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.
This June, Sydney's Taylor Square will be transformed with an explosion of colour, as it plays host to a vibrant inflatable art installation celebrating four decades of Mardi Gras. Titled 40 Years Of Love, the work was today announced by Lord Mayor Clover Moore as the winner of the City of Sydney-supported Taylor Square Public Art Project. The eye-catching piece is the work of local artists Matthew Aberline and Maurice Goldberg, who've described it as a "big, bold and sassy artwork based on concepts of public protest, joyous celebration, community activation and engagement". The pair's colourful installation will be draped around a big aluminium truss, creating a light-filled pavilion for the public to enjoy. Mardi Gras CEO Terese Casu said the artwork would celebrate an important part of Sydney's ongoing story. "With the work's vibrant energy and complexity, we share that Mardi Gras isn't a singular thing but a cacophony of diverse ideas, people, histories, politics and expressions," she said. 40 Years Of Love will grace the square for three months, after it's unveiled on the anniversary of the first Mardi Gras, on Sunday, June 24.
It's not every week that starts with a mini food truck festival for your Monday lunch. Get out of the office and nab some delicious food truck fare in Martin Place, thanks to the bighearted team behind A Taste of Harmony. A not-for-profit organisation celebrating the rich cultural diversity of Australian workplaces, A Taste of Harmony are keen to celebrate you and your coworkers through tasty, tasty food. They're gearing up for a huge initiative in March, and have launched this mini food truck festival in the lead-up. Grab some Monday eats from the culturally diverse likes of Urban Pasta Food Truck, Eat Art Truck, Cantina Movil, Jafe Jaffles and Thai in a Box between 12 and 2pm in Martin Place — maybe share some with those coworkers of yours. If you're taken by the idea of celebrating cultural diversity in your workplace through noms, you can get amongst A Taste of Harmony's big event running March 17-23. Workplaces around Australia — big to small, culture websites to major banks — are being encouraged to register and hold a work lunch made up of different cultural cuisines. No better way to bond with your workmates and high five your roots than over a feast of bánh mì, shakshouka and rookworst. Get amongst it.
It's a decades-old inner west tradition: watching the Newtown Jets' home footy game, from up on the hill at Henson Park, on a Saturday afternoon each July. But things have been dialled up a few notches over the years and it now coincides with the annual Beer, Footy & Food Festival, which celebrates its fourth outing on Saturday, July 27. A winter ritual for footy-lovers, foodies and everyone in between, the event is set to dish up a huge afternoon of family-friendly fun. As well as that famed game of rugby league, expect a celebration of another inner west triumph — craft beer. Keep that thirst in check with drops from over 20 different brewers, including Grifter, Wayward, Batch, Yulli's Brews, Young Henrys, Frenchies, Willie The Boatman and a heap more. Organisers have roped in a good number of food vendors, too. Get ready to enjoy snacks form the likes of Mary's, Arepa, The Oxford Tavern, Rosa Cienfuegos and Salt Beef Beigel, among others. And kidults and littlies alike are sure to be kept busy with a petting zoo, obstacle course and even a couple of jumping castles. As an added bonus, dogs are welcome, too.
Even the most adventurous of foodies have their limits, don't they? New documentary Bugs aims to put that idea to the test — and to make audiences squirm in the process. You don't make a film about two researchers from René Redzepi's experimental Nordic Food Lab exploring the culinary value and environmental benefits of eating insects without causing a reaction, after all. The eye-opening doco is one of 12 titles set to screen at the Antenna Documentary Film Festival from October 11 to 16 in Sydney . Regardless of how experimental your eating habits are, the flicks unveiled should whet the appetite of factual cinema fans thanks to a wealth of thought-provoking content. When the fest isn't trying to get viewers pondering their next meal, it'll be inspiring discussions about everything from a ladies man living with HIV to the impact of nuclear waste in a small Russian town. The former comes courtesy of moving opening night film The Charro of Toluquilla, while the latter informs documentary City 40, which examines the people trying to survive in one of the most contaminated places on earth. And for a change of pace, anyone keen on an Italian holiday without the cost of an airfare should put Rome-set road movie A Present from the Past on their must-see list. Aussie effort A Mother and A Gun, which has its world premiere at the festival, is also certain to get attendees talking as it explores the life of Shelly Rubin, the woman who fell in love with the leader of the Jewish Defense League. Elsewhere, environmental effort The Islands and the Whales, a tribute screening of Abbas Kiarostami's Close Up, and the latest chronicle of Bobby Sands and his famous hunger strike — as previously brought to the screen in Steve McQueen-Michael Fassbender collaboration Hunger — also feature among Antenna's list of films. The fest's 2016 lineup looks as varied as it is interesting. Images: Lloyd Dirks, Tom Truong.
You probably recognise the above image of Daniel Kaluuya's terrified face, it's been floating around the internet in meme form over the past couple of weeks. It's also a still from Get Out—the highly anticipated new film from Universal Pictures released in cinemas on May 4. Watch the truly terrifying trailer if you haven't yet. The film has accrued a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and critics around the world are biding time until they get the chance to see this gripping thriller, also a timely, provocative commentary on the world's current state of race relations. The story follows a young, African-American man (Daniel Kaluuya) as he meets his white girlfriend's (Allison Williams) parents at their family estate. At first, Chris believes that the family's welcoming behaviour is a nervous attempt to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses he discovers a number of disturbing things to make him think otherwise and becomes suspicious of the real reason behind his visit. Somewhat surprisingly, the gripping film is written and directed by Jordan Peele (one half of Key and Peele, the comedy duo known for classic skits such as Text Confusion and Continental Breakfast). We're hosting three advanced screenings of Get Out exclusive to Concrete Playground readers. The Sydney screening will be at Event Cinemas George St, at 6.30pm on April 26. Fill in your details below to go into the draw to win one of 100 double passes. [competition]614570[/competition]
What has chess, immensely clever LOLs and a spectacular primal yet graceful consummation of the, er, physical passions? The affairs my fifteen year old self imagined having with Jarvis Cocker and/or Alex James is one correct answer, but the rather more culturally significant one is British Liaisons of an entirely different kind, although both do refer back to youth. The Australian Ballet is revisiting its cultural beginnings this April, paying tribute in a triple bill of classical works from both the 20th and current centuries. First up is Checkmate, a balletic battle of pieces on a chequerboard stage choreographed by Ninette de Valois in 1937, followed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan's virtuosic rigour-and-wit Concerto of 1966, and finally Christopher Wheeldon's 2005 After The Rain, a super-hot romance. It's an historical survey and also a stylistic and thematic one that'll show off the company as well as the material.
This summer, Flickerfest returns for its 27th season of short films screened under the stars, with the internationally acclaimed festival taking over Bondi Pavilion from January 12–21. The jam-packed 2018 program pulls together a dazzling lineup of 55 short films for its Australian competition, and another 33 films as part of its international program, with a whole swag of world premieres on the bill. Highlights from the homegrown lineup include Martha The Monster — which sees Rose Byrne star alongside husband Bobby Cannavale as they navigate an upside-down world where humans and monsters coexist — and the world premiere of writer-director Alyssa McClelland's dark comedy Second Best, which explores the powerful bond between identical twin sisters. In the international competition are hot-ticket titles like the Palme d'Or-nominated Across My Land, produced by Joaquin Phoenix; Irish film Wave from the director behind last year's Academy Award-winning Stutterer; and the world premiere of the UK's Five By Five, starring Idris Elba. Films will be battling it out for recognition across all areas of filmmaking, vying for Academy Accredited awards like the Flickerfest Award For Best International Film, the Virgin Australia Award For Best Australian Film and the Yoram Gross Award For Best Animation. Once the festival wraps up on January 21, its greatest hits will take a road trip around the country, touring over 50 Aussie locations until May 2018. To see the full Flickerfest 2018 program and grab tickets, head to the website.
A bogan paradise can be interpreted as all sorts of things. To actual bogans it means servo meat pies with evenly dispersed cheese, babies with creatively misspelled names and living rooms furnished with Buddhist iconography. To Elizabeth Hurley it means getting a huge sapphire ring from a guy who asks his Twitter followers for “sexy” lunch date suggestions. To Brisbane-born street artist Anthony Lister it’s the dark underbelly of our “she’ll be right” Australian culture, one that manifests itself in acts like pissing in public, swearing at the televised footy match and smoking bongs in front of the kids. Lister’s exhibition Bogan Paradise challenges the positive and negative conceptions of Australian identity, from the innocent consumption of meat pies to the sanctioning of irresponsible and wayward acts. The quintessential Australian larrikin has been the subject of much social commentary and is deeply engrained in our culture — Lister investigates the underside of such a responsibility-free society, bringing DIY tatts and terrible haircuts out of the western suburbs and into an exhausted sex shop in Chinatown. His concern for how the human condition will evolve in an intellectually undemanding society is both comical and frightening, though the huge demand for his works — which often sell out before openings — suggests that there are still plenty of people who like to adorn their walls with stuff that isn’t Buddhist iconography. * Bogan Paradise opens November 4 and continues by appointment only.
Sydneysiders have already seen a lot of eased restrictions over the past month or so. Major cultural institutions and art galleries are open, as are gyms, dance studios and beauty parlours and we've been hitting up bars, restaurants and pubs and catching up with mates for a while now. Now, as of Wednesday, July 1, more daily activities that have been off the cards for months are permissible once again. This includes more people allowed in venues, stadiums welcoming punters back and cinemas screening films once again. So, if you've missed dates at the movies or catching a footy game IRL, get ready for life to start to feel a little bit more normal. First up, NSW is removing its 50-person cap in favour of a blanket one person per four-square-metre rule from today, July 1. This follows the Australian Government's guidelines announced on June 12. You can now also make a booking of 20, whereas previously it was a maximum of ten. Nightclubs are still off the cards. [caption id="attachment_733284" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kitti Gould[/caption] Gatherings of up to 20 people is still the limit both indoors and outdoors. However, for weddings and funerals the limit is the maximum number allowed on the the premises, including places of residence, which is one person per square metre. For smaller places of public worship, funeral homes and crematoriums, a maximum of 50 attendees (without the four-square-metre rule) provided non-household groups can maintain a distance of 1.5 metres. If you've been itching to head to a footy match, you'll be pleased to know that stadiums are permitted to host crowds from July 1, too. Major recreation facilities, including stadiums, showgrounds and racecourses, are now allowed to have ticketed events, with allocated seating areas. The number of spectators must not exceed 25 percent of the venue's capacity, with a maximum of 10,000 people. If it's a non-ticketed or non-seated event, the four-square-metre rule applies, with a maximum of 500. Alcohol will only be served to seated patrons. If you'd rather be on the field, you can now also kick a ball around with your local team thanks to community sport, including training sessions, recommencing. Where it involves more than 20 participants (players, officials and spectators), the organiser must have a COVID-19 Safety Plan and the number of participants cannot exceed 500. [caption id="attachment_656246" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kimberley Low[/caption] Cinemas are also allowed to reopen, but that doesn't mean that it's popcorn-munching business as usual quite yet. Expect changes to the movie-going experience — including online bookings, allocated seating, contactless payment, social-distancing requirements and extra cleaning. One perk is that you and your mates will be separated from other moviegoers by empty seats on both sides — and some cinemas, like the Ritz, are offering $10 tickets for opening week. Travel is a big one this month, too. If you were hoping to head up north to escape the chilly weather, you can cross the Queensland border from Friday, July 10. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the border would be opening to NSW, SA, WA, ACT, Tas and NT but "due to current community transmission levels, the border with Victoria will remain closed". However, you'll need to complete a border declaration form and certify you haven't travelled to Victoria in past 14 days — and the government has advised it'll be checking these statements, and that making a false statement will be an offence. [caption id="attachment_743607" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Whitehaven Beach by Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] While Victoria's borders remain open, you can't visit any of Victoria's current hotspots. In fact, if you do you could be fined $11,000 and spend six months in jail. Our neighbours in Victoria have seen a spike in the number of cases, which has resulted in Premier Daniel Andrews implementing new stay-at-home orders across ten Victorian postcodes. Despite South Australia speculating it'd open its border on July 20, it no longer will be going ahead. We'll be sure to keep you updated. Major supermarket companies Woolworths and Coles have also reintroduced limits on some everyday items again, such as toilet paper, paper towel, hand sanitiser, pasta and milk. And, as you could have guessed, music festivals won't be happening any time soon. For more information about what you can and can't do in NSW under current COVID-19 restrictions, head to the NSW Government website. Top image: Kimberley Low
The independent music industry has clearly taken advantage of the democratisation of media and information. The internet is a great starting block for a modern band: put up a few songs, get a few fans and start gigging. Danananakroyd found fame by way of a new digital format. Featuring on the FIFA 2010 video game for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 meant that gamers around the world would hear their song many times throughout the game. Self-described "healing and easy listening fight-pop", the Glaswegian band have gone from strength to strength. On their 2009 tour of Australia, lead singer John Bailie Junior broke his arm while crowd surfing – if that's anything to go by, you better buy tickets to see what else he'll break. https://youtube.com/watch?v=3WOIEdlfh7M
Interactive detective game CluedUpp has taken over Australia's streets before — and if you like the idea of true crime and Cluedo colliding while you run around town, then it's the pastime for you. Its next Sydney event on Saturday, July 17 will bring the classic board game to life throughout the city once again, with a slight twist. The outdoor adventure will have you tracking a Jack the Ripper copycat — and while the serial killer was very real, everything else about this murder-mystery game will be fictional. Forget Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the study — this event will bring you and your friends closer to reality and out onto the streets to solve the case. The game will kick off at a secret location, and you can choose to start whenever you like between 9am–2pm. Then, how long it takes depends on how good of a detective you are. The best news of all, however, is that the event is dog friendly — and there are prizes to be won by both human and canine detectives. All you need to play is some friends and your phone. Dressing up as a detective is encouraged, so you can really get yourself into character. A ticket will set you back $65 per team of six, but you only need two humans to play. With only 100 teams available, get in quick for your chance to solve the mystery.
Footy fans, this one's for you. We've teamed up with our friends at the Sydney Swans to give you and a mate the chance to see every Swans home game live for the rest of the 2021 season. From Tuesday, April 20–Wednesday, May 12, you can enter the competition to win a double pass to catch all the action at the Sydney Cricket Ground and cheer the Swans onwards to victory. Yep, you read that correctly. You and a friend could be heading to the SCG for the remaining eight home games — for free. Watch the Swans take on teams including Geelong, Collingwood, Hawthorn and the West Coast Eagles. Keen to cheer the Swans onwards to victory? Enter details below to be in the running. [competition]808017[/competition]
What a difference a few drops of water can make. In The Insult, a spurting drainpipe sparks an altercation across religious and cultural lines, a highly publicised court case, and a probing look at Lebanon's volatile political climate. There's more to Ziad Doueiri's Academy Award-nominated drama, including the heated exchange of words that gives the film its title. But at the movie's heart, a simple situation embodies the tensions in the writer-director's fraught, fractious homeland. Just as right-wing Christian mechanic Tony Hanna (Adel Karam) is watering the plants on his Beirut balcony, Palestinian construction crew foreman Yasser Salameh (Kamel El Basha) walks underneath. Annoyed about getting wet and eager to do a good job around the neighbourhood, the latter knocks on the former's door and advises him to fix his drainage. When Tony refuses in an overt display of belligerence, Yasser takes matters into his own hands, repairing the pipe himself. Still irate, Tony then smashes Yasser's handiwork to pieces. In response and in obvious frustration, Yasser calls Tony a "fucking prick". Despite the film's moniker, that's not the only insult hurled throughout the course of the narrative, or the only display of violence. Whether the central duo are tussling on the street, facing off in Tony's workshop or watching their respective lawyers (Camille Salameh and Diamand Bou Abboud) duke it out in court, The Insult hinges upon exchanges steeped in anger, as well as the unrest ignited by a society simmering with division. Indeed, from the moment that Doueiri opens the movie with a Christian political party protest, he doesn't shy away from the broader context that's so pivotal to his plot. And while the filmmaker doesn't avoid emotive touches either — Tony has a heavily pregnant wife (Rita Hayek) as well as a tragic background, while Yasser has been a refugee in the country for decades — every aspect of the storyline helps flesh out the movie's many complexities. Doueiri's approach should feel familiar, and not just because he traversed comparable thematic terrain with terrorism drama The Attack back in 2012. Using a specific scenario as a stand-in for the Middle East's wider troubles is hardly a new cinematic tactic, as Iranian director Asghar Farhadi continually illustrates — and comparing The Insult to the likes of Farhardi's A Separation and About Elly is certainly a compliment. Like his fellow filmmaker, Doueriri possesses a way with words, both in slinging them between characters and in understanding their importance in trying circumstances. He similarly has an eye for nuanced performances, as El Basha demonstrates with a fine-tuned, lived-in portrayal that won him the Best Actor award at the 2017 Venice Film Festival. Furthermore, Doueriri knows how to unpack a moral quandary, sometimes bluntly but always effectively. If there's another filmmaker that The Insult also owes a debt to, it's a seemingly unlikely one: Quentin Tarantino. Doueriri was the first assistant camera operator on Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, and clearly learned a few lessons in visual storytelling from all three movies. There's much greater restraint evident in his work with cinematographer Tommaso Fiorilli, of course, however movies so focused on searing dialogue rarely feel as fluid and energetic as this. A picture doesn't speak a thousand words here, given that so much conversation is flung about. But each frame lends weight, power and a crackling atmosphere to this riveting exploration of both everyday and historical conflicts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fd6gDd2f2k
You'll need to take off your shoes, store anything sharp and change into one of the hooded suits that hang beside The Cell before you're allowed into it. This reflects the imprisonment aspect of the title, while the whooshing breath-like noises of the machinery and geometric regularity of the designs (like something under a microscope) allude to its biological connotations. The repetition of the pattern on the suits has the effect of camouflaging the audience into the work, implying natural mimicry, defence and also military uniforms. Crawling through a tunnel, uniformed, one of at most six people, suggests that The Cell could be some sort of resistance or terrorist group. I know, all that from the title. There's a reason it's called conceptual art, you guys. As to what it physically is, well, it's a 12x6x3 metre inflatable, with tiny portholes. The designs on the walls and suits are op-artish enlargements of motifs from the art of the Wiradjuri people. While you do get a sort of spring happening, it's not the bouncing-off-the-walls childhood sensation. It's quite peaceful inside, but at the same time the etiquette of it is pretty awkward: what do you do? How long do you stay? The Cell makes you hyper-aware of your own behaviour and interactions as it makes references to Big Social Ideas, and you get bounced around and made a part of it. I'm still kinda dizzy.
We've lost another one; London Grammar have pulled out of the Splendour lineup due to illness. Frontwoman Hannah Reid is apparently dealing with pneumonia, a pretty fair reason not to jump on a plane and play back-to-back shows. London Grammar issued the following statement: It's with great sadness that we must announce the cancellation of our trip to Australia & Splendour in the Grass this week due to illness. This is an incredibly sad situation for us as our last visit was one of the most memorable of our careers, but we do not feel that we can currently deliver the level of performance that you all deserve from us. Our fans in Australia have been hugely supportive of our music since the very beginning, and it pains us to have to disappoint any of you. We are going to do everything we can to make sure we are back down under as soon as possible and will reschedule our Sydney & Melbourne shows and give you more details very shortly. The preternaturally talented UK trio were slated to play sideshows at Festival Hall and Hordern Pavilion, alongside a hugely anticipated slot at Splendour. They'll now play the shows in March next year. The announcement comes after last week's Foals-replacing-Two Door Cinema Club Splendour shakeup. The party's now in the super capable hands of Sydney's kings of dance shindiggery, The Presets, who have just been announced to play the Friday slot. Splendour co-producers Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco issued their own statement: We're sorry to report that Hannah from London Grammar has been taken ill, after cancelling T In The Park we hoped she would recover in time for Splendour but unfortunately has not. It's been quite a challenge finding a suitable replacement at such short notice but we are pleased to announce The Presets have come to the rescue and will play at Splendour this Friday. " Whilst beyond our control we are personally very disappointed with the last minute line-up changes but we are thankful for the support from Foals and The Presets stepping up in lightening speed. Here's to a great show! For those who purchased a single day ticket particularly to see London Grammar, refunds for Friday 25 July single day tickets only will be available from Moshtix until 5pm Wednesday 23 July. More info about refunds here. But all we can say (loudly) is "AHMHEREWITHALLOMAHPEOPLE...MERR.MERR.MERR." https://youtube.com/watch?v=0H40riQv5Jk
UPDATE, January 8, 2021: It Comes at Night is available to stream via Netflix, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. When It Comes at Night begins with a man gripped by an infection, viewers are primed to expect a particular type of horror film. Something frightening is clearly in the air, which only becomes more apparent after his spluttering culminates in a wheelbarrow ride towards a fiery end. Death and devastation lurk quietly in this sparse post-apocalyptic realm, and those who have managed to survive trust no one. It's dystopian thriller 101, leaving audiences waiting for zombies or monsters to rear their ugly heads. What they'll find instead is Jean-Paul Sartre's famous phrase brought to life on screen: hell is other people. That observation might seem obvious, but writer-director Trey Edward Shults isn't done toying with common existential worries. Playing on our collective fear of the unknown, he ramps up the atmosphere of suspicion and unease by purposely leaving the details of the film's catastrophic catalyst to the imagination. Whatever it was that sparked disaster isn't nearly as important as how those who remain deal with the fallout — and yet viewers can't help but wonder. It's a smart move, with Shults not only focusing attention on the tense interactions that follow, but mirroring the characters' uncertainty about each other. Here, stoic father Paul (Joel Edgerton), his wife Sarah (Carmen Ejogo), their 17-year-old son Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and dog Stanley hole up in their boarded-up house in the woods with canned food for sustenance and weapons at the ready. Then Will (Christopher Abbott) somehow stumbles through their locked door in the middle of the night, claiming to be looking for shelter for his own wife Kim (Riley Keough) and their young son Andrew (Griffin Robert Faulkner). It's telling that Shults' first film, the family reunion drama Krisha, also brought a group of people together and then revealed their true nature through conflict. It should go without saying that forcing strangers into close quarters in a traumatic situation rarely leads to a happy outcome, so the movie doesn't say it. Rather it shows it — terse, anxious and unsettling. Cue performances (some brooding, some itching with physicality) that demonstrate just how people bristle up against each other in times of great stress. Accordingly, jumps and bumps aren't anywhere near as terrifying as furtive looks, overheard whispers and what someone else might be plotting behind closed doors. With claustrophobic cinematography and an ominous score, It Comes at Night seethes with intimacy — not of the warm and friendly variety, but foreboding, unnerving and ruthless. Paranoid and uncomfortable, the characters squirm, yearn and threaten to turn on one another. Yet even that's not the most terrifying thing about what Shults has crafted. Instead, as the film lingers in dark hallways and thuds with nervous heartbeats, it's the fact that he has managed to taunt his viewers into feeling the exact same way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5aq1HClkq0
At the heart of mindfulness sits a simple idea, but one that few of us can manage as often as we'd like: savouring the moment. And, as anyone fond of a pinot noir or sauvignon blanc or several knows, at the heart of enjoying a glass of wine sits the same concept. When you sip from a glass of your favourite varietal, nothing else in the world matters just for that instant. It's little wonder that the folks at Handpicked Wines are combining the two in a Winefulness Workshop — aka your chance to learn what mindfulness is all about, and then put it into practice while tasting wines. Taking place from 6pm, it's the best of both worlds, and it'll help you enjoy your tasty tipple even more, if that's even possible. Tickets cost $35 per person, and include mindfulness basics via Kirsten McKenna and tastebuds full of wine thanks to Handpicked. Plus, you'll also gain yet another excuse to drink more wine. Next time you say "it's good for my wellbeing," you'll really mean it.
Steamed parcels of corn dough filled with meat and vegetables, wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves during the cooking process, and topped with salsa, tamales are a Mexican street food staple. They're also the main dish on the menu at The Midnight Special's latest pop-up, with the regional American cuisine-focused Lulu's stopping by for a ten-evening takeover. Serving up flavoursome fare made with ingredients sourced from local and independent producers, Lulu's is driven by chef and owner Monica Luppi. She calls her tamales 'California-style', explaining that they draw upon her childhood in San Francisco, as well as time spent road-tripping along the US West Coast. The results of those American travels feed into her culinary venture, which heads to Newtown from October 4 to 15 to feed hungry stomachs. On the menu during Lulu's stay at The Midnight Special, which runs from Wednesday to Sunday nights: tamales stuffed with 12-hour chipotle pork shoulder or a slow-roasted sweet potato and handcrafted Oaxaca cheese combination, and patacones made from twice-fried plantains (or cooking bananas). Daily specials include jalapeño hush puppies, potato and smoked cheese bombs, and sandwiches of the chicken katsu (topped with fresh shaved pineapple and smoked chilli mayonnaise), grilled mortadella (aka 'The Liz Lemon') and open-faced sausage variety. A quarter of the proceeds from Lulu's pop-up will be donated to OzHarvest. Images: Tajna Bruckner and Nash Ferguson.
Feel like getting crafty? Keen to appreciate someone else's handmade wares? Want to learn a new skill, or pick up something unique that someone else has fashioned? You'd best block out October 6 to 13 in your calendar, then. That's when the first-ever Sydney Craft Week takes over the city, with the Australian Design Centre spreading the craft love all over town. For ten days, if it involves textiles, ceramics, metal, jewellery, glass, wood, furniture, leather, paper, calligraphy or embroidery, you'll likely find it on display, the subject of a talk or workshop, part of a live demonstration or available to purchase. Bookended by opening and closing night festivities at the ADC, the festival features everything from pinot and purl knitting resistance sessions to classes on reusing pre-loved items to open studios aplenty, plus crafting venues open until 8pm on October 11. Because crafting is the kind of thing that goes well with food and wine, other highlights include craft and craft beer evenings, a crafty dining feast matching tasting dishes and beverages to Darlinghurst laneway stores, and a teapot-making date night offering. Claydate — part workshop, part dating — will teach you a new school and help you meet someone new, and for those eager to take some crafty goodness home with them, the ADC's Makers Market and the Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre's Art and Design Market are also on the program. Image: Milly Dent. Photo: Brandon Bakus.
Come July 14 to 24, Sydney's west is the place to be. That's when the brand new LOCALE Festival takes over the Cumberland area, both showering the district in art, performance, food, workshops and more, and showcasing the best in culture that the community has to offer. Across a largely free program, that includes a Bollywood-inspired party, a 1930s Shanghai-style community banquet, tours dedicated to significant Indigenous sites, Turkish cuisine and culture, and Middle Eastern cooking, and a picnic in the park with Auburn's refugee community. Revelling in the diversity of the region is the aim — and with a day of Filipino food and fun, Jerusalem street eats from The Bearded Bakers and a Jollof Rice cooking comp on the agenda too, it's one LOCALE looks set to achieve. Or, learn about picking and preserving vegetables, salting fish, making reusable beeswax wraps and whipping up basic kitchen medicines, because this fest wants you to pick up a few new skills — for free — as well. Plus there'll also be two days of pop-up doggy cafes, photobooths and just general pooch get-togethers, and Liam Benson's all-ages Sweet Shoes workshops, where you'll decorate your footwear and eat lollies.
It's time to get your hands floury. Chef O Tama Carey (ex-Berta) is heading to Cornersmith on Thursday, September 14 for a pasta-making class. Armed with fresh ingredients, you'll learn how to make two types of pasta and, very importantly, how to cook it just right. Along the way, O Tama will impart a bunch of cutting and shaping techniques. The first dish on the agenda is egg fettuccine, which you'll create and eat on the spot. The second is orecchiette, to be taken home with you. These days, O Tama heads her own Sri Lankan hopper stall (and soon-to-be eatery), Lankan Filling Station. She's been friends with the Cornersmith folks for yonks, having previously run a stock making workshop and hosted pasta dinners. If you've ever been to one of her happenings, you'll know she's all about quality produce and cooking from scratch — and that tickets sell quickly.
Strangers on a Train meets Sliding Doors meets Brick meets True Romance. If that sounds like quite a lot to squeeze into one package, hold on, because writer-director Christopher Smith is just getting started. Detour is the kind of movie that openly nods and winks to its many influences, made by the type of filmmaker that wants audiences to know that he's shouting about his references on purpose. Smith even goes so far as to have one of his characters watch part of a1945 film noir with the same title as the movie they're in. When a filmmaker nods so eagerly at his or her sources of inspiration, one of two things tends to happen. Ideally, they shape those influences into an engaging new package that builds upon familiar parts. More often, they end up being overshadowed by the better filmmakers whose movies they keep reminding you you could be watching instead. Aiming for the former but delivering the latter, Detour proves a feature more concerned with showing viewers what it's doing than actually doing it well. Smith certainly knows and loves the films that he's homaging, but making that plain isn't the same as making an entertaining crime thriller in their image. That the movie's protagonist not only shares his name with a 1966 Paul Newman movie, but has a poster of the film on his bedroom wall, says plenty. So does the fact that audiences first meet Los Angeles law student Harper (Tye Sheridan) as he's listening to a lecture about the escape tactics of pursued criminals. Throw in a grudge against the stepfather (Stephen Moyer) he blames for his mother's comatose state, a chance bar meeting with local thug Johnny Ray (Emory Cohen), and a stripper with a heart of gold named Cherry (Bel Powley), and it all starts to feel rather derivative — even when the movie's big gimmick kicks into gear. Once Harper discovers what he hired Johnny Ray to do during their drunken evening together, Detour splits its narrative into two timelines. In one, the new acquaintances make the sunny drive to Las Vegas with murder on their minds; in the other, Harper stays home, although that still ends up being quite eventful. Smith flits from one story to the other, and frequently splashes them together using slick split-screen imagery. Sadly, the device doesn't help either section shake the been-there, done-that feeling – and neither does the film's predictable destination. Smith does, at least, take a trio of impressive actors along for the ride, even if none are quite at their best. Sheridan, Cohen and Powley have all given much, much better performances in Mud, Brooklyn and The Diary of a Teenage Girl respectively, but at least they try to make their stock-standard characters seem like something more. That's not exactly high praise, but it does sum up Detour's fortunes quite perfectly. A loving attempt to tackle a familiar genre, the film does everything it can to speed into new territory. Alas, it gets lost along the way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbzZGUJ4MzE
Can't wait for the new season of Stranger Things to drop? Watched the trailer too many times to count? Buzzing with '80s-loving enthusiasm over all of the nods and references the next episodes are bound to fit in? Hold on to your ecto-blaster, because you're not alone. In fact, the next time a Friday the 13th rolls around, you can head to the Randwick Ritz to share your excitement with a cinema full of other retro horror movie fans. That'd be Friday October 13, with the eastern suburbs mainstay holding a movie marathon to celebrate the occasion. Expect to dig into a heap of favourites from three decades ago — from a vampire flick from one of the most celebrated female filmmakers around to the ghost movie that'll make you want to touch the screen (or, perhaps not). Kicking things off is Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark featuring the late, great Bill Paxton, before the Frankenstein take only the '80s and H.P. Lovecraft could make — aka Re-Animator — offers a different kind of unease. Don't fall asleep before the next flick, or you'll be dreaming of Nightmare on Elm Street's red-and-green jumper wearing villain (and a very young Johnny Depp). Finally, the Steven Spielberg-written Poltergeist brings the night to a close with some classic haunted house thrills. Tickets for all four flicks cost $25, or $20 for members.
Whenever Tom Cruise appears on screen, he's playing a part. But he's usually also playing Tom Cruise. Nearly four decades into his megawatt smile-flashing career, there's no mistaking the superstar's recognisable film persona, whether he's feeling the need for speed in Top Gun or living, dying and repeating in Edge of Tomorrow. It's a role he inhabits with charm and ease, as American Made is well aware. Though he's ostensibly taking on the guise of a pilot turned CIA operative turned narcotics smuggler, this based-on-a-true-tale drama is all about showcasing Cruise's well-known talents. That means aviator sunnies, flying high and oozing charisma all over anyone he can. It also means a cruisy (pun intended) vibe when he's stepping into criminal territory, skirting the law, transporting drugs and buddying up to Pablo Escobar's cronies. The '70s and '80s-set story may seem larger than life, but ultimately viewers know what they're getting, energetic central performance and all. If fighting the undead in The Mummy seemed like a bit of a departure for the A-lister, American Made is a beaming, smooth-talking return to familiar territory. Starting in 1978, Cruise plays Barry Seal. He's a run-of-the-mill commercial airline captain until his illegal cigar-ferrying antics catch the attention of CIA agent Monty Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson). Quicker than you can say "show me the way to avoid jail time", Seal agrees to quit his job, become a government consultant and take clandestine aerial surveillance photos in South America. While he's down there, he's also asked to deliver cash and trade arms by the agency — and bring back cocaine by the now-infamous Medellín cartel. It all goes well until it doesn't, as tends to be the case with these kinds of capers. And yet, even after he's caught by the Colombian authorities, forced to fill his wife (Sarah Wright) in about his new gig, and made to relocate his family to a small town in Arkansas, Seal keeps trying to work both sides to turn a profit. "Shit gets really crazy from here," Seal tells the camera at one point, as he recounts his life story down the barrel of an '80s camcorder. And he's right. Re-teaming with Cruise after the aforementioned Edge of Tomorrow, there's no shortage of wild antics for director Doug Liman to thrust onto the screen. In fact, there's almost too many, as the film morphs into an enjoyable but somewhat repetitive mix of Blow, Goodfellas and American Hustle. For what it's worth, that applies not only to the feature's jam-packed narrative, but also to its wavering tone. Call it the Cruise effect. Although Seal clearly isn't the greatest of guys, he's portrayed as a loveable rogue because that suits the movie's star. Call it the Hollywood effect as well, with flicks about affable law-breakers an eternal cinema staple — think War Dogs and The Wolf of Wall Street, just to name a few recent examples. American Made wants viewers to warm to its antihero and laugh at his endeavours, while also laying out the real and serious consequences of his actions. Unfortunately, it doesn't always get the balance right. Still, sunny cinematography, zippy pacing, an era-specific soundtrack and Cruise being Cruise all guarantee you'll be largely entertained regardless. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lolbJquVPWU
What a fantastic idea for a movie. Captured hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L Jackson) agrees to testify against alleged war criminal Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman), but in order to keep Kincaid alive a compromised Interpol must call upon the assistance of disgraced bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds), whose past missions were consistently imperilled thanks to the very killer he's now tasked with protecting. It's a terrific concept, an amazing cast and, unfortunately, a spectacularly disappointing film. The odd-couple buddy action-comedy format has given us some great films over the years, including several featuring Sam Jackson himself. The mid-90s classics Die Hard With A Vengeance and The Long Kiss Goodnight saw the star paired with perfect yings to his yang. First it was Bruce Willis' no nonsense NYPD cop John McClane, and then Geena Davis' homemaker-cum-assassin Charly Baltimore. Both flicks offered that perfect blend of high personal stakes, high-octane action and high quality dialogue that, when mixed together, added rare complexities to the genre's traditionally two-dimensional character archetypes, and delivered sequences that could make you laugh, wince and grip your armrests until your knuckles turned white. In The Hitman's Bodyguard, by contrast, the overwhelming feeling is that while writer Tom O'Connor understood all the ingredients necessary to make an entertaining blockbuster, he failed to appreciate the subtleties of how to best combine them. And the ingredients really are all there. The film's premise is tailor made to deliver conflict between its leads (to say nothing of the non-stop threats from the villain's henchmen). Yet everything about their relationship feels forced. Ryan's by the books persona sits uncomfortably with the actor's natural sarcastic schtick, while Jackson's foul-mouthed tirades lack both the venom and the wit to carry any real force. What follows features an awful lot of shouting, none of which ever feels like it really matters. Pair that with a truly staggering degree of nonchalance during every fight scene, and The Hitman's Bodyguard ends up a movie robbed of any sustained drama or tension. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4Afusxc2SM
Flowers, stars and mulled wine will collide when astronomy comes to The Calyx in the Royal Botanic Garden. The event — which is running for the second time — invites you to kick back, relax and listen to Dr Angel Lopez-Sanchez chat about the night skies. Dr Lopez-Sanchez is an astronomy research fellow and a science communicator at the Australian Astronomical Observatory and Macquarie University. Surrounded by the garden's botanic surrounds, he'll bring you a whole new perspective on familiar constellations and show you how to find those that are not-so-familiar. Learn to locate the Jewel Box within the Southern Cross, bright nebulae within Sagittarius and Omega Centauri, a globular cluster. Tickets are a reasonable $25, with drinks and snacks available at the bar.
What's better than one annual showcase of French movies? Two, of course. Not content with giving Aussie audiences the best in Gallic cinema once a year for nearly three decades — and building the biggest festival of French films outside of France, too — the folks behind the Alliance Française French Film Festival began doubling their efforts. After launching the Alliance Française Classic Film Festival in 2015, it's back for another retro cinema showcase. In fantastic news for anyone who likes diving into the great flicks of times gone by, the fest will once again shine a light on a heap of old favourites. It's the third time the fest has done so, heading Sydney's Hayden Orpheum and Palace Norton Street from August 24 to 27 (and Canberra, Perth and Melbourne from August through to October too) with a six-film tribute to French star Jean-Paul Belmondo. Alongside everyone from Emmanuelle Riva to Anna Karina to Gerard Depardieu — and under the direction of filmmakers such as Jean-Pierre Melville, Jean-Luc Godard and Alain Resnais — Belmondo will blaze up the big screen in globe-trotting treasure hunts (That Man From Rio), crime thrillers (Stavisky and Doulos: the Finger Man), romantic dramas (Pierrot le Fou) and more. Many screen in gloriously restored versions, including war drama Weekend at Dunkirk (no, not the Christopher Nolan one).
There are two types of beer festivals: the kind you throw for yourself when you're having a few brews with your friends, and the ones that pubs put together with plenty of painstaking planning. A mainstay at The Australian Heritage Hotel, the Australian Beer Festival falls into the latter category — and after 13 years of serving brews, it'll make you wish it was on every weekend. Alas, October 13 to 15 is the time to get your ale-loving fix this time round, complete with a packed lineup of beverages. Expect 30 different breweries, more than 120 Australian beers and ciders, and everything from gourmet food stalls and an oyster bar to meet the brewer sessions and blind tastings, all across a huge three-day street party. Brewers on hand will include 4 Pines Beer, Grifter Brewing, Pirate Life Brewing, Balter Brewing and more, shining a spotlight on Sydney and Aussie beer makers alike. Tickets cost $35, which includes a tasting cup and ten tasting tokens — and a brew-tastic day out.
English indietronica band Hot Chip has been helping crowds break into uncontrollable dance for the better part of two decades with numerous world tours and several critically acclaimed albums under its belt. Hot Chip frontman Alexis Taylor leaves the band at home to perform his third solo record Listen With(out) Piano, a deeply personal project exploring the breakup of his parents, the first time he cried listening to music and the death of his friend, Vince Sipprell. This intimate performance will feature Taylor's iconic voice in full-flight as he performs cuts from his new album, alongside Hot Chip favourites updated for the piano. This intimate, one-night-only performance will feature Taylor's iconic voice in full-flight as he performs cuts from his new album, alongside Hot Chip favourites updated for the piano. Sydney pianist Sophie Hutchings will be guest performing beforehand.
The big screen is going green at the seventh annual Transitions Film Festival, Australia's leading showcase of socially-conscious cinema. In Sydney from March 20 to 22, this year's festival lineup is once again jam-packed with deep-diving documentaries about some of the biggest social, environmental and geopolitical issues facing the world today. While the full Sydney lineup hasn't yet been revealed, the fest's national program is full of interesting selections. Standout films include Food Fighter, about the battle against food waste in Australia; Chasing Coral, a look at the disastrous effects of bleaching on our reefs; and Guardians of The Earth, which glimpses behind closed doors during the negotiations for the Paris Climate Agreement. Other highlights include personal Kenyan farming doco Thank You For the Rain; Albatross, the latest film to explore the impact of plastics in our oceans; and Big Dream, about seven young women pursuing their passions in science, technology, engineering and maths. For the full Transitions Film Festival lineup, visit transitionsfilmfestival.com.
When you wander around a gallery, stop to look at the paintings and sculptures that catch your eye, and focus your mind on their artistry and detail, you're doing something mindful — even if you don't really think of it that way. Where better to roam, look and train your brain to only pay attention to what's happening at that very moment, aka the technique that's at the centre of mindfulness? If that sounds easier said than done — or, if you need some help starting at the pieces rather than getting distracted — that's where Art in Mind comes in. Part of The Big Anxiety Festival, it's a morning session that's all about slow looking. Stand, stare, take your time and maybe find some inner peace. Taking place at 9am on October 27, it's the perfect way to start the day if you can score a late start at work. Mindfulness teacher and creativity consultant Steve Pozel will lead the class, teaching you about meditation and other techniques, their usefulness in engaging with art, and their greater use. Afterwards, there'll be tea and chatter as well.
Depending on how you feel about dinner parties, Beatriz at Dinner is either an accurate snapshot of getting together for a meal with friends and acquaintances, or a comically discomforting nightmare. And, depending on how you feel about the current state of world politics, it's either a pointed commentary about real-estate moguls with entitled attitudes and their enablers, or a satire of the chasm between those that have it all and everybody else. Actually, in each case, it can be both. Beatriz at Dinner hits close to home while proving darkly amusing, and offers a loaded statement about a specific person as well as a general ribbing of the big gap between the wealthy and the not so. In fact, it feels like the type of film you'd get if you took the 2011-2013 TV series Enlightened, swapped Laura Dern for Salma Hayek, and updated it to reflect just how the world has changed in the last four years. To be honest, that's hardly surprising, given the movie and the show share two key creative forces: writer Mike White and director Miguel Arteta. As the eponymous Beatriz, Hayek is all empathetic eyes and soothing voice, at least to begin with. A Los Angeles masseuse who splits her time between a cancer treatment centre and house calls, Beatriz loves her job healing others as much as she loves her pet dogs and goats — and she's happy to talk about both to anyone who'll listen. At one appointment in a gated community miles from home, she chats away with Kathy (Connie Britton), a regular client with a wheeling-and-dealing husband, Grant (David Warshofsky). When their session is up, Beatriz's car won't start, so Kathy invites her to stay for a meal with Grant's business associates. Predictably, Beatriz stands out with her jeans and earthy attitude. In fact, when eager up-and-comer Alex (Jay Duplass) and his snobbish wife Shannon (Chloë Sevigny) arrive, followed by rich and powerful head honcho Doug (John Lithgow) and his third bride Jeana (Amy Landecker), they think she's the help. The obvious difference between Beatriz and the rest of the guests provides plenty of humour early on, but White and Arteta soon start to subvert expectations. This isn't a take on The Dinner Game, casting the well-off as vacuous and oblivious idiots. Nor is it a sitcom-style comedy where someone lower down the social ladder causes a few laughs and changes a few opinions, like the recent Madame. Rather, the film slowly but surely lets an impassioned and unwavering Beatriz loose on Doug, and watches everyone else squirm. Sharp, smart and funny, the end result is entertaining viewing for a number of reasons – even if its ending doesn't wholly satisfy. Warmly shot but purposefully awkward in tone, the film is unafraid to take chances with its class-conflict concept, but at the same time refuses to make even the most villainous characters mere one-note caricatures. White's astute dialogue helps in this regard, ringing true from both Beatriz and her dinner companions. The same applies to Arteta's framing, particularly his decision to always shoot his protagonist as though she's the shortest one in group. And then there's the cast, including well-judged supporting turns from Britton, Sevigny and company, a decidedly human foe in Lithgow, and the wonderfully textured, quietly commanding Hayek in career-best form. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI8_8O3uKhY
Every Italian will tell you that no one cooks like their nonna — and to prove that claim true, some of Sydney's best Italian chefs and their grandmothers are teaming up for a five-day festival of Italian deliciousness. Running from October 22–26, the Festival of Nonna will be a celebration of the traditional matriarchs of the Boot, with a series of three-course dinners at Redfern's 107 Projects. Presented by Sandhurst Fine Foods, it will show off the modern interpretation of Italian food coupled with the tried-and-tested traditions that make the cuisine so damn good. Sydney chef and restaurateur Andrew Cibej (of 121BC, Berta and Vini fame) is among the chefs that will be teaming up with their mums, along with Eugenio Maiale of A Tavola and Luca Ciano of Milan's two Michelin-starred Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia. They'll deliver hands-on demonstrations that show off the tradition and the techniques of crafting the perfect Italian meal. Tickets for the dinners are $65 a pop, which includes three courses with drinks and a sweet party bag.
On September 10, Sydney staged for a huge public rally through the city streets, flying rainbow flags (and dogs) to demand marriage equality and campaign for a 'Yes' vote. Support group Community Action Against Homophobia, who ran the rally, urged Australians to campaign for a 'Yes' postal vote. With the majority of Australians (a whopping two-thirds) supporting marriage equality, the rally was expectedly stacked — in all, organisers have estimated that a massive 30-40,000 people rocked up to show their support for all LGBTI+ Australians. You can see the photos here. And on Saturday, October 21, Sydney is set to do it all over again. It will be one last rally to urge the country to vote affirmative before the ballot closes on November 7. So send off your vote and get marching. Wear rainbow. Be loud. Images: Letícia Almeida.
From medieval guilds all the way forward to Wikipedia, sharing knowledge has always been a boon for humanity. We thrive on it. And hospitality symposium Grow is built around the idea that information is better served up than hoardedThe collective's event Grow Assembly has run three times in Melbourne, and now it's bringing its consortium of hospo professionals to Sydney for the first time. new generation of chefs, sommeliers, bakers, cocktail artisans, food journos and FOH firecrackers with the juice squeezed from their collective experience. The event event is a full-day seminar on Sunday, May 6 in Balmain with 13 industry speakers spitting knowledge left, right and centre. The lineup reads like a Wiki entry of Sydney's food community, including Neil Perry (Rockpool and the new Bar Patron), Palisa Anderson (Chat Thai), Mitch Orr (Acme), Harriet Leigh (Archie Rose) and Julia Campbell (Women in Hospitality), among others. Phew. The team that is putting the whole shebang together — Michael Bascetta, Banjo Harris Plane, Meira Harel, Kylie Javier Ashton and Vicky Symington — also has an impressive joint resume; together they count stints at Attica, Momofuku Seiobo and Bar Liberty in their experience. It's a long list, but you get the jist — these are the people you want to be the hospitality Yoda to your Skywalker. If you're looking to bring that novelty hybrid food idea into fruition or give us your spin on fried chicken this event is the perfect way to get a foot in the door. Tickets are $99 until April 9 and $130 after, and include lunch and coffee.
Can't wait to feast your eyes on Wes Anderson's latest flick, the stop-motion animated delight that is Isle of Dogs? It was one of our picks of this year's Berlinale, where it opened the fest and won best director, so we understand. The film doesn't release in Australian theatres until April 12, but Moonlight Cinemas is giving eager fans a sneak peek — and, even better, you can bring your own pupper. The event will celebrate Moonlight's last night of its 2017-18 season, and is bound to turn Sydney's Centennial Park into an isle of dogs — just without the water. And while you can take your pooch to any of this year's sessions at the outdoor cinema, there's no better movie to take them to than this. If your dog is called Spots, then you have to go. The film follows a boy's visit to the titular land mass to find his beloved Spots, after all. The adventure that follows features the voices of a host of Anderson regulars and other ace talent — think Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban, Greta Gerwig, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Edward Norton and Frances McDormand — and proves as gorgeous as you'd expect. You'd be barking mad to miss it.
The Kensington Street precinct is taking the Year of the Dog very literally, celebrating the Lunar New Year this Saturday, February 17 with real live pups running amok through its laneways — plus free wine. First up, they've invited Sydney Dogs and Cats Homes to bring some doggos along, so you can have a cuddle while enjoying a complimentary glass of wine. Donations are encouraged and adoptions welcomed, as long as it isn't just the free booze talking. Patrons are also encouraged to BYO their pup for a slew of activities, including professional family photos, caricaturist drawings and doggo treats like ice cream and even dog beer. If you need a break from your best friend to enjoy the festivities, they're also offering up doggie daycare. Apart from the dog-mania, the precinct will host its annual block party, with Spice Alley, Handpicked Wines and the Old Clare teaming up to put on food and drink specials. Traditional lion dancers, fortune tellers, karaoke, lantern making classes and noodle demonstrations will round out the evening. Image: Kimberley Low
Behold the theatre production everyone in Brisbane has been talking about — and one that ticks plenty of boxes. A new comedy from a talented local writer: check. A timely skewering of race and gender: check again. Written by Michelle Law, Single Asian Female steps into the world of three women from one Chinese family living on the Sunshine Coast. Pearl has runs a restaurant, eldest daughter Zoe is forced to think about the battle between her personal and professional desires, and her younger sister Mei is navigating school. Each contemplates the intersection between their heritage and their western lives, as well as its impact on their identity. Indeed, their troubles and journey are made all the more powerful due to their status as Chinese women in Australia, and the struggles that it brings — as brought to life with humour and insight by Law, director Claire Christian and the talented cast. The play debuted in Brisbane this time last year, and is the first from Law, who co-wrote Sh*t Asian Mothers Say with her brother Benjamin, and is proving one of Australia's rising stars. Image: Dylan Evans.
Lotus Dining Group (Madame Shanghai, Lotus Dumpling Bar) is teaming up with Black Star Pastry and Valrhona chocolate for a decadent dessert degustation happening over the Lunar New Year weekend. There'll be four lunchtime sittings running from Saturday, February 17 through to Sunday, February 18. In this six course degustation, Tiffany Jones (Lotus Head Pastry Chef) and Sam Yeo (Black Star Pastry Executive Chef) will create modern Asian desserts using Valrhona chocolate across the menu — including a Manjari chocolate mousse, which is made from rare Madagascan cocoa beans, and a box of Chinese New Year chocolates to take with you. The evening will begin not with dessert, as one would expect, but instead with a basket of mixed savoury dumplings from the Lotus kitchen (six per person). For the dessert courses, diners can expect quite the fancy treat. Think dumplings filled with white chocolate custard, topped with nitro pomelo and sitting in a white peony-infused consume; or the Peanut of Prosperity — a crisp chocolate shell filled with oozing red bean and caramel and served on chocolate soil with peanut flowers. Though the event is specifically in honour of Chinese New Year, it could be a good post-Valentine's date, or just the perfect excuse to treat yourself.
Victoria-based artist/curator Trevor Smith's new show The Cocktail Hour opens at Michael Reid this month. Showcasing over 40 of his unique, soft sculptural textile works, the quirky exhibition will be his largest to date. A fan of craft and textiles since childhood, Smith learnt to crochet in primary school (his mum taught him), received his first sewing machine at 15 and in Year 10 proudly won Naracoorte High School's Outstanding Achievement Award for Home Economics (in which subject he was the sole male student). Later focusing on soft sculpture and traditional patchwork, crochet was put aside for several decades, until 2009, when he took part in Regional Arts Victoria project The Big Hole Yarn and his passion was reignited. The Cocktail Hour brings together an impressive collection of humorous creations with a nostalgic domestic vibe – think kitchen appliances, retro foods, tea-cosies – with Smith drawing particular inspiration from Women's Weekly dinner party cookbooks from the 1970's. The works will make you laugh but also potentially blow your mind at the technique involved (particularly if you've ever thrown down a crochet hook in despair). And if you've never seen a crocheted pavlova... now's your chance. Image: Trophy Fish, Trevor Smith, courtesy the artist and Michael Reid Sydney
Why drink at one watering hole, when you can head to two, three, six or more? That's always been the motivation behind everyone's favourite boozy journey, aka a pub crawl. And, it's the exact same type of thinking behind the Urban Wine Walk. Taking its first wander around Sydney after previously strolling through Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth during 2017, it's the bar-hopping excuse every vino lover has been waiting for. Think Grapest, but without convincing yourself that you're going to run five kilometres. Or, what you might do on a weekend afternoon, but in a more organised fashion From midday until 5pm on February 10, you'll saunter between the likes of The Winery, The Dolphin Hotel, This Must Be The Place, The Wild Rover, Golden Age Bar, Maybe Frank and more, sampling wines and having a mighty fine time. As for the tipples, they'll be taken care of by South Australia's Delinquene Wine Co andHither & Yon, and New South Wales' Printhie Wines, Freeman Vineyards and Hart & Hunter among others. Early bird tickets are currently on sale for $45, with full tickets costing $55 once the initial allocation has run out. Places are limited, but this moving cellar door will not only serve up wine tastings, but also your own tasting glass — plus a voucher for another beverage, and a guide to help you plan your mosey between bars.
How do two filmmaking siblings follow up one of the biggest Australian comedies of the 21st century? With a much bleaker slice of comic action. In the 12 years between Kenny and Brothers' Nest, Shane Jacobson hasn't been far from screens. In fact, he's graced local cinemas in the awful trio of Guardians of the Tomb, The BBQ and That's Not My Dog! just this year alone. But making another film with his brother, actor-director Clayton Jacobson, has taken much, much longer than it'd take Kenny to plumb most of the country's toilets. While Brothers' Nest is as far removed from the Jacobsons' toilet-fixing mockumentary as you can get, it's mostly worth the wait — an attempt to meld grimy psychological thrills with black comedy that doesn't break the mould, but delivers exactly what it promises. Shane and Clayton co-star as a luckless and unhappy duo intent on securing what's rightfully theirs and willing to do whatever it takes to get it, even resorting to planning the perfect murder. Their cancer-stricken mum (Lynette Curran) is dying and, to their dismay, she's just changed her will to leave everything to their stepfather Rodger (Kim Gyngell). With the family home in country Victoria on the line, no-nonsense elder sibling Jeff (Clayton Jacobson) quickly convinces his kindlier younger brother Terry (Shane Jacobson) that homicide is the only option to reclaim their inheritance. It's with a wry smile that Brothers' Nest begins with its titular pair cycling up to their childhood abode, donning orange jumpsuits and hospital booties, and starting to enact Jeff's meticulous plan. Visually, the picture is soaked in fog and grey, befitting a sombre mood — but the moment Jeff and Terry start preparing for their grisly task, humour cracks the grim facade. Indeed, Clayton Jacobson and writers Jaime Browne (The Mule) and Chris Pahlow manage a delicate balancing act for the first two-thirds of the film, milking the business of knocking off a family member, and dealing with deep-seeded woes, for both drama and laughs. Still, there comes a point where brothers' banter can't bring cheer to this tale, with their bickering — often sparked by Jeff's pedantic determination to stick to his detailed to-do list — only going so far as the movie veers into more tragic territory. That said, much of the film's success stems from the Jacobsons' performances, with the pair pretending to be other, more desperate siblings. Fleshing out a fraught picture of brotherly love in the process, it's clearly not a case of art imitating life, but the authentic connection between their characters runs deeper than if the actors weren't related. For Shane, as the unsurprisingly more affable of the two, it's a more interesting and challenging big-screen role than he's had in some time, although his 'loveable larrikin' public persona softens Terry's quiet sadness. For Clayton, taking the sterner, more brittle part — and eventually, the more unhinged as well — it's a welcome reminder that his talents don't just reside behind the camera. Wielding that lens, Clayton's efforts are effective. Viewers never forget that this is a low-budget affair, particularly given that it's confined to one setting, but many rousing thrillers have been. A hefty smattering of inventive shots catch the eye, while the short but definitely not sweet film is well-paced, with Clayton also co-editing. Sadly the supporting cast are all noticeably underused, although Curran, Gyngell and Sarah Snook each make their marks. Of course, you don't go to a dark, murderous comedy called Brothers' Nest for something other than siblings getting kill-happy, and this taut, claustrophobic account of blood, money and double-crossing does what it needs to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdo5oiBQOgs
Sydney's luxury lifestyle and homewares label In Bed is hosting its annual warehouse sale this June. After launching its first bricks-and-mortar store in Paddington earlier this year, In Bed is now taking over an Alexandria warehouse with discounted linen and cotton bedding, bath towels, kitchen textiles and homewares. As well as discounts of up to 80 percent on the above, there'll also be a slew of samples, seconds and surplus stock to get your mitts on. If you've been lusting after the label's all-natural linens for a while now, here's your chance to finally take them home. But, a word of warning: it's going to make getting out of your cosy bed this winter even harder. In Bed Sydney Warehouse sale is open Friday, June 29, 12pm–7pm; Saturday, June 30, 9am–4pm; and Sunday, July 1, 9am–4pm.
Break out the pink and don't even dream of wearing sweatpants: it's Mean Girls brunch time. Come Sunday, April 22, themed mid-morning meals dedicated to the 2004 teen classic will be popping up in yet-to-be-disclosed locations in Sydney and Melbourne. Yes, like Gretchen's devotion to the word "fetch", someone is trying to make this happen. Tickets are $57 and include brunch and an hour of bottomless prosecco, and for an extra $6.60 you can catch a screening of the film too. It's the latest in what's proving a growing trend, given the enormous popularity of the already sold-out Harry Potter-themed Wizard's Brunch. If the Plastics were to give their opinion on it, however, we're not certain it'd get the Regina George stamp of approval. Other than the pink-hued outfits and just generally gossiping about the Tina Fey-written, Lindsay Lohan- and Rachel McAdams-starring movie, there's not that much else to really throw into the mix. Will attendees eat in a school cafeteria-like setting? Will it feature an all-carb menu to go with Regina's all-carb diet? Will tables be split into cliques like "actual human beings" and "desperate wannabes"? Will Kalteen bars feature? Perhaps a Spring Fling King and Queen will be crowned, which is what's happening at London's version of the event.
In 2018, great Australian choreographer Graeme Murphy celebrates 50 years in the business. And, to mark the occasion, the Australian Ballet is opening the season with a tribute. Titled Murphy, the show is a dazzling compilation of the choreographer's boldest and most poetic moments. A major highlight is the return of Firebird. The ballet is based on a Russian folktale about a prince who captures a bird, but, in exchange for a magical feather, sets her free. Next, he finds himself in an enchanted garden, where he falls in love with the daughter of an evil magician called Koschei, whose soul is trapped inside an egg. Together, the prince and Firebird attempt to release it. The story first appeared as a ballet in 1910 in an interpretation by choreographer Michel Fokine, set to music by composer Igor Stravinsky for the Ballet Russe. Murphy's recreation in 2009, which sticks to the original, is set in a dystopian Garden of Eden, designed by Leon Krasenstein. Along with performing the whole masterpiece, dancers will revisit excerpts from The Silver Rose, Ellipse, Grand and Air and Other Invisible Forces, as well as the entirety of Sheherazade. "What better way to start the year than by honouring an Australian dancemaker of unparalleled talent whose virtuosic career began right here with the Australian Ballet 50 years ago," said David McAllister, artistic director of the Australian Ballet. Murphy created his very first work for the Ballet's Choreographic Workshop in 1971, before going on to become artistic director for Sydney Dance Company, a position he held for 31 years. Murphy runs April 6–23 at the Sydney Opera House. You can book tickets here. Images: Jeff Busby and Alex Makeyev
For a taste of the Hunter Valley's finest food and wine without the long drive, take a day trip to the beachside suburb of Avalon, where you can experience all the delights of Australia's premium wine-growing region at Uncorked Avalon. Returning for its second year, the one-day festival features 23 Hunter Valley wineries and a host of gourmet food suppliers coming together to provide a taste of what's to come at this year's Hunter Valley Food and Wine Festival. As well as sampling your way through the goods on offer, you'll be able to brush up on your knowledge at wine masterclasses. Held at the festival's new semillon and oyster pop-up bar, the sessions will be hosted by four of the region's top semillon producers —Mount Pleasant Wines, McLeish Estate Wines, Tamburlaine Organic Wines and Tulloch Wines — and will see the variety paired with fresh Sydney Rock oysters. The sessions will set you back $45 a pop, but for the cost of the ticket you'll get a Riedel glass, a flight of wine and half-a-dozen oysters. If wine's not your thing, there'll also be craft beers from the region and a host of local bites, including pastries, seafood, Italian street food and heaps of gooey and smelly cheeses. Tasting vouchers are $4 each on the day, or you can skip the line and pre-purchase a Riedel wine glass with four tasting tickets online for $26. Prepare your palate — it's set to be a big day of wining and dining. Uncorked Avalon will run from 10.30am to 5pm at The Village Green at Dunbar Park.
Though the festive season may be over five months away, the cold weather and cosiness of winter has inspired Christmas in July celebrations across Sydney. And this year, Ultimate Silent Disco and Silent Sounds are bringing the (second) most wonderful time of the year to new heights. On Friday, July 27, you can treat yourself to 360-degree views of Sydney as you boogie to Christmas-themed bops (and, normal music, too). While you can only hope to hear some of Mariah Carey's holly jolly hits as you party 250 metres above the CBD, you'll be sure to sleigh the dance floor to sets from three different DJs. You can party from 9.30pm to midnight, the music switching between hip hop, throwback, and house party channels. Don't forget to show off your Christmas (in July) spirit and wear the tackiest, most festive jumper — if you're best dressed, you could even win a prize. Drinks will be available to purchase on the night, too.
He has been the body, voice and spirit behind some of Australian musical theatre and cabaret's most memorable and vibrant characters. But there is one role that Trevor Ashley doesn't take on stage very often: himself. On Saturday, September 22, he plans to do just that, taking to the stage at City Recital Hall for an intimate look back at his time in show business — with a few impersonations thrown in for good measure. It's difficult to find a performative pie that Ashley hasn't had his finger in over the course of his 20-year career. Writer, director, actor and cabaret all-rounder, he's probably best known for his performances as Monsieur Thénardier in Les Misérables, Edna Turnblad in Hairspray and Miss Understanding in Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical. But he's also found no end of acclaim with his independent works: a series of arch and saucy adult pantomimes titled Fat Swan, Little Orphan TrAshley and, most recently, The Bodybag. Having never performed at Sydney's City Recital Hall, Ashley's leaving nothing to chance. Armed with an array of anecdotes, an eight-piece band and an arsenal of songs, he promises that Double Ds: Two Decades of Divadom will be a tornado of spangles, sass and soaring high notes. And while this is technically a one-man act, you can expect to meet a number of different characters throughout the night, namely Liza Minnelli, Cher and Shirley Bassey. Sure, this is a retrospective. But it's also Australia's cabaret matriarch showing with brio and glamour why the throne has been his for the last two decades. Tickets for Trevor Ashley Double Ds start from $50 for under 30s. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the City Recital Hall website.
This year's Irish Film Festival doesn't just showcase the country's cinematic output, although it certainly does that. Intertwined with the fest's movie lineup, attendees will also receive a crash course in recent Irish history. With 2018 marking the 20th anniversary of the Northern Ireland peace process, the five-day event is focusing on films about the troubled period. In fact, four flicks in its nine-title program contemplate the subject. They include opening night's Maze, which dramatises a 1983 prison break, and The Journey, featuring Timothy Spall and Colm Meaney as figures on either side of the conflict. Or, there's also No Stone Unturned, the latest doco from director Alex Gibney (We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief), exploring the murder of six Catholics in a tiny pub in County Down in 1994. For viewers after a change of topic, the fest also features Song of Granite, a music biopic about traditional Irish folk singer Joe Heaney, as well as The Lodgers, which unfolds its haunted house tale in 1920s rural Ireland. Plus, the Irish Film Festival does something that other fests don't: it holds two opening nights. The main run kicks off on April 19 and plays until April 22, taking place at the Chauvel in Paddington. However, if you'd like to get things started early, it actually launches on April 18 with a one-night-only session at Penrith Gaels.
