Sydney's collective Aperol spritz intake is at its annual peak right now, with the orange summer classic having a serious moment at bars across the city. But here's some good news for anyone keen to break free from tradition — Aperol spritz doughnuts have arrived in town, reimagining those classic cocktail flavours in delicious edible form. The boozy baked goods come courtesy of Shortstop Donuts and you can get your mitts on them right now for just $6 a pop, at the pop-up Club Aperol Gardens at Untied in Barangaroo, The Winery in Surry Hills and Cockle Bay Wharf's Bungalow 8. Each ball of doughy goodness is infused with Shortstop's house-made Aperol Spritz gel, topped with candied orange peel and a light orange glaze, and served with an Aperol-filled pipette for an extra dose of that fruity bitterness. Of course, you can match your doughnut with a few classic liquid spritzes or even a tequila-infused Aperol Iced Tea, while enjoying Club Aperol's summery lineup of canapes, ping pong and big-screen tennis action. The pop-up bars will be serving spritzes for $10 at the Winery and $12 at Untied and Bungalow 8). The Aperol spritz doughnuts are available until February 28 at Club Aperol Gardens at The Winery (285A Crown St, Surry Hills), Untied (400 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo) and Bungalow 8 (3 Lime St, Sydney).
When Cake Wines Cellar Door opened its doors on Eveleigh Street back in 2016 it offered something new to Sydneysiders. It was a space for tasting wine, for listening to live music, for art shows and for educating your senses at masterclasses. But, all that is about to go, with owner and co-founder Glen Cassidy announcing today that the inner-city cellar door will be closing its doors for good this June. Cassidy said that despite the four-year-old venue's ongoing success, it was time to move on. "It's become clear that we have outgrown the space," said Cassidy in a statement. "We're at the end of our first term lease and felt this was the time to move on." Cake Wines began as a winery located in the Adelaide Hills (which will continue running), and the Redfern cellar door was a way to bring these wines to a broader audience, as well as a space for regular gigs, art shows and wine-related events. Last year, it underwent a small renovation, reopening with a bigger kitchen, a longer food menu and a more extensive range of drinks. https://www.facebook.com/979109272137981/photos/a.987388377976737/2181845475197682/?type=3&theater Despite the closure, there is some good news. Fans of the cellar door's wine will still be able to purchase Cake Wines bottles online. Fans of its events will be happy to know that many of them will be re-homed — including Jazz! Attack!, Wine De Jour and Variety Fair — with Cassidy currently in talks with other venues. And fans of the whole concept? Well, there's still hope. Cassidy has said he's currently looking into "pursu[ing] other opportunities for Cake Wines around the country and the world". In the meantime, Cake Wines Cellar Door is open for another 17 days, and it's hosting two more Vivid live music parties on Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1. There's also a big closing party in the works — we'll let you know as soon as it's announced. Find Cake Wines Cellar Door at 16 Eveleigh Street, Redfern until Saturday, June 15.
The Opera House will welcome a new addition to its existing suite of waterside restaurants and bars, when House Canteen takes over Opera Kitchen on Thursday, 13 October. Headed up by Matt Moran in collaboration with hospitality giant Solotel (ARIA, Barangaroo House, Opera Bar), House Canteen offers a seasonal, pan-Asian menu underneath the iconic Opera House sails. "It's hard to beat this waterside location at the Opera House," Moran says. "We're thrilled to continue being part of such an iconic location for our city with House Canteen. It's a relaxed and welcoming offering with plenty of crowd favourites on the menu." [caption id="attachment_873096" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Alana Dimou[/caption] Sydney locals and interstate visitors will enjoy Single O coffee alongside pastries sourced from the city's best bakeries, while the lunch and dinner menu will run to an eclectic Asian-fusion offering. Sashimi and sticky chicken served with shallots and sriracha is a strong way to start, while a mix of steamed dumplings spanning prawn, vegetable, chicken and pork with chives is served with black vinegar and a hit of chilli oil. A Japanese-style beef sando is paired with cabbage, kewpie and chips, and a range of lighter poke bowls rounds out the all-day offering. Mochi in matcha, strawberry, peach and tiramisu flavours are set to make an ideal post-show snack, too. [caption id="attachment_873097" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Alana Dimou[/caption] Australian producers are championed throughout the curated wine list, but beers and a boutique selection of cocktails are also available. The native peach sour with St Agnes brandy, Disaronno amaretto, peach and egg white is a real highlight. [caption id="attachment_873100" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Steven Woodburn[/caption] House Canteen will open on Thursday, October 13, Monday to Sunday from 7.30am–11.30pm. Top images: Steven Woodburn and Alana Dimou.
The members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs really do get around. It appears that every single one of them has a slew of side projects under their belts, throwing your own talentless musical fumbling into stark relief. Now, for this year’s Sydney Festival, one third of the YYYs, guitarist Nick Zinner, bring his latest and most ambitious project, 41 Strings, to the Sydney Opera House for all to envy. In response to the 41st anniversary of Earth Day in 2011, Zinner composed what is one part classical concerto and another part rock and roll, complete with a generous dosage of drums and synths. The piece, which premiered in New York last year, takes inspiration from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, following the flux and change of the year’s seasons in both brooding and ecstatic measures. The Australian premiere sees Zinner joined on stage with co-collaborators, Hisham Akira Bharoocha and Ben Vida, both of whom form the experimental New York-based duo Soft Circle. The string ensemble is rounded out with members of the Australian Youth Orchestra, and will be accompanied by visuals projected onto the roof of the Concert Hall from video artist Daniel Askill. 41 Strings will also be played alongside a companion piece IIII, a drum circle also based on the Four Seasons, lead by Bharoocha who will be the centre of a thunderous twenty drummers.
Long before social distancing was on anyone's radar — especially when heading out to see a movie — drive-in theatres were ahead of the game. When you're watching a film in your car with only your friends and family in the same vehicle, you're instantly keeping away from other patrons. Accordingly, it's hardly surprising that the concept is attracting plenty of interest during the COVID-19 pandemic. Enter the Drive-In Movie Club, a pop-up that's setting up its big screen at a secret Sydney location for four nights. From Thursday, August 6–Sunday, August 9, it'll play beloved retro films while attendees get cosy in their cars with their nearest and dearest. Showing one movie per night, the lineup includes Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Then, the laughs keep going with Mean Girls — and, although it isn't screening on a Wednesday, you can obviously still wear pink. Elsewhere on the program, Dirty Dancing will hit the screen, as will Back to the Future (so if you happen to have a DeLorean handy, prepare to exclaim "great Scott!" a whole heap). Tickets are not yet on sale (we'll let you know when they are), but will cost $35 per car, which covers up to five people. You can also spend an extra $20 per person and have snacks — a drink, popcorn and candy — brought to your vehicle. https://youtu.be/qvsgGtivCgs Top image: Thomas Hawk via Flickr.
For three decades, Hank Azaria's voice has echoed from the TV screen in almost every possible variation imaginable. Being one of The Simpsons' six main cast members will do that. He's gotten gruff as perennially short-tempered bartender Moe Szyslak, especially when answering prank phone calls. He's cheerfully announced "hi, everybody!" as Dr Nick Riviera. He's hardly bothered with police work as Chief Wiggum, oozed beer-loving self-importance as Duffman, been nerdy as Professor Frink and uttered many a stern reprimand as Super Nintendo Superintendent Chalmers. The list goes on, including characters he no longer voices — such as Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon — and everyone from Frank Grimes to Disco Stu. Azaria hasn't just been heard, and often, since The Simpsons' debut episode in 1989. He's virtually synonymous with the long-running animated sitcom, but his resume isn't short on other highlights. His first film role came courtesy of Pretty Woman, and he's featured in fellow flicks such as Heat, the 1998 American version of Godzilla, Mystery Men, Shattered Glass and Lovelace from there. On the small screen, he's stepped in front of the camera in Herman's Head, Mad About You, Friends and Ray Donovan, too — and led excellent two-season drama Huff, plus sportscaster comedy Brockmire. Now, he's stealing scenes in Apple TV+'s Hello Tomorrow!, a retrofuturistic sci-fi dramedy set in an alternative version of the 1950s where The Jetsons-style technological advancements are commonplace. Also an ordinary part of life, amid the hovering cars and robot waiters: everyday folks relocating to the moon. A workplace comedy as well, the series focuses on BrightSide Lunar Residences, specifically regional manager Jack Billings (Billy Crudup, The Morning Show) and his door-to-door salesmen crew. They head from town to town on earth selling timeshares on the planet's only natural satellite. Azaria's Eddie doesn't just sling getaways to whichever customers are willing to pay, either; he's desperate to take the trip north himself. Azaria uses his own vocal tones in Hello Tomorrow!, but his acting is just as elastic as his voice has repeatedly proven in his best-known gig. Eddie makes a living selling the American dream and, despite seeing that his customers' launches keep getting pushed back, he's bought into it himself. He's also as cynical as they come, and has the kind of gambling addiction that has physical consequences, yet remains hopeful of saying hello to his own better tomorrow. It's a powerful performance in a show filled with them, including from Crudup — who Azaria has always wanted to work with. "I chased this job down. I've always wanted to work with Billy. I know Billy, I love him as a performer and a person, and I wanted to be a part of this," Azaria tells Concrete Playground. Also part of our chat: what else appealed to him about Hello Tomorrow!, the show's many layers, the kinds of roles he looks for beyond The Simpsons and busting out his voice work on salesmen himself. ON HIS FIRST REACTION TO HELLO TOMORROW! "I imagined a gritty, realistic, Glengarry Glen Ross take on it. I was very surprised by this retrofuturistic element, that to me almost feels like an episode of The Twilight Zone from the 50s that we've expanded into a series. It's this kind of low-tech but high-tech high-concept idea in a morality play playing out in the context of a futuristic sci-fi premise. It reminds me of a Rod Serling-type idea. And then [there's] the heightened language of the thing, the kind of Damon Runyan sort of 1950s heightened speak that we all engage in. So it was more of a stylised thing than I had imagined." ON HELLO TOMORROW!'S EXPLORATION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM "It's this metaphor of the American dream being out of reach. Is it or isn't it? What's hope? What's delusion? What really struck me about Billy's character Jack is he's this really pretty ruthless conman who is believing, I think — it could be hope, it could be delusion on his part. But the hope he's giving people, even though it's an utter lie, [he believes] is good for them. And in many cases, it is. It's kind of what saved his life, and he wants to pass that along. Billy also refers to the pursuit of money as almost religious zealotry in this world we're in. These folks, there's a religious fervour around their pursuit of the American dream and the capitalist vision that these folks have — like even more than our current society has that we live in. So it's making that extreme version of what these ideals were and holding it up as satire." ON PLAYING THE GAMBLING-ADDICTED, LUNAR-DREAMING EDDIE "That's interesting isn't it? He's the most cynical. I think he believes he's bought into what they're selling, but he doesn't need to do that to sell. He's happy to con people — and knowingly con people, if that's what he's doing. But it speaks to, I think, the potency of that dream that Billy's character is selling — if even a cynic like Eddie, a gambling-addicted, negative, maladaptive, self-destructive person like Eddie, buys into this. He doesn't need it to sell. I don't think it affects his selling style at all. But even Eddie sees his dream of love and happiness, [living] happily ever after with his beloved Shirley [BrightSide's office manger Shirley, played by Truth Be Told's Haneefah Wood], as happening up there. It speaks to the power of that delusion, that dream." ON THE RESEARCH THAT GOES INTO PLAYING A LUNAR TIMESHARE SALESMAN "There aren't too many travelling salesmen around these days to talk to. There's a brilliant movie called Salesman, a documentary — I believe from the 60s — about bible salesmen that we all watched, and that really affected me a lot. Just the lives of these guys and their attitudes going door to door. The movie Tin Man is a great other piece of source material, [about] these conmen salesmen who were just that kind of bottomline, have to sell, really living or dying by whether you sell or not types. And then, as an actor, just wrapping your mouth and mind and heart around the language, the way these guys are talking — which is so much fun, but challenging at times. This is more the mind you apply to [Glengarry Glen Ross writer David] Mamet or [The West Wing creator Aaron] Sorkin or Shakespeare, where that's not how I would express myself, and I have to transpose my truth, what's real to me, to how this guy's expressing it. Which takes like a little bit of practice. It's almost like a skill, like a language you learn — or not as hard as that, but related to that. It is a rhythm thing, though. You find that there's a rhythm and a way of speaking that's sells it, but finding what that is takes a little bit of practice at first." ON THE TYPE OF ROLES HE LOOKS FOR BEYOND THE SIMPSONS "It's always different but always the same. Honestly, it's good writing. If I could write, I would. I can write, but I'm sort of a C+ writer. The stuff I write I guess gets made, but I probably would turn it down if I were offered it, if writer me came to me, with rare exception — Brockmire being one that I helped develop, which I loved, it was an idea I'd had since I was a teenager. But it's really writing, whether it's comedy, drama, this role, that role. Once you weed out what you really respond to in writing for whatever reason, there's not all that much left. And if you're fortunate enough to not have to work, then there's not much — to me anyway, there's not that many things that come along that I go 'oh, I could see doing that'. This was one of them." ON HOW HIS PENCHANT FOR VOICES COMES IN HANDY WITH TELEMARKETERS "It's rare that you run into a travelling salesman anymore, let alone one that's offering you up on the moon — you'd be crazy not to be immediately suspicious. But we're all barraged by telemarketers if you still have a home line, or even if you don't! You just get spam calls, and we're all pretty familiar how we usually react to those. I usually adopt a different voice and try to engage, and turn it around on the folks that call me up at dinnertime. It's one of the fun little perks of being a voice guy." Hello Tomorrow! streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review.
Nicolas Cage is sorely missed in Five Nights at Freddy's, not that he was ever on the film's cast list. He starred in 2021's Willy's Wonderland, however, which clearly took its cues from the video-game franchise that this attempt to start a corresponding movie series now officially adapts. Willy's Wonderland wasn't great, but a near-silent Cage battling demonic animatronics was always going to be worth seeing. Unsurprisingly, he's mesmerising. In comparison, the actual Five Nights at Freddy's feature stars Josh Hutcherson deep in his older brother phase, bringing weary charm to a by-the-numbers horror flick that's as routine as they come no matter whether you've ever mashed buttons along with its inspiration — which first dropped in 2014 and now spans nine main games, a tenth on the way and five spinoffs — or seen everyone's favourite Renfield, Pig and Color Out of Space actor give an unlicensed take a go. Writer/director Emma Tammi (The Wind), the game's creator Scott Cawthon (Scooby Doo, Where Are You? In... SPRINGTRAPPED!) and co-screenwriter Seth Cuddeback's (Mateo) movie iteration of Five Nights at Freddy's doesn't just arrive after a Cage film got there first; it hits after season 16 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia wreaked havoc on a comparable setting already in 2023. If you're looking for a pitch-black comedic skewering of eateries in the style of Chuck E Cheese, the IRL pizzeria-meets-arcade chain that Freddy Fazbear's Pizza is patently based on, that's the best of the year. So, the Five Nights at Freddy film lingers in multiple shadows. There's symmetry on- and off-screen as result: shining a torchlight around in the movie uncovers sights that its characters would rather not see, and peering even just slightly through recent pop culture shows that this picture isn't alone, either. The concept in Five Nights at Freddy's whether you've got a controller in your hand or you're watching a flick: at the once-popular Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, which was big with families in the 80s, working the night shift at the restaurant's long-shuttered base has killer consequences. That's when the life-sized singing-and-dancing furry robots that performed shows for kids when the place was operational now go menacingly a-wandering, and also make their lack of fondness for visitors brutally known, causing a high staff turnover. Five Nights at Freddy's does explain why, but everything from what's going on to the reason behind it is horror movie 101. The film may take place in an eatery rather than a home — a creepy one, of course — but it's basically a haunted house affair, and happily ticks all of the most standard of genre boxes. Taking the gig from career counsellor Steve Raglan (Matthew Lillard, Scream) reluctantly, Mike Schmidt (Hutcherson, Futureman) doesn't want to be anywhere but his own abode come dark, let alone in a dilapidated old funhouse restaurant with anthropomorphic animal figures as one of its main attractions. But he's in need of work after being fired from his mall security job because he wrongly thought that a dad scolding his son was a man kidnapping a child, and reacted violently — and he has his ten-year-old sister Abby (Piper Rubio, Unstable) to look after. They're all that each other have left since the death of their parents and the abduction of their brother Garrett (Lucas Grant, The Patient) years before that, which Mike feels responsible for, other than the overbearing aunt (Mary Stuart Masterson, Blindspot) who is maliciously suing for custody. Mike normally spends his evenings attempting to find out what happened to Garrett via his dreams, a task he continues at Freddy's, with his preoccupation elsewhere giving the animatronics free rein. The place is inherently eerie in a dusty, overlooked, caught-out-of-time way — and also if you just think that giant teddy bears like Freddy can be ominous anyway — but Five Nights at Freddy's lead hasn't noticed until local cop Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail, You) drops by one night while patrolling her beat. Fuelled by his tragic past and ignoring the key 'don't fall asleep' rule of his overnight gig, he's too busy yawning his way to some shuteye to put dream theory to work to unlock his memories of the incident that shattered his family forever. Constructing a film around an oft-snoozing protagonist can be a double-edged sword, and cuts the wrong way here, reminding viewers that they might prefer to be slumbering as well. All that's endeavouring to keep most of the audience awake is predictable circuitry, from horror's current obsession with examining trauma's impact (and the genre's undying love of overusing any trend in flicks great, average and terrible) to overt nods in Stephen King and Scooby Doo's directions. That Scooby Doo vibe is telling, though: rather than just trying to evoke nostalgia in viewers who can remember their days as kids in arcades, family-themed restaurants or combos of both, Five Nights at Freddy's is as much aimed at adolescents now. Accordingly, Tammi hasn't taken a Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey approach — not that that's a worthy example of blending cuddly critters with horror at all — with her film focusing on mood, anticipation, suggestion and jump scares over anything gory or terrifying. Younger audiences still deserve better than a movie this generic. Everyone deserves something other than a film where more time is expended on the build-up and backstory than with Freddy Fazbear, Foxy, Chica, Cupcake and Bonnie. Created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, the mechanised mascots look the part, but are both under-deployed and then stuck going through the murderous motions. Winking casting that gives away too much is also part of the Five Nights at Freddy's film experience. So is the pointless aunt subplot, which couldn't be more cartoonish. Scenes that do nothing but gush exposition — and ensure that there's zero mystery around who knows more than they're letting on — similarly bog down the movie. Hutcherson and Rubio nonetheless do well enough with pixel-thin characters, especially in a feature that frequently seems as if it has spliced an unrelated flick about sibling trauma into the Five Nights at Freddy's premise. A picture based on the gaming series was always bound to happen, and Blumhouse adding another established well-known horror name to a stable that also includes Black Christmas, Fantasy Island, The Invisible Man, The Craft's sequel, three Halloween movies, Firestarter and the latest The Exorcist entry was just as likely, but it shouldn't play like everything within it and about it is dully inevitable.
The Roxbury Hotel has been synonymous with Sydney comedy for decades. So when the pub was taken over by new management a few years back, news that comedy would no longer have its ancestral home in Glebe was met with dismay and despondence. But, luckily, the dark days are over, with the launch of Rox Comedy every Wednesday night. Run by Sydney comedy veteran Ray Badran and emerging talent Gerard McGeowan, each week this room boasts some of the best comedians in Australia. Having only launched a few months ago, this room is still hitting its stride — but expect big things.
Starred in Community, written for 30 Rock, amassed over 150 million YouTube views, performed an hour-long Comedy Central stand-up special, premiered his own feature film at Sundance, released two critically-acclaimed albums — what hasn't Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino done? Sold out the Hordern Pavilion you muppet, so get on it! Having melted tickets to the Luna Park Big Top in under hour, internet rap god Gambino has been bumped up to the Hordern for his Splendour sideshow on Sunday, July 27. Off the back of his dark, brooding, highly ambitious and utterly unique second album Because the Internet, Gambino is set to mark one of the must-see winter gigs when he brings his Deep Web tour to town. An increasingly complex and sophisticated rapper, Gambino has abandoned his previously upbeat, pop culture-riddled hooks in favour of a more introspective, genre-defying sound, while still retaining his disdain for the cliched tropes of hip hop and lazy lyricism of commercial rappers — all over beats that he produced himself. Why? Because, as he said in his breakout single 'Freaks and Geeks', having an Emmy just wasn't enough. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ExVtrghW5Y4
As that sweaty, gamer dude with greasepaint dripping from his nose that you bumped into on the bus who was cosplaying Emperor Palpatine en route to Oz Comic-Con said: Let the nerd flow through you. Despite sounding like one of the most horrendous pick-up lines of all time, he had a point. Nerd culture is inescapable, and unless you want to look back on a life haunted by the zeitgeist, it's time to get on board. Dragon Friends is a Dungeons and Dragons game played live on stage by some of Sydney's best comedians. While that may sound niche, the kicker is that none of the comedians have played D&D — the cult tabletop fantasy role playing game — before. DM'd by Dave Harmon, the creator of Australia's largest real world zombie survival game, Zedtown, together with Story Club co-creator and regular Chaser collaborator, Ben Jenkins, are Dragon Friends. And it's silly, unashamedly nerdy, and utterly delightful. The core cast of comedians/D&D newbies is compromised of triple j presenter and Good Game Well Played host, Michael Hing, BuzzFeed Australia's Alex Lee, national Theatresports champion Simon Greiner, and one third of the Axis of Awesome, Benny Davis. Having just performed at PAX Australia in Melbourne — where they were joined on stage by Lawrence Leung and none other than Senator Scott Ludlam — Dragon Friends won't be little known for long. If this piques your interest, you can catch up on the adventure so far via their podcast.
Melbourne's NGV International is celebrating the unique designs and lasting legacy of fashion icon Christian Dior, in a world premiere exhibition launching this Sunday, August 27. Running until November 7, The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture will be one of three major surveys of Dior's groundbreaking work, alongside exhibitions in Paris and New York. The Melbourne show will include more than 140 show-stopping garments, stretching the length and breadth of the label's extraordinary history. "Highlights of the NGV's House of Dior exhibition will include one of the few surviving examples of Christian Dior's New Look collection, which revitalised women's fashion in the post-war era," said gallery director Tony Ellwood last year. "And of course it wouldn't be a Dior exhibition without their sculptural tailoring, their signature ball gowns and their glamorous evening dresses which have become synonymous with the fashion house." "Audiences will discover the nuances of Dior's fashion design, and observe the ways in which these have evolved through the decades. The exhibition will also celebrate the milestones of Dior's six successive designers," he added. A key element of the exhibition will be an exploration of Dior's historic 1948 spring fashion parade at David Jones in Sydney, considered to be the first complete Dior collection to be shown outside of Paris. The exhibition will also tie in with the gallery's first ever Gala Ball on Sunday. If you're heading to Melbourne in the next few months, add this to your must-do list. Images: Installation view of House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture at the National Gallery of Victoria. Shot by Sean Fennessy.
Australia loves an underdog, so the interest and anticipation surrounding the new home of beleaguered celebrity chef Justin North comes as no surprise. With its stylish leather couches and armchairs, attractive angular lamps and impressive collection of wall-mounted photos (including an almost life-sized nude Kate Moss from the Kate Garner series currently showing in Paris), the Hotel Centennial exudes the brightness and warmth of a friend's dining room, and the refined elegance that makes it clear that friend shops at Coco Republic. There's a buzz to the place, with its jazzy, big-band soundtrack, bustling open kitchen, roaring wood-fired oven and army of well-dressed waitstaff milling about the grand wooden tables. The food is pretty as a picture. Grass fed steak tartare rests with a pickle upon a slender slice of rye ($6), while pink pieces of marinated tuna are lifted by the freshness of green tea soba noodles and scattered with black sesame seeds ($26). The flavours are pleasant, if not punchy, and make for an enjoyable preamble for the richer mains, like the wintery shepherd's pie ($26) which pairs soft pieces of lamb shank and shoulder with a flavoursome mash and toasted breadcrumbs. The wine list is impressive and accessible, with carefully curated categories ranging from 'zippy, zesty fresh whites' to 'big, bold, brash reds'. Our Argentinian Mi Terruno 'Uvas' Malbec ($10/$49) makes a happy companion for our meaty mains. Unusually for a pub, dessert is where it's at. A rich slice of chocolate ale cake ($14) makes clear that combining beer with chocolate can in fact be a thing, marrying the bitterness of the stout with sweetness from dashes of treacle, dollops of chocolate mousse and a creamy quenelle of salted caramel ice cream. Taking its cue from Table for 20 and Farmhouse, the Hotel Centennial is also experimenting with communal dining. Mondays through Wednesdays, you can join the High Table, a long, communal space that seats up to 30 diners for a main announced by noon each day on the High Table Tumblr. $24 includes one course (with $2 donated to the Holdsworth Foundation), and for an extra $10 you also get a coffee or tea and one of those fabulous desserts. Offering comfort food in striking surroundings, the Hotel Centennial is where you take the folks for an upmarket weekend meal. Following this first, measured return to the kitchen, we'll be watching to see what North does next. Images: Katje Ford.
Daylight savings might be wrapping up soon, but at least that diminishing sunlight needn't affect your Blue Mountains hiking plans. That's because the long-awaited Katoomba Falls Night-lit Walk is finally completed and open to the public, offering punters a stunning 1.3-kilometre nature hike that's best enjoyed after the sun goes down. Winding through the leafy Katoomba Falls Reserve, the trail is illuminated by over 400 energy-efficient LED lights, serving up dazzling nighttime views of landmarks like Katoomba Falls, Orphan Rock, Witches Leap and the Three Sisters. Small lights have been used along the footpaths, with thirteen giant floodlights beamed onto the trail's main natural focal points. And if that's not the most romantic date-night stroll ever, we don't know what is. Blue Mountains City Council, which helmed the project, said it had undertaken extensive planning in order to minimise light pollution for the area's wildlife and local residents. Not only was the lighting specifically chosen to limit impact on the environment, but it's helped to tip the Reserve's total energy load well below what it had been originally. The Council also hopes to become carbon neutral by 2025. The lights all come on at dusk and you've got plenty of time to enjoy the sights each night, before the floodlights are switched off at 10.30pm and the smaller ones shut off at 11pm. The nighttime trail has been six years in the making, with the December 2019 bushfires and last year's flooding both putting a significant halt on the project. Want to make a trip of it? Check out our weekender's guide to the Blue Mountains. For more details on the Katoomba Falls Night-lit Walk, jump over to the website. All the walk's lights turn on at dusk, with the floodlights turned off at 10.30pm and the path lights at 11pm. Images: Blue Mountains City Council and Sky Photography
We had a feeling this might happen. Off the back of an appearance at an already sold-out Splendour in the Grass, Kendrick Lamar will also headline six Australian shows in support of his fourth album DAMN.. Lamar is one of the most critically acclaimed and successful hip hop artists of our generation. The Compton rapper most recently became the first ever artist to take out the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for contemporary music. He's also the beholder of 12 Grammys, has clocked up more than six million album sales worldwide, and was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME Magazine. Lamar will return to our shores for Splendour on the weekend of July 20–22 and six headline shows: one in Perth on July 10, two in Melbourne on July 13 and 14, one in Adelaide on July 15 and two in Sydney on July 24 and 25. Having recently taken the DAMN. tour across the UK and Europe, set lists included his extensive catalogue, including good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012), To Pimp A Butterfly (2015) and his most recent effort DAMN..
Fancy chowing down on Los Pollos fried chicken for reals? Breaking Bad fans, hold on to your tortugas. There's a very real possibility that the Los Pollos fried chicken chain from the now-finished AMC series could become a real restaurant. During his recent Reddit AMA, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan dropped a sneaky teaser; that there have indeed been serious chats to make Gustavo Fring's fictional chicken empire into a real fast food joint. "[T]here is talk of a Pollos Hermanos becoming a real restaurant," he said. "This is not an idea that I generated personally. But it's one that's been presented to me, through the good folks at Sony, and the idea came to them from a businessman who has an interest in doing just that. Speaking for myself, I'd love to see that happen!" Whether or not this goes ahead remains to be seen, but for now we're happy to join the inevitable fan-brainstormed wishlist of novelty Pollos features. Reddit user elijoker suggested every store should have a Gus Fring look-a-like and ask random customers if their food is to their satisfaction. immorta1 pitched every purchase of a combo meal as coming with a free GPS tracker installed under your car by a serial killer. Bic_Parker practically pondered menu items like ice cream covered with blue pop rocks, while Ivanbulls suggested blue rock candy in baggies for dessert. We're also pretty sure the restaurant could smuggle anything they damn well wanted to, crying 'theme' if the Feds started to raise an eyebrow. Hardcore fans who can't wait for Sony negotiations can find their way to a pretty great Next Best Thing. Pointed out by Vanity Fair, Albuquerque burger and burrito restaurant Twisters functioned as a stand-in for Los Pollos Hermanos during shooting, training their employees to answer Los Pollos FAQs. Understandable. Very understandable. Via Vanity Fair.
When it opens its borders in early March, Western Australia will allow travellers from interstate and international destinations to visit for the first time in nearly two years — and, if it's beaches you're after, you have plenty of reasons to make the trip. Already in 2022, WA's Misery Beach was named Australia's best beach for the year. Now, the state's Turquoise Bay has nabbed its own accolade, topping a list of best beaches in the South Pacific for 2022. In Tripadvisor's just-announced 2022 lineup of the region's best beaches, which ranks ten idyllic locations, seven Aussie spots made the cut — and two from New Zealand. In fact, the only patch of sand that wasn't from either country was Bora Bora's Matira Beach, which came in fifth. Yes, that means three Aussie beaches and one NZ spot pipped French Polynesia. Located in Exmouth, Turquoise Bay came in third in Tripadvisor's top ten list of beaches around the world, too, moving up a spot from sixth in 2021. So, if you're making beachy holiday plans, this WA locale has been given the tick twice over. [caption id="attachment_844142" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Greens Pool, Denmark, Western Australia[/caption] On the South Pacific list, Broome's Cable Beach, also in WA, came in second — followed by New Zealand's Kaiteriteri Beach at third, then Greens Pool in Denmark, WA at fourth. Norfolk Island's Emily Bay ranked sixth, Queensland's Mooloolaba Beach came seventh, Cape Le Grand National Park in Esperance, WA sits eighth and 2021 best beach in the world winner Whitehaven Beach in Queensland came ninth. Rounding out the rankings: Tahunanui Beach in Nelson, NZ. Clearly, WA beaches scored big — with most locations named this year also placing in 2021. [caption id="attachment_844140" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kaiteriteri Beach, New Zealand[/caption] On the worldwide list, Grace Bay Beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands emerged victorious — moving up from fourth place in 2021 — followed by Varadero Beach in Cuba at second. Brazil's Quarta Praia in Morro de Sao Paulo came fourth, Aruba's Eagle Beach sits fifth and Radhanagar Beach on Havelock Island in India ranked sixth. They were followed by Baía do Sancho in Fernando de Noronha, Brazil at seventh; Trunk Bay Beach in the Virgin Islands National Park, US Virgin Islands at eighth; Baía dos Golfinhos in Praia da Pipa, again in Brazil, at ninth and Italy's Spiaggia dei Conigli in Lampedusa at tenth. The global list also named spots from 11th to 25th place, with Broome's Cable Beach coming in 11th. Across both the worldwide and South Pacific rankings, winners were chosen as part of Tripadvisor's Traveller's Choice awards, which is based on reviews and ratings left on the online platform across 2021. [caption id="attachment_844145" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Grace Bay Beach in the Turks and Caicos Islands[/caption] TOP TEN BEACHES IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC FOR 2022: Turquoise Bay, Exmouth, Western Australia Cable Beach, Broome, Western Australia Kaiteriteri Beach, Kaiteriteri, New Zealand Greens Pool, Denmark, Western Australia Matira Beach, Bora Bora, French Polynesia Emily Bay, Norfolk Island, Australia Mooloolaba Beach, Mooloolaba, Queensland Cape Le Grand National Park, Esperance, Western Australia Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, Queensland Tahunanui Beach, Nelson, New Zealand TOP TEN BEACHES IN THE WORLD FOR 2022: Grace Bay Beach, Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos Varadero Beach, Varadero, Cuba Turquoise Bay, Exmouth, Western Australia Quarta Praia, Morro de Sao Paulo, Brazil Eagle Beach, Palm, Eagle Beach, Aruba Radhanagar Beach, Havelock Island, India Baía do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha, Brazil Trunk Bay Beach, Virgin Islands National Park, U.S. Virgin Islands Baía dos Golfinhos, Praia da Pipa, Brazil Spiaggia dei Conigli, Lampedusa, Italy To check out the full list of top beaches for 2022, head to Tripadvisor. Top image: Tourism Western Australia.
Canned sundaes. Could be a trap. Sounds a little too dreamy. Seems the man who gave the world Cronuts has another trick up his sleeve, tailormade for the hardworking holidayers of the Hamptons. The latest experiment from award-winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel, canned sundaes are making their way to New York's Hamptons this weekend to be sold in a fancy ol' truck outside Lisa Perry's East Hampton boutique. One-off Ansel desserts, Lisa Perry boutique. HAMPTONS REPRESENT. "Dominique was a perfect match for this collaboration, as both of our brands celebrate art, pop culture and fun," said Perry. "He infuses each of his confections with creativity and imagination and the end result is always a treat in more ways than one." Somewhat fancier than Burger King's bacon sundae and channelling the same respect for showstopping dessert flavours as Messina, Ansel has created quite the gourmet canned good in this want-now dessert. Inspired by Warhol's cans, the mash-up sundaes are based on the classic root beer float (apparently Perry's favourite) — with root beer-flavoured ice cream, stracciatella ice cream (vanilla and chocolate chips) macerated cherries and mascarpone semifreddo and toasted marshmallow hanging out in the can. On top, Ansel's tiny signature 'Mini Me' meringues. You could say it's the most decadent thing someone's put in a can since the Candwich (canned sandwich, obviously). Meant for sharing, the sundaes will set Hamptonites back $15 and have enough canned goodness for two dessert fiends. Ansel will only be serving up 500 of these babies, so watch the 'grams for bragging rights. But before you get all Gossip Girl hater over this decadent dessert stunt, it's for a good cause. Ansel is giving 20 percent of sales from his fancy, fancy treat to City Harvest. Whattaguy. Via Grub Street. Image: Courtesy of Dominique Ansel Bakery
Homebrewers and beer lovers in Perth have a new local playground for their craft. Brew U: Brew University is taking the existing brew-on-premises model and gearing it toward craft beer enthusiasts, giving locals the ability to brew beer that is actually tasty while digging deeper into the science behind the process. If you're not familiar with the model, a brew-on-premises facility allows novices to bulk brew their own beer on the cheap. It saves money (when you compare it to buying retail) and avoids the bloody mess of doing it at home in the garage. Brew U is just taking this concept to the next level. The whole thing has been started by six Perth locals and aspiring brewers: Jon Stockey, Jenna Lippert, Eliza Stockey, John Lewis, Richard Allen and Lisa Allen. Together, they're offering much more than your typical extract brewing facility — which is most likely the method your mate used to make that nasty home brew, which you then vowed to never drink again. Instead, Brew U provides patrons with the added opportunity to try out grain brewing (just like professional brewers) and use rare yeast strains in their beer, all from a customised menu. The brewing menu uses fresh, local and high quality ingredients and includes specialty brews like a sour cherry Berliner Weisse, an India pale lager (IPL) and a New England-style IPA. As well as beer, the facility also allows for the production of cider and ginger beers. The space is inspired by US microbreweries, with the refurbished venue taking on an American varsity theme using chain-link fencing, ivy vines, school lockers, park benches and AstroTurf, along with a 30-metre custom mural by artists Steve Browne and Jerome Davenport. Apart from the brewing bit, the space will host beer education classes and seminars with local brewers, kegerator sales, keg hire and custom installations. The team also has its own microbrewery in the works with a full-on site production facility, bar with indoor beer garden and packaged products planned for the near future. Brew U is now open at 3–176 Bannister Road, Canningvale, Perth. It's open 3.30–7.30pm Monday to Friday, 8am–5pm Saturday 10am–5pm Sunday. For more info, visit the Facebook page.
Being a sports fan involves taking every opportunity you can get to show your love for your chosen team. Attending matches, nabbing all the merchandise, decking yourself out in the appropriate hues: they're some of the easy ways to go about it. If you're particularly dedicated, so is naming a pet after your favourite player or squad. We can't all call a koala joey Matilda, however, like the folks at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary have to celebrate the 2023 Women's World Cup. Over the past few weeks, the fortunes of Australia's national women's soccer team have been the best conversation topic there is. How is Sam Kerr's calf? How many goals can Hayley Raso kick? How stunning was that game against Canada? Here's the latest question: how cute is this Gold Coast koala that now shares the Matildas' name? The answer: very. Matilda the koala is now 12 months old, about 25 centimetres in size and has been given her moniker to honour the Aussie squad. "The real Matildas are achieving great things, and many of the staff and volunteers at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary have been following their journey closely," said Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Koala Specialist Sarah Eccleston. "When discussing a name for the newest addition to our Koala nursery, Matilda was a clear favourite and seemed very fitting." "Matilda is very sweet but also a bit cheeky. She is already making herself known in the nursery, just like the Matildas in the FIFA Women's World Cup tournament," Eccleston continued. At Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Matilda was born from the breeding and conservation program, and will soon join it to help the endangered species' future. The wildlife haven is home to more than 50 of its own fluffy-eared marsupials, which visitors can see on a trip to the park or via a daily behind-the-scenes tour, breakfast with koalas sessions five days a week and regular grazing experiences in its koala habitat. [caption id="attachment_912105" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Shiftchange via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Find Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary at 28 Tomewin Street, Currumbin — head to the venue's website for further information. The FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 runs until Sunday, August 20 across Australia and New Zealand, with tickets available from the FIFA website.
You and a mate can co-captain a canoe through the tempestuous rapids of the Nymboida River when you sign up for a high-octane wilderness excursion with Exodus Adventures. The backdrop of lush forest hideaways and soaring escarpments is a splendid contrast to the heart-thumping experience of navigating through fast-flowing rapids that'll bring you to tranquil pools and corners of the region only accessible via the river systems. Whether you're a weather-beaten paddler or new to canoeing, the team at Exodus will blaze a trail to suit your experience level. You can spend a day gliding and bumping along the river (from $235 per paddler) or make it a multi-day excursion, which involves camping under the forest canopy (from $405 per paddler). Food and nearby transfers are included.
Sydney's west has scored some love in the form of a sleek new bar in Belmore's local precinct that's setting a new precedent of luxe dining within the locale. Bartega is the latest addition to the Canterbury Leagues Club, kicking off a slate of new dining spots off the back of the club's multimillion dollar revamp. The artisanal cocktail bar brings a taste of luxury to south-west Sydney, offering up elegant dining while maintaining the warmth of a neighbourhood gem. Hosting intimate seating for 60, the venue boasts interiors designed by award-winning studio Altis Architecture and features locally-sourced vintage pieces including the attractive marble bar. There's also a cosy balcony for al fresco dining that overlooks the precinct's leafy gardens. Bartega offers up a one-of-a-kind cocktail experience, with renowned mixologist Tony Rudolph (ex-Bennelong, ex-Woodcut) crafting the drinks menu. A drinks program that maintains "a playful yet refined approach to both classics and bespoke concoctions" is the crux of Tony's mixology ethos. Cast your eyes over the selection on offer and you'll spot inventive mixes like the Jin Cha — Roku gin combined with matcha, Chartreuse Green, yuzu and honey — and a solid lineup of wine, beer and spirits, including sips from award-winning distillery Kalki Moon, whose spiced rum features in the bar's Flamin' Galah cocktail. As you'd hope, there's also a specialty cocktail honouring the beloved local footy team with a shoutout to Bulldogs mascot Brutus the bulldog (it's called the Brutus Blue). For bites, you can select from elevated snacks like steak tartare crostini, oven baked brie and charcuterie boards and cheese platters, as well as sticky pork belly bao buns and crispy cauliflower popcorn. The Belmore newcomer hopes to reinvigorate nightlife within Canterbury-Bankstown, bringing a great night out a little closer to home. Plus, the venue is the first of many aiming to redefine previous perceptions of the area when it comes to quality dining spots. For starters, Bartega has taken up residence alongside a local favourite — and one of Sydney's top yum cha spots — The Dynasty. "Bartega is more than just another cocktail bar," says CEO Greg Pickering. "South-West Sydney has a lot to offer as a destination, and we're hoping to showcase this, as well as offer a luxurious and accessible atmosphere for locals.".
Get ready to ring in 2019 with Cruise Bar's huge New Year's Eve event. It's no secret that Sydney loves to put on a show and you'll be in one of the best spots for it, with a prime harbourside view of both fireworks shows and the Opera House. From $99 per person, you will receive a glass of sparkling on arrival and access to levels one and two. Or, if you want to splash out for the special night, you can opt for the VIP package (from $389 per person) which features three hours of food and beverages including free-flowing Pol Roger NV Champagne on Cruise Bar's glorious rooftop. You'll also get access to all three levels across the evening so you can scope out the best vantage point for the fireworks display. Plus, DJ duo Stafford Brothers will be on deck to provide your soundtrack for this epic farewell to 2018. Spots are filling up fast for this end-of-the-year bash. To nab your spot, head to Cruise Bar's website.
If you didn't have a great time watching some of cinema's many sequels, remakes and riffs on well-known characters in 2023, you weren't alone: franchise fare and flicks linked to familiar figures scored big among the nominations for the 44th Golden Raspberry Awards. These annual accolades include a specific category for Worst Remake, Ripoff or Sequel, but perusing its current list of contenders means seeing titles that continue sagas and the like everywhere — including all five movies vying for Worst Picture. Up for the award: The Exorcist: Believer, Expend4bles, Meg 2: The Trench, Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey. Among the rest of the fields, they have company from Fast X, Magic Mike's Last Dance, Ant Man & the Wasp: Quantumania and Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny. As everyone already knows, last year was a great year to be Barbenheimer, which showed that films that weren't follow-ups could amass a massive audience. The same can't be said for movies that arrived with a been-there-done-that vibe already baked in. Obviously, not all flicks can be excellent. Some are, and gongs like the Golden Globes and Oscars reward them accordingly. For those that aren't, the Razzies make its choices — and from 2023's releases, Expend4bles leads the way with seven nominations, including for Worst Supporting Actor (Sylvester Stallone), Worst Supporting Actress (Megan Fox), Worst Screen Couple (for any two "merciless mercenaries"), Worst Director (Scott Waugh), the aforementioned Worst Remake, Ripoff or Sequel, and Worst Screenplay. If you're wondering where Fast X was recognised, Vin Diesel received a Worst Actor nod. Magic Mike's Last Dance picked up nominations for Worst Actress (Salma Hayek) and Worst Screen Couple (Hayek with Channing Tatum). Ant Man & the Wasp: Quantumania has two contenders for Worst Supporting Actor in Michael Douglas and Bill Murray — plus director and sequel — and Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny pops up in the sequel and screenplay camps. Among the other big-name actors, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas are on the list for action-comedy Ghosted, and so is Russell Crowe for The Pope's Exorcist (exorcism movies were big in 2023, and with the Razzies). Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu got the nod for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Jennifer Lopez for The Mother and Jason Statham for Meg 2: The Trench, while Megan Fox picked up a second nomination for Johnny & Clyde. Sometimes, films receiving the Razzies' attention also earn some Oscars love, as Elvis and Blonde did last year. That seems less likely in 2024, but the Golden Raspberry Awards are always timed to make the comparison. Its nominations drop the day before the Oscars do the same and, when it anoints its winners on Sunday, March 10, Australian and New Zealand time, it'll also do so the day before the Academy Awards ceremony. Check out the full list of Razzie nominees below: Golden Raspberry Nominees 2023: Worst Picture: The Exorcist: Believer Expend4bles Meg 2: The Trench Shazam! Fury of the Gods Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey Worst Actor: Russell Crowe, The Pope's Exorcist Vin Diesel, Fast X Chris Evans, Ghosted Jason Statham, Meg 2: The Trench Jon Voight, Mercy Worst Actress: Ana de Armas, Ghosted Megan Fox, Johnny & Clyde Salma Hayek, Magic Mike's Last Dance Jennifer Lopez, The Mother Helen Mirren, Shazam! Fury of the Gods Worst Supporting Actor: Michael Douglas, Ant Man & the Wasp: Quantumania Mel Gibson, Confidential Informant Bill Murray, Ant Man & the Wasp: Quantumania Franco Nero (as The Pope), The Pope's Exorcist Sylvester Stallone, Expend4ables Worst Supporting Actress: Kim Cattrall, About My Father Megan Fox, Expend4bles Bai Ling, Johnny & Clyde Lucy Liu, Shazam! Fury of the Gods Mary Stuart Masterson, Five Nights at Freddy's Worst Screen Couple: Any two "merciless mercenaries", Expend4bles Any two money-grubbing investors who donated to the $400 million for remake rights to The Exorcist Ana de Armas and Chris Evans (who flunked screen chemistry), Ghosted Salma Hayek and Channing Tatum, Magic Mike's Last Dance Pooh and Piglet as blood-thirsty slasher/killers in Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey Worst Director: Rhys Frake-Waterfield, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey David Gordon Green, The Exorcist: Believer Peyton Reed, Ant Man & the Wasp: Quantumania Scott Waugh, Expend4bles Ben Wheatley, Meg 2: The Trench Worst Remake, Ripoff or Sequel: Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania The Exorcist: Believer Expend4bles Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey Worst Screenplay: The Exorcist: Believer Expend4bles Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Shazam! Fury of the Gods Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood & Honey The Golden Raspberry Awards will be announced on Sunday, March 10, Australian and New Zealand time. For further details, head to the awards' website.
Attention aestheticians, minimalists and lovers of Tumblr, this is a public service announcement: there's Pantone-themed café just opened in Monaco and it’s fifty shades of beautiful. The eatery, named Pantone Cafe (keepin’ it simple, classic Pantone), has been set up on Avenue Princesse Grace overlooking the Côte d'Azur and against the vibrant backdrop of the Mediterranean Sea. They'll be serving up treats and drinks that perfectly match Pantone’s famed hues. You know what this means, people. Bring your goddamn cameras. Everything at Pantone Cafe has been matched to a Pantone shade — even the staff uniforms. The menu reads like summer incarnate: ice creams, eclairs, granitas, soft drinks, 'fruit alcohol', cold sandwiches and juice. Try the in-vogue Pantone 13-0221 Pistachio Green éclair or the Pantone 13-2804 Parfait Pink ham sandie. A ham sandie has never been so lux. In case you hadn't guessed from the Côte d'Azur/Mediterranean location, Pantone Cafe has a summer theme and is therefore only open for the summer months until September 9. That is still ample time to quit your job, leave your family, bail to Monaco and really focus on your Tumblr aesthetic. But you better crack your piggy bank wide open because according to 2014 stats from the World Bank, the Monegasque are the richest people on earth. A Pantone 15-5534 green salad will set you back $13, so all you poor colourphiles might have to stick with a $3 croissant instead. Find the Pantone Café at Grimaldi Forum, 10 Av. Princesse Grace. Open from 10am-8pm daily, until September 9. Images: Pantone Cafe.
Lovers of utes — or Aussie cars in general — should make tracks to Deniliquin this October, for the 21st annual Deni Ute Muster. The town sits in the southwest corner of New South Wales, making it a relatively quick 3.5-hour commute for Melburnians (it's 7.5 hours from Sydney). The 'rural-themed' camping festival attracts some 20,000 visitors, as well as utes of all models and vintages. There are so many trucks in attendance that each year the festival tries to break its own 1999 Guinness World Record for the largest parade of utes (currently 2839, if you're interested). Country music fans have their own reason to visit, with a full lineup of local and international acts taking the stage across two nights. This year's program is headlined by Tim McGraw. Driving competitions, building challenges, lawn mower races, whip cracking, wood chopping and a go-kart track are also on the docket. The $269 ticket price also covers camping, so you can bring your own tent or caravan — or simply roll out a swag in the back of your ute.
As the mercury rises this summer, Sydney's Entertainment Quarter is set to become a hub of aquatic fun with the return of Waterworld Central. From Saturday, January 6 to Wednesday, January 31, 2024, the mobile inflatable water park promises a refreshing respite from the summer heat — and just in time for school holidays. Waterworld Central is perfect for thrill-seekers and chill-seekers alike. Adrenaline junkies can get their fix on the 80-metre X-Treme Tuber Slide, or chase the butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling and meet the full force of gravity on the huge Wave Slide drop. Meanwhile, the Paddle Boat Pool provides a more relaxed pace for those wanting to soak up the sun sans heart palpitations. For a truly chill experience, the Gorilla Pool is the perfect spot to unwind. And let's not forget the Snow World Pool, which will offer a whimsical winter-themed escape. Waterworld Central offers free entry for spectators, which is a nice touch, and with session-based tickets priced at $40 for two hours of access, it's an affordable option for a day out that would make any kid (or kid at heart) truly stoked. With preset session times, we reckon it's best to arrive early to get wristbands and maximise your fun in the sun. And if you'd rather spend more than two hours, you can upgrade each pass to a full-day pass for $20 a pop. Grab your tickets at the Waterworld Central website. Gift cards are also available on the site if you're looking to give the gift of fun this holiday season.
Being selected for the Melbourne International Film Festival's Bright Horizons is an achievement. Only one movie each year can take home the competition's $140,000 prize, however. 2025's just-announced victor: A Poet, which follows a once-celebrated literary figure who is having trouble writing, premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and marks the second feature by Simón Mesa Soto (Amparo). The fest's annual competition for emerging filmmakers has given its coveted accolade to "a tragicomic satire and microcosm of melancholy and irreverence", as the Bright Horizons Jury led by Aftersun director Charlotte Wells described A Poet. The same group also made its pick for MIFF's Best Australian Director of 2025, with photographer James J Robinson winning the award for his filmmaking debut First Light. Bright Horizons has been part of MIFF's program since 2022, when Australia's oldest film festival started its yearly prize for new directorial voices. Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost won the award in its initial year — which Aftersun contended for — followed by Senegalese-French love story Banel & Adama in 2023, then Canadan dramedy Universal Language in 2024. "A Poet depicts Óscar, a failed poet turned reluctant mentor drifting between aspiration and self-destruction. The film is a biting fable of art as both an inescapable burden and a personal compass, breaking convention through its refreshingly brisk pace, unpretentious use of 16mm cinematography, deadpan performances by a mostly first-timer cast and pared-back jazzy score," the 2025 jury continued about A Poet. "The film's balancing act of unflinching character study and social satire marks Simón Mesa Soto as a vital voice in contemporary Latin American cinema." [caption id="attachment_1018710" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dijana Risteska[/caption] Of First Light — a Bright Horizons competitor, too — as the Best Australian Director recipient, Wells, Pavements and Videoheaven director Alex Ross Perry, Harvest filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari, composer and musician Caitlin Yeo (Last Days of the Space Age), author and screenwriter Nam Le (The Boat), performer Tamala (Late Night with the Devil) and IMDb founder Col Needham said: "James J Robinson's First Light is a moving and powerful meditation on faith, institutional corruption and moral awakening". "The film is anchored by a pitchperfect performance from Ruby Ruiz [Expats] and a sensorial mise en scène, inviting the audience into the spiritual grandeur of the landscape and the sacred intimacy of the convent to interrogate, alongside Sister Yolanda, not only the crime at hand, but also the Catholic Church and modern society itself." "As the first Australia–Philippines co-production to debut at MIFF, First Light not only showcases Robinson's promise as a cineaste but also marks a noteworthy milestone in cross-cultural cinema." 2025 is the third year of MIFF's Uncle Jack Charles Award, aka the First Nations Film Creative Award, as won this year by Yarrenyty Arltere Artists the art direction of short The Fix-It-Man and the Fix-It-Wooman. If you went to the festival and had your say in the Audience Award voting, you also contributed to 2025's winners lineup, too. After Australian documentaries Voice and Left Write Hook shared the accolade in 2024, another has won it outright in 2025: the aged care-focused Careless. For those who haven't caught them at MIFF, add the recipients of this year's accolades to your must-see list ASAP. Check out the trailers for A Poet, Careless andThe Fix-It-Man and the Fix-It-Wooman below: The 2025 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 7–Sunday, August 24. For more information, visit the MIFF website. Bright Horizons Jury image: Dijana Risteska.
Located just outside the opal mining town of Lightning Ridge, these delightful baths are surrounded by remote bushland and are gloriously removed from all signs of civilisation — plus they're open 24 hours a day. You can soak in the hot waters at sunrise, sunset, or any other time your little heart desires. Night swims are particularly recommended as you can float in the 40-degree water while taking in the stunning expanse of the starry sky. A popular meeting place for Lightning Ridge residents, the baths are also a great place to get a feel for local life. Best of all? Entry is totally free. Top image: Destination NSW
Each month, Netflix adds a whole heap of new movies, shows and specials to its lineup. It's impossible to watch all of them, and if you tend to gravitate towards its big series and films — Stranger Things and The Witcher, plus features such as Marriage Story and The Trial of the Chicago 7 , for instance — that's understandable. But don't scroll your way past the service's comedy offerings. As with everything on every streaming platform, the selection can be a bit hit and miss; however, Netflix was responsible for one of the best sketch comedies of 2019, aka the sidesplitting I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. In 2020, Netflix is hoping that its latest addition to the genre will also strike a chord, this time with Aussie comedians Aunty Donna at its centre. The troupe's absurdist gags, satire and wordplay is heading to the streamer via the six-part Aunty Donna's Big House of Fun, which'll be available to watch from Wednesday, November 11. As the just-released first trailer shows, viewers are in for silliness galore, as led by Aunty Donna's Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane. The Office star Ed Helms also pops up, and executive produces the series — with Comedy Bang! Bang!'s Scott Aukerman and David Jargowsky also falling into the latter category. Since forming in 2011, Aunty Donna just keeps expanding its resume. It has played gigs everywhere from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival to Edinburgh Festival Fringe, toured the country several times, made a number of web series and released an album. In a year where we could all use a genuine reason to laugh, Aunty Donna's Big House of Fun adds to that list. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BVoYKwTc4E Aunty Donna's Big House of Fun will be available via Netflix from Wednesday, November 11.
Away from the hustle and bustle of Chatswood's main shopping strip, this little tea nirvana is trying to teach people about the lost art of relaxation. The owners source all their Chinese herbal teas from two family-owned plantations in China, and offer tea appreciation classes on Wednesday evenings. Stop by for a cuppa in-store and staff will try to match you to a blend that not only tastes good, but has medicinal benefits matched to your needs. Still not enough? Try one of the tea-scented snacks on offer — the rose and black tea chiffon cake is incredible.
Some of the world's fringe festivals go for curation, featuring the cream of the crop of local and touring indie talent. Others open their doors wider, allowing for the truly weird, unexpected or unconnected a chance to step under the spotlight and make a lasting impression. The Sydney Fringe Festival falls mainly into the latter camp, with its bewildering and Bible-thick program containing the wonderful, the luckless and every inflection in-between. The independent festival has grown into the city's largest alternative arts event, spanning most of September and including the media of visual arts, film, digital arts, theatre, music, comedy, musical theatre, circus/physical theatre, dance, cabaret, books, kids and family shows, poetry, food and wine and things just plain 'other'. The festival is spread out over five 'creative villages' mainly centring around the Inner West, and this year welcomes a new festival hub, Emerald City garden bar. Located in the Seymour Centre courtyard — in front of a key Fringe venue and a popular spot during summer's Courtyard Sessions — the late-night garden bar will give the sprawling festival a social heart, in the vein of the Sydney Festival's Festival Garden or Adelaide Fringe's famed Garden of Earthly Delights. Also among the new venues is Eliza's Juke Joint (at the old 5 Eliza festival bar); the Dendy Cinema car park, which will host the Artcore Guerilla Artfair; and the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, transformed into Camp Super Happy Sunshine Fun, a thing that we're assured is for adults (yay!). Comedy will continue to be based in the Factory Theatre, while Marrickville will also lead in the live music stakes, with artists such as Abby Dobson in the Camelot Lounge. "We have discovered hundreds of hidden gems within the city, not only focusing on a terrific arts program but opening up to artisan food, crafts and sub-cultures," says Sydney Fringe Festival spokesperson Kerri Glasscock. "We have unlocked the city and invite you all to join us in celebrating the wonderful world that is Sydney’s fringe." In the Night Garden at Tortuga Studios Tortuga Studio's In the Night Garden has been a strong mark on our cultural calendar across its brief existence. From a promising 2011 debut to an enthusiastic 2012 follow-up, it has taken the laneway intersection behind St Peter's Tortuga Studios and filled it with luminescent art of all descriptions. The night has featured realtime projection, heads aglow, a mushroom-like tree of lamps, live binding and live painting. This year, Tortuga is adding writers to the mix. Visitors will be able to settle into an overlapping mashup of writers' workspace, as a single desk switches faces from one set of writers to the next. The word work will be curated by Zoe Adler Bishop, with local wordsmiths Tabula Rasa (long-time, critical denizens of the Sydney arts scene and fresh off a recent relaunch) adding their keyboard-pounding power into the back-lane lineup. 13 September, 6.30pm; Tortuga Studios, 31 Princes Highway, St Peters; free 2SER History of... at Emerald City Don't know your music history? Want to? One of the most public-spirited sidelines of this year's Fringe Festival will be the 2SER-fronted series of musical evenings at new festival hub Emerald City Garden Bar. Stepping in for former festival focus 5 Eliza, this new venue brings the Fringe to the Seymour Centre courtyard, offering weekend DJs and free Friday night Fringe teaser nights to whet your appetite for the week to come. In the History of.. series, two hours across three September Thursdays will feature 2SER presenters and friends to shepherd you through key DJs, Motown and Afro-Caribbean beats. The series comes with evenings of Hip Hop (12 September), Funk & Soul (19 September) and Rhythm Out of Afrika (26 September) at 7pm. Emerald City Garden Bar at the Seymour Centre Courtyard; free Jude the Obscure at PACT Fringe Conventional wisdom is that Fringe is your chance to see something truly, deeply weird that would never get a sniff of the main stage but might remind you of the brilliant range of human endeavour. The show to see, in that case, is Jude the Obscure, in which writer/performer Alice Williams plays Australian comedian Judith Lucy (see uncanny resemblance above), in space, in the the future, doing a catalogue of "little known material" from her oeuvre. Because Judith has been accepted into Mars One, of course. Jude the Obscure is on at PACT, which has curated its own lineup of seven Fringe shows, and, as usual, you can be guaranteed that any show you see there is compelling in its own, offbeat way. Among the picks are Animorphed by Applespiel's Simon Binns, in which he reflects on beloved childhood series Animorphs and whether his favourite character was a racist stereotype, and The Defence, a cerebral-fun look at August Strindberg and misogyny within the rehearsal room. 4-14 September; PACT Centre for Emerging Artists, 107 Railway Parade, Erskineville; tickets $25/20/15. Make Way for Winter This is a sketch comedy show themed around Game of Thrones. What more do you need to know? The hilarity latent in the Seven Kingdoms and at the Red Wedding finally revealed. Everyone as well as Tyrion bringing the funny. The White Walkers twerking, probably. This show comes from Sydney University's home of comedy, Project 52 (which we named one of Sydney's best alternative comedy rooms), and is an offshoot of their weekly sketch night, Make Way for Ducklings. Book early, GoT fans. 12-14 September; The Fusebox at The Factory; tickets $15 Mad Mex Tequila Masterclass Tequila is distilled from agave nectar, and, like champagne, it's only really Tequila if its drawn from some specific parts of Mexico. If you can't tell Jalisco from mescal, then early starters in the Sydney taco wars Mad Mex are eager to steer you down the smart path when it comes to downing this Mesoamerican delicacy. They're running two free Tequila Masterclasses in their King Street store, which should leave you ready to mix a better margarita and feel at home sorting out Hornitos from Patron. 12 and 19 September; Mad Mex, Newtown; free, but you'll need to register via hola@madmex.com.au or (02) 8197 3077 Green Mohair Suits at 5 Eliza's Juke Joint With the Seymour Centre's Emerald City Garden Bar taking over Festival hub duties from 5 Eliza, this former library and current Fringe headquarters gets reborn as 5 Eliza's Juke Joint. The Joint fahsions itself in the style of Mississipi delta blues, with one of the standout appearances at this haven of Southern sound being local country/bluegrass band the Green Mohair Suits. The group has gone from friends turned bandmates to playing backup to Josh Pyke at Beck Hansen's Song Reader fundraiser last year at the Standard. They'll be joining other Joint luminaries, including the Cope Street Parade, the Hoo Haas and Mic Conway and Liz Frencham. 19 September, 7pm; Eliza's Juke Joint, 5 Eliza St, Newtown; tickets $15. Bushpig Bushpig was called "hands-down the most intriguing show to surface in this year’s [Adelaide Fringe]" by theatre guide Heckler — high praise indeed. Like many Fringe Fest events, its a one-person show, but writer/performer Hannah Malarski, a NIDA playwriting grad, makes hers stand out. Her range and vivid characterisations bring to life an eccentric small town of characters, centred around Aunt Vivian and her missing child. 10-13 September; Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre; tickets $20/15. 2013 - When We Were Idiots Walking Tour The year is 2113, you are about to embark on a walking tour that dissects the consumerism, ignorance and individualism of 2013. Well, sort of. It's not really 2113, but this comedic tour of our fair city, led by a penguin (writer/performer Xavier Toby) pokes fun at the rampant idiocy of contemporary living and the possible implications of living in an age of overconsumption and intolerance. The mixture of comedy, activism, archaeology and strolling is a rare one that prompted Artshub to call When We Were Idiots "interactive theatre at its energetic best". 6-15 September, departing 6.30pm daily as well as 2.30pm on weekends; meet at The Pie Tin, Newtown; tickets $15/10. Camp Super Happy Sunshine Fun We're called Concrete Playground; how could we not endorse a bit of childhood regression? Camp Super Happy Sunshine Fun is setting up at Newtown Neighbourhood Centre to help you shed the baggage of adulthood and get silly with games, arts and crafts, a 'Potato Olympics' and friendship circles. Camp director Maya Sebestyen has actually worked at US summer camps, so authenticity is a given. 6, 20, 21, 27 and 28 September, 8pm; Newtown Neighbourhood Centre; tickets $15. Artcore Guerilla Artfair Art in the car park is nothing new in Sydney these days. Oversize art fairs aren't sitting too far away on the cultural horizon, either. But while the looming Sydney Contemporary will work at the pricier end of the scale, and the bounty of Alaska Projects comes with a modicum of urban spelunking, the Fringe's annual art market spread sits conveniently just off King Street. Artcore Guerilla Artfair is situated in the Newtown Dendy's cavernous car park, bringing together art by 30 local artists. It's guerilla by price as well as by name, with its art starting around $5. All day 12 September 12; behind the Dendy Cinemas Newtown, 16-28 Lennox St; free By Zacha Rosen and Rima Sabina Aouf.
The last time that Patricia Arquette graced the small screen before High Desert, she was icy and commanding, pulling company-controlled strings and overseeing a corporate-styled sci-fi nightmare world. Other than also streaming via Apple TV+, 2022's instant-standout first season of Severance has little in common with the Boyhood Oscar-winner and The Act and Medium Emmy-winner's latest project. Here, she leads a private investigator comedy that dapples its jam-packed chaos under California's golden sun, against the parched Yucca Valley landscape and with an anything-goes philosophy — not to mention a more-mayhem-the-merrier tone. In High Desert, the always-excellent Arquette plays Peggy Newman, who isn't letting her age get in the way of perennially struggling to pull her life together. That said, when the eight-part series opens — streaming from Wednesday, May 17 — it's Thanksgiving 2013 and she's living an upscale existence in Palm Springs, with gleaming surfaces abounding in her expansive (and visibly expensive) home. Then, as her husband Denny (Matt Dillon, Proxima) jokes around with her mother Roslyn (Bernadette Peters, Mozart in the Jungle), and her younger siblings Dianne (Christine Taylor, Search Party) and Stewart (Keir O'Donnell, The Dry) lap up the lavish festivities, DEA agents swarm outside. Cue weed, hash and cash stashes being flushed and trashed, but not quickly enough to avoid splashing around serious repercussions. A decade later, High Desert's protagonist has been sharing Roslyn's house and trying to kick her addictions while working at Pioneertown, a historical attraction that gives tourists a dusty, gun-toting taste of frontier life. Peggy would love to step back in time herself when she's not pretending to be a saloon barmaid — to when her recently deceased mother was still alive, however, rather than to her glitzy post-arrest shindigs. Still angry about being caught up in a drug bust, Dianne and Stewart have zero time for her nostalgia and a lack of patience left for her troubles. Their plan: to sell Roslyn's abode with no worries about where Peggy might end up. Her counter: doing everything she can to stop that from happening. High Desert doesn't just embrace the fact that living and breathing is merely weathering whatever weird, wild and sometimes-wonderful shambles fate throws your way; in a show created and written by Nurse Jackie and Damages alumni Jennifer Hoppe and Nancy Fichman, plus Miss Congeniality and Desperate Housewives' Katie Ford, that idea dictates the busy plot, too. The end result isn't quite in Mrs Davis territory but, as Peggy decides to talk her way into moonlighting as a private investigator for local detective Bruce Harvey (Brad Garrett, Bupkis) after he rips off her best friend Carol (Weruche Opia, I May Destroy You), it repeatedly proves gleefully ridiculous. Instead of a nun fighting AI, this series spans stolen art, an anchorman-turned-guru (Rupert Friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi) whose motto is "everything is stupid!", a missing mafia family member (Tonya Glanz, Hightown), and father-daughter assassins (American Horror Story's Carlo Rota and Tuning In's Julia Rickert) with debts to collect and a penchant for slicing off nipples. Also filling High Desert's frames: blasting people out of canons, a wine- and car-stealing teen (Jayden Gomez, Love) with an all-seeing drone, Denny getting out of prison and chasing new schemes, a talking parrot plucking out its own feathers, and an actor who looks so much like Roslyn (and is also played by the great Peters) that Peggy decides to write a cathartic play around her to work through her mummy issues. For a show taking place in sleepy surroundings — Yucca Valley's IRL population is just over 21,000 — there's nothing placid about the hectic parade of capers it unfurls against the rocky setting. As an illustration of life's non-stop bedlam, though, this happily shaggy ode to sleuthing, hustling and trying to get by always feels authentic. How does anyone navigate their days when there's a lifetime of pain to sift through and just as much baggage to carry, everyone's right choice is someone else's wrong option, and we're all just making it all up as we go along? That's High Desert's vibe — and while it's never afraid to be OTT, it's also wonderfully astute. Adding another memorable role to a four-decades-long resume filled with them, and bringing to mind True Romance's Alabama but 30 years on, Arquette is a key reason that the series plays as engagingly and thoughtfully as it does. She's a committed comic gem as a woman who is never willing to be anything less than herself no matter the costs and consequences, and she's also both a source of pandemonium and a trusty anchor. Arquette is in fine company, with Dillon in There's Something About Mary mode, Friend demonstrating his knack for comedy as the immediately absurd Guru Bob, Garrett adding another interesting part to his post-Everybody Loves Raymond resume and Peters an on-screen treasure as always. Indeed, High Desert's stacks-on feeling echoes everywhere under director Jay Roach's (Bombshell) guidance, from the series' lead performance to its supporting players, and also including its bouncing plot and vivid imagery — brightly, involvingly, entertainingly, and never just throwing more and more hijinks in for the sake of it. With a PI job front and centre, hitmen to avoid and a disappearance to solve, High Desert joins Apple TV+'s packed lineup of mysteries. Severance, Servant, Black Bird, The Afterparty, Bad Sisters, Hello Tomorrow!, The Big Door Prize, Silo, this: they all fit the mould, filling the platform's catalogue with what's clearly its favourite genre. In fact, High Desert's biggest disappointment is that it doesn't lean in further, giving more time and attention to Peggy's no-nonsense detective talents in the spirit of Veronica Mars and Poker Face. Perhaps that's a road for season two to drive down, should another go-around eventuate. With Arquette being a delight at the show's the centre again, more would be welcome. Check out the trailer for High Desert below: High Desert streams via Apple TV+ from Wednesday, May 17.
He was the subject of the world's first narrative feature film, has been played by everyone from Mick Jagger to Heath Ledger and Down Under director Abe Forsythe, and has long been considered Australia's version of Robin Hood. A folk hero to some and a ruthless outlaw to others, Ned Kelly is firmly entrenched in the nation's history. But, while every Australian knows his name and his supposed final words, no one has seen a version of Ned Kelly quite like the one cooked up by director Justin Kurzel, screenwriter Shaun Grant and author Peter Carey in True History of the Kelly Gang. With the Macbeth filmmaker in the director's chair, and his Snowtown scribe Grant adapting Carey's eponymous Booker Prize-winning novel, True History of the Kelly Gang doesn't just tell the usual bushranger tale. It steps through Kelly's story, naturally, but it also makes plain that it's playing fast and loose with reality — and interrogating the myth that's surrounded the notorious figure since his hanging at Melbourne Gaol in 1880 in the process. The result is an astonishing Australian film that's set to be one of 2020's finest and, as its just-dropped first trailer shows, an energetic, propulsive and visually stunning movie as well. True History of the Kelly Gang also boasts a killer cast, with rising British star George MacKay (Ophelia, 11.22.63, Captain Fantastic) playing Kelly as an adult, stellar first-timer Orlando Schwerdt exploring his boyhood, The Babadook's Essie Davis stepping into his mother Ellen's shoes and Russell Crowe playing fellow bushranger Harry Power, who initiates the young Kelly into his lawless way of life. Charlie Hunnam and Nicholas Hoult also pop up as cops, Leave No Trace's excellent Thomasin McKenzie features as the fictional love of Kelly's life, and Earl Cave — son of Nick Cave — plays Kelly's brother and accomplice. Already one of the most anticipated Australian films of recent years, True History of the Kelly Gang proved a hit at this year's Toronto International Film Festival — and, following a trend made popular by Netflix and Amazon of late (see: The Irishman, Marriage Story, Brittany Runs a Marathon and The Report), will hit both cinemas and Aussie streaming platform Stan in January 2020. Check out the trailer bellow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE7YVZA5YVc&feature=youtu.be True History of the Kelly Gang releases in Australian cinemas on Thursday, January 9, 2020, then drops on Stan on Sunday, January 26.
Dust off your skinny jeans. In news that we hope doesn't trigger memories of the era of Sydney's lockout laws, legendary DJ collective Bang Gang is returning to Club 77 this month. The Friday night party starters are returning to the subterranean Darlinghurst club to help it celebrate its 28th year. The Sydney-born collective that helped define a generation of dance floors is reuniting for the first time in over ten years, and they'll be taking over their spiritual home for one massive night on Friday, May 16. It's part of a month-long birthday program for 77 that brings together past legends, rising selectors and the club's own residents, in a celebration of the past and future of Sydney's club culture. Some context for younger readers: Friday nights in the 2000s were ruled by Bang Gang. Known for their high-energy sets and bold selections, the crew made Club 77 ground zero for Sydney's early-internet-era electro scene, and came to embody the sound and spirit of a generation. "It gives me this kind of excitement that's hard to explain — not nervous or anxious, just that fuck-me-this-moment-can't-come-soon-enough kind of excitement," shares Bang Gang member Dangerous Dan ahead of the upcoming gig. "The Club 77 crowd has always been there for one reason — to dance. It's dark, it's loud, and you can't really talk much anyway. But they know what's up. That's my favourite kind of crowd." Sydney — indeed, the world — looked very different when Club 77 first opened its doors in 1997. The club stared down lockouts, lockdowns, licensing crackdowns and the ever-fluctuating tides of the city's live music and nightlife scene. These days, it's where you'll find some of the sharpest programming in the city, and May's stacked birthday lineup proves it: alongside Bang Gang, you can catch returning heroes like Phil Smart, Robbie Lowe and Dreems, as well as next-gen selectors like Mowgli, Deepa, Ciara, Aquenta, DJ D.Dee and more. Whether you were around for the Bang Gang days or are part of the newer set keeping the party going, this month presents a rare opportunity to experience a slice of Sydney nightlife history in one of the city's most iconic nightlife destinations. All of Club 77's birthday events are free to enter with guest list registration before midnight, and $25 thereafter. To sign up for the guest list and to check out the full program, head to the Club 77 website. Top image: Benjamin Weser.
The festive season is upon us. While a lot of good things accompany that truth — parties, presents and a well-deserved break from work — it also has the potential to fill you with dread. It could be that most of your favourite people are too far away to celebrate with. Perhaps nobody in your crew is willing to volunteer playing host. Or maybe you just really, really hate washing up. For those of you that want a bit of a break from being Santa's little helpers, Oceans at Coogee Beach is hosting an adults-only Christmas barbecue to solve your woes. From midday, you can celebrate the big day on the Ocean Terrace soaking up the stellar sea views. Get ready to feast on an assortment of hot and cold menu items that embody Christmas Down Under. There'll be a grazing table of cured meats, cheeses and fresh seafood, plus the barbie will be fired up for barbecued king prawns, vegetable skewers, smoked brisket and a whole roasted suckling pig. To wash it all down, there's a three-hour drinks package including a creamy espresso martini on arrival, tap beer, wine and mocktails. And with Coogee Beach right on your doorstep, you can also fit in a spot of cricket. How's that for a Christmas feast? Bad Santa's Backyard Barbecue and Spit will run from 12–3pm on Christmas Day. Spots are limited, so get in quick and book here.
When an Australian series becomes the Foxtel Group's most-watched original scripted show of all time, it's bound to keep bounding back for more seasons. That program is Colin From Accounts — and after 2022's gem of a first season saw it renewed for a second, the latter has sparked a third as well. Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall will be back on-screen, and also writing and executive producing, as the Aussie rom-com follows what comes next for their characters Ashley and Gordon. "We're very excited to bring you season three of our show. To be honest, with the way we ended season two it would have been weird not to make a third, so here we are. We promise we won't leave you hanging like that again. Probably," said Dyer and Brammall, confirming Colin From Accounts' third run. "We couldn't pass up the opportunity for fans to see what's next for Ash and Gordon (and Colin!). Colin From Accounts has delighted fans the world over and we're proud to commission a third season of this hilarious, chaotic and relatable series that has stolen our hearts," added Foxtel Group's Head of Scripted Lana Greenhalgh. When the series began, Dyer's (American Auto) Ashley and Brammall's (Evil) Gordon first crossed paths thanks to a flashed nipple and an injured dog, then an agreement to co-parent the pooch as it recovered. As a relationship blossomed beyond more than just taking care of the titular canine, little has gone smoothly — with the adorable Colin, and also with the pair's romance. As well as proving an Australian hit — complete with AACTAs and Logies to prove it — for real-life couple and No Activity stars Dyer and Brammall, the show has earned fans overseas, with Foxtel Group licensing it to 150 territories globally. There's no word yet as to exactly when Colin From Accounts will return, what the narrative will follow, and who among the rest of the cast and past guest stars will be back, but renewing the series comes at a crucial time for Binge. With Max launching in Australia at the end of March 2025, the latter has lost its initial big selling point: HBO's content. Here's hoping that more homegrown shows like this charming hit will get the green light to help fill the gap. There's no trailer for season three of Colin From Accounts yet, but check out the trailers for seasons one and two below: Colin From Accounts streams via Binge — we'll update you with a release date for season three when one is announced. Read our review of season one and our review of season two, plus our interview with Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall. Images: Lisa Tomasetti / Tony Mott / Brook Rushton.
If Bad Neighbours 2 was a party instead of a film, it'd be the kind that everyone has been to at least once. You know the type: a fiesta focused not only on reliving past glories, but trying to outdo them. Going bigger mightn't always be better, yet plenty of fun — both expected and not so — can be had along the way. That's the end result here. While never the complete riot it wants to be, this comedy sequel frequently proves as hilarious as its predecessor, and has more than a few surprises up its sleeve. The film picks up two years after 2014's Bad Neighbours. After surviving life next to a fraternity, Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Rose Byrne) just want to sell their house, move somewhere quiet and hang out with their growing family. While they're embracing adult life, former frat leader Teddy (Zac Efron) is remembering the wild antics of his college heyday a little too fondly. Enter Shelby (Chloë Grace Moretz), Beth (Kiersey Clemons) and Nora (Beanie Feldstein), three freshmen eager to make the most of university life, but who don't like the "super rapey" vibe of keggers, or the rule that sororities aren't allowed to throw their own parties. It's not hard to guess where the movie is going, particularly if you've seen its predecessor. Shelby and her pals move in next door to Mac and Kelly, recruit Teddy as their mentor, and start a fresh round of neighbourly fighting for the right to party. Slapstick and gross-out gags remain in the mix, as does Efron's shirtless torso. Once again, director Nicholas Stoller tries to craft a culture-clash comedy that contemplates age and maturity, and for the most part he hits the mark. Admittedly, it may seem as though Bad Neighbours 2 is simply trying to disguise its plot rehash by switching sexes. But there's more going on here — and we don't just mean nods to Minions, Magic Mike and Jackass. In these post-Broad City times, the idea that girls can be as irresponsible and reckless as guys isn't revolutionary. Yet the fact that the film is willing to acknowledge this – not to mention exploring issues such as consent, sexism and privilege – is certainly worth celebrating. Accordingly, if the struggles of growing older added insight and sweetness to the first film's rampant raucousness, interrogating notions of gender, orientation, identity and equality achieves the same feat in the second instalment. Not every joke lands, and for every scene or line that manages to amusingly rework previous material, just as many seem like a stretch. But even when laughs aren't flowing, the movie is always pushing a refreshing, timely and much-needed perspective. Perhaps that's why Bad Neighbours 2 proves both more interesting and slightly less entertaining overall. The message feels new and vital, even if not a lot else does. And while a sense of familiarity certainly assists returning cast members Rogen, Efron and the scene-stealing Byrne, newcomers Moretz, Clemons and Feldstein are rarely asked to do more than embody the film's impressive, progressive attitude.
Bondi Beach is set to become home to another killer restaurant, with Finland's biggest celebrity chef Tomi Bjorck to open Blanca Bar & Dining. You may not have heard of Bjorck, but everyone in Finland has. Aside from stints in the kitchens at both Quay and Longrain, he's been head judge on MasterChef in his native Finland and owns four restaurants in Helsinki and one in Sweden. Late last year though he relocated to Sydney, and has since partnered with chef Samuel Cole (ex-Dinner by Heston Blumenthal) to bring the new restaurant to life. The pair will join Bill's Bondi, Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta, A Tavola Bondi and Gelato Messina Bondi in the Hall Street dining precinct little known as The Hub. Blanca won't be riding on the success of Noma and 'Nordic' food though; Bjorck told Good Food that the new Australian venture will feature more than "just Nordic cuisine" with a wide-ranging menu and "strong pastry" (whatever that means). Some of Bjorck's other ventures include the Soil Wine Group, a company that imports quality wines for fine dining restaurants and designs menus for Finnish airline Finnair. The celebrity chef is currently in Europe launching LIQ, a line of liquorice with flavours including salted caramel and orange and black pepper. As for other details on Blanca, Bjorck and Cole have remained tight lipped about the project, but have said that 80-seat venue will open sometime towards the end of this year, or the start of 2017. For more developments, we suggest keeping an eye on the Blanca Instagram. Via Good Food. Image: Bjorck's Helsinki restaurant, Boulevard Social.
How nice it would be to sip tequila on the coast of Mexico instead of braving winter. But, unless you have a trip booked in the next three weeks, you're going to have to see it out in Sydney. Luckily, our city also has stunning beaches — and some top-notch Mexican eateries, too. One of them is Avalon's Alma, perched just metres from the beach. So, if you're wishing to ward away your winter blues by sipping on tequila and tucking into a Mexican feast, here's a pretty good spot to do so. To celebrate World Tequila Day (mark your calendars for July 24), the northern beaches restaurant has teamed up with award-winning tequila makers Herradura to create a menu inspired by the drink. Available from July 24 until August 24, the menu will feature Alma's usual menu with plenty of Mexican flair, but with the added bonus of tequila and daily cocktail specials. Think the likes of agave-glazed haloumi, ceviche, tacos galore or, if you're feeling daring, the chilli lime crickets (yes, crickets). Drinkswise, you can expect a refreshing Aperol and Herradura tequila concoction with guava, lime, sugar and kombucha and even one with pork belly-washed reposado tequila, tomato extract, lemon and jalapeño 'mist'. There'll also be a ticketed five-course dinner on Thursday, August 8. For $65, you'll get to tuck into tostadas layered with habanero salsa, chunky duck confit tacos, and grilled spatchcock with creamy oaxacan black mole sauce. This will all be topped off with paired tastes of Herradura tequila throughout. It's a surefire way to curb your wanderlust in no time. Alma's Herradura-inspired menu will be on offer from July 24 through August 24. To reserve a table, head here. The five-course feast paired with Herradura tequilas will occur from 7pm, Thursday, August 8 and can be booked here.
Gone are the days when film buffs got their fix in one of three ways: at the cinema, via the video shop and thanks to whatever happened to pop up on TV. Lately, streaming platforms have become a cinephile's best friend — especially with COVID-19 restrictions keeping everyone at home. We say 'platforms', plural, because there's just so many to choose from. Netflix may be the industry's big gun, but Aussie audiences can also subscribe to Stan, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, DocPlay, iWonder, Quibi and OzFlix, too. And, as even the most casual movie fan probably knows, that isn't even the end of the list. Feeling spoiled for choice? Can't pick which platform to splash your cash on? There is an easier way. Australian viewers can also access a number of free streaming services such as SBS On Demand, Tubi and Kanopy — which don't skimp on film options, but won't cost you a cent. And in the interests of budget-friendly movie marathons, we've rounded up ten excellent flicks you can stream for free right now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLdhN4oMxCQ BAD GENIUS Mark our words: in the next couple of years, an English-language version of this Thai thriller will reach our screens. A high-stakes high-school exam flick, it's smart and slick, funny and fast-paced, as well as tautly made and tension-filled — and it turns a situation we can all relate to into a nail-biting heist caper. Straight-A student Lynn (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying) is the misbehaving high-achiever of the title, who first hatches a plan to make money by feeding her classmates test answers, and then bands together with her customers to cheat at the biggest test there is. The premise was taken from reality, and part of the movie was shot in Sydney, but the real highlight is Bad Genius' lively style and thoroughly entertaining narrative. Bad Genius is available to stream via SBS On Demand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8oYYg75Qvg YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE In Lynne Ramsay's long-waited fourth feature, an ex-soldier and former FBI agent grapples with his own trauma while trying to save others from theirs. Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) rescues children abducted and abused by pedophile rings — and if that sounds like an astonishing story, just wait, because You Were Never Really Here isn't done yet. Indeed, it's hard to pick what's more stunning here: Ramsay's empathetic and expressive direction, which keeps making unexpected choices to immerse viewers in Joe's headspace, or Phoenix's internalised performance, which won him the best actor prize at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Call it a tie, and call this film an exceptional achievement that isn't easily forgotten after watching. Phoenix might've won an Oscar this year for Joker, but this is his best performance. You Were Never Really Here is available to stream via Kanopy. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg9nzOFVwtQ THE FIFTH ELEMENT The 90s didn't shy away from big-screen sci-fi, but there's nothing quite as entertaining as The Fifth Element. Forget Independence Day, Armageddon and Men in Black — if you're eager for a film about humanity battling aliens and trying to save the planet, Luc Besson's action-packed flick is the best pick. Come for Bruce Willis and a pre-Resident Evil Milla Jovovich at their kick-ass best. Stay for the eye-popping set and costume design, with the latter by Jean-Paul Gaultier. And, story-wise, get immersed in an ambitious and entertaining futuristic tale about a taxi driver saddled with finding four mystical stones to fend off an intergalactic attack. The Fifth Element is available to stream via SBS On Demand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36iHKZmeH60 BRIMSTONE & GLORY It's human nature to stare at the sky whenever fireworks ascend to the heavens. We hear the popping sound, spy the bright flashes of light and simply can't help ourselves. Set in Tultepec, the tiny town at the heart of Mexico's fireworks industry, Brimstone & Glory captures that feeling more effectively than anyone could've expected. Indeed, the gorgeous documentary commits the vibrance of watching colourful explosions twinkling above to film as it charts the locale's National Pyrotechnic Festival, explores the lives of those both working and watching, and proves as spellbinding as the substance at its centre. Brimstone & Glory is available to stream via Kanopy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKD0sMntjWE THE TRIBE Writer/director Miroslav Slaboshpitsky's first feature was always going to be a hard sell. The film runs for more than two hours without a word of dialogue, a hint of music or even any subtitles, with its characters — a group of classmates at a Ukrainian boarding school for the hearing impaired — communicating only through sign language. And it's not just a difficult concept; in an effort that becomes both violent and haunting — all the more so because it demands audiences pay the utmost attention to what they can see — it's also difficult to watch. Reports of fainting are widespread, but those who can stomach its brutal sights will find a movie completely unlike anything else they've ever seen before. The Tribe is available to stream via Tubi. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-70r7GkiBGM HEATHERS These days, Heathers is a stage musical, a TV series and (in Brisbane at least) a regular dance party theme. If you've ever wondered why this dark high school-set tale just keeps spawning new adaptations and celebrations, then you owe it to yourself to watch or rewatch the original 1988 movie. For Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder), every day at Westerburg High School is hell. Even though she's part of the popular clique — with her three closest friends all called Heather — that still proves the case. Then brooding loner JD (Christian Slater) arrives at school, instantly shaking up the status quo. The result: murder, mayhem, teen angst and one incredibly acerbic, sharp and amusing satire. Heathers is available to stream via Kanopy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVsAixfCL4Q HOLY MOTORS Cinematic mind-benders don't get much better — or more strange, eccentric and surreal — than Leos Carax's Holy Motors. Following a man called Oscar (Denis Lavant) who rides around in a limousine, attends unusual appointments in various costumes and plays an array of different parts, it's the type of film that can't be neatly summarised. Indeed, as Oscar goes about his day, anything could happen. Sometimes, he's dressed up as a beggar in the Parisian streets. Later, he's an old man listening to Eva (Kylie Minogue) sing. As it hops between kaleidoscopic vignettes, Carax's vibrant film ponders and probes identity and individuality, all while serving up dazzling visuals, exuberant performances and constant surprises. Holy Motors is available to stream via SBS On Demand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9QrvLd2pbY RIVER OF GRASS Kelly Reichardt boasts quite the filmography. She explored the companionship only a pet can bring in Wendy and Lucy, delved into the western genre in Meek's Cutoff and contemplated eco-activism in Night Moves. Then, she brought Michelle Williams, Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart together for contemplative triptych Certain Women, and stepped back to 19th-century America for her stellar latest film First Cow. Before all that, though, Reichardt spun a story of social isolation and disconnection in the Florida suburbs, all thanks to her debut feature River of Grass. And as with every entry on the director's resume, this not-quite road movie couldn't feel more authentic or keenly observed. River of Grass is available to stream via Kanopy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzp2HP4gaJ0 PURPLE RAIN 'Purple Rain', the song, is one of Prince's all-time greats. Purple Rain, the album, ranks just as highly. And Purple Rain, the 1984 film, is exactly the kind of movie that a Prince-starring rock musical should be. Focusing on an aspiring musician trying to balance his troubled home life with his band and his girlfriend, the storyline is straightforward — but when you plonk a charismatic star like Prince in the middle of it, bathe the flick's frames in plenty of purple, and crank up the killer soundtrack, sparks fly. Given the narrative, the array of live concert scenes also work a treat. And while the sequel, 1990's Graffiti Bridge, doesn't reach the same heights, this is a mighty entertaining, toe-tapping way to spend 111 minutes. Purple Rain is available to stream via Tubi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-_LxiRETWA THE CONVERSATION In 1974, Francis Ford Coppola directed a little film called The Godfather Part II. Yes, everyone has heard of it. But that was just one of his movies that year — and with zero scorn aimed towards the Oscar-winning crime flick, which is rightfully considered one of the best sequels ever made, The Conversation is actually even better. Winning the Cannes Film Festival's top gong, this Gene Hackman-starring thriller delves into a topic that's still very relevant today: the moral dilemma around surveillance. Hackman is fantastic as the film's conflicted protagonist, while Coppola crafts a tense, moody and brooding masterpiece. Keep an eye out for a young pre-Star Wars Harrison Ford, too. The Conversation is available to stream via SBS On Demand.
When Sydneysiders want to spend a day carving up the snow, they usually have to jump in a car for at least five hours and head to one of NSW's ski resorts. But, in a few years, it might be as easy as jumping on a train to Penrith, thanks to a new $300-million indoor Winter Sports World that's been proposed for the city — and has just received Penrith Council's official endorsement. Set to be built in Jamisontown on the corner of Jamison Road and Tench Avenue, the centre will include a 300-metre indoor ski slope, an Olympic-size ice skating rink, and both ice and rock climbing facilities. If executed to plan, the proposal claims the ski slope will be one of the top ten high-performance training centres in the world. And yes, it'll use real snow. A food and drink precinct featuring bars, restaurants and cafes, and a 120-room hotel have also been included in the proposal. One of those eateries will be a revolving fine diner, too, and everything will have snow views. A snow play area is also part of the plan, alongside conference and function rooms. Visitors will be able to learn to ski onsite, as part of the resort's positioning as a feeder site to outdoor snow fields. The idea: that you'll learn the ropes indoors, then later head out of town to try the real thing. The development, which sought public feedback last year and is being put forward as a new major attraction for the area, is part of the Penrith City Council's plan to double visitors and tourism revenue in the area by 2025. If it goes ahead, Winter Sports World is expected to contribute $80 million to the NSW economy each year. Once built, the facility is hoped to provide a boost to Australia's Winter Olympians and their training, providing a venue for alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding and figure skating, as well as ice hockey, speed skating and curling (and possibly cross country and biathlon as well). The Winter Olympics haven't traditionally been one of Australia's sporting strong suits — the national team first competed in 1936 and didn't win its first medal until 1994. The proposal has been in the works since November 2018, and in development for the past seven years in total. Site owner and developer Peter Magnisalis will now finalise the plans with the council and the NSW Planning Department, with an aim to start construction in 2022 ahead of a 2024 target opening date — in winter, of course. If construction does kick off, it certainly won't be the only big new development happening in Western Sydney, with Badgerys Creek set to become home to Sydney's next major airport. For more information about Winter Sports World, head to the proposed venue's website. Images: artists' impressions of Winter Sports World.
While more of us are working from home and practising social distancing, it makes sense that we're increasingly wanting a furry, four-legged friend by our sides. We understand your yearning for a new adorable pet, and so does the RSPCA. And, to find permanent homes for pups, cats, bunnies and guinea pigs surrendered into its care, it's calling out to the community to help look after its many animal during this tough time. So, if you've been thinking about adding a pet to your fam (and have considered it thoroughly), now might just be the time. Although shelters and care centres across NSW closed to public walk-ins from April 2, as a result of current federal and state restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19, that doesn't mean you can't adopt. Instead, RSPCA has launched 'Adopt from Home', where the entire adoption process is conducted over the phone or video call and, once approved, your new pet is transported to your house for a (socially distanced) meet-and-greet. Rest assured, too, that the usual procedures and standards still apply, so every animal will end up in a happy new forever home. Last year, the RSPCA found new homes for 2654 pets Australia-wide. Over the past couple of weeks alone, RSPCA NSW shelters and Petbarn adoption centres have seen more than 500 animals adopted across the state, which is a 28 percent increase compared to this time last year. In a statement, RSPCA NSW CEO Steve Coleman said, "As this pandemic escalates, we are asking for your help to find forever homes for the animals in our care." To welcome in a new family member, you must fill out this form, then a RSPCA NSW will be in touch to arrange a time for the process to take place via phone or video call. Due to the new process, you'll also have to purchase a carry box, lead or car harness, too, so your pet can make it to you safely. According to the RSPCA, at present there is no evidence that you can contract COVID-19 from a companion animal. If you're thinking about adopting, you can check out all the good boys, kittens, bunnies and birds looking for new homes in NSW. For details about adopting animals, head to the RSPCA NSW website. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
Australia's real-time restaurant deals app, EatClub — which was launched by celeb chef Marco Pierre White — has now entered into the realm of takeaway eats. No longer just a way to book in to restaurants at a discounted price, EatClub now lets you redeem takeaway deals, plus order and pay for them via the app. To celebrate the launch of this new feature, EatClub's CBD restaurant partners are offering $5 dishes all week. From Monday, November 25 to Sunday, December 1, you can score a $5 feed. All you have to do is redeem a takeaway deal, then use the app's new ordering and payment feature to complete your order. To give you an idea of what's part of this sweet deal, you could be tucking into Kung Pao chicken from Superfly, a cheeseburger from Burger Project or a Roll'd noodle salad — all for just a fiver. This is in addition to all the deals the eateries already offer as part of the app's whole deal to start with. So, overall, you'll be able to score a delicious feed for less than a trip to your local chicken shop. To get involved, you just have to update the app, or download it if you're a newbie. Then claim a takeaway deal from any venue displaying a $5 icon on the map, select order and pay via the app and take your pick of a cheap treat (and anything else your heart desires). The chefs will whip it up in the kitchen, ready for you to pick up in no time. So your next cheap feed — which you'll tuck into while reclined on the couch — will be as tasty as it is convenient. Make sure you download the EatClub app here.
Under current COVID-19 restrictions in Australia, you can't go on a holiday (locally or overseas). But, you can start dreaming. Bookmark this for when you can explore once again. Among all of the dream jobs that everyone wishes they had, picking the globe's top stretches of sun, surf and sand sits up there with taste-testing new gins and trying out every bar and eatery in Tokyo. That particularly proves true whenever a new list of the world's best beaches is revealed — although, Australians can always pretend by heading to one of the high-ranking spots on our own shores. In FlightNetwork's just-announced 2018 lineup of the planet's best beaches, which ranks 50 idyllic locations, six Aussie spots made the cut. And, in news that will come as no surprise to anyone, the Whitsundays' Whitehaven Beach came in at number two. It's the latest accolade for the picturesque Queensland favourite, which also came in second last year. Blinky Beach on Lord Howe Island also made the list, coming in at number 30, while Hyams Beach in New South Wales' Jervis Bay placed at number 33. Western Australia was responsible for two more of the country's top spots — with Lucky Bay at 35th and Cable Beach at 34th — and Tasmania's Wine Glass Bay rounded out the Aussie offerings at 44. If you're wondering which coastal oasis beat them all to first place, that'd be Shipwreck Beach on Zakynthos. On a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, the picturesque spot has a shipwrecked boat on its sands, crystal clear waters and sunny weather approximately 275 days of the year. Alongside the World's Best Beaches, FlightNetwork released a list of the World's Top 50 Untouched Beaches — featuring Tasmania's Wine Glass Bay at fourth and Binalong Bay at 19th — and the World's Top 50 City Beaches, where Sydney's Bondi Beach got top gong, Surfers Paradise Beach came in at 11 and NSW's Manly Beach at 12. The picks were made by more than 1200 travel journalists, editors, bloggers and agencies, aka folks who work in the travel and beach trade, and therefore know their stuff. Thinking about taking your own trip to Whitehaven Beach? Check out our Outside Guide to the Whitsundays. Image: Damien Dempsey via Wikicommons.
Bondi's Tulum-inspired restaurant Carbòn may be known for its woodfired Mexican dishes (and loved for its outstanding bottomless margaritas and tacos brunch). But, this season, it's shifting gears a little to warm your cockles on a cold winter's night with giant steaming bowls of mussels for dinner. Every Wednesday and Sunday, you can score one kilo of mussels, served in a warming broth of white wine, tomatillo and chorizo — with a basket of floury, charcoal-grilled tortillas to mop up every last drop, of course. Alongside this magnificently messy feast, you'll also receive a jug of spiced sangria. And this limited-edition special will only set you back a pineapple. Yep, for just $50, your next date night is sorted. This special menu item is only available for a limited time, so throw on a pair of your snazziest stretchy pants and get ready for a feast. Carbòn's Mussels and Sangria special is available every Wednesday and Sunday night until Wednesday, August 28. To book a table, head this way.
First Nations artist and dancer Shana O'Brien brings her exhibition, Inner Landscapes, which tells stories of the land and our connection to it, to the Gosford Regional Gallery and Edogawa Commemorative Garden from Friday, May 24, to Monday, June 3. O'Brien uses her art to give insight into the lives of her ancestors. Her use of colours and shapes evokes her emotional journey. As a proud Darkinjung woman, O'Brien feels a particular connection to the area where this performance will take place. As a dancer and graduate of NAISDA College, Australia's premier performing arts institution specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, O'Brien has worked with some of New South Wales' best choreographers and artists. She's also performed with Sydney's famous Bangarra Dance Theatre and participated in the Banff Indigenous Dance Lab in Canada. Shana O'Brien brings a real artistic pedigree, so go to Gosford at the end of May and let her take you on a journey to the land and beyond. Top Image: Shana O'Brien, Inner Landscapes
Sydney's museum scene is undergoing a significant shake-up. First, the New South Wales Government announced that it's moving the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta. Now, it has revealed that the Australian Museum will take a 12-month hiatus. Fancy taking a peek at both sites before the huge changes hit — and doing so for free? Across the weekend of Saturday, August 17 and Sunday, August 18, the Powerhouse Museum and the Australian Museum will throw open their respective doors, scrap their entry fees, and welcome anyone and everyone to walk their halls and enjoy the pieces decking their halls. If you're particularly keen on stellar photographs of nature, the free weekend coincides with the launch of this year's Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2019 exhibition, which'll be held at the Powerhouse Museum. You'll also be able to check out the Apollo 11 exhibit, plus favourites such as Transport and Space. Over at the Australian Museum, the Wild Planet, Dinosaurs and Surviving Australia displays all await, and so do the First Australians Galleries. While moseying along won't cost you a cent, you will need to register in advance. Head to the Powerhouse Museum and Australian Museum websites to nab your free ticket.
The French have a saying: le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait point (the heart has its reasons which reason can't explain). Since infidelity is basically a national sport in France, you could be forgiven for thinking the adage was more of an excuse than profound romantic sentiment; however, in David Foenkinos’s new film Delicacy (La Delicatesse) it's that illogicality of love that underscores his entire story. Audrey Tautou stars as Nathalie, a career-driven woman for whom work has become the simplest means of filling the void left by her husband's death three years earlier. Unmoved by her boss's advances and unresponsive to her friends' pleas for her to start dating, Nathalie fully believes herself incapable of loving again until — quite without warning or reason — she throws herself at her ungainly and unremarkable coworker Markus (Francois Damiens). While Nathalie quickly dismisses the incident as an anomaly, poor Markus becomes besotted, and the remainder of the film chronicles his self-conscious (if also delightful) attempts to win her over. It's so typically French to find romance in what any other society would deem manifest sexual harassment, but somehow the quirky premise works here. Neither Nathalie nor Markus nor the audience have any idea why that first kiss occurred or how an attraction slowly develops, but develop it does, and satisfying it most certainly is. Markus's self-deprecating demeanour and understated tenderness champion the 'love conquers all' ideal, while Tautou's charm carries the film when otherwise it might easily have fallen down. Ever since her turn in 2001's Amelie — a film that just made you want to reach out and hug somebody, anybody, even just a large tub of popcorn — Tautou has reigned supreme as France’s rom-com queen, and while Delicacy slightly misses the mark by presenting her as the irresistible siren, it's by no means a fatal mistake. Delicacyis unquestionably light fare, but its occasional moments of poignancy are handled with such unexpected warmth as to drive the story forward and repeatedly bring tears to the eyes — most notably in its final scene. Admittedly the scenes are often exaggerated and the story doesn’t always make sense, but then again, neither does love, right?
You might think of Watson's Bay Boutique Hotel as a classic summer destination, but it's now embracing winter just as whole-heartedly. Every weekend, the Harbourside pub is putting on a Sunday roast. Swing by from midday and you'll be able to swap 35 bucks for a plate loaded in the traditional style. That means the meat of the day, plus Yorkshire pudding, potatoes, greens and, most importantly, lashings of gravy. If you can, nab a table in the sunset room upstairs. Floor-to-ceiling windows afford views of the harbour, while roaring fires keep things warm and cosy. It's particularly special at sunset. Alternatively, rug up and gather on the vast terrace of the beach club downstairs. It's right on the water, and the ferry, which travels between Watson's Bay and Circular Quay, is just a hop, skip and a jump away. Wherever you'd like to sit, it's a good idea to book online.
Haymarket is clearly not short on bubble tea joints. But when Chippendale's Bubble Nini opened within the Maker's Dozen food hall in mid-2019, it brought something a little different to the area. Here, the team makes fresh pearls every morning, of which there are six different flavours. Once you've chosen from the 50 different tea options (with punny names like Jasmine Is a Cute-Tea, It Takes Two to Mango and How Ya Bean, Matcha Happening?) you can pick your pearls: sakura, matcha, taro, brown sugar, mango peanut or strawberry. It's a lot of decision making. If you're looking to narrow it down, our pick is the lavender-coloured taro pearls number, A Taro-Bly Bad Name. Bubble Nini also has locations in Chippendale's Central Park and on Sing Street in Waterloo. Images: Kimberley Low
