As an artist, Sydney-born Siouxzi Mernagh is uncommonly dexterous. Mernagh writes and performs poetry, she’s a photographer (polaroids are her specialty), an award-winning filmmaker (she's made eight short films, including most recently The Dangers and Exit), and a novelist, having already scrivened two novels, the latest of which is The Peep Show. Mernagh is also adroit in a more theoretical mode, having recently finished her fellowship at Berlin's Institute of Cultural Inquiry, where she produced her seventh film, and published a number of reviews on avante-garde, underground, and counter cinema. Mernagh's latest project, PEEP, is an art installation and a conceptual synthesis of her experimental film Exit and her book The Peep Show. And when one considers ALASKA Projects as the show's exhibition space — subaltern, cavernous, mysteriously hidden in the basement of a carpark — it strikes that the titles of Mernagh’s works function as shepherding metonyms for our total experience of seeing art, and specifically Mernagh’s installation, in this extraordinary site. Among its own various ‘exits’, for example, ALASKA surreptitiously offers a ‘peep show’ through which we may see the art world ‘outside’. Likewise, PEEP offers only a small, but strangely representative peek at Mernagh’s larger ouevre as a multidisciplinary artmaker. The first eight chapters of The Peep Show, for instance, are viewable in the form of pasted-up extracts around the carpark walls, but they remain only a glimpse of the larger story. Especially effective is the use to which Mernagh puts ALASKA’s stairwell, which now functions as a dark antechamber and as a direct earline to the subconscious. In this strange, liminal zone voices we might expect only ever to hear in our heads, while reading, become spookily real and resonant in a voice performance of Mernagh’s novel. All the same, we’re confused: stuck between floors and wedged between paragraphs, one can never quite be certain of one’s place within the narrative, let alone within the gallery. In the main room, meanwhile, amid a muddy mattress and some discarded clothes and furniture, different sequences of Exit (Mernagh’s filmic ode to life on a lost highway, and a love story between two nomadic young women) play all at once on a quadrant of screens. Profoundly cinematic, thoroughly underground, unsettling and dissociating, the overall effect of PEEP is original and beguiling. Alaska Projects opens 6-8pm Thursday & Friday nights, 1-6pm on weekends.
There's something I really love about an Aardman film: I get all nostalgic about the days of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, for one, but mostly it's that in each of their films or shows, there's always a point where suddenly you stop and think, "Holy fuck, they made that with plasticine." Despite the fact that these days they apparently use some more technical material, the hand-sculpted models in The Pirates! Band of Misfits never fail to impress with their detail and depth. The story follows the Pirate Captain and his titular misfit band of followers as they try to win the Pirate of the Year competition. In attempting to terrorise as many ships as possible to claim the best booty, the Pirate Captain instead stumbles across Charles Darwin, who encourages them to go about their win in a slightly different fashion. Voiced by Hugh Grant, David Tennant, Martin Freeman, Brendan Gleeson and Imelda Staunton, this is a fun film that manages to avoid the pitfalls of trying to offer wink-wink jokes to parents while simultaneously distracting kids with the pretty colours. The adventure is daring and crazy, the characters are loveable, and the more than 500 days of production effort that went into the film are more than enough to keep you giggling along in your seat. Extra points go to Staunton's Queen Victoria, who somewhat takes the niceties out of the traditional portrayal.
Opening the show as the first temporary exhibition for the newly-refurbished MCA is an exhibition whose focus settles on the passing moments. Marking Time has assembled eleven artists from Australia and beyond whose work focuses on the ticking of the clock. In Daniel Crooks' Static No. 12 time gets stretched like a physical thing, from one side of the screen to the other. Its two moving images, of a man practising Tai Chi, see his movements ripple from past to future. Elisa Sighicelli's Untitled (The Party is Over) sucks fireworks back to the instant of their explosion and Lindy Lee's Conflagrations from the End of Time suspends burnt scrolls along the wall, their marks like little stars. As well as the art itself, the Museum is running a program of talks, screening Christian Marclay's epic the Clock and running Celestial Radio's entry in the Local Positioning Systems selection of performance art. Still from Static No. 12 (seek stillness in movement) by Daniel Crooks.
A mix of sculpture and video installation feature at Shoot from the Hip, Lauren Brincat’s first solo show at a private gallery. Southeasterlies to the Doldrums' full-size sail dominates the room, drooped from the ceiling to a low corner mounting. Fronds of magnetic cassette tape dangle from its underside, shaggy mushrooms under the sail's cavernous ceiling. On opposite sides of the room, coloured pyramids Your Move and Golden Stranger are perplexing to the eye. Made from three triangular beams of wood with their pointed edge outward and the colour inside, each seems to disappear inwards like feet rolling on their arches. Doldrums, meanwhile, hosts a pair of cymbals facing each other expectantly, like speaker cones waiting for a fresh head to come between them. Three pairs of video artworks sit along the far wall. Brincat has labelled each a “documentation of an action”, and in the exhibition’s accompanying essay, Tania Doropoulos describes their cyclical moments as having been “based in childhood memories.” Snare the Sea holds a drum by the lip of the sea, as surging waves roll in and bang it. In Dressing Down, a woman sits and stares into the middle distance. Behind her, someone slowly drags damp cotton whool over her eyes. Carciofo Arcimboldo films Brincat eating an artichoke, leaf by leaf, discarding its husks. She looks forward: pensive, concentrating. Wisps of Carravaggio seem to lurk in its folds and shadows, and the flattened profile suggests an oil painting. Steady as She Goes, the show's poster image, has Brincat walk past us into the distance, between green grass and pre-Raphaelite mist. The mist and grass form a swirl across the diagonal, the whole scene moodily invoking a lone moment in the country. For all of these video works, the narrow depth of field combined with the high resolution make them seem like flowing moments of painting, or still photography.
In the Seventies, when Jamaican music ran rife with reggae beats, an energetic new genre called dancehall began to make waves. As dancehall’s often controversial lyrics boomed from stereo systems across the nation, a new breed of dance and subsequent dance parties took shape. Most interestingly, vibrant advertising for the new culture began to turn people’s heads all over the world. Sydney artist Robin Clare, who was born in Jamaica, has based a new exhibition around the edgy Pop Art-inspired advertisements that helped shape Jamaica’s musical identity. A repetition of prints a la Andy Warhol style, blended with bold and wacky text (which makes reference to some of the out-there dancehall party promotional slogans) create eye-catching artworks, filled with added nostalgia. Modern day Jamaican advertisements for have also been incorporated into Clare’s multi-sized collections of prints. But no dancehall-inspired art exhibition would be complete without some wicked beats to accompany it. The Large, a London dancehall-inspired DJ will hit the decks during the night. She’s one part of the Hipsters Don’t Dance DJ collective as well as one of the editors behind the popular dancehall online zine, Shimmy Shimmy. Dancing shoes required.
Artist Kevina-jo Smith could be described as a little obsessive. Ribbon, twine, bottles, plastic bags: what other people throw, she collects. This collecting is driven by what in someone less creative might be an almost crippling environmental consciousness. Luckily, Smith is an inspiringly creative person so what for others would be trash becomes, in her hands, vivid treasures. Three Years of Everything is a literal title. Pieces of string and torn shopping bags are painstakingly reworked into abstract textural pieces. It's tempting to read these in a number of ways: as timelines, tracing stories in her past, or perhaps as sheltering forms, tents or blankets. But perhaps the best way to read these works is simply to sink into them. Through the woven loops, a fortunate viewer might even catch a glimpse of a more optimistic future. Penrith Regional Gallery feels like a particularly appropriate place for this work. Modernist architect Sydney Ancher's influence still resonates throughout. The gentle, low and open architecture of the rooms is at one with the surrounding environment, only a hop from the banks of the Nepean River. And it's telling that the gallery has grown from the home of two artists: intimacy and warmth still emanate from the walls. The garden is something that deserves comment in its own right, and I was disappointed to get only a vague impression of this on the launch evening. Only more reason for a return visit. Right now, actually, would be a good time to do so. The Pick, a program which features work from non-artists, is currently exhibiting drawings by Shayne Roberts. He is the gallery's Heritage Gardener, and his works are accompanied by brief histories of the Lewers, the aforementioned artists, and the site. In what was once the Lewers house is a joint exhibition from John Nicholson and Justin Trendall, two artists inspired - like the Lewers - by early Modernism. And the mixed exhibition, tellingly titled Hello Dollies, is both playful and surprising.
And we thought catching some of the country's finest cinematic works was reason enough to book tickets. In only its third year, the Australian Film Festival will offer Sydneysiders a chance to get their hands dirty in the world of film with a range of seminars, workshops and outdoor screenings. Across 11 days, Clovelly Beach will play venue to a Saturday night screening of Red Dog, starring Josh Lucas and Rachael Taylor, film editing and screenwriting classes will be held, a short film competition will be judged and a lineup of fabulous local films will be screened. And just to ensure there are no white spaces in the diary, Deborah Mailman and Barry Otto will be inducted into the Australian Walk of Fame and also receive plaques on the footpath outside Randwick's gorgeous old Ritz Cinema. Film wise, book now to see Swerve, featuring Emma Booth and Vince Colosimo; LBF (Living Between F***s), featuring Toby Schmitz and Gracie Otto; Burning Man, a story about an English chef working on Bondi Beach who tries to reconnect with his son; and more. We're also hanging out for the Australian Directors Guild's Directors Panel discussion, where the likes of Kerry Armstrong, Rowan Woods and more will talk shop for a couple of hours. Plenty to look forward to, really.
Though it’s stolen much international limelight, and not to mention that little Best Picture gong at last month’s Oscars, The Artist wasn’t the only stellar film to come out of France in 2011. Judging by the talent this year’s French Film Festival is boasting, there’s plenty more where that came from. In its 23rd annual showing and across four Sydney venues, Alliance Francaise will present another quality collection of cinematic experiences. Staged at Palace Norton Street and Paddington’s Palace Verona as well as the nearby Chauvel Cinema and Cremorne’s Orpheum Theatre, films such as the highly acclaimed Declaration Of War, which received a 15-minute standing ovation at Cannes last year, and Jane Birkin’s documentary Souvenirs of Serge are bound to attract crowds. Film lovers will be especially treated on the evening of Thursday, 15 March when Birkin herself will stage an in-person Q&A with her audience. An unbelievably hot ticket, though there’s a string of similarly impressive events outlined on the festival’s website. Other bound-to-be-popular films will include the two new Audrey Tautou flicks, Against The Wind and Delicacy, as well as the new provocative Juliette Binoche drama, Elles. As last year’s festival attracted about 100,000 people across the country, you’d best start reserving those seats now. To win one of ten Festival passes, just make sure you are subscribed to Concrete Playground then email your postal address through to hello@concreteplayground.com.au
The duo behind some of Sydney's fine-dining greats is trying its hand at something new this spring: pizza. Yep, Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt, whose restaurants include Barangaroo's seafood-focused Cirrus Dining, award-winning Bentley and wine bar Monopole, are putting down the tweezers and picking up a pizza peel for their latest culinary trick. Called Ria Pizza + Wine, the new restaurant is set to open inside Monopole's old Potts Point digs this spring. As announced earlier this winter, the eight-year-old wine bar is relocating to Hunter Street in the CBD in October and will serve its last meals on Macleay Street this September. But, the restaurant won't be empty for long. After a quick refresh, the space will reopen in November as Ria, which is set to be casual and fun, with crisp sourdough pizzas, snacks and small dishes. "Nick and I both love pizza and we have always joked about starting our own pizza place," Chef Savage said in a statement. "When we decided to relocate Monopole to the CBD, we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to launch the concept in Potts Point". Savage says the pizza won't be Italian or American in style, but "Australian". So, in true Savage style, expect plenty of local ingredients sourced direct from farmers and growers. Whether any pizzas will pay homage to the restaurant's predecessor is still up for debate — salt cod brandade or scallops and sweet corn atop pizza? I wouldn't say no — but, Monopole's greatest hits will be returning to the menu from Thursday, September 3 for a final run. Similarly, Hildebrandt's well-known wine ethos will also shine through at Ria — albeit on a significantly smaller scale. At the moment, Monopole has upwards of 500 bottles, whereas Ria's list is expected to be "short and considered". Find Ria Pizza + Wine at 71 Macleay Street, Potts Point from early November. Monopole will close in late September before reopening on Hunter Street in October. Top image: Monopole by Letícia Almeida.
If you're a New South Wales resident with a trip to South Australia in your future, this chaotic year might have just interrupted your plans. With a growing cluster of COVID-19 cases identified in the South Australian capital over the past few days, the NSW Government has advised the state's inhabitants to avoid going to SA for the time being if possible. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, November 18, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that "as a precaution, if you don't have to go there in the next few days, delay your travel." She also explained that NSW isn't shutting its border to SA, but is asking folks to be cautious. "The borders are completely open, but if it's not essential travel, think about if you want to go in the next few days." The travel advice marks a role reversal of sorts between the two states, with NSW residents restricted from entering SA for a period this year when it was experiencing its own spike of coronavirus cases — until the latter reopened its border to the former in late September. But if you're a Sydneysider dreaming of heading to SA for a wine-fuelled holiday anytime soon, you might want to rethink those plans. NSW might not have closed its borders to SA, but it joins a growing number of Australian states and territories that are being wary about the new cluster. Queensland has shut its borders to all local government areas in Adelaide, while Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory have also introduced new entry requirements for SA residents, or those who've visited the state. In WA and Tassie's case, both states had only just started reopening to folks from the rest of the country over the past few weeks. Victoria has also declared SA a hotspot, but isn't shutting its border. https://twitter.com/SAHealth/status/1328591909821046789 At the time of writing, based on the last figures announced by SA Health on Tuesday, November 17, South Australia has 34 active cases of COVID-19 — with 20 confirmed cases linked to the current cluster, and 14 other people suspected of being linked to the cluster but awaiting their test results. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website.
It has been a long time between dances for Sydney. Outside of a brief two-week window when indoor dance floors of 50 people were allowed before being restricted again due to the northern beaches COVID-19 cluster, it's been over a year since dance floors were shut down in NSW. This Saturday, the drought will be broken, as 2000 people will be allowed to dance in The Domain as part of Summer in the Domain. Following the NSW Government's announcement that a slew of restrictions would be rolled-back from Monday, March 29, including any restrictions on dancing, Summer in the Domain has been granted a public health exemption and will be allowed to open up the dance floors a couple of days early and host Sydney's first major dancing-permitted music event in 12 months. The CBD concert series was first scheduled to take place between Thursday, March 18 and Sunday, March 21, however extreme weather conditions saw the final two nights delayed to the following weekend. As it stands, a trio of party-starters – Client Liaison, Confidence Man and Touch Sensitive – will all take to the stage on Saturday, March 27 and Vera Blue will take part in a special one-off performance alongside the Sydney Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, March 28. [caption id="attachment_804132" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ball Park Music at Summer in the Domain[/caption] Tickets for Summer in the Domain are purchased in pods of two, four or six where each group is given a private picnic table to sit at. This pod system will be kept this weekend in order to maintain social distancing between strangers, however dancing with your pod-mates around the picnic table will be permitted. Food trucks and a bar will also be on site so you can enjoy a meal between sets or a G&T during the show. Summer in the Domain will continue on Saturday, March 27 and Sunday, March 28. Tickets to both shows are still available via Moshtix and start at $82 per person. Images: Cole Bennetts
It was an ill-designed defence mechanism at the time of the first white settlers, then a pretty awful place for convicts. Now, one of Sydney's most historic harbour spots and recently a pretty fancy schmancy dining destination, Fort Denison has announced the return of its summer drinks and dining series, Sunday Sunsets. That's right, Sundays from now on? Fortress parties y'all. You'll be able to sail on out to Fort Denison Restaurant for Sunday afternoons of cocktails, food, nature walks and live music every Sunday from November 6 until the end of January 2017. Sides and mains for a two-course sit-down sunset dinner are included in the ticket, so prepare to load up on kingfish carpaccio, lamb short ribs with pomegranate and mint, crispy skin Humpty Doo Barramundi, roast Hunter Valley pork belly, Wagyu beef cheeks and Muscovy duck breasts. Chuck in a National Parks tour of the heritage site, as well as a little acid jazz and R&B from resident DJ and saxophonist Zak (a multitalented, multitasking dude is Zak), and you've got yourself a supremo Sydney date. There'll be water taxis from Circular Quay included in the ticket price, with the last service departing from CQ at 6.30pm — so you can make it a pretty long lazy Sunday. You'll have book though, to ensure your spot on the fortress, so check out the session times and prices on the website and lock in your spot. UPDATE NOVEMBER 18, 2016: Due to demand, Fort Denison are extending their Sunday Sunset Sessions to include four Fridays this year: November 18, and December 2, 9 and 16.
Two top-notch Thai chefs are joining forces for Sydney's inaugural Taste of Thailand Food Festival. Taking place at Café Mix, within the Shangri-La Hotel in The Rocks, from April 20-29, this decadent event features a cornucopia of flavours, colours and textures from Northern Thailand. Think tropical fruit, freshwater fish, fragrant spices, lush herbs and chefs who aren't afraid to experiment. One such chef is Pawitra In-Eya, who hails from Shangri-La Hotel, Chiang Mai. The hotel group is flying the talented chef here specifically for the festival, to work alongside Aum, head chef at Darlinghurst's Moon, who's known for blending traditional Thai cooking with fine dining techniques. Together, the chefs will create an epic buffet. Just some of the dishes to look out for are beef cheek khao soi , 72-hour braised ribs with tamarind glaze, steamed sea bass with chilli-lime sauce (pla neung manao) and black lip mussels in a spiced coconut broth. After sampling these savoury delights, head to the dessert station. Here, you'll find everything from mango sticky rice to tab tim krob — a traditional Thai dessert made from water chestnuts and sweetened coconut milk — and desserts by pastry chef Anna Polyviou. The Taste of Thailand buffet is open for dinner every night from 6pm to 9.30pm and for lunch on weekends from midday till 2.30pm. Usually it'll set you back $65 (for all-you-can-eat, mind you) but if you head in for dinner on a Friday or Saturday night it'll cost $85 — because you'll have access to the hotel's decadent seafood buffet, with fresh oysters, crab, lobster and much, much more. To make a booking, head here. The festival is presented in partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thai Airways International.
Staring at art is easy. Getting into collecting it doesn't always prove the case, however. You might have bare walls and empty shelves positively screaming to be filled, but you also may not know where to start. Our suggestion: Carriageworks' Cut N Polish: Artist Car Boot Sale, which is exactly what it sounds like. Actually, it's even better, because it's bringing together a whopping 90-plus Greater Sydney artists to sell their works directly to the public. From 11am–5pm on Sunday, May 1 at Carriageworks' Blacksmiths' Workshop, no one will be standing in the middle of you and these supremely talented folks — and no one will be taking commission and reducing the funds that'd otherwise go to the artists, either. You'll also get to meet fabulous creatives, chat to them about their work and hear their stories while you're supporting their practices via a cash-and-carry setup. The brainchild of Consuelo Cavaniglia, Jonny Niesche and Brendan Van Hek, Cut N Polish will feature emerging and established artists alike — such as Emma Maye Gibson (aka Betty Grumble), Tully Arnot, Will Cooke and Izabela Pluta, as well as artist collective Dirt Witches (who you might know from their Romance Was Born and Tom Polo collabs). Entry is free, and prices will start from $50 — with everything from art, ceramics, prints and sculptures to clothes, art books and plants on offer. And, because all that browsing and buying is hungry and thirsty work, Sonoma, Bar Pho and more will be on food and drink duty. Top image: Toby Peet.
God of Carnage begins with two sets of parents sitting down in a modern Parisian apartment to discuss a fight that occurred between their children. What starts out as quite civilized, rapidly descends into a maelstrom of tears, name-calling and fist-fights. The play seems to have a bit of an identity crisis. It’s weighty sounding title and some of the subject matter suggests that it’s a serious examination into the violence and barbarism that lies beneath the thin veneer of civility. It’s not.What it is, is a very well realised comedy of manners for yuppies, backed by an impressive ensemble cast including acclaimed actors Sascha Horler and Russel Dykstra, as well as E-Street heart-throb, Marcus Graham. All the performances are top notch but the standout is relative unknown Helen Thomson who steals the show as an uptight businesswoman. Over the course of the play she tears the apartment apart and releases the most gratuitous arc of fake theatre vomit you will ever see. God of Carnage is a tightly executed, bawdy night out and an excellent excuse to see some great actors tearing up the scenery. Literally.
The pairings for this year's Redlands Konica Minolta Prize have just been announced, giving you a glimpse into the future of Australian art. For those unfamiliar, this unique annual award couples together emerging and established artists to produce new works. In its 18th year, the prize is as important as ever in building and reflecting on some of the best artistic practices that have burst forth in recent years. Aimed at fostering mentoring relationships between different generations of visual artists, previous participants have included the likes of Ben Quilty, Tim Storrier and Julie Rrap. This year's prize will be curated by the highly regarded painter, Tim Johnson. Among the participating established artists are Reg Mombassa, whose iconic imagery has infiltrated Australian culture over the past 30 years, and Simryn Gill, who has previously represented Australia at the prestigious Venice Biennale. This collaborative and cutting-edge exhibition will showcase a variety of media, from painting, sculpture and drawing, through to photography and new media. Spanning a whopping six decades of artistic talent, the works will be judged on April 10, and exhibited at the National Art School Gallery from April 11.
There's chocolate (like the kind you buy two weeks after Easter from Coles for half price) and then there's chocolate. Rich chocolate melted and drizzled over crunchy waffles, chocolate syrup oozing out of a molten lava cake, warm chocolate leaking out of choc lumps in a freshly baked cookie... Alright, now that we have your attention and your mind is on chocolate (i.e. the right place), you might be interested to know that Cloud 9, that chocolate café in Newtown, is opening up in three new locations. That's three times the amount of this: A photo posted by C9 Chocolate & Gelato (@c9chocolateandgelato) on Oct 23, 2015 at 2:52am PDT They've obviously been doing pretty well for themselves because they'll be opening three new locations around Sydney, at Little Saigon Plaza in Bankstown, Darlinghurst and Crows Nest. The opening dates are still vague but, according to the C9 Facebook, we can expect the Bankstown branch to be open very soon, with Darlinghurst following towards the end of May. The expansions have been in the works for a few months and construction seems to be coming to an end according to the construction company in charge of the build, HPCG. The Bankstown fit-out is slightly more industrial than the OG Newtown version but you can expect the same ridiculously ice cream sandwiches, waffles pizzas, sundaes and other delish chocolate treats inside. The original C9 Chocolate Cafe is located at 199 King Street, Newtown. Locations in Bankstown, Darlinghurst and Crows Nest are to follow. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates.
If you're anything like the rest of us, you've probably spent this year getting tired of your own four walls and yearning for more greenery. There's an easy response to both of those feelings: plants. Add a few to your home, and it'll seem like you've given it a makeover — and you'll have some leafy new company, too. Fancy nabbing yourself a free succulent, and spending time at Burwood Chinatown? Across the next four Saturdays — November 14, 21 and 28, plus December 5 — that's on the agenda. Head on down at 9.30am, and you can score one of 200 free plants. There are 50 on offer each week thanks to Sydney Pop Up Plants, and it's all on a first-come, first-served basis. Like many giveaways, there are a few rules. It's a strictly one-plant-per-person affair, unsurprisingly. And, you will need to follow @burwoodchinatown on Instagram or Wechat and @sydneypopupplants on Instagram to score a freebie.
Watching a couple mourning the death of their son was never going to be happy fun times in the cinema. For that reason many may avoid venturing down the Rabbit Hole, but for those willing to do so, you are rewarded with a truly exquisite film. Exquisitely raw and painful, sure, but also richly humane and deeply cathartic, for David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer and Tony award winning play is nothing short of a masterpiece. Lindsay-Abaire adapted his own work, with director John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus) bringing to the screen the story of Becca and Howie Corbett (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart), a once golden couple who are still reeling from the death of their son eight months before. In frustrated fits and starts they attempt to reassemble their fractured existence, but this is increasingly occurring in isolation from each other. Becca finds a certain solace meeting Jason (Miles Teller), the teenage driver responsible for the accident that killed her son, while for Howie, it's Gaby (Sandra Oh), a veteran from group therapy, who provides the kind of emotional — and chemical — support he needs. This all sounds terribly earnest and dour, but the real genius of Lindsay-Abaire's writing is that it's laced with the most gloriously dark humour. Becca in particular makes use of a biting sarcasm, which is directed at everyone from other couples in group therapy, to her mother (Dianne Wiest) whose loving overtures are brutally, and comically, shut down. Kidman is simply sublime in this Oscar nominated role; able to evoke the abyss of pain alongside the scathing humour with such and impressively light touch. This is master class acting, and she's well supported by an emotionally bare Eckhart and the no-nonsense compassion of Wiest. But it is Teller who surprises the most in a beautifully calibrated and honest feature debut. The scenes he shares with Kidman take the film to a whole new level, though all are pitch perfectly directed by Cameron Mitchell. People in pain are not unlike newborn children, wailing and railing about as they try to get their legs back under them. But what Rabbit Hole so powerfully portrays is that in amongst this desperate keening, there is a wealth of humour to be found. And eventually, a glimmer of grace. https://youtube.com/watch?v=2vXjg_UApr4
It's not often after a play that the production manager says, half-jokingly, “I'm sure you're all devastated right now.” But this is the thing. Africa is completely devastating. Devised by My Darling Patricia under writer-director Halcyon Macleod, Africa combines puppets, actors and projection to shed light on the dark continent of domestic degradation. Beautiful, yes. But so heart-wrenching that the puppets haunt you long after the curtain falls and they have become inert objects again. It’s impossible not to empathise with the fate of these manipulated dolls; the perfect medium to dramatise the stark disconnect between reality and imagination. The stage is a domestic wilderness; its many levels are strewn with household debris, trashed toys, and broken appliances. The adults are played by actors, and the three children are bought to life by big-eyed, shrunken-faced puppets. There are two worlds here - the children's space, inhabited by the puppets, and the adults' domain, partly obscured by an opaque screen. The four-tiered set enables us to take on a child's perspective; in the style of cartoons like Tom & Jerry, the adults appear from the waist down. When they enter the children's space, it often pre-empts a horrific scene of verbal or physical abuse. Perhaps there are three worlds, not two – because, of course, there's also Africa; the promised land, the longed-for place. The play is based on the story of two German children who ran away from unhappy homes to live like The Lion King. Courtney, her baby sister, and the skinny-shanked Cheety cuddle up, spellbound, before a nature documentary about Africa. It’s cute when instantly, they identify as pink flamingo, baby zebra, and ferocious leopard, but it's crushing that their happiness is dependent on the absence of adults. Puppet shows are usually associated with comedy, but go see Africa and you’ll discover how hard the downward glance of an inanimate character can pull at your heart strings. The sound design crucially monitors the action and provides momentum as the children strive to reach their African savanna. The use of found objects allows for the staging of the patently impossible, as a giant pink flamingo rises majestically out of domestic detritus. It’s a shattering representation of endangered childhood and the quest for something better, and will make you marvel at how convincingly characters made of wood, rods and levers can emote. Image by Jeff Busby.
The Coming World starts off promisingly with a playful display of physical affection between two ridiculously attractive people, but it soon becomes clear that their reach exceeds their grasp in terms of personal happiness. The same could perhaps be said of this play in terms of its conceptual aspirations. Written by Pulitizer award-winning playwright Christopher Shinn, it's a Woody Allen sort of love story, where the path from beginning to end is potholed and eroded. After being robbed of a stash of ecstasy pills, Dora's flaky ex-lover Ed is left in hock to a mobster. He forms a desperate plan to do over the video store where Dora works. At this point, The Coming World is reminiscent of Run Lola Run , but the script is a little harder to follow and substantially heavier on dialogue. Dora finds herself drawn reluctantly into Ed's scheme as one way of escaping the drudgery of peddling mass-produced fantasies at Blockbuster. It's only when Ed's estranged twin brother appears on the scene that the importance of the past in defining the future becomes not only obvious, but crucial. It's not that The Coming World hasn't got its moments — there is some really wonderful dialogue filled with dramatic tension and a sort of hyper-poignancy. The problem is that in tackling the big themes of truth, love, loss and recovery, it taste-tests too many types of ambiguity and trips over its own imprecise perceptions. Ultimately, what undermines this production is the very thing it investigates — the impossibility of achieving your ideal. It leaves you nonplussed and uncertain of your capacity to cope with the isolating impact of technology in the coming world.
Songs of rapture? Yay! Songs of torture? Okay. Sarah Jane Norman's quartet of performances has steadily evolved since 2007 when #1 (Surabaya Johnny) was presented at Performance Space. It is comprised of three durational works and one performance staged for video projection. It is a four-year survey of work by Norman, who has a reputation as one of Sydney's most provocative and magnetic performance artists. Each performance takes the repetition of a popular love song as its basis. Norman aims to challenge both the prevalent cultural narratives of our rom-com society and the pitiful limits of pop songs by manipulating her self-presentation and performative vocabulary. For an unfixed duration of time over four sessions, she will resign herself to a private world of loss and resignation, with no reprieve from the purgatorial repetition of these songs. Norman will sing until her voice breaks, or her heart breaks; whichever comes first. Love as an ordeal? Yes. Romance as endurance? Indeed. Bear close witness to this internalised melodrama and you may find yourself reflecting, as if for the first time, on that flat, high-flown word 'fortitude.'
Page One: Inside the New York Times is a fly-on-the-wall look at a year's stories and setbacks at the paper once described as "necessary proof of the world's existence". The documentary, directed by Andrew Rossi, ducks under the media desk and investigates how lay-offs, bankruptcies and digital media have dethroned America's imperial Gray Lady. It opens with a bunch of footage about newspaper closures across America, setting up the premise that print journalism's golden age is well and truly over. But make no mistake, Rossi's film is not an epitaph. Rather, it features indignant Times partisans talking entertainingly, broadly and knowledgeably about the future of the printed word in today's wired world. They passionately defend the nobility of newsprint and humanise a medium that may or may not be past its prime. Curiously, the New York Times wrote a terrible review of Page One, decreeing that it was basically a mess. It's tempting to be cynical and point out that all publicity is good publicity and a headline about the New York Times slamming an account of its own newsroom is a punchy attention-grabber. But this is beside the point. The point is that Page One is not well-structured, but given it's an account of a news industry in crisis, this is hardly surprising. There's something fitting about the fact that Rossi's camera flits from topic to topic, columnist to columnist, source to source, effectively reflecting a world where our stories so often come in random but convenient 140-character bytes.
In A Dangerous Method, early psychoanalyst Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) pioneers Sigmund Freud's new "talk therapy" on "hysterical" patient Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley). Jung, Spielrein and Freud would each, later, change the way the modern world thinks about the mind. But as the film opens in late-19th-century Zurich, Jung is an up-and-coming doctor and the Russian Spielrein is committed to his institution, kicking and screaming. Jung begins his seven-year discipleship (read: professional friendship) with Freud (Viggo Mortensen) by correspondence, coming to meet his idol in person. Spielrein heals, soon studying to become a psychoanalyst herself. Persuaded by the Dionysian philosophy of passing, sick psychoanalyst Otto Gross (Vincent Cassel), Jung allows himself to be seduced by Spielrein, who is still effectively fixated on him as her doctor. A Dangerous Method is engaging. Knightley plays Spielrein with real strength and passion, and it's hard not to become engrossed by Mortensen and Fassbinder's rugged, joint exploration of each other's psyches as Freud and Jung. Each sees his subconcious as virgin territory, to be explored and explained. Director David Cronenberg says that the pair were still exploring the ethical boundaries of therapy. But watching a preview of this film with friends and family who work in mental health, they couldn't help but feel unease at the lightness with which Jung's violation of the doctor-patient relationship gets played for a modern audience. Should Jung have known better, considering what was known at the time? "Yes, is the answer." one tells me. Nor is there enough spotlight on Spielrein, who is rarely seen away from the company of Freud or Jung. But the passion of the the three leads is reason enough to explore this turn in the early days of psychology. And A Dangerous Method remains a striking movie that lingers sharply in the mind. https://youtube.com/watch?v=P_y_oW2S65w
A new small bar is set to open in Crows Nest this week, and it's specialising in something a little different for the lower north shore: cognac. Hendriks is set to open this Friday, August 21, with more than 30 cognacs from around the globe, as well as cognac-based cocktails and a 100 bottle-strong wine list. Hendricks is run by Crows Nest locals Jakob Overduin and James Knight (who own a creative agency in the same building as the bar) and named after Overduin's father — a big lover of the bar's namesake booze. The duo has signed on Edward Wright as the venue's bar manager, who previously worked as a personal butler at The Goring in London serving some seriously high-profile customers. [caption id="attachment_780597" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption] For those who are already into cognac, the small bar offers some extra special drops, such as Frapin VIP XO Grande Champagne, Hennessy XO and a 20-year-old Frapin Millésime Premier Cru Grande Champagne. These nips will cost you a pretty penny, though, ranging from $32–42 a piece. Those new to the French brandy can test the waters with one of the 24 cocktails, including three made with Hennessy: Hendriks (Cointreau, Fireball, fresh orange and pineapple), the Between The Sheets (rum, orange curaçao and lemon juice) and The Major (grapefruit and lemon juice, house-spiced honey syrup, basil and chipotle powder). Apart from the cognac-based sips, you'll find riffs on classics like an old fashioned and a gingerbread espresso martini. [caption id="attachment_780606" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption] The extensive wine menu also offers a whopping 23 by the glass — and even more on Sundays, when early-birds can choose to open any bottle to enjoy by the pour. To pair with the wine, there's a six-cheese board for two, along with charcuterie and small plates like mac 'n' cheese croquettes, cheeseburger spring rolls, chilli con carne empanadas and duck pâté with shiraz butter. While the snacks are all good and well, the highlight is the giant jaffles, which are made using loaves from Crows Nest local St Malo Bakery. Choose from the cognac-marinated mushroom; cognac-caramelised shallots and cheese; beef patty with aged cheddar; and a chicken, porcini and speck jaffle with cognac comté for between $18–23. All of these are then drizzled with brandy for good measure. Banoffee and Nutella dessert jaffles bring a sweet touch to the menu, too. Find Hendriks Cognac & Wine at 5/29 Holtermann Street, Crows Nest from Friday, August 21. It'll be open from 12–10pm Tuesday–Saturday and 12–8pm Sunday. Images: Steven Woodburn
PJ Harvey is a musical darling of long-standing reputation, first making a name for herself in the early nineties as a raven-haired siren with a crooked smile and a heart-shaped face. Over the twenty-odd years she's been in business, her music has evolved in ever more stunning and heart-wrenching directions, with her most recent output, 2011's Let England Shake, being the fastest selling and certainly one of the most praised albums of her entire career. Recorded in a 19th century church on a cliff-top in Dorset, Harvey's home county, Let England Shake earned her the prestigious Mercury Music Prize for the second time since 2001's Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. This made her the only artist to ever receive the award twice, beating out the likes of James Blake and Adele much to the consternation of some very foolish folk. Now, PJ Harvey returns to Australia for the first time since 2008 as the musical headline for this year's Sydney Festival. Her Sydney Festival performance will feature many of the songs on Let England Shake as well as work from her past albums, all of which are worth a listen. She will be joined on the stage of the magnificent State Theatre with long-time collaborators Mick Harvey, John Parish and Jean-Marc Butty. The performances are likely to be some of the best you will ever see, so we highly recommend getting along to see her if you've got your wits about you. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Va0w5pxFkAM
Spare a thought for the St George OpenAir Cinema team, the folks behind one of Sydney's favourite outdoor cinema spots. When picking their summertime lineup each year, they're battling fierce visual competition: Mrs Macquaries Point's spectacular panoramic view of the city. Accordingly, every movie that graces the cinema's big screen has to hold its own against the stunning sights glittering away behind it. Don't worry — boasting everything from Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in the newspaper trade to Greta Gerwig's latest effort as a director, their 2018 program achieves that feat. Kicking off on January 7 and running until February 17, the outdoor cinema's new season commences with the Australian premiere of The Post, which sees America's nicest actor and the Oscars' most nominated actress join forces for filmmaker Steven Spielberg. It's just one of the movies making sure it'll be starry not only in the sky above, but on the 350-square-metre screen rising from the harbour. And with lineup featuring the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis in Paul Thomas Anderson's fashion flick Phantom Thread, Margot Robbie hitting the ice in I, Tonya, Jessica Chastain playing a poker kingpin in Molly's Game, the first film directed by Aussie actor Simon Baker, and a session of Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi under the stars, it well and truly delivers. The list goes on during OpenAir's 43-night-season, thanks to previews of Gerwig's aforementioned Lady Bird before it hits regular theatres; the latest flick from Veep's Armando Iannucci, The Death of Stalin; Guillermo del Toro's monster romance, The Shape of Water; and Ridley Scott's newly re-cast kidnapping drama All the Money in the World. Or, revisit Blade Runner 2049 in scenic surroundings, watch Liam Neeson wreak havoc on a train in The Commuter, or settle in for 50 Shades Freed (hey, if you've been keeping up with the franchise so far, you might as well catch the final movie). Off-screen, expect culinary stars to join the fold as well, with OpenAir partnering with Matt Moran's Chiswick. They'll be delivering a signature menu to hungry movie-goers each and every night during the cinema's 2018 run — but with 2000 patrons expected every evening, expect them to be busy. Speaking of, when tickets become available at 9am on Monday, December 11, they're likely to go quick. Last year, more than 30,000 tickets sold within the first 30 minutes of sale. St George Openair Cinema 2018 runs from January 7 to February 17. Tickets are on sale at 9am on Monday, December 11. Visit the website for updates, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
Sydney's much loved Marrickville nursery PlantGirl is ushering in spring with a massive sale across its entire in-store and online range of low-maintenance beauties. Every plant in the place (and on the website) will be 20-percent off for one week from Monday, September 7 through midnight on Friday, September 11. In store, you can get your hands on ficus ruby, fiddle leaf figs and large dracaena janet craig plants. Online, there are spider plants, birds of paradise, dragon tails and golden barrel cacti — to name a few. PlantGirl is run by inner west local Felicity Keep, who wants to add a bit of quirk to your indoor plant game. Customers can mix-and-match any combo of plant and pot, with the goal of creating a highly styled, personalised gift or cute new green baby for yourself — with predominately hard-to-kill plants on offer. And the nursery is now open daily, so you can get your plant fix any day of the week. For those still after delivery, PlantGirl continues to offer door-to-door service within a ten-kilometre radius of their Marrickville shop, which includes all of the inner west and the CBD, plus a chunk of the eastern suburbs and a bit of North Sydney and the lower north shore, too. You can check out the map on the store's website. If you order before 11am, you can opt for same-day delivery on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. But, when the weekend rolls around, the only place you'll be able to get your hands on these goods is in store. The PlantGirl Spring Sale runs from Monday, September 7–Friday, September 11, both in-store and online.
It's time to step back in time with a wine in hand at Rewind in the Vines, a new festival that combines the goodness of the music of yesteryear with delicious local food and wine. ARIA Hall of Fame artist — and crooner of everyone's favourite equine ballad — Daryl Braithwaite will headline, alongside legendary Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock front man Ross Wilson. Ghetto-dubsters Bootleg Rascal and a host of local and up-and-coming bands will round out the lineup. The festival takes place on Easter Sunday at the Miranda Winery in Griffith and, alongside some of Australia's premier musical talent, will showcase delightful food and wine from the local Riverina area. Pre-sale has already sold out, and first release general admission is nearly gone too, so make sure you hop to it and snap up some tickets ASAP.
Celebrated in Mexico and the USA, Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that fits in seamlessly with our ongoing obsession with everything Mexican, so we partnered with Corona to throw Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Sydney's best Mexican bars. Here's how the night went down.
Contemporary Korean rooftop bar Jung Sung is serving up one of the city's most luxe bottomless lunches every Saturday and Sunday. Now running at the Chippendale venue every weekend for the foreseeable future, this decadent spread offers your choice of four- or six-course meals paired with bottomless drinks. You won't find your typical bottomless brunch items — think: charcuterie boards and arancini balls — on the menu at this lunch. Instead, this degustation features Moreton Bay bugs served two ways, raw tuna salad and MB9+ grade wagyu beef. For $120 per person, you can enjoy the tuna; your choice of wagyu beef, crispy pork or spring lamb; the catch of the day served with white asparagus; and a lemon basil dessert — plus a cocktail on arrival and two hours of endless prosecco, house wine and beer. For an extra $40 a head, you can elevate the meal to a six-course affair and add on the Moreton Bay bugs and sweet corn with soy sauce caramelised pistachio. If all of this still isn't up to scratch for your weekend lunch, you can also add on matched wines from Jung Sung's wine list for 50-percent off the experience's usual price. That's $25 for the four-course lunch, or $35 for the six-course meal. Images: Leigh Griffiths
New Works by Emerging Artists 2 focuses on homey things. Windows, knit fabrics, carpentry and books. At the centre of Kevin Platt’s Arms and Ends is a freestanding, round stained-glass window, Western Window. It's windmill-like, with purple, orange and improbable black panes pointing inward. Nearby, Ritual (being forgotten) sets a book open on a lecturn with one name written over and over in blue ink, then crossed out. The motif of Western Window repeats, eye-like, in his other work. Daniel Edwards’ boho-homo-hobo has something of the grandad-chic to its collection. Woollen tapestries knitting out bearded men (and one man-less beard), a fireplace popping up in the middle and an arrangement of heraldic devices. Flickr Bohemian stands out, a woollen tapestry of the torso of a thinly-dressed woman. From the shawl she is wearing, fringes flow off the frame at the bottom into three dimensions of scraggly, multicoloured life. In Go Kill Everybody and Come Back Alone Joseph Breikers puts cowboy motifs against footage of rural idylls, while his sculputre Surtur Rising gives rise to the rare occasion of listing ‘googly eyes’ in an art catalogue. There's a map on the wall in Zine-maker Vanessa Berry’s Biblioburbia. It's a masterpiece: a gargantuan exercise in community mapping which fills the back wall of the gallery, where Sydney's libraries are laid out with ink, images and coloured lending cards — mirroring her blog's similar progress from stack to stack. Each of these thirty one libraries is sketched in the same black and white as the coast, train lines and sea monsters that populate her vision of the city. Fragmentary vignettes are typed out alongside. Berry works with the voice of Lemony Snicket, but has stolen her passion for Sydney's forgotten history from an oral historian. Simon Yates has also proffered Bookface in collaboration with Berry. It features interesting books laid out on a set of shelves, that on closer inspection turn out to be 2001-like fakes. They have the weight of balsa wood, and only the feel of book-shaped things. Firstdraft is open Wed-Sun, 12-6. Image of Biblioburbia courtesy of Vanessa Berry.
Sometimes the arts and sport are pitted against each other. But next month, the two will unite in the award-winning new romantic comedy, Become The One, which is playing at Riverside Theatres from Thursday, May 19 till Saturday, May 21. The play explores the relationship between Tom — a celebrated AFL player on the cusp of retirement from sport — and his new love interest, Noah. As the relationship intensifies, the characters are forced to question their identities and consider how they'll manage their private lives in the public sphere. Become the One flips the script on a stereotypical closeted sportsperson and asks audiences to consider a scenario in which it's the partner, not the athlete, that is pushing to dismantle heteronormativity within Australian sport. It'll make you laugh, potentially cry and you'll likely question what you would be willing to sacrifice for the one you love. Keen to check it out? 'Become The One' will play from Thursday, May 19 till Saturday, May 21 at Riverside Theatres. For more information and to book, visit the website. Images: Jodie Hutchinson.
There's something oh-so-relaxing about staring at the sea; however, even when Sydney is basking in glorious sunshine, we can't always all hang out on the beach. Or near rivers or in pools for that matter — but you can head to the Ocean Film Festival World Tour. Between March 3–11, it'll unleash a cinematic feast of water-focused wonders onto the big screen — at the Hayden Orpheum between Tuesday, March 3–Thursday, March 5, Chippendale's Seymour Centre from Wednesday, March 4–Thursday, March 5, and the Randwick Ritz between Tuesday, March 10–Thursday, March 11. Film-wise, viewers will spend time both above and below the ocean's surface thanks to a compilation of shorts from around the world. Expect to chase big waves, explore a range of sea life and get a hefty ocean rush, plus a heap of other sea adventures. The program is united by a love of the ocean, an appreciation of the creatures who dwell in its waters and a curiosity to explore the substance that comprises more than two-thirds of the earth. It's the next best thing to diving in, all without getting wet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5BZV6IoSX8&feature=emb_logo Image: Travis Burke.
Iconic? To say the least. Blockbuster? Yes and yes. Summer is coming boys and girls and what better way to while away those melting January days than by swinging open those glass doors to the MCA and sneaking in for some AC comfort and a little celebrity self-indulgence. Annie Leibovitz's photographs are dreams upon dreams. Sinking. Beautiful. All that is sumptuous and glossy and far, far away. Not just a survey of Annie's infamous celebrity pics, this globe-trotting touring exhibition, Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990–2005, serves us with lashings of the artist's private life on the side. Facebook not voyeuristic enough for you? We've got your poison. Personal photographs of Leibovitz's sprawling tribe of family and friends as well as chronicles of major family peaks and troughs like the birth of her three daughters and the deaths of her father and longtime lover, Susan Sontag. Its vanity fare, baby. And we are lapping at the bowl. *Free entry for members and children under 12
To celebrate truffle season, NOMAD has launched a limited-time brunch menu to celebrate the fancy fungus. Running every Sunday for four weeks from June 12, all dishes are served with approximately two grams of Manjimup black truffle from WA, so you can really itch that seasonal truffle craving. Start with a three-cheese manoush ($25), followed by ham hock hash browns with baked eggs and wood-roasted tomatoes ($19). A smokey date glazed bacon ($22); wood-roasted mushrooms with Jersusalem artichokes and pinenuts ($32); and a warm French cheese from Bruny Island cheeses served with honeycomb and crudites ($65) serve as lazy grazing nibbles. The brunch banquet is finished with an ice-cream sandwich, featuring olive oil ice cream and pecan cookies ($19). For those looking to make the brunch boozy, there is a range of specialty cocktails available for additional purchase. Think: NOMAD's signature bloody mary ($22), a seasonal bellini ($18), mimosas ($35) and espresso martinis ($22).
Not content with bringing rum distilling back to Sydney's inner city, making batches of it in a 1200-litre still and serving up more than 150 different varieties at its onsite bar, Brix is adding another aspect to its operations — custom 20-litre casks that Sydneysiders can help design and make (and then drink, obviously) themselves. Fresh from opening back in August, the Surry Hills distillery has launched a barrel program, which enables rum lovers to whip up their own concoction. Customers will choose their own barrel style (including lightly or heavily charred, ex-whiskey, Chardonnay or Shiraz) and create a rum to their preferred taste. Next, they'll help head distiller Shane Casey during the distillation process, before filling the barrel themselves. The cask is then signed, sealed, stamped, stacked and stored at the Bourke Street spot, for a minimum of two years. As the rum fully matures across that period, barrel owners can pop in for a taste and sample whenever they like — and choose when they think the spirit is ready to drink. As you might've noticed, there are a few caveats. Firstly, you do have to be willing to wait two years to take your boozy barrel home with you. Secondly, you'll need a lazy $3,500 + GST lying around, although the price does include excise. If you're patient, cashed-up and raring for your own rum, you'll also receive with a Brix tour and tasting for four people with your barrel purchase, plus 10 percent off at the bar for life. Find Brix Distillers at 352 Bourke Street, Surry Hills. Its regular opening hours at 12pm–midnight Monday–Saturday, and 12pm–10pm Sunday.
Recently we have been truly spoilt by the number of DIY festivals popping up Australia-wide. Sparked only a few years ago, arguably by the team at Secret Garden Festival, the boutique festival scene is now at an all time high. Goulburn-based newcomer Marmalade Skies however, finds a unique grounding for its first year by being completely crowdfunded. Earlier this year they launched their Pozible campaign which saw them raise above $22,000, surpassing their intended budget by over $7000. Unfortunately the team have faced their first festival production hurdle; yesterday the team issued a statement that during a site inspection the Goulburn Mulwaree Council — alongside the local fire and police department — have decided to postpone the festival due to fire hazards threatening the area throughout December. New dates will be announced within a week. Refunds have been offered, but the team have pleaded with guests to give them a chance "Once we announce the new date we will set up a refund option for those no-longer able to come; but for those that can, we ask you, please, to keep the faith a little while longer. You have invested in upcoming, young, Australian music, in a new production company, in a fresh new face on the Australian festival scene. Please allow us to prove you right. We at Marmalade Skies Festival are still confident of putting on an incredible party just, this time, on the other side of summer." But the festival organisers shouldn't be too concerned yet. Marmalade Skies has seen an overwhelming amount of support and popularity, even before the lineup was announced — teams of local graphic designers and many other volunteers have been offering to assist the festival organisers for months. It is truly becoming the 'festival for the people' the team hoped it would be. The all-Australian lineup — featuring the likes of Fishing, Kilter and Luen — is one of the summer's most underrated (and largely unknown) lineups we've seen. Stay tuned for Marmalade Skies' new date announcement over the next week.
Titus Andronicus is, as this performance's director Kate Revz points out, "gods and monsters" stuff, the kind of thing you have to step up to. Classical in its unabashed gross-outs as well as setting, a fictionalised imperial Rome, this is an elemental play with a plot that plays out in a series of horrifying events the logic of which is put brutally before the audience. The play operates with regard to invention and internal consistency rather than to relatability or immersivity: it is firmly in the realm of the spectacular. But here we are in the 21st century, and Cry Havoc's aim is "the pursuit of fearless interpretation, collaboration and re-birth of canonical texts of the human experience," so things here are played a lot more specifically pitiable than they would have been for audiences more used to allegory. And the playing is rather great. The actors are clearly all very, very comfortable with the text — there's not any of that awkward 'here is my Shakespeare voice' that detracts from so many performances of his plays, and the physicality of the individual characters and of the ensemble scenes communicates mood very clearly. The audience was laughing where they were supposed to, wincing where they were meant to and generally thoroughly caught up in what was going on. I had some doubts about where and how some of these atmospheres were created and reactions provoked, though. There seemed to be a lack of justification for why some of the horrors were played straight and others camped up to the max, for one thing. Also, the viscerality of some of the violence, the abstraction of the choreographed interstitial scenes and the thematic flinging and daubing of brightly coloured powder going on at decisive moments did not really do one another any favours. This is an interesting attempt at a difficult play. Cry Havoc have made an admirable effort to produce theatre with contemporary relevance that doesn't get stuck at the kitchen sink and that does classical without presuming scholarship. In the end, though, it pushes both the ultraviolence of the ancients and the contemporary relevance that has in terms of family and war a little too hard, and the audience ends up sold a little bit short.
Wishing you had time for a quick country getaway, but just can’t fit it into your ridiculously crazy schedule? Take a deep breath and write the words 'Taste Orange Food and Wine Festival' in your diary. Orange’s growers and wine-makers know that we city-folk can’t always make room for the 257km journey to their town. So, in conjunction with the Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, they’re doing us a little favour and coming to Sydney for a day. On Sunday, May 25, Watsons Bay’s Robertson Park will transform into a mini-Orange (with the benefit of Harbour views!) filled with food stalls offering the best of local produce, from irresistible cheeses to dips to antipasti, which you’ll be able to pair up with one (or many) of a hundred or so wines. By way of entertainment, there’ll be acoustic music from The Silver Lining and an old-fashioned, country-style apple bobbing comp. Keep your day at an appropriately lackadaisical pace by catching the ferry there and back. Taste Orange Food and Wine Festival is part of Aussie Wine Month.
While it doesn't seem like earth will be home to a real-life Jurassic Park anytime soon, you can visit something close to it in the Blue Mountains these summer holidays. Jump on the Scenic Cableway and journey 66 millions years back in time as you descend into the Jamison Valley. Here, you'll find a fossil-filled alley and roaring dinosaurs scattered throughout the ancient rainforest. The life-sized T-rex, triceratops, stegosaurus and more all make up Scenic World's new openair Dinosaur Valley experience, which is running until Sunday, January 31. It's definitely an experience kids would enjoy, but there's nothing saying adults won't either — even if it's just another excuse to get out of the city and explore the wonders of the Blue Mountains. You'll probably learn a think or two about earth's prehistoric residents, too, with facts scattered throughout the exhibition and knowledgeable guides on hand. When you've finished exploring, you can take the world's steepest passenger train, the Scenic Railway, out of the valley. And, if you want even more excitement, you can also grab a Scenic Pass, which includes the glass-bottomed Scenic Skyway — an invigorating ride on the 270-metre high cablecar that takes in some of the mountains' most spectacular vistas.
It can be assumed that whoever started the old wives' tale warning against pairing whisky and oysters just wanted to keep the secret to themselves. The Wild Rover — and those who have ventured through the bar's green door — know better. The Surry Hills bar is so into oysters it's bringing back its entire week of celebrations dedicated to them for a third year. Its famous lamb sausage roll will be forgotten for the week with a special menu that gives oysters the limelight — and from Monday, October 28 through to Saturday, November 2, you'll be able to slurp down a dozen fresh oysters for $15 (which is just $1.25 a pop). For the week, the bar will be serving up a special list of whisky-heavy cocktails all featuring Talisker. The exact drinks have no yet been released, but are expected to be posted on the event page imminently. The mollusc-filled week will also kick off with an oyster and whisky tasting from 6.30–8pm on Monday, October 28. For $30, you'll be able to taste your way through five different Talisker whiskies and slurp down some oysters while chatting to NSW oyster farmer Paul Ryder. Then, the week will wrap up with a two nights of live tunes with The Flying Seamen on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2.
What's the best job title in the world? That's hard to say, but Puppy Raiser surely ranks highly. 'Nice work if you can get it', you may well cry, but such a gig does exist — and it exists for a very good cause. Guide Dogs NSW is searching for its new intake of volunteer puppy foster parents who will care for the winter litter of labrador pups destined to be the next generation of working service animals. Volunteers typically foster a guide dog puppy for a year, providing a safe and loving environment as well as basic training, ensuring their fur baby grows up socialised and ready to begin their formal guide dog training just after their first birthday. At the Puppy Raiser Open Day, set to be held at the Liverpool Golf Club on Saturday, June 22, prospective fosterers can learn about what it takes to nurture a guide dog in waiting. There will also be training demonstrations that will reveal firsthand the kind of vital basics successful foster parents will need to teach their pup, including sitting while being groomed, behaving inside the home and walking confidently on a leash. These may sound like fairly standard skills (and they are), but without them, the golden-coated youngsters won't be able to add the extraordinary repertoire of abilities that will one day make them a life-changing assistant for someone with a visual impairment. "We are looking for people that are home most of the time and who are interested in putting effort into training and socialising the dog," said Guide Dogs NSW's Puppy Development Advisor My Lindqvist. "What you get in return is a life-changing experience and knowing that you've positively contributed to your community." Guide Dogs NSW takes care of the usual expenses of pet ownership, including providing food, veterinary access, and flea and tick prevention. A dedicated Puppy Development Adviser is also assigned to every Puppy Raiser to offer guidance and answer any questions. So, if you reckon you have what it takes to bring up a four-legged, wet-nosed superhero, make sure you book a session at Guide Dog NSW's Puppy Raiser Open Day.
Bear Witness is the artistic output of Ehren Thomas, a multimedia artist, DJ and filmmaker from Ottawa Canada. He remixes appropriated images and sound to create video assemblages that speak of his interest in the portrayal of aboriginal people in mainstream media. A member of the Cayuga Six Nations that comprise the Iroquois Confederacy, Bear Witness examines not only his own history but the way in which popular culture and art history leave their mark on a broader indigenous identity, without any notions of finger-pointing. As part of the free arts program of this year's Sydney Festival, Bear Witness will collaborate with community members of the local Darug Nation to create a new video based piece as part of an art exhibition titled The Only Good NDN. The works will be shown in the recently founded Parramatta Artists Studios.
Chris Town has traveled the world and collected, well, bits and pieces. Posters, bandages, ticket stubs, cigarette packets and bodily fluids are all assembled in collages that remind one of the horror vacui of some Grateful Dead posters. I liken Chris Town’s work to the 'Poubelles' of Arman, a Nouveau Realist artist from 1960s Paris. Arman and his friends worked to promote what Camille Bryen called the “adventure of the object”. Arman, and Town in turn, are indebted simultaneously to the Cubists who championed the use of shallow space, and the Dadaists who constantly suggested the absurd. Perhaps Town’s work has not really conceptually furthered the ideas of Arman, but there is something to be curious about here. The use of collage allows Town to suggest the disorientation that capitalist subjects experience as they rely more and more on objects to construct their sense of identity and place. Town’s works are dense, colourful accumulations. Go down to China Heights on Friday, enjoy an early evening beer, and let Town lead you through his accumulated history.
