If your last couple of dates have consisted of dinner and a movie, or a few drinks at your local bar, it's time to spice things up a little. With the Sydney Festival rolling into town in January — transforming our city into a creative playground for three weeks — there are heaps of opportunities to take your date night game up a good couple of notches. Options for creative dates abound, with shows ranging from thought-provoking art exhibitions to mind-blowing circus and saucy burlesque. Crafting the perfect date can be a challenge, though, especially when there are so many options to choose from. To help ensure your date is a smashing success, we've designed three itineraries that are guaranteed to blow your significant other away. Choose from an afternoon of circusy excitement in Parramatta, an evening of photography and music in central Sydney or a night of freaky fun at the Meriton Festival Village. Each itinerary features some of the festival's best events and a meal at a partner restaurant that has special deals for festival goers (being a cultured being has its perks). Saturday date plans officially sorted. [caption id="attachment_641834" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton.[/caption] AN AFTERNOON OF CIRCUSY FUN IN PARRAMATTA 1pm: Flying Trapeze Workshops, Prince Alfred Square Kickstart your date by taking it to the next level (literally) with a workshop by the Sydney Trapeze School. This two-hour class ($49 + booking fee) is geared towards beginners and will have you soaring through the air on a ten-metre-high trapeze rig practising your newly-acquired aerial skills in no time. 2.15 pm: Lunch at The Emporium Parramatta Learning to fly with the greatest of ease can be hard work. Reward yourselves with a leisurely lunch at The Emporium Parramatta. A short stroll across Lennox Bridge, this beautiful Mediterranean-influenced restaurant is serving up a $30 lunch for Sydney Festival goers. 3.30pm: Aerialize workshop, Riverside Theatre Once you're refuelled, head back to Circus City for some more acrobatic training at a free workshop by Sydney's premier circus training centre, Aerialize. Learn how to juggle, hula hoop or pick up some basic aerial skills in these hands-on classes that are open to all ages and abilities. 5.30pm: Backbone, Riverside Theatre After a full day of circus training and moving your body in ways you didn't realise you could, it's time to take a load off and see how the professionals do it. Backbone, by acrobatic troupe Gravity & Other Myths, is an incredible feat of collective strength, flexibility and stamina, highlighted by a lighting display shimmering ever-so-slightly and designed to keep you on the edge of your seat. After the performance, you may find yourselves so inspired you'll repeat this circusy day all over again. [caption id="attachment_642589" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Joel Chester Fildes.[/caption] AN EVENING OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND DANCE 4pm: Tell: Contemporary Indigenous Photography, UNSW Galleries Start your artsy date night with this ground-breaking photography exhibition, featuring works by 17 leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. This free show explores heritage and identity in unconventional forms, using cutting-edge photographic technologies to articulate the varied experiences of life as an Indigenous person in Australia. 5pm: In Your Dreams, UNSW Galleries Once you've thoroughly explored Tell, slide on over to In Your Dreams, the second photography show housed at the UNSW Galleries during the festival. This free photo and video exhibition sees renowned artists like Alejandro Cartagena, Sim Chi Yin and Andres Serrano addressing the pressing global themes of poverty, displacement and homelessness. 6.30pm: Dinner at Kindred Once you've had your fill of photography, stroll down Cleveland Street to Kindred. This cosy spot is the perfect place for you and your bae to go Lady and the Tramp over a big bowl of house-made pasta. Nestle in and get yourself some delicious nosh from the $30 Festival Feast menu. 8pm: Tree of Codes, ICC After dinner, hop in an Uber, direction: ICC, to see ballet Tree of Codes, inspired by novelist Jonathan Safran Foer's book of the same name. Not every ballet features dancers forming constellations, gramophone-shaped mirrors creating kaleidoscopic visuals, refractive and reflective surfaces making it appear as though performers are overlapping, and choreography created for every leaf in a 134-page text — but not every ballet is Tree of Codes. Top off your night with this stunning ballet from a stellar collaboration between Jamie xx, Royal Ballet choreographer Wayne McGregor and Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. Only in Sydney for five days, you'll want to snag some tickets to this — your special someone will definitely thank you. [caption id="attachment_642182" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Carnival Cinema.[/caption] A NIGHT OF WILD AND WONDERFUL EXPERIENCES AT THE MERITON FESTIVAL VILLAGE 7.30pm: Dinner at Madame Shanghai Start your night by wooing your significant other with dinner at Madame Shanghai, a gorgeous restaurant that's all dark wooden tables, wicker chairs and jade and gold accents aplenty. The menu ($55 for the Festival Feast) is equally good-looking, featuring dishes inspired by Shanghai-style street food and luscious cocktails. 9pm: Freaky Fun at the Meriton Festival Village Sideshow After dinner, head to the Meriton Festival Village for a few hours of kidulting at the Village Sideshow. This 'freaky fun' park is packed with a variety of wild and wonderful experiences that all but guarantee a memorable date night. Start with Ghost Train ($10), a virtual reality journey along a reimagined fairground ride where nostalgia meets the digital future to mind-blowing effect. Next, shake off the scares with a ride on the Karaoke Carousel ($5), where you can belt out your favourite hits as you ride a unicorn in circles. Round it all out with a ten-minute dance party ($5) in a converted shipping container — a brilliant concept that lets you experience the joys of a full night out in a minimal amount of time. 10.30pm: Briefs: Close Encounters, Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, Meriton Festival Village Next up is Close Encounters ($70-80 + booking fee), the latest offering from the insanely popular Aussie boylesque troupe, Briefs. If you haven't seen these icons in action before, you're in for a treat. Expect a cheeky sci-fi spectacle performed with the troupe's characteristic combination of circus, comedy, drag, burlesque and contemporary dance. It's as creative, glamorous and thrilling as it sounds. Late: Finish off dancing to one of the nightly DJs If Close Encounters and the ten-minute party have got you in the mood for some dancing, head back to the Meriton Festival Village and get that bod on the dance floor. With DJs every night and a large bar area, you and your SO will be throwing shapes until the wee hours of the morning. It's bound to be a date night for the books. Top image: Jamie Williams. Looking for more things to do? Discover the best free things to do, some ace music events and even more on the Sydney Festival website.
If you've got a thing for libraries (and physical books), prepare to be very impressed by the inner west's newest public space. Meet the new state-of-the-art Marrickville Library and adjoining Pavilion. The community hub has made its home on the site of the former Marrickville Hospital, an area now going by the name Patyegarang Place. The new library houses a huge 85,000 books — 20,000 more than its predecessor. It's also three times the size. Aside from being a bookworm's oasis, the three-storey centre boasts a suite of high-tech extras and modern community facilities. There's be a cafe by Marrickville's own Double Roasters with indoor and outdoor seating, a collection of meeting spaces and private study rooms, and more than 1200 square metres of lush gardens. Inside, you'll find 26 computers and a dedicated technology teaching area, as well as a series of specially commissioned public artworks. The new-look build is the work of acclaimed architectural firm BVN and cleverly incorporates modern elements onto the heritage remains of the existing hospital building. It's sporting a sustainable design, with features like environmentally friendly warming and cooling, rainwater tanks, natural light and ventilation systems, and plenty of recycled brick and timber throughout. All these eco-friendly touches have added up to an impressive 25 percent reduction in energy use compared to the old Marrickville Library. It joins Sydney's growing list of shiny new libraries, with the six-story, glass-walled Green Square one opening late last year and the two-storey Darling Square one set to open next month. Find the new Marrickville Library and Pavilion at 313 Marrickville Road, Marrickville. For more information, head to the Inner West Council or BVN website. Updated: August 27, 2019.
Once considered only fit for food courts and greasy takeaways, the humble hamburger is now edging closer to being a fixture in fine diners, as an increasing number of top chefs add it to the repertoire. Warren Turnbull had great success trading fine dining for the much-loved Chur Burger, while everyone from Luke Moran to Neil Perry have included wagyu beef burgers on their menus. It's a great trend — few things are more appetising (or more frustratingly hard to find) than a simple burger done really well. The Morrison's Sean Connolly, who has previously earned accolades such as SMH Good Food Guide's Chef of the Year, is the latest to throw his chef’s toque into the ring, revamping the old Parlour Bar site as Parlour Burger. Adjacent to the Morrison, Parlour is a small room looking out onto the suits and tourist hordes of George Street. It pitches itself as a no-fuss, casual kind of place where you can swing by at lunch or after work, grab a couple of burgers and chips and wash them down with some beers. The decor has a few nods to the American sports bar style, with cheerful rusted signs ("We Love Having You Here!"), Coca-Cola paraphernalia, neon-lit knickknacks and cute touches like tomato-shaped sauce dispensers. It’s a short and sweet menu centred round a selection of five burgers (all $10), including the standout fish butty, a nicely crispy beer-battered fish fillet on a baked bun with lettuce, tartare sauce and house made pickles. The Original Morrison Burger is elevated by the smokiness of chipotle mayo, and can be ordered well done or pink. A word of warning though: if you order it pink, it will be really pink. There's also a respectable vegetarian option, an Indian bahji burger with a nicely tangy yoghurt sauce. Unlike some of the gloriously ugly creations going around, Parlour Burger’s fare is quite well-presented and tidy. The buns are good as well — lightly fluffy with a bit of crunch on top and no hint of watery sogginess or over-steamed blandness. The most interesting option is the Black Widow, which features activated charcoal in the bun. The pitch black sheen of the bun is visually striking and a nice change-up in a menu that is mostly fairly traditional, though the flavor isn't radically different from the other brioche buns. It comes with a beef patty and is given a decent kick by hot sauce. While it's unusual, be assured that activated charcoal is a healthier than it sounds — there's even a mock military propaganda-style poster on one wall declaring "Charcoal is good for you!". There's a range of sides, all traditional burger accompaniments, like duck fat chips ($8), beer-battered onion rings ($6) and guilt-inducing deep-fried pickles ($8), which feature a thick batter. The stars of the show, however, are the burgers, and whether you’re after some traditional fare or the Black Widow's twist on an old favourite, Parlour Burger is a solid addition to the scene.
If you've ever dreamed of constantly being the life of the party, then this creation by Joey Andolina will be right up your alley. Instead of the standard carrying of a boombox in the hand or over the shoulder, this boombox is attached to a vest and can be worn with ease. The vest features two motorcycle speakers which protrude from the shoulders. Furthermore, an 8” Boss Audio Bass900 subwoofer is located on the back of the vest for more bass power. The whole device is powered by a rechargable battery, and volume can be adjusted from the hip. Arriving just in time for summer, this vest boombox allows you to show off your fashion prowess while blasting European hardstyle relentlessly as you walk around the block. If you're serious about partying, you know you'll have to wear the sunglasses like the model in the above picture.
In 1931, Harold Bell Lasseter died in a desolate corner of the outback while searching for a fortune he claimed to have stumbled upon years before. Or at least, that's how one version of the story goes. The fantastical tale of a seven mile stretch of quartz reef filled with gold has lingered in Australian folklore, while its supposed discoverer has been alternately praised as a visionary and denounced and denigrated as a fraud. But more than eight decades later, one man still clings to Lasseter's legend: his 85-year-old son Bob, who has spent the bulk of his life searching for the reef in the hopes of clearing his father's name. A story of obsession and the allure of a tale well told, Lasseter's Bones is directed by British documentarian Luke Walker, a young man who, like so many others, heard murmurings of Lasseter's precious metal and came looking. Together, he and Bob follow the same track that Harold did, battling the same rough terrain and unflinching heat that slowly turned sceptical prospectors against the man who promised to make them rich. Bob and Luke prove a likeable if fairly unlikely duo — two men separated by generations but united by a single, common goal. But as the journey continues, Walker's faith seems to wane, especially after discovering evidence suggesting not only that Lasseter never found gold but that he may have faked his own death and escaped his investors to America. Ironically, while the theoretical purpose of a documentary is to expose or elucidate the truth, Lasseter's Bones demonstrates how difficult — not to mention, how undesirable — that task can sometimes be. Even as Walker presents multiple versions of Lasseter's story, it's obvious which one he and everyone else prefers. After all, who wouldn't want to believe that there really is gold out there, somewhere? That Lasseter never abandoned his family, but rather died trying to provide for them? That poor, kind, eccentric, optimistic Bob hasn't wasted his life, all on the word of a charlatan? Lasseter's Bones never gives us a solid answer. Rather, it suggests we might be better off believing the dream. https://youtube.com/watch?v=BC1vBos_kHo
French toast for dinner. Night swimming. Sleeping at noon on a rainy day. Being outside to see the sun rise. Ordinary things become extraordinary when taken out of their standard time and placed in another. Which is why it feels thrilling, at 2am, to be standing at the plaza-like entrance of the renovated and repackaged Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, and for its glass doors to slide open and welcome you in. The late-night invitation comes courtesy of Christian Marclay's The Clock, which is launching the MCA's new wing as part of the broader exhibition Marking Time. To properly display the acclaimed work — described as "the most staggering, complex thing made by any artist so far this century" by the Guardian's Adrian Searle — the MCA is staying open all through the night each Thursday from March 29 until May 31. Composed of several thousand extracted moments from cinema history, each one evoking a specific time of day by the appearance of a clock face, The Clock builds a 24-hour film that you watch in real-time. It's odd that just when you feel like you're doing something out of step with time, everything happening on screen is precisely tuned to it. No-one on screen is at the art gallery. Filmmakers have filled this ungodly hour with insomnia, paranoia, itinerancy, underworld plotting and a healthy serve of rooting. I spot James Stewart spying on his neighbours in Rear Window and Phoebe Cates storming aboard Carrie Fisher's houseboat in Drop Dead Fred. I probably definitely fall asleep a little. I wake up very aware of what the time is. The theatrette's couches are full of die-hard experiential art enthusiasts, some mellow revellers from conveniently located parties and people who got here at a more civilised hour and then fell asleep. Some are here for the long haul; they have blankets. The atmosphere is of a pensive, intellectual sleepover. It's a good time to be watching The Clock, because it's late at night that we let the unusual and spontaneous into our lives, both on and off screen. Observing the piece in the middle of the day, you see people at their workstations and family dinners, most, like you, busy and negotiating a routine. They relax as day ends. After midnight, anything can happen. By 5am, apparently, only the possibility of surrealist dream sequence remains. There are a couple of big questions people have about The Clock. The first, always before seeing it, is, can such a work really hold your interest for a prolonged period? The answer is yes. It's astonishing how readily our brains will build a narrative when given only fragments. But the editing techniques Marclay has used facilitate this, as the actions and movements begun in one scene often eerily continue in the next, and the soundtrack spills over with it. Plus, as well as presenting a big, sprawling, multipronged story, The Clock is appropriately hypnotic. The second big question, the one that comes after seeing it, is how the hell was it all put together? Who watched all these films? What computer rendered 24 hours worth of film? It took the backing of London's White Cube and New York's Paula Cooper gallery, more than US$100,000 and a team of six eager DVD-watchers who could compile a database of clocks and their surrounding scenes. The project took three years. It's an investment that paid off. Having picked up the Golden Lion for best artist at the 2011 Venice Biennale, The Clock has been attracting record audiences wherever it goes. Fortunately, this is one exhibition where getting in early to beat the crowds is a genuinely fun proposition. https://youtube.com/watch?v=IPz55aeSLL0
Subscription-based meal delivery services are hot stuff in Australia right now, with time-stretched folk jumping at the chance to minimise their nightly kitchen slog. And while the pickings have been woefully slim for plant-based eaters wanting in on the convenience, that's all set to change with the arrival of the country's first all-vegan food delivery service, Freshara. Already on offer in over 300 suburbs across Melbourne and Sydney, the newcomer works in a similar way to its carnivorous counterparts, delivering subscribers a weekly package of portioned meals — except these ones are entirely vegan. As an added bonus, all that packaging your food arrives in is fully recyclable. In addition to steering clear of all animal products, the sustainability-focused brand has skipped out on the preservatives and kept meals low GI, with many of the dishes also gluten-free. Freshara's already got a 40-strong menu of globally-inspired dishes, which is being added to each week, thanks to a kitchen team helmed by executive chef Troy Tam, who's worked at Rockpool and Fratelli Fresh. Expect the likes of jungle curry, fregola sarda with orecchiette, and a Moroccan chickpea and cous cous tagine. Subscriptions start at $119.40 per week for 12 meals, and meals work out to be around $9-10 each.
Since 2014, The Social Outfit has been providing refugees and new migrants with employment, education and training, all from its King Street base in Newtown. The results are evident in the fashion label's clothing — and now, thanks to a stack of generous donations, the team is selling and making its wares from a new retail space and manufacturing headquarters up the road. Created in collaboration with multi-award winning interior designer Nina Maya, the 188 King Street shop features sustainable, recycled and repurposed materials, in keeping with The Social Outfit's ethos. Customers will notice splashes of marble and exotic stones — all off-cuts donated by Marrickville's Granite Marble Works — as well as velvet curtains and curved mirrors. Meanwhile, a mix of recycled timber and cardboard fabric rolls have been transformed into displays. The palette is a combination of whites, nudes and natural stone, intended to complement the brand's bright colours and bold patterns. "Working with The Social Outfit on their store fit-out was the perfect way for me to give back in a purposeful way. I designed the shop fit-out of their first store in 2014, and it is an honour to design their new home and be a part of this next chapter," said Maya. The opening coincides with the launch of The Social Outfit's new spring-summer collection for 2018–19, King Botanic, which is a collaboration between various community groups and artist Kate Banazi. Every season sees a new partnership, with big names Romance Was Born and Carla Zampatti working on previous projects. "With community support from some of Australia's leading fashion designers, we are able to divert excess and unused textiles otherwise headed to landfill... we wanted to carry this sustainability story throughout our new store fit-out," said Jackie Ruddock, The Social Outfit's founder. The Social Outfit is at 188 King Street, Newtown. Images: Luisa Brimble.
The northern beaches will see the return of a coastal mainstay this summer when Freshwater's Harbord Hotel (fka Harbord Beach Hotel) reopens its doors. The almost century-old pub was bought by real estate investors Glenn Piper and Lachlan Cottee earlier this year — and it's finally set to welcome back locals this December, promising surf vibes aplenty. To start, the pub will reopen its ground floor with a schmick new look. Expect a sprawling main bar, a sun-filled courtyard and a new seafood-focused restaurant. That restaurant, dubbed Balsa, will serve up a menu starring foraged coastal herbs and sustainably sourced produce. Head Chef (and Freshwater local) Adam Rust (ex-12 Micron) has created dishes with salt, wood and smoke at the forefront. The drinks menu will follow a similar theme with margaritas, mineral-y coastal wines and crisp Australian beers on the docket. A dedicated list of non-alcoholic drops will also be on offer. Located just steps from the beach, the venue will play into its the suburb's claim as the official birthplace of surfing in Australia. The sport was popularised in Freshwater back in 1915 by Duke Kahanamoku, a native Hawaiian who famously carved a surfboard from Aussie timber and hypnotised crowds at the beach. [caption id="attachment_763196" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jasper Avenue[/caption] Designed by architects Alexander & Co, the fit-out will include a mural by Sydney artist Ash Holmes and a new "sun-bleached" exterior. The refurb will also unveil sections of the pub that have been covered for decades. And patrons will be encouraged to rock up straight from the ocean, with the venue offering a spot to leave surfboards while you wine and dine. Live music will be a major focus her too, with a full calendar of free events showcasing local northern beaches talent. Down the track, the team will also open a cafe and boutique accommodation in the space. Harbord Hotel will open this December at 29 Moore Road, Freshwater. Images: Jasper Avenue Photography
Looking for an extravagant WorldPride experience filled with iconic hallmarks of Sydney and plenty of main character energy? Merivale and Absolut have teamed up to deliver exactly that with Bert's Pride Plane. With the southern hemisphere's first-ever WorldPride in full swing, you can now book a luxurious four-hour aerial adventure that includes unbeatable views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House, top-notch food and an essential dose of drag. Available for $699 per person until Sunday, March 5, the experience starts in Rose Bay where you'll enjoy a welcome cocktail with your hilarious host, Sydney drag queen Jackie Daniels. From there you'll board a seaplane decked out in rainbow hues, which will take you along Sydney's famous coastline, past the city skyline and Circular Quay, and all the way up to the Northern Beaches. Once you've arrived up north, you'll feel just like James Bond as you take a boat to shore, disembarking at The Newport. Venture through the beer garden and you'll be shown to your seat at the pub's luxury brasserie Bert's where you'll be treated to a four-course lunch. The bespoke set menu is overflowing with lavish exuberance. You'll start with oysters, and warm brioche fingers topped with salmon and fennel pollen. The starters will keep rolling with anchovies soaking in lemon thyme oil and paired with fried bread, as well as steak tartare. You'll move onto the garlicky taglioni served with a lobster tail before you have to make the unbearable decision between a Brooklyn Valley grass-fed 800-gram rib-eye on the bone or a whole fish covered in caviar and champagne. Yes, you are reading that right. Rounding out the meal is your choice of dessert, with a frozen peach and sheep yoghurt slice with toasted marshmallow offered alongside a dark chocolate tart paired with malt ice cream. Following your meal, you'll hop back on the plane for more sky-high views across Sydney before being dropped back in Rose Bay. Limited spots are on offer, with bookings available via the Sydney Seaplane website. [caption id="attachment_890315" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption] The Bert's Pride Plane experience is available for bookings until Sunday, March 5.
Watching a Sir David Attenborough documentary means being left with two strong feelings: wanting to see the world exactly the way that the iconic broadcaster does, and wishing to always hear his narration as you walk across the planet. Consider the BBC Earth Experience the closest thing to making both happen. It takes footage from Attenborough's Seven Worlds, One Planet series, turns it into a 360-degree walk-through audiovisual event, and has the natural historian and living treasure echo while you wander. The BBC Earth Experience debuted in London in March 2023, which has been excellent news if a UK holiday was on your agenda. Here's a better development: the showcase's Down Under arrival. Melbourne is only the second city in the world to host this spectacular sight, running from Friday, October 27 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in an Australian-exclusive season. The experience uses cutting-edge digital-projection technology to surround attendees in visuals from the earth's seven continents, with everything from fireflies in North America to cassowary fathers and their chicks in Australia on display. In London, the attraction sprawls across more than 1600 square metres, featuring spaces dedicated to the planet seen at microscopic scale, via drone footage and on the ocean floor, too, as part of a self-guided tour that also heroes starfish, elephant seals, snub-nosed monkeys, hamsters and more. If you've already watched Seven Worlds, One Planet, you won't just be greeted by material you've already seen, but larger. The scale of the event's imagery is hefty — epic, even — but BBC Earth Experience also includes extended scenes from the show, plus bespoke narration by Attenborough. The mission is truly to make the audience feel like they've stepped right into the footage, all thanks to multi-angle screens. And, it's designed to cater to existing Seven Worlds, One Planet fans and newcomers alike. In Melbourne, offering up an educational experience for young patrons is also a big aim. There's a classroom space onsite, plus resources curated for teachers. Updated November 13, 2023.
The internationally renowned Ritz-Carlton hotel brand hasn't had an offering in Sydney for a decade, with its Circular Quay property shutting to make way for the Sir Stamford and the second inner-city site famously relaunching as the Intercontinental Sydney Double Bay. But now, the luxury name is set to make a triumphant return, thanks to an ambitious $500 million development project proposed by a full-pocketed trio: The Star, local developer Far East Consortium and Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook. To be built within The Star Sydney's existing Pyrmont casino complex, the soaring 61-storey hotel and residential tower would boast around 200 apartments and 220 hotel rooms. Designed to appeal to the booming number of international visitors hitting Aussie shores each year — a figure that's expected reach to 15 million within the next decade — the build could be a huge win for the city's tourism industries. The work of renowned architects FJMT, the design will feature a Sky Lobby, a rooftop terrace, three pools and two gyms, as well as 15 new food and beverage offerings, including a new high-end restaurant, that will be spread across the resort and casino complex. After consultation with locals, the proposal also incorporates plans for the new Pyrmont Neighbourhood Centre — a five-level precinct complete with reading room, function space, social enterprise cafe and rooftop terrace. The plans are currently with the NSW Department of Planning and have yet to be approved. We'll update with more information as soon as it's released. Image: FJMT, subjet to all approvals
There's more to fashion than the glitz and glam that meets the eye. There's more to clothes than how we look and feel in them. There's more to design than pattern making and sewing machines. Think sleepless nights, hours on end researching, sketching, pinning, fitting, hand stitching and photographing. Think hits and misses. Think praises and rejections. Think hungry models and nicotine. Welcome to a designer's world. The rise of the designer in contemporary society has often been received with wild debate. The rise of the Sydney designer is something completely different. In a turbulent artistic climate where local independent designers are facing challenging economic times, our city is taking resilient strides to keep Australia's fashion scene boundary pushing. Sydney is home to a pool of young creatives who might just make it as the next big thing. And Concrete Playground reckons we've just the tip. Let us introduce you to three of the best at the TAFE Fashion Design Graduate Show. JESSICA GIBSON Jessica Gibson has always been a visual person. She remembers forever being drawn to textiles, to art and to film. For her, design was the easiest way to express herself. For her, fashion would become an outlet for a multitude of creative passions. After studying textiles at RMIT in Melbourne, Gibson knew she wanted to pursue fashion design, and that she has. After three years on the slog Gibson's debut collection has arrived. "My collection is inspired by the Australian landscape and the futuristic architectural designs of the superstudio of the '60s and '70s," says Gibson, "wooden beads contrast natural silks and organic screen printing to make a collection that is for a woman who wants to feel sexy without having everything on show." Fusing textural fabrications with bold, colour-rich prints, Gibson's designs speak of an aesthetic driven by a fondness of tactility and delicate silhouettes. Says Gibson, "Majority of my range is made from silks. I really wanted to work with beautiful fabrics that would drape well ... I then looked towards simple, clean shapes, which is where my silhouettes have come from." Lest we forget that Gibson has recently experienced first hand the wonder that is Dion Lee. And she learned a very important lesson while under his wing, too. "I've learnt to always question myself. The ability to see things from others' perspective is very important," she says. So here's hoping we hear about Gibson's colourful career in Australia's fashion industry. Rumour has it, we may even find her designing some hip shades in the near future. "I love working with other people so I want to build my name by collaborating with other creatives," she says, "and I've always had an interest in eye wear and I think that's something I'd love to explore." Photography: Saskia Wilson ELISSA MCGOWAN "I have wanted to be a designer ever since I can remember," says graduate designer, Elissa McGowan, "I have a lot of memories of drawing clothes, making paper dolls and trying to make my own clothes." McGowan's work focuses on the organic use of line and working with the body to flatter it, which has led her to experiment with integrating different technologies to achieve the desired affect. "Recently my focus has been on integrating technology such as laser cutting and bonding which has allowed me to create more engineered garments. I don't want these processes to appear obvious, so I try to ensure the use of technology doesn't over-rule the design," she explains. And as for her debut into the fashion world? McGowan's TAFE collection is striking to say the least. Translating a muted colour palette into a vibrant collection inspired by the surreal work of post-war British artist Francis Bacon, McGowan has realised a certain ethereality in her design. "I looked at the ideology of surrealism … I focused on developing a few pieces that were engineered to the body. For these pieces, I wanted them to almost look like they could have been painted, so the lines are quite fluid but the silhouettes are focused," she says. From here, McGowan can't wait to start her next collection but is aware of how committed she needs to be. "I do want to let things develop organically, as it’s a huge commitment to start a business in this industry and I want to make sure I am 110 percent ready for that. I’m interested in doing a bit of travelling to the textile fairs and I would love to go to India to do some fabric development," she says. Photography: Saskia Wilson Hair and Makeup: Anni Hall Model: Carolin B from Chic LEROY NGUYEN Graduate designer, Leroy Nguyen, knows what he wants in ten years. To be "stocked globally," he says. And we believe he will be on the count of his very directional aesthetic. "I would describe my designs as modern and high end. My design aesthetic is all about clean, masculine, tailored lines with a strong focus on cut, structured silhouettes and interesting proportions," he says. And who's wearing his designs? "Confident women who don't feel the need to try too hard to be sexy. Women that like to have a bit of fun with fashion. Women that like to be bold, but also appreciate the importance of quality and comfort." For his TAFE graduate collection, Natural Born Killer, Nguyen found inspiration in all the characteristics that the iconic James Bond Girl embodied. "Dual personalities and espionage, faceted diamonds and the fluid, transparent, reflecting and refractive qualities of water are the main themes used to drive the range," he says. And the result? A mix of athleticism and femininity. "Embossed and coated leathers and fused silks are layered with plastics and mesh, and vivid digital prints are offset by stark, clinical whites in a range of looks that all have strong roots in tailored athleticism ... there are casual, luxe sports pieces alongside more vampy cocktail dresses, whilst slick tailoring can be seen throughout," explains Nguyen. All this from very humble beginnings, too. "I entered this course [TAFE] not even knowing how to hand sew a button to a shirt," Nguyen confesses, "today, I can design, develop and produce an entire collection." Nguyen's first step as a new graduate? To hit the ground running towards developing and launching the Leroy Nguyen brand. Watch this space.
You can discuss Middle East politics and Lady Gaga's latest ensemble in the same, minty-fresh breath. You drove across Fidel-era Cuba with a cast of unpredictable hitchhikers. You're just one long sauna sitting away from your goal weight. You have more Facebook friends than dollars in credit card debt. You know it's impossible to quantify your value as a human being, that it's probably not the point of the game, yet, in a dark corner of your mind, you do it anyway. You think you might be winning. Performance collective Post (the beautifully neurotic Zoe Coombs Marr; cool Mish Grigor; and busy new mum Natalie Rose, played by the deadpan, very much masculine Eden Falk in a wig) have externalised the conversation and tried to determine which of the three of them is — definitively, empirically — the best. After gruelling months of Enneagram tests, Dolly quizzes and hard staring into the mirror as part of the Sydney Theatre Company's Rough Draft development program, they've scored themselves on looks, personality, intelligence, health and fitness, talent, luck, money, life experience, life skills and special skills (felting, making mixtapes, etc). They now present their results. While this is all entertaining and relatable, perhaps the most impressive thing is how fully Post have managed to realise this mental exercise as a comedic performance piece. They've combined their tetchy debates with plenty of self-conscious strutting, posing, hair-flicking and catwalk-turning, persistent cues to dance off, and a crying competition. It's insightful, self-reflexive, searingly funny and, often enough, sublime. Who's the Best joyously flirts with contradictions in its own internal logic (points gained for 'enthusiasm' are forfeit when the resulting disappointment detracts from 'mental health'; bad skin necessitates the best skin care routine) and picks at its flawed raison d'etre (pregnant, no-fun Nat dares suggest they're "on different trains" to different, incomparable destinations). It's a performance that shines a spotlight on the performative nature of our hyperreal, camera-ready personal lives. No matter where the final tally lies, the members of Post are clearly all winners. For the rest of us, there's some consolation: "Luck, talent, same thing — you've either got it or you don't. Now life skills, there's something you can improve." https://youtube.com/watch?v=frBlCG4i1s8
Tarantino fans, it's the moment you've all been waiting for — and it just might be even better than the world-famous Jackrabbit Slim's twist contest. In a three-month movie tribute, the Randwick Ritz is showing its love for the filmmaker responsible for making everyone think twice about Madonna's 'Like A Virgin', Royales with cheese, getting sword-wielding vengeance and getting caught in Minnie's Haberdashery during a snowstorm. With more enthusiasm than the man-in-question's fondness for rapid-fire dialogue, retro soundtracks and paying homage to every film he's ever seen, the We Love Tarantino film series will train the Randwick cinema's projector on some of QT's finest on selected dates between Friday, April 12 and Sunday, July 14. Each session will feature a flick helmed by Tarantino, with Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, both volumes of Kill Bill, the Grindhouse double, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight all on the agenda. Breaking out your best yellow jumpsuit, bathrobe, Hawaiian shirt, daggy tee and shorts combo, or flight attendant's uniform is heartily recommended. And if you want to dance to 'Stuck in the Middle with You' or 'Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon' in the foyer, we're guessing that no one will stop you. Days and times vary, although the films are screening in order of their release, and show two sessions of each per week — either on 35mm, 2K or 70mm. And the timing really couldn't be better, with Tarantino's next flick, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, due out in Australia in August.
It's official: the Philter Public Bar will finally swing open its doors from midday today, Friday, August 21. After announcing its pending launch in November of last year and opening its bottle shop as a teaser in early June, the newest addition to the Marrickville brewery scene is finally here. Set in an old yoghurt factory opposite Wicks Park, the location is very well placed — it's just down the block from Batch and close walking distance to Sauce, Wildflower, Grifter and Willie The Boatman. Yeah, it has turned into one massive brewery crawl indeed. The brewpub pays homage to the building's 1960s heritage, as well as the 1980s Australiana vibe of Philter's can design. Expect "suburban pub nostalgia" aplenty, like hanging Tiffany lamps, hand-painted signage and a handmade tile bar with a bar top that's been rescued from a local pub. Plus a black chesterfield sofa and simple round tables and chairs. The somewhat kitschy, old school fit-out certainly suits the brand well. The public bar overlooks a brand new brewery and boasts a viewing deck with bar stools, so punters can watch the brewers in action while they sip fresh-as drops. It'll produce over one-million litres of beer per year, heaps of which will end up on the bar's taps. This includes Philter's first limited-edition brew — a hoppy dark ale dubbed Marrickville Nights — which will be available at the bar over the following days. First launched back in 2017, the gypsy brewery has become well-recognised for its retro tinnie branding and sessionable styles. It's led by one of Australia's first female brewers (and former Young Henrys head brewer) Samara Füss — who is, fittingly, a bit of a legend in the local beer scene — and Marrickville neighbours and beer lovers Stefan Constantoulas and Michael Neil. The public bar will be open five days per week, but it's run by reservations only on weekends — so you better get booking. Philter Public Bar is now open at 92–98 Sydenham Road, Marrickville. Opening hours are 5–9pm Wednesday–Thursday, 12–10pm Friday–Saturday and 12–6pm Sunday. Bookings are a must from Friday through Sunday, so be sure to nab a table here. Images: Liz Ham
As well as warm colours and a slight chill, autumn brings spectacular flavours to the hospitality scene. This is especially true in Japan, where the culinary practice of 'shun' teaches that food and drinks should be enjoyed only when ingredients are at the peak of their seasonal freshness. For artisanal distillers like Roku Gin – a Japanese craft gin in the House of Suntory family – botanicals are only ever harvested at the peak of their quality. In the case of autumn, sansho peppers are at their best — and they're one of six botanicals enlivening this delicious drop. Deliciously, Roku is teaming up with Surry Hills bar Tokyo Bird to celebrate that commitment to freshness with a limited-time Autumn High Tea. Saturdays May 6, May 13, May 27 and June 3 will each bring two sittings at which to enjoy a themed menu — think sweet and savoury plates alongside seasonally driven Roku gin cocktails. On arrival, you'll be greeted with a Roku Gin & Tonic, take in the decorations and fall for the season's vibes (get it?). To share at the table is the Momiji, a cocktail mixing Roku with the sweet notes of pomegranate, rose and apple (and delightfully served in a teapot). You'll snack happy with delights like tuna tartare with nashi pear and nori crackers and karaage chicken bao. In terms of sweet treats, you can expect the likes of Japanese chestnut mont blanc with cream and cocoa sponge or apple pie bites with a umami bite of miso caramel. There are also add-ons: tea or more Roku cocktails, like a Japanese Negroni or Matcha Hard Shake. Roku Autumn High Tea runs from Saturday, May 6 until Saturday, June 3, with sittings at 2pm and 4pm. Bookings are essential. For more details, visit the website. Images: Declan Blackall
Crown Street's premiere salon offers high fashion cuts in a relaxed environment. The salon's Creative Director Mel Martin puts the customer experience above all else, making it a place you can pop into without feeling intimidated. You'll still leave feeling ready for the cover of a magazine. Women's shampoo, cut and dry starts at $90 (or $60 from an emerging stylist), with men's starting at $50. Aside from cuts, the Surry Hills favourite also specialises in extensions and balayage, along with other beauty services like eyebrow shaping and professional makeup application. [caption id="attachment_779941" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cassandra Hannagan[/caption] Images: Cassandra Hannagan
Since the first Iron Man film in 2008, Marvel has trained superhero fans well. Notching up 33 movies in its enormous cinematic universe with 2023's The Marvels and showing zero signs of stopping, the comic book company has basically taken over the big screen, with this year delivering Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, too — and, as always, there's plenty more flicks on the way. Marvel hasn't just taken over picture palaces. Via Disney+, the small screen is also home to many a MCU story, including Secret Invasion and season two of Loki in 2023. Keen to see your favourite spandex-clad crime-fighters try to save the world in person as well? Along with splashing Marvel's heroes and villains across every screen it can find, that's also coming — and soon. Marvel Universe LIVE! is exactly what it seems — and if it sounds familiar, that's because it was meant to head Down Under in 2020, but then the pandemic hit. So, when it makes the trip to Australia in April 2024, it'll be unveiling its show to Aussie audiences for the first time. The production takes more than 20 characters such as Spider-Man, The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, teaming them up on stage and letting audiences marvel (pun intended) at their exploits. Featuring everyone from Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther and the Hulk to Captain America, Doctor Strange and Black Widow, it tasks the beloved superheroes with facing off against some of Marvel's infamous villains, including Nebula, Loki and Green Goblin. And, it packages their antics with video projections, special effects, pyrotechnics, martial arts, and both aerial and motorcycle stunts. The performance is aimed at all ages and, in news that's about as unsurprising as most wisecracks that Tony Stark ever uttered, the show has proven a massive success in the United States, Latin America and Europe. As a result, it was only a matter of time until it hit Australia after its pandemic delay. Obviously, attendees won't be watching Robert Downey Jr (Oppenheimer), Chris Hemsworth (Extraction II), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar), Scarlett Johansson (Asteroid City) and Tom Hiddleston (The Essex Serpent) — or any of the many, many other high-profile stars who feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, because that list truly seems endless. But, if you're happy to get your Marvel fix however you can, then you can do just that in arenas and stadiums around the country in 2024. Marvel Universe LIVE! will premiere its Aussie run in Brisbane, before heading to Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. "Our tremendously talented creative team and a nearly superhuman cast have created a show that brings the grandeur of Marvel to life," said Marvel Universe LIVE! producer Juliette Feld Grossman. "This production creates an experience that immerses families in non-stop action, creating movie-style thrills and jaw-dropping stunts that showcase the powers of your favourite superheroes right before your eyes." MARVEL UNIVERSE LIVE! 2024 DATES: Thursday, April 4–Sunday, April 7 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Friday, April 12–Monday, April 15 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Friday, April 19–Monday, April 22 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Friday, April 26–Sunday, April 28 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Marvel Universe LIVE! is touring Australia in April 2024 — head to the event's website for more information, and pre-sale tickets, with general tickets available from 10am on Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Every teenager has spent hours chatting with their mates, pondering their futures and coming up with wild plans. Not everyone starts a distillery, though; however that's exactly how Headlands Distilling Co came about. Up and running in Wollongong since 2015, the distillery is the product of four friends from high school following through on their lofty dreams. Using native botanicals and barley from the Riverina region, Headlands Distilling has a 'grain to glass' philosophy, with the distillery overseeing every stage from milling and fermenting to distilling and bottling its spirits — including its first product, Seacliff vodka. The small company also donates 20 percent of its profits to charity SpinalCure, which is working towards curing spinal cord injuries, so adding them to your home bar will also help a great cause. Spirits fans can head by Headlands Distilling's North Wollongong base to take a free tour and enjoy free tastings on Friday and Sunday afternoons.
Need to find your way from The House That Jack Built to Hotel California? Or maybe you got lost on the Highway to Hell trying to find Penny Lane? This is what the world would look like if you could build a city from your iTunes library. A map of song titles, made by the creative collective Dorothy, is more than worthy of hanging on your wall. Song Map
The wickedly weird and wild Dark Mofo lineup has been announced for 2023, and culture lovers all over Australia are poised to fight over tickets on Wednesday, April 5. But the most popular events and accommodations in Hobart are expected to book out ASAP — most local hotels tend to be fully booked even before tickets are released. That's why we've gone ahead and reserved a stack of rooms for those who book our totally unique Dark Mofo travel package, only available through Concrete Playground Trips. We'll put guests up in Hobart for two nights — with brekkie included — while throwing in a bunch of tickets to events. [caption id="attachment_895365" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dark Mofo/Rosie Hastie, 2021. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] First off, you'll get access to the Winter Feast — a food-, art- and music-filled winter solstice celebration. Gather around the fire pits and long communal tables, grabbing drinks and food from local vendors while checking out live music, art installations and roaming theatrical performances. We've also organised your tickets to one of Dark Mofo's late-night parties, better known as Night Mass. While just about anything can happen here, you can expect debaucherous art experiences and an epic lineup of musical performances and DJ sets that'll keep you dancing into the wee hours. These infamous parties sell out really quickly, so thank us later for your entry being sorted already. [caption id="attachment_854707" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dark Mofo's In the Hanging Garden[/caption] And to keep you busy during one of the afternoons, we have organised your entry to Mona itself. Arrive in style, via the ferry's Posh Pit and explore the gallery's eccentric exhibitions. This package hits most of the best bits of Dark Mofo, giving you the ultimate Hobart getaway without the need to do heaps of planning and separate bookings. It's also a bargain, coming in at just under $600 per person. [caption id="attachment_895370" align="alignnone" width="1921"] Winter Feast, Dark Mofo 2022. Photo credit: Rémi Chauvin, 2022[/caption] Head to Concrete Playground Trips to book one of the exclusive (and strictly limited) Dark Mofo travel packages. Top image: Jesse Hunniford (Winter Feast, Dark Mofo 2021)
One of the most popular events in Sydney for both the Islamic community and the city at large, Ramadan Nights is making its return to Haldon Street in Lakemba. Running from Thursdays to Sundays between Saturday, March 9–Monday, April 8, the food and cultural festival will bring together more than 75 local businesses for a nightly feast between dusk and 3am, celebrating the most sacred month on the Islamic calendar. More than a million people are expected to visit the month-long festival, with many attendees travelling to southwest Sydney from interstate and even overseas each year. Visitors can expect food stalls serving up traditional dishes from Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria and many more international communities. Walk through and you'll find everything from shawarma and kaak to Syrian ice cream, knafeh and Lebanese coffee. The event is free, and there will be free shuttle buses running from 6.30pm–12.30am between Lakemba and both Campsie and Roselands to help accommodate the limited parking available. You can also catch the train via the T3 Bankstown Line to Lakemba Station if you're travelling from outside of southwest Sydney. If you're trying to beat the crowds, it's recommended that you arrive earlier around dusk.
Triple J's Hottest 100 is back, counting down the nation's favourite songs of 2022 on Saturday, January 28. While a backyard barbecue is a traditional way to do the countdown, there are several parties popping up across Sydney as well. One of our picks of the bunch is the Marrickville Block Party taking place at The Great Club on Livingston Road where they'll be blasting the tunes and taking over the neighbourhood bar and concert venue's carpark from 11.30am. Bringing the true spirit of an awesome backyard gathering, The Great Club has invited some friends over for a best-of-Marrickville potluck of sorts, enlisting help from Baba's Place, Pepito's and Grumpy Donuts to be in charge of the eats. So you can expect cans of rakija and tonic, ceviche sandwiches, pisco snow cones and specially concocted mojitos. There will also be a kiddie pool, a handball tournament and live art from Sindy Sinn. And once the countdown has wrapped up, fast-rising producer Tasker will be jumping on the DJ decks to soundtrack the rest of the night. If you're looking for a free Hottest 100 party with a killer culinary lineup, you can RSVP here. [caption id="attachment_886010" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Georgia Griffiths[/caption] Top image: Dexter Kim
A drama released in 1989 that saw its premiere cut short because of the fall of the Berlin Wall. A tale of corruption in the sporting arena. A documentary about perhaps the greatest German director that ever lived. A lengthy father-daughter comedy that no one can stop talking about (us included). Yes, they're all part of the 2016 German Film Fest's 36-title lineup, which roams around Australia this month. In a nutshell, it's a great year to get your fix of the country's cinematic offerings. In fact, there's so much packed into the festival's heaving program that the aforementioned movies aren't even the only titles on our must-see list — though they provide a great indication of the wealth of choices available. Check some of them out when the festival comes to Sydney's Palace Norton Street and Chauvel Cinema between November 15 and 29.
When Indigenous Australian artist Archie Moore made history at the 2024 La Biennale de Venezia, aka the Venice Biennale, in April by winning the event's coveted Golden Lion for Best National Participation, he also did Brisbane's major art galleries proud. When the First Nations talent earned Australia the top gong at the Olympics of the art world for the first time ever, he did so with an exhibition curated by Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art's Ellie Buttrose, and with a date with the Brisbane sites as part of their 2025–26 program. kith and kin will open in South Brisbane in August 2025 — and it's also being gifted to QAGOMA permanently. The Australian Government has just announced that it has acquired the work to give it to the Brisbane art institution, as well as the UK's Tate, its acquisition partner. Accordingly, gallery visitors both in Australian and the United Kingdom will be able to explore kith and kin after its current Venice run. In Italy, the work is on display until Sunday, November 24, 2024. "I am so grateful for this generous donation that enables kith and kin to be seen both here in Australia and overseas, in the near and distant future," said Moore of the news. "Encountering Archie Moore's kith and kin at the Venice Biennale was a spectacular and moving experience that resonated with the weight of history and ancestry. In its unimaginable endeavour to map a personal genealogy through more than 2000 generations, Moore has summoned up an extraordinary image of human connection through deep time," added Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art Director Chris Saines. "kith and kin has that rare power to still you into silence and reflection. We are profoundly grateful to be the joint custodians of this historic work and we look forward to showing the project, curated by QAGOMA's Curator of Contemporary Australian Art Ellie Buttrose, in Brisbane from August 2025." kith and kin didn't just make history with its Venice Biennale accolade. A hand-drawn genealogical chart that spans back 65,000 years, the piece also chronicles it. Both a personal and a political work, kith and kin steps through Moore's Kamilaroi, Bigambul, British and Scottish heritage across the installation's five-metre-high, 60-metre-long black walls. More than 2400 generations are covered. The exhibition uses chalk on blackboard, with a reflective pool sitting in the middle of the room and 500-plus document stacks suspended above it. Every aspect of kith and kin makes a statement. With its size and scale, it speaks to Australia's Indigenous peoples being among the world's longest-continuous living cultures. The use of black is also designed to look like a celestial map, and therefore nod to the resting place of First Nations ancestors. Highlighting the decrease in Indigenous Australian languages and dialects since colonisation, the fragility that stems from not being able to pass down knowledge and injustices such as deaths in custody are all also part of the work — with the aforementioned piles of paper primarily from coronial inquests. "The phrase 'kith and kin' now simply means 'friends and family'. However, an earlier Old English definition that dates from the 1300s shows kith originally had the added meanings of 'countrymen' and also 'one's native land', with kin meaning 'family members'," notes Moore's explanation of the work. "Many Indigenous Australians, especially those who grew up on Country, know the land and other living things as part of their kinship systems — the land itself can be a mentor, teacher, parent to a child. The sense of belonging involves everyone and everything, and for First Nations peoples of Australia, like most Indigenous cultures, is deeply rooted in our sacred landscapes from birth until death." "I was interested in the phrase as it aptly describes the artwork in the pavilion, but I was also interested in the Old English meaning of the words, as it feels more like a First Nations understanding of attachment to place, people and time." kith and kin will display at Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, Stanley Place, South Brisbane, from August 2025. We'll update you with more details when they're announced. kith and kin is on display at the Australia Pavilion, Giardini di Castello, 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, until Sunday, November 24, 2024 — head to the exhibition website for further details. Images: Archie Moore / kith and kin 2024 / Australia Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2024 / Photographer Andrea Rossetti / © the artist / Images courtesy of the artist and The Commercial.
You've already heard us extol the virtues of the Sailors Club. And if you've been waiting for the opportune moment to act upon our giddy praises, this long weekend could be your time to dine. Introducing the Sunday Club (yes, a club within a club; the Russian Doll of clubs), Rose Bay's answer to your typical Sunday roast. It also answers all those classic Sunday afternoon questions you did not even realise you possessed. For example, 'Do I enjoy absolute views of the Rose Bay Marina after a big weekend?' You do. 'Do I wish to sacrifice a large percentage of my income to enjoy said views?' You don't. 'Is there a way to satisfy both desires simultaneously?' Most definitely. From 3pm each Sunday, enjoy pulled pork sandwiches accompanied by a glass of Hills Cider for an economical $15. Want your meal to reflect your aquatic surroundings? Then slurp down half a dozen oysters and a glass of Laurent-Perrier for $25. Whether you're looking to sunbake on the Sailors Club deck or recline in the lounge bar, the Sunday Club is the ultimate way to farewell the long weekend.
North and west of Byron Bay is the Tweed hinterland, a land of ancient rainforest, wild rivers and rugged mountain peaks. Twenty-three million years ago, a volcano erupted here, creating a caldera 40 kilometres wide and 1000 metres deep. To see it in all its lush beauty, wake up before sunrise and ride a hot air balloon with Byron Bay Ballooning. This dreamy escapade takes you way up into the air for an hour or so and, on landing, treats you to a champagne breakfast. Image: Destination NSW
Sculpture in the Vineyards brings an artistic bend to the Hunter Valley with its annual arts and cultural festival, held throughout four independent vineyards in the Wollombi Valley from October 28 through December 3. This free public exhibition features site-specific, large scale sculptures which transform the boutique vineyards into exhibition parks. The celebration combines art, food and, of course, wine throughout the month, with tastings happening at each of the vineyard cellar doors. Visitors can also take guided tours, attend artist talks and workshops, learn about local Aboriginal history and feast at a wine and food degustation. Events will also take place at the nearby historic Wollombi Village. Entry into the exhibitions along the Wollombi Valley Wine Trail is free and open daily from 10am–6pm, with additional special events happening across the month.
Mitzi began as an alias for two guys from Brisbane to make some music under so that nobody knew they were two guys from Brisbane. Now there are four guys, one EP and one era-defying single, and anonymity is pretty much a thing of the past. Mitzi are at the forefront of an Australian electro-dance tidal wave propelled by acts like Cut Copy and Midnight Juggernauts, except they're doing it with disco. Mitzi will support Foals at their sold-out Oxford Art Factory shows before joining Lindstrøm and Classixx at Future Classic's Sydney Festival bash. Future Classic will also release their debut album Truly Alive on February 15 (you can pre-order it here). In the interim we pulled drummer Cale Suesskow aside to talk about what it's like to be one of the most exciting things happening in Australian music right now. You had a well-received eight-date single tour at the end of last year to promote single 'Who Will Love You Now'. How did you spend Christmas and New Years? Did you manage to get some time off? Yes, time off was welcomed with a few celebratory drinks. We spend Christmas and New Years with friends and family, did some writing (without any pressure) and have also been DJing quite a bit. Now that were all refreshed, we're pretty keen to get out there and play some more shows. You've performed sets at Parklife, Splendour and Stereosonic, and supported acts including Neon Indian, Little Dragon and Whitest Boy Alive. What have been some of the highlights? Neon Indian support was our third ever show and the first time we played to a packed room, there was such an energy that night and I think it really helped cement the thought that we might be onto something good. The Whitest Boy Alive tour was incredible, we are all massive fans of their music and it was great to see how they work close-up. The best thing about being given the opportunity to support great acts is learning things from people that are more experienced than we are. Sydney's electronic/dance scene has been swelling lately. Have you seen similar things happening in Brisbane or do people still associate it with Brisvegassy clubs? There isn't really much of a scene for good house music in Brisbane and people don't go crazy for it, but there are a few places where tasteful bangers like Disclosure go down a treat. We went and saw Todd Terje before Christmas, playing a small club to a half full dance floor, which pretty accurately portrays dance music in Brisbane. How did you come to work with Jono Ma on 2011's EP All I Heard? His new project Jagwar Ma just signed to Future Classic too, which is pretty cool. We had all known Jono before Mitzi started, he's a talented guy and we wanted him to mix our EP so we asked him, not much of a story, sorry. But yeah, it's great they're releasing through Future Classic, more good music to welcome to the family. What local artists/tracks have you been vibing to lately? Jagwar Ma, hahah. Oh, and new Seekae with vocals. Your music draws from a wide range of influences. What acts were you listening to while you were making the new album? Nothing out of the ordinary really, stuff like Fleetwood, Chic, Fela Kuti, lots of house music and electronica, a little bit of Hip Hop and RnB. The Kindness album dropped last year and we were pretty blown away by the production. The Blood Orange album also came out while we were in the studio and it showcased, in our opinion, some pretty awesome songwriting. How do you achieve that familiar retro sound while also creating something new and something that has longevity? I guess that comes from the way we record, which stems from our musical influences. We like to record the core elements of the band in a way that is true to the 70's style, that is, with vintage pre-amps and mics, lots of compression and lots of muffling things up. But then we add lots of synths and effects that stems from our house and electronic influences. Sometimes these sounds can be quite spatial and reverberated, which is a nice contrast to the retro sounding drums and bass. How did you come to work with Ash Workman on the upcoming album? How has that, and signing with Future Classic, influenced your sound? Another boring story here, basically we loved Metronomy's The English Riviera and emailed Ash's manager to ask if he'd be up for working with us. We had already finished the songs, so I don't think these factors influenced the sound, rather the sound influenced who we wanted to mix and release the album. We've been with Future Classic since the E.P and we haven't made any acute changes in direction so its only fitting that we would wish to continue the relationship. You're also known for putting on great DJ sets and doing cool mix tapes. What are some of your favourite venues to DJ at? For us, Djing can be great fun, especially places where we can play the club music we love and the audience vibes just as hard. Spice Cellar is always a good time, and we played a place called Moloko Night in Townsville just before Christmas that went pretty crazy, contrary to what we had assumed it would be like. We've also had some good nights at Bowler Bar in our hometown too.
Think about the satisfaction of an epic growing out of the tiniest, most humble of origins. Whether it's the highbrow whiff of Proust's madeleine or the spunk'n'egg cocktail of human history, the romantic notion of 'from little things great things grow' is an appealing motif. In the case of Life and Times, the current mega work by New York-based theatre company Nature Theater of Oklahoma, the starting point was a phone conversation between co-artistic director Pavol Liska and company member Kristin Worrall. Worrall's brief was simple — tell her life story — and yet in the years since that first request in 2007, the verbatim results of her conversations with Liska have expanded into 15 hours worth of theatrical performance out of an anticipated 24. The art of conversation The casual language of phone conversations has formed the basis of two previous NTOK productions, No Dice (2008) and Romeo and Juliet (2009), and Liska and his partner, co-artistic director Kelly Copper, regularly chat with an impressive cohort of international artists in their podcast, OK Radio. The art of conversation it seems is, for now at least, a recurring principle of the company's process. "My education comes from my encounters with all different types of people," says Liska. "As a child you grow up and you meet this person and this person and this person, and I don't want to shut that process down. I know that I can't talk to everybody, so the people I do choose to talk to, I try to talk with them as deeply as possible. I use conversation as a springboard to unbalance myself, to derail myself. Ultimately, I could just lock myself in the closet and talk to myself, but there would be no resistance. So I use the other person to question my own ideas, to unbalance me and derail my own train of thought, and I do that to them as well." It is this deep process of conversation that provides the wealth of material for NTOK's Life and Times, of which Episodes 1–4 (out of an eventual ten) will be performed at this year's Melbourne Festival. Worrall's life story is not a chronologically linear autobiography, but rather a stream of recollection that fabricates a self-aware state of cause-and-effect as she links events through talking with Liska. The result is, for Liska, a kind of language that "does not belong in the theatre", and one that requires transformation before it is fit for an audience. Bringing theatre to the everyday "The more loose the text is, if it's a meandering conversation about something, the harder we have to work in the opposite direction [to formalise it], otherwise it's invisible," says Liska. A clear example of NTOK's approach to adapting conversational brain-dumping for the stage can be found in the earlier work Romeo and Juliet, which emerged from Liska and Copper calling friends and recording their attempts to recount the plot of Shakespeare's famous tragedy. "In order to make [these recordings] pop and to open them up, we felt like we needed to use a really formal mode of presentation, that over-the-top, cliched Shakespearean performance style," recounts Liska. As a contrast, after the show's curtain call the company then performed Shakespeare's original version of the balcony scene — in the dark, and understated, as the language was already so theatrical. “It just wouldn't be enough to present a phone conversation,” says Liska, “maybe some people who work with documentary theatre are okay with that, but ultimately I sit in rehearsal and I go to every performance and I have to find that it's opening something up for myself. It's not a purely humanistic effort — we're not just presenting the conversation and saying, hey, look at how wonderful people are — it's an aesthetic manifesto and an exploration.” Audiences and the clap Liska is genuine when he talks about the company exploring language through experimentation with aesthetics, and Life and Times already features a manic diversity in its presentation styles from episode to episode, including a couple that depart from traditional audience-actor theatre experiences altogether. "Obviously the audience doesn't talk back," says Liska, "but I want the exchange in the room to be a conversation, and my goal is never to allow the audience to forget that they are playing a role in the event. That's why it's so long — so that all these preconceived notions fall away. Something else happens." While Melbourne audiences will be able to see individual episodes separately, the ideal experience is to front up for the ten-hour marathon and in some way merge meaningfully with Liska, Copper and the gang. “If I have a conversation with you, I don't want you to clap for me at the end,” says Liska. Although there will be a curtain call at the end of the Melbourne marathon session, it's more because the actors end the fourth episode onstage and to not have applause would just feel weird. However, in between each episode, the cast can be found serving food in the foyer. “People can actually talk to them,” says Liska, “rather than do this — CLAP.” The Great Nature Theater of Oklahoma is calling you! There is poetic resonance in this idea of Liska's, given that the Nature Theater of Oklahoma first appeared in Franz Kafka's unfinished novel Amerika as a theatre company that had a place for absolutely anyone who came along. It also rings true with Liska's experience of Eastern European theatre-makers taking action for their community — not simply making art to be consumed. For Liska the important thing is to "stay open and playful and flexible. I wouldn't say that I'd never do a Chekhov play again, or a Greek tragedy — there just has to be a really strong reason to do something, I think that's what the audience finds inspiring.” For now such inspiration may dwell in a humble, late-night phone conversation, but it's anyone's guess under which pebble NTOK's next epic may be found. Life and Times is on at the Arts Centre Melbourne from October 22-26. Tickets are available from the Melbourne Festival website.
Although they’re well-known internationally, Yangjiang Group is a step back from the hype of the art world. Instead of jumping on global trends and mulling over heavyweight and hot-right-now theorists, they draw inspiration from daily activities. Last year, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring the collective to Australia. The subsequent exhibition, Actions for Tomorrow, spans both floors of the gallery. Uprooting calligraphy from class and tradition has long been one of the group’s key preoccupations. For example, the upstairs mural GOD IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE RMB! (2015) merges the neat artistry of calligraphy with the spontaneity of graffiti. Splashed out and space consuming, the work heralds the supremacy of finance over religion. By transforming decoration into politics, the group aims to extract calligraphy from an analysis of form and instead look at its energy. Calligraphy is a similar departure point for Das Kapital Football (2009), a more complex installation which is made up of hundreds of metres of scrunched paper, printed with handwritten passages from Karl Marx’s canonical Das Kapital. The mess of ripped and flattened rice paper is actually the remains of a chaotic soccer match, which is played out in an accompanying video work. With six teams running among mounds of drifting paper, it is near impossible to follow what is happening. It’s also quite difficult to pinpoint where the Marxist themes emerge. Downstairs is Final Days (2015), an installation with an apocalyptic ring to it. Set up like a boutique retail store, racks of clothes are coated in thick layers of white wax. Instead of loose individual objects, the clothes are locked into hard blocks — expanding their dimensions. Across the wall, there are slogans that act as a bleak commentary on capitalism, such as “the worker don’t get paid” and “suicide after sale”. By arresting the perpetual cycle of consumerism, it is as if this mock shop has been frozen into a specific time and space. Of course, it’s interesting to see how this kind of “preservation” stands in opposition to the group’s disavowal of the calligraphic rulebook — where they refuse preservation. Perhaps the convoluted soccer game is an appropriate metaphor for the confusions and contradictions of contemporary life. Generally speaking, the works of Yangjiang Group don’t have the contrived glossy finish that is sometimes seen in contemporary Chinese art — they are more potent and authentic. It is also important to note how ritual and routine feeds into Yangjiang Group’s practice. On a daily basis, the group prepares tea for the gallery staff, chosen according to certain therapeutic properties. It’s the all-encompassing nature of their practice that makes them unique. To cap off the exhibition, Yangjiang Group are hosting a Twilight Garden Party at the Chinese Garden of Friendship, including performance pieces, to celebrate Chinese New Year. Falling on February 14, Valentine's Day, it's also perfect for a date who enjoys food, drink and After Dinner Calligraphy, where the artists transform food scraps from the event into a large-scale piece of calligraphy. Image: Vitamin Creative Space
We think, as humans, that our past is behind us, our future is in front of us and our present is with us, when in fact it is all in flux and with us at the same time. This realisation is one of the first to occur to Melita Rowston's characters in Crushed, currently on at New Theatre's Spare Room in association with Chester Productions. Kelly (Lucy Miller) — known as Jelly Kelly in her youth due to her, uh, weight issues — has returned to her home town to reignite the campaign to find her best friend, Susie, who went missing 22 years ago. She meets with two former high school lovers and friends, Jason (Jeremy Waters) and Dazza (Sean Barker), to form the worst kind of high school reunion. The interesting part of this play is how it explores the functioning of memory. Malleable white matter changes the past in our minds — and for these three, it changes their plea. Kelly remembers her best friend Susie differently from how the boys do. Arguing over Susie's favourite flowers and her favourite band and discovering that she set up her first sexual encounter, Kelly sees things come to light that she had never imagined. There is a lot to be said in this play and it doesn't fully deliver, from the inquest to the unrequited love and, of course, the running-away-from-the-past motif. I found it hard to empathise with the characters and their hardships. Whether it was to do with perhaps forced or rushed development or the fact that the characters were themselves confused, I didn't truly feel for them. That said, the actors were focused the whole time and entertained the audience (especially the front row). There's also a beguiling set that morphs between a memory landscape, a bus stop and a police interrogation room, and makes interesting use of screens. I did find myself wanting to know what happened to young Susie, merely a sweet 16-year-old offering her cherry on a late night. Running for 90 minutes without an interval, Crushed is short, sweet and does the independent theatre scene proud.
Bondi and brunching go together like Hall and Oates — two classy things, both appreciative of a top notch, classy time. Lucky for beachbound brunchers, the ever-epic and exclusive Icebergs has opened their Dining Room and Bar for Sunday brunch from October 26. Looks like brunch king Bill Granger freaked out the neighbours. Every Sunday between 10am and 12pm — that tiny, tiny window is sure to drum up some hectic queues — you can brunch at Bondi’s postcard-perfect spot. There’ll be a selection of breads and pastries with Pepe Saya butter and marscapone, followed by two courses — frutti (organic blood orange, aromatic rhubarb, strawberries with whipped ricotta and fresh local honeycomb) and your selection of secondi (hot smoked Petuna ocean trout with beets, roe and crème fraiche; frittata with porcini, goats curd and crispy organic kale; or grilled piadina, prosciutto, organic hen egg, asparagus, mint and lemon). The whole fancy, fancy thing will set you back $55 with coffee and tea, or the more decadent can shell out $75 for bottomless Prosecco (worth it). If you did an especially big work week, $90 will top you up with Osetra caviar and champagne. Now that's brunching. Icebergs Sunday Brunch will be served between 10am and 12pm on Sundays from October 26. Top image: Gary Hayes.
If you like your live tunes just as much as you enjoy sipping vino and tucking into top-notch eats, then here's one for the calendar: a brand-new festival combining food, drink and entertainment set against the picturesque backdrop of Albury. From the minds that gave us BeerFest Australia, Sip & Savour Albury is set to make its debut from Saturday, February 4–Sunday, February 5. Headlining the musical side of things, you've got renowned acts like Kate Miller-Heidke, Josh Pyke, Lisa Mitchell and Telenova, treating audiences to tunes both new and classic. Enjoy the sounds from the comfort of your picnic rug or while kicking back in one of the al fresco lounge zones. [caption id="attachment_884250" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Pyke[/caption] There's a whole lotta sipping to be done, too, with producers like Bridge Road Brewers, Michelini Wines, Bright Brewery and Brown Brothers showcasing their finest, and even pouring complimentary tastings. Adult tickets to the QEII Square fest start from $55.35, including three hours of tastings — and you'll savour the region's diverse food scene, too, as you graze your way through an array of local produce and restaurant fare. There'll also be plenty of take-home goodies for those keen to stock their pantries. MasterChef Australia alum Hayden Quinn will be making a special guest appearance, hosting a series of demos and masterclasses heroing some of those top local ingredients. And if you want to get even more hands on, check out the program of workshops and classes led by local experts. Top Image: Jo Duck
The artistic side of the Festival is in the mix from the beginning, with the Art Gallery of NSW staying open late to play with the Festival First Night crowd offering Picasso-friendly Spanish goodness in the form of film, performance and live music. Photographer William Yang returns to the stage, bringing his own life into focus with I Am a Camera. Crafting a story with his images, accompanied by the deep tones of Elana Kats-Chernin on cello and offering of Hasan Elahi levels of voyeurism focused on Yang's everyday life. Edge of Elsewhere returns from last year's festival for its final engagement, connecting Chinatown to Campbelltown with a Thai mural painted in clothing, livestock-within-a-house-within-a-gallery and new animation from Brook Andrew. Brook Andrew also brings his black and white aesthetic to the Carriageworks, peppering its foyer with full-size caravans containing stories within for attendees to investigate in Travelling Colony. Andrew's foyer is part of the Black Capital season, along with 181 Regent Street's collection of memorabilia and images from the stellar history of indigenous performance. The University of Sydney will have Sydney ex-pat Narelle Jubelin cover its campus with art for Vision in Motion, painting windows with video, draping art all over some of the Uni's less Potteresque modernist architecture and adding petit-point with abandon. Architectural talks will accompany her exhibition, as well a showcasing of young designers' transformations of Cockatoo Island, Hyde Park and the University of Sydney into weirder spaces in youtopia. The Scope brings ideas back to the festival, featuring interviews with festival artists at Microscope, Ira Glass's radio revelations at the Opera House and three nights of Bright Club — which will bring a TED-like vibe to the Spiegeltent, forcing scores of University types to compete for belly-laughs live on stage, with only eight minutes allowed for their profundity. Back to Main Page
UPDATE, December 24, 2020: The Night Before is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Seth Rogen on drugs. It's as predictable a filmic theme these days as lens flares from J.J. or bleeding penises from Lars Von Trier. Good news is, if you're into that sort of thing (Rogen, not the…blood), then his latest flick The Night Before should keep you sufficiently chuckling from go to woe. Rogen's in wildly familiar territory here, spending almost the entirety of the movie completely off his nut. Joined by his 50/50 co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt and The Avengers' Anthony Mackie, The Night Before is like a prequel to The Hangover; a tale of three friends embarking upon the final run of their decade-long Christmas Eve partying tradition. Heavy drinking, karaoke, Chinese food and a search for the infamous yet illusive 'Nutcracker Ball' form the chapters of this quirky, crass film by director Jonathan Levine (Warm Bodies), and while there's very little new material here, those 'under the influence' staples are handled with an assured touch. The Night Before also boasts an extensive supporting cast, with amusing appearances from Mindy Kaling, Lizzy Caplan, Tracey Morgan, Jillian Bell, James Franco, Iliana Glazer, Miley Cyrus and – best of all – Michael Shannon as the philosophical drug dealer Mr Green. Shannon's character is as trippy as the visions he facilitates for his customers, but it's a fine performance that lends the film a touch of otherwise absent class. Predictably, there's not much of a plot to speak of, and what little there is suffers from more than a few glaring inconsistencies – most notably Rogen's heavily pregnant wife (Bell) playing both facilitator and chief critic of his yuletide drug binge. Still, story is rarely what beckons audiences to this genre, and the over-the-top set pieces do deliver a solid stream of pop culture nostalgia, stoner gags and crude one-liners to keep you chuckling throughout. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As1zja2shsA
Incongruous fact: Massive Attack were once heavily supported by Neneh Cherry. But that Robert Del Naja and Andrew Vowles returned the favour and worked on Raw Like Sushi is not too surprising. After all, the Bristol-based pair started out as producers and went on to influence artists from Mos Def to Madlib to Madonna (?), not to mention defining an entire genre. Now, the legendary trip hop duo is coming to Australia for the first time since 2003. Their fifth official album has generated muddled reviews, and the Guardian noted that they still sound as "listless" as ever, but fans of anything they made pre-2000 will know that this is, in fact, a great thing. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y5I7apl4s-0
Sydney, we know you love a food pop-up. Right now you're gearing up for Carriageworks' first spring night market and getting ready to cast your foodie eye over Wolli Creek's brand new makers and growers market. And we've got another one for you to add to your list. After two supremely successful June and July events, Gelato Messina is bringing their own mini food festival, Messina Eats, back for a third instalment. And this time they're going Filipino. Messina has teamed up with Melbourne Filipino BBQ masters Hoy Pinoy to create a meaty, smoky menu. They're known for their skewers which are always a big hit at the Night Noodle Markets and Melbourne's Queen Victoria Market, so naturally they'll be grilling some of those (both chicken and pork belly), along with Sisig na Baboy (chopped pork over flatbread) and chicken adobo fries. And for dessert? Purple yam soft serve with jackfruit puree, coconut jellies and puffed rice crunch served on a caramel custard base. Yurm. The whole thing will go down over two days on Saturday, September 3 and Sunday, September 4 in the carpark at Messina's Rosebery HQ. They'll be open from noon for lunch and dinner until sold out. Messina Eats will run from noon until sold out on September 3 and 4. Find more information here. UPDATE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 Due to heavy rain, Messina Eats have pushed the event back one day to run September 3-4. The above copy has been amended to reflect this.
Serving up loaded vegan sandwiches on Iggy's bread since 2018, Joe's Sandwich Bar is Sydney CBD haven for a hearty veg-heavy lunch that will cost what a sandwich should. Using the loaves of one of Sydney's best bakeries as a base for the piled-high sambos, Joe's really shines through its inventive meat-free fillings. Take the miso eggplant for example, which pairs sticky sweet slices of eggplant with furikake, avocado, Japanese slaw and pickled ginger. It's magnificent. Other options on the menu include a classic reuben created with tempeh instead of corned beef, a chipotle pumpkin number, the Joe's take on a BLAT, a smokey potato sambo and a chilli broccolini option. Located on Kent Street in the heart of the CBD, the sandwich shop is a great value option, offering its sangas for just $13.90 among streets filled with quick lunch options that tip well past $20. Just make sure to take your lunch break on time as the shop is only open 11.30am–2pm, Monday–Friday.
Sydney's autumn weather is looking to be mighty fine and while you can't picnic in a park or put back a pint in a pub, you can still enjoy the sunshine if you're exercising — while social distancing and in groups no larger than two, of course. And yes, swimming and surfing are exercise, meaning you might be able to hit up your local beach. In March, some of Sydney's most popular beaches were closed after crowds packed out Bondi Beach despite mass-gathering rules being in place and the government encouraging social distancing. Earlier this week saw some beaches reopen for exercise only, but there are still quite a few that are off-limits. Plus, not all open beaches have the same rules — some are opening for all exercise, some are only open for surfing and swimming, some are only open at certain times of the day. And of course, you must follow two-person gathering restrictions and maintain 1.5 metres between each other. If you disobey the restrictions, you'll risk an on-the-spot fine — in fact, Sydneysiders have already been slapped with infringements. Although many Sydney beaches are currently open for exercise, the federal and state government's restrictions on all non-essential travel still apply, so travelling to a beach outside your local area is not advised. This includes heading to an out-of-town coastal spot. In essence, don't do a Don. So where exactly can you exercise by or in the ocean? We've broken it down. The below information is correct as of Friday, May 8. We'll update as any new announcements are made. EASTERN SUBURBS On Monday, April 20, Randwick City Council reopened Maroubra, Clovelly and Coogee beaches for exercise, but on Friday, April 24, they were closed again temporarily due to non-compliance. On Tuesday, April 28 the council reopened all of its beaches for surfing, swimming and jogging, including Gordon's Bay, Congwong, Little Congwong, Frenchmans Bay, Malabar and Yarra Bay beaches. https://twitter.com/RandwickCouncil/status/1254659709707055104 As of Wednesday, May 6, Woollahra Municipal Council has reopened its beaches and harbourside pools with 'Swim & Go' measures, including Camp Cove, Double Bay Beach, Kutti Beach, Lady Martin's, Parsley Bay, Seven Shillings Beach, Rose Bay, Murray Rose Pool (Redleaf) and Watson Bay Baths. Some Sydney Harbour National Park beaches are open, including Shark Beach, Milk Beach and Lady Bay Beach. Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama are open from 7am to 5pm on weekdays only, with all "land-based activities" off-limits. While Bondi and Bronte is open for surfing and swimming, Tamarama and Mackenzies Bay will be surfing only. On May 1, Waverley Council announced that it "is likely" the beaches will be opened for periods of time on weekends, but has not made an official announcement yet. We'll let you know when it does. NORTHERN BEACHES AND NORTH SYDNEY On the northern beaches, select beaches are open for exercise only — that means surfing, swimming, running and walking — and two-person gathering restrictions still apply. Anyone sunbaking or gathering will be asked to move on. Dee Why, Freshwater, Manly, Shelly, North Steyne, Queenscliff, Paradise are all closed. Whereas Avalon, Great Mackerel, Claireville, North and South Curl Curl, Long Reef, Fairlight, Mona Vale, Newport, Palm Beach, Collaroy, Bilgola, Bungan, Clontarf, Fishermans Bay, Narrabeen, Turimetta, Warriewood and Whale Beach are open, some with lifeguard patrolling — check here for the most recent updates. Mosman Municipal Council beaches are open for exercise. A reminder here, though, that Sydneysiders are encouraged to stay local — and travelling across the city to exercise may not fly with police. https://www.facebook.com/beachescouncil/photos/a.200882286613294/3229617213739771/?type=3&theater SOUTH SYDNEY Sutherland Shire beaches are open for exercise, with restrictions on social distancing and maximum number of people in place. Bayside Council beaches have reopened for any form of exercise that "involves continuous movement". Meanwhile, much of the Royal National Park is currently closed, including access to beaches, but walking tracks are open for local residents. https://www.facebook.com/SutherlandShireCouncil/photos/a.406301249397011/3516012168425888/?type=3&theater 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. Top image: Maroubra Beach.
On-screen chemistry is just one of those things that either happens or it doesn't. Directors and producers crave it and pray for it, just as they know they can neither control it nor create it. It's not a question of acting ability or great writing or even casting; it's just luck. Plain old luck. Will your actors get along well in real life, and will that chemistry translate onto the screen? Thankfully for director David Ayer (Training Day) and his new film, End of Watch, the rapport between Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña is so remarkable, it takes a good movie and turns it into something great. The two play a pair of brash young LA cops whose daily routine is rocked by the discovery of a major Mexican drug cartel operating right within their own neighbourhood. For the two actors, playing police officers made the task of achieving a believable relationship even more important, since it's successful partnerships that can often prove the difference between life and death out on patrol. Before filming began, Gyllenhaal and Peña actually spent five months driving around with and observing the LAPD in order to supplement their own natural chemistry with every tiny mannerism, expression and act of non-verbal communication they could capture. The results speak for themselves. Their chemistry makes this movie, serving up equal doses of laughter, tenderness, and unbearable tension. Presented through the entirely unnecessary device of 'found footage', it's a consistently violent story; however, the action is never without merit. Much like Training Day, the stakes are higher because the film and characters feel real, which ultimately makes End of Watch something of an exhausting experience to sit through. That's no criticism, however, and Ayer's smart script and direction deserve credit for deftly drawing you into the gritty and unpredictable world of law enforcement, right alongside those who occupy it, suffer by it, and sometimes even die for it.
If you needed a new reason to make the journey to Palm Beach, we have it here. After six months of renovations from new owners The Boathouse Group, longstanding Palm Beach venue Barrenjoey House reopened in mid-December — just in time for the summer holidays. The heritage-listed restaurant and guesthouse is the eighth venture by the Sydney hospitality group, which, headed up by husband and wife team Pip and Andrew Goldsmith, runs various Boathouse venues around Sydney. Most recently, the group opened the Boathouse Hotel just across the way in Patonga. Barrenjoey House has retained its original name, but follow a similar blueprint to the new Patonga venue. The restaurant offers table service for lunch and dinner, and seven small guest rooms will be available to book from early 2019. That said, the group has paid homage to the old building and its waterside location by refreshing the interiors with its signature coastal feel — think shell mirrors, wooden furnishings, banquette seating and local art. The menu has a focus on fresh local produce and seafood takes centre stage. The casual nature of the restaurant means that you can pop in for a snack — maybe kingfish ceviche or fried calamari — after a swim at the beach or you can book in for lunch or dinner. Main dishes include rare yellowfin tuna spaghetti, a Murray Cod with fennel, orange and cucumber, and an Eye Fillet with good old-fashioned mashed potato and green beans. Sweet tooths will be pleased with the dessert options that include a strawberry sundae and a peanut butter parfait. The drinks list continues with the seaside atmosphere, with cocktails like a coconut mojito and a cucumber cooler on the menu. Beer, cider and non-alcoholic beverage options are available, too, and the extensive wine list could easily see you lose a lazy summer's afternoon. And seeing as you've ventured this far north, make a day of it and walk up to Barrenjoey Lighthouse for panoramic ocean views, or take the 15-minute ferry ride across to Patonga for more coastal vibes.
Just when you thought the celebrations were over, the Festivus pole keeps on giving with this beauty: a George Costanza-themed bar. Yep, the Seinfeld character and undisputed Lord of the Idiots himself has provided the inspiration for a whole damn bar, which officially opened in Melbourne last night. George's Bar reads exactly like those mates who have watched every episode of the NBC comedy six times, quote it constantly and emulate a Jerry Seinfeld-esque vibe. Unsurprisingly, co-owner Dave Barrett is one of those people, and told The Age that the idea to theme the bar arose because they just "really like Seinfeld". The bar, which is located in the city's inner north, is filled with signed Seinfeld memorabilia, paste-ups, and will serve well-named toasties and cocktails such as The Hand Model and The Art Vandalay. Expect many a Costanza quote. As far as themed bars go, this is definitely one of the most interesting — and pop culturally significant — to open for a while. Novelty factor is at an all-time high. Book a trip to Melbourne and let the Summer of George commence. George's Bar is located in Melbourne at 120 Johnston Street, Fitzroy and is open 6pm - late daily. For more info, visit their Facebook page. Via The Age.
Fancy hitting the road for a camping adventure, but don't have quite the right wheels for it? Before you fork out the big bucks to hire from a rental company, meet Camplify — a new Aussie sharing platform for campervans and RVs that works a bit like Airbnb. Using the peer-to-peer rental platform, owners can rent out their vehicles when they're not in use (read: gathering dust in the garage). As for hirers, they can get a taste of caravanning life whenever they like, without actually having to own one themselves. Each party has a Camplify profile, owners approve each hire and reviews are exchanged via the platform. The prices are reasonable too, starting at around $30 per night for a standard camper trailer. A caravan will cost you about $80, while that top-of-the-line luxury motorhome you hire for a romantic weekend getaway might see you stretching to $500. For minimal effort, you can even have the vehicle and gear set up for you at a campsite or holiday park, so it's holiday-ready as soon as you rock up. Insurance is covered in the cost, as well as Australia-wide roadside assistance from Camplify's mates at NRMA. Share your own caravan, or start planning that camping trip, over at Camplify.
Who inspires iconic directors? Other great filmmakers. So when Martin Scorsese names the talents that've helped blaze a trail for him and his work, everyone should pay attention. Ousmane Sembène, the Senegalese filmmaker who has been called "the father of African cinema", isn't just worth celebrating because he has Scorsese's admiration — but it's a helluva tick of approval. The late, great Sembène, who passed away at the age of 84 in 2007, is earning Sydney Film Festival's love in 2024. Each year, the fest includes a retrospective showcase honing in on one filmmaker's work — and Sembène's pictures will be in the spotlight from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16. Starting with 1966's Prix Jean Vigo-winning Black Girl, nine features are on the lineup. While retrospectives can sometimes function as a way to compile the output of a filmmaker that's already widely available anyway, just akk in one spot, the Ousmane Sembène — A Revolutionary with a Camera program is filled with flicks that you won't just find at the press of a button on streaming or at your local cinema's flashback sessions. Also on the bill from the director's big-screen looks at African life: Mandabi, Emitaï, Xala and Ceddo through till the end of the 70s, then 1988's Camp de Thiaroye, 1992's Guelwaar and Sembène's final feature Moolaadé. Three of his shorts round out the program, which comes a year after the centenary of the director's birth, with Borom Sarret, Niaye and Tauw playing in front of select full-length films.
Inner City Cycles has been a Glebe local for four decades. Its selection of bicycles includes a range of road and mountain bikes, as well as hybrid and electric models, and cycles for kids who are just getting started. The store stocks Giant and XDS e-bikes, as well as Liv road bikes and hybrids, and Southern Cross mountain bikes to name a few — which makes it a good place to start if you're open to the style and type of bike. [caption id="attachment_777017" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cassandra Hannagan[/caption] As well as its impressive bike catalogue, Inner City Cycles also has your bicycle repair needs covered. You can opt for a service and degrease, tube change or tyre change in the workshop. The mechanic is in store from Monday to Friday. Images: Cassandra Hannagan
2020 didn't bring much that sparked joy, but it did let Sydneysiders wander through a large-scale, multi-sensory Vincent van Gogh exhibition that projected Dutch master's works onto walls, columns and floors. In 2021, art lovers will be able to repeat the feat, this time with a heap of French Impressionist masterpieces — because Monet & Friends — Life, Light & Colour is heading to town from March. The idea behind Monet & Friends is the same as its predecessor. It stems from the same team as well. As you wander around the Royal Hall of Industries in Moore Park from Friday, March 12, you'll feast more than just your eyes on huge projections of Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas' work. Light, colour, sound and fragrance are also all part of the exhibition, which is designed to make you feel as if you're walking right into the hefty array of paintings. The list of 19th- and early 20th-century artists showcased goes on, too, including Édouard Manet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Berthe Morisot, Alfred Sisley and Mary Cassatt. Also featured are Gustave Caillebotte, Armand Guillaumin and Henri-Edmond Cross, plus Paul Signac and Georges Seurat. Once more, the project is the brainchild of Melbourne-based Grande Exhibitions, which, for the past 16 years, has hosted immersive exhibitions and gallery experiences in over 145 cities around the world. The company also owns and operates Rome's Museo Leonardo da Vinci. For Monet & Friends, it's once again using state-of-the-art technology that combines 40 high-definition projectors to create multi-channel visuals, all while a classical musical score accompanies the vibrant colours in cinema-quality surround sound. When you're peering at pieces by the 15 featured artists, you'll be doing so in a socially distanced setting — with visitor numbers restricted to maintain enough space (which will exceed the one person per four-square-metres required by New South Wales' COVID-19 rules). So, that means that you'll have less company than you'd usually expect at a big exhibition of French Impressionist art. It also means that sessions are probably likely to get booked out quicker than normal, though.
