Cross-dressing spitfire MC Mykki Blanco is in the country for Dark Mofo, heading north afterward to blow Sydneysider minds at Good God. One seriously multitalented artist, NYC-based Blanco is a rapper, performance artist and poet who grew up listening to riot grrrl music. The significantly internet-hyped New Yorker's setlist will inevitably include writhing party jam 'Wavvy' and heavier tracks like the recently released 'Initiation' — both as likely to intrigue audiences as attract them to the dance floor. Think bass heavy, post-trap anthems with a killer MC at the helm. While Blanco certainly stands out and makes her presence felt, she doesn't aim to make a 'statement' as such; rather fluidly transcending many identities. https://youtube.com/watch?v=w39Fxx10CEI
Remember how awesome Spongebob was? And Jimmy Neutron? And CatDog? Well turns out they were all written by the same guy, Steven Banks. What a legend. And now he has gone and out-awesomed himself again, this time by writing for dance. Reserve judgement until you watch this. Turns out, the guy is potentially even better at writing dance productions than scripting shows about sponges and starfish and genius kids and conjoined twin domesticated animals. Shadowland is a collaboration between Banks and Pilobolus. The American modern dance company started up in 1971, and has performed over 100 choreographed works in over 64 countries. Their trademark is their strong element of physical interaction between numerous dancers, and the exaggerated contortions of human form. Shadowland proves to be no exception. Dancers seemingly morph into animals, giants and even objects as obscure as motorcycles. The illusion of transformation into these impossible forms is made possible through the use of shadow. Audiences watch the silhouettes of dancers, who use trick lighting and complex movements to deceive audiences' eyes and create unbelievable images. Shadowland tells the story of a young girl who dreams of independence. Through a luminous playground of dance, gymnastics and optical illusion we follow her as she discovers her shadow and journeys into the Shadowland, where she meets numerous interesting creatures. The entire story is danced to the beats of successful American composer David Poe. Poe has toured the world with countless musicians, including Bob Dylan, so you know he must be good. When you combine the guy who made Spongebob, the guy who played for Dylan and the group who broke the world record for fitting the most humans into a Mini Cooper, something amazing has got to happen. Shadowland is that something.
Bangarra Dance Theatre is celebrating its 25th anniversary with another masterful fusion of storytelling and contemporary dance. Building on one of the earliest collaborations between Aboriginal people and the new settlers, Patyegarang traces the relationship between a spirited young indigenous woman and an English astronomer. It's a little bit like Australia's own Pocahontas adaptation but with cutting edge choreography. As the colonial fleet arrived on Eora country in the late eighteenth century, Patyegarang befriended Lieutenant William Dawes and in a courageous display of trust, began teaching him her local language. Lifted from the pages of Dawes' notebooks and modelled into an endearing portrait of friendship and cultural exchange, this production encourages a more nuanced understanding of 'first contact.' It also enlivens the legacy of Patyegarang as a striking visionary and educator. Assured by the experienced hand (or foot) of artistic director Stephen Page, along with a deeply moving soundscape by David Page, this is Bangarra's first full-length Sydney story. Imbued with a spirit of optimism and collaboration, Patyegarang promises an electric tribute to our first people, excavating an overlooked historical tale and providing an opportunity to reflect on Australia's future as a new nation.
The Biennale may have wrapped for another two years, but hot on the heels of genre-defying and New York-based art stars is Performance Space's Sonic Social. Hauling in some participatory and experimental ideas, Performance Space is teaming up with the MCA to keep your cultural calendar topped up. The month of June will be studded with sound-based performances scattered throughout the museum. Whether the works be roaming between floors or tucked in discreet nooks, Sonic Social's aim is to respond to the MCA's architecture and activate neglected spaces. Sonic Social will see the formation of temporary communities — both organised and impromptu — from marching bands and dance parties through to support groups and choirs. Recruiting a group of sound savvy artists, Performance Space's programme is about examining the noise threshold of museum etiquette and then violating it. What embarrassing tune do you have lurking in your iTunes library? Requesting a dig through your playlist is Song-Ming Ang with Guilty Pleasures. This work sees Ang act as councillor and confessor, bringing a bit of daggy pop pleasure to high art. Make sure you bring along an incriminating track to be absolved of your trashy listening sins. Weeding out more guilty admissions is Malcolm Whittaker's work Ignoramous Anonymous, a support group for the unsure and the unaware. It's time to fess up that you're out of the loop with what's going on in Ukraine or that you can't spell 'pterodactyl.' It's a shame-free sanctuary for clearing up misconceptions. There's also Michaela Davies' use of Electronic Muscle Stimulation to animate the passive limbs of musicians and produce unconventional sounds. And investigating the tension between regiment and release, Lauren Brincat and Bree Van Reyk unpick the structure of the marching band. Finally, Luke Jaaniste and Julian Day are dishing up Super Critical Mass, a participatory project taking the shape of a 'sonic flash mob'. If you're keen to get involved, nip 'round for rehearsals.
Jamie North's work is bound to be unlike any art practice you've seen before. Using a single exposed column as a clue, the sculptures featured in his newest exhibition, Terraforms are modelled on the pillars encased in Sarah Cottier Gallery. However, from the slick base upwards the pillars slowly disintegrate, housing micro-environments of many different plant species. Mirrored by the hard glossy floor, it is as if these sculptures are caught in a process of premature decay, invoking a poetic image of ancient ruins being reclaimed by nature. There's even a few companion columns shaped like the remnants of a gate. Through his practice, North addresses how landscapes are impacted by industry. The accelerated erosion of his sculptures could be interpreted as an ominous reflection of the way we ceaselessly churn through limited resources. In this way, the temporal jolt that comes with this ruinous aesthetic seems to frame humanity retrospectively. In spite of the monolithic appearance of these structures, they are actually built of industrial waste. There is a sharp irony wherein organic life is supported by coal ash and steel stag. However, North also undermines the monumentalism that has captivated civilisation and infers towards the fallacy of building something that will last forever. The colossal structures of our time are destined to crumble and be re-absorbed back into the landscape they once colonized. North seems to create a microcosmic, gallery-tailored version of this cyclic power struggle between natural and artificial. Chiselling down the centre of these pillars, North plants the seeds of environmental recuperation. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Australian plant life and unless you're an ecology buff, the subtleties between species might be lost. As greenery clings to concrete, it also reaches upwards and outwards, becoming entwined with other shoots. Combined with the rough composite material of the pillar's core, we are witnessing a back-to-basics blossoming of little ecosystems. There is a deep sense of time and process embedded in these works, as well as an organic re-modelling of structures in anticipation of sustainability. In addition to North's sculptures, there is an accompanying pair of black and white photographs. Aptly titled Moving Mountains, the glistening contours of these steel slag mountains create the impression that loose stones are sliding forward. Importantly, this is an example of manmade geography, perhaps an example of the kind of monumentalism North negates with his sculptures. Nevertheless, these images reinforce his preoccupation with the various phases of industry. North is keenly aware of how we manipulate environments, rehearsing the way in which materials are extracted from nature, refined, accumulated, used, and potentially re-used.
When good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, George Washington was distilling his own at Mount Vernon, and Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men fuelled our unquenchable single malt hankerings; The Glenmore was gearing up for their latest winter venture. Sipping the American Classic atop The Rocks' Argyle Cut, The Glenmore is offering exclusive masterclasses in the art of rye, whisky, whiskey and scotch appreciation. The furthest thing from a soapbox-inducing dry month, The Glenmore are hosting their very first Rye July. "We have seen a huge increase in the popularity of whiskey lately as people are re-discovering the ‘water of life’. So much so that experts are warning that there’s a potential world shortage on the way," gushes Glenmore general manager Nick Beath. "So we’ve teamed up with the team at Bulleit to celebrate the golden drop and offer all whiskey lovers the chance to learn from the best at a range of exclusive masterclasses that will leave everyone thirsty for more." A one-off series of appreciation classes on wintry Thursday evenings, Rye July takes over the snuggly lounge level of The Glenmore with whiskey tasting sessions, tips on food pairing (with canapes to nibble) and how to make actually decent DIY pre-batched cocktails. Sounds like a much better whisky-fuelled idea than the time Jim Beam thought Mila Kunis was the perfect brand face. Most importantly, on 10 July, the crew will lay it down — once and for all — the difference between a whiskey, a whisky and a rye; so you can jaw-drop your mates at Baxter's Inn or The Wild Rover next time you're ordering a snifter. Limited tickets for each event are available at $30 per person. For more information or to just jump in and book, email info@theglenmore.com.au or call (02) 9247 4794.
There are a lot of cliches in breaking up. It's not you it's me. I can't be with anyone right now. You're not in love with me; you're in love with the idea of me. Pretty much all of those cliches, it seems, had their first outing in an 1879 play, A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, when Nora Helmer walked out on her husband, introducing the European public to the idea that relationships can and sometimes should end. It didn't go down too well, with many people scandalised and the ending softened for a future production. But it's an idea that's lasted and a play that's never lost its resonance. Much-loved independent company Sport for Jove are breaking with their usual Shakespeare programming to present this traditional but ever sparkling, beautifully honed production. A Doll's House is all about lead Nora (Matilda Ridgway), devoted and happy wife of Torvald (Douglas Hansell). She believes her bank manager husband is a more heroic man than he is, though he's openly a self-involved, controlling sexist around her. For his part, he thinks she's a helpless, pretty little bird, though it's something she layers on for his benefit. Little does Torvald know that Nora once engineered a scheme that would save his life but hurt his pride — and you know that revelation is not going to go down well, despite her faith in a "miracle". A Doll's House stuns with its early feminist insights into power and relationships, but its ultimate idea that to flourish in a couple, we first need to know ourselves as individuals is one that resonates for all genders. The emotional minefield of bad relationships is palpable in this crystalline production, adapted and directed by Adam Cook. A lot of this works so well because Ridgway is sensational in the part. As Nora, she has to manage so many different modes of being in front of so many different characters, and each evolving as her predicament progresses. From ditsy to defiant, she gracefully nails each stop on Nora's journey, while adding playful charm that actually makes us like her. If Ridgway's not in demand for a dozen main stage roles after this, it's a scandal. While performances from the whole cast (including Anthony Gooley as the slippery Krogstad and Barry French as dear family friend Dr Rank) make the script sing, it's a shame that the set seems to try for full 19th-century bourgeois Norway on a budget. With unrestored vintage furniture, insurance-firm grey carpet, startlingly ordinary doors, and brown, brown everywhere, the look is so drab and depressing, it's distracting. Most baffling of all, when the set does break from realism — with semitransparent back walls bathed in glowing blue light — it's only to create another eyesore. Even for a traditional staging, it's unfortunate that more creative solutions could not have been found for a room furnished "comfortably and tastefully". Designer Hugh O'Connor has done a wonderful job with the period costumes, however, which set the tone for the drama nicely. Some stories never get old. Others only get more interesting when we are allowed the joy of viewing of them with modern eyes. A Doll's House is such a story. With a 'sequel' coming up from the crafty minds at Belvoir, it's worth catching up on this classic now.
Pulsing synths, addictive percussion and mellow crooning have seen this Perth trio launch from strength to strength, making waves both locally and abroad. From Unearthed beginnings through to shows at Groovin' the Moo and Laneway, Crooked Colours have generated a following hypnotised by their feelgood ambience. These electronica lads are currently on their first ever national tour, promoting the brand spanking new EP, In Your Bones. Hot off the back of sold out shows in Melbourne, Crooked Colours will be touching down at Goodgod Small Club, ready to churn out some tender tunes and audiovisual witchery. Cranking up the tempo, there will also be killer supports from electronica duo Deja, as well as Sydney five-piece and celestial dream pop weavers, I Know Leopard. This is going to be a seriously vibing, all-night dance party, so get down and sweat it out before the boys kick on up north. https://youtube.com/watch?v=UvVPInNtU_Y
What do Melbourne, Sydney and Austin all have in common? Come August, they will have all been home to the Carnivores Ball, which will soon be having its first Sydney instalment. The Carnivores Ball is an extravagant soiree dedicated to the (over) consumption of meaty goodness. After sell-out events in Melbourne and Austin, organisers are heading to Sydney in a venture that is sure to make local meat lovers break out in happy, pre-emptive sweats. Brought to you by Melbourne food blogger and honorary Texan Jess Pryles of BurgerMary (not to be confused with beloved Newtownian burger institution Mary's), the event boasts the inclusion of meat with every course, including dessert. This smorgasbord can be washed down with some locally brewed Young Henrys craft beer. Participating chefs include Matt Fitzgerald of El Topo and the crew from Hillbilly BBQ. While you battle through the menu, BurgerMary has promised an array of meat-centric activities, including pop-up stalls, gift bags and live music, as well as a mechanical bull to really set the scene. So, if you started salivating at the thought of a four-course meat-fest, then this is certainly your scene. And considering you don't win friends with salad, the company should be pretty great too. The Carnivores Ball will be held at the Marrickville Town Hall on August 16. All this protein-infused goodness will set you back $78 per person. Tickets can be purchased via TryBooking.
Have you ever needed to convey an important message to someone in a big way, but sweated to find the perfect gift to do so? Maybe you needed to say, 'sorry for being a jerk', 'thanks for being a great mate', or simply, 'I love you'. Well, perhaps not surprisingly, there’s a website to fix that problem. Sorry Thanks I Love You is an online store that’s working to reignite the culture of giving. By taking a short personalised shopping quiz based on the person in mind (with questions such as ‘What were they like a kid?’ or ‘What would they do with 24 hours in NYC?’), Sorry Thanks I Love You has everything you could ever need to help you say any of those five little words (you'd hope). The site features handmade accessories, homewares, gourmet foods, fresh flowers from boutique florists and craft beverages sourced from around the world. And now you can see and try out all these goodies for yourself at Sorry Thanks I Love You's pop-up store in Martin Place, open right up until Christmas. The store will feature tons of products, including knives carved from Scandinavian reindeer antler, hand-woven Kashmiri scarves and traditional Japanese furoshiki wrapping cloths. Gourmet goodies include wheels of Bruny Island cheese and premium single malt whisky distilled in highland Tasmania, which you can taste test in the store. You'll also find colourful wares from the iconic Finnish design brand Marimekko.
If the idea of dancing to techno in a lurid club on a Saturday night is repulsive to you, then get excited because The Chip Off the Old Block has got you covered. For the month of August, Saturday nights at The Chip will be dubbed Whisky Business and Old School Saturdays. It's all about the music, without any of the headache-inducing thudding beats and creepy guy grinding on you. But it's not just any music. There's old school rap, R&B and hip hop. We're talking Ice Cube, TLC, Busta Rhymes, Mary J Blige. It's all happening. Bust out your best Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: it's time to party like it's 1999. As the name implies, the whisky will be a flowin', with whisky specials on from 8pm until 10pm. It's guaranteed fun when Ice Cube is involved. It's not the only welcome themed night at the Chip. Try Bend It Like Tuesdays (Young Henrys brews, bhajis and samosas), Game On Wednesdays (Snap. Spoons. Gin Rummy. Dominoes. Jenga. Go Fish. Etc. With a complimentary glass of house wine for your first win), Trip In & Chip In Thursdays (DJ Trip Off and mulled Young Henrys cider infused with sloe gin) and Chipper Fridays (house wine and beer $5, with a side of Chips Off The Old Block for $8).
In a new initiative between the Australian film industry and Harley-Davidson, the Open Road Film Festival has challenged Aussie filmmakers to create the beginning of a six-minute film noir movie, the last 75 seconds of which have already been made by world-renowned Ned Kelly director Gregor Jordan. Entrants were tasked with fully developing the beginning of film noir thriller The Queen of Hearts, from scripting and storyboarding to production and editing. Each film had the chance to feature a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, which were available free for 24 hours to those that wanted them. Preliminary judging and entries have ended, and this Tuesday the top eight films will be screened, with public voting beginning December 1. The best film will win a Harley-Davidson 883 and a Canon 1D.
On the 25th November, 1987, ten artists came together for a group exhibition in Meagher Street, Chippendale, called “Boomalli Au Go Go”. This is where the story of “Ripple Effect”, curated by Keith Munro, starts: with the formation of what is not just one of Australia’s most enduring artists’ collective, but one of the country’s most important spaces and groups of Aboriginal artists. It’s a story that’s still unfolding. Since that first exhibition, the artists - Bronwyn Bancroft, Euphemia Bostock, Brenda L Croft, Fiona Foley, Fern Martins, Arone Raymond Meeks, Tracey Moffatt, Avril Quaill, Michael Riley and Jeffrey Samuels - have forged their own careers and joined the Australian art canon. Boomalli itself - as a space and a cooperative of like-minded artists - has evolved and endured across locations, hauled itself out of debt and dodged bureaucratic red tape. It’s a space that is amorphous as it is influential. Although much of the large state galleries' collections have, until recently, focussed on Western Desert art as the principal example of Indigenous art, “Ripple Effect” takes us to the limit of the diversity of the media, themes and disciplines Aboriginal artists are working in. Munro says his curatorial directive was to voice “an interesting conversation between the beginning of Boomalli’s history and the present. In the last twenty-five years, the artists have branched out to explore new media and scale, and become bold and confident” in their respective fields. And so, “Ripple Effect” sweeps across painting, photography and works on paper; installation, moving image and print media. Moffat’s spliced, diced video clippish Others sits alongside Bancroft’s Galaxy Gateways, an abstract painting that allows the eyes to slide and wander. Foley’s photo etching and collage photography, Survival, faces Bostock’s more traditional, expressive cotton screen print, Possum Skin. Across from a wall of Boomalli’s early exhibition posters is a collection of ephemera - notes, archives and photographs that document Boomalli’s rich living history. Together, it all makes sense. “All those threads are part of this journey of Boomalli - the genesis of the space and the practices of the ten founding members,” says Munro. Despite, or because, of this diversity, Boomalli has provided a common place for the common narratives of the ten artists. All told, the exhibition is startlingly contemporary. “Ripple Effect” is not just a 25th anniversary retrospective, but a demonstration of how Aboriginal artists are intervening into the art world, bringing the weight of their traditions into a contemporary framework. The show looks outward rather than backward, balancing country, culture and lore with dynamism, regeneration and innovation. “Ripple Effect” is a new part of the living history of a community, its people and events, and the exchanges and dialogues that it has sparked, a history that cannot be contained in the artworks themselves. Image by Fernanda Martins, Avril Quaill and Jeffrey Samuels, from original 1987 Boomalli Exhibition, Boomalli Au Go Go.
The YouTube film Innocence of Muslims is one the modern marvels of the internet. So shoddy is its sound that one moment characters appear to be speaking underwater, the next they emulate chipmunks. The green screen studio work is amazingly bad, and the acting is some of the funniest you’ll see this year. It's also evidently one of the most religiously offensive things on the net at the moment, if we go by the worldwide protests it provoked in September this year. Writer CJ Johnson has taken Innocence of Muslims and its impact on the recent US election as his topic for Hollywood Ending (Or, How a Washed Up Director Made a Crappy Movie that Almost Destroyed the World), showing as part of Griffin's independent season. Production company Arts Radar have employed their Rapid Write format so that topical plays are still topical by the time they reach the stage. By working speedily with director Tim Roseman and dramaturg Lee Lewis, as well as workshopping at length with the cast, Johnson has ended up with an audience-ready script that can still claim relevance. Johnson’s central focus is on his protagonist, Don (Terry Serio), modelled on the film's director, a former porn director named Alan Roberts. As such, the play's topic is more midlife crisis than Middle East crisis. There are a few nods to world events, but they are not really the core of the play. Don has two scenes in which he gropes for an understanding of the politics of the situation. First, his left-leaning lesbian daughter, Laura (Caroline Craig), advises him that the screenplay is hate speech. Secondly, when he confronts the film's Republican producer, Amy (Briallen Clarke), she makes an impassioned defence of free speech and tells him to man up. There is also a cute political props placement in one of the final scenes. A small book about Paul Ryan's libertarian high priestess, Ayn Rand, is placed next to a chair leg, for the front row or optically gifted to see. It remains at the chair leg for the scene and is then removed. There's a general rule in theatre that unless a prop is going to be used, don’t put it on stage, but in this case it is a charming little treat for those who can see it. The show is very funny, and the performances are excellent, but the potential for political commentary is not realised because the discussions are too simple. For instance, Laura likens the film to Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses, which is both a huge insult to Rushdie and high praise for Innocence of Muslims. Johnson's writing and Serio's characterisation of Don portray a loveable halfwit who should never have strayed from the set of a porn film. As Rushdie said on the Daily Show in September, "even jerks have the right to free speech, but they're still jerks." Photo by Patrick Boland.
Working to capture the truth that lies behind their transforming society, filmmakers across China are working outside of state-sanctioned production companies with inexpensive cameras to communicate what international correspondents obsessed with simplicity do not. Huang Weikai's Disorder and Wang Jiuliang's Beijing Besieged by Waste illustrate, to a point, the breadth of these documentaries. Disorder is the product of over a thousand hours of amateur footage. Unshowable on China's heavily controlled television networks, it displays for the world to see the maddening effects of an ever-changing urban environment. Beijing Besieged by Waste documents the capital's struggle with its ever-encroaching waste, featuring conversation with the scavengers who live amongst the waste of 13 million people.
Things don't tend to go well at motels in the middle of nowhere. They are always closeted and vulnerable in their isolation, with a Lynchian surreality leeching in from the edges. And when your motel is in the part of the middle of nowhere that's next to a high-security prison, the threats present themselves quite vividly. So it is at the Blue Angel Hotel, which serves as a base for visiting wives and girlfriends and is tended by ultimate prisoner 'groupie' Grace (Gael Ballantyne). A few guests tumble in: regular Vic (Jacqui Livingston), a psychiatrist who may have reached a very favourable assessment of one of her patients; new face Angela (Eloise Snape), who is here for the same parole hearing but with a wholly different perspective to argue; Ray (Bill Conn), the bus driver with a hopeless devotion to Grace; and Hiro (Takaya Honda), a random blow-in who speaks no English and whom Grace allows to breach her usual 'no tourists' policy. There's an exotic mural on the wall, sirens in the distance, and, occasionally, an otherworldly dance that comes on with a dimming of the lights. Like some other famous hotels, it's the kind of place from which you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. Katie Pollock's new play is concerned with unpacking the psychological factors that drive some women into the arms of men who they know to have committed acts of violence, and it does so with sensitivity, creativity, and nerve. Not one of the female characters is the stereotype you may be expecting to meet — in fact, they mostly emphasise their dissociation from the nebulous group of devoted partners and MWIs (Met While Incarcerateds) that Grace captains. You get a nice echo of their different relationship motivations as they imprint them on the passive stranger Hiro — Grace seeking someone to look after; Vic, someone to provide a shot of danger and excitement; Angela, someone gentle and protective. The tension between the women is a riveting and revealing source of drama. There are parts of The Blue Angel Hotel that are a touch overdone: The foreboding setting is well established without the prison bars dripping into the lobby from overhead, and some of the script's asides serve up characters' psychologies a bit too bluntly, denying us the fun of getting to know them as the play progresses. Other, more symbolic asides are welcome and intriguing. After all, when we travel to an inn at the end of the world, we want the walls between the everyday and the metaphysical to be thinned. Photo by Zorica Purlija.
It wasn't that long ago that Dylan Baldi was just a kid churning out power-pop ballads from the basement of his parents' house in Westlake, Ohio. Nowadays Baldi's copy of GarageBand is gathering virtual dust. Under the pseudonym Cloud Nothings, the now 22-year-old has replaced the mechanical-sounding backing instruments with a full live band. The change in personnel has also rung in a change in the sound. Out are the bright and upbeat lo-fi sounds of his previous works and in is a dark and aggressive take on the genre. The new sound is prevalent across their latest LP, Attack on Memory — an album that was described by Baldi as being "an attack on the memory of what people thought the band was”. It has taken three full-lengths, but finally Cloud Nothings are set to hit Australia in 2013. Appearing on the already immense Laneway Festival bill, the band has announced two sideshow dates for Melbourne and Sydney. And if YouTube is anything to go by, the new Cloud Nothings live show will most likely leave you sweating for days.
There doesn't seem to be much going on in Iceland these days — well, at least from an international perspective. Of Monsters and Men are the exception to that statement. This six-piece act are one of the biggest Icelandic musical exports that isn't a black metal band, and they have been wowing audiences across the globe with their bright, bubbly, and overwhelmingly cute take on folk. Accordions, glockenspiels, and horns add something uplifting and atmospheric to their catchy creations. Their debut album, My Head Is an Animal, was released earlier in 2012 to critical acclaim. It even managed to get itself into the ARIA Top 50 charts, which we all know is a hard task for anyone who isn't Birds of Tokyo. You'll be able to catch it all in their debut Australian appearances in 2013, as they venture to our shores for the Laneway Festival and two exclusive shows in Melbourne and Sydney. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ghb6eDopW8I
Iggy Pop is a legend's legend. The American juvenile delinquent teamed up with the only other guys in his midwest town who liked the Velvet Underground to form the Stooges. Then the Ramones and a dozen other seminal bands formed based on being the only guys in their town who liked the Stooges. Back in the day, Iggy rolled around on stage, shirtless, covered in honey, peanut butter, and glitter (or all three) and invented crowd surfing (which he did standing up ). Though now much older, the Godfather of Punk still seems largely averse to wearing shirts. This is what he and his band of legends look like rocking out nowadays, with Minuteman Mike Watt on bass. But does their music still hold up? Oh yes. The Stooges are playing the Hordern, and this may be your last chance to see them live in Oz.
Campfire Collective is a boutique arts production group, and they’re sticklers for doing things properly. That means they make new stuff happen that otherwise just wouldn't exist — switched-on, intelligent, DIY kind of stuff. Lately, they've curated a season of Late Night Library, organised a bunch of alternative stand-up comedy nights, and hosted storytelling workshops for writers and performers to hone their skills. Now they're turning over the stage to you. Forget that it's in a library; Bites After Work is a night where real people tell real stories around the proverbial campfire. At Storytelling 102, the collective tips, techniques and tricks to help you tell your story. It's free, but book online before 5pm Monday or join the stand-by queue on the night.
It might be a blazing stereotype of a nation and its people, but Italians are passionate. They know food, they know wine, they know love and, boy, do they know drama. For all of the above pictured on celluloid, head along to a Palace Cinemas late September and October for the Lavazza Italian Film Festival. This annual celebration of the creative talents of Italian filmmakers is always a sight to behold. Topping this year's fest is the comedy hit Welcome to the North (Benvenuti al nord), the sequel to Welcome to the South that won the Nastri d'Argento Award for Best Screenplay. Exclusive preview screenings of Woody Allen's new film, To Rome with Love, starring Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody himself (among a cast of other familiar faces) will also feature at the festival. Other standouts are Caesar Must Die (Cesare Deve Morire), which won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale, and the divorce comedy A Flat for Three(Posti in Piedi in Paradiso). Italian comedies are big and bawdy, dramas are dark and insular, and romances make you want to find the closest person and make sweet passionate love. Nothing is sedate; Italian films are always life on steroids in the best possible way, so make sure you don't miss this highlight of the international film calendar. Image from Welcome to the North.
If you've never really spent much time contemplating the world of T-shirts, then here's your chance. The Galeries, aMBUSH Gallery and Eddie Zammit (founder of T-world journal) have joined forces to create an event that focuses on that thing you often use to cover the top half of your body: the humble T-shirt. Yes, you've most likely got one on right now, or have a few in your dirty washing pile. What's this all about then? Well, there will be a T-shirt installation (of 200 T-shirts), an I love T's exhibition (curated by Zammit and aMBUSH Gallery, at Lane Four) and a live screenprinting of T-shirts by 6 designers, including Sydney-based Natalie Wood and Los Angeles outfit HIT+RUN themselves (you can also score one if you're lucky). For those still struggling to make the link between the words HIT+RUN and T-shirts (fair enough), you need to look at what these two southern Californian lads, Brandy Flower and Mike Crivello, used to do. The small silkscreening parties in their homes seem to have grown quite a bit since 2005. HIT+RUN runs from 6-9pm on Thursday, September 20. The Lane Four I love T's exhibition runs until November 26.
Priests of the marriage between indie rock and folky world music, Zach Condon and his band Beirut are returning to our shores for a third time this November. Since releasing his critically lauded debut album Gulag Orkestar at the tender age of 19 and following it up one year later with the unashamedly Francophilic The Flying Cup Cub, then-solo Zach Condon has decided to get inspired by things other than snowy European winters. His 2011 release The Rip Tide was influenced instead by a snowy upstate New York winter, with Condon voyaging inward rather than to old-world Eastern Europe. For his journey to the somewhat sunnier Harvest Festival later this year he's re-amassed the relative mainstayers of his ever-changing band, and together they're playing a string of sideshows in November. Voyage yourselves over to the 2042 postcode on November 14th to catch the Sydney leg of this musical nomad's ceaseless world tour. https://youtube.com/watch?v=sX7fd8uQles
It’s not just when buying real estate that you have to consider location, location, location. ‘Cause what’s better than seeing a great show in a stuffy theatre is seeing a great show on a former convict prison with complete with an island bar and nada over your head but the night sky, which is why Cockatoo Island Film Festival and The Keystone Group have seen it fit to transform one of our coolest World Heritage sites into an outdoor music venue boating two stages of eclectic musical acts. Over the last weekend in October two areas of the island will be transformed into two alfresco music venues labeled Island Life and The Precinct. The former will he headlined by purveyors of socially savvy music Arrested Development, downtempo island-appropriate locals Bluejuice and Jinja Safari and luxuriously bearded singer-songwriter Matt Corby. And if you’re not ready to go home at 10pm pop-up nightclub The Precinct will keep on kicking on with the aid of some of the country’s best DJs, including Halfway Crooks, Future Classic and DJ Huwston, with Gossling and Saskwatch easing you in to the Friday and Saturday night revelry with their own groovy beats. Organisers have also taken note of the fact that Cockatoo Island is indeed inaccessible by land and arranged some handy after-midnight ferrys to get you back to dry land safely. Cockatoo Island Film Festival 2012 musical lineup: Thursday 25 October Island Life: Arrested Development with Alison Wonderland The Precinct: Halfway Crooks Friday 26 October Island Life: Bluejuice and Jinja Safari The Precinct: Gossling with Future Classic DJs Saturday 27 October Island Life: Matt Corby The Precinct: Saskwatch with DJ Huwston Tickets on sale now through Moshtix.
French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau was one of the most enduring musicians of his time, but also one of the most enigmatic, with little known of his life. While his style was initially considered an affront to the establishment, his unorthodox approach to harmony became increasingly influential and eventually de rigueur in the French court. Intriguingly, while his music was pretty and ornate, he was known as a headstrong, volatile character. Rameau's music lends itself particularly well to dance and forms the starting point for the new work Project Rameau, the first collaboration between the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Sydney Dance Company. The latter is headed by Spanish born Rafael Bonachela, who will provide choreography for the 17 dancers, while the 22-piece chamber orchestra, led by the ever-prolific Richard Tognetti, will bring to life selections from Rameau's operas, as well as interludes from Bach and Vivaldi. Image by Justin Ridler.
The Sydney Architecture Festival 2012 is so much more than just a celebration of our city’s architectural heritage. Closely connected to the Super Sydney project, it seeks to open a discussion the future of our diverse and continually evolving metropolis. The programme contains the usual tours and peeks inside the city’s gems you would expect — including the biennial Sydney Open — but it goes far beyond this with a plethora of talks, exhibitions and activities taking place throughout Sydney and its surrounds. These explore the challenges that collective living poses, both social and environmental. Innovators from Australia and elsewhere offer creative solutions from a whole range of perspectives and provide an excellent opportunity to learn about urban planning and our future. The time is yet to come for our wonderful city, as it works to find its identity and share its wealth with all. But that time is near. Though the issues of affordability, housing and transport continue to beset us, great changes are most definitely afoot. Image: 1 Bligh St, looking up, Courtesy DEXUS, DWPF & Cbus.
His soulful voice could stir emotion even if he was speaking gibberish, but Willis Earl Beal's story is also well worth a listen. In display of grassroots ascent all but unheard of these days Beal found fame after he found himself living on the streets of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he moved from Chicago in 2007 to try land a job. He eventually found one at a motel, and in a moment of Carly Rae Jepsen audaciousness scattered hand drawn flyers listing his phone number and address: "My name is Willis Earl Beal. Call me and I'll sing you a song. Write to me and I'll draw you a picture." Found Magazine called him, interviewed him and featured his flyer on the cover, and three years later his debut album of home recordings, Acousmatic Sourcery, was released. The most interesting thing about this guy though is what he might do next. And that's what you'll get a hint of come January. https://youtube.com/watch?v=0dmeK01Nm48
Want to sing along to a live version of "Emergency Contraception Blues" or do your Shuffle dance in a public place rather than in the shower (with lots of jumping involved)? Then here's your chance, because the Bombay Bicycle Club are going to be hanging out in Australia for a little while after playing The Falls Festival and a string of American gigs. It's time to learn their lyrics, perhaps eat a curry (the band named themselves after a curry chain) and practice those Northern Londonder accents ("you riiiiiiigh?") These guys sure seem like an interesting bunch in their music clips, frolicking around London and revealing a love for moon juice, space jellyfish and antennae growing out of heads, so surely the gig will be a hit. Three of the four in the band have been playing together since they were 15, their last two albums have gone gold in the UK and Triple J seem to like them a lot too. Jack Steadman (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Jamie MacColl (guitar), Ed Nash (bass) and Suren de Saram (drums) make their music a hard one to pin down in terms of classification, but British indie folk, indie rock and twee pop all seem apt. Local act The Paper Kites are going to be supporting them, if for some reason you needed another reason to go. https://youtube.com/watch?v=MgvBmEmtF-I
'Water – Filter' must be near to the most boring link you'll ever click on, but that resounding prosaicness doesn't apply to the subject within, the innovative production Water by UK theatre radicals Filter. Anyone looking to increase the purity of what comes out of their tap, we're afraid Google has misdirected you. Filter is a company of three co-artistic directors — Oliver Dimsdale, Ferdy Roberts, and prodigious sound man Tim Phillips — who are joined on stage this time around by performer Poppy Miller and who created this piece with the Lyric Hammersmith's David Farr (an accomplished director best known to Australian audiences for cowriting child-assassin flick Hanna). The group do a couple of things differently: They combine performance with text, image, sound, and technology to make their message, and they aim to lay bare the processes of the production, so the audience can see the performers, sound designer, and stage manager at work, making a big scene out of a small toolbox. Their methodology puts them at the forefront of contemporary international theatre practice. For this show, they've addressed themselves to 'water' and everything that entails: the molecular composition of it, the destructive rise of it under the influence of global warming, the power of it to shield its greatest depths from our complete study, the echoey ping it makes hitting a saucepan placed under a leaky roof. With a cool blue-black set and a stage coated to appear slick, they conjure the feel of it in drips, depths, and concepts. Although LCD screens reconfigure to frame new scenes, most of Filter's effects are more down-home, using the kind of tactile, crafty approach that will appeal to fans of filmmaker Michel Gondry. The result is highly involving to watch. So its unfortunate that Water doesn't quite gel when it comes to the biggest challenge for a devised piece, the narrative that drives it. Filter has its performers meet as a woman unable to commit to her relationship while fighting to achieve a binding climate change treaty, a deep-sea diver pushed beyond his limits, a groundbreaking climate scientist, and a man who crosses the Atlantic to bury a father changed from the man he knew. They all face the choice of whether to be right or to be happy, whether to change the world or to be comfortable within it. Some of these are dry subjects that Filter should get points for managing to bring to life at all. It's how you want to see theatre integrating the personal and political, bypassing the didacticism, extended allegory, and sentimentality. But in this instance, the stories are not wholly engaging sketches that feel like they were the secondary consideration in putting this show together, which they probably were. Go to Water for its remarkable vision and design. The whole thing ends on a spectacular tableau that will widen your eyes like a child's upon seeing their first magic trick.
The good guys behind Astral People have teamed up with Strawberry Fields to do what they do best, which is amassing some of the freshest electronic artists around to invigorate Sydney's underground electronic scene and make us realise what we've been missing while dancing to bastardised remixes of Gotye. This time they're bringing four of the most exciting acts around right now for Land of the Giants. The inaugural event will see Tycho (USA), Baths (USA), Prefuse 73 (USA) and Synkro (UK) go head to head at The Metro Theatre in November, prefacing the myriad of major summer music festivals with a boundary-pushing four-headed audio experience said to span continents, planets and timeframes. Swirly San Franciscian Tycho will have a full band in tow to assist with generating the dreamy transcendental vibes as his makes his Australian debut. Intricate L.A. producer Baths will also be testing the waters here after knocking our socks off with his first album Cerulan, which he released two years ago at the tender age of 21. Synkro and Prefuse 73 will be bringing, respectively, the obligatory yet atypical dubstep and the lush glitchy beats. Land of the Giants will take place at The Metro Theatre on Saturday, November 24. Tickets are less than $50 and are on sale now through The Metro website. Concrete Playground has two double passes to Land of the Giants up for grabs. For a chance to win, make sure you're subscribed to Concrete Playground then email your name and postal address to hello@concreteplayground.com.au by 5pm Thursday 8 November. https://youtube.com/watch?v=tVTrZjY2K5I
If you're a seasoned traveller (of the armchair variety or otherwise) who wants to bring a touch of here, there and everywhere to your home, then look no further than ici et la, literally meaning ‘here and there’ in French. This Surry Hills homewares and furniture store plays host to an astounding array of antiques and found objects, many of which were sourced directly from private European collections. In true French style, ici et la is famous for the brightly striped deckhairs which herald its entrance. You can also expect to find vintage bikes suspended from the ceiling, mountains of dusty encyclopaedias and rare treasures from the time of Napoleon III’s reign. To make way for the arrival of new stock, ici et la is holding an onsite auction on September 1, where a selection of 19th-century garden furniture, industrial design and original decorative pieces will be up for grabs. If you'd like to have a sneak peak at the pieces prior to auction day, or just want to see how the other half lives, you can head to the three remaining viewing dates at the showroom on August 30, 31 and September 1 or simply open a new browser tab and head to their online catalogue.
p>When playwright Robert J Merritt first saw his script The Cake Man performed, he was wearing handcuffs. An inmate of Long Bay jail at the time, he had been let out for opening night, on the condition that he did not stray from the watchful eye of police guard. The entire script had been written in incarceration. The Cake Man is as potent for its historical significance as it is for its tragic yet poetic portrait of European paternalism from an Aboriginal perspective. It was the very first full-length stage production presented by the National Black Theatre, which, in 1975, moved into a run-down Redfern terrace with a mission: to deliver hard-hitting Indigenous theatre. The Cake Man's menacing opening scenes are a fitting starting point for the realisation of such a vision. A group of black dolls crowds around a humpy — representing a simplistic, Eurocentric portrait of life in 'terra nullius' — only to be interrupted by three white missionaries. The condescending preaching of so-called 'Enlightenment' ends in a brutal murder by rifle. We leap forward in time — into the world of an Aboriginal family, living on a mission in Cowra, where poverty and the delusion of affluent, urban dreams are the consequences of invasion. While Sweet William (Luke Carroll) grapples with alcohol addiction, his strong but misguided wife Ruby (Irma Woods) seeks consolation in the Bible and his son, Pumpkinhead (a rather charming James Slee), engages in petty theft. Director Kyle J. Morrison handles the script deftly, emphasising the dynamic created by the interspersing of rich monologues with domestic drama. The writing, though slightly laboured from time to time, is at its strongest when in full poetic flight, interweaving psychological struggles with natural and mythical imagery. Carroll delivers a particularly charismatic and powerful performance, displaying impeccable timing for both tragic and comic impact. "It's not that I just want my culture back. It's not as simple as that," he explains, the script acknowledging that coming to terms with contact history cannot be articulated in platitudes but involves a complex struggle — philosophical, emotional and temporal — between two competing realities. Stephen Curtis's set, subtly lit by Jenny Vila, is rustic and sparse, comprised of wood and metal furniture. It's a convincing interpretation of context that keeps a burning focus on the human drama. This production — a collaboration between Belvoir and Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company — is evidence of The Cake Man's ability to resonate in the 21st century: a moving, disturbing unravelling of irretrievable loss not devoid of a glimmer of hope. Image by Heidrun Lohr.
Some of the world's fringe festivals go for curation, featuring the cream of the crop of local and touring indie talent. Others open their doors wider, allowing for the truly weird, unexpected or unconnected a chance to step under the spotlight and make a lasting impression. The Sydney Fringe Festival falls mainly into the latter camp, with its bewildering and Bible-thick program containing the wonderful, the luckless and every inflection in-between. The independent festival has grown into the city's largest alternative arts event, spanning most of September and including the media of visual arts, film, digital arts, theatre, music, comedy, musical theatre, circus/physical theatre, dance, cabaret, books, kids and family shows, poetry, food and wine and things just plain 'other'. The festival is spread out over five 'creative villages' mainly centring around the Inner West, and this year welcomes a new festival hub, Emerald City garden bar. Located in the Seymour Centre courtyard — in front of a key Fringe venue and a popular spot during summer's Courtyard Sessions — the late-night garden bar will give the sprawling festival a social heart, in the vein of the Sydney Festival's Festival Garden or Adelaide Fringe's famed Garden of Earthly Delights. Also among the new venues is Eliza's Juke Joint (at the old 5 Eliza festival bar); the Dendy Cinema car park, which will host the Artcore Guerilla Artfair; and the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, transformed into Camp Super Happy Sunshine Fun, a thing that we're assured is for adults (yay!). Comedy will continue to be based in the Factory Theatre, while Marrickville will also lead in the live music stakes, with artists such as Abby Dobson in the Camelot Lounge. "We have discovered hundreds of hidden gems within the city, not only focusing on a terrific arts program but opening up to artisan food, crafts and sub-cultures," says Sydney Fringe Festival spokesperson Kerri Glasscock. "We have unlocked the city and invite you all to join us in celebrating the wonderful world that is Sydney’s fringe." Want to know the latest from the Fringe? Check out our Sydney Fringe Festival Diary. For our top predictions, there's the ten best Sydney Fringe Festival events.
Started in 2007, Underbelly Arts is the festival weekend that's a fortnight, that's a biennial. Probably Sydney's leading event for fresh interdisciplinary and interactive art, it is better known to audiences as that one big day of playtime on atmospheric Cockatoo Island. But Underbelly Arts doesn't spend two years sleeping; it uses that time to foster the development of new work, which you can now sample. The festival is divided into two crucial parts. The second part — the Festival weekend — consists of two days of performances, art and adventure for the visiting public. But before that, you're also invited to the first part — the Lab — where you can see the artists put their work together, workshop, test and reassess their ambitions for the festival itself. The Lab runs July 24–31 and is free, with tours kicking off daily at 3pm. All the artists will have something to show, but one surely worth seeking out during the Lab is Warren Armstrong's Forms of Thought. Using a 3D printer in combination with sensors attached to your head to, yes, print out your thoughts, it's the kind of installation you'll have trouble getting close to at the Festival but might actually get to try at the Lab. Similarly, this is a good chance to examine Michaela Davies' Game On, which will let the audience control involuntary boxers being moved through electric muscle stimulation. The Festival weekend on August 3 and 4 is ticketed, and tickets are on sale now. The Festival sold out last time around and, all in all, it's an even bigger lineup 2013. Read more about eight pioneering Underbelly Arts projects in our feature. By Zacha Rosen and Rima Sabina Aouf. Image by Dylan Tonkin.
You may have heard that performance art is dead. In fact, it was murdered recently by the godmother of performance art herself, Marina Abramovic. The epic fail occurred at MoMA in New York, when she got Jay-Z to rap his art-inspired song called 'Picasso Baby' at her whilst walking around emoting on a white square. It looked like the most awkward thing ever. It's actually almost too embarrassing to post this visual evidence that such a thing happened. But we also can't not. Anyway, who needs MoMA when you've got Sydney's PACT Centre for Emerging Arts? And who needs Marina Abramovic when you've got Rebecca Cunningham and Nicola Morton curating exist-ence 5, a whole festival of actually good live art, action art and performance art? Brisbane artist-run initiative EXIST started the exist-ence festival in 2008, with the aim of developing live art audiences. In 2013, they're expanding to include partnerships with PACT in Sydney and A is for Atlas in Melbourne. The Sydney line-up is exciting enough to make you want to stage your very own happening (do it) and includes John G Boehme (Canada), Henrik Hedinge (Sweden), Bonnie Hart (Australia), Naomi Oliver (Australia) and Sandra Carluccio (Australia), with more to be announced. There's also a program of free artist talks, presentations and discussions featuring some of the country’s biggest live art heavyweights including Julie Vulcan, Rebecca Cunningham, John G. Boehme, Henrik Hedinge, Bonnie Hart, Naomi Oliver, Sandra Carluccio, John A. Douglas, Sarah Rodigari, David Capra, Jess Olivieri, Boni Cairncross, Jodie Whalen.
Adoration opens with the seaside funeral of Theo, an event which doesn't seem to have particularly bothered anyone. His wife, Lil (Naomi Watts), and her best friend, Roz (Robin Wright), are altogether content with their lot; they live in a Garden of Eden-like seaside town and enjoy a friendship so enduring and close that people in the small community whisper that they are "lezzoes". When Roz's husband, Harold (Ben Mendelsohn), leaves for a job teaching drama in Sydney, the path is clear for them to give into temptation as each takes the other's gym-toned surf-loving son, Ian (Xavier Samuel) and Tom (James Frecheville), as lovers. At a preview screening, there were scattered laughs throughout, a worry for a film aiming for thoughtful adult drama rather than comedy. Adoration takes itself very seriously, though there are some potentially interesting ideas bubbling away underneath the slick surface, not least a sense that Lil and Roz are taking up these younger lovers for deeper reasons than a simple desire for their attractive sons — they are grasping at the memory of their own faded youth and seeking to be even closer with each other, the young men acting as substitutes for their own sublimated love. But too often the film wastes the dramatic potential of its material and settles for clunky symbolism rather than nuance; a scene where the characters sit down to eat an apple for no particular reason apart from the obvious biblical symbolism is particularly galling. Perhaps a director as versed with melodrama as Pedro Almodóvar could have made a great film out of Adoration, but this version stubbornly refuses to embrace the essential soapy silliness at its core, instead stretching for serious drama. Cue Lil looking off into the middle distance and intoning "We've crossed a line here" as she and Roz ponder their latest transgressions. A baffling development sees Tom, previously a monosyllabic lunk, declare his ambitions of working in theatre and temporarily move to Sydney, where he meets an aspiring actress, Mary (a scene-stealing Jessica Tovey), who also gets dragged into their web of adultery and deceit. Meanwhile, Lil's hapless suitor Saul (Gary Sweet) trails after her like a despondent puppy, dimly unaware of the fraught emotions of the group he longs to be part of. Blessed with a paradisiacal backdrop and shot with a stylish malevolence, Adoration is a kind of interesting failure. It isn't as bad as unintended guffaws would suggest, but it's hard to escape the feeling of missed opportunity here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=4xYrRsZpoxI
Say adios to a mild October; the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority are adding a little spice to the calendar with 2013's Fiesta. A free celebration of Latin American music, dance, food and culture, the festival is expecting more than 200,000 punters from Saturday, October 12, till Saturday, October 26. Tumbalong Park will host Chile’s Quique Neira, Buenos Aires' Kevin Johansen and Brazil’s Sistema Criolina, while a Carnivale-style parade will cha-cha-cha their way along Darling Harbour on October 12 for one heck of an opening night that includes giant puppets, samba dancers, capoeira performers and batucada drummers. Tumbalong Park, Harbourside Ampitheatre, Cockle Bay and the Village Green will see food stalls, craft stalls and learn-to-salsa classes also join the line-up.
There are complicated ways to explain how 3D printing works. Imagine a ream of papers that you cut one by one. No wait, imagine a turkey baster full of glue. No, let's talk about additive manufacturing or melting stuff with lasers. But, honestly, this is a technology that's just going to do Star Trek things before too long. It’s just that the technology isn’t there yet. In the meantime, though, there are plenty of cool things 3D printers can do and Object is giving you a chance to check them out during [Ctrl][P] Objects on Demand. During the show, Object will have nine 3D printers adorning its gallery space, with an exhibition, a talks program, the chance to print yourself out in a 3D photo booth and artists in residence explaining how 3D printers help them make their work work. Program details will be up soon at the [Ctrl][P] website. Object is open Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-5pm. Image: Asiga, Image Courtesy of the Artist (COTA).
Fans of alliteration and Mexican culture will want to mark this one in their diaries; it combines fiery food, Latin music and a street party in Macquarie Place. Having previously won awards for Sydney's Best Tacos, the La Lupita team have moved permanently into The Basement and this event celebrates their authentic approach to Mexican cuisine. Check out the rest of our top ten picks of Good Food Month here.
Who is Barbara Cleveland? That's the point of the latest video piece by Brown Council, a portrait in honour of one of Australia's infinitely talented yet often forgotten performance artists. This is Barbara Cleveland seeks to define Cleveland, a performance artist who disappeared mysteriously in 1981. This video installation explores the voice of Cleveland with care and intrigue, bringing to light a mythic feminist, unfairly left out of the Australian art history books. Blending fact with fiction, history with memory, the piece also delves into an exploration of art history on the whole. Namely, who is written in and out of it? And why do these calculated misrepresentations even occur? This is Barbara Cleveland is the work of Brown Council, a company renowned for national and international projects, with recent showcases featured among the likes of Cambridge Junction (UK), Forest Fringe (UK) and Museum of Contemporary Art (Sydney). This Is Barbara Cleveland is part of the You're History season, something of a birthday party for Performance Space, but don't worry about bringing a gift. They're actually giving you the presents: wrapped-up pieces of performance, visual art, dance, music and more, celebrating their big 3-0. Also showing is the bite-sized art of 30 Ways with Time and Space, the journey into mad methodologies in The Directors' Cuts, a creative send-off to analog TV and plenty more.
Have you ever seen a show and wondered what the heck was going on in the mind of the director? The Directors' Cuts at Carriageworks will offer audiences a rare glimpse into the inner-workings of the directorial mind, inviting nine former directors to reflect on the last 30 years at Performance Space, covering the highs, the lows and all the in-betweens. Over 12 days you can check out a series of live talks, screenings, projected works and performance installations led by some incredibly creative, visionary minds. Not only can you get a taster of what it takes to be a mover-and-shaker in the field of performance art, you can join in. Pet some animals in Angharad Wynne-Jones' A Parliament of Animals session (seriously) and throw back some ouzo with Nick Tsoutas at his night of good conversation and rembetika music. This is a never-to-be-repeated opportunity to experience a potentially eccentric, inevitably interesting behind-the-scenes-retrospection by a very big player in the Australian cultural landscape. Who knows what forgotten gems will be rediscovered? The Directors' Cuts is part of the You're History season, something of a birthday party for Performance Space, but don't worry about bringing a gift. They're actually giving you the presents: wrapped-up pieces of performance, visual art, dance, music and more, celebrating their big 3-0. Also showing is Brown Council's ode to feminist performance artist Barbara Cleveland, the bite-sized art of 30 Ways with Time and Space, a creative send-off to analog TV and plenty more. Wed-Sun 7pm, Saturday screenings 5pm. Tickets range from $10-15 for a single screening to $70 for entry into all nine shows. Members get free entry.
Practise your Cockney accent, rehearse your favourite drunken London tale and prepare for high tea: the British Film Festival has arrived in Australia for the first time ever. There'll be a dozen contemporary features, five 20th-century classics (The Third Man and Lawrence of Arabia among them) and a chance to quiz Eric Bana during a live Q&A session, and a simply smashing opening night party. Here are five of our must-sees: Jump A massive hit at the Toronto International Film Festival and winner of the Palm Springs Festival's Bridging the Borders Award, Jump is a comic thriller set on New Year's Eve in Derry, Northern Ireland. A witty, fast-paced script captures the stories of three troubled individuals, who find themselves entangled by doomed romance, theft and revenge. Good Vibrations This eccentric, unstoppable rock movie comes to the British Film Festival following sold-out sessions at the 2013 Melbourne International Film Festival. Set against Ireland's Troubles of the 1970s, it follows the story of rebellious, maverick music lover Terri Hooley, Belfast's 'godfather of punk', and his determination to show the world the power of the seven-inch single. Dom Hemingway A gangster film in the style of Sexy Beast, Dom Hemingway stars Jude Law as the outrageous, volatile Dom, and Richard E. Grant as his best friend, Dickie. Following Dom's release after twelve years of imprisonment, the two travel from London to the south of France, encountering all number of misadventures along the way, from a car accident to an inevitable femme fatale. Mission to Lars How far would you go to meet your favourite rockstar? In this quirky documentary, siblings Kate and Will Spicer find out when they take their autistic brother, Tom, to Los Angeles to pursue Metallica's Lars Ulrich. Still Life The latest offering from Uberto Pasolini (producer of The Full Monty), Still Life is a drama in the British humanist tradition. A calm, meticulous ex-councillor, John May (Eddie Marsan) enters the lives of a mischievous adventurer, Billy Stoke, and his abandoned daughter, Kelly (Joanne Froggatt).
Performance Space is having a birthday party, but don't worry about bringing a gift. They're actually giving you the presents: wrapped-up pieces of performance, visual art, dance, music and more, celebrating their big 3-0. Like anyone planning a party, Performance Space co-director Jeff Khan says he's a bit nervous that no one will to show. "There's a sense of vulnerability, you're putting what feels like yourself on the line and its very much up to the audience whether they take it or leave it," he says ahead of 'You're History', the three-week program of events opening on Wednesday, November 20. That is such a Performance Space thing to say, that last part. Since the experimental collective began, back in a dingy Cleveland Street terrace in 1983, they've been all about the audience and its response. The main stage rules did not apply; the active performer-passive audience idea was left to the main stage companies. Like that time an audience gathered for a show in the terrace, and all the lights went off. It was too dark to see much at all, and least of all the line between performer and punter. "It was a while until they realised that the performers were gone and they were locked in," Jeff says, laughing. "People were furious, debate raged for months and months." Founder Mike Mullins and the artists around him had new ideas and politics to explore, and so made a new space to do it in. Three decades later and its time to celebrate all the artists nurtured, performances developed and bewildered audiences locked in dark terraces. For an organisation normally so focused on the artistic future they're doing a knock-out job with the past. The Directors' Cuts will see the archive come alive, as yesterday's directors, stretching right back to Mullins, take over today's stage. 30 Ways with Time and Space is another stand-out, shut-UP piece of programming: the Carriageworks public foyer, sliced into new spaces by visual artist Agatha Gothe-Snape, will overflow with 30 performances over the festival's 12 days, and it's all free. It just won't all fit in this article. But to give you an idea: Jon Rose is set to play a pane of glass with his face while his mate Lucas Abela is on the deconstructed violin, a family and their seven-year-old daughter will perform inside a translucent plastic bubble and Mike Parr — yes, The Mike Parr — will be doing as The Mike Parr does. If you get a spare second, look up: Box of Birds will see dancers vaulted up into the cavernous Carriageworks scaffolding. I don't think Jeff Khan has to worry; people will definitely come to his party, and I think they'll love their presents. I ask him what he thinks makes a good 30th, and he nails the analogy: "I think probably the right balance of planning and spontaneity," he says. "You know, you want to plan for a great party and you want to plan for enough things to be there for everyone to have a great time, but in the end its just the chemistry between the people and the party that make it."
How much do you know about Australian Jewish culture? Jessica Bellamy (writer of Sprout and Bat Eyes) knows a lot, she’s just written a play about it, and she's preparing to cook you a Jewish dinner. It's Shabbat Dinner, an immersive play directed by Anthony Skuse (4000 Miles, Punk Rock) which looks at the place of women, family and food in contemporary Jewish culture. The play weaves in traditions and rites over the course of a Shabbat dinner prepared by Bellamy herself. As the feast is served to you and the performers, everyone becomes involved in the story. While you eat you take part in the creation and eventual disintegration of a new community. Like Bellamy's previous works, it promises to be poetic and questioning. Shabbat Dinner plays at the Bondi Feast festival from July 23-26. Dinner is included in the $15 ticket and vegetarians are catered to. Image: Bondi Feast.
To say it's been a crazy year in Australian politics almost feels like an understatement. But amidst all the scandals and the spin, it's easy to forget that sometimes, politicians are human beings who get angry and emotional. And when they do, it makes for some great speeches. A lot of the time, these speeches either don't get mentioned in the media or are reduced to 15-second grabs that don't give you a sense of what a politician is like in real life. Written by Katie Pollock and Paul Daley and produced by PolitiFact's Peter Fray, The Hansard Monologues is a play that takes all the most "troubling, emotional and radical" speeches made in the 43rd Parliament of Australia and re-creates them, with actors David Roberts, Camilla Ah Kin and Tony Llewellyn-Jones playing various politicians. They will, of course, be tackling Julia Gillard's famous misogyny speech, as well as Malcolm Turnbull's thoughts on marriage equality. There's some other interesting ones in there by disgraced MPs Craig Thomson and Peter Slipper, following their scandals. According to the writers, they continued to work on the play right up until the parliamentary recess, so the leadership spill will definitely get a mention.
It's becoming more and more common for fashion designers to promote new collections via art exhibitions and installations, blurring the lines between fashion and art and creating events that are likely to attract a wider audience, people who might not consider themselves interested in high fashion. The latest event to take this approach is Perception, a "playful" and "unconventional" exhibition of Sydney-based jewellery designer Kate McCoy's latest collection, designed to be part art exhibition, part showcase. Kate takes a less mass-produced, more individual approach to her collections, which are mostly made up of one-off pieces. Her jewellery's made quite a few appearances at red carpet events like the ARIAs and the Logies, and she's got some pretty famous fans, including Kimbra. According to Kate's blog, Perception was "inspired by a curiosity in human behaviour, a fascination with how jewellery relates to the body whilst it is admired from afar."
Winter is coming and like Game of Thrones' Nights Watch, Sydney's cultural scene is doing all it can to avoid its inhabitants being consumed by the cold. Vivid has come and gone in a flash of (many mesmeric) lights and now the city is welcoming the newest addition to its chill-fighting arsenal — the Light My Fire Festival. The ivy-sponsored season will run until August 31 and the highlight will be the evening of July 10, when Palings Kitchen & Bar will showcase the culinary magnificence of a host of ivy's best food and drink establishments. Guests can delight in gastronomic treats from Felix, Uccello, Ash St Cellar as well as Palings itself before washing it all down with a mulled wine, cider, cocktail or expert-selected red or white. If that wasn't tempting enough, you can even meet your favourite ivy chefs and tell them how delicious your feast was. The Light My Fire Festival also features a range of other events, including the wine-fuelled Around the World with Eighty Reds, as well as a host of restaurant deals to keep your taste buds warm.
It’s a rare thing, to see a live theatre audience cry. But when darkness falls on Stop Kiss, tears are streaming down at least two faces in the front row opposite. It’s testament not only to the potency of the script but also to the devastating emotional intensity sustained by the cast. On October 6, 1998, 21-year-old Matthew Shepard was tortured and left for dead in a field near Laramie, Wyoming. He was the victim of an anti-gay attack that made international headlines and, ultimately, led to groundbreaking hate crimes legislation. Two months later, on December 6, 1998, Diana Son’s play Stop Kiss made its world premiere at the New York Public Theatre. Such timing meant that the work’s impact was particularly acute. But, even though a homophobic act of horrendous violence drives Stop Kiss’s dramatic arc in part, it is very much a tale of love — told in an extraordinarily smart and sensitive fashion. Late-twenties New Yorker Callie (Olivia Stambouliah) divides her time between her radio traffic reporter job, which she finds meaningless, and her on-off boyfriend George (Aaron Tsindos), to whom she doesn’t want to commit. When she agrees to cat-mind for St Louis export and Bronx schoolteacher Sara (Gabrielle Scawthorn), the two discover a mutual connection that quickly turns into sexual attraction. For the next 90 minutes, Son plays a transfixing game of pass-the-parcel with the audience. Except that she’s the only one doing the unwrapping, and we’re the five-year-olds looking on — part of us thoroughly enjoying the suspense, the other wanting to tear the thing open in one fell swoop. Two narratives run concurrently, one beginning where the other ends. In the first, Callie and Sara grow closer and closer, all the while tiptoeing awkwardly (and occasionally hilariously) around their real feelings, each trying to figure out how to address their undeniable chemistry. The second begins right where it explodes. Callie and Sara have just kissed for the first time when a passerby attacks them, beating Sara so brutally that she’s hospitalised and comatose. Their relationship becomes headline bait and Callie finds herself under media, police and familial scrutiny. Under the brilliant direction of Anthony Skuse (4000 Miles), the Stambouliah-Scawthorn combination is potent — beautifully restrained yet electrically charged. The slightest glance or movement speaks emotional volumes. Stambouliah bubbles with offhand charisma, delivering an infectious balance of city-slicker cynicism and underlying fragility. Scawthorn’s transformation from idealistic primary teacher to potentially brain-damaged victim is utterly devastating. The parallel stories are conducted on the same stage, which serves as Callie’s eclectic ‘90s New York apartment, police station, hospital, waiting room and West Village street. Some incredibly smooth scene changes and clever sound design carry us seamlessly from one world to the other. Two of the actors even double up as musicians: Ben McIvor, who plays Sara’s beleaguered ex, Peter, gets behind the drum kit, while Suzanne Pereira, a sassy witness to the crime, sings several ballads a cappella. Presented by Unlikely Productions, Stop Kiss is the first show in the ATYP 2014 Selects season (previously titled Under the Wharf) and an official 2014 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras event. Despite Matthew Shepard’s tragic death having occurred 16 years ago, the work remains every bit as relevant today. Image by Gez Xavier Mansfield.
Can a city with a fiercely dark past be repackaged and sold for tourist consumption? This is the question posed in Seven Kilometres North-East. Created and performed by Kym Vercoe, Seven Kilometres North-East first played in 2010 and met with much acclaim. It's a story both political and personal: an attempt to reconcile an idyllic experience of Bosnia with a country’s brutal past. What begins in a spa hotel in Višegrad leads to an exploration of Bosnia’s history, and a play that combines live song with stunning video visuals. Seven Kilometres North-East is a real highlight from the always interesting Version 1.0 — the same group behind documentary theatre works such as The Table of Knowledge, Beautiful One Day and The Vehicle Failed to Stop. A recent winner at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, and with nifty video projection by Sean Bacon, this is an emotionally captivating performance exploring a deeply relevant dilemma.
The glorious Golden Age Cinema in Surry Hills will host a screening of Australian cult film Muriel's Wedding as part of their new Film Club program. Selected by special guest Leigh Sales, the film will be preceded by a live Q&A with the journalist, author and current 7.30 host, who will no doubt spill the beans on why she chose this particular movie. It's a cracker of a film, emerging in the '90s during a special time for Aussie cinema, alongside classics like The Castle and Strictly Ballroom. Playing Muriel Heslop of Porpoise Spit pretty much launched Toni Collette's career. There's also a stellar supporting cast, including Bill Hunter as Muriel's philandering father, Rachel Griffiths as her spunky friend Rhonda and a hilarious Sophie Lee as the mega-bitch Tania Degano. Who could forget the memorable refrain "You're terrible Muriel"? Or Rhonda and Muriel's fabulous ABBA performance? You may not know that the character of Muriel was actually based on director PJ Hogan's sister. Apparently she did a lot of crazy things to please her father — some of which were too unbelievable to be included. Film Club is a regular collaboration between the Right Angle Studios ventures Two Thousand and Golden Age Cinema. Twice a month they're inviting a local hero to guest program one of their all-time favourite films. Next up is American Beauty guest programmed by writer Benjamin Law. https://youtube.com/watch?v=eTFCFThbwbo
