Mad Mel is back. After seven years off screen, he's stepped in front of the camera and into very familiar shoes, once again playing a police detective driven to the brink. Based on the 1985, critically acclaimed BBC miniseries, director Martin Campbell has returned to helm the feature film after screenwriters Andrew Bovell (Lantana) and William Monahan (The Departed) moved the action from Leeds to Boston. After his darling daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) is gunned down in front of him, single father and staunch Catholic Thomas Craven (Gibson) desperately hunts down every lead, even as they take him further outside the bounds of the law. Doing a deal with the devil (in the guise of shady gun-for-hire Jedburg (Ray Winstone), Craven soon finds himself in front of a pathological corporate figurehead (Danny Huston) and in the cross hairs of a nuclear conspiracy. While the premise intrigues and the performances are strong, Edge of Darkness ends up being decidedly less than the sum of its parts. It's as if more than just the British accents were lost in translation, as the six-part mini-series fails to resonate within the film's 116 minute running time. Plot holes and odd pacing do little to drive action or interest to the promised edge, and although it's good to see Mel again, audiences would definitely do better venturing back to the 80s, with the original series, and a couple of Lethal Weapons thrown in for good measure. https://youtube.com/watch?v=-HVYeDUd-gs
Future Classic are the Mrs Dalloway of Sydney's electronic music scene, putting on parties galore and schooling Aussies on some of the less obvious musical taste-makers of the world. One of the artists that you've probably heard and should go dance to is Classixx (fitting that they are playing their properly spelled namesake's night), the LA production and remix duo who have rejigged and put disco shine on tracks by the who's who of pop and dance music - see Phoenix, Yacht, Beni, Holy Ghost, Major Lazer and the list (like the beat) goes on. They know how to accentuate hooks and have some serious pop smarts, transforming songs into their own. And sometimes - like in the case of their Yacht remix - they turn the tune into a whole new entity that adds to and betters the original. Anyways, besides all this mumbo jumbo I'm suggesting you could dance the night away with these chaps.
That evangelical buffoon Fred Nile needs to realise something important: nobody cares if his prayers for rain on Mardi Gras Parade night are answered. Whilst the queer community may still be persecuted in the same fashion as witches, it doesn't lead to melting into a little puddle (err, umm, is anyone else feeling a bit hot in here...). In fact, it may have a mogwai effect and things could well get a little more wild. And wild is what it's all about. No! I don't mean that. Visibility is what it's all about! Oh heck, they're not mutually exclusive, grab your glowstick (insert honking noise), let's have a gay ol' time! This year, the Mardi Gras parade will come shuffling and hooting and hollering down the camp streets of Sydney on Saturday 27 February, which means steal a milkcrate now in preparation. This year's theme is 'History of the World' but no need to clap your blackboard dusters together as there's not going to be a pop quiz. Just lots of tinsel twinks, bikes and their dykes, questionable tackiness, galpals, toyboys and everyone else who's feeling fruity and wants to make a statement/get their kit off. Warning: There will be hundreds and thousands of other GLBTs and their P-FLAGs from all over the world so get there early, catch public transport, BYO glitter.
A part of every fully grown mortal can relate to the existential musings of precocious 11-year-old Paloma (Garance Le Guillermic). We've all felt at times that we are lolling about life in a fishbowl and banging "like flies against the glass". As Paloma, a budding young filmmaker, attempts to expose the absurdity of life through her dad's old Hi8 video camera, we are invited to view the world through her bespectacled eyes and question what it is that we truly value in this strange existence. "Freely inspired" by the best-selling novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog by French author and former philosophy teacher Muriel Barbery, The Hedgehog (Le Herisson) delicately interlaces the stories of three endearingly idiosyncratic characters whose lives are vastly different but who share the same elegance of spirit and curiosity for life. Renee Michel (Josiane Balasko) is the stout, surly concierge at an opulent apartment building in Paris who goes about her daily doings as if she were invisible to all but the curious young Paloma, who lives upstairs. As the youngest daughter of a wealthy, workaholic father and a prescription-drug-dependent mother, the freakishly clever and insightful girl feels isolated and misunderstood by those around her. On opposite ends of the socioeconomic scale, Renee and Paloma both dwell on the fringes of society, preferring to quietly observe life from a place of relative obscurity. It isn't until Kakuro Ozu (Togo Igawa), an intelligent and refined Japanese businessman, moves into the building and the three form a unique bond that we see the girl and the woman emerge from hiding and begin to embrace life. Borrowing from fairytale motifs and injecting them with her unique, contemporary vision, director Mona Achache adapts Barbery's novel with intelligence and finesse. Her kooky characters are thoroughly realised and artfully portrayed with sincerity and warmth by an accomplished cast. The kinship between all three leads is genuine and believable, and each delivers a strong performance — especially young Garance, who is delightful as the eccentric Paloma. The Hegdehog is an intimate and uniquely told parable about the importance of scratching the rough surface of life for the chance of discovering the hidden gems beneath. Because sometimes life, like Renee the proverbial 'hedgehog', conceals a sophisticated elegance beneath a prickly veneer. https://youtube.com/watch?v=oQFTEv_41HY
An exhibition-meets-art-history-lesson, Paths to Abstraction traces the transformation of the art world over a 50-year period. While the exhibition follows a narrative, it is not a linear one; it tells of a variety of 'abstractions' and diversions from the (then) naturalist norm. Each room is a universe unto itself, so choose your own adventure: Start from Cezanne's impressionism and follow with Picasso's cubism; play with Matisse and the 'fauves', then Bonard and the 'Nabis'; or peer curiously at vampires from Munch and next noble savages by Gauguin. Yes, this exhibition is comprehensive. Studies, sketches and publications are significantly included alongside more traditional 'works'. The pieces themselves span a wide range of mediums, including wool, woodcuts and a bicycle wheel. There is an acknowledgment of ancestry, in the form of James Abbott McNeill Whistler, and also hints towards later directions in both art and design with the inclusion of works such as Gerrit Rietveld's Red and Blue Chair prototype. Paths to Abstraction is amazing and exhausting: the kind of exhibition you could wile away hours in. A definite 'do not miss'. Image by Patrick Henry Bruce.
If a foreign hand violently tampered with your life or the lives of those you loved for impersonal reasons, such as politics or religion, would you adopt the cause and join the fight? Would you raise a hand in retribution? Would vengeance then become your personal calling? These are the silent questions that impregnate the air in B-Sharp’s compelling, heartbreaking, seamlessly executed production of Bang. “There is no paragraph that will explain this work, which is probably a good thing. It’s not a work I want to explain,” says award-winning playwright Jonathan Gavin of his much anticipated follow up to the critically acclaimed Tiger Country. As an audience member, leaving the theatre mouth agape after a stellar opening night, grappling for the words that might comprise an adequate summary, I would tend to agree. Charting the aftermath of a suicide bombing carried out by a young Turkish/Australian woman, Bang is an intimate look at the humanity behind the current social and religious divide between Islam and the West. Told with compassion and sensitivity, its story is a delicate tapestry of diverse characters whose lives and histories interweave through tragedy, faith, love and ideals. Gavin has chosen to reunite with director Kim Hardwick following the success of the highly praised A Moment on the Lips, for what is evidently a coherent collaboration. Hardwick takes a sensitive approach to Gavin's powerful script without diluting its potency, dealing with the dense, emotionally charged subject matter with empathy and honesty. The weight of the complex narrative is carried effortlessly by an elegant cast of five highly skilled actors who imbue each of their characters with both humour and heart. The entire ensemble remains onstage throughout, and each inhabits several characters, moving fluidly from one to the next. There’s a lot happening on the tiny stage, but somehow it never feels crowded or convoluted — each transition occurs smoothly and effectively, cradling your attention like a well-played ball game. Unlike some other contemporary offerings in both theatre and film that deal with similar subject matter, Bang doesn’t explode with the kind of confronting force that its title would suggest, pushing the audience into uncomfortable spaces for its own indulgence; rather, it appeals to our humanity and asks us to adopt a broader perspective when it comes to judging the actions of our fellow human beings.
Since I wasn't there when it happened, I can only imagine where the stereotype that skaters were unmotivated, jobless no-do-gooders came from: The Suits. Sure, sometimes skaters have tats, long hair, 'hole-y' clothes and the rest, but who ever said The Suits' definition of 'civilised' was gospel anyway? Beg, Borrow, Steal by Tristan Still documents D.I.Y skateboarding culture in all its motivated, anarchic glory. Using abandoned buildings, empty swimming pools and even bedrooms, these skaters are curious and talented at re-inventing spaces, then skating in them. Not satisfied with the mundane existence and expression of ordinary folk, Still is a photographer consumed with a desire to capture and document cultures sub-cultures. His images (and his subjects) are grungy, rich with 'attitude' and vaguely nostalgic. They might just motivate you to take a second look at how you're utilising your lounge room — half-pipe, anyone?
Sadly, for many of us, the hustle and bustle of Sydney life means we rarely step back and smell the roses. Sadder still are the lack of roses within our concrete jungle. But spend a while getting to know the concrete, learning of the a beautiful Romanesque revival and masonic Victorian free-Gothic buildings, with their colonnades, balustrades and cupolas and perhaps the city will transform from a jungle into a garden. The Architecture Festival will be opening our eyes to all that is beautiful and hidden in Sydney next month and even the most hardcore functionalist-home dweller will find it hard to ignore. Take a bike, walking or boat tour and examine Sydney's main precincts, forgotten houses and beautiful foreshore. Then appreciate the past and satisfy your inner voyeur with Sydney Open and Home Stories and satisfy your ears with a talks by contemporary architects ranging from urban density to the problem of McMansions to round out your sensory experience. Catch a glimpse of Sydney in 2030 — an exhibition of how Sydney will run with a population of 6 million. The future is all about sustainable beauty so see how upcoming students are dealing with this problem, then ask the current faces of Sydney architecture what they are doing about it right now. As part of the festival, some of the most respected architectural firms will swing open their doors to students and members of the public.
Because we are a warm and welcoming city, not ensconced in parochialism or afraid of the awesomeness of outsiders, we will throw our arms wide and embrace Joseph Breikers, a young artist fella from Brisbane exhibiting in Sydney for the very first time. Breikers works across sculpture, video, performance as well as 2D stuff, and is an arts writer and founding member of Boxcopy Contemporary Art Space, an artist run initiative in Brisbane. In Acoustic and Luminous Effects, a small but pointed exhibition curated by Amanda Rowell (Everything's Alright, 2010 Oblivion Pavilion, 2008 and Rectangular Ghost, 2006) in db (Sydney's newest artist run space which provides exhibitions to locals and out-of-towners), Breikers unleashes his particular brand of humour. It is apparent that curator and artist understand each other - read on. "And the first animal* he acts* [is a] mass manufactured*, paleolithic subconscious icon* feelin' blue*, devoured by jaws of despair*. He's acting shy looking for an answer.* Awkward instant,* talkin' bout* self abuse* (e.g. slit your wrist*). The heart and mind are focus for this conversation.* It’s amusing from my perspective in sort of a frightening way* because I know what goes inside is only half of what comes out*." — media release for Acoustic and Luminous Effects, written by Commander Raul, taken from song lyrics provided by Breikers. Private view: Thursday, 14 October, 6-8pm Image: Joseph Breikers, Detox, video still, courtesy the artist
We are in the age of the cyborg. What was once only the purview of a nude Arnold Schwarzenegger has become invisible through its complete integration in our daily lives. Smart phones, the increasing ubiquity of wifi and our growing dependence on computers to augment our realities has transformed humans into the ultimate helmsmen of an empire of ones and zeroes. With Glow, Chunky Move presents an artistic interpretation of the human/digital interface. Choreographer, Gideon Obarzanek, teamed up with German software designer, Frieder Weiss, in 2006 for Glow's first incarnation — the resulting work merged human performers with a motion-capturing interface that illustrated chaotic patterns projected upon and manipulated by their moving bodies. The longevity of the project, touring now for four years, comes from the fact that no show is ever the same. According to Obarzanek, audiences witness two simultaneous experiences. Glow's aesthetic is of ultra-tech cool, with non-pixellated auras and vectors flowing like electronic liquid out of the performers. Combined with this is, beneath the data projectors, the emergence of a creature — human in form, but interacting with a different environment, moving in a manner quite unlike our own. It is this flesh poem that amplifies the techno wizardry of Glow, creating the impression of an unplaced future where human life and digital marvels are born in the same placental workshop. https://youtube.com/watch?v=FLviiUsjXM0 Image by Rom Anthoni
I'm Still Here is a beautiful nightmare. In fact, if Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop heralded a new 'prankumentary' subgenre, then I'm Still Here raises it to an art form. But Casey Affleck's directorial debut will definitely divide audiences, not merely along the lines of questioning the veracity of Joaquin Phoenix's retirement but rather the lengths the 'documentary' goes to take its subject from the sublime to the ridiculous. Sex, shitting and spewing: nothing is sacred in this portrait of repugnant celebrity. At its simplest, the film plays like a season of Entourage, on acid. As Phoenix makes the rash decision to retire from acting in order to pursue a career in hip hop, he is forever flanked by various assistants, and friends, as well as the man behind the camera (and also often in front of it), his brother-in-law, Affleck. This spectacular fall from grace sees Phoenix go from the clean-shaven darling of the Golden Globes, to the pudgy, bearded, mumbling mess who made that appearance on David Letterman. Affleck ramps up to the infamous interview in what is an incredibly constructed and artfully conceived film, which at times eerily echoes Gus Van Sant's Death Trilogy (Affleck co-starred in the first film, Gerry). The director plays on his audience's sensibilities like a seasoned puppet master, with Phoenix bumbling around like a loveable — if increasingly unhinged — buffoon, until the laughter all but stops as the consequences of his actions (constructed or not) become sobering indeed. In crafting this car crash charade, Affleck called on the awkward brilliance of Ben Stiller and the Commander Adama gravitas of Edward James Olomos alongside a surprisingly scene-stealing Sean Combs. And Phoenix himself chain-smokes his way through a riveting, Herculean performance, one that in its infuriatingly meta way will no doubt define his career. Together Affleck and Phoenix have created a staggering work of near-transcendent genius — as explosive a filmmaking debut as (an alleged) celebrity meltdown. https://youtube.com/watch?v=y3Xg9jeNIi0
We're happy to announce that, in the name of gender equality, chef Teague Ezard is finally opening the female equivalent to his popular Melbourne Asian fusion eatery Gingerboy in Sydney: Gingergirl. Okay, so it's not really in the name of gender equality, it's more in the name of excellent Thai food — but for whatever reason, the acclaimed restaurant is popping up at The Star from today, Friday, December 6 until the end of March 2017. Ezard is behind the food at the complex's BLACK Bar and Grill, and Gingergirl will be making her appearance right around the corner. You can expect an earthier twist on Gingerboy's menu, at far earthier prices. Think cold noodle salad with all the trimmings — squid, drunken chicken, sesame, paw paw and bandit dressing — for $16, a yellow curry of blue eye and wagyu brisket with peanut tamarind caramel and hot and sour coconut salad for $22 a piece. They're also doing Vietnamese coffees and bubble tea, and a thom kha creme brûlée for dessert. The dining atmosphere will also err on the side of casual, so it's a good way to taste some damn fine food without the fine dining vibes (or price tag). The Gingergirl Pop-Up will be open until the end of March 2017 on the ground floor of The Star at 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont. For more info, visit their website.
The Vic on the Park is channelling its inner Camden Town by throwing a London-style party that's all about gin. With some help from beefeater gin and StrangeLove tonic, the Marrickville pub is hosting two days of gin-filled shenanigans including live music, activities and a special gin menu. Popping up across April 2 and 3, the party will feature sets from the likes of Inner West Reggae Disco Crew, Dibby Dibby Sound System, the Free It Up Dance crew and a heap more local artists. Alongside the music, there will be an on-site screen printing station across the weekend, a dog show and a whole heap of food and drink specials. Accompanying The Vic's usual enhanced pub fare (its lobster rolls are a real winner) will be a pop-up jerk chicken vendor, a special gin menu and a gin slushy bar. $1 from every gin and tonic will also be donated to the Addison Road Community Centre, so you can feel good as you sip.
Paddington is famed for its collection of independent art galleries — and it will soon add a vibrant new space to its collection. Set in an 1899 heritage building on Oxford Street, The Concetta Antico Gallery will display the work of one of the world's most colourful artists, kicking off with her latest exhibition Visions of the Muse. Concetta Antico is world-renowned for her unique hyper-coloured oil paintings. Gifted with tetrachromacy — the scientifically endorsed condition which allows her to perceive around 100 million colours (your average Joe sees about one million) — Antico is venerated as the 'colour queen', which she channels into her paintings of flora and fauna. Over her career, Antico has sold over 1000 original works, which are held in both public and private collections worldwide. To celebrate her new Sydney gallery, Antico is throwing a free grand opening party on Saturday, July 13, from 6–10pm. Drop by and see Antico painting live for an audience. There'll be music, food and libations to enjoy, too. The grand opening party, Visions of the Muse, will take place on Saturday, July 13, from 6–10pm. It's free to attend but registration is recommended. Visions of the Muse will be open from Thursday, July 11–Wednesday, August 7. The gallery will operate from 11am–6pm, Thursday through Saturday, and from 2–5pm on Sundays (and by appointment, too).
It feels like performance art is everywhere lately. 13 Rooms was the talk of the town last month and the Museum of Contemporary Art has recently finished Workout, its fantastic, week-long performance extravaganza. These days, you can't even walk into the MoMA without finding Tilda Swinton taking a disco nap in a glass case. The Space Between Us, on show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, is part of the biennial Anne Landa Award and features the work of Lauren Brincat, Alicia Frankovich, Laresa Kosloff, Angelica Mesiti, Kate Mitchell, James Newitt and Christian Thompson, seven artists exploring the relationship between performance and video art. Devoted to supporting artists who work with the moving image and new technologies, it's an acquisitive award of $25,000 (which means the winning work enters the gallery’s collection). The prize was established in 2004 in honour of Anne Landa, a former trustee of the gallery. It's a terrifically interesting exhibit and I loved all the works on display. The selection of artists is great, and their pieces complement each other wonderfully. Nearly all of the works also use their video screens in innovative and exciting ways. Sydney-based Kate Mitchell's piece is made up of several screens slotted together to make a large, geometric shape. The content of the video (the artist repeatedly throws herself through a series of coloured glass panes) and the large scale in which it’s presented creates a slightly unsettling effect, but there’s something quite comical about the slapstick way she throws herself through the pane. It was my favourite work in the show. The exhibition also includes once-daily performances, promising a somewhat circus-like, two-month long program of ‘tambourine players, women on horseback, groups of people testing their physical endurance and other unexpected encounters’. While it is a wonderful exhibition, coming on the heels of the uber experience that was 13 Rooms, it can be a little underwhelming. It's an unfair comparison, as The Space Between Us is primarily devoted to examining the intersection between video art and performance art, as opposed to 13 Rooms' pure performance focus. However, you can’t help but draw a parallel between the two. It lacks the punch and the vigour of 13 Rooms, but nonetheless it remains well worth a visit. Image from Lucky break by Kate Mitchell.
New year, new in-person film festival from Static Vision. Obviously, 2022 isn't new at all now — it's September — but Metamorphoses follows 2020's Hyperlinks and 2021's Dreamscapes in enticing Sydney movie lovers with the kind of program that you won't see elsewhere. The theme this time: transformation, as well as evolution, adaptation, shifting and changing. We'd hazard a guess that whittling down the possible movie picks into a four-day program must've been a tricky (but rewarding) process. Once again, the film collective is unfurling its curated pictures at the Pink Flamingo Cinema in Marrickville — this time, from Thursday, September 29–Sunday, October 2. Seventeen features and ten shorts will get a-flickering, including ten Australian premieres, kicking off with a 40th-anniversary screening of Paul Schrader's 1982 gem Cat People. From there, standouts include Lux Aeterna, which hails from Climax and Enter the Void's Gaspar Noé, and was funded by Yves Saint Laurent. The provocative filmmaker never holds back — see: the aforementioned titles, and the controversial Irreversible — but this time he's emulating a real-time witch-burning. Or, you can catch a fan-edited and remastered version of Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, which was designed to go along with Daft Punk's 2001 album Discovery; fame-chasing satire Sick of Myself, which played at both Cannes and Fantastic Fest; The Sacred Spirit, about a Valencian ufology cult; and Slamdance fellowship-winner Therapy Dogs, which sees 17-year old filmmaker Ethan Eng make a high-school diary film. The list goes on; however, with Tales from the Gimli Hospital Redux, Static Vision will show Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin's (The Green Fog) 1988 feature film debut — while improvised road movie-slash-romance Magnetic Fields was Greece's entry for the 2022 Best International Feature Film Academy Award, and won five Greek Oscars.
Two things that nearly all humans like are clothes and getting really awesome ones at heavily reduced prices. If you're someone who likes both these things then you've probably already heard about the Big Fashion Sale, which is your best chance to get amazingly fantastic threads from some of Australia's top cult designers at prices you'd be hard-pressed to find on eBay. Now in its fourth year, the sale has amassed the most designers in its short history and will be packing them all into the Old Paramount Building. These designers include Karla Spetic, Romance Was Born, Magdalena Velevska, Bec & Bridge, Ruby Smallbone, Christopher Esber, Nathan Smith, Gary Bigeni, Rittenhouse, and Elke Kramer. But be warned — insane prices do not peaceful environments make. This sartorial wonderland is probably going to be one that's crazier than Zara circa May 2011, so arrive prepared to fight for your right to own beautiful things.
You've already celebrated one new year but, mere weeks later, it's time to celebrate another. At the Georges River Council's Lunar New Year Festival, Hurstville's Forest Road will come alive to mark the Year of the Rat — with food, acrobatics, origami, traditional lion and dragon dances, and more. The annual event attracts around 50,000 people each year and, based on the culinary lineup alone, it's easy to see why. On the menu: rice dumplings, pork buns, dragon beard candy and fluffy crunch fairy floss, as well as Japanese barbecue crepes and dumplings, Singapore noodles, mi goreng fries and Japanese pizza. You'll also be able to tuck into cups of loose leaf tea, plus milk rolls, milk pudding and snow cones. Taking place from 10am on Saturday, January 18, you can also expect a parade of floats, including inflatable zodiac animals — and finalists from Sing! China Australia, aka The Voice of China Australia, belting out tunes. Jugglers and stilt-walkers will be moseying around, Chris Yee will paint a live mural, and workshops on origami, face-painting, umbrella art and Waikato drumming will be held. There'll also be a Wishing Tree Forest, where you can write down your wish for the new year, add it to the trees and cross your fingers that it'll come true.
Ugly ducklings, scapegoats, white crows, black sheep — farmyards sure know how to single out the atypical. Thank goodness the humans of the Inner West know how to celebrate furry oddballs. As a project of the Newtown Entertainment Precinct Association, the inaugural Sydney Fringe Festival is fresh from the salon and ready for some showponying style, as this "multidiscipline cultural showcase" launches a three-week programme of Sydney’s best underground arts throughout September. Festival director Kris Williams is fresh and filled with ideas from the Big Apple, as the Fringe brings the Adelaidean local back to Oz after five years as founding director of the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Reborn from the ashes of the Bondi Fringe, this year's programme is set to wow and wow well, with a diverse line-up from the banterous musical comedy of A Czar is Born to the theatrics of failure in a tiny chorus, the hybrid performative works of Applespiel's newest project Appleloft, far into the reaches of improvised mind-bending musical funktrust Fuji Collective and the collaborative wonderment of idea idea (if only to unfairly single out a few highlights from the plethora). One may even be so bold as to harness up a guinea pig and ferry said quivering rodent to "pet-friendly outdoor events" such as the Your Big Backyard programme of Sydney Park, or perhaps question the sociability of eating and entertaining in a series of awkward-as-a-puffin Silent Dinner Parties. Holy sheep, this haircut is just too darn attractive. With 'curators' poring over the realms of cabaret, comedy, circus, dance, digital arts, literature, music, musical theatre, theatre and visual arts, the newly reborn Fringe is as handcrafted as collections come, with each of the 200+ events lovingly selected by some of Sydney's wiliest artistic minds. With ticket prices hardly breaching the $30 threshold, this in-demand series of events can only be described with satisfaction: baaadly overdue. Image: Fuji Collective.
Frances Rings' Terrain is the newest addition to Bangarra Dance Theatre's repertoire, offering a beautiful production where physicality and spirituality meet. Gracing the stage at the Opera House's Drama Theatre, Terrain explores Kati Thanda (Lake Eyre) — the place of Australia's inland sea and one of the few untouched natural waterways in the world, where "time is measured by the dramatic events of nature," says Rings in her choreography notes. In this bodily "hymn to country", Terrain traverses Lake Eyre's seasonal changes, moving from drought to deluge, witnessing nature's ephemeral transformation of place. Depicted in vignettes which dissolve into each other seamlessly, the 14 Aboriginal and Torres Strait dancers explore and illustrate the connection Indigenous people have with the land. In preparation, music composer David Page and Rings flew over Lake Eyre and met elder Reg Dodd, who shared his stories and myths. Page recorded Dodd speaking in the native tongue of the Arabunna people, which he included in the music for Terrain. Symbolically representing natural and thematic concerns, costume designer Jennifer Irwin decks the dancers' bodies in costumes that dazzle the eye and intrigue the sensation of touch. In 'Salt' there features a spiky yet soft white top, moving with the body and resisting it at the same time. Inspired by Lake Eyre's surrealism and vastness, Irwin took a sculptural approach to the costumes, "representing the stark contrasts of beauty and destruction of the terrain." The piece comes together beautifully, thanks to the Page brothers, artistic director Stephen and composer David; simple yet striking set design by Jacob Nash, illuminated by lighting designer Karen Norris; and of course to Reg Dodd, cultural advisor, who shared his people's stories and mythological beauty.
Warm weather means heading outside and not only soaking up the sun, but enjoying summer's sultry evenings. It also means finding as many ways to do just that as possible, so how better than heading west and enjoying a free film? Every year for the past 18 years, Sydney Olympic Park has played host to Movies by the Boulevard, a free summer film fest that's all about the open-air experience. It's back for 2019, and, as held on a selection of evenings between January 12 and 27, it's serving up a feast of 2018 flicks for your outdoor viewing pleasure. Missed Crazy Rich Asians the first time? Love Black Panther and want to watch it on the big screen again? Eager for a dose of The Greatest Showman on Australia Day? They're all on the agenda, and more. The rest of the lineup spans from the heist hijinks of Ocean's 8 to the superhero onslaught of Avengers: Infinity War, plus the ABBA frenzy that is Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and the intergalactic antics of Solo: A Star Wars Story. There'll also be a night devoted to puppers thanks to the Top Dog Film Festival. Gates open at 6pm each night in Cathy Freeman Park, with films kicking off at 8.30pm. BYO picnic, or grab some food or drink onsite.
If you’re of Swedish heritage, love to fika or just keen on great design, then keep your eyes peeled for the second issue of Mr. Wolf. Put together by a few Nordic nuts, Mr. Wolf is a journal that profiles the personalities behind the great art, design, music and style of Scandinavia. It was rated one of the five magazines you must have on your coffee table by Société Perrier after only one issue, and readers have been waiting to see what they’ll bring next. Mr. Wolf will celebrate the launch of its second edition with two parties in Brisbane and Sydney this month. On November 21, everyone is invited to take a mini-holiday through Scandinavia. Flip through your pre-released copy, sip on complimentary Rekorderlig Cider and chill out to some live Swedish tunes. It’s guaranteed to be a pretty chill night. Update 21 Nov: The Mr. Wolf launch has had a last-minute change of venue to Funkis, 202 Oxford Street, Paddington. Photo from Edition One launch party in March, by SIRAP.
Coffee is one of the simple luxuries that Sydneysiders can still enjoy in lockdown right now. If you live in and around Surry Hills, local cafe Suzie Q and coffee roaster Madding Crowd are looking to brighten your day next Monday, July 26, with a free cuppa delivered right to your door. Surry Hills locals can claim a free cup of filter coffee delivered to them between 10am and 2pm. To claim the free caffeine fix, all you have to do is fill out this form before Monday and Suzie Q will show up to make your home time a bit better. If you want to support Suzie Q and nab a tasty dinner, the cafe is running a lockdown takeaway menu currently featuring a different meal each night of the week. On the menu next week you'll find pumpkin and ricotta cannelloni, beef stroganoff and a potato and cauliflower curry. Top image: Nathan Harradine Hale
It's hard to watch footage of astronauts gallivanting on the moon — with their lack of surefootedness and giddy delight — and not want to have a go. Unfortunately, there's a decided lack of accessible planetoids for us non-astronauts to do it on. But, in good news for earth dwellers, we've found an experience that will get you kinda close. Moon Drops is like NASA's version of a jumping castle: humongous black bouncy globules that allow you to feel what it would be like to run across a droplet of water, which we imagine feels a lot like the moon. NZ architecture firm Jasmax has collaborated with Alt Group and the Auckland Council Public Arts to bring the joys of space to Sydney — five drops will pop up around Darling Harbour for for the duration of Sydney Festival. Don't forget to take off your shoes and play The Police's hit 'Walking on the Moon' to get you prepped for your moonwalking debut. Image: Zee Shake Lee.
The Rocks is hoping to serve up all your Christmas-time needs in its neighbourhood — from bespoke gifts and decorations to joyful meals and even a life-sized snow globe. The giant snow globe will be installed within The Rocks' cobble streets, where you can also find weekend Christmas Markets every Friday through Sunday from December 7–23. Roaming entertainers, art installations and street food will accompany the gift stallholders — from the latter, expect artisan presents like handmade jewellery, wooden children's toys, locally made Christmas decorations and independent designer prints. Plus, DJs will keep the party going on Friday and Saturday nights from 7–10pm. The Rocks' usual shops will be done up in your standard red-and-green, silver-and-gold hues, too. And the local bars and pubs have you covered post-shopping, from craft brews at Endeavor Tap Rooms and Aperol spritzes at The Observer Hotel to cocktails on Mrs Jones terrace and drinks-with-a-view on The Glenmore's rooftop. The Christmas Markets will be open from 9am–9pm on Friday and 10am–5pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Maurice Terzini — known for launching Icebergs and The Dolphin — is unveiling an opening of a different kind this month, a guerrilla store showcasing his latest fashion collection. Terzini launched his unisex streetwear label Ten Pieces at Australian Fashion Week back in May 2017. The brand's next collection, Disco SottaSopra, will hit Bondi on February 16. The collection's concept — to 'turn disco upside down with a punk philosophy' — has been realised by Terzini with hand-numbered, super limited-edition pieces. Think black and white slides sporting the words 'disco' and 'unity', along with a range of customised military-style canvas pieces. The 'day-to-night' collection will also introduce new colours, prints and embroideries for the brand, including runway zip boots, wool cashmere knits and bright orange knitted coats. "We feel like it's much more appealing to wear clothing that has an artisan feel about it," says Terzini. "This collection has all been hand customised in Australia which gives it a really personal feel." Situated inside Pacific Bondi Beach on the corner of Gould Street and Beach Road, the shop will open daily from 9am to 5pm — but, in true limited fashion, will only remain open until sold out. This is a very literal case of first in best-dressed.
Cult favourite Aussie basics label Bassike is hosting its annual warehouse sale this weekend, selling its organic cotton jersey, Japanese denim and mainline collections at up to 70 percent off the regular price. Both men's and women's fashion will be up for grabs for three days this weekend — the sale starts at 9am each day and stock will be replenished each morning. The price list includes over 25 items spanning clothing, swimwear, footwear and accessories. Expect half-off sale items, denim for $90, tees for $30, tops for $60, shoes for $90 and one-piece swimsuits for $60. If you're already looking ahead for winter, there will be jackets for $120 and coats for $150, too. No, these aren't basement bargains — but they are reasonable prices for these fine organic duds. The shop is also running a recycle program throughout the weekend. As part of the boutique's zero waste goal, customers are encouraged to bring any pre-worn Bassike jersey pieces to be recycled into fabric offcuts, rags and cleaning supplies. Those who partake get to skip the queue and gain express access to the sale. The sale will run from 9am–9pm on Thursday, 9am–6pm on Friday and 9am–4pm on Saturday.
Beloved Woolloomooloo pub The Old Fitz has reinvented itself as Bar Bodega Fitz for the duration of lockdown. Following a successful three-day pop up as Bar Bodega Fitz pre-lockdown, the inner city spot is now serving up takeaway and delivery tapas along with aperitivo. The continually changing menu, lead by Old Fitz Head Chef Anna Ugarte-Carral, features a range of tasty morsels including crab omelettes, manchego croquettes, garlic prawns and mushroom with garlic and sherry. If you want the decisions taken out of your meal, you can order a mixed selection of ten tapas pieces from $45 or 20 pieces for $80. Those looking for an elevated tapas experience can add the massive $135 five-week dry-aged sirloin on the bone to their meal. Alongside the Fitz's usual selection of craft beers and wines, you can order Partida Creus MUZ in a negroni or on ice with orange and olive, or a glass of sangria. The pop-up is running 12–7pm Friday–Sunday until Sydney's current lockdown ends.
In need of a little pre-weekend pick-me-up? This should do it. Prepare for cuteness overload when a crew of fluffy pups descends on Martin Place next Friday, November 16, to teach city-dwellers all about the NSW guide dog program. Running from 12–2.30pm — yep, perfectly timed for lunch-break cuddles — Guide Dogs in the City will feature a trio of adorable events, celebrating the hardworking fluffers who are changing lives around the country. The fun kicks off with a couple of puppy preschool sessions (at 12pm and 1.10pm), where you'll get to see some of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT's newest recruits learning the ropes. Then, two Guide Dog demonstrations (12.40pm and 1.40pm) will dive into the training process, highlighting all the steps that go into raising and teaching these pups. And from 2pm, you'll have the chance to make some very cute new besties during a puppy patting session. Get lots of cuddles. Take lots of photos. Look at them all afternoon when you're back at your puppy-less desk. And then, if you're ready for the responsibility, maybe consider applying to be a puppy raiser.
As we settle into the new year, many of us are prioritising our health and fitness goals for 2024. Fittingly, we've seen a rise in running clubs and events in recent times as both a fitness and a cultural movement – a way to get moving and connect with others. So why not take it to the next level? To raise funds for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (founded in the 1980s) and celebrate 40 years of helping Australians with cancer, the Real Insurance Sydney Harbour 10k and 5k race will be heading back to the 80s and 90s on Sunday, July 28. Retro Run promises a nostalgic journey along a scenic track, lit up with neon, lycra, and big hair, as well as music zones and pop-culture pit stops. [caption id="attachment_949841" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Supplied[/caption] So get ready to lace up your Dad sneakers and dust off those leg warmers for a great cause. Whether you are a seasoned runner, a newcomer seeking a new challenge, or love to dress up, all are welcome to sign up and join in on some retro fun. [caption id="attachment_949840" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Supplied[/caption]
Surely the only thing better than feasting on creamy fresh mozzarella is having the skills to make it yourself, any time you like. Or you could enjoy the best of both worlds, when Leichhardt's Capriccio Osteria hosts a mozzarella making class on September 27. Here, you'll learn the art of crafting, shaping and knotting fresh mozzarella in true Italian fashion, guided by local producer Vannella Cheese's head cheesemaker Vito Minoia. This guy's a true cheese expert — he's been hand stretching curds for burrata since he was 16 years old back in Puglia, Italy. But of course, you can't have a culinary masterclass without some good old-fashioned food appreciation, so the one-night cheese students will also sit down to a four-course taster of Capriccio's new seasonal menu. Expect a lively lineup of spring's best spoils with cheese as the hero. The whole night's activities will set you back just $49 — which, for both the feast and your newfound cheesemaking skills, seems like a good investment. You can make a booking either online or over the phone.
Despite our itchy feet, options for travel are still limited for the foreseeable future. So, what better time to make the most of where we live? In partnership with La Bella Verde, we've picked out six tours you can take to rediscover where you live — from underwater escapades to getting up-close to Sydney's haunted sites. Each one will help you see the city through a different lens and appreciate what's right here in our beautiful backyard. [caption id="attachment_791851" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Benjamin Williams[/caption] GO ON AN ECO CRUISE WITH LA BELLA VERDE We won't be welcoming any international cruise ships for a while yet, so why not take advantage of the emptier harbour to explore one of the most spectacular waterways in the world? Better yet, you can bolster your green credentials at the same time. Cruise Sydney Harbour with La Bella Verde, which has the only 100-percent solar-powered catamaran in Sydney. The green beauty departs from various wharves and can take up to 12 adventurers at a time for $200–250 per hour. Say hello to the Harbour Bridge as you float underneath, then wave at the Sydney Opera House as you sail past at your leisure — with zero harm done to the harbour eco-system. It also has large coolers on board and a flat rate of $100 for BYO booze. KAYAK AT THE CRACK OF DAWN Experience a different side to Sydney's usually bustling harbour by getting up with the birds for a caffeinated sunrise kayak tour. Sydney by Kayak offers tours from the Lavender Bay boat ramp (currently departing at 6.20am) before paddling round to Sydney Harbour Bridge. You'll be awed by the magnificence and scale of the Bridge from below and there's time to take in the splendour of the Opera House as the early morning light hits the sails. Your reward for getting up so early and exercising? A hot cup of coffee aboard your kayak. You'll be asked your order in advance and supplied with a suitable reusable cup for the journey. It's a very laidback tour and if you're celebrating a birthday they'll also bring cake to eat on the water. Tours cost $125–165 per person. [caption id="attachment_800090" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] SEE SYDNEY FROM THE SKIES ON A SCENIC FLIGHT There are some things we land-based mammals can't see. Give yourself wings with a Sydney Seaplanes scenic flight and get a bird's eye view of our glorious city. Planes can take up to six passengers, with different routes to choose from, depending on your fancy. Flights take off from either Rose Bay or Palm Beach and flight times and costs vary depending on the route. The Sydney Secrets tour, for example, is a 30-minute soar over our famed coastline for $315 per person. Afterwards, take a pew at Empire Lounge and watch the other planes land as you order a platter of freshly shucked oysters. [caption id="attachment_800091" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] CRUISE AROUND ON TWO WHEELS Take in Manly's famous promenade on two wheels with a Bonza Bike sunset tour, or head to its Circular Quay marquee to hire a ride to explore Farm Cove on the way to Mrs Macquarie's Chair. The company has taken 50,000 guests around Sydney since starting in 2004 and since COVID-19, it's operating as a tailored tour service so you can set the times best suited to you. We think you should hire a bike and hop on the ferry to Manly; from there you can pedal along the waterfront before heading up to North Head to take in the panoramic views. The bipedal trip will set you back $149 per person, with family packages available. [caption id="attachment_800537" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Flickr; KerryJ[/caption] JOIN A SPOOKY GHOST TOUR Take a ghost tour along the cobblestoned streets of one of our oldest precincts and you'll be transported back to the city's dark past. On The Rocks Ghost Tours, guides tell you the gruesome history of the area as they lead you down alleyways — from unfortunate souls buried in cellars to spirits haunting historic homes. The spooky journey takes in some of the most significant sites in The Rocks and offers a perspective of the city you may have overlooked, such as its violent colonial origins. Each nightly tour starts at 7.45pm, running for 1.5–2 hours, from Cadmans Cottage. Tickets cost $45 and during COVID-19 tours are limited to 25 people. [caption id="attachment_800092" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] SEE WHAT LIES BENEATH ON A GUIDED SNORKELLING TOUR Dive Centre Manly runs guided snorkelling tours of Shelly Beach for $75 per person. The area is part of the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve and it boasts a treasure trove of marine life, from blue gropers and giant cuttlefish to wobbegongs and the occasional turtle. Tours are designed for those with some snorkelling experience, and all equipment is provided at the Dive Centre shop. Guides have an intimate knowledge of the beach and where best to float in order to spot its wonders. Find out more about La Bella Verde tours, here. Top image: Destination NSW
Who needs unicycling dogs and lion tamers when you have fleet-footed humans springboarding one another into five-count backflips? Circolombia is a troupe of street circus performers from the Colombian city of Cali, and Urban is their gracefully mind-boggling autobiographical show. It paints a portrait of life in a city as dense with both poetics and violence through seamlessly executed dances and acrobatics, the ballsiest stunts quite effectively calling to mind both life and death. Strobe lighting and a throbbing soundtrack presumably do little to make backflips atop tightropes less alarming. Urban comes to the Sydney Festival following sell-out shows at London's Roundhouse and Broadway in Paris. If you only see one non-inner-city performance this year, this is a pretty weighty contender. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Zga7XO707GQ
Dear Pluto has garnered itself quite a reputation around the traps as one of Sydney's favourite locations for penny-saving fashionistas who like their clothes to be of the vintage variety. This week, Dear Pluto is not just hoping to spice up your wardrobe but also spice up your love life with a speed dating party on the rooftop of their current lodgings at Gaffa Gallery on Clarence Street. While Hollywood has taught us that speed dating is exclusively the domain for middle-aged divorcees and desperate wannabes, the Dear Pluto variety of speed dating is a far cry from this picture. Instead the event is only open to under 30s and is traditionally a hotbed for sexy, intelligent men and women working in the arts and creative industries. Unfortunately, the ladies tickets have now sold out, but there are a number of tickets still available for any men looking for some light-hearted mingling in a super chilled environment that also includes a healthy serving of complimentary booze. Head in store to grab a ticket or send an email to hello@dearpluto.com to reserve a place.
Butter just keeps giving Sydneysiders more reasons to go absolutely crazy for it. The cult favourite is already a palace of fried chicken, sneakers, Champagne and ramen. Now, you can add truffle to that list, too. Executive chef Julian Cincotta has sourced a whole heap of the luxe ingredient from Western Australian's premiere truffle region, Manjumup, and has created a full menu around the stuff. He's taken Butter's existing fan favourites and truffled them all right up. For $24, you can grab the shop's signature fried chicken sando, now smothered with truffle honey butter — made onsite using Pepe Saya, of course — and topped with fresh truffle shavings. Hot truffle doughnuts also come lovingly glazed and topped with the same butter and shavings. If a touch of truffle just doesn't cut it for you, punters can also go all in with the truffle fried chicken ramen — which, in addition to enoki mushrooms, greens and an egg, comes topped with a full eight grams of the decadent black fungus (for $20 bucks extra, that is). The truffle madness will be short lived, though, and only runs through to late July when the season wraps up. So, if you want it, come and get it. Butter's Truffle Menu is available at both the Surry Hills and Parramatta stores and is available until late July.
What's the one thing Aussie's and Latino's have in common? They love a good party and a day off work to have one. So what better way to spend our God-given long weekend of great Aussie bludgery than at Darling Harbour's annual Latin American Fiesta. Now in its 19th year, this one's set to be the biggest yet with a hearty lineup of Australian and international talent, including high-energy bands, salsa and tango experts, sexy Brazilian carnivale girls, flamenco dancers, capoeira masters, DJs, giant puppet parades and much more. With three outdoor stages and open-air dance floors, there'll be plenty of room to shake it like a salsa superstar and generally get raucous. And you need not worry about queue's, cover charge's or over-priced drinks — this four-day fiesta is free and open to all ages.
Winter has hit Bondi. That means goodbye surf. And hello Bondi Winter Magic, a month-long festival filled with ferris wheel rides, ice skating, art shows, live music, history walks and fringe events. The world's most famous beach will embrace chilly days, and even chillier nights, with adventures you can't have in summer. Setting up next to Bondi Pavilion will be Bondi Vista, a ferris wheel that'll send you soaring 22 metres above the sand. From Friday, June 28 until Sunday, July 28, you go for a spin and feast your eyes on 360-degree views. On one side, you'll be gazing at wild waves, endless horizon and open sky. On the other, look out for glimpses of the city skyline. Rides run from 9am until 10pm every day. If you can, treat yourself to a sunset spin, when the views are sure to be at their most spectacular. Just don't forget to rug up. Between rides, you can go gliding on the Bondi Ice Rink and check out the Bondi Feast fringe festival — an extravaganza of circus, burlesque, comedy and theatre. Plus, on Sunday, July 14, you can follow an Art Trail to see works by local artists and, on July 28, you'll be dancing your way through the neighbourhood when Music On The Streets hits town. Bondi Vista will be open from Friday, June 28 to Sunday, July 28, as part of Bondi Winter Magic. Tickets can be purchased here.
Launched in Melbourne in 2016, and running annually since, the Feminist Writers Festival is finally heading to Sydney for the first time on November 1–3. The impressive three-day program will take over UTS's Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building and features 12 sessions with over 40 of Australia's leading feminist thinkers and writers. In an effort to promote and support female-identifying writers within Australia, the festival will see speakers come together in panel discussions and workshops focusing on activism, fiction and the intersectional lives of women. Session topics include 'finding and sustaining a feminist voice', 'writing and speaking indigenous lives', 'domestic violence and the law' and 'words for the feminist activist'. Big names include legal writer Larissa Behrendt, commentator Anita Heiss, independent editor Zoya Patel (founder of Feminartsy), Fairfax columnist Jenna Price, renowned novelist Rebecca Shaw, essayist Alison Whittaker and poet Fiona Wright.
Twelve of Australia's best young winemakers will be gathering in Sydney on Thursday, May 30, and you're invited to spend an evening in their company. You'll be sampling their latest drops, asking all the questions and, ultimately, deciding who decides to get take home the 13th Young Gun of Wine People's Choice Award. To be part of wine history in the making — and play James Halliday for the night — you need to snag a $45 (or $55 after May 22) ticket and rock up at midday. The event, being held by Best Cellars, will be happening at Porteño on Cleveland Street. As well as wine, there'll be a selection of the restaurants famed Argentinian snacks — hopefully including those crispy brussels sprouts. Four states and some of Australia's most famous wineries are represented in the Young Gun list of finalists — including Andrew Scott from La Petite Mort in Queensland's Granite Belt, Sacha La Forgia from the Adelaide Hills Distillery, Ben Ranken from Macedon Ranges' Wilimee and Rhys Parker and Paul Hoffman from Vallée du Venom in the Margaret River. If, on the day, any particular drops takes your fancy, you'll be able to buy bottles at cellar door prices.
Listen to a selection of hundreds of personal and revealing voice messages left in the middle of the night at this new exhibition being hosted by The National Art School as part of Sydney Festival. With The Nightline, audio theatremaker Roslyn Oades, sound artist Bob Scott and their collaborators have collected more than 600 voice messages left by nightshift workers, insomniacs and late-night revellers — all between midnight and 6am. Attendees at The Nightline will be welcomed into a low-lit room full of old-school telephones and switchboards. Then, you'll be granted access to these soul-baring messages, with each visitor to the exhibition given an entirely unique set of voices over your 40-minute slot. All you need to do is pick up the phone and tune into snippets of lives lived while others are asleep. Running from Wednesday, January 12–Sunday, January 23, The Nightline is hosting three to four sessions each night, starting from 9pm. Tickets are $60, or $36 for concession holders. Images: Sarah Walker
In a win for anyone who experiences a panic attack at the mere thought of being stuck in a daunting IKEA store maze, the homewares and furniture company is making its online shopping and home delivery service available to Sydney customers from today. While New South Wales is a little late to the party — with online shopping already offered in the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Queensland — the move will no doubt score IKEA some extra customer brownie points in the lead-up to retail giant Amazon's impending Australian launch. As with its interstate counterparts, IKEA's Sydney online service will allow customers to shop 9000 products from the comfort of their home and have their goods delivered (albeit without any Swedish meatballs) from $99. Or they can opt for the $40 'click and collect' alternative to go and retrieve their order from IKEA's Tempe, Rhodes or Marsden Park stores. According to IKEA Australia's multichannel manager Michael Donath, the move is a logical step forward in the company's plans for Aussie-wide growth. "Opening up online shopping for Sydneysiders is the next phase of our expansion, as we strive to make IKEA more widely available," he said. Let's hope the other states won't be left hanging for too long.
It truly is a 'wunder' how some exhibition titles have so nice a ring to them as well as so appropriately describe a collection of artworks. So it is with Wunder Pond, an exhibition of sometimes curiously small-scale, even Lilliputian, objets d'art, sculptures, models, and paintings by four contemporary artists from Sydney: David Capra, Charles Dennington, Hossein Ghaemi, and Matthew Timbers. It is perhaps because the majority of the Wunder Pond works are sculptural abstracts, petite and beneath our eye-level, that wandering amid and around them permits — indeed, seduces — one to lean-in, to probe, and to inquire: What's this then? And it is probably a condition of this 'curious' behaviour that viewers' faces will often betray their entrancement at what's before them. Like curator Sandra Di Palma says (she's also the keen-eyed curator at Somedays Gallery), the exhibition title cites the German word Wunderkammer, which denotes a “place where a collection of curiosities and rarities is exhibited.” One of the paradoxes of this usage, however, is that the exhibition sometimes introduces us to things with which we’re already kind of familiar — the rarity is thus the result of how these subjects are made uncanny in their isolation from their commonplaces, and by the sheer equivocality of these forms and visions as abstractions and as reappropriations. Particularly eerie is the array of objects so artfully configured in Dennington’s assemblages. In one work, a cartoonish and worm-like finger, dismembered, blood-red and engorged, sits, as if by chance, upon a porous bed of a jumbo caustic sponge, which is itself coated in a faded-out layer of maroon-red Ironlak. Elsewhere, a rubbery slice of Swiss cheese hangs out, surrealistically, with a corps of half-munched apples, their decaying skins somehow refulgent in bright blue, red and green gouache. Dennington’s works, as one of their titles suggests, are thus ‘Tiny Piles’ of our detrital everyday. They are odes to and models of the habitués of our trashcans — to eggshells and apple-cores, twigs and rubber — only that they're now remade and rearranged, tripped-out and beautified. Surely the water references in Dennington’s works (there are fish skeletons as well as sponges), in the mirrored surface upon which Hossein Ghami’s Wig spookily revolves (Wig is simply a clump of hair which rotates quizzically on a mirror, and is seemingly alive, a la Cousin Itt), as well as the plant life featured in Capra’s works (see Munchkhin Land), played some role in prompting Di Palma's use of the word ‘Pond’ in the exhibition’s title. And yet, as connected as these works are, individually, to decorative water-features (they're reflective, absorptive, and immersive), it is also in the somewhat capricious arrangement of the works around the gallery space that a kind of wading-pool effect materialises. In this space, one’s eyes can bob and plunge above and through a range of peculiarly permeable bays of meaning and matter. And up at eye level, Timbers’ Frankenthaleresque cloudscapes only give further conviction to the feeling that in entering the Tin Sheds we may indeed have entered into another, possibly aquatic, possibly even post-aquatic, wonder world. Image: Charles Dennington, Untitled', 2011. Image courtesy of Galerie Pom Pom
Alicia Talbots latest work, The Fence, is quite different to most other shows you’ll see in the Sydney Festival. For starters, in the venue listing where you would expect to see the names of places like “ The Seymour Centre” or “The Sydney Theatre” it simply says “A Backyard In Paramatta”. For the last 4 years, Talbot's company Urban Theatre Projects has been creating hard-hitting and ambitious works of social and political theatre. They work with the local communities, using non actors to create the text together as a group. It’s a method that makes for unusually honest and illuminating productions. Her last two Sydney Festival shows, Back Home (2006) and Last Highway (2008), were highlights of the programs, despite being locally made without any big names attached. Paramatta, especially a backyard in Paramatta, may seem a little out of the way from the usual Sydney theatre haunts but it’s worth the trek for this raw and intimate night of documentary theatre.
AIDS – it’s one of those words that no one likes to say. It's easy to just buy a red ribbon once a year and pretend it doesn’t really exist. But Access To Life wants the viewer to take a moment to pause and think about the fact that thirty years ago AIDS and HIV had never been diagnosed in Australia. Access to life has been touring the world for four years, and focuses on the actual faces behind this disease in some of the worst affected places around the world. Magnum Photos helped create this exhibition, which is in Australia for World AIDS Day 2012. This exhibition of documentary-style, powerful photographs, often with a strong use of shadows, is divided by country, and photographer. They are accompanied by factual information of the affected individual, including age, marital status, occupation and health information. In many of the strong, dark images, the sick bed is included in shots. There is a focus on eyes, which lead you throughout the exhibition space, showing both human struggle and resilience. The faces in the exhibition are the small percentage of people who have received antiretroviral treatment, who are "fighting AIDS and winning." The majority of the photographs were taken in 2007 before, and four months after, the subjects received this treatment for AIDS. Chris Steele-Perkins has contributed shots this year from Papua New Guinea (where today’s largest HIV epidemic is in the Asia Pacific). There are also quotes on the museum’s walls, such as “my body is weak and I like sleep but I force myself to move. I want to be well,” in a hand-writing-like scrawl, which adds to the intimacy of the photographs. They are shot at unusual angles, and hung in clusters.Cases of objects, including condom promotional materials and photographs are also included. Alongside this exhibition, the Powerhouse has the display HIV & AIDS 40 years on: the Australian story. Condoman (a superhero encouraging the use of condoms) stands next to the grim reaper (from what was a shocking 1987 sexual health campaign), facing a wall of advertising against the spread of aids, and condoms in cases. Just don’t forget to tie a red ribbon to the railing on the way out. Photographer Chris Steele-Perkins will talk about his travels 6.30pm Tuesday 27th November($15/10).
Now that summer is almost here — and daylight savings has kicked in — it's getting lighter and lighter ever day. Luckily, there are lots of venues where you can lap up this sunshine as soon as you clock off work. One of them is this new pop-up spritz bar. Located on the lush terrace of CBD restaurant Bopp & Tone, the Lillet Cocktail Bar is open from Thursday, November 21 through to Friday, December 20. And it's serving up three very summery spritzes: the classic Lillet spritz with strawberry, cucumber, mint and Lillet Blanc (an aperitif made from a blend of Bordeaux wines and fruit); the Rouge and Soda, made with Lillet Rouge; and the Ginger Rose, which combines lemon myrtle, Lillet Rosé and ginger beer by PS40. These fizzy drinks will set you back $16 most of the time, but if you head to the Carrington Street spot from 4–6pm on weekdays, you'll get them for $14. Images: Guy Davies
Acclaimed London and Miami bar Sexy Fish is sparing no expense in launching its new cocktail menu. The renowned international venue is taking to six continents (sorry Antarctica) to unveil its latest creations, enlisting the help of four host bars across the globe to join in. Luckily for us, one of those bars is right here in Sydney, with South Eveleigh's Re- the representative from Australia. The menu launch will take place on Monday, March 6, with Sexy Fish's two venues premiering the boundary-pushing displays of mixology alongside Cape Town's Cause Effect, EL BARON in Cartagena, Zest in Seoul, and Re-. Arriving from Matt Whiley and Maurice Terzini in 2021 with a focus on sustainability and an exciting drinks list, Re- will showcase 20 cocktail creations, including 16 alcoholic combos and four non-alcoholic variations. "Re- is thrilled to have been chosen as the Australian counterpart for the launch of Sexy Fish's new cocktail menu, Trinity," says Whiley. "We've loved working with Sexy Fish to create their Trinity menu Down Under, ensuring our sharp focus on local ingredients and sustainability continue to lead the way with drinks, preferencing innovation and taste while minimising waste." Highlights from the menu include a coconut and lemongrass cocktail featuring Absolut Elyx vodka and sake; a playful creation made with marshmallow-infused gin and fortified wines; and the Coffee and Toast, which combines brown butter-infused mezcal, coffee, caramel, Campari and manzanilla. Re- will open especially for this world-spanning cocktail showcase on the Monday, with no bookings available — walk-ins only. If you want to taste what Sexy Fish has been whipping up, just venture down to South Eveleigh early and nab a spot at the bar.
The annual Orange Wine Festival is back for its 13th run, with ten days of events highlighting the region's sophisticated winemaking from October 12 through October 21. Patrons can expect wine shows, tastings, dinners and educational workshops, all of which showcase the rich diversity of Orange's rich culinary culture. This year's packed-out program includes over 90 events, which are open to all wine lovers, from the connoisseurs to those still getting to know their palate. The region is known for its cool climate which creates wines with bright fruit and deep, balanced flavours, making them some of the best drops in the country. While there are events on every day of the two weeks, you shouldn't miss the festival's flagship Night Market on October 19 — over 50 food stalls and wine bars will pop up in in Orange's Robertson Park for a night of wining and dining under the country sky. If you want to try as many wines as possible, the Orange Wine Show Tasting on October 12 will give you a taste of 200 wines for a reasonable $60. Even with all the events, you won't have any time to sit still — the region is home to 80 vineyards and over 30 cellar doors. We recommend organising a driver so you can drink it all.
On the silver screen, Australia's golden landscape is frequently the place where pain dwells. Even when spinning fiction, films such as Mystery Road, Goldstone, Sweet Country, High Ground, The Furnace and The Survival of Kindness scorch reality's horrors and heartbreaks into celluloid with ample help from an ochre-hued backdrop that can only belong to the land Down Under. In Sweet As, the red earth of Western Australia's Pilbara region similarly couldn't be more pivotal; however, this coming-of-age drama from first-time feature director and writer Jub Clerc (The Heights) — who previously contributed segments to anthology movies The Turning and Dark Whispers: Volume 1, draws upon her own adolescent experiences for her full-length debut, and crafts the first WA flick that's helmed and penned by an Indigenous female filmmaker — deploys its patch of Aussie soil as a place where teenagers find themselves. Sweet As often lets its chosen terrain stretch as far as the eye can see, which homegrown cinema adores doing. As the movie roves lovingly over the Pilbara's plains and gorges, cinematographer Katie Milwright (Deadloch, The Clearing) sees its vivid hues, craggy surfaces, and dusty scrubland over and over. More than that, Clerc and her director of photography revel in the details and the beauty, conveying the power of Country, and of travel, in every patient and lingering shot. Indeed, watching Sweet As feels like communing with its surroundings; the picture itself is, and enthusiastically shares that sensation with viewers. As it peers and percolates — absorbs, too — the film also spies a canvas for hopes and dreams. It soaks in the inescapable potency of land that has meant so much to the planet's oldest continuous culture for so long, and now proves revelatory for a group of adolescents sent bush on a photo safari. Murra (Shantae Barnes-Cowan, Firebite) is one such shutterbug, albeit not by choice. With her mother Grace (Ngaire Pigram, also a Firebite alum) grappling with addiction, the 16-year-old is traversing a path to child services' care when her police-officer uncle Ian (Mark Coles Smith, Mystery Road: Origin) enrols her on a trip that she doesn't initially want to take. With youth workers Mitch (Tasma Walton, How to Please a Woman) and Fernando (Carlos Sanson Jr, Bump) as their guides and chaperones, Murra, Kylie (newcomer Mikayla Levy), Elvis (Pedrea Jackson, Robbie Hood) and Sean (fellow first-timer Andrew Wallace) are soon hurtling into the outback on a minibus with cameras in their hands — to snap the sights away from their ordinary lives, and also step beyond everything that they know, form new friendships, gain a different perspective and gaze as intently at themselves as they do at the earth from behind a lens. IRL and in the film, sending kids to capture the inimitable Australian scenery one photo at a time, and to roam over its vastness, is a simple yet profound concept. Murra and her companions — all strangers when they board the bus, and all considered at-risk due to their own troubles — are far too familiar with being scrutinised by others, but now get to do some clocking themselves in a cathartic way. They're tasked with judging what's worthy of their time and attention, and of being immortalised in their snapshots. As they point and shoot, they're given the freedom to express and inspect anything that can be glimpsed at through a viewfinder. They're empowered to be bold, break moulds and discover what no one else perceives. Creativity can be an escape, and it can also be an exorcising release and a catalyst to adopt new viewpoints. As its teen characters segue from apprehensive and rebellious to being grateful what they're doing, and where and why, Sweet As explores and appreciates the straightforward acts of road tripping and taking photographs along the way for everything they can offer. Thanks to its origins in her own tale, Clerc's feature unsurprisingly feels personal. Just as crucially, it feels lived in. Bringing a disparate group of high schoolers together isn't a novel storyline, nor is having them glean life-changing insights in the process — The Breakfast Club has notched up nearly four decades of affection for nailing the formula — but Sweet As never merely ticks recognisable plot boxes. Even as Murra's journey involves crushes, questionable choices and underage drinking, the film always values its characters over the teen rites of passage they undertake. While so much about no longer being a kid but not yet being an adult is universal, the most potent examinations of what that's genuinely like refract teendom's markers and milestones through the people going through them. As told by Clerc, Murra's plight is deeply relatable, including while anchored in being an Indigenous youth in Australia today, but it's also exactly what it is because of who the movie's protagonist uniquely is — and, again, why. Consequently, casting is as important to Sweet As as Clerc's formative years, script (as co-penned with Seriously Red actor and Rush screenwriter Steve Rodgers), and calm and confident guiding hand. This is just the fifth entry on Barnes-Cowan's resume after Operation Buffalo, Total Control, Firebite and Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, and it's the young Adnyamathanha woman's fifth exceptional performance — the fifth in a career that, based on her excellent efforts so far, is only going to keep growing and expanding. Naturalism and resilience have swiftly become consistent hallmarks of her work, each assisting in making Murra seem like she's walked into the frame from reality. Clerc benefits from both, too, observing Barnes-Cowan as Murra observes the world, and finding an entire universe of emotion blossoming. What does it mean to truly take notice — of people, personalities, Country, cultures, history, existence's big and small highlights, and also everything that's often overlooked — and to be taken notice of in return? They're questions that Sweet As endeavours to sit with. As set to all-Indigenous soundtrack, the film is happiest surveying, contemplating and being in the moment; like protagonist, like movie. Sweet As also shines as an example of what it means to cherish a shared exchange, thoughtful glance, bonding experience, radiant hue, gorgeous vista and perfectly captured instant. This buoyant feature brims with all of the above, beaming as brightly as the distinctively Australian landscape it can't and won't stop treasuring.
Claudia O'Doherty has a lively interest in the natural world. She's cowritten a book called 100 Facts About Pandas and performed a show called Monsters of the Deep 3D, for example. She also contributed a tale about killer whales to The Penguin Plays Rough Book of Short Stories, is part of a comedy group called Pig Island and premiered this current show at the Imperial Panda Festival earlier in the year. Its premise is that this is the TV show 'they' won't let O'Doherty make, and she takes audiences on a condensed tour of all 26 projected hours of the series and quite a long way into the personal life of a nearly unbearably intense and awkward character. The performance's accoutrements include water, cake, lasers, the most unflattering pair of pants possible, a cold sore and a much-maligned offstage technician named Suze. It's absurd in a totally deadpan way that makes the audience nervous as to whether this might be for real at the same time as they're certain that it isn't. O'Doherty's stage presence is naive and not exactly scientifically rigorous, but the show is as clever as can be.
Welcome to a world of vaudeville, grimy charm and breathtaking acrobatics. Sydney Festival's Scotch and Soda promises a raucous late-night circus event with a musical twist. This unique and energetic performance will fuse together infectious tunes from The Crusty Suitcase Band and bawdy theatrics from Company 2. Centrestage are the performers from last year’s Cantina, as well as familiar faces (or perhaps bodies) from previous circus events Smoke & Mirrors, La Clique and Circa. In Scotch and Soda, their expert circus skills and gravity-defying theatrics will be set against the rollicking soundscape of The Crusty Suitcase Band, an ensemble comprised purely of horns and drums that is irresistibly danceable. This dynamic collaboration will witness the performers working with and against the band’s ‘gyp hop’ musical stylings. There might even be a bit of role-reversal. Their performances will take place at 10.30pm in the Circus Ronaldo Tent at the Festival Village. Its old world decor, reeking of decadence and debauchery, complements this crew of rowdy misfits.
