knowledge that your money is enhancing Sydney's art and music scene, not the life of some fancy exec type in their Vaucluse stronghold.
In Bell Shakespeare’s production of As You Like It, directed by co-artistic director Peter Evans, little time is wasted on introductions. Instead, we are plunged straight into the action. In the first ten minutes there are two wrestling matches, one a tussle between feuding brothers and another actual wrestling match, which one of the aforementioned brothers competes in, albeit in disguise. A woman is exiled for treason and decides to hunt for her father, but not before disguising herself as a man. With minimal warning, it seems as if everybody has decided to bung on a disguise and go tromping through the forest. Nobody has brought any food, but everyone looks super-cool swanning around complaining that they are starving to death. The plot is madcap, the jokes thick and fast, and there’s a distinct feeling that the forest is not the only greenery involved in this equation. This is a great romp through one of Shakespeare’s classic comedies. So. Orlando (Charlie Garber) is the youngest son of a recently deceased nobleman. He resents his brother (Dorje Swallow) for withholding his inheritance and decides to run away. Rosalind (Zahra Newman), the daughter of a banished Duke is herself banished from court. All of this happens five minutes after these two have fallen madly in love, so it’s a remarkable stroke of luck that both of them have just gone prancing into the forest of Arden. Of course, Rosalind is now passing herself off as a man called Ganymede, but it’s true love, right? They’ll figure it out. The look of this thing is pretty bonkers — part May Day festivities, part old lady’s bathroom. Michael Hankin’s set changes from ye olde indeterminate space to a trippy and vibrant forest with just a quick drop of the flies. Kate Aubrey’s costumes are similarly eclectic and colourful; this is a world shared by dandies, go-go dancers and graduates from the Maria von Trapp school of draperies fashion. Garber and Newman are very capable as those smitten, but the show belongs to the offsiders. Kelly Paterniti is sass personified and a great foil for Rosalind as her scheme begins to unravel. Tony Taylor as Orlando’s manservant, Adam, performs his duties with much understated humour, a victorious blend of Jeeves and Baldrick. Wandering through the scenes, oblivious to the central plot and dispensing a gravelly combination of wisdom and nonsense, John Bell’s vagrant philosopher Jacques is also a pleasure. At 2 hours and 40, this is no small commitment, but if you’re in the mood, Notting Hill has nothing on As You Like It.
In an exhibition that traverses video, installation and drawing, Campbelltown Arts Centre puts long-standing friends and Perth-based artists Brendan Van Hek and Rebecca Baumann side by side. A collaborative commission (shown alongside existing works) explores a shared intent to approach colour, light, surrealism, dreams, illusions and social experiences in a decisive manner. What happens when these artists combine practices? We're keen to see. Opening night is Friday, March 20, at 6pm.
Sydney Cellar Door wants you to curl up under the shade of a Moreton Bay fig and imagine yourself among the vines of Mudgee as Hyde Park is transformed yet again for Sydney Cellar Door, a part of NSW Food and Wine Festival 2015. Featuring the best winemakers, growers, artisans and restaurants from across NSW, this year's Sydney Cellar Door is filled with particularly lovely and intimate touches. You can wander through an urban vineyard as you sample wines and produce and build your perfect picnic basket of fresh bread, Pukara Estate olive oil and Brilliant Food smoked fish in the Producer's Picnic Tent. Along with favourites from past years, including Salt Meats Cheese, Porteno and Bodega, this year brings some new restaurants to the fold, including burger boss Mary's and Rosebery's Clubhouse Bar and Restaurant. But all that you really need to know is that there will be wine and there will be cheese. We know those are your favourite things. Friday 4pm - 10pm, Saturday 11am - 9pm, Sundays 11am - 6pm
Grassroots media and arts organisation dLux is all about giving anyone who's interested in learning new skills the opportunity to do so. This month, they're hosting a workshop that will teach you how to make devices that will literally light up your wardrobe. Electronics guru and multimedia artist Nick Wishart (who is also the mastermind behind Toydeath, a rock band made made up of electronic toys), will spend the day teaching 'Electronics 101', which will mostly involve playing around with cool flashy sensors and things that beep (like accelerometers and microphones), coding them using Arduinos and soldering the components together. By the end of the day you'll have all the tools you need (no really, you get your own starter kit) to add LEDs to your backpack, shoes or bike. Who says light-up shoes are just for kids?
Over his 17-year tenure as the host of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart has become known as one of America’s shrewdest political commentators. From behind his fake news desk, armed with a mix of satire and editorial scorn, the comedian and his team of writers have exposed hypocrisy and corruption, ridiculing dictators, presidents and CEOs alike. You’d imagine, then, that his first foray into filmmaking would be a similarly tongue-in-cheek affair — full of all the snark and cynicism that his viewers have come to expect. Instead, Stewart plays it straight, and in doing so reveals a side of himself that audiences rarely get to see. A powerful true tale told with grace and endless compassion, Rosewater is an outstanding directorial debut. Gael Garcia Bernal plays Maziar Bahari, a Canadian-Iranian journalist detained by Iran’s security forces amid the widespread civil unrest following the country’s 2009 elections. Held for more than four months, Bahari was accused of being an American spy, in part because of a satirical interview he gave on Stewart’s program just a week before his arrest. “Why would a spy have a TV show?” the baffled journalist asks, a question that perfectly encapsulates the absurdity of his situation. For weeks on end, Bahari is beaten and berated, unable to provide the answers that his captors wish to hear. In his moments alone, his memories turn to the plights of his father and sister, both of whom were imprisoned under previous Iranian regimes. Garcia Bernal gives a first-rate performance as Bahari, a man out of his element who discovers a remarkable inner strength. But the standout of the film is Danish actor Kim Bodnia, who plays Bahari’s nameless interrogator. While the man’s actions are often appalling, he’s never depicted as anything less than human. Like Bahari, he’s a person trapped by circumstances; a working stiff with a boss to answer to and a wife who wishes he was home. In humanising Bahari’s captors, Stewart helps us to understand them. The cruelty and stubbornness of those who propagate oppression is not born out of inherent evil, but rather out of fear. Fear of weakness. Fear of change. As the movie progresses, we increasingly come to pity these men, whose desperate attempts to cling to an old way of life seem all but destined to fail.
From the creators of La Soiree comes Club Swizzle, a place for the most depraved souls in show business to call home. Incorporating a melee of cabaret, acrobatics and infectious merrymaking, the show is set to the soundtrack of ARIA-, APRA- and AFI-winning band Mikey and The Nightcaps. World-famous postmodern diva Meow Meow (former Little Match Girl) leads the January lineup for the Sydney leg of Club Swizzle with a kamikaze cabaret which she's already performed with David Bowie, Pina Bausch and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Ali McGregor is the February diva, who seeks to transverse the world of opera and pop culture alike. Anything goes at Club Swizzle, with their no stage, no rules and no regrets policy. So leave your worries at the door and prepare for a night filled with a different type of entertainment.
The acquisition of good vintage clothing can be a difficult feat. Much like the metaphoric fog, sometimes you have to sort through a whole bunch of crap until you find something good. Fortunately for us, the guys behind Foe, Like The Enemy have trawled through Asia and the Americas to source the best vintage clothing they could get their hands on. After a wildly successful first pop-up instalment in Surry Hills, Foe have been staging their second pop-up store in Regent Street, Redfern since September. For a limited time you've been able to walk into a real-live shop and try on vintage clothes in an actual changeroom — we're talking Jurassic Park denim details, well-worn flannos, as many retro sunglasses as you can predict to lose at a music festival. Before they relocate to a fresh new 2015 venue and to celebrate a year of sardine-like parties and pop-ups, the lads are raising a crispy bev to their first year of FOEing. Teaming up with the RUN THE BLVD crew, FOE are staging a Christmas party brimming with free Bulleit Whiskey. Tunes aplenty with Astral People's Mike Who on the decks, alongside Batesy, GCO and FOE residents, Brudo and HUX. Best part, you can shop while you party — all remaining stock will be reduced on the night, including vintage Levis, Nike, Adidas, Harley Davidson and more. Swing down to Regent, get amongst the beats and one-of-a-kind threads and celebrate the worldly fashion travels of one of Sydney's best merchants of vintage. Entry via RSVP only. Words by Natalie Freeland and Shannon Connellan.
Two men stare directly at the screen and tell their stories. Their expressions are open, their tone is matter-of-fact, and they speak of fact, not fiction. They are Palestinian Mosab Hassan Yousef and Israeli Gonen Ben Yitzhak. The tales they share start on opposite sides of the still-raging Middle East conflict, but don’t end there. Modest and unassuming perhaps best describes writer/director Nadav Schirman unfolding of a narrative that could easily furnish a Hollywood blockbuster. The director recognises, however, that the most powerful plots speak for themselves, presenting his film largely unadorned and unembellished. No bells and whistles, nor fancy footage or special effects, dress up a scenario already simmering with thrills and suspense. As the duo interweave their versions of events into one complete, complementary account, Schirman offers sparing glimpses of archival, re-enactment and surveillance vision as a break from talking heads — but in The Green Prince, it is the truth that matters, not the packaging. Mosab is the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of Hamas’s co-founders and most outspoken leaders. Gonen Ben Yitzhak was a Shin Bet agent for the Israeli military, charged with cultivating intelligence and recruiting informants. When the former was a teenager, filled with anger at the treatment of his father in fighting for a cause he believed in, he was detained and approached with an offer to assist the other side. The latter was his handler during much of his decade-long stint colluding with the enemy. Mosab’s nickname in his undercover work: 'The Green Prince'. As the Errol Morris-style documentary relates their combined experiences, it focuses on the micro rather than the macro; this is a film about the impact of lives lived in the war-torn climate, and the deeds done in the name of survival, rather than the broader circumstances. Accordingly, the feature hones in on shame and subterfuge as recurring themes — the fear of disgrace that fuels actions and attitudes on both sides (most notably in driving Mosab to betray his upbringing and struggle with the aftermath) and the duplicity employed by him and Gonen alike. Plenty of questions are raised in The Green Prince, and never does it make the mistake of pretending to present all the answers. To say the film never satisfies is to recognise the unease that drives its real-life details, as Schirman astutely captures. Perhaps the inevitable fictionalised movie version will bring everything together neatly; reflecting actuality, the documentary couldn’t, shouldn’t and doesn’t.
Drummers, who needs 'em? Sonic Youth co-founder Kim Gordon and genre-obliterating guitarist Bill Nace get together for Sydney Festival to create an avant-noise session — that's absolutely percussion free. And mostly improvised. By confining themselves to two guitars and Gordon's vocals, the pair push themselves to the outer limits of minimalism. Pitchfork reviewer Marc Masters described their "dedication to a specific point of view" as "intoxicating". To add to this addictive effect, the live show is backdropped with mesmerising visuals.
If cracking open a VB and throwing a few snags on the barbie doesn't tickle your fancy this Australia Day, this burger bash just might. From 10am, the crew from the Keg & Brew will be celebrating the best beers and beats of 2014. Dubbed the 'Hoppiest 100 Burger Bash', the event will see the heritage pub counting down and serving the year's hottest 100 craft beers as voted by their loyal patrons. With a live stream of Triple J's top tracks of the year, you'll have plenty of entertainment on the road to No.1. The last part of the formula is the burgers. The team is set to dish up a mouth-watering set of them — including an 'Aussie' burger, a lobster tail burger, a portobello mushroom burger and the 'Diablo Chicken' burger, made with Kentucky buttermilk fried chicken). Each one comes with fries for $15. Topping off one person's Australia Day? A limited edition deluxe wooden ice chest of Coopers Pale Ale will go to one happy little Vegemite.
It's a longstanding qualm some people have with female comedians that they're always talking about their genitalia. Those people might not enjoy this show. Returning to Australia for the second time in 2014, US comedian, performance artist and one half of the Wau Wau Sisters Adrienne Truscott is quite literally baring all in a one-woman show about rape culture. Dressed only from the waist up, Truscott is taking aim at the likes of Daniel Tosh and his controversial comments of last year, and is dragging the art of the 'rape joke' to breaking point. After five-star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe, Adrienne Truscott's Asking for It is likely to be one the most-talked about shows of the festival (for better or worse). Adrienne Truscott's Asking for It is one of our top ten picks of the Sydney Festival. Check out our other favourite events over here.
The average Australian household throws out one bag of garbage for every five bags of groceries bought. It's a terrifying statistic. But at least our extravagant wastage has been drawing some attention of late. Even some of the big guys are getting on board, with initiatives like Harris Farm's half-price 'ugly fruit and veg' and Woolworths' ambitious plan to divert all food waste from landfill by next year. At the more micro-level, there's a 23-year-old woman in New York who's made it her personal mission to live trash-free for two years. It's no secret that Christmas, despite its loving, happy, cheery vibes, can be a serious waste-creating machine. We get so enthusiastic on December 25 that many of us are inclined to cook up more than we'll ever be able to eat. The good news is, though, that there's a workshop to help you out. OzHarvest, Australia's first perishable food rescue organisation, in conjunction with the City of Sydney's Green Villages, are hosting a free session where you'll learn tips for reducing your festive waste footprint from edible-garden expert Sarah Brill. Attendance is free, but online registration is essential.
Ariel Pink is one name in music that is often lauded as it is met with absolute derision. He's a bit of a weirdo, and has made some absolutely shocking 'jokes' in the past, but, well, he does make some admittedly catchy pop songs. Despite tracking in at a whopping 17 tracks and more than an hour long, Ariel Pink's newest LP, pom pom, is the artist at his most accessible. Touring off the back of his newest success, he's playing just one Sydney show tonight along with his seven-piece band, with Pond's Nick Allbrook in support. It's going to be a sure-fire night of quality tunes (and antics abound).
